Are cognitive flexibility and interference control the same thing?

Question: Interference control requires  being able to inhibit irrelevant stimulI ie shift flexibily from something  you are doing and back into it in the presence of competing stimulus. Is it the same as Cognitive Flexibility? Or are they different?
Answer: Interference control is the ability to suppress irrelevant information (Gazzaniga, Ivry & Mangun, 2014). For example, ignoring the sound of the dishwasher in the other room while you are watching a TV show. Cognitive flexibility is the ability to switch between thinking about two (or more) different concepts (Scott, 1962). Cognitive flexibility is further divided into task switching (an unconscious behaviour) and cognitive switching (a conscious behaviour). Interference control and cognitive flexibility are different processes that are grouped under the wide range of functions associated with cognitive control.

References
Gazzaniga, M. S., Ivry, R. B., & Mangun, G. R. (2014). Cognitive Neuroscience: The biology of the mind (4th Ed.) New York: W. W. Norton & Co.
Scott, William A. (1962). Cognitive complexity and cognitive flexibility. Sociometry. American Sociological Association. 25 (4): 405–414. doi:10.2307/2785779. JSTOR 2785779.
Comment: Thanks! Would you be able to put cognitive flexability into a real life situation  for me to aid understanding? Eg managing not to burn the pancakes whilIst talking to a friend  (shifting attention back and forth)...would that be task switching? Is it related to working memory then (ie being able to hold information in mind so one can readily switch between tasks or concepts)? I'm interested in how these process  translate to everyday life . Many thanks


What is the likelihood that you would win a case of defamation if you cannot prove who sent it?

Question: For example, if I were to have a scorned friend who is seeking my demise and he/she calls my employer and calls me a rapist or accuses me of sexual harassment, would it be effective to sue? Even if these claims are false, even if my employer does not believe what is going on, let's assume I get fired because the firm does not want to take a risk either way. Additionally, let's say I know that my friend did this but I have no proof (they reached out to my employer pretending to be someone else, or they used a burner phone) and subpoenaing their ISP wouldn't do much good, do I have much of a case in suing them? Does circumstantial evidence count (i.e.: they have engaged in similar conduct with another person in the past)? Also, what kind of damages would I be looking for? Would this be a claim in small claims court? Also, suppose my salary is $100k
Answer: If you sue a person for a tort X, one of the things you have to prove is that the defendant did do X. A baseless belief that it must have been so-and-so will do you no good. You do not have to have iron-clad evidence of your allegations, for a civil suit, but you have to show with a preponderance of evidence that the claim is true. A combination of "hates me" and "provably did this a number of times in the past" could well suffice.
As for damages, it depends on what harm you actually suffered. If you get fired and you show that it was because of a false allegation, you would probably have to take this to the big court, since small claims court handles amounts in the $5,000 range (jurisdiction-specific).
Answer: It should be noted in this scenario, this would count as Defamation per se, which are defamation that are intrinsically harmful and do not require you to prove damages if the defamation is proven.
In the course of Discovery, you do not need to prove that the evidence exists, just that it is likely to exist, so you may be able to get the former employer's phone records to see when the call was placed.  Naturally, if evidence on the ISP exists, that can be sought for discovery.
You could also get evidence through evidence of past history (especially helpful is that she did this before.  Look for case info related to that).
Comment: Do you think "sexual harassment" would be subsumed under *per se*?
Comment: Defamation per se statements typically include:  allegations of false criminal activity (rape, sexual assault), and lies that are injurious to the victim's trade, profession, or business.

Given that this case involves her making false statements suggesting acts of criminal conduct on your part and you lost your job because of this statement, that would be per se.  Unless this is in Arizona, Missouri, or Tennessee, which do not have per se defamation laws.
Answer: As others correctly point out, false accusations of rape are defamatory per se. However, I should add that an award of substantial damages (which are much greater than nominal damages of $1) requires proof that the defendant made the defamatory falsehoods with the mental state of actual malice. Negligence is sufficient only when the defamation is not privileged and causes special damages. Actual malice is consistently defined as "defamer's knowledge that the statements are false or defamer's reckless disregard of the truth or falsity of the defamatory statements".

even if my employer does not believe what is going on, let's assume I
  get fired because the firm does not want to take a risk either way

That meets the defamatory threshold to the extent that false statements deter(-red) third parties from associating with you. Nothing requires the third party (here the employer) to admit that he believed the statements at issue. What counts is the evidenced effects of the defamatory publications.

let's say I know that my friend did this but I have no proof

Then how do you know that your "friend" did this? If you don't, the safest approach would be to sue "DOE defendants". Henceforth, your goal will be to prove that your "friend" is the defamatory publisher. You can always conduct discovery on non-parties (including your "friend") and, upon obtaining proof of authorship, amend the complaint to name your "friend" as defendant.

Does circumstantial evidence count (i.e.: they have engaged in similar conduct with another person in the past)?

Circumstantial evidence is admissible, although not in the way you outline. What you describe in parenthesis is known as prior act evidence, which isn't exactly circumstantial (or not always is circumstantial ), and is inadmissible as to "the fact that he did it back then proves that he did it this time as well".
In defamation contexts, circumstantial evidence is most often used for proving the defamer's state of mind at the time he/she made the defamatory falsehoods. Circumstantial evidence may also encompass the defamer's acts subsequent to his/her defamatory statements. For instance, a defamer's subsequent refusals to retract his/her disproved falsehoods constitute clear proof of actual malice. See Dalbec v. Gentleman's Companion, Inc., 828 F.2d 921, 927 (1987): "Malice may be proved inferentially because it is a matter of the defendant's subjective mental state, revolves around facts usually within the defendant's knowledge and control, and rarely is admitted".
Prior act evidence is admissible for proving method, system or intent for doing a thing (see Michigan Rule of Evidence 404(b)(1) or its federal counterpart). Thus, prior act evidence may inferentially prove a defamer's state of mind (such as his/her knowingly falsity when making the statements).
For instance, in 2015 I sued my father's second wife for defamation and harassment/tortious interference with business relation (the briefs in Michigan appellate and supreme courts are here). Defense counsel alleged that her client's mental illness and psychiatric commitment at the time of defaming me denies that she acted with actual malice. I proved that her mental illness is irrelevant, given her prior history of making false accusations of crimes. For example, I submitted copy of a police report where she falsely accused my father of domestic violence in the midst of divorce proceedings (which my father bafflingly dismissed). The police report serves as prior act evidence of this defendant's state of actual malice.


Should I tell about my inexperience in my cover letter?

Question: I am a 16 year old with hardly any experience in the academic field and have shown a certain degree of unprofessionalism in the initial draft of my first paper. Should I state this in the cover letter and probably apologize for that?
Comment: What you say about your paper draft... happens to every researcher. We usually are hopeful about our research, up to a point where it can sound childish to others, we get lost in details, we make mistakes others find easily. Don't beat yourself up on that. Do not mention what you perceive as inexperience. About age, I don't know. In some places, it is preferred if you don't mention age (so you cannot be discriminated for it), but for some things, it might be an important factor (People would not give an internship they fund to help high school students gain experience to a Ph.D. student.)
Comment: Please elaborate what you are meaning by "unprofessionalism" regarding your "initial draft" of a paper. Why was that a problem?
Comment: What are you writing the cover letter for? Remember that most 16-year-olds have "hardly any experience in the academic field" and also would probably be "unprofessional" (because they have not yet learned to do it) when writing a draft for a paper. Also generally in a cover letter you do not add much detail but try to "sell yourself". Picture yourself in a positive light, everybody does.
Comment: @J-Kun I might have made errors such as making useless citations, and explaining points that I believe are useful but might not be that liked by the editor. I also sound kind of childish and hopeful about my research. I have shown my paper to 3 college level professors and each pointed out a new mistake.
Comment: @skymningen Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. Should mention my age or inexperience anywhere, if at all.
Answer: No, you should not mention your inexperience. It's simply not going to factor into the editor's decision as to whether to publish your paper. Papers are (at least in theory) published purely on their own merits. It doesn't matter whether your paper is a good paper for a 16-year-old, it matters whether it is a good paper, full stop. So it won't get any special consideration.
When you use the term "apologize", it makes it sound as if you are thinking: "I'm sorry for wasting the editor's time". If that's the case, just don't submit it. If you submit the paper, you think it's worthy of their consideration. It doesn't have to be perfect.
Note that a number of journals have special awards reserved for excellent papers from young/early-career scientists. If this journal is one of them, you may want to advise them of your age if/when your paper is accepted, but not before, so that they are aware of your eligibility.


Power outlets near service entrance

Question: I want to install a 50 amp circuit breaker in the service entrance box and put the 4 wire 220 outlet for my welder right below the service entrance. I will be using a 50 ft extension to reach my welder when I use it. Is there any concerns with this type of installation? It is too difficult to run the heavy cable through the walls and over the ceiling to the location where my welder is located, but I don't use it that often. The service entrance is only about 3 ft off the floor next to the garage door and the entrance to the main house. Are there any potential issues with such an installation?
Comment: What else is currently in the service entrance box? Can you upload a picture of it?
Comment: Can you post photos of the service-entrance box please?
Comment: Not sure what you want to know about the inside of the box. There is room for about five or six more double circuit breakers. It is flush mounted into the sheetrock of the wall about 3 ft off the floor and nearly 24" tall. There are access holes at the bottom of the box that I would use to run #8 wire cable to the outlet box about 6" below
Comment: BTW I don't see any way to enter pictures here
Comment: To enter pics, [edit] your question, put your cursor where you want the pic, and look at the top of the edit box.  See this ----  **B** *I* chainlink, " {} [mountains and sun]. ----- the Mountains and sun icon is "insert picture".
Answer: Panels at your service entrance can be all sorts of things.  Meter only, meter and main breaker, meter and several breakers and spaces, etc.
From your comment it sounds like yours is the kind with several breaker spaces.
Sure, throw a 2-pole breaker in there, come out a knockout with either conduit or cable, and go down to a junction box with a 14-50 receptacle.  Myself, I would use a steel box and steel conduit nipple to connect them, then use THWN-2 wire (omitting ground since the steel conduit is the ground).
You'll need #6 copper wire for this, either THWN-2 wire in conduit, or 6/3UF cable or other outdoor-rated cable w/ground.  Don't use Romex/NM.
You can use #8 if you want to, but then you'll need to make the breaker 40A.  That is legal on a 50A socket because of a Code exception.  Given the very short wire run, I wouldn't bother scrimping on the cost of wire.
The cable around to your welder needs to be #6 cordage such as SJOOW.  If you already bought #8, change the breaker to 40A.  You cannot make extension cords out of NM, UF or any other cable meant for use inside walls or burial.  It is too brittle and not made to resist physical damage.
Comment: Is there any problem with it being located so close to the service box, or in a traffic area? I have an extension cable that is a 4-wire cable similar to a 50 amp RV drop cord. I doubt that I ever exceed 20 amps when welding anyway. When I use it, the cars will be out of the garage and the garage door open so I can work outside on the apron without splattering all over
Comment: The cord on the welder is only four feet long so will be a pain without an extension cord. But the welder is on wheels and fairly easy to move.
Thanks for your help
Comment: Why not use romex? The panel is inside?  Jay locating the box under the panel is ok I usually do like Harper suggests with a nipple and thhn wire but you can also use romex or UF with clamps, I like raco brand insiders as they are quick and like your case it could be done with less sheetrock repair if an old work box was used, however an old work box on a large receptacle is not a good idea.
Comment: I agree that I could use romex, but I have  a short piece of 4-wire #8 that is dying to be used. And I have clamps. Yes the service box is inside the garage, inside the walls covered with sheetrock. I am planning to use a 4" old-work box, but will cut the opening as close as possible to the exact size of the box to reduce breaking the sheetrock as the plug is exercised (plug/unplug). Will that work?

Power outlets near service entrance


Easy, low fee way to move fro one paper wallet to another?

Question: Newbie here.
I am looking for an online wallet that will support me to import Bitcoin paper wallets, then sweep each one to a new paper wallet, at the lowest fee.
I had a few accounts from three years ago and finally acted on getting my modest Bitcoin on paper wallets. After much research I chose paper, printer, method and BitCoinPaperWallet to generate the keys. A few days ago I read on Coindesk.com that there have been many reports of people losing large amounts of  Bitcoin due to a probable back door problem with BitCoinPaperwallets servers. I do not have large amounts, but still want to be cautious.
So, I want to move my several paper wallets to ones generated by BitAddress.org. I want to import the wallet to an online wallet and then sweep each one to my replacement wallet. My logic is that importing can be done without miner fees. With Bitcoin miner fees being upwards of $20 and taking 8 hours at that, at least using the import function would cut fees and time in half.
I signed up with Trust Wallet, owned by Binance and after many hours and finally submitting a question was informed that they do not support importing Bitcoin wallets. They do support importing Etherium and many others. Odd.
Can anyone recommend an online android smartphone app for me?
Answer: If you simply import your paper wallet's private key to another wallet, then you will not be protected against the backdoor that is being used to steal funds stored on paper wallets created with the code you mentioned. This is because importing the key will not move the BTC to a new address, it will simply allow the new wallet to spend the coins that are stored at the paper wallet address. Nothing would stop the thief from also being able to move those coins.
To protect yourself, you need to move the BTC to a new address, which was generated using secure software/hardware.
I would strongly recommend against using a web-wallet. Instead, I would recommend starting here: https://bitcoin.org/en/choose-your-wallet
Comment: Thank you for your response. I chose Blockchain wallet to do the import, sweep, send (to new paper wallet). It seemed to successfully reduce the total amount of fees by starting with an Import function. But it appears that, of course,  one cannot send without paying miner fees and those fees, on this platform, need to come out of the same wallet/address (?verbage) as the coin being sent. I could have sent the "maximum " available but I prefer to keep a set amount on each new paper wallet.
Comment: @SueSy I would recommend learning about what the 'UTXO model' that bitcoin uses is, and how transaction fees are calculated and paid. Your reply indicates some small misconceptions, but you're on the right track. Happy to help.
Answer:
My logic is that importing can be done without miner fees

Depends what is happening. Are you importing or sweeping? Importing means the wallet is just saving the private key, which means funds have not moved. Sweeping simply means taking all the funds from one address and moving them to a new address. This is a transaction on the blockchain and will require a fee.
Sweeping is the easiest way to move funds from a paper wallet. Many wallets have an import or sweep feature. You can do your own research on that as this is not the forum for product suggestions.


Vegan cheesecake?

Question: Can a cheesecake be vegan?
This is mostly curiousness on my part though if a cheesecake can be made commercially sugar-free why can't it be made vegan commercially?
Answer: A homemade cheesecake can definitely be vegan and, if there is market for it, so can be commercially made cheesecake. There are good baking substitutes for egg available and milk in the kitchen can be almost always substituted by some kind of vegan milk (soy, almond, coconut.. you name it).
I am not sure about the USA but I know about Tesco here in UK selling this vegan blackcurrant cheesecake. With that said, the one time I tried it I was not very impressed. You might have better luck going for a more specialist producer, such as Daiya and their Cheezecake. At this point things do get a bit pricey though.
If you really want to get a great (and potentially cheaper) vegan cheesecake your best bet would probably be to bake it yourself. This also has the added benefit of you knowing exactly what goes in it and not being restricted to what flavours the market offers. Some great recipes can be found here, here or here.
Answer: I have made so many different types of vegan cheesecake using different filling ingredients. In addition to Erica's suggestions, you can also try avocado or coconut cream as the main filling ingredient, but there are loads of combinations that work.
I usually don't cook my cheesecakes after assembly, though they are usually not strictly raw because I often use tofu (which is made from soy beans that are well cooked during the process) and/or other ingredients that have been cooked. A base that doesn't need cooking can easily be made by blending oats and/or nuts and dried fruits such as raisins or dates in a blender until crumbly and then pressing them into the serving dish.
Coconut oil and melted chocolate are great for stiffening creamy mixtures if you refrigerate your cake to set it.
Another great ingredient for thickening an overly wet mixture is coconut flour. I made a lemon cheesecake this weekend with a filling consisting of these ingredients blended until smooth:

100g cashews soaked overnight and rinsed well
100g silken tofu
juice and zest of 2 lemons
50 ml maple syrup
3 tbsp rice syrup
2 tbsp coconut oil
1/4 cup coconut flour

The texture was wonderful. Coconut flour is rich and gives density without graininess. Also, of course, it doesn't rely on a temperature change to do its work.
Also, cooked banana works as an amazingly effective setting ingredient. Fry the banana until very mushy, then mix with creamy, sweet and tasty ingredients like silken tofu, sugar and cocoa powder, refrigerate, and you get a thick mousse.
My biggest success was a baked vanilla cheesecake based on a recipe from Yoshiko Takeuchi's book Cooking with Soy. If you want something similar to a traditional baked cheesecake I recommend this method. I can't believe how good it is considering it's mostly tofu!
Baked vanilla cheesecake
Base:

80g cashews
80g oats
1 very heaped tbsp rice syrup
1 tbsp oil (preferably from the cashew butter jar - otherwise use peanut, safflower or canola oil)

Filling:

~300g firm tofu, water drained off elsewhere
~75ml maple syrup
zest of 1 lemon (optional)
juice of half a lemon
1 tbsp kuzu*
1-2 tsp vanilla seeds
2 tbsp coconut oil, melted if the weather is cold

Put oats and cashews in a blender and grind. The mixture doesn't have to be well powdered.
Transfer to a mixing bowl and add syrup and oil and mix until it reaches a crumbly but press-able consistency
Press into a pie dish for baking
Put all the filling ingredients into a blender and blend until nicely smooth
Pour the filling over the base
Bake in a cool oven (170 degrees C) for 30-45 minutes. The edges should be lightly golden and the middle wobbly.
Switch off the oven and allow the cake to cool in there for at least half an hour, then remove and cool before transferring to the fridge.

* kuzu or kudzu is a type of starch extracted from kuzu vine that is a very effective thickener. It's commonly used in Japan. Arrowroot or even cornstarch might work if you can't get kuzu, but I haven't tested those.
Answer: Technically it isn't a cheesecake anymore, since cheese is not vegan. However, it's possible to make vegan imitation cheesecake: a dessert with the same flavor and consistency, but made without cheese.
There are a number of recipes out there (just Google!), and they appear to try different amounts of different bases to get that cheesecake texture:

cashew cream (made from cashews that are first soaked, then pureed)
tofu
vegan cream cheese
vegan sour cream
vegan yogurt (e.g. soy or coconut)

Vegan cheesecake?


What's the "opposite" of emergence?

Question: What do you call the phenomena that occurs when smaller entities are observed to have properties the wider whole do not have, properties or behaviors which emerge only when only the constituents are studied? It's the opposite of emergence in that we note that smaller particles have different properties than bigger system they're part of. Does such a term exist and why?
Comment: If, after reading the answers, you come to the conclusion there is no term for the opposite of emergence, and your studies would benefit from one, and "vanish" does not quite capture the meaning, might I suggest *demergence*? "When the three points of a triangle move to lie on a line, the incenter and circumcenter points demerge."
Comment: This is not really the opposite of emergence, and there is no term for it because its meaning seems very unclear. Emergence comes up in the context of reduction. We try to reduce operation of the whole to that of its parts + interactions, and when some aspect cannot be so reduced we say that it emerges on top of it. But there is no "reducing" operation of the parts to that of the whole (I am not even sure what that would mean exactly), and so there is nothing there to "demerge" on top (bottom?) of. That properties of parts do not always transfer to the whole is just routine.
Comment: From the question I would think 'dissolution' as in the emergent properties dissolved and you could only look at the component parts.  I don't think you need an 'opposite' term to define the properties of individual components.  Either you are talking about the properties of the components or the emergent properties that appear when the components act together as a whole, right?
Comment: 'Particularity' is a term used by some nondual teachers.
Answer: Emergence isn't necessarily about smaller to bigger, although it is a property of groups or interactions. It is something that happens in intermediate states between absolutely chaotic behaviour and rigidly ordered systems. It can occur from very small scales, like whirlpools/vortices, or crystal nuclei, or ripples, beginning with half a dozen molecules, but also capable of scaling.
In general, reductionism is very successful. We can use the simplest effective elements of a system, to predict it's behaviours. Units of crystal lattices, or kinetics of gas molecules, can predict bulk properties. Sometimes though, we find feedbacks that cause dynamic states to stabilise, eg chemical buffering, where pH is stabilised by equilibria between compounds - this can occur with just one set of the molecules involved, though it also scales up to a bulk property.
Emergentism is a mode of explanation, in terms of group or system properties. So it's opposite is the reductionist mode of explanation. They both concern bulk properties of systems where there there are groups of similar constituents, ie science.
It sounds like you might be asking about uniqueness, or idiosyncrasy. Or maybe how degrees of freedom of constituents can be suppressed in group behaviour, like how superconductivity occurs below a certain temperature when the thermal motion stops it affecting bulk properties (electrons stop coupling to phonons).
It is very common for large groups of objects to be predictable, even when an individual element is not. An example is modelling traffic as though it was a gas. This is kind of the opposite of emergent behaviour, where elements known to behave completely unpredictably, operate within constraints (roads) and have limited interactions (communication limited to vehicle position, indicators, lights). Uniqueness or unpredictability is then suppressed, resulting in ordered behaviour.
What motivated your question?
Comment: Great answer to the somewhat confusing question. Sometimes, driving *is* a gas.
Answer: The features that a system exhibits, which are not present on individual constituent subsystems, are called emergent.
For example, any point in a group of points that define a simple geometric form, like a square or a triangle, can't have a dimension. But a set of points can. So, dimensions are an emergent property of systems made by points. Equivalent features can be found for non-living parts and living entities made of such parts, etc.
Notice that features are subjective. That is, they are (using the Kant's jargon) impressions, that doesn't necessary exist as noumena, they only exist as phenomena. Points and shapes, or life or gravity are just ideas that only exist inside of the head of an individual. Outside of our heads, there's only atoms interacting (and most probably, not even that!). We interpret patterns and give them names. Patterns only exist within our heads.
Therefore, emergence is not a formal subject of study of the systems theory, it is usually a matter that is studied along with some specific type of system. For example, biological emergence is a widespread subject: the study of the biological emergent features of non-living systems.
Now, for your question, evidently, the parts might have properties than the whole doesn't have.
For example, the ability to make coffee is an artificially-developed emergent property of a coffee machine. A single pipe --which would be a part of a coffee machine-- doesn't have the ability to make coffee. In the same way, the coffee machine doesn't have the ability to avoid liquid spills, which a single pipe would have.
As you see, emergence is quite a subjective topic, so there are no agreements or a formal background. Therefore, there are no common names for such properties.
For example, we can come up with a concept there: if a feature of a part is not part of the whole, the feature can be considered a divergent or a declined feature of the whole.
Comment: I thought of 'divergence' also. Would make a great movie title...
Answer: It sounds like Haecceity may be a philosophical term for your concern:

Haecceity is a term from medieval scholastic philosophy, first coined by followers of Duns Scotus to denote a concept that he seems to have originated: the discrete qualities, properties or characteristics of a thing that make it a particular thing. Haecceity is a person's or object's thisness, the individualising difference between the concept "a man" and the concept "Socrates" (i.e., a specific person).

So a tire as a whole has elastic property while when you zoom-in about its hard steel frame component a new hardness property emerged which the whole doesn't possess functionally. But this hard steel component idiosyncratically constitutes and defines a tire.
Comment: The most pertinent answer.
Answer: You mean like, how subatomic particles have quantum properties that disappear at the macroscopic scale?  That's also emergence.  Specifically, the classical properties emerge from the quantum ones.
See the composition fallacy.
Comment: Doesn't this kind of dodge the question as it asks whether there is a term for the other direction specifically?
Comment: @PhilipKlöcking there is no other direction.  The behavior of large things results from the behavior of small things, not the other way around.  That's my point: the apparent "reversal" of emergence he describes is not one.
Comment: But isn't emergence smaller to bigger?
Comment: @Sayaman yes, the "disappearance" of the quantum properties can be looked at another way, as the emergence of classical properties.
Comment: Ah, ok, you should have made it more clear.
Comment: In the case of say, Brownian Motion, a particular particle gets kicked in a particular direction even though there is no net direction of all the particles together. Kicking arises from motionlessness.
Answer: "In philosophy, supervenience refers to a relation between sets of properties or sets of facts. X is said to supervene on Y if and only if some difference in Y is necessary for any difference in X to be possible. Here are some examples:

Whether there is a table in the living room supervenes on the
positions of molecules in the living room.
The truth value of (A) supervenes on the truth value of (¬A).
Molecular properties supervene on atomic properties.
One's moral character supervenes on
one's action(s)."

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supervenience)
Answer: If you think EMERGENCE as a "flowing into" concept, you can view the opposite concept as a submergence
If you think as an EMERGENCY you can thik it as a concentration in order

What's the "opposite" of emergence?


Why is "proverse" yaw better than no yaw?

Question: Why is the tendency to yaw in the direction of the roll more desirable (since it's the "proverse" yaw) than the lack of yaw in response to roll? Is it even possible to have no yawing tendency at all during rolls in a plane?
Answer: I would add that it depends on what you mean by "proverse yaw", and that vertical fin size is key.
Proverse implies "too much" yaw in excess of the appropriate yaw rate for the angle of bank, which would be a skidding turn. That's bad.   If proverse just means an into-turn yaw rate that is appropriate for the bank, that's good.
Airplanes with spoilers-only for roll control suffer can suffer from "bad" proverse yaw in that sense, because the drag of the down-wing spoiler, with nothing sticking up on the opposite wing to offset it, pulls the nose into the turn too much, requiring out of turn rudder to keep coordinated flight (I've heard that the spoilers-only Mitsubishi MU-2 is like that).  But almost all airplanes have the opposite, adverse yaw, to one degree or another.
Anyway, what we want is a natural yaw rate that is appropriate to the bank angle so the tail naturally wants to stay lined up behind the nose in the air stream during the turn. Asymmetric drag effects of flight controls aside, the yaw rate you get in concert with bank to get a turn is a function of the vertical fin (and the rudder, to the extent that it's providing a passive fin-like effect, like with a hydraulic rudder, or a mechanical rudder with centering springs).
It's basically a big weathervane.  If you had no fin/rudder, no weathervaning effect at all, you'd just skew sideways when you bank (even ignoring the dynamic yawing effects of the rolling action or asymmetric aileron drag, which make the slipping worse).
You would think it's desirable to have a fin that can make the tail follow the nose immediately and precisely, when side slip occurs as a result of banking, so the bigger the vertical fin, the better.  But there's a problem with that.  To exploit the self-righting effect of dihedral, to give wings-level stability in roll, you need to have a little bit of side slip occur when the wings are banked, to create the self-righting lift differential.
So you need a weathervane, but not too big a weathervane.  The sizing of the fin itself is a balancing act over the need for strong into-turn yaw, and for roll stability due to dihedral effect.  If the fin is too big, into-turn yaw is too strong and immediate; the airplane will immediately yaw (weathervane) into the turn with little or no initial side slip, and it will want to enter a spiral dive any time it's banked.  Vertical fin too small, and the weathervaning effect is too weak and the airplane hunts and slithers around in yaw too much.
There is a sweet spot for fin sizing that gives good "proverse" yaw to give a naturally coordinated turn that only needs bits of rudder to counteract adverse yaw while the ailerons are displaced, while still allowing just enough initial side slip to allow dihedral effect to apply its self-righting tendency when the airplane is banked slightly by a bump.
Comment: Very interesting answer, shows your experience with large swept wing airliners, and why so many people consider the slip after the roll so important in understanding the mechanism of the turn.  With swept wings (learned from Jan and Peter) the inside wing is now "straighter" into the relative wing.  That (added drag), along with the "weathervane" gives the "natural" coordinated turn.  Aileron turn, helped as needed with rudder.  Funny, the high straight wing 172 is a rudder turn helped by ailerons. It's all good coordinated.  Thanks.
Comment: Well this applies to all airplanes but with sweep it gets way more complicated because the sweep adds yaw stability allowing a bit less fin area, but also creates really strong roll/yaw coupling leading to dutch roll problems and the need for yaw damper systems.  Jets require very small amounts of rudder to correct for adverse yaw and the yaw damper system takes care of it.  You never touch the rudder pedals on a jet once airborne unless an engine fails.  I don't really see airplanes as turning with rudder because the turn is due to bank and the rudder is just to keep the tail  behind the nose
Comment: Yes, as usual what adds to stability going forward can add to instability in the slip.  Since many people move from trainer type aircraft to airliners, does the training highlight less rudder? It could for a number of reasons for that type of plane.  For something really bottom heavy (like a plane with floats or huge tires) a little more rudder with dihedral might help.
Comment: You quickly learn on your first type course to put your feet on the floor during the climb out once you no longer have to be ready for an engine cut.  I had a bad habit from years of gliders, taildraggers etc, to leave them on the pedals, unconsciously giving little squeezes of rudder with aileron, and had to consciously stop myself and let the yaw damper do its thing.
Answer: Turns with balanced flight at less than 90 degrees angle of bank (but more than zero) are actually rotations about two axes at once in steady state. It is a continuous combination of pitch and yaw. For it to be a level turn, the yaw has to be in the same direction as the angle of bank. With proverse yaw, on rolling into a turn the yaw is in the right direction.
For an aileron roll, you can get zero yaw on rolling with a little use of rudder, or if the aircraft uses a mix of spoilers and ailerons.
In the landing pattern, a strong proverse yaw while low and slow could contribute to an approach turn stall, same as if you tried to "rudder" the turn. Not a good outcome.
Answer:
Is it even possible to have no yawing tendency at all during rolls in a plane?

No.
Once the aircraft is in a steady roll, the roll damping will fully compensate for the differential lift caused by aileron deflection. Now the rolling motion will increase the local angle of attack on the downward moving wing the farther you are away from the center, and decrease it on the upward moving wing. Since lift is perpendicular to local airflow, the air force vector on the downward moving wing is pointing slightly forward, and that on the upward moving wing slightly backwards. Please note that the total lift produced by each wing is roughly the same! The rolling moment of both is exactly zero once the roll rate is steady. However, the aileron deflection will decrease lift on the downward moving wing such that it just compensates for the increased angle of attack due to the rolling motion, and the same holds for the upward moving wing with its trailing-edge-down aileron deflection.
What is different is not the magnitude, but the direction of lift on both wings. This pulls the downward-moving wing forward and the upward moving wing back, causing a negative yawing moment in a positive rolling motion. That is why you will always have a yawing moment in a roll.
Comment: I've got 1000+ hours in an aircraft that with yaw damping off, when you throw the ailerons over full deflection the plane's nose just keeps pointing forward while the plane slides off on whichever wing is down. Neither adverse nor proverse. E-2C Hawkeye.
Comment: @PeterKämpf Shouldn't mentioning initial and steady positive wing AoA be required for this question to be categorically answered by No? Because negative initial AoA induces proverse yaw. (relative to cockpit) Hence answer should start with "it depends on AoA" in the first place?
Comment: (symmetrically designed aircraft at zero AoA  -ballistic trajectory- produces no yawing tendency at all during roll)
Comment: (and conventional asymmetrical designs using differential aileron deflection even produce proverse yawing tendency at very low positive aoa)
Comment: @qqjkztd: Please read the answer carefully. The rolling motion changes local AoA regardless of initial AoA. The resulting yawing moment will not even become proverse in inverted flight, or a vertical dive for that matter.
Comment: @MikeY: With a big tail in the prop blast you simply never noticed the yaw, because it is so small. Turn off the props and repeat. The yaw is there, only masked by the increased dynamic pressure on the verticals.
Comment: @Mike Y that top dish reminded me of the circular wings from the 1920s.  No wonder you can roll it smooth, it's a biplane!
Comment: @Robert, it's what you get when you let a bunch of radar engineers design an aeroplane. Oh, you mean it has to fly too? Small rudders but lots of throw = very odd lateral directional stability behavior. Like a horse that knows the barn is behind him.
Comment: Might be why they put one big rudder on the B-24 and made it the Privateer.  The interesting tail might be there to help prevent a radar return from being bounced back into the dish.
Comment: @PeterKämpf what i meant by "relative to cockpit" is the fact that when flying inverted, level at -1g, pilot starting a roll by pushing stick left, sees the nose go left. When not inverted at +1g, left stick induces nose right. Same phenomenon, only point of view is mirrored upside down. Still, at 0g/0deg AoA, I don't understand why symmetric airfoil with symmetric ailerons deflection should induce yaw in any direction.
Answer: A two part answer here.

Yawing in the direction of the roll in a turn is known as a "coordinated turn".  How to do it depends a lot on the design of your plane.  In a high wing dihedral (trainer), with slight aileron deflection for a left roll, the dihedral and pendulum will neutralize the roll and the downward right aileron may actually start to skid the plane to the right!  This is why you "center the ball" with left rudder and push the leading right wing into the relative wind.  This overcomes the planes stability and gets it to roll and turn to the left.

Very important is that with any movement in an aerogravimetric environment (earth and sky)
any acceleration reaches "steady state" when DRAG forces match accelerating force.  The pilot can also "ease up" on the input to lower the rate of change.

Yawing while rolling.  Let's sort out effect of CG on aircraft during roll first.  A forward set CG requires rudder and elevator inputs during turn to keep the nose level to the horizon.  Notice, during the roll, they swap roles as the plane rolls through 90, 180, 270, 360 (0).  Moving CG back (to a nuetral static stability) eliminates this effect.

What we are left with is the yawing tendency due to differences in AOA of upward and downward rolling wings, cancelled by aileron deflection as Peter pointed out.  Depending on the design of the plane, it might not be much.


Hot pink spots on surface of ham steak

Question: I bought a frozen ham steak (natural pork from local farm/meat processor), and noticed when I went to cook it that there is a bit of very bright, hot pink on the surface. Is this safe?
Answer: Perfectly safe.
From the Henning's Market FAQ:

The shiny, greenish, rainbow like color on sliced ham is a sign of oxidation that occurs when the meat is exposed to the metal on a knife or slicer. The nitrate-modified iron content of the meat undergoes a chemical change that alters the hams pigmentation. This effect can also be seen in sliced beef, such as roast beef. It is not an indication of spoilage.

And also see this Daily Mail article "Revealed: Why you sometimes see the most spectacular rainbows in a slice of beef":

On the USDA website under the heading 'Iridescent Color of Roast Beef', this strange phenomenon is explained to be in fact perfectly natural and caused by iron and fat that exists in meats such as roast beef and processed ham.
  According to the USDA, when light hits a slice of meat it splits into colors like a rainbow due to the elements present in the meat and this is called a 'diffraction grating'.
  There are also various pigments in meat compounds which give it an iridescent or greenish cast when exposed to heat and processing.
Comment: FWIW the first explanation is utter bunk. For perhaps the first time in history the Daily Mail is the reliable source.
Answer: Yes, this is safe. It is part of the natural coloring of meat. It just happens to break light this way sometimes.
See for example this article on "beef rainbows": http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/02/what-causes-beef-rainbows/273534/

Hot pink spots on surface of ham steak


Does "turn the other cheek" refer to a court tradition, not general violence?

Question: We often hear "turn the other cheek". However, recently I've heard that being slapped in the context of Matt. 5:39-42 is referring to a court setting, not general violence. I'm no advocate of violence, but do believe children should defend themselves when being bullied at school.
Thoughts, clarification on this scripture in particular and non-violence / self defense as a whole (as addressed in scripture).
Comment: See all the hundreds of questions on the same chapter; these are hyperbolic teachings; hate your parents, gouge your eyes and cut off hands, hate your enemies, etc. It has nothing to do with court tradition; You cannot take these figurative teachings like that they teach pacifism. Be wise in acting acc to situations; be like snakes. Buy guns and sword if necessary.
Comment: Some might assess this questions as off-topic _Questions including a biblical text but that are not seeking an answer about ① the history of that biblical text itself or ② the meaning of that biblical text either in context or through a process of arriving at a particular interpretation of it are off-topic._ The question is attempting to narrow down the context and is suggesting an interpretation rather than inviting un-biased, heremeneutical examination.
Comment: I'm asking if there is any historicity of face slapping in the Hebraic judicial system.. just as sandal exchange, etc. in negotiations
Answer: Matthew 5:39

But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.

This needs to be understood in a balanced way and not simplemindedly and absolutely.
OP: I'm asking if there is any historicity of face slapping in the Hebraic judicial system
There was an incident in
John 18:

19 Meanwhile, the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching.
20"I have spoken openly to the world," Jesus replied. "I always taught in synagogues or at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret. 21Why question me? Ask those who heard me. Surely they know what I said."
22When Jesus said this, one of the officials nearby slapped him in the face. "Is this the way you answer the high priest?" he demanded.

At this point, did Jesus slavishly turn the other cheek according to some strange Hebraic judicial court of conduct?
No, he confronted the wrongdoer!

23"If I said something wrong," Jesus replied, "testify as to what is wrong. But if I spoke the truth, why did you strike me?"

James also bears out this teaching of resistance and not non-resistance in his epistle 4:7

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Let's see the context, Matthew 5:

38"You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' 39But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. 40And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. 41If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. 42Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

If one slavishly follows this teaching to the letter, he would immediately run out of clothes and money and all beaten up. What's Jesus' point then?

44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you

Love. That's the point.
However, you are going to respond. Respond in love. Let your actions be guided by love. Let God be responsible for any kind of revenge.
Comment: I don't think this answers the question. You're saying that this shouldn't be taken literally, but you haven't explained what it actually means. Question's title is "Please help me to understand Matt. 5:39" and while your answer rules out the "court tradition only" interpretation, it doesn't actually help to understand this verse.
Comment: Thanks for the comment. Can you be more specific?
Comment: If Matt. 5:39 doesn't mean that you should literally turn the other cheek, when what _does_ it mean?
Comment: I added. Ask me again more specifically if you have a follow-up. Thanks.
Answer: Jesus' response when being struck while testifying to the high priest brings into question that Matt. 5:39 applies to court cases.  It relates more to retaliation.  The Law of Moses limited it.  Jesus eliminated it.

The high priest then questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching. 20 Jesus answered him, "I have spoken openly to the world. I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret. 21 Why do you ask me? Ask those who have heard me what I said to them; they know what I said." 22 When he had said these things, one of the officers standing by struck Jesus with his hand, saying, "Is that how you answer the high priest?" 23 Jesus answered him, "If what I said is wrong, bear witness about the wrong; but if what I said is right, why do you strike me?" 24 Annas then sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.
(John 18:19–24, ESV)

See How to reconcile cheek slaps in Matthew 5:39 and John 18:23?
Matt. 5:39 fits in the context of how the Lord's prayer (Matt. 6:9–15, ESV) points back to the previous discourse.

 Pray then like this:  [6:5-9]

<code>              "Our Father in heaven,
              hallowed be your name.
        10       Your kingdom come,
              your will be done,
  on earth as it is in heaven.
        11       Give us this day our daily bread, [6:1-4]
        12       and forgive us our debts,
  as we also have forgiven our debtors.            [5:38-48]
        13       And lead us not into temptation,  [5:21-37]
  but deliver us from evil.
</code>

14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

The idea of do not retaliate and love you enemy is to forgive.  From the standpoint of the court, we can still protect society/people and seek to rehabilitate the criminal.  We can look at bullying similarly.
Comment: Glad to see your answer now attached to the pertinent question! When things like that start happening to me, I either go lie down in a quiet and darkened room, or go for a wee walk if the weather is nice!
Answer: Somewhat, yes.  Remember that Jesus was speaking to the disciples and the other Jews on the hillside.  It is necessary to understand the mindset of the Jews of that day, and of many nations still today of holding grudges, seeking personal revenge, and never letting a slight go unanswered.  Sort of like the American Hatfield and McCoy feuds.  No one remembers what started it all, but by golly no one was going to forget who the enemy was.
Jesus was reminding them of the spirit of the law that was in magisterial or judicial hands originally for setting punishment for transgressions against another.  See my answer concerning the laws set out in Ex. chap 21 for restitution here: StackExch.
An eye for an eye, or two camels to replace a stolen camel were limits on restitution.  It was understood that an eye for an eye was to be a monetary compensation, not literally injuring the person who caused the damage as that would not be any form of compensation to the victim.
But, the Jews were taking the matters out of the hands of the magistrates / judges and misusing them for personal vindications.  So, beginning in Matt. 5:22 Jesus introduces matters that would be subject to the judgments of the council, or a panel of 23 magistrates.
Excerpt from Adam Clarke's commentary at Matt. 5:22:
?"What our Lord seems here to prohibit, is not merely that miserable facility which some have of being angry at every trifle, continually taking offence against their best friends; but that anger which leads a man to commit outrages against another, thereby subjecting himself to that punishment which was to be inflicted on those who break the peace. ....shall be liable to the judgment. That is, to have the matter brought before a senate, composed of twenty-three magistrates, whose business it was to judge in cases of murder and other capital crimes. It punished criminals by strangling or beheading; but Dr. Lightfoot supposes the judgment of God to be intended. "  Source: AdamClarke
Smiting was understood as a blow from a rod or stick that was used as a punishment.  It also became used for the double slap from left to right of a hand against the cheek or jaw.   So, turning the cheek was the reflex action on the return slap.  This was still a judicial issue.
Excerpt from Expositor's Greek Testament:

"Tholuck, Bleek, and Meyer suggest that the right cheek is only named first according to common custom, not supposed to be struck first. Achelis conceives the right cheek to be struck first with the back of the hand, then the left with a return stroke with the palm, harder than the first, and expressing in a higher measure intention to insult.—ῥαπίζω in class. Greek = to beat with rods; later, and in N. T., to smite with the palm of the hand; vide Lobeck, Phryn., p. 175."  Source: Biblehub

Excerpt from Gill's Commentary at Matt. 5:39:

"But I say unto you, that ye resist not evil,.... This is not to be understood of any sort of evil, not of the evil of sin, of bad actions, and false doctrines, which are to be opposed; nor of the evil one, Satan, who is to be resisted; but of an evil man, an injurious one, who has done us an injury. We must not render evil for evil, or repay him in the same way; see James 5:6. Not but that a man may lawfully defend himself, and endeavour to secure himself from injuries; and may appear to the civil magistrate for redress of grievances; but he is not to make use of private revenge."  Source: Biblehub

Excerpt from MT Meyer's commentary:

"κριθῆναι] to go to law. Vulgate well renders: in judicio contendere. Comp. on 1 Corinthians 6:1; Romans 3:4; and see Wetstein, Nägelsbach on the Iliad, p. 305, ed. 3. It refers to legal controversy, not to the extra-judicial beginnings of contention (de Wette; also Beza, Grotius, Kuinoel, and others), by which the distinction between the two cases, Matthew 5:39-40, is quite overlooked."  Source: Ibid.

Essentially, the Jews were taking matters into their own hands and using the law for personal vengeance to the extreme literal measure.  Jesus' message does not prohibit seeking redress for injury from the court / council, but does speak out against continual strife and anger with your brethren (vs. 22).  Let the small stuff go. God will take care of the evil ones.
Answer: Please help me to understand Matt. 5:39. I have heard that this is referring to court tradition, not general violence
Court case.
Although Jesus' words refer to a  court case (Matthew 5: 40), Luke's parallel account of Jesus' words allows for application even outside court proceedings: Like travelers being accosted by robbers on the highways which was common in those days. Luke 6:29. Rather than fighting against such confiscation of perhaps expensive clothing, Jesus' disciples would do better to go beyond what was demanded and give up "even the undergarment." This might save their lives when confronted by dangerous criminals.
Luke 6:29
29 Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your [a]cloak, do not withhold your tunic from him either.
Jesus offers the following advice.
Matthew 5:39 NASB

39 But I say to you, do not show opposition against an evil person;
but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other toward him
also.

That does not mean that a person cannot defend himself or his family if attacked. Jesus mentions a slap, which is not given to hurt severely or to kill another; rather, it is an insult. He is saying that if someone tries to provoke a fight or an argument, either by giving an openhanded slap or by using insulting words, do not retaliate.
Keep always in mind that your life is more important than your possessions.   When it comes to robbery, robbers want money and material things, if you do not resist this will reduce the likelihood of injury. Do not look at them and they may think that you can identify later, turn to the wall and close your eyes, this may prevent them for attacking, or beating you.
My child is being bullied at school , what can I do about it?
Patiently listen to your child. Try to determine (1) what is happening and (2) why he is being targeted. Do not draw conclusions before you have all the facts. Ask yourself, 'Could there be another side to the story?' To get the full context, you might need to talk to your child's teacher or the other child's parents.
Bible advice.
Proverbs 18:13 NET

13 The one who gives an answer before he listens[b]—  that is his
folly and his shame

If your child is being bullied, help him realize that how he responds can make things better or worse. For example, the Bible says: "A mild answer turns away rage, but a harsh word stirs up anger." (Proverbs 15:1) Indeed, retaliation can backfire, causing the bullying to intensify rather than diminish.
Bible advice.
1 Peter 3:9 NASB

9 Not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a
blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you
would inherit a blessing.

Explain to your child that refusing to retaliate does not make him a weakling. On the contrary, it gives him power because he refuses to be controlled by another person. In a sense, he is beating the bully without becoming one.
Cyperbullied Getting involved in a "flame war"—an angry online exchange—only gives the bully permission to continue, and it could leave your child open to the charge of being a bully himself! Because of that, sometimes the best response is no response—a tactic that is more likely to disarm the bully and put your child in control.
Bible advice.
Proverbs 26:20

20 For lack of wood the fire goes out,  where there is no gossiper,
quarreling quiets down.
Answer: The phrase "eye for eye, tooth for tooth" appears a number of times in the OT text in the context of the Israelite system of justice.

Now if someone takes any human life, he must be put to death. 18 But
the one who takes the life of an animal shall make restitution, life
for life. 19 If someone injures his neighbor, just as he has done, so
shall it be done to him: 20 fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth
for tooth; just as he has injured a person, so shall it be inflicted
on him. – Lev 24:17-20

As primitive as it may sound, the phrase "eye for eye" represents the principle behind all judicial systems, which is to prescribe the appropriate level of punishment and restitution for each injury or transgression. The purpose of these systems is to act as a deterrent, to give an example that "the rest of the people will hear and be afraid" (Deut 19:20).

So you shall eliminate the evil from among you. 20 And the rest of the
people will hear and be afraid, and will never again do such an evil
thing among you. 21 So you shall not show pity: life for life, eye for
eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, and foot for foot. – Deut
19:19-21

In quoting the phrase "eye for eye," Jesus is questioning the principle of justice as a vehicle for shaping human behavior or as a prescription for peace. In its stead he proposes another principle, that of meekness and mercy.

"You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.'
39 But I say to you, do not show opposition against an evil person;
but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other toward him
also. 40 And if anyone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him
have your cloak also. 41 Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with
him two. 42 Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him
who wants to borrow from you. – Mt 5:38-42

In answer to the OP's question, just as "eye for eye" should not be taken at face value, neither should the idea of turning the other cheek. In other words, Jesus is not making a blanket statement against the use of force in self-defense. The meaning   goes much deeper, and the implications are much more profound. His words target the very root of human conflict and strife and ultimately call for a radical change of heart.


Downloading German pronunciation

Question: Is there a website that has audio for words and will allow me to download the audio so I can use it with my Anki deck so I can learn better?
Answer: Well, a few, but I think the most comprehensive resource for that purpose would be https://www.duden.de. Search for a word, check the "Aussprache" section, right-click on the icon and select "Save link as"/"save target as" (depending on your browser), which allows you to save it as an .mp3 file. E.g.: https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/Haus. https://de.wiktionary.org/ also has some spoken pronounciations, of varying quality, that are easy to download.
(There are also many sites out there that provide computer-generated pronounciations, but I've always considered that nonsensical: If the pronounciation is simple, you don't need it, and if it is difficult, it will often be incorrect. The Duden samples are by professional speakers.)
Since, according to a recent article by Stefan Kleiner in the IDS Jahrbuch 2018,  Duden seems to be planning to provide spoken pronounciations for all of its entries on duden.de, this might become an even more useful resource going forward.
Comment: @hiwa-gg The loudspeaker icon in the Aussprache section at https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/Haus. (It's not available in every entry since not all of them do have recordings available.)
Comment: i don't know what icon you're talking about!
Comment: ok thanks, but i found downloading from forvo much easier, anyway thanks.
Answer: The site forvo.com has people record words and also contains a lot of names, what you would otherwise not have in a traditional translator.

Downloading German pronunciation


What are requirements for a micropub?

Question: So my question is what are the requirements for micropubs?
Are there any specifications on room size, interior, beers, staff?
Has anyone got experience in setting up and running a micropub and can give more insights about what are key factors?
Comment: It depends on where you are. In the U.S., you would need to comply with federal, state and local ordinances. They will vary by location.
Comment: @andrew cheong thanks for including the micropub tag
Comment: A micropub isn't a thing in my state, for what it's worth.
Comment: @PrestonFitzgerald A micropub is a thing, at least here in the UK. There is a mircopub association as well.
Comment: I'm not saying it isn't. I'm saying that there are very specific legal classifications for pubs and breweries in various locations and that in my location in particular "micropub" isn't even a classification. I don't know what it would be. Just a point of clarification.
Answer: Young in terms of establishments - Micropubs "traditionally" have to adhere to certain "standards":
There is only one room
Generally too small to have a bar
No Televisions
No Juke Boxes
No manufactured (think commercialized) beer
No lagers! (Literally is a dirty word - think yelling a racial slur among the people associated with that slur)
No spirits (usually just Wine, Ale, Cider - though soft drinks and water can be supplied for children and DDs)
The focus is to shun electronics (outside of electricity) focus on social interactions and ales (and maybe sometimes pub snacks).
This seems to be a very United Kingdom centered movement (as I havent heard of this in the US).
Answer: In the US, the "microbrewery" name is going away, and being replaced with "craft beer" as many formerly small breweries have grown so much. But they are still small compared to companies like Budweiser, Miller, Coors, etc. One definition is: "Annual production of 6 million barrels of beer or less..."
Beyond that, they take every conceivable form: big restaurant plus small brewery, small restaurant attached to big brewery, tasting room in an industrial park (without food), some guy's garage... whatever the local law allows.
The only constants, for businesses that last, are good beer and staff that like beer too.
Comment: Micropubs and microbreweries are two different things.

What are requirements for a micropub?


Can I tell the airline I want my laptop in my checked luggage?

Question: I'm from Turkey and as you may know it, USA and UK banned passengers from Turkey to use a laptop in the flights. Airlines say laptops can be given to them at boarding time and they will be returned after the flight. I don't want that. Am I entitled to carry my laptop in my checked luggage rather than handing it to the flight crew?
Comment: Please note "in my luggage".
Comment: @TolgaOzses it is still not clear what are you asking. If you want to put your laptop in your checked in luggage then do it before checking it in. The ban doesn't talk about that. If you want to do something else then elaborate what do you want to do.
Comment: Are you asking to carry your laptop on board even though it's banned? How do you expect the airline to give you an exception?
Comment: There is hand luggage and there is hold luggage...
Comment: @Berwyn sorry, I mean "hold luggage".
Answer: There is no problem with putting electronics in your checked luggage. However:

There are typically limits on Lithium Batteries in checked baggage (e.g., a limit of 100 Wh capacity is common and the battery will need to stay attached to the device). Look this up on the website of your airline!
There is very limited (practical) liability by the airline in case your laptop breaks.
Your bag will be more likely to be subject to manual inspection if it has large quantities of electronics in them.
Comment: 4. It will probably get stolen
Comment: @JonathanReez I have sent a small, low value, laptop in checked baggage several times. I pack it towards the middle, surrounded by clothes. No problems so far.
Comment: Why is there limited liability and what's your cite for no lithium batteries in checked luggage?
Comment: I corrected the battery part - looks like I was not up to date. By limited liability I mean that your checked baggage *will* be thrown around. If your laptop breaks due to that happening, you will have a hard time convincing the airline to pay.
Comment: I've had small electronics stolen from checked luggage for which, after an extensive back and forth between police and airline, the airline sent me a letter, six weeks later, saying that they don't take responsibility for electronics sent in checked in luggage.
Comment: I thought about including this when writing the answer, but saw it covered by point 3 - if it is more likely to be inspected, then it is more likely that baggage handlers know what is in there - hence a higher risk of things getting stolen. Perhaps that was not explicit enough.


Post quantum security of the BLAKE family

Question: Is there any proof that BLAKE (including 2 and 3) is post-quantum secure? We know that as Merkle–Damgård (with proper padding) preserves collapse sha2 is post-quantum secure. I know that the sponge-based winner of the sha3 competition does not have such a proof. Since BLAKE uses neither of these constructions has there been any research as to whether it's construction is post-quantum secure?
Answer: There is no proof, there are only advancements. BLAKE2 is not completely MD, it is HAIFA which extends the MD to eliminate the problems and BLAKE3 is a parallel hash.
Quamtum collision attack costs
The best know generic quantum collision is the takes $\mathcal{O}(2^{n/3})$ time due to Brassard–Høyer–Tapp (BHT). It is usually advertised (even by the NIST) with only the time but we have other costs, too. BHT builds a huge table of size  $\mathcal{O}(2^{n/3})$ then runs the Grover's algorithm with the cost  $\mathcal{O}(2^{n/3})$ and this make a total cost $\mathcal{O}(2^{2n/3})$
None of the variants, including the Ambainis algorithm which has still cost around $\mathcal{O}(2^{2n/3})$, doesn't lower the cost barrier of the classical attack cost $\mathcal{O}(2^{n/2})$
We already know that there is a lower bound on number of queries a generic algorithm mus take $\Omega(2^{n/3})$
So there are no threats from QC that we can see.
Quantum Pre-Images attack cost
Grover's algorithm is the best generic algorithm with $\mathcal{O}$-time and doesn't use much space as the BHT or others. But the sequential evaluation of the hash function is the problem there. Even you evaluate one in a nano-second you can get at most $2^{54}$ in a year and you need $2^{64}$-year to find the pre-images. The other cost is not included. One can run Grover's algorithm in parallel, however, the advantage not the same as the classical one, you will get $\sqrt k$ speed up from $k$ machines.
Therefore if you have 256-bit output, you will be safe from quantum attacks for hash functions.

Collapsibility
Collapsibility is defined by Unruh as a quantum equivalent of collision resistance of hash functions.

2016, Computationally Binding Quantum Commitments

Informally, for cryptographic hash functions, collapseability requires an adversary that outputs a hash value together with a superposition of corresponding preimages is not able to tell if the superposition gets measured or not.

The result of Unruh is this

showed that there is a hash function that is collision-resistant and thus can safely be used in a classical commitment scheme, but is not secure when the commitment scheme is used in a quantum setting

so we have a one-way relation;
-Collapsability implies Collision resistance.
Fer showed that

He applied the approach to the Merkle-Damgård and sponge hash construction, proving that they are collapsing if the underlying compression function is.

Gunns and Manning showed that

Binary tree hash of fixed length is collapsing.
Variable Length tree hashing with Domain Separation is collapsing.
Comment: Do you know if there is any work on proving if HAIFA is collapsing? Alternatively, do you know if the tree hashing mode used with BLAKE3 is collapsing as per https://www.cs.ru.nl/~bmennink/pubs/20pqc.pdf ?
Comment: @augustus Added some notes about that. The interesting point will be a real hash function that considered to have collision resistance but fails collapsability.
Comment: If I am not mistaken BLAKE3 uses "Variable Length tree hashing with Domain Separation" so as long as the primitive (its modified chacha) is collapsing we can say that BLAKE3 is collapsing but we can't really say anything about whether BLAKE2 is collapsing, right?
Comment: [BLAKE3](https://github.com/BLAKE3-team/BLAKE3-specs/blob/master/blake3.pdf) has built-in XOF ( eXtendibale Output Function). [Domain separation](domain separation) is not a built-in property of hash functions. The authors used it to show that if used in this case the collapsable.


iPad messaging with multiple family iPads

Question: bought two iPads for kids and set up iCloud email accounts using my Apple ID from my iPad/iPhone. How do I let them text message friends etc without all the messages coming to my IM also? I'm not very knowledgable on tech stuff, they only have email addresses not phone numbers and all their messages are coming to my inbox also.
Answer: If all you care about is having your kids text message only people who have Apple devices signed into an Apple account using iCloud, then the process is pretty straightforward.  You go to the settings on the iPads and then head over to Messages -> Send & Receive.  On this page you can add whatever email addresses you've made up for your kids and then confirm with your Apple ID.  Their email will be sent a confirmation with a link that needs to be clicked.  Now you can set their Send & Receive to only have that address checked for "You can be reached by iMessage at" and for "Start new conversations from".
The actual texting to/from any number capable of text messaging is only going to function within the context of your iPhone's ability (i.e. your phone number).  You can either enable or disable that feature for each specific device(iPad), or if they are data capable devices (not the WIFI only version, but rather 4G/LTE) then maybe the provider will be able to set them up a phone number for texting (I'm not 100% sure on that so check with them first).
Basically, even though Apple devices can all be set up using specific addresses to send/receive messages from, they really can't send from one single data/texting package and route only between specific devices based on some other hidden meta data (meta data which is impossible to exist within a text message btw).
So let me try to make it simpler.  You can allow for the iPads (say WIFI-only) to send/receive text messages by way of the Text Message Forwarding feature, yet it will always appear on your iPhone because ultimately that's where messages are delivered from/to.  If your iPads message someone in the Apple ecosystem (i.e. has an Apple ID) then the individual address you set up on those iPads for Messages -> Send & Receive can be used.  This is strictly limited however to Apple IDs or addresses associated with one.


Traveling to London for 5+ months, can I enroll my son in school?

Question: I'm traveling to London for what will be about a 5 month trip. I'm a UK citizen (by descent), and have never lived in the UK. With me will be my son, a US citizen (and not UK), who is 4 years old. Will it be possible to enroll him in (preferably a public) school? Alternatively, what other kinds of non-formal educational environments could I look into? (I.e. day programs that an adult can accompany a child to). My apologies if this is not the right Stack Exchange site for this question. I realize it might not qualify as an expatriate-related question, but I figured many expatriates might have done a similar process to the one I mention. Any help or tips are greatly appreciated.
Comment: Relevant: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/schools-admissions-applications-from-overseas-children
Comment: @sstaccato, Your understanding is correct.
Comment: You should be aware that because you are a British citizen, your son probably is, too, which would mean he does not fall into the category of "non-EEA citizen."
Comment: I've forgotten the terminology, but I was born outside of the UK and gained citizenship through my mother (by descent I think it's called), and I recall reading that because of that it wasn't passed down to my son.
Answer: From the information you have provided, you will not be able to enroll him in state education (cf https://www.gov.uk/guidance/schools-admissions-applications-from-overseas-children). UK schools start recpetion, something like a cross between pre-k and kindergarten, has a cut off of turning 4 by 1 september, so depending on your son's birthday he may not be eligible no matter his nationality.
Many parents in the UK do not send their children to reception, but rather keep them in nursery. For example, when my son left nursery for reception about 1/4 of his nursery class stayed behind and skipped reception. For a 5 month visit, starting late into the year, this might be a better option than a fee-based school.
Comment: @sstaccato the UK believes in learning through play much more than the US. I am not sure they play any more in nursery than reception.
Comment: That makes sense, and thanks for the explanation. Just to confirm, when you say nursery, are those places whose focus is simply child daycare or are they educational? My concern is more so the latter, finding a place albeit private that acts as a school. Thanks again!


What if I can not connect the ground wire of my new light fixture to an old electrical connection?

Question: I am replacing a bathroom medicine cabinet that has a light fixture attached. The old light fixture only had white and black wires. The new light fixture has white, black, and a copper wire. This is a very old home, and I am assuming that nothing has any grounding. What should I do with the ground wire? Can I leave the ground wire just dangling? Or is there some way that I can/should ground it? It's not my home, and the homeowner will likely not want to pay for any extensive electrical upgrades. Suggestions?
Comment: If power reaches the fixture via solid metal conduit, that may be a reasonable safety ground.  If not, and you can't pull new wiring through to provide that ground, another solution would be to have a ground fault interruptor earlier in the circuit...
Comment: Another caveat that I ran into is that the fluorescent lamps (long tubes) that I have must be grounded because they use the enclosure as a RF shield. Leaving the case floating caused the light not to turn on reliably.
Comment: Do you have a cold water pipe running through the same wall? Do you have the room to run a copper grounding wire to a clamp on a nearby cold water pipe?
Answer: Supplying the fixture from the LOAD side of a ground-fault circuit interrupter (GFCI), will provide protection to the fixture.  It could be a GFCI receptacle, standalone GFCI device, or GFCI breaker.
Answer: Some electricians say leave it for future renovations when a whole house ground becomes available.
Other electricians say cut out the ground if there is no ground available because it takes up cubic space. In addition it might become energized and become a shock hazard.
I am a little hesitant to cutting it out with expensive dimmers as I might have to return them to the supplier in working condition.  But 99℅ of the time I cut them out when there is no whole house ground.


Why did Vishnu take on an avatar that was half human and half lion?

Question: To kill Hiranyakashyipu, why did Lord Vishnu take on an avatar that was half human and half lion? He could have just come straight in his original form and killed that Daanav. Is there any specific reason behind this?
Answer: The reason that Vishnu went through all that rigmarole is described in the Srimad Bhagavatam.  To avenge the death of his brother Hiranyaksha at the hands of Vishnu in his Varaha (boar) incarnation, Hiranyakshupu undertook long and arduous Tapasya (deep meditation), until Brahma appeared before him.  He asked Brahma for the following boon:

O my lord, O best of the givers of benediction, if you will kindly grant me the benediction I desire, please let me not meet death from any of the living entities created by you.  Grant me that I not die within any residence or outside any residence, during the daytime or at night, nor on the ground or in the sky. Grant me that my death not be brought by any being other than those created by you, nor by any weapon, nor by any human being or animal.  Grant me that I not meet death from any entity, living or nonliving. Grant me, further, that I not be killed by any god or demon or by any great snake from the lower planets. Since no one can kill you in the battlefield, you have no competitor. Therefore, grant me the benediction that I too may have no rival. Give me sole lordship over all the living entities and presiding deities, and give me all the glories obtained by that position. Furthermore, give me all the mystic powers attained by long austerities and the practice of yoga, for these cannot be lost at any time.  [emphasis added]

That might seem like it covers everything, but Vishnu still found a way to kill him:

As a snake captures a mouse or Garuḍa captures a very venomous snake, Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva captured Hiraṇyakaśipu, who could not be pierced even by the thunderbolt of King Indra. As Hiraṇyakaśipu moved his limbs here, there and all around, very much afflicted at being captured, Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva placed the demon on His lap, supporting him with His thighs, and in the doorway of the assembly hall the Lord very easily tore the demon to pieces with the nails of His hand.

Let's review how it gets around the conditions of the boon:

Vishnu assumes the form of Narasimha, a half-man half-lion creature, so he's neither a human being nor an animal.
He kills him on the doorstep, so it's neither inside nor outside.
He kills him at twilight, so it's neither day nor night.
He puts him on his lap before he kills him, so it's neither on the earth nor in space
He kills him with his fingernails, which is dead matter, so neither a living thing nor an inanimate object.

So, as always, Vishnu triumphed in the end.
Comment: none of this appears in vishnu purana.
Comment: Yes, the Vishnu Purana just makes a short allusion to Narasimha, it doesn't tell the full story.  The Bhagavatam and other Puranas provide more detail.
Answer: Because King Hiranyakashyipu, who was father of little Prahlad, a great devotee of Lord Vishnu, was granted a boon from Brahma that "No human, No animal, No one in the skies, No one on the land" will be able to kill him.
Hiranyakashyipu's sins were increased to great extent that even Deva's were getting scared of him and couldn't stop him, so Lord Vishnu took avatar of half human, half animal, and he killed him in middle of skies and land.
Source: Wikipedia - Hiranyakashyipu
Answer: This is written in Srimad Bhagwatam 7.8.
Prahlada was challenged by his father in the following sentence:

"O most unfortunate Prahlada, you have always described a supreme being other than me, a supreme being who is above everything, who is the controller of everyone, and who is all-pervading. But where is He? If He is everywhere, then why is He not present before me in this pillar?"

Prahlada answered,

He was, He is and He will be.
Hiranyakashipu, unable to control his anger, smashed the pillar with his mace, and then following a tumultuous sound, Vishnu in the form of Narasimha appeared from it and in defence of Prahlada went to attack his father, Hiranyakashipu.

In order to kill Hiranyakashipu and not upset the boon given by Brahma, the form of Narasimha was chosen. Hiranyakashipu could not be killed by human, deva or animal, Narasimha is neither one of these, as he is a form of Vishnu incarnate as a part-human, part-animal.

He comes upon Hiranyakashipu at twilight (when it is neither day nor night) on the threshold of a courtyard (neither indoors nor out), and puts the demon on his lap (neither earth nor space). Using his nails (neither animate nor inanimate) as weapons, he disembowels and kills the demon.

So, basically, it was done because of the boon Brahma gave to the demon because of his penance. If the mentioned steps were not taken, Brahma's boon would have broken, which wasn't intended.
Comment: What are you quoting fom?  Those aren't words from the Srimad Bhagavatam, because I quote the Bhagavtam's description of the killing in my answer.
Comment: @KeshavSrinivasan http://vedabase.net/sb/7/8/ <-- the site seems to be broken. but content is correct. just encode the source.
Comment: I don't see that "He comes upon Hiranyakashipu at twilight..." quote there.
Comment: @KeshavSrinivasan I didn't copy from there, but wrote from my hard copy. Just gave you link to it. Maybe different translations.
Comment: By the way, just switch .net to .com and the URL will display fine.
Comment: Ah, OK, thanks for clarifying.  By the way, what hard copy edition did you use?
Comment: @KeshavSrinivasan it says on the cover - Shrimad Bhagvatam Reprint 2009. Hindu Press.
Answer: Once Lord Brahma had granted a boon to the demon Hiranyakshyap that any God,any Demon,any Human or any Animal cannot be kill him and he will not die in Earth or Space and he will not die in his home or outside and he will be not kill with any weapon and he will not die on day and night. That's why Lord Vishnu took his incarnation Narasimha for saving Hiranyakshyap's son Prahallad who was a follower of him and Narasimha was not a God,not a Demon,not an Animal and not a human,he was a half lion and half human and he had killed Hiranyakshyap not in his home and not in outside,he had killed him in the middle of his home and outside and he had not killed him with any weapon,he had killed him with his nails and he had not killed him in the Earth or Space,he had had kept him in his lap and killed him and he had not killed him on day and night,he had killed him on evening. This is the reason that why Lord Vishnu take on an incarnation that was half human and half lion.
Comment: Welcome to Hinduism.SE!  You should cite sources.


Where to find a Katana looking item in Skyrim?

Question: I'm looking for a Katana like wepons in The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim. I have not been able to find any or craft any so if I can let me know.
Answer: The Blades (a group that protects the Dragonborn) carry katanas, so progress the main story until you get to the hidden stronghold of The Blades to get a katana.
Link by @Kyle Rone - http://elderscrolls.fandom.com/wiki/Blades_Sword_(Skyrim)
The link states you can get one as soon as a character reveals him/herself to be a Blade and shows his/her secret room. It is near the enchanter.
Comment: heres the relevant link https://elderscrolls.fandom.com/wiki/Blades_Sword_(Skyrim)
Answer: There are several places to get a Katana in Skyrim:

Delphines secret room on a weapons rack.
The Sky Haven Temple containing 4 Katanas and Dragonbane.
Bolar's Oathblade is in The Bloated Man's Grotto (If you are at any point in the quest "Ill Met By Moonlight" Bolar's Oathblade will not spawn in).
Harkon's Sword which you get from his corpse at the end of the Dawngaurd DLC.
Akaviri sword which can be looted from Dexicon Evicus with a high pickpocket skill.
Fulthiem, in the Nightgate Inn a little ways away from Windhelm.
The Ebony Blade which you can find in Dragonsreach at level 20 as a daedric quest.
Answer: There are three main sources for the katana blades in Skyrim.  The first and easiest is the Blades and their associated locations.
The second is Bolar's Oathblade inside Bloated Man's Grotto, a little challenging at early levels as it is surrounded by many wild animals.
The third is the Akaviri sword carried by Dexion Evicus in the Dawnguard questline.  To get this one you have to have a high enough pickpocket skill and the misdirection perk.


Must a house be cleaned for Pesach even if a seder won't be held there?

Question: I'm trying to understand how the holiness codes in Leviticus and Deuteronomy apply to people versus places. It is written, "all shall keep your laws" and "all shall post the laws at their gates", so presumably every Jewish family must celebrate Passover, but does that mean every family must do so at least once at their own individual dwelling every year?  It doesn't seem sensible that every family must celebrate Pesach in their own homes since that's why people attend synagogue seders.  If a family attends seder other than their own house, must they clean their house as if they are celebrating Passover there anyway?
Comment: You should read [Exodus chapter 12](http://mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0212.htm), particularly verses 4 46 and 19
Answer: A Jew is prohibited from owning Hamez over the seven days of Pesah. If a Jew didn't nullify (or destroy or sell) his or her Hamez before Pesah and returns home to see his or her own Hamez, s/he has transgressed at least one Torah prohibition.
Therefore, one must nullify one's Hamez before Pesah irrespective of if s/he may not be at home at all during the holiday of Pesah since, in the event one does enter one's home during Pesah, s/he will transgress a Torah prohibition.
Comment: "and returns home to see his or her own _Hamez_", "in the event one does enter one's home during _Pesah_": isn't there a divinely-imposed prohibition even if it's not seen?
Comment: Also, you may wish to clarify what you mean by "nullify". I doubt it's clear to people not already familiar with it in this context.
Comment: Please check that my edit matches your intent.
Comment: @msh210 Destroying it would certainly fulfill all obligations (Biblical and Rabbinic); but, "nullifying" in one's heart fulfills one's Biblical obligation. HaZa"L decreed that one also destroy it to prevent one from negating the nullification in one's heart (e.g. if one sees a really tasty piece of cake), which would then revert one to transgressing a Biblical (vs. "only" a Rabbinic) prohibition. That's why I left it vague as it's an interesting question if nullification in one's heart would suffice for one who won't return home during the entire holiday (maybe a case of Sefeq Sefe'iqa?).
Comment: @msh210 I wrote this answer hurriedly. In truth, addressing Biblical and Rabbinic obligations and including sources for everything is in order.
Comment: @Lee Mideoraita you could choose to destroy everything and not nullify it. They are both ways of ridding oneself of ownership.


What is the first step in the UX process?

Question: I've been doing so much reading on UX and feeling somewhat overwhelmed as to where to start when you already have an existing product. So in the context of a site that already has a lot of traffic and users, how do you go about improving its UX? Page by page? Feature by feature? Developping personas?
Comment: Site with "lot of traffic" "lot of users", why would you want to change ? Do you know what you can improve ? thats the first step.
Comment: I understand lot of users and lot of traffic does not mean a great existing design. If a redesign, revamp of current website is already been decided, then I would suggest do it all at once. It would look really bad to have some features, pages in new design and some in the old design. Not sure if that is what you meant.. more detail will be helpful. What does Developing Personas mean ?
Answer: Start by figuring out where you are, and where you want to go
Without a clear view of what your UX objectives are, you're likely to end up just wasting time and money on UX.

Step 1: figure out your objectives and prioritize them

For example, are you looking to use UX as a branding vehicle?  Increase conversions and signups?  Increase sales?  Reduce errors and customer service calls?  etc.
Start by building a list of objectives for your UX, then prioritize it and get buy-in from the organization.
Look over your objectives and try to make sure they are measurable (e.g. conversions are easy to measure, but if branding is an objective, how will you know if you're successful?)

Step 2: figure out where you are today

Once you have clear and measurable UX objectives, take stock of where you are today.  For example, measure current error rates, customer calls, branding effectiveness, conversions, or whatever.
This will allow you to measure progress and/or determine whether your UX efforts are successful.

Step 3: plan and resource your UX program

Once the objectives are clear, it becomes much easier to figure out what UX techniques and projects you need to apply to get results.
For example, if branding is important then you know that you will need to involve your brand team, graphic designers, etc.
If site errors and navigation is important, then you will know that you need to work with information architecture, site flow, and maybe page-by-page storyboards.
If conversion is important, then you will know that you may need to improve site analytics, use genetic or AB testing approaches, etc.

UX is a cross-functional discipline and you're right to point out that it can be overwhelming to figure out a starting point.  It's the same as staring at a gigantic toolbox trying to figure out which tool to use:  the solution is not to keep staring at the tools, but rather to have a clear idea of what you are trying to accomplish so that it becomes clear what tools you need for the job you are doing.
Answer: Yes. I agree with this. Let your objectives/goal define the way for beginning.
If you want to increase more users from a particular demographic, begin with researching WHAT that demographic needs/is attracted to.
If you want more sales, research techniques for increasing sales and keep an eye on your numbers.
Entering the UX redesign process with goals in mind will help guide your decisions and will give you focus and direction!!
Answer:
So in the context of a site that already has a lot of traffic and
  users, how do you go about improving its UX?

There's probably not a single way to start, but a first step could be getting to know what are the current UX related issues for users. They might be more visible (direct user feedback) or less visible (discovered by user tests, analyzing metrics/analytics, etc).
You could also start analyzing the most used/visited/convertion-driven pages and see if they all follow the best UX practices and present some improvement proposal.
Take a look at UX process from UXmastery.com

Strategy
Research
Analysis
Design
Production

Research and Analysis tasks are probably the ones you are doing if you don't have been asigned with an specific task since if the site is already established, the strategy should be too.


Can a Palestinian and Romanian dual citizen enter Israel?

Question: I am a dual citizen, with a Romanian passport and a Palestinian passport.  Can I enter Israel using my Romanian passport?
Answer: In principle, there's no problem. As a Romanian citizen you can enter Israel without a visa for up to 3 months.
In practice, security considerations play a dominant role, and provide almost no transparency. You may be denied entry if authorities suspect you of being a risk to Israel, and there are no hard rules saying how they determine this.
Being Palestinian will likely lead to deeper scrutiny. There's no reason for you to present your Palestinian passport, but you shouldn't assume that they won't know of it (I don't know what Israeli security forces know, but they know a lot). You should be able to show that you come as a genuine tourist, and provide evidence for it.
Note that any sort of pro-Palestinian activism, even if you don't see it as anti-Israeli, may lead to denial of entry.
Answer: @ugoren answer is basically true - but just adding a bit -
As for the available information to security personnel - On most passports ( actually, to my knowledge - all ) there is a 'place of birth' - regardless of the nationality. if yours states 'Palestinian authority' or any other city name that can be linked to those territories or to Israel - than it would be just like presenting your Palestinian passport .
second - the name and surname reveals a lot - and so does physical appearance.
That being said I am not sure what are the actual law requirements in presenting passports in Israel for a Palestinian passport .
I do know that Israelis with multiple passports are required by law to present the Israeli one on entrance and exit - and that is regardless of their other citizenship or residency place. this rule actually applies in many countries so you might want to check on that seeing that the Palestinian authority has its kinks and it is a special entity entity when dealing with the Israeli law. ( For example some Palestinians actually have an Israel issued ID which will also depend on the place of birth or residence )
Another issue is that they may ask you if you posses another passport.In that case you either will be forced to show them the other one ( including stamps and visas ..) or Lie ( not the greatest of ideas in TLV airport ..)


Do the bacterial species X, Y, Z code for proteins A, B, C?

Question: My PI has assigned me a task to gather evidence to determine whether or not a list of particular species of
Campylobacter and Helicobacter code for a list of several proteins.  To put it simply I've been asked, "Do species X, Y, Z code for proteins A, B, C?"  The genomes of these bacterial species have been fully sequenced and I am able to retrieve the FASTA files for each of them.  I am having trouble deciding on the proper method to screen these genomes for the genes.  I have been given the names of the proteins, i.e. VgrG and HCP, but the amino acids sequences listed on databases are annotated to different species of the bacteria.  I seem to be stuck in a grey area and am having trouble connecting the overwhelming amount of resources available on the NCBI website.  I have not found a specific guide to perform this task - Could you please provide me with a solution to my problems?
Answer: First of all, don't reinvent the wheel, search for annotated homologs first. Assuming you don't find them, the next step is:

Collect the sequences of your query proteins (not genes) from one species in a multifasta file.
Run a tBLASTn with those sequences against the genomes of all the other species of interest.
Analyze. Look for HSPs with a certain level of sequence identity. The details of what threshold you choose will depend on your data, I can't help you  there.

While the tBLASTn approach is going to be more sensitive, an easier method that can find gene structures and not just HSPs is to use exonerate:
exonerate -m p2g proteins.fa genome.fa

Finally, for a more sensitive search than either of the above, useful for finding more distant homologs, run a Psi-tBLASTn of your proteins against the genomes of interest.
In all of these approaches, the tricky bit is to choose the right threshold. Unfortunately, there is no golden rule here. It all depends on how closely related your species are and how similar the homologs. You will have to try a few different ones before you can choose the right one.
Comment: I am unclear as to how I could go about obtaining these query proteins.  They are not listed in any databases yet. I think my PI wants me to predict whether or not a protein exists in these organisms.
Comment: @codax that's a completely different question! What are you trying to do? WHat do you have and what are you looking for? Don't you have a list of proteins in species X and want to find them in species Y?
Comment: I'm really sorry if I was unclear, but your advice is invaluable to me and I'm learning so much. I have a list of species and I need to find if they contain genes that code for specific proteins.  Ex. Campylobacter Jejuni and VgrG.
Comment: @codax OK, if you have a list of proteins you want, get their sequences from a related species of bacterium, the closer the better, and use those sequences to query your target genomes. The methods I describe are sensitive enough to deal with small differences in sequence.
Comment: I've tried your approach to this problem.  The HSP's indicate an overall similarity to all of the sequences entered into the query.  From what I understand, there is a near 100% identity ranging from 97-100%. Now I know that there is a high similarity between the list of proteins entered and the species I've entered. Would I have to put one query at a time and blast it against one species to confirm if the sequences code for the individual proteins?
Comment: @codax no, each query protein should have its own set of HSPs. You are looking for HSPs that have i) high sequence identity and ii) cover the entire length of the query sequence (or nearly). Now that you know they are there and have high similarity, you  can also use `exonerate` to match the genes more precisely.
Answer: Do multiple sequence alignment of your protein sequences. This will give you evolutionary relationship between your sequences.
Comment: I have to identify if these genes exist in a list of species.  I have the names of a few proteins.  MSA would not apply in this situation.  I can retrieve the FASTA containing the entire genomes of these species.  Is there a way that I could retrieve the protein sequences and compare them with the nucleotide sequence somehow?
Comment: I think the OP needs to identify genes in the genomic sequence and only has proteins from one species. Multiple alignment won't help.