Proving that $\cos(\frac{\arctan(\frac{11}{2})}{3}) = \frac{2}{\sqrt{5}}$

Question: I am trying to solve the cubic equation $x^3-15x-4=0$ using Cardano's formula.  I already know that the solutions are $x=4$, $x= \sqrt{3}-2$ and $x= -\sqrt{3}-2$ and that using the formula in this problem requires finding the cube roots of $2+11i$ and $2-11i$, which are $2+i$ and $2-i$.  But when I try to use the formula on my calculator, a TI-89 Titanium, I get $2\sqrt 5 \sin \left( \frac{\arctan(\frac{2}{11})}{3}+\pi/3 \right)$ instead of $4$.  For some reason, the fact that $(2+i)^3 = 2 +11i$ and $x = 4$ is a zero of $x^3-15x-4$ feels like a byproduct of something else. So I have tried for more than a month to prove that $\cos(\frac{\arctan(\frac{11}{2})}{3}) = \frac{2}{\sqrt{5}}$ without using either of these results.
Comment: I would like to apologize in advance in case I come across as rambling and being unhelpful.
Comment: You might try other methods of finding the roots, such as using some online root finder. (This is because maybe you'll get some third answer that contains pieces of the other two).

I assume you've looked for unusual trig identities that help.
Comment: Are you allowed to use multiple angle formulae?
Comment: @Nate8 Finding the roots is not the point.  As I stated in the post I already knew what they are.  The point is prove the equation in the title without using the fact x = 4 is one of the roots or the fact that (2+i)^3 = 2+11i.  I know that what I want follows from these things.  However I have this urge to find a proof that avoids them because, for reasons I cannot articulate clearly, they feel like byproducts of something more fundamental.
Comment: @David You are allowed to use anything as long as it does depend on (2+i)^3 = 2+11i or x = 4 is a root of x^3-15x-4.  More importantly, I would like to point out that this is not a homework problem; I am not taking any math classes at this moment.  I am doing mathematics as a hobby.
Comment: This may seem off-topic but does anyone else do mathematics as a hobby?
Answer: The fact you want to prove is equivalent to
$$
\frac{\arctan\left(\frac{11}{2}\right)}{3} = \arccos\left(\frac{2}{\sqrt 5}\right),
$$
that is,
$$
\arctan\left(\frac{11}{2}\right) = 3 \arccos\left(\frac{2}{\sqrt 5}\right),
$$
that is,
$$
\frac{11}{2} = \tan\left(3 \arccos\left(\frac{2}{\sqrt 5}\right)\right).
$$
The angle $\arccos\left(\frac{2}{\sqrt 5}\right)$ is the angle
opposite the shorter leg in a right triangle with legs $1$ and $2$,
so
$\arccos\left(\frac{2}{\sqrt 5}\right) = \arctan\left(\frac12\right)$,
and the fact you want to prove is therefore equivalent to
$$
\tan\left(3 \arctan\left(\frac12\right)\right) = \frac{11}{2}.
$$
Using the triple-angle formula
$$
\tan(3x) = \frac{3 \tan x - \tan^3 x}{1 - 3 \tan^2 x}
$$
with $x = \arctan\left(\frac12\right)$, so $\tan x = \frac12$ and
\begin{align}
\tan\left(3 \arctan\left(\frac12\right)\right)
& = \frac{3 \tan x - \tan^3 x}{1 - 3 \tan^2 x} \\
& = \frac{3 \left(\frac12\right) - \left(\frac12\right)^3}
          {1 - 3 \left(\frac12\right)^2} \\
& = \frac{11}{2}
\end{align}
which is what you needed to show.
Comment: Man, I had almost this exact thing in the works... beat me to it! +1
Comment: Submit it anyway. If your work is independent, I see no problem. There are no patents on answers here.
Answer: Starting with
$\cos(\dfrac{\arctan(\frac{11}{2})}{3}) = \frac{2}{\sqrt{5}}$
this also means starting with the triangle of trig ratios drawn and Pythagoras theorem:

$\tan(\dfrac{\arctan(\frac{11}{2})}{3}) = \frac{1}{2} = t ,$
Now use the $ \tan 3 \theta  = \dfrac{3 t - t^3}{1-3 t^2} \rightarrow \dfrac{11}{2}  $ triple angle formula and simplify, done!
Answer: Let $\cos\theta=\frac2{\sqrt5}$.  Then
$$\cos3\theta=4\cos^3\theta-3\cos\theta=\frac2{5\sqrt5}$$
and so
$$\tan3\theta=\frac{\sqrt{(5\sqrt5)^2-2^2}}2=\frac{11}2\ .$$
Answer: If $\cos(\theta / {3} )=x;$ then $\cos(\theta) = 4x^3 - 3x$
If $\tan(\theta) = $$11\over 2$; $\cos(\theta) = $$2\over 5\sqrt{5}$
Now, solving$ 4x^3 - 3x =$$2\over 5\sqrt{5}$ , You get x= $2\over \sqrt{5}$
Answer: Let $\theta =\arctan(11/2)$.  Then, $\cos(\theta)=\frac{2}{5\sqrt 5}$.
Now, let  $\alpha$ be given by $\alpha=3\arccos(2/\sqrt 5)$.  Using the triple angle formula
$$\cos(3x)=\cos^3(x)-3\sin^2(x)\cos(x)$$
we find that
$$\begin{align}
\cos(\alpha)&=\cos(3\arccos(2/\sqrt 5))\\\\
&=\cos^3(\arccos(2/\sqrt 5))-3\sin^2(\arccos(2/\sqrt 5))\cos(\arccos(2/\sqrt 5))\\\\
&=\frac{8}{5\sqrt 5}-3\left(\frac15\right)\left(\frac{2}{\sqrt 5}\right)\\\\
&=\frac{2}{5\sqrt 5}
\end{align}$$
Therefore, $\alpha = \theta$ and we are done!


How can I create good character names?

Question: I find that a problem that I run into quite often is the fact that I can't create names that sound real, but also have a nice ring so that they fit the character. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to come up with names that fit the setting and everything else? I've already attempted using the internet to no avail.
Comment: The problem is, names don't fit settings. Names *acquire* associations with settings. In the final analysis, names don't really matter. My advice: pick a name at random and write with it until you think of a better one. Then search and replace.
Comment: I suffer from the same problem. I do not yet have quite such a detailed method as what; instead, I try and try and try to come up with a name until I finally give up. Inspiration strikes the next day. Unfortunately, this inspiration usually comes from somewhere, so if you **do** come up with a name, do a quick Google search to make sure it isn't already used in something popular. I've caught myself in the nick of time this way more than once.
Answer: What I do:
I start with either a last name or a first name. Which one I start from depends on which one the narrator uses to identify the character, because that is what the reader will read most often. Katniss Everdeen is Katniss first; Dr. Henry Jekyll is Dr. Jekyll first.
With this starting point, and the knowledge of the character's cultural background, I go through a list of first or last names from that culture. There are books and websites that list these. I have collected extensive lists from the web using a self-coded crawler.
I also educated myself on how sounds of names are perceived. The meaning of names, that some writers go by, is usually meaningless to a reader. Unless the meaning is obvious, as in Brewer or Shoemaker, the meaning is unknown to the reader and does not influence their perception of the character. What does, are the sounds of the name, and there is a small volume of literature on that, some by linguists, some by marketers specializing in brand name creation.
So, with this knowledge of my character, of the "meaning" of the sounds of names and with whatever gut feel for language I have, I go through my list of names and weed out all the names that don't fit. I do this in a good text editor that allows grep search and replace. Usually there are certain first letters and name endings that I can exclude right from the start. Often there are also letters or letter combinations that I don't want in the name, so I delete all those names from my file.
The rest of the names I go over one by one until I have either one clear winner left or a handful of contestants. This process takes a couple of days, because after some time I lose all feeling for names and have to do other things before I can come back to my list.
Once I have a (few) first (or last) name(s), I do the same for the last (or first) name. The only difference is that I use search and replace to add the first name I found to every last name in my list and then go over and weed out the combinations.
I find the name of my protagonist first, then the love interest, then the antagonist and then the other characters in descending order of importance. I make sure that every character's name begins with a different letter from the alphabet and that the names sound and look clearly different. Sometimes one or more names are known to me for some reason, then I start with these.
My fantasy names are usually real world names or real words from a foreign language or variations thereof, so I use the same process only with a different corpus. For place names I use lists of placenames from all over the world. Sometimes I translate these. I chose place names by meaning. My favourite place name is "Lost Boy River" (in the US).
Answer: I too am having problems with this.
My way of solving the problem is to start with the setting. Is your plot set in a real place? If so, you can look for names from that region. If you like, you can do some research about the origins and meanings of those names, so you can be sure they fit your character. I usually use http://www.behindthename.com/ for this.
If you're writing fantasy, you can still use real names. Diana Wynne Jones did this all the time. "Harry Potter" is also a regular name. G.R.R. Martin horribly misspells names (Eddard, Jaime) but you can still recognise them. Those methods work particularly well if your fantasy novel is set somewhere that is inspired by a particular RL place and period.
If you're writing science fiction, there's no reason for earth characters not to use the same names we do. Names like "John" and "Michael" have been around for several thousand years, they aren't going to disappear.
For somebody who is non-human, or deliberately not any of our cultures, it might work best to device some naming convention, and then follow it. It might be, for instance that male names always start with 'S, end with 'k', and have five letters, while female names follow the pattern of 'T'-consonant-something'. (That used to be Vulcans in Star Trek: Spock, Sarek, T'Pau, T'Pring.) At the very least, you can pick some phonemes that would be more common, so it would sound like all the names are from the same language.
You can use Latin to create names that don't sound too foreign, and have a hidden meaning as a genius bonus. Plant names and flower names are also great (Katniss being a famous example), and you can use them for hidden meanings as well.
Or you can just take a Scrabble set, put it all in a bag, and pull out letters at random until you find a combination that you like. That has worked for me too, when all else failed.
You should remember that you don't have to enforce a "One Steve Limit" - several characters can have the same name. It's realistic, if you think about it.
And you can forget everything about meaningful names if you like - names are given by the parents, to a baby who has no defining characteristics yet, and half the time they don't know what a name means. At least, that's how it works in RL.
Most important, don't let the lack of character names stop you from writing. You can always use temporary names, and run Ctrl+r when you come up with something better. Frodo used to be 'Bingo' in Tolkien's early drafts, and Aragorn started out as a hobbit named 'Trotter'.
Comment: That last paragraph is sage advice. The only really important parts to the choice then becomes that it is (a) something you can spell consistently, and (b) something that won't show up as a word in other contexts. (So don't name a character *Ford* if your story involves cars. In fact, don't name a character *Ford*, period...) Both of those then are simply means to the end that you'll be able to accurately find all occurrences throughout the manuscript, at which point you can replace them once you think of better names. I've been known to use the NATO phonetic alphabet for that purpose...
Comment: @MichaelKjörling Ford Prefect was a great character. ;)
Answer: Sometimes I like to look into the inspiration for the character, the characters background story, or their personality. For example, I have a character in my novella who is on the LGBTQ+ and I borrowed his last name from a long dead gay author.
Another character I named is based on a greek tragedy that has become a regular trope in many manners of fiction.
Some characters names can be puns, or a clever play on words that I like the reader to figure out, and give them a laugh.
You could also look up at a list of names, and surnames from different countries.
A slightly more morbid approach would be to look through the obituaries.
Answer: I would begin by looking at what the character does, either for a living, or in their spare time. Many modern surnames (and some first names) are based on occupation. For instance (black)Smith or tailor (Taylor). The second thing to look at is attributes describing the person long (tall), short, swift, etc.
By the time you have written a complete description of the person, several adjective-names should jump out at you. Choose the ones that create the best name while describing the character.
Answer: Personally I avoid picking names based on their "meaning" it's lame and highly unoriginal. Also names don't affect your personality at all, so why would it define your character.
What I do is just collect names/surnames when I read a name somewhere I find interesting I just save them in a document. Then when I need a name for a character I just browse through them.
Comment: Tell Dickens or Rowling that names don't affect personality. Having names that reflect the personality of the character runs deep in literature.
Comment: names don't affect on personality directly, but will affect other people's perception on that character, hence affect on the characters in a subtle way. Names are not used by the owners, but the callers
Answer: I use a few methods for finding a name for a character - I like to have names that have the right kind of sound and / or also have the right kind of meaning behind them. Though it's not always possible.

I quite often start with going to baby naming sites and searching for meanings to find out which names come up. They often let you filter by country or similar, so you can get the right 'kind' of name.
I'm rather fond of just entering words with the right meaning into Google translate and picking some of the different language options to see what the word sounds and looks like. Sometimes I might use that as a base and change it slightly to sound better.
Scientific names - like Katniss, scientific names can often have nice meanings that people might not know right away but will give you kudos once you're a best selling author and people start hunting for that sort of thing : ) Also it gives you a nice warm smugness to know that stuff's there.
Maps - I'm British and British place names are very often weird and wonderful. I'm sure this applies across the world. You can pick a country that has the right kind of sound and feel for your character and zoom into Google maps and browse the words.

Hope that helps!
Answer: If a you're looking for a real-world name, and have a general feeling of what you're looking for, you could try using a name recommendation tool. Rather than going through long lists, you can type in a few options you are considering, and then browse a focused recommendations list.

How can I create good character names?


I would like to delete some photos from my phone camera roll, that i have imported to my Mac, will they stay on my Mac?

Question: I recently imported all my photos from my iPhone to my Mac. Now they are on both devices. I would like to delete some of them from my phone camera roll, but i want them to stay on my Mac. Will the photos/videos delete from both devices
Comment: Yes you can delete them. You Mac stores your pictures as a separate file and so does your iPhone.
Comment: As long as you are talking about the "Camera Roll" and not "Photo Stream", then yes, they can be deleted from your phone and will remain on your Mac.
Answer: Yes, in short, you are safe.
Depending on what software you are using, the only thing that could potentially happen is you delete your photo albums that you have synced to your iPhone, which is a manual process or you are syncing photos to your iPhone from your mac. However, since you stated you imported them, I don't foresee any issues.
NOTE if you are referencing iCloud, then also, you have nothing to worry about. iCloud stores all the files in your iCloud but if you delete them from different devices it only deletes it from that device, unless you haven't had time to sync it to your Mac, but again, strictly importing, meaning you dragging and dropping or clicking the import to iPhoto/Aperture etc button, than you are good to go.


Copying billing address to shipping address with cart.js

Question: I am using the default cart.js file in my checkout which is included with CT2.5 This provides a copy billing info to shipping function which always seemed to work well, but since upgrading to CT2.5 no longer copies the billing country to shipping country, all other fields copy fine.
Answer: Just ran across your question now. Perhaps this answer will help others who are looking.
This link goes to an archived Cartthrob forum question/answer from April 2012 which solved the problem for me:
http://cartthrob.com/forums/viewthread/5195/#23632
To quote:

Are you asking about the example cart/checkout template? There looks
  to be an error that is keeping the selects from updating in the
  shipping fields. If you're using the default cart, open the
  cart/_header template and change $("input to $(":input in the code
  that updates the shipping fields.

Edited to add:
As of JQuery 1.7, you should use .on() instead of .live() so you should check that out as well. Here's a brief explanation:
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/18395786/live-not-working-with-change-function
Hope this helps.
Comment: Thanks Jeanne that fixes copying the billing country to the shipping country but it does not appear to dynamically change the cart totals. When I manually change the shipping country the cart totals do update. Do you notice that as well or have I introduced a new problem myself? I had a play with the default CT demo and I get the same behaviour.


Parental controls for Facebook?

Question: I'm getting my teenager an iPod touch but I need to set up some parental controls.
I know I can block the use of Facebook altogether but it would be nice if I could set it up so she could just interact with her friends online.
We've had some trouble with her cyber bullying girls in her class and don't want that to happen again.
I would like to be able to set up an account for her where I can control who her friends are and who she has access to.
All the software I've looked at just allows you to monitor their activity and that's not good enough.
Does anyone know if I can do this?
Comment: I am not entirely clear here, you have had issue where she abused internet usage to bully others or she has a past where she was the target of cyber bullying?
Comment: She was the bully.
Comment: There are so many apps and other things that your daughter can get into that are potentially dangerous.  Controlling her Facebook will not protect her from those apps.
Comment: Within iOS I can restrict her downloading ANY apps and can blacklist sites related to those apps. In the beginning almost everything will be restricted. She's going to have to earn trust.
Answer: Technical solutions are not aedequate

I would like to be able to set up an account for her where I can control who her friends are and who she has access to. [...] Does anyone know if I can do this?

This is most likely impossible to achieve. Facebook (and the other social networks your daughter wants to use) themselves would need to provide you with this ability, and AFAIK, they don't. Third-party software would need to be incredibly sophisticated to provide you with what you want, which is probably the reason why you haven't found any.

I need to set up some parental controls

While such parental controls can be useful to limit the time of internet use at home, and to limit the exposure of teenagers to problematic content at home, this approach is largely useless when you consider that a), you're not the only provider of internet access - or even of internet-capable devices - for your daughter, and b) it is fairly easy to circumvent controls which try to filter what kind of content someone can see, and what he/she can publish.
Favor education over control
You need to approach this problem not with a technical solution, which is ultimately guaranteed to fail, but with education, followed by trust.
You write your daughter bullied other girls at school. This means that either she didn't realize that she was hurting someone because it was "just online", or she was fully aware but didn't care. Either way, you can't fix this with technical solutions that block access whenever she tries something like this again.
Instead, you need to address either her lack of understanding of what bullying is, or her lack of understanding what is socially acceptable behavior and what isn't.
Once she understands what is okay and what isn't, and understands that she is responsible for her behavior towards others, you'll need to define consequences of what happens when she missteps again, and then trust her to behave. If she doesn't, you'll need to follow through with the consequences you defined.
Give her feedback on her social media use
What you can do for starters is to tell her that you want to see what she's doing on her social media accounts, and that this is the condition for her getting internet access at home. Then take some time now and then to let her show you what she's posting on Facebook and other social media accounts (Instagram, Snapchat and WhatsApp have mostly replaced Facebook for teens, btw) and discuss it with her.
However, sooner or later you'll need to trust her again, because she also needs to be able to communicate with peers in privacy. Also, you'll never know whether she doesn't use two accounts for her communications, a "harmless" one she shows you, and another one she keeps private. This is why control of any kind is ultimately pointless if you can't instill in her that bullying is wrong.
Raise her to take part as an adult in a liberal society
If you did let a software solution police her behavior, then you wouldn't know whether she actually learned anything from her unacceptable behavior, and in case she didn't, she'd be free to misbehave again as soon as she was free of the software guard (e.g. at the latest when she became a legal adult - at which time it would be too late for you to intervene).
This doesn't just apply to bullying, by the way - you're dealing with a microcosm of what liberal societies expect from adults. It's very important to teach your daughter that she's not forced into action or inaction by external forces, but by her own decisions, and that therefore she is responsible for them. You can't teach that by removing her ability to act wrongly.
Comment: I wish you the best of luck. I don't think you can keep her away from social sites entirely, though, unless she agrees - circumvention is just a Google search away.
Comment: By middle school, kids are sharing how to circumvent paternal controls,  or simply sharing uncontrolled devices. A couple of years back I was approached by the administration of a school that rents a facility that I provide some support for, to request tighter controls on the WiFi network. The conversation ended when I pointed out that every one of the kids they were concerned about was walkling around with their own WiFi Hotspot in their pocket. If I beefed up controls on our WiFi,  they'd user their own.
Comment: I know all this. She's in therapy and we're working to teach her what is socially appropriate and what isn't. I was just wanting to see if there was a way to allow her some freedom on social sites without her contacting people she shouldn't. I guess the answer is no. So I will disallow all access to social sites for the time being.

Parental controls for Facebook?


Can I use the government's seals and logos without its permission?

Question: Is it permissible to use a governmental seal for editorial purposes in a magazine?
For example, in a news story about the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, could I use ATF's logo to accompany the story?
Answer: Yes.
The First Amendment permits you to use the seal of a government agency to illustrate a story about that government agency. The government can no more prohibit you from displaying its seals for expressive purposes than it can prohibit you from displaying its flag.
The questions raised about possible trademark violations and implied endorsement are red herrings. Section 2(b) of the Lanham Act prohibits registering a trademark that "consists of or comprises the flag or coat of arms or other insignia of the United States, or of any State or municipality," so the government therefore may not trademark its seals. In re City of Houston, 731 F.3d 1326, 1331 (Fed. Cir. 2013) ("As the nature of the mark is not disputed in this appeal — Houston admits that its city seal is an insignia under § 2(b) of the Lanham Act — the Board properly affirmed the examining attorney's refusal to register Houston's city seal.")
Even if the seal were a protected trademark, the context of its use -- in an editorial setting rather than for commercial purposes -- is protected by the First Amendment. For instance, in Renna v. Cty. of Union, N.J., 88 F. Supp. 3d 310, 323 (D.N.J. 2014), a county tried to stop a television host from using its seal in advertisements for a show about community affairs. The court noted first that the seal was not protected by trademark law, and that even if it was, the county's efforts to limit the host's expression would run afoul of the First Amendment:

Consider that the First Amendment prohibits a State from criminalizing the desecration of the United States flag as a form of political protest. ... Should a county, by means of an artful extension of trademark law, be permitted to quash political expression that uses its Seal? I think such an extension would be both unwarranted and Constitutionally risky.

The same is true of implied endorsements. The First Amendment does not permit the government to limit your expression because it thinks people might mistake it for government speech.
For instance, Rothamel v. Fluvanna Cty., 810 F. Supp. 2d 771 (W.D. Va. 2011), a county government adopted a law "prohibiting the display of the Fluvanna County seal unless expressly authorized by the Fluvanna County Board of Supervisors." The law was prompted by concerns about a blogger who had been using the county's seal in stories about county government, and there were reports that some people thought the seal indicated that the stories were official county publications. When a blogger challenged the law, the federal court entered a permanent injunction against enforcing it:

The County takes the position that the showing of the seal by private citizens is not a form of expression at all; rather, the seal is government property, like a government vehicle or other form of personal property. ... While the County is correct that Rothamel does not have the right to take possession of a physical seal owned by the County, the County cannot control all privately-owned images or representations of the seal simply by declaring an interest in managing its own property. The First Amendment requires a more specific and substantial interest in restricting speech than the broad desire to safeguard government property.
Answer: 18 U.S. Code § 1017 prohibits "fraudulent or wrongful"  use of government seals. This seems to refer to situations where an attempt is made to create or circulate a document purporting to be issued or approved by a government agency or department when it was not in fact so issued or approved. That is not the case in the question.
As works of the US government, such seals are not usually subject to copyright protection. However, if the government hired a private contractor to create the seal design, copyright might well apply. If such designs were protected by copyright, fair use might well apply, depending on the usual four-factor analysis for fair use. I don't know of any special exemption from fair use for such seals. But i think trademark or similar protections are more likely to be relevant.
A federal webpage on "Government Works" says:

You cannot use government trademarks or government agencies' logos without permission. For example, you cannot use an agency logo or trademark on your social media page.

But it does not cite any law as the basis for this. Trademark protection would not apply if the seal is not being "used in trade" or if no reasonable person would believe that the source of the publication is in fact the government agency. Even if the seal design had been created by a private contractor, and was thus protected by copyright, such a use would quite likely be held to be a fair use.
Moreover, any US law or government action is limited by the US First Amendment, which provides for free speech not unduly restricted by the government. A bans on using the seal or logo of a government department or agency to refer to that part of the government, making it clear that the document did not come from the government, and was not endorsed or approved by the government, would probably violate First Amendment restrictions. I don't know of specific caselaw on this point, however.
In short, I think the government statement quoted above claims more protection than the law in fact allows, but I cannot be sure of that.
The same federal website says:

You cannot use a government work in a way that implies endorsement by a government agency, official, or employee. For example, you can't use a photo of a government official wearing your product in an ad.

That is probably correct, but does not seem to apply to the situation described in the question.
18 U.S. Code CHAPTER 33 prohibits vrious unauthorized uses of specific symbols, but most of the sections only prohibit muses intended or likely to deceive people into falsely thinking that a statement or document is issued or endorsed by a particular government entity.  Nothing in that chapter seems to cover the case of a seal used to identify a government entity when it is very clear that the document is not issued or approved by the entity, but simply refers to the entity.
Answer: What is considered a seal in this context? The statue in question states "Whoever fraudulently or wrongfully affixes or impresses the seal of any department or agency of the United States"
The FDA has no seal per se, but the USDA does. I suspect that you could spend a lot of time arguing that under the statute you can use any logo you want for any purpose, as long as it's not the official seal of a given department...since even the FDA states that the USUSDA seal and the FDA logo are not equivalent.
Comment: How does this answer improve on or indeed significantly differ from the other answers already present?
Answer: If it's being used to illustrate an article I don't see it being particularly problematical. After all, you're not passing said article as an authorised federal instrument. Hence, I'd say that it comes under fair-use. But you're best off checking with your companies lawyers as advice here is as is.
Comment: Is the inaccurate (both in its content and the spelling of my name) rant about me really necessary or relevant to the question? I said that that copyright isn't relevant, then I said that there are specific laws, then I said that they aren't ordinary trademarks. At no point did I actually attempt to answer the question with "yes" or "no" in my comment. For my opinion on this, I generally agree with David Siegel's answer; there are a few relevant laws that it doesn't touch on, but it generally covers the subject accurately (in particular, why "fair use" is probably not a thing for these marks).
Comment: @Ryan M In two different comments you have mentioned "specific laws" that apply to this case, but I can't find them and you haven't cited them. They don't seem to be in 18 USC chap 34. I think you have misunderstood my answer as far as faier use goes. I doubt that copyright applies at all, but if it does, fair use might well apply as usual. I have edited my answer to clarify this.
Comment: @DavidSiegel I think you've misunderstood my comments (I was quite space-constrained on both). I agree with you on all these points, both that fair use (due to lack of copyright more generally) is probably inapplicable, and that no laws that I'm aware of ban usage when, as you say, "it is very clear that the document is not issued or approved by the entity." 18 USC §§ 701, 712, and 713 are all relevant to the rules surrounding use of such insignia, but, as we both agree, would not be violated by the described use.
Comment: @
@Ryan M  I see. Then I did misunderstand you, and we seem to be in general agreement.


SharePoint Versioning

Question: I have a published document in an Approved status and need to make changes to it.  However, I still want the approved published document visible in the library with still an approved status, but also have the same document that I will need to work on that will be availble but with a status of In Progress.  I want to maintain the versioning as one collective document.
Answer: Have you enabled minor versioning on the document library?
Minor versions will allow you to have drafts of the document and only editors/approvers can see the draft versions (this setting can be changed).
Answer: The approved document will still be visible to users.  If the version is less than v1.0 normal users will not be able to see the file, as it has no approved version.
Sharepoint limits the users that can see the documents that are in draft or pending status - it uses Permissions to do this.  If you are new to this, the easiest way is to test the system with a couple of colleagues, use the OOTB user groups as much as you can.
For your test there are 3 roles - one of you will be the person that makes a new draft, this person must have at least CONTRIBUTE permissions.  Another user will have only READ permissions.  Since you are the SP Admin, you can be the approver, I'm assuming therefore that you have FULL CONTROL (which includes the approve permission) otherwise you'll need to be in the APPROVERS group.
Test:

Who can see a draft/pending document.

Depending on the Document Library settings, normally a user with READ permissions would not see draft versions or versions of files going through the approval process - this is known as Draft Item Security.  Depending on the draft item security, only approvers or users with FULL CONTROL and the user that made the new draft version can see the draft.

See what a user with FULL CONTROL or APPROVE can see compared to a user with CONTRIBUTE or READ permissions, the former groups see a lot more detail - as you see in the picture below.  Note the view name - once content approval is enabled on your document library, Sharepoint automatically adds this view.

SharePoint Versioning


Is it correct to use form field(hidden) for storing Session Token

Question: Is it correct to use form field(hidden) for storing Session Token instead of using Cookies? What is the security risk associated with it?
Comment: Do you mean session ID or anti-CSRF token? Both of these have different purposes.
Answer: To be protected against CSRF while also hardening against XSS, store your session IDs in cookies (with httpOnly flag) and use separate session-bound form tokens that you validate upon POST. By combining these methods, you prevent an attacker that has found XSS from stealing session IDs, while you still protect against CSRF in a meaningful way. Using the session ID as form token enables an attacker to steal the session ID through XSS.
Comment: If there is a XSS vulnerability, it's also vulnerable to CSRF. Frankly, XSS would remove the cross-site from CSRF.
Comment: Yes, if there's XSS, all is lost. You should still harden against both though.
Answer: IMHO, by far the biggest disadvantage is that you need to explicitly add code to repopulate the session identifier into each and every page, potentially in multiple places. Using a form field is only going to work where you've got a form and that's the only way to navigate off the page.
So you also need to add code to parse every href on the page and add the session id (since you don't want to send your session id to other sites).
What about ajax requests? Javascript driven navigation?
You should also be change the session id at authentication - so you've also broken the behaviour of the back button.
Yes, you can solve all these problems by throwing code and effort - but more code = more bugs = less security.
Another consideration is that some applications use multiple session identifiers - managing this outside of cookies would be an even bigger PITA.
Comment: You did not cover the inherent security risks of session tokens in HTML content. That is a serious problem. Session tokens can be protected from XSS attacks by being placed in HttpOnly Cookies. See Krzysztofs answer.
Comment: @freddyb: see comment on Krzysztifs answer
Answer: No, you should not use GET or POST parameters for session identifiers. Session ID should only be transmitted via HttpOnly cookies.
There are at least three reasons for doing so:

Session Fixation attacks. The attacker can entice victim user to visit a page with a form containing his session id in a hidden field. Submitting the form will have the victim being authenticated as attacker (and any actions he later on performs on the target website will be done with attackers' credentials)
any XSS flaw in your website will directly allow the attacker to hijack the session whereas storing session id in HttpOnly cookies prevents that from happening
content extraction attacks - there are a few UI redressing techniques for extracting the HTML content of a target website, therefore leading to hijacking user's session. One example of such attack requiring user interaction is Facebook token access extraction, which involves displaying the HTML source of a victim website in an invisible IFRAME and enticing the user to select it and drag it out to attacker's textarea; if the session ID is included in the HTML document, then this reveals the session ID to the attacker.  Also, when the website allows cross domain communication (e.g. with using permissive crossdomain.xml), content can also be retrieved via Flash without user interaction.  Therefore, the session ID should never be displayed within the HTML page source.

To stop CSRF, it is important to also include a CSRF token in a hidden form field or in the URL of every POST request.  However, the CSRF token does not need to contain the session ID, and it is safer if it does not contain or reveal the session ID.  A safer choice is to use a random nonce or a one-way hash of the session ID as the CSRF token.
Comment: Session fixation is not solved by using cookies - while it's *easier* to carry out an attack using a session id in a URL, just using cookies (regardless of the flags) does not help. But agreed that using httponly avoids XSS. I don't understand the point about content extraction (except that it is facilitated by XSS)
Comment: Session fixation _is_ fixed by using cookies (unless there's a XSS / Man in the middle) because the attacker cannot plant a cookie of known value to third-party domain (cross-site cooking was a browser vulnerability that is now fixed). See e.g. https://www.owasp.org/index.php/Session_fixation

Content extraction is not about XSS, it's a UI redressing attack (e.g. entice user to select HTML source of victim website displayed in invisible IFRAME and drag it out to attacker's textarea, revealing session id displayed in source). You can also get the content with Flash if crossdomain.xml allows it.
Comment: @D.W. There are good reasons why session identifier should never appear in response body of a website, there are several attacks that may extract session id from that (XSS, content extraction and e.g. Cross Origin Resource Sharing or third-party Flash request if website allows this).

I totally agree on the need of having CSRF protection using nonce tokens and these can be in URL/form, but nonces are not the same as session IDs, so I don't understand why you say that _session_ID_ need to appear in form/URL when implementing CSRF tokens. Could you clarify that?
Comment: Krzysztof, you are right.  I agree that it is better for the CSRF token to be a random nonce or something derived from the session ID, rather than the session ID itself.  I didn't realize that was the point you were making -- now that I do, I completely agree with you.  My fault.  Sorry about that.  I made an edit to try to incorporate your explanations into your answer itself.
Comment: @Krzysztof: "unless there's a XSS / Man in the middle" - exactly. Another way to abuse this (other than 3rd party cookies) is to set the cookie normally set in HTTPS (regardless if its secure/httponly) over HTTP via MITM. The solution to session fixation is to change the session id when the server side data has expired / when (re-)authentication takes place.
Answer: Three common approach for transfer of Session Identifier between Browser and Server

Cookie
Hidden Fields
URL

All have their advantages and disadvantages, but since you asked about Hiddel Fields only here are few advantages and disadvantages

Adv: Less prone to CSRF as Session Identifier will not travel in Cookie and will not be implicitly sent by browser
DisAdv: If developer uses a GET method or appends parameter to URL your session identifier would be exposed in browser history, proxy logs, web server logs etc.
DisAdv: Session identifiers being cached along with the page if caching is not disabled
Adv: Dont have to worry about marking cookie secure or HTTPOnly etc or worrying about expiry of cookie

DisAdv: you have to send it back in all responses, increasing size of your response
Adv: Don't have to worry about Cookies being disabled on user browsers

Thats what I can think of right away, may be others can point more advantages and disadvantages
And yes I am assuming you have your Server Side Session Tracking and management code and logout logic written correctly
Comment: Session identifiers are not meant to protect from CSRF. Use unique tokens (nonces) for that. I also don't see how "Dont have to worry about marking cookie secure or HTTPOnly etc" is an advantage. HttpOnly was introduced to protect from Session Hijacking when XSSed, and POSTed session ids completely fail to secure against that. That's a _disadvantage_, and a big one.
Comment: Session Identifiers are not meant to protect from CSRF agreed, but I never said that it will protect you from CSRF what I said is that you are less prone to CSRF.Since there is no session identifier in cookie, a request to the domain from a new browser window or tab will not by default carry the user session id and hence server will not process the request.  Since there are is no session identifier cookie you dont need to makr the particular cookie anything .   Please also mention the reasons for Downvotes, would really help in clearing the understanding
Comment: I don't know about others, but you got my downvote for ignoring httponly benefits and puttting it as if it was a disadvantage.
Comment: Another disadvantage/advantage, can't keep the seesion between browser restarts or even browsing somewhere else and back again. And as said, either way, to be secure the code does have to be written properly.
Comment: @SachinKumar what you're saying is that you are less prone to CSRF and compare that to situation where  session ids are in cookies _and_ there are no separate CSRF tokens (no sane CSRF protection at all). That's not a fair comparison. There is a state-of-the-art protection from CSRF (id in cookie, unique token linked to the session in POST/GET) and it should be used as a comparison. Session ids in POST are not better for CSRF protection here.


How is Los Angeles property tax calculated if a 50% owner later buys out the other 50%?

Question: I own a property with my partner. To make it simple, let's say we bought the property for $100K five years ago and now pay property taxes at this base price plus the usual 2% increase per year.  If I now buy my partner out for $75K which puts the new value of the property at $150K, what is the price that I would get taxed at?  Is it $150K or $125K or something else?
thank you
Answer: Can't vouch for LA, but property typically is taxed at either the appraised value, the most recent purchase price ("if it wasn't worth that much, you wouldn't have paid that much"), or some combination of the two (usually highest of the two, to prevent "$1 and other goods and services" from lowering the tax to zero).
You have now explicitly paid a total of $125k for the property; the fact that you bought it in two stages shouldn't be relevant. But "should" and law are only tangentially connected.
I'd recommend asking a tax accountant who know your local practices, unless someone here can give you an authoritative answer.
Comment: I think that property is taxed based on the _assessed_ value and not the _appraised_ value. At least in my area of residence, the _appraisers_ walk through the entire property, lifting the lids of toilets (date stamped into porcelain usually indicates most recent re-model), peering under the sinks for leaks, etc, whereas the _assessors_ don't get to come inside the house (unless the homeowner agrees to it) and so cannot evaluate the granite countertops, gold faucets, marble floors, etc (except by peering through windows) in deciding the _assessed_ value.
Comment: The difference between assessment and appraisal varies from place to place. Here,  they do try to do a drive-by assessment most of the time, but sometimes they want do a walk around not very different from what insurance companies call appraisal (which is far short of inspection), Understand your local rules, and don't assume they are identical elsewhere.
Comment: Insurance company appraisals (for the purpose of homeowners' insurance) are more cursory than the appraisals that mortgage lenders use for deciding how much they are willing to loan on the property which in turn are more cursory than the home inspections that buyers insist on (or should insist on) as a contingency that allows them to back out of the deal, or renegotiate the deal based on what the home inspection uncovers. I recommend that you take your own gratuitous advice "Understand your local rules, and don't assume they are identical elsewhere" to heart.
Comment: Dilip, I think we are actually in agreement and just phrasing it differently. (And the "gratuitous" phrase was directed to the readers, not to you; please don't take offense where none was intended.)
Answer: When property changes hands the sale prices may or may not be used to determine the appraised value of the property, and they may or may not be used to determine the appraised value of other properties.
Because of the nature of the transaction: you already have an existing business relationship, the local government is likely to ignore the data point provided by your transaction when determining values of similar properties. They have no idea if there was some other factor used to determine the price. They will also not include in the calculation transactions that are a result of foreclosure becasue the target price is the loan value not the true value.
California and some other jurisdictions do add another wrinkle. You will need to determine if the transaction will trigger a reevaluation of the property value. In some states the existing laws of the state limited the annual growth of the assessment, but that could now be recaptured if the jurisdiction rules that this is a new ownership:
California Board of Equalization - Change in Ownership - Frequently Asked Questions

How does a change in ownership affect property taxes?
Each county assessor's office reviews all recorded deeds for that
  county to determine which properties require reappraisal under the
  law. The county assessors may also discover changes in ownership
  through other means, such as taxpayer self-reporting, field
  inspections, review of building permits and newspapers. Once the
  county assessor has determined that a change in ownership has
  occurred, Proposition 13 requires the county assessor to reassess the
  property to its current fair market value as of the date ownership
  changed.
Since property taxes are based on the assessed value of a property at
  the time of acquisition, a current market value that is higher than
  the previously assessed Proposition 13 adjusted base year value will
  increase the property taxes. Conversely, if the current market value
  is lower than the previously assessed Proposition 13 adjusted base
  year value, then the property taxes on that property will decrease.
Only that portion of the property that changes ownership, however, is
  subject to reappraisal. For example, if 50 percent of the property is
  transferred, the assessor will reassess only 50 percent of the
  property at its current fair market value as of the date of the
  transfer, and deduct 50 percent from any existing Proposition 13 base
  year value. In most cases, when a person buys a residence, the entire
  property undergoes a change in ownership and 100 percent of the
  property is reassessed to its current market value.


What is the biblical basis for the belief by Seventh-day Adventists that evangelized Gentiles should keep the Sabbath?

Question: Which passages of Scripture are canonically or typically cited by Seventh-day Adventists in defense of the belief that evangelized Gentiles are to keep the Sabbath (sunset Friday to sunset Saturday) the same as the Jews in the Old Covenant? How do they normally interpret those passages in order to come to that conclusion?
Answer: Traditionally, Seventh-day Adventists hold that the Ten Commandments (including the fourth commandment concerning the sabbath) are part of the moral law of God, not abrogated by the teachings of Jesus Christ, which apply equally to Christians.
Following are excerpts from the Seventh-day Adventist Church regarding Sabbath:

The gracious Creator, after the six days of Creation, rested on the seventh day and instituted the Sabbath for all people as a memorial of Creation. The fourth commandment of God's unchangeable law requires the observance of this seventh-day Sabbath as the day of rest, worship, and ministry in harmony with the teaching and practice of Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath. The Sabbath is a day of delightful communion with God and one another. It is a symbol of our redemption in Christ, a sign of our sanctification, a token of our allegiance, and a foretaste of our eternal future in God's kingdom. The Sabbath is God's perpetual sign of His eternal covenant between Him and His people. Joyful observance of this holy time from evening to evening, sunset to sunset, is a celebration of God's creative and redemptive acts. (Gen. 2:1-3; Exod. 20:8-11; 31:13-17; Lev. 23:32; Deut. 5:12-15; Isa. 56:5, 6; 58:13, 14; Ezek. 20:12, 20; Matt. 12:1-12; Mark 1:32; Luke 4:16; Heb. 4:1-11.)

Adventists believe that the formal giving of the Law to Israel does not indicate that Israel alone is morally responsible before God for the things represented in the law:

The great principles of God's law are embodied in the Ten Commandments
and exemplified in the life of Christ. They express God's love, will,
and purposes concerning human conduct and relationships and are
binding upon all people in every age.

The basis of Adventist belief that the 4th commandment applies to all people in every age is that the Sabbath is first described in the creation account wherein God Himself rested.  This Sabbath memorial of what God has done in creation is embodied in the Law and exemplified in Christ and, by extension, the Church (Christ's body, Christ's bride, God's people):

the Lord made "the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them" and rested on the seventh day. Thus He established the Sabbath as a perpetual memorial of the work He performed and completed during six literal days

It appears that, rather than making a distinction between the universal moral law and the Ten Commandments given to Israel through Moses, SDA holds them to be one and the same.  The following excerpts are taken from the doctrine section of an SDA apologetic s website.

Seventh-day Adventists are in full accord ... that the moral
law is eternal in its very nature and has not been abrogated. We
believe that these eternal moral principles are unchanged and
unchangeable. We further believe that these basic principles are found
in the Decalogue—Ten Commandments, or the moral law.

Some think of the Sabbath as an institution related only to the Hebrews. Those who press this point claim that the Deuteronomy version of the Decalogue emphasizes that the Sabbath was given exclusively to the Hebrews, because they had been delivered from slavery.
The silence of the latter part of Genesis regarding the Sabbath is
understandable when one remembers that acquaintance of the patriarchs
with God's commandments was taken for granted. The author of the
historical record in Genesis did not deem it necessary to mention it
in his sweeping survey of the centuries. But Abraham kept the
commandments of God (Gen. 26:5)—the Hebrew word here used for
"commandments" being the same as that used for the Decalogue in
Deuteronomy 5:10, 29. Kalisch mentions this as the law written in the
heart of man, and the Pulpit Commentary states that the word means
"that which is graven on tables." Abraham acknowledged and obeyed the
moral law of God. If so, would that not include the Sabbath? The
Companion Bible (Gen. 26:5) says Abraham had a charge, to be observed;
commandments, to be obeyed; statutes (decrees), to be acknowledged;
and laws "instruction," the Torah), to be followed.
And during their wilderness experience, God tested His ancient people
as to whether they would walk in the way of His commandments (Ex.
16:4). The test came on the subject of the Sabbath. And comparison of
Exodus 16:1 with Exodus 19:1 shows that this occurred several weeks
before the promulgation of the Decalogue. They must, therefore, have
known not only of God's law but also of specific commandments embraced
therein, as evidenced by this reference to the Sabbath.
Comment: This link deals with that exact question:  http://www.sdanet.org/atissue/books/qod/q16.htm
Comment: Do you know how SDAs justify the reasoning that "(A) the Sabbath belongs to the 10 commandments; ergo (B) the Sabbath is a moral law"? How do they go from A to B?
Comment: I believe they hold the giving of the 4th commandment of Moses as representing a moral imperative laid out in the creation account.  Therefore it is not something new but merely codified.
Comment: Any idea how they justify that claim, or do they just hold it as a premise without requiring further justification and that's it?
Comment: Catholics also believe in the Ten Commandments as obligatory on Christians. CCC "2068 The Council of Trent teaches that the Ten Commandments are obligatory for Christians and that the justified man is still bound to keep them;"  EXCEPT in its view that the Sabbath requirement has shifted from Saturday to Sunday.  CCC "2190 The sabbath, which represented the completion of the first creation, has been replaced by Sunday which recalls the new creation inaugurated by the Resurrection of Christ."
Answer: What is the biblical basis for the belief by Seventh-day Adventists that evangelized Gentiles should keep the Sabbath?
First of all let us look at the Biblical Sabbath.

The sabbath was first described in the biblical account of the seventh day of creation. Observation and remembrance of the sabbath is one of the Ten Commandments (the fourth in the Eastern Orthodox and most Protestant traditions, the third in Roman Catholic and Lutheran traditions). Most people who observe the first-day or seventh-day sabbath regard it as having been instituted as a perpetual covenant: "Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant." (Exodus 31:13-17) (see also Exodus 23:12, Deuteronomy 5:13-14) This rule also applies to strangers within their gates, a sign of respect for the day during which God rested after having completed creation in six days (Genesis 2:2-3, Exodus 20:8-11).

Seventh-day Adventists are not unique in their desire to go back to the biblical origins of keeping Saturday as a day dedicated to God. Many others do so.

Early church
In contrast to the majority of Christian denominations, Seventh Day churches see the adoption of Sunday as the Sabbath as a late development that would not have been recognised by the Early Church. Seventh Day Adventist theologian Samuele Bacchiocchi argued for a gradual transition from the Jewish observation of the Sabbath on Saturday to observation on a Sunday. His contention was that the change was due to pagan influence from the pagan converts, to social pressure against Judaism, and also to the decline of standards for the day. From Sabbath to Sunday (1977), He claims that the first day became called the "Lord's Day" as that was the name known as the sun-god Baal to the pagans so they were familiar with it and put forth by the leaders in Rome to gain converts and got picked up by the Christians in Rome to differentiate themselves from the Jews, who had rebelled, and the Sabbath. According to Justin Martyr (lived 100 to 165), Christians also worshiped on Sunday because it "possessed a certain mysterious import". Seventh-day Adventists point out the role played by either the Pope, or by Roman Emperor Constantine I in the transition from Sabbath to Sunday, with Constantine's law declaring that Sunday was a day of rest for those not involved in farming work.
Early Christian observance of both the spiritual seventh-day sabbath and a Lord's Day assembly is evidenced in a letter from Ignatius of Antioch to the Magnesians c. 110. The Pseudo-Ignatian additions amplified this point by combining weekly observance of a spiritual seventh-day sabbath with the Lord's assembly. If Pseudo-Ignatius dates as early as 140, its admonition must be considered important evidence on 2nd-century sabbath and Lord's Day observance. According to classical sources, widespread seventh-day sabbath rest by gentile Christians was also the prevailing mode in the 3rd and 4th centuries.
Middle Ages
The "Sabbath in Africa Study Group" (SIA), founded by Charles E. Bradford in 1991, holds that the sabbath has existed in Africa since the beginning of recorded history. Taddesse Tamrat has argued that this practice predates Saint Ewostatewos's advocacy of observing both Saturday and Sunday as days of sabbath, which led to his eventual exile from Ethiopia around 1337. Emperor Zara Yaqob convened a synod at Tegulet in 1450 to discuss the sabbath question.
Sects, such as the Waldenses, retained sabbath observance in Europe during the Middle Ages. In Bohemia, as much as one quarter of the population kept seventh-day the sabbath in 1310. This practice continued until at least the 16th century, when Erasmus wrote about the practice.
Reformation
At the time of the Protestant Reformation some Anabaptists, such as Oswald Glaidt, argued that the seventh day should be observed as the sabbath and that Sunday sabbath was an invention of the Pope.[35]
Seventh-day Sabbatarianism was revived in 17th-century England. Early advocates included the Elizabethan Seventh-Day Men, the Traskites (after John Traske, 1586–1636), and Thomas Brabourne. The majority of seventh-day Sabbatarians were part of the Seventh Day Baptist church and experienced harsh opposition from Anglican authorities and Puritans. The first Seventh Day Baptist church in the United States was established in Rhode Island in 1671.
Seventh-day Adventists
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is the largest modern seventh-day Sabbatarian denomination, with 18,778,626 members as of June 30, 2015 and holds the sabbath as one of the Pillars of Adventism. Seventh-day Adventism grew out of the Millerite movement in the 1840s, and a few of its founders (Cyrus Farnsworth, Frederick Wheeler, a Methodist minister and Joseph Bates, a sea captain) were convinced in 1844-1845 of the importance of Sabbatarianism under the influence of Rachel Oakes Preston, a young Seventh Day Baptist laywoman living in Washington, New Hampshire and a published article in early 1845 on the topic (Hope of Israel) by Thomas M. Preble, pastor of the Free Will Baptist congregation in Nashua, New Hampshire.
Seventh-day Adventists observe the sabbath from Friday evening to Saturday evening. In places where the sun does not appear or does not set for several months, such as northern Scandinavia, the tendency is to regard an arbitrary time such as 6 p.m. as "sunset". During the sabbath, Adventists avoid secular work and business, although medical relief and humanitarian work is accepted. Though there are cultural variations, most Adventists also avoid activities such as shopping, sport, and certain forms of entertainment. Adventists typically gather for church services on Saturday morning. Some also gather on Friday evening to welcome in the sabbath hours (sometimes called "vespers" or "opening Sabbath"), and some similarly gather at "closing Sabbath".
Traditionally, Seventh-day Adventists hold that the Ten Commandments (including the fourth commandment concerning the sabbath) are part of the moral law of God, not abrogated by the teachings of Jesus Christ, which apply equally to Christians. This was a common Christian understanding before the Sabbatarian controversy led Sunday-keepers to adopt a more radical antinomian position. Adventists have traditionally distinguished between "moral law" and "ceremonial law", arguing that moral law continues to bind Christians, while events predicted by the ceremonial law were fulfilled by Christ's death on the cross.

For further information please see the following article(s):

Sabbath in Christianity
Sabbath (Wikipedia)
Answer: There are probably 4 components that are combined to build the case.
Firstly that the Sabbath is pre-exilic and is found in creation. Essentially baked into the fabric of our week.
Second, it is directly spoken by God in the 10 commandments.  Linked to creation and is the only command to do that. Suggesting that it has a beginning outside of the Israelite covenant on Mount Sinai.
Third, The Sabbath is never condemned by Jesus.  The strict expectations of the Jewish leaders were condemned, but the sabbath never was.  Jesus even validated the sabbath.

The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. - Mark 2:27

Finally, the Sabbath forms part of the Advent message. When Adventist Interpret Revelation they see a prophecy in which those that are sealed have the testimony of Christ and keep the commands of God. When looking at the three angels message of revelation 14:6-12 You see creation brought into the first angel's message and the endurance of the saints at the end of that passage.


iPad still plays the music when muted - how can I truly turn off sounds?

Question: When I mute the iPad with the buttons on the side, the iPad is still playing the music quietly. This is really annoying and I would like to turn the sound completely off. Is there a solution to this?
Answer: If you are on iOS 12, swipe from the top-right of the screen to get to control centre.
Then make sure you slide the volume down:
Comment: I checked that the slider is fully down and the speaker sign is crossed. However the music still plays quietly.
Answer: iOS has alert volume, media volume, and a nasty bug.
By default, the physical volume buttons adjust the alert volume, and media volume can be adjusted in Control Centre opened by swiping down from the top-right of the display.
To use the volume buttons to adjust alert volume when no media is playing, and media volume when media is playing, go to Settings → Sounds → Change with Buttons.
If the volume is off but you can still hear media playing, this is a bug with iOS. If the media is playing full screen, you can mute the media with the volume button on the top-right of the media.
Comment: Thanks for the explanation. However the problem is that I can only adjust the sound volume for media to very quiet but never really off.


Air Conditioner question

Question: Is it typical for 1 of the (pipe) lines from my outdoor AC unit to have condensation? The AC tech added 1Ib of freon yesterday. Don't know if this has anything to do with the condensation.
Comment: Norah, do you mean that there is condensation ( moisture ) on the outside of one the pipes ?
Comment: Yes, there is generally a condensate line coming from the evaporator (i.e. the COLD AIR side) section of the unit.  The cold not only cools your air but the drop in temperature causes moisture in the air to condense out.  It has to go somewhere and there is usually a drain line.
Answer: It is normal for the suction line /vapor line ( going to the outside compressor) to have condensation. The amount depends on humidity and the characteristics of your unit. If you get frost on it , have someone check it out.
Answer: If it's warm weather the small should be warm.
The large should have condensation.  Beer can cold is the old rule of thumb for how it should feel.

Air Conditioner question


Problems during Pen-testing of SCADA systems

Question: Is there a way to monitor the way the SCADA systems behave 'during pen-testing or security audit', and find out the implications of just port scans and/or monitor the state of activity while sending a payload ? Is it possible for a device to get faulty because of a SCADA Security Audit ?
Comment: This might be a little too vague.  There are many different types of SCADA systems out there, and they all behave differently.
Comment: If all devices just have a password set on them, you are doing better than a lot of SCADA systems!  Given that even a simple pressure sensor may need to be read from 3 or 4 different software systems password management is complex.    Also watch out for network load, as you may be hitting RS232 links, so putting any more packets on the network could overload the system.
Answer: The single most important rule when testing production SCADA systems is never test production SCADA systems if there is a risk of taking down any critical service, or spilling an oil pipeline etc. Always use a test environment.
If however you have to test in live, the best rule to adhere to is to ask for confirmation of every step - written confirmation, from the system engineer. This does make a proper test very cumbersome and expensive,but dramatically reduces the risk of you doing something fatal.
And if it is expensive enough, perhaps for next year's test you might get a test environment...
Answer: Pentesters / "Auditors" should keep a full packet capture of everything their tools put on the wire and this should be available to you as a client. Use this if something does happen to crash, is identified incorrectly, etc. to pinpoint the (mis)behavior of the systems under test.
Also, start basic and manual before assaulting the system with all kinds of traffic. (things can go bad quickly and you'll have no idea what caused it until you dig through the captures) This means passively identify ports in use, then start by sending simple connects/SYNS rather than a full on nmap fingerprint/service scan, etc. (tools are unlikely to have useful signatures to identify the equipment anyway)
Consider getting the data by other channels as well. For example, many devices support a standard SNMP MIB which will yield you information about model, tcp/udp ports, route table, etc. If you can recover this information with standard SNMP queries then you don't need to scan all 65000+ ports.
Disregard Rook's reply to your comment. Though many software components of control systems do run on Windows and *nix systems now, there is still plenty of risk to crashing/corrupting the applications on these systems, not to mention the embedded devices that make up the field of the control system which are even more notorious for not taking kindly to scanning or testing. Plenty of examples of both to back this up, even when running on modern operating systems.
TL;DR: There are always more passive / hands-off testing approaches you can fall back to in order to accomplish your testing task and get coverage of the control system. Be creative and cooperate with the client or test team.
Answer: SCADA devices are prone to the same common vulnerabilities—such as enumeration, password cracking, network eavesdropping, and denial of service—that are found in any other types of network devices.
I think it is pretty common to deploy health monitoring systems for your systems so you can pick up on unusual things happening on your SCADA network.
Your SCADA systems can deffinitly fail and break during a pentest. The outcomes of a pentest can be so many, and even if you do crash a PLC or other equipment that is also infact a security issue (denial of service). What happens if a long fuzz string hits your PLC and it breaks down?
If I were you I would treat your SCADA network like any other network. With this comes the worrying of taking something down, breaking data, and so on.
This video shows a staged SCADA attack on a power grid: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJyWngDco3g
Answer: A SCADA system is just a large distributed network that is usually over IP.  SCADA systems are very reliant on a database,  and SQL is a common choice.  The same rules apply for any pen test against a network.  A SCADA system needs a firewall to block incoming connections.   An IDS such a snort is still helpful in maintaining a secure network.  SCADA systems can have  web interfaces and a Web Application Firewall such as mod_secuirty (as a reverse proxy) is helpful.
The only gotcha with SCADA is that they are usually LARGE.  As in computer systems for moving electricity across an entire country.  So for physical penetration tests you need to look at gaining physical access to the network by looking at individual nodes in the SCADA system.   Break out your hacksaw and a wire crimper :D.
Comment: you'd think so, but you'd be very wrong. as an example I have had a simple nmap scan crash a reverse proxy in such a way it couldn't be restarted. a cold power cycle didn't even work. Problem was down to faulty network card that got triggered by the scan. Nothing we could have expected. Always plan for the target to have unexpected problems. Also many SCADA systems were not built on Windows or Linux. Lots of legacy kit out there.
Comment: I believe that did not answer the question. I would like to know if there are proven practices and methods to conducting pen-testing devices without crashing them ...
Comment: @Legolas I have been pen testing for years and i have never accidentally crashed a system. A port scan will never crash a system. SCADA's are built on windows or Linux and you have nothing to worry about.   Also this is a ridiculous question to ask.


I use FCPX, curious on how I can put a non-360 clip into a 360 video?

Question: I have some drone footage that is not in 360 that I really want to put into my 360 video. Everything else is shot in 360, is there a way to show the non-360 clip without it looking terrible?
Answer: It looks like the Dashwood 360 VR plug-ins have a plug-in called Project 2D on Sphere that allows you to put 2D footage into your 360° panorama:

The Project 2D on Sphere plugin can be used to place logos in your 2:1 equirectangular projection

It has a variety of other useful tools, too.


Nomenclature for different types of ice

Question: How many types of ice exist and what is their nomenclature? I know that the ice on Earth is $I_h$, but why so?
Comment: You can have a look at the phase diagram of water provided in [this answer](http://chemistry.stackexchange.com/a/20011/189). There you can see which types of ice exist under different conditions.
Answer: The first thing to note about ice water is:
All ice is not crystalline and not all crystalline water is ice
There appear to be fifteen crystalline phases of ice, named 'Ice 1' to 'Ice 15' using Roman numerals $I$ to $XV$. There also appears to be three 'polyamorphic' states:.
$LDA$ : Low Density Amorphous
$HDA$ : High Density Amorphous
$VHDA$ : Very High Density Amorphous
All crystalline ice is tetrahedrically coordinated (where the oxygen atoms are in fixed positions relative to each other but the hydrogen atoms may or may not be disordered but obeying the 'ice rules'), and the polymorphs differ primarily in H-bond angles and next-nearest neighbour separations.
Ice I encompasses all ice found on naturally on earth (in a stable form).
This is usually split into two phases called $I_h$ and $I_c$.
Hexagonal ice (ice $I_h$) is 'ordinary ice', the form of all natural snow and ice on Earth. This is evidenced in the six-fold symmetry in ice crystals grown from water vapor (that is, snow flakes).
Cubic ice (ice $I_c$) is a solid form of water that can form in high clouds. Ice Ic is metastable, and irreversibly converts to ice $I_h$. Both forms contain similar layers of hexagonal rings, but differs in the way these layers are connected.
For more information on their structure and properties of ice, check out 'the Many Phases of Ice'.
Martin Chaplin maintains a fairly thorough and well referenced online resource on water, which includes a comprehensive section on the ice phases.
Finally, Google Books has the definitive 'the Physics of Ice' by Petrenko & Whitworth available online.
Comment: I see there few forms of ice for each amorphous state, so there are even more than 20 forms of ice, right?
Comment: That depends on how you want to distinguish one form of ice from another (crystal structure, symmetry or density) and on how 'stable' (or 'metastable') the form in question is. The resources described at the end of my answer give more details.
Answer: There are different types of ice, depending on its cristalline structure.
My guess would be that Ice $I_h$ and $I_c$ are named directly after their structure, which is respectively hexagonal and cubic.
The numbering, which makes Ice I, Ice II, Ice III and so on till Ice XV, seems to be arbitrary, probably ordered in sequence as they have been discovered. This also tells you about the number of different types of ice known: 16 (or 19 if we considering amorphous ice in its three forms).
Comment: Isn't it 19 then?
Comment: Yes, sorry. Miscalculation. :)

Nomenclature for different types of ice


What does "doctor" imply? Medical doctor or PhD?

Question: When someone introduces himself as "Doctor Jones", does that usually imply he is a PhD, or does it imply he is a medical doctor? Obviously, if you're in the emergency room, a "doctor" can be assumed to be of the medical variety; but what about a more general environment?
Comment: I don't think there's really a good answer to this question. For example, Dr. Strangelove could be a medical doctor, a psychologist, a physicist, a chiropractor, a dentist, or a professor. Those who hold terminal degrees have earned a right to call themselves doctor; some will, and some won't.
Comment: Thanks J.R. so it looks like it could be both (or more) and there's no definite way to guess except to ask the person.
Comment: This might be a matter of opinion, but usually you only hear "doctor" as it's relevant to the environment. The medical doctor is "Doctor" at his job, but not at his wife's company picnic. The mathematician is "Doctor" at his job but he wouldn't introduce himself like that at the hospital. It's really up to the title holder, but I have a long standing opinion that people who use titles outside of the relevant environment are trying to be pretentious. Medical doctors get more leeway on this (being a medical professional is always a LITTLE relevant) but non-medical doctors, not so much.
Answer: In the United States, many people with a PhD will have the title Dr. So I think the rule is you have to ask.
Answer: In addition to Medical Doctors (MDs) and Doctors of Philosophy (PhDs), there are also:

Doctors of Dentistry (DDSes)
Doctors of Chiropractic (DCs)
Doctors of Veterinary Medicine (DVMs)
Doctors of Divinity (DDs)
Doctors of Education (EdDs)
Doctors of Law or Juris Doctors (JDs)

In the United States, most lawyers are JDs; they are typically not addressed as "Doctor".  Similarly, it is unusual for a teacher with an EdD to be referred to as "Doctor".
In the United States, it can be much more difficult to get into veterinary school than into medical school.  On the other hand, most MDs spend more time in apprenticeships after obtaining their MDs than veterinarians do after obtaining their DVMs.
Answer: As stated in prior answers, the best advice is to ask. Often people with a Ph.D or a high level of medical education will be upset if you don't use the title correctly.
It should be noted that in common usage in the U.S., however, the term "doctor" is most often associated with medical then scientific/mathematical professions and finally psychology.
Medical Professions (Most Common)

Medical Doctor (M.D.)

This can include general practitioners (no specialization -- your family doctor), but also specialist doctors such as pediatricians (children's doctors), or those who specialize in specific parts of the body (e.g cardiologist -- heart doctor).
Common

Dentist (D.D.S)
Optometrist (eye doctor) (O.D.)
Chiropractic (bone and joint) doctor (D.C.)
Veterinary (animal) doctors (D.V.M).

Non-Medical Professions
The term "doctor" can also be applied to non-medical professions:
Most Common

Scientist (Ph.D. and Sc.D.)
Mathematician (Ph.D.)

Common

Psychologist (Ph.D.)

Less Common

Academic (Ed.D. and Ph.D.)
Religious (D.D.)

But these non-medical professions are still less common than medical ones and many will assume that if you say "Dr. So-and-So", you mean someone who has a medical degree of some sort. Many academic (and some scientific) professions opt for the title of "Professor", at least if they are teachers.
Comment: Don't forget about Sc.D.  They're much less common in the US (most of those I've met are German), but they're around and essentially equivalent to a Ph.D.
Comment: Absolutely. Updated answer. M.I.T. gives out Sc.D. degrees in lieu of Ph.Ds, at least for some areas of study. It should be noted that in the U.S. "The academic research Sc.D. (or D.Sc.) is considered by both the United States Department of Education and the National Science Foundation to be equivalent to the more commonly awarded Ph.D." - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_of_Science#United_States
Comment: In other countries, like the UK, DSc's and PhD's are different titles. - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_of_Science#The_United_Kingdom.2C_Ireland.2C_India_and_the_Commonwealth


How to scale proportionally

Question:
I'm extruding the faces selected on the screenshot.
With the selection active I press Alt+E (region vertex normal). the result that I'm getting is shown in the animaiton above. The extrude isn't done proportionally at the sides and height or z-axis.
May I know the reason what I'm doing wrong and how to make it extrude all the sides proportionally?
Answer: This happens because you haven't applied scale , so to apply scale ,press space bar search for Apply Object Transform , click the option then go at the tool-bar then under the tool-shelf and select scale.
then repeat the steps you are doing in your question.
Note: you should be in object mode to be able to search for Apply Object Transform.
Comment: thats perfect..
Answer: If I understand correctly what you want to do, then you just need to extrude then confirm the operation immediately before beginning any transform.
E then Enter or LMB and then you can use Alt+S to scale along the normals.
Comment: thanks for replying u have understood my question correctly and showing correct what i need. but when im doing the same as u have done the question come same its not proportionally scaling whats the reason i dont understand plz do reply

How to scale proportionally


What is the historical reason the King James Version was created?

Question: Many years ago, I heard someone say that the KJV came about because King James I wanted a version of the Bible that supported him getting a divorce. Nowadays, I can't help but wonder how true this is. Thus, I'm asking for the historical reasons the KJV came about.
Comment: Check out the forward/dedication of the original KJV (http://www.kjvbibles.com/kjpreface.htm). Remember that it is always best to listen to the creators of the work when trying to guess their purpose; instead of listening to contemporary "scholars" who like to lace every historical figure with dark motives.
Answer: Since one of the reasons for the English Reformation by King Henry VIII which lead to the creation of the Church of England was divorce, I doubt King James I would have needed a new translation.
From Wikipedia, it sounds like the main reasons for the commissioning of the KJV 70 years after the reformation were around translation errors believed to be in the existing English translations.

The newly crowned King James convened the Hampton Court Conference in
  1604. That gathering proposed a new English version in response to the
  perceived problems of earlier translations as detected by the Puritan
  faction of the Church of England.

It sounds to me like what you had heard may have just been history getting crossed.
Comment: King James was never divorced, so it's even less likely that he commissioned the KJV to excuse it.
Comment: My understanding: The Puritans wanted changes; King James wanted to avoid controversial changes but needed a Bible that would be more popular with the people while avoiding the Geneva Bible's footnotes.
Comment: @DJClayworth I suspected that since I didn't see anything about him divorcing, but couldn't find anything that specifically said he didn't.  Thanks!
Answer: To begin with, that statement is logically flawed as the Bible does not condone divorce — KJV or not.
As far as your actual question, according to Wikipedia it seems like a new English version was proposed "[...] in response to the perceived problems of earlier translations as detected by the Puritan faction of the Church of England."
PS:  There also seem to be a recent documentary on the subject, which I've been meaning to see.  It seems to be available on Netflix.  (GratefulDisciple: Netflix link is dead, documentary is currently available on YouTube, IMDB entry here)
Comment: At the beginning of the year, there were a number of documentaries on BBC Radio 4. The couple I listened to were interesting in providing cultural context. Some might still be available on the BBC website.
Comment: I noticed that on Netflix while browsing last night.  Now that Starman has me interested in the history of the KJV, I may have to watch it.  :P
Comment: BYU also sponsored a 3-part documentary about it. http://byutv.org/show/123d4a82-3d47-488e-beda-2496a5a1ff2c
Comment: The King James Bible was written in order to provide scriptural support for the Church of England's doctrine, which differed from that of the Protestants. Also Roman Catholicisms were excluded from the notes. Divorce for specific reasons was allowed under the new doctrine, and the Bible confirmed this.
Comment: In England the Puritans pushed for a change to the Bible, but they were not heeded. They moved to the Continent to worship.
Answer: The most popular Bible being used prior to the KJV was the Geneva Bible. Unfortunately for the crown, this Bible also contained footnotes of an opposing political nature. Thus the KJV was commissioned with the directive for minimal footnotes. The 1611 text is actually quite similar to the Geneva Bible.
Comment: like what? What are the samples of footnotes?
Comment: The Geneva Bible was a Protestant Bible written in Geneva by an English Oxford scholar influenced by many learned exiles. It was popular with Protestants in Europe, and was probably carried to the USA with the Mayflower. The only Bibles authorized in England at that time were the Vulgate under Queen Mary, and the Great Bible and the Bishop's Bible, under Elizabeth and Henry, both forerunners of the AV KJV. The Geneva Bible (1560) was the Bible of the people and often quoted by Clergy. In 1644, it was finally driven out of the Church. I have a copy.
Answer: In a time when you needed to know Latin to read the bible, it was actually King Henry who wanted a divorce and it was he who wanted to read with his own eyes what the bible said rather than take the words of priests and the pope as the gospel truth. It shouldn't come as a shock that a "king" would have a large enough ego to challenge the authority of other humans, despite their claim that their personal authority was handed down to them from God.
So translators were brought in to put it into the English language and (as someone stated in a previous reply) the words of Jesus did not justify divorce in Henry's circumstance. However, this is a very important testimony toward the accuracy of the translation and evidence that the translators were more willing to disappoint the King with bad news regarding his divorce than they were willing to anger God with a false translation of his Holy Book.
As the bible became a book that literate people could examine for themselves, it became the greatest topic of discussion in English literature. King James took up the task of completing a more thorough and complete translation of the old and new testament. A think tank of the most esteemed Latin to English translators shared their knowledge and reached an agreed-upon translation through on a consensus basis.
Then, poets were brought in to work with the translators to render it in the most eloquent form possible without compromising accuracy. I am among the many who feel that it is the highest achievement of the written English language. Despite what is often thought, the King James Bible is written in what is considered "modern English" and I feel that a literate person of average intelligence can comprehend it easily enough without the need for dumbing it down or catering to the vocabulary fashion trends of the day. I feel that "Zenith English" is a more appropriate description than "Modern English" because the English language, especially in literature, was more far more revered in the days of King James than in the present.
Also, intelligence and proper speech were considered desirable virtues among men, unlike in modern times when falsified stigmas that intelligence and proper speech are indicators of a male who lacks masculinity. So rather than reducing this great achievement in literature to fit your limitations in vocabulary, I suggest reading it as it is and I expect it will be rewarding to you like it was for me. More precisely, I suspect you will find it beneficial to your ability to express yourself with the written English word. I, after all, am a West Virginian with only a high school degree, would you have guessed? King James Bible folks, works for me!
Comment: Welcome to Christianity SE and thank you for your contribution. When you get a chance, please take the [tour] to understand how the site works and [how it is different than others](https://christianity.meta.stackexchange.com/a/1809/50259).


Rename mail account?

Question: I hope this is not too obvious, but I would like to know if this is possible.  I made an email account without renaming it.  So it has the boring name Exchange.  How can I rename this email account on my iPad without deleting and re adding it?  I would rather not type all that info in again.
Answer: Go to Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Tap your Exchange account (for you, it will likely say Exchange) > Tap on your exchange email address (i.e. firstname.lastname@example.com) > scroll down to Description (past Username and Password), then enter the new name in there.
Answer: I successfully changed the name others see when I email them (from my iPad Air 2) by putting the name I want them to see into Contacts and making sure to give that name the email address I want it to have.  I don't understand why it works but it does!
This may only work on the iPad (possibly just the iPad Air 2), so if you want to change your 'from name' on other devices i.e. your main computer, you'll have to do whatever it takes on those devices.

Rename mail account?


Difference between "supple" and "flexible"

Question: What is the difference of the words "supple" and "flexible" and specially where are they preferred to the other?
Answer: When I looked up supple in NOAD, it said, "See note at flexible." Here is that note:

THE RIGHT WORD
  If you can bend over and touch your toes, you are flexible.
  But a dancer or gymnast is limber, an adjective that specifically applies to a body that has been brought into condition through training (: to stay limber, she did yoga every day).
Flexible applies to whatever can be bent without breaking, whether or not it returns to its original shape (: a flexible plastic hose; a flexible electrical conduit); it does not necessarily refer, as limber does, to the human body.
  Unlike flexible, resilient implies the ability to spring back into shape after being bent or compressed, or to recover one's health or spirits quickly (: so young and resilient that she was back at work in a week).
Elastic is usually applied to substances or materials that are easy to stretch or expand and that quickly recover their shape or size (: pants with an elastic waist), while supple is applied to whatever is easily bent, twisted, or folded without breaking or cracking (: a soft, supple leather). When applied to the human body, supple suggests the ability to move effortlessly.
Pliant and pliable may be used to describe either people or things that are easily bent or manipulated. Pliant suggests a tendency to bend without force or pressure from the outside, while pliable suggests the use of force or submission to another's will. A pliant person is merely adaptable, but a pliable person is easy to influence and eager to please.

There may be some exceptions, but, as a general rule, supple applies more to skin, fabrics, and materials.
In other words, a flexible hose would be easy to bend or coil, while a supple hose would be easy to pinch or crimp.
Comment: Nice, you've provided even more than what I expected.
Answer: supple |ˈsəpəl|
adjective ( -pler, -plest)
bending and moving easily and gracefully; flexible : her supple fingers | figurative my mind is becoming more supple. See note at flexible .
• not stiff or hard; easily manipulated : this body oil leaves your skin feeling deliciously supple.
flexible |ˈfleksəbəl|
adjective
capable of bending easily without breaking : flexible rubber seals.
• able to be easily modified to respond to altered circumstances or conditions : flexible forms of retirement.
• (of a person) ready and able to change so as to adapt to different circumstances : you can save money if you're flexible about where your room is located.
Basically, when referring to movement, if something is 'supple' it means it moves easily, and is thus flexible.
Comment: Does supple in " this body oil leaves your skin feeling deliciously supple" means soften?
Comment: I would usually describe the *surface* of something as "supple" (skin, cured leather, etc), while the bulk object would be "flexible"
Comment: @NickT What about this : "And to be supple enough to deal with the various kinds of contained objects in the same way, with the same code, design-patterns often rely on polymorphism."
Comment: I'd only use supple when describing real, physical objects one could hold and touch.  For abstract concepts (software) it sounds strange.
Answer: Using the example of a branch and a arm.
A branch would be flexible because you can bend it before it breaks, but it is not supple because when you touch it the surface is rough and coarse.
An arm would be flexible because you can bend it before it breaks and it is supple, because when you touch the skin, it's soft and smooth and flexible.


Is there a way to export list of Pandora songs that I have upvoted or downvoted?

Question: Is there a way to export a list of songs that have been upvoted or downvoted in a particular pandora station?  I have been working on customizing my own pandora station for over a year and would like to be able to get that data out.
Comment: possible duplicate of [How can I see all thumbed-up songs on Pandora?](http://webapps.stackexchange.com/questions/7658/how-can-i-see-all-thumbed-up-songs-on-pandora)
Answer: Songs (You) Liked on Pandora is a nice page/app to get a list of songs you've liked (up-thumbed). You could probably request songs you dis-liked (down-thumbed) from the author/creator.
Comment: Doesn't work with the new pandora website design.
Comment: Just tried it and it worked for me
Comment: Please fix this service: it was great but stopped working...
Answer: There is a good Google Chrome Extension to export Pandora Thumbs Up playlists to Spotify.
Once you have the playlists in Spotify, you can export it using the tips here:
http://www.spotify-forum.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=15
I'm sure you'll find other tools to export Spotify playlists.
Comment: This extension no longer exists
Answer: In your profile you'll see the list of thumbed up and down songs.  You could always just do the ol' copy/paste/clean up - shouldn't be too bad.
Answer: I created a small script to export your entire list of liked songs, see here: http://www.tedtrowbridge.com/exporting-liked-songs-from-pandora/
The solution works by using a little bit of javascript to navigate to your 'likes' page, then automatically click the 'show more' button continuously while scraping the songs title/artist.  All songs are displayed so they can be easily copy-pasted at the end.
You can also find the project on GitHub: https://github.com/teddytrowbridge/pandora-export
Comment: There's some good talk about this method on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/Pandora/comments/6og294/pandora_australia_users_i_wrote_a_script_to/ Here's a pastebin copy of a winning script: https://pastebin.com/9br3VZjX
Comment: Thank you @Foliovision, this method worked for me in 2019 unlike almost all of these other solutions
Comment: The links by @Foliovision still work great in 2021. I just exported a list of more than 7,000 thumbs-up/down ratings by following the directions on the Reddit link.
Comment: Looks like it answers the question, but can you give a bit more detail here on what this does / how this works?
Comment: I forked your GitHub page for bookmarks, works well: https://github.com/sethismyfriend/pandora-export/blob/master/README.md
Answer: I opened all of my stations one by one and copied and pasted each song into Excel.
Then, I cleaned everything up.

Find and Replace: replace the word by with >
Data: Text to Columns. Use > as the delimiter to separate the song from the artist.
Removed all duplicates.
Pasted into Playlistity

Worked like a charm!
Comment: Note that playlistity no longer exists
Answer: I've tried a few different options, but the easiest to use seems to be Pandora Extractor
There are two ways to use it. First, if you have a public profile on Pandora and have under 100 likes, you can simply type in your Pandora username (no password required) and the script will look at your public profile and scrape your likes.
Alternatively, if your profile is private, if you have over 100 likes, or if the other option doesn't work for some reason, you can simply open up Pandora in a new tab, navigate to your profile page, and then drag and drop the "Drag to Pandora Tab" button from the Pandora Extractor to your Pandora tab. This used to work for me on Chrome, but no longer. It may still work on Firefox though.