Why would a more expensive camera have lower megapixels?

Question: Recently, I was on the Panasonic website and came across this camera. When looking at it I noticed it had 12.1 megapixels, which is really low compared to cheaper cameras. So why is the megapixels so low on this camera and what does lowering the megapixels do to a camera's image? One thing I do know is lowering the megapixels give the image more sharpness, but I have no idea what that means.
Comment: I don't think you have read any of what I suggested you read about megapixels on your previous question(answered by me 25mins ago) here: http://photo.stackexchange.com/a/70458/4892 Please read that before asking more questions about megapixels. Namely: [Do megapixels matter with modern sensor technology?](http://photo.stackexchange.com/questions/14773/do-megapixels-matter-with-modern-sensor-technology)
Comment: About $50,000 with the 80mm lens.
Comment: Well. TOTALY relative. This one has a good 80Mpx... and cost a lot! https://www.phaseone.com/en/Products/Camera-Systems/XF-Camera-System.aspx
Comment: @Rafael how much does it cost? I couldn't find a price for it.
Answer: Price and megapixels are not related. There are small compact cameras with 20 MP such as the Nikon L32 which goes for less than $100 USD and full-frame ones which have only 12 MP such as the Sony A7S II which costs $3000 USD. For a given sensor-size though, more megapixels require smaller pixels which by the simply laws of physics gather less light. Less light means more noise which diminishes image-quality.
For this reason, manufacturers often offer slightly lower resolution on premium models and sometimes have introduced a newer model with fewer megapixels to improve image-quality. Panasonic, Canon and Nikon have all done this at some point in their premium compact. The top compact from Panasonic is the LX100 which captures 12 MP (from a larger 16 MP sensor actually) while their low-end FZ40 has 20 MP.
The common fallacy is to equate image-quality and megapixels. Professionals know the value of megapixels is the print sizes they allow. More megapixels means larger prints are possible but there are advantages to fewer megapixels:

Lower image-noise. Sensor-size dominates low light performance but at equal sizes, fewer pixels are better. Look at the 42 MP Sony A7R II vs the 12 MP Sony A7S II which are almost identical except that the lower resolution A7S II can shoot at ISO 409,600 vs 102,400 for the A7R II.
Lower resolution equals less data to read off the sensor. This lets a camera shoot continuously faster and for longer. A 16 MP Nikon D4X shoots at 11 FPS vs a 36 MP Nikon D810 which reaches 5 FPS.
Better dynamic-range. This really is in direct relation to pixel-size.
Comment: What about running noise reduction on the higher-resolution and _then_ downsizing? It seems like more data could provide better results, possibly even surpassing the advantage of having a larger photosite.
Comment: Downsizing a 42MP image to 12MP will pretty much negate the noise advantage of the 12MP sensor.
Comment: There are more reasons than just megapixels between the difference in maximum frame rate of the D4 vs. the D810, namely the difference in shutter assemblies. Buffer depth (and firmware) is as important as file size when considering how long a frame rate can be maintained. The 20MP Canon 7DII can maintain 10fps in JPEG until the card is full, and 31 raw frames with an UDMA7 CF card. The older 7D could only maintain 8fps for 126 JPEG/15 raw to an UDMA CF card with the original firmware. Version 2 of the 7D firmware raised that to 130 JPEG/25 raw.
Comment: Yes, of course, technology advances but when all else is equal, lower data rate will give a speed advantage until the mechanical limits of the shutter-speed and mirror.
Comment: Actually, downsizing helps but it does not make up the difference completely. Many cameras do that or pixel-binning to reach for lower resolution images and it just does not get as clean. You are averaging noise but the point is that THERE is still more noise. Often the result is loss of contrast or lower dynamic-range.
Comment: @mattdm - that's the rationale behind the pureview 41mp sensors and it seems to work well for them...
Answer: The cost of a sensor is not determined by the pixel count.  We can put a 41mp sensor in a 10.67x8mm chip (as used in the Nokia PureView smartphone) but you won't find a 370Mp full-frame camera in the shops, which is what the same density of pixels would be on a full-frame sensor...  The costs of sensors are dictated by other factors which determine the sensitivity of those pixels such as the fabrication 'process' size and the physical size of the sensor chip.
Larger sensors tend to produce better quality images but cost more money as fewer sensor chips can be produced from a wafer and also minor imperfections which can occur have a greater impact (see What limits the size of digital imaging sensors? as MichaelT's answer is excellent.)  Using a smaller process size means more of the chip surface can be dedicated to catching photons, but each 'iteration' is more expensive to work with.
This difference can be seen in the specifications too, I've taken two 16Mp Panasonic cameras pretty much at random and compared them on dpreview we get...

...and in this selection the specs all looks pretty similar apart from the sensor size and the price tag.  But once we factor in how this affects the image performance of the camera we find that the GF7 has an additional 2 stops of sensitivity so it is able to capture a much wider range of tones accurately.  Essentially the sensor is larger and the output is better in every way we can measure.
With a better sensor, manufacturers start to include other features to go with it and there the two cameras become radically different - for example the GF7 can take many more shots per second, it saves high-quality raw files, the fastest shutter speed for freezing action is 3-stops faster, it offers more control over how the shot is taken through metering modes and the list of features available only grows from there and each feature adds costs to the build of the camera.
We could do the same with other cameras like the Nikon D4/D810 where the D4 is double the price for 1/2 the pixels, but the story is similar there - the D4 can take pictures in exceptionally low light and the shutter mechanism is engineered and built for constant use - all day, every day.
TL;DR Aside from a spot of willy-waving the megapixel race was for the most part over a long time ago.  You have to look at a camera as a whole system before you can appreciate how good a camera is and why it might be more expensive.
Answer: More expensive cameras don't always have fewer megapixels. In fact, more often than not, the cameras with the highest megapixel count are often fairly expensive when compared to cameras with a lower megapixel count and similar features. The camera you have referenced has a lot of features not directly related to sensor design that contribute to its price. It seems to be primarily intended as a video camera with enough resolution to use frame grabs as still photos. And the $600 price tag pales in comparison to the 50MP Canon 5Ds that lists for $3,700 without a lens!
Comment: The photos will always be larger for a camera with more megapixels... (all else being equal)
Comment: The photo's would be very on the Canon 5Ds.
Comment: @Ethan very... what? I'm not sure I understand your comment and have the feeling something is missing.
Comment: @null I meant to add the word large


Density and Fourier approximation

Question: Let $\mathbb{T}$ denote the 1-d torus and $H^s(\mathbb{T})$ the Sobolev space of order $s\geq0$ of complex-valued functions on $\mathbb{T}$ with the identification $H^0 (\mathbb{T}) = L^2 (\mathbb{T})$. Let $\mathcal{T}_N$ denote the span of the first $N \in \mathbb{N}$ trigonometric polynomials and $P_N : L^2(\mathbb{T}) \to \mathcal{T}_N$ the standard Fourier projection. It is easily shown, by passing to sequences, that, for any $f \in H^s (\mathbb{T})$ with $s \geq 1$,
$$\|f-P_Nf\|_{L^2} \leq \bar{N}^{-s}\|f\|_{H^s}$$
where $\bar{N} = \sqrt{1 + N^2}$. Consider now the following simple argument. Let $f \in H^1(\mathbb{T})$ and fix $0 < \epsilon < 1$. Since $C^\infty (\mathbb{T})$ is dense in any $H^s (\mathbb{T})$ space, there exists a function $g_\epsilon \in C^\infty (\mathbb{T})$ such that
$$\|f - g_\epsilon\| < \frac{\epsilon}{2}.$$
Triangle inequality implies
$$\|g_\epsilon \|_{H^1} < \frac{\epsilon}{2} + \|f\|_{H^1}.$$
Since $g_\epsilon \in C^\infty (\mathbb{T})$, we have $g_\epsilon \in H^m (\mathbb{T})$ for any $m \in \mathbb{R}$, and, just to keep this as simple as possible, let's pick $m=2$. Then
$$\|g_\epsilon - P_N g_\epsilon\|_{L^2} \leq \bar{N}^{-2} \|g_\epsilon \|_{H^1} \leq \bar{N}^{-2} ( \frac{\epsilon}{2} + \|f\|_{H^1} ) \leq \frac{\epsilon}{2}$$
simply by picking the smallest $N \in \mathbb{N}$ such that $\bar{N} \geq \left ( \frac{4 \|f\|_{H^1}}{\epsilon} \right )^{1/2}$.
By triangle inequality, we obtain $\|f - P_N g_\epsilon\|_{L^2} \leq \epsilon$.
So, we have shown that, given any $f \in H^1 (\mathbb{T})$ then, for any $N \in \mathbb{N}$, there exists $g_N \in \mathcal{T}_N$ such that
$$\|f - g_N\|_{L^2} \leq 4 \bar{N}^{-2} \|f\|_{H^1}.$$
In fact, we could have done much better and gotten a super-algebraic rate of convergence and, if instead working on $\mathbb{T}^d$, avoided the curse of dimensionality. My immediate question about this (apart from is it correct) is how does one reconcile it with that fact that $P_N$ is the optimal $L^2$-projector onto $\mathcal{T}_N$. In particular, $P_N f$ should be the best one can do when approximating from $\mathcal{T}_N$. This suggests one can do a lot better, provided more regularity is available and is perhaps related to the fact that $H^1$ is relatively compact in $L^2$? Another point of view is that method approximation, particularly $f \mapsto g_\epsilon$ is discontinuous (there are lower bounds that would imply this but they are for non-linear methods and what bothers me most is that $\mathcal{T}_N$ is a linear space). Is the operator of best approximation from $\mathcal{T}_N$ in $L^2$ linear or continuous? Any thoughts on this would be helpful. Thanks.
Answer: I see the glaring error in this now. I applied the bound with the $H^1$ norm on $g_\epsilon$ when it should have been with the $H^2$ norm but then, there's no way to relate that to the $H^1$ norm of $f$. Things make sense again. Please close/delete this.

Density and Fourier approximation


Where/how are uploaded images stored in Cognito Forms?

Question: I created a form in Cognito Forms and tested it out with some fake info. I uploaded some images also. I am able to view/download the results in Excel. But, how & where are the uploaded images stored?
Answer: Thanks for your question! I'm a developer for Cognito Forms.
Any attachments uploaded with form entries are stored on our cloud servers and cannot be mass exported with the rest of the form entry data. However, you can download individual attachments by going to the "Entries" page and clicking the file within the entry.
We are working on the option to mass export our form attachments, and you can track the progress of this and other upcoming features on our Idea Board.
Please let us know if there is anything else we can help you with.
Answer: OK, I was able to find it!  It does not appear in the expanded list, instead once you click a result in the expanded list, it will show your form and you can select the image in the form, and then save that image to your computer.  Thanks.


Health App under ios 8.3

Question: I just updated to ios 8.3 on an iPhone5S. I notice that since the upgrade I no longer see the minimum and maximum number of steps or distance i have walked in the health app. It only shows an upper and lower line, not an exact number. It still reads the average over the period but i want my minimum and maximum back. Any ideas on how to do this?
Answer: Unfortunately, not possible, afaik.
I think they likely made the change to make the scale easier to read, but the side effect is you have less info at hand.

Health App under ios 8.3


Honda Civic Touring 2014 - can use R16 instead of R17

Question: For a Honda Civic Touring 2014, can i use 205/55/R16 instead of 215/45/R17?
If not, what size should i use for 16" tires, as I want to use 16" tires.
Thanks
Comment: Thanks guys, I do have 16" rims with the same bolt pattern and center bore, just wondering if this size will work 205/55/r16 works instead of 215/45/17. Also has anybody experienced driving a low dia 16" rims after driving 17" rims. thks
Answer: If you have 17" rims, which you implied, you have to use 17" tires. You could get 16" rims for your 16" tires to fit on, but rims aren't cheap. The way you tell what rim size tires are for is the number after the R like: 215/45/R17.
You can't just put any tire on that will match the rim size.  You do have a lot of freedom, but you need to take into account rim width and make sure the tires won't rub against the wheel well when you turn also.
Here's an awesome tire size calculator that could help to demystify what tire numbers actually mean.  It is showing that those two tires are very similar, but their rims are different so they are definitely not interchangeable.
Edit:
After researching, this I figured out that your question is probably about swapping your 7Jx17 ET46 stock rim for a different trim Honda Civic's 6.5Jx16 ET48 rim.  This question would have a been a thousand times easier if you specified the trim and engine of your car and the car you're taking the rims off, but I made some educated guesses.
Based on that tire size calculator, your new wheels will be almost the exact same diameter and almost the exact same width so they should work without any adjustment or problems.  Wheels is the term that includes the rim and tire.
Your new rims will be 1/2" skinnier so the skinnier tires aren't a problem.
With the 1.8 engine, your car trim level is either an EX, EX-L, HF, or LX.  The front rotor for all four of those trims is the same (has the same part number).  It is roughly 10" in diameter.  I would bet that that rotor (and brake combo) can fit inside the 16" rims from a different trim Honda Civic.
Answer: The overall wheel diameter will not change much, as the other answers have already mentioned.
However there is less tread width with the proposed size and the smaller rim may give rise to brake disc clearance issues, so it's worth checking to see if the existing brake setup will clear the 16" rim.
Answer: You can use any size tire you feel like if they fit on your wheels. If you have 17 in wheels then there is physically no way to fit 16 in tires on them. To use the 16 in tires that you want you would have to buy 16 in wheels to match them.
Beyond that the tire size can be changed around. It may change the way your car feels and rides. Also if the size is chosen poorly it may affect the speedometer. To keep the speedometer curate either the computer needs reprogrammed to work with the new tires or the effective rolling diameter of the tires needs to be the same as factory.


an adsense bid reset button for people who just improved their site

Question: I don't like it sometimes when google adsense does things automatically because they are too slow.
Since I updated my website a bit, I want to be able to access a google URL once to indicate to them that my website has been updated and that the advertisers should re-think or redo their bids so that I get more accurate income.
I know one way is to go through each custom channel and change some info about each one even by one character, but I don't always want to take that route.
Is there another way I can do this?
I ask because I notice that when google believes I follow adsense rules 100% I consistently make more than 10 cents a day every day, but when they believe I screw up, I'll be lucky if I make 8 cents a day.
The problem is there is no way of me knowing the minute I have screwed up since I never get emails from them.and I only notice google's decisions through income at least several hours later. I'd rather know their decisions right away so I can fix any problems necessary right away and make the world happy.
I figure if I find that hidden "bid reset" button, then I can use it to tell advertisers to reset their bids for all ads on my site so I can get better income because then I'm telling everyone that I improved my site and want all to see. I don't want to wait around for several hours until google is ready to check my site. The hours are killing me.
Is there any way I can get access to this "bid reset" button that I described other than the method I described above?
Answer: Unfortunately there is no way to do this at the moment. Google won't let you force a recheck of your site out of their standard check for adsense.
Comment: Your answer sounds right, but what are you basing it on?   Is this from your personal experience with AdSense, or is that documentation about how the bids work that could be relevant?
Comment: I'm basing this on a question I asked Google about a year ago which was very similar and also to do with rechecking AdSense sites.


RBS on SharePoint 2013 file size limit

Question: I read the MSDN article (https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb933993(v=sql.105).aspx) where it says that enabling FILESTREAM storage will allow to overcome the limitation of 2GB file sizes. If I would enable Remote Blob Storage on SharePoint 2013 + SQL 2012, would it mean that the users will be able to uploaded files to document libraries without any size limitations? Or is there a limit even with RBS enabled? Thank you.
Answer: There always will be a maximum upload size for each web application, maximum timeout time in IIS for for each IIS site and a lot of other soft limits (thresholds, can be changed), but hard limits (boundaries) can never be changed.
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc262787%28v=office.15%29.aspx states:

Boundaries are absolute limits that cannot be exceeded by design. It is important to understand these limits to ensure that you do not make incorrect assumptions when you design your farm.
An example of a boundary is the 2 GB document size limit; you cannot configure SharePoint Server 2013 to store documents that are larger than 2 GB. This is a built-in absolute value, and cannot be exceeded by design.

Also https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff628583.aspx says:

RBS does not increase the storage limits of content databases. All limitations still apply to RBS-enabled content databases. RBS is intended to lower storage costs by allowing you to store large read-intensive BLOBs on less expensive drives.
Comment: Side-note: while `RBS does not increase the storage limits of content databases`, it allows to partially bypass SQL Express DB size limit, because content stored in RBS doesn't count against DB size. Can't find exact link to back this up, but I did it myself once and it worked.
Comment: Good point, thanks. https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb895334.aspx#SQLServerExpress: **SQL Server Express supports FILESTREAM. The 10-GB database size limit does not include the FILESTREAM data container.**

RBS on SharePoint 2013 file size limit


White sugar vs refined sugar

Question: What's the difference between white sugar and (pure) refined sugar and which one is better for baking?

Answer: These are technical terms that are meaningful only in the original Thai. The English translations are meaningless and have no relevance to cooking.
http://www.ratchakitcha.soc.go.th/DATA/PDF/2552/E/132/15.PDF
So you should say 'น้ำตาลทรายขาว' ('white sugar') and 'น้ำตาลทรายขาวบรสิทธุ' ('refined sugar')
น้ำตาลทรายขาว is further divided into 3 classes.
This results in 4 grades:

น้ำตาลทรายขาว grade 3 99.0% sucrose by ISS standard, 0.2% max reducing sugars
น้ำตาลทรายขาว grade 2 99.5%, 0.1% max reducing sugars
น้ำตาลทรายขาว grade 1 99.5%, 0.1% max reducing sugars
น้ำตาลทรายขาวบรสิทธุ  99.8%, 0.04% max reducing sugars

Max humidity and conductivity ash each then then 0.1% for น้ำตาลทรายขาว, and 0.04% for น้ำตาลทรายขาวบรสิทธุ.
These numbers are almost certainly useless to the cook.
The FAO has more useful standard names:
http://www.fao.org/input/download/standards/338/CXS_212e_u.pdf

white sugar - 99.7% pure sucrose
Plantation or mill white sugar - 99.5% pure sucrose
icing sugar - white sugar which has been finely powdered
soft white sugar - Fine grain purified moist sugar, white in colour with a
sucrose plus invert sugar content of not less than 97.0%
Soft brown sugar Fine grain purified moist sugar, light to dark brown in
colour with a sucrose plus invert sugar content of not less
than 88.0% m/m
Raw cane sugar Partially purified sucrose, which is crystallised from
partially purified cane juice, without further purification,
but which does not preclude centrifugation or drying, and
which is characterised by sucrose crystals covered with a
film of cane molasses.

Both น้ำตาลทรายขาวบรสิทธุ and น้ำตาลทรายขาว are in fact highly refined.
Tesco Lotus charges 22THB for น้ำตาลทรายขาวบรสิทธุ and 21THB for น้ำตาลทรายขาว
However if you refer to

น้ำตาลทรายขาวบรสิทธุ this is 22THB/kg
and this is 34THB/kg

I believe that legally this is also  'น้ำตาลทรายขาวบรสิทธุ' under Thai classification
Caster sugar may also be referred to as 'superfine' sugar. This is quite different from powdered/icing sugar as it is a process of making small crystals, not of grinding sugar to a powder. The smaller crystal size makes it very good for baking as it blends with butter etc. more easily than larger crystals.
Highly refined sugars as all those mentioned here are not necessarily good in that there are lots of flavours in sugar cane (all Thai sugar is obviously cane sugar), and personally I prefer to make for example banana bread (which is cake, not bread) using completely unrefined aren sugar made from arenga pinnata, which is around 0.5% ash, typically slightly fermented, and contains numerous impurities. The taste of the cake is far better than using highly refined sucrose. I'd probably use dark brown sugar if it were cheaper, but where I live aren is the cheapest so I use that.
In Thailand, Indonesia and probably quite a few other neighbouring countries sugar prices are highly regulated, and the terms น้ำตาลทรายขาว and น้ำตาลทรายขาวบรสิทธุ are likely to reflect political issues both as a key grower and exporter, but also consumer prices. Unregulated sugars for rich consumers could be much more expensive.
It does follow that น้ำตาลทรายขาวบรสิทธุ is slightly higher quality than น้ำตาลทรายขาว, in that the goal of both is simply to be pure sucrose (which actually varies slightly because cane sugar and beet sugar, due to different carbon isotopes), and if you were to choose only one, you might as well have the one with the smallest crystals and highest purity (in that order). But the purity is much less important than crystal size.
Answer: Interestingly Tesco don't seem to have any white sugar under their own label in UK stores.
They sell a white British beet sugar and a white cane sugar under the brands 'Silver Spoon' and 'Trade Aid UK' respectively, but as both of the packets you show are illustrated with sugar canes that is unlikely to be the distinction here.
In the UK market white sugar comes in three types by grain size: 'granulated', 'caster' and 'icing'.
Of those, 'caster' is generally recommended

Caster sugar has more finely ground crystals than granulated sugar, which means that it can dissolve faster than granulated sugar in creamed mixtures, whips, and more. Caster sugar is often called for in recipes for delicate baked goods like meringues, souffles, and sponge cakes.
Because of its ability to dissolve easily, caster sugar is also frequently used for sweetening drinks. Many bartenders use caster sugar in place of simple syrup when making cocktails. Source

There is not enough detail in your images for us to tell if grain size is the difference between these two sugars, but if it is, the smaller would be better for baking. Remember however that if you are measuring by volume rather than weight, you may need to adjust as finer granules will pack tighter.
Tesco in the UK are usually quite good at answering customer's queries via Twitter or email and should be able to answer more definitively.

White sugar vs refined sugar


Head bolt replacement on a Mustang gt 2005

Question: I had the engine on the car rebuilt and when the shop tried to start the car they found out that they had to use new phaser bolts. In less than 10,000 kilometers the engine is overheating and I suspect head gasket. When a 4.6 liter mustang engine is rebuilt do the head bolts need to be replaced? I know the shop purchased news headbolts but after the engine was torn down again to install new phaser bolts I don't think another set of new head bolts would be required?
Comment: Welcome to Motor Vehicle Maintenance & Repair!
Comment: "When a 4.6 liter mustang engine is rebuilt do the head bolts need to be replaced?" Yes, they are a one time use head bolt.
Answer: If by phaser bolts, you mean the phasers on the cams for Variable Valve Timing (VVT), you don't need to remove the heads to do this, so the head bolts should not have been touched the second time around. The cams sit on top of the heads. You'd have to tear down the front of the engine as well as taking the valve covers off, but the heads would stay in place.


What is this artillery shell?

Question: I found this in my Grandfather's basement. He served in World War 2, in the Pacific Theater. He sadly passed away and we have no idea if this is safe. Can anyone help with identifying this? It is 13 inches tall, and 3 inches in diameter. The only markings I found on it are T Z. Thanks
Comment: If it is empty, then it is probably safe. 3 inches (=76mm) was a very common caliber of many guns (on tanks, ships, etc.) Use a flashlight to see whether it is empty. Probably it is if your grandfather brought it in his basement:-)
Comment: Thank you for the excellent photographs.
Comment: Three weeks ago we found in our garden (in southern England) what looked to me like a WW2 grenade. It had rusted over. An emergency 999 call brought a policeman within five minutes, two more police in 20 minutes, an explosives expert 15 minutes later. The last was concerned because "it felt heavy" and the Army Logistics Corps were called and arrived after another 45 minutes. They x-rayed it and found to everyone's relief it was hollow. They were unable to confirm whether or not it was a grenade. We have lived in the house for 35 years and believe a fox had found it somewhere and dumped it.
Answer: WW2 Pacific Theater means US, British, or Japanese; let's start with the US. Long, solid, and pointy means anti-tank round, and it's capped. US anti-tank guns of 3" diameter means 75mm, 76mm, or 3 inch shell. 76mm and 3 inch would be overkill against Japanese armor, so probably a shell for the 75mm M2 tank gun. That cuts it down to an M72 or M61 shell. M72 is not capped, the M61 is. The M61's projectile is 13.2" long.
It is the projectile from a M61 or M61A1 75mm APCBC-HE-T shell (Armor-Piercing Capped Ballistic Capped High Explosive with Tracer). It is lacking its casing, which is good because that's a lot of gunpowder you don't have to worry about.

Armor-Piercing
Capped with a blunt, softer nose to prevent shattering against hardened armor or skipping off sloped armor.
Ballistic Capped again with an aerodynamic cap to improve performance.
Containing a small High Explosive charge in the base to detonate after penetration and fling shrapnel around inside the target.
Tracer at the back to help aim a second shot.

Because the ballistic cap is intact it is unlikely to have been fired.
The hollow bottom is where the explosive filler would go. It's empty so it's probably safe, but I'd still have an expert look at it. Perhaps call a local military museum.
Punching a 75mm hole in armor usually produced plenty of havoc and shrapnel on its own, and the explosive filler was often omitted.
Comment: @DevSolar I've added my process.
Comment: I don't actually doubt you're right, but it would be nice to know *how* you identified that shell, to the exclusion of anything else.

What is this artillery shell?


Is olfactory input processed by the thalamus?

Question: Is olfactory input processed by the thalamus? I know olfaction is the only sense that can bypass the thalamus, but are there cases where the input can project to the thalamus?
Answer: Short answer
Third-order olfactory neurons project to the thalamus and mediate conscious perception of odors.
Background
The human olfactory system is schematically depicted in Fig. 1. The olfactory system is indeed interesting, as it is the only sensory system in which the primary receptor cells project directly to the brain. The olfactory cells in the nasal sensory epithelium project via small, unmyelinated axons via the first cranial nerve to the olfactory bulb in the brain.
In the olfactory bulb, so-called mitral cells project to the olfactory cortex via the olfactory tract. Medial fibers project to the anterior olfactory nucleus and septal areas. Some others cross over to the contralateral olfactory bulb. Lateral fibers contact the primary olfactory cortex.
Now it becomes interesting - third-order neurons in aforementioned regions send projections to the dorsomedial nucleus of the thalamus, the basal forebrain, and the limbic system.
The thalamic connections are thought to mediate conscious perception of odor perception. The amygdala and the entorhinal area are neural components of the limbic system and may be involved in the affective and aversive components of olfaction.

Fig. 1. Olfactory pathway. source: Medscape


The mathematics of dreams, or better, the dreaming of mathematics

Question: I know that the meaning of dreams is a controversial topic and I do not think that they have a specific meaning, although I am certain, by experience, that dreams are deeply connected with what happens to us in everyday life. That is, most dreams are personal and thus an objective study of dreams would seem a bit of a paradox to me. In any case, I might already have shown my ignorance in the cognitive sciences by giving my misinformed opinion, but I am writing here to ask you how it is possible to prove a relatively simple mathematical theorem in a dream, which happened to me this early morning shortly before waking up. Proving a mathematical theorem is extremely complex, on a cognitive base, how is it possible to prove it while sleeping? My idea was that I registered the theorem and I had it embedded somewhere in my memory and this night it just bubbled up, with no rational implication. What do you think?
Answer: Did you remember the mathematical proof after you woke up?

You did not.
We often dream that we achieve something without actually achieving it. For example, we often dream that we meet a specific person, but in out dream that person does not have any specific characteristics but rather a blurry face and only a general shape. We just attach the label of a certain name ("Bob") or characteristic ("beautiful") to that general shape and thus feel that we have dreamed of Bob or a beautiful stranger. This makes it possible for us to dream of persons that are both our mother and our daughter at the same time, by simply attaching multiple labels to the same indistinct shape.
Similarly, we see a blurry page with vague but indiscernible mathematical symbols on it and the label "mathematical proof", so we feel that we had the proof in our dreams, while in fact there was nothing but a blurry page with the feeling of "solution" attached to it.
How does this work?
We know what a mathematical proof feels like. We know what meeting Bob feels like. And in a dream we can attach these feelings to anything. For example, a female shape might somehow feel like Bob to us; or dreaming of a field of flowers might feel like the solution to a mathematical problem to us. The attachment of the lable to this image might mean something (e.g. you think that Bob's wife is ruling him, or mathematical solutions have the same beauty to you as flowers), but they certainly don't mean that whatever the label is attached to is what the label says.
Think of a dream of flying. You feel as if you fly, because you remember or extrapolate that feeling from similar feelings (falling, being carried as a child, riding a car, etc.), but you certainly don't fly, because of course you are lying in bed. You just attach the feeling to some imagery (that you remember from tv) and then the label that you "fly".
You did.
Your conscious mind is very limited and weak, compared to your unconscious mind. Many problems are so complex that you cannot solve them consciously. In the case of difficult decisions, it usually helps to "sleep over them". Einstein famously found the solution to a theoretical problem while he slept.
When you sleep, what you do is you let the problem be, consciously. You stop considering it. And by doing that, you allow your unconscious to work it out (if it can). You don't have to sleep to do that. Often it is enought to stop thinking about the problem once you have accumulated all the fact, and allow your mind to wander. Mediation helps, daydreaming helps, whatever you can do to let the problem go and not focus on something else will allow your unconscious to solve the problem for you.
In the case of decisions, this is called intuition. You just know, but you cannot explain.
Comment: Firstly, thank you for your wonderfully written and extensive answer. Would it be too much to ask about the sources regarding the last part concerning the pedagogues? I am really interested in how I could improve my understanding and learning *capacity*.
Comment: @E.S.L., Sources are expected!  It's quite alright to ask!
Comment: I deleted that last paragraph. It is not relevant to your current question. If you are interested in learning and the unconscious, ask another question. Here is a related question: http://cogsci.stackexchange.com/questions/4514/what-is-the-most-effective-maximum-work-duration-per-day
Comment: Cheers for the link to the question, going to check it out right now!


Can splitting a monthly payment into two lower interest payed?

Question: For example if I have a monthly payment on a credit card or car loan and its 300 dollars per
Months at an interest rate of 2.5% will making 2 payments per month of 150 help me pay less interest? I've heard this before but not sure if it's true.
Comment: This would depend on the country and the terms of loan. Credit Card loans universally follow daily reducing balance. So yet it would help. Auto loans the interest maybe monthly accrued. Thus it may not help.
Comment: Another option is to use 2 payments to pay more than the amount due, such as paying 75% twice a month, so you are paying 150% ($450 in this case) per month.  You would need to make sure they apply the extra to the principal amount, which would decrease how much you pay overtime.  Basically, if you can pay extra to the principal amount, do that to reduce the amount of interest you pay in the long-run.
Answer: This depends in part on the bank holding your loan and the loan agreement.  Some loans will accept partial payments and apply them immediately; some will not accept partial payments at all, and some will accept the payment but hold the funds until the payment is at least your complete payment.  You should check your loan agreement to find out how the payment will be processed, as well as how it will be applied.
It also is relevant how interest is calculated and accrued; if your interest is a daily rate, then you may save some money this way, but if it's a monthly rate then you wouldn't necessarily.  Either way you wouldn't really save very much money; in your particular case you'd be saving $0.15 per month (.025/24 = .001 semimonthly interest rate, $150 paid halfway through the month means you pay .001*150 less interest).  Is that $0.15 worth it?  Up to you I guess.  If you're paying that for 5 year loan, you'll end up ahead $9 at the end of it.
Finally, there is a kind of program often offered to new mortgage holders where you pay every two weeks (like your paycheck) and thus 'pay down your mortgage faster by saving on interest', which is true, but it's because you make 26 half payments per year instead of 12 full (or 24 half) payments, not primarily because of particular savings on interest due to timing (and of course the program offerer has to make money somewhere!).  Paying an extra 8.33% each year is certainly a good way to pay off your loan faster, but it's not primarily due to the frequency of those payments.
Comment: Some of them don't even really apply your payment early. They hold the money until the due date ... Earning off of it of course. .
Comment: So *that's* how those mortgage payment plans work. I've always just thrown that junk mail away.
Answer: If the $300 due on a credit card is due at the end of the month and you make 2 payments of $150 during the month, the first half way through the month and the second at the end of the month, then yes you will save on interest. Note, if this is a Credit Card with an interest free period and you are paying the total amount due before the due date, then it will not save you anything by paying part of it earlier.
Interest on Credit Card is calculated daily, so if you pay $150 half way through the month then you will pay 2.5% x $150 / 365 days x 15 days = $0.15 less in interest than if you paid the full $300 at the end of the month.
The higher the interest rate and the more you pay early the higher the savings will be.
Comment: Careful, I agree with you on the card carrying a balance, but not a car loan or mortgage. You'd have to check the terms first. I can pay my mortgage 3 weeks early or 2 weeks late with no difference to the balance next month.
Comment: @JoeTaxpayer - most mortgages here work on interest being calculated daily and added at the end of the period (monthly). We also have offset accounts which are savings account linked to the mortgage and any funds you deposit reduce the interest on the loan from the day the funds are deposited. Never had a car loan, but I was mainly referring to the CC.
Comment: I know. Australia mortgage terms are to be envied by the rest of us. I know they exist, and it's why I'd always advise "check the terms".
Answer: Tricky question.  Many car leasing companies like to quote payments by the week or twice a month to make the car sound cheaper to carry.  If the lease or loan is calculated such that interest accrues monthly "not in advance" then any payments made prior to the date on which the interest is calculated will reduce the balance and therefore the interest.
However, many loans and leases are calculated at the beginning for the whole life of the agreement.  In that case, splitting each payment in half doesn't do anything to reduce the interest built in to the payments because the interest is calculated "in advance"


Should an interior non-load bearing wall stack up to a joist or stud?

Question: I am trying to add a partition in my garage and the ceiling joist does not line up with the wall studs. So my question is which one do I go by?
Answer: It shouldn't make any difference.  If it isn't any extra work I'd position the studs directly below the ceiling joists.  This will make everything just a little stiffer and more solid.
Answer: I'm not an expert, but, I would suggest you make sure your room is the size you want and line it up there. If parallel to the ceiling, the wall will not sway as much if you were to put a force against it, and mount it to the floor. Parallel to the wall stud, and you may have wall movement at the top unless you put blocks in to stop it. Non-load bearing is your choice.


How to get the final corners of a 4x4x4 in the correct position

Question: I'm trying to solve a 4x4x4 rubiks cube. I've finished the middle and side pieces so I can solve it like a 3x3x3 but I'm stuck on the penultimate step - positioning the final corners. The instructions say: "Due to the parity the amount of the correctly positioned yellow cubelets is limited to three cases: there's no yellow corner piece in the correct position, or there's only one, or all the four pieces are correct." But I have 2 corner pieces solved which should be impossible. Is there anything I can to to solve it?
Answer: There are a couple of possibilities.

You actually do have all the corner pieces in the correct places. Depending on the method you are using, the pieces don't necessarily have to be correctly oriented yet, so they may look like they are in the wrong place. Check if twisting the offending corners in place would solve them, and if so, you are good to continue.
There is another misplaced corner on the opposite (white) side. Start over from that step to fix.
You have an unsolvable cube, with six corners in their correct places, and the remaining two swapped with each other. This can only happen if your cube has been taken to pieces and reassembled incorrectly. It's impossible to swap only two corner pieces with each other by twists of the cube, so you'll have to take the cube apart and reattach the pieces in the correct configuration. To disassemble the cube, twist the top layer 45 degrees and insert a flat screwdriver tip (or a thin fork handle, or what have you) under the rotated layer, and apply a little pressure to pop a piece out. The rest of the cube will come apart a lot easier.

Hope this helps!
Comment: The OP is trying to use 3x3x3 instructions for a 4x4x4 cube. It's quite possible for a 4x4x4 cube to be similar to a 3³ (match middle squares and edges), but be in an impossible state (e.g. two corners swapped)


Electric Throttle Body Volvo S70 2000

Question: So I had my volvo brought in to replace the o2 sensor so I could get my emissions done. (Car ran completely fine). After picking it up, it ran fine to my house. The following day, when I turned the engine over, it shook really hard, puttered at 1 at idle, and I could not get the car to go above 25mph. When I returned to the shop, they plugged the OBD in and it threw a whole bunch of codes, when the kid hit "clear", the car instantly died. Battery is now dead, and they are saying the Electrc Throttle Body needs to be replaced. (Called it a freak thing and unrelated to the o2 sensor being replaced). Anyone have any input, please.
Comment: Welcome to Motor Vehicle Maintenance & Repair! Did you get the codes? I doubt the TB and O2 replacement are related, but the battery dying at the same time? That's pretty weird.
Answer: According to the Volvo community, this is a common issue.
https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/volvos-electronic-throttle-module-fiasco

Electric Throttle Body Volvo S70 2000


What is the best calendar pop-up to populate a web form?

Question: I want to be able to make an HTTP call updating some select boxes after a date is selected. I would like to be in control of updating the textbox so I know when there has been a "true" change (in the event the same date was selected). Ideally, I would call a function to pop-up the calendar and be able to evaluate the date before populating the text box...so I can do my validation before making a server call.
Answer: JQuery's datepicker is an extremely flexible tool. With the ability to attach handlers prior to opening or after date selection, themes, range selection and a variety of other incredibly useful options, I've found that it meets all my needs.
The fact that I sit next to one of its maintainers here at work is also fairly useful...
Answer: I've been playing with the jquery datePicker script - you should be able to do everything you need to with this.
Answer: YUI and ExtJs both have very nice looking and flexible calendars.
Answer: If you ever end up considering a JavaScript library/toolkit, Dijit, a widget system which layers on top of Dojo, has a calendar (Dijit calendar test page). I found it relatively simple to implement.
//Disclaimer: I'm in the middle of a love-hate relationship w/ Dojo at the moment, as I am in the process of learning and using it better.
Answer: I don't like the MS ASP.NET ajax, but their datepicker is superb. Otherwise, jQuery datepicker.
Answer: Check out the ASP.NET AJAX Calendar Extender or Steve Orr's drop down Calendar control.
Answer: I'm using the JSCalendar from Dynarch for a project I'm currently working on. It is LGPL licensed and really flexible (easy to customize to your needs). It has lots of features and looks good, too.
http://www.dynarch.com/projects/calendar/


If gravity of the Earth is so strong and pulling the moon

Question: If the gravity of the earth is so great that it is pulling the moon, then why aren't we - humans - so strongly attracted to earth that we can't even lift ourselves up?
Comment: 1. is indeed answered by the difference in mass you've read about; 2. is a duplicate of http://physics.stackexchange.com/q/34352/50583
Comment: I removed the 2nd duplicate subquestion. Please only ask one subquestion per post, cf. [this](http://meta.physics.stackexchange.com/q/6833/2451) meta post.
Answer: Gravity is proportional to the mass of both objects: in this case, a human is way less massive than the moon, so the Earth attracts much less a human than the moon.
Answer: The gravitational acceleration due to the Earth's gravitational field is given by:
$$ a = -\frac{GM}{r^2} \tag{1} $$
where $r$ is the distance to the centre of the Earth. Let's see what the gravitational acceleration of the Moon is. The Earth-Moon distance is $r = 384,400$ km, so the acceleration is:
$$ a \approx -0.0027\,\text{ms}^{-2} $$
That's about $0.00027g$, while the acceleration at the Earth's surface is $1g$. So the Earth does accelerate us humans on its surface far more strongly than it accelerates the Moon.
The force on the Moon is much greater because, as Newton's second law tells us, $F=ma$, i.e. you have to multiply the acceleration by the mass to get the force. But it's the acceleration that determines how the object is going to move.
The point is that the acceleration is independent of the mass. That was the point made by Galileo all those years ago. Objects in a gravitational field fall at the same rate regardless of their mass. This means we'd expect light to accelerate at the same rate as well, because it doesn't matter what the mass of the light is. Though in fact light is bent about twice as much as we'd expect due to relativistic effects. This is discussed in How can gravity affect light?
You might think it's odd that the Moon is accelerating so slowly, but because the Moon moves so slowly around the Earth (i.e. the angular velocity is slow) it doesn't need to be accelerated very much to keep it in orbit. The centripetal acceleration in a circular orbit is given by:
$$ a = r\omega^2 \tag{2} $$
The Moon completes an orbit, i.e. a rotation of $2\pi$ in $27.322$ days, so its angular velocity is:
$$ \omega \approx 2.66 \times 10^{-6}\,\text{radians per second} $$
If we feed this angular velocity into equation (2) we get:
$$ a \approx -0.0027\,\text{ms}^{-2} $$
which of course is the same as the gravitational acceleration.
Comment: I feel the point you made that states that accelerations is what matters could be misleading for the OP. For a person that  is sitting  down on Earth's floor, what matters to be able to move up is not the free fall magnitude of the acceleration, but how much force he needs to (and can) do against the floor, and how this force compares with the force from gravity. Thus, he can raise from the floor because, even if it is closer to earth than the moon, this force is smaller due to its smaller mass.


What does -fixcolnames do in log parser 2.2?

Question: I'm using Logparser 2.2 to try to bring a .csv filled with Performance Counter information into a SQL database, and I'm using the following command line command:
logparser "Select * into IISCounters from C:\Logfiles\IIS_Log.csv" -i:CSV -o:SQL -server:MJNHNX4 -database:PerfmonCounters -driver:"SQL Server" -fixcolnames:ON -createTable:ON
The file it's looking in has header names that are pretty weird, like: \\perfiis06\network interfaceintel[r] pro_1000 mt network connection _2\bytes received/sec
 and \\perfiis06\network interfaceisatap.{3ab7a9d7-115b-4e2a-b7e3-613e431174a3}\bytes received/sec so previously I would just find and replace all non alpha numeric characters and bring the data in. However, I'm looking to try to avoid that work in the future (and I noticed that log parser has the -fixcolnames switch which purportedly does that).
However, when I attempt to just use that switch I get the following error:
[Microsoft][ODBC SQL Server Driver]Syntax error or access violation
It's not an access violation because it's running under an admin user who is DBO of the database specified, so it's most likely an error with the column names. That begs the question... what exactly did -fixcolnames do?
Answer: It's supposed to sanitize the field names (extracted from the input file) to comply with the standard SQL syntax for column names. This doesn't say much however about your error. Using SQL Profiler might show what's really happening with the communication with SQL Server.


Premix and refrigerate egg omelettes

Question: I would like to crack about a dozen eggs and mix in omelette ingredients and store them in the refrigerator in an airtight container for a about 4 days for a faster breakfast. Is this safe?
Comment: 4 days ought to be fine, but honestly, how long does it take to crack 3 eggs?
Comment: You'd be better off making a bunch and freezing them.  See https://cooking.stackexchange.com/q/62233/67
Comment: also related : https://cooking.stackexchange.com/q/12832/67
Comment: Thank you for all your replies. It Is easy to crack 3 eggs for a mobile person. I have a neurologic problem that makes it difficult to balance and walk. I have to grab counters, walkers, doors, and anything that I can grab onto between the fridge, stove, cabinets and sink. I'm looking for a way to minimize the daily routine. Boiling water is dangerous for me. Getting the ingredients together and putting them away every day is a challenge. I have managed so far but am looking for an easier and more efficient way to do things for myself. And food safety is a concern. Thank you again.
Comment: I'm sorry to hear about your daily struggles. I am disabled myself. It's not fun. As far as the boiling water, I'm thinking the real problem is removing it from the stove, but you don't need to do that. You could remove the zip bag with tongs and turn off the burner, leaving it on the stove. Empty the water later when it has cooled down.  Good luck to you, and let us know how you resolve the issue. I'm certain it would help others with disabilities and their caretakers as well.
Answer: It might be easier to freeze individual portions in zipperd freezer bags instead.
Lable the bags with the date and ingredients (Mushroom Omelet). Each bag should contain a couple eggs and whatever omelet ingredients you like. Zip it up with as little air left in the bag as possible. Mush up the eggs a bit so they are "scrambled a bit". Store in the freezer.
In the morning, cook the omelet by boiling it 10 minutes.
Breakfast prep shouldn't take as long and it will free you from having to stand at the stove while the omelet cooks. Clean up should be easier too!

Premix and refrigerate egg omelettes


Disable priority inbox function and send all email to inbox

Question: I have tried unsubscribing the "Important" folder and hiding it in Gmail.  Now I have succeeded in hiding the folder but email is still added there by the Gmail Priority Inbox "feature".  Can I disable this feature so I can read mail and manage it myself from one folder, preferably the Inbox?
Answer: The use of the priority inbox is controlled by the settings:
To turn it off:

go to : gear, settings.
Click on the inbox tab.
Change inbox to default.
click save changes.

Note: I also have don't use markers/don't use my past actions/don't override filters selected.


What are the various duty stations on the Enterprise NCC-1701's bridge?

Question: I can identify the Captain's duty station, Navigation, Communications, and the Science Officers console, and there are often Security personal standing guard near the turbolift. What are the other duty stations on Enterprise NCC-1701's bridge?
Comment: @MajorStackings Well, even starfleet computers had their issues getting the right ship, i.e. the *N-C-C-1-7-0-1. No bloody A - B - C - or D!* :)
Comment: @MrDobilina Don't start with that or you'll have to go till at least J. :)
Comment: I realize the first pic is from the series pilot, but the Bridge design appears to be the same as the rest of the series.
Comment: Your title is asking about the Enterprise D (*Next Generation*), yet your screenshot and illustration are of the original Enterprise (the ship from *The Original Series*, with no "D" on vessel registry).  I am assuming you are asking about the original vessel.
Comment: @Praxis Thank you. Yes. I got booted. Reviewed and edited accordingly.
Comment: @Mario or even now, no bloody E
Answer: A schematic of the stations are included in the subchapter Main Bridge of the NCC 1701 within the book Star Trek: U.S.S. Enterprise Haynes Manual (Robinson and Riley, 2011). The stations are, from the linked page:

Working clockwise from the main viewscreen the
  consoles were: defense subsystems, weapons subsystems,
  navigation subsystems, science, and communications.

Then there is the turbolift, continuing in a clockwise fashion from the turbolift back to the main viewscreen was the Engineering station, Environmental and Engineering subsystems and Bridge support systems, which according to the Haines manual:

The stations on
  the other side of the turbolift, relating to engineering
  and environmental systems, weren't always manned
  during routine operations, their functions being
  primarily controlled from main engineering

Incidently, while the Haynes manual where this answer came from is non-canon, it is a licensed source:

This Haynes Manual is fully authorized by CBS and technical consultant Michael Okuda, who spent 20 years working on STAR TREK TV series and movies.
Comment: I think this is just fanon, right? Is anything in here (apart from what the OP mentioned) backed up by canon or even licensed non-canon sources?
Comment: @Kidburla To be honest, I am not sure (am new to this)
Comment: @Kidburla I have included a reference to a Haines guide - but like I said, I am not sure what you would consider as 'canon'.
Comment: Generally, canon = television series and movies, licensed non-canon = anything licensed by CBS/Paramount (most mass released products), fanon = things produced by fans. I thought that the blueprints website was just fanon, but the Haynes manual should at least be licensed. Thanks for your clarification.
Comment: In The Making of Star Trek the bridge layout is the same as the Haynes Manual.
Answer: There's already a great answer here, but I thought I'd add some other diagrams. These, and many, many other bridge schematics, were created by Tobias Weinmann and can be viewed at www.cygnus-x1.net under the Blueprints and Schematics tab. I've included one for Enterprise under Pike in the TOS episode "The Cage" and one for the Enterprise under Kirk for the bulk of TOS.
Answer: Though my memory on this is from the original viewing of the series, (circa 1966-68) the stations were from turbo lift engineering, and aux-engineering,  (environmental controls), a sub-station of environmental controls for defensive measures against intruders (anesthesizen gas pumped into the bridge by Khan in "The Space Seed"), view screen. The stations clockwise from the main view screen were never shown as being manned that often, and certainly never expressly referred to. It seems to me that these could be auxiliary stations that could be assigned for multiple uses. Sulu was at conn (helm), but he frequently fired weapons as did Chekov et,al. at the navigation station. It always seemed that all of the bridge stations were designed to allow multi-tasking (before it became an actual present participle). To be honest I don't think the people who produced the show knew or caried, so long as the looked good, and of course futuristic. Although, there is an anecdote related by George Takei that some director told him to press a certain set of buttons to accomplish some order. Takei told him that certain other buttons did that function, and  the director's instructions did something else." So, it seems to be anyone's choice what all of the stations were for. Hope this is some help.


Tracing and Logging per item instead of per application

Question: I'm building a service in .NET that process "things" in the background and I'd like to trace the execution of these things per item, not per application.
Most logging frameworks (I'm familiar with System.Diagnostics.TraceSource and NLog) work in a way that you generate messages for everything and decide in a configuration file what and where to store using filters.
But in this case, I may be processing tens of thousands of items at any given time, and I just need to log information for one of them. The amount of log information I generate per item is huge, and it is not just a string with some parameters, so I'd rather avoid unnecessary processing and IO.
I'm already using NLog for application exceptions and things like that, so for this specific use I don't require log levels (info, errors, warnings, exceptions). All entries are "information entries" like what data is being generated or which decision was taken by the steps, so we can analyze what is going on for specific items in production.
One last note is that this information will not be stored on a file, but will be buffered in memory and sent via web sockets to a listening service. If the connection is not up, we just throw away the data.
I already have some flags per item I process in a context object, like:
interface IItemContext {
    Guid ItemID { get; }
    bool StepXLoggingEnabled { get; }
    bool StepYLoggingEnabled { get; }
    bool StepZLoggingEnabled { get; }
}

My current take on this is to have a bunch of extension methods on the Context object that decide if logging should happen and extract the information needed and delegate to another service.
internal static class ItemContextLogExtensions {
    public static void LogStepX(this IItemContext context, string data1, Foo data2) {
        if (context.StepXLoggingEnabled) {

            // do some work to extract/generate information relevant to my logging
            var entry = new LogEntry {
                Message = "StepX ...",
                Details = ""
            };

            SomeLogService.Current.Log(entry);
        }
    }
}

This way I can control when the log needs to be generated and can delegate to NLog during development if needed.
I keep thinking about just using NLog or TraceSource directly in the IItemContext, but while I don't want to reinvent the wheel, I wonder if there is any sense in trying to use them for this at all. It seems to me that in this case, these frameworks it will end up being just a glorified concurrent queue with a lot of methods I don't have use for.
What do you think? Is my take a good solution? Am I missing something? What could be other options to achieve this?
And am I missing some feature from NLog or some other .NET logging library that is specifically geared toward this kind of logging that can be enabled per item instead of per application?
Comment: Log4net has a UDP appender, maybe when you filter only the events or you need might help you :)
Answer: This screams out for a Log4Net custom appender.  You could write your own, have it check the active item to determine whether to log or not, and log to a per-item memory buffer.
Comment: I guess I could build an NLog target for websocket as well (the same as appenders for log4net), but that doesn't change much the fact that I still need to create my own facade for logging, which is what I was thinking if I could avoid.


John 3:16 vs 1 John 2:15

Question: Why does the bible say in John 3:16 that "For God so loved the world" but 1 John 2:15 says "Love not the world".
If God Himself loved the world, why shouldn't we love the world?
Comment: Welcome to Christianity Stack Exchange. This is a site that discusses the beliefs of many different Christian denominations and traditions.  You need to specify the Christian tradition or denomination from which you seek answers and avoid questions that are primarily opinion-based. When you have a moment, please take the Christianity Stack tour to learn more about us:  https://christianity.stackexchange.com/tour
Answer: The Greek word used in both verses is 'kosmos' but, according to the context in which it is used, it has different meanings.  The following explanation is from a Protestant perspective.

Kosmos, or world, can mean the physical world, this planet; the present order of things; the secular world; the human race external to the Jewish nation; the heathen world; the world external to the Christian church. (Source: William D. Mounce Interlinear (for the rest of us), page 581)

John 3:16 is about God's love for the people he created.  Here is a comment from the New International Version Study Bible on the meaning of this verse:

The great truth that motivated God's plan of salvation.

That "great truth" is linked to 2 Peter 3:9 where it says that God is patient with us because he does not want anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.  That is the sense in which God loves the world.
When we turn to 1 John 2:15 we discover the context in which the word "world" is used has to do with the realm of sin that influences the people who have rejected God.  Verse 16 explains:

For everything in the world – the craving of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does – comes not from the Father but from the world.

The New International Version Study Bible makes this comment:

The World – Not the world of people (John 3:16) or the created world (John 17:24), but the world, or realm, of sin which is controlled by Satan and organised against God and righteousness.

So when John says not to love the world, he is speaking about the world, or realm, of sin.  Those who follow Christ must renounce worldly sins and pleasures.  At the same time, Jesus tells us to love our neighbour as ourself, even to loving those who persecute us by forgiving them and praying for them.
Comment: You mention 2Peter 3v9.  In "Interlinear Greek-English New Testament. Third edition. J.P. Green editor" the following way of translating this verse is mentioned: "....not having purposed any [of us] to perish, but all [of us] to come to repentance".  I wondered if you have considered this way of looking at this verse. i.e. "us"=church.
Comment: @ C. Stroud – Your point is off-topic to the question being asked.  However, it is worth noting that the J.P. Green Interlinear translation of 2 Peter 3:9 shows that the words "[of us]" following "any" and "all" do not appear in the Greek text.  A pure translation of the Greek text should read "not having purposed any to perish, but all to come to repentance."  The words enclosed in [  ] have been added. 2 Peter 3:9 should be read in conjunction with 1 Timothy 2:4 which says God "desires ALL people to be saved."
Comment: @C. Stroud - Please note that 1 Timothy 2:4 does not say that all will be saved. It says that God DESIRES that all will be saved. I quoted 1 Timothy 2:4 to emphasise the meaning of the word "all" as an example of how the Greek word is used in 2 Peter 3:9. I note you have asked a question in Bible Heremenutics on the meaning of 1 Timothy 2:4. As others have said, it does not mean that all will be saved, only that it is God's desire that all men be saved.
Comment: I quoted J.P.Green to show that I do not consider myself alone in seeing "any" as "any of you beloved in Christ to whom this letter is written and that God does not want to perish", and, "all" as, "all of you beloved in Christ who though you once repented will need to repeat that action throughout your Christian walk".
Answer: The "world" that John 3:16 is speaking of is the people, not the behavior. Look at the whole context.

[John 3:14-21 NKJV] 14 "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the
  wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 "that whoever
  believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 16 "For God
  so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever
  believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 "For
  God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that
  the world through Him might be saved. 18 "He who believes in Him is
  not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already,
  because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of
  God. 19 "And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into
  the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their
  deeds were evil. 20 "For everyone practicing evil hates the light and
  does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 "But
  he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be
  clearly seen, that they have been done in God."

Jesus is telling us that He is going to be lifted up, and those that desire to do the deeds of truth will come to the light, because they believe on Him. This requires sacrifice of the "world" in the sense of the desires of this world.

[Mark 8:36 KJV] 36 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the
  whole world, and lose his own soul?

He tells us here, that we must seek not after the world but the desires of God. Paul and James tell us the same thing John does in 1 Jo 2 (and 4)

[Romans 12:2 KJV] 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye
  transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what [is]
  that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
[James 4:4 KJV] 4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the
  friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will
  be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
[1 John 4:3-5 KJV] 3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus
  Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that [spirit]
  of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now
  already is it in the world. 4 Ye are of God, little children, and have
  overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is
  in the world. 5 They are of the world: therefore speak they of the
  world, and the world heareth them.

A love of the world fills our mind with desires for the world, and not desires for the living word. Christ came to free us from the bondage of the world, and did so because He loved the people of the world. But He does not love the world and its wicked desires.

[Psalm 7:11 KJV] 11 God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry [with
  the wicked] every day.
Answer: "For God so loved the world". What does it mean? It could mean God loves everyone but then why does John17v2 talk about Jesus only giving eternal life to those you have given Him? It could mean God loves worldly people which e.g. the disciples were when Jesus first met with them. "The true light which enlightens everyone"  here in John 1v9 it sounds like God loving everyone, but,say, light falls on a house but no one is given the grace to get up and open the curtains then the light will not enter it. What if God speaks of His love not, for all people, but about His love for some people to all people? What if by making some not born again God denies them the response to His love which would enable them to receive that love? In this situation it would be true to say God is causing His light to shine in their direction and they are not receiving it. But that by itself would not be the whole truth because it would be failing to mention why love was not being received.

John 3:16 vs 1 John 2:15


When is it appropriate to use a hyphen?

Question:
Possible Duplicate:
To hyphenate or not?

What is the proper way to spell "side dish"?
Is it: "side dish" or "side-dish"?
Also,
Is it "ham-fried" or "ham fried"?
Basically, when do you use hyphens?
Answer: There's no single answer to this: various conventions exist depending on personal preference and/or the in-house (or "in house", or "inhouse") style guide for the particular publication you're writing for. That said, I think that in general, using hyphens between the elements of compound nouns is less common nowadays (so people would tend to write "side dish", "ticket office" etc, not "side-dish", "ticket-office"). I also get the impression (with no hard statistics to back it up) that US usage favours the hyphen still a bit more than UK usage.
I think a common modern convention is to use hyphens mainly for cases of ambiguity or where a compound functions as an adjective (or perhaps more specifically, compounds "in attributive position"[*]). The hyphen is maybe a bit more common with compound verbs as well.
[*] Bauer, L. (2006), "Compounds and Minor Word-formation Types" in The Handbook of English Linguistics, Blackwell, pp. 483-506.
From the same author:

We might, for instance, find coffee
  pot, coffee-pot or coffeepot,
  depending on the dictionary we care to
  consult. When even dictionaries fail
  to agree, we can be sure that actual
  usage provides a bewlidering amount of
  variation. (p.  485)
Answer: You may want to consult The Economist's style guide entry on the subject, it provides useful guidelines. In particular:

In general, try to avoid putting hyphens into words formed of one word and a short prefix ... but long words thus formed and unfamiliar combinations, especially if they would involve running several consonants together, may benefit from a hyphen

Adverbs are also focused upon:

Adverbs do not need to be linked to participles or adjectives by hyphens in simple constructions ... but if the adverb is one of two words together being used adjectivally, a hyphen may be needed ... the hyphen is especially likely to be needed if the adverb is short and common, such as ill, little, much and well. Less-common adverbs, including all those that end -ly, are less likely to need hyphens

The specific cases you are asking about were not addressed.

When is it appropriate to use a hyphen?


Mousse de Canard, Mousse de Foie, Terrine de Campagne, expired by around 10 days

Question:
I have here, Terrine de Campagne and Mousse de Canard with Expiry of Mar 16, this year.
Mousse de Foie expired Mar 22.
So all are expired and their packages have ballooned up.
I'm wondering if they are still safe to eat?
Comment: The 'ballooned up' usually gives it away. Don't even open them, the smell will haunt you for a while.
Comment: You might as well be asking if they would be safe to eat if they were an odd shade of green and smelled like death.
Answer: I'm sorry to say that your three packages are no longer safe for consumption. Expiry dates are usually pretty conservative and food may still be good several days past them, but the concerning factor in your case is the ballooning of your packaging.
As various bacteria live their lives, they produce gas. A small amount of bacteria over a short amount a time will not be enough to produce enough gas to make any noticeable change to a packaging and is completely safe. However, the fact that your unopened factory-sealed packages have ballooned up points to a serious multiplication of said bacteria.
I recommend you throw away all three packages.
Answer: Ballooned package = trashcan.
'nough said.


Ideal bet size based on EV

Question: I'm trying to determine what the ideal bet size is on strong hands. I do understand the concept of EV. So I can calculate what the maximum bet size is with a positive EV. However, that would be too high, since we surely don't want a 0 EV. So how much lower than the zero-EV bet size is ideal?
Answer: Your question is confusing, and it appears that you may have misunderstood the terminology.
"So I can calculate what the maximum bet size is with a positive EV. However, that would be too high, since we surely don't want a 0 EV."
Do you mean if a bet size is too high, it would not be called, therefore the final value would be zero? This is not the standard definition of EV. In the standard definition, the expectation in "expected value" is taken over the randomness of the cards yet to be revealed, not over what you perceive as your opponent's chance of calling and the chance that you're beating him. That heavily depends on the accuracy of your read and your past history in the session, both of which are situational. EV is generally used in the context of discussing standard poker plays - what kind of plays are optimal assuming you don't have a specific read. Usually in these situations you are thinking about how to chase a draw, or discourage one.
For your question, there are several factors that affect optimal bet sizing. The most important thing is the range of hands you're putting your opponent on, and the style you put him on. You referred to a "very strong hand" in your question; a simplification would be assuming that you have the nuts, so you can purely think about how to maximize [bet size * average probability of calling given the bet size]. You can either put your opponent on a good hand or a weak hand, and as a passive caller or aggressive caller, and that affects the average probability of calling your bet; this is already a pretty complicated problem (so experience and intuition matters a lot). That, however, is still only half the story. You need to think about whether your opponent knows you put him on a strong or weak hand; if he knows you're putting him on a strong hand and you're still betting big, that means you will seem extremely strong to him, and he is less likely to call the bet -- and so on. This is second-order information; and professional poker players can occasionally use third-order or even fourth-order information when playing a hand.
A second factor is your own image (this belongs to the other side of second-order information). Basically, if you bluff a lot, you can extract a lot more value out of your real hands, assuming that you don't have sizing tells (i.e. you have similar betting sizes in both scenarios). Thus, figuring out the optimal bet when you have the nuts is only half the story; you need to figure out the optimal bet when you have the nuts and in the smaller portion of hands where you don't have the nuts but want to pretend you have the nuts, as well as the probability that you're going to do the latter (and how that affects your overall returns). This thus becomes a two dimensional problem, and is even harder to solve optimally, even with statistical trackers. This is why there is such a high learning curve associated with poker.
Comment: Good answer.  I'll just add that one other thing that makes this so difficult to nail down to a precise answer is that there could be more than one optimal amount, or many.  For example, betting $10 that is called 100% of the time vs betting $100 which is called 10% of the time.
Comment: In my case I'm trying to create an algorithm for a poker boy that I have built. The bot runs a montecarlo simulation so it know the exact equity of the cards. The question now is, what is the ideal bet size of cards are good and what is the call limit. I experimented with EV but results were better when I just took equity into consideration and then exponentially increased the call limit when equity got higher. The pot size also plays a role but not as much as EV calculation would predict.
Answer: Well it seems like you are talking about value betting. The EV is basically if it is worth calling or betting that much. But when you are value betting you should be sure you have the best hand in play. Then the size of the bet is the maximum amount you think your opponent will call.
Say you have the nuts if you are putting your opponent on a strong hand then you should go all in. But if you put your opponent on second pair, then you should make a bet that is big enough for your opponent not to want to fold it but to give you a decent pay. Also if you think your opponent is putting you on a week hand then pop off a high bet on the river.
There are a lot of variables that come into play when you are trying to value bet and the only way to learn this is through thousands of hands played.
Comment: Also the EV only comes into play when you are chasing something big or trying to bluff off someone that missed completely.

Ideal bet size based on EV


Smart contract function always returning transaction underpriced or exceeds block gas limit

Question: Was wondering if anyone has come across this before. I am using Ropsten through Infura and no matter what I set the gas to it will always return either transaction underpriced or exceeds block gas limit.
Comment: It sounds like the function you're calling uses too much gas. What are you trying to call?
Comment: When you say "no matter what I set the gas to", that's vague because there's gas price and gas limit. Which one are you changing? What are the current values? What are you calling? There isn't enough information here to diagnose anything.
Answer: Check the gas limit of the most recently mined block( you can find this from etherscan home page for Ropsten in your case). Set the gas limit closer to that. Then decrease the gas price. For me it worked when gas price was set to 10 Gwei but it could vary.
Comment: in my case my case even 0 gas price is giving exceed block gas limit, i am trying to delpoy a contract here is the issue
https://ethereum.stackexchange.com/questions/37455/error-exceeds-block-gas-limit
Answer: Just increase gasPrice and gasLimit.
For example
<code>gasPrice: 400000000000,
gasLimit: 4000000,
</code>
Answer: I had this problem recently but it was my own error. Here's how to debug it.
First let's deal with the "transaction underpriced" error. Call web3.eth.getBalance(address,console.log).
Does the address you are sending from have the balance you expect? If not, you may be connected to a mainnet node, or you may have sent Ether to this address on the wrong network. You may just need to visit the Ropsten faucet to get coins.
Now you have the upper bound for your gas*gasPrice + value that will throw the transaction underPriced error.
Second, Web3 has some helper functions like estimateGas  (returns Wei) and getGasPrice (returns Gwei) that will help you determine the best gas settings for your contract.  Multiply the returned gas price by 1.5. Use the function web3.utils.toWei to convert your address balance, gasPrice, and value to Wei. Remember to set "Gwei" as the second argument for the gasPrice in toWei
Now you have all your details in Wei. Is gas*gasPrice + value < addressBalance? Do you still get the exceeds block gas limit? The 1.5 multiplier was necessary for this to work for me.
Answer: JSONRPC doesn't require gasLimit or gasPrice by default. But if these fields are not set correctly, transaction underpriced error is occured. Because default gasPrice and gasLimit is too low. In my case, I encoded params twice. The signed result was valid JSONRPC format, but there's no field about gasLimit or gasPrice. Check your signed result using ethereum-tx-decoder. It will give you some insight.


Could not find main function in IDA pro?

Question: I have newbie question that concerns IDA pro and Visual studio 2010. Basically I started a new "Empty Project" in VS 2010 and added a main function to the .cpp file. Then I compiled it to binary and opened up the binary using IDA Pro. However, I could not locate the main function. Why is that?
Comment: Are you talking about writing an IDA plugin/processor module? If so you should mention which and so on ... your question contains too many unknowns to be answered. Please improve it, otherwise it'll likely get closed.
Comment: @0xC0000022L: I am not writing anything. I just want to learn how to use IDA to compile a simple binary and practice reading it. It seems more difficult than previously precieved.
Comment: So you want to use Visual Studio to **compile** and use IDA to **disassemble**. Still not enough info, though. You should include information such as what you are building (console/windowed app or DLL) and whether you link to the runtime statically or dynamically. Also, managed or native?
Comment: @0xC0000022L: I am doing an Empty Project. The setting are all default.
Answer: Open Exports view in IDA (Views-->Open subviews-->Exports).
You'll see there one function name.
It is the real main function of the program (which is possibly not your main function, but your main function will be called somehow from it).
Actually you can not find main function by name because this information does not exist in the executable: the computer doesn't need it for program execution.
Information about function, variable and type names and relation between CPU instructions and lines of real source code called "debug information" and
stored in different place, which is .PDB file in your specific case.
So if you compiled your program with debug information (which is default) loading .PDB file
(File-->Load File-->PDB file) will possibly be helpful.
Comment: So all those functions with names such as subxxxxx are name to identify a function. Does that mean one of them is my main?
Comment: It should be so. sub_some_hex_address means subroutine at this address, all such names generated automatically.
Comment: If I export a function using __declspec(dllexport) I would be able to find it in the export menu in IDA. However, usually it just show a jump to the Data section and that would be it. It is possible to use this information to locate the real code for the exported function?
Comment: It looks very strange. As far as I understand dllexport  should not generate such code. Did you mean dllimport ?
Comment: I used export for a dll project and export for .exe project. In both cases the function showed up in the export menu of IDA.
Answer: start is the address that IDA pulls from the file header.  For PE files this corresponds to (AddressOfEntryPoint + ImageBase). start != main, main is language (C/C++) specific requirement, not all languages require "main".
One of the jobs of the code that executes between start and main is to setup all the arguments that main expects (argc, argv, envp) in the manner that main expects to receive them according to the calling conventions of the platform for which the binary was built.
IDA attempts to locate main for you because you are often not interested in the code between start and main which is generally just compiler boiler plate code. In some cases IDA will note that there is a symbol named main and just drop you there. In other cases, IDA does what is effectively signature matching against the start code to pick out the address of main. Compilers tend to have unique ways of reaching main, so if (a big if) IDA has a signature for a specific compiler, then it may be able to pick main out for you.
You don't mention whether you are using IDA on the Debug or Release version of your binary. In my experience with IDA/Visual Studio, IDA will have a tough time finding main on Debug builds and does a better job on Release builds. If you compare the two different .exe files, you will see that they are vastly different. Specifically flow through Debug builds is much more complicated than through Release builds.
Answer: In IDA, view 'functions' and look for 'start'.
See anything?
Sometimes the IDA signatures can't identify the main() function. In this case, you will have to trace it manually from the program's Entry Point, though the sigs have improved over the years, they usually are able to identify main correctly.
How you get to main() also depends also on whether you are linking to the standard Visual Studios libraries or not (I can't remember if the Empty Project does by default or not).
Comment: The entry point should be the main function right? If that is the case is the start function the main?
Comment: The entry point is not always the main function, no. The compiler usually has some code that it runs before and after main(). One example is the initialization/construction of static globals.
Comment: I don't have IDA handy, someone can correct me please if I'm wrong but I think from memory that 'start' should point to what IDA identifies as the 'main' function, i.e IDA tries to skip the autogenerated code around the user code, since it knows that most researchers are more interested in user code rather than standard library code.


Car won't start with a perfect new battery

Question: I have a Toyota Tacoma 2001 and my car won't start off the battery under the hood. The battery is brand new and has a full charge. It's been working perfectly for 3 months since I installed the new battery. Today it's like the car is not getting a connection to the battery. When I put the key in I get lights as normal, but when I try to turn the key everything shuts off and only 2 dash lights work. I would think it's just a starter issue, except when I hook up a portable jumper it starts up just fine. The battery voltage is at 12.8 and I was wondering if this seems like a solvable issue.
Comment: Take the battery back and have it tested. It is possible it has become defective. Most auto parts stores can check your charging system too.
Comment: please don't call Tacoma a "car".  I am deeply offended
Comment: Did you check the alternator?
Answer: Take the cables off of the battery and clean the terminals. You have a bad connection on one side or the other which is not allowing full power to get past. When you place the jumper onto the system, it is directly fed to the cables and allows the vehicle to start. Along the same lines, it could also be that one of the two battery connections is not completely tight ... same result as being dirty or having corrosion.
Comment: It is very important that the terminal clamps be reasonably tight.  I think mostly the torque spec is around 45 in/lbs.  I have had a situation a long time ago when the battery wasn't releasing charge precisely because the clamps were not tight enough.  oh, the dielectric grease as well
Comment: @amphibient - If regular post batteries, I just use high pressure grease right out of the squeeze tube. Coat the entire surface of the terminal. I realize there aren't that many post batteries used in new cars ...
Answer: The fact that battery has a good voltage would suggest that there's an open circuit in the battery. The battery is full of current it just can't come out. If your battery polls are clean and terminals are tight, then that's definitely the problem. The battery has to be changed


tones when singing a chinese song?

Question: if tones are so important in chinese as to even distinguish shades of meaning, how can a chinese sing a song? in music every syllable has its own note/tone, so when we sing a song, we must disregard the appropriate tone and apply the musical note to that chinese character... for example we must say "zai"(in...at...) with a falling pitch, but what if the note in the song necessitates us to pronounce "zai" with rising pitch????...
Answer: Simple answer:

I've been asked a number of times: if Mandarin Chinese is a tonal language, what happens when you sing in Mandarin? Well, the answer is the melody takes over and the tones are ignored. Pretty simple.

From sinosplice.com - Tones In Chinese Songs.
A graphic representation of tones spoken vs. sung in Mandarin [also from Sinosplice]:

Sometimes, though I think, if you listen closely a lot of people are included to sing the tone even though they don't need to.
Comment: @user5949 actually as a Chinese some time I can not understand some song. I need to find its written lyric to understand. So tone is really important when you speak Chinese. For example: 《爱的主打歌》 has one lyric "你是我的主打歌。" This "主打歌(Title song)" sounds really like "猪大哥(Mr. Pig)". So the "you're my title song(works as Mr. right here)" turns into "you're my Mr. Pig"
Comment: then my question gets enlargened: if we can ignore tones when singing, can't we also ignore them when speaking? if the aim is to make ourselves understood, we can talk freely in chinese without tones so long as the addressed/listener understands what we want to say/convey....
Comment: That's quite an involved question - but before even trying to answer that question it gets even more complicated: tones also change across dialects (even when the 'pinyin' pronunciation is the same) and a lot of times if there are two people speaking their own, separate, dialects to one another they just need to base their understanding on *educated guesses*.
Comment: my last word: though a 45-year-old speaker of turkish language who feels closer to indo-european languages, i won't give up trying to learn a sino-tibetan language, i.e.mandarin chinese :)
Comment: thank you for your answer, but sorry, that's not a simple answer... I had to check the linked article to understand the point, which is that tones are not used much if at all in Mandarin songs. I knew that, but people asking the question wouldn't.
Answer: That's why it is hard writing Chinese lyrics .... rather hard for Mandarin songs (4 tones) .... and very hard for Cantonese songs (9 tones).  And don't forget to maintain the rhyme.
If the tone of a character do not match the tone of song, it is easy to be mistaken as another character.  Experienced singers may tweak the tone slightly as the last remedy.  In most cases, native speakers could deduce the correct character by the term or the whole sentence when listening to such songs.
Many hymns in Hong Kong were filled with Cantonese lyrics of the wrong tones.  They all sound extremely odd to native Cantonese speakers.  Luckily, the vocabulary used are quite predictable and most people can understand the hymns.
People also make jokes through lyrics with deliberate wrong tones.  "Mcdull Kindergarden Song" (春田花花幼稚園校歌) is a good example.  There is even a wiki page.  To translate the first sentence:
我們是快樂的好兒童 (written) = We are happy good kids
鵝-滿-是-快-烙-滴-好耳痛 (sounded) = groose-full-is-quick-sear-drop-very painful ear
Funny, isn't it?

tones when singing a chinese song?


Does the damage from Fire Traps stack?

Question: If I lay three fire traps in the same place, and a mob steps on them, does he take 3x the DoT?
Answer: No, multiple instances of the burning ground damage from Fire Trap will NOT stack.
Only different sources of burning damage can stack. For example, an Ignite debuff from a spell's critical hit and the Fire Trap ground burn will stack.
When 2 of the same burning sources are present the highest damage source will take effect. Multiple effects can still apply, like 2 Ignites on one mob, but only the highest damage one will actually deal damage.
Once the highest damage effect ends, if another instance of that effect was applied and still has duration left, it will then do what damage it has left. This goes for Righteous Fire, Ignite, and Fire Trap's ground burn effect. Searing Bond, a recently added skill, is an exception and the beams can stack with itself.
This is why you should try to spread out Fire traps a little bit whenever possible.
Posted by Mark_GGG, PoE developer and creator of the games skills and their mechanics.

...Ignite, RF, ground fire and now Searing Bond are all separate
  sources of burning damage, and all stack. Ignite, RF and ground fire
  do not stack with themselves (only the highest of each takes effect at
  a time), but do with each other.
Searing bond beams stack.

As of Patch 1.0.5 Searing Bond Beams no longer stack.
Comment: Nice answer! :) Could you add a link to where he said that so I can read the thread?
Comment: +1 and accepted, for ciing GGG employee source.  Thanks!
Comment: Please don't edit quotes, I understand that the information is outdated, but in that case leave a comment saying so.
Comment: Added the information outside of the quote.
Answer: The DoT of Firetrap is actually a fire-based health degeneration. So yes, health degeneration from all sources stacks.
If you can tank strong monsters, a typical use is to spam firetraps under you so the enemy takes all possible damage.
Comment: Could you please link a source?  I've never heard of this "fire-based health degeneration" you are talking about.
Comment: I cannot currently test this, but I believe the easiest way to test it would be to have more than one player with the fire trap skill gem, each of you lay a trap, then lure a single enemy into the traps, one of you tanks the enemy while the other watches the health bar. Try this again with 2 traps each and then with three traps each, if the single monster(preferably one of the same kind) dies faster with the increased amount of traps then you have your answer.

Does the damage from Fire Traps stack?


Is there any difference between "shorting a bond" and "selling a bond" concepts?

Question: Shorting a bond means borrow it form other and sell. It seems to me that this operation is the same as just simply issue a bond. Am I right? If yes, then why do we use "shorting" terminology for bonds? If no, why am I wrong. Thanks!
Answer: Two important difference are 1) the intention 2) the resulting position
Shorting a bond is usually with the intention to buy it back with hopefully a lower price. Your position is sensitive to the bond price changes.
Issuing a bond (usually an organization) is usually for raising funds. And you have no risks on bond price fluctuation and it will be redeemed on principle at maturity  (assuming non-callable)
Answer: When a bond is issued an entity $A$ creates a debt instrument and makes it available for sale.
When a bond is sold, $B$ sells an existing debt instrument to $C$ (who buys it). $A$ doesn't have to be any of the entities $B$ or $C$.
Comment: If you can borrow the bond for free and all goes well from a pure cash flow perspective: yes. But as Kola points out, the intention will be different. Also, the legalities in the case of a potential default of $A$ are different.
Comment: Thank you for your answer. If $A$ agent issue and then sell the bond, it means that $A$ has the obligation to pay back cash flows generated by bond. The same obligation has $A$ if s/he short sale the identical bond. Doesn't this imply that those two strategies are the same?


How protons come near to during the formation of a nucleus?

Question: It is known that protons are held together inside the nucleus by nuclear forces which are short range forces. Now my question is how are the protons brought together when they are far apart despite their repulsion?
Comment: Two protons ('diproton') isn't actually a stable arrangement. But fusion of other proton containing nuclei can be achieved (e.g.) in the interior of stars, where the core temperature is near a billion Kelvin. In these conditions, the nuclei have such high *kinetic energy* that the work needed to overcome the electrostatic repulsion can be done. Once close enough together the short-range nuclear forces do the 'binding' of the nuclei.
Answer: Protons with high enough kinetic energy can approach each other so much, in spite of  the Coulomb repulsion, that they can tunnel through the remaining energy barrier and come into the reach of the strong nuclear force. The resulting diproton nucleus is unstable and one proton converts into a neutron so that a deuterium nucleus (deuteron) results. This deuterium continues in fusion reactions that fuel our sun.
Comment: From where do they gain such high kinetic energy??
Comment: +1 for mentioning tunneling! Extremely important  phenomenon.
Comment: @SaujatyaKole  From the original Big Bang source, as the expansion cooled the universe there were regions where during the inflation period the seeds of galaxies , high density regions, had much higher kinetic energies than what became finally the void between clusters of galaxies and galaxies.  Also gravitational attraction and accumulation of matter raises kinetic energies , when a cloud of matter condenses into a star like the sun, for example, changing potential energy (from original BB ) to kinetic.
Answer: As @freecharly mentioned and @Bill N remarked, it is about tunneling and kinetic energies.
A clear example emerge in the so-called stellar nucleosynthesis. Here, we have two main protagonists: the gravitational force, which tends to contract the star, and the nuclear fusion reaction, which compensate the previous one and keep the star stable. The gravitational attraction also causes the temperature, say the kinetic energy of the protons (or the other nuclei), to raise, and this is what makes the fusion process start.
Take the Sun. Roughly speaking it has a core temperature of about $1.6\times 10^7$ K. Then, we can get the kinetic energy by
$$
E=k_B T_{Sun}\sim1.6\times10^{-3}\text{ MeV}.
$$
This is quite a small energy and leads to a very long tunneling (hence very small cross sections). To get a graphical idea of the comparison between the coulomb barrier and the average kinetic energy take a look at the image below (Coulomb repulsion $=\frac{Z_1Z_2e^2}{r}\sim\frac{1.44\text{ MeVfm}}{r}$).

At some point the temperature will be high enough to make this tunneling possible. In particular, in the sun we have the proton-proton chain reaction (I), which starts with the synthesis of deuteron:
$$
p+p\to \text{d}+e^++\nu_e,
$$
followed by
$$
\text{d}+p\to {^3\text{He}}+\gamma\;\;\;\text{   and   }\;\;\;{^3\text{He}}+{^3\text{He}}\to {^4\text{He}}+2p.
$$
One can compute that synthesis of helium starts, thanks to this reaction, for temperatures higher than $\sim10^7$ K, which corresponds to a certain bound for the average kinetic energy.
This kind of argument holds in general when you are talking about nuclear processes involving nuclei subject to the Coulomb repulsion, therefore all the further stages of the stellar nucleosynthesis or the various processes of the Big Bang nucleosynthesis (the formation of nuclei in the firsts minutes of our universe).
In the end, the answer to your question is kinetic energy, which can be gained from anything that can make the two protons (or any particle/nucleus) overtake their Coulomb barrier, whether it is electromagnetic fields, such as in particle accelerators (LHC at CERN, etc.), or gravitational force, as in astrophysical environments.