how to edit in the place highlighted by helm swoop

Question: helm swoop is very good, it could show me the lines matching some word, but I need to edit the lines around the matching line. How to do that? I can only view the them. I tried to use mouse to position the line I want to modify, but it doesn't work.
Comment: Would doing `C-x o` to switch into the buffer, making the edit, and using `C-x o` to switch back to `helm-swoop` work?
Comment: it doesn't work, since the buffer of swoop doesn't look like a window and c-x o can't switch between them
Comment: When you start helm-swoop like this `M-3 M-x helm-swoop`, with a number argument, it will show extra lines around the matched line. Then you can use `C-c C-e` to switch to edit mode. But in my case the way extra lines are shown was inconsistent, sometimes after the matched line sometimes before it. So It may not be usable for you. Occur mode has the same usage. Maybe you should try it instead.
Comment: Hello, I was wondering if the answer below is lacking something that you need. If so, please feel free to leave a comment below it and I'll see if it we can accommodate your need. Otherwise please feel free to mark the answer as accepted.
Answer: For this purpose there is helm-resume. It allows you to 'continue' with the previous helm session.
I.e, your flow would be as following:
1. Fire up helm session .
2. Select the item to edit. Press RET to jump to that place to edit it..
3. Run helm-resume (C-c h b) and you should be back in your previous session.
You can tie it to some more convienient short cut like:
 (global-set-key (kbd "<f5>") 'helm-resume)

There is also a detailed explanation about helm-resume and helm in general:
http://tuhdo.github.io/helm-intro.html#ID-9d698347-33ee-447d-9fd1-eb01e9770dbb
Please let me know if you have further questions.
Answer: You should use Helm-Swoop's Multiline Behavior.
Basically you specify the number using a prefix argument (C-u n M-x helm-swoop )of context lines to use in helm swoop buffer.
Then for the lines you want to modify you enter to edit mode using C-c C-e from the minibuffer.
PS: I'm rephrasing HeyYO's comment, as a proper answer as I share his solution.


How can I stop Google Play Music from automatically downloading my library?

Question: I listened to some of my music library on Google Play for the first time, and unbeknownst to me, it started to download the whole library (12,00 plus tracks) to my phone, completely using up my storage. I can't find ANYTHING that allows me to stop it or limit it's downloading. Has anyone else had similar problems?
Answer: If you are using the Google Play Music app Touch Menu on your device and see if Keep on device is checked. If yes uncheck it. You can also touch the blue pin to stop making it available offline. For more information on this go to https://support.google.com/googleplay/answer/1250232?hl=en
Answer: I found this article below that was helpful for cleaning up what I didn't want and keeping the free music that I did want. Instructions:

Select "Free and Purchased" in the left side menu (or where ever the menu is, google may change this tomorrow :P )
You can then use shift-click to select multiple items.
(Shift-click: Hold shift down and then click the top song to delete, scroll to the bottom and hold shift again and click the last song you want to delete.)

https://productforums.google.com/d/msg/apps/E3mRmjLwMjk/SfYzCXb33WwJ


Should I use my own experience as answer?

Question: I was going to answer a question on how to learn pronunciation without help from native speaker - which I did - but then I wasn't sure if I should do it because my primary base is my own experience. I did give the same advice to some friends but none of them tried my method. I also see that other answers are mostly based on some solid and recognized source. So, should I answer with my own experience?
Comment: Well I'd say yes you can but that can be your only evidence. Show some solid evidence to back up your claim, just make sure your answer isn't **primarily** opinion-based
Comment: I think even if you can't back up your experience with something that uses the exact method you're suggesting, you could look for sources that support why you chose or developed the technique. For example, "I read _(this paper)_ and it suggested that people who listen to owls by the light of a full moon have an easier time learning Klingon pronunciation, and _(this other article)_ that suggested something else, and came up with this technique." It's OK in my opinion if it's your experience, so long as it is based on something credible.
Answer: Should you use your own experience?  Absolutely!
Should your answers be based primarily on subjective experience?  That depends.
Now having said that, if a question is framed such that a personal opinion would seem to make for a valid answer, it's likely a poorly-formed question in the first place. Let me address this first, then I'll offer some examples of when and how it is and isn't appropriate to answer with personal experience.

Q. Is technique X useful for learning a language?
  A. I used technique X, and I learned my language in 2 months!

A personal experience answers the letter of the question, but doesn't really answer the heart of the question. But the fault here lies in the question.  It ought to be reworded:

Q. How is technique X useful for learning a language?
  A. I used technique X, and it was useful in learning a language because...

That simple question re-wording not only changes the question, but the entirely nature of the answer. Now, your personal experience must be expounded upon to offer the actual meat of a useful answer.
So lets now assume that the question is well-formed, when is it appropriate or inappropriate to use personal experience?

Q. Are there any studies examining the effect of X on language students?

Unless you're a research linguist who has studied this field, your personal experience in the area of X is probably irrelevant to this question. Even if you have a lot of personal experience with X, unless your experience is part of a study, it's not relevant to the answer, no matter how "true" your experience is!  The question is asking for studies...

Q. How can I overcome struggle X when learning my language?

This is a perfect place to offer experience-based answers.  When I ask a question like this, what I want is the experience of others who have had the same struggles.  This is an example of "good subjective."
I want answers like:

A. When I was struggling with X, I found that A, B, and C could help.
Answer: Experience is one of the sources of knowledge
Academic studies are more trustworthy than our experience because they are done and reviewed by professional, in-field researchers, which are made by their reputation. A reputable speaker tends to say correct thing than a lower one, but when we talk about knowledge, their reputation is unrelated. Of course if you have studies to back up what you claim, by all mean use it. But if you don't, then it's fine, as long as you provide enough thinking about it. After all, how do knowledge from the authorized sources made from, if not stem from experience? By asking questions, especially the how and why ones, personal experience will be refined.
Usually, personal experience will only describe the surface, the what or the how to of the object or the process. But usually, for the questions that asking for technique, like the question the OP is about to ask ("how to learn pronunciation without help from native speaker"), these answers are adequate. It is always best to provide the how or the why, but simply talking about the what is enough to satisfy the asker. If we need to know more, we can always comment to ask, or even make it a separate question.
Answer: What you're describing might be what closing questions as Primarily opinion-based is trying to avoid.
"Experience" is broad and unclear. There might be some expertise in what you're suggesting, but it might just be your opinions. I can't judge objectively unless you have actually posted your answer. It's up to you now to post or not, but here are some definitive tips:
Do: It's best if you do provide a link to some source that agrees with what you say. There's no need for extensive quoting if the source agrees with you.
Do: Consider whether the question is likely to attract opinionated answers. If it does, flag as such for closure.
Don't: Don't write anything in a comment! If you're unsure it's good advice, and it turns out to be bad advice, it can't be downvoted, and it will always appear before answers. Also, let's moderate comment-answers more strictly here, before they start spreading like a plague.
Answer: Because language learning is essential an individual endeavor (what may work for one person may not work for another), I feel that providing experiences that aided in your personal learning should be accepted. I would add a provision to this though. The experiences should have some repeatable steps and/or reproducible effects given a certain circumstance or environment. Or there is a reasonable rationale and/or logical progression as to why one might want to rely on the experience.


Why do revolving doors rotate counterclockwise?

Question: In all my life I have never seen a clockwise revolving door. How did counterclockwise become standard?
Comment: I have seen both my whole life (USA). Never thought about it, I just push on the push bar, or follow the people ahead of me. Same as with normal doors.
Answer: Revolving door traditionally revolve in the direction based on the locations driving habits. That is, right-hand traffic or left-hand traffic.
In countries where right-hand traffic is the standard, revolving doors tend to rotate counterclockwise. This coincides with user expectations of "keeping to the right" even when walking down a sidewalk. Thus they enter a revolving door to the right of the center, and it spins counterclockwise.
In countries where left-hand traffic is the stands, revolving doors tend to rotate clockwise.
From the Wikipedia article on Revolving Doors:

In left hand traffic countries such as Australia and New Zealand,[4] revolving doors revolve clockwise,[5] but door rotations are mixed in Britain.[6]

This can obviously cause confusion for tourists. On visiting the Wikipedia reference article ([4] "Roadside". brianlucas.ca.) we learn:

Alex Boster reports that in Australia and New Zealand, the situation is reversed and people keep to the left. As a tourist, "the second biggest danger to life and limb... was not to get smacked in the face by a revolving door."

I'm guessing the biggest danger to life, at least in Australia, is anything smaller than you. Since anything smaller than you in Australia is "the most poisonous" of its kind. New Zealand's #1 killer eludes me (sheep?).
The direction is not a guarantee though. As quoted above, the situation is mixed in Britain and it would be surprising to not be able to find at least one clockwise rotating door in the United States.
Ultimately the tendency of rotation leans towards the user's expectation based on the traditional left-hand vs. right-hand traffic assumptions. If you have the assumption to "keep right" chances are you should enter the rotating door on the right hand side.
Comment: That's interesting.  I would have thought that counterclockwise would be most common due to right handed users (most common) having more leverage on the door with their dominant hand.
Answer: This is a great question!
It's interesting because it represents a design tradeoff.
First, it's not the case that revolving doors are never clockwise. Wikipedia notes that "in left hand traffic countries such as Australia and New Zealand, revolving doors revolve clockwise, but door rotations are mixed in Britain".
So doors are typically arranged to mimic the conventional affordance of traffic in the country.
So where's the tradeoff? Well, for manual revolving doors the user has to push the door to open it. For typical doors there is a big difference in mechanical leverage with pushing from the outside (away from the axis) vs the inside (closer to the axis). Since most people are right handed (stronger arm), doors are mechanically easier to operated when they rotate counter clockwise.
But because of the risk of collision, I'm guessing that most countries correctly choose to manage traffic rather than mechanical advantage.


when importing data into salesforce for a custom object I got some rows that were not imported

Question: So my custom Object is a student that stores first name, last name, grade level, school etc. When I try and import this from my csv file that has all the data it doesn't import all of them. I know why they were not imported. My field name for my standard field has to do with student's last names and people can have last names that are the same so any kids who's last names were not unique were not added in when I imported. Is there a way to get around this. Can I change how the importer determines a duplicate record?
Answer: It shouldn't be the data loader that is detecting the duplicates. There must be some other duplication detector in your org - you should check the duplication detection setup as well as any triggers or processes that might be detecting the duplicate records.
Comment: I just started using this and haven't really changed any settings
where can I find duplication detectors?
Comment: Deduplication can be found at Setup>Administer>Data.com Administration>Duplicate Management if the native salesforce tools are being used.


How do you calculate return on investment for a share of stock?

Question: How do you calculate the return on investment for a single share of stock?  For example, what would be the return/value of a single Google share now, if bought in January 2015?
Answer: To figure this out, you need to know the price per share then vs the price per share now.  Google Finance will show you historical prices.  For GOOG, the closing price on January 5, 2015 was $513.87.  The price on December 31, 2015 was $758.88.  Return on Investment (ROI) is calculated with this formula:
ROI = (Proceeds from Investment - Cost of Investment) / Cost of Investment
Using this formula, your return on investment would be 47.7%.  Since the time period was one year, this number is already an annualized return.  If the time period was different than one year, you would normally convert it to an annualized rate of return in order to compare it to other investments.
Comment: It would be helpful if you included in your answer a company that paid a dividend, MO, for example.
Comment: If you have received any dividends from your stock, add those dividends into the numerator of the ROI formula.


Identify this Gitane road bike

Question: I yesterday bought this bike from Offer up for $100 and want to know more about the bicycle. Can someone please help me get the model, type and year of this bicycle from the picture below.
Comment: As for price, its worth what someone wants to pay for it.
Answer: As @Paparazzi said it appears to be a Gitane bike, from looking through the product catalogues on the Gitane USA site I suspect it's a 1984 Gran Tour (from page 5 of the french catalogue) as this style of logo appears to have only been used for the early 80s and this model is the only model that has the bar end shifters/is advertised in the same colour.
Comment: Yep, a dead-on match to the Gran Tour in your second link, except that there's a slight difference in shifter cable routing, suggesting a few years after 1984.  1984 would be about the earliest for bar end shifters,I suspect.  Note that the wheels have most certainly been updated.
Answer: It is a Gitane touring bicycle.  By searching you should be able to match a year.
Probably from the 90's as threadless stems came on about 2000.
If is rolls $100 is a good price.
Comment: Come on down vote what is the problem?
Answer: Yes this is the Gran Tour; I have an unalatered version.  Originals had hand brake cables going out the top of the levers, but the rubber perished; looks like this is why these have been replaced.  Obviously wheels are not original either.
Can't really tell from the photo, but it doesn't look like it has the stronglight crankset. No idea why someone would change it over, would be a lot of cost/work.
Comment: Welcome to the site! You might like to have a look at our brief [tour] to help you get the most out of your time here.

Identify this Gitane road bike


How would I secure my bios?

Question: How would I fully secure my bios password/other settings from being reset/breached by pulling the battery out or by other means?
Comment: glue, used correctly, can make such an attack take a lot longer.
Comment: Securing BIOS alone is kind of useless - if the attacker can access the battery, then they can also access all the information on the computer by simply removing all the storage devices, or alternatively "augment" the computer with e.g. hardware keyloggers and backdoor. IMHO none of the most likely attacks require the attacker to reset/breach your BIOS password and other settings.
Comment: Wife, Children or NSA?
Comment: You may look at that question: https://security.stackexchange.com/questions/86971/protecting-the-bios-from-malware
Comment: It does seem rather strange that there's not a hardware switch to lock the BIOS against flashing.  I wonder if there's a chance that a unique pin might be involved in setting the flash state, such that it might be possible to physically disconnect that pin (e.g. with wire cutters) to prevent flashing?  Or, if all else fails, a way to check if the BIOS is currently being flashed, such that a background process can continually poll it and log/report flashes?
Answer: Sorry - there is simply no (electronical) way to protect the bios against pulling out and put back in the battery. Thus there is no way to protect the password and the settings against erasing, if the attacker has physical access to the PC. But a broken bios password is not the end: you have to encrypt the whole disk to secure the data against being stolen or altered (but not against erasing, for this you have a - encrypted - backup to be safe). There ist just no other way against attackers with physical access.
A bios password is usefull to prevent the hidden stealing of passwords or data through secretly booting the pc from a live-dvd or bootable USB-Stick (e.g. http://www.komku.org/2013/02/how-to-reset-windows-7-password-step-by.html), if the PC is sealed or like this.
Comment: There is absolutely a way to protect and store the BIOS configuration electrically, it's called EEPROM.

How would I secure my bios?


What would you upgrade first on a road bike?

Question: I have a Decathlon Triban RC500 with all stock components which I'm quite happy with. Since I have cash to burn (actually not, this question is hypothetical :)) what component should I upgrade first to make it faster/lighter? What would give me most bang for my bucks?
Comment: The cyclist!  Alas, that's hard to do.
Comment: This question has come up before, see [here](https://bicycles.stackexchange.com/questions/52512/upgrading-priorities) and [here](https://bicycles.stackexchange.com/questions/55227/new-to-bicycle-riding-questions-about-adjustments-and-upgrades).
Comment: @whatsisname yeah spend $10 on a junker from a garage sale.  After riding a horrid bike, your main ride feels awesome again.
Comment: Get another, different kind of bike, that's what. **N+1**
Comment: As you say, dear OP, your quite happy with it. That's all that matters. Don't even think about upgrades if your already happy. I have learnt the hard way . There are plenty chances that upgrades can trap you in a hell of researching compatibility , value and performance and then getting a non returnable product that doesn't fit or getting a product that stops working soon after its short-lived return period.
Answer: Honestly?  Nothing.   Assuming your bike functions correctly and is not yet worn out?  I'd not change anything on the bike mechanically.
Perhaps think about comfort, what would allow you to spend longer on the bike, or to go harder?  What hurts at the end of a long ride, and how can you improve that?
Changing Contact points can help, so better gloves/bartape.  Perhaps shoes and cleated pedals, but there's nothing wrong with flats (its really hard to walk around the shops in cleats)
If you do night riding, then some decent lights can be wise, two front and two rear (so a primary and a backup in each direction)
Clothes make the ride more enjoyable too.  Close fitting fabric is faster than loose baggy clothing, and it often weighs less too.  So a riding top and tights/leg warmers might be of interest.
As for progress - if you're data-driven then using a service like Strava or mapmyride or similar can help you know that you're improving.  They offer free levels, and more for a subscription.  These services may work on a standard smart phone, or you might choose a fancy bike computer.

But seriously, wear parts of your bike out before upgrading.  That's fiscally responsible.
When your tires wear to the point they get a lot more punctures, then replace them with something nice like GP5000 or similar race tyres.  But not earlier.
Comment: Here's an article that ties in with some of these points. --> https://www.bikeradar.com/features/make-your-old-bike-feel-new-again/
Answer: For higher performance (speed) the simple answer is better wheels and tires.  Deeper dish aero wheels are definitely going to be faster -BUT- will be more of a handful in crosswinds. Light weight deep dish rims mean carbon fiber and lots of $$$.  Also note that rims are trending wider as this makes for a more aero shape and it gives the tire a stiffer sidewall.
A set of high end tires (Conti 5000's or comparable) are going to be more fragile than the stock tires and they'll wear out faster simply because good race tires have less rubber to keep the weight down.  Interestingly a wider tire will roll faster over coarse pavement, but the optimal tire width for aerodynamics is 5% narrower than the rim.  So for a rim with a 26mm external width you'd want a tire which is about 25mm wide.
Once you've upgraded wheels & tires then other component upgrades will have a smaller incremental reduction in weight.
For bikes in this price range one can often take off a good bit of weight by upgrading the following.  BUT to know for sure you'll need to know the weight of your current parts:

Crankset & bottom bracket
Cassette - but you may have to jump to a Dura-Ace level to see a significant difference in weight.
Seatpost is often an inexpensive no-name part.  Changing from aluminum to carbon (IMO) made a far greater change in ride than I expected.
Carbon handlebars, like a carbon seatpost, will definitely dampen/absorb some of the road vibration.  You might save some weight here as well.
Saddle: the stock saddle is usually on the heavier side. There are lots of race saddles well under 200 gm. Check out Craigslist and other sources for used saddles as no one saddle fits everyone so there are lots of people getting rid of saddles which didn't work out.

Things which cost A LOT but don't generally reduce much weight:
- New shift/brake levers
- Brake calipers
- Going from 10spd to 11spd is really expensive and it's usually much more cost effective to simply get a different bike.
Bottom line - you can drop A LOT of money in upgrading stuff.


Bike starts only when fuel petcock is in reserve position

Question: Why does my bike start only when the fuel petcock valve is in the reserve position, and not when its in ON position?
Comment: What is the make model and year of your bike.  Pet cocos on various models behave differently from one another between models.  For instance, the 1982 Honda CM200T doesn't require a vacuum to open the reserve valve but does require vacuum to operate the valve in the 'on' position.
Comment: Remove the petcock from the tank and clean the filter screens.
Answer: Reserve on some motorcycles bypasses the vacuum valve
When you are using the 'reserve' position on many older motorcycles you are bypassing the vacuum operated 'ON' position of the petcock.  The vacuum operated valve is a safetly feature so that fuel will only flow into the carburetor when the engine is running and creating a vacuum.  There is a vacuum line that will origninate on one of the manifolds and terminate at your petcock.
You may have a couple of issues.

Hole in the vacuum line that prevents the vacuum operated valve from functioning in the 'ON' position
Disconnected vacuum line
Hole in the vacuum bladder within the petcock
Clogged petcock tube that rises into the fuel tank (low probability).

Check the above items and validate that your vacuum line is attached and does not have any holes or cracks in it.
Answer: When you Run your motorcycle On Reserve setting over Long period of time impurities tend to get deposited on the "ON" setting.
This may prevent the bike from getting started initially, All you have to do is fill up till half tank or so and while running at around 40 or 50 kmph turn the valve to "ON" position. It should free the valve.
If the above step does not work then there might be a clog in the valve.


Is the quantum world affected by the law of causality, or it is just really random?

Question: If the quantum world is really random why a random quantum event 'e' happend in the way 'a' and not in the way 'b' . what caused that ?
Comment: This is a philosophical question, not a physical one. Different [interpretations of quantum mechanics](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interpretations_of_quantum_mechanics) give different answers. One of them is that *nothing* has to cause difference in some outcomes, i.e. that [causal determinism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Determinism) is generally false.
Comment: I think you might be confusing causality with determinism.
Comment: yeah you are right , but it is linked , if something is not deterministic , so why it happen that why and not in the another one ? ( the cause => causality ) , note i am not claiming that causality and determinism are both the same thing
Comment: @Conifold I appreciate the comment that "causal determinism is generally false."  From a combinatorial perspective, it's useful to think about games that are classically deterministic ("non-chance") but I'm beginning to think it may also useful to think about games that involve random numbers (i.e. "nothing has to cause difference in some outcomes".)  Recent work on poker demonstrates that Combinatorial Game Theorists are moving into analysis of games involving chance.
Answer: Let's consider an example.
We take an electron, prepare it for measurement in some special way and then measure it's spin (or momentum). The outcome of this measurement can be either "spin is 1/2" or "spin is -1/2". (If you do not know what is spin - that's ok, just replace this word with word "something" :) )
So, we have an electron and are going to start the measurement now. Quantum mechanics says that it's impossible to tell in advance what would be the outcome of the measurement!
It resembles the situation when we flip a coin, but it is very different! Before we flip a coin we can measure very precisely initial coin's position, velocity, then properties of the table's material, properties of air in the room, etc., and then calculate the outcome of the flip. It may be very difficult to perform all the necessary calculations, but still theoretically possible. And it would turn out that the outcome "we have got tails!" is not actually random. The reason why we have got tails is because we have thrown the coin exactly like this. Initial configuration is the cause the the outcome is "tails" not "heads".
But in quantum world it's impossible. The outcome of measurement is random and can not be determined by initial state of the system!
Note, that this is "according to quantum mechanics". It may turn out that quantum mechanics is not good enough. May be there is a better theory which would allow to account for some "internal state" or "hidden parameters" of the electron, and it we account for these parameters we would be able to explain why the result of this particular spin measurement happened to be 1/2, not -1/2.
As far as I know all the attempts to develop such a next-generation theory failed so far. More than that, there are some results which state that even if such theory exists it would be quite "weird".
Looks like quantum effects are really random. We have a result of some measurement, and there is no way to explain why this result is what it is, why not some other.
Answer:
Is the quantum world affected by the law of causality, or it is just really random?

Definitions:

Causality is the relationship between causes and effects. It is considered to be fundamental to all natural science, especially physics.

It implicitly includes the time variable, against which cause and effect play, and time is a unidirectional arrow classically, it always increases. This is also true at the quantum mechanical level.

Randomness is the lack of pattern or predictability in events.1 A random sequence of events, symbols or steps has no order and does not follow an intelligible pattern or combination. Individual random events are by definition unpredictable

Quantum world is by definition where quantum mechanics is necessary in order to model and predict measurements. The underlying framework of nature is quantum mechanical. All classical physics models emerge from the underlying QM level.
So to address the title:

Is the quantum world affected by the law of causality, or it is just really random?

Due to the arrow of time quantum mechanical models always have a cause and effect, and these models fit the data very well.
This simple Feynman diagram, a calculation help to determine the crossection of electron electron scattering at low energies,

has the arrow of time on the y axis. First electron meets electron and then it scatters off exchanging energy and momentum with a virtual photon , cause - effect. They meet and they scatter.
Thus the law of causality is obeyed in our quantum mechanical modeling of the microcosm.
How much they scatter is determined by the functions describing the scatter, and that is where there is a probabilistic interpretation needed.
Where randomness is relevant is not in the causal chain. It is in the modeling itself of the  interaction with a wavefunction whose complex conjugate squared gives the probability of finding the electrons after scatter with specific momenta and position.
Probabilities are connected with randomness, as for example, one expects a flat probability for the throws of an accurate dice, and the probability of each side to come up is equal to 1/6.  A definition of randomness.
If the dice is biased,

and the probability distribution is not flat,  one knows there is a cause of not being flat,the bias. Still it is not possible to predict which side will come up on a throw basis, but in the accumulated distribution the bias  clearly shows, so one knows that the effect is not random, just that it cannot be nailed down at a single throw level.
It is the same with the quantum mechanical probabilities, they are not flat.Here is how the Higgs was discovered, in a convoluted bias in , what is essentially, a  probability plot.

Higgs boson decaying into two photons.

The background smooth dashed red line is essentially what one would expect from "random" scattering ( it is folded with the known interactions of e+e-) it is smooth. In the lower plot the other interaction probabilities are mathematically taken away, and the smooth  background of a uniform random process is indicated by the flat line, where the Higgs shows up like a sought after bias from new physics.
So the quantum world is affected by causality and is biased, not random, with the interaction probabilities of the particular experimental setup.
Comment: Very nice answer.  "Where randomness is relevant is not in the causal chain." is particularly useful.  It's interesting comparing the combinatorial and game theoretic conception of uncertainty, where "lack of...predictability in events" is a function of computational intractability or imperfect or incomplete information. *(Even "lack of lack of pattern" may be a function of intractability.)* From this perspective, it seems necessary to separate the idea of "randomness" from "uncertainty" :)
Comment: In the classic Prisoner's Dilemma, the choice of the other agent cannot be predicted, and as no information shared between agents prior to the decision, probability of correctly predicting the opponent's choice is always 50%. But it may be problematic to categorize this as randomness in that the choices are pre-defined, and the means of arriving at the choices presumably deterministic.  This lead me to a question on whether [randomness might constitute a special type of uncertainty](https://philosophy.stackexchange.com/questions/43084/is-quantum-indeterminacy-inextricable-from-observation).
Answer: There can not be anything random. But we can not always assign a cause. This depends upon our ability to assign a cause, and compute the outcome accurately. That is not possible due to complexities involved in some processes. The insurmountable complexities are given the name randomness.
There is nothing random in nature. If things were really random, the conservation laws at macro levels would be violated very easily and randomly as well.
The fact that the conservation is always observed at macro levels, is an evidence that nature knows how to round up the so called "random" events into a lawful/causal macro state.
At individual quantum event level, the cause and effect are so miniscule that we have no means of tracking them at individual level. At individual levels, the events, their cause/effect seem to be immaterial to us and so, can be classified as random.
But the cause and effect keeps accumulating quantum by quantum in nature and at certain levels, becomes measurable by us. At that level we do not classify it as random anymore, because we can demonstrate the cause and effect at that level.
Therefore, with due respect to the quantum scientific community, somehow, they do not like to say - "We do not yet know how it happens but it does happen" and prefer to call it "random".
It is also likely that the scientific community already knows that we have hit the smallest levels of nature and we will never be able to demonstrate cause and effect at individual event levels. Therefore, it will always remain that way. In that scenario, it does not matter whether we continue to call them random or not.
But again, the randomness is rounded into conservation at larger levels, therefore, beware that something is tracking it!
Comment: Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been [moved to chat](http://chat.stackexchange.com/rooms/59684/discussion-on-answer-by-kpv-is-the-quantum-world-affected-by-the-law-of-causalit).
Answer: As said above, at a point this becomes a philosophical interpretation.
However, imagine you're standing in a busy line at a cinema.
Although there is a sequence of circumstances that led every person to be exactly where they are standing, these circumstances aren't known to you and in practice may be unknowable.
From your perspective the crowd seems random, based on the information available to you. Perhaps they all came from a golf tournament, or were each inspired by a coupon or the hot sun?
The patron in front of you reaches the counter, and to your surprise buys a ticket for the same movie. With so many films currently screening, what a coincidence!
Once you make it inside the theater, you realise around half of the cinema patrons chose this film. An even greater coincidence? You ask the usher. They tell you they've worked at the cinema for a long time, and for a film like this the crowd is just as they'd expect.
Now you come out of the theater and see an old friend! Living so far apart you ask how they found themselves at the cinema. They tell a wild tale of a traffic accident caused by a loose shoe, and the random coincidence goes some way to being explained.
However, this ignores the frayed shoelace owing to an exposed nail loosened by the dry weather, etc. Everything led to this encounter, but everything is beyond the reaches of detection.
Much like a child repeating the question 'why?', there is an expectation that eventually it all boils down to a single answer, but complexity builds before we even get close.
I think this might be of interest to you.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxwell%27s_demon
Comment: if there is no randomness in quantum physics , why did einstein say about it , "i don't believe god plays dice" ?
Comment: I like your description of random events. Could you please also describe in the same scenario - That whenever you go to that cinema, and find the line as long as you did in your example, you always find certain percent of people from gold tournament. That outcome is not as random as the individual cases are. You know, I am referring to statistical correlations of quantum entanglement.
Comment: Einstein didn't like the idea of apparent randomness. This led him to believe there must be some hidden variable, and accounting for this variable would explain the uncertainty. Violations of Bell's inequalities suggest he was mistaken.
Comment: While you might well expect to measure the diameter of an orange or the intensity of a lamp, these 'real' answers are approximations dictated by your means of detection. When you begin to look at elementary particles, you'll find quantized properties, something we don't see in our macroscopic measurements of the orange. It's a different world down there, and at best we can say 'these things can happen', 'something will happen', and 'this thing did happen'. Perhaps the other apparently random outcomes manifest as another world, perhaps not.


What is the takeoff thrust of a CFM56 engine?

Question: So, to be more clear I currently have an assignment about the Boeing 737-800.
I have to find out the total takeoff distance of the aircraft. I'm using Anderson's book " Aircraft Performance and Design" and I'm quoting that a turbofan engine is affected from the velocity of the aircraft.
Anderson uses this equation: T = k1 - k2*V + k3*(V^2) where k1,2,3 are constants from engine to engine. At his example he uses a Gulfstream IV aircraft and takes the constants as below (chapter 6, example 6.6):
The constants are selected for the takeoff phase. I guess that these values come from the manufacturer but I cant find this type of info anywhere. Not even a number about the takeoff thrust. The only thing that I can find is the maximum takeoff thrust which is the max thrust available from the engines.
Comment: Please look into Type Certificate DataSheet of variants you interested.
Comment: Given a set of environment conditions: get Vr and Takeoff distance (at TOGA) for three different GW from B737 manuals; then solve a system of linear equations. Those 3 constants are not published and probably Safran's engine model is more complex anyway...
Answer:
Developing 21,600 to 33,000 pounds of takeoff thrust, the CFM56-5B is the only engine that can power every model in the Airbus A320ceo family.

Safran Aircraft Engines


Why do backbone has sync method in models as well as collections?

Question: Anyways using sync method only in collection or only in model can suffice, then why do they have to sync at both the places?
Answer: Actually both sync() methods are just proxies to a common Backbone.sync() method:

Model.sync()
Collection.sync()
Backbone.sync()

Collection always delegate in the Model.sync() for individual operations over its individual models like: create, remove and so on. But Collection uses its own sync() in the fetch() operation due it is very different to fetch a Model or a Collection, for example: the URL follows another patter and the backend layer should respond different.
In the other hand I see the Backbone.sync() as a private method and I try to not use it directly, if I'm doing this I don't feel well. I think the sync() method is a handler point to allow you to overwrite completely the backend synchronization a method that you can overwrite to implement different persistance layers as for example using LocalStorage. But not for be called directly.
As @JMM has said in the comments, the Model.sync() and Collection.sync() is also a good point to be overwrote to make it "does something custom and then calls Backbone.sync() to carry on as usual".
Comment: You can implement a `sync()` method that does something custom and then calls `Backbone.sync()` to carry on as usual. You don't have to completely replace the built-in implementation, or only define a `sync()` method to change the persistence strategy.
Answer: Backbone doesn't have a sync -method in models and collections by default, but both models and the collections have methods (fetch for both models and collections and save, destroy for models) that use the Backbone.sync -method to make ajax-calls. Docs, annotated source
The methods that use Backbone.sync check for the existence of a sync method for the individual collection or model, so the default functionality of sync can be overwritten for everything by overwriting the Backbone.sync or for specific parts by extending a model or collection that needs custom sync with a sync -function.
As to why both models and collections have the capability to synchronize with the server: flexibility. If only collections would have the syncing capability, then you couldn't have individual models, and if only models would have syncing capability, how would you fetch large batches of models initially from the server. There is no downside in having syncing capabilities for models and collections, so why not?
My counter-question for you: How would having sync on only the other suffice?
Comment: You are right. Backbone has sync method not the models and collections. Twas my actual question but couldn't ask it properly. Pardon me. And no answer for your counter question as now i have realized why we need sync on the both the sides. I thought can't we just sync collection every time the model changes, but that is not good.


Can habits be implemented by playing mental scenarios or playing things in your head?

Question: A significant amount of people say that you need to do things over and over again to implement a habit into your subconscious mind where you no longer have to think to do it. If, let's say, I want to implement a habit of drinking water when I walk in my bathroom in the morning but fail to do it due to the fact that this is attempted in the morning 2 minutes after waking where I'm still tired and less awake, would it be possible for me to implement this habit or at least become much more conscious of it by playing the scenario in my head, maybe even acting it out mid-day, or just thinking about why I should do it, etc. ?
Answer: The answer is yes and can be supported by a theory called implementation intention.

An implementation intention is a self-regulatory strategy in the
  form of an "if-then plan" that can lead to better goal attainment, as
  well as help in habit and behavior modification. It is subordinate to
  goal intentions as it specifies the when, where and how portions of
  goal-directed behavior. The concept of implementation intentions was
  introduced in 1999 by psychologist Peter Gollwitzer. Studies
  conducted in 1997 and earlier showed that the use of implementation
  intentions can result in a higher probability of successful goal
  attainment, by predetermining a specific and desired goal-directed
  behavior in response to a particular future event or cue.


Morning nausea after Chemo

Question: I am 22, and my mom is 59.  So, my mom got diagnosed with breast cancer back in 2005, and took radiation and chemotherapy in late 2005/2006.  Anyway, she's doing well now except for red-green color blindness and she has nausea pretty much every morning.  She, of course, takes nausea pills (Promethazine) and drinks Ginger Tea.  Yes, the ginger tea helps it go away, but then it comes back the next morning persistently.  I just don't know a way to prevent it from happening in the first place?   Is there any thing I should be looking into to help?  Any remedies or anything that helped anyone in a similar situation?
Answer: Yes, you should be looking into getting help.
Nausea during chemotherapy is very common, and should be treated. But nausea in the morning 9 years after chemotherapy? That is not at all normal.
There are a great many medical problems that can cause nausea, including, unfortunately, a possible recurrence of her cancer. These should be ruled out by her doctor(s) as soon as possible.
While you are waiting to see the doctor, you mentioned, ginger is a natural anti-emetic (anti-nausea). Ginger tea, ginger ale and even candied ginger can help. Eating 5-6 smaller meals, rather than 3 large meals, helps, as does keeping plain crackers by the bedside and eating some as soon as she wakes up (before rising), and rice or toast at night.
Comment: Yeah she pretty much does what you have mentioned, a few small means and ginger (tea, ale, candy, actual ginger root), also milk makes it worse I believe.  She does have toast at night and crackers every now and again.  It doesn't have to do with a relapse at this point, I believe that has been ruled out.   These things help it go away most of the time (though they can take a while) after the nausea occurs but I was sort of looking for a way to get at completely preventing the morning nausea?  I just thought there was some medication or remedy I haven't hear of in this modern day.
Comment: At least in America, many ginger ales don't contain real ginger, at least in any listed amount. I've found those less effective. I use a product that is only ginger juice with a bit of honey and lemon to make it taste better, I find it works as well as ginger tea. Drinking it regularly can be preventative, and, since it's in the fridge, it's easily accessible, especially if I'm not up to making tea. This is an anecdote, not a study, so I hope you don't mind me mentioning it.
Comment: Not at all. Any suggestions for which product you use?

Morning nausea after Chemo


Create Go-Ethereum private chain, which allows to mine on phone

Question: Hypothetically, creating a private chain on Geth, where I would make sure in the Genesis that mining is easy enough to mine with phone (not thinking as a full time thing, but let's say, you could potentially mine your own transaction within reasonable time).
What kind of implications in terms of security would this have if the network is scaled up to thousands of nodes? (easier 51% attack I assume).
Alternatively, would making the chain PoS better, assuming coin is worth something and enough nodes on network?
Answer: One way to see it is just as a scaled-down version of the current EVM. As you said, 51% attacks would easily become a problem if mining is easy and there are not so many nodes (thousands). Maybe someone runs it in their GPU server farm instead of mobile phone as intended?
I imagine forks would be a lot more common and longer as block are easy to mine. You'd probably need to require a lot more confirmations before accepting any "result" from the network (at least results which involve assets).
If the network can be thought as a scaled-down version of the current EVM, the PoS might make equally much sense. Probably not 100% PoS, but some percentage.
Someone else has probably different angles to this.
Comment: Thanks a lot. Can you expand on what you mean by hybrid PoS PoW?
In my example, the chain would be use to power an app, which would include micropayment, or at least small amounts.
Comment: That's the way PoS is being tested. Have a look at https://medium.com/cybermiles/first-impressions-of-ethereums-casper-proof-of-stake-pos-5ce752e4edd9 for example
Comment: Very interesting read, thank you for that. Just to make sure; in order to mine you would need some stakes (eth) commited/invested to the system? If so, I don't see how this would change the power dynamics, especially regarding the increasing centralization of hash power.
Comment: The power balance is not supposed to change at least fast, when PoS is slowly introduced in the main net. But yes, PoS requires you to have some Ether alredy. If you have further questions about PoS please post a new question


Effect of temperature on cooking

Question: I'm poaching some pears.  The recipe calls for bringing the liquid to a boil and adding the pears, then simmering until done, about 25 minutes.  It then calls for removing the pears from the liquid and letting both come to room temperature, then putting the liquid over the pears again and marinating overnight.  Separating the pears and the liquid will let the pears cool more quickly and presumably prevent overcooking.  I have heard a rule of thumb that every 10C in temperature doubles the reaction rate.  As the pears simmered for 25 minutes, it seems that the cooldown (even if they stayed in the liquid) will not add much to the reactions of cooking. Is there any sense to extracting the pears from the liquid?
Comment: n fact, you answer yourself to the question. When you you take off the pears from the liquid, you stop the undergoing reaction. After that, you put again the pears into the liquid overnight to let the pears impregnate of the good taste of fresh pears and reabsorb  the minerals that passed to water.
Comment: I think  you can leave one pear in the hot liquid to cool down and you will see. I think the pear will become too soft and loose.
Comment: @YomenAtassi: my thought is that even without removing them, the pot will cool fast enough that the additional cooking (compared to 25 minutes at 100C) is small.
Comment: @YomenAtassi:  Unfortunately, I have only enough for dessert tomorrow, so I can't do the experiment and followed the recipe.  But I wonder....
Answer: (Note that I'm a rather bad cook, except in the lab!)

Is there any sense to extracting the pears from the liquid?

Yes! Yomen Atassi has already explained that you actually have to consider two (distinct) processes in the recipe:

Cooking the pears for a short period of will yield the right consistency. Additionally, some transformations happening during the cooking will possible break up some cells, convert some ingredients to even more tasty ones, and maybe even facilitate the later take up of other of other compounds from the liquid. If you cook for too long, the pears will be sludge.
Marinating means that the compounds dissolved in the liquid will permeate the pear and add to the taste. Imagine that the pear acts like a spongue and sucks all the good stuff in from the marinade. This needs time.

With a two-step procedure given in the recipe, you should get the best of both worlds and I hope that the dessert was really tasty.

Effect of temperature on cooking


Create an archive page(loop) for edd products (music files) with an audio player?

Question: How would I create  an archive page(loop) for edd products (music files) with an audio player, so that users can play every song of the loop without leaving the page?
Answer: You can follow the exact same procedure as explained here by making the player be a custom taxonomy each song a custom post type.
A custom taxonomy will serve as a group of songs. Just like you give a category to an article, here you give a song, a playlist. You can set this up so you have a many to many relationship. Once you have this backend structure, you can then set up your post meta and term meta so that you can either give soundcloud ids to songs or upload it on your media handler, whatever floats your boat. Once this is correctly done, you can look into the actual player itself, you have millions music players as js/jquery libraries.
With this set up you have:

single-songs (your custom post type single page) this represents your song itself, contains the information about each song: length, title, categories, artists and in which playlist this is contained
taxonomy-player: this is a custom taxonomy that contains terms. These terms are playlists. Each term is then used to build the playlist. It's a simple way to make groups of things, just like a playlist is a group of songs.

To then display these playlists you can create a shortcode that will get_posts($args) for a specified term. You can get meta data of each term by using get_term_meta and song specific information with get_post_meta
Conceptually, this is how it works.
Comment: I don't see how each file would be embedded into audio and the rest queued up to be played using a player. Please elaborate on that.


Place to get software for embedded components?

Question: I'm wondering if anyone knows of a place on the web that I can purchase or download software modules, written in C or C++, for the interaction between microprocessors and other components, like DACs, ADCs, or UARTs.  Sort of like a git-hub for embedded C software.  Does this place exist?
Comment: usually these kind of libs are free. You'll find them under the name "Chip Support library" or CSL in short.
Comment: Which chip manufacturer?
Answer: You're possibly looking for something called a 'board support package' or BSP. For a given operating system it will have a collection of drivers / libraries to help you communicate with the hardware component.
Saying that, some standard hardware interfaces for e.g. 16550 Uart might have drivers that come with the OS.
Answer: You might also want to take a look at Jean Labrosse's "Embedded Systems Building Blocks" book.  It has some straight C libraries for dealing with UARTs, Analog I/O, timers, etc.
Of course, you do still need to wire them up to the actual chip's hardware implementation (as other answers have indicated, you can usually get libs to help with that from the chip vendors), but they can be a convenient wrapper to let you more easily move your higher level software from one device to another.  There's no earth-shattering stuff that would be particularly difficult to do on your own, but it's there for the taking, so why not?  Even if it's not exactly what you might want, it's a leg up.
Answer: Normally the device manufacturer will supply you with a libc that you can use for all the low-level stuff.
Answer: Ok what about for TI?  BSPs are something I'm aware of, but they dont' really exist for software that exists below the O/S level.
2nd, lets say I wanted to wanted software to make the TI MSP430 Microcontroller talk to DAC7565.  I realy can't find software that relates those two in any reliable way.
I'm talking about a complete software package, something equivalent to a gem in Ruby, where I could call functions like "OutputVoltage(unsigned int voltage, unsinged int channel)" and be oblivious to the hardware implementation.
@nobugz Yes, I agree, but that is awfully restraining.  C should be like Ruby where you can only focus on what you want to do, not having to spend time restricting yourself because of the availability of software...
Comment: You're putting comments in the box that answers go in. That's not how SO is meant to work.
Answer: first, decide which chip manufacturer to go for... next, go to their official site or contact them, you would get the libs for the supported IO's and other communication stuffs.
Comment: There's a lot to be said for doing this the other way around.
Comment: @nobugz: sorry but, I couldnot understand your comment... could you please elaborate a little?
Comment: find out what chip is well supported with lots of available libraries first, then make the buying decision.
Answer: @Shaihi
I'm not, I am a software engineer with an engineering firm who custom design their own boards.  I just can't believe that across the entire world and the entire history of software engineering that I am the first person who needs to interface this microcontroller and this DAC.  SO therefore it must exist someplace.  Maybe I can't get my hands on it but someone, somewhere has done it before.
I'm a very young engineer, but it just seems like there are hundreds or thousands of guys who end up writing the same software again and again.  And on top of that, since there are plenty of software engineers who are terribly good at abstraction and reuse, I'm willing to bet there are plenty of engineers who end up re-writing the same software time and time again because the software they write is way too tightly coupled to that specific application.
Just seems like a giant waste of engineering hours.
Comment: That's the way closed source code is working (at least the way I know it). You can look the drivers in the Embedded Linux repository and if you have someone using it that has the BSP in the main line, you can contact him to buy the HW from him or just take the implementation. I know, for example, that with Windows CE you end up writing a lot of code from a new. We have internal project that reduce the amount of work, but since it is not our main business we don't sell it. I am not familiar with someone who does.
Comment: I guess you posted this question for someone who might know a company that does this, so disregard my comment :)
Answer: Did you check the application notes on the A/D vendor's web site?  They very often have C code.  The problem with assembly language code is that there are so many different ADC and microprocessor vendors and so many different ways to wire up the chip that they can't provide a general purpose library.  Also, a programmer may want to poll the end-of-conversion flag or allow the chip to interrupt when the conversion is complete.  It is very application specific.  Your best hope is that the vendor has some example code that will serve as a guide for how to use the chip.  The good news is that user's manuals for these peripherals are a lot better than they were 20 years ago.
Also, the vendor probably has application engineers who will help you with your design.


Why does the num_unspent_outputs decrease to 1 in Monero wallet?

Question: This wallet is used for withdrawing, as the number of withdraws increases, the num_unspent_outputs decreases to 1 in the end. This will cause the wallet to lock its whole balance for each transfer, which is very much undesirable. Why is this? I suspect the wallet is spending outputs in ascending order, that is spend smaller outputs first, so in the end, it will group all the balance into one output. Is there any setting to change this?
Answer: The monero wallet will try to use two inputs to each transaction, in an attempt to have most transactions look like each other (two inputs, and two outputs). Since in a typical transaction you will get one output back as change, it means that you spend two outputs, and get one in return (the second output going to whoever you're paying). Thus, over time, you will coalesce your own outputs, which leads to the problem you're describing.
There are two settings in monero-wallet-cli which can control this and avoid coalescing outputs down to too few: min-outputs-count and min-outputs-value. They're viewable and settable using the set command: just running set will show all settings, including those.
Those settings control when a second output will be added onto your transactions when it is not necessary (ie, when it's just in an attempt to make your transaction look like a typical 2 -> 2 transaction). monero-wallet-cli will only include such an output if it wouldn't cause the wallet to have less than min-outputs-count outputs of value at least min-outputs-value monero. Of course, if using two or more of your outputs if necessary to meet the payment+fee amount, this will be done regardless.
For example, you can run:

set min-outputs-count 5
set min-outputs-value 1

This will cause monero-wallet-cli to try to use only one input for a transaction once you have only 5 outputs left over 1 monero.
Comment: monero-wallet-rpc will also obey those (they have to be set via monero-wallet-cli first though). Make sure you don't run both binaries on the same wallet at the same time.
Comment: if all the blance was aggregated into one output, can I split it by send to itself? say, it has 10000 XMR, send to it self, 2000, 3000, 4000, will split the 10000 output into 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000, four outputs?
Comment: Yes. Make sure the "merge-destinations" option is off in this case, that's its default value (see "set").


Select polygons by attribute belonging to another layer

Question: I'm a recent QGIS user. I have a shapefile A with a series of polygons indicating land use of an urban region (urbanised areas). Now I want to select them in relation to a second shapefile B with the polygons administrative areas (municipalities). In other words, if polygons of shapefile A are inside the boundaries of municipality X they should be selected, and so on.
I tried Select by Location, but only managed to select the parts of shapefile A that intersect the whole of shapefile B (however there are many municipalities/polygons in that layer).
Hope this is clear to you! Thanks.
Answer: Depending on your desired output you can utilize 2 features of the Select by location tool in QGIS (Vector > Research Tools > Select by Location). In the image below you will see the options for 'use selected features only' and 'modify current select by...'.
In your example, first select your desired municipality polygon (from Shapefile B - you can do this manually or through a query) and then select 'use selected features only' when selecting your land cover polygons (Shapefile A) using the Select by location tool. This will result in only those land cover polygons being selected for a single municipality.

If desired you can then append additional selections using the 'add to current selection' option.


cannot send mms from galaxy lll

Question: I've got straight talk for a provider and needless to say... they are of no help whatsoever. I can send and receive TXT messages and I can RECEIVE mmses but I've never been able to SEND mmses, ie; pics, attatchments, or any mms from this phone.  I've done EVERYTHING. I know this phone and all settings on the phone and the browser, internet options etc. are as they should be. Can anyone help resolve this issue for me?
Comment: It might be worth trying to install another SMS/MMS application and see if that works, to try and narrow down the problem. Try using Hangouts, or Google Messenger, or GO SMS or such and see if that works.
Answer: It appears you're not the only one with this problem.  However, there seems to be a solution by tweaking some settings.  Not sure if you've tried this because you have not indicated the specific setting changes you've made.  Take a look at this AndroidCentral forum post for additional info.

cannot send mms from galaxy lll


Going from H1-B to H4 but still work

Question: Suppose that, for a married couple, both are on an independent H1-B visa with one of their I-140 approved. Suppose now that it is the end of 6 years for both. By virtue of the I-140, one spouse can get his/her H1B renewed. The other might have to go on to the H4 visa. Given the recent change that H4 spouses can work, is there are 6-year limit there too? Does that fact that the spouse has already used up 6 years prevent him/her from getting the H4 work ability?
Answer: The H4 spouse can apply for EAD. This situation (both spouses working, only one eligible for future extensions while pursuing a green card application that would benefit both)  is exactly the issue the H4 EAD was meant to address.
The H4 EAD is not an extension of H-1B status, it is general permission to work. There is no tie to a particular employer and one's prior H-1B history isn't relevant.

Going from H1-B to H4 but still work


Difference between contract and full time?

Question: From what I understand full time employees get things like vacation, health insurance, dental and retirement.
Are there any other important differences?
Comment: Please focus the question to a locale - We are already getting answers distinguishing themselves by being from different countries, which will end up making this a poll :(
Comment: I added a united States tag based on the location in your profile; hopefully that's correct?
Comment: Yes I am in California if that helps
Answer: (Disclaimer: US-centric answer)
From a purely financial standpoint, realize there are multiple differences that add up to a substantial gap in the after-tax value of your nominal rate of pay.

as a self-employed contractor, you pay both halves of the Social Security and Medicare taxes (in 2012 that's an extra 7.65% over what you'd pay as an employee)
no paid vacation/sick days
no paid holidays (varies by employer, but in 2012 there were 10 official Federal holidays)
no benefits such as health/dental insurance, life insurance
no 401K matching (seems like this one is overlooked; it can be a huge bump to your effective salary, as any match is essentially bonus money, and grows tax-free)

You can quantify the cumulative impact of these differences depending on what a "normal" amount of PTO and benefits looks like in your line of work.  The effective take-home pay cut for moving from full to contract position at the same nominal rate:

even if you get one week's vacation and five paid holidays, with no benefits, that would be a 12% hit.
if you're getting a combined 4 weeks vacation/PTO, with good health benefits, then you might be looking at a 20% hit or more.

The amount you lose due to the above factors can be mitigated by writing off some of your income as business expenses; these can include equipment purchases used for business (laptop, cell phone, office supplies), or even part of your rent/mortgage if you keep space for a home office.  But realistically, this amount may not be much; even if you're able to write off $5K in expenses, that will only translate to maybe $2K less in taxes.
The take-home message is to either ask for more money as a contractor, or expect to take a paycut.
Comment: This answer is for freelance, 1099, consultant/contractors. You can also work as a W2 contractor through an agency. In that case, your tax implications are the same as an employee's. You probably won't get paid vacation/holidays. Benefits will vary. Some agencies offer roughly the same benefits (health, 401K, etc) as a regular employer and others don't provide anything.
Comment: Remember, that contractors can work at multiple companies semi-simultaneously.  Mondays Wednesdays and Thursdays at company A, Tuesdays and Fridays at company B.  That's 2 places paying you, and if you get your contracts right, they shouldn't be paying you by the hour, but instead in a salaried manner.
Answer: (My answer assumes you're in the US in an at-will employment state, for the most part).
Although any company will likely drop an employee in a heartbeat of their profitability is at stake, most companies will consider you more disposable if you're there on a contract basis.
Many of them have been burned by ignoring or misunderstanding IRS regulations distinguishing between independent contractors (or agency temps) and full time hires, so you may find that they erect artificial barriers, like not allowing you to participate in team morale events, for the purpose of real or perceived compliance with worker classification rules.
If you're an agency temporary or independent contractor, the justification for your presence is typically a project, not a team. If the project is canceled, you may be gone, even if the team remains organizationally intact. On the other hand, a project could in some cases be more important than the sponsoring team; I've worked on at least one project as a contractor that survived various forms of organizational turmoil because the project was considered a key business initiative.
Many companies are not particularly well equipped to handle the needs of managing contractors; card keys, access to various systems, and so on may have convoluted or chaotic processes for which approvals are either less clear, less systematic or less simple than the equivalent needs of a full time employee.
Most likely, assuming you're using office space at the client's site, a contractor will be lower in the hierarchy for obtaining space, even when it's in the company's best interest to make sure you have what you need. You're more likely to be a pawn or fall guy for internal political struggles. Your performance may be judged more harshly than that of a regular company employee.
Unless it's in your charter as a contractor to make some waves, you may be expected to merely accept organizational standards (and flaws) and cope with them, rather than drive initiatives to fix them.
On the other hand, if you're at a company with internal leadership challenges, there's a chance that, as a contractor, you'll be seen as more of an expert in your domain than the direct, regular employees working in the same area. People may lean on you for advice that they wouldn't trust their employees with, because of the organizational anti-pattern of empire-building that many dysfunctional organizations suffer from.
It's often more advantageous to be a contractor if you're in an organization with leadership challenges, as long as you're capable of rolling with the punches of internal drama while maintaining a fairly professional demeanor.
Also, if you're in an independent contractor arrangement, or subcontracting, you will likely have to do more paperwork when it comes to your taxes, including filing estimated taxes, paying a higher share of the Social Security and Medicare taxes, and so on. Unless the company you establish pays into the unemployment insurance system that your state offers, you may not be eligible for unemployment if the contract ends. (Working for a temporary agency as a W2 employee mitigates this risk, generally at the cost of a lower take home pay). The upside is that many expenses related to operating as an independent contractor can be deducted from your taxes as a business expense, rather than requiring itemization.
Answer: To me the other main differences include the followings. Please note my answer is based on New Zealand labor market and business system (it should not be that different to other countries though).
There are several types of contractors and they differ from full timers in different ways:

External individual consultants.
They are usually experts hired to solve some problems or do some projects. They are paid by hour. They are expected to bill for researches done, but not time spent on general study (e.g. a company may allow full timers 2 hours each day on learning, but not expect contracts to do the same, unless it is research required to solve the specific problem faced). Their notice periods are also generally shorter than full timers, depending on the nature of the problems / projects. They may be allowed to provide professional services to multiple clients at a time.

External company consultants.
Their companies are contracted to provide services. The relationship between the consultants and the hiring company is company to company, rather than individual to company, meaning that their work may need to meet some industrial standards expected to be met by a full-blown business entity. They can usually claim their costs such as laptop, transportation, and telecommunication as business costs for taxation purposes. A contractor company with multiple contractors usually service multiple clients at a time, and may even subcontract works.

Average worker on temporary / short year contracts, usually ranging from a couple of months to 2 years.
They are called contractors only because there is a specific end date on their employment contracts. They are generally the same as full timers, but may not receive some benefits (depending on the company) due to their limited time of service and commitment. However some companies offer some benefits not shared by full timers to prevent such contractors from looking for full time jobs elsewhere, for example, a bonus at the end of the contract, or a higher rate if the contract is renewed.
Answer: In the US companies have been caught and fined for trying to classify people as contractors when they should be employees. It is not based on banning contractors from team building but based on how they control your location and schedule of work. If they say you must sit at this desk, during core hours, and attend these daily  meetings then they should be paying you like an employee.
Regarding pay. You will get X$ for every hour you can bill. You have to fund everything else from that money: Salary, sick, vacation, holidays, insurance, retirement, self-employment Social security tax, regular social security and medicare. Remember that the typical employer either covers these amounts in whole or in part. They will pay you more per hour worked as a contractor, but their actual costs will be lower because these hidden costs are eliminated.
In the US a rule of thumb is that the fully burdened rate for a employee is 1.75 to 2.25 times their salary.  The fully burdened rate includes salary, benefits, overhead and profits.
Answer: Canadian Answer:
Similar to other locales full-time employees get paid vacation (standard is 2-3 weeks / year), dental coverage, and a few other insurances, as well as companies participate in  pension plan contributions for you.
Typically if you work contract you have to be incorporated. This involves a hefty amount of accounting and reputable shops charge annual rates of $800 - $1400 (Toronto prices). You also have to pay for all of the above yourself.
The upside of contracting is much higher rates. For example a typical J2EE developer position that might offer 85K/Year full time will be $65-$70/hour contract. Over a 52 week period that comes to $120K+. In addition, there are a lot of taxable expenses that you can take advantage of thus paying a lower marginal tax rate as well as chosing to pay yourelf in the form of dividends rather than salary (again, lower tax rate).
From a strictly financial point of view, being a contractor is a better way to go. There are considerations like work stability/job security, possibility of promotions, etc that one should keep in mind.


SqlBulkCopy problem

Question: i use SqlBulkCopy to insert data from OleDbDataReader (contains data from xls) to mssql-2005
i have a cloumn on the  OleDbDataReader  that contains number stored as text (in the xls)
when i look into the mssql data i see null in that column all other columns are move ok.
link text
Answer: you need to map columns like in the code...
<code>using (SqlBulkCopy bulkCopy = new SqlBulkCopy(destConnection))
        {
            bulkCopy.ColumnMappings.Add("ID", "ID");
            bulkCopy.ColumnMappings.Add("Email", "Email");
            bulkCopy.DestinationTableName = "tableName";
            bulkCopy.WriteToServer(ExcelReader);
        }
</code>
Answer: When one bulk copies from SQL server to SQL Server, the source is able to indicate very well the data types to the destination.  With Excel, the source makes guesses about the data type.  You may have the Excel formatted as text, but the source (ODBC?) might look at the first 50 rows and guess that it's a numeric datatype.  Even if the column names match, if the data types are different I suspect the column doesn't get populated.

SqlBulkCopy problem


What was the route for ships from England to South Africa in 1840?

Question: I am writing a piece that requires me to understand the route that ships would have taken from Liverpool to Cape Town in the 1840s. What I have not been able to ascertain is whether the ships would have stopped at any ports on the way, and if so, which ports. Is there anyone who can assist me?
Comment: Since this is the 1840s, any passage would still be in a sailing vessel, following the trade winds down the coast of southern Europe and north Africa across the South Atlantic to the Brazilian coast and then back across the Atlantic to South Africa. That ~7500 nautical mile trip would take a couple of months, so I suspect that there would be at least one stop for fresh food and water along the way (quite possibly more if the passengers were rich enough).
Comment: @StefanSkoglund: here is the note from the [Gotheborg official site](http://www.gotheborg.com/project/newvoyage.shtml); "*A few days into the new year 2006 The East Indiaman Götheborg left South America and Brazil and set course southwards along the South American coast to set course eastwards with the aid of the western winds belt. The trip from Recife to Cape Town in South Africa took about 40 days.*" That route goes far south of St. Helena and approaches Cape Town from the west rather than the north-north-west, a combination of (mostly) very comfortable reaches.
Comment: They would not stop, unless there was a reason to stop.
Comment: @SteveBird: Looking at the *trade winds* of the South Atlantic, there's no sane captain going to take that route south if he's got choices. That'll add weeks to the voyage - or months if one gets forced south to Sao Paulo or even Buenes Aires. It would require tacking upwind the whole way from Brazil to St. Helena and beyond. That's the downwind route northward though, for the return. Going to Cape Town I'd go Liverpool-Oporto-Tenerife-Cape Verdes-Ascension-St. Helena-CapeTown to stay upwind of the trades and allow reaching on the southward legs.
Comment: 2005, The Gothenburg replica took the way by Recife.  Because she is entirely able to do so.
Comment: @StefanSkoglund: That's an insufficient reply: what route was taken south from Recife? Having made that landfall, i expect the route continued all the way south to Buenos Aries, and then rode the trades east to Cape Town. That's a much longer route than directly via Ascension and St. Helena. Very suitable for sightseeing; less so for a profit-seeking trade vessel.
Answer: Sometimes it is best to look for specific examples.
When I see mention of ships heading to young colonies I go to genealogy sites to look for information. The Geni site has a list of British Ships to South Africa in the 1800's. The time frame you mention is a bit out of the main emmigrant wave in the late 1850s, but you can find a few examples from the 1840s. I located one which doesn't quite match your specifications, being out of Portsmouth instead of Liverpool, but I think the detail of information from the Geni page on the voyage of the Recorder from January to March 1846 might be useful for your research.
The link connects to a transcription, actual information from an actual journey which took place:

Journal of the Ship Recorder Bound to the Cape of Good Hope with
Emigrants
The following is a transcription of the Journal held at the National
Archives, Kew (Ref CO48/262). The Journal written by Mr William
Williamson, Surgeon Superintendent on board the Ship Recorder during
its journey from Southampton, England to Algoa Bay, South Africa from
December 1845 to May 1846. It gives an amazing insight into life
onboard an Emigrant Ship during this period.

Next a little concerning the ship and purpose of the voyage:

Emigrants leaving for the Colonies From Portsmouth Harbour
11 Dec 1845 Embarkation/ Inspection of berths etc Arrived on Board the
Ship Recorder 630 ton register Captain SHARPE, chartered for the
conveyance of Emigrants to the Cape of Good Hope, on Government bounty
–

(emphasis mine ) Note this ship is not a general trader, but a passenger ship. Her purpose is to transport colonists, emigrants to Britain's new Cape Colony.
Here are some details are provided about the number of passengers:

Number of emigrants embarked on board the ship Recorder bound for the
Cape of Good Hope.
ADULTS Married: 39 males, 39 females 78 total Single: 59 males, 13
females, 72 total Totals: 98 males, 52 females, 150 total
CHILDREN Between 1 and 14: 29 males, 30 females, 59 total Under 1
year: 4 males, 6 females, 10 total Totals: 33 males, 35 females, 69
total
Total no. of Souls: 219 Or equal to 179 ½ statute adults
I certify the above mentioned to be the number of Emigrants delivered
into my charge on board the Ship Recorder and that there is not
apparent among them any sickness of consequence, or any infectious
disorder capable of proving dangerous to the passengers: Signed: Mr
WILLIAMSON MD, Surgeon Superintendent Plymouth Sound, 9th January 1846

So 219 passengers are ready to be begin the trip as recorded on 9 Jan 1846.  The journal then continues on a day by day basis, much to extensive to preproduce in answer form here.
It details daily weather, discusses other ships encountered along the journey, occasionally recording Latitude and Longitude positions.  Interesting to glance over, and some mundane details of crew and passenger issues are mentioned, providing some insight into the journey.
The ship arrives at Cape Town (Table Bay) on April 12th after a 3 month (93 day) voyage:

12th Arrival in Table Bay By 6'o clock am sighted Table Mountain
bearing S E by E. The wind lulling all sail was set again & by 8
o'clock we neared the Bay with the Lions Head and Rump arising in
strong outtrue? Before us. By 12 noon we cast Anchor in Table Bay and
at 2pm (our arrival having been telegraphed before we entered the Bay)
we were boarded by the Harbour Master who enquired into the state of
health of Emigrants & crew and entered into the usual arrangements.
Reported to the Colonial Secretary the arrival of the ship with
General Statement as to the state of health etc of the Emigrants.

Concerning the number of stops, there were none. A synopsis of the journey at the end of the journal, emphasis mine:

Return of Emigrants embarked & disembarked
Southampton – Port 11th December 1845 – Date of Arrival 11th December
1845 – Date of Embarkation 16th December 1845 – Date of Sailing
Plymouth – Port 4th January 1846 – Date of Arrival 4th January 1846 –
Date of Embarkation of Emigrants 9th January 1846 – Date of Sailing
No ports paid into until vessel at Table Bay
Table Bay – Port 12th April 1846 – Date of Arrival 29th April 1846 –
Date of Sailing
Algoa Bay – Port May 1846 – Date of Arrival
Number of Emigrants Embarked – 150 adults, 19 children over 7, 50
children under 7, 219 in total
Death on passage – 1 child under 7 and in total
Birth on passengers deck – 2 children under 7
Total of souls on board – 150 adults, 19 children over 7, 52 children
under 7, 220 in total
No. Landed at Table Bay – 127 adults, 15 children over 7, 46 children
under 7 No. Landed at Algoa Bay – 23 adults, 4 children over 7, 5
children under 7 Total number landed – 150 adults, 19 children over 7,
51 children under 7, 220 in total
Death on Board Susannah DUDLEY aged 1 year and 7 months daughter of
William Dudley. Died of billiary disarrangement [the rest is
illegible]??? 10th March 1846
Births: Mrs Geo PURCHASE of a female child 12th March 1846 Mrs Robt.
Chas REID of female child 25th April 1846.
I hereby certify the above to be a true return of the Emigrants placed
into my hands on board the Ship Recorder.
Signed William WILLIAMSON Surgeon Superintendent Algoa Bay May 1846

The ship Recorder was large enough (630t) to carry over 200 passengers and enough provisions to complete the journey in roughly 90 days without any stops. It is difficult to tell from one example if this should be considered 'typical', but one journal entry from April 3rd gives us a hint as to what was considered 'normal' (emphasis mine):

Today makes 16 weeks since we sailed from Southampton at which time we
naturally expected to have spent 3 or 4 weeks in South Africa by this
date.

It would appear they expected the journey to last about 12 to 13 weeks.
After putting some data points from the journal into Google Earth, the course followed appears something like this:

This can be compared to the first section of the map from the Wikipedia entry on the Clipper Route, which ended up going farther south to catch the winds to go on to Australia and New Zealand. But both courses crossed near the Island of Trindade as a western-most landmark (March 5 in the Recorders' logs).
Comment: @Spencer Good catch, thanks. fixed.
Comment: Possibly, but on March 5th they recorded crossing west of the Island of Trinidada (Trindade). This coordinates *exactly* with [that portion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clipper_route#/media/File:ClipperRoute.png) of the [Clipper route](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clipper_route) used by ships to go East out of Europe.
Comment: Did you mean 1846 instead of 1946?
Comment: That the voyage took so much longer than expected speaks to probably having been blown off course, and much further west than planned for.
Comment: Other voyages:  in 1850, the [Emily](https://www.geni.com/projects/British-Ships-to-South-Africa-in-the-1800-s-Emily/38443) sailed from Liverpool to Natal in 77 days "despite her age and condition."  The [Wilhelmina](https://www.geni.com/projects/British-Ships-to-South-Africa-in-the-1800-s-Wilhelmina/38413) took 88 days for the same voyage in the same year;  according to a passenger, the trip was "much more pleasant and prosperous than the voyages of many immigrant ships which had been landing passengers in Port Natal, during the previous 12 to 18 months."
Comment: Yes, if the OP widened the scope of the query a little, there was a *lot* of activity in the late 1850s. The Brig Wilhelmina is interesting, being a smaller ship (168T) and only carried 10 passengers. It also made no stops until South Africa.
Answer: There are likely too many variables to imagine a single best route. However two key considerations must be kept in mind:

Square-rigged and mixed-rigged vessels of the time struggled to point within 60 degrees of the wind - a much worse performance than the 45 degrees managed by modern racing yachts. Captains will do everything possible to avoid lengthy upwind passages: not only are they dreadfully slow, but they are hard on crew and vessel as well.

The captain and crew will have a home port. For this case, assuming that to be Liverpool likely makes the most sense. The routes out and back should be regarded as a unit.

That said, If I was a sea-captain of the era the following route would be near the top of my list for a passage to Cape Town (blue) and back (red):

Liverpool

Oporto

Tenerife (Canary Islands)

Cape Verde (Cape Verdes Islands)

St. Helena

Cape Town

Ascension

Recife (Brazil)

Barbados and/or Trinidad & Tobago

Bermuda

Azores

Liverpool

Note how both routes, there and back, both ride the winds favourably to avoid tacking passages. Remember also that passengers probably number only a half-dozen or so - the vessel is a freighter, plying wares around and across the Atlantic for profit, and possibly only accepting passengers as a favour to a beneficial patron.
As an aside, this route also illustrates how, and why, Brazil was discovered so early by Portuguese explorers returning from the Cape. Prior to the longitude problem being solved, the northward passage was made far out into the Atlantic to ensure avoiding shoals in and around Cape Verdes. Once a captain knew the vessel was well safe, the passage north would be made to the correct home-port latitude; and then trade winds ridden east all the way home. Not unlike this proposed route.
Answer: Thanks for the input guys. I am pretty sure that the route was along the west coast of Africa, and that on at least one trip I found there was at least one stop at the Canary Islands. And I have read of a stop at an island of Equatorial Guinea, both stops enabling the ship to take on board supplies and water. What I am not sure of was whether there were likely to be other stops along the coast, particularly as they got further south. Certainly no talk in the literature that I have come across of going via South America. But thanks for the stuff on the trip with no stops. It seems like there were a number of options and variations. Good to know. thanks
Comment: If you have more specific information, such as ship names and dates, please include it in your answer.


When a client wants 2 of my logo concepts and I quoted one

Question: So I estimated a job for a new client. 3 concepts, 1 logo, 1 revision. I gave them 4 to get a feel for their style. They liked none and drew their own. I executed that one plus another original concept that I hoped they'd go for. They like both and want both. How do I re-estimate this job if I got the second logo through my work for the first one?
Comment: How can they have "both" as a "logo"?
Comment: you can't really re-estimate it after the fact. did they ask you to come up with that last concept, or did you just do that on your own? If the latter, I don't know if I'd push to get extra for that, as that wasn't agreed upon before hand.
Comment: how many extra hours will it take? Bill them for the hours that are above and beyond what it would have taken you to do just the first one.
Answer: You already went one logo concept beyond what you agreed to. You should have specified that was out of scope and told them you were billing accordingly. A fourth logo is not a "revision" of the existing three.
Now you've gone two concepts out of scope, plus you're developing the client-supplied logo. Bill hourly (or whatever your contract says) for the development of the fifth logo and for the development of the client-supplied logo.
(As Scott commented, I'm not sure how one company can have two logos, but assuming that's the case...) From that milestone (two approved logos), whatever other work you are doing on your logo (stationery? corporate branding?) is in scope, and the same work on the client logo is out of scope and billed accordingly.
Answer: Sounds you've already done 6 concepts? You'd need to be more specific on what you qualify as each and what they qualify as each. In the clients eyes maybe you haven't even done the logo and revision yet, which would mean even more work could be coming down the pipeline for you.
It really depends on client relations and what kind of paperwork you've signed already. It's best to quote a bit of a buffer for yourself, because most clients want the world for pennies, so it's best to protect yourself. On top of that you should mention in your quotes what happens when you go over scope, whether at that point you negotiate the next sections of work, or just work hourly. You should raise the alarm sooner that you're going over what you quoted. At this point if they like yours and the one they've drawn, I'd stop working and just communicate to them that you've already done the quoted amount of work, and you'll be charging hourly to finish the job.
You should brace for the possibility that they'll baulk at your request for more money, because many clients do, and you should be prepared to either put your foot down to bill hourly, or have a compromise in the back of your head ready, like if you think it'll take 5 hours, give them a deal for 3 hours or similar. Really depends on what the client is like.


Uploaded video on Google Drive constantly previews with "Whoops! There was a problem playing this video"

Question: I'm trying to share a video directly with one person and every single format I upload in displays this error. What format do you need to properly preview videos on Drive?
Comment: I suggest uploading it to YouTube instead, without making the video public. You can keep videos private on YouTube, and it is excellent at saving and playing videos.
Answer: It actually has nothing to do with formats. Google Drive appears to have a bug when trying to use multiple Google accounts on the same machine through the dropdown list, e.g. uploading to the drive of your personal gmail account when you have a different work account that you use 90% of the time. You can tell this is the case because clicking through to the video itself will give you a 403 error even when you have proper credentials.

The easiest solution is use incognito mode, sign in and you'll see the video properly previewing. It's actually not a video format problem at all.
Alternatively, you can sign out of all accounts other than the one that you need for drive.


I want to download Xcode that I deleted again. But when I open App Store and search for Xcode the download button is grey

Question: When I downloaded it before I did it through App Store but now that doesn't work because of that the button is grey. Have tried to download Xcode through developer.apple but there it says that I don't have enough storage which I clearly do because I got 16 GB free. HELP
Answer: 16 GB might be enough to download Xcode, but it might not be enough to install Xcode.
Xcode is delivered as compressed .dmg or .pkg file (I can't remember quite which) and it would be uncompressed upon installation.
16 GB is not a lot of space to run macOS in general.
If you need more space, you might use an app such as OmniDiskSweeper to see if there's anything taking up unexpected space.


A list of verbs that take only accusative objects

Question: Does anybody have a full list of german verbs that take akkusativ object?
I have found a list fot dative but couldn't found for akkusativ.
Comment: There is nothing like a *full list of German verbs*, so there also can't be a subset for verbs that take akkusativ object. German is a living language. Some verbs become extinct (*volvieren, dünken, maledeien*) and some other verbs suddenly appear that never before was part of German *Wortschatz* (*barfen, dissen, zappen*). Not to forget verbs like *twittern, googeln, whatsappen*. So, the set of German verbs is changing all the time. You never will be able to get complete list of all of them.
Answer: I'm not exactly sure why people always ask for full lists of verbs (do you have a full dictionary of German?) ...
One way to get a list is through the dictionary of verb valence, https://grammis.ids-mannheim.de/verbvalenz. Select Kakk (accusative complement) on the left and click "Search". This will give you a list of verbs for which a meaning exists in which the verb can be used with an accusative complement (~ object). (If you check "verbspezifische Suche", it will list each verb only once). By chosing specific sentence structures (Satzbaupläne) on the left, you can further narrow down your results, say, to verbs with a meaning where an accusative complement is required (for that, you would need to go through all entries that include Kakk [where the Kakk is not in parantheses because that indicates optionality]).
The dictionary dictionary of verb valence is not that comprehensive as yet but it may still be a starting point :).
Comment: Der erste Satz ist der wichtigste. Hier könntest du noch ergänzen, dass die meisten deutschen Verben ein Akkusativ-Objekt fordern. Das würde unterstreichen, dass es die "full list" hierfür nahezu nicht geben kann.


QGIS - Importing USGS DRGs

Question: I have asked about this before.  If I import a USGS DRG raster for Anchorage, Alaska using EPSG:26706 - NAD27 / UTM zone 6N all the UTM coordinates are correct.  Now if I want to look at the coordinates in latitude/longitude and use ESPG:4267 NAD27 the image is rectified and stretched so the East/West looks twice as long as the North/South.  The latitude/longitude of the coordinate points are correct but the map just looks funny.  What am I doing wrong?
Answer: You are not doing anything wrong. Thaat's just how lat/long coordinates look in regions close to the north pole.

QGIS - Importing USGS DRGs