Can I publish a book anonymously to protect the real people my non-fiction book is about?

Question: I'm in the process of writing a life story/non-fiction book that has numerous real life issues and me being real and raw and truthful with what I have dealt with in my own life. I don't want to embarrass or call out anyone in my life but would like to still tell my story to help others! How do I go about this? Can I publish anonymously by chance instead of just changing names, etc?? Those around the people may be able to identify them by relationship so I am concerned about this. Thanks
Comment: Why shouldn't you just change the character names? You can always imply that all characters are fictional and any similarity is mere coincidence.
Comment: @Chaotic After this post I don't think claiming that characters that the OP has acknowledged to be based on real people are fictional would stand up in court if it ever came down to that.  Better to change all the names and put in a disclaimer saying that the following is loosely based on real events, with names and other details changed to protect the anonymity of the participants.
Answer: The problem is not the author of the book, but the events and characters portrayed. If you anonymously write, for instance, about your schoolmates with their names and physical description in a setting that is recognizable as the real one, no matter who the author is, the people portrayed will be recognized. Period. It will happen.
"Publishing anonymously" might protect yourself, not the people you write about.
That said, there can be solutions.
Sometimes changing names and settings can be enough.
But a good writer, in my opinion, is able to modify the real events in order to maintain the core behind them. It does not matter if Jane cheated on Ralph during high school: what you want to tell is a story about cheating, and the emotions it uncovered. That you can do by any means, not with a chronicle of what happened.
Pardon this rough simplification, but I hope it helps.
Answer: Short answer: NO.
Long answer: The publisher is the legal entity responsible for paying the production costs, for arranging distribution, and the like. Thus, the publisher is always known, at least to those who need to know for business purposes. This part of the answer is not a matter of law; it is practical.
If your book bears no information regarding who is responsible for it, then how would anyone be able to obtain a copy? Where would they inquire?
Now, it is theoretically possible that a known business could stock and distribute your book, without revealing the origin of the book. Certainly they can do so for the author's name, if you are using a pseudonym. Nevertheless, the true name could be discovered, if legally necessary. After all, the copyright can be traced back to somebody, and the real author's name is stored somewhere in an industry database.
The only way you could effectively conceal the origin of the book would be to print it yourself in your basement, without telling anybody, then skulk around in camouflage in the middle of the night, dropping off copies without payment. Even then, most businesses nowadays have outside cameras to discourage burglary. You are being watched. As a point of law, which surely varies according to jurisdiction, doing this secretive routine may or may not be illegal, even if the book's contents are not illegal.
Answer: You could try.
But if someone wants to sue you it is easy to track down the true author.
And just changing names will not be sufficient protection either.
You need to see an IP lawyer before you publish such a work.
Comment: When you say "changing names", do you mean using a pen name, or changing the character's names? Edit to clarify.


Tag Burninate Suggestion: [adventure]

Question: We need to kill the adventure tag with fire. It's generic to the point of uselessness. Most of the questions that are tagged with it are either asking for recommendations (now considered off-topic), or are much better described by gm-techniques.
Answer: It's generic, yes, but that seems to be part of the (tiny, withered) core of its usefulness, so I'm not sure it merits complete removal.
If we keep it though, I think it need some overdue pruning and TLC.
Filtering out off-topic questions and closed questions, and ones that were posted before published-adventures and adventure-writing were created and now should be switched to one of those, all the remaining questions seem to be about running adventures or (in the lone case of "What is a "funnel"?") directly about a type of adventure for which we don't have a dedicated tag.
Those cases seem to accurately use adventure to categorise the questions' core topic: "my question is about an adventure." If we removed it, I think we'd lose some categorisation and sorting strength by not having some kind of tag for the purpose.
I think we'd be OK leaving the tag as-is, if we also:

retag a bunch as published-adventures and/or adventure-writing
close (or ignore until bumped) the open recommendation questions

Optionally, we might also make the adventure tag more self-explanatory and distinct from those former two by renaming it to running-adventures, if we can figure out what to do with the remaining "just about adventures" question, "What is a "funnel"?". (Maybe leaving it a bare terminology question would be fine?)
Comment: @ObliviousSage Usually only tangentially, and tangents don't go into the tags. Only when the problem is specifically *about* the adventure (and not about using a published adventure or about designing an adventure, since we have more specific tags for those), would the tag be merited on a question. I think renaming to [running-adventures] would alleviate the generic-ness problem somewhat.
Comment: Just watch out for the GM who wants to ask a question about adventures that involve rapid bipedal locomotion.
Comment: After doing some exploratory retagging, I think [running-adventures] might be a good replacement.  you run them or you write them or you buy em, mainly.
Comment: That approach isn't unreasonable, but I still think the tag is too generic. Aren't 90% of questions about GMing ultimately either social or about running adventures?
Answer: I'm going to work through this tag retagging things with other tags where they're appropriate. From looking over the 17 [adventure] questions we have, I agree [adventure] does not seem to be a useful tag -- [adventure-something] might be.
For example I've removed [adventure] from What is a "funnel"? mentioned in SSD's answer. This question isn't about adventures, it's about terminology (that, coincidentally, shows up in places such as adventures).
If it's useful in its own right then there will be questions I can't improve by removing the tag or retagging with something more accurate. We'll see if it survives its questions receiving some gentle tag revision. If it doesn't survive, we'll call this tag burninated.

Flambé status

Retagged (or had another tag) such that [adventure] is redundant/unnecessary:

What is a "funnel"? terminology  as mentioned
Where can I find a list of Fantasy Grounds mini-dungeons/adventures, by level? published-adventures
Is there a repository of fan-made adventures for Numenera? published-adventures
How to build an interesting Dungeon that exists to kill the players? adventure-writing
Make NPCs hard to interrogate encounter-design
How do I make random adventures relevant to player motivations in a Sandbox Hexcrawl Campaign? adventure-writing
Free Pathfinder low-level urban adventures? published-adventures game-recommendation [closed]
Converting a 3.5e Campaign (Shackled City) to a 4e Campaign adventure-path
Are there any megadungeons available for non-D&D systems? published-adventures game-recommendation [closed]
How do I run a maze scenario without using a map? adventure-writing
How do I help my players not get caught up on smaller plot points? story gm-techniques
Adventuring within Cthulhu Mythos without realizing it? campaign-development investigation
Collections of two-player free-form adventure ideas? published-adventures game-recommendation [closed]
What should be included in a standard 4E D&D encounter? How would this be written in the adventure? adventure-writing
What happens in adventure locations between adventures? world-building

Running a senate-based game has been deleted rather than retagged; it's an idea-generation with no lasting value or significance to our site.
This leaves Where can I post a d20 adventure? as possibly the one and only question here that might actually benefit from a adventure tag. It's closed as a recommendation request, has no special significance, and the only reason it's not already automatically deleted is because it has a score of +2, where auto-deletion ignores questions above a score of +1.
… I don't feel like keeping the tag around just for that one closed abandoned off-topic question, so I've opted to delete that one question. Maybe in the future we'll have cause for an [adventure-publishing] tag or something.

Tag Burninate Suggestion: [adventure]


Five tricks to avoid unwholesome kamma

Question: I have heard of five tricks/methods which could be used to avoid performing unwholesome kamma. I can remember three of them precisely. Would like to know all 5 listed in order.  One is shifting the mind away from the unwholesome thought, another is finding the root cause, another is thinking of consequences.
Answer: Vitakka Saṇṭhāna Sutta gives the following 5:

Replace the unwholesome thoughts with wholesome thoughts
Examine the drawback of unwholesome thoughts
One sould forget unwholesome thoughts
One should try to still the source of unwholesome thoughts
Subdue the unwholesome thoughts

Five tricks to avoid unwholesome kamma


Am I entitled to my security deposit?

Question: Really needing some advice here. I was set to move into a residential lease at the end of the month. Completely my fault, but I got cold feet because I know I won't be happy living there. I gave a security deposit of $1,500, but the landlord is refusing to give it back because he's saying I wasted his time. The kicker here is that I am the only who has the original and ONLY signed lease contract. He said I can make a copy of the original, but I haven't given it back since what has transpired. In the lease contract, it is documented when I gave the initial deposit. I am wondering if I am entitled to this deposit and if so, should I take this to court? Thanks.
Comment: If you have the only copy of the contract, you are literally the only person who can answer this question. You should read the contract carefully, and possibly take it to a lawyer.
Answer: You broke the lease, which is a contract, and under general principles of law the landlord is entitled to compensation for his losses (the rent owed). You would probably not owe the entire year's worth of rent: the landlord has an obligation to mitigate his losses (for example RCW 59.18.310 in Washington), by re-renting the unit ASAP, but at least a month's rent would be highly likely. If this is a year lease and the monthly rent is $1,500 then you owe $18,000 in rent, which would get reduced to 1 or 2 month's rent depending on circumstances. However, in the US, state laws also regulate security deposits, so there is no universal answer to the details of landlords keeping the deposit to cover unpaid rent. But unpaid rent can be deducted in Washington, California, Texas, Ohio and possibly all other states.
You don't say whether you also paid "first and last" along with a separate security deposit. Whatever amount of money you gave him, the basic principle is that you owe a lot of money as rent, you cannot void the contract because you got cold feet, but the landlord has a duty to mitigate his losses – you owe him for those losses, but not for more than those losses.
Comment: Without knowing the terms of the contract and the circumstances of its formation, I am not so sure that the OP broke a lease which hasn't started or that his change of mind forfeits reimbursement. Landlord's bare pretext of "wasting his time" is inconclusive as to losses. RCW 59.18.310 refers to *not resuming* (rather than *not starting*) tenancy. Since the lease hadn't started yet, there might be grounds for rescission of contract. It is unclear here, but the OP should assess whether [Restatement (Second) of Contracts at § 214(e)](https://www.nylitigationfirm.com/files/restat.pdf) favors him.
Comment: The Restatement (Second) of Contracts is available [here](https://www.fbcoverup.com/docs/library/1981-Restatement-Second-of-Contracts-1981.pdf), now that the law firm of the link in my previous comment removed that resource and posted some useless "overview of contract law" instead.
Answer:
I am wondering if I am entitled to this deposit and if so, should I take this to court?

It is unclear why the landlord lost his copy of the contract. If anything, tenants are usually the ones who lose their copy, not landlords.
Without knowing the terms of your contract, it is impossible to ascertain the clauses regarding your security deposit. However, it is very unlikely for that type of contracts to entitle the landlord to keep the deposit only because you "wasted his time". With that sort of excuses, he will never give your contract back to you if you borrow it to him.
You did not specify your jurisdiction, but the decision whether or not to take this to court is entirely yours. If your jurisdiction is somewhere in the U.S., you would have to commence proceedings in the Small Claims Court in your state because the amount is $1,500.
Absent any specifics in the contract regarding forfeiture of the deposit, you could premise your position on the basis that security deposits mainly serve the purposes of (1) guaranteeing solvency in case of non-payment down the road (for instance, so the landlord does not lose rent money while evicting the landlord), and (2) sets up a fund from which to deduct any deterioration caused by the tenant beyond normal tear and wear. Since you no longer intend to move there, both normal tear & wear and the risk of default are preempted.
Security deposits are hardly ever intended to compensate for the landlord's mere waste of time. The contract would have to establish reasonably clear terms to overcome that presumption.
Make sure that your subsequent interactions with the landlord are in writing, so that you can produce evidence in the event that you decide to take him to court.
Comment: So I am the only one with the original contract because after I signed, I asked for a copy. He didn't have one so he said I can go make a copy of the original myself. Since I haven't given it back, I am the only one with physical evidence that there was a signed contract. This is all happening in New Jersey, USA. There is no wording in the contract that states that I forfeit the deposit if I back out. It only states that I paid an initial deposit of $1500, which counts as a security deposit. I'm just worried about the signed contract as evidence because wouldn't that mean I'm legally binded?
Comment: @user3688713 the fact that landlord doesn't have a copy of the lease is probably not relevant. A paper copy and a signature are not required for a contract to be established. The fact that you paid the damage deposit would be strong evidence that you had agreed to a contract with the landlord. You could perhaps dispute what the terms of the contract were, but in many jurisdictions you'd be entitled to your damage deposit back, but also obligated to pay rent until the landlord was able to re-lease the unit. The landlord would be required to make a good faith effort to re-lease the unit.
Comment: @user3688713 "*wouldn't that mean I'm legally binded?*" That depends on the terms of the contract and what it says regarding early termination. The fact that a contract was entered is very likely come to surface sooner or later in the court proceedings anyway. For instance, at some point the landlord will allude to the contract when he presents his defense.

Am I entitled to my security deposit?


What's the difference among [停]{と}める、[止]{と}める、and [留]{と}める?

Question: How are they different in meaning and usage? I also would like to see samples of how each can be used in a sentence.
Comment: Thanks.  I use several dictionaries but sometimes  I can't find good examples showing usage.  I don't know enough Japanese to use a Japanese web site.  The best one I found so far that helps is Tangorin, but sometimes it doesn't list examples.   The reason I found the site was I had done a search online for examples of "noboru"  which has three different Kanji.   The answer posted here, very nicely showed the difference  between them and showed examples. This was very helpful.   It's the reason I decided to try this site.
Comment: Related: http://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/6557
Comment: Japanese resources: http://www3.u-toyama.ac.jp/niho/kanjien/iji_dokun_v/tomaru_tomeru.html, http://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/qa/question_detail/q10106478780, https://kotobank.jp/word/%E6%AD%A2%E3%82%81%E3%82%8B%E3%83%BB%E7%95%99%E3%82%81%E3%82%8B%E3%83%BB%E5%81%9C%E3%82%81%E3%82%8B-342625
Answer: Since you said your Japanese isn't yet strong enough, I'll write here what the sites pointed to in the comments to your question have to say.
停める This is "to stop" like a train or bus at a station or bus stop.  The general sense is to stop briefly before moving on.  So, for example, you could use it to say something like "I stopped to unload my groceries."
留める has a more abstract meaning.  To fasten something so it doesn't move.
止める is the general notion of stopping something from moving.
On the site pointed to by broccoli forest, there are various examples provided:
Translations of the first three examples for 止める are

バスが止まる。 The bus stops.
時計が止まっている。 My watch has stopped.
息が止まるぐらい驚いた。 I was so surprised that I caught my breath.

Translations for the first three examples for 留める

これはネジで留まっているので、ドライバーが必要だ。 I need a screwdriver because it's fastened with a screw.
日々、目に留まった風景をデジカメで撮っている。 Each day, I snap pictures of the scenery that catches (stops) my eye.
シャツのボタンを留める。 I fasten the buttons on my shirt.

There's also 泊める which has the sense of staying some place.

駅前のホテルに泊まった。 We stayed at the hotel by the station.
いつでも泊まりに来てください。 Please drop by whenever.
大型の船が港に泊まっている。 The freighter has dropped anchor in the bay.
Comment: @l'électeur I read it more as question about the difference in the meaning of the kanji choice than whether the verb form used was transitive or intransitve.  But I could certain update the answer to reflect that.
Comment: ^ `literary elegant` て?  literary (文語的な)? litera**ll**y? (文字通り・まさに)?
Comment: The question is clearly about transitive verbs, but only one of the nine example sentences above uses a transitive verb.
Comment: This (your answer) might be a perfect explanation from one of native Japanese speaker. And literary elegant, too.
Answer: Do note that the native Japanese language didn't distinguish all these words.  When Japanese started to import Chinese words some 1,500yrs ago, we noticed their civilization and culture were much more advanced and they had so many words to distinguish notions which just seemed the same to us.  It was many-to-one mapping.
Notable examples are [早]{はや}い "early" and [速]{はや}い "fast/quick" (and perhaps [迅]{はや}い for "blazingly fast".)  So, Japanese in the Kofun period didn't even distinguish "early" and "fast" --- probably they thought like, someone wakes up early in the morning must be walking around fast in the village for farming rice, why bother to have two different words??
Answer: English counterparts of 停める、止める、and 留める in the transitive form will be:
'park' to 停める as in 車を停める – park a car (in parking lot).
'stop' to 止める as in 出血を止める - stop bleeding 、機械を止める – stop the machine.
'keep / leave' to 留める as in  心に留める〈留意する〉- keep in mind, (荷物を)手元に留める – keep the luggage at hand, beside the case of 'fastening the buttons' and 'catching the eyes' in A Ellett's answer.
In an intransitive or passive form, it will be for examples;
(車が)停まる – The car is parked (in front of the building).
血(時計)が止まる- The bleeding stops. / The clock stops.
情報が(彼の手元に)留まる – The information is kept / left in his hand.
(ローマに)留まる- (He) stays (in Rome).
Comment: ローマには「泊まる」方が自然かなと思います。そのままだと「留【とど】まる」と読みそうです。
Comment: broccoli. I didn't mean(ローマのEden Hotelに)泊る in my answer. I meant (ローマに1週間)留まる。We Japanese say ホテルに泊まる, but don't say (ローマに泊まる - It's awkward, though we say "stay in hotel / in the city" in English. You can also say  (ローマに1週間)"滞在する" in place of "留まる."


How can I convert an AI file to a CDR file?

Question: Assume I have an AI file, Adobe Illustrator CS 5 and no CorelDraw. How can I convert this AI file to CDR file? What is the fastest and cheapiest way?
Answer: What version of CorelDRAW? What's the workflow?
.CDR is a proprietary format, so I'm not aware of any proper supported exporters. The sK1 project reverse-engineered the format, and claims to have the best support. But since recent versions of CorelDRAW can import Adobe Illustrator CS4 files, I think you would get the best results to just save it as .ai and import it into CorelDRAW.
Comment: I know it and I don't know the version of CorelDRAW. I have to send my logo to a festival and there are several strict requirements for file format. The matter is quite urgent, nevertheless thanx for the prompt responce.
Answer: This answer may be what you are looking for:
http://en.allexperts.com/q/Adobe-Illustrator-1027/Converting-Illustrator-Corel-Draw.htm
Comment: That article is five years old, so I'd be careful about what features you'd lose saving in legacy formats and later versions of CorelDRAW have better support of later Illustrator versions.


Origin and variations of "being handed your hat"

Question: I heard the expression being handed your hat being used to mean that you are invited to leave. What is its origin and what are the possible variations?
Comment: It's just a bit more oblique than being *shown the door*. Not at all current, I would suggest, since we no longer live in a world where gentlemen entering their club would normally hand their hat and coat to the doorman.
Comment: Not really an answer, but an example of the expression cast in a sarcastic mode. "Here's your hat, what's your hurry?" A rather pointed send-off...
Answer: The Phrase Finder has the following excellent summary of this phrase's origin, which goes so far as to include a couple variations:

Origin: in more ceremonious days, if someone came to visit you, you would see him to the door at visit's end. Then either you or your butler would hand him his hat, since everyone in those days wore hats, but not inside. Figurative meaning: to be shown the door, to be sent packing. Can be used to mean to be fired.
You can use it in a variety of ways, such as: "He expected another term, but the voters handed him his hat." Or, "I was confident that my actions were for the good of the company, but I was handed my hat anyway." Or: "I offered him first crack at my new invention, the one that would save him thousands annually. I didn't expect to be handed my hat and shown the door."
Of course, the literal meaning is still valid. If you are looking around for your hat, someone is likely to hand it to you in simple politeness.

"Was handed his hat" gets 123 results on Google; using "her" gets 33, "their" gets 14, "being handed his hat" has 97, etc.  I'd say it receives a respectable amount of attention, by no means ostentatious.  To compare, "was shown the door" gets 560 results.
Comment: Good Lord! Obviously I didn't! I was getting fed up after a few dozen pages, so I just gritted my teeth and kept going for a round 50. You've shown dilligence beyond the call of duty, and deserve far more recognition than the pitiful little upvote which is all I can offer! :)
Comment: When I actually paged through Google's *About 328,000 results* for "was handed his hat", it petered out at 116 results. But even after paging through several hundred results, Google didn't change its mind re *About 7,090,000 results* for "was shown the door". OP's version really has no currency to speak of.
Comment: @Fumble: Did you go to [page 56](http://www.google.com/search?gcx=c&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=%22was%20shown%20the%20door%22#q=%22was+shown+the+door%22&hl=en&prmd=imvns&ei=N9C1TouiJ8mQ2QXT6OXMDQ&start=550&sa=N&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&fp=e4decfc8e8585040&biw=1366&bih=643)?  560 results ends on page 56.
Answer: The first three instances of "handed him his hat" that a Google Books search for the years 1700 through 2000 finds are from 1843, 1845, and 1846. Here they are, in context. From Ben Bradshawe: The Man Without a Head (1843):

Sophy had stuck it [Ben's hat] upon a bust of Shakespeare which adorned the hall, but as Ben never dreamt of having such a head in his hat he had overlooked it. Sophy went into the hall and handed him his hat ; but Ben, marvelling at the atrocity of his own impudence took the hand as well as the hat, and shook it till the old hat trembled more than he ; then seizing the hat he pressed the place where the hand had been to his lips, and hurried from the house, leaving both sisters in a state of unutterable confusion.

From a translation of Johann Jung-Stilling, Theobald, or the Fanatic: A True History (1845):

Upon this the fire began to burn in the bosom of Theobald ; he approached the teacher, and asked him if, as a gentleman, he were acquainted with the rules of good breeding? Here both of us are invited as guests, and are on an equal footing ; now sir, you must leave the house immediately. He then handed him his hat and cane, and showed him the door, then taking his own hat and cane, followed right after. A couple of persons followed them under the apprehension that they might come to blows ; but Theobald had no such intention ; he went quietly home, and so did the teacher.

And from "Hochelaga," in Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine (October 1846):

An Englishman at the New York theatre, having engaged, paid for, and established himself in a snug front corner of a box, thought himself justified in retaining it, even when summoned by an American to yield it to a lady. A discussion ensued. The pit inquired its cause ; the lady's companion stepped forward and said, "There is an Englishman here who will not give up his place to a lady." Whereupon the indignant pit swarmed up into the box, gently seized the offender, and carried him out of the theatre, neither regarding nor retaliating his kicks, blows, and curses, set him carefully down upon the steps, handed him his hat, his opera-glass, and the price of his ticket, and shut the door in his face.

All three of these instances involve a departure—in the first case initiated by the person who receives his hat, in the other two by a person or persons anxious to see the recipient out of the building. It should be clear from the second and third examples that being handed your hat can serve as a far-from-oblique hint to quit the premises.
One odd variant that I've noticed in recent years involves being "handed your head." From Clayton Crockett, Religion and Violence in a Secular World: Toward a New Political Theology (2006):

We modern democrats congratulate ourselves on having revolutionized this schema, having turned it upside down, by ridding it of its top-down power structure. We have shown the king the door (or even handed him his head) and replaced him with a constitutional democracy, according to which power rises from the bottom up.

The sense of the variant expression is "chopped off his head and handed it back to him [sometimes, on a platter]"—not a very logical way to show someone the door, perhaps, but quite vivid.
The ealiest instance of this form of the expression that a Google Books search discloses is from Israel Magazine, volume 2 (1970) [combined snippets], where the meaning seems less metaphorical than it usually is in later instances:

He [the Arab complainant] thinks the terrorists may find out, accuse him of recognizing Israel's juri[s]diction over East Jerusalem, and hand him his head. When Kaddar believes that the man's fear is real he will make an exception to the rule that the Ombudsman can consider only written, signed complaints, a rule found to be a necessary precaution against malicious defamation and slander, which some complainants have tried.

The next-earliest instance in the same search is from John Leonard, Black Conceit (1973) [combined snippets]:

"What did Louis do to him when Boileau dumped on his sonnet?"
"Nothing."
"Nothing? You'd expect a guy like Louis to hand him his head."
"Yes, well." The pedagogue sprang to attention. "Those were the days when poets were taken seriously, even by kings. Louis XIV would accept the judgment of a well-known poet on his own stab at poetry, because Louis granted a certain kind of authority to the opinion of an expert in that field. ..."

Here again, the suggestion of head-handing has a connection to some actual danger of beheading. Such is not the case with the occurrence in Shirly Tuska & Joseph Jenks, Teacher Personalities: A Mirror of Self (1974) [combined snippets]:

I came to college to keep out of the draft. At first it was a drag. The last couple of years have been pretty interesting, and I'm thinking of being a teacher. I'll tell you one thing though. If any little creep tries messing up my class I'll hand him his head!

The two expressions thus seem somewhat different in sense: "hand [a person] [his or her] hat" means to unceremoniously dismiss the person, and the closest matches for it among idiomatic expressions are probably (as Daniel notes in his answer) "send [someone] packing" and "show [someone] the door; "hand [a person] [his or her] head" can have the overlapping meaning of getting rid of someone, but the sense of the expressions is more aggressive and (at least metaphorically) violent, and the closest idiomatic expressions are probably "bite [someone's] head off" or "have [someone's] head." In the context of firing someone, you might say either "handed [the person] [his or her] hat" or "handed [the person] [his or her] head"'or you might use a third expression such as "gave [the person] [his or her] walking papers."
Answer: In more modern terms... Many folks wear baseball hats.  Being handed your hat would be the result if you were involved in the losing end of an altercation.  If someone punches you hard enough in the face it will usually knock you to the ground quite naturally your hat will be knocked off in that process.  Hence, having your hat handed to you as you're getting up dazed, now you can leave cause you just been beat!
Comment: Hello Bobby. I don't think that many people have this sort of scenario in mind when they hear the now rarely used idiom.
Answer: Around the turn of the 19th century or so to start a fight in front of an audience a man would toss his hat inside the circle (ring) of persons gathered to see a pugilistic affair indicating he was ready to fight. When a second gentleman would also toss his own hat in the ring that meant a fight was on. After a beating the loser, who was too disheveled to pick it up himself, was then handed his hat. Thereby the expression he had his hat handed to him became associated with a terrible loss in any sporting event.
Comment: This would be improved with some supporting references.
Comment: Yes, this sounds good, Baba. But KillingTime's comment is important: ELU prefers answers that are backed up by supporting references.
Answer: "You have been handed your hat." So to speak terms means " you have been shown the door" but that door may have a better opportunity on the other side that you were not exspecting.
Optimism is a good way of looking at it.
Comment: Please provide an example used by somebody other than you. Optimism is not a good way of looking at it - rejection is.


Direct Dark Matter Detection: relative velocity between WIMPs & Nuclei

Question: In direct dark matter detection it is said that the relative velocity between the WIMPs, which form a DM halo, and the target nuclei on earth is of order $100 \frac{\text{km}}{\text{s}}$. How does one derive this result?
Comment: Here is one possible source of the dervation, although I have not entered appropriate values into the final result: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212686412000106
Answer: This is an order of magnitude characterization of the velocity dispersion (typical velocities) in the milky way.  The sun for example is moving at about 200 km/s in the milky way, which should be comparable to local Dark Matter particles.
A common equation for the velocity dispersion is simply the virial velocity:
$$\sigma^2 \sim \frac{GM}{r}$$
Where $\sigma$ is the velocity dispersion, and $r$ and $M$ are the characteristic mass and radius of the system.  If one uses a mass of $M \sim 10^{11} \, M_\odot$, and a radius $r \sim 10^4 \, \mathrm{pc}$, the velocity is indeed: $\sigma \approx 200 \, \mathrm{km/s}$.

Why is there a relative velocity between the sun and dark matter?
Because Dark matter (DM) only interacts gravitationally, it's much harder to dissipate its energy and angular momentum so it doesn't collapse into disks, or settle into ordered rotation.  Dark matter is on more chaotic, random orbits throughout galactic halos.  So overall, the dark matter doesn't tend to be moving in the same direction as the sun.
Why should there be annual variation in a direct detection experiment?
Even though DM is on chaotic orbits, the earth will still be moving faster through the background of DM particles at one time of the year (when it is moving in the same direction as the sun) as during another (when it is moving in the opposite direction).  You can imagine the DM as a fairly continuous fluid of particles that the earth (and sun) are passing through.  While each particles is on a random(ish) orbit, overall the density of DM particles in a given region will stay roughly the same.  Over the course of the year, the earth's velocity through that background changes.  There can, however, be variations to the exact type and magnitude of seasonal variation depending on different models for the milky way and dark matter halo.
Comment: @F.ert the 'scatter' or 'variation' in velocities is still similar to these values; but at the same time, the DM of the 'halo' is on much more random and chaotic orbits---so they are not likely moving in the same way.
Comment: But if the earth is going with roughly the same speed as WIMP in the milky way, shouldn't the relative velocity be much smaller than $100\frac{\text{km}}{\text{s}}$ ? Or is the dark matter not rotating the same way as our solar system does in the milky way?
Comment: If the DM orbits are rather random/chaotic, why is it then plausible to expect an annual modulation in the differential event rate?  Because then it shouldn't matter, that the earth's speed with respect to the galaxy frame is largest in summer and smallest in winter. Shouldn't one only expect the modulation if the WIMPs are collectively moving into one direction?
Comment: @F.ert I've expanded my answer, I hope that's helpful.


Why are digital autopilots better than analog?

Question: I've heard many people say that a digital autopilot is better than its analog equivalent. How do the two differ in design and the way they control the plane?
Comment: @antzi, I'd have to say that is completely wrong. Digital is more flexible than an analog system because you can do far more with code than you can with discrete elements of a circuit. Your audio example describes the difference between a continuous signal and a discretely sampled signal. That has nothing to do with the quality of digital vs analog.
Comment: @antzi: Good luck making an analog GPS unit.
Comment: A lot of people think that anything newer is automatically better...
Comment: Digital is NEVER better. Digital is just different. Because digital systems are usually newer than analog ones, they just often tends to be better.
Look at audio files: MP3 has yet to match the quality of a vinyl, but yet it has many advantages over it.
And many computers rely on analog devices as source of informations (sensors, ...)
Comment: @Antzi `"Digital is NEVER better."` That is a very incorrect statement. Digital signals are generally _much_ more error/interference-resistant than analog ones and, for that reason alone, are very often better than analog signals. Digital signals are very often designed such that there will be _no data/precision loss at all_ until such time as the entire signal is unrecoverable, which usually results in _much_ better quality reception than an equivalent analog signal, even when the analog signal is using more bandwidth. See NTSC vs. ATSC or FM vs. digital radio, for example.
Comment: @chris12892 nonsense. Digital systems have many problems analog problems avoid, especially in the discrete nature they are by force required to adopt. Analog systems are usually continuous, meaning changes over time are more correctly defined.
Answer: Early autopilots would only control one degree of freedom. Starting with the yaw damper of the Me-262, they were a simple feedback loop involving a gyro, a single control surface and some damping circuitry. Example: A roll gyro was coupled to the ailerons and kept the wings level. Commanding a bank angle would simply shift the zero point of the gyro to a different angle, and some damping made sure that the movement was slow and did not overshoot.
This, however, would neglect any cross coupling. Banking flight needs more thrust to keep altitude, but the roll autopilot would not "know" of engines or throttles, just ailerons. The same was true for analogue pitch and altitude hold systems which had a simple feedback loop with the throttle and the elevator, but no other controls.
Modern digital autopilots, starting with the one in the X-31, control all axes in parallel and use a multitude of sensors and feedback loops to control the whole aircraft in one go. This is much easier to achieve with digital control, and gives smoother responses since cross-coupling effects can be anticipated and corrected before they manifest themselves.
Comment: The Henschel 129 had the first yaw damper, I think.
Comment: @jjack: This is new to me, and considering that it flew mostly at low level, had a decent fuselage length and only a top speed of 400 km/h, I wonder why it should have needed one.


carport to garage conversion

Question: I have a garage that used to be a carport. Therefore the ceiling, clad with stucco, is not insulated. Do I need to pull down the stucco to properly have a vapour barrier when I insulate? or is the stucco enough of a vapour barrier?
Comment: Are you planning on heating/cooling the garage?
Answer: Is there a second floor?  You don't really want an extra "vapor barrier" on anything that is (now) an interior surface.
And in general you want one and only one vapor barrier: all building spaces need to exchange humidity in at least one direction.  Put up two vapor barriers and the space in the middle will have the wrong humidity.

carport to garage conversion


How to decide when is use ERD or UML for data modeling?

Question: A UML diagram can be used both to model database designs and class designs, but an ER diagram should be used exclusively in database problems. How do you pick one graphical representation over the other?
Answer: I think you answered your own question. E-R diagrams are meant to be problem solving diagrams for the sake of creating a database schema, whereas UML are supposed to model a completed db. I personally don't place a huge amount of value on ER diagrams, as I would personally do such brainstorming in my head, but I imagine many people would swear by them. As such, the answer is UML as a general rule, but ER can hypothetically be useful in the construction of databases.
Comment: So, I should use ER diagrams to creating a database schema before use UML to model this database for object oriented programming?
Answer: There is no earth-shattering difference between a data model depicted in UML notation versus a data model depicted in any of the many common ER notations.  They all depict the most important elements: entity types and relationships.
Depending on which graphical convention you choose, there may be other features of the model which are conveyed, such as the attributes of entity-types, relationship cardinality, strong or weak associations, etc.
The point of the model is to communicate your design.
You should choose the graphical convention that is most expressive of the information that you're trying to convey with the least "noise" (unimportant information).
You should also take into consideration the needs of your audience.  No matter how artfully your diagram conveys the information you intend to transmit, if your audience isn't comfortable with the notation then you will have not achieved your goal.  If your audience is familiar with IDEF1X then use that, if they are most comfortable with Martin or Chen then use those.  If UML does the job and is what is familiar, then UML ER notation is best, otherwise it isn't.
Comment: +1 for **"The point of the model is to communicate your design."** and **"the needs of your audience"**. After your answer I know where is key point of this problem. Thanks @Joel !


Entry in North Cyprus on Valid Single Schengen visa

Question: I am a Pakistani national having a valid single entry valid Schengen visa and currently in Istanbul and plan is to go to North Cyprus. Do I need to take visa for North Cyprus? If, yes, could you please guide me from where I can get the visa and if online any website is available?
Answer: You don't need a visa for North Cyprus, but that's not because of your Schengen visa, but because no one needs a short-stay visa for North Cyprus except Armenians, Nigerians and Syrians.
So just use your Pakistani passport.


Are any commercial plastics made from biomass/plant matter?

Question: Are any commercial plastics made from plant matter currently. I expect it can be done in a lab but I am wondering about cost competitive tonnage quantities.
Comment: You can buy "bio"ethanol-based PE. If you want to get your own share of responsibility for the destruction of the Brazilian rainwood forest.
Answer:
The original answer only gave a link to a commercial bioplastic producer.  The answer has been edited to provide more information.

Yes there are.  Here is an example: Biome Bioplastics
European Bioplastics (an industry group) estimates that the global production of bioplastics was about 2 million metric tonnes in 2017.  They forecast that this will increase to almost 2.5 million metric tonnes by 2022.Source
One estimate puts the market value of bioplastics at around 6 billion USD in 2018 and growing to almost 15 billion USD by 2023.  Source
Common sources of bioplastics are starches (like corn), cellulose and aliphatic esters.
Commonly, bioplastics are used to make compostable/biodegradable packaging and films, as well as disposable cups and utensils.
Comment: I do not see any info on the website of actual commercial production.   Lots of great customer PR but no production info. 30 years ago Amoco made some stuff out of biomass in the lab , but I am wondering if there is any serious production.
Comment: They have bioplastic products for sale, but do not talk about production - that seems standard for a commercial endeavour.
Answer: Biomass polymers can and must never become more than a niche product for guillible customers, or for specialities.
Any attempt at upscaling these to large tonnages (that can actually make a dent in our oil consumption!) inevitably leads to food shortages and/or depletion of soils and biodiversity.
Same is true for biofuels. Photosynthesis is far too inefficient (max. 3%, compared to 15% for PV, and much more for thermal solar power).
Food production is bad enough for the environment as is. Don't make matters worse.
Actual examples for bio-based plastics are of course cellulose derivates, packaging made of starch, then polyols for polyester or PU, and the notorious sugarcane-ethanol based polyethylene.
Comment: While there is merit to your points, this doesn't really constitute an answer to the original question.
Comment: Also, bioplastics and biodegradable plastics are independent sets. Some bioplastics are not better biodegradable than conventional plastics, while some plastics have better degradability than some bioplastics.
Comment: @Poutnik There was no mention of biodegradibility in the question. As you say, that's very independent of the feedstock source.
Comment: @Karl I have not say there was. And that was the reason of my complementing note, as there is widespread mistake "bio-originated plast = bio-(Fast)degradable plast".


The significance of separate stack-space for threads

Question: I have long known that Threads each have separate stack-space, but shared heap-memory.
But I recently found some code that made me question exactly what that meant.
Here is a shortened version of the code:
void SampleFunction()
{
    CRemoteMessage rmessage;
    rMessage.StartBackgroundAsync();   // Kickoff a background thread.

    /* Do other long-running work here...
     * but don't leave function SampleFunction
     */

    rMessage.GetReply();   // Blocks if needed, but the message-background is mostly done by now.
    rMessage.ProcessReply();
}

In this code, the rmessage is a local, stack-variable, but spends most of its time in a background thread.  Is this safe?? How exactly is the background thread able to access the stack-variable of this thread?
Comment: What do you mean "how"? Your CPU implements memory reads, that's how...
Comment: It is safe.  The class uses the *this* pointer to access the object on the stack frame.
Answer: Generally speaking, the stack and heap are part of the memory space that can be shared between threads. No one is preventing you from sharing stack addressed variables.
Each thread however has its own set of registers, including a stack pointer (and the derivatives), so you can maintain separate stacks if you need (otherwise it would be impossible), so the threads can call functions and do whatever they need. You can choose to break this separation if you want.
Answer: I think the confusion here is that you think of the stack of a thread as a separate entity that can only be accessed by the one thread. That's not how this works.
Every process has one large memory space to its use and every thread can read (and write!) everything in this space; the separation into stack-space and heap is a higher level design decision. For the background thread it doesn't matter whether the memory it receives is allocated on another thread's stack or on the heap.
There are even rare situations where you want to create a new stack for a thread yourself - makes no difference to the thread itself.
Comment: @Chuanhang. Threads don't have address spaces, processes have an address space and all the threads share the same.
Comment: If I can say that. In same process, all threads' address space is different?


Can I enter and exit the UK with 6 months 'leave to enter'?

Question: Is it possible to enter and exit the UK during my 'Leave to Enter' for 6 months visitor stamp. I will have been travelling for five months since the stamp and I am hoping to re-enter the country for a week before catching a flight back to New Zealand. Would this be possible?
Answer: Yes. That leave to enter is irrelevant now. You will get a new leave to enter with another period, usually 6 months, when/if they land you in.
Comment: Unless they don't.
Comment: But if the OP has been traveling most of the time _outside the UK_ before applying for a new leave to enter, it doesn't sound particularly risky to apply for a new one.


Could you explain this ceiling light wiring?

Question: I'm changing an old pendant light into a ceiling light, but I have some difficulty in understanding the current wiring. It is controlled by 2 switches. I've checked typical rose wiring diagram, but it couldn't explain what the current wiring is.
Comment: In what country?
Answer: It looks a bit of an unusual setup, but I'll hazard a guess that there is either a further light on the circuit either fed from one of the switches or the power from the circuit is fed in at a switch and feeds on from here to another light (or lights).
(Obviously, you need to verify this, as we can't tell how it's wired from just one photograph).
From left to right, you likely have:

Lamp neutral
Circuit neutral (in / out)
Circuit neutral (out / in)
Circuit live
Live to switch
Switched live
Lamp live

The three core and earth cable (red / yellow / blue) probably comes from the switch. There is probably also another three core and earth running between the switches.
Have a look at the backs of the switches; this might give you more of an idea of where the power feeds to / from.
Usual warning... take care and switch off at the consumer unit before working on the wiring.
If you're unsure at all, you should call in an electrician.


Sub panel feeder circuit wire sizing

Question: I'm planning to upgrade the service in a detached garage, which is currently fed by a single 15amp circuit, and I wanted to confirm that I have my circuit sizing correct. The existing circuit runs through ¾" IMC buried under the driveway, which I'd like to re-use to run a new feeder circuit to a sub-panel in the garage. My read on the NEC is that per Table C.1, I can have a maximum number of 4 conductors in the 3/4" conduit for 6AWG THWN-2, Table 310.15(B).16, says I can run a maximum of 75amps on 6AWG copper THWN-2, and 310.15(B) states that I do not need to de-rate for 3 or fewer conductors. The rest of the circuit (main load center to buried conduit, then from buried conduit to the sub panel) will be run though 1" PVC conduit. Based on this, I believe I should be able to run a 70 amp breaker for this circuit. Am I correct on the sizing, or am I missing anything?
Comment: Caution: you may actually need a #8 ground.  If the 75C column ampacity for your copper wire is >60A, you'll need #8.  Breakering at 60A does not solve this, because of a rule that if the conductors are capable of more, so must be the ground.
Answer: You're missing the termination temperature limits from 110.14(C)(1)
You are correct that you are missing something.  In particular, while THWN-2 wire can handle 90°C without an issue, that doesn't mean that the things hooked to it will be happy at that temperature.  In particular, since we're dealing with a feeder here, distribution equipment, such as circuit breakers and loadcenters, is only rated for the use of 60°C or 75°C wire because the thermal elements in the circuit breakers themselves can be thrown off by excessive heat from a wire running at a higher temperature.  This requirement is captured in NEC 110.14(C)(1):

(1) Equipment Provisions. The determination of termination
provisions of equipment shall be based on 110.14(C)(1)(a) or
(C)(1)(b). Unless the equipment is listed and marked otherwise, conductor ampacities used in determining equipment
termination provisions shall be based on Table 310.15(B)(16)
as appropriately modified by 310.15(B)(7).
(a) Termination provisions of equipment for circuits
rated 100 amperes or less, or marked for 14 AWG through
1 AWG conductors, shall be used only for one of the following:
(1) Conductors rated 60°C (140°F).
(2) Conductors with higher temperature ratings, provided
the ampacity of such conductors is determined based on
the 60°C (140°F) ampacity of the conductor size used.
(3) Conductors with higher temperature ratings if the equipment is listed and identified for use with such conductors.
(4) For motors marked with design letters B, C, or D, conductors having an insulation rating of 75°C (167°F) or higher
shall be permitted to be used, provided the ampacity of
such conductors does not exceed the 75°C (167°F)
ampacity.
(b) Termination provisions of equipment for circuits
rated over 100 amperes, or marked for conductors larger than
1 AWG, shall be used only for one of the following:
(1) Conductors rated 75°C (167°F)
(2) Conductors with higher temperature ratings, provided
the ampacity of such conductors does not exceed the
75°C (167°F) ampacity of the conductor size used, or up
to their ampacity if the equipment is listed and identified
for use with such conductors

In particular, since modern breakers and loadcenters are basically universally marked 60°C/75°C, we can use the 75°C temperature rating for ampacity calculations, but can only use the 90°C column of the ampacity chart as a basis for derating.  With this in mind, we look at the 75°C column in Table 310.16 and get a rating of 65A for your 6AWG copper THHNs.  This means you can either use a 60A breaker and a 10AWG ground wire (bare or green THHN), or a 70A breaker and an 8AWG ground wire, with the latter permitted by the "round-up" rule in NEC 240.4(B).
If you really need 75A at the garage, you could use UL 1953 listed power distribution blocks in pull boxes at each end of the IMC run (one outside or inside the garage, one in the house) to transition from the 6AWG THHN inside the ¾" IMC to 4AWG THHN in the 1" conduit you were planning to use for the interior runs.  This would require you to use an 8AWG equipment grounding conductor alongside that 6AWG THHN instead of the 10AWG suggested above, but is permitted by NEC 110.14(C)(2), as documented in this Square-D document
Note that unless you have "straight shot" runs from the underground conduit to the panels at both ends, it may be more economical to use 1" ENT ("smurf tube") instead of the 1" rigid PVC you were originally figuring on.  Even when using ENT, you still have to obey the 360° limit on bends between conduit pull points, though!
GO BIG OR GO HOME
However, regardless of whether you run the underground wire at 75°C or 90°C, you should not let its ampacity be a constraint on the size of the panel you put in at the garage!  In fact, a 125A, 24-space or 30-space, main breaker (to provide a main disconnect for the garage) panel would not be at all out of place here, and nothing stops you from putting in something larger yet, such as a 40-space or 42-space panel.  Regardless of what you get, though, you'll need to fit it with separate grounding bar kits if it doesn't have factory-fitted grounding bars.  Furthermore, you'll need to ensure that the neutral/ground bonding screw or strap has been removed from the panel so that it's configured correctly for use as a subpanel.
Finally, you'll need to take some 6AWG or 8AWG copper wire and run it from the subpanel grounding bars through something like an Arlington GC50 to get it out of the subpanel cabinet, then take it off to a pair of 8' grounding rods driven at least 6-8' apart.  This provides your garage with a path for wayward natural electricity, such as lightning-induced voltages, to return to Mother Nature, while the grounding wire in your 4-wire feeder provides a return path for errant utility electricity to get back to the utility service via the neutral-ground bond in the main service panel.
Comment: Thank you, that was very informative! I already have a 150A main panel that was removed when I had the service upgraded to 200A, so ideally I can use that. One follow-up question on that, can I leave the 150 main breaker in that panel to use as a disconnect in the garage, provided that the feeder circuit is protected at the main service panel with an appropriately sized breaker?
Comment: @Eli -- exactly, the size of the main breaker in the garage subpanel doesn't matter provided it's not the "weakest link" in the circuit, a job that's reserved for the feeder breaker in the main panel
Comment: @Eli -- btw, as a crosscheck, what make/model is said 150A panel?
Comment: Wait, for 75C #6 copper, I get 65A out of that table.  That also has an impact on the ground wire. Since the wire is capable of >60A, the ground must be too, i.e. #8
Comment: @Harper-ReinstateMonica -- not quite. 250.122(B) only applies when a conductor is upsized from the minimum required for a given ampacity, and Table 250.122 is based on the OCPD setting, not the wire ampacity
Comment: The 150A panel is a Cutler-Hammer (Eaton) BR3030B150. I'll likely stick with the 60A service as you described, but if I did want to go up to 70A, would it be permissible (and not inadvisable) to use 3 or 2 GA SER Aluminum cable to make the interior runs, assuming all relevant components were CU/AL rated and no-ox is used at the connections? I would use a split bolt (wraped with splice tape then plastic tape) or Polaris type splice at either end of the conduit.
Comment: @Eli -- that panel should suit quite nicely for your garage :) and using SER for the interior runs with the Polaris-type connectors will work (note that if you want to run the copper in the underground conduit at 90degC, you'll need 90degC connectors in the pull boxes -- most Polaris-type connectors are indeed rated to run that hot, but some aren't, so pay attention to the specs on what you buy if you do that)

Sub panel feeder circuit wire sizing


Are elderly zombies created from aged citizens less robust than zombies created from younger humans?

Question: Has the Walking Dead canon addressed zombie ageism and featured old people zombies? Are the zombies that used to be elderly people less robust than the zombies created from younger people, or are they just as functional?
Comment: Given the nature of the change and how muscles assumedly work afterwards, I would say that NO, initially there's no (or very little) difference between a middle-aged victim and an elderly victim. That said, bones may be more brittle and/or as Shev alluded to below, the post-infected form may deteriorate at a faster rate.
Answer: There hasn't been any mention as to whether elderly people make weaker zombies. AFAIR, we haven't seen any elder person turn; or we have seen and there wasn't any mention of it. But we have seen child zombies, so I guess elderly zombies exist too.
But, as with child zombies, we don't know if they are weaker or not since there hasn't been any such mention.
Now, as far as zombie ageism goes, there has been another question here: Does a Walker's senses diminish with time?
Where I answered with a quote of Kirkman's on Reddit:

OddGuyOut: In the beginning of the show we saw walkers do things like using a rock to help bash the doors in or turning a door knob, is there a reason we've stopped seeing them do that?
Robert Kirkman: Older zombies are less together and capable or doing things like that. Fresher zombies, which there were more of in season one, are able to do more than older, more rotted zombies.

Which simply says that, yes, zombies do age and they are not as strong as they used to be.
Comment: Sorry - The question referred to zombies who were elderly before they became zombies. The quote given refers to zombies which have been dead for a long time, and have decayed. The first distinction is between young/old, the second between fresh/rotted. Not the same.
Comment: What about the 'zombie ageism' part?
Comment: Did you read the first part of my answer where I talk about elderly people? Maybe you should see the whole answer instead of just the quote
Comment: We do see an elderly man pass away from natural causes and reanimate in S03E07. Andrea has to save Milton from being overpowered.


What is the best weapon for night stalker assassin?

Question: Recently I read about an Assassin class, and I'm intrigued. I'm not very familiar with it yet, but I'm wondering what weapon best suits an Assassin? I mean, from a roleplaying point of view I would pick the dagger or katar, but from a damage output perspective what is the best weapon for an Assassin?
Comment: Keep in mind that as an Assassin with a Ki focus, you can use pretty much any weapon while keeping the same enhancement bonus/properties/powers.  What you're proficient in still comes into play but there's nothing stopping you from carrying a couple of different weapon types for different situations (at least unless you start taking weapon specific feats) so don't feel bad about experimenting early.
Comment: what is your goal for this character? Are you looking for a class of weapons, or a specific enchantment? What level?
Comment: Creating a new character, thinking what weapon type to choose for beginning and what weapon type to stick to
Comment: btw I'd strongly recommend looking into the executioner or reflavoring a thief. The assassin's shroud mechanic is really difficult to make work well.
Answer: Because the assassin has access to the Ki focus, enchantment is left to the ki meaning your only selection is in the weapon die and properties you'd like it to have.
Things you should be thinking about

Weapon die size: how big of a punch do you want to pack, and what is it going to cost you to pack that big of a punch?
Weapon proficiency Bonus: How much of an impact with taking a +2 weapon over a +3 weapon make on your accuracy (do the DPR calculations and figure it out, don't leave this to hypotheticals).
Feat/Power support: While a lot of your feat support should focus on the ki focus, if you've got some specific things in mind for a specific weapon group then you should choose weapons in that group.
Variety: You probably have the ability to quickly switch weapons, maybe you want that Glaive for reach, but sometimes need the accuracy of the rapier or the punch of the flail. This is the kind of versatility granted by a ki focus, take advantage of it.
Story/Character reasons: think about your character, what kind of weapon do you picture him with? Is he the type to be bristling with blades and weaponry? or is he more subtle and favor easily concealed weapons? Does it change from battle to battle? This is probably the major source of your weapon choices (since most of your special stuff is driven by your ki focus).

By default as an assassin you get access to

Military heavy and light blades
Simple one-handed melee
Simple ranged

There is a pretty extensive list of weapons here, particularly in the heavy and light blades (rapier, falchion, broadsword, glaive, longsword, greatsword). I'd start with grabbing a couple from this list (definitely rapier/long sword and probably a glaive, maybe a greatsword just to have a nice punchy option). Then grab an item or two off the simple one handed melee list, although most of the options are trumped by heavy blade options, however if you've got a story or feat/power issue that would provide a good reason to take something off the simple one handed-melee list, go for it.


What are the optimal settings for scanning photos?

Question: I would like digitalize all my photos and I bought the Canon CanoScan 9000F. I have no problem of space and hence want to scan the photos with the highest possible quality.
For a printed photo, is 4800 dpi really better than 2400 dpi? Is it better to use ScanGear or VueScan? So my question is what are the correct scan settings (Unsharp Mask, Reduce Dust and Scratches, etc.) to achieve the best result?
Answer: Yes, higher DPI will give better results than lower DPI.  The actual pigments that the photo exposes are very small (small enough that they are small dots at 500x zoom if they are photographically developed).  Also, your sampling will not line up exactly with the original dots, so oversampling is beneficial even if you could exceed the effective resolution of the original image.
The application shouldn't matter, but what work you do in post production should matter.  One of the programs may do a better job using automatic settings, but that is going to be situational and the best bet would be to try some photos and see which looks better to you.
As far as post production work (such as unsharp masks and dust and scratch reduction), it is highly, highly conditional on the image being scanned.  You will have to use your judgement on what looks best to you.  If the images have damage, then dust and scratch reduction may be able to heal some of it automatically and unsharp masks may make the image look crisper, but at the possible expense of some fine detail.
There really isn't a substitution for trial and error.  There is a reason that the functions are options and not automatically on or off all the time.
Comment: Is it better use the ScanGear options or scan without any filter and then use post-production programs like Photoshop? For the saving format I think the the best choice is TIFF without compression, am I right?
Comment: @Oceanic815 - personally, I generally scan directly in to Photoshop via WIA support, make my adjustments and save a PSD.  The scanner should show up under Import in Photoshop.  And yes, you want to work with uncompressed, high bit depth files until you are done with making your adjustments.
Comment: With WIA I can use resolution only up to 600 dpi so I have to always use ScanGear or VueScan in order to reach an higher dpi value. Thank you for the answer, it was very useful.
Comment: @Oceanic815 - then yes, TIFF is the way to go.  I personally have never had need of particularly high resolution as I normally only do document scanning.  (I've been all digital since the mid-90s.)


What will be the situation of the world when every beings will attain Nirvana?

Question: The ultimate goal of a Buddhist is to attain Nirvana, i.e., to stop the cycle of rebirth. Since a Buddhist is compassionate, she/he not only wants to stop her/his own rebirth but also wants that all beings will stop their rebirth. Now suppose this has happened: all beings have been able to stop the cycle of rebirth. Then what will be the picture of the world? There will be no life anywhere, let alone human civilization. The entire world will be like a land of the dead. Is that a desirable goal? If not, where is the fallacy in the above argument?
Comment: Isn't "the moon is still there when nobody looks" just a statement about the sixth of the 6 senses? i.e. it's a statement about being conscious of the contact between "mind" and "idea of moon"?
Comment: "The entire world will look like a land of the dead" - Looking is a function of a being. The world is a construct of the 6 senses. So if there are no beings, this statement would become null & void.
Comment: Thanks! But the moon is still there when nobody looks. I've corrected it.
Comment: I recommend [Sabba Sutta](http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn35/sn35.023.than.html)
Comment: BTW, If one believes in the non-rescuability of Icchantikas, then the end of Samsara can never occur. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icchantika
Answer: The Buddha explicitly declined to answer:

Whether or not the cosmos is eternal
Whether or not the cosmos is infinite
Whether or not the Tathagata exists after death

Cula-Malunkyovada Sutta

And why are they undeclared by me? Because they are not connected with the goal, are not fundamental to the holy life. They do not lead to disenchantment, dispassion, cessation, calming, direct knowledge, self-awakening, Unbinding. That's why they are undeclared by me.

He seems to imply that both views are wrong view (or at least, not "right" view):

It's not the case that when there is the view, 'The cosmos is finite,' there is the living of the holy life. And it's not the case that when there is the view, 'The cosmos is infinite,' there is the living of the holy life. When there is the view, 'The cosmos is finite,' and when there is the view, 'The cosmos is infinite,' there is still the birth, there is the aging, there is the death, there is the sorrow, lamentation, pain, despair, & distress whose destruction I make known right in the here & now.

If not, where is the fallacy in the above argument?
If you don't mind me saying so, a fallacy seems to be to be that you're postulating something good (i.e. "cessation of suffering"); and then proposing your attachment to and your imagination of something (i.e. "the picture of the world" and "the entire world" and "a land of the dead" and "a desirable goal") as a counter-argument; for example the following are meant as some absurd examples:

Suppose nobody needed to die anymore: how could grave-diggers then earn their living?
Suppose everyone's basic needs were magically taken care of, with enough food and shelter and protection from violence for everyone: society would collapse! Who would go to their jobs anymore? We'd be living in a world without slaves and without armies.
Comment: I'm pretty sure he also said that there is no limit to the number of beings in existence, so there's that too.
Answer: According to Ven. Ajaan Tong, there are four things without limit: The knowledge of a Buddha, the world of beings, the universe, and space. The idea of a limited reality is more of a western concept, tied in with the Abrahamic religions which purport a creation and end. If anyone has any reference to the "four things without limit" that the Venerable sir is talking about, that'd be great. I have no doubt he is quoting a Theravada text, I just don't know which.
With that being said, as far as Buddhism is concerned, even if Samsara were "depleted" of beings, it would simply cease to exist altogether, as it arises due to supporting conditions. If you remove those supporting conditions, it no longer arises. And Buddhism views samsara as devoid of any useful or beneficial intrinsic qualities, so in  any case it is of no matter.
Comment: In retrospect I'm doubting my statement: even if Samsara were "depleted" of beings, it would simply cease to exist altogether. I feel that I've read/heard this somewhere, but now that I'm uncertain of this, does anyone have reference to this being the case? I assumed this was an aspect of dependent origination, but upon thinking about it and then looking, I can't find any such statement or assertion that samsara doesn't itself exist independent of mind.
Answer: The lotus cannot grow without the mud, the mud would be meaningless without the lotus. Thus the mud and the lotus are the same, they condition each other.
Ajahn Chah:

Nibbāna is found in samsāra. Enlightenment and delusion (samsāra)
  exist in the same place, just as do hot and cold. It's hot where it
  was cold and cold where it was hot. When heat arises, the coolness
  disappears, and when there is coolness, there's no more heat. In this
  way Nibbāna and samsāra are the same.

Prajñāpāramitā Hṛdaya sūtra:

« There is no suffering, no cause of suffering, no end to suffering,
  no path to follow »

Zen Master Ryōkan Taigu

Where beauty is, then there is ugliness;
  where right is, also there is wrong.
  Knowledge and ignorance are interdependent;
  delusion and enlightenment condition each other.
  Since olden times it has been so.
  How could it be otherwise now?
  Wanting to get rid of one and grab the other
  is merely realizing a scene of stupidity.
  Even if you speak of the wonder of it all,
  how do you deal with each thing changing?


How to edit/export ai file without Illustrator

Question: I bought some ai files from fotolia, but I cannot afford Adobe Illustrator. How can I edit/export these ai files without Illustrator. What I really need to do is to make slight changes on the ai file, and export to png/jpg. Is there any free/cheaper alternatives that can work with ai files?
Comment: Install the trial version. It's free.
Comment: I think the -1 was rather unnecessary.... have a +1 :-)
Comment: Create an Adobe account, start the 30 day free trial. Download Illustrator. Open and export files to SVG or EPS.
Comment: I may need to repeat this process on a regular basis. Therefore I don't want to install the trial version unless it has to be the last resort.
Answer: Yes and no. Most apps cant open modern ai directly, if the file is in very old format its no problem. That said, some (by default), AI files are embedded in a PDF file (or old ones in a EPS file). So you can try if adobe reader opens it for viewing by changing the extension to PDF. failing that try ghostview.
You can then open this PDF/PS for editing, in any app that supports this. You may lose some AI specific info. Such as styles, live effects or possibly layers etc...
Comment: I agree.  I just tried InkScape on Windows.  I can open, but I can only get the background merged with text layers, or text layers, but the background image is lost.  It might work for some as stated.  Depending on your situation, it might be a try.
Answer: Acrobat Pro can natively open .ai files and save to multiple formats including EPS.
Adobe Reader can also open .ai files and save as a pdf, which will give you more options (such as an alternative pdf reader like Foxit) to extract the image in an appropriate size and format.
(Tested on Acrobat 9 and Reader X)


wysiwyg ckeditor inline styling not working

Question: I'm using wysiwyg api with ckeditor, but I can't make it to use inline styles like when I use indent from editor, it actually drops the style (which is margin-left) in output. it's not an override, it actually doesn't even appear in the code when I inspect it.
Answer: Verify the format used by the body field. If you are using Filtered HTML, filtering is done before rendering it on the page, where all inline styling is removed.
You could either set your format on Full HTML (which doesn't filter the body) or use the WYSIWYG Filter module which allows to enable certain inline styles on the Filtered HTML format.
Answer: If Mike's solution is not working, then check my answer and see if that fits your situation.
I know for a fact that Wysiwyg with CK Editor had several problems in it's integration with Media, but a fix was release a few days which actually applies the styling.
So previously, when I used to click on an image, and change it's width and height. It would look in wysiwyg, but on clicking source code, I could not see it on inspection, and it would again look like the original on wysiwyg. Your problem sounds similar, so I'm pointing you towards the wysiwyg and ckeditor fix. Tell me if that worked for you
a) Media + Wysiwyg -: https://drupal.org/comment/8009717#comment-8009717
b) Wysiwyg + Ckeditor -: https://drupal.org/node/1956778 (patch 37)
Need to both if it's' with Media, else just the latter. Please test on local before you apply on server.
Comment: Thanks Pratik, I'll look into it tomorrow and let you know
Comment: @Gus - Do let us know if you were successful or not.
Answer: I know it's a relatively old question, but I found myself in a similar situation today, so maybe the solution I found will be of use to somebody else.
In my case, it appears that the problem came from CKEditor itself, which apparently implemented a new feature related to code cleaning, starting with version 4.1. (It's called Advanced Content Filter (ACF), and there's a discussion about it here: https://www.drupal.org/node/1956778) The current stable version of the wysiwyg module (which hasn't been updated for more than two years) doesn't take that into account, which means the user can't disable this feature.
The solution is simple: install the dev version of the wysiwyg module. It provides a new option that allows the user to disable or customize CKEditor's AFC.


Leave or leaves in "you don't want to see your little bird leave the nest"

Question: I was watching an episode of big bang theory and someone told his mother
"you don't want to see your little bird leave the nest".
Why he didn't say leaves?
Comment: *Your little bird* is not the subject of *leave*, but instead the object of *see*.
Comment: I don't get it.
Answer: I might be wrong, but I think that verb "See" uses bare infinitive when it takes an object and to infinitive. So it's like this:

you don't want to see your little bird (to) leave the nest.

But to is not shown, and is not supposed to be shown, because it's bare infinitive.
http://www.englishgrammar.org/bare-infinitive/ Something information about bare infinitive
Comment: +1 [After verbs of perception](http://www.grammaring.com/see-watch-hear-listen-feel-smell-notice-observe-object-bare-infinitive)...
Answer: After verbs like see, feel, hear, .... ( verbs related to senses) you can use either a Verb+ing or a bare infinitive. The latter implies a completed action and the former implies an action which was(is) in progress. compare:

I saw him climbing the wall

This means the observer saw the process of the climbing, but it does not mean the observer saw the whole process.

I saw him climb the wall

This means the observer saw a completed process, from start to end, in which the climber climbed the wall successfully.


Why should I use a Content Management System?

Question: I've heard a lot about cms's like drupal, joomla, and wordpress. I've always hand-coded most of my PHP and HTML and done fine. What are the pros and cons of using a cms?
Comment: This should probably be a community wiki as it is about opinions.
Answer: From here:
Pros:

The CMS enables your organization to concentrate on creation of content rather than development and design. No new "web pages" are created via code when new content is added. The CMS publishes the content into the framework (design) of your website.
Non-technical members of your organization can manage, edit, and publish content to your website. No HTML experience or graphics experience is necessary. Usually, your most inexperienced web users can be trained on the CMS without much difficulty.
All of your content is stored in a central location. The content is in a database, making it uniform and accesible in many powerful ways depending on the CMS.
Content is searchable. Because it's in a database, the content can be easily searched.
Content can be scheduled to be published at a future date.
Extended features such as a calendar, message boards/forums, and photo galleries are usually included in a Content Management System. These features can be managed from within the CMS, reducing the need to invest in and manage multiple systems.
Multiple contributors/content authors can work on the same website without difficulty. You can establish website editors and authors with varying permissions. Have all content wait to be published until it's approved by an editor, for example.
Spell checking and linking tools are included in the CMS.
Options such as content categories can help you organize content so your website visitors can find it easily.
A CMS can be integrated with your email newsletter list, reducing the number of systems you invest in and storing your subscriber lists in one location.
Since design and content are separated in a CMS-based system, changing the look-and-feel of your website is much easier.

Cons:

You have more of an initial investment in your website, both in time and money, usually.
There is training involved in using a CMS, and someone (usually at least one person, but sometimes more) in your organization must become the "webmaster" who owns the CMS, understands it, and carves time in their workload to manage it.
A CMS does not make bad content good. It does not make a bad writer a good writer. In other words, your content will be easier to publish and manage with a CMS, but it will only be as good as the humans who produce it.
Changing a CMS can be time consuming and expensive. If your web business plans to change drastically in the future, consider trying to anticipate the new business rules you'll employ.
Comment: @Bobby Jack This list seems to be independent of the hosting situation. Any particular part indicate to you otherwise?
Comment: This list appears to be about the pros and cons *relative* to having a hosting company 'own' your website, or using a publishing platform such as wordpress.com, posterous, or tumblr. From the wording in original question, I'm guessing CJD is asking in terms relative to rolling your own. Also, I take issue with a lot of these, not least "content is searchable because it's in a database". Most 'high-end' search solutions involve indexing content and creating their own data store, so it's irrelevant whether the content is stored in flat files or a database.
Comment: +1.  I would add a pro is that all CMSs have a lot of functionality available (blogs, wikis, forums, etc.) but you canuse as much or as little as you want.  If you start small, you can add in pieces later as needed, so it can grow as your nees grow.
Comment: Well, "Content is searchable. Because it's in a database, the content can be easily searched." for example. I guess it's more downright misleading than dependent on the host, but the general nature of the list implies they're not really comparing with a hand-rolled solution (which could give all of the pros, for example)
Comment: @Bobby: It's not "exisiting CMS" vs "hand-coded CMS". It's CMS vs coding static pages or semi-dynamic pages.
Comment: -1 for Factually innacurate, and troll feeding
Answer: The pros of using a content management solution are:

Users have access to update specific parts of your content
You have a history of what content was so if a mistake was made you can roll it back.
Multiple users have access to edit your site.  Sometimes in overlapping areas.
Provides a uniform format and feel for your site
Provides access to decent layout templates
Users don't have to know HTML
Some CMS tools allow for approval workflows of new content.  This allows more structure and control of what goes onto the site without extreme or manual overhead.

The cons:

Everything has to fit within the structure provided by the CMS tool
It can cost money and in some cases a ton of money
It will cost time to setup
Migration to and from the CMS solution cost time
Many CMS solutions don't do SEO very well and there is no easy way to override their issues.
Management can become tedious and a hassle because you cannot gain much use of DRY (Do not Repeat Yourself)

The company I currently work for was using a solution by Ektron but we moved away from it because the company is an engineering an manufacturing website.  So it has a lot of products that follow a duplicate format.  This meant whenever we wanted to make a change to our product information for 20 of our products we had to edit 20 pages.  If we wanted to move controls around on the site it took a ton of time and sometimes wouldn't work like we wanted.  If we wanted a special JavaScript enabled widget it was tough to implement.  We also only had 2 people working on web content.
CMS to me is really for a website with a large amount of ever changing content that is managed by many people.  The farther you get away from a large content management user base and constantly changing data the less likely it will have value.  If your site needs to be agile in that its format and layout is always changing and a great deal of your content fits into a specific format that needs more fields that what a CMS has to offer then CMS may not be the best fit.
Comment: +1 True enough.  For several of the sites I am involved with, we have hybrid solutions where the CMS is mixed with custom applications.  Some CMS are more amenable to this than others.  On one site I'm still using Fog Creek's CityDesk with dynamic mix-ins :)
Answer: I am a little in the same position as you - cranking out my own pages in AJAX/PHP/HTML/MYSQL, and looking at CMSes.
CMS seems very attractive and the advantages are obvious, but so far I have found they also represent a significant investment in study.
Installing a CMS like Joomla is easy as pie, you can find templates and build something that looks good in minutes, and easily add articles and pictures and stuff BUT if you are going to customize anything, or if you need something to work in some specific way, you will need to learn how the CMS works behind the scenes, how to write plugins, how to create templates...
I made a basic install of Joomla on my testing server. 3,918 files, 712 folders and 36 db tables. Figuring out what does what and how is bound to take some time.
That said, making templates doesn't seem too difficult and you can add features in minutes where it would take some serious work otherwise. For instance, I just went and added a blog component to my test installation. It took about 30 minutes to find, install, configure and post the first entry. Making your own blog engine and integrating it into your website could easily take weeks.
If you are willing to surrender the level of control you are used to (at least at the beginning) and to learn how to do stuff in whatever CMS you choose, a CMS should be great.
Personally, I am looking into using wordpress as a CMS, but until I feel comfortable with it to do whatever I want, I stick to coding by hand.
Answer:
I've heard a lot about cms's like drupal, joomla, and wordpress. I've always hand-coded most of my PHP and HTML and done fine. What are the pros and cons of using a cms?

People write books and build careers out of selling answers to that question. You're not going to get a proper, relevant answer here.
Maybe if you provided some information about what the applications you write do then at least there would be a chance that the answers might be relevant to the question. The term Content Management System encompasses a huge variety of software.
Stop and think about how you could be better and more productive as a developer. Make a list of things which are difficult, you spend too much time on, or are just plain boring. Maybe there is a CMS which might alleviate these. But without knowing what the problem you need to solve is, we can't provide a solution.


Can the crown veto constitutional Amendments in Canada?

Question: I know that this would be practically be suicide for the Crown's power to do so, but hypothetically, could they?
Comment: Closely related: https://politics.stackexchange.com/questions/174/why-dont-british-kings-and-queens-veto-laws
Comment: Let's not conflate the Monarch and the Crown. It would, I think, "be practically suicide for the [Monarch's] power" if she were to personally veto any bill on her own initiative. But the Crown could be the government vetoing a bill (or rather, the Monarch vetoing it on the advice of her Ministers). And while that might be political suicide for them, it wouldn't be a constitutional crisis in the way you implied.
Answer: No, the Crown cannot veto the Canadian constitution. From parliamentum:

The Constitution Act, 1867 […] expressly confers upon the Queen or the Governor General the power to withhold the royal assent from a bill that has been enacted by the two Houses of Parliament (s. 55), but a convention stipulates that the royal assent shall never be withheld.
Comment: Perhaps I don't understand (likely), but doesn't your quote say the exact opposite of No? I do understand that there is a convention that the Crown shall never, but... doesn't "expressly confers upon..the power to withhold..." mean that the Crown can?
Comment: In the constitution as it stands the crown cannot veto a bill. Of course the constitution (as opposed to The Constitution) is an evolving concept.  It is conceivable that circumstances could arise in which the Crown uses such reserve powers, but in that case the constitution has changed (even if the The Constitution has stayed the same)
Comment: @JamesK In that case, I would think "a convention" needs to be shown. I guess what I mean is I think of a convention simply as a long-standing gentleman's agreement sort of thing. It seems that you are indicating that in this case the "convention" is a legally binding thing. Perhaps it would help my misunderstanding to show the convention that says the Crown can't veto.
Comment: Convention is binding. The Crown cannot, by binding convention, exercise some of the reserve powers afforded it in the constitution. In the same way that a Judge must follow precedent when considering a judgement.
Comment: @JamesK  a judge can rule against precedent, and his ruling will be treated as correct until the next judge higher corrects it. With a crown vs parliament problem there is no higher power. Would it be a constitutional crisis, would the convention be taken as the solution, or would parliament accept the setback then write something so it could never happen again? And more importantly says who?
Comment: You're actually quoting Peter W. Hogg, *The Constitutional Law, 2011 Student Edition* in your answer.

Gough Whitlam probably thought he had convention on his side in 1975 as well...


Recorder alto or soprano german or baroque

Question: For an Indian beginner playing Hindustani Music which recorder is the best - soprano or alto with German or Baroque style ?
Answer: Any of those would work.  Soprano or alto is just a matter of taste- which sounds better to you?  German or Baroque fingering depends a bit on the keys you intend to play in.  German is easier to learn because the note F (on the soprano- Bb on the alto) doesn't have a forked fingering.  But if you need the notes F# (or B natural on the alto) often, then you will have problems.  I would say go with the Baroque, in case of doubt, because it's more flexible.
Comment: Thank very very much sir for your kind and early informative reply.
Answer: I always recommend alto for beginners -- they are easier and more forgiving to play sweetly. Never choose German fingering -- those recorders are never in tune with themselves, because of the compromises made for "easier" fingering.  So, alto with Baroque/Modern fingering.
Happy playing.
Answer: I know nothing about Hindustani music, sorry - but (in Western notation) what range of notes would you need?
If a lot of the pieces you want to play go below the F on the bottom space of the treble clef then a soprano would be better;
X:1
T:Soprano recorder
M:4/4
L:1/4
K:C
C-g

if however you tend to start at or above the F and go up beyond the g at the top of the treble stave, they sit more comfortably in the alto recorder range.
X:1
T:Alto recorder
M:4/4
L:1/4
K:C
F-c'

Both instruments of course go higher than the range I have shown, these examples are just to help you choose the best option.
And as others have said avoid the German fingering recorders, baroque fingering is always the system to go for.
Comment: Now it seems from your diagram that the alto plays higher than the soprano!
Comment: True enough, but that's the conventional way the two instruments are notated. The soprano recorder is notated as a transposing instrument, an octave below sounding pitch.


flexslider cant adjust height

Question: I have installed Flexslider on my site (just locally on PC at the moment), it adjusts the width of the slide fine when I reduce the size of the screen width using the browser, but the height of the slide always stays the same and the image appears crushed when the browser is at minimum width. Can anyone help please? I have tried going through all the youtube videos etc.. but cant see what I'm doing wrong. I am using the Omega 3 theme if thats relevant.
Answer: I run into this when using Omega 4.  What I do is set my base img tag to have an auto height:
<code>img {
  height: auto;
}
</code>
Comment: Thats fixed it , many thanks , i added this to global.css in my omega theme css folder (the same problem occurs for any theme) :
.flexslider .slides img {
height:auto;
}
Answer: @media screen and (max-width:320px) {
    .comp{
        font-size: small;
        width: 184%;
    }
    .img-responsive{
        height:auto;
    }
    .slider{
        height:auto;
    }
}
add class="comp" to each image and try

flexslider cant adjust height


Is there any pre build nvidia - cpu miner for Centos

Question: I need a pre-build CENTOS 7 monero miner.  I have been looking for the answer of this quesition for a while, I have found the similar questions as well. However, the answers are old (around 2016) and those miners does not run properly on my CentOS 7. I have a normal (non-root) in a CENTOS 7 server. However, I cannot run sudo on it. Therefore, I need a prebuild CENTOS 7 monero miner.
However, I also came up with this idea to compile a miner on my personal CENTOS7 system and run the built one on the server? Since I am not too much familiar with linux programming, can anybody answer my question?
Comment: What miner do you prefer? xmrig, amr-stak - just name it.
Comment: it is not critical to me...each miner which works under the aforementioned situation
Comment: If you don't have root access on the server, sounds sketchy to me.
Answer: See xmrig (on Github). After last update have static build. Download Centos 7 to you VM machine and build xmrig in machine. And after building just copy file to remote Centos server.
In xmrig issues have pre-build miner (from some user) but this is old version.
Comment: Thank you, so you mean I can build that last version [gpu and CPU ones] on my local machine / VM then I only need to use the executable file stand alone on the server? No need any other libraries, right?
Comment: @Berliner, yes.


what is the minimum lumens of light required to grow a single tomato plant and similar flowering plants Indoors?

Question: I am planning to grow a single tomato plant Indoors. I am doing research on what grow light to invest on as a beginner. I want to know how many lumens does a tomato plant requires?
If I want to grow similar flowering plants like cucumber, then what is the minimum lumens I should target for? I am interested in getting an LED light for that purpose. I have a small budget since I want to experiment first before I dig further into hydroponics.
Comment: The light also needs to be the correct color for chlorophyll. Many lumen of the wrong color does not work. Sun light is good ( obviously) but fluorescent and LEDs have very specific frequency outputs which can not be analyzed by eye.
Comment: I think light frequency spectrum information is more available for aquarium lights
Comment: Are you just starting them to transplant outside later, or do you plan to keep them inside and attempt to get fruit indoors?
Answer: Welcome to the website.  Your new project sounds like it could be fun and interesting.
I can't give you a precise number of lumens for a couple reasons.  First, I haven't experimented.  Other people have, though.  If you enter "tomato light requirements" in Google scholar, four articles that look directly relevant pop up.  The Glowacki and Chia references link directly to each full article.   Neither the main list nor either article's other versions link to a .pdf for Hernandez or Ho, so unless you want to pay rather nutty fees you'll need to get those from interlibrary loan or something similar.
The more important reason there is no one answer, though, is that "it depends."  It depends most of all on what you expect of your plants.  It depends also on how long each day the plants receive the light, somewhat on whether the light shines on all sides of the plant, and to a far lesser degree on the color of the light.
Like many plants, tomatoes can cope with a wide range of light intensities and survive.  I've grown tomato seedlings in spring (figure 12 h/d) near 40o N with only light from a south facing window.  They received ~180 W/m2 overall average, on only one side of the plant at a time.  (https://www.pveducation.org/pvcdrom/properties-of-sunlight/calculation-of-solar-insolation).  The key result was that, perhaps combined with relatively cold air, the tomatoes were leggy, very small, and as seedlings tended to die from damping off.  Mere survival probably is not your goal.  On the other hand a pair of 100-W-equivalent tube bulbs (1500 lm) on a timer per ~ 24 half-gallon milk carton pots grew beautiful stocky 15" tall tomato transplants.
For units I recommend you plan in units of watts since that's what the tomato experiences.  To convert a bulb's lumens to watts you have to know how far from the average leaf the bulb is.  Place grow lights close to the leaves, just short of burning them, and adjust as the plant gets taller.  Having two bulbs may be important since that way most sides of each plant get reasonable light, especially if you periodically shuffle the pots.  Each 24 plants also had two 17-watt heating pads.  In both capital and operation, the heat may be more expensive than the lights but it matters.
For light duration and color, there are multiple relevant replies in Can plants have too much light, or do they need night/rest?.   I mention those factors mostly for completeness.
Honestly, I wouldn't worry too awfully much about the fine details.  Start with some reasonable set-up then pay close attention to the plants.  While both the technical details and experienced intuition are valuable, from what I've seen in myself and other people, watching plants in your own garden and elsewhere is the more effective teacher.
Answer: Lumens is a measurement humans use to perceive how bright a light it, it essentially has no meaning to plants, as some of the posters before me have said already, strong lumen even 10,000 in the wrong spectrum or colour will not benefit your plants.
What you want, is sufficient amount of PAR (photosynthetic active radiation) PAR light is the wavelengths of light within the visible range of 400 to 700 nanometers (nm) which drive photosynthesis, also with a good mix of IR (infrared) and a small dose of UVA (which actually helps to activate more oils/flavor compounds in plants like Basil)

As you can see, the sun's spectrum is way more far ranging than an average LED light at home and as we know Tomato plants originate from South America, where temperature are fairly high and they also love the sun. Here are some resources I think would help you in terms of growing tomato plants.
https://www.ledtonic.com/blogs/guides/ppfd#:~:text=Although%20plants%20don't%20need,s%20on%20its%20outer%20leaves.
https://www.horti-growlight.com/typical-ppfd-dli-values-per-crop
Answer: Useful search: https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffsb&q=lumen+par&ia=web
The sun is a LOT brighter than you think, about 10,000 lumens per square foot.
Gardens should receive 1000-3000 lumens per square foot. Successful gardens usually are lit at around 2,000 lumens per square foot.
I like 14 hour days for my Peppers, Chard and Bok Choy.
Looks like tomatoes require about 400-500 PAR. Surprisingly the link does not go to a place that's mostly about growing Marijuana.
Comment: I guess ATF will not come for to inspect your  high output growing  lights today.  In the 70's , ATF came to Amoco R & D checking on 10 each 1000 watt metal halde bulbs . Amoco was growing plants for possible oil production , not marijuana.