Diet plan for vegeterian for building muscle

Question: I am male 70 KG 170cm tall, I have recently started muscle building exercise to improve my thin frame, I know protein is essential for muscle building, but I cannot eat egg and meat, Could you please advice me veg food needed for better protein for muscle growth from plant resources ?
I workout 1 hour 5 days a week.
Right now I am having bananas milk and lentils like mung beams etc.
Comment: I'd suggest pea protein as an answer but it's probably considered a supplement around here and hence off topic.  Good luck
Comment: You can check Clarence Kenney's diet. He is a massively strong weightlifter and vegan. He talks about it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHrysja5lYw
Comment: I would suggest you to focus on strength training programs like Starting Strength/Strong Lifts which uses compound movements to boost your strength. Being vegetarian is not at all a limitation as being portrayed widely.
Comment: @james - supplements, like nutrition, are not off topic if they are asked about in the context of using them in a fitness program. In this case, although the physical fitness is not as fleshed out as I might like, it would be appropriate to add protein supplements as an answer.
Comment: @johnp,  yet we've recently removed a question on whether xyz supplement would help muscle gain,  the comment was that "supplements are off topic because everyone reacts to them differently" The meta says nothing of the sort.  Clearly we make our own rules as we go. Bit of a joke.
Comment: It would help if you referenced the question. Context is everything.
Answer: If you're looking for WHOLE plant-based foods, I would say the best (as in "most dense" - pretty much every plant-based food has a complete amino-acid profile) protein sources are:

Lentils
Beans (all sorts.. kidney, black, garbanzo, etc.)
and also Peas

If you struggle to meet your protein needs with your regular diet for whatever reason (which shouldn't be the case if you feed yourself with sufficient calories and make sure that around 15% from calories are from protein), any cheap plant-based protein powder is going to help:

rice protein
hemp protein
pea protein
etc.

It doesn't really matter which source the protein is coming from. The effectiveness is going to stay pretty much the same. Make sure you give your body a CONSTANT supply of protein throughout your day.
For further information, check these studies:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1997115/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25628520
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3698202/
Comment: Leucine is not an amino acid you want to consume in large amounts: http://nutritionfacts.org/2015/06/16/living-longer-by-reducing-leucine-intake/ and as already said, pretty much every plant provides all the essential amino acids and are therefore "complete". You just have to make sure to eat enough calories.
Comment: I did some research and found a good unbiased article that supports your claims. It also gives good dietary examples for meals and macro managing. https://breakingmuscle.com/fuel/how-to-build-muscle-mass-on-a-plant-based-diet
Comment: @NicoLA That is a really good article!
Comment: An issue with plant based protein is that it is not a "complete" protein. They lack certain amino acids that trigger protein synthesis. The big one is leucine. I think the amount of leucine is about 3.5 grams per meal to trigger protein synthesis in the body.
Answer: I'm a vegetarian too and I eat a lot of tempeh. It has a good amount of protein and I like the flavor and texture anyway.. you can also eat
Seeds and kernels. For example pumpkin seeds, melon seeds, sunflower    seeds. Nuts, e.g. Cashew nuts, peanuts, almonds, walnuts, pistachio    nuts etc.
Cottage cheese, quark, mozzarella.
Lentils, chick peas and beans.
Goji berries
Or get the whole list of [Vegetarian Sources Of Protein][1]
[1]: http://www.statusofhealth.com/13-surprising-vegetarian-sources-of-protein/ hope my answer would help
Answer: There are amino acids, which are the building blocks of proteins, and we get them more easily from animal sources.  We can also get them, quite readily, from vegetable sources.
If I have enough of certain basic amino acids, my body can synthesize certain others.
What's important in your diet, and what is considered a complete protein dietary profile, is a combination of vegetable protein sources that insure you are getting all of the "essential" amino acids, that your body cannot produce itself from other amino acids.
For instance, my recollection is that tofu and brown rice is an excellent combination for getting a good spectrum of essential amino acids in sufficient quantities.

These nine (essential amino acids) are leucine, isoleucine, lysine, tryptophan, histidine, phenylanaline, valine, methionine and threonine. While proteing sources such as meat, eggs and dairy are good sources of amino acids, vegetables can also help you to meet your daily requirements of these essential nutrients.

LiveStrong.Com: Essential Amino Acids In Vegetables

Examples of Complete protein vegetarian combinations

Grains and legumes: rice and beans; peanut butter sandwich; tortillas with beans
Grains or vegetables with dairy or soy: pasta with cheese; baked potatoe with dairy/soy sour cream; rice pudding; cereal with milk

The Vegetarian Athlete: Combining Foods For Peak Performance


If a Kohen donates a kidney is he considered a Bal Moom for purposes of doing an Avodah?

Question: If a Kohen donates a kidney, is he considered a Bal Moom for purposes of doing an Avodah in the future Bais hamikdash? On the one hand, the missing organ is not visible. On the other hand, a cataract is also not visible and I think it would make a Kohen a baal moom.
Comment: Cataracts can be visible, depending on how clouded the lens has become
Comment: Some posek is going to have to study this whole question when Beit Hamikdash will be rebuilt. What about having an appendix removed or any other operation? The medical world is very different from what existed at the time of Bayit Sheni.  What if the Cohen were to _receive_ a kidney? What about dental work. Implants? Lots of possibilities to consider.
Comment: No. Apperently it isn't in the list in bechorot.
Comment: Depending on where it is, a mole with hair growing out of it isn't visible either.
Answer: The Rambam (Bias Mikdash 6:7) states clearly that a Kohain whos Kidney was removed is NOT considered a Baal Mum.
אֵין פּוֹסֵל בָּאָדָם אֶלָּא מוּמִין שֶׁבְּגָלוּי. אֲבָל מוּמִין שֶׁבַּחֲלַל הַגּוּף כְּגוֹן שֶׁנִּטַּל כֻּלְיָתוֹ שֶׁל אָדָם אוֹ טְחוֹל שֶׁלּוֹ אוֹ שֶׁנִּקְּבוּ מֵעָיו אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁנַּעֲשָׂה טְרֵפָה עֲבוֹדָתוֹ כְּשֵׁרָה שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (ויקרא כא יט) "שֶׁבֶר רָגֶל אוֹ שֶׁבֶר יָד" מָה אֵלּוּ בְּגָלוּי אַף כּל בְּגָלוּי:
Only blemishes that are apparent disqualify a person. Blemishes that are within the cavity of the body, e.g., a person's kidney or his spleen was removed or his intestines were perforated, even though he becomes a treifah,18 his service is acceptable. [This is derived from the mention, Leviticus 21:19, of] "a broken leg or a broken arm." Just as these are apparent, all [disqualifying blemishes] must be apparent.
The deciding factor is NOT whether it is visable or not, but rather if it is considered בַּחֲלַל הַגּוּף - within the cavity of the body.
Comment: Although the beginning of the Rambam uses the term " בגלוי" which would seem to mean visable, but from the latter part of his explanation we see that it only excludes that which is considered בַּחֲלַל הַגּוּף within the cavity of the body.


Is the planet Crait inspired by Pluto?

Question: Is the planet Crait in Star Wars: The Last Jedi inspired by Pluto? The color combination white and red looks kind of like Pluto. Any canon or interview on this will be highly appreciated.
Answer:
The color combination white and red looks kind of Pluto. Any canon or interview on this will highly be appreciated.

The red and white colors are meant to symbolize the progression of battle, and how violent it can be.
From an interview with Ryan Johnson, in response to the red-and-white motif that's ever present in The Last Jedi:

The idea for Crait, very early on, was a visual idea that was there even before I started writing the script. Snoke's throne room, which is the other big red environment, was something I had that I was fixated on. The idea of this theatrical space. Snoke uses theatricality, and so it's this very striking, graphic, bold space, and red felt right to me for that space, as well. It's probably a combination of me just liking bold, graphic design like that, and the natural development of it. Red just felt right for this middle chapter. It felt kind of dangerous.

And then,

[Crystal foxes] live on Crait, which is a mineral planet. Crait started with a very graphic idea of red underneath white, and how that could transform during the course of a battle.

and

Also, I knew that [ski speeders] had to have this stabilizing ski, because I wanted to take advantage of the red and the white on Crait, and kick up that red, and have that jetski spray behind them.

So, at least from this interview, it appears that Ryan Johnson chose red specifically because of the theatrical effect it has, and because of how "dangerous" it is. And then, he chose white to contrast against it to heavily illustrate the progression and intensity of a battle.
The filming of Crait took place at Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia, South America, which is actually the location of the world's largest salt flat (go figure). A great article regarding this can be found here. When comparing the final product Crait with the original landscape of Salar de Uyuni, the two still look extremely similar, and perhaps differ only by the red salt that's found on Crait.
As of now though, I'm unable able to find, nor am I aware of, anything that indicates the red-and-white motif was derived from something specific (e.g., Pluto).
Comment: Also marginally related: https://movies.stackexchange.com/questions/83616/why-is-the-color-red-so-prominent-in-the-promotional-materials-for-star-wars-t/83670#83670
Answer: It seems more likely to be an analog for Mars or better yet, the asteroid Pysche according astral geologist Ken Herkenhoff with the United States Geological Survey and co-investigator at the Mars Science Laboratory.
The Following are some exerts form the article linked:

Have actual scientists ever come across anything like Crait? Ken
  Herkenhoff, an astrogeologist with the United States Geological Survey
  and a co-investigator at the Mars Science Laboratory, told Inverse
  that the fact that Crait is a "mineral planet" isn't a great clue
  because all rocky planets contain minerals. But there are two options
  that stand out above others.
"We have found salts on Mars, and Mars is red, so that's a possible
  analog," says Herkenhoff by e-mail. "Another possible comparison is
  Psyche, the metal asteroid that may contain economic resources."...
If Mars is an analog for Crait, the red of the soil could be a hint to
  the levels of oxygen on the planet. On Mars, the red of the soil and
  rocks is an effect of iron oxidation (the same process happens when
  iron rusts on Earth). The oxygen levels on Mars comprise 0.1 percent
  of the atmosphere, although scientists believe the planet may have
  contained more oxygen billions of years ago. The interaction of oxygen
  and iron is what creates the red color that permeates the planet — and
  could be why the soil on Crait, once kicked up by the ground-skimmers,
  is red as well.
Though Crait is a planet in the Star Wars universe, it also resembles
  a smaller type of celestial body in our universe. Psyche, one of the
  most massive asteroids in the Asteroid Belt between Mars and Jupiter,
  is a fitting comparison because it, like Crait, could support space
  mining.

NOTE: That is not to say that color scheme choices should not also be seen as in-universe symbolism beyond real-world associations, because that in essence is more important to the film IMO.

Is the planet Crait inspired by Pluto?


Tuning a Guitar 1/4 Step Sharp

Question: I recently purchased a copy of Hal Leonard's book "The Beatles:Please Please Me" (Guitar Recorded Version).  Several of the songs in the book have the note "Recording sounds 1/4 step sharp".  I know how to raise a guitar's strings a half or a whole step with a capo, but how do you raise them 1/4 step?  (I've been told the recordings were raised 1/4 step by increasing the speed of the original recordings.)  Also, my guitar is a budget acoustic with nylon strings. Will raising the strings 1/4 step damage the neck or break the strings?
Comment: I've seen (and used) wack tunings like EEBBBB (which Soundgarden used on "The day I tried to live") where they raise the G string 2 whole steps to B successfully. Don't know how far you can stretch a nylon string though, but one thing is sure, a 1/4 step up from standard won't hurt the strings or the guitar.
Answer: It certainly wont hurt the guitar to tune up a quarter step. Using a digital tuner, you can adjust it so it gives the correct reading, and tune each string accordingly. Or, do as I did in the '60s, listen to a track and adjust on the fly, so the guitar is actually in tune to the track by ear. Takes a bit of practice, but it's a skill that will be useful when the tuner isn't available.
Yes, sometimes the track speed was changed when the recording was complete, but other bands, particularly purely guitar based bands, would all tune to the one guitar which was closest to 'in tune', meaning some tracks are out by that small amount ('in the cracks'), that just playing a concert pitch tuned guitar a fret up or down still won't work.
Answer: Tuning up a quarter-tone shouldn't hurt a guitar, but I'm giving no guarantee!  Probably more sensible to run the recordings through an audio editor and bring them down to pitch without affecting the speed.   We can do that now, they couldn't in the 60s.
Comment: Well, they _could_ change pitch with vari-speed. That has actually happened on quite a few old recordings, perhaps not always deliberately... And vari-speed is arguably still the best way to change the pitch of audio material, since it doesn't mess with the phase relations.
Comment: A quarter step will not damage the guitar.  I am giving a guarantee

Tuning a Guitar 1/4 Step Sharp


How to calculate the lift starting from the vertical speed?

Question: Is it possible to calculate the lift of an aircraft knowing its speed (IAS,TAS and GS), its vertical speed, its altitude and its weight?
Because if we look at the force of an aircraft in flight: the lift is opposed to the weight and if the lift is greater than the weight, the aircraft climbs with a certain rate (vertical speed) proportional to the lift.
Comment: It could be worth mentioning that the question is related to wings-level flight (e.g. no bank).
Answer: Yes, it is, at least for small pitch angles and low thrust. Here is how:
$$L = m\cdot g\cdot n_z\cdot\cos\gamma$$
If thrust or pitch attitude become significant, you need to modify $m\cdot g$ by the vertical thrust component. Then the answer must be no, because the thrust information is missing:
$$L = \left(m\cdot g - T\cdot\sin(\Theta + \sigma)\right)\cdot n_z\cdot\cos\gamma$$
$L\:\:\:$  lift
$m\:\:$ mass
$g\:\:\:$ gravitational acceleration
$n_z\:\:$ load factor (= 1 in horizontal, unaccelerated flight)
$\gamma\:\:\:$ flight path angle, with $\gamma = asin\left(\frac{v_z}{v}\right)$
$v_z\:\:$ vertical speed
$v\:\:\:$ flight speed (TAS)
$T\:\:$ Thrust
$\Theta\:\:$ pitch angle (up is positive)
$\sigma\:\:$ thrust angle relative to airframe's x axis
Note that the altitude is only needed if you use the altitude-specific value of $g$. Using the standard value will give you a negligible error.
Please note also that lift > weight will result in an upward acceleration. In a quasi-stationary climb or sink the lift will be slightly smaller than the weight.
Comment: @jd943bd: TAS, and make sure you use the same units for flight and vertical speed.
Comment: What is the flight speed? TAS/IAS/GS?
Comment: Does this assume that pitch is the same as the flight path? It seems like it's common for pilots to climb by increasing thrust without changing pitch
Comment: @raptortech97, pitch is flight path plus angle of attack, always. This assumes angle of attack is small.
Comment: @raptortech97: Pilots increase thrust and keep **trim** constant when they want to climb. The pitch angle is selected by the aircraft, and of course it increases in a climb.


Do I need to pay if I collect my luggage and recheck?

Question: My flight ticket Edinburgh to Tashkent from Turkish Airlines and baggage allowance is 40 kg for all the way (Edinburgh-Istanbul-Tashkent). But, I want to stay in Istanbul for a few days, so I am going to change the date of the trip Edinburgh-Istanbul. My luggage allowance won't be charged if I collect my luggage and recheck it?
Answer: If you stay in Istanbul for a few days, you won't have a choice about collecting your luggage and rechecking: it will be mandatory. The airline will not hold your luggage for days.
Your luggage allowance will change to be whatever is allowed for Edinburgh-Istanbul and Istanbul-Tashkent separately. Turkish Airlines has a weirdly complex free baggage policy, with extra free baggage for frequent fliers and different amounts of baggage depending on fare, which is presumably how you wound up with a 40kg allowance. You would need to contact them to determine precisely what allowance you would have depending on your fare, as they do not publish a chart that shows all the exceptions.
If any baggage charges apply to your trip, you will need to pay the fees for both the trip from Edinburgh to Istabul and the trip from Istanbul to Tashkent, because several days in Istanbul will count as a stopover. The linked page has instructions for "Flights with a stopover" to calculate the total cost: find the fee for each portion of your journey and add them up. If you remain within your free baggage allowance, you will, of course, not be charged.
Comment: And a small note for the OP. That 40kg allowance doesn't mean 1 bag 40. Don't go above 28 or worse 32 per bag. People usually confuse such an allowance and over pack 1 bag because usually the allowance is much lesser
Comment: When you change the date you will get the new conditions on the new flight. They may or may not be same but it's only a matter of reading it on their website. You can also contact them and ask for a ticket on the new date with same allowance. Simple
Comment: @SarvarNishonboyev Yes, it is possible that your allowance may change if you change your ticket. It may also stay the same. You'd have to contact them to find out, as it seems to depend on the specific fare involved.
Comment: @HankyPanky I'm thinking to get two suitcase with 20kg each, thanks for your comment.
Comment: My ticket is bought by my company and in the ticket it says 40 kg luggage allowance not more than 28 kg each bag. As I know, I don't pay anything for 40kg baggage, but my worries is that I may need to pay if I collect in Istanbul and recheck them.


Custom Styling OpenStreetMap without needing to host it yourself

Question: I know it's possible to edit the way in which OpenStreetMap display, with CSS-like (like MapCSS) stylesheets.
Is possible to do this without having to host your own tile server?
Comment: Please clarify the use case. Where do you want to look at the maps and how and who else does?
Comment: It's for use in a leaflet driven page.
Answer: It is, but it requires a renderer running on your own computer.
Maperitive is one option which runs on Windows, or Linux/Mac systems running Mono.
Alternatively, projects such as Mapbox GL and Mapzen's Tangram are client-side renderers running off "vector tiles". This allows your styling to be applied in the browser or app. These are fairly young projects and at present require a fair amount of experience to get running, but if you're game for the challenge, look at Mapbox GL JS and Mapzen's free vector tiles for an in-browser solution.
P.S. It's OpenStreetMap (not Maps).
Comment: In general I recommend teh OSM wiki page http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Rendering to get an overview.
Comment: @FredFury Mapbox has free and paid plans for hosting your maps, so you wouldn't need to host them yourself.
Comment: @FredFury yes, it works great with Leaflet. See [this answer](http://stackoverflow.com/a/23663848/1504487) for more information and [this demo](https://www.mapbox.com/mapbox.js/example/v1.0.0/plain-leaflet/) how you can use mapbox.js
Comment: This is useful. It looks like there is a bit of a learning curve, but I'll investigate. This would still require hosting your own tile server, am I right?
Comment: @bennos I'm looking at Mapbox now. It seems easy to work with. Have you used in with Leaflet?
Answer: To elaborate on Richard Fairhurst answer.
Mapbox Studio worked well for me. Mapbox studio provides a platform for you to edit a style offline, upload it and host your stylized map for you.
How to:

Download MapBox Studio here (There is a linux version).
Sign Up for a Mapbox account. You'll get an access Token which you'll need later.
Edit the style.

Save it (Ctrl + S  will save and refresh the map with your changes.)
Upload to Mapbox. (note the Map ID)

Use it.
Check out the plain leaflet example here.
You'll need your Access Token and your Map ID when defining your map:
<code>L.mapbox.accessToken = '{Your Access Token here}';
var map = L.mapbox.map('map','{Your.MapID here}').setView([-34,18], 7);  //code here
</code>

And there you have it- Custom Map Styling, without Hosting it yourself!
I'm pretty sure there are other ways. Maperitive also quite powerful, although it has a steeper learning curve and a little less pleasing on the eye, it should not be disregarded.
Answer: I don't believe so as the CSS is applied at the tile rendering point. That said, the advent of Google map styling may have encouraged progress in this area.
You may get some joy using JOSM which looks  to pull the data and render the tiles client side.
Comment: understood thanks - was thinking more at the components that are being used as part of the JOSM implementation rather than suggesting as a client side rendering solution. My primary point was that OSM do the rendering pre-request and do not allow passing in of CSS options. I was trying to steer away from local tile renderers. Thanks for the clarification.
Comment: JOSM doesn't render 'tiles', it's an editing program with a pannable map display and doesn't really have the polish (e.g. in label placement) to be considered as a viable option.


Does light change phase when reflecting off a metal surface?

Question: If you shine monochromatic light on a reflective metal surface, say polished silver, does the reflected light undergo a $180^{\circ}$ phase change like it does when it reflects off a medium with a higher refractive index?
Answer: Yes, if the metal has infinite conductivity so the induced currents in it are in anti-phase with the electric field of the primary wave.
In practice, metals have finite conductivity, the oscillations of charges on the surface will be slightly off the anti-phase so the reflected wave will have phase shift lower than 180 degrees.
Answer: Light is electro-magnetic wave and obeys same physical law.
Please see the following article about Yagi-Uda antenna where animated graphics explain how the antenna works.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yagi%E2%80%93Uda_antenna
Very similar process takes with light and mirror -- the difference is only in wavelength.


Convert image to monochrome image with details

Question: I found several explanations how to convert an image to outline image but I would like to have also the details from the image like below.
Could someone give me some clues how I could start to do it?
Is it better to use Photoshop or Illustrator?
Comment: Redraw in illustrator
Answer: You have actually already got a working answer - drawing is a way to make drawings and Illustrator is quite good program for drawing. It's not especially difficult if you keep a photo under your drawing as a reference (Only remember to lock it to keep it in place) We call it "manual tracing".
Today electronics designers generally can easily have 3D models of their creations. Component makers give the models of the components and the circuit board design program can create the rest. Alternatively one can place the parts onto the circuit board model in 3D CAD program.  Unfortunately a 3D CAD program which allows making assemblies easily is costly. That property is often disabled in low cost or free versions. Easy = put this part to these holes, rotate and move it automatically to fit exactly.
The illustration like drawing is a projection of the model with selected details. It's a vector drawing, not like a photo. It can generally be imported to Illustrator for artistical retouch and explanations.
Here's a 3D model of RaspberryPI ver.B board seen as wireframe, hidden lines removed, no edit is attempted because I can only view this type of 3D models.

Just for curiosity I tried to save the 3D scene as PDF, open it in Inkscape and color one surface & add a random text:

All this is also possible in a 3D program which is sophisticated enough to edit models. Unfortunately the available models usually are structureless geometry only versions, typically STEP-models which need something more than cheap- or freeware to be edited. I haven't it. But the sellers often also provide PDFs from where one can extract line art drawings.
About your photo:
You can make a sharper greyshade photo with exaggerated edges easily in Photoshop, if that helps you:

At first duplicate  the image layer. Transform one of the copies to a good black-white mix with  Image > Adjust > Black & White. Then with Filters > Others > High-pass cut out from the other copy all but the edges. Insert contrast to the filtered version with Image > adjust > Curves or levels. Keep the mid brightness at 50%. Blend the filtered version with the BW version with layer blending mode Hard light. Reduce the opacity, if needed.
In the left you see the filtered version with increased contrast and in the right is the blended result.
Of course, it's only apparently sharper. The second glance + zooming in reveals that it's still the same low resolution and noisy JPG. If you can decide the resolution, have it at least 2000 pixels wide. Then it can be sharp enough with no tricks, but it can be better with sharpening. Here's nearly the same board as your's sharpened like your board above. The used photo is a much higher quality version:
Comment: Can you clarify one thing for me...? Why I can't put my nose on an ethernet port? Xo)
Comment: NOoooooooo..... Leave the other text! Protect people's noses!
Comment: @Rafael all people I know have too big noses and the port can get damaged.  I'll change the text soon because there can be others, who haven't that problem.
Answer: Illustrator. There is no automatic 'conversion' for this, you need to redraw each and every line by hand or have somebody else do it for you. See this video for a basic idea of what needs to be done: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZV8PT2Xh04I
Answer: You could get a very rough approximation using 'Find Edges' in Photoshop, then inverting the result & desaturating.
Strip out the white background first, if it's not already on its own layer.
[Very very rough 30s attempt]

...but to do it properly, you need to re-draw it from scratch.


Static resource naming convention

Question: Is it a good practice to include version information along with the name when you are uploading a static resource. For example, I am uploading a file "Bootstrap-3.3.5.zip" in static resource, Shall I name my static as "Bootstrap" or "Bootstrap3"? What would you suggest in long run? Please share your thoughts.
Answer: I would suggest calling it something general like "Bootstrap". Although appending versions might sound like a reasonable idea, it breaks down when a new version is released and you have to go through every VF page to update the markup to match the current version of Bootstrap.
Keeping all names, folders and files consistent will keep your resources up to date without generating additional, unnecessary work.
Just my thoughts!
Comment: Thanks for sharing your thoughts. If we give general name like "Bootstrap" and if you are looking at VF page which has used above static resource then by looking at VF page it is hard to say what version has been used here.
Comment: In that instance what I would suggest is, in a Sandbox environment, editing and changing the static resource with an updated version and amending the description field to dictate what version of Bootstrap you're using. That way you know all of your VF pages are on the latest version and the resource informs what version that is. Everything is centralised and in one place. You can then check the effect of the new version safely and deploy.

Static resource naming convention


dedicated database server location

Question: I have serveral WordPress sites running on the same dedicated server. On each site, I use a auto content plug-in which posts content once or twice an hour. This is slowing down the sites because of load on mysql. I want to buy another dedicated server and use this as a database server only. My main server is in USA and the new one is in Germany. Will this be a probably due to lag and if so can I use some king of replication to counter this?
Answer: You should keep them as close to each other as possible. For every query, there will be a 200ms or so extra latency. I doubt the result will be good.
If you must have servers in both US and Germany, have Germany as a replicated slave from which you read - while you write to the server in US.
Be sure to monitor lag though..
Answer: Database servers and application/web servers should be in the same network. You will suffer considerable loss of efficiency in your system due latency issues. The web server and the database servers are in constant communication, experts recommend that the web server and the database server should have a dedicated network interface for their communications.
I`m pretty sure the replication will not solve this kind of problem. Replication is good when your single database server can't handle the load or you want to have a another server with your data and your database running in case one server crashes, but you still have to maintain constant network communication. You are not solving the problem by creating a replication, you are simply making the problem go to latency issues between the web and database server to latency issues between the main database server and the slave database server.
BTW, relational database replication just sucks, it`s really painful, you shouldn't do it unless you really have to.

dedicated database server location


Is the preposition necessary in this sentence? What is the reason why we should use preposition?

Question: When we make passive voice of 'I gave him an apple.', should we use preposition 'to' like 'an apple was given to him by me.'
If we should, why?
Answer: Short answer
You should use to.  The other version isn't wrong, though.

Long answer
There are two ways to say the basic sentence:

I gave an apple to him.
  I gave him an apple.

And as a result, there are two passive sentences, too:

An apple was given to him (by me).
  An apple was given him (by me).

The name for this pattern is the Dative Alternation, and you can read more about it in this answer.
Even though both of these sentences are grammatical, the version with to is much more common, especially in spontaneous speech.  Why?  Well, in the answer I linked above, I talked briefly about Rohdenburg's Complexity Principle, "explicitly marked phrases are preferred over zero-marked counterparts in cognitively complex environments".  That answer was about questions, but it applies to passives, too.
Put more simply, we use to there because it helps us understand what role him plays in the sentence.
In fact, some speakers have such a strong preference for to here that they believe the other version is ungrammatical!  But don't believe them; it's too well attested in Standard English writing for us to call it anything but grammatical.  Here are some examples from the Corpus of Contemporary American English:

He struggled to kindle a spark of rebellion, to resist this fate, but fatigue and whatever narcotic had been given him for the pain muffled his fire. He just wanted to sleep.
Howard hands Curtin a gold nugget that has been given him by his Indian hosts and tells him to drop it into the village well.
When he finished dressing he washed his face and hands in the bowl and dried himself with the towel that had been given him at his bath a few days before. He took his toothbrush from his vest pocket and lathered some soap on it.
There were also two stuffed bears, which she'd named Alphonse and Gaston, and a frayed quilt, which had been given her when she was born.

All of these examples sound formal or bookish.  In spontaneous speech, you're unlikely to hear this sort of example.
My recommendation?  You should you get in the habit of using the to version, but make sure you can understand the version without to.
Answer: Let's start by looking at the first sentence
I gave him an apple
Strictly speaking, the sentence should be
I gave an apple to him
The subject is I, the object is apple and him is an indirect object linked by a preposition. It is normal, with to to swap the order of the direct and indirect objects and to drop the preposition. Thus:
I wrote a letter to him

Becomes
I wrote him a letter

So, when we switch to passive voice, we are not adding a preposition: we are choosing not to omit it, because the sentence structure is more complex. It is still acceptable to say
An apple was given him by me

But it is less common.
Comment: "Strictly speaking", the recipient may be expressed validly **either** as an indirect object **or** as the oblique of *to*—both are valid.
Comment: I don't think **An apple was given him by me** is acceptable. I really doubt it.
Comment: @Man_From_India People will normally use the other version ([for the reason discussed here](http://ell.stackexchange.com/a/87740/230)) but I find both grammatical.
Comment: The part of your answer between your last two quoted sentences is really confusing. And it doesn't make much sense to me.
Comment: @snailplane That's really strange! Anyway you are upgraded :-) from "boat" to "plane". The journey will be faster :P
Answer: I gave him an apple.
I gave an apple to him.
He was given an apple by me.
An apple was given to him by me.
An apple was given him by me.
When can usually say either "give him|her|me|them something" or "give something to him|her|me|them".
Although the passive forms above are grammatical, they are very unlikely to pass the lips of a native speaker.  In normal conversation, most native speakers do not go out of their way to use the passive, as student textbooks might lead you to believe we do.
If an exercise textbook were to be written by me, many exercises would be presented in which passive constructions must be rephrased by the student as active constructions.
If I were to write an exercise textbook, it would present many exercises in which the student must rephrase passive constructions as active constructions.
Answer: Even though there is the word "past" in "past participle", it's by itself un-tensed. And hence it needs an auxiliary verb to express "tense", so that a complete standalone sentence forms.
We can't say -

The apple given

Because it's not a standalone sentence. Of course it can be taken as a fragment of another sentence. To make it a standalone sentence we need to provide "tense". And therefore we need an auxiliary verb.

The apple was given.

Now this is a standalone complete sentence. This is a passive form. Now we need to provide two important information - one, who gave the apple and two, who received it. Both can be done using two Preposition Phrase (PP). The information - who gave the apple - can be achieved by the PP - by me. The information - who received the information - can be achieved by another PP - to him. So it becomes -

The apple was given to him by me.

Now the active form is

I gave the apple to him.

The preposition to is obligatory. Consider also the following sentences -

I gave him the apple.
He was given the apple by me.

Here to is not needed. And using it is wrong.


Accidentally turn on silent mode

Question: On my LG-ally, I keep accidentally turning on silent mode.  What exactly am I doing to cause this, and is there any way to disabled whatever the action is?
Comment: If you're downvoting please explain why.  Presumably there are only a few ways to turn on silent mode, and even fewer ways to do it unintentionally on a frequent basis.. So i don't see how this question is vague or off topic
Comment: I have not voted, but your question is poorly-formed ("What exactly am I doing to cause this" - one can only guess without observing your use, and you don't even describe whether this happens in holster, pocket, or purse), and very device-dependent and therefore of limited interest.
Comment: I have a similar problem.  Whenever I mae a call on my LG Ally it automatically sets the phone in silent mode.  GAAHH!  This means that after I call one person if anyone ese cals me I won't hear the ringer.  It just started when Verizon upgraded LG Ally to 2.2
Answer: Are you perhaps using the volume control and going all the way to the "bottom"? That turns on silent mode in my Droid.
Are you hitting the wrong option on the menu when you hit the power button?
I'm not familiar with the LG Ally, so I don't know if they might have added an extra feature to make it easy to get into silent mode. Did you check the manual?
Answer: My apologies if this is too much of a me-too, but I'll second Al Everetts comments on the volume control.
I have this problem in 2 situations:
1. In the bracket I use in the car, one of the foam blocks rests a little on the down volume button.  I've since cut the foam to reduce this issue.
2. When I'm holding it in landscape mode, I often bump the volume buttons.
There are on-screen indicators though, so I usually don't do it without noticing.
Answer: I had a similar problem on my MotoDroid, and downloaded RingGuard from the Market.  It's a simple app that detects whenever the ring volume changes and pops up an on-screen dialog to confirm.  If you don't confirm the change within a couple of seconds, it cancels it.
Answer: I had this problem with my new HTC touch.  I kept accidentally pressing the 'volume down' button whilst holding the phone.  After putting a gel case on the phone, this is not longer a problem, as the case covers the buttons so they're not so sensitive.

Accidentally turn on silent mode


Did Sollozzo's plan make any sense?

Question: I guess the idea behind Sollozzo's plan in The Godfather was that Sonny would become the leader and then go into business with him. But two big flaws: Sonny clearly wasn't going to do so and the other thing is, Sollozzo wanted Vito's political/judicial influence which there is no indication Sonny would have inherited. If Vito had planned to impede Sollozzo from pursuing the H trade, sure, it might make sense but otherwise, it was crazy and BTW, it sure did not work.
Answer: Sollozzo didn't know Sonny well enough to understand that he was a hothead. There two things underpinning his assassination attempt of the Don:

He thought Sonny was interested in selling heroin when he spoke up at the meeting, and might welcome taking over the family business from his father to engage in this lucrative trade.

"Sonny was hot for my deal, wasn't he? And you knew it was the right
  thing to do."

He viewed bloodshed as too expensive, and thought Sonny would react rationally before taking on the expense of a war. He tells Tom as much after he kidnaps him...

"I don't like violence, Tom. I'm a businessman; blood is a big
  expense."

So, yes, knowing what we know about Sonny, these are horrible
assumptions. But to Sollozzo, if either 1 or 2 were true, he'd have a deal once the Don was out of the way. He probably calculated there would be some loss of political influence, but decided that cost was worth being able to start the business.

"That'll be his first reaction, sure. That's why you gotta talk some
  sense into him. The Tattaglia family is behind me with all their
  people. The other New York Families will go along with anything that
  will prevent a full-scale war. Let's face it, Tom, and all due
  respect, the Don, rest in peace, was -- slippin'. Ten years ago, could
  I have gotten to him? Well now, he's dead. He's dead, Tom, and nothing
  can bring him back. So you gotta talk to Sonny, you gotta talk to the
  caporegimes, that Tessio and that Fat Clemenza. It's good business,
  Tom."
  - from Movie Quote DB

The rational thing for Sonny to do was make peace, but Sonny was not a rational person.
Comment:  I think your point about The Turk not knowing Sonny is a very good one. If I am wrong and Vito would have actually impeded The Turk's business (despite assurances to the contrary) then killing Vito makes sense; also if he expected Sonny to help the business, whereas Vito would not have even if he was not going to interfere, that also makes sense. But if the primary reason he wanted Vito involved was influence, it would not be hard to see that a young man who was told to shut up by his dad would lack this influence.

Did Sollozzo's plan make any sense?


Is there value in opting for Pas Yisroel Raisin Bran?

Question: Is it better to eat raisin bran cereal that is Pas Yisroel, than to eat another brand of the same cereal that is not?
Answer: Grain products need "tzuras hapas" to qualify for the takanah of pas yisrael
Cereal doesn't have "tzuras hapas" - it doesn't look like a baked food (like bread, pretzels, or bagels.)

Likewise, most poskim write that Bran Flakes do not have tzuras hapas; the same would apply to Cheerios.

The Source of the above quote also quotes Rashi on Menachot 75b

So, it's actually impossible to have a "Pas Yisrael" raisin bran, since bran flakes don't qualify for the takanah in the first place.
Comment: Must be a marketing term like glatt kosher pizza.
Comment: 1) "Cereal doesn't have 'tzuras hapas'" - most cereal's don't. Some are baked into bread and then ground up (e.g. grape nuts). 2) An assertion that cereal is not 'tzuras hapas' but pretzels are would work a lot better with a reason to distinguish them.
Comment: @Yishai but if the original intention of baking that bread is to grind it up into cereal, it could be that pas yisrael still doesn't apply.  e.g. does anyone hold that one must make hamotzi on grape nuts?
Comment: @Jake, It *could* be, but that is an ambiguity missing from the answer, IMO. A vague, hard to justify distinction + ludishe chillukim about intention when baking the bread seem to add up to a reason to justify the Pas Yisroel preference, whether or not is required al pi din.
Answer: Acc to the Ramma in yo'd siman 112 siff 6 kichel are included in the category of pas as far as pas yisroel goes. The shach in s.k. 18 points out that that is only true if they are made drom a thick dough and have tzuras hapas, the chochmas adam explains that if they are made from a thin dough they fall under the domain of bishul akum which is actually more stringent, i.e. there is no heter of pas palter.
This is an explicit example, but its a general law that if the law of pas doesn't apply, then the law of bishul does.
So either it needs to be pas yistoel as a chumra, or bishul yisroel as ikur din. Depending on what the mixure was like raw. Of course whether or not cereal is oleh al shulch milachim would weigh in to possibly exempt this food from all regulations.
Comment: "whether or not cereal is oleh al shulch milachim" - How do you know that kings (and queens) didn't or don't now eat cereal? Wouldn't oatmeal be considered cereal? I can't say if farina qualifies as cereal, though - baby food, maybe...
Comment: @DanF How do you know is a good question on this subject. See in Yoreh Deah siman 112 taz siff kattan 3 in the name of the tur that we assume rice bread is not olah al shulchan milachim due the its lack of chashivus and we don't inquire into it, we just assume. But I didn't imply in my answer that cereal is not olah. I left the idea open.
Comment: @DanF The requirement for bishul yisrael isn't that kings and queens eat it.  The requirement is that the food is important enough to be served at a king's table.  Prince William might enjoy a bowl of cheerios in his kitchen, but if he's hosting foreign dignitaries for a breakfast meeting, he's not going to serve them cheerios.  Anyway, it's dubious at best to suggest that the kichel example (anything that doesn't qualify as pas is automatically bishul) applies to all food.


STM32 - How does analog configuration of MCU pins affect the power usage?

Question: When I was creating a new project using the STM32CubeMX, I saw a check box stating that setting all free pins as anlog will decrease the power consumption. I couldn't figure out how it works. How can configuring the free pins as analog decrease the power consumption of an MCU?
Answer: According to the reference manual:

This apparently can reduce the typical current draw from uA to nA. It's not clear if they make assumptions about whether the pins are tied high, low or floating for these comparisons.
Answer:
Floating inputs into a Schmidtt can draw lots of microAmps, possibly even milliAmps. Hence the Schmidtt is disabled.

For minimum propagation delay near the 2 thresholds, a Schmidtt needs a very fast amplifier built into the circuistry. Pleasantly, a simple two_FET inverter (Nchannel + Pchannel) provide the speed, but will consume LOTS OF CURRENT near the thresholds. Thus SLOW inputs (slow ramps) or floating inputs, will waste lots of current. Unless you chose to disable the input.
Estimate of the current: Idrain = K/2 * W/L * Ve^2
Let K = [0.5 * (100uA/volt^2)], W/L = 10, Ve = 1
Idrain = [ 0.5 * 100 uA/volt^2] * 10 * 1^2 = 500 microAmperes

And the low_current pullup/pulldown can draw various microAmps. Hence these are disabled.
Answer: If a pin would be externally held to the positive or negative rail, it will use the same trivial amount of power when configured for analog mode as for digital mode.  Likewise, there would generally be negligible extra power consumption from enabling internal pull-up of a pin which would either be externally pulled high or disconnected would draw no current, or an internal pull-down of a pin that is externally pulled low.
Enabling an internal pull-up on a pin which is externally pulled low, however, will substantially increase current draw from the chip, and enabling an internal pull-down on a pin that is externally pulled up will likely increase current draw in whatever external device is pulling the pin up.
In the case of a pin which does not have internal pull-ups or pull-downs, enabling a digital input will have negligible effect on power consumption when the input is near a rail, but may increase power consumption when the input is near the switching point.  In many cases, digital inputs will be fed into an inverter whose output is pulled high when the input is low, and pulled low when the input is high.  Oftentimes, there will be a voltage between the high and low levels which is high enough to partially turn on the pull-down transistor but also low enough to partially turn on the pull-up transistor.  Having both transistors be partially on can sometimes substantially increase current consumption, though input circuit design can trade off worst-case current draw for response time (if an input doesn't need to switch quickly, it can use small transistors that won't pass much current even when turned on), and most microcontrollers strike a balance which will result in a current increase which is measurable, but not so large as to pose a meaningful risk of overheating.


How to backup a backup in Acronis True Image?

Question: I have a backup in an external HDD, and I wanted to make a copy of it for security...which is the best way?
As far as I ca see, I can copy the backup folder to another HDD, or I can make another backup in Acronis with the same options of the original one, it it there another option? Like configuring Acronis automatically to make the same thing in another location?
Answer: In Acronis True Image/Acronis Backup & Recovery, look for features such as Backup reserve copy, Dual destination/Backup replication etc.

Of course, you can always manually/using a script make a copy of the files. For safety you can verify by comparing hashes (MD5/SHA-1) of the copy and original backup files.


Contract to Hire salary conversion?

Question: I am currently a contractor working for a DOD contract company as an application developer. I will begin the process of converting over to a full time employee of the DOD company here soon. Recently my manager at the DOD company ask me what I am currently making pay wise so that he can make sure I get put in at the right pay grade. By me giving him that information did I lose my chance to negotiating my salary? Thank you!
Comment: Possibly could be a duplicate. I was hoping to get a more direct answer. By saying what I currently make does that eliminate me from getting a pay increase?
Answer: Very likely the only "salary" information he knew about you was what he was paying your contracting company (as opposed to what they paid you).  So yeah, you probably left money on the table here.
What to do at this point:
1) Ask for a bump up.
This is an excellent time, your salary is in flux.  It's possible he's actually lowering the amount in his budget by making you perm anyway.
Probably speed is of the essence here rather than force of argument, i.e. if you can spend a minute or ten and gather proof you're underpaid do that, but don't take days.

Edit because of conversation and my reply was too long.
DWill23: do you feel like asking for a 15% bump is too much or should I let him be the judge on that?
Things get weird when we're talking conversion.  I got a +45% raise one time and another I ended up with less money.  The important numbers (which you might not have access to) are "your current Bill rate" and then "your employee cost" (your pay + taxes + benefits).  Ideally you'd be trying to keep those numbers the same if it's in your benefit.
Failing that, if you're good with a bump of 15% sure, ask for that and/or lead with him figuring out what to offer.  What you don't want to have happen is a currently-low level of pay being set in stone and then ending up with single digit percentage raises after that.
Comment: Thank you for that feedback. I will try and get a meeting with him this week then. Question: do you feel like asking for a 15% bump is too much or should I let him be the judge on that?
Comment: @DWill23 I've edited my answer to answer that.
Comment: If I can get a 10-15% increase then I would be very happy with the entire package. I'm not complaining now if my rate stays the same and they give me benefits, but the scope of the responsibility has changed since I originally accept the contract position. That is why I want to ask for the increase. I don't want to sounds money hungry, but I lost an almost guaranteed 10% yearly bonus in taking this position.

Contract to Hire salary conversion?


Is it safe for someone with a British Passport to drive from the UK around the Black Sea and back?

Question: Is it safe for someone with a British Passport to drive from the UK around the Black Sea and back? What might the problems be?
Comment: the reason I mention the passport is more to say am not Russian or Turkish. I know it would not help was thinking if anything it would be a hindrance
Comment: Well, you will pass through many unstable areas (e.g. Crimea), so I would definitely advise against it. Unless you actually drive an armoured personnel mover, of course.
Comment: Crimea isn't unstable, just disputed and as a result the border guards will not like you crossing the Crimea/rest of Ukraine border.  Clockwise, Russia won't let you into Crimea except from the Russian side and I believe only by air from Moscow.  Counterclockwise, you are asking the Ukraine border guards at the Crimean border to admit you even though you snuck into Ukraine illegally at Karch. You might as well try to enter the USA in South Dakota.  **Donbass, now *that's* unstable**.
Comment: Which direction to you plan to go (clockwise or anticlockwise)? How far out of your way are you willing to drive? Will you be driving your own car, or hiring local cars?
Comment: We would be using our own camper van. Dont  mind what direction. Dont mind going out our way.
Comment: There is no magical protection from holding a British Passport. Some rogues won't care where you are from, or even ask.
Answer: You will have to swing very, very wide of the northeast corner of the sea.
Crimea
The first barrier is Crimea.  This historic region has civil order, so you are safe, but it is disputed, which makes it a politically bad choice.
For centuries it has been home to Russia's largest naval base and only warm-water naval base.  It was part of Russia a long time ago, but in the 1950s the USSR leadership moved it from the Russian SFSR to the Ukranian SFSR: not unlike, say, moving that weird bit of Virginia north of Chesapeake Bay into Maryland.  After the USSR breakup, it was universally understood that due to Sevastapol's importance, it would remain a Russian naval base indefinitely, and treaties to that effect give Russia permission to have some rather large quota of troops in Crimea.  With their families, and the fact that there is little other industrial base in Crimea, and with the Soviet Union's previous ouster of the native Tatars, the area became dominated by Russian sailors, veterans, civilians, families, and others with connections to Sevastapol.
As an American, and a Yankee, I certainly won't say that any state can just leave based solely on a popular vote.  If it was legal, and that is a very big question, the outcome isn't a big surprise.
Suffice it to say, Ukraine cannot possibly recognize Russia's claim on Crimea.  So Ukraine views even the slightest indication that you have been to Crimea as a flat admission that you snuck into Ukraine without going through Ukranian border controls. Obviously, presenting yourself to the Ukraine border guards at the Crimea border is such an admission,  same as if you drove up to a US immigration office in West Virginia and asked them to land you in the USA.  Expect to be refused or worse, so counterclockwise is right out.
Russia is also itchy about people coming into Crimea from Ukraine, they want all entries to be from Russia.  And they get to have something to say about it, because you have to use the new Kerch Bridge or old ferry to get across.
The Sea of Azov
It would be neat if there was a carferry across the sea, because that would allow you to go between Crimea and the Donbass and cross straight from Russia to undisputed Ukraine. But there's not, so it's just a barrier.
Donbass
This region, including Luhansk and Donetsk areas, touching the Sea of Azov and running north some distance, is a genuine war zone. It's right out.

So this has you swinging far north, as far north as the width of the Black Sea itself.  Is it still circumnavigation at that point?
Comment: +1, but the Crimean (Kerch) Bridge does let you avoid the Donbass region and reentering Ukraine, all you need to do is get from Ukraine into Crimea.  (Which, as you note, is still likely impossible.) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crimean_Bridge
Comment: @jpatokal oh, good stuff, thanks.  I thought that was a longer term project.
Comment: The passage to Crimea from mainland Ukraine was closed with the introduction of martial law, and probably is not allowed by this day.


View filter to include title and body text

Question: I created an exposed view filter so that users can search for words in the body of a node type but I would like the search to also look for words in the title without having a separate search box for titles. Can this easily be done?
See code for exported view.
Answer: This module will help to do you job Views filters populate

This is an utility module. Its sole purpose is to fill in one blank
  that seems not easy to be done using normal views, which is to use one
  exposed string filter to search on multiple fields.
Bear in mind, that, for now, only populates STRING exposed filters, so
  those filters that take an array (options) or special types won't
  work, although it may not be difficult to extend it.

You need to make use of Global: Populate filters or Global: Combine fields filter its explained in steps  here


Use of carpet tape for turning a bowl

Question: I'm learning to use an inherited wood lathe, and would like to turn a basic bowl.  I have a couple of face plates but no three-jaw chuck (and no funds to buy one right now).  I have read you can use something called "turners tape" to hold the bottom of a bowl to a face plate.  Does carpet tape work as well?  It is easy to run to the local hardware store and buy carpet tape, it will take a little longer to source some turners tape.  Will I end up ruining my work piece if my tool catches and I'm using carpet tape?
Comment: I'm not a wood turner (though I'd like to get into that some day). I'd be more concerned about ruining _me_ with the work piece if the tape comes apart than ruining the work piece itself. Before you panic, though, wait for someone with actual experience/knowledge to chime in.
Comment: I don't have any experience with large turning projects either, but I do have experience with carpet tape and my main takeaway is that it is terribly difficult to remove.  Turner's tape you can basically just peel off.  At worst it'll pull a few fibers out.  To remove carpet tape I'd plan on using a carbide scraper and resurfacing your work once it's off.
Comment: As already covered in @Caleb's great Answer, carpet tape is not the same as turner's tape. Carpet tape is not a completely uniform product however, but even if you could find one with no creep and a really firm hold this is still not the best way to accomplish what you want to do. If you continue looking you'll see there are other ways of turning bowls that don't rely on chucks, so you're not prevented from tackling bowls before you acquire one.
Answer:
I have read you can use something called "turners tape" to hold the bottom of a bowl to a face plate.

In this video, Mike Peace demonstrates using turner's tape for holding small items. He says he uses it sometimes for reversing a small bowl, lids for boxes, etc. What's nice about it is that you don't need to leave a tenon for the chuck to grab onto. Also, it's flexible, so the mating surfaces don't necessarily have to be flat as long as they fit together well.
Notice that the taped part of the bowl in the video is a significant portion of the overall diameter of the workpiece. Turner's tape would likely not be a good choice for large or even medium sized bowl where the foot is small compared to the bowl's diameter.

Does carpet tape work as well?

No. At least, Mike emphasizes several times in the video that turner's tape is not carpet tape, and he talks about the very strong bond that you can get with turner's tape. Turner's tape is a cloth tape with strong adhesive, so it's more likely to bond well to slightly irregular surfaces.
I use carpet tape all the time for things like holding a template in place for routing. It works very well for that, but there's no way I'd trust it to hold a workpiece spinning at hundreds of RPM.
If a proper four-jaw scroll chuck isn't an option (three-jaw chucks are used more for metal work), and if you can't get turner's tape right away, consider a different option such as gluing the bottom of the bowl to a sacrificial piece that's screwed to a face plate. And again, without a chuck, keep the work small.

Will I end up ruining my work piece if my tool catches and I'm using carpet tape?

If your tool catches you might ruin your piece anyway, but if it catches while you're using carpet tape it might ruin your day as well. Be sure to stand outside the line of fire if you try it.
Comment: Thanks for the tip!

Use of carpet tape for turning a bowl


Mail.app won't start

Question: This is really weird.  Sometime later than July this year, Mail.app would go "not responding" as soon as launched, never opening any window.
system.log shows a lot of errors, but the very first is
Sep 15 19:55:02 Adminadabs-MacBook-Pro Mail[7758]: AllSignatures.plist: Syncing with cloud -- merging; local data, no cloud data not reachable, error: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=260 "The file "ubiquitous_AllSignatures.plist" couldn't be opened because there is no such file." UserInfo={NSURL=file:///Users/wgroleau/Library/Mobile%20Documents/com~apple~mail/Data/V3/MailData/Signatures/ubiquitous_AllSignatures.plist, NSFilePath=/Users/wgroleau/Library/Mobile Documents/com~apple~mail/Data/V3/MailData/Signatures/ubiquitous_AllSignatures.plist, NSUnderlyingError=0x7ffa81dd8de0 {Error Domain=NSPOSIXErrorDomain Code=2 "No such file or directory"}}
The first thing noticed in that message is a mention of "cloud" but not "iCloud."  Just in case they're the same, I note that in system Prefs for iCloud, Mail is NOT checked, nor is Keychain.
Next is that some file associated with signatures is missing.  That file is so deep in the file system, I couldn't have deleted it by accident.  But in going through backups, I find two more oddities:
First, that though Mail quit recently, that Signatures directory is missing from ALL backups.  Time Machine prefs have no exclusions.
Second, that my earliest backup is the beginning of this year, when I'm sure I have been using this drive a lot longer and it is only 39% full.
What other than Mail would delete the entire signatures directory and/or prevent its backup?  If it were done by a function within Mail, I would not expect Mail to be disabled by it.
How can this be fixed with no backup available?  Could I copy someone else's signatures and then edit them back to mine?
UPDATE: The admin account and a non-admin account on the machine also have no signature directory, and Mail runs fine for them.  SO, I conclude that the directory was created when I created the first signature, and some other plist is telling Mail it needs to open those signatures.  Where would that plist be?
ANOTHER UPDATE: I scanned the directory and found that the last file mod date in ~/Library/Mail was 3 Aug.  I restored a 1 Aug from Time Machine and launched Mail.  The convert to new version dialog appeared.  When it "Imported 1005 of 1005 messages … Time remaining: About a minute," the beachball appeared.  Still there twenty minutes later and the Dock icon is "not responding"
Answer: I mentioned that Mail was not checked in iCloud, but later, it was checked.  I'm supposing something restored from backup did that.
I turned it off again, and mail worked!
But .... why did it not work before the restore when that was turned off?
And why should having it ON break Mail?

Mail.app won't start


What sites should I use when looking for nearby restaurants

Question: What sites should I use when looking for nearby restaurants while traveling?
I've noticed that there are a lot of places to help find restaurants near your place on the go (e.g. Trip Advisor / Restaurants / Fast food near me/ Tomato / Yelp etc.) many reviews about restaurants, but rumors say some of them provide incorrect updates, which I would like to know which websites are the most reliable and provide real updates about local restaurants. I would appreciate any helpful ideas, thank you.
Comment: It might help to say where in the world you are interested in, as some sites are better for different countries or cities, and what information you're interested in: menus, prices, reviews/quality of food, opening hours, child- or dog-friendliness, vegan/vegetarian offerings, wine list, COVID precautions, or something else. Also, to know whether you're interested in fine dining or something more cheap and casual might be useful. And if you want specific features such as "search near me", "sort by rating", or "show on a map".
Answer: Pretty much by definition, any third party site like TripAdvisor, Zomato, Yelp etc is going to be less reliable than a first-party site maintained by the restaurant itself.  However, it's also quite common for restaurant websites to be badly out of date, since they were set up once by a contractor and have been sitting there untouched ever since.
My personal approach is to use Google Maps to identify what exists in an area, shortlist interesting-looking options, and then try to find the restaurant's Facebook/Instagram page, which they usually do update and, importantly, where you can also see when the last updates were made.  This way you can confirm that the restaurant still exists and get the latest info on opening hours, COVID closures, etc.  And if it's really important that I can eat there, I make a reservation online or (shock horror!) call them ahead to confirm.
Answer: One technique that can be helpful is to use these sites to look at recent photos from the restaurant. For example, you can go to a restaurant's page on Yelp, click "see X photos" in the header, and then scroll through the photos looking for recent ones (unfortunately, Yelp sometimes puts them through inscrutable sort) and filter by type of photo (food, outside, inside, menu, etc...). Tripadvisor has similar functionality.
If the site you're using is reasonably well used in your area, this has a decent chance of getting you recent or semi-recent photos of the menu and the restaurant's setup, which can be helpful since restaurant websites aren't always updated.
A lot of restaurants, at least in the US, have unusual and often-changing hours these days as they try to manage staffing and different patterns of diner demand. Some places are better than others at keeping the internet updated with their current hours, so it may be best to call them to confirm if you're unsure that the information you've found is up-to-date.


Why and how does negative velocity exist?

Question: Why and how does negative velocity exist? I have read on the internet about negative velocity but I still don't understand how it can even exist since time is positive and so is length. By doing some math I came to the conclusion it can't and should not exist and yet there are so many papers and videos trying to explain it.
Comment: Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been [moved to chat](http://chat.stackexchange.com/rooms/25066/discussion-on-question-by-andrej-slavejkov-why-and-how-does-negative-velocity-ex).
Answer:
Velocity is a vector. Speed is its magnitude.
Position is a vector. Length (or distance) is its magnitude.

A vector points in a direction in the given space. A negative vector (or more precisely "the negative of a vector") simply points the opposite way.
If I drive from home to work (defining my positive direction), then my velocity is positive if I go to work, but negative when I go home from work. It is all about direction seen from how I defined my positive axis.
Consider an example where I end up further back than where I started. I must have had negative net velocity to end up going backwards (I end at a negative position). But only because backwards and forwards are clearly defined as the negative and positive directions, respectively, before I start.
So, does negative velocity exist? Well, since it is just a matter of words that describe the event, then yes. Negative velocity just means velocity in the opposite direction than what would be positive.
At the core of it, signs have no meaning in real life. Directions have meaning, and signs are a mathematical way to indicate or alter 1-dimensional direction.
Comment: Similarly, time can be positive (tomorrow) and negative (yesterday).
Comment: @AndrejSlavejkov you are confusing speed and velocity. Speed is the absolute distance (positive) divided by absolute time (positive). Velocity is relative distance (end - start) divided by time. So if you move towards the negative axis, "end" is smaller than "start" and the number you compute is negative. If you like, as a vector you write velocity = speed * $\vec{\mathrm{direction}}$ and the sign of direction can be anything...
Comment: @AndrejSlavejkov - I am glad if my comments helped, but all I did was to reiterate what Steeven said. If this helped you, you might consider accepting his answer (little check mark). It will give him some deserved reputation.
Comment: @AndrejSlavejkov Velocity is a vector. Vectors can't be negative, strictly speaking. But for a 1D vector (which can only be pointing two ways) you can call one way positive or forwards, and the other way negative or backwards.
Comment: You're missing what others are saying. When talking about velocity, we're not talking about scalar numbers. We're talking about vectors. If we choose a coordinate system and place your house at the point (0,0,0) and your workplace at (1,0,0), and you travel from your house to your workplace at 1 unit per second, then your velocity is (1,0,0). If you travel from your workplace to your house at 1 unit per second, your velocity is (-1,0,0). Your conception of velocity seems to be the magnitude of velocity. Both $v_1=(1,0,0)$ and $v_2=(-1,0,0)$ have a magnitude of +1, but $v_1 = -v_2$.
Comment: @Mindrus The magnitude of the velocity vector happens to be a scalar - we call this scalar "*speed*".
Comment: @Steeven: Well yes but isn't its direction defined by its destination (Wasn't sure how to put it in a sentence). From what i know its direction should be where ever it is going and should change once it changes its destination to, in this case "home".
Comment: @AndrejSlavejkov - if you are working in one dimension, "positive" and "negative" makes sense. But most vectors are multi-dimensional - at which point you define velocity as having (for example) three components. Some of these could be positive and others negative. Once you define your axes, the sign is determined.
Comment: @immibis - we were writing the same thing...
Comment: @Floris : Ok thanks for clarifying that. I am still confused about how that can mathematically be true though. If V=l/t then to have a negative velocity you would need to either have negative length or travel backwards in time (have negative time).
Comment: @floris: v=s/t sorry i was a bit late to edit.
Comment: @Floris : I cant believe i made such a mistake. thanks anyway for clearing it up. You too Shufflepants
Comment: Poor Steeven hit the rep cap already from this answer. And that was after only 2 hours. You're going to miss out on so many more votes today.
Comment: So I did a bit more research on what velocity is exactly since i wasn't sure (I haven't gotten to that part of education) and i found out that its direction is determined by the direction in which it is moving so when it changes its direction of moving example from moving east to west now it moves west to east its direction also changes so it should still be positive but in the other direction right?
Comment: @AndrejSlavejkov Yes, **in the other direction**. The key point here. I believe you are confused about a very specific thing here: Position **can indeed** be negative. Time in this case cannot. So, for $$v=\frac{s}{t}=\frac{s_{after}-s_{before}}{t_{after}-t_{before}}$$ if the position *after* is smaller than the position *before* then you have walked the *negative* distance (that is, backwards) to your endpoint. This gives, you according to this expression, *negative* velocity. You are right in trying to combine velocity with position, just wrong in thinking that position has to be positive.
Comment: @JimsBond So. Much. Sadness. :(
Comment: @Steeven 5 hours in and you missed out on 11 votes. Only 5 more hours until the cap resets. At this rate, you'll only miss out on 15 or 20 more.
Comment: @Steeven you say "Speed is a magnitude". I have been taught that speed is a scalar. Are magnitudes and scalars the same thing?
Comment: This is as unknown to me as it is to OP, but wouldn't it be theoretically possible to achieve negative velocity if space "stretches away" from a object faster than it is moving?
Comment: @koko Remember, velocity is relative to an observer.
Answer: From the math point of view, you cannot have "negative velocity" in itself, only "negative velocity in a given direction".
The velocity is a 3-dimension vector, there is no such thing as a positive or negative 3D vector.
However, if you consider the velocity in direction $\mathrm{x}$, where $\hat{\mathbf{e}}_{\mathrm{x}}$ is some unit vector giving a reference direction (say, "West"), then the velocity "in direction $\mathrm{x}$" is simply the scalar product of the velocity and $\hat{\mathbf{e}}_{\mathrm{x}}$. This quantity is a real number and can be negative. If it is negative, it is equal to $-1 \times \text{(velocity in direction -x)}$: compute the velocity in the opposite direction, and reverse the sign.
Comment: This is IMO a better answer than the accepted one: there is no such thing as a negative vector, there's only vectors with direction that happens in some basis to have negative coefficients.
Answer: I think one of the main reasons that you have velocity is to isolate a particular direction of movement from your forward speed.
If you travel North north east, you can extract the speed at which you move eastwards by calculating your eastwards velocity (possibly 1/3 of your speed travelling NNE).
Negative velocities probably arrived as a consequence of the fact that when measuring a velocity, you have to define a direction.
Answer: Negative and positive is arbitrary. If I defined north as positive, south would be negative. If I defined south as positive, north would be negative. The signage merely serves to provide direction for the velocity vector relative to some defined positive direction. All directions are arbitrary, and you can create any coordinate system for your events as long as everything is consistent with eachother.
We need this convention to explain position as a function of time, for example. If velocity was fixed to be positive, or similarly, if it were scalar, mechanics would have some issues, since it would mean an object could never decelerate let alone go backwards.
Answer: I will only consider one dimensional motion(motion along a single axis).The main objective of terms like position and velocity is to describe the motion of an object easily.
We define velocity to be the rate of change of position .By convention we choose a fixed point (along the axis of motion) and call it origin and define an object's position on that line based on the distance from this point. Again general convention is that distances measured towards right are positive and those measured towards left are negative (you can use them reversed if you want).You can easily see that in defining measurement of position this way we have covered all the points on the axis.In these conventions a position 2m means 2m right of origin and a position -6m means 6m left of origin.
Now you would have heard that the sign of velocity gives direction, but first of all directions are again just references made by us .By trial and error we can make out the physical meaning of + or - sign  .
(By convention you call the direction in which the negative numbers increase negative direction(i.e left in this case) and the direction in which positive number increase the positive direction (i.e right in this case)).
Example:-
You see an object  first at 2m and then at -3m after 5s . You say that it has moved towards left or in the negative direction . Now by the definition of velocity you calculate change in position (-3-2)m = -5m (analysing you can see that the "-" came out automatically as a result of our convention) and change in time = 5s.
Dividing you get velocity as (-1m/s) or you can say that the object was moving towards left at 1m/s .In this way you can figure out what the negative sign means . It simply means that the motion is towards the negative direction or towards left.(As you can see our definitions and conventions help us describe completely the motion of an object , both the rate at which it moves and where it moves)
Answer: In the computer language FORTH the turtle can go anywhere in the plane, going always 'ahead' X units and turning left or right by a Y angle units. The turtle ignores the notion of negative and yet it moves i.e. in any referential the space coordinates vary in time , and it has a velocity.
The Question and several of the Answers do not know the difference between  the positive nature of any amount of a physical quantity and the representation in a  referential that was constructed by convention and ease of use. Compare the Polar  referential there are no negatives and the usual Cartesian one.
By example : the length of something, the distance from here to there is always positive.
A vector is a pair of magnitude and direction, the length of it is positive by definition.
When we represent that an object move from the position 0 to -X and then back to 0 we can not say that it moved 0 units (-4+4=0)  of length . In fact it moved twice the length 4, i.e. 8 units of length.
If it took 2 seconds in that motion (see velocity versus speed notion) than we can not add the two vectors and say the .. is 0.
That link provides a distinction between two different notions of speed in the textbooks and the concept of velocity.
def 1 : $s=\frac{distance}{\Delta\ t}$ (it depends on the path)
def 2 : $s=\left|\frac{\vec{v}}{\Delta\ t}\right|$


In Revolutionary Girl Utena, what is the metaphor of Nanami's egg?

Question: Ikuhara had said it would be better if we didn't know, but I want to know. What is the meaning behind Nanami's egg? Especially when she wakes up from an apparent dream, and finds a smashed egg in her bedsheets.
Answer: Touga says to Nanami, towards the end of the episode:

Do you know why we've been able to live together so happily? It's because you aren't the type of girl who lays eggs. I pity the family of a girl who would betray them like that.

So it can't be that the egg is simply an indication of the beginning of Nanami's menstrual cycles: there's nothing socially unacceptable per se about girls having periods. Rather, Touga's comments suggest "deviant" behaviour. Presumably this is something sexual: Nanami produces an egg, and Anthy "wonders who the father is", after she says that Nanami might have laid an egg.
Thus, it's possible that the egg takes on the meaning of an undesirable pregnancy: Nanami feels forced to abandon it, and the egg is found shattered one morning.
However, the concerns Nanami picks up before she talks to Touga can evoke anxiety over puberty.

She wakes up in bed one day and notices an egg---similar to how a girl might notice her menstrual blood out of the blue. (This could perhaps be similar to the discovery of a pregnancy, but it wasn't an immediate connection for me.)

Nanami also doesn't know what is going on and is as a result scared. I'm not sure if ignorance about menstruation was common in the 1990's though.

Nanami becomes convinced that it's normal for girls to produce eggs. She then worries that she'll be mocked for not laying an egg earlier. When Nanami mishears Juri's words and believes Juri has produced eggs since the age of seven, she thinks Juri is very "mature". This parallels the linkage of puberty to a desirable sort of maturity and anxieties about the normalcy of one's body.
However, this could just as easily be about sex (rather than puberty). (Having sex can be associated with maturity; one might feel abnormal for not having had any.)

I would avoid trying to impart too much meaning to the egg (since there's nothing that entirely fits), but we can thus at least safely say that it is linked to sex (and being initiated into it) and possibly puberty. (Note that sex and puberty can be linked. For instance, one is "mature" not just for having a developed body, but also for having sex.)
Answer: That episode was . . . weird, as weird as when Nanami became a cow.
Anyway, my interpretation of it was based on the fact that the episode "Nanami's Egg" falls into the Akio Ohtori Saga. This is roughly two thirds of the Apocalypse Saga. The content is more sexually suggestive in this saga: scenes involving Akio's car seemed to always be sexually suggestive, with his, Touga's and Kyouichi's shirts opening partway through the ride or when posing for photos, and Kozue's first sexual experience was in the back of that car with Ruka Tsuchiya.
Because of this I got the impression that the episode represented Nanami entering puberty as we  know that women to begin produce eggs during puberty. She begins to fret over the discovery of an egg in her bed probably because she hasn't been taught about puberty. When she accepts it and raises the egg, I took this as the transition of Nanami growing up from a girl to a woman/mother.
Comment: @Hydrocity good point, also considering Nanami's feeling to Touga, mentally she may think of the egg as her's and Touga's so it breaking may reflect a "broken child", a miscarriage or an society forced abortion because of how the child is incest (remember that Nanami and Touga still share the same parents but Nanami doesn't remember that they both were adopted)
Comment: That's a good theory! Maybe when she wakes up to find the cracked egg in her bed, it's symbolic of a miscarriage or abortion.
Answer: Nanami's Egg isnt any single thing but is instead a representation of the difficult nature that a growing woman experiences.
In a sense her egg is her menstruation starting.
No one talked to her about it, so when it happened her first reaction was panic. "Is there something wrong with me?"
She does not want to talk to others about it because what if it isnt normal? She later does not want to talk to her friends about it because what if it IS normal and it was supposed to happen sooner?
In a sense her egg is pregnancy
Her brother mentions they can live their life well because "she isn't the kind of girl to lay an egg"
Shame on a girl who lays an egg! The scrambling of eggs here can be interpreted as getting an abortion. "If juri has eggs then..." and then the egg scrambles by men.
The egg is her virginity/sexuality
This is best illustrated by the scenes where men are provocatively eating eggs. While in some ways this can be interpreted as aborting unplanned pregnancy, the method in which it is depicted is also suggestive. Miki looks embarrassed by talking of eggs earlier, and these could indicate that that its the loss of virginity.
The Egg is Masturbation
She runs into Saionji out in the woods "making his eggs" because it was such a nice night. Wile Juri is talking about bowling balls, she talks about how fun it is and how she has tons of different weights and sizes at home.
Ultimately the Egg represents Taboo Topics and how it feels to be a woman
Combining the above concepts and imagry along with the scene in the woods where she finds her egg and its massive with spotlights, it indicates that the egg can mean a lot of things and that when you are young and dont understand whats happening, these feel like huge problems looming over you. Its a massive egg everyone can see.
Finally the egg that is broken is her loss of innocence
Which is a common theme rolled in with things like this. The understanding that life is complicated and there are these struggles against society that maybe shouldn't even be there is impactful. This broken egg is her coming to terms with this.
Answer: Nanami's egg is the sign both literally and figuratively of her becoming a woman. Her egg is her period.
Comment: What makes you say this? Can you point to elements of the show that favor this interpretation?
Comment: FWIW the egg can't _merely_ represent womanhood or menstruation, given Touga's negative comments about laying eggs.


flashgot icon not appears on firefox bar?

Question: I reset my firefox settings. Before reseting firefox, there was an icon appeared on firefox (beside address bar) of flashgot when watching flash videos. Now it is not showing there..after reseting the firefox. I reconfigured every add-ons and all. But it is not showing up??
Answer: Now i use Download helper for selecting flashgot. DH has a menu which leads to flashgot. It much better than before.
Answer: go to View/Toolbars/Customize and drag the Flashgot icons.
Also, in FlashGot options/FlashGot Media check 'Show toolbar button'


Which castling method is superior?

Question: Chess has two types of castling: kingside and queenside.
Which one is more advantageous near the beginning of the game?
Comment: I upvoted it. It could have been better worded, "what are the advantages and disadvantages of each." But there is a clear (if simple) fork in the road, that gets to some subtle points. One way is associated with an earlier style of play and the other with a different (more modern) style.
Comment: Wasn't this question already closed?
Answer: Neither method of castling is superior to the other.  They are completely position-dependent.  Neither method is advantageous at the beginning of the game relative to each other.
One of the major factors in Chess is position, so you have to choose where to castle based on the opening you're using.
There are two purposes for castling:

Protect the King
Develop the Rook

Some details:

Castling queenside will put your rook on a center file.
Castling queenside will leave your King open to a diagonal threat.
Castling kingside will have tend to have your King protected even from the diagonal
Castling kingside will usually mean that you have to move your Rook again.
Castling kingside can generally be done sooner since there are less pieces to move out of the way.

Of course, you can see, it all depends on your opening.  If you're moving a lot of queenside pieces then it may do you well to castle queenside, but it depends on your pawn structure.  If you're doing a King's pawn opening, then you'll probably end up castling kingside.
Answer: In the "old" days, people preferred kingside castling. It was faster (only two pieces in the way instead of three). It also meant that you could use your pawns on the "long" (queen) side for maneuvering, without worrying about leaving your king unprotected. One obvious advantage of kingside castling was that it protected the rook pawn, castling on the other side, you need an extra move to do this. In an era when openings were "short" (about ten moves), this was an advantage.
Currently, people are beginning to pay more attention to queen side castling. That's partly because the methods of attacking on the kingside have mostly been worked out, but they are less familiar on the queenside. Another reason is that the rook lands on a center (queen) file instead of a bishop file, which could be more useful for in controlling the center.
Nowadays, the tendency is for longer openings. If you don't mind taking an extra move to move out the queen (and maybe a second extra move to allow the king to protect the rook pawn), the advantages mentioned in the last paragraph could argue in favor of queenside castling.
Answer: One thing that has not been mentioned is opposite side castling. (can happen in some variation of the Sicilian)
Players can then storm the opponent's castle with pawns which results in a wide scale fight.

Which castling method is superior?


Rule of thumb for enemy art design in 2D platformer

Question: I'm at the early stages of developing a 2D side scrolling open ended platformer (think Metroidvania) and am having a bit of difficulty at enemy design inspiration for something of a scifi, nature, fantasy setting that isn't overly familar or obvious. I haven't seen too many articles, blogs or books that talk about the subject at great length. Is there a fair rule of thumb when coming up with enemy art with respect to keeping your player engaged?
Comment: Since the question was tagged 'art', I assumed the design aspect was focused on that and edited the question accordingly. Polling for guidelines on overall enemy design would probably be overly broad.
Comment: Are you specifically talking about character art? (Design, in game development, usually refers to gameplay mechanics and rules.)
Comment: Well, I would have though designing an enemy encompassed art + form + function (but I most certainaly could be wrong). But any info at all about art or gameplay mechanic inspiration would be most helpful.
Comment: It's rare for a single developer to be in charge of the fine detail of both the way a character behaves and the way a character looks to the player. Both sides could possibly have useful guidelines, but since they are largely unrelated it wouldn't make much sense to cover both in one question.
Comment: Updated for clarity... Any takers?
Comment: Downvote explaination?
Answer: You should look at your design document. It should contain background information about the world your game plays in. You do have a design doc, do you?
If not, start by thinking about the setting...
Medival european fantasy? Arabian nights fantasy? Cyberpunk megacity with a hint of magitech?
What kind of places would you find in such a world?
Who would live in such a place?
Rats and mutants in abandoned sewers?
Why are they living in the sewers? Poverty? Social Stigma? Choice?
Asking questions about the world your game is set in can guide you towards certain design decisions, or might even imply certain art choices, e.g. sewers - dim & gritty, metropolis - clean and shiny.
Where does the enemy come from might allude to what they look like.
E.g. soldiers from kingdom X might wear wooden armor because they don't know smelting.
The design might also be influenced by the needs of the story, e.g. you might want easy enemies for the start of the game, so you might want to limit enemies in the first stages to grunts, while in the later stages, you can go wild with ubergrunts and elite troops with shields and katanas and rolleskates (or jetpacks, or wings) or something.
For more on creating worlds, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worldbuilding
There are a lot of recurring 'tropes' you could use, too: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Trope
e.g. http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/UniqueEnemy
WARNING: Browsing tvtropes.org can lead to excessive wikiwalking!
Finally, you could get inspiration from other games. I watched some speedruns of the contra series on youtube lately... lots of different enemies in small 30 minute packages.
Answer: I found this to be a good source, in an attempt to address similar challenges that I faced.
Hope this helps.
Comment: We usually try to avoid duplicate questions, not duplicates of valid answers. Also, a single link is rarely acceptable as an answer. In cases like these, you should write an extract of the article you're referring to, which is relevant to the question.
Comment: -1: You linked to an "answer" that contains only a link.
Comment: My understanding is that to avoid duplicate posts, I should link to my previous answer that was similar to this. Apologies for the misunderstanding.
Comment: Lol. Agreed. Strangely enough, this is what I usually do on stackexchange. Will attempt to be comprehensive in future.


What's eating this Amaryllis?

Question: This is in a garden in a 6b zone. The garden is shaded a big part of the day. I don't live nearby, so I can't watch what's happening there.
Answer: I'd place the blame on squirrels or more likely, field mice. I opened your image in another window and it looks like scrape marks from incisors. Have you ever seen either about? Squirrels are bolder and far more visible. You'd see mice rarely and never while you were outside.
I'm not say Stephie's wrong and I'm right. I'm only adding another possibility. I've found mice and squirrels love bulb plants too (excluding garlic, onions and leeks).
Comment: Haven't seen squirrels, but the area is surrounded by trees, so I can't rule them out. I have seen cats there, the garden is a shortcut they take between buildings because it provides camouflage.
Answer: I'd blame slugs.
Partly because putting the blame on them means one will be right in like 50% of all cases, partly because I see no clear bite marks, which fits with their method of eating by rasping off parts of the plants.
Yes, there are no slime traces, but slugs need to expell less slime in shaded, more humid areas and if you had some rain, it might also be washed off (are those droplets on the grass and leaves rain, dew or from watering?).
And finally, I have noticed that at least in my garden slugs show a clear preference for everything with a bulb, whether allium, tulips or something else.
Comment: Yes, the droplets are from rain that could have washed the traces.
Answer: It looks like incisors or just plain old damage. If it continues, one could spray some tabasco on it cut with a pint of water and two drops of dish soap. It seems like they didn't like it because the stalk is still there. My squirrels and rabbits figure out something's good and finish it off. I have found planting garlic or green onions amongst things keeps 4, 6, and eight-legged critters away. I'm planting out 40 baby amaryllis bulbs this weekend, so you've got me worried. :-o

What's eating this Amaryllis?


Planetary immolation part 2: gamma radiation blast

Question: I am working on a book that features a form of "colonization" by destroying all life on a planet. The result of my first question related to this question : planetary-immolation resulted in a suggestion of Gamma radiation blast, that results from possibly aimed exhaust from a tuned fusion rocket. Now in regard to this idea what would the mechanism be and what would this look like from a local planetary POV (local inhabitant view)?
Comment: Since most hospitable planets lie within the Goldilocks zone meaning they orbit at a tight circle around their stable star(yellow) so why not attach some lightning rods on the surface to attract solar flares but you must ensure the planet magnetic field is weakened.
Comment: You would need one huge rocket to do that. If you wanna immolate the surface of a planet, might I suggest a more modest RKV (relativistic kill vehicle)? Slam a one million or even a one thousand ton rocket into a planet at 99% the speed of light and that bitch is gonna burn like dry tinder. It'd be way easier and much less wasteful than trying to destroy the surface with fusion rocket exhaust.
Comment: @Z.Schroeder I believe the point was to keep the planet habitable, per the other linked question.
Comment: these are all great answers given the context I have given. That said, I picked the the answer that works with the context provided...however it is not going to work with what I need/want, as I should really provide context in the framework of the book and not in a previous answer to my original question --that is why I awarded the points to the answer as I did...ok so stay tuned  for the question in context to what I really need...thank you all up to this point .. bare with me please , I am used to using stackexchange as a programmer, this forum is a bit new to me :)
Answer: Known causes of high energy gamma rays capable of sterilizing a planet are from astronomical events, releasing far more energy than any mere K-1 civilization might be able to muster. The most likely candidates are the implosions of massive Type II Supernova, or the violent collision of neutron stars. Based on astronomical observations, these events generate "beams" of gamma rays with observed energies peaking at about 5.5 × 10^41 J.
It is perhaps possible this has actually happened far in  Earth's past. There seems to be some evidence the Ordovician–Silurian extinction events 450 million years ago were caused by a gamma ray burst.
As to what it might look like, Wikipedia has a description here

Earth's atmosphere is very effective at absorbing high energy electromagnetic radiation such as x-rays and gamma rays, so these types of radiation would not reach any dangerous levels at the surface during the burst event itself. The immediate effect on life on Earth from a GRB within a few parsecs would only be a short increase in ultraviolet radiation at ground level, lasting from less than a second to tens of seconds. This ultraviolet radiation could potentially reach dangerous levels depending on the exact nature and distance of the burst, but it seems unlikely to be able to cause a global catastrophe for life on Earth

So the short term effect for those on the ground would be: not much. No dramatic events like the sky catching fire, or concrete buildings melting, in other words.
The true killer effects happen downrange of the burst impacting the Earth, when the high energy radiation changes the chemical composition of the Earth's atmosphere, stripping away the Ozone layer and filling the sky with photochemical smog and nitric acid rains down from the sky, poisoning the water supply.
Answer: The only means I can think of that would be within the range of a K2 civilization would be antimatter.  Throw clouds of antimatter at the planet, when they hit the atmosphere you get very hot gamma radiation.
However, I'm having a hard time seeing this do more than frying the ozone layer.  For the highest energy gamma rays I can find on a chart the atmosphere is basically a perfect shield.  Unfortunately, the highest energy I can find an attenuation factor for is 500kev, some zeroes shy of the hot ones that will be emitted when the nucleus annihilates.