How to let a user know that something can be deleted from a list?

Question: i need to let users know a simple way how an item from a list can be deleted. Is the best way to put a delete icon next to each item? It looks a little cluttered...
Comment: once the user clicks on any of those trash icons, they will get a dialog box asking them to confirm deletion. That is the way i have it set up right now.
Comment: Perhaps make the trash icons very lightly colored, or only show when the book name is hovered? Or lightly colored but darker on hover? Though, this would direct attention away from the book name, which is perhaps not good.
Comment: thanks!!! Yes- i was thinking that too, but I would think that the user would already have read the book title by the time they hover which is not so bad...??
Comment: Hm. Maybe. It just concerns me that you'd be animating something auxiliary.
Comment: These comments happened while I was typing my answer. We use this type of interaction (reveal secondary actions on hover) in our CRUD tables when there's a lot of repetition and it works well - users seem to get it.
Comment: @Quelklef these comments are for asking clarification questions or making meta-statements. Suggestions like the ones you made should written up as an answer.
Comment: @dennislees Sure. Sorry.
Comment: @Quelklef not meant as an admonishment, just a pointer.
Answer: Show a trash can icon, but only reveal on hover
Use the icons you have, but place them in the more conventional location to the right of the text, and only reveal on hover.
Users trying to interact with the items will mouseover and see the obvious delete/remove icon.
Ensure the target area is the entire row and not just the area around the icon.
If relevant, bear in mind the ramifications for mobile/touch users i.e. click-to-hover effects in CSS, and possible increased target areas for smaller screen sizes.
Comment: I am not sure that's good in terms of usability. What about in case of touch-input devices?
Comment: Or motor disabilities, that is a tiny space to keep hovering onto.
Comment: These points are well taken, though relatively easily dealt with. Updated the answer accordingly.
Answer: I completely agree with dennislees and here's my suggestion to reduce the cluttered feeling-
1)You can reduce the size of the trash icon
2) just use a <code>-</code> not a delete bucket.
Hope this helps!
Comment: thanks @neophyte but how would a "-" signal the ability to delete to the user?
Comment: It's a minus/subtraction symbol, this will indicate the user that it can be used to delete the document.
Answer: Have you considered the option of checkboxes?
I am not sure how long these lists can get in your app. But perhaps, instead of forcing the user to delete items one by one how about offering checkboxes next to each item.
Then a delete option somewhere nearby and the user can delete a single or multiple items at a time.
The checkboxes will also come in handy if in the future you decide to add extra actions such as "Edit", "Copy", "Share" etc. and they are not as intrusive/attention grabbing as a trashcan icon.
Here is an example that shows what I'm suggesting (taken from http://www.androiduipatterns.com/).
Of course you can choose where you want the actions "Delete" etc to be placed. They don't necessarily need to be fixed at the bottom.

Another example taken straight from Red Hat:

Lastly, another option would be to just add an "X" icon at the end of each entry. Even if a user doesn't know that "X" means delete (unlikely) they still get the confirmation window that teaches them and allows them to retract back from.


Interviewing a Non-Programmer for a Programmer Job

Question: A project manager in my department (software development) wants us to interview a non-programmer for a programming job.  He has experience in technical support for an international software company.  What kind of questions can we ask to determine that he would be suitable for learning on the job?
Comment: It doesn't feel off topic to me. I'm meh on it myself; don't think it's absolutely terrible, it's on topic, but I wish it was written to solicit more specific answers. Happy to leave this one up to the community to judge.
Comment: Can you edit the question to add whether this person has programming experience but not in a commercial role; or whether they literally do not know how to program yet?
Comment: General problem-solving questions.  The same kind of questions that Google asks of technical and non-technical candidates alike.
Comment: Somebody downvoted this question. I was curious if this is a badly worded question or if it does not belong here.
Comment: Hi kzh, I suspect it's a mixture of being too specific to an industry, and because SE wants to focus on questions which need a single, specific answer, and to try and avoid questions that ask for broad recommendations or that promote many answers each containing one piece of the answer.
Comment: @Rarity, do you have any suggestions on how I can change the questions to help it solicit more specific answers?
Comment: Why would anyone hire a non programmer for a programming job. Is it very annoying trying to read/debug their code because they are not (yet) professionals at writing code. I had a boss that called functions whatever the weirdest word in the dictionary she could find. She was not a programmer but she did have a phd in chem engineering. Needless to say, they may be smart but I feel bad for all the programmers that come along after/under him.
Answer: You would ask him the same questions you would ask someone who is a programmer that is interviewing for the position.
Don't confuse the current job title of an applicant with their technical (or other) abilities.
Comment: @Chad - If you are trying to fill a position, you need to ask the relevant questions. If someone doesn't have the qualifications or knowledge, it doesn't matter what their current job title is.
Comment: If the candidate is at all qualified, it's because he's done side projects like @Chad suggested in his answer.  Therefore you can ask him the same kinds of questions you'd ask an entry-level candidate.  You might need to explain some vocabulary, but other than that, if the interview doesn't work out the job won't work out either.
Comment: That a non programmer does not understand interfaces or polymorphism is a function of not having worked with it not the ability to comprehend, or work with them in the future.  In an experienced programmer on the other hand it is a red flag.
Comment: I agree 100% with this answer, and would add: Just because the person had a role as a non-programmer doesn't mean he has zero programming skills. Like a fresh out of school grad, you are expected to have projects and side hobbies and be able to logically explain them. This guy better have something he can talk about and describe. I don't think the questions should have to be customized, just the target for experience level.
Answer: When I interview a candidate for an entry level position, I expect that they will have at least done some home work.  I expect they can at least answer these questions:

What languages have you worked with at home?
What was your most challenging bug you have run into?
Tell me about a program/website you have written.  (what language? did it connect with any services or databases? what did you want to do that you did not know how to complete?  How did you overcome that?)

To me these questions should elicit enough information to tell if the applicant is passionate about programming or if he/she saw the giant salaries that programmers make in some magazine and said I want to do that.  You can teach the programming but if the passion is not there then it is harder and the likelihood of success is much lower.
Answer: I would not ask exactly the same questions for this candidate as one who is strictly a programmer.
Presumably, the reason you're considering bringing this person on-board is because they have some deep domain knowledge in an area that is valuable for the project. I would probe that domain knowledge deeply to be sure that this person can pull their weight as part of the team knowing that the programming part is going to be a bit of a risk. Of course, you'll also have to make the difficult assessment of whether or not this individual can eventually come up to speed on the programming tasks.
Generally, it is better to have a well-rounded team than to have each individual be well-rounded. If this person can do the job, your team will be stronger for it even if they have to tutor the new guy more than usual in the beginning.
Comment: @Angelo - In my experience it is more often that FriendofPM needs a job. PM has a job and would like to fill the slot with FriendofPM.  Team is expected to go easy on FriendofPM in the interview.  So the team must walk a fine line between too critical of the lack of knowledge and ending up with a developer who has no skills and no desire to learn but is kept around because the PM gives great reviews.
Comment: You are making a huge assumption about the reasons for bringing this person aboard. The OP clearly states that the position is a programming position.
Comment: I am, of course, assuming that the PM actually has good reasons for wanting to consider this person. One very common good reason is domain knowledge. Perhaps the OP can elaborate on why the PM wants to consider this candidate?
Comment: @Chad, that certainly could be the case but the PM would then be shooting himself in the foot if he managed a project with that team. Really, I just saying that there better something other than current programming skill (or PM friendship) that compels the team to select this candidate.
Comment: @Angelo - Bad PM's tend to be the rule rather than the exception it seems though...  That is kind of harsh but you should see some of the requirements documents I have gotten.  I have had a PM think that if she brought a non programmer in as a programmer that her requirements would be more understandable...
Answer: To assess whether he has the capability of learning while on the job (presuming you've already decided he in fact does have excellent domain knowledge that would make him valuable after coming up to speed):

Has he done any hobbyist programming or tried to learn programming to any degree before? What languages did he use? Did he find it rewarding? Fun? Challenging? In what ways?
If not, has he ever done anything remotely like programming? (Web pages, shell scripts, batch files, word macros, excel formula, encountered a bug in software, etc)
What did he find enjoyable and/or difficult about his most programming-like experience? Did he feel a sense of pride or excitement when he got his project to work? Did he have to overcome any hurdles of knowledge he didn't already have?
Does he have a batchelors or associates degree in an of sciences discipline? What is the highest level of math or physics he ever completed? Did he enjoy high-school math, especially algebra? Was that one of his favorite subjects in school? (while loving math is not a requirement per se, having an analytical mindset is most beneficial to having an aptitude for programming) Did he prefer classes where you could just write some "bs" and there wasn't right/wrong answers?
Has he ever learned a new skill from reading a book? How does he learn best?
If you hired him, what would he come up to speed on programming? What sort of training would he want to have?
Show him some some fairly simple code (loop, conditionals, etc, maybe not all at once) and ask him what he thinks it might do...if he's totally stumped, ask him to give his best guess (even if it's way off) about a single line of the code. Maybe have a harder one handy if the fundamental stuff he totally knows, or move into questions you'd ask a junior programmer.
ask him problem-solving skills questions. What would he do if he realized he didn't know what a piece of existing code does? Does he enjoy being a problem solver?
ask him questions about his exposure in his previous role to software developers and software development processes, was he fascinated with what they do? Converse with them about their jobs to learn more about what programmers do? Does he know something about the stages of development? Used version control? etc.


Are Vulcans spiritual at all?

Question: Do Vulcans have any beliefs that could be considered spiritual, beyond their obvious adherence to logic and empiricism?
Comment: Other than Sybok, Vulcans believe in a soul but not a god (at least not any more).  Similar to nontheist human spiritual systems.
Comment: Considering that "spiritual" is a fluid term that means different things to different people, it may be a good idea to define it in your question.
Answer: They don't just believe... they have proof
Canonical
In ST II, we see Spock place his Katra into McCoy.
In ST III, we see Spock's Katra placed into his regenerated body.
In Enterprise, Archer, T'Pau, and T'Les are all aware of the Katra of Surak by firsthand knowledge. Mention is made of polycrystaline vessels which could hold a katra. Further, there are priests with direct knowledge and possession of Katras besides their own.
Semicanonical
In TAS: Yesteryear, Spock, under the false identity of Selek...

SAREK: My apologies, visitor. I regret you were witness to that unfortunate display of emotion on the part of my son.
SPOCK: In the family, all is silence. No more will be said of it. Live long and prosper, Sarek of Vulcan.
SAREK: Peace and long life. You are of my family?
SPOCK: My name is Selek, an humble cousin descended of T'Pel and Sasak. I am journeying to the family shrine to honour our gods.
SAREK: You have a long way to go. Will you break your journey with us for a while, Cousin?

Extended Universe
In a couple of the novels, mention is made that certain groups (presumably Syranites, but not so called then) place Katra into stones, and are able to commune with them. This is apparently referenced into canon in Enterprise (Eps 83-85).
Similar mention is made in LUG Trek's book on the Vulcans.
Discussion
The Archer incident (Ent Eps 83-85) establishes that, at least amongst a subset, belief in the soul is present in Vulcan culture. It also establishes that the Katra can appear to have a will of its own (as Surak refuses to enter T'Pau, staying in Archer.)
The resurrection of Spock is a strong proof as well.
Neither event, however, is public knowledge.
Sarek looking for Spock's Katra is indicative of an afterlife of some form - possibly proper entombment into a crystal, or being carried by a family priest.
And Enterprise establishes that there are Vulcan priests, since one appears in Kir'Shara.
References
http://www.chakoteya.net/StarTrek/TAS003.htm  TAS:Yesteryear
http://www.chakoteya.net/Enterprise/83.htm Ent: The Forge
http://www.chakoteya.net/Enterprise/84.htm Ent: Awakening
http://www.chakoteya.net/Enterprise/85.htm Ent: Kir'Shara
Answer: If you consider this canon.

The Vulcans held a number of spiritual beliefs, though little is known
  about the details. Their religious system was polytheistic. They also
  believed in the katra, the soul and consciousness of a person, which
  could be transferred psionically prior to death. (TAS: "Yesteryear";
  Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan; Star Trek III: The Search for Spock;
  TNG: "Gambit, Part I"; ENT: "The Forge", "Awakening")

And then here, if this answers your question.

While visiting Vulcan circa 8877 (on the Vulcan calendar, roughly
  equivalent to the Earth year 2237), Spock explained to his father that
  he was passing through ShiKahr during his journey to the family
  shrine, "to honor our Gods." (TAS: "Yesteryear")

This is if you consider this religion.
Answer: Reading the question, I remembered that Tuvok mentions Vulcan belief in an afterlife. Here is the relevant dialogue (VOY: "Innocence"):

TUVOK: Vulcans believe that a person's katra, what some might call a soul, continues to exist after the body dies.
ELANI: Do you believe that?
TUVOK: When I was younger, I accepted it without question. In recent years I have experienced doubts. I do believe there is more in
  each of us than science has yet explained.

This indicates a traditional belief that the katra separates from a deceased body to continue existing, similar to some human conceptions of the soul. Even Tuvok, an admitted skeptic of these beliefs, concedes the limitations of science in this matter. Therefore, most Vulcans are unlikely to have ruled out the supernatural as part of reality.
Taking this in conjunction with the events surrounding Surak's katra in Enterprise, I think it is fair to conclude that there is a spiritual side to Vulcan culture.
Answer: As the ST universe matured there were more and more examples of Vulcan meditation. That indicates to me their "religion" was more Eastern, i.e., Buddhist-like. Of course there is non-Eastern meditation, but, e.g., T'Pol seemed to follow classic Eastern meditation practice, not just contemplation or prayer. There was also plenty of indication that meditation was meant for seeking higher states, enlightenment. I would downplay the "gods," though. If we can accept the ST-Enterprise depiction of Vulcan-dom as the most mature and developed, I heard no overt talk of "gods," rather, a more Tibetan-style of Buddhism. Still, there seems plenty of the supernatural in the Vulcan spiritual world. But that supernatural (and the communion therewith) would seem to be attached to higher states of mind, again, an Eastern idea of spirituality.
Answer: Spock stated more than once he preferred the physical over the metaphysical, concrete facts over fairytales and he had a very low opinion of the human so called supreme being otherwise known as God.
Maybe Spock is an atheist but that doesn't mean all Vulcan are; I find it hard to picture T'Pay as a person with zero spiritual beliefs, considering who she is; I consider Kirk to be an agnostic; Dr. McCoy and Lt. Uhura were obviously true believers.
Especially Uhura in the closing scene of Bread and Circuses she reveals herself as a believer in Jesus Christ. when she explained that the "sunworshippers' were really son of God worshippers, not the sun in the sky! Perhaps the only time in Star Trek history that Jesus Christ is mentioned at all... and it hasn't happened since. Think about it.
Comment: Only a small part of this answer addresses the question of whether **Vulcans** are spiritual. I think it would be improved be removing the information about non-Vulcans and adding evidence of the spiritual beliefs of Vulcans.
Comment: Maybe he just finds monotheism illogical?

Are Vulcans spiritual at all?


jQuery ajax custom HTTP status message on the 2xx range

Question: I am trying to make mechanism for respond with custom http status messages and to catch it in the client side with jQuery Ajax.
I figured out a way to do only for error messages (HTTP 4xx, 5xx), but not for the success http messages (HTTP 2xx).
As example I managed to extract and alert 'FROG CATCH' from HTTP 400 FROG CATCH status, but can't alert 'FROG ESCAPE' from HTTP 200 FROG ESCAPE
Does any body knows a way to extend jQuery ajax for supporting that kind of schema?
Anyone?
Answer: AJAX responses are based on success and error. If your content returns with a 200 status (OK), 304 (not modified), etc... then the AJAX call will utilize your success response section, not your error section where status is typically displayed (status in the error section is primarily used to indicate the reason for the error). Depending on what you're returning and what format you're returning it in, you should be looking in the success section for that response. Assuming your server language is PHP, you might include that success status in the returned data (converted to a JSON object for parsing), like so:
$.ajax({
    url : 'your_url.php',
    type : 'POST',
    dataType : 'JSON',
    data : yourData,
    success : function(data) {
        if(data) {
            if(data.status) {
                alert('Status: ' + data.status);
            }
        }
    },
    error : function(xhr, response, status) {
        alert('Response: ' + response.responsetext);
    }
});

By utilizing your JSON object as the status carrier, you can customize your status response. As to seeing what the actual server header response is, this would be listed in the network tab in Chrome inspector, net tab in Firebug, or Safari's development tool section (I forget the name offhand).


pg_dump does not return schema for repmgr objects

Question: While trying to browse repmgr.monitoring_history, I noticed it has many tens of millions of records. Wanting to get a peak at the indexes that (may or may not) already exist on the table, I try a quickie pg_dump...
# pg_dump -U postgres -d repmgr --table=repmgr.monitoring_history --schema-only

...which frustratingly returns only the boilerplate header/footer info...
--
-- PostgreSQL database dump
--

-- Dumped from database version 10.8
-- Dumped by pg_dump version 10.8

SET statement_timeout = 0;
SET lock_timeout = 0;
SET idle_in_transaction_session_timeout = 0;
SET client_encoding = 'UTF8';
SET standard_conforming_strings = on;
SELECT pg_catalog.set_config('search_path', '', false);
SET check_function_bodies = false;
SET xmloption = content;
SET client_min_messages = warning;
SET row_security = off;

--
-- PostgreSQL database dump complete
--

...well darnit! Did I typo something?
# pg_dump -U postgres -d repmgr --table=foo.bar --schema-only
pg_dump: no matching tables were found

...no... I am connected to the host I thought I was, right?...
# psql -U postgres -d repmgr -c 'select count(*) from repmgr.monitoring_history;'
  count
----------
 43597932
(1 row)

... so what gives? Why can't I dump the schema definition for this table?

Possibly also worth noting that pg_dump -s -d repmgr returns only the CREATE EXTENSION... & CREATE SCHEMA... commands and none of the tables. The behaviour is consistent across a few different repmgr installations. Perhaps I'm having the same issue as this guy?
Also also worth noting that attempting to dump data only also comes up blank. And that I've tried sudo -u postgres pg_dump... as well. Dumping another database on the same cluster works just fine returning data & schema as expected.
Comment: Did you try `--table=monitoring_history`?
Answer:
Beginning with repmgr 5.2, the metadata tables associated with the repmgr extension (repmgr.nodes, repmgr.events and repmgr.monitoring_history) have been marked as dumpable.

This answer found in FAQ: How can I exclude repmgr metadata from pg_dump output?


How do you insulate a cooler based mash tun?

Question: I have a Coleman 70 Quart Xtreme cooler that I've modified for my mash tun. I seem to be losing a lot of heat out the top. Are there any good ways to insulate it to help prevent heat loss?
Answer: A towel on top helps prevent a lot of the heat loss. A plastic cooler, by itself, is pretty good insulation, though. In a single-infusion mash, you should only be losing a couple of degrees in an hour.
Comment: Yep, I add a blanket to the top. Seems to be enough.
Comment: Towel or blanket on top is the way to go. You will get better insulation though if you put a soaking wet towel on top.
Comment: @Matt I never heard that about a wet towel. That seems counter-intuitive.  I mean, if I wrapped a wet towel around myself, I would expect to feel a lot colder than if I used a dry towel.
Comment: The wet towel on the outside of the mash tun is better at insulating because the towel is saturated with water. It's thicker and has more density and retains more heat.
Comment: Thanks everyone, I've used a blanket before and it worked. I thought I had a bad cooler, but it seems pretty common. I'll just keep using the blanket.
Answer: You might want to test for leaks around the hinges. I had some warping on a cooler there that I used to bring to the beech. Pour some water in it, go outside, flip it over and hold the top on tight. If there are leaks, then you will probably want to put some foam adhesive strip around the lip of the cooler. Something like Scotch Foam Tape.
But Nick and swgill definitely have the simplest solution. And it always handy to have a towel. :)
Answer: I'm thinking you must have some sort of leak or crack in your cooler.  I use one of those orange home depot coolers and it maintains a very consistent temp while mashing.  Maybe try filling it up with hot water and see if the outside springs any leaks.  If the top doesn't fit properly, maybe try a layer of that spongy tape along the rim and a weight on top.
The cooler I use is this one, btw.  You can unscrew off the spigot and screw in a valve really easily as well.


Why does a tariff have no effect to an exporter?

Question: I'm reading Principles of Economics, the paragraph about tariffs in a imaginary country Isoland wrote: "The Isolandian economists next consider the effects of a tariff—a tax on imported goods. The economists quickly realize that a tariff on textiles will have no effect if Isoland becomes a textile exporter. If no one in Isoland is interested in importing textiles, a tax on textile imports is irrelevant. The tariff matters only if Isoland becomes a textile importer. Concentrating their attention on this case, the econo- mists compare welfare with and without the tariff."
I don't understand why a tariff have no effect to an exporter.
Answer: A distinction should be made between two different types of tariffs.
Let's define good imports as goods that enter into a country, across its border, for commercial purposes. Those imports could be subject to a tax on trade, called an import tariff. Thus, the Isoland country only taxes goods that enter. If no one imports the goods, this tax is irrelevant.
Let's define good exports as goods that move outward across a country's border for commercial purposes. Export tariffs would be a tax that a country imposes on its exports, which makes them more expensive. Isoland does not want to tax these goods because it would be a burden on its own businesses.
Note, however, that these export tariffs can be put in place to encourage domestic consumption of domestically produced goods instead of exports. This could be the case in the context of a food or health crisis if a country wants to discourage exports. This is not the cas in your example.
Answer: A tariff is a tax on imported goods. If you export instead of import goods, a tax on imported goods is irrelevant for you.
You might have misunderstood who considers imposing the tariff. If the foreign country to which you export imposes a tariff, then you will of course be affected. But in the text it is Isoland that considers imposing the tariff.
Comment: While tariffs are more commonly imposed on imports, it's also fairly common usage to call a tax on exports a tariff: on  googling "tariff on exports" (with the inverted commas) I obtained more than 100,000 hits.
Comment: @AdamBailey, true, but in the present case the cited text clearly says that the tariff in question is a tax on imported goods.


How can I transfer photos from the Camera Roll to Photo Stream?

Question: Not all of my photos go to Photo Stream, some still go to my Camera Roll.  I'm trying to get them on my Photo Stream so they will be on iCloud.
With 30 photos on my camera, 10 in stream, I took 6 photos.  2 appeared in stream, 4 did not.  Some of my subsequent photos also appeared in the stream, but not all.  This is arbitrary behavior by the program.  How to fix?  Assume ios 7.0.
Comment: Are these pictures you are taking? What hardware? What software version?
Answer: Any photos that exist in the Camera Roll that didn't come from the device itself had to come from another device. The primary method for getting these pictures into iCloud's 1000 picture buffer is to enroll that other device into iCloud.
You have one case of a picture that was taken either more than 30 days ago or 1000 pictures ago or you deleted your entire Photo Stream and want to start over. In this case, you may need to sync those photos to a computer or another device using the Camera Connecton Kit to inject them into your current Photo Stream.
Comment: Within iPhoto you can select the photos you want to send to iCloud. Select the images you want to send then use the Share button or menu to send to Photo Stream.
Answer: You can go to any picture in your Camera Roll, select it and then copy it by pressing the Home button and the Sleep button. This will make a screenshot of the picture in your Camera Roll and send that up to iCloud.
With iOS 6 you can select photos from your camera roll and share them to a personal photo stream to yourself.
Comment: This is a viable option if you want to push a screen resolution png version of photo. In some cases, this is enough capacity, but I have photos in my Camera Roll taken from iPhone 4S as well as DSLR cameras that far exceed the screen resolution of any iOS device and this conversion loses significant picture data as well as the metadata associated with the original. It's a nice trick for something you want to email or when the conversion isn't going to be a downside.
Comment: This isn't 'copying' anything, it's taking a screenshot of the image on your phone.
Comment: You're right and it does say that. It doesn't say it's transferring the image. But it does get a representation of the image to the Photo Stream.
Answer: It's possible the photos you are looking for are in the stream, but just ordered differently than you expected. For example on my iphone I imported some images from mail. Because the pictures had been taken a while ago they were at the top of the stream instead of the bottom, where I expected them to be. The stream orders them by date taken, where as the camera roll orders them by date imported.
Answer: From iPhoto or Aperture, copy the photo you want or drag into the Photostream folder on the sidebar


Ubuntu. (blockchain of version 0.9.3 compatible with 0.10.1?)

Question: I have version 0.9.3 of bitcoind on my Ubuntu server and I want to upgrade to 0.10.1,
I have nothing in my wallet.
Does the blockchain 0.9.3 compatible with 0.10.1?
Do I have anything to keep from version 0.9.3 ?
Answer: In the official release announcement here:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1039713.msg11211433#msg11211433

Downgrade warning
Because release 0.10.0 and later makes use of headers-first synchronization and
parallel block download (see further), the block files and databases are not
backwards-compatible with pre-0.10 versions of Bitcoin Core or other software*

So upgrading works fine, but if you later decide to downgrade the block and database files won't be compatible.
Answer: It should be forward compatible, but making backups of your wallet is always recommended.
Once you upgrade to 0.10.x, downgrading to 0.9.x afterwards may not be possible anymore.
Comment: Forward compatible, not backward compatible. You can upgrade from 0.9 to 0.10, but not the other way around.


Wordpress left column - sidebar

Question: I've never run civi under Wordpress - (many times under Drupal and Joomla) and know NOTHING about Wordpress themes.
How do I get it to look like the demo site ie no wp-admin menu and the Civicrm left column with recent contacts , new contact Etc.
Comment: Please include your versions of both CiviCRM and Wordpress.  Also please indicate what research you have done to try to solve this problem for yourself. This site is designed to help people who have tried to solve the problem themselves, but haven't been able to.  "know NOTHING about Wordpress themes" suggests you have made no attempt to sort things out for yourself.
Answer: Unfortunately, this is simply a missing feature in CiviCRM for WordPress.  The left-hand menu is collapsible, but it's necessary for navigating the backend.
It would be nice to have the recent contacts and quick-add button somewhere, but it'll have to be within the main real estate of CiviCRM on the backend in WordPress.

Wordpress left column - sidebar


How much XP can the Wish spell grant?

Question: If someone had the Deck of Many things, drew the Moon and got a wish spell, and wished to "Level up as much as (They) can", how much XP would the wish spell give to the player?
Answer: Well there's no base rule on that, but there are several issues with the idea, mainly with how the DM decides the outcome of your wish.
If player tried to have their character say "I wish to be higher level", the DM would very likely immediately go "hold on, your character is not aware that they are in an RPG game with mechanics like that, you can't have them say that", or if they're really mean they'll just take that into consideration when they decide how they want the wish to come out. You might just end up several "building levels" up in the air and fall flat on your face.
So keeping to realistic ways your character would wish to become more powerful, you'd have to say something like "I want to be more powerful" or "I want to be stronger" which might give you better gear or increase your stats, but not your level.
Basically put, it's practically impossible to realistically word a wish in a way that will force the DM to only interpret it as giving you experience points.
Answer: This really falls outside the spell as it is written. It has a certain list of pretty failsafe results, and anything beyond that falls under DM purview. The guideline given is:

The DM has great latitude in ruling what occurs in such an instance;
  the greater the wish, the greater the likelihood that something goes
  wrong.

The description then goes on to show how a DM can creatively interpret extremely powerful or game-altering wishes, usually to a degree less than desirable for the wisher. Most DMs would require you to word the wish in such a way as your character would be able to.* I.e., since your character has no concept of the terms "level", "XP", or "Ability Score" — those are game mechanic terms — the DM might require you to phrase it as "I wish to achieve my maximum potential in my skills and abilities, immediately!"
The the DM would (rightfully) figure out how to grant the letter of the wish without breaking the game you are playing. Most DMs and players would not relish playing in a party of five 4th level characters and one 20th level character.
A harsh or vindictive DM could simply strike you dead with a "bolt from the blue" at that moment, declaring that since you cannot now get any better, you have achieved your maximum potential. A very kind DM might find some middle ground or suggest you reword the wish.

* This is not an absolute. Some tables don't make much distinctions.
Comment: The most straightforward way would be to just lock their XP total to whatever it currently is.
Answer: Recomendation: A single level
The other answers of 'your DM is most likely to be a dick if you ask that' is my single biggest issue with the magic in general, and not the answer to the question.
I have seen comments in previous places (Relating to 3.5 but still relevant in spirit: Can a character gain two levels with the same encounter?) suggesting that a single level is the most that should be granted by a single 'block' of experience, and that includes the card in the same deck which grants a specific amount of XP (IE: It effectively nerfs that card for the sake of gameplay).
If you stick to a single level you give the wisher something without causing too much imbalance. That said if you are playing with an item such as the Deck of Many Things you probably don't care about balance all that much, in which case it is something that has to be considered on a per-game basis.
If you are the DM you might want to think about how your campaign would cope with whatever difference in levels anything >1 would create, if you are not the GM you might simply want to ask. As a GM I would do everything in my power to grant the wish as worded, but asking for something game breaking would (Unsurprisingly) break the game and everyone would prefer to avoid that.
This said; the comments from the others on this site are still valid, word the Wish as the person in game would, and be prepared for your GM to be a dick.
Comment: While the answer is kind of boring compared to the other, it seems to be the fairest way to rule this. It gives something to the player while keeping the power level relatively even. As you say, not fit for every game, but works for a lot of them. Enjoy the +1
Answer: Hmmm... "Level up as much as they can"... How many XP do they currently have?
(including XP for the current adventure to date). What level does that entitle them to?
If that's more than their current level, Bamf they get to level up without having to go through any of the usual training.
Otherwise, they're already leveled up as much as they can at the moment :)
Comment: ^ This. The wish is so poorly worded that you could easily just say, "Done." And when they ask what level they got, ask them what level they are. That's how much they've been able to level up.
Answer: "I wish I had drawn 'The Sun' from this Deck."
As long as your character has some reason to know what the cards in the deck do, this is pretty simple. That's 50,000 XP. Probably your best shot of instantly leveling, or at least moving yourself along.
The next option would be If you want a level, and given that you had already drawn 'The Comet' you might wish to be attacked immediately by a very weak monster you can beat in one shot. It's unlikely to line up like this for you, but it would work, and if you are just exactly at the XP for Level 19, this would probably give you the absolute max for a Wish spell.
Answer: While not a duplicate, I would recommend looking at this thread.
It seems a common concept to players that a "wish" is a game-ender. You can suddenly get ultimate power with no work. Instead, it should be treated as a deus ex machina; a one-time boon to get out of a sticky situation.
In fact, the less the player asks for, the more likely a DM is going to grant it, and grant it in a way that matches what the player really wanted.
Answer: The other answers don't mention it, but it's also possible for a Wish to have no effect:

You might be able to achieve something beyond the scope of the above examples. State your wish to the DM as precisely as possible. The DM has great latitude in ruling what occurs in such an instance, the greater the wish, the greater the likelihood that something goes wrong. This spell might simply fail, the effect you desire might only be partly achieved, or you might suffer some unforeseen consequence as a result of how you worded the wish.
Answer: As other answers have stated there is no rule against wishing for xp/levels but most DM will require you to ask in character and since your character is not aware it is in a game it can not do so. The only way I can think of to do this would be to wish you had as much experience as a master of your class but to do so in character (example: "I wish I had as much experience as the highest rank archdruid"). So, that could/work but keep in mind if the DM really does not want you to have it they could do something about it since they have the final say in the campaign. I personally would allow it tho :)
Comment: I just had basically the same though in response to J Nason's claim that there is no good way to word a wish that would sensibly map onto "gaining level(s)".  To me this is a good in-game way of formulating such a wish.
Comment: Agreed, this is a good way to ask for experience. It still should answer the question, though. Currently it reads as if the answerer would grant enough XP to possibly go all the way to 20th level. That is a very unusual perspective and would benefit from being supported by some kind of argument that goes deeper than a smiley
Comment: @GroodytheHobgoblin The example is worded like that because there is no rule for or against giving a player max level from a wish and since the example was only meant to be used to give uses a general idea on how to ask it made the most sense. I figure if the person does not wanna ask for the max level they will know/understand that they simply ask to be more experienced in their class instead of stating a rank. In the same way any player who is not a druid should understand that using the example exactly as written will not get them what they want and they would need to word it differently.

How much XP can the Wish spell grant?


Do FTL communications exist in the Aliens franchise/universe?

Question: Inspired from this question, do FTL communications exist in the Aliens franchise/universe?
Comment: Occurs to me there might be FTL communications at bases (as noted by Valorum in the other question's comments, a scene which took place in the safehouse colony), but for some reason (likely power generation limits) not available on ships.  That might be a follow-up question, since I don't recall seeing any instance of a ship being able to "phone home".
Answer: FTL communications certainly exists with the 'Aliens' universe. On at least one occasion we see a colony (in this case the former mining colony depicted in Alien³) "phoning home". Just seconds later they receive a written response.
The novelisation explains it as a function of subspace. Apparently it's ferociously expensive, to the point that the colony has never received a realtime communication in its entire history.

Andrews sat back in his chair, his eyes cutting into his guest. "At
0700 hours I received a reply to my report from the Network. I may
point out that to the best of my knowledge this is the first
high-level, priority communication this installation has ever
received. Even when Fiorina was a working, functioning mining and
refining operation it was never so honored. You know why?"
Clemens sipped his tea. "High-level priority communications have to go
through subspace to beat the time problem. That costs plenty."
Andrews was nodding. "More than you or I'll ever see."
Alien³ Novelisation

There's another example of FLT communication in Aliens. We learn that after Ripley's testimony The Company (and more specifically Carter Burke) sent a communique to Hadley's Hope telling them the approximate location of the downed Space Jockey ship and asking them to go take a look.
A deleted scene also mentions that at their distance, it usually takes 2 weeks to get a cursory response. This lends weight to the idea that there are two sets of FTL communications; realtime subspace, and low priority comms (presumably carried on ships traveling between star systems).

In the schematic offered in the "Alien Vault" factbook, we learn that the Nostromo also has a subspace communications antenna for interstellar communications.
Comment: Just out of curiosity, do we know how far away (in lightyears) is the colony supposed to be? That would give us an upper limit on the FTL communications speed.
Comment: @Loki - Actually it would give us one *point* on a potential range.
Comment: True, but still better than nothing. Excellent answer, btw thanks.
Comment: Also in Aliens, Burke messaged the colony on LV-426 to tell them to go and investigate the alien ship. That must have been by some kind of FTL communication otherwise it would have taken years to arrive.
Comment: @Nathan - Good point. Also, some good info about messaging times.


Selling living space to a non-Jew over pesach to get rid chametz

Question: Is one allowed to temporarily sell their living space to a non-Jew in order to get rid of their chametz during pesach? If so, are they still obligated to do a bdikat chametz?
Comment: Will you be moving out of the space during Pesach and when will you be leaving. See discussions about renting the space to the non-Jew when you sell the chametz.
Comment: @sabbahillel I will be moving out of space during Pesach. How does time of departure prior to Pesach have an influence?
Comment: I posted an answer from Halachipedia.
Comment: If the mechira occured before the 14, he do not make any bdika. (rav Nissim Karelits make a special Shtar mechira with a part of mechira that occurs on 13 nissan)
Comment: But in the question you says that he want to stay at home for Pessach? A big problem...
Answer: You only need to rent the apartment or the house to a non-Jew. You do not have to sell it. Also if you leave more than 30 days before Pesach you do not have to do Bedikat Chametz. Here are the citations from Halachipedia. There is much more at the link.
Leaving for Pesach

Leaving for Pesach
If a person leaves one's house more than 30 days before Pesach and
  doesn't plan to return for Pesach one doesn't have to do Bedika but
  rather just do Bitul when the times comes wherever one is. [14]
If a person leaves one's house within 30 days of Pesach and doesn't
  plan to return for Pesach one must do Bedika with a candle the night
  before one leaves and then do Bitul Chametz afterwards, however the
  Bedika is done without a Bracha. [15]
Since one is not going to be home for Pesach it's sufficient to do a
  proper Bedika according to the law by just looking for the Chametz
  (though not just a superficial look) and one doesn't have to drive
  oneself crazy like one does every year. [16]
However if possible it's preferable to appoint a שליח to do Beidika
  for oneself at the proper time. [17] Some say that it's better to do
  it oneself before going rather than have a non-family member (such as
  a neighbor) do it for oneself. [18]
If one plans on returning before Pesach if there's a fear one will
  return on Erev Pesach without time for Bedika one should do it before
  going, otherwise do it when one returns. [19]
[14] S"A 436:1
[15] S"A 436:1
[16] Rav Schachter on OU Pre-Pesach Webcast 5771 between minutes 2:30
  and 5
[17] Mishna Brurah 436:1
[18] Piskei Teshuvot 436:1
[19] Mishna Brurah 436:9

Renting one's house to a non-Jew

Renting one's house to a non-Jew
If one is renting out one's house and the Chametz in it to a non-Jew
  for Pesach one will have exempted oneself from Bedika but it's not
  proper to do so, rather it's correct to rent one's house except for
  one room and do Bedika without a Bracha in that room before one leaves
  for Pesach. [20]
The room which one leaves not rented in order to Bedika should be a room
  which one usually brings Chametz otherwise there'll be no
  obligation of Bedika and one will have accomplished nothing by leaving
  that room not rented. [21]
[20]Rav Schachter on OU Pre-Pesach Webcast 5771 between minutes 2:30
  and 5
[21]Rav Yisrael Belsky on OU Pre-Pesach Webcast 5771 between minutes
  10:30 and 11:30


What does "getting from 0 to 1" mean?

Question: While preparing for an interview as a software manager, I was told that "you need to show how to get from 0 to 1 with a new team". What does that expression "0 to 1" mean in this context? I googled for this expression but could not find anything relevant. Does it mean something like "get the team up and running"?
Comment: Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been [moved to chat](https://chat.stackexchange.com/rooms/118793/discussion-on-question-by-stackoverflowuser2010-what-does-getting-from-0-to-1).
Answer: "Zero" is the state where you are not useful. You (or your team) are making no contribution to the team's success (0 days of contribution for each day you work). This is the usual state when a new person joins the team - they don't have tools set up, they don't have access to company databases, and more importantly they don't understand how things work. If you are a developer you need to understand the company codebase. As team lead you don't know the people or what they are supposed to do.
"One" is the state where you are contributing fully to the team's success - i.e. you are contributing 1 full day of contribution each day of time you put in.
What you are being asked is how you plan on getting from "unproductive" to "productive".
Answer: Zero to One is actually a pretty interesting book by Peter Thiel. It is popular in the startup set - and as such has become a mini-bible for executives.
"Zero to One" basically argues for the quest for massive exponential growth.
As others have noted, it implies getting your team started from nothing to productive. It's most likely been used in this manner (and not zero to 100 or "get started) because it - the book - is being widely read in the company in question.
You would be prudent to, if not having the time to read the book (although it is very small), to use examples/ideas from the book in your argument for the role.
Comment: @stackoverflowuser2010 is being widely read in the company in question. You might well have been in the valley for some years, but if you're not an exec then you have as much reason to read the book as an exec has to read an oracle cert book.
Comment: `because it - the book - is being widely read`. Widely read by whom? In what field of work? In what country? I've never heard of that book, and I've been working in Silicon Valley for 20 years.
Comment: That's why I asked the question, right? I hadn't heard of this expression.
Comment: @stackoverflowuser2010 yes, that is why you asked the question. What I'm curious about is why you're commenting here - the book is widely read in the startup scene, whichever company you're applying for probably has it as recommended reading for execs. I'm not really sure why you're asking me who reads a startup book or in what field of work this book is popular?
Comment: I don't work in startups. I've only worked in large companies.
Answer: Honestly, this should be obvious:
0: "None of them have ever seen you before."
1: "You've managed to get them all working together, actually achieving the goals that your business hired you to enable them to do!"
Millions of 'managers' have managed to do this, over these so-many centuries, and most of them survived! Good luck!
Answer: This wording is very vague. If this were for a mechanic's position, I'd imagine they'd have said "0 to 60" or ("0 to 100", depending on culture). But for IT? I am not surprised that you came up empty-handed.
It might mean "getting up to speed" as in "become useful as team manager", it might be about whatever "the first step" is ... or it might even be a (silly) test to see how you take this vagueness. Or is the team/organisation in such a shape that it makes sense to interpret it as "turn this ship around" (from loss to profit, etc)?
My best advice is, ask what they mean. It's not on you that they are not communicating clearly, and should not count against you to ensure that you and they are on the same page.
Comment: I think this might just be a cheeky way of saying "from 0 to 100", i.e. from nothing to highest performance. I've heard computer scientists say "from 0 to 1" instead before, in reference to binary...
Comment: I get that, but it's not exactly a common phrase. :)

What does "getting from 0 to 1" mean?


Sharepoint 2010 Custom Page Content Type automatically changing when editing page properties

Question: I have encountered this issue working on several Sharepoint 2010 publishing sites. If I create a page with a custom Page content type then edit the page properties, the content type automatically changes to the default Sharepoint 'Page' content type. I can manually switch it back to my custom page type but I wanted to try and find a way to prevent the content type from changing in the first place. I always add my custom page content types to the Pages library. Was wondering if anyone else has encountered this issue and if there is a way to prevent the content type from switching when I edit page properties?
Answer: Page Layouts can be tied to specific Content Types; is it possible that your selected Page Layout is changing your content type?
Comment: Never realized that before, I always made my layouts with the default Page content type.
Comment: I think the reasoning is that you can use fields in your layout that you know are going to be present in the Content Type...


Why do some dogs try to hump all the dogs at the dog park?

Question: I've noticed when we go to the dog park, there are certain dogs that try to hump most of the other dogs, including our much larger male lab mix. Why do those dogs do that?
Answer: The dogs just "show them who's the boss".
Unfortunately many interpret this as being gay or aggressively offensive, which simply isn't true. Of course there could be more behind the whole thing in a male/female combination, but usually it's really just to mark dominance and part of playing/socializing.
Same is true for dogs trying to hump human legs. If one does, just shove it away (just like other dogs do), unless you want to drop in rank.
So if other dogs try to hump your lab, just let it solve this "issue" on its own, unless the dog can't or they're not properly socialized (i.e. they don't know when to stop or are somehow hindered).
Comment: I once met a dog-owner who thought her dog licking other dogs mouth's meant her dog was being promiscuous. The owner would excessively chastise the dog whenever this happened, leading to the dog being even more anxious and submissive (licking = "you're the boss!"). Just another example how many dog behaviors aren't sexual at all and mean something completely different in the dog world.
Comment: Many _human_ behaviors often labelled as sexual have much more to do with grooming behavior... and some folks forget that a dog's mouth is the only "hand" it has.
Comment: @keshlam I think the dogs just have those desires as us humans on top of the fact they have no clothes... (that be nice every once in a while). I just think some animals try to be Alpha and so it sometimes (as I've seen in dog parks) lead to some crazy dog fights...
Comment: @blenderwarror: true enough


In which direction does friction from the ground act on the wheel?

Question: When a bicycle wheel is in motion, many forces are acting on it. The sum of the forces results in forward
motion. In which direction does friction from the ground act on the wheel?
Answer: Depends on the motion of the wheel, the direction of the friction force could be different. Remember the friction force from the ground is the only external force acted on the wheel (Ignore air resistance),
1) If the wheel is accelerating forward, the friction force will be pointing forward.
2) If the wheel is moving forward with a constant velocity, the friction force is zero (if air resistance is included, the friction force will be pointing forward, with the magnitude exactly canceling the air resistance).
3) If the wheel is slowing down,the friction force will be pointing backward.
Also, the external gravity and normal force are irrelevant in this problem.
Answer: Friction actually acts backwards, but it is the one which causes forward motion of the wheel. See the diagram for clear understanding:

Both the arrows drawn represent an action-reaction pair of forces. The blue arrow(action) is caused due to the force of turning of the wheel(which is actually created by us) onto the ground. Thus there is a reaction force by the irregularities of the ground, which causes the wheel to move front. This is the mechanism. But do remember that the friction acts backwards only...
Answer: When the wheel is accelerating, we can imagine the wheel is spinning increasingly. The point (or area) of the wheel that touches the ground actually is inclined to move backward and it gives a forward rolling friction, which is exerted by the ground on the wheel. Of course, the reaction force is exerted by the wheel on the ground, causing the earth moving backward (if we can measure~).
Answer: Friction on the front wheel acts mainly sideways.  In steady motion, the bearing of the wheel
applies an equal and opposite torque to that applied by backward-acting
friction, and the bearing applies negligible torque, because I greased it.
The driven wheel has friction acting sideways as well as forward (when
you're applying power on the pedals).   The
forward friction torque minus the chain-applied torque is the angular
acceleration of the rear wheel times its angular moment.
If you apply the brakes, the front wheel gets backward friction, as does
the rear wheel (but it's prudent to mainly brake with the front wheel).


Moving from computerised to normal amateur telescope?

Question: A few years ago I purchased a Celestron Nexstar 130 SLT computerised telescope thinking that it would be a perfect to get me into astronomy. The issue is the computer doesn't work at all and manually finding objects was a pain so I haven't used it in years. Now I want to get back into the hobby the 'proper' way by tracking objects with star maps and I want to get it right since photography and spectroscopy really excite me and that's what I want to end up doing. Despite all of this I can't seem to find a dovetail Equatorial mount that will fit my optical tube so now I feel I am stuck with a motorised mount that doesn't allow me to point my tube precisely and is really no fun. Is there any way for me to get into the hobby with my current optical tube using a different mount, use my computerised mount accurately enough for decent observation, or do I really have to buy a whole new optical tube just for the mount?
Answer: A Celestron Nexstar 130 SLT is not suitable for spectroscopy and the only photography that it will be mush use for would be afocal or DSLR imaging of the Moon (or Sun with a suitable filter).
For more serious work you will need a equatorial mounted scope with a better focuser.
Exactly which one to choose will depend of your budget and what you want to do.
When you say the computer does not work can you be more specific.


Does Mykonos have nightlife in September?

Question: I'm planning to go to Mykonos (Greece) in September, I've read that it is "post-season", are there still any parties or it is often empty/more familiar on those days?
Answer: September is not exactly 'post-season'. It's surely not gonna be like July and August but there are gonna be some parties till mid September and the island is not gonna be empty.
Here's a blog where they write about events in mykonos.
Answer: The nightlife of Mykonos is intense from June to September! But if you rent a motorbike to Mykonos or some other means, do not drink and drive!


How can I get a Cantonese keyboard on an iPhone?

Question: Like Pinyin, but I need something that can recognize Cantonese instead of Mandarin. The only Chinese keyboards recognize Mandarin.
Answer: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/canton-guang-dong-pin-yin/id385519764?mt=8
or use stroke keyboard.
Or ask Siri. The Cantonese version of Siri can understand Cantonese.
Edit: Apple does not have such a keyboard and as you would know iOS does not allow custom keyboards. Anything suggested is a workaround.
Apple now allows custom keyboards in iOS 8.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/cantonotes-jyutping-annotator/id354063453?mt=8
might also work for you.
Comment: Sorry, to clarify: I'm looking for a way to install it as an input method much like there is the option for Pinyin.
Comment: @Crashalot This answer is unfortunately the best you're going to get. There is no built-in Cantonese keyboard currently, and Apple does not allow anyone to create their own keyboard; see: http://stackoverflow.com/a/6556672/582414
Answer: If you're asking for a jyutping IME you should specifically say so.
From my own research jyutping is quite new and if it has any IMEs at all they are not yet popular and not available on iDevices at all.
The input method that's popular in Hong Kong is called "cangjie". It is based on the shapes the characters are made from and not based on phonetics. I briefly tried to teach it to myself after learning both Pinyin and Zhuyin IMEs but I gave up. It has a much steeper learning curve because there are many principles you must learn. I believe it is much faster for touch typists because it doesn't require (much?) interaction with "candidate lists". But this doesn't help you much.
If you were using an open device like a PC or an Android device you could probably find a Jyutping IME somebody made for their own needs. iDevices are closed and do not allow third party IMEs but maybe you can try to persuade Apple to make one.

I had a look around and there are indeed jyutping IMEs available for just about every OS and device, except iOS. Sorry )-:
Answer: If you are a iPhone user:
"Settings -- General -- Keyboard -- International Keyboards -- Add New Keyboard"
There should be four "Chinese - Traditional" keyboards: Stroke, Handwriting, Cangjie, Zhuyin.
I recommend Handwriting. You just write Cantonese characters like 冇, 喺, 瞓, etc.. The system recognizes them.
Comment: Great tutorial but sadly the keyboard doesn't support jyutping like the asker wanted. Writing is fine actually, I'd rather write than type, cause it's more flexible when you know the word.
Comment: unfortunately, i cannot write as many chars, but i know how to input them using jyutping.


What effect does heat have on cooking oil shelf life?

Question: I'm referring to any/all cooking oils.  I am wondering what temperatures cause significant degradation in quality or rancidity.
Comment: Are you asking about storage? Or cooking?
Comment: I am referring to both.
Answer: As I know almost all cooking oil become unhealthy and toxic when the "smoke point" is reached. Every oil has a temperature point that should be never reached, as follows:
For mechanic extra virgin oils:

flax, safflower and sunflower oil - 107 C
walnut and peanuts - 160 C
coconut, soy, corn and sesame oil - 177 C
extra virgin olive oil - 190 C

The regular cooking oils have "smoke point" even higher like over 235 C so it's better to use those for cooking and let extra virgin ones for salads and cold dishes.
Or just be aware to not see smoke while cooking with oil:)
Me, I'd suggest butter instead, because at higher temperature butter turns to "ghee" which is quite healthy.
 - avocado oil - 190 - 204 C
 - almonds and grapes oil - 216 C
 - palm oil - 235 C
Comment: Bibi, welcome to Seasoned Advice! Let me suggest you take the [tour] and browse our [help] to learn more about the site. One of the rules is we don't discuss health here, for various good reasons. The bit about butter just turning into ghee is wrong, btw., for ghee, milk solids need to be removed or they'll burn, giving you an effective smoke point of butter *lower* than many oils.


Cholesky Identification in Structural VAR

Question: Can you suggest me a framework in macroeconomics or finance where identification of a Structural VAR model through Cholesky ordering is still considered credible (in your opinion)?  I'm looking for a framework in which identification through Cholesky ordering is still used in applied work.
Answer: These are just examples to think about, depending on the deeper context recursive restrictions may or may not be reasonable even when conditions below are satisfied:

When there are some clearly faster updating variables alongside sluggish variables. For instance oil prices paired with house prices or GDP of an oil exporting economy. One still needs to be careful with the possibility that the lead lag relationship bw fast and slow variables is not resulting from some third variable that affects them asynchronously.

A case where simultaneity can be reasonably addressed due to an inelastic assumption. For example we know capital flows can affect asset prices (hence their expected returns) but asset prices can also attract capital flows. However there may be some special segment of market participants that have particularly inelastic demand for certain assets such that their demand for assets is not a function of the prices they face


Unable to get a subdomain working in Route 53

Question: We have our main site hosted in AWS and use Route 53 for the dns settings.  I have a subdomain that I need to point to a SquareSpace site.
I have created a seperate zone in Route 53 and was able to add a cname record for the subdomain, but only with the www. prefix.  The site is then working with www., but not normaly.
Whenever I try to add the a cname as an alias to the www domain I get the following error:
RRSet of type CNAME with DNS name utilities.housemaster.com. is not permitted as it conflicts with other records with the same DNS name in zone utilities.housemaster.com.
Any idea how I can get this working?
Comment: Why did you create a separate hosted zone?
Answer: The error message already told you what the problem was - utilities.housemaster.com is already defined. You can see that here. It looks like NS and SOA records exist.
You need to find where the subdomain is defined already and either add the records you need, or delete it and recreate.


Why does an aircraft leave a white smoke trail?

Question: Why does an aircraft leave a white smoke trail?
Comment: Good thing you put that arrow there. I would have totally missed the smoke
Comment: At least this wasn't a "chemtrail" question!
Comment: needs a freehand circle...
Comment: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bve2BCdIcAAELAn.png
Answer: Actually, there are three types of trails an aircraft can leave in the sky:
1. Condensation of water vapor in the exhaust gas and/or the wake
This needs the very cold, very dry air at higher altitudes between 6000m and 12000m. Water vapor in the exhaust stream condenses and, pushing the local air above its saturation water content, forms a white, frozen mist. Also, particles from partially burnt fuel form condensation cores wich stabilise the contrail and let it grow over time from humidity already present in the air. Depending on the atmospheric humidity, these contrails disappear rather quickly by sublimation or can stay in place for hours and even grow into cirrus clouds. They are called condensation trails or short "contrails".

Cirrus clouds triggered by aircraft contrails (picture source)
While the added water vapor in the exhaust gas helps in contrail production, the condensation happening in the pressure field around an aircraft can already produce a contrail all by itself. If the relative humidity is close to saturation and the condensed droplets freeze quickly, the aerodynamic contrail will disappear rather slowly. The same condensation happens also at lower altitude but will not leave a contrail  in temperatures above 0°C. Fog (liquid droplets) will vaporize quickly, but when frozen the condensation will last longer, until the water is re-absorbed by the air by sublimation, a much slower process than evaporation.

Engine and aerodynamic contrail forming behind an A340 (picture source)
2. Smoke from unburnt or partially burnt fuel
This was prevalent in early jets and allowed to spot them from a distance - just follow the black line, at its tip is an aircraft. Smokeless combustor cans which allow more fuel-air mixing put an end to this. For more information I recommend the excellent web page contrailscience

This B-47 uses rockets to accelerate quickly which leave the biggest smoke trail, but also the old J-47 left a lot of smoke behind (picture source).
3. Oil mist or smoke flares
The third source is shown in your picture: Oil is injected into the hot exhaust stream which forms a dense mist. This can be done with jets and piston engines, and gliders or parachutists use smoke flares. Once they are ignited (in most cases electrically) they burn down and cannot be switched off.

Smoke flares on the wingtips and fuselage of a glider (picture source)
There are many more things that can be sprayed from an aircraft (fuel, obviously, when it has to be dumped in an emergency, fertilizer or insecticides, silver iodide to seed clouds), but these are special cases. I encourage you to visit contrailscience.com for an exhaustive list of those other cases.

LS-10 glider dumping ballast water (picture source)
Comment: Probably worth noting that, in the third case of oil/smoke flares, these are unique in that they are deliberately generated for show/display purposes (often with added colours, etc) or to attract attention to the aircraft, while for the rest they are merely a byproduct of the aircraft's normal operation.
Comment: One more comes to mind, crop dusters.
Comment: The B-47 also used water injection to increase take-off performance. Injecting water cools the engine and gives more mass to accelerate out the back but, because the temperature is lower, there's a lot of partially burnt fuel coming out as black smoke.
Comment: Also note that many gliders can carry around a couple hundred litres of water ballast, that is typically dumped before landing, which also leaves a faint, white trail.
Comment: @J..., Indeed. The Blue Angels during a performance are obviously going to have a different set of concerns than a commercial jet is!
Answer: Most aircraft that leave trails aren't leaving smoke.  It's condensed water vapour; essentially, clouds. These are called contrails. This can be caused by the water in the engine exhaust condensing, or by the disruption of the air by the passage of the aircraft triggering the condensation of water that was already present.

Some aerobatic aircraft have smoke generators which leave much thicker and more visible trails which can be turned on and off and don't depend on particular atmospheric conditions.  White is most common but other colours are possible.

The Blue Angels in your photo are an example of aerobatic aircraft with smoke generators.
Comment: Well, condensation trails _are_ (a kind of) smoke. Because _white_ smoke (e.g. from wood fire or from cars when it's cold) is always condensing water vapour that is one of the combustion products.
Answer: The Blue Angels and other display teams have smoke generators in their jets, which have the specific purpose of generating a smoke trail because it looks cool. Smoke trails at airshows are generally for that purpose. The generators inject a small amount of diesel into the jet exhaust to generate white smoke, and dyed diesel to make coloured smoke.
Comment: So the smoke is special effects, interesting, thank you
Comment: @Tom ["Smoke On"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozGPz0X9h20) is something of a tag-line even for the Red Bull Air Race
Comment: Since it isn't burned, why don't they use #2 heating oil instead and save taxes?
Answer: You may also see 'smoke' coming from the wingtips or other parts of fighter aircraft under high G loads. This is actually water vapor condensation from the extremely low air pressure that is briefly generated by a hard turning fighter, and it disappears quickly.


Accounting Entry for Selling a Covered Call

Question: I recently started looking at trading options and started with the time honored tradition of selling a covered call.  What I don't understand now is what my trading platform (TD Ameritrade) balances are showing me.  I sold 1 XYZ Apr 15 80 Call @ 1.00, but my transaction history shows: "Sold -1 XYZ Apr 15 2016 80.00 @1.00".  The amount of the sale is a positive +89.22 in my ledger though I see a -89.22 against my cash funds.  When I go look at my current holds I see I have 100 shares of XYZ along with a -1 XYZ Apr 15 2016 call.  In short I can't make heads or tails of the entries or determine whether the premium was captured.
Answer: Option contracts typically each represent 100 shares. So the 1 call contract you sold to open (wrote) grants the buyer of that option the right to purchase your 100 shares for $80.00 per share any time before the option expiration date.
You were paid a gross amount of $100 (100 shares times $1.00 premium per share) for taking on the obligation to deliver should the option holder choose to exercise.
You received credit in your account of $89.22, which ought to be the $100 less any trading commission (~$10?) and miscellaneous fees (regulatory, exchange, etc.) per contract.
You did capture premium. However, your covered call write represents an open short position that, until either (a) the option expires worthless, or (b) is exercised, or (c) is bought back to close the position, will continue to show on your account as a liability.
Until the open position is somehow closed, the value of both the short option contract and long stock will continue to fluctuate. This is normal.
Comment: Chris, thanks, that makes sense to me.  I see in my Positions I have -1 Option that "cost me" -100.00.  The stock has since fallen a bit further from the $80 strike so the underlying option on the open market is now at a Bid/Ask of 0.45/0.55.  This shows up as a "Market Value of -50.00" which is confusing.  Another way to put it (not a pun) is, what should I be monitoring in my Positions that would cause me to take any action with this option?
Comment: Depends. If underlying goes to $80+ and it's a stock you want to hold (i.e. don't want it called), you could buy back the call to close your open position, but you'll probably pay more than received and realize a loss on the write. If you don't care if the stock is called, let that happen and keep the collected premium + proceeds from the share sale at exercise price, less assignment fees. Or, if the underlying is <$80 by expiration, can let the option expire worthless. Or, if you really want out of the stock (it got bad?) earlier than expiry, close the option position and sell the stock.
Comment: If before expiry you see the option premium decay to a point where you can buy it back for much less than you received, it may make sense to close it early and, say, write another, but you'll incur more fees and spread costs.


Is there an online chess game or app that allows for custom setup of pieces and printing this setup?

Question: I want to setup positions for my grandsons to show different tactics and print them. Lichess is excellent except that it won't print the pieces on the board. Any suggestions?
Comment: Are you trying to do this on a PC, Mac, iPhone, or Android? I have some suggestions, but I might tailor them based on what platform.
Answer: If you are using Windows, the easiest way may just to set up the position you want on lichess.org, and use the Windows "Snipping Tool" to grab, and print, whatever part of the screen that you want.
This is not a tactic, but that is what I just did here:
Comment: yes, thank you, this works fine! John
Comment: @JohnCollins Still, if you send me a direct message at chess.com, if you already own certain materials, I may have a method that you do not even have to enter the games, and is A LOT easier. I have MANY databases of kids books that I use, or have created myself. If you have any of the ChessBase programs, or even if you install the FREE ChessBase reader, I would send you any for any books you already own (I am not into copyright infringement). That way, you would not have to enter any positions at all. Just open, and hit the print button.
Comment: Also, since this worked for you, if you would upvote (click the little up-arrow) and accept the answer (click the checkmark), I would appreciate it.
Comment: I also have some other things that I can send you that would be very helpful to teaching kids that are not protected.
Answer: My diagram editor allows you to set up a position and save it as an image file, which can be printed separately: https://www.apronus.com/chess/diagram/editor/


Visualising a minor, harmonic Scales on the piano

Question: When i am practicing a major scale i then recognize it immediately on the piano. do you also know by heart how to immediately recognize a harmonic minor scale (which has more a dinstinct pattern) , and other important modes etc ... when playing freely on the piano? Because then it is a lot of scales to remember the patterns of them...
Comment: _When i am practicing a scale i then recognize it immediately_ ... Sounds good. I just don't really get what your problem/question is about. Could you please edit the question and clarify? Thank you!
Comment: do it completely by hearing, it'd be alot faster. look for apps that play a scale and you have to recognize them by listening.
Answer: Except it's not a lot of scales /modes to remember. There are 12 scales, and each has 7 modes associated. That could amount to 84 - except - the notes in each of the 7 modes are the same as those in the parent keys. So we're back to 12. Not so bad.
It doesn't make  a lot of difference if we think major modes or modes of harmonic minor, as the modes are still made from the parent scale notes in each. The big difference is where the tune in centred, which in the early stages of recognition may cause some confusion. I often feel with modal pieces that there could be two centres. One being the parent key - which then gives a clue as to which mode, as the tune's centre will be different - unless, of course, it's in the Ionian mode. So, the same works for major modes, too.
Comment: Hi but harmonic minor is not one of the 7 modes and also melodic minor so i guess i am referring to them especially
Comment: From the wording, I thought you meant the modes *of* harmonic minor. However, learn the 12 harmonic minor scales, and it'll help. And bear in mind that the melodic rising is only one changed note from the harmonic, and descending is the same as the natural minor - which happens to be the Aeolian mode of the parent major...
Answer: I think the only way to visualize them best is by practice. You don't have to make effort to memorize every scale. The more you play different songs, or practice scales, it becomes more natural. And even if you don't know them all, it's not a big deal.
For example, if you asked me to play the harmonic minor of A#, I would have to think for a few seconds, because it's barely used. But in the case of G#, I see it immediately, because I have played a bunch of songs that use it.
The more you practice and play, the easier it becomes.
Answer: Sometimes a major scale (for example) will start mid-scale and then go up an octave. I have seen this in Classical music quite often. I don't identify it as a specific mode. It also informs my fingering. The same is true for harmonic (and melodic) minors.


tag generates a blue box behind the pre-formatted text and a table around it on the printable version. How to disable this?

Question: I use Pre tags to embed code lines into my MediaWiki page. Problem is that Pre tag generates a blue-ish box behind the pre-formatted text which is parsed into a table when you set printable=yes in the page's URL. The question is whether or not there is a way to edit this, or change the table in any way or to turn this off when printable=yes?
Answer:
whether or not there is a way to edit this, or change the table in any way or to turn this off when printable=yes?

Yes to all question parts.
The question "how" wasn't there, correct?
Nevertheless:

inspect the box with developer tools to get into knowledge, where comes the style from.
Is it from MediaWiki - so locate it with developer tools and change it according your wishes.
Is it a kind of shadow DOM element (an element created/styled by browser, like on screenshot)

restyle (override) it according to your wishes with own CSS style, like here.
Comment: Thanks a lot for the hints. For future references, I add that if you do a search for ".wm-code" in your wiki's folder, you'll probably find the two files:
resources/src/mediawiki.skinning/elements.css
resources/src/mediawiki.legacy/commonPrint.css
And inside you'll get all the attributes for the mw-code which modifies the pre-formatted texts in your wiki.


Fonts used on cover of this textbook series (Graduate Texts in Mathematics)

Question: I'm wondering what fonts are used on the cover of this textbook series: https://n1.sdlcdn.com/imgs/d/w/2/Algebraic-Geometry-SDL803985763-1-cda65.jpg. The author/title seem to be maybe in Arial, "Springer" is maybe in Times(?), and I'm at a loss for what the series name up top is in. (WhatTheFont didn't give anything definite for that one, and for the others gave lots of very similar results. Also, the first two I've eyeballed but would like to be sure on since it's important to me to get as close a match as possible.) Thanks!
Answer: As far I can tell the author and title are Helvetica Bold, certainly not Arial.

The top one looks like Compacta Bold although I can't be 100% sure since the image quality is so bad. The x looks a bit wrong, however maybe the image is just so poor quality it's hard to tell.

The bottom Springer one is not detailed enough to tell for sure, but there's an EPS version of their logo available on their website, with the text converted to outlines, so you don't have to guess.
Comment: I was actually just looking into this. I found a cover image in way better resolution on google, made it black/white in Photoshop and uploaded it to whatthefont. I also find "Compacta Bold" to be the closest match, although not 100% similar. For example the "G" is more rounded in the original. But the books seems to be from the 1970s. Before digital typesetting. So the exact font might not be available in our times.
Comment: @Wolff - ah yes, always a possibility.
Comment: yes i think Compacta Bold is almost exactly it (everything seems right except "r"s have a slightly shorter hook on the cover, it seems...). thank you!
Answer: The book series name:
Shortened letter spacing make low res images hopeless for automatic font identifiers. I found an ad of the same book series with sharper image. With it font identifiers gave good suggestions. It's the brown version in the next image. The black version is taken from Fontspring's Cataloque. It presents font family Compressa. actually the shown version is Compressa Bold.
Comment: this is good, thank you!


Can a good lawyer mitigate a failure to prevent data breaches?

Question: I was curious how important it is for a software startup to seek legal council during the fundraising/growth stages. Basically, I don't want to be up a creek if we have some data breach or hack. How helpful could a lawyer be in mitigating such an event? I.e., does it make more sense to seek the best CS guys to protect our data and prevent a breach in the first place, or can we defer the investment in prevention and rely instead on lawyers to recover damages in the event of a breach?
Comment: Not looking to start a controversy on this, but the OP's question on whether or not to *seek a lawyer* for when a hypothetical "*event of a breach*" occurs isn't really a question for *specific legal advice*. Moreover, the OP had already accepted the answer given here.
Comment: @IñakiViggers – those are all compelling observations about law and the legal system.  Somewhere on Meta I noted that a good answer can often bring an apparently "off-topic" question "on-topic."  Your answer and comment are an excellent example of this, although in this case the question also needs some editing to keep it from getting voted closed again, which I'm about to do.
Comment: @IñakiViggers I agree that this wasn't off-topic *as a request for legal advice*.  But to the extent it's about the law it's *primarily opinion based*. To the extent it's about business risk management, your answer is great.  But that's not the subject of Law.SE.  (In fact, it's hard to imagine this question not being closed as *primarily opinion based* on any Stack Exchange.  The question could be rephrased as, "Which is more valuable: prevention or treatment?"  That sounds like a resolution for a debate competition.)
Comment: @feetwet Thank you! The last paragraph is incontrovertible, though. That not all perpetrators are in plaintiff's jurisdiction or extraditable thereto is more a *foreseeable fact* than an opinion. Relief for reversal of a data breach will be futile: Courts cannot ensure deletion from all storage media (worldwide) to which the data was downloaded. The OP should not risk that his lawyer will not even inform him that "*courts should not be in the business of issuing futile relief*", [*Burton v. City of Belle Glad*, 966 F.Supp. 1178, 1188](https://www.leagle.com/decision/19972144966fsupp117811971).
Answer:
How helpful could a lawyer be here?

Not much, as I will explain here.

Is it more important to seek the best CS guys to protect our data or
  seek a lawyer who can seek damages in the event of a breach.

Focus on having competent staff and robust systems rather than expecting the judicial system will be effective (or even willing) to grant and enforce remedies.
Your inquiry suggests that you are at the fundraising stage. Investors, especially those aware of the reality and cost of legal proceedings, are likelier to feel more confident if they know the implementation of your business is relatively safe than if the "reliability" conveyed to them is the picture of some lawyer going to court. Investors know that legal proceedings take much longer and involve much more uncertainty than the execution of a thoughtful plan of IT maintenance & monitoring.
Even if both the court and lawyer were fair and expeditious, nothing guarantees that losses will be recoverable. Perpetrators of malicious attack(s) might be located far beyond the jurisdiction of your court/country --if not outright unidentified--, whence a court's finding that your systems were hacked will be pretty much inconsequential in remedying (let alone reversing) a data breach.


What Gym exercises should i do to reduce weight instead of shaping muscles?

Question: I am 5 feet and 4 inches high. I am weighing 83kg these days. My tummy has bulged out, looking bad. I am caring for my diet, having lemon water in morning. But now i want to do gym exercises to reduce weight.
I have seen many people having good shaped body but they look bulky, even they have 6 packs but their tummy looks fat similar is for legs and biceps, triceps. I have also seen skinny people with good shaped bodies. By skinny i mean this
Question:
How to do exercise in gym to look like skinny body? Which exercises i should do? Is this possible what i am asking? Having skinny body, does that depend on exercises you do or on nature of your body?
Comment: It's almost exclusively depended on diet. You can vary the rep ranges to focus on strength or hypertrophy, but diet is always the main factor.
Answer: I think you are putting too much emphasis on the exercise portion of your goal. You say that you are "caring for your diet" by drinking lemon water in the morning. The number one way to change your body composition is going to be your diet.
If you are not already tracking your daily calorie intake, you should start. This will be the most effective way to produce better results. If you are looking to get skinny and avoid building much muscle, you need to be in a calorie deficit to induce weight/fat loss. You can use MyFitnessPal for this, it becomes pretty easy once you get used to it. I have all of my clients use it to track their' diets.
As for the exercises, you can have a mix of weight training and cardiovascular exercise. Assuming you stay in a calorie deficit, you are not going to build a lot of muscle mass, which it seems you are trying to avoid.
Comment: Thanks Milo for your valuable answer.Is there an estimate about how much calorie deficit per day is safe? By "safe" i mean,not feeling tired all day just because i am calorie deficit. How much my body can endure this deficit without feeling tired?
Comment: It is going to depend on how much fat you need to lose and what body fat percentage you are looking to get down to. You can find some examples of body fat percentage here: http://www.builtlean.com/2012/09/24/body-fat-percentage-men-women/ Basically, the higher body fat you are to start, the more of a deficit you will be able to handle without feeling bad. There are a lot of calorie calculators out there but one of the easiest things I have found is to just multiply your bodyweight by 13. This will give you a good calorie intake to start off with.
Comment: If you are losing between 0.5-1.5 lbs per week, stick with it. If you aren't losing that much, you can drop another 100-200 calories from your daily intake and keep adjusting as you go. The larger your deficit becomes, the worse you will feel. So, sticking with a small deficit like I laid out will ward off any bad side effects of being in a deficit!
Comment: @MiloMartinovich - If you have a personal link, please do not put it in your answers. You may place it in your profile, and if you reference the site in an answer, you need to disclose that it is your personal site. Otherwise, your posts may get marked as promotional/spam.


Which tree branches break the least?

Question: Which tree has branches that break the least over all other trees? Which trees shed the least weight?
Answer: Shedding 'weight' I assume you mean leaves and branches?  That would depend on the size of the tree, the age of the tree, what time of year. Conifers would be my guess for 'shedding less weight' since they do not abscise their leaves for winter dormancy.  There are a few conifers that are deciduous, however.
On the subject of branches breaking, the trees that have the widest angle between branch and trunk or more than a 45 degree angle up to 90 degrees have the strongest branches.  The tighter the angle between branch and trunk the weaker that connection will be.
Oaks are a good example of this.  Almost 90 degrees from the trunk.  Those branches are less likely to break.  Birch or poplar with very upright branching and angles less than 45 degrees from the trunk (or main branch) have very weak connections and those branches break easily.
Answer: Two other trees that are less likely to lose branches:

Sugar maples (Acer saccharum). I would go only with the species here, although there are a couple of decent sugar maple hybrids. I would not recommend any other maple species, and certainly watch out for things like Autumn Blaze maples, which are from two different species and break constantly.
Honey Locust (Gleditsia triacanthos inermis) and hybrids. Note that some specimens of this tree can be brittle however, so even though they have good branching structure, you may still lose smaller branches on occasion.

A note on oaks - if Oak Wilt is in your area, than it's essential that you prune your tree during your winter (December through February in the northern US).
Answer: I guess it depends on the context. I lived through the ice storm of January 1998 and speaking from experience what happened was that the hickories were about the worst. It was quite worrying to hear the major branches snapping loudly and frequently. Mostly the main trunks stayed intact, just the laterals breaking. Ash was also quite bad. Many maple syrup operators reported that their trees were damaged and saw a risk of infection in the open wounds but I think they were just hoping for $$ compensation.
Those trees that came through best were conifers (as Stormy notes, upvoted) since they are accustomed to taking weight and bending soft laterals under the weight of snow/ice while the main trunk stays straight. Birches responded by bending like reeds, the whole tree bowed over so the tips touched the ground, and then when the ice melted 10 days later just straightened up and carried on as normal. Birches are however quite dirty trees and will drop lots of little twigs all over the place in normal conditions. Red oak was hardly touched the branching is so reliable.
You might want to look at some of the pics of the ice storm events.
Comment: The ice storm I experienced was earlier...early 1990's.  So eerily silent.  Which made the branches breaking sound like cannons.  Transformers bursting with bright white blue lights.  Trees actually breaking in half.  Every leaf, every branch every conifer needle coated in heavy ice.  Standing on the back porch watching this happen was a WOW experience never to be forgotten.  The weight of the ice is NOT what trees have adapted to be able to handle to survive.  Too sporadic.  The fast growing trees and shrubs that adapted to heavy snow DO bend very well...Manzanita and Ceanothus are examples.

Which tree branches break the least?


Address and Public key

Question: I am reading about cryptography in Bitcoin. Bitcoin adress is created by applying cryptographic hash function to public key of the wallet. I know that this function is a trap door function but what are possible vulnerabilities if the public key could be derived from the address? Public keys are used anyway when authenticating the creator of the transaction (signer of the transaction).
Answer: There are several aspects to not sending to a public key directly. Here are a few I can name

RipeMD160 shortens the address from 256 bits to 160 bits
A checksum is introduced to the address
An address doesn't expose the pubkey, so if the ECDSA gets compromised, funds are still safe ["quantum PC attack resistant"]
Pay to script hash is possible with the same address format; in later iterations with e.g. taproot this can greatly enhance privacy and functionality at little or no extra on-chain cost

Address and Public key


How to make transparent shape to make the color more bright

Question: How to make a transparent shape for example a rectangle that increase the brightness of background color or other shape like image below. The background color is dark blue, the shape make the color more bright.
Answer: You can add a white shape into a new top layer which has blending mode "Value" or "Overlay". Adjust the layer opacity smaller, if needed.
A white shape has been added:

The blending mode has been changed to Value, the opacity has been reduced to keep the color possible to produce

Unfortunately the white shape must have something under. Against transparency it becomes visible as white:
Answer: You can do it with layers, and blend modes.

The Background layer is solid colour
Layer 2 is filled light blue, solid colour
Layer 3 has is solid darker blue, with Blending mode set to Pin Light.
Layer 4 is a line filled with a very light blue, Blending mode set to Lightness (LHC)