Nikon in-camera vs lightroom jpg conversion

Question: I'm just getting started with Lightroom 4.  I've been shooting RAW + JPG using my Nikon D7000, but would like to just shoot RAW and then convert to JPG in Lightroom.  What's the most efficient way to convert a group of files to JPG and end up with approximately the same look and quality that I get out of the in-camera conversion?  Does Lightroom apply any processing if I just import all the files and then directly export them to JPGs without changing anything?
Comment: On the last question: _yes_. It has to, because the raw sensor data isn't useful as an image without processing.
Answer: You want to import the raw images into Lightroom and then process one image the way you like it using the develop mode.  Then select all and hit the sync button on the bottom right.  This will create the same effect for all photos that you have synced and is a real time saver.  Then, to export, select all images and then go to file > export and follow the dialog box from there.
There are so many different variables on the export (quality, format, etc).
If you do not change anything in Lightroom in the develop mode, then Lightroom will not apply any processing and will therefore make no changes.
Answer: You can setup a default profile for Lightroom to apply to newly imported RAWs.  You can actually specify this per camera and even per lens (it will pull the info from the EXIF data on the RAW shot).
By default, Lightroom doesn't do a lot of processing.  It applies a mild sharpen on export typically, but that's about it.  You could certainly make a custom profile that would make an initial pass at adjustments, but a large portion of the reason for using RAW is so that you can make creative decisions about the images rather than having it automatically processed.
If you want to match the image processing the camera does exactly, you generally have to use the software provided by the camera manufacturer for processing RAW files as many of the algorithms used by the camera are proprietary to the particular manufacturer.  In some cases, those changes can then be saved into the RAW file and the RAW file can then be opened in Lightroom with some of the changes applied.


Installing SDK but it refuge cause of missing java - Installed but stil the same, even restarted the installation

Question: Hi i was about to install Android SDK Tool when a screen said "Java SE Development Kit" wasn`t installed, OK so i installed it "Java Development Kit Version 6 Update 23" but the screen stil say its not installed, do i need to restart my computer? its said go to java.sun.com bla bla before continued, nothing about restart the computer, hae restarted the installation but stil the same.
Answer: Make sure the Java JDK is in your PATH (Right-click Computer, select Properties, Advanced System Settings, Environment) and then re-try the installation.
Also look at this SO question.


When did George Lucas replace Anakin Skywalker's ghost in Return of the Jedi?

Question: In the end scene of Return of the Jedi, the previous actor (Sebastian Shaw) who played Anakin Skywalker (Darth Vader) was replaced by Hayden Christensen.
When did George Lucas make this change? Was it prior to the Bluray release of the Saga?
Comment: When he took leave of his senses...
Comment: \*waves hand\* There was no replacement. You don't want to question George Lucas. Move along.
Comment: Great question! I thought those two looked strangely alike. Turns out they were as "alike" as possible - I suppose nobody looks as similar to one as one's self...
Answer: It was prior to the release of of the blu-rays. According to this, in 2004 a new version of the Special Editions was released on DVD and this change was included.
From the link:

In 2004, in addition to an extensive and comprehensive hi-definition
  digital cleanup and restoration job by Lowry Digital, the original
  trilogy films were changed once again for their release on DVD. In
  these new versions of the films, a few changes which had been made for
  the 1997 Special Editions were removed. Even more changes were made to
  the films, however.

And:

Another notable and quite controversial change was to a scene at the
  end of Episode VI, when the spirits of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda and Anakin
  Skywalker look upon the Rebels' celebration. The original actor who
  played Anakin in this scene (Sebastian Shaw) was replaced by Hayden
  Christensen, the actor who played Anakin in Episodes II and III.
Comment: Another, easier way to think of it is that it was changed in the first re-release (in any form) of Episode VI after the completion of the original trilogy, after Lucas had a face for the young Obi-Wan.
Comment: @TangoOversway When you say the "original trilogy" you mean the prequels, right? And young *Anakin* not Obi-Wan (though coincidentally young Obi-Wan still applies :) )?
Comment: You're right on both counts.  I was writing that while distracted.
Comment: @TangoOversway Just wanted to clarify for future readers. :)
Comment: Glad you did that!
Comment: The 2004 special edition release is also when they included the scene in ANH where Han is talking with a CGI'd Jabba in the hangar bay next to the Millennium Falcon on Tatooine where Han walks behind Jabba and "steps on his tail".
Answer: There was no "young Anakin" when the Return of the Jedi was made, so putting an actor in there other than Sebastian Shaw would make no sense.  Put a young Anakin that no one has seen, and everyone would be wondering "who in the heck is that?"
Since the ending scene depicts Anakin Skywalker (saved, no longer Sith), not Darth Vader, it would make sense that the physical manifestation would be of the Jedi version of that individual's life.  The Sebastian Shaw was the Darth Vader version.
If spirits get to choose, I would think the choice would be from happier, healthier days, vs maimed and using a war suit for life support, as well.
Comment: you got a point there..


Pairwise comparison of least squares means from two separate generalized linear mixed-effects models

Question: How can I test for a significant difference between a pair of least squares means, when each member of the pair comes from a different generalized linear mixed-effects model? The models were constructed using the glmer() function of the lme4 package of R, and the least squares means calculated from the model outputs using the lsmeans() package. The lsmeans package outputs estimates, standard errors and asymptotic upper and lower 95 % confidence intervals for each lsmean, but Df are not available (because results are asymptotic?).
Answer: By "separate models," I am assuming that the lsmeans from those models are independent of one another. If that is the case, then you can apply the Pythagorean theorem:
$$SE(m_i-m_j) = \sqrt{SE^2(m_i)+SE^2(m_j)}$$
In the lsmeans package, the summary function produces a data.frame object from which you can programmatically combine the needed standard errors.
Comment: Many thanks rvl. I will look into how to programmatically combine the standard errors from the data.frame object.
Comment: It'll be a different data.frame for each model, so maybe you want to combine them using rbind and create a new column for which model it is.


Visual Studio 2015 Update 1 crashes on Controller Scaffolding

Question: I'm trying to use EF6.1.3 and Visual Studio 2015 to make some simple CRUD pages, but I keep getting errors whenever I go to "Add Controller"
I tried everything from reinstalling Entity Framework to reinstalling Visual Studio completely. I've created a new empty web app and tried to add a controller and I get the same crash.
I originally had VS2015 before update 1 and had the same problem. I thought Update 1 would fix it but no luck.
There is no error message. VS just shuts down and restarts. There is something in the event log but it doesn't seem to be too helpful:
Log Name:      Application
Source:        Application Error
Date:          12/2/2015 2:00:17 PM
Event ID:      1000
Task Category: (100)
Level:         Error
Keywords:      Classic
User:          N/A
Computer:      john2015.se.local
Description:
Faulting application name: devenv.exe, version: 14.0.24720.0, time stamp: 0x564ea97e
Faulting module name: MSVCR120_CLR0400.dll, version: 12.0.52512.0, time stamp: 0x5525ef9d
Exception code: 0xc00000fd
Fault offset: 0x0007e19c
Faulting process id: 0x3360
Faulting application start time: 0x01d12d16201217b1
Faulting application path: C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 14.0\Common7\IDE\devenv.exe
Faulting module path: C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\MSVCR120_CLR0400.dll
Report Id: 0314ac86-6bbd-49fa-a05c-bbf5724ae101
Faulting package full name:
Faulting package-relative application ID:
Event Xml:

    1000
    2
    100
    0x80000000000000

    10130
    Application
    john2015.se.local

    devenv.exe
    14.0.24720.0
    564ea97e
    MSVCR120_CLR0400.dll
    12.0.52512.0
    5525ef9d
    c00000fd
    0007e19c
    3360
    01d12d16201217b1
    C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 14.0\Common7\IDE\devenv.exe
    C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\MSVCR120_CLR0400.dll
    0314ac86-6bbd-49fa-a05c-bbf5724ae101

Answer: This helps me:

Close Visual Studio.
Open administrative cmd in folder C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 14.0\Common7\IDE
devenv.exe  /resetsettings
devenv.exe  /resetuserdata

Open Visual Studio.
Comment: No Luck with that one. Maybe I'll just give up on scaffolding and write the views by hand. It's probably better that way anyway.
Comment: Thanks! It did help me.
Answer: I had the same issue as you after the October update. Aram's answer is the method I used to solve my issue. However, looking closely at the dump, your issue is in the MSVCR120_CLR0400.dll basically uninstall this dll and re-install it then follow Aram's list.
MSVCR120_CLR0400.dll is a security update that resolves a vulnerability in the  4.5 and 4.5.1 that could allow elevation of privilege on a server by using a web browser that can run ASP.NET applications.
Microsoft explanation of MSVCR120_CLR0400.dll


how layout high speed pulse PCB traces?

Question: I  am working on a PCB design layout, 3 PCB traces, 350kHz pulse signals (logic 3.3V and 0V) are to send via PCB traces. are there any design rules for this type of signaling through PCB traces?
Comment: Frequency is low, so you'll only get problems is rise time is fast, which creates HF harmonics and is more sentitive to signal integrity issues like reflections etc. What's the rise time? (if you don't know, say what chip outputs the signal, like 74HC or ...?)
Comment: @peufeu traces into [6n137](https://www.vishay.com/docs/84732/6n137.pdf) opto-coupler and traces from output of it to the fpga. typical Tplh 48ns.
Answer:
@peufeu traces into 6n137 opto-coupler and traces from output of it to the fpga. typical Tplh 48ns. – oppo 8 mins ago

\$\frac1{48\,\text{ns}}\approx \frac1{50}\,\text{GHz}=20\,\text{MHz}\$, take this times 5 to get basically all relevant sidelobes of the sinc spectrum of a rectangular signal, get 100 MHz; so no high frequency or high speed signal in the modern sense.
For 100 MHz, it's still good practice to make sure your trace is constant width, and runs over a ground plane, and isn't directly near sensitive other lines.
Without knowing your circuit, it's hard to advice, but considering the input side of your optocoupler has a typical forward current of 20mA, I'd argue that unless you have an extremely low impedance signal source, no further load matching needs to be done.
Note: 20mA is a lot for a 48ns pulse to ask for from a simple output driver, so make sure the driven pins of the FPGA are spec'ed to deliver that much current, or find a less current-hungry optocoupler (still check!).

how layout high speed pulse PCB traces?


Will preorder skins be usable on all of my PSN accounts?

Question: Ok so I bought Overwatch on my primary PSN account and I was wondering if the skins will also be present on other accounts if I use them on the same PS4?
Comment: When you mention other accounts, do you mean other PSN accounts?
Comment: Yeah like I have the psn account I purchased it on set as primary so I'm wanting to know if the other accounts will have the skin(s) from it as well or if the skins will only be available on the account that I purchased it with and just to clear up any confusion all the accounts are on the same ps4
Comment: I edited the question to improve the wording a bit. This is a good question, I hope you can get a satisfactory answer!
Comment: If nobody has an answer by the time its outs I'll just check and I'll post it here in case anyone else wants to know but hasn't gotten the chance to check
Answer: I just checked and yes you get all the skins on all the accounts I have overgrown bastion and noire widowmaker and all the others
EDIT: also just to clarify you only get to share the pre order skins across the accounts the skins you get from loot boxes obviously do not carry across accounts


Receive e-Mail when Stock Price reaches 52-week low?

Question: I have a list of about 100 stocks. I would like to be emailed when any one of these stocks reaches a 52 week low.  I can do basic programming in PHP etc., but is there a simpler way? Does Yahoo Finance or Google Finance offer such a service?
Answer: Google doesn't seem to be able to do this. From Google Finance support:
Although we don't provide stock alerts at this time, you can request email updates or create an RSS feed about particular companies using Google Alerts. Google Alerts delivers relevant text and video results from blogs, discussion forums, news sites, and more. Visit http://www.google.com/alerts to get started.
I can't seem to find anything like this on Yahoo Finance, either. I did find a website that seems to do this, Zignals. I haven't used the service before, but it looks like it would be worth trying out.
Comment: Thanks a lot for that.  Zignals looks interesting.  Will post back with a mini review.
Comment: Yes, I think I like it.  There are a lot of features, but I am interested in getting email alerts based on 52 week lows.  Another interesting option for 'value investors' like myself is  get an alert based on when PE ratios hit some target.  At this point I like it and it seems to be the exact solution I asked for. The alerts have an intuitive interface too.


Multiple materials on a specific shape?

Question: Using cycles, how would I go about making text that is UV mapped onto a surface (in this case a book cover) have a gloss while the remaining part of the image stays matte? The text needs a kind of foil finish with the white being matte paper. Can the mesh be selected with the image, or is there a better way?
Here's the image in question.
Answer: The general principle is to use an image processing package (like GIMP) to separate your image into two component images. One image will contain the black text, with the background being changed so that it is transparent. I would make the other image, containing the background, all with the background color with no transparency. The two images would be applied to the material using two separate nodes, one for each image, with a shader in each node tree. The text, which is to be glossy would have the settings for its shader that cause the text to render glossy; the shader for the background would have the settings for a shader that renders a matte finish. When the two images are stacked exactly on top of each other, the image will exactly mimic the reference image, with matte background and glossy text.
Without more information about your model, lighting, &c., I am not able to provide any further detail on the settings you should use. While you specify using cycles, the same principle should apply in using the Blender internal materials and textures; split the image, into two, use the text image with a glossy material, and the background with a matte one, and stack the first material on the second.
Answer: Use your image to control the mix between a glossy and a diffuse shader:
Comment: Sometimes I think cegaton is a machine... Whoever you are, you are awesome.  From all of us that would like to say it.... Thank  you for helping everyone so much.

Multiple materials on a specific shape?


What would be the pros and cons of removing ability scores from O D&D?

Question: Recently, I've been playing quite a bit of a variant on the Swords & Wizardy retroclone of O-D&D.  What our group has noticed in general is that high and low scores rarely matter, and even when they do, the bonus they provide is marginal, a few extra hitpoints or a +1 to hit or AC.  My question is this: What are the pros and cons of removing ability scores from O D&D?  To me, mechanically they seem to have very little effect, but there's quite possibly a reason for keeping them I've overlooked.
Answer: Mechanically, you could easily remove individual scores from any edition of Dungeons & Dragons prior to 3e, simply by declaring that all characters have average ability scores of 10 or 12.  (For 3rd edition or latter, you'll need to take the additional step of declaring what happens when characters get an ability score increase.)
Doing so makes for a substantially quicker character creation process, but it is not without a major drawback — you lose the descriptive fidelity that ability scores provide.  Now you don't have any way for the game to recognize that Phil's character is "exceptionally strong", or that Abigail's PC is "quick as the wind."
And, at least according to the Swords & Wizardry ebook rules, you'd also wind up with a set of magic-users who couldn't cast any spells beyond 5th or 6th level, and who all had at best a 50% or 55% chance to learn a spell.  (Although such would be simple enough to hand-wave away.)
Comment: @YogoZuno: The question was about OD&D and a retro-clone of it.  It was emphatically not 3e or latter.
Comment: Just fyi, if you were to cap everyone at 12 for 3rd ed+, it would also have quite a large impact on things such as being able to cast spells and qualify for feats etc. This would be a much larger scope of change.
Comment: Meh.  If you're removing ability scores, you'd probably just remove all ability score prerequisites, too.
Comment: That's nice, but the answer mentioned 3rd ed - would potentially be useful to other viewers to add more detail to this bit, even though it's not strictly related to the original question. Or otherwise just remove the mention of 3e entirely.
Answer: It depends on which OD&D you mean. If you are playing with the Greyhawk supplement, which expanded the ability bonus values and added the Intelligence table for magic-users, or with Swords & Wizardry Complete, ability scores mean about as much as they do in AD&D, so there would be a visible effect.
If you are playing without the Greyhawk ability bonuses, ability scores mostly only affect experience points. Removing scores in S&W Whitebox would slow level advancement a tiny bit, or at least make faster advancement less likely. In "LBB only" OD&D, though, there are a couple places where the raw scores matter:

Intelligence -10 = number of languages learnable.
Constitution determines "surviving adversity" (system shock.)
Charisma x10 = command control range in yards.
Intelligence + Strength is used when trying to control a magic sword.

So, if you aren't using any of those four, it might be possible to ditch ability scores with no ill effect.


What's the advantage of device-independent pixels?

Question: I'm learning about WPF. WPF uses device-independent pixels. But I can't really understand them. Why are they better than device-dependent pixels, if most other apps are device-dependent and WPF apps aren't? Would they stick out?
Answer: The advantage of device independent pixels is that when specifying a UI you can determine the size that UI components will appear on the user's device, regardless of the user's screen resolution. Unfortunately, it's not quite as simple as that, as it requires the user to have various settings set 'correctly', and it can be overridden by a user who wants to change the resolution of their device (e.g. a partially sighted user who wants to run at a low resolution to make text easier to read).
In addition to the other link posted, you can also check out this one:
Is WPF Really Resolution Independent?
Note that you can turn on snapping a control to device pixels with the SnapsToDevicePixels set to true to avoid the blurriness that occurs when a horizontal/vertical line is drawn on the boundary between two device pixels.
Answer: Before understanding device independent unit, it is required to understand what DPI is. DPI is dots per inch, that means there would be certain number (96 usually) of pixels in an inch . But what is important to understand is in Win32 environment this inch is not fixed in size as a physical inch. So when the number of dots increases / decreases by changing the resolution there would more / less number of dots in an inch as a result the "inch" size increases or decreases.
However in case of WPF the inch size is as good as a physical inch as a result every time the DPI changes the system adjusts it self accordingly.
Answer: It's about UI and font scaling depending on the system's DPI setting:

Not all applications are DPI-aware: some
use hardware pixels as the primary
unit of measurement; changing the
system DPI has no effect on these
applications. Many other applications
use DPI-aware units to describe font
sizes, but use pixels to describe
everything else. Making the DPI too
small or too large can cause layout
problems for these applications,
because the applications' text scales
with the system's DPI setting, but the
applications' UI does not. This
problem has been eliminated for
applications developed using WPF.
WPF supports automatic scaling by
using the device independent pixel as
its primary unit of measurement,
instead of hardware pixels; graphics
and text scale properly without any
extra work from the application
developer.

This is taken from the link Kishore provided. (http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms748373.aspx)


Are there formal definitions of "high tenor"?

Question: Many people mention terms like "low" and "high" tenors. Are there formal definitions of "high tenor"?
Comment: Presumably you're asking if the *vocal range* is formally defined? In which case, no, vocal ranges aren't strictly defined. They are generally descriptive of a singer's range, but not definitive.
Answer: A composer may indicate in the score that a role is intended for a "high tenor" (which does not mean a countertenor). An example is the role of Henry Morosus in Richard Strauss's opera Die schweigsame Frau (The Silent Woman).  Another example is the role of the Italian Singer in his opera Der Rosenkavalier, who has but a single aria in the whole opera.
I took a quick look, and I counted six operas in which Strauss indicated a role (big or small) for high tenor and, although not counting, I noticed one role for low tenor.
The difficulty of high roles is not so much the highest notes required, but rather the "tessitura" of the entire part or aria. This refers to the range within which most notes of a vocal part fall. A role or aria can be impossible or pose risk to the voice if the tessitura is too high. The strain will usually be noticeable and a problem for the audience as well as the singer.
Transposing single arias is very often done in recitals (lieder are often transposed for different vocal ranges), and it's sometimes done for an individual aria in an opera, but rarely for an entire role. Massenet did an adjusted, baritone version of his Werther, originally for tenor.
But every voice type clearly has its limits. In his original, one-act version of Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos, the showcase aria for the coloratura soprano role of Zerbinetta, "Großmächtige Prinzessin," went up to the F♯ above high C. Strauss took mercy (but barely a drop) when he revised the opera, adding a Prologue: he transposed this section of Zerbinetta's extended aria a whole-step down, so it goes up "only" to an E.
We use the German word fach for a voice type within a classification system (being very careful with our pronunciation). Our English system is a bit less elaborate than the German one. See voice type, which, referring to the Italian classification system, has:

Tenor subtypes: Tenors are often divided into different subcategories
based on range, vocal color or timbre, the weight of the voice, and
dexterity of the voice. Tenors are often broken down into eight
subcategories: Tenorino, tenore contraltino, leggero tenor or tenore
di grazia, lyric tenor, spinto tenor or tenore spinto, dramatic tenor,
heldentenor, and baritenor.

I would definitely add "tessitura" to the list of qualities.
Answer: That would be the countertenor.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Countertenor
Comment: @andrewjohnsson I don't think "countertenor" is what you're looking for. Within the standard "Tenor" designation there are tenors whose voices tend toward the higher part of the overall range and tenors whose voices tend toward the lower part of the overall range. That is what is usually referred to be "high" and "low" tenor. Countertenor is an entirely different vocal range, more in line with the Alto.
Comment: Arguably (and you didn't specify *which one* would be). While "High tenor" has been used to indicate Countertenor, if used in the context of "high" and "low" it refers to the vocal range.
Comment: @musicamante so the term can be used to mean different things but all of the definitions refer to a male voice who can sing higher than most male voices?
Comment: @andrewjohnsson yes and no: a tenor *could* sing at the same range of a countertenor, the point is the technique and the vocal range in which he performs; countertenors often use falsetto, which allows higher notes than "in-voice" (I believe it's called "modal voice" in English): he may be able to sing in voice at that range, but not at full extent ("power"), as the produced sound could be not good as it should, or he couldn't correctly sustain it for long notes while staying in pitch. As Aaron said, vocal ranges are not definitive.


How do I send a request to a router knowing the IP address, but not knowing the MAC address?

Question: And what protocol should be used?
Thanks.
Comment: Its unclear what you are asking - you dont send a request to a router - you send a packet destined to an IP address to the routers IP and it sends it on
Comment: what type of request do you mean?
Comment: Might I recommend [this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPi5Nvxaosw).
Answer: I assume you just meant like any packet for which the MAC is not known.
ARP (address resolution protocol) would take place for this matter.
Below is a high level working of ARP operation.
Answer: A host or router that wants to send a packet first looks up the destination in it's routing table. This returns two peices of information.

The interface to use.
What the "next hop IP address" should be. If no next hop IP address is specified in the route then the destination is used as the next hop IP address.

What happens next depends on the type of interface. If it is a point to point interface the packet is just sent. the next hop IP address is ignored.
If it is a type of interface that supports multipoint addressing with it's own addressing scheme (for example the MAC addresses used by Ethernet, wifi etc) then the next hop IP address is looked up in the ARP table for the interface, if a suitable match is found then the Packet is sent.
Otherwise the packet is queued while an ARP request takes place. If the ARP request is successful then an entry is added to the ARP table and the original packet is released to continue it's journey. If the ARP requests are unsucessful the packet will be dropped, possiblly with an ICMP "destination host unreachable" error being returned to the sender.


How to handle large taxonomy

Question: Have a page on website where exposed filter is hierarchical taxonomy (Country/City). Works fine with few terms, just for test. Page loadtime is 1.5ms, choosing terms goes in blink.
Now i imported all Europe countries and cities, around 5000 terms. Page loadtime is 21s.
Choosing first term (parent/UK) took 8 seconds. Choosing 2nd term (child/London) took 8 seconds.
I am using views exposed filter http://drupal.org/sandbox/ser_house/1832320.
I am aware that this module is far from done but from what i found out reading about taxonomy is that Drupal handles large taxonomies very bad.
All countries and cities will be around 20.000-30.000 terms and i except several users using the filter at same time which is not an option with loadspeed so high.
Any help how to handle this (maybe another module?) would be greatly appriciated.
Answer: If still relevant, you can try out Taxonomy Edge.
It has optimizations for taxonomies in general, and also implements views filter/arguments for taxonomies.

How to handle large taxonomy


Difference between Buffer & Stream in C#

Question: I read that Buffer is a sequence of bytes. But I also read that Stream is also a sequence of bytes. So what is the difference between Stream & Buffer?
Comment: A stream is a sequence of bytes that is read and/or written to, while a buffer is a sequence of bytes that is stored.
Comment: A buffer has a specified, definite length whereas a stream does not.
Comment: @Abion47 As you said buffer is for purpose to store sequence of bytes,so my question is stream is not store in memory?
Comment: @neelmaheta A stream by itself does not store anything. It merely acts as a conduit to move data from one point to another.
Comment: thanks I read your example of Network stream.Got Idea what the stream actully is.Thanks once again.
Comment: @Abion47 I also read that stream has its internal buffer.so what is the use of Internal buffer & where to use it.Thanks.
Answer: As I said in my comment, the nutshell difference between a buffer and a stream is that a stream is a sequence that transfers information from or to a specified source, whereas a buffer is a sequence of bytes that is stored in memory. For example:
FileStream stream = new FileStream("filepath.txt", FileMode.OpenOrCreate);

Opens a stream to a file. That stream can be read from, written to, or both. As it doesn't require any additional memory, it's lightweight and fast, but arbitrarily referencing a particular set of data in the source can be cumbersome. Streams also benefit from being a connection rather than a discrete set of data, so you don't need to know the size of the data beforehand.
Conversely:
byte[] fileContents = File.ReadAllBytes("filepath.txt");

Reads all the bytes of a file into memory. This is handy for when you need to manipulate the entire file at once, or keep a "local copy" for your program to hold onto so the file can be free for other uses. Depending on the size of the source and the amount of available memory, though, a buffer containing the entire file might not be an option.
This is just a barebones explanation, though. There are more thorough ones out there, For example, as Marc Gravell puts it:

Many data-structures (lists, collections, etc) act as containers - they hold a set of objects. But not a stream; if a list is a bucket, then a stream is a hose. You can pull data from a stream, or push data into a stream - but normally only once and only in one direction (there are exceptions of course). For example, TCP data over a network is a stream; you can send (or receive) chunks of data, but only in connection with the other computer, and usually only once - you can't rewind the Internet.
Streams can also manipulate data passing through them; compression streams, encryption streams, etc. But again - the underlying metaphor here is a hose of data. A file is also generally accessed (at some level) as a stream; you can access blocks of sequential data. Of course, most file systems also provide random access, so streams do offer things like Seek, Position, Length etc - but not all implementations support such. It has no meaning to seek some streams, or get the length of an open socket.
Comment: I also read that stream has its internal buffer.so what is the use of Internal buffer & where to use it.
Comment: @neelmaheta Streams in general don't have an internal buffer. _Specific kinds of streams_ sometimes do, such as a `BufferedStream` or a `MemoryStream`.
Comment: I see that all stream has its internal buffer of default size.You can change default buffer size by passing its value in constructure.I was see this at the time of debug mode in visual studio express edition 2013
Comment: @NeelMaheta To answer that last comment far too late, streams do usually have an internal buffer to keep the interim data that it pulls from the source before it passes that data along to the destination. This isn't a buffer used for deliberate storage, and you shouldn't treat it as a data source in its own right.
Answer: A buffer has a specified size/length and is used to store data. The Stream on the other hand is used to read and write information from one place to another. For example FileStream is used to read and write to and from files.
The stream itself has a buffer which buffer when filled to its max size is flushed and the data in the stream is read or written.


Using Google Fonts in the windows boot image

Question: How do I install Google Fonts inside the boot image of my windows?
So that I am able to install/update all computers with the fonts pre-installed.
Answer:
Download the Google Fonts you wish from official Google Fonts Github
Download free version of WindowReducer for creating a custom Windows installation image or
If your initial Windows image is in ISO format you may need to mount it to a virtual drive with the help of a software like Virtual CloneDrive.
Follow the instructions on how to integrate objects

Alternative solution is NTLite
Adding the font files in the custom installation will be easy, however probably you may need to inform the pre-installed registry file about the activation of those font files.


Trying to use shortcode for a plugin on custom homepage of Responsive theme

Question: The Responsive theme has a custom home page option, with a feature content div that is defaulted to an image. I cannot get shortcode for my slideshow plugin to work in this. I can insert html just fine, but no shortcode. Also, major noob here.
Comment: @JasonMcNamara So you are posting the slideshow shortcode inside that Featured Content box? We don't know how the plugin was written, but it's likely that the featured content box does not accept shortcodes.
Comment: What _exactly_ are you doing to try to get your shortcode to work?
Comment: @s_ha_dum - I'm trying to put a slideshow where the featured content would be on the custom homepage. For some reason the shortcode for the slideshow plugin doesn't work in it. Here's a [post](http://themeid.com/docs/theme-options-featured-content/) about what I'm working with.
Comment: "I'm trying to put a slideshow where the featured content would be"-- I got that @Jason but didn't know how your theme works. That link suggests the answer though.
Answer: I suspect this is going to require a theme edit.
I am assuming that your shortcode is visible on the front-- something like [gallery]-- but not processed as a shortcode. If that is the case, you will need to find where that content is output in the theme and pass it through do_shortcode before echoing it. That could be more or less difficult depending upon how the theme is written.
If the shortcode does not make it through to the front page at all, then I have to assume that shortcodes are stripped from that content when it is saved. That is a tougher fix and would require more information.
It is possible that the theme has a hook you can use to avoid a direct theme edit.
Answer: If you want to execute a shortcode from within a child-theme instead of within the content of a page, you can invoke it with a special function:
<?php echo do_shortcode("[shortcode]"); ?>

The code should be pasted in the active child-theme's functions.php


Vertices do not follow the shape of the object after subdivision surface and changed to edit mode

Question: Why don't the vertices follow the shape of the mesh item itself when I added subdivision surface.
Answer: A modifier doesn't modify the topology for real, it only does it virtually, if you go in Edit mode you'll see the mesh as it really is, not as virtually modified by the modifier. If you want to modify the mesh for real you need to apply the modifier:

But if you want to keep the modifier (because you don't need to, for example a Subdivision Surface modifier is better to keep because it keeps the topology light, while applying it will make the topology heavier), and if you want to see the mesh as it would be if you applied it, enable the On Cage option (you still won't see the virtual faces, only the existing one as modified by the modifier):
Comment: Thanks for the support sir, have a nice day.


Static-Shielding bags

Question: How many times can I use the Static-Shielding bags? I usually use this kind of bags to prevent to damage electronics. So when I need to touch some circuits, firstly I touch the bag. The problem here is I have already used the bag. Is it safe to do this or not?
Comment: That's not how static shielding bags work. Touching a static shielding bag before working on electronics has no effect whatsoever.
Comment: An anti-static bag isn't a magic bag to put static electricity into.  It's something you put components into to protect them from static electricity during storage or transport.
Answer: You can use anti-static bags indefinite amount of times, until they are damaged.

So when I need to touch some circuits, firstly I touch the bag. ... Is it safe to do this or not?

This is not what anti-static bags are made for. To discharge yourself you should use wrist strap or discharge mat connected to ground. Alternatively use ESD-shoes.
Comment: Bag is indeed used to store and protect components inside. It has conductive coating which prevents static charge from getting to the components. However you misuse the bag by trying to discharge yourself.
Comment: I don't understand. So what is the aim of this kind of bags if they are not used to prevent to break electronics?
Comment: @AngeloGiannuzzi Think of static electricity as a bunch of little ants. The bag keeps the ants out. But if you have ants on you or on the bag, touching the bag won't get rid of the ants.
Answer: There are two types of bags:
Polypopolene - usually pink or blue. These have a very thin layer of ESD shielding material on their surface and do not work well for ESD shielding. They are used for shipping, and don't work well after that. Companies that implement strict ESD controls avoid them entirely.
Mylar - silver colored aluminized bags. They have an aluminum coating over the plastic which is more durable and provides better protection. These can be reused. Athough if the aluminum coating gets damaged I would throw them out.

Static-Shielding bags


Momentum of the exhaust of a rocket

Question: I was set out to derive the equation of motion of a rocket under the influence of a uniform gravitational field. The equation is as follows
$$m\frac{dv}{dt}=-v'\frac{dm}{dt}-mg$$
where $v$ is the velocity of the rocket as seen from the ground and $v'$ is the velocity of the exhaust gases as seen from the rocket. $m$ is the mass of the rocket. I wrote the total momentum of the ensemble at time $t$ like this $$p=mv+m_E\,(v'+v).$$ But clearly this is wrong, as differentiating it wrt to time yields $$m\frac{dv}{dt}+v\frac{dm}{dt}-\frac{dm}{dt}(v'+v)+m_E\frac{dv}{dt}$$ (where conservation of mass was used to convert the mass derivative). I also saw in this post that the correct expression for the momentum of the exhaust gasses was $$\int_{t_0}^t(v'+v)\frac{dm}{dt'}dt'$$ So my question is why is my expression wrong and this one right. I understand that this is equivalent to summing the momentum of each infinitesimal chunk of mass expelled but I still don't understand why that is necessary or why my version doesn't work.
Answer: The ejecta moves backward relative to the rocket, but forward relative to the ground:
$$p=mv+m_E\,(v-v')$$
Comment: correct but the sign is irrelevant, I'm allowing the relative velocity to have any sign. still doesn't answer my question

Momentum of the exhaust of a rocket


What are the pros and cons of submitting to a Preprint server?

Question: I am currently writing a review paper in biology (conservation and ecology) and I am planning to publish this on a preprint platform. Two of the most common preprint server today are BioArVix and PeerJ. But, I'm wondering are there any bad side in submitting a paper on preprint?
Answer: The classical answer for that is:
Pro: More people are able to read your work, they are able to read it earlier, you will most likely reach more readers.
Contra: It might not always be beneficial to publish too soon, e.g. if your paper is just an introduction to a big, ongoing project, you might not want too many people to suddenly start working on the same project and maybe publish important results before you do. Furthermore, some journals might not allow it, so check that first.
Whenever such questions come up, there is always a little debate about whether or not it is good to upload to preprint archives. The base line of these discussions can be summarized as "Both sides have good arguments and things might strongly differ between different fields." Thus, you need to decide for yourself if you want to do it or not.
Comment: yes, I understood the cons as other authors can replicate the work and may publish the work. However, does the submission to a preprint an "assurance" that I (the author) came up first with the idea or with the data? But, in my case, this is only a literature review so I think there's no too critical issue on this matter.
Comment: While I'd love to believe that the first to publish an idea somewhere is always the one who receives credit for it, history has shown this to often not be the case. My more realistic view is that it can also be the one who publishes an idea in the most compelling way, at a moment when the gestalt is receptive to it, that will receive credit. There's often overlap of course, and if an idea fits represents the next logical step in a line of inquiry it's unlikely to be a problem. But if you're proposing a radically new or unorthodox idea and are first to publish, the outcome may differ.


Problem with the IK Rigging/ The heel bone control is not connected at it should

Question: Noob question: Im new to Blender and I watched videos where they put the IK behind the desire joint (articulation) but when they move it its still connected to the bone. But mine is separated for some reason. It does not have a parent. The leg only has the Inverse Kinematics constraint. I try parenting to the feet, parenting offset to the knee, I try really hard to find the problem but cannot seem to know what it is. How do I make that the control bone follows the Feet.004.L and Leg.003.L
Comment: Hello, are you sure that the videos have the same setup as yours? Because yours is ok but i'm not sure you can block the controller bone with this setup. Maybe point to the videos you are talking about?
Answer: God, yesterday I was all day  looking everywhere to know what it was; it was so frustrating XD To only just now that I again started to make some tweaks to find more what it was and accidentally fix it. ARRGHH x.x
Idk if everybody wants to know this but I'm gonna show how I fix it. Basically the FeetBone and the FeetControlBone were very horizontal. So I lower the tip to both a little, also I move a little forward the knee so that it could bend on the right side. And did a offset parent the KneeControl to the FeetControl so that when I move the FeetControl so does the KneeControl.
I believe that it did that kind of problem because it didn't know where to bend or which direction to move because the bones where horizontal. (Ironic that I asked a question only to end up answering it myself)## Heading ##


Cotangent bundle

Question: This may be a poorly phrased question - please let me know of it - but what is the correct way to think of the cotangent bundle? It seems odd to think of it as the dual of the tangent bundle (I am finding it odd to reconcile the notions of "maps to the ground field" with this object).
Answer: One fruitful way to think about it, if you have physics background, is as phase space.  Your manifold is the configuration space for some system of particles, and the cotangent bundle is then the phases, so the cotangent directions are velocities.  This is helpful also with the symplectic structure on $T^*M$.
Comment: Finally I have enough rep to comment!  This is a subtle point:  the tangent bundle is the (velocity)-phase space as you've described it.  The Cotangent bundle is the momentum-phase space.  Now, one often has the equation p = mv, so often one can be sloppy about this distinction.  However, if, say, a magnetic field is present, then the magnetic field doesn't carry any velocity, but it DOES carry momentum.
Comment: Your manifold, in fact, is the configuration space for a particle traveling on your manifold!
Comment: Well, of course there's that! But often the manifold is the configuration space of something nontrivial.  Though these manifolds are often open...
Comment: Fair enough, but for intuition sake, we can get away with conflating velocity and momentum for a massive particle.
Answer: You might be interested in this MathOverflow post: https://mathoverflow.net/questions/17325/why-is-cotangent-more-canonical-than-tangent
(Sorry, I'd leave this as a comment but I just joined this site and don't have enough reputation.)
Answer: I'm not completely sure what you mean by this: "It seems odd to think of it as the dual of the tangent bundle (I am finding it odd to reconcile the notions of "maps to the ground field" with this object)," but maybe the following will help you see why it is natural to consider the dual space of the tangent bundle.
Given a function f on our manifold, we want to associate something like the gradient of f.  Well, in calculus, what characterized the gradient of a function?  Its the vector field such that when we take its dot product with a vector v at some point p, we get the directional derivative, at p, of f along v.  In a general manifold we don't have a dot product (which is a metric) but we can form a covector field (something which gives an element of the cotangent bundle at any point) such that, when applied to a vector v, we get the directional derivative of f along v.  This covector field is denoted df and is called the exterior derivative of f.
Comment: $A^2=B^2-C^2$ ghjj

Cotangent bundle


Does magnetic propagation follow the speed of light?

Question: Does magnetic propagation follow the speed of light? E.g. if you had some magnet of incredible strength and attached an iron wire that is one light year long to it, would the other end of the iron wire begin to show a magnetic field in a year, or could it possibly be faster than a year?
Comment: A lot of times when this question is asked, it is with the mentality that light somehow has unique properties that ensure it is the fastest thing traveling ever.  As if the universe is watching everything and if it sees something traveling faster than light, it stops it.  This is not the case; rather, what is truly happening is that there is simply a speed where causality is violated.  Light is just *one* thing that happens have nothing holding it back (like mass) to keep it from getting there.  There are many things that travel at $c$, not just light.
Comment: @MSalters Heh, actually there aren't many things we have found that don't have mass.  But my point was that the speed of light isn't a property of light, but a property of the universe that is determined completely separately from light.
Comment: @ Justin L. : That's indeed the consensus, and there's no significant evidence to the contrary. But as I pointed out, at the relevant scales (universe/astronomical) our only observations are via some form of EM radiation. That is to say, "c is a property of the universe" is a sound hypothesis, but not an axiom.
Comment: What else travels at the speed of light (EM radiation)? Gravity probably does, but that's not conclusively proven. And the two nuclear forces don't travel well.
Comment: @MSalters: The alternative is "$c$ is a property/speed/number inherent to the photon", which I don't think many people would put too much of a wager on, yet it is exactly what people think when they mention "the speed of light".  This discrepancy is a point that not many realize, and one that should be made, I feel.
Answer: In your example, the relevant speed isn't the speed of propagation of disturbances in the magnetic field, but rather the speed of the alignment of iron atoms.
You are really asking "Does magnetization of a wire/metal propagate at the speed of light?"
The answer is no; it propagates at the speed at which each individual iron atom can align its polarity.
If you are asking, "Do changes in the magnetic field propagate at the speed of light?"
The answer is yes; if a giant, huge, powerful magnet appeared one light year away out of nowhere, then it would take exactly one year for magnets on Earth to feel its pull (however small it may be).  That is, it would take one year for the "magnetic force" to reach the Earth.
Comment: I changed to this answer. I think it explains it a bit better. (as in, I understand it a bit more :) )
Comment: I think this is not strictly true?  Isn't it the (small) *difference* between the speed of light and the speed of magnetism that causes radio-waves ?
Answer: It cannot be faster than a year, because electro-magnetic waves propagate with the speed of light. The magnetization of the wire will take longer, because it depends on the reaction of the iron atoms to the external magnetic field (they align according to the external field).
As a rule of thumb, one can say that "if it is possible to notify a friend far away with this" then we are talking about the transmission of information, and that can be done with light speed at most according to special relativity.
In your case you could set of an alarm clock on the other end of the wire once the magnetic field reaches the end :-)


How to adjust nginx keepalive_timeout?

Question: I am using nginx along with php-fpm to server a busy mysql-based site.
Currently I am using keepalive_timeout = 5, however I have no clear idea about how to optimally adjust it. So appreciate your hints.
Answer: What do you need to adjust it to do, or rather: are you seeing any problems with having it set how you do?
There isn't a good one-size-fits-all answer; if most client browsers are able to load all the resources on a page in 5 seconds then 5 seconds is just fine, but it completely depends on your application's needs - if your nginx server were serving as a reverse proxy for Exchange ActiveSync, for instance, you'd want it cranked all the way up to half an hour.
Comment: Sure - so, pretty much "as low as possible without kicking most clients off before they load the page" - so if your pages load in under a second for most of your clients, then a 1 second timeout will be fine.  But, unless your timeout is much, much higher than 5 seconds, then it's unlikely that it's a major cause of server load.
Comment: @ShaneMadden, that 5 seconds are not the lifespan of the connection, but only a timeout during which server waits for another request up to `keepalive_requests`. So it is not important how much time it takes for the full page to load, just for the html until browser start fetching images/css... BTW the max. time connection is kept open is almost `keepalive_timeout*keepalive_requests`
Comment: Well, I am trying to minimize the server load (which is quite high at pick times), and I guess optimizing keepalive_timeout can partially contribute to this goal. Apart from that it is just healthy curiosity :)
Comment: That's the tricky point. How can I determine the page load time, given the difference in pages load time (some are heavier than others),visitor's connection speeds, etc.
Comment: Just ballpark it.  A few seconds one way or another is unlikely to make any substantial difference in load, so feel free to estimate high - but then again, a new build of a TCP connection (even with an SSL handshake, if applicable) for a slow loading client isn't going to make a large difference in their overall loading speed.

How to adjust nginx keepalive_timeout?


Magix web designer Premium

Question: I've used Magix Web Designer Premium software for years and really like how easy the program is to use but I'm in the process of trying to switch completely to Ubuntu (not a dual boot system; strictly Ubuntu) and although I've got Wine installed I can't get the Magix software to install.  Has anyone out there already done this? I really want to keep using Magix.  I'm still extremely new to this (have only started using Ubuntu a month ago) and am wondering if I am doing it right. I also tried installing a Windows dice game using Wine but that didn't work either.
Comment: Visit https://appdb.winehq.org/index.php and click e.g. "Browse by Developer" or "Browse Apps" in the left sidebar to search for your application and find out how well it is supported by Wine.
Answer: There is no database entry for Magix in the appdb, so we can assume that nobody else tried.
Launching the program from the terminal and pasting its output would be helpful for analysis. You should report a bug to the Wine developers using the latest version.
I understand that this program has a workflow which is nice and easy for you, but if you browse around some sites on the web focused on web design you will realize that designers mostly work with text editors, web browser developer tools and documentation (HTML, DOM, CSS, JS, etc). Here is an example of such a site.
Comment: Thanks for the replies.  I know there are other web design programs that work with Linux; our website: Robert Rocks The Mandolin has a Magix web address  since we got free webspace with the software.  The change of web address is a bigger issue than the software itself. That's why I'd like to keep using Magix if possible.  I was able to install some of my other Windows programs using Wine but Magix gets stuck after 3/4 installation.  I'm not sure if it's the software itself that's causing the problem or the fact that it requires a lot of memory and our current computer is 12 years old.

Magix web designer Premium


Not receiving WhatsApp messages unless I open the app when on 3G (on WiFi there is no delay)

Question: I have recently bought a Samsung Galaxy S4, Android version 4.4.2, and for some reason I only receive my WhatsApp messages when I open the app. This only happens when I am on 3G. When connected to a WiFi network, there is no delay at all.
I have uninstalled and re-installed, I have checked the restricted data setting (it is not ticked).
What did I miss?
Comment: Also uncheck "Restrict background data" on `Google Play services`
Comment: By "restricted data setting" do you mean "Restrict background data"?
Answer: Samsung phones have an option to sync data in the background, disabling it, saves data, as updates are only checked for when an app is open (email/im/whatsapp etc). You need to enable that (see green icon in image below) to let your apps periodically check for data.

Screenshot (click for larger variant)
Comment: your right, of course, android has this built in since its early days, but its not so readily accessible on other manufacturers phones - and I've seen this culprit for this issue on a number of family/friends samsung phones. They do not understand it and turn it off, leading to issues.
Comment: That's not specific to Samsung devices (though maybe the way they're placing it in the quick access bar is). All Android devices have that. But you're 100% correct in identifying the most likely culprit :)
Answer: Could this also be in your "Smart Manager". When you click on "Battery", it says "Optimising". When your apps are selected, it will only updates when you actually opens the app.
And it can also be your "power saving mode" problem in smart manager. Once you click on power saving it shows you restrict all background data, this should be disabled.
Comment: The problem and this solution are not restricted to Samsung. Asus has a power saver with 4 levels, two of which turn off networks when asleep.


Renewing a wildcard SSL certificate in IIS 6 (1024 to 2048 bit)

Question: I currently have a wildcard SSL certificate running on IIS 6 and needs to be renewed.  The new certificate bit-strength is now 2048 (the current one that needs to be renewed is 1024).  Is there any easy way to get a certificate request file that is 2048 bit when renewing from a 1024?
I don't see the option to change bit strength for renewing an SSL certificate (I only see this when creating a totally new one from scratch).
Comment: This should be asked on serverfault.com. I dont' have enough rep to move it though.
Comment: At least it gets answered here though. SF grumps would have closed the question.
Answer: I recently had to do this very same thing, and the way I did it was I had to remove the current certificate completely, then add a new certificate fresh, otherwise, I could not figure out how to update the CSR from 1024 to 2048, which is now a requirement.
So, to answer your question, remove the current certificate first (this might be tricky if it's a busy online store), then go through the wizard and switch the CSR from 1024 to 2048.
Not the best answer, I know, but the only one I could seem to find right off (and the easiest)
Answer: Be warned about trying to get clever with this one. I just got myself in a big mess trying to do exactly this same thing without any downtime.
What I did was :

create another website and generate a cert request for that. made sure to put in the correct common name when generating the request.
I downloaded the certificate that was generated and installed it in my 'Personal' certificates for the Local Computer account (after adding certificate snap in).
Did 'replace' on the main website for the certificate and chose the new updated one.

I ended up getting this error (as reported by Chrome) when accessing the https site.
(net::ERR_SSL_PROTOCOL_ERROR): Unknown error
After playing around and switching back to the original certificate I ended up just removing it and re-keying the certificate. It only led to 1-2 minutes of downtime.
I do think that if you do what I was attempting in the correct order you'd be fine. I think you need to export the .pfx file and then import that. I think whats happening is the original server didnt have the correct private key or something like that and was getting confused.
So I'm upvoting calweb :-)


Is it possible to determine if you were on a Möbius strip?

Question: I understand that if you were to walk on the surface of a Möbius strip you would have the same perspective as if you walked on the outer surface of a cylinder. However, would it be possible for someone to determine whether they were on a Möbius strip or cylinder.
Comment: The possible answers depend heavily on the details of the question- are you actually a small three-dimensional person walking on a mobius strip, and if so, can you go "over the edge" or dig through the strip?  Or are you a 2-dimensional being in a 2-dimensional mobius strip space?  Are you allowed to leave things behind or otherwise "mark" where you've been?
Comment: To add to @MartianInvader's questions, is this strip embedded in $\mathbb{R}^3$, so that its curvature in the ambient space can be detected? Or is it a flat rectangle with edges identified without twisting and bending?
Comment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mdEsouIXGM
Comment: @GTonyJacobs A cylinder is considered flat in the sense that a creature living inside the surface cannot do local measurements that tells it that its world isn't flat. In contrast, a creature living in a spherical surface can measure a circle's circumference and discover that it is not quite $2\pi r$.
Comment: @GTonyJacobs https://arxiv.org/abs/1408.3034 This is in the book.  If I understand it correctly, you can wrap a strip around three cylinders (like the recycling symbol) to get a developable Mobius band.
Comment: Maybe a duplicate: https://math.stackexchange.com/questions/465594/can-a-2d-person-walking-on-a-m%c3%b6bius-strip-prove-that-its-on-a-m%c3%b6bius-strip
Comment: @GTonyJacobs Note that a flat rectangle with edges oppositely identified can be embedded in $\Bbb R^3$ as well, it's just a bit more difficult.
Comment: @Arthur, can you sat more about that? I don't see how that's possible...
Comment: @GTonyJacobs It's what happens when you take a strip of paper and perform the gluing assuming the paper doesn't stretch.  There's a book about this called "The Mechanics of Ribbons and Mobius Bands" which has a proof that the Mobius strip is "developable."
Comment: Is there a summary that can be provided, other than, "buy the book"?
Comment: How is wrapping around cylinders consistent with "flat"?
Comment: I feel I must add that this question refers to a Möbius strip, but really is asking about a Möbius strip $\times I$.  Which is an orientable 3-manifold with boundary, as opposed to the non-orientable 2-manifold.  If you were on a Möbius strip and "made a mark," when you came around to the other side, you would be able to see the mark, as was mentioned somewhere.
Answer: If we imagine that we're walking on a broad walkway, and that we can't peek over the edge, either at the lateral surface or to the other side, then I don't think there's a way to tell. Suppose the walkway has a handrail, on "both" sides, and you start marking the handrail as you keep your right hand on it. After completing a full loop, you'll be underneath the point across the walkway from where you started. From there, you won't see any mark yet made, because you're underneath the path on which you started. If you keep going, you'll eventually, after another loop, return to the point where you started, and the only mark you see will be on your handrail, not on the handrail across the road to your left.
What has happened here is clearer if you consider what happens when we cut a mobius strip along its midline. Making that cut adds a second edge, producing a normal loop, one edge of which is the original edge of the mobius strip, and the other edge of which is produced by the cut. The walk described in the above paragraph is a walk along one edge of the resulting loop.
If we can reach down and mark the lateral edge of our path, then there's a way to tell. We make regular marks (or a continuous mark) along the lateral edge to our right, and occasionally we check across the path on our left, to see if any marks are on the lateral edge of the path there. Halfway along the complete (2-loop) walk, you would notice marks on the left side, made from "underneath" the path. That would be evidence that you're on a mobius path.
Comment: You use an ink composed of parts of your own blood, and do a DNA test. Then you can only be fooled by an identical twin, which is the usual risk level for mathematical hypotheticals.
Comment: @Vincent: Good point. Instead of a check mark, GTJ should write the ciphertext of the encrypted datetime with said blood, and place it in a lockbox which will open only when presented with a photon with the polarization of one he brings with him.
Comment: How would you determine that someone hadn't made the check marks before you?
Comment: This does not work if you cannot see underneath, as it should be the case
Comment: But can you see the outside edge? That's not underneath.
Comment: @DNA: you could also be fooled by someone having a sample of your blood - no need a twin.
Comment: Is direction of polarization of light preserved on a circuit of nonorientable surface? I should probably have my twin wait at the start point while I take that walk.
Answer: The boundary of a cylinder is homeomorphic to two circles $S^1 \sqcup S^1$ and the boundary of a mobius strip is homeomorphic to one circle $S^1$, i.e. a mobius strip only has one edge.
Comment: True, but I hazard a guess that we need an algorithm for a person walking on a Möbius strip/cylinder to detect that the boundary is/is not connected. The OP didn't specify the rules of the game, but it often (?) is intended that the observer is allowed to make local observations only. Possibly leaving a trail of paint :-). I don't know for sure. We could wait for the OP to comment.
Comment: I apologize, I don't think I made it clear enough in my explanation. The person walking this mobius strip would not be able to paint the edge itself but only the surface that touches the edge. If you could paint the edge itself this would work, however this is not valid for this situation. And to double check what I am trying to say, I have made a mobius strip and that does not work unless you can paint the edge, not the surface on the edge.
Comment: But I do think that this may be the best idea. We can traverse an edge, leaving a trail of paint. After completing a round trip, if we later stumble upon an unpainted edge we will know that it wasn't a Möbius strip.
Comment: @StevenWallace here's what is amazing about it: the right edge would actually be painted.
Comment: That would work assuming that you could see the edge itself, but for a person on the surface of the strip that can only interact with it in 2d then I am not sure if that would work. For example if you walked to the left until you get to the edge and then followed and painted it in red until it connects, you should then be able to walk right until you hit the edge again and it should be unpainted which should be true for a cylinder as well assuming you can't actually walk on the edge.
Comment: @KyleMiller if the observer is 'on' the strip and can't observe points on the 'other side' of the surface then they are actually on the (orientation) double cover of the surface, which for a Mobius band is the same as a cylinder.
Comment: For this specific example the observer can only move in 2d on the surface and therefore would not be able to determine that the two sides of the path they are traveling is actually a single edge.
Comment: If you can see the actual edge, that's one thing, but if all you can see is the surface adjacent to an edge, then @StevenWallace is correct.
Comment: @StevenWallace What I was getting at in my suggestion that you don't have a positive ID of the type of surface after completing that paint job. But, you will have only painted a single connectivity component of the edge (or rather, paved a road hugging the edge). Then much later, after wandering randomly along the surface, if you somehow find an edge without that painted road, at that point you can deduce that it was not a Möbius strip (because the edge had more than one connectivity component). The problem is, of course, that no one has specified a strategy to take us to that "other edge".
Comment: This is really a question of whether you are walking on the surface of a thickened Möbius strip, which contains the oriented double cover--a cylinder, versus whether you are on the actual Möbius strip itself. If so, you can see the paint from "both" sides, so the distinction is not relevant.
Comment: What if it is an open cylinder or Mobius band with geometry so that the "edge" is infinitely far away?
Comment: @ronno That doesn't address what I was talking about: what if the space is a quotient of $[0,1]\times\mathbb{R}$? Then there are no boundaries, so this characterization by boundary components wouldn't work.
Answer: Clearly the two surfaces are not homeomorphic, but from the perspective of the individual on the strip itself, I'm fairly certain it would be identical, though I'm not sure how to prove the general case. Both have 0 curvature so that's a no go, and no matter what type of markings you make, there is no way to differentiate having a single edge compared to two on a cylinder without allowing some type of puncture or extra dimension normal to the plane's surface. If you mark the ground using colors A and B at the edges, the spots where A overlaps B only happens on "opposite" sides, or where the surface is extended through the twist in connecting the sides, meaning you will have the perception of following two edges like on a cylinder.
Comment: Yeah. For a similar reason you cannot calculate the Euler characteristic of the surface by triangulating it. If you are on a Möbius strip, you end up triangulating the double cover.
Answer: Leave a piece of bacon on the strip, and then walk around the strip, and then eat it. If your body processes it like normal, then you are on a cylinder. If your body treats like a reversed-chirality strip of bacon, you are on a mobius band.
Comment: Is this the first use of bacon in an answer on Mathematics SE? If so, well done.
Comment: This only applies if you were a 2d creature embedded in the 2d manifold or perhaps if you were a 3d creature embedded in a 3d mobius tube of some kind, not as a 3d creature walking on a 2d surface.
Comment: @camden_kid [Nope](https://math.stackexchange.com/search?q=bacon+is%3Aanswer)
Answer: If you drive long enough all of a sudden you notice that everybody is driving on the wrong side of the street!
Answer: Let's talk about "flat" cylinders and Mobius strips, which means if you drew a triangle, the angles would add up to 180 degrees (versus curved space like a sphere or a Pringles(R) chip, where the sum of the angles are either more than or less than 180 degrees, respectively).  Paper loops will give flat space, but it is worth thinking about it in a slightly different way:
A way to imagine this kind of space is like in the game Asteroids, where if you go off the screen you end up on the other side.  A cylinder is a game of Asteroids where you can't go off the top or bottom sides, but if you go off the right side, you appear on the left side at the same height.  A Mobius strip is the same, but when you go off the right side at height $y$, you appear on the left side at height $1-y$ (where the screen is $1$ unit high).
Light travels in straight lines.  As a flatlander if you look in the $x$ direction, you would see the back of your head whether or not the space is a cylinder or a Mobius strip.  However, the back of your head will be reversed if it is a Mobius strip.
Comment: @Shufflepants I don't think it is clear to take that interpretation of the question.  If it were indeed about 3d people on the surface, then they could just look up and locate the twist (maybe? what does it even mean to be an actual 3d person on the surface of an abstract 2d space without specifying an embedding?).  The asker mentions "have the same perspective as if you walked on the outer surface of a cylinder," and my interpretation is that they mean that an embedded creature would locally experience flat Euclidean space.
Comment: @DarrenRinger If we must think about a 3d person, I was imagining that the gluing is done by a reflection through the XZ plane.  If you do use the gluing you had in mind, imagine Mobius man is able to pass through the strip as if it were water, and if they had an eye on either side of the strip, one eye will see the back of their head reversed, and the other will see the back of their head with the usual orientation and twice as far away.  (I believe http://geometrygames.org/CurvedSpaces/index.html have a mode illustrating what it would be like in such a 3d space but without the strip itself.)
Comment: This is only true of a person embedded in the 2d surface of the mobius strip, not of a 3d person walking on the surface.
Comment: @Shufflepants I might have cheated by thickening the space so there was anything to draw in perspective (geometry of Cartesian product with real line), or I might have drawn it ambiguously and those are embedded stick figures.
Comment: I point it out because the question at hand is asking about an actual 3d person on the surface, NOT about 2d creatures embedded in the 2d manifold. I'm saying your answer doesn't apply to the question being asked.
Comment: As I interpret this, the light from the back of your head would have to make a circuit of the entire strip (twice the length of the original construction in your "gluing patterns" diagram).  At the point where right is left, up is also down and you're only halfway around the strip.  By the time you come back to the original starting location right/left are restored, so the back of your head would appear not reversed but in the correct orientation.
Comment: I admit it's not super clear from the question directly, but it is from reading the OP's comments on some of the other answers.
Comment: @DarrenRinger Correction: with the double reflection gluing you were thinking of, that's just a 180 degree rotation, so you'll see the back of your head on both sides in the correct direction (neither reversed), but staggered as I said.
Answer: The question is not well defined to me. What do you mean by determine, what is available?
You could mark your starting point, start walking, and after you have gone 360 degrees you either see your marking (cylinder) or you don't (Mobius strip).
So, your question is equivalent to whether you can determine how many degrees you have rotated. If you have an external reference point, this is easy to do.
Another way, you could use a long band, white on a side, and white on the other side. You walk, leaving the band behind you, white face up. When you come back to the starting point, if it is still white, you are on a cylinder, otherwise, you are on a Mobius strip.
Answer: If you can't see "both sides" of the surface simultaneously from any point on the strip then I question whether it really is topologically a Möbius strip.
When I make a "Möbius strip" from a strip of paper, for example, writing on one side does not show through. But the physical strip of paper that I held in my hands and whose ends I taped together has two faces separated by a non-zero distance; in reality, its topology is much more like a torus than like a Möbius strip.
If we add the constraint that we cannot travel or communicate in any way over the edge of the paper from one face to the other, each short segment of that edge effectively cuts apart the two parts of the surface of the torus near that segment.
And if you actually cut the surface of the torus all the way along that edge, you end up with a strip with two twists.
The boundary of that surface is two circles.
So no, with the constraints that you are not allowed to actually occupy or color the points of a true topological Möbius strip, then you cannot distinguish it from a cylinder using only local observations.
Answer: Yes. When you return to the position of where you started, your right hand will be where your left hand was. Technically, this doesn't prove you're on a Mobius strip, only that you're on a non-orientable surface, but it's a step in the right direction.
Comment: This was written assuming that you're a flatlander, and that "sides of band" mean nothing to you.
Comment: You would be on the opposite side of the band
Answer: As a side note, there was an old Soviet SF novel about people living in a clearly artificial environment, where a social experiment is conducted. The place they live in is not necessarily a Möbius strip, but has some strange topological properties, such as there is a cliff on the one side and abyss on the other. People, who crash or are thrown down the abyss, "loop" and appear to have fallen from the cliff. There are some more, but that's a major spoiler.
And no, they did not notice.
Well, some did – of else we would not know it, as the story follows a protagonist, – but after an elaborate, arcane, and possibly out-of-that-world research which involved experiencing the non-mentioned further metric issues. The general populace never notices and did not bother.
Answer: I think that if there are two persons walking on a cylinder, one in front and one behind it at some distance, the person from back sees the person in front vertical, whereas on a Moebius strip, the person in back would see, at some point, the person in front ... off-vertical ?!
Answer: Assuming the person is held to the Mobius Strip or cylinder through a central gravitational force, yes.
That person would begin to feel differences as they walked. Since the Mobius Strip has only one side, and the gravitational direction is towards the center of the strip, the person would eventually feel like they were walking on a slope. Eventually, they'd need to climb along the walls, then ceiling, and so on.
Answer: Get a can of yellow paint, punch a hole in the bottom, and start walking along the boundary.  Assuming the traveler can measure angle, stop after 360 degrees.  Did your yellow paint drips complete the circle?  Or, do you see your paint trail across the road?
If you see it across the road, keep walking.  After another 360 degrees, did your paint trail close the loop?
Comment: After 360°, you would not only be across the road, but also underneath it. Therefore, you wouldn't see your paint trail across the road.
Comment: I was assuming our band was clear :)
Answer: For this purpose, I will assume that the 'strip' is seemingly straight walkway, with a barrier on either side, so you can't peer over the edge, and a fog or mist to prevent you seeing more than a couple of meters ahead or behind.  'Gravity' or and analogue always points towards the surface of the strip.  (Alternatively, the structure is in space and you are attached to a metal surface via magnets)
Draw a line down the center of the 'strip' you are on, until you reach the start again.  Then, drill a hole on the Right side of line through the entire depth of the strip, and follow the line until you find a hole.
If it is on the Right side of the line, you are on a cylinder.  If it is on the Left then you are on a Mobius Strip.
The important aspect is that you require some form of indication that can be identified from both sides of the strip/surface
Answer: To determine whether you are on a möbius strip you would need to change your position in a direction orthogonal to the shortest distance between the edges at your sides at the moment of measuring at your current location. If you are on a möbius strip, you will return to your original position after a traversal of 360 degrees times the number of turns in mobius where the number of turns is an odd number.
Answer: Get surveying tools.
Mark your starting location.
Using them, work out your the relative position in 3-space as you move along the path.
If you first return to your starting location (or right next to it) without being able to see the mark, then next return to it and see the mark, you are on a mobius strip or similar non-orientable surface.
You can work out the exact geometry by extremely careful surveying the shape.
If you cannot get surveying tools, try finding a geometer.
Answer: I don't think it's the same as walking on a cylinder. On the strip you should see at least 3 different stages: 1. walking as on the cylinder (i.e. not seeing too far away - low horizon). 2. turn to right 3. Go up (like being on the bottom of a hill). Repeat.
So it should be possible by measuring the vector of the forces if forces are available. In this case it's easy.
Answer: I assume the Möbius band is a compact surface with boundary $(M, \partial M)$.  The question is a local to global question. Triangulate the surface, record all the incidences and use this information to compute the relative homology $H_2(M, \partial M)$ with real coefficients. It should be zero telling you that you live on a non-orientable surface. By computing $H_1(M)$ you can then detect that this non-orientable surface is a Möbius band.


Surjective function: Discrete Maths

Question:
How to know whether this function is surjective or not? I know that we have represent x in terms of y and then substitute some value of y for which the domain of x is not satisfied, but for this sum, how to represent x in terms of y?
Answer: The function is surjective if the equation $x^2+2x-y=0$ has real solutions no matter what real value y takes.
Take $y=-2$ and the equation does not have real roots. Therefore the function $y=x^2+2x$ is not surjective.
Comment: I use the quadratic formula to find the x and observe that for y=-2 I do not obtain a real value for x
Comment: How you got this value $y=-2$?
Answer: Note the definition of surjectivity:

For a function $f:A\to B$ to be surjective, we need that for every $y \in B$ there exists an $x\in A$ such that $f(x) = y$.

If $f$ is a function such that $$f:\mathbb R \to \mathbb R$$ $$f(x) = x^2 + 2x,$$ then note that if $f$ were surjective, we should be able to take any number (let's say) $-5\in \mathbb R$ (which is our $B$ here) such that an $x\in \mathbb R$ (which is also our $A$) makes $f(x) = -5$. But can $f$ ever reach $-5$?
Comment: Got it, thanks..but it looks more or less like trial and error, is there any particular approach?
Comment: @HIRAKMONDAL, the trick to solving these kinds of problems is to try and solve the equation $y = x^2 + 2x$ explicitly for $x$. Solving this equation for $x$ yields $x = \pm\sqrt{y + 1} - 1$, which introduces the nasty $\pm$; this is a tell-tale sign that the function cannot be surjective. Once you know that, you just need to pick some $y$ value that you know the function can never reach. In this case, I just pick some number lower than the minimum (which is $-1$) from the codomain, which is all reals. I need to be able to pick any number from the codomain and solve for $x$ explicitly.
Comment: @HIRAKMONDAL. I ran out of characters in the last comment. If you **can** explicitly solve the equation for $x$, then you may run the $x$ through the function to show that it equals $y$. For example, we can show that the function $f:\mathbb R \to \mathbb R$ with $f(x) = 2x+3$ is surjective because if we take $y = 2x + 3$ and solve for $x$, we get $x = {y - 3\over 2}$, which we could explicitly solve for $x$. If we run the $x$ through $f$, we should be able to show that we can get whatever $y$ we choose: $$f(x) = f\left({y-3\over2}\right) = 2\left({y-3\over2}\right) + 3 = y - 3 + 3 = y.$$
Answer: As far as I understand, the purpose of this exercise is to use familiar functions to help students develop a better understanding of the concept of surjectivity. One idea is that for functions $y=f(x)$ from $\color{blue}{\mathbb{R}}$ to $\color{magenta}{\mathbb{R}}$, you can use the usual graph of the function to see if the function is surjective or not.
Plot the graph of $y=f(x)$, such as $y=x^2+2x$ in this example (I bet you know its shape), and see what its range is. Such a function is surjective precisely when for each $y\in\color{magenta}{\mathbb{R}}$ there's at least one point $x\in\color{blue}{\mathbb{R}}$ such that $f(x)=y$. That's a mouthful, but it's the same as saying that the range of the function is the entire $\color{magenta}{\mathbb{R}}=(-\infty,+\infty)$. For functions in the Cartesian $x,y$-plane, it's the Horizontal Line Test.

Surjective function: Discrete Maths


Localized Display Name for English languages not working

Question: This is really strange iOS problem.
I want to localise my current English application for the USA, by adding en_US.
By default, when localizing a file, it creates an English.lproj, and I add an en_US.lproj, assuming that would be used by en_US users. It isn't.
It looks like iOS takes the English.lproj language as a priority over the region specific, according to https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/MacOSX/Conceptual/BPInternational/Articles/LanguageDesignations.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/20002144-130599 where it states "The same application on the iPhone would look only in the en.lproj directory."
Therefore I implemented this workaround which does the trick : iPhone App Localization - English problems?
However, now I want to localise the CFBundleDisplayName for the en_US application, but I'm getting hit with the same problem. It ignores my en_US localized infoPlist.strings and takes the English infoPlist.strings value.
Is this a huge oversight by Apple? What are my options? Create en_ localized versions for all english speaking regions to ensure they get the English, and US get's en_US?
Answer: In IOS region based localization is not possible. In IOS English means en_US,British English means en_GB. For other english based region you can used right thing :)


Oracle Sizing pl/sql how to get past database size information?

Question: I am learning Pl\sql developer and just starting to learn about DBA activities. I have been asked to get the sizing information of the past monthly growth of databases and tables. any suggestions?
Answer: I'm assuming you don't have access to AWR due to insane licensing cost, but if you do, that is easily obtainable there. This will help you figure out what you need: http://www.dba-oracle.com/t_v_datafile_database_size.htm
Moreover, you can use STATSPACK to track this, it's essentially the manual AWR. Another resource: https://asktom.oracle.com/pls/apex/f?p=100:11:0::::P11_QUESTION_ID:7867887875624
From Burleson Consulting (http://www.dba-oracle.com/t_database_growth_statspack.htm):

The STATSPACK tables do not have a special table for database growth,
  but you can query the STATSPACK tables to compute the growth over a
  specific period of time like this:

Tracking_oracle_database_tables_growth with STATSPACK

Note that you have to create a STATSPACK extension table, but you can
  get some great growth reports from STATSPACK data.


What different moves can Professor Oak's Mew learn?

Question: Pokémon Masters recently added Professor Oak as a playable character, with a Mew as his Sync Partner. One of their Passive Skills is "Oak's Research", for which the description is:

Replaces some of the user's moves with different moves after using a sync move.

Is is known what these "different moves" are? Is there a set pool of moves Mew can learn through its Passive Skill, or can it randomly learn any move in the game - Lance's Hyper Beam, for example?
Answer: Mew will learn fire blast, thunder and blizzard. All of them cost 3 move bars


Can I ship my stuff from London to New York storage facility and pick it up later?

Question: I'm moving from London to New York. However, I don't have an apartment in New York yet so I'll be staying in budget hotels and hostels until I can find an apartment. I have around 20kg worth of excess stuff that I'd like to ship, but I don't know my address destination yet. So, is it possible to ship my stuff from London to some storage facility in New York and then I can pick it up later or have it delivered later once I'm settled in the new location? Is there such a company that does it in London and New York?
Answer: The keyword you want to search for is "bonded warehouse". I've done this elsewhere - ship to "Me, c/o Bonded warehouse, Border Town USA".
The warehouse will hold your stuff until you pick up the documentation, visit customs, and bring the clearance documents back. This probably will NOT work with the postal system - they are a bonded warehouse of sorts and things need to clear customs before continuing on.
Note that these places tend to be in the back end of airports or well-buried in the port area. You have to go there twice, and customs once (customs could be many km away). If you are not familiar with the process expect it to consume the full day and a decent amount of money. I would expect the excess-baggage fee to be cheaper.
Can you have someone in the UK mail it after you get an apartment?
Comment: Your books and clothes require clearance. You will not be paying any taxes on them, but customs must agree that no taxes are due and release the shipment. Exactly the same thing happens when you roll your suitcase through customs at the airport, just a bit faster.
Comment: It looks like bonded warehouses are for imported goods or some stuff that requires clearance, but I just have books and clothes.
Answer: I agree with Paul that what you need is a bonded warehouse, but you may also be able to contact relocating companies and have them hold your stuff for you.
The upside to doing this is that you won't have to run around the place chasing documents and getting clearances, but the downside is that you may be required to have a minimum amount of "stuff" before the company would take your business.
Most hotels will also accept your luggage for you - if you already know where you will be staying you can then ship your goods to the hotel (call ahead and let them know to expect a shipment for you). I have yet to have this request rejected, but colleagues have had experiences where the hotel refused to sign for the package unless the guest has informed them ahead of time (for security reasons) - and in one case, my friend was refused because he was not checked in yet.
I have to say 20 KG is nothing - you can save yourself a lot of hassle by just paying the excess baggage fee and then having your stuff with you when you fly. By far and away, this is the best option.


QGIS2web pop-up multiple font-types

Question: I've got a pop-up for a layer with more than one attribute for the layer in question. I would like to make the first attribute in the popup appear with a bold font and a different color. Anyone have any idea?
Answer: Open the file css/qgis2web.css from your exported map in a text editor, and add the following to the end:
.leaflet-popup-content tr:first-of-type {
    font-weight: bold;
    color: red;
}

Obviously change the colour to suit your needs.
Answer: As far as I know there is no straight forward way to do this in the plugin.
A workaround is to open the .html file in an editor, and add  tag or any other formatting tag for the field that you want to highlight, like so:

I've added a  tag for the top row
var popupContent = '
\

\
                    Imagery Date	\
                    ' + (feature.properties['Imagery Date'] !== null ? Autolinker.link(String(feature.properties['Imagery Date'])) : '') + '	\

\

\
                    Area (sq. meters)	\
                    ' + (feature.properties['Area (sq. meters)'] !== null ? Autolinker.link(String(feature.properties['Area (sq. meters)'])) : '') + '	\

\

';

It is displayed so:

QGIS2web pop-up multiple font-types


rsyslog adding unwanted text to outbound log data

Question: I'm using rsyslog to send access & error log data to a remote server.  The interface is in place, but I'm getting an extra bit of text in the outbound log data that isn't included in /var/log/http/access_log.
Here's a snippet from an access_log entry.  220.127.116.11 is my IP address, and 184.108.40.206 is the appserver's IP.

220.127.116.11 126.96.36.199 - - [29/Jun/2015:11:57:58 -0400] "GET /somepage.php HTTP/1.1" 200 443 20

Corresponding outbound log data sent by rsyslog using
tcpdump -vv -s 0 -A dst port 514 from the appserver (sending machine):

<173>Jun 29 11:57:58 appserver acoder: 184.108.40.206 126.96.36.199 - -
  [29/Jun/2015:11:57:58 -0400] "GET /somepage.php HTTP/1.1" 200 443 20

How do I remove the first few segments of the outbound log data?  Specifically:
Jun 29 11:57:58 appserver acoder:

I'd like that string removed so the only thing that is being sent is exactly what is in the access_log shown in the first quote above.
httpd.conf
#
# LogLevel: Control the number of messages logged to the error_log.
# Possible values include: debug, info, notice, warn, error, crit,
# alert, emerg.
#
# LogLevel warn
LogLevel debug

#
# The following directives define some format nicknames for use with
# a CustomLog directive (see below).

LogFormat "%h %A %l %u %t \"%r\" %>s %p %b" combined
LogFormat "%h %A %l %u %t \"%r\" %>s %p %b" common

LogFormat "%{Referer}i -> %U" referer
LogFormat "%{User-agent}i" agent

rsyslog.conf
# rsyslog v5 configuration file

# For more information see /usr/share/doc/rsyslog-*/rsyslog_conf.html
# If you experience problems, see http://www.rsyslog.com/doc/troubleshoot.html

#### MODULES ####

$ModLoad imuxsock # provides support for local system logging (e.g. via logger command)
$ModLoad imklog   # provides kernel logging support (previously done by rklogd)

#### GLOBAL DIRECTIVES ####

# Use default timestamp format
$ActionFileDefaultTemplate RSYSLOG_TraditionalFileFormat

# Include all config files in /etc/rsyslog.d/
$IncludeConfig /etc/rsyslog.d/*.conf

#### RULES ####

# Log anything (except mail) of level info or higher.
# Don't log private authentication messages!
*.info;mail.none;authpriv.none;cron.none                /var/log/messages

# The authpriv file has restricted access.
authpriv.*                                              /var/log/secure

# Log all the mail messages in one place.
mail.*                                                  -/var/log/maillog

# Log cron stuff
cron.*                                                  /var/log/cron

# Everybody gets emergency messages
*.emerg                                                 *

# Save news errors of level crit and higher in a special file.
uucp,news.crit                                          /var/log/spooler

# Save boot messages also to boot.log
local7.*                                                /var/log/boot.log

# ### begin forwarding rule ###
# The statement between the begin ... end define a SINGLE forwarding
# rule. They belong together, do NOT split them. If you create multiple
# forwarding rules, duplicate the whole block!
# Remote Logging (we use TCP for reliable delivery)
#
# An on-disk queue is created for this action. If the remote host is
# down, messages are spooled to disk and sent when it is up again.

local5.*;local6.* @syslog.my.organization.tld:514

# ### end of the forwarding rule ###

Answer: The parts that you're trying to remove are written by the receiving rsyslog daemon, not by the sender, and cannot be removed. They're part of the log format for rsyslog.
Comment: I'm viewing output sent from the app server with `tcpdump -vv -s 0 -A dst port 514`.   So you are saying that the rsyslog log format cannot be edited beyond what is done in httpd.conf's `LogFormat` section?
Comment: Yeah this answer is not fully correct.   I changed the log output by using `$template myFormat,"%msg%\n"` and `local5.*;local6.* @syslog.my.organization.tld:514;myFormat`.   Still have a bit of tweaking to do, but the text `Jun 29 11:57:58 appserver acoder:` is now gone.


Best scenario for replication type

Question: We are using SQL Server 2012 and we have the Main office server. All modification on the product pricing table is done through the Main office.
We have 10 remote sales branches. Those remotes branches need to be updated by the products prices from the main office (read-only data, not changed by the branches). Each branch has an unique code to be identified.
All the sales process performed by the remote branches only. We need all the sales invoice tables (header & details) in the branches to be sent to the main office for consolidation and other activities.
In summary we need to send items table to the 10 remote branches and receive from the remote branches two tables (salesHeader and salesDetails tables).
Which replication type is good for our situation?
Answer: Sounds easy. You need transactional replication for read only pricing data and merge for salesHeader and salesDetails.

Best scenario for replication type