Can you speed up radioactive decay of plutonium?

Question: We all know the issue of deep geological repositories for fuel rods. Is there a currently feasible way to speed up the rod's decay to render them harmless in less than 10 years?
Comment: @RichartBremer an AtlasV can lift about 5tonnes to a high orbit from which you could boost about 1/2 of that to lunar orbit - all for a mere $125M. Paying 25M/ton to get rid of valuable Pu isn't that popular
Comment: No, but you can slow it down by sending it on a long journey with nearly the speed of light.
Comment: Why not put radioactive waste into space shuttles and deposit it on the moon or some other planet? In space there is strong radiation everywhere anyway, and space doesn't "consider" anything waste.
Comment: For one, launching radioactive waste into space is unbelievably dangerous because of the potential for the rocket to explode and turn itself into one _huge_ dirty bomb. Practical issues aside, shouldn't we rather stop littering our own planet instead of looking for other places for our rubbish?
Answer: The simple answer is no, though as usual in Physics things are a bit more complicated than that.
There are several ways in which radionucleotides decay: alpha decay, beta decay, gamma decay, and fission. These are all mediated by the weak and strong nuclear forces, though the electromagnetic force plays some part in alpha decay and nuclear fission. There is no way we know of to tamper with the two nuclear forces. In principle we could change electromagnetic forces by using a sufficiently strong electric field, but the field strength required would be ludicrously high and far outside anything we could conceivably generate.
In principle we can affect the decay of nuclei by firing particles at them. For example uranium can be made to fission by firing neutrons at it (which is exactly what happens in nuclear reactors). In general this is not a practical way to process nuclear waste, though in the specific case of plutonium you can fission plutonium in nuclear reactors (though the products of the fission are still radioactive). Currently the cost of treating radioactive waste in this way would be prohibitive.
Comment: @RichartBremer, what if the rocket blows up during launch?
Comment: Efforts to getting beam based waste processing---which people have been working on for decades---from the realm of science fiction to reality are currently being funded by the US DOE on "the intensity frontier". Typical approaches use either an electron beam directly or a as powerful bremstrahlung source. No news yet.
Comment: In addition you don't want to increase the decay rate of a nice long half-life source like Pu, increasing it's decay rate makes it much nastier to handle!
Comment: Why not put radioactive waste into space shuttles and deposit it on the moon or some other planet? In space there is strong radiation everywhere anyway, and space doesn't "consider" anything waste.
Comment: Too expensive. There are lots of good ideas for improving nuclear generation of power, and they always fail because they're too expensive i.e. more expensive than just using gas or coal instead.
Answer: You can trigger decay of certain nuclei with gamma rays, just like you can stimulate emission of photons from excited atoms with incoming radiation. You can even make a bomb if that is your kind of thing. On the other hand, in case of atoms there is a stimulated emission - with help of photons coherent with the "future" photon. This shows that the "environment" is somewhat important. As soon as the environment is complicated and is hard to control, one can loosely think that the random character of decays is due to random character of the "triggering QM environment".
UPDATE: I forgot to mention that decay probability can be increased, for example via collision with another particle for the right energy, and this is exactly how fission based nuclear bombs work. Here though, again, there is nothing special about the particular atom decaying, and it is simply the particles involved in the collision that have the increased decay probability. (I must admit that I have pared this picture right down to the basics as otherwise it would need to be a far more technical discussion).
Answer: Yes there is a way to speed up nuclear decay rates.
The ionisation state of the specie has some effect on the decay rate.
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.77.5190
Also neutrino flux has some effect.
http://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0412007
These conditions are perhaps insignificant for your fuel rods but
they certainly worth considering.
Comment: The Shnoll paper is wrong. This is the same kind of kook material as Jenkins and Fischbach, debunked by Lindstrom http://arxiv.org/abs/1006.5071 .
Answer: No.
When it comes to radioactive decay, one unstable nucleus explodes to stable ones this moment. And, an another fully identical nucleus wait for thousands years to explode. This is a great example of principle of uncertainty. We don't know exactly why it happens. We only have observed data of their chances to explode (That's why we talk in probability of decay of large number of nuclei). It happens because of no reason. We don't have full understanding of quantum world yet, so we can't find a way to control it while keeping the solution in "natural way" domain.

A way to process nuclear waste quickly is to do it with non-natural way (the way nuclear bombs etc work), but that would be costly and the process is not environment friendly.
However, research on cheap environment-friendly nuclear waste processing is on its way. If it has been successful, we'll listen about it.


Can one charge coffee to one's room on Shabbos?

Question: If one goes to a Hotel for Shabbos, can he order a coffee and charge it to his room, or is that forbidden, like other methods of buying food on Shabbos are?
Comment: @Bochur613 Since when is buying food on Shabbos Assur?
Comment: What kind of order and how is it done? At a kosher hotel arrangements are made before Shabbat and the rav hamachshir would ensure that things are done properly.
Comment: I am not speaking of a case where payment was put down before hand for drinks. I am talking about where I suddenly ask for a drink and that drink gets charged to my room
Comment: are you worried about the promise of payment or the cooking on shabbos?
Comment: The payment. Is this considered buying food on Shabbos which is Assur
Comment: If you're asking only about buying and not about cooking, you may want to specify as much in the question (or pick a cold drink as your example), so answers address your concerns.
Answer: The Ramban in his commentary to Vayikra 23:24, explains that the Biblical word "Shabaton" is the Rabbinical source for forbidding business transactions on Shabbos. It implies that one should rest, by abstaining from weekday activity (commerce).
Further support is taken by Chazal from Isaiah 58: 13-14. There it states that one should not pursue their needs on the Sabbath. This refers to business/ commerce. See also Nechemiah 13: 15-22. It is obvious there, that commerce is forbidden on Shabbos.
The Chasam Sofer goes so far as to say that based on the Ramban and others, one who operates his store/business on Shabbos is counted as a Mechallel Shabbos like someone who breaks any of the Torah laws of Shabbos. (Shailos U'Teshuvos on Choeshen Mishpat 195.) This would seem like it is counted as a D'Oraisa prohibition. (however, private transactions are admittedly forbidden merely due to the Rabbinical decree regarding writing. (see below; next comment)
A second reason to prohibit buying and selling on the Sabbath (besides the above idea of refraining from business) is that the Rabbis prohibited these transactions because it would lead to the Biblical prohibition of writing; which is one of the 39 Biblical categories of forbidden Shabbos labor. (see the Rambam Laws of Shabbos ch. 23:12. "...And so it is forbidden to acquire, sell, or rent as a decree, because he may come to write..")
Therefore, at first glance, it should be forbidden to buy a drink from a store on Shabbos. (or order one from a hotel's room service, to be written down on one's bill etc.)
However, if the item you wish to buy is for the needs of that Shabbos or Yom Tov itself, (coffee Shabbos morning) (See Misnah Berurah 307:46) then one can order it under the following conditions.

No one may use the words "buy" or "sell". You can say "May I have/take.." (see Mishnah Berurah 323:1).
No one may mention that it will be "..paid for after the Shabbos is over." You may hint by saying that "things will be settled after Shabbos; or taken care of." See Shulchan Aruch 323:2 and Mishnah Berurah 307:44; also Magen Avraham 307:15
No one may refer to the items by weight/measure, or price. (See Shulchan Aruch 323:4). Even referring to a previous balance is forbidden. (See the Rema on 323:4) One can say "a bag of, 5 oranges, 3 packs, etc."

Of course, obviously, a Jew may not actually open a store on Shabbos for the purpose of being available for "Shabbos needs" transactions. This is true even if all the above conditions are adhered to.
So, one may order a coffee on Shabbos from room service, since the above conditions may be met. This applies to a Jewish hotel. A non-Jewish hotel seems like an easier concern. I hope this helps. :)
Comment: All of the Jewish-run hotels I've stayed at for Shabbos had a complementary breakfast Shabbos morning, admittedly, those were all in Israel.
Answer: See mishna Shabbat  23, 1:

מסכת שבת פרק כג, א; שואל אדם מחברו כדי יין וכדי שמן, ובלבד שלא יאמר הלווני; וכן שואלת אישה מחברתה כיכרות.  אם אין מאמינו--מניח טליתו אצלו,ועושה עימו חשבון לאחר שבת.  וכן ערב פסחים בירושלים שחל להיות בשבת, מניח טליתו אצלו ואוכל את פסחו, ועושה עימו חשבון לאחר יום טוב.

Borrowing on Shabbat and repaying promptly after Shabbat is allowed even if you need to leave your Talit as pledge.
See Shulchan Aruch Orach Chayim siman 307,  sayif 11:

השואל דבר מחבירו לא יאמר לו הלויני דמשמע לזמן מרובה ואיכא למיחש שמא יכתוב אלא יאמר לו השאילני ובלשון לעז שאין חילוק בין הלויני להשאילני צריך שיאמר תן לי:

The problem for which to trade is prohibited on Shabbat is because this could lead to a situation in which people write counts. To write is a Shabbat Work punished by stoning. If Chachomim have not stated that there is there such a risk, it's permitted. If the payment will occur motsae Shabbat, i. e. a short time later, the fear for writing is not halachically relevant.

הגה: וכשלוה בשבת ואינו רוצה להאמינו יניח משכון אצלו אבל לא יאמר לו הילך משכון דהוי כעובדא דחול (בית יוסף בשם אורחות חיים). כשם שאין לוין בשבת כך אין פורעין בשבת (ריב"ש סימן קנ"ו):

The pledge which is necessary in case of suspicious seller should be something as your Talit for not to look commercial transaction.
Magen Avraham:

ומשמע בגמרא דוקא יין ושמן ודבר שהוא צורך שבת אבל דבר שאינו צורך שבת אסור להניח משכון

All this is allowed for the needs of the Shabbat e. g. wine,  oil {coffee}.
Conclusion lahalacha velo le maasse  mutar.  You can.
I assume that the place is a reshut hayachid, and I remember that hotel is not chatser hashutafim.
Comment: The  risk I mean is a din of risk,  it was not clear? Your case falls on the din of risk.  If  it was not clear I will write a new edit
Comment: "If there is no such a risk, it's permitted." That's not true. If it was, I can go buy things in an ordinary store that doesn't make private accounts, as there's no risk of writing anything down. The source you brought about not using the loshon haliveni is clearly not talking about commerce, but about borrowing something.
Comment: @user613 see edit
Comment: "If Chachomim have not stated that there is there such a risk, it's permitted. If the payment will occur motsae Shabbat, i. e. a short time later, the fear for writing is not halachically relevant." Source?
Comment: @uset613mishna&shulchsn aruch


Does an animal breeder need to provide a model release for his own animals?

Question:
In a shoot that is an assigned-type project, I am being paid to create pictures for the client's website. The models are his own/his friend's animals.
To my understanding, in the case of a human model, if he/she is not associated with the photographer or the client, we would require their model release.
Does the breeder need to grant me a model release if they are his own animals? (he would like exclusive digital/web usage. However he is fine with my making prints.)
Comment: Model release? probably not. See James Snell's answer.  Since the animal in question are the source of income for the breeder they may have concerns about unauthorized usage of the photos of their animals. this should be in the contract with them. See my answer to your other question about licensing.
Comment: [Please put your answers in the answers section, even if they're short](https://photo.meta.stackexchange.com/q/4655/15871)
Answer: Not really an answer, but you forgot to mention which jurisdiction is involved, rules differ between countries.
But in any case, if a release is needed, it is needed by the publisher of the images, not the photographer. (of course, they can be the same person fulfiling both "roles").
If the breeder is the one publishing the images of his own animals, he has no need to sign (or get) any release (of course, he'll need a license from the photographer for the copyright, but that's a separate issue).
But to be really sure, you'll have to consult a lawyer in your region who is familiar with those issues (not all are).
Answer: A model release is a (partial) protection against libel and animals cannot be libelled so in that respect one is not required.
That said; in some regions a property release is necessary/useful for commercial publication, so some kind of "animal model release" may be a good idea.  It will give the animal owners a warm feeling and ensures that everyone involved has a clear position - this is especially useful in competitive breeding circles as relatively minor grievances can blow up into major issues.
Whilst it is the client's dime, I would argue to ensure in your terms/licence that you can use the images in your online portfolio - but that's purely down to how much money they want to give you.
Answer: Based on your related question about licensing, I'd say a separate model/property release would be unnecessary. Such details can easily be included in the contract between you as the photographer and the owner of the animals as your client.
Answer: It depends strongly where you located at. In germany pets/animals are primary "things" for the law. (Ok, things with special rights, to not be hurt or something, but things).
But this is just for germany.
(oh and don't ask peta, or they shoot down your business ;) )


How does Obito have two Sharingans if Madara took one?

Question: If Madara took Obito's left eye, how come he has both Sharingans? (Chapter 683, page 15) Did Obito replace the one he lost with Kakashi's Sharingan, like a trade?
Comment: Welcome to Anime and Manga. To my understanding the site you linked to was an illegal manga site. if i am wrong someone can rollback my edit
Answer: TL;DR:
Because Madara gave him the Sharingan he had taken from Kakashi back when he took the Rinnegan Obito had in his left eye socket.
Long version:
In chapter 674, page 14, Madara takes Kakashi's Sharingan eye (Obito's left eye):

In chapter 675, page 10, Madara switches his left eye - currently holding Obito's left eye - for the Rinnegan Obito has in his left eye socket:

In that same chapter, he lets Black Zetsu take control of Obito's left side. In chapter 676, page 2, we see that Obito now has both of his Sharingan, though he is not in control of his body:

In chapter 679, page 6, Black Zetsu leaves Obito's body to join Kaguya:

Leaving him finally in control of both of his Sharingan when Naruto revives him and he regains consciousness in chapter 683, page 6:
Answer:
Obito had his Right eye Kamui Sharingan and Madaras Rinnegan in his
  left socket. Madara snatched Kakashis Kamui Sharingan and used it to
  enter Kamui Dimension and retrieve his Rinnegan. He was successful and
  Black Zetsu possessed Obitos right body half, which was eyeless until
  Madara popped Kakashis Sharingan in. Obito got both his eyes back in
  that moment, but B Zetsu was using the Obitos right half and used
  Kakashis eye to get himself and Madara out of the dimension..  It was
  mentioned, but it was easyly possible to miss.. I thought for quite a
  while that Obito didn't have both of his eyes until it was cleared up
  to me, that the Obitos right eye was never touched by madara.. thus
  giving him both eyes. Why did Madara pop Kakashis Kamui eye back? I
  don't know... Lets just say for plot, because he could have just
  crushed it. I'd assume he didn't consider Obito a threat anymore and
  wanted the MS Sharingan as backup for whatever reason.. It really
  caused a stir here when those chapters came around
The "unmentioned" situation you're looking for spans from chapter 674
  to 676.

-KuramaErricson
This is the answer given by that person, you can refer to his post here. http://forums.mangafox.me/threads/511150-How-did-Obito-get-his-left-eye-back
Answer: He gave it black zetsu to use madara and himself to get out of the dimension madara basically madara put his rennigan on while he was in the other dimension and only way to get out is with obitos sharingan capish
Comment: Can you provide any sources (such as chapter or episode numbers) for this?


How does the brain know what to remember and what not?

Question: People remember some information for example when learning for an exam, or remember to go to a shop after work etc., but we don't remember usually much other stuff like people passing us, what was the weather some days ago etc. How does the brain know what to remember and what not, how does it filter important information from not important?
Comment: Look at https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engram_(neuropsychology).              Totaly anecdotally i would imagine that there is a thershold level/s of excitation of certain neuron to network (check out Jennifer Aniston neuron study) which leads to an imprinting of a memory trace. How you recide to recall would be interesting001
Answer: The body of work on this topic huge, so I'll just try to mention a few things.
On the cognitive level, one possible answer is salience (also see here for an article specific to the visual system). You can think of this (in a somewhat circular answer) as the thing that makes certain stimuli stand out from others. Salient stimuli capture bottom-up attention. Another possible answer is top-down attention. This is where you actively/deliberately pay attention to something.
In terms of mechanism, we have to think about different types of memory. For example, there are separate long-term and short-term memory systems (among many other distinctions). In general, there are hypothesized gating mechanisms that determine the information that can enter memory. The gating systems are controlled by some signal that says 'store this information' or 'ignore this information'. Different memory networks can have different gating systems.
There's a lot of work looking at neuromodulators as gating signals. Dopamine and acetylcholine are some prominent examples. For example, people have found that dopamine can modulate synaptic plasticity (the strengthening and weakening of connections between neurons, which is thought to be a primary mechanism of long term memory storage). It can also cause cortical remodeling. For just a couple examples, see:

Zhang et al. (2009) Gain in sensitivity and loss in temporal contrast
  of STDP by dopaminergic modulation at hippocampal synapses.
Bao et al. (2001) Cortical remodelling induced by activity of ventral
  tegmental dopamine neurons.
Froemke et al. (2007). A synaptic memory trace for cortical receptive field plasticity.

On the behavioral level, stimulating the dopamine system can induce particular forms of learning (which you can think of as a form of memory). For example, if you stimulate the dopamine system, an animal may tend to repeat the behavior that led to the stimulation. A pathological version of this is thought to be what happens during addiction with certain classes of drugs that stimulate the dopamine system (e.g. cocaine, but not lsd).
Interestingly, many of the same mechanisms appear to work across species, from sea slugs to humans). Although,sea slugs can't remember going to a shop after work.
Answer: Well I have a theory; I think that when we see at something or some event, our brain processes this information in two separate parts. One of them is composed of the objects on which we are focusing. That part is saved in our memory and we know about it. all other objects from that scene on which we are not focusing our attention, are handled by sub conscious part of our brain. And these are also stored in our memory but we dont know about them.
So memory in brain can be considered as a book with events as its contents. Those events on which we focus are placed in the index of this book. Other events are also stored in the book but are not in the index. When we try to remember something our brain checks the index to fetch the relevant information. So even though majority of stimuli received by brain from our senses are stored in brain, we only perceive to remember those events of which we have created an index ( focused stimuli )


Is a fatter tire likely to get fewer flats

Question: Everything else equal is a fatter tire likely to get fewer flats
Actually misread another question
Is a bigger wheel likely to get fewer flats?
So I am posting this question to match my answer
Answer: The two most common types of flats are
1) pinch
2) puncture
Can also have the spoke puncture the tube from the inside but nothing a tire can do about that.
A fatter tire is more resistant to both pinch and puncture flats.
A larger tire will also have softer ride (due to lower pressure) and better traction due to more tire in contact with the road.  This durability and comfort come at a cost.  A larger tire is heavier, more wind resistance, and more rolling resistance.
Wheel sizes are reported in a number of ways.
The actual actual wheel size or actual wheel size plus nominal tire size.
For sake of fair comparison I will use actual wheel size.
For example ISO 622 is the same as both 700mm and 29".
Will compare ISO 622 wheel diameter and tire diameter of 1" versus 2".
Same rubber in each tires and same thickness.
A fatter tire will tend to be thicker but for the sake of head to heads comparison assume same thickness
The tire must support the weight of the rider and bike.
If I am 170 lbs and 60% of the weight is on the rear wheel then let's call it it 100 lb on the rear wheel.
The 2" diameter tire will run at a lower pressure.
Let's assume the 1" tire runs at 100 PSI and the 2" at 60 PSI.
A bigger tire runs at lower pressure because it has more contact area.
In this example the 1" tire will have a contact area of 1 square inch.
And the 2" tire will have a contact area of 1.67 square inches.
Pinch Flat
Pinch flat is when the tube is pinched against rim and splits open.
When you hit a blunt object such as a curb.
A larger diameter tire is more resistant pinch flat for two reasons
 1. With the larger diameter the outer tire (starts) further from the curb.
 2. Due to the bigger diameter the  fatter tire builds surface area faster so it does not need to deform as far to match the force of the curb.
Puncture Flat
A sharp object penetrates tire and tube.
Identical rubber will have the same force per surface area to penetrate.
The rubber does not know if it has 1" or 2" or buddies.
Assume a triangular piece of glass 10mm by  10mm by 10mm.
Along comes this this fat soft tire.  The tire deforms and the rubber makes contact with the road around the glass like the glass is not even there.   Because the tire deformed and made contact with the ground the glass never exceeded the minimum force to penetrate the tire.
Even if the fatter tires comes in contact with more glass is still distributes the load.
Would you rather stand on a bed of nails of lie on a bed of nails.
Then along comes a hard shinny skinny tire that cannot absorb the glass and at the point it is just tire on glass there is sufficient pressure for the glass to penetrate the tire.  The higher pressure tire did deform but not as much as much as the lower pressure tire.  In this example when the tire was directly on the glass no tire was in contract with ground to take the part of the load.

A smaller piece of glass in which both tires deform and touch ground around the glass the softer (lower pressure) tire is always going to have more tire on ground around the glass and take more weight off the glass.  The large tire is going to take enough weight off the glass to avoid penetration for a range of heights and sharpness.
This is not an artificial condition.  A glass bottle is about 4 mm thick. The small sharp shards of glass from the bottle are 4 mm.
Even a piece of glass that penetrates both tires the glass will penetrate the harder (higher pressure) tire further.  Because of deformation the glass will not be pushed in all the way.  Again the softer tire has more deformation.  So could have a case where the glass penetrates the tube on the hard tire but not the softer.
If you ride the same piece of glass long enough it will eventually works its way into both tires.  So inspect your tires for glass.  On a regular basis.  For sure every time you air them.
Tire Pressure
Tire pressure effects both pinch and puncture flats (and rolling resistance).
Increase pressure reduces pinch flats.
Increased pressure increases puncture flats because the tires does not deform as much (spread the load).
So there is a sweet spot.  Go with the manufacturer for that sweet spot.  Tire will have a pressure range.  If you weigh 180 of more then use the maximum.  If you wight 140 of less then use the minimum.  In between use liner interpolation.   If you weigh 160 you are 1/2 between and should use the pressure 1/2 way between.
Mountain bikers like to run at lower pressure for more contact (traction) and to absorb  roots and rocks.  If you are running at a lower pressure then be aware and don't bang on roots and rocks as hard.
Tubeless
Tubeless tires offer the advantage of no tube to pinch so no pinch flats.  Can run them at a lower pressure.  A tubeless tires with sealant is not less susceptible to a puncture flat but it will seal small punctures.
Comment: They are. Pros are currently using 25-26 mm, sometimes 28 mm. Not long ago they were using 23 mm, and in the 80s they were using 21 mm or sometimes even narrower.
Comment: Minor correction that doesn't really affect your main argument: all other things being equal, a fatter tire has lower rolling resistance. Even at somewhat lower pressure.
Comment: @AdamRice Then why are racers not using fatter tires?
Comment: Because there is a weight and aerodynamics trade off.
Answer: Wouldn't a wider tire also hit more sharp objects because of the increased contact area? In that case it would be less likely for a narrower tire to puncture.
I say this from experience in the southwest where goat-heads(puncture-vine) are everywhere. I find that my roadbike tires get flats much less frequently than my mountain bike tires, but I also ride them in different areas.
Comment: Yes I agree that is a factor.  But I don't think it is over riding.  I have never gotten a glass flat on my road bike from glass I saw.  It is those little slivers.
Comment: I thought of an analogy.  Would you rather stand on bed of nails or lie on a bed of nails?
Answer: The top answer makes a good case, but in practice, I don't think it's true that wider tires puncture less easily WRT broken glass, or especially pinch flats. A narrower tire designed for higher PSI avoids more obstacles & presents a much stronger surface. Higher PSI tires are under great tension holding in the pressure. I think this pre-loading makes them more durable (in a similar way as how case-hardened steel & bulletproof glass get their characteristics from rapid cooling processes locking in internal forces w/ the outer layer under great tension), plus hi pressure tires may need to be made w/ stronger materials in the first place. Glass is very brittle & firm tires seem to crunch the sharp edges off at moment of impact, continuing on unscathed, so they don't seem more vulnerable to direct puncture. The danger with glass is more when the tires pick up fragments that can sometimes work their way deeper. There may be advantages to mountain bike tires that have knobby tread, but keeping all things equal & assuming similar treads, a softer bigger tire can pick up more glass more easily, so I still think it's at the disadvantage.
IME, high pressure tires have much less give, & therefore are much less prone to pinch flats. I've found that hitting a sharp bump while under moderate to heavy-moderate braking, for instance, can cause a pinch flat very easily on tires under 35 PSI, occasionally on tires 35-65 PSI & it's definitely never happened to me on the current tires I run at 90-100PSI.


Are there deities worshiped today who do not appear in any canonical scriptures?

Question: The deity Mariamman is very popular in Tamil Nadu and her name being in Tamil, cannot by definition be from Puranas, Itihasas etc.  How reliable are the Sanskritic origins given to Manasa, Vitthala, Ayyappan et al ?
Comment: Did I say Samayapuram Mariamman a folk deity? When and where? I commented based on your title. Your question's body asks something else. What can I do if both are unrelated?
Comment: Names always denote attributes, be it Sanskit or any other language. For example, Utsava murti of Venkateswara of Tirupati is Malayappa which means lord (appa) of Mala (hill; Venkatadri). Gods are also called by local names. Also in Kashi, Vishwanatha is simply referred as "Baba".
Comment: There are many deities. These are called as folk deities. [Grama Devata](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gramadevata) is the term used for that. So, your question is deities outside canonical scriptures or reliability on sanskrit origins?
Comment: Calling a great and immensely popular goddess like Samayapuram Mariamman a "folk deity".is insulting.
Comment: @SK santhoshi Mata :D
Comment: I think you can make your comment an answer @Anisha .
Comment: I am talking about deities who came into existence with a vernacular name (Tamil or Hindi and so forth) and if at all, they were given Sanskrit names later and perhaps woven into Puranas @the destroyer
Comment: Manasaa Devi the Goddess of Snakes is completely  authentic. Both Devi Puraana and Brahma Vaivarta Purana explain her glory in great details.
Comment: There are so many Goddesses in my place. As @Sarvabhouma said they are Grama Devatas. Similarly, there could be other deities from other places too. So, I think this question is "too broad".
Comment: think for yourself @krishna shweta
Answer: I'll add to this if I find more examples.  I knew about Santoshi Mata but thanks to @Anisha for mentioning her.
Santoshi Mata - Her foundational Purana may be a movie! By definition - there are no "scriptural" sources.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santoshi_Mata
"Santoshi Mata (Hindi: संतोषी माता) or Santoshi Maa (संतोषी माँ) is a goddess in the Hindu pantheon of whose veneration throughout Hinduism had only relatively recently commenced. She is venerated as "the Mother of Happiness",[1] the meaning of her name. Santoshi Mata is particularly worshipped by women of India and Nepal. A vrata (ritual fast) called the Santoshi Maa vrata performed by women on 16 consecutive Fridays wins the goddess' favour.
Santoshi Mata started to be worshipped as a goddess in the early 1960s. Her prayer initially spread through word of mouth, vrata-pamphlet literature, and poster art. Her vrata was gaining popularity with North Indian women. However, it was the 1975 Bollywood film Jai Santoshi Maa ("All Hail Mother Santoshi")—narrating the story of the goddess and her ardent devotee Satyavati Vyas—which propelled this then little-known "new" goddess to the heights of devotional fervour. With the rising popularity of the film, Santoshi Mata "entered" the pan-Indian Hindu pantheon and her images and shrines were incorporated in Hindu temples. The film portrayed the goddess to be the daughter of the popular Hindu god Lord Ganesha and hindu goddess Buddhi related her to the Raksha Bandhan festival."


Using Multiple Serial Ports with arduino nano

Question: I am using a arduino nano to control a adafruit ultimate gps and a xbee wireless controller. However I recently ran into a problem using both at the same time (before I was using each separately until now) and read that I cannot listen to 2 software serials at the same time with a arduino. The biggest problem I see is that since I can only listen to one at a time, if I open a port, will cached data from the xbee and/or gps instantly start transferring in? Or or it more luck based that I will catch it as it comes? How should I go about coding around this? Should I just close and reopen the ports as needed(assuming there is no luck factor involved)? Any help is greatly appreciated. I will explain more if necessary.
Answer: You can use SoftwareSerial library in order to instantiate a second (soft) serial port.
By looking at the example, it seems that you can use any two digital pins to use SoftwareSerial library and instantiate a second serial port along with the hardware serial port.
Answer: You might be able to use the GPS's EN pin to enable and disable the communication to it, and also try to use the RTS/CTS pins of the XBee to control the flow, since that's their actual purpose there :)
I hope that helped.
Comment: The EN pin might shut it down and then you'll have to reconnect to sattelites?

You could however, use a transistor on the dataline so you can toggle the stream of data coming in.
Answer: The Mega and the Due have 4 UARTs. It seems like those should work, but they are much larger. I'm embarking on a project that needs to be small and use two serial ports. I'm looking at the Teensy, which has three UARTs.


How do I give the complete faces a different Material?

Question: When I give the faces in the inside a differerent material than the rest, the new color does not fill out the whole face as I would like (Possibly because of the subsurf Modifier?). How can I make the whole faces be blue?
Comment: It might be helpful to show the entire screen for blender to see your current modifiers and any other creases you have.  The face mode.  Your materials panel.
Comment: I see many face marks.  Perhaps too many.  Blender has an edge crease tool for use with the Subdivision modifier.  Another option is to make face of tiny width in x or y, or extra edge loops, which some people feel is inferior.  So do you have extra edge loops creating narrow faces?
Comment: Yes, most likely that is the result of Subsurf modifier. If you want to make material to end on the border of the inner part then you will have to find a way of preventing Subsurf from smoothing mesh too much there. It can be either supporting (proximity) edge loops or creasing existing loops like in the answers below. Another (more complex) way would be unwrapping mesh and painting on it a mask of where you want which material to be (black-n-white image). Note that mesh on the screenshot very likely has doubles, select all and press W > Remove Doubles
Comment: Consider creating a new model from zero.  The new model may have zero problems, because you may be more skilled on the second attempt.  You may have mistakes in the old model, and you many not need to know what they are.
Answer: Create additional edge loops and it will stick to the edge
Answer: You have a bevel between the rim and the interior of your object with one segment. You have given that segment the material of the rim. Because of the rules of Catmull-Clark subdivision, the bevel's face loop will be subdivided, each edge weighted towards pre-existing adjacent edges. Each subdivision receives the material of the original face loop. But the adjacent edges are further away down the length of the interior,so the material is drawn down into it.
If, instead, you have two segments in the bevel, and assign the inner one the internal material, and the outer one the rim material, the subdivisions will stretch the right way.

The top row has a bevel with one segment, the bottom row with two.
Answer: Consider creating a second model made with creases.
Consider applying the Subsurf modifier and setting materials for the faces that suit your needs.

In the image above the right faint line is a crease.

The menu location of crease in the image above.
Famous video websites can well demonstrate edge crease use.


How is it possible to have a high view of the authority of the Bible and a positive view of textual criticism?

Question: I know not all people will have the view that is programmed into the question. But for someone who does, or who understands someone who does, how would you answer this?
Comment: Hello Phillip!  Welcome to Christanity.SE!  As written, your question is a bit broad and vague.  Could you edit your question to include a examples of Biblical teaching and criticism that we can use to better understand your perspective?  Also, because so many Christian traditions and denominations are represented here, is there one tradition or denomination that would be best perspective to answer the question?  Thanks!
Comment: I'm just looking for a good answer to the question. That's all.
Answer: Perhaps another way to answer the OP is to say that it is based on a false contrast. As an analogy, consider the following sentences:

Jazz is the best kind of music and country is the best kind of music.
Jazz is the best kind of music and the trumpet is the best instrument.

In the first sentence there is a contradiction because the contradictory opinions relate to the same category. But in the second sentence there is no contradiction because the categories are not the same. A musical style is not identical to a musical instrument.
In the same way, textual criticism and authority are not the same category. Textual criticism answers the question, "What is the correct content of the original document?" Authority answers the question, "Is this document one which I should accept as true and normative?" Two different questions.
A simple illustration may assist. The apocrypha are a set of inter-testamental writings that are accepted as authoritative by some but not all sections of the Christian church. A Catholic may accept 1 Maccabees as part of his authoritative bible; a Baptist may not. But both of them, if they choose to read 1 Maccabees, would want to read the most accurate version of that text that is available. The debate over the authority of 1 Maccabees is based on different grounds than the mere determination of the text.
Answer: To be honest, I'm not sure what leads you to ask the question. Almost all Christians and almost all Christian denominations/movements have a positive view of textual criticism.
The facts are that humans are fallible document copiers, and we therefore have thousands of manuscripts with minor differences. And as much as classicists and historians value the process of textual criticism, we Christians who believe the Bible is the inspired word of God have even more reason to want the original texts he inspired and therefore welcome textual criticism as a tool.
Textual criticism isn't foolproof, and its results are always a work in progress. Neither can it determine our doctrine of inspiration. An example I often give is the book of Jeremiah, whose Greek text is one eighth shorter and arranged in a different order to the Hebrew Masoretic Text. The Dead Sea Scrolls have manuscripts corresponding to both versions, and both versions have been accepted as scripture by Christian groups in history. Our doctrine of inspiration has to be robust enough to handle this. Some Christians only accept the Hebrew text. But as many scholars think the Hebrew is an expansion of the Greek (or the Hebrew it was translated from), so should we rip out the longer version from our Bibles and replace it with the shorter? I think our doctrine of inspiration should actually uphold these two text families, so that we don't conclude that the Greek text the Apostles read an quoted was actually a completely uninspired error. Whatever you think, textual criticism can't determine which of these text families is inspired, but it can help us determine what the Hebrew and the Greek texts should each look like.
Tricky cases like Jeremiah aren't really that common. Most of the time textual criticism has a fairly simple question to answer. Paul (and his scribe Tertius) wrote the letter of Romans. It was copied thousands of times, and many small errors crept in. The question for textual criticism is simple: what is the original text of Romans? It's not easy to answer, and takes lots of work, and different scholars have varying philosophies and methods, but the question itself is a simple one. Christians who recognise the high authority of the Bible welcome textual criticism as it tries to answer this question.
Answer: Because we wouldn't know what the Bible says without textual criticism. Textual criticism is just concluding what the original text (the autographs) said, so I would say that anyone who has attempted to accept or conclude what is the "original text" has engaged in textual criticism, including those that compiled the text in the first few centuries.
"Textual criticism" is the critical examination and comparison of the manuscripts of the biblical text to determine the proper readings of the biblical text. This is how the accurate transmission of Scripture can be confirmed. Hence, a "critical" edition of the Greek New Testament, such as the NA28 (read it online) or UBS 5 (read it online), usually means that all the variants in the manuscripts are noted and the alternatives (if any) are noted in which manuscripts in the "apparatus." This, in English Bibles, comes in a much much less detailed fashion as footnotes. Notes such as "the earliest manuscripts don't have x" or "Some manuscripts say xyz." The most prominent and biggest examples of this that is obvious in most English translations would be the notes saying the earliest manuscripts and many other ancient "witnesses" don't include Mark 16:9-20 and John 7:53-8:11.
I would say the only reason we can have a high view of the authority of Scripture is because of textual criticism. Specifically, if textual criticism (e.g. comparing all the early Greek manuscripts) determined that all the Greek manuscripts differed horribly (as do some other important historical and religious texts...) then there would be good reason to doubt their accurate transmission. However, the similarity upwards of 99% serves to reinforce the validity of the transmission of the text.
Furthermore, the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy states in Article X

We affirm that inspiration, strictly speaking, applies only to the autographic text of Scripture,
  which in the providence of God can be ascertained from available manuscripts with great
  accuracy. We further affirm that copies and translations of Scripture are the Word of God to the extent that they faithfully represent the original.
We deny that any essential element of the Christian faith is affected by the absence of the autographs. We further deny that this absence renders the assertion of Biblical inerrancy invalid
  or irrelevant.

The highest view of Scripture, inerrancy, (according to evangelicals at least per this statement) applies only to the autographs, which are the manuscripts that the apostles wrote down "as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." The Bible does not say that God carried along the scribes or copyists by the Holy Spirit, and thus we should not be thrown off-guard by the fact that there are errors in the manuscripts that we possess due to copyists or others. The textbook mentioned below has a chapter on types of errors in the manuscripts. Important note: the textbook and that chapter specifically gives examples of errors not only in manuscripts but also by the author (this was a section probably written by Ehrman, though I haven't looked at the 3rd or prior edition to compare), which many would deny. I have examined a couple of his proposed errors and determined they were unfounded claims.
The important thing is that the autographs "can be ascertained from available manuscripts with great accuracy." I also want to make clear here that we do not have the autographs, the actual writings that the apostles wrote, but only copies that were subsequently made. While this is a bummer (in my mind), this does not noticeably lesson our confidence in Scripture or even in our English translations (given their basis on the most up-to-date authoritative manuscripts). The autographs may also be found. However, currently, the oldest "extant" manuscript we have is the John Rylands Papyrus 52, which dates to early 2nd century. I think those who have studied textual criticism, especially in comparison with other ancient documents or even the Quran or other later texts, may come to agree with the conclusion that it indeed is "by the providence of God" that we have so reliable of a transmission of the text. It is absolutely astounding.
Our 5800+ stack of Greek manuscripts plus the hundreds of translations within a few centuries that align 99+% serve to demonstrate the importance and reliability of the Scripture, especially when you look at the 5-10 copies of manuscripts from the Greek philosophers, and 6 of the early Quranic manuscripts, some of which are missing 25% chunks out of it and all are different than today.
It is through textual criticism and new discoveries (e.g. Dead Sea Scrolls!) of manuscripts that we know how the KJV is lacking because of its basis on the textus receptus (text compiled by Erasmus in the 16th century). It is how we know some cases of more reliable readings from the Septuagint (LXX) rather than the Masoretic text, and vice versa (I just discovered the world of LXX textual criticism the other day, where I found Rahlfs' semi-critical LXX and the 70+ year project of the full-critical Gottigen LXX and Cambridge LXX).
Summary: Textual criticism is an extremeley useful field (critical even) to support the reliability and authority of the transmission of the text and the Bible as a whole.
Resources:
The Text of the New Testament: Its Transmission, Corrruption, and Restoration by Bruce Metzger and Bart Ehrman
Note: Metzger is neo-orthodox and Ehrman is agnostic.
Note 2: I have answered focusing primarily on New Testament textual criticism. That has been more of my study and seemingly the "go-to" focus of text-critical questions. This is interesting because I bet textual criticism for the Masoretic text, which wasn't truly final until the 9th-11th century AD though agrees with proto-Masoretic texts and the LXX greatly, would probably be even more difficult, spanning many more centuries (~35 centuries comparied to 20 centuries, which is more than 50% longer time period, and yet we have only a more recent extant Hebrew Bible compared to New Testament). However, the more trained and disciplined scribes helped to limit the textual variants in comparison to the NT. There is evidence of variations that are due to scribal school differences.
A Note on the Percent of Accuracy of the New Testament Text: Norman Giesler quotes several experts in concluding that the NT is "98.33% pure," "99.75% accurate," and "99.9% free of real concern."
Comment: I hate to say it, but your answer is highly opinionated and subjective. And where it ventures to give actual facts, they are quite controversial (e.g. that we wouldn't know what the Bible says without TC, or that there are only six "early" Quranic manuscripts).
Comment: I didn't mean to imply anywhere that most Christians have a positive view of textual criticism; I'm sure many don't. I was exploring what textual criticism is and what questions it answers (its relevance to biblical authority); many don't know what textual criticism is (and that ignorance is partially the reason for the skepticism). I also didn't mean to say there are only 6, but just in comparing 6 of the early manuscripts (some of the most notable ones). The question seems to require a bit of subjectivity. If you could give me more ways to improve my answer, I would appreciate it.
Comment: Right, I was thinking of the other fellow's answer.  My comment has been edited accordingly. As for improving your answer, I would just pull the throttle back a bit, i.e. avoid exaggerating.  TC helps us reconstruct the text more accurately, but before there was any such thing as TC, people still knew more or less what the Bible said.  The NT is more reliable than most ancient texts, but it's not "99%" accurate.  Etc.
Comment: I agree if you define textual criticism as the professional field, but textual criticism is by definition determining what the original text said, so whatever manuscripts were compiled/trusted and used even in the first few centuries seem to be by definition doing textual criticism. That is what I mean when I say that. Would you still disagree with that or think I should clarify in the answer what I meant?   I also added a note about the percent accuracy at the end if you want to look.
Comment: @BenW Are you talking about my answer? Is there a problem with it?


Difference between Common Shares and Retained Earnings

Question: So I'm looking at my accounting textbook and it states that the total common shares account indicate 100% ownership in the company. Yet there are other shareholder's equity accounts such as Retained Earnings which are not under "Common Shares". I'm wondering how it represents 100% ownership if these other accounts exist (Retained Earnings being an accumulation of net income). Also how would you know what portion Preferred Shareholders own of a company?
Answer: Retained Earnings is the total of all previous profits and losses. It's basically the equity that has been "earned" throughout the life of the business (as opposed to raised through debt or stock offerings).
Common Shares is the amount of equity that has been sold in the open market through stock. Sometimes you'll see Common Shares split into a smaller number representing the stock's "par" value (which is another discussion) and "Paid-In Capital", which represents the amount that the market initially paid for the stock above it's "par" value.
So the shareholders "own" 100% of the equity of the company, which includes retained earnings.

Also how would you know what portion Preferred Shareholders own of a company?

Preferred Shares are an alternate way for a company to raise money. It's not completely equity in the sense that its value comes from a contractually obligated dividend payment, not its ownership percentage (it's typically a very small percentage of overall equity rights), but it's not completely debt in the sense that is it comes after debt (but before common shares) in the order of payback in the event of a liquidation.
To determine how much is owned by preferred shareholders, look to see if the preferred shares can be converted to common shares (which would only happen if the value of the common shares is worth more than the preferred dividends). Then divide that amount by the total number of equity shares (common + converted preferred).
So if a company has 9,000 common shares and 100 preferred shares, each of which is convertible to 10 common shares, then the total number of potential shares is 10,000 (9,000 common + 1,000 converted preferred), of which 90% is held by common shareholders and 10% is held be preferred shareholders.
Comment: Makes a bit more sense. So is it the case that the ownership share of common shares represents the ownership share of total equity (including Retained Earnings of course)?
Answer:
Retained Earnings being lumped with common stock is nothing more than an accounting fiction to balance the books.  (The extra cash in the bank needs to be balanced by Something, and RE is what that Something is.)
Preferred Stock shares "just" grant their owners first dibs on dividends.  They don't get to vote for board members.
Comment: A couple of issues here - retained earnings can be understood more deeply than being just 'accounting fiction' (see the summary from D Stanley above); also, many preferred shares do have voting rights.


Why are my yellow cherry tomato plants not growing or getting more fruit

Question: I bought yellow cherry tomato plants from a nursery that already had tomatoes on them. I transplanted them and although the plants have gotten bigger, they are still very short compared to the red cherry tomatoes I also planted. They also have not gotten any new flowers, so I have very few tomatoes. I planted them in large pots, don't know what kind of soil, but it may be a mixture of soil from my yard, potting soil, compost etc. It has been used previously for other vegetable plants. Should I fertilize them?
Comment: pictures help a lot
Comment: It is too warm in some zones like 8 and 9 for tomatoes to set fruit in the summer.
Answer: One key to understanding this kind of problem is to be aware of how tomatoes grow. The small fruiting types are nearly always vining types, that is they grow taller and taller (or rather longer and longer) without restriction while the conditions are right. They can always send out side shoots but there is normally always a growing terminal tip.
If you compare your red and yellow plants you may find that the red ones have a clear light green growing tip, where it looks like new small leaves and even tiny clusters of flowers are forming. The problem is that due to growing conditions that tip might not be formed - instead you get a much larger cluster of flowers or just leaves, with no cluster of infant growth. Without that growing tip the plant just seems to stop.
Fortunately there is an inbuilt protection mechanism - side shoots. Again looking carefully at the plants you may see small shoots growing where the leaves join the main stem. These are capable of carrying growing tips that can take over from the terminal tip that has gone "blind". If your examination coincides with my story then the solution is to make sure that at least one side shoot is allowed to grow to take over the vining expansion. There will be a temporary setback but the plants will recover.
I have seen the same thing happen to some of my tomato plants; I have put it down to a cooler than normal spring and my overly hasty planting out.
Comment: Thank you. Should I pinch off some branches to encourage more growth? I never do that with the taller tomato plants.
Comment: Only pinch out the side shoots that are not contributing to the plant shape that you want. Otherwise pinching just slows things down.


How to share the generated JMeter Report dashboard to stakeholders via email?

Question: Now that I have generated the report dashboard after the JMeter test run, I want to share the same via email to concerned members and stakeholders. Please suggest how can I do the aforementioned task!
Answer:
If are asking how to send a file via email then I'm not sure the "stakeholders" will need this report as if a person is not capable of accomplishing this simple activity I strongly doubt the load report is relevant
If you need to do it using JMeter - you can pack the folder with the dashboard report using OS Process Sampler and SMTP Sampler (it will be a separate JMeter test of course)
If you are running your test using a Continuous Integration solution check out your CI server plugins, for instance there is Email-ext plugin for Jenkins.
Comment: Many thanks for your time!
Post running the test I have the report dashboard saved in a folder somewhere on my system (maybe on Desktop). Now that folder has an index.html file opening which I can view the results of my test. How do I share the same over the email to others?
Answer: In my experience, it is less value to share file created by automation or performance tool with stakeholders. They will not understand it. What I would suggest you is to create a short presentation (7-15 min) to present the results and answer the possible questions.
Answer: Well in my opinion if you like you can place the folder in a webserver like IIS and host a site, and send the link to the stakeholders, that ways you have to update the result set with every run, and you can do the automation around it.
Answer: Copy .csv file for same test within the same folder and make it zip and can share that zip file with anyone :)


ASP.NET Web Forms Facebook Open Graph Integration Unable to Add Token to Session State

Question: I've used this site as a resource to find answers for my questions numerous times, but this is my first time posting; as I am unable to locate an answer that fixes my problem.
I'm trying to build a simple Facebook application that will publish a single static post to any user's stream that adds the application (and can repost the message as many times as they'd like (for points) using a button control).
I've found tons of source code and different approaches to the C# Facebook SDK, but I'm currently getting an error when testing the implementation in its current state that suggests the accessToken is null, thus making any attempt to use it for data collection impossible.
Here's the code I'm attempting (I'm passing through the HttpContext context variable):
var accessToken = context.Request["accessToken"];
        var accessToken_copy = context.Request["AccessToken"];
        context.Session["AccessToken"] = accessToken;
        if (accessToken_copy == null)
        {
            try
            {
                accessToken_copy = context.Request["accessToken"];
            }
            catch
            {
                accessToken_copy = SampleToken;
            }
        }

        var client = new FacebookClient(accessToken_copy);
        dynamic result = client.Get("me", new { fields = "name,id" });
        name = result.name;
        receiptID = result.id;

Here's the error that the server is throwing:
Server Error in '/' Application.
Value cannot be null.
Parameter name: accessToken
Description: An unhandled exception occurred during the execution of the current web request. Please review the stack trace for more information about the error and where it originated in the code.

Exception Details: System.ArgumentNullException: Value cannot be null.
Parameter name: accessToken

Source Error:

Line 44:
Line 45:
Line 46:             var client = new FacebookClient(accessToken_copy);
Line 47:             dynamic result = client.Get("me", new { fields = "name,id" });
Line 48:             name = result.name;

Any assistance would be very helpful!
Thank you.
Answer: you forgot "/" at end of  "me"
see
dynamic result = client.Get("me/", new {fields ="name,id"});


Real alternative to Tag&Rename

Question: I was using Tag&Rename (an MP3 tag editor) on Windows and I'm looking for a real alternative for OS X.
Comment: possible duplicate of [Is there any features like winamp auto tag exists for iTunes?](http://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/286/is-there-any-features-like-winamp-auto-tag-exists-for-itunes)
Answer: Jaikoz and Music Man can do it for you.
you can also use some free apps too:

MusicBrainz
ID3 Editor
Answer: The tagger
Answer: To my knowledge there is no tagging software on OS X as polished and features complete as Tag&Rename.
Beside the ones aforementioned, I use SimpleTagger which enables you to tag from Amazon (including cover) and rename your files from tags.
Answer:
I mostly use mid3v2. Some examples:
mid3v2 --artist Artist --title Title --album Album --track 1 file.mp3
for f in *.mp3;do a=${f%% - *};t=${f#* - };t=${t%.mp3};mid3v2 --artist "$a" --title "$t" "$f";done
mid3v2 -l file.mp3 # list tags
mid3v2 -l file.mp3|sed -n s/^TPE1=//p # artist
mid3v2 -D file.mp3 # delete all tags
for f in *.mp3;do l=$(mid3v2 -l "$f");mv "$f" "$(printf %02d $(sed -n 's,^TRCK=0*\([^/]*\).*,\1,p'<<<"$l")) $(sed -n 's,^TIT2=,,p'<<<"$l"|tr '/:?<>\\*|"^' _).mp3";done
mid3v2 --delete-frames $(mid3v2 -l *|LC_ALL=C sed -n 's,^\([^=]*\)=.*,\1,p'|sort -u|grep -Exv 'TPE1|TIT|TALB|TRCK|TYER|TDRC'|tr \\n ,) * # keep only specified tags

You can install mid3v2 by running sudo easy_install pip;sudo pip install mutagen. id3v2 and id3tag don't support Unicode and id3tool doesn't support ID3v2.
Answer: Tag & Rename works on PlayOnMac.
PlayOnMac is a Windows compatibility layer (but it's not a virtual machine). It's free and you don't need a Windows license either. First, you need to download and install PlayOnMac, then buy Tag & Rename and install it from within PlayOnMac.
After that, it just works like a usual app.

Real alternative to Tag&Rename


How to set Interval Timer on D7000 to take 180 x 25 second exposures with 2 seconds interval?

Question: I am trying to take 180 x 25 second exposures (changed down from 30 second ones) with say a 2 second interval, either with the internal Interval Timer or an external one. How would the menu read? Thanks to the previous reply to my first question regarding the same problem. On the 30 second exposure, the camera fired a shot and the green light flashed every 30 seconds for one hour or 100 shots.
Answer: Select shutter speed required in manual or check approximate auto shutter speed. In the menu select interval timing (camera date & time must be set) - go for "now" option it's easier. Select the interval period - this MUST - be longer than the shutter time - set number of intervals required and choose 1 shot per interval (experiment later!) that should work
Comment: I think a key point here is that the interval must be longer than the exposure time. The interval is the time from the start of one exposure to the start of the next. By "2 second interval," I think the OP wants a 2-second gap between exposures... that means the interval should actually be set to 25+2=27 seconds.
Answer: First set your shutter speed to 25 seconds. Then go to Menu > Shooting Menu > Interval Timer Shooting to set it at 180 for the number for intervals you want. And you are done.
Answer: Turn Long Exposure NR off. The camera spends too much time processing the shots between intervals, it screws up the sequence.
Also, what user20657 and coneslayer said apply. Interval should be 2 seconds longer than shutter speed.
Answer: I give you a simple instruction, set 2sec for the interval time  and then set the other parameters as 9999*9 no need for further calculation


Ladakh medical facilities

Question: I'm planning to visit Ladakh in July with an 11-year-old kid. I am flying to Leh from Delhi. Has anyone here travelled with a kid this route before? Were there any issues due to altitude  sickness? I will be in Leh for two days to acclimatise. Any hospitals anyone can recommend in case of altitude sickness?
Answer: Ladakh is a beautiful place but yes there are altitude issues during the month of  August TO December, there are fluctuations in degree of temperatures, As you're flying by air there wouldn't be a travel hassle.
And as soon as you land the Airport Authorities help in medication for Altitude sickness.
You should visit the nearby hospital for reference and generally there are Military Hospital camps for every 5 Kms.
2 days won't be hassle for the kid if he isn't affected by any breathing issues, if travelling  this July then temperature falls upto -30c so it is better you prepare yourself to stay warm with good clothing.
Pro tip: Visit a doctor in Delhi and you can take precautionary advice before you fly.
Answer: When I visited Leh, I did not find hospitals as often as we would in other towns. It is advisable to carry (at the very least) Diamox because it helps in risky situations - so that you get the time to go and reach out for advice.  I have seen people carry oxygen backup (like oxy99) - but I dont have first hand experience.  For me, 2 days of rest was optimum, not the planned one day for acclimatization.
For local wisdom, just in case you might need, do visit the Leh market there and ask people (most people will only help minus any business vested interests).  In market, most local people come, hence we can get accurate local information.  Also, there are army camps near the airport area - and you will find army women / men - who can give you solid advice.

Ladakh medical facilities


Is Broly canon now? (Dragon Ball Super Broly movie)

Question: So everybody in Youtube including those Dragon Ball Youtubers with over a million suscribers are saying the new Dragon Ball Super coming in December is called "Broly" and that's going to be written by Akira Toriyama (who didnt create Broly). Does this mean Broly is canon now? How about the 3 old Broly movies, do they become canon too?

Answer: I believe so, based on the Toriyama's comments, it was his design from the beginning. I guess we should consider Broly as canon now.
The following is his comments, translated and tweeted by @EmperorBigD

COMMENTS FROM AKIRA TORIYAMA
Everyone, are you familiar with Broly?
He's an incredibly strong Saiyan who only appeared in the old anime movies, and I apparently at least drew the designs for him, but I had practically no involvement with the anime at the time, so I had totally forgotten about the story content.
So, about Broly, I hear these days, he's still very popular not only in Japan, but also overseas. Based on that, my editor suggested we have Broly appear in this next movie.
I went ahead and watched the movies from back then, and I felt this could be quite interesting once I rearrange some things. I got right to work trying my hand at a story that incorporates him into the Dragon Ball Super series.
While keeping in mind Broly's classic image so as not to disappoint his fans, I updated him and added a new side to his characters, and I think this has resulted in a more fascinating Broly.
Naturally you'll get to see fierce combat, but also, the paths of destiny that lead to an encounter between Goku, Vegeta, and Broly. It also involves the Frieza Force and the history of the Saiyans, which end up having a major connection to everything. The story content turns out to be very large-scale and dramatic.
Here comes that almighty Saiyan, Broly! I'm also including lots of other content all you fans will enjoy, so look forward to it, and be patient a while for it all to come together!!
(Source)
Answer: The title of the movie is called Dragon Ball Super: Broly with its tagline as "The Greatest enemy, a Saiyan". This movie has been referred to a Dragon Ball Super movie and we have no idea as to whether this story is set immediately after the Tournament of Power arc or something else. We also are unsure as to how Broly is going to be incorporated into the story.Also note that the older movies of Broly don't necessarily have to be canon if he does make an appearance in this movie. If they introduce Broly as a character Goku and Vegeta meet for the first time, then the older movies wouldn't be canon. If they do recognize him, then the movies could be considered canon. We won't know for sure with regard to the same until we watch the movie or maybe a trailer.Its obvious that Goku and Vegeta have grown substantially stronger in comparison to their level of strength in the old Broly movies. It is very likely the writers will have Broly face off against the two during this movie. So, they would have to increase Broly's level of strength to bring him on par with current Goku and Vegeta. They did this to Android 17 in Dragon Ball Super. Hence I see no reason why they cannot do this to Broly. At the same time, if you look at Toriyama's comment, he claims to have modified Broly and added a new side to his character, so he could very well be introduced as a brand new character which would end up making the previous movies non-canon.
Comment: I get the impression from the "comments from Akira Toriyama" that Broly is going to be canon now, but the old Broly movies arent
Comment: @Pablo If any references are made to any of the previous movies, they would end up being canon. If not, then no. So we won't know for sure until we see the movie.


Does "Excuse him." make sense?

Question: "Excuse me." is very often used in our daily conversation, and I learned the phrase "Excuse us." used when involving more than two persons.  Then, how about "Excuse him / her / them."? For example, when you want your little kid to get out of the elevator ( which is packed with people and only your kid must leave ), can you say, "Excuse him." when it is a boy, and "Excuse her." when It is a girl?
Comment: You may also hear "excuse *you*", used in a sarcastic manner, when someone does something perceived as rude without apologizing. For example, someone bumps into you and knocks your books on the ground, but they continue on without apologizing, "excuse *you*" draws attention (of bystanders, usually) to their rudeness. Use sparingly.
Comment: I don't think "Excuse us" is at all normal in Britain.  I don't recall ever having heard it.
Answer: Yes, but ...
Saying "excuse him" is usually patronizing, implying that the other person is not responsible or polite enough to make his own apologies. If you're talking about a child, "Oh, please excuse my son, he doesn't know any better", well, we expect children to not be responsible. But if you say it about someone else, "Please excuse Fred", that's almost certainly insulting to Fred.
It may be, of course, that your intent is to say that Fred is irresponsible or rude, in which case "excuse him" would be totally appropriate.
The one example I can think of where it would not be insulting would be if the person could not be expected to know that something he did was inappropriate. Like, "Oh, please excuse Fred. He's still learning English, he didn't mean that statement the way it sounded."
Comment: Asking others to excuse a third person is also appropriate if the third person is not present: "Please excuse Fred [for not being here], his flight got delayed."
Comment: My wife does this every time I crack a joke in public: "Please excuse him, his sense of humour is terrible." Basically, you're taking the responsibility for the indiscretion upon yourself, and apologising for it, so it's kind of in the form: "Please excuse my [wife, husband, child, pet, circumstance, etc]".
Comment: +1.  if you're learning English as a second language, you probably do not want to say "excuse him/her/them" under any circumstances until you become completely fluent.  then again, you could experiment and learn from the reactions.
Answer: Yes, it is possible but not normally in that situation.  "Please excuse us" is what we would be more likely to say, even if you are not in the way, to imply that you need to stay together and the other person is keeping you apart.
On the other hand, if you want to make excuses for someone else's rudeness or conduct, you can say, "Please excuse his behavior".  More often you would simply apologize for whatever the other person did wrong, especially if you are responsible for them.

"I'm so sorry my son knocked down the Christmas tree, ate all the chocolates, and lit the dog on fire, he's such a naughty boy."
Comment: good example, but I would be more inclined to say "please forgive my nasty kid for ... " rather than "please excuse...".
Answer: The phrase

Please excuse someone

gets used as a polite way of saying

I'm about to do something impolite and am apologizing ahead of time

In your example, if your child is leaving the elevator alone you might say

Please excuse him/her.

since they may be too small to speak up for themselves.  If you are also exiting the elevator you would say

Please excuse us.

The phrase is a polite form with "I'm sorry" implied.
When the third person (him/her) is used, the phrase may also mean

Please ignore/disregard what someone has just done.
Please excuse him, he's not been the same since the accident.
Comment: "Excuse him" can be used in a similar sense as "kono/ano kata, yurushite kudasai".
Comment: good point.  "excuse X" can be used either before the fact or after, unlike "please forgive".  if somebody is standing in a doorway we want to pass through, we say "excuse me", as a polite way of saying "could you please move your fat ass out of the way?"  but if we accidentally knock over sonebody's beer on the bar we say "excuse me" in the sense of "that was unintentional, please don't beat me up".
Answer: Yes it does, but you need to be careful of the social context, as using this expression wrong will be taken as an insult.
If you are the parent of a child, you can absolutely say "excuse him/her", as you are responsible for them. You would probably say "Please excuse him/her" to be even more polite.
However if the person you are trying to "excuse" is an adult who does not like you very much, it can be seen as an insult, like you're treating them as a child.
Say for example
"Excuse him, he's acting like a child"
Is something someone might say if they were unhappy with another person's behavior.
Answer: Yes, and as others have said it is sometimes and perhaps often seen as rude -- but not always.
When requesting excusal, one is asking for forgiveness for acting outside the expected or norm. "Excuse me" when you sneeze is asking forgiveness for the noise/matter you're expelling in the presence of others. "Excuse me" when trying to pass someone is asking forgiveness for requesting they move. "Excuse me for ____" is asking forgiveness for a specific thing ("my lateness", "asking [a personal question]", etc).
When you ask for the excusal of someone else, the implication is that they cannot ask themselves. In the absence of that person, it can be perfectly acceptable/polite ("Excuse him for missing our meeting, he missed his train", "Excuse his actions the other night, he feels very bad [and will apologize later]"). However, if you ask for someone's excusal in their presence the implication is that they are unable to ask for a reason, and often that reason is that they do not know/understand the expectation or norm they have violated. This compounds in to the excusal entreaty the notion of ignorance. They do not know is implied in the excusal of another one present, which can be seen as rude if the person is an adult and should know the norm or expectation.
It's not always rude, ignorance of a norm is sometimes expected such as when you are traveling: "Excuse him, he did not mean [ignore custom]". Or if a child is loud and rambunctious, a parent may say "Excuse him, he gets cranky when he's away from home".
Summing up: Yes, "excuse him" makes perfect sense, just be careful of the implications wrapped up in the asking excusal on the behalf of others.
Comment: Thanks for all of your comments.  I think I could deepen my understanding about the usage of 'Excuse ...".  Honestly speaking, I didn't expect it to have such a 'deep' meaning which may cause some dispute if used wrongly.  I had thought "Excuse him." was used exactly in the same way as "Excuse me.", which I was thinking were both just a 'greeting'.  Thanks again for all of your benefical comments!
Answer: Yes, but generally in English, the phrase "Excuses Him/Her" is taken more literally, as in you actually wish for that person to be excused for their attitude or behaviour. Also: you never hear people say "Excuse Him" as a sentance on it's own, it is always followed by an explanation.
Examples:

Excuse him for his outbursts, he's drunk
Excuse her please, she just got out of prison

Most Common Variation:

You'll have to excuse him/her, [explanation goes here]

Whereas the phrase "Excuse Me" is more soft and for little things like nearly bumping into someone, accidentally burping out loud, not hearing what someone just said. It's almost synnonymous with the word "sorry". Likewise, when saying "Excuse Me", the phrase is often the whole sentence, as in there is no explanation that follows it.
Comment: So in that case, can the parent not say, "Excuse him, can you move out of the way to let him pass?" ( This is the case of the elevator crowded with people. )  If he can say it by himself, he'll do that, but if he's not old enoght to say that, probably his parent has to say that instead of him.

Does "Excuse him." make sense?


How do non-Earth-facing vehicles communicate with Earth?

Question: I know that many artificial satellites are tide-locked with Earth, which allows them to always face a directional antenna towards their ground station. But some vehicles, such as space telescopes, and orbiters observing other bodies are required to rotate to point at other objects in space. What are the common ways used by such satellites to maintain communication links with Earth?
Comment: My understanding of the answers to this recent question: https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/4441/do-satellites-naturally-turn-in-phase-with-its-orbit-always-facing-earth is that artificial satellites do NOT lock tidally to Earth. They have any kind of spin given to them artificially, disturbed by solar wind et c. The task of pointing an antenna to quickly passing receivers on Earth, solar panels towards the Sun and the instruments to whatever they are supposed to study, seems to be quite a task at 7 km/s or so orbital speed in LEO. Seems easier in geostationary orbit though.
Comment: They don't *naturally* tide-lock, but many are put into that orientation, especially (as you say) comms satellites in geosynchronous orbits.
Comment: Do geostationary (or geosynchronous) satellites typically orient their photovoltaic panels towards the Sun, while keeping their antennas towards Earth, or do they have PV panels in multiple directions, or do they rely on batteries during "night"?
Comment: That's an interesting question. I'd guess the panels are mounted so they can be rotated around one axis, and they use that to stay oriented to the Sun. I'd imagined you might do the same with an antenna, but I'd like to hear from someone who knows. Perhaps they'll touch on your question too.
Comment: Yes. Solar panels are generally rotatable on at least one axis (ISS main panels rotate on two axes), so a comms satellite can aim its antennae at Earth and its panels at the Sun.
Comment: @DanHulme - What level of an answer do you want? ELI5 ("explain it like I'm five")? High school? College? Graduate level? It would help a lot if people who ask a question give some indication of the desired complexity level of the answer.
Comment: I'm happy with the level of your answer. I have undergrad physics, but if you want to explain things further for a wider audience, that's great.
Comment: Why could your vehicle not asim its receptors one way and its transceivers another?
Answer:
What are the common ways used by such satellites to maintain communication links with Earth?

In general, the strategy is to

Have an antenna that can be pointed toward the Earth.
Have multiple antennae that can be pointed toward the Earth as a backup plan in case something goes wrong.
Have a backup backup plan in case something goes very, very wrong.

The need to send data to and receive commands from the Earth can strongly influence overall vehicle design. The mechanisms by which a vehicle will achieve these goals is made very early on in the planning and design of the vehicle and of the mission. While these are the overarching design goals, there is no one single answer as to how to achieve these goals.
I'll look at three spacecraft to illustrate, The New Horizons mission on its way to Pluto, and the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe that mapped the cosmic microwave background radiation from a pseudo-orbit about the Sun-Earth L2 point, and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter that is currently orbiting Mars.
New Horizons
The New Horizons is currently en route to Pluto. It's cruise phase operations are fairly simple. It is currently operating as a spin-stabilized vehicle in hibernation mode. The vehicle rotates about the axis of the communications system with the axis pointed more or less earthward. This is the stable axis of rotation, by design. The vehicle gets once a year checkups from the Earth. The communications system comprises a stack of three antennae, plus one other antenna elsewhere. One is a high gain but low beam angle antenna. This will be the primary antenna for sending data to the Earth. The second is a medium gain antenna with a 4 degree beam angle. The third is a low gain antenna with a hemispherical beam width. (The fourth antenna is identical to the third, but aimed in the opposite direction.)
The low gain antennae are no longer of any use. The vehicle is too far from the Earth. They were the backup to the backup plan during the very first part of the cruise phase. If something had gone very, very wrong early on, controllers on the Earth could have sent low bandwidth signals to the vehicle to try to urge it back to health. There's only one backup now, the medium gain antenna.
Sometime in the next year, the vehicle will switch from it's current spin-stabilized mode to 3-axis mode to perform its primary mission. The vehicle will use some of its precious hydrazine to de-spin itself and then use more of that precious hydrazine for active attitude control. To keep things simple, the antenna on New Horizons are not steerable. The vehicle will temporarily lose comm with the Earth during its closest approach with Pluto. The main job there is to record as much data as possible. Once the approach is over, the vehicle will reacquire comm by turning the vehicle as a whole so antenna axis once again points Earthward. It will then transmit that recorded data toward the Earth.
What if that doesn't work? The vehicle has two emergency modes, Earth acquisition and Sun acquisition. The first resort on failing to reacquire comm is to enter Earth acquisition mode. If that first backup plan doesn't work, the vehicle will switch to Sun acquisition mode and aim the comm axis toward the Sun. Since the medium gain antenna has a 4 degree beam width, the Earth should be in view at distance of 40 AU. If that backup to the backup doesn't work, it's goodbye mission.
Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe
The WMAP was also a spin-stabilized vehicle, but with a twist. It's rotation axis was not around one of the principal axes of the vehicle. It intentionally precessed by a bit. It was also slowly reoriented throughout its pseudo orbit so the science package pointed away from the Sun and Earth, shielded from radio noise from the sun and Earth by a large sun shield. The communications equipment and solar panels were on the sunward side of the sun shield. This orientation obviated the need for gimbalable communications antennae.
The WMAP communications system comprised dual redundant medium gain antennae and two low gain omnidirectional antennae. The backup plan was to switch from one medium gain antenna to the other. The backup plan to the backup plan was to use the omni antennae to find the Earth.
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
The MRO also has multiple levels of redundancy. It has but a single large antenna dish. That the MRO dish needs to be gimbal able means that the dish is a single point of failure. However, failures are much more likely to happen in the electronics rather than in the dish and its controls. The vehicle has two X-band transponders that use this single dish. A third Ka band transponder uses the same dish (but this is a demo project rather than a redundancy). In addition to these transponders, the vehicle also has two omni antenna as independent backups to the backup. Mars is close enough to Earth so that those omnis provide an alternate means of contacting the vehicle (at a low bit rate) even if the vehicle is lost in space / lost in time or if some failure has occurred in the main communications system.
Update
I omitted something in the above: How does the spacecraft know where to point the antenna? Once again there is no single answer.
All of the above spacecraft, along with almost all other modern spacecraft, autonomously keep track of their orientation in space. Now all the spacecraft needs to know is how to point toward the Earth. One way for a spacecraft to know this pointing information is via command from ground controllers, typically in the form of a function of time.
Another approach is for the spacecraft to keep track of where it is in space. This can be done autonomously, via command from the ground, or a combination of autonomy and ground update. Now it's a simple matter of calculating where the Earth and Sun are as a function of time. That's the job of an ephemeris model. The ephemerides are calculated on the ground. The ephemeris model is just a bunch of Chebychev polynomial coefficients, where the polynomial is a function of time.


ISS impacts by space debris

Question: Is there something that tracks the locations of space debris impacts, and how big the debris or damage is?
Comment: fyi the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module [has something like that](https://space.stackexchange.com/a/22430/12102), but here you are asking about the whole ISS. Interesting question!
Comment: This is an excellent question! i would love to see a list of the debris impacts on the ISS. Haven't managed to find one, yet.
Comment: The reason I ask is because I'm in a class at ASU and we have to pick a 'pollution' problem. I picked space debris. I was trying to narrow down my choice by seeing how detrimental the debris is to the space station, like how many times it's impacted. The final project output will be an infographic. I was hoping to use the ISS outline with impact notations. Maybe I should switch to a space shuttle instead, that has been visually checked for impacts after its flight, etc? I haven't been able to find anything about the ISS in regards to debris strikes.
Comment: The ISS has been struck thousands upon thousands of times.  Several times per hour on average.  Most of those strikes don't matter.  Some of them do.  Most of the debris is too small to track, so we have to build shields to protect critical hardware.  Some of the debris that is too small to track is too big to shield against.  That's what keeps us up at night.
Answer: To the extent that there is something that tracks the locations of impacts, that "something" would be me, along with a small handful of other people spread across a few teams: MMOD, EVA, Imagery analysis, and a few dedicated hardware and system owners.
Generally speaking, our only way of tracking debris strikes that are too small to cause significant anomalies or system failures (i.e., nearly all of the strikes) is downlinked imagery.  A technique that was common during shuttle but is all-but-nonexistent these days is direct returned surface inspection -- in my five years in the field, I've examined one piece of returned hardware.
For the most part, we only track the location of strikes for which there exists a decent potential of affecting station operations or if the location of the strikes will help us fingerprint individual hardware elements that are otherwise virtually indistinguishable in imagery.  Strikes into "dumb structure" are usually ignored unless they are very large.
I know this isn't a super adequate answer right now, but I'd be willing to expand on any followup questions you may add in comments.
Comment: I wonder if the verb "track" should be better defined. Is there some passive collection or list of impacts that have been noticed in whichever way it might be possible? They may not be tracked, but they might be at least noted. Video or photographic imagery perhaps? For example, if the number of impacts per year suddenly increased, that might warrant looking into. Among its many amazing functions, the ISS is a giant impact collector (in m^2 sec), much more surface area than anything else.
Comment: Perhaps so, but I will leave it to the OP to clarify what is meant.  Aside from a couple technology demonstration items, there really isn't an operational strike detection/tracking system.  Pretty much the best way to monitor the trends in the number of strikes over time is through imagery, with some assistance from telemetry (which doesn't indicate strikes directly -- a hardware failure or "funny" indicated in telemetry might suggest an area worthy of closer inspection, however).
Answer: According to the Motherboard article The ISS Is Getting a New Camera to Check Itself for Space Debris Damage; The $1.7-million vision system will launch in 2020, and is 'roughly the size of a microwave oven.' this may be more carefully addressed in the future.

On Thursday, the Government of Canada and the Canadian Space Agency announced a new CAD$1.7 million "vision system" that will be able to regularly scan the ISS for damage at a degree not previously possible, and is slated to launch in 2020.
"The vision system will use a combination of three sensors—a 3D [LIDAR] laser, a high-definition camera, and an infrared camera—to support the inspection and maintenance of the ageing infrastructure of the International Space Station," a release accompanying the announcement reads.
It is being developed by a Canadian company, Neptec Design Group Ltd., which previously worked with NASA on the development of a prototype lunar rover, Artemis Jr.

The article continues:

The system will be attached to Dextre, another Canadian Space Agency robot, that performs maintenance and repairs on the exterior of the space station. At present, the space station is examined using cameras already attached to Canadarm2—the station's robotic arm—and Dextre, from photos taken by crew inside the ISS, as well as photos taken during spacewalks.
While it is unclear how, exactly, the vision system will function in practice, the addition of LIDAR and Infrared sensors could allow for more accurate 3D scans that could identify physical changes to the station's surface—similar to how a self-driving car uses such sensors to examine the world around it.
There's a bit of good news, too, for fans of NASA's ever-growing trove of freely accessible photography: "The system's imagery will be available to the public," the Canadian Space Agency said, "who will see the ISS as they have never seen it before."

below: "A render of the Canadian Space Agency's newly announced vision system, mounted on the agency's maintenance robot Dextre." Image: Canadian Space Agency
Comment: DDVS!!  I was part of some discussions a couple years ago on what forms of imagery were desired for this to have, and I haven't heard much about the project since then.  Sounds like it's still on track.  Wish it could get here sooner.  Fun fact: Neptec makes the TriDAR sensor used by Cygnus for proximity operations.  Here are a couple videos from a TriDAR test carried on STS-135 -- rendezvous: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tr1GrjArdFk -- departure: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCnHmrJspW8
Comment: @Tristan those are really beautiful, thanks!
Comment: Neptec built a Laser Camera System that was part of the orbiter's inspection boom system used to check out the heat shield on-orbit.  http://www.amerisurv.com/PDF/TheAmericanSurveyor_Jenkins-ScanningDiscovery_November05.pdf

ISS impacts by space debris


Moving Bitcoin from Bitcoin Core to another Bitcoin Core or Bitcoin Diamond

Question: Before I even begin I'm going to admit that I know it was my fault in the end.
I was part of a community for crypto on a chatting server. I've been a part of it for more than a year. I got to know some people and asked one of the people I knew about getting some help for the following:
I've had a Bitcoin Core Wallet on my desktop from 2016 that I've held my Bitcoin in this whole time. I knew there were waves of up and down to come but I didn't want to sell. Part of being a hodler and thought I had helped the Bitcoin price by just keeping it and not doing anything with it.
Recently I had asked if anyone had experience with forks from a Bitcoin Core Wallet in said chatting community. One of the guys I know said he did and was willing to help. We got on TeamViewer and set everything up for forking. I had my Bitcoin Core Wallet on my desktop that was a bit outdated and a new laptop that I said would be better to put new wallets on for processing wallet nodes faster. We had done the BTG Core Wallet the other day and was going to do the Bitcoin Diamond one. He said that it would have to be a bit different from the Bitcoin Cash and Bitcoin Gold ones we did.
We got on Team Viewer again and I started downloading the Bitcoin Diamond Core Wallet on my laptop. He said it wasn't going to work on the laptop so we needed to connect on my Desktop that has the original Bitcoin Core Wallet. I said I wasn't comfortable with moving any Bitcoins out of the wallet itself and that I wouldn't let him have any control over the session. He said it was fine and would just type on the chat system of what he needed me to do (as usual). He asked that I had the wallet open so he can just look and tell me what to do. After he connected he said he would brb so I waited. After a few minutes, and almost instantly, before I could do anything he had sent a request from my BTC Core Wallet to transfer to an unknown address and clicked the shut down on my computer.
I was still on the laptop and he was in the chat so I just asked why and wanted to know what he did. He said that he "sent it to the BCD addy". I didn't know what he meant so I asked. He said "you need to send it onto the bcdblockchain im pretty sure" and that I should have the Bitcoin Diamond on the Bitcoin Diamond Core Wallet on my laptop. The BTD wallet is not synced and said we had to wait for it to finish (still not finished). After that he appeared offline and hasn't spoken to me from that point (late last night).
My question is this:
potential situation #1: If he did send said BTC to the BTD wallet, what should I do?
potential situation #2: If he sent to the Bitcoin Core wallet on said laptop instead what should I do? That one is also syncing as I put it on in case I had to move wallets, but it looks like he might have put the .dat file on it from desktop wallet (not sure).
Potential situation #3: If he moved it out of said wallet I don't control is there anything I can do? I know I would have to report a theft, but anything else?
thanks in advance
Answer:
he moved it out of said wallet I don't control

Yes, your helper stole all your money.

is there anything I can do?

No, report the theft to the police.
Your money is gone forever though.
Answer: I don't understand your question but I will try to help..
First you should never give access to your pc except your self, if he transfer the coins to their own address you can't access them with simple words he stole your coins, to check if you still own the coins check your addresses from core wallet in a fork block explorer


Are there any specific strategies in Jenga?

Question: Does Jenga have any specific strategies for block placement and removal that can be employed? Are there certain moves or ideas I could employ to (for example) increase the likelihood that the stack will fall on my opponent's next turn?
Comment: Don't drink too much. ;-P
Answer: The most unstable situation is adjacent middle blocks, and in general, instabilities near the bottom of the stack are more likely to cause the tower to fall than those at the top because of the greater weight of blocks being held up by the rickety base and because of the longer moment arm.

However, it's not quite as simple as setting up a precarious-middle-blocks-at-the-bottom-of-the-tower scenario just to make your opponent move after you've set it up, as the picture makes clear that several middle blocks in a row can often be stable enough for at least a couple more turns--in which case your ploy could come back to bite you.
One trick I've used is to judge which way the tower was tilting after I'd removed my block and then place it on the opposite side on the top. The goal here is to make your opponent place their block on the weak side and hopefully bring everything down. It has the added benefit of being the safest place to put your block.
That said, there's not much strategy to Jenga; it's really more about steady hands, dexterity, and being able to tell which blocks are loose. (Unless of course you engage in psychological warfare.)
Comment: Did you mean psychological warfare, or are you suggesting we distract our Jenga rivals by not bathing and other unsavory practices?
Comment: Thanks for this thorough answer! I will use this information to dominate my enemies and crush their spirits. Or play Jenga.
Answer: If you are very dexterous, and are playing with players that are also very dexterous, realize that the math of your choices can determine who wins.  Each level can have either 1 or 2 removed from it.  Try to leave your opponent(s) in a situation where they have no possible moves.
For example, if there is 1 full level, and 1 level with the middle and 1 side, and you are playing with only 1 other player, remove one of the outer pieces from the full level.  This will leave 2 pieces, one for your opponent and one for you.  But if you are playing with more than 1 opponent, remove the middle piece from the full level, so that the pieces will run out before it gets back to you.
Comment: I have never seen a Jenga game that even got close to having no possible moves. Great in theory, but highly unlikely to ever be put into practice.
Comment: IOW, with perfect dexterity, Jenga becomes a nim game.
Comment: These are great tips. I wish there could be two Selected Answers! Thanks for your input.
Answer: Your aim should be to prevent the tower from collapsing, and not building the highest Jenga tower. Maintaining stability of the tower by ensuring proper removal and placement of singular blocks would automatically lead to the creation of a taller and more stable tower. At every turn, before you decide which block you want to eliminate, test the tower first. Do this by gently tapping blocks with your fingers and look for blocks which are not perfectly stuck and can be easily removed. As the game progresses, the blocks which were earlier perfect-fits in the tower would become loose blocks and vice versa. The trick is to continuously keep checking for loose blocks that can be easily moved, and get rid of them first before your opponent does.


what is the difference between CCSprite and a PhysicsSprite?

Question: I am new to Cocos2D and I've realized that most of the codes written before the Cocos2d update used CCSprites. Recently I realized a lot of more recent codes after the update are using PhysicsSprite. What is the difference? What advantages does one have over the other, if any?
Answer: PhysicsSprite is a CCSprite which uses a physics body to control the sprite's motion (position) and rotation.
Depending on whether you start with the Box2D or Chipmunk template, PhysicsSprite will either have a b2Body (Box2D) or a cpBody/cpShape (Chipmunk) as instance variables.
If you're not planning to use physics, use CCSprite. If you do, use PhysicsSprite for those sprites which represent physics objects.