What functional motivations are there for the choice of light verb constructions over full verbs?

Question: I am doing a reasearch on light verbs and wondered if anyone could give some opinions on why people tend to use light verb cosntructions, such as "take a shower", "make a decision" etc., over the simple/full verbs, for example "shower" or "decide"?
Comment: This question looks like it invites for opinions, not facts. Can you edit it to address a more specific problem?
Comment: @bytebuster: I respectfully disagree there. I think it's just an informal way of phrasing the question, 'What functional motivations are there for the choice of light verb constructions over full verbs?'
Comment: @WavesWashSands Yes, this is what I meant by the question, I guess it is quite an informal way of addressing it. Thank you for the clarification.
Answer: The following is what I see.

As pointed out by @jlawler above, such constructions are often considered alongside other periphrastic constructions. It is believed that the main purpose they serve is making speech more expressive. Hence, you need to consider the reasons why this necessity typically arises. I guess it has something to do with phonetic processes like reduction.
It should be pointed out that LVC are very common to language learners. If the inflectional system of a language in question appears quite complex, at the first it is far more natural to learn a small number of light verbs by heart together with deverbal nouns (which, as all other nouns, are easier to memorize) to start talking. I admit that in some cases the LVCs can be calqued from the corresponding constructions in the first language.
The usage may also be explained by fashion or tradition. It happens when LVC are attributable to a certain functional style or a dialect (so-called prestige form) which is to be used given the circumstances.
The cause may be certain grammatical specifics of a given language. For example, in Russian there is no 1-Sg-Fut form of the verb pobedit' - 'win', so instead of saying ja pobediu or ja pobezhdu - 'I will win' (see below)*, one would say ja oderzhu pobedu - 'I will take victory'.

*The reason for the absence is ceasing of a phonological process, which once obscured the alternation /di/~/zhd/ (metathesis from /dzh/)  whereby pobezhdu lost its connection to pobedit'. Furthemore, forms with oderzhat' - 'take' are spreading to other persons and tenses.
Answer: Per your request, this is only an opinion...

Some speakers will align a question's construction pattern with an answer. The LVC question, "Did you make a decision?" Will result in the LVC response, "Yes, I made a decision."
Single word imperatives like "decide" are often considered time-sensitive orders. From a pragmatics of politeness perspective, "make a decision" is considered more polite than "decide". This is the brevity vs. loquacious argument, where indirectness is used to absorb burdens associated with questions or requests.
Note that other LVC's don't emphasize politeness, but they do attempt to hedge/diminish the concept:
"I had a smoke" (diminishes the action related to smoking)
"We took a loss" (diminished the action of lose)
In some cases, the nominative form is much more common, and is the cognitively easy way to describe something:
"I took a cab" vs. "I cabbed"
Some appear to be LVC's but either lack a reasonable paraphrase, or they put emphasis on the direct object. Hence, they're LVC out of necessity.
"He took the gold"
Some carry extra semantic content:
"They made an entrance" vs. "they entered"; "She made a dash" vs. "She dashed"
Nominative form enables better counting:
"He made a joke" (count=1) vs. "he joked" (verb=past;aspect=singular, count=?)

Again - just my opinions.
Comment: The reasons for doing this with light verbs are the same reasons why periphrastic constructions arise and often replace inflections in paradigms historically (e.g, Latin perfect passives, Romance future tenses; Benveniste had a lovely article in _Directions for Historical Linguistics_ in 1968 on periphrasis).
Comment: Thank you for your answer! You made some very interesting points that I have not thought about. This will definitely be helpful.
Answer: It's a circular answer, but light verbs are particularly prominent as a strategy in borrowing verbs from other languages, and that is because verbs are a more closed class than nouns. We use light verbs out of a slight reluctance to use novel full verbs.


Articulations and Ornaments

Question: I am currently studying some music scores, and I see some somethings that I don't know. I saw a French horn part that had a Plus (+) sign above it and it said "Stopped". I also saw a Harp Gliss. that said "L.V." and another that said "N.V." Can someone please tell me what these mean? Thanks :)
Comment: Hi Tim and welcome to the site. A picture would help a lot and to be of the most use to others it would be wise to separate each question into its own question as they are quite different
Answer: 'Stopping' on french horn is when you put your hand in the bell. This adjusts the pitch of the note and also has a muting effect. I am not an expert on this, however i found a good article on Wikipedia:

This is the act of fully closing off the bell of the instrument with either the right hand or a special stopping mute. This results in producing a somewhat nasal sound. When required, in the sheet music the usual notation is a '+' above the note followed by a 'o' above notes that are to be played open. For longer stopped passages, the word indicating a stopped horn is written out.
The pitch lowers gradually when the hand is placed in the bell and slowly moved inward. When the bell is completely covered (stopped), the pitch falls to a half-step above the next lower partial (harmonic).

As for the harp, a glissando is played with one or both hands. According to an E-Book i found here, L.V stands for Let Vibrate:

If a natural sustain is desired and is not clear to the performer, indicate 'let vibrate' or L.V

At a guess, N.V means no vibrate or something along those lines.
I do not play either of these instruments, so if anyone who does wants to correct me, feel free to edit this post.
Answer: Aric's answer is mostly correct, except that l.v. stands for laissez vibrer (French), strictly speaking. In this context, it simply means to allow the strings to ring for the duration of the glissando (and perhaps for longer afterwards too, if indicated). I've not seen n.v. before, but I would definitely interpret this as Aric did - as an explicit cancellation of l.v. (i.e. prevent the strings from ringing out over one another).

Articulations and Ornaments


How to develop intuition for writing claim?

Question: I've seen many patent claim examples, and I've tried to write some myself, but each time it feels like I cannot adequately describe/articulate the invention to the level that is needed for the patent office, or that similar to the actual claim. How does one become "good" at this; is it just practice over and over? Also, I know law/writing is fluid, but any buzzwords or formulas that I could use in writing claims? Thanks.
Answer: One on-line resource is Patent Drafting for Beginners: A prelude to patent claim drafting at ipwatchdog. The "bible" of the mechanics of claim drafting is Faber on Mechanics of Patent Claim Drafting. It is about $500 on Amazon. You might find a version from a couple of years ago for sale somewhere. And Patent it Yourself would be a good start.
One exercise I did when I started was to try to write a claim for something simple that I was pretty sure was patented and then to look up the actual patent. My first try was on Apple's magnetic power cable/connector on Apple laptops.
As an aside, European claim drafting is very very different from U.S. claim drafting.
Answer: Practice, sure. Someone correcting the claims would help though ..
You could try the old european patent attorney exam questions pertaining to claim analysis and design. There are courses and such too.
It's not exactly easy to learn on your own in my opinion.
Answer: I am a layman too. I found Hal Milton's book to be a great resource:
A Blueprint Derived from Appellate Opinions for Building a Patent Application: Patent Preparation in Six Steps to Produce the Highest Skilled and Most Efficient Patent Attorneys https://www.amazon.com/dp/1512177016/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_Uv5JCb0YDCZQE


Fallout 4: The Molecular Level Bug

Question: I've just started The Molecular Level mission and I chose to go through the BoS.
I just built the stabilized reflector platform, but it doesn't show it as built. It still has the hovering marker above the workshop. I went to try to talk to Proctor Ingram and she just gave me her generic responses. I really don't want to go back to my last save because it's an entire 5-6 hours behind back at the Cambridge Police Station when the Prydwen first arrives. If anyone has any fixes for this, that would be awesome.
Comment: I voted to reopen because the other question has encountered an issue at a different point. They're on the next objective, after trying to build the other components. This asker hasn't got the blueprints for the other components yet. Could still use more details, though.
Comment: Possible duplicate of [How to do mission 'The Molecular Level' with Brotherhood of Steel?](http://gaming.stackexchange.com/questions/244443/how-to-do-mission-the-molecular-level-with-brotherhood-of-steel)
Comment: I've looked into that thread and even though that is similar, he's under different circumstances. I'm unable to build anything at all after the stabilized reflector platform. Ingram won't give me another items list. She just gives me generic responses.
Comment: if you think your question is different enough to not be a duplicate, I would suggest adding more detail. The problem you are encountering sounds almost identical to the bug being encountered in the dupe. In fact, I would say it is the exact same bug, you might just be having a differant issue, as a result. You definetly want to make your question more clear.
Comment: For example, ***your not actually asking a question***. Do you want to reset the quest without resetting your overall progress? Do you want to know *why* your platform is not showing as complete? Do you want to know if there is a work around? What your asking might seem obvious to you, but different users have different interpretations.
Comment: Okay, I understand now. I'm on Xbox One, just for more information. I was wondering if there was a way around this issue or if I'm going to have to just go back to the old save.
Comment: Can you store or scrap the platform you built? Can you build another one, at the same location or a different one? Where are you trying to build it?
Answer: Your structure is not built properly.
The first piece is the Stabilized Reflector Platform.  After that piece is built, you will then finish the rest of it and the Beam Emitter is suppose to snap on top of the Platform.  However, it is possible the platform is sunk into the ground and the Beam Emitter does not snap to it.
You need to store the Platform, build a wooden floor, build put the Platform on the wooden floor, then try snapping the Beam Emitter on it.
Answer: Try building all of the Signal Interceptor and wiring it up. I had the same issue but once I had it all set up the mission continued.
Comment: That's the issue. I've been given the parts list for the reflector platform so I went to the workbench at the airport and built that. I've gotten rid of the carpets and everything like that, but after I placed the platform, it doesn't give me a confirmation that it has been built. I go to talk to the proctor and she keeps giving me responses on power armor. Not giving me the next list.
Comment: You should've gotten it all. Have you tried building the rest of it?
Comment: The problem is that if the Proctor doesn't give the list for the rest of the items needed to form the entire device they can't be built. I'm attempting to deal with the same bug in my present game. I'm building on a concrete surface. Does anyone have a way to solve the problem?

Fallout 4: The Molecular Level Bug


What is output buffering in PHP?

Question: What is output buffering and why would you use it in PHP?
Answer: Output Buffering for Web Developers, a Beginner's Guide:

Without output buffering (the default), your HTML is sent to the browser in pieces as PHP processes through your script. With output buffering, your HTML is stored in a variable and sent to the browser as one piece at the end of your script.
Advantages of output buffering for Web developers

Turning on output buffering alone decreases the amount of time it takes to download and render our HTML because it's not being sent to the browser in pieces as PHP processes the HTML.
All the fancy stuff we can do with PHP strings, we can now do with our whole HTML page as one variable.
If you've ever encountered the message "Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output)" while setting cookies, you'll be happy to know that output buffering is your answer.
Comment: If you get "Warning: Cannot modify header information" , that means you need to audit your code first as enabling output buffering is a fix of the symptom and not the cause.  Something is writing before it's turn.  So I disagree, but not enough to bump the answer down.
Comment: +1. Here's another helpful link: http://php.net/manual/en/function.ob-start.php - also helpful when dealing with a function that echos a value that you'd rather store in a variable.
Comment: @zedoo if you start output buffering with `ob_start()`, *really everything* is buffered. there is an optional second parameter to `ob_start()`, `int $chunk_size`, which, if set, will cause the buffer to be flushed after any output call which causes the buffer's length to equal or exceed this size.
Comment: I see only adventages of using buffering, so why It is not enabled by default in php?
Comment: Is really everything buffered up to the end, or will the page just come in chunks if I have a reeeeally long page?
Comment: In what specific way can output buffering be the answer to the "Cannot modify header information" error? Surely you can't just turn it on and leave it like that for everything else right?
Comment: I am using ob_start() to workaround a "set cookie" issue and outputting an XML document in the last line of my code. The XML outputs to the page as expected but I was wondering if it is a best practice to call ob_end_flush() at the end of the script.
Comment: I am using yii2 the ob_start(); solved my problem, I was getting this error. 'An Error occurred while handling another error:
exception 'yii\web\HeadersAlreadySentException' with message 'Headers already sent in /var/www/html/frontend/controllers/Student_invoiceController.php on line 234.' in /var/www/html/vendor/yiisoft/yii2/web/Response.php:366'
Answer: Output buffering is used by PHP to improve performance and to perform a few tricks.

You can have PHP store all output into a buffer and output all of it at once improving network performance.
You can access the buffer content without sending it back to browser in certain situations.

Consider this example:
<?php
    ob_start( );
    phpinfo( );
    $output = ob_get_clean( );
?>

The above example captures the output into a variable instead of sending it to the browser. output_buffering is turned off by default.

You can use output buffering in situations when you want to modify headers after sending content.

Consider this example:
<?php
    ob_start( );
    echo "Hello World";
    if ( $some_error )
    {
        header( "Location: error.php" );
        exit( 0 );
    }
?>

Comment: Buffer is flushed when you call one of the flush methods (e.g. `ob_flush()` or `ob_end_flush()`). Contents of the buffer are also flushed when your script ends, abruptly or otherwise so there shouldn't be a problem.
Comment: Same question here as for Ax: isn't starting output buffering without turning it back off later, going to make your script run into all kinds of problems?
Answer: I know that this is an old question but I wanted to write my answer for visual learners. I couldn't find any diagrams explaining output buffering on the worldwide-web so I made a diagram myself in Windows mspaint.exe.
If output buffering is turned off, then echo will send data immediately to the Browser.

If output buffering is turned on, then an echo will send data to the output buffer before sending it to the Browser.

phpinfo
To see whether Output buffering is turned on / off please refer to phpinfo at the core section. The output_buffering directive will tell you if Output buffering is on/off.

In this case the output_buffering value is 4096 which means that the buffer size is 4 KB. It also means that Output buffering is turned on, on the Web server.
php.ini
It's possible to turn on/off and change buffer size by changing the value of the output_buffering directive. Just find it in php.ini, change it to the setting of your choice, and restart the Web server. You can find a sample of my php.ini below.
; Output buffering is a mechanism for controlling how much output data
; (excluding headers and cookies) PHP should keep internally before pushing that
; data to the client. If your application's output exceeds this setting, PHP
; will send that data in chunks of roughly the size you specify.
; Turning on this setting and managing its maximum buffer size can yield some
; interesting side-effects depending on your application and web server.
; You may be able to send headers and cookies after you've already sent output
; through print or echo. You also may see performance benefits if your server is
; emitting less packets due to buffered output versus PHP streaming the output
; as it gets it. On production servers, 4096 bytes is a good setting for performance
; reasons.
; Note: Output buffering can also be controlled via Output Buffering Control
;   functions.
; Possible Values:
;   On = Enabled and buffer is unlimited. (Use with caution)
;   Off = Disabled
;   Integer = Enables the buffer and sets its maximum size in bytes.
; Note: This directive is hardcoded to Off for the CLI SAPI
; Default Value: Off
; Development Value: 4096
; Production Value: 4096
; http://php.net/output-buffering
output_buffering = 4096

The directive output_buffering is not the only configurable directive regarding Output buffering. You can find other configurable Output buffering directives here: http://php.net/manual/en/outcontrol.configuration.php
Example: ob_get_clean()
Below you can see how to capture an echo and manipulate it before sending it to the browser.
// Turn on output buffering
ob_start();

echo 'Hello World';  // save to output buffer

$output = ob_get_clean();  // Get content from the output buffer, and discard the output buffer ...
$output = strtoupper($output); // manipulate the output

echo $output;  // send to output stream / Browser

// OUTPUT:
HELLO WORLD

Examples: Hackingwithphp.com
More info about Output buffer with examples can be found here:
http://www.hackingwithphp.com/13/0/0/output-buffering
Comment: Question, do I need to have display_errors set to On for this buffer to be captured?
Comment: `display_errors` and `output_buffering` are two different things. Correct me if I'm wrong, setting `display_errors` to `"1"` is not necessary.
Answer:
The Output Control functions allow you
  to control when output is sent from
  the script. This can be useful in
  several different situations,
  especially if you need to send headers
  to the browser after your script has
  began outputting data. The Output
  Control functions do not affect
  headers sent using header()  or
  setcookie(), only functions such as
  echo()  and data between blocks of PHP
  code.

http://php.net/manual/en/book.outcontrol.php
More Resources:
Output Buffering With PHP
Answer: ob_start();  // turns on output buffering
$foo->bar();  // all output goes only to buffer
ob_clean();  // delete the contents of the buffer, but remains buffering active
$foo->render(); // output goes to buffer
ob_flush(); // send buffer output
$none = ob_get_contents();  // buffer content is now an empty string
ob_end_clean();  // turn off output buffering

Buffers can be nested, so while one buffer is active, another ob_start() activates a new buffer. So ob_end_flush() and ob_flush() are not really sending the buffer to the output, but to the parent buffer. And only when there is no parent buffer, contents is sent to browser or terminal.
Nicely explained here: https://phpfashion.com/everything-about-output-buffering-in-php
Answer: UPDATE 2019. If you have dedicated server and SSD or better NVM, 3.5GHZ. You shouldn't use buffering to make faster loaded website in 100ms-150ms.
Becouse network is slowly than proccesing script in the 2019 with performance servers (severs,memory,disk) and with turn on APC PHP :) To generated script sometimes need only 70ms another time is only network takes time, from 10ms up to 150ms from located user-server.
so if you want be fast 150ms, buffering make slowl, becouse need extra collection buffer data it make extra cost. 10 years ago when server make 1s script, it was usefull.
Please becareful output_buffering  have limit if you would like using jpg to loading it can flush automate and crash sending.
Cheers.
You can make fast river
or
You can make safely tama :)
Answer: Output Buffering ob_start() function also accept callback function.
You can see the code below. There is a function callback that accepts an argument. Here $buffer is the string holding content from the ob_start() to ob_end_flush().
<?php

function callback($buffer)
{
  // it will replace football with cricket
  return (str_replace("football", "cricket", $buffer));
}

ob_start("callback");

?>

It like football.

<?php

ob_end_flush();

?>

The output of the above code is:

I like cricket.

I also need to explain that output buffering function also works in nested scopes.
example:
<?php

    ob_start();
    echo "Hello";

        ob_start();              // nested ob_start()
        echo "PHP";
        $v1 = ob_get_contents(); // Stores "PHP" in $v1 variable.
        ob_end_flush();

    echo "World";
    $v2 = ob_get_contents(); // Stores "Hello PHP World" in $v2 variable.
    ob_end_flush();

?>

Comment: You can't just copy/paste code without given any [reference](https://onlinephp.io/ob-start/examples)

What is output buffering in PHP?


Why does a black hole have a finite mass?

Question: I mean besides the obvious "it has to have finite mass or it would suck up the universe." A singularity is a dimensionless point in space with infinite density, if I'm not mistaken. If something is infinitely dense, must it not also be infinitely massive? How does a black hole grow if everything that falls into it merges into the same singularity, which is already infinitely dense?
Comment: Note that not all theories explain a black hole as a singularity. There are some exotic ideas out there, but in some cases the black hole is simply extremely dense, but not necessarily infinitely dense (but still dense enough to have an event horizon). The singularity arises from relativity.
Comment: there is not the answer to the 2nd question
Answer:
If something is infinitely dense, must it not also be infinitely massive?

Nope. The singularity is a point where volume goes to zero, not where mass goes to infinity.
It is a point with zero volume, but which still holds mass, due to the extreme stretching of space by gravity. The density is $\frac{mass}{volume}$, so we say that in the limit $volume\rightarrow 0$, the density goes to infinity, but that doesn't mean mass goes to infinity.
The reason that the volume is zero rather than the mass is infinite is easy to see in an intuitive sense from the creation of a black hole. You might think of a volume of space with some mass which is compressed due to gravity. Normal matter is no longer compressible at a certain point due to Coulomb repulsion between atoms, but if the gravity is strong enough, you might get past that. You can continue compressing it infinitely (though you'll probably have to overcome some other force barriers along the way) - until it has zero volume. But it still contains mass! The mass can't just disappear through this process. The density is infinite, but the mass is still finite.
Comment: Right. I guess the division by zero means there are infinite _solutions_, not necessarily that the parameters are infinite. I blurred that distinction.
Comment: Also, black holes are constructed from a finite amount of mass-energy.
Comment: So it could be safe to assume then that black holes are a literal division by zero?
Comment: I'd say that Myers' 1/14/11 comment, in conjunction with the "locality" that's characteristic of General Relativity, is substantiated by the various cosmologies (by Smolin, Poplawski, and others cited in their works) that hypothesize a genesis of local universes within black holes:  Their internally (and inherently) unobservable nature leaves some such cosmologies more philosophical than physical, although Nikodem Poplawski's has some potential for observable or experimental verification, described in his 2010 "Cosmology with torsion" and more recent papers.
Answer: So everybody seems to fall into a logical trap here.
Black holes don't have infinite density at their singularity/center. This infinite density business is the physics way of saying that we don't know what is going on.
It gets even worse now that Higgs Boson/Field is apparently what gives particles their mass. If there are no particles in a Black Hole then what is there to interact with the Higgs Field to generate mass?
Comment: But there *are* particles in a black hole.
Comment: @DavidA. Most of the mass of ordinary objects comes from energy. The rest mass of electrons and quarks comes from their coupling to the Higgs field. But most of the mass of a proton or neutron comes from the binding energy holding the quarks together. Therefore, most of the mass in ordinary objects is actually energy. Similarly, in a black hole, the mass can be related to the energy in the black hole.
Comment: Higgs mechanism is not the only way how things are getting mass. The Higgs field is responsible for only part of the mass of the matter in the universe. For example significant fraction of the proton mass is not due to the Higgs field. Black holes are another example.
Comment: Yes, it is possible to take a hybrid approach called [semiclassical gravity](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semiclassical_gravity), where you can have quantum fields on a curved spacetime background, physicists expect this to only be an approximation to a theory of quantum gravity but still one that may be very close to accurate in many situations. If you used such a model in a black hole spacetime I'd expect you'd still have a Higgs field and other quantum fields between the event horizon and the singularity.
Comment: Wow, that's new to me. If Higgs mechanism is not the only way how things are getting mass, what is the other way?
Answer: A black hole has an infinite density; since its volume is zero, it is compressed to the very limit.  So it also has infinite gravity, and sucks anything which is near it!  Not everything  there is!!  Now above all when it sucks things it adds up to its mass, which remains finite and it always will, even if it did suck in the whole universe!!  It's all for the formula: density in a black hole is mass divided by volume (0) so the density is infinite, not the mass!!! So thus a black hole has mass which is finite and will always be finite.
Comment: Why are there so many downvotes to this answer? It basically says same thing as the selected one, and the other ones.
Answer: if it has infinite density, that would mean it has infinite gravity (or infinite space curvature in special relativity, which i believe in). so, it obviously doesn't have infinite density because that would suck the whole entire universe into itself. that would mean it would have to have an unmeasurably small amount of volume. and even if it did have infinite density, space curvature should be more powerful nearer to the singularity, but how can we add more to an infinite amount of gravity? if it had infinite density, its curvature should be equal everywhere, which is also impossible. What do you think of this theory?
Answer: I'm not going to claim any real knowledge on the topic, or most of what I bring up, so feel free to correct me for any extremely rash or impossible aspects, but here it goes.
A black hole to me, seems like it's just the epitomy of nothing.  There's something, then general space, and then a black hole.  It appears to me that something to nothing is relatively possible, as at one point nothing came to be something, however I feel that the universe itself wouldn't allow such a flaw, as the universe seems quite perfect in its design.
One theory I've stumbled upon is a theory that all atoms have a negative and positive form of which they can swap between.  Kind of a matter and anti-matter deal, but all atoms experience this, and that we live in the positive.
This kind of interacts with the idea of a black hole, a massive explosion of something that created energy to powers beyond numbers we have words for (googlplex's), for a length of years we barely use the number for (billions).  And it eventually explodes, and in the wake of such energy, a black hole is formed (If that's still what people believe).  So a rediculous mass of positive energy goes out from a point in the universe, and in this point, it sucks in mass, everything, a perfect unescapable gravity pit.
Could it possibly be that after so much positive energy radiates from one point, it explodes, then begins sucking in all the positive energy that comes into it, to rebalance the rediculous amount of negative energy that would then be in the wake of such a thing?
I can kind of imagine it, more like an explosion under water (an implosion really).  First it explodes, and then everything gets sucked in until it's at its natural point.  Except this is on a massive (much bigger than any bomb we could ever make or imagine), yet scale so small (fills itself in to a sub-atomic level, if not to an electron level) it takes an unbelievably long time to go back to normal.
And even then that doesn't factor in to say that all this energy its taking in, isn't being vortex'd to another space or even time.
So, as a summary, I suppose what I'm concluding black holes to be, is an enormous sphere of negative.  And as all things want to be neutral, it sucks in as much positive (the reality we live in) as possible, practically, indefinitely, all positive matter that goes near it to be sucked in without flaw, no possible escape.  To anwser whether it has mass, I really don't know for sure, but from what I can tell, it has a Finite mass.  But the time required for it to reach a neutral point is absolutely rediculous, seeing as how it would have to fill all that space flawlessly, to the absolute with the little bit of energy that it gets coming in from light, or small fragments of atoms.
But again, I have no real knowledge on the topic, its just my educated guess on what I've read and learned over a little while.
Comment: This isn't really coherent. There's also no science behind it.


How do you recruit brand new players?

Question: I always ask players of computer and online games if they want to try out a tabletop games, and tend to get new groups together who are entirely composed of people who have not experienced role-playing games. How do you recruit new players for your game?
Comment: related http://rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/550/gather-a-group-of-players-in-a-foreign-country
Comment: Related: http://rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/1232/where-can-i-find-other-rpg-players?rq=1
Answer: One surprising way to recruit gamers at work: Put a little D&D miniature or a polyhedral dice on your monitor at work. People who are interested will ask about it, and people who know what it is will "out" themselves to you.
Four quick ways to recruit players for a game using online resources

Enworld's Gamers Seeking Gamers forum.
Wizards of the Coast's RPG Gamer Classifieds.
Meetup.com. Put in your Zip Code and "Dungeons and Dragons" and you'll get all the roleplaying groups in your area. (Even if you don't play D&D, I recommend you put in "Dungeons and dragons" in your search, because chances are, a local roleplaying group used it as a tag.)
Warhorn.net has an event listing page here.

And a 5th way: if you are looking for 4e D&D, there's a Living Realms or RPGA group probably not too far from you with a regional yahoo list. In Maryland for example, I would point you to the Baltimroe-RPGA list, the RPGA-DC list, and the LFRNEUSA list to find Living Realms games.
Answer: Oh man, I have had the best success with making new gamers from scratch. You have friends right? And gaming is a social activity, right? People with no exposure to roleplaying are such a pleasure to play with! They bring enthusiasm, great ideas, and no preconceptions. I always learn a lot from them. The key to making this work:

Don't be weird.
Structure it like any social engagement. Don't ask them to commit to more time than they would for a game of Monopoly or a movie. A situation-heavy one-shot is perfect, something like Lady Blackbird perhaps.
Communicate your love for the activity and let them find their own voice, without too much "you are doing it wrong!"

Some of them will enjoy it enough to want to try again, and these folks can get slotted right into your regular games. The rest will have had a fun, unusual evening.
Answer: Bring up that you play RPGs in random discussions. Some people you know may be roleplayers looking for a new GM and you never knew. Happened to me a few times.
Answer: Start out by visiting your local gaming store. If they have a bulletin board, that's a good start. Also, ask the guy/girl behind the counter. A good gaming store will know who buys which products, and they might be able to tell you who the other Shadowrun/FATE/Pathfinder players are.
Follow that up by checking to see if your local bookstore has a bulletin board, especially if there's no local gaming store. A lot of people buy their RPGs in bookstores.
Check to see if your game has an organized play program. D&D 4e, Pathfinder, Shadowrun, and Traveler all do, for example. If there's a game in your area, that makes it easy. If not, maybe even try to start one -- it's a great way to find people without making any long-term commitment.
Look online. RPG.Net has a board for people looking for players, EN World has a player locator system, NearbyGamers is good, and Meetup sometimes has a local meetup for roleplayers. Also, check the boards for your system or systems of choice. If nobody's posted saying they're looking for gamers in your area, do it yourself and see what pops up.
Go to local cons. Local, here, is defined as anything within a couple of hours drive. There'll almost certainly be other gamers from your area there. Sign up for either the game you want to play or some random other game, talk to people, put up more notes on the bulletin board if there is one.
Check for local university or college gaming clubs. You want to be a little more delicate here depending on how far out of college you are, but it never hurts to ask if it's appropriate for someone older to show up. Some colleges have stricter rules on participation than others.
And, finally, read game books in public. You never know who's going to be a gamer. My cat sitter turns out to have a boyfriend who loves to game; if I was short on gaming, I could be in touch with him.
Answer: I talk openly about my hobby, even with my friends who don't game. I occasionally invite them to play, either with a group if one is forming, or I'll run a game for them if they can't come out to that. It's been fairly effective at converting people to roleplaying.
Answer: I tried university boards with moderate success, but the best is to have a network. In your native city, it's likely you know friends who can try it out. If you are in a foreign city or country, it's much harder. Every time I visited shops, the general trend was to provide hosting and easy connections to warhammer-like games or card-based games (pokemon/Magic), since it's where the business is.
Answer: Besides recruiting already existing gamers, I mostly try for new converts. If people already are into board games, they are easy game. Draw them in with either a very gamistic game which has strong but simple rules and some narration in between or go the other direction and try to introduce them into some ultra-light-weight indie narrative game. Worked for me a couple of times. I wouldn't recommend using traditional RPGs as they tend to be very complex and hard to even begin with.
If people are not already into board games, they probably shouldn't play RPGs. (Or be introduced to board games first.)
Answer: I do a lot of gaming via Skype, so for me, just saying "Who wants to play a game?" on Twitter works really well.
Answer: Bulletin Board at your FLGS (Friendly Local Gaming Store) can occasionally get you some leads.
Answer: I think in the age of multimedia, you need to take a multi-pronged approach.  I think one of the issues with recruiting is that this is such a fractured hobby, you never know who's paying attention to what, so it is to your benefit to try multiple recruiting tools.
-A number of sites, from your local meetup.com to NearbyGamers, offer you a chance to put an advert for your campaign.  You can also post a link on sites such as RPGNet.  Make sure to include some basics about your game, ideal schedule, general play preferences (shoot 'em up, hack and slash, etc.), and where they can reach you—but careful with that private info online!
-Most local gaming stores still have a billboard you can use.  Include your email or phone number—don't just say "meet 8pm at Fridays".  This gives them (and you!) a chance to ask questions beforehand, and for everyone to make sure the situation is a good fit.
-Check local libraries, discount bookstores, comic book shops, coffee houses—many of these places will have bulletin boards as well.  You never know who will poke through there!
-For the bold, you can do as we did, and put fliers for the game in the RPG books at your local Barnes & Noble and Borders.  We didn't get any flack for it, but some people might.
-Once that's all done, it's nice to get prospective players together for a little mini-interview, to insure styles, personalities, and scheduling works for everyone.  This can be playing a one-shot RPG or board game at a local gaming store, or, for our group, talking gaming over coffee at a local café. You wouldn't invite a stranger from the internet into your home without due diligence, and there's no need to do so with prospective gaming group members.
Using this multi-pronged approach should afford you a much better opportunity to connect with or recruit a local gaming group, and quite possibly one that is much more coherent and comfortable for all involved. It's one thing to recruit a gaming group; quite another to keep it.

How do you recruit brand new players?


Positive Operator Value Measurement Question

Question: I'm attempting to understand some of the characteristics of Posiitive Operator Value Measurement (POVM). For instance in Nielsen and Chuang, they obtain a set of measurement operators $\{E_m\}$ for states $|\psi_1\rangle = |0\rangle, |\psi_2\rangle = (|0\rangle + |1\rangle)/\sqrt{2}$. The end up obtaining the following set of operators:
\begin{align*}
E_1 &\equiv \frac{\sqrt{2}}{1+\sqrt{2}} |1\rangle \langle 1 |, \\
E_2 &\equiv \frac{\sqrt{2}}{1+\sqrt{2}} \frac{(|0\rangle - |1\rangle) (\langle 0 | - \langle 1 |)}{2}, \\
E_3 &\equiv I - E_1 - E_2
\end{align*}
Basically, I'm oblivious to how they were able to obtain these. I thought that perhaps they found $E_1$ by utilizing the formula:
\begin{align*}
E_1 = \frac{I - |\psi_2\rangle \langle \psi_2|}{1 + |\langle \psi_1|\psi_2\rangle|}
\end{align*}
However, when working it out, I do not obtain the same result. I'm sure it's something dumb and obvious I'm missing here. Any help on this would be very much appreciated.
Thanks.
Answer: Yes, those are the results but you have the subindexes swaped.


Can justifying "boobplate" armor in the fantasy genre damage its credibility as a serious setting?

Question: If you are trying to convince readers that women are an important part of war in an alternate world, is sticking them in costumes designed to titillate instead of protect damage the worldbuilding credibility? How could you balance the rule of cool with realism?
Comment: Serious question: Why would you even want to? Why is having "boobplate" armor something you specifically want to include? Answer that, and you'll be much closer to being able to answer your question.
Comment: It's not practical, but I see no problem with "boobplate". Ancient Greeks and Romans used anatomically correct cuirasses. Athena wore some variant of "boobplate" in a few depictions.
Comment: Also, can you tell us if your work is purely writing, or something more visual like graphic novel? In a book, you need to get specifically into "boobplate" description, only if you like to, while in graphic media this is something that you can't avoid deciding one way or another.
Answer: Yes, it can and most likely will damage the credibility if you are aiming for a serious setting.
"Boobplate armor" as you put it would be highly dangerous and useless. Using it will automatically show every reader that has ever done a tiny bit of research into this topic or had some experience with armor that you are aiming for the generic anime/fantasy game genre.
Especially if women are important they should be defended as best as possible.
That being said: this is mostly important in visual media. I can't remember reading any description of such armor and I've certainly read a lot of fantasy books. Maybe it just slipped past me, but I would find such a description to be very weird.
If you are going for a high-power-magic setting you could just describe your female warrior wizards in normal clothes or something like that to show how mighty they are and that they don't even need armor like those poor men without access to magic. I wouldn't try to sexualize their armor. Ever. (Of course it's your decision as the author, but I think you are massively damaging the realism and it's not even cool in writing.)
Comment: +1 Agreed, most women fit enough to be warriors do not have large or heavy busts, and can bind or compress to fit in relatively flat armor. Protruding armor breasts would be a hindrance in battle, if there were any advantage whatsoever to such breast plate protrusions, male knights would have built them in, just as they build in other non-anatomical features like knuckle and elbow spikes and slide plates and stops for enemy swords. Sexualizing armor in this way is both demeaning and dumb, irrational, and therefore damages credibility. It's masturbatory fantasy porn.
Comment: @Shardmartin Breasts are mostly fat, and exercise that minimizes body fat also reduces breast size: https://www.top10homeremedies.com/how-to/reduce-breast-size-naturally.html ---- Of course there are genetic factors involved, as BugFolk says, but in general large breasts get in the way of fighting and weapon use, moving arms across the body. Also they can blind her to straight down and centerline attacks.  True female warriors do whatever they can to **minimize** the obstacle when dressing for battle (eg bindings), they will not **emphasize** the obstacle. Too large, don't be a warrior at all!
Comment: @Shardmartin I am not sure who you are responding to. I never mentioned fitness. If you wanted to ask Amadeus you have to write an "@" and then his username in a comment (it autocompletes). Then he will get a notification. Only one user can be notified per comment and the OP is always notified. But to explain what Amadeus was saying: women that are physically fit enough to be warriors rarely have large busts, so there is no reason why they would need more room in the upper parts of their armor to accomodate for their busts. That's why they can still use normal armor.
Comment: @Amadeus true many athletic women have small breasts, but genetics also play a role in breast size. Being fit doesn't always = small breasts if the person comes from a family history of women with large breasts. It wouldn't be totally unrealistic for such a character to have large breasts, but yes it would make combat challenging, especially shooting arrows.
Comment: Why would heavy busts play a role in fitness?
Comment: @secespitus yeah that was an accident. Sorry.
Comment: I agree with the points brought up here, plus it treads on an overdone theme I see in a number of fantasy and sci-fi type art. Flashy/ sexy type styled "armor" that has no practical use except to highlight certain areas. It seems almost to the point that it appears to be required to sexualize body armor for female characters.  If you can settle for a more realistic type of armor, perhaps that will stand out on its own and be a refreshing deviation from a rather common theme.
Comment: That said, my curiosity was peaked enough to research a little. Looks like archery is possible with larger breasts but it takes practice and working on method.
Answer: I generally agree with @Secespitus and that may be all the answer you need to consider.
However the idea of sexuality as a weapon is an interesting one, and could potentially be done well in fiction. (Probably has.)
There is some (speculative) thought that prostitutes were used to compromise the sitting US president. No boob armor was involved, but the scenario makes the point that human sexuality can be weaponized.
If you want to explore this idea, as a reader I would want to see both genders used in some such way, not just the sexualization of women, and I would want it to be smart, and that means involving something beyond boobs. There are other things about women that men find attractive and this gets into all the senses. Conversely, women presumably find many things about men attractive, not just their physicality, and this also can be weaponized.
As a reader, I'd also want it to be not-too-much of the story. Maybe a subplot.
In other words, don't play to least common denominator.
Comment: +1 I remember translating a text in Latin class which involved something similar: women of some Celtic villages would join male warriors when the Romans sieged them, and the Roman soldiers were often taken aback by the sight as the women bared their torsos, wore war paintings, wielded weapons and verbally abused the lined up soldiers. Of course those texts were war propaganda of the time and were meant to present the Celtic as absolute barbarians.
Answer: If you can give a convincing excuse for boobplate in your fiction it might mitigate how offended anyone gets.
Maybe the female warriors like the psychological effect of emphasizing their gender, either because their culture is staunchly feminist or their enemy's culture is staunchly misogynist.
If the female-warrior-culture is famous for its battle prowess, anything that helps identify them on the battlefield, including boobplate, will be a welcomed addition.  Like how Polish hussars wore wings.  At best, the wings physically did nothing, and at worst added drag and/or got hung up on things.  But they were worn because the hussars were feared, and occasionally enemies would run just because they saw the wings.
Comment: +1 I'd just like to add it doesn't have to cause offense. The writers only need to keep in mind that poorly designed boobplate can cause potential readers/viewers to roll their eyes and move on to something else. For me, boobplate equals lazy writing and characterisation, and that's a red flag because the writer will probably take lazy shortcuts with the other characters and the plot. And though some people might say a 'woman' would think that way, I know male fantasy readers who dismiss boobplates as background characters bumped to the front line for 'reasons'.
Comment: Having said that, I like the idea of boobplate having a real reason for existing and it playing an actual part in the plot.
Answer: If you only need a few of these half-dressed femme fatales, you could make the exposed parts an illusion.  The women might be warrior wizards who use a small part of their magic to bring an element of style and sexuality to the battlefield.
The joke is on all the men.  These women are fully armored and completely safe from all but the most skilled of opponents, but they look like they are facing potential death with a courage that the mightiest hero couldn't match.
The illusion might also serve a strategic purpose, as the body parts which it appears to leave bare are actually the heaviest armored.  By making the enemy think that leg is exposed all the way up, or that cleavage is visible all the way down, they draw attacks to the points where their armor is best prepared to block.
The illusion might even enhance the face and figure of the warrior wizard.  Concubines and sex slaves are among the most prized of the spoils of war.  Why not make the prize so appealing that any male opponent hesitates for fear of damaging the merchandise.
Comment: This was used in one of the D&D series. I can't remember the character name but she got magical chainmail that had large open areas but the magic defended them, there were several combat sequences where she was attacked in the "exposed" area and her opponent was shocked by their weapons bouncing off. It sort of worked in the story (although I was reading it as a teenager so I'm not sure how well it would hold up now) but still felt a bit like a flimsy excuse.
Answer: There is no idea so absurd that it cannot be given a serious treatment. Basically what you need to do is describe its function and practice as if they were realistic elements of your fantasy world.
For example, you can assume in your fantasy world its magic system either through sexualization symbolism or the effects of magic are strengthened or made more powerful when coupled with sexual symbols. To avoid the obvious tittilation this should also apply to men as well as women. If the women warriors wear boob-plates, then the men warriors will sport massive cod-pieces.
Because the magic system relies on sexual symbolism, the boob-plates don't need to be worn over large bosoms. They only need to suggestion the shape of breasts to communicate magically female power. Likewise the giant codpieces of male armour is there to suggest potency and male strength.
The simple answer is treat the concept seriously. Show the characters behaving as if the concept is valid and real to them. Make them respond to it seriously. You are definitely walking the tightrope by playing with an inherently absurd and, frankly, sexist concept. But if you aren't doing it for laughs and your story demonstrates it has a valid reason for being part of the story. Also, show it also applies to both males and females. Simply play it straight. Provided the rest of your story and its world are presented in all seriousness, then you have a chance of succeeding with it.
Strap on your armour with its cod-piece and show the world its power. Write with conviction and be unafraid.
Answer: I say it depends on the type of boobplate.
As @Alexander mentioned in his comment, Greek armour was anatomically correct. If the boobplate offers protection to the whole torso, then I see no problem with it. You can even have the boobplate be extra-sexualised (super-hero films often have the uniforms carry a perfect six-pack and I remember Hugh Jackman mentioning they had something extra in their pants to make the guys look bigger and, therefore, more virile and powerful).
On the other hand, if the boobplate is nothing more than a bikini armour... I love fantasy and I've read tons of it when I was younger. By now, I know that if the writer goes for that cliché, it's probably not worth my time because it is always hand in hand with more cliches of the same caliber.
What is even more depressing is that the bikini-armour warrior is often inserted as a way to attract female readers/viewers when, as far as I know, it has the opposite effect (at least on the female fantasy fans I know) because its real aim is obviously eye-candy for men.
I would, however, love to see sexualised armour as @a4android suggested. If sexualisation has an in-story function, then it stops being pointless eye-candy and it becomes worthwhile.
Answer: Note your use of words there.
"Sticking them in costumes designed to titillate"
This is the main problem. I don't mean to put words in your mouth, but it's a very common convention to, as you said, stick women in these costumes. To take a stripperriffic fashion sense and impose it on the women of their world, globally, and almost completely without regard to the individual personalities of the women in question, as if they don't even dress themselves and are quite literally dressed by the author and magically made ignorant of what exactly they're wearing. Trying to design outside circumstances to justify why serious, professional women (and only women) would walk around wearing ridiculous, impractical chainmail bikinis with thigh-high stocking greaves and not bat an eye about this as if it's completely normal is pretty much always going to prompt eye-rolling, because you're not even addressing the biggest problem. Even if it were practical, no woman would dress like that unless they wanted to. To truly justify women going into battle dressed to titillate, you'd have to explain why these women would value doing this, or at least, bare minimum, why they would be so cavalier about brutal, violent combat that the more "outgoing" among their population would see it as a perfectly natural occasion to show off.
And that isn't to say it can't be done. It's just that such societies aren't generally going to be the most "serious" of societies.
For example, my story, which is about the aftermath of modern day humans being given access to a variety of supernatural runes on a weekly basis, has a group of cultists who believe that humanity's sole purpose for being created is for the entertainment of a pantheon of old-school, bloodthirsty, psychotic, hedonistic, incestuous pagan gods who brought the magic into the world as a last-ditch effort to make us stop being so complacent and boring, and will destroy us if we don't shape up. Their entire religious morality revolves purely around being entertaining to their perpetual cosmic observers, rather than being noble, stable or practical. When society inevitably collapses due to all the magical shenanigans, they get even crazier and turn into this stark raving mad warrior-raider culture led by a power-mad prophet who can predict upcoming magical powers, determined to spread violence, excitement and chaos to all who would dare subject the gods to the tedium of their mediocre existences. They devote huge amounts of time to becoming, as best as they are able, warrior-artists, cultivating personas, aesthetics and fighting styles with which not to best achieve victory, but to best please their gods, and cherish these things as the most important things they've ever made or will ever make.
Now, the entire rest of the cast of this story rightly views these people as out of their gourds, and their primary narrative purpose is to be a source of comedy, senseless conflict, and in the case of the stronger members, entertaining and memorable fight scenes. But let's ask that same question of this wretched hive of hedonistic madness: "Why are some of these women running into battle with half of their bodies exposed?"
The answer: because they want to. They are religiously, zealously obsessed with living lives worthy of their own show. Their entire lives are meant to be performances for the gods, and they, personally, as individuals, have decided to please their gods with their sex appeal. They believe their gods would be far happier with them if they fought in sexy underwear and with a chainsaw, screaming and cackling like a lunatic, than if they put on actual armor and fought with an actual weapon. Even if it would mean the difference between victory and defeat. They see caution, pragmatism and boring, sensible dress as a coward's way out that would doom them to the deepest depths of Hell should they dare resort to it to win.
So I guess my point is that if you really, really want to "justify" sexy armor in an otherwise serious story, it's not enough to create a way for it to be a practical combat choice. You have to make us believe that the characters who are wearing it are the sorts of people who would actually want to, whether on an individual or cultural level, and let everyone else dress the way they realistically would. That in and of itself will do wonders for suspension of disbelief, but keep in mind that there's always going to be an air of tastelessness, campiness or absurdity hanging over the whole thing depending on how far you go. Not that there's inherently anything wrong with it, but keep in mind that some sacrifice to seriousness will have to be made pretty much no matter what you do.
Answer: Ah, the good old balance between hard sci-fi and creative liberty question. I can't answer all, as each time this problem occurs, the solution differs.
I did create the somewhat useful Mephisto's Solving Algorithm for Awesome it reads out like this:

Collect everything you know about the problematic item.
Go through it, and see if it can be solved, real-world excuses/analogies are what you searching for, for example, an analogy can be drawn between the Quetzalcoatlus Northropi and a dragon, at least I think.
See if you can discard something to save the rest. (do dragons need to be that big?)

This allows you to keep something that's useful within a context, created in this way.
A dragon from Second Earth (my fantasy setting) will nowhere nearly be as powerful as Smaug, but why should he? He won't be pitted against a Gandalf or a Sauron, or a shooty boi with an infinity +1 arrow.
Applying this to your question:
Why do you need boob plates? A 15th-century gothic plate armor is the medieval equivalent of iddqd. Its weight is evenly distributed, allowing you to do somersaults if you wanted to, it also looks cool.

Joan of Arc, the first and only overpowered female protagonist. She didn't need boob plates, why should you?
Comment: Joan of Arc had a pragmatic reason for _not_ wearing boob plates, from her wiki page: "she had previously been wearing male (i.e. military) clothing in prison because it gave her the ability to fasten her hosen, boots and tunic together into one piece, which deterred rape by making it difficult to pull her hosen off". Actually that statement summarizes pretty well why boob plate was not historically popular.


What chord is formed by the open strings of a guitar in standard (EADGBe) tuning?

Question: Here is something that I have been wondering about for a while:
If you strum all six strings of a guitar in standard (EADGBe) tuning what chord would you play?
I think it would be some variety of a E minor but I am not certain.
Comment: As I have never liked this chord, I never wondered what it could be :-)
Comment: You have to be clear if you expect a Hardcore Answer or just "It's not an E minor nor any Triad",
Answer: It's a mantra of mine that a given chord (or chord name) only properly exists in the context of a specific chord progression.
Thus, the name you give to the chord formed by the 6 open strings of the guitar depends on what key and mode you use this chord in. It might have one name if used in the key of A major, another name if used in the key of E minor, and so forth. And thus it is with all complex chords that go beyond the basic major and minor triads.
I think guitarists get entirely too hung up on giving a name to a particular grouping of notes that are strummed together. The individual pitches are what they are, but the name of the chord depends on how those pitches are being used at the time.
Comment: I very much like your final paragraph.  Contrast pianists who are not always what chord is this bunch of notes.
Answer: It all depends on which chord you want it to be. With GBD, you have a strong G tendency, and with the Es, that leans E minor. With the A, That's an added 4. So EminAdd4 (not suspended, because you still have the G).
But if you want to think of it as an A, With the A and E, you have the root and the fifth. The G is a dominant 7. The B is a 9th away from that E, and the D is again a 4th. No strong major-minor tonality, which can be good.
Back to the G. I said it has the full triad for a G major, with the A (2nd) and the Es, which are the 6th, so G69. Given some time, I could create some justification for it being some sort of Bminor9, too.
I'm sure that some of that is sloppy and not quite according to Hoyle, but the greater point is that chords are made out of notes and notes can be reconstituted into different chords.
Comment: Note that sus chords do not always lack the third. When they have it, it is generally at a higher octave than the 4. (Source: Marc Levine's "The jazz piano book".)
Comment: You forgot to mention that there's a seventh in the EminAdd4, so wouldn't it be Em7add4?
Comment: Such a good source.
Answer: There appears to be a lot of differing opinion as to what this 'chord' is. A lot of these reverse chord finders seem to either find 'A11' or 'Em7add11.' According to this source, the chord is Em7add11.
Answer: With the root E, the chord contains the 1, 3, 5, 7 and 11, making it an Em11.
Answer: In the standard tuning (EADGBE) the open chord is A11/E. This means that it is an A chord, with the added 11th (D), 9th (B) and 7th (G) and an E note in the bass. A lot of chords like these are used in jazz. Also, Joe Satriani uses a lot of 11th chords in his songs.
Note, that this kind of notes for the open strings were chosen not because of the chord they create, but because it makes very easy to embellish other chords out of it.
Comment: It's an A if you ignore the missing C#. If you consider the D the 4th it becomes an A9sus4/E or A9sus4 in 2nd inversion. No matter how you spin it it's not a normal chord, but that's how a lot of jazz chords end up on the guitar - they're kind of gutted and mutated in comparison to how they'd be played on a keyboard.
Answer: I'm calling it Em11.  It has the E in the root position, A is the 11 (as long as the b7 is present it's not an add11), D is the b7 making it dominant and not an add, G is the b3 making it minor, B is the 5, E is the tonic.  Em11 1,11(4),b7,b3,5,1.
Answer: As pointed out by other answers, there is no unambiguous name for this chord without further context.
However, ignoring the (arguably redundant) high E, this particular "Em11 voicing" has apparently been dubbed the So What chord.
Given the iconic nature of the well-known Miles Davis jazz standard, this may be a strong contender for the "best" name?
Answer: I'v always heard it called an A11. And it never occurred to me that the C# is missing. Em7(add11) seems closer to the mark.
But pragmatically, whenever I use this chord, it is as an atonal "background" accent. That is, it's the chord I play when I want something that "doesn't sound like a chord." Mostly during rhythmic strumming of muted strings; un-muting one or two beats adds just a little bit of growl using tones that are effectively "neutral" to all keys; so it works in any key.
All the chord names suggested so far fail to convey the "hollow effect" of that stack of fourths with no "character tones" (3rd and 6ths) when you emphasize just the lower strings. I'm almost tempted to describe it just as figured-bass (if only I knew the "correct" notation): E\4\7\10\12.
Answer: As others have pointed out, @user1044 in particular, context matters. If you're playing all the open strings in the context of some piece of music, you'd have to take the chord's role in the progression into consideration. Still, wouldn't it be nice to know what the candidates were?
Without resorting to "slash" chords, I listed every possibility below. These aren't equally good names for the chord, but each accurately describes the pitch classes in the chord (E A D G B). Chord symbols are bad at implying voicings, so, for example, Em7add4 and Em7add11 are both possibilities. Some people will tell you Em7add11 is correct because you can't have an "add" unless you use it with an extension interval (9, 11, or 13). Others will argue that the A2 is a perfect 4th—not a perfect 11th—from the E2; therefore Em7add4 is more appropriate. Whatever. There is no standards body for chord symbols. The conventions vary from publisher-to-publisher, genre-to-genre, and school-to-school.

Em7(add4)
Em7(add11)
E7(♯9sus4)
E11(♯9omit3)
A9(sus4)
A7(sus2,4)
A7(sus2add11)
A11(omit3)
D(sus2add11,13)
D(add9,11,13omit3)
D(sus4add9,13)
D(sus2,4add13)
D6(sus2,4)
D6/9(sus4)
D6(sus2add11)
D6(add9,11omit3)
G(add9,13)
G(add2,13)
G6(add2)
G6/9
Bm7(add11,♭13omit5)
Bm7(add4,♭13omit5)
B7(♯9sus4add♭13omit5)
B11(♯5♯9omit3)
B11(♯9♭13omit3,5)
Answer: It sounds like an Em11, it's probably because of the E in the bass. It does have the notes of G with an added 6 and 9. I tried to play it in different contexts, and it most often sounds like an E mainly because of the bass note.
Why don't you try it yourself, play some cadences in G, and A and Em (or any other key), and instead of landing on the tonic chord, strum the open strings and you'll notice that it fits best in the key of Em. There is a hint of G and even A in it but they are very unstable due the the inversion and missing note (A has no third).
When I play the A, G progression (mixolydian), after repeating the chords a couple of times to get the sound of the scale in my head, I can strum all strings without fretting instead of playing the G and it still sounds pretty close.
I guess it can function differently depending on the context. But when played alone, I definitely hear it as an E.
Answer: I think I answered a similar question a while back.  The easiest thing that comes to mind in an E minor 11.  My reasoning behind that that the physical chord form (without the A string) is a classic minor 7th.  This is also movable up the neck.  So, at any fret, N, if you play (N, X, N, N, N, N) = LN minor 7th, where LN = the letter name of the note at fret N on the low E string.  In terms of degrees they are (1, X, b7, b3, 5, 1) every note is represented.  Adding the A string adds the 4th, or 11th so it is a voicing of the minor 11th chord, (1, b3, 5, b7, 11), no 9th.  This doesn't mean that is the only possible choice.  Considering the A string as the root you don't have the 3rd present so I would think of it as a 9th chord, major or minor, it seems more like a sus chord.  Treating the G as a root (and keep in mind that the open G chord has three open string in it) you have root, 3rd = B, 5 = D, E = 6th, and A = 9th which makes a voicing of G(69) a beautiful chord.  It may be a non0standar voicing but the notes are there and the chord complete.  The voicing I typically use is (1, 3, 6, 9, 5, 1) where numbers are degrees, which would be fingered (3, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3) where numbers are frets.  Of all the answers provided I would lean towards G 69 and E-11.  And of course this assumes standard tuning.


Does Ubuntu 12.04 LiveCD run Unity 2D or 3D or selects which one to run adaptively?

Question: In case I boot from an Ubuntu 12.04 LiveCD, am I going to see Unity 2D, standard Unity ("3D") or does it depend on my hardware?
Answer: As with an installed system,
<code>/usr/lib/nux/unity_support_test
</code>
will be used to determine whether the system is capable of running Unity 3d. If it is not, logically Ubuntu 2d will be started.
<code>    /usr/lib/nux/unity_support_test -p
</code>
returns a nice little overview that tells you more about the hardware capabilities of your GPU.
Answer: The live session will attempt to run Unity 3D. If your system is not capable or lacks necessary hardware drivers, it will run Unity 2d.


What does "I don't think we figured in his day at all" mean?

Question: In the film 127 hours (screenplay) the character Kristi says:

Know what? I don't think we figured in his day at all.

What does she mean by I don't think we figured in his day at all?
Answer: To figure in something something is to be play a part; to be involved. As @Mark points out, in your question, this might refer to intent, or the day's events as the day draws to a close: "I guess he didn't include us in his plans after all"; "I guess we're not going to be a part of his day."
In the US, figure into something is also used. It means "to be included as a part of something", like an activity or calculation. As a speaker of American English, I'd be more likely to use this phrase. They didn't figure into my day's plans at all would mean I did not intend to include them in my activities.
Answer: The context in which this sentence was said: Aron meets two girls and one of them invites him to a party that night. He promises to go and then leaves. The girl who invited him is not particularly convinced that he will actually show up and – since she had liked him – she says, somewhat disappointedly to the other girl: "I don't think we figured in his day at all".
She thinks that he forgot about the party (and the girls) the very second he left, because he had other, more important things in mind.
Answer: Though I have not seen the movie, I assume the phrase means either "we had no impact/we weren't a factor on how he planned his day," or "in hindsight, it appears we had no memorable impact of on his day."
Answer: I also saw the movie.  By that point, it is clear that Aron is pretty self reliant, and does not need others to have fun.  He is on a solo biking/hiking/rock-climbing trip when he meets the girls.  They have fun, but the girls pick up on the fact that Aron is also happy doing his own thing.
In general, the phrase can mean someone is so important or busy that an interaction is irrelevant or quickly forgotten.

What does “I don’t think we figured in his day at all” mean?


Asus Maximus IV 1 long 3 short beep? Please help

Question: Hey I get this error when booting the computer I just built I searched Google and it said the error is for memory? The memory I'm using is Corsair Memory Vengeance 16GB DDR3 1600 MHz CAS 9 XMP Dual Channel Desktop is this compatible? There are 4 sticks so I don't see how it can all be faulty? I tried them separate but I get the same thing.
Answer: It doesn't have to all be faulty. One bad stick would cause an error like this. Take out all of the sticks except one and attempt to boot. If it works, shut down and add another stick and continue until you find the bad stick. If the first stick fails, try another one and see if it works.
You need to try this method to determine if it is in fact a single bad stick, multiple bad sticks, no bad sticks, or another problem all together.
Answer: Fixed this.
Needed two PCI-E cables into the GPU, not one.


Cost of using AGPS for satellite location

Question: Can anyone tell me, if I want to use GPS or AGPS with an app to locate a satellite for TV reception, will I be charged for the data. I'm thinking of buying a Huawei g300 Pay as you go from Vodaphone but don't want to be landed with heavy charges to use this facility while abroad. Thanks
Answer: Assisted GPS may cost money: it depends on your cellphone provider, and you should check with them first. See this old CNET story for more info. For Vodafone, I couldn't find any official information online, but this thread by a user on the official forum suggests they charge A-GPS data the same as any other Internet access.
If you're worried about the data charges, go into Settings -> Wireless and networks -> Mobile networks, and turn off Data roaming (the names may be slightly different depending on which device and Android version you have). While data roaming is turned off, your phone won't try to use mobile data while you're roaming (that is, abroad). The GPS will still work fine, but it may take longer to fix your position: maybe as long as 12 minutes, according to Wikipedia.
Whether the app you want to use will still work without an internet connection depends on the app you're trying to use. You should probably test this before getting abroad: if it turns out you have to download and use a different app, you won't have saved any money at all!


Why is a lottery conducted for sick patients to be cured?

Question: In Contagion (2011), Why did the organization conduct a lottery according to the date of birth of the sick patients to decide which ones to cure?
Comment: Haven't seen this film, but did they do anything to account for those born on February 29th?
Comment: It's essentially the reverse of the likes of the [Vietnam war draft lottery](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draft_lottery_%281969%29)
Answer: Because the vaccine's production was limited. As found on Wikipedia:

The vaccine's production is rapidly increased, but due to limited production, the CDC awards vaccinations by lottery based on birth date. Inoculations take place for one full year until every survivor is vaccinated. First responders, doctors and others designated by the government are declared exempt from the lottery.

As to why use a lottery to decide who gets the vaccine, according to this Bulletin on the World Health Organization about Ethical considerations for vaccination programmes in acute humanitarian emergencies:

A small supply of vaccine could be equitably distributed through a lottery, but prioritizing particularly susceptible groups and individuals, or those most likely to spread the disease, would not be possible. Different rules govern decision-making and priority-setting during acute crises. Resource distribution during a crisis is often suboptimal because those engaged in humanitarian assistance can only do the "best they can" in the context of imperfect information, exceptional circumstances and needs far outweighing the available resources.

So it was a realistic way to show they were trying the best they could to distribute the vaccine in the most fair way possible during such a crisis.
Answer: Where there is something that everyone (in the pertinent group) needs or should get, but this is not possible (usually because there are not enough)…
The obvious way to decide how to choose who gets the thing is according to merit.  Perhaps, for instance, a much older person should lose out to a healthy young person on the grounds that the former has already lived a full life… or the CEO of a large company has more value to society than does an alcoholic who lives on the street.
If there is some crisis, then choosing people according to their value in fighting the crisis is justifiable — hence choosing (for instance) doctors or soldiers over everyone else.
Beyond that… choosing people according to merit is very much justifiable — at least at face value.  However, there are two difficulties.
One difficulty is that the question of who actually qualifies as being of greater merit is a very complex and difficult question… over and above which is the fact that people can get very irrational about it if their lives are at stake.
The other difficulty is that, arguably, if the issue is human life, then apparently related measures such as {value to society} or {value to immediate family} are actually not relevant — that every individual has the attribute {life}, and that is all that is relevant.
It is arguable that the issue is correctly positioned as being about fairness… and that the fairest way to choose is randomly.

As for the lottery by birth date:  this is a ready way to assign numbers to people, for the sake of the lottery.


A song in Boku no Hero Academia Season 3 Episode 45 from 10:50 to 11:55

Question: There is a song in Boku no Hero Academia, season 3, episode 45, from 10:50 to 11:55 that doesn't appear anywhere else. Does anyone know the name of that song?
Answer: It appears to be included in the OST for Boku no Hero Academia 2, track 12: Tsune ni Top wo Nerau Mono (常にトップを狙う者). It seems to use the part starting at around 00:35.


Is it possible to use Chidori without Sharingan?

Question: I was thinking about Chidori and now I'm interested in it. I stumbled upon this question: can a ninja learn how to use Chidori and use it without Sharingan?
Answer: Yes it is, but there is a cost, Tunnel-vision. Kakashi invented the attack and used it without the Sharingan, and were it not for Minato, he would have been killed by one of his opponents. He is running so fast, and is focused so much on his attack, that he is unable to really focus on anything except that right in front of him when attacking. The second Paragraph of the overview on the wiki confirms this

The speed at which the Chidori is performed, despite being one of its greatest assets, also represents one of its biggest drawbacks: users move at their target so fast that its causes a tunnel vision-like effect for them. Because they charge in a straight line it is easy for opponents to attack them, and because of the tunnel vision it is difficult for the user to see these attacks, much less react to them. For this reason, most ninja cannot use the Chidori safely. If the user has a Sharingan, however, these drawbacks are overcome: the Sharingan's heightened visual perception prevents the tunnel vision from occurring and its predictive capabilities make it easy for the user to avoid counterattacks.

Kakashi's page summarizes the event itself

Kakashi tried to eliminate him with his new jutsu, Chidori, but the attack speed left him vulnerable to counter-attack, forcing Minato to step in, save Kakashi, and kill Mahiru himself. Before leaving them, Minato advised Kakashi to not use the Chidori again.
  ...
  After Rin transplanted Obito's Sharingan into him, Kakashi confronted Kakkō. His White Light Chakra Sabre was destroyed during the ensuing fight, but he succeeded in killing Kakkō with Chidori; due to the Sharingan's heightened vision, Kakashi was finally able to handle its speed.
Comment: Exactly. In fact, when Sasuke was about to kill Naruto in the final fight with a grey-colored chidori, his sharingan stopped working, giving him tunnel vision. As a result, Naruto could uppercut him without noticing. It's a strong jutsu but really only effective with sharingan.
Answer: If you think about it logically, many enhanced sensory abilities would counteract tunnel vision and allow you to use Chidori effectively. Byakugan totally eliminates any notion of tunnel vision. That's one of its main purposes. Sensor techniques, including Sage mode sensing, Mind's Eye of the Kaguya, and Mu's technique would provide the same advantage. While Karin was unable to take full advantage of her technique, due to her incompetent taijutsu, someone like Kakashi in possession of the technique would be quite capable of using it in combat to eliminate any possibility of tunnel vision. Mu actively demonstrated his ability to avoid attacks from his blind spot. Naruto's and Kabuto's threat perception both demonstrated this ability against high speed attacks. If they possessed Chidori, they would have no trouble utilizing it. If Ranmaru's Kekkei Genkai were cannon and in the possession of someone like Kakashi, tunnel vision would instantly cease to be an issue.


wireless networking portable devices

Question: I have CenturyLink 9005 modem/router, my house is large enough that i also have a Netgear extender to use wireless devices in other rooms. The wireless signal, to my Kindle Fire Hd and/or IPods and others device does not work very well in many of the rooms. what can i do to be able to use these wireless devices anywhere in my home?
Answer: There may not be anything you can do short of putting additional repeaters or multiple WAP's throughout out the house. It depends heavily on the construction materials used.  I have a split level house with a metal roof. The upstairs areas of my house have a very poor signal from the WAP that is downstairs. I have practically no signal in the basement.  I resolved by adding a WAP upstairs and just don't use wireless in the basement.

wireless networking portable devices


What investments are positively related to the housing market decline?

Question: What investment sectors/areas generally go up when housing prices decline?
Comment: Bankruptcy consultants?
Answer: A possibility could be real estate brokerage firms such as Realogy or Prudential. Although a brokerage commission is linked to the sale prices it is more directly impacted by sales volume. If volume is maintained or goes up a real estate brokerage firm can actually profit rather handsomely in an up market or a down market.
If sales volume does go up another option would be other service markets for real estate such as real estate information and marketing websites and sources i.e. http://www.trulia.com.
Furthermore one can go and make a broad generalization such as since real estate no longer requires the same quantity of construction material other industries sensitive to the price of those commodities should technically have a lower cost of doing business.
But be careful in the US much of the wealth an average american has is in their home. In this case this means that the economy as a whole takes a dive due to consumer uncertainty. In which case safe havens could benefit, may be things like Proctor & Gamble, gold, or treasuries.
Side Note:
You can always short builders or someone who loses if the housing market declines, this will make your investment higher as a result of the security going lower.
Answer: During the actual decline, there's very little money to be made and a lot to lose. When housing prices tank, everybody loses; the banks are exposed to higher risk of mortgage defaults, insurers start having to pay out more for "gas leaks" claiming over-leveraged homes,    realtors starve because their commissions go down (even as foreclosures put more homes on the market) and people faced with financial uncertainty will stay put in their current homes instead of moving elsewhere. And homebuilders and contractors go broke because nobody wants to spend cash on a new home or major reno that looks like a losing investment.
There can be some bright spots. Smaller hardware stores will make money as people do relatively small DIY projects to improve the condition of their current home. The larger stores get this business too, but it tends to be more than offset by the loss of contractor business (FAR more lucrative, and something the ACEs and True-Values don't really get in on). Of course the "grave-robbers" do well; gold buyers, auctioneers, pawn shops, repo firms; these guys eat well when other people are defaulting on loans or have to sell their stuff for fast cash. Most of these businesses are not publicly traded.
One thing that was seen was increased revenues at discount retailers like Wal-Mart, Dollar General etc. When things are bad, people in the middle class who had avoided these stores for image or morality reasons learn to swallow their pride and buy discount store brands for half the price of national brand names. That lessens the blow felt by the discount retailers as overall consumer spending decreases; the pie shrinks, but the discount retailers get a bigger slice of the mandatory spending on food, clothing, etc (and the higher-level retailers get it in the shorts). When the pie starts to grow again as consumer spending picks back up, the discount retailers retain their percentage for a while, as the fickle middle class can afford to buy more from the discount retailer but can't yet afford to take their business back to the shopping mall stores. This produces a flatter, "offset" price graph for discount retailers through the business cycle; they don't lose as early or as much as everyone else in a major downturn, and they turn it around sooner while everyone else may still be on the way down, but as everything gets better for everyone on the upswing it's less great for the discount guys, as they start losing customers and their dollars to competitors with better stuff, even as the ones they keep spend more. This doesn't generally manifest as a true negative correlation, but it can be a good hedge.
The number one money-making investment in a tanking economy is gold. When things go down the crapper, everyone wants gold, so if you see the train wreck coming far enough in advance, you can make a big move to gold and really make some money off that investment. For instance, when the first whispers about ARM adjustments and mass defaults reached the public consciousness in mid-2005, gold bullion jumped from about $400 to over $700 in a nine-month period. It cooled off again in 06-07 but only to about $600/oz, and then in late 07 it steadily climbed to peak at $1000/oz; even if you got in late, an investment of $1000 in July '07 in "bulk" gold would have netted you $650 in one year; that's a 65% APY. Then the economy hit bottom and a lot of investors ditched gold for investments they thought would pull back out of their holes quickly; For just a little while in '08 gold was down to $700 again. Then came all the government reports; unemployment not budging, home prices still declining, a lot of banks still hiding just how bad their position was. If you had seen that it was going to be bad, bad, bad, like a lot of now-billionaire hedge fund investors did, a $1000 investment in gold in July 05, and then cashing out at the tops of the peaks and buying back in at the major troughs, would be worth almost $4000 today. That's a 400% return over 7 years, or an annual average yield of 57%. There simply hasn't been anything like that in the last 7 years.


What is the best way to store loose tea to maintain its freshness?

Question: This is the tea I use. Like Coffee needs to be stored in freezer, are there any storage restrictions for loose tea leaves also?
Answer: Tea needs to be kept away from heat, light, air, and moisture. The best way to store tea is at room temperature in an opaque, airtight container.
Your container should not be plastic, because odors from previous uses (even if its only been used solely for tea) could contaminate your current tea.
Do not store tea in the freezer or refrigerator. Opening and closing of the door causes rapid humidity changes that cause moisture to seep into the container and degrade the flavor of the tea.
Some cheap tea containers can be found here: http://www.specialtybottle.com/teatincontainersmi.aspx
Personally, I would go for one with a twist or latching cover rather than a slip cover, just to ensure that it's airtight.
References

http://www.uptontea.com/shopcart/information/INFOstoring.asp
http://www.teavana.com/tea-info/tea-storage-for-loose-leaf-teas
http://www.teavivre.com/info/proper-storage-of-tea.html
http://verdanttea.com/how-to-store-tea/
Comment: "Moisture is equally detrimental to fragile tea leaves. Like any organic matter, tea, when wet, begins to mold and decay—a wholly undesirable effect. For this reason, we do not recommend storing tea in the refrigerator or freezer because continual opening and closing of the door causes rapid changes in humidity. Modern freezers cycle through different temperatures and often create an icing problem. Moisture seeps into the container and robs the tea leaves of flavor."

http://www.uptontea.com/shopcart/information/INFOstoring.asp

Edit: edited answer to add succinct clarification
Comment: `Do not store tea in the freezer or refrigerator.` - reasons?
Answer: I use a tin that some posh tea came in.  The lid fits pretty tight.
But anything airtight should do; a decent tupperware box or even a jam jar or a sauce bottle.  I used to keep flour, sugar and everything in them when I was a student because the places I lived were always damp.
Answer: In my opinion the best way is if you take the tea into a hermetically sealed box (that can be found in almost every supermarket), the tea won't lose their smell and taste in a long time. But don't forget everything will go bad sooner or later.
The freezing isn't recommended, because the micro ice cristalls do harm the fibers of the foods, that's why the freezing makes more tastles the frozen foods (but not very much).
This is the reason why the meets can be frozen only once.
Comment: I didn't want to copy the above answer.
When I wrote my answer, I didn't see what Wayfaring Stranger had wrotten.
Answer: You must buy teas from some reputed shops .It should be placed in a very dry place with out any strong smells.Green tea requires more preservation than other teas If you keep it with vacuum sealer then it will be preserved for more days.
You can also see some different tea preservation process here:-http://www.teanaga.com/learn-about-tea/how-to-store-different-kinds-of-tea/
Answer: Keep it sealed under low light. If you can smell the tea, it's losing flavor. For large quantities I use 1L widemouth jars with screw on plastic lids. Plastic gives a tighter seal than metal for this sort of thing.