Can Fire Storm be used against flying creatures?

Question: Can the cleric level 7 spell fire storm be used against creatures/humanoids that are flying say 50' off the ground or can it only be used against creatures on the ground?
Answer: It's a "100-foot cube", meaning that it can reach up to 100' without leaving the ground. What's more, it's "centered on a point within range" (100' of the caster), allowing a creature up to 150' directly above the caster to be affected. If the caster is also flying, the effective maximum altitude is unlimited.
Comment: @DaleM: Who's ignoring Pythagoras? "Directly" above the caster needs no weird triangular solutions: just add half the cube size to the full range and there you go. (If you're trying to attack someone 80' away horizontally and ... 20' up or something, *then* you'd have to do the full trigonometric calculation.)
Comment: Ignoring Pythagoris


Copy geometry from one layer onto attributes of another?

Question: I have two polygon layers, A and B, that have the same features but totally different attributes. I want to use the attributes from layer A, but I want them to have the more accurate geometry from layer B. How can I copy the geometry from a feature in layer B and paste it onto the attributes of the same feature in layer A?
Comment: If A and B have totally different attributes then joining using a common field would not be possible. Is there such a common field? If not can you state that geometries of A and B have a topological relationship? Eg centroid of A is allways within polygon of B? Are the polygons isolated rings (eg islands), or do they touch, or even overlay themself?
Comment: They are two datasets of administrative boundaries, so the polygons touch but do not overlap. They are the same set of municipalities, so the centroids would line up; in fact, layer B is partly derived from layer A, but has been updated and corrected so the boundaries are more accurate. I think most of the features are actually identical between the two layers, but as I say the attributes are totally different.
Comment: If you're interested, I've published a plugin that helps you with that. Let me know if Layers A and B share at least one attribute (like an id), so that I can elaborate on the answer.
Comment: It would depend on the two datasets, and I can't remember exactly which two this question was about. Typically they would be from different sources and so would not contain identical IDs, but it would be safe to assume that both datasets had the feature names, even if stored in different fields.
Answer: I propose two different ways.

Using processing tools: see my answer  to another question. It is not difficult to adapt it to your problem, since it is about polygon overlays
A Python script to copy&paste into Python console or to run from Python editor

The script get 2 layers A, B. Replace them with the names of your layers. B is the one providing the additional attributes. The resulting features go to a new memory layer with all attributes from both layers. Then it loops over all features from A searching for features from B, that contain the centroid of the A features. If such a B is found, take the geometry from A, and attributes from A and B , and write it to memory layer AB.
<code># get layers
a_layer = QgsMapLayerRegistry.instance().mapLayersByName('A')[0]
b_layer = QgsMapLayerRegistry.instance().mapLayersByName('B')[0]

# prepare result layer
ab_layer = QgsVectorLayer('Polygon?crs=epsg:4326', 'AB', 'memory')
ab_fields = a_layer.dataProvider().fields()
ab_fields.extend( b_layer.dataProvider().fields())
ab_prov = ab_layer.dataProvider()
ab_layer.startEditing()
ab_prov.addAttributes(ab_fields)
ab_layer.commitChanges()

ab_feats = []
# replace with a_layer.selectedFeatures() if you want seleted features only
for feat in a_layer.getFeatures():
    # to increase performance filter possible candidates
    beefs = b_layer.getFeatures(QgsFeatureRequest().setFilterRect(feat.geometry().boundingBox()))
    for beef in beefs:
        # check if centroid of A is in B
        if feat.geometry().centroid().within(beef.geometry()):
            ab_feat = QgsFeature(ab_fields)
            ab_attrib = feat.attributes()
            ab_attrib.extend(beef.attributes())
            ab_feat.setAttributes(ab_attrib)
            ab_feat.setGeometry(beef.geometry())
            ab_feats.append(ab_feat)
            break

# add features to layer
ab_prov.addFeatures(ab_feats)
QgsMapLayerRegistry.instance().addMapLayers([ab_layer])
</code>
The script could be used as a template for other topological related feature comparisons as well.
Comment: There is a plugin with which you can view and copy the geometry as wkt (well known text). Maybe there is one which allows geometry input as wkt.  With minor changes in the code of my script you can take geometry only from one layer and the attributes from the other.
Comment: What I'm wondering is, isn't the geometry just a list of vertices? Couldn't I just view that list as text somehow, copy it from one file and paste it into the other? Or is that not how the information is stored?
Comment: Yes, in most cases polygons are represented as ordered list of points. Or list of lists of points, one list for each ring. Except for some ASCII formats these data structure is saved in binary files, eg as shp file. When you export such file to an ASCII format, as json, gml, or wkt, you could copy and paste these strings. But you have no common attribute, as stated above. So how do you know which geometries replace with which other?
Comment: I would recognize them by their names, assuming those appear nearby in the ASCII file. So there's no way to view and edit the vertices as text within the GUI?
Comment: There's one called Plain Geometry Editor that looks like it may work. I just have to figure out how to convert from meters(?) to degrees.
Answer: You've got a few options depending on how your data is organized.
You can perform a table join/relate using a common field between your data sets (with the .dbf of shape file A as the table being joined to shape B) or if your .dbf's present data for the exact same shapes in the exact same order you should be able to replace the .dbf from one to another.
If you are replacing the .dbf manually, be sure to save a copy of it in case it doesn't work and if you do perform a table join, you'll want to make your shape file editable so as to remove any redundant columns. You should end up with a shape file B that has the new geometries and the attributes from shape file A.
Comment: Replacing the .dbf is a smart idea. But it's not an unique identifier that joins .shp/.shx and .dbf: such an identifier does not exist. It is just the record order, which acts as connector between the different files of a *shapefile*. Thats the reason for some curious malfunction of shapefiles (*Number of records in DBF does not match number of Shapes* or attributes and geometry get out of place).
Comment: Thanks. In my case, layer A is TIGER county subdivision data from the US Census, and layer B is municipal boundaries from the state of Maine GIS office.
Comment: I don't think there's any field that's common between the two datasets, at least not a unique one. Also, I would want to do this only for selected features, if possible, instead of the whole DBF.
Comment: @Nathan In that case, you might be better off performing a spatial join. If the geometries are simple polygons, what you could try doing is calculating centroids for your shapefile A (this creates a point at the centre of each polygon that preserves the .dbf values from your polygons) and then performing a spatial join based on location values. If the data you're working with comprises complex polygons or lines/polylines, things might be a bit more complicated but still feasible. If you mention what your data is, we might be able to help more.
Answer: Here are three easy methods I am now aware of to do this:
 1. (easiest) Using the "Plain Geometry Editor" plugin, display and copy the WKT from a feature in Layer B. Then, using the same plugin, replace the WKT of a feature in Layer A with the copied WKT from Layer B.
 2. (in QGIS 3.0 where the above plugin is not available) Using the GetWKT plugin, display and copy the WKT from a feature in Layer B. GetWKT does not have a paste function; so, in Layer A use the Field Calculator to update the  field of a selected feature, by calling the function geom_from_wkt('[paste the copied WKT here]'). More details here.
 3. Alternatively, use OpenJUMP to directly edit, copy or paste the WKT geometry.


Providing 512MB of video RAM with VirtualBox

Question: I'm attempting to use VirtualBox to play a game on a Windows guest machine, running under an OSX Mavericks host with 512MB of video RAM.  The game requires 512MB of video RAM (although it doesn't do anything particularly intensive, graphics-wise).
The slider in the configuration screen only goes up to 256MB.
I tried
VBoxManage modifyvm "Name of VM" --vram 512

but that did not work:
VBoxManage: error: Invalid VRAM size: 512 MB (must be in range [1, 256] MB)
VBoxManage: error: Details: code NS_ERROR_INVALID_ARG (0x80070057), component SessionMachine, interface IMachine, callee nsISupports
VBoxManage: error: Context: "COMSETTER(VRAMSize)(ValueUnion.u32)" at line 570 of file VBoxManageModifyVM.cpp

As I understand it, video RAM is emulated using regular host RAM, so I don't see any reason for such a limit.  Is there a way to increase guest video RAM past 256MB?
Answer: This is apparently a hard limit built in to VirtualBox.  Haven't tried this myself but someone on this thread reports having raised the video ram above 256MB by editing the VM configuration file and having been met with an error message and failure to start up the VM.
That same thread ventures into some speculation as to why this limit exists.  It seems a reasonable question, given that modern CPUs are likely capable of handling GPU emulation for older programs that needed >256MB of video ram.  Also, given that 3D support passes much of the work to the actual video card, it may well be possible to run newer programs requiring >256MB of VRAM under VirtualBox.
Some commenters on that thread thought that there was a significant amount of complexity involved in coding this change (enough to scare off those looking to hack the changes themselves) and that missing features in the emulated video card would prevent many such programs from running even given a larger amount of emulated VRAM.
Answer: This is due to available system resources and it can't go above the hardware capabilities.
I'm running Yosemite on my MacBook Pro.  I created a new VB Virtual Machine and my max video memory available is 128MB.
Comment: my linux-based machine has 3GB of VRAM. I can't use more than 256MB.
Comment: Video RAM on the Mac is 512MB.
Comment: My machine has 4GB video ram, but I can also only used 256MB in virtualbox. :(
Answer: Easy.. Do the maths..
In HD: 1920x1080=2073600 or 2.1Mb.
VirtualBox uses your system RAM to makeup vRAM and vRAM straight.
A GPU does much more with its memory than just display images. Especially in Games, it has to process the images way deeper...
Eg: OSX Sierra uses 4Mb vRAM, it is therefore useless to give it 256Mb, right??
Do not mix GPU RAM and system vRAM...
I hope I have been clear enough..
Cheers..!!


Self referencing email form in Sharepoint 2007

Question: I am a content editor new to Sharepoint and have to build a registration form for a training department. As there is no need to access a db, I have been told InfoPath is not required, is this correct?
If not using Infopath, can I just build a form using html in either a content web part or page content area? I have intermediate html skills but am unsure whether Sharepoint will support any scripting, and, if so ,which language - I assume asp.net of which I know nothing, my skills being more php based.
There is nothing tricky about most of the form itself. The applicant fills in their details including their line manager's email address. The main place I get unstuck is the form is then submitted to the line manager, who's address is an input to the form, for approval. As this will change everytime, I assume a script is required, but there is where my knowledge runs out and I cannot find a similar question after several days searching the web.
I assume I will also need a script to validate the email address (not compare it to a db, just for making sure it is a valid email format).
Is anyone able to point me in the direction of some of these answers? I am not asking for someone to code it for me, but It would be helpful if you know of a tutorial site where I could learn to do this myself.
Answer: I think I found what I am after at this site


Ruby on Rails and Active Record standalone scripts disagree on database values for :timestamps

Question: I posted a question earlier today when I'd not zeroed in quite so far on the problem.  I'll be able to be more concise here.
I'm running RoR 2.1.2, on Windows, with MySQL.  The SQL server's native time zone is UTC.  My local timezone is Pacific (-0800)
I have a model with a :timestamp type column which I can do things like this with:
record = Record.find(:first)
record.the_time = Time.now()

When I do a "select * from records" in the database, the time shown is eight hours in advance of my local time, which is correct, given that the DB is on UTC.  (I have verified that it is 'thinking in utc' with a simple 'select now()' and 'select utc_timestamp()')
This is where the trouble begins.  If I display the time in a view:
<%= h record.the_time %>

...then I get back the correct time, displayed in UTC format.  If I wrote to the database at 16:40:00 local time, the database showed 00:40:00.
HOWEVER, if I am running a standalone script:
record = Record.find(:first)
puts record.the_time

...then I get back the UTC time that I stored in the database (00:40:00,) but with the local timezone:
Wed Nov 26 00:40:00 (-0800) 2008

...an eight-hour time warp.  Why is it that storing the time translates it correctly, but retrieving it does not?  If I compare a stored time from the recent past in the DB and compare it to the current time, the current time is less - telling me this isn't just a string conversion issue.
Any ideas?
Answer: Try requiring active_support
Answer: There is a setting in config/environment.rb that sets a time_zone.  Possibly this is not set the same in your script:
# Make Time.zone default to the specified zone, and make Active Record store time values
# in the database in UTC, and return them converted to the specified local zone.
# Run "rake -D time" for a list of tasks for finding time zone names. Uncomment to use default local time.
config.time_zone = 'UTC'

You can also try explicitly specifying the TZ and format:
require 'active_support/core_ext/date/conversions'
record.the_time.utc.to_s(:db)

(or cheat and grab the code fragment from there if you're not using active_support in your standalone script)
Answer: Well, you did not comment on my last suggestion to restart your server or your console.
I had a similar problem and it got fixed when I did so.
Also you mention a stand-alone script, but in order to get the time-zone feature of Rails the code needs to run within Rails.
Answer: In the end, it was far easier to do this by storing times as an integer (Time.now().to_i()) and converting them back to a time when I needed to display them (Time.at(the_time_the_database_returned_to_me).)  This is hardly the best solution, but it was the only one that worked.


Library for converting Microsoft .doc to .docx in Python

Question: I need to convert .doc files to .docx within my code itself . I have done it using comtypes.client but this library basically requires Windows and Microsoft Word to be installed . What would be the best package in python that could do the conversion without the need of windows and office word. Pandoc looks good but it doesn't support .doc files.
Answer: If you have LibreOffice installed, you can call it directly with subprocess:
import subprocess
import os

for filename in os.listdir(os.getcwd()):
    if filename.endswith('.doc'):
        subprocess.call(['soffice', '--headless', '--convert-to', 'docx', filename])

This will convert all the files in the current directory with names ending in .doc to .docx format.
Beware, you must close open instances of LibreOffice before running this, or it will exit silently without doing anything. This is a known bug.
https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=37531
Answer: You could use unoconv and convert the files through LibreOffice.
It is imperfect, and some formatting is lost, but it will convert all doc files to docx with
unoconv -d document --format=docx *.doc

Answer: Spire.Doc for Python (commercial) can be used to convert between .doc and .docx formats. It eliminates the need for Microsoft Word or other external software.
Here is the pip command for installing it:
pip install Spire.Doc

Here is an example that converts .doc to .docx:
from spire.doc import *
from spire.doc.common import *

# Create an object of the Document class
document = Document()
# Load a Word DOC file
document.LoadFromFile("Sample.doc")

# Save the DOC file to DOCX format
document.SaveToFile("ToDocx.docx", FileFormat.Docx2016)
# Close the Document object
document.Close()

More details can be found in this blog post: Convert Word DOCX to DOC or DOC to DOCX with Python.


Calling JavaScript function from codebehind C# in a user control

Question: Currently, I am calling my JavaScript functions using:
ScriptManager.RegisterClientScriptBlock(this, typeof(Page), Guid.NewGuid().ToString(), "$(function(){$.jGrowl('Hello World');});", true);

It works perfectly! Even using master page and update panel it works as expected.
However, when I try to do the same in a user control that is embedded in a page that is being called with a jQuery thickbox, it does not work!
Does anyone know how to solve this issue?
Comment: Where in your code is this call happening? Page_Load()?
Comment: When a server button is clicked
Answer: This solved the problem:
ScriptManager.RegisterClientScriptBlock(this.Page, typeof(UpdatePanel), Guid.NewGuid().ToString(), "$(function(){$.jGrowl('Hello World');});", true);

As it was mentioned by @Joel, there was a problem with the type I was using as a parameter for the function.
Note: If you're using a thickbox, probably you are not using the master page in the page that contains the user control. Therefore, jQuery needs also to be referenced in that page since the master page is not partaking in the thickbox.
Answer: It looks to me like what you have is incompatible with respect to types. When you include this in an actual page this portion of the code: (this, typeof(Page),... works because you're dealing with a Page. Once you put it in a UserControl you're no longer dealing with a Page.
Something you can try is adding a public property to your user control:
public System.Web.Page ParentForm { get; set; }

In the page that includes the control include this code either in the Page_InitComplete or Page_Load event:
myUserControl.ParentForm = this;

Then you can modify your scriptmanager statement to be:
ScriptManager.RegisterClientScriptBlock(ParentForm, typeof(Page), Guid.NewGuid().ToString(), "$(function(){$.jGrowl('Hello World');});", true);

Answer: Have you ensured that your user control is calling databind()? I've experienced a similar issue before.


New GFCI Tamper Resistant Outlet not working

Question: Purchased a new Leviton Tamper-Resistant GFCI Outlet.  Installed it and the green light comes on, but when I plug something into it, it doesn't come on. Tried something else that I know works and still no power to it even though the light on it is green.  The reset / test buttons are very hard to press and one of them doesn't seem to be working.. Can I fix the button? Did I install it wrong?
Comment: Did you actually press the reset button then the test button and hear a click where the reset button pops out slightly, if not the receptacle may not be reset, I have big fingers and use a screwdriver to push the buttons.
Comment: Many need to be reset when first powered, even if everything is wired correctly.
Comment: Turn off the breaker, pull out the GFCI, and take pictures of how you wired it.
Comment: Are you sure you connected to the Lind terminals and not the Load terminals? If you are using both, try disconnecting the Load terminals and see if that changes anything.
Comment: Yes, GFCI outlet troubleshooting step 1 should be cycling of the TEST and RESET buttons!
Answer: Basic trouble-shooting for GFCI/receptacle:

Disconnect all wires.
Determine which wires are incoming/line. Connect hot and neutral from that set (wires or cable) to the incoming/line side of the GFCI.
Turn on the breaker and test: indicator light, TEST/RESET, 3-light tester and then actual device. If something doesn't work you either have incorrect wiring or a bad GFCI/receptacle.
If daisy-chaining: Turn off the breaker. Connect outgoing/load wires/cable to the outgoing/load side of the GFCI/breaker.
Test thoroughly again. If it doesn't work, doesn't RESET, etc. then you have an existing ground fault in the load wires/devices/receptacles and will need to fix that before continuing.

Note that I didn't mention ground. That's because I assume you are using metal boxes with ground wires going to the boxes and the GFCI/receptacle grounding from the yoke to the box.
Note that on non-GFCI receptacles, neutral (line & load) is on one side and hot (line & load) is on the other side. With GFCI/receptacles you need to check carefully to see where each wire is supposed to connect. Connect things wrong and all kinds of strange things can happen. (Same advice applies to 3-way switches and smart switches.)


Can I increase the setting of my well pump's pressure switch to improve pressure?

Question: I just bought a house and my water pressure isn't the greatest. When I looked at it, the pressure switch is for 30 50. When checking the cut-in and cut-out, it was at 35 55. Can it be set higher like that or should I change it back to 30 50?
Comment: Hello, and welcome to Stack Exchange. I presume this pressure switch is for a well pump? Some more information (edited into your question) would be helpful.
Comment: Since you have a pressure switch do you also have a water pressure tank?  Also what is the pressure at an actual faucet or water bib.
Comment: The key element here is what preasure is the pump optimized to operate? Continuing to increase pressures beyond the pumps design will only lead to overheated motors and more electrical expense.  The max pressure is also not the same thing as operating pressure.
Answer: You can raise the pressure switch-points by adjusting the pressure switch. It's not uncommon to run at 60/40, and 70/50 is also possible.
The limiting factors are:

Your pressure switch (though as Ed says, most go to 90 or so)
The fixtures in your house. Toilet valves in particular can start to leak at higher pressures, and the next big one would be connections made using compression fittings and smaller tubing like fridges, ice makers and humidifiers.
Your well pump. It may not be powerful enough to actually reach the cut-off pressure, or it may take an excessively long time.

You can also increase the size of your pressure tank. This will make the pressure drops and surges smoother and last longer as it takes longer for the pressure to drop to the cut-in pressure, but it'll also take longer to fill it up. The pump will run less frequently but for longer.

There's also a number of variable speed pumps on the market, and those will actually maintain a certain pressure fairly reliably. This is most noticeable while using water continuously such as in the shower or using a hose outside. One of the other benefits is these only need a fairly small pressure tank.
This obviously requires replacing your pump (and it's more expensive than the equivalent standard pump) so it's probably not a good option unless you needed/wanted to replacing the pump anyway.
Answer: By changing it down to 50 your pressure will be lower. Most of the switch's I have worked with are preset by increasing the spring pressure many can be raised to 90. When increasing the adjustment if it gets hard to turn stop or the switch may be damaged. Added for clarity The switch sets the pressure in fact it is an electronic regulator. If the water pressure is not sufficient most switches can be adjusted to increase the pressure thus increasing the flow from the pressure tank. Many switches come adjusted from the factory with set points listed on the switch. If the switch is adjustable increasing the tension will increase the pressure by allowing the pump to run longer until the desired pressure is reached. If there are 2 adjustments 1 is for the span between the pump turning off when at pressure and when it turns back on.
Comment: Ed. is it  not the case that  the pressure switch (PS) for the well pump   is a  switch and not a pressure regulator.  I:E: when the pressure drops below a preset number the PS then switches on a WELL PUMP and switches it off when the maximum preset is reached.  It does not increase or decrease water pressure. Maybe the op used the term switch instead of regulator.
Comment: @alaska man, have you never worked on a well before? Most pressure switches are adjustable some move cut in and off together and some the high and low pressure are individuly adjustable. I have installed , repaired and replaced well over 100 in career. If you adjust the pressure set point it adjusts the pressure output. The 30/50 is the factory setting and by adjusting the the switch this usually can be increased.
Comment: i did not say you were wrong, I asked nicely. Are you saying that a pressure switch controls how much output the well pump is supplying. I:E: it speeds up or slows down the pump itself in order to change the pressure that the pump is supplin?.   The well i have worked on was set just as described, when the the pressure tank was depleted to set pressure ( the low limit ) the switch would then turn on the well pump in order to supply more water to the tank and shut of the pump once the tank reached the proper pressure ( high limit ). My pump is either off or it is on.
Comment: It would be helpful for the op and anybody who reads this if we could have detailed explanation of how the pressure switch in conjunction with the rest of the water supply infrastructure effects the water pressure of the home. I am sure i could learn something. that is in fact why i asked.
Answer: In the simplest example of a typical residential submerged-pump well water system THAT IS PRESSURIZED, AND NOT SIMPLY GRAVITY FED,  there is a water pressure tank that is directly supplied with water from the well pump. The water tank provides back pressure in the form of compressed air, most commonly separated from the water by a elastic membrane. As more water enters the tank, the AIR PRESSURE in the tank increases. And that AIR PRESSURE provides the force needed to propel water out when a valve is opened.
In such a system there needs to be a control to turn the pump on and off, in order to stop the pump when a predetermined water pressure in the tank is reached, (otherwise whatever was the weakest point in the pressurized system would eventually fail).
The control stops and starts the pump. Period. There is no intermediate range between on and off. The pump runs at full speed or not at all.
Therefore, either a simple manual on/off electric switch is needed to stop the pump (and someone needs to be there to turn the switch on and off to control the pump) OR there needs to be an automatic device to accomplish the same task.
When the selected pressure is reached, either the person in charge of the switch or the switch itself interrupts the flow of electricity to the pump and the pump stops.
Seeing as there is NOT an endless supply of individuals willing to stand guardian over our individual water systems, the automatic pressure-sensing device is nearly universally used.
In a residential setting, a well pump itself is a SINGLE SPEED/SINGLE OUTPUT RATE DEVICE, one most commonly selected for its price and its pumping VOLUME (gal/minute). There is a selection of pumps with different gal/min ratings available to suit different household's water use needs. A water pressure tank and a water heater are both selected for the projected water use of the household. Typically both would be larger in households with more people or more fixtures, than in those with fewer.
A pump is (hopefully) always selected with the water well's INPUT flow rate considered.  It would not be a good idea to have a pump that can pump 50 gallons a minute when the well's inflow rate is only 2 gallons per minute, or the risk of running the pump dry would be too great.
Comment: It's early and my coffee hasn't fully kicked in yet, but I don't see how this addresses the asked question in any way shape or form.


Manual focus in A mode can harm my lens?

Question: I use 18-140 Nikkor . This lens have two A & M focus mode and this lens is AF-S that mean when auto focus is enable the focus ring dose't move. If i do manual focus when the lens is at A mode , does it harm the lens ? or its safe.
Comment: Related: [Nikon D3300 autofocus issue](https://photo.stackexchange.com/q/99158/15871)
Comment: @MichaelClark no my Q is deeper . And due to solved description this has better Professional value Michael.
Comment: Can you post your edit as an answer please and accept it rather than modifying your question?
Comment: @CrazyDino Already done.
Answer: In general, you can damage your lens if you turn the focus ring while in autofocus mode. The exception is ring-type lens motors, which are often branded "ultrasonic" or similar. (Nikon uses "Silent Wave Motor", although it unhelpfully uses this designation for both ring and "micromotor" designes). There are also some Pentax lenses which have a clutch mechanism.
Assuming that this 18-140mm is your lens, note that it's explicitly listed as having "full-time manual focus override". This means that it either has a ring-type motor, or a clutch mechanism, so it should be safe.
Comment: In User-Guide it's explained well : A Mode : Auto focus (Manual Focus * ) available only when single-servo AF ( AF-S ) is selected as the camera focus mode ( So its safe when mode set to A and in settings focus mode set to AF-S ) so i've got my answer with Lens user-guide manual .


What does the 'man in the hole with two arrows' icon in the top left do?

Question: In Dota 2, in the top bar, the fifth icon from the left is a man in a hole. Clicking it seems to do nothing. What is it supposed to do?
Comment: I don't think it does anything yet, but there are two arrows, one on either side of the man in the hole.  This suggest it is some sort of swap or switch function.
Comment: you should mark right answers. profit for everybody
Answer: The function was implemented yesterday in the test build
It opens a new tab where you can share control of your hero,courier,units with desired players.
Also you can prevent other players to use friendly spells on you(eg. if you don't want tiny to toss you).
Answer: Most have suggested it will either allow a player to share control of their units with an ally, swap heroes, or disable allied help (VS Swap, Force Staff, etc.). These are the main in-game things that have yet to be added.


How to remove "Create new view" from view dropdown to the list

Question: Is that possible to remove the "Create new view" option from the view dropdown?
Comment: Could you specify, where exactly the mentioned "Create new view" item is located? Do you mean ribbon, and if yes, then in what tab - "Browse" or "List" or "Library"?
Comment: To all the list and library. I have to hide in ribbon, in view drop down and the library setting. What i mean is if some x group user login to portal they should not have access to create/ modify/ delete view.
Answer: Hiding these links from that many locations actually causes a lot of pain and anyway is not secure. An advanced user could just enter the direct link to the view creation page, and all your efforts would be to no purpose.
Thus, this is a permissions question, and all you need is just to set appropriate permissions to your portal users.
To achieve this, click "Site Actions" => "Site permissions", locate button "Permissions levels" on the ribbon, and then create a new permission level (or modify existent one).
When creating the new permission level, assure that the settings "Manage Lists" and "Manage Personal Views" are unchecked:

After this, create a SharePoint users group, configure it to use this new permission level and include all the users you need to this group.
Comment: First thing i am not able to set this through UI. Second thing what ever u r telling i am achived this through code also. there i am getting some permission issue because ia m not able to remove the manage list permission from full control. Any way thanks for ur idea to get this idea and write the code i spent two days.
Answer: Here you can able to find the example
http://www.dotnetsharepoint.com/2016/06/how-to-restrict-users-for-creating.html


Which work of Scifi/fantasy was the first to depict a person as a hologram?

Question: Star Wars has them. So do the Star Trek and Red Dwarf series. Which work of Scifi/fantasy, written or filmed, was the first to depict a person as a hologram?
Comment: First to have a holographic representation of someone, or the first to have a character who *is* a hologram?
Comment: @DJClayworth The first holographic representation of someone.
Comment: If "holograms" can be taken to mean "3D representation of a person for communication" then a scene from Campbells  "Invaders from the Infinite" (first published serialized in 1932, and reissued in book form in the 60s) might qualify. To communicate with aliens in a hostile environment, Arcot and Morey create representations of themselves with their "artificial matter" generator.
Answer: The earliest I can think of (though there are likely others) is Foundation, published in 1951.  Hari Selden appears several times as a holographic recording, warning the populace of impending crises.  However, I'm pretty sure the word hologram is actually used in the book, so the thing to figure out might be who coined the word and when.
Comment: First, I think you missed out a "not" in the last sentence; you meant to say the word hologram is **not** actually used. Second, Hari Seldon's first holographic recording (if that's what it was) was mentioned in Asimov's **short story** ["Foundation"](http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?46532) which was first published in the [**May 1942** issue](http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?57589+c) of *Astounding Science-Fiction*.
Comment: http://www.nature.com/physics/looking-back/gabor/index.html probably 1948 by a Dr. Gabor
Comment: Nice work.  That's a pretty short window, too...
Answer: Obviously, the benchmark to beat is 1974 when Star Trek: The Animated Series episode "The Practical Joker", introduced the holodeck.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holography#Holography_in_fiction:
The Carpathian Castle (1893 novel by Jules Verne) the plot revolves around prima donna La Stilla, represented at the times of the events as a projected image.
I'm not sure if that counts (it was a projection but not technically speaking a hologram) but will post in case you meant to include any projections and not just literally holograms.

If that doesn't count, Lem's "Return From The Stars" (1961) has "holographic 3-D photos, as well as holographic theater plays" according to TVTropes.
Comment: Holey moley. 80 seconds.
Comment: "80 seconds"? I'm not familiar with that novel. Was it published before 1961 and did it have holograms?
Answer: What about the Wizard of Oz (1939 for the movie, not sure if this was seen in the books)?  Maybe not a hologram in the strictest definition, but the technique is pretty similar.


How do I download an entire NFT collection, including metadata

Question: I want to download an entire collection, including the metadata. Any help would be appreciated.
Comment: I guess you need to use APIs for the specific website the NFT collection is hosted on. But there might be another easier solutions.
Answer: You can use opensea API to fetch all the collection stats including metadata. after fetching, you can easily dump them to an excel or any program of your choice
Link:
https://docs.opensea.io/reference/retrieving-a-single-collection-testnets
you will need a collection slug to fetch the collection. collection slug is unique identifier for the collection
Answer: To download an entire collection, including the metadata, you can use the following steps:
Get a list of all the NFTs in the collection. You can do this using the OpenSea API or the Moralis API.
Download the metadata for each NFT. The metadata is usually stored on IPFS, so you can use a tool like ipfs get to download it.
Save the metadata to a file. You can save the metadata to a JSON file or a YAML file.

Here is an example of how to download an entire NFT collection using
the OpenSea API and the ipfs get command:

<code>import requests

# Get the list of all the NFTs in the collection.
collection_slug = "boredapeyachtclub"
response = requests.get(f"https://api.opensea.io/api/v1/collections/{collection_slug}/assets")
nfts = response.json()

# Download the metadata for each NFT.
for nft in nfts:
    metadata_url = nft["metadata_url"]
    response = requests.get(metadata_url)
    metadata = response.json()

    # Save the metadata to a file.
    with open(f"{nft['token_id']}.json", "w") as f:
        json.dump(metadata, f)
</code>
Once you have downloaded the metadata for all of the NFTs in the collection, you can store it in a database or a file system. You can then use the metadata to display the NFTs on your website or in your app.


Hopf algebras arising as Group Algebras

Question: Every commutative $C^*$-algebra is isomorphic to the set of continuous functions, that vanish at infinity, of a locally compact Hausdorff space. Every commutative finite dimensional Hopf algebra is the group algebra of some finite group. Does there exist a characterisation of the finitely generated commutative Hopf algebras that arise as group algebras?
Comment: I'm with Ben.  "Group algebra" definitely means the algebra of finite linear combinations of group elements; functions on the group is something else.  The way to measure the difference is whether the corresponding functor to Algebras is co- or contravariant.
Comment: Don't you mean "Every cocommutative finite dimensional Hopf algebra is the group algebra of some finite group."?
Comment: @Kevin: In context, John may have meant finite-dimensional Hopf algebras over $\mathbb{C}$.  And I suspect that Ben was not tripped up by anything other than the abbreviated framing of the question.  For one, the question's formalism is indeed dual to what I usually take to be a group algebra.
Comment: Kevin- You'll note, I made no claims about whether what I wrote was true.  But with "commutative" in it, that claim is quite false, whereas with "cocommutative" it's morally correct, if with a caveat or two.
Comment: One could say that having a basis consisting on group-like elements is precisely what you want, but I reckon you are after a more refined characterization...
Comment: Something a little more refined would be nice, but it's a good start.
Comment: Ben it depends how you define the group algebra -- functions on the group is a perfectly good way to go. Also, as Greg mentions below, at least in positive characteristic this is false no? You would have to say finite group scheme, which is just a tautology really.
Comment: Related: https://math.stackexchange.com/questions/2595567
Answer: Since the questioner starts off asking about $C^*$ algebras, I am going to assume that he only cares about Hopf algebras over $\mathbb{C}$. Every finitely generated, commutative $\mathbb{C}$-Hopf-algebra is the polynomial functions on an algebraic group $G$. As Ben says, we can just take $G$ to be Spec of the Hopf algebra, and then the comultiplication gives a group structure on this Spec.
There are several ways that working over $\mathbb{C}$ makes things nicer than working over arbitrary fields. Other answers have pointed them out but, IMO, have done so in a way that makes things sound more confusing. Let me instead point out how nice algebraic groups over $\mathbb{C}$ are:

You might worry that $G$ would not be reduced. This happens over fields of characteristic $p$, but not characteristic zero. See my earlier question. Also, you might worry that $G$ has singularities, but it doesn't. In short, $G$ is a complex Lie group.
Over non-algebraically closed fields $k$, the behavior of the $k$-points of $G$ may not determine the behavior of $G$. For example, let $X = \operatorname{Spec} \mathbb{R}[x]/(x^n-1)$. Then $X$ can be equipped with the structure of an algebraic group of order $n$; the coproduct is $x \mapsto x \otimes x$. Intuitively, you should think $x_1 \times x_2 \mapsto x_1 x_2$, so this group is the $n$-th roots of $1$ under multiplication. By the Nullstellensatz, this can't happen over $\mathbb{C}$. The $\mathbb{C}$-points will be dense (in both the ordinary and Zariski topologies) and any map will be determined by what it does to the $\mathbb{C}$-points.
Comment: Yes, my question was about $\mathbb{C}-algebras. But it's probably a little late to change it now.
Answer: Every finitely generated commutative Hopf algebra is the functions on a group scheme of finite type.  Just take Spec: the coproduct and antipode give you the group operations.
Answer: As Ben says, a commutative Hopf algebra $R$ is, by definition, the coordinate ring of an affine group scheme.  There are also group schemes that are not affine, such as abelian varieties, so these are excluded from the question.  Since the question is about algebras, let's say that the group scheme $G$ is defined over a field $k$.  Then $G$ is morally, but not actually, the same as its group of $k$-rational points $G(k)$.  Unless $G$ is a finite group with $R = k[G(k)]^*$, the dual of the usual group algebra, there are three possible differences between $R$ and a (dual) group algebra.
First, the group elements of $G(k)$ are ideals of $R$ with residue field $k$, and their group law is given by the coproduct on $R$.  If $p$ is such an ideal, viewed as a point on $G$, then in general the function that is 1 on $p$ and $0$ on the rest of $G$ is not regular; it is not an element of $R$.  This is one way to tell that $G$ must be 0-dimensional in order for $R$ to be a literal group algebra.
Second, if $k$ is not algebraically closed, there may be other closed points in $G$ whose residue field is a field extension of $k$.  If the field extension is separable, then the group law on these points is multivalued.  For instance if $G = \text{GL}(n,\mathbb{R})$, then it has complex points, which correspond to complex conjugate pairs of complex matrices.  The way to multiply two of these points is to multiply conjugates in all possible ways.  (This is an example of making a tensor product $E \otimes_k F$ of two fields over a field, an operation that also came up in another MO question.)
Third, in characteristic $p$, $G$ may not be reduced.  The simplest example is actually finite-dimensional:  Take the universal enveloping algebra $U(L)$ of an abelian Lie algebra, which is to say a polynomial algebra, and divide by the ideal of $p$th powers of elements of $L$ to obtain a finite-dimensional Hopf algebra $u(L)$ which is a local ring.  (This is similar and related to a common construction with quantum group Hopf algebras.)  However, Cartier and Oort showed that algebraic group schemes in characteristic zero are reduced.  You can always reduce $G$ as a scheme, but, as in the example $u(L)$, you may be throwing away everything interesting.
Comment: I am sure your usage of "complex points" is correct in the algebraic-geometry sense, but it is not the sense in which the affine-algebraic-groups community (or at least my part of it!) usually understands it. Namely, I would say that a complex point of $G = \operatorname{GL}(n)_{/\mathbb R}$ is an element of $G(\mathbb C) = \operatorname{GL}(n, \mathbb C)$, i.e., a *single* complex matrix, not a conjugate pair.  Just a note for anyone reading the affine-algebraic-groups literature.
Answer: Maybe this can be of use: James S. Milne, Algebraic Groups, Lie Groups, and their Arithmetic Subgroups. Chapter I of this text considers affine algebraic groups; these are in one-to-one contravariant correspondence with finitely generated commutative Hopf algebras. Hopf algebras that happen to be group algebras correspond to diagonalizable algebraic groups; these are considered in I.12. Unfortunately, I don't see any results on how to recognize a diagonalizable algebraic group, but maybe this viewpoint can help you in googling.
Answer: Nobody has mentioned the important examples of graded Hopf algebras that occur in algebraic topology.  For example, the cohomology of a Lie group with complex coefficients is a commutative Hopf algebra over C that is not a group algebra, or even a finite group scheme in the usual sense.  Of course, it is graded, so perhaps is not relevant to the original question, but these are so important it seems worthwhile to mention them.
Comment: You could also call them "Hopf superalgebras", and there is the interesting phenomenon that a Hopf superalgebra is not strictly a Hopf algebra.  The bialgebra axiom changes in the category of supervector spaces = $\mathbb{Z}/2$-graded vector spaces.  Cohomology rings are also supercommutative.  Anyway, supercommutative Hopf superalgebras are a lot like non-reduced group schemes.  (You probably know all this, Mark, but just to relate it to the other answers.)
Comment: They're the functions on a super group scheme.
Answer: I am going to interpret the (last sentence of the) question as asking what group algebras are finitely generated and commutative.
So, let $G$ be a group and $k$ a field such that the group algebra $kG$ is finitely generated and commutative. Then of course $G$ is commutative. Moreover, $kG$ is of finite Gelfand-Kirillov dimension and noetherian, so theorem 5.1.5 in [Jespers, Eric; Okniński, Jan. Noetherian semigroup algebras. Algebras and Applications, 7. Springer, Dordrecht, 2007. x+361 pp.] implies that $G$ is finitely generated. Since we know all finitely generated abelian groups, and their group algebras are plainly finitely generated commutative Hopf algebras, this provides the characterization we wanted.

Hopf algebras arising as Group Algebras


Is it rude to ask recruiter for same day appointment?

Question: Long story short. I told a recruiter that I will tell him when I'm available to have a 15 min talk. Yesterday night I sent him an email asking whether we can chat online today afternoon. I never heard from him again and today afternoon is approaching soon. Does that mean he's offended?
Comment: We really can not tell you why a specific recruiter has not gotten back to you in your expected timeframe.
Comment: Don't forget that you are a product that this recruiter is hoping to sell. If you inadvertently offended him, he'll get over it, because it's in his business interests to do so.
Answer: I'd consider it a long shot that he is offended.  However, in setting such a short time period, if the recruiter is on vacation or ill then it may be that he isn't checking his e-mail is something you may want to consider here.
I would likely consider giving him a call in the afternoon and leaving a voice mail that you said you'd follow-up.  Then it becomes for him to try to let you know some time in his schedule to chat.  Sometimes these miscommunications can happen.
Answer:
Does that mean he's offended?

Only the recruiter can tell you if he is offended or not.
It might depend on the manner in which you told him that you "will tell him when I'm available to have a 15 min talk".
For example, you might have said "I'd really like to talk with you. Let me get back to you quickly with a time that's convenient for me." And you might have sent the email that night.
Or you might have said "No, you don't tell me when you're available to talk, I'll tell you when I'm available to talk." And you might have waited a week to respond.
Or, he might not have received your email.
Or, he might have moved on to another candidate when you weren't available to talk with him initially.
Or he may not be available for a call on such short notice.
Or something else.
You should give him a quick call as soon as practical (and perhaps within the "today afternoon" window). When you eventually connect with him, you can ask if your email came off in a way you didn't intend. And you can asking him the status of the job in question.
Answer: As others have pointed out, it's really difficult to tell whether the person is offended or not. While it's very common for someone in your position to think along those lines, here are the other reasons he might not have replied to your email -

He might not have checked your email at all - Probably he's not well or he's on vacation
He did check your email, but either he forgot to reply you or something interrupted him while he was typing in the reply or it could be something else altogether.

In such cases, recruiter's reply to that email would probably be an important event for that day and hence you would be monitoring your mailbox for the same. But for the recruiter, this may not be true as he might have been busy in few other things and this would be just another task for him and there could be other important tasks he has on his plate.
Just a thought.


Multiple Olim for a single Aliyah

Question: In the past, I have davened at a Chabad on Simchat Torah. Their custom is to call up multiple individuals per aliyah rather than having multiple kriot. The only other places I have seen this was at the schuls of some of the less religious elements from my family, where they would call up typically a pair of spouses for an aliyah. What is the basis for the former practice, the latter being obviously outside the ken of Orthodox Judaism.
Comment: can 2 brothers or a father and a brother get the same alia?
Comment: I believe the Rama mentions this custom
Comment: No source, but I was once at an Orthodox shul where this was the practice.  I questioned the Rabbi, and was quietly given the explanation that some of the people were not 100% sure of their Judaism pending official (second) conversion, and this was a way to cover for that fact on a day when you normally expect everyone to get an aliyah.
Comment: No source, but in the yekkish shul in Johannesburg (Adas Yeshurun) and in Strasbourg (Etz Chaim) they do it as you describe.
Answer: Nitai Gavriel (Hilchos Chag HaSukkos 98:10) brings this custom as existing in several communities. This was permitted because the joy in celebrating the completion of the Torah.
The Nitai Gavriel himself says that this should only be done in those communities where this is the established custom. Otherwise, one should be more strict, and if they need to do this due to time constraints, they have one person say the Bracha rather than everyone saying their own. (The larger issue here being several people saying a bracha simultaneously out loud, not so much having many called to the Torah at once).
(Perhaps the countervailing concern that justifies the custom is that everyone "called up" just standing around and saying Amein to the Bracha isn't really doing anything different than hearing Kriah all year round).

Multiple Olim for a single Aliyah


How to retrieve the data from Ubuntu one to windows 7?

Question: I have downloaded the zip file from ubuntu one for my windows 7 and when i open the exe file then it asks for id and password and after i enter them nothing gets displayed and the window gets closed. so how can i retrieve my data?
Answer: The UbuntuOne service was shut-down as of 20140601, so there's a good chance that your issues are related to that.
You have until 20140731 to retrieve your data, which you should be able to do by browsing to the limited file access page (after successful login) from any OS.
Answer: Download 7-zip and try to open the zip with that.
If that doesn't work, explain in your question how the zip was created.
You talk about an exe file? Where did that come from? When I hear exe in combination to zip, I see viruses flying around!


Why is a brutal 3 vorpal scythe called "Death's Scythe"?

Question: The title is essentially my question.  I have heard the weapon called that before, but i am curious as to both the why, and as to the origin of this term and the concept of the weapon.
Answer: A Scythe is a 2d4 damage weapon.
A brutal weapon asks you to reroll damage dice that are equal or lower in number to the weapon's brutal rating.
So a Brutal 3 Scythe automatically deals 8 damage on a hit. (As each d4 is rerolled until a 4 appears)
Make it Vorpal (L30 enchantment)

Whenever you roll the maximum result on any damage die for this weapon, roll that die again and add the additional result to the damage total. If a reroll results in another maximum damage result, roll it again and keep adding

And your Brutal 3 Vorpal Scythe does infinite damage on every hit.
So every hit is an auto kill (barring any defensive funkyness) and so is a weapon worth of being weilded by Death
Comment: Is there such a thing as a Brutal 3 Scythe?
Comment: I know how to make a Brutal 1: Have a Battle Engineer ally (Any weapon buff make that weapon brutal 1), or use Bands of Equilibrium (daily power, Dragon 396). Unfortunately, they don't stack.


How is the stimulated emission in lasers initiated?

Question: I know in a 3-level laser system for example, electrons get excited from the ground level to the pump level from which they spontaneously decay quickly to the upper laser level. The upper laser level has a long spontaneous lifetime, so the atoms tend to accumulate there, creating a population inversion between that level and the ground state. Then lasing takes place by stimulated emission of photons by de-exciting electrons from the upper laser level to  the ground level. My question is how stimulated emission started if initially there was no photon having an energy equals the difference between the upper laser level and the ground level? Was this photon found by spontaneous decay of some electrons from the upper laser level to  the ground level?
Answer: The electrons will eventually spontaneously emit photons, which in turn can stimulate the emission of further photons. The spontaneously emitted photons are emitted in all directions, however, if these spontaneously emitted photons are emitted along the laser cavity, the laser will start to lase.
Comment: Can you please explain a small question. As you said, the spontaneously emitted photon are emitted in all directions, so they are incoherent. These incoherent photons will produce coherent photons due to stimulated emission. So photon A produced from spontaneous emission will form a number of coherent photon to itself due to stimulated emission, however photon B which is not coherent to photon A formed from spontaneous emission will produce another set of coherent photons via stimulated emissions. However the incoherence still remains. How do we form a laser then?


Could gravity be the 4th dimension?

Question: According to Michio Kaku, in his book Hyperspace, he said that in this Hyperspace, there exist a total of 10 dimensions that govern the laws of physics. Is it possible that we too live in a Hyperspace, and if so, would gravity be the 4th dimension that would govern the laws of physics we are yet to discover?
Comment: This doesn't make sense. Dimensions are dimensions. Gravity is a force. Dimensions don't govern anything. We do live in the Universe, so if correct we live in a 10 dimensional universe....
Comment: This just makes no sense
Comment: Agree with @JamesKilfiger.  This isn't even really a question.  It's worded as a question, but asking if gravity is a dimension makes about as much sense as asking if gravity is time.   It's not hard to see that the properties of dimensions (space to move around in) is a different property than gravity.   Time is like a dimension, but in only one direction.  Gravity is nothing like a dimension and the 10 dimensions Michio Kaku was talking about, that's something else, only for the very small. And asking "laws of physics yet to be discovered", your question is all over the map.
Comment: X,Y,Z,t: spacetime.
Answer: In some models of quantum gravity there are 10 dimensions. 7 of these are curled up and very small.
Gravity is a force it is not a dimension.
If these models of quantum gravity is correct then we do live in these 10 dimension. If these models are correct then we do live in "hyperspace", but only 3 dimensions are macroscopic.
Dimensions don't govern the laws of physics.
Comment: Gravity is not even a force, though.

Could gravity be the 4th dimension?


What is wrong with the sentence ''Only you and him can do this work fast."?

Question: I came across it through a study note provided in a reference book but couldn't find what makes this sentence wrong as the answers were not provided in the book.
I am more interested to know about the concept behind the sentence correction.
Comment: @Mick wouldn't that be a different sentence from the one I asked?
Comment: @user2768 him is referring to other person who cannot be "I". The purpose is not to replace the person the sentence is referring to for the sake of its correction.
Comment: If you remove "you and" from the sentence, how should it read?
Answer: See ELU's answer here, which discusses the issue, probably more acutely and accurately than you'll find in 99% of other places, including ELU and ELL answers. If your question hadn't been transferred it could have been marked as a duplicate.
Basically, the answer is "it depends on what you mean by wrong". If you are talking about prescriptive grammar it's "wrong"  because it needs to be you and he because that is the subject of the sentence. However, as the answer I linked to shows, it is not necessarily "wrong" according to natural grammar. Some linguists have started using the terminology informal (but standard)  English to cover this situation. Basically,  you need to choose your grammar, and what informs that is often who do I wish to please, or am I expected to use formal English forms here? If you want to write in a form that will please most prescriptive grammarians, use you and he. But that's not your only option.
Answer: only you and HE can do this work fast.
you need subject+verb (you can / he can - do this work fast)


how do I keep leaves and foreign objects out of the top of my a/c unit?

Question: Is it possible to make a lid that is light enough for the air coming off the fan to raise it attached with hinges so it drops back down when not in use. This would keep debris from getting inside, yet still be strong enough to close and protect the unit.
Answer: I used some 1/2" galvanized wire mesh to build a cover over my Mom's outdoor unit. I laid the wire on top and pushed it down all around the top of the unit. Then I cut it, leaving about 4" on the sides. It been there over 10 years, and keeps the leaves out.
Answer: I really would not block the AC vents, even with a light cover. Restricting the airflow will definitely impact the efficiency of the unit, and probably shorten its life as well. (Even if the cover is light enough to lift up when the fan is on, you will be reducing the airflow.)
If you have a problem with leaves and debris getting in there, maybe you can fit some wire mesh over the openings?


How can I pass two commands with all their switches in Windows command prompt or powershell?

Question: I want to pass a netstat -t -b 90 command and tell the prompt to simultaneously or successively perform this command to launch network monitor start netmon /autostart.
Answer: The Start-Job command in PowerShell will do what you want. You'll want to use it in conjunction with Wait-Job and Receive-Job.
For example:
$netstat = Start-Job {netstat -t -b 90}
$ping = Start-Job {ping 192.168.1.1}
Wait-Job $netstat,$ping
Receive-Job $netstat,$ping

The first two lines will begin the netstat and ping jobs, and store the job objects. Wait-Job will wait until the two jobs are finished. Receive-Job displays the output.
Answer: You could use start-process, if you're not picky about launching them in a separate window rather than in the background.


Is the phrase "it is people like you" correct?

Question: My friend and I had an argument whether the usage of the phrase, "It is people like you that..." was correct. I insisted that since the subject was people, a plural, the corresponding verb could not be singular - is. His argument was that 'people like you' should treated as a group. Please advise.
Comment: 'Is' is a linking verb connecting to the subject 'it'. See, eg, https://english.stackexchange.com/a/448605/42179.
Comment: The dummy pronoun "it" is subject, not people".
Answer:
It is people like you [who cause problems].

This is an it-cleft construction where the subject is not "people", but the dummy pronoun "it".
The noun phrase "people like you" functions as predicative complement of "is". Singular PCs are also possible as in It is Sue who likes you.
The bracketed element is a non-modifying relative clause, with people like you as antecedent of "who".
Answer: The comment is correct and precise.
The usage is most often to disparage "Those people" as a group. Making such generalizations of folks is a lazy means of pigeon-holing them so as to ignore their opinions or concerns. I do my best not to be one of those people.


Resize ext4 /home partition from start sector

Question: I need to resize my ext4 /home partition to make space to my boot partition before it. The thing is to do so I need to change the start sector of my home partition (the boot partition is extended on following space not on preceding space so the start sector of my boot partition remains unchanged). Is there any risk moving the start sector of my /home partition? I have my /home partition inside an extended partition.
Answer: There is always a small risk something could go wrong when you resize a partition so you should back up your data first.
Otherwise you will need to boot a live CD and resize your partitions in steps.
Comment: I'm writing this from my live cd. I have launched gparted and unmounted all the partitions. What do you mean in steps?
Comment: I resized all the partitions at once should I do one partition at the time?
Comment: If gparted will allow you do do it all in one step, fine. But you might have to resize /home -> apply changes -> resize the extended partition -> apply changes -> resize /boot
Comment: ok thanks I'll do it that way and see what happens


Казалось бы, при чём здесь это?

Question: I am not sure what this means exactly. Can anyone help?
Comment: Why didn't you fix it then?
Comment: @v'-5o-1's73- while it is appreciated that other users help to improve your question, it nevertheless quite rude to answer this way. This is your question and you are the first person who is interested to make it sound clear, correct and precise.
Comment: This is incorrect, it should be "при чём" not "причем".
Comment: @shabunc, I dont care
Comment: @v'-5o-1's73-, it's up to you, but, once again, please be warned, being unfriendly to other users can harm you.
Answer: It is a rhetorical question that can be translated quite accurately (although a bit wordier than the original) as "One might ask/wonder, what does it have to do with anything?".
Answer: As Bogdan correctly pointed out, a very accurate English translation of the phrase is

One might wonder what it has to do with it.

or

You'd think what's it got to do with it?

Note that while in Russian this sentence would normally be a question, in English it can be translated as both a question and a statement.
Individually, verb казаться means to seem, however when use with particle бы (as in казалось бы) it indicates that the following statement is unintuitive, totally unexpected, unnatural. However it actually is correct. Usually this following sentence (in Russian) is a question and it is further followed by an explanation of why this seemingly nonsensical statement is true, often starting with words оказывается (turns out) or на самом деле (actually) For example,

Казалось бы, при чем здесь это? Оказывается, эта доска еще вчера была частью моего забора.
One might wonder, what it has to do with it?  Turns out this piece of wood only yesterday was part of my fence.
Казалось бы, зачем строить дом в середине леса? На самом деле, имеет полный смысл: чистый воздух, тишина и никакой суеты.
You'd think, why build a house in the middle of a forest?  Actually, it makes total sense - clean air, quiet, and no fuss.
Answer: Same: it's something that seems to be unnecessary/unimportant but in reality is necessary/important.
Although this appears to be a question to someone, it is actually a question to oneself. Usually people in Russia don't answer this question.
Here is an example of its usage:

Вчера врезался в машину. Во всем оказалась виновата птица. Казалось бы,
  при чем здесь она? А это, на вид невинное животное, влетело в турбину
  моего самолета

Sorry for my bad English if I wrote something that is hard to understand.

Казалось бы, при чём здесь это?


Web Services. Get input data, process it at background thread

Question: I've got several web-services: asmx,wcf. At couple of them there are some methods, which take a lot of time for processing, but size of input data for these methods are small and it takes not much time to transfer on the wire. I want move to not sync model. Client passes data to service, service answers that data transfer was correct and process it at background thread witout connection with client. So agter transfering connection should be closed. IS it possible? Can u help me with articles or may be just google request.
Answer: John is right - Once you close an http connection, it is done. You can't get back to the same process.
So if you can use another technology that allows duplex on one connection (e.g. WCF), do it!
However,
if you have no choice but to use webservices,
here are three ways to make it work. You may get timeouts on any of them.
Option 1:
Forget the part about 'client answers data was correct.' Just have each thread make its request and wait for the data.
Option 2:
Now, assuming that won't work and you must do the validation, this way requires the client to make 2 requests.
First request: returns valid/invalid.
Second request: returns the long-running results.
Variation of option 2:
If you have timeout problems, you could have the first request generate a GUID or unique database key and start another process, passing it this key, and return the key to the client. (if you can get the server to allow you to start a process - depends on security settings/needs - if not you may be able to start an async thread and have it keep running after the websvc one ends?) The process will do the long task, update the row in the database w/ the unique id when finished, revealing the results plus a 'done' flag. The second request by the client could always return immediately and if the processing is not done, return that, if it is, return the results. The client will repeat this every 5 sec or so until done.
Hacks, I know, but we don't always have a choice for the technology we use.
Comment: when you say, "webservices", I presume you mean "ASMX web services"? WCF is "webservices" too.
Comment: Yes. Notably sending something using http. Although it might be possible to hack the intent of http by sending a little data, then sending some more, that would be a lot of hand-rolling. I would imagine you'd have to set WCF to communicate with something besides http? sockets, perhaps, or named pipes if the service is on the same machine? I don't know the WCF provider names by heart here but for example sockets you would leave the connection connected and just have a little chat with the server. Don't know what the ramifications of using WCF to do this are, I'm still stuck in the 00's there...
Answer: Don't do this with ASMX web services. They weren't designed for that. If you must do it with ASMX, then have the ASMX pass the data off to a Windows Service that will do the actual work, in the background.
This is more practical with WCF.
Answer: We have been writing stuff to interact with the UK gov website and the way they handle something similar is that you send your request and data to the server and it responds saying, roughly, "thanks very much - we're processing it now, please call back later using this id" - all in an XML message. You then, at some point later, send a new http request to the service saying, essentially, "I'm enquiring about the status of this particular request id" and the server returns a result that says either it has processed OK, or processed with errors, or is still processing, please try again in xx seconds.
Similar to option 2 described previously.
It's a polling solution rather than a callback or 2 way conversation but it seems to work.
The server will need to keep, or have access to, some form of persistent table or log for each request state - it can contain eg, the id, the original request, current stage through the workflow, any error messages so far, the result (if any) etc. And the web service should probably have passed the bulk of the request off to a separate Windows service as already mentioned.


How do I delete a family member's Apple Watch iCloud backup?

Question: How do I delete a family member's Apple Watch iCloud backup? The watch is setup as a standalone phone line. I used my iPhone to setup my child's watch.
Answer:
The watch is setup as a standalone phone line. I used my iPhone to setup my child's watch.

If you used Family Setup for an Apple Watch (it sounds like you did) then you just turn off iCloud Backup in the Watch.
From Apple Support: If you used Family Setup for a family member's Apple Watch:

To turn off iCloud backups for that watch, open the Settings app on the managed Apple Watch, go to [account name] →  iCloud →  iCloud Backups, then turn off iCloud Backups.

Emphasis Mine
If you didn't set it up as a part of Family setup, then unfortunately, it is part of your iPhone backup and there isn't a way to "detangle" them from each other.

Your Apple Watch data is backed up to the iPhone that it's paired with. This happens automatically as long as your iPhone and Apple Watch are near each other, so you don't need to do anything to keep your watch backed up.
Answer: Since you have set the Apple Watch with your iPhone, you can also delete the backups from your iPhone.
On your iPhone, go to Settings > General > iPhone Storage > Watch [the Apple Watch app]. Then, you should see the watch's backups, simply swipe right on the backup you want to delete.
Comment: This does not apply for family setup. Family setup watches get backed directly to iCloud.
Comment: @DeepSpace101 Then you can just go to Settings > [family member account name] > iCloud and turn off iCloud Backups, it should erase the data too.

How do I delete a family member’s Apple Watch iCloud backup?


i dont want to change voltage but only regulate input voltage

Question: It is my first power supply project. I will supply 300 watt vehicle audio amplifier with this supply. I will use nominal 24V and 14A at my system Vehicle input 24V and my amlifier 12V-30V but when i measure vehicle input, i see surge and spike some times and exceed the limits. I need to know that, if i design only surgey and input protection circuit. Is it protect my amplifier or am i need buck/boost converter?
Answer: The voltage spikes in automotive environments are common, but since they are brief, DC-DC converter is not usually needed - you can go by with linear regulation. What you are looking for is a transient voltage limiter. Unfortunately TVS diodes aren't usually a good solution here, as the transients can be long enough to burn out the TVS and after that you've got no protection.
What you can do is roll your own voltage limiter as described in this article:

By changing the zener (D1) to 24V you'd get 24V limiter.
Answer: In my opinion, as the amplifier is an automotive amplifier, it is likely already protected from the voltage surges that are typical of that environment. If you are still on the belt and braces approach, then I suggest to look at this post of a couple of months back, where myself and others have described the best ways of removing these spikes. TVS is one of the different stages, which as someone else mentioned, is not enough to cope. you need to add a number of other parts, which include capacitors and common mode chokes.
Another solution is to buy a ready made automotive surge suppressor.
Comment: Thank for your comments. The amplifier also designed by us. This protection will add input of amlifier. I could also use LTC4364-2 which is surge protection IC. But price is to high. You could find datasheet at link. https://www.analog.com/media/en/technical-documentation/data-sheets/436412f.pdf


Where is the linux kernel elf file located?

Question: If the Linux kernel by itself is an ELF file, where can I find its ELF file?
Answer: On many systems you can find a compressed kernel in /boot, typically named vmlinuz-$(uname -r). The ELF executable contained therein can be extracted using the extract-vmlinux script, available in the kernel source code:
extract-vmlinux /boot/vmlinuz-$(uname -r) > vmlinux

The result is an ELF file:
$ file vmlinux
vmlinux: ELF 64-bit LSB executable, x86-64, version 1 (SYSV), statically linked, BuildID[sha1]=b28d236fad2fb7d0eb9bbe6eac766fb04406da3f, stripped

(on x86-64).
If you're building the kernel,
make vmlinux

will produce the ELF executable.
Comment: `make vmlinux` doesn't work. What `makefile` are you using?
Comment: The kernel's Makefile.
Answer: On a desktop/server you will usually find the kernel in /boot.
Look for a file called vmlinuz-* (depends on your distribution).
How the kernel is loaded: https://www.kernel.org/doc/html/latest/admin-guide/initrd.html


How to travel as a crew member on a ship?

Question: Is there a feasible way to take a one year break from a IT job and work as a crew member on a big ship?
How can one go about this?
I am a recreational sailor and know intermediate sailing, coastal navigation, radio handling and all that stuff.
I think this could be the experience of a life time.
Where should  I look? I imagine getting it would be hard since obviously this is a lucrative job.
Comment: What a great travel question!
Comment: What country are you from? Can you be more specific in the question?
Comment: I am in Canada. Looking to take a one yr break from work and maybe work on board a crusie/cargo ship as a galley member. Not expecting pay, just the experience of being on the seas.
Comment: Not sure if this is what you are looking for, but I had a couple buddies who hung around their nearest freight port until a barge took them in.
Comment: stand around 'chatting' to people at the docks.  My friend did that in Miami as well. Got a job on a superyacht that way :)
Comment: @Mark: If you don't mind, what job was it? Did it require any specialised skill?
Comment: I'll ask him, but I gather it was some rich guy's yacht and they just had to keep it stocked, clean and ready to meet him at whatever tropical island he was flying into.  No special skill required - my friend was a maths post doc, certainly no qualifications linking directly to this role, that I'm aware of :)
Comment: If you have some sailing experience you might also try "hanging around" a marina. This worked great for a guy I once met on Isla Mujeres, Mexico. Lots of expats or yachties were around and happy to share drinks and stories which led to offers when they liked the cut of his jib (-:
Answer: You have a couple of options, one easier than the other.
A site like http://www.findacrew.net/ posts jobs all the time for smaller boats / yachts.  These roles are less likely to be IT roles, but you never know.
Secondly, cruise ship jobs are almost always through agents like http://www.cruiseshipjob.com/ - it looks easy and simple but it's really hard to get responses (I was after an identical role a few years back, gave up in the end).
Actually, 3rd option as well - you can apply directly to the ship companies themselves, IF they have a careers page. For example, Carnival Cruise Lines has http://www.cclcareers.com/ for their online job listings. They used to have a section with interviews with IT guys about their time on board which was fascinating reading, but I can't find it off hand now.  Long story short, pester, try all lines of communication, and with a bit of luck you may get in.  Let me know how if you do ;)
Comment: Sounds like a way to go! Thanks sir...sorry mate!
Comment: What other roles do you think you can do except IT since it is hard to get IT role? Just a curiosity...
Comment: Well I was looking at photography at the time, but there's even chef, burser, passenger liaison and more.  Spend some time reading the careers pages on these ships and you find there are all sorts of crazy roles - these are basically floating cities, even hairdressers are required!
Comment: You are right: http://www.cruiseshipjob.com/ does look simple
Answer: "Big ships" (e.g. cruise ships), have very specific needs. Your chances of getting a job with one of them soar if you can meet one of those needs.
"Recreational sailor" probably doesn't "cut it" in this regard. Sailing ships need professionals.
Most ships have computer and internet services. Your best shot may be at an IT role, but there may be more applicants than places. If you have hardware maintenance experience and are handy with tools (you're sailing experience suggests you are), you might be able to land a job in general maintenance. If you have an "esoteric" science backround (e.g. in electrical engineering), that could be helpful.
Otherwise, you'd need to get job in some form of "customer service." This could be manning the booking desks, or even cleaning rooms or "waitstaffing." Make it clear that you expect very little pay, just "room and board" and some walking around money. You will be competing for these roles with candidates from developing countries.
As for contact, I'd stay away from the agencies, which have their own interests and not yours. Most of the shipping lines like to recruit at key ports (not in the U.S.). Vancouver comes to mind for a Canadian. Otherwise London, Amsterdam, Hamburg, Hong Kong. Maybe somewhere off the beaten track such as Gdansk or Oslo.
Good luck.
Comment: A friend signed on as "IT" for a cruise ship, and it mostly consisted of showing the customers how to use email. And it's hard work.


Calculating the angle of a disc to provide given ellipse

Question: Consider a disc viewed from an angle, to give the illusion of an ellipse shape. How can the angle of the disc to the "camera" be calculated from a given ellipse? (For example, 0 degrees = the ellipse shape is a straight line, 90 degrees = the shape is a perfect circle) I suppose it is possible to calculate by measuring the minor and major axis of the ellipse, but how?
Comment: How is the disc positioned? If positioned vertically, then it's fairly easy to observe that $a=r|\sin\theta|$, $b=r$
Comment: The disc is positioned at an angle of approximately 45 degrees to the camera, as measured by measuring the angle between the long axis of the ellipse and neutral plane. I am not quite sure what your abbreviations stand for, is a=short axis and r=long axis?
Comment: By "positioning of disc" I mean this: Is there an angle $\neq 0$ between the normal vector of the disc and the horizontal ground? If the disc stands on the horizontal ground perfectly without tilting, then you should observe the elliptic projection as something like this: one of the axis $b$ does not change (hence equals the radius of disc $r$), whereas the remaining axis $a$ changes periodically with the angular displacement of the camera $\theta$. Absolute sign in my first comment is to make $a \geq 0$ at all times.
Answer: Set up a Cartesian coordinate. Let the radius of disc be $r$.
Let the camera take the $xy$-plane.
Case (1): the plane of disc is parallel to the $xy$ plane
This is essentially an ellipse with one of the axes $b=r$, whereas the remaining axis $a$ changes periodically with the angular displacement of the camera $\theta$. $a=r|\sin\theta|$, in equation:
$$\frac{x^2}{(r\sin\theta)^2}+\frac{y^2}{r^2}=1$$
Case (2): the plane of disc is tilted w.r.t. to the $xy$-plane by an angle of $\phi$ ($0\leq\phi\leq \pi/2$). (angle of "tilting", like Tower of Pisa)
By Lambert's cosine law, we can first interpret the projection radius on the $xy$-plane $r'=r\cos\phi$. This "corrected" disc then rotates like Case (1).
Hence, in equation:
$$\frac{x^2}{(r'\sin\theta)^2}+\frac{y^2}{r'^2}=1$$

$$\frac{x^2}{(r\sin\theta)^2}+\frac{y^2}{r^2}=\cos^2\phi$$

Notice $\phi=0$ corresponds to Case (1).

How to find the angles? You measure three things, $r,a,b$,
$b$ being the elliptical axis that remains unchanged during rotation of the disc.
Then, find $\phi$ using the relation $b=r\cos\phi$
Find $\theta$ (your angle in prompt) using the relation $a=r|\sin\theta|\cos\phi$

$$\phi=\arccos\frac{b}{r} \quad \theta=\arcsin\frac{a}{b}$$


Restore an Android Backup to an Android Emulator

Question: Is it possible to backup my phone, and restore it to my computer to run under and android emulator? If so, how would I go about doing that?
Comment: Do you want to backup only the apps, app data, settings, etc. or complete phone backup (encompassing partitions)?
Answer: Theoretically, it should be possible. In order to do it, you need a custom recovery in your phone to perform the backup and a custom recovery, too, to perform the replacement in the emulator.
TWRP has a custom recovery for the Android emulator and it's currently under TWRP's support. If you have the same recovery in your phone, it could be an option to perform the backup (make sure you're backing up only the data and not everything else, system images between your device and the emulator are probably different).
Although seems like an impossible task, by playing with the TWRP settings you could get your phone's backup to work on your emulator. You just need to handle the inconsistencies between the two of them.
Comment: My point is OP didn't really make it clear whether requires only Apps+Data backup or full system backup. If we consider only Apps+Data as you did so, why not use [Helium](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.koushikdutta.backup&hl=en) or any other apps data backup app? Not that I deny your answer, but if the goal is only to backup Apps+Data, then why take the hard route when easy is at next door.


Issues with connected App - {"error_description":"authentication failure","error":"invalid_grant"}

Question: I've successfully implemented the oAuth2 authentication process using the Web Server Flow of the REST API between my application and Salesforce, and it's working great when connecting with a Developer Edition type Salesforce account.
However, it's not working when trying to connect a test or prod environment type Salesforce account: I can't get an access token with the authorization code given by Salesforce since Salesforce gives me this error:
{"error_description":"authentication failure","error":"invalid_grant"}
Does anybody have an idea why it's not working ?
Here's what I've done:
Step 1 => OK => Redirect user to Salesforce
Step 2 => OK => User logs in
Step 3 => OK => User is redirected to our application with the authorization code
Step 4 => NOT OK => We request an access token using the authorization code given by Salesforce
We have tried it all (maybe not though :D): we have checked all the security configuration on our end and on the customer's end, we have checked for IP restrictions (no IP restriction is used), we have given our App "Full Access", but still no luck. We are receiving the authorization code which is encoded correctly and seems normal.
Does anybody have an idea why it's not working ?
Do you know if I need to validate our connected App before it can be used by test or prod type Salesforce accounts ?
Thanks a lot for all your help in advance.
Cheers
Quentin
NOTE : This is a duplicate of the following issue I guess, but it got no answer :( https://developer.salesforce.com/forums?id=906F00000009AFvIAM
EDIT 1 :
Here's the code I use ($instance is 'https://test.salesforce.com' in our case):
    $url = $instance . '/services/oauth2/token?format=json';
    $postFields = array(
        'code' => $code,
        'grant_type' => 'authorization_code',
        'client_id' => $this->clientId,
        'client_secret' => $this->clientSecret,
        'redirect_uri' => $this->redirectURL);
    // Create the CURL object.
    $handle = curl_init($url);
    curl_setopt($handle, CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYPEER, FALSE);
    curl_setopt($handle, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, TRUE);
    curl_setopt($handle, CURLOPT_FOLLOWLOCATION, TRUE);
    curl_setopt($handle, CURLOPT_POST, TRUE);
    curl_setopt($handle, CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS, $postFields);

Comment: invalid_grant happens only for 2 reasons 1) when there is an IP restriction or login hour restriction 2) user credentials are not valid. Assuming 2) is provided right can you check if there is any user/ IP restriction
Comment: Did you take a look at this post : http://salesforce.stackexchange.com/questions/5206/error-using-session-id-auth-with-curl-following-rest-documentation how are you building your CURL, can you post your CURL
Comment: I have edited the question with my code :) Thanks for reaching out so quickly :) I have seen the post you're mentionning and it's not pertinent to my problem since I'm using the grant type "authorization_code" and not "password" :)
Comment: The following allowed IP range was already there for the user we're trying to use : "0.0.0.0" to "255.255.255.255". Also we have added the IP of our server as indicated in this link: https://help.salesforce.com/htviewhelpdoc?id=security_networkaccess.htm&siteLang=en_US. Furthermore we have disable IP restrictions on our end for the connected App. Do you think we have to add another configuration part for the IP restrictions bit ?
Comment: can you try to URLEncode the redirectURL, I saw somewhere that redirectURL has to be URLEncoded. when you say disabled IP restriction did you switch *IP Relaxation connected app setting to "Relax IP Restrictions"? Also not sure if you had a chance to look at this awesome cookbook : http://developer.force.com/cookbook/cookbookRecipeSource?id=a1V300000009D5QEAU ( I am not too aware of PHP syntax and your app seems to be talking PHP with salesforce all over)
Comment: I've tried with URLEncoded for the redirectURL and I've also tried to add the "CURLOPT_HEADER" attribute to false but neither of those tries worked...
Yes I've set IP Relaxation connected app setting to "Relax IP Restrictions"...
I'm going to try to send the parameters as GET parameters, not POST parameters, see if I have any luck.
Do you see anything else I could try ?
Comment: What permissions did you set for the account you are using to authenticate?
Answer: I feel pretty dumb answering my own question but that may help somebody someday.
@Rao was totally right about that one so he deserves all the credit.
In my "Edit 1", I was wrong about the content of $instance.
It was not pointing to 'https://test.salesforce.com', it was pointing to 'https://login.salesforce.com' so it was normal to get an "authentication failure" error.
So if you're experiencing the same problem, do check the URL you're sending the request to.
Comment: Also look at the profiles assigned to the app.
Comment: Man, I'd like to give you 70 up-votes for this one. Sometimes...
Answer: Another thing that was not obvious to me from the documentation: the host URL is not just either "test.salesforce.com" or "login.salesforce.com". Mine is "na30.salesforce.com".
After I changed it from the default "test.salesforce.com" used in all the documentation I've read so far, OAuth worked, where before it would give me the "invalid grant" error.
I might have skipped some introductory materials...
PS: I don't have enough rep to post actual links. The above URLs all need the https:// prefix, of course.
Answer: It's important to check that the policies for the connected api you are using to authenticate with have Permitted Users equal All users may self-authorize.
To check, in lightning experience go to:
Setup > App Manager > yourConnectedAppName > click the down arrow on the far right > Manage > Edit Policies


Why aren't RemoteApp icons showing up

Question: I have a Windows 2008 R2 server running RDS. I have installed and configured RemoteApp to publish applications with RDS Web Access. When I browse to https://servernname.domain.local/RDWeb I can log in and get to the RemoteApp Programs tab, but there are no icons or apps to click on. I have added a bunch of apps in Remote App manager and they are all enabled for RD Web Access. Also, I am an administrator on the server.
Answer: What finally ended up fixing this was setting the identity of the RDSWebAccess App Pool in IIS that was running the RDWeb application. I changed it from ApplicationPoolIdentity to NetworkService and I am now able to see the apps and icons.
Comment: In my case your fix didn't work. However, in attempting it and returning to the previous setting with a reboot it became a fix for me.

Why aren't RemoteApp icons showing up


Leaving America and reset the ESTA via a trip to Curaçao

Question: I am a Dutch citizen and am currently staying in Florida to visit my girlfriend for 3 months. I have now booked a flight to Curaçao. Curacao is part of the Caribbean, but it is Dutch territory, so in short it is my own country because I am from the Netherlands. If I travel to Curaçao and return, will my ESTA be reset?
Comment: "in short it is my own country". No it's not. Curacao is a separate country from the Netherlands; part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands but nonetheless a separate country. Even Dutch passport holders are only permitted 180 days visa free entry.
Comment: It's not your ESTA that's reset, it's your I-94. Your ESTA is valid for 2 years.
Comment: @DJClayworth the people of Curaçao _are_ Dutch passport holders.  It's not as simple as "Curaçao is a separate country"; Dutch nationals from Europe have to meet similar requirements to move to Bonaire, St Eustatius or Saba as to Curaçao even though Bonaire, St Eustatius and Saba _aren't_ separate countries.  But none of this is relevant to the question because going to Curaçao has the same effect for a VWP traveler regardless of nationality, and going to (e.g.) Trinidad would have the same effect for a Dutch national as going to Curaçao.
Comment: If you have good reason to be in US yes. But with US immigration things are not automatic: you get question and the immigration officer must be convinced that you stay with the rules of ESTA (so with limit of the purpose for your stay). Legit, but you get questions
Comment: The only reason is that my girlfriend lives here , i never had problems with the US immigration. I just need to be sure that if i leave to curacao and come back to the usa my esta will reset.
Comment: So when i go to curacao my I-94 will reset ?
Answer: When you are in the US under the Visa Waiver Program, short trips to Canada, Mexico, and "adjacent islands" will result in you being re-admitted under your original I-94.
Per 8 USC 1101(b)(5):

(5) The term "adjacent islands" includes Saint Pierre, Miquelon, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Bermuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Jamaica, the Windward and Leeward Islands, Trinidad, Martinique, and other British, French, and Netherlands territory or possessions in or bordering on the Caribbean Sea.

(emphasis mine)
Curaçao falls into that category, so no, it will not "reset the clock", and will very clearly be seen as an attempt to make a "visa run".
The maximum duration of stay under the VWP is 90 days. While there is no strict rule preventing you from accumulating multiple stays of up to 90 days each, generally visitors should not use successive or repeated stays to live in the US. The official rule of thumb is that you must stay out as long as you stayed in.
So you are very likely to:

At best be re-admitted under the original I-94, for the remainder of the 90 days, if you come back within 90 days of your original arrival in the US
At worst be denied entry and sent back

Note that even if you go further (e.g. back to Europe), while the first option will not be possible, you could still be refused entry if you come back too soon. Whether that will happen is in the hands of CBP, based on your previous travel history (how much time you have spent in the US), your ability to justify your situation (you are not living or working in the US, and you have a reason to go back home, like a job), and more.
If you want to stay longer than 90 days, up to 180 days (but still not live in the US, you must remain a visitor, so you must be in the US less than half of the year), you should apply for a B-2 visa.
If you want to stay even longer, then you need to apply for an immigrant visa.
Comment: @mattaniahnzomambu You are of course leaving the US when you go to Curaçao, independent of the fact that you are a Dutch citizen or if Curaçao is Dutch territory. However, exactly to prevent what you are now trying to do, the US won't give VWP visitor new, fresh 90 days of stay if you have just made a short trip out of the US and right away try to reenter.
Comment: @mattaniahnzomambu That wasn't clear (at all, IMHO) from your question or subsequent comments. In that case the risk of a refusal is indeed much lower, but as always depends on the rest of your circumstances (past travel history to the US, ties to your home country, means of subsistence, not working in the US, etc.)
Comment: @mattaniahnzomambu The law says that even if you leave the US, if you travel only to Canada, Mexico, or adjacent islands, you may be re-admitted under the existing I-94. The only exception is if you are a **resident** of that specific place.
Comment: The word "will" in the first sentence should be "may," or at least "probably will."  @Traveller it is not correct to say that it is not leaving per the legal definition under US law.  It affects the terms of readmission if one seeks readmission during the 90 days after an I-94 was initially issued, but in every legal sense, someone who is in "contiguous territory or an adjacent island" is outside the US.
Comment: @Midavalo DJClayworth's comment under the question is not particularly relevant, because the entire question of nationality and the status of Curaçao within the kingdom is irrelevant.  A VWP traveler who goes to Curaçao and returns to the US will be treated differently depending on whether they reside in Curaçao, not depending on their nationality.  The same is true of other parts of the Dutch Caribbean, French Caribbean, etc.
Comment: "but still not live in the US, you must remain a visitor, so you must be in the US less than half of the year": the requirement to remain less than half the year is primarily a tax requirement, so if you're prepared to file with the IRS not a requirement at all.  It is entirely legal for someone in B status to remain in the US for longer; the maximum period of initial admission is one year, and extensions may be granted indefinitely, with each extension being up to six months.  Very few people will qualify for such durations, but it does happen.
Comment: Thanks for the information guys ! , It is not that i am gonna travel to Curacao en come back after a couple of day i am gonna stay there for 2 months ! Because i have family and friends there i am not gonna use te trip to reset my ESTA for a couple of days. But is doesn't make sense for me to go to europe after the 2 months because my girlfriends lives in Florida and i wanna visit her first.
Comment: Thanks for the respond. But i am from the Netherlands and Curacao is Kingdom of the netherlands so i will basicly be in my own country so how is that not leaving the us ?


Is it wise to delete post revisions and autosaves from database?

Question: I'm just wondering is it wise to delete all post revisions and autosaves from database every once in a while?
I mean they take a lot of database space and apparently have no use after the post has been published.
Comment: No use is not absolutely true. When you search my answer, then there's one where we did something like liveediting Spreadsheets using the Post Revisions. Currently I'm also thinking about another implementation, where they get used to save edits-diffs like here on SE/SO using `wp_text_diff()`.
Comment: Well in some rare cases what you said might be true, but in a usual Wordpress installation I don't think they're of much use.
Comment: *close voted* as _non constructive_.
Comment: Can I ask why? I have a question and it's not off-topic and it also is constructive **for me**.
Comment: Two reasons: First, this site, it's questions & answers are _not only for you_, but for later readers also. Second, your answer will only summon _opinions_ and not definitive answers. Your question title already asks "Is it wise(...)?". So the answers will be "in my opinion, I think, in that use case or this sceanrio", etc. That's what the blog will be for.
Answer: It all depends on your workflow. If you have no use for the post revisions and autosaves then disable them in wp-config and WordPress will clean them up on its own. You may also prefer to limit how many you keep at once.
Also the space they take up is unlikely to be of a great impact itself unless you're running on a tiny tiny server
Don't go deleting them manually through the database.