Avoiding Cognitive dissonance,is it a necessity?

Question: I want to know how strong is the pain of going through cognitive dissonance. Is it really so that changes in humans can be brought about by severity of cognitive dissonance struggle/pain ? Can I have a neurological perspective about it that might throw some light on the parts of the brain that are involved and the neurochemicals that might be playing a role in it ?
Comment: I'm personally having a bit of trouble following your question. Are you asking the mechanism behind cognitive dissonance and how they are usually subjectively felt my a person?
Answer: I think you're confusing science with politics.  The APA and other such professional organizations have not, to my knowledge, concluded that cognitive dissonance should be avoided or even minimized.  I'm unaware of any evidence that suggests that cognitive dissonance directly causes distress or suffering.
The position of psychology, as a science, is that cognitive dissonance is a phenomenon that exists and has certain properties.  There is no normative stance from the field as a whole.
What happens in these cases is that political groups engage in activism and argue that such things should be minimized; the same is true of stereotyping, for instance.  You may agree with the dominant political opinion, but it's not a scientific question, per se.
Comment: @Revious, I'm not sure what your question is, and I've never heard the term "dark triad", but there certainly are cases in which cognitive science makes normative claims.  This typically happens when a certain behavior or mental state is considered pathological.  It just so happens that cognitive dissonance is not one of those cases.
Comment: @bls: just for curiosity, is that true also referred to the dark triad? Cognitive science doesn't judge / suggest people should not incur into that? (ps: +1 for the explanation)
Comment: thanks. I am not sure if Dark triad is not condemned by cognitive science.. but it's typical of who is lacking of empathy (Machiavellic, Narcyssistics, Psychopatological) and of course is considered pathologycal (since create suffering in the patient). ps: sorry for my english..
Answer: I will try to answer even if I'm not an expert, I hope who is willing to downvote will instead write his own better answer or improve this one.
I've experienced cognitive dissonance many times. It's something very annoying and easy to understand. Imagine a guy which has a wife. He loves her but he has a strong neurotic need to change her. He intuits he could change himself but he feels this task as really hard. She doesn't change of course. And she suffer from this guy trying to change her.
The guy feels guilty, he feel responsible of a bad action, but he doesn't like this feeling. This is the moment in which cognitive dissonance acts.. She should change. the guy will focus on the reasons why SHE is guilty to feel less guilty. It's not a real pain, it's an intense emotion..
The dissonance itself is a functional mechanism. The best action is to reduce the neurotic needs of him and her.


is "Sound Bake" node here in 2.1.4 Animation node

Question: I can't find find Sound bake node in 2.1.4 do you know if it an other name or is just not here for now ?
thank's, have a good day
Comment: How would this change the workflow outlined here:
https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/47337/is-there-any-way-i-can-make-a-curve-and-or-a-mesh-from-a-wavefile
Answer: You can't bake sound anymore, bc. you don't have to. Sound input is now live. It's a bit tricky, bc. it's not directly a node.
Go to the VSE, drop a sound file wherever you want (meaning the start frame).
Back in the AN SHIFT A -> sound -> sound from sequence.
From there it gets processed in realtime, no more baking required.


Can you burn .img files meant for USB drives to a DVD or CD and still expect it to boot?

Question: I want to install Guix on one of my old computers, the place where I downloaded them is right here and its supposed to be on flashed on USB drives, but I'm wondering if I could burn it to a CD or DVD.
Answer: From the looks of it, yes.
Find the cd/dvd device using lsblk usually something like /dev/sr0
cd to the directory with the .img.gz file
and
gzip -d gnu-system-demo-0.4.img.gz
growisofs -dvd-compat -Z /dev/sr0=gnu-system-demo-0.4.img

or
unxz gnu-usb-install-0.7.x86_64.xz
growisofs -dvd-compat -Z /dev/sr0=gnu-usb-install-0.8.x86_64-linux

update
bob@bob-p7-1298c:~/Downloads$ fdisk -l gnu-usb-install-0.8.x86_64-linux

Disk gnu-usb-install-0.8.x86_64-linux: 838 MB, 838860800 bytes
89 heads, 52 sectors/track, 354 cylinders, total 1638400 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x000c70ee

                           Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
gnu-usb-install-0.8.x86_64-linux1   *        2048     1628160      813056+  83  Linux

We can see that the file system starts at sector 2048
Each sector being 512 bytes, we can give an offset.
sudo mount -o loop,offset=1048576 gnu-usb-install-0.8.x86_64-linux /mnt

And then copy the contents of /mnt to the network boot folder.
Giving pxelinux.0 the requisite vmlinuz and initrd locations? Although I am not exactly sure about the details of guix. It is also possible to boot directly from an iso image... but that would require memdisk, and making the iso image.
Comment: @toxemicsquire Right. It should also work for the other images as well. They look to be the raw images. And after looking around on how GUIX suggests to install... they say use `dd` to write to usb. You are asking about CD/DVDs and to do that you can use `wodim` (CDs) or `growisofs` (DVDs/bluray) to write an image to a disk. See: http://www.gnu.org/software/guix/manual/html_node/System-Installation.html
Comment: Do you mean for all the images, or just the gnu-system-demo?
Comment: Wait, is it possible to PXE with it too?
Comment: @toxemicsquire I updated my answer.
Answer: Not sure if this is still relevant to you, but I'll post a reliable solution for others:
The most reliable way I've found of doing is to use gnome-disks.
Open the program, select the flash drive, and in the top right settings icon, select "Restore Disk Image" (make sure to select the one on top which uses the entire disk, not just restoring a single partition).
Most likely, you will have a large sector of free space left after the operation, best keep that as it is in case you need it during your GuixSD installation to modify the config.scm file.
This works 100% of the time for me, no need to use any terminal commands. gnome-disks seems able to program MBR for flash drives.
Keep in mind, this will delete ALL data on that drive!
Comment: one alternative is unetbootin, but it sometimes doesn't boot (it might even be deprecated at this point). theres another program cant remember the name, it would attempt to create its own grub config in order to allow multiple bootable os's...never worked for me


Does the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FT2/TS2 have a tripod mount?

Question: I'm looking at buying this camera, but can't find any specs or pictures that indicate whether there is a tripod mount.  Does anyone know?
Answer: This page says that it has a tripod mount.
Here you can see a picture of the underside, showing the tripod mount.
Answer: Yes it does. You can see the mount on an image on this page.
As a side note, I can't recall ever having seen a camera without one.


How big is the capacity of a standard memory cell that the pointer is linking to?

Question: Often programming language lectures and references have an illustration of computer memory as an array composed of individual cells. Each cell has an address, which is effectively the pointer and can be used to access it. I learned that 32 bit systems will have 4 byte pointers and then got curious what the (standard) capacity of those cells (they are pointing to) was. The most discrete unit of memory is a Memory Cell, but with 1 bit capacity, this does not really fit the bill.
Comment: I can point my finger at your little finger. I can point my finger at you. I can point my finger at a football stadium full with 100,000 people. And I can point my finger at the moon.
Comment: Please [edit] the question to provide more context and background to help us understand what you are trying to learn.  Where did you encounter this?  What does "standard memory cell" mean for you?  You write "the pointer" - what pointer is that?
Comment: In many programming intro courses etc, they will have this illustration of memory as an array composed of individual cells. Each cell has an address, which is effectively the pointer and can be used to access it. I learned that 32 bit systems will have 4 byte pointers and then got curious what the capacity of those cells was. Search online did not yield immediate results.
Comment: Rather than leaving clarifications in the comments, please [edit] the question to make it read well for someone who encounters it for the first time and contain all relevant information, so people don't need to read the comments to understand what you're asking.  Thank you.
Answer: That depends on the underlying architecture. Most machines today use byte addresses, but machines that addressed words (i.e. 16, 18, 32, even 36 bits) were reasonably common. If I recall correctly, most RISC machines were unable to address anything but words (but gave addresses in bytes). At least, such an address caused the CPU to fetch both words and snip out and assemble the piece wanted.
What your favorite language does above the machine's intrincacies, ask them. Often they will refuse to handle pointers that aren't aligned at some "machine natural boundary", like the size of a C double, 8 bytes. Even on machines that have no penalty attached to non-aligned address acces.
Comment: Just on a technical point, MIPS always had byte addressing (see https://cs.stackexchange.com/questions/28825/how-exactly-the-load-word-instruction-loads-from-ram/28828#28828) , and Alpha didn't originally (see https://cs.stackexchange.com/questions/53936/why-is-word-addressable-the-exception-not-the-rule/53942#53942).


Should I also send an email to the second author? Or should I at least wait for some time for the first author to potentially respond?

Question: I am currently studying some research papers, and was unable to replicate one of the calculations (I get a different result than what was stated by the authors). I have carefully studied that part of the paper and checked over my work multiple times, so I think it's reasonably likely that there's an error. The paper in question has two authors, and I have sent a very nicely worded email including my calculations to the first author. Should I also send an email to the second author? Or should I at least wait for some time for the first author to potentially respond?
Answer: It probably would have been better to send to both initially. But since that option isn't open, perhaps you can wait a reasonable time for a reply. But, if the mail was "informational" rather than requesting feedback, then you might not get a reply.
But, a week or so is a reasonable wait time. You can also send a follow up, but to both.
Comment: Don't guess. I'm old and at the end of my career (and past), but I respond.
Comment: @ThePointer Remember it's summer for most of the population, and people (even professors!) of all ages like to go on vacation in summer. Best to not expect a reply within several weeks perhaps.
Comment: It was indeed (explicitly) requesting feedback.
Comment: Just include both on future correspondence unless they request otherwise.
Comment: Even though they are both full professors, they no longer work at the same institution, and the first author (the one I emailed) is much older and more experienced than the other (in fact, he seems to be at the end of his career, and I'm a bit concerned that he won't respond).
Comment: Ok, thanks for the advice. I'll wait and see if he responds; if not, then I'll email the other.


PSD layers are not showing when I open in Illustrator

Question: I am trying to open a PSD into Illustrator so that I can save it as an AI  and not all of my layers are showing. I have searched all around to see if anyone else's answer can help but nothing has worked.
The PSD file does have both vector and raster layers and quite a lot of layers as it is a large file.
I have tried opening it normally and placing it. I have separated my folders within my PSD to try save only sections of and it still does not show all the layers.
Is it possible for Illustrator to still display all of the layers correctly?
Is there something I am not doing correctly in order to get my layers to show?
Any help or suggestions would be appreciated :) thank you!

Update:
What happened was I created some packaging for a client using Photoshop (as it did not have to be fully vector and I had some special brushes and shapes that I used in ps)
I used the exact dimensions for printing so that it would be big enough etc...
And they are very happy with it except the printing company then asked for the AI file. So I explained that I used Photoshop and converted it to an Ai for them. But they said they could not see all the layers and wanted this in case they needed to make any changes.
Does this mean that I should rather tell them the AI file is not going to show all the layers and they will have to use the PSD to make any changes?
I can still post a screen shot if you are willing to have a look :)
I'm still a bit of a noob at other programs like illustrator and indesign but I will definitely put aside some time to learn more. Thanks again
Comment: Hi! Lot of people here will wonder why you want to do this and what you actually expect as result from this. Illustrator & Photoshop have very different functions & features, it's possible not everything will appear in Illustrator if you originally created your file in PSD. Opening a file with rasterized images, blending & effects will not make your original file a vector. Maybe upload a screenshot of your Photoshop layer panel; that could help us see what you're trying to convert. You should also consider using Indesign if you want to mix pictures & vectors!
Comment: I can't believe the number of posts like this - where a direct answer to a simple question isn't given!
Answer: The printing company wants to see the dieline & adjust your bleed if necessary because most likely, if you don't have any experience in packaging, your print-ready file might not be right. Printers have some specific requirements that they don't always share with designers because it's too technical and specific to their equipment or process.
The real technique:
For that kind of project, you should assemble everything in Indesign, QuarkXpress or any other publishing software; you import in it your background with the Photoshop effects FLATTENED saved as a eps, tiff or pdf file. You can import as many flattened images as you want. The vectors are usually done in Illustrator and saved as eps, pdf or ai, and imported as well in InDesign, in separate Illustrator files. Not copy/pasted, imported.
All the fonts and linked images are in a separate folder in the root folder where the main Indesign file is and should always follow that file. In Illustrator, it's not a bad idea to vectorize your fonts on the final print-ready files or logos; if you don't, make sure you send them to the printer as well (every single font used in your design, logo, graphics, etc.).
Designers usually send a print-ready PDF, and all this package above IF the printer requests editable files. But most designers (and for good reasons) are resistant to send editable files and prefer to do their revisions themselves, and re-send a new print-ready instead.
The other way
You can always do this with Illustrator using the exact same technique I mentioned above but don't do it the way you explained in your question with all the layers and effects from Photoshop.
Merge some layers, simplify that PSD to the maximum, then import. That will greatly help you fix your issue. Keep the text layers un-merged if possible so they can be converted to vector. Normally, you shouldn't import special effects, layer masks, blending and all these layer effects from Photoshop to Illustrator to avoid losing layers or getting bad conversions.
If you decide to work in Illustrator, I suggest you don't try to import your whole Photoshop file at once but rebuild your file in Illustrator instead. Whatever can be done in vector should be done in vector, especially texts. It's more work this way but it's more accurate too and the printed result will be super sharp! You already know how to import layers in Illustrator, you should be able to save a lot of time and keep most of your texts and logos in vectors.

Please have a look at the first part of my answer on this question to
see why:
Software for Calendar Designing

You can also send your editable files to the printer (the layers of the Photoshop parts) but frankly, it's better to ask what are the requirements, revisions and guidelines, and do the changes yourself if you can, and if there's any. If your file is very complex, they might end up asking you to do it anyway. If you do send the editable files, make sure to identify the print-ready and the editable files properly to not confuse the printer.
Dieline
For the dieline, have a look at this: How should I set up dielines so that they are not printed?

You'll learn to love Illustrator and Indesign, especially Indesign (or
QuarkXpress) for that kind of project. Once you know how to use it,
you'll see how it can save you a lot of time and add way more
precision to your work! You can ask your printer or their prepress department about it and how they prefer to receive files. And how to prepare them.
Comment: Thank you so much for taking the time to write and explain all of this it has really helped a lot. :)

I will work on what you have suggested and I look forward to learning some new programs!


Data Annotations with Decimal not working

Question: We have code like this:
<code>    [DisplayName("Refresh Rate")]
    [DisplayFormat(ApplyFormatInEditMode = true, DataFormatString = "{0:G2}")]
    [Range(1.00, 150.00, ErrorMessage = "Must be between 1 and 150")]
    public virtual decimal RefreshRate { get; set; }
</code>
which doesn't work. If we change it to
<code>[Range(0.00, 150.00, ....
</code>
it works. If we try to use the proper method of
<code>[Range(typeof(Decimal), "1", "150", ....
</code>
it doesn't work either. By "doesn't work" I mean that it doesn't validate. Why would 0 work, but not any other number? How can we make this code work?
Answer: I don't know what's your purpose to validating decimals, however maybe this trick works for you:
As you need 2 precision numbers, there is a DataType that maybe you can use it: Currency. So, maybe the following works for you:
<code>[DisplayName("Refresh Rate")]
[Datatype(DataType.Currency)]
[Range(1, 150, ErrorMessage = "Must be between 1 and 150")]
public virtual decimal RefreshRate { get; set; }
</code>
Please tell me if it doesn't work...


Magento 2.4.2: how to add a custom attribute field

Question: I need to add a custom attribute field named google_product_category in addition to those already existing for products. I tried doing it with Add attribute button, but ended up seeing a new field called attributes which has the field that I wanted to see as one of the existing attributes such as Manufacturer Part Number. Below is how the custom google_product_category looks at the bottom. That is not how I expected to see it. It should have been added just as one of all those field that you see at the top. Please let me know how to do it.
Answer: Take the following steps to change the Attribute set's Group

Go to Store > Products -> Attribute set and Select Attribute and move to "General" Group
Comment: Gohil, can you tell me how to remove the one I created?
Comment: Go to store -> products -> Attributes ..here search your Attribute..then select Attribute and delete it


Multiplayer version of Quizl

Question: I recently started playing David Parlett's Quizl. It's a word game that is something like a cross between a word search and Battleship, and I really enjoy it. It's a two-player game, but I was wondering if anyone has adapted it for more players, along the same lines as multiplayer Battleship or Salvo.
Answer: I've not seen any multiplayer versions before, but why couldn't you play this the same way that you play multiplayer battleships?
I've played a few variations of multiplayer battleships. One where you select a square in a single opponent's grid, another where all shots hit all grids.  I've even played a version where your shots hit all opponent's grids, but not your own (which made it very tempting to shoot at your own ships).
Players would score for guessing a password as in the original game.  You could implement a score penalty for an incorrect guess, otherwise there would be significantly less benefit in revealing an opponent's square.
If you want to enlarge the search space (for example, if playing that all shots hit all grids) then each player could create several 5x5 grids, only one of which contains a five letter word.
Answer: An update to the website in October 2014 added rules for a multiplayer version of Quizl:

Quizl for three or more
Quizl works perfectly well for three or more, apart from the hassle of having to draw a check-grid for each opponent, so it's best to have them pre-printed. Each player in turn calls out a grid reference, as before, but you have to get used to the fact that when you call one, you do not reveal the letter you have placed in that cell of your own grid. If somebody wants to know what you have in it, they will have to make the same call, even though they will learn nothing new about the others in that turn.
Answer: There is a single-player version available here.  However, I do not believe it's available in a multiplayer version anywhere.

Multiplayer version of Quizl


Neutral lithium ionization energy for removing an electron from the $1s$ orbital

Question: How much energy does it take to singly ionize a neutral lithium atom by removing an electron from the $1s$ orbital?
Comment: Note that the $1s$ orbital is **not** the 'ground state'. The ground state is exclusively a multi-electron state, with the configuration $1s^2 \, 2s$, and its energy cannot be split up between the different electrons. The lowest-lying orbital does exist as a concept within Hartree-Fock theory, but it is not the ground state in any useful physical sense.
Comment: Thanks for your answer, I'm actually trying to simulate Lithium with hartree fock and want to compare my results to some real data but you are of course right that in reality, the electron states do not decouple. I should have stated that in my question..
Comment: But still, particular orbitals have their energy, that is changing across the element table, due kernel charge, kernel shielding and electron repulsing effects.
Answer: You can obtain this directly from the energy-levels part of the NIST Atomic Spectra Database.

In Spectrum, put Li I for the energy levels of neutral lithium, or Li II for the energy levels of the first cation.
Choose whatever Level units you're most comfortable with.

Click Retrieve Data to get the results.
The ionization energy you want is not listed explicitly, and you need to get it as the sum of two factors:

The ionization energy from Li I to Li II, which is listed in the spectrum of Li I, at the entry Li II ($1s^2$ $^1S_0$) at the left-hand column.
The excitation energy from the $1s^2$ of the cation to the relevant $1s\,2s$ of the cation, which are listed in the Li II spectrum.

Note that there are two such states, with a small $\sim 1\:\rm eV$ energy difference between them, depending on how the two remaining spins are aligned. (Though, frankly, given how ridiculously hard it is to excite the cation to anything other than the ground state, this difference may well be negligible.)


If protons were negative and electrons were positive, would Coulomb's Law change?

Question: Coulomb's Law is $$F=k\frac{q_1  q_2}{r^2}$$
where $F$ is the force, $k$ is the Coulomb's universal constant, $q_1$ and $q_2$ are the charges, and $r$ is the distance between the two charges.
Comment: https://xkcd.com/567/
Comment: Theres nothing "positive" or "negative" about charges other than the fact that they add destructively to the field/potential. you could have called them red and blue if you wanted.
Comment: Related: https://physics.stackexchange.com/q/17109/2451 and links therein.
Answer: If protons were negatively charged, and electrons were positively charged, this would be equivalent to flipping the signs of all charges$^*$. Given that, it is quite simple to check that Coulomb's Law obeys charge symmetry, by applying the substitutions $q_1\to-q_1$ and $q_2\to-q_2$.
$$F = \frac{kq_1q_2}{r^2} \to \frac{k(-q_1)(-q_2)}{r^2} = (-1)^2\frac{kq_1q_2}{r^2} = F$$
Therefore, there would be no difference if we switched the sign convention of the charges.

$^*$I should note that, technically, switching the charges of protons and electrons would not be entirely equivalent to flipping the signs of all charges, since one could imagine doing this without changing the signs of the charges of other particles, like muons and pions. However, doing this would mean that, for instance, the process $\mu^-\to e^-\nu_\mu\bar\nu_e$ would become $\mu^-\to e^+\nu_\mu\bar\nu_e$, which clearly violates charge conservation.
Answer: No because the law is dependent on the charges, not masses. Switching around which particle gets which charge will keep the sign on the equation the same. Opposites still attract and likes repel.
Answer: All of the other answers assume the mathematical theory is correct. Physics is, however, an experimental science, and looking for discrepancies between the math and reality is a constant theme.
Experimenters have created and characterized antihydrogen, with negative antiprotons and positive antielectrons. Its measured properties confirm that Coulomb's law works as expected in this case.
Answer: Choosing positive charge for proton and negative for electron is a matter of convention, so flipping them would change nothing...
...unless we take into account other charged particles. If only the charges of proton and electron are changed, but not of the other charged particles, this may produce some unpredictable consequences... or it may not. Or it may not be possible at all from the point of view of the fundamental symmetries of the Unievrse (of which partciles are an expression).
Answer: Call the electrons as protons and vice versa. That's the effect your question has.
Comment: This answer is misleading, since there are more differences between electrons and protons than just charge.
Comment: There are differences. But the formula considers q1 and q2 as two points with charges. It does not care about other properties.
Answer: Signs does not matter. Only direction would change


What chapters are in the Shulchan aruch haRav for Yoreh Deah?

Question: I currently own the Weiss edition S.A haRav (not the all Hebrew one), and I think YD is almost done being translated and published by Kehot. Does anyone know what chapters the Weiss edition Yoreh Deah of the Alter Rebbe's S.A has? Like I said I don't have the all Hebrew edition and so I don't know what's going to be in the billingual Weiss edition.
Comment: [Welcome to MiYodeya](https://judaism.meta.stackexchange.com/a/3887/11501) Niel and thanks for this first question. Great to have you learn with us!
Answer: Here are the contents:
Hilchos Shechitah: sections 1-2, 18, 23-26
Hilchos Treifos: sections 30-33
Hilchos Ribbis/Iska: a digest (similar in style to the Choshen Mishpat volume by the same author, vol. 12 of Weiss), corresponding to sections 160-177
Hilchos Niddah: sections 183-191
Laws of Constructing a Mikvah: a practical guide (similar in style to Seder Hachnosas Shabbos by the same author), based on parts of sections 198 and 201
Hilchos Talmud Torah: a digest, corresponding to sections 242-246
Shechitah, Treifos and Niddah are structured as glosses on the Mechaber's Shulchan Aruch, some simply explanatory, others digressive and similar in style to Kuntres Acharon on the other sections. In the existing Weiss volumes they didn't translate the Kuntres Acharon word for word, just summarized each one; whether they plan to do that for these sections in Yoreh De'ah, I don't know.


How does metamagic feats interact with each type of casters?

Question:
Wizards
Wizards must choose to apply the metamagic feat to their spells while preparing the spell?
If yes, can they just cast spells with the metamagic feat this way?
Sorcerers and Bards
When sorcerers and bards cast a spell using a metamagic feat, they use a full-round action. That is ok.
Will they use then the previous and the new rank of the spell from their daily maximum?
If they use more than one feat to a spell it take a full-round for every feat applied?
Clerics and Druids
What about clerics and druids using metamagic feats in their spells, they must prepare the modified spell before or can choose while casting?
When they cast a modified spell, they take a full-round action?
Answer: It's almost all in the SRD, albeit it's in the feats section, where metamagic feats are detailen, and not in the spellcasting section where one could expect to find it.
This is the relevant part:

Wizards and Divine Spellcasters
  Wizards and divine spellcasters must prepare their spells in advance. During preparation, the character chooses which spells to prepare with metamagic feats (and thus which ones take up higher-level spell slots than normal).
Sorcerers and Bards
  Sorcerers and bards choose spells as they cast them. They can choose when they cast their spells whether to apply their metamagic feats to improve them. As with other spellcasters, the improved spell uses up a higher-level spell slot.
Spontaneous Casting and Metamagic Feats
  A cleric spontaneously casting a cure or inflict spell can cast a metamagic version of it instead. Extra time is also required in this case. Casting a 1-action metamagic spell spontaneously is a full-round action, and a spell with a longer casting time takes an extra full-round action to cast.

The reason for sorcerers and bards needing more time to cast the spell is a balance one. Casters who prepare spells must choose in advance which spell they want to apply the metamagic feats on, which makes them occupy a higher slot.
A sorcerer or a bard can decide on the spot to never cast the quickened mage missile, casting a sixth level spell instead.
This flexibility is paid with the extra casting time. No rule tells this applied once per metamagic feat applied, so I think it's quite sure you don't need to.
As a consequence, Clerics and Druids (who prepare their spells) don't usually need the extra round, except if they apply the metamagic feats to the spells they cast spontaneously, such as the converted healing or summon nature's ally spells
Comment: ''can never cast quickened magic missile'' True, UNLESS using the feat rapid metamagic or the alternative class feature for sorcerer ''metamagic specialist'' Edited the sentence from  can decide on the spot to never cast  to --- > can't decide on the spot to cast the... changed 6th level to 5th level
Answer: In case Zachiel hasn't made it clear enough...
These Are Mainly Examples
Excludes corner cases.

The cleric, druid, wizard, and other casters who prepare spells must prepare spells that're to be modified by one or more metamagic feats, designating each spell to be affected by the metamagic feat when the spell is prepared. The spell occupies a single spell slot with a level equal to the spell plus additional levels equal to all the metamagic modifiers. Casting time is unaffected unless a byproduct of the applied metamagic feat.

Example 1: The 1st-level Clr spell divine favor [evoc] (PH 224) modified by the metamagic feat Extend Spell (PH 94) occupies a 2nd-level spell slot. A cleric must be at least level 3 to prepare such a spell.
Example 2: The 1st-level Wiz spell color spray [illus] (PH 210) modified by the metamagic feats Silent Spell (PH 100) and Still Spell (PH 101) occupies a 3rd-level spell slot. A wizard must be at least level 5 to cast such a spell.
Example 3: The 4th-level Drd spell blight [necro] (PH 206) modified by metamagic feats Empower Spell (PH 93) and Maximize Spell (PH 97-8) occupies a 9th-level spell slot. A druid must be at least level 17 to cast such a spell.

The sorcerer, bard, and others who cast spells without preparation (including a cleric or druid using the class feature spontaneous casting) can choose to apply one or more metamagic feats they know to spell they are about to cast; this either increases the casting time for spells with a standard action casting time to a full round or adds 1 full round to the casting time of spells with longer casting times. Further, the metamagic modification changes the level of the spell slot used when the spell is cast to a spell slot of the spell's level plus that of the metamagic feat's modifiers.

Example 1: A bard has a spell known the 5th-level Brd spell song of discord [ench] (PH 281) as a spell known and possesses the feat Still Spell (PH 101). He can either cast the spell song of discord as a standard action as a 5th-level spell or cast the spell song of discord modified by the feat Still Spell as a full-round action as a 6th-level spell.
Example 2: A sorcerer has as a spell known the 7th-level Sor spell summon monster VII [conj] (PH 287) and possesses the feat Empower Spell (PH 93). He can either cast the spell summon monster VII as a 1-round action as a 7th-level spell or cast the spell summon monster VII modified by the feat Empower Spell as a full-round action followed by a 1-round action as a 9th-level spell.
Example 3: A cleric who has metamagic feat Maximize Spell (PH 97-8) hasn't prepared the 1st-level Clr spell cure light wounds [conj] (PH 215-6). The cleric wants to use his spontaneous casting class feature to cast the spell cure light wounds and modify the spell with the metamagic feat Maximize Spell (PH 97-8). Because cure light wounds normally takes 1 standard action to cast, it instead take a full-round action to cast. The spell cure light wounds is normally a 1st-level spell but the feat Maximize spell makes the spell use a 4th-level spell slot instead.
Comment: Just a note as it's not explicitly mentioned anywhere else: Warlocks apply metamagic feats as do sorcerer and bards as long as the resulting level of the spell does not exceed their spell casting slot level.
Comment: @Protonflux Can you cite that? (And explain the phrase *spell casting slot level*?) *Complete Arcane* on the warlock's invocations says, "Since spell-like abilities are not actually spells, a warlock cannot benefit from the Spell Focus feat. He can, however, benefit from the Ability Focus feat…, as well as from feats that emulate metamagic effects for spell-like abilities, such as Quicken Spell-Like Ability and Empower Spell-Like Ability…" (7).


Writing succintly. Does it matter?

Question: When I write school papers (Essays and projects) I try to make it as succint as possible. I'll say this is my preferred style of writing. Compared to other students that like writing explicit write-ups.  I want to inquire if it really matters if my school papers are as long as those other students? Will I get as much marks as those that wrote explicitly if we both cover the listed points?
Comment: Hi, and welcome to Writers. Unfortunately, you're a little *too* succinct here. Can you give us more context? I see you've tagged this "academic writing." Are you asking about a school paper, or a thesis? What is a "write-up" which can be explicit or succinct? Otherwise this is just a Your Mileage May Vary question.
Comment: "Unfortunately, you're a little too succinct here."  That might be an answer in itself.
Comment: While it's praise-worthy in "real life", teachers often just skim the papers by their students, and often not even that - upon seeing a paper too short for their liking they may grade it lower despite acceptable content. If writing for school, you simply risk lower grades by condensing your knowledge too much.
Answer: Being concise is certainly a worthy goal. If you can convey an idea in 300 words that someone else takes 3000 words to express, that's a good thing.
On the other hand, if what you write is very short that might mean that you don't have very much to say, or that you didn't do the research to get all the relevant information, or that you didn't think through all the implications of what you're saying.
There's no way anyone can say, "The ideal length for a history paper is 20 pages" or whatever number. Like if you wrote a paper on the proper pronunciation of the name "Caesar", I'd probably be bored if it went more than a paragraph or two (though I'm sure there are linguists who could debate the subject for hours). "The Roman Empire" is a subject about which people have written many many books.
In a class room setting, usually you are given a target length. If the teacher says you are to write a 20 page paper, then I would turn in 20 pages. If I found that I could only get 10 pages of material on my subject, I'd broaden it, and if I was on page 50 and still going, I'd narrow the focus.
Answer: Never ever be afraid to edit. Bad writing is always full of unnecessary words and sentences. Take what you need to say and say it in as clear and concise a way as you can. Make no apologies for that. Any prof worth his salt will reward content, not length.

Writing succintly. Does it matter?


Can't see the subtitles in totem

Question: I have successfully managed to load subtitles in totem and it says that the subtitles are run but,the problem is that I can't see them.
Does anybody know a fix for it?
Comment: Can you see some text garbled or there is no text displayed at all?
Comment: Go to Edit --> Preferences, and then see the following option is checked "Automatically load subtitle files when movie is loaded".
Comment: Try testing it with VLC. If VLC can see them then we know the subtitles are ok (No wrong code in them). Follow what karthick87 said and remember to have the subtitle in the same folder as the video with the same name as the video (Eg: Rambo3.avi / Rambo3.srt)
Comment: Also I checked the "Automatically load subtitle files when movie is loaded" option and it didn't do anything.
Comment: I know the subtiles are ok because they work in windows/
Comment: sounds like an encoding problem to me. try using the correct charset encoding in totem-> edit-> preferences -> encoding. also change the font to ubuntu's default.
Comment: Eitan: In what program in windows did they work? As far as I remember Windows isn't a video player.
Comment: I have the same trouble at the moment.
Comment: christopher - can you edit the question and add a link to one or two videos that you are having trouble with.  Thanks.
Answer: Okay When a DVD is ripped via Windows it does not save the subtitles in a separate file it simply lays the text in an overlay on the .VOB file.
I installed gstreamer-plugins-ugly and gstreamer-plugins-bad plus the dependencies again using the --reinstall command.
After re-ripping the DVD and creating a .sub file from the subtitle file on the DVD I have managed to load the subtitles in Totem without a problem.
It seems that Totem, even with the restricted plug ins and additions from the MediBuntu PPA can not read the subtitles from ripped DVD's although it can from traditional DVDs i.e. on a disc.
You can however, if you already have ripped DVDs or videos with subtitles simply create a .sub file in a text editor and save it in the Root of the DVD folder.
Once saved you can open the file you have created by selected "Select text subtitles" This will load the file and display the subtitles as an overlay on the screen.
As with AVI files CYREX had it 100% as long as the .avi and the .srt file are named the same and in the same folder you can open the file and activate subtitles from the right click menu.
Answer: I would suggest trying it with vlc, and checking the font preferences, probably something to do with unicode or charsets.  I believe in totem though tyou can automatically load subtitles if they are in the root dir of the movie.
Goodluck!

Can't see the subtitles in totem


Runners passing each other at home base in baseball

Question: Consider the case where bases are loaded with 1 out, and the batter gets a base hit to the right. Runners on third and second score without a throw. But the runner on third missed home while picking up a bat and never touched home. The runner from second touched home and time was called.  What should the call have been?
Answer: Physically, it doesn't appear that the trailing baserunner passed the leading one, so there's no penalty for "passing a preceding runner..." 5.09(b)(9).
There's less than two outs, so the trailing runner will score.
The lead runner missed home, so can be called out and run removed if the defense appeals.
Might be interesting to think about what would happen if the runner from third tried to go back and touch the plate after the runner from second has already scored.  I can't find anything in MLB rulebook that would prevent it.  But high school NFHS rules are explicit that a runner cannot re-touch after a following runner has scored.
Comment: I don't know. An argument could be made that the second runner cannot touch home without passing the first until the first run has touched home or is put out.


Can I "upgrade" to the same version of Ubuntu?

Question: Each time I put a bootable drive in the usb slot, it asks me if I want to install it. Can I use it to reinstall my OS without formatting my harddrive?
Comment: What do you want to do? Simply reinstall Ubuntu without losing your home directory?
Comment: Well, I backed everything up, but it's been running out of battery really quickly lately, and so I'd like to reinstall the OS to clean it up.
Comment: I don't think this is 100% OS related. A battery gets more weak the longer you use it. Reinstalling the OS might not solve your problem. Did you try whether it behaves the same when running a Live system?
Answer: Please correct me if I'm wrong - I haven't used Ubuntu in a while since I moved to Arch Linux.
I believe Ubiquity (the installer used in the Ubuntu LiveUSB) has the ability to reinstall Ubuntu over a previous install of Ubuntu while retaining all personal documents, pictures, music, etc. - in a nutshell, your home folder.
On the "Installation Type" screen during the install process from an Ubuntu LiveUSB, it should show an option along the lines of Replace Ubuntu <version> with Ubuntu <version>. These can be the same versions, and should preserve the contents of your home folder.
Note: This will not save your installed programs. If you're looking to do that, check out this question.
Comment: Can I use Ubiquity to install Xubuntu or another version of ubuntu?
Comment: Yes. All officially supported distributions of Ubuntu (Xubuntu, Lubuntu, Kubuntu, UbuntuGnome, Edubuntu, etc.) use Ubiquity and support this feature, as far as I know.
Comment: Huh, for whatever reason, it was not detecting that I had an upgrade in the usb slot, and I couldn't figure out how to upgrade via Ubiquity since the option wasn't coming up. I wound up backing up my home drive and wiping anyway.


iPhone UIImagePicker issue

Question: I've an issue with the UIImagePicker.
When I first display it I get a white bar about the size of the status bar appearing above the controls. Though on the second time it then doesn't show up but reappears on the third time and in that pattern.
It looks like this:

But If I zoom in it appears normal:

I hide the Tab Bar and navigation bar when the picker is displayed (modally) if I don't these overlay the picker. I then unhide them after.
I don't understand how it displays the white space then doesn't and then does again.
Have anyone had this issue?
Thanks
EDIT- If I set [[UIApplication sharedApplication] setStatusBarHidden:NO animated:NO]; after presenting the modalview the issue is gone.
Answer: You can try doing:
<code>myImagePickerController.wantsFullScreenLayout = YES;
</code>

iPhone UIImagePicker issue


SQL server permissions during installation

Question: I'm trying to find out when a SQL server installation grants permissions on the OS.
I know that the following permissions are giving during setup msdn article about permissions.
However what I don't know is how SQL server will react if the permissions are there, but granted through a group. My problem is that the OS group policies do not allow for several of the required permissions to be granted. And we are going to add the users to a group, that is then included in the group policy.
Will SQL server correctly detect that the required permissions are present, and skip adding the users individually? Or will the installation end on error because it can not grant the required privileges?
We're planning to test this soon, however due to time constraints I was hoping some-one here has experience with this issue, and can give me an answer.

Update: I'm quickly adding some information in the hopes that someone can explain the observed behavior to me...
We are able to install SQL server, despite group policies preventing nearly all the permissions mentioned in the before linked MSDN article. However if we then try and run an SSIS package, or certain server wide jobs, we receive the error that SQL Server lacks the required privileges.
Why was SQL Server able to install, without error even, despite not being able to add the sql server agent and service users to the User Right policies it needs according to the MSDN documentation?
Currently SQL Server is running, despite the user not having local permissions, and not having the Log on as a service permissions... Am I wrong in my understanding of why these permissions are required?
Comment: To your update: What type of service account are you using?
Comment: @ShawnMelton A domain user, if that's what you ment?
Answer: I will say up front that I do not know why your company would have policies that lock down the OS so much that a Microsoft product cannot be installed and provided the appropriate permissions during an installation. I would think they might be doing that backwards. I supported the military as a contractor for many years and that included secured networks, we did not lock down the OS until after all software was installed on the server. We at most wanted to ensure the software installed itself appropriately without any issue.
Outside of that, it is going to depend on what permissions you are not allowing to be set. If it is being restricted on what OS level permissions are set within the local group policy that are going to prevent the services from starting the installation will likely fail.
Shorting SQL Server services the documented permissions required to operate might affect your supportability with Microsoft. Just something to keep in mind.
Edit/Update
There is no in-depth doc that is going to go through what all the installation process does on a server. You can weed through the installation log under the default directory here: C:\program files\Microsoft SQL Server\110\Setup Bootstrap\Log. The 110 would be based on which version of SQL Server you are working with: 100 = SQL Server 2008/R2; 110 = SQL Server 2012; 120 = SQL Serve 2014.
I don't know anyone has gone through and determined the outcome of each little affect of an OS level permission not existing. All that is needed to understand is that permissions assigned according to documentation show what is required for a supported installation of SQL Server. You are basically going to experience sporadic issues based on what you need to do. Every permissions has a purpose, you just may not have reached or hit that purpose as of yet.
Comment: Currently the installation is being done by our OS team, then the security is set up. Then it's handed over to an off-shore team who do the SQL server setup. Then we're supposed to handle the rest. However as it stands the installation seems to have several problems. Probably related to security settings. EDIT: None of this is how I'd handle it... But it's a management decision far beyond my paygrade.
Comment: Yeah that is [bass akwards](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=bass+ackwards). I don't know of any public security standards that require security to be applied before any app is installed, as long as it is before going to production. DoD does not even work that way, even in the geometric shaped building in Washington, D.C..
Comment: Unfortunately the bank and insurance world apparently (atleast this part of it) does work that way.
Comment: I know folks in the banking industry but never discussed specifics on how they handle installations.
Answer: I'm trying to find out when a SQL server installation grants permissions on the OS.
During installation during Database Engine Configuration please make sure to add yourself as Administrator for SQL Server Administrator so that you have an access to Specific instance after installation.

During this step you can include user groups to access SQL Server Instance.

You can always add windows groups to SQL Server and allow access depending on their privileges.
As long as you have user added to SQL Server you will not get any error during installation.
Hope this helps you.
Comment: What you are referring to is user related, the OP is referring to service related permissions per the link provided in the question.


Random letters and touch input on iPad

Question: A couple of days ago, my iPad started inserting random letters into what I was typing. For instance, I would try to type a C and a V would be typed. This would be the same for many letters. When I pressed Backspace to delete it would either delete multiple letters or insert various random letters. I reset the iPad and it worked better for a couple of days, but now symptoms have arisen again.  This has been happening when using Facebook, Messenger and Mail so it's not restricted to one app. What can I do?
Answer: I've seen a couple variations of this problem before, and its usually one of 3 problems:

your touch screen is starting to malfunction. This is uncommon, but things happen with electronics. Seek repair from Apple.
Poorly conditioned electricity. Does this only happen when your iPad is plugged in? I had a generic plug that induced symptoms like you describe. Unplug the ipad and see if it still happens.
Liquid damage. This is probably the most frequent cause of electrical anomalies like this. Did anyone spill anything on the ipad, even if not recently?
Comment: Funnily enough it has been fine for a couple of days.  I did have a habit of using it whilst still plugged in to charge.  I thought that it was a malfunctioning touch screen but as it is fine again this seems unlikely.  thank you.
Answer: If your iPad is in a case or holder, remove it.
Switch off, and on again.
Comment: Welcome to Ask Different!  We're trying to find the best answers and those answers will provide info as to why they're the best. Explain why your answer will solve the problem or is better than others out there.  Providing links can also help the OP, and others, find the software and evaluate it themselves.  See [answer] on how to provide a quality answer. - From Review

Random letters and touch input on iPad


Water is pouring out of our Aprilaire humidifier

Question: We had an Aprilaire humidifier (600 model) installed in a new house 2.9 years ago.  About a year ago, the humidifier began leaking water all over the basement floor.  This has happened 3 times with 3 visits from a heating a cooling company tech to fix the problem.  We just had the biggest flood yesterday - water was literally pouring out of the I think the front of the humidifier.  I need to know what to ask the h/c technician who will come again to fix the problem.  Doesn't it seem that there is broken part that should be replaced to stop this from happening?  I know nothing about humidifiers and neither does my husband and we're about ready to toss it out.  Any tips would be appreciated.
Comment: The big question is **why** is it leaking. A broken valve? Solenoid stuck open? Seam coming apart? Could be all kinds of things. Pictures might help - someone familiar with the unit might spot a problem.
Comment: So you have 100% humidity now.  **If the unit keeps malfunctioning then it may be wise to replace it**.
Comment: I assume you're changing the filter each season? Until the issue is solved, I'd leave the humidifier off.
Answer: The Aprilaire humidifiers, including the 600, use an orifice piece to restrict water flow. It should be at the end of the line coming into the solenoid, but someone may have put it on the other end. It will be yellow or red, you need yellow for your model.
Comment: Mine came from the factory such that the solenoid had, on its 'exhaust' side, a preinstalled gray plastic water supply line, with an Aprilaire 4231 yellow orifice on the exhaust end of that supply line. This caused it to spray a thin pressurized jet into the backstop of the water tray, which sprayed up into the roof of the humidifier, down the sides, into the duct, etc. and water WILL find a way out of that somewhere. It may not be the most correct solution but I moved the yellow orifice to the solenoid end of the gray line in order to restrict flow without a jet into the tray. Good so far.
Answer: Here is a diagram of that model from Aprilaire. The drain tube (#9 in the diagram) might be clogged. Look on page 11 section 9 for further instructions about the drain tube. Also, check the main water outlet where the tube connects to the bottom of the pan to make sure drainage isn't restricted. Check the pipe that the drain tube is connected to. It could be clogged as well.
Answer: Humidifier is a simple device, you need a new heating guy. 3 visits and he can't solve it. Not good. A handy friend should be able to identify the problem in a matter of minutes. Clogged drain, misaligned pad, cracked or dislodged 1/4 " water supply. Even if the solenoid was stuck open it should not leak.
Answer: The problem I have seen is a small chunk of scale or sand blocking the valve from closing. I started installing mesh screens prior to these valves similar to what is used in washing machines. The screens do need to be cleaned when they plug up with scale and debris, but this is better than a flood. Depending on your supply line, a small inline filter may be a good choice, but this has been the cause for several leaks that I have found. With both the mostly plastic valves and the more expensive brass and stainless models, I have disassembled the valves and been able to clean them. When the valve gets ~8-10 years old the diaphragm needs to be replaced. On the brass ones there are rebuild kits for ~$15. The plastic ones I just replace.
Answer: I had the same problem with lots of water leaking from the bottom almost as soon as the unit turns on. If that is your problem too (leaking within a second or two after being turned on) then maybe the water is coming out of the inlet too fast -not at its normal slow trickle- in which case the jet of water is splashing out of the tray and onto the fan housing. That is what I observed with mine.
One easy way to tell if too much water is coming in- First crack open the humidifier housing so that it turns off while the HVAC fan is on. Then briefly close the humidifier housing so the humidifier turns on for 3-4 seconds (its fan should spin and water should flow). Then open the humidifier and look at the panel. If you see water cascading along the outside face of the water panel and mainly down the center 1/3 of the panel, then somehow too much water is coming out of your inlet.
Alternatively, a sure fire way to see is to disconnect the electrical connector on the housing - just pinch the plastic sides of the connector to remove it from the housing. There should be enough slack in the wire to allow you to make the connection without closing the housing. Obviously be careful because the fan will spin and make sure you keep the correct orientation of the connector when connecting. Once you make the connection the fan will spin and the water will flow and you'll be able to instantly tell whether or not too much water is coming in from the inlet.
For me the water was jetting in so fast it was ricocheting off the upper tray and onto the fan housing. As a temporary fix I dialed down the saddle valve so it wasn't open all the way.
But is too much water from the inlet (~3 times as much as normal) the fault of the solenoid? I just replaced the solenoid a few months ago from having the opposite problem of no water flow.
Answer: I replaced the yellow orifice at the solenoid outlet and it fixed the problem.  I verified the water was coming out to fast/strong from the original orifice.  The outlet hole in the original orifice must have somehow enlarged.  Hard to believe this happened.
Comment: As it's currently written, your answer is unclear. Please [edit] to add additional details that will help others understand how this addresses the question asked. You can find more information on how to write good answers [in the help center](/help/how-to-answer).
Answer: I had water leaking all over also with my Aprilaire 600.
The shut off valve that supplied water failed .  So even when I closed it water was still pouring through.  So I shut off the source.
First checked the orifice on the EXIT side of the solenoid.  It was blown so I put in a new one.  This slowed the water to a trickle BUT DID NOT STOP IT.
Turned off the system.  Water still coming though so the solenoid was stuck open.  Tried cycling it several times but no good…water still coming through.
So in essence two failures, one the shut off valve packing obviously went and two, the solenoid needed replacing.
Answer: Had a similar problem with water leaking out of my relatively new (1-2 years) Aprilaire 700 humidifier.  Replaced the filter/evaporative pad element. Problem solved (still had to dry the floor up though !) Pad was totally clogged up with mineral sediment from water passing down over it. Realized it was also time to replace my water softener, which wasn't working. Good luck.
Answer: All humidifiers start leaking like that when the water panel goes bad and needs replaced, how frequent the water panel needs replaces is based on water quality. We recommend installing a the Asurity HM-PAN under each humidifier to shut down the humidifier and prevent water damage. It should be code to install these pans!
Comment: Your answer could be improved with additional supporting information. Please [edit] to add further details, such as citations or documentation, so that others can confirm that your answer is correct. You can find more information on how to write good answers [in the help center](/help/how-to-answer).


In applescript, how can I return the contents of a file on the web?

Question: In applescript, how can I return the contents of a file on the web? So if I did foo.com/untitled.txt, it would give me the contents of that file.
Answer: I would suggest using do shell script to call the command line utility curl to do the job, like so:
set theText to do shell script "/usr/bin/curl http://foo.com/test.txt"

Comment: on curl(URI)
        do shell script "/usr/bin/curl " & quoted form of URI
    end curl
Answer: on curl(URI)
    tell me to do shell script "/usr/bin/curl " & quoted form of URI
end curl

Or another way:
on temporaryFile()
    tell me to POSIX file (do shell script "/usr/bin/mktemp " & quoted form of (POSIX path of (path to temporary items from user domain) & (do shell script "/usr/bin/basename " & quoted form of POSIX path of (path to me) & " '.app'") & "XXXXXXXX")) as alias
end temporaryFile

on fetchPage(URI)
    set temporaryFile0 to my temporaryFile()
    tell application "URL Access Scripting"
        --progress,form data,directory listing,download directory,authentication
        download URI to temporaryFile0 replacing yes
    end tell
    set fileReference to open for access temporaryFile0
    try
        set returnValue to read fileReference
    on error number -39
        set returnValue to ""
    end try
    close access fileReference
    tell application "Finder" to delete temporaryFile0
    returnValue
end fetchPage


Mysql UDF is installed (but doesn't exist?)

Question: Here's a crazy one:
mysql> CREATE FUNCTION PREG_REPLACE RETURNS STRING SONAME 'lib_mysqludf_preg.so';
ERROR 1125 (HY000): Function 'PREG_REPLACE' already exists
mysql> DROP FUNCTION preg_replace;
ERROR 1305 (42000): FUNCTION (UDF) preg_replace does not exist

Um.... that's actually quite funny....
The real problem is that the function is no longer recognized in queries.  Tried re-compiling, re-installing, re-starting, etc. -- no joy.  UDF is from here:  http://www.mysqludf.org/lib_mysqludf_preg/index.php
This followed after switching to percona 5.5 from mysql.  UDF worked fine in mysql.
Question is:  How do I get the PREG UDF to work after upgrading from mysql to percona 5.5?
ANSWER:  Here's the answer based on Baron's tip below:
From the mysql error.log:
120319  9:32:06 Percona XtraDB (http://www.percona.com) 1.1.8-rel24.1 started; log sequence number 1547303885
120319  9:32:06 [ERROR] Can't open shared library 'lib_mysqludf_preg.so' (errno: 0 /usr/lib/plugin/lib_mysqludf_preg.so: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory)

Percona seems to look in a different directory than my standard MySql install.
MySql looks for all plugins in /usr/lib/mysql/plugin.
Percona was looking in /usr/lib/plugin
The solution was simple -- I just created a symlink in /usr/lib to the /usr/lib/mysql/plugin directory as follows:
me@host:/usr/lib/plugin$ sudo ln -s /usr/lib/mysql/plugin ./plugin

Viola! -- everything loads just fine now.
Answer: I get that a lot. To solve this problem you should:
DELETE FROM mysql.func WHERE name='PREG_REPLACE'

And then proceed with your CREATE FUNCTION... statement.
Comment: No dice `Error Code: 1125. Function 'function name' already exists`


Do non-Schengen flight crews working in and out of the area, fall foul of the 90/180 day rule?

Question: Just want to know whether it affects Flight crews availability to work… thanks in advance.
Comment: I do not fully understand your question. It is about mixing normal Schengen entry with crew entry or just crew entry? In such last case, your airline will do paperwork and check conditions (and also required rest periods): they know a lot better then people on this side (also if we were pilots, we do not care about it). In any case the 90/180 rule is just one rule for specific type of entries, not for crew (or many other type of visa)
Comment: It may also depend on whether they need to pass immigration on their Schengen journeys. I see many UK flights turn around with the same crew, who do not even leave the plane between flights.
Comment: Related: [What schengen visa should the flight crew from outside the EU have?](https://travel.stackexchange.com/q/132335/241)
Comment: @Willeke passing immigration is not of itself the controlling factor; air crew can pass immigration without getting a stamp under routine circumstances.
Answer: Normally, flight crew members will enter the Schengen area on the basis of a pilot's license or crew certificate (see Annex VII, item 2 of the Schengen Borders Code), which is not to be stamped (see Article 11(2)).
The code does not contain an explicit exemption from the 90/180 rule in such cases, but the explicit exemption of these documents from being stamped is an implicit exemption from the 90/180 rule because the stamps are the record by which presence in the Schengen area is calculated.


What is the configuration equivalent to `gg`?

Question: call feedkeys('gg', 'int') seems to work, but what would be the Vim configuration language equivalent?
Comment: What do you mean by "vim configuration language"? Vimscript?
Comment: Somewhat related post: [Modify vim-fugitive Gstatus mapping](https://stackoverflow.com/q/50537023/438329)
Comment: I've no idea. Which language is `call feedkeys('gg', 'int')`? I'm trying to [configure Vim to go start up at the end of the first line in insert mode when editing Git commits](https://unix.stackexchange.com/q/475187/3645).
Answer: Don't you mean ggA? Anyways, there's no separate language for Vim configuration. Everything is "Vim script":

Your first experience with Vim scripts is the vimrc file.  Vim reads it when
  it starts up and executes the commands.  You can set options to values you
  prefer.  And you can use any colon command in it (commands that start with a
  ":"; these are sometimes referred to as Ex commands or command-line commands).
     Syntax files are also Vim scripts.  As are files that set options for a specific file type.

(from :h vim-script-intro)
So the literal answer to your literal question is: call feedkeys('ggA', 'int'). A slightly more thoughtful answer would also mention that if you want to execute Normal mode commands from a script (or from the command line) then you typically would use :norm. E.g. norm! ggA. (The ! is used to prevent interference from existing mappings.)
Note: someone answered your question on the other site with an autocommand based solution and I think that's the right approach. Have you followed through on that?
Comment: Thanks! Yes, the `autocommand` solution did work; I was just trying to split the problem into manageable pieces to work out a solution.


Can I transfer funds to another blizzard account?

Question: OK well I messed up.  I have two blizzard accounts and I wanted to buy blackrock for the account I actually use. So I click on the button that takes me to the website so I can add funds. What I didn't realize, is that it took me to the site where I was already logged into the wrong account and I added the funds.  Is this irreversible? Am I out the 25 bones?
Comment: For fear of being wrong, I won't put this in an asnwer, but my thoughts are:
NO, you cannot do this. Blizzard has strict policies about "B.net Funds" and they cannot be taken out of the account ever. However, this isn't necessarily taking the funds out of an account since they will be going into a different one, but based on policies and bank transaction fees, I doubt Blizzard would ever allow this, try contacting customer service and ask.
Answer: No, you cannot. Contact Blizzard Customer Support, explain your issue, and they may be able to assist you. It's not likely they will be willing or legally able to do this unless both accounts are already in the same name and have the same payment information. If they cannot, your only option would be to initiate a chargeback through your bank, and that comes with its own set of issues.
Comment: I believe if you do a chargeback they will permanently suspend the account.
Answer: There is no way to do this by yourself, you will have to contact blizzard support for hearthstone. They are not obligated to fix this issue but should be willing to as long as you can prove that you own both accounts. As a word of advice do not play on the account, it will give your case a better chance. Do this as soon as possible too.
If you do decide to charge back the account, that hearthstone account will be banned.


Web Portal Integration with SharePoint 2016

Question: I have a concern on how to integrate SharePoint 2016 with a web portal.(custom API, BDC...)
for example, if i have an HR recruiting solution on SharePoint and i want to show the available vacancies created on SharePoint on the company website.
Any suggestions how should i start my research?
Answer: A couple of possibilities:

Run a nightly job using the SharePoint PowerShell cmdlets or C# code and the SharePoint Server API to collect the data and write it to somewhere your web site could read it.
Use the SharePoint REST API from your web site code to directly read the list data. Something like:
<code>https://yourServer/sites/yourSite/_api/web/lists/getbytitle('Vacancies')/items?$select=Name,Description&$filter=Status eq 'Active'
</code>

References:
Choose the right API set in SharePoint
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/dev/general-development/choose-the-right-api-set-in-sharepoint
Use OData query operations in SharePoint REST requests
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/dev/sp-add-ins/use-odata-query-operations-in-sharepoint-rest-requests
Comment: Mike Smith, thank you for your reply.

for the first point, do you think that BDC can be a good option for me? i will save the pulled data in a list so i can run some workflows on it. (i need to know also when someone apply for a job)
How to give the access to the web site to read data from my SharePoint list?
any idea if there is an article about this process step by step done by some seniors? to follow it or to have an idea about how the development should be done.


The relation of mean time between failure and the exponential distribution

Question: Suppose that we calculate the mean time between failures(mtbf) to be $m$ by simply taking $n$ samples where $n$ is sufficiently large. Now that we know this the failure probability of the system under inspection is modeled with the the exponential distribution($Exp$) parametrized with $\frac{1}{\lambda} = m$. So my question is why do we model it like this. I mean the memoryless property(I know Exp is the only continuous distribution with this property) of $Exp$ and that $E(Exp(\lambda)) = \frac{1}{\lambda} = m$ is obviously desired properties but for example being positively skewed is not necessarily desired. Suppose I want to give higher probability of failure at a given $(t_1, t_2)$ time frame and low outside that also keeping the mean at $m$. Or that's not really an interesting use-case?
Answer: Your question is why we don't use a model shaped like that and the answer is that the standard model seems to work for a majority of cases.  It allows you to move forward when you don't have any better information to go on.  If you do have more specific information about a particular situation, then by all means develop your  own probability distribution based on observation or experience, and use that.  If your observations are correct and reasonably accurate, your predictive results will be better than a generic solution.  It might be worth checking some of that actual data against the standard model before you go to all that trouble, to see how much benefit you would be buying with the hassle of setting up this individualized approach.


What size circuit breaker do I need?

Question: I am wiring a workshop in my backyard. I ran 4 gauge wire from the main panel to a pull out fused panel then wire goes inside to a subpanel. The sub panel has 2 - 20 amp circuit breakers for the shop equipment. 1 breaker for each side of the shop. Then I have 1 - 15 amp breaker used for lighting. The wire under ground is 4 gauge - hot/hot/neutral/ground and runs 105 feet. I want to use a GFCI in the main panel and want to know if I should use 40 amp double pole or 60 amp double pole? Thanks for any help.
Comment: How big is the workshop (in square feet)?
Comment: As described, you will pull no more than 35 amps on either leg (20A on one leg and 20A+15A on the other). Therefore you have no reason, other than future expansion, to use a master breaker larger than 40A.
Answer: With #4CU you can have up to a 90A feeder breaker. Even at 105' a 90A feeder is FINE.
The sum of the breakers is a completely meaningless number, you need to consider the actual load you will have at any given time. Think about it, a typical 200A panel might be filled with 400, 500, 600, or more amps worth of breakers.
Better yet do a load calculation, which in an installation like this is pretty hard to pin down.
IMO there is no reason at all to go with less than a 70A breaker. If it were me the 90 would be in there already.
Your wire will handle it, why limit yourself???
Actually, re-reading it You are saying you want to use a GFCI breaker for the feeder? If so, WHY?? That is an expensive breaker that is NOT needed. Simply use GFI receptacles where required at the point of use.
If this is the case then I'd go with the biggest GFCI breaker I could find under 100A, which is most likely 60A.

What size circuit breaker do I need?


Are Bigelow's habitats inflatable, or expandable with other methods?

Question: Are the space stations and habitation modules of Bigelow Aerospace (Genesis I & II and the planned BEAM and B330) blown up by air like balloons? Or are they unfolded by mechanical or other means? They themselves use the word "expandable" but most others say "inflatable".
Answer: Genesis I and II were technology demonstrators and inflated by increasing pressure internally with Nitrogen gas.
BEAM because it will inflate while attached the ISS will inflate with a breathable mix. Almost certainly not pure oxygen (fire risk), likely with a mix that matches the ISS atmosphere. (In fact the ISS needs large tanks of Nitrogen, since it leaks away with each spacewalk. Splitting water into Hydrogen and Oxygen is easy, getting nitrogen gas is harder.)
BA330 will have the same issues, since it will be a standalone space station, but since people will need to occupy it, most certainly a breathable mix and since you need to fill it with breathable air anyway, why not use it for two things at the same time.
Comment: @LocalFluff Genesis I, II and BEAM yes. BA330 may change, but I doubt it.
Comment: So they are blown up air pressure alone, like balloons, not mechanically folded out?


Cooking a raw 25lbs ham a day in advance: keep warm or chill+warm?

Question: I am curing a 25lbs ham and will cook it a day in advance to eat the next day (that day will be hectic so I can't cook it that day). Should I pull the hot ham and cool it down and refrigerate it and reheat is 20 or so hours later or should I keep it warm at 140F for 24 hours?
Answer: It's really a matter of opinion, but I expect keeping food hot for 24 hours will not result in a nice texture, or a nice electricity bill.
You're going to either leave it uncovered – which will result in it drying out – or cover it – which will increase the temperature and continue the cooking process.
I have no experience cooking a quantity of meat that large, but I'd suggest cooking it fully and refrigerating it quickly afterwards. The next day, get the oven up to high temperature (like 230 C / 450 F), put the meat in*, and then turn off the oven. You will hopefully get enough heat to warm the whole thing over a couple of hours and crisp up the exterior again, without overcooking it.
*Obvious warning: if you're using a glass dish, don't put it directly from the refrigerator into a 230C oven


Walking the tangle—How to get the parents?

Question: Looking at Pseudocode to walk the tangle?, in order to walk the tangle you look at the open tips and then you look for the parents. getTips gives you a list of all the open tips.  What API call is needed however to get the parents?
Answer: The 2 parents of a transactions are called trunk transaction and branch transaction.
You get them like this:
(It's python but the names and arguments in other libraries are very similar)
getTips returns a list of transaction hashes
tips = api.get_tips()['hashes']

Call getTrytes to fetch a transaction from its hash. (tips[0] for the first transaction in tips)
transaction_trytes = api.get_trytes([tips[0]])['trytes']

Transaction.from_tryte_string takes the trytes and casts them into a Transaction-object
transaction = Transaction.from_tryte_string(transaction_trytes[0])

To get the parents, use the properties of the transaction
trunkTransactionHash = transaction.trunk_transaction_hash()
branchTransactionHash = transaction.branch_transaction_hash()

Then you can call getTrytes again
trunkTransaction = api.get_trytes([trunkTransactionHash])

Comment: I've read the documentation about the lazy Tips and why you should use these algorithms in order to get the "best" Tips. But I have a question: is possible to choose by myself what tips refer to? And is possible to refer to a parent transaction that is not a Tip?


OpenSSL and Windows Active Directory

Question: I work at a company that is considering using Windows Active Directory and Certificate Authority. However, there are some issues that we have been reading about, and have some concerns. So we are considering using OpenSSL to generate the certificates, then distributing them using Active Directory. We would like to automate the process as much as possible. This is how we want it to work:

We add a user to our domain.
Active directory sees that there is a new user (or computer) added.
Active directory then sends a request to OpenSSL to create a cert, passing along the first name and last name of the user. This is what we currently use to create the files needed so we can locate them easily.
OpenSSL generates the certs.
OpenSSL places them in a directory and returns the keys back to Active Directory.
Active directory then installs the certs om the computer.

So all we would have to do is create the user.
My question is, put simply: Is this at all possible, and how would we go about doing it?
Answer: Anything is possible (well, most things are possible).  Whether it should be done is a different question.
Why bother with OpenSSL when there are more appropriate tools for the job.  OpenSSL is a tool for testing and experimenting with X.509 certificates and is not meant to be used as a real CA.  The man page even states this:

The ca utility was originally meant as an example of how to do things in a CA. It was not supposed to be used as a full blown CA itself

With the above in mind, simply install Active Directory Certificate Services (ADCS) on a couple of Windows servers.  Install an off-line Root CA and use that to issue a certificate to an on-line Enterprise issuing CA.  Install the latter on a server dedicated to the role - don't share - so that you can strictly control access.
The issuing CA can be configured to issue certificates to any computer or user within the AD forest. It will even automatically renew certificates if you tell it to do so.  This will be much easier than your scheme and will also be more secure as it's specifically written for the purpose, and will log events as well as enforce multi-user operation if you ask it to.
There are plenty of resources on installing ADCS on the Internet.  Some are dubious at the very least, while others are excellent.  Try to keep to reputable sites, such as Microsoft's own and you shouldn't go too wrong.

OpenSSL and Windows Active Directory


add more RAM or time to get a new computer

Question: I use a Mac Pro with dual 2.4 Ghz quad-core Xeon processors. The machine has 6 GB of DDR2-667 RAM and two 500 GB drives in RAID 0. I am running OSX Snow Leopard because newer versions of OSX are not compatible with my hardware. I very often need to have 10 or more programs open at one time. As an example, I might run Photoshop, InDesign, Microsoft Word, Excel, a Bible software program, Outlook, two web browsers (Safari and Firefox), a Windows 7 virtual PC using VMWare Fusion, Acrobat Pro with Pitstop, Flightcheck, and Calibre. In addition, Time Machine runs periodic backup as I work. The machine runs very slowly with all this going on at once, but I am constantly going from one program to another, so closing APPs as I go and reopening each one again as needed is not an option. I can upgrade to 12 GB total RAM for $180 or to 20 GB of RAM for $380. Other than one bad ethernet port the hardware is in perfect working condition, so I hate to purchase a new machine if the one I have can be upgraded to solve the problem. And now my question: Do you think upgrading the RAM to 12 GB or 20 GB would have significant impact on performance in my situation, or is upgrading to a newer machine the only option to improve performance?
Comment: You should check your `Activity Monitor` to see where your bottleneck is. If during your situation as described above the CPU is at 100%, then you'd need to look into CPU/PC refresh options. If it's memory, then your question of "how much" becomes relevant. Until then, you're getting ahead of yourself. Unless I missed it in your question, how did you determine that RAM may help? Did you do other diagnostics not mentioned?
Comment: Generation is an important distinction to determine "old", based on Wikipedia I assume you have the 2010 Mac Pro with *Bloomfield* (*Nehalem*-based) CPUs which is currently 4 gens "old".
Comment: Also, I suspect a SSD might be the answer if you are running backups (disk intensive).
Answer: Holy smokes, even without any quantitative analysis I can tell you that you're running just about all your machine can handle. Your processor is just not strong enough to smoothly manage this level of activity, and more RAM won't help significantly.
I would recommend buying a second computer with a stronger, multi-core processor (3.0+ ghz with at least 4 cores) and 8-16GB DDR3 RAM. As long as you don't buy another macbook, you can actually get a desktop rig like that for about $450-650 (cost of monitor not included). Investigate your options on newegg - they tend to have decent deals.
Comment: I disagree there - the old quad xeons are beasts,and apparently still hold their own - he's not using a Macbook, but rather those big apple workstations.
Answer: You're probably causing your o/s to swap memory to disk given you have some very memory hungry applications running all the time.  This will probably be easy to see by looking at your hard disk activity light when you change applications.
Firstly, check to see if this is the problem (Activity Monitor).   If so, there are 2 things you can do. 1) Increase RAM so you can fit more applications in memory at the same time without having to swap them to disk.  2) Get a faster drive - maybe an SSD if you can stretch to that.
The CPU is fine providing you're not actually processing much simultaneously.  Just because the apps are loaded into memory does not mean they're consuming large amounts of CPU.  Only when they're asked to perform work will then get CPU greedy.  Of course, if you do need to execute many tasks in parallel (i.e. server type work) then a newer CPU would benefit, but in this example, I think larger gains could be had by upping the RAM.  Ask your retailer if you can 'try before you buy' ?
Answer: Well, I definitely agree with @JourneymanGeek that the current processor is fine and there is no point of replacing it... the issue here is the RAM. Normally, when you use Adobe PS atleast 8GB is required (that's just my opinion for better performance) coupled with all the multitasking you been doing, atleast 12GB or above memory is required. Usually, 12GB should do the necessary work but 16GB is always the better option. Also, sometimes browsers can drain too much memory due to the installed add-ons and plugins etc. So IMO, go with a 16GB of memory upgrade (assuming this is your system - http://support.apple.com/kb/SP30) and that is the max you can upgrade your RAM to. More often instead of contemplating on getting a new system you will be amazed by the performance you can get just by upgrading your RAM.
Hope that helps.
P>S:
If you need memory try these links :-
Link#1
Link#2
Answer: Your best option IMO is to move to SSD's.  Do you need all 500gb for operations, or is most of it for storage?  A raid 0 with two SSD's Crucial.com will give your PC the bigger kick.  This will make your PC use less RAM as your SSD's will be as fast or nearly as fast as your RAM.
Comment: A SSD will make a system a lot more responsive, but it will **not** make the system use less RAM. Anx RAID-0 is probably overkill. A single SSD and a single HDD will work just fine.


How do I install a fixed gear cog on a screw-on freewheel hub?

Question: I'm converting my old favorit bicycle to a fixie, but the hub is obviously not made for a fixed gear cog. I've removed the freewheel (not sure if it's called that, the thing that spins backwards on the hub..) but I'm left with a "screw on hub" (the cassette with the freewheel was screwed on to the hub). How can I install a fixed gear cog on that? Is there even a way? please help..
Comment: This looks like it might be built up to the left a touch, you might have to change the spacers and redish the wheel to get a nice chainline.
Answer: I've not done this, but I beleive the threads are compatible with a standard fixed gear cog. If so, just buy a cog and install it. Then put a lockring from an adjustable bottom bracket on as a lockring (it has the same threads as the hub).
Note that this will not works as well as a proper fixie hub, most obviously because it's missing the left hand threaded section that normally holds the fixie lockring in place. I strongly suggest using locktite, or possibly even superglue, to hold the cog in place. Otherwise when you back pedal to brake there's a real danger that the cog will undo and you'll lose drive.
There's a detailed explanation here that covers what you've done plus the next steps.
Comment: Don't do this if you're going brakeless, get a real track hub. Also, get brakes even if you're going for a real hub.
Comment: The threads should be fine. You'll need to redish the wheel after you figure out the spacers though. The lock ring isn't strictly necessary, but if you don't put it, make sure you have a front and rear brake in case something goes wrong. Also, note that you need horizontal drop outs since you can't use any chain tensioners with a fixie (http://sheldonbrown.com/fixed-conversion.html has an alternative for vertical dropouts).
Comment: @Batman How is a lockring not strictly necessary? What else would keep the cog from unthreading?
Comment: I can confirm that the threads are the same as a fixed ring cog as I've made the reverse conversion, freewheel on a fixed hub. Lots of people use a bottom bracket lockring as you suggest, but I personally wouldn't be comfortale doing it. I'd just get a wheel that was designed for fixed gear. They're not that expensive and worth it for the extra safety.
Comment: @WTHarper - a lot of people run that way with some locite (for the record, I do recommend running a lock ring). It could unthread if you locked up the rear often, for example, but there are a lot of people doing it without adverse effects.
Comment: Without a lock ring it'll be hard to ride the bike - you will need to be careful not to put back pressure on the pedals. Chances are at some point you'll stuff up, push backwards too hard, and unscrew the cog. Maybe right off, maybe not. I wouldn't risk it.


Installing a .tgz....how?

Question: I need to install a .tgz in a Debian distro.
Comment: Please explain what `tgz` you want to "install". Translated to the Windows world, you are now asking "How do I install a .zip`? Unless you explain _what_ is in this `.tgz` we can't really answer.
Comment: The question is unclear. Are you trying to install a program from source, or something else? If so, look at the install instructions. If something else, please specify.
Comment: Most likely is a tarball with the sources, but some of them include binaries. Depending the software you want to install, depends the method.
Answer: There is no single way to 'install a .tgz file.' The .tgz format is just a compressed archive format (at tar archive that has been compressed with gzip) and can essentially contain anything.
You can extract a .tgz file with the following command:
tar -xvzf file.tgz

If this contains software, usually there will be some text file inside with instructions on how to install. INSTALL or README are common names. Of course everything depends on where you got the .tgz file from. Some distributions use this format for their packages - you should not try to install packages from one of these distributions on Debian. It is also common to distribute source code in this format, in which case you will have to compile the code before you install it. If you are a beginner you should look for a binary package for the software first rather than attempting to compile the source code.
If you want more help, then you should update with more information about the software you are trying to install.
Answer: Source packages for linux are commonly structured with autotools and using them follows a common pattern.  An easy way to tell is by looking at the INSTALL file inside, which will have instructions much like these.
First you need to open the package up:
tar -xzf foobar-1.2.3.gz

Should construct a directory foobar-1.2.3.  You can now cd foobar-1.2.3 and look to see if there is an INSTALL file and a configure script, indicative of autotools.
./configure --help

This will list various configure options you can use.
./configure

This will check for dependencies, etc., and produce a Makefile.
make

Will run the default make target, which is probably what you want.
make test

May or may not do anything.  You can also try make check.
make install

Will install the package into /usr/local by default.  You can change this via the  --prefix argument to ./configure.
Comment: This is good general advice with what to with a `.tgz` source bundle, but I fear the OP is missing the very basics of installing software on Linux. Sending him/her down the road of compiling software if it is available in the Debian repositories isn't very helpful! Plus they will likely need to install the build tools anyway.
Comment: @Graeme OTOH, it is a potentially simple question with a potentially straightforward answer.  I don't doubt the OP is missing all kinds of basics, but it is up to him or her to ask more specific and detailed questions.  "The road of compiling software" is not going to cause any death or dismemberment at this point in time, and if s/he runs into problems w/ missing tools, at least s/he is one step closer to figuring out what questions to ask.  Viewed negatively: some people need to learn the hard way.  Viewed positively: some people just need to be pointed in the right general direction.

Installing a .tgz....how?


Logistic Regression-Linear Features

Question: I was reading this post on quora https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-advantages-of-different-classification-algorithms
It states here that :-"Logistic regression is a pretty well-behaved classification algorithm that can be trained as long as you expect your features to be roughly linear and the problem to be linearly separable"
What does it mean to have features linear?. Another place this comes up in the post is "Tree Ensembles have different advantages over LogisticR. One main advantage is that they do not expect linear features"
I am not sure what does linear features mean?
Answer: I think the term they used may not be standard term. I guess it means the decision boundary can be roughly approximated by a heyperplane. (a line in 2D space). Here are two examples for "linear feature" (A) or not (B) in 2 dimensional sapce.

Here is my answer to a very related question, which may be helpful for you.
Do all machine learning algorithms separate data linearly?
Comment: Thank you. So i am guessing this --->"You can do some feature engineering to turn most non-linear features into linear pretty easily"  would be taking something like log transformations to get "linear features".
Comment: @AkashMehta yes, and the link I provided is on this topic: the OP was trying to ask if all the machine learning algorithm is doing this transformation to linear
Comment: Note that in case B you can introduce a new, linear feature: The distance from the centre!
Answer: For another view of linear separability (assuming that's what linear features means) imagine you have a simple dataset with sex as a binary, categorical covariate and results as a binary outcome of some experiment.
sex   outcome
m     1
m     1
m     0
f     0
f     0
f     0

For binary response data (i.e. like this), it's common to use a logistic regression to model, among other things, the probability of outcome = 1 given sex. However, what if your input was sex = f. Then:
$$P(\text{outcome} = 1 | \text{sex} = f) = 0$$
because we have no training examples of this ever happening. In this way, we say that the data is linearly separable per @hxd1011's image above.
In fact, if you tried to fit a logistic regression you'd likely get an error because the MLE estimates tend to infinity (unless your computer software has a parameter which stops the algorithm, usually IRLS, from continuing to looks for a minimum). If you get data like this and want to use a logistic regression, you can look into penalized logistic regression. Here is nice write up about it.

Logistic Regression-Linear Features


Is hand-writing analysis used for analysis of a person's behaviour or anlayzing a person's character?

Question: Does the handwriting analysis of a person predict only his/her behavior or only his/her character or both?
Comment: on what basis you want your answer
Answer: The professional term for hand-writing analysis seems to be "Graphology" and there is no clear evidence that it could be used to predict a person's behaviour or character. For a starting point see the wikipedia page, then there are this article in the New York Times from 1993 and this more recent article from BBC from 2005 for more casual explanations of the phenomenon.
For more scientific references there is this paper from 1983 and this one from 1987 that both fail to show significant results. Also this book chapter might give a good overview but I can only tell from the abstract and you would have to find it at a library or purchase it somehow.
References

Rafaeli, A., & Klimoski, R. J. (1983). Predicting sales success through handwriting analysis: An evaluation of the effects of training and handwriting sample content. Journal of Applied Psychology, 68(2), 212.
Beyerstein, B. L. (2007). Graphology—a total write-off. Tall Tales about the Mind & Brain: Separating Fact from Fiction, 233-70.
Furnham, A., & Gunter, B. (1987). Graphology and personality: Another failure to validate graphological analysis. Personality and Individual Differences, 8(3), 433-435.
Answer: Handwriting analysis can, arguably, provide information on personal qualities (Klimoski & Rafaeli, 1983). I.e., handwriting analysis may tell you something about the character of a person. In turn, character affects behavior.
Reference
- Klimoski & Rafaeli, Journal of Occupational Psychology (1983), 56(3):  191-202
Comment: Oh, I have to apologize, I'm not a native speaker and though of "arguably" rather meaning something like "it can be argued that". But given that, I think that the state of research clearly rejects the hypothesis that hand-writing analysis could tell you anything about a person's behaviour or character and your answer does not deliver that message. When you say it "may tell you something about the character", where is the evidence for that?
Comment: The first link is in my opinion not a reliable source and the reference does not support the claim that "handwriting analysis provides information on personal qualities". They actually find a lot of methodological weaknesses in former studies and conclude in their summary:
"Many other examples of weaknesses of methodology have been cited throughout the paper. However, when researchers are more rigorous  in  these areas (e.g. Rafaeli & Klimoski, 1983) the results have not been supportive of the usefulness of inferences based on script. "
Comment: @awakenting Do the words 'arguably' and 'may' in the answer not capture all of your critiques?
Answer: In truth, the amount of features in a person's handwriting that vary over such a period of time is disproportionately small and predictable to a trained analyst. You'll learn to recognize and contextualize characteristics such transient irritation, anxiousness, or emotional reaction to words or concepts in the text.
In actuality, the shifting elements in handwriting only represent a minor proportion of the entire. The underlying characteristics of a human never change, and only the character of the individual changes. Interesting hypnosis experiments have backed up this assertion. When a hypnotized person is instructed to assume a different persona, the qualities of his handwriting alter almost instantly. If he is asked to be an emperor, he will write with all the pomp and majesty that he believes is characteristic of a ruler's handwriting. If he is asked to write as a child, he will do so with the clumsy effort of an infant scribe.
Reference:
https://graphology.scry3d.com/frequently-asked-questions-about-handwriting-analysis/
Comment: The reference seems to be non-scientific and the source seems to be acting on commercial grounds. Can you add scientific resources instead to back up your claims?