What is the Event according to Badiou?

Question: What is the Event according to Alain Badiou? Might he give examples of such "events" in real life? I am having trouble understanding the explanations I have found.
Answer: It might be worth going back to when the term Event was first introduced by Derrida in his paper Structure, Sign, and Play in the Discourse of the Human Sciences presented at a conference in the US to investigate & ratify the idea of Structuralism, but was soon recognised as the beginning of post-structuralism primarily due to Derridas paper. He writes:

Perhaps something has occurred in the history of the concept of structure that could be called an "event," if this loaded word did not entail a meaning which it is precisely the function of structural-or structuralist-thought to reduce or to suspect. But let me use the term "event" anyway, employing it with caution and as if in quotation marks. In this sense, this event will have the exterior form of a rupture and a redoubling.

and

If this is so, the whole history of the concept of structure, before the rupture I spoke of, must be thought of as a series of substitutions of center for center, as a linked chain of determinations of the center. Successively, and in a regulated fashion, the center receives different forms or names. The history of metaphysics, like the history of the West, is the history of these metaphors and metonymies.

and

The event I called a rupture, the disruption alluded to at the beginning of this paper, would presumably have come about when the structurality of structure had to begin to be thought, that is to say, repeated, and this is why I said that this disruption was repetition in all of the senses of this word.

Now compare this to Badious 'Event - something that disrupts the current situation'.
In the wikipedia entry to Badiou, they write that Badiou tries

to reconcile a notion of the subject with ontology, and in particular post-structuralist and constructivist ontologies. A frequent criticism of post-structuralist work is that it prohibits, through its fixation on semiotics and language, any notion of a subject.

and

the place of the event – which is seen as a rupture in being – through which the subject finds realization and reconciliation with truth

Badiou theorises about the Event & Being in terms of axiomatic set theory in a way that is distinct from Philosophers and Mathematicians which make it obscure.

What is the Event according to Badiou?


What is the direction of surface tension?

Question: How do we define the direction in which surface tension will act? Surface tension is a kind of hypothetical tension in which liquid molecules undergo tension force at the surface. Thus it should be a pulling force due to asymmetry.But many times in my books i have seen it acting in opposite direction.Why?
Answer: There are a couple of different things to think about here.
First - surface tension can be thought of as "energy needed to create surface area". In that regard, you can think of a liquid water surface like a 2D spring: the more you stretch it, the more energy it costs. But it is nothing like a spring in the sense that the energy per unit area is constant (where in a spring energy goes as the square of the displacement).
You can then imagine that the force will act to make the surface smaller (that is energetically more favorable) - in whatever direction it needs to push in order to achieve that.
But there's a second important factor in most situations: there is often another (solid) surface in the picture, and there will be some forces between the liquid and the surface. If the surface likes water, we call it hydrophilic, and it is energetically favorable to create a large surface area where they touch. Unfortunately, if there is a large contact area of liquid and solid, there is an equally large area of liquid not touching solid (in the case of a plane) which is energetically not favorable. And so you get an equilibrium, where the liquid will be at a certain contact angle. At this point, you have some forces pulling on the liquid to make it bigger, and others to make it smaller.
If you have a hydrophobic surface, then the liquid will try to minimize its contact area ("beading"). Again, as it does so the area exposed to air will increase.
Once you ask yourself "what is the shape the liquid wants to be to minimize the energy" you will figure out the direction of the force.
Answer: Surface tension is a very interesting phenomenon.  One idea as to its origin is to realise that the molecules near the surface of a liquid are not bonded to molecules above the surface.  To counteract the attractive forces from the liquid below the separation of the molecules near the surface is greater than that for molecules in the bulk of the liquid.
This increase in separation means that the potential energy of surface molecules is larger than those in the bulk.  To minimise the potential energy the liquid tries to minimise its surface area.
This minimization of area manifests itself in a number of ways.
Liquid drops try and become spherical as a sphere has the smallest surface area for a given volume.
Capillary rise can also be explained using the idea of surface minimization given that a layer of liquid molecules are always present on the surfaces of solids near the liquid.
In such a case the force of adhesion (glass molecule to liquid molecule) is greater than the force of cohesion.

However if the force of cohesion is greater than the force of adhesion, as at a mercury –glass interface, you would get capillary depression.
Comment: Yes but how? Where is the force and how is it directed to perform the task of reducing surface area? Surface tension arises due to asymmetric force distribution, correct? Where is this asymmetric force distribution in an **air bubble inside a tank of water** and what is its direction?
Comment: Topic of direction of surface tension-can you explain why surface tension acts towards the centre of the **AIR** bubble? In the case of a liquid drop, liquid is inside the drop.If we consider one hemisphere of the **LIQUID** drop, the other surface is also liquid and hence pulls the hemisphere considered along the periphery by a total net force S(surface tension of liquid)times circumference of the hemisphere. But in case of a **AIR** bubble,**where will surface tension act**?How is difference in pressure inside and outside an **AIR** bubble still 2S/R where S is surface tension of **LIQUID**?
Comment: @Ola The bubble is trying to reduce the surface area of the air/liquid interface.
Comment: The water in contact with the air bubble must be pulled away from the centre due to surface tension right ? How is it towards the centre of bubble. Can you tell me how this force is not away from centre. Since there are water molecules surrounding the water in contact with air bubble, it must experience a force ourward right? (Im considering only one hemisphere) can you please tell me where i'm going wrong?
Answer: You can think of the surface as a rubber sheet which has been stretched. This means that it will try to retain and decrease its area. This can only happen if it applies a force and thus this force is defined as surface tension times length
Answer: Surface tension acts inwardly, towards the body of the object. It is perpendicular to the surface of the object. If the object is curved, it is perpendicular to the tangent of the object's surface.


Is running good ?

Question: I have recently come across several books describing workout plans that were not including any kind of running or cycling or swimming. Only weight lifting and free weight training were included in these workout plans. The authors were claiming that there is no scientific evidence that running is actually a good exercise for the heart (and can prevent heart). To get fit, developing a high metabolism is much more effective than long running sessions. Where is the truth ?
Comment: Care to figure out the names of the books? Because a die-hard weight lifter isn't exactly 'fit' for running anyway. Also, why would a high metabolism alone be more effective than cardio-exercise?
Comment: Possible duplicate: http://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/2060/is-jogging-actually-healthy
Comment: and can prevent heart *what?*
Comment: As it stands, the question is also open-ended and could be argued.
Comment: Arthur Jones famously made the assertion that weightlifting was just as effective (or more so) for cardiovascular health than "cardio". Body By Science (McGuff) does make a compelling scientifically-based case for the same.
Answer: You're confounding running and low-intensity steady state cardio.
Running is a basic life skill (along with literacy, basic arithmetic, being able to ride a bicycle, being able to swim...), and if you want to be able to do it without getting sore, you need to run regularly. No other exercises can prepare you for running.
Running is also one of the most basic functions of your body. Do no running at all, and you may end up with a disfunctional and out-of-balance (mostly lower) body. We are built to run.
However, slow steady state cardio appears to be mostly useless. Not useless in the sense of doing nothing, but useless compared to shorter, more intense cardio. Whether you do interval sprints, crossfit, kettlebell-lifting or any other high-intensity cardio, you will both save a lot of time and get more of the benefits of cardio, both in terms of training your cardiovascular systems and in terms of fat-loss.
Allegedly, one of the secrets of Kenyan marathon runners are regular runs with low mileage and high intensity. These actually give them a fair amount of fast-twitch-muscle fibers that traditional wisdom would tell you are only for sprinters.
Comment: Got a source for low mileage/high intensity? I found that Kenyan's do hill running.  http://www.marathonguide.com/training/coachmindy/hillrunning.cfm

Is running good ?


Why did the coins of England minted under Richard I and John bear the name of Henry?

Question: From the middle Anglo-Saxon period until the reign of Edward I, England's coinage mainly comprised silver pennies bearing the monarch's portrait and name on the obverse side.  These were frequently cut into halves and quarters (farthings).  The dies for stamping the coins were had to be replaced frequently, and at least one major recoinage is known from 1205.  Why were the new dies still made with the legend "HENRICVS REX" for nearly three decades after Henry II died?
Comment: I note that Henry III became king in 1216, which was 27 years after Henry II died in 1189, and kings didn't use numbers after their names in those days.  Coins with "HENRICVS REX" dated after 1216 are no problem to explain.   But coins dated 1190 to 1215 with the legend  "HENRICVS REX"  would be a problem to explain.  Are there actually such coins?
Comment: @MAGolding _Are there actually such coins?_ Yes.  Moneyers had to pay for the privilege, and the dies they used to stamp the coins carried identifying marks (to provide a kind of audit trail / quality control on the coins they produced). The Pipe Rolls have lists of payments from moneyers, from which we know when they were active. You can find lists of moneyers for the short-cross coinage in [Coins of England & The United Kingdom](https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=TDqMDwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false), from p166.
Answer: Robert Bartlett, professor of Medieval History at the University of St Andrews, has written that the success of Henry II's short cross type coinage issued in 1180

was so great that no one was willing even to tamper with its
  inscription, so that English pennies bore the legend 'King Henry'
  throughout the reigns of Richard I and John.

Source: Robert Bartlett, 'England under the Norman and Angevin Kings: 1075-1225' (OUP, 2002)
Lucia Travaini, numismatist at the University of Milan, cites several examples in medieval Europe of largely unchanged coinage despite a change in rulers (and even in dynasties), writing that

the primary reason for not altering the iconography was to make such
  coins easily identifiable for their good and reliable quality
  (although this did tend to diminish over time).

Source: Lucia Travaini, 'Coins, Images, Identity, and Interpretations'. In S. Solway (ed) 'Medieval Coins and Seals' (2015)
Travaini includies the short cross coins of the reigns of Richard I and John among her examples (mentioned in a footnote). Thus, the coins may be seen to express the continuity of the Angevin empire which Henry II founded and built.
It was, in fact, not uncommon for French rulers to 'immobilize' their coinage:

While this may seem strange to us, and was a departure from the
  practice of earlier English kings, there was a precedent for such
  "immobilisation" of coins on the Continent.
England at this time was ruled by Richard as part of the vast Angevin
  domain his father had inherited and expanded which covered not only
  England but parts of Ireland and most of western France. In much of
  feudal France immobilised coins were common place and in particular in
  the Angevin heart-lands

Source: Richard Kelleher, 'Kings and Coins in Medieval England'
However, the short cross coins were only partially immobilised during the time they were issued, from 1180 to 1247. Numismatists have identified 8 classes spanning the reigns of four kings thus:

Henry II [1154-1189]: Class 1
Richard I [1189-1199]: Classes 2-4
John [1199-1216]: Classes 4-6
Henry III [1216-1272]: Classes 6-8

The above cited article, The Short Cross coinage (1180 - 1247 AD) details differences between the classes of coins, but notes that all the coins had he following "general appearance"

Obverse: From 10 o'clock the legend hENRICVS REX around a crowned and
  bearded bust. In the king's right hand is a sceptre which divides the
  R from the EX .
Reverse: +(Name of moneyer) ON (mint name) around a small voided cross
  with quatrefoils in the angles.

John's reign included the re-coinage of 1205 mentioned by the OP. By this time, the Angevin empire that his father had built had mostly been lost, and his reputation fell far short of that of his predecessors. This could be an additional reason why he continued to use his father's name on the coins (in addition to the aforementioned reasons, success and easily identifiable). One could also venture that the message was that Henry II's Angevin empire was still going strong. This was far from reality, of course, but reality didn't stop English monarchs claiming to be kings of France long after Henry V's conquests were lost. In short, the drawbacks of continuing with the same basic design (mentioned by sempaiscuba in a comment below) were outweighed by the advantages.

Also in a comment below, sempaiscuba has pointed out that both Richard and John issued coins in their own name in Aquitaine / Poitou and Ireland respectively.
Why did they do this, yet retain Henry II on the short cross coins? I haven't found an academic source explaining this, so can only offer my opinion on this:
Richard (Aquitaine and Poitou) and John, (Ireland) were granted these territories before they became kings, and started issuing coins there in their own names, also before they became kings. Coins can be a way of establishing authority (i.e. propaganda). The brothers were also in dispute at various times with their father, so issuing coins in their own names could also be seen as emphasizing their independence.
That they continued to issue coins in their own names in these regions after they became kings was probably due to the simple fact such coins were already in circulation, so why change?
Comment: Doesn't the 1205 re-coinage argue against the idea of the "immobilisation" of the coinage?  Also, if the coinage was immobilised to maintain confidence across the Empire, why did Richard issue coins in his own name in Aquitaine and Poitou in western France, and John issue coins (including pennies, halfpence, and farthings) in his own name in Ireland?
Comment: Details of issues can be found in [Coins of England & The United Kingdom](https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=TDqMDwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false), which also includes lists of moneyers for the short-cross coinage from p166.
Comment: The re-coinage was actually intended to restore confidence in a currency that had been devalued by clipping.  Given that confidence had been lost to the point where John's re-coinage was necessary, why stick with the design of the devalued currency? (We discussed this period on the numismatics module of the MA, but I don't have access to either the volume of _Sylloge of Coins of the British Isles_ or the volume from the Pipe Roll Society for the 7th year of John's reign (1205), which is why I haven't posted an answer)
Answer: I don't know why Richard or John wouldn't get around to changing the name on the coins, especially if they did change the dates on the coins.  And if they didn't change the dates on the coins, how do coin experts know there are coins from the reigns of Richard and John with the name of Henry?
One sort of analogous situation is the continued minting of Maria Theresa silver thalers for use in trade in the Middle East.
Maria Theresa was Archduchess of Austria, Queen of Hungary and Croatia, etc., Queen of Bohemia, duchess and countess of various places, etc., etc., from 1740 to 1780, and wife of Emperor Francis I from 1745-1765.
The 1780 Maria Theresa thalers became so popular for trade that other countries started minting them.

The MTT quickly became a standard trade coin and several nations began striking Maria Theresa thalers. The following mints have struck MTTs: Birmingham, Bombay, Brussels, London, Paris, Rome and Utrecht, in addition to the Habsburg mints in Günzburg, Hall, Karlsburg, Kremnica, Milan, Prague, and Vienna. Between 1751 and 2000, some 389 million were minted. These various mints distinguished their issues by slight differences in the design, with some of these evolving over time.[4] In 1935 Mussolini gained a 25-year concession over production of the MTT. The Italians blocked non-Italian banks and bullion traders from obtaining the coin and so France, Belgium, and the UK started producing the coin so as to support their economic interests in the Red Sea, Persian Gulf and East Coast of Africa. In 1961 the 25-year concession ended and Austria made diplomatic approaches to the relevant governments requesting they cease production of the coin. The UK was the last government to formally agree to the request in February 1962.
The MTT came to be used as currency in large parts of Africa and Middle East until after World War II. It was common from North Africa to Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, and down the coast of Tanzania to Mozambique. Its popularity in the Red Sea region was such that merchants would not accept any other type of currency. The Italian government produced a similar designed coin in the hope of replacing the Maria Theresa thaler, but it never gained acceptance.[5]
The Maria Theresa thaler was also formerly the currency of the Hejaz, Yemen, the Aden Protectorate as well as Muscat and Oman on the Arabia peninsula. The coin remains popular in North Africa and the Middle East to this day in its original form: a silver coin with a portrait of the buxom empress on the front and the Habsburg Double Eagle on the back.[6]

I believe that the Austrian Mint occasionally produced new Maria Theresa thalers as recently as the late 20th century or even in the 21st century.
So that is a much more extreme example of using the name of a deceased ruler on coins for a much longer time.
I don't know, but it might be possible that there would be a similar motive for keeping the name of Henry II on coins produced after his death.
Comment: That doesn't seem to be the case.  Details of the 1205 re-coinage are fairly well known.  It represented a major attempt to remove clipped (and therefore devalued) coinage from circulation.  You might find the paper [King John's Recoinage and the Conference of Moneyers in 1208](https://www.britnumsoc.org/publications/Digital%20BNJ/pdfs/1989_BNJ_59_5.pdf), by Ian Stewart, of interest.


Subtraction of Positive and Negative Frequencies in Sentiment Analysis

Question: In the Positive Negative Sentiment Analysis,  Would it make sense mathematically to instead of keeping a score of the positive frequencies and negative frequencies of a word, calculate the difference between them? That way each word would have a positivity 'heat' in which a very high value would indicate a very positive word and vice-versa. How this approach would change the model performance?
Answer: Let's take an example, consider two words A & B. A's positive/negative values are +1/0 and B's are +0.5/-0.5. Their difference would appear equivalent (diffAB = 1). When in fact they are quite different sentiments.
If you wanted to compute a single metric, you could do something like "polarity" i.e. take the squared sum of the values which would give you a positive value showing how "polar" the word is. In the case above, the word B would have a lower score because it's positive/negative values are less extreme.
When designing metrics, test a few scenarios to see if it matches your needs.
Comment: Let me know if you have any questions otherwise please accept this answer


Travel Visa for Mexico (residing in UAE) Indian Passport holder

Question: I hold an Indian passport however residing in UAE(Dubai) Visa of Employment, what are the documents needed to apply for Mexican visa for travel/tourism purpose?
Answer: From https://embamex.sre.gob.mx/emiratosarabesunidos/index.php/es/2016-05-07-10-39-06 the documents needed to apply for a visitor visa are:
1.- Visa application fully filled with capital letters.
2.- Valid passport with at least two blank pages. Validity of at least six months prior to expiration.
3.- Passport photocopies of the first 3 pages and all valid visas.
4.- Two passport sized pictures of applicant on a white background (Uncovered head).
5.- Proof of economic solvency:
a) Letter from applicant's employer stating salary, length of employment and position .
b) Statements of the applicant's bank account of the last 3 months and photocopies.
c) International credit card (with an upper limit higher than one thousand USD) and photocopy.
d) Return plane ticket and photocopy
7.- The applicant has to be a resident in the United Arab Emirates
Answer: Yes, you can apply for a tourist visa for Mexico in the UAE if you are a resident there.
On the list of requirements on the consulate of Mexico in the UAE website:

The applicant has to be a resident in the United Arab Emirates

So as long as you are a legal resident in the UAE you will be fine.


How to pronounce the double consonant found in a word other than "nn"?

Question: ちょっと here have a double consonant "t" . In double consonant the small つ is read as a silent speech(which will be symbolized by "_" for this question). Is it... Cho_to or chot_to or both?
Comment: The double consonant is used to signify a glottal stop.  This sound is present in the English pronunciation of "chipotle". Notice how the "t" isn't actually being pronounced?  The word winds up sounding like "chipo-le" where the - is the sound you desire.
Answer: ちょっと is pronounced chot_to, the consonant after っ is always doubled and put on both sides of the silent speech.
Here is a good video which explains this really well I think and shows you the pronunciation as well.
I hope this helps


Accessing backup before folder reddirection in Windows server 2012R2

Question: We have Windows Server 2012R2 Essentials in a small office. Having stubborn and uneducated users who refuse to place their files anywhere else but on their desktops I've decided to look into folder redirection.
After setting it up in Dashboard following a simple enough wizard everything started working couple of days later.
However, in some dark corner on 100Mb/s crappy switch there is a computer running Windows 7 Pro that messed up it's outlook data file during transfer to redirected folder on the server.
I figured I simply pull it from latest backup and replace the corrupted one, but I guessed wrong. Only available backup is after redirection took place. On a server dashboard I can see all backups for the computer, but I can't access it on server - it says it needs to be done from client computer. When I do go back to client and start Launchpad and click backup, no backup prior to folder redirection is available.
I've looked around the internet, but most(well all) of the things I ran into are dealing with simple backup/restore scenarios when everything is running as expected.
I also tried calling Microsoft, but they basically told me "Yeah, well what are you gonna do...", call Dell.
I called Dell then and got the answer that this is OS thing and they can't help me.
So here I am now, is there any way to access earlier backups, before folder redirection?
PROGRESS UPDATE

I looked around a little bit more and was unable to find a way to
access earlier backups.
I tried repairing the outlook file as suggested in the comments, but it just crashes. I Expect .pst in question to be arround 3GB in size, but it's only 375MB, so I guess repair is a long shot. I tried to repair following instructions on Microsoft support site.

Here is how the server dashboard for the client looks like, note that you can see backups for roughly past 3 months:

And as said before, when I try to restore files from server dashboard it tells me to go to client computer and do it from there, this is the client launchpad:

It should list all backups available from the server, but it only shows those created after the computer pulled group policy to start redirecting folders. This is what happens to all clients after they start redirecting, so I guessed this is how it's meant to be done but it didn't make sense to me not to be able to access previous backups.
Next thing I tried is using "Previous Versions" on Users folder, but as expected I can only find versions after redirection. I expected this to happen because even tho user can't see any difference, the path to their user folder changed, it was c:\Users\Username and now its \SERVER\FolderReddirection\Username
So my next order of business was creating a USB recovery drive and trying to restore on a virtual machine and see what happens. Again, following FULL RESTORE WIZARD (not backup restore it suggested I do on a client, but the one you use when your hard drive crashes and you replace it) on the server I've created a bootable drive and started recovery. It downloaded pre-install environment automatically and brew up USB repair disk. Virtual machine failed to start as the hardware is too different.
After this I stopped doing anything, went trough documentation one more time and realized my mistake. I misinterpreted "Client Dashboard" as "Client Launchpad", and this is not the same thing. Looking back I guess I stressed out over this whole situation and English not being my native language I managed to misinterpret  Microsoft support site.
What it turns out what you need to do is start "Launchpad" and then "Dashboard" from client computer as a remote app, log in as server administrator and do the same thing you tried to do on the server. Right click and select "restore files and folders for the computer" and you will be presented with all your backups instead of being told to go do it on the client computer (because you are already there).
I do test files in the backup from time to time to make sure everything is working, but the way I did that is by using "Previous Versions" not "Dashboard", so when the path to user folders changed I was unable to do anything.
In the comments I also noticed that .pst files should not be redirected to network shares and yes Microsoft says it is not the best option. By default Office 2013 puts your .pst in %system drive%\Users\Username\Documents\Outlook and Windows Server redirects Documents by default?
Well, live and learn.
Comment: Have you ever created backups of the client? And how long do you keep these backups?

Typically the outlook.pst files are located in local settings and should not be redirected to the server.

You could also try to repair the file using scanpst.exe

Hope this helps.
Comment: Yes all clients are backed up daily, for the past 3 months since we got the server. We keep daily backups for 5 days, then weekly for 4 weeks and monthly for 1 year. And server is backed up to usb connected disks. But the day I implemented folder redirection, backups do not show in client dasboard, any of the clients not just the one in questuon. I will try to repair and post some screenshots of backup status.
Answer: For anyone else out there tripping up the way I did here is what to do.
I urge you to read trough my question to see where the problem was so you can prevent that kind of thing from happening in the future.
Comment: It'd be nice to include the gist of the solution in your answer. https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/8231/are-answers-that-just-contain-links-elsewhere-really-good-answers


Viewing two pages Apple Pages 5.2.2

Question: In Apple Pages 5.2.2, how can I choose view 2-up? It used to be selectable in lower left corner of document...not any more. Thanks for any tips.
Answer: Here's one way to get a two page view of your document in Pages 5.2.2. Open your document and select print from the file menu. At the bottom left of the box, where you see PDF, scroll to choose Open in Preview. Then under view in the menu bar, you can choose Two Pages, and you get a two pages view which can be scrolled vertically, but cannot be edited. You can cancel out of preview without printing. I couldn't get the two page option in regular preview, only in print preview.
Answer: Two pages view isn't supported by the new Pages 5.2.2.
I found out when I opened with the new Pages, a document saved in a two pages view format. A warning message let me know that it wasn't supported. :(
I still use both Old and New versions of pages mainly for that feature! :)
I hope it helps.
ps: If you upgraded to the new pages ( not bought the mac with it) your old Pages version is still in your mac : Applications> iWork'09
Answer: Stop the presses! The Apple Pages 7 update 5576, March 27 2018, MacOS 10.12 required, has the feature back! You can do into 2 page view again after several years! Maybe I can retire Pages 2009...
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pages/id409201541?mt=12
Answer: Now when I make a document in pages I save a copy as a PDF. When I open the PDF document I go to View>2 page viewing. This is fine if you're just reading but useless for editing. Terrible "upgrade" to the program. Good luck.
Comment: Exactly the same answer as already provided in Feb. 2015.

Viewing two pages Apple Pages 5.2.2


Display single page in another language

Question: When I setup a page in Sitecore that does not have a version for the default language, then enter that page without specifying a language code will result in empty data being displayed. The problem is if I do specify a language code in a URL and someone visits that page (like sc_lang=zh-SG for example) then when the user browsers to other parts of the website they get blank content. Ideally there would be a way to say that one specific page should always render in a given language without modifying the user context in a way that would impact their experience in other parts of the website. Any recommendations?
Answer: If you want to achieve this out-of-the-box, your only option is to configure Language Fallback.
So essentially you will be running your site in a "main" language (like zh-SG) and then fall back to whatever is your default for when no versions are available.

What you need, is called "Item-level language fallback".

Item-level fallback enables you to set up an 'empty' item version in a
  given language so that it falls back to another language version,
  including all its fields. In this way, you can launch a new language
  version of your entire website without creating any items in the new
  language in the Content database.

Source: Language fallback
The full set of instructions to set this up would probably be too much for this answer, without knowing your specific Sitecore version and languages. The guide can be found here however: Enable and set up language fallback
In essence you need to add this to your site configurations:
<sites>
      <site name="shell">
        <patch:attribute name="enableItemLanguageFallback">true</patch:attribute>
      </site>
      <site name="website">
        <patch:attribute name="enableItemLanguageFallback">true</patch:attribute>
      </site>
</sites>

(for just item level fallback)

Display single page in another language


Does Income Tax have to be paid in India if i am paying IT abroad also and i am not a NRI

Question: I was working with an Indian company till mid of 2014, all my taxes were adjusted and final settlement paid to me, and then I was without a job until end of Jan. I moved to Singapore for a short term contract in Feb and will be here for a few months only, so I wouldn't qualify for NRI status this financial year nor next year either. I have been told that since I am in Singapore only for a short term I have to pay 15 % tax to the Govt here. I have an NRE account in India where I plan to move my savings from here. Do I have to pay the 20-30 % tax on my full salary amount here in India again?
Do I have to only pay when I transfer money there or starting now itself and is there any deductions I can claim like we have rent and medical etc in India?
Answer: Yes, as you are Indian resident for Tax purposes, you have to pay Tax in India for the amount you have earned in Singapore.
So essentially add the income from 1st April to Mid 2014 with the eq SGD earned in Singapore till 31st March 2015. Apply the tax brackets like you normally do, claim the exemptions you would normally do 80 C etc. As India and Singapore has a Dual Tax Avoidance Treaty, you can claim the portion the tax already paid in Singapore and pay only the balance. For example if the tax works out to be Rs 30, you have already paid Rs 20 in Singapore, you would have to pay only Rs 10 in India and mention that you have already paid Rs 20 to Singapore IRS.
It is irrelevant whether you transfer the funds to India or not, the tax is applicable in the financial year you have earned.
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Why do some journals allow their papers to be open access for a short period of time after publication?

Question: Some journals upload their accepted papers for public viewing shortly after the papers were accepted, examples of this include J. Math. Phys and Cell Systems. What's the reason for doing this if the journal needs revenue?
Answer: I don't know about either of the two journals you specifically mention, but in math things like this are sometimes done to attract more high quality submissions to the journal to raise it's profile, particularly for new journals, since academics generally like open-access, and it can be a selling point when choosing a journal.  (From what I remember, with new journals what I sometimes see is that the journal is open-access for its first couple years.)
Answer: I would suspect that they do that to attract some attention to the new articles. Once the attention has been established, they put them behind the pay wall.
Answer: They may have other ways of generating income. Also Open Access 'advertises' their publications so why shouldn't they be placed out there for everyone to read and learn from.
Comment: *other ways of generating income* – And what would that be?


branding sharepoint foundation 2013

Question: I would be working to brand a sharepoint 2013 foundation site.
I know Design Manager and all other branding goodies don't exist with SPF 2013.
What would be the best approach to brand a simple SPF site.
Also no design view in SharePoint designer :(
Answer: Trial and error my friend. However, knowing HTML and CSS combined with Sharepoint Designer...when working with SPF 2013 is in my opinion all you need. I'm pretty much on the same boat as you.
Here are some links I found and will share relative to branding:
Fixed Ribbon and Scroll Bar
This helped me
This is good to understand what css class does what
Just to save you the headache I'll also tell you that it is advised to load in your custom css AFTER sharepoint's css file in the master page. So what it looks like for me is this:
    <SharePoint:CssRegistration name="point to your css file/custom.css" After="corev15.css" runat="server" />

I'm sure there is other stuff that I can't think right now. All in all, have fun. It will frustrate the hell out of you at first but there is always a way. The experts on here have been helpful to me, I'm sure they'll be to you too.
Have fun branding :D
Answer: This may be to advanced, but it is an option. You can brand the sites using Visual Sudio.
And even if you choose to do it with designer, don't mess with the default master page, make a copy! And do your branding on a dev environment if possible, you can mess up allot if you do things wrong.
In short, you need to create a new SP 2013 empty project (Farm solution), map the Layouts folder and add a custom CSS.
Then add a module (call it Masterpages) and in that add a copy of your master page (you can download a copy from within you SharePoint site under site settings /master pages and layouts) the file is called seattle.master.
In VS replace the elements.xml content with this and then change the name to reflect the name of you master.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<Elements xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/sharepoint/">
<Module Name="Masterpages" Path="Masterpages" RootWebOnly="TRUE" Url="_catalogs/masterpage">
<File Url="CustomTeamSite.master" Type="GhostableInLibrary" IgnoreIfAlreadyExists="TRUE" >
</File>
</Module>
</Elements>

In the master page you need to add the CSS registration.
<SharePoint:CssRegistration ID="CustomCSS" Name="<% $SPUrl:~sitecollection/_layouts/15/Team.Site.Branding/CustomTeamSite.css?v1 %>" After="corev15.css" runat="server" />

Then you need a feature "scope site" that replace the master page on new sites. The feature need a feature receiver to to that. The code within the receiver looks something like this.
        public override void FeatureActivated(SPFeatureReceiverProperties properties)
    {
        SPSite site = properties.Feature.Parent as SPSite;

        if (site != null)
        {
            SPWeb topLevelSite = site.RootWeb;

            // Calculate relative path to site from Web Application root.
            string webAppRelativePath = topLevelSite.ServerRelativeUrl;
            if (!webAppRelativePath.EndsWith("/"))
            {
                webAppRelativePath += "/";
            }

            // Enumerate through each site and apply branding.
            foreach (SPWeb web in site.AllWebs)
            {
                // Activate the publishing feature for all webs.
                web.MasterUrl = webAppRelativePath + "_catalogs/masterpage/CustomTeamSite.master";
                web.CustomMasterUrl = webAppRelativePath + "_catalogs/masterpage/CustomTeamSite.master";

                web.Update();
            }
        }
    }

    public override void FeatureDeactivating(SPFeatureReceiverProperties properties)
    {
        SPSite siteCollection = properties.Feature.Parent as SPSite;
        if (siteCollection != null)
        {
            SPWeb topLevelSite = siteCollection.RootWeb;

            // Calculate relative path to site from Web Application root.
            string webAppRelativePath = topLevelSite.ServerRelativeUrl;
            if (!webAppRelativePath.EndsWith("/"))
            {
                webAppRelativePath += "/";
            }

            // Enumerate through each site and apply branding.
            foreach (SPWeb site in siteCollection.AllWebs)
            {
                site.MasterUrl = webAppRelativePath + "_catalogs/masterpage/seattle.master";
                site.CustomMasterUrl = webAppRelativePath + "_catalogs/masterpage/seattle.master";
                site.SiteLogoUrl = string.Empty;
                site.Update();
            }
        }
    }
}

When you activate the feature the site will get your new branding.
As i sad this is in short and you can read more about it on my blog where i have a full tutorial.
http://frederik.se/how-to-brand-sharepoint-2013-team-sites-using-feature-stapling-in-vs/
Good luck!
Comment: Hi Frederik and welcome to SP.SE! Normally we do not approve answers that are so dependent on a link as yours. The reason behind this is that if the link breaks, your answer will be of little help to future readers. Can you please add the details from your blog to your post? Off course you can have a clearly visible link to your blog as a source :)
Comment: It's not possible to use `$SPUrl` in SharePoint Foundation due to limitations. Please, revise your answer.
Comment: Hi, sorry for that, did not know. I will try and describe it better here, but cant post the full post here as it lost of images, code and text in the tutorial. Ill do my best :-)
Comment: Looking very good now :)
Comment: Mariusz or Frederik.  I'm using SP Foundation.  I get the error about $SPUrl.  How would I write the CSS registration properly for where we've put the files in your guide?
Answer: have not tried these solutions yet, but it looks like they add publishing features to Foundation
http://spf2013publishing.codeplex.com/ 2013 migration of the 2010 version
https://mundpublishingfeatur.codeplex.com/ 2010 version

branding sharepoint foundation 2013


League of legends: What is the difference between knock-up and suppression effect?

Question: What is the difference between knock-up and suppression effects? Both are hard cc that stops movement and abilities, but I was a curious if there were difference between the two other then animation?
Answer: Displacement effects (knock ups, knock backs, etc) are not affected by tenacity or any crowd control clearing effects like Cleanse or Quicksilver Sash. Displacements effects can be prevented by spell-shields however, like Banshees Veil and Morgana's Black Shield.
Suppression effects involve a channel by the caster and can only be stopped in one of three ways:

Quicksilver Sash
Gangplank's ability Remove Scurvy
An ally canceling the caster's channel with a hard stun, silence, or displacement
Comment: This is not entirely true. It is possible to escape knock ups using [QSS](http://leagueoflegends.wikia.com/wiki/Quicksilver_Sash) provided that you can blink away immediately after using it. *The Quicksilver item active removes all forms of CC, including airborne effects if a blink or dash ability is used after activation.* [\[Source\]](http://leagueoflegends.wikia.com/wiki/Crowd_control)
Comment: Knockups also have a small chance of lasting several times their intended duration, thanks to an unpatched bug: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STwbs6TM5wk
Answer: If this answer becomes out of date or can be improved, let me know.
Airborne

A unit that is made airborne is moved in a specified direction or to a specific point. For the duration, the unit is also stunned and cannot move, attack, cast abilities, activate items or use the summoner spells Flash and Teleport. [Source]

Reduction:  Only the stun component duration is reduced by tenacity.
Removal:  It is possible to escape knock ups using Quicksilver, Cleanse, Mikael's Crucible, or an ability that removes all CC, provided that you can blink/dash away immediately after using it.

The Quicksilver item active removes all forms of CC, including airborne effects if a blink or dash ability is used after activation. [Source]

In summary, a knock up consists of two parts:

The actual "airborne" effect, where your character is in the air. The duration is not reduced by tenacity.
A stun. The duration is reduced by tenacity.

Because of this, it is possible to escape mid-knock up after the stun using a blink or dash, or earlier by removing the stun.

Suppression

A unit that is suppressed is unable to control its movement, declare attacks, cast abilities, activate items or use any summoner spell for the duration. [Source]

Reduction:  The duration is not reduced by crowd control reduction.
Removal:  Removed by Quicksilver, as well as abilities that remove all CC. This is not removable via Cleanse or Mikael's Crucible.

Essentially, there are more ways to reduce/remove the effects of a knock up than a suppression, but it requires a gap-closer. Since most players take Flash, this isn't a big deal. A suppression ability, on the other hand, cannot be reduced by tenacity or removed by Cleanse, requiring players to buy an item with the Quicksilver item active.
Answer: Suppressions can be stopped. Knock-ups usually last a much shorter time and require you to take more risk - and tend to be AOE (affect more than 1 target).
Suppression can be stopped with knockups/silence/knockback/etc.
Answer: Knock-ups are not affected by Tenacity or Cleanse, but is usually only followed by a slow.
Suppression will not allow you to use any abilities or summoner spells except Cleanse, Quicksilver Sash, or Pirate's oranges.
Comment: You **cannot** use cleanse while suppressed.
Answer: Suppression stops attacks, abilities (unless they remove it), movement, and summoner spells.
Knockup makes you airborne which prevents attacks, abilities, and movement, but not summoner spells.
Knockups cannot be removed.
Suppression can be removed by anything that removes CC, including a Quicksilver Sash or abilities like Olaf's Ragnarok, Gangplank's Remove Scurvy, or Alistar's Unbreakable Will.
http://leagueoflegends.wikia.com/wiki/Types_of_Crowd_Control


Couldn't Duncan be sued for doing this?

Question: In the Seinfeld episode "The Race", Duncan Meyer threatens to fire Jerry's girlfriend unless Jerry agrees to repeat a race Duncan lost to Jerry in high school. It seems to me that firing her over something like that would have Wrongful Dismissal written all over it, or is there something I'm missing?
Answer: Yes, he could be sued, but anyone can sue anyone for just about any reason - the question is would he win in court? Most employment in the US is done on an at-will basis, meaning either party can terminate the agreement at any time for any reason, so long as that reason doesn't fall under a few, very specific categories. Wikipedia lists a few protected reasons on the page for Wrongful Dismissal:

Discrimination
Retaliation
Reporting a Violation of Law to Government Authorities
Employee's refusal to commit an illegal act
Employer is not following the company's own termination procedure

This isn't comprehensive, but Duncan's threat to fire Jerry's girlfriend because of a feud with Jerry doesn't seem to fall under any of these reasons. She could absolutely sue if fired, but it's not clear that Duncan would have actually violated any relevant employment law, so he might well win the case.
Comment: It's worth clarifying that "Retaliation" in this context refers to retaliation for discrimination-related issues; retaliating for e.g. personal conflicts or some imagined disrespect by firing the employee would *not* be wrongful dismissal in USA at-will employment states. Firing someone because you don't like how their spouse looked at you (and not providing *any* reason why they're fired, the whole intent of at-will is that a reason isn't needed at all unless you break specific restrictions) is not legally prohibited there. It would be wrongful dismissal in many other countries, though.

Couldn't Duncan be sued for doing this?


Can/shall I delete my "answer" after it has been converted to a comment?

Question: I found an answer from me has been converted to a comment - should I take any action? Should I delete that answer or does it get removed eventually "by the system"?
Answer: If your answer was converted to a comment by a moderator it will automatically be deleted.
Answer: Like Macro said, if your answer was converted to a comment by a moderator, it will automatically be deleted.
If someone just copied and pasted your answer into a comment on the question post, go ahead and delete your answer. You don't want to collect any additional down-votes, and you're saving the moderators the trouble.
Remember that once you delete an answer or a question, you can still see it yourself, and high rep users can also see it. It's just hidden to every one else, and can't be voted on any more.
Answer: Delete your answer anytime you think:

the answer is not appropriate (doesn't answer the question, for example, or it's really a separate question, or the like).
If you find that one of your answers should be removed by a moderator, you should go ahead and remove it.
the answer doesn't help anyone.
(But note that if the question isn't closed as too localized, and your answer was helpful ones, it's somewhat likely it'll be helpful again. If someone posts a better solution, that doesn't make your solution no longer something worth knowing about. It might even be improved by editing.)

You might choose to delete an answer for other reasons, but usually this is not good practice. For example, if you think an answer is good or helpful, but it gets downvotes, you can regain the lost reputation by deleting the answer. But the lost reputation from downvotes is very small; therefore this is basically never a good reason to delete an answer.
The same thing shouldn't be both an answer and a comment. But that doesn't mean you should always delete your answer when someone posts its contents in a comment.

If it really should have been an answer and not a comment, don't delete your answer. Flag the comment. Remember, comments (at least on main) exist for three narrow purposes: asking for clarification; criticism that is specific and helpful to the author or community; and adding information that's valuable but too minor to answer the question, or which is only temporarily relevant. Anytime you see a comment that fails to pass this test, you should flag it. (Unless you posted the comment. Then you should just delete it.)
If it should not be an answer and should not be a comment, delete your answer and also flag the comment.

People often comment saying an answer should really be a comment. But moderators only occasionally convert an answer to a comment. It's more common for an answer to simply be deleted.
This is a question and answer site, and comments serve a secondary purpose. Any information that needs to go unforgotten should be elsehwhere (usually an answer), as comments may be deleted or edited (by moderators) without warning, the comments they depend on to make sense may be deleted/edited, comments are licensed CC-BY-SA 3.0 like all other user-contributed content but I don't think they appear in data dumps, and basically no comment editing history is ever kept. Comments cannot be undeleted or have their edits rolled back.
In my view, a good philosophy of questions, answers, and comments for Ask Ubuntu (or any SE or SE-style site) is:

Questions and answers are basically good, but can have characteristics that make them bad.
Comments are basically bad, but can have characteristics that make them good.

So a random piece of text that happens not to be a good answer is unlikely, merely by virtue of that, to make a good comment.
This lists several things not to use comments for (and explains what to do instead): corrections, answers, praise that doesn't add information, criticism that doesn't add information, discussion about issues related to (but not) the post, or site issues.
In particular, please take note of these common pitfalls, where people often think something should be a comment when it should not:

Answers that are incomplete, bad, wrong, or confusing. Answers can be improved and voted on.
Answers that are very short, but fine.
Answers that are very short, and not fine.
Answers that are just a link or links.
Answers that are just code.
Answers that really should have some code.
Answers that are much simpler than other existing answers.
Answers that are worse (or better) than other existing answers.
Answers that are more autobiographical than other existing answers. (Usually you can just edit out anything that resembles a personal reflective essay.)
Answers that deserve downvotes but you don't want to lose 1 rep (or you're out of votes).
Posts that (like the above examples) answer the question, but there's something "wrong" with the question. For example, answers to questions that are subsequently closed as duplicates of other questions can be left alone (often the best and most helpful thing to do), deleted, or merged into the master question. They should not be comments.

That is to say: if it answers the question, it should be an answer, not a comment. If it answers the question but so poorly it shouldn't be an answer, it should not be a comment either.
There is something that might be considered an exception to this: If you answer a question by telling someone it's a duplicate of another AU question, that should be a comment.

I don't really see that as answering at all. If you ask a mall employee "where is the food court?" and they point...not toward the food court, but to a map that shows where the food court is, is that an answer?
However, I can also see how such comments might seem to "answer" the question, as they are (or should be) more helpful than being pointed at a mall map, and since they often contain information about how the answer applies. Nonetheless, if the question should be a duplicate, and the main point of what you're saying is that it should, that should be a comment.

Link-only non-answers (where the linked site is somehow relevant but does not answer the question) can be comments. But most of the time, it's even better for them not to exist at all. (If you can connect a useful resource to the problem and explain how to use it to fix the problem, perhaps you should post an answer. If you cannot...)


Why is Jack Sparrow looking for the drawing of the key?

Question: At the start of Dead Man's Chest, Jack Sparrow escapes the Turkish prison with the drawing of the key to the chest. But this happens before Bootstrap Bill comes to warn Jack that Davy Jones is out to make good on their deal. Sure, Jack knew this day would come, but he seems surprised and tries to talk his way out of it. Why had he already taken the first steps to get out of his debt to Jones?
Comment: Jack is always trying to break out of prison. His hobbies include, but are not limited to: Rum, Booty, and Breaking out of jail.
Comment: Maybe he came sooner than expected?
Comment: I'm not surprised that he broke out of jail, but there's a line where Gibbs makes it clear that Jack went into the prison specifically to retrieve the drawing of the key
Answer: This is just my view of it, but it seems that Jack did know that it was about time that Mr. Tentacles would come to collect. It would also explain why he was so keen on getting the Black Pearl back in the first movie. Supposedly, it is one of the few ships fast enough to outrun the Dutchman and maybe even the Kraken.
The Aztec treasure that he searched for could've also been a way to squirrel out of the deal somehow. But when he saw what really happens to those who take the gold, he would have decided that getting to the heart is a better way.
After getting the Pearl back from Barbosa, he went after the key.
Like I said, this is mostly speculation and guesswork based on what I know of the movies. I could be utterly wrong as well.
Comment: Just think how fast the Black Pearl would have been with new sails.
Comment: There's something here that makes sense, and is definitely consistent with the admirable way in which Elliott & Rossio recontextualized things from the first movie in order to create the appearance of a cohesive trilogy. That being said, it still strikes me as too convenient. The heart would've been his main priority in the first movie. And if the Black Pearl could outrun either the Dutchman or the Kraken there'd be no need for the key that unlocks the chest that holds the heart.
Comment: @user30903 Like I said, it's all just speculation and guesswork and won't actually hold up under scrutiny.


Does my sump pump evacuate water slowly due to a perforated pail?

Question: Is it possible to have a sump pump without an inlet (input) pipe? Is this normal? I am told my house has a sump without an inlet, but instead many small holes in the container that allow water to penetrate the pit (sump).  The discharge works in a regular way.  The sump motor is always running during heavy rain or snow.  I am wondering does the lack of inlet pipe (drain pipe) cause excess water into the pit?  What exactly would be the approximate area around the pit allowing water to flow in without an inlet?
Comment: Think basement floor and foundation is on something like deep gravel bed allowing good drainage to low spot(sump pit).  Drainage pipes don't seem like they are needed(no inlet/s pipes).  Does landscape slope away from house?
Comment: You seem to be implying that a pit with only a high inlet would block water entry to that level. Is that the case?
Comment: If your sump runs the while time it rains you probably need to clean your gutters. You might consider a bigger pump as well; it cannot pump away too much water; more is always better.
Answer: A sump pump without an inlet won't have any way of getting water into it to be pumped out. It would, therefore be rather useless.
A sump pit without an inlet pipe but numerous holes (such as yours) will allow water to seep into the pit where it will make its way to the sump pump's inlet and be pumped out of your basement.
"Normal" is probably defined by when the sump was installed. Our house has a sump pit in the "root cellar" that was probably added in the 1940s. They broke a hole in the concrete floor all the way down to the dirt, dropped a brick on the dirt, and the sump pump sits on top of the brick. Once the float is high enough, it kicks the pump on and out goes the water.
My in laws added on to their house in the early 70s. They have a nice pit with a plastic liner. There's an input pipe from the "root cellar" old portion of the basement, but, I don't think there's an actual inlet from the new portion - water just seeps in from there.
I haven't a clue what modern (2000+) code calls for, but so long as the water can get to the pump inlet and the pump has power, it should be doing its job.
You're much better off having the pump running nearly constantly during a storm than you are having the water back up into your basement. You may want to look at adjusting the float so that it has to be higher before the pump kicks in, but then you risk overflowing the pit. You could also consider adding a 2nd pump (with its own exit plumbing or upgrading the pipe size going out to handle the additional flow) to handle more water coming in than your current pump can handle. It also makes for a nice emergency backup should one pump die during a heavy rain storm.
Answer: The small holes keep the soil and rocks in place. All the small holes allow the water to enter the sump.
I have had homes with this exact system and they work fine.
If you have a septic system most drain fields work the same way but in reverse. The water is flowing through the rock / soil under the slab. When it finds a place to enter wether it be through the concrete or through a perforated metal container the water takes the easiest path.
Then you pump it out.
Some systems do have perf pipe to drain to a sump these likely are the pipes you expect but not all systems have that.
The better rock bed under the foundation the easier it will drain the entire area.
The proof it's working is the pump is running when it's raining.
Answer:
Does the lack of inlet pipe (drain pipe) cause excess water into the pit?

No, if anything, it slows down water getting to the pit. With a pipe, water from the other end of (and all along) the pipe would flow from the soil/drainage rock, into the pipe, and to the sump. A pipe is effectively an extension of "tiny holes into the pit" across a wider area of the basement.
Without a pipe, water from where the other end of the pipe isn't flows through the soil (or drainage rock) to the sump, which is a somewhat more torturous/slow route.
Unless parts of your basement away from the sump are flooding, it would appear that the drainage rock layer under your slab is adequate to get water from other parts of your basement to the sump, without needing a pipe.
The fact that your sump pump runs a lot during rain/snow events indicates that you need it to remove water before it can leak in, not that having pipes instead of a perforated pit would change that. If you'd like it to run less, address the usual concerns - grade the surface soil away from the house for at least 10-12 feet, install gutters if you don't have them, and make sure the gutters drain into pipes that take the drain-water away from the house, etc.
Answer: If you want your pump to run less you have two options : a bigger pump , or a second pump. I had a neighbor that had 3 pumps in the same sump . One ran most of the time , the second also ran if it had rained during the last week, the third also ,also ran if it was raining . He had a finished basement , my house was 100 yards away with a crawl space and a single pump. He had 1 or 2 available spare pumps as pump life was not that long.


Electroporation vs gene guns

Question:
What are the pros and cons of using electroporators (left) and gene guns (right) for transformation in terms of:

Price
Target organism
Efficacy
Ease of use
Maintenance
Answer: I am not an expert on gene guns but I will try to give my answer on this question anyway.
Price-wise they are both relatively cheap. The electroporators consumables are only the cuvettes, they cost 5-10 dollar/each. The gene guns use microbeads as bullets and depending on the material they cost between 200 and 300 dollars per microgram, 10-50 dollars per shot, a bit more expensive than electroporation.
About the organisms, guns are used mostly for plant-cells and few other "hard to electroporate" organisms. I don'd have a proper list of them but roughly, if you work with bacteria, yeasts and mammalian cells, then go for an electroporator.
If you need to work with tissues or entire organisms like worm/insects/plants then go for a gun, you definitely cannot electroporate a leaf. But in general, check the literature on what is currently the best method to transfect your system of choice.
Efficacy, also in this case it depends form the cells you are working with. Electroporation reach 10^9/10^10 transform ants per microgram of DNA in case of E.coli and this is the best efficiency you can get nowadays. All other cells will be transfected at lower efficiency, how much lower? It depends from the cells!
Easy of use. They are both very easy to use, it is matter of pressing a button. For the electroporation you need to prepare electrocompetent cells, but the procedure is very easy. For the gene guns you need to coat the beads with DNA, also very easy.
Maintenance. The electroporator do not need any maintenance at all while the gun may need some care in the long run since it has pumps and pressurised chambers, this stuff usually need some attention but nothing special.
Some references:
bio-rad.com/LifeScience/pdf/Bulletin_9541.pdf
bio-rad.com/webroot/web/pdf/lsr/literature/4006174B.pdf
bio-rad.com/webroot/web/pdf/lsr/literature/4006217A.pdf
Comment: I bet instruction manuals from bio-rad should be ok as reference. Here they are: http://www.bio-rad.com/LifeScience/pdf/Bulletin_9541.pdf ; http://www.bio-rad.com/webroot/web/pdf/lsr/literature/4006174B.pdf ; http://www.bio-rad.com/webroot/web/pdf/lsr/literature/4006217A.pdf
Comment: Would you have any references to add to support your claims?
Comment: Great. Please add them to your answer. +1
Comment: We use both devices routinely in our lab and I have to say that I prefer electroporation over biolistic any day. The former is cheaper and faster as the only consumable is the cuvet while you have stopping screens, macrocarriers, rupture disks and helium as consumables while electroporators only need cuvettes. Cell preparation times are usually faster for electroporation as well. That being said, you often don't have a choice...
Answer: Price
Looking through Google shopping and visiting s few websites, it seems that electroporation is 3000 - 8000 dollars depending on what features you want.On the other hand, gene guns are much more expensive. The most common gene gun, the Helios model from Bio-Rad, is about $17000, including all the necessary parts. As you can see, a gene gun can be more expensive.
Also, the gene gun needs bullets, which are microbeads (or microcarriers, as Bio-Rad calls them), and those cost around 600 dollars. The electroporation cuvettes each are $90. However, they can be cleaned and reused.
Target organism
According to Wikipedia, gene guns are used for mainly for transforming plant tissues, but is also used for animal tissues. According to Bio-Rad, it is good for mainly plant systems and animal systems, but can be used for algae, bacteria, and more.
Electroporation seems to be used more for bacteria. They have used it for yeast also. It has been also used for animal tissues, but it isn't the most suitable target organism. It seems better for in vitro systems since for most electroporation systems need the tissues or cells to be transfected in a cuvette.
Efficacy
For gene guns, the efficiency depends on the environment and the type of cells being used. The transfection efficiency varies for various cell types. I can't find many estimates for the efficiency of gene guns. But some of them are 10-20% of the DNA. Electroporation is agreed to have a very high efficiency. According to Wikipedia:

Normal preparation of compentent cells can yield transformation efficiency ranging from 106 to 108 cfu/μg DNA. Protocols for chemical method however exist for making supercompetent cells that may yield a transformation efficiency of over 1 x 109.[6] Electroporation method in general has better transformation efficiency than chemical methods with over 1 x 1010 cfu/μg DNA possible, and it allows large plasmids of 200 kb in size to be transformed.

Ease of use
Both are very easy to use. They only require the press of a few buttons. However, if you want to find out how to use, you should read the manuals and protocols. The Helios gene gun system manual is available here. The MicroPulser electroporation system also from Bio-Radd has the manual here.
Maintenance
Maintenance for a gene gun is pretty simple. For example, Bio-Rad's handheld gene gun has a simple maintenance (from here):

The improved modified barrel is low in maintenance. It can be cleaned
  easily, using 70% ethanol. The tip of the barrel contains a circular
  nylon mesh, which should be replaced regularly to retain optimum
  performance. To change the mesh, simply unscrew the tip, remove
  the spent mesh and insert a new one over the O-ring. Once the tip is
  screwed back in-place, the hand-held gene gun is operational.

Electroporation needs almost no maintenance as well.

Electroporation vs gene guns


Putting a dialogue a tag before a quote

Question: Sometimes I see stuff like this:

X said, "..."
"..." X did this, and then said, "..."

Is it used to just vary sentence structure? Or to make dialogue more readable or smoother in certain situations?
Answer: Yes to both as Lauren said, and once you train the reader that you're a nice author who doesn't ever violate "One speaker per line" and sticks to that while mixing emotes and actions in too, you may go with a third form which is then even more smooth:

"..." X did this,  "..."

Take:

Kim shook his fist and muttered, "Not you too, bastard!"
  "So..." Josh raised his gun and said, "are we going to do it the easy way?"

versus

Kim shook his fist. "Not you too, bastard!"
  "So..." Josh raised his gun. "Are we going to do it the easy way?"

It's the actions that describe the speaker, and you kill two birds with one stone, give variety against "he said, she said" and get the scene to live for real.
Comment: @SF. I do use *X did this. "..."* and *"..." X did this. "..."* regularly. It's just that sometimes I wonder if I can omit *X said, "..."* completely.
Comment: @alexchenco Yes, as long as it's clear who is speaking, you can omit the dialogue tag *X said* completely. Not in every instance, of course.
Answer: Yes to both. Repetitive sentence structure grates on the ear. Also, sometimes it helps to clarify the speaker before the dialogue, and sometimes you actually want action or a pause to occur before the speech, but not separate from it.
Answer: The second example just inserts the tag in the middle of speech, which is fairly standard if redundant. The first example though...
If you're asking for the reason for this ordering - it's a matter of personal style. In literary writing it feels awkward and is rarely used... mostly by unskilled authors, because they don't know any better.
Now first, why they (the unskilled authors) write it like that, and when would skilled authors use this is how natural speech follows:

So, I went to Lucy and she said 'Mary has the keys'
You told me "It's not important."
He said "Yes".
You said it's here.

Contrast it with what you'd find in books:

I went to Lucy and asked her. "Mary has the keys," she answered.
"It's not important," you tell me.
"Yes", he said.
It was supposed to be here, according to what you said.

If, in normal conversation, you report someone's speech, you first identify the speaker, then follow up either with the quote or a paraphrase. So, if you want to create this impression - of the narrator talking directly to the reader, then you'll use this ordering. It contrasts standard literary narration with conversational tone, removes the impersonal distance of the narrator.
Answer: I really love the dialogue in the Guest translation of the Mabinogion, it adds to the feeling that you are reading a text from a different time:
<code>A horseman spoke to Pwyll.
"...," said he.
"...," said Pwyll.
"...," said he.
"...," said he.
"...," said he.
etc.
</code>
No variation, and only the first speaker is named, the following turns are all not identifed.
It won't help you write good dialogue today, but it shows that there is not one single genre of fiction with universal rules, and that maybe sometimes a bit of courage to find your own style of writing will make your book stand out and prevail among a host of formulaic bestseller clones.

And as he was setting on his dogs he saw a horseman coming towards him upon a large light-grey steed, with a hunting horn round his neck, and clad in garments of grey woollen in the fashion of a hunting garb. And the horseman drew near and spoke unto him thus. "Chieftain," said he, "I know who thou art, and I greet thee not." "Peradventure," said Pwyll, "thou art of such dignity that thou shouldest not do so." "Verily," answered he, "it is not my dignity that prevents me." "What is it then, O Chieftain?" asked he. "By Heaven, it is by reason of thine own ignorance and want of courtesy." "What discourtesy, Chieftain, hast thou seen in me?" "Greater discourtesy saw I never in man," said he, "than to drive away the dogs that were killing the stag and to set upon it thine own. This was discourteous, and though I may not be revenged upon thee, yet I declare to Heaven that I will do thee more dishonour than the value of an hundred stags." "O Chieftain," he replied, "if I have done ill I will redeem thy friendship." "How wilt thou redeem it?" "According as thy dignity may be, but I know not who thou art?" "A crowned king am I in the land whence I come." "Lord," said he, "may the day prosper with thee, and from what land comest thou?" "From Annwvyn," answered he; "Arawn, a King of Annwvyn am I." "Lord," said he, "how may I gain thy friendship?" "After this manner mayest thou," he said. "There is a man whose dominions are opposite to mine, who is ever warring against me, and he is Havgan, a King of Annwvyn, and by ridding me of this oppression, which thou canst easily do, shalt thou gain my friendship." "Gladly will I do this," said he. "Show me how I may." "I will show thee. ...
Answer: I use non-conversation bits to show where pauses or lulls in the conversation occur. They can be short, like:

"Hey," said Bob.
"Hey yourself."
"So..." Bob started and then cleared his throat. This was only my third week on the job but I knew even at that early date that when Bob cleared his throat, he had something truly stupid to say. "Do you have those TPS reports?"
I stared at Bob incredulously. What did he think this was, Office Space? "No, Bob, I do not have them. Perhaps they got lost in the year 1998."

Hopefully that first one demonstrated a little awkward pause while the main character thought up a (semi) witty response. You can also make them longer:

"Nancy, what do you think of the global dilemma?"
Patricia was always asking Nancy stupid questions like this. She was soooo dumb. If she really wanted an answer, couldn't she just look it up on like Wikipedia or something? Maybe she could ask Jeeves. Oh my god! Was Ask Jeeves even still around? Maybe Jeeves had been replaced by a younger, hunkier guy named like Falco or something. No, that was stupid; computers don't get old and only rich guys ever used Ask Jeeves so they'd probably always want some fake old butler dude.
"Nancy, are you even listening to me?"

You can just add he said/she said to the end of each line; in fact, your readers will generally get the hang of it after an exchange or two (especially if your dialogue is strong enough) and you really don't need to add any tags at all. The thing about doing that is, it makes the conversation feel like a high-speed, no-pause madcap comedy style banter (think: Gilmore Girls), and if your characters are just talking about what went on that day at school it's going to feel a bit off. Additionally, there becomes a risk of making the characters seem like disembodied talking heads if you keep it up for too long.
One little trick you can do - that I recommend doing for dialogue in general - is on your subsequent drafts, go in and read it out loud. For one thing, in my experience this really roots out any inauthentic sounding verbiage, sentences that are too long to be said within one breath, and so on. For another, I think that with dialogue in particular you get a pretty good sense of how long those filled pauses occur. In real life, people say "um" and "ah" a lot; readers won't like you to drop those in (unless you want to portray a dullard) but they do kind of expect the "pause" side of the filled pause.

Putting a dialogue a tag before a quote


Do Social Network Mobile Apps Track Your Browsing?

Question: Facebook are known to track you even after you have logged out of your Facebook account. With mobile apps being given permission to access so much information on the devices, is it possible for Facebook or other social networks to track your browsing through the permissions given to the apps? In other words, lets say you have never logged into Facebook on your device and put their cookies on your device, but you have their app. Can their app track you too?
Comment: No, Facebook tracks everyone: http://newsroom.fb.com/news/2016/05/bringing-people-better-ads/ Note that the "opt out" only removes some of the targeting, but it absolutely does not stop them from tracking those with accounts or those without accounts.
Comment: question is confusing.do you run the fb app? is the app supposed to be using the same cookies as the page? i also don't think fb tracks you once you logout, i looked into a couple years ago when they got in trouble for stuff like that...
Comment: in the browser, Facebook reads and writes cookies from their own web pages, and from any page (which really means most top web sites) that has their tracking properties installed (e.g., "Like" button"). Most browsers let you block 3rd-party cookies (Facebook cookies on non-Facebook sites), though different browsers and settings behave differently if you are logged into Facebook in the browser (often in that case, even 3rd-party cookies are considered 1st party cookies) and allowed.
Comment: Facebook-owned apps have access to somewhat different means of tracking which are separate from browser cookies. Certainly anything you do within a Facebook-owned app is known to Facebook. It varies by platform and version, but if you don't want the *app* to track you, you should: (1) turn off background app processing if possible; (2) don't give the app access to personal info like Location, Contacts, etc.; (3) avoid going back and forth between the app and the browser to minimize correlating the two; (4) uninstall the app.
Answer: Absolutely. Apps employ ad networks which are shared among different websites that share the same ad network (AdClick as an example). The ad network installs cookie on the system which gets shared between websites you visit and share the same ad network. That is, your unique cookie gets tossed around, which helps track your movement across the web.
Comment: How can a never opened Facebook app track your browsing behavior? It can't set cookies in your browser
Comment: Agree with @NeilSmithline. What happens in apps and what happens in the browser are, for the most part, separate (although various device fingerprinting techniques can often bridge the gap).
Comment: @USER61 - I believe that this answer is wrong. I see no way for an app to trace your browser activity


Galactic mass estimation from apparent magnitude and distance

Question: Can we estimate the order of the total mass of any galaxy from the apparent magnitude and its distance to us? Just like
\begin{equation}
M_{galaxy}=c\times 10^{8}M_{\odot },
\end{equation}
where $c$ is a constant (can be arbitrary or ignored, the order is important).
For example mass of the Tucana Dwarf of the Local group isn't known. But its apparent magnitude is 15.7 and average distance is $8.8\times10^{5}pc$. How can I estimate its approximate total mass?
Answer: First you must estimate the luminosity. That may be difficult unless the magnitude you have is a bolometric magnitude.
Then you assume some mass to light ratio (actually mass to luminosity ratio, where in solar units the M/L of the Sun is 1).
The M/L ratios of galaxies depend on galaxy type (and age, metallicity, star forming history) and vary from about 2-10. However, this is just the stellar mass. In most cases these ratios would need to be increased by a factor of 10 to give the total mass of a galaxy, which may be dominated by dark matter. The total M/L ratio of dwarf spheroidals like Tucana is likely to be $\sim 100$.
In conclusion, there is no single value of $c$ that can convert from a magnitude (luminosity) to a mass. Further reading: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/astronomy/chapter/properties-of-galaxies/
Comment: Thank you for your answer. I just want to ask one more thing. One equation about the absolute magnitude with respect to apparent magnitude and the distance is $M_{abs}=M_{app}-5(logD-1)$. $D$ is the distance in parsecs. After calculating the absolute magnitude  may I use $L_{galaxy}=L_{0}10^{-0.4{M_{abs}}}$ ($L_{0}$ is the zero point luminosity) for the galactic luminosity?
Answer: As Rob Jeffries said, you typically assume a value of $M/L$ to find the mass from luminosity. I want to share a nice problem which guides you through the calculation for NGC1052 in the problem T8 here. Solutions are available here


Computer Support for Nekudos

Question: Can it hurt to include Nekudos (vowel marks) when typing Hebrew? Do all systems that support Hebrew lettering automatically support Nekudos? If not, do they at least degrade gracefully?
Comment: If this were just about word processing it would be off topic; if this were just about Hebrew, it would be off topic. Because it's about both Hebrew and word processing it's _on_ topic?
Comment: FWIW I went with the letters tag over the pronunciation tag because the vowel marks are treated here as written things.
Answer: Nikudot support has been problematic for a long time, on many applications. I do not know whether Windows magically gets it right, but I know Linux has had difficulties (and many applications still do have difficulties).
Several years ago, I sent a survey of nikudot support to the authors of many important Linux applications (word processors specifically), complete with screenshots. Many of these applications supported nikudot badly, and they definitely did not degrade gracefully. Some of the developers involved took made fixes based on my email, but some fonts are still problematic.
I find I get the best results with nikudot using OpenType fonts such as Ezra SIL or Frank Ruehl OT, and it doesn't really matter what application I'm working in.
All in all, it's very dependent on what font and what application you use (though application in the major office and creative apps is pretty good these days).
Comment: Is it difficult to convert the Culmus fonts to Windows?
Answer: Hebrew Support for Your Browser
(last updated: 17 June 2012)
Answer: Most of fonts do support nekudos. Necudos are also supported by Unicode.
The programming moves toward Unicode, for example in Java the String object is Unicode out of the box (unlike C,C++,...), so I think that the systems that don't support Nekudos do degrade.
However there are always legacy code on old programming languages (like COBOL) that would probably live forever that don't supports nekudos, but mainly just business logic is implemented that way, the user interface part mostly written on more user friendly languages.
Hope this was not too much programming-oriented answer :)
Answer: In Linux (I use Debian 6), Nekudos work through typing in Hebrew with Shift. So for example, Shift -

e - ָ
r - הּ
y - הֹ
u - הַ
a - הְ
s - הּ
g - הׂ
h - הׁ
j - הִ
k - ה₪
z - הֶ
x - הֶ
c - הֻ
v - הֱ
b - הֲ
n - הֳ
m - הֵ
Comment: New Israeli Shekel symbol.
Comment: what's shift-k supposed to be?
Comment: @Menachem it's like letters ש and ח together, stands for שקל חדש.

Computer Support for Nekudos


Setting the wallpaper on a corporate laptop

Question: I've a business laptop with some restrictions from IT guys I guess. The thing is, that I'm not able to set my walpaper. I can select Properties on the desktop, then go to Desktop Tab and Browse for wallpapers, but when I select one, it doesn't appear in Background list. What are possible ways to set the wallpaper on Windows XP?
Comment: There are ways, but do you want to incur the wrath of IT when they find out?
Comment: Ours is set by marketing, who change it periodically and often to something painful. Fortunately, I'm the admin of my work PC and can block the setting from changing :)
Comment: these BOFHs are mean but they do have to be obeyed! :)
Comment: If it's a branded wall paper, it may not even be the "IT guys" decision - but rather management policy that laptops that connect to say projectors or are shown to customers should display a neutral but company-branded background for image and brand purposes...
Answer: From your browser, you can right-click an image and choose 'set as background.'
Comment: The simplest answer is often the best
Comment: Doesn't work in Win10
Answer: This is properly done via a Group Policy applied by IT, and a pretty normal standard for most corporate environments. You can try and override the policy but as soon as your machine reboots and you log onto the network it will re-apply the above.
If you can get to the Local Group Policy editor you can use this article to enable it again.
However, if IT does not allow it please be aware that there could be consequences if you do change it.
Comment: You can change a registry permission as well to block the network policy from changing it.
Answer: I wonder what will happen if you

backup the current wallpaper image from its present location,

rename your wallpaper image same as that earlier wallpaper name
replace the new image file in place of the old one

This is assuming you have write permissions at that location.
Even if this works, you could be violating company policies -- be warned.
Answer: You could ask the IT folks to enable that for you via their Policy Management.
Answer: You can load the image up in MS-Paint, then go File->Set As Desktop Background.  (pretty sure that that is the correct menu item - haven't used it for a while, so not 100%)
This usually works (haven't yet seen it disabled), but it obviously only works on images that Paint supports - i.e. no tga, etc.
Answer: if it is branded wallpaper means why don't you get approval from your higher authority to deploy that wallpaper ?
-Nand


How can I make a Deck of Many Things?

Question: I would like to make a Deck of Many Things but I can't figure out, how. My GM said if I could figure it out they would let me do it. I know my character has to be 17th level to even start on it but that's as far as I've made it. Does anyone know the step-by-step instructions?
Comment: Did your GM tell you to figure it out, or tell you that *your PC* had to figure it out?
Comment: You (or your DM) may also be interested in [this *AD&D* question.](https://rpg.stackexchange.com/q/71716/8610)
Answer: Ask Your GM
There are no official rules for crafting magic items. The Dungeon Master's Guide provides one optional rule that your GM may want to use.
Using the DMG rules:

... To start, a character must have a formula that describes the construction of the item. Their character must also be a spellcaster with spell slots and must be able to cast any spells that the item can produce. Moreover, the character must meet a level minimum determined by the item's rarity

You'll need a formula for the crafting

This is likely going to require a quest or something of the sort with a legendary item like the Deck of Many Things.

You'll need the wish spell since The Moon card produces that spell.

Your GM may require other spells to account for the spell-like effects of some of the other cards (such as knowing imprisonment for Donjon).

As you state, level 17 is the minimum for crafting Legendary magic items
Time and money

From there you just need to spend the time and gold pieces required which with these rules would be 500,000 gp and 20,000 days (you can likely split this up among helpers with the same prerequisites)

Xanathar's Guide to Everything provides some alternative downtime rules including for crafting magic items.
Using the XGtE rules:

To start with, a character needs a formula for a magic item in order to create it. The formula is like a recipe. It lists the materials needed and steps required to make the item.
An item invariably requires an exotic material to complete it. This material can range from the skin of a yeti to a vial of water taken from a whirlpool on the Elemental Plane of Water. Finding that material should take place as part of an adventure.
The Magic Item Ingredients table suggests the challenge rating of a creature that the characters need to face to acquire the materials for an item.

You'll need a formula for the crafting

This is the same as in the DMG rules.

Defeat of a powerful creature (suggestion of CR 19+ for legendary magic items)

The required materials may be a part of the creature's anatomy, or be present in an area guarded by one such creature.

Note that facing a creature does not necessarily mean that the characters must collect items from its corpse. Rather, the creature might guard a location or a resource that the characters need access to.

Time and money

This requirement is substantially less than that in the DMG: 50 workweeks (500 days) and 100,000 gp.

It is worth noting that there is no level requirement for the XGtE rules.
Comment: Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been [moved to chat](https://chat.stackexchange.com/rooms/81079/discussion-on-answer-by-david-coffron-how-can-i-make-a-deck-of-many-things).
Answer: The GM decides if and how this works
5e is a bit vague when it comes to magic items in general, and particularly when it comes to crafting them.
Xanathar's Guide to Everything has some rules for the crafting of magic items as a downtime activity on pages 128-129. Basically, in addition to time, money, and tool/skill proficiency, you need two things: a formula for the creation of the magic item, and an exotic material.
The details of both are left to the GM. In practical terms as a player, this means that you won't be crafting anything unless your GM wants you to be able to. Outside of whatever the GM decides, there is no way to craft a magic item. If you are really set on it, start searching for answers in character and let the GM decide the rest.
Comment: Might add that most of XGtE is optional material. Only the points on rules clarifications are not.

How can I make a Deck of Many Things?


VLC is installed but doesn't run properly

Question: I've had made a huge mistake by wiping out every VLC folder from Ubuntu 12.04. I tried to reinstall it, but it doesn't work.
I tried installing it by command line and it seems to work: however, when I run the vlc command, it says VLC is not installed.
If I try to install it again, it tells me VLC is already at the latest version.
Now I can't run VLC any more and can't figure how to fix it.
Thanks in advance!
I ran these:
sudo apt-get remove -f --purge vlc vlc-data vlc-nox vlc-plugin-notify vlc-plugin-pulse

And then these:
sudo apt-get install -f vlc vlc-data vlc-nox vlc-plugin-notify vlc-plugin-pulse

Apparently everything gets back to normal. Even the icons got back.
Now I finally am able to run vlc on the terminal and get some response. Unfortunatey I still am not able to make it run properly, VLC does not open by any chance. This pops up:
VLC media player 2.0.5 Twoflower (revision 2.0.5-0-g1661b7d)

The remote control interface was started. Type 'help' for help.

However, not a single window opens.
Comment: Have you tried running `sudo apt-get autoremove vlc`?
Comment: Yes I have. It is removed and I am able to install it again but it doesn't start anyway. The vlc is not installed message keeps showing and vlc keeps not running.
Comment: Try checking the official website for VLC.
Here's a link: http://www.videolan.org/vlc/
Answer: Delete the VLC profile
Deleting the profile folder of VLC makes it work as when you first installed it.
Using terminal

Open a terminal (press Ctrl+Alt+t)
Run rm -rf .config/vlc/

Using GUI

Go to Home folder
Show hidden files (press Ctrl+h)
Open the folder .config
Right click on vlc folder and delete
Restart VLC and see how it works.
Answer: Interesting issue you have there... Have you tried
sudo apt-get remove vlc --purge
sudo apt-get install vlc

Comment: This worked for me
Comment: I've already tried and yet no positive response.
Answer: I have the same problem with deleting all folders that find in my Ubuntu 13.10 x86_64. Following the steps above, installing it and now it is running well.
I saw that there is a mistake in the following line
$sudo apt-get remove -f --purge vlc vlc-data vlc-nox vlc-plugin-notigy vlc-plugin-pulse
(vlc-plugin-notigy) must be vlc-plugin-notify
$sudo apt-get remove -f --purge vlc vlc-data vlc-nox vlc-plugin-notify vlc-plugin-pulse

And then, ran these
$sudo apt-get install -f vlc vlc-data vlc-nox vlc-plugin-notigy vlc-plugin-pulse browser-plugin-vlc

I am using firefox browser, and need the browser plugging, last one is sugested in the vlc website.
Comment: It was most likely a typo.
Answer: First, you have to completely remove vlc by applying these commands:
Remove VLC Completely

rm -rf .config/vlc/

sudo apt-get remove --purge vlc

Now, you have to by applying these commands:
Install snap/snapd

sudo apt install snap

sudo apt install snapd

Install vlc from Ubuntu Software Center only...
!!Dont from terminal!!
Install VLC from here

Now open vlc and it will be run...