SEO - Changing file extension

Question: I am going to change the file extension from ".htm" to ".php", is there any disadvantage with this action?
Comment: As indicated in the subject line, this is a marketing question, not a programming one.
Comment: absolutely no disadvantage as far as i know!
Comment: There certainly can be an SEO impact. At the very least you should create 301 redirects so that the search engines -- and anyone who has bookmarks -- won't find broken pages.
Answer: Yes. If you change the file extension of a live site the following consequences will occur:

You are essentially changing the URLs and making all of your pages look like new pages to the search engines.
Any links you had to those pages will essentially be lost
You will need to have the search engines re-index every page that has the new extension
While the search engines make the transition from your old URLs to your new URLs anyone who finds your site in the search results will be greeted with a 404 error on your website
Anyone who had your pages bookmarked will no longer be able to find those pages (until they update their bookmarks)

Fortunately all this is easy to solve. You can do a 301 redirect from the old URLs to the new URLs. This is very easy if the file names are staying the same and only the file extensions are changing. To do the 301 redirect for your pages just create a file called .htaccess and place it in your root directory. Place this inside of it:
RewriteEngine on
RewriteRule (.*)\.htm$ /$1.php [R=301,L]

What this does is tell the search engines, and web browsers, that your pages have moved and where to find them (it tells them that the pages that ended with .htm now end with .php). The search engines will then update their indexes with the new pages and also credit whatever links you have to the old URLs to the new URLs (although a small amount of those links' value is lost). Web browser will automatically redirect the user to the new page and they won't even know it happened.
FYI, file extension does not affect your rankings. In other words, .php is not better or worse then .html or .aspx, etc. (Actually if someone is searching for "php" you'll notice Google will highlight the file extension in the search results. But if this is a factor in their rankings it probably is a small one).
Answer: John's answer says it all but I would like to ask you yet another question - what is the point? There are at least two reasons for which you should stick with html or have no extension at all:

What you serve to the browser is not a PHP file but an HTML document. This means that the PHP extension is simply misleading. Yes, the HTML is generated using PHP but it is still HTML.
You make your URLs dependent on the implementation of your website (PHP in this case). What if you change your implementation in the future? Will you change the URLs again? URLs are part of the user interface and they should have a well designed, implementation-independent logic behind them. They should also be clear and informative for the visitor and change only if it is absolutely necessary.

I recommend to stick with htm or omit the extension whatsoever. If you feel adventurous, you can make extensions part of the personality of the website and using anything you like.

SEO - Changing file extension


Help me find a film with a pegasus, an astronaut and Chosen Children

Question: Stay with me, because my memory of this is going to come in patches.
I have this memory of a film I saw at least 10 years ago, and I think the main plot was about these children chosen because they're special (I don't know)
Other small details that come through:
- They flew a pegasus somewhere
- The boy protagonist's hero was some female astronaut
- There was a scene where there was all this great food but it was like, sand?
I have no idea what the title would be, what actors might be in it.
If someone could help me out with this I'd greatly appreciate it.
Comment: What ages were the kids, did the food turn into sand or was it sand to begin with (disguised as food)?
Comment: youngest kid was probably... 10-12? oldest maybe 14-16? Sand disguised as food. (it sounds like you may know what I'm talking about)
Answer: This sounds like it is from the mini-series based the Time Quartet trilogy by Madeleine L'Engle, the third book in the Time Quartet ("A Wrinkle in Time", "Wind in the Door", "A Swiftly Tilting Planet" (movie was ~2003).
I don't remember the specific scene in the mini-series, however, in one part of the books on of the protagonists in Chapter 7 of the first book:

"The Man with the Red Eyes serves the children an elaborate turkey dinner, but to Charles all the food tastes like sand. The man explains that the food is synthetic, but Charles would be able to taste it if only he would open his mind to IT. He invites Charles to come with him and learn who he really is, and Charles agrees in spite of Meg's strong protestations. The man stares into Charles Wallace's eyes until the boy's pupils fade into the surrounding blue irises. Once extricated from the man's hypnotic stare, Charles acts like a different person. He asks Meg why she is being so "belligerent and uncooperative" and bids her eat the food prepared for them, which he now claims is delicious. Horrified, Meg shrieks to Calvin that the boy beside them is no longer Charles; the Charles they know is gone."

Wiki Link - A Swiftly Tilting Planet
Wiki Link - A Wrinkle in Time
IMDB Time Quartet MiniSeries
Wiki - A Wrinkle In Time Movie
Comment: YOU ARE INCREDIBLE THANK YOU SO MUCH THIS IS IT.
Comment: Welcome to StackExchange. Glad I could be of assistance.  If this is indeed the answer you were seeking, then next steps are to have you select the answer as correct to let others know the question has been answered.  Thanks.


Flight Control Weight limitations

Question: Does anybody know any limitations of flight control weights?
For instance elevators must have same weight? What is the acceptabld difference/limits and what would be the reason of overweighting? (Paint, bushings, repairs etc).
Please consider A320s and B737s for giving example
Answer: Flight control mass balance weights are used primarily to prevent things like flutter. Most airline manufacturers are able to perform analysis of their designs to determine the exact weight to introduce, and where to place it. The rest use static balancing. This article from the Experimental Aircraft Association is not an airliner example, but it provides a good explanation of the why and how of flight control balancing.
Comment: this is not what I am looking for.  aircraft maintenance manual of an A319 doesn't specify why/wether or not RH elevator should be heavier than LH elevator.
Comment: Probably because that information is only useful to depot maintenance facilities that perform work requiring r/r of flight control surfaces/

Flight Control Weight limitations


Monoprice select mini underextrusion?

Question: Can someone please review the picture and tell me things to try to fix, the threads are full of little gaps. The layers that are solid, below the threads have a tiny bit of space between them. Is it underextrusion, or a clog? The bottom layer seems good. Also I have taken a picture of grooves on the filament after the extruder. Is the the groove from the extruder normal?
Answer: The grooves (notches, more accurately) are acceptable and indicate that your hobbed gear has a good grip on the filament.
Many factors will cause your probably-correct diagnosis of under-extrusion. If you are confident that your extrusion settings are correct, you could have this problem from under-temperature on the nozzle.
One method to assess this is to increase the nozzle temperature by five degrees C and examine a test print. If the gaps are reduced but do not disappear, consider an additional step or two of five degrees.
If you are so inclined, locate one of the many temperature tower models and modify them accordingly for your printer. This will give you a good range of temperatures for best results.
Also note that different filaments will have different temperatures and the temperatures will vary between colors from the same manufacturer and between different manufacturers.
Comment: I have been using the same pla when I got the printer almost a year ago. I have switched slicers from cura to ideamaker since in the model view of cura, holes were shown in the model. It seems like only fine details are really affected. Is it possible that the nozzle is slightly clogged?
Comment: @NickSantitoro Maybe you should add print settings to you question, that may help in the analysis. Also, if you think that Cura is creating holes in the model view, this might be worth another question!
Comment: After doing some more research I have found out that as pla gets older it may require a higher temperature because of the moisture it absorbs. I have always used the same slicer settings, so hopefully this will solve the problem. I have also changed the extrusion width from .4 to .48. This may also help.
Comment: If moisture may be a problem here, you can bake it in the oven at a very low temperature (research the numbers) or use a cheap food dehydrator to push it out over a couple of days.

Monoprice select mini underextrusion?


Usage of the indefinite article with nouns and numbers: "Can I have these boots in [a] size 6?"

Question: I am aware that when a noun followed by a number, the indefinite article is not used. For example: "Mike lives in room 65." But I have noticed that when talking about the size of something "a" is used. For example: "Can I have these boots in a size 6?" Why is "a" used there?
Answer: In the first example, the noun is a unique item; presumably there's only one Room 65 in Mike's building.  In the second example, the noun is not unique; the shoe store may have multiple size 6 pairs of boots in that style. It's no different than asking "do you have this shirt in a [size] medium"?


How to test multiple conditions in the 'Then' step of a CucumberBDD test?

Question: We are using CucumberBDD for our tests. For assertions we use JUnit.
Now in our Given, When, Then steps we use multiple 'And' steps which do variety of activities. Until this point this is fine, we were able to do it. At the last 'Then' step should be final check whether the Scenario has PASSED or FAILED, based on the multiple 'And' steps of 'Then' branch itself.
One solution is to use JUnitSoftAssertions from assertJ library to pool multiple checks, if it is a pure JUnit project which our project is NOT.
As per Cucumber documentation, it only supports JUnit Assert class and it's various assertion methods, nothing more. According to that, you can have only one assertion per scenario.
Is there any means you can incorporate multiple checks which may fail or pass individually, after the final 'Then' step by using keyword 'And' multiple times?
Comment: https://github.com/cucumber/cucumber-jvm/issues/771#issuecomment-338202125
Answer: Give the multiple conditions a name. Write a single step using that name.
Say you have
Then foo
And bar
And baz

then you can say qux = foo and bar and baz and just wriete
Then qux

You can apply this pattern to any number of checks.


Official Help and Support on customising CKAN

Question: Please, anyone knows how or where can I get quick support for issues I'm having with CKAN? I work for Argentinian Government and I'm in charge of launching a Open Data Portal for all the country Justice system. I have CKAN running and mostly all information uploaded but for some Datasets and Resources I'm having weird and strange issues that I couldn't track on any site after extensive google searches. Any information of where I can have fast answers and support I will be very grateful. Thanks all.
Answer: Typically the best place for support with software is the software's website. Did you try visiting CKAN's site?
At first glance, there's a link in the top navigation called "Support", so that's where you want to start.
If you are looking for third party vendors to pay to get you up and running, you should clarify that in your question.


Question about Hilbert transform of a cosine signal

Question: In the paper entitled "On instantaneous frequency", it is claimed that the Hilbert transform of a signal in the form of $A(t)cos(\phi(t))$ would result in $A(t)sin(\phi(t))$, where $A(t)$ is instantaneous amplitude and $\phi(t)$ is the phase function.
As an example, consider the following:
$$t = [0, 20],\;\textrm{time interval in seconds, sampled each 0.01 sec}$$
$$A(t) = e^{-0.1(t - 10)^2},\;\textrm{instantaneous  amplitude}$$
$$\omega = [0.1,\ 0.5,\ 1.0,\ 1.5],\;\textrm{angular  frequency  in rad/sec}$$
$$f(t) = A(t)\cos(\omega t)$$
$$g(t) = A(t)\sin(\omega t)$$
$$h(t) = \frac{1}{\pi}P\int_{-\infty}^{+\infty}\frac{f(\tau)}{t - \tau}dt,\;\textrm{Hilbert  transform  of } f(t)\textrm{,  where } P  \textrm{ is the   Cauchy  principal  value}$$
It is expected that $g(t)$ and $h(t)$ be the same according to the fact claimed in mentioned paper. I used function "hilbert" of MATLAB to compute Hilbert transform of $f(t)$ for aforementioned $\omega$ values. Results show that for $\omega$ close to zero, $g(t)$ and $h(t)$ are different and as $\omega$ gets higher, the difference decreases. I was wondering if I am making a mistake or something is wrong with function "hilbert" of MATLAB?
The following figure shows the results:
Answer: Make sure that you understand the conditions under which
$$\mathcal{H}\big\{A(t)\cos(\omega_0 t)\big\}=A(t)\mathcal{H}\big\{\cos(\omega_0 t)\big\}=A(t)\sin(\omega_0t)\tag{1}$$
holds. Eq. $(1)$ holds if $A(t)$ is a low-pass signal with a cut-off frequency smaller than $\omega_0$. This implies that $A(t)\cos(\omega_0t)$ is a band-pass signal with no energy at DC. Eq. $(1)$ is a special case of Bedrosian's theorem.
In your example, $A(t)$ is not band-limited, and, consequently, $(1)$ doesn't hold. However, if you increase the modulation frequency $\omega_0$, the overlap of the spectra of $A(t)$ and of the carrier becomes smaller, because $A(t)$ does have a low pass character. So for large $\omega_0$, Eq. $(1)$ is approximately satisfied, which is exactly what you see in your plots.
Also take a look at this related answer.
Answer: The claim is generally false. This is studied in details in a 1997 paper by B. Picinbono: On instantaneous amplitude and phase of signals

Let $m(t)$ be a positive function corresponding to the information o
  be transmitted. By multiplying the carrier frequency signal
  $cos(\omega_0 t)$ by $m(t)$, we obtain the signal $x(t) = m(t)
> cos(\omega_0 t)$  and it is commonly admitted that is $m(t)$ the
  instantaneous amplitude of the signal $x(t)$. This appears in many
  textbooks
This leads to the conclusion that the definitions given previously,
  even if they are widely used, are incoherent because they do not
  associate with a given real signal a well-defined pair of functions
  that are the instantaneous amplitude and phase of $x(t)$.

The basis of the the claim resides in the Bedrosian theorem, that asserts that, in some conditions, the Hilbert transform $\mathcal{H}$ can apply separately on a product
$$\mathcal{H}[x_1(t)x_2(t)] = x_1(t)\mathcal{H}[x_2(t)]$$
The classical condition is of "distinct frequency supports": that $x_1(t)$ is strictly band-limited above $B$ (ie zero-spectrum for $\nu> B$, and  $x_2(t)$ is strictly band-limited below $B$ (ie zero-spectrum for $\nu< B$). This condition does not hold with the Gaussian  function, since it is not band-limited. However, when you increase $\omega$, the overlap between the Gaussian and the carrier sine has less energy, and the claim becomes "less false" in simulations.
Further, if $a(t)$ and $cos[φ(t)]$ have distinct supports (as above), one has:
$$\mathcal{H}({a(t) \cos[\phi(t)]}) = a(t)\mathcal{H}({\cos[\phi(t)]})$$
but one cannot say that:
$$\mathcal{H}({\cos[\phi(t)]}) = \sin[\phi(t)]\;\textrm{ (false in general)}$$


Cannot Uninstall Application for Desktop Wallpapers

Question: I installed an app for desktop wallpapers on a site called Kuvva.com.  It shows up as Purchased in the Application Store but has an option to install it, even though it shows up in System Preferences as already installed.  When I try to click on it, either in App Store to install or in System Preferences to send it to trash, it continues to say cannot delete because it's still open, but I do not see any options to allow me to close it.
I've tried to go over to Desktop/Screensavers where the picture keeps showing up every morning, but there's no way to get rid of it or close it there either.
Answer: You can close the Kuvva App via the menu icon.
After that you can drag the application to the trash - enter you user password. Your done!


How would water waves behave in partial gravity?

Question: Would an "indoor" pool of water on the Moon or on Mars behave differently than on Earth? Would the waves caused by a splash be higher or lower? Would they propagate faster or slower? Would boyance be different? And what would it be like to shower in slowly falling water?
Answer: Would an "indoor" pool of water on the Moon or on Mars behave differently than on Earth?
Depends on what you are observing.
Would the waves caused by a splash be higher or lower? The waves would be higher.
Would they propagate faster or slower? They would propagate at the same rate.
Would boyance be different? No, because buoyancy depends on the displacement of mass.
what would it be like to shower in slowly falling water? How can anyone here answer this since only a few people (<0.001%) have experienced this.
Comment: Has anyone showered in partial gravity??? Higher waves and same propagation speed, that means steeper waves, right?
Comment: I would think that the astronauts showered when they were on the space station. Yes, the waves would be steeper, but remember that there is less gravity so it won't be better for surfing.
Comment: Hi LDC3 It would be really good if you could explain why in your answer. For example, why would the waves be higher? Why would they propagate at the same rate? Thanks in advance
Comment: #RhysW I will need to research this. I will get to it after work.
Comment: @RhysW I couldn't find any supporting documents, but here is what I think. The waves are taller because there is less gravity. Less gravity means less force pulling on the waves, so they end up being taller. The waves propagate at the same rate because the speed and frequency of the wave is the same and is dependent on the density of the medium (like light waves going from air to water changes the speed, but not the frequency).
Comment: See [this answer](http://space.stackexchange.com/a/6632/12102) which addresses the speed of the waves. [Gravity waves](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravity_wave) at a fluid interface are not simple, and the speed depends on the amplitude and frequency except for very shallow pools.
Answer: With regard to buoyancy:  The buoyant force (in $\text{newtons}$) on a partially or totally submerged body depends on the volume of fluid displaced (in $\text{meters}^3$) , the density of the fluid (in $\text{kilograms}/\text{meter}^3$) , and the local acceleration of gravity (in $\text{meter}/\text{second}^2$).
Of course, the force of gravity on the object itself will depend on the local acceleration of gravity.  So:

A substance that floats in a particular liquid on Earth will float in the same liquid on the moon, or Mars;
A substance that sinks in a particular liquid on Earth will sink in the same liquid on the moon, or Mars;
A body of some substance that floats immersed to a certain depth in some liquid on Earth will float at the same depth in that liquid on the moon or Mars.

BUT
The external force needed to make an object submerge or keep it submerged will be less on the moon than on earth


Is BitCoin Mining Basically a Game? Do the Solved Math Equations do Anything?

Question: So I've been trying to learn about bitcoin, I'm a kid. It is really confusing. Is BitCoin basically a game since you solve math equations for money? And also, do the math equations do anything or are they just random and because you solve them, you get a reward for your intelligence?
Answer: Yes, its kinda like solving really hard math equations.
Mostly done by specificaly made machines like this one:
Antminer S9
But this video explains it all https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmOzih6I1zs
Answer: The solving process is called "mining". It's useful to make creating blocks with transactions hard and that makes it hard to spend Bitcoins that were already spent.


ArcGIS Silverlight API 2.4 support for Microsoft Silverlight 5.0?

Question: Please let me know whether ArcGIS Silverlight API 2.4 version officially supports or CERTIFIES Microsoft Silverlight 5.0.?
Comment: Silverlight 'should be backwards compatible - though have had issues with other geo software that cause the Catastrophic failure.
Answer: I do not know about ArcGIS API for Silverlight 2.4, but on the assumption that you may by now be using a later release, I note that the ArcGIS API for Silverlight 3.1 installation certainly seems to support Silverlight 5.


How is the spread between the US-10 T-bond and the Fed funds rate determined?

Question: In 2015 the Fed funds rate was 0.24%, while the US Treaury 10-year government bond was 2.24%.
How is the spread determined? Is there a formula to determine the spread of the US-10 T-bond and the Fed funds rate?
Comment: Examine http://quant.stackexchange.com/questions/20826/what-is-an-estimated-rise-in-the-interest-rate-of-the-10-year-treasury-in-this-s/20860#20860
Comment: The 10 year rate is based on the markets expectation of where the FF rate will be during the next 10 years plus or minus a term premium.
Answer: It sounds like you understand how to do the math behind the calculation, simply, in your example, 224 basis points (yields on the US 10-year less the Fed Funds Rate of a meager 24 basis points, leaving the spread in your example landing nicely at a clean 200 basis points (2 percent).
3 KEY FACTORS DRIVING the 10-YEAR

NET CHANGES IN THE U.S. MONEY SUPPLY vs. THE REST OF THE WORLD
INTEREST RATE DIFFERENTIALS RELATIVE TO CURRENCY MOVEMENTS (PURCHASING POWER PARITY)
THE SHAPE OF THE YIELD CURVE

ALL topics explained in further depth below.
Relative Liquidity Injection (into U.S. vs. EM and DM)
1) CENTRAL BANKERS IN U.S. vs CENTRAL BANK RESERVE ACCUMULATION ABROAD: Today the yield on the 10-year bond is driven by many factors, but there are really only a few select factors that actually matter. The first is the absence of any safe yields above zero or even equal to zero throughout the rest of the world, within the developed markets, as central bankers, EXCEPT THE US CENTRAL BANK, continue to pump money into their debt markets to flood investors with liquidity, bringing demand for bond yields way up and yields way down. Meanwhile, the U.S. Fed is a net liquidity taker, at the same time when the country is running twin deficits. This leads inevitably to higher rates and it has, but prices of bonds in Japan, Europe, and other developed markets drive traders over to the U.S., where prices are low and yields are substantial. Should that change, the traders move where the money flows.
EURODOLLAR LIQUIDITY & THE SHAPE OF THE YIELD CURVE
I can't emphasize how important building a throughout understanding of the actual dynamics, actually how the money moves, etc. in the Eurodollar markets. For those who don't know yet (don't feel back, you would be shocked at how few do), a Eurodollar is simply a U.S. dollar sitting in a bank outside the U.S. Companies in Ireland who do business shipping widgets to Asian companies must use dollars to import all of the intermediate supplies used to build the widgets and once they're made, the company receives HKD or EUR depending who they're sold to. The world has a huge problem with the dollar as the reserve currency, as there simply is not enough dollars to support all of the debts that have accumulated throughout the international money markets. Certain countries are short dollars needed to fund key imports to fund the working capital of the economy. This is having a profound impact on international money flows and thus also impacts the level of the USD and demand for Treasuries.
RATE DIFFERENTIALS and THE CARRY TRADE
Currently, the spread on 2-year government yields in the U.S. relative to the the German Schatz (2-year yields) is over three percent. Meanwhile, you have to PAY TO LEND TO THE GERMAN GOVERNMENT FOR TWO YEARS - negative interest rates mean lending to the German government costs you half a percent. If instead you're a trader, you sell German Schatz and collect that 0.5% while receiving euro from the borrowings in German-denominated debt. Quickly, you convert the euro to US dollars, and invest them into U.S. Treasuries paying you 3 percent +. Add to that the 50bps on the German sales and the carry trade is well and alive.
THE YIELD CURVE: DO LONG-RATES REACT TO FED HIKES?
The 10-year also reflects the "smart money's" outlook for economic growth over the long-run. As we recently saw, Fed Powell was resolute with regard to his planned hike strategy while the balance sheet simultaneously rolls off the balance sheet (which translates to a major YoY swing from liquidity suppliers to liquidity takers. Simultaneously, U.S. deficits and debts are skyrocketing. As of late, the narrative has been so prevalent around "synchronized reflationary global growth," despite the fact that central banks across the globe still inject masses of liquidity into their financial markets in an increasingly ineffective attempt to drive inflation. The long-end of the yield curve, i.e. the 10-year Treasury yields, and in particular their reaction to hikes by the Fed at the short-end of the curve, reveals a lot about the true views about longer-run economic growth among those investing in bond markets. Those left trading in bond markets are typically Institutional and have significant experience - few would argue they don't know what they're doing.
If you look at the charts, one might wonder given the insanely high correlations among these survey figures and actual data which piece of the puzzle is wagging, the tail wagging the dog? Looks like it increasingly so. Demand for 10-year Treasury bonds is driven by factors ranging from a flight to safety, attractive real returns ("real rates"), especially facing the slight, but still possible prospects, of the geopolitical situation continuing to escalate into something quite dangerous that would have the ability to bring down almost all economies. unstable and economically fragile global environment return by borrowing in European debt at a negative rate (in other words, getting paid to borrow euro, which is bemusing due to its relative resilience when the US is paying 300 basis points positive interest while the Germans may negative 50 (negative half a percent on the 2-year Schatz), and on the German 10-year bunds, they pay >3 percent less than US Treasuries. Would it not, then, be logical to borrow debt in EUR while getting paid half a percent for doing so,and then take these euros you've borrowed, exchange them for dollars and buy US Treasuries? convert this money plus interest into USD to invest in Treasuries that pay over three percent, keep investing in euro bank accounts where negative interest rates will cause an auto-5% decline (just an exaggeration, the negative percentage isn't that bad just yet but ANY NEGATIVE INTEREST should be considered outright atrocious. The Chairman of the Chicago Fed made a statement a couple weeks ago in a speech that he simply couldn't figure out what was going on any longer.
Answer: The two instruments are separated by funding objective, time and quite possibly inter-galactic forces.
Fed funds is the deposit rate payable to commercial banks for overnight deposits at various Fed Reserve Banks throughout the US. The FOMC meet to set this rate, depending on their success in adhering to governance framework around stable employment, growth and inflation targets.
Ten year note yields are the borrowing cost - over that horizon - of the US government at any point in time, based on a semi-annual coupon accrual.
The spread between the two represents the market's expectations for all of growth, inflation, credit migration and default costs and many other flow and relative value factors against other, global ten year debt instruments.
Can it be measured? Yes, as yield/rates difference spread. Is it meaningful? Yes, as an indication of curve steepness, which represents the economy's position in the credit cycle amongst other things.
Answer: The US-10 T bond yield is not a FUNCTION( in the mathematical sense) of the fed funds rate. At two different times the US-10T bond rates can be exactly the same while, at the same exact times, the feds funds rate can be very different.


Where is the asterisk for a pogo stick on candy box 2?

Question: I know it's by The Cave Entrance, but I don't know where is it EXACTLY. Can somebody show me or show me a way to find it?
Answer: In most browsers you should be able to ctrl-f to find where the asterisks are.  I've taken a screenshot, though, to help you.
Comment: I thought it would be nearer the cave entrance thanks
Comment: Weaksauce... they wanted to know where the pogo stick was. Not how to defeat the purpose of the asterisks being hidden in ascii... I down voted as its a solution. But not the answer.


Why do Kagura and Yomi from Ga-Rei show up in Tokyo ESP?

Question: In the beginning of Tokyo ESP, Kagura is waiting for Yomi somewhere.
Is Tokyo ESP a continuation to Ga-Rei?
Comment: Both Tokyo ESP and Ga-Rei manga was created by Segawa Hajime. They are both probably co-existing in the same world. Not a proven answer, so left it in the comment instead.
Answer: The comment by josephting got it mostly right. Ga-Rei and Tokyo ESP are both manga by Segawa Hajime (Ga-Rei: Zero also shares script writer Takayama Katsuhiko with the Tokyo ESP anime). Showing Kagura and Yomi (and later two other characters from Ga:Rei Zero) was likely intended as a throwback reference to Ga-Rei. I guess from a practical standpoint, it would serve to alert people who otherwise weren't paying attention to such things that they're by the same author.
However, Ga-Rei and Tokyo ESP are pretty clearly not in the same universe. It should be enough that the mangaka has never indicated anything to the contrary, but there are also in-universe reasons why they can't be. For obvious reasons, if it were, it would necessarily happen before Ga-Rei: Zero. But in the Ga-Rei universe, ordinary people weren't aware of all the supernatural phenomena. In fact, in the opening of the first episode, they order a media blackout as per "Section 3B of Form 12". In contrast, in Tokyo ESP, ESP users are generally known to the public well before the first episode (specifically, in chapter 12). In addition, the events of Tokyo ESP simply don't fit on the Ga-Rei timeline, since we know essentially the full backstory of the characters and there's nothing remotely like what happens in Tokyo ESP, nor do any ESP users show up anywhere in Ga-Rei. Barring some major retconning, we can safely say that these aren't the same universe.
In the manga, the scenes with characters from Ga-Rei don't happen. In fact, very little of what happened in episode 1 is in the manga at all. What did happen is in chapters 22 and 23. Kagura and Yomi haven't appeared at all in the manga as far as I've read (chapter 30). However, the series is no stranger to cameos. We'll certainly be seeing some of (spoilers) this guy and likely quite a few others. With that in mind, Ga-Rei cameos aren't particularly out of place here, but they won't be playing any big role.
Comment: The two series were put together in the same universe in [Tokyo ESP x Ga-rei - Shadow Walker](https://www.mangaupdates.com/series.html?id=116315), which got published earlier in the same year the Tokyo ESP anime was airing.
Answer: Seeing as some characters reappearing in Tokyo ESP that don't appear in Ga-Rei-Zero anymore, i suppose the events in Tokyo ESP happen before Ga-Rei-Zero. But this is only what i think from watching Ga-Rei-Zero and the first episode of Tokyo ESP.
Comment: If you were to watch the rest of Tokyo ESP, you would find that there isn't really anything that points to Ga-Rei and Tokyo ESP taking place in the same universe. (Not that I recommend watching the rest of Tokyo ESP; it was not what I would call enthralling.)
Answer: I believe that its not related but the group in orange that fought the teleporting girl are clearly the exact same group that got murdered in the very beginning of ga-rei
Comment: can you show why answer is correct with proper citation and explanation.


Evidence for homogeneity of the universe

Question: Cosmologists assume that the universe is homogeneous on large scales and, in particular, that the unobservable parts are similar to the observable universe. As I understand it, one important reason for this assumption is simply something along the lines of "hey, it would be really strange and surprising if our corner of the universe turned out to be special." While this does seem very reasonable to me, I was wondering what other reasons (if any) we have for the assumption. Is it, for instance, predicted by the big bang model?
Answer: In the standard big bang model, homogeneity is an assumption - therefore it cannot predict homogeneity. Homogeneity is not a requirement of the model and indeed you can build "inhomogeneous big bang models" - though they must still be consistent with the observational evidence of a high degree of homogeneity on large scales within the observable universe.
The obvious observational evidence for homogeneity on large scales (and of course, in the observable universe) is the smoothness of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). The CMB is very, very uniform - with perturbations (bar the large-scale dipole) at the level of 1 part in $10^5$.
We can say very little about the unobservable universe, since it is... unobservable. And because it is unobservable, it has no influence on us and cannot affect the utility of the models we use to explain the observable universe.
NB: the big bang is just a model of how the universe works, with adjustable parameters including dark matter, vacuum energy density and homogeneity, not a theory.
Comment: I'm sorry, but I need some elaboration. The question is why we are justified in extrapolating uniformity from the observable to the unobservable. Your answer seems to be "because the uniformity is (or was) strong." If I can only see a small part of a wall, and it is uniformly green, and I wonder whether the entire wall is green, it doesn't seem to help that the small part is very uniformly green. This must be a bad analogy, somehow, but I don't understand why.
Comment: I also don't understand why the distinction between "baked in" and "predicts" is relevant. In the sense of "predict" I intended, I don't think it makes a difference whether uniformity is a basic assumption of the big bang theory or is derived from basic assumptions. If uniformity is implied by the theory, and we have empirical evidence for it, isn't the evidence also evidence for uniformity?
Comment: You are asking why we assume that there are no pink elephants
Comment: @planetmaker … which is an excellent question to ask, and may get one started on studying the problem of induction.
Comment: @ProfRob Thank you for expanding your answer!


Does ability score increases spell slots/spells per day/spells known?

Question: The Player's Handbook states that you can get "bonus spells" for certain ability scores, but does that mean more spell slots/spells per day, more spells known, or both?
Answer: It is referencing the Ability Scores and Spellcasters section in the chapter about ability scores. In short, you get bonus spells per day, not spells known. Extra spells known tend to be rare and difficult to get, and will spell out explicitly that this is what you're getting.
Comment: "In addition to having a high ability score, a spellcaster
must be of high enough class level to be able to cast spells of a given spell level."-pg.7, Player's Handbook. ...this leads me to suspect otherwise.
Comment: It is interesting to note that bonus spells (per day), due to high spellcasting key ability score, are not limited by level of spells known. This is due to the lack of explicit significance given to the dashes in a class's table of allotted spells per day. Therefore, if you have a way of knowing spells beyond your level (e.g., via runestaff) and have a high enough spellcasting key ability score...but this is theoretical optimization.


What precautions/training do companies have against social engineering strategies?

Question: For example, if someone were to call a cell phone provider like T-Mobile, pretending to be another person to get some information, how can T-Mobile verify if it is the actual person? I'm assuming that if someone is planning an attack, and are using social engineering then they do not know the username/password of the victim. So when the customer service representative asks for a password or pin, the attacker doesn't know it.
Answer: There are "script books" for this, either used in operator training or even kept on the operator's desk when they answer. They detail what you can say, what you must provide, and what the operator can do in any conceivable circumstance.
In this case the T-Mobile operator would ask for some kind of proof among those listed in their script book. The attacker either can supply it or he can't. I have seen such a script book for one of my country's providers, and if you asked, say, for a PIN reset or a new SIM, you'd be either directed to a point of sale where they would ask your ID, or requested to send them through fax or email.

As a routine precaution, at semi-regular intervals (I am not aware of this being done by telecom providers, but I saw it done in more sensitive customer care contexts) a fake customer would call with a two-handkerchief sob story, doing his/her damnedest to convince the operator to help him/her. If he/she succeeded, the next day the operator would have been called by management for an uncomfortable discussion on security rules.
This had two purposes: to be sure that the operators were proof against at least some attacks; and to harden them against said attacks, because even if they did not suspect it was a social engineering attack, they would still suspect it was the management testing them.
Personal story: I was in the habit, waaay back in the days, of sending employees emails with executable attachments that sounded a bullhorn WAV, displayed "SUCKER!" on screen, and sent me back confirmation of a "hit". One day, I overheard unseen a colleague asking, "I've just received an attachment called QJWFWKEK.EXE, what do I do?" - and while thinking "Oh no, he got a real one - and what a moron to ask what to do!", I heard his mate cry, "For Pete's sake do not click on it! Delete it immediately! It's surely one of those fucking traps Serni keeps sending us!"
Answer: Well, it's all about the challenge questions as LSemi has mentioned for script books, run books, etc. You could also have challenge tokens via multi factor authentication that operators can send. If you're looking for formalized training against security social engineering attacks and possibly some fraud use cases, SANS has a security awareness training program. And being SANS, it's not free.
Answer: There are ways to identify if someone is the one he/she claims to be without using pins and passwords. Companies like that have some users credentials like national id number, tax number, social security no. etc. Unique numbers that people usually keep "safe". Then, company employees need to stick to the playbook and follow all the identification steps the company enforces. Most social engineering attacs through succeed because of that. People are trying to be helpful causing as less trouble as possible to the customers and some times that leads to a successful attack.


Need to recover data from Microd SD card which was undetectable and used as internal storage on mobile

Question: I was using my MicroSD card as internal storage on android marshmellow and suddenly my device stopped detecting the Card. Removed it from Device mad connected to PC but it only asks to format the drive. I need to recover data from this Card. i tried chkdsk but it says cannot format RAW disk.
Comment: If your device is not rooted, contents of that card is lost. For details, check with our [adoptable-storage tag-wiki](/tags/adoptable-storage/info). Short hint: The card is encrypted, the encryption key saved to internal storage where only root can access it. You need the key to decrypt the card.
Answer: Helo,
I am replying here since this is a more recent question for corrupted internal sd cards.
If the phone recognises the card after a fresh boot and only ejects it after a while this may work for you.
My Android 7 Moto X Play is using a class 10 Sandisk Extreme 32GB as Internal Storage.
After a while the phone started ejecting the card and once that happened it needed a reboot since vital data is on the card at all times in the "Internal Storage" mode.
My goal was to recover all photos and videos and use the card as External Storage after that.
What happens is this:

Android does not know how to fix or ignore corrupted files on the card. Or it does not want to.
eventually a file on the card gets corrupted
when Android tries to access one of the corrupted files if fails and ejects the card
Android cannot work with the card ejected

My solution:

minimise the OS read/write activity by keeping it in standby
use adb pull to copy the images and videos by keeping a text file with the list of files still to be copied (I used some linux cat and grep being on OSX)
when adb pull fails at a file remove the file from the list files to be copied so it does not fail the next time
after fail reboot phone and run adb again on the trimmed list
enjoy 1 year worth of family memories :-)

This worked because from ~700 files only one was corrupted and the OS in standby did not try to access any other corrupted files while I was doing the adb pull. It may work for you if the files are important and you're willing to give it a try.
PS: nothing else worked since the phone was not rooted. Rooting it and keeping a copy of the encryption key for the sd card would be an idea but I am going back to external storage.


Camera native application keeps opening itself

Question: On multiple occasions, the native camera applications opens itself. This can even happen when the phone is locked and posed an a table.
Is there a way to prevent this problem, or is this a harware one ?
Comment: If it is stuck, it could very easily be stuck in a position which is causing your issues. Also, you should be able to take the back cover off, which supports the button, and reposition it.
Comment: Is the camera button loose, or does it launch on a hair-trigger? If so, it could be the button. Also what model phone do you have?
Comment: A lumia 520. I thought about the button, but it is stuck and doesn't launch camera when I push it.
Answer: Sometimes buttons can get jammed, if you get a crumb (or something else) stuck in there, which makes the phone think it's constantly being depressed.
For phones that have a removable cover (like the 520), removing the cover, and cleaning with a dry microfiber cloth may dislodge it.
For phones that do not have a removable cover, the best option would be to take it to an authorised repair centre, who might charge you an extortionate amount to do the same - if you're brave, and don't mind risking voiding any warranty, you might be able to dislodge anything fouling the button with a mini-vacuum, or air blower (similar to those used for cleaning DSLR sensors). If you do try this approach use the minimum amount of force required, to risk damaging the device - if you're unsure, take it to a servicing professional.
Answer: You can try changing the side button.
I had similar issues, Nokia store replaced that faulty button


Are smartphones accessible or operable by blind people?

Question: I saw a number of apps on the appStore (e.g. Aipoly) that are aimed at assisting the blind people with object and colour recognition. Before touch screen smartphones I can imagine that the tactile feedback would have made it a little bit easier for blind people to use phones, but now with smartphones I wonder if there is any specific thought given to making it more user friendly for vision impaired people?
Comment: [iOS; yes](http://www.apple.com/uk/accessibility/ios/). Built in accessibility from the ground up. Android; not so much.
Answer: Yes, smartphones with touchscreens can be used by blind people.
Just like with any other computing device with screen, a screen reader is needed, which outputs what is displayed on the screen in a different way (e.g., via text-to-speech or via a braille terminal).
While input devices like physical keyboards or microphones are typically more suitable for blind users than input devices like mouses or touchscreens, even those can be used: the screen reader gives feedback while being in "navigation mode".
Probably the most popular way (because it requires no additional hardware) to use touchscreen smartphones is to have a screen reader that uses TTS (so you hear what is displayed/focused on the screen), and to use the touchscreen to navigate (and the virtual keyboard to type) and/or voice commands for navigating/typing.
One way this can work with a touchscreen:

Tap somewhere one time (or drag): it focuses the (nearest) button and reads it out.
Tap anywhere two times: it fires the corresponding action for the focused button.

(There's often also a mode where you can use two gestures to focus the next/previous button.)
Example: typing the word "hi" on a virtual keyboard:

Drag near the middle of the screen (where you guess the h key is): the screen reader reads while you drag: v, b, g, h. Stop dragging (the last key read out was the h, so it's still focused). Double tap. The h is entered.
Drag slowly to the top right (where you guess the i key is): the screen reader reads: u, i. Stop dragging, double tap, the i is entered.
Drag to the place where you guess the enter key is, double tap when it's focused, done.
Comment: Sounds quite involved :p But I have enough trouble typing on the soft keypad on the smartphones as it is, so I can't imagine how difficult it would be to do it without being able to look at the keypad. Do you know anything reviews or feedback about how useful or usable these features are?
Comment: @MichaelLai: The first time I heard about how screen readers are supposed to work for touchscreens, I thought it would be too inconvenient to use them. But after watching (experienced) blind users with their smartphones, I learned that it works pretty well (except for typing longer text or passwords). -- It's quite a hype (at least in Germany): many smartphone courses are offered for blind users; users share their knowledge and app recommendations; users reach out to organizations that have released inaccessible apps. It seems to (have) become an ubiquitous aid for blind people.


Why is tRNA called an adaptor molecule?

Question: All I know about adaptor is that it is a device that converts attributes of one electrical device or system to those of an otherwise incompatible device or system.
Thank you.
Comment: When you make a statement like "why is tRNA called an adaptor molecule" you imply that it is some kind of a definition, which it is not. I can call tRNA using any of its attributes for example "carrier molecule" or "essential molecule" etc. You can check the meaning of "adaptor" in a biological context and see why it fits for tRNA. IMO, this question has a very narrow scope.
Answer: RNA and proteins are not electrical systems, but the idea of translating a signal between incompatible systems can be applied here.
Proteins are made through a process called Translation, where instructions stored in a piece of mRNA are used by the Ribosome to make protein.
tRNAs adapt the mRNA nucleotide sequence into a protein's peptide sequence by acting as an intermediary. A tRNA is charged by attaching an amino acid to one end, it then binds the ribosome mRNA complex at the position defined by a codon. A codon is a sequence of 3 nucleotides that codes for an amino acid.

You could think of the tRNA being like a SD Card to USB adaptor to get information from one device to another.
Answer: The term "adaptor" does not solely refer to electrical connections. In fact, any system that can establish a connection between two otherwise incompatible systems is called an "adaptor", as you can tell from the following list:

Electrical adaptor (mechanical incompatbibilty between power sockets/plugs)
AC/DC converter/adaptor (electrical incompatibility between electrical currents)
Pipe coupling adaptor (mechanical incompatibility between different pipe types)
Railway coupling adaptor (mechanical incompatibility between different railway couplings)
Computer periphery adaptor (mechanical and/or electrical incompatibility between different periphery links)

It is just natural that the term "adaptor" has been applied to concepts in biochemistry. You can't connect an amino acid to the RNA template directly. The two incompatible systems are thus RNA and the amino acid. The tRNA solves this problem. It is also not the only case where this term is used in biochemistry. Other examples include the signal transducing adaptor proteins or the vesicular transport adaptor proteins such as adaptin, that establishes a connection between the clathrin molecule and the cargo receptors during vesicle formation:
Answer: Francis Crick published the The adaptor hypothesis in a privately circulated article (now available online) "On Protein Synthesis" in 1958. He wrote:

"One would expect, therefore, that whatever went on to the template in a specific way did so by forming hydrogen bonds. It is therefore a natural hypothesis that the amino acid is carried to the template by an 'adaptor' molecule, and that the adaptor is the part which actually fits on to the RNA. In its simplest form one would require twenty adaptors, one for each amino acid."

The word 'adaptor' has no intrinsic electrical connotation: the Oxford English Dictionary online gives the first definition and examples for this as:

Adapter (also adaptor)
A device for connecting pieces of equipment that cannot be connected directly.
'the adapter converts the lens focal length to 5.5 mm'
'a tube fixed to the cleaner by means of an adapter'

Crick clearly used the word in this sense.
At that time the idea was first mooted (reportedly 1955) it was not known that the adaptor molecule was transfer RNA (tRNA), although I have labelled it as such in the illustration I have prepared for the iPhone generation.

[Textual Explanation for the visually impaired
The illustration shows: 1. Chemical incompatibility: a three-pin electrical socket, labelled 'mRNA triplet codon', and the flat connection end of a USB cable, labelled 'cognate amino acid'; 2. The Adaptor: an adaptor plug (labelled tRNA) with the three pins labelled 'anticodon loop', and the USB socket labelled 'acceptor stem'; 3. Decoding: the USB lead connected to the adaptor plug, which has been inserted into the the three-pin socket.]
Comment: Not sure why this question resurfaced, but I thought that the accepted answer did not address the analogy, and the comment fails to acknowledge the historical use of this term. I have not included a diagram of tRNA showing the key features as it is assumed the reader has encountered this already. It is available in numerous pages on line, although best read about in a book.

Why is tRNA called an adaptor molecule?


What's the difference between "Tanya" and "Tanu Rabanan"?

Question: The Gemara often introduces a braysa by using the term "Tanu Rabanan" or the term "Tanya". Assuming there is a difference, what is the difference?
Comment: When I was in yeshiva, my rebbeim translated _tanu rabanan_ as, "a well-known braysa says..." whereas _tanya_ meant, "a braysa says"
Comment: Why are we transliterating ברייתא as "braysa"? It should be "braisa".
Comment: @ezra Why should it be "braisa"?
Answer: Rav Sherira Gaon, in his letter: Braysa's that were verified by Rebbe Chiya and Rebbe Oshiya are introduced by the words Tanu Rabanan. Other braysos are introduced with the word Tanya.
Rama Mipano, Shu"s siman 25: Tanu Rabanan braysos are generally accepted by all Tannaim, Tanya braysos are the position of an individual.
Professor Chanoch Elbek took issue with Rav sherira Gaon's principle because 1) The Talmud Yerushalmi does not use the term tanu Rabanan, only the term "tani", 2) Meseches Nedarim only uses the term tanya, not tanu Rabanan, 3) Braysos that are introduced by "tanu Rabanan" are then referred to using the term tanya. (From Professor Elbek's book Mavo LeTalmudim. You can see the excerpt here.)


Selenium testing against dynamic form elements on page?

Question: I am new at selenium testing and facing issue in dynamic page.
- the page is a html form but there is no fixed inputypes
like it can have input box, radio buttons, like, unlike, combo selections, and multi selections.
- depend on the selection of input it may create new input types
Comment: This is something that automation coders often encounter.  What is your question?
Comment: my question is how to handle a form inputtypes (those not have fixed xpath)
Ex: in a form have yes or no radio button
- user selected yes then it newly shows one text box and dropdown box, if user select one item in dropdown box it shows other text area
if user select no then it shows other fields

finally is depend on selection of input types it newly show other input type so how we can handle this situation
Answer: Use Xpath Axes.
For dynamic locators (Id/name/others), find the pattern of properties created of dynamic objects and then use Xpath Axes to locate based on some stable & static locator in  the Dom hierarchy based on it's relationship(Parent, child or sibling) with the dynamic object.
Answer: Yes, depending on input type you have to use different actions/methods.
Or you can do what we have in our in-house framework: we have input type included in webelement, so generic method fill() can send appropriate value using appropriate method to each input type.
Answer: The sort of forms you are describing usually have javascript and/or ajax calls to a backend.  There may also be the need to wait for the page to render the new elements before checking for them.  You can experiment with fixed sleeps to try and help determine the issue but you should do your best to remove them afterwards.
The general stratgey is to use implicit wait, or as I prefer top call them 'polling waits'.  For example in Rusby-rspec-selenium these have been incorporated into the capybara gem which sites between rspec and selenium providing a DSL to the selenium interface.
Basically you keep checking the desired output over and over for a given amount of time before declaring element not found.  This help address the asynchronous nature of the web by not depending on that nature.
I assume that your form does actually have deterministic paths and subsequent form elements don't just appear 'at random' so I assume you can figure out some fixed workflows to automate.


How do I redirect a permalink for a Draft post to a custom 404 page?

Question: My users create posts with links to future posts which are in Draft status. We use Post Name as our permalink structure.
Eg.
 Here is our next fantastic post coming next week!

Since they are logged in, our users click the links and are then redirected to the Drafts for editing. And as normal, when non-logged-in users click those links they get a nasty 404.
What I want is for non-logged-in users to click such links and be redirected to a custom page that says 'Coming Soon!'
How do I do that?
Two other optional features we would like.

Ideally, I would like to pass the scheduled publish date to the 'Coming Soon Page! (eg. 'Coming July 10, 2016!)
I would only like this behaviour for a certain category of posts. Other posts should redirect to a 404 as per usual.

So in addition to checking the status of the post we need a way to check the category and the publish date of the post in deciding whether to 404 or go to the custom page.
Answer: Here is what I came up with. Seems to be working. If anyone has suggestions for improvement, I'm all ears:
// Redirect links to future posts to Coming Soon page.
add_action('wp','redirect_coming_soon_posts', 0);
function redirect_coming_soon_posts(){
  global $wpdb;
  if ($wpdb->last_result[0]->post_status == "future" &&
    $wpdb->last_result[0]->post_date_gmt != '0000-00-00 00:00:00' &&
    ! is_admin()  ):
      session_start();

     $_SESSION['next_post_id'] = $wpdb->last_result[0]->ID;
     wp_redirect( '/coming-soon', 301 );
    exit();
   endif;
  }

function sess_start() {
  if (!session_id()) {
    session_start();
    }
 }
 add_action('init','sess_start');


Can I generate multiple PGP key pairs for later use

Question: I was just wondering if I can generate couple of PGP key pairs and save them for later use or backup. In addition can I be sure that other wont generate and use some of my key pairs in the meantime. I mean is there any guarantee that anyone anywhere in the world haven`t generated the same keys?
Answer: Realistically, the chances of generating the same key pair are non-existent unless there is an issue with the pseudo-random number generator.  The keyspace of most keys is so large that you could randomly make 1000 keys a second on every computer in the world and not get a collision for millions or billions of years or (much, much) more.  For larger key sizes, you could probably generate a million a second on every computer in the world and still not get a collision on any of them by the heat death of the universe (assuming the PRNG is good at producing random numbers anyway).
If there is a flaw in the PRNG, then yes, the same seed could get used and the same key would be created, but that would be a significant problem in the particular version of the software you are using then, not a problem with the system itself.
As for making multiple keys and saving them, there is no reason you couldn't do this, but there are several reasons you shouldn't.  The only reason you should need to change key pairs is if your private key becomes compromised or may have become compromised.  It is often a best practice to periodically change your key pair just in case your private key has been compromised, however if you have generated your key pairs in advance, it doesn't stop those private keys from aging.  The key pair you haven't used yet is just as likely to have been compromised as the key pair you are currently using, so replacing one with the other makes no sense.  You gain no precautionary security.
Instead, if you want to do precautionary replacement of your key pair, you should use a freshly generated key pair where you know that the private key is secure because it was not previously available.
Comment: Having multiple keypairs makes sense when you have multiple identities you want to keep separate. However, there is still little reason to create them in advance and let them lay around until you need them. It's not like generating a PGP keypair is hard.
Comment: One reason to generate keypairs in advance is to add the public key to lists of trusted keys (for apt-get or similar).  That way if an incident forces you to revoke your main key you have a spare which can be put into use immediately.
Comment: @PeterGreen - pre-creation and offline storage of multiple intermediate keys (or even a backup root key, though the root key should always be offline in this kind of case) may make sense in a PKI system where you need valid keys without a directory lookup, however you still have the aging problem, though it is less of a concern with offline keys.  Additionally, for PGP specifically, it doesn't make a lot of sense to pre-generate keys as PGP generally uses online directories to access public key information for an individual, so pushing a new key is quick and simple.
Answer: You could do so, it does not matter when keys are created, the chance of collisions does not change as both you and the other are creating keys randomly. I'm not aware that implementations even verify whether a key pair already is in use, as this would require fetching all key data from the key servers - and the key could also be used with other protocols like SSH or X.509.
But I can't see any reason why to create keys for later use if you can also create them later. Reasons for not doing might be

Change in requirements (you need other keys, for whatever reasons)
New attacks require other algorithms / larger keys
The key could be stolen in-between, without you even realising
Using reasonable key management, chances are high you just need to exchange subkeys, read up on key management in How many OpenPGP keys should I make?


Implement Reverse AJAX using DOJO javascript

Question: I want to implement Reverse AJAX using DOJO javascript framework.
Does DOJO provide support out-of-the-box similar to others like DWR?
I am using the latest DOJO.
Any reference/examples would be great.
Also what changes would need to be done on the server-side ? I am using Java.
Answer: Well, there is the dojox/socket module which allows you to any WebSocket or Comet (= HTTP long polling) solution.
An alternative is the CometD project, this is a solution that uses long polling and allows you to communicate with Java applications (using the CometD Java library) and JavaScript applications (using the CometD Dojo library).
However, it is not out of the box with Dojo but is a separate project (the JavaScript lib was included in older versions though).

Your code setup will change, obviously. First you need to be able to run the CometD Java service, and then you can use ServerSession to publish data or ClientSession to subscribe at the Java side. Going into detail would be too broad, but you should probably read the reference guide.


What is the maximum proportion of fish per liter in an aquarium?

Question: How many fish can I have per liter in my aquarium, or how much water should I have for each fish?
For specimens like Black tetra and Neon, that don´t require that much space and can coexist with other fish.
Comment: Take a look at this calculator: http://www.aqadvisor.com/
Comment: Space isn't the only factor to consider - you must also consider the amount of waste the fish produces. A small oscar or pleco can produce the same amount of waste as a small school of neons (which would have more overall size).
Comment: That seems pretty dependent on species, no?
Answer: When determining the capacity of an aquarium, it is common to look at total fish length rather than number of fish.  The idea is that bigger fish need more room.  The rule-of-thumb I've always used for freshwater tropical fish is 1 inch of fish length per gallon of water (or about 25 mm of fish length per 4 liters).  However, this can vary greatly based on the species of fish.  Some fish need more room than others.
Answer: There are some rules of thumb and even stocking calculators out there that you can use to get a rough sense of what works, but every new tank setup could use a bit of research. There's a lot of complexity, but there's also a lot of experience out there, and it's always a good idea to get feedback on your stocking and setup plans.
You have to consider, basically, the capacity of your system to handle waste vs. the capacity of your animals to produce it, and like the other answers say, there's no simple fish:volume formula that Just Works. It depends on a lot of factors: the type of fish, the type and capacity of your filtration, your water quality (both from the tap and once the tank has matured), how many and what kind of plants you have, etc.
You also have to consider how compatible the animals are. There might be fish that are fine for your tank in terms of bioload, but are extremely territorial and wouldn't have enough space to stay out of sight from each other. On the flip side, some (like the tetras you mention) do best in schools and may experience high stress and aggressive behavior on their own -- and some schools of fish might need a lot of open room to cruise in. You also want to look out for combinations of species with such different water quality requirements that you can't find a healthy point for both of them at the same time.
Also, it's not as big an issue for the tetras you mention, but always plan for the adult size and behavior. You hear horror stories about people stocking things like red-tailed catfish or arowana in their 10-gallon because it was only a few inches long at the pet store...
Answer: There is no general rule of thumb and it depends on the fish you plan to keep. Some fish can live in small volume of water while some need larger roaming areas. For example: Oscars/Flowerhorns require at-least 40 gallons per adult/semi-adult fish while African Cichlids are suggested to keep in a dense pack to reduce their aggression.
As for tropical fishes (guppies, tetras etc), you should aim for a gallon of water per inch of fish.
Answer: This is an older question but one more thing to think about, related to toxotes's answer, is about the space requirements of a fish irrespective of other tankmates. Yes, on one hand we have to consider the waste they produce, the water volume, and the filtration to deal with the waste.
Beyond that, though, fish have different needs/wants for room to move. Poor swimmers can be in a much smaller tank than an otherwise similar fish that naturally swims well. Many common schooling fish, like several popular tetra species, are accustomed to having a vast area of potential places to swim and explore. To be clear, they require open spaces; it's one of the reasons that in many setups it is best to have only one schooling species even if it seems that biologically you could handle more than one group. Each of them occupies space the other would like to know is open for future use. And when you think about stocking, adding one fish to an existing school entails much less additional required space than adding a new species altogether.
With that in mind, the parts of the tank a fish occupies is worth thinking about as well. Neon tetras and corydoras (other than pygmy and hastatus species, which do not spend all their time on the bottom) do not compete for space. Cichlids and many schooling species don't much care about the very top of the tank and would therefore be unbothered by fish like hatchets that spend the vast majority of their time at the surface. If you were thinking about keeping mostly bottom-dwelling species, then you could stock quite a few more in a 20 gallon long tank than a standard 20 gallon due to the greater square footage on the bottom.
Remember that you're providing the fish's entire world. The tank they are in is all they will know. We can't give them the size and complexity of their native habitats, but that's no reason not to do our best to give them an adequate environment. Even fish like the betta—who many like to say live in very shallow, "puddle"-like waters—have thousands of gallons to roam in their native lands in spite of the shallow depth. With that said, the reason we are more open to keeping fish like the betta in small tanks is because the mass-bred (and especially the long-finned) varieties are not good swimmers.


loud noise in front end tires at 60 mph

Question: I have a 2005 Toyota highlander and the tires are making a loud noise as I hit 60 mph but after a few minutes it goes away and doesn't come back until I hit the highway again and get up to 60 mph. Does anyone have any idea what this could be? I have brand new tires on it and alignment as well. I have no vibration in the car at all just loud noise for a few minutes then gone.
Comment: What brand and size are your tires? If they're an offroad pattern, quite often they can make a 'humming' noise at speed.
Answer: Tires heat up quickly during the first bit of driving. The heating tends to soften the rubber which changes how it contacts the road surface. How the tread blocks contact the road changes the sounds produced.
Tires vary greatly in design and materials which both affect the noise produced. Name brand expensive tires are carefully engineered to make a "white noise" type sound. Low end inexpensive tires are rarely so carefully designed.
If the air pressure is correct; the alignment and suspension are all OK; the rotation is up to date then replacement could the only recourse available.
Answer: I would suggest you check your brakes first. This is usually a main suspect in loud noises if all other aspects are fine.
Then it would also benefit you get a suspension check done at a tire fitment centre. They would be able to tell you if it something more complex such as ball joints, CV's, steering rack bushes giving in or any other part behaving strangely.
Most tire fitment centres wont charge you anything for this unless they find the flaw that is causing the noise

loud noise in front end tires at 60 mph


Is homeopathic treatment proper for cats?

Question: I have no idea about homeopathy. However, I have seen many of my relatives and neighbors administering homeopathic medicine to their sick cat. I am wondering if this approach is right or wrong.
Comment: `I have no idea about homeopathy` don't worry: practitioners of "homeopathy" have no idea either.
Answer: It's worth remembering homeopathy in the Indian context is a little strange, occasionally pulling in aspects of various native medicine, and well, some homespun oddness.
Any alternative medical system, without a solid grounding in the species in question and used opposed to, rather in conjunction with modern veterinary science is a wee bit suspect to me. I wouldn't bet the life of my best friend on it
Practically speaking for anything that matters, though, homeopathy is basically completely useless. Ars Technica has (well many articles but this one specifically) an article which I'll be drawing on for my answer. It's 7 pages - and that's cause this is a complex topic, even for a pop science website and it basically points out flaws in methodology in homeopathy believers.
The idea behind homeopathy is you can dilute some substance with the same effect as the illness in water, to the point where it's undetectable, and that somehow helps the body heal itself.
So... you're basically giving your cat water. Which is fine, assuming the cat needs a drink.  They claim it works cause water has memory. The water you drink has been through... well, dinosaurs, maybe Romans, Greeks. It might have floated through space as a comet. This wouldn't really work unless water has selective memory, or somehow the most recent thing done to it matters somehow. Of course, none of this is scientifically provable (the article I linked talks about bad science there).
I'd consider it pseudoscience, and it's unlikely to help outside making the owner feel like they're doing something.
Comment: Wait... water makes me Strong Like A T-Rex!!!!!!! Sorry, could not quiet resist here! :) On a more serious note: Homeopathy as ADDITIONAL treatment for your cat may have a benefit IF you believe in it because apparently, pets can pick up when YOU feel THEY should feel better, so they sometimes do. Minds are weird things...
Comment: Interestingly the person who gave me my cat as a baby, said that the cat is having some stomach upset, and the person gave me the homeopathic medicines that were being given to the cat.


Unable to start the test in JMeter with 1000 users . (I see thread count in negative)

Question: Using a controller, I am trying to connect two remote machines to start the test. With low load (example: 50 users) I was able to run all the 5 scripts. My goal is to run with 1000 users. When I do remote start all from the controller, I don't see any traffic or users doing activity. After some time when I stop the test, I see negative number in threads count in upper right corner. Suggest a solution!
Answer: Some things you may consider about your question:

Running 1000 threads with JMeter in one computer it is not a good option as that computer will be the bottle neck and not the application. So you need to manage to run the scripts from more than one computer.
How many users do you want to simulate? If you want to simulate 1000 real users, I would say that you don´t need to run 1000 threads as they will hit as 10 times these users or more. In any case, if you need 1000 threads you can split that into 5-10 computers or, if you have that, work with cloud resources.

Hope this helps.
Answer: Usually jmeter.log file contains all the information you need to get to the bottom of an issue. Check it on both master and slave nodes and take necessary steps to fix it.
Also JMeter default configuration is not suitable for running 1000 threads (or if you have 2 slave machines - 500 threads), you will need at least increase Java Heap space option by default only 512Mb are allocated to Java virtual machine which hosts JMeter process.
Locate the following line in JMeter start-up script (jmeter.bat or jmeter in "bin" folder)
HEAP="-Xms512m -Xmx512m"

And change -Xmx515m value to be ~80% of your total available physical RAM.
See 9 Easy Solutions for a JMeter Load Test "Out of Memory" Failure for more JMeter performance and tuning tips and tweaks.


App Store not launching

Question: I have a Mac 2009 mid-model running OS X 10.9.4. When i click the App Store icon in the dock nothing  happens. And I am not able to download or update my applications.
My firewall is off.
Comment: is your link broken? try using iTunes, or direct web access.
Answer: Since it is not clear what is not working I recommend following steps:
Trash that Dock Icon, then go to Finder applications and start it from there.
Or use iTunes to access it.
Once running right click and keep in Dock.
Possibly just use Disk Utility and restore/Repair preferences settings.
If it still not working, try with new preferences files.
Find them in  ~/Library/Preferences/
<code>com.apple.storeagent.plist
com.apple.appstore.plist
</code>
Quit all applications on your Mac, delete the two files above, and reboot your Mac.
If still not working use cmd+r to restore your OS installation..

App Store not launching


Launch a GNOME session from a remote terminal

Question: I'm sshing into my friend's machine and I'm wondering how I would launch a GNOME session over SSH.  I need to open a web browser on his machine to view something which can only be done from his hostname.  What's the easiest way to achieve this via SSH?
Answer: Switch to a second terminal, for example tty2: CtrlAlt-F2, login and start a new X session on an available display:
xinit -- :1

Now ssh to the other machine, enabling X forwarding (or trusted X forwarding with -Y):
ssh -X user@machine

Once logged in, start a new gnome-session:
gnome-session

You can also pass gnome-session as a command to ssh.
Answer: If all you need to do is run a web session, appearing to come from your friend's computer, I'd suggest just running OpenSSH with the ssh -D8888 argument (8888 is just an example), and set up your local browser to point to localhost:8888 as a SOCKS5 proxy.
If you must run a browser over the link, there's no reason why you need to start up an entire GNOME session, just run ssh -X as described in the other questions, and then run the browser alone.
Answer: To launch gnome from terminal use the command startx.
Comment: Nope. .xinitrc has to be set up for that,
Answer: You can use ssh -X or ssh -Y to his machine to run apps on your friend's machine but using your Xorg. The web browser will still be making the connection from his hostname.
Answer: In Ubuntu, I use these commands:

ssh -X user@host gnome-session

or

ssh -Y user@host gnome-session
Answer: I found the x11vnc to be pretty easy.
Allowed me to see the remote active gnome desktop.
(Appears as a desktop app. I ssh-tunnel forward it's port on my local machine. Then connect my local vnc client to my local ssh-forwarded port.)


how to add a Content Editor WebPart on a page using CSOM by Provider Hosted App

Question: I am creating a Provider Hosted App. USing the App, i would create a subsite.I want to add a Content Editor Webpart on the homepage of a newly created subsite using CSOM.
Can anyone suggest how to do this?
Answer: Check whether the below link can help you.
https://www.dynamics101.com/adding-content-editor-web-part-programmatically-sharepoint/
Answer: Any reason why you wouldn't created a Site Template that has the web part you need and then call that template from the app? I think that would be the best solution for you. Other than that you would have to create a feature stapler that would run after the site was created to then populate it with the CEWP.
Comment: could you please guide how do i do that in an O365 site
Answer: Here's an approach that I use - this code expects a well-formatted .webpart file that defines the web part you want to add to the page. Typically I create these files by adding the webpart to a page in my test environment and then exporting it, then moving that exported file to my VS solution and editing it if necessary.
This code also relies on the OfficePnP Core Library - https://github.com/OfficeDev/PnP-Sites-Core/tree/master/Core - which you should also be able to pull in via NuGet.
Final note... this is slightly modified to remove references to my actual solution so there may be a typo or two.
<code>using Microsoft.SharePoint.Client;
using Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.Publishing;
using OfficeDevPnP.Core.Entities;
using OfficeDevPnP.Core.Utilities;
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Net;
using System.Web;
using System.Xml;
using System.Xml.Linq;

public bool AddWebPartToPage(ClientContext ctx, string pageUrl, string webPartFileUrl, string wpTitle, string wpZone, int zoneIndex = 0)
{
  var pubPage = Web.GetPublishingPage2(pageUrl);
  ctx.ExecuteQuery();

  WebPartEntity wpe = new WebPartEntity();
  wpe.WebPartTitle = wpTitle;
  wpe.WebPartZone = wpZone;

  ctx.Load(pubPage.ListItem, l => l.File);
  pubPage.ListItem.File.CheckOut();
  ctx.ExecuteQuery();
  //Quick way to load the web part definition.
  var xmlDoc = new XmlDocument();
  xmlDoc.Load(webPartFileUrl);
  wpe.WebPartXml = xmlDoc.OuterXml;

  wpe.WebPartIndex = zoneIndex;
  Web.AddWebPartToWebPartPage(pubPage.ListItem.File.ServerRelativeUrl, wpe);
  pubPage.ListItem.File.CheckIn("Added webpart", CheckinType.MajorCheckIn);
  return true;
 }
</code>
You would want to call this function immediately after creating the subsite - if you're interested in how to create a subsite, please take a look at the OfficePnPDev.Core library - it has a helpful CreateWeb extension that simplifies things.
Hope this helps!


My answer was converted into a comment. I thought I answered properly

Question: My answer, https://money.stackexchange.com/a/63749/25694, was converted to a comment and I am not sure how to find the exact reason for it.
Comment: I think you could have said the same thing as well, or better, without the explicit reference to Best Buy -- it's enough to say that some stores do have a policy, announced or not, of offering a price guarantee and it's worth politely asking. (Occasionally the staff may have discretion to give you a partial discount even if that isn't the formal policy, which is part of why politeness helps. We recently got a discount at a hotel just for sympathizing and being helpful right after they had had to deal with a particularly annoying customer on the phone....)
Answer: I received a moderator flag that this was a better comment than answer. When I looked at it, the answer had no more details than others already posted, basically "ask." As Keshlam noted, the Best Buy reference wasn't helpful. Many US stores have this policy, but OP is in the Euro-zone.
Note, right now there are 8 answers posted, and probably only 3-4 are unique.
Comment: @MonkeyZeus Thanks for being respectful to hard working, volunteer moderators.    I look forward to reading your answers in the future.
Comment: I appreciate the feedback and will make sure to keep your advice in mind for the future, thanks!


Removal of blocking artifacts in images due to compression

Question: Having compressed an image,how can the compression noise or blocking artifacts be suppressed to improve the quality of the image before further processing. Thanks
Comment: is the "quality" with respect to the "further process" or the "final viewer" ?
Comment: Thanks. The quality is in respect to further process. My interest is not image viewing but suppressing the effect of noise for better accuracy in my final processing.
Comment: ok. Most de-blocking algorithms in the block-based transform coding literature are optimized wrt human viewers. You shall somewhat adjust them to fit into the "further" processes sensitivity characteristics.
Comment: Thanks. I have tried some but with no improvement and I think adjustment is an option. I will appreciate any further suggestion that can work. I am trying to reduce the compression noise on the PRNU characteristics of an image after the image has undergone compression
Comment: Which further processing are you aiming at? Depending on its properties, you may want to remove artifacts differently, because artifacts are often composite (blocking is not only a shift in the mean luminance of a block)
Comment: Thanks, I uses the Sensor pattern noise of a camera to distinguish an image coming from it or not. if the image is compressed before the extraction, this pattern is suppressed by the compression noise. So, I need a pre-processing algorithm that will reduce the artifacts due to compression so that it will not affect the overall classification accuracy. I am trying to explore your suggestion, though further suggestion is appreciated.
Answer: If you talk about JPEG-like blocking artifacts, an interesting appproach consists in the re-applications of the same JPEG algorithm on shifted versions of the image, see Enhancement of JPEG-Compressed Images by
Re-application of JPEG, by Aria Nosratinia, 1999. It has a software implementation. It implement a sort of shift-invariant processing. He did the same with the JPEG-2000 coder, in Post-Processing of JPEG-2000 Images to Remove Compression Artifacts. You can find an overview of these artifacts here.
Improved methods include sparsifying priors like total variation, see for instance Adapted Total Variation for Artifact Free Decompression of JPEG Images. Recent references include Reducing Artifacts in JPEG Decompression Via a Learned Dictionary and Understanding, Optimising, and Extending Data Compression with Anisotropic Diffusion.
Comment: @I.O Animasahun If you give more specific details about your processing, you might get more involved techniques, but you can try  the most basic ones first.
Comment: Thanks, I uses the Sensor pattern noise of a camera to distinguish an image coming from it or not. if the image is compressed before the extraction, this pattern is suppressed by the compression noise. So, I need a pre-processing algorithm that will reduce the artifacts due to compression so that it will not affect the overall classification accuracy. I am trying to explore your suggestion, though further suggestion is appreciated


How to decide acidic or basic nature of oxides

Question: How can we theoretically decide the acidic or basic nature of an oxide? What are the reasons/ factors which make an oxide acidic, basic, amphoteric or netural?
Comment: You might find the answers given to an older [question](http://chemistry.stackexchange.com/questions/1215/why-does-polonium-form-acidic-oxides) helpful.
Answer: In general, the electropositive character of the oxide's central atom will determine whether the oxide will be acidic or basic. The more electropositive the central atom, the more basic the oxide. The more electronegative the central atom, the more acidic the oxide. Electropositive character increases from right to left across the periodic table and increases down the column.
The trend of acid-base behaviour is from strongly basic oxides on the left-hand side to strongly acidic ones on the right, via an amphoteric oxide (aluminium oxide) in the middle. An amphoteric oxide is one that shows both acidic and basic properties.
This trend applies only to the oxides of the individual elements in the highest oxidation states for those elements. The pattern is less clear for other oxides.
We define non-metal oxide acidity in terms of the acidic solutions formed in reactions with water. For example, sulfur trioxide reacts with water to forms sulfuric acid.
In sum, acidic oxides are oxides of non-metals, and basic oxides are oxides of metals.
There are three non-metal oxides from the upper right portion of the periodic table, $\ce{CO}$, $\ce{NO}$, and $\ce{N2O}$, which have such low oxidation numbers for the central atom that they give neutral aqueous solutions.
Since the acidity of a cation rises rapidly with charge, d-block elements that exhibit a wide variety of oxidation numbers may have one or more oxides that exhibit only basic properties and one or more oxides that exhibit only acidic properties. The higher the oxidation number, the more acidic the corresponding oxide. Chromium is an example of such an element. $\ce{CrO}$ is basic, $\ce{Cr2O3}$ is amphoteric and  $\ce{CrO3}$ is acidic.
Answer: Consider an electropositive atom's oxide and an electronegative one's. And also consider them hydrolysed (i.e. $\ce{E=O + H2O -> E-(OH)2}$ or $\ce{E-O-E + H2O -> E-OH + HO-E}$).
Oxygen is very electronegative, so it should always be $\delta -$. But the electronegative atom will allow less electron density to be drawn away by the oxygen, so there will be less of a negative charge on the oxygen. This means that displacing the proton to give the oxygen more of a negative charge becomes more favourable. Thus, the oxide is acidic.
Now for the electropositive atom, oxygen now almost gets that atom's entire electron denisty. This means that oxygen is just a tad too negative to feel well, so it will draw protons out of the surrounding solution to protonate itself. Thus, the oxide is basic.
Comment: It depends on what you mean by be acid or basic. Look at Lux-Flood theory ;)
Comment: @Shadock Brønsted-Lowry acid/base definition.
Comment: Never thought of acids and bases in this light ,really liked this answer.
Answer: There is a theory developed by Hermann Lux and Håkon Flood, named Lux-Flood theory to explain the basic or acid character of an oxide.
The rules are very simple.

An acid of Lux-Flood is an acceptor of $\ce{O^{2-}}$
A base of Lux-Flood is a donor of $\ce{O^{2-}}$

Examples
$\ce{CaO}$ is a base of L-F because $\ce{CaO}=\ce{Ca^{2+}}+\ce{O^{2-}}$
$\ce{SiO2}$ is an acid of L-F because $\ce{Si}$ has unoccupied d orbital then it can have a valence upper than two and then accepts $\ce{O^{2-}}$ ions.
Then they can react to give you $\ce{CaSiO3}$
EDIT
If you use Fajans' Rules you will find that $\ce{CaO}$ is more ionic than $\ce{SiO2}$ that's why this reasoning is correct.

To measure the strength of them it is common to use the scale of $\ce{pO^{2-}}=-\log(\ce{O^{2-}})$ like we do for the $\ce{pH}$.
It may exists amphoteric Lux-Flood compound but I have not examples in head right-now.
Comment: Very interesting point of view. I would like you to add examples with amphoteric oxides. Also, explanations that include the involvement of 3d orbitals in the chemistry of the 3rd row elements are highly discouraged.
Comment: Your examples don't really make sense. $\ce{SiO2}$ is also $\ce{Si^4+ + O^2-}$. Also, while silicon does have d-orbitals somewhere above in the sky, so does calcium. In neither do they take part in bonding in any significant way. I think, I understand where you want to go, but it is badly phrased.
Comment: @Jan I have a better explaination I will edit my post.
Comment: @Marko for amphoteric coumpound there is the answer of Yomen I just saw. :)
Comment: I know, but I want wanted you to expand your answer, and threat the amphoteric oxides with the Lux-Flood theory.
Comment: @Marko I'll do if I find a bit of time :)
Comment: @Shadock No, the HSAB theory *does not* label acids stronger/weaker than others. It only talks about hardness and softness, which are *not related* to other acidity factors. E.g. ammonia is a hard base but a weak base. Amide is also a hard base but a much stronger base.


Can vipassana cause mental stress?

Question: I tried Vipassana for some time. I feel some fear of death and reality of life. So what do I want to do? When I do anapanasathi, I feel relaxed.
Comment: Hi Dinesh and welcome to Buddhism SE. We have put together a [Guide](http://meta.buddhism.stackexchange.com/questions/1502/i-am-a-new-user-here-at-buddhism-se-what-should-i-know-before-i-post?cb=1) and a [Resource section](http://buddhism.stackexchange.com/help) for new users that you might find useful.
Answer: Vipassana is about seeing things as they are. If you fear death during vipassana meditation then be mindful of the fear. One has to let go of comfort when practicing Vipassana. Anapana leads to temporary comfort, calm and relaxation but one could not become liberated with an anapana practice alone.
Answer: The Buddha taught on how to come out of stress. This is systematised in the 4 Noble Truths.
All animals feel the fear of death. This also can be a source of stress.
Vipassana is a an integral part of overcoming stress. So keep up your pratice. Anapana especially creates more calmness and relaxation hence you can try this also. Anapana contains the full 4 foundations of mindfulness hence you can use this as means to liberation. See: ANAPANASATI - MINDFULNESS WITH BREATHING Unveiling the Secrets of Life: a Manual for Serious Beginners by BUDDHADASA BHIKKHU, Right Mindfulness: Memory & Ardency on the Buddhist Path by Thanissaro Bhikkhu
The cravat is to pratice the right way under proper guidance of a teacher. Then you can overcome stress. Wrongly practiced this might create stress. You can try some formally organised courses: http://dhamma.org/, IMC - International Meditation Centre, World Buddhist Directory
Answer: Vipassana literally means watching. Buddha wanted you to see your mind. You feel fear because you wanted to run away from death which is perfectly natural. If you feel stress or fear don't run away, accept it as it is and you will come to know that because of your acceptance, fear is vanished. Watch your stress. Just be a watcher. Classifying it as good or bad destroys the very essence of watching. Buddha wanted to get rid of all clinging, good or bad. Just accept it as it is.
Answer: Sure it can. The path is all about balance, that's why it's called the "middle way". Find a balance that works for you between calming meditation and investigative meditation (samatha/vipassana).
Answer: I think it will help if you practice a different version of vipassana.Death is not the only form of vipassana so here are some links that will teach you different practices of vipassana.And please note that what you are going through is not a bad side of vipassana,it is simply a matter of choosing the right one for you.once you have done that everything will be fine.
so here are the other forms of vipassana that you could practice without that particular discomfort.
Meditation of foulness
Meditation of elements
Meditation of nine cemetery contemplations

If you feel discomfort while meditating it is better to temporarily meditate "Meththa - The loving kindness meditation".

Learn more about "Abhidhamma" before you practice that discomforting method to understand what life is.

Hope this helped, Click on the blue highlighted words and they will open the links i have given.

Remember the path is not a one full of comfort,it is full of discomfort and hard tasks but each step forward brings much pleasure and freedom that can't be achieved by any other comfortable thing in life.

Can vipassana cause mental stress?


When grandmas tell their kids お天道様がみてるよ, how do the kids know who お天道様 is?

Question: I checked Japanese Wikipedia and お天道様 is an early Edo period word for the sun, as used in some kind of early modern popular religion that is not really described well at all. Anyway, I've never seen a word like this in any children's book, so how do kids know what their grandparents are talking about? It seems like if it's a word nobody understands, the grandparents should just say お日様 instead.
Comment: So there are some things you are just born with? This is an interesting theory of language acquisition...
Comment: I heard of some saying like to tell kids that お天道様 is watching them, so they better be good. If they used some gesture to point to the sky while saying it, they might understand.
Comment: @Avery Haha! That would make things simple! No, sorry, what I meant was one of those things that you know what it means, but you can't explain why it means it. So, you know that お天道様 is watching you, and that's a good thing, even if you don't know exactly who or what お天道様 is.
Comment: It might be just one of those things you know but don't understand...
Comment: Oh, I understand! That's almost the answer I wanted. Maybe this is more of a personal experience question than a linguistics question.
Comment: `お天道様` is a common word that probably 99 percent of the population understands. All you have to do is point in the sky at the sun and say `お天道様` and kids will understand the relation.
Comment: @AveryMorrow: Actually, there *is* a school of thought along those lines.  If you want to know more about it, look up Noam Chomsky's Universal Grammar theory.
Answer: This is an interesting question but I don't think it's really Japan-specific. Japanese kids learn the word お天道様 the same way kids everywhere learn words.
I mean, how do kids in the US know who "God" is? If anything, it should be easier to figure out お天道様 -- at least Japanese grandmas can point to a concrete placeholder... I'm sure there are many Japanese kids who grow up with idiosyncratic understandings of what お天道様 means, but again, the same could be said of "God".
It seems like if it's a word nobody understands, the grandparents should just say お日様 instead.
But it isn't a word nobody understands -- it's a word (almost) everybody understands, even if they can't put their understanding in simple words. Plus, if grandmas said お日様 it wouldn't really make sense. There is obviously some overlap, but watching over people and disapproving of naughtiness is just not something that お日様 does.
Comment: So it is a common word, despite what silvermaple said? Is there a book that uses it?
Comment: Well, it's not as commonly used as "God" (that was a flaw in my analogy, I guess), and I don't know of any kids' books that use it, but I think most Japanese people have at least heard the word and know how it's used. (Silvermaple didn't say it was uncommon, just that people might not be able to define it exactly.) If you had a grandma that used it, you would learn it, because her use of the word would teach it to you. And if you didn't, eventually you would hear it from someone else. It may die out in a few generations if non-grandmas have stopped using it, of course, like any other word.
Comment: Is "God" a word that most people understand? ;)
Comment: This question seems to apply to all languages not just Japanese and "god" is quite a good analogy:

I still remember slight confusion when I started school and listened to stories in morning assembly about people who were helped by someone who knows us. This was despite knowing the Christmas story, being taken to church for a brief period and being taught the sign of the cross by my mother.  Eventually all these things came together, although I did make sense of the sign of the cross until it was used every morning at my next school 2 years later. (contd)
Comment: (contd) But what is interesting to me is that until they all gradually came  together, for a long time I just did not worry about these things, probably because they had no bearing on my day-to-day life. This is just an example but it is an illustration of how words/concepts like 天道様 would be acquired fairly passively. I can remember other instances of words which I often heard but did not start using until one day I asked about them/something happend to make them relevant.