How is a lead acid battery and a Ni-Cd battery charged on an aircraft?

Question: How is a lead acid battery and a Ni-Cd battery charged on an aircraft, such as an A320?
Is it constant current or voltage?
Comment: You may specify which battery(ies) your are talking about.
Comment: Related, [battery for A320 family](http://www.hbl.in/publicimages/downloads/Battery-for-Airbus-A320.pdf).
Answer: Airliners like the Airbus A320 use Nickel Cadmium batteries; in case of A320, a pair of main batteries with 23 Ah capacity is used.
While on the aircraft, the batteries are charged using a constant voltage method. As this article notes:

... are "constant-voltage chargers" that apply a fixed voltage to the battery as it charges, similar to what the aircraft electrical system does in flight. With a constant-voltage charger, the charging current starts out relatively high and gradually tapers down toward zero as the battery becomes fully charged.

FAA Aircraft Electrical System Handbook also notes:

The battery charging system in an airplane is of the constant
  voltage type.
Answer: Constant-voltage, but there's more going on.
Batteries prefer a mildly complex charging curve, because both lead-acid and NiCd charge efficiently in their mid-cycle (20-80%) -- but inefficiently at the top of their range (80-100%).  In a perfect world, a charger pushes them heavily (constant-current) in their midrange, but tapers off for the top-up charge.  The state-of-the-art in lead-acid is 3-stage charging.
If power is pushed into a battery when it should not, the battery will produce a lot of heat, "boil off" water excessively, partly splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen, carry battery acid (or alkaline in the case of NiCd) into the battery box, and shorten the life of the battery pack, especially with lead-acid which already has a short life.
It would be neat if battery voltage and impedance behaved such that constant-voltage charging caused the correct charging curve passively.  No such luck.
Constant-voltage charging is a compromise - the same one cars make - since the charging system is both charging the battery and powering the airplane. The voltage is chosen for least damage/heat/boil-off/hydrogen, at the trade-off of slower charging than a dedicated smart charger.
If the battery is lead-acid and you have depleted it, recharge it ASAP, as it shortens the life of lead-acid batteries to be stored partially discharged.  That won't faze a nickel-cadmium set, they are highly resilient and long-lived.


Commit masturbation in Ramadan

Question: I always jena through my eyes,I mean watch those type videos and I done masturbation through my hands after that I leave it for 1 month maximum 4 months and Go to the prayers.After this I repeat it also repent and Ask forgiveness to Allah but now I commit masturbation in Ramadan I feel so guilty to my self My question is, I mean I broke my promise again and again will Allah forgive me? Please help me brother I can't understand anything I want to escape from it what can I do also will Allah forgive me if I repent again does it affected my life and my wishes by my sins please help me. What can I do.i feel like iam literally broken I am from India
Answer: For your question 'will Allah forgive me?'  :
It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) say:
"A person committed a sin and said: 'My Lord, I have sinned; forgive me.'
His Lord said: 'Is My slave acknowledging that he has a Lord Who forgives sins and punishes for them? I have forgiven My slave.'
Then as much time passed as Allah willed, then he committed a sin and said, 'My Lord, I have sinned; forgive me.'
His Lord said: 'Is My slave acknowledging that he has a Lord Who forgives sins and punishes for them?  I have forgiven My slave.'
Then as much time passed as Allah willed, then he committed a sin and said, 'My Lord, I have sinned; forgive me.' His Lord said: 'Is My slave acknowledging that he has a Lord Who forgives sins and punishes for them? I have forgiven My slave,' – three times…"
[al-Bukhari, Muslim]
So even if you repeat the  sin  a hundred times or a thousand times or more, and you sincerely repent each time, your repentance will be accepted and your  sin will be erased.
Allah likes the sinner to seek His forgiveness and repent to Him, but the shaytan (devil) likes it when despair fills a person's heart and prevents him from repenting and turning to Allah.
Also dear brother, don't loose hope in the mercy of Allah. The biggest mistake we could ever make after is to lose hope in Allah s.w.t's Mercy.
Allah(SWT) says in the Quran:
قُلْ يَا عِبَادِيَ الَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا عَلَىٰ أَنفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا مِن رَّحْمَةِ اللَّهِ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا ۚ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ
Say, "O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful."
(Surah Az-Zumar, 39:53)
He's telling the one who has sinned to not lose hope in his forgiveness in his mercy.
It was reported on the authority of Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:
I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: Allah the Almighty said:
O son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and ask of Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind. O son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and were you then to ask forgiveness of Me, I would forgive you. O son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth and were you then to face Me, ascribing no partner to Me, I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great as it.
[ related by at-Tirmidhi, also by Ahmad ibn Hanbal]
As for some ways to stop this habit, is  knowledge.  Knowing the seriousness of such actions .
Allāh, Glorified and Exalted is He, says in His Book:
{On the Day when their tongues, their hands, and their legs or feet will bear witness against them as to what they used to do.} [Sūrah An-Nūr 24:24]
{This Day, We shall seal up their mouths, and their hands will speak to Us, and their legs will bear witness to what they used to earn.} [Surah Yāsīn 36:65]
{Till, when they reach it (Hell-fire), their hearing (ears) and their eyes, and their skins will testify against them as to what they used to do. And they will say to their skins, "Why do you testify against us?" They will say: "Allah has caused us to speak, as He causes all things to speak, and He created you the first time, and to Him you are made to return."}
[Sūrah Fussilat 41:20-21]
Also ..Allah says in the quran:
{Mankind there has come to you a guidance from your Lord and a healing for (the diseases) in your hearts, and for those who believe a guidance and a mercy.}
(Yunus, 10:57)
So recite the Quran,  make some goals for yourself (for eg: reciting 6 pages every day after fair or memeorizing 6 ayahs every day)., or make monthly goals like memeorizing surah baqarah within two months,  or start with some smaller surahs.
For memeorizing I'd recommend you to YouTube asma huda recitation. Her students repeats after her and it's quite beautiful to listen to.
Get to know prophet Muhammd (saw)  , there's this series available in YouTube named 'meeting Muhammad-yaqeen institute', its just 10 minutes for each video,  best way to get to know our Rasool. Saw
Also try watching Muslim convert stories,  it increases iman.
Plus gain more knowledge about deen,  for Allah says :
"It is only those who have knowledge among His slaves that fear Allaah" [Faatir 35:28]
So Ask Allah to Grant you knowledge
{Rabbeee zidni ilma ; my Lord,  increase  me in knowledge} it's the best way to be safe from Shaytan's traps.
One of the easy way to Gain some little amount of knowledge is to   try listening to tafseers of surah from YouTube.(eg: surah Rahman by Nouman)  . There's alot other out there.
And remember this  famous quote which  says:
"Whoever has tasted the sweetness of iman will recognise the bitterness of sins"
So try to come closer to Allah and taste the sweetness of faith .
praying the 12 rawatib prayer is one way.
"Allaah will build a house in Heaven for whoever is diligent in observing 12 Sunnah Rak'aat (as follows): 4 Rak'aat before and 2 after the Dhuhr (Midday) Prayer, 2 after the Maghrib (Sunset Prayer), 2 after the Ishaa (Evening) Prayer and 2 before the Fajr (Dawn) Prayer." Hadith sahih narrated by at-Tirmidhi No. 379 and by others. Hadith No. 6183 in Sahih al-Jaami.
or start praying Witr or Dhuha prayer or the Tahajjud..
"Our Lord descends during the last third of each night to the lower heaven, and says: 'Is there anyone whocalls on Me that I may respond to him? Is thereanyone who asks Me that I may give unto him? Is there anyone who requests My Forgiveness that I mayforgive him?'" (Bukhari and Muslim)
When you experience tahajjud, the late nightprayer, the rest of your life transforms. Suddenly, theburdens that once crushed you become light. The problemsthat were irresolvable become solved. And that closenessto your Creator, which was once unreachable, becomesyour only lifeline.
You should also try to learn Allah's 99 names and understand them.. For it will help you Know Allah better.
Lastly I'd recommend you to make  the morning nd evening adkhars for they are very beautiful and they can  protect you.
Here's a link to them :
https://islamqa.info/en/answers/217496/adhkaar-for-morning-and-evening
There is an app called tafheemul Quran and rakheehul makhtum or the sealed nectar in the playstore (free, in English also urdu),  you should try reading that to busy yourself with good things .
Hope it helps,
And May Allah bestow his Mercy care and protection on you Ameen.
Answer: My brother listen Allah is most forgiving most merciful remember that always! I see you feel remorse run to Allah and promise him never to do it again. But you did commit a major sin but Allah can still forgive you with a sincere repentance you should stop this sin and when you feel like doing it remember who you are disobeying don't look at the size of the sin look at who you are disobeying since you masturbated during Ramadan you have to make those days up. May Allah have mercy on you and remember Ramadan is the month of Allah's mercy so do repent and stop this now because you never know when you will return to your lord.

Commit masturbation in Ramadan


Right strings of Guitar

Question: When I strum the strings of a guitar to play a chord, should I hit all the strings or just those I need? Is there a method for working out which strings I need?
Answer: Lots of chords played on guitar are not played using all 6 strings. Mainly it's down to voicing, with a sometimes odd sounding note at the bottom, and sometimes it's because a string somewhere in the middle needs muting, as a good note cannot be found to play on it.
Chords can have as few as 3 notes (some argue 2 constitutes a chord), so 3 can be an answer - top 3, middle 3, bottom 3 (power chord territory). Some beginners think that they can only play the strings that they're fretting, but often, open strings work alongside those.
It's going to depend on the song, and other players. A song can be very full and busy, so as many as all 6 strings are used. Or, it can be a sparse accompaniment, when 2, 3 or 4 strings need playing. No hard and fast rules, like a lot of music - more of if it sounds good, it probably is. And the converse, of course...
For more advanced chord playing, there are often too many notes making up a chord, so in those cases, something has to go anyway.
Answer: As Tim describes, there are two different skills here: picking accuracy (don't hit strings you don't need) and muting (don't let strings ring out if it's too hard to avoid hitting them). And you should practice both.
Good exercises for picking accuracy are: scales, arpeggios, root-chord-root-chord strumming patterns.
Good exercises for muting: funk -- anything funky, samba, calypso, anything with a polyrhythm or complex rhythmic figure with syncopation.

Right strings of Guitar


How to join a Google+ community I have been invited to if the "accept invitation" button does not work?

Question: I have been invited to a new private Google+ community and the "accept invitation" button just does not work (Firefox 27), also "Loading..." label is displayed if I try Chrome (32). Restarting the browsers and disabling all the extensions does not help. Some of my mates invited to the same community report the same issue. Other communities and invitations seem to work just fine.
Answer: A mate of mine (not present on this site) has provided a working solution, let me share it for those who might be having the same problem:
Click on the Home button, click "Communities" and you'll see something that says "Community Invitations". Click on the community below, and click " Accept Invitation".
Comment: For those having the same problem - this is a working solution (at least in my case), I just can't accept it now because of the site limitations.


Non-zero current flow through an electrolytic cell, when an electric potential lesser than that needed for electrolysis is applied?

Question: For instance, the potential needed for water splitting is $\pu{1.23V}$. However, there is current flow even at lower potentials (say $\pu{0.5V}$). Clearly, there is no redox reaction happening in the cell as evidenced by lack of bubbles. What is the cause of this current?
Answer: As you noticed there is a small amount of current which keeps on flowing when there is no electrolytic decomposition. This "problem" is aptly named as non-Faradaic current. Faradaic current refers to current due to oxidation and reduction. Here is a detailed review: The difference between Faradaic and Nonfaradaic processes in Electrochemistry


do the trezor wallets support all crypto currencies for strorage?

Question: I am considering buying a trezor wallet. I am wondering if this type of wallet can support all types of crypto currencies?
Answer: See "Which coins are currently supported?" on Trezor FAQ

At this moment it is Bitcoin, Ethereum (+ all ERC-20 tokens), Ethereum Classic, ZCash, Litecoin, Namecoin, Dogecoin, Dash and Bitcoin Testnet

So the conclusion is, Trezor supports most of the altcoins, but the computer software doesn't. If you can't code a software that allows Trezor to hold more altcoins, you can only use the altcoins in the list, with the name of the wallet next to it.


Strange issue with ping

Question: I have created a Minecraft server with two more friends, the problem is that my Friend1 has like 200 ping and the Friend2 has a normal ping, but when my Friend1 connects to Friend2's server Friend1 and me have normal ping. I have made a ping to Friend1's IP and it comes out with a normal ping, but when Friend1 does a ping to me it has ~140 ping.
Answer: Friend1 seems to have increased ping communicating with your specific location.
Ping is hard to diagnose without more detail, but it sounds to me like he is farther away from you than Friend2.
When Friend2 hosts, he is likely more centralized to both You and Friend1.
It's possible that network hardware on either side may be playing a role in this, but more likely, it's simply due to location.

Strange issue with ping


Dual boot elementary OS and Vector Linux

Question: and thanks in advance for any assistance you may be able to provide in this matter.
Win8 crashed and I was unable to recover/restore it.  So I opted to upgrade to a better OS.  I have some previous experience with earlier versions of Linux distros, such as Mint and Slackware (I started using Slack 9, back in the day).  However, seeing that much advancement has been made in GUIs, and ease of install (not to mention package management), I thought I'd give elementary OS a try.  My wife and I share a laptop, so I had to have the "ease of use factor" for her.  And while I do like elementary OS very much, I miss some of the control I had with Slackware.  So I added a hard disk, and installed VectorLinux on it.  So here is: sda=elementary, sdb=Vector.  However, plymouth on elementary doesn't seem to play nice with the addition of Vector. Long-story short: I tinkered with various settings and now I have a blank black screen at boot until the login screen appears for elementary OS.  I am able to login and use elementary, but at this point Vector is an unreachable, unusable, colossal waste of money, time and space.  At the very least, I would like to get the elementary "e" pulsing again as the OS loads.  (As a former Slackware user, my experience has been with LiLo, not grub or plymouth, so please be gentle with  your answers.)  Any ideas as to how to fix this? Certainly it must be as easy as editing a .conf file somewhere, right?
Comment: **TL;DR:** Fix my grub so that I can boot 2 OS.
Answer: I think the problem is that the grub config is messed up. To solve it, do the following:
sudo pantheon-text-editor /etc/default/grub

The file should have a part like this, make sure the options are the same and that everything else on the file is commented out ( # in the beginning of the line).
GRUB_DEFAULT=0
#GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT=
#GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT_QUIET=true
#GRUB_TIMEOUT=5
GRUB_DISTRIBUTOR=`lsb_release -i -s 2> /dev/null || echo Debian`
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash"
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX=""

Then save the file and run sudo update-grub. Check the output, it should say something about every system you have installed (if you don't see anything regarding Vector Linux, there's another problem..).
Also, I've set grub to always show at boot and wait until you select one option. If you want to boot any option automatically, uncomment GRUB_TIMEOUT and set it to any number greater than 0. E.g: GRUB_TIMEOUT=5
Comment: Generating grub configuration file ...
Found linux image: /boot/vmlinuz-4.4.0-62-generic
Found initrd image: /boot/initrd.img-4.4.0-62-generic
Found Slackware Linux (Inspired by Slackware Linux) on /dev/sdb2
error: out of memory.
error: syntax error.
error: Incorrect command.
error: syntax error.
Syntax error at line 285
Syntax errors are detected in generated GRUB config file.
Ensure that there are no errors in /etc/default/grub
and /etc/grub.d/* files or please file a bug report with
/boot/grub/grub.cfg.new file attached.
done
Comment: Can you paste the contents of /etc/default/grub file in  pastebin.com or anything similar and link it here?
Also do `ls /etc/grub.d/` and tell me the output. Did you modify anything inside that directory?
Answer: I'm getting a little closer.  There's something about the Vector install on /dev/sdb that grub-mkconfig in elementary does not like.  I disabled OS_PROBER, and voila, update-grub generates a new grub.cfg!  So, I'm only part-way to solved, but I do now have a grub menu at boot. Plymouth is no longer inserting itself, and I don't have the pulsating "e" logo as elementary loads, but I'm okay with that.  As a former Slackware user, I am accustomed to seeing terminal messages scroll.  Thanks for your help.  If I determine what is causing OS_PROBER to choke on Vector, I'll post an update.


Can I round my GPA on my Resume

Question: I have a Masters GPA of "3.499" and many jobs in my field have a requirement of a GPA of "3.5". The online job application portals are just filtering out my resume due to this 0.001 difference. I just wanted to know if it is okay to round up my GPA to 3.5. Will this 0.001 inaccuracy cause any problems in the background checks when I provide my transcripts?
Comment: "The online job application portals are just filtering out my resume due to this 0.001 difference." - how do you know this is the reason your application is being filtered and not something else?
Comment: If they set a 3.5 cut-off point, it probably means they're really looking for candidates with significantly higher GPAs (3.7+).
Comment: How many decimal places do they expect? Informally people use one, and I think the transcripts at the University where my wife teaches carry only two.
Comment: Why don't you take another class?
Comment: Okay, the way significant digits work, if the cutoff is a 3.5, then you have it. If the cutoff is 3.50, then you have it. If the cutoff is 3.500, then you don't have it. However, my guess is that if there is a programmed filter, it doesn't at all take that into account, and the cutoff is actually 3.50000000...
Comment: I've been refused at an university for a similar reason. One of the best things that happened to me :) Don't lie on your application, you'll get less hassle later.
Answer: Thats a tricky one. Many of the background check processes are largely automated, and the companys ordering them often only get binary results on the categories back. That means you could well fail an automated background check if you do this.
Even if its just a normal person reading this, they could believe you skirted the application requirements with this, despite being (however slightly) underqualified.
Whats more worth noting though is that many companys put a filter like this on their online application process just to weed out "absolutely directly into the bin" people, and will still not hire below a significantly higher GPA.
Comment: Do you have an example of this?  The only method I know of pulling my undergrad transcript not only involves sending in a *fax* but also a small charge.
Comment: Im not saying the process of pulling it has to be automated, but the process of processing the information on it may be. Or the process of checking that information against entry information. In the eyes of a Background Check company, 3.4999999 may well be < 3.5 => Check failed.
Comment: See this is a red flag for me. I wouldn't expect GPA to indicate *anything* for hiring a post-grad literally right out of college.
Answer: People generally deal with GPAs in terms of 2 decimal places.  Since your GPA rounds up to 3.50, it should be acceptable to use that number.  If it comes up in the interview process, be honest about your methodology.  I would feel comfortable explaining that I rounded a number in a common manner to display the standard 2 decimal format.  This would only come up if they reviewed your transcripts.  I personally have never had an employer request my transcripts.
Answer: If your school reports your GPA as 3.49 whenever they send your transcript data to someone, then no, you should not round it up. Finding the discrepancy will be easy, and will likely lead to being weeded out for dishonesty in the next round of checks.
If you have an undergrad GPA of 3.5 or better, you might consider using that instead, unless the masters degree is the explicit requirement.
The best way to get through the automated weed outs is to have someone at the company personally recommend you. How is your personal network? Is it growing? Do you know anybody at the companies where you are applying? If not, try to meet more people. Are there any local gatherings (such as technical meet ups) where folks in your industry get together? A word of caution: Getting to know people for the sole purpose of asking them to help you find work is not nearly as effective as actually getting to know people.
It is tempting to fudge your stats, especially when you're so close to the cutoff. But don't do it.
Answer: I have never put my GPA on my resume ( mine was 3.1 ) and that hasn't stopped me getting interviews from the top companies. I have been on the other side of the table filtering out resumes and the GPA is not the first thing that I see. Projects, role, presentation are the most important things in the resume. I do not understand what these filtering systems achieve. GPA can ( or cannot ) be a measure of intellectual ability but doesn't determine your success rate. So instead of worrying about the GPA, worry about your resume and what you write in the application ( if it is an online application ). That would serve you well.
Saying that, I don't think rounding up 3.49 to 3.50 would be big issue for any of the hiring company. You just have to explain them why you did it in case they ask you.
Comment: Changing 3.49 to 3.50 is deceptive.  Changing 3.499 to 3.50, or 3.49 to 3.5, is rounding.
Answer: I think some people would appreciate the simplicity of communicating in a useful manner, rather than a precise manner.  Other people will be appalled at trying to dishonestly adjust reality to serve your current interests.
In the long term, if you suspect this to be an issue, then consider raising your GPA.  (I know that much of this answer may feel like it would be more appropriate for Academia.StackExchange.com, but the Workplace.StackExchange.com element of this is to simply solve the issue, rather than figuring out how to deal with it another way.) Jeff O's upvoted comment was "Why don't you take another class?"  That may be one option.  There may be some others.  Raising your GPA a tiny amount can be easier than people suspect.
Example #1: I had a class that involved two or three in-person meetings and 8-12 E-Mails.  I managed to travel on site and perform the in-person meetings during lunch breaks (from work) which were 1 hour long.  Maybe asking nice instructors, and/or department chairs, and/or others.
Example #2: I took a class where attendance wasn't required.  I already knew the material well.  After 2-3 weeks of boredom, I stopped going and only attended two more sessions (midterm and final).  The class improved my GPA.
Example #3: After discussing with instructors, I spent two (or three?) weeks reading a book.  I then "challenged" the class.  This involved me taking the final of the course.  I was asked whether I wanted a letter grade or a Pass/Fail.  I chose the letter grade, and got a nice "4.0" (perfect) grade.  In terms of time that I had to show up and/or do something, but not including the preparation time (reading a gook), this was definitely the fastest very good thing I've done to one of my college GPAs.
Check with instructors from your department.  Check the official policies (e.g., college/university catalog) about what is involved with "challenging" a course.  (If you have troubles finding it, ask administration department.)  Policies can vary between different schools, and it may be that certain classes cannot be challenged.  You will probably need to pay ("tuition"), although the prices might be cheaper than a full course (or not).  Challenging a course might, or might not, affect your GPA, so try to find such details in writing.  If you're not finding them, make sure to ask about such details, since that is what motivates this anyway.
Check for "online"/"remote"/"distance" courses if you prefer to do this from home.  (More and more colleges have been introducing more and more options for such things.)  Just make sure to check the important details (like how it affects your the GPA you've already obtained, and checking with the instructor about how heavy the workload is).
If you've already taken all the easy courses in your department, consider another super-easy course.  For instance, if you're strong in math, maybe something like MATH097 (pre-algebra) will be easy (although it may be time consuming if there is substantial homework...  sometimes instructors can vary for the same course, so try having a conversation with the instructor).
Employers may question why you bothered to take such a course, which they may consider silly for you to take (if you already know the material well).  The good news is that there's a good and solid answer to such a question.  You can explain that you found a legitimate way to achieve desired results while working within the system.  I think most of them will be more impressed than not.  You'll also make those pesky computer filters happy.
Answer:
The online job application portals are just filtering out my resume due to this 0.001 difference.

No, that's not the reason. Your resume shouldn't even go through HR filtering if you had sent it to the right hiring manager in the first place.
HR doesn't filter out resumes it receives from internal employees for fear that they could be accused or losing resumes, or unfairly rejecting applicants.
So HR only focuses on filtering out resumes that the hiring manager and other internal employees haven't seen yet. This is even true for companies that have a highly automated processes. Most resume databases have such a flag that can be set for internal referrals so a resume doesn't get accidentally buried by the many other resumes
It also helps to write down the actual job number(s), or exact job title(s), you're applying for. All this information, the name of the hiring manager, his department, and his postal address within the company, can be gotten through your own extended 2nd degree linkedin network, or through a few telephone calls to the company if you're polite but persistent in your inquiries.
As a side-note and if it makes you feel any better. You can make sure that the school you went to didn't introduce you a rounding error or a truncation error of their own. So get all the original numbers, and redo all the calculations yourself. And don't be so hard on the school if the final grade they gave you is only an approximation of your final grade.
Answer: I think ethically you have a little plausible wiggle room, as long as you are upfront and honest about it. Put in 3.5 on the website, because most people only expect a single decimal point, and 3.499 definitely rounds up to 3.5.
However, (!) if you do that, I think you are morally bound to tell them in the first interview. Don't wait for them to ask; tell them upfront during the interview. For instance, when they ask if you have any questions, say, "I do, but first, in the spirit of total honesty, I feel like I have to tell you something. On the application it asked for GPA. I rounded up to a single significant digit: 3.5. But in actuality I only have a 3.499. I dont want to mislead you, so if that's a deal breaker, then I want to be upfront with you about it.
If you think you'll chicken out at the end of a good interview, then do it upfront at the beginning. I won't patronize you by pretending everyone will definitely be pressed by this display of honesty -- some yes, some no -- but your integrity will remain intact, and you won't have to wonder if you did the right thing.

Can I round my GPA on my Resume


Is it possible to connect 2016 Report Builder to a SharePoint Online List

Question: I would like to connect 2016 Report Builder to a SharePoint Online list. Is this possible? I've seen examples with Report Builder being connected to SharePoint on premise but not to SharePoint Online. I know I wont be able to integrate the reports into SharePoint online without using 3rd party software. Help is much appreciated.
Answer: Currently, it is not possible to connect 2016 Report Builder to a SharePoint Online list. Please check following link with all available features in SharePoint online:
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/sharepoint-online-service-description.aspx
I think that the best option to build reports is Excel Services or Power BI.
Answer: You can use ThorApps ListSync Service to replicate in realtime sharepoint list items into a sql database for reporting purposes.
You can also use ThorApps BI Service to host your ssrs reports in SharePoint Online.
Www.thorapps.com
Adrian


Reusing a Schengen visa for another purpose

Question: I am an Indian citizen and I had visited Poland for a week in April and that Schengen visa  (multiple entry) is valid till end of August. I would like to visit Denmark for a month in June. Can I do that ? I have an invitation from the company in Denmark.
Comment: Is it a multi-entry visa?
Comment: Yes, it is. But I have read somewhere that you should get the visa from the country where you are going to stay for maximum days.
Comment: @Jack That's why having a multiple-entry visa is important. If it was a single-entry visa, using it for something else means that the info you submitted is not correct anymore (i.e. you are not doing the trip you said you wanted to do). But if it's a multiple-entry visa and you have already used it according to your initial plan then reusing it is fine.
Answer: Beside the period of validity, there are two other things you have to check to make sure your visa is still valid:

The number of allowed entries
The maximum stay (it is to be understood as a grand total across all stays under this visa, except if it is "90" and the visa is valid for more than six months, in which case it means up to 90 days in any 180-day period)

If your new stay would be allowed while respecting all these limitations then you can certainly do it with your current visa.
In particular, having a multiple-entry visa means that you have a lot more flexibility. You are only expected to submit a detailed itinerary and proof of travel insurance for the first journey on the visa and after that it's completely fine to use it for other purposes or destinations.
You should however carry all the documents you would need for a fresh visa application (e.g. itinerary, invitation, travel insurance). You will probably not need them but that would help showing your trip is completely legitimate if any doubt arises at the border.
Comment: @ Relaxed, thanks for your answer. I have a multiple entries visa and since I stayed for a week in Poland in April, I can stay a month from June 15th to July 15th in Denmark (90/180 rules). I guess I won't have any problem.
Comment: @Jack I don't know if I was clear, the 90/180 only applies if the sticker says "90" under "maximum stay". It's often the case for multiple-entry visas but not always so you need to check that.


Why are my braised pork chops inconsistent?

Question: I have a recipe for long, slow, braised pork chops. I make them the same way every time. I buy 1 inch chops on the bone. Sometimes they come out incredibly tender and sometimes dry and stringy. I know it has to do with fat content as the dry ones have very little fat to skim from the sauce. But I can not discern from the raw meat, which is fattier. I buy center cut chops. The recipe calls for blade chops, but stores don't always have that. Help?
Answer: The resulting quality of a braise has to do with the connective tissue rather than the fat. Your recipe calls for the blade chop because it is close to the shoulder, which is tougher and contains more connective tissue. This tissue is tough to start, but braising breaks it down into a gelatin and makes the meat tender (and juicy). When you pick your chops, look for thin lines white connective tissue throughout. Or, just use a pork shoulder.
Also, remember to let the meat cool in the braising liquid. (Not to room temperature, but to an edible temperature). As the meat cools, it draws in some of the liquid and prevents it from drying out.
Comment: Great answer except that last line, which is sadly not true.  Letting it cool in the liquid might add a little flavor but it definitely won't add moisture to the meat.
Comment: I disagree, as do many references that I found. The one that comes to mind first is Tom Colicchio in this season of Top Chef, who said "If you don't let the meat cool in the braising liquid, it will dry out", before booting someone off the show, but here is a written one: http://culinaryarts.about.com/od/moistheatcooking/ht/How-to-Braise-Meat.htm
Comment: I think he meant just the last sentence; it may not draw in liquid. But, it would prevent steam carrying as much moisture away into the air.
Answer: I find that the texture of meat is often stringier and tougher if it's cooked straight from the fridge. It's always better if you give it a good few hours out of the fridge to come up to room temperature.
Comment: How long is a "few" hours? Might be a risky venture, especially for pork.
Comment: Say 3 or 4, maybe more. As long as you don't put it by a heater or in sunlight and the meat is in date it should be fine; obviously exercise the usual precautions: if it smells bad or feels slimy, ditch it. But if anything it's safer than straight out of the fridge, because the centre won't be cold when it goes in the oven. I regularly get pork tenderloin out of the fridge at lunchtime ready for dinner.


Sweep all functionality for a Bitcoin Lightning private key using mobile, desktop, or cli wallet?

Question: Bitcoin wallets have a sweep all function to transfer all coins from one private key to another. Is there such a feature in a bitcoin lightning wallet where you can sweep all coins from a lightning private key to another lightning address?
Comment: What do you mean by 'lightning private key' and 'lightning address'? This question doesn't really make technical sense. Are you asking about options for recovering coins from a channel?
Answer: There are currently no specifications for interoperable text/file formats between lightning network node implementations. The lightning BOLT specifications deal with standardization of the network protocols so that different lightning implementations can talk to one another, but all other details which are not part of this protocol are left up to the individual client implementers to choose.
It will probably be useful to have a standardized import/export format for lightning node information and channels in future, so that you can migrate your node information to an alternative implementation. I'm not aware of anybody working on such formats to date.
Channels in the Lightning Network are tightly coupled to a specific node with a specific public key. It is not really possible to migrate channels to a node with a different public key, and attempting to do so will likely get both nodes blacklisted, as the specification indicates that blacklisting should occur if any duplicate channel is broadcast with a node id which does not match the one previously known.


Adding an email field to comment forms

Question: I have given permission for anonymous users to comment on my site. But the default comment form being displayed does not have a field for email address in it. Also, I have comment notify installed. The email field to be displayed on the comment field should be recognized by comment notify as the email address of the commentor so that it can send notifications. Also, the email field should not be made visible for logged in users. I cannot solve all the three problems at once. Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Answer: I think you can make this work as follows:

In the Permissions settings via admin/people/permissions, ensure ANONYMOUS USER can View comments, Post comments, and Subscribe to comment notifications
In the Comment Notify settings via admin/config/people/comment_notify, ensure comment notification is enabled for the content type(s) you care about
For each content type you care about, e.g. for Basic page via admin/structure/types/manage/page, expand the Comment settings tab in the vertical menu at the bottom of the page and ensure "Anonymous commenting" is set to Anonymous posters must leave their contact information
Comment: You can remove the website field by adding the following code to your template.php in your theme directory: function themename_form_comment_form_alter(&$form) {
  $form['author']['homepage']['#access'] = FALSE;
}
Comment: What I was having trouble was finding the third step. Thanks. I got it working now, but there is also a website field added with the email field which I don't want. Is there any way to remove the website field and display only the email field?

Adding an email field to comment forms


Is make-up haram?

Question: Tattooing and plucking your eyebrows is haram because you are changing the way you look. When you apply make-up you also change the way you look. You put make-up on to make yourself look 'better'. Is this not the same as when you shape your eyebrows? Does that mean make-up is haram too?
Comment: Yes it is the same, scholars have different opinions on the reason for this prohibition some of them say it is because with make up or plucking your eyebrow you make yourself look better and therefore you are cheating, that's why some allow it for married women and forbade it for unmarried ones.
Answer: Make up for Husband is Acceptable.
Makeup for others is Forbidden.
The beauty of Women is for their husbands.
The ayat in Quran which advices our prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wasallam) to watch over his family members rightly is also the right instruction for his ummah to follow as Sahabaye Keram (Radhiallahu ta'ala anhum) did in their life.

And stay in your houses, and do not display yourselves like that of the times of ignorance, and perform As-Salat (IqamatasSalat), and give Zakat and obey Allah and His Messenger. Allah wishes only to remove ArRijs (evil deeds and sins, etc.) from you, O members of the family (of the Prophet SAW), and to purify you with a thorough purification.

Surat-al-Ahzab

ayat 33
link: Surat-al-Ahzab:33
Comment: What about eyebrow plucking for husband satisfaction?
Comment: I mentioned Make up is acceptable for women to do if it is for husbands.
Comment: Now, if the ingredients of make up contains haraam, then, using those sorts of make up is also haraam. As our prophet (PBUH) cursed upon those who pluck their eyebrows and who want to pluck their eyebrows, it has been decided that Plucking eyebrows are haraam.
Comment: So, even for plucking eyebrows for the satisfaction of husbands cannot overthrow the curse of Rasulallaah (Sallallaahu 'alaihi wasallam).  So, eyebrow plucking for husband satisfaction is not permissible. It's a major sin for both men and women though the hadith was for women because the women of Jahiliyya (Period of Ignorance) used to tattoo on their body as well as remove the eyebrows.  [Hadith](http://sunnah.com/muslim/37/181)
Comment: Yh but there is always a clear reason behind everything and I am after the reason as I have not found the reason.
Answer: Plucking your eyebrows, if full, then Haram. If some extra ones, then as far as women are concerned, it's fine.
And make-up is also fine but it's for the husband only and not for random people.
Hope this helps.
And no, make-up and eyebrow plucking completely aren't the same. Scholars agree that if it's for beautification, then it's allowed, in which case make-up and eyebrow plucking (only the extra ones) are allowed only for the husband's satisfaction and not anyone else.
Comment: Either way you are doing it for beauty purposes. Can you give a source for eyebrow plucking even if it is just extra ones..being allowed in Islam, What is considered extra because most people pluck but not all of their eye brows obviously.
Comment: I cannot quote the Hadith. But there are lots of authentic books regarding these. This is a very huge topic. I have seen the Q and A sessions regarding these answered by PhD Scholars who follow the Quran and Sunnah. As they said, am saying that same answer, for beautification, it's okay, but there is a huge discussion regarding this. But plucking few eyebrows are allowed as most scholars of today agree with, because the questions asked to them were exactly like you asked, and am answering just like they said.
Comment: I mean make up is allowed to satisfy ur husband then why not plucking eyebrows for the same reason? I have not come across any scholar who says it is allowed. plus there are hadiths that say it is not allowed but doesnt say why
Comment: Please read the comment again, I mistakenly posted it without typing completely.
Comment: That's what am saying, it's allowed for beautification, removing the extra hairs. Now how much allowed, why allowed and how allowed, you need to read the books and understand that in depth. I just gave you the straightforward answer. Yes, I also believed it's not allowed, but after seeing several authentic lectures by PhD Scholars of Islam, am convinced and know that it's allowed like I mentioned in details in the main answer. For other information on Hadith and all, you need to read the books written on these topics.
Comment: And the Hadiths you spoke of isn't authentic. If they were, then it wouldn't be allowed.

Is make-up haram?


Are there any good playable violin tabulatures for Paganini caprices, Bach and Vivaldi music?

Question: Are there any violin tabulatures for Paganini caprices, Bach and Vivaldi music? Or that is stupid to write tabs for a fretless instrument?
Comment: I was surprised to find out that tablature for violin exists (and for different positions as well!)  https://bluegrassdaddy.com/hand-and-finger-positions/  But in the end, it would actually make is harder to understand what is going on in such complex music as you cited.  Better to bite the bullet and learn to read sheet music (where fingering and string is often notated as well).
Answer: Particularly for Paganini, a lot of stuff is played in higher positions where "frets" are very close to one another.  Quite a bit of the aiming on fretless instruments relies to some degree on reflexive correction of auditory feedback.  That means that it is comparatively more important to have an idea how things are supposed to sound and fit into the harmony than which "fret" they are on.
Stuff written in violin clef tends to be quite more transparent regarding its harmonic and melodic composition than stuff written in a variety of tablature.  So there is a reason for a dearth of literature.
Surprisingly, there are actually lute pieces by Paganini (and Bach anyway, but then Bach was more of a multiinstrumentalist): for those, of course tablature makes some sense and the lute, like the guitar, also has larger distances on the fretboard.  The Paganini lute pieces tend to be quite less of vortuosity showoff pieces than the violin ones, too.  That helps in making tablature work reasonably for them.
Answer: Surely it can't be the best way to portray music to be played. How would it be done? You could put an overlay with 'fret wires' marked, but it's just as much or little trouble to learn to read the music - of which there is a shedload !


How can I create a multisite global tag cloud?

Question: I have a WordPress multisite installation.
I need to create a sitewide tagcloud on the main blog.
How can I do that ?
Answer: Use this plugin
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wordpress-mu-sitewide-tags/
and this tutorial
http://wpmututorials.com/how-to/make-a-tags-page-like-wordpress-dot-com/
It says wpmu, but it is exactly the same.
Comment: A better and more efficient way to do this would be to get all the tags from the database tables (like once a day or something like that, then cache results because the query would be very expensive).
Comment: needed a tag cloud on the sidebar, but it worked like a charm :-)
Comment: .. which is what this plugin does... it aggregates everything to one blog, instead of looping through each.


Suzuki sv650s will not start, no lights, no fuel pump, nothing

Question: My sv650s will not start at all. I put the key in the ignition and turn it on and none of my accessory lights come on and the fuel pump doesn't engage. It's done this before and I fixed it originally by jump starting it with my boss' ram truck. As soon as I hooked the cables to the battery it fired right up. This time I was not so lucky. I know you're not supposed to jump a bike with a car but it was all I had available, and it didn't blow any fuses so I figured no harm done. A couple weeks later it died and I haven't been able to bring it back since. I put a new battery in it, charged it all the way, and I still get nothing so I'm starting to think it's something else. None of my fuses are blown and the battery is brand new. What might be causing this, a bad regulator rectifier? Bad stator? Bad ignition switch?
Comment: What is battery's current voltage at rest? Does it change with the key switched on? Jump starting with a car/truck won't hurt anything as long as the vehicle is turned off.
Answer: A few possible causes include:
1) A bad ignition switch. Maybe turning the key isn't actually activating the switch, so the bike is still effectively switched off.
2) A bad connection somewhere on the positive side. I would check between the battery and the first few relays and fuse boxes. A wiring diagram will help you trace the flow. Keep an eye out for corrosion.
3) A bad ground. There is usually a large negative wire that goes directly from the battery to the frame, or the engine. If that's loose or corroded, electrons won't flow.
Hard to diagnose any more than this without more information. I wouldn't worry too much about the starting circuit until you get power back to basics like lights. If you don't already have one, pick up a cheap multimeter. Grab a wiring diagram for your bike and see where it has power. You should be able to trace 12v from the battery all the way to any given light with the switch turned on. If you can't, see where the voltage is present and where it isn't. Your problem is somewhere between.
Answer: If you get no lights even with a new battery that is also jumpered to a another battery, then you know it is an electrical connection: bad ignition switch, ground, fuse, relay, or battery connection.
Time to get the multimeter out and use it to deduce where your electrical circuit is open (broken).
Answer: Sounds like it's possible you might have a current draw somewhere along the line. Something drawing power when it really shouldn't be. I would test for that by hooking up an ammeter in series and looking for any current.
One other thing I can think of that may cause this is if the battery wires have any corrosion on them it may be enough to break contact.
Last thing I would guess at is you have a bad ignition switch/relay. Even if the relay does click that doesn't mean it's making a solid connection in there.
Your nose is your best friend here if anything is burnt out. Sniff around the starter motor too, you'll know if it's crispy.
Answer: It is likely that the battery in your SV650S was either weak or dead. This led to your no start condition. Jump starting it with a pickup truck almost certainly provided enough current to get the motorcycle running. I'll point out here you can almost always push start an SV650 in 2nd or 3rd gear if you have even a slight down hill to build up some speed.
Due to the design of the regulator and rectifier unit on the SV650S, this action almost certainly destroyed it completely. Essentially the regulator was trying to regulate the output of the pickup trucks electrical system, which is impossible. It's likely that now the regulator portion is malfunctioning and just acts as a big resistor. This means that it draws the voltage down to the point that your bike no longer functions. Even with a freshly charged battery.
Perform the following steps

Disconnect the battery and verify it can be charged fully.
Connect the battery and measure the voltage.
Turn the key on and measure the voltage.
Disconnect the battery again and charge it fully.
Disconnect the regulator & rectifier unit from both the stator windings and the electrical harness. There should be two plugs on it, disconnect them both
Turn the key on and measure the voltage.

The voltage measured at steps 2,3,& 6 should all be very close together. Approximately 11.8 volts or higher in all cases. My guess is the voltage at step 3 will be extremely low. If it is, you are probably going to have to replace the regulator and rectifier unit with a new one. If the voltage at steps 3 & 6 is identical, then the problem is not limited to the regulator & rectifier unit.
Answer: I keep having this same issue. For my bike it keeps being the main negative connection from the wiring harness to the negative terminal on the battery. I get electrical connection as soon as the key is turned, but the second I hit the start button, about every tenth time, the bike goes instantly electrically dead and stays that way. Lifting the tank and pushing the connector together more firmly corrects the problem. Soon I will be relocating that connection and either adding two new connectors to both halves of the connection or splicing them together and heat shrinking the wire. 2008 S Model if you need to know specifically.


What are the characteristics of an 'objective' statement or argument?

Question: Can anyone explain what an "objective" statement or argument really is? How can we decide that one statement is more objective than another?
Answer: Objectivity can be considered as some sort of "pure information", in the sense that different people would have the same interpretation of it and would apply it in the same way.
Information is rather different than communication, communication cannot be reduced to it. For a more extense debate on this subject, you may find this interesting:
https://linguistics.stackexchange.com/questions/2144/which-languages-are-used-for-purposes-other-than-facilitating-communication
Subjectivity implies that there are some sorts os "holes" in speech (missing information), which will be completed by each person with their own values.
Objectivity means that there's nothing missing, all elements needed for interpretation are provided. Maybe total objectivity is not possible, as we cannot erase ourselves completely in the linguistic process of elaborating knowledge.
If I say to 2 persons "Go to the garden and pick up a beautiful flower", unless you are a philosopher meaning to discuss with me the nature of what is beauty, you'll go to the garden and pick up whichever flower appeals to you as beautiful. The flower you picked may be very different from the flower the other person picked.
If I say to you "Go the the garden and pick up a red flower with 5 petals", this is much more objective; considering you know what "flower", "red", "petal" and "5" means in general, the flower you pick possibly will be very similar to the one the other person would pick. As you see.. objectivity implies specification, and the more objective I want to be, the more elements I need to provide, to make sure that you and I have the same references and values. Objectivity requires a common background, and making sure that mine is the same as yours, or at least, the closest to being the same; we must share a vocabulary and values for it to work.
Not only do I have to say what I think/want, I need to specify what it is that I mean with those terms. Usually we are unaware of how tricky this can be, even for simple things like "red" ("oh.. so this is red to you? I consider it to be orange"). The more we have a common ground of values, more likely it is that we will be able to share information.
I consider objectivity and subjectivity to be qualities in a relationship within a linguistic set. In this sense, there is no way a person can be objective in itself, whithout considering how it would be perceived by another.
Comment: An *objective statement* is *not* a *subjective statement.
Answer: Objectivity is normally assessed by the extent to which it is conceivable that the qualities described in the statement would exist in  the manner they're described regardless of whether there are minds there to perceive them. One obvious question if this definition is accepted would be: if the criteria for determining the extent of a statement's objectivity (insofar as there can be said to be degrees, that is if it isn't taken to be an either/or destinction) is itself reliant upon reference to mind dependent phenomena (the conceivability referred to above), does this mean true objectivity is impossible?
Answer: Objectivity, like the notions of "Perfection", or "Providence", is an example of religious thought intruding stealthily into the modern secular world.
"Objectivity" as a serious philosophical notion suggests a privileged vantage point, an
"Absolute" against which reality is to be gauged and a definite, final answer is to be found.
Objectivity exists in the eye of God.  And if you believe in God, that`s fine.
But secular philosophy should really consign this notion to the bonfire of defunct religious dogma.
Physics has demonstrated the non-existence of a solid, unconditional "objective" reality, and in doing so has exposed the very notion of Objectivity as a fallacious presumption of dubious origins.
Entities are "nothing much" in themselves, but manifest as phenomena from the act of perception, which itself finds its points of reference in the context of the "nexus of the all", (or the known universe, if you like).
The fact that no electron is an island, so to speak, that it can only exist in the context of the rest of the universe further illustrates my point.
Comment: Could you please provide references or sources for your claims?
Answer: An argument is a knowledge about specific causality. Causality can't go further outside boundaries. Causality is related to realities.
A piece of reality is an existence. And an existence is exist as far as we perceive.
We perceive something at different levels, therefore a piece of reality can be perceived by us differently to someone else. How we perceive something can be provided through our five senses (or even more for someone believe in spirituality - third eye for an example).
Through these senses we have awareness to an existence. The more we can use our senses to identify something, the more an existence that we perceived become closer to us (more real).
What an 'objective' statement or argument really is?
Therefore our statement is more objective if we can:

at least relate it to one of our senses relevantly,

Asserting something that can be visualized to someone without involving someone's eyes would make an explanation is less objective. Including explaining something that must be heard to someone without involving someone's ear would make an explanation is less objective.

or,
(perceive to the fully extent) relate it to more than one of our possible senses.

We can do this by widening our awareness until we can direct our awareness to something, and we are aware of something to the fully extent, well connected to any of our senses. It's in the field of spiritual or metaphysics (meditation is known method for this purpose)

How can we decide that one statement is more objective than the other?
The more a knowledge can be accepted by as many as our possible senses, the more a knowledge can be considered more objective, the more it becomes closer to us (more real).
Answer: I think it's a very good and important question that many people should ask, since the concepts of subjective vs. objective are so widely used.
Commonly, it has a simple definition, which is easy to understand, and beneficial. It really seems it has become a modern-day synonym for the familiar, basic notions of "fact" vs. "opinion".
A fact, apparently, is something that has some kind of intrinsic state, external to human minds, not dependent on them (be it physical or abstract, as 2+2=4). So, a human can observe and acknowledge an "objective" fact / truth, or not, if they care not to, for whatever reason; but the basic "message" is that it's simply not up for debate, but it's very nature. It's not specific to the topic of discussion; it's by virtue of some sort of categorical membership; it simply isn't logically coherent or valid to say the sky is blue is just an opinion (they say).
That which is "subjective" is often taken to be an assertion or expression of something with a more emotional component or human attitude; like, do you like the painting, or not? Did you find the music good, or not? Or the beach beautiful, or perhaps not, perhaps it was ugly?
However, I already think if you start analyzing this just a little bit, trying to define it clearly and simply in precise terms, trying to make a simple system, of classification and explanation, you can already begin to see there might be more to think about, and things might not be as they appear.
This goes in two ways.
First, what we call "subjective" (in the sense above) is basically meeting the other definition (of "objective", above), so long as you consider someone's state of consciousness (emotional, volitional, intentional) (in a memorable phrasing by David Chalmers) to be a "primary datum of our universe". That is, as long as we reformulate sentences in which we communicate an inner state of feeling, such as preference, comfort or discomfort, impression, conscious-cognitive response or phenomenon or activity, not in the form of a declarative sentence, borrowing the structure of objective propositions, as a sort of mirror, analogous plane, of the perhaps physical world, to that of the mental-social - "This movies sucks" to "To me, this movie sucks", or something, it suddenly becomes "objective" in the sense above - I didn't assert universally that movie has the intrinsic property of badness - I actually observed and relayed the objective truth that as of then a person (me) was experiencing a particular feeling, phenomenon, or state of mind, in their head. It is absolutely true that this occurred. You may not "agree" with the opinion they had, but this just shows that we, again, use the language of objective assertions, which for some reason need to be disputed, need to rally and contend with each other, like disagreeing on an actual world-fact - even though we can openly acknowledge that enjoying, or something, is undeniably a state of mind in that person's head; we can instead say they should not have that mental experience, which is a different matter.
It also may go in the reverse direction, in that people often think objective is kind of just a synonym for "definitely true, with a high degree of certainty" (which is natural, I enjoy using the word in the same way, sometimes), but they may use associated diagnostic markers to form confident judgments that something is definitely true, but they do not think about if the diagnostic marker strictly implies, or proves, something; maybe they think the two things always (or almost always) go together, hand in hand - like a seal of approval, a stamp of "validity" - but they are wrong. The diagnostic marker may just be associated. They may have encountered it often next to the other thing. But they do not think about or see how that thing does not appear to be an inherent part of whatever state of affairs they are wanting to assert. In other words, it's like there being a "study" where they apparently did some numerical experiment and found some data. People may insist something is proven because there is objective evidence. But they may not realize that in some sense, the only thing "objectively" they have seen so far is a piece of paper in their hand with some squiggles on it - that is the extent of their primary experience. They have no direct contact with or total confirmation of any of that happening, not to mention that experiment happening exactly as described, not to mention if there was a mistake on the methodology, the execution, or interpretations of it.
Although objective and subjective are generally indispensable concepts for thinking and living, at least in our time, it may be better to try to think more simply, deeply, and clearly, about the nature of, difference between, the world outside of the human mind, and the world within it - which to me, clearly, is far more what those concepts are actually thing to get at.
I think by objective people mean something that happened in the world itself - the world-in-itself (I think that might be Heidegger's phrase, or Kant, can't remember, but of course it's used by many people); by subjective it makes more sense to think about consciousness, or as it's been called, phenomenology, or the phenomenological world/reality - everything that seems created by consciousness; qualitative experiences like color, emotion, a sense of being, a feeling of a body and time, etc.
This could actually be the very itty bit first step into much more thinking, but I leave off here. For example, it might be seen that mathematical truths might fall more into the category of "subjective", as described by me the second time, because in many ways it seems like something that requires human consciousness to acknowledge conceptual forms like one and two and formulate laws or rules about these concepts; whereas outside the human mind they may not exist like that, may not be "rules" written down in the founding charter of the universe (but, it depends who you ask, of course).
Comment: +1 no mention of intersubjectivity?
Comment: Thank you! I am pretty new to this - still haven't really come upon the idea - have heard it but as of yet not had a need to use it or look into it. You should please add your thoughts, I would benefit from them. Thank you.
Comment: From IEP's entry *Objectivity*: Agreement in different subjects' judgments (20°C) is often taken to be indicative of objectivity. Philosophers commonly call this form of agreement "intersubjective agreement." Does intersubjective agreement prove that there is objective truth? No, because having two or three or more perceiving subjects agreeing, for example, that it is very cold does not preclude the possibility of another perceiving subject claiming that it is not at all cold.
Comment: Just meant to encourage you! I think your contribution was a good one.


Why does half of the christmas led lights dim down?

Question: I have a strip of 3VDC (two AA in seires) christmas LED lights. 10pcs in one strip. I've been using a 18650 (4VDC), to make them shine brighter; after one week first half of them dims down from bright to low-bright when turned on. The other half stays bright all the way. What tha led is going on?
Comment: one or more LEDs on the half-circuit ladder is damaged, allowing more current to flow through it than designed, detracting from the current delivered to the other LEDs. if the strip was deigned for high-resistance  3.0v driving (like from AA batteries, which internally limits the current compared to 18650s), it likely can't be fixed; it's blown.
Comment: dumb question, but are you regularly unhooking the 18650 and putting it back on the charger to recharge?  Also do these 18650s have a battery protection circuit on them?
Comment: @Harper - yeah, no
Answer: An arc discharge light, like a fluorescent or metal halide, is a dead short that happens to make light.  (It is an arc, after all).  They would flow infinite current if you let them, which would burn then up fast. You stop that by putting a current-limiting ballast on them.  That's what a ballast is, it's a current regulator.
LEDs aren't quite that bad.  But they are current-hungry, and must be current limited.  If you are driving a raw LED, a small increase in voltage will cause a big increase in current.  Their voltage-current curve is steep.
The best LED-based appliances use an active driver circuit which actively limits current.  These active drivers are "magical"; they can input a wide band of voltages from 80 to 306 volts AC and outlut exactly the current the LEDs want.
Low-voltage consumer gadgets like Christmas lights often use resistors as current limiters.  Resistors are dumb, and not magical at all.  They don't regulate current, they just make the voltage-current curve somewhat less steep, which is "good enough" for working with one expected voltage.  They also overspec the LEDs somewhat.
You raised the voltage to 125% of normal.

If you did that with a linear load, that would raise current to 125% and thus total power to 156% of normal (56% more).
If you had done with with a highly non-linear bare LED, check the data sheet, but it would raise current to about 300% of normal, and power to 375% and kaboom.
The resistor eases this somewhat and gives us something in between, probably in the 200-300% power range.

So you can see your "little voltage bump" is really putting the LEDs on the griller.   You are leaning heavily on whatever overdesign was built into the LED spec.
The bigger question is not why this failed, but why the other one is still working!  You seem to have made yourself into a "QA department" for these lights and are discovering the ones which were not overbuilt.
Comment: well, the _best_ ones (pro gear @ >$100/m) actually use a constant voltage supply and under-driven modules that avoid heat+current crawl. If you want the most light output, CC is indeed the way to go because you can push LEDs precisely up to max on that steep V/I curve.


Wiring a ballast

Question: Question my situation is much like Harper's With a 2 lamp ballast wiring to a single lamp on one end of the lampholder. I have a red and white wire - the red wire to the starter and the white wire connects to a neutral bus. So my question is if I connect the lamp per diagram, 2 blues and 2 reds, then where does that leave the white wire that is connected to the lamp holder? I'll be splicing the ballast wires into the existing so does one of these wires be it blue or red become a neutral ? Then what do I do with the white neutral coming from the ballast? I intend to connect the black wire from the ballast to the push button switch. What I'm working on is an old 1968 Frigidaire flair custom oven. I think I got it - the white wire from ballast connects to neutral bus the white wire on lamp holder becomes whichever color I wire to that side. Is that correct?
Answer: Most all ballasts I have wired use white or gray for neutral and black for the hot. The lamps are where the red(s) and blue(s) oranges, yellows etc are connected. The existing wires or connections to the lamp holders may need to be removed to wire this new ballast correctly.

Wiring a ballast


Clip on guitar tuner

Question: I have been using a clip on guitar tuner for a few years now but I still don't know what the switch at the side is for - it has an option for a flat symbol of a sharp symbol.  Can anyone help?
Comment: picture... make... model...?
Answer: Could be many things, but I would guess that this is to change the frequency you tune to.
Standard concert pitch is A=440Hz, but for reasons, you might want to tune sharp or flat from that standard, and those buttons (probably) allow you to do that.
Comment: Practical test - if pressing + makes it say 441, 442, 443... then you're probably right
Comment: These buttons likely allow you to calibrate the tuner itself to a fixed pitch instrument like a piano or pipe organ, so that your guitar will sound in tune with the piano when the guitar is tuned with that device.

Clip on guitar tuner


KitchenAid Pro mixer clicking noise

Question: I have a KitchenAid pro mixer that is making a slow clicking noise. It gets faster as I turn up the speed. I first noticed it after replacing a stripped worm follower gear. It sounds like it's coming from the motor. I have checked/cleaned/and re-greased all the other gears several times, and I am confident they are all working properly. Everything looks fine. As far as I can tell. It is not a huge clicking noise, but almost sounds like the fan is hitting something as it goes around. Is this something I should worry about? If I should worry about it, how do I fix it?
Comment: Is it cyclical with the movement of the paddle/whisk?  Is it possible that you need to adjust the position of rotating element over the bowl?
Comment: Did you reinstall the motor-brushes in the correct orientation? Brushes tend to wear asymmetrically, and can produce a clicking sound if you get them in wrong.
Comment: I've done the same thing. I changed the worm gear and the worm follower gear and now I hear a clicking sound and I know that its all in place properly.
Comment: Mine is brand new, out of the box and, it clicks without no load and no mixer attachment, model 550
Answer: Does it only do it under higher load? Mine clicks a little bit when kneading dough, and I determined that it was actually the bowl moving a bit. I have a lift-bowl model, but it could be either that or the hinge on a tilt model.
If it is under load, try pushing on the bowl to eliminate movement. If it happens even when empty, this isn't it.
Answer: Happened to me after replacement of lower gear housing.
It's caused from having the two motor mount screws too tight.  I realized that could cause a bit of stress on the harmonics of the motor operation.  Loosened and reinstalled just barely over a light snug, that did the trick.
Answer: After I changed the nylon gear, I missed a small piece of the striped nylon gear that was hiding in all the grease. After running it for a few seconds it started clicking. I tore it down and spun the gear with a punch until i found a spot that would catch, and found 2 VERY small pieces of the stripped nylon gear in the teeth of large planetary? gear. After removal it's running like new. If it happens again i will change the grease, and find the piece in the gear. Very small, hard to see pieces in the back of the gear teeth.

KitchenAid Pro mixer clicking noise


Freelancer theft of client's property and non-shipment (US client, India freelancer)

Question: I posted a basic hacking investigation job on Upwork and one of the people who applied seemed to be an excellent candidate. His cover letter informed me that he was USA licensed and certified, had been involved in the arrest of several high-profile hackers and had worked for the US department of defense and other agencies. I hired him and mailed my phone to him for investigation. He turned out to be located in a place called Gurugram Haryana India. Through email he confirmed receiving my phone, conducting his investigation and finding proof and IPs but now he will not ship anything (my phone, the new modded phone he upsold me and the hacking report) and will not respond to my messages via the site or my emails. I've reported him to the website and they're working on it but what else can I do? I'd rather have my phones and proof and etc. than perhaps an Upwork credit. I have his real name, bank details, home/office address and two email addresses plus all communication and receipts when applicable.
Comment: I don't see how this is related to freelancing other than the alleged thief may have been hired n a freelance basis. Seems like more a question for law.stackexchange .. but they won't give specific legal advice.
Comment: Since you have his details, have you considered filing a police complaint against him? If you need help with the contact details / emails of the concerned police station available in public domain, let me know.
Answer: It's likely that you've been scammed by someone who simply created the details in order to fleece you out of a relatively expensive phone and any data on it that has additional value (e.g. network passwords, emails, texts, etc). They may have also hoped to get the phone working again and spoof the people in the address book by asking them for remote access to systems, passwords and to send money.

There were a number of potential red flags here that you should have been warned by (but apparently weren't).

"His cover letter informed me that he was USA licensed and certified"  Although there are many ethical hacking certifications, most if not all are offered by international/global organisations, rather than nationally-based companies.

"had been involved in the arrest of several high-profile hackers"
Individual white hat freelancers are rarely involved in 'high-profile' hacking investigations. Those tend to be left to the authorities (who have their own investigators) or very expensive companies. This sort of boasting is common from scammers, though.

"had worked for the US department of defense and other agencies"
The US Dept of Defence rarely (if ever) hire single IT freelancers to do work for them and they pretty much never hire contractors who aren't US Nationals.

"He turned out to be located in a place called Gurugram Haryana India."
In combination with the above, this should have been a huge red flag. He's name-dropped some weighty American organisations to get you sucked in, but then he turns out to live in India.

"Through email he confirmed receiving my phone, conducting his investigation and finding proof and IPs"  At this point in the "investigation" he was probably trying to rinse the phone for any useful info to steal.

"now he will not ship anything (my phone, the new modded phone he upsold me and the hacking report)"  No report exists and apparently he got some extra money out of you (as well as a free phone).

"What else can I do?"  Recognising that you've probably been scammed, you need to report your problem to your company's IT Officer and ensure that you do appropriate damage control by removing any access that that phone has to servers, accounts and systems as well as re-securing all of those with fresh passwords and checking intrusion logs (he might still be in there right now!).
You also need to change your bank details and report him to the police as well as contacting UpWork and asking them to refund at least your payments through their system.
Answer: Sadly, you have nothing - no information of the true scammer, no money, and no phone.
Unfortunately, all the information above can be created on a whim, or passed through multiple gullible victims to hide the true source.
Your best bet at this point is to cut your losses, and move on. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.
Answer: Sites like these act as intermediates, try solving amicably with upwork and if they can't solve or deny responsibility, sue them for damages.
It's just like amazon or ebay. They are getting a cut of every payment, so they are to blame.
Don't settle for a credit, you should have your phones and whatever the proofs you asked for would grant you. I'm assuming you were already trying to find evidence to sue someone, if you can't because of someone that upwork vetted, then they are to blame and they owe you whatever you were getting from the evidence the said hacker uncovered.
And mainly, keep an eye out when dealing with India, Brazil, China and Russia. Scammer nests.


Is there any way to schedule software update?

Question: I have software updates set to check weekly, but it seems to happen at random times during the day. I'd really like to have it run at a specific day and time - say 4:30 on Friday - so that I can just let it run on my way out the door, rather than having to let the computer restart in the middle of a workday. Is it possible to schedule the software update that granularly? Obviously it can't be done via system prefs, but maybe there's a hidden setting somewhere (or a utility I can download) that I'm not aware of as a Mac newb.
Answer: If you goto the Software Update preferences, you can set it to daily, monthly or weekly. Obviously, this a very basic update scheduler. If you want to update weekly at this time just goto preferences and select weekly, now.
You can also do it using an Apple script + softwareupdater as described here.
Comment: As I said I already have it set to weekly. I'm looking for more specific control over the day and time. Thanks for the link; I'll look at the link when I have a few minutes to process it - I've never worked with AppleScript.
Comment: I just read the article and set up an agent using Lingon as suggested. Simple and easy; just need to see if it actually runs tomorrow! Thanks.
Answer: Emmy - if you want to automate this without a user approving the changes, see this thread. How to silently update OS X and reboot if necesary?
Otherwise just use iCal to schedule and set an alarm to open the file
<code>/System/Library/Core Services/Software Update.app
</code>
as shown below:

There are tons of ways to script this, but iCal is really simple for this task.
Answer: You can automate this by date and time using 'launchd'
here's an article about it. Note: This will download the updates in the background automatically, you won't see the apple software update window. So you won't have to push any confirm to install buttons.


Quantum mechanics and the atom

Question: I was thinking about the nature of the atom, specifically, why electrons do not spiral into the nucleus. My physics book says the principal quantum number $n$ must be an integer number of wave patterns, four quantum numbers can never be in the same state (the exclusion principle) and angular momentum is quantized. But why? Is it simply because that is how quantum mechanics works?
Comment: A physical theory is designed to describe the behavior of nature, which means that the stability of atoms leads to the structure of quantum mechanics and not the other way round. The prediction of classical electrodynamics that atoms are unstable is merely evidence that classical electrodynamics is not a valid theory for atoms. As we now know quantum mechanics, more precisely quantum field theory, is the correct description of the microscopic world.
Answer: Well, we could say, yes, that is simply how quantum mechanics works. But these are not the axioms of quantum mechanics, and the exclusion principle in particular is really only understood in the context of quantum field theory.
The electron does not "spiral in" because it doesn't move in the classical sense at all. At the scale of the size of an atom, quantum mechanics is inevitable, and classical reasoning is simply invalid.
That angular momentum and the principal quantum number are discretized follow from the analysis of the quantum mechanical operators associated to them (and is experimentally supported e.g. by the observation of discrete spectral lines): It is an axiom of quantum mechanics, the Born rule, that observables are only ever measured in the discrete spectra of operators associated to them, and it follow from general mathematical considerations (together with the axiom that the physical states are really well-represented by a separable Hilbert space) that the states belonging to these measurements - the eigenstates, labeled by their discrete values for the operator - are a basis of the space of states: All possible configurations of the system are only superpositions of these eigenstates. Analyzing the Hamiltonian (the energy) for an atom, one finds, best seen in the hydrogen atom, that such a basis is given by labelling the basis states by the four famous quantum numbers.
The exclusion principle is another beast entirely. It comes out of nowhere in ordinary quantum mechanics, and could be taken as another experimental/axiomatic input. However, in the more general framework of quantum field theory, we can derive the spin-statistic theorem telling us that fermions - the type of particles to which electrons also belong - never "share" a state - there is at most one particle in a given state.
At the end, you could now ask why the axioms are the way they are, why quantum field theory is the way it is. Well, there's no reason other than that it matches experiments well, and has hitherto been more successful in that than anything else.
Answer: Why is not really important, how is. If you ask yourself why then the answers can be many, for example

Why does gravity make two masses attract each other?

The answer is because it does, what is really important is how and for that you have a first theory, Newton's Law of Gravitation, this theory is only true for relatively small masses (or masses with small density). There is another theory that works in any case, Eienstein's General Relativity.
Whether you apply one theory or the other, why the phenomenon happens should have the same answer in both cases, and it is in fact a philosophical answer. You can especulate like Fyenman does in The Relation of Mathematics & Physics, but it doesn't matter as much as how the system develops under the action of a gravitational field, a question which can actually be answered with the theories mentioned above.
Then, the fact is that the electrons do not orbit the nuclei like a planet orbits the sun, nor do they emit electromagnetic waves due the their centripetal acceleration, and yes they don't loose all their kinetic energy and collapse.
There is no need for a picture of how electrons move in their orbitals, it's enough to know that it's not like the classical physics would predict.

Quantum mechanics and the atom


Animating stills in After Effects

Question: I did a short corporate composition that used alot of stills. I animated alot of the stills by zooming in and out and panning across. Pretty basic. I have trouble with unexpected movements when I animate both scale and position of the image. These are little sudden changes of position of that happen at the end of the movement. How can I control these animations better? I will try to post a sample of what I mean if this question is not clear.
Comment: Good idea! If it's possible, you should add an image(s) to your question.
Answer: From my experience all unexpected movements when keyframing are fixed by editing bezier curves of those keyframes, make them linear or something.
Answer: Try selecting your keyframes, right-clicking them, and clicking "edit interpolation", then changing it from "Bezier" to "linear", and all the variations therein.
Also try making doubly sure that your keyframes are aligned properly on the timeline.

Animating stills in After Effects


Why one place on stack exchange is called "area51"?

Question: Why this place on stack exchange is called "area51"? Is it a special idiom in English for some places where things are being developed? Does 51 have some special meaning besides being just a number?
Comment: Shhh... it's a secret area....
Comment: Ben Voigt: "questions about stack exchange, instead of about the designated topic ("english language and usage") belong on meta" - Please re-read this question carefully and you will realize that this question is about the idiom "area 51", which just happens to be also a name used for one site on "Stack Exchange". This is not a question about how that site works. I admit I might have not phrased the title properly - you can edit it if you want - but this question IS in the right place.
Comment: questions about stack exchange, instead of about the designated topic ("english language and usage") belong on meta.
Answer: Area 51 is a military base in Southern Nevada often found at the center of UFO stories.
From Wikipedia:

Area 51 is a military base, and a remote detachment of Edwards Air Force Base. ... The intense secrecy surrounding the base, the very existence of which the U.S. government barely acknowledges, has made it the frequent subject of conspiracy theories and a central component to unidentified flying object (UFO) folklore.

As to why StackExchange called that site Area 51?
From the Area51 FAQ,  "We like the little aliens."
Comment: That's not to mention the films *Planet 51* and *The 51st State*, the latter being also a generic term for places (such as the UK) which might be perceived as becoming subsumed into the all-conquering American culture. In short, whilst not being quite such a significant number as **42**, 51 does have considerable cultural resonance.
Answer: See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Area_51 for information about Area 51.  In a nutshell, it's a humorous reference to a place where strange, secret things happen.
Answer: 'Area 51' signifies the 'exclusivity'- in this case a group of people who are 'stakeholders' in shaping projects which may or may not see the light of the day, which are a 'secret' to the outside world until they become 'live' (public).
Comment: Perhaps it should have been called "the skunkworks".


Illustrator CS5 converts all the missing fonts of an imported PDF into vectors, how do I substitute the fonts so I can edit the text?

Question: All the missing fonts of an imported PDF are converted into vectors in Illustrator CS5, how do I substitute the fonts so I can edit the text?
Comment: Welcome Ronen! Thanks for posting your question. Unfortunately, GD.SE is not designed to handle issues regarding technical support or basic software education. If you are seeking technical assistance with an application, please try the application manufacture's web site. If you are seeking to learn how to accomplish something within an application, please review the application help files or try an internet search with your question or an internet search for a tutorial. We are confident you will find answers.
Answer: You don't.
If type is converted to outlines it is done to maintain appearance. Your only option is to reset the type and delete the outlines if needed.
There is no way to un-outline type in Illustrator, other than using Undo if you outlined the type yourself.


How to explain hover technology

Question: In many sci fi games we see vehicles (or in halo 4 and 5 guns) that use hover technology. But how using technology that is scientifically realistic could we explain military grade hover technology? By hover I mean that when it is turned on the vehicle will hover off of the ground by around 1-2 feet.
Comment: Please describe the actual physical effect you mean by "hover". And "understandable" is kind of vague too. "It is magic!" is perfectly understandable explanation, but probably not what you mean.
Comment: The recent novel *Influx* does a good job of postulating gravity control as the basis for a sci-fi plot.
Comment: That means you want a hovercraft, but can live without a hoverboard?
Comment: yes that is what I mean
Answer: Use Arthur C. Clarke's rule, "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic," followed by Sanderson's First Law of Magic, "An author's ability to resolve conflict with magic is DIRECTLY PROPORTIONAL to the readers' understand of said magic."
The problem with most hover technologies that actually exist is that they tend to work very well in carefully structured environments, but the math simply forbids them from working in open air.  You can levitate a frog in a magnet using its diamagnetic properties, but that required a tremendously powerful magnet that weighs many times more than the frog and would have to be levitated along with it, creating a chicken and the egg problem.  Antigravity theores have been theorized, but since we are yet to observe a gravaton, we're not really sure how they work.  Other approaches work great when you're in a constrained environment (such as a magnetic monorail), but don't work so well once you're far off the ground.

You will have more success hand waving it away as technology that doesn't need to be understood.  Use Sanderson's law, and write the story such that the reader really doesn't need to know much about the hover technology.  One easy way to do that is to have the characters not really understand how it works, and have to "trust the system" every time they get into their vehicle.  Don't feel obliged to explain everything about your world — leave some mystery in it!
One technological detail you should get right, even if you handwave it, is the energy required.  I can "levitate" an object by putting a physical support underneath it, and it takes no energy, so if your levitation system just hovers without moving up or down, it doesn't have any specific energy requirements.  However, if you can hover up or down, it must be in a position to deal with the potential energy shift that occurs as you move up.  If the hover technology can move you upwards, it probably shouldn't be powered on AA batteries.
Or, if you are dead set on an explained source of military hover technology, use hover technologies which are already battle proven:
Comment: I don't think "observing a gravaton" is relevant. The energy of a singe quanta would be so low it may never. Radio works just fine without single quanta detection or complicating the math with quantization, for the same reason.
Comment: @JDługosz Perhaps the wording is interesting, but the second half of the sentence "we're not really sure how they work" was what I really wanted to get towards.  Observation  of a gravaton would at least give us something to work from to scratch out an antigravity theory with some credence to it.
Comment: Plank's constant is a thing. Gravity will affect the momentum of a particle in descrete packets, period. That doesn't tell us how gravity "works" if we manage to measure the lumpiness somehow.  Knowing that (we do) and detecting quanta (we won't;  they're too small and spread out) doesn't add to the enlightenment.   Measuring one directly won't help invent a mathematical framework that can handle both gravity and quantum mechanics elegantly at the same time.
Answer: By hover technology I presume you actually mean anti gravity.
Since gravity is usually described as the warping of space-time under the influence of a massive body (like a planet or a star), what is actually being asked for is to create a "spike" that rises out of the gravity well that the object balances upon. This would involve warping space-time in the opposite direction, and in a very narrow and focused area. If you were to use the standard image of a bowling ball warping a flat rubber sheet into a bowl shape, then the "anti gravity" region would be using a chopstick to poke the rubber sheet from the bottom and push back up level with the flat region.

This would involve a lot of energy (overcoming the local gravitational warping of space-time), as well as some near lightspeed handwaving, since there is no known technology that could do this. I suppose if you wanted to use brute force, you could arrange to have a similarly sized planet directly overhead, cancelling out the gravitational influence of the planet you are standing on in that region (you can extend that analogy by substituting a smaller slug of neutronium or even a micro black hole hovering overhead, but there would be some obvious difficulties with any of these solutions).
For the purposes of the story, you could obliquely refer to warping the gravity well and the energies required to do so, without going into much actual detail (a novel about air combat could mention the static and afterburning thrust of the engine of an F-35, without going into any detail about how the engine was arranged or worked). Have fun!
Comment: Wouldn't a spike be a repulsive force and negating gravity correspond to a flat area? And the most energy efficient way to create a flat area would probably be to envelope the object inside an artificial local maximum or minimum of the gravity field. Of **any** size so energy cost is difficult to assume.
Comment: Anti gravity would be a repulsive force, and bringing the "spike" up to flat space-time would totally negate the gravity of the planet you are on. A lower "spike" could be created corresponding to some fraction of the local gravity, which would make the object lighter, but probably not able to hover.
Comment: The effect of gravity depends on the "steepness" of the slope, so I agree with @VilleNiemi .... anti-gravity is essentially artificially making the slope flat at one point.
Answer: Whilst most of the answers given seem to focus on hover tech blocking gravity, or "sitting" on magnetic fields, there is a possibly more likely version:
Assume, for the sake of the argument, that some manner of energy-based propulsion tech exists (the big glowing plasma drive-type thing). The extension of this would be to miniaturise it and place a control circuit in to simply counteract gravity, no different from the jets which are able to do vertical take-off and landing.
If such a tech exists, and is cheaper/easier than conventional combustion jets, it would not be beyond reason that such a system, and the moderate energy required to propel in a specific direction, would be more beneficial for ground vehicles (particularly when dealing with hostile terrain).
If you want to make a defined difference between the ground-based vehicles, and the flying ones, then the additional control systems required to deal with full-flight would be more expensive to produce, and more difficult to control.
Answer: If you simply need a military hovercraft that can operate realistically, why not use the real ones?
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hovercraft

Hovercraft use blowers to produce a large volume of air below the hull that is slightly above atmospheric pressure. The pressure difference between the higher pressure air below the hull and lower pressure ambient air above it produces lift, which causes the hull to float above the running surface. For stability reasons, the air is typically blown through slots or holes around the outside of a disk- or oval-shaped platform, giving most hovercraft a characteristic rounded-rectangle shape. Typically this cushion is contained within a flexible "skirt", which allows the vehicle to travel over small obstructions without damage.

This is not anti-gravity or magnetic, but it is wheelless and does not touch the ground.
Why not make these into flying cars?  Mostly because they are horrid in fuel mileage compared to something with wheels or even wings.  They are only competitive with helicopters.
The primary use of hovercraft in the real world is for use over surfaces into which ground vehicles would sink but which don't have a consistent enough depth for water vehicles.  They can handle water and land as well as shallows and swamps.  This flexibility gives them an advantage over boats and cars.  Unlike winged vehicles, they can pause and stay in one place.
They are cheaper to operate than helicopters, and they have a higher weight capacity for the space they take than helicopters.  The latter reason is why marines use them for water to land attacks.  The former reason is why emergency crews use them--in floods for example.
Why might your characters use them?  If energy is cheap enough in your world, perhaps the fuel mileage costs don't matter.  If energy is cheap enough, you can even do without the skirts.  There are hovercraft that can go as high as fifty feet.  The skirts do make it easier for people to walk close to the hovercraft, as they reduce the airflow needed to stay off the ground.
Answer: If you introduce the (techno-magical) ability to create narrow beams of electric or magnetic forces, then a GPS-like system of force-beam satellites could do it.  There's no known phenomenon that could create these beams, but if we could, everything else is bog-standard physics.
Remember to include ground stations to beam a counter-force back to the satellites, since they'd be attracted to the ground with the same force they're applying to hover-vehicles.

How to explain hover technology