British English offglides

Question: The offglide of the English diphthongs /aʊ/ and /əʊ/ is represented by the vowel /ʊ/. In other languages, such as Portuguese and Spanish, they are represented in the same way, but they sound completely different. The offglides in British English are definitely more fronted. Do you think [aʉ̯] and [əʉ̯] could be more accurate representations? In Portuguese (my native language), the tongue slides back towards /ʊ/ (or /u/) in those diphthongs, but it seems that that doesn't happen in English. What are your thoughts about this?
Answer: The backness of the final element of /aʊ/ and /əʊ/ in British English varies between different accents/speakers. (For the MOUTH vowel, an alternative realization used in in some dialects is a long monophthongal vowel that lacks any kind of offglide, possibly something like [aː]).
The transcriptions [aʉ̯] and [əʉ̯] are reasonable, but whether or not they are "more accurate" depends greatly on the specific pronunciation that you are trying to transcribe. The IPA symbol ʊ already implies a quality that is not completely back; a distinction in quality from Spanish <au>, as in raudo, could be marked by transcribing Spanish with [au] or [aw] (and in fact, I think I've seen those transcriptions used more often than [aʊ] in the context of Spanish).
I'm not sure about the situation in Portuguese; it may be the case that for this language, the symbol [ʊ] is used instead of [u] only to mark that the vowel is not entirely close. That is, perhaps Portuguese [ʊ] could be more accurately transcribed as [u̞] or [o̝].
Comment: @RoneySouza: In that context, it might be worthwhile to use a different transcription for the offglide of THOUGHT and GOAT. One thing to consider is whether you intend to transcribe a height asymmetry between [ʉ] and [ʊ] (technically, the first implies a higher vowel than the second). If there is a meaningful difference in the height of the offglides,  [ɔʊ] and [əʉ] works; but if not, *thought* [ɔu] vs. *goat* [əʉ] might be a better choice, even if it's a broader transcription.
Comment: I think the situation in Portuguese is the same as in Spanish. I agree with you about using u or w instead of ʊ in Portuguese and Spanish. But even within English, in my view, the offglide is different depending on what the first element is. For example, in some Yorkshire accents the long vowel [o:] of Southern British accents, as in water and thought, is realised as [ɔʊ]. In this case, since the first element of the diphthong is a back vowel, the offglide would also be back. So [ɔʊ] and [əʊ] woud have different offglides.
Comment: That's exactly the way I do it ([ɔu] and [əʉ]). I don't know about the height. If the offglide is a bit lower, maybe [ɔʊ] and [əʊ̈]/[əʊ̟] would do.
Comment: I don't like ʊ and ɪ as offglides, because in my mind the offglide should be higher than the first element of the diphthong (I may be wrong). If you think of a diphthong starting with u or ʉ, in my view the offglide couldn't be ʊ. Likewise, if you think of i as the first element, ɪ wouldn't make sense as the offglide. So I'd rather use fully high vowels in these cases. For example, ɪi̯, ii̯, ʉʉ̯.
Comment: @sumelic You probably meant *though*, not *thought*?
Comment: @tum_: I'm responding to what Roney Souza said in the first comment above: "in some Yorkshire accents the long vowel [o:] of Southern British accents, as in water and thought, is realised as [ɔʊ]."
Comment: @sumelic Ah, my bad, I missed that bit...
Answer: Welcome to the chaotic world of IPA vowels!
Sadly, the IPA vowel chart is kind of lacking in the vowel department, which makes answering this question difficult. The space of vowels is completely continuous, unlike e.g. the space of plosives, and the IPA vowel symbols aren't anchored to any particular phonetic feature that we can measure: [i], for example, is "the highest, frontest vowel you can make", but a Bantu [i] is generally significantly higher than an English one.
In my own experience, the English "W-esque" offglide is somewhat more centered than the ones you'll find in Romance, both less back and less high (and often less rounded). But for a proper comparison, you'd want to get recordings of both English and Portuguese diphthongs, then run formant analysis on them.
Formant analysis is a wonderful technique that revolutionized phonetics when it was discovered. Essentially, it can show us exactly how high and front a vowel is, with objective, reproducible numbers. (It can also tell us sort of how round or nasalized a vowel is…those aspects are harder and less precise, unfortunately.) So by comparing the formants of English and Portuguese off-glides, you can say precisely how high and back they are, then compare those numbers.
(Someone may already have done this—but if so, I wasn't able to find the data online. If you know where to find it, please feel free to comment or post a new answer!)
Comment: Thank you so much for answering, Draconis. Yeah, the IPA symbols are just fixed points that help representing the souds. The real realisation of the vowels won't be exactly on those points. But it's possible to represent the vowels with certain accuracy using symbols like a̝a̞a̟a̠ä.
Comment: I personally like the vowel changes amongst different accents. So I like getting the closest possible of accuracy. Since the English offglides sound really different to the Portuguese ones and it's taken me a lot of effort to get the English offglides right, I'd like to figure out the best representation for them. I've tried to run formant analysis, but without success.
Comment: @RoneySouza The trick is, those diacritics are great for relative use—but nobody's ever published "official" formant values for `[a]` to compare against.
Comment: I've even posted a question about the realisation of /a/. It seems that [ä] is much more common than [a] in most European languages (I don't have enough knowledge about other groups of languages). And I'm not sure weather in a relaxed position of the tongue we make [a] or [ä].
Comment: Hmm. There's a problem here. Noone suggests that SSBE English /i/ is commonly realised as [i]. Language particular conventions for phonemic transcription are not faithful renditions of IPA transcriptions, narrow or otherwise - even if they use IPA symbols. In any narrow transcription of a canonical SSBE /i/, we see a lowered and backed cardinal vowel 1, not a cardinal vowel 1. So there is every scope within the notation system to accomodate a higher vowel for a different language.

British English offglides


Best microphone for speech recognition tasks

Question: I made several tests with different setups in order to achieve an acceptable speech recognition quality. It works well when I push a button to activate it but now I want it to be automatically activated when a user speaks. This is a big problem, especially when I only use the energy of the audio signal to guess when the user is speaking. That is why I thought about using a headset and not a distant microphone. In a headset the microphone is very close to the users mouth and it is easier to make correct guesses about when the user is speaking. Now my question is if bluetooth sets used with mobile phones also have such a property. They are not long enough and their microphone is not positioned exactly in front of the mouth. Is there a possibility that such devices can also capture some speech/noise from a distant user? Is there a significant difference in the signal energy coming from the user's speech and a 1 meter distant person's speech?
Answer: You might want to examine different microphone pickup patterns and determine which is best for your application:

Most headset microphones are designed using a cardioid or hypercardioid pattern for their noise-cancelling properties. They probably won't be as good for recording sound at a distance of 1 meter, but you can still get cardioid microphones that are useful at such a distance.
To understand better some of the design concepts of directional microphones, I recommend checking out EEVBlog video #605, which discusses it.
As to whether you should use a condenser, dynamic, ribbon, etc. microphone, that depends on the electrical characteristics of your device.
Comment: Actually my goal is to avoid as much as possible recording sound at a distance of 1m or even 50cm. The microphone should only record the speech of the user wearing it, few centimeters away from his mouth.
Comment: Definitely take a moment to watch the video I linked. The guest speaker explains how microphones can be designed for close proximity to the user, and cancel out other noises.
Comment: Microphone arrays are the preferred way to recognize signals (such as speech) at a distance.  These are available off the shelf.  https://www.google.com/search?q=speech+recognition+microphone+array
Answer: Best audio needs mic be close, not 1 m away.
Consumer grade, 10 to 20 US dollars
http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-KX-TCA60-Hands-Free-Headband-Cordless/dp/B00007M1TZ/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1405009506&sr=8-6&keywords=headset
Professional Audio (stage, TV station, etc.) grade, 200 US dollars
http://pro.sony.com/bbsc/ssr/cat-audio/cat-wiredmics/product-ECM322BMP/
Example for very best audio quality in real action
http://www.ted.com/talks/amanda_palmer_the_art_of_asking
Hope it helps
Comment: I was actually looking for the same thing as the Panasonic but wireless for more convenience. I ended up buying the Logitech H800 which is maybe overqualified for only doing speech recognition. I enjoy listening to music while walking around my house though :D and I can recommend it.
Answer: Most laptops, cell phones, and conference phones actually use an array of microphones to properly locate the source of the person speaking, and filter out noise that comes from other locations.  This is called "beamforming", used with a "microphone array".
See also: this answer.


Does Wheat decrease shelf life?

Question: I know of two classic beers that should be consumed young and taste awful when aged - Belgian Wit and German Hefeweizen. What they obviously have in common is that both are wheat beers. Does that mean that wheat decreases shelf life and tastes better on young beers?
Answer:
'Does that mean that wheat decreases shelf life[?]'

In certain instances, yes. Higher-protein wheat can lead to haze instability (you probably don't care in a wheat beer but you might in other styles). The proteins may also lead to flavor instability, for instance in the presence of dying yeast cells (the yeast excrete an enzyme [protease] into the beer upon death, which breaks down proteins, affecting the beer's flavor).

'[...]and tastes better on young beers?'

Possibly, since wheat has a pretty mellow flavor to begin with. But that's largely subjective.
However there are too many other things that make these beers better fresh as opposed to aged to single wheat out as the culprit:

Both are relatively low in alcohol, which is famously preservative in aged beers. Low alcohol beers also require less conditioning before they are fully developed in flavor (fast-maturing, as the BJCP link says). Both good reasons to drink something sooner rather than later, and one reason you typically see aged beers being ~8+% ABV.
Both are low-hop beers, presumably to keep from muddling the complex ester/phenol highlights these styles are famous for. Hop bitterness can inhibit growth of certain beer-spoiling microbes if sufficiently present. Below 15 or so IBUs, there's no significant protection. So smaller-than-usual levels of contamination could potentially affect the flavor stability while aging.
Both feature distinct yeast characters, notably phenolics and esters (cloves and bananas, respectively), which tend to fade over time as their chemical constituents oxidize or otherwise react to form less flavor-active (or less pleasant) compounds.

So it's not so much that wheat can't contribute in its own way to instability, rather that if it does it's just one among a number of reasons, for these two specific styles.
Answer: How can you ascribe it to the wheat?  IPA also is much better fresh and young and has no wheat.  I think it's more due to yeast character, but you'd have to define what it is you don't like abut them.
Comment: It's not me speaking, there are several sources that say these beers are better consumed young (http://www.bjcp.org/2008styles/style15.php) (http://www.bjcp.org/2008styles/style16.php#1a) In IPA we know the reason is the hop aroma fades quickly; So I thought there might be one specific ingredient in these beers which gets bad over time.

Does Wheat decrease shelf life?


When a player is killed in Bang! can they still talk?

Question: When a player is eliminated, can they still talk and discuss strategy on the table or do they have to stay silent?
Answer: The rules don't explicitly cover this, so we must use our own judgement.
When a player dies, they reveal their role and their cards. The dead player has no more hidden information. Therefore, I see no reason why they should be required to remain silent. Additionally, one could argue that they aren't even playing the game any longer, and therefore can't possibly be bound by its rules. (In before someone comments that some Bang! character I don't know about can revive.)
If your play group really has an issue with dead players influencing opinions after death, then introduce a house rule. Dead players can't speak (at least about the game).
Comment: @JoeW *"Will a dead player have any more information then when they where alive?"* No, they will have **less** hidden information than when they were alive, because they have revealed their role as well as their cards. I stated this in the answer.
Comment: Well there are cards in expansions that bring players back into the game and the length they stay in the game varies based on the mechanic that brings them back. But back to the bigger issue is depending on your situation depending on where you are gaming if someone gets killed early on then they might have to sit around doing nothing for a good while because games can last for a while before a second player dies. As for influencing games will a dead player have any more information then when they where alive? Unless they gain hidden information after their death it shouldn't matter.
Comment: Sorry was a bit unclear but was just adding more thought to your answer and was trying to point out that a player doesn't gain any information when they are eliminated.
Answer: Is there rule for table talk?
There is nothing in the rules which would allow/disallow the talking of dead players. The official FAQ says

Q1. Can players talk during the game?
A. Of course! That's one of the most amusing aspects of the game. --

but even there nothing is said explicitly about dead players.  This means that the decision must be made between the players (a house rule).
But does it matter?
Normally: No. It should not matter if the dead players can talk. (Except if you let them see other players' playing/role cards)
When playing with the tournament points system (BGG, Wikipedia, Bang.cz): Yes, it matters. Also the dead players may get points, and therefore it is fair to give the players opportunity to affect the outcome (and their score) by talking. This game is very much a social game, where bluffing and manipulation has a huge role.


What happens if the pilot tries to do a loop in a full-motion simulator?

Question: I know that full-motion simulators, typically used to train pilots on commercial aircraft, have limits to how much they can tilt. They can't go upside down, for example. What happens if the pilot goes outside those limits, by doing a loop for instance? Does the simulation continue with the loop and the just the physical tilt effect gets ignored, or does the whole simulation shutdown and reset?
Comment: during a full loop the perceived gravity is still  in "pilot's down" direction: the pilot is still siting on the seat rather hanging by the harness. In this case, gravity is actually doing you a favor to simulate centrifugal force. The tough case is when the plane is flying upside down and that should be the scenario in question.
Comment: @user3528438: To achieve a nice, round loop it is helpful to push at the highest point, so the pitch rate is reduced and negative gs are quite likely. When I did my first flight in a Boeing Stearman, I did just that, which resulted in urgent "pull, pull" shouts from the instructor in the back seat. It turned out he hadn't secured his pockets and was starting to loose their content in the open cockpit. Given the low g limits on airliners, looping them will certainly involve negative gs at the top.
Answer: The motion systems in simulators do NOT mimic the airplane's attitude. Whether the airplane is right-way-up, upside-down or inside-out has no effect on the motion system.
The motion system is used to move local gravity around to mimic the accelerations felt while flying. eg. To mimic the braking during landing, the cab tilts forward, moving local gravity forward relative to the cab, making it feel like you're hanging in the straps due to the braking. Note that when you are braking during landing, the cockpit is level, and yet you are still propelled forward.
Comment: You're right in that gravity is used for simulating sustained accelerations by tilting the platform. Onset linear accelerations *are* reproduced like in the real vehicle, it's just that that has the whole world to move around in and the motion system has only a metre or so. You're also absolutely correct in that the motion system reproduces accelerations. We're geared to feel those, and get sick when we expect them and cannot detect them.
Answer: No they cannot do loops. During a loop, the pilot feels an increase in effective gravity (n). A motion system can only increase Z-forces by going up, but has to stop this when the travel stops are reached. It then goes imperceptibly back to neutral position, while the manoeuvre continues without the motion system being able to contribute to it.
So the motion system will tilt and heave during the initiation manoeuvre for the loop, will then heave some more until actuator stroke runs out, and them slowly return to neutral.
Motion systems are great for commercial airliners, which cannot do loops. For fully aerobatic aircraft such as military jets, G-suits and G-seats are used that simulate secondary g-force effects:

A G-seat lowers the seat pan slightly and loosens shoulder straps when pulling g.
A G-suit pumps up air chambers around the trouser legs, so that the pilot feels the blood flow restriction that reduces blood being drained from the brain, thereby delaying unconsciousness.

G-suits are used in the actual jets, pilots wear them inside the simulator as well.
Comment: I am interested in what happens in actual flight simulators. (Also, BTW some commercial airliners are capable of doing loops. The ULF for Boeing 737, for example, is about +3.75g which is the same needed to do a loop.)
Comment: Actual flight simulators for military jets often have no motion systems. In a simulator with a motion system, it just returns to neutral during a loop.
Answer: At Flight Safety in a Class D simulator, the aircraft I have flown there will do aerobatic maneuvers, such as spins, loops and barrel rolls, but they will not provide realistic motion feedback.  However the simulator visual display and instruments will emulate the aircraft, as the dynamic requirements exceed the design limits of the motion simulation.
Comment: I think the curious point of the question is, what *exact* will it do? We know it will not provide realistic feedback, but will it like, bounce around or shake or ?
Comment: It provides motion feedback until the excursion limits are exceeded then it will resume the axis exceeded after about 100 msec.  One time I had a the DG tumble so many aspects of the sim are realistic.  The programming changes periodically on the sims.  On one recurrent ride the sim was smoother entering a flat spin than on a previous ride. I had the same instructor and he commented that they made SW changes as a military customer who bought training in that aircraft had made some requests.


Is the decay of the positive Kaon into 3 pions a weak processs or strong one?

Question: The strangeness is not conserved in the decay of the positive Kaon into 3 pions. so this decay should be a weak process but on the other hand parity is conserved in this decay. Kaon has odd parity and overall parity of 3 pions is also odd, so this should be strong or em process as parity is conserved in strong and em processes. Weak processes violate Parity.
Answer: Strangeness isn't conserved->Weak decay.
As for parity conservation, weak decay CAN change parity, it doesn't have to.
Basically, knowing that something IS conserved doesn't give you any information, but knowing that it isn't conserved may give you some. (e.g., electrical charge being conserved means nothing, but it being not conserved means this decay is impossible. Strangeness being conserved means nothing, but it being not conserved means weak decay)


Finding galaxy spectra in SDSS Catalog by object name

Question: I am looking to find galaxy spectra of early type elliptical galaxies in the SDSS catalog by the objects name. See: https://dr12.sdss.org/advancedSearch. I dont know how to find out the PLATEID of my objects of interest, e.G. NGC 4125, NGC 4472 (Messier 49) or NGC 4649 (Messier 60), in the advanced search. I have tried to work with the constrains for redshift and sky position, but in the sdss library the objects name never turn up so I dont know if the found spectra are the spectra of the galaxies i mentioned. I am new to working with astrophysical data and the sdss catalogue in particular so please forgive me if this should be approached completely different. Can anyone tell me how to find these galaxy spectra fits files on the sdss website ? I am planning to further work with these fits files in python and extract kinematical parameters.
Comment: thank you very much for the hint I will have a look into it
Comment: Hi! Have you tried doing an SQL query of the catalogued data using SkyServer? http://skyserver.sdss.org/dr16/en/tools/search/sql.aspx
Comment: You might find this SkySearch SQL tutorial helpful http://cas.sdss.org/dr7/en/help/howto/search/
Answer: One thing you might try doing is to use the SkyServer Navigate interface to see if the object was imaged by SDSS. Enter the name in the "name" box in the upper left and then click on the "Resolve" button. If an image with the galaxy shows up, click on the "Object with spectra" checkbox in the "Drawing options" panel on the left, and red squares will appear for objects with spectra. If there's a red square associated with the center of your galaxy, then there's a spectrum. (You can click on the links on the right-hand side to find out more; there may even be a little graphic of the spectrum you can click on.)
Here's an example for the elliptical galaxy NGC 6066, which does have an SDSS spectrum (as indicated by the spectrum-plot graphic to the lower right):

Something you should be aware of: in many cases, very nearby and luminous galaxies like your three examples simply don't have SDSS spectra. (This is true for your three galaxies, in fact.) Since such galaxies were known to already have plenty of spectra (including redshift measurements), there was little need to get SDSS spectra of them, so they were ignored. So you may end up needing to focus on more distant elliptical galaxies (NGC 6066 has a redshift of 0.034, while your example galaxies all have redshifts $< 0.005$.)
Comment: @DaddyKropotkin I rejected the proposed edit but accidentally clicked the wrong reason why. I think that is better posted as an additional and different answer by its author rather than edited in to someone else's answer, though that's just my view and (at)PeterErwin may disagree.
Comment: Thank you this tool is very handy and for my application easier to use then SQL querrys, since I am only interested in the method and not particular in big data analysis. Can you recommend a different spectra catalog for these kind of galaxies? I am looking specificly for these galaxies since I want to further compare results obtained by my implementation and earlier research.
Comment: Try to 2MASS option instead of SDSS
Comment: @DaddyKropotkin What does "2MASS option" mean? 2MASS was an imaging survey.
Comment: Oh yes sorry, that's only for an image. I tried editing your answer but it didn't go through - I think using a SkyServer SQL query is the optimal solution. Such a query does not require a big data analysis project: the query just requires a few lines of code and can output in many types of files, for example as a spreadsheet or a .txt It's really not a difficult thing, it takes a couple of hours, at most, to learn the lines of code you need to get the data you want, but once you learn it, it's a handy thing to know. The tutorial in the OP comments I left is very helpful, I used it myself


Requirement to disclose information during jury selection

Question: During jury selection and you are a potential jury member, are you required to answer the question if asked whether you own a firearm or are a member of the NRA?
Comment: Exactly. And if he is really so blinded by those feelings that he doesn't realize they could affect deliberations, he has no business deciding the case.
Comment: An attempt to keep this kind of information from the court is a good indicator that the potential juror has no business deciding the case.
Comment: Not necessarily.  It could be that the individual doesn't believe the court or any other government agency has any business knowing whether they own firearms or support the NRA.
Answer: If you are directly asked a question, you might sit there silently or explicitly refuse to answer, and the judge may order you to answer (refusing the order would be contempt). A non-responsive answer when being individually examined by an attorney is to be corrected by re-asking the question, to get a complete answer.
However, if the pool is asked a generic question ("Is anybody here a member of the NRA ~ does anyone here work for Google, raise your hand") silence (or not raising your hand) would be perjury. See People v. Meza 188 Cal.App.3d 1631, People v. Blackwell for example.


Is it possible to calculate distance between two objects?

Question: For example: I want to know the distance between Alpha Orionis (Betelgeuse) and Beta Orionis (Rigel). Is this possible? You only know the distance from Earth. May be this is a math problem and not an Astronomy question.
Comment: Well, you need 3 coordinates of each body to determine their 3D-distance. The position on the celestial sphere gives you 2, then the third is distance.
So yeah, it is possible.
But please don't ask for the exact method, else that sounds too much like a homework-question.
Answer: If you know the distance of each star from earth, and the angle between the stars, then you can us the cosine rule to find their distance from each other.  See this for detail
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_cosines


How can I download files via Tor Browser?

Question: Newb question, but when I click on links to download files nothing happens. Is there a configuration or an action that I'm not taking? Basically trying to d/l files from The PB. What am i missing? Thanks!
Comment: Tor Browser should be able to download files without issue. Do you recieve any errors? Does it work on other sites?
Answer: The PB - a PirateBay - does not have any file on it - it has a "magnet links" for torrents, a bittorrent client must be integrated into any browser to handle them. But using torrents via Tor in a plain mode is not such a good idea - I'm almost finished my work on bringing torrents into a darknets - it only seems that you can use "privacy mode" and/or proxies specified in your torrent client: I know, I thought so myself. It is definitely NOT that simple! A patches must be applied to many things to make it work properly. So if you want to run torrent inside Tor - I don't recommend you to do so. If you need Tor just to cherrypick a magnet links - just copy them to a Notepad and paste later into your torrent client. But don't run torrent in plain via Tor - you can contact me in Facebook(a profile link in my profile here) and I will alert you when I'll release the patched software set.


Does AMD's Phenom II X6 1055T go well with Gigabyte's GA-MA78G-DS3HP?

Question: I have a Gigabyte GA-MA78G-DS3HP motherboard with a Phenom X4 9850. I am interested in upgrading to the Phenom II line, preferably the hexa-core ones, but budget constraints do not allow for a new motherboard. Would the X6 1055T work in my existing motherboard, and if it does, are there any measurable performance benefits with AM3 motherboards?
Answer: Here is the long and short of your situation: Wait until you can buy a motherboard to match a new CPU.
That being said, let's look at the details. The first being that AM3 chips do not work in AM2/AM2+ motherboards(source). The pin difference alone between the two parts make them incompatible.
As for the "performance gain" you can look at the passmark charts here. The X4 9850 gets a score of 2962 while the X6 1055T gets a score of 5193. That's roughly means that moving from an X4 system to an X6 system would boost your system performance by 75% (almost double). These numbers are of course an arbitrary unit of measurement and don't necessarily reflect actual perceivable performance gain of the upgrade. Every part of the system contributes to the overall system performance. Upgrading one component does have an affect of the system, but another component could limit how well your system performs.
It has been three months so the question may be irrelevant at this point. Let me give you some advice on the off chance you run into this situation again. When you look at building/upgrading a system, always save up so you can buy all of the parts at once. This allows you to match sockets and make sure everything is compatible with each other. When deciding what to buy, the general rule of thumb is that mid-range parts are generally the most cost effective. A good place to look for suggestions is the the PC perspective hardware leader boards. They will give you a good idea of what price point you should be at to get the most for your dollar.
Hope this helps


Can Norma have kids?

Question: So when I was watching this anime I was wondering - even though all the Norma are women and they are stuck on that island, is it still possible for them to have kids? And I also wonder, did any Norma have kids in the past?
Answer: from the crossange wiki, you can get this

Norma (ノーマ Nōma?) is the name given to those who are born without the ability to use Light of Mana. Like the Ancient Humans, they cannot use Mana and will destroy anything made out of Mana just simply by making physical contact with it. Unlike Ancient Humans, Norma can be born of parents that can use Mana and are an example of a genetic throwback to the time where all humans couldn't use mana. Only female can be Norma, the reason why is unknown.

notice this line

Unlike Ancient Humans, Norma can be born of parents that can use Mana

it says that norma can be born with parents who can use mana and that's practically the only difference between norma and ancient humans show in the wiki. therefore, if ancient humans can have children, then norma should be able to have children, also note that there is nothing that states that normas can't have children so i don't know where the question is coming from but hope this helps a bit.
here is the link to the page http://crossange.wikia.com/wiki/Norma
Comment: FWIW, I find this question interesting because there is no direct evidence that Norma can bear children, and it would make some narrative sense if they couldn't, or if their children were always Normas, or something like that. Since all Normas in Misurugi get shipped off to Arzenal, where there are literally zero Y chromosomes (until Tusk shows up), there is no opportunity for children to actually be borne.
Comment: a suggestion, would be good to link to the wiki page you got this from

Can Norma have kids?


How to design REST API for non-resource entities

Question: I'm working on a very simple e-commerce application where the UI/html talks to server through a set of RESTful APIs (ASP.NET Web API, to be specific).
When following REST properly, APIs expose resources. That works well when working with my domain objects like Product, User etc.
But there are some functionalities that doesn't follow this pattern. Say for example, when user enters an order number, I want to check if that is a valid order number. Now I can do a simple GET on orders API and return not found for invalid order
GET http://myhost.com/api/orders/SomeOrderNumber -> http 404

But is it correct approach? What if I want to return an error code and message? (which is obviously not part of order object)
What about entities which are not even part of my domain. e.g. I want to validate a postcode based on some parameters and conditions. I realy don't want something like
GET http://myhost.com/api/postcodes/SomePostCode -> validation message

What kind of APIs should be exposed, if I want to get the count of users currently logged on? If someone can point me to any earlier post or useful documentation, that'll be really helpful.
Answer:
A GET can't properly return a null response. Even an empty response implies the 204 No Content status. You should return 404 Not Found and you may explain why that order number is invalid on the error message body.
Whether some entity is part of your domain or not, that should be transparent to the client. Again, the example you describe is the correct approach.
To return the count of users currently logged on you need to store session state on the server, and doing that wouldn't be RESTful in the first place. You might want to have a collection resource that can be filtered by queries, and you can filter by the last time an user was seen. For instance:
GET /api/users?last_seen_since=2014-10-31 0:00:00

And in the response you can have a metadata field or header indicating the total size of that query.
Comment: Thanks for the answer Pedro. [1] I meant 404 only, but wrote null! My bad, have edited now. Can you give a very brief example of the http response in case of invalid/not-found resource? With error message body. [3] This seems reasonable.
Answer: Though its an old post, still would like to post my reviews as it might help others.
What we're doing in our project is like, we've created EntityResultModel as a return type for all the request.
    ///
    /// Entity Result Model
    ///
    public class EntityResultModel
    {
        ///
        /// Gets or sets a value indicating whether this instance is success.
        ///
        /// <value>
        /// <c>true</c> if this instance is success; otherwise, <c>false</c>.
        /// </value>
        public bool IsSuccess { get; set; }

        ///
        /// Gets or sets the message.
        ///
        /// <value>
        /// The message.
        /// </value>
        public string Message { get; set; }

        ///
        /// Gets or sets the result data.
        ///
        /// <value>
        /// The result data.
        /// </value>
        public object ResultData { get; set; }
    }

All WebApi request will return an object of this EntityResultModel, and using this object you can verify if request is succeeded or not, you can even populate message and also return data in data property if required.


How can an F-22 Raptor reach supersonic speeds without having supersonic inlets?

Question: The F-22 Raptor and some other jets do not have inlet spikes, yet they are able to achieve supersonic speeds. How is that possible?
Comment: power, a lot of power.
Comment: The F16 as well.
Answer: The jet uses a fixed, rhombohedral shaped jet intake combined with a serpentine intake duct.  It allows for speeds just north of Mach 2 without the need for a variable geometry inlet to prevent shockwave ingestion.
Answer: The inlet spike is not required for supersonic flight, it is just one way to minimize the losses that comes with decelerating supersonic flow. As a general rule, the shallower angle that you force the flow to turn at supersonic speeds, the weaker the shock wave that will form at turn, and the lower the loss (in total pressure) will be. This is why the planes are so pointy. The cone that you see on many supersonic inlets is there to provide a gentler deceleration (ie, cause weaker shocks to form), and is often adjustable to optimize this deceleration for different flight mach numbers (shockwaves will form at different angles depending on flight speed). The flow will continue to decelerate through the internal part of the inlet, and will sometimes still be supersonic until a certain part of it depending on the specifics of the design. In this case, contrary to what Carlo Felicione claims, there may still be a shock standing inside the inlet to decelerate the flow finally to subsonic speeds.
The image below shows different ways to design an inlet. Noting the first image, its possible, but very lossy to have you inlet without any forward component that provides gentle external deceleration. The image shows a system of oblique shocks forming inside the inlet, but the other event that could occur with this geometry is that a strong normal shock would stand at the front of the inlet, instantly decelerating the flow to subsonic speed (the image may be wrong here, maybe someone can elucidate in the comments). The first supersonic jets were designed in this way. The two cases on the right show how oblique shocks can be induced to decelerate the flow with less loss compared to the normal shock induced in the first case. The forward parts could be provided by a cone, or simply the side of the aircraft. The furthest right case shows a way to design for shock ingestion in your inlet. You will note that on most modern supersonic jets, the inlets are not the furthest most point of the aircraft.

the F-22 uses the type of inlet shock system of either the right or second to right most design, but probably only the designers know the specifics to be sure.
As an aside, just because there is no external variable geometry, like Carlo Felicione pointed out, doesn't mean there is no active component to the internal geometry (I bet there is). This could include a variable sized throat, or some sort of bleed system to allow for setting up the specific shock system that the designers want for least losses.
image source:https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1270963819302834 (i found it on google images so I didn't actually open the paper, although it seems like it would be a good reference for this topic)
Comment: What is the maximum air flow velocity Turbojet Engine compressor can ingest without shock formation, provided that there is no air flow deceleration i.e using only serpentine ducts as in F-22, F-16, Su-35 etc?


Protecting or Extending Pre-Settled Status

Question: I have European Citizenship and I was in UK for three months until 27 August 2019. Then I returned back to the Turkey to continue studying. When my pre-settled status was approved, the date was February  2020. It says it is valid till February 2025. But I have not had a chance to go to the UK due to the corona virus. Now I want to go to the UK again this Summer and I am not sure whether my pre-settled status is still valid or not.
Also I want to ask if I have chance to move to the UK after graduating (2023) from my university in Turkey? I mean, can I protect or extend my pre-settled status if I've been out of the UK for study?
Comment: Have you looked at https://www.gov.uk/settled-status-eu-citizens-families/what-settled-and-presettled-status-means
Comment: What European citizenship do you have?
Answer: You have pre-settled status until Feb 2025. You lose your pre-settled status if you leave the UK for more than two years, so you need to return to the UK before Aug. 2021. Whether a holiday in the summer is enough to keep pre-settled status will depend on politics, but living in the UK will be much more promising. And you can't get settled status if you left for more than 6 months (possibly 12 months for important reasons), so since you left almost 14 months ago, you shouldn't be able to get settled status and would have to leave Feb. 2025.
Someone more knowledgeable might know what your chances of getting a working visa are, but EU citizenship won't help you after Feb 2025.
So in total: Live in the UK before Aug 2021 and before Aug 2023 for a few months at least to keep pre-settled status. Then inquire about getting a working visa after Feb 2025.
Comment: I think the last sentence would be clearer as "Well before you have to leave the UK in Feb. 2025, inquire about getting a working visa so you can stay in the UK after Feb 2025.
Comment: Interestingly, I couldn't find anything about getting a work visa _while you still have presettled status and don't need it yet_, when you know already the exact date when you lose it. I think it would be quite typical for the mental giants running the UK to have never given this a thought.


Search dynamic content in Expression Engine

Question: I am displaying JSON data dynamically on template and I would like search that dynamic content using search option. Any solution in Expression Engine???
Answer: By its very nature, no. You're using JSON data dynamically, i.e. you're loading it when the page is viewed, its not stored at all.
Search works by querying the DB tables (or rather the index but I won't get too deep here), this works becasue all the data is there in one place.
One suggestion (short of pulling in all JSON data and searching that) is to cache your JSON calls inside a Channel. Something like this:

Set up a Channel with a text field and a text area field.
When you call a piece of JSON data, save the URL to the textfield and the result to the textarea
When you search, let the text area be searchable, your search results will now include entries in that channel that might have (i.e. last time they where called) the keyword in them.
When displaying the search results, call the JSON URL, double check the keyword is still in there and if it is show your result, if not step over it.

It's just a thought, of course you have the issue that you can only get results from the last call of the JSON url, there's no guarantee the dynamic content will still contain the word.
You'll also need to consider the title/url_title of your caching channel, so that you overwrite existing entries for the same URL. one option would be to alphanumeric the url and use that as a title code.
You could also get really clever, set up a template that polls all the JSON URL's you are using in a loop, and updates your channel entries accordingly. Set a cron job up to hit that template once/twice a day and get a nice little refresh system going on...
Just a brain dump for you, who know it might give you a good idea of how to proceed!


Could (postclassical) cancer "lattice" be at all related to cancer "crab"?

Question: Cancer "crab" and cancer "lattice" look related, but it could be a coincidence. They are not very close in meaning, but one could perhaps imagine a crab's collection of legs to be somewhat similar to a lattice, or crab legs could have been used to make some kind of lattice—I have no idea. Could those two words possibly be related?
Answer: I've heard a theory that the "lattice" meaning is actually the original. According to this theory, cancer comes from Proto-Italic *kar-kr- by dissimilation. If this is true, then cancer and carcer would be doublets, and the original meaning of both would be something like "cage". Carcer then shifted to mean "entrapping cage" and thus "jail", while cancer first shifted to "claws" (which hold something) and thus to "crab" by metonymy.
I don't, unfortunately, currently have access to De Vaan or another reputable source, so I can't say how well-accepted this theory is. But the Ancient Greek karkínos "crab" might show a similar development from the original *kar-, which lends a bit of weight.
Comment: Very interesting! That sounds semantically more plausible.
Comment: @Cerberus I might also consider the symbolism of nets (a form of [matrix](https://www.etymonline.com/word/matrix)) and their association with women.  The cage aspect is on point, but there is also the mythology of the καρκίνος which involves Hera sending it to [entangle Heracles when he is fighting the Hydra](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cancer_(astrology)#Greek_mythology).
Comment: @DukeZhou: Hmm interesting. A cursory search reveals only that the crab snapped at Hercules's foot, not exactly entangling him? I suppose restricting someone's movement by holding on to his foot constitutes impeding or limiting him, but it still seems somewhat far removed from a cage or lattice? // As to *matrix*, how is that related to nets (in classical or earlier Latin)? Or how are women connected with nets in general?
Comment: @Cerberus Nets are latices, and there are many early representations of goddesses with these designs on their abdomens.  (Gimbutas wrote a book about it, and although the scholarship has been subsequently disputed, the artifacts themselves are not.)  For instance, nets are associated with Cassandra re: Agamemnon's murder, and, in general, weaving was the domain of women. Athena/Arachne is another example (spider webs are lattices.) Matrix etymology doesn't relate to καρκίνος, but the root for matrix, which can be a lattice, is related to many modern words relating to mother ("matriarch", etc.)
Comment: @DukeZhou: Ah, I see, some interesting references there with regard to depictions and weaving. I'm still not sure I get the matrix, though: surely that is a modern use of the word? Or did the Romans also use the word matrix to indicate some kind of lattice or net?
Comment: @Cerberus not linguistically, so far as I know, but the theory is that the representation in goddess images is the source of the association.  (Womb as origin, with lattice designs on the abdomen of the statues and icons.)  I'm not aware of mathematical use of matrix prior to ~Leibniz, but I think it's not an unsupportable thesis that the modern association is not random, and may have some narrative or symbolic roots.
Answer: For reference, de Vaan writes:

The Latin word can only be connected with evidence outside Italic if
  we assume a dissimilation of earlier *karkros 'enclosure' (cf. carcer)
  to *kankros. Since the pincers of a crab form a circle, this may have been the cause of its denomination.

Not perhaps the very last word on the matter.
Answer: In Slavic languages (at least, East-Slavic), the word рак (/rak/) can mean either "crayfish" or "cancer". Also, we have the word краб (/krab/) but it only means the crustacean crabs. This is somehow related with cancer, i.e. краб related to рак as both can refer to a crustacean, but рак also can refer to "cancer".
This is kind of an interesting linguistic thing that bothered me from the childhood, I mean why рак can refer to both the strange (even scary) looking animal and the terrible, often fatal, disease.
Now I see that Draconis is right with regard to the Greek καρκίνος (/karkinos/) meaning "crab". And, by the way, the Zodiac Sign which is supposed to look like a crayfish is called Cancer.
Unfortunately I didn't quite get how the question raised in your head, because we speak different languages. To me, "cancer" and "crab" are kind of related, but I don't understand how "lattice" associates with both "cancer" and "crab". Can you explain once more please what "Cancer "crab" and cancer "lattice"" mean to you?
Comment: The Latin word *cancer, -crī, m* means both "crab" and "lattice". That's what inspired this question.
Comment: The question has nothing to do with the disease. It is about two Latin words that look the same (or a word with two wildly different meanings). Do you happen to know whether the meanings "crab" and "lattice" of the Latin word *cancer* are related?
Comment: @JoonasIlmavirta No I didn't, till the moment Draconis mentioned it. I guess that's because East-Slavic languages were more influenced by the Greek language directly rather than Italic/German languages which adopted Greek through Latin. The words "crab" ("краб"), "crayfish" ("рак" as animal) and "cancer" ("рак" as decease) in East-Slavic are unrelated to "lattice" ("решётка") neither phonetically nor by the meaning. And maybe other East-Slavic native speakers will disagree, but I never associated lattice with all those words even unconsciously.
Comment: I have to add two things. First, there is the word *карцер* (/karcer/, Russian/Ukrainian), *карцэр* (/karcer/, Belarusian), *karcer* (Polish) for punishment cells in prisons. Second, it's said *за решёткой* (/za reshetkoy/, Russian), *за кратамi* (/za kratamy/, Belarusian), *за гратами* (/za hratamy/, Ukrainian), *za kratkami* (Polish) meaning "in prison", which literally can be translated as "behind bars" or "behind lattice". Here you can see that Belarusian, Ukrainian and Polish versions of "lattice" are actually similar to "crab", but not the Russian one.
Comment: So regarding my words about unconscious association between "crab" and "lattice" - I would narrow it down to Russian native speakers only. The border between Orthodox and Catholic worlds lay somewhere in these lands for centuries, with Catholic population (Poland, a half of Belarus and some part of Ukraine) more inclined to adopt Latin terms and Orthodox population (the rest of Belarus and Ukraine, Russia) -- to adopt Greek terms.


Alternator squeal

Question: 98 rav4.
I have a bad squeal, however I tried a new alternator and it did not go away. The charging voltage does not go above 12.3 and when I unplug the plug on the back of the alternator the squealing stops but I lose voltage. Revving the vehicle does nothing but make the squeal louder. I have checked all connections and I have tested the batteries. I have checked the wires. What am I missing> Please help me....
Comment: Unplugging kills the electrical load on the alternator. As the answer from @Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 says, a slipping belt is the typical cause of a squeal. Less electrical load on the alternator means less mechanical load on the belt and so less slippage. If the squeal began when the new belt was fitted, get the tension checked. Even with no tensioner there should be an adjustment.
Comment: Welcome to Motor Vehicle Maintenance & Repair!
Answer: That year of RAV 4 uses the alternator to tighten the belt. It may not be adjusted properly and the belt is slipping.

.

.
Comment: Omg thank you... apparently the guy who had this before failed to put that bracket on and broke the bolt off... gonna get a new bracket,drill that bolt out and rethread! Thanks again! Ps... i never worked on a toyota aha
Comment: You are welcome. Its easy to over tighten the belt with this type of tensioner, so go easy on it.
Answer: More than likely the problem is either your serpentine belt is worn out, or the tensioner pulley isn't providing enough tension to keep the belt in place. Belt slippage accounts for the low amount of voltage output. Because it's the easier of the two, I'd suggest replacing the belt first. I'm not sure on your RAV4 whether there is an indicator on your tensioner to tell you whether it is providing tension in the "good range", but you might check for it. When you put a new belt on, there may be enough grip with it to prevent the squealing, however, this doesn't preclude there may not be an issue still with the tensioner. Really, replacing both would be the right way to go at this point.
Comment: Unfortunatly there is no tensioner on this which is strange to me but the belt is new
Comment: @Lane - All vehicles with a serpentine belt have some sort of tensioner, whether spring loaded or if you have to tighten an accessory more. One thing or the other.
Comment: Some manufacturers use stretch to fit serpentine belts now, special tools to remove and reinstall. Did not have this in 1998 though.

Alternator squeal


Removing headset cups from 44mm head tube

Question: I have a 2015 Salsa Colossal with a 44mm head tube.  The upper cup is a ZS44/28.6 (1 1/8") and the lower cup is EC44/33 (1 1/4").  I need to punch out the cups, so I bought a Park Tool RT-1.  It states that it works with 1" to 1 1/4" cups and Park's website explicitly says it works with ZS44 and EC44 cups.  The problem is that the flared part of the tool passes right through the lower 1 1/4" cup and barely catches the upper 1 1/8" cup.  I could direct the tool at one side and then the other, but I thought the main purpose of the tool is apply pressure evenly around the cup.  Should I have bought the bigger RT-2?
Answer: The park tool RT-1 is the original headset cup removal tool for 1 1/8" headset cups.

The RT-2 oversized headset removal tool is the correct tool for 1 1/4 and larger cup sizes.
That said, the RT-1 can be used, when directed carefully, on 1 1/4" cups also.
In my opinion, Park is too liberal in stating what larger headset sizes the RT-1 can work with, but it isn't technically wrong.
Recently manufactured RT-1 tools have more flare to the ends than the older RT-1 did, which may account for the difference as well.
Depending on when and where you bought yours, you may have the pre-1 1/4" version. Either because it's new/old stock, or because it was used...
Comment: I must have had older stock of the RT-1 with less flare (makes me think of Office Space!).  Park were nice enough to send me an RT-2 replacement (great customer service there).  That does the trick, though I feel like it's probably a little bit too much flare for a 44mm head tube to be honest.  Seems like the ideal tool is somewhere between the RT-1 and RT-2.
Comment: That often happens when the specs for a particle component fall on the edge of the specs for the tools. In this case either would work, but heather is perfect. :)


What does it mean when there are 2 verbs next to each other in a sentence?

Question: I came across this sentence "我喜欢说话" today and I'm sort of confused as to how this works. I dug around a bit and on all set learning they say that 2 verb phrases can come right after one another, but then, why can't a I put a 着 in between the 喜欢 and 说话? To furthermore add to my confusion, one of the example sentences on the all set learning site said "她 喜欢 站 着 吃饭 ", which I kinda understand as "She likes to eat while standing up", but then why can't I again, but a  着 inbetween? Another example is the sentence "我忘说了", but don't I need to have a verb phrase as opposed to just 2 verbs put together? Any help would be much appreciated
Comment: What are you confused by? It's perfectly normal to have many verbs in English sentences too, the order is even the same, we just usually have "to" in-between in English: "I like to talk", "she forgot to say", "he hopes to win".
Answer: 1. V1+V2
Chinese permits placing verbs immediately next to one another. In fact this is observed when there are more than two verbs, especially if some of them are auxiliary in nature (e.g. 去, 來).

(1.1) 去 幫忙 做 家務 吧。 Go help do chores.
(1.2) 我 答應 來 幫忙 做 家務。 I promised to come help do chores.

are all grammatical.
2. V+着 as a verb
Only some verbs can have 着 added after them, as 着 suggests a continuous action. So in

(2.1a) *我喜歡着說話。 *I am liking to speak.
(2.2a) *我喜歡說着話。 *I like to be speaking.
(2.3) 我喜歡說話。 I like to speak.

sentences (2.1a) and (2.2a) sound weird, even in English. In a way the continuous tense is unnecessary when indicating general likings and interests. However, that is not to say 喜歡着 and 說着話 are ungrammatical. Using them really depends on the context:

(2.1b) 我一直喜歡着你。 I have always liked you.
(2.2b) 他邊說着話,邊跳着舞。 He is speaking as he is dancing.

We can appreciate the speaker in sentence (2.1b) has liked the listener for quite some time already, from the past all the way to the present. And in sentence (2.2b), both actions are occurring continuously and simultaneously.
3. V+着 as an adverb
In the example

(3.1) 她喜歡站着吃飯。 She likes to eat while standing

站着 can be seen, in a way, as adverbial on the verb 吃, specifying the way she eats. The continuous tense is used because all the while she ate, she was standing. Other examples include

(3.2) 先放着不管那件事。 As of now, leave that matter alone and let it be.

It is hard to translate sentence (3.2) literally into English, but similarly, the verb 放 'to place', together with 着, functions as if it is adverbial on the verb 不管 'to not care', meaning 'to not care about it while placing it there'.
4. On 忘

(4.1) 我忘說了。
(4.2) 我忘記說了。
(4.3) 我忘了說。

There is some awkwardness in sentence (4.1), but it is not ungrammatical (meaning the rule V1+V2 still stands). A better way to phrase it would be using the compound verb 忘記, as shown in sentence (4.2). The awkwardness exists perhaps because 忘 is, in a sense, akin to classical Chinese. Sentence (4.3) is less awkward than (4.1) because 忘 is not used alone, but together with the suffix 了. Other similar compounding include: 忘掉 and 忘卻.
Answer: 着 modifies the verb before it to indicate a lasting state. In other words, the action of the second verb happens during the first one.

她喜欢*站着*吃饭。
She likes to eat while standing.

In "我喜欢说话", "喜欢" means you habitually prefer to do the action. In most languages, it would be strange if you say "I speak while I love it". So we DON'T usually use 着 for verbs describing constant or habitual actions.

我不喜欢唱歌。
I don't like singing.

我答应帮助她。
I promise to help her.

However, in one case you should use 着 for EVERY verb, that is, when the 着 phrase acts as a clause, and the latter half of the sentence indicates turning, progress, etc.

Sam 喜欢着 Lisa,Lisa 却不知道。
Sam loves Lisa but Lisa doesn't know it.

他答应着帮我,一边匆匆离去了。
He promised to help me and left in a hurry.
Comment: Your two last examples are a bit odd. The first one works well without 着 too, and the second one seems wrong, although it would work in a very specific context (maybe add 一边) to the first clause as well). It's not true that you have to use 着 in this type of sentence.
Comment: The 著 in the last two examples should be removed.


How do you play this section from "La Campanella"?

Question: So I decided to learn La Campanella 3rd movement violin just for the heck of it and I got to this part:

You're supposed to play ninths with your 2nd and 4th fingers. How is this even possible? It's hard enough to play ninths with 1st and 4th fingers. Do people really play this? Any advice on how to tackle this? Should I go into higher positions? Should I just keep practicing doing an ultra stretch? Anyone had to deal with this? Thanks
Comment: How big are your hands?
Answer: Because it's high(ish), it can be stretched in an extended 3rd position.  I could manage it and I don't have big hands.  The only thing I would question is the 2 on the C.  Since you already have 2 on the Eb (before and after the C), I would put 3 on the C.
Comment: I figured it out! I basically have to turn my hand parallel to the fingerboard to reach it. Also, I personally think that the 2 on the C helps you put your arm in the correct orientation to reach it. Otherwise it's difficult to rotate your hand. I definitely think my hands are on the smaller side, but I realized that by rotating my hand I can reach much further. I think the issue most people like me have is they approach every stretch the wrong way...maybe...but wow I can almost reach 2 octaves in first position now

How do you play this section from “La Campanella”?


Does stock Android have a panorama camera feature?

Question: I was wondering if Android has any panorama-like feature like how iOS does?
Answer: This depends entirely on the OEM and what features they decide to put in their devices.
However, I've used a panorama feature since the beginning (2.3 Gingerbread) on my Nexus S, and have had it all the way till my 4.2 Galaxy Nexus, so I can say that the stock Android camera app has panorama, at least 2.3 onwards.
Beyond that, device specific panorama is dependent on the OEM.
You could always use third party apps, like this one, which supports Android 2.1 and above.
Comment: Thanks for your amazing explanations. :) BTW speaking of XDA I'll never forget this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmvCpR45LKA :)
Comment: Thanks! Good response! Is photo-sphere what your talking about? Or is it something else??
Comment: PhotoSphere is only available officially on Android 4.2 so far. However, [XDA comes to your rescue](http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1965895) (scroll down to about halfway through the first post, and you'll see photosphere listed as one of the backported features).


Acoustic Guitar tuning key

Question: My acoustic guitar's one of tuning keys gear teeth got broken while tuning (G string).Here's a image. What can I do t fix it?
Answer: They're fairly standard, so you can order a whole machine head from ebay, etc. No need to take the old one off, if you're lucky. Just unscrew the crosshead screw, push the new cog on. There are generally two fittings: a star or a circle with two flat sides. Check before ordering, also count the teeth to ascertain the replacement has the same number. You may have to buy a complete set of six - I did the last time I mended a Gibson with 'snot' machine heads, but there's no need to change everything if you don't want to. That may involve screw holes in different places on the headstock.

Acoustic Guitar tuning key


How to delete parallel ports on Windows XP SP3

Question: Im trying to delete the extra parallel ports that come with Windows XP SP3. I've tried deleting the ports through the method recommended by Microsoft ie through Printer & Faxes/File/Server Properties/Ports/ Delete Port. Doesnt work; gives the following message:
Operation Not Supported. I escpecially want to delete a virtual LPT port that is created on installing a certain receipt printer from Epson, the redirect that printer to the native LPT1 port. Can this be done
Answer: You should be able to find them here: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Ports
Make a backup first!
I can't test it, but this is similar to other ports I have had to clear. So take this as a good suggestion more than a final answer and let me know.
Answer: Try the Device Manager.
Shortcut to get there:
Start->Run  devmgmt.msc
You will find a category for ports and then open that up and you should see COM and LPT1 ports.


Difference between 'image-editor' and 'image-manipulation'?

Question: I see Gilles created the tag image-manipulation, and it happens to be used exactly once. I'm wondering if that was an oversight, or if it's supposed to be distinct from image-editor tag.
Answer: I think the image-manipulation tag could be applied to command line tools such as convert or imagemagick, whereas image-editor would be more relevant to Image Editing GUI applications, such as GIMP.
So for me these two tags are a bit different.
Comment: @Tshepang: If I want to hand-draw a red circle over a screenshot I'll use an image editor. If I want to trim a large bunch of photos automatically I won't use an image editor. I'm not sure about this Nautilus plug-in as I haven't seen it, it may just be an edge case. Still, it doesn't really sound like an image editor since you'd be manipulating the image as a whole.
Comment: The distinction can be a bit vague. I'm now thinking of Nautilus' plugin, which allows one to **resize** or **rotate** images. Following your argument, it seems to me this would fit into [image-manipulation] tag, but then it's GUI.
Comment: @Tshepang: My reasoning was exactly what Stefan explained. For me an editor is interactive, so `montage` or any other automated program doesn't fit `image-editor`. I'm not committed to the tag names, but I do think there should be two different tags.
Comment: @Gilles Curiously, would you tag the Nautilus plugin I mentioned `image-manipulation`?


How does the phrase "used to" work, grammatically?

Question: It is common to hear people say "used to" to indicate that they did something in the past but no longer do; for example, "I used to play basketball."  How would "used to," used in that context, fit into a sentence diagram?  What part of speech is it?
Comment: Also, are there any other phrases like it?
Answer: This is more of a theoretical question, and so the answer depends a lot on what framework you prefer. "Used to" in this context is sometimes called a "quasi-modal" along with "want to", "ought to" and so on. Some linguists consider them the result of a historical process called grammaticalization, in which common collocations take on their own somewhat idiosyncratic grammatical properties.
I think there are tests you can use to demonstrate that quasi-modals don't behave the same way as infinitive structures (by making them questions, for instance), but this is not my specialty. However, I think a real infinitive use of "used to" would be as in:
(1) The saw was used to cut the wood.
I can't find a good article for this right now, unfortunately. Maybe someone else knows of one?
Comment: From snailboat on ELL SE: "This is one of the seven verbs Pullum playfully calls therapy verbs (want, prospective go, habitual used, obligation have, obligation got, ought, passive supposed) in which he analyzes -to not as a separate word (as in the so-called phrasal verbs) but as a suffix (forming wanna, gonna, usta, hafta, gotta, oughta, sposta), leaving the stem as a morphological head (just as under- in undergo leaves go as the head, giving us under[gone] and under[went] rather than [undergo]ed)." ([full source](http://ell.stackexchange.com/q/10968/u#comment18404_10968))
Answer: I'm not certain about the terminology, but I'm pretty sure "used to" is a set idiomatic phrase that marks verbs as being in the imperfect (past continuous) tense.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperfect#English
Comment: How would you explain "didn't use to" then?
Comment: The negative is tricky, as is the question form. *Didn't use to* or *Usen't to*? *Used you to* or *Did you use to*?
Comment: I don't think I'm familiar with "didn't use to" or "didn't used to", but I would think it would be used to contrast with the present progressive: "I didn't use(d) to play basketball" would imply that I play now, but that it is a relatively new thing.
Comment: @TRIG, the negative and question forms are indeed tricky.  I was surprised when you wrote _didn't use to_ and _did you use to_.  I'm quite sure I've never had occasion to write it or to think about it much, but I'm pretty sure I've had conversations where I _thought_ I was saying something like, _"Didn't you __used to__ play little league?"_
Answer: In this case, I'd say that the verb use is selecting the infinitive as its complement, making the to infinitive the direct object. The verb is tensed, ending up "used to". Another example would be "hope to blah". Here is an interesting paper on the distribution and semantic correlations between verbs that select for infinitives.
Answer: If "used to" is a set idiomatic phrase (i.e. not a tense), then why would it change its form from "use to" to "used to" for the sentence as it does in the positive? I.e. why not say "I use to smoke". "Did you use to smoke?" "I didn't use to smoke".
Chambers's 1939 dictionary tells us that "use to" is an intransitive verb meaning "to be accostomed to" only used in the past tense and pronounced /ust/.
Also in Practical English Usage, (Oxford),Michael Swan says that the formal form of the question and negative of "use to" is "Used you to go to the opera?"  and "I usedn't to play football" etc.
In Ireland we've have remained faithful to these concepts and often "Quazi-modalize" the question and negative by saying "Usen't you go...?" and "I usedn't play..." etc.
The problem I believe is that everybody argues the case in favour of what they themselves are, if you pardon the pun! "used to" saying themselves.
Unfortunately, English does not have an academy of experts that meet once a year, unlike Spanish.


How does a Christian begin to embrace Islam?

Question: Where can I search proper knowledge about Islam, and what are the first steps to do, to be Muslim? Can I still wear my Christian clothes after converting?
Comment: Your title and question don't match. Fix it please
Answer: A person becomes a Muslim by proclaiming Ash hadu an la ilaha ill Allah wa ash hadu anna Muhammadar Rasul Allah, the translation for this is "I testify that There is no god except Allah, and I testify that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah". Everything else is secondary in importance and you can learn it slowly and put it in practice gradually as you learn.
A Muslim is required to believe in 6 articles of faith, which are:

Belief in oneness\unity of God.
Belief that God has sent messengers to guide people such as Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, Solomon, Jesus and Muhammad. This also entails that Muhammad is the final prophet and any other claimants after him are impostors.
Belief that God has sent revelations to some of the Prophets, such as Torah to Moses, Psalms to David, Gospel to Jesus and Quran to Muhammad.
Belief in Angels, as servants of God.
Belief in the Day of Judgement. When God will resurrect the dead and judge every soul regarding its actions and will reward or punish them accordingly.
Belief in Predestination i.e God is All-Powerful and God, being beyond time, has knowledge of events of the future.

These beliefs are largely common to Christianity, the major difference is that Islam believes that Jesus was a human prophet and that God is strictly One in person(no trinity).
A Muslim is also required to observe 5 ritual practices.

Belief in Oneness of God
Prayer
Fasting
Zakat (Obligatory Charity)
Pilgrimage to Mecca (if one is able)

In terms of practices and rituals, Islam is closer to Judaism and the teachings of the Old Testament rather than to Christianity. For example there are highly ritualized daily prayers. Pork is forbidden and meat is only permissible to eat if it has been slaughtered according to a prescribed slaughter ritual (Halal-Kosher). Alcohol is also forbidden, and sex is only allowed within a marriage contract.
For more information, you may visit a local Mosque, meet an Imam and ask him to guide you. You may also search the web and consult articles and books tailored for new converts that explain the fundamentals. Translations of the Quran are available online, and in bookstores and you can start studying them.
Answer: The most important thing to convert to a religion, is to research and study the most sacred things in that religion.
If you want to convert to a Muslim, You first must study and understand Quran, after that try understanding the five most important pillars of Islam, like

The Profession of Faith—The Shahada. The Profession of Faith, the shahada, is the most fundamental expression of Islamic beliefs.
Daily Prayers—Salat. Muslims are expected to pray five times a day.
Alms-Giving—Zakat. The giving of alms is the third pillar.
Fasting during Ramadan—Saum.
Pilgrimage to Mecca—Hajj.

Try understanding each of these points, through different point of views, i,e

Socially
Economically
Scientifically
Globally
Physically

They contribute the essence of understanding Islam and its contribution to each of views mentioned. Accepting Islam as your religion means, that you accept the terms and conditions of this religion. Personally, I don't know the dress code for christians but for muslim women, dress code is already defined, and should be followed exactly.
Hope it helps.


iPad mini 2 settings for local MCPE (0.12.1) server

Question: My son and I have a problem creating and joining a local MCPE (0.12.1) server with his new iPad mini 2 (iOS 8.4.1 (12H321)).
I know this might be a tough one to "break" - Cause there's A LOT of settings to poke around with on the iPad.
I have an old iPad 1 (OS 5.1.1 (9B206)) and a Samsung Galaxy Tab (don't know which one) both tablets have MCPE 0.12.1 installed.
These two tabs have no problem creating/hosting/joining a local server - But the Mini can't see or join a server created with the above tablets. But! sometimes we're able to get it to show and join/host a server right after it has been rebooted - But after a minute or two it disconnects.
Wifi signal is very good - "Local Server Multiplayer" is enabled on all tablets - We're also using the correct IP's/ports.
Therefore I think it has to do with some of the settings on the Mini.
So the question is: Which settings is NEEDED AS A MINIMUM to be enabled/disabled on the Mini to be able to host/join a local MCPE (0.12.1) server??
Answer: It's a bug people have been reporting. Check here:
https://bugs.mojang.com/browse/MCPE-10604
Comment: I will copy my post to the Mojang site. Maybe it's helpful to someone...


Utility sink close to 220v dryer outlet

Question: We would like to put in a utility sink in between our washer and dryer and the 220v dryer outlet is about 6" to the right and 6" below the top of the sink. I know code doesn't require GFCI for this, 120 washer outlet is GFCI, but is this safe or common practice? Thanks.
Answer: It is very common to have outlets, even panels near sinks.  No biggie.
Remember the dryer is going to be plugged in 24/7 and not likely to be messed around with, so not unsafe.
Answer: If the dryer receptacle is in a place where it could be splashed it may be considered a "damp" location and you should probably get a weatherproof cover for it. (NEC 2014, section 406.9(A)).
Also note that all 125-volt (i.e. "regular") receptacles in a laundry area must be GFCI protected, whether or not there is a sink (NEC 2014, section 210.8(A)). But a sink makes it an especially important safety feature so this would be a good time to double-check that and correct if necessary. (Note that there is no "distance to the sink" clause for laundry areas, so it's not a question of a certain number of feet from the sink.)
Answer: While the sink close to the outlet situation is probably acceptable to all electrical and building codes, I personally would want to increase the margin of safety if it were my home:

Relocate the dryer outlet further from the sink and raise it up higher.
While at it, be sure the outlet is a modern 4 wire (2 hot, 1 neutral, 1 ground) and has maximum protection from splashing it its design.
Place a splash barrier between the sink and the outlet: perhaps a half wall or a small custom barrier.
Better still would be to locate the utility sink to the left of the washer and dryer to the right.  Note: appliance manufacturers expect washer to the left of the dryer when doors that open left or right are considered.
Answer: You're okay with this configuration. Most utility rooms aren't all that big, and it is also very common to have clothes washing machines, which combine lots of water with lots of electricity, right next to clothes dryers, along with an oversize utility sink in many cases.
The dryer plug is almost certainly behind the washer and/or the dryer, not where it is easily accessible. It certainly sounds like it is behind the dryer in this case. The dryer is also unlikely to be unplugged for any reason more than about twice in the next 10 years. Any time you do unplug it, it's going to be when you are repairing or replacing it--not a casual affair during which somebody is likely to be using that sink at the same time.
My point is that you aren't constantly plugging and unplugging things like electric razors, radios and dangerous little high power appliances like hair dryers into that dryer receptacle. You're plugging the dryer in, pushing it up against the wall, then leaving it alone. If the circuit is wired correctly, then the housing of the dryer (and of the washing machine next to it) is grounded and won't become a shock hazard. If it's wired incorrectly, then it's a danger with or without the addition of a sink.
On the other hand, if you plug a radio or hair dryer into a non-GFCI receptacle, then drop it in the sink or the bathtub, you are in very serious trouble.
In other words, the danger of the receptacle has much to do with how you use it, and the nature of the devices you plug into it, and the state of repair (or disrepair) of said devices, and the portability of said devices.
You are quite unlikely to accidentally drop a clothes dryer into the sink.

Utility sink close to 220v dryer outlet


Is my Raspi okay sitting on a magnet?

Question: I have a big magnetic sheet that my Raspberry Pi is sitting on. It seems fine, but are there any dangers?
Comment: Why would you do this?!
Comment: Is that some sort of sadistic RPi torture going on? ;-)
Comment: @Jivings: Make sure it doesn't fall off?
Answer: As far as I'm aware, nothing in the Pi uses magnetic storage, so it shouldn't pose a problem.  The SD card uses electric charge to store data (as does all flash media), and the ROM is either the same (if it can be reflashed) or it's burnt in at the factory and impervious to most external fields.
If you had a really strong magnet, it's possible you could induce some electric currents in the circuit as you moved the Pi in and out of the magnetic field, which could cause damage (if they are large enough currents), but I suspect the magnetic field would have to be so strong it would rip the Pi out of your hand first.
So in short, outside of a laboratory setting or an MRI machine, no magnet should cause any problems for the Pi.
Comment: +1 because I forgot to mention that the OP shouldn't take his Pi with him for his MRI.
Comment: @XAleXOwnZX: You don't have to move the magnet.  Moving the Pi into the magnetic field results in the field appearing to change, from the Pi's perspective.
Comment: @Jivings I wish I'd read this post a week ago...
Comment: Inducing a current also requires a CHANGING magnetic field (by moving the magnet) as per Lenz's law
Comment: oops, i should have said "relatively" moving the magnet to the pi, including moving the pi
Answer: I'm pretty sure a strong enough magnetic field would have a serious effect on the Broadcom SoC, especially the data it stores in ROM for booting up the Raspberry Pi from the SD card.
The question is; Is the magnetic field produced by your magnet strong enough to cause permanent damage? Probably not, but why would you want to risk it?
Comment: Seems feasible.
Answer: Probably you can have problems with the ethernet connector as it contains micro magnets inside. For more information check this:
http://www.raspberrypi.org/archives/781
Comment: Hello SileNT and welcome to [RaspberryPi.SE]! Could you please post a summary of the important points in the link? This way we can prevent link rot. Thanks for your cooperation!
Comment: They contain transformers/inductors. "Magnetics" (magnetically working components), not "magnets".
Comment: The most important point is that Raspi ethernet connector contains magnets. I post the link just to prove it. I'm not sure if strong magnetic field can disturb the normal ethernet operation. Anyway placing an electronic device over strong magnet is not recommended. Cheers.

Is my Raspi okay sitting on a magnet?


NEAT algorithm and dynamic topology neural networks

Question: I have recently been investigating dynamic topology neural networks and there is only one problem I have with understanding them. Because a neuron could be inserted at any point, the neurons are no longer organised into layers, so how is it possible to ensure that all of the inputs for Neuron A at position X have been computed, prior to the computation of Neuron A's output, especially when each neurons output is calculated linearly? I am by no means experienced in the topic, just curious so any information would be helpful, Thank you.
Answer: Not an expert in neural net. But I recently read and answer a question on NEAT. From there, I would assume that direction of edges are already determined in each gene. Because of the way operations on genome was designed, I could see that you can ensure the genome is always in `topological order'.
Alternatively, looking at heuristic algorithms that iteratively update graph's weight as it learns (e.g. pagerank and ACO), it should be fine to assume initial weight and just let the iteration stabilise. One could imagine this as every edge being directed both ways --- every link is both input and output.


How to merge automation script with TFS

Question: I have written automation script and I want to run it through TFS. Also I want results and proper status. When you execute the test cases manually in TFS, it briefs with proper status. How can the same be achieved for Automation?
I use Eclipse for Coding.
Answer: Since you're using TFS and Eclipse, you will need to use the TFS plugin for Eclipse to link your automated test code with TFS test cases.
Once you've done that, you should be able to use that link to set up the reporting - exactly how  you do this will depend on your version of TFS and your environment.
If you are using TFS 2015 or later, or VS online, you should be able to set up a build and/or release task to run the automation through TFS, which will automatically post results to the test cases.
If you're using a different method, you may need to mess with the TFS API to have the results available when you view the test cases.

How to merge automation script with TFS


code using nltk and python

Question: I want a code for tagging idioms  in a  given sentence  or text using NLTK and Python.
Comment: And If you get this answer your company should pay SO
Comment: And I want to read the question.
Comment: Do you mean part of speech tagging?
Answer: Depends what you mean by an "idiom". Joe's suggestion of POS tagging is probably a good start - and might be what you are really after. If so, go read "Natural Language Processing with Python" by Bird et al. It is published by O'Reilly but is also available online under a Creative Commons license. This will get you started with POS tagging. It also has a good review of NLTK's abilities.  For example, can some "Named Entity Recognition" techniques be adapted to do what you want? Or perhaps what you want is simply too difficult. I suspect the latter is the case (as implied by Rafi) but you will find that out in your journey. Perhaps you'll develop something new during your journey, in which case I hope you give back to the NLTK community.

code using nltk and python


Are there Ethereum API wrappers?

Question: I'm looking into developing some Go software on Ethereum and I'm wondering - are there any API wrappers around for Ethereum (something like BTCSuite's BTCRPCClient is for Bitcoin)? I know there is a whole Go Ethereum implementation, but I'm looking for more lightweight way of interacting just with the JSON RPC server, rather than interacting with the whole network directly.
Comment: This would be better suited for https://ethereum.stackexchange.com
Comment: True, but it's not really off-topic here either, and it already got an answer here. So, I'm not sure whether it's worth it to migrate the question. Unless @ThePiachu wants to have it migrated?
Comment: @Murch I posted the question to both SEs, which probably is the best approach.
Comment: @ThePiachu: [Please don't post the identical question to multiple sites.](http://meta.stackexchange.com/q/64068/232061) Since Peter posted the same answer there as well, I'll close it here then, because it fits better on [Ethereum](http://ethereum.stackexchange.com/q/967/235).
Answer: Not yet.
We've just revamped the server side RPC internals in develop and are still ironing out some quirks. I can imagine we would soon-ish start working towards the directions of providing some Go client APIs, but we're not there yet. If you just need a few specific ones, they are relatively easy to implement (here's a few we needed for a hackathon last week https://github.com/gophergala2016/etherapis/blob/master/etherapis/geth/api.go).

Are there Ethereum API wrappers?


Are there any problems associated with using the same encryption key for multiple systems?

Question: I have multiple computers, tablets, etc. If I have a very secure key, is there any problem with using it to encrypt all of my systems? I can remember 1 or 2 secure keys without writing them down. But any more than that, I would probably get them mixed up.
Comment: What do you want to defend against ? The answers will be different if you want to defend against casual hardware theft vs. law enforcement.
Comment: You're talking about OS Encryption, right?
Comment: You normally remember passwords or passphrases, not keys.
Answer: There is often a trad-off to be found between security and usability.
Some times you consent to loose a bit of usability for the sake of security. Some times you agree to loose a bit of security for the sake of usability. All that's matter is to clearly understand the risk you are facing and whether or not you accept to cope with this.
In your case:

Using disk encryption is always better than using no disk encryption. Botting from another media or extracting the disk for instance will not give an immediate access to your data.
Using long passphrases is better than short passwords. The disks will most probably be resistant to brute force attacks, an attacker would therefore need to find another way to get access to your passphrases (software weakness, shoulder surfing, hardware keylogger when appropriate are possible examples of alternative ways to get access to your passphrase).
Using the same passphrase on all of your encrypted device make this passphrase o become a single point of failure. If an attacker manage to get access to the passphrase on one device, he will be able to decipher the content of all other devices.

Knowing this risk, you might find it acceptable.
For instance, if all of your device already share the same content (mail software retrieving mails from the same mailboxes, Firefox synchronization enabled, copies of the same files or access to the same shared location (cloud storage, etc.)), then having separate encryption passphrase might be of little value.
Or if your main concern is about one of your device being stolen, the fact that it's content will be strongly encrypted is a sufficient guaranty. A casual thief will most probably have neither the opportunity to look or film you while typing your password nor proceed with an advanced plan like installing some keylogger on your system to capture the passphrases in prevision of stealing the devices as a next step.
I encourage you to check this thread, you will see that a strong passphrase is not necessary a complex one with strange symbols all over the place, and moreover you will discover "@AviD's rule of usability" I have to highlight here:

Security at the expense of usability comes at the expense of security.
Answer: Yes, there are problems. The problem is if that one key is compromised all of your accounts are compromised. It's much faster to crack one key to access 5 accounts than it is to crack 5 keys to access 5 accounts. Some systems also use weaker cryptographic methods. Even if your key is strong it could potentially be recovered easily on one system, defeating the strength of the other systems.
Comment: well the difference in brute-force security isn't that much. If you consider the brute-force attack using 5 different password adds a mere 3 bits of security if an attacker can test all of them. But the argument that if one system's lost others are lost too is still valid.


Hot battery, just sitting

Question: I pulled the battery as it was acting funny, thinking terminal resistance was the problem.  Even though it showed 12.5 volts sitting there, under any load it went down to 8, so had a dead cell or two or high resistance.  The battery sat in the back of my truck, in the shade, on an 80 degree day,  for over 6 hours before I went to get a new one at 9PM.  It was still hot.  Guessing the issue is an internal short drawing current and making heat.  Luckily, it was still under warranty and got a new one for free, leaving the hot one in the shop.  Told the guy, hope it didn't burst into flames and burn the place down.  Anybody else have an issue like this?
Comment: Welcome to Motor Vehicle Maintenance & Repair! Considering the power drop and heat buildup, I'd suggest you are most likely spot on with the internal short diagnosis.
Comment: Was it in the shade the whole day? Cars can get up to 60C (140F) or much hotter, and if it was in direct sun some of the day, lead-acid batteries are fantastic at storing heat because they are full of the best heat storage compound known, and have the lowest possible surface area short of being a sphere.
Answer: In answer to the main question, yes I have experienced this. The battery was utterly trashed, the vehicle would never crank. But, we were on a work crew and had to get cracking so we jumped it every morning. The battery was always hot in the mornings before we jumped it and eventually it popped while driving, steam/smoke came pouring through the AC vents. Not pretty. Good call replacing it, hopefully it discharges before it gets hot enough to pop.

Hot battery, just sitting


How to identify electrical panel busbar rating

Question: recently I got a bid from a solar company and they said I don't need to upgrade my eletrical box since it is rated at 125 amps, and for that value, I can install a 7k system based on calculation here https://www.altestore.com/blog/2018/11/grid-tied-solar-breaker-box-120-percent-rule/#.XzwpBpNKg8N. I poked around the panel itself, and found two ratings, 100amps and 125 amps, and I am not sure which rating should that solar company to use, and definitely blowing out my electrical box after solar panels are installed is the last thing I want to see.
Comment: It's be tempted to replace it, regardless it's amperage, just for how beat up it looks
Answer: This is a 125A panel
From the labeling on your panel, in particular the note about field upgrading 100A mains to 125A by replacing the main breaker and the meter-to-main-breaker wire jumpers, we can tell that this panel has 125A busbars in it, since UL wouldn't have permitted the manufacturer to provide such an upgrade as an option otherwise.
The fact that it's center-fed may or may not be an issue
If your jurisdiction's adopted the 2017 NEC, you're good to go, since it provides new language for this situation in 705.12(B)(2) point 3(d):

(d) A connection at either end, but not both ends, of a
center-fed panelboard in dwellings shall be permitted where
the sum of 125 percent of the power source(s) output circuit
current and the rating of the overcurrent device protecting the
busbar does not exceed 120 percent of the current rating of
the busbar.

Note that this 120% rule is the same as the rule in subpoint 3(b) that'd be used if your panel was end-fed with the solar breaker at the other end; this means that the 120% math works out all the same, and gives us 150A for the combination of main and solar feed breakers.  With a 125A main breaker, this lets you put a 25A solar breaker in, which limits your system to 6kW.
If you have an AHJ that's not quite with the times, you may run into trouble as the standard load calculations tend to be more restrictive when applied to center-fed configurations such as yours.  In that case, I would talk with the AHJ about a written variance to use the above center-fed calculation method.
Before you go...
The one other issue you might have with this panel is finding breakers for it.  Siemens has discontinued the Murray MP line of breakers, and it appears that the other breaker types it is labeled to take are either GFCI (ITE/Siemens QF1-B, Westinghouse/Eaton QPGF, Bryant/Eaton GFCB) or double-stuff (Bryant/Eaton BRD).
If you don't wish to take a minor gamble on New Old Stock Murray/Siemens MP breakers being available and in good shape, I would use a Siemens QP breaker, based on the subsitution letter Siemens provides, although that's subject to AHJ acceptance of the subsitution.  If you can't get your AHJ to accept Siemens breakers in this panel for some odd reason, you can Eaton CL for the solar breaker as that's UL classified to play nice in Murray (including Arrow-Hart/Crouse-Hinds) panels.
If none of those are an option, your AHJ might be willing to accept an Eaton BR (not BRD or GFCB) breaker in the panel based on it being crosslabeled for BRD and GFCB types, but that's a judgement call considering that UL never tested it for that precise configuration.  (Granted, it's not much different from putting a NOS MP120AFC arc fault breaker in the panel, considering it's far too old to be labeled for type MP-AT2 breakers.)
Answer: What that listing says is this panel is made with wire jumpers between the meter pan and the main breaker.
If the wire is 1 AWG, the panel is rated 100A. If 1/0, then 125A. Either way, that wire which is what differentiates the two ratings, is in series with the main breaker, so protected by the main breaker.  Therefore it is out of scope for the 120% solar de-rate.
Both versions of the panel have 125A busing.  That is what matters.
120% of 125A is 150A.
The main breaker + the solar breaker cannot exceed 150A.
Answer: Your panel is what's commonly known as a 125A panel.
Your panel is labeled more completely than most are.  All panels (all electrical equipment really) have both a maximum rating, which they can handle for a short time, and a continuous load rating, which they can handle indefinitely.  And the way it works in the NEC, is that continuous loads are only allowed to use 80% of the available capacity.  So, if you were to load your panel with entirely continuous loads (nearly impossible in a house, but not that weird in an industrial setting), you'd only be able to use 125*0.8=100A.  Panels that are marketed for residential and not industrial uses typically don't give you that second number as well, but it's always 80% of the maximum rating.  Assuming you're using this for normal residential uses, where most of your loads are intermittent, you can consider this a 125A panel.
Also of note: while Crouse-Hinds is no longer in business, their breaker business was bought out (and fully supported) by modern breaker companies.  Your panel can accept Siemens or Murray type MP breakers (thanks @threephaseeel), or certain Bryant type BR GFCI breakers.
Comment: While the busbar rating of this meter/loadcenter is likely 125A, you overlooked the potential complications that stem from this being a center-fed panel, as well as the actual lineage of this panel -- Crouse-Hinds and Arrow-Hart panels are really renamed *Murray* designs, and that panel line was sold off to Siemens sometime before Crouse-Hinds and Arrow-Hart were acquired by Eaton.
Comment: @ThreePhaseEel, are you sure about it being a Siemens lineage panel?  The labeling mentions it accepts Bryant breakers.  But I do see MP breakers on that list as well, so maybe it can take either?  And you're right that the center-fed could in theory be a complication, but since this panel gives an overall rating of 125A and doesn't list any smaller stab limits, I think it is true 125A bus bars in this case.
Comment: Pre-Siemens Murray panels are crosslabeled in a rather peculiar (and identifying) way that's mostly shared between all three names the panels came under.
Comment: @ThreePhaseEel, TIL, thanks!  Edited it into the question.


What school of thought believes that gods do exist, but they are perfect and do not care about humans?

Question: I vaguely remember from high school a school of thought that relied on the assumption that gods exist, but they are perfect and therefore they do not care about humans. They are remote and perfect and inaccessible and somehow useless for us
Comment: Deism. Stoics hold to a very participatory deity-substabce
Answer: The classical example of this is Epicureanism. Epicurus (or, closer to the Greek, 'Epikuros'), 341–270 BCE, supposed the gods to occupy the empty space between the innumerable worlds - the intermundia. Their lives were blissful, undisturbed by any concern with human beings, and passed in the eternal enjoyment of peace. The life of the gods served as an ideal for the Wise Man, sophos, who could never attain on earth the state of blessedness of the gods. But the Wise Man's ideal was a matter of indifference to the gods.
Deism : the reason I have not mentioned this is first that it appears in the previous answer and secondly that your question concerned 'gods' - in the plural. I understand 'deism' as a historical term, belonging mainly to 17th- and 18th century Western European theology and referring to 'God' or 'a God'. God exists, there is a God, Creator and First Cause, but God is uninvolved in human affairs. That is my understanding of the Deistic view; if I were to refine it, as I might easily do, I would still not pluralise. I note that a single God is assumed in the definition of deism cited above.
I can only plead that I took your question, and its reference to gods not God, literally.
REFERENCES
A.J. Festugiere, 'Epicurus and his Gods', tr. C. W. Chilton, Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1955.
J.M. Rist, 'Epicurus : An Introduction', Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 1972.
Answer:

Deism
    Belief in the existence of a supreme being, specifically of a creator who does not intervene in the universe. The term is used chiefly of an intellectual movement of the 17th and 18th centuries that accepted the existence of a creator on the basis of reason but rejected belief in a supernatural deity who interacts with humankind.

https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/us/deism

This was at one time an influential philosophical viewpoint --many of the United States "founding fathers" were arguably Deist.  However, it has largely been rejected from both sides --many atheists and theists find it odd to express belief in a being that does not intervene in the world, and it represents an intrinsically non-empirical proposition.


ADO.NET - Entity Data Model vs. LINQ To SQL

Question: I am trying my best to understand what is the difference between "ADO.NET - Entity Data Model" and "LINQ To SQL", but I cannot figure it out.
Can someone please explain the differences between the two and the advantages and disadvantages?
Thanks
Frank
Answer: Linq to SQL was actually a proof of concept for Linq.  See The Origin of LINQ to SQL.  Microsoft is putting its weight behind Entity Framework, although I believe it's not quite ready for prime time.
Anyway, this StackOverflow post provides some additional detail about the differences.
Answer: Linq to SQL is said to be dead (I don't think so though - it was way to well received by the development community). Entity Framework is its successor, if you want. It can access more data sources (more database types, and also different kinds of sources such as reporting services, business intelligence etc.). It's much more complex than Linq to SQL, and has a steeper learning curve, for example EF allows one class-multiple tables mapping. Other things are not possible with EF, such as specifying deferred loading - that's Linq to SQL only.