SPFileCollection.Add for copying file cross SharePoint Farm

Question: I have requirement in which I need to copy documents with there version history and created by ,created on , modified by , modified on. I am able to achieve this for copying from one site collection to other with the help of  SPFileCollection.Add . How can I achieve this copying from one SharePoint farm to Other.
Comment: How do you choose these documents? Are all the documents in one list?
Comment: Similar question here: http://sharepoint.stackexchange.com/questions/1278/how-can-you-move-a-document-with-its-version-history-to-a-new-library
Comment: Yes they are in one document library
Answer: If you have similar SharePoint version with the two farms then use below approach.
SPExport/SPImport using this we can have similar version history new farm it will not disturb the Document version history.
Ref : http://sadomovalex.blogspot.in/2011/09/using-spexportspimport-for-copying.html
Comment: I have to from 2007 to 2013. I do have 2010 as well so from 2007 to 2010 and from 2010 to 2013 will also help.
Comment: The above approach will not work, we should have to maintain similar version, otherwise we have to update each and every export file version like 12.0.0 to 14.0.0, but it's not a good practice to migration.
Comment: Please let me know if you find any solution for it. Thanks
Comment: If you want to maintain file version history then my suggestion would be try migration tools, if you doesn't care about version then use power-shell to export and import process we will maintain the last version in new system.
Comment: I have to maintain version history with created by ,on and modified by ,on info. I am trying to achieve this pragmatically or any other way.Yes , I am keeping migration tool as a last option in handy. Can you suggest any migration tool ?
Comment: We have used Metalogix one of our project http://www.metalogix.com/Products/Content-Matrix.aspx
Answer: I use Content Deployment Wizard. URL : https://spdeploymentwizard.codeplex.com/
 . if you need to copy documents based on criterias, use CDW to copy them to a another site collection and then you copy them to the target location
P.S. If you use content types, CDW will also copy them, along with site columns
Comment: I have to copy from 2007 to 2013.


Healing process

Question: Is it possible to speed up the healing process and if so how? For example: I have recently pulled a muscle in my shoulder and a little while after that twisted my ankle, what is the best way to a speedy recovery?
Answer: Injury sucks and it can never heal quick enough. To let it heal completely, you will need to have patience, though.
First of all - and yes, I'm being preachy, bear with me - see a specialist. A trip to your physician is never really wasted time, even if he just tells you to slow down. In the worst case scenario you're really hurt and doing nothing can lead to much more problems. I had a broken finger some years ago. I didn't get it looked at and I can't move it as well as my other fingers now.
Listen to your physician first. If you don't like what he's telling you, get a second opinion if you must. But don't assume you know better, chances are you don't.
Now, for lighter injuries that don't need a specialist's intervention I like to follow some simple rules: Don't exercise until you are fully healed. Do not 'warm up thoroughly' and do not 'work out lightly', chances are you'll overdo it. Try not to use the injured limb in everyday activities as much (don't walk to work with a sprained ankle). Also, when in doubt, don't assume you have healed already. Better be safe than sorry, as an incompletely healed injury can quickly become as bad as on the first day.
Lastly, Some things you can do to might help speeding up recovery:

Eat right: Don't diet. Your body needs to rebuild stuff now, don't deprive it of building blocks.
Sleep enough: Recovery is most efficiently done during sleep. Try to get at least eight hours a day, preferably more. If you can't seem to manage that, afternoon naps might be an option.
Try not to get sick: The flu will most definitely not speed up your recovery. Keep away from long walks in the rain, showering with an open window etc. Sounds stupid, but it happened to me once, not funny.
Medicine: Here's a question regarding ibuprofen and it's effects on healing. It touches upon other medicine, too. Always consult someone who knows their stuff (general physician, pharmacist) before taking anything, though.
Comment: While I applaud your answer, the question itself is off topic for the site.
Comment: Noooooo! Ah well, I thought something like that myself, after answering...
Comment: Rest, ice it, and take anti-inflammatory tablets such as ibuprofen is the best cause of action.  Not much else

Healing process


Locked out of Wordpress website from wrong amount of login attempts

Question: I tried logging in to my Wordpress website and got the login wrong a couple of times. After a 3rd or 4th time I am unable to see my Wordpress website at all. I can't even see the front page of it. Is there a way I can see if I was blocked through my server? I am hosting on DigitalOcean using a Ubuntu server.
Answer: Have you installed a firewall plugin? Your IP seems to be blocked. I suggest you to turn your modem off and on again to obtain new IP and try login Wordpress again.
Answer: I installed Wordpress using a one-click solution on DigitalOcean and found out that it was on their side that they block IP's on malicious attempts. I found out that fail2ban was the reason why it wasn't working.


Is it possible to increase the current avalible without changing voltage on my DAC circuit?

Question: I am using a Raspberry Pi and a Adafruit MCP4725 to control a mass flow controller, as well as powering the DAC, and I am meeting the bare minimum of current to control it with the Adafruit MCP4725. The voltage range is fine. Is there a way to up the current available, even just a little?
Comment: Welcome to EE.SE, Michael. It's a good idea to link to the datasheet rather than the ad page for the device. It's three links away otherwise. It would also be a good idea to explain in the question what the output specifications of the MCP4725 chip are and what the mass flow controller requires. Otherwise you're asking rather a lot of your readers to follow all the links, read the datasheets and try to figure out what your requirements are.
Comment: Without knowing the exact details of your problem, I suggest you google "unity gain buffer" or "unity gain amplifier" and take it from there.
Answer: A good way is the voltage follower circuit. Select an opamp with a low voltage offset, and rail to rail. Make sure the current of the opamp is higher than what the mass flow controller input needs. Vcc is set to near the DAC output (you could go higher if the mass flow controller output will allow.
Make sure bypass capacitors are used on the Vcc terminals.
Comment: This is what I thought I was going to have to do, was wanting to know if there was a different or better option out there.
Comment: There isn't, you can get a breakout board or I think spark fun or adafruit have some opamps on a board


when I turn off the breaker, light goes out but I still see some voltage with my voltage checker

Question: there are two switches in the box.  One goes to an inside light the other goes to an outside light.  i turn off the breaker and both lights go out.  when I check with my voltage checker, I don't see anything on the outside light switch but it does light up off and on when I check the inside light switch in the box.   each of these lights are only controlled by one switch.  any suggestion?
Comment: Possible duplicate of [Unexpected voltage with switch turned off](https://diy.stackexchange.com/questions/110092/unexpected-voltage-with-switch-turned-off)
Comment: Just what are you using to check he voltage?
Comment: The question I linked to is sort of a "catch all" for these "strange voltage" questions.  Your answer should be in there as this is almost always attributed to "phantom voltage" and can be ruled out with other methods for measuring the voltage.
Comment: I'm using a little battery powered AC voltage detector from Menards
Comment: Did you ever get this resolved? If so, please give a check-mark to the answer or write up your own answer explaining what you did to get it fixed and give yourself a check mark. That will help others with this kind of problem know that this has a resolution and is a good place to look for their answer.
Answer: A simple non contact voltage tester will detect voltage on a deenergized circuit when another live  cable is in close contact, the way non contact sensors work is using the Hall effect. You can prove a similar function by standing under a power line and raising a fluorescent lamp above your head, wow the light glows, not full power but it glows, Hall effect sensors work the same way, you may have a hot wire in close proximity to one that is turned off and well guess what it lights up because of inductive coupling ( this is how transformers work) so yes your tic tester or non contact tester may light up on a dead circuit that is in close proximity to a live circuit. Turn your main breaker off and there will be no voltage unless you live close to a radio station.


Which brake is most expendable?

Question: I'm thinking of removing a brake(front or back) to reduce weight and simplify my bike. Which brake is most expendable? Its your average fixie road bike.
Comment: Unless you are an elite athlete, why not loose the same amount as the brakes weigh in body weight. You could also go to the toilet before heading out......
Comment: Seriously, don't remove either. Your weight savings is negligible and the reduction in safety is huge.
Comment: It would be more advisable to lose weight on the rider than to try to cut weight by removing one of the brakes. You could also consider gaining weight (as in muscle) to offset the huge burden of carrying the extra brake around. Since you have a fixie, you could get rid of the back brake since you can already slow the back tire with the pedals. However, this is a bad idea. Put a back brake on there, and you can have much more freedom with your gear ratio as you don't have to be able to lock up the back wheel. On my fixie, it's impossible to stop using pedal power in a short distance at speed.
Comment: To the person who downvoted: If you think the question has problems (is unclear, subjective, etc) please explain why. Don't just downvote because removing one brake is a bad idea; it doesn't mean this is a bad question.
Comment: What do you mean by 'fixie road bike'? I think fixie and road are normally thought of as two different types of bike. Does it have a fixed-wheel transmission? I.e. can you stop the bike by stopping the pedals spinning?
Answer: Keep your front brake. It does the most work, it will stop you much faster than your rear brake ever could hope to. Take a look at a motorcycle, the front brakes are always much larger than the rear. Whenever you brake, on a bicycle, motorcycle, in a car, more weight is transfered to the front wheels, so the front tire has more traction to stop you with.
That said, sit down a minute and think about what you're going to do if you remove your rear brake, and one day your front brake stops working while you're going down a hill. Right about then you'll wish you had just put up with the extra 400 grams of weight.
Comment: Beat me to it by a few seconds. The front brake is crucial, but removing any brake for weight reasons is generally a horrible idea. Fixie riders can get away with a single brake because they can use the drivetrain to skid the rear wheel, but road bikes don't have that luxury.
Comment: Also, in addition to simple brake failure, having only a front brake is particularly dangerous if you're ever in a scenario when you might lock up the front wheel. Ice, wet roads, loose gravel... a rear brake is a cheap insurance policy.
Answer: This is an extremely bad idea, and it may or may not be illegal where you live. It's pretty common for the law to require you to be able to lock up both wheels on flat dry pavement.
Regardless, both brakes are important, and you shouldn't remove one for something a silly as weight reduction. The contact patch on your tires is small enough already without throwing away half your stopping power.
Your rear brake will slow you without impacting your steering, while your front break is responsible for ~60% of your stopping power. However, braking with your front brake while turning sharply will usually result in loss of traction of your front wheel, causing the bike to slide out from under you, so it's crucial that you keep your rear brake.
If you're still dead set on this course, remove the rear brake, it's the less effective of the two. Some day when you're cornering and a car pulls out in front of you, and your options are to brake and slide out or hit the car, you'll regret not having both brakes.
Comment: Giving a percentage for stopping power in this way is misleading. In practice, the brakes provide stopping power in proportion to how hard you pull each the lever, with the rear brake tailing off to zero stopping power as the front brake is pulled harder. The rear brake may be *capable of providing* 60% of the stopping power (I'm not sure about the number) of the front, but  due to weight transfer, the stopping power isn't simply additive.
Comment: I wouldn't recommend this on a bike that wasn't a fixed gear bike. However, If the rider is proficient in using the drivetrain to slow and lock the rear wheel to skid brake, then I think this is fine.

If the rider isn't very good at these skills, then I would recommend leaving both brakes on the bike.
Comment: Also, for a fixed gear bike, basically the drivetrain becomes a substitute for the rear brake, allowing you to use resistance on the cranks to supplement the braking power of the front brake. However, many fixed riders only keep a front brake for emergency situations or steep hills and rely almost exclusively on their control over the drivetrain and rear wheel for braking.
Comment: "It's pretty common for the law to require you to be able to lock up both wheels on flat dry pavement" Agreed but I've never understood those laws. It's physically impossible to lock up the front wheel of a bicycle on flat dry pavement without going over the handlebars.

Which brake is most expendable?


Talkative Coworkers

Question: I have a colleague that is really good at his job but sometimes we get off topic and explore a few "rabbit holes" onto more personal topics. I don't want to appear that I'm a chatty Cathy so I am wondering how can I get my coworker back on topic faster when I realize we are going down a rabbit hole?
Comment: @devCO Is the tangent about professional topics or personal topics?
Answer: Just by doing something to break yourself out of the loop.
Knock on the table to break the conversation and say

Hey, I think we're going off on a tangent here.  Can we refresh on what the core objective is here?

And then take things back to your last known good position, restate the salient points and move forward from there with a view to quickly resolving the point of issue.
Answer: I wouldn't worry about being regarded as "chatty Cathy" by other coworkers, because a) they probably already noticed that it is your coworker that goes down on rabbit holes and b) he's probably doing it to other people too, so he probably already has this reputation among your peers.
Anyway, the best thing for you to do is to just be polite and kindly ask to return to the previous topic. You can make some kind of excuse if it makes you feel more comfortable, like "Wait, before you go on B let's just finish A because my memory is not very good and I'm sure I'll forget it and I don't want this to happen".
Answer:
I am wondering how can I get my coworker back on topic faster when I
  realize we are going down a rabbit hole?

If you don't want to talk about personal topics, then just don't play along. It takes two to have a conversation.
Something like "Sorry, I don't have time for that right now. Can we get back to talking about X?" should suffice.

Talkative Coworkers


After soaking beans for 4 hours shall I peel the separated peelings off or cook them along with the beans?

Question: I soaked white beans for 4 hours, shall I pull the peelings off that are separating from the beans, or cook the peeling as well?
Comment: what kind of beans, and what are you trying to make? Most of the time you'd leave the skins on the beans, but for some specific purposes you might remove them (a recipe would probably say).
Comment: Welcome to SA!  Our answerers will need more information to actually help you.  See Rdd's question above.
Comment: Did you start with dried beans? 4 hours is a short time for skins to start peeling off.
Answer: You certainly can leave the skins in - but you don't have to.
The only reasons to pick them out would be if you don't like the appearance, or if the dish leads to loose skins that you find unpleasant.
I soak overnight before slow-cooking, and don't deliberately remove skins, but some come off in rinsing and are left behind.  At the start of cooking, many beans still have their skins on, which then go on to fall off as they're cooked.  This means that to avoid loose skins in the finished dish you're likely to have to put some effort in to removing them all


Errors when using the SCP client from SharpSSH

Question: I am using SharpSSH (http://sharpssh2.codeplex.com/) to send files from a windows box(using C#) to a linux box. I use the Sftp class to create directories(mkdir command) and Sftp.put command to transfer files over to the Linux machine.
When the number of concurrent users is large about 30 or more then the connections being to drop and the mkdir and SFTP.put commands being to fail.
Is this something to do with reconfiguring the sshd_config params (on the linux box) to allow more connections, or do I have to make some adjustments on the Windows Client which is making the scp/sftp calls to transfer files?
Or am I using a unreliable SSH client (SharpSSH) and should look out for alternative solutions?
Thanks in advance
Answer: There is a MaxSessions attribute in sshd_config - have you checked the value of that?


Can a Muslim man marry a non Muslim woman in her country as per her local laws and customs?

Question: I would like to ask if a Muslim man can marry a non-Muslim woman in her country, is it valid? Is it possible to have equal wedding ceremony, like if the woman is a Christian can a Muslim man marry the Christian woman to her church and will it be considered valid to Muslim?
Or if any case, the ceremony will be on a civil wedding in woman's country, is it valid still?
Comment: So why not ask directly *can a Muslim marry a Christian woman*? Also, look at the controversy, [Allowed to marry ' people of the book ' especially Christians or not?](http://islam.stackexchange.com/questions/8972/allowed-to-marry-people-of-the-book-especially-christians-or-not)
Answer: Bismillah,

I would like to ask if a Muslim man can marry a non Muslim woman in
her country, is it valid?

Short answer is yes, it is valid. However, that non-Muslim woman must be chaste. Allah (SWT) says in Surat Al-Ma'idah (verse #5)

This day [all] good foods have been made lawful, and the food of those
who were given the Scripture is lawful for you and your food is lawful
for them. And [lawful in marriage are] chaste women from among the
believers and chaste women from among those who were given the
Scripture before you, when you have given them their due compensation,
desiring chastity, not unlawful sexual intercourse or taking [secret]
lovers. And whoever denies the faith - his work has become worthless,
and he, in the Hereafter, will be among the losers.

Regarding having the wedding ceremony in the church, the answer is NO because there will be some rituals and celebrations that are not part of Islam, some of them might actually be against the teachings of Islam.
Civil weddings are valid, but it's better if you also perform the wedding in your local mosque or any Islamic center before or after the civil wedding.

References:

IslamQA - English
IslamWeb - Arabic
Answer: Did you know many christian weddings involve drinking of wine? ( as the blood of christ ). Do you think that would be valid?
There is no "her country" or "my country". Islam is universal. A geographic location is not needed to practice Islam.
You can marry Christian women, provided they are chaste as Quran 5:5 says.
The definition of chaste is not as per western/Christian values but rather as per Islamic values.
The verse in 5:5 which permits to marry ahle-kitab also talks about giving her meher. Meher is part of Islamic law, simply implying It can only be valid if done in an Islamic way.
This will also set the tone of your marriage for your life. It messages that Islam is important to you.
Comment: Please consider elaborating your answer by adding references to support your claims.


Confusion regarding US passport stamp and period of admission

Question:
I want to know what's the red stamp with the date for and the other stamp that has the date until apr 27,2017. They ask me how long I'm going to stay and I said a month. If there's any changes with length of stay. Do I have to leave on the 27 of April or I can stay until the usual validity of stay which is 6 months?
Comment: I'm not seeing the April stamp, though maybe it's just how it looks in your picture. To my eyes, you have a second "MAR 27" stamp to mark that your visa has been used. I can make out the letters "AR" in the month on the second stamp, which wouldn't make sense if it was "APR" for April, but fits with "MAR" for March.
Comment: In other words, where is the stamp that says "April 27?"
Comment: @ZachLipton that's the correct answer (that Ivy has misread the endorsement stamp); you should post it as such.
Answer: As best I can tell from the photo, you are misreading the stamp. There are two stamps:

The normal admission stamp showing you entered the US in B-2 status on March 27 and are admitted for the usual six months, until September 26
A second stamp across the face of the visa foil to mark your visa as used, which is just the normal admission stamp showing March 27

I cannot see a stamp that say April 27. In particular, I can clearly make out the letters "AR" in the month section of the second stamp, which would not be there if it said "APR" for "April." Because of the fold of your passport, the letter "M" is missing from "MAR" for "March." This stamp has no particular extra meaning.
As such, you were admitted on March 27th for six months duration.
It's always a good idea, as phoog recommends, to check your electronic immigration record at i94.cbp.dhs.gov, to confirm that you were admitted for six months.
It's worth mentioning that you could face further questioning on future trips to the US if you use your visa in a significantly different way than what you said your intentions were. If you said you were coming to the US for a week to attend a conference, and then actually stay six months, you might be asked to explain the reason for this.
Answer: That's very common. They have the stamp marked for 6 months from today's date and they stamp all passports the same, unless exceptions.
They ask you for long are you going to stay in the US to make sure you're not going to work and sounds reasonable for the reason you're going. If everything is OK, they stamp with 6 months.
I'm sure you can stay there until Sept 26 at midnight.
One exception when they do not mark the 6 months is for example (this happened to me), when you go out of the US and come back in. For example:

3 months in the US
Leave for one week to Canada/Mexico
Return to the US

In my case, I stayed for 5 months in total. 3 months before and 2 months after a short trip to Mexico.
Because many people leave the country for a few hours/days to extend their passport valid period (ie, 6 months + 6 months), when you return they might not want to extend your stay for another 6 months. In my case they stamped it with the initial 'Valid Until' they put the first time I went in.
Photo of my passport with 2 stamps and same date:
Comment: That is "VIOPP", not NOPP. It means visa in other passport. Doc explained the R already.
Comment: @phoog photo added to the answer.
Comment: You were re-admitted into the US under a process call "Automatic Revalidation".  Google will find more details if you're interested.
Comment: When you returned from your short trip to Mexico, was your passport stamped at the US border, and, if so, what did the stamp say?
Comment: @Doc thank you! May I ask how do you know? What are those `R` and `NOPP` (not sure what the first letter is)?  Thanks!
Answer: In general, to avoid any confusion regarding US passport stamp and period of admission, after every entry to the US it's advisable to download your electronic I-94 from the CBP website and keep it as a permanent record.  Normally the electronic I-94 and the passport stamp should both show the same details:

Date of Entry
Class of Admission (which is usually the same as your visa type, in your case B-2)
Admit Until Date

Since either the passport stamp or the electronic I-94 can be used as legal proof of your admission to the US, it's a good idea to make sure they're the same.  This can also assuage any doubt in the case of ambiguity on the passport stamp.


If a nuclear bomb is dropped, do we calculate $+p^2c^2$ too?

Question: Imagine a nuclear bomb is dropped from $10 \: \mathrm{km}$ with the speed of $v$, since $E=\sqrt{m^2c^4+p^2c^2}$ , we have speed which means $p$ is greater than zero, but isn't the speed already calculated in $m^2c^4$ part, since $m$ is relativistic? Don't we only calculate $p^2c^2$ when it's photon?
Comment: In the energy-momentum equation, $m$ is rest mass. [Energy–momentum relation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy%E2%80%93momentum_relation)
Answer: m is the (velocity independent) mass of the system. You would most likely call it rest mass (but there is no need to call it that way, as there is no other mass - just call it mass). So the kinetic energie of the falling bomb is only in the $p^2\,c^2$ part of the equation.
What you call relativistic mass is an old concept which sadly still made it to text books and into student's minds. With it, the used equation would look like $E=m_{rel}\,c^2$. The equation you used is already split in the rest energy and kinetic energy part. The momentum in this equation can behave relativistically if you go to velocities close to the speed of light. So you will see, that the second term is almost negligible if you are at normal drop speeds of a bomb and that the rest energy term is the dominant one.
Comment: relativistic mass as an "old concept"? Authoritative source requested. Working with collisions between a mass at the speed of $0.8c$ and another at $0.01c$, you'd want to work in COM ref frame, but then you need to calculate the values of the masses in a relativistic reference frame.
Comment: See for example the answer to [this question](https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/133376/why-is-there-a-controversy-on-whether-mass-increases-with-speed) and the references given there. Clearly, if you use the equation $E = \sqrt(m^2c^4+p^2c^2)$ the m is the invariant mass, rest mass, or just mass, whatever you wanna call it.


Is encrypted data a good random source?

Question: Given that someone needs my encryption key to predict the output, can I encrypt arbitrary data (zeroes, system logs, personal photos) with AES and a secure passphrase, and use the result as a RSA/SSH/whatever key as if it was the output of a secure random number generator ?
Answer: Secure random data should not be predictable. Since encrypted data can be predicted from input text and encryption key they can never be a secure random source.
Apart from that the whole purpose of encryption is to hide the original content. The primary purpose is not to look like random data. This means you can not use the output from some arbitrary encryption and treat it as pseudorandom data. To do this you would need  algorithms which are specifically designed to produce output which looks statistically random.
Comment: While I agree result of encryption of given text with certain key (which usually is deterministic) cannot be really random, I would argue with any decent cipher it can be used as csprng (if encryption key is not known for an attacker). For example, `ctr` and derived modes of block cipher operation depend on it.
Comment: @Cthulhu: you are right that some encryption algorithms result in statistically random data. I've adapted the response accordingly.

Is encrypted data a good random source?


Global maxima for concave functions

Question: Let $D$ be a convex set in $\mathbb{R}^n$ and $f: D \to \mathbb{R}$ a concave and $C^1$ function. How do I show that $x^*$ is a global maximum
for $f$ if and only if $f^{(1)}(x^*)y \leq 0$ for all $y$ pointing into $D$ at $x^*$ (Here $f^{(1)}$ denotes the first derivative of $f$)
Answer: If we had $f^{(1)} (x^*)y > 0$ then by the definition of the derivative we could find a point close by in that direction for which the value $f$ is higher. That shows the only if part.
For the other direction, take any other point $y \in D$. Consider a straight path between the two points $v(t) : [0,1] \to \mathbb{R}^d$, $v(t) = x^* + t(y-x^*)$. $f(v(t))$ is concave and  continuously differentiable with respect to $t$, so must have nonincreasing derivative. Combining this observation with the fact that $f^{(1)} (x^*)y \le 0$ and the fundamental theorem of calculus, we see that $f(y) \le f(x^*)$.

Global maxima for concave functions


Toilet not flushing completely

Question: Our toilet American Standard installed in 1988 is not flushing completely.If we were to change the entire guts of the tank would it run like new or should it be replaced since its  17 years old.
Comment: Is the water level in the tank filling to the proper level (the proper tank level should be marked on the inside of the tank by the manufacturer)? Also, check to ensure that the flush valve (the thing that moves when you operate the flush lever) is opening all the way and staying open long enough for a complete flush. After the tank fills, hold the flush valve open with your hand and see if you get a good flush.
Answer: Toilets don't really go "bad" unless they're cracked or rusted. Changing the internals might be a solution but I'd give one thing a try. I ran into this problem a few years ago and the solution was fairly simple. Get some good cleaning solution and maybe some of that CLR stuff - the chemicals that clean calcium deposits, rust, and lime scale. Apply it generously to the underside of the bowl rim (where the water flushes into the bowl). Let it sit and then scrub it really well. Use a small screwdriver (or even better - some chopsticks) to make sure all the holes are clear and fully open too.
What might have happened is that the lime scale has built up and is partially obstructing the flow of water into the bowl. This can cause a "crappy" flush (punn intended).
Beyond this, there's a number of other things that could be issues - clogged/restricted waste or vent pipes (does your sink gurgle when you flush?) or as previously mentioned - the toilet internals.
Good luck.
Answer: If the toilet doesn't flush completely the tank may need more water or the "flapper" valve isn't letting all the water out of the tank.
With the tank lid off, watch the water and the flapper as you flush.  If the flapper closes prematurely, it may need to have its height adjusted, or it may need to be replaced if it's torn or otherwise damaged.
If the flapper action looks good, the old guts should have a way to adjust the "full" water level.  If it has a "float" on the end of a metal rod, slightly bending the rod up will increase the water level be raising the float.  There may also be a set screw to raise the lever the float attaches to.  Other value types will have a way to raise the water as well.
Replacing the guts could inadvertently raise the water level and also fix the issue, but you shouldn't have to replace anything if it fills properly and doesn't leak.

Toilet not flushing completely


What is Hidden lists in sharepoint and relation with managed metadata

Question: Hi what is hidden list in SharePoint 2010 and 2013? and how it is link with managed metadata service application.
Comment: [update for 11/12/2020]
I can't comment (or I would), but the link to the referenced article is now https://info.summit7systems.com/blog/troubleshooting-sharepoints-hidden-list-and-managed-metadata-columns
Answer: With SharePoint 2010 and 2013, lists and libraries support lookup columns which appear to retrieve data from the term stores of the Managed Metadata Service. However, using Managed Metadata Columns within a site collection creates a hidden list at the site collection level which contains a subset of term store information at <site collection URL>/Lists/TaxonomyHiddenList/AllItems.aspx.
This hidden list is simply one instance of localized storage of copies of external data within a site collection. Accessing this local data enhances performance but sometimes creates issues with incorrect data being presented.
Read more over here: https://info.summit7systems.com/blog/troubleshooting-sharepoints-hidden-list-and-managed-metadata-columns/
Comment: I can't believe how much grief this has caused me. Someone had added 'Everyone' with contribute to the site collection of our intranet. Removing this permission from the site collection seems to have also removed the 'Everyone' Read permission from the hidden TaxonomyHiddenList. Found a link to resolution here. http://sharepointfarmer.com/empty-managed-metadata-fields-for-contributors/
Comment: the link to summit7systems no longer valid


Can someone hack into my Wifi network through my cell phone?

Question: Let's say my cell phone is hacked by somebody and that I have no knowledge that my cell phone has been hacked. My cell phone is connected to a WiFi network A.
Can hackers hack into the WiFi network A through my cell phone in this case?
Comment: Sure, if Alice controls device X and device X is in network Y, then Alice can do to network Y whatever she wants.
Answer: If an attacker has full access to your cell phone, chances are, they can read the Wi-Fi password in plain text and thus get access to your Wi-Fi network.
The exact specifics depend on the OS, the version, etc...
Comment: If they are located far away from where the Wifi network is, can they still access the network by using the password?
Comment: I think the question isn't asking about the WiFi network (even though that is the wording), but rather the LAN that the WiFi network is part of.
Comment: @chico0913 If they have remote access to your phone, they do not need to be in range of your network and they don't need your wifi password to launch attacks. See my answer below.
Answer: Modern cell phones are small computers, sharing much of the same software (e.g. Android phones run on the Linux kernel), so I feel they should be treated no different than a regular computer, with the exception that they more commonly have multiple network interfaces such as WiFi and mobile network.
If a computer is compromised, an attacker can certainly use that access to attack whatever network the computer is connected to, regardless of the medium.
Also, the other answers discuss how a compromised phone could allow the network's WiFi PSK to be used by the attacker. This isn't very useful for a remotely compromised phone. Also, this will require root access, while a malicious app has enough privilege to launch attacks on your network.
Answer: WiFi passwords are stored in wpa_supplicant.conf
Meaning that if someone hacked your Android phone in a way that allows him to get access to your file (And such an exploit existed, such as ES File Explorer last year, or a RAT) it doesn't even need to wait for you to connect to a WiFi, he can just read the files.
And that can be done automatically (For instance, with the ES File Explorer exploit, you could connect a Raspberry Pi to a Public Wifi and make a script that looked for the exploit and retrieve the wanted file)
It's usually located in /system/etc/wifi/ or /data/misc/wifi
Answer: Finding your wifi password is superfluous and fairly irrelevant. If they have full access to your phone and your phone is connected to your wifi, they don't need your wifi password at all.
An attacker with full administrative rights on your device can send, receive, and sniff traffic to your wifi router and all other users on your network without connecting to the wifi themselves and without using your wifi password.
They do not need to be in range of your wifi if they have remote access to your phone. They can launch any attack on your network resources directly from your phone, remotely.
Answer: As others have answered, the main threat, in terms of accessing your wifi network, is that the hacker could retrieve your wifi network credentials from your phone.

If they are located far away from where the Wifi network is, can they still access the network by using the password?

As for this follow up question from the OP, note that the fact that the cell phone has cellular wireless network capability has nothing to do with connecting to your wifi network. So the hacker cannot just dial in somehow through the cellular network connection from far away to connect to your wifi network by using the password.


Is it possible to filter radio-waves using another radio telescope?

Question: When making an observation using a radio telescope, is it possible to filter out noise coming out from a known source by using another telescope that will focus on that noise source?
By filtering, I mean processing the observation on a computer and calculating the filtered image using the second telescope source. Assume that both of the telescopes are connected and can easily sync on time and location and exchange other information.
Comment: @ConnorGarcia Yes of course. It still puzzles me why the Cosmic Microwave Background cannot be filtered. I try to ask about this, once I learn more about the subject.
Comment: I appreciate your selection of my answer.  It's common for a question asker to give the community plenty of time to answer before accepting a best answer.  This allows the rest of the community time to comment on existing answers and even formulate alternate more thorough answers. If a better answer than mine is later provided, please feel free to switch your acceptance!
Comment: These are excellent and deep questions. The photons in the CMB got pretty well randomized, so the set of photons hitting telescope number one won't hit at the same times as the set of photons that hit telescope number two.  Also, the CMB is mostly isotropic, so it's impossible to focus a telescope on it.  A signal from a satellite, on the other hand, isn't random at all, and can be pointed to.
Comment: I usually give questions a week before accepting answers, some contributors don't necessarily check in every day. It's totally your choice of course, but you might consider unaccepting per the request above?
Answer: Coherent interfering signals are usually referred to as RFI (or Radio Frequency Interference).  One could certainly digitally filter out a coherent interfering signal from a telescope by observing from an additional telescope focused on the source of the interfering signal, given the proper geometry.  Here is a research paper on Radio Frequency Interference Mitigation that outlines some of these very techniques in section 3.4: Post correlation studies.
Incoherent interference is typically referred to as noise, and won't be the same at the two telescopes. This means an astronomer can't use one telescope to filter out the noise at the other. Some examples of noise sources are:

Noise that comes from thermal from the telescope's electronics
Ground backscatter into the antenna receiver
Inaccuracies introduced by analog to digital conversion and other signal processing.
Comment: I've added an answer.
Comment: @uhoh I just edited my answer to eliminate discussion of CMB to give you full stage to discuss it in your answer.
Comment: yikes! Now I've got *stage fright!*
Answer: I'd like to address something I saw in comments as a supplemental answer.
I don't think we can view the CMB as incoherent noise. The CMB is just as much of an extended yet coherent source as any extended object for which radio images exist. Any source that's distant compared to the size of the array is going to have coherence, since all antennas receive roughy the same waves, just delayed differently by their path lengths1.
Just for example:

Degree Angular Scale Interferometer
Cosmic Background Imager
Very Small Array

The only problem is that CMB is not localized so it will be present no matter where one points a radio telescope. In other words, it's not "noise" because it's really there!
If you could build a second antenna so far away that parallax moved your intended object substantially (if for example you were making a radio image of Jupiter using an array of radio telescopes in a big halo orbit around a Sun-Earth Lagrange point) then in that case you might be able to

Characterize it as noise, since the contribution would be different in each receiver
Remove it somewhat from your image of the foreground object since it would be more local interference or incoherent thermal noise in each receiver2.

But of course Jupiter is pretty loud, so it might not be necessary.

1Although I struggle with the concept, we can think of each radio photon as entering all telescopes and interfering with itself, even if that happens six months later after the hard drives have all been shipped to a central location for processing!
2Actually it would be almost exactly like thermal noise, about 2.72548±0.00057 K in fact. (Slightly related: Why doesn't thermal radio emission from a DSN "hot dish" completely swamp the benefits of a cold LNA?)
Comment: A bit of mentorship goes a long way. It's much appreciated.
Comment: The 21CMA's frequency range looks too low to observe the CMB. The paper says they are trying to observe celestial sources from the same time the CMB was formed.  Still, you may be correct about coherence in the CMB.  When I worked for the National Radio Astronomy Observatory we never treated it as a coherent source, but I suppose that doesn't mean it can't be.  I laughed sooo much when I was directed back to my own answer! +1
Comment: @ConnorGarcia ya my ploy didn't work as effectively as planned because I didn't read that carefully. There are several Earth-based interferometric arrays that do coherently image the CMB, (e.g. [1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Degree_Angular_Scale_Interferometer), [2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_Background_Imager), [3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Very_Small_Array)) but at 70 – 200 MHz that isn't one of them.
Comment: The ironic thing is I was actually aware of the CBI.  I am still pretty new on Astronomy Stack Exchange.  I'm inclined to leave my flawed answer up and let it be downvoted or bypassed.  Is it considered bad form to leave up a flawed answer rather than correct it?
Comment: @ConnorGarcia hmm, well my answer is now flawed as well as you've pointed out. I'm going to "fix it" by adjusting to address only comments under the question and label it as a "partial answer" or "supplemental answer". Why don't you go ahead and refine yours as well. Stack Exchange (in my opinion) is "Collaborative effort to generate good answers to on-topic questions" with future readers as our customers. I try not to focus on myself or reputation or being right, but instead on delivering the best information to those who come after us.


Multinomial Logistic Regression vs. classification

Question: I am not statistician, and I have a simple question.
When is better to use classification and when is better to use multinomial logistic regression?
Comment: This is a very a broad question, what are you trying to do?
Comment: I have a dataset which response variable is in three imbalanced classes, i.e. 983 class 1, 11 class 2, and 7 class 3. I don't know I should do multinomial logistic regression or classification.
Comment: It's rare to successfully model in such a situation.  You might want to do some reading on small-sample statistical methods.
Comment: Possible duplicate of [Discriminant analysis vs logistic regression](https://stats.stackexchange.com/questions/188416/discriminant-analysis-vs-logistic-regression)
Answer: Generally speaking, if the relationship between the features and the response is well approximated by a linear model, then an MNL approach tends to work best. On the other hand, if the relationship between the features and the response
is complex and non-linear, then methods such as decision trees tend to outperform.
Determining which to use can be done by running a model with different techniques, and estimate their performance on test-error with techniques like k-fold cross-validation.
Keep in mind however that interpretation and visualizations are other aspects to consider. Minimizing test-error may not be the most important aspect of your work on a given problem.
Answer: "Classification" is a broad class of models/methods. Multinomial logistic regression is one model in that class. Are you looking to build a classifier to predict future responses or to explain factors associated with different responses? If the former and you have lots of predictors there are probably better methods out there, like random forest or SVM (different methods handle imbalances differently, some better than others). If you are interested in makings statements about how the independent factors (what is the 938, 11, and 7 in your example?) are associated with the classes then multinomial regression will give you statistics about each of them that have a plain English interpretation. Multinomial regression is robust to imbalance as long as you have sufficient numbers in each response group/class (ie > 10).


doppler cooling temperature limit

Question: Wikipedia shows a heating effect that causes minimum temperature achievable in doppler cooling as: "The atom performs a random walk in momentum space with steps equal to the photon momentum due to spontaneous emission and photon absorption. This constitutes a heating effect, which counteracts the cooling process and imposes a limit on the amount by which the atom can be cooled."
What exactly is this heating process?
Answer: Heat is random motion of atoms.
In doppler cooling, lasers are slightly below a transition frequency when viewed in the lab frame of reference. Atoms moving faster than average toward the beam see it blue shifted just enough to absorb a photon. These atoms all receive a kick that reduces their kinetic energy.
Now they are excited. They decay by emitting a photon in random directions. This kicks that atoms in random directions, adding heat.
Since the atoms are moving slower now, they emit a photon that is closer to the transition frequency when viewed in the lab frame of reference.
Atoms absorb a low frequency photon and emit a slightly higher frequency photon. This is the source of cooling.

doppler cooling temperature limit


I want to provide the distance traveled by boaters on a river using mapping software like google maps

Question: Apparently there is no way in google maps to identify a river except by getting the color of the pixel.  This breaks whenever there is a bridge.  Is there a maw to measure distance along a river without building my own gis polygons for every river segment I want to use?
Comment: Could you perhaps look for the name of the bridge?  It might not work for every single case though.
Answer: Have you tried NASA Worldwind? Although Google Maps is popular and easy to use, it is more useful for road map data. The NASA Worldwind SDK is fairly easy to understand and provides a range of data related to the earth including elevation data.


8GB Nextbook8 only showing .98GB internal storage

Question: Running 4.4.2 KitKat. Does the OS really take up 7GB? I've only got like 5 games downloaded and already running out of space for apps. :(
Comment: Is "Does the OS take up 7GB?" actually your question, or do you have a more substantial one?
Answer: and welcome to the Android Enthusiasts Stack Exchange.
Android partitions are an odd subject, especially when you're used to Windows-esque devices.  Android runs on a version of Linux, and it's root directories are split up into partitions on your device.  When a manufacturer says their device is 8GB, they mean exactly that - in total, you have 8GB.
All the Linux partitions on your device each have their own allotment of storage space.  For example, /recovery may take 200MB, /cache may take 1GB, etc etc.  Long story short is this: with an 8GB tablet, yes, the OS will take up a substantial amount of storage space.  I'm guessing you have around 1GB free to install applications.


Outdoor three way switch and outlet on light pole GFI

Question: Placing a new outdoor pole light with a three way switch and outlet. Using 12/3 wire in conduit with One 3way switch in house. Question: what is the best way to have ground fault on outlet and switch?
Comment: Some clarification - do you want two switches, one on the pole and one in the house?  Do you want the receptacle on the pole switched with the light, or always on?
Comment: Circuit is 15amp using 12/3 wire in conduit 120 from other switch in house. One switch on pole with outlet. Outlet will be on same circuit and controlled by the three way switchers.
Answer: One way to add GFCI protection for the outdoor lights and receptacle would be to use a GFCI breaker for the circuit.  This will protect everything on the circuit, if there's anything else on it.
That may be a bonus, or may be a problem if you don't want GFCI protection on some of what's on that circuit.  For example, if the sump pump in your basement is on that circuit, a nuisance GFCI trip could prevent the pump from working and you wind up with a flooded basement.
Another way would be to add GFCI protection anywhere between the panel and where the cable leaves the house.  One way to do that would be to add a GFCI receptacle anywhere between the panel and the inside three way switch, maybe somewhere in the basement where the cable feeding the inside 3-way switch is accessible.  The receptacles have LINE and LOAD side connections;  you'd connect the LINE side to the power feed coming in, and the LOAD side to the outside lights etc. downstream.  Depending on the routing of the circuits wiring, other loads, etc., other loads may be affected as with a breaker.  If you install the GFCI receptacle right where the circuit comes out of the panel, it will affect all loads as would a GFCI breaker.  If you install it where the cable to the pole exits the basement, it would only protect what's outside.
Another way would be to add a gang to the switch box and put a dead front GFCI in the switch box.  I like this method because people can see the dead front right next to the switch if it trips and not have to think too hard.
Comment: That photo is not a deadfront GFCI.  That's the mythical **GFCI switch**: the answer to the question "Can I just use the test/reset buttons on my GFCI to turn off the loads everyday?" Not on normal ones, as they are not switch rated. **This one is**, you don't need a 2-gang box to put it next to the switch, *it **is** a  switch*.


Is Methodism more strict in biblical interpretation?

Question: I just wanted to know that is John Wesley and his denomination Methodism more literalist, fundamentalist and strict in their interpretation of the Holy Bible or not?
Comment: More literalist than who?
Comment: Literalism, fundamentalism, and strictness don't necessarily correlate at all!
Comment: More literalist than all other denominations, especially among the Protestants?
Comment: That's easy. There are denominations FAR more literalist than Methodists.
Answer: I contacted my local U.K. Methodist church and they sent me the following extract from The Book of Discipline (1996), which is the United Methodist view of Scripture (page 63):

"United Methodists share with other Christians the conviction that Scripture is the primary source and criterion for Christian doctrine. Through Scripture the living Christ meets us in the experience of redeeming grace. We are convinced that Jesus Christ is the living Word of God in our midst whom we trust in life and death.
The biblical authors, illumined by the Holy Spirit, bear witness that in Christ the world is reconciled to God. The Bible bears authentic testimony to God's self-disclosure in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ as well as in God's work of creation, in the pilgrimage of Israel, and in the Holy Spirit's ongoing activity in human history. ....
We are aided by scholarly inquiry and personal insight, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. As we work with each text, we take into account what we have been able to learn about the original context and intention of that text. In this understanding we draw upon the careful historical, literary, and textual studies of recent years, which have enriched our understanding of the Bible.
Through this faithful reading of Scripture, we may come to know the truth of the biblical message in its bearing on our own lives and the life of the world. Thus, the Bible serves both as a source of our faith and as the basic criterion by which the truth and fidelity of any interpretation of faith is measured.
While we acknowledge the primacy of Scripture in theological reflection, our attempts to grasp its meaning always involve tradition, experience, and reason.
Like Scripture, these may become creative vehicles of the Holy Spirit as they function with the Church. They quicken our faith, open our eyes to the wonder of God's love, and clarify our understanding (pp. 75-76)".

Summary of the position of the U.K. Methodist Church:

"The Bible interacts with the tradition, experience, and reason of each of us individually, and as a community of God's faithful.  All of these tools influence and help shape our personal interpretation of Scripture in a process that endures over a lifetime. Through the constantly evolving context of our lives, we read Scripture anew, discovering guidance and inspiration that give Scripture authority for us."

United Methodist Confession of Faith - Article 2:

"We believe in Jesus Christ, truly God and truly man, in whom the divine and human natures are perfectly and inseparably united.  He is the eternal Word made flesh, the only begotten Son of the Father, born of the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit.  As ministering servant he lived, suffered and died on the cross.  He was buried, rose from the dead and ascended into heaven to be with the Father, from whence he shall return.  He is eternal Saviour and Mediator, who intercedes for us, and by him all persons are to be judged."

http://www.umc.org/what-we-believe/confession-of-faith
http://www.umc.org/what-we-believe/foundational-documents
The 3 Main Doctrines:
Repentance – the Porch to the church of God
Faith – the Door to the church of God
Holiness – the church of God itself
Summary:
All need to be saved
All can be saved
All can know that they are saved
All can be saved to the uttermost
Overview:
In the essentials – unity
In non-essentials – liberty
In all things – charity
Source: The Methodist Heritage by Henry Carter, C.B.E., published 1951 by the Epworth Press
It is my personal experience (having associated with a U.K. Methodist church for several years) that they absolutely believe the Bible to be God's inspired Word, that they uphold fundamental Christian doctrines and beliefs, but they are probably one of the least "strict" denominations within Protestantism.  Recently, a more liberal approach has penetrated into Methodist churches along with a desire to attain unity with other denominations (including Catholicism and Anglicanism). I daresay some Methodist churches are more or less liberal than others, given they have the freedom to govern themselves within local areas. Please read the Confession of Faith and Foundational Documents links.
Answer: Methodist are not literalists or fundamentalist, they are more middle of the road .... John Wesley's theology is founded on original sin and the depravity of man. He preached, "it is only through prevenient grace, Grace that goes before, which precedes human action and reflects God's heart for His creation. God is the initiator of any relationship with Him.
Methodist received their name because Wesley originally believed it was a combination of following certain methods and good works which lead to salvation. However, after his Aldersgate experience, brought about by meeting Peter Bohler a Moravian friend that he realized it is only through "Christ alone that we can achieve salvation".
Comment: This doesn't actually say much in answer to the question.


htaccess detect and rewrite

Question: I am having a big time issue in using htaccess but got a little more familiar with the help of this forum. but there is one issue where I cant seem to solve with the search function of this forum or perhaps my key words are an issue of its own. here goes the scenario where I hope you guys would enlighten me on:
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} ^u=([0-9])$
RewriteRule ^([0-9])/([^/]*)$ /example/index.php?u=$1&m=$2 [QSA,NC,L]

the above modrewrite is suppose to help me to detect if the parameter for "u" exist and its in numerical form, it will rewrite to the above rules. If else it would use the below rewrite rules.
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} ^!u=([0-9])$
RewriteRule ^([^/]*)$ /example/index.php?m=$1 [QSA,NC,L]

Well, as you can see, its not working very well. I really do appreciate any help given here. thanks in advance.
Answer: I just found a solution to my own question. Ironic as that is. Here you go:
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule ^([0-9]+)/?$ example/index.php?u=$1 [QSA,NC,L]

RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d

RewriteRule ^([^/]*)/?$ example/index.php?m=$1 [QSA,NC,L]

It's for those who wants to know. =)

htaccess detect and rewrite


How halal banks give private consumption loans that don't earn profits?

Question: While searching for "How did Muslims operate Halal banks if there is no interest". I came to know that banks take some portions/share of profit. My question is that, how do they manage the share or the money if loan is taken for home, vehicles, etc...
Comment: Hello and welcome to [islam.se]. I think you'll need to be more specific.
Answer: Bismillah.
Just to clarify for other users, Islamic banks really operate according to Islamic sharee'ah, and they do not deal with riba (interest) which is haraam (a sin), and they do not take interest in return for deferring payment, which is in fact the riba (usury) of the Jaahiliyyah, even if they call it by some other name, and they do not engage in transactions which are not acceptable in sharee'ah, such as selling what one does not possess, or 'aynah sales or other kinds of transactions that are not permitted by sharee'ah. If a bank undoubtedly does not do these things, then it is halaal and dealing with it is acceptable according to sharee'ah.
The way Islamic bank operate might be a bit confusing for a person not used to dealing with them. Some people do not like dealing with these banks because they claim that they are too complicated. The main differences are the absence of interest and often complicated procedures to ensure compliance with Shariah law.
For example, in Islamic housing finance the risks involved are shared between the bank and the borrower, rather than transferring all the risk to the latter. The most commonly used contract is the diminishing musharaka (partnership) contract. In this case the bank and the borrower form a partnership, with the bank providing up to 95 percent of the purchase price, and the borrower 5 percent.
The borrower buys out the ownership share of the bank which makes its profit from the rent paid by the client for the share the bank owns. This happens over a period of, usually, 15 to 30 years.
Should the borrower default on a rental or principal repayment, the bank may advance the borrower an interest-free loan to enable him to continue their payments in anticipation that he will pay in full when he is able to. The good news is that during this period of distress, the borrower retains his home rather than face eviction.
Having said this, Islamic banks still appraise credit risk, and indeed are more cautious about who they finance than conventional banks.
Sources: 1, 2.


Is it justified to assess the probability of a claim if the claim is unverifiable or do we have to say the probability is inconclusive?

Question: Suppose there is a claim that outside the observable universe (assuming that there is an outside, other than that we don't know anything about outside) there exists a substance A. Can we conclude that substance A has a zero or close to zero percent probability of actually existing, or do we have to conclude that the probability of substance A existing is inconclusive and unkowable?
Comment: Can you give an example of a claim outside the observable universe? You mean like the existence of God? Or a physical event before the Big Bang? Can you provide context for your question? What is Subtance A? Is it like Substance D in the great Philip K. Dick novel. A Scanner Darkly?
Comment: For example, Substance A could be an object A with certain characteristics. I want the object to be unrelated to our universe so we good say that the substance A is a powerful being for example. I want to be able to say if the specific being is unlikely to be true, but I am unsure if i can.
Comment: See Logical Positivism (philosophybasics.com/branch_logical_positivism.html)
Answer: You either need to be more careful with your definition of "probability of actually existing," or at least use Bayesian statistics.
In Bayesian statistics, there is a factor which can be roughly translated as "knowedness."  Thus it is valid to have some distribution (probability of true/false) with a 0 value for how known the value it.  This leads to all sorts of interesting odd things like Jeffery's priors.
The other approach is being more careful with the wording.  There is no actual scientific way to say "substance A has a % chance of existing" because that phrasing is ontological.  It is a statement about the true universe, not what we know about it.  An alternate phrasing would be "our empirical models suggest that the probability of A existing is very low."
This modeling step is critical.  We have 0 information about whether this substance happens to exist on the dark side of the moon of a planet in another solar system.  However, if our model of the universe suggests that most materials like substance A tend to be roughly evenly distributed across the universe, then we can sample the areas around us and do analysis.
In "pure" science, the way you'd do this is to create a null hypothesis that "substance A exists, but statistical anomalies account for why we haven't seen it yet."  The alternative hypothesis is "substance A doesn't exist, or only occurs at some very low rate."  You would make guesses as to the distribution of substance A (roughly uniform, in our case).  You would then prove that it takes a great stroke of luck/bad luck to get a world where the distribution of substance A was just right to prevent us from detecting it.
Once you arrive at something like "there is a 0.01% chance that a random distribution of substance A would go undetected," you can say "we reject the null hypothesis" because we find it does a poor job of modeling our world.  Then we get to claim the alternate hypothesis "substance A doesn't exist, or only occurs at some very low rate."
Note: we did not prove that hypothesis, we merely disproved the "prevailing" opinion that it exists, but random chance stopped us from observing it.  This is a key difference in wording.  Many wars have broken out between science and religion from individuals misinterpreting this path as "proving" substance A does not exist.
Comment: I was more asking if you did not know anything about the claim other than it is unverifiable, could you dismiss the claim and say that it is extremely unlikely or is it better to say that the claim is unconclusive.
Comment: Ahh, in that case, the first part on Bayesian statistics will be the direction you are probably looking for.  In particular, take a look at the Jeffreys' Prior, which is the direct approach to your question using Bayesian inference.
Comment: @CortAmmon Do Bayesian statistics apply "outside the observable universe?" Is the question even meaningful? Am I taking the OP too literally, and perhaps he just means "unknown" as opposed to having some type of truth value literally outside of the observable universe? Your answer makes sense if OP means "unknown" rather than outside the observable universe, which has a very vague meaning if any.
Comment: @user4894 I was working off of his use of the word "probability."  Unobserved/unmeasured and unobservable/unmeasurable function the same in bayseian statistics.  The only difference is that one has the potential to be empirically studied in the future.  However, as written, the question is about the present, not the future.
Comment: See Logical Positivism (http://www.philosophybasics.com/branch_logical_positivism.html)
Comment: @R.Barzell That's another approach (you might be able to make an answer out of it).  I avoided that line of thinking because I find it uncomfortable to answer "can I assume X" with "if you start with a philosophical doctrine which assumes X as a core principle, then yes, you can assume X."
Comment: @CortAmmon actually, I meant to post my comment to the original question, not this answer.  Your answer was solid (I was one of the upvotes), so sorry about the confusion.  Too bad, it's too late to delete my comment.


"Is there something wrong?" or "Is there anything wrong?"

Question: Is there any difference between "Is there something wrong?" and "Is there anything wrong?"? Also, you would say "He would like something to drink" but "Would you like anything to drink?", right? I'd appreciate if any one could explain the usage of "something" and "anything".
Answer: To me, we typically expect a positive response when using "something".
Specifically:

It is common for "something" to be used in the affirmative and
  sometimes when asking a question with the expectation of a positive
  response. This is not a firm rule, just be aware of the context.

For example,
She bought something at the flea market.
Would you give him something to do?

It is common for "anything" to be used in the negative or
  interrogative and more commonly than"something" with questions.

For example,
He didn't want anything to do with those girls.
Is there anything that I can get you? (You can also say, "Is there something that I can get you," but using "anything" sounds a bit more polite.)

Here's the source.
In your examples, "Is there something wrong" probably implies you feel something might be wrong and want to confirm with others while "Is there anything wrong" is just a general inquiry whether anything is wrong at all. "Would you like something to drink" is likely to be heard in a bar where you are expected to order something to drink while "Would you like anything to drink" might just mean you want to know if a person is thirsty or not.
Furthermore, something indicates finiteness while anything doesn't place any restriction on the scope or quantity. That said, "Would you like something to drink?" might be synonymous with "Would you like to choose one from our (finite)collection of drinks on the shelf" while "Anything to drink" might mean anything drinkable that you could imagine.
"Would you like anything to drink" also sounds more polite to me as it doesn't potentially impose a positive response on the person(e.g., customer).
Comment: There does seem to be a connection between positive/negative and *something/anything*. Is it possible *Do you want anything?* is more likely than *...something* in contexts where the expected answer is "No thanks" rather than "Yes please"?
Comment: @FumbleFingers IMHO, it depends on specific contexts. For example, saying "Would you like anything to drink" to a friend who apparently wants something to drink would be a little impolite, since using "something" here otherwise would express the sincerity of my offer.
Comment: +1 to @TerryLiYifeng; I might likewise say "Something is wrong," meaning that I've used "something" in a negative sense. "Anything is wrong" wouldn't even make sense.
Comment: True! "She bought something at the flea market." gets a rather different meaning if you swap "something" with "anything". First case she came home with something in particular, while the second it sounds like she just bought anything she could and came home with a bunch of junk :p
Answer: As others have said, there's no difference in meaning between anything and something, but there are important grammatical differences.
(1) Only something is used in independent positive statements. We can say Something is wrong, but we can't say *Anything is wrong.
(2) Only anything is used in negative statements. We can say I don't know anything about it, but we can't say *I don't know something about it.
(3) Both can normally be used in questions, but there are exceptions and nuances. If you return from the store, I would ask you Did you buy anything? rather than Did you buy something? A speaker who didn't hear what another person was saying would ask Did you say something? not Did you say anything? You might ask that in reply to someone who felt offended by the action or words of a third person.
(4) Something and anything can be used in making offers, but there are differences. If you were offering a wide choice of something, you'd say Help yourself to anything you want and not *Help yourself to something you want. And Would you like something for your birthday? is more forthcoming than Would you like anything for your birthday?
EDIT
The 'Longman Student Grammar of Spoken and Written English' (LSGSWE) calls pairs like these 'assertive' (something) and 'non-assertive' (anything). It confirms that non-assertive forms are associated with negation, including implicit negation: I rarely find anything to laugh at in his jokes rather than *I rarely find something to laugh at in his jokes. It also points out that non-assertive forms are associated with conditional clauses, temporal clauses introduced by before and comparative and degree constructions. That's not always the case with something and anything, but it is with the last: I like treacle tart more than anything and not *I like treacle tart more than something.
(The LSGSWE is the stripped-down version of the authoritative 'Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English'.)
Answer: In the context of Would you like..., something and anything are effectively synonyms. I don't think there's any case to be made for any (some) subtle difference in meaning, but in practice it seems something is significantly more common.

But curiously, it's always I would like something to eat when presented as a statement. Almost all occurrences of would like anything to eat here turn out to be things like He asked if we would like anything to eat (reflecting the word as used in the original question).
In short, use either when asking a question, but note that when making a statment we simply don't say I would like anything to eat.
Moving to the more general case, I looked at I want something/anything to..., where it seems clear that something is normally used for straightforward expression of a desire, but anything mainly occurs in "negating" constructions, such as It's not that I want anything to happen.
Comment: I don't think the two are synonyms; I think 'something' infers you want to make the decision, whereas 'anything' means the other party will make the decision. If you said "I want something to eat" you will make the call on what you will eat, but if you said "I want anything to eat!" it means you'll take whatever the other party offers.
Comment: Well *you* might say *"I want anything to eat!"* with that meaning. But I wouldn't, and I doubt I've ever heard anyone else say it either, so perhaps that's a dialectal thing. And I'd still expect to make my own choice if a service worker asked me *if I wanted anything*, whether it was to eat or not. I can't believe any significant number of speakers would make your distinction based on who chooses the food.
Comment: I meant it to be awkward (too subtle a point I suppose). In context though, you're right if someone asks if you want something/anything it works either way. Still, I think there's a distinctive feel to the two words. They can't be swapped without at least mildly changing the meaning in many cases.
Comment: I agree with you there *are* subtle differences, but they don't apply in all contexts. The problem is that what seems like an "edge case" to you or me (where we *know* which we prefer) might not be so for another person. I personally don't think I can really distinguish *"Can I get you something?"* from *"Can I get you anything?"*, for example. So if someone else *can*, they're wasting a subtle shade of meaning if they choose one over the other when talking to me, whatever their intentions.
Answer: As far as I can remember, this was a typical middle school exam question for British English in my years.

"Would you like something to drink" expects a positive answer.

I'm not sure what is the case in American English though.
Answer: In your examples anything means the same as something. However the two words may not mean the same in other contexts. For example,

I will give you something

means  I will give you a thing

I will give you anything

means I will give you whatever thing you ask for.
Answer: In deciding between the two that are equivalent, you can look at the suggestive connotative meaning of the root words some and any.  Some is often suggestive of a part of a whole, while any is one or more things out of many things.
So:
Would you like some cake?
Did you take any pictures?
If the answers are suggestive of a part:
We have lots of food.  Would you like something?  (some of the food, not all)
Or if it's multiple things:
We have replicas of the Eiffel Tower, the Statue of Liberty, and the Great Wall of China.  Would you like anything?  (one or more of those things).
As you can see, for either of those examples using the opposite wouldn't quite make sense.


Helpful tips for the learning of latin verbs

Question: I have lately begun learning latin (about two-three months in) and have thus far memorised all the noun and adjective declensions. But the task of committing to memory and understanding sufficiently the verbs seems daunting. Could anyone here recommend chapters of books and suchlike materials which are helpful in understanding and memorising latin verbs. Thanks.
Comment: I once developed a [tool](https://www.res-latinae.com/verbs/) for training on verbs.  I personally found it very helpful in getting grip on ppp and indicative perfect stems which ultimately should be known/memorized. For some bad reason I omitted the macrons in the answers so it should be kept in mind.
Comment: @d_e Thanks a lot that will be of much help.
Answer: I surveyed the paradigms in Morwood's "Latin Grammar" to develop common patterns for verb stems and common morphemic differences between conjugations and their voices by comparing pages throughout the conjugations section.
NB: Morwood does not explicitly give all verb forms.
For quick reference of declined or conjugate forms I visit https://latin.cactus2000.de/index.en.php .
Answer: I made myself flashcards. Each flashcard had 12 finite forms, 3 persons times 2 numbers (singular, plural) times two voices (active, passive). I had six cards (one per tense) for each of the five conjugations, (I counted 3rd conjugation as two conjugations) so 30 cards total. I also made cards for some of the irregular verbs.
I have forgotten many of the details. That was a very long time ago now.
But I kept at it, drawing a few cards from random and running through the litany every weekday on my lunch break.  After a few months, I had them memorized.
I only did the indicative forms. I tackled the subjunctives later, without flash cards.
The information I put on the flash cards came from the appendix of my Latin textbook. Most first year Latin textbooks have an appendix with all the forms of the verb paradigms in them. In my case, I used Gavin Betts' Teach Yourself Latin.
Answer: In my opinion there are two kinds of verbs: those that can be compounded and the "simple" verbs that are not compounded.
For example, mitto is complex verb that can be compounded. So, we have amitto, admitto, emitto, dimitto, inmitto, intermitto, permitto, praemitto, promitto, remitto, submitto, supermitto, and transmitto. The way to learn complex verbs is to learn the entire complex at one time. So research each complex verb with all of its variations and put all the meanings together to learn them as a single body of concept. By doing this you are learning a single IDEA, not trying to memorize dozens of disparate English equivalencies. If you get bogged down learning separate English words for every possible situation, you will just never learn it, because there are just thousands and thousands of them.
So, for example, take demitto. This word can mean to fall, but it can also mean to sink like in water, and it can also mean to stoop over, but it can also mean to hurl something like a rock, but it can also mean to fell a tree, or to let down the hair, or to hand down evidence. If you try to memorize all this, there will be no end to it. You have to learn the whole mitto complex as a single concept or idea.
To learn the simple verbs, one approach is to learn them in relation to other verbs, such as antonyms or synonyms. For example, possum and nequeo are antonyms. So, you can double your speed of learning, because you learn both words at the same time. Every time you learn a new simple verb, find its antonym or synonym and record both together in your notes.
I recommend against using flashcards or word lists, except as a skill check. I only use word lists to identify key words that I don't know for some reason, not as a way to learn meanings. The way to learn meanings is to read Latin thoroughly and deeply. A good place to start is Fabulae Faciles. So, let's take an example sentence from that book:
Hic Linus Herculem ōlim obiurgābat, quod nōn studiōsus erat; tum puer īrātus citharam subitō rapuit, et omnibus vīribus caput magistrī īnfēlīcis percussit.
So, when we read this sentence, we learn what obiurgabat, rapuit and percussit mean. We learn these verbs. If you read FF in detail several times until you know all the stories by heart, then you will remember these verbs because you have a context in which to remember them. When you later see for example, this sentence in Suetonius:
Atque inter haec absentem senatum populumque gravissimo obiurgavit edicto...
You will remember what obiurgavit means because you remember what Linus did to Hercules.

About Learning Paradigms (Grammar Tables)
I strongly advise against trying to memorize paradigms (grammar tables). It is much, much more important to learn vocabulary. If some sentence seems like it has some critical grammar that you just absolutely have to know the exact tense or something, then use a site like this that allows for exact form lookup.
You can get by in verb endings by learning just the basic basics, like bi- means future, ba- means imperfect, -isse- is pluperfect etc. Just get the gist of it.
Comment: @TylerDurden The key is in his sentence: "have thus far memorised all the noun and adjective **declensions**." He learned the declensions, but verbs are more difficult. Clearly OP is asking about conjugations, the verbal analogue to declensions, and not every verb ever.
Comment: Isn't the OP asking about memorizing verb *conjugations*?
Comment: @brianpck Hmm, maybe. I guess it wasn't clear to me from the question. So, he is asking about learning the paradigms, not the vocabulary?


Photoshop: how to save crisp and smooth PNG files for app design

Question: I am saving icons as PNG files to be used in an app. But when zooming or reducing the images they look pixelated. How to save images in PNG format so they remain crisp and smooth?
Comment: Can you add more details please? What's the image size? How much are you rediucing the image? Show an example also if you can.
Answer: In addition to Lucian's great answer:
Different platforms have different native formats they can use for user interface design in apps. PNGs are the most common UI asset format, and yes, they are bitmaps (zoom in and you'll see pixels). As Lucian says, that's fine, as long as they're being displayed at the correct size.
iOS, Android and other mobile platforms require images at the pixel densities used. This means each element you need an image for, will actually require a set of images at different scales.
iOS
iOS can use PNGs and PDFs natively for UI images. Please note that PDFs are just converted to PNGs by Xcode (they're not rendered at runtime). If you'd like to use vector assets on iOS, a good option is creating Core Graphics path code, using PaintCode or similar.
https://www.paintcodeapp.com
SVGs can be used on iOS, but not natively (a third party library is required to parse and render them).
Android
Android can use PNGs and WebP for bitmap images, and Android Vector Drawables for vector images. Vector Drawables are very similar to SVGs (a subset of SVG, in a different container). Vector Drawables are great, if you can use them.
https://developer.android.com/training/material/drawables.html
Shipping bitmap assets in your app is totally fine, and actually the most common method used.
Answer: In theory

PNG is a raster format (not vector), which means pixels will always be visible eventually depending on your zoom level. PNG files are only crisp and smooth at their intended size, not when zoomed in. You can save a larger PNG via resize percentage in Save for Web, then scale it done in your code, but there will always be a limit with raster formats.
Saving as SVG (vector format) is an alternative for a completely smooth non-pixelated quality.

In practice

It depends on what you need to use the images for. If planning to use for an app, research this by googling "app design svg vs png".
Comment: I am making icons for an app using material design guidelines. I designed a logo in 1080*1920 size. Is it compulsary to always save images in svg format?
Comment: You mean like a mobile app I assume? Android, iPhone? Why don't you specify these things when posting? :) I don't do apps so don't know the exact technical requirements. You need to check if your app can work with SVG. If it does, then SVG is definitely smoother than PNG.
Comment: Thank You Lucian. I am sorry but from next time i will make sure to completely specify all the necessary details and sorry for your inconvenience.
Comment: No worries. If you feel this answer helped in any way, try clicking the _up_ arrow and/or the _check_ icon next to my answer above. Thanks


How to call senior at a school?

Question: How to call senior when meet at a school? When I don't know the name.
When I call him or I refer to him to someone who are my friends.
or on the speech, "I respect all you senior" ?
Hey senior? Hey elder student? Hey seniority?
Comment: This is a very "Asian" question to ask, because it is as much about culture as it is about language.  I assume you are referring to something like *seonbae/hubae* in Korean or *kohai/senpai* in Japanese; *English simply doesn't have anything like these.*
Comment: Of related interest at EL&U: *[Aren't there English equivalents to Japanese word, Senpai (先輩) meaning a senior in school, career, or age?](https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/158374)*
Comment: I'm assuming you mean high school, and not college?
Comment: Can be high school, college,university, work place.
Comment: I agree with stangdon.  At least in the US, there is no special term for those ahead of you in school.  It's not part of the culture.  There may be some of this in things like boarding schools or British University, at least those that are more old-fashioned.  You do see some of this in *Harry Potter*, for example, where Hogwarts is based on the traditional British boarding school system.  The younger students look up to the older students, and the older students are given more responsibilities.  Instead we call people by name, usually without any honorific.
Answer: We use the words freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior when talking to about how far someone has progressed in a four-year educational program; however, as a general rule, we do not use these words as a form of address. In other words, I would never say to a stranger:

Hey, senior, can I ask you a question?

However, I might say to a friend:

That guy standing over there is a senior – do you know his name?

Also, phrases such as, "Hey, elder student," or "Hey, seniority" are simply not used in this way – neither in school nor in the workplace. For the most part, we simply don't make a big deal about someone being a few years older than someone else, and don't have special titles for people who happen to be a few years older or who have worked in a company a little bit longer.
If you are looking for a word to use when you don't know someone's name, English doesn't have a lot of options for that. Sometimes "sir" (or "ma'am") can be used:

Excuse me, sir, do you know what time it is?

but even these terms would sound out-of-place in most schools where a freshman is asking an upperclassman about the time.
Comment: OP did not indicate a locale, but if you're going to mention [*freshman*, et al](https://ell.stackexchange.com/questions/109345) I think we should add that these terms are exclusive to the U.S.
Comment: Sometimes, if you're addressing a group of people who are all in the same class, you will use the plural noun as form of address, like this: "Juniors, you are excused. Seniors, please stay here for the next presentation."  But I agree that you would never directly address a single individual this way.
Answer: It depends entirely on the culture of the group you're in.
Where I come from, we don't use different terms for more senior students/colleagues.  We use given names, or if the other person is much older (i.e. at least a generation older) we use Mr. Surname or Mrs. Surname.
The only honourific I've seen used is sir, but I've never used it myself.  I would only ever call someone sir if I joined the military.
This isn't really an English language question, but a local culture question.
Comment: I agree that it's a local culture question, but I disagree with the assertion that this "isn't really an English language question."

How to call senior at a school?


Windows 7 Google Print Service

Question: I'm wondering if there's any way to use a custom Windows 7 print service to send documents directly to Google Docs.  My end goal is to use Google Cloud Print to be able to print any document from my computer to a remote printer, using Google Docs.  Might be a long shot, but thought I'd ask.
Answer: For Office Documents, try OffiSync.  It allows you to save or open documents on your Google Docs directly from MS Office software.

Windows 7 Google Print Service


Gravity force and dark energy

Question: If gravity is a fundamental force which bends spacetime and dark energy is energy which stretches spacetime, what is the difference between the terms force and energy?
Answer: This is all just terminology.
'Force' is a term from Classical mechanics really.
'Fundamental Force' is a term for any one of the set of four theories, gravity, and the three Standard Model interactions, Strong nuclear, weak nuclear and electromagnetic.
The strong nuclear interactions (plural) for example could be said to be eight 'forces'. It's just that they're all quite the same!
So usually when we move to Quantum Field Theory we drop this word for 'interaction', since this gives less confusion (or the sort that you are suffering!). Then three of those fundamental forces are collections of interactions that share lots of properties (namely, the gauge group of the force/ interaction).
Then as for gravitation, there will be some debate about this.
From a mathematical point of view, in my humble opinion (and the opinion of many others) it is not correct to call it a force, once you realise the Einstein gravity of general relativity.
Rather, the motion of bodies in spacetime, orbits etc., is a consequence of the fact that given general covariance we must move along geodesics which are curved (since we live on a Lorentzian manifold). I'm afraid this is hard to give a convincing argument in non-technical terms, without going on for pages...
Then, as regards the dark energy, some people indeed think that it is an interaction (force), and they have a theory called Quintessence. This theory postulates some extra scalar field $\phi$ which causes extra interactions between the matter fields of our universe. This extra interaction could be called a force, just as the electromagnetic interaction is. Note that Quintessence is just one of many competing theories of Dark Energy.
We usually call in Dark Energy (or Cosmological Constant, $\Lambda$) since that is the way that we have infered it's existance. Namely, that there must be some extra term in the Einstein equations which are causing the accelerting cosmic expansion that we measure from far away galaxy clusters.
As a finally possibly techincal definition, you should think of energy as the canonically conjugate generalised momentum to the zero component of a generalised coordinate four-vector.
That is, $\vec{p}$ to $\vec{x}$ as $E$ is to $t$, sort of...
Does this help?
Comment: yes this is helpful. I don't think that gravity qualifies as a force that much, it is quite dissimilar from the other 3 fundamental forces.
Comment: @Stanletdoods I just found a similar question and thought of your question. [Here](http://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/2110/why-does-space-expansion-not-expand-matter) Marek talks a little about the use of the word 'force' for gravity, and the dark energy.

Gravity force and dark energy


Does God cause natural disasters?

Question: How are Muslims informed by their religion to view large-scale natural disasters? In Islam, does God control those phenomena?
Comment: I am not Muslim, but perhaps one view to consider: maybe Allah (God from the question) *could* control every event, were it his will. That does not necessarily mean that He *is required* to cause/intervene in every event - some (many? most?) may run their course naturally. Perhaps that is a compromise between a fairly deterministic naturalistic viewpoint, that is compatible with the omnipotent Allah (God from the question) viewpoint. I do not see that naturalistic studies are required to be in competition with Islam, or incompatible with Islam.
Answer: In Islam, does God control those phenomena?
Yes, it is God who controls natural disasters. For example, in the quran, when a natural disaster occurs, it is Allah who commands the earth, sky, water, etc. to act upon what Allah decrees.

When the sky has split, And has responded to its Lord and was obligated [to do so]And when the earth has been extended, And has cast out that within it and relinquished [it] And has responded to its Lord and was obligated [to do so]  Surat Al-'Inshiqāq (The Sundering) 84: 1-5

These ayat explain that whenever the earth does something, the reason is because it is responding to Allah's command.
How are Muslims informed by their religion to view large-scale natural disasters?
We dont know every specific reason as to why Allah does these things, but obviously there is a reasoning behind it.

"...Indeed, I know that which you do not know."Surat Al-Baqarah (The Cow) 2:30

So although we do not not know the specific reason we do know that when somthing bad happens to a person, it is usually either a test or a punishment.

"(The apostles were sent) thus, for thy Lord would not destroy for their wrong-doing men's habitations whilst their occupants were unwarned." Surat Al-'An`ām (The Cattle) 6:131
And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and a loss of wealth and lives and fruits, but give good tidings to the patient, Surat Al-Baqarah (The Cow) 2:155

Also, not every bad person recives punishment:

He will forgive whom He will and He will punish whom He will. Allah is Able to do all things Surat Al-Baqarah (The Cow) 2:284

These "bad" things aren't necessarily bad either; if somone is being punished, then it's somthing they deserve, and if it is a test, they they may be getting closer to their Lord through their ordeals.
Answer:
Question #1: Please explain me the natural disasters that occurs in the world

They are the fact of this world. They are not any kind of punishment. They just happen.

Question #2: cant it be controlled by the god?

Of course. Every thing is controlled by Allah.

Extra Question #1: Why is Allah sending those bad disasters to us?

They are not bad; "bad" is differently defined in the Book of Allah. They happen to both good and bad people, even come upon sinless animals. They are just reduction in rizk, which means the all kinds of capitals given by Allah to keep our lives on in this planet.
Allah orders us not to rebel when our rizk gets reduced:

فَأَمَّا الْإِنسَانُ إِذَا مَا ابْتَلَاهُ رَبُّهُ فَأَكْرَمَهُ وَنَعَّمَهُ فَيَقُولُ رَبِّي أَكْرَمَنِ
  And as for man, when his Lord tries him and [thus] is generous to him and favors him, he says, "My Lord has offered (offerings) to me.".
  وَأَمَّا إِذَا مَا ابْتَلَاهُ فَقَدَرَ عَلَيْهِ رِزْقَهُ فَيَقُولُ رَبِّي أَهَانَنِ
  But when He tries him and restricts his provision, he says, "My Lord has betrayed me.".
  Fecr 15-16 (89/15-16)

Allah orders to be patient for these kind of encounters:

يَا بُنَيَّ أَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ وَأْمُرْ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَانْهَ عَنِ الْمُنكَرِ وَاصْبِرْ عَلَى مَا أَصَابَكَ إِنَّ ذَلِكَ مِنْ عَزْمِ الْأُمُورِ
  (Lokman says to his son:) "O my son , establish prayer, enjoin what is right, forbid what is wrong, and be patient over what befalls you. Indeed, [all] that is of the matters [requiring] determination."
Lokman 17 (31/17)

-

Extra Question #2: But Allah says in Quran that a lot of ancient societies were destroyed by natural disasters because of their bad deeds they made by their own hands. How do you explain this?

The typical types of destruction of ancient societies are listed to be in Quran as
- drowning in rising water
- a piece falling from sky
- a powerful instantaneous sound
- punishment coming from sky
These are not natural disaster. They symbolize realistic problems that born in corrupted societies. This is simile exposition, just a way of symbolic telling. It is widely used in Quran.
This is a different and complex matter. Just keep in mind that the natural disasters in Quran are not actual natural disasters.

Does God cause natural disasters?


What is the minimal seat post depth?

Question: This may depend on the seat post and the fixture, but how deep should my seat post be into the frame? I have a bike that came with a post that is pretty long and I cut an inch off the bottom of the post a couple months back so that I could sit lower, now I'm considering cutting two to 4.5 more inches off so I can get further down on the bike during some technical riding and so that I can pump deeper. How far into the bike does the seat post need to go before stability is compromised? Are there any other risks of having your seat post not too deep?
Comment: Any decent seat post (decent, not expensive) will have a minimum insert line on it showing the minimum depth it should be inserted.  If you have a seat that doesn't have one, or you cut yours off, I would recommend buying a new seatpost.
Comment: Find the chunk you cut off, and see where the mark is on it.  That's the length that must be inserted into the seat tube.  Note that there may also be a mark on the seat tube to identify the minimum inserted seatpost length.
Comment: (But usually there should be no need to cut the post short, as the post can be inserted some distance into the seat tube.  The only cases I've seen where cutting might be necessary were (A) where the "seat tube" is only a short length interrupted by the suspension and (B) where the seat tube is bent for some reason (usually minor frame damage).)
Comment: I've also had problems running into bottle cage bosses and or the mounting screw.
Answer: Most seat posts have a "minimum" insert of 3 to 4 inches.  But this varies with the material and the thickness of the post, and the weight of the rider means the minimum might still be too little.
As a tall rider I frequently have my seatposts up to maximum, and have bent several over time, and have fractured one frame.  Now I always buy a 450 mm or 500 mm post and almost always reinforce it with an insert tube up the middle.  I will not ride a seat post without 5" of frame insertion.
Since you sound like a MTB kind of rider, consider a dropper post rather than chopping ruthlessly through your seat poles with a hacksaw.  These are intended to go at a good height for normal efficient riding, but you can turn the interlock and they slide down ready for low-seat technical riding.  I understand you can do it one-handed while rolling too.
Once you're done you can raise the seat again without stopping.  Downside is they probably cost ten times more than a normal seatpost.
Comment: Yeah, I love dropper posts. I had one on a rental recently. Next time I upgrade I'll definitely get a bike with one. For now, I found the minimum marking on my seatpost, thanks!
Comment: @JamesG.  You found the minimum mark on the seatpost that you already cut short?  So the new minimum is above the stamped minimum, by the amount you removed.  Please don't ride the bike with only 2 inches inserted, that's not enough.
Answer: The manufacturer of the seat post would have really answered this with the minimum mark. You should really maintain at least the same length within the frame.
Aside from stability, if the seat post is too short, then you risk damaging the frame of the bike, because there is a higher force within the frame due to the same torque being required, but at a shorter distance.
So to answer your question, I would recommend not cutting your seat post shorter, unless your are sure that you still have the same length of post in the frame that the manufacturer specified as the minimum length.

What is the minimal seat post depth?