Point someone to something

Question: Is it correct to write something along the lines of "She pointed me to a book of X." in the sense of "making me aware of it", "bringing it to my attention"?
Comment: @Barmar Yes, you're quite right, they could well be said to 'point you to ...'.  As Robert Forstag says at Kudoz, " 'Point us _to_ the station' would be fine." 'Point someone to' is used both near-literally (meaning 'give someone directions to') and more metaphorically (point someone towards a good textbook, ie suggest one). Though I certainly wouldn't arrogate " 'Point me at is ungrammatical', it sounds incongruously literal to my UK ears. 'Point me towards' would work, but carries more of a 'first stage along the path' connotation.
Comment: @EdwinAshworth: My English dictionary lists 28 meanings of point, one is "point to" another is "point something at someone" but none is "point *someone* to something", but at the same time this sounds correct to me as a non-native speaker.
Comment: @mbschenkel I've heard this from native speakers. A librarian might point you to the reference section.
Comment: Yes, it's pretty common. Another term often used is _referred me to_.
Comment: Have you looked up the different usages of _point_?
Comment: @Barmar No they would not. They would point you ***at*** the reference system, never *to*.
Comment: Now that you've shown evidence of research, I'm happy to . . . er . . . point you to a better match. [CDO](http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/point-sb-towards-in-the-direction-of-sth) has
 "point sb towards/in the direction of sth" › to suggest that someone should do or buy a particular thing:
_The salesman was trying to point us in the direction of the most expensive furniture in the showroom._' // For the metaphorical usage, and using _to_, there are 144 000 Google hits for  "point me to a source", eg "Can anyone point me to a source that explains when henna came to India."
Comment: https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=point+me+to+the&year_start=1800&year_end=2000&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2Cpoint%20me%20to%20the%3B%2Cc0
Comment: @EdwinAshworth Just to show you seem to be right about that, here's the [Ngram for "point them to/at"](https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=point+them+to%2C+point+them+at&year_start=1800&year_end=2000&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2Cpoint%20them%20to%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Cpoint%20them%20at%3B%2Cc0)
Comment: No way, it seems. None of the several meanings in its verb sense apply to "making someone aware of something", "bringing something to someone's attention", though at least one comes very close. The only use is the literal sense. http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/point?searchDictCode=all
Comment: @Kris Have you checked all the examples in OED before stating 'None of the several meanings in its verb sense apply ...'? And do you discount the 144 000 Google hits for "point me to a source", many of which will not envisage the use of an index finger? The 92 000 for "point them to a book"? The 303 000 for "point him to an article" ? Non-inclusion in dictionaries B, C and F is hardly proof of unacceptability. I'm quite familiar with the expression.
Comment: @EdwinAshworth "do you discount the 144 000 Google hits?" Yes. Do **not** use them in isolation. By the way, we could write to http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/words/contributing-oxford-dictionaries when we have enough credible supporting evidence.
Answer: Not only is the form you ask about reasonably common today, but use of it goes back more than 200 years. From a letter to Mr. Urban dated September 12, in The Gentleman's Magazine, and Historical Chronicle (September 1808):

Now, to arrest the attention of my friends, and dispose the friends of others who may think with me, with your leave, I will point them to what I am contemplating, if I may use such a word in the present instance, allowing that I am inclined, with all becoming deportment, if possible, again to marry.
...
To be more plain, I would miss having, or l would have no slothful Miss, no indigent Miss, no careless Miss, no dissipated Miss, no imprudent Miss, no ugly Miss, no idle Miss, no deformed Miss, no ignorant Miss.
Should these epithets occur, and my friends point me to a widow, they will kindly recollect my discrimination, though they laugh at me.

From "An Interesting Anecdote," in Episcopal Magazine (June 1820):

He [an eleven-year-old orphan from London] answered, 'When I was a little boy, about seven years of age, I became a Sunday scholar in London ; through the kind attention of my master, I soon learnt to read my Bible : this Bible, young as I was, shewed me that I was a sinner, and a great one too ; it also pointed me to a Saviour ; and I thank God that I have found mercy at the hands of Christ, and am not ashamed to confess him before the world."

From a debate on July 9, 1832, recorded in U.S. Congress, Register of Debates in Congress (1832):

He [Mr. Stanberry] said that Mr. Macon had always presided with great dignity, and had always asserted the rights of order. He had never flattered or cringed to those in power, when he held the chair of that House. Hr had never shaped his course to suit the Executive will, with a view to getting an appointment to a high office abroad. Mr.  S[tanberry] insisted that allusions to the opinions of the President were out of Order. I defy any gentleman, said he, to point me to a single decision to the contrary, until you presided over this body. And let me say that I have heard the remark frequently made, that the eyes of the Speaker are too frequently turned from the chair you occupy toward the White House.

All of these examples (and many later ones turned up in Google Books searches for the phrases "point me to a" and "pointed me to a" for the period 1800–2008) use the "point [someone] to [something]" structure in essentially the same way that the example in your question does—to mean "make [someone] aware of [something]" or "direct [someone's] attention to [something]."

Update (February 4, 2020): Some much earlier examples of the phrasing
A search of the Early English Books Online database yields matches that go back to the sixteenth century. Here are a few examples from the 1500s and 1600s.
From Thomas Norton, An Addition Declaratorie to the Bulles, with a Searching of the Maze Scene and Allowed (1570):

Such are not like to felonies, treason and offēders that they know, but they are like vnto those that when a felon or traitor is pursued, do helpe to hide hym, and conuey him into bie corners, and for the felons or traytors easier escape doe tell them that pursue hym that he is gone a contrarie way or geue them contrarie markes to kéepe them from knowing and attachyng him, or point them to a wrong persone while the very théefe or traitor may make shift for him selfe, yea and lend him some of their own clothes to disguise hym.

From Henry Smith, "A Looking Glasse for Christians," reprinted in The sermons of Maister Henrie Smith gathered into one volume (1593):

Touching the first point, the forbidden tree seemed to Eue a tree to bee desired, because it would teach them knowledge. Nature taught her that knowledge was a thing to be desired: Though the Serpent pointed her to a wrōg tree. For in deed the tree of life was the tree of knowledge. and when they went to the other tree, they chaunged their knowledge for ignorance, as they chaunged their holines for wickednes.

From Thomas Heywood, The Hierarchie of the Blessed Angells Their Names, Orders and Offices the Fall of Lucifer with His Angells (1635):

Now hauing sufficiently discoursed of Death, I will point you to a contented life, out of one of Martials Epigrams, not without great elegancie thus deliuered vnto vs: ...

From John Hall, Emblems with Elegant Figures (ca. 1648):

Oh for a Moses that would make / This rock of mine dissolve and break / To a clear stream where I might lie / Exempt from all this misery, / And bathe. Oh would some Angel sit / And point me to a welcom pit.

And from Richard Carpenter, The Pragmatical Jesuit (ca. 1665):

Lucifer. I swell into the Mountain Olympus. O, how I swell! I shall burst asunder: And there's a dreadfull tempest in my stomack. How, and where shall I empty my self? I know not where to bestow my troubled stomack, and my seditious belly. O good Females help me. O some kind body, point me to a secret place. O.
Answer: Yes, this is a pretty common usage. See Wiktionary.

(transitive) To direct or encourage (someone) in a particular direction. If he asks for food, point him toward the refrigerator.
Comment: @tchrist Hmmm. Don't think so. Here's the [Ngram for "point them to/at"](https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=point+them+to%2C+point+them+at&year_start=1800&year_end=2000&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2Cpoint%20them%20to%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Cpoint%20them%20at%3B%2Cc0)
Comment: That's with *toward*, not with *to*, let alone with *at* which is the most common.
Answer: Definition: Point as a verb
merriam-webster: to show someone where to look by moving your finger or an object held in your hand in a particular direction. Example:point the way to new knowledge — Elizabeth Hall
Used in the sense of 'towards', there this Example construction: merriam-webster: We can leave when the minute hand points to 12.
Standard idiomatic usage says:

point to {something}

Expression: "She pointed me to a book of X."
Correct usage: 'point to {something}'
Here, {Something} = 'book of X'
However, there is another object ('me') to consider.
The plausible construction is: [Subject] [pointed to] [Small Object] [Something]
In conclusion, the 'to' is not for 'me' but for the verb 'point' and the object 'book'. Idiomatically, there is no better place to insert the other object 'me' in that sentence other than  'point to' and  'book'.
Comment: I'm not sure if I've just overlooked it, but I can't seem to find the exact expression in the merriam-webster link you provide... _Could you point me to it?_  :-)
Comment: :D My pleasure. point -> verb ->transitive verb -> 4 a (2) :  to direct someone's attention to  —usually used with out or up  .   [http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/point]
Answer: As others have indicated, the usage seems established, if only by dint of previous usage. However, I find it an awkward expression because it is imprecise, ambiguous (perhaps only to those of us who over-think), and requires interpretation.
The problem is with, "She pointed me..."

Does it mean, "She physically re-positioned me (to face in a particular direction)? Probably not. But, if it did, why not just say that, i.e., "She turned me to (toward) book X on a table."
Does it mean, "She directed my attention; she suggested (something or other)"? Probably. So why not just say that?

In other words, the precise meaning of the sentence is delayed until the word "to" is integrated with "she pointed..."  The "me" is unnecessary and confuses (to some, admittedly slight, degree) the point of the sentence. What is gained by its inclusion? What is lost by its exclusion?

Point someone to something


Is it ok if my transferred wort has some undissolved hops in it?

Question: Today I brewed my first 5 gallon batch. A pumpkin ale! Super stoked, but it was hard to avoid getting some of the undissolved hops in it as I transferred the force chilled wort to the primary fermenter with a siphon. Will that affect my primary fermentation? I originally just wanted to do a primary even though it calls for a secondary because the brewer thought it was too pumpkin pie-ish. But, if I need to transfer it anyways to make it cleaner I will.
Answer: You'll be fine.  I don't think it will affect your primary fermentation to any noticeable degree as far as homebrewing is concerned.  You'll need to siphon again to bottle or keg.  You can also use cheesecloth or a nylon bag to hop with to keep this to a minimum.   I'd love to see your recipe, I'm big on pumpkin beers too.... tis the season!
Comment: Jeff, I basically followed a YouTube video. But here is the recipe:  7 pounds of pale malt extract, 1 pound of maris otter, .5 lbs of Munich, 1oz of fuggle hops. Bake about 3 pounds of baked pumpkin cut into 1 inch cubes. After seeping the maris otter and Munich in one gallon of 150 degree water, add it to the 5 gallon of boiling water with the malt extract, pumpkin and hops. Boil 60 minutes. At flame out add a handful of pumpkin spice. Pitch Safale-US-05. After a week of fermenting, bake 3 more pounds of pumpkin, half way through adding 4oz of molasses and 4oz maple syrup.
Answer: Hops don't dissolve. They basically come in 3 forms (whole, pellet and extract which is very rare for homebrewers).  The whole hops are easy to spot (they'll be those leaves floating on top of your wort). Pelletized hops break up and are normally found in the bottom of your boil kettle.  If they make it into your fermenter, it's not a problem.  Heck, you can even drop and once or seven into your secondary (this practice is called "dry hopping" and it's common with IPAs).
Comment: Jeff, I basically followed a YouTube video. But here is the recipe:
Comment: Add the pumpkin baked with molasses and syrup to second fermenter, siphon to second fermenter. One more week of fermenting, then bottle, two weeks of bottling with carbonation obviously. And that's it.


What's the best way to secure lighttpd per fcgi-php app?

Question: I have a machine with lighttpd and evhost setup. All the evhost contain various php apps like wordpress, drupal etc. If one of the php apps gets compromised the attacker will have access to all the php apps in evhost root. Is it possible to close each php app in a 'kind of chroot' and still enable sftp access to all evhosts (that is not to change their file permissions/set them separate owners)? The less effort the better, plus I don't want any solutions that involve restarting lighttpd after adding new php-app/vhost. If it's not possible - maybe there are some options that would enchance security a bit?
Answer: spawn-fcgi helps you to run the PHP interpreter in a chroot environment (and start it under another UID/GID). Examples for this can be found in the spawn-fcgi respectively the lighttpd wiki. With this method, however, you need to restart/reload lighttpd every time you add a new virtual host (or more precisely: the PHP configuration part of a virtual host).
Answer: This is definitely not an elegant solution, but you could possibly run a bunch of lighttpd instances, each one chrooted and then put them all behind a reverse proxy that routes the traffic appropriately.
At the very least, you could isolate some of the sites so that if one lighttpd instance is compromised, it only affects some vhosts and not the rest of them. So, assuming that you have 3 instances running, you can for example, split the vhosts among the three instances.
In fact, you may even want to consider using a mixture of web servers so that vulnerabilities that affect one may still be stopped by another.
Just something to consider, perhaps.


Socializing a puppy without all of the vaccinations

Question: I have a 10 week old puppy, but since she is too young she doesn't have all her shots. Should I wait till she's 16 weeks old to introduce her to new puppies or should I just introduce her to adult dogs with all their shots?
Answer: No, no, don't wait!!!! There are critical periods of brain development for a puppy that end around 12 weeks for socialization, so it is very important to have your puppy meet many other dogs. That being said, you want to be careful where you do this: Avoid dog parks, for example, where you do not know all of the dog owners. A great place to meet multiple dogs is a puppy kindergarten training class. If you have friends with dogs and know that they are vaccinated, then by all means introduce your puppy to them. Just be careful to introduce them slowly, as some dogs might be less tolerant of a puppy's energy and bad manners.
Answer: I'm curious as to why she does not have all her shots yet. In Australia, the standard of vaccination is the first ones at 8 weeks, then 12 weeks and the third at 16 weeks then when they are 1 year old. I would be cautious about introducing her to vaccinated dogs as she may have something and give it to the vaccinated dogs. Vaccinations are not a barrier against the diseases but merely a preventative measure. I would speak with your vet about any dog owners who would be happy to have your pup playing with them. I completely agree with @jalynn2 about no dog parks.
Comment: she was given to us with her 6-8 week shots and we have a appointment set with a vet to update her vaccines @furreal training
Answer: This sounds like you don't have access to other puppies whose history you know, so I wouldn't do this. In less interesting times, you could potentially find a puppy class where at least the instructor has verified that all puppies are appropriately vaccinated and the floors are disinfected before each puppy class. That can potentially also have pitfalls, but because it's likely not available to you at all right now, those don't matter.
You can socialize puppies to lots of things without necessarily putting her in contact with other dogs right now. The important thing is to expose her to a lot of different stimuli, so that when she's older she will take new experiences in stride. Here are some things it's a good idea to do with puppies regardless of whether you have access to other known, trusted dogs. Note that it can be better to use adults that are known to be good with puppies if you have access to them.

Play dress up. Put on hats, overcoats, those weird hair bands with springs and hearts or balls on the top, whatever you can think of. Masks are really popular this year.
Get the puppy to make noises that might otherwise startle her. For example, a buster cube can be kind of noisy. Put it in the bathtub to create positive associations for bath time. Hide treats in a stack of bowls and let her knock them over to find the treats. Start with maybe heavy plastic, then move to metal as she gains confidence.
Take her off your premises at least twice a week. Even watching the world go by from your open car window or door is helpful. If she's confident, walking her around a parking lot where there's a decent amount of activity (hopefully not too much, for your safety) will also help. You can make some of these outings to places like pet stores and, again, your puppy can watch from your arms or your car. Parks are also a good place to watch people and animals go by. If park benches are open in your town, you can sit on one and watch the activity (disinfect first!)

Good luck! I know you will really enjoy your puppy.


How to get medicines in Canada?

Question: While you can carry your Schedule F medication when returning from abroad you are not allowed to receive it in the mail (http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/dhp-mps/compli-conform/import-export/gui-0084_biu-uif-eng.php). So what do expats do in Canada if they are taking medication not available in North America and don't want to change their treatment???? I am nonplussed and noone seems to be able or want to help.
Comment: Welcome to expatriates.SE.  How sure are you that the medicine you take isn't available in Canada?  I don't mean particular brand but the medicine.
Comment: I think that these are standard dosages but there are usually dosages available in smaller like 100mg, so I would check that first.  BTW what's the active ingridient if you don't mind?
Comment: Well, getting *different* medicine, I suppose, is just a matter of going through the right doctor(s). But the question is not changing the medicine.
Comment: Of course, there are medicines with the same active ingredients but the dose is wrong -- I need 600mg a day and only 250mg and 500gr seems to be available.  (and altogether I'd be extremely wary of switching after decades).
Comment: For the archives: yes, 125mg is also available and I switched medicines and I am still alive. Small miracles.
Answer: There is not a lot of "active ingridients" in various medicines that are not allowed in US or Canada but are allowed elsewhere in the world.  Chances are that the medicine you seek is available in Canada under a different brand name or as a generic.
If the issue is specific dosage then again you should look to see what is available because same medicine may be available in various dosages so for example 600mg of X is the same as 6x100mg of X though the number of tablets/injections will be more.
In addition to that any chronic condition need to be monitored by a doctor to make sure that it is unchanged and the drug is still effective (especially if the condition persists over decades).
So having said all that if you want a particular brand of particular medication with particular dosage that is not available in the country then your only option is to have someone or yourself bring this particular medication from the country where it is available.
Comment: you are parotting the official line which is really dubious https://www.epilepsy.com/learn/professionals/diagnosis-treatment/therapeutic-and-generic-substitutions/article-generic-and . Lucrative for sure but this doesn't answer the question which was "and not change their treatment". I did but it was a really risky process.

How to get medicines in Canada?


Why can I sometimes access Static objects' elements and sometimes not?

Question: I'm making a game in Unity and I learned to make my Player object static for reference by other objects quickly and easily. So I have a "public static Player player." I remember when I first made this and began referencing it, some scripts were telling me that I could not access certain things without a local instantiation. So I made a Player p and set it equal to Player.player and it then allowed me to reference its functions and variables. It seemed like I could have some kind of access like reading not writing or just accessing variables but not function calls without a local reference, but I later found I could access anything without the local reference. I was then able to get rid of the local references completely in scripts that were originally not able to access the elements without it. I have no idea what changed. Now, however, I'm making a static SaveData object and I'm running into the same issue. Things I'm accessing with Player.player is not working with my SaveData.saveData. What is going on? What could possibly be different? When can I and can't I access this stuff without a local reference?
Comment: You should post what's not being accessible on your savedata class.
Answer: You might be confusing the concepts of Access (who is allowed access data) and Allocation (where is data stored in memory). I hope the following explanation clears things up for you!
Access
Access refers to who is allowed to access objects of an object. You can specify this for both data ("who can read/write a variable?") and functions ("who can execute this function?") You will use three keywords for this:

Public: any other object can see this variable/function
Protected: only the object itself and derived classes can see this variable/function
Private: only the object itself can see this variable/function

Here's an example to grasp the concept:
class Enemy {
private:
    unsigned int m_id;
protected:
    unsigned int m_health;
public:
    void DamageMe(unsigned int damage_amount);
};

Let's say you have a class called Enemy that represents an enemy in your game. You want to give each enemy a unique ID, so you can retrieve it later. This ID is assigned upon creation via the constructor, and you never want it to change! Therefore, you mark it as private. This way, only the enemy class can initialize the ID, and it can not be messed up by derived classes or other classes.
Additionally, you want to store the enemy's health. We don't want any other object to go change the enemy's health willy-nillily, as we wanna be sure to trigger the right animations, and invincibility frames when the enemy gets hit. However, if we later decide to implement a more specific enemy that derives from the Enemy class, it should be able to modify its health. You might for example create class HealingEnemy : public Enemy that heals itself up from time to time. Therefore, we mark it as protected. This way only the class itself and its derivatives can change the variable.
Finally, we want to be able to damage the enemy. We do this via a clean function, so that we can take care of animations and invincibility frames. We want any other game object to be able to cause damage to the enemy. Therefore we mark the function as public. This means any object that has a reference to the variable can execute the member function.
Allocation
Allocation refers to where data is stored in memory. There are two options:

Member/Local: the data / function applies individually to each instance of the class
Static: the data / function is shared among all individuals of the class

Here's an example to grasp this:
class Enemy {
    unsigned int m_health;
    static unsigned int number_of_enemies_created;

    void DamageMe(unsigned int damage_amount);
    static unsigned int GetNumberOfEnemies();
};

Let's say we create 3 instances of the class Enemy. We want each of these to individually store their health. After all, if we punch one enemy in the face for 5 damage, we don't want the health of the others to change. Therefore we use a local/member variable (no keyword used to specify this). By typing my_enemy_1.m_health we will get the health of that specific Enemy instance. Notice that we use a specific instance of Enemy to access this variable to specify which enemy we want to retrieve the health of.
Additionally, we want to keep count of how many enemies we have created. This number doesn't really belong to a specific instance of the Enemy class. It's a property of the class itself. Therefore we use a static variable (using the static keyword). By typing Enemy::number_of_enemies_created we get the total number of enemies. Notice that we don't specify a specific instance name to access this variable! We use the class to access this static variable.
Similarly, we can mark functions as local (no keyword) or static (static keyword). We want the function DamageMe to apply to one specific enemy, not all enemies at once! In contrary, GetNumberOfEnemies applies across all instances of the Enemy class, therefore we mark it as a static function. Calls to these functions would look like this: my_enemy_1.DamageMe(5); and Enemy::GetNumberOfEnemies();. Once again, notice how we use a specific instance's name in the local case, and the class name in the static case.
Where access problems can occur
From the information you've given, I can really see what exactly is going on. There's one problem that causes access problems that often occurs when using static functions/variables. You cannot access local/member properties from a static function!
Let's say you are implementing the void DamageMe(unsigned int damage_amount); function:
void DamageMe(unsigned int damage_amount) {
    m_health -= damage_amount;
    if (m_health <= 0) { number_of_enemies--; }
}

This will work just fine. As DamageMe is a local/member function, it is executed on a specific instance of the Enemy class (e.g. my_enemy_1). The compiler therefore knows whose "m_health" to reduce. Additionally, if the enemy dies, we can reduce the number_of_enemies counter by one, as it is a property of the class, there is only one of this variable.
Now let's say we implement static unsigned int GetNumberOfEnemies(); like this:
static unsigned int GetNumberOfEnemies() {
    PrintMessage("My health is: " + m_health);
    return number_of_enemies;
}

Your compiler will violently complain reading this. We are trying to print the enemy's health, and then we return the total number of enemies. This last part is fine. We can retrieve a static variable in a static function, as there is only one copy of the number_of_enemies variable. When we try to retrieve m_health, things go wrong. The compiler has no way of knowing what instance of Enemy you are trying to read the health of. After all, its a static function (and it is called as Enemy::GetNumberOfEnemies()). There might not even be an instance of enemy yet!
I suspect that this is what is going wrong in your code. To fix it, consider whether you really need your Player class to be static. Maybe there is a different way to retrieve it. For example you could have a different object keep track of all player instances in the game world with an interface such as:
class PlayerTracker {
    static std::vector<Player*> m_players;
    static void RegisterPlayer(Player* player);
    static Player* GetPlayer(unsigned int id);
    static std::vector<Player*> GetAllPlayers();
}

You could even add all of these functions to your player class and keep the Player class members itself non-static. Hope this helps!
Comment: The prototype code is c++ code, but the concept are similar in C#. Also, these are obviously simplified examples, compared to real-world classes. But I hope the concepts are more understandable like this!
Answer: Okay, I figured it out. I knew the right way to do it but it turns out I wasn't actually doing it the way I knew to do it. The problem was that I was trying to reference the non-static elements directly rather than going through the static element within it. For example, I was trying to reference SaveData.someArray[i] rather than SaveData.saveData.someArray[i]. No one could have known that of course, especially since I claimed I was doing it right in the question. I'll mark the other answer as right since it does hold all the correct information.
Comment: From that example, it looks like you're using a [singleton pattern](http://gameprogrammingpatterns.com/singleton.html) - is that right?


Spectral Signature Extraction using landsat 7 and MODIS

Question: I am working on differentiating cocoa plants from other vegetation types using 4 epoch bwt 1980-2010. I need to extract the spectral signature for cocoa plants and other known features. I plan using landsat or MODIS imagery. How can I do this using either ArcGIS, Erdas, Envi or Idrisi?
Comment: Welcome to the site!  Could you please edit your question and define "4 epoch bwt 1980-2010"?
Answer: Draw polygons with ArcGIS. The polygons are areas with a specific type of vegetation. You have some areas FROM Landsat 7 and MODIS. You want to "export" the spectral signature of these areas. With ArcGIS you can use "zonal statistics as a table" to extract the mean spectral values for each band and within your polygon. You can run it in batch mode (right click on the tools > batch) to have the values related to each band of each satellite.


How should I convince my mom that my beer isn't poison?

Question: I recently picked up a Mr. Beer DIY Northwest Pale Ale Beer Brewing Kit, and when I told my Mom I was brewing some homemade beer. She said she wouldn't drink it because it might be poison. Is there any why to explain to my mom that my beer would be quite safe to drink?
Comment: Welcome to the site, DWMII. I hope you get some good answers to your question.
Answer: I think the first step in attempting to change a belief of another person is always to understand why they hold that view. That can even help with determining how likely you are to be successful. For example, if her concern is that you may be actively trying to poison her, you're probably not very likely to change her mind. But if instead her concern is just that you may screw up something and produce a contaminated and therefore unsafe drink, that may be easier to handle. But you would use a different argument than if her concern was that you obtained the ingredients from an untrusted source.
To address the latter two options, the simplest way may just be too brew your beer, drink in on several occasions, and then have your continued health be the evidence that it's not poisonous. This has the added benefit of checking it first to make sure it tastes reasonably good (poisonous or not if it doesn't come out well you may want to wait till next time to have her try it).
Attacking it from a more logical perspective, there are a few other arguments you can make:

Beer was, for quite some time, a product that was made more because it was safe to drink than because it was tasty. Not being able to trust their water sources, brewing beer was a way to make a drink that was not only less likely to make your sick but also an important source of nutrition.
From the research I've done, I couldn't find any instance of someone becoming dangerously sick from homebrew. Maybe the occasional upset stomach or bathroom problems but as long as you're being reasonable about cleaning and sanitizing the equipment an infected batch is almost certainly just a matter of it tasting bad, not a matter of your health.
A big part of the reason for the above points is that the alcohol produced during fermentation should be enough to inhibit the growth of any dangerous microorganisms. That should hold true for even extremely low ABV beers (<1%).

Unless you're using dirty, hand-me-down equipment and either aren't cleaning it or aren't properly sanitizing it, you shouldn't be able to end up with anything dangerous*. Even then you're more likely to just end up with something you don't like. Long story short, if it tastes and smells good, you'll be fine.
* One caveat here: bottle grenades are a serious issue and can be dangerous. Make sure you clean and sanitize your bottles well and don't bottle until your beer has reached its final gravity. That said, this is more of a physical safety issue than something that makes the beer unsafe to drink.
Comment: Thank you for your intricate and detailed answer. This has given me the most insight of all the answers as to, not only what I need to be doing in order to follow a safe brewing process, but how I can brew better beer and why I should brew better beer. I love the history you gave and your advice and manner is top-notch!
Comment: This really is the best answer. People don't need to have their minds changed. Sometimes, you'll find that changing someone's mind leads to them having a resentment for you for convincing them to break with their beliefs. I have a friend that won't drink because four of their close friends were killed by drunk drivers. They might like it; but, is more of a way to remember them.
Answer: To the other answers I would add: point out that you're working from a kit.  Like prepared kits for bread-machine bread, stir-fry sauces, and spice mixes, your beer kit is designed to minimize variables and avoid beginner mistakes.  If you follow the instructions in the kit, you can't screw it up -- and if you did, the worst outcome would be that you don't like the taste.  (Assuming your equipment is clean.)
Your mother, not being a brewer, probably has no idea what's involved.  If you explain the kit concept by comparing it to kits she's already familiar with, you should be able to persuade her that your kit is safe.
Answer: Perhaps your mom is thinking that home brewing is like home canning, where a mistake can have disastrous results like growing botulism toxin. A little research into that problem shows that one of the common precautions in home canning is to add citrus juice or vinegar to the mixture of food being processed, and that it isn't required for tomato-based recipes such as stewed tomatoes or pasta sauce. Why does this help? Because there are no known pathogens that can live in acidic solutions, and citrus, vinegar and tomatoes all have relatively low pH.
And this is why home brewing is a safe pastime: wort is naturally too acidic to support pathogen growth. Any microorganisms that grow in wort are safe to consume. Most of them will affect the flavor of the beer, and that is why we do our best to control them, but none of them can harm you.
Comment: She also might have the idea that making beer is like making bathtub gin and all the horror stories that are associated with that.  I experienced that misconception when I first started brewing ("Is that even legal?").
Answer: Does she bake? If she does, and especially if she bakes bread, then ask her how you know her baked goods aren't poison. Beer has been known as liquid bread for many centuries for good reason; it contains essentially the same ingredients (with a bit of hop for taste so you may have to term it herb bread). If she doesn't agree that home-baked bread could be poison as much as homemade beer could be then she is being irrational. That leads me to the second idea. Does she trust commercial beers not to be poison? Why? They are made in a chemical factory. This is a chemical factory holding tonnes of potentially lethal chemicals (particularly the chemicals used to clean the vessels but also if you have a bag of barley fall on you it is lethal(!)). Large commercial breweries (Heineken etc. rather than, say, Sambrook's) are even worse as they inject all kinds of chemicals into the natural product to keep it from spoiling and to add fizz.
The only reason why she should be worried is if she doesn't trust you and, in the end, if your mother doesn't trust you to make food or drink no one can solve that.
Comment: I see your point, I come from an "alcohol kills everything nasty" culture so hadn't thought of that. I'd mention the bread thing though for non organically produced poisons. It can't hurt to mention that the ingredients are non-harmful!
Comment: While I definitely get where you're coming from and think that your second point (about commercial breweries and the chemicals used) I'm a bit hesitant about the initial point about bread.  With bread you apply heat post-fermentation.  Any microorganisms in the dough should be killed during this process and at the end you're left with a product that is pretty definitively just food.  With beer, especially homebrew, heat is applied prior to fermentation.  Especially for bottle-conditioned beer, there is live yeast (and possibly other microorganisms) that you are ingesting along with the beer.
Comment: Experience tells us that ingesting these microorganisms is safe, of course, but that's not necessarily obvious or to be taken for granted.  Especially when you consider that many breweries filter out the yeast before packaging, a step that is generally impractical on a homebrew scale but may add an additional sense of comfort for some consumers.
Comment: I see your point there. Thank you, MD-Tech. It's a trust issue.


Play! - Expecting a stack map frame in method controllers

Question: I am using the Security module for my Play! application and had it working at one point, but for some reason I did something to make it stop working.  I am getting the following errors:

Execution exception VerifyError occured : Expecting a stack map frame
  in method
  controllers.Secure$Security.authentify(Ljava/lang/String;Ljava/lang/String;)Z
  at offset 33
In {module:secure}/app/controllers/Secure.java (around line 61)

I saw the post below, but, even though I am using Java 7, it looks like Play! works ok with 7 now.  I am using Play 1.2.4.
VerifyError; Expecting a stack map frame in method controllers.Secure$Security.authentify
Here is my Security controller:
<code>package controllers;

import models.*;

public class Security extends Secure.Security {

    public static boolean authenticate(String username, String password) {
        User user = User.find("byEmail", username).first();
        return user != null && user.password.equals(password);
    }
}
</code>
Answer: seems to be a common issue with 1.7 (cobertura has the same issue).
Down grade to 1.6, do a play clean and it starts working for me again.


Difference between Sampajanna and Vipassana

Question: If Sampajanna is clear comprehension and Vipassana is clearly seeing how or are they distinguishable?
Answer: Sampajanna is a prerequisite for right concentration. Vipassana is a result of right concentration.
Mindfulness > sampajanna > concentration > vipassana > liberation > nibbana
Sampajanna is a product of active volition & mindfulness; what is called 'wise or careful attention' (yonisomanasikāro); as described in AN 10.61:

Mindfulness and clear comprehension, too, I say, have a nutriment; they are not without nutriment. And what is the nutriment for mindfulness and clear comprehension? It should be said: careful attention (yonisomanasikāro). AN 10.61

Vipassana is the automatic seeing of ultimate truth that occurs when the mind is clear & concentrated, as described in AN 11.2.

For a person whose mind is concentrated, there is no need for an act of will, 'May I know & see things as they actually are.' It is in the nature of things that a person whose mind is concentrated knows & sees things as they actually are. AN 11.2

Sampajanna (applied wisdom) is the preliminary wisdom that mindfulness (remembering; recollection) brings to mind to establish meditation. Again, to quote AN 10.61:

The four establishments of mindfulness, too, I say, have a nutriment; they are not without nutriment. And what is the nutriment for the four establishments of mindfulness? It should be said: ... mindfulness and clear comprehension. AN 10.61

For example, when meditation is established, sampajanna applies the types of wisdoms listed below, when required:

observing breathing brings peace therefore it is beneficial to observe the breathing

craving & attachment cause suffering & disturbances therefore I should meditate without craving & attachment

this hindrance harms myself & harms another therefore it should be abandoned

Bhikkhu Buddhadasa has explained 'sampajanna' & 'vipassana' below:

sampajanna, wisdom-in-action, ready comprehension, clear comprehension: the specific application of  panna as required in a
given situation.
vipassana, insight: literally, "clear seeing," to see clearly, distinctly, directly into the true nature of  things, into
aniccam-dukkham-anatta. Vipassana is popularly used for mental
development practiced for the sake of true insight. In such cases, the
physical posture, theory, and method of such practices must not be
confused with true realization of impermanence, unsatisfactoriness,
and not-self. Vipassana cannot be taught.
SAMPAJAÑÑA
Sampajanna is wisdom as it meets up with and immediately confronts a problem, as it deals with and wipes
out that problem -- this is wisdom-in-action. It is only that wisdom
specifically related and applied to a particular situation or event.
The word "wisdom" (paññä) encompasses many
meanings and understandings, we can't even begin to estimate its
content. However, the word "sampajanna" is far more limited in its
meaning. It is exactly that wisdom directly needed for the problem
that confronts us. Active wisdom isn't general, it is a matter of
particulars.
We can compare wisdom (paññä) with the medicine chest in our house. In it we store a wide variety of drugs, pills, capsules, ointments, powders,
and syrups for possible use. When we're actually sick, we must choose
from among the many the one drug which will be effective in treating
our ailment. We can't take them all; we take just what is needed to
cure our illness here and now. The same is true for wisdom. Understand
that there's an incredible amount of what we call paññä,
but that we only apply a little bit at a time. We apply just that
portion which can take care of the immediate situation. Know how to
use the Dhamma, the paññä, which is exactly relevant to our situation
and problem. The Dhamma or wisdom which controls that situation and
problem is what we call "sampajanna."
The Scientific Cure of Spiritual Disease
Answer: In short Sati with Sampajanna is Samma Sati which is Vipassana.

From this it becomes evident that according to the Buddha, whenever there is sammasati or satipatthana, it is always with sampajanna. That means it is with panna (wisdom). Otherwise it is mere sati, which is mere remembrance or awareness.

Source: Sampajanna-the Constant Thorough Understanding of Impermanence by VRI
Comment: Sati is not vipassana, seriously. sammasati, in maggasacca, is adhicittasikkha, in tisikkha.
Comment: Sati + Sampajanna = Vipassana
Comment: So, sati+sampajanna are sila and samadhi, too.
Comment: This is Right Mindfulness which comes under Samadhi
Comment: Seriously. Sati and sampajañña always appear in the third jhāna context, too. Sati-Sampajañña of Right Mindfulness in 3th jhāna is samatha.  It is not just vipassanā. Sati-Sampajañña is sīla and samatha, too. The example "pītiyā ca virāgā upekkhako ca vihāsiṃ sato ca sampajāno, sukhañca kāyena paṭisaṃvedesiṃ". You must memorize tipitaka, to learn it. You can not just read it to understand tipitaka.
Answer: In sampajaññaṃ 4 --asammohasampajañña is vipassana.
sampajaññaṃ 4 = clear comprehension; clarity of consciousness; awareness

sātthakasampajaññaṃ - clear comprehension of purpose.
sappāyasampajaññaṃ - clear comprehension of suitability.
gocarasampajaññaṃ - clear comprehension of the domain in physical
and mind.
asammohasampajañña - clear comprehension of non-delusion, or of reality.

see: http://84000.org/tipitaka/dic/d_item.php?i=189
Comment: asammohasampajañña  is not vipassana. asammohasampajañña is viewing the mind during meditation and knowing clearly the mind is not meditating with self-view & other delusions. kind regards
Comment: @Dhammadhatu Vipassanā in bhaṅgañaṇa-uddesa (k.n.paṭisam.) refer to balava-vipassanā. So the lower ñāṇa also vipassanā, too. Because dhammaṭṭhitiñāṇa, in paṭisambhidāmagga, contemplate about paṭiccasamuppāda, too.
Comment: Sampajañña, in the third of 4 samādhibhāvanā in saṅgītisutta also is
 taught "See vatthu of vedanā to make it apparent for sampajañña". This method also is appear in visuddhimagga diṭṭhivisuddhiniddesa (method to do when the nāma are not appear to ñāṇa). See the sutta context and it's commentary for more detail.


Is lambda calculus only applicable if syntax trees are binary branching?

Question: Lambda expressions are evaluated "hierarchically"--we resolve functions in the daughter node before we resolve functions in the mother node. In a given constituency, a sister node may define a variable for a lambda expression. But if there are three sister nodes, there will be ambiguity as to which order the variables get assigned. Does this mean that syntax trees must be binary branching in order for lambda calculus to work?
Comment: Another excellent question!
Answer: Applicable to what? Meaning assembly? For this, λ-calculus is used only in categorical grammars, which are binary-branching by definition.
In syntactic frameworks with a context-free backbone, glue semantics (based on linear logic) is used at times, but it has problems, too.
Meaning assembly via composition rules is best done using unification. If one uses Davidsonian (or neo-Davidsonian, i.e., Parsonsian) logical forms, every phrase (including preterminals) is associated with an LF fragment and an individual. If you have a ternary (or, in general, a nonbinary) rule, the individual of a subordinated phrase is unified with a variable in the LF fragment of the head. For example, the predicate of "give" is quaternary and the corresponding rule is VP -> V NP NP. Then the individual associated with V (the eventuality) is unified with that of VP. The individual associated with the indirect object is unified with the fourth argument of the predicate of the verb, etc. The subject variable remains open until it's unified later by another rule. Since (neo-)Davidsonian formulae are existentially closed conjunctions of literals, when the parsing is completed we take all literals used during parsing to be conjuncts and add a quantifier for each variable occurring in the LF.
The above procedure can be informally described as a "relaxed" lambda calculus, but rather than replace variables we unify them. It can also be used in dependency grammars if we add unifications to ID rules.


product re-design

Question: Which methods aside from user testing are suitable when designing for product re-design? Participatory design is an option but wanted to explore some other methods.
Answer: To add to the above answers, It is good to do analysis on what are the pros and cons of an existing site, moreover, you can do SWOT(Strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats) type of analysis.
Identifying your website's strengths and weaknesses will benefit on new designs.
Answer: What do you mean by optimization?
I don't think participatory design is the right way to design for optimization . Participatory design is a way to get buy-in / permission to make design changes from other people within the company.
Optimization usually means you are trying to improve something when compared to different options, it's a quantitative method. It's usually done via A / B tests with few variables as possible. You do solution A x B, check that B is successful, then you do B x C check that B is successful, then you do B vs D and check that D is successful.
IF you want to improve a product in general for the user you could use a north star metric. Example, for something like Uber it could be completed rides per user. The product is usually "successful" when it becomes sticky (habit-forming).
Comment: thanks for the feedback; we are not trying to compare designs rather improve/re-design a feature.
Comment: Can you be more specific? What kind of feature in what kind of application?What is the goal of the feature? what is the user goal?
Answer: One of the best and easy ways is to go through all the reviews of products in that category.
for ex. If I had to re-design a furniture website, I would go through google reviews of all furniture websites and stores, this gives a lot of genuine insights about a user and can help you come up with amazing insights, features and ideas for re-design

product re-design


Why did Jesus say that he has not come to bring peace in Matthew 10:34?

Question: Matthew 10:34 (NIV)

Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword

Jesus is the very epitome of bringing peace. There must be some context in which these words of Jesus are applicable.
Comment: It's interesting that peace and sword are used in the LXX in the context of lying prophets and they made the opposite claim Jesus was making *"Then I said: "Ah, Lord God, behold, the prophets say to them, 'You shall **not see the sword**, nor shall you have famine, but I will **give you assured peace** in this place.'""
Jeremiah 14:13*
Comment: The early Christians, including Christ, were persecuted.
Answer: The context indeed surrounds the verse, and it's about forsaking worldly happiness for the sake of the truth, the gospel, and He is preparing them to go into the world and preach it, which will be met with opposition:

Matthew 10:28-40 (DRB) And fear ye not them that kill the body, and are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him that can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and not one of them shall fall on the ground without your Father. 30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear not therefore: better are you than many sparrows. 32 Every one therefore that shall confess me before men, I will also confess him before my Father who is in heaven. 33 But he that shall deny me before men, I will also deny him before my Father who is in heaven. 34 Do not think that I came to send peace upon earth: I came not to send peace, but the sword. 35 For I came to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. 36 And a man's enemies shall be they of his own household. 37 He that loveth father or mother more than me, is not worthy of me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than me, is not worthy of me. 38 And he that taketh not up his cross, and followeth me, is not worthy of me. 39 He that findeth his life, shall lose it: and he that shall lose his life for me, shall find it. 40 He that receiveth you, receiveth me: and he that receiveth me, receiveth him that sent me.

"The sword" as used in the dichtomous 'sword vs. peace' trope is symbolic of the opposite of shalom (peace, safety, wellbeing) (Jeremiah 4:10; 12:12; 14:13-14; cf. Revelation 6:4), not a call to violence as some have claimed ignorantly about this passage, rending it from its context.
Jesus is preparing them for a hostile world which hates the truth: He tells them the truth of the gospel will break up families ("a man's enemies shall be they of his own household"), and, I think, even martyrdom ("fear ye not them that kill the body;" "he that shall deny me;" "he that shall lose his life for my sake" etc.).
The division is a necessary evil, not one He directly intends, in bringing the truth to a world of darkness. Jesus uses hyperbole in virtually all His teaching, since it leaves the most lasting impression on its hearers (it being at that time an almost exclusively oral culture in most respects). When He says something so very obviously opposite what He really is bringing (lasting peace, "shalom"—wellbeing, safety or peace), one understands right away that He is speaking of what His teaching and mission will cause, not what He 'wants to happen' (as if Christ wanted people to be divided directly).
We see this in John 16:

John 16:1-3, 20-22, 32-33 (DRB)
These things have I spoken to you, that you may not be scandalized. 2 They will put you out of the synagogues: yea, the hour cometh, that whosoever killeth you, will think that he doth a service to God. 3 And these things will they do to you; because they have not known the Father, nor me.  ... Amen, amen I say to you, that you shall lament and weep, but the world shall rejoice; and you shall be made sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. 21 A woman, when she is in labour, hath sorrow, because her hour is come; but when she hath brought forth the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world. 22 So also you now indeed have sorrow; but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice; and your joy no man shall take from you.  ... Behold, the hour cometh, and it is now come, that you shall be scattered every man to his own, and shall leave me alone; and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. 33 These things I have spoken to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you shall have distress: but have confidence, I have overcome the world.

We see that Jesus in one sense 'comes to bring expulsion from Synagogues, martyrdoms, not peace,' and yet it is the peace that He speaks of which intrinsically involves 'birth pangs,' most especially denial of self (Matthew 16:24; 1 Peter 2:21) but the ultimate result is everlasting peace: everything really worth having is worth sacrificing for, and so is everlasting peace, and the dynamic of suffering for a greater end does not stop at the Cross, but is lived through Christ in all Christians who partake in His Passion (Galatians 2:20; Colossians 1:24): what is done to receive the reward of eternal life is not done to earn what is already earned, but to partake in what has been earned already by Christ.
Comment: Good answer. +1.  You might improve this by quoting some other references such as John 16:33, 1 Cor 7:28, 2 Tim 1:4, Heb 13:12, 13, 1 Peter 2:21.
Comment: Agreed. Good answer. +1.
Answer: Why did Jesus say that He has not come to bring peace in Matthew 10:34?
I love this quote from Professor Jordan Peterson of the University of Toronto. He said:

"...in order to be able to think, you have to risk being
  offensive. I mean, look at the conversation we're having right now.
  You're certainly willing to risk offending me in the pursuit of truth.
  Why should you have the right to do that? It's been rather
  uncomfortable."

Jordan Peterson Interview
I believe Jesus and Peterson's words principally contain the same thought. I want to be clear, I am not trying to place Dr. Peterson and Jesus on the same level of authority. Actually, I believe it is Jesus influence on Mr. Jordan's years of study that led him to make this comment. Both of them are making the same point and that is, it is impossible not to cause offences, or at the very least great tension when telling the truth about anything that is meaningful. Essentially human beings are so easily self-deceived and prideful.
Jesus is the walking, talking Truth. Everything He said and demonstrated constantly challenged the status quo of human developed systems of thinking. The institutions of Religion, Family, Education and Government were all challenged and deeply offended with Jesus new ideas and new rules to follow. These new rules where brought to light in the passages that follow:

Murder
  Matthew 5:21-26 "You have heard that it was said to the people long ago,
  'You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to
  judgment.' But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother
  or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to
  a brother or sister, 'Raca,' is answerable to the court. And anyone
  who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.
Adultery
  Matthew 5:27-30 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit
  adultery.' But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman
  lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If
  your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away.
  It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole
  body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to
  stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose
  one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.
Divorce
  Matthew 5:31-32 "It has been said, 'Anyone who divorces his wife must give
  her a certificate of divorce.' But I tell you that anyone who
  divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim
  of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
  This way of being, led Jesus and His disciples into great conflict
  with those in authority, as well as with those who followed them.

Discipline is defined as:

"the practice of training people to obey rules or a code of behavior,
  using punishment to correct disobedience."

Discipline eventually brings peace. Jesus is not double minded. His intention is always to bring about peace. But He aims to bring about real, uncompromising, truthful and long lasting peace. This is not brought about by cowering to the masses or those who can destroy the body by employing short term appeasement. It is accomplished through unyielding truth telling and demonstration unto death. This principle can be found in the book of Hebrews 12:4-11.

God Disciplines His Children
In your struggle against sin, you have
  not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you
  completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as
  a father addresses his son? It says,
"My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline,
      and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, 6 because the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
      and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son."
Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children.
  For what children are not disciplined by their father? If you are
  not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not
  legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. Moreover, we have
  all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it.
  How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live!
  They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God
  disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his
  holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful.
  Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace
  for those who have been trained by it.
Comment: As much as I disagree with putting Peterson along side Jesus, especially since he is so dangerous to Biblical Christianity you make a valid point. +1
Comment: Thank you. I understand where your coming from, ( although I don't necessarily agree with you that he's "dangerous to biblical Christianity." at least as far as what I've heard him speak so far. He's widely misunderstood. ) that being said. I'm only using his comment to illustrate the principle.
Comment: @Autodidact - I edited to make it clear that my intention is not to imply that Mr. Peterson and Jesus are on the same level authoritatively. Thanks for the feedback.
Comment: Neither your own contribution nor the author you quote are examples of the discipline of hermeneutics. Both your own and the author's statements are statements of opinion, not proper textual analysis.
Answer: There is no peace or hope for those who do not believe in the Messiah. Sword and Fire will surely hurt,but those who believe won't be hurt,amen.Let the wise hear,for the LORD is peace towards His children,He also forgives freely,society might hate you but Jesus won't ever turn you away if you want mercy.

For with fire and with his sword the LORD will execute judgment on all people, and many will be those slain by the LORD. Isaiah 66:16

Sword
His Sword isn't symbolic,it is very real and it kills those who refuse to believe and repent

Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations.Revelation 19:15
And the rest were killed with the sword that proceeded from the mouth of the One seated on the horse. And all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh. Revelation 19:21

Fire
Nothing symbolic about fire.Again the Lord has unfailing love and compassion,believe in Him and He will heal your wounds,trust in Him and He will set you free,nothing is too big for Him to forgive.

"I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! Luke 12:49
For our "God is a consuming fire." Hebrew 12:29
And when the people complained, it displeased the LORD: and the LORD heard it; and his anger was kindled; and the fire of the LORD burnt among them, and consumed them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp.Numbers 11:1


Is It Possible to Notify Small Infringers With An Informal Letter

Question: I was just issued a design patent 10/27/15 (application filed 2/13).  The problem is that in the last 2.5 years since I applied for it, many small vendors have taken my design and are selling it online.  Even after I posted Patent Pending and contacted a few of them personally.  Is there any weight to sending an email myself along with a copy of my patent to these vendors asking them to stop selling my design?  I would like to try this approach before giving my lawyer money to send formal letters.  Thank you.
Answer: Do not try the informal approach; go to an attorney for advice.
Here's why.
First, I am not an attorney. However, if you send a letter asserting patent rights (which is basically threatening to sue them if they don't take a license or cease and desist infringing your patent) you may risk triggering a lawsuit for a declaratory judgment to resolve any outstanding allegations, which will likely be on their home turf - not yours - and you will have to fight it out with them in a far-away court or give up your claim of infringement.
Also, unless you have experience with patents and infringement, just because something is "obviously" infringing to you doesn't necessarily mean that the courts will see it that way.
You need legal counsel. Good luck.
Answer: Aldo is correct. Don't send such letters without the assistance of an attorney. It's easy to get sucked into a declaratory judgment (DJ) lawsuit, which is extremely expensive.
Also, the legal threshold that allows a letter recipient to file a DJ action is relatively low. For example, even if you don't specifically threaten a lawsuit or assert infringement, you can still be slapped with a DJ action. Even seemingly "friendly" letters can be grounds for a lawsuit.
Talk with a patent litigation attorney to plan an enforcement strategy.


Any followup to "What questions should attendees of ESRI UC be asking?

Question: https://gis.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/518/what-questions-should-attendees-of-the-esri-uc-be-asking
Contained a lot of good questions, but I haven't seen any commentary from those that may have attended.  Did anyone go and were any of the questions asked?
Comment: This were a blog entry would be good on GISse. Twitter was a good source when the event was happening - but a round up would be good to hear about. Most interested in 10.1 and read/write to postgis without ArcSDE.
Answer: Looking into setting up a GIS Blog
We are required to:

Raise the idea on the child meta. A community blog needs the
involvement of community members.
Define the scope and purpose of the blog. Is the blog about the
site? Is it about the site's topic? Is it about the industry around
the topic? Keep in mind the audience of your community and their
interests. Another generic blog about  may not be all that
interesting.
Recruit contributors. Who will write entries for the blog? Starting
a blog is a bit like going through the buffet line. Be realistic –
don't let your eyes be bigger than your stomach. Think seriously
about if and how often you will be able to contribute a blog post,
including research/prep time.
Plan a schedule. Given the results of steps #2 and #3, think about a
rough idea of a schedule for the blog. Will there be one post a
week, posted Mondays? Will there be  posts on Tuesdays and
posts on Fridays? You don't need to be pushing out posts daily, but
I would say at least one post a week.

http://blogoverflow.com/getting-started/
Comment: I have put in a request for gisSE to have an official blog - requested **blog.gis.stackexchange.com** waiting response from stack-exchange employees. Will update with a new meta post if positive.
Answer: I answered as many of the questions as I could as a comment to the question asked (technically, I added the comment on the answer [which really was a question] to the initially asked "What questions should...." Okay, now I can see why this might have been a bit confusing).
Perhaps someone could migrate the questions and their respective answers from that question to chat. That would at least provide a "transcript" of the Q&As. (On second thought, no, that'd be worse than just leaving them here, one, since most people wouldn't know to go to chat to look for those answers and, two, sifting through the chat log to find those answers isn't really conducive to getting questions answered.)
There's just really no good place to put them right now. If we had the GIS blog, it'd be a cinch since the Qs and As could all be added on one "page" and it could be updated as other questions are answered over time.


magic chef gas stove no clicking, gfci is tripped, won't reset

Question: just like usual, I cleaned the magic chef gas stove Under the top. the gfci in the next room went red, no clicking, no pilot, but it's clean. What's wrong?
Comment: If you reset the GFI, does it trip again?
Comment: Can you check the breaker panel. I would be concerned with lights going out when you unplugged the stove. if this is a newer place and it has arc fault breakers one of them could have tripped when you unplugged the stove I could understand that. if that is not the case something is seriously wrong and should be checked.
Comment: it stays tripped. the stove is not plugged in the gfci that's tripped. it's in the next plug over and when I unplugged the stove, most lights in the apt went out.
Answer: There are five possibilities.  Note that there could be more than one of these underlying the problem.

You aren't resetting the GFI correctly.  Move the breaker handle all the way to off before turning it back on.
The GFI is broken.
The range is broken.
Something else on the same circuit is broken.
If the circuit has never worked correctly, the circuit wiring might have been done incorrectly, or it has changed.  A peek inside the circuit breaker panel for loose wires could identify the answer.

We need more information to determine which problem it is.
Answer: Either the GFCI is malfunctioning and needs to be replaced, or thge stove's electronics are malfunctioning and need to be repaired. Without more information we can't tell you which.


Short Story About Spaceship Crew Reaching Mars in Makeshift Spacecraft

Question: I'm looking for the title and author of a short story dealing with two crew members on a spaceship who accidentally get jettisoned (along with several crates of supplies) while traveling near Mars.  They reach Phobos and, using the gear found in the crates, assemble a simple re-entry vehicle which they use to travel to the Martian surface.  I encountered the story twice in the 1960s.
Answer:
"Tin Lizzie", a novelette by Randall Garrett; first published in Amazing Stories, June 1964, available at the Internet Archive; reprinted in the 1966 anthology Great Science Fiction Stories About Mars, edited to T. E. Dikty.

"Then I suggest you pressurize the hulls," said Challenger, "and find out what was leaking. Both of those ships were full of N2O3 when we reached Phobos. That's why we left 'em there and let out the air. Anyway, check for the leaks. If you find any, fix 'em. If you can't find 'em, keep about twenty pounds per square inch pressure inside the hull; Martian atmosphere can't leak in
past that.
"Now: I'm going to warn you men that you will be risking your lives if you try to take those two spaceboats to the surface of Mars and return. Controlling a
rocket isn't like controlling a gravito-inertial engine. Instead of four men dying on Mars, there may be five or six.
"Knowing that, do you still want to try it?"
Comment: Not certain this is it.  The story only involved two men and the ship was more makeshift.  But good guess.  Thanks.


Trouble understanding Alternating Current (AC)

Question: How does alternating current get anywhere if it travels "back and forth" in the wire?. I understand that Direct Current is a flow of electrons through a wire, but I have always been confused with how Alternating Current works. I expect I am missing something simple but could anyone point me to a resource that does a good job of explaining AC, or perhaps offer an explanation themselves? Thanks!
Comment: Alternating current doesn't actually need to "go" anywhere to do its work. What matters is that the wave itself transfers the energy while propagating over the electrons. Also note that the speed of the wave is not the speed of the electrons traveling through the wires (if they are traveling at all).
Comment: Thanks everyone. Some great explanations. So if I am understanding things properly I shouldn't think of electricity as a flow of electrons but rather as NRG flowing along the electrons. The electrons are just the conduit that the NRG is flowing through?
Comment: Work is mostly done by the electromagnetic fields induced by moving charge. The most common way of moving charge is moving electrons through a conductor. In that sense, yes, electrons are just the conduit, like oil in a hydraulic drive system.
Answer: Current or anything else energy-carrying doesn't need to "get anywhere" long term to deliver energy.  Think of how pistons work in a gasoline engine.  They only go back and forth and don't "go anywhere" yet still deliver power to elsewhere (the crank shaft).
Alternating current is a bit like the pistons.  You can still extract useful work from it.
Another way to look at alternating current is instantaneous direct current that happens to change over time.  Let's say the current if following a sine function with a peak amplitude of 1.41 A.  At any point in the cycle there is some amount of instantaneous current flowing, which is anywhere from -1.41 A to +1.41 A.  Sometimes the current is 0 and you can't get any work from it.  Other times it is non-zero and you can.  If you break the cycle up into lots and lots of instantaneous snapshots, you can find the equivalent average steady current level you could extract the same work from.  That is the RMS (Root Mean Square) value, which in this case is 1 A.  At any one time you might get a bit more or a bit less, but averaged over a cycle this AC current will be equivalent to 1 A DC for the purpose of extracting work.  This averaging of the instantaneous snapshots is really the integral.  You can write it down yourself and see the result.  Keep in mind that the work a current can do is proportional to the square of that current, which is why the negative parts don't cancel the positive parts.
Answer: And now, your moment of Zen.
puts on hat of Zen
Think of waves on a beach. They go in, they come out. They go in, they come out. Now, if you're a human with your feet in the sand, it is relatively easy to pretend that nothing is moving. If you're a hermit crab or a zebra mussel, however...
Now, let us examine the motion of the waves for a few seconds. When they reach the extremes of motion (ie all the way in or all the way out) they seem to be standing perfectly still. Hmmm, interesting...
Now you might ask yourself, how can gentle, rhythmic, periodic motion "do anything"? Well, consider the fact that every single grain of sand on that beach used to be part of a mountain.
Well, OK, at least a boulder.
Physics - making us feel bloody insignificant since 650 BCE.
removes Zen hat
To answer your question more specifically, the alternating current consists of a wave which goes in and out a lot faster than the one on the beach - in general at least 60 times faster.
Answer: Instead of thinking of electricity travelling from point A to point B think of it as the result of reactions among electrons. A good visual representation is Newton's Cradle.

The locations of the bearings don't change but the momentum (energy) is still transferred.
Comment: So, how about AC, which was OP's question?
Comment: Wait for the other bearing to come back?
Answer: I see this question all the time and would like to offer this input.  Everyone seems to understand DC, so for a moment, let's consider a battery circuit with a positive terminal and a negative terminal.  The positive terminal has a positive voltage and the negative terminal is usually considered the "ground" and a positive to negative connection completes the circuit.
What is the voltage at the positive terminal?   5VDC?  9VDC?  12VDC?  It doesn't have to be fixed.  The "voltage" at the positive terminal might be fixed, but it might also be variable.
In an AC voltage source, all of the voltage appears on the HOT wire, in the form of a sine wave. It is variable from 0V to +Vpeak back to 0V then negative to -Vpeak then back to 0V.  The other wire required to complete the circuit is the NEUTRAL and its entire purpose is to provide a return path.  It is not a "ground", there is no "ground" in an AC source.   All of the voltage in an AC source is coming from the HOT wire which is why it is called HOT.  In an AC source, the voltage signal on the HOT wire alternates from 0V to +vPeak back to 0V then it goes negative to -vPeak then back to 0V.
People have a hard time grasping the idea that the HOT can go negative, because they try to compare it to the principles of DC voltages that use the return (negative terminal) as GROUND.  An AC source has no "ground".  The HOT wire carries a sine wave that is constantly changing from 0V to +vPeak back to 0V then negative to -vPeak then back to 0V – usually alternating around 60 times per second in the U.S., ot 60hZ
The 3rd wire that you see in an AC plug, called the ground, is not like the ground in a DC circuit.  In an AC circuit, this "ground" is an additional wire that is usually connected to the device internally on the other end, and provides a safety path so that consumers don't get electrocuted in the event that something inside the device comes into contact with the HOT wire.  Unlike DC, in an AC circuit, the GROUND wire is not needed at all and has nothing to do with the flow of AC current in the device.
In an AC circuit, the NEUTRAL wire is the return for the alternating voltage that flows from the HOT wire.  If we connect a Center Tapped Transformer between the HOT and NEUTRAL AC wires, the center tap then becomes a "VOLTAGE REFERENCE POINT" which allows us to see the +Voltage of the sine wave where the HOT side goes into the transformer, and the -Voltage of the sine wave where the NEUTRAL wire goes into the transformer.  The voltage is not switching back and forth between the NEUTRAL and HOT, the HOT wire is carrying a sine wave from 0V to +vPeak then back to 0 down to -vPeak then back to 0.  Once again, the NEUTRAL wire is there to complete the circuit - It has no source voltages.  All of the voltage in an AC circuit comes from the HOT wire.
This is why, in an AC circuit, the wires are labeled HOT and NEUTRAL and are required for completing the circuit.  The third wire, GROUND, is there for safety purposes only.   HOT is carrying a SINE WAVE, NEUTRAL is the return, and GROUND is there strictly for safety purposes.
Answer: One more analogy.
Direct current is like a chainsaw - the sharp bits travel in one direction doing work (slicing wood) and then return to their original location. The motion of the chain is constant.
Alternating current is like a hand saw - the sharp bits travel in one direction, then briefly stop, then travel in the opposite direction.
This analogy breaks down with three phase alternating current. Three phase is good because it does not have the zero spots (current is always flowing between at least two wires) and makes it possible to design efficient and reliable motors without the need of complex electronics.


Where to stay at Guangzhou, I am a vegetarian

Question: I am 68 and planning to travel to Guangzhou in China with wife. We are vegetarians. We like to stay in a crowded area where we can walk a lot. Also we would sometimes like to cook our food. A supermarket nearby will be to great advantage.
Answer: Dianping is a food and restaurant guide website in China. It lists out most of the vegetarian restaurant in Guangzhou.
The website is written in Chinese only. Use baidu translate and
baidu map to find out more information about the restaurant.
In addition, although they claim they are vegetarian restaurants but no certification is done. And not every restaurant offers English menu.

For supermarket, search keyword "广州 超市" in baidu map and you can find the location easy.
There are several supermarket chain in Guangzhou, including 家乐福(Walmart), 百佳 (From Hong Kong), 好又多(From Taiwan), 华润万家 (Chinese firm but cooperate with Tesco), 大润发(From Taiwan), 乐购(Tesco). You can find most vegetable and other foods you need in larger supermarket.
Comment: @Blackbird57: I've heard it said that Cantonese cuisine includes "everything that flies except planes, and everything in the ocean except boats". Non-meat dishes are usually side dishes.
Comment: I dont know. But Buddhist are vegan.
Comment: Is Cantonese food culture generally vegetarian friendly ?
Comment: @Greg Hewgill Cantonese eat many strange food but not every type can be found in major restaurant. And they serve seafood/riverfood and vegetable as main dishes
Comment: I've been in Guangzhou for the past month and have seen a couple of signs for places claiming to be vegetarian restaurants. At least one seemed to have gone out of business but other than that they do seem to exist here. It's a **very** big city.
Comment: @Blackbird57 Generally, but Buddhist cuisine (素食) is vegetarian and sufficiently common that there are restaurants devoted to it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhist_cuisine


Are there any writings by blinded and/or exiled Byzantine emperors?

Question: Several Byzantine Emperors were deposed and subsequently blinded and/or exiled by their successors.  Are there any extant texts authored by any of these deposed emperors?
Answer: John VI Kantakouzenos
John VI Kantakouzenos, who reigned from 31 March 1347 to 10 December 1354, is the emperor who comes closest to meeting your criteria. He was deposed by his co-emperor John V Palaiologos (for whom he had earlier acted as regent), adopted the name Joasaph Christodoulos and wrote a History:

After he had been forced to retire, Emperor John VI Kantakouzenos
  (1347– 1354) wrote a history in which he tried to explain his actions
  throughout his career. It is an account of political and military affairs, primarily covering the years 1320– 1356 in four books. At over
  1,700 pages in the Bonn edition for a span of thirty- six years, it is
  a highly detailed history. The History is the only surviving history
  written by an emperor concerning his own reign.

Source: 'John VI Kantakouzenos', chapter 41 in Leonora Neville, 'Guide to Byzantine Historical Writing' (2018)
Details on publications of Historiarum can be found here. Among them are a PhD thesis, An Annotated Translation of John Kantakouzenos' Histories, Book III, Chapters 1-30 by Brian Steven McLaughlin (pdf).
Other works attributed to the ex-emperor include

a commentary on the first five books of Aristotle's Ethics and several
  controversial theological treatises, including a defense of Hesychasm
  and a work Against Mohammedanism printed in Migne.

The commentary on Aristotle is disputed, though, and Neville (2018) states that "the current consensus is that he did not" write it.
As MAGolding has noted in a comment, John VI was periodically involved in Byzantine ecclesiastical affairs after his removal. However, between 1379 and 1381, he was held in captivity. Upon his release, he settled in Mistra in the Peloponnese where he died in 1383, aged 90 or 91.

The only other deposed emperor who seems to have written anything is Maurice. He ruled from the 14th of August 582 until he was deposed and executed on the 27th of November 602. The Strategikon of Maurice may have been written by him but, if so, this was during his reign:

The Strategikon, generally but possibly mistakenly attributed to the
  emperor Maurice (582–602 CE), is one of the most extensive extant
  treatises on military tactics and strategies before the early modern
  period, and is the basis for much of what we know about the
  sixth-century Roman army. The treatise was written sometime after 580
  and before 610. An anonymous military engineer or general officer, the
  general Philippikos, the brother-in-law of the emperor Maurice, and
  the emperor Maurice himself are all plausible candidates as author.

Source: David Olster, 'Strategikon of Maurice' in 'The Encyclopedia of Ancient History' (2013)

Other known 'emperor-authors' are Leo V the Armenian (813 to 820), Leo VI the Wise (886 to 912), Constantine VII (reigned 913 to 959), and Theodore II Laskaris (1254 to 1258). None of these, though, come close to meeting your criteria as they died as emperors.
Of the emperors who were deposed, most were killed immediately or within a few days of losing power. Of the remainder, most did not live more than a year or two after their reigns ended. A few, such as Leontios (reigned 695 - 698) and Alexios III Angelos (1195 -1202) lived several years after being deposed but I can find no evidence that they authored any works. Another 'survivor', Romanos I Lekapenos (920 to 944) was described as "an idiot and an illiterate man" by his co-emperor and eventual successor Constantine VII (though Constantine was probably exaggerating as he had reasons for disliking Romanos). Finally, a few virtually disappeared from the historical record, even their date of death uncertain.
Comment: Of course John VI was not blinded or exiled as far as I remember.  In fact, I think that after being deposed he sometimes served as an adviser to his son in law John V.  And thus when John V was deposed by his son Andronicus IV and grandson John VII, ex emperor John VI was imprisoned with John V.  Thus John VI was alive when his grandson and great grandson were crowned his successors.
Comment: @MAGolding And they were only his grandson and great grandson because John V had married one of his daughters.
Comment: @C Monsour  My point was that it is considered extremely rare that Louis XIV and maybe a couple of other monarchs died and were succeeded by their great grandsons.  But John VI was alive when a great grandson of his was crowned as one of his successors and lived for years after that.
Comment: Actually Constantine VII reigned from 913 to 959 though he only ruled from 945 to 959, and he was a junior emperor for about 2 decades while Romanos I was the senior emperor and ruler.
Comment: @MAGolding Thanks, my slip. Edited


My puppy at some dish soap mixed with water, is she OK/ what should I do/ what will happen (symptoms)?

Question: My puppy ate some dish soap mixed with water in the form of bubbles, is she ok or what are the symptoms of this?
Answer: The severity of problems depends on how much was consumed, how diluted it was, and what brand soap was involved. And, of course, how big your pup is. Dawn Dish Soap recommends (people) drink additional water (which is probably going to be difficult to get a puppy to do). But some soaps are more dangerous than others. More on the subject:
Detergent Poisoning in Dogs
A Similar Question


Do you have to judge dead people favorably?

Question: In Avot we learn that one should judge all people favorably ("והוי דן את כל האדם לכף זכות"). I would like to know if that includes the deceased. Meaning, can I look back on the life of a person who is now dead and, in reviewing his actions, judge them any which why I choose? Or, would the precept of judging favorably still apply?
Comment: Mistama........
Answer: Well, there's a חֵרֶם קַדְמוֹנִים to talk badly about the deceased.
As the Chafetz Chaim writes in הלכות אסורי לשון הרע - כלל ח

דְּיֵשׁ תַּקָּנָה וְחֵרֶם קַדְמוֹנִים, שֶׁלֹּא לְהוֹצִיא לַעַז וְשֵׁם רָע עַל הַמֵּתִים.

So if you wrongly accuse the deceased about something, you are the subject of an ancient excommunication.
That would be a strong impetus to judge them favorably.
Or, as the popular expression goes: אחרי-מות קדושים.
(Explanation: After they died they are Holy; a play on words of the 2 Parshiot Acharie-mot and Kedoshim.)
Answer: It would seem that according to the Rambam and others the principle of judging others favorably is an act of piety (middas chassidus) and not, strictly speaking a halacha, unless perhaps that person was a tzaddik. The Chofetz Chaim seems to disagree and holds this to be an obligation. In either case there is no indication that the status of the person you are judging changes whether or not he is alive. Furthermore there is every indication that this precept applies specifically to judges in a court case.
Source
Comment: Sources for first sentence?
Comment: @mevaqesh please see the sources in the linked citation
Comment: Consider clarifying which points in the answer are included in that source, and preferably noting references to primary sources in the post.


What are the "magic numbers" on a Monoprice Select Mini?

Question: What are the "magic numbers" people refer to regarding print resolution on the Monoprice Select Mini?
Comment: As an owner of the Monoprice Select Mini, I use the "Magic Numbers". It seems that any given printer design will have such magic numbers as a result of the Z-axis mechanics, but I haven not come across discussions for other printers. Are most printers designed to obtain "naturally" round numbers, i.e. multiples of (0.05 or 0.025), or fine enough stepping control that it doesn't matter if it's precise (0.0006...)?
Answer: The "magic numbers" are optimal values that work particularly well for the layer height.  Michael O'Brien derived these numbers by reverse engineering the mechanics of the Z-axis stepper motor.
Using these values as your layer height will generally improve your print quality over using round layer heights such as 0.15, 0.2, or 0.25 by eliminating quantization errors.
To see an example of this, print a copy of 3DBenchy at 0.15 and 0.175.  On the 0.15, you will see some wavy patterns on the curved bow portion compared to the 0.175.  This is the result of inexact rounding.
<code>Layer Height (mm)
0.04375 (results may vary)*
0.0875
0.13125
0.175
0.21875
0.2625
0.30625
</code>
Answer: Though this approach is logical on paper, in the real world it doesnt work as well. Even if you do choose a magic number for the layer height, you cant gurentee that your print head, once homed at the beginning of a print, is using a full step of the motor. Its more common to be on a half step than a full step with a motor
Comment: Since your answer says "in the real world" you should provide some real world examples that back up your claim.  Many owners on the Mini owners list have posted examples of how using the magic numbers improved print quality and reduced print time. I also think you're misunderstanding the claimed benefit (elimination of quantization errors).
Comment: Wouldn't it be exactly as common to be on a half step as a full step? Or did you mean, more generically, some incremental non-full step?
Answer: This is an issue with homing. It is not synced to the stepper motor so it may occur on something other than a full or half or even quarter step. That said, it always does this so moving up from there, the first little bit may be off but I would expect once the motor runs freely, the error will go away. Also keep in mind with microstepping, you can have 1/16 or 1/32 steps as well. Using the magic number ensures the new position you request is within the limits of the stepper/controller to reach. Its like rounding numbers. if you don't, as you increment, the numbers will always be consistant. If you round, the numbers will dither around.
At least thats my $45 (inflation) and stickin to it.
Good luck everyone and have fun.


Where is the Main Shutoff my Cutler-Hammer Breaker Box?

Question: Kind of confused where my main shutoff is. When I read and looked at breaker boxes for examples, most had a big shutoff right at the top. Where is the switch on mine? I'd like to remove a breaker, but I'd like to turn the whole box off. Any ideas?
Answer: What you have is called a split-buss panel.
Code allows up to six "main" breakers or disconnects. The top six double-pole spaces in your panel are all main disconnects. One (spaces 9/11) is the "lighting main" which shuts off the bottom half of the panel.
The lugs at the top of the panel are unfused lines coming from the meter.
As a side note, the single-pole breakers in the top half of your panel are technically a code violation since that caused you to have more than six disconnects to shut down all power.
Comment: Awesome. That was quick and really helpful. If anyone wants more detail about split-buss panels, I found this question: [http://diy.stackexchange.com/questions/24895/what-is-a-split-bus-panel-and-how-do-i-recognize-it-in-the-field](http://diy.stackexchange.com/questions/24895/what-is-a-split-bus-panel-and-how-do-i-recognize-it-in-the-field)
Answer: Unless you have a disconnect next to the panel or meter, you do not have a main breaker. What I think you have is a main Lug split panel. If you look at circuit 9/11, fifth breaker from the top left side of the panel, that should shut down the lower part of the panel.

Warning: You'll be working around live electrical wires during this procedure. If you don't feel comfortable doing so, please contact a local licensed Electrician.

You may have to call your electrical provided to do this.
If you want to replace one of the top breaker the meter will have to be pulled to turn the whole panel off, also turn off all the breakers before anyone pulls the meter, to shed the load.
Comment: Thanks, that was hugely helpful. I wanted to replace one of the ones on the bottom, so I believe I should be good to go. Thanks!


Why is the viewfinder on my D7000 dim?

Question: Just bought a second hand Nikon D7000. It came with a dim viewfinder and the adjustment near it won't help. I removed the lens and placed it back, it became clear, however, it gets dimmer and dimmer after each shot.
Comment: What do you mean by "... adjustment near it won't help?"
Comment: Similar to the above, the viewfinder screen is powered by the battery and is hazy and dim if the battery is removed (try it).  Thus if the viewfinder is malfunctioning, it can also get that way.
Comment: The lens aperture is supposed to be fully open when you're using the viewfinder. If the aperture gets stuck, the viewfinder will be dim.
Comment: Are the images produced by the camera darker than expected? Does taking multiple images of the same scene with the same settings (ISO, aperture, and shutter time) result in progressively dimmer images  or in images of the same brightness?
Answer: The viewfinder in the D7000 has an LCD overlay. If the LCD isn't receiving any (or enough) power, the LCD will not be fully transparent and the viewfinder will be dark.  You will want to check that the battery in the camera is good and fully charged. Given how you say it gets dimmer as time goes on, it could simply be that you're using an older battery that's losing its ability to hold charge.
Other possible causes might include a mis-seated lens (but since you already dismounted and remounted the lens this is probably not the issue); or possibly stuck aperture leaves in the lens—this can happen with older vintage lenses when age causes the lubrication of the iris leaves to turn sticky. To test this out, try using a different lens on the camera and seeing if you have the same issue.
The small wheel by the viewfinder, btw, is the diopter adjustment. It's changing the "prescription" of the lens, as it were, adjusting for near or far-sightedness, if you want to use the viewfinder without glasses. It has no effect on brightness.

Why is the viewfinder on my D7000 dim?