Ads in a desktop game?

Question: For my Destiny Garden project, which is a desktop game, I want to use freemium monetisation strategy, so I plan to publish both free demo version and a paid full version, and I'm wandering is there any advertisement networks for desktop games? There are dozens of them for mobile games, but I cannot find any for a desktop app  Theoretically, something like embedding of an HTML-page with ads is possible, but I'm not sure this is a good approach... Or, does anybody knows other ways of monetisation of free desktop games?
Comment: This doesn't really answer your question very well. But I think you will find a serious backlash from players if there are ads in a desktop game. I'm not saying that's fair or good, just what would probably happen. One of the most popular ways to monetize F2P desktop games is to sell cosmetic items with no gameplay value. Fortnite, Rocket League, etc.
Comment: @Almo thanks for your reply! I'm much more experienced in gamedev than in playing games themselves, but I had a feeling that ads are really unusual for desktop games
Answer: Ads in desktop games can receive a significant backlash, but there's a way around that.  Rewarded Video Ads are optional, and are all over my apps now.  Here's a quick explanation:
<< Rewarded video ads are one of the most popular mobile types of in-app ads. Publishers, advertisers, and gamers – everybody can benefit from rewarded video ads. ...
When players watch a rewarded video ad, they receive a reward in exchange. That can be any kind of in-game benefit like extra lives, currency, points, etc. This gives players the incentive to watch through the whole ad. And the only thing required from the players is their time and maybe attention. >>
https://www.blog.udonis.co/mobile-marketing/mobile-games/rewarded-video-ads
I use DuoLingo to study foreign languages and if you want to get free Gems, you have to watch a video.  Then you get the gems... but you have to wait an hour or so before you have the option to watch another Rewarded Video.  (I imagine the rate limiting is just to prevent someone from watching tons of videos to earn gems and avoid buying them.)
For your RPG, you could make it so that if you want a powerup of some kind... you can watch a Rewarded Video and earn it that way.  Or maybe they earn Gems which they can use to buy your powerup... or if they don't want to earn it that way, they can just outright buy the powerups with cash.
I always thought skins and cosmetics were huge for free games but this video had a great overview on monetization that puts skins/cosmetics in perspective:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3_Oe0SD1rc
His point was that the most profitable microtransactions are those that reduce the amount of grinding a player has to do.  Maybe this is why there's so much grinding in free games these days!
Comment: Hi! Thank you for the answer, but actually the question was about appropriate ads networks for desktop games/apps, not about the design and mechanics `(:`
Comment: You did ask if there were any other ways to monetise desktop games.
Comment: @AivanF. ah apologies, i was responding to this part of your post: "does anybody knows other ways of monetisation of free desktop games?"  best of luck to you with your app!

Ads in a desktop game?


How can I tell if my friend is broadcasting their location from an iPad vers an iPhone?

Question: I wondered if there was a way to tell the device being used to broadcast a location in Find My Friends. As in, if someone switched over their location from iPhone to iPad to show that they were at one place and left their iPad there to broadcast the location but weren't actually there?
Answer: This is not possible to tell without physical access to one of the devices to look in the settings.
Comment: Well that sucks. I guess if you don't trust someone you probably shouldn't be friends with them.
Comment: What about how the orange circle shows the location? The person is on the road verse being in the house?
Comment: @xxezwki The circle simply shows the location that is being broadcast for that particular Apple ID. The device which is broadcasting its location can be chosen in settings on one of the devices. It is not possible for someone else to find out which device this is without looking in settings on one of the devices which could be broadcasting the location (i.e. is logged in with the Apple ID).


I too have knocked off a component from the underside of my Pi 4 board. HELP

Question: I too have knocked off a component from the underside of my Pi 4 board, a result of a poorly designed case. I could use help to identify the component. As I am dyslexic reading a schematic sends me around the block a few times. Just looking at the board I am assuming that the part is a resistor and having to do with the Wi-Fi circuit.  Attached are pics of the problem.  Thanks for any help from anyone.
----------
Answer: There are no schematics published for the Raspberry Pi. Only reduced schematics are available, which show connectors and parts of the power distribution circuit. You won't find that resistor in there.
From the looks of it this could be a pull-up / pull-down of some sort. If I had to do this without any schematic, I would solder a 100 kOhm resistor and see if the board boots up. If not, I would then try 10 kOhm, 1 kOhm and finally 100 Ohm, and if none of them would work, I'd get a new board.
Comment: @tlfong01 Could be the same (especially the first 3 from the left), but not necessarily. Measuring just one out of four is in no way a guarantee that the remaining three have the same value.
Comment: The four little guys look like twin brothers from the same family, perhaps all 4k7 or 10k. I would do the following for fun: (1) desolder one the three remaining, and use a multimeter to check the value, which is very likely 4k7 or 10k. (2) put back two through hole 4k7/10k resistors (yes, no need SMD), and see if you have luck.
Comment: Ha, talk is cheap, let us measure it. My cheapy multi-meter says ***all four brothers are 1k8***, very likely I2C pullups. Green Fields - Brothers Four 3,802,575 views
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46o1joHp7t0


How to save a session variable in drupal 7?

Question: i would like use a variable session ($_session) but it doesn't work in Drupal 7. What are the possibilities in Drupal 7 in order to save variable session.
Answer: You can try this.
function lists_session($key, $value = NULL) {
  static $storage;
  if ($value) {
    $storage[$key] = $value ;
    $_SESSION['lists'][$key] = $value ;   // I use 'lists' in case some other module uses 'type' in $_SESSION
  }
  else if (empty($storage[$key]) && isset($_SESSION['lists'][$key])) {
    $storage[$key] = $_SESSION['lists'][$key];
  }
  return $storage[$key];
}

So, to save a variable in Session:
lists_session("s_key", "value");

And to retrieve the value, just use:
$myVar = lists_session("s_key");

Comment: You can use [`drupal_session_start()`](https://api.drupal.org/api/drupal/includes!session.inc/function/drupal_session_start/7). It will start the session if it is not already started.
Comment: You shouldn't need to call ```drupal_session_start()```. As soon as data is added to ```$_SESSION``` then Drupal will save that session at the end of the request. If you have to call ```drupal_session_start()``` directly then something is wrong.
Comment: Note ([as described on drupal.org](https://www.drupal.org/node/360542#comment-1446254)), if someone else wonders: `static $storage` is used to save the data for the *current request* and `$_SESSION` is used to save the data for *future requests*.
Comment: Do we also need a session_start or one already exists in drupal?
Comment: For someone get stuck in using $_SESSION. If @MuhammadReda's answer does not help. Please check your database have user with uid=0 [link]https://www.drupal.org/node/315830 and remember Configuration > Performance > Clear Cache
Answer: I have no problem of using the $_SESSION variable in my own module. Just keep in mind to create a unique sub key for your data.
$_SESSION['mydata'] = array(of your data);

Comment: $_SESSION variable works in Drupal 7. So something in your own code is not working. Have you tested you code in other enviroment?
Comment: I would like to have access to session variables in a php page. This page is available on my drupal website with the lightbox2 module. And i need to use session variables to communicate between theses pages. So, the code is : $_SESSION['background_menu'] = 'yellow';

And in my php page : echo $_SESSION['background_menu']?> I have also the session_start but it doesn't work. Help :)
Comment: The Drupal bootstrap will do the session_start. So how is your php-code run. Is it a drupal module or do you have standalone php-scripts?
Answer: Remember to serialise your data such as array, obj... before save to session.
$arr = array();
$_SESSION['mysession'] = serialise($arr);


DEX and settlement

Question: I have a question regarding the Stellar DEX. My understanding is that the book building and order matching is done by the protocol itself. Orders are placed through APIs such as Stellar X, Stellar Term or others. But what is the sequence once the buy/sell orders have been matched? How work the settlement? Is it still within the protocol or it has to happen on a different platform (with peer to peer interaction?). Apologies, I am a finance guy, no a tech guy, hence have limitations on the code understanding ! Many thanks for your feedback
Comment: Actually, when you buy/sell assets on SDEX, you buy/sell a Stellar representation of the asset issued by someone (an account). For exemple, you don't buy BTC on SDEX, but a stellar version of BTC. If you want to start using your BTC, you have to withdraw through Stellar BTC issuer (i.e the company who issued your Stellar version of BTC like https://naobtc.com). The SDEX kept track of the order, so there are proofs that your Stellar public key owns the asset. The withdraw is done off-chain (off Stellar). I'm wondering what's the proof that issuer really owns assets.
It seems that buyer must tru
Comment: That's correct, there's no way to verify on-chain that the anchor has what they claim to. That's the original motivation behind "trustlines"—to hold an asset, you need to explicitly opt-in and indicate that you trust them. https://www.stellar.org/developers/guides/concepts/assets.html#trustlines
Answer: When a user creates an order, the corresponding amount of the tokens to sell is automatically locked on her balance (the outstanding amount on orders is listed as selling_liabilities on the account properties). Once another user submits a crossing order, a trade is executed automatically. Both users immediately receive bought tokens on their balances.
All DEX components including the orders management, orderbook, matching, and settlement are implemented on the protocol level.
StellarX, StellarTerm, StellarPort, Interstellar and others offer a fancy user interface that simplifies the interaction with the ledger. However, all order manipulations and trades are executed directly on-chain in a form of transactions, so Stellar DEX is truly a decentralized peer-to-peer exchange on the blockchain.

DEX and settlement


JD L110 cranks but does not start

Question: My John Deere L110 Riding Mower all of a sudden has decided not to start.  I turn the key and it cranks, but does not start.  By looking at the fuel filter, it appears there is no gas in the filter.  I have verified that the fuel line is flowing well and that there is gasoline in the tank.  The engine has been serviced recently including a new spark plug.
Comment: Welcome to Motor Vehicle Maintenance & Repair! You state you have "verified that the fuel line is flowing" ... at what point have you determined it's flowing? Is it at the end where it is at the carb? This would seem weird to me because the fuel filter should be between the tank and the carb, which would mean the fuel *should be flowing* through the filter. I'd suggest you figure out at what point the fuel stops flowing and that will help you diagnose what's going on. I would think if the float was stuck, it wouldn't prevent the filter from having fuel in it.
Answer: It's clear to me that you have identified the main cause of this: Fuel is NOT getting into the engine.
You noted that there doesn't appear to be any fuel in the fuel filter, so the next step is to determine WHY that is the case.
Is there a fuel shut-off valve?
Is there a fuel screen that is blocked?
Is the fuel line pinched or clogged?
What about the carburetor? If it's clogged it will prevent fuel from flowing.  If the float it stuck that will also block fuel from flowing.
Comment: A sticking float or needle valve would be my first guess. I had one of my generators stop working a while ago for exactly that, and a motorcycle I bought this year had dad the carbs cleaned for the same reason - I took them apart since it still wasn't running well, though it turned out to be a damaged fuel pump, probably also related to gumming. Engines that don't run often are prone to accumulation of gum in the float bowl.

JD L110 cranks but does not start


Creating Archimedean Pentagon Spiral in Illustrator

Question: Does anyone know how to create an Archimedean Pentagon Spiral in Illustrator without having to hand-draw or using the Blend tool?  A script where the math can be controlled would be ideal.
Comment: Your image does not look pentagonal to me.
Comment: Stop! My eyes are hurting! :)
Comment: A grid made of triangles strikes me as a good start, you could just merge them accordingly with the shape composer but this will not allow to control the math. When I google Archimedean Pentagon Spiral the images I get are not as close to the example your provide. This may be of interest... https://graphicdesign.stackexchange.com/questions/92700/how-do-i-design-this-logarithmic-phyllotactic-like-pattern-in-illustrator/92705#92705
Comment: The attached image is an example of an Polygonal Archimedean Spiral, not necessarily pentagonal.
Comment: Well, the interpolation of jooGraphFunction.could be modified so that it does not try to fit the tangents. IN fact it is present in teh s script itself replace text "plotSmooth"  on line 198 with "plotLinear"
Answer: I have updated jooGraphFunction so that you can now choose to plot with linear segments via the new method drop down.

Image 1: Example of linear method.
Hopefully somebody else also finds this useful. I was planning to also add a option for a 2D plot (like in this post), unfortunately changes for this are on hold. Hopefully somebody finds this small change done so far useful in their day to day work.

Image 2: Just for fun.
Comment: Sorry for the moire ;P
Answer: Here's a script to make a round Archimedian spiral which I found by googling. Perhaps you could modify it. Sadly, it's beyond my ablities to do so.
Alternatively, if 'joining the dots' is OK, create a grid with the Polar grid tool, ungroup it, and delete the horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines.
Transform a line with 72 degree rotations around the centre of the polar grid, and turn everything into guides.
Enable Smart Guides and snapping, and draw your spiral with the Pen tool, by joining up the intersections.


I have a scoreboard that shows a player's health below their name. Is it possible to change the color of that?

Question: Basically, what I'm trying to say is, if a player drops below a certain number of HP, can I make it so that the color of the HP display (below their name) changes color? I want to have it so as long as the player is above 25% of their HP, the display stays white, but if they drop below that, the display turns yellow (to indicate if someone is low).
Answer: Maybe creating new scoreboard with other color that overplaces uncolored when player has low HP? Overplacing system can be made with
<code>/team join [low hp team] @a[nbt={Health:..5}]
</code>
or something like that should work.
If <code>{Health}</code> NBT isn't working, try with ""


Why does calling an Action, that is null, throw NullReferenceException?

Question: Why do I have to check if an Action is not null to avoid getting a NullReferenceException? Isn't it logical if there is no action, then it's okay to just do nothing and proceed? I don't understand why it has to throw an exception. Action is a class, why doesn't it handle this itself?
Comment: I'm confused that you've changed the accepted answer, despite the one which is now accepted not answering the actual question you asked, about *why* you're getting an exception.
Comment: I agree with @JonSkeet, specially because he's one of the smartest people on the site. You asked `why`, and the chosen answer doesn't present the `why`, while Jon's answer present both the `why` and `how` that you were looking for.
Comment: You never mentioned your reasons in your question, and as smart as we all are we are still not mind readers... Yes, we could have assumed your reasons behind it, but you know the saying "when you ASSUME you make an ASS out of U and ME"... I think the answer has to match the question, if you are looking for something else, you should ask it accordingly... But that's just my 2 cents on this.
Comment: Them's the rules, and they keep you safe. Why don't all errors just get swallowed? Then all programs would "work"!
Comment: Jon, come on, you're one of the smartest people on the site :) The actual underlying problem I had was finding a way to invoke the action without getting an exception if it was unset. The C# 6.0 `?.` thing works perfectly and is much more concise. This is why it's my personal answer of choice, and the rest of the users can vote on what they think is best.
Comment: @mFeinstein Jon might be smart, but the reason I asked was not related to that :p
Answer: You're trying to invoke an instance method (Invoke) on an object. Doing that always fails with a NullReferenceException if you're using a null reference1. For example:
 object x = null;
 string y = x.ToString();

Should object.ToString() handle that too?
Basically, this is consistent with the way the rest of the type system works. The C# language could have been designed in a different way - potentially only for the "shorthand" of action() meaning action.Invoke() - but it wasn't, and it's not going to change now.
It's easy enough to add your own extension method to Action if you want to:
public static class ActionExtensions
{
    public static void NullSafeInvoke(this Action action)
    {
        if (action != null)
        {
            action();
        }
    }
}

Or use the C# 6 null-conditional operator to only invoke the delegate when the reference is non-null:
myAction?.Invoke();

(This works for any delegate type, not just actions - for EventHandler for example, you'd use something like handler?.Invoke(this, new EventArgs()). The EventArgs() constructor won't even be called if handler is null.)

1 At least using C#. There are ways of invoking instance methods non-virtually "on" null references in IL, but it's far from the normal.
Comment: I think I'll use the extension.
Comment: In VB I'm getting *'NullSafeInvoke' is not a member of 'System.Action'*. All of my other dozens of extension methods right beside it work without complaint. Is there something special we have to do to wire up an `Action` extension method?
Comment: Never mind, it was a build/reference issue. Thanks! +1
Answer: Since C# 6.0 you can:
myAction?.Invoke();

No extension methods needed.
Comment: Are you asking for C# language version or .NET Framework version? Just wanted to make sure, because they are versioned separately.
Comment: It's possible to use this on C# 4.0 ?
Comment: Is for Unity game engine, and they use .Net Framework version 3.5
Comment: The null conditional operator does not depend on the framework version itself, but rather on the compiler, which must support that feature. If you use Visual Studio 2015 or later you can still target .net 3.5 and use the operator at the same time.
Answer: Action is a delegate, not a class. When you invoke an action, like so:
myAction();

What really is happening here is this:
myAction.Invoke();

If myAction is null you are calling Invoke on a null instance, which is what naturally raises a NullReferenceException.


The GOP, Obama administration, and Cuba

Question: Why do Republicans in Congress oppose the Obama administration's rapprochement with Cuba?
Comment: What do you mean by reapprochement? Which republican, a Congressman or an ordinary voter? What specific part they don't agree?
Comment: In a Republican primary debate, Senator Marco Rubio (of Cuban heritage) stated that only if Cuba has democracy should the US re-establish relations with the island nation.
Answer: Cuban American Republicans in Florida have a history of opposing Castro.  For example, the family of Senator Marco Rubio considered returning to Cuba after Batista was deposed by Castro but decided that Castro was no better.  Traditionally the community has opposed rapprochement and favored Republicans.  Republicans reciprocate by opposing rapprochement.
Note that the single Cuban American Democrat in the Senate, Bob Menendez of New Jersey, also opposed rapprochement.
One significant issue is the nationalization of property by the Cuban government.  Many first generation immigrants lost property that they would like back.  Or at least compensated for the loss.  Second generation members of the community often agreed.
This may be changing among younger members of the Cuban American community, who are from third and later generations.  They vote more for Democrats like Obama and favor normalization of relations.  Presumably this means that they accept the status quo loss of property by their ancestors.

The GOP, Obama administration, and Cuba


Why heart beats normal after AED?

Question: I know that heart attack is when some of cells are dead. That's why heart beats abnormally and needs AED to stop it and restart. After that it beats again normally and my question is - how come since cells are dead?
Comment: Welcome to Health.SE.  Where have you read that heart attacks **only occur when some of the cells are dead**?
Comment: Haven't said thats it's the only case
Answer: TL;DR
An AED stops the heart from beating entirely (beneficial in some situations), and has nothing to do with the death of cells during a heart attack.

The rhythm of the heart is regulated by electrical signals which are controlled by the sinoatrial node and the atrioventricular node. An adequate simulation of this can be seen in this gif:

Source for animation: Battlinbill07 on imgur.com
This cycle is fairly stable and beats throughout your whole life (although some beats are skipped and some people have heart arrhythmias from birth onwards).
Sometimes, the cycle messes up and heart arrhythmia ensues. Some types  prevent proper blood circulation and result in the death of a patient. Some are also problematic because CPR is not efficient in those scenarios.
The AED sends a strong electric signal through the heart. For some shockable rhythms, this is recommended and will result in an asystole (a flatline). In some TV dramas, this causes the patient to wake up, but in fact a de-fibrillator only stops the heart activity entirely, thus also eliminating fibrillations. Sometimes, this will synchronise the nodes and the heart starts to beat again normally, and sometimes even the synchronisation doesn't help and an asystole is the result. This is why defibrillating a flatline is totally useless, despite being often done in TV shows. After the AED created an asystole, CPR is most effective and will result in better survival chances than CPR with fibrillation.

A heart attack is the result of a blocked artery and leads to the slow death of the heart muscle due to low oxygen supply. The heart stops beating long before the entire muscle died, and some of the process is reversible. Usually, a heart attack leads to an asystole when the heart stops beating, which is not a shockable rhythm and an AED will not recommend a shock.
A cardiac arrest (wrongly used interchangeably for heart attack) is the general failure of the heart to beat and has many causes (including a heart attack), some of them arrhythmias where a shock may improve survival chances.
Comment: @AdrianDąbek Not necessarily. Just because you managed to restore a normal rhythm doesn't mean it will remain that way, and it doesn't mean the heart hasn't been injured severely. Every case is different.
Comment: Where's the part about automaticity and the heart restarting in a normal rhythm?
Comment: @CareyGregory Thanks for pointing that out, I've added that part. Anything else I omitted/forgot/am ignorant about?
Comment: Thanks for thorough response. Yet if some part of muscle is dead and there is the same electric signal sent as always, how can heart maintain its work? It has less power because muscle is partially down yet it can start working again. How is that possible is intriguing me
Comment: Not 100% heart power is needed, and cells die slowly. Also, they can partly be replaced. Worst part is the blocked artery, cells also don't function without oxygen prior to being irreversible dead.
Comment: So if you can restore hearts work with AED, this basically means that there wasn't that much damage done and heart can still handle the blood circulation. Simply speaking
Answer: That's right Adrian, it restarts because the damage wasn't sufficient to turn it incapable of functioning. But it may develop cardiac insufficiency as the time passes by.
Comment: Thanks, that's exactly what I wanted to know. Marking as the answer and +1 for everyone's effort.

Why heart beats normal after AED?


Can I get my Galaxy 4 to put sent emails on my server?

Question: Just got a Samsung galaxy S4 mini (had an ancient Nokia before).
When I go back to my web email (its Yahoomail), all my emails are marked as read even if I havent looked at them on the galaxy, (I can live with that though its annoying as I'm likely to miss stuff)and emails I've sent are not copied back onto the server so the only place I will ever have them is on my phone. Thats not what I'm used to - the Nokia put them onto the server so I could see them in the web application. Any idea if I can get it to do that too?
Comment: Are you using the web mail through a web browser, or using an email app on the phone, and if so which email app?
Answer: How have you configured your emails? Is it POP3 or IMAP? Yahoo have a guide to explain the differences. I'd recommend using IMAP as it should sync read status between phone/webmail. You can find the info and steps needed here.
As for sent emails there is probably a setting to sync sent items (or you need to put them into the correct folder). If you provide more details about the app/how you configured it we can help further
Comment: Thanks for answering! Yes - I'm using an app on the phone. I just went into email on the phone and put in my email address and password, I dont actually know which app it is - I didnt knowingly download it, think it was supplied on the phone. Frankly was delighted by how easy it was t get it going!   I use webmail on PCs generally, but at home on my main PC i have outlook so when I access emails there they get deleted from the server so my webmail doesnt get clogged up. Outlook doesnt sync my sent mail, so I'm used to having that in two places, but increasing that to 3 is not ideal!


Workspace struct array input to Simulink M file S function

Question: I would like my Simulink Level 2 S function to sequentially run a series of test cases. Each test case populates a struct containing multiple numerical arrays.
I am currently trying to achieve the above in two steps:

Step 1: generate test cases using a M file, save to Workspace as an array of structs
Step 2: read the array of structs from the Workspace into my model, using a Level 2 M
file S function to process the test cases.

Step 2 is problematic for me, in that I cannot figure out a way to get the S-function block to accept the array-of-structs variable from the Workspace as input. I want to try avoiding the simin method (another Stackoverflow discussion, here), because it seems to require representing the entire structure as a single data column, and I would like to keep the struct intact. Also tried using a Constant block with the struct array as the variable name, but that returns an 'Invalid setting for blockname parameter Value' for the block.
Would appreciate any suggestions for getting this set up correctly. Also open to a different method of building the model, if absolutely necessary. Thanks!
EDIT: Realized that I can import the data within the S function M file itself, using load. This works for the purposes of my project. However, am still interested in knowing whether a conventional solution exists for this.
Answer: If you just want to access the workspace, I would consider using evalin(caller,'expression') inside you M-file S-function:
<code>mystruct = evalin('base','MyStructFromWorkspace');
/* (process mystruct) */
</code>
It should also do the trick.


Forms login to remote domain using windows authentication

Question: The client was to have a normal form to login to the remote domain's windows authentication. I don't think it is possible, but anyone know a way?
Answer: Setup your active directory membership provider to point to the remote domain. Give this configuration a try:
How To: Use Forms Authentication with Active Directory in Multiple Domains
If you can't get that to work (I believe this is possible though) you could just write your own code to authentication against that domain and create your own Forms Authentication ticket - either way it is possible.


Are AC Compressor and Condenser Fans related?

Question: First Post: My 2005 Honda Civic Hybrid stopped blowing cold air.  We took it in to the dealer to have it serviced.  The dealer replaced the AC Compressor with non-warrantied Honda parts.  After about 10 days, the Ac stopped cooling again.  After taking it back in, we had a lengthy haggle about their not explaining the lack of a warranty or the possible use of Honda parts.  They agreed to charge us just for the difference in condenser/clutch/coil parts.  They now are telling us that the AC Condenser fan is not working and to replace it with Honda part will cost $586.  I am confused as to how the fan stopped working while it was under their repair> Coincidence (our responsibility) or their work/responsibility. Any insights will be greatly appreciated.
Comment: Welcome to Motor Vehicle Maintenance & Repair!
Comment: Why would a Honda dealer use non-Honda parts? Were they actually a Honda agent? It suggests 'no' so do they even know what they are doing or just making wild guesses? Many "dealers" have very little mechanical  expertise beyond preparing cars for sale.
Comment: Perhaps because of turn around time, lack of immediate parts, ?, they said they only had an after market AC compressor to install.  When that did not work, we went back to have it corrected they told us the work was not under warranty and would they would have to charge us for a new after market compressor.  We had a go-round until the manager agreed to charge us onl the price difference between the after market part and a Honda warrantied one.  Does it seem likely the first repair caused the fan to stop working?
Answer: Perhaps you may have encountered another disreputable dealer's service department. Vehicle ac diagnosing, troubleshooting, and repairs are not rocket science although your descriptions very much appears as if this service department treats this as such. As a diyer with experience from r12 systems going back to the 70s, forced to change equipment gauges to r134a to service r134a systems, vehicle refrigeration remains the same and is not rocket science. With the addition of electronics replacing manual controls, refrigeration systems remain the same, using the same operating principles. Unfortunately, dishonest dealer services and repair shops prey on virtually every owner's lack of vehicle refrigeration knowledge and apply the greatest leverage of replacing unnecessary parts to pad repair bills for maximum profit regardless whether or not a repair restores ac back to factory specs (the aim of every ac repair).
In my humble opinion, ac compressors do not fail unless amateur repairs are made, unintentionally contaminating a new compressor using contaminated oil, sealant used by diyers in hopes of less costly repairs-in-a-can (refill kits sold everywhere), never replacing the combination accumulator/filter/drier, not replacing O-rings/flat seals where necessary, and never using an electric vacuum pump after replacing parts. Using refrigeration gauges requires knowledge to make repairs equal to or better than professional repairs from reputable repair shops.
Without any more information, this repair is very questionable from the beginning. Further complicating repairs is the end of life of the cooling fan. As you may or may not know, cooling fan(s) are always turned on when ac is used; the compressor generates heat compressing refrigerant gas, outputting hot gases into the condenser coil in front of the radiator. Hot gases need to cool down to change from gas to liquid form. If the cooling fan isn't running, hot condenser coil feeds heat to the radiator and allows overheating, hence the need for cooling fan operation to ensure correct ac operation by forced airflow for condenser coil and radiator. Guess what happens if the fan is intermittent, worn out or dead in hot and humid weather whether using ac or not? If you're in a region of high ac use, cooling fan(s) can wear out sooner than later. A 2005 cooling fan has lived a long life (18 years). It may be that the fan simply gave up after a long life and is worn out. Part of the high cost of replacing a fan; replacement difficulty if many parts are needed to be removed for clear access, labor rates, part cost and markup.
Comment: The dealership has now stated that the condenser fan is now no longer made by Honda.  They will install an after market one free of charge that will have no warranty on it.  Their willingness to do so is a welcome surprise and perhaps indicative of correcting a prior mistake.
Comment: They've already gouged you and perhaps your vocal concerns questioning their previous repair didn't correct the original problem. Rather than face possible consumer action via public forums, better business bureau, calls to a regional or national office to file a formal complaint of questionable repairs, they refocused their efforts to right a questionable initial repair. Ironic that they quoted a secondary repair cost of $586 and suddenly withdrew that cost and will install an aftermarket cooling fan. Hopefully this saga ends with you having your vehicle restored to factory condition.


I have a BM 800 Mic that isnt working?

Question: I have recently got a bm 800 mic that i have plugged into my Yamaha audiogram 6 interface with phantom power and the microphone is just not working. Plugged it directly into my pc and i get audio but it is very quiet because of the little power. Anyone know why the mic isn't working with the audio interface?
Comment: Possible duplicate of [Buzzing, Hissing input level issues BM-700 BM-800 NW-800 Neewer/Floureon](https://sound.stackexchange.com/questions/44184/buzzing-hissing-input-level-issues-bm-700-bm-800-nw-800-neewer-floureon)
Answer: Troubleshoot this through elimination.

Test the interface with a different condensor mic and cable to identify whether the interface itself or the cable is faulty.
Test the BM800 with another interface to identify if the mic is faulty.

It appears as though the BM800 requires phantom power. Ensure that Phantom power (+48v) is configured and working correctly by using the above troubleshooting steps.
Answer: According to this review - SoundReview.org : BM-800 Professional Studio Condenser Microphone Review - the BM800 is supplied in two configurations, battery & phantom powered.
First test would be to identify which you have.

The BM-800 is sold under several brand names. Depending on the brand
you choose, you can get a battery powered model or a phantom powered
model. To avoid potential confusion, be sure to pay close attention to
the specifications while shopping.
Naturally, a mic powered by 48v
is going to be more powerful than one powered by a 9v battery, many AA
batteries, or a  5v USB charger.
With your BM-800 you'll also receive
a female XLR to 3.5mm stereo cable. To ensure optimum performance, be
sure that your mixer, audio interface, or computer are able to provide
enough power for the microphone via the 3.5mm connection. When using
laptops and desktops, some users have reported low volume recordings.
However, I've also seen users sufficiently power the microphone with
the provided cable using phantom power as low as 14v.

I'd also wonder what interfaces could provide phantom power over a mini-jack ...
I've never seen one, but then again, I've never looked for one.
Answer: When recording voiceovers digitally i always run the condenser into a mixer first and insert a compressor over the channel then take an auxillary out to the pc to control the volume.
THis way you will have a preamp to gain the volume up with to get a decent signal into the desk and to some monitors or headphones
Plugging a condenser straight in it would either have to  have a battery for power or have phantom supplied to it by the interface. eitherway i never put mics straight in without going through a desk wich will generally have a reasonable preamp so your signal should sound better.
Answer: You will need an XLR connector to plug into the Yamaha interface for the phantom power to reach the mike. A TRS connector or adaptor to 3.5mm will not do it.

I have a BM 800 Mic that isnt working?


How to drop/paste files into a folder using the 'Files' application (Nautilus)?

Question: Whenever I have files cut or copied to the clipboard and want to paste them inside a folder using the mouse in the 'Files' application (default file browser in Ubuntu) I have to first change from list view to icon view then scroll to the end of the list of icons to find a 'hole' to click without selecting another file so I can find paste on the menu. Am I missing something or is the application really this flawed?
Answer: You can go to parent directory right click on desired directory and select "Paste into folder" or create a new tab then hold the shift and right click anywhere you want to paste.
The other option is to use drag and drop or keyboard shortcuts (which you already know about it).
Comment: Nice hack with new tab -> Shift + Right Click, thanks!
Answer:
Am I missing something...

No, you're not missing anything...

...or is the application really this flawed?

Yes, it is that flawed...
This, along with the inability to "lasso" files while in list-view mode are two of the most outstanding bugs1 that have annoyed most nautilus users for over 15 years (technically speaking, these were/are actually bugs/limitations of gtk treeview if I recall correctly)...
In the discussion in my 1st link above, António Fernandes promised that the next release will have this fixed via a path-bar context menu. For more details follow the links there. It will look more or less like this:

As far as I am concerned this is too late. If you'll take my advice you'll learn how to use the keyboard for most tasks - that will make your GNOME experience much
smoother.

1: I'm not mentioning the Ctrl+Del stupidity here as that was not a bug but a "feature" introduced by the gnome devs. It took several years and thousands of complaints to revert it back to normal. I'm sure any future "History of Desktop Environments" will have a chapter dedicated to that episode.
Comment: I guess the "new" link to the issue would be https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/nautilus/-/issues/41
Answer: Right click on a empty space (icon view) for example between 2 items, and you can copy just not right click on a item.
(You can use CTRL+V to paste and CTRL+C to copy)
Answer: You can paste into the current directory through its context menu in the bread-crumb navigation bar:
Comment: You must be using a (very) old `nautilus 3` version (prior to 3.6)... For a short time this worked...
Comment: @don_crissti: I do indeed. I thought/hoped this would still work since I see little reason to remove features that don't even take up space or require much additional code. Alas, the GNOME developers appear to disagree and prefer to remove features for no good reason.
Comment: Apparently, it will be back soon (hopefully, this time it's permanent), see my post for more details.
Answer: The problem is that the Edit menu option is missing in the new Files application.
In the older version of Nautilus you had a menu option Edit, so you could invoke the Paste command to paste a previously copied file to the inner contents of the opened folder without the need to find an empty spot.
Comment: Is there an answer in there somewhere?  It looks like you're just rephrasing the question.


What is the most downvoted question on MathStackExchange or Math Meta?

Question: I saw this post on MSE, which I thought was pretty funny. Then, I realized the ridiculous amount of downvotes it got within an hour. So, that made me think, what is the most downvoted question in history on MSE or math meta? I am aware of the duplicate question, but it doesn't show any good solutions to find any DELETED posts, and I would like to know what the most downvoted question was of all time, which includes the time before the question was deleted.
Heading
Comment: *What is the most downvored question* No offence ,but what good does it do by knowing that ?There are several ways to waste one's time
Comment: "I am aware of the duplicate question...." I'm not. Link?
Comment: Ok I laughed at the question tho lol
Comment: Go to data.stackexchange.com
Answer: It depends on what you mean by most downvoted - whether you mean the lowest score or the most downvotes.
For the lowest score you can simply choose the votes tab and then go to the end of the list. However, you can also create a SEDE query for questions with the lowest score. Using SEDE has the advantage that the data contains also the deleted questions, so you can get a query including the deleted questions.
If you want the number of downvotes (rather than score - which also takes into account the number of upvotes), you can use the Votes table. For example, you can get a query like this. (The queries I have included here can be improved and modified in various ways. And, of course, you can run them on various sites - the links I provided use Mathematics Meta.)
Comment: lol the most downvoted here in meta isn't remotely surprising. The most negative question on the main site is certainly something though.
Comment: Thanks a lot for sharing these quarries, I think that I learned a lot about the MSE culture and people's opinions by reading the most donw-voted questions and the answers to them.


Relation between Casimir Effect and Quantum Tunnelling

Question: Are Casimir Effect and Quantum Tunnelling dependent on each other? Also, is it reasonable to conclude that if Casimir Effect is already observed in a system, then Quantum Tunnelling has also taken place (or vice versa)? Alternatively, can both the phenomena be observed simultaneously in a single system?
Answer: A basic answer:
Casimir effect and Quantum Tunneling are independent of each other - unless you want to view the probabilistic behavior of quantum world as the common factor in both phenomena.
Quantum tunneling is when a quantum particle "surmounts" a potential wall with energy larger than the energy of the particle.
Casimir effect is the apparent attraction of two plates, which is due to quantum fluctuations (appearance and annihilation of particles) and limiting of particles of certain energies inside the plates.
Comment: Thanks very much for the answer and the explanation therein. If it isn't a silly request for clarification, would like to ask whether it's possible to observe Casimir effect in the plates separated by a potential wall between them?
Comment: Inserting a potential wall (practically speaking another plate in between the first two plates) will just rearrange the Casimir plate setup.  I'd say the effect  will be still there.
Answer: In lame words-Do consider the effect of dipole dipole interaction on electric field fluctuations and the potential due to this interaction in vacuum space. Then consider the tunneling probability into a potential wall by by considering all the potentials created( including pertubed terms)..It does affect the tunneling rate.
You can know it by applying a electric field to two nano films kept a distant apart. Observe the response. Infact particles (bosons and fermions) do tunnel.


Difference between calabash and appium

Question: Currently I'm working with mobile testing. I want to automate our mobile app. So I found some tools are appium and calabash. I want to know the difference between both and which tools is most people using and which tools is more easy to use ? I'm working a small company here I'm the only tester. So somebody please clear me and how to select a tool ?
Comment: We won't be able to tell you which tool most people are using.
Answer: Few differences between Appium and Calabash

Appium support Many Languages Java, C#, Ruby, Python, JavaScript, But Calabash supports only is Ruby.
Calabash has two projects running in parallel: Calabash-Android and Calabash-iOS
In Appium: both Android and iOS are clubbed into one.
Appium has a recording option that would be useful for beginners in software testing company
Calabash cannot automate the browser. Appium can do.
Comment: Edited item #4 since Calabash can automate webviews. Did that myself. Here are a couple of references: Android: https://github.com/calabash/calabash-android/wiki/06-webview-support; iOS: https://github.com/calabash/calabash-ios/wiki/06-WebView-Support
Answer: I think appium is widly using by the testers.And also you can get more help from the commiunity if you are moving with appium.
And also so many video tutorials available for appium too.

Difference between calabash and appium


What's the main road block for universal health care in the US

Question: I just got back from the dentist and was robbed blind (as usual) I do have insurance but even than I paid $1100 for a root canal, $100 for x-rays, and $400 for re-implanting a tooth that fell out. I'm talking about European health care. What's the main thing stopping it besides higher taxes? Any pools showing in favor for it?
Comment: Note that in most European countries, dental care is *not* (fully) covered by universal health care.  Closest comes the UK, where dental care is subsidised by the NHS and patients pay £19.70 for x-rays or £53.90 for root canal treatment, but in most countries the latter will set you down several hundred euro (still much less than in the USA, but not universal health care).
Comment: Recommended reading: The predecessor of the Affordable Care Act, the [National Health Care Act](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_National_Health_Care_Act) and why it was never accepted.
Comment: In the UK, universal health care costs 7% of GDP.  Note that the US government also pays 7% of GDP for health care.  Now you just have to convince seniors (largest consumers of US government healthcare) to consume less and convince doctors (and dentists) to charge less.
Comment: Politics. Namely, industry lobbying.
Comment: @Gerrit, wow 53.90 for a root canal? I might have to visit London most often lol. Dental is just the tip of the iceberg. Any economic statistics showing the cost of universal health care to tax payers?
Comment: @Killer066 I don't know.  You can find the [list of charges here](http://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/nhs-dental-band-charges.aspx?CategoryID=74&SubCategoryID=742).  I don't think NHS non-urgent care is available to non-residents, but I'm not sure about that.
Comment: The main road block are the people who don't think it's a good idea, even in principle.
Answer: The simplest answer is about what the polls say; which is that many Americans do want a federally funded health insurance for all.  This Gallup poll from May 2016 finds 58% in favour, inclusive of 73% of those leaning Democrat and 41% of those leaning Republican.
Why Americans object to the proposed change is more complicated, and I think this relates to the differences in attitudes between Americans and others.  As was mentioned by Philipp; the National Health Care Act was sensible financially, but never got anywhere.  To be explicit: America spends far more on healthcare, for a poor result, than anyone else in the world.  The issue isn't that implementing a Canadian, British, or German system would be too expensive, quite the opposite.  So the objection is neither pragmatic nor aspirational, it's idealistic.
That idealism stems in large part from the uniqueness of American circumstance: Americans don't often encounter alternative narratives, through the domination of their own media, the great distances between their continent and Eurasia, and the fact that most people arriving in America are doing so to assimilate into the American Dream, which creates something of a political-cultural echo chamber where political alternatives are viewed through the lens of fear, like the Red Scare, or arrogance, inspired by Manifest Destiny.
In order to try and measure this we need to examine differences in attitudes between the USA and other nations.  Here is a Pew Research Center survey from April 2016.  Americans are the least likely to believe that "success in life is determined by outside forces", and the most likely to believe that "hard work is very important to getting ahead in life".  This helps to explain why Americans view welfare with considerable disfavour.  If the consensus is that you make your own luck, failure must be due to one's choosing.  According to this belief; why should one reward others laziness with generosity?

When it comes to the question of whether they believe the state should ensure that no one is left behind, against the choice for individuals to pursue life without state interference, Americans again are the most keen individualists.

From this we start to see why the idea of government healthcare is unpalatable to so many Americans, and why distrust of the government runs so deeply.  Additionally Americans may be more likely to be dismissive or ignorant of the outside world; viewing themselves as uniquely special and successful.  In this case what could they learn from the rest of the world?
There are surveys to justify this argument, for example NORC/University of Chicago's National Pride 2006 paper, which found the USA to be near the top of the list.  Additionally a 2015 international YouGov poll found America to be very proud of itself; this time with greater disparity between surveyed peoples.

To conclude, though a slight majority of Americans are in favour of a federally funded universal healthcare system, there remains strong opposition due to widespread belief in individualism, pride in their nation, and ignorance of alternatives.
Comment: Good answer, but I suspect you would get more upvotes / less downvotes without the "US Americans are too proud for their own good" tangent which is IMO not strictly necessary to explain why so many US Americans oppose universal health care but might offend some of them (even though I personally completely agree with it).
Comment: I don't think it's an unreasonable assumption to make that pride discourages curiosity.  And that's part of why one would not think they have a problem when they do.  Especially since such has been prominent in recent American political discourse.  All the debates about "American exceptionalism" and how Americans view their neighbours ties into how they view the systems they have.  I don't think we can separate pride from that equation.
Comment: @inappropriate, I wouldn't say it's 'pride' but more rather they don't other options that exist and lobbyists and  insurance companies pay millions of dollars to congressmen to make sure of it. Overall; good answer!
Answer: Healthcare spending is almost 20 percent of GDP, and it's expected to continue increasing. It is essentially impossible to overhaul an industry that employs 20-25 percent of the population. Socialized/Single-payer medicine could have stopped this growth, but it would have been much easier to pass when healthcare was a smaller portion of GDP.
Comment: Why is that *essentially impossible*?
Comment: @DrunkCynic the government is the single payer. They would have stopped or limited the growth by controlling prices and rationing care, as has happened in every other nation with universal healthcare. I'm not making a judgement on whether it should happen, I'm saying that's what would happen. Of course, taxpayers would pay for it.
Comment: How could it have stopped this growth? Who was going to be the single payer? Where would that money come from?
Comment: @gerrit an overhaul at this point would require members of the healthcare industry to voluntarily vote for a government takeover. Since not all of the 20 percent are in one party, both parties are incentivized to only pass reforms that keep the industry in tact. Thus, the ACA
Comment: I think this is a decent answer. The reason is politics. The health care industry has strong reasons to keep things the way they are.


Does bloom filter library for use in Solidity exist?

Question: Since there are strict storage and computational limits forced by a VM some operations for enterprise-level contracts are impossible. Is there some Bloom filter implementation available in existing library for use in Solidity? It could be used to optimise some algorithms. I do not feel ready for porting some algorithm myself :(
Comment: Please provide an example of what you claim is impossible.
Comment: Agreed. Need a better example. Ethereum events actually function from bloom filters.
Comment: Looks like the Aldekein is simply looking for a library which implements a bloom filter. There are op-codes for various hashes and Bitwise logic operations so should be possible to implement a [simple she256 based BF](https://gist.github.com/josephkern/2897618)
Comment: @JackWinters is correct, I'm searching for a library.
Answer: I don't think bloom filter would be useful in contracts as it is prone to bloating attacks.
Malicious user can add to a bloom filter a number of entries specifically prepared to increase number of false positives (by increasing number of 1-bits in filter).
Comment: Though in a private Ethereum-based blockchain, where you could all but guarantee the safety of the network, such attacks wouldn't be a concern :-)
Comment: It depends! A pre-committed bloom filter could be useful for specific types of whitelist where the contract doesn't mind a certain number of false positives.


conversion of string into int array

Question: Actually I need to convert string data (string s="76473") into int array (int[]={7,6,4,7,3})
also want to know how can I got it by 2 or 3 numbers like {76,47,03} / {764,073}
thanks
Comment: Which programming language do you need to use?
Answer: Take the string, and for languages like java, c, and many other languages there is a function Integer.ParseInt(s.[0]); //in java, in c the function would be atoi  Where we would treat the string like a character array and take the character at the 0th position.  Then we can throw that into an array:
<code>int[] array = new array[...];
for (int i = 0; i< s.length;i++){
array[n] = Integer.ParseInt(s[n]);
}
</code>
The second part of that question, you would then take the elements of the array to create groups.  Depending on how you subdividing you will get different numbers.

conversion of string into int array


Find pairs $(a,b)$ with $\gcd(a,b),\gcd(a + 1, b),\ldots, \gcd(a + k, b)$ given

Question: Given a set of GCD's, how to find a set of numbers that satisfy all their criteria?
Suppose we are given a $k$ integers $\gcd(a,b),\gcd(a + 1, b),\ldots, \gcd(a + k, b)$ for some k.
How to get a and b from this? Given the GCD's, I need to find (a,b).
Example: if 4 GCD's are given 3,2,1,6, then the pair (a,b) which satisfy the above condition is (3,6).
Any help will be useful!
Comment: Note that many other $(a,b)$ will also satisfy your $(3,2,1,6)$ report, and in particular $(3+12k, 6+12k)$ are solutions for $k\in \mathbb{Z}$
Comment: But you don't necessarily have $a+k=b$ or indeed $a<b$ is that correct?
Comment: no, i do not have a+k=b. But from the sample cases that i have, a<b is valid for all those cases. also, i just need to find a pair which satisfies the GCD's given. I need to select just one of the many possible solutions
Answer: Hints: Let $g_0,g_1,\ldots,g_k$ be the specified GCDs.  Clearly one must have $\text{LCM}(g_0,\ldots,g_k) \mid b$.  Show that if $(a,b)$ is any solution then we may replace $b$ by $b_0 := \text{LCM}(g_0,\ldots,g_k)$, so that $(a,b_0)$ is also a solution.
Therefore we are free to assume $b = b_0$.  For each prime power factor $p^r$ of $b_0$, there must be at least one $g_i$ that is divisible by $p^r$.  This uniquely determines $a$ mod $p^r$.  Now Chinese Remaindering determines $a$ mod $b_0$.
There is at most one working choice of $a$ mod $b_0$.  Prove that if any one value of $a$ satisfies the full set of constraints, then so does every $a$ in that congruence class.  This provides all solutions of the specific form $(a,b_0)$; there are other solutions with larger values of $b$, and these are more complicated to describe — but you only are looking for one.
Comment: @AshwathNarayan In your example, $b_0=6$ factors into prime powers $2\cdot 3$.  $g_1$ is divisible by $2$, which forces $a$ to be odd.  $g_0$ is divisible by $3$, which forces $a$ to be divisible by $3$.  Therefore $a \equiv 3 \pmod 6$, which turns out to satisfy all the other constraints so it is a bona fide solution.
Comment: Could you explain this with my example? I didn't understand the gi divisible by p part. Thanks!


value of 0 log0 in entropy formula

Question: Why is the value of $p_i\log(p_i)$ in entropy formula considered $0$ when $p_i =0$? I get that it is the limiting value, but does that mean $p$ is never equals to zero, but only tends to?
Answer: Two possible answers:

If a symbol has probability zero, then it does not influence the calculation and there is no need to include it, so you never actually calculate $0\log(0)$.

If you insist in including symbols with zero probability, then $0\log(0)=0$ by convention.
Comment: @robertbristow-johnson I would agree only if you write the limit with $p \rightarrow 0^+$. But the limit itself (the "two-sided limit") does not exist, as far as I understand these things.
Comment: it doesn't have to be *"by convention"*.  the limit $$ \lim_{p \to 0} p \log(p) = 0 $$
Comment: yeah you're right.  too late to change it.  oops.
Answer: I am not adding a lot to MBaz, mostly graphical hints. It can be interesting to look at the elementary function behind Shannon entropy: $H: p\mapsto -p \log p -(1-p) \log (1-p)$, displayed below:

While it seems not defined at $p=0$ or $p=1$, the function $H$  is very symmetric and behaves quite well at $0$ and $1$ for a Bernoulli trial.  Here, we talk about a binary event ($X$ happens with probability $p=P(X)$. The converse event is "not $X$". While entropy is often described as a measure of information, it can be seen as a measure of uncertainty. If $X$ is always equal to 1, it is certain. If $X$ never occurs, its converse is certain as well. In both cases, we have not surprise: the uncertainty is zero, and the "definitions" $-p \log p = 0$ for $p=0$ or  $-(1-p) \log (1-p) =0$ for $p=1$ make sense.
More details can be found in Entropy is a measure of uncertainty.

value of 0 log0 in entropy formula


Cluster words into groups of similar meaning (synonyms)

Question: How can words be clustered into groups of similar meaning (synonyms)?
I started with pre-trained word embeddings (e.g., Google News), which is great, but not perfect - a limitation arises because the word embeddings are based on surrounding words. This introduces challenging results. For example:

polar meanings: word embeddings might find opposites to be similar. Even though these words mean the opposite semantically, they can quite readily be interchanged given the same preceding and following words. For example, "terrible" and "fantastic" are easily interchangeable in the following sentence: "I heard some ____ news today". Another example is "happy" and "unhappy" in the following sentence: "I was very ____ with the service".
euphemisms: word embeddings may find euphemistic words and doublespeak to be similar. Even though these words are perceived very differently, they can still readily be interchanged given the same preceding and following words. For example, "headstrong" and "stubborn" are easily interchangeable in the following sentence: "He is a ____ colleague". Other examples are: "pamper/spoil", "check out/perv", etc.

Is there a way to separate similar words (in a word-embeddings sense) into more semantic clusters?

Possible solution? Make one extra dimension that puts the word on a sentiment spectrum? This one dimension might be enough to sufficiently separate "terrible" from "fantastic", and "happy" from "unhappy", etc.
How might such a feature be engineered?
Note that many words would be "neutral" and so this additional dimension wouldn't really affect them. For example, "Python/R/C++/Java" in the following sentence: "5+ years experience of ____ required".
Answer: It is not possible to find synonyms by starting with word embeddings. Word embeddings group words by co-occurrence. For example "and" and "but" will be near each other in embedding space, even though those words have opposite meanings.
One option to find semantic clusters is to use WordNet, a large lexical database of English. WordNet models the meaning of the words.


How do I express humming in music notation?

Question: I have a section in a vocal piece where I want singers to hum. I'm going to include "mmm" in my music notation, but is there a good way to more clearly express the intent to hum in the notation?
Comment: Very seriously, what difference do you make between humming and uttering an *m* sound? (because I personally don't make any as of now)
Comment: @JB I don't, but I just want to know what the conventions are for expressing humming. I want my music to appear professional as opposed to amateur.
Answer: Elaine Gould's excellent book Behind Bars includes a section on humming which gives three options for notation:

Humming is indicated by a verbal instruction hum or bocca chiusa, abbrev: b.c. (Italian, 'mouth closed'). It is important to place the instruction above the stave, so that the singer does not articulate it as if it were sung text (a). Where there is frequent alternation with text, two other methods of prescribing humming are useful. To give mm in place of text requires no instruction and is immediately conspicuous (b). Alternatively, the closed-mouth symbol '+' may be substituted, placed above the stave; this symbol should be defined at its first appearance (c).

I've created some short snippets to illustrate these three options.
Example (a):

Example (b):

Example (c):

In my personal experience, I think I've seen option (b) most often, but all three should be clear to the singer as to what is intended.
Comment: As an amateur singer, I'd find option (b) far easier to read: it doesn't need a glance away from the line of text, it can be sung directly without having to interpret an instruction, and it's the same way that 'aah' and 'ooh' and other non-word sounds are indicated. — It's also by far the most common; in fact, I can't recall ever seeing a 'hum' instruction in the middle of a line of text.
Answer: I guess, I'd just write "(hummed)" instead of (or in addition to) the "mmm" ... That should be clear.
Answer: In Music Notation - A Manual of Modern Practice by Gardner Read, 2nd Edition, 1969, p. 299, he gives the symbol for closed mouth [bocca chiusa] as:
Comment: @Edward I am a trained choral conductor (albeit with limited experience in the sort of music where one is likely to encounter novel symbols of this kind), and I don't recall ever having seen it.  Using _m_ would be a much more efficient way of communicating with readers of the score.
Comment: Would most people recognize this symbol?


What is the probability of getting at least 50 questions of 100 right?

Question: If there are 100 MCQs with 4 options each. The probability that a person gets an  question right is  0.25. What is the probability of getting at least 50 questions of 100 right?
Comment: Pretty small; surely enough to convince the candidate that learning the subject would  have been a good idea. For a numerical answer, I'd first try the normal approximation to the binomial distribution.
Answer: The number $X$ of questions correct if the student is answering strictly at random (with no knowledge of the subject matter) has $X \sim \mathsf{Binom}(n = 100,\, p = 1/4).$
So the probability of getting exactly fifty questions correct is
$$P(X = 50) = {100 \choose 50}\left(\frac 14\right)^{50}\left(\frac34\right)^{50} = 4.5073 \times 10^{-8}.$$
Computation using R statistical software:
dbinom(50, 100, 1/4)
## 4.507311e-08

The probability of getting at least fifty correct is
$$P(X \ge 50) = \sum_{k=50}^{100}
{100 \choose k}\left(\frac 14\right)^{k}\left(\frac34\right)^{100-k} = 6.6385 \times 10^{-8}.$$
1 - pbinom(49, 100, 1/4)
## 6.638502e-08

Both probabilities are very small because most of the probability in the distribution $\mathsf{Binom}(n = 100,\, p = 1/4)$ is centered near $\mu = E(X) = np = 100(1/4) = 25.$
Here is a figure that shows the distribution of $\mathsf{Binom}(n = 100,\, p = 1/4)$ along with the density function of $\mathsf{Norm}(\mu = 25, \sigma = 4.33),$ where $\sigma = \sqrt{np(1-p)} =$ $\sqrt{75/4} = 4.3301.$

Unless you are using software (or a statistical calculator) in your class, my guess is that you are
supposed to use the normal approximation to the binomial distribution to approximate the very small value of $P(X \ge 50).$ (As @LordShark commented.) I will show the start of that procedure, and let you verify it and finish it for yourself:
$$P(X \ge 50) = P(X > 49.5)
= P\left(\frac{X - \mu}{\sigma} > \frac{49.5 - 25}{4.3301} \right)\\
\approx P(Z > 5.658) = ?$$
where $Z$ is a standard normal random variable.
Answer: Hint: The number of ways to get $n$ questions right is $\binom{100}{n}$, and given any set of $n$ questions to get right the probability of doing so is
$$(0.25)^n(0.75)^{100-n}.$$
Can you solve it from there?
Comment: I didn't downvote, but you found $P(X = 50)$ instead of $P(X \ge 50)$ and did not mention the assumption that the student is purely guessing. I'd guess the downvote focused on one of those issues. But this is not a bad start, so I'll cancel the downvote with a (+1). // There is no obligation to finish answering a hwk question, but if you don't, you should say it's only a start.
Comment: Can the downvoter please explain what I should do to improve this answer?
Comment: I haven't downvoted, but... This is the simplest way to figure out how to get _exactly_ 50 questions right. Calculating the probability of _at least_ 50 right with this method, though, is a real chore.
Comment: @Arthur I don't believe there's a better method to calculate it, is there? (Other than trying to get a numerical estimate, of course)


Can Cloak of the Night be used in combat?

Question: I master a campaign of Vampire and one of the players used Cloak of the Night (Obfuscate) to disengage during combat. I let him do it at first but I wonder if this works this way. After his round of fighting, can he can become invisible?
Does he need to disengage before using it?
Comment: Hi, @RomainL. Are you using the first or second edition rules for Requiem?
Comment: We play the first edition.
Answer: You can become invisible during combat, but using Cloak of Night is an Instant action that's not reflexive. If you are rolling to vanish from sight, that's what you're doing for your round that combat; you cannot shoot or strike and then try to use Cloak. That means it's best to disengage first, as the people who are fighting you have a chance to oppose you with Clash of Wills or simply penalize your roll by watching.


Estimated fee and Used fee

Question: Subscan recently made a change to show estimated fee and used fee, while if you query data from sidecar, partial fee + tip = estimated fee. What is this used fee and how is it calculated?
Answer: You can guess the fee before call the function querying the information from
the payment RPC methods.
A little script to query your example is:
    const wsProvider = new WsProvider('wss://kusama-rpc.polkadot.io')
    const api = await ApiPromise.create({ provider: wsProvider });

    const blockHash = '0x9646cfeddaf4afd297f8a904f9458871b7203e6922cff502b3588af4c6cd1f0d';
    const { block } = await api.rpc.chain.getBlock(blockHash);

    // The extrinsic from your example(0x436d39517244cd5fc7c3d35dd08de0ccb62cb620868b5428db831857d4a952eb) is in block.extrinsics[7]
    const extrinsic = block.extrinsics[7].toHex();

    const queryFeeDetails = await api.rpc.payment.queryFeeDetails(extrinsic, blockHash);
    console.log('queryFeeDetails:', JSON.stringify(queryFeeDetails.toHuman(), null, 2));
    const queryInfo = await api.rpc.payment.queryInfo(extrinsic, blockHash);
    console.log('queryInfo:', JSON.stringify(queryInfo.toHuman(), null, 2));

This will give return you:
queryFeeDetails: {
  "inclusionFee": {
    "baseFee": "33.3333 µKSM",
    "lenFee": "489.9995 µKSM",
    "adjustedWeightFee": "5.4706 µKSM"
  }
}
queryInfo: {
  "weight": "155,732,000",
  "class": "Normal",
  "partialFee": "528.8035 µKSM"
}

The estimated fee is partial fee, which is partial_fee = base_fee + len_fee + adjusted_weight_fee
But the adjusted_weight_fee might slightly change depends in which block the extrinsic is included. I am not 100% sure how subscan calculates it, but this is the Used Fee field.
Check this response to see an excellent explanation about how to calculate the final fee: https://substrate.stackexchange.com/a/4224/2762

Estimated fee and Used fee


Is it okay to leave Schengen on the day my visa expires?

Question: I am travelling with multiple-entry Schengen visa to Rome. My departure date is the same day as my visa expiration date. Is it legal?
Comment: When you acquired that visa, what (if anything) did you tell the consular officials you were planning to do? Is your actual departure date radically different from those plans?
Comment: It's legal but not wise. If your departure is delayed for any reason you will have breached the terms of your visa. Plan to leave a day or two earlier.
Comment: It is legal as long as you don't breach the "number of days" mentioned in your visa.
Answer: You need to fulfill two criteria to stay in the Schengen Area:

Have a valid visa
Have obeyed the 90/180 rule

On the day you're planning your departure you have a valid visa, so the first criteria is fulfilled. You haven't said anything that allows us to say whether you will have obeyed the 90/180 rule.
But consider that your plane is cancelled or delayed for another reason, then you will suddenly not have a valid visa anymore, and thus have broken the rules. So what you're thinking of doing might (as said above, you have only given information that allows us to look at one of two requirements) be valid, but it isn't wise.
Comment: If you are at the airport on the last day of the visa and the plane doesn't fly, there are procedures to get an 'emergency' extension. But it is easier to have a day (of validity *and* duration) to spare.


Is a ballistic Jovian capture using the Galilean moons possible from interplanetary entry?

Question: While spacecraft like Galileo and Juno did use gravity assist to supplement their insertion burns, as answered here, is it possible to enter Jupiter's orbit without a capture burn?
Comment: On the other hand, Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 clearly did so, presumably at some point in the mid-20th century.
Comment: @uhoh Yes, on final approach in '94, the [Shoemaker-Levy 9](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comet_Shoemaker%E2%80%93Levy_9) fragments were in an elliptical orbit with eccentricity of about  0.9986, and a period of roughly two years, and an estimated capture date of the 1960's-70's. That said, I haven't been able to determine if the Galilean moons were responsible, as asked by the question title.
Comment: @notovny Oh that sounds familiar! See [this answer](https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/a/14081/7982) and [What calculations show that Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 orbited Jupiter for several decades before its spectacular impact? (Chodas, Sekanina & Yeomans)](https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/q/41112/7982) Apparently I knew this once :-)
Comment: Linked question & answers are a clear *no* for Juno...
Comment: @notovny those may have still been in hyperbolic (free) trajectories that just happened to intersect the planet's surface. Were they really "captured" into bound orbits mathematically?
Answer: Yes, but really no.
Preamble:
I built a little 2D trajectory simulation (2D because the Galilean moons are more or less coplanar) to test out trajectories (Jupiter + Galilean moons gravity, RK4, 10s time step). My original intention was to perform an exhaustive search across 4 dimensions of initial conditions but this was prohibitively expensive (computationally) at sufficient resolution. Luckily, I stumbled upon a few representative cases (sets of initial conditions) that help answer the question.
Technicality: Parabolic + 1
A completely valid interpretation of "from interplanetary entry" is anything with $V_{\infty}>0$, or 'parabolic +1' infinitesimal speed unit. In this interpretation it is not too difficult to find a trajectory that captures around Jupiter ($V_{\infty} < 0$), here is one using a Callisto flyby ($1.14$ $R_{Callisto}$ close approach):

(Jupiter to scale, moons horribly not to scale; they're tiny!)
Though $V_{\infty} < 0$ indicates an elliptical orbit in a Keplerian orbit scenario, sufficiently large orbits (in the real, n-body world) grey the region of applicability of the Keplerian approximation. In this example the captured orbit is huge, significantly larger than Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9's orbit:

Semi-major axis: ~600 $R_{Jupiter}$ or ~0.28 AU (!)
Eccentricity: 0.9904
Apoapsis: ~1200 $R_{Jupiter}$ or ~0.55 AU (!)
Period: ~13 years (greater than a Jovian year!)

Reality: things of interest (typically) come from Earth
For a direct, Earth to Jupiter interplanetary trajectory the Jupiter arrival $V_{\infty}$ will of course be higher than 0. Borrowing from work on my answer to Orbital Mechanics and Launching into the Sun, the minimum Jupiter arrival $V_{\infty}$ (for a Oct'21 - Oct'22 launch) was 5.73 km/s (there are probably more creative trajectories that could lower that value but it is at the very least representative, Edit: using HORIZONS data Juno's $V_{\infty}$ was 5.3 km/s and Galileo's was 5.6 km/s).
This trajectory uses Ganymede & Callisto flybys (very close; $1.04$ $R_{Ganymede}$ and $1.13$ $R_{Callisto}$ respectively!) but is unable to capture:

Also note that the change in $V_{\infty}$ is significantly less than in the above 'parabolic +1' case, despite flying by the much more massive Ganymede and Callisto:

This presents a sort of reverse-Oberth tyranny of gravity assists where because only the direction changes ($V_{\infty,start}=V_{\infty,end}$ in the moon frame), and the direction change is inversely proportional to $V_{\infty}$, a faster flyby has a smaller effect.
This is also why Callisto sees such prominence here because it is a) the second most massive Galilean moon (after Ganymede), and b) the furthest Galilean moon from Jupiter. This means that the $V_{\infty}$, in Callisto's eyes, is the lowest of the Galilean moons for a given interplanetary arrival trajectory.

Edit:
In response to comment:

A 'direct prograde encounter' with Calisto should then remove speed relative to Jupiter though, not add, and vice versa for a direct retrograde encounter

Here is a (roughly) prograde encounter with Callisto ($1.41$ $R_{Callisto}$):

which definitely adds Jupiter relative (inertial in this coordinate frame) velocity. Shown a different way:

where the red dot is the starting point of the trajectory.
And for a retrograde encounter ($1.01$ $R_{Callisto}$):

Though showing a gain in velocity, this is an artifact of the numerical integration used and is not realized in the below plots:
Comment: In your "parabolic + 1" simulation, the trajectory intersects Calisto at a strange point. Wouldn't it be more advantageous if the intercepts occur near the trajectory's periapsis?
Comment: a greater change in Hyperbolic Excess Velocity. This is a guess.
Comment: @Enoch no, for one the Jupiter relative speed is the same @ Callisto's orbit no matter the periapsis distance. Secondly, [as explored in this question & answer](https://space.stackexchange.com/q/55852/40257) (inspired by you!), a direct retrograde encounter (what you propose) is actually the weakest resultant gravity assist. Though a direct prograde, the strongest assist, can also occur near *perijove*, this would add speed relative to Jupiter, not help to capture. The 'oblique' encounter is best in this context because...
Comment: @Enoch ... it allows for a 'stronger' assist than direct retrograde while not adding Jupiter relative speed, it that makes sense.
Comment: Just to clarify, when you say 'prograde encounter', do you mean that the hyperbolic trajectory and Calisto's orbit are moving in the same direction (i.e. their angular momentum vectors are parallel)?
Comment: @Enoch no, I'll edit my answer with plots supporting this
Comment: @Enoch advantageous in what way?
Comment: @Enoch perhaps, I will investigate this
Comment: @Enoch that is correct
Comment: Thanks for the confirming. A 'direct prograde encounter' with Calisto should then remove speed relative to Jupiter though, not add, and vice versa for a direct retrograde encounter.
Answer: Edit: re-reading the question this is not an answer, which is looking for solutions involving gravity assists only while this only covers aerobraking  orbit adjustment

The study here (summary is section 6.4) found that for an example mission profile while substantial mass/cost savings would be possible it would involve several years of orbital shaping to step orbit inward, the radiation environment incredibly hostile (and applying over that multi year period) notably Juno has stayed out of the region of peak radiation due to radiation concerns by using a polar orbit, and still required careful design to survive. Assuming aim of aerobraking is to reach the moons passing through the peak radiation regions becomes necessary.
The biggest concern is that while the gas pressures are very low at the proposed pass altitude the very high velocity produces temperatures around 39,000 kelvin. The low pressure means this temperature will not necessarily melt the bulk of the craft in a single pass but will attack any low mass exposed components like antenna or foil thermal covering, requiring more complex design and allowance for erosion.
Moving to a higher pass altitude lowers the pressure/heat load but does not do much for the speed, so still problematic and massively increases the number of needed passes going from years to decades to reach final orbit.
This tends to suggest that aerobraking at Jupiter is not automatically a more efficient choice than carrying a rocket engine and fuel, unless for other reasons the craft is radiation shielded and physically robust.
Comment: @Organic Marble - was going for 'so hot which degree unit of temperature you use becomes meaningless' but in this case that is both wrong and unclear - edited.
Comment: What does this mean "it does not matter what type of degrees you are using"? Are you referring to the unit of temperature?


'For dear life' phrase origin

Question: What does the phrase 'for dear life' (for example as in, He ran for dear life) originate from? And when was it first used and became popular?
Comment: Have you tried looking it up in a dictionary? Please include in your question what efforts you have made to answer the question before asking here.
Answer: The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms dates for dear life to the mid-1800s, although that appears to be too late by a wide margin, as I find a use from an 1815 stage play with unquestionably the same meaning as today:

Hold thee tongue: here be datur Fanny, sir, after you and Mr. Perry went away, comed runnin for dear life, and axed for Mr. Perry and when I told her he were gone, she falled down on the floor and then, sir, I picked her up in my arms, and she ha'nt spoke since.

It seems clear that for dear life was a fairly well recognized idiom by the time this play was published. I found some even earlier uses, but they mostly seem to be less idiomatic and more literal.
Comment: The cited play is a nice find—and offers an example of a continuing association of the phrase with country folk (the character who uses it is named "Ploughby"), which I noted in my answer—at a later date than I would have expected, and in a play set in New York (on Lake Champlain) instead of England!
Answer: A Google Books search turns up instances of the phrase going back to 1749. Interestingly, though the first occurrence is in a polemical discourse addressing religious disputation, the next two are in stage scripts in which the person who says "for dear life" appears to be an uneducated countryperson. This suggests an association (during the eighteenth century) of the phrase with common folk. Here are the first three Google Books matches.
From an anonymous author, "A Discourse on Government and Religion" (1749), reprinted in The Pillars of Priestcraft and Orthodoxy Shaken, volume 3 (1768):

The Presbyterians indeed pulled down the common prayer, because God should not be on the side of the church ; for if they did not pray, to be sure the Lord could not hear them, and they could not pray without book, at the same time the presbyterians themselves pray'd for dear life—and liberty to pray.

From Isaac Bickerstaff, Love in a Village ; a Comic Opera (1762):

Hodge [a servant]. Lord, your honour, look out, and see what a nice show they make yonder ; they had got pipers and fidlers, and were dancing as l came along, for dear life —I never saw such a mortal throng in our village in all my born days again.

From Sophia Lee, The Chapter of Accidents (1780):

Bridget [maid to another character]. So he axed for my Lady, and would not tell me what he wanted : I came with her, however, but she no sooner set eyes on him than she sent me out ; and before I could possibly get back, though I ran as fast as ever my legs could carry me, he was gone, and she writing and crying for dear life ;---but that was no news, so I did not mind it : and when she gave me leave to go to the play, thought no more harm than the child unborn.

Several decades later, the phrase also appears twice in Walter Scott, Redgauntlet (1824), once each by the two characters whose epistles make up much of the early part  of the novel:

[from Letter 5, Alan Fairford to Darsie Latimer] I admire the figure which thou must have made, clinging for dear life behind the old fellow's back—thy jaws chattering with fear, thy muscles cramped with anxiety.

and

[from Letter 11,  Darsie Latimer to Alan Fairford] You are now to conceive us proceeding in our different directions across the bare downs. Yonder flies little Benjie to the northward, with Hemp scampering at his heels, both running as if for dear life, so long as the rogue is within sight of his employer, and certain to take the walk very easy, so soon as he is out of ken.

In Redgauntlet, Scott does not seem to be using the phrase as a social-class marker for the characters who employ it in their letters.
Answer: Life every man holds dear; but the dear
man holds honor far more precious dear
than life. —Shakespeare (Troilus and Cressida 1602?)

'For dear life' phrase origin


Start Phoenix app with cowboy server on different port

Question: Is it possible to start locally a few Phoenix apps on different ports from the console using some command like mix phoenix.server --port=4001? This one does not work, of course, but, maybe, there is similar way.
Answer: Yep! Make sure you set the mix config to reference the env port, i.e.
config :my_app, MyApp.Endpoint,
  http: [port: {:system, "PORT"}],

Then from the terminal:
$ PORT=4001 mix phoenix.server
$ PORT=4002 mix phoenix.server
$ PORT=4003 mix phoenix.server

Comment: Note: Doing this in `config.exs` does not work, the reason I guess is the `dev.exs` overrides the config. Hence put this in `dev.exs`. For more info see this issue on phoenix https://github.com/phoenixframework/phoenix/issues/962
Comment: Note 2: You shouldn't add the lines to your config files but edit the existing lines. I got a cryptic error by just adding the lines for my app.
Answer: Edit your config/dev.exs and change the Endpoint http port like the following:
config :my_app, MyApp.Endpoint,
  http: [port: System.get_env("PORT") || 4000],

This allows the port to be set, or left as the default 4000:
PORT=4002 mix phoenix.server # to run on port 4002
mix phoenix.server # to run on port 4000

This answer was described by @chris-mccord on github.
Comment: This worked. The command to start Phoenix is now `mix phx.server`
Answer: This was needed for me as a solution since my issue was that I needed to let C9.io dictate the port, for me, adding this code to the dev.exs file solved the problem:
config :my_app, MyApp.Endpoint,
  http: [port: {:system, "PORT"}],

and then in the Terminal, I just needed to run the server as normal:
mix phoenix.server


Plotting vectors and curves on a 3D surface

Question: I am having trouble plotting curves on surfaces.  I have searched for similar examples and I have tried both Plot3D and ParametricPlot3D commands and experimented with Epilog and MeshFunctions (et.c) without success.
Goal: to plot a curve and a line segment (or, it could be a vector) on a surface.  The curve follows the surface.
The Sin[x] function is a reasonable surface although my surface I am using is constructed via a ParametricPlot3D command from an Interpolation function generated from data numerically computed by an external program.
But, if I know how to do this with Sin[x] via ParametricPlot3D I can do it with my Interpolation function.
Here is a Sin[x] function plotted using:

Notice that a surface and a curve is plotted, the curve being the $2\sin{x}$ value along $y=2$.  I have not yet figured out how to highlight the curve with different color or thickness but that is not may main question.    I would like to have this $2\sin{x}$ curve run from points $(2.3,2)\rightarrow (4.0,2)$ only and of course highlighted by a different color.  Another line (on the surface) would extend from points $(2.3,2)$ to $(4.0,4)$.
Help?
Answer: Your problem was that your line did not depend upon $y$.  ParametricPlot3D functions use both variables and produces fundamentally two-dimensional surfaces when you have two variables.
ParametricPlot3D[{
  {x, y, 2 Sin[x]},
  {x, 2 + y/50, 2 Sin[x]}
  },
 {x, 0, 3 π}, {y, 0, 6},
 PlotStyle -> {{Opacity[0.5], Pink}, {Black}}]

Best is to make the plot of the line a function of just one variable:
a = ParametricPlot3D[
   {x, y, 2 Sin[x]},
   {x, 0, 3 π}, {y, 0, 6},
   PlotStyle -> {Opacity[0.5], Pink}];
b = ParametricPlot3D[{x, 2, 2 Sin[x]},
   {x, 0, 2 π},
   PlotStyle -> Blue];
Show[a, b]

Comment: I attempted to mark as answer but it is not working for some reason.  But, this worked and I am kicking myself (not too easy to do though) because I did not realize the solution you posted -- I should have.
Comment: I now see that the answer mark is posted -- had to refresh the page though.
Answer: You can also use the options Mesh and MeshFunctions with a single ParametricPlot3D:
a = 2; b = 2 Pi;
ParametricPlot3D[{u, v, 2 Sin[u]}, {u, 0, 3 Pi}, {v, 0, 6},
 MeshFunctions -> {# &, #2 &, ConditionalExpression[#2 - 2, a <= # <= b] &},
  Mesh -> { 15, Range[0, 6, .5], {{0, Directive[Thick, Red]}}}]


Can't remember the tech name of the opening scene of a game

Question: For example, when you play the game deadmaze, the first thing that shows up is a window filled with the login boxes, along with a background painting and other stuff. Does that generally have a specific tech name within the gaming context? Thanks in advance!
Comment: If there are "login boxes," then it's actually the login screen.
Comment: Are you thinking of the [Splash screen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Splash_screen)?
Answer: The splash screen usually does not allow user interaction and serves only as an indicator that the game is launching. The login screen allows a user to log in. The main menu is usually a screen that allows the user to choose a game mode or level before beginning the real action of the game.
My hunch is that you are looking for login screen, because you specifically mention login boxes.


what does graduate-level math mean?

Question: I don't know what does this mean exactly.

without needing graduate-level math

Does this mean you don't need to know about high-level math?
Answer: Graduate level math is probably referring to graduate school in college/higher education. Someone who gets their graduate degree has either their masters or doctoral degree.
When it says they don't need graduate level math, they are talking about math classes that would commonly be taken by someone who is acquiring a graduate degree.
Follow this link for some more information about graduate school
Comment: does this mean they don't need to take math classes?
Comment: It doesn't mean they don't need to take any math classes to understand it, it just means that they don't need to take any high level college math to understand it.
Answer: A full sentence would be helpful. For example,

I can balance my checking account without needing graduate-level math.

It means basic math skills are sufficient to solve the problem.
This kind of statement can be used to de-emphasize the importance of a given skill (in this case the value of graduate-level math).
Comment: I should have added an example to my answer and explained it. Thanks for expounding.

what does graduate-level math mean?


Are any college stamps required on the letters of recommendation for masters abroad?

Question: My head of the department is not providing me any department stamp on the letter of recommendation stating that the letter head is enough and with it stamps are not used. I have no idea if it's correct or not but I didn't want to take chances with my LOR.  Thus, my main doubt is regarding this. Do I require any stamp of the department on the letter of recommendation for masters, to verify it's authenticity?
Comment: "_I have noticed several LORs and all have official stamps_" How did you notice them?
Comment: I have never seen an LOR with any kind of "official stamp". Transcripts are sometimes documented more officially.
Answer: Please do not be worried. You professor is right. You do not need stamps or markers or a public notary's endorsement.
I am in academia in the US and if we felt the need to verify a recommendation letter, we would just (1) look up the writer and (2) contact the writer directly. Mostly, receiving a letter from an academic email address containing a pdf with an institutional letter head establishes prima facie credentials.
When I write invitation letters for conferences so that participants can get a visa for the US, I do exactly that: an email with institutional letterhead emailed as a pdf.
Answer: I very often write recommendations for European Universities, especially Germany and the Netherlands, and no, no kind of stamps are required, only proper letterhead and contact information.
Note that in most systems the student does not see the recommendation letter. The recommender usually sends the recommendation directly via email or by a electronic system to the receiving institution.
For verification of authenticity, there are other methods if required, such as directly contacting the letter writer, or requiring specific measures like using institutional emails (no free email accounts are accepted). This is why the student is not directly part of this process in most cases.
Comment: But what if students  have to upload the recommendation letters themselves while applying?


How to play two audio files from the iPod library simultaneously?

Question: I know that the MediaPickerConroller can be used to access the iPod library, however I'm not sure that it can play two songs at the same time.  AVFoundation would allow this, but then how do you get AVFoundation to access the library?  Is there an easier way of doing this? Any help appreciated, thanks.
Answer: One way - though not exactly an easy way - to play more than one audio files at the same time is to use an Audio Processing Graph. "MixerHost", the example app by Apple, is a good starting point. "AudioGraph" (https://github.com/tkzic/audiograph) has more functionality than you want, but the manual is helpful to understand the basics of audio processing graphs.
The MediaPickerConroller will allow you to select more than one item from the iTunes library. You will have to get the list of URLs from the media picker and connect them to the graph yourself.


Spam filter fired inappropriately

Question: I asked a question with a title that was too short. I was informed of the minimum title length so I fixed my title and clicked "Post Your Question" again. I was then sent to the 'are you a human' page with the CAPTCHA. This seems to be an instance where the auto spam-filter shouldn't be triggered.
Comment: @Mike Sherov: I made an error, the system told me what I did wrong, I responded. To me, this sounds like the opposite of spam or bots.
Comment: What makes you think it was inappropriate?
Comment: the spam thing probably goes off if you try and do things too quickly, as that is indicative of 'botish' behaviour.  you get the same if you edit a post too many times in rapid succession.  you just fell fould of posting the question too quickly i suspect.  Don't take it personally.
Answer: The "spam" filter is the same as Stackoverflow.  On a recent Herding Code interview, Jeff Atwood talks about how they had to block 2 Universities because students were consistently posting inappropriate questions.
As @Sam Holder suggested, I've had the spam thing go off for me when I try to do too many things at once.
(I don't know this for a fact) but I am pretty sure the whole spam thing is quite complicated.  At first, it tries to slow you down and eventually you get blocked.
For what it is worth, I don't understand how someone can down vote this question without a reason why.
Answer: I don't see the captcha as being a large enough inconvenience to code in exceptions for relatively unusual cases like this.

Spam filter fired inappropriately


How should dyslexia-friendly headings, sub-headings, paragraphs and button texts took like?

Question: I haven't found any clear resources online to be able to figure out what makes any web test truly dyslexia-friendly. I hope you guys can share valuable information here.
Answer: If I could give you a simple and direct answer for each widget you mention then there'd likely be a Stylesheet or tool already available to yield those results, it turns out that this is not an area where there are not definite solutions. Ultimately, people suffering dyslexia determine whether an interface is dyslexia-friendly or not (and then you have to differentiate if their feelings are rooted in dyslexia | normal usage | personal opinion). You may also need to compromise between dyslexia-friendly solutions and other solutions given other constraints (such as Accessibility for the vision-impaired, who require (via legislation and standards) high-contrast, while dyslexics tend to respond better to lower levels of contrast).
Here's an article discussing design for dyslexia: https://www.dumblittleman.com/dyslexia-website-accessibility/


Live Conditional Render , Automatic User logout after Jwt expires

Question: When the expiration date is less than the current time or date, I want it to automatic logout. However, it appears that after I input the expiry date, I must refresh before it logs out, and the worst case scenario is that it has been more than an hour, which is my typical inputted expiry date, and when I try to add some input, like maybe add posts it alerts me that user must be logged in which I know put that alert if the user isn't logged in anymore if the token is expired. Is there any way to solve the problem or issue I'm having right now? I know there is, but my lack of expertise isn't helping me come up with any more solutions.
Code

<code>const initialState = {
  user: null,
};

if (typeof window !== "undefined") {
  if (localStorage.getItem("jwtToken")) {
    const decodedToken = jwtDecode(localStorage.getItem("jwtToken"));

    if (decodedToken.exp * 1000 < Date.now()) {
      localStorage.removeItem("jwtToken");
      window.location.href = "/login";
    } else {
      initialState.user = decodedToken;
    }
  }
}
</code>
And in my backend, I simply put in 5000 milliseconds or 5 seconds to see if my application was running, and the jwt token is saved in localStorage whenever I login. This code works, but you'll need to reload the page before the logout method takes effect.
Thank you for your assistance, and please leave any questions in the comments section below.
Answer: I found a way, but I don't think this is a good practice this is the code that I did:
Code
<code>  function login(userData) {
    localStorage.setItem("jwtToken", userData.token);

    const decodedToken = jwtDecode(userData.token);

    dispatch({
      type: "LOGIN",
      payload: userData,
    });

    setTimeout(() => {
      localStorage.removeItem("initialTime");
      logout();
      router.push("/login");
      toast.error("Session expired", shortToastConfig);
    }, decodedToken.exp * 1000 - Date.now());
  }
</code>
It will auto logout because the expiry date is 1 hour after I login, and you are welcome to adjust my code if it is not as efficient or best practice. Another issue is that when I refresh the page in the between before the token expires, it does not auto logout, implying that the settimeout capability is doesn't work maybe after the refresh has been made?
Thanks for your help, and please leave a comment if you need more code to try this out.