Is it possible to apply to a PhD program, then transfer a year later to a higher-ranked program?

Question: Is possible to apply to a PhD psychology program, and if accepted, then transfer a year later to another program that is higher in ranking?
Comment: See [Is transferring to another university an option for an unhappy PhD student?](http://academia.stackexchange.com/q/2498/11365)
Comment: It may bear repeating that there is really no notion of "transfer" between grad programs in the U.S.  That is, you'd need to (re-) apply to the other program, and hope to be admitted. The fact that you'd been accepted to the other one already gets you almost nothing, certainly not automatic admission.
Answer: It might be possible, but I would not recommend it unless there are very special circumstances. For example, if your advisor is moving institutions, it might be appropriate to follow them if you have their backing.
The higher ranking program is going to wonder why you were unable to complete your studies at the original institution, and will question your ability to play well with others. They will have many, many applicants that are as qualified or more qualified than you that lack the uncertainties you will bring ("will they stay?" "why did they leave?" "are they being totally honest?"). Further, there is almost nothing you will be able to accomplish in your first year of graduate school that will distinguish you to the point that a school that originally rejected you will suddenly want to drop everything to have you.
Two more pieces of advice: first, the ranking of the school you do your graduate work at matters less than your choice of advisor and ability to thrive in the lab you join.
Second, if you feel like you need more experience or to improve your resume to get into the school you want, you will be much better off getting a research job for a year that is not part of a graduate program - this is very common, and will not be looked upon as strange by an admissions committee. Changing universities after a year will.
Answer: In theory, your PhD application should be your "last stop."
The idea of transferring to a better program might work if you "woke up" late in your academic career, say in your master's program or the senior year of a bachelor's program. Then if you get "top grades" in the first year or so of a middling PhD program to overshadow worse grades earlier in your academic career, that might enable you to transfer to a better program.
My own experience, and that of several of my PhD classmates was the opposite; that if you get into the best program warranted by your earlier grades and can't "hack it," the transfers are "downward."


How does an engine choose between two moves of equal evalulation?

Question: In many positions, different moves are functionally the same, and an engine should return the same evaluation. For example, in a KR vs. KR endgame, (almost) every move that does not lose the rook should give exactly the same evaluation: 0.00. How does an engine choose between them then?
Comment: That's probably why computers suck at endgames!
Comment: Not an answer, as I don't think it was ever implemented.  I've seen a discussion (comp.rec.computers?) several years ago about using non-positional factors and gamesmanship, in particular the 'shape' of the search tree, to identify moves leading to situations human players would be less likely to disentangle in the time still available. That is, when your opponent has time problem, go for complexity.  But I don't know that anything like that has been implemented, as it would requiring adding additional 'difficulty' tables to endgame databases (which was the focus of that discussion).
Answer: The answer is simple for traditional engines like Stockfish and the like: if multiple moves have the same evaluation, they pick whichever move was searched first.
All strong alpha-beta engines employ move-ordering heuristics which guess the moves that are likely to be strongest in a position, before actually searching those moves. This is advantageous because the best case for alpha-beta search (especially for PVS) occurs when the strongest move is searched first, allowing beta cutoffs to occur as soon as possible and also avoiding repeated searches.
So when two moves are found to have the same evaluation, the tie is broken by move ordering heuristics.
Evaluation granularity also plays a role. Stockfish evaluates positions to the nearest 1/256th of a pawn, but only reports evaluations in 1/100th of a pawn, so there could be internal differentiation which is not visible to a user. MCTS engines like Lc0 make decisions based on the number of nodes searched in the subtrees of each move. This information wouldn't make sense to report as centipawns, so a conversion function is used. If many nodes have been searched, multiple moves may map to the same centipawn evaluation even if they can be differentiated internally.
Comment: Not every program does it the same way.  The optimum way to pick between moves that are equal is to do it randomly.
Comment: Obviously not, but as I said in my answer, every program that uses PVS will distinguish between moves of equal evaluation with their move ordering heuristics. Chess engines cannot know that two moves are equal (only that they have the same evaluation when searched). If two moves were known to be equal, then it does not matter whether you pick randomly because it does not matter which one you pick.
Comment: Not every program works the same way.  My answer is CORRECT.
Comment: Logic and truth make me happy.  All means ALL  not just most.
Answer: Some engines uses three decimals in its evaluation. That's how can introduce a difference. I have read that its in use a technique to add a really small but ramdom number, to make them different. Don't have the references at hand, but can be known from the read.me of every engine.
Comment: Some is not all.  You know a lot of engines but you do not know them all.


What happened to those ethnic Greeks who converted to Islam during the Ottoman empire?

Question: I got a little inspiration from a previous post on the History part:
"Why were Albanians the only nation in the Balkans who converted to Islam during the Ottoman occupation?"
Does anyone know roughly how many ethnic Greeks converted to Islam during the Ottoman Empire and where are they now, how many are left, and do they have an identity?
Comment: The biggest difference between the ottoman empire, and earlier Islamic powers, is that their spread/forced islamization was a lot less pronounced, and peninsula greeks were already hardcore Christians, and their wasn't much conversion happening. the majority of the conversion was happening in the areas immediately around Constantinople/Istanbul which would have also been ethnically greek, however, this is now present day turkey which is a Muslim country.
Comment: Apparently, there are 1.4 million Greek Muslims today. Where are they? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_Muslims
Comment: It would be good if I could meet a Greek Muslim performing the Haj in Mecca reading the doas in Greek just like the Russians in their native language. Its a shame to lose this people to the exchange. Some Iranians have Armenian sounding names are they Iranian who migrated form Armenia? Where is the origin of Turks with -"oglou" in the last part of their names.
Answer: This or other similar questions are very much debated, and does not have a simple answer.
One shall start by asking who is a Greek, and who is a Turk. Throughout the history, in the geography where Turkey is situated today, hundreds of different civilizations had lived, and one replaced the other. Hellenization of Asia Minor and beyond reached its climax with Alexander the Great, and almost all ethnic groups of Asia Minor were assimilated with Greek culture and language, who made up the Greeks reaching the times of the Byzantine Empire.
A similar path was followed before and during the Ottoman period by the Turks. Within centuries, the Turkish population have been formed, which is a combination of all those other ethnicities (including of Greeks) who turned Turkish. This was a similar case in Anatolia, as well as in Europe or other parts of the Ottoman Empire.
As one can guess, these different "ethnic" groups have shared a common ethnic background, after centuries of common living.
One important difference was about the citizenship system in the Ottoman Empire. Officially in the empire, there was not an ethnic system (which was used in almost all Europe), and instead a religious system was used. (Ethnic separation is forbidden by Islam) So there was no use of the term "Turkish". All muslims of the empire, independent of their ethnicities or native language were classified officially under the "Muslim" identity. The term "Turk" was not commonly used, but even it was used, it was synonymous with Muslim.
The same was used for non Muslims. Anyone belonging to the Greek Orthodox fate, no matter if they were of Greek, Armenian, Arabic and even Turkish origin, were all classified as "Greek".
Only about the 19th century, the nationalist ideas have reached the Ottoman Empire, and identities beyond the religious definitions were discovered. Such nationalism did not unite different religions of same ethnic groups, but mainly divided religious identities into ethnic groups.
First at the Balkans, the nationalist movements have ended up with declarations of war to the Ottoman state and seek of independence. This has immediately turned into an action towards to Muslim citizens of the state, independent of their ethnic origin. After decades of wars, bulk numbers of Muslims (of Turkish, Greek, Bosnian, Albanian, Romanian, Bulgarian origins) had to leave their homelands, and fled to Turkey today.
This has caused a counter nationalism in the Turkish side, and other civil wars.
Eventually, when Modern Turkey and Modern Greece were founded, following wars in between, the Greek and Turkish populations who have lived in the common geography for centuries together as neighbors were not able sit side by side, due to hatred because of ugly consequences of war from both sides. They have signed a peace treaty, which also included the Forced Exchange of Turkish and Greek populations in between.
The Ottoman definition of Turkish and Greek were used. All "Greeks" residing in Turkey were forced to leave their homes and migrate to Greece, and all "Turks" residing in Greece were forced to leave their homes and migrate to Turkey as state agreements. (Due to the religious importance of Istanbul as the head of the Orthodox Church, an exception was given for the Greeks of Istanbul, which was balanced with the exception of the Turkish population of Western Thrace in Greece.)
On the population exchange, religion was used for the definition of nationalities. Many Orthodox Christians in Turkey, who were solely speaking Turkish, were exported to Greece. (Karamanlides are of such group). Many Muslims in Greece, who were solely speaking Greek, were exported to Turkey. (Cretan Muslims are of such group). Bernard Lewis, in his book "Middle East" states that these groups exchanged are Muslim Greeks and Orthodox Turks.
On the establishment of Modern Turkey, a nationalist system was used in contrary to the religious system of Ottoman Empire. In reality, simply the "Muslim" definition was replaced by "Turkish", and no matter what ethnic origin he/she is, all citizens were called Turkish.
Greece has followed a similar route. Such new national definitions have established roots in time, and turned into similar national meaning in Europe.
After all, when it comes to the question of what happened to Muslim Greeks? They were all exported to Turkey, and are the citizens of Turkey today. With one exception: The Greeks who turned Muslim before, and were already part of Muslim population of Turkey. Although most are totally assimilated, there are still small numbers of Turkish citizens who speak Greek dialects as native languages in villages even today. One example is Pontus Greeks of Black Sea, still remaining in the villages like those of the Çaykara town in Trabzon.
Answer: After the war between Greece and Turkey in the aftermath of WW I the two countries agreed on an exchange of minorities. But the question of who was "Greek" and who was "Turkish" was decided entirely on the basis of religion (and not language etc.). This means the ethnic Greek (Greek-speaking) converts to Islam were classified as Turks and deported to Turkey. The thus defined "Turks" were, however, allowed to remain in Thrace (North-Eastern Greece), this also in terms of the treaty.
Comment: That would be nice.. Like Cyprus..?
Comment: 6 years late but as a great grandson of Muslim Greeks from Neapoli (Ioannia?) I can confirm that I only know Turkish. My father and his sisters can easily communicate in Greek (Rumca) but it contains some words that is not used in Modern Greek. Traditions are still practiced. But my generation and I won't be practicing them in the future as much. My generation (3rd born here) is less exposed to the old traditions and more exposed to the local traditions(living in large cities,ease of transportation, internet etc.).  Almost all members of our community are heavily Kemalist and Turkish Patriots.
Comment: I should think their children and grandchildren speak only Turkish.
Comment: Shame. It would be nice if the islands of Crete, Rhodes, Kos and western Macedonia and the Ioannina region still had sizeable Turkish or Muslim majorities.
Comment: So what happened generally to Thessaloniki, Ioannina and Crete Greek Muslims?
Comment: They were all relocated to Turkey.
Comment: Did they lose their identities?
Answer: They melted in with the local population. In Turkey there's no such notion of pure race. I'm from a village located within the Black Sea region of Turkey. We have bazaar which are in ruins today left over from Greek villagers. However there are some Greek origin Muslims living in Trabzon area which still speak the language.
Answer: Although many of the Muslims in Greece were deported to Turkey, some ended up in other places.
In Crete, most of the Muslims were Greeks who had converted. There was a massacre by Greek nationalists at the end of the 19th century and many fled to other parts of what was still the Ottoman empire. Although many ended up in what is now Turkey (especially around Izmir), others ended up in Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Egypt, and Libya.
Similarly in the early 19th century after the creation of the Greek state, many people from the early Kingdom of Greece (Peloponnese) moved to Egypt. Amongst them were Greek-speaking Christians, Albanian-speaking Christians, and Albanian-speaking Muslims-- all coming from Greece.
It's also worth noting that the Muslims from Greece and the Christians from Turkey had many different backgrounds. In Greece, there were Greek-speaking, Turkish-speaking, Albanian-speaking, Vlach-speaking Muslims. (And I'm sure there are many more that I don't know about.) In Turkey there were again, Greek-speaking, Turkish-speaking, Arabic-speaking, Kurdish-speaking, Slavic-speaking etc Christians.
There were also other regions exempted from the population exchange. While the Lausanne treaty explicitly exempted the Muslims of Western Thrace and the Christians of Istanbul from the exchange, the Greek islands of Rhodes and Kos were Italian colonies at the time of the exchange, and only annexed to Greece after WW2. There are still Muslims there, although they do not have the same legal recognition that the Muslims of Western Thrace have. Similarly in Turkey, the region of Hatay province was part of the French mandate of Syria during the population exchange. I believe there are still Christians there too.
There are also many stories of people who secretly converted during the population exchange in order to be able to stay. Some Muslims in Greece converted to Christianity and some Christians in Turkey converted to Islam.
Meanwhile, while the Greek-speaking Muslims from Crete who ended up in Turkey (again, there was no "Turkey" yet; it was all still the Ottoman empire) were pressured to assimilate and speak only Turkish, the ones who ended up in the parts of the empire that became the different Arab countries were more able to maintain their Greek language, especially those who ended up in Syria. In the Hamidiye region of Syria, along the coast just north of the Lebanese border, there are many Greek-speaking Muslims from Crete. Now, with the war in Syria some are actually returning to Crete-- over a century after their ancestors had been forced out. On the other hand I believe the Greek-speaking Cretan Muslims who went to Egypt became Arabized and intermarried with Arab Muslims.
Hope that helps
Answer: Hi Islam is not banned in Greece.  Muslim Greeks are however discriminated against.  Evidence of Islamic rule is very evident in Northern Greece.  There are dozens of operating mosques on use in Thrace.  These citizens are unfortunately exploited by the secular Kemalist State of modern Turkey.   The majority of Greek Muslims were expelled to Turkey after the tragic exchange of populations. I believe that Greece agreed to exchange populations in order to stop the genocide of the Ottoman Christians which kemalist turkey had already began.
Comment: This answer would be improved by citations.
Answer: There is, to my knowledge, no single statistical answer to your question, given the fact that the Ottoman Empire lasted 400 plus years and that Greek conversions to Islam were not limited to a single year, decade, generation or even century. The Greek conversions to Islam-(mostly within Asia Minor/present-day Turkey), happened over many, many years.  The best example-(and one that has some statistical validity), were the Janissares.
Arguably, the Fall of Constantinople in May, 1453, MAY have been significantly delayed had it not been for the Ottoman creation and facilitation of The Janissare Corps.  A recent History Channel documentary described the numbers of both the Byzantine and Ottoman militaries.  The Ottoman military, on the eve of Constantinople's "Fall", outnumbered the Byzantine military by 10:1. The Byzantine military, comparatively speaking, was outdated, miniscule and was largely relying on Genoese Mercenaries and Pirates, as well as Venetian fleets-(which, for mysterious reasons, never arrived).  Yet, the Ottoman military, was increasingly comprised of the Janissare Corps.  And while the Janissares did not comprise the entire 10:1 ratio, they did comprise a significant presence and representation within the growing Ottoman military.
The Janissares, were Greek converts to Islam-(as well as other Christian converts, including, Serbs, Bulgarians, Romanians, including, Vlad Dracul/"Dracula's" brother and others).  But the Janissare converts were not civilian converts, these were warrior converts who either had a previous military background or were preparing to hone their military skills.  This particular band of Greek Christians, both symbolically and literally, "jumped ship" to the other side and became The Ottoman Empire's most ruthless and combative Corps. The Janissares were not just religiously Islamic, they were fully assimilated Turkish Muslims who also served as the militarized wing of the growing Ottoman imperial Government.  But, the Janissares were not just confined to the Fall of Constantinople in 1453; the Janissare Corps existed until the early 1800's. In other words, Greek converts-(as well as other Christian converts) to Islam, who also had a military background or the potential for becoming a warrior, either voluntarily joined or were forcibly recruited into the Janissare Corps-(the famous Ottoman Architect, Sinan, who may have been of Greek or partial Greek Christian descent, was a member of the Janissare Corps).
It is important to discuss the Janissares when discussing Christian, in particular Greek Christian conversions to Islam, since we have documentable historical evidence of their existence (and effectiveness for the Ottomans).  While their numbers are probably much smaller than the more numerous civilian Greek Christian conversions to Islam-(again, mostly within Asia Minor/present-day Turkey), the civilian conversions are subject to speculation and conjecture with little statistical availability; (except if one were permitted to consult the Greek and Turkish state Archives, as well as permitted to consult religious records either within Greece or Turkey.  This would perhaps serve as the best primary evidence that would help answer your question).  However, there is encyclopedic, textual and yes even, mass media documentary historical evidence which better details the numerical presence and influence of the Janissare Corps during Ottoman times.
Comment: Please use the sites supplied edit and format tools to properly cite any relevant sources. Answers which do not properly provide or cite sources for non-trivial assertions tend to accumulate downvotes [see meta](https://history.meta.stackexchange.com/a/3718/16951).  Consistently providing low quality answers can result in user suspension.
Answer: Your assertion is incorrect.  Many populations converted to Islam in the Balkans including Greeks, Albanians, Bosnians, Cypriots, basically all over the Ottoman Empire. The island of Crete was a majority Muslim-Greek population. Greece however, did not recognize it's citizens as "Greek" if they were not Greek Orthodox Christians and would label them as either Latin (Greek catholic) or Turkish (Muslim).  Bosnia also converted in large numbers as well as other Slavic groups.
Greeks calling Muslims "Turks" an entirely incorrect attribution. Greek nationalists  identify religion with race.   Greece to this day does not recognize Albanian as an ethnicity and refer to them as either "Greek" (orthodox) or Turkish (Muslim) ignoring that Albanian is an ethnicity with a super-state language shared by both religions that is neither Greek nor Turkish.
Greece expelled ethnically Greek Muslims to Turkey as part of the racial-nationalism that was common in the early 20th century.   Turkey did not do the same.  It did not classify Christians as "Greek" recognizing that religion does not supersede language and culture.  In the population exchange Greek speaking Christians were sent to Greece from Turkey, however, Greeks sent any non-Christian.  Greece's intent was not just to create and ethnically homogenous state based on language but also a religiously homogenous state.  This was not practiced in the Ottoman Empire that was a Multi-ethnic state led largely by non-Turks.
There are large numbers of converts to Islam in the ottoman
Comment: The final paragraph appears to be incomplete.
Answer: not a scholar by any stretch of the imagination. I found your post googling Muslim Greeks. My family's name is Hajecate. The story we were told was that cate was of Greek origin, and a great-great-great-grandfather went to the river Jordan and received the sure name Haj. I am wondering if they were not Muslim Greeks first before converting to orthodox generations later.


Can CRISPR be used in editing primary cells? How is the transfection efficiency?

Question: Sometimes people wanna use primary cells to do gene-editing because the cells normally have more interesting characteristics, but can we really do so?
Answer: The most efficient CRISPR-based editing of primary cells that I've read about used a technology called prime editing, developed in 2019.
Search-and-replace genome editing without double-strand breaks or donor DNA (PDF download)
Normal CRISPR-Cas9 protocols involve generating double-strand breaks (DSBs), and then either introducing a template for homologous repair or allowing the cell to repair the break without a template, leading to insertions or deletions at the lesion site.  Off-target cutting is common, so normal CRISPR-Cas9 produces undesirable or lethal mutations in a majority of transfected cells.
Prime-editing uses a catalytically impaired Cas9 (generates nicks instead of DSBs) fused to a reverse transcriptase.  The fusion protein is guided to its target by a prime-editor gRNA ("pegRNA") that contains a normal targeting domain at its 5' end and a template for reverse transcription at its 3' end. A nick is generated by the Cas9 on the exposed strand (i.e. the strand not bound by the gRNA), and the 3' portion of the pegRNA partially hybridizes to the the 5' side of the nick, providing a free 5' end and a stretch of ssRNA for DNA polymerization.  Resolution of the resulting "flap" by endogenous nick-repair mechanisms results in editing at the target site without DSBs or exogenous DNA template.
This method was assessed for its efficiency in several cell types, including primary mouse cortical neurons, which are post-mitotic and terminally-differentiated.  The authors observed the desired edit of DNMT1 in 7.1% of cells, with 0.58% indels on average.  Cas9 nuclease editing of the same cell type with the same lentivirus transfection system resulted in 31% indels, on average, an error rate more than 50 times that of prime-editing.
Answer: Theoretically, CRISPR technology is not restricted by species cells, but primary cells have limitations of passage and monoclonal jumping, so it is generally cell lines that are used for gene editing.


Defining $\mathbb{Z}$ in $\mathbb{Z}^\ast/P\mathbb{Z}^\ast$ where $P$ is an infinite prime

Question: In continuation of my recent questions, here is the last one:
Is there a simple formula preferably existential that defines $\mathbb{Z}$ in $\mathbb{Z}^\ast/P\mathbb{Z}^\ast$ where $\mathbb{Z}^\ast$ is an elementary extension of $\mathbb{Z}$ and $P$ is an infinite prime?
Answer: No.  If $\phi(x,y)$ is any formula with two free variables $x$ and $y$, then it's true $\mathbb Z$ and therefore also in the elementary extension $\mathbb Z^*$ that $(\forall y)$ [if $\phi(0,y)$ and if $(\forall x)\ (\phi(x,y)\implies \phi(x+1,y)\land\phi(x-1,y))$ then $(\forall x)\ \phi(x,y)$].  Now if $\psi(x)$, with only $x$ free, defined $\mathbb Z$ in $\mathbb Z^*/P\mathbb Z^*$, then the pre-image $D$ of $\mathbb Z$ in $\mathbb Z^*$ would have a definition with $P$ as a parameter, say $\phi(x,P)$, in $\mathbb Z^*$, to which we could apply the induction principle above.  Since $D$ contains 0 and is closed under adding and subtracting 1, it would have to be all of $\mathbb Z^*$, which it is not.
Comment: Oops.  I just realized that my answer here is essentially a repetition of answers by Joel Hamkins and Emil Jerabek to previous questions from the same OP.  I'm not sure whether I should delete my answer here, or leave it up in the hope that enough repetition will make the matter clear to the OP.


Is it okay to keep my drafts unread by others?

Question: I got the idea of writing a novel, I'm just afraid to show it to other since It's not yet done. Is that okay? thanks
Comment: There is nothing wrong with believing that your work is not ready to be seen by others yet.  Many of the greats are/were their own harshest critics.
Comment: One good thing about showing your drafts early is that you can save a lot of wasted time polishing chapters that no one will read.
Answer: Yes. In fact, it's better that way. Keep it to yourself until you've revised and revised and revised before you show it to anyone. But when you do, have a thick skin about it.
Comment: Eventually you'll run out of things to change. Well, you'll run out of major things to change. You can make little fixes for the rest of your life. But when you've finished filling in plot holes, and patching up character descriptions you'll be ready to share.
Comment: I disagree. In my experience, it's best to show work to others early. Tell your readers that it's an early draft and that you want feedback about big-picture issues. You can even use placeholder text for gaps you'll fill in later: "[A scene where Sharon throws her husband out]" If they're good readers, they'll read around the known issues and give you feedback that will help you shape your story.
Answer: It is your choice. But I would recommend you only show a draft if it is your latest draft.
However, keep all drafts if you need to go to court for any copyright issues (for further explanation on copyright issues, see my answer to this question.
Comment: "...only show a draft if it is your latest draft." Do you mean don't show your prior drafts? I'm not sure why you'd show drafts that you've already improved on.
Comment: Should I seek help from others? how? in what ways?
Comment: Frederick, if you know someone who is a writer, ask them for tips on editing. Show them your latest draft and ask them how you can make your next draft better.
Answer: There is an anecdote about Henry Kissinger from when he was a professor.  At one point a student had handed in a paper, and had dropped by his office to receive the graded result.
"Is that the best you can do?" Kissinger said dismissively, handing the paper back.
"No, the student sheepishly admitted.  "I suppose there is quite a bit that could be better."  He received the paper, went over it, and handed it back in later.
When he visited the professor's office to receive his grade, the professor was almost as harsh.  "I can't believe this is the best you can do," he said.  Again, the student retreated to his own place, and went over the paper again, finding a few areas that had missed his previous examination.  He corrected these and handed the results in to the professor.
"Are you sure this is the best you can do?" the professor said.
"Yes," the student said.  "I have gone over this paper twice.  I cannot find a single weakness in any part of it.  This is the best I am capable of doing."
"Good," Kissinger said.  "I'll read it."
Comment: Yes I heard that one too... Very typical of the man!
Answer: If you don't feel ready to show it to other people, there is still someone who can take a critical look at the work and offer feedback: your future self.
If you leave the first draft of a novel alone for six months, say, but spend those six months continuously working on your writing (and reading, and reading about writing etc), you will be a better writer and a more capable critic by the time you re-read the novel. Your future self could be just as valuable a critic as a different person.
This will also help your ability to take a step back from your own work and look at it without the emotions that come from being too involved in the work. If you find that you are able to say 'what the hell was I thinking?!' when you read a particular section, then you will know that you are now better than you were when you wrote the novel.
You can repeat this cycle a couple of times until you feel more confident that the work has improved, and at that point you can bring in other readers to give you their views.
Comment: That's ok! Keep on practicing and reading, and you'll be able to get there. In my experience (I've been writing seriously in my 'spare time' for about four years now) writing fiction isn't one skill, it's tons of skills that all have to happen at once. It's seriously daunting. You could spend some time working on elements like 'character emotion' and 'making things feel realistic' separately to the other elements. I've found that approach helpful myself, and I've made good improvements that way.
Comment: Yes, I don't feel it yet. I'm still working on the emotions of the characters and making it realistic. I don't know if I could finish it well.
Comment: Another useful resource is this podcast: http://www.writingexcuses.com/ Mainly aimed at SF writers, but contains lots of stuff that can apply to any fiction.
Answer: In my own writing life, I've found my small group of trusted readers to be more beneficial than my own self-critique.
They find a lot of issues I've been staring at for weeks without seeing: rough spots where characters are ill-defined, gaps in the plot, slips in characters' voices, etc. And of course, they'll note what's working well.
Even in early, rough drafts they'll see themes and metaphors that I hadn't discovered myself, discoveries that sometimes steer the story in new, better directions.
So yes, it's okay to keep your drafts to yourself, giving it to a select few will benefit you and your work a great deal.
Comment: That helped me a lot too
Comment: I'm just trying to write the ideas in my mind, some of my dreams and mostly are in my childhood curiosity. I just started to write it down this year, since I just started reading books after I graduated college. I don't have any formal study regarding on wring novel or even an article.
Comment: If you're writing just for yourself, then there's no need to show it to anyone. My answer assumed you wanted to polish your work for publication.


rails 7 stimulus controller dont work at all on heroku

Question: in development everything work fine, but in heroku it don't work. I even add to HTML as wrote in stimulus docs:

  <input type="text">
  <button>Greet</button>

and add to hello_controller.js in connect()
console.log("it works")

and even this don't work on heroku(in console also). Importmap, index.js, application.js, manifest.js seems good:
manifest.js:
//= link_tree ../images
//= link_directory ../stylesheets .css
//= link_tree ../../javascript .js
//= link_tree ../../../vendor/javascript .js
//= link custom.css

index.js:
// Import and register all your controllers from the importmap under controllers/*

import { application } from "controllers/application"

// Eager load all controllers defined in the import map under controllers/**/*_controller
import { eagerLoadControllersFrom } from "@hotwired/stimulus-loading"
eagerLoadControllersFrom("controllers", application)

// Lazy load controllers as they appear in the DOM (remember not to preload controllers in import map!)
// import { lazyLoadControllersFrom } from "@hotwired/stimulus-loading"
// lazyLoadControllersFrom("controllers", application)

application.js:
import { Application } from "@hotwired/stimulus"

const application = Application.start()

// Configure Stimulus development experience
application.debug = false
window.Stimulus   = application

export { application }

importmap.rb:
pin "application", preload: true
pin "@hotwired/turbo-rails", to: "turbo.min.js", preload: true
pin "@hotwired/stimulus", to: "stimulus.min.js", preload: true
pin "@hotwired/stimulus-loading", to: "stimulus-loading.js", preload: true
pin_all_from "app/javascript/controllers", under: "controllers"

pin "popper", to: 'popper.js', preload: true
pin "bootstrap", to: 'bootstrap.min.js', preload: true

in application.html.erb related to js only:
<%= javascript_importmap_tags %>

there is only one clue:
Uncaught TypeError: Failed to resolve module specifier "application". Relative references must start with either "/", "./", or "../".

it shouldn't appear in chrome but it appears in production. Heroku logs show that everything fine, when deploying also everything fine except:
Stopping all processes with SIGTERM
Process exited with status 143

but google say it not big problem. Here additional gem that i added:
gem "devise", "~> 4.8"
gem 'bootstrap', '~> 5.1.3'
gem "sassc-rails"
gem "rails-controller-testing"
gem "will_paginate", "~> 3.3"
group :production do
  gem "pg", "1.3.5"
end

Will appreciate for any help
Answer: My educated guess is that Heroku is using the production adapter from config/cable.yml, which asks for redis.


Retrieving items left in Thalmor Embassy

Question: I entered the Thalmor Embassy and had all my good stuff stashed somewhere, but I couldn't find the chest where it was. so now I completed the mission using only magic, but I cant get back in the embassy. Does anyone know how to get back in or a way I could get my stuff back? I'm on a PS3 not PC so I can't just use command to get it back. any help would be appreciated. I couldn't find a way back in without glitches. I also cannot just re load the save because that save is now overwritten by another save.
Answer: According to The Elder Scrolls Wiki there are 3 ways of doing it:

Gaining Access After "Diplomatic Immunity"
There are several ways to enter the embassy (including locked areas) after the completion of Diplomatic Immunity. Keep in mind that these tricks require several tries to succeed. Tested and works on PS3.

Use wooden plate on the wall to the left side of the main entrance (behind the lamppost). Keep running into the plate to bypass the wall into Elenwen's Solar exterior. Difficulty: Easy.

Enter the embassy via backdoor. There's a locked door at the center of the first floor that leads directly into the party hall. Use another wooden plate on the door. Again keep running into it until you can see the other side of the door, then immediately use Whirlwind Sprint to enter the hall. Razelan and Brelas (occasionally Elenwen and Illdi) can be found here. Difficulty: Easy to Hard.

Entering the kitchen area from the party hall requires two plates (or one from the center hall). Use the same trick as above with Whirlwind Wind on the first door, and another one at the hallway into the kitchen. Tsavanni will have generic conversations with the Dragonborn instead of warning them about it's against the rules to be in the kitchen. Difficulty: Easy to Hard.
Comment: @TimS. The linked wikia page has a list of notable loot in the location.
Comment: Would these be considered glitches, or is that the purpose of the plates? it's been years since I was at this point, and I definitely never tried to re-enter after the quest.
Comment: @TimS. There's no official way to get back to Thalmer Embassy after you complete that quest so yes, this involves exploiting the game's engine or exploiting glitches as you put it.
Comment: Ah okay. I was just curious. I remember leaving in a hurry, and I'm sure there were tons of useful stuff in there. Thanks for the clarification.
Comment: Thanks for the help, this method worked and i got all my stuff back now!XD
Comment: @SkyrimKat111 glad I could be of assistance :).


(Functional) space of all lambda types (algorithms)?

Question: The most simplest notion of the algorithm is some kind of function with input and output. Input and output can be very sophisticated mathematical objects (not only numbers), but the is irrelevant, because we can encompass all those generalities by the use of category theory. More formal notion of the algorithm is through use of Turing machines. But the most mathematically rigorous view is using lambda calculus/type theory, in which algorithmic function is lambda type (also theorem) and its implementation using concrete data structures and execution paths is lambda term (also proof of this theorem though the Curry-Howard correspondence). Of course, there is also notion of abstraction: each lambda type is lambda term of some higher order lambda type. Lot of theory is there.
But my question is this - is there branch of mathematics that considers the space of lambda types/algorithms, that considers the action of operators (program transformations, evolutions, compositions) in this space for transforming one algorithm into another, that consider subspaces of this space of types/algorithms and so on? When I read any article about functional analysis, like https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001870819305778, I always wonder is it possible to transfer the notions of function space, of function transformation, of optimal function (from calculus of variations) to the space of algorithms? And is it not possible, then why not?
While it would be very tempting to imagine such 'calculus of algorithms', my guess is that the answer is not so simple. Lambda calculus is very general framework, actually - full math can be encoded in it (e.g. in the language of Coq proof assistant) that is why whole math constitutes such 'functional space' of algorithms. And indeed - whole math branches into disciplines according - one math consider numbers (subspace on numbers), another branch consider graphs (subspace on graphs) and so on. So - my initial question splits into two questions (whose answers jointly can give the answer to my initial question in the previous paragraph):

Is it really true that whole math is the (function) space of lambda types/algorithms and one should not seek anything new, one should do math according to the established patterns and that gradually discovers all of the lambda types/algorithms.
Let it be so. If point 1 is true, then we can focus avoid all the generalities and consider the class of the usual programming algorithms, e.g. sorting (algorithms on vectors), path discovery in graphs (algorithms on graphs), common substring discovery (algorithms on strings). Lets consider this subsapce of the lambda terms/algorithms. Then I have more bounded question - is there some branch of mathematics that consider the lambda types/algorithms (of the usual software programming) as some function space? What is this branch, how it is named?

Why my question is important? There is nascent trend - symbolic reinforcement learning in which the optimal policy is expressed as program/algorithm (generally - as lambda type). And such framework begs for answers to such questions:

Let algorithm A be the policy of the agent, i.e. algorithm A receives the information about state and returns the action that agent should take and that should bring some immediate or delayed reward. How to evaluate the future reward of algorithm A?
Let algorithm A be the policy of the agent. Let us suppose that agent observers data d, computes and takes action a and receives reward r. Such new information can change the estimation made in the point 1. What update should be applied to A (what transformation operator should be applied to A) to get A' that is more optimal with regards the future reward?

https://papers.nips.cc/paper/9308-demystifying-black-box-models-with-symbolic-metamodels is example how functions/algorithms can be encoded and how the numerical optimization methods can be used for finding the program. Inductive Logic Programming approach https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inductive_logic_programming is about deriving the logical programs that can explain data. ILP approach can be generalized to the meta-interpretative learning e.g. http://andrewcropper.com/pubs/jelia19-typed.pdf that allow use of higher order logic and compositionality in the inferred programs. All those are practical approaches done by computer scientists, but I am seeking the effort of mathematicians on these advancements? Or maybe mathematicians are not making any effort in such direction.
Of course, there is studies on computability/complexity (P=NP problems), there is studies on arithmetical hierarchies (the classification of formulas according to their complexity), but such studies do not give any measure (e.g. reward measure) on the program and such studies do not consider the program transformation.
Is there some branch of mathematics that can help for defining fitness metrics on the programs/algorithms/lambda types and that can help for defining the transformation operators on the programs/algorithms/lambda types, where algorithms are the usual software engineering algorithms expressed in some sufficiently mathematical form (not the whole math, as we already deduced)?
http://people.idsia.ch/~juergen/goedelmachine.html is practical effort that is can exploit the branch of mathematics that I am seeking.
Comment: It is very unclear what mathematical question or questions your are actually asking. You make a rather odd statement right at the beginning: the Turing Machine model of computation and the $\lambda$-calculus model are both completely rigorous (and equivalent), so suggesting the latter is more rigorous than the former is wrong (and I suspect it's not what you really meant to say). I think it would be helpful to break your question down into much simpler questions (and not to ask them all at once). You may then get a better idea of how the MSE community can help you.
Comment: You have 4 sections in bold in your (very long and far from clear) question. The natural answer to the first one of these sections is "yes, that branch of mathematics is called computer science", but I doubt that is the answer you are looking for. You won't get good answers on MSE unless you make your question crisp and unambiguous.
Comment: With due respect - I put in bold the essence of my question - is there branch of mathematics for metrics on lambda types and for defining transformations on lambda types - aka functional spaces for lambda types. I can not see how more succint can I be and what can be divided futher here. Well - it may be possible that I am asking for new mathematics. But I can not believe that I am the first one. E.g. new branches emerges every moment, algebraic combinatorics is recent example.
Answer: It seems to me that the notion of computable function is the answer to my question - it is pure math. Construction and analysis of algorithms is still the answer from the side of applied math. Theory of computable functions is still developing and https://www.acie.eu/70-2/ archives those developments in the widest sense. There is whole world beyond computable functions and arithmetical and hyperarithmetical hierarchies suggest.


Is it possible to change the File-System of usb without loosing data and without taking backup?

Question: As the subject says, Can I change the file-system  of a usb (or say any drive) from it's current partition like :- ext4 to a different partition like:- ext2/fat/ext3/ntfs file-system without loosing the data in the drive and without taking backup.
Answer: From File system  Wiki

On Linux, ext2 can be converted to ext3 (and converted back), and ext3
  can be converted to ext4 (but not back), and both ext3 and ext4
  can be converted to btrfs, and converted back until the undo
  information is deleted.These conversions are possible due to
  using the same format for the file data itself, and relocating the
  metadata into empty space, in some cases using sparse file support.

So it seems it is not Back-Convert-Compatible and Converting from ext4 to NTFS will require Formatting  , since they are totally different File-systems , also holds true for ext4 to Fatxx format .That means without data loss
ext2 >> ext3 possible
ext3 >>ext4 possible
ext3 & ext4 >> btrfs possible
ext4 >> ntfs not possible w/o Format
ntfs >> extX not possible w/o format
Please refer this question on superuser also.
Answer: The simple answer is that it depends on which filesystem you are "converting" from & to. There needs to be a specific program to convert it for you.
For example, a FAT16 or FAT32 filesystem on Windows can be converted to NTFS via the Windows "convert" command. However, generally you cannot convert filesystems.
1 other option that may work though:
Ext4 filesystems can often (but not always) be mounted as ext3 or ext2.
Similarly, Ext3 filesystems can often be mounted as ext2.
e.g., on windows, I mount Ext3 & Ext4 filesystems using the ext2 driver ext2fsd:


Error during Veeam SQL log backup: "Failed to flush file buffers"

Question: My company uses Veeam Backup & Replication to make backups of our VMWare-hosted virtual machines. We use Veeam's SQL log backup feature for our MS SQL 2008 R2 server. Our backup repository resides on a Buffalo TeraStation TS-XLBF NAS.
At some point, we started getting error reports of this kind:

Failed to save transaction log backup file for database [DB name] to
  repository: Der angegebene Netzwerkname ist nicht mehr verfügbar.
  Error code: 64 Failed to flush file buffers. File: [path to .vlb file]. Failed to backup
  file. File: [file description] Failed to save transaction log backup
  file for database  to repository: Der angegebene Netzwerkname
  ist nicht mehr verfügbar. Error code: 64 Failed to flush file buffers.
  File: [file name]. Failed to backup file. File: [file description]
  Transaction logs from some databases were not backed up for the last
  38 intervals

The text in German (Der angegebene Netzwerkname ist nicht mehr verfügbar) states, The specified network name is no longer available.
As it turns out, this error occurs every Monday night during the scheduled time for the regular backup jobs. The VM backups themselves are completed successfully, only the SQL log backup is affected.
The error messages are sent every few minutes but stop once we restart the system that's running Veeam. Looking for the cause of the issue, I found an article on the Veeam website describing this exact error message. The article identifies issues with de-duplication on NTFS storage as the root cause. Since the TeraStation is a Linux system using XFS, which doesn't support de-duplication, I don't think this applies in our case.
I also tried accessing the backup repository using the path mentioned in the error message, while the error messages were still being generated. I was able to access the resource successfully, so I guess name resolution is not the issue.
The event logs on the machine running Veeam don't show any error messages. The regular backups of all VMs run without errors.
What could be the cause of the failing SQL server log backup jobs? Is there a way to gather more information about the failure?
Comment: I realize there may be many factors contributing to this issue. If anyone would like to know more details, please let me know so I can provide them.
Answer: Run this in powershell
<code>Set-SmbClientConfiguration -SessionTimeout 600
</code>
It increases the timeout tot the SMB share.


UFB cable in conduit?

Question: I have about 200' of UFB cable to run to a barn. Does it require conduit, and does it have to be grey electrical conduit or can it be 3/4 black plastic water pipe?
Comment: Ouch. Yeah make sure to build the conduit pull-able, i.e. ideally build it empty and pull the wire in after build, backfill and tamp.  That way you'll be able to change wires later if the need ever arises.   Don't bother trying to keep it watertight, water in conduit is unavoidable.
Comment: Is there a compelling, red-alert reason not to use aluminum feeder 2 sizes larger?  Like "locality does not allow"?  Aluminum is a natural for large feeder, since it has proven performance, the panel lugs are aluminum, and the price can't be beat.  Cost of 10/3 Cu (30A) is about the cost of 2-2-2-4 Al (90A).  It is also made in THHN and XHHW for individual wires.
Comment: The most compelling reason is that I have already purchased the UF copper and it can't be returned.
Comment: Since you've already purchased the cable, make sure you go _big_ on the conduit _if you choose to take our advice ;)_ The bigger the conduit, the easier it will be to pull that UF-B through it. I've used a bit of it, and it's much stiffer than standard NM-B, it's going to be a bit of a challenge. Make sure you get sweep elbows, too, none of the short, tight radius elbows. I believe that if you stick to proper, UL listed conduit instead of sneaking off to the plumbing aisle, you'll only find sweeps.
Answer: UF-B is rated for direct burial, though you'd be better served by running through conduit for a couple of reasons.

Conduit doesn't have to be buried as deeply
If When the cable fails, conduit makes it very easy to pull a replacement instead of digging up the old cable and laying new wire.
Conduit will allow you to easily upgrade the wire size (assuming you're still within fill limits), should you ever need more power at the barn.

You can pull UF-B through conduit, though it's more difficult than you'd expect and the conduit has to be larger than you'd think because the conduit fill ratio is based on the largest dimension of the cable (because the cable will end up twisting).
You should return the UF-B (if you've already purchased it) and buy THHN/THHN-2 which will be much easier to pull through conduit and will allow you to use smaller conduit and/or make it easy to upgrade to larger wires in the future should your power needs increase.
You must use grey Schedule 40 or Schedule 80 UL listed conduit (if you're using plastic), and cannot use any other pipe that is not UL listed as conduit. Sch40 is quite suitable for the buried portion. Anything that's above ground (entrance/exit of structures) must be Sch 80 for its added impact resistance.
Comment: Also, insert typical diy.se mentions that when it comes to burying conduit to outbuildings, go big or go home. Don't screw around with 3/4 conduit, throw in a 2" monster because it's only a little more expensive and it provides a ton of future flexibility. And better yet put two conduits in, one for power, one for data.
Comment: There are listed conduit products that are similar to "black plastic water pipe" but it's not terribly common in consumer channels, so PVC is usually easier to get.
Comment: I did specify "not UL listed", @Ecnerwal, so if OP finds something that isn't grey, but has the seal, that should still be covered.
Comment: OK. Got it.  Maybe not 2", but certainly 1-1/4. I'll make sure its UL.  When you mention "data" are you talking about co-ax so I have wi-fi at the barn?  Good thought, but I have network extender for that.
Comment: @AKG data can go in the pipe only if it is fiber-optic and non-conductive. The main thing is if you're using it as conduit, the pipe inside diameter must be at least 138% of the width of the cable.  This is disadvantageous for UF since it is so flat.
Answer: Aluminum is your friend. Really.
First, I strongly advise aluminum wire such as MH feeder. Copper just doesn't make sense on heavy feeder.  Aluminum feeder has always been reliable (unlike what you may have heard about small branch circuits) and the lugs on the panels are aluminum anyway. Why make a dissimilar metal joint?
And if you're thinking "Well this isn't heavy feeder, it's just #10 copper (30A)" - A small feeder is actually the worst case scenario.  On paper the voltage drop doesn't look too bad - about 4% in your case. But that assumes balanced 240V loads. Typically on small feeder there is 1 large load, a 120V load - and in that case, voltage drop is much worse.
Whereas if you spent the same money on #2 aluminum, its 90A ampacity is so great that a single large 120V load makes no difference.
Does UF require conduit?
Depends on the burial depth. Pick your depth.

Wires in Rigid Metal Conduit or IMC: 6" cover, 12" across vehicle paths.
A single 120V <=20A circuit that is GFCI protected at the source: 12" cover
All other UL Approved, electrical conduit: 18" of cover
Everything else including direct-burial wires: 24" of cover

If you want to enjoy the shallower conduit burial depth, you have to use approved electrical conduits.
UF is allowed for direct burial and so it can be used at the 24" burial depth (or 12" under the GFCI exception).  As long as you are burying it that deep, you can sleeve it in anything you want. Ziti noodles. Snake skins.
Comment: Ziti could work. Macaroni for where you need elbows.
Comment: mmmm... Ziti and AL... sounds tasty!

UFB cable in conduit?


Confused by this definition of electrical potential energy from textbook

Question: I'm having some difficulty understanding this paragraph from my physics textbook regarding electrical potential energy. It is saying that the difference in electrical potential between point 'a' and point 'b', where the potential at point 'a' is greater than point 'b', can be interpreted as the amount of work needed to move a particle from point 'b' to point 'a'. I can kind of understand it intuitively, but there are some parts in the paragraph below that I don't understand.
First, I don't understand by why we must "move the object slowly" and also what does it mean in the parenthesis "so as not to give it any kinetic energy". Why do we have to move it slowly, and how can you move something without giving it any kinetic energy? Wouldn't you be giving it a certain velocity if you were to move it no matter the speed at which you are doing it? Even if is constant acceleration, there would still be velocity unless it was not moving at all right?
Second, it says that to do this we have to apply an external force that is "equal and opposite to the electric field force." What I don't understand about this is that if you were to apply an equal and opposite force to the charged particle, wouldn't it not move at all since the net force is zero? The textbook keeps on saying that the external force is just the negative of the electric field force, and that makes me think that there's no way the particle will move if that's the case. Maybe I'm just not reading it correctly, but to make sense of what it is saying, I was thinking that the force due to the electric field force isn't constant since as the charged particle moves from point 'a' to point 'b' due to the electric field force, the electric field force decreases due to the distance increasing between the charged particle and point 'a', as it moves to point 'b'. So if we apply an external force pushing from point 'b' to point 'a', we must start with a force in the opposite direction that is greater than the electric field force on the charged particle at point 'b' in order to get it to start moving towards point 'a', and then the external force should decrease as the charged particle approaches point 'a' so that the greater force from the electric field on the charged particle at point 'a' will bring the charged particle to a stop at point 'a'. So the force on the charged particle by the electric field force is a decreasing exponential from point 'a' to point 'b', and the force on the charged particle by the external force from point 'b' to point 'a' is also a decreasing exponential, but both will amount to the same amount of work. Is this the correct interpretation? Sorry for the super long question. Any insight is much appreciated!
Answer: If the charged particle is accelerated to a substantial speed, it acquires also substantial kinetic energy and then total work done is not equal to change of potential energy, but to change in total energy. This includes contribution due to potential energy and due to kinetic energy. So to bring work and potential energy into simple relation, one must eliminate kinetic energy and that's why the motion has to be slow.
The forces are assumed equal because external force that is opposite in direction but equal in magnitude to the electrostatic force is enough to accomplish the process where the work gets done. Of course in real life the external force will have to be slightly stronger, so as to accomplish this work in reasonably short time. But the difference of the two forces can be arbitrarily small.
Comment: @JerryHsieh yes.
Comment: Can you clarify how the total work can be a change in total energy? I thought total energy is always conserved. How can work be the result of a change in the total energy?
Comment: To my knowledge, work is defined as the change in kinetic energy or as the negative of the change in potential energy. Are you saying that if we keep the change in kinetic energy very small by keeping the motion small, the change in kinetic energy will technically be zero, but the change in potential energy remains and thus work is only defined as a change in potential energy? Meaning that moving the charged particle from point 'b' to point 'a', the work done is only a change in potential energy? Thanks again
Comment: By total energy I mean potential energy plus kinetic energy of the particle. It is not conserved when external force does work on the particle. Work is defined is force times distance. It also equals numerically to change in potential energy, if kinetic energy is kept without change.
Comment: Ah I see. I'll look up how non conservative forces affects energy of a system. Thank you!
Comment: It does not matter whether the external forces is conservative or non-conservative. If it acts on the system, both kinds of force can do work and change total energy of the system.
Comment: So if the external force is negligibly greater than the electrical force in the opposite direction, it will move the particle back to point 'a' while only causing its kinetic energy to increase by a negligible amount when it reaches point 'a', and since the change in kinetic energy is negligible, it only does work through changing the particle's potential energy, and that change in potential energy is the potential energy it gains when it returns to point 'a'. Is this the correct way to describe it?
Comment: Awesome, thanks for your help!


How should I fill a void in my slab/CMU foundation?

Question: My rental property has a void in the CMU/slab foundation that is leading to a water intrusion issue.  I need advice on how to effectively force hydaraulic cement into a small hole to fill the voids.  I was thinking some sort of large syringe type device, but can't find anything that could be used for this application.
Comment: Pictures? How big is the hole/void?
Comment: Hydraulic cement usually holds better if the hole/crack is bigger on the inside, a reverse V.  If the hole is bigger inside, maybe a pasty/piping/frosting bag might work.
Answer: Large syringe? try a mechanic's syringe.  eg: aliexpress.com/item/1005005682864385.html cement/grout is probably going to ruin the inside surface
If you need higher pressure (or want ot save money) spoon cement/grout into an empty caulk tube (use a metal rod to force the piston out the back) and use a caulk gun to pressurise it.


Area under the ROC curve accuracy

Question: Why is the area under the ROC curve better than raw accuracy as an out-of- sample evaluation metric?
Comment: It's not, it depends. Especially if you have imbalanced classes.
Comment: I think you will find the information you need in the linked thread. Please
read it. If it isn't what you want / you still have a question afterwards,
come back here & edit your question to state what you learned & what you still
need to know. Then we can provide the information you need without just
duplicating material elsewhere that already didn't help you.
Answer: In a short answer we could say the following. It's not better per se, but what we can say more correctly is that it is a general representation of wrong/right classification percentages of the model for any given cutoff chosen. As such it allows to evaluate the discriminatory power of the model regardless the choice of a specific cutoff.
The representation of the model accuracy via contingency tables (and the related statistics) depends on the chosen cutoff, based on which, in a binary classification model, you can draw a contingency table with the percentages of true positives, false positives, true negatives and false negatives. So for your model, you choose a cutoff and, based on that, you draw a table showing the 1-specificity and sensitivity of the model (and their complements to 1).
On the contrary the ROC curve plots the same concepts of 1-specificity ($x_{i}$) and sensitivity ($y_{i}$) for each given cutoff i on a $(x_{i},y_{i})$ coordinate system assuming that for each point in the plot the cutoff varies (so each point in the graph represents de facto the results in the contingency table obtained assuming that the cutoff is i). As you can see it can be considered a generalization of the contingency table approach for a generic i that is allowed to vary in the ROC plot. Therefore it allows to analyze the classification performance of the model (and the trade-off of specificity vs sensitivity) regardless the specific cutoff that you choose, thus segregating the two distinct important problems of choosing a good classification model per se (for any give cutoff), and then choosing a good cutoff. The AUC is just a numerical representation of the area under the ROC allowing to put the overall performance described by the ROC in a synthetic numerical form.

Area under the ROC curve accuracy


Facing issues in gallery

Question: I'm using one plus 6 and I'm facing issues with my gallery. If I save pictures from Facebook, Snapchat or any other app it doesn't show up in gallery. Only screenshots and camera pictures are showing
I've tried almost everything clearing cache, uninstalling installing apps, force stop, .nomedia (It wasn't there )
Comment: Did you check the storage permissions?
Comment: Is google photos detecting the media files?
Comment: When you say you "save pictures from Facebook", what are the actual steps you take? Please be specific.
Answer: The possible reasons are :

The app is built in a way that it only reads media files from some directories like DCIM>CAMERA, Pictures>Screenshots, main directory, Internal>Videos etc. It will not read the media files from the folder named with the application names like WhatsApp, Facebook, Snapchat(some popular applications).
The Apps like Facebook, Snapchat will change the encoding of the image by reducing the size(still it may be in JPEG format). This encoding can't be read by the gallery apps.
Hidden files are also can't be detected by some gallery apps(saved media from popular apps are not hidden but all thumbnails are hidden).
Some apps give file names as a random character without file type like
dfasvssvd56 rather than dfasvssvd56.JPEG but may or may not be encoded differently. This will result in not detecting the image.

Facing issues in gallery


Preset min/max values in symbology when importing a raster into QGIS

Question: I have 200+ .tif files I need to import into QGIS and visually inspect. Due to the nature of the data, I need to manually set the min/max values to 0 and 0.8 , respectively. No matter what, the min/max values always need to be the same in order to view the data. Is there a way to automatically have QGIS import the rasters with those min/max values already set so I don't need to manually set each one in the symbology tab when added as a layer?
Comment: Once loaded, you can set the correct setting for one layer and than copy it's style to all other layers.
Comment: This is a useful way about it, that way you only have to define symbology parameters once. Thanks for the tip
Answer: I can interpret your tasks as one of two things, however both use the same process.

Run reclassify by table as a batch process.
Give them all the same classification table. The table should be something like this:

If you are trying to set all values higher and lower to your min max, set it to something like this:
<code>-999999 to 0 -> 0
0.8 to 9999999 -> 0.8
</code>
If you are trying to set all values out of your min max as no data, then set it to something like this:
<code>-999999 to 0 -> -9999
0.8 to 9999999 -> -9999
</code>
You may have to play with some settings as I am not sure how your nodata values are set up. However this should generally give you the output that you are after.
Comment: This does work, thank you. I suppose I was finding a way to preset symbology conditions without needing to reclassify the actual data values, but this does meet my needs. Babel's comment to my original post is also helpful, where you set the symbology once, copy those settings, then select all layers and paste those settings.


Which one is the best for creating android material icons?

Question: I am a new designer. I need to design an icon for my android application. But I need to make it material. So now I am asking to you that which one is best for me to creat a material icon?
And if here anyone suggest about Adobe then my question will be to him that which is best for android - Illustrator or Photoshop CC?
Thanks^-^
Comment: You can make it in either... I think illustrator would be better as you can do more with an SVG file and the fact that it can be scaled to any size. But if it is only to put on the APP store, then it doesn't matter.
Comment: I'll second AndrewH here. Illustrator is preferred with logos/icons because it is in a vector format that can be indefinitely scaled. Also wanted to clarify that Illustrator can CC be as well. CC stands for Creative Cloud and refers more to the version of the product rather than the product itself. In other words, if you have a Creative Cloud subscription you will be running  both Illustrator CC and Photoshop CC.
Comment: Yes. I thought it. Illustrator is better than CC. Ok thanks however^-^
Answer: First thing I would do is review the Google Material Design icon style guide: http://www.google.com/design/spec/style/icons.html
As for software either Illustrator or Photoshop will be able to export files for use in your application. Personally I would use Illustrator as I prefer the workflow, and you can still use some of the effects from Photoshop (These can be found in Effects - Photoshop Effects.)


Is it possible to display items with different content types in a content query webpart

Question: I am trying to configure a content query webpart to display three different content types from three different lists. Is this possible or can you only target a query to specify a single content type? I should specify that I am using SharePoint 2010.
Answer: In that case, did you tried the Content Search Webpart? It very easy to bring on multiple content types and from multiple lists.
Comment: I should have specified, that I am using SharePoint 2010 in this case, I don't believe 2010 has the content search webpart, which is why I am using a query.


Et cetera vs Et al

Question: One of the most used words around is et cetera. Some people substitute et al for etc. Google says that both of them have the same meaning: 'and the others'. Is there a particular context and usage for each of these? Are there any situations wherein one should employ et al. over etc. or vice versa?
Answer: I would say there is a definite distinction between the two, in definition and in proper usage. Et cetera, often shortened to etc., means literally 'and the rest'. Et alii, often shortened to et al., means 'and others' and can be thought of as a specific case of et cetera when the 'rest' refers to a list of persons. It is often seen in academic contexts, usually when citing a reference having more than two or three authors.
I have seen improper usage of et cetera described as instances where what is intended to be the 'rest' is unclear or ambiguous, for example:

When visiting your accountant, please
  bring your receipts, cash book, bank
  statements, etc.

This would lead to confusion as to what the 'etc' represents. What other papers would we need to take to the accountant?
A more correct usage may be:

The mini bar is stocked with a wide range
  of spirits: vodka, gin, tequila, etc.

In this case there is no confusion as to the intended meaning of the sentence: the mini bar is stocked with a variety of alcohol.
Comment: Why do you say that the first sentence is incorrect usage? Whether "etc" is interpreted as ambiguous or unambiguous depends on the context isn't it? We could argue that the second sentence is equally ambiguous to someone without knowledge of alcohol.
Comment: @Pacerier The cases are quite different: the second one says "a wide range of spirits"; the sentence could end there, but gives some examples ... "etc." represents the rest of the spirits, those that weren't explicitly enumerated. The first sentence does not name a class of documents and then gives explicit examples; rather, it names some types of documents, and then "etc." representing the rest, but the rest of what? And unlike the second sentence, the first sentence is an *instruction*, but fails to instruct.  Imagine assembly instructions: "You'll need a flat head screwdriver, etc."
Answer: It's the context of those other things that makes the difference here. Et cetera means "and the rest" and et al. means "and the others". Specifically, et al. stands for either et alii, et aliae or et alia when referring to masculine, feminine or gender neutral groups respectively.
Et al. should be used when referring to groups of people, not things. You'll commonly see it when authors are cited in academic works.
Also interesting is that et al. can also be an abbreviation of et alibi, which means all the other places, although this variant is apparently less common.
Comment: @MehperC.Palavuzlar, in Latin, when a group of males and females is combined, the neutral plural form is not used, but rather the masculine is.
Comment: @Andy, Per your answer, why do we need "et al" at all? Why not simply use "etc" for everything? What's the *value* of using "et al" in place of "etc"?
Comment: @AdamMosheh Then why do we always say 'et cetera' (neutral plural)? If what you say is true, we should say 'et ceteri' (masculine plural).
Comment: @Pacerier Your question isn't relevant and is misdirected. Andy didn't assert that we "need" this or any other distinction or that such distinctions have "value", he simply explained when to use the different terms. Why are there synonyms? Why is there more than one language? What's the value of such things? There are places to discuss these confused questions, but not here. Anyway, Malvolio's answer points out an important difference.
Answer: Typically, etc. refers to things and et al. to people but I don't think that's the key distinction.
Etc. means "others of the same sort".  Et al. means "other from the same group" or "others forming some group".  So "mice, rats, etc." but "Snooki, Sitch, et al."
The reader should always be able to fill in more (plausible if not necessarily correct) examples with "etc." so "mice, rats, voles, gophers..." (on the assumption that the "sort" being enumerated is rodents), whereas my et al. example refers to a fixed set (fluorescent orange cast members of a particular TV show) where there are other members but I can't name them.
Comment: This answer's awesome..

Et cetera vs Et al


Can an agent aid in controlling gear?

Question: I am considering playing a Decker and wanted to know if I could use an agent to help with certain gear functions? Such as having them report status of weapons or armor that can be networked? I'm not 100% sure I have the concepts right, so any clarifications on that would be helpful. Thanks!
Comment: Might be helpful: [How do agents and teamwork tests work?](http://rpg.stackexchange.com/q/51763)
Answer: Yes that's something a Agent can do, with the following restrictions:

It must be a Matrix action
The Agent is not very intelligent and could easily screw things up (they are as flexible as pilot programs)
The only skills they have are Computer, Hacking and Cybercombat. They cannot use Software, Hardware or Electronic Warfare, since you cannot default on those. This limits their use, since Sensor arrays and the Control Device matrix action require those skills, with the exception of actions that are done using a skill check for the latter.
An Agent is not a replacement for a Personal Integrated Tactical Network (Run & Gun, p. 104f), which BTW costs a lot more at level I than a Agent with rating 6 (12000 vs 115000 Nuyen according to the latest Errata of the German version of the book). Instead of having all info available at once the Agent would probably go through all the devices it should observe and probe them for information.
Your gear may not provide the data the Agent needs. As a GM I'd require the gear to have a appropriate Wireless Bonus, unless common sense tells you that the gear is capable of this. E.g. checking the ammunition of a firearm with a Smartgun should be no problem, but without a Smartgun it would be impossible; by default Armor would't allow to check the status, but if the Bio-Monitor modification is build in, the status of the wearer can be determined; A Agent should have no problems checking, if there's a incoming call for a comlink...
No teamwork tests on checks for actions in the physical world. There is just no way a Agent can provide better information than a Smartgun does ect... And there is definetly no way a Agent can pull something like this of: https://youtu.be/7JRuqmFZZ-8
Comment: Add that when a check must be made, they roll device rating * 2 as their pool.
Comment: They can also run other programs, as pilots do.

Can an agent aid in controlling gear?


Why is Ubuntu Software only showing Editor's Picks?

Question: My Ubuntu Software (not Ubuntu Software Center) isn't functioning any more. The only thing I get to see is the Editor's Picks.

I think it has to do with installing the GNOME Desktop Environment. This problem started when I installed GDE.
Comment: Even if you perform a search?
Answer:
This is not a problem with your Software Center or your Shell. Actually, the interface of the Software center keeps changing automatically. This is my current interface of the Software Center A few weeks ago, it was like this.
Answer: Please see https://forum.snapcraft.io/t/mapping-snap-store-sections-to-xdg-sections/1229
It's the "snap" system they've gone with, although on 20.04 there are some categories at the bottom which should load.  This particular post on that page may answer your question:https://forum.snapcraft.io/t/mapping-snap-store-sections-to-xdg-sections/1229/17.
In working with Snap through the gui, the previous Ubuntu Software Manager has been replaced by this system as the default.  The categories may not be as plentiful as listed in the above post, and splashed across various other posts on the snapcraft forum is wording along the lines, "there is better support in 18.04."
In the event software cannot be found by any available category, there is a search bar at the top.  This mean you have to search either by the name of the app you want (i.e."dolphin", "thunar", etc.) or by the name of the category (i.e "file manager").
Using the above examples, when I search for "file manager", neither Dolphin nor Thunar show up but there is text at the bottom that says 53 more matches.  When I click on this, it shows those results continuing on from where you last left off.  Thunar and Dolphin are both near the bottom, and none of the first six results which appear on my screen are acutally file managers (Beekeeper Studio is the first result and could arguably be considered a type of file manager, though not the type in this example).
On a side note, if you are looking for Synaptic Package Manager, it is still listed in the Universe though its last update was 19 months ago.
Answer: It worked for me:
The name of application now is "Software", you can find on Activities menu or open Ubuntu Software application, click on top bar and click on "Show Details".
It has an error but opens the correct application.
Answer: Ubuntu Software, a.k.a. Snap Store shows only a few software picks on the front page and nothing more when there are access errors on snapcraft.io server, which recently happens quite often. You can find the error messages in system log, or you can kill the running snap-store process and run again snap-store in terminal. If you see "access denied" errors in snap-store output, then something happened again to snapcraft.io server. This is a temporary problem that goes away when they fix the server and it starts to operate normally again.


How to connect Samsung galaxy S9 plus to internet while phone is locked and notification bar is also locked and I have forgotten pattern lock

Question: I have forgotten my phone's pattern lock now in order to unlock it there is one option I know is by using Samsung account I can unlock it but unfortunately my phone's notification bar is locked and phone's ADB debugging is also off, so how can I make my phone online. I don't want to hard reset as it will erase my data in the phone so please if anyone know how to connect a locked phone to internet please tell me and also let me know if you know how to break pattern lock without losing data. thank you so much.
Answer: insert sim card into another phone and disable SIM PIN completely. now insert sim card back into locked phone it will connect to mobile data automatically without asking for PIN. finally login to find my mobile on pc and remote unlock phone


Which Operating Systems are officially supported?

Question: Windows and macOS are being mentioned a few times on docs.substrate.io, but the Substrate CI does not run tests on there.
Now my question; what are the officially supported OS?
With "officially supported" I mean that its a safe choice for validators.
Answer: The only "safe" choice is Linux. As you already mentioned, we only test on Linux, and most validators also run on Linux. For macOS, we only ensure that it compiles because a lot of developers are running on macOS. We also have some performance optimization around Wasm execution that is only for Linux/macOS. Windows is not really supported. We probably compile on Windows, but not that much more support is provided. The Linux subsystem should be used on Windows to get the best compatibility.
Comment: Just to clarify the situation on macOS. The support is limited. For example, we make sure that it compiles, but we don't run tests for it. It's only meant for developers, and it's discouraged to run production code on macOS. This may change in the future.


Making a low-budget flash grenade during medieval era

Question: In a world consisting of dark-age-esque technology, how would an alchemist go about making a low-budget "flash grenade?"
Comment: How is a "flash grenade" different from [fireworks](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fireworks) and other [pyrotechnic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrotechnics) devices? Fireworks were made and used in China since the 9th century, and in Europe since the 14th.
Comment: You say "alchemist" - are you envisioning someone in modern times, in a medieval or Renaissance setting, or what?
Comment: I guess I'm thinking of a deployable container that can quickly dissipate large amounts for a very short time.  A flash grenade was the best modern equivalent that I could think of.  I guess the best thing I can think of right now is burning magnesium traces in a transparent container (not even sure if that would be viable...)
Comment: Yes, I'm thinking of a more medieval era
Comment: Getting magnesium with medieval tech is improbable... Glass is far from low-budget expendable. You should better look into fireworks
Comment: And what is a fireworks device other than a *"deployable container that can quickly dissipate large amounts"* of light in a short time? Magnesium was first isolated in the 19th century, so it's far from "medieval". Also, magnesium does not exist in nature as such; it's too reactive. You need to smelt it from magnesia (magnesium oxide).
Comment: Dark ages would be after the [Bronze Age Collapse](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Late_Bronze_Age_collapse), which is _much_ more limiting than medieval technology. (Medieval dark ages is mostly Renaissance hogwash)
Answer: Arrowroot.
It's been around and in various forms has been cultivated for at least 7000 years as a food and food additive (thickener).
The tubers, containing starch are washed and cleaned then are ground up with a mortar and pestle and then beaten to a fine paste a little water is added and mixed in, the milky liquid would then be passed through cloth into a collecting flask. The starch, settles out on the bottom, - the water is discarded and the starch dried in the sun or a cool oven to form a fine powder.
Black Powder

Saltpetre (extracted from manure run-off and known to the Chinese in the mid first-century AD), brimstone (found in deposits around volcanoes), and ground-charcoal mixture would be prepared.

A fuse would be prepared by soaking string in saltpetre and then drying.

A flask would be filled with the black powder, the fuse added, trailing out the top which would then be threaded through a fine hole in the stopper. The stopper is then secured in the flask.

A bowl-shaped thin sheet of lead is then partially filled with the arrowroot , the flask nestled inside, surrounded and covered with the white powder until only the top with the fuse can be seen. The lead can be gently tapped to fold in around the neck of the jar and secured with string.

The flash occurs when the exploding flask mixes the arrowroot with air and the heat source of the black powder, deflagrating in a bright yellow/orange fireball. Copper powder can be added to the black powder to give a blue/green effect if wanted.
I suggest arrowroot, but ordinary flour would work too. Lycopodium - a moss-extract was first extracted and used for this specific purpose, but may be more difficult to obtain.
There's a great thread in the chemistry stack, the "An Explosion in a Custard Factory." one which elucidates.
Comment: I feel like the real trick to making such things in the medieval era would be a reliable fuse and lighting system.
Comment: @Estilus Yes sure, lead is freely available - sheets particularly from flashing on church/castle/palace rooves (Apothecaries had rich sponsors if they were any good), it's easy to beat into a thin sheet, when thrown in the form I describe with it's contents, it will deform on landing absorbing some of the shock, and should therefore keep the payload intact - the flask with the explosive. That's it realy.
Comment: @Estilus A clever Apothecary might (having gotten the idea for saltpetre from the Orient), find a way of using resin or latex impregnated paper after the fashion of Origami instead, just a thought.
Comment: ah, this is super cool!  thank you!
Comment: Question, any reason why you chose to lead for the outer covering?
Comment: got it, really appreciate it!
Answer: In our own history, the first explosives (other than gunpowder) produced in the Western world were fulminates.  These primary explosives are easy to make, have few ingredients, and are far more brisant than gunpowder.
The only problem is, their explosion produces little light relative to the amount of pressure/noise.  A fragment the size of a pea is described as having, unconfined, blown a hole in an iron spoon -- but such a piece would barely produce a perceptible flash.
The brightest compound available to a Dark Ages alchemist (at least in our history) would have been an early version of gunpowder.  By fiddling with the mixture (increasing the charcoal slightly at the expense of sulfur) and confining the material (and inventing a way to ignite confined powder in its sealed container) one can make a mix that would produce a moderate flash and pretty good bang with only the confinement of a hard fired ceramic flask.
In fact, this is much the way medieval and renaissance grenades and petards were made (aside from using powder optimized for its explosive power, rather than for light production), once functional fuses (black match, usually) had been invented.
Comment: Duly noted, thank you for the help!


Structural Equation Model

Question: It is  possible to include observed variables as part of the structural model. For example, to find the impact of latent variables on observed variable.
Answer: Yes.
With older programs, such as LISREL you couldn't do this - you had to create a latent with a single indicator, and no error variance. Now you just do it, for e.g. in Mplus, if F is latent and x is observed, you'd write
x on f;

In Lavaan, you'd write:
x ~ F

Also, when you have a latent variable, with indicators, the loading is equivalent to the regression. So (in Mplus):
F by x;

is exactly the same as my first statement.
Comment: I used the maximum likelihood estimates (MLE) approach for the determination of SEM, which was carried out in AMOS version 20.
Comment: You can do it in AMOS too. Just draw an arrow from the latent to the manifest variable. (One of the [several] reasons I don't like AMOS is that I can't write the code which tells you want to do, and you can't tell me what you did. It's much easier to help people if you use any other program.)

Structural Equation Model


Efficient matching rows across two tables with huge data set

Question: I have two tables with about 300+ columns and 20k+ rows each. Each row is characterized by a primary key which both tables have.I have to find the identical rows, rows with changes,and rows without a corresponding match in the second table(i.e there is a row with primary id=x in table 1 and no row has primary id=x in table 2). Attributing to this huge data set, can somebody suggest an "efficient" method to solve this.
Comment: Incidentally, 20,000 rows is not remotely "huge".  Unless several of those columns are `BLOB`s of some sort, your row width is probably ~3 KB, so around 100 MB for both tables - this should easily fit in memory.  Perhaps you're targeting a mobile platform or some other specially constrained environment?
Answer: Without making any schema change, your solution requires a table scan on both sides - that's the most efficient you'll be able to do.  You simply have to LEFT JOIN A to B and compare every field.
However, if you expect to do this in the future, you can do a couple things to make life easier: you can add a calculated hash, which will almost always detect a change.  Compare this field, and you can identify changes.  Add an index to each table with the PK field(s) and this hash field, and you can very quickly find new and changed records:
SELECT
    A.PK,
    CASE
        WHEN B.PK IS NULL THEN 'New'
        WHEN A.Hash <> B.Hash THEN 'Changed'
        ELSE 'Unchanged' END AS Status
FROM
    A
    LEFT JOIN B ON A.PK = B.PK

Microsoft SQL offers a ROWVERSION construct which makes this type of operation simple; it looks like the equivalent in Oracle is system change numbers: https://stackoverflow.com/a/20488598/565869.
If for any reason that doesn't work for you, you could always roll your own using triggers or by modifying the sprocs which update these tables (you are wrapping your UPDATEs in sprocs, right?)


Why is a single string's vibration very weak but on the other hand, a guitar's string can be very loud?

Question: A vibration on a string can theoretically be examined by the back and forth moving sound waves. The two reflecting boundary conditions capture some part of the vibration energy in the region which causes some part of it to be stored. Those waves propagating in different directions interfere perfectly at some frequencies, they together form a standing wave where the physical positions of the peaks and the nulls are stationary. In this case, if the power source is nonzero for a certain amount of time, some portion of this power is continually stored every second in the region between the reflecting boundaries. This is why the stored energy increases greatly in time. This causes the mechanical vibrations such that we hear the musical tone of the instrument. Why would free single string and another equivalent string of a guitar would produce sound levels differ greatly.
Answer: A string does not transfer much energy into the air directly, because its diameter is too small to move much air, and the two "sides" of the string produce equal and opposite sound waves in the air. If one "side" is moving in the direction which creates a positive pressure in the air, the other side is creating an equal negative pressure, and the two effects destructively interfere with each other.
In an acoustic guitar, the vibration of the string is transmitted through the bridge of the guitar and makes the whole of the front of the guitar's body vibrate. That large area is much more efficient at transferring energy into the air. The vibration of the "inside" of the guitar body only affects the air inside the instrument, and does not cancel out the vibrations caused by the "outside" of the body.
Actually, the last statement is above over-simplified, because at some frequencies the air inside the guitar will resonate, and then transfer its energy to the outside air by "pumping" air in and out through the sound hole in the guitar - but the two sound sources, from the whole of the front of the guitar and from the sound hole, don't cancel out as accurately as the sound from the two "sides" of a thin string.
Comment: I completely agree with your second and third paragraphs which make it clear that the vibration energy transferred to the body can escape into free space much easier than the strings. I also agree that the vibration on a string is almost lossless so that it radiates much less.
Comment: But the first statement, if I understood right, assumes that pressure change at a single point do not radiate energy if it is too quick. This conflicts Huygen's Law, Maxwell's Law for Electromagnetic Waves etc. Oscillation at a single point will radiate sound waves around its neighborhood which later will radiate again and again at a wavelength given by v/f.


Cisco PIX connected to Active Directory for VPN

Question: I have a Cisco PIX 515E that is currently acting as office's router.  We have an MS domain, and utilize MS VPN for remote access.  I would like to use the Cisco VPN functionality built into the PIX and leverage active directory for authentication; however, I have not found a good source for instructions on how to do this.  I am a programmer with a sys admin hobby, so the instructions I'm looking for should not be geared towards a Cisco or AD expert.  Do any instructions like these exist?
Comment: What version of ASA software are your running?  What version of ASDM are you running?
Answer: You need the Internet Authentication Service (IAS) installed on a domain member server and a shared secret that you enter on the IAS server and PIX.
then execute on your PIX:
<code>aaa-server RADIUS protocol radius
aaa-server RADIUS (inside) host IAS_SERVER SharedSecretHere timeout 10
crypto map outside_map 65535 ipsec-isakmp dynamic outside_dyn_map
crypto map outside_map client authentication RADIUS
crypto map outside_map interface outside
crypto dynamic-map outside_dyn_map 20 match address outside_cryptomap_dyn_20
crypto dynamic-map outside_dyn_map 20 set transform-set ESP-3DES-MD5
vpngroup Remote address-pool pix_inside
vpngroup Remote dns-server DNS_SERVER_1 DNS_SERVER_2
vpngroup Remote wins-server WINS_SERVER
vpngroup Remote default-domain domainToAuthenticate
vpngroup Remote idle-time 1800
</code>
That should point you in the right direction and get you started.
Answer: It's been a few years since I've worked with PIX, so this might have changed if they added direct LDAP support.
What you want to setup is a RADIUS server.  It's a component of Windows Server.  You can setup the PIX to authentication against your specific RADIUS server, and it knows how to communicate to Active Directory.
A search on Google for 'setup RADIUS in Windows' should get you plenty of guides on how to do it.
Comment: You don't necessarily have to set up a RADIUS server to use AD authentication...
Answer: Since 8.x the PIX/ASA Release can use fully supported ldap.
I would suggest that you upgrade your PIX to the ASA Image 8.0(4). It's not a big deal.. All you need is at least 64mb Ram  (normaly the pix 515e has 32mb build in, but you can still find cheap ram on ebay..) and the software of course.
Comment: I would also add that with the latest release of ASA software (8.2.1), the pix's are no longer supported.  The version that sam offered up, is one of the last for the pix.


Kernel_task boosts CPU to 300%-500% (Yosemitte MBP 2011 without a battery)

Question: Long story short, my oldie MBP 2011' battery started bloating, I've contacted a repair service center and they advised me to remove the battery and use it on AC power, while they get a new battery for a replacement. What I've noticed a few days back, that my MBP starts extremely lagging from time to time. After a restart, it works fine for 12 - 20 hours and then the problem appears again. I've noticed that when the lagging starts, kernel_task begins consuming up to 500% CPU. So I bet that the problem's source is kernel_task, but what causes its extreme rise? Could it be a removed battery?
Answer: One troubleshooting step is to see which files are being modified while kernel_task is consuming 500% CPU. In Terminal:
  sudo fs_usage -f filesys

You will see a lot of files fly by. Just scroll up to get an idea of what files are being written or read.
Comment: I would add that `sysdiagnose` would be amazing to run - perhaps once after a clean restart after the Mac is off for an hour or more, and once before the problem happens but the Mac is up to operating temp and RAM usage in addition to a snapshot when the problem is reproduced. That would cover cases where filesystem usage isn't the culprit - but `fs_usage` would nail it if it were filesystem activity as a root cause.
Answer: Actually, I have heard anecdotal evidence that removal of the battery does cause the system to throttle the CPU under certain circumstances. I also believe this can cause the kernel task to "absorb" the theoretical CPU capacity that would be there if it were running at full frequency.
The steps to isolate this would be to monitor the internal temperatures when the anomalous performance statistics are in effect. By keeping the machine cool, you will be sending a signal to the CPU that it can run at full capacity. Also, if the magsafe power adapter is getting old or the power circuitry on the Mac is starting to fail, it could also cause the internal voltages to drop and that also could affect the CPU.
It's much, much, much more likely you have a run of the mill software bug where some program has a memory leak or spins off children processes - so running sudo sysdiagnose before and during the periods of bad activity will help collect the logs needed to tell if it's an ordinary software issue or a much less likely "oddball" effect of having no battery to keep the voltage high when current draw is high and/or some aging hardware that is interacting with the CPU throttling firmware.


PHP Fatal error: Call to undefined function msg_get_queue() in

Question: I'm trying to call the msg_get_queue() in a CentOS 64 bits server.
I've downloaded the php sources and i have compiled the pcntl extensions following the steps:
phpize
./configure
make
cp modules/* /usr/lib64/php/modules/
cp modules/* /usr/lib/php/modules/

When i run php -m the module appears in the list. Is there a way to solve this problem without compiling php with the --enable-sysvmsg?
Answer: No, you must compile it with --enable-sysvmsg.


Where can I find Cardano's academic research papers?

Question: Where can I find the academic research papers related to Cardano?  I tried Google Scholar with no success.
Comment: Just out of curiosity. What search terms did you use on Google Scholar?
Answer: IOHK has a list of papers and currently I see 103 of them:
https://iohk.io/en/research/library/
Answer: In addition to https://iohk.io/en/research/library/ (as Joshua Chia mentions), you can then utilize Google Scholar to search for a paper's title and/or author names to also get a list of citing articles. I'm surprised you didn't have success with the site. Of course, you can also just search for cardano blockchain to get papers that are not necessarily written by IOG staff.
If Scite.ai would implement a better search and index more databases, I'd recommend them over Google Scholar due to the fact that there's also a sentiment analysis (supporting/contrasting in addition to Goggle's only type: mentioning cites) on citations.
Getting an idea on how other academics approach the paper you are interested in can aid in pre-digesting the Cardano-related papers.
Answer: You gotta go to crypto and or other tertiary domain specific archives. https://eprint.iacr.org/complete/ is one that I use myself quite frequently. Just look up IOG scientists if you're looking for Cardano specific papers.