Heat issues with Hard Drives

Question: Have you ever had to alter your deployment plans because of thermal dissipation issues with your chosen hard drives?  Was your solution to increase the cooling solution, or to move to a cooler drive solution?
Answer: More cooling.  Depending on the circumstances, I did one or more of the following:

Adding a hard drive cooler to the hard drive directly
Separate hard drives if there was room to do so when there was more than one drive in a case
Add case fans taking into account case airflow - same number of fans blowing in as blowing out, and placed so the airflow would be even through the case
Added ventilation to the cabinet/closet/rack/etc
RAID mirror to lower down time and risk

It's almost always cheaper to properly ventilate the enclosure(s) than it is to pay extra for the cooler drive (which, in general, has lower performance anyway).  Especially when you know that the drive may not last regardless, but the cooling solution will still be around for the next drive, so the overall cost is less.
-Adam
Answer: Probably not exactly what you're looking for, but I had a beefed up workstation that I used as a dev server about 7 years ago.  I put an Adaptec SCSI and 4 9GB ultrawides in it.  I tried adding about 3 different types of case fans that pulled in air from different places and that didn't even do it.  Eventually just took the cover off the case.  Made a great space heater under my desk.
Answer: We had a problem with the first generation of 2.5 inch SAS SFF disks from HP, their first-month failure-rate was WAY above the expected bell-curve, turns out they were too hot and they had to be replaced (over 3,600 of them too!) - that said they're rock solid now and great for what we need.
Answer: Probably best to do a combination of both . . . you can beef up the HVAC of the room but just like with hard drives . . . it's going to fail eventually and you need the hard drives to work in hotter that normal conditions just for those times.  In data centers they are always tweaking the HVAC because as they add servers they increase the heat and at a certain threshold they'll add another AC unit.
The conventional wisdom that it needs to be 60 F (or whatever) in a server room so the hard drives don't fail is false . . . studies (by Google and others) have shown that increased temps in server rooms didn't make a significant difference in hard drive failure rates (up to a ceiling of maybe 80 F or something like that).
I would get the "better" hard drives that run cooler assuming the cost difference isn't too crazy but even then it could be too hot so you have to get the HVAC under control too.
Comment: Actually, I was thinking less about the issue of room cooling and more about the issue of keeping your specific servers in their enclosures cool.  But interesting response nonetheless.

Heat issues with Hard Drives


Using MSDeploy to set ACLs on the system temp directory

Question: I'm trying to grant read and write permissions to the system Temp location to the IIS_IUSRS group.   There is a system variable declared %TEMP%; but unfortunately there is also a user variable by the same name.
As a result, when I run the command
<code>C:\Program Files\IIS\Microsoft Web Deploy V2>msdeploy -verb:sync -source:setacl -dest:setacl=%TEMP%,setAclUser="IIS_IUSRS",setAclAccess=Write
</code>
the IIS_IUSRS group is granted write permissions defined in the user's %TEMP% location, and not the system %Temp% location.
One solution I explored was to reference the temp directory at %windir%\TEMP, but there's a good chance that the system %TEMP% variable that IIS references will not be set to that location in all instances and therefore isn't applicable on this occasion.
Has anyone tried to do this previously, or think of a method of referencing the system variables rather than the user variables?
Answer: <code>"C:\Program Files (x86)\IIS\Microsoft Web Deploy V3\msdeploy.exe" -verb:sync -source:setacl -dest:setacl="%windir%\temp",setAclUser=IIS_IUSRS,setAclAccess="Read,Write,Modify"
</code>
should work.


Kindle with iPhone

Question: I want to buy a Kindle and use my iPhone 3G to connect to the internet to download books.  Do I need to buy the Kindle 3G + Wifi to work?  Another thing, will the two work together?
Comment: Do you have wifi at home?
Comment: No I do not have wifi at home?
Comment: Then I recommend strongly that you buy the Kindle with built in 3G.
Answer: Personal Hotspot only works on iPhone 4 or above. Note that many networks will charge you extra to use it though.
The Kindle 3G has free internet downloads internationally, so I'd probably recommend that over upgrading your phone.
Having said that, I own a Kindle (wifi only) and I happily download all my books at home (via wifi). Only once have I actually connected it to my iPhone 4 hotspot!
Answer: From the way you phrase your question, I think you lack a basic understanding of how the Kindle bookstore system works. Forgive me if any of the following is something you may already know.
With Amazon Kindle, you can purchase books from Amazon through a web browser on any platform--a computer, an iPhone or iPod or iPad, or any other kind of device that connects to the Internet.
You can then take the books that you bought from Amazon and load them onto your Kindle through any of several different methods. You can download the book to your computer, connect your Kindle to the computer via a USB cable, and then upload the book to the Kindle over the cable. Another method is to have a Kindle that connects to WiFi or to the cell phone network, and to connect to the Amazon bookstore that way, to make purchases and to download any purchases that you have made.
Furthermore, there are Kindle apps for Mac OS X, Windows, iPhone and iPad and other applications, and if you purchase a digital book in Kindle format from Amazon, you can read the same book on any and all of these devices including the Kindle itself. Whenever you connect to Amazon.com by any of these various methods, all the books you have purchased are available to be downloaded and read on any of them.
Comment: Yes I am knew to Kindle and really appreciate your feedback. It was very helpful. Thanks.  Then I need to buy the Wifi only.  I do not need the 3G + Wifi?
Comment: Yes, you can save money by not buying the 3G version if you are OK with downloading new books to your regular computer and then uploading them to the Kindle over USB, or if you can connect your Kindle to a WiFi signal anywhere.
Comment: De rien, mon ami.
Answer: You can use your iPhone's mobile hotspot feature to create a portable Wifi network to which your kindle can connect to using wifi. I should note that the kindle's data is free once you buy the 3G device, yet the iPhone's data is subject to your carrier's fury.
Answer: If you upgrade your iPhone to a newer model, a wifi-only kindle can be attached to the iPhone's 3G connection using the mobile hotspot feature. I could be wrong, but I don't think mobile hotspot works on an iPhone 3G.
I'm not suggesting you buy a new iPhone now, but keep it in mind as something you'll probably do at some point in the future. Also note that some carriers will charge you extra for the hotspot feature (it's free with my carrier).
Any book you read on one can be read on the other (download the kindle app on your iPhone), and as far as I know it will keep your reading position in sync between them.
I would only spend extra money on the 3G kindle if you really need to be able to buy books while on the road, especially since you can always buy them on the iPhone instead if there's no wifi available, and download to the kindle once you have wifi.

Kindle with iPhone


What are the requirements to take the private pilot check ride?

Question: In the US, what are the requirements that a student pilot must demonstrate to their examiner  before they can take a checkride for their private pilot airplane certificate?
Answer: Private Pilot Airplane Single-Engine Checkride Requirements
Eligibility Requirements (14 CFR 61.103)

Be at least 17 years of age for a rating in other than a glider or balloon
Be able to read, speak, write, and understand the English language
Instructor logbook endorsement certifying your aeronautical knowledge (14 CFR 61.105) and that you are prepared for the written test
Passed the written test and can present your original embossed Airman Knowledge Test Report
Instructor logbook endorsement certifying your flight proficiency (14 CFR 61.107)and that you are ready for the flight test
Log all required aeronautical experience (below)

Aeronautical Experience (14 CFR 61.109):

40 hours of flight time (35 for 141 schools) that includes:

20 hours of dual instruction
10 hours of solo flight training

3 hours of cross-country dual
3 hours of night dual (to get an unrestricted license) that includes:

1 cross-country flight of over 100 nautical miles total distance
10 takeoffs and 10 landings to a full stop (with each landing involving a flight in the traffic pattern) at an airport

3 hours of instrument dual
3 hours of dual in preparation for the practical test within 2 calendar months
10 hours of solo including

5 hours of cross-country time
1 150 NM solo cross country flight, with full-stop landings at three points and one segment of the flight consisting of a straight-line distance of more than 50 NM between the takeoff and landing locations
3 takeoffs and 3 landings to a full stop (with each landing involving a flight in the traffic pattern) at an airport with an operating control tower
Answer: I'm sure someone will post the exact regs, but as a stop-gap, from memory:

40 hours (35 if the school is part 141) minimum total time
20 hours dual instruction
3 hours flight "by reference to instruments" (under the hood)
5 hours solo cross country (50nm minimum between two points along each trip)
One solo 150nm XC flight with at least 3 airports (two of which must be at least 50nm apart)
3 hours night flight (dual instruction)
One night XC (dual)
10 night landings (full stop)
3 hours of dual instruction explicitly for check ride prep, within 90 days of the check ride
Endorsements for the items above needing endorsements
An endorsement from a CFI stating the candidate is prepared for the check ride.

Additionally, mine has a statement that my (part 61) CFI had seen my US passport (and its number) establishing proof that I am a US citizen, in accordance with 49 CFR 1552.3(A).
Comment: This was pretty close for being from memory!
Answer: Mah explained everything very well.
The non-flying requirements are:

Be at least 17 years old (14 years old for glider or balloon rating)
Be able to read, speak, write and understand the English language
Obtain at least a third class medical certificate from an Aviation Medical Examiner
Pass a paper/computerized aeronautical knowledge test
Pass an oral test and flight test administered by an FAA inspector, FAA-designated examiner, or authorized check instructor

Source: Wikipedia
Answer: Regulations are somewhat different for different aircraft (airplane, helicopter, glider, etc). I'll assume the question asks about private pilot for single-engine land-based aircraft (SEL).
For the United States, answer can be found in FAR §61 subpart E. Applicable sections are: 103(a),(c)-(j), 105, 107(a),(b)(1), 109(a).
Reference: FAR §61, Subpart E
Disclaimer: not a lawyer, just a humble student pilot navigating this gauntlet himself :-).
Comment: You may want to include the relevant requirements in your answer. As it stands currently this would be considered a [link only answer](http://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/8231/are-answers-that-just-contain-links-elsewhere-really-good-answers), because in the (unlikely) event ECFR's link layout changes folks would have to go Google the FARs rather than having the information available to them here.


Where did the phrase, 太牛了 come from?

Question: Where did the phrase, 太牛了 come from?
I'm guessing it doesn't have anything to do with cows...
Answer: It came from 牛逼. 牛逼 means cow's genital orginally and it is derivatized into impressive due to it's wide. Many people are saying it even it's bad meaning. You can both use 太牛了 and 太牛逼了 though.
Comment: Thanks! That is facinating... and a little nasty. The first time I heard it was when someone said 你老婆太牛了!. I thought they were calling my wife fat at first...
Comment: I am from Taiwan. We don't use the word is used in China though. I thought like you did when someone was calling me that too before. lol
Comment: I always thought 牛逼 came from English "epic"
Comment: It's so confusing that you accept this viewpoint, 牛 never comes from 牛逼. The single character 牛 with the meaning **awesome** is much more earlier than the modern word 牛逼.
Answer: At first, it was 吹牛皮, which means blowing up the cow skin. 吹 means blow up and 牛皮 means cow skin.
Long ago, butchers blow up the pig skin to shave hairs. However, a cow is much bigger than a pig. So, when someone says he/she is able to blow up the cow skin, he/she must be talking big (吹牛皮).
Sometimes,speaking rudely sounds cool or more impressive. So, 吹牛皮 turns to 吹牛逼. 牛逼 means cows' vagina. We use 逼 but not the correct Chinese character, because 牛逼 sounds more acceptable. It's just like shot and shit.
吹牛逼 means talking big, while 牛逼 means "real big". 牛 is short for 牛逼.
Check the link below. I got most of my opinions from it.
My English is not good. If there is any mistake in spelling or grammar, just correct it.
Reference: http://iask.sina.com.cn/b/7253794.html
Answer: Cows are very stubborn and stupid kind of animal while having unique personality, so when use them to describe a person, we can assume that person has done something very awesome that a normal logical person will not even try. Thus, very cow like. (太牛了)
If that person try to do something that a normal logical person will not even try and failed, then we can call him "太猪了". (Very pig like or stupid)
太鼠了 ( Very rat like = cowardly )
母老虎  (Female tiger-tigress) If your wife is a female tiger, she is fierce and will hit you and make you scare of her.
Chinese use animals as an adjective in this way so we don't sound too aggressive while being humorous.
Comment: Echo what @Bolu said, I honestly have never heard of "太鼠了" or "太猪了" as a native speaker who spent most of my time in China mainland. I think "太牛了" is a short version of "太牛逼了" which literally means cow's v-word. In Taiwan, the counter-part expression will be "超屌的",which refers to males' penis. In English, we have "kick-ass" and "ballsy" as well. Not sure why people tend to use sexual parts to express greatness of action by a person.
Comment: Cool, I definitely was't aware of those other expressions!
Comment: In English, there is "too chicken", meaning cowardly. but no "too cow", so it's basically a culture thing, and you just need to know which animal is used and which one is not.
Comment: Yeah, I hadn't thought about that. Using an animal name as an adjective happens in English too. Thanks!
Comment: May be there is "太猪了", but I never heard anything like "太鼠了". And overall, "太牛了" is an alternative of "太牛逼了" like the other answers stated.

Where did the phrase, 太牛了 come from?


Can I enter the US under VWP / B-1 as a social media influencer to model for a fashion campaign?

Question: Is it possible for me to enter the United States under the Visa Waiver Program (or similarly the B-1 visa) to model for a fashion company's campaign? Thanks for any help!
Comment: That sounds very much like work, which is not an allowed B-1 purpose. I think fashion models generally need O-1 or H-1B visas.
Comment: As noted: the difficulty is that O-1 applicants have to prove that they are widely recognized professionals/top models; and H-1B is subject to the annual cap of 65,000, with the next season opening on April 1, 2019, and the US employer has to submit a petition to employ you.
Comment: You need to give us more information,  such as whether you are being paid for this,  and if so who is paying you.
Comment: Who's paying them makes no difference at all, DJC.
Comment: O-1 is extremely unlikely here, HM
Answer: Welcome new user.
This tricky question comes up a lot
https://travel.stackexchange.com/a/123350/19233
https://travel.stackexchange.com/a/125367/19233
To explain it in a nutshell:
It is 100% ok to come for "meetings".  But you can't come for "work".
That's the whole thing.
Unfortunately that's all there is to it.
Unfortunately there is nothing more to learn or know.
It just comes down to a personal judgement by the agent when you arrive, what he or she thinks. Is it a "meeting" or "work"?
(Remembering that in the overwhelming majority of cases you won't even be asked in detail.  The agent might mumble "staying long?" or "business or tourism?")
Nobody else can advise you on this.  Any advice you get here or elsewhere would just be: "I guess that in your situation, most of the agents would say [ insert guess here ] and that's what I think."
It is an actual fact that huge, vast numbers of computer programmers in particular waltz in to the US every day saying (on the rare occasion they are asked) "I'm here for some meetings! on the SuperShop project!" but in reality of course, they spend five weeks in the US office melting their keyboards, programming away 16 hours a day.
That's a subtle thing .. are they literally working? Or are they just taking notes (lots .. and lots .. of notes .. in c#) regarding the project?  IDK.
So. In your case you're having a meeting with some designers etc - ok, some people nearby will hold down record on their phones, and it may end up on the www.
Is that work?  Is that modeling?  IDK.
The last time I sent an influencer from Europe to California to be in a social media shoot for a client, they didn't even think about it and just went on the normal VWP.
If that person had (incredibly) been random grilled by the agents, what could they say?

They could outright lie and say "I'm only here to visit my cousin!"

They could outright lie and say "I am here for a Meeting!"

They could internally actually believe it is not work (I mean it's a meeting that might be on some phone videos) and they would say "I'm off to meet the design department of our company! I've never been to LA before!"

They could quite factually state "I'm off to StyleCon for four days!"  Which is 10000% true, right? (HINT that's a good one for you. About a billion people an hour arrive in the US to go to industry conferences.)

They could state "I'm here in the US to WORK!"

In cases 4 and 3 they would be waved through like the other 300 people arriving from the same plane in the same situation.  In cases 1 and 2, border agents instantly detect all lying, so you'd be screwed.  In case 5 obviously you'd simply be sent home.
Honestly, nobody can advise you on the choice! It's a real nuisance.
A particularly annoying thing is that this is the most bent rule in the book - especially with some professions.  Say you are an accountant - like the CFO of a company.  You come to the US to one of the offices.  You're having "meetings" .. ok .. gathering lots of data, copying spreadsheets etc.  Are you working?
Also, annoyingly, for more senior individuals it's easier to get away with it.  You're a senior manager or indeed the CEO or such; you go to office X in the USA for six weeks.  Are you "working"?  "Observing"  Just "familiarizing"?  Is "Management" actually work anyway - what if you're say a board member, do board members "work"? What if you're a brand-name trillion dollar novelist and you spend 2 months in the US creating ("thinking up") your next billion-dollar property - is that "work"?
It's a really tricky question.


How can I make a pigglet headed LEGO figure to be a sidekick for my Gadget Hero?

Question: I have a LEGO superhero that I painted, and he needs a sidekick. The Sidekick is a boy who has the head of a pigglet! But how do I make a Pigglet head?!?
Answer: The 1979–1989 Fabuland animals figures have a human body slightly larger than a minifigure, the head, arms and legs move but cannot be removed. The figures are no longer produced but remain quite popular amongst AFOL's. They can still be purchased on sites like Bricklink.
Answer: I would use the head piece from a Gamorrean Guard.  This piece can be found in the following sets:

4476 Jabba's Prize
6210 Jabba's Sail Barge
9516 Jabba's Palace
Answer: It's a bit late, but in 2020 the Monkie Kid line contains a minifigure-sized pig head:
Answer: Another possibility is one of the pig minifigures from the now-discontinued 2016 The Angry Birds Movie theme. For example, see set 75822, Piggy Plane Attack:


How does anti-phishing software work to identify phishing sites?

Question: To clarify, my question isn't on how to protect myself from phishing. What I'm curious about is how exactly software can identify whether or not a website is designed for phishing, ignoring word identifiers/scanners to looking for spam/phishing sounding material.
Answer: Often times phish detection on email and web sites is detected via keywords.  It's looking for text that is attempting to convince a user to input credentials, submit personal information, or even uploading documents.  The anti-phish technology can also detect strong persistent language and use of hyperboles that is consistent with pressuring a user into submitting the requested information.

Examples: "enter your account information now", "your account has been
  disabled", "you have reached your email quota", "reply to my email
  immediately", etc.

Also, some very sophisticated anti-phish software can detect common typosquatter domains.

Examples of typosquatter domains could be: wellfargo[dot]com or
  gooogle[dot]com
Comment: Sorry I'm talking about the page itself, I updated it a bit.
Comment: The equipment I've used in the past, granted was anti-phish for email, was typically looking for typosquatting and would do Whois lookups on the domain to reverse verify information.  I also have never seen a perfect implementation of anti-phish technology that I felt really had a leg up on all other implementations.
Answer: Most of the sites have a server certificate also called an SSL certificate which is signed by a trusted third party certificate provider (called Certificate Authority). Your browser has an inbuilt list of authorised third party certificate providers(CAs) and if the site you open provides a certificate signed by one of these CAs then the browser knows that it is a safe site.
Most phishing sites cannot obtain a valid CA certificate, because the CAs will not authorise a fake site and that is one of the easiest way to find a site which is built for phishing.
It should be noted that many companies do not get a CA certificate for their own internal websites and your browser might throw a warning when you access such sites. But if you know the site is safe you could ignore this warning.
Also I believe some browsers can check the URL as well and identify URLs which look fake. Not sure about this though.


What is the scriptural basis for gluttony being a sin?

Question: Gluttony is one of the Seven Deadly Sins. What is the scriptural basis for it being a sin at all (much less a severe enough sin to be a deadly one)?
Answer: Vices (Capital / Deadly Sins) are opposed to Virtues
Soundbyte answer (scripture)

Sirach 18:33 Become not a glutton and a winebibber with nothing in your purse.

Scripture supporting the virtue of Temperance, which is Gluttony's opposite:

Esther 1:7 Esther 1:8 ; Proverbs 23:1-3 ; 25:16 ; Daniel 1:8 Daniel
1:12-16 ; Romans 13:14 ; 1 Corinthians 9:25 1 Corinthians 9:27 ;
Philippians 4:5 ; 1 Thessalonians 5:6-8 ; 1 Timothy 3:2 1 Timothy 3:3
1 Timothy 3:8 ; Titus 1:7 Titus 1:8 ; Titus 2:2 Titus 2:3 Titus 2:12
; 2 Peter 1:5 2 Peter 1:6; Sirach 37: 28-30

Reasoning based on scripture for why a vice (for example gluttony) is a sin.
Most of the scriptural support for that position relates to temperance (ample citations in both OT and NT).  Since gluttony is in opposition to temperance, and temperance is a virtue, and temperance is amply cited in scripture as how one should behave, then gluttony is framed as a sin, though its character as a sin becomes a matter of degree.
The Definition of Sin

CCC 1849 Sin is an offense against reason, truth, and right conscience; it
  is failure in genuine love for God and neighbor caused by a perverse
  attachment to certain goods. It wounds the nature of man and injures
  human solidarity. It has been defined as "an utterance, a deed, or a
  desire contrary to the eternal law."(Saint Augustine).

The four cardinal virtues taught from the Roman Catholic perspective are:
prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance.  (CCC 1805; Wisdom 8:7)  Scripture supports Temperance as a virtue.  To directly oppose virtue is to pursue or to commit (or to be predisposed to commit) sin.

Note: gluttony may be classified a venial sin, rather than as a mortal sin.  It's being "deadly" or "capital" is not negated by that classification.  Like other venial sin, it predisposes one to sin in general. In due course, this is believed to lead to more serious (mortal) sin.

1855 Mortal sin destroys charity in the heart of man by a grave violation of God's law; it turns man away from God, who is his ultimate end and his beatitude, by preferring an inferior good to him. Venial sin allows charity to subsist, even though it offends and wounds it.

To put that in modern jargon, some sins (mortal) put you in the waiting line to get into Hell.  Without an explicit turning back to God, repentance, baking or broiling is in the cards.  Lesser sin (venial) puts you on the highway to hell, but there is more time or hope for a detour (through Christ, reconciliation, repentance, penance, prayer, etc) to turn around.  (From the older meaning of repentance, which is "to turn again, toward God" -- the connotation being that you turned away from God through sin in the first place).
Confusion in terms.  Mortal sin ("sin unto death") is the condition or state wherein life {eternal life, life with God} is either voided, at risk, or in some way a first class ticket to damnation.  What is now referred to as capital sin (to avoid confusion, I suppose, from deadly sin meaning mortal sin) may not necessarily be deadly (mortal) but it also may be.  (For example, another vice, lust can be or can lead to mortal sin per Jesus' admonition about those who lust after another's wife already being adulterers ...)
A variety of scripture on avoiding sin (to whatever degree) is folded into the tradition of classifying the seven deadly sins / seven capital sins.  (This answer is confined to the Catholic perspective. @DickHarfield has provided some historical context on the origins of this belief: the Catechism cites the same tradition).

What are vices? (Capital / Deadly sins)

V. The Proliferation of Sin
  CCC 1865 Sin creates a proclivity to sin; it engenders vice by repetition of the same acts.  This results in perverse inclinations which cloud conscience and corrupt the concrete judgment of good and evil. Thus sin tends to reproduce
  itself and reinforce itself ...
  CCC  1866 Vices can be classified according to the virtues they oppose, or also be linked to the capital sins which Christian experience has distinguished, following St. John Cassian and St. Gregory the Great. They are called "capital" because they engender other sins, other vices.  They are pride, avarice, envy, wrath, lust, gluttony, and sloth or acedia.

Gluttony as a deadly sin (Capital sin)
The vice (capital sin/deadly sin) of gluttony is opposed to the virtue of temperance.  It is considered a capital sin because it leads to sin and near occasions of sin.  Why?  Focus in earthly/fleshy/material things, things of the world, rather than focus on God. (1 John 2:6-17, per @Marc's citation).
What is temperance?

CCC 1809 Temperance is the moral virtue that moderates the attraction of
  pleasures and provides balance in the use of created goods. It ensures the will's mastery over instincts and keeps desires within the limits
  of what is honorable.  The temperate person directs the sensitive
  appetites toward what is good and maintains a healthy discretion: "Do
  not follow your inclination and strength, walking according to the
  desires of your heart."  (Sirach 5:12) Temperance is praised in the Old
  Testament: "Do not follow your base desires, but restrain your
  appetites." (Sirach 18:30)  In the New Testament it is called "moderation" or "sobriety." We ought "to live sober, upright, and godly lives in this
  world. (Titus 2:12)"

Given the virtue presented, avoidance of the opposed vice follows.  When temperance is not pursued, sin will follow.
An example from the book of Sirach.

Sirach 18:30
  27 A wise man is circumspect in all things; when sin is rife he keeps himself from wrongdoing.
  28  Any learned man should make wisdom known, and he who attains to her should declare her praise;
  29  Those trained in her words must show their wisdom, dispensing sound proverbs like life-giving waters.
  30  Go not after your lusts, but keep your desires in check.
  31  If you satisfy your lustful appetites they will make you the sport of your
  enemies.
  32  Have no joy in the pleasures of a moment which bring on poverty redoubled;
  33  Become not a glutton and a winebibber with nothing in your purse.

An example from the epistle to Titus 2:11-14

11 For the grace of God has appeared, saving all  12 and training us
  to reject godless ways and worldly desires and to live
  temperately, justly, and devoutly in this age,   13 as we await the blessed hope, the appearance* of the glory of the great God and of
  our savior Jesus Christ,   14 who gave himself for us to deliver us
  from all lawlessness and to cleanse for himself a people as
  his own, eager to do what is good.

(Lawlessness implies sin / vice)
A "deadly" sin may be, or may lead to, mortal sin.  It's a matter of degree.
Gluttony is at least (as a vice) a venial sin.  Self indulgence is believed to lead to other sin due to focus on the flesh/world, away from God.  It can go from deadly to mortal depending on whether a person indulges themselves in it.  It remains capital/deadly in the sense that it leads us in the wrong direction, which ultimately (if left uncorrected) can only lead to one place: damnation.
A crude physical analogy:
There are varying degrees of physical danger (analog for sin) via ingestion.

Heavy drinking/alcoholism (venial) can lead to death, but there is
time, for all the wrong that it does, to reverse the trend. It may also lead to drunk driving and either killing one's self, or killing someone else. (mortal sin).
Drinking hemlock (mortal) leads straight to death.

(note l) In love, we pray (1 Jn 5:16–17) for those who are in sin, but not in deadly sin (literally, "sin unto death"), probably referring to apostasy or activities brought on under the antichrist;
Comment: +1. Great answer! The first Scripture I went to was Proverbs 1:1-3, and a close second were Proverbs 24:13; 25:16 and 27. Caveat: If, however, you tell me you put your answer together in 10 or 15 minutes, I swear I'll take back the upvote! (Just kidding!). Don
Comment: @rhetorician It took a while, to be sure. :)
Comment: I didn't specify a denomination for my question, but since Sirach is in the Apocrypha and not recognized by non-Catholic Christians, perhaps you could also add another scripture soundbyte (e.g. the Proverbs one mentioned by rhetorician) to your answer?
Comment: I wrote this from the Catholic Point of View, see the citations from the CC, and thus use the RCC canon.  That is a consistent approach.  The whole "seven deadly sins" concept carries over from RCC tradition and practice.
Answer: The Biblical Basis is the basis of all sin, a thread woven in Scripture throughout Salvation history and outlined in 1 John.  Especially in 1 John 2 below.

"Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever."  1 John 2:6-17

This Three-fold transgression is the same transgression expressed in the account of Genesis and the fall.

"6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.   Genises 2-6

These sins, which The Apostle addresses represent the Nature of what sin is, Lust of eyes, lust of the Flesh, Pride of Life.   When we look at Gluttony, and apply it to that first description  Lust of the Flesh, the reason fo it becomes clear, when we hoard for ourselves we ignore the mostly the needs of others, especially those in need.  When so many people are Hungry and we gorge ourselves in   food as a glutten does, it is an insult to God.
In Catholic teaching, we overcome these things by doing those things that Christ commands that we do.
Deny the Lust of the Flesh (Fasting)
Deny the lust of the Eyes (Alms giving)
Deny the Pride of Life (Prayer, a death blow to Pride)
To suggest that the seven deadly sins are not biblical is ignorance of Scripture, of a denial of what it teaches.
Related to this topic is:
CORPORAL WORKS OF MERCY
SPIRITUAL WORKS OF MERCY
In short, the way the Church teaches to overcome the Thrice Transgressions of Adam & Eve, is to do just the opposite, showing love, rather than Ego.  Love being a complete and Total Self Offering to God or Other people as instructed by Christ.  Gods example of this love is the Cross, Not a Penalty transferred to our lord, but a perfect self offering Of Christ to The Father for our sakes, the perfect example of humility, which, as Christians we are to emulate to the best of our ability.
Comment: Marc, you have covered Catholic teaching,  but not the biblical basis for gluttony as a deadly sin - which is specifically what the question asks.
Comment: @DickHarfield glottony is lust of the flesh, the sin of Adam separating him, and now us from God.
Comment: You seem to have redefined the English language in order to draw a long bow from Adam to the present :)
Comment: @Dick Hatfield I can understand why you would see it that way,  I do not present things from my own understanding of scripture, I echo the teachings of the Church.  Now, I may have made an error but I'm unaware of it in this case.  The 7 deadly sins are the sins that relate to those 3 transgressions in the fall, echoed through out scripture.  I'm open to hear another Catholics opinion if I have misrepresented the Church.
Comment: You could have given the Baptist or Mormon teachings and, from those perspectives, been equally correct, but in all cases this is not what the question asks.
Comment: @DickHarfield The Catholic answer is the Biblical one.  In any event I disagree.
Comment: @Marc Based on what I read in the Catechism, it is also informed by tradition, which Dick referred to in the experiences/John Cassian, etc.  The Catholic Church it not afraid to use the lived faith as a basis for arriving at belief/doctrine.   This makes sense, as faith is not an academic exercise. ;-) (OK, maybe I am biased as a Catholic ...)
Comment: @korvinStarmast. Isn't it funny that no matter what faith practice you adhere to, there is always tradition.  Someone might say, "scripture scripture scripture" but the fact is adherence to scripture alone is a tradition of men.  I would agree with you, the list of the 7 sins is a tradition, my source is relevant to that particular Tradition.  The CCC is but one source to draw from.


Can you sing during the sheva brachos?

Question: I have been to weddings where, during the recitation of the seventh bracha under the chuppah, the congregation sings "asher bara...". Sometimes it is along with the one reciting the bracha and other times he waits for them to sing it and then repeats it himself. Is this a halachic problem either because the chassan and kallah have not heard the entire bracha from the one saying the bracha or maybe because the pause in between is a hefsek?
Comment: Related: http://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/13385
Answer: There is no question that the person saying the beracho should wait.  The Chosson and Kallah need to hear every word of the beracho since it is being made on the wine for them.  It is better that a minyan hears every word too.  Thus, the standard practice among gedolim who say sheva Berachos is to wait until the singing stops and then continue.  (Source: Numerous weddings I've been to, where the Rav saying the sheva Berachos is an expert in hilchos Tefilla and berachos and is a Baal Tefilla for Rosh Hashana/Yom Kippur). It is implied from the חשוקי חמד ברכות דף מ עמוד א that even if the chosson makes an interuption one can be lenient, and thus the pausing due to the person waiting for the singing to stop would not be considered a hefsek.
Comment: At those weddings did the Rav say it was better that a Minyan heat every word or that a Minyan must hear every word? Do you see why this is a mediocre answer for us? It's an anonymous anecdote of what an anonymous alleged rabbi allegedly did and then your own drawn conclusions about various related laws. Not so valuable. Not terrible, but not so valuable.
Answer: There are 3 main problems with the person singing along:

It is a hafsaka. This is much worse than waiting and not saying anything.
The tune tends to repeat the words a few times over. This definitely invalidates the bracha.
Sheva Brachot require a miniyan to hear and answer amen. That is not possible when 200+ people are singing.

A VERY late edit:
At my wedding I was told not to sing along because the chattan also has to hear the whole beracha. The "mesader kedushim" was Rav Goldvicht zt"l so I suppose he counts as a good source.
Comment: theblitz, First of all some sources would be nice. Second, how is waiting while others sing worse than waiting? Alternatively how is singing along with them a hefsek? Also, how do you know that repeating words, while not proper to do lechatchila, would definitely invalidate the bracha? Finally, how do you know that it isn't good enough for a minyan to hear most of the bracha?
Answer: Halichos Shlomo 89:13 - Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Aurbach Zatzal - says that since it is being done to beautify the Bracha it is not considered a Hefsek.

כיון שהכוונה ליפות הברכה אין זה הפסק
Comment: Can you clarify what exactly he is saying is not a Hefsek? The pause? Singing along? What about needing a Minyan?

Can you sing during the sheva brachos?


Would an orthotropic cylinder subjected to torsion have warping?

Question:
The situation I'm imagining is the one shown above, which is the cross section of a cylinder made of alternating layers of material. The material axes are shown where 1 and 2 are in the same plane and 3 is parallel to the stacking direction. If a cylinder composed of this material is subjected to a torque around its central axis as shown, would it be subject to axial stresses and therefore result in torsional warping? I read here and in textbooks that circular members don't have torsional warping but they are usually assumed to be made of isotropic materials. Would this be the case for this type of cylinder too?
Answer: Yes, it will warp.
Imagine the blue layer material stiffer, with higher Young modulus E and shear modulus G and the white material as less stiff.
The blue material will be the dominant material in reacting to the torsion and will warp in developing both St Venanat shear stresses and warping stress which are axial tensile and compressive stresses and additional shear stresses.

Torsion causing warping in the blue laminates.

Additional axial stresses due to the warping.

The white layer will undergo similar deformation forced by the blue material deformation and will be stressed less, with a wavy step like undulations at the intersection line with blue material.
In these diagrams, I have not shown the white material for clarity.
Comment: There still would be warping. Imagine you cut the cylinder by two axially perpendicular surfaces dividing it into 4 triangles all fused at the axis you call 1 or z axis. Say the stiff direction along the axis of symmetry of the top and bottom triangles. Now we glue all surfaces back and twist the cylinder. It will warp. Only isotropic material won't warp.
Comment: This leads me to think that if all the layers were instead made of the same orthotropic material and were all oriented in the same way then there wouldn't be any warping torsion?
Comment: Apologies, I didn't understand what you mean by _Say the stiff direction along the axis of symmetry of the top and bottom triangles_.
Comment: Imagine a small 1 inch long coloreds toothpaste of tan material on top and bottom of the cross section and white on the sides. Representing the strong and weak directions. If you twist this paste it will warp. The strong material will wind the soft direction in a way similar to a cl
Comment: My apologies, my phone's acting up. Continuing the comment it will warp like a twisted rope.


Converting between KML and shapefile (SHP) format

Question: My users are sending me point data that were digitized using Google Earth.
How can I convert their KML to a shapefile and vice versa?
Answer: Using the open source ogr2ogr from GDAL/OGR:
ogr2ogr -f 'ESRI Shapefile' output.shp input.kml

or for the reverse:
ogr2ogr -f KML output.kml input.shp

As noted in grego's comment below, you may need to use double quotes instead of single quotes for the output format option (e.g. "ESRI Shapefile" for the Windows command line). See also the gdal wiki.
Answer: ArcGIS 10 has a GP tool called KML To Layer that converts KML to a feature class. Search for KML using the new search. I've used this to take the oil spill kml feeds from Google and convert them into SHP.
KML To Layer can only create a geodatabase feature class so that needs to be followed by a Feature Class To Feature Class step to convert it to a shapefile.
Answer: Use ogr2ogr, but if you're not interested in a command line, try ogr2gui - a really simple front end for ogr2ogr.
Answer: To use spatial data published as a KML or KMZ file in ArcGIS you must first convert the KML to a feature class (shapefile). The University of Connecticut has a published a script for creating shapefiles from KML called KML_to_Shp.tbx. It works quite well and you can use it from ArcToolbox. Because KML will (should)  always be in geographic coordinates (WGS84), you will eventually want to transform them to UTM Zone 15N NAD83...
As with  all new tools,  review the documentation on prior to use. This can be found on the UCONN's Center for Land Use Education and Research web site. Once you add it to your toolbox and understand its limitations, the tool is very straight forward to use.
http://clear.uconn.edu/tools/kml_to_shp/index.htm
Answer: If you are interested in command line tools, you can use GDAL/OGR from OSGEO.
Link
Answer: SL-King's fdo2fdo application, which uses the open source FDO libraries, allows you to perform KML to SHP and visa versa translations.  It includes both a GUI (which express format-to-format translations and more customized schema mapping translations) as well as a commandline tool.
For proprietary applications, Safe Software's FME gives you amazing control over how you map the source information into destination.  If you have ArcGIS, you can access this via the Data Interoperability Extension (list of formats) at additional cost.
If they are just point features with no attributes, I'd consider parsing the XML into something you can easily import like a CSV; you're just looking for the data between the coordinates tags.
Answer: One more commercial product that bears mentioning is Global Mapper. This falls in the category of view, convert, re-project almost any geographic data you can imagine. I use the free version heavily in a class I teach and almost everyone walks away commenting on how this is the swiss army knife of GIS tools (though the free version doesn't do translations, it exposes all the menu's and options). Well worth the cost in my experience.
Answer: QGIS has become much more robust for the conversion between kml and shp. Just use the Save As from the right click menu on the layer. Or open up each of those file types from the Add New Layer menu, be sure to change the file type in the dialog box.
Answer: Another option is to use XToolsPro, a third-party extension that works in ArcGIS. Amongst their many handy conversion tools is a "Import Data from KML" function.
Answer: If you'd like a GUI, you can use QGIS. It uses OGR/GDAL in the background.
Answer: FME posted a beta for an online tool that handles many different types of conversion, including this.  http://fmeserver.com/userweb/sharper/Portal/EasyTranslator/index.html
This converter should really help you.
Comment: The link in this answer is broken.
Answer: You can also look at FME from Safe Software http://www.safe.com
There is a 14 day trial available. FME lets you even map the attributes from your KML file to ESRI SHP format during the data conversion/migration process besides the ability to filter the KML point files based on certain attributes or spatial extents.
There is also the option to do batch conversion when you have a large set of KML files from your users.
Answer: use OGR for command line control, Google Earth Pro will give you a graphical way to convert, as will a variety of other apps
Answer: ET GeoWizards also has an import from Google Earth option, which will convert KML or KMZ files to feature class. > http://www.ian-ko.com/ET_GeoWizards/gw_MainFeatures.htm
If you're looking for an open source option, I see MapWindow was just updated, and there are a couple of plugins for converting to and from KML and shapefile.
Answer: The Open Source MapWindow GIS has a free extension (KML2Shapefile) for converting KML/KMZ files into shapefiles.
Answer: If you have the interop extension just load that KML straight into ArcMap and export to shp.
Although the opposite answer to your Q, in case someone has come here to do the vice versa, I find this script perfect to go from SHP-->KML
http://arcscripts.esri.com/details.asp?dbid=14273
Answer: If you would like to convert your files online, try MyGeodata GIS formats and coordinate system converter. It is based on ogr2ogr (gdal/ogr library) - so almost all known GIS formats and coordinate systems are supported...
Answer: A few options I didn't see on any of the responses to add additional resources for converting KML to SHP would be the follow:
MyGeodata Converter

Online converter of Keyhole Markup Language format to ESRI Shapefile format (KML to SHP) is fast and easy to use tool for both individual and batch conversions. Converter also supports more than 90 others vector and rasters GIS/CAD formats and more than 3 000 coordinate reference systems.

Free Geography Tools covers and provides a tutorial of Zonums Software tool
Answer: Zonum Solutions' Online KML to Shapefile converter also works well:
http://www.zonums.com/online/kml2shp.php
Answer: A good and easy help that might produce a more clean results is to convert KML to GPX first (there are several open-source software that can do it) and open the respective data (GPX has 5 different class of information: Waypoints, Trackpoints, Routepoints, Tracks and Routes) using the ogr2ogr from GDAL/OGR in QGIS and save it directly in .SHP file format.
It's quite easy also to use batch process for large quantity of data (using the Merge Vector Layers from SAGA for example) to produce a single shape file if desired and you can also clear the empty attributes before the final "Save as SHP".
Take special attention to the codification system if strange characters appear on your final result... you can choose the proper one at the moment you are adding new vector data to your map.
Answer: Here is one way using the rgdal package in R:
install.packages("rgdal")
library(rgdal) #load package
kmlfile=readOGR("yourkmlfilehere.kml") #load KML
writeOGR(kmlfile,"yourshapepath",layer="shapename", driver="ESRI Shapefile") #save shape

Answer: Another tip: If you want to convert multiple KMLs in a folder/directory at once to shapefile using the command line, open up cmd in the folder and type this in:
for /R %f in (*.kml) do ogr2ogr -f "ESRI Shapefile" "%~dpnf.shp" "%f"
Note: It will use the name of the KML as the name of the shapefile so make sure your KMLs have the proper naming formats for shapefiles. The shapefile will be created in the same directory as the corresponding kml. KMLs in sub-directories will be converted to shapefiles too.
Answer: I struggled a lot to get gdal/ogr working on my system, if you too are experiencing something similar, here is a way around using libraries that are easily installed using pip/conda across all OS.
import geopandas as gpd
from bs4 import BeautifulSoup
from shapely.geometry.polygon import Polygon

doc = open('file.kml').read()
soup = BeautifulSoup(doc, features="lxml")
coord=[]
for i in soup.findAll('coordinates'):
    coord.append(i.contents)
xyz = coord[0][0].strip().split(' ')
finalres=[]
for i in xyz:
    latlon=[]
    latlon.append(float(i.split(',')[0]))
    latlon.append(float(i.split(',')[1]))
    finalres.append(latlon)

poly = Polygon(finalres)
gdf = gpd.GeoDataFrame(index=[0], crs='epsg:4326', geometry=[poly])
gdf.to_file("file.shp")


Does Raspbian come with tk?

Question: I'm considering writing a graphical front-end for low-end wearables (why should the wealthy have all the fun) featuring our prized Raspberry Pi. I know that TK is the standard for python, however I don't know if that needs to be installed or if it's already available. Is it?
Comment: a google for "raspberry pi import Tkinter" returns enough responses to indicate that it was not (and may not) be included with Raspian and other RPi distros. The answer below indicates how to install it.
Comment: So actually tried "import Tkinter" on a noobs based Raspbian install that was updated on 19th April 2014 and only had Chromium installed on it. And Tkinter was already present
Answer: Tkinter is usually installed as part of Python, however it is not always included by default in builds for Raspberry Pi. For example it would seem fairly pointless to include it in a build targeted specifically at headless applications.
It is simple enough to find out (and fix if necessary) though. You can start Python from the command line (with python) then import Tkinter. If you get an error message then exit out of Python and call sudo apt-get install python-tk to install it.

Does Raspbian come with tk?


Lenovo IdeaPad z570 wireless adapter isn't working properly in Ubuntu 12.04

Question: So, the anamnesis:
Machine: Lenovo IdeaPad z570
WiFi-adapter: Intel Centrino Wireless-N 1000
OS: Ubuntu 12.04
$ uname -a
$ Linux username-Ideapad-Z570 3.2.0-32-generic #51-Ubuntu SMP Wed Sep 26 21:33:09 UTC 2012 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

WiFi-driver:
driver=iwlwifi
driverversion=3.2.0-32-generic
firmware=22.214.171.124 build 35138

Everything worked just fine until once I made a big though an unobvious mistake: I turned off my laptop's wifi-adapter via hardware switch during an active networking session. The connection went down of course, but it never come up after I turned it back on.
Network Manager applet shows an empty wireless icon, as if the adapter was turned off. No hotspots are being found.
iwlist scan returns "Failed to read scan data : Network is down" for wlan0.
dmesg | grep iwl returns
[   15.727561] iwlwifi 0000:03:00.0: PCI INT A -> GSI 17 (level, low) -> IRQ 17
[   15.727616] iwlwifi 0000:03:00.0: setting latency timer to 64
[   15.727670] iwlwifi 0000:03:00.0: pci_resource_len = 0x00002000
[   15.727673] iwlwifi 0000:03:00.0: pci_resource_base = ffffc90000c7c000
[   15.727675] iwlwifi 0000:03:00.0: HW Revision ID = 0x0
[   15.728145] iwlwifi 0000:03:00.0: irq 44 for MSI/MSI-X
[   15.728289] iwlwifi 0000:03:00.0: Detected Intel(R) Centrino(R) Wireless-N 1000 BGN, REV=0x6C
[   15.728452] iwlwifi 0000:03:00.0: L1 Enabled; Disabling L0S
[   15.749284] iwlwifi 0000:03:00.0: device EEPROM VER=0x15d, CALIB=0x6
[   15.749289] iwlwifi 0000:03:00.0: Device SKU: 0X50
[   15.749292] iwlwifi 0000:03:00.0: Valid Tx ant: 0X1, Valid Rx ant: 0X3
[   15.749375] iwlwifi 0000:03:00.0: Tunable channels: 13 802.11bg, 0 802.11a channels
[   15.921795] iwlwifi 0000:03:00.0: loaded firmware version 22.214.171.124 build 35138
[   15.924852] ieee80211 phy0: Selected rate control algorithm 'iwl-agn-rs'
[   18.198740] iwlwifi 0000:03:00.0: L1 Enabled; Disabling L0S
[   18.262374] iwlwifi 0000:03:00.0: L1 Enabled; Disabling L0S

iwconfig returns (for wlan0):
wlan0     IEEE 802.11bg  ESSID:off/any
          Mode:Managed  Access Point: Not-Associated   Tx-Power=14 dBm
          Retry  long limit:7   RTS thr:off   Fragment thr:off
          Power Management:off

As of rfkill - it shows, that no devices are blocked:
0: ideapad_wlan: Wireless LAN
    Soft blocked: no
    Hard blocked: no
1: phy0: Wireless LAN
    Soft blocked: no
    Hard blocked: no

sudo lshw -class network returns (part of it was in Russian and translation is provided, possibly not a very precise one):
  *-network DISABLED
       description: wireless interface
       product: Centrino Wireless-N 1000
       vendor: Intel Corporation
       physical ID: 0
       bus info: pci@0000:03:00.0
       logical name: wlan0
       version: 00
       serial №: 74:e5:0b:ce:7c:20
       capacity: 64 bits
       frequency: 33MHz
       capabilities: pm msi pciexpress bus_master cap_list ethernet physical wireless
       configuration: broadcast=yes driver=iwlwifi driverversion=3.2.0-32-generic firmware=184.108.40.206 build 35138 latency=0 link=no multicast=yes wireless=IEEE 802.11bg
       resources: IRQ:44 memory:f1500000-f1501fff

What I already tried and what didn't work:

ifdown / ifup
rfkill block all / rfkill unblock all (which is
obvious, since, as I mentioned above, there are no devices blocked)
rmmod iwlwifi / modprobe 11n_disable=0

I'm really, really looking forward for your help.
UPDATE: Forgot to mention: Under Win7 adapter works just fine.
UPDATE 2: Well, there's a definite progress: I managed to engage wlan0 via sudo ip link set wlan0 up. Besides, I found out, that iwlist scan has to be run by a superuser to produce meaningful result. I did so and ~finally!~ got a list of my APs! So now I'll try to connect manually by setting AP address, ESSID and WPA-key in iwconfig and report the result here back later.
But anyway: any idea what can be the problem? Something with NetworkManager perhaps? Because I had an issue with it recently after updating, which was resolved by downgrading my NetworkManager... Could this be, that I accidentally installed the latest version again?
Answer: The OP solved the problem, writing:
I did it. I set up both wireless connection to a router and pppoe-channel for internet access.
I simply purged NetworkManager and added all necessary settings to /etc/network/interfaces (it was a surprise for me, that on the WPA side I only needed to define my AP's SSID and the key; defining anything else with wpa- prefix under iface wlan0 section caused various interesting errors - deauthenticating with reason=3 for intance).
I saved the interfaces and then just /etc/init.d/networking restart. PPPoE was configured by an obvious pppoeconf later.
So, I guess it must've been a NetworkManager issue... But should I reinstall it? noob snobbery mode on I don't think so. Now I'm pretty confident in setting up my networking manually, why would I need it?
I would like to thank the community sincerely for their silence, which supported me in my research and taught me a couple of lessons on self-sufficiency and google-do.
Case closed.
Originally posted in the question itself.


How to project MODIS blue marble image?

Question: I have combined MODIS blue marble images into a mosaic, a screen shot of the mosaic raster image with its source info opened in ArcMap is attached. The  file source shows that it has angular coordinates defined. I tried to define projection/project but nothing seems to be working. My problem is that this image does not align with other layers having projections defined (e.g. basemap). So I need to align it with other global maps (e.g. basemap) so that it overlaps with them. I know the coordinates of all the four corners of the map (e.g. bottom left corner is -180, -90 or 180W, 90S). I thought it should be a simple problem of georeferencing but it does not seem so after searching all the information online. How can I project or georeference this image in a simple way using the tools in ArcGIS? Please help.
Answer: If you need to align your raster layer by coordinates or several known points, you can find the georeferencing toolbar in arcgis Desktop (online help here).
I had already test that to put a none spatial picture (like old urban plan) on basemap.
I hope i helped you...
Comment: Could you please be more specific? Thanks for your help.
Answer: So I georeferenced it using georeferencing tool. I used the four corner coordinates as the control points. I used:
WGS84 Bounds: -180.0000, -90.0000, 180.0000, 90.0000 Projected Bounds: -20037508.3428, -10018754.1714, 20037508.3428, 10018754.1714
Found from here http://spatialreference.org/ref/epsg/wgs-84-plate-carree/

How to project MODIS blue marble image?


I am looking for the Torat Emet program to list verses for names

Question: I am looking for a direct link to the Torat Emet program that helps you find verses for your hebrew name. I am looking for more verses for my name to use during the shmona esrei. I saw a mention of this program from Torat Emet under "shonot." I would like a set of verses that represent good health prosperity. grandchildren.
Answer: This is the link to Torat Emet Freeware.
Comment: @Yossi fair. I understood it to be a criticism of the answer, because the program specified by the question post is Windows-specific, but it's true that one can't be expected to know that if they weren't already familiar with the program, like I was.
Comment: That works for windows people but nothing there for Linux fans
Comment: @Yossi this answer is still a good answer to this question, because this question asked for a specific piece of software. See http://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/31867/5323 for some other programs that do similar things
Comment: @Shokhet I did not say it was not a good answer, I only said it has nothing for Linux people. Also that link only has PDFs and online formats as well as software for Windows, Mac, etc etc. Nothing on there for Linux users to install


Quads vs Hamstrings in Squats and Lunges

Question: I've read that squats and lunges are primarily Hamstring/Glute exercises.  But I tend to feel them much more in my quads.  Is this indicative of a form issue, or an imbalance in the strength of my quads vs hamstrings?
Comment: I'm not sure about lunges, but with squats it depends on how low you go. If you reach parelel then you will feel the glutes and hamstrings otherwise it is only a quad exercise which is why you will only feel the quads.
Comment: Just from looking at examples online of squats in the hammer strength machine, it looks like it'd be easy to do a quad-focussed squat. It's not a problem, just a different squat. But, if you really want a hamstring/glute-focussed squat, look at the low bar back squat (http://startingstrength.com/articles/squat_rippetoe.pdf), although I'm not sure how much of that can transfer to the machine.
Comment: What type of squat are you doing? Certain types of squats are more quad-focussed.
Comment: Often I do not have a partner/spotter, so I've been doing my squats on a Hammer Strength V-Squat Machine.  For Lunges, I'm either doing Standing Dumbell Lunges, or Barbell Lunges on the Smith Machine.
Comment: Thank you Kate,  that link was informative.  It may be that I am not going deep enough in my squats to effectively activate my glutes and hamstrings.
Answer: The barbell squat is primarily a quadricep exercise. Secondary muscle groups include glutes, hamstrings, lower back, and even abs.
The best way to target your quads during a barbell squat is to keep your feet at shoulder width with your toes pointing out a little bit to avoid putting unnecessary pressure on your knees.
If you want to activate your glutes and hamstrings, take a wider stance and perform a deeper squat (to parallel or just below). I wouldn't recommend going any lower than that until your know that your form is really nailed down. Performing a full squat (hamstrings touching your calves) with improper form can put a lot of strain on your knees.
Lunges usually activate your glutes a lot more than a standard barbell squat, but it depends on how you perform them. If you're not feeling glute activation and you want to feel it more, there are two things you can experiment with:

The length of your stride. Experiment with the distance between your feet to target your muscles differently.
The angle at which you complete the concentric portion of the movement. If you lean forward during your lunge, you will put more weight and emphasis on your quads. Leaning forward is common in this exercise because the quadricep is the strongest muscle in the leg and transferring the load to the quads makes the movement easier to complete. If you keep your spine vertical throughout the movement, you should notice a lot more glute and hamstring activation.

If you are really looking into building your hamstrings and glutes though, you should look into performing Romanian Deadlifts.
Answer: Shorter stride lunges actually work the hip/glutes more.It is a common,broscience miscoception that a wider stride targets the glutes more.Thats nonsense.A shorter stride lunge involves far more biomechanical involvement of the hips and glutes.
Comment: Where do you take this information from? Any references?


What is an asterism compared to a constellation?

Question: I'm doing an astronomy exam tomorrow and in the practice paper it asks for the difference between constellation and asterism. It seems asterism is a group of recognizable stars; however I thought that is what a constellation is. So what exactly is the difference?
Comment: These answers are pretty unsatisfying: OK, so constellations are these patches of sky decided upon by some group of people. Presumably, they had some rationale in picking the current set of patches, and not some other set. Is it just based on Greek tradition? I think that's the sort of answer that people are generally looking for.
Answer: The constellations are the 88 internationally recognized stellar groupings in the sky that toghether cover the entire celestial sphere.  They typcially correspond to a recognziable pattern and many are named from mythology.  However, in modern usage, a specified constellation tecnically referres to the entire region of the sky, not just the recognizable star pattern.
An asterism is also a group of stars that don't correspond to the recognized constellations.  Some, like the Big Dipper, are a subset of the stars in a larger constellation (in the case of the Big Dipper, the constellation is Ursa Major).  Others are made up of stars from multiple constellations.  An example of this type is the Summer Triangle, which is composed of the three bright stars Vega, Deneb, and Altair, which are the brightest stars in the Constellations Vega, Cyngus and Aquila, respectively.  These are all first magnitude stars and when the triangle is up, it is summer time in the Northern Hemisphere.
Answer: An asterism is a group of recognizable stars, like your definition says. However, it's usually a group within a constellation.
A good example of an asterism is the Big Dipper (or the Plough, if you're in the UK). It's a familiar group of stars, but by itself it's not a constellation. It's a group of stars within the Ursa Major constellation.
Another asterism is the Pleiades, which is a small cluster of stars found in Taurus.
Edit: And to be precise, a constellation actually refers to an area of the sky and not the pattern of stars. The constellation Orion is made up of a specific area of the sky and not just the stars that look like a hunter.
Comment: But there are asterisms that span multiple constellations (e.g. the summer triangle).
Answer: The difference is minor. Constellations are well known groups of "recognizeable" stars.
An Asterism is any group of stars that seems visually related, but may not be one of the generally recognized constellations.
An Asterism might be a sub group of a larger constellation, or it could span across multiple constellations.
Answer: "Constellations are well known groups of "recognizeable" stars."
This is the popular and historical answer but not the modern astronomical answer.
The modern answer is that constellations are regions of the sky.  Meanwhile, asterisms are groups of stars that form some pattern.  Most asterisms are within a single region or constellation ("Big Dipper") but many are not ("Summer Triangle").
Subtle but significant difference.  It's important because the "region" definition defines every part of the sky.  Even the spaces between the famous patterns are included in constellations.
Answer: An asterism is a Pattern of stars that are not part of the constellation. Their speed is different from the constellation. Their position drifts and will individually be varying in position in the sky.  Any assumption that an asterism has one fixed position in the constellation will cause unacceptable discrepancies / errors during computation of their spatial positions.


Who mixes for Pentatonix songs?

Question: Pentatonix voices sound very clear and good.
Does anyone know who mixes for them?
And also I am curious that what kind of program/DAW do they use for their production?
Answer: Ben Bram is the primary producer, arranger, and recording engineer for Pentatonix.  Besides being an a cappella performer himself, he has extensive experience working with various groups and Hollywood shows.
I have no idea what software he uses in recording.  I did some searching of his Tweets, but I didn't find any mention of his recording software.
Comment: While at the time this seemed like the right answer, the citation included in ctate's answer explicitly describes Boyer as the mixer, Bram as the producer/arranger.
Answer: I didn't think Bram did much in the way of mixing, at least not since the earliest days.  He gets an "engineering" credit on PTX Volume 2 but not a "mixing" credit, for example.
One of their long-time mixmasters is a guy named Ed Boyer, who's been in the business for a very long time.  See for example the Sound On Sound article about his workflow, with specific examples from the eponymous "Pentatonix" full-length album.  It goes into a lot of detail about both hardware and software, mic selection, aesthetic choices about pitch and intonation correction, et cetera.
Answer: There's a lot of suspicion that Pentatonix uses pitch correction - manual or otherwise - on their recordings, but there's no evidence of that. While to many their recordings sound auto-tuned, I've learned that there are supremely good musicians out there.
Their producer, Ben Bram, produces a lot of a capella groups, and I imagine if he does any pitch correction at all, he'd keep that a closely held secret. (It would be a bad business move to do otherwise.)
Comment: They all have wonderful natural voices --you can hear that in their early pre-fame YouTube videos.  Of course, that doesn't mean they don't have studio help now...
Comment: fwiw Ed Boyer admits to using pitch correction (Melodyne specifically) as listeners expect that as part of the 'modern pop music sound'. It's also obvious that it's being used if you simply listen to their music.
Answer: Ed Boyer is their production engineer. He is probably the most important acappella producer in the business. All you have to do is google him and you can find out about him and the equipment he uses as well as find an interview he did about work he's done for Pentatonix. Seems like most fans arent aware of how involved mixing and final production is.

Who mixes for Pentatonix songs?


Can you detect if a mutation is spontaneous or induced?

Question: Is it possible to determine if a certain specific mutation had a spontaneous origin (for example from a mistake of the DNA polymerase) as opposed to an induced origin (for example, from some genotoxic agent)?
Comment: Since mutations arise as a result of, speaking broadly, a chemical reaction or process my instinct is to say that I don't see how you could ever rule out that a mutation happened spontaneously.
Comment: I edited question to clarify.
Comment: In the future, please make question titles a full sentence, that starts with a capital letter.
Answer: Here's a quick answer; hopefully someone will give a more complete one.  But meanwhile you've got something.
Some genotoxic agents have predictable results.  For example, they cause Gs to substitute for Cs, or they cause mutations at specific spots on the genome.  So if you had a bunch of mutations in a single cell (or collection of related cells) that matched the modus operandus of a known genotoxic agent, then it would be reasonable to conclude that the mutations were induced.  But not all genotoxic agents are like that.  And if you only have 1 or 2 mutations, that's not enough to prove they were induced.  Also, of course, it depends on your sample size and your controls.
Answer: The above answer is mostly right. In the lab one can show that induced mutations are caused by exposure, compared to unexposed controls (e.g. in bacteria). The induced mutations will have a frequency, position, and type which can be typified. As a group, theyc ompris a "spectrum" of mutations. In a real case problem, such as humans exposed to diesel exhaust, the number of mutations and their trype are usually going to be too few to have a"spectrum". Naturally occurring (a serious misnomer in its own right) could also occur in those same positions and types. The usual language is that the observed mutations are consistent with an exposure, but does not prove the exposure caused them.


Test if an API Service is available

Question: I'm creating a test suite for a test that should check that a specific API Service is available. So I'm confused on exactly how I can check the availability of a service. Is it sufficient to only check the status code to be 200 or are there other ways to confirm that?
Comment: You mean if the service available in production?
Comment: See also https://sqa.stackexchange.com/a/40043/8992
Answer: It depends on how you define "available". Making a simple call and checking that you get a code 200 means the servers is up and it can recieve calls.
Now if the API uses for example a database then the simple call might not detect underlying systems are wrongly configured.
Personally I would want to ensure the API and its depencies are working. So doing a call that actually does something and verifying the result would make more sense. But you might not want to call API's that insert/change data.
I would suggest to ask the developers to add a HealthCheck method, that checks the internals of the API and gives a small json report to check.
Answer: I think service availability shouldn't be addressed with traditional testing. When would the corresponding tests run? Per hour, per minute, … ?
Instead, monitoring is the way to go. You can use tools such as Uptime Robot to receive alerts whenever a service is down. In addition, use something like Sentry to be notified when internal exceptions occur.
Answer: Add the site UptimeControl.net to the article, because only they have a 3-minute site availability check interval on the free plan.

Test if an API Service is available


A question on psychology / strategy in Chess opening

Question: Is it a good idea to play unusual openings (minus the d&e files), such as c4 played by Bobby Fischer in his "Game of the Century", to confuse the opponent and stop them from playing their natural opening in the rated tournaments?
Comment: I don't think C4 (The English) would be considered an unusual opening these days. Most good players would have a fairly well thought out response to it.
Comment: @Ian Parry It's just for example purpose, I don't specify English Opening particularly. It can be anything, like a4, Nf3, g3 etc.
Comment: Ummm. In Fischer's Game of the Century he played Black against Donald Byrne and the opening was the Grunfeld, one of Fischer's "standard" openings. Are you thinking of the match with Spassky, perhaps?
Comment: @Arlen Yuup, I am talking about the match verses Spassky, where Fischer hadn't played c4 before that match (Accordingto the cinema PAWN SACRIFICE)
Comment: That actually was the third time Fischer had played c4, so the movie is a bit inaccurate on that point, but it's not a significant error considering we're talking about a full career of games.
Answer: There are many ways of looking at this depending on one's strength. Super Grandmasters are able to shift between openings with ease and still play them well at a very high level and with deep understanding. As for middling players, it is good to stay with one opening line for long and there are several advantages to that;

Experience is a very important aspect in the road to mastery and there's no shortcut to acquiring experience. The great martial artist, Bruce Lee once said,

I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks (chess openings) once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick (chess opening) 10,000 times.

The same could also be said about chess and sticking with one (or a few) opening lines for long time, acquiring more experience, deepening your understanding in strategic & tactical ideas behind the opening and both the resulting middlegames and endgame positions.

Don't play against the player but play against the pieces. Most great masters of the past including Bobby Fischer himself have stayed with one opening repertoire for long and playing fearlessly against all their opponents. Fischer played just a few openings, Ruy Lopez, Sicilian Najdorf, King's Indian Attack & Defense, Grunfeld Defense, and others in between. Some openings and variations have been named after masters simply because they remained loyal for long and built indepth understanding in those lines.
The desire to win quickly and the creeping in of last minute doubt in one's opening repertoire is what has led many players to run away from their main weapons, hoping that the new unknown opening will yield better results in their favor. More often than not, it is the same players that end up surprising themselves with their own lack of experience in the new unusual opening than surprising their opponents. The sad is thing is that after the game, there isn't much to analyse or to add to your experience in that surprise opening.

For serious tournament games, I would strongly recommend sticking with one's main opening repertoire and using surprise openings for blitz and casual chess. As for beginners, I would recommend that they should stay with simple openings that adhere to basic opening principles (develop your pieces quickly, knights first, king safety, etc) like the Italian Game before trying to surprise anyone.
Answer: Absolutely! This is an important component of opening preparation. If you know your opponent is very booked up in e.g. the Sicilian Najdorf, entering the Sicilian Najdorf is suicide unless you also have specialist knowledge. You are liable to be caught in an opening trap or make otherwise inferior moves against which the opponent has memorized the best responses. Game 1 of the World Chess Championship 2010 is illustrative: Anand forgot his preparation and when Topalov responded instantly, Anand knew at once that he was lost. More to the point, he didn't actually lose the game to Topalov's superior chess, he lost to Topalov's computer & memory.
In a similar way, if you know your opponent likes tactical melees, playing for closed positions where slow maneuver is the order of the day can dramatically increase your win rate against him. Directly challenging the opponent in the area of his strength is fine if you're looking to improve, and not so fine if you just want to win.
In case you're wondering, the same principles apply as well in the highest level of play: correspondence chess. To quote from an interview with the then-world correspondence chess champion,

It is indeed impossible to achieve any significant result in today's correspondence chess without engines and databases. But we humans play, not the engines, and the input of humans mainly affects two areas: a) the choice of a suitable opening, and b) steering the engine toward (or away) from certain types of position.
If you want to be successful in top correspondence chess you can only play a certain set of openings because you simply cannot afford one single sub-optimal move – if you do, you will sooner or later regret it. That's as certain as death and taxes.
...
I used Rybka for a number of years but around 2012 and 2103 I switched to Stockfish. Of course, I tested other engines as well but these two are my main engines. I firmly believe that the top CC players must not change their engines too much because you have to understand and recognize the strengths and weaknesses of your engines. Otherwise, you again and again have to choose between two or three moves the engines suggest, however, without understanding the differences these moves.

(Emphasis mine)
If your engine is good at positional play, those are the positions you want to gun for. If you further manage to identify the opponent's engine is not good at positional play, more power to you if you successfully get into such a position.
Answer: First, I'm not convinced Fischer's 1. c4 was the masterstroke some claim. His Bb5 had already been played by Furman against Geller, one of Spassky's seconds, and was nothing special. (As shown the next year when Timman ventured that same line against Geller, who responded with the continuation he himself had shown Spassky during the match prep and won.) I think Spassky had already been rocked back on his heels before Game 6 by the way Fischer responded to being two games down -- drawing even by winning his next two games as black. Starting with Game 5 Spassky became uncharacteristically blunder-prone for a fatal stretch. I'm not sure the end result would have changed had Fischer simply stuck to his e4 habit. (See for example, Game 10.)
As for the main question: I've always encouraged my students to experiment with openings, for the simple reason that until both players have reached a basic level of strength (it's an uncertain line but it's somewhere north of USCF1800) specific opening choices really don't matter, and it's a way for them to discover what kinds of positions they like to play and have a natural aptitude for.
The unfortunate truth is for beginning and club-level players, the propensity for making errors in the middlegame and endgame will more than offset any advantage gained by memorizing a list of opening moves.
The question why I wasn't telling them which openings to play came up in a training session with one of my high school teams, so I opened my scorebook and we took a look at all the rated tournament games I had won so far that year (15, I think). We discovered that in all but one of those games I had come out of the opening behind, ranging from standing a little bit worse to being well on my way to losing. (I've long had a propensity for playing oddball lines, just to see how they play out against humans, rather than computers.) Yet I'd won, mainly because once the game shifted gears into the middle game or the endgame, my opponent didn't know what to do.
The first things to work on are calculation/visualization and basic endgames. Basic principles of chess, such as mobility, development, and control of the center. Go ahead and try out different opening lines, with the aim of figuring out whether the resulting positions suit you, not because of some supposed psychological effect on your opponent. Until the rest of your game is good enough to hold on to an early edge, none of that will matter for you. (If you want to play some trappy line and hope your opponent won't find the right path through it, go ahead. But remember, winning via memorized book traps says nothing at all about how good you are at chess, only how good your memory is.)
Specific opening preparation can wait until you're good enough to hold on to the advantage that preparation might give you.
Anatoly Karpov spoke at one of Scholastic Championships I brought a team to, and one of the coaches there asked him to comment on what US coaches were doing wrong. You could see him think carefully for a while (since his English is quite good, I personally think as a gentleman he was trying to find a way to say it clearly without offending his hosts) "You think too much about the opening. First comes chess. After you play it well, then is the time to think about openings."
You want to play some offbeat lines? Go ahead. Have some fun with them. Experiment. Dance with the wallflowers of chess opening theory. But unless both you and your opponent are dancing with candidate master or better skill, don't do it for any sort of opening advantage, because the odds are you'll give it all back before the game is over.
Answer: In chess, in general, you want to avoid the opponent's strengths, however, playing something you totally do not understand is not OK, either. I recently played something that I was not used to against a GM, and got soundly outplayed. In that game, 1.d4 d6, I decided that I would try the Kaprov line of the Pirc, and played 2.e4, even though I am not an e4-player.
If you opponent is a known tactical player, it pays to steer the game to a more positional approach, and vice versa. That said, you still need to play things that you understand.
P.S. "The Game of the Century" was an English after 1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4, but Fischer was black.
During the 1972 match, Fischer playing 1.c4 was definitely to take Spassky out of his primary preparation, and make them both play mano a mano, but of course, both those players understand virtually all positions so they can get away with such tactics.
Answer: The answer is it depends. You're actually asking a couple of different questions though.
First of all, a narrow vs. a broad rep. Most players are probably better off steering their games into a narrow rep where they limit the opponent's responses and steer the game into positions they know. However, because of engines, I don't believe you can be a competitive international player nowadays playing that way. If your goal is 2400+ you really need to be comfortable in all positions and play a broad rep.
The other aspect is whether or not to choose openings based on the opponent. In terms of general opponents I would at least consider the psychology. For example, I recommend the French exchange to a lot of players precisely for the reason that most French players hate playing against it. If you're talking about specific opponents then it really depends on the value of a win vs. the amount of time spent analyzing it and how comfortable you are with the resulting positions. You have to ask yourself if it's worth it to spend X number of hours studying a line and what the potential gain of that knowledge is. ie is 50 hours of study worth it to beat a specific player?


Does spin class prepare you for a long bike ride?

Question: I need to train for an upcoming bike ride and i wanted to see if attending a spin class 1-2 times a week (45 min course) would be appropriate way to prepare for a long bike ride (50 - 75 miles)
Comment: You'll get more benefit by a few miles riding to and from the spin class as well. Especially if you push during the class. Riding home when you're tired will help you build those riding skills the gym can't teach you.
Comment: BTW, if you're only a few weeks from this ride you're probably overthinking it.  Try to get in a good 60-90 minute ride every 2-3 days.  On the bike is best, but if weather or other conditions prevent that then the exercise bike (in or out of "class") is a decent alternative for maybe half your rides.  On ride day just pace yourself, take a break every hour or two, and mind your hydration and nutrition.  Don't try to set any speed records.  Can the anxiety -- relax and enjoy the ride.
Comment: Probably a bit better than your typical "spin class" cycles are some sort of cycle that varies the effort required.  A number of different exercise bikes have time-varying "profiles", and bikes like the [Expresso](http://ifholdings.com/products_services/upright_bike.html) can provide a very realistic ride.  But, as others have indicated, while these are good adjuncts to training (and a good way to keep in shape through the winter, eg), they don't provide the full bike "experience", and don't train you to handle the dynamics of the bike.
Comment: Its now 2017 and tools like Zwift and interconnected devices have appeared.  You can "ride"  a virtual segment, and have your bike's power meter translate your effort into a representation of forward movement.  Downside, you need a lot of stuff like a power meter with rollers or trainer with a built-in power meter, and a laptop/computer with TV, and an internet link.  And a cooling fan.
Answer: Regular aerobic exercise is definitely of value for preparing for a big ride. Spin is a good preparation in conjunction with some outdoor rides, but it is not a substitute for riding your bike on the road.
The feel of the bike, the balance, the momentum, and the environmental and traffic factors will have an effect on your fitness as well, some of which may be purely mental.
If time is limited, try spin 2-3 days a week, and build up your endurance, but also do at least one longer outdoor ride each week. If you're riding 50 miles, you need to plan to be on the bike for 3-5 hours when you do the actual ride.
Build up to where you can handle 3 hours on the bike easily, and you'll do fine.
Comment: +1 in particular, riding on a stationary spinning bike does not by itself promote good, efficient form which is useful for long rides. The only way to do that indoors is with rollers (but you can't use those for a spinning class!). Spin class is still one of the best ways to develop aerobic capacity, however.
Comment: Also spin training doesn't help train with gear selection.
Comment: The crank inertial load is also not the same as riding in the real world, which can make real world riding feel more difficult. Most trainers cannot duplicate this as it would require a variable mass flywheel (or one that could change the inertial load).
Comment: @Rider_X That's true, but do keep in my that those trainers are available. Expensive, but available. :)
Answer: Yes and no.
Spin classes do help with overall aerobic fitness.
There are shortcomings: the first thought occurring to me is "bike handling". You can do spin classes blindfolded. An actual ride means controlling the bike in various situations. Secondly in a spin class, the "rider" determines the difficulty. Actually riding, the difficulty is determined by the environment.
The upshot is that spin classes are good for aerobic fitness but other skills require different practice.
Spin workouts in general?
A good thing. I do spin workouts during the dark, wet, and cold Pacific NW winters. Spin workouts do wonders for your cardiovascular endurance. So, you have that covered.
However, spin workouts generally last 45 minutes to an hour. A long ride is typically longer than that, so little to no help. Another thing in spin workouts is that the instructor will have you increase the resistance for "hills"; believe me, it never matches reality unless you really ramp up the resistance. Another thing, is that spin instructors often don't have actual experience in riding a real bike on real terrain; so not sure that it helps unless the spin instructor is actually a cyclist.
Take away? Usually ramp things up; of course depending on the spin instructor.
...Spin "class" is NOT a "class"...it's a workout...
Answer: In my experience the saddles on gym spin bikes are often a little more plush than a typical "real" bike saddle. Thus, one part of your body that you will never train, no matter how many spin classes you attend, is your butt's ability to tolerate a bike saddle for 50-75 miles.
I believe the only way to train your butt to sit without significant discomfort on a real bike saddle for 50-75 miles is to sit on a real bike saddle for a significant number of miles. Several times.
I took a coworker on an easy, flat 25-mile route, and he was not accustomed to being on a bike saddle for that long. By the time we got back, he was effectively riding on one cheek, because the saddle was paining him so. His speed had slowed to a crawl.
Answer: If you don't have much experience on the bike, in a long event, be ready for pain in your hands, wrists, shoulders, back, and bottom.  Especially if your bike fit isn't perfect.
I ride 50-100mi per week (mostly road, some mountain), and my first spin class was really hard for me.  I think the reverse is true as well; a good spinner may find that actual road riding is more dynamic and challenging.
Try to get as many road rides in as possible.
Answer: Spinning is fine if it's a long session but no substitute because your 100Km race is an endurance test for your muscles. So as others have said hydration is more important than your time.
Do the spinning but make sure you've ridden the 100KM on the real bike at least once before you do your trip. Just so you'll know what's coming.
Hope you enjoy it!
Answer: For anyone training for a big bike ride I would recommend the following. Go out once a week and do a long ride increasing the  distance by ten per cent a week. Do a shorter ride during the week, and if you can fit some interval training in on a spin bike that really helps with stamina. A pyramid climb with some interval sessions straight after. After one of your training sessions preferably the longer ride I did some squats, lunges and single leg deadlifts. This really helped my climbing ability. All the hills I dreaded became mere blips, not just physically but visually. I did the ride London and a
ride in France which was shorter than the London one but hilly.
Comment: Welcome to [bicycles.se] @Lol. Thanks for answering one of our questions. Can you edit to explain what a *pyramid climb* is, please? In general we recommend that new members take the [tour] to make best use of the site, and since you're answering see [answer] also.
Answer: its appropriate. i do spinning every winter. great training, really pushes me. you'll do fine as long as its not a competitive event and you can ride your own pace. 50-70 miles is not that long if you're on a racing bike. as others said: dont expect it to be too comfortable tho. cycling is an endurance sport, after all. I'd say do some riding too. it's almost summer in the northern half of the world. perfect time for some relaxed riding. if you dont like that, then why even bother going to the event? if you do like it, then youll probably enjoy it more than sweating in some overheated gym class. its also good (pleasant and safe) to be familiar with your bike and riding, cornering etc when you ride in big groups.
Answer: I SPIN 8-12 hours a week in winter- )Pacific Northwet). I make sure I do one or two 2 hour sessions a week. It has been very effective for years. One key is to have imperial information:
watts and heart rate to make sure you are getting benefit. Some call for watts = your weight is good target. I add the weight of my bike to that as well. I also did a test for threshold watts that provides me with targets during training. I do not have it on my bike just trainer and spin bike.
Comment: Your weight in what units? Pounds or kilograms? Also, sorry to be picky, but I think you mean "empirical" not "imperial".


How does one pay electricity bill in advance to avoid turn-off?

Question: I rent condo in Bangkok and pay electricity bills at the 7-11. I will be out of country for about 3 months and have been advised not to turn off service while I'm gone.
Answer: In fact, you have several options:

Contact your landlord and ask them to pay the bills while you're absent. You probably meet them anyway because you'll be paying the rent in advance, correct?
Find PEA office location in your area and negotiate this with them (more instructions here). I believe you are not the first one who temporarily leaves the country, and PEA knows how to handle this;
Just delegate this to your friend or neighbor you trust to. A friend who visits your place once a week is also a good security measure, too.
Comment: Thank you so much. One other option, can I pay more than my current amount due at 7-11 (as I will receive receipt) if I cannot make it to PEA?
Comment: @Caroline, in theory, you can. Anecdotally, once I've lost a receipt stapled with the electricity bill, and my girlfriend went to 7-11 and paid it again thinking it wasn't paid yet. I didn't raise any dispute for it's only a couple hundred Baht, waited till the next month and, lo and behold, my next bill had an extra line "overpay nnn Baht" or so, with almost zero total due. Still, I suggest doing this in PEA office, however, to avoid any unpleasant surprises.


Does the main title theme from JAG have a name?

Question: I'm wondering that on the pilot soundtrack of JAG the main theme is segued into from "Engage and Destroy", but I don't think it's part of the same track. Does the title actually have a name, or just "Theme from JAG"?
Answer: It doesn't appear to have a name. It seems to be listed as Theme from JAG by Bruce Broughton in most sites. For examples:

iTunes
Amazon


Urgh, there exists a "web3.0" tag?

Question: Seriously, what value do these have: web2.0 (x106) web3.0 (x14)
and would anyone miss them if I started editing them out of questions?
Comment: Could you wait for Meta consensus (like an upvoted answer) before going in an edit spree? If not, why even post to Meta?
Comment: Also note that just editing tags out of questions is not really a nice way to remove a tag, since you're still leaving potentially off-topic or improvable content lying around... And those posts are now more difficult to find! This is why [SOCVR](https://chat.stackoverflow.com/rooms/41570/so-close-vote-reviewers) has proposed a [process](https://github.com/SO-Close-Vote-Reviewers/SOCVR-RoomInformation/blob/master/burnination.md#process) to handle burnination.
Comment: Why don't you simply voice your opinion in an answer (_"These tags hold no value and should just disappear"_) and see how it goes from here? Upvotes on this question could either mean than people agree with you that those tags should disappear, or maybe they think that they're indeed worth taking a look at to improve them. An answer would draw the line more precisely, I think.
Comment: Ugh, burninate all the meaningless buzzword tags!
Comment: @Emissary Sorry, that was me. There was a lot of *really bad* questions in these tags, and I closed and deleted a bunch of them because they needed to go away, regardless of the outcome of this tag. I should've posted a comment, but I spaced it off.
Comment: @Kyll Only just checked back 10 minutes ago - a 3rd were already gone and 10 votes to 1 in 13 hours.  How long should I wait?
Comment: With 24 and 2 followers respectively...I'd go for it....and this question is way on the nose [http://stackoverflow.com/questions/2018636/what-is-web-2-0-and-web-3-0](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/2018636/what-is-web-2-0-and-web-3-0)
Comment: @Emissary Re. "How long should I wait?" See Shog's post about the [new process](http://meta.stackoverflow.com/a/307124/176646) for burninate requests.
Comment: What @Kyll said, plus, this is a vote on two tags. Web 3.0 sounds silly at first, and at a glance, I'm not a fan of "Web 2.0" either. But perhaps someone comes up with a good reason for these tags to exist that neither of us thought of yet, at which point we can both say "hey, I hadn't looked of it that way, you're right, these tags are worth keeping!" ... None of this is really reflected in "an upvote", neither are nuanced like "Web 3.0 is useless, but Web 2.0 is worth keeping because so-and-so ..." :-)
Comment: @all When I came back to Meta, I saw many had already been removed and mistakenly took that as tacit approval - I apologise if I stood on any toes. I'll refrain from making any edits on SO if it's easier for anyone wishing to review the posts related to the tag in my history. Unless the general feeling is I should revert my changes until this is resolved?
Answer: Okay, in the interest of objectivity - as suggested in the comments - here is an answer you can vote on.  I think the tags should be eradicated as the term/s web x.0 are fuzzy.  There are no formal definitions, they are ambiguous and as such have little taxonomic value in and of themselves.  On top of this the kind of questions where they may be applicable are subjective and therefore not suited to the Stack Overflow Q&A format anyway.
Answer: I've spent some time today re-tagging, close voting and cleaning up those remaining questions. The last bits were handled during a Close Vote event of the SOCVR room tonight.
Assuming no-one rolls-back my edits or create a new question with web2.0 the tag will be completely gone at 03:00 UTC. And then it is time to flag for a moderator to declare this status-completed as web3.0 is already gone.
Answer: The term Web 2.0 is fairly well defined. The fact that they've made the internet a more centralized place means I'm a bit nostalgic for Web 1.0, but that is neither here nor there.
However, it doesn't seem like a useful tag for Stack Overflow in particular. Questions such as how to add wiki-like functionality shouldn't be tagged with web 2.0. It should have tags such as the web development framework you're using instead. It might be relevant on other Stack Exchanges, however.
(Declaration of interest: I did some work that was kind of related to a web site that's been dubbed a Web 2.0 website)
Comment: What qualifies as web 1.0, 2.0, or 3.0 seems completely arbitrary to me...  Especially when you see blogs and CMSs listed as web 2.0, but wikis and dynamically generated pages via server side technologies being listed as 1.0.  They're marketing buzzwords, nothing more.
Comment: Except this is about [tag:web3.0] as well, not just [tag:web2.0].
Comment: Not *completely* arbitrary. There are some consistent descriptions of what constitutes web 2.0 (e.g. AJAX) as opposed to 1.0. But I agree that the boundaries are plenty fuzzy.
Comment: @QPaysTaxes true, but I'm more familiar with the latter than the former.
Comment: It may be hard to tell whether a withering plant has truly died yet, but that doesn't mean there is a difference between an alive plant as a dead plant. Likewise just because it's hard to tell the boundary between web 1.0 and web 2.0 doesn't mean they don't exist as different things. geocities page: obviously 1.0. Something like https://strongcoin.com/ , obviously web 2.0.

Urgh, there exists a "web3.0" tag?