Apple ID /Facetime account hacked?

Question: About a week ago, we received a Facetime call from our own email address and it was a complete stranger.  Then a friend of ours got a Facetime call with from our email address and they missed the call, so they tried Facetiming back and they got this same stranger.  This person Facetimed me again, and I confronted him and hung up.  Then he messaged me on my iPhone.  How could this happen?  What happened?  Did he hack our account?  We have since changed our apple id password, but how could this have happened?  Is changing our password enough?  Would he still have access to our information?
Comment: Would you consider editing in enough detail to perhaps make this different than the other linked question. This could also be that FaceTime allows people to sign up with an account that doesn't belong to apple (firstname.lastname@example.com and firstname.lastname@example.com) so it can't really tell if you own that email address and this is no more concerning than someone entering a raffle (or having a sample of hemorrhoid cream mailed to your house) to mess with you.
Comment: Specifically, is the email you own one provided by Apple (iCloud.com me.com or mac.com) or is it something outside apple like gmail or yahoo where Apple couldn't really know who owns that email? Basically it boiles down to did someone contact you using your iCloud account (where you might want to contact Apple / change the password) or just register for an account in your name?
Answer: Apple ID Security:
First, someone knowing your Apple ID password could have devastating results. This is because, if they know your Apple ID username and password and you have Find my iPhone enabled, they can remotely wipe your devices, and literally claim your device. Security of an Apple ID should be of utmost priority. They can also purchase content with your credit card (if you have one on file), and such.
With that in mind, Apple has done several things to increase security of Apple IDs. When you set up an Apple ID password, they have very good restrictions that encourage you to make a strong password. In addition they have 3 security questions. If you have done almost anything with your Apple ID in the past 6 months you were probably prompted to set up these questions. "Do something with your Apple ID" could be anything from purchasing content, to download apps, to logging into your Apple ID on a new device.
All that brings me to the point that unless someone knows you, or, has access to quite a bit of your personal information, it would be very difficult to hack an Apple ID as it is setup right now. I am in no way,  stating, or implying, that your Apple ID was not hacked. I am just saying that the process would be difficult.
In addition, you will receive an email confirmation when a new device is registered with Facetime. For example, when I purchased a new MacBook Pro recently, I signed into Facetime, then received an email to my Apple ID email address that stated that my new MacBook Pro was now registered with my Apple ID account(Facetime). To the best of my knowledge this happens any time a device is signed onto Facetime initially. If you haven't received such email, it would seem there is a possibility that your account wasn't hacked. Again, I am not saying either way, just a question mark about what happened.
What may have happened:
Without you sharing more info, there are a couple things that could have happened:

Your account was hacked.

But why would someone Facetime the person whose account they hacked into? From what I've heard, hackers like to remain anonymous. Again, this doesn't mean it didn't happen, it just would just be odd.

Somehow, might it be possible that it, in some way wasn't your email address? Perhaps it is just a one letter different?

While this may, at first glance, sound like a likely  option, it really doesn't make much sense either. How would this stranger happen to get your email address (slight character or two different then his) and your friends?

I guess that is to say I'm not really sure what could have happened. If he hacked your Apple ID and found your friend's info from that, then  he could have downloaded, via iCloud, all your contacts(or any other data stored in iCloud(Like a whole device backup)). This is truly a worst-case scenario, and could have very undesirable, and far-reaching affects.
What you can do:
Log on to appleid.apple.com and:

Change your password.

I know you have done this already (you could always do it again), and although it seems obvious it is a critical first-line of defense. Use reliable software to generate a long alpha numerical password. Maybe 14 characters long. Be sure to write it down on paper and secure it somewhere.

Consider changing your security questions. Did you know you can use anything (like passwords) instead of real answers for security questions?

Lastly, you could consider changing email addresses. Setup a new email address (like Gmail and enable two-step verification), and link it with your Apple ID when you manage your Apple ID. Also unlink, if you have already, and don't link, if you set up a new email address, your Apple ID email address with Facebook, Twitter or other social services. Consider setting up a separate account for the recovery email addresses for those services.
Comment: Hi!  Thank you so much for your answer.  I am not positive that our apple id was hacked, but we just can't figure out how this person was able Facetime people from our email address, this is what we are trying to figure that out.  It is definitely, without a doubt not someone we know.  He was extremely inappropriate and was definitely a stranger, and he had access to our contacts. He was very bold and even texted my iphone. It was extremely scary and I just want to make sure that it doesn't happen again.  Nothing was ordered on our itunes account that we can see (thank goodness!)  Thank you
Comment: I don't believe that we ever received an email saying that a new device was added, but I can't say that for certain.  I know that my daughter just re-added her ipod (since we changed the password), and a message did pop up on my macbook, but I did't get an email regarding it.  We are just hoping now that we have changed our password that he no longer will have access.  We will take your advice and change our password a second time and make it extremely long and secure.  I would just love to know how this happend so that we can be sure it doesn't happen again
Answer: Well, I guess changing the password would be enough. Just be more careful when it comes about passwords, 'cause it's kinda difficult for somebody to hack a password like that, unless you've told it to the person or this person knows the answer to your  secret question.
Comment: Thank you so much for your response.  It definitely wasn't someone that we know, that is for certain.

Apple ID /Facetime account hacked?


Can I upgrade linux-base to newer major version?

Question: I'm on Trusty and would like to continue installing the newest mainline kernels. These started to depend on linux-base >= 4.5, while Trusty only has linux-base 3.5 in its PPAs. Is it safe to get linux-base from a xenial PPA and install it on my trusty? Could it break something?
Comment: I think you mean "repository" instead of "[PPA](https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+ppas)".
Comment: @karel I'm specifically asking about linux-base, which is a package I don't know... it's not linux-image* or linux-headers* which are the traditional kernel upgrade packages.
Answer: It's safe to download linux-base 4.5 from the official Ubuntu Download Page for linux-base_4.5ubuntu1~16.04.1_all.deb and double-click the linux-base_4.5ubuntu1~16.04.1_all.deb that you downloaded to open it for installation in the Ubuntu Software Center. There won't be any dependency problems either.
Comment: Okay, I looked into the source package for linux-base, and it seems it's just a few perl scripts, which really should not make the system unbootable. They seem to be only used in the install phase of new kernels. I'm gonna give it a try.
Comment: Do you have any "evidence" for this claim? I mean, it may not only be about the formal dependencies od the DEB package...


configure apache 2.2 to avoid 504 error in blackberry devices

Question: I deploy an application to a local instance of Apache. This web app is for mobile devices. The app works well on an iphone or android, but from BlackBerry devices I get a 504 error. Do I need another configuration on the Apache side of things for this devices, or do I need to configure the BlackBerry to handle this error?
Answer: The http/504 is a time-out error, do you know where this error occur? I can imagine that the BB application somehow uses a proxy before reaching your Apache, and that the Apache in turn is forwarding the request to something else (eg. Tomcat). If that's the case, your timeout can occur at many places.
The first thing I would do is to fire up Wireshark at the machine where your Apache is running and take a close look at the network communication. Are there anything suspicious going on? Can you find differences between the iPhone and BB requests? If so, I'd suggest adding that information to your question here.
Good luck!


C++ Winsock non-blocking/async UDP socket

Question: I'm developping a little data processor in c++ over UDP sockets, and have a thread (just one, and apart the sockets) that process the info received from them.
My problem happens when i need to receive info from multiple clients in the socket at the same time.
How could i do something like:
Socket foo;
/* init socket vars and attribs */
while (serving){
thread_processing(foo_info);
}

for multiple clients (many concurrent access) in c++?
I'm using winsocks atm on win32, but just get standard blocking udp sockets working. No gui, it's a console app.
I'll appreciate so much an example or pointer to one ;).
Thanks in advance.
Answer: UDP socket is able to receive datagrams from multiple clients with the recvfrom() function. Just block on receive, read the request, process it, send the reply, repeat. You don't even need a thread unless processing takes a very long time (in that case a thread connected with two queues, in- and out-, would work).
Answer: I would suggest this is best tackled by putting the requests in a queue and letting the other thread work off the queue. This decouples the socket receive from the process and thus allows you to scale to more listeners and processing threads if your requirements change.


Delete mapping values in solidity?

Question: I created mapping address-> uint and i need to make whole mapping -> uints values set to 0  is it possible?
Answer:
i need to make whole mapping -> uints values set to 0

If you're talking about immediately after creation, they already are.
https://docs.soliditylang.org/en/v0.8.0/types.html?highlight=types#mapping-types

"You can think of mappings as hash tables, which are virtually
initialised such that every possible key exists and is mapped to a
value whose byte-representation is all zeros, a type's default value."

If you're talking about later on, after the mapping has been used, then you'll need a way to record which addresses have had non-zero values set.
See Clearing Mappings in the official docs.

Delete mapping values in solidity?


Meteor shower shooting stars

Question: Shooting stars are actually meteors falling down on the surface of earth. How come some of them appear shooting up and not down?
Comment: Related: https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/1866/do-meteorites-streak-across-the-sky-in-the-same-direction Also see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiant_(meteor_shower)
Comment: Perspective.  It's all about viewing angle and lack of altitude reference.
Answer: Shooting stars are indeed meteors falling down, but consider this: meteors which are part of a meteor shower actually appear to come from a point in the sky called the radiant point:
google image
Since you're looking upwards, you may be looking straight at the radiant point, and therefore the meteors are 'radiating' away from that point in all directions; not only 'downwards' towards the horizon, but 'upwards' from your point of view.
You can see that, even for a meteor which is not part of a shower, it's just as likely for a meteor to be going 'upwards' across the sky, as it is to be going 'downwards'.

Meteor shower shooting stars


If I were to move this profile picture element (within the pink box in image) would the downward facing arrow remain in the right side?

Question: If I were to move this profile picture element (within the pink box in image) would the downward facing arrow remain in the right side? Or to the left?
Answer: If the chevron's direction in the example would be right instead of down, I would say this question is a duplicate.
However, I believe there's no right or wrong answer for this question, but I'd love sharing my 2 cents.
Chevron looking down indicates the user that it will open a submenu right below the chevron. Chevron down icons are usually used in accordions to collapse the content and they usually go after the label. I believe that logic behind that is in most countries people read the text from left to right, so it is more convenient to perceive the logic this way:
Title -> Action
In your case "Title" is profile picture and "Action" is a chevron icon indicating that the profile content could be collapsed.

As I've mentioned, the answer depends on your audience and the way they tend to read and perceive information.
Is chevron down icon really necessary?
Many applications like Google, Instagram, Facebook, Adobe are using similar way of showing authenticated user and none of them are using chevron down icon to indicate that user could collapse the content. These companies have definitely done their homework on user research and I believe that their audiences understand that profile content could be collapsed without the chevron icon. If your audience is aware of Google, Facebook, or even Adobe then in that case you should consider removing the icon.


In OCaml, When to use Interface (mli) and when to use module?

Question: OCaml provides mli for interface and a module system.
My question is simple, how to choose from them?
Answer: Well, for one, modules are much more powerful. For example, OCaml have Functors (that are like module-level functions). Type this at the interpreter:
module String_set = Set.Make (String)

It creates a module with operations on sets of strings (such as union and intersection).
If you are using only the namespace functionality of modules, creating an explicit module makes it convenient to have a deeper namespace. That is, a module inside a module, like this: Module1.Module2, could be achieved with a file module1.ml that defines a module named Module2.
Of course each file defines a module - file m.ml defines module M - and I find them syntactically convenient (because you don't have an extra indentation...)
Also, an .mli serves a different purpose: interface files are used for documenting the type of top-level definitions, and this including modules themselves. If you define a module X inside a file m.ml, you can put X's signature in m.mli as well. But .mli files are optional, so even if you prefer to define your modules as files, you don't need to create an interface file.
PS: Modules in OCaml are so powerful that a common topic is "should I use modules or objects?". Check also first class modules for added magic.
Answer: It's just two way to access to the same thing
When you create the module Foo in the file Bar.ml, you'll have to access it by Bar.Foo.function .
If you create a bar.mli, all functions defined in this file will be accessible syntactically by Bar.function . Others functions are just interns.


If $t<0$, what is $t\sum a_n$?

Question: Let $t$ be a nonpositive real number (i.e. $t<0$) and $\{a_n\}$ be a nonnegative sequence if $$\sum a_n<\infty$$ then how do we prove or disprove that $$t\sum a_n<\infty?$$
Comment: In this given case, $\sum a_n$ is just a real number. You could write $s=\sum a_n\in\mathbb{R}$ and since $t$ is some other real number, we have $ts=st\in\mathbb{R}$. (Note we're not considering $\infty$ to be a real number!)
Answer: In your case, $a_n \ge 0$ and thus $|a_n| = a_n$. You trivially have that
$$ \sum_n |a_n| = \sum_n a_n < \infty . $$
Now, for negative $t \in \mathbb{R}$ you have
$$ t \sum_n a_n \le | t \sum_n a_n | \le |t| \left| \sum_n a_n \right| = |t| \sum_n |a_n | = |t| \sum_n a_n < \infty $$
(the middle equality is because that $\forall n : a_n \ge 0$).
In a similar manner you obtain that
$$ -\infty < t \sum_n a_n $$
and thus you deduce that $\sum_n a_n < \infty$ converges, using the Direct comparison test.
Comment: I like the details. Thanks
Answer: Since $a_n \geq 0$ by assumption, we have:
$$ \infty > \sum a_n \geq 0  $$
Now, if you multiply for some real number $t < 0$, the result will be:
$$ - \infty < t \sum a_n \leq 0 < + \infty $$
Notice that the sum is not infinite, because you have multiplied by a finite value $t$.
Comment: Nice ans straight forward answer. Thanks

If $t<0$, what is $t\sum a_n$?


What is the reporting function?

Question: When dealing with an enterprise application, I often heard the requirement of "reporting function" "run reports", "generate reports", etc. What is it referring to?
Answer: Reports in an enterprise application context usually refer to Business Intelligence reports. A broad definition of Business Intelligence, from Forester Research is:

Business intelligence (BI) is a set of methodologies, processes, architectures, and technologies that transform raw data into meaningful and useful information. It allows business users to make informed business decisions with real-time data that can put a company ahead of its competitors. Traditionally, core features like reporting and analytics have been the focus of BI technology choices, but as those features get commoditized, a whole new set of possibilities has emerged. Forrester's BI research shows that the technology is evolving and that enterprises on the cutting edge of these new trends can gain competitive advantage in their industries.

So, reporting mostly refers to the visualization and quering of Business Intelligence data. From a technical perspective, enterprise reporting usually involves (but is not limited to):

Data visualization,
Analytics (General, Statistical and Predictive),
Online analytical processing,
Data mining,
Process mining,
Benchmarking

Apart for a few common reports that are relevant for almost every business (basic statistics, common ERP / CRM operational reports), it's impossible to predict what a client requires when asking for reports, as every business and market has quite different operations and needs. Reports may range from simple charts to extremely complex multi-dimensional queries.
Comment: Wish I could upvote this more than once. Well done on a superbly complete answer.
Comment: `it's impossible to predict what a client requires when asking for reports`  I am glad that others believe this as well.  Customers always think about reporting last and whatever you deliver is either never enough, not targeted to their needs, or too complicated for them to figure out how to use effectively.
Comment: @maple_shaft and sometimes even the client doesn't know... I'm in such a situation right now, it's going to be a hell of a month...
Comment: @YannisRizos I feel your pain...
Comment: From a developers perspective it's of course also important that data mining, analytics, reports, visualization, etc, is impossible without having first gathered the data to be used. Which can be a challenge in by itself. Especially when report requirements change or are not set...
Answer: Reporting is the activity of applying transformations to stored data so that the end user can get information or satisfy business needs such as invoicing, control, planning, etc.
Some examples of basic reports:

In a retail system, you get a receipt after making a payment. This recipt is a type of report.
In a retail system, the manager may want to pull all the items that will expire in a given data.
In an HR system, an HR manager may want to list people who's salaries > 100K
Stock items shortage report, shewing items that reached re-order level and must be ordered to satisfy expected customer demand.
System failure analysis reports showing time of system failure and associated messages
In a banking system, a monthly statement is a report.

The above reports are referred to as 'operational reports' - They are built and used to control the operation of day-to-day business operations. Another type of reports exist to better control the business and make decisions about performance of the business in general and in particular against per-defined KPIs. Such reports pull information from one or more system and produce a 360-view to the management about a subject area or more.  These reports are usually refereed to as Business Intelligence Reports For example:

Inventory across Regions, states, stores
Sales of different goods across Regions, states, stores
Customer consumption of goods from organization

There are still more types of reports such as Data Mining reports, I will leave that for you to research if you want.
The report may be as simple as a list or as an aggrigated format with controls and calculations. See for example
Group View Report
Reports, as you can imagine, may be consumed by customer, end-user, analyst, manager, etc. The business analyst defines the suitability of each type of report to each type of users. Managers usually use high level views of information structured in an appealing visual display commonly referred to as Dash Boards.
See this for example:
Dash-1
Dash-3
Dash-2
Reports are not only text. A report can display information in both text and graphical format as a chart or maps.
Reports can be the result of a simple query or the result of a series of integration operations (as is the case of large BI and data warehousing environments).
Tools exist to generate reports using either programming language or specific reporting tools or languages.
End-user tools such as Excel can be used for reporting. In fact Excel provides an advanced type of reporting called pivot tables reports.
See: Pivot Tables in Excel
More advanced tools exist such as:
Advanced Analytics
Reporting can be performed in an on-linen environment or in batch. The subject is so wide to cover here, but I think you get the picture.
Answer: Usually such requirements are about generating some sort of statistical report(s) from the data gathered in the DB. Such as

hourly/daily/monthly sales volume
most purchased goods during last day/week/...
most active users during last day/week/...
who modified a given contract, when and how

etc. The exact kind of report is largely dependent on the business domain and the type of application in question. Usually such reports are backed by (SQL) queries to the DB, but the source may also be server logs etc. The results may be generated as an Excel/CSV file, visualized as a diagram, etc.

What is the reporting function?


Is asking whether some strategy already exists on topic?

Question: Say I have some strategy that I want to add to my game (it could be a RTS or other kind of strategy game), is it ok to ask whether there is something similar to that already in some other game, or even in real life, if we talk about strategies and tactics used in real world conflicts?
Answer: It sounds like you want to ask about game design more than world design.  That would be off-topic here, but you might want to take a look at Game Development.
If your question is more about the world itself -- and military tactics are generally on-topic here if they more systemic and less plot-specific -- then it's better to ask about the problem you're trying to solve, rather than asking who else might have solved it.  Answers can then point to that prior art if relevant.  Consider the difference between

How can a medieval-tech army defend itself against dragons with arrow-resistant hides?

and

What games have solved the arrows-against-dragons problem?
Comment: Oh, you mean asking about *identifying* a strategy?  I don't know if we've had these types of questions before, so I don't know how the community would handle them.  The [question sandbox](https://worldbuilding.meta.stackexchange.com/q/4835/28) might be a good way to test the waters and get feedback before people start voting on main.
Comment: @rraallvv It seems like you're wanting to know about game mechanics and if the terms for particular mechanics of strategy games have names. This seems like a question better suited for Game Development than here as Monica said.
Comment: Let's say I have something in place (for instance three types of units where the attack, defense, and range points are balanced so no unit can work alone), and I want someone to say, "that's scissor paper stone", would that be ok?
Comment: That's perfect! Thanks.


What is the energy of an atomic orbital?

Question: When we refer to energy of an atomic orbital what is this energy ? is potential energy ? but if is potential energy then shouldn't be considered the whole potential energy of the atom ( potential energy "belong" to systems ) rather than potential energy of the orbital ? can someone makes clear what this energy is (potential or kinetic or both) and explain it in terms of a first semester chemistry student ?i should also add that many textbooks refer the energy of an atomic orbital as the energy of the electron...and this is when i am going crazy.. Thanks in advandance
Comment: have a look http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/Chemical/eleorb.html
Answer: Let's first discuss hydrogen. The "energy of an orbital" is the total energy of the hydrogen atom when the electron is in that orbital. Ignorning the rest energy of the electron and the proton (which are the same regardless the state of the atom), this has three main contributions; in order of decreasing magnitude, they are: the electrostatic potential energy (about -27.2 eV for the ground state), the kinetic energy of the electron (about +13.6 eV for the ground state), and the kinetic energy of the proton (about 2000 times smaller). There are smaller contributions like spin-spin coupling that can often be ignored.
The kinetic energy of the proton can either be neglected, or taken into account by using a "reduced mass" for the electron. The proton is so much heavier than the electron that it is almost stationary. So it is common to just think of the energy as being the energy of the electron, but it is really the energy of the whole atom.
Any atom with more than one electron is complicated, because there are forces between electrons. When we use hydrogen-like orbitals to describe such atoms, we either ignore inter-electron electrostatic energy or approximate the effect of the inner electrons as simply reducing the effective charge of the nucleus, as felt by outer electrons.
Comment: The proton reference frame is not an inertial frame because the proton is moving around. In the semi-classical Bohr model, the proton orbits around the center of mass (barycenter). But the way it works in the Schrodinger equation is that the wavefunction is a wavefunction depending on the separation vector between the proton and the electron. You start by including a kinetic term for the proton, but it turns out to be equivalent to using a reduced mass for the electron, just as with the Kepler problem.
Comment: thanks for the answer ...i always had in mind in what reference frame we calculate the stationary proton ? we use proton point of view as the reference frame or we treat the atom as the electron revolving around the nucleus in same way we do with sun-earth system ? do protons also revolve around the "barycentre" of electron-proton system ?
Answer: Okay, I get your issue. Indeed is not very simple, because it is all about quantum mechanics, which work quite differently than classical physics. But I'll try to make it "simple".

They say "energy" because it is "total energy". Not just kinetic or potential. It's total energy.

You'll hear both "energy of an orbital" and "energy of an electron". Both are right somehow. To be precise, it's the electron which has the energy, but the electron has that energy because it is in that orbital.

So the orbitals can be empty, and nothing happens. Orbitals are like "possible places" (possible states). Those "places" can be empty or not.
When an electron occupies those states, the electrno acquires that energy. If an electron iss found in the first orbital, it will have a certain amount of energy.
So we can associate that value to orbital 1. That's why we say "energy of orbitals". It actually means "energy that electrons have when they're in that state".
Then, electrons can be in other states, even a mixture of them. Weird things of QM haha. But that's pretty much it, made veery simple.

Edit:
Okay, in a simple sentence: no, the places do not have energy. Energy is a property of particles and waves. An electron has a certain energy when it "is in the state of the second orbital". Electrons (or the wavefunctions) have energy.
When you go deeper in QM, you'll see that not all states have a defined energy. That means that there are two types of states:

Some of them have defined energy. If the electron is in that state, it will certainly have that energy. If you have an energy-meter, you'll always get that value.
There are (so many) states with no defined energy. That means that you can measure energy and get different values everytime. These are random, but with certain probabilities. (And once you measure it, you change the system, but that's another story haha).

What I mean is that

There are some states such that, if the electron is there, the electron will always have that energy.

So, it is natural to "associate" that energy as "energy of the orbital". But it actually means that "when the electron gets there, it will acquire that energy". So the energy is in the electron, but it is ruled by where it is.
It's like wearing the uniform. You wear it, but you only wear it when you are at the correct place. (Hmm I like this analogy haha).
So orbitals have no energy. Orbitals are the places. But... they have an energy associated because the electrno will have that energy when it gets there.
Secondly. Well, kind of. We still work with the usuall classic formulas: $\frac{1}{2}mv^2 + K\frac{Qq}{r}$, but now they mean a different thing. First, we write KE in terms of momentum:
$$E_k=\frac{p^2}{2m}$$
And we do this ebcause in QM, these are no longer numbers, but operators. And the equation is no longer $E_k+E_p=E$, but the Schrödinger's equation. For an electron in Coulomb's potential, it is
$$\frac{-\hbar^2}{2m} \nabla^2\psi + K\frac{Qq}{r}\psi = E\cdot\psi$$.
As you can see, it's all about wavefunctions $\psi$. So making a clear image for beginners is quite hard haha.
Comment: thanks for the answer..but i have little more questions.. these ''places" have that energy without the electron ? or we treat them as what would be the energy if the electron where there ? also for calculating total energy we still use the equation of coulomb electric potential energy and the classic formula for kinetic energy 1/2mv^2 ? i am getting confused because in chemical reactions and in hydrogen molecule formation we usually draw a potential energy diagram...QM is weird but damn it works
Comment: Sure it works haha. Well, since your questions seen to be long, I'll rather edit the question instead of expanding this comment.


PCI DSS Storage Definition - BizTalk Consideration

Question: I am having trouble locating a clear PCI DSS definition for "Storage" and wether or not Microsoft BizTalk could be considered within that definition. Could an overloaded BizTalk server or failed orcestration constitute storage even if only momentary?
Comment: Per above answer from Jonah B, what is your source for this statement? I understand the assumption, but don't know that I've seen that defined.
Answer: I doubt you will find a specific definition of storage from the PCI DSS since there are just so many different ways of perceiving when data is "stored". A quick poll of 3 other QSAs around me could not reach consensus immediately if BizTalk only stores information if overloaded or even when it is operating normally. Cache files etc can all play a role even if you don't normally see or expect it.
One thing we all do agree on is that it ultimately does not matter in your scenario based on the information you provided. PCI DSS applies to all systems if it processes, transmits or stores cardholder data. Clearly BizTalk is used to Process and Transmit information at the very least. If the system has the potential to store information when overloaded, it needs to be considered and all applicable controls put in place to safeguard card holder information.
Answer: PCI DSS is concerned about the presence of cardholder or sensitive data on durable storage media, whether the functional purpose is temporary- as in a cache or queue or in swap- or permanent.
Durable storage opens up additional opportunities for exposure, no matter what the purpose, and expands the scenarios in which failures can lead to compromise.
Use of durable storage for temporary purposes usually has to be accompanied with controls to prove that sensitive or cardholder data is securely wiped even in failure scenarios.


Why is probabilty conserved under time evolution of a system in quantum mechanics?

Question: I've studied quantum mechanics to a certain degree, but one question that I've never been able to get a fully satisfactory answer to is why probability is conserved (by this I mean that it has either just been stated to me that the norm is preserved under time evolution, or through taking the time derivative of the bra-ket and showing it to be zero through use of the schroedinger equation, which is fine mathematically, but I would really like an intuitive physical reason also). Or, in other words, why is the norm of a state vector conserved, i.e. $$\big\vert\langle\psi\vert\psi\rangle\big\vert = 1 \qquad\forall\;t$$
Is the intuitive physical reasoning that whatever observable we are measuring, the total probability that it has a value (within it's allowed range) should always be unity (e.g. it must always have some value of momentum, position etc.)?!
Comment: Since you've stated that you've found no fully satisfactory answer, it would be appropriate, I think, for you to precisely *identify* in your question what isn't satisfactory so those here that wish to answer your question will not have to *guess* at what doesn't satisfy you.
Comment: If we constrain a particle to some region of space, we should *always* find it in that region. Thus, we should expect the probability over all space be 1 for all time; simple as that.
Comment: Related: http://physics.stackexchange.com/q/169936/2451 and links therein.
Answer: Mathematical reason is that the time evolution operator is unitary, which means that $U^\dagger = U^{-1}$. Therefore $\langle \psi(t) | \psi(t) \rangle = \langle \psi(0)| U^\dagger U | \psi(0) \rangle = \langle \psi(0) | \psi(0) \rangle$. We can see that it is unitary by considering the Schrodinger equation:
$$
\newcommand{\ket}[1]{| #1 \rangle}
\frac{\partial}{\partial{t}} \ket{\psi(t)} = \frac{1}{i \hbar} \hat{H} \ket{\psi(t)}
$$
Let's assume the Hamiltonian is time-independent. (We don't need to but it makes things easier.) And let's assume there is a linear operator $U(t)$ that time evolves kets. Then we can write:
$$
\frac{\partial}{\partial{t}} U(t) \ket{\psi(0)} = \frac{1}{i \hbar} \hat{H}  U(t)\ket{\psi(0)}
$$
But this needs to hold for arbitrary $\ket{\psi(0)}$, so the operators must be equivalent:
$$
\frac{\partial}{\partial{t}} U(t) = \frac{1}{i \hbar} \hat{H}  U(t)
$$
This solution to this differential equation is:
$$
U(t) = e^{-i \frac{\hat{H}}{\hbar} t}
$$
The initial condition here is the reasonable one, that $U(0) = 1$. Then we can ask ourselves what the Hermitian conjugate of this is. Since $\hat{H}$ is Hermitian, it follows:
$$
U^\dagger(t) = e^{i \frac{\hat{H}}{\hbar} t}
$$
And from that we can see that
$$
U(t) U^\dagger(t) = e^{i \frac{\hat{H}}{\hbar} (t - t)} = 1\\
\implies U^\dagger(t) = U^{-1}(t)
$$
Notice that the time evolution operator's inverse is just the evolution operator for going to $-t$ rather than $+t$, so the unitarity is an expression of time-reversal symmetry.
Another reason might be to consider what a probability is. It doesn't really make sense to say that the probability won't add up to 1. Even if you say that the momentum could be zero, that's still some probability in $| p = 0 \rangle$. How would the particle simply not have a measured value of momentum? An expectation value maps the wavefunction to a number. Something very odd is going on if you don't get that number, and the nature of what it is to be a probability means that it should add to precisely 1.
At the risk of complicating things, in some applications people use non-unitary time evolution. For instance, in scattering calculations we might want to include an imaginary potential, which can absorb probability. This could correspond to the fact that my particle might not come back from the scattering event--maybe it's captured or something. However, this is mostly a computational trick--if I included the bound state that the particle could go into, I should still have unitary time evolution, but maybe some of my probability ends up in the bound state instead of the continuum of $| k \rangle$ states. The lack of probability tells us that something has escaped our analysis, not that the true expectation value is undefined. If you do this, you do it (1) on purpose and (2) with a clear prescription of how to handle the probabilities for the wavefunction you have left over. For instance, to actually find an expectation value of the scattered wavefunction which may have lost some amplitude, you need to--you guessed it--rescale so probability is again 1.
Comment: So would what I've said be at all correct then? i.e. whatever property of a particle (system) we are considering (e.g. position, momentum, etc.), the probability that it will have a value (be it zero or non-zero) at any point in time should always be unity (as it will definitely have some value - it doesn't just suddenly have no value of momentum, for example, at some point in time)...
Comment: Am I correct in saying that it's the total probability of a given property that is conserved and not the individual values that it may assume (i.e. the probabilities of it assuming particular values change over time, but in such a way that the sum of them is always 1)?!
Comment: Yes. Imagine the particle traveling through space--it moves, so the probability as a function of position $P(x)$ is changing, but it's always somewhere, so the probability should always sum to 1.
Comment: Also, what is the reason for the time evolution operator being unitary (I thought this followed as a requirement to preserve the norm of the state vector?). If the state of a system is completely specified at some initial time, then we can determine its state at any later time by virtue of the schroedinger equation. Thus there must be some linear (implied by the superposition principle) operator that maps the state at its initial time to the state that it evolves to at some later time, however, I don't see how unitarity follows?!
Comment: Consider a time-independent Hamiltonian. Then we can show that the evolution operator is $exp (-i \hat{H} t )$. If $\hat{H}$ is Hermitian, then this will be unitary. (For time-dependent Hamiltonians, this also holds, but you have to use the infinitesimal operator. I can show you that if you feel skeptical still.) Reference: Cohen-Tahnnoudji, "Quantum Mechanics", Complement F-III
Comment: Does this just follow from solving the Schroedinger equation then? Yes, if you wouldn't mind showing me it, that'd be great.
Comment: Yes, see my edit.
Comment: which comes first: conservation of probability or unitary evolution?  And what if measurement?


Why would the same ignition coil fail 4 times in my 2012, 5.3 Silverado?

Question: The first one failed at around 90K miles, the second around 130000K, the third around 165000 and again this week at 167000K. I've changed spark plugs and plug wires. Always the same cylinder and the frequency has increased. I've checked the ground and the wiring harness for damage. Not sure where to go from here?
Comment: Welcome to Motor Vehicle Maintenance & Repair! What are you replacing them with? Aftermarket ones or OEM GM ones? And are your numbers correct? Looks like you are adding zeros. I would be highly surprised if you had gone 167 million miles in your truck, especially since the truck is only 6 years old. Instead of replacing it, have you tried moving it to a new location. IE: Exchange the "bad" coil with a known good one? It may be the plug is coming undone or something.
Comment: Plug wires? I'm surprised that isn't a coil-on-plug motor.
Comment: @3Dave it's coil near plug. To the OP maybe use an attenuator and min/max the coil ground see if there's some kind of noise when it fires.
Comment: Is water getting under the hood and into the plug wires? Are wires routed near sharp metal edges like heat shields? Arcing to ground will kill those coil packs quickly. Run it in a dark garage with all the lights off and look for sparks to ground.
Answer: Heat is the big killer.  The wires themselves get so hot that their protective coating melts and they short... not completely, but enough for the overall resistance to go down.  I mean the wire inside the coil...If you've ever seen a coil of wire (transformer, choke etc.) you will see a colorful wire (usually gold, sometimes other colors like red - but translucent - looks like the wire is copper) that is actually a plastic coating over the wire that has to be scraped off to solder - or melted off....
Could be caused by a) being someplace hotter than usual OR b) running too large of a spark gap.   The larger gap causes more voltage to be built up in the coil and the coil finds new and creative ways to arc.  Note: theoretically it can be too small of a gap as well - weak spark, but more current flow.
Also note: the LS style motors had different coils at different times.  Make sure you get the correct one for your vehicle.


Any way to set Drupal theme settings per page?

Question: I have a theme which has multiple theme options in its settings page. Is there a way to assign particular theme settings to specific Drupal paths?
Comment: The theme system should be able to do that, but AFAIK, no contributed theme has this built-in.  To do it, you need to create a subtheme of the theme - and hack the path dependencies it into that.
Comment: Sounds like subtheme is my only option!
Answer: For Drupal 7, you can do this by taking advantage of the fact that theme settings are cached by drupal_static(). See theme_get_setting(). I think the same approach would work for Drupal 8 too, but haven't tried it.
<code>// Implement HOOK_init.
// Here we override one of the Bootstrap theme settings.
function MY_MODULE_init() {
  // Only do this if we're actually on the relevant page.
  if ($_GET['q'] == PATH_TO_THE_PAGE) {
    // Override the Bootstrap theme setting 'Smart form descriptions (via Tooltips)'.
    // This because we want to display form input #description as text, not tooltip.
    // This will also affect any other forms on the current page, no easy solution for that.

    // Set the name of the theme we're interested in (the current theme in this case).
    $theme_name = $GLOBALS['theme_key'];
    // Read the setting first to ensure that the drupal_static cache is populated.
    $setting = theme_get_setting('bootstrap_forms_smart_descriptions', $theme_name);
    // Get a reference to the cached settings.
    $cached_settings = &drupal_static('theme_get_setting');
    // Unset the 'bootstrap_forms_smart_descriptions' setting from the cache.
    unset($cached_settings[$theme_name]['bootstrap_forms_smart_descriptions']);
  }
}
</code>
I should add, this is arguably a bit of a hack, as it depends on the internals of drupal_static() and theme_get_setting() i.e. not documented API functionality - unless you consider the code to be the documentation :)
Answer: You can do this with the ThemeKey Module.

ThemeKey allows you to define simple or sophisticated theme-switching
  rules which allow automatic selection of a theme depending on current
  path, taxonomy terms, language, node-type, and many, many other
  properties. It can also be easily extended to support additional
  properties exposed by other modules. In combination with Drupal's
  theme inheritance you can easily achieve features like:

individually-styled channels
a front-page / "splash" screen
a date/time-selected Christmas theme
mobile themes for different auto-detected mobile devices
special themes for "limited" or "old" browsers
content, user, or role -specific themes
indicating your environment (production, staging, testing, sandbox, … )
testing your redesign safely on a live server

And unlike other theme switching modules, ThemeKey should play well
  with internal and external page caches, like Boost or Varnish, even
  for anonymous users.
Comment: I think the OP actually wants different settings for a single theme, depending on path, not theme switching.
Comment: @AlfredArmstrong is correct - I don't want to switch themes, but rather assign specific settings of said theme based on different paths. The only way I can see this possible with ThemeKey would be to replicate the theme in question and rename it, giving each replicate its own settings, and then assign that way. Not good.


Data structure(s) useful for finding values that can be identified with multiple keys of different types

Question: As an example, consider the storage of hospital records. If John Smith is feeling sick, the doctor might need to look up his record by name to find his medical history. However, the doctor might also need to lookup all patients who experienced the symptoms John experienced to help the diagnosis. In another case, he may need a list of all patients admitted to the hospital at a certain time. What data structure(s) would be used to store patient records and search for them based on name, symptom, date of admission, and possibly other identifiers?
Comment: I agree... Seems like a textbook case.
Answer: I'll throw this out there: this reads like the use-case for a relational database. Perhaps storing the data in a database and accessing it with queries is a good, long-term solution? If you're interested in the theory/algorithms, you can study how databases solve these problems. Things like indexes, query optimization, etc. are quite deep and probably can't be meaningfully covered here.


Raspberry pi cold wallet safety

Question: I don't have an old computer to make an air gap. I do have a raspberry pi from 2012 though. If I made a new SD card with fresh OS would this be safe enough to make cold wallets on? It would be easy to hide, also.
Answer: Sure!
Boot the Raspberry, change admin password (keep this safe!) turn off the wifi and bluetooth.
Turn wifi and bluetooth off:
sudo nano /boot/config.txt
dtoverlay=pi3-disable-wifi
dtoverlay=pi3-disable-bt
Reboot and NEVER turn on the internet again on this Raspberry.
Note all the software you think you will need (Monero, gpg and maybe KeePassX). Download them on your online mac/pc, checksum all the files and signatures, move to usb stick. Plug into Raspberry and checksum again all the files.
Install what you need, store your password for the Monero Wallet in KeePassX (maybe also use an extra usb-stick as a KeePassX-keyfile).
Some more information on making a cold wallet and a view-only wallet on your online machine to check the balance:
Monero, how to create a view-only wallet and verify cold wallet's balance - Youtube tutorial
Setup view only wallet and check balance - Reddit topic
Comment: Luckily no internet hardware on those old Pi's. Can you add a thought on how to safely make sure you have a fresh OS on Pi? The only way I know how to flash an OS to SD card is to do it on an internet connection computer...
Comment: I'm not sure how to securely do that. Other than downloading the image file, checksum and signature, turn off the internet and use safe software to load it up on the SD card.
If you want you can find me on [Keybase](https://keybase.io/toldenburger), I have a folder with verified software anyone can use. (If they trust me)
I also have a raspbian iso there also.
Comment: Seems like safest way to generate cold wallet is with dice/coin, and just use Rpi for translating to address/mnemonics. I wish cli/gui had coin/dice input translation
Comment: If you use an offline version of [MoneroWalletGenerator](https://moneroaddress.org) you can do just that. I then used the View Key on my online machine with a view only wallet to keep an eye on that account.

Raspberry pi cold wallet safety


Supported RSA Key Lengths for Encrypted SQL Connections

Question: I'm having trouble finding any documentations regarding supported key lengths for RSA certs to encrypt SQL connections. Our internal CA is issuing certs with a 4096 key length and that seems to work with our 2019 SQL servers, but I cannot seem to get anything lower than 2019 to see the certs in Configuration Manager. My hunch is that 2017 and below do not support a 4096 key length but I'm not able to find any documentation saying what is actually supported so it's only a guess right now. Does anybody have any documentation showing what is supported by each version? Thanks.
Comment: I'm pretty sure that only is in reference to things like TDE. The cert I am referring to is for connection encryption. It's not created with SQL it is created with our cert authority.
Comment: RSA_4096, RSA_3072, RSA_2048 should work for 2016 and above. As per [this](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/t-sql/statements/create-asymmetric-key-transact-sql?redirectedfrom=MSDN&view=sql-server-ver15) document.
Answer: It looks like maybe the issue was not an issue with the key length but rather the type of cert. The below link has this and it looks like when we created a new cert template to use the legacy CSP it worked. So, it looks like maybe SQL 2019 supports KSP, but 2017 and below only support CSP.

After releasing Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, there is a brand new CSP subsystem called Cryptography Next Generation (CNG). CNG is was written from scratch and is not compatible with legacy CSP subsystem. CNG brings a lot of improvements to CryptoAPI, but the idea is still the same. Also, CNG ships a new class of CSPs  called Key Storage Provider  or KSP. In general, KSP and CSP are similar in terms of their purpose. CSP refers to legacy CryptoAPI 1.0 and KSP refers to CNG or CAPI2.

https://www.sysadmins.lv/blog-en/certutil-tips-and-tricks-query-cryptographic-service-providers-csp-and-ksp.aspx


"What's not to love?"

Question: What do people really mean when they say "what's not to love"? Is there any context in particular to use this?
Answer: It's a variation on the older phrase, "what's not to like". The question is rhetorical, it's a different way of saying that you can't think of a reason why anybody would not love/like X; there is nothing not to love/like about it. At least that's what the literal meaning is. Nowadays, the phrase is such a cliché that it's often used ironically, to mean the exact opposite thing.
The Phrase Finder provides some background:

The earliest example of 'what's not to like?' that I've found in print is in Dorothy Kilgallen's review of the film Charade in the 'Voice of Broadway' column in the New York newspaper The Dunkirk Evening Observer, September 1963:
"It has Audrey Hepburn, Cary Grant, Paris in living color, and a beautiful score by Henry Mancini. So what's not to like?"
[...]
The 'what's not to love?' spinoff variant started in 1974, as part of Volkswagen's advertising copy for a limited edition range of Beetle models that were styled on the Love Bug that featured in Disney's eponymous 1968 film.

It even has a picture of the said ad.
Answer: It's a way of saying
"How can one not love ... ?"
or more precisely:
"What characteristic of ... can one dislike ?"
I think it's clearer under the form "what's not to love about ...". Such as for instance:
"What's not to love about this kid."
Answer: The confusion may arise from the elided "there".
"What's not to love?" can be expanded as "What is there not to love about [subject of discussion]?" where the italicized words are the words left out of the original construction.
The speaker is asking the listener to list objections; usually, though, the statement is rhetorical.

"What's not to love?"


What are the major differences in a composition of metal and progressive metal?

Question: I am a bit confused about the differences in the composition of metal and progressive metal. Are there major differences in their orientation of sound, or it is just the difference of incorporating more instruments in metal.
Answer: Labels are only of limited usefulness. However, it can be observed metal is ultimately based on the blues and rock and roll. Metal songs are usually closer to the song structures, rhythms and meters of blues and rock--they're just played much louder and harder.
Progressive metal incorporates elements of progressive rock and classical music, especially frequent changes in time signature and meter, the use of odd-time signatures (like 5/4 and 7/8) changes in keys within songs, more complicated chord progressions (expressed through arpeggios because strumming complex chords doesn't work with all that distortion). Progressive metal compositions usually involve longer pieces and less reliance on song form (verse, chorus, bridge, etc.). Progressive metal is also more open to using instruments other than drums, bass and guitar.
Answer: I agree with Wheat Williams.
the problem is that the metal genre has (too many) subgenres. Many metalbands are categorizable in several subgenres.
Progressive metal is a blend from the early '80 progrock bands (Gentle Giant, Yes, King Crimson) and the more modern metal influences. It seems that where other metal subgenres like metalcore, deathmetal, folkmetal and Doommetal resemble in sound and structure, progressive metal bands may differ extremely. (Dream Theater, Opeth, Porcupine Tree Pineapple Thief, Novembre).
Bands that found a unique sound are often quickly identified as "progressive", while there's no 'core property' which identifies the subgenre as such.
This also makes it difficult to say "I like progressive metal!".
Comment: I've never understood why metal fans sub-divide "metal" into so many "sub-genres". Let's remember the jazz trumpet great Louis Armstrong, who said, "There are only two kinds of music: good music and bad music. I play the good kind."
Comment: jazz also knows [a lot](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_jazz_genres) of subgenres, but in my experience are less subject to attention. I agree with armstrongs quote; the number of subgenres is somewhat over the top. However, I belief the origin of this number has it's roots from back in the day that metal (and hard rock) had a *rebellious* character and the purpose to *differentiate* from mainstream (or "other") music.


How to create user properties with EWS or EWS Managed API so that they appear in field chooser

Question: I would like to create User Properties using EWS so that they appear in the field chooser in Outlook. I know it's possible using VBA, the object model exposes an Item.UserProperties collection. However, using EWS I can only access Item.ExtendedProperty.
The issue with ExtendedProperty is that is doesn't appear in the selectable user properties list.
The underlying issue is that our server-side application tries to work nicely together with the Dynamics CRM Outlook Client. The CRM Outlook client uses UserProperty for storing custom properties and our application can only work with EWS and we cannot find a way to create user properties.
Some example code:
User Properties (VBA Outlook):
Dim WithEvents m_objApp As Outlook.AppointmentItem
Private Sub Application_ItemLoad(ByVal Item As Object)
If Item.Class = olAppointment Then
    Set m_objApp = Item
End If

End Sub
Private Sub m_objApp_Open(Cancel As Boolean)
Dim oProp1 As UserProperty
Dim oProp2 As UserProperty

If m_objApp.UserProperties.Count = 0 Then
    Set oProp1 = m_objApp.UserProperties.Add("crmid", olText)
    oProp1.Value = ""
    Set oProp2 = m_objApp.UserProperties.Add("crmLinkState", olText)
    oProp2.Value = "0"
    m_objApp.Save
End If

End Sub
Extended Properties (Exchange EWS):
        CalendarItemType item = new CalendarItemType();
        item.MeetingTimeZone = new TimeZoneType() { TimeZoneName = _userTimeZone };
        item.StartSpecified = true;
        item.Start = GetDateFromXml(node.Value);
        item.EndSpecified = true;
        item.End = GetDateFromXml(node.Value);

        List<ExtendedPropertyType> properties = new List<ExtendedPropertyType>();
        properties.Add(CreateExtendedProperty("crmid", pending.CrmId.Value.ToString(), MapiPropertyTypeType.String));
        properties.Add(CreateExtendedProperty("crmLinkState", "2", MapiPropertyTypeType.Double));
        item.ExtendedProperty = properties.ToArray();

        CreateRequest createRequest = new CreateItemType()
            {
                Items = new NonEmptyArrayOfAllItemsType
                {
                    Items = new ItemType[] { item }
                },
                SavedItemFolderId = new TargetFolderIdType()
                {
                    Item = new DistinguishedFolderIdType()
                    {
                        Id = folder,
                        Mailbox = new EmailAddressType() { EmailAddress = _user.MailBox }
                    }
                },
                SendMeetingInvitations = CalendarItemCreateOrDeleteOperationType.SendToNone,
                SendMeetingInvitationsSpecified = true
            };

       CreateItemResponseType response = exchange.CreateItem(createRequest);

    private ExtendedPropertyType CreateExtendedProperty(string name, string value, MapiPropertyTypeType type)
    {
        return new ExtendedPropertyType()
        {
            ExtendedFieldURI = new PathToExtendedFieldType()
            {
                PropertyName = name,
                DistinguishedPropertySetId = DistinguishedPropertySetType.PublicStrings,
                DistinguishedPropertySetIdSpecified = true,
                PropertyType = type
            },
            Item = value
        };
    }

A similar question has been asked on a Microsoft forum almost a year ago, but no answer yet. http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-NZ/exchangesvrdevelopment/thread/c4d6bbb9-ba6a-4aa4-9e39-98a52b733a8c
I was hoping SO would be more successful :)
Thanks,
Jeffry
Answer: I thought the two methods were equivalent as long as you used publicstrings (which it looks like you do). How about using MFCMAPI to see the difference in what's generated?
Comment: I've seen some possible answers in some sites. Havent had time to test it. Basically a) EWS must use the PUBLICSTRINGS guid. b) you must have an addin loop through all the folders of relevance and make sure the userProperty is added to the collection c) you can then customize the column view, etc.


Altium Designer component search

Question: I am coming from Autodesk Eagle and I am new to Altium Designer. I just have a quick question. In Eagle I was able to have a lot of different libraries available in my library manager and whenever I entered something in the search bar, it searched for the component in all the available libraries. In Altium I added a couple of file base libraries to my component panel (.intlib and .dblib), some from the internet and one from me. When I use the search bar on top now, it seems to me that the search only happens in the library that I have currently selected. I tried it out with a couple of components.
I am aware that there is the manufacturer parts search that goes through Altiums cloud database and the file based search where I exactly have to define of the fields, but that is not what I mean.
Just wondering if there is a search that goes through all my file based libraries and that tries to match whatever I type.
Comment: You can get a lot of help on https://discord.me/altium - you need to create a login and join the server to take you to the celestial library where there is decent activity and help.
Answer: You can search in all libs via the Components Panel.
Altium Doku

Altium Designer component search


Starting Tor Relay?

Question: I am trying to run a tor relay. I have went to the torcc file and uncommented what I believe be. Then I exited tor, then I started the tor bundle pkg. So how do i know in linux system that the relay is working?
Answer: Your Tor log will report that it has successfully been able to perform a self-connectivity test, then you will also be able to find it in the next consensus assuming it was voted into it. You can also see if it's in the consensus by looking for it on Atlas.

Starting Tor Relay?


How would ancient Greeks call the "Egyptian black marble" that Robert Graves say Zeus' throne was made from?

Question: I have been researching Zeus' throne, and have found several sources that say the throne was made of black marble. One source was even more specific, saying it was Egyptian black marble. I am now trying to find out how that would have been written out. The nearest I have been able to decipher was the individual corresponding words: Aigýptios mélās mármaros (Αἰγύπτιος μέλας μάρμαρος) I am not fluent in ancient Greek, Hellēnikḗ (Ἑλληνική), so I don't know if this is correct, grammatically, or if there is a more nuanced way to say it. I'e also found the term mávro marmárino (μαύρο μαρμάρινο), but I think that is modern Greek. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Comment: Ah. It's from the story "The Palace of Olympus" by Robert Graves. That's a literary work rather than a scholarly one.
Comment: I'm curious what's the source for describing Zeus' throne as black marble. I do see it repeated in a number of fictional works and on the internet, but I haven't found a scholarly or historical source. In Julian's *Caesars* described it as "more brilliant than silver, but paler than gold" and suggested it could be *ḗlektron*.
Comment: @Semaphore - I have only researched on the internet, but most seem to source Robert Graves. I think specifically his book, The Greek Myths.
Answer: There does exist a material, used since antiquity, that Renaissance Europeans identified as "Egyptian black marble". Johann Georg Keyßler wrote of one such work in Rome:

In the upper Chambers is . . . a statute of Hercules, when a Boy, tall and plump; by the Colour, indeed, it appears to be Bronze, but properly, it is a black Egyptian Marble, called by some Selcio, and by others Basaltes. This Statue was found in the Villa de Meximus on Mount Aventine, and bought by the City of Rome for a thousand Ducats.

(I believe this is the statue in question, btw)
"Basaltes" is a medieval transcription error of what the Romans originally called basanites, which they adopted from the Greek βασανίτης, which in turn originated from Egyptian bḫn. For example, Georgius Agricola wrote in De Natura Fossilium that:

Some marble is iron-gray, for example, the basaltes from Egypt that is found in Ethiopia

And Pliny's Natural History appears to describe the same material:

The Egyptians, too, have discovered in Æthiopia the stone known as "basanites;" which in colour and hardness resembles iron, whence the name that has been given to it. A larger block of it has never been known than the one forming the group which has been dedicated by the Emperor Vespasianus Augustus in the Temple of Peace.

While I don't have a Greek source, there's no doubt the Greeks would have been aware.
Since the question is inspired by a modern work of literary art, I think the balance of probability is that this is the material the original author meant.
Answer: They would probably call this Alabaster, even though strictly speaking this is not marble (but is gleams like black marble).
The name may be derived from ancient Egyptian "a-labaste", which refers to vessels of the Egyptian goddess Bast, into Greek "ἀλάβαστρος" ("alabastros") or "ἀλάβαστος" ("alabastos"). The Greek words denoted a vase of alabaster.
Comment: Isn't ancient alabaster light colored?
Comment: there's a black color version as well, for example [this statue](https://assets.catawiki.nl/assets/2018/5/22/4/d/c/4dc4d73c-7e3a-4172-a016-58e90b7290a6.jpg) is Egyptian black alabaster
Comment: Black alabaster is very rare and supposedly only sourced from three mines in the world; in Oklahoma, China, and Italy. I do not believe it was available in antiquity. Google image of your link show an auction saying that's a work from France in the 1960s; the "Egyptian" here refers to the design of the cat, not the material.


Is ROC or PR curve only the overall performance measure for classification

Question: We can use ROC or PR curve to access the performance of the classifier,especially on imbalance data. But it is a curve with parameter threshold, even if we get a high ROC or PR performance, which point (or threshold) on there we should choose in order to get a class label for test set FINALLY? And more clearly, even if we get another not high ROC or PR performance for another classifier, maybe there exists a point (threshold) on it with the similar true-positive/false-positive ( precision/recall for positive class) with the previous good one, which means if we choose this threshold, these two classifiers has similar performance on the test set( even if there overall performance are different). Correct? Or we don't choose threshold, we just choose p=0.5 for labeling for a probability classifier?
Answer: For a choosen value (T) of the threshold you can compute the False alarm rate (FAR) and the Hit rate (HR).  Obviously, both quantities depend on the threshold T, i.e. FAR(T), HR(T).
One finds the ROC curve by drawing the couples ( FAR(T), HR(T) ) for vaying values of T in a planar graph.
Consequently, as the ROC curve is derived from the set of ''all values of T'' it is a global measure of performance.
One can only conclude on the better performance of one or other test if one of the two ROCs ''dominates'' the other one.  If the ROC curves intersect there is no unambigous conclusion.
So, as you say, the ROC is a global measure of performance.
Comment: I would add that the ROC is independent of the threshold and so is useful for comparing the general performance of classifiers. After you fix the thresholds, then one classifier may be better than another, even if it has a worse ROC curve. I.e. it may be better locally while be worse globally.


Can Atopica capsules for dogs be given to cats?

Question: I struggle getting Atopica liquid into my cat so my vet game me the capsules for dogs, but I read on the package it only meant to be used for dogs.  Is it safe for my cat?
Answer: Yes it is safe, it's the exact same drug only difference is cats have liquid form whereas dogs have capsules/tablets.
People tend to find it easier to give liquids vs pills to cats.
If you want more peace of mind than from an internet stranger you can give the company a call and talk to their staff 1-888-545-5973 (US Elanco)
Website - https://www.elanco.us/contact-us/default.aspx


Towel hook in bathroom ceramic tile grout

Question: I few years ago I installed tile on the wall of my bathroom. I needed a little hook for a hand towel in the tile, so I drilled two little holes into the grout in between two tiles and screwed the hook to there. Just recently, the screws just slid right out. How can I screw the hook back in? Could I just use bigger screws? Or could I get some sort of glue substance, and put it in there and then slide the screws back in and let it set? What do you recommend? Here's a photo:
Comment: Screws won't hold in grout; it isn't strong enough. You either need to find a place where the screws can go through into a stud behind the tiles/wallboard, or install some kind of wallboard anchor (which will probably require making a bigger hole, if this is to support any nontrivial amount of weight), or switch to something like epoxy.
Answer: Fixing this could take several directions.
If you have access to the other side of the wall from where the hook was mounted it may be feasible to open up the drywall from that side and install some wooden backer between the studs that can accept slightly longer screws from the tile side. Fixing up and re-finishing an access hole in drywall would be be far easier that trying to re-work the tile wall.
The size of the face plate of the hook looks like it would cover up a bit larger hole made between the tiles. Such hole may actually need to chip away at the edges of the tile some too. With a larger hole you can push through a fastener called a toggle bolt which would anchor to the opposite side of the wall material in the mount area. If you choose to use a toggle bolt approach consider applying a ring of silicon sealer between the bracket and the tile on the back side of the bracket. When this sets up it will take up the sheer load on the hook. Toggle bolts work best for pulling the load directly up to the wall and the hook could slide around on the wall due to the larger hole size and force that was parallel to the wall surface. The silicon can help prevent that problem.

Use care in how you go about enlarging the hole as you could end up cracking the tile if you try to force a regular style drill bit into the grout line. A small diameter tile hole drill would be recommended.
For this application I would discourage the use of other types of expanding wall anchors such as the cheap plastic things you press into a hole before applying the screws. They will eventually fail in much the same way as your current fail.
Answer: I see two ways to go about fixing this:
1: fill and grout the existing holes.  Then buy a tile drill bit and 2 tile anchors and re-install in the middle of a tile.
2: get the cheap plastic anchors and epoxy them into the existing holes.  The disadvantage of this is that the area between the two holes will flex slightly and eventually the grout will break down, compromising the mechanical retention of the anchors.


Why are both wires white and black hot at the outlet, light switch and even at light in the ceiling. I replaced the outlets and switches and lights

Question: Why are both wires white and black hot at the outlet, and light switch and even at the light in the ceiling
Comment: Hello, and welcome to Home Improvement. It isn't clear what you're asking; would you add pictures of the insides of the boxes involved? And, you should probably [take our tour](//diy.stackexchange.com/tour) so you'll know how best to participate here.
Comment: What are you using to test the wires for "hotness"?
Answer: In the case of a light switch, it is normal if the switch is setup as follows:
<code>[elec ]B=========#==============+
[panel]W--------+ +X---------X+ |
                | |           | |
                (~)           [-]
               light         switch
</code>
The white wire is carrying power back to the light, and convention dictates there should be a piece of black tape (X) around the white wire to indicate it is a live return.
It's important that the switch must go against the live lead not the neutral.
-- Minor edit to diagram.  The wire from the panel usually ends in the ceiling.  A new wire runs to the switch, black to black with a nut, and white (switched hot) back to the fixture. <code>#</code> indicates this nut.
Answer: In all reality, there is no official distinction of what color wire is for what. However, common convention says the black = hot/powered/charged/incoming, white = neutral/return, green = ground/earth, and red = switched.
When it comes to 3/4 way switches, it's not uncommon to see 2 blacks, 2 whites, or each color as hot. Same for switched outlets or outlets running in parallel. If an inexperienced homeowner did any kind of rework, could also explain it.
Comment: Green/yellow-green/bare equating to earth/ground is a hard Code requirement.  Also, if neutral is present it must be white or gray.  White and gray can be reallocated to hots.


How much does humidity affect air expansion in a heated raft tube?

Question: Whitewater rafts that are subject to the sun while off the water, and cold in the water, are subject to significant changes in pressure.  In the water this can mean reduced performance due to lower than optimal pressure, while on the bank it can mean damage due to overpressure.
My question is: Would one be better served if the raft were filled with dry air (say from a compressed breathing air source) or would there be no significant difference?
Answer: While in the vapor phase, the water will act pretty much like the rest of the air. What is different, or course, is if the temperature drops so that some of the vapor condenses because it now exceeds the saturation value (from, say, steam tables).
So, how bad can it be? Well, Googling around for a quick saturation table I chose The Engineering Toolbox. There, one can see that if you filled the rafts with fully saturated air (i.e. 100% relative humidity) at about 100F (about 40C), about 1 psi of the total would be water, or a little over 6% by volume. Taking the raft down to freezing means that almost all of the water vapor condenses out (saturated pressure is 0.09 psi), so you would have the pressure in the raft drop to 14/15's (0.933) of what it was to begin with.  I specifically chose a pretty extreme variation in temperature here. What you actually see will most likely be less. I might suggest that small leaks will be far more important than condensation of water vapor with respect to inflation variation.


What are observationally stable elements?

Question: According to Wikipedia, a lot of the elements that have higher atomic numbers than dysprosium have isotopes that say "Observationally stable" instead of stable, for example in Isotopes of holmium. Why does this happen and what are observationally stable elements anyway?
Comment: The site expects that you write explicit compact summary of your prior effort to answer the question, based on your knowledge and on searching for existing related  info or answers. It would prevent others to tell you what you already know or what you could easily find yourself.
Comment: I'll take this opportunity to shamelessly plug [a closely related question on Physics.SE](https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/565553/) that I answered a couple of years ago.
Comment: [Isotopes that are theoretically believed to be unstable but have not been observed to decay are termed as **observationally stable**. Currently there are 162 theoretically unstable isotopes, 45 of which have been observed in detail with no sign of decay, the lightest in any case being $\ce{^{36}Ar}$](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stable_nuclide)
Comment: See https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stable_nuclide#Still-unobserved_decay
Comment: Theoretical calculations predicts some stable isotopes like calcium-40 to be radioactive. But nobody has ever measured that this isotope emits a radiation. It may be assumed that the half-life of this isotope is so large that not even one Ca-40 atom is destroyed in any sample of this element during one life (~100 y). So the Ca-40 isotope is considered as "observationally stable". Another possibility is that the calculation of the nuclear stability has to be re-examined. Who knows ?
Answer: "Observationally stable" does not refer to an element. Rather, it refers to  isotopes of a particular element.
Let us consider a hypothetical example. The intelligent beings on Planet Cartorze have measured nuclear masses, done energetic calculations, and concluded that carbon-14 should decay to nitrogen-14; but their experimental techniques to detect this decay are fairly crude and they can detect the decay only if half a typical laboratory specimen decays within 1000 years (the years on Cartorze are the same as on Earth). Of course it actually takes several times that long for carbon-14 to half-decay, so on Cartorze carbon-14 is observationally stable.
On Earth we are better at detecting radioactive decay, and we can render the decay of carbon-14 with reasonable precision. But when a calculated decay takes a half-life of billions of billions of years or maybe even more, we may not have experimentally verified it, and we have observational stability. Wikipedia reports that (at least to Earthlings) argon-36 is the lightest observationally stable isotope.
Comment: An element can be observationally stable, if all its "stable" isotopes are observationally stable. Bismuth with the only bismuth-209 was such a case until recently when the predicted decay has been observed. Holmium still is.
Comment: Or rather, ....   if some of its natural "stable" isotopes are observationally stable.  .....
Answer: Very generally, anything "observationally stable" is unstable thermodynamically, but stable kinetically ("frozen"), without observable change (or below change threshold).
For example, diamonds at room conditions. Or a car parking on a slope, but with the activated parking break. Or a brick standing on the smallest side. Diamonds are not observed turning to graphite, nor the car is observed going downhill, nor a standing brick spontaneously tips over and falls down.
In the context of radioactive isotopes, observationally stable are those with a predicted decay, but with the decay half-time above detection limits. Note that some detections of the slowest decays have been done indirectly, finding evidence of consequences of long term decaying. Typically, it is finding otherwise unexpected elements formed by the decay or disturbed isotope ratios. Typical reasons for slow decay rates is too high activation energy, or low probability conditions due quantum physics.
Some of such cases belong to the class of double beta decays, where the decay path goes via less stable in-the-middle nuclide (with higher energy) by quantum tunneling. An example of double beta decay is tellurium-128 with the longest known half-time $\pu{2.2E24 y}$. Having 1 mol of tellurium-128, the typical decay rate would be about 1 nucleus per almost 4 years.
Strictly speaking, TD stable states are literally "observationally stable" too, but the term is not used for these conditions.


Does using AdSense in slide-out div violate Google's TOS?

Question: I want to encourage users to register on my website, so as a registered member perk, the ads would be removed, so I was thinking of implementing AdSense in a div that slides out from the bottom of the page and has a Close button (for non-registered users).  Would either of this be against Google's TOS?
Answer: I did look at the Adsense TOS, and guess what ... here's what I found in clause 5, subclause (ii)

(ii) edit, modify, filter, truncate or change the order of the information contained in any Ad, Link, Ad Unit, Search Result, or Referral Button, or remove, obscure or minimize any Ad, Link, Ad Unit, Search Result, or Referral Button in any way without authorization from Google;

Unless you can get this authorization from Google, I guess this is not possible.
I guess another method of doing what you want is to NOT generate the display of ads (instead of hiding them at the browser level) for your paying customers and display the ads for non-registered users.
Comment: Yes, I guess that's why they put in that authorization from Google clause!
Comment: Thanks.  That is interesting.  The place I got that idea was from YouTube as they show a little ad at the bottom of the video which has a close button.  Regarding the ads, I would use PHP to determine whether user is registered or not, so registered users wouldn't load the adsense code at all.  But my question was more regarding the slide-out mechanism and allowing users to close the ad.


components won't work in live boot

Question: I dont understand why this thing is happening,when I booted from live USB my touchpad is not responding somehow I managed to click 'try ubuntu' using external mouse but there is no sound and there is no brightness slider ,brightness is too low.I really want to know how to get rid of it.I am afraid to click 'Install now' as I might encounter same issue again.My model is HP15s du3032tu.Please help me and sorry for my bad English.
Comment: The purpose of the "Try Ubuntu" environment is to test your hardware. Since your hardware seems incompatible, DON'T install Ubuntu!
Answer: Years ago it was more than common that many things would not work at first launch and time and effort was needed to make everything runs smootly and all the devices to be recognized.
Nowadays Ubuntu do an impressive job in hardware-drivers recognization. Often there is no need to install a single thing.
Which iso version you got? Be sure to use the last one provided. (or generally I would go for an LTS version). This would ensure you to have the last available drivers.
I would go for installing it, and look for a solution in case things doesn't works as expected. Just don't wipe out your old system in case.
Comment: I tried the latest LTS version,FocalFossa.Is there any possibility for hardware recognization after install ?I tried everything from turning off secure boot and setting nomodeset etc (:.
Comment: I would say yes. This doesn't mean it would necessary work without effort. But as first try I would install it and do all the updates, maybe there is an update for that, and I would check the proprietary drivers. This is what I normally do on every pc, and than I would try to fix all the hardware related issues. If for some reason this would not solve, I would than search for specific solutions or for some workaround.
Comment: Thanks bro :)I will try it now.

components won't work in live boot


Get list of all installed apps

Question: I would like to get a list of all installed apps(NSArray). My app is a jailbreak app and is located in/Applications so Sandbox is no problem there. Is there any way to get a list of app store apps? I've already seen this in other apps (Activator, SBSettings...). I have no idea how to do this, because all of the apps sandboxes have that huge code, so i don't know how it would be possible to access the .app folder inside the sandbox.
Answer: You can use this code snippet:
 #import "InstalledAppReader.h"

static NSString* const installedAppListPath = @"/private/var/mobile/Library/Caches/com.apple.mobile.installation.plist";

@interface InstalledAppReader()

-(NSArray *)installedApp;
-(NSMutableDictionary *)appDescriptionFromDictionary:(NSDictionary *)dictionary;

@end

@implementation InstalledAppReader

#pragma mark - Init
-(NSMutableArray *)desktopAppsFromDictionary:(NSDictionary *)dictionary
{
    NSMutableArray *desktopApps = [NSMutableArray array];

    for (NSString *appKey in dictionary)
    {
        [desktopApps addObject:appKey];
    }
    return desktopApps;
}

-(NSArray *)installedApp
{
    BOOL isDir = NO;
    if([[NSFileManager defaultManager] fileExistsAtPath: installedAppListPath isDirectory: &isDir] && !isDir)
    {
        NSMutableDictionary *cacheDict = [NSDictionary dictionaryWithContentsOfFile: installedAppListPath];
        NSDictionary *system = [cacheDict objectForKey: @"System"];
        NSMutableArray *installedApp = [NSMutableArray arrayWithArray:[self desktopAppsFromDictionary:system]];

        NSDictionary *user = [cacheDict objectForKey: @"User"];
        [installedApp addObjectsFromArray:[self desktopAppsFromDictionary:user]];

        return installedApp;
    }

    DLOG(@"can not find installed app plist");
    return nil;
}

@end

Comment: This is not a private API, but we get access to private folder. Apple will reject your app. Use this code only  for jailbroken iPhone.
Comment: without jailbroken iPhones you can not do this.
Comment: @Fedorchuk,  how can i get this installed application list from normal iOS devices i mean without jailbroken iPhones, plz help me to do this.
Comment: why does it always returns "can not find installed app plist"
Comment: @Funny: You were probably trying on iOS 8. This only works on previous versions, as that plist doesn't exist anymore.
Comment: Is this unsing a private API?
Comment: any other method for greater than iOS 8 version
Answer: On jailbroken iPhones, you can just read the /Applications folder. All installed applications go there. Just list the directories in /Applications using NSFileManager:
NSArray *appFolderContents = [[NSFileManager defaultManager] directoryContentsAtPath:@"/Applications"];

Comment: That reads only the pre installed apps and the cydia apps, im talking about the app store apps.
Comment: Try the `mobile` user's applications folder then: `/private/var/mobile/Applications`
Comment: The original answer doesn't work in iOS 8 (that plist is missing) so this answer is the best so far.
Answer: After some research I have found a framework called iHasApp. Here is a good solution to return a dictionary with app name, identifier and icon: Finding out what Apps are installed
Answer: There's also the AppList library, which will do all of the dirty work for you:
rpetrich/AppList
It's used in a lot of Jailbreak tweaks, so I don't know why it wasn't suggested here before.
One way to get just AppStore apps would be to check the value of isSystemApplication for each app returned in the list. Those with the value set to NO are regular AppStore apps. There's also a function applicationsFilteredUsingPredicate:predicate, so perhaps it would even be possible to filter the list beforehand.

Get list of all installed apps


Looking for short story or novelette written mid century dealing with the pitfalls of time travel

Question: There is something classical about this story. A big game hunter signs on to a hunt that takes him through time to the Jurassic. The rules here are a little confused. So there is a bit of willing suspension of disbelief. The hunter is warned to under no circumstances leave a well demarcated trail as he hunts for a dinosaur. Lest he disturb the slightest thing in that time frame. The implication being that the ramifications of the tiniest perturbations magnified over millions of years can seriously change the future. Somehow the effect of the killing of a dinosaur in my memory is either ignored or explained away inadequately. Predictably the hunter steps or slips off trail crushing an insect. When he returns to his present every thing is just a little off and he cannot regain the perspective of being home.
Comment: One last comment would be that Ray's premise needs to be updated as the biomass of flesh and the millions of micro organisms altered in the path of the bullets far outweighs the butterfly or even the mud on his boot.
Comment: Sounds vaguely like *A Sound of Thunder*, but I only saw the cheesy action movie, so I'll let someone else chime in.
Comment: Yes that sounds right and I'm OK closing the question. I'm just too new at this to know the operational protocol. Help?
Comment: Hey all my question has only been identified in the comments section . No actual answer has been posted for me to click on . So I don't know how to formally acknowledge that it has satisfactorily been answered so it can be closed as answered. And the person who asked the other question claims his question is different. I don't want to step on his toes. But I don't want to step on mine if I don't need to.
Answer: From all the information that has come in I have to conclude and agree that the story is Ray Bradbury's - The Sound of Thunder. Thanks everybody!


Database or model for plant nutrient requirements with respect to soil and climate?

Question: Microalgae are organisms that can grow in aquatic environments and use light and carbon dioxide (CO2) to create biomass. Research showed that Microalgae biomass can be used as a bio-fertilizer.
My mission is: to find which plants in the world are best suited to arid climates and to arid soil that was treated using the Microalgae biomass.
With the help of a Reddit hero "CarverSeashellCharms," I was able to model which plants in the world can adapt to arid climate/arid soil based on a theory in biology named Species Distribution Modeling (SDM). This model takes in the geographic occurrences of a given plant in the world and based on the soil characteristics and climate variables, it can predict the probability of growing that plant (suitability) at any point in the world. The problem here is: this model considers only the soil characteristics and the climate variables without considering the Microalgae biomass (bio-fertilizer) effect.
So this is my approach to how to model the bio-fertilizer effect:
I'm into calculating a score that models the bio-fertilizer effect (effectiveness) and determining a new final score based on the suitability probability and the bio-fertilizer score.
Let's assume the following values:
Plant Nutrient Requirements:
Req_N = 0.3
Req_P = 0.05
Req_K = 0.2
Soil Chemical Characteristics:
Soil_N = 0.15
Soil_P = 0.02
Soil_K = 0.1
Fertilizer Chemical Characteristics:
Fert_N = 0.1
Fert_P = 0.02
Fert_K = 0.15
Step1: Calculate the nutrient deficiencies/excesses in the soil compared to the plant's requirements:
Deficiency_N = Req_N - Soil_N = 0.3 - 0.15 = 0.15
Deficiency_P = Req_P - Soil_P = 0.05 - 0.02 = 0.03
Deficiency_K = Req_K - Soil_K = 0.2 - 0.1 = 0.1
Step2: Calculate the nutrient contribution of the fertilizer to address the deficiencies:
Contribution_N = min(Deficiency_N, Fert_N) = min(0.15, 0.1) = 0.1
Contribution_P = min(Deficiency_P, Fert_P) = min(0.03, 0.02) = 0.02
Contribution_K = min(Deficiency_K, Fert_K) = min(0.1, 0.15) = 0.1
Step3: Calculate the overall nutrient contribution score (F):
F = (Contribution_N / Fert_N) * (Contribution_P / Fert_P) * (Contribution_K / Fert_K)
= (0.1 / 0.1) * (0.02 / 0.02) * (0.1 / 0.15)
= 1 * 1 * 0.6667
≈ 0.6667
Step4: Calculate the new score based on the suitability probability and the fertilizer score:
Let's say the suitability probability of the plant is 90%. w_s and w_f are 2 weight coefficients.
New Score = (w_s * S) + (w_f * F)
= (0.8 * 0.9) + (0.2 * 0.6667)
≈ 0.85334
The problem here is: To deploy and calculate this score I'm missing The plant nutrients requirements. How to determine the nutrient requirements (needs) of a plant (ex Indian fig, potatoes, ..) in terms of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K)... I mean how much nutrients a plant needs on average to grow. I know that the nutrient requirements of a plant can vary depending on factors such as soil fertility, and growth stage, but is there any database or any mathematical model that can model the nutrient requirements of a plant with respect to soil and climatic characteristics?
Note: I'm not a biologist, Just a data science Student. Sorry if the post is too long. I'm open to any biology/math resources and any other inspirations or approaches.
Answer: Not sure exactly what you're looking for, but I can at least suggest the following:
https://www.try-db.org/TryWeb/Home.php
TRY is a worldwide plant trait database providing free and open access to plant trait data.


Techniques for removing mains ripple

Question: Lets say I have a critical device, which requires almost no ripple in voltage and draws a very high current. What are some ways, other than a simple capacitor which take out the ripple from the full-wave rectified ac voltage?
Comment: "Almost no" and "very high" means nothing actually.
Answer: The low frequency of the ripple is the problem. Should the ripple frequency be 10kHz it's a lot more easily solved with components that are small.
I'd use an on-line switching power supply and forget about conventional transformers, bridge rectifiers and big capacitors. The output you get might have some higher frequency ripple and noise but this could be removed with low pass filtering from inductors and capacitors that are a fraction of the cost of filtering at 120Hz (full wave 60Hz).
Comment: This is probably the best solution.  A high end power conditioner will also help here, but you have to be careful as there are some devices sold as cheap power conditioners which won't solve the problem.  If you want to go old-school, have an AC motor drive a large flywheel, which then drives a generator and let the flywheel smooth out your ripple.  But an online power supply is the electronic equivalent and is cheaper, safer, and smaller.

Techniques for removing mains ripple


Rename [youtube-creator-studio]

Question: Many years ago (before I started using it, apparently), it was called youtube-creator-studio, but it's since been rebranded to youtube-studio. The former should therefore be a synonym of the latter. If we really want to be thorough, studio.youtube.com (the URL) would be another good synonym.
Comment: Related: [Please rename \[youtube-creatorstudio\] to \[youtube-creator-studio\]](https://webapps.meta.stackexchange.com/q/4472/88163), [Rename \[youtube-streaming\] to \[youtube-live\] (or remove)](https://webapps.meta.stackexchange.com/q/4246/88163)
Answer: youtube-creator-studio is now a synonym for youtube-studio.
The name was changed by Google in late 2019 and the tag now accurately reflects that.
Thank you for your original suggestion and following up!
Answer: Making youtube-creator-studio a synonym of youtube-studio sounds good to me. ~66% of tags have 20 questions or fewer, so it wouldn't be an outlier.
Answer: I wonder if it might be better to make youtube-creator-studio a synonym of youtube. The first, was created almost 6 years ago, it only has 20 questions, 35% are unanswered, and all are tagged youtube, nobody has got a score of 100 and has posted 20 answers, required to earn the tag bronze badge.
Yesterday, I approved an edit suggestion for the youtube-creator-studio. It looks to me that the tag wiki still needs work.
It's worth noting that nowadays, Stack Exchange has Video Production. From their tour

Video Production Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for videographers, producers, editors, and enthusiasts spanning the fields of video, and media creation. It's built and run by you as part of the Stack Exchange network of Q&A sites. With your help, we're working together to build a library of detailed answers to every question about video recording and production.

Their youtube tag has 229 questions. They don't have a specific tag for YouTube Studio.
Comment: "I wonder if it might be better to make youtube-creator-studio a synonym of youtube". Not a good idea. I rarely watch videos on YouTube so this would bury the questions that I can answer about YT Studio under a lot that I can't about using YouTube as a consumer.

Rename [youtube-creator-studio]


Is it safe to stop using Tor after illegal activity? Other security questions I cant find answers to

Question: Is it safe to stop the Tor browser and network, and start using something like internet explorer or google chrome after? Like If I accidentally saw cp and deleted Tor and then started using my normal internet and browsers am I at risk for being caught or getting in trouble etc.? If me and my brother use a laptop each (as in 2 total) and I have Tor and am buying drugs, and he is not and is watching youtube or searching google , am I at risk? LASTLY something particularly worrying happened, after browsing with Tor for a day, I stopped, deleted it, and went back to google chrome and my un hidden use of internet, I went to youtube and noticed all the recommended videos and channels, they were specifically from genres or themes of the sites I had visited, like completely japanese channels and videos, about guns, and various things I had searched about while using Tor... *note I never used google,fb, gov sites or anything like that. So is this a sign I compromised myself somehow leaking my IP address? The recommendations were from only what I did on Tor. Am just lucky not to have been spotted by authorities?
Answer: Before I get into the meat of the answers, let me just advise you to stay away from the sketchy side of the web if you are not very knowledgeable about security. I've been using TOR for several years now and I've yet to see a single piece of CP so my only conclusion is that you probably need to reevaluate your browsing habits if you accidentally stumbled upon it.
Alright, to your questions now...
Q: Is it safe to use regular browsers like Chrome or Firefox after using Tor?
A: Yes. You can safely use other browsers, while, after or before using Tor. This applies to any software really unless its intentionally designed to collect data on or tamper with TBB.
Q: If I accidentally saw something illegal am I at risk of getting in trouble?
A: Its important to separate the technical part of this question from the legal part of this question. Technically speaking Tor offers anonymity by funneling traffic through a series of relays. While it is possible for an adversary to deanonymize users, its very unlikely given the circumstances you stated, that an adversary (namely law enforcement) would have known what you were doing, other than connecting to the Tor network (which is not a crime per se).
Now for the legal part. I'm going to assume you live in the United States--but if you don't ignore this. If you accidentally stumbled upon illegal material as you say, you shouldn't have to worry at all (and no, deleting Tor doesn't help, it just makes you look guilty). Law enforcement has to collect information that proves beyond reasonable doubt that you not only viewed this material, but did so intentionally (which requires mulitple instances of this to occur). No reasonable court would convict someone for allegedly viewing an image once.
Q: If I'm using Tor while someone else is using my network, can this affect my security?
A: No. While it is possible for another user on your network to potentially monitor your traffic, meaning they can know its headed for an entry node but they wouldn't know its contents. Also, they shouldn't be able to tamper with it at this point either as it is encrypted.
Q: Is it possible that I leaked identifying information while using Tor such that services like Google now associate my previous Tor session with me?
A: Did you log into an account you use for clearnet over Tor? Did you accidentally use Firefox instead of TBB? The most likely scenario is that your brothers activity is showing up.
In closing let me say that I am by no means an expert so if anyone wants to correct me, by all means do. Also, there are probably a lot of spelling and grammar mistakes so pardon that as well.