Can two different seeds produce the same output from a PRNG?

Question: In general, is it possible that two different seeds produce the same output from a PRNG? I'm not sure how many different types of PRNGs there are and maybe it depends on which one we consider. I know that an identical seed produces and identical output, but can different seeds stumble upon the same output (seed collisions)?
Comment: Yes. A PRNG isn't guaranteed to be a permutation, so collisions in the output are possible.
Comment: Imagine a PRNG that takes a 128-bit seed, hashes it using SHA-1, then uses 56-bits of it as a key for DES in CTR mode. I hope nobody would ever use it, but it is a good example of one where many seeds would produce the same output
Comment: Here's an example: the [TEA](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiny_Encryption_Algorithm) block cipher suffers from equivalent keys—every key is equivalent to three others.  So if you used TEA in counter mode as a PRNG, with the key as the seed, then correspondingly you have multiple seeds that produce the same output.
Answer: Well, yes, but the output should be limited by chance. It's kind of obvious that repetition is possible if you just consider a single bit of output. However, when you request more bits then the chance that the bits are equal should become less.
The seed or seeds are an entropy source for the PRNG. The PRNG should not disregard any bits that contain entropy, so the seed should be integrated into the state of the PRNG. A cryptographically secure PRNG should have quite a large state; the chance that a seed recreates a previously known state should be computationally impossible. The output is created using this state, and the output should therefore be random given a specific seed. So if the output is identical then it is by chance alone.
PRNG's are often constructed from secure hash functions. Getting collisions from output created by a secure hash is a computationally hard problem.

The output of stream ciphers using the same seed / key may not be able to repeat at all, for any amount of data that contains a full block. For instance counter mode encryption will never repeat the same block.
This is inconsequential for any block cipher with a block size of 128 bits or higher, as the likelihood of generating a repeating block by chance is also quite low, even if bounded by the birthday problem.
If a stream cipher has equivalent keys then the key stream may of course repeat if one of the seeds results in equivalent keys being used (as indicated by the comments below the question). Those stream ciphers however should not be considered secure PRNG's.
Note that stream ciphers usually lack procedures for e.g. adding seed material (re-seeding) to the state or extracting the entropy. A stream cipher doesn't fully comply with the interface for DRBG's as stated in NIST SP-800 90Ar1 although they are normally thought of to be PRNG's.


Best action to call add_rewrite_rule

Question: In Codex I found that the best action to call add_rewrite_rule is the init action. So in this way the function is called every time the site load. But to save the rule in rewrite_rules option it would be better to call it in register_activation_hook?
Answer: Rules should be added on init because other code might flush rewrite rules, which would cause your rules to disappear.

Best action to call add_rewrite_rule


Drain coolant as much as possible through radiator drain valve?

Question: I want to perform a complete coolant flush on my 08 Crown Victoria.
I have some 50/50 coolant and I guess the remaining distilled water will over-dilute the antifreeze. Is there a way to drain most of the water out of the cooling system? Will removing thermostat and starting the engine help with draining?
Comment: Do you have access to an airlift or similar tool? We use one to basically vacuum the coolant out. Also, see if your water pump has a drain plug.
Comment: there are often one or more bleeder taps that should be opened. Look at the high points of the cooling system like the top of the thermostat housing.
Comment: @DavidLively I only have basic tools and no wet vacuum. Worst case is I go to auto store and buy some antifreeze concentrate I guess.
Comment: What year is the car?
Comment: @agentp I can see something that looks like a bleeder on the engine block. Gonna check against the manual and see what it is. If I open the tap, will it help get rid of most coolant from the engine?
Comment: @DavidLively 2008 and I suspect no coolant change has ever been performed on this car.
Answer: Don't know of a way to get all the water out. Some engines have drain plugs in the back of the block. My Ford 4.6 does, but they are rusted and hard to get to.
As an alternative, since it is nearly impossible to get all the water out, it is a good idea to use straight coolant and add 60 - 70% coolant to the system after the water flush. This will mix with the water already in the block to give you roughly a 50/50 blend.
FordTechMakuloco discusses this in his video How To Perform A Coolant Flush On Your Ford Vehicle (around 8:41 mark).
Comment: Thank you for the reference. I will buy coolant concentrate to mix with water in the engine block.
Comment: Glad to help. If this answers your question satisfactorily, feel free to give it an approving check mark so others will know the question is answered.


Save contacts automatically in my contact list

Question: I want to save mobile Number automatically. If I get the message from Unknown Number then I want, that number saved automatically in my contact list with the help of flutter App.
Now I want help for this. Because I don't know the plugin which do this. So I want Help to you people.
Regards: Munaim
Answer: You must try to do a research before asking
googling "Flutter save contact" would have solved your question.
The library
https://pub.dev/packages/flutter_contact
:)


Notepad++ - file bookmarks working like web page bookmarks in web browser?

Question: There are line bookmarks in Notepad++ but I have a large number of files (100+) I need to visit from time to time, just like web pages. I can't have all of them open as this would create too many tabs. Is there an option or plugin that allows me to keep the list of "frequently visited files" in N++?
Answer: A workaround. You can have a file called links.txt. Place full path to each favorite file as a separate line. After selecting a line press Alt-F5 (Run / Open file) to open it.
Answer: I know this is too late, but I found an answer, and decided to share it:
Explorer plugin for Notepad++ by Jens Lorenz has Favorites functionality.
Answer: Look into Notepad++ session management

Sessions are a set of files opened in Notepad++. They store the open
  files, the active file (and which view, see the section about
  Multi-View), the current selection and position in the file, the
  current bookmarks (see Bookmarks) and the current language (see the
  section about Languages). Using sessions, you can open a set of
  (related) files with one action.
Comment: the link is dead. I'll post back here if I find a live one.
Comment: could be this one: http://mfoster.com/npp/SessionMgr.html
Answer: There exists "Notepad++ Favorites" plugin - https://github.com/heldersepu/nppfavorites
put the NppFavorites.dll into installation folder to manually install.
Answer: I use the customizable "Run" menu of Notepad++ as a sort of bookmark location.
You add items to the Run menu by editing the shortcuts.xml file inside the <UserDefinedCommands> tags. For example, to add that file itself as a bookmark, you would have:
<UserDefinedCommands>
    <Command name="Modify shortcuts.xml file" Ctrl="no" Alt="no" Shift="no" Key="0">$(NPP_DIRECTORY)\notepad++.exe C:\Users\<NAME>\AppData\Roaming\Notepad++\shortcuts.xml</Command>
</UserDefinedCommands>

This way you can add any file as bookmark. You only need to prefix it with $(NPP_DIRECTORY)\notepad++.exe  (or equivalently $(NPP_FULL_FILE_PATH)) if the file format has a different default application to open it than Notepad++. Otherwise, just write ...Key="0">C:\Users\<NAME>\AppData\Roaming\Notepad++\shortcuts.xml</Command>. If the file path includes spaces, you need to wrap it in quotes.
As you can guess, this means that you can add other programs as bookmarks as well. E.g. I have a bookmark to edit the config file of a program on Notepad++; right below that, I have an entry for an executable to force the config changes to that program to take effect. The latter (executing other programs) is presumably the intended purpose of <UserDefinedCommands>; I just use it to add Notepad++ file bookmarks as well.
As you can observe from the syntax, you can add keyboard shortcuts to your bookmarks as well. This is more convenient to do from the Shortcut Mapper rather than editing the file, in order to avoid having to lookup key codes. But I usually don't bother with adding custom keyboard shortcuts; all the bookmarks are accessible using the regular access keys, without having to remember anything. E.g. for the bookmark above, I press Alt + R and then M to open shortcuts.xml. If you want to use a letter other than the first letter of the Command name you typed, you can specify that letter with &, e.g. Command name="Modify &shortcuts.xml, which will be underlined in the menu.
More info about adding items to Notepad++ Run menu is at Notepad++ User Manual - Configuration Files Details.


How do I use Adobe Audition for Spatial Audio Mixing?

Question: I am looking for the best workflow to mixing/mastering bunch of wav files in an ambisonics file which has 4 channels(W,X,Y and Z).
Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Answer: You will need a set of plugins/tools that allow you to up-mix mono and stereo files to B-Format. This will usually involve orientation of the incoming signal around three planes (pitch, roll, yaw). Were you to be using Reaper, the Ambisonic Toolkit is freely available for this purpose.
The workflow usually involves laying up your mono and stereo effects into a track, upmixing to B-Format via a plugin, then orienting the signal using an orientation plugin. Once you are in B-Format and oriented correctly you are able to mix this signal in B-Format.
Monitoring is generally performed using a B-Format to Binaural converter, often with head-tracking allowing you to perceive the full 360 degree sound space with headphones.
Comment: Can you suggest me few VST plugins that works best with the Adobe Premiere Pro or Adobe Audition CC?
Comment: I am not a user of either of those products, but I am aware of some products by a company called "Harpex" which may be able to assist.
Answer: Finally, I found the best workflow to continue with Adobe products after trying out the popular VST plugins such as Facebook's Spatial Workstation and IEM Plug-in Suite but Matthias Kronlachner's Ambix encoder made my job much easier with Adobe Premiere Pro CC.
Here is the help link,
https://helpx.adobe.com/in/premiere-pro/using/VRSupport.html#AssemblingAmbisonicsAudio
I have used Ambix encoder(downloaded from http://www.matthiaskronlachner.com/) to position the stereo sound in the symmetric cube. To preview the output, I have used Binauralizer Ambisonics effect.
Thanks all for the help!


Can you cook with a partially healed open wound?

Question: I got a small cardboard cut on the top of my thumb 3 days ago. It's not bleeding or anything but the cut hasn't fully healed. Technically this question is after the fact since I just cooked some chicken so I guess what I'm asking is is what I did safe or will I get sick from this?
Comment: Cooks cut themselves pretty often and do not die from it.
Comment: @Catija The former: *will I get sick from this?*
Comment: Welcome! Can you clarify how you think you're going to get sick? Do you think the bad microbes on the chicken will get in the cut and make you sick or do you think the cut will infect the chicken?
Answer: According to the World Health Organization, it is technically possible to catch certain diseases by handling raw meat with cut or abraded skin. However, that example was a pig disease only occurring in a specific region.
I could find no references to similar disease transmission from chicken, and you definitely won't get food poisoning, which relies on long population multiplication times. As long as you practice basic handwashing, care for your cuts normally, and don't live in a region with notable chicken diseases, you'll be fine even in the case of an open cut.
Just try not to bleed in the food, please.
Comment: I think the bigger risk is just one of a general infection at the cut site, just like with any cut that isn't properly cleaned, disinfected and bandaged. Human blood is the "secret seasoning" for many a fine dish.  :D
Comment: I did say _try._ :D
Answer: Handling raw meat with a cut stings (not as badly as lemon juice on a cut).  You might want to cover it for that reason alone, as well as to avoid the (tiny) risk of infection entering the cut. In some places on your hands waterproof plasters either don't stick well, or make handling things awkward, so there's a tread-off. In any case you should wash your hands well with soap before and after handling raw meat.


Planck's distribution and Bose-Einstein distribution?

Question: If the application of the Bose-Einstein distribution is in blackbody radiation, then what is Planck's distribution? Are they same? How did Planck know that he should use a Bose-Einstein distribution to model blackbody radiation?
Thanks
Answer: Planck didn't know Bose-Einstein statistics at the time around 1900. With the existence of minimal unit, or quantization $E=hf$, in mind, he derived the Planck's law which describe the black body radiation. Two decades late, after the establishment of the Bose-Einstein statistics, then it is known that Plank's law is a special case of Bose-Einstein distribution by simple using $E=hf$.
Answer: Plank's distribution (law) is a specific application of the Bose-Einstein distribution.
For example, there is no chemical potential, $\mu$, for photons, so it is missing from Planck's law, although it's in the Bose-Einstein distribution. (The chemical potential only comes into play when you have a fixed number of particles; there is no such restriction for photons.)
The Bose-Einstein distribution gives you a number -- the number of particles in a given state. Planck's law gives you a spectral radiance, which includes things like the number of states with a given energy (the "density of states"), and the energy of photons in those states. Those things are multiplied together with the Bose-Einstein distribution to give Planck's law.
In short, Planck's law contains the Bose-Einstein distribution, but it also includes other things.
Answer: These responses do not really answer the question.  Planck's distribution was explicitly provided by Planck to represent the distribution of energy for what are now referred to as a boson.  The proposition of Bose, 24 years later, was a quite terse reiteration of the same geometric expansion, and to recommend it as a more general principle for thermal distributions in other quantum systems of integer spin.
Saying that Planck distribution is "an application" of BE distrbution is intellectually dishonest.  Planck developed the precise distribution factor of B-E for the precise purpose of modeling these types of quantum systems.  He wasn't "applying" anything; he originated the science!
Why the BE factor is not actually called a "planck distribution" is a completely valid question, and completely up for debate.
Comment: Planck law was a math trick to fit a curve, without a deep theoretical background.


Do photons have acceleration?

Question: Photons travel at the fastest speed in our universe, the speed of light.
Do photons have acceleration?
Answer: By definition, acceleration is a change in velocity. Velocity is a vector, so it has a magnitude (also known as speed) and a direction. For light, the magnitude does not change, but the direction might.
For example, consider a light ray bouncing off a mirror. The incoming light is going in one direction, the outgoing light is going in another direction, so presumably there is some acceleration involved. However, actually calculating the acceleration gets a little tricky because $\vec a_\text{avg} = \frac{\Delta \vec v}{\Delta t}$, and it's hard to precisely define $\Delta t$, the time that it takes the light to bounce off the mirror. Once you look closely enough, the action of reflection starts to seem more like absorption and re-emission.
You might also ask the same question about light traveling in empty space, free of anything to reflect off of. Here it gets a little tricky though, because light traveling in empty space might or might not accelerate depending on how you define "constant velocity."
In Newtonian physics, we tend to define "constant velocity" relative to the Earth, or the sun, or some other convenient object. In this view, the direction of a light ray (and thus its velocity) will change as it passes by some massive object and is attracted by gravity. So when you look at it that way, light does accelerate in empty space.
But in general relativity, "constant velocity" is defined in terms of parallel transport - not relative to a convenient object, but relative to the way the object's path "naturally" extends itself through spacetime. In this sense, the "natural" extension of a path is a geodesic, precisely the kind of trajectory that an object (or a light ray) follows under the influence of only gravity. So in the general relativistic sense, light rays do not accelerate in the absence of materials.
Answer: Gravitational lensing has been observed which means that the photons bend. An acceleration can be defined in its change of direction, angular acceleration in radians/second^2, so the answer is positive, yes, light can be accelerated, but its speed  will still be c locally.
Comment: This is not exactly acceleration of a photon. The photon is still following a null geodesic, so in the frame of the light, there is no acceleration. There might only appear to be some acceleration to another observer.
Comment: this is incredibly innacurate, gravitational lensing is a GR effect whereas a photon exists in the quantum regime, GR doesn't apply to it on those length scales. You would have to make some argument of effective curvature but this is way beyond anything possible to cover here
Comment: @Timtam, it is not innacurate. Photons, or plane electromagnetic waves, or whatever model you want to use for light, move (or propagate or however you want to call it) along null geodesics, which result not only in curved light paths from a distant observer, but also in time propagation delays. This is bread and butter for extragalactic astronomers and cosmologists... It is there and it is measured and used every day, and cannot be denied or called innacurate.
Comment: I think that if you "define acceleration as change in direction" and count gravitational lensing as change in direction, then you should be able to give a procedure to compute that direction in which the light beam is traveling if it does not change direction. The problem is that you can reduce your answer to "Due to gravitation, the notion of 'motion in an unchanging direction' is obsolete." If you want to trick the system by saying the observed path is curved (although "observed bath" is quite abstract here), then the answer becomes trivial again: "The acceleration depends on the observer."
Comment: @Nick Kidman, the procedure to compute that direction change was stablish first by Laplace, although the numerical result was half the correct one (he was using newtonian gravity) and later correctly by Einstein. Google for "Gravitational Lens Equation"
Comment: @annav: Right, the free-falling apple has no acceleration. Acceleration does have meaning, however. The same apple sitting on the ground has an acceleration of 9.8 m/s2.
Comment: @Timtam these photns that take part in the gravitational lensing have been measured, it is and experimental fact. The curvature is known and thus an angular velocity can be estimated.I do not see why you need to complicate the problem.Think of it as a black box, not knowing how the photons bend.
Comment: Under Anna's analysis, light paths "Bend" under the influence of gravity. Since the universe is filled with gravitating objects which in principle all have gravitational fields pervading all of space, wouldnt this mean that photons are never going "straight" because they are always moving through space that is "bent"by gravity?
Comment: @Richardbernstein the "bent" is determined by the geodesic in GR framework. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geodesics_in_general_relativity
Comment: @Richardbernstein see also David's reply which clarifies the matter
Comment: @PO'Conbhui: Your objection is correct, but: *...in the frame of the light...* There is no frame of reference corresponding to lightlike motion.
Comment: @EduardoGuerrasValera: *null geodesics, which result not only in curved light paths from a distant observer, but also in time propagation delays.* This doesn't make sense. Curvature is a local notion, and for a world-line curvature is measured relative to the curvature of a geodesic, which is zero by definition. What's curved is not the geodesic followed by a light ray. What's curved is the spacetime through which the geodesic is drawn.
Comment: @BenCrowell by this logic even a falling apple which is following a space curvature, is not accelerating. In the framework of GR space distortions acceleration has no meaning , imo. It is all space geometry.
Comment: @BenCrowell, please note the words *from a distant observer*. The calculation of the path in space that results from propagation along a null geodesic is by all means, as seen from a distant observer, curved. Yes, curvature is a local concept unless you have a trivial, constant metric tensor. But the resulting light path is, as seen by a distant observer, curved, unless you have a better explanation for the known couple hundreds or so multiple quasars.
Comment: @BenCrowell, in quasars, *time delays* and multiple imaging due to ligth paths *bending* as seen from our point of view (=distant observers, lens galaxies are tipically at z~0.5 or more, not to mention the quasar sources!) are well modeled by assuming lens potential models and then seeing what results from the propagation along null geodesics (from which you get an equivalent reffractive index). What part doesn't make sense?
Comment: @BenCrowell: Of course. But it made for a shorter response and was only a little wrong.
Answer: In the vacuum, the light follow the minimun distance of the space-time even if the is the massive object (like gravitational lense).Light alway goes right away according to the space-time metric.  Photon doesn't  loss energy => it not accelrate/decelerate
Comment: Light-like geodesic is not "the minimum distance", because all light-like paths are of zero length.
Comment: It is not losing energy in a gravitational lens case. Light loses energy with the expansion though, the frequency changes. The speed is still c.
Answer: The speed of light is a constant, but it can accelerate by changing direction. For instance, light accelerates under the influence of gravity like every other falling object.
Reflection is not a very meaningful form of acceleration since the $\Delta t \approx 0$, but it certainly a change in velocity.
Light can also gain and loose energy like other accelerating objects. It does this by changing wavelength (red/blue shifting).
Comment: As others have discussed, these paths are along null geodesics...what you would call free fallpaths in Newtonian physics and can not properly be said to be accelerating. Sorry, but that is just the way General relativity works.
Answer: If the redshift factor differs from the change in the rate of change of affine parameter under parallel transport, yes.
Answer: I think you mean to ask whether a photon can accelerate. The answer is yes. For instance when travelling from one medium to another light changes speeds. In fact, the actual photon is abosrbed and a new photon is reradiated during this process. However, you could call this effectively light acceleration
Comment: This doesn't really describe acceleration. Is there a point at which the velocity of the photon is half way between the velocity it travels through the two media? If not, the jump in velocity is discontinuous, is not differentiable, and so, cannot be described as having an acceleration.
Comment: In contrast with that, a gravitationally deflected photon in vacuum is not absorbed or redadiated, but simply changes direction *and speed* as seen from a distant observer. So I think the answer by anna v is more accurate. A photon approaching a massive object in vacuum will decelerate as it approaches the deflecting mass, without being absorbed or reemited (for that reason, I think the answer given by anna v is by far the right one)
Comment: You need to study up on group velocity, phase velocity and set velocity;-)
Comment: I don't think this answers the OP's question. Contrary to your argument, anna v's and Schroeder's answers are more to the point.
Comment: The absorption / emission idea is flawed.

Do photons have acceleration?


Gluing (Imposition) PDF documents

Question: I have several A4 PDF documents which I would like (two into one) "glue" together into A3 format PDF document. So I will get from 2PDFs A4 a single one sided PDF A3.
I have found the excellent utility PDFToolkit and some others but none of them can be used to "glue" side by side two documents.
Answer: I just came across a nice tool on superuser.com called PDFjam that can do all of the above in a single command:
pdfjam --nup 2x1 file1.pdf file2.pdf --outfile DONESKI.pdf

It has other standard features like page size plus a nice syntax for more sophisticated collations of pages (the tricky page re-ordering necessary for true booklet-style page imposition).
It's built on top of TeX which is, whatever it is. Installing is a breeze on Ubuntu: you can just apt-get install pdfjam. On Mac OS, I recommend getting BasicTeX (google "mactex basictex"; SO thinks I'm a spammer and won't let me post the link).
This is a lot easier and more maintanable than installing both pdftk and Multivalent (on both Mac OS for dev and Ubuntu for deploy), which wasn't going so well for me anyway...!
Comment: pdfjam / pdfnup can be tricky sometimes. If it reports that calling pdflatex failed and the source pdf contains landscape pages, try to rotate them to portrait (e.g. by using pdftk) before calling pdfjam.
Comment: In order to obtain an arbitrary output paper size (horizontal A0 strip) from two 420mm x 420mm PDFs, I had to supply `--papersize '{420mm,841mm}' --trim '0mm 0mm -0.5mm 0mm` to `pdfnup` in addition to `--nup 2x1`.
Answer: Found the following (free and open-source) tool for doing Imposition called Impose (thanks danio for the tip). This solved my problem perfectly.
EDIT:
Here is how it's done:
Use PDF Toolkit to joint two PDF files into one (two A4)
pdftk File1.pdf File2.pdf cat output OutputFile.pdf

Create from this a single page (one A3):
java -cp Multivalent.jar tool.pdf.Impose -dim 2x1 -verbose -paper-size "42.2x29.9cm" -layout "1,2" OutputFile.pdf

Comment: All releases of Multivalent linked from the official sourceforge site are missing the tools package. Links to older versions can be found here: http://sourceforge.net/projects/multivalent/forums/forum/252478/topic/3442363
Comment: The tools no longer seem to be at that link. I was able to find what seems to be an old copy, but am a little scared to run it, since it could be a trojan. cksum Multivalent.jar gives 571900416 2716363 Can anyone verify that this file with this checksum is legit?
Comment: Have you tried the older versions found on sourceforge? Like this one: http://sourceforge.net/projects/multivalent/files/multivalent/Release%2020060102/
Answer: I would like to advertise my pdftools
It's written in Python so should run on any platform. It's a wrapper to Latex (the pdfpages packages)  but can do lot of things with a single command line: merge pdf files, nup them (multiple input pages per output page) and number the pages of the output file (you specify the location and the format of the number)
It still needs some work but I think it's quite stable to be usable right now :)
Comment: I think this one is the most useable for me. I don't want to search the internet for old versions (Multivalent) nor compile something (podofo) nor fiddle with ps. Pdfjam didn't work for me as is does not support things like 5x2 grids or so. Thanks!
Answer: This puts two landscape letter pages onto a single portrait letter sheet, to be "bound" (i.e., folded) along the top.
pdftops $1 - |
psbook |
pstops -w11in -h8.5in '4:1@.65(.5in,0in)+0@.65(.5in,5.5in),2U@.65(8in,5.5in)+3@.65U(8in,11in)' |
ps2pdf - $(basename $1 .pdf).psbook.pdf

By the way, I do this often, so I'll probably submit more "answers" to this question just to keep track of successful pstops pagespecs. Let me know if this is an inappropriate use of SO.
Comment: This is exactly why SO is here ... building a knowledge base
Answer: A nice, powerful, open-source imposition tool is included
in the PoDoFo package:
  http://podofo.sourceforge.net/
It works for me.  Some imposition plans can be found at:
  http://www.av8n.com/computer/prepress/
PoDoFo can do lots of other stuff, not just imposition.
Another useful imposition tool is Bookbinder (on the
quantumelephant site).  It has a GUI that appeals to non-experts.
It is not as flexible or powerful as PoDoFo, but it can do
imposition.
pdftk is more-or-less essential to have, but it will not
do imposition.
pdfjam is useless to me, because there are a wide range of
valid pdf files that it cannot handle.
I've never been able to get multivalent to work, either.
Answer: What you want to do is imposition.  There are commercial tools to impose PDFs such as ARTS crackerjack and Quite imposing but they are pretty expensive (US$500), require a copy of acrobat professional and are overkill for imposing 2 A4 pages to an A3 sheet.
Answer: On the Postscript side, a tool named pstops is able to rearrange pages of a Postscript file in any way you could imagine. I've not heard of such a tool for PDF. But pdf2ps and ps2pdf exist. So a not-so-ideal solution may be a combination of pdf2ps, pstops and ps2pdf.
Comment: After going crazy with NoClassDefFoundError messages, it turns out that the only working JAR I could find was http://www.vrspace.org/sdk/java/multivalent/Multivalent20060102.jar
Answer: I would combine the two A4 pages into one 2-page PDF using pdftk.  Then Print to PDF using something like PrimoPDF, and tell it to print to A3 format, two pages per side.
I just tested this printing some slides from PowerPoint.  It worked great.  I selected A3 as my paper size in PowerPoint, and then chose to print 2 pages per side.  Printed to Primo and voila, I have two A4 slides per A3.
Comment: I also thought about such solution, will test if the quality is good enought for comercial magazine print.
Comment: The only problem that comes with this solution is a black line between the two joined sheets. Is there a way to remove this later on?
Comment: You can get rid of the lines by using adobe reader to print, setting 2 pages per sheet in adobe reader print settings, and setting page size to A3 in the PDF printer settings.
Comment: Found a better solution If you look at my answer, which is the perfect way to do it. Plus it can be scripted and automated which is an additional bonus.
Answer: You can put multiple input pages on one output page using BookletImposer.
And you can change page orders and combine multiple pdf files using PDF Mod.
With these two tools, you can do almost everything you want with pdf files (except editing their content).
Answer: I had a similar problem. I tried Impose but it was giving me an
Exception in thread "main" java.lang.NoClassDefFoundError: tool/pdf/Impose
Caused by: java.lang.ClassNotFoundException: tool.pdf.Impose
(...)
Could not find the main class: tool.pdf.Impose.  Program will exit.

I then tried PDF Snake which isn't free or open source, but has a completely unrestricted 30-day trial version. It worked perfectly, after tweaking the parameters to achieve what I wanted. It's a great tool. I would definitely buy it if it wasn't so expensive! Anyway, I thought I'd leave my 2 cents in case anyone had the same problem I had with Impose.
Comment: The latest versions don't include the tools package; that's why you get a class not found error.
Comment: The error you were getting is probably due to a missing JAR or the way you have triggered impose. Note that you must have java 1.6 installed and java.exe must be in your path.
Comment: I do have installed all the following: Java 6 SE Development Kit 6 (v.126.96.36.199), Java 6 (v. 6.0.130), and even Java DB (v. 10.4.1.3). And even though java.exe isn't in my Path system variable, if I type "java" on a console I get the command's usage instructions instead of a "command not found" error.
Answer: look at this
http://sourceforge.net/projects/proposition/
It needs laTex to run,
but when it does, works really fine
Regards
Comment: As far as I can tell, this is also just wrapper around latex, this time written in ruby. And FWIW, it doesn't work for me, while pdfjam does. YMMV.

Gluing (Imposition) PDF documents


How to Send Mail to a SharePoint library using hMailServer?

Question: How can i send mail from hmailSserver to a SharePoint library ?
I work on Windows Server 2008. When an email is sent from Outlook I can't find it in the library..
Comment: Did you setup incoming email for the sharepoijnt server? if so please specify the config:
SP SMTP: email Alias
hMailServer: Configuration of Domains
SharePoint: Incoming Email Setting from CA
Comment: Add SMTP logging (in IIS) and check if emails are droped into the drop folder on sharepoint. Check ULS Logs. The OWS Timer will report is a email was proccessed. Turn up trace level logging to se what the excact problem is. and report back
Answer: I use hMailServer with Sharepoint.
Since I have worked with this to a good degree, I have a few threads in these forums that would be of service to you:

How to Enable Email in Lists
Also, see my response in this thread.
How to Enable Email in Lists Without Using Exchange? - here I actually answer my own question.
How does internal email get to the SMTP client of a SharePoint server? - my answer in this post has links to the hMailServer forum where the vbs scripts can be found.

Now, I'll tell you that there is a bit of a trick to it.  You have to configure hMailServer with a vbs script to drop the mail into a location where SharePoint can pick it up.  In my posts there is a link to the script to use for hMailServer. You also need to make sure you have configured your mail pickup in SharePoint's Central Administration.  In my case, hMailServer was on one machine and SharePoint on another. So I also had to configure a shared directory between the two machines to use as the dropoff folder.
There is also a thread in the hMailServer forum about this.
[update]
In Central Administration > System Settings > Configure Incoming Email there is a place to designate where your "E-mail drop folder" is.  This is where you want hMailServer to put is messages.  SharePoint will take any messages you put in that folder and sift them and deliver them to the appropriate lists.
The best way, with hMailServer is to add a subdomain.  Say your primary domain is mydomain.com where your email address would be firstname.lastname@example.com.  In hMailServer, create a second one called portal.mydomain.com where email for the portal lists would be firstname.lastname@example.com.  Now, in the vbs script, you look for any messages going to the subdomain and move them to the drop folder for SharePoint to pick up.
However, you also have to go into the list's own settings and enable it to receive email there.
Since you are enabling email for lists, you should also set up the SMTP Virtual Server on the machine hosting SharePoint.  This is what IIS6 is for.  You point it to your hMailServer using the subdomain mentioned above.  That will allow your portal to SEND email, too.  I posted links to directions on how to configure IIS6 in this thread.
Another thing you need to do, if you haven't already, is to configure your DNS Server with an mx record to use hMailServer as the mail handler.  There is more information about this in the hMailServer forum.

Here path is C:\inetpub\mailroot\Drop.

Is that path accessible to both hMailServer AND SharePoint?  Did you set that path in SharePoint's SCA as I mentioned above?
Comment: Thanks for your reply. I have added this code in vb script.
Comment: @RajeshJoshi - Just curious, what exactly was the fix?
Answer: Thanks for your reply. I have added this code in vb script.
Sub OnDeliverMessage(oMessage)
   Dim path, filename, fso, original, copy
    path = Split(oMessage.Filename, "\", -1, 1)
filename = "C:\inetpub\mailroot\Drop\" & _
       path(UBound(path))

Set fso = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")

Set copy = fso.CreateTextFile(filename, True)
   copy.WriteLine("x-sender: " & oMessage.FromAddress)
    copy.WriteLine("x-receiver: " & oMessage.To)

Set original = fso.OpenTextFile(oMessage.Filename, 1)
    copy.WriteLine(original.ReadAll)

copy.Close
original.Close

End Sub..
Here path is C:\inetpub\mailroot\Drop. I checked permission. It is Ok. In CA, I configured incoming mail setting and give same Path but still not working. Can you elaborate your answer? Is it necessary to start smtp in iis 6.0. I can't start it.
Comment: This is very helpful
Comment: You don't have to start IIS SMPT. Do emails get dropped into the Folder? If yes are they deleted some time later? If yes, you can check the ULS logs and see if th e message was processed. Please notice: This should be a comment or an edit on BGM's answer. This is not an answer please fix this.


What info will be shown on SSL certificate?

Question: Say, I have my site from a host provider, during the setup of a certificate, it says that I need to fill the blank of domain name, first name, etc. What is "mandatory" to fill? If I do add personal info to the certificate, e.g. my site does not have a personal info, when filling those info when setting up a certificate, will my personal info be shown from the certificate or will it only show that the certificate is valid or verified with no personal info?
Comment: What company will the certificate be issued by?  I'd say "no, your personal info won't be displayed," but without knowing which company you're working with, it's unknowable.  Generally speaking, the personal info should only be used to contact you if there's an issue, or for promotional purposes.  Our Digicert certificate, for example, shows no personal info whatsoever, only organizational info.
Answer: No. They won't show it up for normal certificates.
There are many types of certificates. Most used and cheap are domain validation ones.
The data that they are getting from you is to identify the owner. It is for their internal use. And your info won't be shown unless you use an Extended validation certificate. (The one with a big green bar which holds the name of the owner). It costs more than. Usual ones.
Answer: Generally only your company name and website address will be displayed but some higher quality SSL certificates may display your city and state and/or region.


Why won't my hose bib handle turn either way?

Question: The handle on my outdoor hose bib won't turn at all.  The faucet is currently partially on and the handle will not turn either way.  How can I fix it so it will work properly?
Answer: The acme thread that allows the valve to open and shut has either galled or seized due to mineral deposits. At this point, you need to remove and replace the whole valve.
Since we don't have a picture, it's difficult to give further advice, but if it's a standard frost free, the valve is actually 8-12 inches back inside a tube on a long, easily broken valve stem and it's not easily repaired once it seizes.
Answer: Remove the handle by taking out the screw in the middle. Give the metal valve stem a few moderate raps with a hammer. Don't hit it hard or you'll break something just moderate raps. This will loosen up any deposits on the inside. Then try replacing the handle and the screw and seeing if you can turn it again.
Answer: Usually there is a screw on the handle which secures it to the valve stem - you can tighten this in order to secure the handle to the stem.  If the screw threads or handle is stripped you will likely need to replace the valve.
Hopefully you have a shut-off valve inside for the faucet that you can turn off in order to stop the flow of water.  If not you'd need to turn off the water supply in order to fix/replace the handle.
If you are lucky, the bib will be threaded and you can simply unscrew it and replace it. Otherwise you will need to solder a new valve in place.
Comment: That valve stem is typically a square, I doubt the handle being loose is their big issue.


intuitive interpretation of dimension of an affine variety

Question: On the technical level i do understand what is the dimension of an affine variety and the connection of the definition with the Krull dimension or rings.However,  what is the intuitive interpretation of the dimension of an affine variety? What does it mean if a variety of $\mathbb{A}^n$ has dimension $s$? Does it mean that it can be described by $n-s$ "independent" equations? "Independent" in what sense? How is the dimension of an affine variety connected to the dimensions of its irreducible components? Is it equal to the maximum dimension among all dimensions of irreducible components? (here by variety i just mean an algebraic set of $k^n$, $k$ a field)
Answer: Your interpretation of "independent" coordinates is very accurate indeed.
It seems reasonable that the dimension of $\mathbb A^n$ is $n$, because you have $n$ "independent" coordinate functions on affine space. If you believe that, the Noether normalization lemma is a great way to intuitively understand dimension.
Picture a curve $C\subset\mathbb A^2$. Choose some random line $L\subseteq\mathbb A^2$ and consider the projection $\pi: C\to L\cong \mathbb A^1$. This projection will be finite, i.e. the fibers $\pi^{-1}(t)$ will be finite sets. That's because $C$ has dimension one.
More generally, let $X\subseteq\mathbb A^n$ be a subvariety. Noether normalization says (when translating it to a geometric statement) that there is an affine subspace $\mathbb A^s\cong L\subseteq \mathbb A^n$ and a projection $\pi: X\to L$ which is finite. So in other words, $X$ is something that looks like an affine space of dimension $s$, but possibly folded, twisted and bent - however, only a finite number of times! After all, it's all polynomials.
More algebraically speaking, the function field $K(X)$ of $X$ is an algebraic extension of $\Bbbk(x_1,\ldots,x_s)$ via the morphism $\pi^\ast$. So the "coordinate functions" on $X$ are algebraic over the coordinate functions of an affine $s$-space. This is just another way of saying that $\pi$ is finite, by the way. In the most literal sense, $\Bbbk(x_1,\ldots,x_s)$ has $s$ independent elements, or more precisely speaking: $\Bbbk(x_1,\ldots,x_s)$ has transcendence degree $s$ over $\Bbbk$. Since $K(X)$ is algebraic over $\Bbbk(x_1,\ldots,x_s)$, it also has transcendence degree $s$ over $\Bbbk$. And indeed, the transcendence degree of $K(X)$ over $\Bbbk$ is the dimension of $X$.
Answer: First of all, if $X$ is an irreducible affine variety, then the dimension of $X$ is defined to be the Krull dimension of $k[X]$, the affine coordinate ring of $X$. This means that $X$ is of dimension $n$ if we can find an increasing sequence of prime ideals $(0)=\frak{p}_0\subsetneq\frak{p}_1\subsetneq\cdots\subsetneq\frak{p}_n$, and no other chain is longer than this one.
Since prime ideals correspond to irreducible closed subvarieties of $X$, then the chain above means that there is a chain of varieties
$$\{\mbox{point}\}=X_n\subsetneq X_{n-1}\subsetneq\cdots\subsetneq X_0\subsetneq X.$$
So basically, by definition a point is 0 dimensional, a curve is something where the only strictly smaller subvarieties are points (dimension 0), a surface is something that only has points and curves, etc.
To answer your last question, if $X$ is not irreducible, then dimension means the maximum dimension of all irreducible components.


How can you connect to iTunes library in your program. What api or classes are used in this

Question: How can you connect to an iTunes library in your iPhone program?  What API or classes are used in this?  I need to make an app similar to the REMOTE app that exists: to be able to connect to an iTunes library on someones computer and see their list of songs etc.
Answer: I don't think that's possible. The remote API has been reverse-engineered for the Android iTunes remote at http://dacp.jsharkey.org/ but I don't believe for a second that Apple would allow such an app on the App Store.
Accessing the music stored in a remote iTunes library is not directly possible (without installing additional software alongside iTunes). DAAP, the protocol used by iTunes to share music, has not yet been successfully reverse-engineered, and if you managed it, not only would Apple reject your app, they'd probably ban you and maybe sue you.
Your best bet would probably be to write a server app that runs alongside iTunes.


what type of connector should i use to go into an outdoor electrical box from a 1/2" threaded pipe coming out of the ground?

Question: what type of connector should i use to go into an outdoor electrical box from a 1/2" threaded pipe coming out of the ground?
There are two pipes coming out of the ground - The thread is on the outside of the pipe.
Answer: Assuming you have two same height fixed in place 1/2" conduits sticking out of the ground and a junction box with the same size fittings?
You will need to extend both conduits, one with a standard coupling and nipple, the other with an Ericson 3-piece coupling and same length nipple. You may need to go to an electrical supply house to get machined fitting like I linked to, you may not have enough clearance to install the bulky cast versions typically available at retail locations. Consider using a square two-gang box, it would be easier to work with.
You will need to install both nipples into the box, attach the pieces of the Ericson to one side, double threaded part to the nipple. Attach a standard coupling to the other. Screw the box assembly to the non-Ericson side then tighten the Ericson.
It is best to install the large piece of the Ericson and yoke on the lower side of the joint, if you put the large piece and collar side onto nipple coming from the box then the large piece tries to fall into place getting in the way while threading the box onto the conduit.
Comment: This sales video for the 3-piece coupling is worth watching https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnAv9nirzq8
Answer: if you have the box pictured the pipes (RMC: rigid metal conduit)  thread into the box. The easy way is to install the box before installing  at-least one of the conduits. you probably need a reduction adaptor reduce those 3/4" holes down to 1/2"
Well, it's too late for that so the solutions is to use a conduit union,
Extend one of the conduits with a conduit union and  extend the other with a plain joiner and short conduit to the same length. open the union and thread the loose half onto the box,  thread the box onto the plain conduit and then close the union.
Comment: The conduit shown by the OP looks like the heavier-duty "rigid; RMC" or "intermediate metal conduit; IMC"; EMT has such thin walls that it's not threaded, but uses clamp/compression fittings. If OP uses EMT outdoors, they will need to use "rain tight" fittings to keep connections waterproof.
Comment: That size box is normally 1/2" threads. Of course 1/2" threads are physically about 3/4" because 1/2" is the size of *the hole* in the conduit or pipe.


Latch edge and Launch edge of a clock

Question: Why does a Destination register starts taking input from a latch edge and not a launch edge
Comment: The "what is" questions are best answered by Google.
Comment: @EugeneSh.Is it the like +ve edge or -ve edge of a clock pulse?
Comment: FYI, if you accept an early answer you'll discourage other people from giving more answers. You can wait 24 hours to let people all around the world see your question. Especially if you don't understand an answer, you shouldn't click the "accept" button for that answer.
Answer:
Why does a Destination register starts taking input from a latch edge and not a launch edge

Because "latch edge" means "the edge where the destination register latches the signal in".
"Launch edge" means "the edge where the source register launches the signal onto the wire". The launch edge is an edge of a clock signal that is available at the source. The destination register might not even be connected to the clock signal that provides the launch edge.
Answer: It's used for doing critical race timing analysis.
http://www.ee.bgu.ac.il/~digivlsi/slides/STA_9_1.pdf
Comment: Maybe because you don't answer the question, link-only answers are frowned on and you can't even click on the link?
Comment: I 'm not able to figure out from the document.
Comment: Correct me if I am wrong. Value at Q end of source register will change at launch edge but it wont be captured at destination register due to path delay. At the next +ve aka latct edge data will be captued at destination register.
Comment: Yes you got the idea but it seems someone doesn't like my brief answer with a link.  (-1 troll)
Comment: it takes 10 seconds to copy and paste for a much better answer than anyone else could even imagine giving (-10 for the lazy other peeps who haven't learned how to learn and -100 for those who want free ideal answers) but I understand those that frown. (+1) to those that agree. We are not here to spoon-feed. and dead links may be archived by google and archive.org and will be found replicated elsewhere by the document name

Latch edge and Launch edge of a clock


How does consecutive days work

Question: I've visited the site every day for the past couple of months, every morning like clockwork.  But today when I visited, my consecutive day count had been reset.  How does the consecutive day counter work?  Are there any known issues with it?
Comment: Good question, not sure.  Were you not logged in yesterday so it didn't know who you were maybe?  I've never gotten any of those badges either which I find somewhat suspicious...
Answer: StackExchange days change at 00:00:00 GMT every day.
Looking at your history I see no access on October 21st.  Looks like you had a string of consecutive days dating from August 24st up until October 20th.
Check what time zone you are in to see when the StackExchange day is for you.
There is some more information on meta.stackoverflow.com under the Enthusiast and Fanatic badges.
Comment: Additionally, it's thought that viewing the main page doesn't always count as a visit. I always visit at least one question and then view my user profile in the top bar, and it always counts toward consecutive days.
Comment: Strange. Thanks for the answer; I know I was on yesterday, several times on several sites and voting. Not a big deal; I just found it curious. Thanks again!
Comment: @JonathanDrain - That was what I was wondering.  I have the page pinned in chrome, which is how I know I always visit, but I was busy at work, and didn't actually get a chance to peruse any questions, though I did view my profile.  Thanks!

How does consecutive days work


Where can I find topology-related algorithms used in QGIS?

Question: I have shapefile with polygons and I test topology - overlaps, duplicates and gaps. I tested it in QGIS and now I have to describe algorithms, which uses QGIS for this rules. I must write research algorithms.
I finded just general description:
http://docs.qgis.org/2.0/en/docs/gentle_gis_introduction/topology.html
and
http://qgis.org/en/docs/user_manual/plugins/plugins_topology_checker.html
but I can´t find algorithms.
Comment: Could you elaborate on what you have tried, what you have found online and what *exactly* that you need assistance with?
Answer: QGIS code is hosted on Github. I suggest you start your search there, e.g. https://github.com/qgis/QGIS/search?p=2&q=topology&ref=cmdform
If you know exactly which tool you want to research, it should be easier to find the corresponding piece of code.


Excel formula to match multiple criteria

Question: I need an excel formula that will look at Location, Department Code and Job Title then return the Full Name. The problem that I am having is that locations can use the same department code and job title. There may also be multiple result which I will need to be shown in multiple cells. This will be used for an employee breakdown by location and department. I am using Excel 2016.
Example: I want to show all names that match the criteria below.
Location – Virginia
Department Code – 02023, 02023C, 02023A
Job Title – Porter, Porte/Serv, Detail, Service Porter, Detailer-Recon

This is the formula I use for positions that only have one criteria.
{=IFERROR(INDEX(Sheet1!$C$2:$C$800,SMALL(IF(Sheet1!$B$2:$B$800="02021A",ROW(Sheet1!$B$2:$B$800)-ROW(Sheet1!$B$2)+1),ROWS(EMPLOYEE!$B16:$B$16))),"")}
Answer: I think the easiest way to to use a macro. This one will work.  Replace your sheet name with the one in your spreadsheet, place this in a module on in the VBE for the sheet.
Make sure to replace the 5 in this bit with the column where you want to print the name.
You can then filter on that column, and you have your list.
Let me know if this works.
Thanks!
ccccThisWorkbook.Sheets("Sheet1").Cells(intCurrentRow, 5).Value = strCurrName

Sub find()

Dim strLocation As String
Dim strHOmeDept As String
Dim strJobTitle As String
Dim strCurrentLoc As String
Dim strCurrHomeDept As String
Dim strCurrJobTitle As String
Dim strCurrName As String

Dim intCurrRow As Integer
Dim intEndRow As Integer

Dim i As Integer

intCurrentRow = 1
intEndRow = ActiveWorkbook.Worksheets("Sheet1").Range("A" & Rows.Count).End(xlUp).Row

For i = 1 To intEndRow

intCurrentRow = intCurrentRow + 1

strCurrentLoc = ThisWorkbook.Sheets("Sheet1").Cells(intCurrentRow, 1).Value
strCurrHomeDept = ThisWorkbook.Sheets("Sheet1").Cells(intCurrentRow, 2).Value
strCurrJobTitle = ThisWorkbook.Sheets("Sheet1").Cells(intCurrentRow, 4).Value
strCurrName = ThisWorkbook.Sheets("Sheet1").Cells(intCurrentRow, 3).Value

If strCurrentLoc = "VIRGINIA" And _
(strCurrHomeDept = "02023" Or strCurrHomeDept = "02023C" Or strCurrHomeDept = "02023A") _
And (strCurrJobTitle = "DETAILER-RECON" Or strCurrJobTitle = "PORTER" Or strCurrJobTitle = "DETAIL" Or strCurrJobTitle = "SERVICE PORTER" _
     Or strCurrJobTitle = "PORTE/SERV") Then

ThisWorkbook.Sheets("Sheet1").Cells(intCurrentRow, 5).Value = strCurrName

End If

Next

End Sub

Comment: Your code practically creates a helper column with the name matching the criteria. This could be done with a simple formula using IF, AND, OR. There is no need for macro.
Answer: Your issue can be solved by using Advance Filter also:

How it works:

Copy Headers in Row F70:I70.
Enter Criteria in F71, G71:G73 & I71:I74.
Click Advance Filter from Data Tab, Sort
& Filter Menu.
Fill cell references as shown in the Advance
Filter dialogue below.

Finish with Ok

N.B.

Results may vary as Critetia been used.
Adjust cell references as your need.


2014 Elantra. Put new battery in mechanic checked it over said solid car. Last night coming down I75 everything went out but motor. Now won't start?

Question: 2014 Elantra..Put a new battery in a few weeks ago and a mechanic checked everything and said it's a solid good car. Last night I was coming down I75 and everything shut off/went out but the motor kept running. Had no power steering, no radio, the speedometer was showed 80 mph but I was going like 20. When I got home and shut ignition off and tried to start it up but just clicked however the radio and things came on. Anybody have a clue what this might be? Has 150,000 miles
Comment: Welcome to Motor Vehicle Maintenance & Repair!
Answer: It sounds to me as though one of the connections at the battery isn't tight enough or hasn't made good connection. You can check the battery voltage using a multimeter to see if it is still good (should be above 12.5vdc at the posts). You could try disconnecting and reconnecting the battery at the main wires and see if it comes around.


What position is best for Kha'zix? Mid, Top or Jungle (Preseason)

Question: I'd like to main Kha'zix but I'm not sure which position I should play him to use his skill-set most effectively.
Comment: It would be great if the question were about K6 during Season 4.
Answer: Kha'Zix is definitely best as a jungler.  He is still a very common ban at high ELO, but this is because he is so strong in the jungle.  He isn't banned for fear of lane Kha'Zix.
His debuff that lets him do additional damage to separated targets allows for very strong counter jungling.  You can sneak into their jungle and easily kill the other jungler and get out pretty often.  Also, it is great for ganks because often the enemy will run away from minions to get back to their turret so they aren't stuck facing a 2v1.  This also gives a good opportunity to jump on them with the increased damage bonus.
As a mid, he simply can't take advantage of his debuff because the lane is so small.  He is good at roaming though and so taking him mid is definitely a good secondary role for him.
As a top, he just will get outperformed by most tops because they are typically tankier and can survive through more extended trades which happen more often in the longer top lane.
TL;DR; Jungle is by far his best role hands down.
Answer: Assassins have seen the most popularity mid as of late because of their ability to burst the squishier lane opponents.
In addition to where he's been seen in pro play (Was a top tier mid for a while but fell out of favor altogether to some extent), S4 so far has revealed a much tougher to clear jungle, which has been a problem for carry junglers like Kha'Zix, Rengar, Nocturne, etc. Top lane is a good option, but as a burst assassin you'll have better matchups mid.
Comment: I'd agree that he's best placed mid for now. In the jungle, his ganks aren't particularly strong if the enemy has escapes or CC, so he's quite a situational pick there. In top lane he doesn't get much opportunity to get ahead against more tanky opponents. Mid will typically pit him against more easily assassinated opponents, and he can roam after pushing lane to pick up kills and assists elsewhere in order to snowball. Try AD marks and Quints, and a Fort Pot start for surprise first blood on mid at level 2/3!
Comment: What?... Mid is no longer in the assassin meta.  The only assassin still commonly played in mid is LeBlanc.  The rest of been mostly phased out due to the Exhaust buffs and popular Utility/Wave clear mids.  Also, Recently Nocturne has recently become large in the current meta.  Kha'Zix is often banned because of his strength from the jungle...
Comment: @dphil well yeah I wrote the original comment in November
Comment: Ahhhh I see.  I never really look at dates.  It just popped this discussion up as recent.
Answer: I'd say there is no real lane where he's strongest since he's easily countered, but the lane he's most played in is mid.
He has the potential to oneshot AD and AP carries and being midlane allows him to roam top and bot while farming a lane (unlike a jungler). But since he can be played everywhere the strongest lane will be the one that you can play best. If you are a midlaner that doesn't know how to roam you won't be that useful as a mid kha so you may better play top where you can farm up and try to 1v1 the enemy toplaner. Maybe if you have problems with facing a champion in 1v1 you should go jungle and just farm jungle creeps and gank lanes for a secure kill. It's really what you can play best. And just because the Pros and high elo players play him mid mostly, you don't have to play him mid aswell. Most people forget that they aren't pros and that pros play completely different from normal players and soloqueue.
You should just try him on every lane and master him on that one you like most since you can carry games with him on every lane.
Answer: The situation after patch 4.5 (mid season 4):
Short answer: top or jungle.
I don't consider mid since usually you'll be facing a mage with lots of pokers in mid. Jungle will maximize your gank chances since you don't have to worry about your turret being pushed.
Plus his Q and E got nerfed recently while R got buffed so during the LCS he was more played as a bruiser rather than an assassin as before.
Comment: I disagree with the not mid recommendation, as mid isn't just about pokers. Burst assassins do pretty well in mid as well.


possible to make one buffer transparent/dim?

Question: I usually use emacs in a two column view, with two buffers side by side vertically. I'd like to make the buffer that I'm not focused on dim/transparent or something - some way to more easily differentiate it from the one that currently has focus.
I found this snippet that I can use to make all of emacs transparent when it loses focus:
<code>(set-frame-parameter (selected-frame) 'alpha '(100 80))
(add-to-list 'default-frame-alist '(alpha 100 80))
</code>
But I want to make just one buffer transparent/dim when it loses focus. Is there a way to do this?
Answer: I do not use transparent feature but gold-ratio can do some things like focus in window.


How can I limit current on a 24VDC motor at start up?

Question: I am trying to lift a platform hydraulically with a mini power unit that has a 24VDC motor.  We are using a converter box to convert 110VAC to the DC of the motor.  These converters are only rayed to 40 amps.   We have a roughly 200 amp, 24VDC inrush current that lasts between 0.5-1 second and it is too much for the motor at start up.   I am desperately looking for a solution.  I have looked at capacitors with no success.  Someone suggested  "soft start"/voltage regulators, integrated load switches, or thermistors.  I have no knowledge or experience with any of these.  I am not an engineer.  I'm searching for solutions for my friend.  Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. GXC
Comment: A suitable NTC?
Comment: Here's one on mouser: http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Ametherm/MS32-0R540/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMuqZeNK75brDxRgT1KUh2F4pp%2fyKQ9bp40%3d

That should let you put it inline between the motor and power supply.
Answer: You need an inrush current limiter.  With the details you provided (voltage, current) you should have no trouble picking out one that will work for your application.
Answer: Just use a DC Drive.  They inherently provide ramping, and current limiting.  There are several available for 24VDC motors, with various supplies, the most common being 24VAC, which can be provided by a simple transformer.
Answer: Using an NTC (Negative Temperature Coefficient) Thermistor as Adam suggests as Inrush Current Limiter is possibly a good solution as long as you are not planning to start and stop repeatedly.
An NTC in series in the circuit works as follows:

Initial State : NTC is "cold" --> "High" resistance
Apply Voltage on circuit --> You essentially get a voltage divider between the motor resistance and the NTC so less voltage on the motor windings --> less current.
As current flows through the circuit, the NTC heats up, being a temperature dependent resistor, its resistance decreases --> more voltage is applied to the motor.
In steady state operation the NTC remains "hot" providing a supposedly "negligable" resistance to the circuit and all voltage is applied to the motor.

Durring steps 2 and 3 you assume that the motor windings develop enough torque to overcome the initial startup requirements and the motor starts turning so that a Counter EMF is generated.
Depending on when that happens the NTC selected will be more or less effective on limiting the current to start the motor.
If you stop the motor, the startup conditions of the motor will be similar to the first startup, but the NTC will need to cool down before being able to provide the same initial conditions. How much will depend on the NTC parameters, ambient temperature and the motor startup torque requirements amoung others...
If you plan to start / stop frequently , you could:

to reduce the time to cool down I would suggest increasing the surface area of dissipation of the NTCs by using more NTCs (series/parallel) that satisfy the circuit requirements.
You could incorporate another switch to bypass the NTC once the current requirements enter within the range of your converter, thereby allowing the NTC to start cooling down earlier.

Incorporating a bypass switch will also allow you to extend the solution to use plain power resistors too, on their own (perhaps with multiple stages) or in conjunction with NTCs.
Cheers


Windows Explorer show file modified date as ago string

Question: Is it possible to modify Windows File explorer to show file modified section as "ago" string. So it would be showing file modified "2 days 2 hours ago" or "14 seconds ago" etc..
Answer: You can certainly configure the views that Explorer uses to display files by changing the templates it uses. However, I'm not aware of a way to change the modified date to display an "ago" string.  There is an alternative - MultiCommander.  MultiCommander is a File Explorer with many more features including the ability to specify an "ago" string for the modified date.


CSS changes does not affect on normal browser magento 2 issue

Question: I have made some css changes in my website, like hidden "Add to cart" option from everywhere on the website. This css gets only affected in incognito mode and not visible on normal browser. Customer visit the store in normal browser only. What can i do so that css changes are visible on normal browser also.
Answer: did you recreate static files and cleaned the cache?


URL to call lightning component with parameter in salesforce1 using custom button or link

Question: i want to call lightning component with parameter in salesforce1 using custom button or link. How can i achieve this ?
Comment: Have you tried something or searched the documentation ? Without knowing what you've tried and where you're stuck at this is a broad question which doesn't show any effort from your own side.
Comment: Given the beta status of Lightning Components, I think there should be some lee way for this question. The answer is, custom buttons and links can't be made to invoke a lightning component right now. I would think we should state that as an answer.
Comment: @Peter I've reopend the question.
Answer: As of the beta release in Spring 15, the following are the only ways to use custom lightning components in the Salesforce1 Mobile Application.

A custom tab of type Lightning Component
A custom tab of type Lightning App which has a set of lightning components on it

The first is well documented in the Lightning Component Developer guide.
The second will be beta soon, and you should follow progress on the success community group for Lightning App Builder.
Lightning components are not callable by URL, in fact. They are invoked events registered in the Lightning Component Framework.
This is, in fact, how you invoke standard lightning components.
Let's say I wanted to make the toast notification pop-down in my custom Lightning UI, I would do something like this:
<code>            var showToast = $A.get('e.force:showToast');
            showToast.setParams(
                {
                    'title': 'Save Attachment'
                    'message': ': SUCCESS'
                }
            );
            showToast.fire();
</code>
When this kicks off, ostensibly when something else was successful, the event here fires, gets the lightning component for the toast feature, and makes it appear and animate, etc.
I suspect that when Lightning reaches more maturity there will be some analog to the custom-button-or-link-to-Visualforce feature we all know and love today, but it will have to follow the constructs of lightning components which use events, it suspect strongly it will not follow the Visualforce construct of request-a-URL.
Comment: Thanks @Peter for your reply. Your information clear so many things. I want to ask one question, can we move from one component to other component using lightning ? like there is opportunity and other is opportunity deal. I have  create one component which show all opportunity list. there is one button namely " View Deal ", after clicking on that button, i want to show deal details. i have done this logic using "e.force:navigateToRelatedList". I want to do it using lightning. is there any way to do this ?
Comment: So first of all `e.force:navigateToRelateList` is a lightning event. The whole Salesforce1 UI is Lightning Components. So the smug, unhelpful answer to "is there any way to do this?" is, "you already have." But I suspect that what you're after is more along the lines of this question here: http://salesforce.stackexchange.com/questions/56256/how-to-set-up-views-and-navigation-in-lightning


How to profile people using clustering

Question: I have a data of customers and i want to split them to segment (profiling).
The columns of the data are Amount-Spending, Amount-Bonus, Age, Churn-or-Not.
So i clustered my data with k-means. to 3 clusters.
Now, how can i show that the first column of the data ('Amount-Spending') is more close to cluster number 1 for example.
So i can say that cluster number 1 are people that usually spend a lot of money and not just, customer number 5 is in cluster 1.
Comment: You can try and measure correllation.
Answer: It seems to me that you are in danger to misuse Cluster Analysis, which is a technique to discover structure in data and not to describe a structure that one just assumes to exist. To see what I mean, ask yourself the following questions for example:

Why are you clustering into 3 groups? Not 4 or 9?
When plotting the data (luckily there are 3 attributes only), do you see any groups? How many? How can these groups roughly be described using the values of the attributes?
KMeans uses the Euklidean distance as a measure of similarity of samples. Is this the appropriate measure in your case?
Comment: Very good arguments. +1

How to profile people using clustering


Problem with water rushing through whole house humidifier

Question: I have a Honeywell Enviracaire Elite whole house humidifier Model HE365A1006 connected to my HVAC system. When the furnace runs, the water is rushing straight through the middle of the water panel filter, rather than flowing across the water distribution tray to spread across the whole filter. As a result, it really isn't humidifying and is just wasting a lot of water. Any ideas on how to fix this?
Comment: It would be helpful to edit your question to add the model number of the humidifier.
Comment: Have you taken the covers off the humidifier to look to see if anything looks to be out of the ordinary? Anything that's obviously out of place? Maybe take a pic or two and edit them into your post so others can take a look, too. Someone may spot something you haven't seen.
Answer: In my humidifier the pan on top of the filter is a piece of rubbery flexible plastic that needs the filter intact to be flat and level to allow the water to flow out and run down the little holes.  Check that the top is level, the sides are plumb, and the holes in the pan are not blocked by lime, dust, or whatever.
I recall that the filter needs to be installed right side up, the top marked by a red dot, to work properly.  Check that the filter is right side up.  I don't know if all humidifiers use the same kind of filter that needs to be installed in a certain orientation but it's a place to start.
These filters do need replacement over time as they fill up with lime and dust, maybe you need a new filter.  If it's been damaged, causing the frame to be out of plumb and level, then it definitely needs replacement.
Answer: Check and see if the feed tube nozzle is cracked or not connected properly.
Answer: It depends; it may be designed to work that way, possible water flow can be adjusted. Most humidifiers are "dead ends", the water goes in and evaporates. This leaves an amazing amount of dissolved mineral build-up in a cold climate. This require changing pads and  significant annual cleaning. To avoid this, some humidifiers have a continuous small water flow. Some water evaporates but the remaining water carries the concentrated mineral away to a drain so there is (ideally) no mineral build up in the humidifier. I expect your humidifier is the latter type.


Unusual Viewport Issue

Question: So, I'm not sure what's going on here. But I just finished an animation in another file and came to this model I'm working on and... well I don't know how to explain it but any time I get close to the object or camera, it begins to disappear. I'd rather not factory reset as I have a lot of custom things set up. Any idea's what causes this? I use Shift+f to move around, scroll to zoom in and out etc... Blender 2.79b (still need to get used to 2.8 I have used blender a lot but still a noob)
Answer: The cause is almost definitely your clip distance. You can make the objects you are looking at bigger or change the clip distance by pressing N in the viewport and changing 'Clip Start' to a smaller value.
Comment: No, that's what I thought at first too but I'm not in the camera. I'm just floating around.
Comment: It affects the viewport as well, not just the camera.
Comment: I changed it though and it didn't fix the issue.
Comment: Oh, wow. I was changing it in the camera settings and not the properties panel. I'm an idiot. Thank you so much MWolfe

Unusual Viewport Issue


What about the Apps that I bought on the App Store when I buy a new iPod?

Question: Will the App be synched when I connect my new iPod on my Mac ?
Do I have to do something special before selling my old iPod ?
Answer: At the very least, make sure you sync your old one to your Mac before you sell it. When you sync, it should copy purchased items from your iPod to your Mac.
If you have time, back up your iPod: Connect it to iTunes, then right-click (or control-click) and select Back Up. You can then restore your new iPod from that backup. This will restore your mail accounts, sync settings and app data to the new iPod. It will not restore the correct locations of your apps or home screen folder contents.
Comment: i believe iOS does restore your icon locations now.  when i upgraded from 3GS to 4 everything was back in the same spot and all photos, texts, and notes were restored as well.
Comment: I did a restore yesterday, and it didn't restore my item locations, except for the built-in apps. It synced the correct apps and their data back to the device, but I had to manually rearrange them again.


What is the meaning of "Samuel C. Collins Professor"?

Question:
I would like to know the specific meaning of Samuel C. Collins Professor in the above screenshot. It is a title for MIT faculties or the award with the same name (Samuel C. Collins)? Or something else?
Comment: It looks like a title to me because of the name on the line above.  However, Google is your friend.
Answer: It's a named professorship, which means a couple things.  Generally, endowed chairs are better paid and have some extra funds associated with them.  These are typically funded by a gift to the Institute.  In this case, somebody presumably gave a gift in honor of Prof. Collins, who was a pioneer in low-temperature work.

Dr. Samuel C. Collins, Professor Emeritus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, internationally known as the father of practical helium liquefiers and founder of the MIT Cryogenic Engineering Laboratory, died on June 19, 1984 in George Washington University Hospital, Washington, DC.
In 1946, Dr. Collins and his colleagues at MIT built what became know as the Collins Helium Cryostat. The device provided for the first time reliable, relatively in expensive and adequate supplies of liquid helium. His invention was of great interest to physicists because it opened the door to extensive experimental low-temperature physics

The existence of the endowed professorship is a honor to the memory of the eponymous Samuel Collins, and it is an honor for the current faculty member who holds it.
Comment: It is worth noting that the named person may have funded the endowed chair themselves, i.e. Samuel Collins donated or bequeathed money. This is definitely the case where an endowed chair is named after a company ("Qualcomm Professor in XYZ").
Answer: The speaker, Professor Leonard, holds a named or endowed chair, which is quite an honor in academia. His chair is named for Samuel C. Collins, an MIT professor "known as the father of practical helium liquifiers and the founder of the MIT Cryogenic Engineering Laboratory".
Comment: Would you mind fixing the typo in Collins's name please? Thank you!

What is the meaning of “Samuel C. Collins Professor”?


Spatial Join - Definition of 'Polygon is within X distance to point"?

Question: What is the exact definition used by ArcGIS?
Does the entire polygon need to be within X to the target point? Or only at least point within the polygon?
Comment: Or maybe the centroid?
Comment: @lynxlynxlynx, yes , that could also be ... either way, don't find anything in the documentation on that.
Answer: The Spatial Join documentation provides three options for the optional match_option parameter:

WITHIN_A_DISTANCE —The features in the join features will be matched
  if they are within a specified distance of a target feature. Specify a
  distance in the search_radius parameter.
  WITHIN_A_DISTANCE_GEODESIC
  —Same as WITHIN_A_DISTANCE except that geodesic distance is used
  rather than planar distance. Choose this if your data covers a large
  geographic extent or the coordinate system of the inputs is unsuitable
  for distance calculations.
  WITHIN_A_DISTANCE_3D —The features in the
  join features will be matched if they are within a specified distance
  of a target feature in three-dimensional space. Specify a distance in
  the search_radius parameter.

Neither of your suggested definitions matches the "within a distance of" measurement criteria, since a polygon is a "closed shape defined by a connected sequence of x,y coordinate pairs." Clementini, Felice, and van Oosterom, defined a polygon as an entity composed of the boundary and the interior of a figure. By these definitions, if any part of the figure is within the specified distance, the entire figure is within that distance (even if the figure is multi-part). Your second offering is contrary to the Esri meaning because a point could be exactly equal to the distance, which would match the boundary, but not the interior (not "within the polygon").
Centroids are another matter entirely, since not all definitions need tem to be be within the figure at all.
Generally, if you're not certain of the meaning you can fashion some simple test cases and use them to derive the meaning empirically, since edge cases can be difficult to explain without mathematics.


Can couscous substitute for acini di pepe?

Question: I couldn't find acini di pepe pasta in my nearby grocery store. Can I substitute Israeli couscous (bigger pearls than regular couscous) or do I need to find a store with a bigger selection? What are the differences between the two pastas?
Answer: Overall, you should be fine. Those two are closely related, both pasta-like little pearls from extruded dough.
The main difference is that Israeli couscous / Ptitim is toasted, giving it a slightly nuttier flavour. For most use cases they should be useable interchangeably.
Comment: I agree with the main point that couscous should be fine. However, couscous and Ptitim are not the same. Ptitim are pasta proper, whereas couscous is made using a different process.
Answer: They might use different types of wheat, but that's about it. There's no egg in either recipe, which sometimes differentiates pastas, but not here!


How to know the numbers of placemarks in a kml file without counting

Question: I have multiple kml files, each containing hundreds of placemarks. I suspect that I accidentally deleted a few placemarks. Since there are too many placemarks, it's not possible form me to count them altogether. So, is there any way to know the number of placemarks in a kml file?
Answer: Try using Notepad++, a powerful text editor.  I use it for a lot of my KML editing, and it has some powerful find/replace tools.  These include a "count" function that will let you count the instances of a certain string (eg: "<Placemark").  The Find dialog also includes a "Find in Files" tab, which will allow you to find a string across all files in a directory. While that doesn't have a "count" button, its output includes a count of the total number of instances across all files.
Notepad++ is Windows only, so if you're on another platform you can find similar functionality in something like jEdit, or another advanced text editor.
Answer: Since you did not specify which program you want to use, here is a solution using QGIS:
Load the files in QGIS and then right-click on each layer in the Layers Panel and activate the option "Show Feature Count". Now the total number of features in each layer is shown in brackets behind the layer name.
Comment: R and Python both works for me.
Comment: So there is the need to automate that process for you? Then it should be not a big problem to write a small script with the knowledge of @Christiaan Adams answer. However I personally would not write a script, if this is a one time task with only a couple of KML files, since just loading them in QGIS is probably faster.


Why is the inductor necessary in an LC filter?

Question: I am using an LC filter for the output of a buck converter. Dont both the inductor and capacitor just attenuate high frequency signals? Does having the inductor affect the output voltage or does it just affect the noise of it?
Comment: The inductor in a buck converter isn't just filtering a signal. It's fundamental to how the buck converter works.
Comment: An L is necessary in an LC filter, otherwise it would just be a C filter!. But seriously, it increases the order of the filter. It does for current and voltage what the capacitor does for voltage and current. A ladder of series Ls and shunt Cs gets one filter order per component.
Comment: Have you got a schematic for reference? Add it into your question.
Comment: BTW with a handle like that, you should definitely add a user image, like https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1190856641/tapatioguysm_400x400.jpg
Comment: Here is some reference material on [inductors](https://www.ibiblio.org/kuphaldt/electricCircuits/DC/DC_15.html).
Comment: This might be relevant: https://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/84210/resonant-frequency-of-lc-circuit-in-switching-converter
Answer:
Why is the inductor necessary in an LC filter?

This is a bit of a nomenclature problem.  LC means "Inductive"(L) "Capacitive"(C).  An inductor is not necessary in all types of filter, for instance an RC filter limits the charge rate of the capacitor with a resistor, but is less efficient by nature, since an inductor would use impedance rather than resistance to achieve the voltage drop.

I am using an LC filter for the output of a buck converter. Dont both the inductor and capacitor just attenuate high frequency signals?

Specifically, what an inductor or capacitor do are:
An Inductor generates a magnetic field proportional to the current flowing in it.  This magnetic field stores energy and when applied voltage is removed and current decreases, the inductor will deposit the energy back into the circuit to maintain current flow through itself.  The effect is that the inductor resists changes in the current flowing through it, and it does so proportionally to it's inductance.  Inductors will cause current to lag behind voltage.
A Capacitor stores energy on the surface of two parallel plates separated by an insulator.  When a voltage is applied to a capacitor, the capacitor sinks or sources current proportional to the difference between the applied voltage and it's current voltage. The closer the voltage on the capacitor is to the applied voltage, the less current flows.  Whereas an inductor resists changes in the current flowing through it, a capacitor resists changes in the voltage on it's terminals.  A capacitor will cause current to lead voltage. A good mnemonic for remembering which component that leads and lags the current is the word "CIVIL".
Different types of filters will attenuate different frequencies.

Does having the inductor affect the output voltage or does it just affect the noise of it?

Especially if you are trying to build an efficient power supply, resistance is to be avoided, but the side effect of low resistance is that if the output is connected at the same time as the input, input voltage will be applied directly to the output while the input is on, so if the device powered is sensitive to instantaneous voltage, it could be destroyed.  Using an inductor, you can average out the output voltage on a switched mode supply without limiting capacitor charging speed with a large resistance.  This is far from the only application of an inductor, but suffice to say you've got to do some math to figure out their effect on a complex signal type.
Draw a switched mode circuit with a capacitor and load across the output, but no series inductor and resistor, and you will see that when the switch is on, you have applied full source voltage to both a capacitor and the load.
Answer:
I am using an LC filter for the output of a buck converter. Dont both
  the inductor and capacitor just attenuate high frequency signals?

Yes, they attenuate high frequency signals and leave the output with less switching converter ripple noise. That is what is desired in a buck converter; it's a voltage regulator so, the removal of high frequency signals/noise on the output is usually very desirable.

Does having the inductor affect the output voltage or does it just
  affect the noise of it?

It smooths the DC content of the output and removes switching noise. It basically restores a switched waveform having an average value of \$V\$ to a DC output of \$V\$ with far fewer switching artefacts.
Answer: For describing the efficiency of lowpass filtering we use the pole distribution in the complex s-plane - expressed by the so-called quality factor "pole-Q, Qp".

Passive RC filters do not allow values Qp>0.5 (bad transition from pass band to stop band)
For complex poles with Qp>0.5 (better filtering; classical approximations to brickwall filtering: Bessel, Butterworth, Chebyshev) we need LC combinations, which allow resonant effects (passive LC structures).
As an attractive alternative, the funcions of the inductor (enabling resonance effects) can be replaced by amplifiers. This leads to very popular active RC-filter structures with frequency dependent feedback networks.


Texturing object

Question: Here is my question rephrased.
I don't know exactly how to texture in blender. I've got a rifle I made in blender. I made it entirely out of one cube. When I brought it into unity, there was no way for me to texture the weapon individual textures. Like the handle flat black and the stock a wood grain spec diffuse. I was only able to texture the weapon in unity in one texture. My question is, is it better to go from edit mode to object mode in blender to create individual pieces of the weapon so that when it's exported to unity i'm able to texture those individual pieces?
Comment: Please rephrase your question, do want to separate parts of your model that have the same material?
Answer: OVERVIEW You can colour each part of the rifle without separating it as a whole. To texture a mesh a popular way is to unwrap it on a UV then then colour that UV in which is your rifle flat down when colouring it in you can change the colour so blue for the grip and red for the tip etc all at once no need to seperate the mesh.
First you need to unwrap it, you can do this in edit mode by pressing u and selecting smart UV unwrap then from the 3D veiw you can go to UV/image editor while the rifle is selected you will see rifle flat if its all bunched/overlapped then you will have to unwrap it yourself just make seems with crtl-e then select unwrap the seems will separate it and stop it from being overlapped.
Now you have your rifle unwrapped you need to place it on something so at the bottom click new and click ok this will place the unwrapped rifle on a UV. You can then add colour to it by selecting paint from the UV mode (it would say "view" at the bottom).
Once in paint change the colour in the tool bar on the left and click on the UV to paint on it, you will see colour on your rifle in 3D view once you change your view port shading from solid to texture (the UV is a texture applied to the rifle).
I highly recommend you search on Youtube how to texture there are heaps of tutorials that will teach you in 5mins but I also wrote it down here.
Comment: In the paint, does it just add a solid color or can you choose a seamless texture? Every time I try to go into paint blender crashes.
Comment: Not sure if I can help you here, this might be simply your computer not being able to handle it, or the way you modelled your mesh its using more memory then it should be maybe you have an infinite loop. I would suggest to practice texture paint in a new file on the default cube see if it works, if so then see what might be wrong with your rifle .blend. Also make sure the UV hight/width isn't over 2048 if you can put it 1024 or half it, might work then.
Comment: Thanks. I'll try it. Where can I view how much memory my object is using?
Comment: Go to start, right click on computer and click properties.

Texturing object


How can I get new weapons on Lost Planet 2?

Question: I am getting tired of using the old weapon set, and I'm hoping that I can earn new weapons during the career or training modes.
Comment: Can someone plz post a comment to be sure that I am not the only one with this problem
Comment: You occasionally unlock them and new abilities by playing the slot machine.
Comment: Looks like you've got a good definitive answer here, you should accept it with the Check mark if it works
Comment: keep replaying mission 5-3 on easy mode. Keep defending data port the ship exploded. You'll get 100 [?] boxes in about 10 minutes.
Answer: To unlock new weapons, you either have to level up your characters, win at the slot machine, or get them in a [?] box. You'll get most through the slot machine though.
First of all, every ten levels that you advance with your character, you'll get a reward. Most of these are character parts, but most characters give you a weapon when you hit level 30, 50, and 70. The rewards are pre-defined, but it's not the only way that you can unlock these weapons. You can find a list of those here.
You've probably noticed that every game you play you get credits, especially for doing well. Training mode gives you some depending on your rank, and campaign mode give you credits for picking up [?] boxes. The two best ways to get these are to play level 3-3 and to win online matches. Then, you go to your page, then to your character customization, then to the screen that lets you select your weapons or abilities, and then you push the triangle button. (I don't know what it would be on the 360 or PC.) After you get to the slot machine screen, spin a bunch, and you should get a good number of weapons. If you spin all the standard weapons, you'll unlock another tier that costs ten times as much. It's all weapons, and those weapons are really good.
Finally, when you pick up a [?] box, you'll sometimes just get a weapon(or ability or name) instead of credits. It's roughly the same type of weapons that you get from spinning, and it's really rare to get one like this, though.


Two random samples the same as random assignment?

Question: I have two random samples drawn without replacement from the same population. Each sample received a different treatment (in fact both were drawn for different studies). I am inclined to believe these can be treated as if they were randomly assigned because each member had an equal probability of being selected into the first sample (or this case assigned to the first study). Thoughts?
Comment: If the samples were drawn and then one sample was assigned to one study and the other sample to the other study...this would be a random sample.
Answer: A solid way to analyze situations involving complex sampling programs (without replacement from a finite population) is to look at samples as subsets of the population.  Two sampling programs are equivalent when they draw each possible sample with the same probabilities.  (Arguably, it's enough that they would have the same chance of drawing your particular sample.)  In this case, a "sample" is the ordered pair consisting of the subjects selected for the first study and those selected for the second study.
A quick elegant solution is to note that both sampling procedures are uniform distributions of all possible ordered pairs of samples: no particular set of possible subjects is favored over any other set in either procedure.  But if you find that unconvincing (or opaque), you can carry out an explicit calculation.  It's fairly easy to do.
As it happened, the first sample (say of size $k_1$) was one of the $\binom{n}{k_1}$ possible $k_1$-subsets of the population, a set of size $n.$ All of them were equally likely to be drawn.  Conditional on that, the second sample (say of size $k_2$) was one of the $\binom{n-k_1}{k_2}$ possible $k_2$-subsets of the elements that remained.  That gives
$$\binom{n}{k_1}\binom{n-k_1}{k_2} = \frac{n!}{k_1!(n-k_1)!} \frac{(n-k_1)!}{k_2!(n-k_1-k_2)!} = \frac{n!}{k_1! k_2! (n-k_1-k_2)!}$$
equiprobable ordered pairs of samples to choose from under this procedure.
The alternative consists of selecting all $k_1+k_2$ subjects at random and then choosing $k_1$ among them to serve as the first sample (leaving the remaining $k_2$ for the second sample).  The number of possible ways to do this (all equally probable) is therefore the product of the appropriate Binomial coefficients, equal to
$$\binom{n}{k_1+k_2} \binom{k_1+k_2}{k_1} = \frac{n!}{(k_1+k_2)!(n-k_1-k_2)!} \frac{(k_1+k_2)!}{k_1!k_2!} =  \frac{n!}{k_1! k_2! (n-k_1-k_2)!},$$
the same as before.  Since both sampling procedures give the same probability of obtaining any given ordered pair of samples, they are equivalent.


How do sampling error, measurement error and specification error affect regression coefficients

Question: Can anyone answer the question or direct me to the proper resources - ESPECIALLY for sampling error effect on the coefficients? How would the coefficients be affected if the independent variables came from one data set while the dependent variable came from a different data set?
Comment: How can it be possible for the IVs and DVs to come from "separate" datasets when they are necessarily *matched*, one-to-one, in order to perform regression? Please explain more about the context of your question.
Comment: @whuber I wonder if user30682 is talking about fusing different secondary datasets. For instance, taking some county-wide health data from CDC and merge it with Census' 2010 county data for analysis, etc Since both datasets have their own sampling errors, the challenge is then how  the analyst should evaluate the merged data's sampling error.
Answer: Since what you are most interested in seems to be sampling error, I will try to answer this part part of your question. (You might want to consider editing your question and making three questions out of it.)
Sampling Error can lead to estimating coefficients, that fit your sample perfectly, but don't hold in a different sample. This phenomenon is also kown as overfitting. To check if overfitting did occur, you can estimate the parameters from one sample and then try to validate them with another sample. This is called cross validation (consider the name of this site for a second!).
In principle there is no problem with taking dependent variables from one dataset and independent variables from another, as long as both have the same number of data points. If it's a good idea or not depends on what exactly it is that you are trying to do.


Rigify : skin overlapping clothes

Question:
so i know this is a weightpainting issue, but i have no confidence in my weighpainting skills, so whenever i try to fix it it just comes out worse and the deformation gets worse for some reason. can someone tell me how to fix it? .blend
Answer: This is a common issue in automatic weighting. There is no "one click solution", so I can only propose some tips to improve your weighting skills:
1 - put your subsurf modifier after (down) the armature modifier and enable two little buttons that let you see the changes you'll make in edit mode and weight painting mode.

2 - in edit mode, if you select one vertex you can read the weight assigned to every bone - vertex group in the "N" panel, vertex weight tab.

3 - in edit mode select some vertices (tipically some edge rings), then switch to weight paint mode and click the red highlited button: your weight painting will apply only to the selected vertices

4 - if you select some vertices you can directly assign a weight in the vertex properties, vertex group tab.
Always consider that every vertex is moved by all the bones to which a weight is assigned.
Hope it helps!
Comment: Very useful answer! In addition you may check the **Show Weights** checkbox in the *Mesh Display* panel of the *properties shelf (N)*. It'll display the weights while in *Edit Mode*.

Rigify : skin overlapping clothes