How do I stop Google Sheets from opening new tabs?

Question: In Google Sheets, I have two completely separate spreadsheet files.  In Spreadsheet A, there is a cell with a link to open Spreadsheet B, and vice versa.  When I click on the link, the other Spreadsheet opens up just fine.  However, it opens up in a new tab.  Is there a way to make it open in the same window that I'm working in?
Answer: If I understand correctly, you have a single spreadsheet with two sheets, and you want to add a link in a cell in Sheet A that switches the active view to Sheet B.
I believe the HYPERLINK function will solve your problem. The url you enter as first parameter to this function should be of the form "#gid=<sheet id>" where <sheet id> is the sheet id for Sheet B.
You can find the gid for Sheet B by switching to the sheet in the browser window, and look for the gid= term at the end of the URL. All Google Sheet URLs take the form https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/<spreadsheetId>/edit#gid=<sheetId>
Comment: Sorry, I guess I used the wrong terminology.  I meant to say spreadsheets, not worksheets.  I have two spreadsheets already linked together and the links work just fine.  The problem is when I click on a link, it opens up in a new tab. Is there a way to make it open in the same window that I'm working in?


What's the best body text font for Windows XP?

Question: For my Windows testing, I am using XP, since that is what I have, and I am testing with Firefox and IE. I noticed that the Times, Georgia and Utopia fonts all look pretty bad in Firefox. I've noticed that on Digg (yes it still exists) they load a nice-looking font after the page loads, so there is an ugly font that switches to a nice font. On FB and Reddit the font remains ugly.
Comment: Utopia is not installed on Windows XP by default. If you are unlucky enough to have acquired Helvetica on your XP machine, then this looks even worse on XP (with the default font smoothing).
Answer: The fonts on various websites should offer the same experience than any other operating systems, of course they are never pixel perfect since the rendering engines vary.
But with this said it shouldn't be as bad as you say it is and I imagine that something else is causing font problems on your screen, one thing it could be comes to mind and that is early versions of XP by default does not ship with anti-aliased enabled on their fonts (ClearType), I recommend you read how to enable ClearType Fonts in XP.
Also in regards of Digg working fine, this is most likely because they use a font called 'Source Sans Pro' which is a TypeKit Font and it's likely processing without the need of ClearType Fonts, since I believe the format is not TrueType.
Comment: Although if you are _testing_ on Windows XP then you are better off leaving everything as default - which means "Standard" font smoothing.
Comment: Most XP users will have it enabled due to the sales of LCD's and laptops. Text is pretty much unreadable at small sizes without, in fact must RTFM copies of windows xp (Dell, HP, Advert etc) had it enabled since well people would complain. I would consider this out of scope of testing purposes... You simply can't cater for people in all seneranios. Otherwise the only option is to use custom fonts but that can cause compatibility issues as well.
Comment: but with that said..... I just checked my VM and it doesn't have it installed and the fonts look how I expect them, of course they are not amazing compared to crisp fonts in Vista upwards and this is because ClearType is enabled.. Personally I'm not agreeing whit W3d to leave it off... since its not that bad,
Comment: @bybe Thanks. I enabled it and the fonts look much better. But it was disabled by default. Probably for testing I will switch it off. Some fonts look OK without Cleartype, and some like Georgia look terrible.


Will my Black Bamboo survive winter outside, zone 6

Question: I live in Louisville, KY. Zone 6. I have a newly planted baby black bamboo plant in a large pot. I'm curious if I don't bring it in in the winter if this will completely die out and I'll have to start it over again in the spring or if it will stay alive?
Answer: The problem is its in a pot, which makes it much more vulnerable to cold in the winter. If you insulate the pot well, you might get it to survive, but if it gets cold enough for the whole pot to freeze solid, then it'll die, and in your Zone, it just might get cold enough. Stacking bales of hay round a pot won't be an attractive sight all winter, but it might work.
Answer: Based on the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map you are very close to the critical temperature for Black Bamboo. It suggests an average annual low of 0 to -5. The resources I can find say it can't handle much below 5 degrees. Above 5 it's fine, below -5 it's probably dead. In between you get varying degrees of cold stress that won't quite kill it, but will likely weaken and injure it.
You would need to insulate the pot very heavily, and (if possible) try moving the pot to a more sheltered location for winter. Unprotected, an unusually cold winter will likely kill it.


Assuming a neuron does not reach activation, what is the rate of repolarization in the absence of new stimulus?

Question: How long does it take for a neuron to return to it's resting state, due to absence of further stimulus?
Answer: Neurons (either the neuron as a whole, or segments such as a length of dendrite) can be modeled as an RC circuit. This is because the membrane acts as both a resistor and capacitor.
RC circuits have a time constant tau, equal to R * C. This time constant describes how long it takes to passively discharge the membrane capacitor.
In the context of neurons, this is referred to as the "membrane time constant" and like other exponential decay constants it refers to the amount of time that passes before the voltage has gone ~63.2% of the way towards rest.
In exponential decay, equilibrium is never truly reached, but after ~2-3 time constants it is likely decayed to within measurement precision given other sources of noise.
To answer your question "how long" the only answer is "it depends" - neurons with different functions have very different time constants. Time constants also aren't perfectly static, because the membrane resistance is not constant due to channels gated by voltage or signalling molecules. Typical values are from milliseconds to tens of milliseconds.


Strumming along low BPM song

Question: I am fairly comfortable strumming along a song with 80 or more BPM, however for songs lower that I struggle to keep up. How should I practice?
Comment: What do you mean struggle to keep up? It's presumably not too fast, so is it the timing accuracy you are struggling with? Or something else?
Comment: I personally find a very slow pace hard to keep accurate and Tim's answer is a good solution IMHO.
Comment: What is your reference beat for BPM? Let's say the song is in 4/4 time: are you referring to  = 80?
Answer: Strum twice as fast, but miss actually playing the strings on the 'off' beats. That keeps the arm moving at a pace that works for you, and actually, it's what a lot of strum patterns, fast or slow, will incorporate anyhow. So there may be a real sounding strum every down/up/down/up, but because there's a better momentum, it's easier to keep time. Think 'ghost' strums. And there's no reason not to include some of those ghost strums in actual sound.
Comment: do you mean "there may *not*"?
Comment: @GregMartin - 'there may be **one** real sounding strum every down/up/down/up.'
Comment: Interesting concept.  I have seen that suggestion before but never actually tried it.  So I just did.  What I find is that this technique (with the ghost strums) in essence makes your wrist like a metronome.  Get your wrist swinging in a rhythmic tempo like the pendulum on a metronome.  You can't really get that effect if you try to do it too slow.  It becomes more mechanical and forced vs just a natural rhythm.
Answer: At slower tempos, the time between beats can be hard to feel. To help develop the feeling, practice with a metronome. But rather than setting the metronome at 80BPM (or slower), set it at 160BPM. This will fill in some of the space between beats, so even though you'll still strum at 80BPM, there will be an "extra" click each beat to help you stay on track.
Comment: @CheruiyotAKirui In classical music, in which we usually perform without click tracks or other means of keeping time, it can be a real challenge to keep the tempo steady at slow speeds (especially, say, in chamber music without a conductor). We often advise each other to "subdivide", meaning to imagine these extra "beats within the beats." But the challenge then is that you shouldn't emphasize the subdivisions in the *way* you play, or else they'll start sounding like beats themselves.
Answer: My suggestion is to do the opposite of what players do when trying to learn something technically challenging, which is start slow then gradually speed up.
You're comfortable at 80bpm. Pick a handful of strumming patterns you're comfortable with. Have them be rhythmically varied with different combinations of quarters, eighths, sixteenths and triplets too. Start with one, play it a few times at 80 then slow the click by small increments of your choosing. The idea is to train yourself to accurately fill in the blanks between the clicks with your chosen rhythm. Before you start playing count the subdivisions out loud to the click: 1+2+3+4+, 1e+a2e+a, 1-trip-let 2-trip-let, etc.
Work your way down to the 70's then the 60's. Remember to relax, it's very important at slow tempos!
Comment: Thanks @john yeah slow tempos are good. My fiancee likes when I play it slow thou am not comfortable yet.
Answer: If the slow tempo is very regular, you can subdivide it in your head to predict where the beats will land. If it is, say 4/4 time with  = 40, imagine 8th notes which are 80 per minute, or 16th notes that are 160.  Say you wanted to strum twice per measure: every other quarter note. In your head you could count "strum!-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4, strum!-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4". This will eventually become internalized so you don't have to think about the counting.
Use your body. Sometimes rhythm players "air strum" their hand in a faster tempo, but only every other or every fourth strum actually hits the instrument. Or they make tiny "pseudo-strum" gestures during the silences, in time with imaginary beat subdivisions. The "-2-3-4", "1-2-3-4" counts could be accompanied by movements of the strumming hand, like it is about to strum but doesn't actually strum.
Instead of, or in addition to relying on this internal rhythm or extra movements, you could also pay attention to any other instruments which are subdividing the meter with faster notes.

Strumming along low BPM song


How do you stop optimizing sitecore_analytics_index

Question: We have our analytics_index over 150 million documents now (with Solr on a standalone windows server). How can we stop Sitecore from optimizing the index? Solr says optimizing should only be done on fairly static indexes. (Also, it places a copy of the index in disk cache as it optimizes it, building a new index and the I/Ops on the disk is always through the roof.) Any way to tell Sitecore not to optimize the analytics index when it adds more documents to it?
We noticed that Sitecore.ContentSearch.Solr.Index.Analytics.config has a TimedIndexRefreshStrategy of one minute for this index. Should we set that to nightly as well?
Comment: Are you seeing a warning in Solr about the optimisation? As far as I am aware, Sitecore only optimise the index when it is rebuilt, not when new documents are added, or in the case of the sitecore_master_index it is optimized every 12 hours by default, thanks to the agent "Sitecore.ContentSearch.Tasks.Optimize". I think the TimedIndexRefreshStrategy simply checks the queue of elementes pending to index and process them, without a Optimize at the end.
Comment: We're seeing the index double the disk size then shrink back down to original size. We thought that was what optimizing does-and we see that happen all day long. We assume updating the index triggers an optimize from Sitecore's side. Something must be telling it to optimize. Do you know of a way to turn off optimizing capability on that index?
Comment: I couldn't find any other call to Optimize apart from the index rebuild. There is a setting to force a rebuild when there are too many items to index (FullRebuildItemCountThreshold), but I don-t think it is used in your strategy. In Solr cloud 6.0 I can see the warning in the logging panel when the indexes are optimized. Checking this would be my first step.
Answer: There is an agent, Sitecore.ContentSearch.Tasks.Optimize, that controls which indexes are regularly optimized and how frequently. Open up your <your_site>/sitecore/admin/showconfig.aspx and look for this agent. It should look something like the below:
<agent type="Sitecore.ContentSearch.Tasks.Optimize" method="Run" interval="12:00:00">
  <indexes hint="list">
    <index>sitecore_master_index</index>
    ...
  </indexes>
</agent>

Take a look and see if there is an entry in the <indexes> list for the sitecore_analytics_index. If so, remove it from the list and the index should no longer be regularly optimized. If not, then scheduled optimization is likely not your issue, but rather on-demand (i.e. at the end of a rebuild) optimization.
If on-demand indexing is your issue, share with us the <strategies> that you have configured for your sitecore_analytics_index.
Comment: We don't have the analytics index setting by the scheduled agent-that's good to know! We are curious what methods are there for on-demand optimization. Is the timedindexrefreshstrategy one of those methods?

You mention the end of a rebuild triggers an optimize: Analytics index is not rebuilt by the Sitecore rebuild index option. How are analytics optimizations triggered?


Packard Bell Easynote TS1HR-120IT Notebook, is it compatible with Ubuntu?

Question: I've bought a Notebook Packard Bell EasyNote TS1HR-120IT and I want to install Linux (preferably Ubuntu  but I'm not sure if it is compatible.
Answer: Just by looking at the specifications on the Packard-bell`s website, I see no problems in installing Ubuntu.  You may have some wireless issues, if you do you can check back here for the solution.  Welcome to Ubuntu :)


Anyone using CiviCRM for Scholarship Management?

Question: I'm working with a nonprofit's foundation to find a system to manage the foundation and its scholarships. Is anyone using CiviCRM and any extensions for this purpose? Thanks.
Comment: I think the community will be able to help you more if you can spell out some of the scenarios required, since your needs could be very different from another's.
Answer: Without information from you this answer is just waving in the dark but here goes.
Assuming a Scholarship involves

an application
a review/decision
a notification of outcome
for succesful, a one-off or series of payments
perhaps a report at the end

Then I would approach this by using CiviCase and a bunch of custom Activity Types.
In an iDrupal world I would then provide the user with forms using webform_civicrm to open and update the status of the Case while also creating or updating the relevant Activities.
I would probably also provide a Drupal View of current applicants so admins can easily click through to a prefilled Webform and make the relevant updates.
Webform can also take care of pushing out the success/failure notifications, or that could be triggered via CiviRules or directly via an Activity to let applicants know the outcome.
HTH
Comment: Thank you for the response. That is very helpful! Yes, your assumptions are 100% correct. (And apologies for not spelling that out initially.) I have never used CiviCRM but in my research it looks like it is flexible enough to provide the tools needed. My question was posed the way it was because of my experience with Joomla which has many extensions that are designed for specific applications. I believe that CivicCRM has a more mature relationship with Drupal as opposed to Joomla so I can certainly look in that direction.


Massive import with CSV file

Question: I have exported game archive with all objects. I also have CSV file with all their details, such as model name, location, rotation (XYZW). How do I import CSV file, and make blender read it and put all objects on the places?
Ps. Z rotation axis must be multiplied to '-1'.
Comment: @batFINGER, Hi. Thanks for the reply. Your code helps me but didn't solve my problem. FBX importing doesn't have a location and rotation, unlike UV spheres in your example. I see axis_forward and axis_up in FBX importing example, but I don't know what it is.
Comment: @batFINGER, I practised little more and successfully assigned location to object. But a question about rotation and scale is still teasing me.
Answer: so after @batFINGER `s examples, I wrote my example. The code is 'Ugly' but in the other hand, it's working
<code>import bpy
import csv

csvfile = "yourfiledirectory\file.csv"
suffix = '.fbx'
with open(csvfile) as csvfile:
    csvread = csv.reader(csvfile)
    for i, row in enumerate (csvread):
        if i==0: continue
        filename = row[0]
        loc_x = row[1]
        loc_y = row[2]
        loc_z = row[3]
        scale_x  = row[4]
        scale_y  = row[5]
        scale_z  = row[6]
        rot_x = row[7]
        rot_y = row[8]
        rot_z = row[9]
        rot_z = float(rot_z)*-1
        rot_w = row[10]
        dir = "directory where your files are"
        bpy.ops.import_scene.fbx( filepath = dir )
        bpy.ops.transform.translate(value=(float(loc_x), float(loc_y), float(loc_z)))
        bpy.ops.transform.resize(value=(float(scale_x), float(scale_y), float(scale_z)))
        for obj in bpy.context.selected_objects:
            a = obj.name
            print(a)
            bpy.context.scene.objects.active = bpy.data.objects[a]
            bpy.context.object.rotation_mode = 'QUATERNION'
            bpy.context.object.rotation_mode = 'QUATERNION'
            bpy.context.object.rotation_quaternion[0] = float(rot_w)
            bpy.context.object.rotation_quaternion[1] = float(rot_x)
            bpy.context.object.rotation_quaternion[2] = float(rot_y)
            bpy.context.object.rotation_quaternion[3] = float(rot_z)
</code>
Comment: Instead fo `loc_x = row[1]` and the next two lines, use something like `loc = [float(x) for x in row[1:4]]`. Then you can replace the `bpy.ops.transform.translate` line with `bpy.context.object.location = loc`.

Also, in your loop you can just directly assign to `obj.rotation_mode` and `obj.rotation_quaternion`, there is no need to set the active object.

Massive import with CSV file


Is short castling dangerous in Bughouse?

Question: When I play Bughouse, I see that, every single time after a castling, petty sacrifices can easily be break the wall that surrounds the king,Therefore, is it really worth castling, especially short castling, in Bughouse?
Answer: Tempo is king in bug house for castling. By definition, unless your castle makes a immediate threat somehow, you have lost 1 tempo. In other words, it is at least one more move until you improve or gain position to attack.
If it takes your op 2 or more moves to make a threat, then you have a +1 tempo gain and it might be worth it.
If you are under immediate threats, then this might be good also if it forces a 1 tempo action for op to retarget.
If your partner's board is timelocked, then it may be of long term value to castle. Depends on how many troops are waiting to crash down. Your board becomes more like a normal yet rapid chess game
Comment: like @bvauughn says, castling wastes tempo, _and_ it weakens your king tremendously in the majority of cases. so, therefore, it is _usually not_ a good idea to castle in bughouse. for a good opening that _doesn't_ involve castling, check this out: http://chess.stackexchange.com/questions/15718/is-1-nf3-good-for-white-in-bughouse?noredirect=1#comment21678_15718
Comment: You know, I have played with chess masters who castled but I wondered about it nonetheless. What about the argument that it protects the king?
Answer: It is certainly believed by many that castling is a "bad" move in bughouse (and if king side castling is weak, queen side in my experience can be much worse). But I have seen world class (2500+) BH players castle either side, probably more commonly k-side.
One of the chief ways in which a castled king (on the king side) is attacked is via the H pawn and it is clear that defending that pawn is harder than most squares: The king protects it but that is surely not a very good protector because of course if the pawn is taken, the king is now on H2 or H7 and then is subject often to a mating attack. Since the H pawn is at the edge of the board, there are no squares to the left (or right if you are white) of it on which to place protectors. So basically H2/H7 is a very weak square and the poor king is right next to it.


Prevent Facebook from publishing when changing profile picture

Question: Is there a setting for preventing Facebook from automatically publishing to my timeline whenever I change my profile picture? I tried hiding it from timeline after changing but it still shows up in the news feed and the privacy setting is also set to public so the whole world sees it. I tried deleting it from the timeline but then the new picture gets deleted so I get the default one.
Answer: Your profile photo is always public and there does not (currently) appear to be a way to change the default audience the message that gets posted to your timeline when you change it.
It looks like all you can do is, after the message is posted on your timeline, change the audience to whatever is most appropriate (e.g., "Only Me"). This is, of course, like closing the barn door after the horse has already bolted, because anyone who gets notifications of you activity via other means (e.g., email) will still see the message.


SP 2013 Document Library Alerts

Question: I've created a few doc libraries on a site, and would like one question answered before I go any further with it:  I created an ALERT notification for each of the libraries, and put the email addresses of the group of people who should receive the notifications.  NOTE:  I was not one of the people in these groups set to receive these notifications.   When I went back to edit these notifications, I could not see them.  Could this perhaps be because I did not set myself as one of the recipients? Or are they lost, and I need to re-create them?
Comment: Yes, you can only view the alerts which set receiver as yourself through manage my alert.
Answer: You can only view or cancel alerts:
Settings > Site Settings > Site Administration > User Alerts
Manage, view, or delete SharePoint alerts

SP 2013 Document Library Alerts


Drupal 7 Teaser Image Block - no titles or other data

Question: I am setting up a pretty straightforward Durpal 7 site, so I am trying to keep things simple. I have an image gallery set up just fine. On the home page, I am trying to set up a block that simply displays 4 random thumbnails from the gallery. I only want the thumbnail images, but I currently also have the image titles, date posted, and posted by data. Is there a simple way to post only the thumbnails and not the other associated data? I have tried to strip down the teaser view to the bare bones, but still the other data are viewable.
Answer: Instead of showing the content with a view mode of Teaser, rather show fields, and only the image field.

If you want to continue using content with a view mode, install and use Display Suite


How should I reattach this garage door bracket?

Question: I didn't install this originally but looks like the bracket has broke off from the door. Also it appears that the door itself is damaged. What is the best way to repair this?
Comment: @isherwood that is the arm that connects to the door there is usually a quick disconnect to be able to open the door if the power is out.
Comment: I can't tell what I'm looking at. Where on the door was this thing? Do you get the impression that it was a handle, or a motion stop of some sort?
Answer: Once screws rip out I like to reenforced the door.
I would get a larger piece of metal several inches wider. And screw into the door in 2-3 new locations if in the center use flat head screws there. Then attach the original bracket to the new piece of metal.
Next I would check that the door moves up with only a few pounds of force. I have found garage like you have when the torsion or one of the torsion springs break. If the door feels like more than 30lb you may want to inspect your spring(s). Broken springs are not hard to replace but can be quite dangerous (believe it or not even fatal at times). Door pros can knock a broken spring out quickly.
This may be the reason the bracket ripped loose.
Comment: I agree. I've actually mounted two-by lumber between the two reinforcing ribs, screwing through them into the wood and through the wood into the door skin. The bracket can be mounted at any height in the top half of the upper panel (it doesn't have to be right at the top), but the opener travel will need to be adjusted.
Answer: Your best bet is to remove the existing screws from the bracket and fit the bracket back into place on the door. It appears that the lower lip on the bracket gets inserted behind the metal channel on the door. Line up the holes in the door with the holes in the bracket. Drill through the bracket holes with the same size drill all the way through the door. Get some bolts long enough to go through the door from the outside, with a washer, through the bracket then another washer and then a nut. tighten up everything and that should do it. Good luck.


"Awaiting Reviewer Invitation" after "Acceptance with Minor Revision"

Question: I have submitted an article (media and communication studies) to a ScholarOne journal. The paper was accepted with minor revision (two reviewers both recommended 'minor revision'). I revised the paper accordingly and addressed the feedbacks. After submitting the revised article for a week, a ADM was assigned and the status has changed to "awaiting reviewer invitation." Does it mean that my paper will go through another round of review with new reviewers? I was told that for paper with "minor revision," it is likely like it will not be sent back to the reviewers. Has anyone experienced similar situation?
Comment: It is completely normal for papers with minor revisions to go through more than one round of revisions. If the editors deem ir necessary and the reviewers that volunteered for the first round of the review are unavailable, they might need to invite new ones.
Answer: Does it mean your paper will go through another round of review? Not necessarily. It depends on whether the editor invites new reviewers. "Awaiting reviewer invitation" should strictly be a very brief status, since the time between the editor deciding to invite reviewers and the editor actually inviting reviewers should be very brief, on the order of a few minutes. The fact that you are apparently seeing this status for more than a brief moment indicates that the journal is using it as a substitute for "Editor assigned".
You can think about the timeline as so:

Your paper is resubmitted. Status shows "Revision submitted to journal".
Either the desk editor (i.e. the employee of the publisher assigned to the journal) or the editor-in-chief assigns an editorial board member to handle the paper. Here the status could show "Editor assigned", or it could show "awaiting reviewer invitation".
The editorial board member could make a decision now, or they could go ahead and invite reviewers. It depends on how substantial the changes requested are, and whether the editor is able to check it himself.
Answer: I don't know what "awaiting reviewer invitation" means.
But usually, the paper with minor revision will be sent directly back to the same reviewers for the final decision. They need to check whether you revise according to their reviews.


Multi Project Management Dashboard

Question: I was given a task of presenting management with a dashboard for multiple projects. Please suggest to me a suitable template. What are the main parameters that should be showcased on this dashboard?
Answer: Ask them.
There's no possible way for us, strangers on the internet, to be able to know with certainty what information your management needs.
So, ask them. I suggest compiling a list of all possible types of information you could provide them (just the types (e.g. estimated time, actual time, team members, process, etc.), not the data themselves (5 weeks, 3 weeks, 4 members, 7 members, etc.)). Then ask them which information they're interested in seeing on the dashboard.
Comment: Question is what are the best practices around the PM dashboards...
Answer: Although I agree with Sarov, I think that the process should be as follows: you shoud first understand what they want and then create a scope based on your experience and what you think it's valuable.
It's similar to what Henry Ford said: "If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses."
In my experience, having a big overview is always helpful. With Ontime  it's possible to create custom views and show: average number of tasks per sprint, milestones to be completed, tasks in the backlog, along with other metrics and plots. This allowed the board to do informed decisions about priorities.
Answer: Usually top management want to see such main project parameters like being on time and on budget, and some evidence around that. Especially for Fixed Price projects or similar.
To represent the params you can have a couple of charts similar to Fever Portfolio Chart

but representing both remaining schedule and budget buffer. This is extremely visual.
You dont need to implement Theory Of Constraints for that fully. Just have some estimates and actual spent time for your tickets. Then cut the estimates, say, on 30% and call them "project buffer".
For T&M projects top management is usually interested in following: do we spend all dedicated budget or not? And you can provide some info on how much you have already spent, how much you should have spent on the moment, and forecasting of the things for the end of the contract.
Answer: Consider representing Risks (not the same as Opportunities) in a dashboard.

But first
Start with familiarizing with the four states requiring action.
Then
See the sample dashboard, presented as an example for a Risk (one of the four states in a project), and refer to the risk matrix graphic.

Action vs. Action Item - What's the difference?
What is an Action?
The process of doing something in order to achieve an aim, or meet an objective.

An Action is the highest common factor and central component of an
element of project requiring response or attention in Project
Management.

What is an Action Item?
An element of a project that pops up during a project and requires action.

Four States in a Project Requiring Action
1) Issue
Something that has already happened (realized risk) and will have or already has a negative impact on the project, requiring corrective action

Timeframe: Present
State: Unhealthy (-)
Action Aim: Correct

2) Action Item
Element of a project that pops up during a project life cycle and requires attention and action

Timeframe: Present
State: Healthy (+)
Action Aim: Maintain

3) Risk
An uncertain event or condition that has a negative effect on a project's objectives.

Timeframe: Future
State: Potential for Loss (-)
Action Aim: Prevent

4) Opportunity
Possible action that can be taken, that requires one or more actions to be completed, having a potential for gain, or benefit for a project, if pursued.

Timeframe: Future
State: Potential for Gain (+)
Action Aim: Pursue

Risk Matrix

(Courtesy of
https://www.juliantalbot.com/post/2018/07/31/whats-right-with-risk-matrices)

Sample Dashboard (Risk)

Multi Project Management Dashboard


In Noobs, screen works, but cannot boot raspbian

Question: As new raspberry pi user, I'm a bit confused. I have the following setup:

Raspberry Pi B model
Philips 273E3QH screen with HDMI input, with an HDMI cable to my Raspberry Pi
SanDisk Extreme Pro card

I downloaded Noobs 1.3, copied the files to the SD card and powered my Raspberry Pi. Screen works fine, and I can select the OS's I want to install. I select Raspbian, after which the installer says the installation was successful. However, when trying to reboot, the screen stays black. I mean, it is not inactive (the backlight of the screen is active, so it appears to light up completely but faintly), but after that nothing.
So, my screen directly connected to the HDMI was able to deal with the installer, but nothing happens when actually trying to boot raspbian.
Anyone an idea? I unsuccessfully tried to change settings in the config.txt, and I also verified the ext2 partitions. These were clean. On the other hand, I didn't check the fat16 boot partition yet of 60 Mb for errors (before and after this boot partition, there are unallocated partitions of 4Mb).
Any leads would be much appreciated.
Many thanks in advance.
Filip
Comment: Take a look at this question http://raspberrypi.stackexchange.com/questions/10210/hdmi-output-works-with-noobs-but-not-after-i-install-an-os
Comment: have you tried connecting it over SSH ?
Comment: I didn't think SSH was enabled by default on Raspbian.
Answer: Press the numnber 1 or 2 key on your keyboard durring bootup, it will select which output to use , i forget what all the options are, but i know the first numbers 1 and 2 are for hdmi and 3 and 4 are for the ntsc / pal i think...


Gaps and overlaps appear after cutting a previously topologically clean shapefile?

Question: I'm using QGIS 2.2 and I have a polygon shapefile which was created by someone else. I have managed to get the shapefile to a topologically clean state by running v.clean but when I tried to cut the existing polygons to show a corridor (for a new powerline) gaps and overlaps then appear when I run topology. I have 'enable topological editing' crossed and snapping on and avoid intersection. Each time I try to cut the polygons new gaps and overlaps appear in different places.
Comment: Any time you cut a shapefile polygon you are adding vertices to it, and not to those it is coincident with; thus they are no longer topologically correct. To simplify a bit the clean process introduces vertices in the coincident polygons to match the one you cut, and thus create a correct topology.  In ArcGIS after editing layers in a geodatabase topology you have to validate them, which does the same thing.  I've always liked the topology/precision discussion here in its FAQ: http://www.ian-ko.com/
Comment: Are you getting gaps/overlaps when you cut a single polygon into three pieces (corridor/sides)? Because that would suggest something is wrong with the tolerance settings or coordinate system of the shapefile. How are you cutting - using another polygon/layer or manually drawing? How many layers are you working with - just the one? You've enabled topological editing, but is that layer(s?) participating in the topology?
Comment: It does seem possible it could be something to do with the co-ordinate system and snapping tolerance levels as I found if I cut very zoomed in and did each little bit I got less errors than when zoomed out. Thank you for the link @johns I couldn't find a fix for it in QGIS, the tool in the article seems to only be for ArcGIS.
Answer: Instead of cutting out polygons, an alternative is to reshape your polygon (Toggle editing > Edit > Reshape Features) into your desired corridor. The topology should remain intact as no polygons are being removed.
Comment: How would you use reshape to cut a corridor into a polygon? Reshape would allow you to alter the boundary, but I don't see how you could divide it in two (or three, depending on how you look at it).
Comment: Thanks @ChrisW, probably should have asked the OP the same questions you asked in your comment above. I only mentioned the reshape if it was a possible alternative but you're right, you can't divide polygons with this function.
Comment: Hi thanks for the suggestion but it didn't work. As mentioned it just changed the boundary but I still got the errors with it. I'm wondering if something has happened when I run v.clean. It's very strange as the shapefile will be topologically clean according to topology checker then when I split the polygons by snapping on a vertex at either side of the polygon gaps and overlaps then appear. If I split the polygon but do not snap onto any existing vertices then I get no error but this means my lines then look messy, especially where I want to connect to a corner.
Comment: Sorry, I just noticed the first comments on my question. @Johns explanation seems to make sense as the gaps and overlaps appear to the adjacent polygons to the ones I am cutting.
Comment: No worries. Apologies my solution didn't work, hopefully you will still get the results you want!


Is there a standard ISO language code for "other"?

Question: I'm making a website, and using ISO standard two letter language codes for tagging user-submitted content. I'm not intending on adding every single language, but would like an other category. It's not a huge problem, but it got me wondering, is there a standard code for other? If there is nothing official, is there a common convention?
Answer: Two-letter codes are defined in ISO 639-1 and the current list does not contain a code for "other". (As Wikipedia's list of ISO 639-1 codes shows, not all possible two-letter codes have been used so far, i.e. only 184 out 676 possible codes, so it is theoretically possible that such a code gets added later.)
Since the possible number of codes allowed by two-letter codes is much too low for the world's languages, ISO has defined three-letter codes in ISO 639-3. However, I am not aware of an ISO 639-3 code for "other" language. The standard has a few special codes for situations when you can't use a language code:

mis: for documents using uncoded languages, i.e. languages don't have a ISO code (yet);
mul: for documents using multiple languages (however, in markup languages, you can use the lang attribute on specific elements that contain content in a single language);
und: for documents where the language has not been identified;
zxx: for documents without any linguistic content.

The closest match with what you need is und.
Comment: Correct.  Here is a good example of using `und`: https://blog.twitter.com/engineering/en_us/a/2015/evaluating-language-identification-performance.html
Answer: In Addition to @Tsundoku's answer, there is a kind of private use area in ISO 639-3: In addition, 520 codes in the range qaa–qtz are 'reserved for local use'. So you can assign in your application the code qot for "other" when you want to do this. Note that the same code can have completely different assignments on other places.
Addition in reply to the comments: There is no such option with ISO 693-1 two letter codes, all codes in there are assigned to languages.
Comment: OP specifies that they are using two-letter language codes, i.e. ISO 639-1, not ISO 639-3. From a quick look it doesn't seem that these codes have ISO 639-1 equivalents, or that there is any private use area in ISO 639-1 (although there are many unassigned code points), but this answer would be substantially improved by discussing ISO 639-1 explicitly, even if only to explain why it does not offer a good solution, and ISO 639-3 should be used instead
Comment: the OP says "using ISO standard two letter language codes". The ISO standard two letter codes are ISO 639-1
Comment: Ok, I see it now
Comment: no worries. The answer already addressed the underlying concern in the question, I just wanted to make sure the two letter case was explicitly addressed for anyone coming across it later

Is there a standard ISO language code for ”other”?


Striking the chest in the last few lines of Vidui

Question: Towards the end of Vidui (על חטא section) there is a list of sins that are mentioned by punishment, instead of by type. Some people strike their chests while mentioning these sins, and some do not. Should one strike one's chest here, and if so, at what word - חטא, חייבים, שאנו, the mention of the punishment (in which case, does that mean that some lines get more than one strike?), etc.?
Comment: If I remember, the Mishnah Brurah says that that part is no longer part of the vidui and you're allowed to sit for it
Answer: The Chabad custom is to strike one's chest when saying the word "חיבים" in the last section of the Al Chet. It is mentioned in Sefer HaSichos of the Friediker Rebbe 5705 page 9 (my own translation):

The Chosid R' Aba Person once asked the Rebbe Maharash how many times one strikes his chest on Yom Kippur. From the number he answered, R' Aba Person understood that we also strike by "על חטאים" and by "סלח לנו מחל לנו".

Striking specifically by the word "חיבים" is brought in the Kehos Machzor with customs at the bottom.
See Nitey Gavriel (Yom Kippur Perek 34 Ois 13) who cites this custom in the name of the Mekor Chaim.


Where is blockchain located on Mac for Bitcoin-Qt?

Question: I attempted to use Bitcoin-Qt on my PC but it could not handle the Bitcoin blockchain. I therefore decided to give up and to delete the blockchain. Sadly, I cannot find where it is located.
I have looked up in ~/.bitcoin and ~/Library/Application Support/Bitcoin/ but to no avail. Where else could I find it?
Answer: Quoting https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Data_directory#Mac :

Mac
By default Bitcoin will put its data here:

~/Library/Application Support/Bitcoin/

You can access that folder by opening a new Finder window --> then by going to "Go" --> "Go to Folder..." (or pressing command + shift + G), and then pasting the above path into the window that appeared.
Answer: Try to type into the Search window of the Finder "Bitcoin". Pretty sure you will see "Bitcoin QT" logo first in the list of the files found. Drag and drop it into the Trash folder and then empty it. The same way delete all the program files with "bitcoin" word in their names. It is not necessary that Library will contain the Bitcoin Core folder, that's why I uninstalled the Bitcoin Core app this way.


Why does the Information Manual say "C172S - Flaps 10 (Preferred) for Normal Takeoff", when the models before S-model do not have this note?

Question: Do Flaps 10 really do anything performance-wise other than reducing ground roll and distance over a 50-foot obstacle? If not worried about clearing an obstacle, does a Flaps UP-normal takeoff make more sense (Better climb performance since no drag from Flaps) in the C172S?
Comment: I think it was because of the power increase in the SP gave flaps 10 climb performance as good as or better than flaps up in the 160 hp version, so make that the standard TO setting and benefit from the shorter run.  Not sure tho.
Comment: "Why does the say" I think you're missing a word or two there... Please [edit] to clarify
Comment: [Related](https://aviation.stackexchange.com/q/79885/62)
Answer: The Cessna 172S has more power (180hp vs 160hp for 172R) and higher MTOW
(2550lb vs 2400lb for 172R).
This means that folks used to rotating at 55 knots IAS in earlier models would be closer to stall if taking off "clean".  Another way of doing it would be to add 5 knots and rotate clean at 60 knots.
Vx is also a bit higher in the 172S at 62 knots IAS.
Vy is at 74 knots and Vbg is still at 65 knots, indicating few changes aerodynamicly, just a bit more weight requiring more airspeed to generate adequate lift, or flaps can be added to increase lift coefficient at a lower airspeed.


Tomcat Non-Paged Pool creeps up until OS crashes

Question: I've been having an issue in one of our production servers. The Non Paged Pool creeps up slowly until the system hangs and than crash.
Tomcat: 6.0.16
Java: 1.5.16
OS: Windows Server 2003 R2 SP2
This is a production server that uses high bandwidth. Poking around Poolmon.exe I was able to find that

the AfdP tag is consuming a lot of NP (Non Paged) pool.
This is a tag concerning the windows socket driver (afd.sys).
I have seen an Microsoft hotfix which seems to be related to this issue http://support.microsoft.com/kb/931311 . The only issue is that the afd.sys file mention in the hotfix is from a previous version from the one installed. 5.2.3790.4008 vs  5.2.3790.4898

We have many production server running our tomcat. We have only encountered this issue in two of them, those servers have the same OS/Java/Tomcat installed. One server uses high bandwidth and the other uses much less.
As far as I understand the issue is can happen in 3 areas. The java part interfacing with the driver, the driver it's self and the network card interfacing with the driver. I say tomcat because this is the process that consumes all  NP pool (about 170MB).

Have you ever encountered this issue?
Do you know of any application level/Tomcat configuration work around to solve this issue?
Do you think that there is something wrong in the way Tomcat interfaces with winsock?
Do you believe that Tomcat APR might resolve this issue?
I can't seem to download this hotfix to further investigate these files, they might contain a suitable version. Do you know how can I get them?

Any tip or information about this issue will be highly appreciated, I've scattered the web and banging my head over this issue for a long time.
Answer: Isn't it this?
AfdP tag Ploblem -> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/917114/
AfdB tag Ploblem -> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/931311
Comment: Actually it isn't, The issue is still happening I suspect this is in JAVA or mcafee
Comment: afd.sys ? -> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/951162/
Comment: this is why you should not just leave links!, all links are dead


Coolant leak 2006 Jeep Commander

Question: Took my Jeep Commander 4.7V8 RWD to dealership mech. cause I've been having to refill coolant container every couple of weeks. I've noticed small puddles of coolant after being parked for several hrs. (gen. area is behind passenger side wheel well). This has been going on for several months. Engine is not overheating, and waterpump has been replaced.  Mechanic cannot find the leak? Any ideas, tired of buying coolant. Jeep will traded in within 6 mos., so ok to continue refilling? Otherwise help! They're were other services recommeded at the shop, I'll tell you about those later, just currently concerned with this problem.
Comment: Thanks for taking the time to read, not a DIYer so any help is appreciated.
Comment: don't worry, it *will* get worse. At least it will get easier to find.
Answer: Other than coolant being a toxic substance that you'd be spreading around, no there isn't a specific reason you couldn't just keep refilling it. There is a risk involved, though. Either you'll forget to refill it (or someone else driving your car forgets), the leak gets suddenly worse, or your reservoir runs dry which introduces air pockets in your cooling system.
Personally, I wouldn't risk it. Find a reputable independent shop near you and at least get a second opinion. It's pretty shocking that they would give up on finding the coolant leak but hand you a list of other things to be done.
In the meantime, make sure that coolant reservoir stays full enough.
Comment: Right! That's what I thought too, especially since the leak is fairly steady? But yet they performed a "premium brake fluid service", is there such a thing? Anywho they made it seem necessary, and it cost me 148 bucks. For a grand total of $211.29, which included an oil/filter change.  On the list that they recommended be performed soon were transmission flush, power steering fluid flush, and rear differtial service? They kinda lost me after the $700+  quote. Yes I'll be trading in soon, thanks for the input.
Comment: I am surprised the Dealership gave up on finding the leak too. All dealerships are trained to offer every conceivable recommended or scheduled service under the sun because that is how they make their money. By their own definition, everything they do is "premium". :-D
Comment: There is one scenario where refilling coolant indefinitely would not work, for example, when coolant is leaking in oil compartment. Of course OP was quite explicit that coolant is leaking on the ground instead of "mysteriously" disappearing so this possibility is less likely.
Answer: I just replaced my water pump a few months ago and now the water pump seal was leaking again.  My mechanic said the new pump was defective and he replaced it for free.  No more leak!
Comment: How does this answer the OP's question? Can you be more specific how this will help the OP find the coolant leak around the passenger wheel well?
Answer: just replaced water pump 2007 Commander,144000 miles,two weeks later leaking again. Brought back to shop, pump was defective at the seal, replaced for new one no charge, six weeks no more leaks.Same result as Carguy.

Coolant leak 2006 Jeep Commander


Second J on turn lower the chance that

Question: When playing against opponent, the board comes for example J99, on turn is another J, then we assume that the opponent has lower chance he's holding J because it came also on turn so he probably doesnt have J, which is good. Why do we assume that, how to rationalize that? Thanks.
Comment: The turn would be the 3rd J.   If a 4th J comes up on the river you can be sure they don't hold one.
Answer: Before the flop, there were 47 cards you didn't know the location of, three of which were jacks. On that information and nothing else, the probability that your opponent holds a jack is about 12.5%. When the jack turns, there are now 46 unknown cards, two of which are jacks. On that new information, the probability that he has a jack goes down to 8.6%.
But that's just a good first guess given no other information. If he calls the flop and raises you on the turn, I would increase your estimate quickly. :-)
Answer: Actually, you cannot say "there is a second J on the board, so the probability that the opponent holds a J is lower". If you're saying so you're doing poker wrong. Mathematically speaking, out of the context - yes, the probability is lower than before seeing the J. But unfortunately when you play poker you cannot build your probability estimations only on the cards you see. You must go deeper.
According on the opponent profile and the preflop and flop actions you estimate the range of hands he plays. A good example: the opponent is very tight, he's the initial aggressor preflop, he misses his cbet and calls your bet vs missed cbet. Before you see the turn you can say that his range includes QQ+ and all the well kicked jacks.
Answer: The exact probability that the opponent holds a jack is rather irrelevant at this point in the hand, without considering things like how the hand has gone down to this point. If the player had just cautiously called a bet on the flop then check raises the turn you can give him a higher probability of holding a jack for example.
The fact that two of the jacks are on board of course means there are less jacks for player to hold, but that is really not a consideration when your trying to figure out if an opponent holds a jack.

Second J on turn lower the chance that


How to prevent selfish mining?

Question: I'm exploring the topic of selfish mining attacks and how to detect and stop them. I do not really understand any of given solutions. Can someone please explain in plain English, how selfish mining gets detected, how to stop it from happening and how to react to it when the attack happens? Were there any selfish mining attacks so far? Were there any mitigations of the selfish mining attack added to the Bitcoin protocol since it was described?
Comment: We do have a number of questions here tagged [tag: selfish-mining], but it's maybe a bit more of an academic topic. Have you tried looking for academic papers about it?
Comment: Thank you, I did. That's the reason I wrote this question and used the phrase ("plain English")
Answer:
I do not really understand any of given solutions. Can someone please explain in plain English

I also find this stuff difficult to understand however I'm a little skeptical of the idea that complex issues can always be simply explained. There is a reason why people spend decades studying a subject in order to understand something. Selfish mining isn't one one of these, it isn't quantum mechanics or some esoteric branch of mathematics, however it probably isn't simple.
I find this website works best when you ask one, specific question rather than bundling a bunch of questions together. So far as I can tell, this isn't a place where you can routinely expect volunteers to write substantially long multi-page essays.
A google search finds Majority is not Enough: Bitcoin Mining is Vulnerable; Ittay Eyal and Emin Gun Sirer; Department of Computer Science, Cornell University which, looking at the first few pages, seems to be readable. I would start there and ask here about any single specific points that I needed clarification for.
Cornell is a reputable institution and a peer-reviewed paper with substantial citations ought to be a reasonable starting point.
Comment: I did not expect an essay I just needed some simple explanation on existing solutions to the `selfish miner` problem. I already tried to understand the paper you mentioned, but I will give it another shot. Thank you for your answer.

How to prevent selfish mining?


What does it mean for an appeal to be "contested"?

Question: Does the terminology "contested" when applied to a case under appeal, mean simply that the defendant is appealing the the appeal, or does it mean something different?
Answer: An appeal may be made by a plaintiff, prosecutor, defendant or other interested party, so the term 'defendant' is not very useful; the party opposed to the Appellant (and served with the appeal) is usually called the Respondent.
A contested appeal just means that the Respondent wishes to be represented at the appeal, presumably to fight it; most appeals are contested, but not all. Unlike a first-order case which may go by default, an uncontested appeal will still have to have some sort of a hearing; you are, after all, saying that a court decision should be set aside, and the Respondent's views are not necessarily relevant.  It is, though, fair to say that an uncontested appeal will have a greater chance of success.
Answer: A "contested" appeal does not mean that "the defendant is appealing the the appeal[.]"
Usually an appeal is considered "contested" if an answer brief arguing that some or all of the relief sought on appeal should not be granted is timely filed in response to the opening brief on appeal filed by the party filing the appeal.
The fact that an answer brief is not filed in an appeal does not mean that the party filing the appeal automatically wins (as would be the case in a civil action in the trial court where the defendant failed to file an answer), but gives rise to a more lenient standard of review than in a contested appeal.
There are also very rare cases where an answer brief is filed and the answer brief concedes that the appellate court should rule in favor of the appealing party on all issues presented.
For example, Denver recently had a change in District Attorney since the old District Attorney was term limited. There was one case of which I am aware in which the defendant appealed a sentence after the old District Attorney had argued that the sentence as valid in the trial court, prevailed in the trial court, and caused the defendant to appeal the sentence. But, the new DA disagreed with the legal analysis and/or position taken in the case by the old DA and the trial judge, and concluded that the sentence was invalid and that she would lose on appeal (the issue concerned the application of a recidivist sentencing statute in Colorado to cause a minor offense to have a very long sentence). So, the new DA filed something in the appellate court conceding that the defendant should win and the defendant's appeal was granted summarily.
But, the second scenario is normally not what someone is talking about when distinguishing an appeal that is contested from one that is not contested, even though, in theory, neither scenario is a "contested appeal".


Is it lawful to keep a user from updating one's own content on Stack Exchange?

Question: I have been banned for asking to many questions on Physics Stack Exchange for 1 year. During this time I am not allowed to revise or update my published work. I have asked that my work be invisible with my ban unless I am allowed to refine my questions and answers. Are they legally allowed to display my Q & A and comments against my will?
Comment: Before posting, you read the [terms of service](http://stackexchange.com/legal), right?  Particularly the phrase "perpetual and irrevocable right and license".
Answer: Use of SE is subject to the terms and conditions specified here. Section 3 says "You agree that all Subscriber Content that You contribute to the Network is perpetually and irrevocably licensed to Stack Exchange under the Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike license." That means that your contributions can be used forever. That means the stuff is there, end of story. Section 11 on Termination says "Stack Exchange may also terminate, block, or suspend any and all Services and access to the Network immediately, without prior notice or liability, in its sole discretion, for any reason or no reason at all, including but not limited to any Subscriber breaches of any of the terms or conditions of this Agreement". That means you can be banned. So, yes, what they did is legal.
Answer: In addition to user6726's answer, which is right, please notice that since we license our contributions under Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike license anybody is free to copy, keep, publish or distribute our posts anywhere or even modify them with very few restrictions. Our will doesn't matter now because we gave permission when we licensed our work on clicking the "Post Your Answer" button.
And of course you have the right to post modified or improved versions of your posts anywhere else.


Does my car need a service?

Question: I bought my car second hand and don't know when it was last serviced. Car has done over 100,000 miles, it's a 2004 Corsa. It's due for its MOT, so I was thinking of doing them at the same time. Also, not sure whether to go for full service or interim one. Any ideas?
Answer: The short answer is: maybe.
Most shops will offer some sort of inspection service, recommending items of concern or things that should be fixed right now.  This is usually a for-pay diagnostic process.  Depending on the shop, they may have a fixed price that covers the diagnostics and some low-cost maintenance items.
For example, if you don't know when the oil was changed, they'd almost certainly recommend new oil.
Keep in mind, this is the 21st century and the shop (especially if they are a dealer) might be able to look up more history than you expect.  For example, my Subaru dealer has access to all the Subaru-performed service that has been performed on my Subarus since we bought them.  Since I used their website for a lot of my own service records, there's more on there than you might expect.
Answer: Yes - go for a full service - a car with an unknown history should be serviced to a: gain a little insight into the state of the engine and car and b: give you (the new owner) a bit of reassurance that the car wont break due to a small issue and that it will function as it should.
Some garages do provide inspection services but I would suggest that given the car has done 100k miles and you dont know when the timing belt was changed that you get it changed as a matter of course - I didn't and had one let go on me resulting in a new engine for the car.
Comment: Timing belt is probably the single most important thing to have checked out on the Corsa. That, and the state of the coolant.
Comment: You're right, if the timing belt goes, it's usually disaster (or close to).  That said, if you're replacing the timing belt, you're into the shop for a sizeable labor charge.  You might think about other big-ish jobs while they've already got everything apart.
Comment: Ha! I'm actually having a timing belt + major service done to one of MY Corsa's (I own 3 vauxhalls/Opels by sheer coincidence) tomorrow. Other good things to do is have them look at the state of the coolant system, CV joints and wheel bearings (the right front wheel needs to be removed anyway). Also maybe the state of the brake pads and drums (at the back). And finally, it may be worthwhile to check the state of the coilpack. The coilpack on the Corsa is DESIGNED to fail at around 6 years or 70k miles, so if you're over you're driving on borrowed time.
Comment: Sounds expensive! Thanks for all the advice, I'll get it checked out.
Answer: If in doubt, full service. I was in the same position as you, Donna, very recently. There was a full service history, but it wasn't itemised - so I had no idea what was actually done apart from giving an educated guess based on bills.
In the end, I went for a full service - oil, oil filter, air filter, sparks, gearbox oil, brake fluid, pads and rotors (they were horribly rusted, so consider this an extra in my case). Ask the dealer for the price of the parts, as you might be able to buy aftermarket parts cheaper online and provide them to the mechanic - I did that with my oil filter, air filter, pads, and sparks. This is, of course, assuming that the mechanic will accept parts.

Does my car need a service?


How to parse this sentence: "The book is worth reading"?

Question:
The book is worth reading.

How to parse the sentence constituents? How to parse "worth doing"? What kind of constituent it is?
Comment: See http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/worthwhile
Answer: Doing is the complement of the adjective worth, so called because it completes the sense of the adjective.
Just like verbs, many adjectives—happy, reluctant, confident, likely, for instance— require or can take complements. And just like verbs, each adjective licenses specific kinds of complements. Worth can take phrases headed by nouns or gerunds:

The book is worth reading carefully.
  The book is worth a trip to the library.
  The book is worth $60.
  The book is worth my entire library.

The adjective and its complement together constitute an Adjective Phrase acting as the complement of the verb is, which predicates the AP of the subject, The book.
Answer: Phrases which fit the pattern:

worth + [verb]-ing

create an adjective phrase which attributes some noun with the quality that performing the gerund action on it is beneficial, relative to the effort put in: profitable in some way.
So "worth reading", is an adjective which means "beneficial to read": the worth of the information obtained from the book exceeds the worth of the time and effort put into reading it.
The opposite is "not worth reading": a book not worth reading is a complete waste of time. The time spent reading is valuable (has worth), and the value of the content of the book is lower: it has a lower worth than the time spent.
Phrases in the pattern:

worth + [noun phrase]

Can all be derived from the example "worth one dollar". It's an adjective phrase which indicates that the value of something meets or exceeds the value of the given [noun phrase].  If something is "worth one dollar" that means we are appraising it to have a value of exactly one dollar, or in some cases more than one dollar.

This tool saves me so much time, it was worth the three hours I spent making it. [Because it saves me time, the value of the tool exceeds the value of the three hours I spent making it. The tool has saved me more than three hours already.]

The special phrase

worth it

is used in a general way as a substitute for worthwhile.  The "it" pronoun vaguely refers to whatever effort is required which brings about the benefit. This can give rise to a sentence with multiple "it":

It is worth it to study hard in school.

The first "it" is an anticipatory subject, which basically refers to "to study hard in school", since we can rewrite the sentence like this, and eliminate that "it":

To study hard in school is worth it.

Then "worth it" essentially just means "worthwhile" or "beneficial". A child might ask the question "Worth ... it? Worth what? What is it?" The answer would have to be something like: "worth the extra time and effort that it takes to study hard; those are what 'it' refers to".
Notes:
1. "Worth one dollar" can also be expressed using the gerund form (from, for instance, a buyer's perspective) as "worth paying one dollar".
2. "Worth + [verb]-ing" uses positive verbs. "Worth not [verb]-ing" does not make sense, because it takes no time, effort or other resources to not do something.
So, the following is incorrect, or possibly a deliberate joke:

That book is worth not reading. *

It says that the value we obtain from the book's content has a worth which exceeds the worth of effort of not reading it, which is nonsensical, since not reading takes no effort, and moreover, if the book is not read, then whatever benefit it provides is not obtained!
3. Worth is not just about resources like time, effort or money but, abstractly, about any kind of suffering, inconvenience, or anything that might be superfluous if it has no benefit. It can also

Fasting for a week was worth it; I feel great! [I had to endure fasting, but the benefit is greater than the suffering.]
When you're sewing pants, extra length is worth leaving; if they are too long for the wearer, the pants can easily be hemmed, whereas it is inconvenient to add material to pants which are too short! [A few inches if extra cloth hardly cost anything, and take no extra time to add to the design. Yet it is a negative surplus (pants are too long in their unaltered state), which has a potential benefit.]

How to parse this sentence: "The book is worth reading"？


Naming classes in C#(or any other language)

Question: I often have this kind of situation - there's a simple plain class, say, Article. And there's another class which stores all articles and meta information about them. I usually name it ArticlesManager. But I've read that this is a bad practice to have such words as Manager, Class in class name. So, how should we call it and how should we call its namespace if Article class is in Models namespace?
Comment: Where did you read that? The name isn't as important as what's actually in the class. If you have a class that needs a name like that then perhaps it indicates bad practice in the design of the class itself?
Comment: How about `Magazine` =) Or `ArticleRepository`
Answer: How about naming it (as you did in your question) ArticleMeta?
Comment: Its like hand grenades -- the shortest name or suffix that comes within ten yards of being descriptive of the reality is best. Which reminds me to google 'three letter words' and pick out which may work for coding conventions.
Answer: The big disadvantage of calling something "manager" is that the class tends to take on too many responsibilities after that and start violating the single responsibility principle.
Think for example of a class handling storing the articles in a database and naming the class "ArticleStore" versus naming it "ArticleManager". When the next programmer needs a place to do translations of articles, which of the classes is more likely to end up with that unrelated code?
This does not mean calling something "ArticleManager" is a no-no if it actually makes sense as a name of what the class does, it just means that it's a very generic name and trying to narrow the name to what the class actually does is a good practice.
Answer: Short of it: if ArticleManager gives better descriptive understanding than anything else you can think of, just call it ArticleManager.
Long of it:   firstly, you should architect your solution properly.  if, after that, your class is best described as "ArticleManager" then by golly, callit ArticleManager.  don't get stuck on naming conventions.  Conventions are there as rules-of-thumb, meant to be adapted (or ignored) if there is a logical (and well thought out) reason.
My own example: in .net you are "not supposed to make variables public" which is correct 99% of the time.  The 1% of the time it's not correct is if using properties has a measurable performance penalty over naked variables.


Why am I getting notifications about someone I have blocked on Twitter

Question: I get emails from Twitter for notifications, so the other day I notice I got an email about a notification from Twitter about someone I have blocked what they tweeted! Does anyone know why I'm getting notifications about someone I have blocked?
Answer: Per Twitter's Help Center:

You will not receive notifications from accounts you block

However, there are some reasons why blocked accounts may show up in your notifications:

Tweets from others you follow that mention accounts you have blocked.
Tweets that mention you, along with an account you have blocked.

If you've already checked to be sure you didn't accidentally unblock the user, one of the above reasons may be the case here. Without knowing the full context, it's impossible to say for sure.
If you don't believe the above scenarios apply, you can always contact Twitter to let them know about the issue.


What is this plant with compound leaves growing in Central-Maine?

Question: A friend of mine in Maine sent me this picture of a plant in her yard to identify.  She is worried it might be Poison Sumac, but I have my doubts.  Sorry, only one picture.  Zone 5
Comment: Do not believe it is poisonous sumac.  The poisonous plant has smooth or entire leaf margins.  This one is serrated.
Answer: I think this is Smooth Sumac unless my eyes are seeing serration that is not there.  Here is a link for Smooth Sumac, a boon to wildlife.  smooth sumac
Comment: @pnuts I like that website. I haven't seen it before. There are a lot of interesting articles and good pictures. Thanks for introducing me to that!
Comment: Ahhhh!  Shoot, didn't notice.  You have noticed that once you reach a certain point, points begin to snowball?  All that work does keep coming up and makes sense to someone else.  Thanks, pnuts.  And I've probably got the highest amount of negative points as well!  And that is a good thing, too.
Comment: @stormy, I bet you don't have the most negative rep (downvotes) of anyone! Also people you think have no downvotes have at least some. Nobody's perfect here!
Comment: I thought everyone knew that perfection is not real and trying to be perfect is a waste of time.  Trying to be humble and real is as perfect as we are able to be.  Good grief...sorry!!


What are the types of bus routes data, which are made available from Open Street Map (OSM)?

Question: With regards to bus routes, what are the types of data which are made available for download. Is it possible to export a region's bus routes in open street map (OSM) or GIS data format?
Comment: This will depend heavily on the country/region/city. I can think of many places that probably have such things available, and many that probably don't... Ref. http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Buses
Answer: For viewing bus routes you can take a look at OSM-based maps which visualize bus routes. The OSM wiki has a list of public transport maps, for example the transport layer at the front page or the Öpnvkarte.
For retrieving bus route data you can use the Overpass API or the nice frontend overpass turbo. Use this query for retrieving all bus routes in the currently visible area:
<code><osm-script output="json" timeout="25">
  <query type="relation">
    <has-kv k="route" v="bus"/>
    <bbox-query {{bbox}}/>
  </query>
  <print mode="body"/>
  <recurse type="down"/>
  <print mode="skeleton" order="quadtile"/>
</osm-script>
</code>
Answer: These pages on the OSM Wiki will help you determine the necessary tags for the data you need:

Bus Stop, Stations, etc
Bus Routes

You can see what actual data is available in your area of interest by using the OSM Overpass Turbo Tool. Use the Wizard to create a subset of the available data using the tags described above


Visual Composer only shows a shortcode entered in the shortcode mapper

Question: I'm using the Visual Composer Shortcoder Mapper. I have introduced 2 equal shortcodes, they show the same but in a different format. Shortcodes have different names but when adding those shortcodes on the page, only one of them appears.
Example:
 [Events_list limit="10" category="1"]
#_EVENTDATE
[/event_list]
 [Events_list limit="10" category="1"]
#_EVENTDATE
[/event_list]

Both shortcodes work, but only 1 of them appears. How can I fix this?
Answer: I had the same problem because I missed wp_head() in header and wp_footer() on footer. This worked for me.


USB port failed after too many errors

Question: I have a flaky USB device which I am stuck with.  Don't ask.
Anyways, in windows I get a bunch of Usb unrecognized device sometimes and then sometimes it just works.  I do have a 500 mA powered hub, so its not a power issue.
The problem isn't that I sometimes don't get it to recognize as this is part of an automated process and I don't care if it just fails and tries again next time, the thing windows seems to disable a usb port after too many errors occur on it.
Has anybody run into this problem?  Can you tell windows to just re-enable the port or prevent it from being disabled in the first place?  Rebooting doesn't seem to help.  You have to shut down and do a full power cycle.
I am running Windows XP
Answer: In the Device Manager, try disabling the USB Root Hub device where the problematic device is connected then re-enable it again.  You will want to go to the View menu and select "Devices by Connection" so that it shows you which is the right one.

USB port failed after too many errors


Should children decide with which parent to stay after friendly divorce

Question: In case of a friendly divorce, should the children (say 8 year old) be able to choose with which parent to mainly live or should this decision mainly rest with the parents?
Comment: This is POB and will require legal advice from a lawyer.
Comment: For my opinion, I believe the parents will have to make the decision as they see fit. In my situation, our step son lives with us (his Mother) and every night his Father sees him for a couple of hours after school. They also alternate weekends. This has worked very well. Good luck.
Comment: I think that no matter what, the children have to win as much as it is possible in this situation. Parents are always parents and in this area, need to remain a team. If parents are able to separate childrearing from all the emotional issues that come with divorce or separation, then they have remained good parents. When one parent refuses to act like an adult -- everyone loses. I think pre-marital classes should include a large discussion on this issue and perhaps be in a 'contract' -- not legal, but signed by both potential parents -- just as a wake up call.
Comment: It may be an odd thing to do, but around the early teens our parents actually discussed with us what should happen should they ever split. having this conversation before it becomes an issue is important. It's like making burial/cremation arrangement before you die; nobody wants to do it but it helps everyone if or when the time comes.
Comment: Why closed with the argument above? In my opinion this question can be related to all these points: matters of upbringing,
safety considerations,
food and feeding,
health and hygiene,
development and growth,
language development,
behavior and social skills,
discipline and punishment,
childrens'/family games for developmental purposes or parental sanity.
Answer: The short answer is no. (This is my opinion, I am not a lawyer.)
Joe, I think a large part of this has to be the legal part. Where I live, custody is mediated or awarded by the court system. At eight, a child will be heard in that process but the decision lies with the best interest of the child, not in what the child wants.
If you have joint custody, I would highly recommend that both parents live close enough to the school so that school is always the same. Set up a bedroom in both homes and try to keep the same rules and routines in both.
In our situation (we divorced when our daughter was 8), we each have her for one week plus a weekend. No decisions are made by only one parent unless it was an emergency. We 'spot' each other for special events and holidays. We totally parent and cooperate as the family we are. I recently have had a medical issue, so my daughter has been at my ex's for a month. Flexibility is key.
If you do not have joint custody -- that pretty much means your decision has been made. If one parent moves away -- they are the one that loses access. The only reason is to allow the child to stay in the familiar environment. I say this 'blind'. If both parents and the child all agree the child should move -- then that works, if the court agrees.
You say this is friendly. I hope so because our situation has added a good something to our lives. We've both repartnered with wonderful people and our daughter loves them.
Answer: What the child wants should definitely be worthy of consideration but the fact remains that rarely would what the child wants actually be in the best interest of the child.
There could very easily be one parent that was always the 'nice' parent while the other one was always the one that maintained discipline.
It would be natural that the child would want to live with the 'nice' parent but having the child live in a house devoid of discipline is not entirely good.
Another thing you should consider is that even if your divorce is amicable that does not mean you can decide on the child's future without any state intervention.
At the very least there will have to be a social worker who has to work on the case.
Also do not agree to anything without the consultation of a family lawyer. Your will most assuredly regret that. I would also not contact your ex in any manner without at the very least your own lawyer present. There has to be a record of all communications.
It is possible that even if things seem good now it can turn sour at any time. Remember that your ex can get her own lawyer at any time and if you do not have your own representation then things will go bad for you.


Unable to vote and comment on SU website

Question: Today I was reading a SU answer and I wanted to comment on it. I found out that "You must have 50 reputation to comment". Then I tried to vote and for my surprise I need 125 reputation to do that. I mainly use stackoverflow.com, so I don't have reputation points on superuser website. However, I have a small reputation on SO, that should be considered here also. How am I suppose to add something to a question if I'm "blocked"? I know this question will be closed, downvoted, etc, but take this into consideration.
Comment: Cross-site related: http://meta.stackexchange.com/a/215891/158100
Comment: downvoting requires 125 reputation, 15 for upvoting
Answer: Each site is considered to be a community on its own and reputation doesn't travel or get synced across sites. You do get an association bonus of 100 reputation if you have 200 reputation on any site.
If what you expected would be true you would also be able to vote on DIY or Seasoned Advice. Are you enough knowledgeable on those topics as well to cast votes?
To get enough reputation just suggest some edits, ask a good question or provide a well received answer. It is not that hard to gain 25 reputation....
See also Six simple tips to get reputation fast.
Oh, and in case you forgot: you spend 100 reputation on a bounty
Comment: @machineaddict The behaviour might be a bit counter-intuitive in the case of bounties, but not in general. If you had dropped under the threshold because your posts were getting downvoted, then it would absolutely make sense that you'd have to re-earn the privileges you lost.
Comment: I believe that already was in my answer but for your comfort I added another link....
Comment: @machineaddict see also: [How does a lurker gain reputation?](http://meta.stackexchange.com/q/164035/165773)
Comment: So you are saying that I should be an expert to comment or vote on a stack website? That's a complete nonsense. What if I find that answer good and I want to vote it? I'm not even given the option to be an "expert". The website assumes that I'm a newbie...
Comment: Tone it down will you... thanks.
Comment: The option you're given is to prove you're an expert. Do that and you will be good to go.
Comment: But how am I suppose to gain points, if the only way to do that is to ask a question?
Comment: @rene: That is another "bug". If I already crossed the threshold required for a specific task, I should not be asked about reputation, even if it's lower. Anyway...


What kind of melodic inversion is this?

Question: My understanding of melodic inversion (strict and diatonic) is taking a melody/motif, beginning on the same note and moving in the opposite direction. However, in the IB Music Revision Guide's analysis of Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini, the first 4 note motif CBAB below is said to be an inversion of the 2nd 4 note motif ACBA. Can anyone tell me what we call this particular type of melodic inversion (that does not begin on the same first note) and what logic (if any) is used to create this particular type of melodic inversion, especially what note do we start on?
Comment: Huh, it's not even a retrograde inversion. With that being said, the ACBA motif is dirt common in the original Paganini work (his Caprice No. 24 in A Minor), so the IB Music Revision Guide is probably onto something of some sort (even if it's slightly wrong).
Comment: You could BAB => ABA is horizontal mirrored and C ha changed the place ;)
Answer: As others have said, this is neither inversion nor retrograde; and it's not even a type of retrograde inversion!
But if you're looking for a very famous example of inversion of the original A–C–B–A motive, check out the opening four notes (at the end of the second measure) of Variation 18.
Answer: Not differentiating specific interval quality, the example includes the following melodic intervals: descending step, ascending step, ascending third.
The only thing inverted is the single step. Descending in green, it's ascending inversion in red...

If the second figure was an inversion of the first it would look more like...

Fig 1
Descending step, descending step, ascending step
Fig 2 (just reverse the directions...)
Ascending step, ascending step, descending step
Comment: Not necessarily. Look at the two examples here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inversion_(music)#Melodies. You may want to distinguish inversion as a procedure versus a description. Those are two sides of the same coin, but with a bit of difference. Procedurally you can invert on a starting note, or some central axis. As a descriptor you can simply describe, point out a melody features inversion. Ex. Bach's first two-part invention. Inversion is an important feature of the work. Procedurally inversion is handled very freely with transposition to many tonal regions.
Comment: Thanks Michael, your figure makes sense in terms of direction, but should an inversion not begin on the same note?
Answer: There's an obvious similarity - the same four notes in a different order - but 'inversion' is the wrong label.  If this is treble clef and we're in A minor perhaps the second 4 notes might be an 'answering phrase' to the first 4.

What kind of melodic inversion is this?


How to best present a PhD application when moving from professional work without a masters or honours degree?

Question: I have been invited by a potential supervisor to apply for a PhD scholarship based on some research I have done in a professional role. I have a history of presenting this kind of work at mixed academic/professional conferences in the past, and have written some of my research up for professional associations and as whitepapers.
In my opinion, the work that I have done may well revolutionise my particular field and there is a lot of interesting applications I have been able to articulate, but I feel having it as part of a doctoral thesis will help push these ideas into the mainstream.
However, I am concerned, as when I did my Bachelors degree I kind of messed around for my first few years and haven't got a strong background in actual academia. While I did clean up my act and finished with a high enough average grade to continue onto an honours year, I chose to work instead.
The application says:

Minimum admission requirements to the PhD program at [University name redacted]: a relevant Bachelors degree with at least upper second-class honours, or a Masters degree with a significant research component, or equivalent.

Given my ordinary academic history, how can I best demonstrate my ability to perform research and give the best chance to be successful?
Answer: Your next step is quite clear. Discuss this with your potential supervisor. That person will be aware of university policies and practices, and could perhaps set up another meeting with the relevant staff.
Be proactive.


Why most Indian batsmen don't play sweep in cricket?

Question: I'm curious to know why I don't see most Indian batsmen playing sweep shot against spin which is a regulation shot overseas.
Answer: Because all Indian pitches are suitable for the spin and all Indian Batsmen played lot's of spin from childhood, That is why all Indian batsmen know how to play spin without any risk and they also know which shot is safer then sweep. And overseas player is not good against spin so they always preferring sweep against spin.
Comment: While I know this is very much the accepted wisdom, could you provide some evidence to support this assertion? In particular, I note [this analysis of the Indian batsmen in England in 2018](http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/24594015/india-attempt-sweep-away-moeen-ali-misery) where they are being strongly *encouraged* to sweep to counter spin.
Comment: @PhilipKendall It always depends on the technique which batsman have. If they don't feel safe in some of the bowler bowling and if he is a spinner then always the last option is to counter that is Sweep. And for evidence, you can check all of indian batsmen history in india and in overseas also.
Answer: The article Philip refers to also kinda answers the question.
They rarely need to play the sweep in India, and most in the current squad are uncomfortable with it. Pujara prefers to come down even for a single, Rahane prefers to stay back. Kohli does sweep at times, but he doesn't need to.
While they did try to learn  to sweep Moeen away according to the article, it makes sense to stick to your tried and tested methods. It's a different matter they didn't work very well.


iTunes: use same folder by Mac and Windows

Question: I have Windows 8 installed on my MacBook Pro with Boot Camp, and I have read/write access to my HFS+ partition through Paragon's HFS+ for Windows 10. My question is, can I install iTunes on Windows and point it to the iTunes Media folder on the Mac partition?
Answer: Short answer: Yes.
Long answer: Yes, but you should be careful. If you point your library to the folder that contains the OSX-iTunes Library, you can easily break your Windows-iTunes Library AND your OSX-iTunes Library.
I'd just open your entire Music Library, stored in your OS X partition, into Windows-iTunes, and keep your Windows-iTunes library pointed to the default folder ("C:\Users\your-username\Music\iTunes\iTunes Media" iirc). You won't see the playlists of the OSX-iTunes, but hey, better than nothing. DO NOT modify anything, you should just create or remove playlists on Windows-iTunes, if you remove songs or so, it may corrupt your OSX-iTunes Library. If you want to add songs to your library, I'd do it from OSX-iTunes, and then, open them in your Windows-iTunes (CTRL+O, for files, ALT -> File -> Add folder to the library, for entire folders).
Greetings


SharePoint 2010 search not working

Question: I am working on a SharePoint 2010 project.
The problem I am having is the search function doesn't really work. Whatever I search for, the result is "We did not find any results for [the keywork I searched]". I have uploaded the documents and crawled the content source and the service is running on central admin. Any help will be appreciated.
Answer: Make sure the content sources are set up properly with correct url and schedules. Also check the crawl logs for errors.
Also check that your default content access account has permissions (web application read policy and read on user profile service app)
Comment: These places tend to be where most issues I have seen arise, the Crawl Log should always be the first place you want to go.  ULS is second, if you aren't getting anything in the Crawl Log.
Answer: Is it for one library only, or for whole scope, portal? Check if the library is not removed from Search index (in CA) or if the setting in Library Advanced settings called "Allow items from this document library to appear in search results?" is not set to "No"
Answer: What kind of documents did you upload? Make sure the file type extension is being crawled. It's found under Central Admin > Manage Service Applications > Search Service (your instance) > File Types (under crawling menu)

SharePoint 2010 search not working


What is the most generic way to provide a variable amount of outputs from a Rust function?

Question: I am currently writing an API for machine learning algorithms in Rust and I would like for a single genetic algorithm, artificial neural network, or Bayesian network to provide multiple outputs so that for instances in which there may be redundancy, the algorithms can benefit from each other. I intend to use these to produce many outputs, so the amount of outputs is not trivially small.
Vector
In C++, if I wanted to return multiple variable outputs, I would likely add them to a vector passed by reference into the function, but that is highly restrictive because it assumes that the user intends for the values to be placed into a vector, and if they need to be moved into any other data structure afterwards, then some overhead will be incurred to copy the resulting outputs.
Traits
Since I am using Rust and the trait system is full of many traits that can be implemented for and are implemented for several standard data structures, I am wondering if there is a trait that works like an iterator in that I can call it to add values to any structure in a generic way while also avoiding overhead using Rust's monomorphization.
Closures
Alternatively, I am also considering making a FnMut parameter to pass a closure that I can pass these values so they can be consumed however desired. This method is powerful as well, since the values can be consumed directly if they do not need to be placed into a data structure at all. The downside is that I assume, but am not sure, there is the overhead of a function call every time this method is used.
Iterators
Another way I am considering is using Rust iterators. I think it should be possible to return an iterator from the machine learning algorithm that lazily process parts of the algorithm that are needed to produce each output as each value is requested and then yeild it from the iterator when next() is called on it. I think this method should provide the highest flexibility with the highest performance, but this also seems like it might be an egregious abuse of Rust iterators, although I do see similar things in the standard library. I think it should be possible to implement iterator such that I can store all the intermediary states in computation inside of the iterator struct. This may cause some issues with borrowing from the learning algorithm struct so long as the iterator is in scope though, but I don't think this is a problem.
Which one of these methods is most useful for generic programming and fits in with Rust's best practices? Are there other methods I am not considering that might perform better or provide better support for generic programming? Also, any criticism or advice on how to improve these methods is gladly welcomed and accepted.
Comment: A pretty old question, but as I understand it, Iterators are the most `Rustic` way to do what you want.
Answer: I don't think that the use of iterators you propose is an abuse of iterators at all. It's perfectly acceptable for iterators to perform computation and for them to have significant amounts of state. Rust has a lot of built-in tools for handling and composing iterators, so this is probably the easiest thing for your users.


Viewing notes from an old iPod touch 4th generation.

Question: I had a 4th generation iPod touch and lost it over a year ago after I received a fifth generation. Now I would like to at least view the notes I had written on my old iPod but I don't have a gmail connected to it or anything that I know of that can allow me to do this. Ideas?
Answer: It's impossible unless a) you already had your notes set to sync to your iCloud account before losing the device - and then only if some Nice Guy Greg turns it on and connects it to the Internet but doesn't try to unlock or wipe it - or b) you find it. As I understand it you can only enable any kind of iCloud sync from the device itself.
Sorry, but you appear to be out of luck.


Parallel.ForEach is faster than regular foreach?

Question: I wonder if i change all my regular ForEach to Parallel.ForEach, will speed up all my iterations or it depends on the situation?
Answer: It depends on how your processing is bound.  If it is bound by a single CPU thread and you have multiples available, then yes it will be faster.  If your code is waiting for the database, then spawning multiple copies may get a slight increase if the database supports good parallel operations.
The biggest thing to consider is will your code work correctly if split between threads, or do you have race-conditions that could cause problems?
Answer: Depends on the situation.  Most instances of for-each do not perform computationally expensive actions or blocking actions, so the overhead of creating tasks and assigning threads is too much to be worth it.
Parallelism isn't the holy grail of performance and not all problems can be parallelised to improve performance.
Answer: It all depends on the situation.  Parallel for each will run multiple iterations concurrently if it can, but there are times when it can such as on a single processor machine.
You have to be careful though that the task you are trying to speed up shouldn't be run serially.  You still have to worry about concurrency conditions, like multiple threads writing to the same list etc., so it's not always the best idea to use it.
Answer: It would absolutely depend on the situation, there's a lot of overhead involved in doing the threading operations and such, so something like:
foreach(char c in alphabet)
{
  myStr += c;
}

Would not benefit from parallelizing (amongst other issues).  Where as something like:
foreach(File f in myLargeLogFiles)
{
   LogFileProcessor p = new LogFileProcess();
   p.ProcessLogFile(f);
}

Could very well benefit from parallelizing.  It comes down to how heavy the work-load inside the loop is; is the benefit from the parallelism greater than that of the overhead of creating the threads, synchronization of the threads, etc.
Comment: so there is always an additional cost on using Parallel.ForEach, I must then measure if the additional cost really helps or not on every case?.
Comment: Yes, there's always a cost; I don't know that you need to measure it every time.  Just understanding that there are trade-offs is the point, and using that information to make your decision.  Do you measure the time difference between using a `StringBuilder` vs. doing a simple string concatenation?