In Connecticut, do employees have rights to photographs of themselves?

Question: In Connecticut specifically, if an employer hires a company to take photographs of their employees (headshots with nothing in the background that may be considered company property), do the employees have any rights to the photographs? (e.g. for personal use).
Comment: @MarkWhitaker http://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/4818/what-questions-should-be-closed-with-reason-too-localized
Comment: "In Connecticut specifically" seems a bit too localised for me: the question's going to be irrelevant to the majority of visitors to the site.
Comment: I take it all back. :)
Comment: I have updated the title though to reflect the specific nature of the question. Otherwise I think plenty of other users will (as I did) click through on the title only to bail out after 3 words of the question.
Comment: I would be surprised if Connecticut has its own copyright laws (I'm pretty sure that's relegated to federal authority in the U.S.). It *might* have its own contract laws, which affect what the owner of a copyrighted photo of another person may do with it.
Comment: (Just in case you're wondering, the other person with a trigger-happy close reflex is NOT me, no, definitely not).
Comment: On the legality, I suspect that the employee can decline to have their photograph taken (unless it somehow formed part of their duties).
Answer: I don't know about Connecticut specifically but in most of the world the copyrights belong only to the creator of the work (the photographer) - unless there is a contract that say otherwise (work for hire, transfer of rights, etc).
The subject of the photo has no rights to use the photo what so ever - except for those specifically given by the copyright owner (or anyone who was given permission to give such rights by the copyright holder).
note that, depending on the situation the photo was taken in and the local law it's possible the copyright holder can't use the image either without permission from the subject - but this doesn't seem to apply in this situation
So, the employee has no right to use the photo unless given permission, probably by the employer (assuming the contract between the employer and photography company includes either a copyright transfer or a license to do whatever they want with the images)
Answer: The subject has no copyright rights, but they do have model (or "personal image") rights in certain uses of the photo.
Answer: You might have some say in whether that photo could be used in advertising or marketing type content, but otherwise, what Nir said is correct. A lot also depends on what your employment agreement with the company says, so each case like this is individual to a person and company.


Can the Sun become a big ball of gold atoms?

Question: The atoms inside the core of sun are continuously fusing and forming other atoms. Can this continuous fusing make gold atoms?
Answer: Gold is heavier (further down the periodic table of elements, not necessarily more dense, although this is also the case) than iron. Iron's elemental number is 26. Gold is 79.
Any star that attempts to fuse iron will go into a supernova phase.
At that point, gold and all of the elements heavier than iron will be created, but only in the brief moments while the star is tearing itself apart.
No star can ever create gold in any circumstances other than during a supernova.  Our own sun is not nearly large enough to go supernova.
Any supernova will create gold, not just the type of supernova described above.
More reading: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_II_supernova
Comment: Elements heavier than iron can be, and often are, produced in places other than core collapse supernovae or in supernovae at all. Gold, it has been suggested, maybe largely created by colliding neutron stars. So whilst the gist of your answer is correct, you might edit to avoid propagating this misunderstanding.
Comment: "Specifically, a neutron star collision would result in a Type 1c Supernova." is this true? A Type 1c supernova is a **stripped core-collapse supernovae**. I've not seen it used to refer to neutron star mergers before.
Comment: +10 for mentioning iron fusion. I wish I had thought of that angle, although it was inferred.
Comment: I'd not heard about the colliding Neutron Stars theory.   That's pretty awesome.
Comment: Neutron star collisions result in another type of supernova, one that is not well classified because they are so rare. It is thought that a neutron star collision creates a Gamma Ray Burst, the single most energetic type of event other than the Big Bang itself, but this is not confirmed by observation. This question was about whether a star can create gold through normal fusion; the answer remains that only a supernova (of whatever type) can.
Comment: Specifically, a neutron star collision would result in a Type 1c Supernova.  (No hydrogen emission lines, no helium emission lines, no silicon absorption lines.)
Answer: Carl Sagan answers this in the Cosmos series. Here is an excerpt.

The matter in the known Universe is made up of 74% Hydrogen. In most
  of the stars we see, hydrogen nuclei are being jammed together to form
  helium nuclei. Every time a nucleus of helium is made, a photon of
  light is generated. This is why the stars shine. Helium accounts for
  24% of matter in known Universe. In fact, helium was detected on the
  sun before it was ever found on the Earth. These two elements have
  accounted for 98% of matter. Might the other chemical elements have
  somehow evolved from hydrogen and helium?
Three units, put together in different patterns make, essentially,
  everything – "Neutron, Proton and Electron". If you're an atom and you
  have just one proton you're hydrogen. Two protons, helium. And so on.
  Protons have positive electrical charges. But since like charges repel
  each other, why does the nucleus hold together? Why don't the
  electrical repulsion of the protons make the nucleus fly to pieces?
  Because there's another force in nature. Not electricity, not gravity.
  The nuclear force!! We can think of it as short-range hooks which
  start working when protons or neutrons are brought very close
  together.The nuclear force can overcome the electrical repulsion of
  the protons.
A lump of two protons and two neutrons is the nucleus of a helium atom
  and is very stable. Three helium nuclei, stuck together by nuclear
  forces makes carbon. Four helium nuclei makes oxygen. There's no
  difference between four helium nuclei stuck together by nuclear forces
  and the oxygen nucleus. They're the same thing.
How easy is that to fuse nuclei? To avoid the
  electrical repulsion protons and neutrons must be brought very close
  together so the hooks which represent nuclear forces are engaged. This
  happens only at very high temperatures, where particles move so fast
  that there's no time for electrical repulsion to act. Temperatures of
  tens of millions of degrees. Such high temperatures are common in
  nature. Where? In the insides of the stars. Atoms are made in the
  insides of stars.
It is possible to make atoms with up to 26 Protons [Iron] in a Star.
  Above that, We need a supernova to create atoms with 30 protons, 40
  protons, 50 protons or even 60 protons. Nature prefers 'even' numbers
  for stability. But 'Gold' is an odd-numbered atom. It has 79 Protons.
  It needs more than a super nova for its creation. It needs 2 Neutron
  stars to collide directly. This collision alone can favor the creation
  of stable atoms of Gold.
Since neutron star collisions are also suggested as the origin of
  short duration gamma-ray bursts, it is possible that you already own a
  souvenir from one of the most powerful explosions in the universe.
Except for hydrogen and helium every atom in the sun and the Earth was
  synthesized in other stars. The silicon in the rocks, the oxygen in
  the air, the carbon in our DNA, the gold in our banks, the uranium in
  our arsenals were all made thousands of light-years away and billions
  of years ago. Our planet, our society and we ourselves are built of
  "star stuff".
Answer: No.
Per the beginning of @RobJeffries' excellent answer to Are binary neutron star mergers needed to explain the abundance of gold?:

The creation of some very heavy neutron-rich elements, like gold and platinum, requires the rapid capture of neutrons. This will only occur in dense, explosive conditions where the density of free neutrons is large. For a long time, the competing theories and sites for the r-process have been inside core-collapse supernovae and during the merger of neutron stars.
My understanding is that it has become increasingly difficult for supernovae to produce (in theoretical models) sufficient r-process elements to match both the quantity and detailed abundance ratios of r-process elements in the solar system (see for example Wanajo et al. 2011; Arcones & Thielmann 2012). The conditions required, particularly a very neutron-rich environment in the neutrino-driven winds, are just not present without the fine tuning of parameters (see below).
Instead, the models invoking neutron star mergers are much more robust to theoretical uncertainties and successfully produce r-process elements. The question mark appears to be only over their frequency at various times in the evolution of a galaxy and exactly how much enriched material is ejected.

This kind of environment has never existed and will not ever exist in the Sun's lifetime based on a pretty solid understanding of stellar evolution.


What do the proposed changes to FOFA mean for consumers obtaining Financial Advice?

Question: The Australian Federal Government is proposing to make changes/rollbacks to some of the new FOFA (Future of Financial Advice) legislation for Financial Planners. If the changes get through parliament, what are the consequences faced by consumers obtaining Financial Advice?
Answer: The proposed changed come under the Corporations Amendment (Streamlining of Future of Financial Advice) Bill 2014 (FOFA).
The biggest consequences consumers will notice will be the reduction of ongoing paperwork. The bulk of the changes will have a larger effect on the financial advisors by reducing the impact of the current regulations.
As of 24 March 2014 these changes are on hold
The current FOFA changes have been put on hold, in these circumstances consumers will see no changes until the implementation is revived.
http://www.financeminister.gov.au/media/2014/mr_2014-16.html
Summary
In summary the changes are

Remove the opt-in requirements
Remove the retrospective application of the fee disclosure requirement
Remove the catch-all provision
Clients and advisers will be explicitly allowed to agree on the scope of financial advice to be provided, whilst ensuring advice is still appropriate for the client.
The ban on conflicted remuneration will only apply to commissions on risk (life) insurance products inside superannuation in circumstances where no personal financial advice about these products has been provided
Benefits relating to the provision of general advice will be exempted from the ban on conflicted remuneration.
Introduce a causal link into the exemption so that benefits are permitted where no advice has been provided to the client by the individual performing the execution service in the previous 12 months.
Broaden the existing training exemption
Amend the drafting of the ban on volume-based shelf-space fees to clarify that incentive payments between fund managers and platform operators for preferential treatment of certain products on the platform "shelf" are banned.
Amend the existing grandfathering provisions, that exempt certain benefits under pre-existing arrangements from the ban on conflicted remuneration, to allow advisers to move between licensees and to continue to access grandfathered benefits in certain circumstances.
Amend the conflicted remuneration provisions to:
  allow for the payment of benefits under "balanced" remuneration structures;
  expand the basic banking exemption to include all simple (i.e. "Tier 2") banking products; and
  permit the payment of performance bonuses that are calculated by reference to remuneration which is exempt from the ban on conflicted remuneration.
Amend the existing stockbroking-related exemptions to:
  clarify the application of the stamping fee exemption to initial purchasing offer arrangements; and
  clarify the application of the brokerage fee exemption to products traded on the ASX24.

http://axs.ministers.treasury.gov.au/media-release/011-2013/
Comment: How about the removal of protections for consumers such as allowing commissions and other conflicted remuneration in some circumstances. Even the FPA is against these changes.


Counting Calories when Training for TKD Tournament

Question: I'm training for a TKD tournament.  My Master is a very big proponent of counting calories, but I don't want to eat too little when I'm training intensely for the rest of the year.  I obviously don't want to go over or under my weight class either.  That being said, is counting calories something I should do?  Or should I just eat healthy (meats, fruits, and veggies) and not worry about caloric intake?
Comment: Hi and welcome to Martial Arts. In its current state your question is incredibly broad and hard to answer definitively and usefully, especially as the answer will vary for every person wanting to use the answer (everyone is different). Can you narrow down your question at all? Add some more information, like any particular program that you are on now, and anything you know to work for yourself?
Answer: In its most basic sense, just let the scale be your guide. Weigh yourself at the same time under the same conditions every day (Such as first thing when you get up in the morning), and watch the trends. If you notice that your weight is creeping up, you need to either increase your cardio/workouts a bit or cut back on the calories a bit. Be aware that if you ease off your workouts to taper/be fresh for a competition, you may need to cut calories slightly as well.
To some extent, the "3500 calories = 1 lb" is a bit of a myth. The base fact is that if you expend more calories than you consume, you will lose weight, and if you eat more than you expend you will gain.
As far as the composition, since you are not an endurance athlete, my personal recommendation is to aim for about 40-50% calories from lean proteins, 20% from healthy fats and 30-40% from carbohydrates (For comparison, endurance athletes will be in the 50-60% range for carbohydrates). You can get a lot of your carbs from fruits and vegetables, and any grains that you consume should be as unprocessed as possible. I generally tell people to "shop the edges" of the store, as that is usually the raw meats section, produce, bakery. The further into the boxes you get, the more processed/empty calories come into play.
Lean meats: Turkey, chicken, pork, lean ground beef, certain steak cuts. Healthy fats - Vegetable oils, avocado, nuts. Best oils for cooking are grapeseed, walnut and avocado. Avoid oils with high levels of saturated fats.
Depending on the style of tournament and the length, you may want to increase carbs slightly in the days leading up, but be aware that this will also cause a slight rise in weight as the muscles retain more glycogen and water. True carbo loading is a 1-2 week process, and generally only done by endurance athletes to maximize energy stores just before long events. You may also want to experiment in training with various food bars (Such as Lara bars, one of my personal picks) for energy/nutrition between matches.
Comment: I used to agree whole-heartedly with this. Rather than add another answer, I'll point out two things from my wonderful doctor. 1st: your body needs about 1500 calories in food a day to maintain your organs. If you're not taking in enough calories to maintain, the first signs are usually hair loss and loosening of teeth. 2nd: Eating animal proteins every day can increase purines, leading to gout. Purines are found in numerous sources, but are heavily tied to people with high protein low carb diets. Not sure if it's important to anyone, but take it for what it's worth.
Comment: @stslavik - The amount of calories in a day for maintaining organs, etc., is variable among different people depending on age and sex among other factors. Uric acid from purines is also somewhat personally dependent, and saying it's in all meat is misleading. Yes, all meat does have purines, but in minimal amounts unless you are eating a lot of organ meats (Liver/kidney), some seafoods as well. There are also some veggies (Such as asparagus/mushrooms) that are high in purines. Agreed, though, if you eat a very high protein based diet, it's something to be aware of.


Getting grub terminal after removing Ubuntu partition and unable to boot into Windows

Question: I deleted my Ubuntu partition cause I wanted to install Linux mint. But now when I switch on my laptop, I'm unable to boot into Windows. I'm getting a grub terminal (not sure if it's grub rescue mode) on startup. It says: Gnu grub version 2.02^beta2-9ubuntu1.3 Minimal bash like line editing is supported For the first word, tab lists possible command completions. Anywhere else tab lists possible device or file completions . grub>
Answer: I've encountered that same issue before. You have to run update-grub once you delete a partition, but I didn't so grub didn't know about the changes to the disk. I follow the tutorial How to Rescue a Non-booting GRUB 2 on Linux, but in your case if you want to boot into Windows, what specific settings are necessary there.
I'd suggest the easier way - go to friends with a PC, create Linux Mint installation USB, and install Mint. The installer should detect Windows partition, and let you choose to install along-side Windows.
Comment: I made a mint live usb and connected it to my laptop but when I switch on my laptop the same screen comes up?
Comment: You need to boot from that USB, not from your hard drive. Press F12 or F8 on bios screen. Which button to press will be specific to your model. Also you could temporarily change boot order in bios, but you'd need to change that after you're done installing mint


Why won't my boiled egg whites harden?

Question: I'm having problems with boiling eggs. The egg whites are not hardening and stay soft, but the yolks did set. The eggs I'm using are freshly laid.
What can cause this? How can I make sure my egg whites set too?
Comment: Lacking what? Spirit of cooperation?
Comment: @Greenie the egg white proteins set at lower temperatures than yolk proteins.  So it's possible the chickens are low in protein in their feed.  This time of the year (winter/early spring) is usually harder regarding feed (per Michael Pollan, Omnivore's Dilemma)
Comment: Please share some more detail about how you are cooking these eggs.
Comment: Thanks mandomando I will try adjusting their feed  and see what happens
Comment: In a stainless steel pot  . Bring water to the boil then gently place eggs into the water for 3to4minutes
Comment: Could it be the chickens are lacking something
Comment: @Greenie I think you should make your response an answer.  It sounds like the most reasonable explanation offered so far
Answer: This is not a real answer, but rather some info to hopefully, help:

Egg whites are 90% water, when they harden, the protein unravels and creates a grid network that does not allow the molecules to slip past each other.  If the protein level drops, it might make it harder to set and stay runny.
Egg white proteins go through a phase change (become hard) at a lower temperature than the Yolk by a few degrees, that's how you can have soft-boiled eggs.
If you crack a fresh egg and it sprawls on the dish (as opposed to hold tall), you're looking at an egg from a chicken that didn't eat many insects/larvae. ;) This may be expected as at this time of the year (northern hemisphere) insects aren't very active.

There is a good section in Michael Pollan's Omnivore's Dilemma that gets into more detail.  And perhaps better information regarding the off-season feed.
Answer: What intrigues me is what happens in the cooking of an egg already open?
Have you tried doing an egg "poached"? You should be able to see directly the cooking, since it lacks the shell. "In fashion", the egg is cooked by pouring it, without shell, in boiling water, with a flick but delicate. The white should be fully cooked, but the yolk remain raw.
Theoretically, you should see the white cooking, while the yolk not.
Please try it and tell us the result.
Comment: I wouldn't make that assumption about egg whites and yolks just based on their relative protein content.  The biological processes involved in making the egg may not prioritize the yolk and white the same.
Answer: I never had a cooked yolk and raw whites. Try what I usually do --> put the eggs in water together and wait for 5-10 mins. below is the guideline for boiling eggs. don't wait till the water boils before you put the eggs.
Egg Size    Degree of Doneness   Time Required
Medium      Soft-cooked yolk     3 minutes
        Medium-cooked yolk   5 minutes
        Hard-cooked yolk     12 minutes
Large    Soft-cooked yolk   4 to 5 minutes
     Medium-cooked yolk     6 minutes
     Hard-cooked yolk   17 minutes
Extra Large     Soft-cooked yolk    5 minutes
            Medium-cooked yolk  7 to 8 minutes
            Hard-cooked yolk    19 minutes
Comment: Given that the yolks are cooking and the whites aren't, the problem is definitely not cooking times. If the cooking time were too short, the yolk wouldn't set either.
Answer: http://www.thekitchn.com/5-mistakes-to-avoid-when-making-hard-boiled-eggs-cooking-mistakes-to-avoid-216999
Eggs could be too fresh. I just made this mistake and searched for why my eggs were mushy...
Comment: Welcome Johanna - Link only answers are discouraged: *Always quote the most relevant part of an important link, in case the target site is unreachable or goes permanently offline.* You can edit your post to include this information, by clicking the edit link at the bottom of your post.
Answer: i have been boiling and poaching eggs for many years and this is the first time I have not been able to cook the White of an egg, so I don't think it's the cooking process but to do with the chicken's productive system
Comment: This got flagged - I think it's marginally an answer (something to do with the chicken, not the cooking) but it's not a really good answer (what's that something?).
Comment: I just had the same thing happen to me this week with an organic egg from a local farmer. It was strange because the yolk was fully firm, yet the white was not runny but soft in the shell

Why won't my boiled egg whites harden?


How to find the hashed password from the 32 character password keychain shows me?

Question: I have a 32 character password that keychain access has shared with me, it's 28 uppercase letters and numbers combined, and 4 "-" symbols. Can I retrieve the hashed password that is the actual password for the login to an email address? Would appreciate the help. I'm using OSX 10.9.5
Answer: It's not quite clear from your question whether the password you need is actually stored in Keychain itself or elsewhere.
As a general rule in security, if a password is recognised by a mathematical hash, then it is never stored anywhere in plaintext.
The result of the hash is stored, not the actual password - so that when the correct password is input by the user, the hash of that input matches the stored hash result. Doing it this way means that brute force is the only way to 'guess' the password; it can never be reverse-engineered.
Having said that - Keychain does store original passwords for you & these can be retrieved from Keychain Access by selecting the appropriate entry & entering your keychain password.
Keychain Access is in Applications > Utilities
Keychain does this by encrypting the entire keychain using a separate hash structure & can be locked/unlocked by anyone with the appropriate password.
Comment: Trying to clarify here: There are 32 character keys under the "Keys" category of Keychain Access. Is it possible to retrieve the password that's associated with one of those keys? The website I've entered a password is no longer in use, but I need the password I've used to sign-in to that website. Unfortunately, Keychain did not save the password (or perhaps erased it) probably as a result of the website being down.


Short layover in Zurich

Question: Tomorrow I am flying from Geneva to Prague with a layover in Zurich, all operated by Swiss. I should land in Zurich at 16:40, probably at the terminal 1 (since it is a domestic flight). My connecting flight to Prague is either from terminal 1 or 3 (that is what check-in says) and the boarding starts at 17:30. Can I be sure that I will not to miss my flight, assuming everything will be on time? In other words, is terminal 3 close to terminal 1? I found only that the terminals at Zurich airport are A, B/D and E. So I hope that terminal 1 is A and terminal 3 is D, maybe? Thanks!
Answer: You're misunderstanding it, there's only one terminal at Zurich, but with different gate areas (A, B, D and E), of which A and B are used for Schengen flights (such as to/from Geneva or Prague), and three check-in areas for departing passengers (1, 2 and 3), which is irrelevant to you since you're connecting.
You'll be arriving either in the A or B area, and then follow the transfer signs to the appropriate area, depending on where the departures Monitor tells you to go. Most Swiss flights leave from an A gate.
Regardless, you should be fine unless the flight from Geneva is delayed. Worst case, Swiss has to put you on the next one for free.
Comment: Thank you very much for your answer, I hope everything will be okay.
Comment: Can I also ask why then the check-in system says that the connecting flight departs from terminal 1 or 3? Why does not it use simply A, B etc.?
Comment: @user65614 It says in what check-in area departure passengers should check in, i.e. not relevant to you. The gate area is never 100% known in advance, but again Star Alliance flights (including SWISS) usually leave from A

Short layover in Zurich


How does DNS verify owner identity?

Question: I was editing my DNS records through my hosting service (nearlyfreespeech) and I got to wondering, how does the international DNS network know that the person who's editing the DNS records is actually me? Why can't some random person go and edit the records?
Answer: Presumably, your registrar where you registered your domain name and likely where you modify your DNS records is known as the authority for your domain with a SOA statement of authority record. All registrars are a bit different, but assuming that you do not share your username and password with anyone, only you and your registrar can actually change the records.
There is no one DNS. Your DNS is just a few of a huge network of referring DNS servers throughout the world. When you register your domain name, the gTLD or ccTLD DNS server will have a DNS server listed to resolve the domain name so that when someone wants to look-up your domain name, it starts at the top (if you will) and queries the TLD DNS for where to find the records for your domain. Okay. This is a bit of an over simplification, but I thought getting more technical would make a long and boring answer.
Comment: That sort of makes sense... so when I register a domain, my hosting service puts in an SOA record and has all the actual information on their own servers... where I am allowed to edit them. (And feel free to get long and technical if you so desire, I'd love to know more about how DNS works :D)
Comment: But then, analogously, what about the hosting service "putting in an SOA record"? Is that regulated just by contract, or is there some deeper security going on?
Comment: Some people use the host for their DNS, but I generally do not recommend this for two reasons: one, the registrar DNS systems by default must be robust; and two, it adds confusion and people often do not edit the right set of records. As well, you would have to get the registrar to point to the host for those records to be seen. Here are two links: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain_Name_System and https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc772774%28v=ws.10%29.aspx Both will tell you more than you need to know. You will see it is a huge topic!!

How does DNS verify owner identity?


How to enable Community site in App Launcher In Salesforce Sandbox for both Salesforce Mobile App and Desktop?

Question: I have implemented community site for Salesforce mobile App and Desktop both. But when I login my Salesforce sandbox  in mobile or Desktop, In the App Launcher section Community site is not Visible in sandbox.
Similarly, I have done this in my personal developer org, where the site is visible in App Launcher section.
Is there any permission that is required in Salesforce Sandbox so The community site visible in App launcher section?
Answer: You have to set that particular site to visible in app launcher as below.
Go to setup-> User Interface-> App Menu-> and make sure the site is set to Visible in App Launcher as shown below

Please find the below Knowledge article for more details.
Knowledge Article


Applications of Depth-First Spanning Tree

Question: I know that depth-first search can be used to produce a depth-first spanning tree, which classifies all edges as tree edges, forward edges, backward edges or cross edges. Are there any algorithms that make use of the depth-first spanning tree?
Comment: Yeah, you use it for instance in finding the strongly connected components with Micha Sharir's algorithm.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strongly_connected_component
Answer: You can find bridges, i.e. edges whose removal causes the graph to separate into disconnected components.
Assuming connected, undirected graphs, the key insight is that a tree edge $e = (v,w)$ ($v$ being the father of $w$ in the tree) is a bridge if and only if there is no backwards edge¹ connecting $w$ or a successor of $w$ with an ancestor of $w$ (in the search tree). If there were such an edge, $e$ could not be a bridge as it's part of a cycle.
By augmenting the depth-first search algorithm in a suitable way, we can do these checks along the road and thus get an $O(n + m)$ algorithm.

There can be no forward and cross edges!
Answer: Tarjan linear time algorithm for articulation vertex (cut vertex).  See
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biconnected_component
Comment: Could you add some more detail about how the DFST is used in Tarjan's algorithm, and/or some reference material to make this answer stand on its own a bit better?


Encouraging a child to follow their natural gifts

Question: I have a child who has a few enormous natural talents.  Yet the child does not want to pursue any of these gifts and, from an adult perception standpoint, seems to take these gifts for granted.  Instead, the child would rather pursue endeavors they are less talented in.  How do you balance letting this child pursue their interests with letting the child know how much they are throwing away by so quickly disregarding the natural talents?
Comment: Counter question from a mom of a gifted child (confirmed by multiple tests): Are you sure that what they are talented in is also what makes them happy? It can be an easy misconception that those two are automatically correlated. Talent or being gifted can be a huge bonus for someone pursuing a topic out of interest and motivation, but not necessarily the other way around.
Comment: Welcome to the site! How old is your child? Feel free to add an approximate age tag for that, e.g. [tag:middle-childhood]. What are these talents, specifically? And what are the child's specific objections to pursue these gifts? These details will help us answer the question better. Thanks!
Comment: "child would rather pursue endeavors they are less talented in" - this sounds like the makings of a well-rounded,, functioning, and personable adult. What kind of lesson would it be to proliferate the ideology of "You should do the stuff that is easy for you"
Comment: As a parent you want your child to excel in at least a few domains. But as a child what's in it for him or her?
Answer:
How do you balance letting this child pursue their interests with letting the child know how much they are throwing away by so quickly disregarding the natural talents?

By recognizing two things: 1. That you cannot possibly be certain about the future, not your own or anyone else's. 2. That they have a right to the life they want, whereas you do not have a right to force them (or guilt them) into a life they do not want.
Projecting your values onto your child, when pushed too far, will likely result in a child feeling like a disappointment/failure when they don't live up to your expectations, and may lead to a lot of resentment if they do.
I am now a parent to adult children, all launched and in their mid-late 30s. Three of my children were "gifted". Only one is in a career that they wanted to be in as a child, adolescent and adult, and it's not that they were particularly gifted in that area; it's that they stubbornly refused to accept "no" as an answer, from anyone or anything. The others have taken paths which twisted and turned and two are still evolving. Only one has followed their natural talent, and they would be living in poverty if not for their spouse.
I don't feel guilt at my choices. We offered them all the opportunities we could think of. They had to (i.e. I forced them to) do certain things: learn a second language (of their choice, to fluency), take music lessons (not to proficiency), engage in sports, etc. The rest was just enrichment, exposing them to as much as possible. Their childhoods were rich with experiences of all kinds.
Really, all I wanted was for them to be good people who were, hopefully, happy and able to support themselves and/or a family.
My best friend had four children who were obligated to master two musical instruments, as well as get all As in every subject. They were expected to go to college on full scholarships. She once chided one of her children who was struggling in a college course, saying, "I don't care how hard you're trying. You need to get an A." You can imagine they had childhoods and adolescences very different from those of my children. One of their kids has a career related to their natural talent, and again, if it weren't for their second job, they would not be able to make ends meet. I cannot speak to their happiness; they seem happy enough, but the oldest is now beginning to feel that their upbringing was "really screwed up".
I believe that parenting is the most difficult job in the world if you're doing it correctly, and it's maybe the job in which the outcome is the least predictable. This answer is of doubtful reassurance to you, but it's the best I've got.
Edited to add: After reading @Timur Shtatland's excellent answer, I wanted to share how hopeless it is to try to guide a child no matter what the approach. I was having a conversation with my eldest child, and they were sharing how they don't really know if the path they've chosen, while lucrative, is one they want to stay in. I was letting them know that I would support any choice they made. I said, "[Eldest], all I ever really wanted for you was to be happy." "I know!!!, they replied. "What an unrealistic expectation! It's impossible to live up to!" I had to chuckle and think about the approach I took.
Comment: Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been [moved to chat](https://chat.stackexchange.com/rooms/135952/discussion-on-answer-by-anongoodnurse-encouraging-a-child-to-follow-their-natura).
Answer: The best strategy I've found for this is to give kids lots of opportunities, but not force anything.  Forcing things leads them to develop a dislike for what they're forced to do - that's only natural - and so even if they're amazingly good at whatever, they won't try hard and practice.
If you really want them to do what they're good at, give them the opportunity to do it when they want to.  A child who wants to be good at something will practice it and learn life skills that are relevant for other things (i.e., how to improve).
My approach, which works well for my younger child and not so well for the older, is to offer opportunities, and he finds things he likes and does them.  The other kid doesn't really ever want to do anything, and so I do have to enforce some structure - but I try to keep it as open as possible, along the lines of "you must do one activity, but you may choose which one".
I also recognize that my older child is very externally motivated - which is not ideal, but it's just how it is with him - so I try to give him external motivations (when you get to X level you get Y prize).   My younger one doesn't need (or even want) those, so I let him go at his own pace.
Comment: This is correct. I was forced to learn piano as a kid, and hated it. I later took up piano on my own as an adult, and while I didn't stick with it, I enjoyed it thoroughly. Forcing your kid to do an activity is the surest way to make them hate it, which would be a shame if they are naturally talented at it. There's nothing that says talents have to be taken full advantage of in childhood (or even at all for that matter). Some people don't discover and start to use a gift until well on into adulthood. So this is good advice.
Comment: Note that there is a very different approach to this, and one I hope we see in another answer.  This is my philosophy, and one that I think is important, but it probably isn't the philosophy chosen by many parents of successful prodigies I suspect.
Comment: I'd like to hear a different answer, too. Mine is essentially the same (I think.)
Comment: It's the approach my parents took, and the one we use for our kids.
Answer: Being gifted or talented is somewhat overrated, in my opinion, although it is something many idealise. The reality is that most if not all the hugely talented people through history have put in an enormous amount of work for a long time; Mozart famously was trained from a very early age, and his early works were not actually anything much. Who knows if he would ever have become even a moderately good musician, had his father not driven him forward with ruthless ambition.
I don't think you should worry about gifts going to waste - success and happiness are mostly the result of sustained effort over a long time, so it is much better to let a child find their own interests by exposing them to many opportunities, and then do whatever you can to encourage and nurture that interest. But keep in mind that many interests burn out after some time and allow the child the freedom to lose interest.
Frankly, I think the only real 'talent' or 'gift' is imagination; as Einstein said 'Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.' - imagination is what makes you curious and wanting to learn about things.
Finally, a word about stupidity, which isn't the same as ignorance or lack of intelligence; an ingorant or less intelligent person can still learn more and improve themselves, but a stupid person somebody who has decided not to learn. Another Einstein quote: 'The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits'. It is unfortunately quite possible to teach a child stupidity, for example by forcing them to learn something, or punishing their curiousity. And the more intelligent the child is, the better they will learn the skill of stupidity, so beware.
Comment: I don't know why this answer got downvoted. I think it contains a number of valid points.
Comment: You are right that putting in the 10k hours is a must even for talented people but "talent" is absolutely real. See: https://slatestarcodex.com/2015/01/31/the-parable-of-the-talents/
Answer: I recommend to follow the middle ground between (a) encouraging the development of natural talents of the child as perceived by others and (b) the interests of the child based on the child's own desires.

Pay close attention to the abilities of the child.
Help the child develop basic proficiency in most fields required for successful functioning as adults (avoid overspecialization and deficiencies).
Encourage the child develop their talents as perceived by others (parents, teachers, peers).
Encourage the child to develop the areas related to their talents, thus broadening the scope of their education.
Encourage the child to explore their own interests.
Broaden the interests of the child by encouraging the development in related areas, thus increasing the scope of their interests.
Avoid early specialization.
Pursue education programs for the gifted in public or private schools.
Hire tutors (an good, enthusiastic tutor can help the child develop even in the areas where they have previously not shown any interest).

Practical examples of encouragement:
These are a few real life examples that worked for our extended family, that is, they gave lasting, positive results in child development, with effects lasting for years - or even for a lifetime, in some cases.

Talk to children about a broad array of subjects. Cast a wide net. Follow your and, especially, their interests. Pay attention to what they pay attention.
Do a wide range of activities with children. You never know what catches their interest. Each parent can make unique contributions, such as outdoor activities, other sports, board games, science projects, reading aloud and listening to music together (works for older children too), exploring arts, etc.
Get the best books from the library on a variety of subjects. Use interlibrary loan. See what subjects the child likes. Buy good books if you think they helpful now or in the future. Used book stores are a great source of learning without breaking the bank.
Find good teachers that "light their fires", either with gifted programs or schools for the gifted, or using tutors. Some of the tutors can be older school students or university students, and so do not necessarily have to be super expensive. Find extracurricular classes.
Whatever you do, get the feedback from the kids frequently about their preferences. Fail early (this principle from software development applies to child development too). Even if the child wanted to start a class, and you think the class in their field of talent, but the class seems to not "click" with the child, even after giving it a good try, quit the class. Try a different class, a different teacher, or in some cases change the field.

REFERENCES:

More specifically, parents are explicitly urged to engage their children in in-school and out-of-school activities using a strength-based, talent-focused approach, providing opportunities to develop students' advanced skills and talents in their own right. A talent-focused approach entails identifying and recognizing learners' strengths and abilities, as well as developing and maturing their passion for learning, and providing enrichment opportunities that develop and broaden possible areas of talent or interest. Therefore, talent development must be recognized as a necessary and non-negotiable part of any parenting strategy for both gifted/talented and twice-exceptional children.

Papadopoulos, Dimitrios. "Parenting the Exceptional Social-Emotional Needs of Gifted and Talented Children: What Do We Know?." Children (Basel, Switzerland) vol. 8,11 953. 22 Oct. 2021, doi:10.3390/children8110953: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8624036/

Implications for counselors of the gifted are discussed, and it is suggested that counselors should encourage gifted students to keep their career options open well into the college years and should provide alternative career-planning role models that emphasize personal values as the foundation for making tentative career plans.

Perrone, P. (1986). Guidance needs of gifted children, adolescents, and adults. Journal of Counseling & Development, 64(9), 564–566. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1556-6676.1986.tb01204.x: https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1986-31367-001
Comment: This is a great answer, and I really hope the OP sees it. One question, though; how do you encourage a child without the possibility of guilting them into something? When is free choice free from judgement? *Encourage* is such a poorly defined word for this particular question... Thanks!
Comment: @anongoodnurse Thank you for the suggestion! Added the section on encouragement.
Comment: I do hope the OP saw this. Again, great answer!
Comment: @anongoodnurse Thank you so much for the kind words and generous gift!
Answer:
How do you balance letting this child pursue their interests with letting the child know how much they are throwing away by so quickly disregarding the natural talents?

This depends entirely on what those talents are. As an example, if your child is a math prodigy they have numerous career paths available to them with enormous monetary compensation:

Wall Street quant
Top notch engineer
A professor at a highly prestigious university, such as MIT
Founding a business developing a complex product requiring advanced STEM skills

On the other hand if their special talent is in music or sports, its extremely unlikely they will ever be rewarded by large amounts of money in the future, unless they're extremely lucky and end up beating 99.9% of other "talented" kids. There's maybe 10k people in the entire world making more than $100k/year from doing music or playing sports. The rest are languishing in obscurity and in the case of sports they often end up with debilitating injuries from training or competitions.
So your path forward should depend on the expected income of someone in the top 10% of their special talent. If that's a high number or can be reasonably expected to become a high number in the future - then by all means, push them towards this! If not, I'd let them focus on other things and not worry about "wasting" the talent.
Comment: Since when does money justify hijacking someone's life? If they don't like math, they shouldn't be forced into a career involving math. It doesn't matter what their talents are; it is their life to pursue as they see fit. It's fine to explain and encourage to a certain extent; then the parent needs to back off.
Comment: @JonathanReez - 'up to a certain age children don't really know what they want and mostly copy their parents, their classmates, someone they've seen on TV'. I started regarding my father as less than infallible around about the age of 7, mainly because he was clearly convinced that he knew better than I what I 'wanted'. This feeling grew and established itself over the next ten years of my life.
Comment: @anongoodnurse up to a certain age children don't really know what they want and mostly copy their parents, their classmates, someone they've seen on TV, etc. There's nothing to "hijack", you're just directing their mimicry of others into productive avenues. Then as an adult they'll at least have the option to earn lots of money, which is always a great thing to have.
Comment: I don't know if you have kids, and if you do, how old they are. Directed mimicry stops when they start rebelling (usually in their teens unless they're brainwashed), not when they've mastered something enough to make "lots of money". Inspiration has merit, but the adolescent needs to choose whose example they want to follow.
Comment: @anongoodnurse if the child has talent, it will usually be apparent at a very young age - definitely before they're 6 years old. So plenty of time between discovering the talent and growing up enough to have individual agency. I.e. for a math prodigy you'd want to send them to a special school at the age of 5 and possibly even graduate high school by the age of 12 if they're really talented.
Comment: @MichaelHarvey That just means that someone other than your father was the person you wanted to imitate. You still didn't have a meaningful ability to decide what you really want - to a certain extent even full grown adults struggle with this question. So part of OPs job will be to make sure that their kid is surrounded by the right people to imitate - I.e. that's why it's so important to send math progidies to a special school, you don't want them to start imitating kids with a poor academic record.
Comment: Pls. see comment under my answer.
Answer: As I am just beginning to start this parenting journey, I have deep beliefs on how I will address this very situation. I am prone to want my child to take paths that would lead to great wealth, success and influence and am aware of the vanity and pride that I will have to come against.
That being said, I believe I will be diligent and unmoving on teaching the areas in my child's life that will provide him success in any walk of like. Working hard, not giving up, being kind to those they come across, picking themselves up after failure.
If I can teach my child to never give up, whether they become an artist or a engineer they will greatly benefit.
I want to give them the tools to build whatever life they wish.
Comment: A work ethic is hard to instill. (You can lead a horse to water and all that.) But your desire to build resilience will be one of the best gifts you can give your child. Bravo!


Drinking coffee using non-kosher utensils

Question: Is there a legitimate heter for drinking coffee from a coffee cup that would most likely have been washed with non-kosher utensils?  I have seen people be lenient in this respect, but don't know why.
Answer: Yes, lechatchila this should be avoided (according to some, lest the following two assumptions don't actually hold in this case), however it is generally allowed (to most sources that I found) because the soap "פוגם" any piece of food (i.e. makes it inedible), and secondly, people do not wash dishes with boiling water (and therefore the taste is not "swallowed" by the dish).
Sources:

http://www.kipa.co.il/ask/show/183731-%D7%A9%D7%98%D7%99%D7%A4%D7%AA-%D7%9B%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%9D-%D7%91%D7%A1%D7%A4%D7%95%D7%92-%D7%9C%D7%90-%D7%98%D7%95%D7%91
http://www.yeshiva.org.il/ask/32259
http://din.org.il/2010/12/21/%D7%A0%D7%99%D7%A7%D7%95%D7%99-%D7%9B%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%9D-%D7%91%D7%A1%D7%A4%D7%95%D7%92-%D7%90%D7%97%D7%93-%D7%9C%D7%91%D7%A9%D7%A8%D7%99-%D7%95%D7%97%D7%9C%D7%91%D7%99/
Comment: @DoubleAA I assume you mean as a*snif*; please CMIIAW but my understanding is that *linat layla* is not accepted *l'halacha*. I suppose we have different experience with office kitchens but my assumption is that where there are many mugs, there are many people, and many coffee breaks. Not to mention that often the *meikil* has a sense when it was last washed, so relying on general rules wouldn't make sense.
Comment: In the end though it's a chashash derabanan bc the cup is probably eino ben yomo. Plus glazed coffee mugs may have a din of glass (non-absorbent).
Comment: @DoubleAA That *kula* is probably not true by coffee mugs which are typically used daily, and therefore, more often than not, are being used less than 24 hrs. since they were last potentially absorbing/in contact with food.
Comment: Might the cup have come into contact with a boiling water and a tea flavored with non-kosher flavorings?  Or would we write-off that possibility, b'dieved, under the theories of batul v'shishim and multiple doubt?
Comment: @Loewian There's still almost certainly Linat Layla. And I don't know about your claim anyway. This sounds like the kinda place where there are lots of mugs and people just take one. There could totally be a surplus.


When or how does one becomes a part of Bitcoin P2P network

Question: I am new to bitcoins and got a question raised in my mind recently. I learnt that every person doing a transaction is a node in btc p2p network and that when he/she joins the network he/she gets a full blockchain starting from the genesis block. But can anyone tell me that in reality am I becoming a node while I am registering myself on a trading site like Zebpay, Koinex or IQ Option. If so then how can I see the blockchain I have received.
Comment: "every person doing a transaction is a node in btc p2p network". This is not true, so the premise of your question is incorrect. [Here is some information](https://bitcoin.org/en/full-node#what-is-a-full-node) about running a full node using the so-called reference software implementation, Bitcoin Core.
Answer: When you sign up for a wallet or exchange site, you are not becoming a node on the network.  You are using a site that already runs several nodes on the network, and you are trusting them to send and receive transactions for you.
To actually join the network, you need to run your own node.  This can be a full node or an SPV node, but the point is you are running it yourself.  Otherwise, you are using a 3rd party to connect to the bitcoin network on your behalf.


Detect or verify reception of ERC20 tokens by contract

Question: I'm looking into writing a contract that can accept an (unknown in advance) ERC20 tokens, from several different users. Is there a way to detect, or at least verify, that a user has deposited the token with my contract?
Answer: See TokenTraderFactory.sol#L286-L321 where the function takerSellAsset(...) is used for a user to send their tokens to the TokenTrader contract:
function takerSellAsset(uint256 amountOfTokensToSell) {
    if (buysTokens || msg.sender == owner) {
        // Maximum number of token the contract can buy
        // Note that buyPrice has already been validated as > 0
        uint256 can_buy = this.balance / buyPrice;
        // Token lots available
        // Note that units has already been validated as > 0
        uint256 order = amountOfTokensToSell / units;
        // Adjust order for funds available
        if (order > can_buy) order = can_buy;
        if (order > 0) {
            // Extract user tokens
            if (!ERC20(asset).transferFrom(msg.sender, address(this), order * units)) throw;
            // Pay user
            if (!msg.sender.send(order * buyPrice)) throw;
        }
        TakerSoldAsset(msg.sender, amountOfTokensToSell, order * units, order * buyPrice);
    }
}

This is one of the three contracts behind https://cryptoderivatives.market/ .
A Maker calls the TokenTraderFactory to creates a TokenTrader contract. The Maker can then deposit tokens with the TokenTrader contract to sell to a buyer (Taker). The maker can also deposit ethers with the TokenTrader contract to buy tokens from a seller (Taker).
For a Taker to sell their tokens to the Maker's contract, the Taker will have to call the token contracts approve(...) function to approve the transfer of the tokens to the TokenTrader contract. The Taker then calls the TokenTrader's takerSellAsset(...) function and this will call the token contract's transferFrom(...) function to move the tokens from the Taker to the TokenTrader address.
A user could just call the token contract's transfer(...) function to transfer their tokens to your contract, but there is no automated way to detect that this has been done from within your contract, and to determine what the source of the token is.
Answer: Found the answer to my question:
ERC20 defines the approve function that allows users to pre-approve a 3rd party (in this case, my contract) to spend funds using transferFund.
Therefore, one can define on their contract a method of the following form:
// Allows a user to pay this contract in tokens. User must call the approve method on the token contract first.
function contribute(int256 howMuch) {
  bool success =  (ERC20TokenContract.trasferFrom(msg.sender, this.address, howMuch));
  // ...
}


Which camera should I buy: 7d or 70d?

Question: I had a Nikon D3100 camera. I want to upgrade it. Can anyone help me choose between a Canon 7d or 70d? I want it for outdoor, wedding and studio photography.
Comment: possible duplicate: http://photo.stackexchange.com/questions/42543/seriously-considering-upgrading-my-rebel-t2i-550d-to-either-a-6d-7d-or-70d
Comment: Have you researched these two bodies?  At least looked at something like  http://snapsort.com/compare/Canon-EOS-70D-vs-Canon_EOS_7D ? Do you know the differences?  Which of those differences are important to you?   We can't know which camera is better for you - it's a very personal and subjective choice.
Comment: Neither. For wedding and commercial studio photography you really need a full frame body.
Answer: Usually, I do not answer to such questions because they are subject to (extensive) discussion and the final "answer" is rather a subjective decision.
However in this very case and in this very moment it is different.
Disclaimer: I'm Canon shooter from enough years, I'm pretty satisfied with my equipment - I have also Nikon, Sony and Hasselblad. No, I don't religiously say that Canon is the savior of the (photographic) world.
Answer #1: Never, ever, ever buy something before doing your (future) market research/analysis.
Answer #2: Never, ever, ever buy a model when a big successor is announced with fanfare.
In your concrete case it is known from enough sources that mid-august, start of september shortly before Photokina (September, this year) the successor of 7D will be announced. Amazon already has already 7D as discontinued thing which confirms once more that 7D Mk 2 (or whatever it will be called) is around here.
There are quite impressive patents from Canon issued now and with together with these patents internal(?) sources say that it will be "the biggest change in Canon's history".
For me (and for many others IMHO) it is quite clear that 7D's successor will be/is a corner-stone in Canon's history, because:

it is/was awaited for a looong time. Canon must show that it was worth the wait.
Canon has now the bad reputation of lagging in sensor tech & innovation. It isn't entirely true IMHO, but anyway Canon now must prove that they're the best.
Canon already made known through above 'leaks' (when Craig from Canon Rumors marks a rumor as CR3 this means that we must treat the rumor as a fact) that the next camera will be 'the biggest change in Canon's history yada yada yada'. Canon must make sure that this change is a good one and not a bad one.

From all these things and (not only) the camera to be announced will be a very big thing (good - I hope - or bad). This means that:

the prices of the old models will fall (sometimes a lot)
you'll read a lot of reviews, opinions and user comments about the new model (of course) but also about the company's future. Also you'll know where the market is heading.
you/we'll see new technologies which make us more knowledgeable in order to decide what to buy: 70D, 7D, 6D or the new 7D Mk2.

So in short, answer #3: If you can afford it, WAIT A LITTLE.
Comment: I appreciate the effort but unless you work for Canon I don't like this answer. This isn't a rumor mill :)
Comment: @dpollitt Normally I would agree with you on this. But when Canon Rumors marks something as "CR3" it almost always means the source *is* an high level employee at Canon and rarely, if ever, has a CR3 level rumor turned out not to be spot on. I think you can take the *7D mark II* being announced sometime early this Fall to the bank.
Comment: @John Thomas On the other hand, prices for the 7D have already plummeted. You can pick up a grey market copy from a reputable seller for around $800US. You can also currently get a refurbished 7D direct from Canon USA for $719.52 (Canon does add sales tax based on the shipping address).

Which camera should I buy: 7d or 70d?


How to dispose of engine coolant?

Question: This question is pretty straight forward...
How to properly dispose of engine coolant? Should it be taken to a treatment facility like used engine oil or is it safe to pour down the drain?
Comment: Add it to cheap French wine... https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1985_diethylene_glycol_wine_scandal
Answer: Do not pour it down the drain, and do not pour it outside. Coolant is very sweet tasting to animals and they will "drink" it. It will affect both their kidneys and GI tract with potentially fatal consequences if not treated. Typical symptoms include vomiting, thirst, lack of appetite and unusual lethargy.
If you pour it down the drain, it will pollute things downstream from your sewage facility.  If you have a septic system, it will foul it up.
Take it to a recycling/collection center.
Comment: Ethylene glycol is a different compound from shampoo and soap, and it hangs around much longer.  Recycle it. Don't dump it.
Comment: Do not get it on your skin. I had an unfortunate occurrence years ago where while under my car, I struck a coolant hose, which broke and my right arm was heavily coated with coolant. I washed it off but I suffered from irritability and mild depression for at least two days - it was a very odd experience and I now treat coolant as it is labelled - a poison.
Comment: What if it's very diluted? Like 9 parts water 1 part old coolant? Would it still  pollute any more than the shampoo that goes down the drain?
Comment: If you go to the EPA site, you'll see that they recommend recycling it due to its connection to natural gas. They link to www.earth911.com for those seeking recycling information.
Comment: I didn't downvote, but your description of the animal consequences is off.  ["In the first few hours after ingestion the pet may be depressed and staggering and may have seizures. They may drink lots of water, urinate large amounts and vomit. The pet may appear to feel better but in a day or two get much worse as the kidneys fail. Signs of kidney failure include depression and vomiting. The amount of urine they pass will often decrease to a very small amount."](http://bit.ly/1Q7lOlq) If you notice the first symptoms, take your pet to the vet immediately where they can do blood and urine tests.
Comment: Also, note that some auto parts stores will take used antifreeze for recycling.
Answer: Check your location's laws, but the EPA says it's not hazardous waste.  If you're just a DIY-er, you can probably pour it down your toilet.  Try and find a recycler first though.
In St. Louis, MO (my example), I have not found a better way for a DIY-er to dispose of it, but I believe professional shops have some way to dispose of it not accessible to us.
There are places in Missouri that accept antifreeze for recycling, such as Springfield and Clay County collection centers, but you have to be a resident with proof and there are limits on the amounts.
EPA, DNR, CDC etc.:
The EPA does not consider used coolant to be a hazardous waste.  None of the major auto parts stores accept it for recycling.  St. Louis, MO's household hazardous waste center does not accept it because it is not a hazardous waste.
The EPA (different link) says some states consider used antifreeze hazardous because after being run through your engine, it can contain lead, cadmium, chromium, mercury,  kryptonite, etc.
Used antifreeze can be determined not to be hazardous by simply knowing where it came from.  Testing is not needed to classify it as hazardous waste.  If it has not been used in a old vehicle, heavy machinery, nuclear plant, etc., it can be called non-hazardous by whoever is disposing of it.
Here is a rundown of what is acceptable for each state including dumping it down the sanitary sewer.  Some states have deemed it hazardous, but not most.
The Missouri Department of Natural Resources says, "if the facility is connected to a sanitary sewer that discharges to a Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTW) and the wastes will mix with domestic sewage, the waste antifreeze may be disposed in the sanitary sewer on-site."  And that exact text is seen repeatedly when searching about this subject.  They do say you need to check with your sewer company, but since no permit is required, I assume that is legal covering their butts.
The CDC says that ethylene glycol will break down in a few weeks when not in our cars' closed systems, i.e. when exposed to air.  Antifreeze contains more than just ethylene glycol though.  It contains O2 inhibitors (buffering and alkalinity type stuff), but those will be depleted quickly when exposed to the open atmosphere.  I do not know what chemicals it breaks down to though, but they are apparently not bad enough to mention.  We're not chemists on this site so we should just follow the government agencies' policies.
Please open the two EPA links and search for the word "hazardous".  The EPA does not consider antifreeze to be hazardous if it is not contaminated, i.e. it has only been used in a newer consumer vehicle.
Comment: @BobCross Which EPA site are you looking at?
Comment: This is incorrect. I am looking at the EPA site on recycling used antifreeze and it is clearly hazardous and they definitely do not recommend putting it in any water supply.
Comment: @BobCross The "toilet" disposal for small amounts is no myth.  That is *completely* different than pouring down a storm drain.  Local rules may vary, but ethylene glycol will be processed by sewage treatment.  I'm not suggesting this is the **best** solution, only that in many cases it's not an *illegal* one.  How one determines how much babbiting and other heavy metals might be contained therein is beyond me.  Being an environmental type of guy, I filter mine through a stack of old mattresses and then a final through clean Wonderbread, and sell it back to my frugal customers...
Answer: Your local landfill may have a spot to dispose of oil and antifreeze.
In my city, it is illegal to dump antifreeze in the trash or on the ground.
Answer: Coolant is toxic. If human intake it then they will suffer soon and will develop cancer in a year.  So it should be quite toxic to animals. In big picture, we should not produce such toxic liquid to begin with but just dumping in toilet is no good.
Comment: So, no time to develop cancer...
Comment: "If human intake it then they will suffer soon and will develop cancer in a year." That's a very bold claim. Is there any research related to how fast coolant gives humans cancer?
Comment: @Davide - From [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethylene_glycol_poisoning) - *Ethylene glycol poisoning is poisoning caused by drinking ethylene glycol. Early symptoms include intoxication, vomiting and abdominal pain. Later symptoms may include a decreased level of consciousness, headache, and seizures. Long term outcomes may include kidney failure and brain damage. Toxicity and death may occur even after drinking a small amount.* It states elsewhere, acute kidney failure can occur within 72 hours if enough is ingested.

How to dispose of engine coolant?


What types of physical dwellings are most conducive for Buddhist lay life living?

Question: I've heard of Vastu shastra, but what kind of dwellings are conducive to Buddhist practice and living and why?
Comment: I assume "domicile" means "where someone lives" -- probably a structure like a house, apartment, hut, or monastery of some kind.
Comment: Domicile? It's difficult to apply the meaning of that word within the context of your question. Please add more details. It will help draw more interest and quality answers.
Comment: Yes Chris you could say that for practical purposes
Answer: There is a recommendation on suitable lodging for monks and nuns in AN 10.11 quoted below.
However, there are no recommendations for lay persons as far as I am aware. I would say any physical dwelling which is conducive for the observance of the five precepts, is suitable. For example, having little disturbance from mosquitoes and pests is helpful for keeping the first precept of not taking a life. Also, not storing non-medicinal intoxicating substances like alcoholic beverages and recreational drugs is helpful for keeping the precept of not consuming intoxicating substances.

And how does a lodging have five factors? It's when a lodging is
neither too far nor too near, but convenient for coming and going.
It's not bothered by people by day, and at night it's quiet and still.
There's little disturbance from flies, mosquitoes, wind, sun, and
reptiles. While staying in that lodging the necessities of life—robes,
alms-food, lodgings, and medicines and supplies for the sick—are easy
to come by. And in that lodging there are several senior mendicants
who are very learned, knowledgeable in the scriptures, who have
memorized the teachings, the texts on monastic training, and the
outlines. From time to time they go up to those mendicants and ask
them questions: 'Why, sir, does it say this? What does that mean?'
Those venerables clarify what is unclear, reveal what is obscure, and
dispel doubt regarding the many doubtful matters. That's how a lodging
has five factors.
AN 10.11

Inspired by user21667's answer, I found the Mangala Sutta (Khp 5 and Snp 2.4), translated and commented upon by Ven. Narada:

To reside in a suitable locality ... this is the greatest blessing.
Comments (Derived mainly from the Commentaries.):
Suitable locality:
Any place where monks, nuns and lay
devotees continually reside; where pious folk are bent on the
performance of the ten meritorious deeds, and where the Dhamma exists
as a living principle.
Answer: Where ever right view prospers, good householder. Living on good place, therefore is one of the basic great blessings.
To reside in a suitable location... is the highest blessing and Countries to leave & counties to go may give first ideas of what "matters" for long lasting happiness.
Answer: What types of physical dwellings are most conducive for Meditation
When our house was built in Sri Lanka local monks were consulted and reviewed the plans. The principles of Vastu were taken into account.
The shrine room was located on the north side of the upper floor facing the nearest temple. We are able to hear the chanting each morning and evening.
The main entrance to the house is in the north, other principles of Vastu are easily Googled and are generally common sense. Here is an interesting site: https://www.architecturaldigest.in/content/vastu-shastra-25-tips-make-home-radiate-positive-energy/
The house is located in the jungle on top of a hill, there is seldom traffic on the road that passes the place. The only sounds that might disturb meditation is the singing of birds in the morning, but that is easily gotten used to. There is usually a nice breeze through the house.
Comment: Thanks so much for this real life example. I'm now curious if there are any writings on Buddhist Vastu -- like if there are any universal guidelines regardless of physical dwelling location.


Why doesn't Transmission respect my 1 KB/sec upload limit?

Question: I'm using Ubuntu 10.10, and have a question about the network activity of Transmission 2.22. Even though I set the global upload limit to 1kbs/s or even 0kb/s, my System Monitor/Conky shows  a steady 20-25 kb/s upload rate. I'm just curious, what's with this upload rate and is there any chance to reduce it?
Answer: The upload speed limit of Transmission limits the data itself, not the BitTorrent protocol data. It will have a steady consumption above the limit, the amount of consumption relates to the number of torrents, peers, DHT being on and other.
The only way to limit it altogether is to limit with outer resources, like creating a slowed down bridge connection or connecting through proxy on localhost.


Performance testing of Cordova apps

Question: Recently I started working on cordova application coded in AngularJS (targeted for Android and iOS). I must do some performance tests of few scenarios to check framerate and execution time of js. It's my first time developing mobile app in Cordova and I can't find any good tool to use. I tried to use chrome dev tools but as they show valuable info, this tools are designed for manual profiling and I need to run multiple iterations of tests to make results more reliable. Scenarios consists of simple cases like: change view and scroll. Do you know any tools that are simple enough to write few scenarious and do some tests?
Answer: For Android :After compiling the cordova project and get the APK file install it to a device and use Android device Monitor at Android Studio or Eclipse (what ever the ADT you are using)
Or
after compiling it to android open the android platform folder thru the Android Studio or Eclipse (what ever the ADT you are using) and then use the Android device Monitor.
or After installing the APK to mobile use jmeter to test the performance.
https://www.google.lk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwi6udL409rPAhXIvY8KHaPQBDQQtwIIIjAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DgmLq4tLfOTg&usg=AFQjCNELe3qd-ZjCRHWiURyEbLa6gZxCCg&sig2=inW4tAoskjfrofEAUqaCtg
IOS: After compiling open the Xcode project thru Xcode and use instruments to test the performance.
Comment: It looks like a good manual tool for performance testing but I need something more automatic. Are there any chance to run some iterative tests in Android device Monitor?
Answer: The cordova application can be run as a website in your localhost.
So apart from testing the APK or IPA you can run a performance test on the website.
Comment: It's not the best idea really. Only if you have pure web app without any native features (which are sometimes pretty laggy).

Performance testing of Cordova apps


Schrödinger's equation and spin quantum number

Question: As spin quantum number cannot be derived from Schrödinger's  equation, it cannot predict opposite electron spin.
I mean to ask that how do we obtain the information conveyed by the spin quantum number when we don't speak of it in this theory.
Comment: As far as I know, in nonrelativistic quantum mechanics the existence of spin is a postulate, i.e. we assume it's there (and the reason for assuming it's there is because we [saw it](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stern%E2%80%93Gerlach_experiment)).
Comment: Regarding your edit, exactly what information are you talking about? The idea is that we postulate that spin is a form of angular momentum with quantum numbers 0, 1/2, 1, ... Angular momentum is a topic that is very well-described by the Schrodinger equation, and spin is nothing but a form of angular momentum, so all the rules that apply to spin quantum numbers are simply derived from the theory of angular momentum. This includes the Pauli exclusion principle which can also be derived in the non-relativistic picture. The only postulate that needs to be made is the existence itself of spin.
Comment: and once we assume (for example) that an electron has spin-1/2, it automatically follows from the rules of angular momentum that it possesses "up" and "down" states, because the allowed values of $m_s$ for a particle with $s = 1/2$ are exactly $+1/2$ ("up") and $-1/2$ ("down"). For more information on angular momentum you might want to consult Atkins *Molecular Quantum Mechanics* chpt 4 although any decent QM textbook will have a section on it.
Answer: Good question.
This was one indication that there had to be something more than just the Schrodinger equation. Another problem which was perceived quite quickly is that the Schrodinger equation treated time differently than the spatial dimensions which is not in the spirit of special relativity. Thus, Paul Dirac constructed what we now call the Dirac equation. When you solve the Dirac equation in a Coulomb potential, spin, and hence the fine structure of the hydrogen atom energy levels in an electric field, falls out naturally.
This proves to be fairly technical and I won't try to do any of the mathematics for this (I don't completely understand it all), but you can find solutions to the Dirac equation for some common cases here.
As orthocresol points out, we first observed the intrinsic angular momentum of the electron in the Stern-Gerlach experiment, so people guessed what this would look like at first (this is how it was used in the Schrodinger equation) and Dirac came along and explained that people had guessed correctly. This can also be seen from the fact that the Dirac equation reduces to the Schrodinger equation in the non-relativistic, low energy case.
Comment: Why do we keep using the term non relativistic for schrodinger equation?
Comment: @lily The Dirac equation can be thought of as a relativistic version of the Schrodinger equation. By relativistic, I mean relating to the theory of special relativity. That is, it is accurate when particles are moving close to the speed of light.
Comment: That might seem stupid..but as far as I understand it, electrons can never get their speeds close to that of light..so why do we need to have a relativistic picture of that
Comment: It is true that valence shell electrons generally don't travel that close to the speed of light, but core electrons often travel at speeds quite close to the speed of light. Generally, the core electrons of heavier elements travel faster. For instance, the reason that gold looks gold and part of the reason mercury is a liquid (at room temperature) is due to relativistic effects. See [here](https://chemistry.stackexchange.com/questions/16633/why-is-gold-golden) and [here](https://chemistry.stackexchange.com/questions/13667/why-does-mercury-have-low-melting-and-boiling-points/13671#13671).
Comment: Dirac didn't explain spin. Spin is in the Dirac equation because it was introduced in the equation. Moreover, the Dirac equation is not a valid relativistic wavefunction equation and early attempts to build a consistent relativistic quantum theory based on it have been abandoned.


What is the chemical reason talc is used in water-based paint and not in solvent based paint?

Question: As I understand, paints & coatings use talc predominately in water-based products and not in solvent-based products. Why is this? Is it because the solvent-based products don't need fillers? Or do they already have the characteristics that talc would provide?
Answer: Most water based paints are emulsions of plastics particles dispersed in water, it is common to use vinyl acetate to make polyvinyl acetate. To do this an emulsion of vinyl acetate in water is formed, then by adding a free radical initiator.
One purpose which fine clay can furfill in the paint polymer synthesis is to increase the stability of the emulsion of droplets of the liquid monomer. These clay particles will be incorperated into the final paint.
It is also common to add other inorganic substances such as barium sulfate and titanium dioxide. These are used to make the paint more opaque.
One classic organic based paint class is the alkyd paint, these are made by reacting acid anhydrides such as phthalic and maleic anhydride with a polyalcohol such as glycerol or 2,2-dimethylpropane-1,3-diol under acidic conditions. It is normal to distill water out of the reaction, often an unsaturated fatty acid is added in the form of a glycerol triester (vegtable oil).
The idea is that with glycerol the fatty acid ester will react in a transestification reaction to add pedent groups onto the main polymer. Then when the paint is exposed to oxygen a radical cross linking reaction occurs. The other main option I see is to add some maleic acid to the synthesis of the paint binder. The to add some styrene to the paint. This again will cross link with a radical reaction.
For the alkyd paint synthesis there is no need to add talc, these polymerisations are done under homogenous conditions by heating a close to solvent free mixture of monomers. Rather than being a radical polymerisation (example of an addition polymerisation) this reaction is a condensation polymersation where many small chains are converted into a few long chains.


Origin of slang "doing a bid" for prison time?

Question: Going to prison is called "doing a bid".  What's the history behind that?  Is it based on "doing bird" (based on being locked up like a bird)?
Comment: It's not exactly common, but it does seem to be very much a recent Americanism. My guess is it probably originates in a misrendering of the British "doing bird" (which *never* includes the indefinite article).
Comment: @Andrew Leach: It's not common (I certainly never heard it before), but [doing a **bit**](http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=%22doing+a+bid%22&btnG=Search+Books&tbm=bks&tbo=1) definitely does exist with this meaning. I notice several instances of words like *ain't cool, niggas, mom, upstate* in the surrounding context of those citations, which is why I say it's American.
Comment: It is definitely "bid"? Not "bit", as in "doing a bit of bird" or "doing a bit of time"? Or maybe even a misrendering of that?
Answer: It appears that 'doing a bit' goes back to the early 20th century as a term for serving a prison sentence.
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bit#Noun
'Bit' meaning a short span of time goes back to the 17th century, and presumably that's how it became associated with prison in the first place. "I've got to do a bit of time in prison."
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=bit&searchmode=none
I can't find any real resources as to where 'bid' came from directly, so I would assume that it is simply a result of the word shifting slightly once having gained distinct enough usage separate from its origins.
Answer: Hollywood once again gets it wrong. It is most emphatically called "doing a bit", not a bid. If your sentence is 10 years it's easier to do it bit by bit, when in prison anything done to pass the time is called bittin. I should know because I did a bit. I can assure you it wasn't an auction.
Answer: Depending on the company one keeps "doing a bid" isn't uncommon at all.
For example in the lyrics for Slippin' by DMX.


Is there a way to remove the "related pages" block from the Facebook pages?

Question: I manage the Facebook page of a company, and at the right appears a "related pages" block added by Facebook which shows a link to the Facebook's page of the competition company. Is there a way to remove this block?
Comment: Hi Pablo, your question is not clear to me. Can you please attached a screenshot to show what block added by Facebook and you want to remove?
Answer: I don't like it either. You can uncheck it from SETTING. Scroll down to "Suggest similar pages" and uncheck it, then save.
And when you go back to your main page the "related pages" will be gone.


Is this dimmer switch wiring correct?

Question: I live in a rented flat filled with dimmer switches. One day we knocked a rack of halogen lights connected to a dimmer and blew a fuse. I reset the fuse but the circuit with the rack of halogen lights never worked again... We tried changing the bulbs, but it appeared that the dimmer switch itself has blown.
When I opened it up, however, I found this:

I can't quite fathom how two live wires can go into the same dimmer. What's going on here? Could it just be a wrong coloured wire?
Answer: The hot goes through a switch, including a dimmer switch.  So it's always a hot feed in and a switched hot out on a simple spst switch.
Comment: Then I guess the damn thing is broken :( Thanks.

Is this dimmer switch wiring correct?


Can the Hexblood's token be used for rudimentary two-way communication?

Question: In the recent Gothic Lineage UA, the Hexblood race was introduced. One of their abilities is Magic Token:

Magic Token. As an action, you can harmlessly pull out one of your nails, a tooth, or a lock of hair. This token is imbued with magic until you finish a long rest. While the token is imbued in this way, you can use an action to send a telepathic message to the creature holding or carrying the token, as long as you are on the same plane of existence and are within 10 miles of it. The message can contain up to twenty-five words.
In addition, while you are within 10 miles of the token, you can use an action to enter a trance for 1 minute, during which you can see and hear from the token as if you were located where it is. While you are using your senses at the token's location, you are blinded and deafened in regard to your own surroundings. Afterward, the token is harmlessly destroyed.

I want to ask if the following scenario is a viable use of this feature:

Hexblood character A creates a token and gives it to character B.
Later that day, A, as an action, sends a message to B. "Hey, in one minute, we do the thing."
Nine turns later, A uses his action to enter the trance, sending his awareness to the token, currently held by B.
B starts speaking and/or shows something to the token, through which A sees and hears.
A uses their subsequent nine actions to send rapid-fire twenty-five-word messages to B, who responds by speaking aloud. The trance renders you blind and deafened, but not incapacitated.

While not ideal, this sounds like it would, once a long rest, with considerable setup, allow for two-way communication. Is there a reason it wouldn't?
Answer: Everything about your setup appears to work. Although the classical use of the token might be to spy on a target, as you mentioned nothing prevents communication working with a Telepathic one way and Vocal the other way communication.
Effectively it would be similar to if a creature spoke to you with telepathy and you chose to respond with your voice.


What do I do if someone forged my name on bill of sale to transfer title?

Question: Hello I need help with advice on where to go with the situation I'm in. I made a deal with the guy to trade my Dodge Durango and my Mustang for his Suzuki street bike and a $2000 digital water pump. I received the bike and he received both cars but he took off without giving me the pump which was a big part of the deal. I pleaded and begged with him to keep his word and do the right thing by holding up his end of the deal but he told me that since the car had a cracked windshield he was going to keep the pump to offset the cost of the windshield... $2,000 is a huge cost for a windshield in my opinion. He also took off without getting a bill of sale from me the only thing that was in the car was the registration paper that showed I had recently paid the registration current and the vehicle only need a smog in order to receive the new set of tags for 2020. What he didn't know is that I had a spare key to my Durango so after waiting a couple weeks I went and took my car back in order to avoid being ripped off by the guy. To my surprise when I opened the center console he had new registration papers to the car that were in his name and a smog certificate along with a blank bill of sale that was printed out with forms on what you need in order to transfer title in California. So now I'm stuck in the spot of feeling like I was taking my own vehicle back 2 feeling like I might have just committed Grand theft Auto question mark can somebody please help me in steer me in the right direction on where to go from here I hid the vehicle and I'm waiting for advice to find out how to get this reversed and possibly press charges for forging my signature. I appreciate any input anyone can give me thank you.
Answer: Given that you voluntarily turned the car over to the buyer, it isn't your car anymore. The correct procedure would be to file a civil case against the buyer for breach of contract, where he would have been required to turn over the pump or compensate you monetarily.
You both violated the law and are subject to punishment. Forgery is a crime in California punishable by up to a year in county jail. Stealing a car is grand theft, which has a range of penalties from misdemeanor to up to 3 years prison, depending on your prior history and the circumstances. You can file a complaint with the police over the forgery, and it will inevitably be revealed that you stole his car.
So you should call an attorney right away to try to get yourself out of this mess. Your main interest would be not getting prosecuted for grand theft, or at least minimizing the penalty. Assuming that he did indeed forge your signature (a signature on the title is required, and surely DMV would not issue a new title without a signature, but you don't indicate what evidence you have that he forged your signature), he could be motivated to cooperate – your respective attorneys can work out an equitable arrangement. The windshield issue will probably be central to the case. Did you crack the windshield after you struck the deal? Did he have an opportunity to inspect the car? Did you fail to disclose a material fact that affects the value of a car? If you replace the windshield, that could tilt the scales of justice in your favor. Get a lawyer and try to keep it out of the courts.
Comment: I didn't turn the car over to him he left my property without giving me the pump or getting a bill of sale. I pleaded with him several times via text to either turn the pump over to me or to go back on out deal completely because I didn't want to make a deal unless it was terms agreed on. He inspected both cars thoroughly and had a mechanic buddy along with him to also inspect the vehicles. His mechanic buddy was upset that his friend ripped me off and told me where he lived so I could get my car back. I never gave away or signed away car so how did I commit GTA? Thanks for your advice
Comment: The windshield was already cracked even back when I first bought the vehicle. I never called the police to report it stolen because his friend told me where he lived and I prefer handling things myself when possible and although I was upset he took off with my car without giving me the pump I didn't want to call police and have him charged with GTA when I knew I had another key and would get it back.
Comment: How did he get your car and keys in the first place? Did he break into your house, take the keys, and drive off in the middle of the night? Your account is missing a lot of really important details.


avocado plant from water to soil

Question: I have just potted a home grown avocado plant from water to soil and day 2 of repotting and the leaves are drooping. Should I move back into water or just wait and hope for the best?
Comment: @alephzero if you have an answer, please post an answer. Answering in comments is discouraged for many reasons, one of them is because it bypasses the quality control of the voting system, another that comments are temporary by design.
Answer: I would make sure the soil is quite moist. The plant has been living in water for a while and now that it was transferred to drier soil it is in shock. So just water the plant quite heavily and the leaves should perk up in a day or two, I've even had plants perk up in a matter of minutes after being watered.
You can also remove the barbecue skewers, those are not needed anymore. Hope this helps!
EDIT: Oh, also I forgot to mention, please move it away from the cold window, it definitely doesn't like that.

avocado plant from water to soil


Soft body friction

Question: I want to create in blender a scene like this one, attached here.
I have a past in cinema 4d, there was very easy to create this.
I tried in blender in this way:
I create a soft body sphere and a plane with collision physics. I tried to modify the "Friction settings" but nothing happen.
How works friction with collision and soft body in blender?
Answer:
You have basically 2 options that influence Friction in Soft Body simulation. Make it 3.
Collision object:
Here only Damping will influence friction of the simulation. Less Damping = less friction.
Friction in these settings is only for Cloth.

Soft Body object:
In Soft Body object settings Friction is self explanatory but it seems that Mass is also influencing how friction will behave.
Comment: Thank you very much!  I really appreciate your effort

Soft body friction


Developer Console Crashing

Question: Has anyone faced this problem in the developer org? Whenever I click on the developer console in dev org > developer console window opens > it says loading > after a while it says by showing a popup which has two options "Kill" or "Wait".
Comment: I used to experience this when I had a batch process running under my user account. It'd create so many logs so quickly that the console couldn't keep up. Are you running any intensive jobs that might be flooding your debug log?
Comment: No, I am not running any such jobs. It is working perfectly in IE, may be problem in Chrome. Thanks,
Comment: If developer console is working fine in chrome browser, please let me know the browser version.
Comment: I'm using Chrome 46.0.2490.80 and DC works fine
Answer: I ran into the same issue. I took a shot in the dark and copied the URL for the developer console into a new window.  It opened in the new window without issue. I was then able to open it directly through Sales force.  Hope this works for you.
Answer: Mine worked when I updated the Google chrome.
How to update? -  In the Chrome browser > go to Customize and Control Google chrome (at the top right end of the browser) > Settings >  About > update.

Developer Console Crashing


how does ASLR prevent return to libc / ROP and similar attacks?

Question: I am trying to understand ASLR and how it is implemented. I understand it does not actually "prevent" buffer overflow etc from happening, it will only make it more difficult. But i am not able to figure out how it prevent a return to libc attack. For example, lets say i have a program which has a buffer overflow. I give as input a np-op sled followed by shell code. The shell code overwrites the return address in the stack frame. So when the function returns it will execute the shell code. Similar if i write the address of a libc function that function will get invoked. now with ASLR, on every program run the program will start at some random address right ? but the libc functions are still at the same address and if I'm correct that won't change till i reboot a machine. So, if i basically try to brute force a vulnerable program with all possible addresses, can i still get a return to libc ? also, does aslr prevent ( and how ?) from ROP attacks ? if not what are the defenses ?
Comment: This does not prevent overflow. It does however stop people from reusing the same code on another system because the address space is randomised, and whatever slides you use will never work the same way.
Answer:
brute force a vulnerable program with all possible addresses

Trying to brute-force the address space (there are 2^64 possible addresses in a modern 64-bit system) is supposed to be impossible in practice due to constraints on time (and resources). Also see: What is the largest performed/possible bruteforce attack to date?
On a more practical note, if you guess the address wrong there is a big chance of the program crashing due to for instance a segmentation fault. Since brute-forcing a 64 bit address can take long, these crashes can be detected.
Therefore, finding the addresses of the shellcode on the stack, the library functions (in the case of return-to-libc) or the gadgets (in the case of ROP) is too hard for the attacker.
Of course, there are other ways to bypass ASLR. Look into Pointer Leaks and memory layout attacks such as heapspray if you are interested.


Covert 2006 Trailblazer from 4WD to 2WD

Question: My front differential is make noise because of a leak. I have been watching videos how to disengage the front differential and make it a 2 wheel rear wheel drive only ( I don't need 4 wheel drive). Have anyone done this or any reason it should not work? I have a 2006 Trailblazer LT Sport Utility 4-Door 4.2L 256Cu. In. Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Answer: Just removing the propshaft to the front will remove the 4x4.
But is the noise severe? If so then unless there are locking front hubs that can be disengaged the internals will still rotate and that may also lead to failure.
Removing the differential may be the way forward, but then the shafts to either hub have to be removed and that will depend on the design of the front hubs themselves - ok if they are fully floating.
It may be easier to get the front axle / suspension from a 4x2 and deal with it that way.
It is probably easier to sort the front axle / diff as standard compared to the above options.
Comment: Thanks Mike, after some more research it looks like the front hub for a 4WD and a 2WD on Trailblazers (2002-2009) are exactly the same. The bearings are part of the hub and can not be changed hub needs to be replaced if bearings go bad.  Is that want meant  by saying "OK if they are fully floating" ?

Covert 2006 Trailblazer from 4WD to 2WD