Is there a name for this idea relating to word abstractness/complexity based on dictionary definition self-reference?

Question: First, let me give the caveat that I have never taken a linguistics class, nor read a linguistics book. I am coming from a degree in math. Please give your answers at a level I can understand.
There's this thought experiment I've come up with which I am sure has been considered before. I am looking for a name or references to this idea.
Suppose you have a dictionary for a language that you know nothing about. And suppose you find a sentence in that language that you want to understand, like, "Roses are red." You might look up in the dictionary "roses" and then get a string of words you don't understand. For instance, you might get something like, "Rose: n a prickly bush or shrub..." and then feel the need to look up "prickly" to understand prickly. But then you won't understand that definition and then need to look up even more words.
This can't go on forever, and at some point, you'll end up at some word you've looked up before. That is, you'll reach some sort of circular definition of a word. Explicitly, you can find this on dictionary.com with the definition for the word "higher", which refers to the word "upward", and "upward", which refers to the word "higher".
This shows that basically, at some point you need someone to point to a rose bush and say, "roses".
The thing is, once you know a set of words, you can define other words without needing to point to the object and sound out the word. So for instance, if you understand what flowers and bushes and the color red are, you can explain that roses are red flowers that grow on bushes.
My feeling is that the more quickly or easily, which I don't have precisely defined, the word self-referentially is defined by itself within a dictionary, the more basic or fundamental the word, and the less abstract it is. So for instance, because we have the short cycle higher -> upward -> higher, it suggests that higher and upward are very basic and fundamental words.
On the other hand, I would expect a word like equanimity, as a more abstract word, not to have any such tight circular definitions loops. So my feeling is that there is some way to measure the abstractness of a word with this idea.
Is there a name for this idea? Can anyone give me references?
Answer: I'm really not a linguist but I think Natural Semantic Metalanguage is trying for something similar. It concentrates on the minimal set of words appearing in every existing language used to describe anything. And as it is connected to the basic human sensations, it works with the simple cognitive psychology idea that everything you can describe is based on the sensations you've expierenced in the past and can be seperated into a set of elementary neural signals that can naturally expierence every healthy person.


Time Machine can't find Time Capsule - but can mount it

Question: I have a 5th Gen (A1470) Time Capsule on our network. The WAN ethernet port is wired to a router. The TC has a static IP, Wifi is disabled (on the TC) and router mode is off (bridged).
I have a Macbook Pro (El Capitan) currently backing up to the TC using our router's Wifi (only 1.31GB after 20mins though, looks like it's stalled). I have a Mac Pro (El Capitan) that's found the TC and still preparing backups.
However, I have an iMac (Yosemite) on the WiFi network that cannot find the TC in Time Machine preferences. However it can connect to it and mount it using the Finder (the TC shows up under the Shared sidebar).
I hard reset the Time Capsule and reconfigured as above before attempting backups on all 3 devices.

How come the iMac can't find the TC in Time Machine - yet finds it fine in the Finder?
Why is the first backup so slow?

UPDATE: It appears Time Machine wants to own the network, so I have reenabled Wifi (as a new Wifi network since Time Capsule can't extend non-Apple Wifi, yes really) and the Macbook Pro is using that Wifi. Now it is backing up quickly. The Mac Pro has now also been wired (ethernet) into the LAN ports on the TC, instead of trying to access it via the router. It appears TC wants to be the hub/router instead of playing nicely as a network device. The other iMac is now on the TC Wifi network - but can't find the Time Capsule in Airport or Time Machine - go figure.
UPDATE 2: I have upgraded the iMac in question to El Capitan and applied the available updates. Problem persists and I cannot see the Time Capsule in Airport Utility or Time Machine preferences. All other machines on the network are backing up to the TC now either through ethernet or Wifi.
Answer: Turns out for some reason "Use dynamic global hostname" was checked under System Preferences > Sharing > Edit (computer name). Disabling this made everything a-ok.


Log-shipping : Broken Chain

Question: If a write on log shipping transaction backup gets corrupted on one of the transaction file due to network or media issue, and hence the log shipping chain gets broken, is there any other way to restore the database to the point in time ? I understand one could do full backup or diff backups but to restore to point in time, how can we get the consecutive tran logs to be restored?
Any pointers on this will be beneficial.
Thanks
(Even if the solution is to contact Microsoft or only God can help you, I will buy that :-))
Answer: If you are saying your actual backup file is corrupted (the .trn file) but that the backup was successful from SQL Server's perspective, and the source DB is still online, I would take a full backup as soon as possible so you don't lose any data.
You will have to rebuild your log shipping if you've got a corrupt .trn, but your main concern should be having the ability to restore your source data at all if you've got a bad .trn in your chain.
Comment: Thanks Eric. I am looking for a upto-the-minute recovery. For Example: Full backup at 1:00am, Diff backup every 2 hours, Tran backups every minute
6:00am, a diff backup is done.
6:01AM, the trn log file was not processed 100%. we have an incomplete file
6:02AM, the trn log files are ok and so on.
Around 6:30AM, when doing a full backup, the media fails, you are unable to do a full/diff backup. How would you restore the data from 6:01AM to 6:45AM because at 6:01AM the tran file is not complete and hence you cannot proceed with the rest of tran files. Any idea? Thanks for your time and help
Comment: You can restore up to the last transaction of the .trn before the corrupted one. There are forensics tools you can acquire that would allow you to extract subsequent trans in the later non-corrupt files, but even this is a data integrity issue since you cannot know what is missing in the corrupted backup. Take a full and start a new chain is my advice.
Answer: You can create a full backup of the database in a trn file, using right-click Database->tasks->backup.
You should save that .trn file where your logshipping is saved to.
Then manually restore that on the destination DB, remembering to leave the DB in either a standyby\readonly or restoring state.
The log shipping restore job will then start failing as it will be trying to restore the database to a point prior to where the DB is. So to move that process so it works on the correct file, update the entry in the table msdb..log_shipping_monitor_secondary for your shipping to the file that you just restored. Eg:
 update msdb..log_shipping_monitor_secondary
 set last_restored_file = 'filename'
 where secondary_server = 'thisserver'
      and primary_server = '' ...

The job should then run correctly.
I had the same issue, see Resume log shipping from a specific transaction

Log-shipping : Broken Chain


Can You Create Free Rent Agreements in Monopoly

Question: Is it legal to allow free rent agreements as part of a real estate transaction in Monopoly?  Specifically I'd like to purchase a property and sell two additional properties but only if both parties in the transaction receive 'free rent' as long as we own the properties.
Answer: You can offer a rent free situation by promising the player that you will never claim rent.  As rent is only ever paid when the owner of a property claims it, you can in effect offer free rent.
There is no way to enforce this though and you must treat this as nothing more than a gentleperson's agreement.
Comment: You cannot offer free rent to any player under any circumstance.  I specifically remember reading this on a questions & answer listing on a cardboard insert of a Monopoly game.


Microsoft user authentication on OneNote app?

Question: Everything on my Galaxy Note4 is up to date and working fine. No dice in attempting to troubleshoot so far with a few of the usual suspects - update OS and app software, clear app data & cache.
Answer: It seems Microsoft has OneNote integration with the OneDrive app. In my case, authenticating through OneDrive before attempt to authenticate in OneNote worked, as suggested in page 3 here.


Hide user records from certain groups of users

Question: I have a requirement in my org as below
I have a set of users who can access only limited set of data(say 3 objects data).
In their profile I have removed cred permisions to other objects except 3 required objects there by preventing them to access entire data in the org.
But the issue is these users are able to access the others user records searching their name on the global search.
I looked for the option to disable CRED for User object like I did for Account and other objects but I dont see any any option like that on the profile level.
I tried setting OWD private for User object but this idea impacts entire org.
Please Suggest
Comment: Is the global search searching user record or any other records like Accounts?
Answer: Setting OWD to Private is the cleanest way to do it. You can then open up access to other users using sharing rules. This way these records wont appear in global search,reports,API-based pulls and list views.


In the Stargate episode 'Secrets', why did they not attempt to take Sha're back to Cimmeria?

Question: Thor's Hammer was fixed in Thor's Chariot, wasn't it? Was there some reason why Sha're could not have been taken back to Cimmeria during that brief window of opportunity?
Comment: A better question would be why don't they ask the Tok'ra to remove the symbiote? If they had time to try one, admittedly much riskier method, then they would have time to contact the Tok'ra and go the safe route.
Answer: The hammer damn near killed Teal'c. To death.
Imagine for a moment what it would do to a pregnant woman.
Yeah.
Edit:
There are a few other concerns as well:

The Asgard improved the AI on the hammer: Teal'c is explicitly mentioned, but it makes sense that the change that was actually done was to allow all friends of the Tau'ri, likely making the hammer unable to detect Sha're as a threat.
The hammer might not be able to detect the presence of a dormant Goa'uld in any case.
The SGC might have compunctions about sending a highly pregnant woman through the Stargate, especially if it is to potentially die at the hands of an Unas in a dark and horrible dungeon, or to potentially be killed by an Asgard device.
While the hammer might indeed correctly recognize Sha're as a threat, tackling her like O'Neill did to Teal'c the first time around certainly wouldn't work, leading either to her not being taken to the dungeon at all, or her being sent and Daniel being ignored, leaving her alone and likely in shock-induced labor, a moderately suboptimal situation.

Given the above concerns, the risk/reward calculations are looking pretty bleak. Kind of.
A darker analysis reveals, of course, that Sha're losing the child might not have been a terrible thing, all things considered, and would likely ingratiate the SGC with the System Lord collective, but bring down upon them the full force of Apophis, who at the time was otherwise occupied.
Of course, late third trimester abortions aren't only morally difficult, they are also a dangerous proposition for the mother, further impacting the risk/reward calculus.
Additionally, they might simply have failed to consider it. SGC staff is notoriously forgetful when it comes to this kind of stuff.
And, finally, on the meta-level,

 saving Sha're was never an option.

It would completely derail Daniel as a credible team member, destroying his motivation.

 Instead, her later death steels his resolve to exterminate the Goa'uld and everything they represent; further cementing his path towards the dark side; making his later realization of what he is becoming and subsequent redemption all the more powerful.
Comment: Interesting!! Thanks for the answer. I don't think Thor's Hammer DID nearly kill Teal'c though, did it? It nearly killed his symbiote, which would have killed him in the long run, but the entire point of the machine is to kill the goa'uld while leaving the host intact. We also know that it can detect a dormant goa'uld, because Teal'c's larval goa'uld is dormant. It seems to detect the physical presence, regardless of the goa'uld's state. And they were about to take very-pregnant Sha're through the Stargate anyways, just not to Cimmeria, so they had no problem with that.
Comment: Well, the hammer itself didn't nearly kill Teal'c, but the internal struggle did. Additionally, Teal'c's symbiote isn't dormant, it's incubating. It's acting as any other symbiote in its position would. In any case; your point about pregnant Stargate travelers is certainly valid. Also, the machine doesn't actually kill the symbiote, I think; it seems as if simply gives the host the tools to fight it.
Comment: The Asgard are big on tests of character…
Comment: I guess. :/ I don't think there's any really satisfying answer, but lovers of SG-1 have to take the occasional crazy plot-hole in stride, I suppose.
Comment: @abcooper: While this is true, I'm not sure that this is actually a plot hole, tho'.
Answer: The thing is, one way or another, they should have  brought her to Earth to have the child (a human, innocent child) and, as they had talked about in that very episode, use her for intelligence purposes (Daniel and her already agreed on that).
That would have her available to ANY method of extracting the Goa'uld (after giving birth is you're so worried about her pregnancy), like the Asgard (they created the Hammer, so...) and, a few episodes later, Marchello's larvae or whatever they were, especially created to free the host -safely- killing the bug.
In the real world, however, I suspect they wanted to free Daniel for future flirting.
Comment: Hello Maika, welcome to [fantasy.se] and thank you for your answer. May I invite you to take the [tour]?


Is there a lightweight MTA for Ubuntu 9.10 Desktop?

Question: I'm writing a Perl script to run as a cron job, and I want to email results & errors to a local account on the laptop.  I'd like something that can talk SMTP (do any MTAs not adhere to SMTP?).  I use Thunderbird 3, so I'll also need a POP/IMAP server (unless T-Bird can read straight from an mbox file; I'll have to check into that).  No need for spam controls as I'll lock it down real tight, only accepting mail originating from the laptop itself.  Thanks!
Answer: Install Postfix, configure it for the local network and make it listen only to the loopback-interface.
If you have an external mailbox ready and only want to send emails to it, you could probably just install ssmtp and be happy.
Answer: there's ssmtp, right there in the standard repositories
Comment: I want to deliver mail locally, so I think sSMTP is out.  Thanks for the suggestion, though.
Answer: Check out Nullmailer. I think it is the best lightweight mail transfer agent for ubuntu and other Linux. Hopefully that is what you are looking for.
Answer: Thunderbird's standard mail format is mbox, you could try Apache James for an MTA.
Comment: IMHO Apache James is not quite what you'd call "lightweight". ;)
Comment: Apache James does not look lightweight :)  Thanks for the T-bird info, though.
Answer: You can also consider courier, which provides a complete email suite (SMTP, IMAP, and much more)
Answer: consider qmail with courier-imap
will turn it into a full scale smtp but can easily be locked down to local network if required. While most people think it complex it is actually fairly simple and lightweight in terms of resource utilization .... while there is no install I know of for ubuntu there is a scripted install for debian available here  http://itsjustit.co.uk/chalfontcomputers/qmailscript/netqmail-djb.tar.gz
The script installs with Maildir format so simply using the courier-imap with qmail will allow the laptop to connect as easily as to any pop or imap server ... you will have a full blown smtp that is very robust.
Comment: The OP was pretty clear that he needs this to be simple, and he's right. It's for accepting mail on localhost; a "full blown" system is too complex for these requirements.


What is the thinnest hotend?

Question: I have a few 3D printers and now want to start building a custom 3D printer.
I want to build a 3D printer with multiple nozzles, and I want to make the hotend thin so the nozzles can be closer together.
What is the thinnest nozzle avalible to buy?
Are there any guides or details on how I could make a custom nozzle or modify a nozzle if I can't buy a thin nozzle?
Comment: How many nozzles? Do you need a lifting device? Multiple nozzles at the same height is not easy to align and can easily tip over you print during printing. There are also multiple in, one out hotends.
Comment: what is the "thinnest nozzle" in this regard? Would you fo so far as to machine a custom part?
Comment: @0scar I've had issues with mutliple nozzles not being at the same height. Planing to set them up so they can move independently.
Comment: @Trish I would probably test with 3D pen nozzles first if I can't find a thin 3D printer nozzle. I don't have the tools to machine it myself, but would like to get something custom made once I have the design and software working.
Answer: The size of the nozzle usually isn't the main factor for how close you can put nozzles together.  To keep the filament drive gear system from being the limiting factor, you would need Bowden extruders. "Then, the heat sinks and fans would be your limiting factor.  Have you considered a single nozzle with three extruders?  Otherwise, you need custom angled heat sinks similar to the three heat sinks on a single nozzle, and still a way to orient the nozzles at the same Z-height.  That would be difficult if all the nozzles are on the same heater block.  It still seems that nozzle size is the least of the issues of putting nozzles close together.
If you search for smaller nozzle sizes, you will get nozzles with smaller openings, not smaller overall size.  The threads on the nozzles are a standard size.  Thus, the smaller opening size can't be put closer together than the larger opening size.  Otherwise, you have only small variations between different types of nozzles and need room to screw them in to the heater block if you put all of them into one block.  You can get a nozzle using a 6 mm hex wrench that is smaller than one using a 7 mm hex (E3D).
Answer: One of the thinnest hotends I've seen are those from a Chinese factory Mellow Store, the heatsink is smaller than the top flange to mount the hotend. I don't know the quality of these hotends, the image below shows the basic layouts of available options:

Ultimaker uses high quality hotends which are pretty small 2.85  mm hotends they call "cores", they house 2 next to each other and use a lifting mechanism:

What is the thinnest hotend?


According to buddhism, do demons exists?

Question: I have heard a lot about this kind of things called demons, satan, evil spirits from other religion. But is their any mention in buddhism about existance of such creatures or spirits?
Answer: According to Buddhism Demons exist. The Four Great Kings in the Cāturmahārājika Heaven keep watch over us of harm from these demons. There are a handful of (few) good demons too who have seen the Dhamma.)  These four Devas are Virūpākṣa (he who sees all), Dhṛtarāṣṭra (he who upholds the realm), Virūḍhaka (he who causes to grow), and Vaiśravaṇa (Kubera) (he who hears everything).  All four Devas serve Śakra, the lord of the devas. All demons have spontaneous birth (opapatika) like the Davas and the Petas (Hungry Ghosts). You may know by now that there are four kinds of birth - namely, egg-born (andaja), womb-born (julabuja), moisture-born (samsedaja), and spontaneous birth (opapatika).
There are four lower planes of existance = Niraya = devoid of happiness. There are four kinds of niraya - namely, woeful state (apaya / hell), the animal kingdom, the plane of Petas (hungry ghosts) and the plane of Asura-demons (Titans). None of these states is eternal. According to their unwholesome / unskillful kamma beings may be born in such woeful states. Departing from those states, they may be born in blissful states according to their past good kamma. In the sense-sphere (kamaloka) the human plane and the six celestial planes are regarded as blissful states. They too are not eternal.
Devil is referred to as MARA, in the scriptures. Mara means killer. He is the personification of the force that kills virtue and also kills existence. His armies are poised to attack all persons; they even tried to overcome the Buddha on the night of his enlightenment. But Mara is a post that is been held by a person.  If you are attached to the six senses, you are in the Mara (Devil)s grasp (a firm hold or grip). He is a tempter, distracting humans from practicing the spiritual life by making mundane things alluring, or the negative seem positive.
At the time of Kakusandha Buddha – our Gautama Supreme Buddha's chief disciple, Ven. Maha Moggallana was the Mara, chief of demons, lord of the lower worlds.  Kakusandha is the fourth of the Seven Buddhas of the last 91 Kalpa (Aeons), and the first of the five Buddhas of the present kalpa. The present day Mara is his sister's son (nephew). When someone talks about "God's grace" and "God's mercy",  it can more likely be that the blessings are of Mara and his hosts. This is possible. As the great jealous one, Mara has the power to bestow blessings on his hosts and subjects.
Getting back to the subject of Demons, here is a question & answer session that once took place between a King (Milinda) and an Arahant ( Ven. Nâgasena):

'Venerable Nâgasena, are there such things as demons (Yakkhâ) in the world?'
  'Yes, O king.'
  'Do they ever leave that condition' (fall out of that phase of existence)?
  'Yes, they do.'
  'But, if so, why is it that the remains of those dead demons are never found, nor any odour of their corpses smelt? '
  Their remains are found, O king, and an odour does arise from their dead bodies. The remains of bad demons can be seen in the form of worms and beetles and ants and moths and snakes and scorpions and centipedes, and birds and wild beasts.'
Answer: There's apparently one 'modern' form of Buddhism which doesn't, which is called Secular Buddhism:

Secular Buddhists interpret the teachings of the Buddha and the Buddhist texts in a rationalist and often evidentialist manner, considering the historical and cultural contexts of the times in which the Buddha lived and the various suttas, sutras and tantras were written.
Within the framework of secular Buddhism, Buddhist doctrine may be stripped of any unspecified combination of various traditional beliefs that could be considered superstitious, or that can't be tested through empirical research, namely: supernatural beings (such as devas, bodhisattvas, nāgas, pretas, Buddhas, etc.), merit and its transference, rebirth, Buddhist cosmology (including the existence of pure lands and hells), etc.

I think that all other, traditional forms of Buddhism "mention" demons.
For what it's worth I've also heard of "evil spirits" and so on, in folktales and children's stories (which are sometimes called "fairy tales") -- I'm not sure whether they come "from other religion", or whether it's better to recognize them as coming from all human cultures and literary traditions.
Some people (and I don't mean to say that these people are "secular Buddhists") explain demons as metaphors, personifications, etc. (see for example this answer); or say that demons were imported from contemporary (Vedic) religion or culture, and that although they're "mentioned" in Buddhist literature they don't have a role in Buddhist doctrine and practice (see e.g. this answer).
I guess this is hard to answer without down-playing or over-playing the importance of "demons".
Answer: Yes.
But you find yourself inclined to reject it do not do this either.
If something in the Dhamma does not agree with you do not reject or accept it until you know for sure at the experiential level or experienced great deal of Dhamma to infer the rest might be true also out of faith.


Finding which OS a software requires?

Question: How to find a (ie., Portable single executable) software requires a particular OS (Win98, Win98SE, WinME, Win2000, WinXP, Linux).  I am using Win98SE in one pc and WinXP in another PC.  If I copy/install a portable software or package in win98se, only after installing / executing that software, that program tell us it requires WinXP,.  Is any software to find a particular software needs to run only in win98SE or greater.  I tried Dependency Walker by Steve Miller but no results.  Kindly help to solve this problem.
Answer: There are certainly flags in the headers of the executable to indicate some sorts of compatibility, but I suspect it's only linked to 32- or 64-bits, and platform (MIPS, Alpha, PowerPC, Intel, ...) for older (NT3, NT4 times) executables.
Normally it's the role if the installer (if any) to check the OS compatibility. If there is no installer, the executable will do its OS compatibility check in the logic of the code itself, not in a known place you could check before running the application.
So, I doubt it, it depends where in the code and how the check is done and it changes for each application that does such a check.
Answer: Look on the website or company that made it and see what they say is the minimum specification?
Answer: I expect reply like that the software that analyses the executable and reports under which is OS, the executable runs.  Say, the following programs are analysed the executables but it does not give the result like the minimum OS required to run -
Dependancy Walker, Depends

Finding which OS a software requires?


Will flashing a custom fix lag on my Android?

Question: I have a 1 GB RAM tablet running a pretty much vanilla Android Jelly Bean 4.1.1 and it's been running very slow. Apps startup time have been slow, noticeable lag exists while scrolling between the home screens, and apps crash sometimes. Browsing on the Internet has scroll lag and I have many more problems. I know that 1GB of RAM is more than enough to run Jelly Bean smoothly without any lag. How will rooting my device or flashing any custom ROMs help? I am new to the Android world, any suggestions are welcome, thanks.
Comment: Can't tell from your post what manufacturer made your tablet. If it's Samsung, their TouchWiz application tends to muck up occasionally, like lagging. This is more evident in Android 4.2 than 4.1. Worst case, backup your app and data, do a factory reset, reinstall your favourite apps and see if the lagging return. Custom ROMs might eliminate the lagging, but no guarantee.
Answer: Im not sure about the hardware of your tablet ,so might not be that powerful .That could be the reason for the lag
About rooting and custom roms they are not assured to remove lag  ,some roms might help while some may be even slower, it depends on the rom You use .But that said generally custom roms are made to be lightweight ,fast and fluid.


How do you choose a pet for a household with children?

Question: My wife and I are thinking about getting a pet, so my daughter (now 3 months old) can learn about animals growing up.  What factors should influence the pet we choose?  Is there anyway to tell if the child and the pet are compatible?
Answer:
What is your lifestyle like and how will your pet fit into it?
Some pets require lots of daily exercise and attention, others are more low-maintenance.  Some are cuddly, some want to do their own thing.  Some require training, others don't.  Some pets are great companions on outings, others are better left at home.  The biggest factor in finding the right pet for your family is how that pet will fit into your lives.
How long can you commit?
Some pets are good for a few years or less.  Others will be with your child long after you are gone.  Choose a pet with a natural lifespan you are certain you can commit to.
How much space do you have to dedicate to your pet?
Too often, people buy cute baby dobermans, iguanas, etc. without thinking about how big their new pet will grow up to be.  Before you choose a pet, think about what you really have room for.
What is your experience level with various types of pets?
Getting a hyper puppy or a traumatized rescue dog to behave properly around an infant takes work and skill.  An easygoing adult dog will be easier to adapt to living with a baby in the house.  Cat litter, iguana nails, etc. can pose health risks for infants if not handled correctly.  Choose a pet that you know or will learn how to handle properly so that your child will have the best possible experience.
Answer: We have a rat, two cats, and two fish tanks. Earlier we had more cats, two hamsters, and a dog. My in-laws have a dog, too. Our daughter is now about 2.5 y.o. and our son (now 18) grew with animals, too.
Lessons learned:

Children love pets, pay a lot of attention to them, and usually don't conflict with pets at all. Different pets are not equally sociable, though: a chinchilla or a rabbit will pay less attention to humans than a dog or cat or a rat or a big parrot. Fishes don't interact much with humans, but are interesting to watch nevertheless.
To successfully cope with child's love, pets should be durable enough. A grown-up phlegmatic dog (preferably rather large) is the best. Grown-up cats are ok, too, though these are more keen to avoid intense interactions. Little kittens and puppies are reasonably handled by children of at least 5 y.o., and are way fragile for a toddler. A rat can only leave the cage when the toddler is away. Fishtanks have to be kept reasonbaly covered, with various pipes and wires hidden from easy reach.
You have to do all the maintenance yourself. You walk the dog and then wash it, you clip claws of the cat and groom its hair, you feed hamsters and rats and fishes. Children are interested in interaction and would gladly try to help. But don't expect a child to be capable of really lessening your load before age of about 7-8.
You can't skip walking a dog. Doing this with a child younger than 5 y.o, especially if the weather if not fair and dry, is more challenge than fun if you're alone.
Animals grow, change and eventually die. Seeing this at age of 8 and 10, our son learned, it seems, something important about this. But avoid adopting a pet that is going to die when your child is 3, this would be traumatic.
Before you commit to adopting a pet, check whether you and your baby are allergic to it! A short direct contact, like 15 minutes in a pet shop, may be enough to develop an allergic reaction. Probably there are better tests, consult your pediatrician.
You have to enjoy the pet yourself. Small children are real copycats. If you neglect or abuse a pet, so will your child (and this would hardly be a positive lesson).
Answer: When choosing a family pet it is most important to keep in mind the families lifestyle and living situation.  How often is someone in the home? How much space do you have? Is budget an issue?  Cats are very manageable pets to have and are rather low maintenance and low budget however it may be hard to find a cat that is good with children as many tend to be skittish.  Always bring the whole family to look at potential pets to see how the pet interacts with the entire family.
Dogs are great as well but a much larger undertaking. Things to keep in mind for dogs are their size, how much space they need, if they bark a lot, typical health issues for the breed, how many times a day they need to be walked, and if there are any stigmas associated with the breed.
Allergies are of course something to keep in mind so see what type of options the place you choose to get the pet from has if a family member is too allergic to keep the pet.
Lastly I think its important to go with your gut, all of my pets have picked me in a sense, so when you go to the pet store or shelter see who is naturally drawn to you, they will most likely make a good fit with your family.


Why is there 丼 {どんぶり} in 丼勘定 {どんぶりかんじょう}?

Question: How does 丼勘定 {どんぶりかんじょう} (sloppy accounting) related to 丼 {どんぶり} (bowl of rice with toppings)? I mean, why どんぶり of all foods and things? Was there special history for the origin of this set phrase?
Comment: It's the first time I hear this expression, but I'd say it quite makes sense intuitively... 丼 does give me the image of ingredients somewhat haphazardly thrown in together... The same way "stew" or "brew" might be used to describe something similar in English...
Comment: @Karl True, but I believe that English idiom must have a history. For example "kick the bucket": http://www.infoplease.com/dictionary/brewers/kick-bucket.html  (which interestingly has nothing to do with what modern English refers as "bucket") .. so here I'm asking for the history why donburi is selected. I imagined must have something to do with feudal age joke or something.
Answer: Judging by the following link, どんぶり in this phrase didn't originally refer to the bowl, but a pocket in the front of an apron, where money was kept:
http://gogen-allguide.com/to/donburikanjyou.html
If someone was throwing all the incoming money into one pocket and fishing out change for customers from same, they probably didn't have a great idea at any one time of how much they had or any way of keeping track.
http://www.samue.co.jp/shop/haori/ooedo4/ooedo4.html - this has an Edo-style "どんぶり" for a little visual reference (you'll note they use どんぶり勘定 with the hiragana).
Comment: That totally makes sense! Now this is another example where the actual origin of a phrase is nothing like what anyone would guess from the literal meaning (similar to "kick the bucket" case where it did not come from somebody standing on a bucket and kicking it to hang himself)
Answer: First, let's be a bit more precise. saiga-jp.com gives
丼 a china bowl
丼勘定 sloppy accounting, spending money unsystematically
i.e. the character refers to the bowl itself directly, and only by extension to food served in such a bowl.
Seems to me like it's a metaphor, and a fairly arbitrarily selected one. You might as well ask why English speakers "hit the nail on the head", as opposed to (doing anything else properly), when they get something right. 勘 has meanings like 'intuition' and 定 like 'determine', so (my guess!) the metaphor is of putting all the numbers (receipts?) into a bowl, swirling them around and pulling out a result that looks right.


What is the optimal AirPlay configuration when using two Airports Express?

Question: I have two Airport Express base stations in my abode:

an AirPort Express 802.11n (2nd Generation) – A1392, and
an AirPort Express 802.11n (1st Generation) – A1264

Call the former (the newer model) A and the latter B. They are in the following configuration: A is wired to the cable modem and is the primary wireless base station; B is in a different room, configured to join that wireless network, and is connected to a stereo system. The goal of this setup is to provide the fastest possible internet to laptops, iPhones, etc. while enabling AirPlay music streaming to the stereo.
Unfortunately, I can't run a long ethernet cable between rooms (in a practical manner) – though if I could, of course I'd be able to remove one of the base stations from the setup entirely. Naturally, I would also like to keep the two base stations as part of the same wireless network, so I can use the internet while also playing music over AirPlay.
This Apple Knowledge Base document suggests that B joining A's network (the current configuration) is better than B extending A's network, for "overhead" reasons:

Connecting to an existing Wi-Fi network as part of a legacy WDS or Extended Network
AirPort Express extends Wi-Fi network range and streams iTunes music simultaneously using Extended Network for AirPort Express with 802.11n, or legacy WDS with AirPort Express 802.11g from another Wi-Fi base station.
Due to the overhead required for this configuration, you may expect AirPlay drop-outs such as intermittent loss of audio.

I'm not sure if that's really an issue since they're both 802.11n routers. Then again, B is a "Draft 802.11n" device. I'm not sure how that affects things.
Problem
Streaming music from a laptop, regardless of the source (iTunes, Pandora, etc.) tends to stutter, intermittently cutting out for a few seconds. This seems to be a common issue. I haven't tested whether higher-bitrate songs causes the audio to cut out more frequently.
Question
How should I configure my wireless network(s) to reduce, and ideally prevent entirely, the audio from cutting out when I play music to my stereo using AirPlay? All of the hardware involved is Apple-made, so I can only imagine this is not a terribly exotic setup.
I haven't tried swapping the base stations yet. I'm willing to do that, but I'd really prefer to avoid trial-and-error with every combination of physical and software configurations. What can I say – it's not exactly my idea of a fun weekend project.
I have tried setting up a 5GHz wireless network on A, and having B join that, but it doesn't appear that B can. It looks like A1264 can broadcast at 5GHz, though I don't know if that implies it should be able to join a 5GHz network. Either way, it sure doesn't seem to be able to join my 5GHz network.
Potentially relevant details

There is a printer connected to B with USB.
No computers in the room have Bluetooth enabled, though there is an iPhone 5 and Pebble watch that are paired with Bluetooth. I mention this because BT supposedly can cause problems with AirPlay.
Answer: Funny story.
Switching B from "Join a wireless network" to "Extend a wireless network" seemed to fix the problem instantly, despite the caveat in that Apple KB doc.

Two days later, the problem has returned. It seems that I can deliberately exacerbate the problem by using extra bandwidth, such as by running a speed test (over WiFi, of course).


Apps corner disappeared from start screen, How can I bring it back?

Question: I have pinned the "Apps corner" app on the start screen for fast access. All of a sudden it disappeared from the start screen. I went back to check the app from the settings. I found that the pin button is greyed out which indicates the app should be pinned on the start screen. The only possible way to access the app now is from the settings which I find it very annoying.
Answer: It seems like the settings app is not able to detect the pin status of the apps corner application.. Windows 10 mobile is still not as stable as it should be and there is nothing much we can do for a OS setting app except trying these..
(If you haven't already) :

Restarting the device. A simple restart fixes multiple issues like background task memory usage or tile not updating etc .
If restarting does not work try soft reset
The last resort for solving almost any problem is a hard reset (which restores factory settings and deletes personal settings,apps etc. ) Though if you have backup enabled your settings can be restored.

More info on Soft and Hard Reset
Comment: I have tried the first two solutions. The only one left is a hard reset which I am not willing to do and there is no compelling reason for me right now to do it. Thanks for your help.


To resize image without recompression?

Question: Got this jpeg image that has incorrect proportions. That's how it should look but here's the thing - by simple means of resizing and recompressing it to jpeg, after conversion the size gets bigger and the quality of course gets worse. So I'm curious if it's possible to simply change its aspect ratio via some header information and avoid conversion.
Answer: I don't think the incorrect proportion one is much better from the resided one. but if you want to not making re-size and get the picture wore here is a tip.
the bad one is a square of (1400xp*1400px) the bigger one is (2359xp*1400px) that's mean you stretched the X approximately 168.5% times ... stretching an image may cause lose of resolution.
the bigger one having an aspect ration of 1.6 -- I mean the X of the image is bigger of its Y about 1.6
Instead of stretching X I recommend downsize Y keeping the X at the same resolution and condensed the y only, to avoid "pixilation" when stretching.
What I mean is why don't you re-size the squared deformed image to be 1400px*830PX ?? having the same aspect ratio and  in that case you will never lose the resolution.
Answer: If it's used on a webpage, you can specify a width and height to have the browser resize it without redownloading:

But it's entirely possible to get that JPEG smaller without a noticeable loss in quality. While it's true that JPEG files lose quality with every recompression, it's usually not very noticeable.
See this resized and recompressed version, for example, at 200 kB vs the original's 365 kB:

I just resized it and turned the JPEG quality lower when I saved.

To resize image without recompression?


Should questions about bash's vi mode be on-topic?

Question: Should questions about bash's vi mode (or readline in general) be on-topic?
Comment: This is a special case of [What is considered to be vi?](http://meta.vi.stackexchange.com/questions/7/what-is-considered-to-be-vi). I'm not voting to close as a duplicate right away because there may be a good reason to discuss it separately.
Comment: What is vim mode in bash?
Comment: I THINK I have seen that before in action, but not absolutely sure... I will research it some more. But See that it only provides the absolute basic of vi commands, it makes sense for it to NOT be on topic.
Comment: @onebree `set -o vi` will make bash's readline behave similarly to vi—effectively, you can hit escape and move around to edit your command using vi commands.
Answer: No:

It's not an editor
It's not "compatible" with vi; it only implements a (very) small subset.

Also see:
What is considered to be vi?.
We should focus the site on vi-editors, bringing in the entire kittenkaboodle that has keybinds vaguely reminiscent of vi and we'll basically be superuser or unix.se
Comment: If memory serves, the expression is « kit and kaboodle »
Comment: Nobody knows what will be next, but we can only prepare for [the worst](http://meta.vi.stackexchange.com/q/1219/852) ;)
Answer: Yes, readline and zle are both stand alone special purpose text editors. Their special purpose is line editting.
This falls in scope of the guidelines proposed here:
https://vi.stackexchange.com/help/on-topic
Comment: I'm inclined to agree. When I wrote the top-posted answer on this question the site was very new, and restricting the scope was a good idea (it's easy to expand a scope later on, not so easy to narrow it). I think expanding it to vi-mode in shells probably makes sense now that the site is more firmly established, and there is probably a significant overlap in expertise.
Comment: I think expanding the scope for this is something that's probably best done with another meta question. I've been intending to [write an answer to this one](https://vi.meta.stackexchange.com/q/1464/51) for a while, proposing just that (although I don't think that vi-like shortcuts in browsers should be on-topic). I just haven't found the time yet :-(
Answer: I my opinion we should not allow questions about Vi mode in Bash (or other programs). Bash is not Vi(m). And a lot of programs do have some kind of Vi(m) mode. If we allow questions about Vi mode in bash, we should also allow questions about those programs.
Answer: While my initial impression is to agree that this should be a "no", I also can't imagine that the subset of "all possible readline vi-mode" questions would be large enough to detract from this site in any way.
After thinking about it more (this was a complete reversal in an edit; if you read my answer before, yes, I'm indecisive) I think that these questions should be on topic — or at least should be considered on an individual basis. Having more questions about "vim-like" programs and plugins will only make this a richer community, and a more helpful niche of the internet.


Microsoft CNG BCryptEncrypt returning ciphertext == plaintext

Question: I am trying to implement an AES-OFB wrapper around CNG's AES for symmetric encryption.
I have run into an issue that I cannot understand... I have created an AES algorithm handle (BCRYPT_AES_ALGORITHM) and imported an AES key. I then attempt to generate a 16 byte keystream  for use with XORing my plaintext/ciphertext. The first time I run through this mechanism, the keyStreamPtr changes from some random byte stream to another, however, the 3rd time I do this (the 3rd set of 16 bytes of keystream), I start getting the same output and it happens forever.
<code>            status = BCryptEncrypt((BCRYPT_KEY_HANDLE)keyHandle,
                                   keyStreamPtr,
                                   keyStreamLength,
                                   NULL, //no padding
                                   NULL, // no IV
                                   0,  // no IV
                                   keyStreamPtr,
                                   keyStreamLength,
                                   &Length,
                                   0); // no option flags
</code>
Has anybody ever seen anything like this?  why would AES ever return ciphertext totally identical to the plaintext that was the input?  Again this is for an AES-OFB implementation... Perhaps I am doing something wrong?
Answer: The only thing I can think of is that you encrypt the key stream again. If you do this you effectively perform encrypt/decrypt: P XOR C XOR C = P where C is the key stream and P is the plain text. You might want to look at the buffer/stream handling within your code.


Netlink error while using IP queue

Question: I seem to have an issue with IP queue.
I have a linux machine that I am using to run some experiments.
The linux machine is configured to be a router, having two NICs, connecting two other computers, and managing their network traffic.
All incoming packages are captured, using iptables, and analyzed by a C application.
The application analyzing the packets has a built-in delay, as part of the experiment.
So I have one very fast computer sending packets through my linux-router and a (relatively) slow linux-router that analyses and deals with the packets, one by one.
This situation leads to the fact that when I fire up a sender application on one of the computers connected to the linux-router, my IP queue on the linux-router gets filled up (almost) instantaneously.
The IP queue's max length is currently set to 1024, and if it overflows, the packets are dropped. This is expected and i'm OK with it.
But, (and this is where it gets interesting), every now and then I get the following error:

"Failed to receive netlink message: No buffer space available"

At start, I thought this was due to the IP queue overflow, but after some analysis i found that sometimes I get the error even if the IP queue buffer did not overflow, and sometime I DON'T get the message even though the buffer DID overflow.
When I run > cat /proc/net/ip_queue, I get the following table (also used to monitor the IP queue overflow):
Peer PID          : 27389
Copy mode         : 2
Copy range        : 65535
Queue length      : 0
Queue max. length : 1024
Queue dropped     : 1166875
Netlink dropped   : 2916

Looking at the last two values, Queue dropped seems to refer to packets that did not manage to get into the IP queue because the buffer was full. I can see this value rise as I bombard the linux-router. Netlink dropped ( as it's name implies :) ) seems to have to do with the error i'm getting.
I did my best to search for material on this error, but wasn't able to find anything that seemed to point me in the required direction.
Bottom line: Why am I getting this error and what can I do to avoid it?
Comment: Me think you should not delay in your NFQUEUE, but with qdiscs (which may be selected by a NFQUEUE by putting different marks to packet, and select the qdisc from the packet mark).
Answer: try increasing the receive buffer space on your netlink receive socket using setsockopt .. this should remove the error !

Netlink error while using IP queue


A doubt on the action of NBS/CCl4

Question: Suppose we have a alkene( ex- 2- butene)  we try to subject it to allylic bromination using NBS/CCl4 and then the mixture is separated using fractional distillation. According to me as the reaction proceeds with a free radical pathway we must get  three  products namely cis , trans  1-bromobut-2-ene and the rearranged  product but the answer is given as that the fractions obtained will be only 2 . Where am I going wrong ?
Comment: Is your but-2-ene starting material an E/Z mixture or single isomer?
Comment: Not specified and that is the main problem
Answer: You are quite correct that this is a radical bromination, know as the Wohl–Ziegler reaction. The mechanism is here Wohl–Ziegler. The key point is that the radical intermediate at the allylic position is stabilised by resonance with the double bond giving a 3-centred intermediate. This can brominate at either end (favouring the more substituted), but it does not isomerise the double bond. So I think the question setters are refering to 3-bromobut-1-ene and 1-bromobut-2-ene as the possible products without concerning themselves with the E/Z isomers.
Comment: The OP suggested (E)-"ex"-2-butene as a substrate (bp 0.8 oC). Given that the W-Z NBS reaction is normally done in refluxing CCl4 (bp 77 oC) to enhance the solubility of NBS. There may be difficulty in containing the substrate in the reaction vessel. Dry ice/actone condenser???
Comment: A poorly chosen example substrate, perhaps.

A doubt on the action of NBS/CCl4


True or False: Vaccines are designed to protect against invaders that are encountered rarely, not all the time

Question: I read the following statement in this article:

Vaccines are designed to protect against invaders that are encountered
  rarely - not all the time

Is it true? If yes, why?
Comment: I think the idea behind this is not the frequency of the pathogen itself, but the frequency of exposure. If I am exposed to a pathogen frequently anyway, I have a chance to naturally develop immunity. If I never am exposed to it, one single exposure might be dangerous, if I am not vaccinated (exposed artificially). (Just to add, this is not necessarily true, but I tried to imagine what the author might have wanted to say.)
Comment: This analogy is not completely true. A lot of diseases were relatively common before the wide introduction of vaccinations. Measles, Diphteria, Smallpox and others where pretty dangerous although they were common.
Answer: Not true. Vaccines were initially made for the highly contagious diseases that used to cause epidemics (which obviously means they were not rare).
The efficacy of a vaccine depends on multiple factors which includes adaptability of the pathogen.
The all-the-time encountered pathogen that the article is talking about is HIV; the reason for why no effective vaccine exists for it is because it has high mutation rate.
Answer: The source article had several major errors in it. I wouldn't trust any of it.

Vaccines are designed to protect against invaders that are encountered rarely - not all the time.

This is one of the major errors. There is a vaccine for chicken pox now - an infection which affected approximately 4,000,000 cases per year in the US before the vaccine. That is a very high number of children.
The overall HPV prevalence was 26.8% among US females aged 14 to 59 years before the vaccine. (This vaccine refutes two major errors in the paper.)
Measles, mumps, German Measles, Influenza, Haemophilus influenzae, and Pneumoccocal pneumonia were all common before vaccines for them were developed. Those are just the ones I can think of off the top of my head.
Factors that influence the ability to make a vaccine against a pathogen include the mechanism of pathogenicity, the ability to render the vaccine less harmful than the wild-type illness (such as polio), the ability to mass produce easily, reliably, etc.
Answer: False.
Theoretically, a vaccine could be constructed for any pathogen, but the value of doing so if different. In business, this is called 'Return on Investment'. So, vaccines against serious common diseases are more valuable than ones against minor rare ones.
Polio, smallpox, whooping cough, rubella and typhoid are not rare. They are rare now.
Answer: A vaccine is not made because a pathogen is rare. It's made because a pathogen is so vicious that you're body does not have enough time to counteract it. Your body is always attacked by invaders, even now.
But usually the Innate immune responses are enough to rid you of the threat. And, when it isn't, it acts as a barrier until the adaptive responses fire up. This time gap is crucial, because the adaptive system needs antigenic presentation from the dendritic cells to differentiate B-cells into plasma and memory cells, then create antibodies and finally these antibodies will opsonize the pathogenic agent and then let the complement system or the CTLs take over.
This is where vaccines come in, Vaccines generally but not always stimulate the Adaptive responses, allowing the creation of Plasma B cells and memory cells. So next time when an invader arrives, the Adaptive response responds as soon as an antigen is encountered. Which is why, the diseases mentioned above have become such a rarity, but rest assured that if individuals choose not vaccinate then these diseases will re-emerge once again as they are doing now in the US.
I cannot post more than 2 links, so if you're interested read up. and If you're even more interested, pick up a copy of Kuby's Immunology, it helped me when I was in college and I'm sure it will help you out too.
http:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antigen_presentation
  http:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dendritic_cell
  http:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B_cell
  http:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opsonin


Separating a circuit with existing 12-3 wiring

Question: I have 12-3 electrical wire running from the main panel on one end of my ranch-style house to feed both the basement lights and the living room lights/outlets upstairs (opposite ends from the main panel).  The red wire is connected to a breaker and used as the hot for the circuit while the black wire is not connected to a breaker in the main panel, it is simply capped off.  If I were to connect the black wire to a separate circuit breaker (opposite phase, of course), could I safely branch off at the first receptacle/light in the circuit and use the black hot for the living room and keep the red hot for the basement lights and just "share" the neutrals?  I want the areas of the house to be on separate circuits, and thought I may be able to avoid a new run of cable the full length of the house.
Comment: Can you live with them tripping together (one overloads, knocks the other out)?
Answer: Yes.  This is the last person planning ahead.  They made sure you would be able to do this.  This would create a multi-wire branch circuit and you must follow the rules for MWBCs.

There must be 240V across the hots, so neutral carries differential current not the sum of both currents.
The breakers must have common maintenance shutoff.  It will be impossible to shut off one and not the other; one hand action does both.

This will almost certainly have a side-effect of common trip, meaning if one side overloads, it knocks out the other side.  In fact, the most normal (idiot-proof) way to wire these is to simply use a 2-pole breaker, because they are readily available everywhere, instead of UL-listed handle-ties for those breakers, which are a specialty, hard-to-find item.
This must not be a duplex/twin/tandem breaker, which does not have 240V across it!

Neutrals must be pigtailed. You may be accustomed to using the two screws on each side of a receptacle for a splice to extend the circuit.  Can't do that on a neutral, because removing the receptacle etc. would then create a "lost neutral" situation downstream!  The appliances on the two half-legs would be in series with each other at 240V, and one leg could rise to as high as 240V.

If you are past the point where the halves have split for good, then you don't need to worry about this requirement.

AFCIs normally go in the service panel, to protect wires.  Here, consult your panel's manufacturer (or the maker of UL-classified breakers for your panel) for how to do 2-pole AFCI breakers in their system.  Some simply offer 2-pole AFCI; others have you handle-tie two singles.
There are only 2 possible places to put GFCI protection: As a 2-pole GFCI breaker at the service panel, or as a device serving only one leg of the GFCI.  You can't share the neutral past a GFCI.
Comment: @clwhoops44 Depends. They are mandatory in new work and remodels. But old installations are **grandfathered** because you can't very well update your whole house everytime Code changes (every 3 years). The pinch point will be whether your AHJ considers this work to be a *remodel*.  AHJ = people who issue the permits for the work.  As for pricing, don't go by Internet pricing, which is ridiculous on electrical parts. Exotic breakers notwithstanding, 99% of electrical stuff is far too cheap and heavy to economically sell online, so nobody sells it online except for highballers.
Comment: Wow, what a fantastic and detailed response.  Thank you for taking the time.  I've learned a lot from these forums, but just joined today.  When you discuss AFCIs and GFCIs - both of these are "optional" right?  I just looked up the price of a double AFCI for my CH panel and they run $125.
Comment: I don't see anything that indicates GFCI protection is required in the areas you noted. AFCI protection is now required in areas noted. Normally modifying a circuit requires your modifications meet current code. I have found wide and evolving interpretation among electrical inspectors determining exactly what triggers installing AFCI's.
Comment: @NoSparksPlease Interesting.  GFGI (or RCD) is pretty much universally required in the UK, but I'd never heard of AFCIs until I came on here.  I was going to say "consult your local code, but install GFGI anyway (and buy a fire alarm instead of an AFCI)"
Comment: @MartinBonner in the UK they put an RCD (GFCI) on the whole house, but at a lesser detection threshold of 30ma instead of 6ma. The US goal is life safety but 6ma is too sensitive for a whole house. So it must be per-circuit.
Comment: Highballlers = those [people](https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2019/04/224803/trader-joes-black-market-resale) who list things online [at a ridiculous price](https://www.amazon.com/Speculoos-Cookie-Butter-14-1-Basic/dp/B010RP7QWM) hoping to find a buyer who doesn't know pricing, doesn't care, or *is unable* to buy at retail. You've seen them.
Comment: @Harper-ReinstateMonica Actually there was a time when we had whole-house RCD, but mostly they are on individual ring-main circuits these days (with exceptions for dedicated freezer circuits).  I haven't worked out what the German rules are.
Answer: Doing that creates what the NEC describes as a Multiwire Branch Circuit. The circuits must be positioned in the electrical panel so handle ties or a two-pole breaker can disconnect both live conductors simultaneously.
Comment: 2017 NEC 200.4(A), (B)
Answer: Yes, you can do that but you have to handle tie the breakers together. You also have to trace the black wire to find the other end. You mentioned it's capped in the main panel, well you need to find the other end and make sure you know what you're connecting to a breaker. Good luck
Comment: @bobwki Because you are sharing the neutral with two different phases of 120v lines. If the red circuit tripped because of a bad outlet, you would still have live voltage circulating in the neutral because of the black circuit. Tying the handles (with approved ties) of the two breakers causes both circuits to shut down if something goes wrong with one circuit. Hope this helps.
Comment: @bobwki I think the intent is worker safety. Really I think it's less an issue in residential, but before this became code I found several times in commercial conduit work that misidentification of shared neutrals caused inadvertent energized open neutrals and single phased equipment.
Comment: @bobwki if the breakers weren't tied together and you only flipped one circuit off to service a fixture/receptacle, the hot wire might be dead, but the shared neutral would still be energized from the other circuit.
Comment: Thanks, Jack. The black was tied with the red and the other blacks in the light fixture nearest the main panel in the circuit. It's now separated from the hot bundle and capped off.
Comment: I'm curious -- why does NEC require the breaker handles to be tied together?  Would a trip not still be safe?


What counts as a successful ad view in a mobile app?

Question: There is one thing about mobile ads that I can't completely understand.
Let's say I put ads in my free mobile game. What counts as a successful ad view? When it is just displayed on a user's screen or the user has to open the ad in order for it to count as viewed?
Answer: It depends. The standard as of April 6, 2016 put forth by the Media Rating Council (MRC), Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), and Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) in their updated Mobile Web Measurement Guidelines and Mobile In-Application Measurement Guidelines call for "reasonable assurance that the ad was rendered on the device in order to count it as a valid ad impression." (as reported by MarketWatch).
That being said, guidelines may be adopted to varying degrees by providers. Generally the fine print of legal agreements, EULA, etc dictate what will & will not count toward monetization, unless trumped by law. When in doubt, read your contract &/or hire a lawyer for legal advice.
Answer: There are many ways you can monitise adverts. Different add providers will use different conditions or a mix.
The most common is click through, i.e if the user clicks through the game developer would get a small amount.
Video ads on the other hand are an example of where they would pay just for users to view the ad.


How can blue blooded shapeshifter blush like a normal human?

Question: An intelligent race of shapeshifter came to settle on present day Earth, they managed to clear the custom and are placed on 24hr monitoring by MiB agents. It is illegal for them to expose their kind to us so they took on a human appearance and learn mannerisms and etiquettes before mingling with the public, they learn to excrete water in the forms of tears and drool and even appears to perspires under hot weather. I'm wondering how about blushing when the shapeshifter tried to increase their own blood pressure only to turn blue or green which could catch unwanted attention? What's the most economic and elegant way to blush like a normal person for these blue blooded shapeshifters?
Comment: It's definitely worth noting that if they can look like a human at all, then they're already reproducing the appearance of human pigments including the red haemoglobin in blood. The colour of human skin (also mouth etc.) is determined by a few basic components, one of which is haemoglobin. Several answers touch on this, but Chebi's goes into the most detail.
Comment: The chemistry of [hemocyanin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemocyanin) is potentially relevant to this question, it's a real life oxygen carrying protein used by molluscs and arthropods which gives them blue blood.
Answer: Might be possible
Lots of creatures can change the pigment of their skin. If it's a shapeshifter, I would expect it can change it's skin like a squid. They are famous for their incredibly detailed and very difficult to distinguish camouflage.
https://youtu.be/PmDTtkZlMwM
If you want just blood pressure, maybe something that pushes different kinds of pigment/red coloured cells with higher blood pressure, allowing for different kinds of colour at more or less correct blood pressure levels.
Comment: Note that your video is of an octopus rather than a squid. (Not that this affects your idea at all!)
Answer: Chromotophores.
I'd imagine your shapeshifter has some chameleon like qualities in order to help them...um...shift!

Since chameleons can't generate their own body heat, changing the color of their skin is a way to maintain a favorable body temperature. ... Beneath this are several more layers of skin that contain specialized cells called chromatophores. The chromatophores at each level are filled with sacs of different kinds of pigment.

Source: Wired
Blushing would be second nature to them, they wouldn't need any special training in order to blush...maybe training in order not to blush too frequently.
Answer: If they can willingly alter their appeareance to a huge degree, then blushing a little should be second nature to them.
An example, you wouldn't ask how the T-1000 form Terminator 2 can blush. He's already making a liquid metal look like human skin, he can clearly make it look like human skin that's a little redder.
So if your shapeshifters are already changing form a creature with different colored skin or without something that resembles humas skin, they already have solved most of this problem.
Even if your shapeshifters have more modest abilities, there are a nomber of things they are probably already taking into account that would be a lot similar to blushing.
For instance, are they simulating skin marks, pimplies, freckles, other imperfectons?
Are they capable changing into people with different body types? Our skin donest look the same in every art of our body, look at out palms and the back of our hands, for instance. There's also the effect of the sun on the more exposed skin. Whenever a shapeshifter changes, they'd need the reight colored skin in the right locations, that mastery of their skin tone could be extended into blushing.
How they actually change the color of their skin, there are many posibilities. Manipulating pigments on theit skin would be an example, as EveryBitHelps mentioned. Then again, I would say it has to be something in tune to thier general shapeshifting abilities. If you already have that figured out, then adding blushing on top doesn't seem that complicated. If not, then I don't see why just focus o the blushing science.
Unless you are going for how to prevent an unconcious raise of blood pressure single them out. Then the shapeshifter would have to learn to identify the change and compensate. Or they could just shapeshif a thicker or more opaque skin. That never let's the underlying blood show through.
This would help other issues as well. If the undelying blood is contributing to the color of the skin, then the skin has a redder base tone by itsef. That means that when blood rushes out of an area (think when to press some part of your skin hard), it turns whiter in humans but it'd be the opposite effect for your guys.
Answer: The opposite of blue is red.
Unless you are looking at a pure frequency, for any color, the perceived color is the result of a mix of colors contributing to the end color.
Blushing means more blood in the skin and increase in contribution of red to the end color.  The converse happens if someone is really cold with blood leaving the skin and going to the core.  Without the red to balance, the (fair) skin of the cold person looks more blue.
For a blue blooded creature, removing a degree of blueness renders the skin relatively red.  Consider this comely alien and her color inverse.

Assuming these shapeshifters are fair skinned at baseline (not black or brown or blue), to achieve this they must have a baseline balance of blue and red in their skin.  Withdrawing some blue will result in a relative increase of red, just as in a cold fair skinned human withdrawal of some red results in a relative increase of blue.
It leaves open the question of why shapeshifters might not take on any color they choose. Presumably it must take some time to finish a shape, which is then difficult to modify on the fly by the same mechanism.
Answer: Drink Kool Aid
If you have a lot of silver in your system and you can't get rid of it fast enough, you become blue. This is a condition called Argyria and usually happens to people who take medications containing silver.
Your aliens can do something like that, but using a red coloring agent instead of a blue one. People on Earth are known to have dyed their hair red with Kool Aid (which makes me wonder what that poison does to your inner organs). Perhaps by drinking enough Kool Aid your aliens can dye their internal fluids red from inside out, thus being able to pass as a human when blushing.
Answer: Several answers suggest there's a solution if the species is a chameleon.  If they aren't chameleons, however, they might use technology.  It might be that they tattoo themselves with a material that binds to the blood vessel walls and exhibits this chameleon like behavior when the blood vessels dilate, exposing a red-colored pigment when stretched.
This is technically more simple than that of a chameleon because it only needs to generate one response to one stimulus.  It only needs to get one color right, rather than a rainbow.
Comment: Some paints is sensitive to temperature and changes colour ;D


What is a simple term for a person who acts up for a photograph?

Question: My son is two years old and he responds to the camera sound of mobile phone camera (mobile phones must make a sound here when photographing). I guessed photogenic but that's really right is it? I mean like smiling not really playing around- what is a good word for that response.
Comment: If someone is photogenic, they look good in photos. I don't know if that's what you're looking for, however.
Comment: Hmm... what you need is the antonym of *[camera shy](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/camera-shy)*, if there is one. You could always use litotes: "Boy, he's not camera shy, is he!" :)
Answer: I would call it a Poser.
Definition of poser:

(noun) a person who poses.

Definition of pose:

If you pose for a photograph or painting, you stay in a particular
  position so that someone can photograph you or paint you.

Sources: Definition Poser Definition Pose
Answer: This is a knotty one. Of course, there's camera-friendly, which sometimes gets used as an antonym of camera shy, but it has other meanings that turn up more often (like describing something as being ready to be photographed, either because it's always acting in a way that won't produce photos that cause problems, or because the combination of colours works well in photos, or various other possibilities).
Then there's the noun phrase "camera whore", which doesn't quite work either. It's a coarse term, but it refers to someone who makes sure there are lots of photos with them in, takes a lot of selfies etc, and is always trying to look 'good' or interesting in them - and usually that they post them a lot online. Due to the metaphorical use of whore, it's ended up getting a shaded meaning for some, to refer to people who do it in a way that is intended to impress everyone with how good they look.
Some make neologistic use of "photophile", which actually comes from biology and means an organism that thrives in light - but that's mostly used for people who love to take photos (of anything), rather than be in them.
Really, for everyone to understand, you're best with a phrasal description like "he always acts up to the camera".


How to politely ask a coworker not to disturb me when I have headphones on

Question: I do not like to be disturbed or constantly asked questions while I'm working intently. I use headphones to deal with that, and do not like to be disturbed while I have them on. How do I tell my coworkers, that I do not like being disturbed at the moment, and they may connect with me using an instant messenger, and should disturb me only if the issue is of urgent concern?
Comment: Have you tried telling them this already? What happened? Or is there a reason you can't (or don't want to) be straightforward and tell them?
Comment: What's wrong with telling your coworker "I do not like being disturbed at the moment, and they may connect with me on IM, and should disturb me only if the issue is of urgent concern." like you just described to us?
Comment: i did not want to sound rude. and it's a daily routine. I helped him few times initially, and now it seems difficult to say otherwise
Answer: I do the same at work to focus and also don't like to be disturbed. This began while I was in somewhat of a 'junior' role and didn't want to impose silence on my managers or come across as being rude. What I ended up doing was, prior to putting on the headphones, saying:

Hey, did you need something from me? I'm going in "my bubble" now to focus. It's noise canceling soooo just chat me if you want something [and smile]

After the first few times, I stopped having to point out the headphones were noise cancelling. So basically, first I check that there aren't any questions for me at that time, and then I make the "my bubble" or "my cone of silence" joke and forwardly say I can be reached on "chat" (which all coworkers know means, Google Hangouts).
I let people know I want to focus, not so much that I don't want to be disturbed, and that I'm still available on IM. This has always worked for me since.
Good luck :)
Answer: It's not rude to set boundaries that help you work better and don't detract from the business.  Nor is it rude to clearly let others know what those boundaries are.
Sometime when you are not busy, simply let the co-worker know what the headphones mean and what type of communication you would prefer:

Hey Steve.  When I have the headphones on, it means I'm concentrating.  If you have a question while I have them on, I would prefer you contact me via IM or email.  If it's super important, then sure, get my attention.  But otherwise, please let me concentrate on my work.  I do see the IMs and will respond when I can.

In other words, just use your words.  That's not rude!
Answer: Put a sign (or many) somewhere that is visible to people walking up to you that says something along the lines of:

Do not disturb me while I have headphones on. You can contact me on (whatever instant messenger you use)

Your coworkers should be able to see the sign when they come up to you, and if they do end up ignoring the written warning and asking you something that is unimportant anyways, you can always refer back to the sign.


Using special property names in Dynamic LINQ

Question: I'm constructing a Dynamic LINQ query like this:
"Guid=Guid(\"" + entityId + "\")"

This is eventually passed into a .Where() query, somewhere in the code that I call.
I'm getting this error:

ParseException: '.' or '(' expected

This seems to be because it doesn't find the Guid property, but rather the Guid function.
How can I query on the Guid property of my object?
Answer: Guid is indeed a keyword. You can escape keyword identifiers by prefixing them with @.
The correct expression looks like this:
"@Guid=Guid(\"" + entityId + "\")"

Answer: Just to tidy up Kendall's answer I think the more elegant approach is to let Dynamic LINQ handle the type conversions by using parameterized queries.
myIqueryable1.Where("@Guid=@0", entityId)


Match an Equalizer Curve

Question: I've passed a sine sweep wave file into an equalizer plugin I have, now I want to model it in matlab so that I can 'copy' the equalizer setting sound. I've both in.wav and out.wav audio files and Matlab but I don't know how to extract a transfer function and then build a model to exactly recreate it using iir filters. Can someone help me please?
Comment: Hmm... don't your equalizer plugin have a GUI with some parameter info available (values like filter cut-off frequency, Q or BW and gain)?
Answer: The OP is trying to do what we would refer to as channel estimation. I am linking two posts below where this is all worked out in greater detail but do want to make the point first that the choice of "sounding pattern" is important. The channel can only be estimated where there is signal energy in the frequency domain, so the sine sweep is an excellent choice as long as the sweep is over all the frequencies of interest. Other sounding patterns commonly used are pseudo-random noise generated with PN sequences (from linear feedback shift registers: LFSR).
An optimized FFT chirp for channel estimation:
How can I plot the frequency response on a bode diagram with Fast Fourier Transform?
Using Wiener-Hopf equations for least-squares channel estimation:
Compensating Loudspeaker frequency response in an audio signal
Related posts on PN sequences as an alternate sounding pattern:
What are the advantages and disadvantages of PN sequence over Walsh code
Sequence Length for a Linear Feedback Shift Register

Match an Equalizer Curve


Lately found out eating pork

Question: Asalamu alaik Jamah!    My name is Abdul Rauf from Ghana. Please my Muslim friend ate pork without his notice and don't know how to do and don't know if Allah will accept his prayers again. Please help us to know what do. Thank you.
Comment: Isn't your friend the one who asked [this exact same question](http://islam.stackexchange.com/questions/29754/i-have-accidentally-eaten-pork/29755#29755) just a few days ago ?
Comment: What I wonder is why you used the shirk tag. One should be careful with using those terms.
Answer: Walaykum Assalam
Do not worry, as Allah(swt) forgives all as long as one asks for forgiveness and repents!
If he has done so unintentionally without knowing or didn't have the intention of eating it, then it is not a sin and he has no need to worry.
If he has done so intentionally, then he must pray for forgiveness and swear that he shall not do such an act in the future, then, Allah will forgive.
Allah will forgive anything as long as we have the intentions to be forgiven and as to not do that wrong again.
I've been in a similar situation recently, but I have done the necessary steps and asked for forgiveness even though I didn't know I was eating pork for the sake of my mentality.
May Allah guide you.
Comment: May Allah Richly Bless You
Comment: Yeah. I agree with the answer. It is actually a simple and admirable answer. God Bless Him.
Answer: Wa alaikum salamSahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 1.1 Narrated by Umar bin Al Khattab

I heard Allah's Messenger (saws) saying, "The reward of deeds depends
  upon the intentions and every person will get the reward according to
  what he has intended.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 6 Surah Anaam verse 54:

When those come to you who believe in Our Signs, say: "Peace be on
  you! Your Lord had inscribed for Himself (the rule of) Mercy. Verily
  if any of you did evil in ignorance, and thereafter repented and
  amended (his conduct), Lo! He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 3 Surah Ale Imraan verse 135-136:

Allah likes such good people very much, who, if ever they commit a
  base deed or wrong their own soul by the commission of a sin, remember
  Allah instantly, and ask for forgiveness from Him for their
  shortcomings. For who, but Allah, can forgive sins? (And Allah loves
  those) who do not knowingly persist in the wrongs they did. These will
  be rewarded with forgiveness from Allah, and with Gardens beneath
  which canals flow, and they will reside therein forever! How excellent
  is the reward of those who do good deeds!

So there is no need ot worry just seek forgiveness of Allah on this matter as Allah says in quran and everything is ok.
Comment: May Allah Richly Bless you

Lately found out eating pork


Trek Tire Fit Exchange

Question: Can the 700 x 38c tire on the Trek DS2 be used on the Trek Verve 3 which comes with a 700 x 45?
Comment: Note that changing the tire is one thing; swapping wheels is another.  The DS2 apparently has disk brakes, and the Verve apparently has rim brakes, so their wheels are almost certainly not interchangeable.
Comment: The cautious chart at https://www.sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html (scroll way down) shows some overlap and it wouldn't surprise me if the tyres were fairly wide for the rims on the Verve.  That would mean you could, but you should really measure the width
Answer: Probably.
The most critical dimension is the bead-seat diameter of the tires, which is the same (denominated here as "700", which really means 622 mm).
The second dimension is the width. Any given rim can accept a range of tire widths. Looking at Trek's website, it's not clear exactly what rims are on either of these bikes, so it's hard to know what tires they'll accommodate. If the rim on the Verve is carrying a tire at the narrow end of its range, and the rim on the DS2 is carrying a tire at the wide end of its range, then they might not be interchangeable. But I recommend trying it out.
The third dimension to consider is tire clearance with respect to the frame and brakes. Since the DS2 has disk brakes and the Verve has cantilever brakes, clearance shouldn't be a problem.
Comment: Tyre clearance isn't an issue because the asker wants to use 38mm tyres on a bike that comes with 45s.
Answer: Went to my local Trek store yesterday, nice folks there to be sure.  I explored the question with them, they said "sure, it will work fine", tried the 700 x 38c on the Verve, it was a great ride, compared to the 700 x 45.  The 700 x 38 ride was smoother, faster and easier maneuvering.  Over tough terrain I suspect the 700 x 45 would be a better tire.  Thanks for your response.
Comment: Thanks for coming back to post a definitive answer! We encourage you to "accept" the answer which you find most correct/useful/helpful/something, as a guide to future visitors to the site who might have the same question. It's perfectly reasonable if that's your own answer -- in that case, you might have to wait a little before accepting, as the site doesn't allow that to be done immediately.

Trek Tire Fit Exchange


Debt to income ratio

Question: I live in Canada, and here the debt-to-income ratio is 1.83. I just want to be sure: is it really the after-tax monthly income divided by the total debt monthly payment? Because I don't understand how the average can be 1.83 - logically no one would lend you when you get to a debt ratio of 1, since it would be too risky. So 1.83 is very big
Comment: If one of the answers below answered your question please consider accepting it as an answer
Comment: Ive opened my account yesterday, when I want to accept it as an answer it tells me I can't since I don't have the 15 reputation to cast a vote.
Comment: you should be able to accept the answer (click on the tick mark) even with 1 rep
Comment: also no pressure. You are just clearly new user so I am explaining how the site works, if you think neither of the answers is good answer do not feel you have to do it. But if some answer answered your question you should accept it
Answer: I searched online and I found two different methods of calculating the debt to income ratio, and my understanding is that one is at the individual level and the other is at the aggregate level (e.g. sum across households in Canada).
The first method has an introduction here. Basically, "it's the percentage of your gross monthly income (before taxes) that goes towards payments for rent, mortgage, credit cards, or other debt", and it is calculated for each individual. And I noticed here a summary of average debt to income ratio at individual level for each province in Canada. The average looks ok - all below 50%.
The second method seems mostly coming from Statistics Canada, a Canadian government agency. I found the news that mentioned 1.83 here, along with some other debt information at aggregate level across Canada. It mentions, "Household debt in Canada increased to 180.02% of the gross income in 2022." This is an aggregated measure - the rough idea is use total debt (for example, mortgage, car loans, credit cards, etc.) across all Canadian household divided by aggregate income across all Canadian households, rather than calculating an ratio for each individual and averaging across households.
Comment: Thanks for your great answer!
Answer: Debt refers to the total amount owed, not repayments. The key here is to recognize that debt is a stock and income is a flow.
What the metric says is that with a debt-to-income ratio of 1.8, Canadians owe 1.8 times their annual income.
What you describe is the debt-service ratio. If that is above 1, then the household will default at the end of the reference period (month or year) as income is clearly insufficient to cover debt repayments.
Comment: Thank you, now it makes sense!

Debt to income ratio


my beer smells some like yeast ?!? taste ok. but smell is off? help.

Question: my beer smell like yeast. taste is ok but there is a strong off odor.
Comment: How long ago did you brew? Do you take gravity readings? If so, what was the original, and what is it now? Is it still in a carboy, or is it packaged?
Comment: What type of yeast are you using?
Comment: what stage of life is the beer at? Is this during Primary Fermentation, Secondary, Bottling, Bulk Aging, etc?
Answer: How long have you been brewing?  If you are new to the wonderful hobby, the smell may seem strong but is pretty normal depending on the stage of fermentation.  When I transfer my beer to the secondary, it smells very strongly of yeast but this calms down after a while.
If you have brewing for a while, then something else might be going on and I am unable to help you without more information, but if the beer tastes fine then I would say that it is nothing to worry about.
Answer: I would suspect that your yeast was overactive/underused. You could try adding more sugars, but really I would just suggest giving it more time to sit. Let the yeast settle.


Second PhD and conference biographical notes

Question: I am sending a conference proposal as a Ph.D. student. I am expected to provide a biographical note. I already hold another Ph.D. and I am not sure should I stress it or not in my biographical note.
I was wondering what is the best practice here. Should I focus on what I am doing right now or provide information about my previous work and achievements too?
Answer: Biographical notes are completely your own choice to share your achievements with readers. Alongside your current work, I don't see any reason for not sharing information about your previous PhD and achievements.
Comment: Sounds good.  You can be more succinct when listing the previous PhD area work and more detailed about your recent work in your new field.


How to Understand Imam Mahdi's Arrival?

Question: Imam Mahdi's arrival  is one of the Biggest Sign of World Ending,Currently Most of the smallest signs of world ending are Happened(Including People with low Education will get in to the Power(ruling)) .On now days most of the People have a rejection Mentality to everything Because of Terrorist groups like ISIS.In such a situation how the People can understand the arrival of Mahdi Imam.Is there any natural signs provided by Quran or Hadith?
Comment: Imam Mehdi's emergence is NOT listed among the 10 major signs. Rather it is considered to be the bridge between the minor signs and the major signs. The Quran doesn't shed light on this subject. But there are many Hadiths on the matter. Would you like the answers from a sunni or shia perspective because they differ significantly?
Answer:  In the name of God, Most Beneficent, Most Merciful
All praise belongs to God. He does what he wishes. No one can object Him. He does not require anybody's suggestion. He is not bound by anyone. He is not afraid of anyone. Indeed, all praises belongs to God who dominates all and no one can ever dominate Him.
Answer:
There are several signs that would exactly tell us the when Imam Mahdi would emerge that includes total domination of Israel in the world, Sea of Galilee getting dry and the most siginifcant sign is the total destruction of Army that will come to attack from Syria.
The Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAW) has prophesied about several events that will occur just before the advent of the day of judgment. Among these, Rasulullah(SAW) has foretold the advent of one of his descendants, Al Mahdi (the guided one), which will materialize when the believers are severely oppressed in every corner of the world. He will fight the oppressors, unite the Muslims, bring peace and justice to the world, rule over the Arabs, and lead a prayer in Mekkah at which Jesus (pbuh) will be present.
Here's a Sunnah:

In hadith, it is narrated from Ibn Abbas(R.A.) that," Mahdi (A.S.) will appear at the time when people being upset would say that what for Mahdi (A.S.) would come now !! "

So practically, this is one of signs of the End of the World
Comment: From what I understand, Quran verse 31:34 tells only Allah knows the time of the Judgment Day. Verse 7:187 tells that Prophet Muhammed did not know the time of the Judgment Day, and that it will happen abruptly, unexpectedly (43:66). So, the thought that it is narrated from the Prophet that several events will occur "just before the advent of the day of judgment" in my opinion contradicts with the verses I mentioned. The Judgment Day will come all of a sudden; if it would come only after certain events, signs etc., so that people can prepare, it wouldn't be the Judgment Day in my opinion.

How to Understand Imam Mahdi's Arrival?


Should equations be formatted in scientific notation?

Question: I have an equation that has very small coefficients (f(x) = -0.000014x4 + 0.000044x + 0.002782) should I put the whole thing in scientific notation, or can I leave it as-is in a paper? Thanks.
Comment: Why not replace f(x) with g(x), where g(x) is a suitable power of 10 times f(x)?
Answer: The specific publication you are submitting your paper to may have specific rules for formatting. If not, be consistent and use your consistency to maximize clarity. Is it crucially important that your reader understand the difference between 0.002782 and 0.000278? If so, scientific notation may be helpful. Otherwise, all those extra zeroes may be fine where they are.


Can I modify 3 ampere table lamps to work on 5 ampere round pin plugs?

Question: I have moved to a property with 5amp round sockets around the room. I want to remove the standard 3 pin plugs from my table lamps and re-wire them with the 5amp round pin plugs I have bought. This means they will be on a mains dimmer circuit, so I can choose to have the spotlights on, or the lamps come on with one switch. The problem is, 2 of the table lamps have 3amp fuses in. Can I safely attach them to a 5amp round pin plug and put them in the sockets without blowing anything up?
Comment: This might be useful: http://diy.stackexchange.com/questions/18603/can-i-replace-a-3a-plug-on-a-light-fixture-that-comes-with-3a-cable-with-a-5a
Comment: Could I ask what country are you in?
Comment: Thank you so much - really helpful. To Staticsan - I'm in the uk. The house is brand new which is why I've never come across 5amp sockets before on a dimmer circuit/switch. Just wanted to make sure I would be safe!
Answer: 3A lamp on 5A outlet
You should be OK to use a 3A appliance on a 5A circuit. The circuit is capable of supplying up to 5A but it is the individual appliance (lamp in this case) that determines how much current is drawn.
Round-pin plugs vs rectangular-pin plugs
Modern usage
I'm surprised a new home would have BS 546 round-pin plugs instead of the more usual BS 1363 rectangular-pin plugs.
Wikipedia says

Although BS 546 plugs and sockets are still permitted in the U.K. and are used for special purposes, new installations since 1947 generally have used BS 1363 sockets and fused plugs.

Until now, I thought the only place where round-pin plugs were used was in theatrical stages, where I think they are used to prevent people plugging inappropriate devices into theatrical lighting circuits.
Safety
If the BS 546 plugs don't have built-in fuses, they don't provide any protection to the line-cord between the plug and the lamp.
BS 1363 plugs have additional safety features which may not be present in BS 546 plugs

fuse to prevent overload of appliance cord (& hence fire.)
shutter in socket opened by earth pin (safer sockets).
insulating sleeves around base of live and neutral pins.
high insertion force to reduce risk of partial removal.
designed so earth wire is last to break under cord strain.

For example a small child can poke their hands (or part of a metal toy) behind a loose BS 546 plug and be in contact with 230 V.
Comment: The reason for using round pin sockets in posh domestic setups is much the same as the reason for using them in theatres. To stop people plugging random applicances into sockets only intended for lighting.
Answer: Sure. As long as the plug you're attaching is rated higher than the lamp itself, there's no issue. The lamps are fused at 3A, so they'll open far before pulling the rated capacity of the cord cap. Still, it wouldn't matter if they weren't fused.
What you can't do is attach a 3A end to a 5A lamp. The reverse, however, is fine. You can attach a 30A appliance receptacle to a radio if you wanted. I don't know why you would want to, but you're not creating an unsafe configuration by doing so.


How to set the color of terminal text in ssh session exact same as local session?

Question: So this is almost a copy from my previous question: Change output color of terminal (in Mac) to be different from typed text color for which I got a great answer here: https://apple.stackexchange.com/a/218736/34070. However, the only problem is that when I use ssh, all the text in the ssh session is now lightblue (see screenshot). How can I get the ssh session to use the same color scheme as my local session, and also have different output color for type commands and output?
Answer: The main issue here is that the prompt command and colouring options are sourced from the computer you are logged into.  So when you ssh somewhere, you must change the colouring/prompts on that server as well.
There are a couple of options.

Depending on the OS of the server you are logging into you could reset the prompt colours in the login scripts there.  Or;
Add an exception in the preexec command you installed before so it doesn't change the foreground colour for ssh commands

Something like
    [ "$BASH_COMMAND" =~ "^ssh" ] && return
in the preexec_invoke_exec function.
Comment: Also - see http://serverfault.com/questions/405419/ssh-equivalent-of-profile-bashrc for a way to share init scripts across all servers you login to via ssh.


Were the people of Chelm really unintelligent?

Question: There are many stories that are told over about the people who lived in Chelm. They all have the theme of: the people in Chelm were fairly unintelligent. Where did this come from? Is it true? It sounds highly unlikely that a whole city would be more unintelligent then the next city.
Comment: There may have been some rivalry or something. Perhaps people from Lublin looked down upon Chelmites?
Comment: And the neighboring town is Lublin, in which the yeshiva was called "Chachmei (wise men of) Lublin."  Always wondered how that fit in...
Comment: See [this article](http://ishimshitos.blogspot.com/2010/01/blog-post.html) It appears that the local inhabitants were not amused by this characterization, and had some witty one liners to those who insulted them.
Answer: I've always speculated that it came from the fact that at one time Chelm had a very wise rabbi, named R' Shlomo (d. 1717). He is famous for his book Mirkeves Hamishneh, a commentary on the Rambam's Yad Hachazakah; appended to it is a work called Kuntreis Breichos Becheshbon, which analyzes difficult mathematical problems in the Torah. (Parts of the latter have been adapted into English under the title "Approaching Infinity," by M. Littman.)
So conceivably, by comparison to R' Shlomo, everyone else in Chelm seemed like a fool!
Comment: Is it possible that it was meant as a sarcastic joke? In the way that the gemara refers to someone as "Moshe" when they said something deemed unlikely, and the way we use "Einstein" to refer to someone not so smart. Could it work the other way, that originally Chelm had a reputation for great scholars like you mentioned, so people sarcastically referred to them as being stupid?
Comment: @Curiouser: could be, I guess. In that case, it's also conceivable that chassidim had something to do with it, because this same R. Shlomo was known for his sharp opposition to the movement.
Answer: I heard that the reason was because they were a Chassidic city, and in "popular culture", chassidim weren't known to be smart.
Comment: But then, why wouldn't the stereotype have focused on any of the many other towns in Eastern Europe that were the seats of various chassidic dynasties?
Answer: According to my Lithuanian grandparents, Chelm was a joke name used to make fun of Kelm.
The city of Chelm is located in Poland, while the city of Kelm (Kelmé) is located in Lithuania. I don't recall if a reason was given for the switching of names, whether it has to do with mocking Polish in general or whether it was simply a matter of mispronouncing the name so as to aggravate and mock the Kelmites.
Kelm was home to one of the outstanding Yeshivas in its time, the Yeshiva of Kelm, or Talmud Torah of Kelm.
This mockery was originally started by Maskilim trying to ridicule the Bnei Torah who learned there.
Looking here you will see how many famous Rabbis actually learned there.
However people who don't know better and would never mock Bnei Torah seemed to have picked up on this joke and continued it without realizing how it started.
(Perhaps the strong association of this Yeshiva with the Mussar helped this trend, but that is my own speculation.)
Answer: A lady from Chelm mentioned in the Jewish Tribune about thirty years ago that it was very embarrasing telling people you were from Chelm when you went to Warsaw.