Is there a specific name for this cadence melody?

Question:
The trill or any ornamentation is optional but seems like it is usually there. I am familiar with this melody more generally as part of an authentic cadence, but this particular rhythm seems very common in some types of music and I am having trouble figuring out if there is a name for this and from which piece it might be most widely recognized for an average person.
Comment: ... or maybe the closest name for "the practice of adding a trill to the leading tone of a cadence, whether indicated or not" is "cadential trill." I've heard this used in baroque music rehearsals—"Should we omit the cadential trill in measure 11?"
Comment: I'm voting to close as unclear: you mention both "melody" and "rhythm," and I'm honestly not sure whether you're asking about the practice of ornamenting cadences, or about this particular ornament, maybe focusing on the nachschlag. Please use the "edit" button and I'll be happy to remove my close-vote.
Comment: Welcome! Please use the "edit" button to explain a bit more. Are you focusing on the two 16th notes? If so, that's *nachschlag*. Or are you asking about the practice of adding a trill at a cadence? That's a much bigger conversation about performance practice, and doesn't have a particular name.
Comment: This is common in the baroque or classical periods and less common outside of that time.
Answer: JS Bach calls it the Trillo und mordant (trill and mordent):

It is notated in one of three ways (note that baroque composers felt that the use of tr was not always necessary):

Appoggiaturas are used when the composer wants to specify the length of starting and ending notes. If the first upper tone is shorter, there is no need to write a preceding note since trills in the baroque period always start on the upper tone unless specified.
In your case, you would add an appoggiatura since the first upper tone is held for a nontrivial time such as a quarter note. The trill in this case is called an enclosed trill:
Comment: "you would add an appoggiatura": not necessarily.  It depends on when the piece was written.
Comment: Also the trill and mordent need not appear in the melody in question; it could appear on the middle note of a C-B-C cadence, as is presumably the case in the question, but it could also appear on the middle note of A-B-C or C-B-A (or D-B-A for that matter).
Answer: Another post with no clef, key signature, or accompaniment (but the cropped bar lines suggest a lower clef.) I'll assume C major, treble clef, and ending on a root position C chord.
I would say there are two levels of embellishment, the marked trill on B4 solfege TI, and the neighbor motion of B4 A4 B4. If you remove both levels of embellishment, the essence of the line is DO TI DO.
I don't know of a specific, well known name for that melodic movement in a cadence, other than to say it's the soprano part for a perfect authentic cadence, I would call it a neighbor or auxiliary motion to describe the melodic line. The way that neighbor motion is achieve through a subdividing of beats can also be generically referred to as diminution.
Comment: Usually you'd find this do - ti - do as a form of suspended 4th on the dominant or a cadencial tonic second inversion.
Comment: I'm not sure what you're pointing out, but I edited my point about the `C` chord for clarity.
Comment: @Lazy or without a suspension as a ii(6/5)-V-I or IV-V-I progression


Limits of trigonometric functions when x tends to 0

Question: Isn't $\lim_{x \to 0} \frac{\sin 2x^{\circ}}{x^{\circ}}=2$?
But the actual answer doesn't seem to have this rather answers of the form of radians.Where did i go wrong?
Comment: What is the superscript on $x$ for? Degrees?  If it is degrees, then you will have to modify it to radians, which is where the conversionn comes in
Comment: $2$ is the right answer.
Comment: What is the source of the "answers" you refer to? Btw $2$ is correct.
Answer: For an angle of $a$ radians and $x$ degrees it is $\dfrac{a}{\pi}=\dfrac{x}{180}\Rightarrow x=\dfrac{180a}{\pi} $ or $a=\dfrac{\pi x}{180}$
In your limit set $a=\dfrac{\pi x}{180}$. Since $x\to 0$ it will be $a\to 0$ and therefore
$\lim\limits_{x\to 0^{\circ}}\dfrac{sin(2x^{\circ})}{x^{\circ}}=\lim\limits_{a\to 0}\dfrac{sin(2\frac{180a}{\pi})}{\frac{180a}{\pi}}=\dfrac{2\frac{180}{\pi}}{\frac{180}{\pi}}=2$
Comment: If I put into my calculator, while in degree mode,  $\sin(0.02)/0.01$ it gives $0.034907$, or about $2\pi/180$. Your mistake is that the numerator of your limit is $\sin_{deg}(2x^{\circ})=\sin_{rad}(2a)$ so the limit is $\frac{2}{180/\pi}$.
Comment: @Jaap Scherphuis I suppose that $sin_d(2x^{\circ})=sin_r(2a)$ is not actually true. However, there seems to be a difference between the limits $\lim\limits_{x\to0}\dfrac{\sin{(2x^{\circ})}}{x^{\circ}}$ and $\lim\limits_{x\to0}\dfrac{\sin{(2x^{\circ})}}{x}$. The second one is a real number whereas in the first one I suppouse that I have to add units, i.e. the result will be in $1/\text{degrees}$. Your calculator gives $\lim\limits_{x\to0}\dfrac{\sin{(2x^{\circ})}}{x}$ whereas I calculated $\lim\limits_{x\to0}\dfrac{\sin{(2x^{\circ})}}{x^{\circ}}$. The difference  is a factor $\dfrac{180}{\pi}$
Comment: My previous comment was not very clear. I'm saying that $\sin_d(2x^{\circ})=\sin_r(2a)$ is true, and that where you wrote $\sin(2\frac{180a}\pi)$ you are still using the $\sin_d$ function, but that you should be switching over to the $\sin_r$ function instead. So $\sin_d(2x^{\circ})=\sin_d(2\frac{180a}\pi)=\sin_r(2a)$. That is why you get an erroneous $\frac{180}\pi$ in the numerator of your limit. Try it with an explicit value for $x$ and $a$ and you'll see that $\sin(2x^{\circ})=\sin(2\frac{180a}\pi)$ is not changing the parameter value to radians, just rewriting it but still in degrees.
Comment: @Jaap Scherphuis Ok maybe I misread your comment. My apologies. However it would be better if you could write your approach in detail as an answer. I'll try to think about the whole problem again.
Answer: Since you can convert degrees to radians, by use of the formula $a_r = \frac{\pi}{180} \cdot a_d$, the expression becomes:
$\lim_{x \rightarrow 0} \frac{2 \sin(u) \cos(u)}{u}$, where $u = \frac{x\pi}{180}$, so clearly this is also equal to $\lim_{u \rightarrow 0} \frac{2\sin(u) \cos(u)}{u}$. Using the fact that $\lim_{u \rightarrow 0} \frac{\sin(u)}{u} = 1$, the expression becomes $\lim_{u \rightarrow 0} 2\cos(u)$, which is clearly equal to $2$


What do you call the act of increasing the balance on a gift card?

Question: When the credit on a gift card is decreased, we usually call it "redeeming" the gift-card. Even if that leaves the gift card with a positive balance after the transaction.
But what do we call increasing the credit on said gift card? Is it "upgrading the balance"? Or "topping up the gift card"? Or some other turn of phrase?
Answer: Top up seems the usual verb, at least in the UK. I can find this on various websites:
Marks and Spencer: "I've spent the money on my gift card. What can I do with it now? ... You can top it up in store."
Amazon: "When you top up, you purchase an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card in an amount of your choice (between £1 and £1000) that will be automatically added to your Amazon.co.uk Gift Card balance."
Also, a tax advice website, Alexander Myerson & Co: "employers would need to be careful if topping up gift card balances throughout the year (e.g., say an employer gave employees a gift card at the start of the tax year with a balance of £20, and proceeded to top-up each card by £20 per month..."
Comment: Related: [To top up something](https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/479880).
Comment: Not refill like a gas tank or recharge like a cell phone? Maybe replenish like an emergency fund?


Why does electron move in an elliptical path?

Question: According to Sommerfeld's atomic model, an electron moving around a central positively charged nucleus is influenced by the nuclear charge. As a result of which, the electron moves in an elliptical path with the nucleus situated at one of the foci. But how the path of electron becomes circular to elliptical? I've trouble understanding this.
Comment: Well, the model assumed that the area of the ellipse drawn by the orbit of the electron was a quantum property and an integer. While the model did treat the electron-nucleus interaction as a harmonic oscillator, it didn't really model the various forces involved in shaping the orbit - rather reasonably, given that it was known that such motion would result in the electron death spiral anyway. Sommerfeld's electron was known *not* to behave the way free electrons did - the theory is incomplete and not self-consistent.
Comment: You might check out this paper by Manfred Bucher.  Rise and fall of the old quantum theory.  https://arxiv.org/abs/0802.1366.  He discusses exactly your question.
Answer: The Sommerfeld model, and the Bohr model from which it is derived, are toy models developed in an attempt to describe spectral lines in the era before modern quantum mechanics. You might be interested to look at the question Is it possible to recover the old Bohr-Sommerfeld model from the QM description of the atom by turning off some parameters? for more on this.
Electrons do not orbit atoms like planets orbiting a star, so to ask whether their trajectory is circular or elliptical is a meaningless question.
Comment: Why is it meaningless to ask "in this, now outdated, model the path was described as an ellipse.   How, in this outdated model, would one explain a tranisition from circular to elliptical?".   That doesn't strike me as meaningless, it's just a thought experiment that doesn't happen to apply to the world as we know it.
Comment: So what does it mean when they say that atoms near a magnetar are squeezed into long thin cylinders? Wouldn't that imply an elliptical shape? (Not an orbit exactly I know, but still an ellipse rather than a circle.)
Answer: Further to John Rennie's answer, which I wholeheartedly agree with (insofar that the planetary orbit picture is outdated by nearly a century), you might like find the following interesting. If the electron really were like a planetary orbit, then it would generally be an ellipse rather than a circle. The force field has the same functional form as the gravitationl problem: both feature bodies moving in force field directed at one unmoving point (assuming the Sun or the nucleus to be so massive that its movement can be neglected) and the force dwindles with the square of the distances in both cases. If a body is gravitationally (or electrostatically) bound, that is, its kinetic energy is less than that needed to raise its potential energy to the that at a point infinitely far away from the centre, then its path must be an ellipse and a circle is simply one kind of ellipse. A cirular orbit only follows from the very special initial condition that the speed at periapsis (perihelion) is precisely that which makes the gravitational acceleration owing to the Sun precisely equal to the centrepetal force needed to maintain a circular orbit; if otherwise, the orbit is an ellipse.
There is an amusing piece of history that sheds a poignant light on Isaac Newton's "lone wolf" personality: Christopher Wren, Edmund Halley and Robert Hooke were wrestling with problem of how to find what the shape of an orbit in an inverse square, centrally directed force field would be. Christopher Wren had offered a cash prize for the mathematical characterisation and a proof. The scientific world was abuzz with activity trying to answer this question, and Newton had probably known the answer for years, but chose to sit on his discovery. Finally, when Halley visited Newton (one version of this story that I have read had Halley having to bring special white rose plants and carefully chosen wine to coax the irascible, grumpy, cranky genius into even holding a conversation) and asked Newton what he thought the path would be, Newton quipped, utterly without hesitation and with unshaking certainty, that it would be an ellipse. Halley was stunned, and asked Newton how on Earth did he know. Again quipped Newton: "Why, I have calculated it, of course!". Halley asked for a proof. Newton answered with a bit more than that, and it was this very request that prompted Newton to write and publish his famous Principia (at Halley's expense!). Newton would not have published when he did would this meeting not have happened.
See here for one version of the story.
Newton claimed that the inverse square law was "obvious" from his Principia, but in fact this is far from true, at least for non Newtonian mortals like me. The Feynman Lost Lecture (see also the Feynman-biographical Feynman's Lost Lecture: The Motion of Planets around the Sun) was Feynman's attempt to make Newton's assertion obvious, partially by reviewing and "translating" the relevant parts Principia into modern geometric ideas: Feynman found the Principia hard going, for geometric knowledge that was second nature in Newton's time has sunken into obscurity, thus demonstrating how starkly and swiftly ways of thinking about problems shifts with time.
Answer: Considering the way matter waves are associated with all moving particles, it seems inconceivable to me that electrons cannot move in other than elliptical orbits.
Close examination of the harmonics & resonance effects of phase waves & matter waves, it becomes apparent that they need to move in elliptical orbits in order to harmonize the way they do. Group waves it should be remembered are made up of many thousands if not millions of phase waves, these too have to harmonize, unless electrons travel in elliptical orbits, they cannot do that.
Comment: Can you please provide an explanation, or atleast summarize.


Add value in the last of each row in python

Question: i am new in python. i try to add the integer in the end of each row and save that values in new file. here is current code.
    file = open("Task1.txt","r")
    f1 = open("out.txt", "w+")

    for line in file:
      if not line.lstrip().startswith('#'):
         for l in line.split():
               a = l[0]
               b = l[-1]
               l1= a + b
               s = sum(int(num) for num in l1)
              for line1 in line:
                 f1.write(line1)

Comment: Welcome to SO! Please include `Task1.txt`  or hardcode it in assuming it's being read OK. Thanks.
Comment: maybe use `print()` to see what you have in variables - it can help to see what code is doing.
Comment: you canlcuate some value but never write it . And I don't understand why do you use `for line1 in line: f1.write(line1)` which probably write line char-by-char  - you can write all line directly `f1.write(line)`
Answer: In the code above, you need to first ensure that l[0] and l[1] are not strings as the l1 = a + b statement will just concatenate them.
If these are expected to be numbers, you can use:
a, b = int(l[0]), int(l[1])
or better to use:
s = int(l[0]) + int(l[1])
Currently, s = sum(int(num) for num in l1) will add up the digits in l1 and will fail if one of the characters is a letter.
For instance:
If a = '12' and b = '34', l1 will equal 1234, and s will equal 10.
If a = '12' and b = '34a', l1 will equal 1234a, and sum(int(num) for num in l1) will fail as you are trying to make the last character a into an integer.


Installing eOS on Huawei Matebook 14 2020 Ryzen

Question: Anyone able to install eOS on Huawei Matebook 14 2020 Ryzen model, I am having a display and wireless issues.
Answer: I was able to fix the problem by upgrading the kernel to 5.7.1-050701, Graphics issue fixed by just upgrading the kernel but had to install the Realtek driver manually for wireless to work. But right now all working fine.
Comment: where can i get the linux driver for the realtek device currently my matebook is offline i dont have an option to get it online with usb dongle etc.. kind regards milan
Answer: Please install the latest version of linux-firmware which contains it:
<code>wget http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/pool/main/l/linux-firmware/linux-firmware_1.178.3_all.deb
sudo dpkg -i linux*.deb
</code>
reboot


Does the battle between the flesh and the spirit ever get easier?

Question: I am 24 years old. I have been a Christian for 5 years, but was raised in church. For the last two years I have been trying my best to walk out this faith to the best of my ability. I am not trying to brag (honestly), but I spend about 45min-1hour reading my Bible a day. I pray for a long time each morning and periodically throughout the day. I am trying my hardest to live a life that honors God, but I am finding that there is a dichotomy within me. My entire being wants to honor God but it also want to enjoy the pleasures of sin. I have begged God to free me from the sin that has bound me. I just want to know if there will ever be a point in my life that I will not be bound by a particular sin and will be able to walk in freedom.
Comment: Like any library, Christianity Stack Exchange offers great information, but does not offer personalized advice, and does not take the place of seeking such advice from your pastor, priest, or other trustworthy counselor.
Comment: Romans 7:24-8:4.  Take heart brother!  The Apostle Paul himself had the same struggle.  The struggle is proof of the new life.  You are in the process of being delivered and He will not fail who has called you.  Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding.   Do not grow weary in well doing, in due time you will reap.
Comment: Questions of this kind are not suitable for a platform like Stack Exchange, which is academic in nature, nor for SE-Christianity, which is focused on _comparative_ Christianity and is not a 'Christian Site' as such. Feel free to look at my own profile, and at my website (link on the profile). I felt much the same as you seem to, when I was your age. (I am now in my seventies and I assure you : it is still a daily battle to be spiritual in the midst of an evil world.)
Comment: A similar question was put to an 80-year old hermit. He answered: " I am slowly progressing to that state of perfect harmony between the spirit and the flesh. I will let you know when I am there."
Comment: Hear St. Philip Neri (in Maxims and Sayings): ``We ought to fear and fly temptations of the flesh, even in sickness, and in old age itself, aye, and so long as we can open and shut our eyelids, for the spirit of incontinence gives no truce either to place, time, or person.'' Life on earth is a warfare (Job); and Philip Neri again: "Paradise was not made for poltroons."
Comment: Jesus said the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. And that's exactly what your going through.  Don't give up keep fighting, use scripture as a weapon, we are at war. The devil and his angels will stop at nothing to prevent us from receiving the crown of life
Comment: No human (excepting Jesus, and opinions differ on Mary) has ever been without sin. It's simply not possible. Not for Peter, not for Paul, and not for you or me. What is possible, is to be free from sin - to not let it hold you back. Seek forgiveness, and aim for perfection, but realise that you can never get there alone.
Answer: For people for whom there is no battle between the flesh and the spirit, then such people remain spiritually dead in their sins. But for Christians, this truth applies:

"And you hath he quickened [made alive], who were dead in trespasses
and sins. Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of
this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the
spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience... But God,
who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even
when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by
grace ye are saved)." Ephesians 2:1-5 A.V.

Christians are set free from slavery to sin. Sin is no longer their master (Matthew 23:8). But until this miracle of grace is grasped and believed, our tendency to sin will preoccupy us and keep dragging us down. A Christian perspective is to stop looking to self, or to others, but to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. (Read Hebrews 12:1-2.)
The apostle Paul explained the dilemma (which he fully understood, personally).

"Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body
of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ,
we believe that we shall also live with him. ...Likewise reckon ye
also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal
body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof." Romans 6:6-12 A.V.

It's largely about how you view matters, and who you believe. The deceiver would try to keep you down, thinking you are still gripped by sin, when God tells you that you have been liberated from slavery to sin - that Christ is now your master. You look to, and listen to him, not your own feelings, or self, or whispers of the deceiver. Yes, all Christians know times when they sin, but they confess to God and repent, and he gives them grace to rise above that episode. Well, if they believe him. If they doubt him and think he hasn't actually liberated them from slavery to sin, or that his loving forgiveness is limited, they are hardly going to make much headway in Christian living, are they?
We walk by faith, not by sight, which is why we must keep looking unto Jesus. We must believe the promises of God and rejoice in his liberation of us. When we stumble, we must turn in faith to God's loving forgiveness and patient perseverance with us in making us more Christ-like. We stop looking inwardly at ourselves, or around us at this sinful world's allurements, but look up. But if you think that you are still bound by sin, you have fallen for Satan's lies. The shackles of sin have been smashed. Walk away, in faith. It will never be easy, but once our eyes are focused properly on Christ, we will see more clearly that we can do that.
Comment: Up-voted +1. _For a just man falleth seven times, ***and riseth up again***: but the wicked shall fall into mischief._ Proverbs 24:16.
Answer: Victorious Life The verses in the comment above are of help in keeping a true perspective of the Christian life with all its personal and interpersonal struggles. (Romans 7:24-8:4) Paul's statement at the end of his life is appropriate: I have fought a good fight. I have finished my course.
It is noticed that one area of Christian living was left out in the introduction to this question: interaction with fellow Christian brothers.  One does not have to go through life's struggles alone.
We are admonished in the Epistles to...admonish one another...confess our sins one to another...pray for one another...exhort one another...honor one another...etc. Since we are all members one of another in the Body of Christ, we draw strength from one another as we minister to each other!!! A prophetic word...a ministry of deliverance...a discerning of spirits...etc...all ensure our Victory in this life over the "world, the flesh, and the Devil."
Add to this the grace of Christ, the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, and the love of the Father, and we all can live like the Bible, hermeneutically interpreted, says we can live.
The battle, according to the Bible, is not fought according to just our efforts alone; but whether or not it gets easier it does get bearable.
The Christian religion is remarkably different from manmade philosophies of human enrichment, or world religions started by men who are now dead and gone. Christianity is a religion where the Bible informs us of a relationship with the living God who actively interacts with us as we follow Christ...and who compassionately interacts with our human struggles...and Who empowers us with His Holy Spirit to live the Christian life (Acts 1).
Answer: Mathew 26:41

The spirit is indeed willing but the flesh is weak.

That best describes what your are experiencing. Trust me, every believer undergoes this struggle daily because of
Ephesians 6:12

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places

And the way out is to take up the sword of the spirit which is the word of God
Ephesians 6:13

Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God

This struggle is to be expected as spiritual agents in high places will attack us through temptations where they deem us to be weak in the flesh. God urges us to arm ourselves with the sword of the spirit which is the word of God.
Answer: Yes, it does get easier. I am not a mind-reader but having once been a young man, I suspect sexual sin is a big one for the OP (who is 25). Sexual drive diminishes with age, and so this type of sin becomes less of a temptation as natural urges diminish.
Also, if the person is not married and "honoring God" means refraining from fornication, it should get easier once a man has a wife. Paul deals with this question in 1 Cor. 7:

8 To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is good for them to
remain single, as I am. 9 But if they cannot exercise self-control,
they should marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with
passion. 10 To the married I give this charge (not I, but the Lord):
the wife should not separate from her husband...

Putting it more positively, Genesis 2:24 and Matthew 19:5 both say:

A man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife,
and they shall become one flesh.

Conclusion: Sexual sin runs deep in human nature. But sex is also at very core of God's first blessing: "Be fruitful and multiply."  Temptations related to sex do not disappear with age, but they do diminish.  Being surrounded by a loving family provides important protection. But in the end, everyone still sins. For all types of sin, confidence in God's grace is a key element in Christian faith.
Answer: A priest who I knew from youth and later in campus ministry who has recently become my pastor again. After many years of campus ministry, he's came back to parish life with a rather scary realization that as soon as you get to a point where you can deal with sins of the flesh, that were prevalent in the young adults he was ministering to, the sin of avarice takes root.
Fortunately, the cure for both of these, is found in the the Gospel, Mark 9:29, these demons can only be driven out by prayer and fasting. Keeping yourself spiritually poor, doing good works, also help - the simplest way to do this, as the priest I mentioned often would say is, have a large family.

In my personal experience, and this is borne out in recent years by the results that men have had in groups like Exodus90, is that

Having an accountability partner and a support group (of people of the same sex as you)
Eliminating distractions like Internet, social media and cellphones
Praying at least 20 minutes per day
Avoiding alcohol and overeating
Periodic fasting and mortification
Tempering use of video games and television

and if none of that works

Cold showers

Frequent confession, even if you fall again, causes you to really hate sin.  That is a good thing. Sins of the flesh, are ones that seem bad, but are the easiest to forgive.  Dante doesn't even put those who commit them too far down in Hell - not that that is a comforting thought.  Lastly, realizing that God loves you no matter what is incredibly important.  We're all being tried through fire at St. Peter would say.


Restoring 'bloatware' on a Samsung Galaxy S7

Question: I have rooted and customised my phone and I am loving it. I just realised that I have removed without backing up a few of the Samsung bloatware apps (notably the Samsung Keyboard). Is there a simple way to restore these original apps? It's not a great concern unless down the line I need to reset the phone. I am pretty sure the setup wizard will want the Samsung Keyboard.
EDIT - before posting this I should have looked myself. I have found the Samsung Keyboard APK file and apparently can load that.
Answer: Are you still looking for other bloatware? If I'm not wrong, they should be easily downloaded on Samsung app store.
Comment: Thanks, I will look that up. I managed to load the keyboard, but while I am doing this I will save the other packages for restoration.


Why is my 7 year old son still having accidents in his pants?

Question: I have an otherwise normal and active 7 year old son who is having trouble going to the bathroom (#2). He is soiling his pants but seems OK with it. He knows it smells bad and he knows it is uncomfortable. He isn't lazy, either. He'd rather hold it in and have an accident than go to the bathroom. He doesn't care if I get upset about it, or if he gets grounded or not. Why is this happening and how can I stop it?
Comment: Hi, irma, and welcome to the site. We've received a lot of questions on [**encopresis**](http://parenting.stackexchange.com/search?q=encopresis). If you read a few of them and still have questions, would you please add more detail to your question? (How many times/month he soils his pants, for example; what you have tried, if you've seen a doctor, etc. To give you a helpful answer, we will need more detail. Again, welcome.
Answer: I really believe that puishment for this is the wrong way to go, it will only make things worse. Even though it seems like he does not care, he propaply feels ashamed of it. My daughter pretty much had the same problem. She peed in her pants pretty much every day. It seemed like she didn't care, and that she would rather keep on playing than waste the time going to the bathroom. This was really frustrating and sometimes I got mad about it, wich really just made things worse.
Finally I went to see a doctor, whom told me that this is probably because the body didn't get the right signals. The best way to fix it was to teach the body to read those signals. So we got a "peeing watch" with timer vibrating alarm functionality. It was set to 2.5h at first, and after a few weekts about 3.5h. After three months she was "cured". She even stopped peeing in her bed when she was sleeping.
Answer: My wife is the school nurse at a sixth-grade camp. She sees this quite a bit more than you'd expect with 11 year-old kids. Some of them have never used a public restroom, and can't bring themselves to do so. Since camp is five days, four nights, these kids have the same problem your son has.
I'd ask myself if it happens after several hours away from home, of if he won't use the toilet at home either. Then I'd talk to my pediatrician.


What is Fourier transform of space variable? on the similar grounds what is the Laplace transform of the same?

Question: I understand that the transform of time domain is frequency domain and the transformation of time to frequency domain is done by Fourier/Laplace transforms.
I am confused about the transformation of space variables. What is the domain to which we transform in to? I read somewhere that Fourier transform of space variables is momentum and couldn't understand much.
Also, if there be any, what is the difference between both Fourier and Laplace transforms?
Comment: You can think of it as a transformation into complex frequency domain. The pure modes are $e^{st}=e^{\Re s t}\cos(\Im s t)+ie^{\Re s t}\sin(\Im s t)$ for $t \ge 0$. So it can include damped modes and instable exponential increasing modes. That's one way to look at it.
Answer: The Fourier Transform of a spatial variable is no different mathematically from a Fourier Transform of a temporal variable. The mathematics is agnostic to parameter interpretation.
For the Fourier Transform pair for the time-frequency domain are often written
$$F(\omega) = \mathscr{F}(f)(\omega) = \int_{-\infty}^{\infty} f(t) e^{i \omega t} \, dt$$
$$f(t) = \mathscr{F}^{-1}(F)(t) = \frac{1}{2\pi}\int_{-\infty}^{\infty} F(\omega) e^{-i \omega t} \, d\omega$$
while the analogous notation for the spatial-spatial frequency domain are often written
$$F(k) = \mathscr{F}(f)(k) = \int_{-\infty}^{\infty} f(x) e^{i kx} \, dx$$
$$f(x) = \mathscr{F}^{-1}(F)(x) = \frac{1}{2\pi}\int_{-\infty}^{\infty} F(k) e^{-i kx} \, dk$$
Certainly, the only difference between these pairs is symbolic.
However, in physics and engineering, one assigns units to these symbols.  For the time-frequency transform pair, units of time and inverse time are assigned to the canonical parameters $t$ and $\omega$, respectively, and hence the reason we have a time-domain-frequency domain pair.  For example, units could be in seconds and inverse seconds (i.e. radians/second).
When we move to the spatial Fourier Transform, the canonical units $x$ and $k$ are, for example, meters and inverse meters.  The interpretation of inverse meters is that of a "wave number," and represents a spatial frequency for a traveling (or standing) wave.
The interpretation of the spatial Fourier Transform yielding momentum originates in quantum mechanics for which we have the relationship $p=k\hbar$, where $\hbar$ is the Dirac constant or reduced Planck's constant.  Then, letting $k=p/\hbar $, we have
$$F(p) = \mathscr{F}(f)(p) = \int_{-\infty}^{\infty} f(x) e^{i px/\hbar } \, dx$$
$$f(x) = \mathscr{F}^{-1}(F)(x) = \frac{1}{2\pi\hbar }\int_{-\infty}^{\infty} F(p) e^{-i px/\hbar } \, dp$$
where $F(p)$ is called the momentum representation of $f(x)$
Comment: Use \hbar for $\hbar$. I was in the process of writing an answer quite similar to this but gave up on it since it felt more like a physics question to me after I delved into the QM aspect of the duality between momentum space and physical space.
Comment: @CameronWilliams Thanks! I'll edit.
Comment: Thanks man now I have a better understanding now. I would just like to ask that on the similar grounds what will be the interpretation of Laplace transform? As the Laplacian variable is s = (sigma) + i(omega)..In frequency domain "sigma" signifies the transient damping of signal so what is the interpretation in spatial frequency and momentum domain? Does it similarly signify damping?
Comment: @AVyas You're welcome.  My pleasure.  And you're correct.  Whether Laplace or Fourier, the waves can be evanescent.


merit pay accounts

Question: If Brand X creates a merit pay pool to give out merit bonuses or bumps in salary related to merit, can it be decided to use that pool of money for other purposes? For example, if a market study determines that they have to bring a segment of the workforce in line with market pay -- can they use the merit pool to do that?
Comment: In what country? What does your contract say? What are the terms of participating in the "merit pool"?
Answer:
can it be decided to use that pool of money for other purposes?

Changes to a contract need to be agreed upon by all the individuals who insofar as parties to that contract have grounds for objecting to that change.
A promised stimulus or bonus on the basis of merit is a form of delayed compensation contingent on outperforming others and/or reaching a specified benchmark. Note that by "promised" I mean that the condition for higher pay is conveyed to the employees so as to encourage them to work harder.
Once an employee (provided that he is a party to that contract) has worked hard enough or achieve certain results, he becomes entitled to the additional compensation that was proposed to him. At that point, depriving him of that compensation constitutes breach of contract. The outstanding employee may argue that the base salary is too low for his skills set (regardless of market pay) and that therefore he would not have retained employment were it not for the stimulus plan.

merit pay accounts


How to browse a whole website using selenium?

Question: Is it possible to go through all the URIs of a given URL (website) using selenium ?

My aim is to launch firefox browser using selenium with a given URL of my choice (I know how to do it thanks to this website), and then let firefox browse all the pages that URL (website) has. I appreciate any hint/help on how to do it in Python.
Comment: Do you really need to follow all of the links on a website? What is the motivation? What kind of data do you want to get out of the website? Is web-crawling allowed for the website? Does it provide an API? What about external links going to different domains? Why do you need a real browser (selenium)? Thanks.
Comment: I believe Selenium is not appropriate tool for this. Selenium is aimed to provide you with the ability to perform automated testing via UI. If you need a crawler take a look at least at http://www.portent.com/blog/random/python-web-crawler-code.htm or write your own.
Comment: @begueradj an alternate way is writing some javascript code, then save it to a bookmarklet.
Comment: And what does 'browse a whole website' even mean here? Are you looking only for the HTML, or do you need the JavaScript, CSS, images, fonts &  downloads too? How do you expect to interact with this 'super crawler' from Python? In other words: what problem are you trying to solve here?
Comment: @olyv but my final goal is to make firefox running through all the pages (URIs) of a given website (URL): do you think there is a better tool to do it than selenium ?
Answer: You can use a recursive method in a class such as the one given below to do this.
public class RecursiveLinkTest {
    //list to save visited links
    static List<String> linkAlreadyVisited = new ArrayList<String>();
    WebDriver driver;

    public RecursiveLinkTest(WebDriver driver) {
        this.driver = driver;
    }

    public void linkTest() {
        // loop over all the a elements in the page
        for(WebElement link : driver.findElements(By.tagName("a")) {
            // Check if link is displayed and not previously visited
            if (link.isDisplayed()
                        && !linkAlreadyVisited.contains(link.getText())) {
                // add link to list of links already visited
                linkAlreadyVisited.add(link.getText());
                System.out.println(link.getText());
                // click on the link. This opens a new page
                link.click();
                // call recursiveLinkTest on the new page
                new RecursiveLinkTest(driver).linkTest();
            }
        }
        driver.navigate().back();
    }

    public static void main(String[] args) throws InterruptedException {
        WebDriver driver = new FirefoxDriver();
        driver.get("http://newtours.demoaut.com/");
        // start recursive linkText
        new RecursiveLinkTest(driver).linkTest();
    }
}

Hope this helps you.
Comment: It is not a `java` question. The OP asks about solution written in `python`.
Comment: it works alright in java. visits all the links in the website.
Comment: I guess you have programmed it in Java. I will try to translate it into Python.
Comment: Assuming that all the internal links in the website follow a same pattern you can set up a condition stopping the code from clicking on external link. For eg: If your website is http://www.example.com/, then your internal links will have the same in the their url. Hope this helps you
Comment: This program is counting also the external links to the website. How can I avoid that ? I want to browse all the pages of the same website, no external link.
Comment: I am not familiar with python, but I can try in Java.
Comment: Does not the browser crashes since it must be opened and closed for each new URI ?
Comment: Browser does not close as we are navigating from one page to another by clicking on the link and using the back button
Comment: @lost nice answer, but i believe your code might not work if new window opens on clicking on a link.
Answer: As Khyati mentions it is possible, however, selenium not a webcrawler or robot.  You have to know where/what you are trying to test.
If you really want to go down that path I would recommend that you hit the page, pull all elements back and then loop through to click any elements that would correspond to navigation functionality (i.e. "//a" or hyperlink click).
Although if you go down this path and there is a page that opens another page then has a link back you would want to keep a list of all visited URL's and make sure that you don't duplicate a page like that.
This would work, but would also require a bit of logic in it to make it happen...and you might find yourself in an endless loop if you aren't careful.
Answer: I know you asked for a python example, but I was just in the middle of setting up a simple rep o for protractor testings and the task you want to accomplish seems to be very easy to do with protractor (which is just a wrapper around webdriver)
here is the code in javascript:
describe( 'stackoverflow scrapping', function () {
  var ptor = protractor.getInstance();

  beforeEach(function () {
    browser.ignoreSynchronization = true;
  } );

  afterEach(function () {

  } );

  it( 'should find the number of links in a given url', function () {
    browser.get( 'http://stackoverflow.com/questions/24257802/how-to-browse-a-whole-website-using-selenium' );

    var script = function () {
      var cb = arguments[ 0 ];
      var nodes = document.querySelectorAll( 'a' );
      nodes = [].slice.call( nodes ).map(function ( a ) {
        return a.href;
      } );
      cb( nodes );
    };

    ptor.executeAsyncScript( script ).then(function ( res ) {
      var visit = function ( url ) {
        console.log( 'visiting url', url );
        browser.get( url );
        return ptor.sleep( 1000 );
      };

      var doVisit = function () {
        var url = res.pop();
        if ( url ) {
          visit( url ).then( doVisit );
        } else {
          console.log( 'done visiting pages' );
        }
      };

      doVisit();

    } );
  } );

} );

You can clone the repo from here
Note: I know protractor is probably not the best tool for it, but it was so simple to do it with it that I just give it a try.
I tested this with firefox (you can use the firefox-conf branch for it, but it will require that you fire webdriver manually) and chrome. If you're using osx this should work with no problem (assuming you have nodejs installed)
Answer: Selenium API provides all the facility via which you can do various operations like type ,click , goto , navigateTo , switch between frames, drag and drop, etc.
What you are aiming to do is just browsing in simple terms, clicking and providing different URls within the website also ,if I understood properly. Ya , you can definitely do it via Selenium webdriver.
And you can make a property file, for better ease and readiness where-in you can pass different properties like URLs , Base URI ,etc and do the automation testing via Selenium Webdriver in different browsers.
Comment: Can I detect using  `selenium`  the URIs within a given URL (browsing, as you said) ?
Answer: This is possible. I have implemented this using Java webdriver and URI. This was mainly created to identify the broken links.
Using "getElements" having tag  can be get using webdriver once open and save "href" value.
Check all link status using URL class of java and Put it in stack.
Then pop link from stack and "get" link using Webdriver. Again get all the links from the page remove duplicate links which are present in stack.
Loop this until stack is empty.
You can update it as per your requirements. Such as levels of traversing, excluding other links which are not having domain of the given website etc.
Please comment if you are finding difficulty in implementation.
Comment: @begueradj Browse means open in Browser - So the process of opening the URL is similar to browsing the site because we are taking the URL's from the web page not adding directly. Once try implementing this approach and let me know if you have any different requirements.
Comment: If i launch firefox with each URI through `get`, would not firefox freeze and won't respond ?
Comment: @begueradj you are not initializing/starting the browser you are just opening the url in browser and then using the page to get the URL's.
Comment: My aim is that firefox browses over all the URIs of the URL


Can I request a small sponsor icon change?

Question: I read Stack Overflow daily at work, and often use it as a resource; I love it.  Today I noticed a new sponsor logo — the kind that appears next to the tags — it looks like capital D with a white rainbow shooting out of it on a dark blue background.  It might be a silly question, but can the dark blue be changed to a lighter shade?  I find that the contrast, compared to the "lightness" of the rest of the site, really affects readability.  Honestly, it's like my eyes cannot focus on anything else.  Please don't take this as whining, it's really just an honest request/constructive criticism.
Comment: They have had sponsored tags for a long time now.  And when they first rolled out people complained.  The "Adobe' tag has far more contrast than the new on.  However, way more people will notice this new sponsor since it is on the most popular tag.
Comment: It's weird because the adobe tag has never bothered me, but you are probably right in that there are a lot more of this new one.  I don't mind sponsors having tags (in fact I like it) its just that this is the first one that seemed to take away from the usability of the site so I wanted to speak up and just see if anyone else felt the same.
Comment: What tag/logo is this that you're referring to? Can you provide a link?
Comment: Do you perhaps mean one of these logos? http://stackoverflow.com/questions/tagged/c%23
Comment: @Ether: Yes that is the one Im speaking about
Answer: Companies use specific coloration to signify themselves, not general concepts. The "blue" color that a company uses in its logo will always be the same shade, as that locks in what that logo is. So it's not going to be that company's logo if they use a lighter shade of blue. I don't believe Stack Overflow gets to be in charge of what another company's logo is, so I don't think they get to change the color "behind the back" of the sponsor.
Consequently, contrast is entirely the purpose of adverts in order to catch your eyes. Not to say it's good or anything, but I suppose it's doing exactly its job, aye?
Comment: But Stack Overflow could reject a logo if it is deemed too intrusive (like an animated ad).
Comment: @mmyers They can reject an entire logo, but I don't think Stack Overflow is allowed to directly modify the logo themselves. It's technically misrepresentation.
Comment: Companies are VERY serious about their logos being presented correctly, so unless the company already established that their logo is allowed to be presented in such a way (many of them have sizeable branding rulebooks) it is unlikely that they would change it.
Comment: I might be wrong, of course - there could be a clause in the agreement with the sponsor which says that Stack Overflow is allowed to modify the logo beyond what is provided by the sponsor. But I sincerely doubt this is the case.
Comment: No, I don't expect them to modify the logo. But they could ask the sponsor if the sponsor could come up with a less intrusive version to put on the tags. (I don't expect that to happen either except on a truly egregious case.)
Comment: @mmyers I see. ♪
Comment: I think they could invert the colors like some of the other sponsors do.  If you look at their other image (http://sstatic.net/so/img/tag-logo-devexpress.png) they have a blue 'D' on a white background.  It would make their tag sponsorship icon more like Telerik or Redgate.


Is Tor secure if exit node is compromised?

Question: Ok, so let's say exit node has been compromised, or it is run by NSA or whatever. Can they still track you? They obviously can see the last IP address of the server, but what about the one server before, and finally your initial IP address? If I understand correctly, it would still be secure (obviously if you don't send a POST request over HTTP or something saying "hey, my name is bill, and my ip is 811111.1111").
Answer: In an ideal world, no. If the exit node is compromised it can only see the source tor node, the traffic destination (and potentially the traffic itself, if unencrypted).
However it's not simply a matter of you not sending "stupid" traffic such as logging in your personal e-mail.
For example, consider this scenario: the exit node is compromised, and it modifies the (unencrypted) traffic so that your client receives a payload that causes it to send traffic over the clear internet. For example, a Flash app, or malicious Javascript, or whatnot. See for example here
Of course a nation-state sponsored attacker is likely also to watch (some of) Tor's entry nodes, and in that case there's little you can do.
Nevertheless, if you assume some of the exit nodes of your Tor connections to be compromised you'll probably default to better security practices in your day-to-day Tor browsing, which overall is not a bad thing.
Answer: As long as you use all encrypted traffic, it should not be possible to track you just via the exit node.
However, there are plenty of other attacks on the TOR network that you should note and understand before fully making use of it. E.g. https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2015/06/25/can-you-trust-tors-exit-nodes/ (The article contains links to formal POC papers)


self publishing

Question: My Dad is writing a book about racism I am trying to find info for him on how to publish and who would publish he is almost done with the book however he is writing 5 books one of them on inside of banking the theft side of it.
Comment: Has he already decided to self-publish? (I'm trying to figure out the title of the post).
Comment: Welcome to Writers, Kamae. It is unclear what you are asking. Could you perhaps edit your question to be clearer?
Answer: There are basically two kinds of self-publishing.
One is the heavy do-it-yourself route. You write the book, you format it for publication, you design the cover, you do any marketing, etc. What they do for you is physically print the book and make it available to on-line and brick-and-mortar bookstores. In practice, your book will be listed on the web sites of dozens of on-line bookstores, most notably Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Getting into brick-and-mortar bookstores is very difficult. Don't count on your book being on the shelves ANYWHERE, not unless you work very hard on marketing or have a friend who owns a bookstore.
If this is what you want to do, I think you have three major choices: Create Space, Lulu, and Lightning Source. I have worked with both Create Space and Lulu and can vouch that both live up to their promises and are reasonably easy to work with. I haven't worked with Lightning Source. Unlike CS and Lulu, LS is not primarily geared to working with independent writers, they exist to serve big publishers and just work with self-publishers as a sideline. So I understand they're more cumbersome to work with.
All of these involve only modest investment on your part up front. Depending on many details, you will probably have to put up a few hundred dollars. Not including any marketing costs, which could range from zero to ... well, to millions if you want to advertise your book on TV during the Super Bowl.
The other self-publishing route is if you just want to write the book, and then have someone else worry about laying it out, marketing, etc. There are many companies out there that do this. I cannot recommend any because I have not worked with any. This route usually requires you to pay them at least several thousand dollars for their efforts. Warning: Many people who have worked with them tell me that many of them are scams. They charge you many thousands of dollars to market your book, and then their "marketing" turns out to be that they got you listed in a catalog that you could have done yourself for twenty bucks. Etc.
If anyone else on here has had a good experience with one of these companies, please post about it.
Comment: One of my clients worked with XLibris also, but she felt they were unresponsive and difficult to work with.

self publishing


Can a full bottle of liquor burst?

Question: I was watching TV when suddenly a full bottle of strong homemade liquor burst in the cupboard by itself. How was that possible? It was really creepy.
Answer: If it was fermented, then there may have been active yeast still producing carbon dioxide. The pressure from this may have caused the explosion.
If it was distilled spirits, the vapor pressure of ethyl alcohol at room temperature is not zero and rises with the temp. And the fluid itself will expand with increasing temp. So if the bottle was absolutely full (no airspace) and tightly stoppered, the expansion pressure may have caused it to burst.
Comment: Unlikely to be fermentation (killed by the time you are at the "strong liquor" stage). Very likely the result of not enough headroom, thermal expansion of the liquid, poof. You could improve this answer by calculating the pressure that can build up (from the difference in coefficient of thermal expansion between glass and alcohol, a reasonable assumption for the temperature rise, and the bulk modulus of the liquid).

Can a full bottle of liquor burst?


LoL update keeps resetting

Question: Whenever I try to install the league update it gets a small part of the update done and it stops the update and resets the progress. I've freed up more than enough space for the update and used the hex tech repair tool, I've even deleted and reinstalled LoL multiple times. Can anyone help?
Comment: Any error message or it just stops? Also, when it stop did you just let it run? sometimes the LoL installer stops for a few minutes to uncompress/install what it just downloaded, but it looks like it just stopped. I guess let it run overnight if you can, but if you already tried that, i'll check if something else could be done.
Answer: You might have already tried these, but here is what LoL support has to say about installs that stop:
https://support-leagueoflegends.riotgames.com/hc/en-us/articles/115005275348-Can-t-install-League-of-Legends

The League of Legends installation may fail if you don't have administrator access to your computer, or if something is interfering with your network connection.
Update Windows
If your version of Windows needs updating, you may have trouble installing League. Just search for "Windows Update" in your Start menu and click "Check for updates".
Run installation as administrator
First, make sure you've downloaded the game from the League site. Then locate the file, right-click the installer, and select "Run as Administrator".
Temporarily disable your firewall
If you've installed a third-party firewall, try disabling them before installing or starting a patch. Windows comes with its own firewall, which you can disable by following these steps:

Click on Start
Click on Control Panel
Click on System and Security
Click on Windows Firewall
Click on Turn Windows Firewall on or off (You may be prompted to enter the Admin password at this step)
Under each network location, select the "Turn off Windows Firewall" option

Still having issues?
If there are no firewalls active on your computer and you're still unable to install League, send us a ticket and we'll take a closer look!

LoL update keeps resetting


How to let a user edit a list via forms. But don t allow them to access to the list page on sharepoint 2010

Question: I want to know how to only allow x users to edit a list but only with the form.
This means that the user shouldn``t be able to see the list page.
Answer: What are the contents you want to hide from end users? If you do not want to show items created by other users, you can enable item-level permission
If you do not want the user be able to edit list page, break the inheritance on the site pages library and only give them read permission.
Or a bit more complex way, you can create a dummy list with the required forms. Make users to submit forms in your dummy list and add a flow/workflow to update required information in your true list.
If the fixes don't help you, please share us with more information about your requirements.
Answer: I suggest you create an HTML form in another page, and let that form submit to the list (but you also need to consider the permission levels you would give to the users in order for them to be able to create/update an item)
Since 2010 environment is in classic, you can easily create a form via content editor webpart, use jquery/plain javascript to submit the form via SharePoints Rest Api, here are some documents that will help you.
Hope this concept help you out, Happy learning!


Fetching Contribution Information

Question: I am working on an extension which requires me to use Civi Contribute.Yet i have not tried anything yet as i don't now the approach, so i wish to obtain the details of a particular contribution transaction such as total_amount, email ... so that i can use it in the extension, I have thought of using an API method but i am not clear of the details and if at all that is what i have to use. Something like the content of $params?
Comment: Not too sure what you're asking. If you're writing an extension, have you tried writing business logic developed using skeletons in $your_domain/civicrm/api ?
Comment: It also seems like you might wanna read up on the API and its invocation first...
Comment: It might be helpful if you provide more details about what you're trying to do -- for example, are you trying to alter details of a contribution before it's created? after a form is submitted? after it's created? during a particular workflow? In an extension, the API would be used to interact with the existing contribution, but it sounds like you're first issue is trying to determine what hook to work with.
Answer: I think you are looking for the API getfields action? In the API explorer you can do a getfields and it will show you the possible fields for the API.
Answer: Using the API is the recommended way to access CiviCRM information from an extension, so you are on the right tracks. You can study https://github.com/cividesk/com.cividesk.cardreader/blob/master/CRM/Cardreader/Page/Callback.php#L50 for an example on how to call the CiviCRM API. You need to read https://wiki.civicrm.org/confluence/display/CRMDOC/API+Reference and use the API explorer to get familiar with the API. You can access the API explorer by using the slug civicrm/api/explorer on your CiviCRM instance.

Fetching Contribution Information


Ham and beans in a Crock-Pot

Question: I boil my navy beans first and I put in a Crock-Pot with ham that I had Frozen it's already been cooked they have been cooking for about 4 hours on low my question is can I shut the crockpot off for about 5 hours I meant by get back for my appointments can turn it back on low I just don't want to overcook the beans I would appreciate any help you could offer thank you very much
Answer: You don't say whether the ham had been defrosted first; if not the temperature would have taken so long to rise that you're already outside the safety guidelines.  Even then, turning off the slow cooker for several hours is a bad idea from a food safety point of view.  The beans shouldn't overcook too much on low anyway, so I'd say just leave it on low.

Ham and beans in a Crock-Pot


Can I use SE to ask for advice?

Question: I'm a WebForms developer and am just starting to get into MVC.  I'd like to become acquainted with all of the latest technologies, best practices, and architecture design as they pertain to MVC and browser UI.  Asking advice from high-rep users seems like a great place to start, but I'm afraid such a question would just get closed as "not constructive".  As a side note, one thing I'll never understand is how nearly all of the most upvoted questions on SE are nearly all closed as being not constructive, off-topic, or some other reason.  It seems like SE could really benefit by permitting constructive subjectivity.
Answer: No, SE is not a place to just come and ask for general advice.
The fact that these types of questions are popular doesn't mean that they're appropriate for the site, or that they're particularly useful.  They're entertaining for a lot of people (hence the votes), but these types of questions largely result in very poor quality contributions.  (This is of course hard for you to observe, because for every highly upvoted question that has 1-2 decent answers there are 10 more deleted posts full of extremely low quality contributions.)
Answer: One of our goals for our questions and answers is that future users can gain utility from these questions/answers after the fact.
When you have an ambiguous question, which lends itself to having ambiguously correct answers, it's troublesome, because future visitors won't know what to expect when visiting that question from Google.
It's a lot more helpful when I can read a question, and know that if this question is answered sufficiently, then my own needs should also be met by whatever the answer is.  Subjective questions don't lend themselves very well to this need-meeting paradigm, so we close them.
It's really frustrating to stumble into some Q/A forum site while I'm searching for solutions to my problem, and to have a bunch of content that doesn't really solve my problem.

If you want to ask a question about best practices, that's fine so long as you know specifically what you're looking for.  Many best practices are documented somewhere, and agreed upon, and even the ones that aren't agreed upon are still somehow documented.
Comment: Well that is too bad.  A question for guidance can save one hours of spinning down a whole.  But I understand the need to have black and white/simple syntax questions so that trollers can earn badges.  I just didn't realize the secondary purpose of the site was a self esteem builder.

Can I use SE to ask for advice?


How do I weave suspense from mundane scenes?

Question: My first horror short story starts with a quite quiet scene, quickly escalating to the protagonist's little brother being brutally murdered, with the only thing separating a family conversation between her, her mother and stepfather, and her brother's murder, is a scream, then a quite violent scene of the primary antagonist killing the protagonist's brother. (The primary antagonist is a demon/alien that takes the form of a young child, mostly eats children but will also tolerate adults; it ate the protagonist's father in the prologue.) But this is writing, not a show. I can't simply turn on a dissonant soundtrack to amp up the suspense. I reviewed the opening chapter with a friend, and we both agreed that the scare of the killing/eating isn't enough. I need to be able to weave a suspenseful atmosphere from a mundane scene (just a family conversation) in order to create a fully terrifying start. How is this done? How is suspense created from mundane settings/positions prior to the "scare"?
Comment: There's no suspense in a quiet dinner. Why should readers anticipate a surprise attack that happens off stage to a character we haven't met? Your protagonist is away from the action eating soup, feeling different emotions from what you want the reader to have. **The situation creates no suspense**... My advice is to switch the scenes around, MC and brother walk home TOGETHER. MC gets spooked by horror signals and rushes home as brother laughs. Now dinner has building tension as brother does not return. Mundane convo is antithesis of what MC is feeling internally, creating suspense.
Comment: @wetcircuit I should have been more specific. The brother IS introduced in the prologue(2 years prior to the first chapter, but that's irrelevant to readers), and he gets a scene with my MC, in the first chapter before his murder.
Comment: See if this question and answer is helpful. https://writing.stackexchange.com/questions/56471/horror-where-to-start/56472#56472
Answer: I have the words of Hitchcock for you.
Suspense is not two people watching a bomb timer ticking down.
Suspense is two people talking about the last soccer game, while the reader knows there is a bomb ticking down under their table.
Comment: Hitchcock's exact quote is [a little longer](https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/728496-there-is-a-distinct-difference-between-suspense-and-surprise-and), and goes into more detail about *why* the second scenario is more suspenseful, but yes, that's the gist of it.
Answer: Uncertainty leads to Suspense
To create suspense, the reader needs to be asking a question. They have to be guessing about ways that things could go wrong (or right!). The question could be "Is the monster going to attack the family while they eat?" or "Will the brother make enough noise to bring help?"
To generate a question like this, you need to give the reader more information than the characters. This is why people yell at the TV during horror movies - they know the "right answer" to the question, and they want the characters to pick that action.
Structure
In this case, I think you can use structure to add suspense. You can interleave sections from the monster's point of view and from the main character's point of view. Something along the lines of:

(Monster POV) Exterior of the home. Monster must get past the dog without being attacked or generating too much barking. -- Question, will the dog save the day?
(MC POV) Dinner Table. Quiet meal. Someone comments that the dog is quieter (or louder) than usual. -- Question, will they investigate the dog? If they do, will they find anything out of the ordinary?
(Monster POV) Interior. Monster explores the home, looking for an ambush location or isolated victim. People get up from the table to answer the doorbell, go to the bathroom, get more food from the kitchen, etc. -- Question, will any of the isolated people be attacked? Will the monster find a hiding spot?
(MC POV) Still at dinner. Comments about brother skipping dinner to play video games / do homework / whatever. Question, will the monster discover the isolated brother!?!
(Monster POV) Finds, stalks, and attacks brother. Question, will the brother discover the monster in time for it to matter? Can he make enough noise to bring help?

The use of the monster POV ensures that the reader has enough information to be asking questions. The uncertainty around the answers is what generates suspense. Sometimes the characters even choose the "right" answer, and the reader gets a moment of oh, everything is going to be ok - right before they are proven wrong.
So maybe the monster knocks over something in a different room, and the family investigates. It looks like the monster is going to have its cover blown, but the characters explain the noise away and go back to the meal.
For a moment, though, the reader thought they would discover the monster and they could fight it off as a group. This little release lets you build the tension back up with more questions down the road.
Answer: To add to Jesper's answer (which is great), I'd also add that your use of language can influence the scene.
For example, eating a meal is devouring another organism, or organisms.  Cutting a steak is slicing through the body of another animal, while blood and juice pour through the open gashes in the muscle.  There's all sorts of metaphor work you can do here to unsettle the reader, and it seems to fit with your bad guy.
Maybe, subconsciously your characters know something bad is going to happen, there's a sense of creeping dread.  It not anything you can put your finger on, but you can use your words and their thoughts to create a disturbing backdrop (just like the soundtrack in a film).  Obviously how far you take this depends on your style - look at someone like HP Lovecraft for example - people can go for a nice walk in the park and somehow it's tense.
Answer: I've always thought of suspense as much like dramatic irony. The reader knows the monster creeps through the mansion, but the characters are unaware. The reader can see it as it attacks the brother, but the characters are unaware.
If you are writing from 1st person, as I often prefer, then I would add lines like, "I heard some screaming from the distance, but didn't think much of it." This shows it more indirectly.
Suspense is making the character ask questions. The first one gives the idea of 'Will they realize (in time)?" while the second one gives the question, "What's the screaming?" The brain doesn't like not knowing, and it's this that gives the suspenseful fear that people love.
Answer: Start the scene with the brother involved in the conversation and excusing himself to do something... it should be mundane like "get a book" or go to the bathroom... or... something else.  Point is the reader should have an idea of how long it takes.   Exit brother.  The conversation continues and goes on and on for some time until someone realizes something is wrong... the brother should be back by now.  It's been too long for him to take care of the thing he excused himself from doing.  The protagonist leaves to fetch him, thinking he's goofing off only to find the bloody mess of the scene (Everyone knows you don't show off the monster until well into the story.  No one saw "Jaws" until an hour into the film.).


I can access anything but Google Analytics

Question: I can go to any other website (Google or not), however I cannot access Google Analytics regardless of what account name I use. It redirects me to https://www.google.com/analytics/web/ which is a plain white screen. Is there any advice that someone can offer?
Comment: What browser are you using?
Answer: The site works fine for me in Google Chrome.
Here is how I would go about troubleshooting:

Clear your web browser history, cookies, temp files and cache and try again
Try a different web browser than you are currently using
Sign up for Google Analytics (you need to that separately)
Report back here if it worked.
Answer: I you use the Adblock extension, make sure you add the domain https://www.google.com/analytics/ into the exception list.


Supply/return plenum box: OK to use top of box?

Question: For sheet metal supply/return plenum boxes, I noticed the builder didn't make holes in the top for any of the ductwork.  I figure it's because it wouldn't make sense considering every duct works its way back down from that point.  Question I have is for cases where I just have run out of room around the plenum box to make new duct, is it ok to make a new take off on the top of the box?  Is there any gotchas with doing that?  I figure not but just checking.
Answer: The reason there are no supply ducts running from the top of the supply air plenum is that the air from the fan in the air handler hits the top of the plenum forcing air equally to the supply runs coming off of the sides of the plenum. If you were to have a supply run coming off of the top of the plenum it would get more air because of it having the path of less resistance. Return air plenums do not matter where the duct openings are as much.


Settleing a lawsuit filed in Texas bust is governed by NJ law

Question: We are based in NJ and are in dispute file by in Texas by a licensee. The agreement states that the dispute is to be governed by NJ law. After months of court action and discovery, the plaintiff's attorney sent a settlement offer to our Texas attorney. We sent a counter-offer. It does not appear that our attorney sent the counter-offer, and he is still asking for us to provide additional documents. We need to pursue the failure of our attorney no presenting the counter-offer and would like confirmation that the matter can be settled between the parties with providing further discovery.
Comment: 1. Do you mean "*without* providing further discovery"? 2. Did you inquire of your attorney about his follow-up on the counter-offer or why he did not present the counter-offer? The parties can settle *without* providing further discovery, and ultimately your attorney *has* to obey your decision or withdraw from representing you.
Answer:
It does not appear that our attorney sent the counter-offer

Well, you should find out the facts rather than relying on what "appears" to be the case.
While there are outstanding settlement offers flying around the case is still on foot and whatever needs to happen to satisfy the court still needs to happen. When an agreement is reached then the case is over and discovery (and everything else to do with the court) stops.


Irreducible polynomials over $\mathbb Q$ and $\mathbb Z $

Question: When I read "Contemporary Abstract Algebra" by Joseph gallian, under the topic irreducible polynomials, his first example is the
polynomial $$2x^2+4=0$$ is reducible over $\mathbb  Z$ but irreducible over
$ \mathbb Q$. I dont know how is this possible? Since it is of degree 2, we can see the roots of the polynomial, where it lies? if it lies in $\mathbb Z$ then it would lie in $ \mathbb Q$, then how can it be reducible over $\mathbb Z$ when the roots are complex numbers? pls explain
Answer: It's not the roots, it's the "$2$"!
A polynomial is irreducible over a ring if it cannot be written as a product of two non-invertible polynomials. In $\mathbb{Z}$, "$2$" is noninvertible, so $(x^2+2)2$ is an appropriately "nontrivial" factorization.
Meanwhile, over in $\mathbb{Q}$, the polynomial "$2$" is invertible, since ${1\over 2}$ is rational (proof: exercise :P). So the factoriztion $(x^2+2)2$ is "trivial" in the context of $\mathbb{Q}$, since we can always extract a factor of $2$ from any polynomial.
EDIT: Think of it this way: saying that a polynomial is irreducible over a ring means it has no "nontrivial" factorizations. Now, when we make the ring bigger (e.g. pass from $\mathbb{Z}$ to $\mathbb{Q}$) two things happen:

More factorizations become possible.
More factorizations become trivial.

So even though your first instinct might be "polynomials will only go from "irreducible" to "reducible" as the ring gets bigger," actually the opposite can happen!
In fact, here's a good exercise:

Can you find a polynomial $p\in\mathbb{Z}[x]$ which is irreducible over $\mathbb{Z}$ but reducible over $\mathbb{Q}$?

Note that the definition of reducibility over a field may sound different:

For $F$ a field, a polynomial $p\in F[x]$ is irreducible if $p$ cannot be written as the product of two nonconstant polynomials.

But this is actually equivalent to the definition I gave above, in case we're over a field: the noninvertible elements of $F[x]$ are precisely the nonconstant polynomials!
Comment: The precise relationship between the two types of irreducibility (over Z and over Q) is solved by Gauss' lemma. More generally, let A be an UFD and K its field of factions. The irreducible elements of A[X] are either irreducible elements of A , or polynomials in A[X] which are irreducible in K[X] and have content 1. For a proof and the definition of "content", see e.g. the chapter on "Polynomials" in Lang's "Algebra"
Comment: Great explanation....But the exercise you gave "is there a polynomial like that?"? Because there is a theorem "if a polynomial is reducible over Q then it is reducible over Z" and i want to ask you a doubt..what happens to the theorem saying "if the degree of polynomials is of 2 or 3 then it is reducible over F[x] iff it has roots in F."
Comment: @SamChristopher Re: the first theorem you mention: Well, that sounds like that kills the exercise, doesn't it? There's a reason I phrased it the way I did :). (EDIT: Now, a parallel good exercise: find rings $R\subset S$ and a polynomial $p\in R[x]$ such that $p$ is reducible over $R$ but irreducible over $S$! There's something special about $\mathbb{Z}$ . . .) Re: the second theorem you mentioned: there you're taking $F$ to be a *field*. The theorem breaks down if $F$ is merely a *ring* like $\mathbb{Z}$ - look at the proof to see why.
Comment: Great.....Thank you...


What is a word for the genre of literature of which Tolkien is the high priest and founder, in its 20th-century incarnation.?

Question: What is a word for the form of literature that evokes images of supernatural creatures like goblins, elves, hobbits etc. in Tolkienian surroundings of misty mountains, caverns, underground lakes etc.
Comment: You could look around [Science Fiction & Fantasy Stack Exchange](http://scifi.stackexchange.com/about). 175 questions tagged Tolkien.
Comment: Q: What do you call a sci-fi story that's clearly ripped off from another author?
A:  Peculative fiction.
Comment: It's a form of Fantasy literature, usually colluded with Science Fiction literature, as F/SF. One can get much more particular than that, but local fan terms vary considerably.
Answer: More specific than "fantasy fiction", Tolkien has been described in The Encyclopedia of Fantasy as the father of high fantasy (also known as epic fantasy), a genre "defined as fantasy fiction set in an alternative, entirely fictional ('secondary') world, rather than the real, or 'primary' world".
Comment: Certainly not epic fantasy; that's been around since Gilgamesh. But "High Fantasy" as a genre label is not bad. It echoes Tolkien's implicit class system with High Elves and Wood Elves, Men of the West and common folk, etc. There's a definite vertical element all through Tolkien, which I'm sure was intentional; he knew all about myths and tales and their making, and what kind of presuppositions they require.
Answer: As lies breathed through silver, I believe Tolkien would have preferred to label his works as mythopoeia, a term apparently coined by him (and a title of one of his poems). As works that may not necessarily be universally appreciated as high or grand this label is my personal preference too.

creation of myths (OED)

Another grandiose term used by Tolkien himself to refer to his middle-earth works is legendarium.
Answer: What booksellers pigeonhole it as is "Science Fiction and Fantasy". If you go into a large bookstore in the US, there will be a section labeled that. If the store has Tolkien, his works will be in that section. In addition, we have a sister StackExchange site named Science Fiction and Fantasy, where most Tolkien-related questions will probably be rated on topic.
Now a lot of readers prefer not to lump the two together like that ("prefer" being perhaps a gigantic understatement)1. You can see a hint of this over at the SF stack, in that they felt compelled to put "Science Fiction" and "Fantasy" in completely different fonts in the stack's own title.
There are oodles of recognized subgenres within each of those two (sub?)genres, of which Tolkien is generally put into High Fantasy within the Fantasy genre. I find this eminently fair, as pretty much any other work that qualifies as High Fantasy will be discussed in part on how it compares to Tolkien (eg: Does it have Tolkienesque races? How does its magic system compare?). If you'd like to know more, I'd suggest looking at some of the tag definitions at SF.SE.
Comment: 1 - I personally argue against this, but its not a popular opinion.
Answer: I have heard it called 'High Fantasy' or 'Grand Fantasy'. The most common Q&A is 'What is High Fantasy?' 'Tolkien'
Answer: fantasy fiction would be a suitable descriptor, no?


Why does Naphthalene turn into needle-shaped crystals by sublimation?

Question: I wonder why crystals of Naphthalene are needle-shaped after sublimation. Googling the fact, I could only confirm that it is true but failed to find the reason. Could someone please shed some light as to why this happens?
Answer: Every solid material has a crystal structure.  Sublimation tends to produce good crystals because the solid can grow slowly.  In bulk form naphthalene crystals are broken and compressed and so bulk solid naphthalene looks quite different.
The exact same situation applies to snowflakes.  They are flat hexagonal structures when seen individually.  Crunch them into a snowball and they lose that pretty structure.
Comment: Well, there are crystalline and **amorphous** solids...
Comment: But you don't get amorphous solids out of a one-component gas phase. Or lets say it will be very hard even get it into the gas phase. ;-)
Comment: Btw., crystals grown from the melt or solution likely form a totally different habitus that if grown from the gas phase. There's a good chance even a different phase will form.
Answer: It's the symmetry!
(Sorry, that's the default answer to all questions on crystallography.)
You get needles if your crystallite grows faster in one direction than in any perpendicular direction. Which is the fact here, because aromatic rings love to stack, but don't have much energy to gain out of the van der Waals' interactions between the H-atoms sticking out in the plane.
If a crystallite grows slower in one direction than perpendicular to it, you will get platelet-like crystals.
And if the elementary cell of the crystal has a cubic symmetry, it will likely grow equally fast in all directions, and the crystals will be cubes, like $\ce{NaCl}$. (OK, this last statement is rather weak. It's easy to predict that growth rates are very different like in naphthalene, but that they're actually identical is dure. Sodium chloride is just a nice example where this is the case. And be careful about melts. They're never isotropic near a crystal surface, so anything can happen.)


Guitar Hum disturbances

Question: When I connect my Yamaha Pacifica guitar to Vox DA 5 amp and connect the amp
to the M audio 2496 sound card input by taking the output from the Vox phones
output, I get a hum while playing the bass strings and recording it in the
software. How to rectify this problem?
Comment: Does your Yamaha guitar have *single coil* pickups as opposed to *humbucker* pickups? Are you recording with a flourescent light turned on in the room? Sometimes either situation can cause hum in the recording.
Comment: Can you upload the hum you've recorded?
Comment: Is all the gear plugged into the same outlet/breaker?
Comment: What kind of cable are you using? I would expect a headphone out to be an unbalanced TRS (stereo unbalanced on one 1/8", 3.5mm, 1/4" phono plug at -10dB). You may need to customize a breakout cable... the vox site says it's a line/phones cable, but those are two fundamentally different things (generally) and there's no selector switch. Are you saying it only hums when you play the lower strings and not when you play the higher?
Answer: It sounds like you are saturating ("peaking") the signal.
Turn down the volume on the amp and adjust the input volume on the 2496 so that the meters in your recording software never show the input signal in the red.
Play hard on the guitar, to ensure you are testing actual playing levels rather than just plucking notes while testing the input volume. Some notes will peak the input more than others (some chords as well).
There are very basic stages to recording: 1) getting good samples ("clean" signals); 2) mixing those clean signals to the volume you want for the end result.
Comment: I agree, but depending on the person's experience and vocabulary, they might not know what clipping is or how to describe it. Also, electrical humming is most noticeable when you are NOT playing, so I am gambling a little.
Comment: Valid point, horatio - and good answer.
Comment: I'm not sure we have enough information to definitively determine this is saturation (although I agree it's a possibility).  Especially since the OP describes this as a "hum" - I would expect clipping or distortion if they were peaking the input.
Answer: Hum is typically caused by ground loops, i.e. multiple points where the signal chain is grounded. By far the best way of dealing with this is to use balanced inputs and outputs everywhere but the manuals of your gear didn't say and I doubt it's balanced.
The second best way to get rid of hum is to use an isolation transformer or direct box with a ground lift between the amp and the sound card. Something like this http://audiopile.net/products/DI_Boxes/FDB-101/FDB-101_cutsheet.shtml (disclaimer: I'm not affiliated with the company in any way, but consider them an excellent source) with the right adapters to make it work.
It's also possible that the power supply of the host computer isn't that great. That's easy to to test by recording from a different source and see if that's clean. A good choice for a recording test is an battery powered player such an IPod, since there is no possibility of a ground loop.
Comment: Ground loops would explain a constant hum, but the question says "I get a hum while playing the bass strings".

Guitar Hum disturbances


How can i register a domain name without an online host?

Question: I don't believe in paid online hosts which is why i use apache
but now i need a domain name/host name for it so other people can connect to my website without seeing my actual ip address, is there any software or methods to host my own domain name on ubuntu?
PS when i say online host i either refer to a web host or a domain register like godaddy or dyn. also if there isn't any software is there any free registers that i can get a .com domain without any subdomains?
Comment: You can use your own DNS server with your personal domain. But it will work only for those who will use your DNS in network settings ;-) Why not read some article about DNS instead of asking at a wrong place?
Comment: This is not related to Ubuntu. You need to register a domain. But everyone will see your IP either way ;-)
Comment: I'm kind of relating it to ubuntu by asking if there is any software that i can do this without using an online domain register.
Comment: also if there isn't any software i was hoping if there is any free ones where i can get a .com domain without any sub domains at the beginning.
Comment: There is no software on any OS that can register a domain without applying somewhere. It is not done by software. Someone needs to add your domain to DNS servers.
Comment: Okay so there isn't any software that can do this exactly but is it possible i can create my own DNS server and add a domain?
Answer: Well, you can ask people to add your hostname to their <code>/etc/hosts</code> file. See Wikipedia for details.
However, this is an obsolete technique, replaced by widely accepted Domain Name System (DNS). Some information on how to get a DNS record can be found at http://www.spinfold.com/how-to-buy-a-domain-name/.
Either way, people will be able to see your IP address. It is a necessary condition to provide any content over the Internet.


Lead Conversion: Setting the Opportunity Close Date

Question: Currently in our Org when a Lead is converted and an Opportunity is created the Close Date on the Opportunity gets set to the end of the current Fiscal quarter...  Is there a way to change this to something like TODAY + 180 ?
Comment: You must have some existing logic in your org that is forcing the close date to end of quarter - have you located where that logic exists?
Comment: 1) look for workflow field updates that set CloseDate; 2) Look through triggers on Lead and Opportunity to see if set there (could be Lead because after update trigger on Lead can manipulate Oppo; could be before insert trigger on Oppo that manipulates as well; triggers may use apex classes to do their work so look deep
Comment: I just stepped in as Admin so this is all inherited...  That said: I have looked to see where this is defined, and I can't actually find anything. So maybe some help with where to look would be good.
Comment: I looked through workflows field updates for both Opps and Leads and don't see anything - As well I looked through the Triggers and the only ones we have were created by two Lead management apps Marketo and DiscoverOrg and none appear to relate to the creation of the Opportunity (!)
Answer: Do you want the close date to be editable in UI? If yes, you could write a trigger on Opportunity (after insert, after update) to have its close date to be set to today + 180. If close date doesn't need to be editable, you could simply designate that field as a formula with your date formula.
Comment: yes but the trigger sb on after insert only and ...must be able to detect lead conversion event which will require mapping a field from Lead to Oppo; if you are going the trigger route, do it on after update in (converted) Lead. However, OP can be solved using workflows
Answer: On Lead Conversion, the Opportunity Close Date is automatically set to the end of the fiscal year per the doc as follows:

If you are not using custom fiscal years, the Close Date of the newly
created opportunity is automatically set to the last day of the
current fiscal quarter.
If you are using custom fiscal years, the
Close Date is the last day of the current fiscal period. If you are
using custom fiscal years and a fiscal year has not been defined for
the current date, the Close Date is the end of the current calendar
quarter.

(So despite all my comments above, you do not have some custom workflow or trigger that sets it ... sheesh and apologies)
The solution is quite simple (here is an example)
To only do this when you convert a Lead and not when entering an Opportunity via user entry or an API...

Create a checkbox formula field on Lead called is_a_lead__c value = true, no need to show in page layout
Create a checkbox field on Opportunity called is_sourced_from_lead_conversion__c, default is false - no need to show in page layout
In the Lead Field mapping, map is_a_lead__c to is_sourced_from_lead_conversion__c
Add a new Workflow rule on Opportunity which runs on created and if is_sourced_from_lead_conversion__c = true
The Workflow rule uses a field update to set CloseDate to TODAY()+180

Note also the Lead Setting - Require Validation for Converted Leads https://help.salesforce.com/htviewhelpdoc?id=customize_leadsettings.htm&siteLang=en_US which may impact other things in your lead conversion process


Number of positive integer divisors

Question: Let $n$ be an integer more than $9$. Find the number of positive divisors of $n$ lets call it $d(n)$ and take the difference from $n$. So the new number is $n-d(n)$. If we continue this process, we always end up with $2$. I don't know anybody worked this question before but somehow this question reminded me Collatz Conjecture. Anybody can give me an idea how to approach this problem ? Many thanks..
Comment: Yes and no. I have been working on Collatz type series and one of my friend came to me and asked this question. You know collatz always ends up with 1 no matter where you start and this one always ends up with 2. I have a feeling that for n>10, we always end up with 2.
Comment: Strictly spekaing, noone knows whether the Collatz-conjecture is true. In the case of this conjecture, I am optimistic that it can be proven. Brute force reveals that it is true upto $n=10^5$
Comment: Interesting ! Did you have the idea for this sequence ?
Comment: I could not solve the question by induction method. If somebody can solve it and post it , I will be more than happy.
Comment: Seems that Henry already solved it ...
Answer: If $n < (k+1)^2$, there's at most $2k$ divisors here.
That's because if $x$ is a divisor of $n$ and greater than $\sqrt{n}$, the number $\frac{n}{x}$ must be an integer less than $\sqrt{n}$.
So there are only about $\sqrt{n}$ candidates for $x$, and it implies that the number of divisors is at most about $2\sqrt{n}$. More technically, $d(n)$ is at most $2k$.
The smallest $k$ here is exactly $\lfloor \sqrt{n} \rfloor$. So the upper bound of number of divisors is $2 \times \lfloor \sqrt{n} \rfloor$.
Now, let's check about when will $n - d(n) \geq 9$ hold.
Here, $n - d(n) \geq n - 2 \times \lfloor \sqrt{n} \rfloor \geq n - 2\sqrt{n} \geq 9$. The range of $n - 2 \sqrt{n} \geq 9$ can be solved by translating to quadratic equation.
Let $N = \sqrt{n}$. The inequality will be $N^2 - 2N \geq 9$, and it will be always true when $N \geq 1+\sqrt{10}$.
Now, we can say that $n - d(n) \geq 9$ when $n \geq 18 \geq (1+\sqrt{10})^2$.
The final winning run is to check validity for $n=9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17$ and we can do inductive proof for $n \geq 18$ because we proved that the next number will always be at least $9$.
Answer: Hints:

You can check it is true for $n=6,9,10,11,12$
For $n \gt 12$ you could show $9 \le n-d(n) \lt n$
Then use induction

Number of positive integer divisors


Voyager + y - please explain

Question: I have been told that the verb "voyager" cannot be used with "y".
e.g. "j'y voyage" is not acceptable, but "je voyage là-bas" is.
Please could anyone explain? Is it because it is transitive so cannot be used with "y".
Merci beaucoup.
Answer: j'y voyage
is correct. It means you are in the said country, e.g.:

Es-tu en France ?
Oui, j'y voyage.

But you can't use j'y voyage when you are talking about a place you plan to go e.g.:

Vas-tu en France ?
Oui j'y voyage.

in this case you should use the verb "aller" in the present tense

Vas-tu en France ?
Oui j'y vais. OR Oui je vais y aller.
Answer: It can be said that this form is not inappropriate for everybody as shows this  title, possibly pert in the way of defying more or less accepted ways.
We say quite normally

« Ils vont en Afrique. », « En Afrique ? J'y vais aussi. ».

Why shouldn't we say in the same manner « y voyager » which is used with the very same preposition ("en").
For instance, the piece of advice given here is clear: there is no problem in using that form.
I should say that it doesn't feel quite natural as it is must be rarely used; however as I think  about it, I see that it does fit a pattern of assembly of words that is common (J'y travaille, j'y vis, j'y rencontre des gens, j'y séjourne, …); the comparison can be drawn with "j'y séjourne" and one sees that the difference is hardly appreciable as far as semantics goes. So, why it is recommanded not to use it is not explainable through grammar or semantics. I would think a possible reason is that the occasion of travelling in in given place having been rare in the past the form has never been used much; this can be verified in this ngram which shows that only since 1920 is the form used regularly enough. The reason could be the mere lack of a habit in hearing the particular combination of words of this form.
Personally I wouldn't advise not using it. However, as noted in the second reference it must be used in the sense of "travelling in" and not "travelling to".

Voyager + y - please explain


My Betta fish is floating sideways

Question: My fish keeps floating on his side, but only when I am not directly in front of his tank. when I am in front of his tank he acts normal (He floats normally and looks more happy). He lives in a 5 gallon aquarium by himself with a fake plant and a statue of a peacock. I have put betta fish, aquarium salt, and stress clear before when this was less of a problem because I have had a betta do this exact same thing and I don't know what I should do. I have had 4 bettas before, the very first died from poison (Statue had too much paint on it, was a statue made by top fin.) my second died from stress (Complete accident), My third died from a disease relating to old age (I think cancer) and my fourth (Which I bought at the same time as the third) died from this disease.
Comment: Hey @dynoka!  Welcome to Pets SE site. How much time you had that betta?
Comment: @OmarSaadoun I have had the betta almost haft a year, I got him around summer of last year (2020)
Answer: Good observation first, if your betta has good shape and activity and you water parameters are ok I would start by doing some fasting as it could be very probable that is only food excess. Actually this is a good practice to skip a meal at least once of twice a month.
If that doesn't help we should identify what infection/treatment it could be but sadly there is not much to do in such cases.
Hopefully it's going to be food excess.

My Betta fish is floating sideways


Scheduled task spills into the next period

Question: I have a task in Windows 10 Task Scheduler that runs every hour.  The task is running a Java JAR, and it's actually taking longer than an hour.  Task Scheduler is terminating the task run when it reaches an hour and starting the next run.  Is it possible to not terminate any existing runs when starting a run?
Answer: Under the Settings tab for the task, you can select the behavior if the task is already running. You can set this to "run a new instance in parallel", like this: