What are the degrees of freedom (from Gibbs phase rule) for an azeotropic mixture?

Question: For an azeotropic binary mixture, the number of phases is 2 and number of components are 2. So, according to Gibbs phase rule, the number of degrees of freedom should be 2. But, the right answer is 1.
Can someone explain this?
Answer: Gibbs' phase rule simply counts the number of variables required to specify the system and the number of relationships between these variables (constraints). Any failure of Gibbs' phase rule is symptomatic of additional variables or constraints that have not been taken into account.
This system is generally specified by four variables, the mole fraction of one species in the liquid phase, $x$, the same in the gas phase, $y$, the pressure $P$, and the temperature $T$. Equilibrium of the liquid and gas phases in both species provides two constraints. The specification of an azeotrope, for which $x = y$, provides a third constraint, as has been mentioned in the comments. One degree of freedom remains.
Answer: The Gibbs Phase rule can be applied to a P-T thermodynamic diagrams for pure substances. On any such of diagram, each point represents a state of the material. Once the point has been located, all other thermodynamic properties can be read off.
For a single phase, the required point can fall anywhere on the region of the plane representing this phase. Thus, two coordinates are needed to specify a point within that part of the plane. For example the horizontal and vertical axis values, T and P, can be given. (F=2)
A two phase region on a P-T is represented by a curved line. Thus, to specify a point on this curve only one additional coordinate, either T or P is needed. (F=1)
The triple point is represented by a single point. No additional information, neither T nor P is needed. (F=0)
Comment: An azeotropic mixture is not a single component system. Your answer is perfectly valid for a single component system with multiple phases. For a multi-component system also the Gibbs phase rule predicts the degrees of freedom except in few cases. An azeotrope is one such case.
Comment: @SriramKrishnamurthy You are correct. However, looking at the rationale behind the rule, it is easy to use still. An azeotrope for instance, represents a single constraint on the system, and this reduces the DoF by 1. The real challenges to using the rule starts when you get immiscibility.


Cisco show all static route

Question: Here is the question ->
  I have added a floating static route with administrative distance 200 to a router, as default, show ip route static only displays one static route with the lowest administrative distance.
  Is there a command will show both static routes at once ?
  I recall, show eigrp topology will display all the alternatives routes with different cost at one table.
Comment: Did any answer help you? if so, you should accept the answer so that the question doesn't keep popping up forever, looking for an answer. Alternatively, you could post and accept your own answer.
Answer: The route table only shows the live routes.
to show all statics you'll need to show what's configured:
show run | inc ip route

This is on IOS of course
Comment: On IOS-XR it can simply be `show run router static` with the optional addition of `vrf XXX` (obviously replacing XXX with the relevant VRF name)

Cisco show all static route


How to take personal care when you are in front of screen for 16 hours?

Question: I spend 16 hours in front of a laptop screen on a desk, what should I do in order to take care of my body and my eyes?
Comment: As a one time thing, or regularly? Sitting that long is extremely unhealthy.
Comment: @EdHeal Maybe he's working 8 hours and chooses to spend all his free time in front of a screen too? Or's he's unemployed but addicted to an online game?
Comment: Working 16 hours per day is bad. Also for about a third of it you are not productive. Better (at worst) work 12. 4 Hours food, relaxation etc. 8 To have some sleep and exercise
Comment: @Travis Check your spelling (and [edit] your question). *spend* suggest you regulary do that, *spent* says it was a one-time event.
Answer: At the risk of sounding flippant...  stop doing that?
First and foremost, stop pulling 16-hour shifts, that's just ridiculous.  If somebody's paying you to do this, they're not paying you enough to ruin your mental and physical health, so find a new job.  If you're running your own business, hire help or cut back the hours, because you're burning the candle at both ends.
Second, see above.
Third, if you must and there's a good reason, make sure your ergonomics are good.  Get a large external monitor and try out a standing desk.  If for some reason you can't do either, at least prop up your laptop so it's closer to eye height and use a full-sized external keyboard.
Comment: @LawrenceAiello, that is irrelevant to the idea that he needs to stop pulling those shifts. It is ineeffective to work 16 hours straight. You can get mor done working 8 hours and taking breaks than working 16 hour days for more than a couple of day sin a row. Fatigue affects work drastically.
Comment: And if you are in the office for 16 hours and they deny you a lunch break... Leave immediately.
Comment: The OP stated that he was a freelancer and student, not employed
Comment: Besides ergonomics, it would be a good idea to make sure to get up and take a break every hour, both to rest your eyes and move around a bit.
Comment: If you're entitled to a lunch break make sure you get out the office and use it for a walk.
Comment: @HGLEM I agree. I was just referring to the the comment "if someone's paying you, they're not paying you enough" comment. That may not necessarily be true if he is a freelancer. Nevertheless, I would side along with you and say the money isn't worth ruining your health in this way.
Comment: @LawrenceAiello if you check the edits he added the part about being a freelancer and student after my comment.
Comment: I have a standing desk and a drafting stool, so that I can alternate between sitting and standing.
Answer: You and me both, I feel your pain!  Here's a few of my tricks:
To relax your eyes, look out a window at the horizon for a few seconds.  Focusing on a faraway object relaxes your retinas.
Slowly rotate your ankles as many times as you remember throughout the day.
Find any excuse to stand up and walk around – water fountain, bathroom, pacing while thinking about a problem, anything!
Use your lunch break to get a bit of exercise as well as just eat, especially if you can walk around a park rather than go to the gym.
Stretch your arms, rotate your shoulders and arch your back whenever you feel the first hint of stiffness, this helps keep the headaches at bay.  Open your mouth wide like you're yawning to release tension in your jaw.
Sit with your bum right into the back of the chair, don't slouch.  And adjust the height of your chair so you don't have to either curve your back or peer up to look at your screen.
Ask your partner to rub your shoulders and back a few times a week.
Comment: "Ask your partner to rub your shoulders and back a few times a week." I thought for a second you were suggesting that I ask a work colleague like "hey Martha, can you rub my shoulders for a few minutes?"
Answer: I did double full time at a super grilling and hard school that most people failed out of and would have classes from 8am-5pm a 3 hour break then classes from 8pm-5am and another 3 hours break - this is what helped me and I graduate top of my class with perfect attendance.
Sleep when you can, and sleep properly - use one of your main breaks to get sleep/shower. If you are drinking on your off time you're only causing your body more problems, wait until your schedule gets better to do things like that or for celebrations.
Eat properly - this is huge, a lot of programmers and students eat like crud, don't go to McDonalds, don't go to Burger King, and don't drink soda to get your caffeine (if you drink caffeine) do something like subway instead, drink a lot of juice, make your own sandwhiches even try eating a little once every 4 hours this will also help you take a break.
Do something physical! This is the most important thing, take an hour break twice a day and go swim, run, bike, yoga, climb, lift, whatever you find you enjoy - you are sitting in a chair stairing at a screen most of the day your body was not built to do that - your body and mind are both one single organism, take care of your body and it will take care of your mind. Don't go off and buy 'eye saving glasses (like gunnars) they are useless, don't go off and buy a keyboard or mouse that is 'suppose to help you'. I've used random keyboards and mice my whole life, these aren't what matters these all just bandages to the real problem - you're not taking care of your body. Bike to get around instead of driving, that's mainly what I did in school helped TREMENDOUSLY
Answer: Take a break every 30 minutes. Go for a walk, stretch yourself, breathe. Then come back and sit with your eyes closed for 2 minutes and get back to work.
But limit your break to 5 minutes or so.
Answer: You mentioned you have a laptop; do you also have WiFi? If so, then see if you can use it to move your "office" to different locations. Work outdoors for a bit. Get a reclining chair and work in it. Go to the library. Change is good; try changing.
Answer: You have to remember, there are a lot of things actually going on when you are at your office chair (or your bed with a laptop). Here are a few common aggrevations from office life, some I didn't even think of until they were pointed out to me.
Keyboard

List item
Is your keyboard a flat keyboard with no ergonomic support?
Are you typing correctly?
Is the keyboard to small or too large for your hands to comfortably type on?
Is the keyboard typically at a good angle for both of your hands? (One thing I had to adjust to in the office was centering my keyboard in front of me, at my home computer it's always placed slightly to the left due to WASD in gaming)

Posture

Back straight?
Arms at your sides?
Are your wrists bend excessively to type on your keyboard?
Are your legs crossed? This can increase your blood pressure and cause stress in other areas.
If you have multiple monitors, is your primary monitor in front of you or to the side? Twisting your head for multiple hours is never a good idea.
If you're using a laptop, Do you actually have it in your lap or up on a table (having a laptop is actually pretty horrible posture, it should be on a table).

Screens
Screen brightness is a pretty rough thing in your eyes. Play with your screens, make sure that they only case as much light as they need to in order to be visible, and no more. A lot of folks prefer warmer colors as well. If your eyes are hurting, it may be worth it to consider trying some filtered glasses - The jury is still out on the long term benefits, but in the short term after eight hours in front of three monitors, my eyes don't hurt as much when wearing my pair.
Answer: Try to limit your sitting to times when you are physically typing or reading from the screen. If you need to think about the next sentence to type, get up and walk around while you think, or do some stretching exercises. If you are studying, walk around rehearsing the material in your mind, then return to the computer to check and read the next item. At first, getting up will be a distraction, but with practice it can become a habit.
Even without sitting continuously, 16 hours a day is too long for most people to work productively. You should experiment with working shorter hours to see if you get more done with more rest and relaxation.
Answer: If you are putting in that many hours, in addition to the other tips mentioned here, focus your eyes on something other than your monitor as much as possible, the 50min/10min rest rule is good for a direction.
Also, consider getting an IPS panel display with a non-flickering backlight(LED backlit is what you want) as they are much better for the eyes, and will physically fatigue you less.


In Google Webmaster tools, where should you submit a sitemap that contains multiple subdomains?

Question: I work on a site which is structured en.site.com however the site contains subdomains for all its products like product1.en.site.com The sitemap contains all the products on all the subdomains. The problem is that each subdomain in Google Webmaster Tools you need to create a property thus submitting a small sitemap for each property for each product would be impossible. Is it ok to submit the whole site under en.site.com?
Answer: Sadly you must:

Add each sub domain as a new property to Google Search Console.
Add each separate sitemap to each new property within Google Search Console.

It should be noted that you do not need a sitemap for Google to crawl sites, nor does it speed up the process, as long as your site is search engine friendly then the bots will have no issues indexing your content.
However... there is a benefit of adding sub domains to Google Search Console, primarily because you will receive notifications and insights.
Comment: The site I am working on has 100,000 products so adding 100,000 subdomains is unworkable. Would Google still process subdomains that are in the main sitemap?  Or when you say "Sadly you must", you really mean "Sadly you must".
Comment: You can only use internal site maps, Google considers a sub domain as external. This question has been asked before in various forms and I've just closed it linking to another which you may find useful.


How can I  repair scratches on a coated stainless steel surface?

Question: I have a coated stainless steel refrigerator that unfortunately was scratched. Every tip I've found for removing scratches says the coated ones cannot be fixed once scratched. Any suggestions?
Answer: I looked into this some and there is no easy answer. Appliances are a 4 ( brushed) finish,BUT different mills may supply slightly different appearances. It is close to a 120 grit finish. I have four SS appliances , 3 different manufacturers all
Korean but the finishes do not look identical .I doubt there is a coating. Mine all all non-magnetic SS ( " 18-8" or 304 ). When I was shopping I found 90 % of the US manufacturers use magnetic SS ( 13 chrome ).Again the alloy will not significantly affect the appearance. I tried rubbing a hidden spot with 180 silicon carbide paper and it polished ; it was too fine. I then tried 150 sand paper ; still too fine. A "net" site said the finish should be equivalent to 120 grit ; that sounds like a good possibility . I don't think any coating is significant .  Summary : Try 120 grit paper.


2005 Dodge Stratus car vibrates pressing on the brake

Question: My car vibrates while holding the brake. While at a stop sign or a drive thru. Sometimes it's pretty loud and then sometimes it seems to stop. Putting it in neutral and park stops. It's only while pressing on the brake if I'm on a flat spot if I don't pressing my brake it doesn't make the sound. I noticed the sound after I had my brakes changed after about a week
Comment: Welcome to Motor Vehicle Maintenance & Repair! I'm not quite following ... is it a sound or a vibration (or both)?
Answer: What you describe sounds exactly like the symptoms of a bad motor/transmission mount. With some help from another person this is easily confirmed. Here is a good video on how to identify failed motor mount on the transversely mounted engine and trans axle design which is used on a dodge stratus.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQqS6zie7ys
Comment: @L.hawes Some folks, like myself, do not have high-speed internet, and can not watch video with any reasonable efficiency.  By summarizing the video in one sentence, at least, you'd be greatly helping folks who depend on this largely text-only website for learning. I urge you to consider adding some content at your leisure. Please, and thank you in advance.
Comment: "Here is a good video" Can you summarize it to increase the value of your answer?
Comment: My answer has enough value as it is.
Comment: @L.hawes An answer that explains what the video shows is also superior because, here on the Stack Exchange sites, Comments are impermanent and sometimes or frequently disappear. Answer text remains, and is also searchable.


Why is it silver that kills a werewolf?

Question: Aside from just the idea that it has to be "something" (maybe lead, steel, whatever), what is it about silver that makes it so special that it can kill a werewolf where other bullets or a stake to the heart can't?
Comment: Interestingly, the idea of werewolves being vulnerable to silver is relatively new; [per Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Werewolf#Vulnerabilities), "This feature does not appear in stories about werewolves before the 19th century."
Comment: The idea was that you needed to be prepared to fight werewolves. Silver has special appeal and it made preparation for the fight expensive and werewolves gained immunity to default modern weapons that would have made them otherwise trivial to kill.  A basic plot device.
Comment: I'm sure dropping a werewolf into a woodchipper would do the job.
Answer: Under the old alchemical table of elements, silver came from the moon, gold came from the sun, mercury from mercury, iron from mars etc. Silver was written as a crescent moon rather than Ag.
So it makes sense that a moon-powered creature would be vulnerable to moon-metal.
Answer: That connection, which is now an un-avoidable cliché, was made up. However, that belief is so entrenched in the mythology's conventions that it has now become an integral part of it.

"Most modern fiction describes werewolves as vulnerable to silver weapons and highly resistant to other injuries. This feature does not appear in stories about werewolves before the 20th century (the claim that the Beast of Gévaudan, an 18th-century wolf or wolf-like creature, was shot by a silver bullet appears to have been introduced by novelists retelling the story from 1935 onwards and not in earlier versions).[37]" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Werewolf

This silver bullet needed for killing makes sense under the  Magical Law of Sympathy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/, Sympathetic_magic, or associative magic, according to  the Law of Contagion

"The law of contagion is a folk belief axiom found in magical thinking which suggests that, once two people or objects have been in contact, a magical link persists between them «
   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_contagion:

On the surface it makes sense, however silver (Argentium) is only one of the metals to be associated with the moon, along with any grey or silvery ones like lead, mercury or quicksilver, or Selenium. Its main association with the moon seems to have been because it was one of the only 7 metals found in antiquity and they made them correspond to the planets:

"The ancients believed in a connection between these seven metals and the seven Classical planets. "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metals_of_antiquity

Besides he proper moon goddess is Selene, not Artemis

"Both Selene and Artemis were also associated with Hecate, and all three were regarded as lunar goddesses, although only Selene was regarded as the personification of the moon itself. Her Roman equivalent is Luna.[2] » http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selene

Note that Luna or Lune is the name of the moon itself is several Latin languages, hence loony, lunatic, lunar, also:

"Greek selene (Lesbian selanna) is from selas "light, brightness (of heavenly bodies)" http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=moon&allowed_in_frame=0
Comment: wait i know see that it is an old Q with old answers, i could have sworn that it appeared on the recent or active list....wasted research time
Comment: Yes, old question, but I just switched my selection.  While the previous answer basically addressed the question, this one was filled with so much information, I feel it is now the best answer to this question.  So thank you for taking the time to research and add interesting information!
Comment: Note the article from Wikipedia now claims there was mention of silver hurting werewolves in German 19th century stories. Not sure if it's right, but it does cite sources.
Answer: Silver doesn't really seem to have held much 'mystical' power in history - although, the Greeks knew about its anti-microbial properties (while not knowing about microbes), and this was 'rediscovered' in the middle-ages.
Apparently, silver bullets were used to kill the "Beast of Gévaudan", but this didn't actually enter the stories until the 1930s (purportedly retelling events from the 1760s). This is the first story were silver bullets where used to kill werewolves. It should also be noted that the bullet was blessed, and this may or may not have been more important. The Brothers Grimm did have a silver bullet kill an otherwise bullet-proof witch some time before.
I did find and interesting paper on silver bullets and their practicality (not written by a mystically inclined author), which also covers some 'mystical' properties (without really sourcing where this information comes from though).
A bunch of other 'mystical' sites link silver with the moon - but then a bunch of others don't. Just look up 'magical properties of silver' on wikipedia for the kookiness.
Comment: In 1612 a troop of invading scottish mercenaries were ambushed in Gudbrandsdalen, Norway.  The leader George Sinclair was according to tradition shot with a silver bullet.  There was no suspicion of werewolves or anything, but the peasant who shot him still used a silver bullet in order to ensure the kill.   So at least in some countries silver bullets were considered "special" and it would not be a big leap to assume that a werewolf would be shot with a special bullet.
Answer: I've always heard that it was because silver is associated with the power of the moon. This page, for example, says: "The pure silvery Moon was associated with the chaste Moon goddesses, Artemis, 'the Huntress with the Silver Bow'." Because the moon holds power over werewolves, so does silver.
Answer: Because according to legend, the villager, Jean Chastel, shot and killed the beast of Gévaudan on June 19, 1767; with a blessed silver bullet. The beast terrorized that area of France and killed roughly 113 people and injured 49; 98 of the victims killed were partly eaten. Several large man hunts for the beast went unsuccessful, with many men having shot or wounded the beast with regular ammunition but with no fatality to the beast itself. The reign of terror the beast brought to France lasted four three years. It was only after Jean killed the beast with his legendary silver bullet that the idea of werewolves being weak to silver was brought about. To this day, the beast's true identity or what it was remains a mystery. But during the time, it was considered to be a werewolf and was treated as such. It led to a mass extermination of wild wolves within the region. The legacy of this story and legend lives on today.

Why is it silver that kills a werewolf?


How can I retrieve photos from a damaged iPhone 3GS?

Question: Is there ANY way possible (NO MATTER WHAT THE EXTREMES), to retrieve my photos off of my husband's iPhone 3G/3GS? My husband of 13 yrs. was diagnosed with bone cancer and passed away 21 hours later. Every memory of the prior 4 months the kids and I had with him, the hospital 'til the devastating end is on that iPhone & it was dropped in the drive and run over, but still intact, just broken screen is only visible damage. Please help...!!!!
Comment: Some more info may be helpful, if you know or can find out, such as: If/how it was set to backup? What version of iOS was it running? Is it recognised by the computer if plugged in via USB? Is it the 3G or 3Gs?
Comment: I agree with both answers here, as soon as more information is given. We will be able to determine what the possible solutions are. You said about "extremes" just letting you know if it comes to it. You could switch out the internals of the iphone to another iphone, bit his is advanced work, and maybe think about taking it to a repair store/shop.
Answer: We may need a bit more information, but some suggestions...
First, I assume you've checked that the photos were never imported onto a computer in any way? Obviously this would make retrieval unnecessary if they have been copied to a computer/hard drive, imported into iPhoto/Picasa/etc... but I guess that hasn't happened in the last 4 months...?
Was iCloud Photostream turned on? You may be able to directly access the last 30 days worth of photos already, via iCloud or software that supports Photostream.
Was DropBox installed on the phone? DropBox has a Camera Import feature, which, if turned on, backs up your camera roll photos to your dropbox account.
Was the phone setup to backup to iCloud? You may simply be able to restore another iPhone from the backup, getting all photos from the camera roll back (assuming a complete backup; though if there's a lot of photos it may have gone over the free 5GB limit).
Was it set to backup to iTunes? If it's recently been backed up, you can also restore another iPhone from the backup.
Does the phone still power up? This is hard to tell if the screen is broken, but if it shows up on a computer when plugged in via USB then you may be able to recover information over USB. In that case you could use iExplore to access the contents of the phone. I believe iExplore can also browse an iTunes backup. And if it does work, this would be a good time to ensure you take a backup.
If all answers are no, then you would want to find an iPhone repair shop. Apple themselves may be able to do this. There are limits, however. If the memory chip itself is damaged, the data will be lost. The iPhone data is also encrypted using an encryption key, and I'm not sure whether this relies on any hardware components or if it's purely in software—if the key is derived from the main board or some other chip on in the phone (not just a software key) then you would need all relevant parts to be still functional to retrieve the data. This is something Apple or a repairer will be able to tell you.
Comment: +1 for a good thorough answer despite the lack of detail from the OP.
Answer: Don't mean to be the barer of bad news, but its unlikely Apple will help you with any sort of data recovery, unless its an extreme circumstance like you have a warrant, a court order, or maybe just power of attorney, and are dealing directly with their legal department.  They should be able to replace his screen, if thats the phone's only problem.  Is the phone locked with a passcode?  Do you know the passcode?
Assuming its more than just a broken screen, the above answer does contain a lot of good ideas.  If the device is functional (it turns on and recognized by a computer) but is passcode locked, you could still sync it with the computer your husband was syncing with previously (assuming he has ever synced it).  If its not passcode locked you should be able to download the pictures onto any computer(since it won't need to know the passcode).  Lastly, if it is passcode locked and your husband did not sync it with any computer previously (your computer does not know his passcode), your best bet is to talk to professional data recovery companies, like Drive Savers etc.  This is your worst case scenario, seek professional data recovery.


Cartthrob notifications for cancelled orders

Question: In Cartthrob I notice a number of orders that have not been completed, looking under the payment error field I see "Transaction in process offsite" which means they cancelled their order while using the payment gateway. Is it possible to send an email when this error occurs with the customers details? I tried setting up notifications using the event "Customer completing order offsite" but that does not work. Any suggestions? Also is it possible to send to an email listed in the custom field e.g.{shipping_region}
Answer: (I'm with Vector; we make CartThrob)
You may want to consider the Abandoned Cart Notifications add-on. Depending on your requirements and who should be emailed, it may help.
Otherwise, you could setup a cron job to query these, and if it's been long enough, email you the details. The reason is that CartThrob doesn't "know" if someone truly abandoned the checkout or are still there, filling in their information. We can help you with that if you'd like; get in touch via firstname.lastname@example.com!


How do I make a 0.5 M citrate buffer at pH 4.5?

Question: I need to make a citrate-sodium citrate buffer at 0.5 M concentration and pH 4.5. I calculated the molarities of the citrate and disodium citrate based on the Henderson Hasselbalch equation, using a pₐ of 4.76 . To cross-check my calculations, I tried a couple of online calculators, but the results are way off from mine. I think the formulae should change based on where I use monosodium, disodium or trisodum citrate. What is the right way to go about making this calculation?
Comment: The best would be either adjust the pH of citric acid by NaOH with pH meter and note the ratio, either to use published data for preparation of citrate buffer.
Comment: The relevant pKa for the trisodium citrate/disodium hydrogen citrate pair is 6.40.
Answer: There are many ways to make simple pH buffers like this one. As @Poutnik noted, preparation via titration works fine and in very commonly used. To illustrate how this is done, several possibilities are presented. Assume the desired buffer characteristics are pH = 4.5, concentration = 0.5 M, final buffer volume = 1 L, and the following reagent grade chemicals are available: citric acid, sodium dihydrogen citrate, disodium hydrogen citrate and 2 M NaOH solution. Also assume a laboratory quality pH meter is available and that the pH meter has been properly calibrated with buffers of 4.00 and 7.00, bracketing the desired pH of 4.5.  Before proceeding, it is useful to examine citric acid's $\alpha$ dissociation fractions.
Brief refresher on $\alpha$ dissociation fractions.
Citric acid, denoted $\ce{H_3Cit}$, is a triprotic weak acid. The successively less protonated citrate species are $\ce{H_2Cit^-}$, $\ce{HCit^{2-}}$, and $\ce{Cit^{3-}}$. Since all the citrate species are in the same volume of solution, molar concentrations (denoted by the usual square brackets, e.g., $[\ce{H_3Cit}]$) are proportional to numbers of moles. Define $D$ as the sum of $[\ce{H_3Cit}] + [\ce{H_2Cit^-}] + [\ce{HCit^{2-}}] + [\ce{Cit^{3-}}]$. Then $\alpha_0$ is $[\ce{H_3Cit}]/D$, $\alpha_1$ is $[\ce{H_2Cit^-}]/D$, $\alpha_2$ is $[\ce{HCit^{2-}}]/D$, and $\alpha_3$ is $[\ce{Cit^{3-}}]/D$. The sum of the $\alpha$ values equals unity, as expected: every citrate species must be somewhere in the solution.
At any given solution pH, all four citrate species are present (though possibly at negligible concentration), as determined by the pH, the three acid dissociation equilibria and their associated equilibrium constants: $\mathrm{p}K_\mathrm{a1}$, $\mathrm{p}K_\mathrm{a2}$, and $\mathrm{p}K_\mathrm{a3}$. For citric acid, the $\mathrm{p}K_\mathrm{a}$ values are 2.13, 4.77, and 6.40. At any given solution pH, the $\alpha$ fractions are simply the proportion of total citrate that is in the relevant ionic or molecular species.
The screenshot below shows the $\alpha$ fractions up to pH = 8 (it is boring above pH = 8):

For a desired citrate buffer at pH = 4.5, the figure shows that only $\ce{H_2Cit^-}$ (green $\alpha_1$ curve) and $\ce{HCit^{2-}}$ (blue $\alpha_2$ curve) are present in significant concentrations. Furthermore, $[\ce{H_2Cit^-}]/[\ce{HCit^{2-}}] > 1$.
Method 1
Weigh out an amount of citric acid equal to approximately 0.5 moles, i.e., about 91 g. Dissolve that, with stirring, in about 0.5 L of water in a large beaker. Be careful to not drop a magnetic stir bar into the beaker!  If 375 mL of 2 M NaOH solution were to be added, the pH would be about 4.76, which is a little too high. The reason is that 0.75 moles of $\ce{OH^-}$ would neutralize the first citric acid proton and lead to a roughly equimolar ratio between $\ce{H_2Cit^-}$ and $\ce{HCit^{2-}}$. This is too much added NaOH solution because $[\ce{H_2Cit^-}]/[\ce{HCit^{2-}}] = 1.82$, as is easily determined using the Henderson-Hasselbalch equation or the $\mathrm{p}K_\mathrm{a2}$ expression.
Add 250 mL of 2 M NaOH and then, with constant stirring and monitoring of the pH, slowly add more 2 M NaOH solution until the pH increases to 4.5. Finally, the last step is to add water until the final buffer volume is 1 L.
Method 2
Start by assuming $[\ce{H_2Cit^-}]/[\ce{HCit^{2-}}] = 2$, so the pH will be a little below the target value of 4.5, and weigh out about 71 g of $\ce{NaH_2Cit}$, i.e., about 1/3 mole. Likewise, weigh out 39 g of $\ce{Na_{2}HCit}$, i.e., about 1/6 mole. The total number of moles of citrate species is about 0.5. Dissolve the $\ce{NaH_2Cit} $ and $\ce{Na_{2}HCit} $, with stirring, in about 0.8 L of water in a large beaker. Then, with constant stirring and monitoring of the pH, slowly add 2 M NaOH solution until the pH increases to 4.5. The last step is to add water until the final buffer volume is 1 L.
What happens if a mistake is made and the pH is too high? Simply add a little more of the most acidic species, making sure it dissolves, and then titrate back up with NaOH solution. It can be helpful to have a lower concentration NaOH solution available, e.g., 0.1 M, either for this corrective procedure or for tweaking the pH.
Other possibilities include 1) citric acid plus trisodium citrate or 2) citric acid plus disodium hydrogen citrate or 3) sodium dihydrogen citrate plus trisodium citrate, but these are not considered further.
Comment: The problem is that 0.5M buffer will have pH strongly affected by activity coefficients.
Comment: No, it has its worth. Keep it.


What does the bars above the health bar mean?

Question: After drinking an energy drink, there are little yellow and white bars above the health bar. What are those? What do they represent?
Answer: The bars over top of your health bar shows the current boost level from using consumables. Each bar corresponds to a different level of boost:

Level 1:+1% Health Regen per 8 Seconds
Level 2:+2% Health Regen per 8 Seconds
Level 3:+3% Health Regen per 8 Seconds and +2.5% Movement Speed Bonus
Level 4:+4% Health Regen per 8 Seconds and +6.2% Movement Speed Bonus

You can increase the your boost level by using the following consumables
(see image below for more detail):

Energy Drinks: 1.5 bars of boost (40% of total boost)
Pain killer: 2 bars of boost (60% of total boost)
Adrenaline Shot: 4 bars of boost (100% of total boost)

One thing to keep in mind is that the effects of using the consumables is cumulative, so drinking two energy drinks will get you to around 80% of your boost bar (slightly less, as the bar degrades while you drink the second energy drink).

Boost amount source
Answer: They are boosts. They come from both energy drinks and painkillers.
First 2 bars (the leftmost) are slight health improvements, meaning they can slowly heal you until the bar decays. You get faster health regeneration in the second bar.  The third bar is a speed boost, meaning you run and move slightly faster. The fourth is even more speed increase and health regeneration.
Good luck! Get those chicken dinners!


Color palette SAGA GIS

Question: Does anyone knows if it is possible to manually modify SAGA GIS colour palettes, for example using ColorBrewer references?
Comment: How have you modified your SAGA palettes so far?
Comment: Yes, manually, but I was asking if I can put the colorBrewer palette codes. I've been seeing SAGA GIS help, and it should be a way, but I did not find it...Thanks for answering @user30184
Comment: Could this article be helpful http://www.marinedataliteracy.org/grids/colscripts.htm?
Answer: Overall Workflow

Download ColorBrewer RGB color list
SAGA - Colors - Lookup Table - Save .pal
SAGA - Colors - Graduated Colors - Load .pal

First, I visited ColorBrewer2 website, and downloaded one of its Excel sheet. I chose 6 colors of Orange-Red sequence. (a part of sheet as below)

Second, I opened SAGA and loaded a DEM file. At Colors section, I started with Lookup Table and manualy set RGB codes into each 6 palettes.

After entering all colors, I pushed Colors button.

Then changed numbers of colors by Counts from 6 to 24. This palette was stored as .pal file.

Third, going back to Colors section, I changed the type from Lookup table to Graduated colors. And Loaded the color palette of 24 colors I have just saved. Then pushed Apply.
Below is outcome.

Color palette SAGA GIS


Collect data from a user -- can't tell who entered the data !

Question:
I can't believe this.
I'm using Collect data from a user to get some data for a form,
via a secondary workflow in moss 2007.
But once the user clicks Complete Task, the System Account marks
the task complete, and thus the 'Modified by' value is always "Sharepoint\System".

So I can't find out who actually gave the data.
So if this isn't the right way, what is?
----------------------------------------------------------------
Here's the version history.
Notice that the assigned-to person is not the user who completed the form,.
---------------------------------------------------------
No. Sort Descending Modified Modified By
3.0 12/27/2010 1:56 PM System Account
Status Completed
% Complete 100 %
---------------------------------------------------------
2.0 12/27/2010 1:56 PM George
Other Comments Thanks and goodbye
Overall Performance 1
On-Time Delivery 2
Cargo Handling 1
Satisfaction 4
Billing Accuracy 4
======================
1.0 12/27/2010 1:52 PM System Account
Title Complete a Vendor Evaluation
Priority (2) Normal
Status Not Started
Assigned To Sharepoint Demo User 3
Start Date 12/27/2010
Workflow Name Vendor Evaluations - Get Data From User
Content Type Complete a Vendor Evaluation
Answer: This is a known issue with workflows in SP2007. Workflows run under the system account so the modified by field will be set to that account. A workaround would be to add an extra field to the list that you use to store the user who is filling out the form in.
Answer: You should already know who is filling out the form since you have to assign the task to someone.
Comment: No, you'd only know who was _supposed_ to complete the task. The workflow could not assume that the person who was assigned the task was the one who completed it.


My advisor has only met with me twice in the past year. Is this enough cause for me to change advisors?

Question: Social Science PhD student (in the US) here. My advisor does not meet with me (met twice in a year, did not meet the entire summer, took 2 months to reply to email). I feel extremely demotivated. I see other students in my program meeting with their advisors weekly, working out a dissertation topic, finding datasets and co-authoring. Should I change advisors? I am concerned because that would mean I'd need to change my research area and faculty can always put the blame on me and question my performance. I am 2 years into the PhD program, about to take comprehensive exams.
Answer: Yes. You are early on in the program and you should begin to work on changing advisors if you are not thriving under this advisor. When talking to new potential advisors, you can ask how they would handle the question of evaluating your performance given the switch. They can help to "go to bat" for you with their colleagues if questions come up about your performance. They may ask you to wait until after comps to officially switch if there is a chance that the switch could affect your passing. Usually, provided you pass comps, your performance is evaluated mainly by your advisor so this should not be a big issue.
Comment: Hi @Dawn. Thanks, this is very helpful. I will definitely ask the potential new advisor about rating my performance. The catch is that I need to change before comps because comps list is prepared in consultation with the advisor and my current advisor thinks they cannot create a reading list for what I am proposing to do although I do not see the topic to be too much outside what they do. However, I understand if they are not up for advising me on that topic but given their track record of (not) providing any guidance so far, I think it is best to change. Thanks again for helping.
Answer: This is hard to answer. Some people do well under such a system. Others actually need more frequent advice. It depends on how much progress you are making. But if you are still yet to take comprehensives, I don't see a particular issue as your dissertation research is still, I suspect, mostly ahead of you.
But this may also be the right time to switch if you think someone else will be better for you. Ask around.
In the US, it is pretty often the case that an "advisor" is assigned at entry to give advice on coursework and such as you go along. But also pretty common to switch at the point of starting comps. I chose my own dissertation advisor after finishing comprehensives and asking around for a bit to get ideas about who would be good. I didn't have to change sub-fields, however, as I had a few choices.
If this is the US, don't feel like you need to stick with an assigned advisor. Other places, I can't say, maybe it also works out.
Comment: Some time in the sixth year, I think. But my old advisor was very unhelpful and I got very unmotivated causing initial problems with comps. He was untenured and so involved with this own stuff. I actually switched institutions as well. I finished in about six and a half years overall. The new advisor was very senior and a bit gruff, but very helpful with guidance.
Comment: I would focus on what you want the new advisor to *do,* rather than on what the previous adviser *failed* to do, as the latter could be perceived as bitter and come back to bite you. Returning emails within a reasonable amount of time (unless your advisor is Donald Knuth) and meeting with you regularly is such a standard expectation that you don't necessarily need to mention it explicitly. But you could try an open-ended conversation along the lines of "How frequently do you typically meet with your advisees? How often, and in what form, would you like me to give you updates on my progress?"
Comment: @Max, thank you so much for this example conversation. Half the times I'm confused how to frame a sentence. There have been times when I had to tell faculty that english was not my mother tongue and so my statements didn't always convey what I tried to say, which I never thought would be required. I will update how it goes.
Comment: Thanks @Buffy, for your quick reply. When did you change to the new advisor?
Comment: Hi @Buffy, thanks for sharing this. I am an international student which adds to the complexity in terms of finishing and finding a job in my home country within a reasonable amount of time so this situation has become the ONLY reason of anxiety resulting in my inability to be productive. Thank you for sharing your story. It is good to know that there is still hope of changing advisors or institutions even in the sixth year. Also, for context, I am in the US.
Comment: Meeting only twice a year is sparse but perhaps plausible for a highly independent student. But neglecting an email for two months is just dropping the ball. I don't think this one's hard to answer at all.
Comment: Thanks @Max. Any advice on how to discuss expectations with the potential advisor?
Comment: This gently establishes expectations while also making it clear that you are going to pull your own weight.


Updating a Wordpress plugins breaks SVN

Question: I have a blog with all the plugins I need committed to an internal svn repository. Wordpress is showing that some plugins need to be updated but when I do, Wordpress will delete the folder for that plugin so the .svn files are deleted as well. This will break the repository for that plugin. Any way around this?
Answer: a simple way around this is to update the plugins by SVN from the plugin repository.
Comment: but like that I'll need to edit the tags in the svn:external settings every time a plugin needs updating. Also what is the safest way of finding the plugin in the repository. Lots of plugins have similar names and don't want to download the wrong one.....in others words if I want http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/all-in-one-seo-pack/ , how can I find the repository folder and be sure its the correct one.
Comment: You can find the repository by clicking on "OTHER VERSIONS" on the left side of  plugin page and at the bottom you have "Subversion Repository"
Answer: I just decided to patch the core to fix this.  We manage a lot of separate development projects built on wordpress and we like to keep plugin updates under our own control without the associated hassles of externals.  I'd prefer a hook but one does not exist and it's probably best not to provide one for such low level actions.  But on the plus side the modifications only affect a single function in the class-wp-filesystem-direct.php file and that file hasn't changed significantly in almost two years.
<code>//@version 3.4

function delete($file, $recursive = false, $type = false) {
    if ( empty($file) ) //Some filesystems report this as /, which can cause non-expected recursive deletion of all files in the filesystem.
        return false;
    $file = str_replace('\\', '/', $file); //for win32, occasional problems deleting files otherwise

    if ( 'f' == $type || $this->is_file($file) )
        return @unlink($file);
    if ( ! $recursive && $this->is_dir($file) )
        return @rmdir($file);

    //At this point its a folder, and we're in recursive mode
    $file = trailingslashit($file);
    $retval = true;

    //preserve svn folders
    if (preg_match("|\/\.svn\/$|", $file))
        return $retval;

    $filelist = $this->dirlist($file, true);

    if ( is_array($filelist) ) //false if no files, So check first.
        foreach ($filelist as $filename => $fileinfo)
            if ( ! $this->delete($file . $filename, $recursive, $fileinfo['type']) )
                $retval = false;

    //don't worry if directories are left behind
    if ( file_exists($file) ) @rmdir($file);

    return $retval;
}
</code>
The key differences are to ignore /.svn/ folders entirely, and then to not fail when directories can't be removed.  They'll still be removed if they don't contain child .svn folders.  As a result you may need to prune a couple "empty" directories every now and then but I haven't had to do that yet.  And you'll of course need to re-patch the file each time you update the core.
Another option is to download the plugin as a zip file from the wordpress plugins directory and use a file manager utility to do a one-way merge or sync between the two directories.  Windows explorer will do this natively if you just drag and drop the new plugin folder over the existing one.  But it's just far easier to click that update now link in the wp-admin area.
Answer: How are you updating the plugins?
The only way around this I have found is to go in to each folder and replace files folder by folder without replacing a folder. A pain but it's the only way I know of.

Updating a Wordpress plugins breaks SVN


Built-in Cache vs. Varnish Cache for Full Page Cache - Magento2

Question: What is the difference between the Built-in Cache and Varnish Cache for Full Page Cache?
What options do I have to choose? Why does Magento recommend Varnish?
Answer: Varnish is a much faster option and will give you the flexibility to cache most of your content, including the HTML document which reduces server load dramatically. You can view some instructions on how to install and troubleshoot Varnish + Magento 2 here, and there is a webinar on the same topic you can attend.
Answer: from https://www.section.io/blog/magento-performance-magento-varnish-cache/
"One common mistake when using Magento 2 is believing that Magento 2's built in "Full Page Cache" feature is sufficient for performance. The Full Page Cache mode is labelled by Magento as to be used in development mode, as developers are not able to see what is being cached and what is not being cached with this setting. In production, it is strongly recommended all Magento 2 stores use Varnish Cache for optimal performance."

Magento recommends Varnish as the full page cache for a production
site - the built in cache should be used for development.
Install varnish and configure Magento with the hostname or ip address and port of your varnish server
download a vcl configuration file generated by Magento to use with
the varnish server.
make sure you add the external cache to the Magento configuration
php bin/magento setup:config:set --http-cache-hosts=varnishhost


What is a space group?

Question: I learned about space groups but never saw a definition of one. For example, the Wikipedia article Space group discusses space groups but doesn't say what a space group is.
Comment: @AccidentalFourierTransform This is a crystallography question.
Comment: "In mathematics, physics and chemistry, a space group is the symmetry group of a configuration in space, usually in three dimensions.", first sentence in wikipedia. In any case, how is this a physics question?
Answer: A subset of R^3 belongs to a space group if and only if it satisfies the following properties.

All its translational symmetry operations can be generated by 3 linearly independent translation operations.
The set of all its translational symmetry operations is a normal subgroup of the group of all its symmetry operations under the operation of composition and the quotient group of that subgroup is finite.

Conversely, for any space group, there exists a subset of R^3 satisfying those properties that belongs to it.
It's easy to show that for any subset of R^3, the set of all symmetry operations of that set with the operation of composition is a group.
For any 2 subsets of of R^3 that belong to a space group, S and T, they belong to the same space group if there exists a bijective linear transfomation R on R^3 such that the function that assigns to each symmetry operation U of S, RUR^-1 is a bijection from the set of all symmtery operations of S to the set of all symmetry operations of T. RUR^-1 is not necessarily an isometry for all isometries U but will always be an isometry when U is a symmetry operation of S. According to this definition, there are 219 space groups. According to the alternate definition where you instead say there exists a bijective linear transformation R whose matrix representation has a determinant greater than 0, there are 230 space groups.
We could define a space group differently by defining a subset of R^3 to belong to a space group if there exists a posative real number r such that for all spheres of radius r, there is at least one and only finitely many symmetry operations that move the origin into that sphere. According to that definition, maybe there are some highly counterintuitive space groups that don't fit the my firse definition of a space group and don't have any translational symmetry operations except for the identity transformation. According to Lee Mosher's answer to my question at https://math.stackexchange.com/questions/779097/does-there-exist-a-highly-counterintuitive-space-group, one of the Bierbach Theorems is that no such space group exists and everything that satisfies the second definition of a space group also satisfies the first definition.
Comment: Good answer but you should specify that by symmetry, you mean isometries…
Comment: On the other hand, this is very math heavy to the point that most solid state physics (or even crystallographers) might not find it that useful. Eugene Wigner, sure, but for mere mortals...

What is a space group?


Viewing the content of Android cache

Question: Where in the system is cached application data stored? Is there any way to view it programmatically? I know there are several applications available in the market to view and clear the memory. But I want to know how exactly it is done.
Comment: Welcome to the Android Enthusiasts! This site is for *users* of Android, which means that questions about development/programming are off-topic here (see the [What topics can I ask about here?](http://android.stackexchange.com/help/on-topic)). Development questions are on-topic on our sister site [Stack Overflow](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/tagged/android). You might also wish to consult [Where can I ask questions that aren't Android Enthusiast questions?](http://meta.android.stackexchange.com/q/371/16575) for a fitting place to your question.
Comment: Related: [How do I view Android application specific cache](http://android.stackexchange.com/q/131539)
Answer: First off, your device needs to be rooted. Then you'll be able to access it with (almost) any file manager. For list of where to look for things check this post right here at Android.SE
Answer: Without Root Method:
You can view individual Application Cache, Data, and ads caches and files by doing this:
from app drawer aka app windows, **Touch and hold the app icon until a window pops up like this
 **
You see the popup window that says app info, NOW touch the small circle with the (i) inside.
This takes you to the file system that All the Caches (for this Individual app) are.
Its Tedious but you can go through all your apps this way and delete ALOT of Crap that so far no app cleaner apps have ever done.

Viewing the content of Android cache


Where should PHP write sessions to?

Question: Just installed PHP 5.4 on Centos 6.4 with Apache 2.2 VPS, and received an error that permission is denied to open session.  php.ini shows session.save_path = "/var/lib/php/session".  Do I make /var/lib/php/session permission 0777?  Or maybe make Apache run as a given user, and then give that user rights to /var/lib/php/session.  I recall in the past changing session path to /tmp, and wonder if that is a better strategy.  Where should I set PHP to write sessions to?
Comment: Had you changed the user apache runs as before testing, as you answer, centos should have had it run as apache, and had proper permissions.
Answer: In terms of flexibility and - even more importantly - security, you should configure the Apache to run the scripts (read: php-processes) as another, unprivileged user per vhost using suEXEC + FCGId or something similar. Then you can assign a own php.ini for every user and set the session path to a user-only writable path (for example in the users /home directory). There're plenty of tutorials for this common setup, just search for "centos apache suexec php"
This might be the most complex solution to your problem, but it also takes security and some flexibility for the future into account.
Answer: Make Apache run as user/group apache/apache.  CentOS will automatically have permissions set correctly for /var/lib/php/session.
Answer: If you have mod_fcgid then the apache user won't be usable as a /var/lib/php/session user/group owner.
Answer: Sessions should be stored with Memcached.
session.save_handler = memcached
session.save_path = "localhost:11211"

Where should PHP write sessions to?


What are my options as far as companions go?

Question: So I have been playing fallout new vegas game of the year edition. I already know you can get ED-E as your first companion. So how many companions are out there? Who are they? What are they? And how do I find them?
Answer: There are a total of 8 companions, 6 humanoid and 2 non-humanoid. You can only have two in your party at once though, 1 humanoid and 1 non-humanoid. The following is a list of the companions.

Permanent Companions:
Humanoid:

Arcade Israel Gannon, a member of the Followers of the Apocalypse in  2281 who can be found in Freeside's Old Mormon Fort.
Craig Boone, a former NCR 1st Recon sniper with a grudge against Caesar's Legion and a chip on his shoulder. He can be found at night in the dinosaur at Novac. Can be recruited after completing One for My Baby and choosing particular dialogue.
Lily Bowen, a friendly nightkin and former assassin in the Master's army. She can be recruited in Jacobstown after gaining the quest Guess Who I Saw Today.
Raul Tejada, a ghoul mechanic and former gunslinger held hostage by Tabitha, the mad leader of the State of Utobitha. Can be found in Black Mountain.
Rose of Sharon Cassidy (also known as Cass), a former caravan merchant and the daughter of John Cassidy. She can be found in Mojave Outpost.
Veronica Santangelo, a disillusioned Brotherhood Scribe. She can be found at the 188 trading post.

Non-Humanoid:

ED-E, a prototype eyebot designed for combat and reconnaissance operations. It can be found in Primm, in a non functional state, lying on the counter inside the Mojave Express, which is labeled in-game as "Nash Residence." ED-E requires 65 Repair (or 35 Repair if possessing a 55 Science skill) to fix it, or 3 pieces of scrap metal, 2 sensor modules, and some scrap electronics.
Rex, is a cyberdog in Freeside under the ownership of the King. He is suffering from neural degradation as his old brain decays. He can be recruited after finishing Nothin' But a Hound Dog.
Comment: This info was from http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Fallout:_New_Vegas_companions#Temporary_followers if you want to know more. :)


Finite fields in elliptic curve

Question: I have an elliptic curve defined over finite field where $S_1=aP$ . Is it valid to say that $S_1P$ can also be computed.  $P$ is the generator of the group.
What my real question is that. Should '$a$' be always an integer or can it be a group element itself??
Comment: $a$ needs to be an integer (which can be reduced modulo the curve order). There is no operation that multiplies two curve points, and dividing two curve points is prohibitively expensive (requires computing the discrete logarithm)
Comment: I am working with discrete logarithm problem. Currently am constructing a signature scheme where one of my signature component is in terms of like $S_1=aP$ and the verification algorithm so far which I have come out with has $S_1P=$some value. Is that possible(Since $S_1$ will be a group element) or in case if you have faced any such moments, do you have any idea about it's alternative solution.
Comment: @HareshKannan This kind of verification is only possible when you choose a curve with an efficiently computable pairing.
Comment: @minar Problem is that am trying to bring out without using pairing.
Answer:
Should '$a$' be always an integer or can it be a group element itself??

Well, $aP$ is defined to be:
$aP \equiv \underbrace{P + P + \ldots + P}_\text{a times}$
From that definition, we see that this makes sense only if $a$ is an integer; it needs to be a count of the number of $P$'s to add together.
Answer: In ECC you have two distinct types, group elements and scalars.
With group elements you can:

Add two points $A+B$
Negate a point $-A$ (together with addition this allows subtraction $A+(-B)=A-B$
Multiply a point with a scalar $a B$
Theoretically you can divide to points to obtain a scalar $s = A/B$. But on secure curves this is too expensive, since computing $s$ is equivalent to solving the discrete logarithm problem on the curve.

But multiplying two group elements is not possible. This isn't merely expensive, there isn't even a definition that says what the result should be. If it were defined, it'd be a completely separate operation.
One interesting operation is the decisional Diffie-Hellman problem, where you're given $A, B, S$ and generator $G$ with $A=aG$ and $B=bG$ it is possible to check if $S$ is equal to $abG$. This operation is usually difficult, but there are some curves where a pairing allows efficient checking of this condition. On these curves you can use the BLS signature scheme.
With scalars you can use all operations possible in modular arithmetic modulo the order, including addition, subtraction, multiplication, division,... With non-prime multiplication is lossy and thus not invertible and division doesn't have a unique result but is still cheap to compute.

Finite fields in elliptic curve


Can I get a Canadian student visa with a passport with less than 6 months on it?

Question: Can I get a Canadian student visa with a passport that is valid for less than 6 months? My study lasts 2 years and has a co-op term.
Comment: I am not sure it makes a difference but which country and how long do you plan to be in Canada for? Can you please edit that into the question.
Comment: Most importantly, is your course of study less than six months.
Comment: @DJClayworth It's 2 years and I get a diploma at the end. It also has a co-op term.
Answer: You'll have to renew your passport before applying.
This Canadian Government page says:

Visiting, working and studying temporarily
We can't issue you a work permit, study permit or visitor record that is valid past the expiry date of your passport.


I have CITY water. When I turn on my garden hose I have plenty of pressure, but after a few seconds the pressure drops substantially only outside

Question: I turn on my garden hose and I have plenty of pressure for about 15 seconds, then it drops substantially.  I have city water and I don't experience this in the house.  Any ideas?
Answer: There is a substantial restriction somewhere - partly-closed valve, over-soldered fitting, something like that. Your 15 seconds or so of good pressure is probably from the hose itself storing water - the slow trickle past the restriction gradually pressurizes the hose to full line pressure - as soon as you start using water, the hose contracts, and when fully contracted you are back to the flow past the restriction.
Check any valves on the line to the hose fitting, first. If it is an over-soldered fitting, those are somewhat of a pain to find, as you basically have to disassemble the pipe to look for them.


How do I politely ask people to go away so that I can have a private conversation with someone?

Question: Today I was walking with my colleagues to a restaurant, but on the way I met a friend, whom I wanted to have a small chat with. I wanted to ask my colleagues to go away and then I would catch up with them on the way later, but I was stuck - I didn't know how to tell them this request without looking rude.
Comment: Also, if you think this piece of writing looks awkward, please feel free to tell me how to improve it.
Comment: I believe your writing expresses your question in a very clear way.  I say no need to put in any work to improve it.
Answer: You could say,
"I need a few moments to catch up with my long-lost friend; please, everyone, go on ahead to the restaurant, and I will meet up with you there shortly."
There are probably a million ways to express this, and it's much easier of course, to think it through with time and space, and much harder to express everything in a polite and effective way in the moment.
A few notes:

I prefer "suggesting" to the group that they go on ahead, in the form of a statement/command, rather than asking them  "will you please go on ahead?"  in the form of a question.  Either one can be done in a polite way.  You can use whichever one feels more natural for your personality.
You could also give them a reason why they should, such as "I don't want to delay anyone from getting their food; you all look so hungry! Please, go on ahead and get your orders in."  You could even ask them to order for you.  The risk with all this is that one or more of your colleagues might say, "Oh, we don't mind waiting a bit longer to eat, it's no problem", and then you would have to make a clearer statement that you WANT them to go ahead so you can have a few moments to catch up with your friend.  If this happened, you would come off looking manipulative, rather than polite.
I think part of the challenge is that you are torn between your duty to your colleagues and your desire to visit with your friend.  It is indeed possible your colleagues may be less than totally pleased that you are "ditching" them to visit with this person they don't know, especially if there was a discussion agenda for the restaurant visit.  Ultimately, it is up to you to give yourself permission to  possibly mildly displease a couple colleagues in the moment, and make it up to them later.
It is not enough to only be polite in words; actions matter.  Part of how your colleagues will view your politeness is whether or not you do catch up with them shortly at the restaurant.  Polite words can only accomplish a limited amount; your colleagues and friend will judge you more on your actions. Did you spend a few quality minutes with your friend, get updated contact information, and make plans for later, and then move extra fast to catch up with your colleagues quickly at the restaurant, so that they hardly noticed your absence? That will matter more than the words.


Why does Safari 6 scroll to the bottom of the page when viewing Google search results?

Question: When I use the pagination at the bottom of Google search results pages to browse through the results, Safari 6 on OS X Mountain Lion automatically scrolls to the bottom of the page. Doesn't happen with every page, just most result pages. Why does this happen?
Answer: I have the same problem. Mountain Lion has introduced a new way for quick scolling which brings quite strange results in Safari.
Here is the explanation extracted from this Macstories review of ML:

On Mountain Lion, if you perform a quick scrolling gesture three times in a row the scrolling speed will ramp up to let you reach the end of a document quickly.


Public transport from Nantes to La Roche-Bernard

Question: I'm heading to a wedding in La Roche-Bernard on June. I want to know how easy it would be for me to arrive in Nantes and get public transport there. I speak no French but am generally comfortable bumbling around and miming my way through things.
Answer: Getting to La Roche-Bernard from Nantes is not easy. On this map of the region around La Roche-Bernard you can see that there is two bus lines going there. So you're alternatives are:

Get a train to Vannes (1h10 to 2h) and take bus 8 to La Roche-Bernard (1 hour). This bus only runs Mo-Fr for some connections (LMMeJV) and Mo-Sa for others (LMMeJVS), there's no connections on Sundays and you'll have to call them the day before for the bus to run all the way to La Roche-Bernard. Also note that the timetable is the Winter timetable, so you should check closer to the date again.
Get a train to Redon (40 min to 1h) and take bus 10 circuit 2 (45 min). This bus will only run Mo-Fr and different days have different timings. Again this is the Winter timetable.

Getting to Vannes or Redon from Nantes shouldn't be a problem and you can check the train timings on the site of the SNCF.
Comment: it would be nice if you could give a rough idea of the time it takes (as the train to Redon already takes 50 mins, I suppose this would take 2-3 hours)
Comment: This seems like a perfectly reasonably answer, but I'll just give it a little while... Basically it looks hard.


Return Air location

Question: Renovating 2 story home with separate HVAC systems, one upstairs and another downstairs.  HVAC contractor wants to place the return airs high on the wall near the stairs going up and another in the ceiling for the 2nd. floor system above the stairs going down.  The building will be very tight but the attic unit, including ductwork, will be in the unconditioned attic.  Not sure if that makes any difference with regard to the RA.  Attic will have foam at all ceiling penetrations and R38 cellulose.  Location is New Orleans, so hot and humid 8 months out of 12.  Thanks in advance for your reply.
Comment: Hello, and welcome to Stack Exchange. It isn't clear what your question is; would you edit it to clarify?
Answer: Sounds like you are concerned about the placement of the 'return air vents' to these systems (one upstairs and one downstairs).  Normally, if you have only a single Air Conditioner, the upstairs gets hotter than the downstairs (like my house! in Texas), and careful placement of the 'return vents' can help reduce this issue (put the upstairs return vent high on the wall, so it pulls in the warmest air).
Based on your description, I would not be concerned. Since you have a dedicated unit for upstairs, really you are golden.  The fact that the downstairs return is 'near the stairs' means it is probably in a central location (which is perfect).  You said the upstairs return would go 'in the ceiling' which is exactly where it should go since that will pull in the warmest air, and your air handler is in the attic anyway.

Return Air location


What makes difference between 'I walked the dog.' and 'I made the dog walk.'

Question: I have been curious that verb 'walk' means 'causative verb' in  'I walked the dog.' sentence.
And I know these verbs (have, let, make) are causative verb, but how  verb 'walk' in  'I walked the dog.' sentence means 'causative verb' without these verbs (have, let, make)?
And what is difference in both?
Comment: @SIS - except that "I ran the dog" doesn't sound fluent, because we use *walk* as a transitive verb to mean "took the dog for a walk", but we don't normally use *run* that way.  Similarly, "I've waited him for two hours" is not correct; it should be "I've waited **for** him for two hours."
Comment: The difference is that walk is not a causative verb in this sentence. It's simply a transitive verb. I can't think of how I'd make walk into a causative verb in this sentence right now, but if I do, I'll let you know.
Comment: @Teacher KSHuang
I ran the dog.(the dog was run by me.), I've waited him for 2hours (he has waited for me for 2hours) : in both sentence the verbs ran and waited were used as made dog and him ran and waited. Isn't it?
Answer: The difference between

I walked the dog.

and

I made the dog walk.

is the willingness of the dog to walk.  The first implies the dog wants to walk, the second implies the dog is unwilling to walk.
Comment: @SIS "With" is not necessary in the sentence "I walk the dog." because it is generally understood that dogs so not walk themselves (usually) and the expression is idiomatic so most people will assume you are with the dog.  If you were to do something different, you might use "with" as in "Instead of walking, I ran *with* the dog." "I walked the dog." is already a shortened form of "I *took* the dog for a walk." If someone asks you to walk the dog, they will usually ask "Can you *take* the dog for a walk?" instead of "Can you walk the dog?"
Comment: In the sentence 'I walk the dog.', Is preposition 'with' omitted?, If not, how do I understand in what way the sentence makes the meaning 'I am with the dog and walking with dog?'
Answer: To "walk the dog" means to control and handle the dog while it performs bodily functions. That is, make sure it's pee and poop go in acceptable places, stoop-and-scoop after if required, keep the dog from going places that dogs are not permitted, return the dog when these functions are complete, and so forth.
By extension, "walk the dog" can mean a human going to use the toilet.
To "make the dog walk" would be to do something that produces a dog that is walking. It does not necessarily involve all that other stuff in the first phrase.


What is the name of TV show or film about fake space ship or space station?

Question: I remember that the last scene of the show has the group of astronauts talking or arguing about something and they are surprised by the entrance of someone who was conducting the experiment on them shows up because they had thought they were in a spaceship or space station the whole time. Not sure if anyone in the group was in on the experiment.
Comment: When did you watch it? Also, check out [How to ask a good story-ID question?](https://scifi.meta.stackexchange.com/q/9335/21267) to see if it helps jog your memory.
Comment: With the current description, I'd say the question is too vague. You're talking about the last scene of a show. Do you mean the last scene of an episode? Last scene of the last episode? Last episode of the show? And how large was the group, roughly? A handful? Over 20? Do you remember anyone's or anything's name?
Comment: I remember this film, but not the name. There were 4 or 5 men, a claustrophobic setting, white walls. At least one of them lost it and started killing the others... sorry I cant help more.
Comment: There was one movie where people were sealed in a fake space station for experimenting purposes, to be released after predetermined time, but when the time came they were not released, and in the meantime some kind of worldwide disaster occured.
Comment: Shades of the first episode of the original _The Twilight Zone_: [Where Is Everybody?](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Where_Is_Everybody%3F)
Comment: Not related, but it reminded me of Asimov's [Ideas die hard](https://scifi.stackexchange.com/a/117028/13875)
Answer: It could be Ascension. This was a 2014/2015 miniseries. It was aired as either 6, 1 hour long episodes or 3 feature length instalments.

The story takes place aboard a generation ship originally launched in the 1960s and now half-way into its 100-year journey to Proxima Centauri. A murder on board sparks off a series of events that leads the crew to begin second-guessing their real mission.

The Ascension is the titular spaceship. It has a large crew and strict birth control laws and dual military/civilian control hierarchy. A significant amount of tension exists between the Upper and Lower "Decks". One living a 1960s university campus life style, the other grease covered engineers and manual workers.

 At the end of the 1st double episode it's revealed that the spaceship never left Earth, it's parked in a basement somewhere, but it takes the whole rest of the series to unpack the real purpose behind the arrangement.

There are a couple of instances where people see things they're not expecting to. But for the most part everything is accepted at face value, the opening plot threads focusing on a murder committed on Ascension, with a gun that shouldn't be there.

 One person on board the spaceship was in on it. Everyone else genuinely believed they were on a generational interstellar spaceship.
Comment: And there was a Cylon on that ship too...
Comment: There was also one on Hawaii 5-0.  And Quantum Leap.  They're everywhere!
Comment: There was also one in ST:TOS I think where they wanted Cpt Kirk to pass on his illness(?) to a female alien aboard a fake Enterprise. No astronauts though. _Ascension_ seems right. I watched that and really enjoyed it.
Comment: Yeah, too bad about the unresolved ending.
Answer: It could be the British series/reality show Space Cadets from 2005.
From Wikipedia:

Space Cadets is a British television programme made by Zeppotron (a division of Endemol UK) for Channel 4. Presented by Johnny Vaughan, it was aired across ten consecutive nights beginning on 7 December 2005, with the final episode aired on the evening of 16 December 2005.
  The series was a hoax at the expense of its contestants, who were told they were being trained as cosmonauts at a Russian military base before undergoing a five-day trip into low earth orbit. In reality, the entire series was filmed in Suffolk, and the contestants did not leave Earth. The series was accompanied by a behind-the-scenes sister show Space Cadets: The Satellite Show, with interviews and phone-ins.


Enol form of acetone is treated with D2O

Question:
Could find the mechanism in brief online. Still have few queries. What makes the D2O not attack the the central carbon (to which OH is attached) and choose other the carbon instead (both have a double bond). Again, in the 'repeat' part of mechanism, there's only one carbon with double-bond (carbonyl group). Why does D2O attack the second carbon again and not the carbonyl group one? I'm really confused.
Comment: While I would encourage the questioner to offer additional thoughts about the mechanism of this process, I don't think this question should be closed. There is a good question contained here that shows some understanding of the process (i.e., why doesn't water attack the carbonyl directly).
Answer: The oxygen of the water will attack the carbon of the C=O forming the hydrate, but this is in equilibrium and completely reversible and a dead end so of no consequence when considering the enol reaction.
Answer: Short answer - Electrphile seeks an electron rich site to attack
Explanation -
D2O contains partial charges on the atoms because of the difference in the electronegativity of D and O. Oxygen being more electronegative than Deuterium has partial negative charge and D has partial positive charge.
In the enol form the carbon atom directly attached to Oxygen also has partial positive charge (difference in electronegativity O being more electronegative than C). So, the already partially positive charged Deuterium can't attack a site which also has electron deficiency. So, it attacks the carbon next to it which is slightly electron rich when Oxygen lone pairs attack the adjacent carbon.


Vue Cli 3 blocks CORS even after headers change

Question: I'm running locally both a Vue Cli 3 app and a Google Cloud Function (CF).
I have changed the response headers in CF as follows:
<code>res.set('Access-Control-Allow-Origin', "*")
res.set('Access-Control-Allow-Methods', 'GET, POST')
</code>
and it serves me well when I call the CF from a browser.
For some reason, the same call is CORS blocked when invoked inside the Vue app.
I tried with Firefox (CORS enabled by settings as well as using a plugin).
I also added the following to vue.config.js as described here:
<code>// vue.config.js
module.exports = {
    devServer: {
       proxy: 'http://localhost:8010', //<-- my CFs are running on 8010
   }
}
</code>
Not sure how to proceed as the whole point of CFs is to not have any servers running (including a proxy).
Any pointers are much appreciated, cheers.
Answer: Problem was with the local Cloud Function emulator.
Got it working when I altered the Cloud Function headers in the live environment.
<code>// Set CORS headers for preflight requests
function setCorsHeaders(req, res){
  res.set('Access-Control-Allow-Origin', CLIENT_URL);
  res.set('Access-Control-Allow-Credentials', 'true');

  if (req.method === 'OPTIONS') {
    // Send response to OPTIONS requests
    res.set('Access-Control-Allow-Methods', 'GET,POST');
    res.set('Access-Control-Allow-Headers', 'Content-Type');
    res.set('Access-Control-Max-Age', '3600');
    res.status(204).send('');
  }
}
</code>


How was Will sending messages through the lights?

Question: In season one Joyce sees the lights flashing and accredits it to Will sending her messages, later she puts up a Alphabet and Will sends her a message, so how was Will controlling the lights from the upside-down?
Comment: https://movies.stackexchange.com/questions/59690/how-was-will-aware-of-the-lights
Answer: As seen in the next season too, the presence of humans in upside down creates a flickering effect of lights in their surrounding space. Will would have noticed this and perhaps used this fact to control the lights; though I'm still unsure how was he able to do that rapidly during the time Joyce spells out his message.
Answer: Disclaimer: this answer is speculative.
It's possible that it is energy that ties the normal dimension to the Upside Down Dimension. After all, it is enormous energy from Eleven that opened it in the first place. Perhaps some form of dual interaction much like quantum entanglement - 'spooky action at a distance' - allows inhabitants of the Upside Down to manipulate some forms of energy in the normal dimension. What is somewhat confusing about this is the one-way nature of this interaction (that we have seen so far).


Making a clock cp for counter, using a photodiode

Question: I need to make a device that counts light impulses, basicly a light detector counter, i need help with my counter cp, how to implement a photodiode(can't find phototransistors in the stores) to do clocking, do i need a IC 555 timer, or can i just use an common transistor and use photodiode as base current of the transistor? im using a 7493 counter a 7447 decoder and BPW 34 photodiode.
Comment: Have a look at http://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/36086/does-this-photodiode-circuit-work
Comment: What is a "CP"?
Answer: Try this

simulate this circuit – Schematic created using CircuitLab
The 7414 is a Schmitt trigger, and will handle even very slow transitions of light level. If you just use an ordinary gate, and the input changes slowly, you may get multiple triggers as the input responds to noise right at the threshold. Conversely, if your light pulse has a very fast turn-on AND turn-off, you may not need the inverter at all.
R1 is used to set sensitivity. But note that a "real" 7414 needs 1.2 mA of photodiode current, plus the resistor current to operate. If your light source is not intense enough, the photodiode won't be able to pull the input low. In that case you can try a 74LS14 which, like all 74LS, only requires 0.4 mA. If that's still too much, go to a 74HC14. It will work just fine driving the original 7400 series.
And, of course, if you need the clock on the falling edge of the light pulse, just add another inverter.


When is Deep Fritz 15 release date?

Question: I try searching the release date, but I couldn't find it. How much later do the deep version of a chess software come out?
Answer: According to the website for This Week In Chess, the release date for Fritz 15 is November 27, 2015. Also note that now they only sell one version of the product. There no longer is a separate Deep version.

When is Deep Fritz 15 release date?


Is there a way to "list" (in BASIC, or "cat" in LINUX) the current sketch loaded in my xxxDUINO?

Question: I was surprised when I couldn't find an old post where someone asked this question. Seems like a natural beginner, uh excuse me, "newbie" question, but then I'm a throw-back to the days when a home computer came with 3,583 bytes (three-thousand, five-hundred eighty-three). So again, as seen in the title, can I "list" my sketch? I'm pretty sure the answer is NO since if it were a good question someone would have asked it already. It just strikes me as odd that my old VIC-20 could do something this phenomenal techno-marvel can't. Not much of an accomplishment for the dinosaurs, but HEY! We're on the scoreboard now! [nothing's worse than that miserable goose-egg :(   ]
Comment: What is the problem you are trying to solve? You have an Arduino and you want to "list" its contents?
Comment: `I was surprised when I couldn't find an old post where someone asked this question.` -- How about the first in the "Related" list...?
Comment: Sorry about that, I really hate posting nuisance threads. I almost always prefer  to find a good answer and be on my way. I so don't want to be the that type of person who wont put in any effort. I know I can't see you or will ever meet you, but I find it embarrassing, unpleasant, uncomfortable, unnerving, and unsettling when I bring down the room or step on someone's leisure. I should have dug more, and not been so hasty when going through the search results. But most annoying to me, was dropping the ball when trying to articulate what I wanted, which wasn't LIST or PRINT, but DOWNLOAD! sorry
Comment: If you can't find your answer whilst searching it is often easier to start typing out your question. While you are doing so the system is constantly analysing what you are asking and offers you suggestions. Because you put so much more detail into a question than you do into a search box those can often be far better results than a simple search. Especially when search really relies on you knowing what to search for in the first place, which isn't always the case.
Comment: And anyway, when I'm around the room can't get any lower ;)
Answer: No. the code burned in an Arduino is compiled not interpreted like Basic.
Basically your C language sketch is compiled into AVR assembly language. The resulting hexadecimal is what is burned to the Arduino.
Yes you could disassemble the hex like we used to do in the good old days, but as before it is highly unpredictable and most of the time not very useful.
Just a quick example. The following simple Arduino sketch that just sets a pin in output and then sets it HIGH:
<code>void setup() {
  pinMode(13, OUTPUT);
  digitalWrite(13, HIGH);
}

void loop() {
}
</code>
The resulting hex file is 3.5Kb.This include various sections of data and code. One would have to analyse the section, convert the hex (op-code) to assembly language and find which part correspond to the C code.
It is possible, and there are probably tools that do a fairly good job. Would the C language generated by the decompilation once recompile perform exactly like the original compiled cole. I doubt it.
Comment: Hmmm, I'm intrigued! I love a fool's errand (sometimes). Just out of curiosity then, could you briefly outline the disassembly process, and perhaps some idea in broad terms what makes this unpredictable and the obstacles that prevent useful results. I have not Idea what I'm asking of you, so please forgive me if this is an imposition. I know I'd be less than receptive to someone wanting to know what the average mass of a fastener was in my collection of old machine screws!
Comment: Well, you have to take the hex codes (called op-code) and convert that to assembly language. Then you have to match the part of assembly language and find what they would represent in C.
Comment: edited my answer to provide more details.
Comment: Regarding the disassembly process see [my answer here](http://arduino.stackexchange.com/a/13085/10794).


I'm a dual US/UK citizen. Can I still enter the UK temporarily on my US passport?

Question: I came to the UK as a US citizen, got indefinite leave to remain, and have just become a naturalised UK citizen. However, I am scheduled to travel abroad in a few days, and do not have time to apply for a UK passport. If I travel as scheduled, will I be able to re-enter the UK on my US passport (now without the biometric residence permit, which I had to destroy and send in when I became a UK citizen), provided that I travel again within 6 months? Or would I be turned away because I am not really a tourist?
Comment: I do not agree this is a duplicate, because that question was about visiting the UK, something for which a US passport is valid. This is about planning to stay indefinitely in the UK, for which a US citizen would need a visa.
Comment: @Patricia Shanahan The OP states 'provided that I travel again within 6 months'
Comment: @PatriciaShanahan the real reason the other question is not a duplicate is that the other question concerns a BNO who has no right of abode in the UK.  This question concerns a British citizen.
Comment: @Traveller that OP says "provided that I travel again within 6 months" is all the more reason for providing an answer here that says "there is no need for you to travel within six months."
Answer:
Will I be able to re-enter the UK on my US passport (now without the biometric residence permit, which I had to destroy and send in when I became a UK citizen), provided that I travel again within 6 months?

Yes.  You should bring whatever evidence you can of your newly acquired British citizenship.  If you do not, you would risk being deported to the US.  That is, consider what will happen if the immigration officer decides to look more closely at whether you are a "genuine visitor."  During any extended interview, you will have to tell them that you are a British citizen.  This will go more quickly if you have some documents to back it up.
The chance of that happening is rather lower these days because US citizens are now able to use the e-passport gates.  If you use such a gate, you might be admitted without an interview.

Or would I be turned away because I am not really a tourist?

If you can prove that you are a British citizen, by any means, you cannot be turned away.  If they find that you are not a genuine visitor, and you do not tell them about your British citizenship, and they do not find out about it on their own, then they will deport you to the US.  This is extremely unlikely, of course, unless you actively pursue it by concealing your British citizenship.
Another possibility, of course, is that the e-passport gate flags you, sending you to an immigration officer, and the immigration officer does not investigate whether you are a genuine visitor to any significant depth.  In that case, the officer will stamp you in with the standard six-month leave to enter, with employment and recourse to public funds prohibited.  If that happens, the stamp means nothing.  Because you are a British citizen, any purported leave to enter would be a legal nullity, as would any restrictions attached to it.  If you get a stamp like that on your passport, you can just ignore it.  You can remain in the UK as long as you want.  You can also work or go on the dole.
Some countries, including the US, have a law that requires their citizens to use the passport of that country to enter.  The UK is not such a country.  A related question shows that UK immigration officers will even refrain from stamping your US passport if they know that you are a British citizen: UK border no longer stamps foreign passport if UK passport also held.

I’m a dual US/UK citizen. Can I still enter the UK temporarily on my US passport?


InDesign: alternate version of catalogue with prices removed

Question: I have prepared a catalogue with prices enclosed within a number of tables. For printing I need to prepare a PDF without these prices. Is there a way to quickly resolve this by hiding the prices, or moving to another layer?
Answer: 2 possible solutions:
1) Use a spot color for the text you don't want to print, then in the Print dialog, choose "Output > Separations" and deselect the spot color so it doesn't print:

2) Create 2 identical tables. Then remove all data from Table 1, and remove all color (strokes and fills) from Table 2, keeping only the text data. Move Table 2 to a separate layer, set it to "non-printing", then align it perfectly with Table 1.
Answer: You can move a selection of objects from one layer to another by dragging the small square you see in the image below. That moves your selection to another layer, unfortunatelly there is no shortcut for this like in Photoshop.
Comment: Unfortunately this don't work on tables. Selecting only few rows or column is not treated as selecting moveable object.  I was thinking about maybe applying different style with pantone black and then somehow making new layer from one swatch?
Comment: A table and its contents are a single object and cannot be split across layers. The initial question did not reveal we are talking about text from tables, in which case you might want to play with the tables in a different way. There could be a few options here but it all depends on your specific content. You could consider changing text color to white on the bits you are trying to "hide".
Comment: Another option is to use GREP and/or scripting to remove all the prices from a copy of your document. Not sure it will work with your content however since you did not include an example of how these prices are set up.


How to upgrade Magento from 1.5 to 1.9

Question: Anyone could give me some tips how I upgrade Magento 1.5 to 1.9? I am new in Magento and I didn't see any upgrade option in my Magento backend.
Answer: Updating a Magento shop can be a complex task, especially if you have custom code and/or lots of extensions. Take a look at How do you give estimates for Magento upgrade? to get an idea.
Bottom line is, don't do it, if you are new to Magento development. Hire somebody with experience and don't be surprised if it gets expensive.
Exception: if your shop has no modifications and no custom theme (i.e. only 3rd party themes/extensions), you can download the latest version from http://magentocommerce.com/download, get the latest version for all your extensions, the latest version for your theme and hope for the best.
Important: Don't ever do this directly on a production server!
Comment: I am not sure if 'don't do it', 'hire someone' and 'hope for the best' are constructive answers to this question.
Comment: The alternative is to close the question as "Too broad".
Comment: You can try below command line trick to upgrade your current setup into latest version:

chmod 550 mage
./mage mage-setup .

./mage config-set preferred_state stable

./mage sync

./mage install http://connect20.magentocommerce.com/community Mage_All_Latest --force

php shell/indexer.php reindexall

rm -rf downloader/.cache/ var/cache/

Let us know if this work.

How to upgrade Magento from 1.5 to 1.9


Are there any ways to keep point handles the same length in Illustrator other than using guides?

Question: When tracing in Illustrator, I'll use the white arrow to make sure I don't break the link between the handles and keep fluid curves but is there a way to also make sure both handles remain the same length as I tweak them (ETA: meaning, after I dragged out the initial point handles)?
Answer: This is a much needed feature.
As far as I'm aware, only 3rd party plug ins offer this. Better Handles was the best at this, but they are now gone. Bought out by Astute Graphics.... which has seemingly integrated the code into their PathScribe plug in. Which I believe is now part of their VectorScribe package (They have it, but I'm unsure which package PathScribe is actually part of now. It may be part of InkScribe.).
With PathScribe you can merely shift-click a handle to equalize the lengths, changing only the side of the path being equalized.

There may be a way to equalize while dragging. If there is, I'm unaware of it. I've never worried about it while dragging. I always reset to the smooth point and drag both handles when that's needed.
Other than that I think this is essentially a duplicate question:
How to adjust two handles equally? -- Nothing has really changed since that 2014 question.
VectorScribe 3 (new) seems to have more functionality for this: https://astutegraphics.com/software/vectorscribe/
Answer: Instead of using the Direct Select tool (white arrow), try using the Anchor Point tool (looks like a caret character). Clicking and dragging on an anchor will redraw it with equal length handles, and you can change the angle and length of the handles at the same time.
Comment: I meant once a point has already been traced


Is there a substitute for cheese salt?

Question: I've started to learn how to make cheese and all the recipes call for cheese salt. What is it about this particular salt that makes it different than others? Some of the reading I've done have a few comments that suggest there is no difference between cheese salt and fine table salt. Is there another substitute for cheese salt if for some reason in the future I can't get my hands on any? I'm mostly interested in making hard cheeses that will need to age for 3 to 6 months.
Comment: When I saw this in the HNQ, I assumed that "cheese salt" was some kind of cheese-flavoured salt, like garlic salt only cheesy.
Answer: Cheese salt is just non-iodized salt, generally in flake form; the iodine would interfere with the cultures, and flakes are good for salting surfaces. So kosher salt and flaky sea salt are both essentially the same thing and viable substitutes.
Comment: It's the concentration, I believe. Iodized salt has enough added to be a nutritional supplement, effectively.
Comment: Also, from Wikipedia on iodized salt: "An opened package of table salt with iodide may rapidly lose its iodine content through the process of oxidation and iodine sublimation." I suspect that sea salt might lose a fair bit of iodine the same way during production? I'll try to see if I can find actual numbers though.
Comment: Sea salt naturally contains iodine. If iodine interferes with cheese cultures, why is sea salt a viable substitute? Is it a question of the iodine *concentration*, or different *kind* of iodides?
Answer: Cheese salt basically is kosher salt. Look at this Curd Nerd page about salt to check out what others say.  Yes, it will make a difference; just buy non-iodized salt - which you should be able to get almost anywhere, methinks.
Comment: @JasonWhipple you might try connecting with the [Ohio Cheese Guild](http://www.ohiocheeseguild.org/) for resources, and lots more
Comment: My first attempt was a bit of a wreck. I didn't know about Ultra pasteurized milk but I was able to rescue it and came out with a nice ricotta.

Is there a substitute for cheese salt?


Good sources of protein for vegetarians?

Question: I am a 15-year-old vegetarian (and I don't eat eggs). Can anyone suggest good sources of vegetarian food with high protein content to improve my health?
Answer: Here are some good sources of protein:

hemp seeds (10g/2tbsp)
peanut butter (8g/2tbsp)
chia seeds (4g/2tbsp)
pumpkin seeds (7g/oz)
almonds (6g/oz)
seitan (6g/oz)
tempeh (30g/cup)
tofu (20g/cup)
black beans (15g/cup)
quinoa (8g/cup)
soy milk (8g/cup)
buckwheat (6g/cup)

Do you eat dairy? If you do, try:

cottage cheese (26g/cup)
Greek yogurt (20g/cup)

Note that these numbers are approximate (depending on the brand, etc.).
There are many other sources of protein, but I hope this provides you with a starting point.
Here is some more data:

Table of Protein (and Amino Acids) in Common Foods
List of Vegetarian Foods High in Protein


Litecoin privacy techniques

Question: What are the privacy techniques that used with Litecoin? and what are the differences between Bitcoin and Litecoin in privacy techniques?
Comment: As far as I know, Bitcoin and Litecoin implement transactions in exactly the same way, so the principles of privacy should be exactly the same for both.
Comment: + Litecoin is hardly used, so there's a much smaller pool of people to hide in (or mix with). Although I guess obscurity could be a plus in that no one is really interested in investigating it.
Answer: There is no substantial technical difference between Litecoin and Bitcoin transactions.
Litecoin does not offer any additional "privacy techniques". The only differences are:

address scheme: Litecoin addresses start with an L, Bitcoin standard addresses start wtih a 1.
Volume: Bitcoin volume is much higher, so it might be easier to obscure a payment among the other transactions.
Attention: Bitcoin might have more attention of law enforcement.

Note: The last two points are based on speculation.

Litecoin privacy techniques