Difference between masquerade and pretend

Question: What is the difference between masquerade and pretend?
Collins dictionary has the following example:
He masqueraded as a doctor and fooled everyone
Why can't we use pretend in this sentence.
Thanks.
Comment: The AHD/Collins senses 'to dissemble / to take part in an involved scheme' at least inform how one interprets 'to masquerade'; 'pretend' is far less marked.
Answer: The very simplest answer is that we can use either word for the same basic idea:  it would be phrased "He pretended to be a doctor . . ." or even "He pretended he had a medical degree, and fooled everyone."
But here's my two-cent semantic digging a little deeper:
It seems to me that 'masquerade' is fundamentally about masking - that is, hiding one's 'true identity' - but no elaboration as far as the mask itself, i.e. there is no implied substitute for what is hidden.
It could be argued that the stereotypical 'masquerade ball' is about an elaborate substitute for the face, and that the interactions focus on a range of dynamic options:  what people can get away with saying when nobody can see them, how certain conventions are either relaxed or reinforced by curiosity and/or obfuscation, etc.  But sometimes it's more about who's been holding the most ostentatious or profoundly inspiring object in front of their face.
Whereas 'pretend' relates to pretense, pretension, pretentious, in that there is typically an intent to persuade/show observers something (e.g., "everything is fine, move along" or "I know what I'm doing") or a mutual intent to act out, roleplay etc. ("let's play pretend").  (or a combination of the two!)
Masquerade doesn't necessitate such an idea - it can simply be "you don't know who I am" and can even be a cheeky "I am not who I appear to be".  But in the bare context of the question, it is just another way of communicating a pretense.
The overlap is that both concepts can have an element of pretense, but the more masquerade is used as a verb synonymous with "pretend", the more the two ideas become muddled.
https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=masquerade :

1590s, "assembly of people wearing masks and disguises," from French
  mascarade or Spanish mascarada "masked party or dance," from Italian
  mascarata "a ball at which masks are worn," variant of mascherata
  "masquerade," from maschera (see mask (n.)). Figurative sense of
  "false outward show" is from 1670s.

https://www.etymonline.com/word/pretend :

pretend (v.)
  late 14c., "to profess, assert, maintain" (a claim, etc.), "to direct (one's) efforts," from Old French pretendre "to lay claim," from Latin praetendere "stretch in front, put forward, allege," from prae "before" (see pre-) + tendere "to stretch," from PIE root *ten- "to stretch."
Main modern sense of "feign, put forward a false claim" is recorded from c. 1400; the older sense of simply "to claim" is behind the string of royal pretenders (1690s) in English history. Meaning "to play, make believe" is recorded from 1865. In 17c. pretend also could mean "make a suit of marriage for," from a sense in French. Related: Pretended; pretending.
Comment: +1. I think worth putting in a couple of quotes into this answer from etymonline as it would complement your observations. I 100% agree for comparing these words like these the etymology of the words gives very interesting insights.
Comment: I added a 2nd quote, N. Presley, any concerns feel free to revert my edit!
Comment: Not at all, I appreciate the follow-through.  I was so caught up with unpacking masquerade, I kinda forgot I was comparing it to anything else!
Answer: Firstly, pretend can be used as an adjective to denote something that is imaginary

The children poured out pretend tea for the dolls.

whereas masquerade cannot be.
Coming onto their usage as verbs:
In some cases, the two can be used interchangeably like,

At the party, he was pretending to be Voldemort.
At the party, he was masquerading as Voldemort.

However, the latter is considered more apt.
The two words as verbs essentially mean the same thing, i.e., pulling a disguise, but are used in different contexts.
In the example you provide, we can use pretend although generally, masquerade is more suitable when the subject carries an illicit pursuit as in the case here. However, I do admit I may be going out on a limb here.
Also, we cannot use masquerade in such a sentence:

He pretended to be asleep.
Comment: Excellent point - actively 'masquerading' is about being an impostor - some*one* you are not - rather than a feigned state.
Comment: Precisely! Yes, I think that sums it up perfectly.
Answer: You can. The Cambridge dictionary defines the verb masquerade as "to pretend or appear to be." So the following two sentences mean the same thing.

He masqueraded as a doctor and fooled everyone.
He pretended to be a doctor and fooled everyone.

However it doesn't work for this pair.

He pretended to be angry.
He masqueraded to be angry.
Comment: I'd only normally use 'He pretended to be a doctor and fooled everyone.' if the situation was comic rather than serious. Register is important.
Comment: @EdwinAshworth Yes, I think the courts would probably describe it as "medical impersonation". [This report in *The Guardian*](https://www.theguardian.com/global/2017/aug/14/trust-me-im-a-fake-doctor-how-medical-imposters-thrive-in-the-real-world) talks about "medical imposters".  But you might say something like "He made himself out to be a doctor..." or "He affected to be a doctor..." Only if describing it to a child would you use "pretend".
Comment: But you could say "He masqueraded anger".


Kden live window freezes and does not respond?

Question: Hi guys I am just getting started with video editing and I have no previous experience with video editors. I use ubuntu, I have read in a blog post that kden live is the best video opensource video editor. It's freezing up whenever I am trying to use it. Can some one suggest a solution. FYI processor usage - 20%, mem usage - 40%. I have recorded these right at the time the program got stuck. I was looking at project monitor on a secondary display(I do not know if that's causing the issue).
Answer: I don't know much about Kden Live specifically, but a lot of times loading freezes are related to issues with either plugins or codecs.  If you just installed it, the most likely problem is probably an issue with codecs not loading.  Without a startup log though it's not really possible to give a better guess as to what is going on (and I'm not sure how you get that from Kden.)
Comment: That's always the issue with huge open source software with less support. Do you know any better opensource video editor software that run well on ubuntu?
Comment: I'd check and see if DaVinci Resolve works on it.  It isn't open source, but they have a free version.


What's the word / way to describe the sound we make when we get irritated?

Question: What's that sound called which we make when we are irritated or disgusted, when we press both our lips together and make a sucking sound, with our teeth closed. It's similar to a kissing sound, but in that the lips move out. While here, the lips spread open like in a smile.
Comment: ***sigh, gasp, puff [one's cheeks],...*** Dictionaries will say some terms used for this context are "onomatopoeic", but you should take that with a pinch of salt. *"**Tsk!**" tutted an exasperated John,* even though the actual sound John made was just an "inward tongue click" - nothing like ***tsk*** or ***tut*** (which versions people *sometime* articulate simply because they're deriving that from the orthography rather than replicating the sound other people ***actually*** made).
Comment: i think @FumbleFingers has got the right answer, its Tsk-tsk ot tut-tut.
Comment: @JustTolerateMe: [***Pffft**!*, said](https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=%22pffft+said%22) FumbleFingers, wondering whether it would be "more
 onomatopoeic" if he'd used **2** or **4** **r's** rather than 3. Of course, you didn't ***hear*** what I said, so you don't know exactly what it sounded like. But for what it's worth, it was a sound sometimes transcribed in French as ***Bof**!* (1 **f** or 2, but never 3 or more! :)
Comment: Worth noting that such sounds/gestures are quite culturally-dependent.  Laughs and sighs may be universal, but *tsk-tsk*, *uh-uh*, *mm-hmm*, *meh*, or nodding or shaking your head — they can vary in style and meaning from one culture to another.
Answer: The action is called "sucking your teeth."
I don't believe there is a single-word for that sound specifically, it's just a "sucking sound."

The sucking sound of him sucking his teeth in irritation echoed in the empty room.
Comment: I was watching the British TV series on Netflix, Top Boy and the close captions say over and over "kisses his teeth" for the Jamaican drug dealers doing this. But in the States, we do say sucking one's teeth. Gees, what a hoot.
Answer: In the West Indies, this is called steups.
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/steups
Answer: you mean the what was that, how did that happen, i meant to stay quiet kinda type? That can be done on purpose, in which case it might go as "smack ones lips", perhaps in immitation of sucking, but--as comics have it--involving licking (not so in German schmecken or schmatzen).
If it would be more often associated with the (tip of the) tongue, I think of German schnalzen, onomatopoetic e.g. tsk, tse.  Wiktionary translates that as

click

under ety. 1 def. 2, giving tsk specificly as example (although African languages like xoo! are better known for their click-sounds).
In my experience similar noises can come from the uvular ridge, which then sounds like a bit of a grunt, but not oinky.
In general, these are implosive, or properly: ingressive. Which is rather rare as phoneme feature (often in Finnish for a specific yes expression, and similarly in many other languages). If there's no obstruent involved, it comes out a gasp, an intake of air, huh. There are more colorful idioms to describe these, I'm sure
Comment: *Smacking one's lips* is a completely different idiom, referring to the state of being *so keen one **salivates**, and has to **lick one's lips** to keep from drooling*.
Answer: There is too, a word for it in Sranan: "Tjoerie"/"Tyuri" (phonetic: "Chooree"). This is the language spoken in Suriname, the largest Dutch-speaking country in the Caribbean.
To my knowledge there isn't A word for it in English, which only has a description for the action: "kissing one's teeth".
In both environments, it's considered rude to do it. Pupils get berated if they do it in front of teachers, authority figures.
It's a bit neo-colonial, thus rude, to divide the Caribbean into English-speaking, French-speaking, Dutch-speaking and Latinx, therefor we should be careful whenever we do that: always check with the persons you speak with how they feel about that. But, IF we would do it in this case, then one could say that the Anglo and the Dutch have this custom/practice, and the French-Caribbeans call it 'tchip'. Afaik the Latinx don't do it, but my knowledge is not universal.
According to this article Brazilians have it too, but that's just the sound, sort of, with an entirely different meaning.
Tjoerie or Tyuri
Answer: Technically, I think it would be a "interdental reverse fricative" - describing it as a component of speech for communication purposes.
https://www.thefreedictionary.com/interdental
https://www.thefreedictionary.com/reverse
https://www.thefreedictionary.com/fricative
As an action, you could be describing "exasperation", but your description implies sucking the air inwardly. Perhaps this is done first to signal the "exasperation" to come. Or another possibility - someone could be SO mad that they are actively trying to suck air back in. But, that would make it an "insperation" (not a word in English). I had to check...

He was so exasperated that he had to suck in to keep from
spraying his coffee all over the place...

On a side note, it IS correctly spelled using "asperation" rather than "aspiration", so perhaps there was some confusion in the origin of the word. The unrelated word "asperation" means "to make something rough".
TFD - exasperation
Answer:
When we press both our lips together and make a sucking sound, with our teeth closed.

That's called humph (or harrumph).

Humph (exclamation): a short, deep sound made with the lips closed, expressing anger or doubt, or pretended anger.
Example: Humph, I see you've got yourself some lunch and you haven't made any for the rest of us!

[Cambridge English dictionary]

The sound made by tut-tut or tsk-tsk is a Dental click. Is that what you're looking for?

The tut-tut! (British spelling, "tutting") or tsk! tsk! (American spelling, "tsking") sound used to express disapproval or pity is a dental click. [Wikipedia]

Grunt is the verb for making that sound.

Grunt (verb): (of a person) to make a short, low sound instead of speaking, usually because of anger or pain.
Examples: He hauled himself over the wall, grunting with the effort.
[+ speech] "Too tired," he grunted and sat down.

[Cambridge English dictionary]
Groan and its synonyms could also be used here.

I think that's also called wincing or hissing (or chuff, cluck or squirm, but I'm not sure about these three).

Wince (verb): to tighten the muscles of the face briefly and suddenly in a show of pain, worry, or embarrassment.

[Cambridge English dictionary]
(I've also heard don't kiss your teeth at me in British English.)
Answer: suck teeth_West Africa
It's originally from Africa and is also Afro-Caribbean

Suck-teeth is "the gesture of drawing air through the teeth and into
the mouth to produce a loud sucking sound" which is used to express
"disgust, defiance, disapproval, disappointment, frustration or
impatience."
Those quotes are from Rickford & Rickford (1976) and Alim (2004)
respectively (their full references are listed below).
Suck-teeth as a global Black phenomenon Suck-teeth (which I previously
wrote about here) has become increasingly known outside of the Black
global diaspora. In urban France, in particular, "le tchip"—as it in
known in French—has become so commonplace that public schools banned
it as a vulgar "gesture". This spurred a range of media coverage, but
more importantly funny responses such as this that also highlights it
as Afro-Caribbean phenomenon.
Suck-teeth in West Africa. Little of this popular and academic coverage
though has actually ever looked at the who, what, why and how of
sucking your teeth or le tchip in Africa itself.
With this in mind, I'm proud to release a Na baro kè video from
Bamako, Mali about the meaning, culture and how-to of "suruntu" as
suck-teeth is known locally in Bambara/Manding: [go to link]
References Alim, H. S. (2004). You Know My Steez: An Ethnographic and
Sociolinguistic Study of Styleshifting in a Black American Speech
Community. Duke University Press Books.
Rickford, J. R., & Rickford, A. E. (1976). Cut-Eye and Suck-Teeth:
African Words and Gestures in New World Guise. The Journal of American
Folklore, 89(353), 294–30

[bolding mine]
And here is more about the Caribbean and sucking teeth:
kiss or suck teeth

Written by Azizi Powell
People don't always have to say what they're thinking. Sometimes body
gestures and sounds such as "kiss teeth" say what they want to say and
more.
I'm an African American woman from New Jersey & Pennsylvania. Although
my maternal grandparents are from the islands (Barbados and Trinidad),
I wasn't familiar with the phrase "kiss teeth" until I started reading
about it on the Internet. But ever since I was a child I knew about
"sucking your teeth". That phrase is often expressed in the warning
"Don't suck your teeth at me!"
The phrase "suck your teeth" is documented as early as 1915 in Jamaica
and is also found in Barbados, Belize, and Guyana, Trinidad, and the
United States (particularly among African Americans). In Tobago, kiss
teeth is called "hiss teeth" and in the Cayman Islands it is called
"sucking your mouth". Source:
http://privatewww.essex.ac.uk/~patrickp/papers/KSTpapwww.pdf The
Meaning Of Kiss Teeth
"Kiss" and "hiss" are onomatopoeic "[that's the sound you make when
doing it].
In the Caribbean kiss teeth is represented by the initials "KST" (kiss
teeth) and "KMT" (kiss my teeth). Among people from the Caribbean,
kiss teeth can be represented in writing using the words "Cho!",
"Chups", "Tchuipe, "Chupes", "Stchuup", and similarly spelled words.
These words are both nouns and verbs.


Solve Laplace equation in the upper half plane

Question: I need to solve
\begin{eqnarray}
u_{xx} + u_{yy} = 0 \quad \quad y>0 \quad -\infty < x< \infty
\end{eqnarray}
With boundary condition
\begin{eqnarray}
\frac{\partial u(x,0)}{\partial y} = h(x) \mbox{ and } |u(x,y)|<\infty
\end{eqnarray}
I call $U(w,y)$ the Fourier transorm of $u(x,t)$. I call $H(w)$ the Fourier transform of $h(x)$. Substituting $U(w,y)$ in the partial differential equation I get:
\begin{eqnarray}
\frac{\partial^2 U}{\partial y^2} = w^2U
\end{eqnarray}
This differential equation has solution
\begin{eqnarray}
U(w,y) = C(w)e^{-|w|\cdot y}
\end{eqnarray}
Differentiating gives
\begin{eqnarray}
U_y = -|w| C(w) e^{-|w|\cdot y}
\end{eqnarray}
Plugging in the boundary condition $U_y(w,0) = H(w)$ gives
\begin{eqnarray}
U(w,y) = -\frac{H(w)}{|w|}e^{-|w|y}
\end{eqnarray}
Is this step correct? And how do I need to continue if it is? I need to transform back, such that
\begin{eqnarray}
u(x,y) = \frac{1}{2\pi} \int_{-\infty}^{\infty} -\frac{H(w)}{|w|}e^{-|w|y} e^{iwx}dw
\end{eqnarray}
How can I solve this integral? Does convolution apply?
Answer: consider the  Fourier transform of $u$ $u_{xx}$ ,$u_{yy}$ and $h(x)$ $$u(x,y)=\sum_{n=1}^{\infty}u_n(y)\sin(\frac{n\pi  x}{l})$$$$u_{xx}=\sum_{n=1}^{\infty}w_n(y)\sin(\frac{n\pi  x}{l})$$$$u_{yy}=\sum_{n=1}^{\infty}v_n(y)\sin(\frac{n\pi x}{l})$$ $$h(x)=\sum_{n=1}^{\infty}h_n(y)\sin(\frac{n\pi  x}{l})$$such that $$u_n(y)=\frac{2}{l}\int_{0}^{l}u(x,y)\sin(\frac{n\pi x}{l})$$$$v_n(y)=\frac{2}{l}\int_{0}^{l}u_{xx}\sin(\frac{n\pi x}{l})$$$$w_n(y)=\frac{2}{l}\int_{0}^{l}u_{yy}\sin(\frac{n\pi x}{l})$$$$h_n(y)=\frac{2}{l}\int_{0}^{l}h(x)\sin(\frac{n\pi x}{l})$$ and we conclude following statments  $$1.\begin{eqnarray}
\frac{\partial^2 U_n(y)}{\partial y^2} = v_n(y)
\end{eqnarray}$$$$2.v_n(y)+w_n(y)=0$$$3.$ and integrate $w_n(y)=\frac{2}{l}\int_{0}^{l}u_{yy}\sin(\frac{n\pi x}{l})$ by part and you take $w_n(y)$respect to $ u_n(y)$ therefore by use of $1,2,3$ you can  easily find  $ u_n(y)$ then you can find$ u(x,y ) $
Comment: best answer$\Large\color{green}{✔}^\color{red}{✿}$ @Maisam Hedyelloo
Comment: █▓▒░$\Large\color{red}{ℕѺ}$░▒▓█  , I haven't.@Meisam Hedyelloo
Answer: You can do that last integral if you replace $H(w)$ with its definition as the Fourier transform of $H(x)$. You should then be able to rearrange the (double) integral into the form
$$ \int dx'\, h(x') G(x,y,x') $$
where $G(x,y,x')$ is some function that should be able to find in closed form (it is also the solution to your problem in the case $h(x)=\delta(x - x')$).


Constrain the number of child entities in Entity Framework

Question: Bottom Line Up Front
Is there a succinct way that I can constrain the number of child entities that can belong to a parent in Entity Framework.  I am using 4.3.1 at the moment.
The Problem
I am developing an ASP.NET MVC3 site which accesses data via a data access layer that uses Entity Framework.  I have a SearchList entity which has a many to many relationship to a Search entity.  A SearchList may have many Searches, and a Search may belong to many SearchLists.
At one point in the workflow of the site, a user needs to select the searches and other items to use in a batch search.  We want the page to load the entire search list.
SearchLists can get quite large, and as a test we created one with 21,000 searches.  It took a few seconds, and the data returned was about 9.5 MB, which we were expecting, but jQueryUI choked when trying to table-ify that much.
What we would like
So we want to impose a limit on the number of searches any search list can have.  I can go through the application and put a bunch of rules in that checks the size of the collection and if the searches that are trying to be added plus the size of the current... yada yada yada.
If however there was a better way (especially one that could easily output an error message that MVC would pick up) I would totally take that instead.
I have googled, and perused a number of EF blogs to no avail.  Constrain children and max number of children in collection and similar searches have returned results that are about Linq queries and the Count and Max methods.
Any help would be appreciated.
Answer: There is no built-in way so you will have to code such validation yourselves. Some quick ideas:

You can for example use custom collection for the navigation property which will fire exception when you try to add additional search exceeding the threshold. It is simple but it demands you to have all searches loaded, it will have concurrency problems and moreover it can fire during loading search list and searches from database.
You can handle it in overriden SaveChanges. You will at least have to check how many searches are already related to search list but you will still have concurrency problem (what if other request tries to add search to the same list but only one place is remaining - both can succeed the check and insert related search)
You can handle it in database trigger - again it will have concurrency problems

Avoiding concurrency problems completely requires hand written queries with locking hints to ensure that only one request can check number of searches per search list and insert a new search in atomic transaction.
Comment: Great suggestions!  Fortunately concurrency is going to be a somewhat lower order concern.  We have a pretty small user base, scattered among many discreet projects, and it is unlikely two users from the same project will ever be logged in at the same time, much less working the same search list.  I may end up doing it in the SaveChanges override as that is the single point that the requirement must be met.
Answer: I ended up going with CustomValidationAttribute, and implemented it with a great deal of success.  See below for my implementation info:
In the SearchList entity
    [NotMapped]
    public String ValidationMessage { get; set; }
    [CustomValidation(typeof(EntityValidation.EntityValidators), "ValidateSearchCount")]
    public virtual List<Search> Searches { get; set; }

    public static bool Create(ProjectContext db, SearchList searchList)
    {
        try
        {
            db.SearchLists.Add(searchList);
            db.SaveChanges();
            return true;
        }
        catch (DbEntityValidationException dbEx)
        {
            foreach (var validationErrors in dbEx.EntityValidationErrors)
            {
                foreach (var validationError in validationErrors.ValidationErrors)
                {
                    searchList.ValidationMessage += validationError.ErrorMessage;
                }
            }
            return false;
        }
        catch (Exception)
        {
            return false;
        }
    }

EntityValidators Class
    public static ValidationResult ValidateSearchCount(List<Search> Searches)
    {
        bool isValid;
        int count = Searches.Count();
        isValid = (count <= 5000 ? true : false);

        if (isValid)
        {
            return ValidationResult.Success;
        }
        else
        {
            return new ValidationResult("A maximum of 5000 searches may be added to a SearchList.");
        }
    }

A similar exception block is on the update method.  In this way, when SaveChanges gets called it attempts to validate the entity and its child collections, and when the collection count is greater than 5000 the validator will return an error message which gets caught in the exception handler and stored in a local property for my controller to check when things go wrong.


When titrating to find the concentration of a dissolved acid, does the volume of solvent matter?

Question: I am conducting a titration to find the mass of aspirin present in tablets. I will be dissolving the aspirin tablet into a solution of ethanol and distilled water to dissolve it. But, does the volume of ethanol or distilled water added actually matter? Or does it just need to be enough to completely dissolve the aspirin?
Comment: You want to dissolve the tablet completely. However you don't want a huge excess of water. So 1.5 to 2 times the amount of the solvent mixture to dissolve the whole tablet.
Comment: A graduated cylinder will certainly do. The notion is that you want to use about the same volume of solvent for each trial.
Comment: @MaxW, all right, got it. Does the volume of solvent need to be precise, i.e. do I need to measure it using a pipette or will a measuring cylinder do?
Comment: Concentration != mass. For concentration volume is crucial, for mass - not really.
Answer: At very great dilutions, impurities could have some effect on the end point. For example, even previously-distilled water will absorb some small amount of $\ce{CO2}$ from air, making it slightly more acid. However, if the aspirin is present in reasonable amount, that would have negligible effect. So, as stated by @MaxW, consistency, with a moderate theoretical excess of solvent, is important, but don't use greatly excessive amounts of solvent.


Android ListView Row Text Change Dynamically

Question: I have a ListView with BaseAdapter and I create this adapter in my main Activity. In my adapter constructor, I also have an String list that fills the TextViews in ListView rows in "getView" method. After that, according to user interaction, I want to change text of TextViews in ListView rows, but how could I manage?
Answer: Update string or stirngs in your Adapter's "String list" and than call BaseAdapter's notifyDataSetChanged() method.
This will notify all listeners that data is changed and in your particular case will result in ListView re-fetching visible views from your Adapter. And your Adapter will return views with new updated strings.
Comment: If there are several views changing frequently, showing sensor data for example, is this still an acceptable method?


Brightcove ad mid-rolls in HTML5 video using a VAST ad server?

Question: I'm trying to get mid-rolls working in the Brightcove HTML5 player.  The ads are being supplied by a VAST2-compliant ad server.
From reading all the Brightcove documents and developer resources, I'm reaching the conclusion that this is simply not possible.  Is my conclusion correct?
My main findings:

1 If the player is configured with the "VAST Server Ad Source", then according to this document http://support.brightcove.com/en/video-cloud/docs/using-vast-server-ad-source-publishers :

"the VAST Server ad source for the HTML player does not support
  onload and mid-roll ads."

So I switched gears and followed the documents to instead write a custom HTML5 ad plugin. I'm at the point where I receive the Mid-roll Ad CUE events and make calls to the ad server. That leads to:

2 With the ad server VAST response in-hand, according to this document http://support.brightcove.com/en/video-cloud/docs/creating-ad-plug-html-players :

"Since the first iteration of our ad plugin system is not exposing any
  way to pass ad XML to the Brightcove player to be displayed, an ad
  plugin must modify the video element during ad playback to play a
  video ad"

My conclusion is that in case 2 above, I have to essentially manipulate a barebones < video > element with no VAST help whatsoever from brightcove - this would mean re-implementing all of VAST client-side player features from scratch (redirection, unwrapping, playing, tracking, click-handling, companions, etc..) - or - incorporating and using a third-party VAST library or player inside the plugin that does all of this stuff while still complying with the Brightcove ad module flow.
I'm hoping I've missed some documentation or there's some sane middle-ground to get this working.  Any advice would be appreciated.
Answer: I worked 2 years trying to make VAST and HTML5 work from a common browser without any success, if you want it for non-native HTML5 packaged mobile app, there is a solution using Cordova Framework.


TIN Interpolation Error in QGIS

Question: I am having a problem with a contour file I got from a municipality. Two, actually.
I was using 3.16 and it would just hang up at 99% and then fail. This happened with both files.
I tried it again with 3.18 with one file and got this error. But I had chosen structured line, and was using a no-spaces file path on my local desktop, unlike a previous poster. (See images)

I have 16GB of RAM on a Windows 10 platform.
I can't create a DEM for the life of me, and it's stopped my work entirely. Any ideas?
Answer: Could you try and use Points for Type? If this fails, could you try to simplify your contour lines using Simplify algorithm?
Comment: It fails regardless of "Point", "Structured Lines" or "Break Lines".
...
If I simplify the contour lines, will I still get an accurate surface?
Comment: Any TIN generation is an approximation. If you smooth the lines it gets less accurate too.

TIN Interpolation Error in QGIS


What exactly is JSON?

Question: I'm new to the web application domain. I have been watching some hot and eye-catching discussions regarding JSON everywhere.
Can someone briefly explain what JSON is? Do you have links to websites or forums that can help enlighten me about JSON?
Answer: JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) is a data storage language, a bit like XML, but uses a more familiar "dictionary" style syntax and semantics. For example, I can store an address book in JSON:
[{"Name": "Jane", "Address": "28 Seventh St", "Age": 27},
 {"Name": "Steve", "Address": "14 Ninth St", "Age": 25}
]

Notice that it looks a lot like a Python or JavaScript dictionary and list syntax. That's basically all it is: a serialisation of these six basic data types:

Object (or a "dictionary")
Array (or a "list")
String
Number (integer and float)
Boolean (true and false)
null

More information at json.org.
Note that although it has "JavaScript" in the name, it is really easy to read and write JSON data from any language, though the data structure is best represented in dynamic languages like JavaScript and Python. The website has a huge list of implementations in various languages.
Answer: From json.org:

JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) is a lightweight data-interchange format. It is easy for humans to read and write. It is easy for machines to parse and generate. It is based on a subset of the JavaScript Programming Language, Standard ECMA-262 3rd Edition - December 1999. JSON is a text format that is completely language independent but uses conventions that are familiar to programmers of the C-family of languages, including C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, Perl, Python, and many others. These properties make JSON an ideal data-interchange language.
Answer: It's a way of representing simple data structures as a string, usually for data interchange.
JSON web site

What exactly is JSON?


Dvd Drive Stepper Motor

Question:

I'm trying to make a CNC machine out of 2 dvd drive stepper motors. One of my stepper motors is completely normal and as seen in every video I've seen on the topic. The other looks like this (see pictures). The laser diode assembly moves on some gears connected to a motor which is connected to a board. the board has 4 contacts but according to my multimeter, only one pair is connected. Is this a stepper motor? Also, how do I get this to work with my build?
Answer: The pictured motor is a DC motor, quite common in DVD drives. Components on PCB, located under the white (not-tooth wheel) are for measuring speed/spin direction for feedback control.
To make it work you have to see how to control a DC motor. Driving DC motor is quite easy. Try not to break the feedback control, you may find it helpful later.

Dvd Drive Stepper Motor


Rsync daemon: is it really useful?

Question: Are there any practical benefits in using rsyncd compared to rsync over ssh? Does it really increase speed, stability, anything?
Answer: This is an old question, but there is another very valid reason for using rsync in daemon mode versus over ssh:

Lower CPU overhead.

I have one 10 TB NAS that is backed up to another 10 TB NAS, and the encryption overhead for just the SSH tunnel is the limiting factor for the transfer. Both NASes are fairly low-powered 1.8 Ghz Intel Atoms, and even with easier crypto options for ssh (e.g. ssh -c arcfour passed as the ssh call to rsync), the encryption overhead still results in at best 200-300 Mbps, on a gigabit ethernet network.
Using a rsync daemon on one end removes the crypto overhead, and achieves >800 Mbps transfers for large, contiguous files.
Comment: If you're connecting over ssh, you're not using the remote rsyncd. Looking at the [man pages],
`rsync [OPTION...] SRC... [USER@]HOST:DEST` uses ssh, while
`rsync [OPTION...] SRC... [USER@]HOST::DEST` uses the remote daemon. Note the extra colon: `HOST:SRC` vs `HOST::SRC`. You can also explicitly call out the transport:
`SRC... rsync://[USER@]HOST[:PORT]/DEST`
Comment: Very helpful, thanks. I'm running a similar setup and was able to double the transfer speed I was getting from an `ssh -c arcfour` connection I'd been using.
Comment: Not sure if removing the crypto 'overhead' can be considered an advantage.. It'd be best to use hardware accelerated crypto, which ARC4 is probably not really.
Comment: @Lodewijk - First, I'm on a private network at my house, so encryption isn't critical (and it's not super private data anyways). Additionally, either the rsync version in my distribution doesn't use hardware crypto, or the intel atom I'm using doesn't have hardware accelerators. I tried most of the crypto options for the SSH transport, and all of them were pretty much horribly slow.
Comment: If there *was* a crypto option that didn't massively affect the performance, I'd use it, but I tried those options first with no luck.
Answer: I think the big difference is that if you're using rsyncd on the server end, instead of rsync over ssh, the server already knows what it has, so building the file lists to determine what needs to be transferred is much simpler.  It won't make a difference if you're just pushing around a few files, but if you're making, for example, CPAN available over rsync, you don't want to have to build the file list on the source side every time.
Comment: I don't understand this answer. How does `rsynd` know what it has? Does it crawl the file system regularly?
Comment: `hostname::share`
Comment: if you check the rsync log it will tell you "building file list" every time an rsync client tries to pull from the remote (fyi my remote is a db that is always changing). it doesn't seem to do any kind of smart indexing
Answer: rsyncd (rsyncd with daemon) uses by default port 873.
This will use the native rsync protocol, but does not encrypt anything. It is meant only for local or trusted networks.
If you want security, always you have to use rsync or rsyncd over SSH, all your data transfers will be entrypted by the ssh protocol.
Comment: This. Should be the accepted answer! Rsyncd is totally insecure, I can't believe no one had mentionned it.
Answer: I don't think comparing running rsyncd to rsync over SSH makes much sense.  They are generally  used for completely different things.
rsync over ssh is usually used for backups, or syncing servers over the internet.
rsyncd is usually used for things like software mirrors, so it makes more sense to compare rsyncd to a plain HTTP or FTP mirror or even bittorrent.
There is also software like zsync, which allows you to get many of the benefits of rsync while still using a standard HTTP server
Answer: The function of rsyncd is to run on a server and respond to (remote) rsync requests.
(when we say rsyncd we mean rsync running as a daemon, and when we say 'remote', we mean remote from the point of view of the machine running rsyncd)
Both would use ssh in order to talk to each other securely.
It's not really a question of using one or the other, although if rsync is used to copy files and directories on the same machine, I don't think it needs to run as a daemon.
I think the rsync man page clarifies this.
Answer:
if no other remote tools are available on local host, but rsync then using rsync in conjunction with rsync-daemon on the remote location is useful.

afaik, a distro might come with only scp and rsync and no other remote tools to transfer files...

if the user is not familiar with using scp...

if there are reasons to prefer unencrypted file tranfers .
Comment: i think you did not understand the question

Rsync daemon: is it really useful?


Why does width of depletion layer increases and electric field decreases if doping decreases for diode?

Question: Also, why does width of depletion layer decreases and electric field increases if doping increases
Comment: @laptop2d In general yes, but that isn't really two separate questions. If you know the answer to one you have the answer to the other.
Comment: One question at a time, and provide a background on the question please. A well thought out question that is specific and includes a few paragraphs garners respect and good answers. A short question will proabably be closed, please edit your question. A bonus would be to provide the electric field equation for diodes and and explanation of how you think it behaves.
Answer: When you form a PN junction you get diffusion of charge carriers from one side into the other. This causes depletion of the carriers from both semiconductors. The semiconductor outside the depletion region is charge neutral, and the semiconductor inside the depletion region is assumed to have a constant charge density equal to the dopant concentration. This is due to the ionization of the dopant atoms, each contributing one electrons or hole worth of charge. Both the p and the n sides of the junction must have equal total depletion charge in the depletion region.
If you increase the dopant concentration of one side of the junction, two things happen. First, you now must deplete more charge to account for the increase in potential between the sides of the junction. Second, the charge density in the higher doped semiconductor has increased. This leads to an overall reduction in the thickness of the depletion region on the higher doped side since you need to deplete less of the semiconductor to get the required depletion charge.
Electric field is the integral of charge density. This reduction in depletion width thickness causes an increase in electric field because the charge density has increased and the depletion width has decreased.
Comment: I don't know if it's the difficulty of the content or your answer, but I had to read link below and then your answer 4 times to refresh my understanding of what was going on.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depletion_region
Comment: @horta Both sides shrink. I didn't want to get too in depth with my answer so I left that out. But the increase in charge density more than offsets the increase in V_bi of the junction.
Comment: If you increase the doping on both sides of the junction, does that cause the depletion layer to remain constant or do both sides shrink? I'm trying to figure out if this depletion region shrinking is due to a constant contact potential or because of the relative doping of the other side.


Is there a connection between the Stephen King short story 1408 and the novel Dance Dance Dance by Haruki Murakami?

Question: I recently read the novel Dance Dance Dance by Haruki Murakami which features a horror/fantasy element in the form of recurrent dream sequences involving an man who is half sheep and offers the protagonist of the story clues to unravelling a mystery. The story takes place in the Dolphin Hotel in Sapporo. I am curious to know if Stephen King was inspired by or pays homage to this novel with his short story 1408 which is set in a hotel called "The Dolphin Hotel" in New York. Dance Dance Dance was published in the late 1980's and translated into english in the mid 90's. As far as I am aware 1408 appeared in around 2000. Does anyone know if King deliberately references Murakami or is it simply a coincidence? Thank you.
Comment: It's the combination of the name, the setting and supernatural events happening in that setting. If it simply coincidence... well these things happen but I am curious.
Comment: I doubt it. Are you basing this solely on the hotels' names? As far as I remember there's nothing about a half sheep in 1408, so I assume you just mentioned that information as a non sequitur.
Answer: There seems to be no link between the two. According to this answer on Quora, the hotel in 1408 is based on the Hotel del Coronado in California. According to this site, the hotel in Dance Dance Dance does not actually exist, although there are a few in the area that may be similar.
Disclaimer: I've not read either story.
Update: I did find a blog post that claims:

...the hotel's name is Hotel Dolphin. It's supposedly a nod to
Murakami's work which King is supposedly a fan of.

but the site does not provide a source for that claim. A movie review site also says:

...the Dolphin Hotel (stolen from Haruki Murakami's Dance Dance Dance
and transported from Tokyo to New York)

but again, provides no source for the claim.
Comment: I think we can chalk this up to coincidence then! thanks!


A basic rules summary for the Doctor Who Adventures in Time and Space RPG

Question: I was wondering if anyone has found a basic summary of the base mechanics of Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space.  Ideally a sample play-through of a few rounds of an action scene.  I already read what was on the wikipedia page, but was looking for something a bit more detailed than that.
Comment: We're talking about how to tag questions about this system [here](http://meta.rpg.stackexchange.com/q/2934/4398) on meta. Please come weigh in on your choice!
Answer: My go-to place for quick rules summaries are the reviews on RPG.net, and in this case it doesn't disappoint: there are eight reviews of Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space on RPG.net. Picking one review at random (well, if "click the first link" is random…), it has a good introduction to the core mechanic with an explanation of how it hangs together and an example, though it's not an example of real play:

The rules themselves are simple and quite reminiscent of the Cinematic Unisystem--roll 2d6, adding Attribute and Skill, and attempt to get a target number (generally 12 or better). There are levels of success, and in a neat twist, levels of failure. Rather than having a flat score representing a level of success (the aforementioned Unisystem, for example, has 9-11 being one success, 12-15 two, etc.), this game bases levels of success as a range above or below the target number (which can slide up or down from 12 based on difficulty.
If it sounds complicated, it's not. Let's say Rose is trying to leap over a pit. It's a long pit, longer than a normal person could pull off. But she was a Gymnastics champion, so she'll give it a shot. The GM decides that while a normal difficulty would be 12, this is a tricky task--that sets the difficulty at 15 (there is a table with difficulty guidelines in the book). Rose rolls 2d6 and aces a twelve! Adding her athletics skill and coordination attribute to it gives her more than enough to make the leap. Depending on how high above the difficulty she makes it, she could just barely succeed, meaning perhaps she just hits the edge, her foot slips, and she finds her self not falling, but hanging from the ledge and must try to pull herself up. Or she could pull it off just perfect, or she could hit the ground, roll into a somersault, and come up running before her pursuers have a chance to react.
The nice thing about this is that everything you do in this game works off of exactly the same principle. There are no subsystems, no efforts to cram obscure possibilities into the rules […]

The review goes on to talk about the only other core mechanic, Story Points, and how they're pretty much exactly what most readers will expect as the familiar Fate/Hero/Author point that lets you add a useful detail or turn a hit into a near miss, etc.
Comment: @Tynam I think a complete description is outside the scope of the site. This is more of a "teach a man to fish" answer, with one caught fish as an example of how it's done.
Comment: +1 nice start.  I'd add a note on the game's uniquely appropriate initiative system, though.
Comment: I agree with 7sD; he answered in a way that didn't make me want to close this question for being NC.
Comment: This system has a name now- the Vortex System. It first appeared powering the mentioned Doctor Who RPG. It's also used for the Primeval RPG and the upcoming Rocket Age RPG.


User Profile Access in SharePoint

Question: Can anybody tell me in which scenario User Profile Access is maintained in SharePoint even though profile is deleted/disable from Active Directory and We ran Incremental Synch followed by My_Site_CleanUp job .
Comment: Which version of SharePoint? SP2010? SP 2013? Online?
Comment: SharePoint 2010
Answer: Mostly it happens when user profile service application  "Profile Synchronization Status" is stuck in synchronizing state.
If Account is removed in AD but User Profile still exist
You can perform the following to resolve the issues:

Make sure User Profile Synchronization service is running
In the user profile service application make sure "Profile Synchronization Status" is not stuck in synchronizing state.
Start a full User Profile Synchronization
Re-add forest and make sure the password of the account used for synchronization isn't expired

User Profile Access in SharePoint


What is the technical term for this type of singing?

Question: You have two vocalists and the first vocalist sings a verse and as he begins the second verse, your second vocalist begins to sing the first verse. The two verses are then sung together.
Comment: see also https://music.stackexchange.com/q/23706/78419
Answer: In a round, one singer (or group of singers) begin singing, and when they reach a certain point in the song, another singer (or group) enters. There can be three, four, or even more separate singers entering at various times.
A canon is a more general type of imitative piece. In a canon, parts enter one after the other, but what they sing, while similar, may not be identical. In a round, the parts of exactly identical.


Use Maven and Docker + Nexus 3 behind NGinx with HTTPS

Question: I generated certificates for my docker client and deamon following Docker recommendations: https://docs.docker.com/engine/security/https/#create-a-ca-server-and-client-keys-with-openssl
But... I'm using Sonatype Nexus 3 as my private docker registry.
And I have a frontal NGinX.
I would like to setup NGinx with a self-signed certificate to be able to use Nexus as a registry.
Basically, I have that setup for NGinx:
    ssl_certificate                 /home/AAA/certificates/adgroupe.priv/server-cert.pem;
    ssl_certificate_key             /home/AAA/certificates/adgroupe.priv/server-key.pem;
    ssl_protocols                   SSLv3 TLSv1 TLSv1.1 TLSv1.2;
    ssl_ciphers                     RC4:HIGH:!aNULL:!MD5;
    ssl_prefer_server_ciphers       on;

The 2 certificates being the ones generated with Docker documentation (link above).
I then can add with keytool my server.cert to my keystore, but how can I make both Maven and Docker trust that certificate? I mean, no one trust my CA since I generated it myself...
Answer: I'm on a Debian based operating system, And i did it that way.
On your client AND your server, you just have to take the  cert file and add it to the ca-certificates.
root@test:~/certs mkdir /usr/share/ca-certificates/myRegistry.example.com
root@test:~/certs cp certificate.crt /usr/share/ca-certificates/myRegistry.example.com/
root@test:~/certs echo "myRegistry.example.com/certificate.crt" >> /etc/ca-certificates.conf
root@test:~/certs update-ca-certificates
Updating certificates in /etc/ssl/certs... 1 added, 0 removed; done.
Running hooks in /etc/ca-certificates/update.d....done.
# restart docker to refresh trusted CA
root@test:~/certs systemctl restart docker

You will only be able to acces with the Common Name you gave it (for me it's ): myRegistry.example.com.
Because I specified it when i created the cert
Common Name (e.g. server FQDN or YOUR name) []:myRegistry.example.com

hope this helps


What happened with the YF-16 prototypes?

Question: What happened with the original two prototypes of the YF-16 that were ordered during the Lightweight Fighter Program? Were they converted into combat-capable F-16's?
Answer: Some of them are in museums, YF-16 was a technology exploration and didn't commit to production.

YF-16

72-1567 – Virginia Air and Space Center, Hampton, Virginia
72-1568 – Rome ADC

YF-16A (Full-Scale Development)

75-0745 – Used as a traveling exhibit, on loan from the National Museum of the United States Air Force, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
75-0746 – Pylon-mounted gate guard, McEntire Air National Guard Base, South Carolina
75-0748 – Cadet Area Quadrangle, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado
75-0750 – Experimental Aircraft Display Hangar, National Museum of the United States Air Force, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio

YF-16B (FSD)

75-0751 – under restoration at the Air Force Flight Center Museum, Edwards AFB, California.
75-0752 – Frontiers of Flight Museum, Dallas, Texas
Comment: @AlphaCentauri It would probably cost more over 25 years to maintain eight unique airframes than to just build the same number of new production F-16s. Unique is bad when it comes to bean-counting.
Comment: Why would they put aircraft like these in museums? Wouldn't it have been better to use them as trainer aircraft? These aircraft are expensive, it seems strange (when they were new!) to just commit them to become historical exhibits. Couldn't they be modified to be even combat capable?


Remove Surewall from old brick chimney top

Question: Need to remove cement coating from old chimney. I have an 1880 house with chimneys made from coal fired brick. Previous owner covered the upper 7 feet (above the gable) with a layer of surewall, quickwall, or similar thin coating and painted to look like bricks. I want to remove the coating and repoint the bricks, if feasible or practicable. Worst case is upper bricks come off, cleaned, and rebuilt with lime cement.
Comment: Probably a pressure washer will do it, but you won't know until you try. The real trick is to find someyhing that takes the coating off without damaging the brick (so I'm not suggesting sandblasting, for instance.) Acids might work, but I'm not sure how you'd do that both safely and effectively up there without potentially damaging your house.
Answer: You can use a needle scaler to remove a cement-like coating from brick. This is an in-line pneumatic needle scaler: (photo credit Amazon.com)

Pistol grip models are also available. The advantage of using this kind of tool is that you can control the intensity of removal by adjusting how hard you press the vibrating needles against the surface. A little pressure will pulverize the coating. Too much pressure will damage the brick. A little practice will get you where you need to be.
Don't forget the eye and hearing protection, plus an effective dust mask.
There are online videos that show needle scalers in use, most often to remove rust or paint from steel, but this screen grab from Youtube shows painted stucco being removed from brick:

Needle scalers use a great deal of compressed air -- I'm talking stationary shop compressor amounts -- so don't even think of using a small hot dog or pancake compressor, or you'll spend all your time waiting for pressure to build back up. If you don't already have a large compressor, you may need to rent one. Electric needle scalers are also available, but they are expensive and heavy.


How do I prevent this dialog from popping up when running a VB script from task scheduler?

Question: This is the undesired dialog that pops up when I run a Task in the Task Scheduler that just calls a VB script. Any idea how to make my Windows understand, that I do want to run the .vbs file using the windows script host, not some text editor? I already tried Open with > Choose another app and then selecting the host with the Always use this app checkmark.
Answer: When running a script via Task Scheduler, you must run the associated EXE and pass the script name as a parameter. In the case of VBScript, you can run the script using wscript or cscript. Examples:
wscript.exe "c:\scripts\myscript.vbs"
cscript.exe "c:\scripts\myscript.vbs"

Note: The exe name goes in the program field and the script name goes in the arguments field, but if you enter them all together, Task Scheduler will separate them for you.
Note: If your script has any interactive content (e.g. MsgBox) you must use the option "Run only when user is logged on". You can also change all "MsgBox" to "WScript.Echo" and run via CScript.exe.
Comment: Thanks a lot! My script is just executing another .exe with dynamic date parameters so I set the scheduled task to run even when the user is logged out.
Comment: this is really helpful for a completely different case I had. thanks a lot


How do u clean an hp laptop keyboard from nail polish remover

Question: I was cleaning my nails with nail polish remover(isopropyl acetone, methyl ethyl ketone, and n-methyl-pyrrolidone) and I touched my computer and I saw a white stain so I tried to take it off with all-purpose cleaner but that did not work so I look at my computer and I see the whiteness so how can I remove it.
Comment: You do not - laptop isn't a nail.
Comment: @Mithoron. How could Amineh Elhoodary have discovered that the same question was asked 5 yers ago ?
Comment: @Maurice https://chemistry.stackexchange.com/search?q=nail+polish+remover
Answer: It is not just a stain that could be cleaned off by dissolving or fine brushing by a wipe. The plastic is already damaged.
I see only few ways, none really good :

Colour the spots by some colour ( markers ? ) to be as least disturbing as possible.

Peel off the damaged spots to the undamaged layers, but the original surface texture would be lost, so the result may not be better..

If it is a free, not functional surface, put there some decoration stick label.


"Get intoxicated" vs. "become intoxicated"

Question: I was on the Islamic site of Stack Exchange which is currently on beta. We are preparing the website for new users, and one of the moderators and I are confused about some grammar. My answer said "with the insignificant amount of alcohol it is impossible to become intoxicated" and it was edited to "get intoxicated".  Would one be more correct or are they equally correct?
Comment: They are more or less synonymous, but a bit more context would be beneficial.
Answer: I think I would prefer become in that sentence.

With the insignificant amount of alcohol it is impossible to become intoxicated.

As I commented, they are practically synonymous, but get may have the connotation of a deliberate action for the purpose of intoxication and become something more passive. There is an idiomatic phrase "get drunk" which does seem to connote intention; to "become drunk" almost sounds accidental. But that's a subjective view and probably unjustified.
Comment: "Become" covers both the deliberate and accidental route to intoxication, whereas "get" does have an implication of intent. In this case it might depend on content, whether it is a safeguard against people deliberately trying to get drunk, or a safeguard against people accidentally becoming intoxicated.
Comment: Yes, one _gets drunk_ in the pub the night before; up in front of the beak the following day one _became drunk_.
Comment: Also, _become_ is more formal than _get_.
Comment: I would definitely prefer "get". On the other hand, I'm American, and we tend to overuse the word "get".
Comment: How unbecoming.
Comment: he became retired = he got retired according to ginger online grammar chercker


Can anyone recommend a text messaging service for sending alerts and notices from an Oracle database on Linux?

Question: We're investigating ways to alert users of application errors out-of-hours. Has anyone used a Linux-based text messaging (phone) service for sending out alerts?
Answer: My cell provider has an email address (in my case, [phonenumber]@mobile.mycingular.com) where I can email stuff and it comes as an sms to my phone.  I just send alerts to it.
Comment: I'll look into this as an option. Would work really well. There's becoming less and less of a difference between receiving emails and receiving texts.
Comment: This is an option almost all, if not all, of the major cellular providers have.
Answer: You can use Skype4Py, will work anywhere. You can either integrate in your scripts, or use command line utility.
Comment: This looks like a really nice and simple way to get SMS text messaging up and running.
Answer: i'm using Siemens Cellular Engine TC35 Terminal connected over serial port to linux server. to send SMSes i use scmxx.
in my case i have nagios monitoring some servers and custom alerting scripts that dispatch messages to people who are on-call at given time. you can skip this part and just have cron job polling you oracle [ message que ? ]. make sure that no two scmxx are executed at the same time - since one of them will fail to get access to serial port.
you can also talk with your gsm operator - they probably have some sms gateway reachable from internet. i've used such service from polish operator plusgsm - they have web-services api reachable via https. they charge separately for access to the service and per each sms sent.
Answer: Using GSM terminal such as TC35 mentioned by pQd gives you the reliability = you can request delivery confirmation receipt and get it only when the SMS is delivered to the user's terminal.
When the shit really hits the fan, you can also dial out to the number and wake up the poor guy...
Sending emails is for sure not reliable and I don't know about Skype.


Which activities offer the most professor XP per activity point?

Question: I'd like to maximize my professor level as early as possible to max out my availiable supply of activity points. What activities in the monastery offer the most professor XP per activity point I spend on them?
Answer: Tl;dr: Tournaments > Choir Practice/Sharing a Meal > Cooking. Faculty Training gives no XP. Gardening yields XP at zero activity point cost, but throttled to once per week. Fishing is effectively infinite/limited by bait, not AP.
Regardless of which of the many actives you do, increasing your professor level will be time consuming and take a good bit of grinding. However, the reddit community has a collection of all the activities and the amount of experience they provide.
Fishing
Fishing provides some experience, and does not consume any activity points. So this can be a grindy way to increase your professor level, given you have the patience. The experience that is provided varies on the fish that is caught.

T. Loach, A. Herring, W. Trout, A. Goby, C. Crayfish: 10xp
Q. Loach, A. Pike, C. Gar: 20xp
Bullhead, Golden Fish: 30xp
Platinum Fish: 40xp

In addition to reddit, this guide recommends this route through breeding season. You can check whether or not it is breeding season by the fishing icon on the calendar. During this season, you have the chance to obtain multiple fish with a single bait. This will increase the amount of experience relative to the number of fish you catch.
Gardening
Gardening will provide between 100xp and 300xp, depending on the cultivation you select when planting the seeds. The downside to this though is that you can only cash in the experience the next time you visit the monastery.
Cooking/Eating Meals
Regardless of motivation or support levels, sharing and cooking meals will provide 200xp and 150xp respectively. However, since this costs activity points, it's recommended to use them sparingly with units you which to build motivation and support with.
Choir
Regardless of motivation or support levels, participating in choir practice will provide 200xp.
Tournament
Winning the weekly tournament will provide 300xp. Unlike other activities, this one is repeatable! So you can continually obtain 300xp for each activity point you use
Random Items
Occasionally you can find items - such as books, tea leaves, or food - around the monastery. On the map, these are indicated by a blue sparkle (just like lost items). When you pick these items up, you will gain some tidbits of information and anywhere between 100xp and 500xp
Instructing
Towards the beginning of each month, you are given the chance to answer questions some of your students may have. You are guaranteed at least 1000xp for answering the question. If you answer correctly and the student's motivation increased by 50 points instead of 25, you will obtain 1200xp instead.
Comment: The Fishing section could be clarified a little. The event is called "Fistful of Fish." The best strategy for increasing your professor points is to unlock the merchants as soon as possible, then buy every possible fishing bait each month. The Fistful of Fish event occurs on day 10 of month 8 and day 7 of month 12. When these events happen, use up all your fishing bait on those days. The event means every bait will catch at least two fish, sometimes up to four, thus more than doubling the exp gained compared to fishing normally. As ever, reject the first and second fish if blue.
Comment: Great info! I edited in a Tl;dr to more effectively surface the specific information I was asking for. Thanks!
Comment: And I *think* the lost items piece is slightly off - I've never gotten xp for returning a lost and found item, but I've found books lying around the monastery that yield xp - the blue sparkles look the same as lost items, as well as the same as the random food and seed and tea drops you occasionally find scattered around the place.


Why gate capacitance in mos data dependent?

Question: I dont understand this page in my book. According to it , if voltage values at drain and source are inverted(to the gate input as shown in case 1), it has highest capacitance. how exactly is gate capacitance data dependent?
Answer: In the inverting configuration the Cgd component 'looks like' a larger capacitor connected to ground because you must supply charge to change the voltage across Cgd from +Vin to -Vdd, rather than just fron +Vin to 0.
So it might effectively double that component of the capacitance if the swings are the same. The same thing applies to other capacitances and other terminals of the device. See Miller Effect.
Comment: thanks! you are so right.....miller effect!!!gosh it didnt click me


How do I find Shadowmere again if I lose her?

Question: I dismounted Shadowmere during a fight in the woods and became separated from her.  Now I can't find her.  Is there any way to find her without wandering aimlessly through the woods?
Answer: This is a tricky one as it's possible to actually bug out Shadowmere and have her disappear from the game completely.
A couple of different steps to try:

Fast Travel to a known location, like a stables. She may appear with you.
Travel to Shadowmere's "home" at Fort Faragut.
Enter a town and leave again, have a look in the stables. She may be stabled there.

As I said, it is possible to completely lose Shadowmere. If your on PC there is a console command that will spawn a new instance of her next to you, but I don't know it off the top of my head.
Hope it works for you!
Answer: Fast-Travel back to Fort Farragut, and walk right up to the main doors to go in and Shadowmere will be standing there waiting for you.
Shadowmere should always be waiting for you there if you get separated.
Comment: That was it.  Accept to Alastair, though, for being first with other options as well. +1 though.  Thanks!
Answer: Use a console command to spawn her right in front of you!
If you're using the PC version press ~ to open up the console command and then enter the following directive:
<code>player.PlaceAtMe 00032BF4 1
</code>
This will spawn 1 Shadowmere right in front of you. You can also spawn any other horse you want, just look up the console codes on the Fandom site / UESP / ESP.
Answer: Shadowmere respawns allways into Ft.Faragut, but ONLY when she´s UNARMORED. If you got HorseArmor addon - than you need seek for shadowmere´s RefID ...  that may be possibly 0x002122  So - open console, type: player.moveto 0x002122 enter.  Oh, that x there means code for refID of yer armrd shadmre...  If yer horsie is naked - just open console and type: player.moveto 00032BF5 enter ...
Even may try to type: enable 00032bf5 enter. That gives to you new shadowmere, yea can than ride her to impSity and buy at stableork one armor again ...  etc...


What does a new mod need to know?

Question: I'm a new mod. I've read the Moderator Cheat Sheet and most of the FAQ for Stack Exchange sites. What else should I read to familiarize myself with the new role?
Comment: Isn't there some mod team from SE that handles this once you get the mod title plus a room full of mods that talk about moderation all of the time? There is a comment on the first link you posted, you should read it. I'm really not seeing the point of this question other than making yet another list of community mod faq X question.
Comment: @phwd So, you prefer we have exactly the same discussion _every_ time a new mod arrives?
Comment: @Yannis I'm saying what I'm saying the way it was meant to be said when I say it. There is way too much information in the TL, given by the mod team and meta for this question to exist. I'm reading the answers already and they already look like a new FAQ. I can make a book by now.
Comment: You mean you want those links updated?
Comment: Read the context in the TL. Basically, I'm trying to get the hang of moderatorship.
Comment: So a new mod will have to backtrack in the chatroom for the context of this request?
Comment: Well, what goes on in there stays in there.
Comment: What don't you think the cheat sheet covers? Or is it more of wanting to know what you should do today as a new mod with such powers of buttery necks?
Comment: @random The latter.
Comment: @phwd - Meta might not be the best place for this, but I think Anna's idea of a more verbose moderator handbook could be quite useful. With the number of sites coming online and regular elections being held on established ones, we're going to keep seeing new moderators. I know that I had to stitch together how things work from saved chat logs that were hard to unearth, scattered Meta posts, and many questions to existing moderators. Some tools I had to figure out just by playing with them. A central, detailed, non-public moderator guide could be really helpful in my opinion.
Answer: You may find the Moderator FAQ helpful. There are links there to additional reading, descriptions of some of the tools, etc. I personally prefer it to the cheat sheet, but to be fair that's partially because the FAQ also links to the cheat sheet, so I only have to remember one URL. :)
Beyond that, I wouldn't worry too much about reading more. Just jump in and try a few things out, and if you have specific questions, drop by the Teacher's Lounge.
Almost anything you do (a notable exception is deleting users) is fully reversible, so there's little pressure, and trying to absorb everything in one go is likely to be futile anyway. There is quite a bit of information to go through.
That being said, I've had a "basic guide to SE2.0 moderation" on the back of my mind for a while now and as we grow and attract folks from outside the SE network, it's edging closer to the front of my mind. I can't make any promises on the ETA, quality, or anything like that at this point, though.
Comment: I've never seen that FAQ before.
Comment: @Luke Good thing I linked it then. :) It and the cheat sheet were created at roughly the same time, when folks couldn't quite agree on which format this "thing to help moderators" should take. I added a link back to the FAQ from the cheat sheet, so now the circle of links is complete.
Answer: ##Meta
I know that I'm stating the bloody obvious, but the first thing you should familiarize yourself with is your site's Meta.
##Moderator specific resources

Moderator Newsletter
The newsletter provides general guidance for moderators, including short introductions to new moderator only features, changes in SE policy, etc. As a new moderator it wouldn't hurt if you caught up with older posts.

Moderator Agreement & A Theory of Moderation
Obviously you've already read them, but it wouldn't hurt to take a look at them every once in a while, just to remind yourself of the basics.

Bookmarked conversations in Teacher's Lounge

##General resources

FAQ for Stack Exchange sites
You've already mentioned it, but I'd like to point out that it's probably the most useful general resource. One of your main responsibilities will be to help your site's users use the site, and a lot of our features are not always obvious.

Blog posts
The following blog posts provide thorough explanations on why some questions are generally considered "not constructive" and/or "not a real question" across the network:

Good Subjective, Bad Subjective, and its follow up Real Questions Have Answers
Q&A is Hard, Let's Go Shopping!

Keeping up with the SE blog _in general_ will be useful, but these three blog posts are the one's you'll find yourself quoting the most.
Answer: One thing that took me some time to wrap my head around is that many questions that you could possibly think to ask, even as a moderator, most likely have already been asked and answered. Therefore, I generally try to make it a point to search for my question on Meta Stack Exchange first to see if the issue is covered.
This makes me feel like, when I enter the Teacher's Lounge, I can say what I've tried and/or show research effort. ;)
If the information I find seems like it might be outdated, or if the material isn't clear, or if I'm just plain not able to find it, then I'll ask in the Teachers Lounge chat.
What's amazing about being a moderator on Stack Exchange is that Meta Stack Exchange contains a wealth of knowledge. The Q&A advantage also extends to the Q&A site about Stack Exchange. SE eats its own dogfood!
Another thing to consider is, if the issue isn't a privacy issue or something that you shouldn't share from the moderator agreement, you are encouraged to ask your own community. The Genealogy and Family History users know your site best, and for questions about what to do with a question, how to edit it, should it be closed/reopened, if you ask your community via chat or your meta, it will help keep them involved, which is essential for building a successful Stack Exchange site.

What does a new mod need to know?


GFCI keeps randomly tripping/ exposed wiring in breaker box

Question: I've been having multiple random trips at my GFCI outlet in my food trailer. I have cleaned the outlet and made sure no moisture/ dust was present. I also rechecked the wiring on this outlet and it's fine. Could something in the box/ or the light plugged into it be causing the trips? I've tried everything and it keeps tripping every week or so. On this circuit are 2 roof mounted outlets, both are GFCI, both enclosed in weatherproof boxes, with 1 LED Outdoor floodlight plugged in (3 plugs unused).
Comment: I am concern about the wires that seem to supply power to that box.  They seem to be 12 gauge the same as for all those 20 amp breakers.
Comment: If this is in the USA, there's a whole lot of weirdness going on.  In addition to @crip659's comment about a bunch of breakers being fed from 12 ga wires, the top right, and two right side conduits only have black and bare ground.  if they're not 240V, then that's wrong as well.  In trying to trace those black wires, it looks like some come from other cables, and some from breakers.  Personally, I wouldn't touch it with a 10' pole while energized.
Comment: What else is plugged into that circuit?
Comment: Only 1 outdoor LED spot light. And the GFCI plug that trips is housed on the roof of the food trailer and is in a weatherproof box, free of moisture and dust. This outlet was installed by the builder of the trailer for exterior lighting. This is one of two outlets on the roof on the same circuit, and they are both GFCI plugs in weatherproof boxes. All other appliances and lights are on other circuits (which haven't been an issue.)
Comment: Thank you for the response.. Both of the ports at the top right are going to switches, top right is a light switch, and right below is the knob switch for the hood exhaust. We have a 30 amp RV plug with wiring coming in (bottom middle conduit)
Comment: 30 amps require 10 gauge wires at minimum.   If 10 gauge okay, but it does not look like 10gauge in the picture.
Answer: Things got a bit sidetracked by "food trailer", implying "refrigerator" and "motors" and so on. But the latest edit is the key:

On this circuit are 2 roof mounted outlets, both are GFCI, both enclosed in weatherproof boxes, with 1 LED Outdoor floodlight plugged in (3 plugs unused).

Plain and simple, outdoor GFCIs can trip a lot. Even with waterproof boxes. Why? Condensation. Which varies a lot by location, but can definitely trip a GFCI, either in the "waterproof box" or in the light fixture (box or fixture itself).

Make sure you do not have any non-metallic, non-waterproof cable running outside. That's a code violation and likely to lead to GFCI trips.
Unless you need the outdoor receptacles for something else, replace the outdoor receptacles with closed junction boxes and hardwire the lights.
If you do need receptacles, replace the GFCI/receptacle with weather-resistant simple receptacles.
Either replace the breaker for the circuit with a GFCI/breaker (if available) or install a GFCI/dead front (no receptacle, just GFCI and Test/Reset buttons) or a GFCI/receptacle in the circuit indoors with the wires to the outdoors connected to the load side of the GFCI.
Answer:
There can be voltages induced into an object, particularly outdoors, that could trip a GFCI.

Ground currents can be caused by voltage between a power-line transformer and the house. For example, if there is a large current drawn by a house-hold appliance, even on another circuit, there could be a small voltage on the ostensibly grounded neutral, relative to the earth. Does the GFCI trip when a large load is drawn such as from a table saw or washing machine?
lightning, even at a fair distance, can induce a current. Doe the GFCI trip during storms?
A radio transmitter in the vicinity can induce currents. Any radio amateurs around?

Electric motors commonly produce a surge when starting or stopping, which can cause a GFCI to trip. Refrigerators have electric motors to drive the compressor. A food trailer likely has a refrigerator.

You can add a snubber.

You can use a specialized GFCI, e.g. Class C, if code allows it.

Workaround: install a freezer alert that signals you inside the house when the GFCI shuts. Not a great idea, though... what if you're not at home (or you are, but it's 4 AM when it sounds)?

You definitely do need GFCI protection for an outdoor device!
The box wiring might not appear neat looking, but I see no obvious issue. It is unlikely that there is any fault in it. If you question it, have a licensed electrician check it out.
Comment: This circuit has only 2 outlets and has an outdoor LED spotlight plugged into it. This outlet was installed by the builder of the trailer for exterior lighting. This is one of two outlets on the roof on the same circuit, and they are both GFCI plugs in weatherproof boxes. All other appliances and lights are on other circuits (which haven't been an issue.)
Comment: You should edit the question to include *what* devices are on that circuit.


In cities Skylines, can two-lane one-way roads be upgraded to three-lane one-way highways?

Question: I'm running into troubles planning a city ahead, because you don't get highways until 2600 population, and by that time, I kind of just expand into the area where I wanted my highway to be. At first, I thought I'd run it underneath the city, but after a couple failed planning attempts, I learned that I need to dezone the way. Can I lay down a one-way road ahead of time, and then upgrade it to a highway later?
Answer: Any road can be upgraded (or downgraded) to any other road - including highways - as long as you have the money and have the new road type unlocked
Bear in mind that any buildings on a non-highway road will lose their road connection, and any zoned tiles will also dezone, when you upgrade to a highway.
Answer: Yes, as HorusKol says, you can simply upgrade them by using the "!" button (in amongst "straight", "curved" and "freeform").
However, when laying out the city, take special care to leave space around the roads  you plan to upgrade, and don't attempt any close/tight intersections.  The 3-lane highway is quite a bit wider than a 2-lane road, and this will have 1 of 3 effects when you upgrade:

Demolishable things like ordinary buildings or power lines will light up in orange when you hover over the section, and will be demolished when you click.  Make a pass afterward to fix any broken power lines or pedestrian paths (especially underpasses).
Un-demolishable things like roads and buildings that you paid to build (e.g. fire stations) will glow red when you hover.  You cannot upgrade until you relocate or manually demolish all of these.
Sometimes, road intersections will not like the change, will glow red and prevent the upgrade.  Usually, you can fire up the bulldozer, demolish the conflicting roads, do the upgrade, and then re-connect the other roads.  Sometimes it just doesn't work.
Comment: Just like in real life, once a city has grown into its road system, it's hard to upgrade it!


Do numbers in an account number represent anything?

Question: For example Is it possible to understand what the currency of an account is from the account number. Is there a global standard for this or all banks have their own ?
Answer: All banks have their own standards. Some Bank use different series of numbers for different currencies. Some Banks use different series to determine local vs non local currencies.
The practise also varies from country to country
Answer: If you're using an IBAN then the first two characters mark the country of origin, which will also indicate the currency (but not with certainty, since once can have foreign-currency accounts). The rest is typically based on old national standards, and there every country has its own, and in many each bank also has its own rules.


Neckties curling in the tip area

Question: How do I un-curl the tip area of my necktie? Or, is there something I can sew onto tip area of necktie to keep it straight?
Answer: You should try ironing your necktie. Choose the right setting on the iron for the material; in particular your iron should be relatively cool for silk. When ironing, use a "pressing cloth" to insulate the tie from the iron, preventing scorch marks and stains from transferring from the iron to the tie. You can purchase pressing cloths made from Teflon, e.g., or you can make your own from parchment paper (which you might have in your kitchen … now I never use a baking sheet without parchment) or muslin.  In a pinch you can use a pillowcase or sheet.
Iron the back of the tie first, checking frequently that the process doesn't discolour the tie.
When the ironing is completed, try flattening the tie under books.
Comment: You can also use 1 or 2 layers of kitchen towel as an ironing cloth (either the disposeable paper towels or a clean cloth towel). Soak the towel in water and wring as much of the water out, then flatten the towel and lay it over the tie. The added water (steam) helps to increase the effect of the ironing without increasing the temperature. Press the iron directly down without moving it around to avoid pulling the fabric of the tie out of alignment.
Answer: Neckties curling in the tip area?
Ironing is one method, I would recommend if used in conjunction with the use of some form of starch spray. It should stiffen the tip of your tie in place!

Starching your clothes adds crispness and structure, providing body to cotton and linen items. It also creates a higher resistance to wrinkling and soiling. Using laundry starch will also ease ironing. Durable synthetics can be "starched," but should not be be treated with grocery brand fabric starch spray.
Starching has a long history, but it didn't really become in vogue until the 16th century. Thanks to Elizabethan high society, the rise of lace and ruff collars, and the demand for professionally-laundered clothing starching clothes became a staple in the laundry routine. While starching linen and other fabrics has ancient roots, it had fallen out of practice until recently.
Customers want to know: "can you starch rayon?" or "can you starch wool?" amongst other fabrics. To cut the confusion and to help you look more polished, we've put together the following guide. Discover how to keep wrinkles at bay longer, learn how starch acts as a stain-protective barrier, and much more.
If you're looking for the best fabric starch for ironing clothes, linens, and fabrics , you have a lot of options, including, Stiffen Up, a cornstarch, fresh-scented, non-aerosol spray that's safe for cottons, linens, and even synthetic fabrics. The best part? You can save money on our ironing starch by only buying one spray with dual purposes.It is an excellent starch spray for clothes. - Starching

There are many brands on the market and you can even make your own!

Brillo Basics 12 Oz. Aerosol Spray Starch

Neckties curling in the tip area


Solubility of metal halides

Question: Are LiBr and LiCl ionic or covalent? Are they soluble in water? Some texts say they are partially soluble in water and in organic solvents also. Or can it be believed that they have more of a covalent character than ionic character ?
Comment: You are asking too many questions. I'm gonna answer about the covalent character in $\ce{LiCl}$ & $\ce{LiBr}$
Answer: $\ce{LiCl}$ and $\ce{LiBr}$ are ionic compounds with a significant covalent character. This is due to the strong polarising power of $\ce{Li^{+}}$ cation. This polarising power is due to its large charge to mass ratio.
$\ce{Li^{+}}$ pulls the electron cloud of the halogen, hence resulting in a covalent character. The covalent character is more in $\ce{LiBr}$ than $\ce{LiCl}$ as $\ce{Br^-}$ is larger in size, hence valence shell is held comparatively loosely.

This is what essentially happens.
Answer: $\ce{LiCl}$ is hygroscopic. If stored in not well tight container, it gradually absorbs water from air up to the point it creates a solution. I suppose $\ce{LiBr}$ can be similar.
The ion $\ce{Li+}$ is very small with strong electrostatic field that attracts electron pairs of water to form the coordinate bonds.

Solubility of metal halides


what's the difference between those two ways to initialize fields in Java?

Question:
Assign value to field at the same time with field declaration
Assign value to field in the constructor?
Answer:
What's the difference between those two ways to initialize fields in Java?

Not much! The main difference is that if you assign it at the point of declaration, it will apply to all constructors. That is, there's no way you can forget to add the initialization to any future constructors.
Have a look at the official Initializing Fields trail.
May be worth noting that if you initialize the fields at the declaration, it happens before the constructor starts executing.
As a rule of thumb, I usually initialize the "dead simple" fields at the declaration (when there is no doubt what the initial value should be). This "cleans up" For instance
<code>class SomeClass {

    List<Integer> currentNumbers = new ArrayList<Integer>();
    int counter = 0;

    // ...
}
</code>
while as if there is the slightest chance that I may want different behaviors in different constructors, I leave it to the constructor.
Comment: Note that it happens before the real body of the constructor starts executing, but *after* any call to `super(...)`.
Comment: Another difference might be the order in which the fields are initialized.
Comment: The first one is for creating default factory object and the second is for specialized factory object.
Answer: In both cases, the value will only be assigned after the superclass constructor has executed.
For the first option, you have to be able to determine the value without reference to any constructor parameters.
For the second option, you'll need to assign the value in every constructor overload.
Basically I tend to favour the second option when the value depends on constructor parameters (usually that's all I would want it to depend on) and the first option when the value will be the same for any newly initialized instance. I tend not to mix and match for a single field, using an initializer with the declaration and also assigning it in some constructor overloads, but even that can be useful occasionally. (Imagine a collection which has a size of 0 for most constructors, but has one constructor which takes an initial set of values.)
While you can refer to other instance members in variable declarations, I prefer not to - calling instance methods when your object is only partially initialized is brittle, and referring to other variables relies on the variable ordering, which feels ugly to me.
Comment: Your second statement is wrong. I can do `int i = 1; int j = i;`.
Comment: @aioobe: Ick. Thanks, will correct. (You can't in C#, which confused me.)
Answer: (1) is a syntax sugar for (2) (with the exception of static fields)
Answer: It does exactly the same, just at different times in the object instantiation life-cycle. Have a look here for more information.
Answer: In the first case the field will be created when the class is initialised and assigned directly the value you hace declared for it, while in the second case the field will be created and assigned a default value (null if it's an object, 0 if it's an int, etc.) and then assigned the correct value when the constructor is executed. Of course practically there's usually not much difference for you since the result in both cases is the same: when you create an instance of this class after the constructor returns the field is initialised correctly. I guess the first approach would be more usefull if you have more than one constructors and a field which should have the same value regardless of which constructor has been called.


DNSSEC NSEC3 opt-out

Question: Can someone please explain, in simple language, the meaning of opt-out flag in the NSEC3 RR. I did read RFC 5155 and understand nothing.
Answer: NSEC3 records can be created in one of two different ways: for all delegations, or just for secure delegations.  The opt-out flag tells you which method is in use.  The reason for the flag is to allow very large zones primarily made up of delegations (i.e. TLDs) to not have to generate NSEC3 records and their corresponding RRSIG records for every single delegation.  This is important a TLDs like .com with ~100,000,000 delegations; signing every single delegation would make an extremely massive zone file!
There is no difference between secure delegations when the opt-out bit is set or not.
For insecure delegations without the opt-out bit set, you get the delegating NS records plus the NSEC3 and RRSIG for that delegation.  Here is an example for house.gov, which is an insecure delegation (no DS record provided) in the .gov zone, which does not use the opt-out bit:
<code>;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 9019
;; flags: qr rd; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 0, AUTHORITY: 4, ADDITIONAL: 3
;; WARNING: recursion requested but not available

;; OPT PSEUDOSECTION:
; EDNS: version: 0, flags:; udp: 1472
;; QUESTION SECTION:
;www.house.gov.         IN  A

;; AUTHORITY SECTION:
house.gov.      86400   IN  NS  chyron.house.gov.
house.gov.      86400   IN  NS  mercury.house.gov.
56j5jp60kq681hl5vtv287p7s16spmcp.gov. 86400 IN NSEC3 1 0 8 4C44934802D3 56K48N2V1IV9H7F4HJ05N62QI9C29JV2 NS
56j5jp60kq681hl5vtv287p7s16spmcp.gov. 86400 IN RRSIG NSEC3 7 2 86400 20120516040019 20120511040019 35464 gov. OlOx3rG7ShAptVt1XTqcXLOtInxEqyfg1b6+vBlWiqSBZ8pkfk/IOFOm 49lbKkrjY2ibw98GaMdjUYCUUDKOX+eTe+HTfxginIfJ3FWOxB+TPFn1 /UEu4QAgEkWdgpT6NbCge9vWnhSxTCYNxTolVuhWq+sp59zodbAMERVi rIdFyoNpX1zijU1tjm9j8a+jFeN7tjf2fgzJQPpk/qNMgmgfp2GerPUX 5kVkhjoXPgRkLmy2W5PwbgWP4zOTRFuLxz0PsRfoqLUHYYEXPMQ0jimW ESl1LDRnHjdQDTD1qYPBCiVNxufaewZMGhTwP901CH3FLr6Gku7ptYkD 5ukEFQ==
</code>
If we calculate the NSEC3 hash given a salt of 4C44934802D3 and 8 extra iterations, it is an exact match due to the fact that an NSEC3 records is generated for every delegation:
<code>$ nsec3.py -i 8 -s 4C44934802D3 house.gov
56J5JP60KQ681HL5VTV287P7S16SPMCP house.gov
</code>
For insecure delegations with the opt-out bit set, you will not get an NSEC3 record which provides a list of resource record types available for that domain.  Instead you get a "closest encloser proof," as described in section 7.2.1 of RFC 5155:
This example is an insecure delegation within the .com zone, which uses the opt-out flag:
<code>;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 48336
;; flags: qr rd; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 0, AUTHORITY: 9, ADDITIONAL: 6
;; WARNING: recursion requested but not available

;; OPT PSEUDOSECTION:
; EDNS: version: 0, flags: do; udp: 512
;; QUESTION SECTION:
;www.yahoo.com.         IN  A

;; AUTHORITY SECTION:
yahoo.com.      172800  IN  NS  ns1.yahoo.com.
yahoo.com.      172800  IN  NS  ns5.yahoo.com.
yahoo.com.      172800  IN  NS  ns2.yahoo.com.
yahoo.com.      172800  IN  NS  ns3.yahoo.com.
yahoo.com.      172800  IN  NS  ns4.yahoo.com.
CK0POJMG874LJREF7EFN8430QVIT8BSM.com. 86400 IN NSEC3 1 1 0 - CK0RFQAOES8CTVNVNH4G6Q85NOQAQ8I9 NS SOA RRSIG DNSKEY NSEC3PARAM
CK0POJMG874LJREF7EFN8430QVIT8BSM.com. 86400 IN RRSIG NSEC3 8 2 86400 20120515041703 20120508030703 23339 com. RiL6MRN/fPVBjpyANDKurwSgdwgkdsRdB4ADWK7YTJeY2KNnBpjOX+FT +2a/XZR2ylP+G47L8k+DrJCHuAkr1wOYcOj7goiqErDwu+Cm5HZosAL2 EyRqNOHHgTDXlG6PGgyEe2DO0jWgmkyYX7+o0jpYP0m6QNDaRuf166np nkA=
GP1945PGQIOH4O61BM3RUL2EVN04SPIA.com. 86400 IN NSEC3 1 1 0 - GPLVOUV0V27L8DPOOBNLQU1VHFRMMPUT NS DS RRSIG
GP1945PGQIOH4O61BM3RUL2EVN04SPIA.com. 86400 IN RRSIG NSEC3 8 2 86400 20120518085726 20120511074726 23339 com. VmtH/BYw8H98FJM7YLxLIG0cfReERp5eNh3+bCu7EfWgSuWXn6OXdd4b rIMloxDXe9v/fdyd7RqwDiNLMPMhp8wRJOhKcqT0MczHFEUzy0SnXM3d SABY5d1AJr8YJNL+ZOgbiT445gn7HBET3OL+G5MfZPti+yhBnUvGlPYx UQ8=
</code>
The first NSEC3 record is for the com domain itself (it's pretty easy to spot given that it has SOA, DNSKEY, and NSEC3PARAM in the list of RR types.  It is the closest provable encloser.
The second NSEC3 record is to "cover" yahoo.com.  This is to prove that an NSEC3 record for yahoo.com does not exist, as it is not a secure delegation.
Here are the calculated hashes for comparison:
<code>$ nsec3.py com yahoo.com
CK0POJMG874LJREF7EFN8430QVIT8BSM com
GPIOV963K81D6QM6IOTOUFUAPRDA6K3V yahoo.com
</code>
Unless you are running a TLD zone or other zone with a huge number of delegations, it is not necessary to use the opt-out flag.
Comment: Yes, the NSEC3 records returned for an insecure delegation in an opt-out zone is very similar to the NSEC3 records you get for an NXDOMAIN response, the only difference is that an NXDOMAIN would also return the NSEC3 record for the wildcard as well.
Comment: I hoped it would be simple, though I finally managed to go through it.  :) Thanks. What I understand now is that NS records which have no corresponding DS records, treated like they don't exist by NSEC3. I.E. when I see opt-out NSEC3, I can still expect NS records, am I getting it right ?

DNSSEC NSEC3 opt-out


zsh: exec format error: cardano-node on MacOS BigSur

Question:
I'm getting this zsh: exec format error: cardano-node
I ran file $(command -v cardano-node)
This returned the following
/usr/local/bin/cardano-node: ELF 64-bit LSB executable, x86-64, version 1 (SYSV), statically linked, stripped
this looks to be correct. So why am I getting "exec format error"
Any help de-bugging would be greatly appreciated.
Answer: Did you compile it on that architecture and version of MacOS?
Can only check for you against version 1.33 compiled on Ubuntu which reports a few of differences which might point to the way you compiled?
ELF 64-bit LSB executable, x86-64, version 1 (SYSV), dynamically linked, interpreter /lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2, for GNU/Linux 3.2.0, BuildID[sha1]=b832d0d517ddc9b6e4d692d4cb2fb6663136e8ae, with debug_info, not stripped

Comment: Thank you for the reply, I'm running this on MacOs BigSur I have an intel i7 processor on the mac. So it is 64 bit is there something else I need to check?  I did the Brew install  with cardano-node version 1.33.0
Answer: Did you install an already build binary or did you build the binary from source? The M1 processors also tend to have slight differences.
For mac I would recommend building your own binaries. This is probably the safest besides also checking a checksum or hash of the already built binaries.
Here's an instructional link on how to build cardano-node and cardano-cli from source:
Building from source on MacOS
Comment: Thank you for the response as it turned out my server instance did not have enough RAM, after upgrading to 16 GB my issues where resolved.


What abilities can Fiora's Riposte parry?

Question: I'm starting to play Fiora more and more, and I've noticed that her parry is a little inconsistent. For example, I've blocked some abilities you would expect to be blocked such as Gangplank's Parley and Miss Fortune's Double Shot, but I've also seen people parry Karthus's Requiem. Is there any way to know what Riposte can and cannot block?
Answer: According to the description of the skill Reposte:

Fiora poises to strike in the target direction and then enters a defensive stance, parrying all incoming non-turret damage and hostile crowd control effects for the next 0.75 seconds.

This indicates that all damage, attacks and abilities are parried.
This Reddit thread indicates that there is a consensus that this is indeed the case.
Comment: It's not quite accurate though. It'll parry any attack which procs on-hit effects, even ultimates like Warwick's Infinite Duress, or even Fiora's own Blade Waltz. (Only the first hit, though)
Answer: It works against all abilities that enhance basic attacks, such as talon's noxian diplomacy.
it also works against abilities that apply on hit effects, like gankplanks parrley, and ezreal's mystic shot.
I don't think it can block any other abilities, and it definitely can't block requiem. That is probably a banshee's vale spell shield, not riposte