What's the point of the WP version generator?

Question: Since so many people seem to "hate" it, what is the real use of generating the wp version in the page source and adding it in the js and css files?
Comment: close voted as this is a question about why web standards are like they are. Obviously the use of the generator tag is not specific to wordpress and therefor the whole question is not wordpress specific. Once the standard exist web players are going to implement it. see also http://stackoverflow.com/questions/3632166/should-i-include-a-meta-generator-tag
Comment: I'm asking if there is any real benefit to the user/developer of WordPress and if yes, what it is.
Comment: the benefit is to be standard compliant? and even in that version it is still not wordpress specific
Answer: It's use? I believe Automattic (and others) use it to generate stats on WP deployment worldwide, similar to Joomla and other CMSes.
But a lot of the reason people may 'hate' it is because of mis-education.
It is a fallacy that it is a security risk. What is a security risk is not keeping your site and plugins up to date - solve that and you don't need to be concerned about the version number displayed.
Malicious script tracking doesn't show a prevalence of version number checking before running their scripts. It is generally accepted that malicious scripts will try every previously successful exploit regardless of your WP version.
If you really want to remove your version number then see this tutorial https://premium.wpmudev.org/blog/how-to-hide-your-wordpress-version-number/ and don't forget to delete any readme files that may contain the version number.
However, my advice (as the first step in a security protocol for WP) is to spend your time implementing an auto-update process to keep your site up to date, (there are some simple scripts you can add to your functions.php to auto-update) or put in a scheduled maintenance plan to update your heavily custom sites. And learn more about WP security - goodness knows the estimated 4 million+ exploited WP sites indicates it is sorely needed.
Oh, if you are doing it for clients... don't do it for free. Educate them on why Wordpress has a maintenance/security cost to it and charge an appropriate amount for your knowledge and effort.
Answer: You can also use plugin called Readme detonator. It will delete readme.html file after every update of WordPress.
Comment: that is a realy bad plugin, will probably not work for any reasonable permissions settings.
Comment: I'm using it on few installations and it just work
Comment: The fact that it works for you doesn't improve the way it is written and that it will not work for other people


Is separate DS-160 form needed for spouse for US B1/B2 visa?

Question: I'm going to travel with my spouse to the US for visiting. and I want to apply for B1/B2 visa. I filled an application for myself. Do I need to fill a separate DS-160 form for her? If so, how can I link these two applications?
Comment: Our Q&A format only really works well with single questions. I recommend that you post your second question separately.
Answer: You will need to file separate DS-160 applications for your spouse, but the web site will make this a little easier for you. Once you complete your application, on the "Thank You" page there will be an option to create another application for your family member. When you choose this, it will automatically import some of the information from your form onto the next form, and so it will take less time to complete the second application.
A further explanation is in the DS-160 Frequently Asked Questions:

When you select "Email Confirmation" on your Confirmation Page, you will be directed to a "Thank You" page. On the "Thank You" page you will see an option to create a family or group application. When you select this option, certain information from your application, such as destination, will automatically be imported to and displayed on a new application. Please note that if you use this option you must create an individual application for each family member or for each individual within the group.
If one of the dependents has a different surname or nationality, for example, you can alter that data before submitting the application.
Comment: Right, it should be after you submit the first form.
Comment: Do you mean after signing and submitting the DS-160 form ?
`When you select "Email Confirmation" on your Confirmation Page, you will be directed to a "Thank You" page.`
where does this happen ?
Comment: Is there a direct link to the thank you page that we can use for those of us who have lost access to this page because they closed the application after submitting? I remember seeing it the first time around but my computer rebooted and then if I try sending an email from the confirmation page, it just sends me back to the confirmation page :(
Comment: Found the link: https://ceac.state.gov/GenNIV/Common/Thankyou.aspx
Answer: Be careful and make payment for all the applicants at one go; for e.g. if you add/tag your family members or any other member(s) in your scheduling the appointment, then make visa fee for all the applicants at one go in one account. Subsequently, the site does not allow for addition of the same.
I have given this suggestion for addition of this feature on the website itself.


ExactTarget TriggeredSend - Replace variable HTML__BODY?

Question: Using the PHP Fuel SDK. I could have sworn that I saw somewhere that you can send HTML__BODY, HTML_Body, or something similar to replace the entire content of an Email with unlimited length - bypassing the 2k limit for account attributes and the 4k limit for DE fields. Am I crazy, or it this just another undocumented feature that is known by work of mouth?
Answer: More information about HTML Attributes can be found at: http://help.exacttarget.com/en/technical_library/web_service_guide/triggered_email_scenario_guide_for_developers/
They are used when passing in HTML which exceeds 2000 characters, specifically for triggered sends.
A profile attribute will need to be created with the HTML__ prefix before it can be used with a triggered send.  Also, an email will need to be created which references this profile attribute using standard substitution syntax.  For example, if you call your profile attribute HTML__Body, then the email will need to contain:
<code>%%HTML__Body%%
</code>
While it would be possible to pass the entire HTML for an email using this mechanism, I would recommend keeping as much content in the Email as possible then only passing over the pieces that are truly dynamic.
Another option would be to used a TriggeredSendDataExtension with a field that has the length removed. By default, it will put a length of 50 when creating a Text type field in the interface but that value can be removed to make the field accept larger values. When using a Data Extension field instead of a profile attribute, it isn't necessary to prefix the name with HTML__.
Comment: I can't get that to work. I get: [ErrorCode] => TriggeredSendSubscriberProcessingError
                    [ErrorDescription] => Error Code: 20 - Value provided for HTML__Body is too long.  Value is 4451 characters in length, but HTML__Body can hold at most 4000 characters.
Comment: This is in a data extension. If I add it as an Attribute in Profile Management, the call errors out saying I don't have a valid value - Error Code: 10 - The subscriber is missing required attribute value for HTML__Body
Comment: When creating the profile attribute for HTML__body, was the option to make it required selected?  What about any other constraints on the value such as max/min length?
Comment: If you have a field in a TriggeredSendDataExtension that you want to use to hold the HTML, then naming it with the HTML__ prefix isn't necessary, it only applies to profile attributes.  With Data Extension fields, simply don't specify a max length when creating the field to allow for more than 4000 characters.
Comment: If you can update your answer for the data extension, I'll check that as the solution. I didn't even think to leave the length field blank!
Comment: I have updated my answer to list the Data Extension field option.
Comment: @Mac I tried to send HTML__Body Attribute with size more than 4000 then I am getting an error with  errorCode=TriggeredSendSubscriberProcessingError,errorDescription=Error Code: 10 - The subscriber is missing required attribute value for HTML__Body.
Answer: I just wanted to note here that the above workaround involving a profile attribute might no longer be possible in Enterprise 2.0 accounts. When I tried setting up a profile attribute as discussed in an enterprise 2.0 account, there wasn't an option to not set a max limit. The only workaround I have found so far is to follow @Mac's suggestion of not using a profile attribute but rather to only use a DataExtension field that has no limit set. Make sure to delete any profile attributes of the same name to avoid getting the following error.
<code>TriggeredSendSubscriberProcessingError,errorDescription=Error Code:10
- The subscriber is missing required attribute value for HTML__Body
</code>
Answer: As indicated by @Mac in the comments, you can do an unlimited-length variable replacement by using a data extension.

Create a Data Extension using Standard Data Extension -> Creation Method: Create From Template -> TriggeredSendDataExtension.
When you are on the Fields tab, create a Text property and remove the Length amount.
Use this Data Extension when creating a Triggered Send in the interface or API.
Be sure to include the property name in your Email and/or Template.

I was able to successfully send a 960k-character text block to that data extension property.


Javascript checkboxes to show/hide overlays on main SharePoint calendar view

Question: I've got a main Global calendar with Regional calendar overlays associated.  Currently, clicking the colored tabs will only redirect the user to the filtered calendar view associated with tab name.   What I'd like to accomplish is having a check box below each colored tab that would in turn respond the same way the Overlay filter page does (when clicking "Calendar" and then "Calendar Overlays" on the ribbon) without leaving the main calendar page.  I'm sure the page would have to refresh after each check box action, but it staying on the main Global calendar page after each refresh would be ideal.

By default, I'd like for all boxes to be checked whenever the main Global calendar link is clicked.  Always start all in.
Since there are 10 calendars on this main Global calendar view, I want to give the user the option to compare two or more regions by navigating which check boxes they select.  Checking the box will show the overlay view on the main Global Calendar. Unchecking the box would hide the overlay view on the main Global Calendar.  All without having to be redirected to the Calendar Overlay Settings page.
I want to move the check boxes on the Calendar Overlay Settings page over to the main Global Calendar page below each colored tab.
Is this feasible?
Answer: I am having this issue as well. It looks like you can create a view for each different combination then link to them but this becomes impractical quickly. Using check boxes would make things much easier.


One Child Functions.php for Multiple Child Themes

Question: I have a wordpress setup that I use for clients with around 30 or so child themes that they can choose from.  Each child theme has it's own functions.php file currently.  Is it possible to setup just one child functions.php and call it from all the separate child themes?  My reason for wanting this functionality is I find myself continually making changes to the functions.php and I have to do it to all 30+ themes every time.
Answer: Use a plugin for that. Hook into after_setup_theme and check if the current theme is the correct child theme:
add_action( 'after_setup_theme', 'common_child_theme_functions' );

function common_child_theme_functions()
{
    if ( 'Twenty Twelve' !== wp_get_theme()->parent() )
        return;

    // do your work
}

wp_get_theme() returns a WP_Theme instance, and parent() either the parent theme name or FALSE.
I do not recommend a mu-plugin. Real plugins can be deactivated, and you can enable or disable them for each site separately. Adjust the capabilities for the clients instead; this is a much cleaner approach.
Answer: Well, I'd say that you need a custom plugin. All the rationale is in this Q&A:
Where to put my code: plugin or functions.php?
Also related:

Where do I put the code snippets I found here or somewhere else on the web?
Create a Functionality Plugin Instead of Using Functions.php

And answering to the Question, create the following file /wp-content/themes/common-functions.php, and paste what you need in it. And inside the child theme functions.php use:
require_once ( TEMPLATEPATH . '/../common-functions.php' );

or
require_once ( WP_CONTENT_DIR . '/themes/common-functions.php' );

Comment: I was going to say put it above the web root, but you this works too.
Answer: I'd use a must use plugin. The code will apply across the network while your clients won't have access to it so they won't be able to disable or modify it.
To proceed you just have to put your code in one single file and put it in /wp-content/mu-plugins/
Hope this will help :)
Comment: Sorry I was writing this and s_ha_dum post the same answer before.
Comment: There's something that needs to be taken into account: running the mu-plugin only in specific sites, otherwise it runs in all of them. & welcome to WPSE :)
Comment: Thanks brasofilo. You're right but Tory wanted it for all. Maybe if for some reasons one or more sites need to be excluded it is easy to put this in a if statement like : `global $blog_id; if($blog_id !== ...etc)`
Answer: You can include just about any file you want from any of the child themes, but there is little known feature to WordPress called Must Use plugins. I think I would lean towards that.

Create a directory called mu-plugins in wp-content
Create a file in that directory and add your functions to it.

Unlike ordinary plugins, must-use plugins do not show up in the plugin list and cannot be deactivated, other than deleting the mu-plugin file, so they can serve as a kind-of global functions.php.


Voice to text in Gmail?

Question: Is there any way to enable voice to text (speech recognition) in gmail when using Chrome as a webbrowser? I really like the feature to search at google.com via voice and I'd also love to speak my mails instead of typing. I tried several chrome extensions, e.g. https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/speech-recognition-for-gm/ffnepgjlfiinpkplhjmehkdhnaaongdk?hl=d
but none worked. I don't know why because the feature would be the same because the voice recognition API obviously already exists; so it should be easy to make it useable in gmail also!? At least from googles point of view...
Any ideas?
Comment: Didn't anybody ever think of it as well? :(
Comment: What OS are you using?
Answer: You can go here to use Google's "Web Speech API Demonstration" -- it works very fast and well and in multiple languages:
https://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/demos/speech.html
There's even a "Create Email" button!
Update: I couldn't resist, so I wrote a Chrome extension that does exactly this. Try it out and let me know. :-)
Comment: Very nice indeed! Thx
Answer: On Windows and Mac you can use the speech recognition software Dragon NaturallySpeaking (I'm writing this answer with it, as well as all my e-mails, reports, etc., even coding to some extent). On Linux there exist some programs tapping Google's voice technology but I haven't tried it myself.
Comment: Thanks, I know that software, it's quite good, but I didn't like it because it's a little bit bloated. I thought it would be possible to simply have a voice recognition by google (the same used for the google search) built-into the browser (recognizing your voice on their servers) :(
Answer: With the Chrome Extension "Checker Plus for Gmail" http://goo.gl/nOIov4 you can do this.
Comment: Please quote the essential parts of the answer from the reference link, as the answer can become invalid if the linked page changes or the target site is unreachable/permanently offline.
Answer: Many of the answers and existing solutions have suffered from bit rot.
As of mid-2015, the "virtual keyboard" in Chrome will take voice input, and it works with any input field (including Gmail).  See:  https://support.google.com/chromebook/answer/6076237?hl=en&source=genius-rts
Comment: Looks like a Chromebook-only feature. For Chrome, Google released [Input Tools](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/google-input-tools/mclkkofklkfljcocdinagocijmpgbhab?hl=en) that support only hand entry. All voice apps for Chrome are made by third parties.
Answer: I have found that some developers use the Google Translate Voice to include it in their games.
Either because they want to call the player by their name or making a piece of code for their game would be too hard. If the Internet is disconnected while you play the Java/Flash game, it's less impressive.
A modder for Half-Life 2 created a mod where all the dialogue for the NPCs was generated by Google Translate.
The Lazy solution is the way to go.

Voice to text in Gmail?


What does the vertical axis of the Kuznets curve depict (mathematically)?

Question: I do not understand what does the word "inequality" means on the vertical axis of the Kuznets curve. Can someone please explain?
Answer: Kuznet talked about income inequality. In this context it is often measured by the Gini coefficient or the Kuznet ratio, but basically any measure of income inequality would do, since Kuznet's hypothesis is merely a qualitative one.


Linear regression with depended predictor variables

Question: Short story: Why is it important that the predictor variables of a linear regression model are independent? If I am not interested in the coefficient but only in the question, which predictor variable is the most significant, am I allowed to use dependent predictor variables?
Long story: We would like to analyze the "quality" of a coating by using a linear regression model. Our parameters are as follows:

$Y$: the responds variable, which measures the "quality" of the layer -- it's a special property of the coating, which we are interested in.
$P_1,\ldots, P_n$: some independent predictor variables, e.g. coating temperature, material of the substrate, coating thickness etc. These predictor variables are controllable during the coating process.
$Q_1, \ldots, Q_m$: some dependent predictor variables, e.g. the density of the coated layer, it's hardness, and the coating rate etc. These predictor variables can't be directly controlled during the coating process. They depend on the variables $P_1,\ldots, P_n$ and maybe on some unknown variables $X_1, \ldots, X_k$. Therefore, they can be expressed as functions $Q_j = Q_j(P_1,\ldots, P_n, X_1, \ldots, X_k)$.

Usually, I would model the responds variable by the independent predictor variables. I would use the linear regression model
$$Y \sim \sum_{i=1}^n P_i$$
where I could include some interaction $P_i \cdot P_j$ terms as well. Then I would use the optimal parameter set for a coating experiment and verification of the quality.
However, according to the literature the most important parameter for the "quality" $Y$ is the dependent predictor $Q_1$. Unfortunately, we are quite sure that we are missing some independent predictor variables $X_1, \ldots, X_k$, because our model $Q_1(P_1,\ldots, P_n)$ deviates from the measured value $Q_1^{(measured)}$. Therefore, I would like to check, that the literature is correct and that $Q_1$ is indeed the most significant predictor variable. In order to do so, I would like to estimate the most significant terms by using the model
$$Y \sim \sum_{i=1}^n P_i + \sum_{i=1}^m Q_i$$
where I treat the dependent variables as if they were independent predictors. Furthermore, I would like to include some interaction terms ($P_i \cdot P_j, P_i \cdot Q_j$, and $Q_i \cdot Q_j$) again.
My colleague says, we should avoid this kind of analysis. His key argument is, that this is an assumption of each linear regression model. I totally agree, but this is not a convincing argument, but merely a statement. What would be a proper argument and what is a proper way to proceed?
Note: We are using a stepwise linear model, where we include predictor by predictor according to their significance. Therefore, ...

we first include only the most significant predictor variable. It must be independent, because it's the only predictor variable in the model. Let's call this predictor $Q_1$ and let's assume that it's a function of three other predictors: $Q_1 = Q_1(P_1, P_2, P_3)$.
if we include the second predictor variable, there could be a dependence between the two predictors. E.g. let's consider that we include $P_2$. Now our linear regression model reads $Y = c_1 \cdot Q_1(P_1, P_2, P_3) + c_2 P_2$ and it could be, that $P_2$ has the second greatest significance level, only because we need to compensate the contribution of $Q_1$.

My intuition tells me, that this is just like in linear algebra: The independent predictor variables represent an orthogonal basis, while a set of dependent predictor variables (e.g. $Q_1$ and $P_2$) represent a non-orthogonal basis. In principle orthogonality is nice, because if I change one coefficient I don't have to compensate by changing an other coefficient as well. However, in principle I am allowed to use a non-orthogonal basis. Is this wrong?
PS: We already checked that the measurements of our parameters are fine. We do not have a measurement problem.
Comment: Andrew Gelman has some thoughts on stepwise regression: https://statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu/2014/06/02/hate-stepwise-regression/.
Comment: @Dave: Step-wise regression has many problems: (1) $R^2$ values are biased high, (2) The $F$ statistics do not have the claimed distribution, (3) The standard errors of the parameter estimates are too small, (4) The confidence intervals around the parameter estimates are too narrow, (5) The $p$-values are too low, and probably many more. However, if you cross-check the result either by a new experimental run or e.g. using cross-validation, I don't see why these short-comings are harmful. To me step-wise regression is a simple method to obtain a model. Model validation should be the next step.
Answer: If predictor variables in linear regression are dependent, then significance of independent variables is undermined and not-so important predictors might be included in your model.
Suppose you include 2 predictor variables- diet and stress- that are dependent on each other. Your model would be :
weight = diet + stress
Influence of stress on weight gain might be due to amount of diet.
So here, significance of diet is undermined. You might pick up stress as significant variable, when it's actually not.
You can read about multicollinearity to know further.
Comment: Highly dependent predictor variables do introduce a multicollinearity problem which affects the stability of the regression coefficients.  It doesn't necessarily lead to poor predictions.  Also there is no reason that some dependence of the predictor variables (called independent variables - a misnomer) creates any problem at all.


Throughput of Lightning Network

Question: Is there any reliable source of information regarding the estimation of the number of payments that occur in Lightning Network every day? If the total number is impossible to estimate are there any nodes that publish their throughput i.e. the number of payments they handle every day?
Answer: as explained here I showed that the betweeness centrality of a node on the fee graph is proportional to the expected routing fees which again is proportional to the throughput of your node.
So taking your throughput and dividing it by your betweeness centrality score should give you a rough estimate of how much throughput is handled by the network.
That being said. The betweeness centrality is constantly chaning as well as routing fees. Also the entire argument assumes a uniform distribution of sender, receiver pairs (which is highly unlikely) Other than that there are no verifiable sources you can use. You will however find people publishing their logfiles or some statistics. All of that information has to be taken with doubt though
Comment: Thank you for the great answer and the very useful video. If you have any source of information regarding nodes that willingly publish their logfiles or stats let me know please as the 1ml website does not provide this information. Thank you again!
Answer: Nodes can choose to publish their throughput, but they can also stay private and go very anonymous by using the tor network for their node, this website aggregate most of the public node data https://1ml.com/statistics as they said:

The statistics are aggregated and calculated from multiple nodes within the Lightning Network. Due to the decentralized nature of the Lightning Network, the numbers observed are approximations and nodes that don't broadcast their state are not included.

If you want to see the live update of one of the public node, just pick one of the most recent updated one: https://1ml.com/node?order=lastupdated
Comment: Thank you for your answer. I was aware of this website but unfortunately it does not provide the information I want. The updated channels field corresponds to channel openings and closings as far as I know hence it has nothing to do with the number of routed payments. Thank you again!

Throughput of Lightning Network


Is there any reference on the hardness of approximation for 2-partition problem?

Question: I tried to look for some references but could not find any. I knew it is proved to be NP-complete via a transformation from Knapsack or 3DM problem. But I couldn't find a way to apply PCP theorem to get the hardness of approximation for this problem. Thank you.
Answer: From the Wikipedia page on the Partition problem: "...there are fully polynomial-time approximation schemes for the subset-sum problem, and hence for the partition problem as well". The references given there are
Kellerer, Pferschy, Pisinger and Martello, Toth.
Comment: @Magnus: I think it is the other way - if the integer-valued objective function is polynomial in unary and the problem has an FPTAS, then it has a pseudopoly alg.
Comment: In fact, every problem that can be solved by a pseudopolynomial algorithm (including partition), that has an integer-valued objective function, and whose objective value is polynomial in unary encoding size [has an FPTAS](http://www.idi.ntnu.no/~mlh/algkon/complexity.pdf). See Sect. 8.3 in V. Vazirani's *Approximation Algorithms*.
Comment: Indeed—that's also what I wrote in the note I linked to above. Got a bit mixed up here. Thanks.


Why qiskit superconducting device native gates different from that of trapped ion device?

Question: For IBMQ device based on superconducting technology, when we transpile the circuit, it is decomposed of U1,U2,U3 and CNOT gates, which are its native gates.
However for trapped ion device, its native gates are rx,ry,rxx and ms gate.
Why do the 2 technologies choose different native gates?
Comment: Depending on the architecture, it's obviously (physically) easier to implement one gate set over another.
Comment: Thanks! Could you please explain it more precisely that why does the architecture of ibm device choose these native gates?
Answer: The choice of gates is entirely dependent on the types of interactions that occur in the different architectures. The cross resonance gate used by IBM generates the ZX interaction you want (plus other stuff) that leads to a CNOT. Trapped ions have XX type interactions that give rise to Molmer Sorensen gates. For single qubit gates it depends on what driving terms you have available to rotate your qubits on the Bloch sphere. The U gates on IBM devices are just combinations of X(pi/2) pulses and Z rotations that get done in software. So the only drive channel one needs is an X drive.
Comment: Thanks! Is there any article from IBM talking about the hardware details like the ZX interaction and the pulse rotations etc?


How to make selenium to interact with Microstrategy?

Question:
I have to launch the MSTR page on the new tab, by clicking on the Report Details Web Element.
I could not find the Inspect option on the right click menu that I want to click on the mstr page
when I made right click away from it, I could find inspect option and all the mstr folder icons are placed in the table. I toook xpath of it and tried to click but getting element not found
My question is:
Can Selenium interact with MSTR reports? IF yes, what shall the way be? If no, which is the best tool to use and why it cannot interact?
Answer:
I could not find the Inspect option on the right click menu that I
  want to click on the mstr page

Just press f12 to open the inspector and use the highlight button to highlight the leement you want:

You could also use the shortcut key combination ctrl+shift+i:

Why is it behaving like this:?
Because the webpage is coded in a way to capture the mouse right click event and display a droppdown menu instead of the native browser owned.
Comment: Please accept the answer by clicking the tick sign near to the answer if it it answers your problem.
Comment: Pls read my thord point, I am able to see inpect on the right click, when I inspect in away from the mstr folder.
Comment: @dhivyaN is it inside canvas ? is it inside iframe ?
Comment: is there any sample project i could look into


What is milk product in cocoa butter?

Question: What does "may contain milk" mean on the side of my cocoa butter container? Is it not pure cocoa butter?
Comment: @ChingChong I would prefer to close the other question. This one at least has an answer and is more to the point.
Comment: possible duplicate of [Callebaut's cocoa butter callets, "may contain milk", melts strangely](http://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/55510/callebauts-cocoa-butter-callets-may-contain-milk-melts-strangely)
Comment: I agree with ChrisSteinbach and it appears that this question was a new user attempting to post an improved version of the other with good intent. lb: In the future just edit the original, SE sites have a slightly different etiquette than the usual forums.
Comment: @ChrisSteinbach I agree with you, too. I just wasn't sure about whether to mark the newer (but better) question or the other question as the duplicate :-\
Answer: Any time you see something like "may contain" after an ingredient list, it's a warning that it might contain trace amounts of that substance and so could be harmful to anyone who's allergic to it. Basically what they're saying is that they didn't intentionally add any milk or milk products to the cocoa butter, but since they make other products at the same factory that use milk they can't guarantee that some hasn't slipped in somehow.
So assuming that cocoa butter is the only ingredient then it would be pure cocoa butter, at least by the legal definition.
Comment: @lb There's nothing wrong with how you phrased your second question, it clear and concise. If it were how you phrased your first question everything would be fine. The only problem with your second question is that it duplicates the first. Note that your first question actually asks two questions, one about milk and one about melting. You might want to edit your first question so it only asks about the problem with melting, that way you're asking two different questions in two separate posts. You should also add more details about what you did to melt it and what it ended up like.
Comment: @lb Ross Ridge is correct. We function somewhat differently from a forum, and many people have a hard time following the rules from the beginning, because they are not aware that they exist. But we don't bear grudges against people, even if we have downvoted or closed a question which does not fit our format. You are free to go or stay, but if you decide to stay, we have a help section which can make it easier, http://cooking.stackexchange.com/help. Also, I'm glad you could get a good answer to this one question, even if the process was a bit hard.
Comment: @lb While you're not going to be able to ask many question related to your cosmetic business here, I don't think there's an issue with you not "belonging" here. Your first question wasn't phrased very well, but it wasn't so much a problem with spelling as it didn't immediately seem to be on topic. Plenty of people are willing to help you out with spelling and grammar, but Stack Exchange sites in general can bit quick on the gun when it comes to questions that appear to be off-topic.
Comment: Thank you for your all your help with my question, I don't think I belong in this forum, so I better get out now while the going is good, sorry for any mis spellings. Thanks again.
Comment: Well this is how we learn. I am asking a question with all do respect, when you say, "didn't immediately seem to be on topic" do you mean I should have just wrote. Cocoa Butter callets, what does "may contain milk " mean and left it at that?

What is milk product in cocoa butter?


Automating Data Loading

Question: I have seen so many posts regarding this topic but none seem to meet the requirements which I would think are fairly common...
We have several developer orgs and of course one production org, and we refresh roughly every 2 weeks (which is why Full Copy Sandboxes are no good). I would like to implement an automated solution whereby I can set up/map/configure the object model and kick off an automated process that clears the sandbox of data, exports the data from prod, automates the tedious process of using VLOOKUPS to find the new IDs of the newly inserted records, and finally inserts everything into this new org.
Before it is suggested I do not want to build a system based on external IDs as I find this a backward solution, especially on objects such as Leads, Opportunities etc. And as stated above it is not as simple as buying Full Copy Sandbox licenses as we need to refresh more than one per month.
Is there any solution (cloud based or other) where we can set up this configuration, and then simply execute (either command line or UI) to carry out the entire process without manual intervention??
Answer: There is an appexchange product called sfxorgdata. Its been helpful to me and is quite cheap.
This solves your problem of not having external id

Automating Data Loading


Do the Dementor and the Obscurus have something in common?

Question: Both feed on human emotion, both are highly deadly, and both do not appear in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
Do the Dementor and the Obscurus have something in common? More than meets the eye? Say origin story?
Comment: About Dementors, see https://scifi.stackexchange.com/q/59919/4918 "What creature is a Dementor?" and https://scifi.stackexchange.com/q/120595/4918 "Did Ekrizdis create the Dementors?"
Answer: Rowling has said that she "loves the thought".

At first I thought the Obscurus was a baby dementor in its amniotic sac.
J.K. Rowling: I love that thought!
(Twitter)

This might imply that there is some connection between the two. Rowling usually only expresses her approval of theories that fit her world, while scorning the ones that don't.
Rowling has said that Obscuruses don't appear in the Fantastic Beasts textbook because they "aren't creatures". The exact nature of Dementors are unknown, but Rowling often refers to them as "creatures".
Answer: Seems doubtful
Although it's certainly not impossible, one of the problems with any kind of relation between the two is that an Obscurus isn't really a creature; it's described as a manifestation of magical energy, rather than a being in its own right:

An Obscurus is the repressed energy of a child who is forced to hide his or her magical talent. This energy can manifest itself as an entity on its own that can erupt in violent, devastating fury.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: Magical Movie Handbook "Beasts" The Obscurus

Newt: Instead of learning to harness or to control their powers, they developed what was called an Obscurus.
Tina: (off Jacob's confusion) It;s an unstable, uncontrollable Dark force that busts out and—and attacks... and then vanishes...
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay

In contrast, we're pretty sure that dementors are creatures; they're certainly capable of independent reasoning, communication, and something that resembles "breeding", which is more than we get from an obscurus. Although their origins are quite mysterious, and I don't want to wholly discount the possibility, it does seem as though they're separate concepts that just happen to be related to the darker aspects of human nature.
Answer: Description of a Dementor:

'Dementors are among the foulest creatures that walk this earth. They infest the darkest, filthiest places, they glory in decay and despair, they drain peace, hope and happiness out of the air around them. Even Muggles feel their presence, though they can't see them. Get too near a Dementor and every good feeling, every happy memory, will be sucked out of you. If it can, the Dementor will feed on you long enough to reduce you to something like itself – soulless and evil. You'll be left with nothing but the worst experiences of your life.'

-Remus Lupin on Dementors, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

JK Rowling told the Canadian Press in 2000 that "These evil creatures don't, by the way, breed but grow like a fungus where there is decay."

(Source: https://www.quora.com/Where-do-Dementors-come-from-Are-there-Dementor-babies)
Description of an Obscurus:

An Obscurus was the manifestation of the repressed energy of a magical child (known as an Obscurial). Described as a "dark" and "parasitic" force, an Obscurus was created when the child in question was forced to repress their talent through physical or psychological abuse. This energy could manifest itself as a separate entity that can erupt in violent, destructive fury.

(Source: http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Obscurus)
Though they don't have much in common, there are a few similarities that we can spot, mainly in the description of a Dementor:

"Grow like a fungus where there is decay."

And the description of an Obscurus:

Described as a "dark" and "parasitic" force.

They're both dark and foul creatures that have a similar description in how they look (I.e. Dark and parasitic,) and how they act (I.e. Feeding on human emotions,) but overall they don't have enough in common for any sort of backstory. Though, as ibid said above J.K. Rowling liked the thought of Obscurials being young Dementors:

At first I thought the Obscurus was a baby dementor in its amniotic sac.
J.K. Rowling: I love that thought!

However, as J.K. Rowling did not actually confirm this theory, this cannot be used as canon evidence.
Comment: Do you have any primary sources for Dementors "growing like fungus" or an Obscurus being "dark" and "parasitic"? The wiki is written by fans, and isn't itself a primary source.


Returns (bool) check in function

Question: I've seen many functions using a returns (bool). What does it do? What can it be used for?
function transferFrom(address from, address to, uint256 value) public returns (bool);

Comment: It's the return value for that specific function. It can be used for control flow or any kind of logic purpose in the caller code.
Answer: Not sure that I have the same angle for that question. I asked myself if it's a good practice to return a true value on a function success.
Many see that pattern first in the ERC20 standard, the transfer function for example:
function transfer(address _to, uint256 _value) returns (bool success)

But the ERC20 is pretty old (it was defined in 2015). The security practices nowadays favour require/assert that test a condition and revert the transaction if the condition isn't met. That's the style of coding that newer standards like ERC721 are using. When a transaction is reverted no value is actually returned. Like raising an Exception in most programming languages.
If we look into openzepeplin implementation of ERC20:
function _transfer(address from, address to, uint256 value) internal {
    require(to != address(0), "ERC20: transfer to the zero address");

    _balances[from] = _balances[from].sub(value);
    _balances[to] = _balances[to].add(value);
    emit Transfer(from, to, value);
}

function transfer(address to, uint256 value) public returns (bool) {
    _transfer(msg.sender, to, value);
    return true;
}

We see that if the method succeeds true would be returned, otherwise the transaction will be reverted and no value will be returned at all. So it looks like boolean is returned for mere compatibility with the standard.
Answer: It returns a boolean value, ie true or false.
Assuming you are reading from a token spec, that transferFrom function most likely should return true if the transfer is made successfully, and false if it fails.
Comment: How can a transfer fail?
Comment: This very much depends on what else is going on in your contract, but one reason which probably applies to your contract would be if the balance of the `from` account is less than the `value` that needs to be transferred. So you would have something like `require(value <= balance)` at the start of the function, where `balance` is a variable with the `from` account's balance of this token.
Answer: Let me explain with one easy example.
contract A{
    bool public checkvalue;
function transferFrom(uint256 value)
    private
    returns(bool){
    //.... any logical part here
    //let us consider simple example as below
        if (value == 2) return true;
        else return false;
    }
    function check()public{
        //...your logical part here
        checkvalue = transferFrom(2);
    }
}

If you have knowledge on other any programming language like c,java then it is also same boolean in there. Here , check() function calls the transferFrom() function and return the boolean value true or false . Another Practical example is - If you do not need any return value on execution but you have to confirm it works and return as true and if not full fill the logical part on execution then return false. Hope, it might help you.
Comment: there might be many reasons and depends on what logic you have implemented, let see, if  (from_address !=msg.sender) return false. this is also another reasons.
Comment: But how can a transfer fail? Aside of out of gas.
Answer: returns(bool) - means return "true" or "false". For instance, if your transfer went through, you could write in your argument "return true". Or if it fails, "return false".

Returns (bool) check in function


What creates /etc/hosts (RHEL 5.5)

Question: How does /etc/hosts get created on RHEL 5.5?  It's not owned by any RPM and if deleted, it doesn't reappear on reboot, so apparently it's not a service created it.  Does anaconda create it by default maybe?  I'm trying to figure out exactly when during the install it's created.  I'm assuming it must be created by anaconda before installing the RPMs?
Answer: Yes for RHEL 5 /etc/hosts is created by anaconda, see the anaconda source for details.
Later versions (RHEL 6) seem to use the setup.rpm to install /etc/hosts.
Comment: Thanks for the link proving my assumption and I look forward to the change in RHEL 6; I think that's better.
Answer: You're correct that anaconda is responsible for creating this file.  See /usr/lib/anaconda/network.py for details.

What creates /etc/hosts (RHEL 5.5)


Why aren't cardinal numbers over three inflected?

Question: I've been looking through some etymologies and it seems to me that cardinals past trēs aren't inflected. Is this correct, and if so, what's the logic in forming words with indeclinable numbers? Take, for example, the words "duumviratus," "triumviratus," and "quīnquevirātus"; meaning, respectively, a group of two, three, or five men. What confuses me is that "duum" is an inflection of "duo," and "trium" is an inflection of "trēs," but "quinque" is just... There? Sorry if I'm out of my gourd, I'm legitimately not very experienced with Latin.
Comment: "Quattuor" was originally declinable, but that declinability was lost very early on.
Comment: Welcome to the site! This is an interesting question, +1. It's not always clear how to answer a "why", but maybe some etymological background would explain how the cardinals became what they are.
Answer: Cardinal numbers in Latin have some very peculiar rules. As you say, unus, duo and tres are inflected, but beyond those, from quattuor, four, to centum, hundred, they are indeclinable.
The cardinals from 200 (ducenti) to 900 (nongenti) are declined like the plural of adjectives such as bonus, agreeing in number and gender with the noun — sescenti, sescentae, sescenta and so on.
Then we have 1,000, mille, an adjective, but indeclinable; but in the plural it becomes milia, a (plural) neuter substantive, declined like cubilia. Thus, a mile is mille passus, a thousand (Roman) paces, while for two miles the paces are put into genitive plural, duo milia passuum.
The whole business of Roman numerals takes some effort to understand fully and use. In compound numbers, the above rules are mostly applied to the several parts. As far as xxix, the order is the same as in English. For the rest,  unus almost always stands first, but otherwise we find either the smaller followed by et and the larger next (sex et sexaginta), or in reverse without the conjunction (sexaginta sex). The complications change and continue after one hundred, but I think that's probably enough for this answer.
Your examples should have -viri instead of -viratus : duumviri, a [board] of two men, each man being a duumvir — only the -vir being declined; similarly with triumvir. Thereafter the numeral part is indeclinable, so we see, for instance, a decemvir as a member of the board of ten, decemviri.
Comment: @luchonacho There are some differences in detail but the system is very similar in Greek and Sanskrit -- it seems to be inherited from PIE.
Comment: On a friendly note, you have mostly described the rules but not answered why. It would be an interesting answer! What about Greek? Are declensions similar?
Comment: Certainly; "why" questions in historical linguistics are often hard or unanswerable. In this case maybe it has something to do with lower numerals (and round higher numerals) being used more frequently, but that's no more than a guess, as you say.
Comment: @TKR.

In Sanskrit all numbers are inflected for case.
Comment: @fdb You're right, I was misremembering: higher numerals inflect for case, though not gender. Thanks for the correction!
Comment: @luchonacho Well, yes and no! The major point is that it's wrong to say that numbers greater than 3 are indeclinable, and I tried to indicate the complexity of the system (if it's worthy of such a name). As to why it's so: I should think it's literally accidental, though in truth anybody's guess.
Comment: @TKR That may well be so; but isn't that just "kicking the can down the road"? _Why_  such barely systematic, if not random numbering happens surely can't be deduced and so a proper explanation must remain no more than a guess. Unless there is some appropriate philological technique of which I know nothing (as may very well be the case)?


Best suited Wolfram tool for a high school student

Question: My daughter is a high school student and she likes science. In a couple of years she will go to university. I had a look at the Wolfram products (I used myself Mathematica when I was young) but I was unable to figure out what could be best suited for a student like her who is starting do some non trivial mathematics and physics. There are many tools, some looking very similar. Any suggestion? Can we start with something free?
Thanks for any help!
Comment: You could by a Raspberry Pi (<100 Euros/Dollars). IIRC correctly, there is a free version of Mathematica for the Raspberry Pi for educational purposes.
Comment: The student edition of *Mathematica* is one of the best gifts you could *ever* give to a student interested in STEM.  Just the increased chances of admittance to a great university, or for a scholarship, will pay many many times your small investment.
Comment: Some universities offer their students free Mathematica licenses. In between, if your daughter wants to start immediately, there is a student/schoolchild licence, that is cheaper.  Another story, what will she learn.
Comment: 2/2 :  by Shankar, especially the intro math chapter, but many like Griffiths), and relativity (i liked Spacetime and Geometry by Carroll, much of which is available for free as a pdf, and introduces a lot of the math). I've heard good things about One, Two, Three ... Infinity as an intro as well. other more exoteric/general-audience books i love, which are still very interesting and dive a little ways into things, include Chaos by James Gleick and Gödel, Escher, Bach by Hofstadter. not sure if this is any help, but hope it is! good luck! :)
Comment: Consider pointing her towards [Wolfram Cloud Open Access](https://www.wolframcloud.com/) (also a [Getting Started notebook here](https://www.open.wolframcloud.com/env/wpl/GetStarted.nb)), which is basically Mathematica for free in your browser! (As far as I can tell, the interface and functionality is very similar to a desktop version of Mathematica.)
Comment: 1/2 : In general, in the wolfram world, a means to play with the Wolfram Language is what I think would be great for her, which is via some version of Mathematica or wolfram cloud, not Wolfram|Alpha. Also in general (hope you don't mind if I give general book recs), it's always nice to have a good book, and Dover Publications has many math and physics books for a low price! it's never too early to learn about abstract algebra (e.g. A Book Of Abstract Algebra, or Symmetry: An Introduction to Group Theory And Its Applications), quantum mechanics (I liked Principles of Quantum Mechanics—
Comment: Wolfram player (free) https://www.wolfram.com/player/ can be used to view nearly 12000 demonstrations available at: https://demonstrations.wolfram.com/
Answer: There are probably many pathways, but a lot depends on the person and her teachers (perhaps you) and practically it is always about starting somewhere. The basis of everything in Wolfram universe is the Wolfram Language with its key power: enabling people to think computationally, meaning to converse with computer naturally, in code, exploring and having fun, asking it to do neat and useful things. Learning any new language is tough, but could be fun. So here are some potential starting points, more towards fun and practicality.

Check if her school has any Wolfram licenses already, or if you can peruse administration to adopt it. Parents' opinion should mean a lot.

Mathematica/Cloud for Students - start playing with code, best approach. Millions of fun things to do. If you get this -- a perfect exploration starter is this free book Elementary Introduction to the Wolfram Language -- it has very simple exercises -- auto-graded.

Wolfram Language & Mathematica free on every Raspberry Pi! - the true spirit of tinkering with tiny cheap but mighty hardware and sophisticated programming

Self-sufficient kick-starter for beginners: Wolfram Programming Lab

Annual Wolfram High School Summer Camp. This is simply unparalleled experience of packing months/years of learning in just a few weeks under guidance of mentors. Here are the past years kids projects to take a look at, amazing. Early career kickstarter.

Student Ambassador and internships. You get to use tech for free by doing some good for others (volunteering, educating, publishing, developing, - basically starting the youngster's career early)

The Last but not least -- maybe should have been first -- play for free with Wolfram|Alpha -- a lot of data + computations are possible just with natural language queries. It would get her accustomed with the system that can help her future college experience, things like calculus, physics, chemistry, etc.

You might also want to check out Wolfram|Alpha Notebook Edition. It eases the learning curve by shifting focus to free-from input and Wolfram|Alpha intelligence and then leading to actual code and understanding how it works.

(Many other things you can explore on your own on Wolfram sites...)
Comment: It should be noted to get the best hardware spec'd  available raspberry pi, it makes life significantly better when using mma on it!
Comment: Wolfram Alpha should be much more prominently featured in this answer; it should be the last thing on the list, but the first. It's a very useful tool that anyone with an interest in mathematics can use (e.g. every high school student who's studying math, which is basically every high school student). Want to solve for the roots of a parabola? You could do it by hand with the quadratic equation... or you can just type the equation into Wolfram Alpha and have it solve it for you.
Comment: @nick012000 thank you, addressed :-)
Comment: I think [Wolfram cloud open access](https://www.open.wolframcloud.com/env/wpl/GetStarted.nb) should be featured in this answer, as it gives free access to the full wolfram language and Mathematica notebook interface via a standard web browser! (note the difference between this and the Mathematica/Cloud link.) I personally think it's the best option for OP, since 1) it's free 2) it's as powerful as Mathematica, except that computation is performed in the cloud 3) learning the wolfram language (or any PL) is, in my opinion, much more rewarding in the long run than querying wolfram|alpha!
Answer: Many years ago, I helped our niece with selecting a computer for college. As part my research on useful software for freshman college students, I discovered Mathematica and bought a home license to help her with her math class(es). Turns out she never used it. All her efforts went into studying for the math class instead.
My lesson learned, is that someone needs to show the student how to use Mathematica to help them with their lessons and homework if Mathematica isn't used or taught by their teacher in class. If you get Mathematica you'll likely need to figure how to teacher her how to use Mathematica for her homework. I recommend she takes the Daily Study Groups as they are an excellent way to learn Mathematica to supplement your tutelage. There are also many teaching resources at Wolfram U.
Answer: I use online WolframAlpha. It's inexpensive and very capable. It will let you store notebooks in the cloud, and do everything that is in high school math
Answer: Let me recommend one more possibility. It is a free option that has full functionality of the Mathematica Engine, but lacks the Mathematica Front End. The Front End has to be provided externally, via e.g. Jupyter notebook.
The plan would be as follows:

Download a free Mathematica Trial and familiarize yourself with the basic functionality.

If you like it, download and install a free Wolfram Engine

Follow the instructions here to install Jupyter notefbook on Windows, Linux or macOS.

Enjoy!

The answer would be incomplete if I don't mention the pluses and minuses.
Minuses
A. Open Mathematica Notebook, type something and press F1--you get extensive documentation. Working with the Jupyter Front End you loose this possibility and have to look at the online documentation.
B. You cannot work with graphics and plots interactively.
Pluses
A. Learning Jupyter notebook will introduce you to lots of other interesting stuff. You will come in contact with python, which is another very popular programming language;
B. You will gain a programmer attitude to programming and will memorize more commands;
C. You will be more disciplined and more thoughtful in choice of notations.


Melted chocolate wafers

Question: When I make crunchie bars my melted chocolate that covers them goes white if I put them in the fridge. Will cocoa butter chips help that issue. I'm not sure why the chocolate goes milky white on areas.  If I add cocoa butter chips make a difference
Answer: Chocolate turns white due to "fat bloom", that is, the fat content of the chocolate wanders to the surface and crystallizes into this white bloom that you observe. This can be avoided if you cool your chocolate in a cool, but not cold spot. 18 °C or about 65 F seems to be the sweet spot for this. Source here.
Alternatively, you could try to reduce the fat content by using chocolate with a lower cocoa butter/fat content.
Answer: It sounds like you need to temper your chocolate this website covers how to do that and why it needs to be done in exhaustive detail: http://www.cookingforengineers.com/article/155/Tempering-Chocolate

Melted chocolate wafers


How to turn plain text links into hyperlinks in excel?

Question: I have a list of links in an Excel spreadsheet that I want to turn into hyperlinks so I can view them in a web browser. Is there a way I can change all of them to hyperlinks at once? I'm using Excel 2013. Thanks for your help!
Comment: Possible duplicate of [How to turn hundreds of text URLs in Excel into clickable hyperlinks?](http://superuser.com/questions/157414/how-to-turn-hundreds-of-text-urls-in-excel-into-clickable-hyperlinks)
Comment: Excel automatically creates hyperlinks when a cell entry begins with `http://`, `www.`, `ftp://`, `mailto:`, `file://`, `news:` or  \\. So, unless the feature was turned off, I'd bet the hyperlinks are invalid. This means they may not work if converted as is. Can you give us an example of the hyperlinks you are trying to convert?
Answer: No need to do any programming or go to another app to fix this.
TEXT link to Clickable Hyperlink in EXCEL
Add a New Column next to your column of text links
If your text link is www.example.com (no http://):

Paste this formula into  the cell of your new column next to your original column of TEXT that you want to change to a clickable hyperlink.

=HYPERLINK("http://"&A2)

The last two characters before the close parens is the target cell / whatever column and row has the text link
You can copy this formula down the NEW column and you are all set

If you text link is http://www.example.com:

Add the new column
If the http:// is already in the text itself Just past this into the cell next to your text link and it should work

=HYPERLINK(A2)

The last two characters before the close parens is the target cell / whatever column and row has the text link
You can copy this formula down the NEW column and you are all set
Comment: what if you dont want to add a new column, you want to keep the column with the text present without repeating it?
Comment: Create a new column with the hyperlink formula, then copy it and paste-special *values* back, then delete it.
Answer: I have used these steps myself.
Select the offending column of links
On the Home tab ribbon in Excel, select Clear > Clear Hyperlinks
Observe that the links are now removed in the column.  If you click any cell twice in column H, the link will reset to the correct location and become active.
It would take forever to click each cell twice to make all the links active, so try this instead.  Press Alt + F11 on your keyboard.  This will bring up a Microsoft Visual Basic window.
On the top Nav bar in Visual Basic, select Insert > Module
Copy and paste this code into the code window of the module. It will automatically name itself HyperAdd:
Sub HyperAdd()
'Converts each text hyperlink selected into a working hyperlink

Dim xCell As Range

    For Each xCell In Selection
        ActiveSheet.Hyperlinks.Add Anchor:=xCell, Address:=xCell.Formula
    Next xCell
End Sub

Press Alt + F11 on your keyboard to close the Visual Basic editor.
In the spreadsheet, select ONLY the cells you wish to be changed to clickable links in the column.  If you select the whole column, this can overwhelm Excel and cause the file to crash.
Press Alt + F8.  This will bring up a Macro Window.  HyperAdd will already be selected.  Hit Run
You're done.  Test your links.  Each link should now be active.
Comment: Instead of double clicking ("click any cell twice in column H") you can use the keyboard equivalent: F2, Enter (which also conveniently moves you to the next cell down.
Comment: Brilliant! It also works better than a formula "=hyperlink()" cos it is recognised by VBA as a solid/real link (unlike "=hyperlink()" or even copy-paste values of the "=hyperlink()" formula)
Answer: I had same issue and in poking around, I found a quick workaround that actually gets the job done without any macros, etc.
In the first cell of the column that has the URL's in it (i.e. the first URL, not the title) and double click on the URL in Cell to 'activate' it. Wait till it turns into a link (you may have to actually open the item so the sheet recognizes it.
Once it is underlined, you simply click the next cell down and select to the end of the column data. NOW the Cell Styles will work. Click Cell Styles from the Home Tab and select Hyperlink and viola - all the cells change to clickable hyperlinks.
May not be pretty, but it works!
Comment: A slight improvement to this approach is, instead of clicking with the mouse to activate and move down cell-to-cell, you can alternately hit `F2` then `Enter` on the keyboard. Using two hands, this is likely to be much quicker unless you're incredibly accurate with a mouse or an incredibly slow typist!

It will also be quicker than a lot of the fancier solutions for lists of maybe a couple of hundred or fewer rows.
Answer: You want the HYPERLINK() function.
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/excel-help/hyperlink-function-HP010342583.aspx
It will take a a cell with a url and convert it to a clickable link. This will allow you to CLICK THE LINKS WHILE STILL IN EXCEL. If you need to create a HTML file that you browse in IE or FF as a big list of links, use Brad's answer.
Answer: You don't specify in what form the links are in but assuming they are fully qualified (eg. http://www.google.com). Then you should be able to save the Worksheet as a Web Page. If you limit the Save to the selected Sheet this will produce a single HTML file with the links as clickable elements.

NOTE: I have only tested this on Excel 2010 right now.
Answer: Make alle cells in a defined row to hyperlinks using VBA
Sub MakeHyperlinks()
    Dim lngRow As Long
    Dim lngCol As Long

    lngRow = 1 ' start first row
    lngCol = 2 ' look for cells in second col

    With Sheets("Sheet1")
        Do Until IsEmpty(.Cells(lngRow, lngCol)) = True ' stop when found the first empty cell
            .Hyperlinks.Add Anchor:=.Cells(lngRow, lngCol), Address:=.Cells(lngRow, lngCol)
            lngRow = lngRow + 1
        Loop

    End With
End Sub

Answer:
If you look in the style section of on the home tab, you can select the column and click Hyperlink.  That will hyperlink all of them
Comment: This just makes it blue and underlined - it doesn't make it a hyperlink that you can click.
Answer: I've been fighting with this issue all evening, and after quite a bit of poking around I finally found a solution that does not require writing a macro, or excessive amounts of clicking. (My particular problem required me to convert 3000+ cells to hyperlinks)

Start by Right clicking on the ribbon and select "Customize the Ribbon".
Under the "Choose commands from" menu, select "Commands Not in the Ribbon".
In the list of commands you are given you should find a command for "Paste as Hyperlink".
Add that command to your ribbon somewhere.
Select all the cells you wish to convert to hyperlinks and copy them to the clipboard.
Press the "Paste as Hyperlink" button that is now on your ribbon.

Congratulations, you're done!
Comment: My apologies.  I was clearly tired when I posted this last night.  After going back to the spreadsheet I was creating links in I discovered that all of the cells I used this method to create a hyperlink with were not linked to the external URL, but instead linked to a cell within the spreadsheet.
Comment: Thank you for the detailed instructions but having just followed them before reading your comment about it not actually creating an external hyperlink I wonder if this answer could be removed to prevent others like myself going down a rabbit-hole?
Comment: Second @Michael12345 's comment; this answer should be removed


What is the meaning of 'Om mani padme hung'?

Question: I found on google that 'om mani padme hum, mean that in dependence on the practice of a path which is an indivisible union of method and wisdom, you can transform your impure body, speech, and mind into the pure exalted body, speech, and mind of a Buddha..'.
I want more about this.
Answer: You will probably not find a better explanation than that of the Dalai Lama.

It is very good to recite the mantra OM MANI PADME HUM, but while you
  are doing it, you should be thinking on its meaning, for the meaning
  of the six syllables is great and vast. The first, OM, is composed of
  three pure letters, A, U, and M. These symbolize the practitioner's
  impure body, speech, and mind; they also symbolize the pure exalted
  body, speech and mind of a Buddha.

The entire talk can be found here:
http://www.sacred-texts.com/bud/tib/omph.htm

Thus the six syllables, OM MANI PADME HUM, mean that in dependence on
  the practice which is in indivisible union of method and wisdom, you
  can transform your impure body, speech and mind into the pure body,
  speech, and mind of a Buddha. It is said that you should not seek for
  Buddhahood outside of yourself; the substances for the achievement of
  Buddhahood are within. As Maitreya says in his SUBLIME CONTINUUM OF
  GREAT VEHICLE (UTTARA TANTRA) all beings naturally have the Buddha
  nature in their own continuum. We have within us the seed of purity,
  the essence of a One Gone Thus (TATHAGATAGARBHA), that is to be
  transformed and full developed into Buddhahood.   (From a lecture
  given by His Holiness The Dalai Lama of Tibet at the Kalmuck Mongolian
  Buddhist Center, New Jersey.)
Answer: Complete reference to this can be found in Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Om_mani_padme_hum#Meaning
Answer: Mani literally means 'jewel' in Sanskrit, and it is used to mean Buddha nature, for instance in the metaphor Indra's Net. It is described as a possession or attribute or treasure of awakened beings.
Padme is Sanskrit for 'lotus flower'. It is a powerful symbol in Buddhism, because the flower rises from the lake mud and is held above the lake, even while it is non-dual, not separated from the mud. Even in this mundane life, we can rise above, and attain purity.
Om & hum have been called 'interjections without linguistic meaning, but widely known as divine sounds'.
So I would suggest the mantra as a whole is directed at remembrance, invocation, of the powerful Buddhist symbols of jewel and lotus, of intrinsic power of minds to awaken symbolised as faceted jewel, and dynamic power to awaken symbolised as a lotus flower that rises above what is impure.


Does deploying the parachute dehermetize Soyuz?

Question: When watching the Year in Orbit documentary, one of cosmonauts points to the big bags stowed between/above the seats of Soyuz capsule, identifying them as the main and emergency parachutes. But they seem to be just in large cloth sacks, not isolated from the inside. Does that mean ejecting (deploying) them dehermetizes the capsule? Supposedly Soyuz blows the parachute cover at about 10km altitude, and the chute deploys at 7.5km where air is nearly too thin for breathing, and that would mean the astronauts are for a time only isolated from this harsh environment by their suits - and the thin layer of cloth of the parachute bag - never mind the rapid pressure drop! Or am I missing something?
Comment: Don't have access to my pc now but I'd be amazed if the chutes are inside the crew module.
Comment: It looks different to me when I watch it: The speaker on that video indicates that there is some extra space under the main parachutes (which are not inside the crew compartment, but just above it).  He does not appear to me to identify the big bags as parachutes, but rather cargo.
Comment: AFAIK these packs contain survival kits for a case of emergency landing at hostile territory (cold winter, desert, sea). The parachutes are outside the hermetic shell.
Answer: I believe in the linked video, the speaker is indicating the payload bags that are attached to the parachute compartment.
The main parachutes are not in the crew compartment (although the parachute compartment bulges out into the crew compartment) and deploying the parachute does not depressurize the crew compartment.

The ЗСП System consists of three parachutes: the ВП Parachute, the ТП
  Parachute and the ОП Parachute. The ЗСП System ensures the СА Module
  landing in case of the ОСП System failure. The landing velocity with
  the ЗСП is 9.5 m/s. The system is located in a pressurized container
  inside the CA Module.

From the Soyuz Crew Operations Manual.
Here is the open parachute compartment of a landed Soyuz (at the top). The orange bag is, I believe, the backup (ЗСП) parachute. I am having trouble deciphering the Russ-lish of the Operations Manual, but I think it says that if the descent module is at an altitude of 6.5 - 5.5 km and the descent rate greater than 18 m/s, the backup chute is deployed. The worker in the beige hat is reaching into the crew hatch.

This schematic shows the parachute canister and labels the white bag with straps in the crew compartment as a "payload bag". (Although the labeling of the parachute canister is not well done).


Living in the US on an F2 visa and working remotely for a Canadian company

Question: I'm aware I can't work in the US on a F2 visa. However, would it be possible to be employed by a Canadian company to work remotely from the US?
Comment: I'm not sure about F2 visas, but broadly (in most cases), you can't work in the US (for anyone, anywhere) unless you're entitled to work within the US itself. Checking if there's any caveats to that particular visa.
Comment: Would you be taking residency in the US?  An alternative would be to still be technically resident in Canada, but spend as much time in the US as possible without requiring residency there.
Comment: @TimPost +1 For extremely important consideration. Straying to the wrong side is a punishable crime.
Answer: There is a discussion of the same for the person working in India the answer is overwhelmingly no.  The reason is that any income from any source has to be reported on the Tax Returns that you will have to file with the IRS (yes even with the Foreign Student status), so the money you're making from your job in Canada will come up (unless of course you're going to commit tax fraud, which is a different discussion).
So having that money will violate your F-2 status.
There may be other options available such as the case similar to:

Are H4 visa holders allowed to do remote intellectual work?

Which may allow you to own the company in the US but not receive any funds from it but whether or not this is legal, how to set such entity up, and what it would entail to your employment in Canada is a matter for lawyers, accountants, and your current employer.
Additionally, depending on where you live in Canada and your wife's school location it may be possible to get an F3 Student Visa which will allow you to live in Canada but will make your wife commute to school across the border.
Comment: But an F3 visa is for Mexicans and Canadians. "his visa is for Canadian or Mexican citizens who maintain their residence outside the United States and commute to the United States temporarily in order to engage in full- or part-time academic studies." I suppose the Original Poster would need to be Mexican or Canadian to avail of this?
Comment: @drN That is correct.
Comment: "So having that money will violate your F-2 status." What is your basis for claiming that having US taxable income is a violation of F-2 status?
Answer: There are many debates about that, and several law firms who says that this is a possibility.
http://immigration.lawyers.com/ask-a-lawyer/can-i-work-for-my-home-country-while-on-f2-dependent-visa-451936.html
http://www.nationofimmigrators.com/employment-based-immigration/immigration-lawyers-arguing-can-i-work-from-home-for-a-foreign-employer/


Sound frequencies travel at the same speed?

Question: as the diagram shows
sound frequencies travel at the same speed
or each frequency has a given speed
?
Comment: In what medium? Air? Solids?
Answer: The phenomenon where waves with different frequencies have slightly different speeds is known as "dispersion," because an impulse which begins with lots of different frequencies traveling together will "disperse" and spread out as the faster frequencies move ahead of the slower ones.
Acoustic dispersion is pretty easy to demonstrate.  Here's a great video where the effect is audible in cracking ice on top of a lake, and also audible in struck metal cables.  Acoustic dispersion in metal cables is how the foley artists for Star Wars created the iconic "pew pew" sound associated with the laser blasters in those movies.  In both systems --- ice layers and metal cables --- the higher frequencies have a faster wave speed than the lower frequencies, which why it's "pew pew" rather than "wep wep."
If acoustic dispersion were important in air, then distant impulse sounds --- as from lightning bolts or fireworks explosions --- would also exhibit the "pew pew" effect.  Thunder produced from medium-distance storms does tend to start off with high frequencies and end up with a low rumble, but in a chaotic way rather than in the musical way heard in the video for ice layers and metal cables.  I think that frequency dispersion in thunder is more about echos off of the terrain and extinction of the higher frequencies in the air rather than the about the higher frequencies outrunning the lower ones.
Comment: +1 for referencing Star Wars and inserting "pew pew" into an answer (where's the laughing emoji?)
Comment: Sometime after I wrote this answer, I re-watched "Star Wars" (1977) and realized there are some blaster weapons whose sound effect actually is "wep wep." It's clearly a "pew pew" played backwards. [One Youtube link](https://youtu.be/axQ5vh5yB7E).
Answer: The dispersion phenomenon (the variation of velocity with frequency) typically occurs when the wave is guided by a medium having at least one of its dimensions of the order of the wavelength (elastic waves in rods, in plates, acoustical waves in pipes,  ...) or when it propagates along an interface (Rayleigh surface waves, for instance).
Comment: +1 Underrated answer.
Answer: In general you could say that the speed of sound is the same in a certain medium (like air or water) under certain conditions.
As Wikipedia (Speed of Sound) states, describing the speed of sound in the medium air:

In fact, assuming an ideal gas, the speed of sound c depends on temperature only, not on the pressure or density (since these change in lockstep for a given temperature and cancel out). Air is almost an ideal gas. The temperature of the air varies with altitude, giving the following variations in the speed of sound using the standard atmosphere—actual conditions may vary.

And you have to take care that you don't mingle the terms frequency and speed.
Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit of time. Regardless of what vibrating object is creating the sound wave, the particles of the medium through which the sound moves is vibrating in a back and forth motion at a given frequency. The sensation of a frequency is commonly referred to as the pitch of a sound. A high pitch sound corresponds to a high frequency sound wave and a low pitch sound corresponds to a low frequency sound wave.
Answer: In general, the speed of sound is the same, regardless of frequency. The speed of a wave is given by the following formula:
$$v=f\lambda$$
Where $v$ is the speed, $f$ is the frequency and $\lambda$ is the wavelength. If the frequency is higher, the wavelength will be shorter, but the speed is still the same.
Regarding your diagrams, the lower one is correct. The crests of the waves will travel at the same speed. However, for the higher-frequency wave, more crests will pass a particular point per second, because the wavelength is shorter.


Spam Patterns Question?

Question: My answer for the vanilla preconditioners question gets like 2 spam edits a day?  Just curious as it is a majority of my notifications per day.
Comment: Nother one today:
http://scicomp.stackexchange.com/review/suggested-edits/4154
Comment: A quick link to see the frequency:
http://imgur.com/AcnGt4j
Comment: From the suggested edits history, your question has been edited 29 times since Dec 29th.
Answer: Here's the guidance I've gotten from other mods in Stack Exchange so far:

Edits of 400+ characters that are anonymous and substantially change the content of the post are auto-rejected.
The typical vandalism edits don't meet that threshold; they're too short.
One way to flag those edits for autorejection is to lengthen them.
However, it still appears that manual intervention is needed.

If it keeps happening, I will escalate the issue up the chain at Stack Exchange. Thank you for bringing it to our attention!
Comment: Thanks.  They keep rolling in :) The above comment from @Godric suggests that there is a dashboard somewhere for edit tracking? Is that a mods only panel somewhere?  Much thanks.
Comment: Might be worthing checking again. In the last two days (or there abouts) I have rejected this edit twice because it appeared in my review queue. And it just came up again, it's visible now as meawoppl says.
Comment: Screenshot of the review panel http://i.imgur.com/9FgqrsC.png
Comment: @meawoppl To clarify something Geoff wrote: anonymous edits that change too much of a post (like those spam posts do) are automatically and silently rejected, but only on posts that are more than 400 characters long in the first place (because otherwise "change too much" is too imprecise). So you can protect a particular post by fleshening it out to be >400 characters long.
Answer: We're seeing this everywhere on the network right now, and have systems in place to quickly block this as it surges. The problem is, it's coming from some very large distributed networks.
The good news is, by the time a few have been rejected as spam, the system has been trained on them and they'll quickly be blocked. This data is shared across the network, so if someone goes and gets themselves blocked for spam edits on Ubuntu, they'll also be blocked here.
Much like your inbox, however, once evil has been identified and filtered, there's still some evidence of what got them identified in your inbox that needs to be cleaned out - depending on the scale of the attack. You can rest assured that rejecting these edits as spam is having the desired effect, but even after being blocked some cleanup is still needed.
We're looking at ways to reduce this a bit, and I'm going to be examining the weights that scicomp carries in the global space and perhaps increase them a bit, but you're handling it quite well.
Just continue to reject these edits as spam, as you have been, and the system will quickly learn from you. If they go to the trouble of making accounts, even registered ones to do the same thing, it's important to spam flag the posts, and for moderators to ultimately destroy these accounts as spammers.
For the meantime, I've gotten into the system and found the hosts that were on the verge of being blocked for activity here and helped them along firmly into the blocked state. I'll continue to keep an eye on it here as I work to address this at the network level.
When we rolled this system out, it had profound and immediate effects. I envisioned two outcomes, the first being that spammers would simply opt to move onto easier targets, or perhaps a second outcome where spammers saw success here to be worthy of premium rates, which unfortunately seems to be the direction they're heading with increasingly sophisticated methods and networks.
Still, we're handling it quite well, and learning quite a bit as we do so. I'd personally like to thank them for their unwitting cooperation when it comes to making this system better, we couldn't have done it without their help.

Spam Patterns Question?


Is elasticity of substitution between goods empirically constant?

Question: In New Keynesian models, we use a lot of CES assumption, usually Dixit-Stiglitz, to develop an economic model. Is CES, constant elasticity of substitution between goods, empirically (approximately) true?
Comment: My intuition on this subject is no, not for all goods everywhere. However, there is probably a body of goods where it is true -within the relevant range-.  In either case, are the assumptions on the new Keynesian models truly dependent on CES, or a way to simply save on massive amounts of algebra?
Answer: Constant elasticity of substitution (CES) Utility functions imply demand functions that are linear in (i.e. conditional on prices they are constant fractions of) income (see Rutherford's Lecture Notes on Constant Elasticity Functions). However, there is empirical evidence for both superior goods (demand that increases faster than income) and inferior goods (goods that decrease in income), this does not actually hold for real preferences.
The fact that household budget shares on each consumption good (or even category) are not constant is probably additional evidence against CES. In principle it is explainable if different consumers face different costs for goods but shouldn't explain why some people choose to do entirely without certain categories of consumption (no TV rather than an inexpensive one). I say probably because:

If you define the category wide enough (say two, durable and non-durable consumption), everyone does likely does consume something in every category and maybe in close to fixed proportions.
For certain important forms of consumption like cars and house, adjustment costs and indivisibility may make households face very different prices.

But, as @regressforward suggests, it may still be an acceptable approximation.


Is lagrange point L1 stable?

Question: Is Lagrange point L1 stable? If I were to place a space station in L1 will it remain in orbit without any difficulty? If there are any difficulties, please mention them here along with any suggestions to overcome the difficulties, if possible.
Answer: Something parked at L1 is balanced between evenly matched tug-of-war teams.
On one side of the tug-of-war is the moon's gravity and inertia in a rotating frame (what we used to call centrifugal force). On the other side is earth's gravity.

Go a little bit to the left and Earth has the advantage. Move a little bit to the right and the moon and so called centrifugal force get stronger.
So just a tiny nudge destroys this delicate balance. Something at the Earth Moon L1 (EML1) needs station keeping.
If you want something high up that is long lasting and maintenance free, I would suggest a lunar Distant Retrograde Orbit (DRO).
An example of a moon in a DRO is Jupiter's S/2003 J2. According to the Wikipedia article:

Retrograde moons with axes up to 67% of the Hill radius are believed
  to be stable.

The moon's Hill radius is about 60,000 kilometers. So a lunar retrograde orbit at 40,000 kilometers would be pretty stable.
And in fact a lunar DRO is one of the suggested destinations for the proposed asteroid retrieval mission.
Comment: Hello ... thanks !! I'd like to know the difference of both the DRO and Low Lunar Orbit, if possible ! Thanks :D Do let me know which is better for the conditions mentioned hitherto (question) !!
Comment: The ceiling for a DRO would be 50,000 km from the moon. I believe such an orbit could stick around for decades or centuries. For more stable orbits, lower it to 30 or 40 thousand kilometers. Low lunar orbits would be disrupted by lunar mass concentrations (mascons). The low orbits aren't stable.
Comment: can we have a DRO as close as 500 km ? will that be stable ? I need to get it as close as possible .... Please do help, your answers are very convincing ...
Comment: @AshwinRamachandran I don't the the altitude at which mascons become a destabilizing influence. Perhaps that would be a good question for you to ask.
Answer: L1 is unstable, although you can establish a fairly stable halo orbit around L1 -- but even a halo orbit will require periodic correction.
Comment: In fact, none of the Sun-Earth or Earth-Moon Lagrangian points are stable in the long run, in a real world that includes Venus and Jupiter.  They all require periodic correction.

Is lagrange point L1 stable?


Why is my R-squared so low when my t-statistics are so large?

Question: I ran a regression with 4 variables, and all are very statistically significant, with T values $\approx 7,9,26$ and $31$ (I say $\approx$ because it seems irrelevant to include the decimals) which are very high and clearly significant. But then the $R^2$ is only .2284. Am I misinterpreting the t values here to mean something they're not? My first reaction upon seeing the t values was that the $R^2$ would be quite high, but maybe that is a high $R^2$?
Comment: Then large $t$-statistics being associated with small $R^2$ is entirely unremarkable. Since standard errors decrease as $1/\sqrt{n}$, $t$-ratios will increase as $\sqrt{n}$, while $R^2$ will tend to remain constant with increasing $n$. Why do you care what the $R^2$ is? Why do you care what the t-ratios are?
Comment: I bet your $n$ is moderately large, right?
Comment: @Glen_b yes, around 6000.
Answer: The $t$-values and $R^2$ are used to judge very different things. The $t$-values are used to judge the accurary of your estimate of the $\beta_i$'s, but $R^2$ measures the amount of variation in your response variable explained by your covariates. Suppose you are estimating a regression model with $n$ observations,
$$
Y_i = \beta_0 + \beta_1X_{1i} + ...+ \beta_kX_{ki}+\epsilon_i
$$
where $\epsilon_i\overset{i.i.d}{\sim}N(0,\sigma^2)$, $i=1,...,n$.
Large $t$-values (in absolute value) lead you to reject the null hypothesis that $\beta_i=0$. This means you can be confident that you have correctly estimated the sign of the coefficient. Also, if $|t|$>4 and you have $n>5$, then 0 is not in a 99% confidence interval for the coefficient. The $t$-value for a coefficient $\beta_i$ is the difference between the estimate $\hat{\beta_i}$ and 0 normalized by the standard error $se\{\hat{\beta_i}\}$.
$$
t=\frac{\hat{\beta_i}}{se\{\hat{\beta_i}\}}
$$
which is simply the estimate divided by a measure of its variability. If you have a large enough dataset, you will always have statistically significant (large) $t$-values. This does not mean necessarily mean your covariates explain much of the variation in the response variable.
As @Stat mentioned, $R^2$ measures the amount of variation in your response variable explained by your dependent variables. For more about $R^2$, go to wikipedia. In your case, it appears you have a large enough data set to accurately estimate the $\beta_i$'s, but your covariates do a poor job of explaining and\or predicting the response values.
Comment: There is also a simple transformation between the two statistics: $R^2=\frac{t^2}{t^2+df}$
Comment: (+1) It is clear from the very beginning that this is a well considered, informative explanation.
Comment: Nice answer.  I find the terms "practical significance" and "statistical significance" to often be helpful in thinking about this issue.
Answer: To say the same thing as caburke but more simply, you are very confidant that the average response caused by your variables is not zero.  But there are lots of other things that you don't have in the regression that cause the response to jump around.
Answer: Could it be that although your predictors are trending linearly in terms of your response variable (slope is significantly different from zero), which makes the t values significant, but the R squared is low because the errors are large, which means that the variability in your data is large and thus your regression model is not a good fit (predictions aren't as accurate)?
Just my 2 cents.
Perhaps this post can help: http://blog.minitab.com/blog/adventures-in-statistics/how-to-interpret-a-regression-model-with-low-r-squared-and-low-p-values
Answer: Several answers given are close but still wrong.
"The t-values are used to judge the accurary of your estimate of the βi's"
is the one that concerns me the most.
The T-value is merely an indication of the likelihood of random occurrence. Large means unlikely. Small means very likely. Positive and Negative don't matter to the likelihood interpretation.
"R2  measures the amount of variation in your response variable explained by your covariates" is correct.
(I would have commented but am not allowed by this platform yet.)
Comment: You seem to write about t-values as if they were *p-values.*
Comment: Functionally aren't they the same?
Answer: The only way to deal with a small R squared, check the following:

Is your sample size large enough? If yes, do step 2. but if no, increase your sample size.
How many covariates did you use for your model estimation? If more than 1 as in your case, deal with the problem of multicolinearity of the covariates or simply, run the regression again and this time without the constant which is known as beta zero.
However, if the problem still persists, then do a stepwise regression and select the model with a high R squared. But which I cannot recommend to you because it brings about bias in the covariates


How does bitcoin implement checkpoint mechanism to finalize the blockchain history?

Question: I read in Peercoin whitepaper that to prevent large blockchain reorganization, bitcoin also implements checkpoint mechanism which finalizes the blockchain history. Can you explain how exactly bitcoin implements this?
Answer: Checkpoints are a relatively misunderstood part bitcoin - Bitcoin does have a few checkpoints, but they are only used in one very specific case.  That case is just to ignore forks from the chain early on, before the most recently seen checkpoint. When a node has seen a block it recognises as a checkpoint, any further blocks received below that height will be ignored.
You can see this here: https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/blob/0dfc25f82a01d9fec26380d95915df31e1fe2c02/src/validation.cpp#L3107
It is a long term goal of removing the checkpoints entirely, because they  are a source of confusion over the security model and power the developers have. But currently the role they serve is to prevent low difficulty header flooding attacks, and there has been no alternative solution proposed yet (that I know of)
Comment: So, at initial sync the client knows it is on the right chain, prevents forks from being created form early blocks?
Comment: @Willtech yes, but only if it has seen the right path. If it has never seen the true chain then the checkpoints do nothing.


How do I play Age of Empires 2: Age of Kings multiplayer with a mac and a pc?

Question: I'm not sure what the problem is. I just can't find any games or connect to them. It works between two macs. There was a similar question claiming that it does work but not stating how.
Comment: I don't think they are compatible. Although that question was answered, he didn't actually give any way how to and it wasn't accepted. See here: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090618174847AA6GlQM
Answer: You can not play them together:

Multiplayer matches between Mac OS and Windows clients do not work as the game version is different on each operating system. This leads to a version mismatch error when attempting to join a match. The current Mac version 1.0.5 is only in sync with the 1.12 Windows version, when it needs to be in sync the Windows version 1.13.

Source
Although that is from Age of Empires 3 I think that it's safe to assume the most recent release would be the more likely to accomodate cross platform matchups. Not to mention EVERY thread online says that you can't do it.
You could run Windows off your MAC and then play them against each other, but this would involve quite a bit of effort.
Comment: Indeed not what I was hoping for but thanks! :)
Comment: Sorry my friend. Even found a few posts from the guy who made GameRanger (the multiplayer client) that you can't play cross-platform


What is the name of the background instrumental theme that starts at 2:19 in episode 28 of My Hero Academia?

Question: Could any of you please tell me what is the name of the background instrumental music in episode 28 (season 2 episode 14) of My Hero Academia, which starts at 2:19? I'd really appreciate it. (The situation is training of Midoriya with Gran Torino.)
Answer: It's a slightly modified version of "Sendai no Meiyuu", track 10 of disc 2 of TV ANIMATION MY HERO ACADEMIA 2nd ORIGINAL SOUND TRACK.


According to Kant, What is the Purpose of Human Existence?

Question: After reading Kant's Idea For a Universal History, I've become intrigued by Kant's notion of Nature guiding the dealings of men towards a "perfectly rightful civil constitution." Although the relationship between man and Nature remains clear, what would Kant say is the meaning for any human existence independent of Nature? Perhaps there is some overlap between the meaning of human life simpliciter and the meaning of human life in relation with Nature?
Answer: I long ago found Keith Ward's work suggestive and even explicit about the purposiveness and teleology in which human life is involved. I would not normally quote so much but your question merits an answer, I'm under pressure of time, and Ward expresses what I would say anyway. As an answer it is perhaps better than no answer.
REASON AND NATURE

It is Nature which sets before man certain ends which, negatively, may not be violated, and, positively, need to be furthered by personal effort. The Metaphysic of Morals makes it clear that Reason must preserve and perfect the purposes of Nature. Moreover, it must finally transcend those purposes, in realizing its own infinite dignity.Legislative Reason promulgates, not a senseless set of absolute imperatives, but the rational condition of a harmonious system of ends, the greatest possible harmony of human purposes which are compatible with, yet transcend, the purposes of Nature. So Reason must take account of and seek to perfect the purposes of Nature; in doing so it freely determines Nature in accordance with Nature's own inner purposes; thus freedom is for the purpose of fulfilment, and to use it otherwise is to contradict its essential character. It is this process of freely preserving and fulfilling the ends of Nature, against the opposition of inclinations, which gives human life its value, for Kant; " the end for which man is destined is to achieve his fullest perfection through his own freedom ".15 Moral effort is of supreme worth; but it would be senseless, on Kant's view, if it were not aimed at the realization of one's natural perfections in a harmonious community. This is the
  doctrine implicit in the Fundamental Principles; and it is unfortunate that
  Kant's attempt to provide just one supreme principle of morality, and a
  purely formal one at that, has helped to conceal it from those critics who have
  failed to take into account the Metaphysic of Morals, to which the Fundamental Principles was meant to be a propaedeutic. (Keith Ward, 'Kant's Teleological Ethics', The Philosophical Quarterly (1950-), Vol. 21, No. 85 (Oct., 1971), p.341.)

REASON AND HISTORY

Kant elaborates on this teleological view of nature in the third Critique
  and various essays on history, written between 1784-1795, in which he out
  lines an evolutionary, purposive view of history, developing through wars
  and struggle to the foundation of a world-federation of states and " culture "
  -the development of natural, intellectual and artistic tendencies and of the conditions for moral freedom. " Nature has willed that man . .. should partake of no other happiness or perfection than that which he himself . . . has created by his own reason ".16 Nature, by means of social antagonism and even war, aims at developing all human talents to a stage at which man is released " from the womb of nature " as a freely choosing moral agent, finding in himself the final end of the world, and henceforth impelled to struggle to seek active, self-wrought perfection and happiness. The historical destiny of Nature is thus to form a being which must be fashioned through discord and strife to transcend its animal condition and realize its essential superiority to Nature, through its moral freedom. (Ward, p.342.)

REASON AND HAPPINESS

He affirms that duty must be done because it is duty; but also that " The
  moral law . .. defines for us a final end, and does so a priori, and makes it
  obligatory upon us to strive towards its attainment. This end is the summum
  bonum ". And he defines the summum bonum in this way: " The highest
  good means the whole, the perfect good, wherein virtue is always the supreme
  good .. .while happiness . . . presupposes conduct in accordance with the
  moral law as its condition ". These are clear statements that there is a
  supreme end of human action, which is determined a priori by the moral
  law; and it may be defined as " happiness in accordance with virtue."