How significantly would the course of rivers change over 10,000 years?

Question: This one is rather straightforward. A character falls into a magically-induced coma for about 10,000 years and then wakes up to find the world around him different in quite a few ways. There's not a dramatic technological difference between the past and present, though there have been some slight advancements here and there. Question is (assuming relatively accurate mapmaking before and after his coma), do the maps look significantly different? Obviously, forests may grow or recede, but my main interest is in the bodies of water. Would rivers have enough time to significantly change course or widen/deepen?
Comment: And all that is assuming the population during that time hasn't dammed the river, re-routed the river, covered over the river, tapped the river for irrigation such that it's a trickle, etc.  The mind boggles what can happen to a river in 10,000 years.  Or not, depending on where the river is, what value it has to population growth, what ground it flows through....  There's so much missing data that it's impossible to even give you a sensible list of what *might* happen.
Comment: This is anything but straightforward.  I once lived in New Mexico, and until the Rio Grande river was dammed, old timers said they could go to bed with the river on one side of the town and wake up to find the river on the other side of town.  That's just 10 hours.  You need to define the size of the river, slope of the river, spring runoff conditions, and the nature of the ground it runs through.  Then you get to hope *nothing* geologically happens anywhere near the river for 10,000 years (e.g. Mammoth hot springs, Colorado river, vis earthquakes, etc.). Nothing about this is straightforward.
Comment: To take just two examples, try to research the evolution of the lower course of the Rhine and the of the mouths of the Danube during the last *two* thousand years, let alone ten thousand.
Answer: 10 thousands year is an awful lot of time for a river.
Just look at how the Netherlands changed in the last 600 years:

Or look at how the Po river delta changed over the past 300 years:

The Adriatic sea is called like this because of Adria, a city which was once a big port and now is several kilometers inland.
And the examples above only deal with the river/sea interface. While the river flows inland similar changes can occur: it just needs a flood to reshape a good part of the landscape.
Answer: You don't need 10,000 years to change the river course, It may also happen in a matter of a few weeks if there is a massive earthquake in the region it can change the direction of rivers. (It could be a country-wide impact)
for instance it happened to Mississippi
In 1811 and 1812, a series of earthquakes emanated from New Madrid, Missouri, and were felt as far away as Ohio and South Carolina. The soil beneath the Mississippi River rose, temporarily changing its course so that it flowed backward.
If the earthquake is big or a series of quakes, the changes could be permanent.
Answer: If an Ice Age happens during the 10,000 years, rivers could change course drastically.
Glaciers can carve mountains in half, and leave behind hills hundreds of feet high.
The Great Lakes could just as easily drain to East Texas, Louisiana, or New York as to the gap between Labrador and Newfoundland.
Weather patterns can change.  For example, the Gulf Stream can shut down, or California could become subject to monsoons.  Thus, an increase or decrease in precipitation of 4x is quite possible.  This changes the size and speed of rivers, and the volumes of lakes.  Enormous lakes can form, disappear, or become attached to oceans in this much time.  Think Lake Chad, the Baltic, the Black Sea, or even the Mediterranean!
Comment: Ooooh, +1.  This is a very good point.
Answer: A river can change its course overnight, if there is a violent storm. Such a storm hit southern England in February 1287, leaving some towns under the sea (Winchelsea), land-locking others that used to be ports (New Romney), and redrawing the course of the River Rother so that it now meets the sea near Rye, ten miles away from its former mouth at Dungeness.


Why did James Donovan not stay at the Hilton in Bridge of Spies?

Question: In Berlin, the CIA folks seemed to stay in the comfortable hotel while they made Tom Hanks's character stay in a gross, cold, run-down hideout.
Answer: Donovan can't stay at the Hilton because it would blow his cover, so to speak. The US and the USSR can't be seen to be bargaining with each other. To preserve Donovan as a private citizen negotiator, he has to stay at a different place.
Aside from plot reasons, having Donovan stay somewhere other than the Hilton makes him a more relatable underdog as he bumbles around Berlin with a cold. It also allows the film to show what Berlin was really like outside the bubble of US influence and the CIA's setup. If he stayed with all the other government officials and traveled with them, you wouldn't see him walking through the bombed out streets by himself or getting his coat stolen.
Comment: I think it's a strength, not a weakness! Throwing Donovan into the USSR without protection gives the film needed heart and humor. Showing how an everyday US citizen reacts to both the unfiltered USSR and the US government is one of the film's strongest points.
Comment: OK, thanks. If you're right, I feel like I didn't miss anything, and I'm just surprised at Spielberg's plot being weak in that way. (Showing the movie audience what Berlin is like doesn't seem like a good enough reason.)
Answer: Donovan is an insurance lawyer. The CIA chief is much higher up the rank and as it goes in the corporate world even today, the younger folk don't get hotel stays in the quality of senior managers.
Comment: No. They discuss it in the film. Something about having to keep him separate to avoid it looking like he was there officially.


Should I split my post into three questions?

Question: In a question of mine somebody commented that it is better to split this post into three different questions. Is it a good idea or the current format is fine? I think all questions are somehow related to the title of the post namely the situation of LGBT people in mathematics. However I'm not sure.
Answer: This site, and the SE format in general, works best for quite focused questions. In particular, ideally, a question-post should admit an in some sense complete answer in a couple of paragraphs. In particular, questions that are "too broad" can be closed for this reason.
As a consequences it is best not to ask different questions that are only related by being on a common subject in one post. (Especially not when even individually they are somewhat broad already.) In general, it is good to strive for "one question per post." Of course, this is not to  be taken as  strict rule and questions where really one depends on the other, can be asked in one post.
For your specific question, I agree with the comments that the three sub-parts would be better not in one question.
Furthermore, the second part seems not very specific to mathematics education; especially, the part on tenure is more a general question about academic institutions. Similarly, the third point in its current form is also not a question about mathematics education, but rather personal/biographical information on mathematicians.
Thus, for now I would propose to edit the question to focus on the first part only. The other questions would need some revision and precision before making on-topic question on this site.
Answer: I agree that the first question in the most important and that it definitely does need to be split into 3 different questions. That being said, I have a number of reservations about the way you have worded the first question that I have detailed below.
I believe that a student's experiences and culture are a vital aspect of why they are or are not successful in a math classroom. It is easy to dismiss such concerns on the grounds that math is "objective". One, therefore, does not have to worry about choosing literature sensitive to a certain group of people or which emphasizes their history. However, the math classroom does occupy significant cultural territory. While the content may not be a cultural issue, the environment certainly is and the environment is a direct product of pedagogy. Hence, my argument that this is in fact a relevant question to this forum. Nonetheless, I do not believe that this question properly poses this problem.
As an LGBT educator, I find the word "ordinary" to as used to describe non-LGBT people as the kind of language, as Xi Yu refers to in her comment on the original post, that marginalizes the experience of LGBT students and reinforces their sense of "otherness". Secondly, the question focuses on the issue of aptitude rather than attitude according to the your use of the phrase "better or worse" and the phrase "ability".  While this question has been tagged "cultural difference" I would like to point out that you don't actually use the world "culture" anywhere in the question. Your attempt to draw a connection to another biological feature, handedness, seems to suggest that your are mostly interested in whether biological differences causes differences in achievement. There is a long history of such studies involving race. We currently understand that the racial achievement gap as well as the gender achievement gap in STEM fields is a product of culture -- not biology. Fortunately culture is far more malleable than biology and is something that pedagogy can accommodate.
For instance, it is suggested in some research that some LGBT students have an "overachiever complex" where they compensate for their sense of inferiority related to their sexual orientation by attempting to be successful elsewhere in their lives. On the other hand, the bullying that is commonplace to LGBT youth might make the risk taking that is often involved in a math classroom that much more scary. Robert Moses writes in The Algebra Project about the need to transform math pedagogy to meet the needs of African American youth by responding to their cultural environment and such concerns are true for any minority.
Relevant questions might be "How do the unique experience of LGBT students impact their ability to succeed in a math classroom? What pedagogical approaches are necessary to be inclusive and sensitive to this experience?" Or perhaps a more general question "How doe the unique experiences of minority students impact their ability to success in a math classroom?"
Comment: Thanks. Isn't this answer better suited for the main forum?


A simple and direct way to buy ethereum without a broker/exchange?

Question: As a starter(day one) I find it very odd there apppears to be no simple direct way to buy ethereum. I dont want to an exchange/broker ' as i have had bad experience that was not resolved(reminds me of early paypal days when they would hold your money for infinity whilst 'so called' security checks were being performed lol. How do we keep the robber barons out of the crypto scene when centralized global banks for example;JP morgan itself is looking at the block chain tech for a centralised purpose. Interesting stuff. Please comment.
Comment: Possible duplicate of [How do I buy Ethereum with USD?](https://ethereum.stackexchange.com/questions/1915/how-do-i-buy-ethereum-with-usd)
Comment: I would suggest this is completely 'On topic' and one of which many people would take into consideration, especially when its all supposedly about transparency?
Answer: A fundamental fact to blockchain currencies is that they are decentralized. There is no central authority that owns, creates or issues Ether.
So, when you say "buy Ether", you mean exchange a certain amount of your currency of choice for a certain amount of Ether, but what should be the ratio? What is a fair market rate?
For that, you need to compare supply and demand, which is exactly what happens on the exchanges. They facilitate and broker the exchange process, and charge a fee for their services.
Of course, you are always free to track down a miner (or any holder of Ether) and make him an offer for his Ether against any goods, services or currency of your choice. That is absolutely a direct way to buy Ether that is available to you.
For most people, the most convenient way to do that is to use a broker.
Comment: Point A) yes it is decentralized, so what happens when centralized global banks get in on the act? The global banks aforementioned are as we speak implementing blockchain tech to incorporate crypto's. Now tthe dynamics have changed surely? Your last point is interesting, about tracking down a miner, a making a direct offer(to avoid fees/exchange) As i do not yet have ether is there a quick and easy way to do as you say? I am new to this game! If not somebody should make a simple transparent  interface to do this transaction from curenncy X to ether. Thanks for reply.
Answer: I think the best way to have offline ethereum coins is to buy on exchange like coinbase and after that transfer all to your offline wallet. Simple enough.
Comment: Had bad encounters with coinbase never again.Hence my point. Why could the Author of etherium not set up a more 'direct to etherium' way to purchase it? It would provide a more secure platform and reduce fees and manipulation?
Answer: localethereum is in the making (currently ~80% done). It could be a more direct way to buy ether from someone else instead of going through an exchange.
Here in Vienna we have (afaik) a Ether/Bitcoin cash machine to buy Ether/Bitcoin directly with cash. But i've never used it, just heard about it.
Comment: One half sensible response thank you. I think i must have stepped on somebody's toes here regards dodgy exchanges. It reminds me of the early days of paypal that we have all happily forgotten, When they would just hold onto your cash for infinity and call it 'money laundering security check) thankfully they got whipped for that and are slightly more   coherent these days.
Comment: Thnks for a sensible response, sounds like you guys are on the project (: Local etherium sounds like what im thinking about, glad somebody could understand what i considered to be a rather simple question. An online simple interface portal is something i will have to wait for i guess. The broker interface is simnple enough but i would like the transaction  'closer to etherium' for reasons i have mentioned.
Comment: I'm eagerly waiting for localethereum aswell. But don't get me wrong, i'm in no way associated with the project @luminiferousEther.


Why objects reflected in the mirror are darker than original, as they were not receiving light

Question: The curtains are dark in the mirror image, as they were the original object but not receiving the light of a point lamp that i used nodes to define color and strength (blackbody and ies texture). The mirror shader i got from one answer here to "realistic mirror", but the result is the same when I use a simple glossy bdsf, GGX (or others), white (RGB=0.8,0.8,0.8), roughness=0.000.
The other problem is that the translucent light that comes from  the window is different too...using "realistic mirror" it is brighter, and the simple glossy it becomes green! (I'm using cycles, an HDRI map for world and a point lamp)
Comment: For one you have shader output going through a color input of a glossy shader. What is in the node group? Your material is broken it seems, and you likely do not have enough have enough light in the scene.
Answer: You seem to have a (diffuse?)BSDF shader plugged into a glossy shader, this is not allowed by blender. Instead, add a mix shader, plug them both into it, and then plug the output into the material output.
This is just an example:
Comment: For more info on the meaning of the colors for the node sockets read:  https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/33915/what-is-the-meaning-of-the-color-of-the-node-sockets-in-the-node-editor and https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/102520/cycles-shader-nodes-inputs-outputs-what-are-the-exact-data-types
Answer: Yes, the problem isn't the mirror material (since I still have a problem, with a simple glossy bdsf linked to material. But the curtains material, I got from some youtube tutorial, it has a light path node, wich controls the fac of a mix shader. When i cut the link between add node and the fac mix shader the mirror works fine.
I dont have enough light in the scene because i didnt included all the lamps i'll need...i had this problem first. The mirror base color is pure...at least when i use the simple glossy shader.
Thanks for the answers!!!
Answer: Maybe the base color of your reflective material isn't pure white? Because that influences the appearance. A red mirror for example would also tint its reflection so a greyish mirror essentially just darkens the reflections.


Why is the number 40 so common in the Bible?

Question: In a lot of books in the Bible, the number 40 keeps appearing. E.g. Jesus went into the desert for 40 days and nights, and the Jews spent 40 years looking for the promised land. Is this because of some significance of the number 40, or is it just coincidence?
Comment: I think this is an opinion question.  Also, Moses spent 37-38 years in the dessert, the term 40, may just represent "A long Period of Time"  Jesus may also have spent 37-to 40 days, the important thing is that the  time of suffering is connected to the the suffering of israel in the dessert.  Imagery is important in the writing style of the time.
Comment: @Marc I don't think this is opinion based. As you yourself noted there is a connection between the imagery invoked by 40 (in other examples as well). The imagery is fairly well established and there are only a few minor variations on the theme for specific instances. The only thing that varies a  lot across Christian commentators is how much weight this imagery should be given when interpreting related events. In other words I think this question could be reasonably answered in the context of this site as it is. For more detailed analysis of a specific instance of 40, ask on [hermeneutics.se].
Comment: @celeb  I did say "I think this is opinion based"  perhaps I'm mistaken.  We will see.
Comment: Welcome to Christianity.SE, and thanks for taking the site tour. For more on what this site is all about, please see: [How we are different than other sites](http://meta.christianity.stackexchange.com/q/1808/20394).
Comment: I have voted to close this question as opinion based. Lee's answer below makes an exccellent answer to "According to Swedenborg, why is the number 40 ...", but to this question simply presents one opinion.
Comment: @Andrew There is an ongoing debate as to whether these biblical interpretation questions should be allowed on C.SE, or not allowed as "primarily opinion based" unless they are denominationally scoped. So far the "allowed even without scoping" has prevailed. And even though I've been on the other side of the debate, since that side keeps getting shot down, I'm no longer fighting that battle. And since the "allowed" side has won (so far), answering these questions is also allowable.
Comment: @Andrew I would also point out that Swedenborg's interpretation is based largely on a survey of the usages of the number 40 in the Bible itself.
Comment: @Caleb on my previous comments also.
Comment: @LeeWoofenden My own opinion then is that you should edit your answer to reflect that Swedenborg's opinion is actually a consensus, including his own evidence to that effect.
Comment: @Andrew I don't have sufficient knowledge of other systems of interpreting biblical numbers to say that with confidence. The other current answer agrees on the "testing" aspect, but then goes in a different direction, tying 40 to a biblical "generation," which I don't think is well-supported by the text. Or at any rate, it uses a different method of interpretation as its basis.
Comment: The number 40 is symbolic for 'development towards perfection', or 'the journey towards the goal'.  The reason why this is so is because the normal time of pregnancy of a woman is 40 weeks.
Answer: Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772) interprets the number 40, and related numbers in the Bible, as having three key meanings, often combined, based on the usage of the number 40 throughout the Bible:

Something lasting a full measure until completeness
A period of trial and temptation
A process of devastation or emptying out of evil

"Devastation" (traditionally "vastation") as Swedenborg's uses the word, is closely connected with spiritual trial and temptation. The very purpose of temptations—which are spiritual struggles and battles—is to weaken and empty out the evil and falsity that has a person, nation, or church in its grip in order to make room for good and truth from God to flow in and replace it. Until the existing evil and falsity has been emptied out, there is no room for God's goodness, truth, love, and wisdom, and therefore no possibility of salvation.
So the periods of trial and temptation commonly represented by 40, as harrowing, painful, and depressing as they may be, are absolutely necessary for our eternal salvation.
For people, nations, and churches that are implacably evil and unwilling to repent, this spiritual devastation leads to the ultimate judgment and destruction of a nation or church, or to the death and consignment to hell of an individual.
But for people, nations, and churches that are willing to repent and begin a new life in obedience to God's commandments, this period of spiritual devastation leads to the rejection of former evil desires, false beliefs, and wrong action, and their replacement with goodwill (meaning love for God and the neighbor), understanding of genuine truth, and right action, or "righteousness" in biblical terms.
As shown in the commentaries quoted below, though the number 40 in the Bible sometimes means simply full measure until completeness, more commonly it combines all three meanings, of full measure until completeness, of trial and temptation, and of the devastation and emptying out of evil of an individual, nation, or church.
Here are two key passages from Arcana Coelestia ("Secrets of Heaven"), Swedenborg's eight volume (in the original Latin edition) commentary on the books of Genesis and Exodus, in which he details these meanings, providing many references and quotes from the Bible where these meanings show clearly. Numeric references are to other sections in the same work, here linked for convenience.
The first passage quoted is from an older translation. For reference, "the Word" here means the Bible, and "influx" means a flowing in of God's presence, or of divine truth and divine love.
In the first passage the commentary focuses on the first meaning of 40 listed above, that of completeness.

"And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights" [Exodus 24:18] means the instructions given and influx in their completeness. This is clear from the meaning of "forty" as completeness. "Forty" means completeness because "four" means that which is complete, 9103, as similarly does "ten," 3107, 4638, and forty is the product of four multiplied by ten. For compound numbers have a meaning similar to the simple numbers of which they are the product, 5291, 5335, 5708, 7973; and all numbers in the Word mean spiritual realities, see 575, 3252, 4264, 4495, 4670, 5265, 6175. All this goes to explain why Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights. The fact that "forty" here means the instructions given and the influx in their completeness is evident from Chapters 25-32 which come next, recording the instructions Moses received, that is, instructions regarding the ark, Aaron, the urim and thummim, and sacrifices. The reason why influx in its completeness is also meant is that at that time Moses began to represent the outward holiness of the Word, which acted as the intermediary between the Lord and the people, and mediation is accomplished by means of influx through that holiness into the representative existing among that people, 9419.
[2] It was because "forty" represented completeness that Moses remained on Mount Sinai forty days and forty nights not only this time but also on another occasion, Exodus 34:28; Deuteronomy 9:18, 25; 10:10. For the same reason the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness forty years until, as it says in Numbers 14:33, 34; 32:13, all that generation had been consumed; Jonah told the Ninevites that their city would be overturned after forty days, Jonah 3:4; the prophet was commanded to lie on his right side and bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days, Ezekiel 4:6; it says regarding Egypt that it would be made completely desolate for forty years, after which they would be gathered from the peoples, Ezekiel 29:11-13; and the earth was rained on forty days and forty nights, so that it was inundated with the flood, Genesis 7:4, 12, 17. From all this it is evident why the wicked person was to receive forty blows, Deuteronomy 25:3, for "forty blows" meant the punishment in its completeness. It is also evident what should be understood in the prophecy of Deborah and Barak when it says that no shield or spear was seen among the forty thousand of Israel, Judges 5:8, "among the forty thousand of Israel" meaning among them all. It is in addition evident why the temple built by Solomon was forty cubits long, 1 Kings 6:17, as was the new temple, according to Ezekiel 41:2; for in the highest sense "the temple" means the Lord, and in the internal sense heaven and the Church, so that "forty" means completeness in respect of representation. And it has a like meaning in other places. (Arcana Coelestia #9437, links added)

And an even more extensive explanation from earlier section in the same work, from a more contemporary translation.
In this second passage, the commentary focuses more on the second and third meanings of 40 given above: of trial (traditionally "temptation"), and of devastation or emptying out of evil, while still retaining the first meaning relating to the full measure and completeness of those trials and devastations.

The fact that forty days and nights is a symbol for how long their trials last stands out clearly from the Lord's Word.
The use of forty as a symbol for the length that times of trial last comes from the fact that the Lord submitted to being tested for forty days, as shown in Matthew 4:1–2; Luke 4:2; and Mark 1:13. Each and every tradition established in the Jewish church, and in all the other representative churches that preceded the Lord's Coming, foreshadowed him. So the forty days and nights did too, representing and symbolizing every time of struggle in general, and the length that any one time of struggle lasts in particular.
When we are being tried, we experience the devastation or stripping away of everything self-centered and bodily. What is self-centered and bodily has to die—and die through combat and struggle—before we can be reborn as a new being, or in other words, as a spiritual and heavenly being. Because of this, forty days and nights also symbolize the length of time that devastation lasts. They do so here, in a verse that deals with both the trials of the people in the new church known as Noah and the devastation of the pre-Flood people.
[2] The symbolism of forty as the duration of both trials and devastation, whether long or short, can be seen in Ezekiel:

You shall lie on your right side and carry the wickedness of the house of Judah forty days; a day for each year is the [task] I have set for you. (Ezekiel 4:6)

Forty stands for the length of time the devastation of the Jewish church lasted. It stands also as a representation of the Lord's struggles, since it says that he was to carry the wickedness of the house of Judah. In the same author:

I will turn the land of Egypt into wastelands, a ruinous wasteland. It will not be traversed by a human foot, nor will an animal's foot traverse it, and it will not be inhabited for forty years. And I will make the land of Egypt a ruin in the middle of ruined lands; and its cities in the midst of wasted cities will be a lonely place for forty years. (Ezekiel 29:10–12)

Again forty stands for the time it takes for them to be devastated (or laid waste) and ruined. On a deeper plane it positively does not mean forty years but only the overall process by which faith is brought to ruin, whether this takes a short or long time. In John:

Throw out the courtyard that is outside the temple and do not measure it, because it has been given to the nations, which will trample the holy city for forty-two months. (Revelation 11:2)

[3] And in the same author:

The beast was given a mouth speaking grand things and blasphemies, and it was given authority to act for forty-two months. (Revelation 13:5)

Here the number stands for the course that devastation runs, since it certainly does not mean a period of forty-two months, as anyone can see.
  This time the number mentioned is forty-two, which is the same as forty, for the following reason. Seven days symbolize the end of devastation and a new start while six symbolizes hard work, from the six days of labor or combat. Seven multiplied by six, then, produces forty-two, symbolizing the length of time devastation lasts and the length of time struggles or labor and conflict last for those who are being reborn. This period contains something holy. The round number of forty is a substitute for the exact figure of forty-two, as is clear from the above places in the Book of Revelation.
[4] The fact that the Israelite people wandered in the wilderness for forty years before entering the land of Canaan likewise represented and symbolized the duration of hardship and also of devastation. The former was represented and symbolized by the fact that they did eventually enter the holy land. The latter was represented and symbolized by the fact that everyone who had passed the age of twenty by the time of leaving Egypt, except for Joshua and Caleb, died in the wilderness. Hardships are meant by the things against which the people murmured so many times, and devastation is meant by the plagues and deaths that so often struck.
The symbolism of these events as trials and devastation will be shown where the relevant passages are explained, the Lord's divine mercy permitting. Moses speaks of them this way:

Remember all the path that Jehovah your God led you on these forty years in the wilderness to afflict you, to test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. (Deuteronomy 8:2–3, 16)

Moses' forty days and forty nights on Mount Sinai are again a symbol for the length of time that struggle lasts, or for the testing of the Lord, as is clear in Moses:

He was on Mount Sinai forty days and forty nights, not eating bread, not drinking water, pleading for the people that they not be destroyed. (Deuteronomy 9:9, 11, 18, 25–29; 10:10; Numbers 14:33–35; 32:8–14)

[5] The reason forty days symbolize the duration of struggles, as noted, is that the Lord allowed himself to be tried by the Devil for forty days. Since everything represented the Lord, if the angels were thinking about trial, that idea was represented visually in the world of spirits by the kinds of things that exist in the world. All the thoughts angels have are made visible in representative form when they pass down into the world of spirits. So the number forty served for the idea of adversity, since the Lord would struggle for forty days. (To the Lord, and consequently to the angels in heaven, the future is the same as the present. What is to come is already here, or what will happen is already an accomplished fact.) This is why the number forty in the representative church was able to represent times of trial, and of devastation as well. (Secrets of Heaven #730, italics added)

Another extensive commentary on the number 40 and related numbers throughout the Bible is found in Swedenborg's posthumously published work Apocalypse Explained, #633.
Answer: A child is born in the 40th week.
Hence children of Israel tempted 40 years in the wilderness before being delivered into the promised land.
And Matthew is the 40th book.
There are larger patterns than this. Moses was 40 days in the mount, and went up twice, so there is a 40+40 pattern.
This pattern is in the 40+40+40 lifespan of Moses.
And I suggest this may also connected with the jubilee periods between Abram, Jesus and his return, which also fit a similar pattern. Study of the AV's internal witness may help discern.
Answer: As a young boy I was told that the number 40 signified a generation. The number 40 is also used by God to represent a period of testing or judgment.

The number forty is used by God to represent a period of testing or judgment (the length of time necessary to accomplish some major part of Gods plan in his dealings with various portions of mankind). The 40 days of rain in the days of the flood were the judgments of God. The 40 day periods of fasting, testing, and communing with God that were faced by Moses and Jesus were a form of God's judgments. The forty years that the Israelites spent in the wilderness were also the judgments of God. Various leaders in Israel who reigned for 40 year periods were put there BY God according to His Will and Judgments. Egypt was left desolate for 40 years because of God's judgments.
Generation
We can easily see from Numbers 32:13 and Hebrews 3:8-10 that God calls 40 years a generation. Matthew 1:17: from captivity in Babylon (586 BC) until Christ is 14 generations. 586 BC to Christ' birth is 586 years, divided by 14 is 41 years. This is important, as it will benefit us in studying the meaning of Jesus' words in Matthew 23:36; 24:34, Mark 13:30, and Luke 21:32.
We are about to put some biblical pieces together in a puzzle that can solve a lot of unknowns and uncertainties in some major doctrinal areas. Let us look at the "pieces" we have figured out so far: 1) The number 40 has to do with God's judgments. 2) God speaks of a generation as 40 years. 3) Jesus speaks of judgments that will come upon a particular generation of the literal Jews.
Wilderness
We find the most significant numerological type of all in one of the most striking events in the account of Scripture - the forty years of wilderness wandering leading up to the possession of the temporal land of promise. In fact, Paul himself wrote that the surrounding events of the wilderness wandering "were our examples" (I Corinthians 10:6), and that "they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world (aion-age) have come" (verse 11). It is this event which presents the clearest correspondences to the redemptive work of Christ, and the time-frame of its fulfillment.
To be more specific, the exodus out of Egypt and into the promised land, by the children of Israel under Moses, is a direct shadow of the exodus of the New Testamentary generation from the cross to the entrance into the eternal land of rest. We will see a number of similarities between the two; not only in the area of principles and concepts, but also in the chronological time-frame of the periods under consideration. - The Significance of the Number 40


What does it mean to add up O-terms with different variables?

Question: Is this true? O(n) + O(k) =O(n+k).I have searched for it ,the  answers were quite ambiguous and I couldn't find a good explanation.
Answer: Yes, this is true.
The LHS means that for some $N$, $M$ and some constants $c_n,c_k$,
$$n\ge N,k\ge M\implies f(n,k)\le c_nn+c_kk.$$
The RHS means that for some $N'$, $M'$ and some constant $c$,
$$n\ge N',k\ge M'\implies f(n,k)\le c(n+k).$$
These two statements are equivalent if you take $c\leftarrow\max(c_n,c_k),N'\leftarrow N,M'\leftarrow M$ one way and $c_n=c_k\leftarrow c,N\leftarrow N',M \leftarrow M'$ the other.
Comment: Note for reference: it's [not at all clear](https://cs.stackexchange.com/questions/3149/what-is-the-meaning-of-omn#comment61251_3150) that the RHS should mean that.
Comment: Referring to my answer, this pertains to reading the original expression as $O_{n,k}(n) + O_{n,k}(k) = O_{n,k}(n + k)$. This is probably the intended interpretation, e.g. if $n$ and $k$ hold some meaning in the context in which the expression appears. In isolation, it's an ambiguous and hence rather vacuous thing to write down; but that's of course neither prithvi parre's nor Yves Daoust's fault.
Comment: I concur with @Raphael that there is no real consensus on the formal definition. As for this definition, it is shown [here](https://cs.stackexchange.com/a/125023/129807) that it is wrong in a very concrete sense. It can be somewhat improved by replacing $n \ge N', k \ge M'$ by $n \ge N \vee k \ge M'$, as is done in the current Wikipedia article and the newer editions of Cormen et al.
Answer: Without further context, the equation
$\qquad O(n) + O(k) = O(n+k)$
is ambiguous and therefore rather meaningless. I'll explain why.
First, recall that Landau notation defines sets. The definition commonly used in CS is, with $f : \mathbb{N} \to \mathbb{R}_{>0}$,
$\qquad O(f) = \{ g : \mathbb{N} \to \mathbb{R}_{>0} \mid \exists\, c > 0, n_0 \geq 0.\ \forall\, n \geq n_0.\ g(n) \leq cf(n) \}$.
Note how $n$ is a bound variable inside the set expression. It's only a label for the abstract parameter of the mathematical functions. Therefore,
$\qquad O(n) = O(k)$.
Note how, with this definition, it's completely unclear what $O(n + k)$ is supposed to mean. That is not (only) an oversight in the definition; as referenced here and here, there simply is no rigorous definition that does all we want. The use of multi-parameter $O$ in the literature is usually sloppy, if not to say wrong, and only to be read in a hand-waving kind of way.
Now, in algorithm analysis such terms do not appear on paper on their own. Say, $n$ is the number of nodes of the input graph, and $k$ its diameter. Then, we may perform two subroutines, one that runs in time $O(n)$ (it doesn't depend on the diameter), and the other runs in time $O(k)$ (it doesn't depend on the number of nodes). Then, we sort of understand what $O(n + k)$ is supposed to mean.
Now, back to your original expression. The question is, what's variable and what's constant? To make the point, consider $O(n + k^2)$ instead. We can read it as

$O(n)$ if $k$ is constant,
$O(k^2)$ if $n$ is constant, and
unsimplified (with unclear meaning) if neither is constant.

To make this explicit, I write $O_x$ to imply that $x$ is the variable used in the definition of $O$ here.
In the above example, we get

$O_n(n + k^2) = O_n(n) = O_x(x)$,
$O_k(n+k^2) = O_k(k^2) = O_x(x^2)$, and
$O_{n,k}(n + k^2) =\ ?$.

Here we immediately see that the three are different things!
Now we have notation to write down what we really mean in our setting:
$\qquad O_{n,k}(n) + O_{n,k}(k) = O_{n,k}(n + k)$.
Here, $n$ and $k$ are both independent variables!
(Let's ignore for a moment that $O_{x, y}$ is not defined by the definition I give at the top; it's inherently single-parameter. We're hand-waving, as I said.)
Note how this is different from
$\quad O_n(n) + O_k(k) \neq O_{n,k}(n+k)$,
which is what just inserting the definiton of $O$ in the straight-forward way would give you.
While the "result" read as a two-variable $O$-term doesn't have a lot of meaning on its own, we can use it as a stepping stone! Once we fix a functional relationship between $n$ and $k$ -- we may investigate $k \sim n$ vs $n \sim \log n$ vs $k = 10$, for instance -- we get back to single-variable $O$ which is perfectly well-defined.
This is not a mathematically rigorous approach, but if we don't accidentally "simplify" away terms in the hand-wavy two-parameter world that we shouldn't, inserting the functional relationship afterwards gives the same result as doing the whole analysis with it in mind -- it's just a substituion. Some care has to be taken.


Software to help planning a course

Question: I'm teaching a few classes next semester and feel scattered. Can you recommend some software to help me plan out a course so on each day I can see what topic I'm teaching, activities planned, homework to assign etc? Would be great to have a nice overview though I could just use excel too if need be. Thanks!
Answer: There are a bunch of software to do this. First, check with your institution because they might already have one. This can totally depend on where you are but in the US, Canvas is very popular, but I believe you need institution or individual subscription for that. Google classroom is another cool solution which is free of cost. Both these are good and kind of widespread. Other than these there are countless number of software that you can find, and they all have their pros and cons.

Software to help planning a course


Any way to run a user script on suspend/resume in KDE4?

Question: I have the desire to run a script as the logged in user immediately before a hibernate (suspend to disk) operation, and immediately after a resume with KDE4.
I know that I can put a script in /etc/pm/sleep.d that will do this, but such a script must be non-interactive, and will run as root.
I need this script to run as a the user logged in to KDE, and the post-resume script would ideally be interactive.
I can see where I can run a script on suspect in KDE, but it's imperfect:

System Settings -> Power Management -> Advanced Settings -> Configure Notifications

This allows me to specify a command to run on resume, however...

It doesn't appear to distinguish between Suspend to RAM and Suspend to disk (alone, not a deal breaker, but I really only need to run my command on suspend-to-disk)
It doesn't have any option to run a script on resume, which is actually the most important part I need.

Ultimately, what I'm trying to accomplish is to auto un-mount my Windows partition when I hibernate, so that the filesystem will be consistent whenever I boot into Windows.  This is best done as the user, and with interaction, because the partition is encrypted with TrueCrypt, and I prefer entering the passphrase after resuming, rather than having it stored on the filesystem.
I do realize that I can automate much of this if I'm willing to run as root, and non-interactively, so please don't suggest these as alternatives.  I may end up doing that, but that's not what this question is about.
Answer: Only similar thing I've found are hooks on lower level provided by pm and systemd hooks:
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/pm-utils
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Power_Management#Hooks_in_.2Fusr.2Flib.2Fsystemd.2Fsystem-sleep


Migrating Questions Best Suited for other forums

Question: In other forums, there seems to be an option to ask for question to be migrated in to more appropriate forum but I can't to find it here. Am I missing a trick or does SFSE not have this?
Answer: It's under closing / off topic /other site in the network.

I believe this is available as of 3k rep, when granted the Cast Close And Reopen Votes Privilidge
Comment: I do not see that option. All I see is the salesforce.meta option
Comment: Interesting, I was in the understanding/belief everyone who could vote on close question had access: https://salesforce.stackexchange.com/help/privileges/close-questions
Comment: I also have never seen that second option.
Comment: @AdrianLarson - Any idea why most of us do not see this option? I would assume by design, but what is the criteria to be able to see it


What is the 'tail-hash' in Cryptonight?

Question: I understand cryptonight uses keccak and aes. I don't understand what the tail-hash means though.
Comment: You must have read what I said on IRC - there's a randomly chosen hash function used at the end to process the output, one of four.
Answer: There is a diagram on page 6 and 7 here which labels the last (tail) hash as "Chosen hash".
And described:
<code>Then, the 2 low-order bits of the first byte of the state are used to
select a hash function: 0=BLAKE-256 [BLAKE], 1=Groestl-256 [GROESTL],
2=JH-256 [JH], and 3=Skein-256 [SKEIN]. The chosen hash function is
then applied to the Keccak state, and the resulting hash is the
output of CryptoNight.
</code>

What is the 'tail-hash' in Cryptonight?


Question About ECC Primitives (GnuPG)

Question: In version 2.1, GnuPG featured primitives that use elliptic curves. For encryption, one option was ECDH, which confused me. I thought ECDH was for key agreement, not public key encryption. How does GnuPG utilize a key agreement scheme for enciphering files/messages?
Answer: https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc6637#section-8

Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) in OpenPGP

...

EC DH Algorithm (ECDH)

The method is a combination of an ECC Diffie-Hellman method to
establish a shared secret, a key derivation method to process the
shared secret into a derived key, and a key wrapping method that uses
the derived key to protect a session key used to encrypt a message.

The One-Pass Diffie-Hellman method C(1, 1, ECC CDH) [NIST-SP800-56A]
MUST be implemented with the following restrictions: the ECC CDH
primitive employed by this method is modified to always assume the
cofactor as 1, the KDF specified in Section 7 is used, and the KDF
parameters specified below are used.

...

The key wrapping method is described in [RFC3394].  KDF produces a
symmetric key that is used as a key-encryption key (KEK) as specified
in [RFC3394].  Refer to Section 13 for the details regarding the
choice of the KEK algorithm, which SHOULD be one of three AES
algorithms.  Key wrapping and unwrapping is performed with the
default initial value of [RFC3394].

...

Question About ECC Primitives (GnuPG)


How to prevent fuel cell gas leak?

Question: My research is fuel cell. I need to do a open system fuel cell, but in cathode side always have gas leak. Have any one have experience to tell me, how to prevent gas leak?
Comment: What gas is leaking?
Answer: Since it's the cathode where the leak is I presume it's the hydrogen you can't hold. Hydrogen is very hard to contain because of it's small molecules. I use plastic glass as its bubbler and a small hose to move it elsewhere. If it's your bubbler where the leakage is insulate it using silicon around the connections/openings.

How to prevent fuel cell gas leak?


Nikon D90 images look fine on camera but when on computer both NEF and JPEG look yellow

Question: The NEF files look normal when using windows photo viewer, but on the same monitor the JPEG that the camera has converted looks yellow. If I view the NEF on different software it looks yellow also.
Comment: Easiest way to tell if you don't have a calibrated monitor is...upload the file. Someone here with a calibrated monitor can then tell you if it's a monitor issue or a WB issue or something else entirely.
Answer: This is probably a whitebalance problem. NEF or RAW files don't have a white balance setting yet. They are a recording of the data before any settings such as whitebalance are applied. If you load the NEF file in a viewer, it will make some assumption on what whitebalance to use, that is why it looks different in different programs.
Try opening the NEF file in Nikon View NX-i or Capture NX-i, they are both available for free on the Nikon site. These programs read the settings used in the camera, and will make the picture look yellow too. Then use the whitebalance slider to get the colors right.
Comment: This is wrong, or at least very misleading. Even if no white balance correction is applied to the image data in the NEF file, the camera's white balance detection is saved as meta-data in the file and this setting is used by most image viewer software when displaying the file.
Comment: If this is the case why do the images look correct on certain applications and no others. On the camera screen the photos look normal however on the computer certain software makes it look yellow
Comment: White balance cannot be measured by the camera. In auto mode, the camera takes a picture, analyzes it, makes a guess for the white balance, applies the corrections and then saves the image to card. Viewers do the same thing, they guess, and then correct, that's why they are all different. Nikon saves the white balance settings in the NEF file, but not all programs may be able to read it. In your case the setting was probably wrong, so if the maker of a viewer put time in to figuring out how they store the settings in the NEF file, that viewer will give a yellow image like your jpg.
Answer: The answer is probably simple. Either your computer monitor is uncalibrated or your camera screen is.
Here is a really old tutorial I made on how you can manually calibrate your monitor:
But several things can come into play, for example:

Are other images taken with different lenses ok?
Is the lens new? Is it clean?
Are the working conditions of the camera normal? (Not overheated for example)
Did you change your camera settings, did you perform a white balance test on your scene? Color issue: studio images have a pink hue
What are the values of the RGB file?
Does your "other image viewer" support color profiles?
Comment: So the NEF file looks fine when I use windows photo viewer on the same monitor its the JPEG that the camera has converted that looks yellow. If i view the NEF on different software it looks yellow also.


Can life on earth be supported by only a Red Dwarf star or a White Dwarf(state still hot not cooled enough yet)?(Provided it is near to the star)

Question: Can a red dwarf star or a white dwarf have enough energy to support life on earth? How it will change the climate and the seasons of earth if it is our only star? (energy source)(Expecting it to change since earths orbital mechanics will also change)
Answer: Certainly a red-dwarf star can have enough energy for a planet around it to be in the goldilocks zone.   There are some difficulties with red-dwarf stars and Earth like planets.   The planet would need to be very close to the star and as a result, tidally locked.   The orbital period would be quite short, so there would be no seasons and one side of the planet would be in permanent sun the other side in permanent shade.
Red-Dwarf stars, unlike our sun, grow colder with time and they can be quite magnetically active, sometimes called flare stars, though not all red-dwarf stars are flare stars, many start out that way.   The proximity to that much solar-ejection could strip planets of their atmosphere early in the planet's life.
None of that makes it impossible.  It's certainly possible for a Red-dwarf star to host an Earth-like planet, but there's some difficulty.  Orange or Yellow stars are, on average, considered better candidates.
A white dwarf, however, likely not possible.   A white dwarf follows the red-giant stage of a star.  It would be too small and give off too little energy and any planets that survived the red-giant phase would likely be very distant.   Life and/or an Earth-like planet around a white dwarf is virtually impossible.
Answer: Not life as it has evolved on Earth, no. A Red Dwarf emits mostly in in the infrared so the rate of photosynthesis would be very slow, leading to the collapse of food chains even if the temperature was favourable. An old white dwarf that had cooled to Sun-like temperature might be able to support life on Earth for a period of time, but given how close the orbit would be I suspect the Earth would become tidally locked to the star, so that the same face always faced it. Eventually you'd have baking hot temperatures on the  day-side and a frigid wasteland on the night-side, with possibly a small habitable twilight zone.
Answer: It is possible that the red dwarfs can support life, but we would need a strong magnetic field and a path that would take us closer and closer because that dwarf will cool overtime. A white dwarf would not be possible because they are the remnants of dead stars, so Earth would not have survived the blast (the other planets wouldn't have either).


Behavior with other grad students

Question: The University I joined as a new grad student treats grad students as both students and employees. So I am confused whether I should behave as a professional colleague or a fellow student with other grad students? I have noticed informal atmosphere within the department(people even use curses in  general while talking to professors) but again, sometimes they become very formal and rather act stiff. I am confused.
Comment: You should use first names when speaking with fellow grad students.  You should be friendly but not overly familiar with new acquaintances.  As you and a new friend warm up with each other, you'll be able to take your cues from your new friend(s).
Comment: How is the treatment to professional colleagues and to fellow students significantly different? I'd argue you should behave the same way with fellow students in a new class/program you just started than you would do with colleagues at a job you just started.
Comment: We call each others by their first names always. Some PhD students don't even greet when we meet in the corridor, but they sometimes talk during lunch/coffee, or over online chat. Since I keep my behavior same online and in person, it becomes difficult to see if they are being friendly or act according to their whim. If it's the problem of their whim, I don't have much to do.
Comment: @Anna SdTC, I also don't know that clearly but maybe I would have not spoke anything other than work with them in a professional setting. Among fellow students, I think we can explore more options like places and diversity, as the department has people from different parts of the World.
Comment: Just like in any other work setting, you start by being cordial and polite, and maybe some of the relationships evolve into friendships, while some other won't. You also have to take into account the cultural differences between people from different parts of the world, as well as the specific personality of everyone.
Answer: When in Rome, do as the Roman's do. Observe how your peers interact with their peers, superiors, and subordinates. Emulate them and you'll do fine. Note in what circumstances they are formal and when they are not. For instance, I addressed my professor by his first name in private but by his title in public. Also, don't be too shy to ask someone!
Comment: Thanks chessofnerd, I am trying to do so. What I think is, I have a consistent behavior, but I don't find the fellow PhD students' behavior consistent. That's when I am puzzled. Sometimes they are accessible, but mostly they are not.
Comment: Time will probably solve this as you get more familiar with the department.

Behavior with other grad students


Booting Kali Linux from live usb, USB skipped

Question: OK so I made a bootable USB with Kali on it and I've used it on two different laptops and it booted just fine, but when I try booting it on my laptop it just skips the USB and boots from the hard drive. The two laptops that it did boot on were running Windows (one had vista the other had 10) but on mine I have Ubuntu installed and before that I was running mint, I don't know if that's the problem but it's the only thing I can think of right now.
Answer: You need to go to BIOS at the machine startup and change the boot order. USB needs to be before HDD. You can probably go to BIOS pressing F12, or some other F. Look for an instruction just after you power up. There may also be a special boot menu allowing you to set the order for just one startup.
Comment: I did that, the USB is first then the hard drive I also made sure my USB ports were active while the computer is asleep. Also I loaded ubuntu with a USB right after I tried kali and it worked with no problem
Comment: Do you have another USB with some live system that you know works fine, with which you could try the laptop?
Comment: Yeah I used a USB with Ubuntu 16 and it booted up just like it should, and I made both of the live USBs using "universal USB installer"... And the kali live boot works but it only works on Computers with windows installed
Comment: Also check if the Kali USB is still bootable. It might have got spoilt somehow somewhere.
Comment: Is the USB device detected in BIOS by going into the boot order section?
Comment: Yeah, it says sandisk extreme next to the usb option, I tried using other usb ports to but that didn't work, and I just got done running the kali live boot on my other laptop, it worked fine


Installed Windows XP as a dual-boot partition with Windows 7. No drivers will install?

Question: I had Windows 7 and have just created a Windows XP partition.  My computer is an HP Pavillion dv6000.  Now, none of the drivers provided on the hp site will install.  The only driver of particular interest to me is my wireless network adapter, but what gives!  Does it have something to do with it being the F drive, rather than the C drive?
Answer: No - it should not make a difference what so ever (unless they use a custom, very bad installer). Try re-downloading the driver and remember that the Windows 7 and XP drivers will be different.
If you have a problem, try looking up who actually makes the device (Intel, Broadcom, Realtek etc.) and go to their site directly and download the latest drivers.
Answer: Are you dual booting or have you actually installed two windows systems on two seperate drives in the same machine?
Dual booting would produce no problems because both systems would then see their own 'c:\' drive and have seperate drivers for sound, video, networking, etc.
If you have actually installed the sytems on two drives and try to run them seperatly, each system will find the other's drivers and you will have different conflicts for video, sound, networking, etc.
Check your operating system setup and confirm what you've got and how you're going about it.
Good luck, and hope this helps you.


Washer gets stuck in mid cycle

Question: Whirlpool Calpso washer that is about 15 years old.  It stays at 24 minutes (starts at 44) until I open the lid, let it sit for awhile and about and hour later I will close the lid and it will finish.  At the 24 minute mark it will not shut off but just make this noise like it wants to go into a cycle spin but is stuck.  Can you tell me what part I may need?
Answer: The infamous Calypso was discontinued because of design problems. The pump assembly is also part of the water input assembly. The pump gets full of lint and stops the tub balancing function. After five service calls we got rid of it. GOOGLE it and look for the complaints.

Washer gets stuck in mid cycle


Was Cyrus really Queen Esther's son?

Question: Are there any Talmudic sources that back up the claim that Cyrus was really the son of Queen Esther?
Comment: First of all, I assume you mean Cyrus II, aka Darius II. I believe there is a source, not sure where; but I also heard a midrash that an angel appeared in the form of esther and gave birth to him.
Comment: Who makes the claim?
Comment: Was this claim made as Midrash or History? The two are often not the same.
Comment: @user613 I see no evidence that [Darius II](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darius_II) was also called Cyrus II.
Comment: At least according to the Zohar, King Darius _wasn't_ Queen Esther's son: https://judaism.stackexchange.com/a/13123/11486
Answer: The Gemara in Rosh Hashana 3b(which talks about when to start the counting of a kings reign) writes that Koresh(he was a kosher king),Daryavesh(his actual name),and Artachasasta(name of his kingdom) are one in the same.
The question is was Daryavish Esther's son. The simple answer is that its a machlokes. Tosfos on that Daf explains that Daryavish was Eshter's son based of the Midrash Va'yikra Rabah 13:5. However, Rashi holds on 4a that Daryavish was a ben noach, seemingly Rashi did not go with the opinion of the midrash.
Comment: Some Rishonim take that whole Gemara as non-literal, fwiw.
Comment: Good answer. Just pointing out, the gemara says he went bad later (I think the one you referenced). But that's not a problem with the answer
Answer: Rashi says that Cyrus was the son of Esther. I have a source at home, I'll have to dig it up.
Answer: The Kalla Rabbasi 2:15 seems to indicate this.

מה בנה של אסתר כתיב (ישעיה מה) אני לפניך אלך והדורים אישר דלתות נחושה אשבר ובריחי
  ברזל אגדע...
Answer: Don't know if you mean Cyrus 1 or 2 (just found out from another commenter that there was more than one), but at least one seems to have preceded the megillah:
http://www.chabad.org/holidays/in-depth/default_cdo/aid/39643/jewish/Megillah-with-Commentary.htm
And it came to pass in the days of Achashverosh (Esther 1:1)
Achashverosh succeeded Cyrus as ruler of the Persian Empire, toward the end of the Jews' seventy-year exile in Babylon (Rashi)
Comment: So it [appears that the question is about Darius II](http://judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/61936/was-cyrus-really-queen-esthers-son#comment170021_61936)
Comment: The answer does not seem to apply to the question
Comment: That was Cyrus I

Was Cyrus really Queen Esther's son?


How can the prohibition against murder be reconciled with capital punishment in the Torah (mitath beth din)?

Question: How can the prohibition on murder be reconciled with capital punishment in the Torah, i.e., mitath beth din? I understand that the death penalty was effectively abolished by the Sanhedrin in 30 CE. However, before that change was made, how could the administration of capital punishment be reconciled with the prohibition against murder? Was the argument that execution of a guilty person was not considered "murder"?
Comment: My theory is that once someone has committed certain heinous crimes, they have denied G-d, and no longer are worthy of the life G-d gave them. This includes such acts as murder, since man is created in the image of G-d. It also, then, naturally includes such acts that fundamentally deny G-d's unity (idolatry), creation and mastery of the world (sabbath), and partnership with man, His servant, in creating the world and keeping it holy (adultery, etc.). I have no source, though. I've run this by some major Jewish figures in the Orthodox world, and they have found it intriguing, to be sure.
Answer: Judicial execution is not the same as murder.  The same torah that says "do not murder" also calls for the death penalty for certain transgressions, so there must be a difference.
Tractate Sanhedrin discusses capital punishment in a fair bit of detail.  There are strict rules, but nonetheless a death sentence is possible and does not violate lo tirtzach.
Comment: indeed. one could add that the root רצח (R-TZ-CH) is used for murder and הרג (H-R-G) for killing in general, and thus they are not the same thing. and see Genesis 9:6, among other places, where the penalty for murder is capital punishment: 'Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God made He man.'
Comment: @joshwaxman, and the death penalty is often given as "mot yamut", yet another root.


why hibernate did't make left join on many to one

Question: i have 2 table relation type many-to-one. i want to see hibernate generate left join
config model class
@ManyToOne(fetch = FetchType.LAZY)
@JoinColumn(name = "stationid")
@Fetch(FetchMode.JOIN)
Station station;

this example sql from hibernate code
 select
    tollopn0_.dt as dt7_0_,
    tollopn0_.shift as shift7_0_,
    tollopn0_.stationid as stationid7_0_,
    tollopn0_.createTime as createTime7_0_,
    tollopn0_.creator as creator7_0_,
    tollopn0_.remarsk as remarsk7_0_,
    tollopn0_.updateTime as updateTime7_0_,
    tollopn0_.updator as updator7_0_,
    tollopn0_.line as line7_0_,
    tollopn0_.rev_cash as rev10_7_0_,
    tollopn0_.rev_etc as rev11_7_0_,
    tollopn0_.sold_bail as sold12_7_0_,
    tollopn0_.sold_changeEasyPass as sold13_7_0_,
    tollopn0_.sold_changeSmartCard as sold14_7_0_,
    tollopn0_.sold_fee as sold15_7_0_,
    tollopn0_.sold_qty as sold16_7_0_,
    tollopn0_.sold_reserv as sold17_7_0_,
    tollopn0_.trf_etc as trf19_7_0_,
    tollopn0_.trf_trf1 as trf20_7_0_,
    tollopn0_.trf_trf2 as trf21_7_0_,
    tollopn0_.trf_trf3 as trf22_7_0_,
    tollopn0_.trf_trf4 as trf23_7_0_,
    tollopn0_.uap_causeOther as uap24_7_0_,
    tollopn0_.uap_causeOverPAD as uap25_7_0_,
    tollopn0_.uap_causeRemarsk as uap26_7_0_,
    tollopn0_.uap_causeSeeError as uap27_7_0_,
    tollopn0_.uap_nocCard as uap28_7_0_,
    tollopn0_.uap_nocMotorcycle as uap29_7_0_,
    tollopn0_.uap_nocOther as uap30_7_0_,
    tollopn0_.uap_nocOutOfCard as uap31_7_0_,
    tollopn0_.uap_nocRemarsk as uap32_7_0_,
    tollopn0_.uap_nocSoildier as uap33_7_0_,
    tollopn0_.uap_t05Ambulance as uap34_7_0_,
    tollopn0_.uap_t05FireTruck as uap35_7_0_,
    tollopn0_.uap_t05King as uap36_7_0_,
    tollopn0_.uap_t05LuangRoyal as uap37_7_0_,
    tollopn0_.uap_t05Mailcoaches as uap38_7_0_,
    tollopn0_.uap_t05Military as uap39_7_0_,
    tollopn0_.uap_t05PoliceCar as uap40_7_0_,
    tollopn0_.uap_t05PoliceMotorcycle as uap41_7_0_,
    tollopn0_.uap_t50Other as uap42_7_0_,
    tollopn0_.uap_uapT50Remarsk as uap43_7_0_,
    tollopn0_.uap_uap10Bath as uap44_7_0_,
    tollopn0_.uap_uap20Bath as uap45_7_0_,
    tollopn0_.uap_uap5Bath as uap46_7_0_,
    tollopn0_.uap_uapCanKept10Bath as uap47_7_0_,
    tollopn0_.uap_uapCanKept20Bath as uap48_7_0_,
    tollopn0_.uap_uapCanKept5Bath as uap49_7_0_,
    tollopn0_.uap_uapLoyal as uap50_7_0_,
    tollopn0_.uap_uapMotorcycle as uap51_7_0_,
    tollopn0_.uap_uapOther as uap52_7_0_,
    tollopn0_.uap_uapPolice as uap53_7_0_,
    tollopn0_.uap_uapRemarsk as uap54_7_0_,
    tollopn0_.uap_uapSoildier as uap55_7_0_,
    tollopn0_.cpn_sold_c60 as cpn66_7_0_,
    tollopn0_.cpn_sold_c75 as cpn67_7_0_,
    tollopn0_.cpn_used_c30 as cpn68_7_0_,
    tollopn0_.cpn_used_c40 as cpn69_7_0_,
    tollopn0_.cpn_used_c42 as cpn70_7_0_,
    tollopn0_.cpn_used_c45 as cpn71_7_0_,
    tollopn0_.cpn_used_c50 as cpn72_7_0_,
    tollopn0_.cpn_used_c53 as cpn73_7_0_,
    tollopn0_.cpn_used_c55 as cpn74_7_0_,
    tollopn0_.cpn_used_c60 as cpn75_7_0_,
    tollopn0_.cpn_used_c64 as cpn76_7_0_,
    tollopn0_.cpn_used_c70 as cpn77_7_0_,
    tollopn0_.cpn_used_c75 as cpn78_7_0_,
    tollopn0_.rev_cpn as rev79_7_0_
from
    trf_trx_toll tollopn0_
where
    tollopn0_.dt=?
    and tollopn0_.shift=?
    and tollopn0_.stationid=?
    and tollopn0_.linetype='OPN'

11:37:56,588 TRACE BasicBinder:82 - binding parameter [1] as [TIMESTAMP] - Thu Aug 06 00:00:00 ICT 2015
11:37:56,589 TRACE BasicBinder:82 - binding parameter [2] as [INTEGER] - 1
11:37:56,589 TRACE BasicBinder:82 - binding parameter [3] as [VARCHAR] - 111
Hibernate:
select
    station0_.id as id5_0_,
    station0_.lineid as lineid5_0_,
    station0_.name as name5_0_,
    station0_.revetc as revetc5_0_
from
    trf_mst_station station0_
where
    station0_.id=?

11:37:56,570 TRACE BasicBinder:82 - binding parameter [1] as [VARCHAR] - 111
Answer: You said that the association must be loaded lazily, using
fetch = FetchType.LAZY

So Hibernate fetches the association lazily.


Turn off vibration for 'Sign in to WiFi network' notification

Question: Since the Android 6.0 update on Nexus 5, everytime I get the notification 'Sign in to WiFi network' the phone vibrates. Any idea where I can turn this off while keeping the vibration for calls, SMS, WhatsApp messages, etc.?
Comment: I am suffering with the exact same issue. I searched extensively and it appears to be a new problem with v6.0. Very, very annoying.
Comment: None of the suggested fixes below work for me. I use Priority mode for its intended use (e.g. when I am busy or sleeping); I don't want my phone in priority mode all the time. And none of the other fixes seem to actually work (and Andrew T's answer seems to indicate why). Is there a fix for a stock rooted rom? Involving an Xposed module? Will it be fixed in later versions of Android?
Answer: There is a workaround involving Do not disturb's Priority only mode.
To put it simply, you must use Priority only (from Quick Settings - Do not disturb) since it has per-app setting for notification alert that can overwrite system's default setting. Priority only mode will still show all notifications. However, only priority notifications will be alerted (sound, vibration and LED light).
The idea is to treat all notifications as priority (from Settings - Sound & notification - App notifications - [app name] - Treat as priority) except for captive portal notification, which is under Android System app (by default, system apps are not listed. You need to tick Show system from overflow menu. Leave this app as non-priority, but don't forget for the rest of system apps).
However, there are some disadvantages that you might consider first before using this workaround:

You sacrifice the intended usage of Priority only mode, only leave Total silence as the only option (however, if you never intend to use this feature, then you're fortunate since you can utilize it).
If you have many apps installed, it's quite tedious to set all apps to treat their notifications as priority (perhaps a script might help...). Also, every time you install a new app, you must not forget to treat its notification as priority (unless you don't care about its alert).
You won't get any alerts for all notifications from Android System (you need to experiment with this, since I don't know what notifications are considered by Android System).
Answer: TL;DR
If you still want to have vibration on all notifications except for captive portal (this particular issue), I'm afraid you can't.
It's as dbasch mentioned in the comment, that the vibration (actually, the notification alert itself) was added in Marshmallow.

Technical Details
When Android detects that the WiFi needs to login to captive portal, as you already noticed, it will create a notification. It's done by setProvNotificationVisibleIntent() function in ConnectivityService.

Show or hide network provisioning notifications.
We use notifications for two purposes: to notify that a network requires sign in
  (NotificationType.SIGN_IN), or to notify that a network does not have Internet access
  (NotificationType.NO_INTERNET). We display at most one notification per ID, so on a
  particular network we can display the notification type that was most recently requested.
  So for example if a captive portal fails to reply within a few seconds of connecting, we
  might first display NO_INTERNET, and then when the captive portal check completes, display
  SIGN_IN.

The relevant code to the notification alert that is used in Android 6.0 Marshmallow:
Notification notification = new Notification.Builder(mContext)
    ...
    .setDefaults(Notification.DEFAULT_ALL)
    ...

Note that Notification.DEFAULT_ALL will "use all default values (where applicable)", which means that it depends on your system's notification setting (sound, vibration, and LED light).
Compared to the one in Android 5.x Lollipop, the code is:
Notification notification = new Notification();
...

No more, no less. That's the relevant code. new Notification() will "construct a Notification object with default values". While it seems that there's no change in the meaning, note that defaults is not set/initialized to  Notification.DEFAULT_ALL (value: -1). Instead, since there's no initialization, it will be defaulted to 0, which is no alert.
Whether it's a bug overlooked by Google which has been fixed in Marshmallow or not, I don't know. Also, that's the reason why there's no alert in Android Lollipop, but now there is in Android Marshmallow.
Comment: "You can't". I bet you can with an Xposed module (or at least some preliminary reading makes me think this), although one might have to write it oneself...
Answer: Only way I found to get rid of that annoying vibration is to disable completely the 'available wifi' notification. To do it go to setting-> wifi -> tap on the three vertical dots -> go to 'advanced settings' and disable the notifications for publicly accessible wifi networks. Waiting for a fix, I think it is the only solution and not so bad a loss to disable them, I always thought them useless enough.
Comment: Thanks for your answer. This does not seem to work however, it still displays a notification and vibrates even after turning off the 'Network notification' option.
Comment: This fix does not work on my Nexus 5 either.
Comment: I had tried this on my Moto X Pure and it doesn't work there either.
Comment: Nor on my Moto E second generation
Answer: Settings > Apps > Google Connectivity Services > Notifications > Block turns them off entirely.
Comment: Thanks, (assuming this works)! Now I just need a way to remember that I blocked this when they fix it...
Comment: Sadly, that assumption was incorrect... did not work on my Moto X Pure
Answer: That notification is initiated by Android System (android). You can use appops to deny Android System the permission to vibrate the device in any situation. Provided that you've adb setup in PC, do:
adb shell appops set android VIBRATE deny

Try connecting to a Wi-Fi with no internet access. You would still get that notification but with no vibration. If you also intend to hide that notification, you may follow the rest of the answers posted here or on this website.
To revert the changes, do:
adb shell appops set android VIBRATE allow

Vibration for calling is initiated by Dialer app, for SMS it would be your default SMS app, for WhatsApp messages, it is the same app, so they are not going to be affected. There may be unforeseen consequences of that command which I'm unaware of, so let me know about them through comments.
Note:  this solution is tested on an unofficial CM13 build.


Any hacks for zipper that keeps falling down?

Question: I just got these jeans that is perfect on me but the zipper keeps on falling down. Can anybody suggest a hack other than using jump rings?
Answer: Use a small piece of elastic band or string to create a loop, about 4cm long.
Attach one end to the lip of the zipper and make it so you can do the loop around your button (Maybe even before closing the button).
Answer: I used a small split s-ring through the zipper pull and attached it over the button. Easy to grab, doesn't show, works great.


Can I ground a ceiling fan to another electrical ceiling box nearby?

Question: I want to install a ceiling fan where a ceiling light currently exists in my garage. The box for the current light has only two wires coming in however: a black & a white (no ground - looks like original wiring from 1950's). My question is how can I ground the ceiling fan if I install it in this 2-wire box location? Can I run the ground wire from the ceiling fan to a separate nearby ceiling light box which does have a ground wire coming into it? This nearby ceiling box is on the same circuit (i.e. both the ceiling fan and the nearby electrical box are controlled by the same circuit breaker). I realize I would of course need to first install a ceiling fan rated electrical box to attach the ceiling fan to, but can I ground the ceiling fan to this nearby ceiling light box which is properly grounded back to the circuit breaker panel?
Comment: Is the existing wiring in *metal* conduit with *metal* boxes? If so, that will (typically, not always) function as an effective grounding path.
Comment: As I understand it, it does NOT need to be the same circuit, but if it is on a different circuit then the ground path has to be big enough the entire distance (e.g., grounding a 20A circuit using the ground path of a 15A circuit would not work unless the 15A ground path (e.g., metal conduit) happened to be adequate for a 20A circuit.
Comment: What edition of the NEC is your locality on?
Comment: @manassehkatz  Believe it or not, when I removed the light fixture to try and replace it with my ceiling fan, there was NO electrical box at all. The light fixture was screwed into a piece of hard cardboard, and the cardboard was simply resting up on the ceiling drywall. The black & white wires had a cloth type sheathing around them and were connected to the light fixture. So bottom line is I'm installing a new metal ceiling fan rated box. But this box is not grounded.
Comment: @ ThreePhaseEel  I don't know what edition of the NEC, but I'm located in Florida.
Comment: As I understand it (from the pros who have discussed this many times on DIY), retrofit grounds are *now* permitted (that's why the question about NEC edition), so that you can run a separate ground wire to another grounded location, as you described in your question.
Comment: Thanks. I'm not sure how to find out which NEC edition governs my locality though. So assuming I can find the NEC edition, then it's just a question of whether this NEC edition for my locale allows a retrofit ground?
Comment: It looks like Florida is on the 2014 NEC. But keep in mind there can be exceptions to various NEC rules in many places - at the state, county or local level.
Comment: Great. Thanks for the NEC edition info for Florida. I will look into any potential exceptions that may apply in my case. I also assume that if a retrofit ground is indeed permitted in my case, I would need to run the separate ground wire to another grounded location that is on the SAME circuit?
Comment: Thanks again for the info and insights. As it turns out the other grounded location is on the same circuit so I should be good to go.
Answer: Yes you can
Recent NEC editions allow you to run a retrofit ground wire (equipment grounding conductor) from an ungrounded box/circuit to a grounded branch circuit's ground wire, provided the donor circuit has a large enough ground wire to be a suitable ground for the circuit being retrofitted.  (For instance, if you are grounding a 20A circuit this way, the donor circuit would need to have a 12AWG or larger ground wire.)  The permission for this is given in NEC 250.130(C):

(C) Nongrounding Receptacle Replacement or Branch Circuit
  Extensions. The equipment grounding conductor of a
  grounding-type receptacle or a branch-circuit extension shall
  be permitted to be connected to any of the following:
(1) Any accessible point on the grounding electrode system
  as described in 250.50
(2) Any accessible point on the grounding electrode conductor
(3) The equipment grounding terminal bar within the enclosure where the branch circuit for the receptacle or
  branch circuit originates
(4) An equipment grounding conductor that is part of
  another branch circuit that originates from the enclosure
  where the branch circuit for the receptacle or branch
  circuit originates
(5) For grounded systems, the grounded service conductor
  within the service equipment enclosure
(6) For ungrounded systems, the grounding terminal bar
  within the service equipment enclosure
Informational Note: See 406.4(D) for the use of a ground-fault
  circuit-interrupting type of receptacle.

Furthermore, since ground wires do not need to run with the circuit they are grounding as per NEC 300.4(B)(2):

(2) Grounding and Bonding Conductors. Equipment ground‐
  ing conductors shall be permitted to be installed outside a race‐
  way or cable assembly where in accordance with the provisions
  of 250.130(C) for certain existing installations or in accordance
  with 250.134(B), Exception No. 2, for dc circuits. Equipment
  bonding conductors shall be permitted to be installed on the
  outside of raceways in accordance with 250.102(E).

, you can simply run a bare 14AWG wire from the new ceiling fan box, through the ceiling, to the "donor" box, bring the wire into the box, and connect it to the existing ground wire bundle there.
Comment: Thank you for the information. This is exactly what I wanted to do; run a bare ground wire from the new ceiling fan box, through the ceiling, and into the grounded "donor" box. By the way both the new ceiling fan box and the donor box are on the same 15A circuit so this should work nicely with the 14AWG wire I already have.
Comment: Is it OK to use just BARE copper ground wire running through the ceiling to the donor box? As opposed to say running 14-2 Romex, using the ground wire on that to make the grounding connection between the ceiling fan box and the donor box, and capping off the black/white wires in the Romex on both ends. Reason I ask is that at least the ground wire in the Romex is sheathed as opposed to just bare copper wire.
Comment: @Peter -- yes, you can just use a bare copper ground wire running through the ceiling.
Comment: Thank you for the response and all of your insight!
Answer: Why are you using the existing wiring to install a new fixture? This isn't code compliant and it's saving $10 to do it in a manner that's unsafe... Run new wire that's grounded and stop trying to cut corners.
Comment: (a) It may very well be code compliant - there are pros (not me) who will determine that; (b) while in this case it may not be a big deal to run a new cable, there most definitely are times where running a retrofit ground (if permitted) is a **lot** easier than running a new cable.
Comment: If running new wire that's grounded only costs $10 then I completely agree. But my understanding is that running new wiring back to the breaker box is costly.


Adult Edition Online Community

Question: I'm starting a new online art and entertainment website but I'm facing an censorship issue.
As the site is art orientated, and of a certain niche ( not "adult" ), it is a certainty that from time to time I will be featuring content that is for the eyes of over 18's only, and therefore should really be in a section of it's own. That being said, I don't really want to contfine certian posts to a side area when the content is certainly on-topic, and not Adult in the popular sense of the word.
Not sure if I'm supposed to place links, but check out this https://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/1406783 magazine for an idea of what my dilema is.
Here, there is an emphasis on music ( entertainment for all ages ), but features of semi-nude models ( appealing to many music fans, but not for under 18 viewing ).
So my general idea is to place a 18 certificate icon on the link to any page that has content of an adult nature - But I still feel that it will be too easy for a younger audience to click these links.
For clarification, I don't want to brand my community as Adults Only, because that gives out the wrong impression - And, I would prefer not to have to market/brand my community twice ( all ages / over 18 ).
Any ideas how I should go about keeping my site open to showcasing All types of content, but still keeping it clean?
Answer: How about displaying 18+ content only to users that have checked a checkbox stating they were born at least 18 years ago?

Adult Edition Online Community


Measuring EM radiation power over surface area

Question: I didn't make it obvious enough below that I was interested mostly in infrared, as the current use case is measuring power radiated from warm objects and from the ground. As pointed out in comment by @gerrit (thank you):

You may want to clarify that you're interested in the Earth surface, so about 0.3 – 100 µm will cover everything you need.

In my naivety I first asked a related question over at Earth Science here. Ultimately, I would like to know how much electromagnetic energy power I could detect from an object or a surface.
For a home project, is there a way to measure how much EM power is being radiated from a nearby object? It's fine, preferable even, to ignore energy that radiates away from the detector and only measure what is captured by a nearby detector.
At work we have things like spectrum analyzers and power meters and such that measure power at different frequencies in wired communications, and that's similar to what I'm after, but I'm looking for a way to measure EM radiation, mostly infrared power.
If I could wave my hand and magically have exactly what I want pop into my hand, it would be a 1 meter square flat device with 1 side measuring EM power so I could hold it just above the ground and get a result of "1 watt" (1 watt per meter squared, since the device is 1 meter), or hold it next to a tree or a person and measure power coming off of them.
This is both for my own use (both curiosity and possible future personal projects), and also as a science project for my kids since my oldest one is experimenting with measuring power with a multimeter and solar panel.
If there is a type of device that does this, then that's great and the name of the device would be helpful.
If this kind of measurement requires a process (eg: "use device such-and-such to measure power at lots of points and then use method so-and-so to integrate across a square meter") then that is acceptable as long as it can be done by a hobbyist and doesn't require expensive tools worth thousands of dollars.
How do you measure electromagnetic power over a surface area to find the watts per square meter?
Comment: You may want to clarify that you're interested in the Earth surface, so about 0.3 – 100 µm will cover everything you need.
Answer: This would be extremely difficult without specifying the portion of the EM spectrum you wanted to measure.  Gamma rays will have different detectors than radio waves than infrared heat waves.
IR detectors use lenses and basically a camera sensor to detect the heat coming off of an object.  A directional gamma detector would need a method to differentiate direction, since a handheld detector wouldn't have enough shielding to prevent readings from behind.  For radio waves would probably want a reflecting dish to amplify the signal.
Comment: In practice, from linked question, OP appears interested in EM radiation from the Earth surface, which means they really only need 0.3 - 100 µm or so.
Comment: I did say I'm interested mostly in infrared, but I didn't make that part stand out well. I'll edit to make that more obvious.


My question is about an expression "way too good for me and don't deserve you "

Question: When my friend,whom I helped with house work while she was out and I love her,she'svery nice and kind ,send me a message saying You way,way,way too good for me I don't deserve you.What she mean by that?is it meant as a compliment or was she annoyed by receiving too much help and attention?
Answer: Your friend meant that she was very grateful for your help. "You are too good for me, I do not deserve you" is a compliment in which the speaker is lowering their own self in order to elevate the other person.
Some people mean this phrase more literally than others do, so you have to use what you know about the person to understand exactly what they meant. A person with low self-esteem who thinks very highly of you may actually believe and mean that they are not worthy of your friendship (though they may still accept your friendship). However, many people use this phrase in an off-hand manner. They do not actually have self-esteem issues. They are simply somewhat exaggerating their true feelings. What they are trying to communicate is that they genuinely and deeply appreciate your friendship.
As with most phrases, "You are too good for me" can be used sarcastically to mean the opposite of its usual meaning. However, it is clear from the situation that your friend was not being sarcastic or dismissive toward you.
A natural response to what your friend said might be something like "Not at all. I was glad to help." If you suspected the speaker might have low self-esteem, you could say, "That's not true. You're a very good friend, and I am always happy to help you."
Comment: Thank you very much,I very appreciate your comment and explanation .just wasn't completely sure and it's very important to me,you really helped.And that's exactly how I responded.Thanks again.
Answer: Your friend was overwhelmed by how much you helped her and is very happy. She feels that she didn't do anything to deserve so much kindness from you.
Answer: Yes, it was meant as a compliment, but the probable sub-text is that she is saying that she does not love you in the gentlest words that she can find. In other words, she is probably saying that she appreciates your help, thinks highly of your kindness, but wants you as a friend rather than a lover.
Comment: I don't think the original question implied that @Meredith thought of this friend as a lover. "I love her, she's very nice and kind" would usually mean a platonic love in this context.


What do I do if my Recepisse is about to expire and I still haven't received my carte de sejour?

Question: My récipissé is about to expire in two weeks but I still haven't received my carte de séjour. Is there any way to check the status online? I applied from Paris (Cité) and I haven't had any response. Or if I call them what number should I contact them on?
Comment: Considering the urgency of the situation I'd directly visit the Prefecture to get an update.
Answer: I am not aware of any way to check the status of your application online. It might be worth trying but I wouldn't expect too much from a call either. In all likelihood, a decision hasn't been made yet. You will hear about it whenever there is a decision but that doesn't solve your immediate problem.
Meanwhile, you are supposed to show up/make an appointment (depending on the préfecture) to renew the récipissé. It's very frustrating and is supposed to be exceptional but in practice it does happen a lot.
Comment: Thank you. Do you know if I have to take all my documents again to get it renewed?


InDesign: Faster way to resize multiple frames but not images

Question: I've used Shift + Cmd to place 48 images into an indesign (cc2014.2) doc. i'd like to change all of the image frame sizes to let's say 9p square, while not affecting the images. how do i do this?
Answer: Resize one.
Select the others and choose object>transform again>transform again individually.
Source: formus.adobe.com
Answer: There seems to be an excellent solution at least as of CC 2015.
Select multiple objects with Shift+Click. Then click & drag a corner or edge of any of the selected items to resize. Hold Shift to scale image frames proportionally. Hold Shift+Ctrl to scale the frame and the image. This works for grouped items with image frames and text as well.


Trying to identify this post-nuclear bomb poem

Question: I remember reading this poem when I was a kid in the 80's, but it was likely older than that. We had to read it for school. I don't remember much about it, but the poem walks you through a suburban neighborhood where everybody is gone. It describes how the sun comes up, all the automated machinery comes on, with nobody to use them. A dying dog is wandering around in the neighborhood. It even described the shadows of schoolchildren burned into the brick wall they were playing in front of. I don't think that the story directly said, but of course back then we all knew that the idea was that a nuclear bomb had gone off nearby.
Comment: One of these, probably; http://wlajournal.com/23_1/images/brickey.pdf
Answer: You're referring to the poem "There will come soft rains" by Sara Teasdale.
The poem was used in the Ray Bradbury story of the same name which went into greater detail (notably about the family dog and a "Hiroshima shadow" of a local family).

"There will come soft rains and the smell of the ground, And swallows
  circling with their shimmering sound;
And frogs in the pools, singing at night, And wild plum trees in
  tremulous white,
Robins will wear their feathery fire, Whistling their whims on a low
  fence-wire;
And not one will know of the war, not one Will care at last when it is
  done.
Not one would mind, neither bird nor tree, If mankind perished
  utterly;
And Spring herself, when she woke at dawn, Would scarcely know that we
  were gone.

A full (copyright friendly) text can be found here and a comicbook version is here
Comment: That's it, thanks for the help!
Answer: I believe it is There Will Come Soft Rains , one of Ray Bradbury's works.
Answer: The poem is by Sara Teasdale but there is also a short story with the same title by Ray Bradbury in which he uses Sara's poem.
Comment: This is basically a lower quality rehash of the answers above.
Comment: Thank you for this, but the answer is somewhat vague.  You don't actually give the name of the story or poem.  If you could give us this detail, that would be great!


Windows x64 2008 P2V? Has anybody had any success?

Question: If I use VMware converter it throws

Volume Shadow Copy Service error: Unexpected error calling routine CoCreateInstance.  hr = 0x80040154, Class not registered
  .
Operation:
     Instantiating VSS server

If I use Disk2vhd it throws

Volume Shadow Copy Service error: Unexpected error querying for the IVssWriterCallback interface.  hr = 0x80070005, Access is denied.
  . This is often caused by incorrect security settings in either the writer or requestor process.
Operation:
     Gathering Writer Data

Has anybody been able to pull this off?  It seems that the VS copy service is throwing a huge wrench into all of this.
Answer: Not exactly and answer:
Yep, I've done a few. But I always do it offline. PXE boot WinPE, mount a network VHD, and robocopy it over. A quick bcdedit touchup to detect the new HAL and it's good to boot (more driver installation, integration services, etc from there).
Perhaps there's an equivalent process for VMware images?
Answer: I do the disk2vhd all the time no problems, and your sure that your starting the disk2vhd as administrator correct?  Also the volume being backed up has the system account with full control right?


SQL: Calculating system load statistics

Question: I have a table like this that stores messages coming through a system:
Message
-------
ID (bigint)
CreateDate (datetime)
Data (varchar(255))

I've been asked to calculate the messages saved per second at peak load.  The only data I really have to work with is the CreateDate.  The load on the system is not constant, there are times when we get a ton of traffic, and times when we get little traffic.  I'm thinking there are two parts to this problem:  1. Determine ranges of time that are considered peak load, 2. Calculate the average messages per second during these times.
Is this the right approach?  Are there things in SQL that can help with this?  Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
Answer: I agree, you have to figure out what Peak Load is first before you can start to create reports on it.
The first thing I would do is figure out how I am going to define peak load.  Ex. Am I going to look at an hour by hour breakdown.
Next I would do a group by on the CreateDate formated in seconds (no milleseconds).  As part of the group by I would do an avg based on number of records.
Answer: warning, these will run slow!
this will group your data into "second" buckets and list them from the most activity to least:
SELECT
    CONVERT(char(19),CreateDate,120) AS CreateDateBucket,COUNT(*) AS CountOf
    FROM Message
    GROUP BY CONVERT(Char(19),CreateDate,120)
    ORDER BY 2 Desc

this will group your data into "minute" buckets and list them from the most activity to least:
SELECT
    LEFT(CONVERT(char(19),CreateDate,120),16) AS CreateDateBucket,COUNT(*) AS CountOf
    FROM Message
    GROUP BY LEFT(CONVERT(char(19),CreateDate,120),16)
    ORDER BY 2 Desc

I'd take those values and calculate what they want
Comment: Cool, this is similar to what I have so far.  Thanks for the answer.
Answer: I don't think you'd need to know the peak hours; you can generate them with SQL, wrapping a the full query and selecting the top 20 entries, for example:
select top 20 *
from (
     [...load query here...]
) qry
order by LoadPerSecond desc

This answer had a good lesson about averages. You can calculate the load per second by looking at the load per hour, and dividing by 3600.
To get a first glimpse of the load for the last week, you could try (Sql Server syntax):
select datepart(dy,createdate) as DayOfYear,
       hour(createdate) as Hour,
       count(*)/3600.0 as LoadPerSecond
from message
where CreateDate > dateadd(week,-7,getdate())
group by datepart(dy,createdate), hour(createdate)

To find the peak load per minute:
select max(MessagesPerMinute)
from (
  select count(*) as MessagesPerMinute
  from message
  where CreateDate > dateadd(days,-7,getdate())
  group by datepart(dy,createdate),hour(createdate),minute(createdate)
)

Grouping by datepart(dy,...) is an easy way to distinguish between days without worrying about month borders.  It works until you select more that a year back, but that would be unusual for performance queries.

SQL: Calculating system load statistics


Are there upgrades for weapons in Orcs Must Die?

Question: When I see videos of the game, I see swords that are different from mine. Are there upgrades for swords and weapons in this game?
Answer: Yes, there are different weapons in Orcs Must Die that you can unlock either via playing the story or from purchasing the DLCs.
Also, once you unlock the Elemental Weaver you can buy upgrades for your weapons during each map.
Answer: The blade-staff is the only weapon in Orcs Must Die that can appear radically different in its appearance as the model used for the weapon in-game is tied to the current character skin used. There are currently two choices the standard blade-staff can be switched to; The hammer which is available to customers who have pre-ordered Orcs Must Die and the double blade-staff which became available after the community achieved 250 million collective orc kills. Selecting a skin will automatically change the appearance of the blade-staff. The blade-staff variations still function exactly the same as each other, it's simply a reskin.
Weapons can only be upgraded in-game by purchasing upgrades from the weavers which become permanently available after level 10 (Steel & Elemental) and 19 (Knowledge). Weapons cannot be upgraded using skulls. The skulls only upgrades traps.