Help with proper fingering for a song? (Speechless from Aladdin)

Question: I am in the process of teaching myself piano, and I would like to learn how to play Speechless from Aladdin. The problem is fingering is not provided and I am not sure what the correct/most efficient fingering would be for the left hand. Any suggestions?
Comment: How big are your hands? Depending on your hand size, you can either play the E and F in the lower staff of Bar 6 with your left hand or your right hand, for example.
Comment: Self teaching is fine, and you'll also have to teach yourself how to use fingers. Whatever you can reach comfortably is the answer. If there are very long notes that can't be held on to, use the damper pedal.
Comment: Yeah, that really long note in the beginning seems to be a good candidate for some pedaling.
Answer: A standard fingering for the left hand beginning at the beginning of your example in meas. 5 would be 5,2,1, then hold the 5 for m.6 and move the thumb (1) up for the E4 and F#4. Same fingering, 5,2,1 for each of the succeeding measures. (If you don't know, fingering for the piano starts with your thumbs as 1, outward to pinkies as 5.)
Answer: Keep in mind that your thumb (1 in piano fingering terms)  is the most versatile. It does not have as strong downward force as 2 and 3 (index and middle), but it can quickly and easily traverse laterally across 4 or 5 notes without repositioning your hand, while the other fingers can only do 2, 3 if you're flexible. This is why the thumb is the finger that is crossed over in scales and arpeggios (although some of Chopin's works will have you crossing 4 over 5 and 5 under 3 and all kinds of other fun stuff...but I digress). A good rule of thumb (pun definitely intended) when deciding on fingering is to never play adjacent notes with the same finger, but the thumb, due to its extra flexibility, can be an exception if needed, especially in slower passages.
So, as for your piece, in the order they appear: 5, 2, 1 | 1, 1 | 5, 2, 1, 5, 1 | 2/5, 1 | 5, 2, 1 | 1, 1 | 5, 2, 1, 1 | 5
Hope it helps!


Loose airbag in 1998 Ford Contour LX

Question: If you've got a Ford Contour with a loose airbag (still attached to the wheel, it just rattles on rough pavement), how do you tighten it?  What type / size are the screws?
Answer:
Safe the airbags - Pulling the battery is one way.  You could also pull fuse #36.  It's in the fuse box in the passenger compartment on the driver's side under the dash.  It should be a 10 amp red fuse in the bottom row, 3rd from the right.  Either way, you need to wait for the air bag capacitor to discharge after power is disconnected (the capacitor allows the airbag to deploy in an accident even if the battery cables are ripped free).  I haven't been able to find an exact wait time.  Disconnecting the battery is probably the safer approach, but it makes step 2 harder.  Use this information at your own risk.  Be very careful as an airbag deployment will kill you.  The truly cautious will look for a wiring connector under the dash to disconnect, but I don't know exactly where it would be or what it would look like (though one end of the wiring should be going up into the steering column).
Rotate the steering wheel to the left and right to expose the screws at the back.  There are three holes on each side, you're after the middle one.  This is easier to do if the engine is running and you have power steering.  Use a T27 (Torx) bit to tighten them.  A screwdriver with a T27 bit is probably best, but watch the length, there is only so much room between the wheel and the instrument cluster.  It's tricky to get the angles right and get the bit in the screw.  Lowering the wheel helps (release lever is on the left side of the column near the dash).
Re-enable the airbags by reversing whatever you did to disable them.  Verify that the airbag light does not come on solid or blink.
Comment: I would propose that you change this "Be very careful, an airbag deployment can injure/kill if you're too close or in the wrong position" to this "Be very careful as an airbag deployment will kill you."  Full stop.
Comment: Mark, it's your answer - my style tends to be a bit more abrupt so as to emphasize the "death" side of things.  Your mileage may vary....  ;-)

Loose airbag in 1998 Ford Contour LX


Test for intermittent communication drops between machines

Question: I am trying to diagnose intermittent communication drops between a computer and another networked piece of equipment. Can someone recommend me any tool or method to do this? Sure I can set up a ping test but was wondering if there was a better method of doing this. Thanks
Answer: Your best, easiest and cheapest method is a ping test with a count of at least 100 pings. Specify the bytes after drawing some conclusion to see whether the loss is due to data sizes. Start the assessment at the network and then work your way to the suspect pieces of equipment.
windows: ping /?
1.) windows: ping -n 100 x.x.x.
2.) windows: ping -n 100 -1 1500 x.x.x.x
Answer: check traffic using wireshark. There you could find RST messages in case there're incompatible settings (half duplex on one side, full duplex on the other... things like that)


What would be the mechanism for this condensation reaction?

Question: Below is the reaction in question. Will it go like an aldol consensation would, where the base would deprotonate the methyl group of the benzoxazole moiety, the negative charge would be transferred over to the nitrogen and this anion would then bond with the aldehyde?
In any way, a drawing of the mechanism would be really helpful.
A bonus question: is this a specific type of condensation? (i.e. like aldol)

Answer: Your 2-methyl-1,3-benzoxazole is a masked acetic acid.
Remember that one way to synthesize oxazoles actually starts from aldehydes (and uses TosMIC).
So, yes, the reaction is an aldol condensation where the $\ce{CH}$-active component is carboxylic acid in disguise.
Answer: I think that's correct. You should depronate on the methyl group and perform a normal aldol condensation. Interesting choice of base here. I guess the authors must've tuned this for yield.
The best name here would be aldol, since the nucleophile here is very much like an enolate...


Bulk move items from deleted to inbox in Hotmail

Question: So I was checking my Hotmail account this morning, and not paying very much attention when I attempted to mark the whole inbox as read.  Instead, I "emptied" the inbox folder, which put everything in deleted items.  At the moment, everything is still there, but I'm looking for a way to undo this quickly.  I had over 6000 messages in my inbox, and so far I've only been able to drag them 35 at a time back from the deleted items folder.  Is there any way to increase the number of messages I can see at a time, or to simply bulk-move all the items from deleted into the inbox?
Comment: Well, I didn't want to push the 7-day window before Hotmail removes them from the deleted items, so I moved them manually today.  Still, I would like to know if anyone can figure out how to do this because I'm sure I'm not the only one that's done this, or that it's the last time I'll do something like this again.
Answer: As expected I just did it again, but this time I managed to figure out how to fix it.  Can't guarantee that this works exactly at Hotmail.com, but it definitely works at Outlook.com (the "new Hotmail" you can convert to).
To put all your deleted messages back in your inbox, go to the deleted items folder.  Click the checkbox at the top of the list, which by default selects only the 35 showing on that page.  Where the content of a single message would normally appear, you should now see the option Select Everything in your Deleted folder.  Click this and it will change to say Everything selected.  Now you can drag the list of emails back into your inbox.  It won't show you the specific number of messages selected, it will just say Selected Items.  This will take a minute or two if you have thousands of messages, but it will eventually finish and your whole deleted inbox will be restored.
Answer: SELECT ALL (CTRL A) - Right Click over selected and select MOVE TO; INBOX. Should complete in in about a minute depending on how many.


Adding a electrical outlet in a closet for wireless router

Question: I want to move my wifi router to a central location in my home. The only ethernet jack is all the way at one end of my house. However I have a hall closet that is centered in the house and would be a perfect location but there is not an outlet in there. On the other side of the closet is the kitchen with an outlet. Can I run wire from that outlet through the attic and back down through the top plate of one of the other walls of the closet. I plan on putting the router fairly high in the closet (about one and half feet from the ceiling) on a shelf and have the outlet right next to it. I have the tools to do the work just not sure if it would be legal.
Comment: Drywall and wood are not a major impediment to WiFi or you would need an AP in every room.
Comment: you could plug the router's wall wart into the kitchen's outlet, then run the DC output through a small hole into the closet; code doesn't care about DC nearly as much as AC.
Comment: No it does not. It's just a wall outlet that shares a wall with the dinning room.
Comment: What do you plan to do for the ethernet connection?
Comment: Walls block WiFi to a degree.  WiFi router in a closet sounds like the worst idea.
Comment: @DaveM, It's not major, but making the permanent home for the radio behind any attenuating material is not a great plan.  Hang it on the wall right outside the closet after you pull electrical and ethernet into the closet, but don't put it behind a door.
Comment: For the ethernet connections I plan on running 4 different lines from the router to different areas of the house. I have a 4 keystone wall plate for the closet and doubles in the 4 rooms.
Comment: Right now the router get almost half signal to the other side of the house going through about 5-6 walls. In the closet it would drop to 1-2.
Comment: Does that outlet serve a kitchen countertop?
Answer: I don't think it's legal to power an outlet that's not in the kitchen off of one of the 2 required kitchen branch circuits (i.e. counter outlets). I think it would be OK to tap off of the un-switched side of a light circuit for the kitchen.
Since you have access through the attic, is there another general purpose branch circuit (that is non-kitchen) that you can tap into for the closet outlet?
There may be exceptions to the "kitchen branch circuit" restriction in the code that I'm not aware of that would allow you to do what you want.
Comment: There will be or should be a continuous hot feed in either the hall switch or the hall light fixture if either of these make it easier to get access. The outlet certainly will be hot all the time but it's lower on the wall, so it may make it more difficult because of it.
Comment: Absolutely correct. Kitchen countertop receptacle circuits cannot be used for anything except receps in kitchen and dining area, and oven exhaust fan, and clock.  They're rather specific on that point.   "But it's grandfathered" in that case you're still not allowed to make it *worse*.
Comment: There is a Hall way light and an outlet in the hall that the closet is in.
Comment: Could I come off the light switch and then to the outlet in the closet?
Comment: Sure.  Just make sure you come off the unswitched (hot) side of the switch.


PCB coating for a high temperature environment

Question: What PCB coating is good for a high temperature environment (my environment is about 30-70 C), and is available in a spray can or so that is easy to implement without need of a device/machine?
Answer: There are silicone based conformal coatings, available as spray. They should bear this temperature range easily. Polyurethane based sprays may be used, too. We had tests running with PU. It proved usable up to 90°C. But all depends on the actual use. You can buy those materials manufactured by several companies like CRC industries, electrolube etc.
If you want to increase creep resistance by using a conformal coating, you will have to do several tests anyway.
Answer: Humiseal makes a wide variety of coatings, many of which would be suitable for your application.
30C to 70C is not a particularly demanding environment for most coatings - I have used various types in avionics environments, where card edges are expected to get as warm as 85C (with attendant higher temperatures under toasty components) with no issues at all.
The most common one we use is 1B31S.


If Kol Nidre is effective, why do people do hatarat nedarim?

Question: It seems to be unnecessary. Also, why do the specific Hatarat Nedarim on Erev Rosh Hashanah if we do it anyway just before Yom Kippur?
Comment: https://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/20295/16706
Comment: Why assume kol nidrei is effective?
Comment: If it's not effective, why do it?
Comment: No one knows because no one can figure out what is accomplishes.
Answer: yeshiva.co was posed this question ("Hatarat Nedarim & Kol Nidrei") and responded:

1) The most common answer [...] is that Kol Nidrei refers to the vows of the community, while Hatarat Nedarim takes care of personal vows.
2) On another level, Kol Nidrei (according to one Nusach) frees us from future vows only if the condition is forgotten later, while Hatarat
  Nedarim is for all personal vows.

While this answer doesn't cite sources, dafyomi.co.il's "insights to Nedarim 23" cite Rishonim who also distinguish between the two:

The Meiri writes that "Kol Nidrei" does not serve to annul ordinary Nedarim. Rather, it serves to annul the Nedarim and Charamim made by the community, the Tzibur, as a whole. The removal of such Nedarim required neither the Hatarah of a Chacham or Beis Din nor Charatah, and thus it may be done through the recitation of "Kol Nidrei."

This sounds like reason #1 cited above.

The Nimukei Yosef explains that "Kol Nidrei" is not an act of Hataras Nedarim for either past Nedarim or future ones. Rather, it is a prayer to Hashem that He not punish us for the past Nedarim that we made and transgressed.

Worth checking out the link for other shitot quoted.


Is it possible to use a BigRock domain with a Bluehost VPS hosting?

Question: I own a website which is hosted by BigRock. I also bought the domain from them. Now, I want to upgrade to a VPS hosting plan and I prefer Bluehost due to their cheap prices. Will it be possible to use the BigRock domain with the Bluehost hosting? The website runs on WordPress. Thanks in advance. :)
Answer: Yes you can, it is quite a common practice.
You will either need to change the nameservers if you want bluehost to handle the DNS, or change the A record if you want the DNS as is but have the site at bluehost.
Comment: BigRock has a help document that shows how to edit DNS there.   The easiest way to use Bluehost VPS would probably be to create an A record at BigRock pointing to the IP address of the VPS: https://support.bigrock.com/index.php?/Knowledgebase/Article/View/633/0/editing-your-domains-dns-records
Answer: Yes, you can do this.  Here's the documentation on BigRock for this task:
https://support.bigrock.com/index.php?/Knowledgebase/Article/View/565/0/changing-your-domain-name-servers
Now, when you set up the host plan with Bluehost, they'll ask what your domain is, just give them the domain in question and you can even tell them that you're going to be pointing that domain to your account there.  You can get details for that when you set up your hosting.
Once the host plan is established, you can log into your Bluehost CPanel and get your DNS (Domain Name Server) server details, if you didn't get them from Bluehost already.  Once you have the information, then use the link above to help you re-point your domain to Bluehosts DNS servers.  Those DNS servers will determine, based on your domain, on which physical server your site is stored.
It can take up to 72 hours for domains to point to the new server, but in my experience, it takes minutes to a few hours.  Also, depending on how you intend have email setup, you'll need additional information and configuration, but both companies can help you with that.  You'll be looking at things like A records, CNAME records, and MX records.  These settings help identify and route email traffic vs regular internet traffic and so forth.  This is why you'll want to talk to both companies for your account particulars.
It may sound intimidating, but there are only a few settings and once you've configured them, it should be pretty much set it and forget it.
Answer: Yes. This is very common, most businesses will have their DNS managed by one company and have their services managed by another. This is known as a failover, if one company fails/loses interest in the business. You will not completely lose your setup. Blue host provides a KB Article here: https://my.bluehost.com/cgi/help/559
This shows how to edit their DNS, this may be useful for BigRock.
Thank you.
Comment: "This is known as a failover, if one company fails/loses interest in the business. You will not completely lose your setup"  What??????


Bullet Physics / OpenGL Meshes Not Colliding

Question: This is for a school project, and I'm having a bit of trouble with Bullet acting strangely.
I have an OpenGL project with Bullet Physics library working with Assimp model loaders and Magick++ texture loading. I load the triangulated faces of a walled table into the btTriangle mesh and load this into a btBvhTriangleMeshShape in the main program. This works fine when a sphere object is loaded into the program and constrained to the x-z axes, but when I allow the ball to roll around in all three dimensions, the ball simply goes through the mesh or pops underneath it. I've tried raising and lowering the ball and base table meshes, but at best, I get a weird orbiting movement around the walls that I can't quite figure out. My group tried asking the teaching assistants, but this is beyond their experience.
I make the models in Blender and checked that the faces are triangulated and normals are pointing outward, but nothing seems to help. As another attempt, I pulled out the floor of the model and just use the walls as btBvhTriangleMeshShapes with the floor acting as a btStaticPlaneShape. Both are set with collision flags as static objects and have their collision flags facing each other (ball to floor and floor to ball, etc), but nothing is helping. I would deeply appreciate any insight into this or if anyone has a great tutorial for this situation to help me understand it better.
<code>///Initialize all of our resources(shaders, geometry)
bool init = initialize(FileName);

btBvhTriangleMeshShape *table = new btBvhTriangleMeshShape(tableMesh, false);

//new btBvhTriangleMeshShape(tableMesh, true);
//
btScalar sphereDim(0.25);
btScalar baseDim(5.0);
btVector3 baseNorm(0, -1, 0);
btCollisionShape *ball = new btSphereShape(sphereDim);
btCollisionShape *base = new btStaticPlaneShape(baseNorm, baseDim);

//new

//Bullet
//Tells Bullet how to check for collisions between objects
btBroadphaseInterface *broadphase = new btDbvtBroadphase;
//collision algorithm: used to register a callback that filters overlapping broadphase proxies
btDefaultCollisionConfiguration *collisionConfiguration = new btDefaultCollisionConfiguration();
//Sends events to objects
btCollisionDispatcher *dispatcher = new btCollisionDispatcher(collisionConfiguration);
//causes objects to interact properly
btSequentialImpulseConstraintSolver *solver = new btSequentialImpulseConstraintSolver;
//Create a Physical world
dynamicsWorld = new btDiscreteDynamicsWorld(dispatcher, broadphase, solver, collisionConfiguration);
//sets gravity
dynamicsWorld->setGravity(btVector3(0, -9.81, 0));
dynamicsWorld->setInternalTickCallback(myTickCallback);

// Table
btScalar groundMass(0);
btVector3 groundInertia(0,0,0);
btDefaultMotionState  *tableMotion = NULL;
tableMotion = new btDefaultMotionState(btTransform(btQuaternion(0,0,0,1), btVector3(0, 0, 0)));
table->calculateLocalInertia(groundMass, groundInertia);
btRigidBody::btRigidBodyConstructionInfo tableRigidBodyCI(groundMass, tableMotion, table, groundInertia);
tableRigidBody = new btRigidBody(tableRigidBodyCI);
tableRigidBody->setFriction(1.0);
tableRigidBody->setRestitution(0.975);
tableRigidBody->setCollisionFlags(tableRigidBody->getCollisionFlags() | btCollisionObject::CF_KINEMATIC_OBJECT);
tableRigidBody->setActivationState(DISABLE_DEACTIVATION);
dynamicsWorld-> addRigidBody(tableRigidBody, COL_TABLE, tableCollidesWith);

// Base
btScalar baseMass(0);
btVector3 baseInertia(0,0,0);
btDefaultMotionState  *baseMotion = NULL;
baseMotion = new btDefaultMotionState(btTransform(btQuaternion(0,0,0,1), btVector3(0, 0, 0)));
base->calculateLocalInertia(baseMass, baseInertia);
btRigidBody::btRigidBodyConstructionInfo baseRigidBodyCI(baseMass, baseMotion, base, baseInertia);
baseRigidBody = new btRigidBody(baseRigidBodyCI);
baseRigidBody->setFriction(1.0);
baseRigidBody->setRestitution(0.975);
baseRigidBody->setCollisionFlags(baseRigidBody->getCollisionFlags() | btCollisionObject::CF_KINEMATIC_OBJECT);
baseRigidBody->setActivationState(DISABLE_DEACTIVATION);
dynamicsWorld-> addRigidBody(baseRigidBody, COL_BASE, baseCollidesWith);

// Ball
btScalar sphereMass(0.5);
btVector3 sphereInertia(0.0, 0.0, 0.0);
btDefaultMotionState *ballMotion = NULL;
ballMotion = new btDefaultMotionState(btTransform(btQuaternion(0,0,0,1), btVector3(0, 1, 0)));
ball->calculateLocalInertia(sphereMass, sphereInertia);
btRigidBody::btRigidBodyConstructionInfo ballRigidBodyCI(sphereMass, ballMotion, ball, sphereInertia);
ballRigidBody = new btRigidBody(ballRigidBodyCI);
ballRigidBody->setActivationState(DISABLE_DEACTIVATION);
ballRigidBody->setFriction(1.0);
ballRigidBody->setRestitution(0.975);
ballRigidBody->setLinearFactor(btVector3(1, 1, 1));
ballRigidBody->setAngularFactor(btVector3(1, 1, 1));
dynamicsWorld->addRigidBody(ballRigidBody, COL_BALL, ballCollidesWith);
</code>
Comment: Your bodies seem to be kinematic instead of static, any reason for that?
Comment: Sorry about the delay in responding to this. You were totally right. I don't know why I thought to make it kinematic. I removed the flags, and it's working much better, now. Thank you! You saved my bacon. Have a great weekend!
Answer: You should make your bodies static instead of kinematic.
Basically remove lines like this:
<code>tableRigidBody->setCollisionFlags(
            tableRigidBody->getCollisionFlags() | btCollisionObject::CF_KINEMATIC_OBJECT);
</code>
For kinematic bodies you need to supply the transforms via a btMotionState.
Comment: @BrittanyMcgarr if this solved your problem, please consider marking it as the accepted answer.


How did the life of Vishwamitra end on this Earth?

Question: As of now, I haven't been able to find a proper reference on how the life of Maharishi Vishwamitra, who was Sri Rama's Guru, ended on this Earth. Do any authentic scriptures mention about his life's complete history and when it ended?
Comment: @AkshayS He is still in Samsara.  Just like Devas like Indra remain in their current Janma in Samsara for an entire Manvantara, so do Saptarishis.
Comment: I think he is still alive as one of the Sapta Rishis.
Comment: There are siddhas at end of life in Earth they ended up being in Samadhi. Like wise I am asking how did Vishwamitra life came to an end. I didn't use the word how he passed away. I used the word end. How his duties in Earth came to an end
Comment: completed means how he died or left for other Lokas? @AkshayS
Comment: @Rickross, Yes... how his life ended in Earth... ex: Sri Rama's end -, he ended up his life in Jal Samadhi. In same way, what are instances led to Vishwamitra's stay in Earth to an end and how did he quit his body?
Comment: Vishwamitra is still in his body.  The Saptarishis remain in their bodies, alive and conscious, for the entirety of the Manvantara.
Comment: @KeshavSrinivasan - okay but what happened to his life here in Samsara after Rama period?
Comment: @KeshavSrinivasan can you post it as answer ?   will give tick mark
Comment: Just one correction he was a Brahma rishi not a Maharishi
Answer: There is no such mention in the scriptures that Vishwamitra has ended his life. On the contrary, he is mentioned in several texts as one of the Saptarshis (seven sages) for this manvantara.

In the present vaivasvata manvantara, the seven great sages are Atri, Vashishtha, Kashyapa, Goutama, Bharadvaja, Vishvamitra and Jamadagni. The gods now are the sadhyas, the rudras, the vishvadevas, the vasus, the maruts, the adityas and the two ashvinis. From Chapter 3, Manvantaras, Brahma Purana

Vishwamitra is also mentioned asone of the saptarshis in other texts as well.

kaśyapo 'trir vasiṣṭhaś ca
  viśvāmitro 'tha gautamaḥ
  jamadagnir bharadvāja
  iti saptarṣayaḥ smṛtāḥ Srimad Bhagavatam 8.13.5
Kaśyapa, Atri, Vasiṣṭha, Viśvāmitra, Gautama, Jamadagni and Bharadvāja are known as the seven sages.

Sapta rishis do not leave this world after this yuga or manvantara. The sages and other beings reach God at the end of the Kalpa and are created again )

All beings, O Arjuna, enter into My Prakrti at the end of a cycle of time. Again I send these forth at the beginning of a cycle of time. (Bhagavad Gita 9.7 Translated by Adidevananda)

However, there are some exceptions like chiranjeevis. We do not know if Vishwamitra is a chiranjeevi. So, we can conclude Vishwamitra is still alive and will remain till the end of this kalpa.
Comment: @AkshayS There are 12 adityas for each of 12 months. Each form of sun god will be in respective months. I also wrote answer on saptarshis and adityas. Check that answer. There will be new sun and moon god every kalpa. There is a question about who is current moon i.e., son of atri or Dharma. https://hinduism.stackexchange.com/q/18139/5212
Comment: All beings, O Arjuna, enter into My Prakrti at the end of a cycle of time. Again I send these forth at the beginning of a cycle of time. - This could be for the souls which havent attained Moksha?
Comment: Yes. They are baddha jivas trapped in this samsara. It also applies to other beings because even Sun, moon etc., are created every kalpa as a new creation.
Comment: Yes but do we know that same Deva of Sun who was in 1 Kalpa is same in another Kalpa?


Policy on display names

Question: Curious on a habit I am starting to see on the trilogy. There is nothing stated on this in the FAQ so figured I would ask here. What is the policy on using a web address as your display name? Personally to me this feels more like spamming since the profile gives you a field for a web address. Just curious what others think.
Comment: @home: Spammer!
Comment: I've been doing it for a while to see if it would have much impact on visits, to be honest not so much and I'll likely change it back once I get round to it
Comment: Could you clarify 'using web addresses as domain names' makes no sense.
Comment: Sorry, corrected: There are others using web addresses as display names; I've seen no problems up to now.
Comment: You can search for .com and .net in the Users tab. There are a few users doing it.
Comment: @homes4film.com I wouldn't imagine there would be a traffic increase :) Was just curious of the policy. I try not to flag to much stuff but I know on most places this is a taboo so was curious as to what my actions should be here.
Answer: What is the policy on using a web address as your display name?
There is no policy, because it is not, or has not been, a problem.  Note that even if one uses their web address as their name, the link still points to their user page, where they are, and always have been, free to link to wherever they please.  The links are nofollow until you get a certain rep, so it's not a big deal.
At this point, as long as the name isn't blatantly offensive I don't believe we need a policy.  Let people put whatever they want there - if they are positively contributing to the site then it's a small cost for their contribution.
The recent name change was only implemented because people incessantly complained to Jeff and Co. about it.  The squeaky wheel gets the grease.  As soon as it becomes more of a burden to field questions about this non-problem than it takes to 'fix' it, a change in policy will be made.
However, unlike the "changing names frequently" problem, this is something that can't be fixed with a technical solution - every name would have to pass before a person for review, which means that people would have to flag posts by such users and have a moderator make a determination, which would result in all sorts of belly-aching on Meta - see: Chet Atwood issue
That 'cure' may be worse than simply telling people, "Hey, if they're advertising a site, I don't care.  Only alert a moderator if it's blatantly offensive, otherwise let them get their pittance of branding because they are actively contributing to the site, and the branding is so minimal it's not worth worrying about."
Comment: Last time we were discussing usernames it became a problem despite it not being a problem at all.
Comment: ahah yeah.. http://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/29196/should-you-be-allowed-to-change-your-handle-in-so/29257#29257 if you don't know what he's talking about
Comment: @McDonald's You're focusing on one tiny aspect of my answer, which has little to do with the question. If you search meta for "offensive username" I expect you'll find many better questions to guide you towards making a good choice, or at least understanding where the line might be and what the consequences could be of crossing it.
Comment: @random - Ah, those were the days. http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll164/stienman/chetatwoodtshirt.jpg

Policy on display names


What is the output of a signal in time domain that passed through a High Pass Filter with simple transfer function

Question: If a signal function $ U(t) =  25 – (5 – t)^2$ is passed through a high pass filter with transfer function $\frac{s}{s + ω}$. what is the output signal Y(t). I know that the transfer function $H(s) = \frac{Y(s)}{U(s)}$. If I understand the basic concept, I can solve my own problems. I will also appreciate it if someone can reference a textbook.
Comment: Look for a basic signal processing book like this one https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Signal-Processing-John-Proakis/dp/0131873741
Answer: What you need to do is

use Laplace transform to $U(t)$ so you would get $\mathcal{L}(U(t))=U(s)$

for example, if you are rusty on Laplace transforms (or their inverse),  you can use wolfram alpha

multiply $H(s)*U(s)$

that will get you a function of s $Y(s)$

use the inverse laplace transform to Y(s) to get the $y(t) = \mathcal{L}^{-1}(Y(s))$
Answer: Luckily in this case there is a symbolic result.
OutputResponse[TransferFunctionModel[s/(s + w), s], 25 - (5 - t)^2, t]
res1 = Simplify[%[[1]]]

$-\frac{2 e^{-t w} \left(e^{t w} ((t-5) w-1)+5 w+1\right)}{w^2}$

A procedure to get this (as mentioned) is
s/(s + w) LaplaceTransform[25 - (5 - t)^2, t, s]
res2 = InverseLaplaceTransform[%, s, t]

$-\frac{2 e^{-t w} \left(e^{t w} ((t-5) w-1)+5 w+1\right)}{w^2}$

The results for various values of $w$
Table[w, {w, 0.1, 1, 0.2}];
Plot[Evaluate@Table[res, {w, %}], {t, 0, 10}, PlotLegends -> %]

Comment: Thank you so much...


How did Utah and Bodhi survive 800 meter waterfall drop?

Question: In the movie Point Break (2015), how could the two men survive near 800 meter drop from Venezuela's Angel Falls?
Answer: Quoting from another answer I posted on surviving big falls:
People can survive really, really big falls. See this Guardian article. It is one of many which cover people who have survived miracle falls. From it:

In 1972, Vesna Vulovic, a cabin attendant, survived a 10,160m fall
  when the DC-9 she was in exploded over what is now the Czech Republic.
  Earlier this week, a 102-year-old woman survived after toppling from
  her fourth-floor balcony in Turin. Fortunately, her fall was broken by
  a children's playhouse.

According to another section of the article:

Falls can kill by inflicting damage to any number of vital organs, but
  the most common reason is due to a key artery's route through the
  body. "Most people who fall from a height die because they fracture
  their spine near the top and so transect the aorta which carries blood
  out of the heart," says Sean Hughes, professor of surgery at Imperial
  College, London.

So in this case, how likely is it they'd survive? Not very.
How realistic is it? Well, people have fallen from even higher and survived, so it is possible.
Answer: Thanks for the post. In reality, your chance of surviving a passage down a major warefall (much less one as tall and narrow as Angel Falls where the real risk is exiting the water stream into the air surrounding it) is next to nothing. Less than your chance of surviving a jump off a tall bridge into water like the Golden Gate Bridge. In some ways, the rapid and massive flow of water can cushion you, but only if you're lucky to ride it just right, almost being carried in but not on the "froth" at the top of the water. But at those heights, you could just as easily fall out of the "stream" and have the fall turn into a "splatter". Not to mention the amazingly strong currents and risk of drowning, especially in the notorious whirlpool and "back flow" area usually found at the base of major waterfalls. I don't think many people have even tried Angel Falls but the survival rate of Niagra Falls is less than 2%. Those ain't great odds...I'll pass.
Answer: Physics 101: Newtons third law of motion.
    For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
Jumping from 150 feet or higher is a 90% guarantee of fatality. Water cannot be moved out of the way fast enough and your body would impact a fluid denser than itself. The world record high dive is 192 feet. However, one suicidal teenager survived jumping off the GOlden Gate bridge, a fall of 245 feet. It is possible to survive if you land feet first like a fast projectile.


Is basis change ever useful in practical linear algebra?

Question: In layman's terms, why would anyone ever want to change basis? Do eigenvalues have to do with changing basis?
Comment: There are so _many_ reasons, I doubt you'll see all of them in just one answer. Here is just one: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principal_component_analysis
Comment: A relatively esoteric example (see my comment): http://math.stackexchange.com/questions/654765/sum-of-polynomial.
Comment: Rotation is essentially a change of basis.  If you ever employed a linear coordinate change, you changed bases.
Comment: Here's a very simple layman's example: let's say you have a cube that's rotated arbitrarily and isn't orthogonal the coordinate axes, and you're trying to determine if a point is inside of it.  That's a bit tricky to determine directly.  If you can change to a basis where the cube is orthogonal to the coordinate axes, determining if the point is inside becomes trivial.
Comment: You prove the Master Theorem this way.
Comment: The choice of basis isn't canonical, so how do you get one in the first place?
Answer: Changing basis allows you to convert a matrix from a complicated form to a simple form. It is often possible to represent a matrix in a basis where the only nonzero elements are on the diagonal, which is exceptionally simple. These diagonal elements will be the eigenvalues of the matrix. This is especially helpful in solving linear systems of differential equations. Often in physics, engineering, logistics, and probably lots of other places, you have a system of differential equations which all depend on each other. In order to solve the system directly, you would have to solve all equations at once, which is hard. We can use matrices to describe this system. By changing basis, you may be able to make that matrix diagonal, which effectively separates the differential equations from each other, so you can solve just one at a time. This is comparatively easy. Situations where I know this comes up are:

Quantum mechanics, solving the Schrodinger equation to describe the state of matter on the quantum level.
Electrical engineering, understanding the time-evolution of an electrical circuit.
Mechanical engineering, understanding the motion of a linear mechanical system, such as multiple spring-mass system.

Edit:
Here is another very important reason for change of basis I just remembered: suppose you have a matrix $A$, and you want to calculate $A^n$ for some large $n$. This takes a while, even for computers. But, if you can find a change of basis matrix $P$ so that $A=P^{-1}DP$ for a diagonal matrix $D$, then $$A^n=P^{-1}DPP^{-1}DPP^{-1}DP...P^{-1}DP.$$ All of the terms $PP^{-1}$ are the identity, so we get $$A^n=P^{-1}D^nP.$$ Powers of diagonal matrices are really easy: just raise each diagonal element to the $n$th power. So this method allows us to find powers of matrices very easily. When would we ever want to take large powers of matrices? Whenever finding numerical solutions to differential equations, partial or ordinary. This comes up all the time, so we are glad that we can change bases!
Comment: Not just for powers; in fact, this can be used anytime one wants to evaluate a function with matrix arguments, like the exponential or the sine. In the nondiagonalizable case, one has to be content with the Jordan form.
Answer: Changing basis can make it easier to understand a given linear transformation.
Suppose $T:V \to V$ is a linear transformation.  It may seem difficult to understand or to visualize what effect $T$ has when it is applied to a vector $x$.
However, suppose we are lucky enough to find a vector $v$ with the special property that $T(v) = \lambda v$ for some scalar $\lambda$.  Then, it's easy enough to understand what $T$ does to $v$, at least.
Suppose we are lucky enough to find an entire basis $\{v_1,\ldots,v_n\}$ of these special vectors.  So
$T(v_i) = \lambda_i v_i$, for some scalars $\lambda_i, i =1,\ldots,n$.
Given any vector $x$, we can write $x$ as a linear combination of the vectors $v_i$:
\begin{equation}
x = c_1 v_1 + \cdots + c_n v_n.
\end{equation}
And now it seems easier to think about $T(x)$:
\begin{align}
T(x) &= c_1 T(v_1) + \cdots + c_n T(v_n) \\
&= c_1 \lambda_1 v_1 + \cdots + c_n \lambda_n v_n.
\end{align}
That is fairly simple.  Each component of $x$ (with respect to our special basis)
simply got scaled by a factor $\lambda_i$.
So if we can find a basis of eigenvectors for $T$ (and often we can), then it helps us to understand $T$.

By the way, one great practical example of a change of basis is computing a convolution efficiently using the fast Fourier transform (FFT) algorithm.  Any discrete convolution operator is diagonalized by a special basis, the discrete Fourier basis.  So, to perform a convolution on an image (in image processing), you take the FFT of the image (you change basis to the Fourier basis), then you multiply pointwise by the eigenvalues of the convolution operator, then you take the inverse FFT (change back to the standard basis).  This approach is much, much faster than performing convolution in the space domain.
Comment: +1 for your FFT example
Answer: You may have noticed multiplying matrices can be hard. By changing bases, we can make it easier.
Comment: If you first change the basis, second multiply, would you have to unchange the basis (reversal) after multiplication to get the standard form of the matrix product?
Comment: @Grau - Yes, see Ales S's answer.
Answer: Singular Value Decomposition, which is one of the most widely-used techniques in numerical computing, is a basis-change. It takes a linear transformation, and does a basis change on both the input space and the output space so that the transformation becomes just multiplication with no addition (ie a diagonal matrix).
This uncovers a lot of useful information about the transformation such as which input variables play the biggest role, how correlated they are to each other, whether there are any irrelevant variables, etc. It is pretty much the sledge-hammer for doing numerical computing with matrices.
Answer: Linear algebra is all about basis-change. Matrices are change of basis machines !
When you form a linear combination $a\vec u+b\vec v+\cdots c\vec w$, you can see it as the vector $(a,b,\cdots c)$ expressed in the basis $(\vec u,\vec v,\cdots \vec w)$.
For the same reason, a matrix product $AB$ expresses what the matrix $A$ becomes when applied to the vectors of the matrix $B$. And think that most matrix operations can be described as products of elementary transforms (which are changes of basis involving one axis or two).
Looking at the resolution of a system of linear equations, you can see it as a change of basis such that the hyperplanes corresponding to the equations become parallel to the axis, so that computing their intersections becomes trivial.

And so on, and so on.
The Eigendecomposition is indeed a convenient way to characterize a change of basis, as it finds the directions that are left unchanged by the transforms (the axis that are mapped onto themselves). These special directions are indeed quite interesting as the behavior of the transform is very simple there (just a scalar product).
Rotations are a particularly important class of transformations, as they preserve distances and cause no deformation (they are so-called "rigid-body" transforms). The Eigendecomposition expresses that any (diagonizable) transform can be seen as a rotation that aligns the Eigendirections with the axis, followed by a (possibly anisotropic) stretching of the axis, followed by the inverse rotation.
The Eigendecomposition generalizes as the Singular Value decomposition. It allows the two spaces to have differing dimensions, but still decomposes a transform as a sequence of rotation/scaling/rotation.

The Singular Values fully characterize the resizing/deformation (and possible loss of dimensions), giving a very synthetic view on the transform.
Comment: "Matrices are changes of basis !" I'm uncomfortable with this - a matrix is an array of numbers (or more generally elements of a ring). In advanced linear algebra when working with modules we don't always have a basis, yet matrices still exist.
Comment: @ZacharySelk: obviously this is an informal statement intended to stimulate the OP's intuition. You can raise similar objections for all sentences in my answer. In particular, matrices, linear transformations and changes of basis are freely mixed up.
Comment: @ZacharySelk: very slightly reworded. Hope not worse like this :)
Comment: Yes this is an informal statement, but I have been uncomfortable with that type of intuition. I remember learning linear algebra and statements like "matrices are linear transformations/changes of basis" etc. were really confusing to me and made linear algebra way harder. I am not the downvoter, btw. I think your answer is good. But it would have been very confusing for me, and I assume other people just learning linear algebra as well. But maybe it is helpful for OP!
Comment: It's up to you. Either way +1
Comment: . . . n i c e . .
Answer: It's used to prove the Master Theorem. Diagonal matrices are very easy to take powers of ($diag(a_1,\ldots,a_n)^k = diag(a_1^k, \ldots, a_n^k)$) and we have $(PAP^{-1})^k = PA^kP^{-1}$. The Master Theorem relies on changing to a diagonal basis, taking a large power, and changing back.
At the least, try working out the explicit formula for the Fibonacci numbers this way.
Comment: Any branch of mathematics may have its own "Master Theorem".  (MacMahon's Master Theorem; Ramanujan's master theorem, etc.).  Why is *this* branch arrogant enough to assume everyone knows which one we mean?
Comment: @GEdgar totally agree, and I have no idea how they got away with it. Actually I do, probably that it became popular in competition math and high school / college students like posting on the Internet a lot. Here, for instance. That's just conjecture though.
Comment: which master theorem? the wiki link is ambiguous
Answer: \begin{equation}
\sum_{k=0}^{n-1}k^3 = \sum_{k=0}^{n-1}6\binom k3+6\binom k2 + \binom k1
 = 6\binom n4+6\binom n3 + \binom n2=\frac{n^4-2n^3+n^2}4.
\end{equation}
Hey, that change of basis in the space of polynomials was useful.
Answer: Note that the Fourier transform is simply a change of basis. It is entirely possible you're actually reading this very answer thanks to change of basis. Check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orthogonal_frequency-division_multiplexing for instance. Edit: it might be weird to see the connection if you're just starting out with linear algebra. In signal processing among other fields, we generalize the notion of vectors in such a way that functions can also be seen as vectors. Starting from this idea, it might not be so weird to talk about basis changes for functions - which is exactly what the Fourier transform does. Indeed, this is what Taylor expansions does as well in a sense.
Another thing, in wireless communications with multiple transmitter/receiver antenna systemes (MIMO) it's very common to model the multiplicative noise in the channel as a linear transformation, i.e. the received signal is given by $\textbf{y} = H\textbf{x}$ (plus additive noise). I.e. there is one noisy channel for every pair of transmitter/receiver antennas. But by the singular value decomposition, we can find the appropriate change of basis for the transmitted signal that makes it "orthogonal to the channel" in the sense that $H$ is diagonal. This helps throughput lot.
Answer: Structural dynamics with the Finite Element Method
Computing the dynamic response of a structure is done with modal analysis.
The original vector space is displacements and rotations in each node. These are unsuited to dynamic response. The system of equations is therefore transformed into a new vector space where each element in the vector space represents a vibration mode.
Wikipedia has some nice animations of vibration modes, ordered from lowest to highest frequency:

Each mode (eigenvector) is the vibration to a specific frequency (eigenvalue). When these have been found, we can compute interesting stuff like the structural response to an earthquake of a certain frequency spectrum. Afterwards, the basis is changed back to the original to obtain forces and displacements in each node.
Answer: Practical speed related aspects Matrix multiplication and division and equation system solving can become much faster to perform in some bases than others. Often one can cut the algorithmic complexity so much that it becomes a difference between something being practically useful or far too slow for usefulness. The reason for this is that the underlying field of elements provides $1$ and $0$ elements which by definition make multiplication and addition simpler. $$\text{field properties for the elements 1 and 0 utilizable for saving calculations}\begin{cases}a \cdot 0 &= 0\\ a + 0 &= a\\a\cdot 1 &= a\end{cases}$$
The first two together lets us ignore whole parts of scalar products with zero elements which is the main gain. Then the third one allows us to avoid multiplications which can be nice as in computers adding is less computationally complex than multiplying, saving hardware on the chip or clock cycles.
$${\bf D} = \left(\begin{array}{ccccc} d_1&0&0&\cdots&0\\0& d_2 & 0 &\cdots & 0\\0&0&\ddots& \ddots &0\\0&0&\ddots&d_{n-1}&0\\0&0&\cdots&0&d_n\end{array}\right) \hspace{1cm}  {\bf C} = \left(\begin{array}{ccccc} {\bf C_1}&\bf 0&\bf 0&\cdots& \bf 0\\\bf 0& \bf C_2 & \bf 0 &\cdots & \bf 0\\ \bf \bf 0&\bf 0&\ddots& \ddots &\bf 0\\\bf 0&\bf 0&\ddots& \bf C_{n-1}&\bf 0\\\bf 0&\bf 0&\cdots&\bf 0&\bf C_n\end{array}\right) \hspace{1cm}$$
Diagonal matrix to the left, only n non-zero values - the ones on the diagonal. Block-diagonal matrix to the right. The $\bf C_k$ matrices on the diagonal are square and by properties of matrix multiplication will multiply onto their own position only. The larger we can make these $\bf 0$ matrices the more time we can save when doing computations.
Theory understanding aspects Basis change is the basis of understanding more advanced algebra. Eigenvalues, eigenvectors and matrix diagonalization are the first "steps" to that. Then canonical bases of various kinds and matrix representation of groups and fields with simultaneous block-diagonalizations ( that a set of matrices which multiply onto each other can be put on the same block-diagonal form ). Can be used to create an understanding and a framework for systematic work on these more advanced algebras.
Answer: Solid mechanics. Computing the principal stresses/strains in a material involves a change of basis. With the principal stresses, we can compute the maximum normal stress and maximum shear stress the material experiences. And these maxima tell us whether the material will become damaged or not.


Async rendering into CAEAGLLayer

Question: I have a OpenGL-based rendering pipeline for filtering images, which I now want to use to process videos as well.
On the one end if the pipeline is an AVPlayer for fetching frames from a video file, on the other end is my preview view, backed by a CAEAGLLayer. The rendering itself happens async on a different thread because it's quite expensive. The view is hooked to a CADisplayLink that triggers a new async rendering on every screen refresh. When the pipeline is done rendering into the layer's renderbuffer, I'm calling presentRenderbuffer: to show it on screen (in the rendering thread). Draw requests happening while a rendering is still in progress are ignored.
This works—however, I seem to be getting synchronization issues with the display refresh. When I set the frameInterval of the display link to 1 (call every frame), I'm getting ~2 FPS in the end (actual view refreshes). If I'm setting it to 2 (call every other frame), I'm suddenly getting 15 FPS. Setting it to 4 drops the FPS down to 2 again.
My guess is that the async call to presentRenderbuffer: happens "at the wrong moment" in the run loop and is either ignored by the system or delayed.
Now I want to know what's the best practice for displaying the results of async renderings in a view. All the examples and docs I could find only describe the single-threaded case.
Answer: In these cases it is best to use double buffering which in your case are 2 textures. The rendering of the video should be done on the FBO (frame buffer object) with an attached texture. Since the drawing is on a separate thread I suggest you to create the 2 textures on the main context, main thread then create a shared context on the other thread which can now access the 2 threads.
Now there is no sense to block the background thread since it is expected to be slow so what it will do is keep rendering to the texture then once done send the texture to the main thread (where you present the buffer) and continue drawing to the other texture. Then repeat the procedure.
The main thread should then check if it got a request to display a new texture and when it does it should draw it to the main buffer and present it. If you need to draw it at 60FPS (or any other constant) you can still do that but you will be redrawing the same texture.
Now just to be on the same side you should still probably do some locking mechanism. Since the background thread does the buffer swapping (sends the new texture and starts drawing to the previous one) it makes sense that there is a boolean value swapLocked where the main thread will set it to true just before it starts drawing and set it to false once it is done with the texture. Now if the background thread is done drawing and the swapLocked is true it should not continue drawing. In this situation continue the swap and the drawing once the swapLocked is set to false. You can override the setter to do that but be careful to continue the process on the background thread since the setter will most likely be called on the main thread.

Async rendering into CAEAGLLayer


How can I get more of each evolution stone?

Question: In Pokemon X, most of the evolution stone I find are items lying on the ground, but there don't seem to be nearly enough to evolve every evolution chain. Which stones can I get more of, and how can I get them?
Comment: go to route 3 and surf at the pond to get a dawn stone
Answer: You can get some from the Secret Super Training levels.
From Serebii's Guide to Super Training:

If you are using a Pokémon who has got maximum Effort Values, you will gain access to Secret Super Training. [snip] ...these games give you more than just bags for core training, they also have a chance of giving you rare items. These items range from items such as Clever Wing, to evolution stones. [snip] You can also get various healing items, items such as Stardust and hold items such as Hard Stone.

Apparently they are rare and depend on how well you compete.
Rom016 has been doing some of these, and it appears that the drops are not based on how well you compete. They do still appear to be rare, however.

The Troubles Keep On Coming - Wing Items
The Leaf Stone Cup Begins! - Leaf Stone
The Fire Stone Cup Begins! - Fire Stone
The Water Stone Cup Begins! - Water Stone
Follow Those Fleeing Goals! - Thunder Stone
Watch Out! That's One Tricky Second Half - Dusk Stone
An Opening of Lightning-Quick Attacks! - Shiny Stone
These Long Shots Are No Long Shot - Dawn Stone
Scatterbug Lugs Back - Wings
A Barrage of Bitbots - Wings
Drag Down Hydreigon - *Moon Stone, Sun Stone**
The Battle for the Best: Version X/Y - All of the above
Comment: I doubt it is based on how well you compete. I did poorly against the Fire one and got the Fire Stone but destroyed the Water one in a great time but only got a Hard Stone. I will do some more testing to find out
Comment: I said apparently because that is what I found online. I have not tried myself because I don't have need of the items myself. And they're rare drops, so its not likely to get them every time. (Rare according to my provided source.)
Comment: I wanted to add my experience to clarify the apparently. The time remaining when I got the Fire stone was 1:55.0 and I finally after about 10 attempts got a Water Stone with times around 2.25.
Comment: Ah. Well, thank you for the improving of my answer, then. Much appreciated. =) I've edited to correct with your new information.
Answer: Besides super secret training you can also farm some of the evolution items.  Dragon Scales are a hold item for Dratini, sun stones can be held by Solrock, moon stones by Lunatone, Stelix holds metal coat ETC.  According to serebii.net(I had to look it up) king's rocks are held by wild Poliwhirl, Poliwrath, Politoed, Hariyama and Hawlucha.
To speed your search for these wild hold items it's usually best to get a pokemon with the Frisk ability and teach it either "Thief" or "Covet".
Another thing you can do that's a hold over from gen 3 is to get a few pokemon that know Pickup and get random items that way. You can usually get a few evolution stones and other items depending on the Pokemon's level and where you are in the game.
Comment: This answer would become really good with a complete list (or at least a link to such a list).
Comment: I love pick up. Get a full team of them and before long you have all the potions and the like you will need.
Answer: There are 2 more ways to get additional Evolution Items and both are somewhat more efficient than Secret Super Training (unless you're very skilled at them and handle them in little time). I'm only mentioning ways to get an infinite amount of them (given infinite time), note that you can get any amount of each Evolution Stone in-game with the second method and any amount of each Evolution-related Item on the Internet as long as Pokemon doesn't take down this option (which is always possible, see Dream World).

The first way is 3ds.pokemon-gl.com. In the PokeMileage Club on Global Link, you can spend 100 PokeMiles to Play "Ballon Popping". There are 3 Levels and each yields different Items, which are drawn from a pool consisting of all EV-resetting Berries and all Evolution Items (Stones as well as stuff like King's Rock). Before starting a game, you can view the Items available in each Level, so you can pick the Level with the Item you want. Then it's just a matter of luck, what Items you receive seems to be random. See my question about the mini-game for (not that much) more detail.

The other and in my opinion best way to "grind" Evolution Stones (but only those, other Evolution Items are not available this way) is Route 18's Psychic Inver. Once a day, you can get 3 copies of one Evolution Stone from him if you beat him in an Inverse Battle without any of your own Pokemon fainting, provided you hit the right number of super-effective and non-effective attacks. This is a rather complex process, but I collected most information about it in my answer to a related question (including a very reliable strategy to get those Stones).
Answer: You can get all the evolutionary stones from so-called "Secret Super Trainings", unlocked when you complete all the Super Trainings with a single Pokemon. Completing these Secret Super Trainings has a chance to give you evolutionary stones, from Water to Dusk to Dawn Stones.
Comment: @Yuki, Secret Super Training is actually unlocked by maxing the EVs of a pokemon. See here:http://www.serebii.net/xy/supertraining.shtml
Comment: So can each super secret training game give any stone, or do you have to play a specific one to get specific stones?
Comment: Also, I know there is one store in Lumiose that sells evolution stones. Are there others?
Comment: It's also worth noting that there is a such thing as "Reset Punching Bags" which will completely reset the EV's of a pokemon. So the Wasted EV stats from doing every Super Training can be removed using that.
Comment: And do those rewards include items like "King's Rock" that are required to evolve pokemon through trading?
Answer: Head to Lumiose City, and then to the South Boulevard district. From there, head to Vernal Avenue and enter the Stone Emporium shop (located opposite the high-end clothes store). Inside is a lady who will sell you a fire stone, a water stone, and leaf stone for $2,100 a pop.
Comment: The price of the stones varies with your style.
Answer: You can trade the Intriguing Stone for a Sun Stone. In Shalour City, east of the Pokemon Center, then north just before the Trainer Tips sign, there will be a hiker in front of a set of stairs. Talk to him, and he will ask if you have any interesting stones. Then he'll offer you a Sun Stone for the Intriguing Stone.
Comment: The question is about **more** Stones than are available through the main Story line. This is just another one-of which is not lying around on the floor, but still no use more than once.


Understanding "desde ya"

Question: I have heard the phrase "desde ya" used to mean "in advance." Literally, it means "since already." How is it understood to mean "in advance," or is it simply an idiom with a nonsense literal meaning? Can the phrase mean anything else besides "in advance"?
Comment: "Ya" doesn't always mean "already", indeed it can also mean "right now" for example in a sentence like: hazlo ya (do it right now). So literally, it also means "since right now"
Answer: The DRAE says:

desde ya.

loc. adv. Ahora mismo, inmediatamente.

So, the "official" meaning is right now, immediately.
The expression desde ya, however, is used as a closing formula as in desde ya, le quedo agradecido which would mean something like from this moment I am thankful and could be translated (with some freedom) to the standard thanks, in advance; this last use could explain why desde ya can be sometimes understood as in advance, although that is not its intended meaning.
Comment: Also, in some regions "desde ya" is used as "por supuesto"
Comment: @belisarius: I didn't know that; in what regions?
Comment: Argentina, and I believe in Uruguay too. In fact "Pues ya" is [here](http://es.thefreedictionary.com/desde+ya) cited as meaning "por supuesto"
Answer: Although Gonzalo's answer is excellent I have something to add about the meaning of desde ya:
Desde ya literally means from now, even if the intended meaning is almost always resumed into this moment it is many times understood as in advance
DRAE link.
I personally don't think that desde ya is always a closing formula. It can be used in other cases such as in a letter:

Desde ya, hemos estado trabajando en el contrato del cual usted nos habló con anterioridad [...]

Understanding "desde ya"


How do I disconnect (and reconnect) the tubing from this fitting?

Question: The plastic tubing supplying filtered water to our refrigerator currently runs below a suspended ceiling. I want to reroute it above. How do I disconnect it without damage from either the union or tee, so I can reconnect once moved? The tee is labeled NSF-51 Parker Parflex size 4. The union has no discernible markings. I believe I would rather disconnect the union rather than the tee. I didn't want to just start tugging. I have found similar fittings for sale online, but no instructions for use.
Here is the union:
And here is the tee:
Answer: Just to add some visuals to the others' explanations using your photo, you need to (1) push on the collar trying to move it parallel to the tube, and (2) pull the tube.
To reconnect, push the tube into the collar until it stops (should be about 1 inch). Make sure the tube end is square (perpendicular to the tube axis, with no damage); cut a bit of the tube if necessary.
Comment: I don't know if you created this image or found it somewhere, but this is a *perfect* example of the appropriate use of a graphic aid.
Comment: Actually, it looks like you created it, since that looks like the same connector (down to the light abrasion on the tubing and other marks on the connector) from the OP's first picture. Nicely done, seriously. The picture alone could have almost sufficed as the entire answer, IMO.
Comment: I used [Skitch](https://evernote.com/skitch/?noredirect) to overlay arrows on the original image, yes.
Answer: This is polypropylene, but the connectors are very similar to PEX quick-connect fittings. You need to push the protruding collar (the inner tube that the polypropylene is secured into) back inside the connector, and you have to apply the pressure to that collar evenly. You might be able to do that if you're gentle enough with a pair of pliers with the jaws on the wide setting, but you could damage the polypro tubing.
The easiest way to do this is with a small tool or device meant for that purpose. The picture below is an illustration of one type of aid. You snap this over the tubing and press it firmly against the shoulder on the connector, and the tubing should pull out easily enough. These will come in the bag with some connectors, or should should be able to find them in the plumbing section of your local big box store.
Comment: An adjustable wrench (or a wrench of the right size) makes a decent (non-damaging) substitute for this type of tool, and you may already own one of those.
Answer: This is what I call a "push to connect" fitting. They are put together by pushing the tube into the fitting.
They are released by pushing the small collar into the fitting and then pulling out the tube. Sometimes they are slightly stuck, and may take a little bit more force to pull out the tube, but it should be if if the plastic collar is first pushed into the fitting.
Sometimes the tube is slightly damaged or crushed, in which case you'll need to cut off the last little bit of the tube.


How does a new user participate on meta SE?

Question: As a new user who joined after lurking for about a month, I'm finding it difficult to actually participate. Is there anything a new user can do here, or is it better to participate on other sites first before joining Meta?
Comment: If you lurked for the past month I must say you lurked during an a-typical 6 to 8 weeks ...
Comment: @Cyare if you post something and unfortunately it is not so well received, you might want to see [Common reasons why your meta post may be negatively received](https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/333476/common-reasons-why-your-meta-post-may-be-negatively-received) too.
Comment: relevant: https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/44188/how-do-i-participate-in-meta-and-not-die-trying
Comment: It's mostly this situation that makes me want to participate, honestly. Although, I do recognize that I might be better off just lurking on meta and participating elsewhere if that's all I'm here for.
Comment: https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/178800/as-a-new-user-how-do-i-gain-reputation-participate-in-so-if-all-my-questions-ha
Comment: https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/274518/a-way-for-new-users-to-ask-about-their-post-specifically
Comment: I agree that this could be a dupe. But the details might matter: If you're new to the network, then what is your *goal* of "participating" on meta specifically? It's not meant to be dismissive, but if you had been a long-time contributor and were p!ssed off by the recent events, then you could change your user name to "Sisyphus" and try to change things. Only participating in order to make clear that you have *some* opinion about *some* things that are discussed here *could* still be valuable, depending on how relevant this is for the network specifically.
Comment: See Help (?), [Our Model](https://meta.stackexchange.com/help/whats-meta). Sometimes there's [good times and humor](https://meta.stackexchange.com/q/19478/282094), and other times [not so much](https://meta.stackexchange.com/q/328160/282094). Lurking is free, fly not too low nor too high good [Icarus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icarus).
Answer: Meta SE is for asking and answering questions about:

Stack Exchange
Promotions & Advertising Support,
feature requests, or bug reports for the core Stack Exchange engine that powers all Stack     Exchange websites

Basically, issues that affect the entire network of Stack Exchange sites.
A new user like yourself might have questions that you want to ask about any of this, and in that case, you are absolutely welcome to participate. You may even be able to answer questions here, but, normally1, many questions involve some sort of expertise with the SE system and how it's run.
Either way though, you are welcome to try to contribute where you can and are comfortable doing so.
What I did, and what I'd recommend other users do as well, is start by contributing and lurking on the local Meta site(s) of the SE site(s) you frequent. There you'll get a more intimate understanding of how certain sites are run and, generally, a quieter and more forgiving environment in which to learn the ropes. For one thing, child metas don't have reputation.

1 - This last month has been highly atypical.
Answer: The answer is probably somewhere in the middle: Combine participation here and elsewhere. MSE contains a wealth of information about how SE sites, as a system, work. A good example and starting point for this is the frequently asked questions post. Also, see all the links people are dropping you in comments underneath your question ;)
Then again, without participating on any site, this knowledge is going to be mostly useless. There's a few things a 'new user' can do. Rubiksmoose pointed them out while I was writing this. If you've been lurking around the network for a long time, or on this site, you might've picked up sufficient knowledge to do those. There are also things like the winter bash contests that don't really need experience on other sites.
But if you really participate on sites, you can use the knowledge you find here, and discover for yourself where things are lacking, and participate here a bit better by sharing those experiences.
There's also a bit of 'system' that suggests it's useful to participate on sites before joining meta: You usually need a certain amount of reputation points before you can participate on site-specific meta sites. This site is one big meta site for all network sites and thus doesn't require this, but like I said it's useful to have some participation somewhere to draw conclusions from.


Why L2 loss is more commonly used in Neural Networks than other loss functions?

Question: Why L2 loss is more commonly used in Neural Networks than other loss functions?
What is the reason to L2 being a default choice in Neural Networks?
Comment: By "L2 loss" do you mean L2 penalty/regularisation?
Answer: I'll cover both L2 regularized loss, as well as Mean-Squared Error (MSE):
MSE:

L2 loss is continuously-differentiable across any domain, unlike L1 loss.  This makes training more stable and allows for gradient-based optimization, as opposed to combinatorial optimization.
Using L2 loss (without any regularization) corresponds to the Ordinary Least Squares Estimator, which, if you're able to invoke Gauss-Markov assumptions, can lead to some beneficial theoretical guarantees about your estimator/model (e.g. that it is the "Best Linear Unbiased Estimator").  Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gauss%E2%80%93Markov_theorem.

L2 Regularization:

Using L2 regularization is equivalent to invoking a Gaussian prior (see https://stats.stackexchange.com/questions/163388/why-is-the-l2-regularization-equivalent-to-gaussian-prior) on your model/estimator.  If modeling your problem as a Maximum A Posteriori Inference (MAP) problem, if your likelihood model (p(y|x)) is Gaussian, then your posterior distribution over parameters (p(x|y)) will also be Gaussian.  From Wikipedia: "If the likelihood function is Gaussian, choosing a Gaussian prior over the mean will ensure that the posterior distribution is also Gaussian" (source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conjugate_prior).

As in the case above, L2 loss is continuously-differentiable across any domain, unlike L1 loss.
Comment: I think it's important to note that L2 loss definitely isn't used more commonly than other loss functions. In fact if anything I would say cross-entropy has the largest appearance as it ties in with softmax activations which is all around excellent for classification.
Comment: I think this answer doesn't clarify an important point. An "l2 loss" would be any loss that uses the "l2 norm" as a regularisation term (and, in that case, you will get MAP). This loss can be the MSE  or it can e.g. the cross-entropy, i.e. l2 norm can be used for regression or classification.
Comment: @Recessive I agree
Comment: @nbro MSE loss specifically is sometimes referred to as L2 loss, so that one was probably meant in the question (e.g., see https://ml-cheatsheet.readthedocs.io/en/latest/loss_functions.html#mse-l2)
Comment: @DennisSoemers Right. I suspected that L2 loss couldn't just refer to any loss that uses L2 norm, but, well, I guess it's a little bit misleading to call MSE L2 loss when it doesn't use L2 regularisation, but I guess the 2 stands for the square in that case. Anyway, why not just calling it MSE? I don't get it.


Custom fields in webform membership renewal

Question: I'm starting out to create a CiviCRM system under Drupal for managing the memberships of a Photobiology Society. I have already imported contacts, organizations, memberships and contributions from the old system.Now I should carry out the registration phase of the applications or renewals to the society through the Webform integration. No problem for the applications, while for the renewals I would like to present all the data to the old member, INCLUDING the custom ones that I had to create.
If I include an "existing contact" field, I'm able to only fill in the standard CiviCRM fields (name, address, email, phone, etc.) and not the custom ones, including the active membership.
Can someone help me and above all is it possible to do this?
Comment: I think you will need to pass membership id in the url for the membership custom fields to prepopulate
Answer: Pinto Vasa, Welcome to CiviCRm SE. Yes its possible to include any CiviCRM custom fields on webform which is available under their respective tab of CiviCRM webform config setting. Those fields will be pre-populated on webform based on logged in user details, will be empty if its a anonymous submission or new submission if logged in. The webform can be used to populate details of specific contact by passing contact id (and checksum if the user doesn't have sufficient permission eg anonymous user or minimal permission authenticated user).
eg http://example.org/renewmembership?cid=202&cs=9f4a2e5d4d57567b6ba4468750ac128d_1585225559_168
Comment: Pradeep, thanks a lot for your prompt reply. At the moment, however, another big problem is created on the Existing contact field defined with the autocomplete widget: it seems that jquery behaves in the strangest way, for example it cannot find the beginning of a  last_name "Vas" but instead finds "asa" and in any case after the fourth character, he refuses to continue self-completion. This strange behavior changes depending on how you set the "Contact Display Field (s)" (Display Name, o Sort Name or Last Name).
Comment: I tried reinstalling Jquery Update on Drupal, and even the Chrome Dev Tool Console isn't helpful, as no errors are raised. At the moment I must first solve this problem because I have to present existings data (included the custom ones...) to the member who wants to renew and to whom I sent the contact_id and checksum by email. In our society there is no provision for managing a drupal user database, and the url recognition system is the most suitable.


Why does my toddler refuse to let me sing to her

Question: My daughter is 2 yrs 4 months and for the last few months if I try to sing to her she gets very cross and tells me to stop. Sometimes it's because she wants to sing herself, but more often she just doesn't want me to.
Do other parents experience this?
Comment: Maybe you can't sing? :P I'm just playing, I think dcm has the right answer.
Comment: My younger daughter will lose her mind if her mom tries to do yoga. Could be an associative thing. Maybe like you say she just wants to do it herself. Or maybe she thinks singing time means bed time. I wouldn't worry about it though. In 3 months it will be a new crazy thing and the singing thing will probably have passed
Comment: Maybe the child gets restless because she has become very familiar with these songs... She may be interested in new material - it may help if you expand your repertoire.
Comment: At that age she can probably talk. Have you tried asking her why she does not want you to sing?
Comment: Is that how you used to get your daughter down for sleep?  Maybe she thinks of it as nefarious sleep-inducing mom-magic and is in the "you're not tricking me into sleeping, woman!" mode.
Comment: Mine refuses  because I have a voice like someone stepping on a bullfrog.
Answer: My kid is almost 3 and he does the same. We use to enjoy singing a lot together when he started talking. Now he just does not want to sing with me anymore, and when I do he either tells me "don't sing mama" or he changes the lyrics to "crazy" words. I think is just a call for independence, but nothing to worry about, I don't think is worth fighting a battle about it. He sings on his own when he is playing alone making up his own songs or putting new lyrics to the tunes he knows.
Comment: +1, same here! I think it's just a phase, and they don't always complain about my singing.
Comment: a friend of mine's son went through a phase like that - not only did he not want her to sing, he did not want to sing, not want to hear music... And then, one day, he started singing along to tunes, by himself, and wanting her to sing to him again.
Answer: This must be a fairly painful thing to hear your beloved toddler say, and you have my sympathy. I have to admit I've never heard of this before.
Please look for other clues that she's easily disturbed by bodily sensations, such as certain kinds of shirts, labels on her shirts, a reluctance to try or eat new foods, and, among other things, a strong (if charming) desire for strict-ish routines. If she shows any of these signs, please read about the "highly sensitive child". If she fits none of these, don't bother.
What to do? That depends on your parenting philosophy. I'm a strong believer in respecting a child's feelings, but not in letting a child run things that adults should. Because she finds your singing distressing for some reason (can she put it into words yet?), give her choices. Ask her if she wants a song or a story at bedtime, or if she'd like to sing, or if she'd like to learn a new song with you. Or if she'd like to sing one together. You can't "make" her like your singing. But you can prevent her from telling you to stop.
If it's an attention thing (she wants to be the center of attention and thinks her singing or controlling things accomplishes that), it should be apparent from other areas as well. That's a different problem, however.
Respecting a child's true and valid feelings is a trust- and- relationship building experience. This is different from coddling her. It's your job to draw the line on unreasonable demands.
Please forgive me if this sounds preachy or harsh. I really do empathise.
Comment: Thanks for your thoughts. I don't think she's hyper-sensitive or easily distracted, but although she doesn't like being the centre of attention she does like things Her Way and does try to be quite controlling. We don't sing to her if she gets upset about it but won't let her tell us not to sing around the house more generally.
Comment: I was actually thinking the exact same thing. Sounds good. She sounds like a lucky little girl.
Answer:
Do other parents experience this?

One of my children went through a phase where it didn't want its mother to sing to it. As with everything regarding children, though, this was just a phase. It came and went.
I fully agree with anongoodnurse' parenting philosophy. You should not force your child to listen to you. But your child (or anyone else, for that matter) should not force you to stop singing either.
However, I'd like to add one thought to the other answer: When are you singing? Is it only to her? You haven't said anything about your family. Is it just the two of you? If not, does the rest of the family enjoy singing – be it theirs or yours? Do you often sing together? I ask this not so you would answer me, but to make you ask this yourself.
If the rest of the family often enjoys singing and obviously has a good time doing so, then your child, when told that she doesn't need to listen to (you or anyone else) singing, and seeing that the others enjoy it, is very likely to grow to like it, too.
Comment: Yeah, always remember the parental mantra: ___It's just a phase. It will pass.___ `:)`
Comment: We sing nursery rhymes and songs she knows from playgroup and cartoons, and it doesn't seem to matter whether it's her mother or father or both of us singing to her. Sometimes we'll ask her to sing instead and she does but it isn't often that she wants to be sung to or with. Like you say, probably just a phase.
Answer: Is it inconceivable that she just dislikes the sound? The other answers are somewhat worrying in that they don't seem to consider the possibility that children like and dislike different things and something that is appealing to you may not be to them. I'm curious to know whether you think this in itself is a problem, or whether you're just worried that your daughter is rejecting you rather than the activity?


How much does an LCD's backlight drain the battery?

Question: The screen tends to be one of the biggest consumers of electricity. How much of this is for the backlight vs the actual screen, particularly in the case of an LCD?
Comment: I don't have hard numbers, but it should be nearly all the backlight.  That said, I don't think this is an Android question.
Comment: Not strictly, but similar to [this question](http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/13136/does-a-battery-with-more-capacity-last-proportionally-longer) it is still relevant in my opinion. However if there is a more fitting site we could move it too, we definitely should.
Comment: Erik, you're right.  [I've brought this up on Meta](http://meta.android.stackexchange.com/q/904/1465) and re-opened this in the meantime.
Comment: I think it's one of those edge cases which is valid. Sure, every smartphone has a battery, but maybe there is something peculiar to the way Android uses the display that would come to bear here (although, frankly, it's almost certainly hardware-specific if anything). That said, it's a really open-ended question and I doubt there's a single, correct answer.
Answer: Not only the screen is a main consumer. Based on the Motorola Droid, I can give you some data to compare:
<code>Video recording         1557 mW
UMTS Upload             1410 mW
UMTS Download           1349 mW
EGDE Upload             1179 mW
WLAN Download           1158 mW
Video play (fullscreen) 1135 mW (already minus the display)
UMTS phone call          983 mW
Camera                   934 mW
EGDE Download            853 mW
Bluetooth receive        751 mW
Display (at max)         730 mW
GPS Search               550 mW
GSM phone call           511 mW
Bluetooth send           487 mW
WLAN Upload              479 mW
Display (at min)         310 mW
MP3 play                 160 mW
UMTS Standby              18,3 mW
GSM/EDGE Standby          11,6 mW
WLAN Standby               7,8 mW
Bluetooth Standby          2,8 mW
GPS Standby                0,4 mW
</code>
As you can see, there are clearly compontents/actions with a much higher energy consumptions -- but the display gives you good potential to reserve some.
Data source is an article at Heise.DE called Energiesparplan (google translate version here).


How can I make it stay daytime all the time?

Question: I've wanted a mechanism that is able to make it stay day all the time, and I've tried thinking up ways but they don't work. How do I do it?
Comment: Just a note for posting questions in the future: saying "I've tried thinking up ways but they don't work" isn't very helpful, since you don't say what you've tried. The point of showing what you've tried is so that people don't just tell you to do what you've already tried.
Comment: good point SevenSidedDie. though I was going to answer my own question, I just didn't have enough reputation to do it within 8 hours of my post.
Answer: The only ways I can think of involve using game commands.
One way is to get into the console and type /gamerule doDaylightCycle false
Alternatively, you can use a combination of Daylight Sensors and Command Blocks to execute the command /time set 1000. The downside to using this is that you need to stay within range to keep the area around the command block loaded. Running across the world allows night to come again.
Here's an tutorial video that explains how to set up the Daylight Sensor method:
How to make it always day or night in Minecraft using Command Blocks and Daylight Sensors
Comment: I was going to answer my own question. but thanks anyway!
Comment: spawn are is always loaded, if you put the Sensor and Command Block there, it should be always loaded. I am not sure if it was for the spawn chunk .. or some area around it, but you can double check
Answer: All you have to do is: use a command block, some redstone, a redstone torch, and a daytime sensor.

input /time set day into the command block.
place down the daylight sensor.
place down a redstone torch.
connect the redstone from the redstone torch to the command block making it to where the torch will send a signal to the command block.
connect redstone from the daytime sensor to the redstone torch, making sure the redstone is going from the daylight sensor to the torch to the command block.
make sure the redstone torch signal in not going into the daylight sensor, but is going into the command block.

If you follow these easy steps, Minecraft should reset itself to day every time it turns to night. Oh! One more thing; make sure the daylight sensor is outside, if it's not it wont work.
Comment: It would be helpful adding a screenshot in this case, as text-only instructions can be a bit unclear when working with redstone.
Answer: You have to have cheats on.
Answer 1. The best way to do it is use the command /gamerule doDaylightCycle false.
Answer 2. Materials you need: 1 Command Block, 2 Blocks, 4 redstone, 1 redstone torch and 1 daylight sensor. NOTE: this is the most compact way I can think of doing it.
Step 1: Place command block and place 2 redstone running into it.
Step 2: Place a redstone torch ON A BLOCK to the side of it (so the block is touching the line of redstone).
Step 3: Place a block ONTOP of the redstone closest to the command block.
Step 4: Place a piece of redstone ontop of the block with the redstone torch on it and another to the SIDE of it (so the redstone isn't next to the command block).
Step 5 (Last step): Place a daylight sensor next to the redstone, and in the command block type in the commmand "time set day".


Computer Certifications and Advancement?

Question: I am applying for a computer job. I have a BA. I also have a computer certification from before 2000. It was a non-credited course. It was a continuing education course. However, the label "certification" was used. Since this does not have a "license number" I am wondering how to submit this in the online application. Any suggestions?
Thanks
Answer: I would not put it on there, given that it was prior to 2000 any technology or theory you were taught are highly likely to be obsolete, and if not that, highly antiquated at best.
The other fact of the matter it is a course you took 16+ years ago - definitely not something you can say with any veracity that you still remember it, it would look a bit weird to me if I got an applicants resume across my desk that had:
BA/BS in Something Cool, University of Coolsville, 2015
Certification in Floppy Disk Troubleshooting, 1997
It will not add any value, so leave it off.
Comment: @SharePointNY YMMV, I hire and interview PMs, BAs and PCs - I cannot in any conceivable fashion think of how it would help. Using a 16 year old cert isn't demonstrating competency (not saying you don't have it, but it's been a long time), it doesn't show a career flow - as that is way out of scope, it does not show a grasp of technology.
Comment: @SharePointNY If you really want to put something up there at least get an industry recognized entry level cert - Server+, A+, MCITP, CCENT or something along those lines.
Comment: @Pete that's your prerogative, a degree and a certification are like comparing orange trees to apples seeds. Generally, one takes a certification to demonstrate prowess in a very specified area, especially in IT. Demonstrating that you know 1990s tech in 2016 is a point so moot it's nonsensical.
Comment: Really? I totally understand your logic. However, I don't think it can hurt by leaving it in.
Comment: So I guess that I should take my degree in computer science off my resume, give that I was awarded it in 1987?....
Comment: @Pete a degree doesn't need to be updated periodically, certifications do (decent ones anyway) but a 1987 CS degree wouldn't mean anything to me on it's own.


Did Shakayamuni Buddha talk about the Trikaya?

Question: Did Shakayamuni Buddha talk about the Trikaya? If so where?
I am looking for suttas attributed to Shakyamuni in the times of Theravada.
Answer: It wasn't explicit in the Theravada but the foundation was already there. The concept got fully developed by the time of the Mahayana. Further info. is available from the wiki page here
Comment: Ahh.. Apparently in the Aganna Sutta "Because the titles of the Tathagatha are: The Body of Dhamma, The Body of Brahma, the Manifestation of Dhamma, and the Manifestation of Brahma."
Answer: No but the concept of dharmakaya in Theravada is known as dhammakaya.
The ideas of sambhogakaya and nirmanakaya (rupakaya) on the other hand were not developed fully until Mahayana entered the picture.
According to the same Wikipedia entry, it is possible the idea of some form of rupa-kaya was taking shape though as this passage (section 9) from the Aggañña Sutta may indicate:

"I am a true son of Blessed Lord, born of his mouth, born of Dhamma,
  created by Dhamma, an heir of Dhamma." Why is that? Because, Vasettha,
  this designates the Tathagata: "The Body of Dhamma", that is, "The
  Body of Brahma", or "Become Dhamma", that is, "Become Brahma"."

This may be a misinterpretation of sutta taken out of context because it does not seem to be repeated through other Theravadin literatures.


Mackinac hop and usage

Question: What is the best way to utilize the potential of Mackinac hops is a hop-forward beer? Knowing that it is an aroma hop, is it best in late boil addition or whirlpool ? Or do it's qualities come out best in dry-hopping?
Answer: Well it depends ... do you want the flavours and aromas that would come from late boil additions, whirlpool or Dry Hop. Each will contribute different flavour profiles to the finished beer and each will be prefered by different people.
Also, it is sold as an aroma hop but has an average of 11.5% AA so would also work well in bittering, and I would sugest would lend itself to making a single hop brew.
My standard approach using a new hop would be to try with just a late hop and see what I think and then dry hop some of that to see how it differs.
If you want fully hop forward then I would advise doing all 3 to get a blend of the available flavour profiles from the hop.
Experiment, see what works best for the recipe, your or your freind's tastes; and if you do some trial brews please report back what you find.

Mackinac hop and usage