Are remnants of the Husnock civilization ever found?

Question: Kevin Uxbridge admitted to killing all the Husnock in the third season TNG episode "The Survivors."  The Husnock were never seen or heard of again in the TV series.  However, there are many Star Trek novels offering further adventures of the Enterprise crew and other Star Trek characters.  Assuming Uxbridge only wiped out the Husnock people, their artifacts should still be around to be found eventually.  Are remnants of the Husnock civilization ever found in any of the Star Trek novels?
Comment: The Douwd claimed to destroy "all Husnock...everywhere." No mention of the Douwd eliminating Husnock from the past, though, or in alternate universes or dimensions, etc. Time travel in Star Trek is as common as holodeck problems, so unless the Douwd's "power" is able to continuously "watch over" the cosmos and prevent any external Husnock from entering, I don't see why the universe could not some day be repopulated by the Husnock.
Comment: Good point about the parallel universes as well as time travel.  But it would be kinda like bringing back the dinosaurs.  Other than in some crazy theme park, who'd want to bring back the Husnock?  The galaxy has enough bloody-handed conquerors already.  And bringing them back might really piss Uxbridge off, too.
Comment: I could see Q bringing back the Husnock, just to annoy the Douwd. But seriously, it wouldn't require someone actively doing this. The Husnock in question may be involved in a bizzare shuttlecraft accident that propels them 200 years into the future---the Douwd's time. Or whatever. So, unless the Douwd literally eliminated ALL Husnock (surely not possible even for him), then a comeback could be acheived at some point.
Answer: No mentions of real Husnock are in Memory Beta (which covers books etc... in Star Trek franchise). Not an conclusive proof, but Memory Beta is usually pretty thorough.
However, RPG sourcebook "Through a Glass, Darkly" covered Husnock in the mirror universe.

Husnock was a planet which came under the control of the Terran Empire some time during the mid to late 23rd century.
  Under imperial control, the entire planet served as a containment camp for the native and psychotically violent species of the planet who were also known as the Husnock.
Comment: Memory Alpha also says ' "The Survivors" remains the Husnock's sole "appearance" in Star Trek.' but it's not clear if that statement includes the Beta (non-canon) appearances.
Comment: It's a pretty safe bet that Memory Alpha's note excludes non-canon things - there's an "Apocrypha" section that they use when they want to include stuff from the novels/etc
Comment: @Izkata - that seems to be the pattern from limited pages on MA I perused, but I didn't feel confortable relying on it as I'm not sure if it's a rule.
Answer: The legacy of the Husnok is explored in the upcoming Star Trek Titan novel Fortune of War by David Mack.  From Amazon.com:

Twenty years have passed since the interstellar scourge known as the Husnock were exterminated without warning by a being with godlike abilities. Left behind, intact but abandoned, their desolate worlds and derelict ships brim with destructive potential.
Comment: Can you provide a link to somewhere to support this? An announcement, maybe?
Comment: Excellent.  This is exactly what I had in mind.
Comment: @Gallifreyan I found it on Amazon and added some information.


Spring's Promise camellia, zone 6a?

Question: Has anyone had success growing Spring's Promise camellia in a cold zone 6a climate?
Comment: It is not the average temperature that kills , it is the actual temperature. It is the bane of the hobbyist to try to grow thing that don't belong in a Zone.  I tried to grow things in Zone 5 that did not work. I retired and moved to Zone 8 and have many Camellias ( Japonica and Susanqua ) . Even here I lose some blooms about every other year ; normally only buds showing color are killed , so not a big loss. Zone 6 sounds like a serious challenge. I  suggest Magnolia Solangana  ( sp)., it will handle Zone 5 and is very showy.
Answer: Please keeping in mind, a plants zone hardiness if only what the roots will survive, not whether the leaves, bud or flowers will survive.  A good example of this is Hydrangea macrophyllum often rated Zone 4 even Zone 3.  In those zones the plant will be killed down to the roots.  The plant will survive and grow in spring, but most often fails to produce any blooms in summer.  (There are some newer cultivars that claim they can, but the truth is hit and miss.)
To answer this question more specifically I will be quoting the website of the Missouri Botanical;
'Spring's Promise' is a Japanese camellia introduced by Dr. Clifford Parks. It is temperature rated to USDA Zone 6, but is best sited in areas where winter temperatures are unlikely to dip below zero degrees F'
'Camellia japonica and most of its cultivars are considered to be winter hardy to USDA Zones 7-9. Even where winter hardy, unusually cold temperatures in winter (below 10 degrees F), particularly when occurring as a sudden temperature change, can damage or sometimes kill these plants. Japanese camellias may not be grown outdoors year round in the St. Louis area (USDA Zone 6) except for a very limited number of recently developed cultivars which have displayed exceptional hardiness.'
'Excellent flowering shrub for lawns, shrub borders, backgrounds, informal hedges and around homes in mild winter locations. When grown outside their specified hardiness range, camellias are used primarily as conservatory plants, and they perform quite well in this environment. Since they react badly to change (e.g., drop their buds), it is usually not recommended that they be moved outside in the summer months and then returned inside in the fall. If possible, camellias should be grown in a brightly lit space that can accommodate their large spreading habit and be kept cool in the fall and winter to induce flowering.'
Missouri Botanical - Camellia japonica 'Spring's Promise'

Spring's Promise camellia, zone 6a?


If Earth's core gained and lost mass, what would eventually happen to the plates?

Question: If the mass came from handwaving and just increased the core's density, what would happen to the plates?  If, over the course of 200 years the planet fluctuated from +50% to -50% gravity, would the plates contract and relax?  Would there be more verticality where plates meet?
Comment: If you handwave then nothing need happen at all.
Comment: There's an enormous difference between a storm and adding and subtracting of the order of 50% of a planet's mass.  The *only* way to add to the mass would be to have impacts from space and that much mass over that period would be cataclysmic.  So if you're handwaving at that level, you're not world building, IMO.
Comment: A fluctuation of the entire mass of the earth doesn't sound like world building to you? You got you some high standards.
Comment: I'm going for something like The Martian, where one big thing (the storm in his case) is handwavy but the rest is realistic.
Comment: Not if the storm is impossible, as the author admitted.  He needed it to get the plot moving; I need it to get my planet started.  Also, my story is epic fantasy, which is much more accepting of inexplicable phenomena.  That said, I'd like to explore the real effects of such fluctuations.
Comment: Let's make the handwavium a little more specific: For instance, somehow, the universal constant of gravitation fluctuates in different areas at different times.
Comment: That would work.  Since asking the original question I've determined that there's a Cthulhian-esque god/monster phasing in and out of the core.  Still handwavy, but there you go.
Answer: With increased gravity the motion of plate tectonics should speed up and slow down with decreased gravity.

The main driving force of plate tectonics is gravity. If a plate with oceanic lithosphere meets another plate, the dense oceanic lithosphere dives beneath the other plate and sinks into the mantle: this process is called subduction. The sinking oceanic lithosphere drags the rest of the tectonic plate: this is the main cause of plate motion.

Source: http://www.earthobservatory.sg/faq-on-earth-sciences/why-do-tectonic-plates-move
The same source also suggests that is a factor in the motion of plate tectonics.

However, convection is also driving plate tectonics. When you heat up
  noodles in a pan of water, you create convection cells: noodles move
  upward in the middle of the pan where temperature is higher, and
  downward on the edges of the pan where the temperature is lower. Such
  convection cells exist inside the Earth's mantle. One difference is
  that the mantle is not liquid; rather, the solid rocks are so hot that
  they can slowly flow. Hot, less dense rock material goes toward the
  crust whereas relatively denser, less hot material goes toward the
  core.
At certain times and places, hot, upflowing rock material in these
  convection cells weakens continental crust to create rifts and
  eventually new ocean basins. The East-African Rift, for instance, is
  the result of such a convection cell breaking up the African plate.
  Convection cells were responsible for the breaking up of
  supercontinents many times in Earth's history.

If increased gravity causes heating in the mantle due to increased compression, then the action of the convection cells could be increased over the two centuries. Possibly the mantle will cool, even slightly, as compression due to gravity decreases during the falling gravity phases.
Even during many centuries of increasing and decreasing gravity major geological effects won't be apparent, with the possible exception of increased seismic and earthquake activity, simply because geological change is such a slow process compared to human timescales.
Answer: I am no geologist at all, but I doubt 200 years is a significant time span on the geologic time scale. Over 200 years a plate would have moved between 1 and 10 meters. If you compare this to the extension of thousands of kilometers you see it is not even a few percent.
A change in the gravitational pull on that time scale would have its effects probably greatly damped by the intrinsic time scale of the mantle dynamics, which based on the above I feel its way greater than 200 years.
During the times of increased mass there would surely be more and greater landslide in limited areas on the surface, where the rocks are unstable. I don't envision other significant changes on plates.
Comment: What if you add very strong tidal force (from a close moon) to the equation?
Comment: those would at best add energy to the system, but on even shorter timescales...


the menu item "home" is not taking "active class"

Question: I am using helix3 template, the menu item "home" is not taking "active class" when I'm on the home page or when I click on it although the other menu items are working fine, i want it to take the active class style and change its color when I am on the home page, it was working before!!
Answer: Try clearing your joomla cache. I also run into that problem with some templates if I have system cache turned on. So if that is on, I would try turning that off as well.
Comment: I cleared the cache and the problem remains :/
Comment: Do you have system cache turned on? If so Turn it off and try again... Another thing that may work is, set both Search Engine Friendly URLs, Use URL Rewriting to NO. Then in the front end navigate to your home page. Then go back to the back end, clear cache and set Search Engine Friendly URLs, Use URL Rewriting to YES.
Comment: it didn't work, but thanks anyway :)
Comment: Is it possible that you have a secondary menu that is pointing to the home page by accident? In other words is the main menu home link the one that is actually pointing to the home page and set as default?
Answer: Go to "Helix menu Options" Tab and add the class there in "Custom CSS Class"
It gives the class to "li" so it is better than the native Joomla class.
Answer: Add
!important
after the color value and it shall take precedence over other value that is stopping it.


Open ground indication on tester when connecting appliances to any outlet on same circuit

Question: We have 5 double outlets connected on one circuit. Now we noticed that if we connect outlet tester to any outlet it's indicate 'correct', but if we plug appliance to any one of outlets in the circuit, the tester starts to shoe 'open ground'. It happens with every outlet that we tested and any outlet we connected appliances to.
We checked the tester with other outlets in the house and it works fine.
We already tried to open all the outlets and tighten the wires.
Does anyone have any ideas on what's going on?
Thanks
Comment: What appliance are you plugging in?  Is it always the same appliance? Have you tried a different appliance?  None of those questions solve the issue, but all help eliminate possibilities.
Comment: We tried computer power supply and microwave, there was a problem with them. We also tried air purifier and there wasn't any problem. Unfortunately we don't have a lot of appliances with ground pin.
Comment: The tester may be faulty. Buy or borrow another tester.
Comment: But we did the same test in other rooms and it was fine.
Comment: A high current draw might reveal the tester to be faulty on one of the circuits that it "was fine on". Plug in a hair dryer on high into one of those circuits and see if the tester gives open ground. The appliance you plug in does not have to have a ground pin. I think high current draw might be causing the tester to give a faulty reading.
Comment: It looks like it happens only with high power consumers. But why it only happens on particular outlets on same circuit and all other outlets in the house don't have this issue? And what should we do to fix it?
Comment: Don't "fix" anything until you have confirmed the result of open ground under load with another tester or with a VOM.
Answer: Stop.  Stop worrying about the silly message from a $3 tester.
We call them "Magic 8-ball" testers
Because like the magic 8-ball, whatever answer is stated on the legend is an amusement at best.
The style of these testers is to have 3 lights and a litle "legend" that tries to interpret the lights.  Worse, newer testers embed a little computer that changes what the 3 lights mean!  On the originals, the lights are semi-useful if you understand what they are indicating and how to interpret half-lit lights.  (And your tester is built well enough you don't see bleed-through between lights). The legends were always useless.  one is in my toolbox for the lamps.
I don't know if your tester is an "at least the lamps are ok" ones or not.  Assuming that it is, and you are getting two yellows and one yellow extinguishes with a big load attached.... But the load works.
It might be exactly what it says on the tin, a weak neutral-ground bond, but with these, it usually isn't.
Start upstream
It sounds like the 5 receptacles are hooked together properly, so I would look upstream (toward supply).  Either a sixth outlet* you don't know about, or the panel itself.
To start, run this test on another circuit and see if it also does it.  That would make it a full-panel problem and we can just go there.
Then shut off this circuit breaker and scour the house for any outlets* that went dead.  Obviously those would be on the same circuit, and their box is worth looking inside for anything out of order.
Next go to the panel and scour the safety Equipment Grounding Conductor system in your panel for anything amiss.  Making sure all the grounds are on the ground bar.
If the panel is a main panel: it's the first panel past the meter, neutrals and grounds are spammed onto the same bar.  Inelegant but legal because of the next step.
Next, we need to go to the main panel/breaker and look at the Equipotential Bonding System. This is simpler than it sounds: it's a fat wire between neutral and ground bars in the main panel only.  This can't be too beefy.   Sometimes this is a magic green screw in the neutral bus that screw into panel chassis.  I have seen those fail. I prefer a beefy #4 bare wire from neutral bus to ground bus or chassis.  When I say One Place I mean the one main panel. Redundancy inside that panel is permitted.
Neutral and ground must not be bonded anywhere else.
Lastly we can declare the grounds "golden" once we look at the Grounding Electrode System - but that isn't involved in this problem.
If you have an older subpanel that only has a 3-wire connection (hot-hot-neutral) then you may see grounds on the neutral bar in that subpanel.  That is obsolete and a bit dangerous.  You are allowed to retrofit just a ground wire back to the main panel, and separate neutral and ground in that subpanel, as is normal for new work.
Back to the branch circuit
If you found any grounding system defects, that should lick it.   If not, we have to go back to the branch and check it through-and-through for defects.  I assume you've a) already been doing that, and b) doing it correctly, so at this point the most likely failure point is b).  Re-educate on how to do this stuff, and take another look.
* an "outlet" means any point-of-use for electrical power, not just receptacles.
Comment: What is the meaning of half lit light? We didn't pay attention to it but when we test this outlets without load, we do have one light half lit and after we connect appliances it goes off.
Comment: It really depends on where it occurs and if it's one dim light, or two.
Comment: It's only one Light. What do you mean where?
Answer: Extremely experienced and skilled people can sometimes figure out weird results like this before making any tests, but the rest of us have to start trying possibilities. If you have a VOM, you could use the resistance mode to see if the ground is truly open. You would put the probes into the neutral slot (longer one) and the ground and determine the resistance with and without an appliance that causes the tester to show "open ground". Any reading above  ~0.4 Ohm between neutral and ground could indicate a problem with the ground.
First use the meter in the voltage mode to make sure that the slots you are going to probe in the resistance mode are not hot.


How do companies forecast revenue and earning estimates for a quarter or year in advance?

Question: I'm sure there are models and they have low and high estimates. But how to do they decide on the percentage growth? A bit of art + science?
Answer: Interesting question - Definitely one that is a blend of art and science and doesn't lend itself to a tidy formula however, I think I can give you an idea of a few broad methods and concepts. Whether a firm's sales lend themselves to more quantitative vs qualitative type of models largely depends on their individual characteristics and the particular stage they are in their industry's life cycle as well as unique factors like M&A recent/future activity:
From an analysts perspective and wanting to work from a more macro point of view - a firm in a growth oriented industry a not a ton in the way of M&A activity, one approach is to forecast an expectation of total industry sales and form an expectation of market share to apply
For a firm that sells products that operate on a regular-ish life cycle (think new versions of Ipads, new Windows OS ext...) they might try and forecast organic unit growth based off of customer back log orders, try to get a sense of new product launch demand and how expected cannibalization will impact existing product demand, divide by (1 - anticipated gross margin) and apply an expectation for price inflation) Basically, organic unit growth x pricing power.
For larger, stable firms their growth might be well approximated with regression based models - for instance an AR(1) log linear model might give reliable predictions.
Comment: Thanks! I ask because many public companies provide guidance or estimates to the market about their estimated revenues and earnings. When the quarter is over and they report the actual earnings and revenue, it's mostly within the range that was estimated. So I find that accuracy quite interesting.

But then there are times when companies miss their estimates or they revise future estimates based on current conditions. In any case, it's still fascinating the estimates vs. actual are not too far off.  So for me that growth percent and how they land on it is pretty interesting.
Comment: NP - one thing I would keep in mind regarding accuracy - remember, it's not as if the initial forecast for the coming year is necessarily static. It starts as a range to begin with then as quarters go by firms start to provide updates and even possibly move the sales range all  together. The point is, it's a little easier to accurately forecast full FY sales when, say, you have 3/4 quarters behind you.
Answer: There are some companies that don't require that much "art" when forecasting their earnings.
One example is regulated utilities - they earn the amount that the regulator allows them to earn with not much volatility.
Another more volatile example is pure play mining companies (like Antofagasta) - they have two main moving parts - mining volume and commodity prices. Mining volume is relatively easy to forecast and is usually guided by the company. Commodity prices - if you don't have a view you can just take current forward prices in the market. Everything else in the forecast is mostly simple arithmetics.


Does geodesics from solving full field equations are same as path from energy-momentum tensor?

Question: As we know, if we had an energy-momentum tensor in all space-time we could obtain the metric tensor by solving field equations.
Also i think if we had an energy-momentum tensor then we have distribution of matter in space-time which means we know its motion and its path.
Now my question is that if we calculate the geodesics from the metric, does this geodesic is same as the path obtained from energy-momentum tensor?
Comment: Related:  http://physics.stackexchange.com/a/24382/9887
Comment: It seems that you are asking something along the lines of 'is general relativity self-consistent'. The (obvious) answer is yes.
Comment: @Danu is it obvious? i can't understand how it is so.
Comment: That GR is consistent, yes. How this manifests itself in your particular scenario, I'm not sure
Comment: @Danu: particles only travel along geodesics if their mass is negligible relative to the background, and the curvature can be taken as constant over their extent.  So, the answer to the OP is "in almost every case you'd ever care about, but not in general"
Answer: I will say that there is a subtle caveat here, that makes the answer not quite a pure "yes":
The Einstein equation factors in the back-reaction of matter -- if I have a mass distribution, then that matter will set up a gravitational field.  Then, that gravitational field will tell that mass how to move.  Any motion will change the gravitational field, which will then change the motion of the matter distribution.  Therefore, if we solved the Einstein equation for a full matter distribution, all of these influences would be noted -- one end of the distribution would be pulled to the other, and the distribution would emit gravitational radiation as it moved, and lose matter.
Pure geodesic motion, however, only applies to particles whose mass is so small relative to the curvature around them that we can effectively ignore the gravitational field that they set up, and that are so small that the curvature of spacetime is essentially constant over the surface of the object.  It is only these particles that travel along geodesics.  If you relax either assumption, then the motion of the object will be predicted by the Einstein equation, but not by the geodesic equations.
Answer: Yes. By definition geodesics come from a metric.
The way you get geodesics from the energy momentum tensor is
by deriving the metric tensor from it using Einstein's equations:
$$G_{\mu \nu} + \Lambda g_{\mu \nu}= {8\pi G\over c^4} T_{\mu \nu}$$
and that is the spacetime metric of general relativity.
So the geodesics must be the same since they minimize the same metric.
Comment: I don't think this is quite what the OP is asking about.  I think the question there is that, in the frame of the given metric, you have $\rho = T_{00}$ and ${\vec j}_{i} = T_{i0}$, and you therefore then know all of the motion of the test particles after you've solved Einstein's equation.  But, you can also infer this from the assumption of geodesic motion.


Where can I find demographic data on ABC network shows?

Question: Does anyone know where I can find data on ABC network shows (like Blackish on ABC Family)? I want to see how they're doing as a company and what their demographics numbers are.
Answer: You can get a good amount of data from UCLA's Hollywood Diversity Report. Linked is the one for 2018, but is seems they do one every year.
So far, I've only been able to find a PDF.


Is Fauxlivia's baby still in the timeline?

Question: Is Faux Olivia's baby with Peter still going to be born in the other world?
Answer: The observer September said in season 4 that just as Peter had been erased (although not completely), so had his son Henry.
Comment: That was the whole reason September had to reset the timeline and erase Peter, because his/Fauxlivia's baby did something to screw up the future.
Answer: I guess not, since Peter was erased from the timeline.
I don't even think faux Olivia knows him. As Secretary Bishop didn't either.
Answer: No, in the revised timeline the Peter Bishop that had a child with Faux Olivia drowned in Reiden Lake at age seven after an unsuccessful attempt by the alternate of his father to save him from a disease.  It seems that due to his impact and connections in the original timeline to the people who still existed in the new timeline he was a paradox that was unable to be fully excised forcing September to erase him.
Peter and Faux Olivia never met to conceive that child and the child had very limited effect on the world and does not have the same resistance from erasure that Peter did.  In "The End of All Things" September confirms that the son Peter was unaware of, Henry, ceased to exist when Peter activated the Bridge device.


When are org-mode attachments preferable to file hyperlinks?

Question: As far as I can tell, org-mode attachments solve the same problem as do file hyperlinks but in a clunkier way. In what situations would attachments be the superior solution?
Answer: Sometimes a hyperlink might be to something ephemeral like a log file or a file editable by others. Attachments allow you to permanently capture the current state of the file in a way more convenient than you manually copying the file into a good location and linking to it.
This might also extend to Internet accessibility. If you want access to a file without Internet access, you can attach it to your org file.
But conversely, attachments can soft-link to a location whereas hyperlinks can't store a local copy. When attachments soft-link to a document (C-c C-a y), org-mode will create a symbolic link to the file if possible on your operating system (equivalent to ln on a *nix system). The other methods (C-c C-a c/m/l) provide other behaviour. The default (C-c C-a a) is one of these, as set by org-attach-method.
You can also specify the attachment directory and populate that directory. org-attach-sync then synchronizes your attachment metadata so the headline is aware of the new files. You can't do this with hyperlinks without globbing or scripting.
You can get a list of all the attached files via org-attach-file-list, which allows you to iterate over them all and do useful things like copy to a Dropbox folder or store in git. Iterating over hyperlinks in a section is much more difficult and error-prone.
Another reason to consider attachments over hyperlinks is that they associate a link to an org headline, without you having to put it in the text. The attachment metadata is stored in a property drawer which can be hidden with TAB.
Hyperlinks have to exist in the text generally in the form [[file:somefile.pdf][My file]]. You could potentially hide this hyperlink in a property as well, but then you're more-or-less replicating org-attach without the ease-of-use.
In short, while hyperlinks can associate other documents to a heading, org-attach makes this association stronger, more robust and in some ways easier to use.
Edited: Added clarification.
Comment: Welcome to mx.sx! Maybe you could expand a bit on the two last paragraphs: what kind of soft-link can you do with attachements, and how is it different from a local hyperlink? And where exactly will the link be if not in the text?
Answer: One major advance of using attachements over links is that org-mode can take care of commiting any changes to the attached file if they are under version control, Quote from the Manual:

[...]  If you initialize this directory [the one where the attachement resides in] with git init, Org will automatically commit changes when it sees them.

(added italics for explanation).
If used properly, the attachement feature ensures that the attached files are always up to date and accompagny the .org file.
I'd say that using links is a better choice if you

don't want to commit files with the .org on every change / ever
have a mixture of files which could be attached and some which should never be attached (hence, for consistency you don't use attachements)
are already working under version control and / or don't need the auto-commit functionality

To me, attachements are kind of the dwim (do-what-I-mean) approach to files which are to be included or are referenced in an .org file.


MySQL Database import into 5.7 hangs with CLI or with Workbench 6.3 CE

Question: I have a SQL dump file that I exported using Workbench from a server that is being decommissioned. The host and target OS is Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 (therefore is x64 natively). There seems to be no way in hell to import this SQL dump file as it will hang no matter what. File size is less than 500Mb. I did look at the database schema itself and tables seem to have overwritten the initially created DB with the same name, however the import will not do anything but hang. I'm not a DBA, just a network/sysadmin so I am most frustrated with getting this thing to import. Any suggestions anyone?
Comment: First, deep breath... :-). 500MB is small these days. Second, have you "eye-balled" your data? Does the script look OK? Can you split it into separate tables? How was the "dump" taken? Answer these and we'll take it from there. p.s. welcome to the forum.
Comment: Try to look in the error log of MySQL for possible cause.
Answer: I assume the actual problem is you don't know the progress percentage of import process. That's why it appears to be hanging while import is progressing in the background.

Following details were copied from this how-can-i-monitor-the-progress-of-an-import-of-a-large-sql-file accepted answer

If you're  just importing from a dump file from the CLI on *nix, e.g.
mysql -uxxx -pxxx dbname < /sqlfile.sql

then first install pipe viewer on your OS then try something like this:
pv sqlfile.sql | mysql -uxxx -pxxxx dbname

which will show a progress bar as the program runs.
It's very useful and you can also use it to get an estimate for mysqldump progress.
pv dumps the sqlfile.sql and passes them to mysql (because of the pipe operator). While it is dumping, it shows the progress. The cool thing is that mysql takes the data only as fast as it can progress it, so pv can show the progress of the import. I do not have any proof. But it seems so. I guess there is some buffer used, but at some point I think mysql does not read any more data when it is still busy processing.
Comment: It does seem to hang from time to time though with large exported SQL files. I have the same problem and it's easy to tell that it hangs doing nothing because the actual db files that get created stop increasing in size on the larger tables that need to be imported
Answer: I ran into similar problem importing a 1.2G SQL File and it took about 10 hours on my Laptop (Core i-5 x64 8G RAM) Of course I was multitasking.
To find out the progress, I'd query every hour using this query
select table_name as "Table", round(((data_length + index_length) / 1024 / 1024), 2) AS "SIZE" from information_schema.TABLES where table_schema = "Name_of_Database_You_Import";

Thanks
Answer: Load it in using the mysql commandline took instead of Workbench.


Can we travel from Japan to USA with Indian US visa?

Question: I am an Indian. I have a tourist visa for visiting USA and Japan. Can I travel to Japan first, tour there for a month and then travel to USA directly from Japan?. Or Should I come back to India after visiting Japan and then travel back from India to Japan?
Answer: You don't need to come back to India, because the visa does not dictate where you should start your journey.
You can fly to Japan, spend some time there, and from Japan fly to the US. For immigration, it would be just the same as if you flew from India (or anywhere else).
The visa guarantees you entry to the border point, and it does not dictate anything more (or less).
Comment: "The visa guarantees you entry to the border point" is not universally true (in particular, it is not true in Japan). If you meant to say it is true in the US (I have no idea whether that's the case), maybe you could make this explicit.
Comment: What is the exception in Japan? A visa just means you can travel to the border check (which is what I meant). It does not guarantee you entry into the country.
Comment: Then I'm not sure what you meant exactly... Getting you to the border is the airline's job, and while it is true that they will deny you boarding if you don't have a visa despite needing one, they can also do it for a lot of other reasons.
Comment: Its not the airline's job - you can travel by car to the border check - and to cross into immigration you would need a visa, but just holding a visa does not guarantee you entry into the country. For example, the immigration officer can refuse you entry if you do not carry supporting documents for the type of travel indicated on your visa.
Comment: You can travel by car even without a visa. ;) My point is that a visa does not guarantee anything. It's only one part of the procedure to enter a country.
Comment: I think we are making the same point :)
Comment: Yes but in your answer you say "The visa guarantees you [...]", which can be confusing.


Looking for protocol to produce a drosophila primary cell line

Question: I'm looking for a general (and easy, this is going to be for an undergrad class) protocol to isolate and culture primary cells from fruit flies.
Comment: Do you want primary cells or cell lines since they are different. My response should however aid with both.
Comment: We are time limited. We have about 3 weeks for this project im guessing stables takes up to months
Answer: This is the original 1972 paper describing the isolation of the S2 cells from Drosophila. However it would be best if you specify what application you are planning to pursue with the cells, which would make it easier to suggest which ones to isolate. I have personally isolated garland cells, which are visible with the naked eye and highly suitable for endocytic assays. It takes a few minutes to isolate them and all you need are two grade 5 or grade 4 sharp tweezers and 2nd or 3rd instar  Drosophila larvae and a dish and some PBS to submerge the larvae in. You don't even need to pin them! If you are interested I can edit this response and write their isolation technique as I can't find a good technique online.
EDIT:
I have not personally isolated S2 cells although I have extensively worked with S2 and S2R+ cell lines (which are embryonic). Garland cells are excellent to work with for endocytic assays using Dextran (fluorescent dye used for bulk endocytosis assays) and Dynasore [dynamin inhibitor] (and infact they were used to characterise Drosophila dynamin homologue, shibire, here and here and its temperature sensitive behaviour in Shi[ts] mutants and shi role in endocytosis) as an example shown here in fig 6 using S2 cells. I have never cultured the garland primary cells so I do not know their PD and how they behave in Schneider+FBS (since I only isolated them and performed andocytic assays with them while they were in schneiders) and I don't think anyone has (but have a look) so it would be a great protocol to stablish and publish in a methods paper. I'm more than happy to share the isolation technique with you, tried looking on jove or youtube for a video but failed to find one, and let you know what to look for if you wish. Just as a cautionary note, garland cells are multi-nucleated (i have seen up to 4) so it might not divide very well or at all so just bear that in mind.
Comment: So this is why I love stack e...thanks for this. So the end result is pretty open ended as of now. At that point in the course they will be learning about fluorescent microscopy. Last semester we had a lot of success using lysotracker in s2 cells and would like to expand the work they did with established cells, now in primary. I would love to have them make stables but I'm concerned about time (and serum). Im very interested in the method you used. Approx How many doublings a did u observe after isolation? We would acknowledge you if the manual goes in press. Thanks @bez I'm open to advice!
Comment: I have edited my reply. Please let me know if you require the isolation protocol for garland cells and I shall write it as an edit to my response.


Examples of chromosome fusions

Question: One of the best "smoking gun" pieces of evidence of humans' close relation to chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans is that human chromosome 2 is a fusion of two primate chromosomes, with a double telomere in the middle and a centromere on each side. This fusion, which occurred some time after our MRCA with chimpanzees, was an accident with no evolutionary importance, but it happens to provide extra support for our common ancestry with other African apes. In theory, such fusions could be so commonplace that they can be used to infer much of the family tree of life on their own. I'm sure they're nowhere near that common, but this got me thinking: are there any other examples of species with chromosome fusions (or splittings?) that betray their closest relatives?
Comment: Related: https://www.quora.com/Is-there-any-evidence-of-chromosome-fusion-in-any-other-species
Comment: See https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/chromosome-fusion.312786/
for answers and several points of discussion on what are called Robertsonian translocations. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robertsonian_translocation
Comment: My question concerned intraspecific cases (a topic of your link 1), not variation in humans (viz. your link 2). I'm glad for both as I learned much about the effects of translocation besides "it needn't matter because loci can line up in a way that lets meiosis work", which explains why natural selection tolerated the fusion in us but was the previous limit of my knowledge. The RT case reveals how acrocentric chromosomes can introduce complications.
Answer: You can go to ensembl.org and look up synteny between closely related organisms, like rats and mice.  Below is one example: rat chromsome 1 is made up of all of mouse chromosome 7 and 19, plus parts of 17, 10, and a smidge of 13
https://uswest.ensembl.org/Rattus_norvegicus/Location/Synteny?db=core&r=1%3A126594509-126694509&otherspecies=Mus_musculus

Examples of chromosome fusions


Corpus for simple or basic english

Question: I'm trying to find a good, extensive corpus that uses "simple" or "basic" English, in the sense that it should be easily understandable to people who are not proficient in the English language. For examples, see Basic English and the Simple English Wikipedia. Do such corpora exist? Do you know where I can find a list of simple English corpora?
Answer: A dump of the Simple English Wikipedia makes a good and freely available corpus for Simple English.
For Basic English, there is a downloadable Bible in Basic English.
Answer: A "basic" or "simple" corpus is actually very hard to define. It's something we all assume exists when we get started in NLP, but come to realize is usually not feasible.
The Wikipedia idea is good. There's also the Google 1b dataset, and the COCA.
Every corpus has a purpose and a bias though. Make sure you're aware of these when using that corpus.
EDIT: A new corpus was just released today,  English grammaticality judgments from nearly 700,000 subjects, (around 50% non-native speakers). Since you asked for "simple" English from less proficient speakers, you can filter by proficiency, e.g. number of years speaking English.

Corpus for simple or basic english


Help with apartment gardening and lighting mainly concerning bougainvillea

Question: I have recently moved apartments to be closer to school, and sadly where I have moved is a basement apartment without a patio or windows that get a lot of sun. I have a fair collection of plants and I want to continue adding to my collection. My two biggest challenges right now seem to be a lack of space and a lack of light. I have purchased two LED grow lights and that has seemed to help the plants I have come back to good health (except for my bougainvillea). My bougainvillea seems to be rather sad and has lost all of it's main leaves. They stay green and just fall off. Could this be because the grow lights do not provide sufficient light? (pictures will be posted after classes today) Could over crowding due to little space also be a cause of leaf loss?
Answer: That is a bummer, I've been in the same place having to move all my plants (in a U Haul once, 7 hours in 20 degrees below zero, I wrapped each plant in newspaper and every single one made it...love newspaper for insulating) but I am glad you have already done the best thing possible by purchasing grow lights. What are the specs of these lights such as wattage? How big are these lights?  How far away are these lights from your plants?
Your bougainvillea probably was shocked because of the move and during the move.  Some plants are far more touchy about their environment and will drop their leaves just because of a new draft in the room. Dropping leaves is a normal response by a plant to protect itself especially when introduced to winter temperatures outside during the move.
Crowding plants is the best thing for your plants.  They shouldn't be so crowded that the light gets blocked from the smaller plants or that air isn't allowed to circulate around each plant.  I would also turn them once a week.  Warmth and humidity and perhaps communication (via chemistry) is afforded when plants are all grouped together.  Do not mist your plants.  I take all my indoor plants and put them in the shower once or twice a year and let them be washed of dust and possible insects.  Let them sit and drain and dry off right in the shower.
If I am imagining your group of plants correctly, I would put white plastic down on the floor, lift the bottoms of all pots off the surface they need to drain into with pieces of tile 1/4" thick. The biggest mistake you could make would be to water all of your plants at the same time unless they are truly on the same schedule.
Get used to the heft of a pot and its plant.  Only water when that pot is obviously light.  Some plants need constant moisture but most do best if you allow the soil to dry out before watering again.  You probably know the needs of your plants very well.
Please send pictures of the entire group of plants, your Bougainvillea.  The lights. Tell us what you used for soil in your pots, what you are doing for fertilizer and what your water source used to be and what you have now.  Tap water is usable for awhile but chlorine and hydrofluorosilicic acid (fluoride) are poisonous.  If you have a friend that has well water I would go 'borrow' some water in a few 5 gallon buckets to use for watering. Chlorine at least, dissipates when left out in an open jug for a few hours.  I would plan on changing out the soil once per year if you have to use tap or city treatment water.
Your Bougainvillea, should be fine if you do not water too much, because it isn't photosynthesizing much, fertilizer only if you've never fertilized and only a small amount.  Did you use rocks or gravel at the bottom of your pots?  If you did we need to discuss getting your plants transplanted into new potting soil with no rocks at the bottom, no moisture holding gimmicks such as sponges or gels and certainly no fertilizer added to the potting soil. Keep fertilizer separate.
We'll look for your pictures!
Edit:  Your bougainvillea looks like it is coming back just fine.  Those lights need to be lowered about 4 or more feet.  They are too high.  Lower them to a foot from the top of your tallest plant.
I was hoping you weren't going to tell me you used gravel in your pots.  I guess you misunderstood that that is a big no no.  Causes a perched water table which in essence means you've got worse drainage than having no drain holes at all.  This doesn't have to happen right away but it does need to happen.  All those pots should be dumped and only potting soil goes into those pots.
Long time myth that is still to this day very believed.  Nothing but potting soil and plant goes in pots.  A perched water table means there is a difference between pore spaces in the soil layers.  The top layer with small pore spaces has to become completely saturated before the water even begins to enter the gravel with large pore spaces.  Too much water for far too long.  Cut back on watering for sure until you repot your plants getting rid of that gravel/rocks at the bottom.
I hope this makes sense, please let me know if you understand this perched water table thing!
Get those lights hanging just a foot from the top of your largest plant.  Then lets talk about the specs on your lights.  They look good but nice to know for sure.  Certainly those lights need to be lowered to make use of the light they offer.
What is the white on your largest black pot?  Is that pot peeling or is that stuff granular?
Good news on the fertilizer.  Less is best but not enough will kill as well as a little too much.  Those lights look great, just lower them.
Comment: @Bluefox  Miracle grow potting soil mix might have added fertilizer.  Do you still have the bag?  Please let me know if you do.  Bougainvillea is most likely stressed, I see new growth already.  That gravel at the bottom of your pots is causing very bad drainage.  Your plants sit in water too long.  I am glad to learn about the gravel, you don't have to change the soil right now but you do have to get rid of the gravel soon. Until you are able to get fresh soil, water sparingly!  Is there any part of my answer you would like to be clarified?  Perched water table?
Comment: Thank you for the great advice! I will keep in mind the watering and I will be very careful not to over water. All the pots have a healthy amount of gravel on the bottom for drainage and if there isn't a drainage hole in the pot they have more gravel than the others. I fertilize with a balanced liquid fertilizer about once a month, the bougainvillea is just in a miracle grow potting soil mix.
Comment: It is very difficult to follow your answer. Can you perhaps make a summary of it for future readers?
Comment: I don't have the bag anymore sadly. I used it up over the summer. But I do know that it was a white bag from Costco. I will water sparingly from now on, that's really good advice and when the weather warms up I will change the soil out to something more suitable.
Comment: I think that will work...plants are tough, adaptable. Win win?


Historical Summer Olympics Medal Counts?

Question: Anyone have a file/group of files containing medal counts by country over time? The past few aren't hard to get, but before that I'm not sure.
Answer: There is a project of files here: https://www.datazar.com/project/p5d33ef20-3df6-4a71-94e4-59123f16add6 on Datazar, containing medal counts from Summer Olympics from 1896-2008. The last two shouldn't be hard to get though, I will search around and add them to the project.
Full discolusre: I work at Datazar- A collaborative open data library


How can parameters of the ionosphere be calculated?

Question: How can parameters of the ionosphere be calculated? Specifically, how do we calculate total ion density, total ion temperature and individual major ion densities from I-V Characteristics curve of ionospheric plasma. The I-V characteristics curve is obtained using ion Retarding Potential Analyzer (RPA) onboard a spacecraft.
Answer: Answer to that one: What you describe is a measurment, not a calculation.
The measurment you describe varies the potential difference at a satellites Langmuir probe. The potential difference then attracts or deflects ions, and deflects or attracts electrons. Those electrons and ions are the current being picked up by the Langmuir probe.
Then follows a translation of current into local ion or electron densities. Different ion species can be distinguished w.r.t each other because they have different inertia, and thus different arrival times. I'm not sure how many ion species one can distinguish however in this way.


Xbox one in Luxembourg

Question: I'm living in Luxembourg and was hoping to buy a Xbox One. This country is not in scope for Xbox Live. However, I have paypal and a Portuguese credit cards. How do other users from unsupported regions  cope with the restrictions? For example, can they use Paypal or redeem codes without problems? Thanks a lot, really appreciate some feedback.
Comment: Sorry this is extremely confusing. What exactly are you asking here? You writing reads like stream of unorganised thoughts. Can you tidy it up a bit? (No, it's not your English, it's about the flow of writing) Also are you in Luxembourg or Portugal? Your nationality has nothing to do with anything whatsoever. It's about where you live and where you get your credit cards from.
Comment: From what I understood, he's in Luxembourg, with Portuguese issued credit cards and access to Paypal, and is asking how to activate or use Xbox Live in Luxembourg. The [Wikipedia page on the Xbox Live](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xbox_Live#Availability) service indicate that it isn't available on Luxembourg. Maybe a proxy server can help, but at this point I'm guessing (as I don't have experience in the subject).
Comment: His question is clear and succinct. Being from the same region, I could provide a structured answer. I will edit the question and provide an answer once unlocked!
Answer: The Xbox One is not region locked, so if you managed to obtain one from any it's released markets you will be fine. Just be aware things like language and connection may be different than you are expecting. Also payments may be an issue, but as you said you have a working paypal/credit card you should be ok.
Source
Comment: Many things are special in non-supported markets. Your answer contains to many uncertainties for my taste. For example, Paypal and credit card use are not "okay" and people should know about it.
Answer: I have been using Live from Luxembourg for many years. First I was attributed a German account which I had recently transferred to a UK account. What I can say about the One is the following:

The One and its games are not region locked. You can play all games that are released in any of our EU neighbour countries just fine. The same should hold true for copies from other continents.
You can freely select any language you want but it is, in parts, tied to the marketplace you are tied to, i.e. if you are tied to the German marketplace you would get some content in German.
The marketplace dictates what content you can access in regard to applications and DLC and what adds will figure on your console, respectively, what offers are available to you.
Using Paypal, while it worked previously, will result in your account being banned from purchases. This is due to a new security standard with the One which has since transcended to the 360. If the IP from which you are trying to buy content does not match the region of your Paypal account, the purchase won't go through and on the third unsuccessful try your account won't be able to make further purchases. You will then need to get support on the line and get it unlocked again.
Similarly for VISA with the difference that you cannot register cards from a region different from your marketplace as the field is greyed out. So for you, if you hold a Portuguese credit/debit card and have a Portuguese account, it could work. But, IP restrictions may apply as highlighted above.
Codes will be redeemable just fine. I have redeemed a few codes already and personally use, due to what I explained above regarding Paypal, Amazon gift cards to charge currency on my account.

You can circumvent most of the restrictions by using a VPN account to change the region of your IP address. Keep in mind that offers that are free circumvent the authentication of your payment method and will be accessible no matter the method you have added or what region you have chosen to attribute your account to. Note that depending on the region of your account, Gold offers might change to local restrictions or bans on certain games.

Xbox one in Luxembourg


Can I rearrange the placement of the items in my inventory?

Question: When playing video games, I can get pretty pick about things. Specifically, the placement of items in my inventory. For this reason, Skyward Sword is bothering me slightly, since my Slingshot is in the lowermost slot of my B-activated inventory area, when I feel it should be at the top. Is there any way I can rearrange which items go in what slot, or am are they stuck where you are when you obtain them?
Answer: While you can rearrange your used items, such as bottles, your permanent inventory seems to have fixed positions.  This bothered me at one point, when I had gap between two items (despite not obtaining them out of order).
Then again, the only Zelda games you've been able to reorganize your inventory in were the GBC games... which had your sword as one of the items due to the two button limit.
Comment: Yes, but this is the only one that the inventory wasn't paused to select an item...
Comment: @Pearsonartphoto The third, actually... the two DS games both didn't pause when the inventory screen was open.
Comment: Hmmm, well, that's what I get for not playing the DS games...
Answer: The tools are put in a pre-determined order it seems. As I have progressed the 12 o'clock position has been kept empty, presumably for the Bow.


Why won't the time show at the Island?

Question: Whenever I go to the Island, the time never shows. I always stand still for a few seconds, nothing happens. However, when I do that in my town, it shows the time. How do I see the time while on the Island?
Comment: If I had to guess, I would say this is a design decision to avoid confusion. Since people from different time zones can visit Tortimer Island, its time won't necessarily be the same as your local time.
Answer: Due to the special multiplayer aspects of the island, the time displayed for all intents and purposes is your own. However, no time will appear in the game.
The answer to "Why won't the time show at the Island?" is a very boring "because it just doesn't". It isn't a bug, and there's not much you can do about it.
If you want the time to be displayed on your screen while on the island, I would offer this workaround: duct-tape a watch on your screen. :)

Why won't the time show at the Island?


What is tathata?

Question: Tathata has been described as the ultimate goal of Buddhism. What is tathata? What is the closest thing we experience in everyday life close to tathata? How can we attain knowledge of tathata?
Comment: Consider the Nonduality Tag.
Answer: For starters, here is the Theravada perspective, with some quotes:

THUSNESS (by ven. Buddhadasa Bhikkhu)
Now, we come to the fourth and last topic: tathata (suchness, thusness). "Merely thus," "just such": everything is such as it is and in no way different from that thusness. This is called "tathata." When tathata is seen, the three characteristics of anicca, dukkha, and anatta are seen, sunnata is seen, and idappaccayata is seen. Tathata is the summary of them all -- merely thus, only thus, not-otherness. There is nothing better than this, more than this, other than this, thusness. To intuitively realize tathata is to see the truth of all things, to see the reality of the things which have deceived us. The things which delude us are all the things which cause discrimination and duality to arise in us: good-evil, happiness-sadness, win-lose, love-hate, etc. There are many pairs of opposites in this world. By not seeing tathata, we allow these things to trick us into believing in duality: this-that, liking-disliking, hot-cold, male-female, defiled, enlightened. This delusion causes all our problems. Trapped in these oppositions, we can't see the truth of things. We fall into liking and disliking, which in turn leads to the defilements, because we don't see tathata.

From SN 12.20:

Iti kho, bhikkhave, yā tatra tathatā avitathatā anaññathatā idappaccayatā – ayaṃ vuccati, bhikkhave, paṭiccasamuppādo.
What's there in this way is a reality, not an unreality, not other than what it seems, conditioned by this/that. This is called dependent co-arising. (Thanissaro)
Thus bhikkhus, the actuality in this, the inerrancy, the not-otherwiseness, specific conditionality: this is called dependent origination. (Bhikkhu Bodhi)

From AN 4.24:

A Tathagata is a seer of what is to be seen, but he does not mind the seen, the unseen, the seeable, the seer. So likewise with the heard, the sensed and the cognized: he thinks of none of these modes of theirs. Therefore among things seen, heard, sensed and cognized he is precisely 'such'. Moreover, than he who is 'such' there is no other 'such' further or more excellent.

So, tathata is the culmination of the Third Noble Truth, cessation of suffering. When you no longer crave any experiences, don't avert any experiences, don't project any delusions onto your experience - when there is no longer a mismatch between "this" and imaginary "that" - that's tathata.
Comment: Hmm... good question... I guess it depends on a person. Apparently some people can dive into Tathata head on, but most have to work on Shunyata asymptotically - until their experience becomes Tathata.
Comment: What is the difference between suchness and voidness/nothingness?
Comment: The way I see it, shunyata is more like an in depth insight or a realization of how things are in general, while tathata is your first person experience of everything once you have internalized shunyata.
Comment: You got your Question. A couple years ago, the first time I ran in to another Neo, she was trying to see if we had had the same experience. After talking for an hour she finally asked, "OK, so how would you say exactly what it is?" I flipped my hands out at my sides, palms upward. She said, "That's it." So we knew we understood each other. Neo is still a Self state, so I would say it accords with Shunyata. Nonduality is beyond that, and accords with this description of Tathata. There is nothing mystical about it. Try to get people to realize that though? They build it up to something else.
Comment: It is beyond non-duality. Chogyam Trungpa was pretty clear about it. My Zen Master was very clear about it. And now I am rather clear about it. Non-duality is still a form. Emptiness is still a form. Even flipping your hands is a position. My friends and I flipped our hands and said Ehhh about non-duality back in 1995! Tathata is far beyond that, beyond any clinging. Beyond self, beyond non-self, and beyond the beyond. There is nothing mystical about it. Drop your nonduality and hopefully you will see what I mean.
Comment: @AndreiVolkov  So, is it impossible to see/realize/experience Tathata without having experience or realizing Shunyata?

What is tathata?


Cyanogenmod 11 in htc explorer running on cyanogenmod 10.1

Question: Can I use the CyanogenMod Installer app to flash Cyanogenmod 11 in my htc explorer which is already rooted and a custom rom is installed, and I have a twrp recovery,so I want to know would there be any problem if I do that,please I need some suggestion...
Answer: No you can't. The CyanogenMod Installer app is only available for Supported devices, which can be found at the CyanogenMod Wiki.
For this device, you'd need to first unlock its bootloader, which I presume you've already done, since you say that you've already rooted, and have installed a custom ROM. Update to the latest version of TWRP recovery which can be found here (which supports installing KitKat), or you could also go for alternatives like Philz Touch recovery (found here), which I am currently using. Note that you need to use the latest version of recovery, as there are certain changes in how KitKat is installed, causing the installation to fail in older recoveries.
You'd need to manually flash the CyanogenMod 11 update, whose two variants can be found:

Official CM11 thread (by galaxyfreak): http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2535682
Weekly CM11 builds (by me, aka thewisenerd): http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2611381

As for the "problems" part of it, can't really say. Only Instagram is found to be buggy (with the uploaded pics, in black color (?)), and of course, Flappy Bird lags a bit (the solution to which probably lies in reverting some upstream changes, and/or the build.prop). I would really suggest that you take a backup of your current custom ROM, try CM11 (or any other KitKat ROM for that purpose), and restore your backup, if you feel it's not worth the update.
Also, do use Google, to find the answers for your queries first (and a topic that's directly related to a particular device, i.e. HTC Explorer, you'd have rather searched here). Its always probable that your questions' already been answered.
Note: As to why I'd say that you'd turn to XDA Developers, as because development for this device primarily takes place in the XDA Developers forum. That's why.
Comment: Would you care to explain why you think this question doesn't fit on this site?
Comment: because its device specific, and isn't exactly "useful" of sorts, so...

p.s. updated answer, with correct answer, and more detailing.
Comment: Device-specific questions are perfectly welcome here.


How to measure handlebar? pls

Question:
Do you know what size my handlebar has? I want to buy a new pair of Tektro brake levers and I do not know what steps to take about it
Answer: You need to measure the grip area diameter (the diameter of the handle bars where the brake levers clamp onto). I'd suggest using a pair of calipers.
22.2 mm will fit flat bar (typically mountain bike/flat bar road) components, 23.8 mm will fit drop bar (typically road) components.
Note that you need to also get compatible pull brake levers -- in your case, you have a caliper brake so you need a short pull brake lever (ie. one that is marked for not linear pull/V-brakes).
Comment: If you can't have hold of calliper just roll a strip of writing paper around the bar and mark one full turn on the paper. Measure the marked length. With the type of bar in the picture (quill stem) it will most certainly read 69.7mm for a 22.2mm bar. A 23.8mm bar has almost 75mm circumference, a noticeable difference!

How to measure handlebar? pls


In Python what is a global statement?

Question: What is a global statement? And how is it used?  I have read Python's official definition;
however, it doesn't make a lot of sense to me.
Comment: just a remark, 2.4 is an old version of python, the actual reference for [python 2.X version is here](http://docs.python.org/2/reference/simple_stmts.html#global)
Comment: Python 3 comes with new statement `nonlocal` along with `global`, see it too.
Comment: @TahaJahangir -- That's a good point.  I've also added a little blurb on `nonlocal` in my answer because of your comment.  Thanks!
Answer: Every "variable" in python is limited to a certain scope.  The scope of a python "file" is the module-scope.  Consider the following:
#file test.py
myvariable = 5  # myvariable has module-level scope

def func():
    x = 3       # x has "local" or function level scope.

Objects with local scope die as soon as the function exits and can never be retrieved (unless you return them), but within a function, you can access variables in the module level scope (or any containing scope):
myvariable = 5
def func():
    print(myvariable)  # prints 5

def func2():
    x = 3
    def func3():
        print(x)       # will print 3 because it picks it up from `func2`'s scope

    func3()

However, you can't use assignment on that reference and expect that it will be propagated to an outer scope:
myvariable = 5
def func():
    myvariable = 6     # creates a new "local" variable.
                       # Doesn't affect the global version
    print(myvariable)  # prints 6

func()
print(myvariable)      # prints 5

Now, we're finally to global.  The global keyword is the way that you tell python that a particular variable in your function is defined at the global (module-level) scope.
myvariable = 5
def func():
    global myvariable
    myvariable = 6    # changes `myvariable` at the global scope
    print(myvariable) # prints 6

func()
print(myvariable)  # prints 6 now because we were able
                   # to modify the reference in the function

In other words, you can change the value of myvariable in the module-scope from within func if you use the global keyword.

As an aside, scopes can be nested arbitrarily deeply:
def func1():
    x = 3
    def func2():
        print("x=",x,"func2")
        y = 4
        def func3():
            nonlocal x  # try it with nonlocal commented out as well.  See the difference.
            print("x=",x,"func3")
            print("y=",y,"func3")
            z = 5
            print("z=",z,"func3")
            x = 10

        func3()

    func2()
    print("x=",x,"func1")

func1()

Now in this case, none of the variables are declared at the global scope, and in python2, there is no (easy/clean) way to change the value of x in the scope of func1 from within func3.  That's why the nonlocal keyword was introduced in python3.x .  nonlocal is an extension of global that allows you to modify a variable that you picked up from another scope in whatever scope it was pulled from.
Comment: @user1901780 -- It's also worth pointing out that **most** of the time, sharing data via `global` is considered to be a bad idea as it makes it more difficult to encapsulate your logic.  The better way to have data persist between function calls is to use `class`es which is something you'll probably want to learn if you stick with `python` long enough :)
Comment: +1 for a thorough explanation.  However, you may want to show the results of the print statements.
Comment: Tested this myself after reading your answer and my understanding has vastly improved on this subject. Thank you very much!
Answer: mgilson did a good job but I'd like to add some more.
list1 = [1]
list2 = [1]

def main():
    list1.append(3)
    #list1 = [9]
    list2 = [222]

    print list1, list2

print "before main():", list1, list2
>>> [1] [1]
main()
>>> [1,3] [222]
print list1, list2
>>> [1, 3] [1]

Inside a function, Python assumes every variable as local variable
unless you declare it as global, or you are accessing a global variable.
list1.append(2)

was possible because you are accessing the 'list1' and lists are mutable.
list2 = [222]

was possible because you are initializing a local variable.
However if you uncomment #list1 = [9], you will get
UnboundLocalError: local variable 'list1' referenced before assignment

It means you are trying to initialize a new local variable 'list1' but it was already referenced before,
and you are out of the scope to reassign it.
To enter the scope, declare 'list1' as global.
I strongly recommend you to read this even though there is a typo in the end.
Answer: a = 1

def f():
    a = 2 # doesn't affect global a, this new definition hides it in local scope

a = 1

def f():
    global a
    a = 2 # affects global a

Answer: Basically it tells the interpreter that the variable its given should be modified or assigned at the global level, rather than the default local level.
Answer: You can use a global variable in other functions by declaring it as global in each function that modifies it
Python wants to make sure that you really know that's what you're playing with by explicitly requiring the global keyword.
See this answer

In Python what is a global statement?


Why do we prefer zero-crossing optotriacs for driving triacs?

Question: I usually see a special type of optotriac which has internal zero-crossing detection circuit in it. This type of optotriac is generally used for driving triacs. But, I don't understand its necessity. A normal optotriac can do the same driving job, couldn't it? Why is this zero-crossing triac preferred for driving triacs?
MOC3041
Comment: Are you asking why we want zero crossinga at all, or why we don't do zero crossing detection externally?
Comment: Have a look at my [Opto-triacs, zero-cross](http://lednique.com/opto-isolators-2/opto-triacs-zero-cross-work/) which should be of interest.
Comment: I am asking why we want it.
Comment: Because if it switches when the voltage is 0V, it switches virtually no current in resistive loads. That's better for interferences injected in the supply, otherwise it would be the same problem as switching converters. Doesn't apply to inductive or capacitive loads though.
Comment: @MisterMystère For reducing the switching power loss on the \$330\Omega\$ and \$300\Omega\$ resistors? Is this the sole reason? Why don't you post it as an answer?
Answer: Short answer: to reduce switching losses and harmonics rejected into the supply (EMI issues), assuming the loads are resistive.
An optotriac is an implementation of a solid state relay, which can be other things, but I'll refer to your optotriac as an SSR in the following.
Assuming resistive loads: On AC supply, a zero cross detection circuit will allow the SSR to switch when virtually no current is flowing, which reduces the switching losses from the finite turn-on time of the contacts, and also reduces interferences rejected into the supply: if a nice sine wave is cut off abruptly at random locations, you're more or less drawing a square wave of the current for a small amount of time - this represents loads of non-50Hz (or 60Hz) harmonics drawn from the supply into all the parasitic elements of the supply, which will turn into voltage interferences. The extreme case for this are switching converters such as a buck or a boost but it's essentially the same issue. Triacs already spontaneously turn off at current zero cross, so there is only need to turn on the SSR at current zero cross. For resistive loads, this is also voltage zero cross.
Assuming inductive or capacitive loads: I'm pretty sure the "zero cross" label refers to the voltage, and not the current, which means that the above does not apply to capacitive and inductive loads since voltage and current are not in phase. I would reckon in such cases that the SSR will turn on at voltage zero cross/random current, and turn off at random voltage (after the next voltage zero cross)/current zero cross because of the triac's behaviours. Turning on would waste power and reject interferences. To be confirmed though.
To my knowledge the zero cross feature exists also in SSRs which are not based on triacs, it's just less convenient when dealing with AC controls.
Addendum: Here is an illustration of the interferences I'm talking about. The first figure shows one unswitched sinewave, and one switched, which have the same power. Strictly speaking I should be comparing several cycles where they are switched at zero cross in one case, and randomly in the other but that was quicker for one cycle. The fast fourier transform in the second figure shows that much more unwanted frequencies are drawn from the supply when the sine wave is switched, including DC.
Comment: So an optical isolator with zero crossing detector cannot be used in dimming bulb applications, is my understanding correct?
Comment: A non-zero crossing driver would be driving the triac continuously. It keeps driving the trial all the time. Wouldn't that let the entire sine wave pass the triac? I don't understand why the sine waveform would be cut off at random locations.
Comment: I think I get it. You mean, zero-crossing driver prevents the starting point to coincide on the middle of the sine wave. And it guaranties that the starting point is always a zero-crossing point (0 and 180 degrees). But if the triac is to be switched only once in a while, the only benefit of a zero crossing driver will be saving switching power.
Comment: Triacs only turn *Off* at the zero crossing of *current*, so that shouldn't generate RF interference. I don't think the type of load matters either. When the triac is off, there's no current, so no phase shift due to non-resistive loads. What matters is that it switches *On* when the *voltage* across it is zero, so the load sees a fairly smooth sine wave ramp up, not an instant step in voltage.
Comment: Hopefully I've made my answer clearer now.


Adoptive Storage on Galaxy S7 edge

Question: I have a S7 edge. When I plug it into my pc it reads 2 separate volumes under phone, 32gb for S7 and 128 for sd. I'm able to freely transfer data between the phone's internal storage and the sd card and the computer. Then I went ahead and turned on the adoptable storage on my device. I then plugged my phone back into the computer but now it only reads 32gb of internal(phone) storage only, not the additional 128gb=160gb. I unplugged my phone from the computer and went into the device storage. It showed that I had 138gb(22gb was already being used by the device). Then the phone asked me if I was ready to migrate data from the internal storage to the sd. I wasn't sure what to do so. I didn't want to migrate data then not be able to access them through my pc or laptop so I canceled then reformatted the sd card as a external storage. I want to turn on adoptable storage but need to know why when I first attempted to do so my pc only saw 32gb instead of 160gb(32gb+128)? Was I suppose to migrate data in order for it to read 160gb? Is it normal for my pc to only see 32gb on the device but will still be able to access ALL of my data through my pc or will it only see the 32gb and whatever the phone decides to store on the sd will only be visible on the phone. One final question...if I'm only able to transfer files from the actual 32gb on the phone will I be able to transfer the other files,data stored on the sd through NFC or Bluetooth?
Answer: It's because once the sd card is converted to adoptable, the pc will no longer see it. Only the original 32g will be recognized, but you will still have all of the extra space correctly. You'd have to transfer items to the main storage, then move them to the adoptable storage from the phone.

Adoptive Storage on Galaxy S7 edge


guessing random private key

Question: From what I understand (which is not much), private key is like id/password for your wallet. So lets say, I have random number generator and I generate random number, is it possible that generated number could be key to someone elses wallet?
Answer: Yes, it is possibly, but not probable, or in other terms, extremely rare. There'll be maximum 2^160 addresses, which is much more than the number of addresses that are used. See this.
Comment: The language really needs other words for this level of probability. I mean we use those words to describe the odds of finding an almost extinct frog in the jungle. The odds of that occuring is indescribable higher than the odds of guessing a random private key.
Comment: It's about the chance of winning the Powerball jackpot 6 years in a row, with just one ticket.
Comment: Bon appetit @Jay, enter your random generated number [here and check](http://www.allprivatekeys.com/allprivatekeys.php) if you are luckier than the Powerball winner mentioned above.

guessing random private key


Sales person tries to be a project manager

Question: Our organization is a matrix organization with very little power in PM hands. PM themselves are subject matter experts who share PM roles on one projects with delivery on others. We recently started having one group of sales people interfering into the project management process. for example, they try to schedule meetings without confirming it or informing the assigned PM. The latest news is: they are selling the project, and saying to the client that an account manager will perform the project management, so the project will be "cheaper". I do not get the "cheaper" logic, but I try to find information on why it is a very bad idea. We are not a mature organization, where everything is established and roles and responsibilities are clearly defined, so this kind of situations are hard to argue with, after it was "sold" this way. I will appreciate any advice or point into a right direction on who should be doing what and why in PM- sales person interaction. Thank you!
Comment: The project might be "cheaper" without any project managers, but it might cost more due to bad management.
Comment: The answer is organization dependent.  The problem isn't that sales people are trying to be project managers, it is that multiple people are trying to be project managers.  If project management is to be effective, the project manager must manage sponsor expectations. Two PM's can do that only if they coordinate actions.
Answer:
I do not get the "cheaper" logic, but I try to find information on why it is a very bad idea.

The "cheaper" logic is obvious: if you need no PM, you don't need to pay a PM and the project will be cheaper.
It's a bad idea because managing a project is a job. It's not something you take on as a hobby after hours in your sales job. That's not exactly unique to project management. Every job worth doing is worth doing properly.
But this is a management thing. Your company needs to set guidelines how projects are done. Does every project need a PM? Only your company can decide that.
Comment: Hi, in terms of "cheaper" I do not understand how not including this into the project cost equals good sale. Also this is a rather big project which will require a lot of time to manage, what will most likely end up happening is sales person asking for help from who was supposed to be a PM because they can't talk the same language (technical stuff) and do not have time to figure out what is going on.
Comment: In our company there are not real guidelines on this, and if any rule get accepted "verbally" (on some meeting they decide, sales should not do that), after 2 weeks no one cares about it. I talked to my manager, but my manager said the only thing we can do is try writing down these guidelines, and try them to be approved. That will require time and level of expertise we might not have. Management higher up usually do not do anything like that.
Answer: Your company is going through the maturity process and is valuing sales more than delivery. Eventually, your company will have to face its delivery metrics and likely losses and you will have the data you need to sponsor a change.
Keep promoting your ideas but expect little progress for now.
Comment: Thank you. I am trying to do my best to make things better, but I have very little power to do so.
Answer: Roles and responsibilities exist in organization regardless of its maturity level. Different games have different rules, but each game has its rules. What you encounter now is someone breaking the rules. What do you do when you see someone breaking the rules? You call the police or, speaking of company affairs, your boss. I assume that you are not a department manager (the one who actually can change the rules).
Express the situation to your manager in open and judgement-free manner. Tell about your assumptions who is responsible for what. Explain specific cases which contradicts with your assumptions. Ask to provide resolutions for each (do not make any proposals if you are emotional about the topic). If your activities depend on those resolutions - mention that you have to stop corresponding tasks until then.
Comment: well, previously I addressed this with my manager, and there was a discussion on the 1 step above me level about how we should interact and realization that there is no guidelines. The sales person who was scheduling my meetings was asked not to do so. 2 month later he is going it again. The guidelines and rules will be very helpful, but there is nothing written down.
Comment: @Lena if they are not written does not mean that they do not exist, there is a status quo. If it happened again - tell your manager again. There are options - you either took responsibility for resolving the conflict or pass it to the person who is responsible now. All in all your manager is getting paid for such things, you are not.


Why isn't my hydrangea producing flowers?

Question: My hydrangea is very leafy, but not producing flowers. Should I be adding something to the soil? This is the second consecutive year and I am totally perplexed. Appreciate any and all assistance. Thank you.
Comment: Did you fertilize and if so, with what? Has it bloomed before? Did you prune it and if so, how and when? Any changes to the environment? You can simply edit your own post any time. And: Sometimes a picture is worth 1000 words... Welcome to the site!
Comment: Thank you. It has bloomed before and have not fertilized the plant. No changes to the environment. Pruned in the early spring and only removed old & damaged canes.
Comment: What kind of hydrangea is it? Where are you located? Did you have an exceptionally harsh winter? Do you have deer problems?
Comment: Is your hydrangea in the ground, and is it planted near larger shrubs or trees?
Answer: Hydrangeas won't flower well if you are using fertilizer with more nitrogen than phosphorous and potassium.  Is this hydrangea in the middle of your lawn receiving lawn fertilizer? Lawn fertilizer has too much nitrogen for promoting flowers/fruit/reproductive growth.  You'll get lots of healthy vegetative growth (leaves, stems) but very few flowers.  Also, if your hydrangea is in deep, deep shade it won't flower well either. Pruning is important as well as timing of pruning.
how to prune hydrangeas
Comment: Thank you for your advice. It is located on edge of lawn, so may have received some lawn fertilizer. Not in deep shade, plenty of sun. Pruned in very early spring and only removed old & damaged canes. Thanks again for your advice.
Comment: Gotta ID your hydrangea because you don't want to be cutting old canes off on most of the hydrangeas I am familiar with...pruning should be done after flowering not in the spring...so SEND A PICTURE, grins.
Answer: Many of the older varieties of garden hydrangeas set flowers that can be killed by bad winters and late frosts in spring. I live in nyc and didn't get any flowers last season. This year I got flowers on one bush and not the other one(different varieties). These plants also flower on previous year's growth. They should not be pruned back because blooms develop on previous year's growth. Pruning in fall,winter or spring will remove flower buds.
Answer: There are several varieties of hydrangeas.  I am guessing you have one that only blooms on old wood.  Use one/two tablespoons of Holly-Tone fertilizer in early May and once again in late June.  I also recommend putting your used coffee grounds in the soil, hydrangeas love that.  Do not fertilize after August.  In the winter after a good frost, cover the plant very generously with mulch such as straw/hay (I am talking about a big mound to protect all the tiny flower budlets on the old growth wood).  Sometimes a very hard winter can not be protected against and you will have a bloom-less year.  Avoid pruning completely.  After all danger of frost has passed, remove the mulch so the sun can penetrate.  Do not over-water the plant.  Droopy leaves are normal in afternoon sun, the plant will perk up the next morning, no need to add water.
Answer: I can share my experience with you.  I have hydrangea in my courtyard where is gets sun for only part of the day.  I have had them for 4 years and have not really fertilized them much (I probably should).  I had flowers all 4 years and they are particularly doing well this year.  I did prune the dead flowers and I was told that they should only be pruned AFTER new growth starts appearing below the dead flower and not before.  This is something you should be aware of as well and may not be directly related to what you are experiencing.
Answer: You have to tell us what cultivar it is. The most common issue is that hydrangeas bloom only on old wood (save for "Endless Summer" and a few others). So if the plant was pruned back you will get no blooms that year. Leave it alone and see how it does. If as you say, you removed the old canes, that right there is your problem.


What is the mind-state during vipassana after anger disappears?

Question: If the anger disappears once it has been seen, what is that state of mind then? After that, saw mind has two sides, no klesa and klesa, like a coin.
Comment: do mean taming anger or just for the moment?
Comment: Just for the moment.
Answer: The state of mind according to your question is doubt or confusion. It is Kilesa(ignorance). Otherwise it is simply the awareness that anger has disappeared.
Answer: According to the Visuddhimagga (Path of Purification), vipassana (insight meditation, mindfulness meditation, also wisdom or psychological insight) is characterized by upacara-samadhi (neighbourhood samadhi or access collectedness). Anger is one of the five nivarana (hindrances to upacara-samadhi) called uddhacca-kukkucca (restlessness and scruples, where anger is a form of restlessness). While upacara-samadhi provides access to appana-samadhi (full samadhi, jhana), it also provides access to panna (wisdom, insight, knowledge relevant to nibbana or nirvana), whereas appana-samadhi does not provide access to panna. A person does not practice vipassana merely by sitting on a meditation cushion and focusing the mind. The practice of vipassana also requires a state of upacara-samadhi. Hence, an angry person cannot practice vipassana. He must first calm his anger. After calming his anger, he may not be able to enter upacara-samadhi because of the presence of another nivarana. The term "klesa" is a Sanskrit variation of the Pali term kilesa (defilement, the Visuddhimagga lists ten defilements). Once a state of upacara-samadhi is achieved, panna may or may not arise. When panna does arise, it can take many forms, some of which are symbolic. To perceive the mind as having "two sides" was a symbolic representation of the fact that a sankhara (karma-formation, the psychological causes of an action) can be kusala (wholesome, free of defilements) or akusala (unwholesome, defiled) but not both. The mind, of course, has a vast number of sankhara(s), none of which are both wholesome and unwholesome. It would be a serious mistake to view the mind as having two sides like a coin, because (1) is a mere metaphor and (2) it is seriously ignorant of the Buddhist teachings.


iPhone SE - force rebooting gets into a loop

Question: My situation is a bit complicated.
I have an iPhone SE with iOS 9.3.5.
I connected my iPhone to a rental car's audio system and something bad happened. The lock button stopped working and it is spontaneously "clicked" (software-wise) randomly. Sometimes I even get the turn-off screen that is usually displayed after a long lock-click, expect I don't press anything.
I've tried to do a force-reboot (holding the lock and home buttons for a few seconds), the iPhone get turned off, but then immediately it gets into a loop, and the only way to get it to load is to connect it to a power source. This happens also after I simply turn it off (using the accessibility software solution).
I now back-upped the phone to my iTunes, and deleted all of the data so it'll be new-like but this did not help the problem. All of the above symptoms are still happening.
Any ideas on what else I could do?
Answer: I don't think this is related to plugging into the rental car.
I also have (had) an iPhone SE and it experienced the exact same problems.  I took it in and was told the sleep/wake button on top was bad.  The repair place told me they don't bother repairing these models anymore because the parts are very hard to find; this model has a bad problem with this type of button failure.  If you google it you'll see.
I ended-up going to Best Buy and they recycled it for free.  I think you're out of luck unless you can find a place to repair it.
Comment: It seems weird to me because this happened right after I connected it to the audio system of the car. Then I managed to fixed by some resets, and after plugging it again to the car (stupid action) it happened again. Now I'm not sure if I should do an iOS update to iOS 12 and see what happens.
Answer: I just got back from a repair shop and they just solved the problem. I'm not sure exactly what it was - but now it solved. I still think it was a software issue since they thought that the button must be replaced at first, but eventually they didn't replace it.
The only think that's annoying at this point is that I thought that erasing the iPhone would help (since I read it online in a few blogs). It didn't help, and now I cannot install some of my apps because they are unavailable for iOS 9 anymore. So my advice: in this kind of case - first go to a repair shop.


Can company owners use lay offs to prevent restricted stock from vesting before an acquisition?

Question: If the owners of a company are planning to sell it off, should employees worry about the owners laying them off to prevent the remainder of their restricted stock units from vesting?
Answer: Depending on your local laws, such a layoff may be an unlawful act. If the whole purpose of the lay-off is to strip the employees of their RSU's, the employer may be liable and get sued.
However, you have to check that with a lawyer licensed in your jurisdiction. In many places there are no laws against this. In any case, you may claim that there was no good faith/just cause in the action and still sue the employer.
Mere threat of a lawsuit may thwart the whole deal, so I suggest the employees to lawyer up and talk to the employer. That, by the way, will require to create a union - a representative body for the employees. In some places that by itself may be a just cause for termination (in some extremely anti-union jurisdictions, I would guess if there were some they would be in the US).
Bottom line - talk to a lawyer.
Answer: As littleadv says it depends on the local laws.
Normally one shouldn't be too worried. Typically the stocks given to the employees are a very small portion of the overall stocks ... the owners would not try to jeopardize the deal just so that they make an incrementally small amount of money ... they would rather play safe than get into such a practice.


How old is the civilization in The Integral Trees?

Question: In Niven's The Integral Trees and The Smoke Ring, how long have the humans been living there since the colony was founded?  Clearly, long enough for villages to form and different tribes to develop. But is this thousands of years, just a couple generations, or what?
Answer:
"Sharls would not enter that inner region. The maelstrom of forces could damage his ship. He couldn't guess how long the seeder ramship must survive to accomplish his mission. He had waited more than half a thousand years already."

and

"The crew must have disconnected the autopilot system on every one of the CARMs, half a thousand years ago."

also

"Oh ho! The video link hadn't been disconnected! A block must have been programmed in, half a thousand years ago, by the mutineers. Certainly their descendants wouldn't know how to do that."

Excerpts From: Larry Niven's The Integral Trees
More than 500 years.
Comment: Interesting that the period is repeatedly referred to as a half thousand rather than more commonly at "over 500."
Comment: @Broklynite Niven probably believed we would talk like that in the future. Another example of their speech is how they measure distances in klomters.
Comment: Interesting. Could never quite get into Integral trees somehow, though I know many enjoy it


Ring: "anillo" vs "sortija"

Question: Both translate as ring. Is there a difference in connotation? Or is it just a matter of dialect? To further confuse things, I have even heard anilla and aro!
Comment: I wasn't asking for mere definitions. I "knew" the definitions...was just asking for the "differences" between the terms which appear to have similar definitions according to the dictionaries. But like I said, feel free to use your authority the way you feel like. Thanks.
Comment: The differences between the 4 words you've mentioned should be explained in [the dictionary](http://www.rae.es/). Did you start there? If you stil have questions, please be specific about your doubts, or the context in which you are looking for the proper word.
Comment: This question appears to be off-topic because it is general reference.
Comment: Looks like any question pertaining to "Spanish vocabulary" is off topic then since dictionaries address vocabulary. And all "Spanish grammar" questions are off topic since grammar books address...well...grammar. You have the authority so feel free to use it the way you feel like. I have the answer I needed so I don't mind what you do with it now. I don't think my question is off-topic but that doesn't matter since you're the one with the authority. :)
Comment: Most questions asking about the definitions of words are indeed off-topic here--same as they are on English Language & Usage. There are however many questions about nuances, or regional differences, which are on-topic here.
Comment: The "differences" are apparent from the entries at rae.es. If there is some additional subtlety which confuses you, then a question here is perfectly acceptable and encouraged--but then you need to be asking about the subtle difference. In other words, this question can be interpreted as "Read the dictionary to me." To be sure that's *not* what you mean, you need to make it clear what information you are seeking that is *not* in the dictionary.
Answer: Both, anillo and sortija are valid words for ring. However, sortija is commonly used for women's jewelry rings, and never for engagement rings. It has a "cheap" connotation.
Let's summarize the answer with the comments:
Anillo: The most usual way to call any jewelry ring. It can also be used with different circular objects outside the scope of jewelry.
Aro: Can be used for jewelry rings, however is not usual. It's usual scope is to name circular objects.
Anilla: Not used for jewelry rings. Usually refers to different tools of metal pieces with a circular form.
Sortija: Ring of cheap jewelry, used only for women worn rings.
Alianza: Wedding ring, for men and women, however is more usually used just for men wedding rings.
Anillo de compromiso: Engagement ring.
Comment: Thanks for the crisp explanation, Bardo. Do you also have anything on anilla and aro?
Comment: Also, what's the word you'd use for general (not wedding or engagement rings) rings worn by men?
Comment: "Anilla" refers more to tools or objects, is not usual for jewelry of any type. Aro could be used, but is very unusual, his usual use is also for objects with a circular form, outside of the scope of jewelry.
Rings worn by men are almost always referred to as "anillo" or, in the case of wedding rings as "alianza"
Comment: So, let me summarize it:
anillo – ring in general that are work on the finger
anilla – tools or objects shaped as rings
aro – any ring-like object that's not a jewelry
sortija – women's jewelry ring used with a cheap connotation
alianza – wedding or engagement rings for both men and women

Am I right in my understanding?
Comment: Sortija is not a common word for ring in Mexico, here we just say anillo and the other examples you give.
Answer: In Spain anillo is the common word for ring, both for men and women.  Alianza is the word for wedding band.
Comment: This answer would work better as a comment to Bardo's, since it does not add much information.
Answer: Aro en España se suele utilizar para definir pendientes circulares y anilla para las latas (can ring)

Ring: "anillo" vs "sortija"


Loosen the lower element on a electric water heater

Question: Help!!!! I have diagnosed that the lower element has to be replaced on my electric water heater. I bought the tool suggested to lossen and remove the element. It won't BUDGE!!!! Any ideas???
Comment: What model of heater do you have?
Answer: I believe the tool you are using is a plumbers socket. It is usually sized at 1 1/8th inch. The reason the heating element isn't removing easily is probably due to hard water build up on its threads. What I do when I encounter a stubborn heating element is to apply extra leverage to the socket. If you can supplement a cheater bar with the socket handle the element should unscrew with no effort. A 1/2 inch diameter steel pipe fitted over the handle will work. Or any object that will extend the socket handle several inches will also suffice.