How do we succintly describe a boxing match?

Question: I am writing a short story, and the boxing match which comes after 2/3 of the story is likely to exceed the length of the entire story, so how do you cut the action short? Do you describe the match from beginning to end, or do you somehow describe the last 2 minutes, which is a lot more manageable? Do you really have to cut to the last 2 minutes or so?
Answer: You don't have to skip to the end. Just don't get repetitive. Skip over uneventful periods of time. Look for (I mean make up) the events, the things that have meaning in the course of the fight, in every round if you can make up that many different but meaningful events. Different, because, don't repeat, it can be boring. One exception might be noticing a repeated pattern in your opponent's behavior that might be exploited, e.g. every time he jabs with his left, he drops his right guard. Or you spot a "tell", so you know when the left jab is coming and can land a counter blow.
What you want to do is focus on (and guide the reader through) the meaning, not just the mechanics of the fight. When I describe battles I describe what my character is thinking, and feeling, what is in their mind as they progress through the session, their inspirations and realizations, why they do what they do. Even if they are destined to prevail, I also make them less-than-perfect at the task, making errors, getting cut or hit, but soldiering on.
I don't know much about boxing, but an example:

They tested each other, jabs and blocks. Henry feinted and landed a good blow on Mike's ribs, but the follow-up, a hook to Mike's jaw, caught air as Mike astutely pulled his head back. A stupid mistake, Mike thought, but gone from his mind in a moment, that's what coach says, dwell on the past, you'll die in the present.
The judges scored no other points for the first three rounds. The audience grew restless, cat-calling. To them, nothing seemed to be happening, but Mike felt Henry tiring, he'd lost a tick, as the coach said. Now was the time to pay attention, don't lose a tick, watch for that dropped guard, keep your eyes on the prize. Be patient, take your hits, that pretty boy bitch will make a mistake.
Fifth round bell. Still nothing. Mike sat on the stool, tasting blood in his mouth, a cut inside his cheek. Coach jabbers in the corner, massaging his sore shoulders, his voice washed over Mike like a comforting hard shower. He did not process a word that was said. Sixth round, a minute in, then the pretty boy made a mistake. His first mistake.
Answer: Do the particular details of the boxing match matter to the story? What details matter? Why do they matter? Surely not every single punch and block is of utmost importance?
If I were describing a fencing match (something I understand far better than boxing, so you will forgive me if I focus on that), I would first ask myself what I want to showcase. It might be that I am showing my character in a fighting situation for the first time. If so, I need to show how they fight. Or it might be the fifth duel in the course of the novel, and it is only the interaction with the particular opponent is important. Or it might be that the particular fight is not important at all, only the fact of it having happened.
If I need to show how my character fights, I would spend some time describing his style, also maybe his mood. A loose translation of d'Artagnan's first duel in The Three Musketeers:

he fought like an enraged tiger, circling six times around his opponent, changing twenty times his guard and his terrain. (Alexandre Dumas, The Three Musketeers, chapter 5)
If someone has a copy of the book in English and can provide the actual quote, I would very much appreciate it.

My description would imply that some short time passes by in fighting, but I do not describe every parade and riposte. The only exchange I would describe in slow motion, as it where, is the one that produces some tangible result (disarming, wounding or killing the opponent). That exchange is the only important one.
If the part that's important about the fight is the interaction with the opponent, I might focus on the banter rather than on what each does with their sword.
Finally, if the particular's of the battle are not important, I might describe the preliminaries, the conversation before the battle starts, and then skip to "Alpha lay dead, Bravo's sword having pierced his throat".

A blow-by-blow breakdown of a fight is not very interesting to read. There is no story in it. A match, or a duel, or any kind of fight, should read like a story. The particular attacks and defences don't matter - it's the "feel" of the fight that does. What you want to catch is the action, the excitement, (or the fear,) the challenge.
Look at your boxing match as an emotional journey. Give it beats, and match them to changing emotions. Only describe what you need to evoke those emotions - nothing that would dilute them.
Answer: You can look to the manga Hajime no Ippo for a case study on the subject... it is basically all about boxing matches which are described in great detail. Focus on the characters, and understand that boxing is not just two men (or women) punching each other. Every punch that you throw is an opening for your opponent, and it drains your energy a little bit more. Are they experienced boxers? Most amateur boxers are surprised at first by how much faster they run out of energy in a real fight compared to when they were training.
Boxing is a game of chess, where you need to think one step ahead of your opponent. The only difference is that there are no turns. You can throw or block as many punches as you are physically capable of, but each punch is harder to throw than the last.
It should be obvious that punches are being thrown in the boxing match. so to that effect, avoid: he threw a left hook. I swayed back and came back with a swift straight to the body, catching him off balance so I could finish him with an uppercut.

try not even describing the punches so much, because fiction is at its core all about the characters:
This guy has me beat at every angle. I know that for every punch I throw I'm going to take two in return. He's bigger than me... so how can he move so quick? He steps forward and all of the sudden I'm on the ground. The referee asks my if I can still fight--I guess I managed to haul myself onto my feet. I don't remember that. Stop the fight I think, but on reflex I earnestly lock eyes with him and smile, trying not to let on that I have a concussion, and say "Good to go, sir."
The ref nods gravely, and the round picks up again right away. While my opponent rushes in to overwhelm me, I'm still looking the ref in the eyes. No... Why? I think to myself. I squint my eyes shut as I prepare for the blow that that will finally retire me for good, and I picture the disappointment and pity on the faces of my friends and family ringside.
My trainer is yelling at me from the corner "On him!"
I ease my eyes cautiously open, and I see my opponents sweat as steam, condensing quickly in the cold stadium air. I see blood trickling down his face from the cut on his eye I gave him in the fifth round. I must have opened it further. He thrusts a veined, enormous arm directly at my face, and I'm too tired to react in time. It connects and I feel--nothing.
There's no power behind it. I can see my girlfriend through the bottom ropes. She's jumping up and down with the most excited smile I've ever seen her face. "You got him baby! One more shot!" She screams, her white-knuckled fists pumping back and forth. The loose-fitting ring on her finger catches the light.
I've got to get that resized for her before it falls right off, I think. Suddenly that becomes my priority, and I move towards her. But there's a man in the way. I try to stumble past him towards Karen, but he grabs hold of me, as if for support.
"Get off of me," I scream, and thrust my shoulder against his chest. He looks either confused or terrified, and he makes to clinch again. He leans forward to grab me, and I swing clumsily forward. I'm so surprised by how easily his head snaps back under my fist that I stumble forward, only managing to stay upright by supporting myself on the ropes.
Looking down over the ropes at my girlfriend, I'll never forget her smile in the instant between when she saw that I won, and when she realized that her face
was spattered with blood.
The medical team had already taken out my opponent's mouth guard, and starting stuffing cotton against his nose to stem the bleeding........
etc. etc... So, set up the circumstances surrounding the fight, and set the final scene of the fight for the protagonist to deliver (or receive) the finishing blow, the climax of the scene--that one punch--in detail. That's my take on it, as a boxer, avid reader, and someone who claims to like writing but rarely does. Haha! Hope that helps, I had fun writing this reply.


Is bounce rate of a website a ranking factor?

Question: I have heard this from many SEO experts that a website with less bounce rate will rank well on Google. But what if the website does not use any analytics tools to calculate bounce rate, how will then Google know the bounce rate of the website and rank it higher
Answer: As you are likely to be aware, a Bounce is where someone visits a single page on a website and then leaves.  Often, this is perfectly normal.  For example:
Example One:  A browser visits a One-Page website.  By design, all of the information is on one page where the visitor does not have any options to click through to any other page;
Example Two:  Let's say a browser performs a search, looking for a Restaurants' Contact Details.  The Search Results bring up URL www.example.com/contact-us.  The visitor clicks through to the page and then fills in the forms and leaves.  There is no need for the visitor to click through to other pages as they have found the page they are looking for.  Some would argue that a low Bounce Rate, is this instance, would not be a great thing.
As such, it would not make any sense for search engines to include a website's Bounce Rate into their Ranking Algorithms.
Pogo Sticking
On the other hand, there is something known as 'Pogo Sticking'.  This is where a visitor performs a search query and then clicks through to a website.  They then immediately click back to the Search Engine Results Page (SERPs) and start to click through to other website pages within the same SERPs.
Unlike Bounce Rates, 'Pogo Sticking' could be a good indicator to search engines that the existing entry into the SERPs does not adequately meet the needs of the searcher or their search query.  As such, a search engine may allow 'Pogo Sticking' to affect how a web page appears within the SERPs.
Google Analytics
Google does not rely on Google Analytics installed on websites.  They have their own means of calculating the behaviors and activities of websites that appear in their search engine.
Helpful Resource: https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/1009409?hl=en
Answer: Google does not use SERP bounce rate ("pogo sticking") as a ranking factor.
Google only knows the bounce rate for visitors coming from Google Search. They do not reach into anyone's Google Analytics accounts to get that info - besides, many websites do not have Google Analytics installed anyway.
Even though they know this bounce rate, they do not currently use this info except as a bulk data point to tune the ranking algorithm itself.
According to Google's John Mueller:

We try not to use signals like that when it comes to search. So that's something where there are lots of reasons why users might go back and forth, or look at different things in the search results, or stay just briefly on a page and move back again. I think that's really hard to refine and say "well, we could turn this into a ranking factor."
So I would not worry about things like that. When we look at our algorithms overall, when we review which algorithm changes that we want to launch, we do look into how users react to these changes. But that's something we look at across millions of different queries, and millions of different pages, and kind of see in general is this algorithm going the right way or is this algorithm going in the right way.
But for individual pages I don't think that's something worth focusing on at all.
Google Does Not Use Pogo-Sticking As a Ranking Factor - Search Engine Journal

So while it's possible that pogo sticking could be a ranking factor for other search engines, it is not a ranking factor for Google.


How can computers beat humans at image recognition, if humans may incorrectly label the images?

Question: For supervised learning, humans have to label the images computers use to train in the first place, so the computers will probably get wrong the images that humans get wrong. If so can computers beat humans?
Answer: When researchers claim "better than human accuracy", they are demonstrating that a computer can beat an individual human on a test. And that is because the ground truth labels are actually higher accuracy than a single human could label the images individually.
There are at least two major ways that ground truth labels can beat an individual human on image tasks.

Additional information is available from the same source as the image. For instance many pictures of pets in the ImageNet database are labeled with a specific breed of animal, due to how they are sourced. Most people
who are not experts at pet breeds will score quite badly on a test to identify dog breeds at the fine grained level that ImageNet presents.
Ground truth based on expert opinion can be sourced from multiple experts and their opinions combined. This approach can independently be shown to be more reliable than the opinion of a single person.

So in short yes computers can beat humans when they have had access to better original ground truth, and that is possible, even if that ground truth is generated by humans.
However, in general your concern stands. Ground truth data is a limiting factor. It might be possible in theory for a computer model to have an even better accuracy at the "real" task than the ground truth for a supervised learning task. However, this is next to impossible to prove, and other concerns, such as changes to distribution of real data as opposed to training data, are usually more important at that level of accuracy.
Comment: I seem to recall that "human crowdsourcing" is/was a solution in captcha identification, in the sense that a single human is not reliable, but a large sample yields correct results.  (Makes me wonder if the same technique can be applied to algorithms, where any one algorithm may not be reliable, but an expanding group of unique algorithms might become more reliable.)
Comment: @DukeZhou This is used in theoretical computer science. When you can't solve a problem efficiently, often instead you generate a random number and use that number to cheat in some way that allows you to solve the problem efficiently. However, because of the cheat it's not necessarily correct. What you do then is write a formula for the probability of being wrong, run the program a bunch of times, and get a small error term by aggregating all of the results.
Comment: For example, checking if two numbers are equal is hard. It requires looking at every single digit, and some numbers have a huge number of digits. Instead, I can generate a random prime with 1000 digits and check if a = b mod p. Calculating a mod p and b mod p can be done really easily, and then to check the comparison I only have to compare 1000 digit numbers, which is a constant independent of a and b. If a and b are actually equal, then they're equal mod p too, but sometimes I'll get the answer wrong by accident because of the algebraic relationship between a and b.
Comment: However, I can do this many times with different randomly generated prime numbers. I say that a != b if I found a prime such that a != b mod p. This is guaranteed to be correct, when I output it. When I don't find a disproof, I guess that a = b. This will sometimes be wrong. However, it turns out that the rate at which the error goes to 0 as the number of primes I guess increases is exceptionally fast.
Comment: That's all really interesting. I once heard a story of people guessing the number of objects in a glass jar, and the average of all the guesses was very close to the actual number. This might be another example of what you're talking about.


Spurious posts that advertise body building products

Question: Can a script be written that checks for single post users who only post a url with no associated text and delete the post and user automatically, or delete the post and block the user account pending a check?
Answer: Not necessary.
Such a script, well quite similar, is already running: SmokeDetector

How does it work?
Warning: technical programming details ahead.
SmokeDetector sets up a websocket connection to the same feed that powers the Stack Exchange realtime page. This websocket provides us with the feed of posts to scan.
Every time a post comes in, we grab the full details of the post from the Stack Exchange API. Requests are bundled up wherever possible to save on our 20,000 requests per day API quota. Once we have the details, including the full text of the body, we run the post's body text, title, and owner's username through a whole load of tests, including several miles of regex (not literally) to determine whether or not the post is spam.
If we determine that the post is spam, we post a report of that fact to Charcoal HQ (and to some other chatrooms, based on certain conditions). This report is the cue for some humans to go and look at the post, check if it's spam, and flag it if so. This gets spam posts destroyed quickly. Those humans can then feed back to SmokeDetector to say whether the report was correct or not. We store this feedback in our web dashboard, metasmoke, which is itself complex enough that it's a story for another day.
Since early 2017, we also have the possibility to automatically flag a post on behalf of volunteers who signed up for autoflagging. A post will never receive more than four of these automatic flags; we want to make sure every post is also reviewed by humans.

As you see, full automation is not wanted, and in my opinion should not be implemented.
Lacking the reputation or tools necessary to see more of what's going on behind the scenes: this community is not lacking in very zealous members doing the flagging and deletion. The immune system is working well, perhaps too well already.
Comment: Well, I only ask as I just flagged a post about body building products so it got through and it only contained a url with no other text...
Comment: @SolarMike Link-only questions or answers tend not to survive even an hour or so. What do you mean with "got through"?  As far as I understand the post you are concernend about will enter the review queue and once the others agree it'll be gone. Your flag *alone* has no immediate effect, but it speeds up the process?
Comment: It "got through" as in it was a question available to be read and I flagged it as I should have done. It has been removed now.
Comment: This is great detail on Charcoal - I'll add the spam ram and quality filter in another answer rather than hijack this answer with a big edit. +1
Answer: There are several quality filters and automated tools / heuristics that are designed to prevent the most basic posts that one might characterize as unredeemingly bad.

Quality filter stops posting entirely
Spam Ram then attacks spam head on as part of the site (it blocks known spamming sources with the data fed in the flagging step that is next)
Automated "Charcoal" filtering and auto-flagging then tries to mop up the rest. This uses API and is external to the site. In the end, this flagging feeds the Spam Ram to hobble known spammers with post throttles and/or blocks.

When you see a post, it's almost certain that the post has passed the bar that was set and not that the tool is broken. There are "2017 - A year in Spam" posts on the main meta with details how this works.

2017: a year in spam

We have the third highest absolute total spam posts that get by the filter.
<code>+------------------------------------------+------------+------------+
| Site Name                                | Post Count | % of Total |
+------------------------------------------+------------+------------+
| Stack Overflow                           |      10220 | 21.3624%   |
| Ask Ubuntu                               |       7058 | 14.7530%   |
| Ask Different                            |       4353 | 9.0989%    |
+------------------------------------------+------------+------------+
YAY US! :-( not...
</code>
The problem comes when the filter is cranked up to stop more posts that get by and then looking at the false positives and harm to the site when legitimate posts get blocked.
So, TLDR:

Does this exist today? YES - there are three layers of filter on all sites in Stack Exchange
Should the filter be changed?  The best place for that detailed question might be on the main meta in questions tagged as quality-filter

Sadly, the tools and people just react to the filters to keep getting things by.
Comment: I get it, thanks. As you say it's only a few that get by - I'll flag though - not downvote like some...
Comment: @SolarMike I'll edit the post - it was a few percent of the total that got past. So if we have 10,000 spam attempts a month - that would be 100-300 get by the quality filter requiring charcoal to cast the first few automatic flags and then someone else to manually flag or see it in a review queue. You are correct - flag and move on is the best.


According to the Catholic Church is it sinful to address someone who is transgender by their biological sex?

Question: As a Catholic, is it considered an offense against charity to refer to a person in a way they wouldn't want to be referred to (such as calling a trans woman "he")?
Comment: I doubt the Church has pronounced on this subject and as such this question is probably opinion based by any theological definition.
Comment: @Ken Graham-It wouldn't be opinion-based to state as a matter of fact that the Church has not officially ruled on the matter.
Answer: Detraction & Railing
In other words, is it

backbiting/detraction (detractio)"the blackening of another's good name by words uttered in secret"—St. Albert the Great, Sum. Theol. II 117, quoted in St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica II-II q. 73 a. 1 arg. 1

or

railing/reviling (contumelia)the same, but done openly, to his face (ibid.)

to call someone other than what he or she would wish to be called?
Examples where it is not sinful
Directly to their face and certainly against their will, Jesus Himself truthfully called the

"Pharisees and Sadducees" a "brood of vipers" (Mt. 3:7);
"scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites" and "whited sepulchres" (Mt. 23:27);
and even the disciples themselves "foolish and slow" (Lk. 24:25).

St. Paul called the Galatians "senseless" (Gal. 3:1) and the Romans (Rom. 1:29-31) as

Being filled with all iniquity, malice, fornication, avarice, wickedness: full of envy, murder, contention, deceit, malignity: whisperers, Detractors, hateful to God, contumelious, proud, haughty, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Foolish, dissolute: without affection, without fidelity, without mercy.

St. Thomas Aquinas explains why these name-callings were not sinful (II-II q. 72 a. 2 ad 2):

Just as it is lawful to strike a person, or damnify someone in his belongings for the purpose of correction, so too, for the purpose of correction, may one say a mocking (conviciosum) word to a person whom one has to correct. It is thus that our Lord called the disciples "foolish," and the Apostle called the Galatians "senseless." Yet, as Augustine says (De Serm. Dom. in Monte ii, 19), "seldom and only when it is very necessary should we have recourse to invectives, and then so as to urge God's service, not our own."

Fraternal correction is an act of charity.
In the case of those who wish they were the other sex, it would not be a sin to correct them with words they'd consider offensive. Fraternal correction is an act of charity; cf. "Whether fraternal correction is an act of charity?" (II-II q. 33 a. 1).
Answer: This depends upon the circumstances, and should follow the same guidelines one would have in administering a reprimand towards another, (Fraternal Correction). A person should consider reprimanding another for sin if
1) There is reason to assume that the reprimand will be well taken and will contribute to the good of the person in question.
OR
2) If your silence would be seen as consent to or support of the sinful action in question. This leads easily to scandal, meaning you influencing others around you to think that the sinful action in question is okay.
So, of these principles, I find the second to be more touching on this issue. By calling someone by their preferred pronouns, you are actively partaking in a falsehood, and this would certainly be seen as supporting or consenting to the delusion of the transgender person. In the vast majority of cases then, I would refrain from using their preferred pronouns.
However, there is a slim case in which I think it is permissible. If the person you are talking to and those around you know without a doubt your catholic position that you are NOT supporting or consenting to the falsehood of transgenderism, and you can be reasonably sure that everyone around would not be scandalized, then I don't see a problem with using preferred pronouns in order to be polite.
Sources:
Definition of Scandal, from the Summa Theologica (II-II:43:1)

I answer that, As Jerome observes the Greek skandalon may be rendered offense, downfall, or a stumbling against something. For when a body, while moving along a path, meets with an obstacle, it may happen to stumble against it, and be disposed to fall down: such an obstacle is a skandalon.
In like manner, while going along the spiritual way, a man may be disposed to a spiritual downfall by another's word or deed, in so far, to wit, as one man by his injunction, inducement or example, moves another to sin; and this is scandal properly so called.
Now nothing by its very nature disposes a man to spiritual downfall, except that which has some lack of rectitude, since what is perfectly right, secures man against a fall, instead of conducing to his downfall. Scandal is, therefore, fittingly defined as "something less rightly done or said, that occasions another's spiritual downfall."

The principles I stated for Fraternal Correction are simplified more or less from this Catholic Encyclopedia page

Fraternal correction is here taken to mean the admonishing of one's neighbor by a private individual with the purpose of reforming him or, if possible, preventing his sinful indulgence. This is clearly distinguishable from an official disciplining, whose mouthpiece is a judge or other like superior, whose object is the punishment of one found to be guilty, and whose motive is not so directly the individual advantage of the offender as the furtherance of the common good. That there is, upon occasion and with due regard to circumstances, an obligation to administer fraternal correction there can be no doubt. This is a conclusion not only deducible from the natural law binding us to love and to assist one another, but also explicitly contained in positive precept such as the inculcation of Christ: "If thy brother shall offend against thee, go, and rebuke him between thee and him alone. If he shall hear thee, thou shalt gain thy brother" (Matthew 18:15). Given a sufficiently grave condition of spiritual distress calling for succour in this way, this commandment may exact fulfilment under pain of mortal sin. This is reckoned to be so only when

the delinquency to be corrected or prevented is a grievous one;
there is no good reason to believe that the sinner will adequately provide for himself;
there is a well-founded expectation that the admonition will be heeded;
there is no one else just as well fitted for this work of Christian charity and likely to undertake it;
there is no special trouble or disadvantage accruing to the reformer as a result of his zeal.

Practically, however, individuals without any official capacity are seldom impeachable as having seriously transgressed the law in this matter because it is but rarely one finds the coalition of circumstances just enumerated.
Of course the reproof is to be administered privately, i.e. directly to the delinquent and not in the presence of others. This is plainly the method appointed by Christ in the words just cited and only as a remedy for obduracy is any other contemplated by Him. Still there are occasions upon which one might lawfully proceed in a different way. For instance

when the offense is a public one;
when it makes for the prejudice of a third party or perhaps even the entire community;
when it can only be condignly dealt with by the authority of a superior paternally exercised;
when a public rebuke is necessary to preclude scandal: witness the withstanding of Peter by Paul mentioned in the Epistle to the Galatians (2:11-14);
when the offender has already in advance relinquished whatever right he possessed to have his good name safeguarded, as is the custom in some religious bodies.

The obligation of fraternal correction, so far as private persons go, does not obtain, generally speaking, for the case of one who violates a law through invincible ignorance. The obvious reason is that there is then no immunity for it is their duty to instruct their subordinates. Every one, however, whether having an official competency or not, is bound to give the admonition when the sin, committed though it be from ignorance, is hurtful to the offender or a third party or is the occasion of scandal.


Baptism in the New Testament

Question: Why was Jesus baptized in the New Testament? Moreover, why does baptism even exist in the New Testament? After reading the old it seems it is not present anywhere.
Comment: Jesus was baptized in order to "fulfill all righteousness" (Matthew 3:14-15). Although Jesus was already righteous he lived a righteous life on our behalf fulfilling all that we should do (including baptism). Baptism exists as the New Covenant fulfillment of circumcision (read Colossians 2:11-12). So baptism is foreshadowed in the Old Testament in circumcision. Baptism exists in the New Covenant Church to forgive sin and grant salvation to all who believe the Gospel.
Comment: (-1) There is certainly Immersion Baptism in the Old Testament. Many commandments regarding ceremonial uncleanness require an immersion baptism to become ceremonially clean again. See http://www.religiousrules.com/Judaismpurity02general.htm
Comment: Baptism for the remission of sins is not a part of the Old Testament.
Answer: John the Baptist was baptizing in repentance of sin:

1 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea,
  2 "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."  3
  For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.'"  - Matthew 3:3
  - Matthew 3:1-3 ESV

And

Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. - Matthew 3:8 ESV

And

"I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. - Matthew 3:11 ESV

But Jesus was without sin, and not in need of repentance, a point that John himself observes:

13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him.
  14 John would have prevented him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" - Matthew 3:13-14 ESV

But Jesus tells him that:

15 But Jesus answered him, "Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he consented.
  16 And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him;
  17 and behold, a voice from heaven said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased." - Matthew 3:15-17 ESV

This then, is a fufillment of prophecy from Isaiah:

3 A voice cries: "In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
  4 Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain.
  5 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken."  - Isaiah 40:3-5 ESV

So John was baptizing people in a symbolic ceremony of repentance before the lord.  Jesus was baptized in a symbolic ceremony of the fufillment of prophecy and ordination from the Father, through John.  In doing so, it establishes Jesus authority and ministry.
Secondarily, and like all of Jesus' actions, it gives us a model for what we should be doing on Earth.

18 And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
  19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
  20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." - Matthew 28:18-20 ESV

Most Protestant churches baptize today in a symbolic ceremony of the sins that are washed away through faith in Christ and as an outward public proclamation of the transformation happening inside the believer.
Comment: @BenNelson As you stated, it doesn't exist in the Old Testament, save for what you are referencing in Leviticus 16, washing before putting on the sacred garments.
Comment: While based on the Gospel of Matthew that makes sense, taken into context with the whole of the Old Testament it seems a little weak. I can see how the Pharisees would be so angry to jail him after reading through it. Nowhere does it give an example of baptism by immersion for the forgiveness of sins, only through a sin offering in the holiest of holies (holys? sp?).
Comment: @BenNelson Maybe its the reason why Jesus says that "there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist". IMHO the bigger difference between John and the OT prophets is the baptims institution.

Baptism in the New Testament


Is blender actually useable for engineering?

Question: A moving design would be the final goal, but first I need to build complex shapes based on geometry as 3D modeling for engineering.
Does blender have a work tree where you can rearrange the order of actions taken?  How do you manipulate basic shapes like circumference and length of a cylinder?  Can you extrude and revolve or array and mirror?  Are work planes easily defined and inter-related?
Comment: Blender isn't meant for CAD! I'm the developer who made that decision (and yes it was an explicit design decision); at the time we wanted to focus on small animation studios (this was 2009 or 2010 I think).
Comment: Can you be a little more specific? Blender can change the shape of basic geometry, and animate almost anything, but if you're wanting to do that in a particular way, that'd be helpful. "Does this SW have a work tree where you can rearrange the order of actions taken?" is a **great** question, but describing exactly what you need will be better. For example, Blender doesn't have a "work tree," but maybe it does what you need a different way?
Comment: If you are looking for free open-source CAD programs, there are FreeCAD and DesignSpark Mechanical. If you want CFD, there is OpenFOAM.
Comment: Blender uses Python as a text scripting language.  Blender has a constraint system and physics systems.  It has add-on visual programming tools.  You may need a tutorial series.  Here is one .........    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lY6KPrc4uMw&list=PLda3VoSoc_TR7X7wfblBGiRz-bvhKpGkS
Comment: It sounds like you're looking for parametric modelling with a history tree.  Try checking out http://www.openscad.org/ first, you may find that a more appropriate tool for your needs.  Blender *can* be used for engineering/technical stuff, but its main usage cases are for more entertainment stuff.
Answer: TL:DR Blender is a weak app for actual engineering work, it's not a CAD software. - Instead try free CAD apps like FreeCAD, NaroCAD, SolveSpace, DesignSpark Mechanical, OpenFoam for CFD and I am sure many others.
I can recommend Blender for modeling objects to which you already know their design and parameters and you are sure the shape is mostly final (like modeling your living room or a part that broke and you need to 3D print it). Good for organic modeling through sculpting too. Blender is an app designed for animation studios and entertainment industry. Engineering workflow in Blender is slow and full of workarounds. You'll be fine with simple shapes, but not with engineering anything slightly more complex.
The bad:

There are no work planes
The modeling workflow is generally destructive
The procedural stuff (modifier stack, object nodes,..) has big limitations
You cannot easily constrain geometry elements together (parallel, tangent, etc. relationships)
NURBS or parametric surface tools are practically non-existent, so everything will be made from polygons. This can bring whole lot of problems you don't want to deal with.
No easy export into technical drawings

The good:

There is modifier stack providing functionality like Mirror, Array, Revolve, Boolean, etc. The stack itself is like modeling history tree. But some of these modifiers do fail if they encounter non-manifold mesh or flipped polygon normals. It's not exactly fool-proof.
You can tag measurements with MeasureIt addon
Blender is quite capable with 3D printing your stuff with the help of 3D Print Toolbox addon
With Sverchok addon (or Object nodes that are coming into Blender) you can create geometry procedurally - it is similar to Rhino's grasshopper
Visualization of your models is top notch, you can go photoreal
Answer: It sounds like you're looking for a CAD-style modeler that can do node-style or procedural animation.
The short answer is, Yes, Blender is what you're looking for, but you might need some addons.
The longer answer is: It depends on exactly what you need. For example, Blender doesn't have a "Work Tree," specifically, but it does have Animation Nodes, which are a little like Unity blueprints. Blender also has a dope-sheet where you can record small animations, and then "rearrange the actions" to make a full animation. Blender also has an NLE (Non-Linear Editor) for editing video much like Final Cut Pro.
As for modeling, Blender is a mesh modeler by nature which means that elements don't have properties like "length" or "circumference" that can be modified directly. But there are some very powerful addons for making it a little more like AutoCAD, like the Measure-It addon (I seem to remember there being a more robust tool like this, maybe someone else remembers it and can edit my answer). There is also a full structural design addon called ArchMesh that makes building design and interior design super-easy.
Yes, Blender has tools for mirroring, arrays, lathe/spin, curve deform, and many other non-destructive approaches.
There's an addon for everything... and if there's not, it can be made ;-)
This site isn't great for lengthy discussions, though. Further discussion might be more fruitfull in the chat here, or in the forums on BlenderArtists.
Comment: Unity blueprints or Unreal blueprints? AFAIK Unity doesn't have blueprints like that.
Answer: First of all, like the other answers already said, blender is not a CAD program. This has its pros and cons. Where cad programs are very precise and require to know every single dimension, blender is more like: 'if it looks right, it is right'. Blender does not have constraints. This means that it is much easier (and an awfull lot quicker) to actually make most things in blender, but once you made them, it is really hard to make it fit the exact dimensions you want.
As an example, I recently designed something for 3D printing that had an axle inside a hole, which needed to have the right amount of space between them in order to make the axle capable of rotating without beeing too loose. I designed it in blender and just eyeballed it.

I have no idea what the exact dimensions of the axle are, but it works. It is not too loose and rotates just fine. However, if I would want to make the hole twice as big, there is no easy way of doing it that would also change the size of the axle to get the same perfect fit, while in a CAD program there is.
Another thing to watch out for is that blender does not work with shapes but with vertices, meaning that if you add a cylinder, it is not really a cylinder, but an object consisting out of a number of faces that is supposed to look like a cylinder. Objects in blender basically have a limited 'resolution', which you decide when you add an object, and depending on the model, it can be incredibly difficult to increase that 'resolution'.
I personally prefer blender for most of my design work, just because it is easy and quick, but whenever I need very precise dimensions and adaptability I switch to CAD.
Comment: Imho this answer is a bit misleading. In CAD the constraint system and ability to change things on the fly are essential. It is not true that in CAD you require to know every single dimension, quite on the contrary actually. In CAD you design stuff without knowing the dimensions and the final design comes together based on the constraints of the design. In Blender you have to know every dimension - by eyeballing it you define it (though visually which is easier than writing a number on paper and then using it). CAD is much about the design phase where you need everything procedural.
Comment: Exact dimensions of meshparts are not longer a problem. Ekaj2 made an addon with which you can scale a selected mesh part in world coordinates while you are in Edit mode. This should be imho included in Blender by default ... https://github.com/ekaj2/MeshTools
Answer: I don't know anything about a work tree or organizing actions, but I do know that if you can code it, you can add it into Blender.  Manuel Bastrioni has automated and parametrized making humanoids.
Yes, you can do parametric modeling in Blender.  First of all, cylinders are a core primitive mesh and are set with properties of r (radius, rather than circumference), height, and number of sides.  Second, you can enable add-ons to get even more basic meshes with different parameters.  Blender 3D Architect has a course on how to build your own parametric elements, and there's parametric objects out there for you.  Bastrioni's work mentioned above parametrizes all kinds of aspects of a figure (shape, expression, etc.).  I came across this post looking for a free tutorial, but the one I mentioned is only $30 right now.
Also, since this sort of relates to circumference and other properties, Blender allows you to set your units to SI (meters, cm, etc.), and to view the length of sides, area of faces, and angles of either.
Yes, you can extrude edges, vertices, and faces, and extruding has various options.  As do transformations (scaling, rotation, moving), which can be done in various Cartesian systems and around various points.  It has non-destructive modifiers, such as array and mirror, that enable you to generate and alter your mesh according to changeable properties.
IMHO, Blender is comparatively weak in terms of built in parametric modeling (its polygon modeling is very efficient, though).  That said, I generally find it easier to script a precise mathematical process than to do it by hand or through someone else's tools.  My main experience in this has been with materials, but if I want a relationship among elements to follow a specific equation, it's just easier for me to write that out.  Blender's community is quite strong when it comes to scripting, so there's a lot of tutorials on getting started coding scripts.
Also, all of its numeric inputs take math equations.  So, for instance, say you want to define a cylinder by circumference rather than radius.  You can actually put 10/(2*pi) in the r field.  You can set its units, and the relationship to units.
Yes, work planes are easily created.  I'm not sure what you mean by interrelated.  If you mean can you create work planes that have each other as parents (global > work plane 1> work plane 2 >... work plane n), then no.  But you can create as many as you want and switch between them easily.
It's definitely not a CAD tool. But it is kind of a "whatever you want to make it into" tool.  So very much of its growth has happened through add-ons that were so useful they got incorporated into the main distribution.  Individuals decided to give Blender new features, so it got stronger in those particular areas.
If you have absolutely no 3D needs beyond designing mechanical elements, then some other 3D tool would probably be better.  But if you want, say, mostly create precise mechanical designs, occasionally add cloth or flexible (soft body) elements to your designs, sometimes add regular polygon modeled elements (for instance, real world furniture or natural elements), maybe do some serious 3D painting and texture baking, and show off your designs in fully polished mini-commercials, then Blender is a lot better choice than having to create a workflow fragmented among several different pieces of software.


How to clean shaving kit bag

Question: I got a shaving kit bag which got my comb and other stuff as I have a beard but I am not ok with keeping my brush in it coz it hasn't been cleaned because I don't know how to. It doesn't smell or anything but I am hygiene conscious.
My question is how do I clean it as it is leather?
Comment: Is the bag "doubled" on the inside with another layer of fabric? Is the other fabric free, or glued to the leather? What is the material of the other fabric? Or: are the "tools" in direct contact with the leather?
Comment: Adding a picture would be a great help if it shows the parts you want to know more about and their construction. I'm not clear on the relationship of your beard/brush with the shaving kit bag.
Comment: I have a leather one that I put through the washing machine occasionally. It survives fine; are you amenable to this or is your washbag an expensive designer item?
Answer: For "generic" taking care of leather, the DIY way, I wrote some longer answer here. Please feel fee to use the advice you find there, even though the object is different.
Shortly, this is what I would do:

use some alcohol to remove dirt / grease;
apply a thin layer of grease for leather ("paraffin oil");
wait for the oil to permeate the leather, rub the excess oil with some cloth. If needed, gently use some alcohol-soaked cloth to remove excess oil.

If "deep" disinfection is desired, you may want to use a small UV-C lamp leave it on inside the bag for up to 30 min. Please search for businesses in your area; inquire about the smallest lamps they have.
If you use the lamp, be careful about these:

it will get hot, and if the bag is completely close, it might break;
if the lap gets any grease on the "glass" (it is actually quartz crystal), the lamp might again break;

The UV-C lamps, by design, use a small amount of mercury inside. If the lamp breaks, be careful not to inhale the mercury. You should use the setup in an area which is properly ventilated, to be safe in the case that the lamp breaks.

You probably already know this, but I write it for people who might not.

clean all tools right after use;
allow the tools time to properly dry before placing them back into the bag - especially the brush;
make sure that there is nothing leaking from any of the tools, bottles; I had the experience with shaving foam coming as sprays. After use, there was always some foam expanding from the top, even after cleaning. To have the tube properly clean, I needed to repeatedly wash the top to get rid of the foam. In the mean-while, I switched to the more practical paste in a tube (similar to tooth-paste).
Answer: It depends, how hygiene conscious are you ?
Even if disinfectants completely disinfects your leather case without harming it, it will quickly attract new bacteria and other pollution, and I highly doubt the leather will last frequent repeated treatments
this article for example says that

Sought-after leather 'it' bags provide the perfect conditions for bacteria to grow and spread, due to their spongy texture

and even oiled leather is still porous and can hide bacteria grows inside it.

How to clean shaving kit bag


Tab controlled website

Question: Has anyone designed a website where they have used the tab key on the keyboard as a primary method to navigate within the navigation of the website? I am doing a website where the client wants to rely a lot on usage of key "tab" on a keyboard rather than a mouse. Just don't have enough experience with this and was wondering if any of you could share your experience in a similar situation or any resources or online articles on it?
Comment: The only users I've ever seen to use tab to navigate anything are users in Excel. Only very web adept people even know to tab through forms. It lead us to never bother setting the `tabindex` attribute on our pages, no one was tabbing anyway. Not to say you should ignore tabbing, it can make filling in repeated forms much nicer; our users are very stable (employees) and we've had to assume they're just not going to use the feature.
Comment: Don't dismiss the huge amount of people who might mouse through a UI but still use the Tab key to fill forms. It's a common practice taught to people well outside of the sphere of 'IT' - with mental associations in users of old mainframe based systems and even Universities recommending the technique on their web sites, it's a far more common than you might think. Definitely an exception to the stereotype of "mouse-only-newbies", I will also *rain down hellfire* upon anyone who suggests tab key usage is irrelevant. When designing, ***tab order is CRITICAL to establish*** for logical navigation.
Answer: Well, you shouldn't really be asking other designers - you should be asking your users. They might have very different expectations to web-adept IT professionals. That being said, I expect that you'll still get the same answer - 'no'. In usability tests, I can't recall seeing many users rely on keyboard navigation.
More to the point, tab keys have a particular meaning on the web: they change the focus on page elements. Anything that disrupts that paradigm is going to confuse people. Even if your users rely on other tools or services where the Tab key has a particular meaning, that doesn't mean they'll instinctively apply the same assumptions to your website.
Sometimes, people will suggest you can get around that with helptext. That won't work. Users do not read ancillary text on websites - they have other priorities.
Now, if your tab key's meaning doesn't disrupt convention (it just shifts focus on elements and fields in your pages), and if the user can still rely on their mouse, fine. But anything else sounds like a bad idea. If your client still insists, though, then conduct a usability test by all means.
Comment: Thanks for your time Jimmy. I probably should have mentioned that I already have spoken to my users and they do feel they want to use tab to control the flow. My user is not a IT admin/power user, however they are medical billing consultant and deal with 1000 of forms and 100's of tables a day. For them time is a very big factor when it comes to success of user experience. I disagree with most of your comment but it's not your fault as I didn't explain the context very well. I didn't mean to ask other designers to help me design, I believe in learning from their experience and improving.:)
Comment: Just to give you a hint into the user data, age group of 18-25 don't like to use mouse. Mouse is technological device which will not last more than 10-15 years, so keys like tab will take prominence. Windows 8 developer version does a good job and proves the direction I mentioned. Thanks
Comment: If you're dealing with tables, then yes, tabbing is appropriate, and a tab's action in a table is similar to that in a web form. Still, do make sure your UI clearly deploys the conventions of a spreadsheet and do still support mouse-led actions. That metric about young people not using mice sounds a bit dubious.
Comment: Also: when I tell you to ask your users, I'm not telling you 'do your own work'. I'm telling you: real user research will grant you far more than asking a designer who doesn't know the context.

Tab controlled website


Which public cloud supports vMotion / live migration to and from a private cloud?

Question: Microsoft's Hyper-V has a live migration feature which is similar to VMware's vMotion.  I would assume that one or more public clouds (e.g., AWS, Azure, etc.) have a feature that supports a drag and drop of a server or a Docker container to and from a private cloud.  Is this correct?  If so, which public cloud has the best offering for this ability?  Is Jelastic needed to make this happen?
Comment: This question is asking for ___opinions___ about a feature of a number of services and comparisons between __services__ - this is not within the scope of SR which is about recommending which __Software__ to use for a given set of requirements.
Answer: Google and some other cloud providers use live migration for its internal needs, for example for hardware maintenance, but none of them provides live migration from private to public cloud.
Jelastic introduced live migration for end users with help of containers technology. It can be installed on top of many IaaS providers (public or private) or directly on top of bare metal hardware, as result you are able to configure the live migration from private to public cloud or from public to public, for example from AWS to Azure (back and forward).

There is a good high level overview of the live migration technology, the problems it solves and possible bottlenecks https://www.infoq.com/articles/container-live-migration


Item Created Event for Web database and send email

Question: I have a requirement to send a email to subscribers once a blog will be available publicly. Requirement is very specific that email will be send only one time when item is created, not on update or multiple publishing. We will use EXM automated campaign to send email through code . I would like to know best approach to track the availability of item in web database and send email.
Answer: I would use item:created event handler, because this is only fired once, when the item is published. (Publish creates the item in web database).
It isn't fired multiple times, even if you create a new version from the item or republish the item instead of smart publish.
<code> public void OnItemCreated(object sender, EventArgs args)
    {
        Item item = ((Sitecore.Data.Events.ItemCreatedEventArgs)(Event.ExtractParameter(args, 0))).Item;

        if (item == null)
        {
            return;
        }

        if (item.Database.Name == "web")
        {
            // Send your mail
        }
    }
</code>
Do not forget to register this at "item:created" event in your config
Comment: Arvai, unfortunately this code will not work as item create fires only when item get created in master. I didn't find any code/event where i can capture itemcreated event for web database.
Comment: I've tested with Sitecore 9 and it is fired when item created in web database (by a publish). if you tried, can you share your config and your code? and yes, this event is also fired when item is created in master db, but you check the current database is web or master.


General Dynamics of a Tradable Asset under the Risk Neutral Measure

Question: Is it true that every tradable asset must have a log-normal dynamics under the risk neutral measure where the drift term is the short rate $r$? I.e., is it true that if $X$ is a tradable asset then
$$\frac{\mathrm{d}X(t)}{X(t)} = r(t)\mathrm{d}t + \sigma(t, X(t))\mathrm{d}W(t),$$
where $W$ is a Brownian motion under the risk neutral measure for some $\sigma$ (which may or may not be deterministic)?
Comment: My point being the $r$ is there because if $X$ is a tradable it must be the case that $dX = rXdt + \sigma(X,t) dW$ so that the expected return of the asset under RN is the same as the money market account to prevent arbitrage. That is the reason for the $r$. So no, it cannot take just any form, but it doesn't have to be lognormal either.
Comment: If $X$ is a tradable and you want to price a derivative on $X$, then yes you need $r$ as the drift, i.e. you need to price the claim *as if* the drift of $X$ is $r$.
Comment: As you clearly know the drift term must be $r$ then you also know that the expected return of a tradable under the risk neutral measure should be the same as the expected return of the money market account, right? There is a reason that the drift term must be $r$.
Comment: My question is not about the drift term, which has to $r$, but about the log-normality of the process. In principle it could be something of the form $dX(t) = r(t)dt + \sigma(t, X(t))dW(t)$ right?
Comment: I'd say that as long as the discounted price process is a martingale, it can be any distribution, doesn't have to be log-normal.
Answer: Our market has a tradeable asset $S$ and a risk-less money market account $B$, that is, the numéraire of the risk-neutral measure. We assume the following standard conditions, which are widely applicable to most common models:

We work in an Itô diffusion setting, and neglect jump modelling:
$$\begin{align}
& dS_t=\mu(t,S_t)dt+\sigma(t,S_t)dW^S_t
\\
& dB_t=r(t,B_t)dt + \varsigma(t,B_t)dW^B_t
\end{align}$$
The money market account $B$ has no stochastic contribution (because it is riskless):
$$\varsigma \equiv0$$
Local martingales are martingales.

The exact requirement is that the discounted asset price is a martingale under the risk-neutral measure, and we want to determine the expression of the drift term $\mu(\cdot)$ $-$ note that all dynamics are expressed under the risk-neutral measure. Per our assumptions, this is equivalent to saying that there exists a function $\eta(\cdot)$ and a Brownian Motion $W$ such that:
$$d\left(\frac{S_t}{B_t}\right)=\eta(t,S_t,B_t)dW_t$$
Applying Itô's Lemma:
$$\begin{align}
d\left(\frac{S_t}{B_t}\right)
&=\frac{1}{B_t}dS_t-\frac{S_t}{B_t^2}dB_t+\frac{S_t}{B_t^3}d[B,B]_t-\frac{1}{B_t^2}d[S,B]_t
\\
&=\frac{1}{B_t}dS_t-\frac{S_t}{B_t^2}dB_t
\end{align}$$
In order to cancel the drift contributions in the above equation, we need to have:
$$\begin{align}
\mu(t,S_t)=r(t,B_t)\frac{S_t}{B_t}
\end{align}$$
That is, the drift of the asset needs to be equal to the drift of the money market account, adjusted by the price ratio between the asset and the MMA.

Continuously compounded interest model: if $B$ is exponential, that is $r(t,B_t)=rB_t$, then:
$$\mu(t,S_t)=rS_t$$
Simple interest model: if on the other hand $B$ is linear, that is $r(t,B_t)=rB_0$, then:
$$\mu(t,S_t)=rB_0\frac{S_t}{B_t}$$
In this case, note that $B_t=B_0(1+rt)$, so if $B_0=1$, we have the following solution to the SDE for the asset price:
$$S_t=S_0(1+rt)\exp\left\{-\frac{1}{2}\sigma^2t+\sigma W^S_t\right\}$$

In practice, the money market account is always assumed to have an exponential form because it is the most sensible way to represent mathematically such a security. Because the dynamics of the money market account will restrict the drift of the asset (if we are to ensure the martingale requirement), the drift of the asset will be $rS_t$ in most models. However, the model might not necessarily be log-normal. For example, the Bachelier model is usually specified as follows:
$$dS_t=rS_tdt+\sigma dW_t^S$$
which corresponds to a normal distribution for $S$.


Where does the phase difference come from in a Josephson Junction?

Question: When you separate two superconductors by a thin insulating film, a current $I(t)=I_0 \sin{\theta(t)}$ flows between the superconductors, where $\theta$ is the phase difference between the superconducting order parameters.  Where does this phase difference come from?  Does it come from initial conditions?
Comment: @Anupam: $\sin\theta(t)$ is a perfectly standard way of specifying $\sin(\theta(t))$. We use this notation to save multiple brackets, just as we often write $\sin\theta$ instead of $\sin(\theta)$. If that is the reason for your downvote it is unjustified.
Comment: @Anupam: why is it dimensionally incorrect? The dimensions seem fine to me. $\sin\theta$ is dimensionless and the dimensions of $I$ and $I_0$ obviously match.
Comment: @JohnRennie As I said in my previous comment I could not understand the Latex. If $\theta$ is the phase diff. then $I(t)=I_0\sinθ(t)$ seems dimensionaly incorrect.
Comment: Is it $(\sin \theta)t$ or $\sin(\theta\times t)$.
Answer: The short answer is it comes from the current and/or voltage difference applied across the junction.
A longer answer should be of interest I believe, so here it goes.
The phase in the superconductor circuit stands for a redundant degree of freedom that you can never measure. This redundancy is important: it somehow means that a voltage is meaningless whereas a voltage-drop can be measured, and that a flux requires a closed loop to be measured as well. So it is just a way to discuss charges dynamics at the quantum level if you wish.
NB: I introduce the phase as a redundancy ; electrical engineers prefer to refer to flux node and voltage loop to discus the duality between current and voltage in circuit (along the duality between loop and node in 2D networks), see e.g. Quantum fluctuations in electrical circuits by M. Devoret (1997, free version easily found by Googling a bit) or the first years lectures by M. Devoret at Collège de France (in french). These nodes and loops are as unphysical as a redundant degree of freedom: at the end of the day, you measure voltage-drops and flux-around-loops, and that's it.
Now let's have a look at the current-voltage relation of a Josephson junction, picture taken from this website.

You see that there is a region of zero voltage and still a finite current in the diagram (plain curve). Of course this corresponds to the superconducting current violating the Ohm's law $V=RI$ (represented as the dashed line on the figure), since $R=0$ in superconductors. So what's happening there ? Well, the phase adapts itself such that the current flows. So we may prefer to write that the phase is given by the current-phase relation
$$\varphi=\arcsin\dfrac{I}{I_{c}}$$
instead of the more common Josephson (first-)relation $I=I_{c}\sin\varphi$. These two rewritings are strictly equivalent as long as $I\leq I_{c}$.
Next the question: what's happening for currents larger that the critical one: $I\geq I_{c}$ ? Clearly, the phase $\varphi\in\left[0,2\pi\right]$ is no more a correct solution of the above relation. Nevertheless, this just means that we forgot to take into account the normal (non-superconducting) component of the current. We can nevertheless guess that a more complete current-phase-voltage relation should be
$$I=I_{c}\Theta\left(I+I_{c}\right)\sin\varphi+\dfrac{V}{R}\Theta\left(I-I_{c}\right)$$
with $\Theta$ the step function. This is the current-phase-voltage relation you see on the picture: no voltage below the critical current since the phase redundancy allows for superconducting currents up to the critical current, and no supercurrent above the critical current when Ohm's law is verified.
Unfortunately this relation is never verified experimentally, since there are some non-linear effects for $I\geq I_{c}$ in real junctions. But the main picture remains: below a critical value (corresponding to the maximum number of Cooper pairs that can be formed across the tunnelling barrier) there is a super current flowing without resistance, and at higher current intensity you start opening normal conducting channels having some resistance. A even larger voltage you recover the linear Ohm's law.
To ensure that electromagnetism is not violated in quantum circuit, one needs also to verify
$$\dfrac{\hbar}{2e}\dfrac{d\varphi}{dt}=V$$
which is nothing more than the Faraday's equation applied to the phase-difference of Cooper pairs, hence the charge $2e$ appearing (recall the engineers jargon of node-flux? here it has some interests). It is sometimes called the second-Josephson relation. So a voltage also can change the phase in a dynamic way. The previous discussion about current is valid also in the static / quasi-static situation, when the phase adapts itself instantaneously to the current change.
Of course, once again, everything is more complicated at the microscopic level, but I think I gave you the raw picture.
Comment: It's not that a current *must be* at $V=0$, it's just that, if you current-bias the junction, there will be no voltage drop, whereas the phase changes so that $I=I_{c}\sin\varphi$ is verified, $I$ being the bias current in that case. A flowing current without associated voltage drop is the hallmark of superconductivity electromagnetism (with the Meißner effect). If you choose to voltage-bias the junction, then you induce dynamics according to the second-Josephson relation $\dot{\varphi}=2eV/\hbar$. The associated dc-voltage is still zero then.
Comment: The integration constant is determined by the value of the phase at $t=0$, as usual. You can choose $C=0$ for superconductors in equilibrium at $t=0$. I'm not sure you get it correctly: applying a voltage generates currents, but applying current does not necessarily generates a voltage: look at the current-voltage characteristic one more time :-) So finite voltage means current (the second Josephson relation tells you that this current is oscillating / ac-current), but finite dc-current $I\leq I_{c}$ means no voltage. Michael Tinkham's book on superconductivity should give you further details.
Comment: Please see also the answer http://physics.stackexchange.com/a/107129/16689 overlaps mine for the dynamics contribution due to the second-Josephson-relation. I completed it with the discussion fo current and quasi-static effects.
Comment: Thanks. This was well explained.  Why must there be a current at $V=0$?  Why not $I=0$?
Comment: I am beginning to understand now.  So, if we tie both superconductors to a common voltage $V$, there will be no current?  And from $\dot{\phi}=2eV/\hbar$, $\phi =2eVt/\hbar+C$.  What determines the integration constant?
Answer: When an isolated superconductor goes through the superconducting transition, $T_c$, a symmetry is broken. The electrons above $T_c$ have an assortment of different phases, whereas below they "choose" one macroscopic phase. This "choice" is analogous to that of a magnetic material going through its Curie temperature or the 'ball on a sombrero' example. This choice undoubtedly depends upon the properties of the individual elements before going through the transition, but not in an obvious way and for all intents and purposes the choice is arbitrary.
The two superconducting elements comprising a Josephson junction can initially be thought of as two isolated superconductors each randomly selecting a phase. It is therefore highly unlikely that they would both select the same. Once in the superconducting state the two systems become coupled and will influence one another (The free energy of a standard junction is minimized when the phase difference between the two superconducting elements is zero). Again this can be thought of as analogous to two magnetic elements being brought together whereby they will tend to align and fall into an energy minimum.
Comment: Thanks.  What I meant to ask was: what determines the phase that the superconductor starts with?  Is it completely random?  If I take a superconductor, break it into two, will the Josephson current between them be zero at $V=0$ because they have the same phase?
Answer: Perhaps it is worth asking, "Why would the order parameters have the same phase?" But the phase difference $\phi$ across a Josephson junction can be forced to change by the application of a voltage across the junction,
$$U(t) = \frac{\hbar}{2 e} \frac{\partial \phi}{\partial t}$$
where $U(t)$ is the applied bias. The picture I have in my head is - the condensate on one side of the junction now has a higher energy, and so its phase evolves more rapidly, just as we find for higher energy solutions to the Schrödinger equation, in, say, a square well. Any other way of forcing the sides of the junction to have an energy difference will have the same effect.
As always, the wiki page is informative, and a useful device to test your understanding of this physics would be, of course, the SQUID.
Comment: I would have assumed that if we prepared two superconductors in the exact same way at the exact same time (of course, experimentally impossible), they would have the same phase.  Or is that wrong?  Is there something else that determines the initial phase?


What's a good idiom or phrase that expresses that someone is corrupt and is working for a company or someone?

Question: What's a good idiom or phrase that expresses that someone is corrupt and is working for a company or someone? There are political shows where it was used, but I don't remember exactly what the expression was, so I am wondering if someone knows what the phrase or idiom might be or know another idiom or phrase than the one I forgot about.
Answer: Such a person can be said to have a hidden agenda:

A secret or ulterior motive for something.

'They want to be certain that government officials don't have a hidden agenda.'
'But nothing concrete is happening, and the politicians are busy pursuing their own goals and hidden agendas rather than focussing on peace and security in the country.'

(source: Oxford Dictionaries)
Answer: There is the idiom in somebody's pocket. TFD defines it like this:

in (one's) pocket
Under one's control or influence, especially in an underhanded or unethical way, such as by bribery or extortion.
It's pretty obvious that our national legislators are all in corporate bigwigs' pockets!
I hear that the boss has half the police force in his pocket.

Here is the expression used in a 2010 article from The Atlantic:

Democrats have been accusing Republicans of being in Big Oil's pocket for years, ever since Vice President Dick Cheney's energy policy task force.

and here's another example from Time (2014):

D.C.'s teachers union spent $1 million to defeat the mayor who appointed her and elect a corrupt mayor who is in the union's pocket.


Criteria for a good screenplay

Question: I read a few screenplays and i am a bit confused how the quality of a screenplay is judged by the Osacar panel.  It is not as obvious to judge the quality of a screenplay as opposed to the quality of cinematography or sound editing or acting.
Are there any authoritative sources that spell out how to evaluate screenplays so as to separate the good from the ordinary? What do they say?
Comment: @NeilFein: I'm still learning my way around the Writers site, so please do whatever is best for "here." But FWIW, on my "stronger" sites (History and Board & Card Games), my fix is adequate. The reason is while, "I believe that..." is an opinion that is frowned upon at SE, "The opinion of Michael Hauge (a recognized expert) is that..." is treated as a "fact" (about Michael Hauge). http://history.stackexchange.com/questions/8615/why-did-stephen-ambrose-believe-that-the-election-of-aaron-burr-would-have-led-t
Comment: How do you tell a good novel from a bad novel? It's the same. There are minor things to consider, like cost vs effect of SFX (it really doesn't take much effort to describe a huge, crowded spaceport in Sci-fi book. Not so in sci-fi movie, and if it's just an insignificant background to a scene that could be placed elsewhere without loss of quality, that is a reckless waste of resources.) or actor's ability to display feelings or subtly signal things that might or might not be missed by the audience of visual medium, but the essence is the same: a captivating story.
Comment: @Neil Fein: I edited the question to ask for "authoritative" (expert) sources, and wonder if the question can be reopened in its current form.
Comment: @JohnSmithers What do you think of Tom's edit? This technically answers our concerns, but the question isn't substantially different.
Comment: @NeilFein: I just noticed that John Smithers hasn't been on the site since January 10, that is, nearly two months ago. It may be weeks or months before he returns. If we want the input of other high rep members of the site, should I ask a question about this on meta?
Comment: @TomAu - Sure, sounds good.
Answer: There are at least two ways to read a screenplay - as literature and as specification. Oscar reviewers, as peers in the movie industry, read for both.
The document must describe a filmable movie, using the correct technical language and perspective. I can write a script about oranges or plate tectonics but I can't make that filmable, any more than a blueprint of a Tipler time travel cylinder makes the thing actually buildable.
The screenplay must also give the director enough cues to tell a story without being overly specific - it needs to invite input from the director and department heads without being a connect-the-dots exercise or so overly specific that it would have to be taken apart and rebuilt to be filmable.
Once the technical criteria is met the aesthetic kicks in - is the screenplay interesting? Does it have a good story, compelling settings? Is the conflict and arc clear? Do the characters relate to each other believeably, no matter how fantastic the world? Can I read the screenplay and at the end understand the story before any images are recorded?
In summary - the screenplay is the functional specificaiton of a movie. It has to fill three prerequisites and the ones that surpass these by the most would, in a just world, be the Oscar candidates.

Can we read it?
Could we film it?
Do we want to make the effort?

Criteria for a good screenplay


Evidence of orbitals?

Question: How do we know that there are different types of orbitals? For example, what evidence is there for the existence of $\mathrm{p}$ orbitals instead of there being multiple $\mathrm{s}$ orbitals (for example, why isn't the electronic configuration of sodium $\mathrm{1s^1, 2s^2, 2s^2, 2s^2, 2s^2, 3s^2}$ instead of $\mathrm{1s^2 2s^2 2p^6 3p^1}$)?
Comment: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystal_field_theory provides evidence for existance of orbitals with lower symmetries.
Answer: Let me approach this another way than the others: orbitals are NOT physical objects! They do  not exist in physical sense, they are theoretical constructs, chemical concepts that help understand / visualize / etc. mathematical solutions of Schrodinger / Dirac / Kohn–Sham / etc. equations.
Orbitals are not unique: given linear combinations are equivalent with each other, and there is no "correct orbitals", one can choose whichever they like. Canonical orbitals, natural orbitals etc are all good to go.
What is the evidence they exist? They do not exist, they are just mathematical solutions for given equations, and it is a purely mathematical question if they are good solutions for those equations or not. The theories themselves are consistent with experimental data, e.g. spectroscopic properties, geometries, reactivity.
Comment: The answer that I personally was looking for.
Comment: @Greg wote, "They do not exist"  Electrons exist and they occupy regions with probabilities defined by equations.  These regions may have different spatial functions.  "Orbital" is a word that can be used to describe that spatial function\distribution of electrons. In that sense of the word, orbitals exist, just as the spatial distribution of the electron exists.  Perhaps this is more a semantics issue.
Comment: It is not semantic issue. Which one exist? Canonical ones? NBOs? Or some of their rotations?
Comment: "given linear combinations are equivalent with each other" if we are talking about energy
Comment: @Antimon 1) OK, clarifying: not all are equivalent, only an infinite subset of them... Still, it doesn't make them neither unique, nor physical, only the solutions of one-electron given approximations.  2) Orbital energies are only meaningful as approximations. Also, which one? HF? DFT? 3) The question was for proof for orbitals. Just because orbital energies can be useful approximations, it doesn't mean they are proof. Two-body solutions for the Earth's orbital are useful, but they are not a proof that only two body exist in the universe.
Comment: 1. Not all linear combinations are equivalent, only unitary transformations. 2. This also only holds true if we look at the overall energy of the system. If we were to assume that orbital energies themselves are physically meaningful, then this does not hold anymore. 3. The question whether orbital energies are in any way observable harks back to the old question about how to interpret the photoelectron spectrum of methane and its distinct 3+1 intensity pattern. To this day I still haven't found a satisfying answer.
Answer: The answer lies with experimental chemistry, specifically successive ionisation energies (i.e how much energy is required to remove the first electron, the second electron, the third electron and so on).

Each point on the graph corresponds to an element. The first one is hydrogen, the second is helium.
The height of each point shows how much energy is required to remove the first electron.
You can note that generally, the energy increases over a period. This is because In each successive element there is one more proton, and this stronger nuclear charge 'hold the outer electrons' more tightly.
Now to explain your question. Observe that within a period (e.g the 3rd dot to the 10th), it is not a constant increase. You can see that between the 4th-5th there is a slight drop, likewise between the 7th-8th.
The explanation for this is the sub orbitals. Some knowledge you need to know is that electron sub shells are only stable when empty, full, or half full (if you need an explanation for this comment on it later).
Let us examine the fourth dot, which represents Beryllium. It has an electronic config of 1s2 2s2. All of its sub orbitals are full, meaning that it is quite stable.
Compare it to the 5th dot, boron. Boron has a config of 1s2 2s2 3p1. Now the P orbital has room for 6 electrons, but this only has 1! It is not happy. It is not full or half full. Because of this it is trying to 'get rid' of the electron to be more stable. That's why it doesn't require so much energy to remove the outer electron.
The decrease between the 6th and 7th is explained by the fact that the p orbital is stable when empty, full or half full. The 7th dot (nitrogen) has 3 electrons in its p orbital (half full). Contrasted with oxygen, which has 4/6. This is not stable, so less energy is required to remove it.
TL-DR:  By analysing the ionisation energy graphs, we can see patterns that can be explained by sub orbitals.
If you need a more basic/complex explanation, comment.
Comment: I'd be a bit careful about the whole sub-shells being stable with empty, half-filled, and filled description. Slater's rules suggest these are general tendencies, but not the only story when you get into the transition metals and lanthanides/actinides. But that's a minor quibble.
Answer: Oh, I suspect someone could come up with a "s-orbital only" view of chemistry, much like people came up with complicated models for an Earth-centered view of the universe.
Let's start with the simple fact that solving quantum mechanics for a hydrogen atom gives you solutions for s, p, d, f, g.. orbitals, and even the degeneracy (i.e., that there is one s-type orbital, three p-type, five d-type, etc.) based on the angular momentum.
As described above, solutions for the many-electron equations (albeit approximate) match up very nicely with experimental observations for ionization energies, electron affinities, etc.
So an elegant theory and experiment agree to a remarkable degree.
Beyond that, we know that there must be non-spherical orbitals because we see molecular shapes with bond angles. I cannot come up with any way to describe a tetrahedral methane (let alone anything else) without some sort of non-spherical orbital.
Moreover, when we look at reactivities of molecules, we see reactions occurring where we predict lone pairs or radical spin-density, etc.
While orbitals are truly a mathematical construct, we find they are incredibly predictive of a wide range of chemistry. So my response would be "how can we think there are not different kinds of orbitals?"
Comment: Given the simplicity of s orbitals, people have tried using 's-orbital only' basis sets and just placing a crap ton of these orbitals all over a molecular space rather than using a smaller number of more 'accurate' atomic orbitals.  Interesting concept.
Comment: Technically you can describe everything with sin/cos functions, too, yet it doesn't mean that the vacuum has tons of orbitals that look like a sic/cos function. Let's distinguish model from physical reality, especially in places where the model is strictly for tied to an approximation.
Comment: Minor quibble - the tetrahedron of methane could easily be described as resulting from a spherical C^4- surrounded by four point positive charges. The tetrahedron optimizes the repulsion of the positive charges from each other while keeping them all at the same distance. Not a criticism of your answer in general, just the choice of methane as the example that requires nonspherical orbitals.
Answer: While I really like the other answers, the 21th century evidence here is that we have images of these orbitals thanks to atomic force microscopy (AFM).

http://www.themarysue.com/electron-orbital-pictures/

As getafix pointed out, these are actually images of spatial electron density distributions by the examined molecules. The actual evidence here, that the model which uses the orbital term predicts the same distributions as we measured with AFM.
Comment: What you evidence of orbitals, can just as easily be called evidence of regions of electron density. ;) So is orbital a real thing or just a description of the spatial distribution of electrons. Electrons are real, regions with a high probability of finding them are real, but are orbitals? food for thought..
Comment: @getafix Nice thoughts. :-) This depends on the definition of orbitals. So yes these images are evidence that there is a spatial electron density distribution and that distribution is very similar to the prediction of the limited mathematical model which uses this orbital term. Usually this is enough to prove a hypothesis. E.g. by general relativity such a prove was that by a solar eclipse they were able to check how the gravity of the Sun bends the space and so starlight...
Comment: @getafix But yes you are right, I could rephrase the text. So these are not images of orbitals, but images of electron density distributions which are the same as the model predicts.
Comment: Well is also somehow similar to fields. While iron filings gives directly the field lines, and in this case more steps are needed, in both case we need a physical handle to picture the underlying thing. Is much of semantic.
Comment: Not even electron distribution: only a slice of those close to the  Fermi level.
Answer:
How do we know that there are different types of orbitals?

In the early days of atomic spectroscopy scientists were able to explain the spectral properties of elements like hydrogen and sodium.  Atoms of these elements had a single electron in the outermost shell and produced spectra that fit with (what we now view as) the relatively simplistic Bohr theory of the atom.  When more complex atoms were examined spectroscopically, fine structure was observed that the Bohr theory could not explain.  These spectral lines were often referred to as sharp, principal, diffuse and fundamental.
As quantum mechanics emerged, the concept of the 4 quantum numbers being needed to describe an electron surfaced.  It was found that the spectral fine structure could now be explained when these various quantum states were taken into account.  To honor the work done by the early spectroscopists (that led to the development of a better theory), scientists used their "s, p, d, f" notation to describe the various values for the angular momentum quantum number $\ell$.
So although the observations made by the early spectroscopists couldn't be explained at the time, it turns out that they were actually observing spectral transitions involving other orbitals (p, d, f) in addition to those involving the s orbital.  The observation of this spectral fine structure requires the presence of orbitals that are different from s orbitals.

Evidence of orbitals?


Is it a FERPA violation for instructor to display grades in public computer file system?

Question: My instructor placed grade sheets for our first two projects into a "Dropbox" file system which has absolutely no access control.  So not only every student could see every other student's grades and written assessments, but anyone walking into the college library could sit down at a computer and look at our grades without having to present any kind of credentials whatsoever.
Comment: Two things: 1) If a student's name - is attached to a grade, then yes. If it was by student ID, perhaps not. 2) I suggest you do not talk smack about other students, saying that they are "considered too dumb to work with credentials and access controls."
Comment: Is this a college-wide approach to grading? Or just your instructor's approach?
Comment: I don't understand -- your instructor put the grade sheets in a public dropbox folder, that anyone with the link could access?  I can see that this is not secure, but I don't understand how any Tom, Dick or Harry would find out where to look for that file, when sitting down at a computer in the college library.  Did the instructor include a link to the files from his or her home page, or course webpage?  Also, please clarify how the students are identified in the grade sheets.
Answer: FERPA prohibits public posting of grades together with students' names or social security numbers (including last 4 digits of SSN).  (This prohibition includes, but is not limited to, posting grades where other students in the class can see one another's grades.)
(FERPA's treatment of student IDs depends on whether they are treated as personally identifiable information - in which case student IDs can not be disclosed in a way that allows student IDs to be matched to individual students - or whether they are treated as electronic identifiers, in which case they can be disclosed as "directory information" but may not be used to post grades. See this document for further details.)
In general, FERPA allows schools to put educational records in the "cloud", but places certain restrictions on how these records must be protected. Some "enterprise" or "education" versions of cloud services are FERPA-compliant (or can be made FERPA-compliant through special arrangement with the provider), and can be used to store educational records. A few "consumer"-grade cloud services are also FERPA compliant. Personal Dropbox accounts (not including Dropbox Business) are not, and should not be used to store FERPA-protected records, even as private Dropbox files that require authentication to view. See e.g. guidelines at UC Davis, University of Michigan, University of Oregon, University of Utah.
Comment: @rturnbull FERPA prohibits the disclosure of "personally identifiable information from education records". All grades, test scores, project scores, etc. that are recorded by the instructor are considered education records, not only final grades.
Comment: Since the OP's case is not final grades, just grades for 2 projects (out of many, presumably), is this necessarily a FERPA violation? The students' final grades can't necessarily be inferred from the posted grades of the first 2 projects. (Regardless, I agree that this was a bad move on the professor's part.)
Comment: Ah, thanks for the clarification. I'm a little rusty on the law (I live in Europe).


Add unique class to webform radio form-item div

Question: Can anyone point me in the right direction to show, how to add a unique class to the webform select options container divs .form-item? I would like to theme these divs surrounding the each radio button with a different background image. I don't really care what the class is, numbers, the key, etc. just as long as I can target it in my css.
Answer: You can add particular css while creating that field in webform configuration itself.See below section in your webform

For this particular clas you can add css in your code.
Comment: Indeed, I know that is there. I was referring to putting a unique class on each radio button to style each option differently.


Reason for rise in evangelical observance of Lent in the United States

Question: I grew up and continue to live in the United States.  Maybe it's just me, but I was always been under the impression that Ash Wednesday and Lent were celebrated by Catholics and not really by anyone else.  Apparently I was wrong and some Protestant denominations do and have always celebrated it.  Even so, it does seem like within the low-church denominations (e.g. Baptists, Methodists, Pentecostals) the practice has always been eschewed.  Again, maybe I'm wrong, but it just seems like evangelicals observing these holy days has been becoming more and more popular.  Firstly, am I mistaken?  Secondly, if I'm not mistaken, is there some documented reason for this?
Comment: I don't think you are mistaken at all. Personally, I am heartened by the hunger (especially among young people) to enjoin more liturgical/sacramental ('high' church) practices and traditions. It's an ancient faith after all. Thanks for this question. Signed, an Episcopalian Lent observer. :)
Answer: While observance of lent is definitely on the rise; this is especially true of Denominations closely related to the Catholic and Orthodox Denominations, as is commonly known both in the Christian and non Christian societies. I can only speak for my Southern Baptist faith.
In most of our churches fasting is being more emphasized, as a strengthening factor for prayer. And that precept is based on:

Matthew 17:20 and 21 NKJV  So Jesus said to them, "Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. 21  However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting."

and:

Mark 9:25 through 29 NKJV  When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, "Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!" 26  Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him. And he became as one dead, so that many said, "He is dead." 27  But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. 28  And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, "Why could we not cast it out?" 29  So He said to them, "This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting."

My personal opinion is that as the World as a whole becomes more and more evil, while Christian attitude among the general public wanes, and God is increasingly being removed from Society more and more Christians are adding fasting to their prayer vigil. This is the prevalent attitude among my co-members.


Usage of permissive BSD license

Question: I want to start one e-commerce site , for which i chose the backbone framework which is under permissive BSD license , can i use it for commercial purpose. what are the things do i need to keep in mind. Do i require any permission from author. Or what are the requirements to use that framework in my code base.
Answer: Yes you can. No you don't need permissions. The license text is pretty clear to this effect.

Usage of permissive BSD license


Intonation problem: My 12th fret harmonic is on my 13th fret

Question: So I've been trying to fix my guitar intonation recently because my B string is awful. However, when guides say that the 12th fret should be the same as the harmonic on that fret, it gets a bit more difficult when that 12th fret harmonic is on the 13th fret instead. Also, the 13th fret itself is the same note as the open note. So is my guitar intonation a whole fret flat? Ive tried fastening the screws but they're as tight as they can go and it's still the 13th fret. I've seen no help anywhere for this issue and I have no idea what to do.
Comment: Is(/was) it just that one string that had this issue, and the others are(/were) all fine? Did you manage to resolve it?
Answer: Sounds like your 12th fret is too low, since you need to move up the fretboard to the 13th fret to get the note you should be getting on the 12th, so you need to move the bridge saddle towards the pickups, which is the opposite of what you're doing.
You want to shorten the length of your string, and by tightening the screw you're lengthening it.
Could also be something wrong with your B string, since it sounds like that's the only one you're having trouble with.
Answer: The 12th fret is exactly half way down the string. If you are getting the octave and harmonic at 13, then you need to move the saddle forward, towards the pups and neck. Measure the 0-12 fret distance, and then measure 12 fret to saddle. they should be the same, but it sounds like your first measurement will be short, by about 1/2". B saddle on most guitars is farther back than the others, about level with that of the 6th string. Measuring is just a rough guide - it needs doing as you were, using 12th fret harmonic. Some actually check by playing 12 fret note, then fretting on 13, and plucking the string above the fretboard. It's a good guide.
Comment: Well, the harmonic should be a tad bit down from the 12th fret (to the 13th) because when you press the string, the tension slightly increases which in return increases the pitch.
Comment: @yo' - interesting thought. I've never ever done that, as the action is sufficiently good after I've fettled, that it's not necessary.
Answer: Did you or someone else put a new neck on the guitar? It sounds like whoever did the replacement used the wrong scale neck. Fender types are longer than Gibson types by about one fret. This could explain the scenario you've described.
Comment: welcome to Music.SE! This sounds like the start of a great answer to me. To complete the answer, could you add a recommendation on how to proceed? Could the user fix this him/herself? Do you advise going to a professional? Perhaps you could offer some guidance on how to do the replacement? Thanks for sharing your expertise on the site.
Answer: In addition to the other answers here, there's the possibility that your guitar has a zero fret- that is, a fret right after the nut, that the strings are touching.  In that case, your thirteenth fret would be the octave.
Answer: If the other strings are all much more closely in tune (no more than, say, 5-10 cents out) when:

playing the open string
sounding the second harmonic
playing at the 7th and 12th frets

and also

the action is set roughly equally on all strings
the strings are all roughly the same height at the 12th fret, and at the bridge
the neck is not showing noticeable bend

then you've all but ruled out intonation issues, and have to consider that there's a possibility that your B string actually has a manufacturing fault.
I had a similar problem with the E string on my bass when I replaced the strings for a new set of D'Addarios: four of the strings were fine, in that the 2nd harmonic was produced by touching the string over the 12th fret, and also in that pressing the string at the 12th fret produced the same note, but on the E string I had to do it at the 13th fret to get the octave.
Contact the manufacturer of the string, explain the situation, and see what they say.  In my case, D'Addario identified a manufacturing fault and replaced it free of charge.  The replacement, safe to say, is playing exactly as I'd expect it to play.
I've not heard what the nature of the fault was, but in their initial email response said that it could be in the wire core, in the winding, or in the bond between them.