How can character find out when/where she is?

Question: A character from 1920's England is unexpectedly flung into the distant past in a strange place. (It's around 1000 BCE in Mesopotamia). How can she discover roughly when and where she is?  What key clues would she need to decipher in order to have some chance of figuring it. She knows something about architecture, and is a regular visitor to the British Museum, which may help.
Comment: I don't think this is story-based.  But, in contrast to the linked questions, it's light on details about the context, so might be unclear or too broad.
Comment: Hi, David Hambling, welcome to Worldbuilding! Should we assume that this character has the best up to date knowledge about the ancient history?
Comment: Related https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/q/62474/30492
Comment: also related : https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/120207
Comment: Hmm, why the other related questions are on topic and this one not?
Comment: About the answers below that are based on historic knowledge (like name of the current king): they also require knowing the language spoken around 1000 BCE in Mesopotamia.
Comment: I'm sorry, but I need to ask: Do you know where she is? 1000 BCE Mesopotamia is, well, rather large and a lot of different cultures coexisted there. You have to be more specific. One could give you a vague general method, see the answers given so far, but really, what's that worth? One example: Does she see e.g. Babylon or doesn't she? This one needs to be specific to be believable.
Comment: I assume shes gone into the past of "another" similar universe, so she (before time travel) won't be affected by what she's done in the "past" (after she traveled in time). else you will have to deal with paradoxicals: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grandfather_paradox (but you could easily solve your question then... if she traveled into her own past, she just has to drop her watch somewhere where the future archeologists will find it and let them determine how old it is, and before the time travel, she will have seen it in the museum but beware, someone travelling into his past is PARADOX!)
Answer: For when she could be an astronomer and have access to good modern equipment, datasets, and computer simulations this may not be workable for your narrative however. The other option is that your protagonist is a history buff, this may mean fully qualified history professor specialising in the period they've stumbled into, which could be quite believable depending how they're getting moved through time. Or it could be that they're an amateur who knows either a lot about where they are or just enough about a variety of things to get a rough date, say plus or minus a few decades. An example of the last option would be if you got a quiz junkie who happens to have memorised the line of the kings of half a dozen or so ancient nations that their quiz master likes to throw at them like Rome, Classical Greece, Assyria, Babylon, and Egypt. That would mean that once they know who's in charge where they've got a smallish overlap period to work with.
Where is a lot harder, from what we have been able to piece together language and architectural styles didn't vary all that much across the region at that time, but the place names should help.
Answer: She knows Ramesses II.

The pharaoh Ramesses II was active in Egypt around 1200 BCE.  Many of the buildings and statues built in his reign would still be maintained and good looking, and the locals could tell you about how long ago these things had gone up.  Your Londoner heroine is familiar with these materials from the exhibits in the British Museum, which were acquired in the late 1800s and were still a big deal when your character was growing up.  She in fact visited the museum while in high school and wrote an essay on Ramesses.  She recognizes his statue and pieces together approximately when she is.
Comment: She might not be in Egypt, but 200 years before in 1200 BCE, he did do a Syrian campaign, so that might at least be spoken of or placed in lost wall art regarding the battles. I don't know that he was able to take over enough to put up monuments of his own there. He did in Nubia but...were there any in Syria? Or the actual Mesopotamian  area? That's not Egypt...neither is Nubia.
Comment: I think your comment here to Alexander on seeing a monument that's dated in an exhibition beforehand is actually a great way for her to tell...added it in my answer with credit to you!
Comment: Ah, but it looks like she's not in Egypt. 1000 BC is a "dark age of antiquity".
Comment: @Alexander -  Well, poo.  But still this scheme would work - someone with better knowledge of what is on display at the British Museum might put together a story with something large, impressive and on display (at the time) which might attract the attention of a high schooler with an assignment.   Then later  she encounters the thing still standing at its original site and deduces when she must be.
Comment: Nice one - she is a regular visitor to the British museum, so this type of evidence will eb very helpful.
Answer: It all depends on how knowledgeable this person is. Please keep in mind that in 1920 England knowledge was not as readily available as today.

She is an ignorant layperson. "Ignorant" meaning she has no knowledge about ancient religions, languages, art and history beyond what's taught in grammar school. In that case, she may never find out that she actually traveled back in time and think that it may be some alt-Earth;
She is a well-informed layperson. She should be able to make a connection using names of the places, kings or architecture. However, it would be only a ballpark estimate and it may take a while for her to make such connection.
She has sufficient professional knowledge. She can be a history professor or an astronomer. In both cases it wouldn't be hard for her to pinpoint her position, both time and place, in a short while.
Answer: Dependant on her knowledge base entirely. L. Dutch's link in the comments is golden as far as the practicalities are concerned. By the stars is the standard answer up to a point. An ordinary person without specialized knowledge might not ever figure it out.

Landmarks or rivers.
Names of places. Only if she knows the Greek term for the area "land between the rivers" One way around this is to have her remember something from an exhibition, like the major cities in Phoenicia were Tyre and Sidon...for instance. Can be any small factoid that she can seize on.
Art styles. If she's an ordinary person, she might not have a knowledge base, but might recognize vaguely that it's from ancient times. Ancient Assyrian art is super distinctive. While she might not be able to place where and when she is exactly, this will help.
Languages spoken. This is a huge narrative hurdle, actually. If she can't speak the language it's going to be hard for her to even communicate. But if she has studied ancient languages or recognizes the use of a term that has fallen out of use, that might help.
Technology. The Abacus. Unfortunately, this won't narrow things down, as the abacus has been in use since 3000 BCE. But by 1000 BCE in this area it will be everywhere.
She saw it in a museum or in an illustration. Stealing from WillK's comment on his own answer. Beforehand, she sees part of a landmark or statue in the British Museum that's from Syria or where ever specifically she might be. The date was on the exhibition, and when she goes back in time, she sees it being built or unfinished.
Answer: ok, she is a reasonably sophisticated early 20th century britisher.
as a non-noble, and as a woman, her freedom of movement will likely be somewhat limited, she will likely need to be observational where she finds herself.
she should be able to recognize from architecture, clothing, artifacts & inscriptions/writing that she is in the ME, likely somewhere in the assyrian or babylonian empires.  the use of cunieform writing puts the timing later rather than earlier in mesopotamian history.
if she knows her rulers, that will clinch the empire & era.  the architecture between those two empires is distinctive, as well.
the fact that there are no hittites around lets her know its later than 1200 BCE.  the presence of iron tools will reinforce the period.
the fact that there are no greeks or romans around lets her know it is earlier than 350 BCE.
this is also the age of the sea peoples (1200-900 BCE) raiding upon the peoples of the eastern mediterranean, so any references to them will peg the time to within a century or so.
given a cursory cultural knowledge, she can probably ascertain she is
in assyria or babylonia or a minor kingdom within a few hundred years of uncertainty, absolutely depending upon her grasp of history, archaelogy, geography, architecture, linguistics.
Comment: You end with "given a cursory cultural knowledge", but wouldn't a lot of the stuff you mention before that require very advanced knowledge? As in, the ability to read and/or speak the many languages being encountered, and somehow the ability to know that all these things are going on in the larger world around you - ie: no hittites, eastern Mediterranean raiding, the name of the current rulers, etc.?
Comment: she "is a regular visitor to the British Museum". and "absolutely depending upon her grasp of history, archaelogy, geography, architecture, linguistics."
Comment: If that comment was in response to me, it doesn't really seem to address my point. For example, concerning people of eastern Mediterranean you wrote "so any references to them..." but that implies reading the local texts or speaking to the people. Similar for knowing who the current rulers are, that might need the same. I don't mind you suggesting that she should be able to speak and/or read a language which is active at that time, but you then later suggest that the knowledge is only cursory.
Comment: who else would the comment be directed to?  assuming she finds herself in some setting in the remote past, yes we should assume at some point she acquires an ability to speak the language.  knowing the basic history of mesopotamia for 'a regular visitor to the British Museum' doesn't seem that out of line.  ymmmv.
Answer: I think she locate herself fairly simply with nothing more complex than a few star observations.  The Earth's procession will have shifted our 'pole star' backward a bit from the 20th century Polaris partway back to Alpha Draconis. Knowing that the procession takes  about 26,000 years, she can easily deduce ( as a measurement of degrees in procession) that she is well in the past , but not as far as a 120 degree offset , each 120 degrees being equal to about 8500 years.
Cornell Link
  She can also determine her physical location through a similar means, locate the pole  in the night sky, determine the degrees from 90, and she has her latitude.
Longitude is more challenging, but the remaining clues should be found in the trade and industries known for the time and culture.
Answer: Apologies for the pre-edit version of this answer. I must have gotten the criteria for this question confused with one of the similar linked questions. The pre-edit version has lots more information that is usable if she is allowed to bring gear with her in preparation. Check the edit history if you are interested.
For "where", half of that is answered extremely easily.
You can estimate your latitude roughly just by looking at the stars, even without any tools. In your case, the destination is in the northern hemisphere which makes this even easier.
Just check the night sky on a clear night and look for Polaris, the North Star. It is directly over the true north pole, so it is pointing true north (true as opposed to magnetic north).
The angle of Polaris from the horizon, in degrees, is the same number of degrees latitude that you are on the planet. Someone even just half decent at this should be able to estimate their latitude to within about 5 or 10 degrees. That is an accuracy of a few hundred miles.
If you want a more precise measurement, you can make your own quadrant. They are so simple that you can find instructions online about how to make them out of paper. In this situation, you would be more likely to try and make a disk out of wood or clay. Then make markings on it to help you measure degrees; you can use some basic geometry skills to mark out 90 degrees and to continually subdivide that further and further.
You could also use plants (vines, sticks, tall grass, ...) to set up a measurement system, again using some geometry and/or trigonometry.
Either way, measure the angle up to Polaris again to get a better estimate of your latitude. If you can measure with accuracy better than a full degree, then you can estimate your latitude to within a few tens of miles, or maybe even a few miles if your measurement was good enough.
Hopefully you are either really good at geography so you have a mental picture of the world and where this puts you. If not, did you happen to have your passport with you?
This gets your position in a north-south direction. Along that axis, it is enough for you to realize you are in Mesopotamia. But that leaves out the east-west portion, so you could just as easily be in China or the Americas. But since your person is a history buff, hopefully they can tell the difference between the different cultures when they stumble into a city.
Comment: *"Computer with software that provides magnetic declination maps for any given year"* OP specified that the character is "from 1920's England".
Comment: @αCVn Ah! So they did. I saw at least one other answer mention  bringing a computer back for astronomy software, so I forgot about the limitation you mention. I'll try to improve that. I'll see how far back the people of the 1920's could estimate the magnetic declination and see if it would be feasible to bring books with lots of charts for what they need instead of a computer.
Comment: Unfortunately she arrived unexpectedly and doesn't have any useful gear (a constant irritation!)
Comment: @DavidHambling I could have sworn you originally said she could bring some tools... I must be thinking of one of the similar linked questions. In that case, all that works well in my answer is estimating latitude from Polaris. That can still give a rough idea about where she is.
Answer: she stays one year measuring the length of the days using water clocks, so she can determine the longitude.

(src)
Now she walks westwards until she reaches the mediterranean sea.
She counts the days she needs, so she knows approximate latitude.
walking southwards along the coast will bring her to the remainders of the (united) kingdom of israel (Kingdom of Israel/Kingdom of Judah).

(src)
If she knows what Anno Mundi are, she just has to find some hebrew calendar/artifact with date inscription (in temple?) there to determine the time.
Comment: How can someone determine longitude by "measuring the length of the days"? And how can you "count the days you need to know approximate latitude"?


Is there a cheap service which makes brochures or portfolio books for your work?

Question: I wonder is there a cheap service, which makes and prints out your portfolio book or brochures? I found a lot of standard brochure printing services, but nothing portfolio based.
Answer: Have you looked at book self publishing services? Lulu.com has a photo book publishing service; you can choose hardcover vs soft cover and I believe a type of paper as well. There are many such publishing services out there but Lulu.com is sort the the mainstream version. Lulu.com
Some of these sites also have software you download then you create the publication on your computer rather then on the web.  That being said, it might be, at this point, advantages to design your publication in Illustrator or CorelDraw where you can gain a full control over all the design aspects. Once completed the software prepares your book for publishing; it creates a folder with press files that include all that's needed for professional printers.
Answer: I work for Shutterfly.com and we have several styles for professional portfolios. If you go to the custom path book creation process you can choose a 'Portfolio' theme and there are 8 styles including 'Modern Portfolio' which was just released.
Our books are high quality, guaranteed, and competitively priced.
Answer: Olympus has a website for this: http://us.ibonthenet.com/store-photobooks.html. See if the price is competitive. The website itself is not greatly designed, and is slow.


Why do people use anti-inflammatory drugs?

Question: Why people should take anti-inflammatory drugs, when inflammation is a physiological way to defend our organism?
Answer: You are correct in that inflammation is a physiological process. It is vital for the correct development and localisation of a strong immune response, and contributes to tissue healing.
However, the beneficial effects are replaced by dangerous processes when they are prolonged or too intense. This includes both effects of leukocyte attraction and invasion, but also deleterious consequences of the accumulated cytokines. For example, TNF-alpha originally contributes to immune cell activation but in prolonged inflammation prevents tissue healing.
Note that "prolonged inflammation" does not necessarily mean that inflammation has been apparent or noticeable for the affected person for a long time. Often by the time symptoms present, the inflammation process has been persistent and become pathological. At this point, anti-inflammatory drugs need to be used as soon as possible to minimise irreversible damage.
Aside from this, quite often inflammatory and immune processes are triggered without a need for them. Our immune system is quite prone to errors, and cases of misguided immune reactions are actually increasing. Consider for example allergies, which often manifest with skin-symptoms such as eczema that can be treated with anti-inflammatory creams.
Answer: While inflammation is a natural defensive process, it also does (sometimes severe and/or permanent) damage to tissue. Therefore, when inflammation has been caused by an injury or an auto-immune disease such as rheumatoid arthritis, anti-inflammatory drugs do more good than harm.
Comment: Popping pills for minor discomfort is rarely a good idea. People do things that aren't good for them. You might as well ask why people smoke or drink, since those things are worse for them than popping the odd aspirin. Also, in most of the world, aspirin is no longer the NSAID of choice, since it has potentially severe side-effects, including gastrointestinal bleeding. The name has sort of become genericised in the US though, to the extent that people call any NSAID aspirin, when in fact, it's far more likely to be paracetamol or ibuprofen.
Comment: What really bothers me is a situation when you take a simple anti-inflamatory drug(f.e. aspirin (acetylosalicic acid(sory for misspel)) right after you feel the symptoms of inflamation. I mean, there are no reasons to suspect misguided inflammation, or prelonged inflamation but it is still the most common way to treat a lot of diseases. Wouldn't it br better to let the organism usr the inflamation to cure the diseases, and use the anti-inflamatory if the inflamation prelongs, or it is very acute?


Peeling drywall paint, how to repaint?

Question: I've got a dry wall that had some old looks to be latex paint on it. I'm in the middle of repainting it and I see a small edge of paint stickin out.  I try to pick it off and a sheet of paint rips up.  I keep trying to pick the edges and more keeps peeling up.  How should I go about painting over this?  I can't get a smooth surface because there's always an edge of old paint left waiting to be peeled up.  And I don't want to paint overs surface that can just be peeled up again so easily.
Comment: Sounds like you answered your own question - peel it all off before painting.
Answer: It's a drag, but it sounds like you already know what you have to do: peel off everything that peels off easily. No use painting over an unstable substrate; the new paint will just peel off too and you'll have to start over. Might as well do it right the first time.
Answer: It would appear, from the description that you have given, that the old paint layer never did adhere to the wall surface very well. When you are applying the new paint to the wall old paint softens and whatever hold that it did have is lost. Similar to the comment offered by @TFK I would suggest that your real choice seems to be that you may have to peel all the remaining old paint before starting over. During removal it may be possible to use a damp warm sponge to soften the old paint instead of having to use new paint for that job.
Several things will have to be investigated before attempting to refinish the wall. One is to understand why the old paint may have not adhered to the wall. The wall may have been very dirty, oily or covered in lots of dust. In most cases it would be necessary to thoroughly clean the surface, possibly sand it some and then apply a high quality primer paint. Make sure to use a primer compatible with the surface paint coat that you intend to apply.

Peeling drywall paint, how to repaint?


Can anyone suggest more technical resources for Magento 2?

Question: I was able to find few articles on Magento 2  from

http://magenticians.com/
http://www.thienphucvx.com/

If anybody know some other resources can you please share it here? (links, Ebooks, blogs etc)
Answer: What about magento 2's official documentation ?

http://devdocs.magento.com/

AFAIK, Alan Kents Blog is the best resource for magento 2 so far

https://alankent.wordpress.com/page/2/

Alan's blog is not tutorial oriented but his own perspective view on different subjects. But it is very helpful to know about advancement in magento 2 project.
Magentician is also a good reference.
I don't think ebooks are available for magento 2 right now, since it is in its very early stage.
The best resource to study about Magento 2 so far : AlanStorm's Article
EDIT
This answer is quite old. For more Magento2 resources, please refer @FireBear's answer.
Answer:
You can track all updates and Magento Community news at Twitter with #magento2 and #realmagento tags.
Official Magento 2 Documentation
Gitller chat for Magento 2 developers
Official tutorial training from Magento - Fundamentals of Magento 2 Development
Alan Storm Magento 2 tutorials, must read!
Magento2 tutorials, screencasts and up to date news from MageClass
Magento 2 Developer's Cookbook: Useful Code Snippets, Tips, and Notes
Magento 2 Articles Collection by Cool Ryan
The Ultimate Magento 2 Tutorial - collection of tutorials
Create Magento 2 Blog Extension from scratch (Setup,Models, Migrations, Database Schema, Controllers, Blocks, Layouts & views, Unit testing) by Ash Smith
Learning Magento 2 & The Magento 2 Learning Curve - community driven resource list by Joshua Warren

We trying to collect best Magento 2 Community resources and keep them updated in our Magento 2 Developer Resource List
Answer: Magento 2 official documentation http://devdocs.magento.com/
Answer: There is also the Magento 2 developer hub at http://magento.com/developers/magento2 which contains links to a number of resources. It is the official home page for Magento 2 developers - that is, we are trying to link various good (more official) sources of information from this single page.
For example, there are a few videos linked from the page as well as Ben Marks' blog.
Answer: you can also find the technical blogs. please follow the below links.

http://blog.magestore.com/magento-2/
http://inchoo.net/category/magento-2/

If I am got more links I will share with you guys.
But I suggest that first we need to read the Default Magento2 official site documentation. Because they have change so many thing like Folder structure, Module Structure, Configuration files, Added Composer etc.That is very good for Developers.
Comment: Shameless, there are few but important resource on Magento 2 - http://www.blog.magepsycho.com/category/magento2/
Answer: There are some useful technical resources that I usually follow to improve Magento 2 knowledge that are:

Magento explorer - tutorial from beginner to advanced level:
http://magentoexplorer.com/
Alanstorm blog - only advanced tutorials, recommended for developers only: http://alanstorm.com/
Inchoo - http://inchoo.net/category/magento-2/
Mage plaza - https://www.mageplaza.com/kb/magento-2-tutorial/

Hope this helps
Answer: I will recommend this 12 hours course on Udemy. It teaches the core concept with real live project. https://www.udemy.com/simplified-magento-2-video-course-from-beginner-to-expert/ Disclaimer: I was part of the creator of the course.
After that, you can go for Magento study group. I found it quite useful https://u.magento.com/magento-2-certified-professional-developer


How do I write an Arduino sketch and an Android application to talk to each other over a standard USB cable?

Question: How do I write an Arduino sketch and an Android application to talk to each other over a standard USB cable?
Comment: You can use [one of the many usb interfaces](http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1371750)
Answer: Android devices usually don't have a USB host: they expect to be connected to some smarter device like your computer. Same goes with Arduino.
For this reason Arduino made the Mega ADK (that means Accessory Development Kit).
Mega ADK and Due act as USB hosts and can be connected directly to your Android phone. If you already have a board, another option is to get a USB host shield to add USB host capababilities.
Your sketch will tell the phone what kind of accessory application it is and your phone will download the appropriate application from the store.
There is a book about connecting Arduino to Android.
Comment: There are converters from mini USB to USB-A host.
Comment: @anorton Yes: those are OTG cables... see my post.
Comment: The premise of this answer was outdated years before it was posted - most contemporary android devices were *intended* to have USB host support, though there are cases where some quirk of the design leaves it broken.
Answer: You never mentioned your tablet model... or Arduino model
There are some tablets designed to work with USB flash drives and printers. This is called OTG (on the go.
You need:

A tablet supporting OTG
An OTG adapter that fits into your tablets USB slot and is compatible
The Arduino Uno Communicator App
Arduino Uno (or clone) [Note: It says that it works with Atmega16U2 or Atmega8U2 programmed as a USB-to-serial converter so I would assume that that would cover a few boards more than the Uno.)

Another alternitive is to look into Bluetooth (Note: I just picked a random link but there are hundreds of similar BT adapters)
Comment: Note that standard Android USB host mode *does not* support flash drives with any operating system functionality (though a few vendor builds do) - rather, it exposes a fairly raw USB host API to application code.
Answer: The USB protocol requires one end to be a "host" and the other end to be a "peripheral", and it doesn't work if the devices at both ends of the cable are "peripherals".
Alas, most Arduinos and many early Android devices are "peripherals", so connecting such devices with a standard USB cable doesn't work.
Some modern Android devices support "OTG", so in theory one could make the Android end of the cable the "host". Has anyone gotten this to work?
Another approach is to somehow make the Arduino end of the cable the "host", and the Android end of the cable the "peripheral".
That's the approach taken by

Microbridge (a) (b)
The IOIO board (a) (b)
The Android Accessory Development Kit (ADK) (a) (b) (c)

(The Amarino (a) and Cellbots (a) (b) take yet another completely different approach).
Answer: Processing is a great place to get started with device to device communication.
The interface and language are very similar to Arduino and there are many examples to get you started.
http://playground.arduino.cc/Interfacing/Processing
Comment: Does that run on Android?
Comment: @AnnonomusPerson Yes, [processing for android](http://wiki.processing.org/w/Android)
Comment: @Faux_Clef Hmm didn't know that. I still don't know if it's the best for Android, that link that you posted didn't seem like it was very stable... I know that processing has USB support but I don't know if you can do that on Android...
Answer: You can connect Android and Arduino with usb and use the easy tool App inventor 2 for android
Did you try this new application : https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=bp.usbbridge.appinvDemo and full version : https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=bp.usbbridge.appinv
Find Videos about Explications : USB OTG Bridge Serial UART for APP Inventor 2 and ARDUBLOCK on youtube


Do Writers Use LaTex/TeX for writing?

Question: I'm quite interested in the LaTex/TeX system and am wondering if any other fellow writers use it frequently to write in.
Comment: Take a look at http://tex.stackexchange.com/
Comment: What type of writing, science fiction?  Scientific? Romance?  The answer will vary based on the genre.
Comment: LaTeX/TeX is really a typesetting program.  I believe scientific and science fiction both would be more likely to include equations and other 'trick typesetting' as part of the story than romance novels.  Poems, Mysteries, etc. would also be candidates.  This is a gross generalization, but the question would be followed up with more specific questions about the typesetting required.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LaTeX has a good overview with both source and output available for viewing.
Comment: In general, for fiction, it seems like most agents and editors prefer Word documents (rtf or doc).  The author is usually not expected to worry about formatting beyond standard manuscript format.  There may be exceptions for very special situations - if you're writing something like House of Leaves, for example.  The publisher generally comes up with the layout and formatting used in the published book.
Comment: also see Lyx - it provides a WSYWYM interface to LaTeX http://www.lyx.org/
Comment: This is a subset of this question: [Is there a special software for writers?](http://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/9/is-there-a-special-software-for-writers)
Comment: @Larry Smithmier: Why so though?
Answer: For longer pieces, especially those with figures, tables, contents, or internal references, or citations.
For shorter pieces (such as an essay) I'd do it in Word or OpenOffice, since I normally don't need the power of Latex and getting it laid out properly won't involve much work.
Any writing of decent size, I use LaTeX because:

I only worry about content and not layout. If I'm writing a scientific paper, thesis, or dissertation, there is usually a latex style that I can apply once the content is there. If I need to apply a different layout (ie: change from two-column to one column), change figure titles, etc) this is as simple as applying a different style.
Managing internal references. Word does it but it's always been a pain personally to use. Latex handles it elegantly.
Citations. BibTex is awesome and works with pretty much every reference management software out there.
No mouse necessary. Latex has one hell of a learning curve. Making changes to layout can drive you to bang your head against a wall. However, once you've become comfortable with it, your output can speed up heavily. You stop thinking about formatting while you're writing. You don't worry about selecting the correct bullets, or making sure things are indented properly. You simply write text and put markers that define what that content is (chapter, section, caption, etc). Your style handles the rest.
Version control. Because Latex files are pure text, they go very easily with version controls and diff. Seeing changes between versions shows you exactly what changed.
Cross platform and repeatability. Because it's all text, you can edit it anywhere. Including vi through a shell. Latex will also always produce the exact same document, as a PDF if desired, so you don't have to worry about how someone is going to open it.
Equations. If you're writing equations, it really can't get much easier and much nicer output than Tex's math mode.

What I absolutely don't use it for:
Scriptwriting. Final Draft is much better suited to that task.
Comment: +1 for version control. I see this as one of the biggest advantages of markup-style formats
Comment: +1 - Good job answering the unasked question: not only "who uses latex but **why**.
Comment: Sorry to dredge up an old topic, but if *TeX sounds like a good system to you but you aren't sure if there's 'an app for' your particular creative outlet, check out CTAN.  For example, there is a fine [scriptwriting package](http://www.ctan.org/pkg/screenplay) available (at least as I understand the term scriptwriting).  It has [really good-looking output](http://mirrors.ctan.org/macros/latex/contrib/screenplay/test.pdf), at least from an outsider's standpoint.
Answer: Yes.
I write everything in Vim with LaTeX, using the sffms package. As the name indicates, the sffms package was written for SF, but manuscript style is pretty much universal. I highly recommend it.
Comment: @Ash: Yes, (La)TeX has a steep learning curve, but when you eventually manage to learn the most important stuff, you can easily define your macros in a separate file and write the actual text in another, with only a few `\commands`, like `\chap The first day's journey, and the first evening's adventures; with their consequences.` and `Present! think I was;\footnote{A remarkable instance of the prophetic force of Mr. Jingle's imagination; this dialogue occurring in the year 1827, and the Revolution in 1830.} fired a musket,---fired with an idea…`
Comment: does the Vim add-on take away some of the pain of entering the markup tags themselves? I looked at some TeX/LaTeX markup and it looked worse than XML, wrt having to type it all in
Comment: @Marcel: Thanks for the summary. It doesn't sound _too_ bad when put like that.
Answer: It seems there a significant bias in the responses - people who do use are much more likely to care about this question than people who don't.
I only use TeX when I'm writing something with lots of equations or figures (I'm a physics student/teacher, so I do that sometimes).  Otherwise a word processor is easier for me.
Comment: TeX is not that nice, as a raw format, but for LaTeX, I'd say that most of my "source" is body text, rather than commands. I don't actually have a breakdown, but can certainly try to get something, if people are interested.
Comment: I looked at the markup required for TeX, and shuddered.
Answer: Yes. I want my work look as good as possible and I've yet to find anything that even comes close to TeX. HTML is nice but printing it ...
Answer: I use it, but mainly because I hate Word. It's a little tricky to get started in, but in the long run you'll be happier. It's much easier to make things look professional, and there is no fighting with the stupid program.
Answer: I'm a huge fan of LaTeX.
Though I usually write in something ultra-minimalist (markdown syntax in pyroom lately), before actually showing it to anyone, I'll convert to LaTeX for better formatting control.
I'm not sure that counts as "writing in" TeX or LaTeX -- I find anything other than a plain text editor too distracting to the "get this down on screen or paper" phase -- but LaTeX  is at the heart of my "make this presentable" phase.
Comment: Hmm... ... I remember reading that people usually start writing in LaTex instead of converting text within LaTex itself.
Comment: I'm not sure what is usual, I just know what I do. :)
Comment: I recently started a new nonfiction writing project, and found myself writing directly in LaTeX (chosen simply because I know it better than TeX).  There were too many figures and diagrams to make my usual ultra-minimalist approach work well.  I am not finding it as distracting as I imagined.  However, I'd still stick to my previously described method for fiction.
Answer: I love LaTex, but I do not use it anymore simply because every editor I know uses word. Every piece I have written has required multiple rounds of editing using Word's "Track Changes" feature. Sending editors a PDF and asking them to mark it up via text comments (e.g. "2nd graf: capitalize "John") slows down the entire editing process.
Answer: No.
La/TeX is a typesetting markup language. I wouldn't imagine ever actually writing in a TeX environment.
However, there are obviously lots of people above who do!
(I'm also voting to make this a CW since the answers are by natu highly subjective, unless someone cites an empirical study.)
Answer: No.
I write books. The reading experience of a book comes not only from the abstract content of the text, but from its visual appearance as well. Text has a surface.
When I write, I need to see the text as it will appear on the printed page, otherwise I am unable to compose its visual rhythm and structure.
Answer: Matter of opinion and all that, but I prefer plain text with no formatting.
Writing and typesetting are separate activities that are not relevant to each other. When you're writing a story your focus should be the characters and the story, not what font you're using or whether your chapter titles should be centered. If you get wrapped up in text formatting while you're writing it's a distraction.
It can also be a trap. You can get into a thing of turning the formatting decisions into a major part of your creative effort. Then you might want to express something -- a mood, an atmosphere, an emotion -- and you'll slip up and express it using formatting rather than words because in that moment the formatting happens to be easier somehow, or more appealing.
I just stick with .txt. Of couse that means I can't use bold or italic. But C.S. Lewis said (somewhere) that a good writer has ways of indicating bold or italic using word choice and sentence structure.
This is regarding fiction -- if you're writing a scientific paper with equations that's another story.
Answer: If you're writing fiction, you're asking for trouble by using LaTeX. There are no real advantages to it, except perhaps that since it's only ASCII it will probably never fall into the same black hole as that .xyz file you created years ago in some word processor whose name you can't remember anymore.
For technical writing, especially if it includes equations and funky formatting requirements, it's a good tool. Even then, I'd try to use a GUI like LyX as the front end.
It's an intriguing and brilliant tool which makes some complex tasks simple, and provides a beautiful consistency. On the other hand, some simple things are nearly impossible, and other things require a degree and practical experience in programming to figure out.
Answer: It might sound very Silly, but the best thing you can do is to use the notepad with a different font, so that you like it.
Formatting will be a big waste of time, and using conventional MS Word or others different than the usual notepad won't allow you to use version control .
The best control version is through TXT files!
After finishing your story, edited, corrected, applied version control. Then you can use latex, Word, Libre Office, whatever you need to create a great formatting, or simply deal with the publisher.
Remember, the most important thing is the content, not the format.
And if you are worried about the format, you can do it with latex in a very easy way, just check this templates
https://www.sharelatex.com/templates/books
Answer: Yeah, I think there's a lot of bias in this community towards technical writing, since StackExchange seems to attract that type of community.  However, the question isn't clear on the type of writing.
That being said, assuming you were writing fiction, you might want to consider a tool like Scrivener. Fiction writers, and even non-fiction writers, like it because it lets you write your story or article in sections or scenes and re-arranging your sections is a breeze. You can also easily keep notes within the same document.
And for those who still like LaTex/Tex, I believe there is an option for exporting your finished document to LaTex.
Answer: Best way to write in LaTeX, in my opinion, is to bypass it and use Org-mode in Emacs (a text editor used most commonly by programmers).
Org-mode is a feature rich multi-use outline-based editor environment that can export directly to LaTeX/PDF, among other things.  Essentially it lets you write using Org-mode's simple formatting and outline hierarchy, then the export automatically adds all of the tedious LaTeX markup for you.  Org-mode is largely responsible for the resurgence of interest in Emacs over last few years.  Read more here:  http://orgmode.org
A decent second choice would be to use LyX.  Not sure if anyone has mentioned LyX or whether you already know about it, but it essentially adds a layer over LaTex and lets you write your LaTeX document using a GUI application that's similar to a regular word processing app. http://www.lyx.org
Answer: If you are writing fiction (not technical), and if your fiction is along the lines of a detective novel or collection of short stories (but not a picture book), and if it is not in color, and if you need to produce a PDF/X compliant file for a print-on-demand paper book service (not an ebook):
I have recently placed the "novel" document class where it can be installed in your TeX distribution by the usual means. Some mirrors have it now, some might respond later.
I have previously used an earlier version of this document class for an actual. P.O.D. novel.
The document class uses high-level commands that directly get you to where you need to be. It is actually pre-configured for print layout 5.5"x8.5" with fonts and all.
LaTeX is definitely not for most users. Its only advantage over a word processor is that the typesetting engine can often produce more attractive-looking paragraphs. This is most noticeable if your writing style benefits from that kind of typesetting.
If you already know something about LaTeX, and say to yourself, "I am tired of writing academic math, I want to write a murder mystery," then maybe the "novel" document class is for you.

Do Writers Use LaTex/TeX for writing?


Is libusb the preferred method on Mac OS X to access USB device?

Question: Is libusb the preferred method to talk to a device over USB (using AT commands) on OS X these days?
Is there any high level equivalent in cocoa?
Answer: On OS X, drivers are written using the IOKit and a subset of C++. More specifically, for USB devices, you probably want to start with Apple's USB Device Interface Guide and browse the USB parts of Hardware and Drivers section of the Mac OS X Core Library documentation set in XCode. (Edit: The latter resource is also available online.)
Answer: I have written driver with libusb that work on both Windows XP, Windows 7, Linux and Mac OS X, so I would say that libusb is a good choice if cross-plattform compatibility is important to you.


Home Remedies for Oily Skin

Question: I have oily skin both in the summer and the winter.  Because of this, I have a lot of problems with acne, specifically blackheads.  While I wash my skin daily, it is not helping clear the acne up.  Does anyone have any home remedies to help with this problem?
Answer: I've had oily skin my whole life, though mine is worse in the summer. I regularly visit a restroom and splash water on my face (which I then blot dry with a towel). Sometimes, instead of splashing water on my face, I wet a paper towel in the sink and gently rub that over my face to wet it, and then I blot it dry with another towel.
I do this several times throughout the day, whenever I feel as though my face is getting a little shiny.
Answer: I have been trying to find a solution to this problem since ages. I have particularly very oily scalp and forehead.
One home remedy that has worked for me since some time now is CURD & lemon juice. I know sounds so simple.
I apply curd with or without lemon juice for 10-15 minutes before I take a shower. Once the curd dries out it takes away complete oil from my scalp and leaves a very soothing effect.
Heres an article you should read for more information Health Benefits of Curd for Skin

Home Remedies for Oily Skin


Is there an order to the 6 daily remembrances?

Question: In my siddur I find a list of 6 daily remembrances. But they seem to be out of order, for example Sabbath is last when it was commanded before the incident with Miriam. Is there a reason for this order or is that just the way it was printed?
http://www.tumms.org/six_remembrances.htm
Comment: Please [edit] your post to make it as clear as you can. Comments can be deleted at any time, so please don't rely on them to clarify the question.
Comment: Please [edit] in why you think the list is out of order.
Comment: as I mentioned sabbath is listed last, when it was commanded before the incident with Miriam
Answer: Siddur Rabenui Hazakain 198 says that the order is based on the way it is mentioned in Ahavas Olam and Kriyas Shema.

First is Yetziyas Mitzrayim which is the entire basis of Kriyas Shema.
Second is Har Sinai for the words Uvanu Bacharta
Third is Amalek for the words Lshimcha Hagadol
Fourth is Aigel for the words Uliyachedcha Bahava
Fifth is Miriam for the words Lehodos Lecha
Sixth is Shabbos for the words Uzechartem Es Kol Mitzvos Hashem

He leaves it at the end that the question still remains as to why it is in the order of Birchas Kriyas Shema. Also on the notes on the bottom he questions that this only works according to this Nusach and not according to other Nusachs that say the words in a different order.


How to report an issue to Developer about a bug that occurs seldom

Question: I am getting an app exiting issue once in ten times.Could any one tell me how to report this issue to developer .Since i am not sure of exact step in which app is getting exited.
Answer: With intermittent issues like this, I've found it helps to create the bug report as usual, but make sure that you say clearly that it's intermittent, and that you will update the bug report with more information as you have it.
If you don't have detailed logs, the next step is to turn on as much logging as you can and work the application until the crash happens, then attach the log to the bug report. It can also help to attach your config file if you have one - sometimes these things are dependent on the application settings.
Often this will be enough - but regardless at this point you have raised the problem. If you later find a way to force the crash every time, you will update the bug report with that information.
Some other things that can affect intermittent issues:

It could be data-related. In complex software, it's not uncommon for tester data to cover more complicated scenarios than developer data.
It could be specific to environment. The web application I test can crash the browser in some Windows XP systems with Internet Explorer 8 - but not all of them. The problem is a bug in IE8, but that doesn't make our customers any happier!
It could be affected by system resources. I've seen large applications crash when a lot of other activity is occurring on a tester's system (which in my experience is normal).
It could be caused by a memory leak. In this case there won't be a specific action that causes it, but if you run the application and track its memory usage you will see the memory consumed constantly increase until the application runs out of available memory and crashes in some form
It could be the result of a prior error that isn't correctly handled. In this case, the actual error could be somewhere that gives no notification, but leaves the application in an unstable state which ultimately causes the crash.
Comment: @JoeStrazzere - I've found that developers tend to want to ignore intermittent bugs reported by testers if the tester doesn't include extra data. "It crashes sometimes" isn't a useful bug report, after all! "It crashes sometimes, and here's the detailed application log and what I was doing at the time" gives them a chance at tracing the problem.
Comment: Good answer. I have found that it's more important to report the fact that there is a bug, and to include what you do know about it, than to worry that you don't know the specific steps to make it reproducible. Often, others are in a better position than the tester to make it reproducible. http://www.allthingsquality.com/2010/04/non-reproducible-bugs.html
Comment: As a developer, I hate getting intermittent reports. If I had more time to really work out reproduction steps, it wouldn't be so bad. Usually (and my users know this) unless it's a super-important issue, all I do for intermittent bugs is increase the logging around that area of code and hope they yield some clues. In my experience, most intermittent bugs are in parts of the code not used often (if it were used more, a pattern would have emerged!) so they tend to be low priority anyway.
Comment: @Kate Paulk-Thanks for such a detailed answer.
Answer: Try to attempt Log in and exit the app in different ways as you can.
Also try Adhoc type of testing to exit the app. But remember to record each and every attempt so once you caught issue could be able to attached to the bug report.
Answer: I would suggest to record this scenario using an addon like imacro.
Steps:
1. use fire fox, download a plugin livehttpheader - it can record all network traffic.
2. download addin imacro.
3. Now turn on httpheader and imacro.
4. perform all your action may be throughout a day or week or may be a month (probable).
5. now you've all data of ur actions.
 report this to dev, they'll have better picture about ur action and data and system config etc...


What caused the decline of the Spanish empire?

Question: What caused the gradual decline of the Spanish colonial empire in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries? A post I read claimed that the Spanish overestimated their wealth, and my teacher pointed out to me that "nobody liked them". To what extent are these claims true, and what were some other reasons? Thanks!
Comment: I think you meant this one: http://history.stackexchange.com/questions/9060/how-did-the-gold-of-the-new-world-cause-the-spanish-empire-to-collapse @Drux: But tags work even better! :)
Comment: What period are you asking about? Usually, when people speak about the decline of the Spanish Empire, they mean some period after the loss of the Armada and before Napoleon. On the other hand, the colonies were lost later. So which one do you mean?
Comment: This question is way too broad and as such I feel that it needs to be closed.  I would recommend that anyone interested should look for books on the subject.  I came across this one (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6868788-the-rise-and-fall-of-the-spanish-empire) during a quick google search.  I'm sure that more can be found with the aid of a librarian.
Comment: Not to my knowledge, but search works quite well ...
Comment: While I still feel that the question is poorly phrased I think the answers provided are both of high quality and diverse enough to warrant re-opening. I would recommend to @Ovi that they ask more specific questions.
Comment: @BrotherJack I will try in the future, but I don't know how to narrow this question down. I was just looking for the general reasons of the decline of the Spanish empire.
Comment: @Drux Oh it was a post here on SE that I saw a few days ago, but I do not remember the tile at all. Is there a way to see the recent questions you have viewed here on SE?
Comment: @FelixGoldberg true :)
Comment: Could it have been this one with my answer? http://history.stackexchange.com/questions/9060/how-did-the-gold-of-the-new-world-cause-the-spanish-empire-to-collapse/9097#9097
Comment: @TomAu Yes, it was that one
Comment: @FelixGoldberg Yea I'm referring to the period between the loss of the armada and the Napoleonic wars
Comment: Okay, that's a huge subject but I'll have a go at it.
Comment: @BrotherJack: I disagree. It is certainly a broad question but it can be answered (I've tried to the best of my knowledge). A book recommendation, however good, will not quite substitute for giving an overview.
Comment: A great historic fiction book I read about this time period of Spain, that helped me gain a grasp of it was like to live back then, is the Alatriste series by Arturo Perez Reverte although given with a slight dose of exaggeration at times.
Answer: It is commonly accepted that the Spanish Empire, which rose to the pinnacle of its strength under Charles V/I and Philip II was in decline by early seventeenth century and, in spite (or perhaps because?) of strenuous efforts to arrest and reverse that decline during the early 17th century, it declined and by 1643 or 1659 (not random dates..) it was a shadow of its former self.
This view was developed and greatly popularized by John Huxtable Elliott in an influential 1961 paper whose first paragraph I cannot resist reproducing:

This has been the standard approach in modern historiography, as far as I can tell; it and in fact it was espoused already in the 17th century by contemporary pundits and columnists who were then called Arbitristas.
Of course this paradigm found an able challenger in Henry Kamen who argued in an interesting paper that paradoxically, Spain did not decline because it never actually rose economically. Instead, he asserted:

Spain thus remained a dominated colonial market at whose expense other
  European nations progressed towards industrial growth.

Kamen's paper is great reading but I personally am more convinced by J. Israel's rebuttal that re-asserts the traditional picture I have outlined above.
A recent paper ("The decline of Spain (1500–1850): conjectural estimates") proposes quantitative measurements of Spanish economic performance and arrives at this conclusion:

In a comparative perspective, our findings support the view that when
  Spain colonised America and built a worldwide empire it was not a poor
  country of warriors but a relatively affluent nation and, by the end
  of the sixteenth century, when it had achieved 'the political hegemony
  of Europe' (Hamilton 1938, p. 168), Spanish per capita income was
  among the highest in Europe, second only to Italy and the Low
  Countries. Since the 1590s Spain experienced an absolute decline that
  only became relative in the early nineteenth century. Spain's decline
  has its roots in the seventeenth century while its backwardness
  deepened in the first half of the nineteenth century.

While couched in mild language, their view is compatible with the standard thesis.
As for the dates, 1643 is the year of the battle of Rocroi which not only wiped out a veteran Spanish army but also Spain's enduring reputation for having the finest military tradition in Europe. 1659 is the year of the Peace of the Pyrenees which showed up Spain's great weakness relative to its chief opponent of the time, France.
Now to the possible causes. First of all, your teacher had two good points. I'll try to expound on them and also on what I think are other possible causes of Spanish decline. One must bear in mind, however, that no one cause can be singled out as the cardinal reason for decline; rather, it was a combination, often mutually reinforcing, of these causes that brought Spain down. The list below is my own and I take full responsibility for its errors and misconceptions:

The expulsion or persecution-induced-emigration of Jews, Marranos and Moriscos. These measures sapped the Spanish demographic base - perhaps not so much numerically as qualitatively. What I mean is that the expulsion of these populations deprived the Spanish kingdoms of precisely the kind of people they were so sorely to lack in the 17th century: artisans, traders, professionals, etc. A parallel can be drawn here with the revocation of the Edict of Nantes by Louis XIV which cost France its Huguenot population and had a similar adverse long-term effect.

Another relevant point - and I am going on a bit of a limb here - is that it took a number of generations for the deleterious effects of the expulsions to be truly felt. This reminds me of Stalins's purges (in the wider sense) in the 1920s-1950s which deprived Russia of its best and brightest - it can be argued that the modern-day problems of Russia can be traced back to that qualitative and quantitative dent Stalin made. But let's return to Spain.

The Mesta. I'll just quote Britannica here:

So profitable were the activities of the organization that Spain's
  nascent industry tended to be neglected in favour of stock breeding,
  and the country continued to export raw materials and import
  manufactured goods well into the 19th century. Some historians blame
  the Mesta for Spain's lack of industrial development in comparison to
  that of the rest of Europe. The Mesta reached the height of its power
  in the 16th century and thereafter declined in importance.

In other words, Spain fell into a sort of Dutch Disease (the ironies of history). Of course, this is also true for American silver and gold - this matter was touched on in the post you mentioned. With bullion flowing from the colonies, Spain had little incentive to develop its industry and commerce and to create a solid and healthy taxable base.

Poor finances. The Spanish crown defaulted on its debts four times: 1557, 1560, 1575, and 1596. This was due to poor management, constant warfare which cost a lot and brought meagre returns at best, over-reliance on New World bullion etc (see n. 2 above).

This is a huge subject so I'll restrict myself to one eloquent quote by from Robert Walpole: (taken from here):

It is true that all that treasure is brought home in Spanish names,
  but Spain herself is no more than the canal through which all these
  treasures are conveyed over the rest of Europe.

The war with the Dutch. Henry Kamen's excellent book Spain's Road to Empire shows that the Spanish Empire was in fact a multi-national project in which the King of Spain drew on the resources of many countries, with the contribution of Spain (or Castile, for that matter...) often being surprisingly small. The muscle - the famed and feared Spanish armies - often consisted of a relatively small number of Castilians, together with German, Italians and Flemish soldiers. The sinews - the money and credit came from Italian and German bankers.

Such a world-hugging enterprise was nearly invincible when operating in concord. But with the Dutch Revolt a crucial leg was sawed from under it and the empire lost a great proportion of its best merchants, artisans and soldiers. Even worse, they became its worst enemies and from that point on the continuous futile attempts to reconquer the Dutch consumed most of the Empire's attentions and resources. Since the latter were usually borrowed (see n.2 and n.3) they were wont to fail at the crucial moment. For example, time after time the Spanish victories in the Netherlands were squandered as a result of mutinies which occurred when the King could no longer pay. Of course, the ready expedient of letting them plunder and pillage just served to stiffen the Dutch resistance.
To sum it up: to me it seems that as soon as the Dutch Revolt broke out, the empire became a house divided against itself - and it could not stand.
What is perhaps less well-known is that the 80 Years War included a twelve-year respite during which Spain and the Dutch were at peace. Possibly the decision to renew the war in 1621 was the single worst decision Spain took - the King and his advisers did not realize that by this point they could no longer win.
Ironically, the truce served to highlight just how much economically dependent was Spain on the Netherlands. A quote from Israel's article also ties this up with the other points given above:

Castilian wool exports were much diminished during the I620s, largely
  due to the absence of Dutch shipping which had previously carried most
  of the wool, but the Castilian manufacturing towns proved unable to
  profit from the situation.

Over-expansion and hubris. This needs almost no elaboration. One point will suffice. The 30 Years War pitted Catholics against Protestants; but it is illuminating to recall that the Protestant cause was supported and seconded by Catholic France, led by Cardinal Richelieu; more strikingly, the Pope himself was giving covert support to France against the Catholic champions, the Spanish & Austrian Habsburgs. This is not really surprising as the Pope was also a temporal prince, hemmed in from all directions by Habsburg dominions in Italy and anxious to diminish their preponderance.

So, if even the Pope was against the Spanish Empire, are we to wonder that it aroused so much hostility, just because it was so big and menacing?
Answer: A proximate cause of the Spanish empire was the Netherlands War of Independence (which lasted 80 years), and other revolts against Spain. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eighty_Years%27_War
The Spanish Empire had been "cobbled" together in the late 15th and early 16th centuries by the marriage of Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile, whose daughter Juana married Philip, the son of Maximilian of Austria and Marie of Burgundy (who lost that province to France, but kept the Netherlands including modern Belgium). Charles V, the son of Juana and Philip, inherited Spain, the Netherlands and Austria. But when he subdivided it, the Netherlands went together with Spain to Charles' son Philip, instead of to Charles brother Ferdinand, who got Austria and Bohemia and the Holy Roman Empire.
The Netherlands rebelled against Philip and later Spanish rulers, so it became a major liability, instead of a major asset, especially since the war dragged on for 80 years, (with some breaks), during which Spain went bankrupt several times. Philip had annexed Portugal in 1580, but that rebelled in 1640 and broke away. Even Catalonia (part of the old Aragon) rebelled in the middle of the 17th century, although Spain managed to hang on to it. But fighting all these wars, plus a short but costly "Armada" war with England set Spain on a downward spiral through the 17th and 18th centuries.
Answer: One of the main reasons was that Spanish empire was too large to control. After Napoleonic wars (and earlier against England) the Spain had lots of interior problems and this was more important than colonies. That's why most of them gained independence.
I totally disagree that "nobody liked Spanish". It might have been in 16th or 17th century, but not in 19th. Spain was Great Britain's ally against Napoleon. The Ostend Manifesto ended in great scandal and was denounced by Powers.
In Anglo-French treaty of 1904 (Spain was of course absent) both parties agreed that the Morocco issue should not alter Spanish possessions in Africa, eg. article 7:

In order to secure the free passage of the Straits of Gibraltar, the two Governments agree not to permit the erection of any fortifications or strategic works on that portion of the coast of Morocco comprised between, but not including, Melilla and the heights which command the right bank of the River Sebou.
This condition does not, however, apply to the places at present in the occupation of Spain on the Moorish coast of the Mediterranean.

and article 8:

The two Governments, inspired by their feeling of sincere friendship for Spain, take into special consideration the interests which that country derives from her geographical position and from her territorial possessions on the Moorish coast of the Mediterranean. In regard to these interests the French Government will come to an understanding with the Spanish Government.
The agreement which may be come to on the subject between France and Spain shall be communicated to His Britannic Majesty's Government.

This was after Spanish defeat during the war against the USA (you might want to read my answer to similar question). I think this last article was put on British demand.
Answer: In order to understand what happenned to the Spanish empire is one word "the economy".
At the end of the Reconquista in 1492, while the kingdom of Aragon was still a medieval country, the kingdom of Castille had just made  new innovations in medicine and in technology, such as the arquebusier and cannon. After, Granada fall, spain introduce the Inquisition in order to be safe from Islam, furthermore, columbus had just discovered america so the commerce drived the economy enormously.
In the early XV. century, France invaded Italy, The king fernando of Aragon sent an army to avoid the french conquest of Italy, despite that Isabella was against the fight against Christians decided to send his best commander, The great captain. This general introduced the new castilian innovations, organized an army, building, for the first time, the Elite tercios. This army rejected a big medieval french army that was confident in his cavalry easily. So, in the end of XV. century with the most advanced army of the Christian Europe.
XVI. century, Once the Spanish royal family was changed by an Hasburg royal family, a very conservative Kingdom was established and loyal to the Austrian/German family helping in every conflict they have. In this period, was never introduced any innovation, not any economy development, only based on military policy. The hasburg Fhilip II received twice two alerts of risk of bankrupt but never made anything. It was not until the second half XVII. century when Spanish economy say "no, more" and made a big "crack".
The arrived of French bourbon on XVIII century, was a great hope because introduced the textile industry and spanish economy was recovered. Even spain recovered italy easily defeating Austrian Royal family or even the UK was defeated two times . Nevertheless, the french revolution was seen by surprise.
Napoleon with very audacious tricks forced Spain to be an "ally", but it was, in reality, a plan to conquest Spain. While the civilians were fighting house by house, town by town, the spanish army was without a head until the "Duke Wellingtom" arrived. While for the british was a great victory over napoleon spain ended in a big disaster. Factories destroyed, so many civilians killed by French soldiers, spain loses between 2-4% of the population in that war.
In early XIX. century, spain ended the war complete in ruins. People and Army demanded , like in UK, to stablish a parlamentary monarchy and embraced liberalism. The king accepted but forced, nevertheless, he called for help to the new kingdom of France to reestablish the absolutism, I mean, a conservative monarchy. With this problem spain started in a Civil War that provocked the independent movements in America. This war ended and liberalism was stablished in 1876.
Finally, with most of Spanish empire in America lost, between (1876-1929) introduced fastly the industrial revolution in order to recovered the time lost. The new innovations and the recover of the economy was not feel until 20s. So 1898, even with new innovations such as modern rifles, howitzers, submarines,machineguns, destroyers etc...not all the innovations werent introducers until XX.century, so was not prepared to the war with a big power so in 1898, the spanish navy was destroyed easily by US navy. And the army was not really well-equipped they do as much as they could to resist the position.
The example was the first spanish battleship "Pelayo" (1888) that was not in time to used in Spanish-American war, used in 1911, or the Submarines created in 1888 but werent used until 1915 (Isaac Peral, great spanish inventor but misunderstand by politicians). The first spanish tank in 1925 or Air Fighter in 1913.
In 20s, with the introductions of new warships in navy, or air-fighters in Air force or even tanks spain was  prepared (1st World war technology), Rif War (1911-1927) represented the transition between Imperial army to the industrial army. Despite of spanish recovery another Civil war ruined spain.
With General Franco in power, spain was a third world country, despite of having industrial factories in some parts of the country. In 50s. with USA decisive arrive and agreement, General Franco drived and change his economy policy to the liberalism and with big industrial investments put Spain in 8th most important economy of the world. Without any shoot USA won ally.
P.D: The Spanish economic problems is due to bad manage of the politicians.
The matter of Catalonia and Basque Country were as a consecuences of the Conservatives politicians favourable to a centralised spain. Thats why these regions are absolutely anti-conservatives and its a battle between liberals and moderate Socialists while pro-independence parties appeared in the Second republic with small support and now are instead stronger due to the "Franco and his conservatives".
Answer: The story of the collapse or sudden decline of the Spanish empire in the 17th century is often greatly exaggerated. It's true that Spain's European leadership did fade in the second half of the century as France and other lesser powers increasingly asserted themselves but the economic and demographic problems were bad or worse in many other parts of a war torn Europe. Spain was still a great empire the following century and its place in the European political and economic scene was still significant. Christopher's Storrs' study "The Resilience of the Spanish Monarchy: 1665-1700" (2006) demonstrates this clearly.
Comment: Welcome to History:SE. Sources to support your assertions would greatly improve this answer.
Comment: Please edit that _into the answer_.  Comments are not for discussion.
Comment: I'm trying to get people to re-read general history more carefully themselves and not simply accept this "decline" or "collapse" line of thinking without question like the questioner here at the beginning assumes.  Even though this has been my long time opinion from my own reading of history (let alone just from looking at maps, now there's a clue), interested parties could have a look at the work of Christopher Straw, in particular his book "The Resilience of the Spanish Monarchy, 1665-1700".


Relationship between trade deficit and borrowing

Question: I have seen lots of essays saying that trade deficit means the nation needs foreign funds to finance their imports. In other words, they need to borrow from the foreigners. However, it sounds very unintuitive to me. My concern is that why would do they have to borrow? I always thought financing trade deficit was all about transferring the ownership of financial assets. Of course, if you count the sale of financial assets as borrowing, we are good.
Answer: We count the sale of financial assets as borrowing. You simply sell a document indicating that you will pay the buyer in the future, which is simply a debt.
Actually, sales of financial assets cause capital account to increase, so that, current account balance is compensated by the sales of financial assets which is basically a capital account surplus. Hence
$$
Current Account + Capital Account = 0
$$
Answer: Yes selling of financial assets is indeed a borrowing. They are sold to finance the deficits in our own accounts. When in an economy there are more investments than savings, the economy needs to borrow from foreigners which is through through these financial assets.
Investment + Capital Outflow = Savings + Capital Inflow
This is in contrast to the closed economy situation wherein the only demand of capital in domestic investment and only supply is domestic savings. Here, the demand comes from foreigners as well through purchase of their assets. Same way supply can also come from foreigners via the selling of domestic assets. Whenever I > S, there must be a capital inflow.
Answer: A) You are right! Its not necessarily "borrowing". People say that only as way of speaking. You could sell your foreign exchange reserves, or sell other foreign assets, or sell local assets.
B) The first logic of calling it borrowing is that typically, that's what happens, a country's governments or its corporations will indeed borrow from foreign investors.
C) The other logic of calling it borrowing is that typically the foreign investors don't want any asset within the CA deficit country, so they buy local assets expecting to sell them in exchange for dollars later on. In that sense, even the sale of local firm's equity, for example, looks a little bit like borrowing, because the foreign investor will sell it for dollars when he gets a chance.


Two different marriage dates for the same couple?

Question: I'm digging through online records and researching Charles and Mary Ann Kirby (listed as maiden name of Hart) who came to Canada from Yorkshire England. I found one record that has their wedding as taking place on May 11,1828 in Allerthorpe by Pocklington, York England and another with the same couple  on May 17th, same year, same location. Would this be their banns? Both are listed as a wedding hence my confusion.
Answer: I take it that the two records are on FamilySearch.
Record 1

Charles Kerby & Mary Ann Hart
  11 May 1828
  Allerthorpe, York, England
  Film 2104781

Record 2

Charles Kirby & Mary Ann Hart
  17 May 1828
  Allerthorpe By Pocklington,York,England
  Film 990927

You need to find out what record is being indexed in each case. Using the FamilySearch Catalog, search for the film number.

Film 2104781 contains Parish registers for Allerthorpe, 1616-1901, originally sourced from the Borthwick Institute (PR/ALL 8).
Film 990927 contains Bishop's transcripts for Allerthorpe, 1600-1848, also originally sourced from the Borthwick Institute.

Therefore, the discrepancy is either an inconsistency between the Parish Register and Bishop's Transcript, or an indexing error of one or both records.
It was a good thought to consider that one might be a record of banns, however that appears to not be the case in this instance.
The only way to determine the correct date is to look at the original Parish Register/Bishop's Transcript. This can be done by:

ordering the film via FamilySearch and viewing at it at one of their Family History Centres; or
visiting or ordering a copy from Borthwick

However, Findmypast also has images of the parish register, where the date is spelt out as "this seventeenth day of May" so the error of 11th arose at some point in the sequence of transcription/indexing of the original parish register.  The banns records don't seem to be present on Findmypast. The image of the BTs also says "seventeenth".
Comment: It is common that 7 and 1 are easily confused in old records.
Comment: I had also looked on freewebmd( I think thats how its spelled) and came up with the same results.
I will definitely have to go to one of the search centres to see what I can find.
Thanks again!
Answer: I just participated in the Family Search Indexing transcribing mostly marriage records. However, on some records, it was only the application, not the actual marriage. I chose not to enter those and requested some help on what to do but never got it. So, someone could have transcribed the application date for the marriage date as "application" was not an option for the form.
The marriages were in America. The titles just said application. I assume it was application for a license to marry, which doesn't prove they actually married or when, which is why I didn't enter them as marriages. But some people would.
Comment: Welcome, Debbie! By application do you mean record of banns? Or marriage bond or allegation? In England there is no such thing as a marriage application.


What software is available for macro focus stacking?

Question: What software is available and widely used for macro focus stacking?  In other areas photoshop, lightroom, aperture, etc are kind of industry standard options.  Is there such a thing for focus stacking?
Answer: You can also use the hugin toolset which includes the align_image_stack and enfuse tools.  You may also wish to add the EnfuseGUI to cut down on the typing.

Works very well
Free & Open Source
Multi-platform runs on Mac/Windows/Linux

There is a very nice walk through here.
Comment: I have lots of experience with align_image_stack. Have a look at https://photo.stackexchange.com/questions/83178/cannot-align-images-with-align-image-stack if you need to tweak things.
Answer: In Photoshop CS5 or later, load your images into layers.

Select Edit > Auto Align Layers (at macro distances even on a tripod small changes in focus will alter the perspective of each shot)
Select Edit > Auto Blend Layers.  This will select the sharpest parts of each layer and create a mask.  The masks can be quite complex, but it does a very good job.

There is an open source program CombineZP
Comment: I used CombineZP until now, but it does not work anymore with 24 Megapixel images. Switched to Zerene Stacker now, as mentioned by @user24722, which is also available for Linux.
Answer: I believe you are looking for something like Helicon Focus.
I've heard from reliable sources that stacking can also be done manually in Photoshop CS 5, but I haven't done it myself.
Comment: Can you elaborate more in the answer without just a link?
Comment: Indeed, Helicon Focus (linked) is the *standard* AFAIK.
Comment: @rfusca elaboration is not needed
Answer: One solution has been omitted for this question - most people who stack actually tend to use Zerene Stacker - it's the only package that has various user generated plugins for substack slabbing. If you look through Flickr there are twice as many Zerene pics as there are for Helicon. Helicon is faster though and suits lab workers better, ZS better for photographers. Both this and Helicon are the class leaders.
Answer: I've worked with both Helicon focus and the two-part combination of a Stackshot rail paired with ZereneStacker.
I prefer Stackshot and Zerene.
Once all the various parts are wired together properly (takes some effort to figure it all out) I fire up:
1) entangle tethered directly to the camera and
2) Zerene Stacker, which has a GUI interface for controlling the rail--all of which I have mounted on a tripod in front of a light tent.
Lighting is a big issue too.  I won't attempt that discussion now. Use trial and error to determine the ideal manual exposure.  My Nikor 105mm macro lens seems to like F8 best.
Determine closest focus point and the furthest. Click the mouse appropriately to tell Zerene where those points are.  Fire away.  Zerene controls it all from that point on.
Now quit everything. You now have N raw exposures in the stack all exposed and lighted identically.  Edit any one raw image from the middle of the stack with rawtherapee. Save a *.pp3 file in the current directory, perhaps named as now.pp3
From a terminal window type:
mkdir tiffs [enter]
rawtherapee-cli -o tiffs -p now.pp3 -t -Y -d -c .  [enter]
That performs the same rawtherapee editing steps, as defined in the pp3 file, to each raw image in the stack, converting to *.tif on the fly. That command also deposits each *.tif file in the tiffs directory made above.
Now run Zerene again on all tifs (ZereneStacker.sh *tif).  Align and stack all tifs as per various GUI options.
Now save as a single stacked *.tif, named what ever you like. It's convenient to name stacked tifs as stk-filename.tif
Now run gimp on stk-filename.tif to make the final image.
Helican was full of bugs two years ago when I used it.  Perhaps they have it ironed out by now.  Helicon electronically twists the focus ring on the lens for each new exposure.  Stackshot and Zerene leave the lens focus ring as is and physically moves the camera instead.
Zerene/Stackshot works best for me. Helicon may be better suited to larger subjects while Stackshot/Zerene is better suited to the smallest subjects.
https://www.photomacrography.net/ is a great source of information. With access to experts.
Answer: I use a browser based / online focus stacking software: focus stacking online.
Can be used also from a smarthphone.


Can leaving an online product or service review be considered a form of damage?

Question: There is considerable research which shows that an online review of a product or service can effect, positively or negatively, on a business. If I buy a product or use a service and then review them poorly, or even just give them a 1-star rating without leaving a comment, it is possible that I have hurt future sales. Is this considered a form of monetary damage according to halacha?
Comment: Why would it be any different than a verbal statement about a product to someone considering buying it? Do you think that would be forbidden? If so, why?
Comment: Interesting question. But, I think you could ask, moreso, is berating a product lashon hara? I think that if you are giving an honest opinion about something, there is *to'elet* - good purpose for your action. Not leaving a comment isn't overly useful. So, that may negate the *to'elet* point. I.e., if you're point is to share something with the public to prevent people from buying a product, do so by stating the problem. Why would you want to just vote down something and not explain it?
Comment: Possible dupe: https://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/76682/8775
Comment: @DanF maasim b'kol yom, people leave star reviews without comments all the time (maybe they're just super busy?). To be clear though my question is not about lashon hara, it is only about causing financial damage
Answer: It appears that this would be considered a gerama (form of indirect damage), for which one would be exempt from payment. Indeed, The Terumat Hadeshen (307) implies that even when one lies and directly leads to someone's loss of livelihood, that he is not liable.
However, that doesn't tell us whether it would be permitted; just whether it would be considered damage, in the classical sense.
It could still be forbidden as l'shon hara. However, if this is done to help consumers, rather maliciously, this does not seem to be l'shon hara, at least according to all these views.
That leaves the question (which may or may not be a part of the OP) of whether it is forbidden for some other reason. It does not appear to be, given that in cases of permitting propagation of  negative information about others, which poskim permit when done for a positive purpose, to the best of my recollection they don't mention some other prohibition.
Indeed, besides for being a mitsva of loving one's fellow of oneself, protecting others from wasting money a product or service they wouldn't buy, were they informed of its nature, might be including in "not standing by your brothers blood" (cf. Sefer HaMitsvot of Rambam neg. 297; although this usage is likely an asmakhta, see Sh'ar Mishpat 28).
Answer: In Shulchan Aruch C.M. 380' it is stated that were one to allow someone to damage his belongings and specifies that absolves him of all payments he shall be potur when carrying it out.The Rama refers to an opinion that even when not specified if his words imply that he shall not expect payment that shall absolve him of paying.
{The Rama in 246' 17' brings proof from the aforementioned halacha that should a person tell someone ''eat with me'' and he follows suit he shall have to pay for his own portion as we say that he offered they eat together but at his own accord, to which the Shach in 363' 10' notes that this is in disagreement with the Mechaber who says over there that should a person say to another person ''live in my house'' he shall be exempt of payment.
Being that all of them put together these scenarios as being of one understanding  and these cases are definitely an offer rather than a command or a service for the one making the offer, shows us that in our case it is permission which he is giving him to tear his garment and still in all he is potur in some cases, since we say that he allowed him to do it and absolved him from payment as well.}
When someone allows for reviews of his products online it is understood that he is putting himself into hands of reviewers with no way to then charge anyone who hurt them(unless if one deliberately hurts someone when he knows the true value and benefit of the item, where perhaps the permission to review the item did not include such behavior).
We also find this concept in sefer Chafets Chaim Rechilus 9' where the one who was given the task of testing a potential Choson is given full allowance to share the potential Choson's true colors upon completing the test.This too is because of the fact that the p.c. put himself to the test knowing its consequences and payoff.
Therefore we may conclude that there is no issue of mazik here and would not even be considered a geramah to have him obligated to pay midinei shomaim.
Comment: There is a world of a difference between doing something that someone doesn't want, but that he known is likely, and doing what he specifically requests. (The cases in the Rama are specific requests, just using colloquialisms, rather than direct language). || In other words, in the case of the Rama, the nizak would be less happy if he were not damaged. He wants to be damaged! In this case, however, he would be happier if negative reviews were not posted. Thus, the cases are wholly dissimilar.
Comment: _This too is because of the fact that the p.c. put himself to the test_ what is a p.c.? || Does the Hattets Hayyim state that reasoning? Even if he does, that still seems irrelevant. There, his goal is for the information to be conveyed. Therefore, conveying the information _is what he wants_. In our case, however, the seller doesnt necessarily want reviews posted. In fact, the poorer the product (and the more relevant this question is), the less they would want reviews. Instead they want to sell the product, of which perhaps reviews are an inevitable unwanted consequence.
Comment: A closer metaphor for this would be living in an area where everyone speaks l'shon hara. One might want to live there, but not appreciate having l'shon hara speaking about him.


Editing a previous edit

Question: I will be the first to admit my use of the English language isn't perfect, yet I do sometimes pick up on other users' bad grammar and go to fix it accordingly (only when I think it wouldn't be immediately clear to who's first language isn't English). I have found recently I have submitted an edit which is only half complete or that it would be better if I changed wording ever so slightly, on these occasions I go back in and make this edit (hoping to get in before the moderators approve it). In the meantime the moderators/reviewers have already approved my previous edit and so I end up submitting a second edit for what ultimately should have been one edit; I accept this potentially an extra 2 points but have seen that one of my recent ones wasn't approved probably due to it being a semi-pointless change (it was a slight clarification of a quote I added from a linked site), personally I'd rather not waste the reviewers time if I'm about to go in and make a minor change.
What I was wondering was whether you could temporarily cancel an update you've submitted? Alternatively would be possible to flag that you've gone back in to fix something you've either broken or changed too much?
(And I look forward to anyone editing the countless grammatical errors I've almost certainly added to this post!)
Comment: Sure, so if this happens every once in a while then it's simply not a problem.  If it's happening a lot then it means you need to take your time and not submit your edit so quickly.
Comment: I accept that, but sometimes no matter how many times you re-read what you write seeing it again makes you see "something else"
Comment: Sounds like you should just wait until you're actually finished editing to submit the edit.
Answer:
What I was wondering was whether you could temporarily cancel an
  update you've submitted?

Nope, you can't cancel a suggested edit you've already proposed.
Just make sure you get it right the first time, and if you still accidentally make a mistake hopefully your suggestion will be rejected or improved by the reviewers in the suggested edits queue.

Editing a previous edit


Test Mail Not Getting Triggered from outbound email

Question: In our application,we have created Test newsletter mail . In the Outbound email functionality, when i m doing test mail , the mail is not getting triggered up. please let me know how to check this issue.
Comment: Could you clarify what you mean by "not getting triggered up"? It's not clear where in the process the issue occurs.
Comment: Hey swap_Pg, Are you able to see any exception message when you click on "Test Mail". What is the status it is showing once done?
Answer: If the Email status is stuck with "Testing Email" check the following

First check the Page you have attached in the mail, if you can preview the page. Sometimes due to insertion of outbound Email TBB the page fails to render.
Check the configuration in OutboundEmail.xml if the QueueFolder is properly configured.
Check the log files, configured in OutboundEmail.xml.

Or if you are getting any error in Tridion notification while testing the mail please mention.
Comment: i have checked the page it preview is fine. we don not have any access to the CMS server. for that particular mail template also mail staticstic is blank.


What's the best approach to document a claim?

Question: I'm wondering what the best way to match prior art to a claim you feel is invalid.  I have found examples applicants use with the USPTO, so I would imagine using that same format to invalidate a claim may be helpful. Do you have any suggestions on what would be useful in the right column, while keeping it short and simple?
Comment: Are you looking for a way to analyze it for yourself or to present to others? If it is to others who are they - what is the audience ?
Comment: I'm looking for any advice on how to best narrow or invalidate a claim. Like a worksheet that one can use before posting prior art to ensure that it has all the requirements.  The audience could be this website, the USPTO, an attorney, and so forth.
Comment: A claim chart is a very good short hand. For lack of novelty every element of the claim must be taught in a single embodiment in a single document and not just the presence of the elements but their interrelationship. For an obviousness rejection the elements can come from multiple documents but there also needs to be some logic as to why someone would put them together that way. An actual rejection is in an more narrative form.
Answer: Claim chart is the way to go, but keep in mind that sometimes it's hard to find citations in prior art that would closely match the claim feature (which is an appropriate way to prepare the chart). Indicating which images and passages correspond to said feature might be more convenient especially having in mind that you do not want a narrow explanation provided by citations but rather indicate specific and abstract knowledge that reader may get from the text.
Take a look at the final/non-final rejections that patent examiners provide while analyzing patent's novelty. Check for instance US 6873940 using PAIR: open an 'Image File Wrapper' and take a look at "10-20-2003 Non-Final Rejection". You'll see that examiner is taking claim features and indicating the places in prior art where to look for corresponding details and sometimes with explanation of correspondence.
My suggestion is to provide both the claim chart and more abstract indications (that might be scattered through multiple passages/images) of corresponding features. But claim chart is a standard way for claim invalidation. At least having both will help the process of gathering arguments.
Answer: the best way is to use pictures and product proofs (screen clips from product manuals etc).
Map it tick for tack, everything that is a element must be shown.
Using too much text (as is the modern standard) confuses and dilutes the points.
Answer: A patent claim document must include a data input device comprising: an input surface adapted to be locally exposed to a pressure or pressure force, a sensor means disposed below the input surface for detecting the position of the pressure or pressure force on the input surface and for outputting an output signal representing said position and, an evaluating means for evaluating the output signal of the sensor means.
Answer: The short answer is preparing the claim charts. Map the claims of the subject patent with the prior art in a feature by feature manner. You can use color mapping or different text mapping which suits your purpose.
If the prior art is a patent, then also include the indexing i.e from where you got the matter from the patent.
If the prior art is a non-patent, then do include the pictures of the products.


First homebrew batch very sweet

Question: I recently made my first home brew batch using an off the shelf starter kit (English brown ale).  The beer is much sweeter than I was expecting and the alcohol content is ~3-3.5% (should be 4.5%).  Am I right in thinking that this may be because the yeast hasn't worked to its full potential meaning that the sugar may not have been converted to alcohol?  If this is the case could this be because the yeast is old?  Is there any other potential reason why my beer is overly sweet?
Comment: Do you have the reading for original and final gravity?
Comment: Also how much time has passed?  A lot of kit beers suggest bottling fairly early.  Could still be working.
Comment: Thanks for the detailed answer! It may be the bottling time. I bottled after 7 days and then waited another 12 days before opening (as the instructions on the box indicated) however your suggestion of 3 weeks is certainly more substantial!
Answer: The yeast could be old. Sometimes those off the shelf kits can be really old, but all the ones I am familiar with come with dry yeast and those packs should be good for over a year, unless the pack got super hot, or a bad batch of yeast, etc.
Other potential issues with a higher finish gravity could be: the yeast isn't finished, so allow more time before bottling, especially if bottling in glass bottles as you can get "bottle bombs" that blow up if the yeast start eating your priming sugar and the CO2 generated exceeds the limit of the bottles. Taking longer than "expected" could be attributed to many things, some common ones: Perhaps you did not pitch enough yeast, or the temperature you fermented at was below the common temperature threshold for the yeast, usually under lows 60 for most ales and the fermentation slows. Although, those directions tend to be a little eager for bottling, I haven't moved a beer out of a primary fermenter in less than 3 weeks in years.
I doubt this is the issue, but if you have a type of yeast attenuates (% of sugar in the beer a yeast eats) much less than most yeast can cause sweet beer. Meaning the yeast will only eat so much of sugar before it stops fermenting. Most of the time this won't make as big of difference as your describing, but I figured I'd add it for completeness sake.
Another reason why you can get overly sweet beer, and this is rare for general beer making and requires an extra step in your process, is is you add potassium sorbate or something similar to purposefully stop yeast activity. Substances like this are often used when making sweet wines and campaigns. I've never seen one in a beer kit, though, so this is probably not the case, but if someone were to add it too early, the yeast would not be able to eat all the sugar once the sorbate is added, hence, sweeter beer.
If you want to keep trying to get the gravity lower, you can wait longer, move the primary to a warmer place (~65 degrees for ales, is a good general temp), or pitch some more yeast.
Answer: Several problems can be occurred, one that is very common in the first brewing is temperature control, mainly if using stainless steel kettles. You can denatured enzymes heating the wort above the enzyme range activity. Did you made iodine test to measure starch conversion into sugars ?
Comment: Pretty sure the question is in regards to an extract kit. Enzymes won't be involved.
Comment: Sorry, it didn't mean extract for me,  even being a starter kit. In Brazil the starter kits are usually all-grain recipes with all ingredients respectively fractioned.

First homebrew batch very sweet


What is side chain compression?

Question: I've heard mention of side chaining or side chain compression in reference to electronic music (specifically Daft Punk).  What is it?
Answer: With standard compression, the level of the input is used to control the compression.  So, when you have loud levels on the input, the compressor works with the input signal and knocks them down, sending them to the output.
Side chain compression has two inputs.  One is the signal to be processed, and the other to control the compression.  You hear it a lot in electronic music where the kicks come in and everything else ducks out of the way and comes right back after the kick.
So with side chain compression, when there is a loud level on the side chain input, the levels of the regular input signal are reduced.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic_range_compression#Side-chaining
Answer: Brad's schema is correct.
Additionally, using the side-chain gives you an important feature: it allows you to filter the input signal separately, before it is fed to the compressor.
Using most commonly hi- & low-pass filters, you can say:

I want to compress the full signal, but only when the threshold is surpassed in the range 20 Hz - 200 Hz

This way when the signal has transients outside this frequency range, the compressor doesn't hear these and doesn't react.
It's a side-chain, because it's still the complete signal that gets compressed and sent out.

To check which frequencies you're using as side-chain input, some compressors have a "Side-chain listen" button.  If you push this, you send the side-chain signal straight to the output.
Next to compressors, most gates have this same feature:

I want the gate on my Kickdrum only to open when the threshold is surpassed in the range 20 Hz - 200 Hz

This way, the sound of e.g. the snare drum doesn't trigger the gate.
Comment: You guys should put addendums to posts as comments. This enhances Brad's answer, but doesn't stand alone as a complete answer to the question.
Comment: @Ian: I totally agree. I tried first, but what I wanted to explain was a bit too big for the comment field. (And I don't have enough reputation to edit answers)
Comment: you can comment multiple times. And you can always let a moderator know if you need an edit (or ask more questions to gain rep points!).

What is side chain compression?