Sources of topograpical maps for use in LaTeX documents

Question: I would like to add a partial map of Prague into my LaTeX document but I am lost where to begin search for maps and how to get them into the document. I suppose that once I can get EPS or PDF of map area, I can manage from there. However I do not know where to start searching for map data that would be reasonably easy to convert to PDF or EPS. Any ideas?
Answer: Have you had a look at openstreetmap?
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Osmbook
Not tested myself, they use Latex to generate the book.
Comment: Thank you for the pointer. It is definitely a place to start.
Answer: There is a world street map dataset available that has content for Prague, as well as other areas in the world.  More street data for Prague is also available.
Additional, you can find related datasets for this (or other) geographical area in the world on Data.gov by drawing a boundary around the geographical space you are searching at the new Data.gov catalog.  To look for a specific file format, browse the formats on the left side of the page.
(Disclaimer: I am the Evangelist for Data.gov.)


Is there any more I can do to help

Question: I try to answer as many questions as I can, and when I am not doing that, I am going to the 'review' section and doing what I can there and when that is done, I read through as many questions as possible (flagging if necessary, commenting as necessary) - is there anything else I can do to help?
Comment: If you are good in editing and improving posts, you could try to do what nobody else does: try to improve almost good, interesting, salvagable closed questions and get them reopend by pinging a mod or stating a reopen flag. Closed questions can be found by typing "closed:1" in the search window and sorting them by vote brings the non crapy ones the community likes to the top.
Comment: I once used to edit interesting closed questions to try to get them reopend, but I have personally given up on this since with my edits it did almost never pan out ... Nevertheless, I think this task is still important (even though or maybe because nobody seems to be interested in doing this) and maybe you would be more successful than I was ...
Answer: If you have time to waste, you may want to read this guide I wrote to helping moderate the site.
However, if you already are commenting/flagging things and going to /review, then you probably have that covered.
You may want to try editing posts to improve grammar/formatting as well (I think you already do this too)
I guess the best thing to do is look for more questions to answer (or ask some good ones yourself!). Sometimes, scouring through the back end unanswered section sorted by votes helps; there are many good questions that got neglected by accident there in the later pages.
You're also welcome to participate in chat. This doesn't help the site, but it's fun :)
Comment: @DamienIgoe: Nope. No limit. The _primary_ purpose of Q&A here is not to help the OP, it is to create a Q&A page that others will find useful. (Helping the OP is important too, but secondary). So it doesn't matter if the OP isn't around to be helped, there are other people who will Google it, find it, and be helped :) (Also, there are a bunch of [badges](http://physics.stackexchange.com/badges) for answering/editing old posts, like [Necromancer](http://physics.stackexchange.com/badges/44). The ones for answering can be earned multiple times)
Comment: *"If you've time to waste"* physicists are always busy, *"welcome to chat"* who'll come to that old useless always-empty crappy-like room..? (except you) :D
Comment: Sounds like a good plan!  Funny-ish story - as a school teacher, I have been proofreading reports, so editing posts is becoming 2nd nature (and I find I can pick grammatical and spelling errors a mile off).  I will definitely look at the unanswered posts as well, see what I can come up with - on that, is there any time limit of how old a post is that I can reply to?
Comment: @DamienIgoe: Also, yeah, I get that urge too. Nowadays I'm a bit too busy to fix all the posts, though :)
Comment: @DamienIgoe not only random people who google, but other members of our physics community too, will probably enjoy reading new answers you add and appreciate other improvements you can do.
Comment: @Manishearth I dont like it when you downplay the needs of the OP or more generally the community of active physics people who actually does the work of filling the site with useful content. It is important to have a nice cummunity here to make knowledgable people and longterm users stick around and keep up the quality of the content of the site. Sohe needs of the physics community or people who come here to contribute should be taken more seriosly compared to what is important for random visitors who google than it is sometimes done in certain situations at present.
Comment: That people who come here to contribute can enjoy learning together and help each other understand learning physics is at least (if not even more) equally important as the needs of random people who find the site via google or other coincidences.
Comment: @Dilaton: Just because the _primary_ goal is not the OP doesn't mean that the OP isn't important. And this is the SE model. There's a reason for this; most traditional forums get filled with useless posts that only help the OP. This is one of the main reasons we close homework posts. Not because they are too basic, but because they don't help anyone.
Comment: Well, my reason for posting this was indeed looking for ways I can further help develop this site for everyone - I assure you that I have no ulterior motive for myself.  At this stage, I am quite wary to answer any questions and very reluctant to post the questions I have (would be in the same vein as my first question).  I am contributing by editing, reviewing (as much as my rep level allows), commenting (leading questions as necessary) and flagging (if necessary).
Comment: to clarify: I am jut going to be in the 'background'.
Comment: @damien I really don't think you need to be wary of posting; that was just a misunderstanding sprouting from a vague question and shouldn't be taken personally :) But it's OK if you don't want to post...
Comment: I have not taken it personally, I am just wary that I may not 'get' the implied meanings of some posts, and thus 'short change' a reply - which is not fair for the questioner nor the site.
Comment: @DamienIgoe If you feel a post is unclear, comment on it asking for clarification. And short answer>no answer :)
Comment: @Manishearth ironically, there could be a post of mine being migrated here from one of the other sites I belong to.
Answer: Okay, it seems I am not even flagging right... that, on top of still not being sure whether to reply to a question as stated or what we perceive the question is asking, I will just do lead-in comments (unless I am screwing them up as well) and edits.
Comment: I really think you're taking this way too seriously. It's perfectly OK to incorrectly flag something. The reason we decline flags is not to give the flagger a slap in the face. It's to tell the flagger "next time, don't flag such things". That's all.
Comment: And regarding answers, again, if you misinterpret the question or answer wrongly, the comments will let you know, so you can fix it. If you don't want to fix it, that's fine too. Everyone makes mistakes, no need to shy away from participation just because a few were pointed out. (And in the case of the sun-earth question, that wasn't even your mistake, that was just a conflict of interpretations of a vague question)
Comment: so, do we answer to what is written or what we perceive should be written?

Is there any more I can do to help


Generating statistics from data samples, that are of snapshots.

Question: My question is part math part computers but I need more of the math answer then a computer answer. I am going to be grabing snapshots of a moment of time on how a computer is performing. Because of the way a computer works I can have data that differes largerly For example, i can take a snapshot at on second of 100% computer usage and then the following snap shot is 20%. I am planning on taking these snapshots ever 1-2 seconds, now If i take an average of these numbers i can loose some information. if the system is 100% for 5 intervals but is then 5% for the remaining 55 intervals, I would have an average of 12.91% which does not really show that for 5 intervals I was at 100%. I am not sure if there is a way that i can respecent something like an average but also express this and able to also plot it on a graph
Answer: You could do a histogram or a box plot. The histogram gives more information (and you can , for example, include a line for the mean) but the box plot is more compressed and communicates a few pieces of information more clearly. If you're plotting a moving average over time you can do a sort of moving box plot by plotting the mean/median, first and third quartiles, and max and min (say over the last 60 seconds) over time.


When do the events of Storm King's Thunder take place relative to Rise of Tiamat?

Question: We are looking to start a Storm King's Thunder campaign, but I'm trying to figure out when in the timeline the campaign takes place relative to Rise of Tiamat.  Are there any references that state this?
Comment: related: [What is Faerun like after *Rise of Tiamat*](https://rpg.stackexchange.com/q/100656/23970)
Answer: In The Storm Kings Thunder, in the Adventure Background section it states that the Rise of Tiamat has occured previously and that the area is recovering from the events in that module.
I am unaware of any specifics about timings but I assume the idea is to be vague so that DMs can decide to suit their campaigns.
Answer: Generally speaking, hardcover adventure modules do not have specific time cues in them. This is a deliberate game design choice that allows a DM to work the product into their own campaign however they'd like.1
If you want the "official" order, you need to look to a different officially published WotC product - the D&D Adventurer's League, their organized play engine...
Each Adventurer's League season corresponds to a hardcover adventure book release, and the seasons themselves make references to prior seasons - establishing a sequence. However, there are not hard time cues to nail each season down to specific Dale Reckoning years, just the sequence.
For example, DDAL Season 2 modules make reference to refugees from Phlan, who fled during DDAL Season 1. Season 2 ties to Princes of the Apocalypse, while Season 1 ties to Rise of Tiamat. Therefore, Tiamat takes place before Princes.
So, the in-world sequence of the published adventures is the real-world publishing order, but the exact spacing between them is nebulous - there is a sequential order, but not a contiguous one. WotC has no way to determine exactly how much character-calendar time each party will spend on an adventure, so there's no way (and no reason) to be more specific than a general order - "these events happened before those events".
1It should go without stating that a DM can change whatever they'd like, including time references, but citing "DM's prerogative" in every answer is a waste of time. The DM can almost always do whatever they like, all the players can do is walk away.
Answer:
Tyranny of Dragons happens first.
Elemental Evil happens next.
Ghosts of Dragonspear Castle, Murder in Baldur's Gate and Lost Mines of Phandelver
predate both. (These events happen in this respective order)
1st part of Out of the Abyss happens during RoT, 2nd part during EE.
Storm King's Thunder takes place after OotA.
Comment: Hi aurvay, and welcome to RPG Stack Exchange. Check out our [tour] to see how we work here. This answer would be improved by citations that demonstrate it to be correct so that we can independently verify it.


How to use a metronome for guitar

Question: I have been playing guitar for over 30 years and do not understand how to use a metronome.  I have two different types that I have purchased over the years, one is electronic with audible beeps and the other is the more traditional model.  I play by ear and use some tab. I play in the style of Gary Moore, Eric Johnson, Buck Dharma etc.  I want to increase my speed.  Do I play on each tic or is that just for the down beat?  How about the numerical settings?  I have tried to match the speed of the metronome with many different recordings, however, I can never match it up.
Comment: Have you ever played in a band with a drummer? A metronome is like the world's most boring drummer.
Comment: Whenever the nome makes a noise you make a noise? Should it be that simple?
Answer: Getting a metronome to line up with a recording may be easy or it may be impossible, depending on the metronome and the recording. The recording has to have been recorded with a click track (a track that acts as a metronome for the musicians as they record) or the musicians have to have had essentially perfect timing (which I don't think I've encountered). Since the metronome never deviates from its timing, the musicians on the recording would also have to never deviate, or you metronome can't stay matched up.
If the recording in question was done with a click track, then it can be fairly easy to line up a metronome if the metronome has a tap tempo feature. That means you listen to the recording and tap the appropriate button on the metronome along with the recording and the metronome will start playing at the tempo you have tapped out. Usually when I use tap tempo to synchronize a metronome, I have to use the manual tempo controls to bump it up or down a few BPM to get it just right.
Assuming you have a tempo set and a metronome clicking away, it's probably easiest to learn how to play along with one with a scale exercise, rather than jumping right in to playing a full song with a metronome. Start off by playing a scale up and down and try to play each note of the scale at the same time as a click of the metronome. You should be able to easily hear when you are playing at exactly the same time as the metronome click or not. If it seems hard to keep up, slow down the metronome, but if it seems really slow, don't speed up the metronome yet. Practice this until you can go up and down the scale and almost perfectly hit each beat. Here's how you might play a C major scale this way:
Clicks: |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |
Notes:  C       D       E       F       G       A       B       C
Next, keep the metronome clicking at the same rate, and play the scale again, but this time play two notes for every click. The first note should be right on the click, as above, the second should be exactly between two clicks, the third on the second click, etc. Like this:
Clicks: |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |
Notes:  C   D   E   F   G   A   B   C   B   A   G   F   E   D   C
Again, if it's too fast, slow down the metronome and keep working on it until you can play in time with the metronome.
Now you can choose to either move up to doing three or four notes per click. Three notes would be like playing triplets, and is probably more difficult than jumping to four notes (which is more like 16th notes or semiquavers, depending on your pond parity).
So now you are at a point where you are playing some notes exactly on the click and other notes in between the clicks. Let's look at how you might play the main riff from Cliffs of Dover by Eric Johnson with the metronome. We can start by playing it like this:
Clicks: |   :   |   :   |   :   |   :   |   :   |   :   |   :   |   :    |
Notes:  g   d   G   G   g   e   G   G   g   f   G   G   g   e   G   G
The colons (:) on the click line above are meant to show exactly halfway between two clicks. This is the easiest way to divide up the metronome clicks to play the notes of the main riff of Cliffs of Dover, but you if you play it just like that, you'll notice it doesn't sound right. I only put it that way to give you an easy first pass at it. Let's change how we play it slightly to make it both sound right and match the click of the metronome.
Cliffs... has swing, which means the notes in between the clicks are delayed slightly closer to the next click. It's about 2/3 of the way between the clicks that we wait before playing the in between notes, so it will look more like this:
Clicks: |   :   |   :   |   :   |   :   |   :   |   :   |   :   |   :    |
Notes:  g     d G     G g     e G     G g     f G     G g     e G     G
That's not quite right, but it's hard to make it exact in this medium. When you play different songs (or even different parts from Cliffs..., the pattern compared to the clicks of the metronome will vary. Some notes you want to play right on the clicks, others will be at various times in between the clicks.
No matter what you're playing, if you're struggling to match up with the click, you should slow it down until you can play along, and then gradually speed it up and play and speed it up and play until you have the metronome going as fast as you want it to be going for what you're trying to play. That's how the metronome helps you: it gives you an audible target for playing at the right time and at the right speed, and it helps you slowly build up your speed gradually so you can play faster and still be playing with the right timing.
Answer: My absolute favorite exercise for getting people started with the metronome is Bury The Click.

Turn your metronome on somewhere around 70 bpm.
Mute the strings with your fretting hand, and strum them with your other hand.
Set the volume of the metronome to be ever-so-slightly quieter than
the volume of your muted strum. (This could mean turning down the volume of your metronome or turning up the volume of your guitar.)
Now try to land your strum directly on top of the click. When you
get it just right, the click will disappear.
Set a timer for say, five minutes and don't let up until it goes
off.

The important thing about this exercise is that it not only gets you accustomed to playing with a click, it also makes it impossible to bullshit yourself––you're either burying the click or you're not.
It's really common for non-pro guitarists to play in time but with bad feel––their notes are evenly spaced, but they lean out ahead of the beat, causing the whole band to sound meh. It's normally REALLY hard to dial your ear into that level of subtlety, but Bury The Click makes it fairly easy.
If you're interested, we cover this and whole lot more in my free course on metronome badassery for guitarists: http://fretboardanatomy.com/course/metronome-boot-camp/
Comment: While the click is the beat and is very important, this exercise lacks the depth of what the metronome is actually for. In actuality you may play or not play on the beat(click) and you need to be able to know what beat you are on and where you are in that beat which is always the more difficult part and this exercise does not address that at all.
Comment: @Dom - Totally true. It's a first step. But it's still the best _starting point_ to get to the place you're talking about. If you're not truly locked in to the metronome, your practicing might make you really good at sounding bad. It's what I did. It took me so much longer to go back and fix that than it takes my students to develop good feel from the beginning.
Comment: I also try to bury the snare when playing with a band. Excellent exercise.
Answer: Assuming you know about rhythms and note values.
Firstly, you'll have to define each tic. You can define it as a quarter (which is really common), or as a eighth or as a half etc. So, now that you know what every tic is, all you have to do is read/hear the rhythm of the song.
For instance, a drummer in a song might hit the kick drum on 1 and 3. So, you can define the tic to be halves and count the 1 and 3 and play on top of that*. Listen to a song's drumming and define the tic to something you can understand from there.
*I can't answer if you play on each beat or every other; this will be different on each song.
Comment: You can also keep quarter beats and play two notes per click for quavers.and four notes per click for semi quavers.
Comment: I am confused by all the numbers on the metronome settings.  I am not playing from a sheet of music that says what the time should be and I am trying to structure 16th note runs and am confused how to set the thing.
Comment: One thing you can do is set it to some speed (let's say 80 bpm for instance) and see if it has a setting for the note( or note value) ; if it does, set it to [this](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quarter_note). And then each tic would include 4 16th notes
Answer: Used most simply, the metronome represents the beat.  If you ever tap your foot while you play, the metronome represents the pulse of the foot tapping.  Most music is written in 4/4 so four metronome clicks would represent a single bar of music/chord changes.
Some metronomes actually let you accent every fourth pulse - this would represent the downbeat of each measure, but it is an often-distracting feature that can be very troublesome for beginners, especially if you have a tendency to get out-of-sync. Forcing yourself to stay IN-sync can be counterproductive to learning the phrasing of a piece of music but it can't be beat for strengthening your internal sense of rhythm.
Answer: One purpose for a metronome is to teach you to keep to a beat. I'm going to assume that with your years of experience you can already do this.
Another use is to learn a piece at increased tempo.
Set the tempo to a rate you're able to play at. Don't worry about the numbers. Most digital metronomes have a 'tap' option where you can tap at the tempo you want, and the metronome will keep clicking at that tempo.
It doesn't matter whether you choose clicks on every beat, alternate beats, or the start of each bar: do whatever makes sense to you.
Practice with that tempo, then increase the tempo by one or two BPM, then keep practising. Keep upping the tempo until you are playing as fast as you want to.
The purpose of all this is to help you notice if you're slowing down for the tricky bits.
It can be rewarding to wean yourself off the metronome by halving the click tempo (while playing at the same tempo), eventually getting to the point where it clicks every two or four bars. If you keep good rhythm you will keep sync.

How to use a metronome for guitar


Is it acceptable to cut nails, and trim hair and beard on Tuesdays?

Question: Some people say not to cut your nails, or trim your hair and beard on Tuesdays. Is there any hadith or verse in support of this, or is it just a superstition?
Comment: I believe you are from India. Aren't you?
Comment: yes ! i am an proud indian :)
Answer:
Your profile says that you are from India and this is an Indian tradition followed by Hindus for ages.
Let me assure you that there is no day that Islam considers inauspicious for cutting nails or trimming hair. This tradition has penetrated into Indian Muslims through Hinduism.
According to what I know and what I have heard about this tradition is that the Hindus consider this day auspicious.

Tuesday = (मंगलवार) Mangalvaar.
(मंगल)Mangal = very auspicious.

On the auspicious day of Mangal (Also the name of Hindu God of war who is very hard to please), they avoid all kinds of nonconstructive works. Cutting nails, trimming hair and shaping beard are just a few to name them.

ۚ  وَاللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌ (And Allah is the All-Knower, the Wise)
اللَّهُمَّ انْفَعْنِي بِمَا عَلَّمْـتَنِي وَ عَلِّمْنِي مَا يَنْفَعُنِي
Comment: but why even muslim barber shops are closed on tuesdays?
Comment: I repeat again. This tradition has has its roots from Hinduism and some Muslims follow it. Another reason why Muslim barbers shut on Tuesdays (which is not the case everywhere) is perhaps to maintain business-harmony with the Hindu barbers.
Comment: ok tabrez bhai, thanks for the answer now i am accepting it
Comment: And what about cutting hair or nails or beard on the birth day...suppose my birth date day is Thursday so some don't allow me to cut my hair on that day? Is this present in Islam??
Comment: @Zia in Egypt and other Arabic states traditionally barbers and hairdressers close on Monday some say because the fatimide caliphs wanted to cut their hair on this day and invited them to their palaces some say its an import from Europe, I assume that in Morocco it was on Tuesday nobody really knows why. But it seems its a historical weekend or day-off. In Egypt groceries traditionally close on Tuesday, shoemakers on Sunday etc. most of these traditional days-off have vanished now. Note that many craftsmen in where none Muslims (Copts in Egypt, Jews and other Christians elsewhere).
Answer: Cutting nails on Thursday  after aser is good before performing jumma, you clean up your self be prepared  for the of jumma. See how prophet  Muhammad  did all this just follow his sunna, we dont need hinduo or budda practice here, be sure of what you do.you are answerable for your act.
May Allah guide us and protect  us all.


Doubling Chord Tones

Question: In what cases do you double chord tones and why ? What are the rules pertaining to doubling chord tones ? I know about doubling chord tones when using power chords by in what other cases would you double them?
Comment: A lot of musicians have this belief that doubling the chordal third is a cardinal sin. Even a cursory glance through historical practice shows this to be just plain wrong. Doubling the third is completely acceptable unless it's the V chord, at which point the error isn't doubling the third, but rather doubling the leading tone.
Comment: One of the reasons why these 'rules' exist is the clash of certain notes' harmonics when trying to blend voices. But, I think that with some instruments ( each has its own particular strong sounding harmonics), not all the quoted rules apply all the time. Anyone have any ideas on this?
Comment: @Richard - I checked full 6 string chords (maj) on guitar, and C shape and G shape double thirds, whereas E shape, A shape don't. D shape is funny as it can with a 3rd on the bottom, which often doesn't sound too good. But it's generally played as a 4 or 5 string chord. This is from the 'CAGED' idea.
Answer: In the study of the Bach Chorales, which is where most Traditional Theory focuses for the extrapolation of so-called rules, the most common reason for doubling a tone was the fact that a triad has only three notes and in order to cover it with four part harmony, you HAVE to double one of the notes, usually the root if possible.  OK to double the fifth, but never the third according to the 'rules.'
In fact Bach sometimes even tripled the root, and omitted the fifth altogether.  Having a note appear in more than one instrument is NOT considered doubling, according to Traditional Theory, nor is reinforcing a line by doubling it at the octave, particularly if the line is the bass line.  (Full Orchestration would be almost impossible otherwise.)  The 'rules' only apply to four-part vocal harmony, what we now call SATB.
Comment: You can double a third in a minor chord
Comment: You CAN, yes, but most Theory texts still frown on it.
Comment: The minor third doesn't lead as strongly as the major third, so there's more opportunity to have the voices on that note progress in opposite directions or to different next notes (avoiding parallelism) without it sounding awkward.
Answer: We double chord tones all the time, and I don't think you're going to find a single theoretical reason that tells you when you should, and when you shouldn't. At least, none that aren't very specific to a genre or style.
If you step back and think about it, lots of common chords only have three distinct tones anyway. If you have a whole band playing, you're going to run out of notes really quickly if you don't double them. Or triple them. Or quadruple them. You get the picture. In fact, you might say that it's very unusual to not double a chord tone, if you're playing with more than a few instruments. Even a single guitar or piano will generally double at least one tone.
Even more generally, we don't even consider doublings when we name a chord. The chord is defined by unique tones, and the fact that you play one more than once is pretty much immaterial.

This is somewhat of a sidetrack, but when we talk about theory, be careful not to overanalyse things. There are plenty of things in music that can be given names and described with complicated rules (with even more complicated exceptions). However, that generally adds very little value to our understanding, ability to play better, or enjoyment. Don't hear me saying that theory is useless; it's very important. But you may not be able to find rules and reasons for everything.
Comment: Thanks for the insight. I really do tend to over analyze things from time to time. I just hate the thought of missing something!
Comment: @BryantLewis Don't worry, I'm the same. Asking 'Why?' is pretty much my day job (engineer). I've just learnt that sometimes it's not that helpful when it comes to music. But only sometimes.
Answer: I think that it is okay to double just about anything if there is a good reason for doing so. I suspect one could find many examples in classical music of the 20th century though I haven't researched this detail before.
The rule for avoiding doubling mostly comes from contrapuntal concerns (which come up to a considerable extent with chorale writing exercises). If the goal is to preserve independent melodic lines that obey a certain rules of good form or "singability" then doubling the 3rd can be problematic. If a 3rd degree of a chord appears in a melody, it is often a leading tone to root of the next chord. Perfect example: the 3rd of V is the leading tone to the root of I. Any move by the melody other than to the root will be awkward or will call undue attention to itself (in a V-I cadence).
Other chord tones can usually be followed melodically by either ascending or descending tones. So, when doing Bach chorale exercises, where the point to a large extent is learning how to keep independent and singable lines going over harmony changes, one can preserve this independence by having the melody go in different directions from the two doubled tones.
But with two leading tones, it is very difficult to have them go in different directions. Both wish to follow their lead. Thus we get a parallel octave and a "fusing" of the two lines into one. For this reason, one avoids setting up the chord with two thirds and thus also avoids the "unsolvable" situation.
If there is no need to preserve or control independent melodic lines, then you can probably let color considerations rule the day in the construction of the chords.
Answer: As a general rule, the following applies to the doubling of notes when you have triads in 4-part-harmony.
You double the root when:

You have a chord in root position
Chord in the first inversion (Except for diminished chords ie Super Tonic and Leading Tone chords)
Never when a chord is in the second inversion.

You double the third when:

When you have a chord in the first Inversion (except when the third in question is the Leading Tone ie not in the Dominant chord.)
Never when you have a chord in root position unless you have the following...

1) You have a minor chord.
2) It is the Dominant chord followed by Sub-Mediant (V - vi)
You double the fifth when:

When you have a chord in root position
When you have a chord in the first inversion, EXCEPT diminished chords
ALWAYS when you have a chord in the second inversion.

Doubling Chord Tones


What is the origin of the idiom "let something rip"?

Question: I would like to know the origin of the idiom "let something rip".
Does anyone know where this usage came from?
Comment: @Fattie what's "terrific" about the question? I'm curious. The OP didn't explain, didn't show any effort in researching the answer themself (admittedly back in the good old days, the research requisite was never needed), today that question would be closed in less than 48 hours. Why is Barrie England's answer "rubbish", he's quoting the OED. So is the OED rubbish? OK, I see your comment beneath England's answer. You know he is no longer active on the site, don't you? Must be three years now... maybe four.
Comment: hi ML!   It''s "terrific" ("why" "quotes"?) in that, any question about idiom origin is a good, solid, and interesting question (as opposed to the 90% rubbish questions on here).  Barrie's answer offers a definition. The question is the origin.  I'm very sad to hear B.E. is not active, thanks for mentioning it.
Answer: The OED's first citation for 'let her rip' is dated 1840. In this sense, the dictionary describes it as colloquial and originally of US origin. It is defined as 'an exhortation not to restrict the speed of something; (hence) an invitation to act without restraint or to pursue a reckless course'.
Comment: I always assumed it came from sailing, where they would leave the sails out even at the risk of them ripping in the wind in order to move at top speed. But I have no basis for that.
Comment: @Jim: That sounds plausible, but I've just looked at the OED entry again and was struck by the last five words of this 1894 citation for 'let rip' from 'Among Boers and Basutos' by F. A. Barkly: 'I galloped round the Kopje with my police and half-a-dozen volunteers‥and we 'letrip' to use the Africander expression.'
Comment: Interesting.  Wonder how we track down the Africander expression.
Comment: @Jim: It should be possible for anyone with the time and inclination.
Comment: Afrikaans expression.
Answer: Let her rip (English-American, 1840 onwards). Let her go as she wants.

This phrase has a very striking history.
  "When rival river steam-boats were
  fully established on the Mississippi
  and other American rivers, the rival
  captains would put on every ounce of
  steam in order to keep ahead. Too
  frequently the boiler would burst, or
  'rip', as emphatically it would when
  bursting. ' Let her rip ' came to be
  a common expression amongst these
  captains when more timid passengers
  or sensible sub-officers urged him to
  lower the steam pressure.

Oxford Reference (presumably taken from Green's Dictionary of Slang)
Comment: This answer only replicates verbatim an unproven theory. Please see [Sven Yarg's answer](https://english.stackexchange.com/a/464843/44619) for greater detail and more thorough research. -1 to counteract the number of upvotes it has earned since the bounty was announced.
Comment: Just upvoted this as it sounds really convincing. I'm surprised that it's taken nearly three years to collect two upvotes.
Answer: The idiomatic phrase 'let [something] rip', in the sense of "[a command or exhortation to] proceed unchecked", more likely derived from gunners' exhortations than the cries of steamboat captains. The earliest uses of the phrase that I could find refer to gunfire, rather than riverboats.
The earliest use that turned up was in the 29 Dec 1837 issue of The Times-Picayune mentioned in RaceYouAnytime's answer. The reference to cannonfire is explicit:

Amos calculates that when the said cannon are fired off, the mails will reach their destination with as great regularity and far greater velocity than by the ordinary conveyance. He may stuff ours into the cannon pointed South and "let her rip," as the Yankees say — we'll run all risks.

The next clear use of the phrase in the sense at hand was in an 1841 article from the 27 Apr Boston Post. Here the use specifically ascribes the phrase to "gunners":

The cover of a salt-box was hung upon a nail in the bake-house door, as the mark, and M'Donald "let her rip,", as gunners say, and sent the charge a little to the right of the mark, and clear through the door....

An earlier, 1840, use of the phrase, marked as peripheral attestation in OED although undoubtedly a pun on the sense at hand, appears to on its face to be literal:

"Let her rip!" as the noisy politician said when he tore his shirt hurraing for Harrison.

Similarly, a slightly later 1841 use than appears in the 27 Apr 1841 Boston Post shown above, is figurative, and so of little help in tracing the origins of the phrase:

If I found a girl fastened to my desires with the adhesive glue of love, and the dictates of prudence demanded a separation, I always laid hold with the firm grasp of resolution and "let her rip," unmindful of the consequences; ....
Wisconsin Express, Madison, Wisconsin, 01 Sep 1841

Effectively contemporaneous with OED's 31 Aug 1846 attestation of the phrase ("Daily Picayune (New Orleans) 31 Aug. 648/2 Why in the name of h-ll's eternal flints don't the engineer pitch in more pine knots and crack on more steam? Let her rip."), which does appear to refer to steamboat boilers, another use in the 12 Nov 1846 issue of The Perry County Democrat (Bloomfield, Pennsylvania) again refers to gunfire:

'No, sir. Don't be a coward: take aim — one, two, THREE, let 'er rip!'

An ad, also found in 1846, appears to allude to a boast, common since the late 1700s in ads for ship sales, that ships made of oak were of superior strength. The reference is a subtext; the ad is for a grocery store opening, and headlines this quote: "Let her rip — she's all oak!"
I found the phrase used figuratively with reference to starting a game of cards in 1848. In 1849, the phrase is again used jocularly in a pun ostensibly refering to clothes ripping (as in the 1840 use).
In 1850, the cries of "jolly tars" in a sailing regatta suggest another possible origin of the phrase:

Up went the gaff topsails, and up the flying jibs. The faint-hearted cried out for the reefing of the mainsails, but the jolly tars shook out the last canvas rag, and cried, "sink or swim, but let 'em rip!"
New Orleans Weekly Delta, 15 Apr 1850.

Despite the appealing possibility of an early origin in sails ripping, the preponderance of early uses of the phrase 'let [something] rip', where the reference is not obscured by humor or figures, refer to gunfire. Such include the earliest, 1837, the next in 1841, and another in 1846. I could not, however, find any uses refering to steamboats earlier than the 1846 attestation of the phrase in OED.
Answer: The earliest date I can find for the phrase "Let her rip" is 1837, slightly antedating the widely circulated 1840 date.
The OED includes a 1840 citation for the phrase in brackets.
Quotations placed in brackets in the OED indicate that "a quotation is relevant to the development of a sense but not directly illustrative of it."
The 1840 citation reads:

'Let her rip,' as the noisy politician said when he tore his shirt hurrahing for his favorite orator.

1840 New Eng. Weekly Rev. (Hartford, Conn.) 18 July (Electronic text)

Yet the 1837 newspaper clipping from the New Orleans Times-Picayune specifically attributes the phrase to "Yankees."

1837 - The Times-Picayune (New Orleans, LA) 29 Dec 2/2 (paywall)
Comment: @Mari-LouA: In the U.S. South (including New Orleans, Louisiana) the term _Yankee_ referred generally to a person from any Northern state (such as Ohio, Indiana, or Illinois in the western part of the North), not just to a person from New England in the upper Northeast. And "Northern state" at some point became synonymous with "free state" (as opposed to "slave state," which all of the Southern states were). It would be interesting to know when _Yankee_, which I believe originally applied to all denizens of the British colonies in North America, became a regional term for a U.S. Northerner.
Comment: You'll have to excuse me but I had to check that  "Yankees" didn't refer to the eponymous baseball team. The baseball club *New York Highlanders* changed its name in 1913. The US civil war occurred between 1861-1865, this helps me to contextualise the year 1837.
Comment: Any idea why the slang is attributed to the region of New England? Could it have been imported from the Netherlands or some region of Great Britain?
Answer: Reference-work coverage of 'let it [or her] rip'
Here is the entry for "let her rip" in Christine Ammer, The Facts on File Dictionary of Clichés, second edition (2006):

let her rip Allow an engine to go as fast as possible. An American colloquialism dating from the first half of the nineteenth century, this term presumably was first applied to locomotive or steamship engines. The American journalist Park Benjamin recorded it about 1840: "Another phrase, which often glides in music from the lip, is one of fine significance and beauty, 'Let her rip!'"

Ammer has somewhat different entry for the phrase in Ammer, The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms, second edition (2013):

let it rip Also, let her rip. Go ahead, proceed unchecked. For example, Once you get the tractor started, let it rip. The use of her in the variant comes from a tradition of referring to vehicles as feminine. {Mid-1800s}

John Bartlett, A Dictionary of Americanisms: A Glossary of Words and Phrases Usually Regarded as Peculiar to the United States, second edition (1859) notes this sense of "rip" and cites Park Benjamin as one of two early sources:

TO RIP. To tear, to drive. A common slang expression is "Let her rip!" i. e. let her drive, let her go.

[First example:] Great Odin, thou storm-god! / Crack on with our ship! / We are off on a batter; / Hurrah, let her rip. — Leland, Knickerbocker Gallery.

[Second example:] Another phrase, which often glides in music from the lip, / Is one of fine significance and beauty, "Let her rip." / In the late panic we have kept this mandate o'er and o'er, / And "let her rip" so frequently, that some can rip no more. [—] Park Benjamin, Poem on Hard Times.

The first edition of Bartlett's Dictionary of Americanisms (1848), however, has no entry for "to rip." I couldn't find the original occurrence of the Park Benjamin poem, which Ammer dates to "about 1840," so I don't know how she arrived at that approximate date. The Charles Leland quotation comes from a poem titled "The Wedding-Trip of Jarl Alvar Rafn," reprinted in The Knickerbocker Gallery (1855).
Maximilian Schele de Vere, Americanisms: The English of the New World (1872) offers this discussion of the origin of "let her rip":

To let her rip, a phrase borrowed from Western steamboats, which, when racing down the river, are very apt to be allowed to rip themselves open ion snags and sawyers rather than to disappoint the ambitious pilot, has entered into common life as an expression of indifference or despair.

Albert Barrere & Charles Leland (the same Charles Leland who was responsible for the 1855 quotation above), A Dictionary of Slang, Jargon & Cant, volume 2 (1890) echoes Schele De Vere's explanation, within its entry for "slide":

Slide (American), "oh let it slide," or "let it rip," never mind. ... To "let her rip" is of Western river origin. Steamboats when racing were liable to come to grief on sunken trees and quays, but in the mad excitement of a race no account was taken of these dangers—it was all happy-go-lucky—"let her rip," if it so chances, so long as we out-run the rival boat.

An alternative explanation of the phrase appears in Sherman Malcolm, The American Slangist (1888):

"LET HER RIP"—Means let the horse or mill run half rigged, if they tear themselves all to pieces ; let the young man or womn run to wild dances, shows or any evil inclined parties. If they get left, mashed, played, skunked, jailed, or hanged, says the slangslinger, let her rip.

A third explanation appears in J. Redding Ware, [Passing English of the Victorian Era: A Dictionary of Heterodox English, Slang and Phrase] (1909):

Let her rip (English-American, 1840 onwards). Let her go as she wants. This phrase has a very striking history. When rival steam-boats were fully established on the Mississippi and other American rivers, the rival captains would put on every ounce of steam in order to keep ahead. Too frequently the boiler would burst, or 'rip', as emphatically it would when bursting. 'Let her rip' came to be a common expression amongst these captains when more timid passengers or sensible sub-officers urged him to lower the steam pressure.

Another British guide, Everyday Phrases Explained (1913) echoes Ware's theory (using very similar language):

Let her Rip.—Allow her to go as fast as she chooses and chance it; usually applied to fast motoring. Originated on the Mississippi and other American rivers, when rival steamboats first were established. Captains in jealous competition would put on every ounce of steam to keep ahead. Sometimes the boiler would burst, or "rip" apart. Thus "let her rip" came to be an expression of dogged tenacity of purpose when anyone ventured to try and persuade the captain to lower the steam pressure.

Examples of the expression in the wild, from the 1840s
The earliest matches that various Elephind and Chronicling America searches turn up is from 1840. From "Unstolen Wellerisms," in the [Canal Dover] Ohio Democrat and Dover Advertiser (July 17, 1840):

"Let her rip!" as the noisy politician said when he tore his shirt hurraing for [William Henry] Harrison.

This article consists of a series of puns or double entendres expressed in a manner associated with Charles Dickens's character Sam Weller in The Pickwick Papers (1836). It follows that "Let her rip" was already well enough established in Ohio in 1840 that readers of this joke could see the humor in applying it to an incongruous situation.
From an advertisement in the Evansville [Indiana] Journal (February 19, 1846):

"Let her rip--she's all Oak!" New Grocery Store. Water St. Opposite the Steam Boat Landing. Thomas McAlpin. The undersigned is now operating a general assortment of Family Groceries and provisions, in the Building occupied by Charles Harrington.

From "A Bear Story" in the Evansville [Indiana] Weekly Journal (March 23, 1848):

Well, sirs! we [the tall-tale teller, riding in a flat-bottom boat pulled by a bear he had caught] soon cotch up [to the steam boat], and for an hour or two we had it interestingly— the steem-boat was bilin! and the flat! don't mention it! ... She was ridin like a dancin fether and throwing the water from one bank to the other, I begun to get skeered, but knowin I could cut the cable afore she could run to the Gulf of Mexico, I thort I'd let her rip!

From "From Young One, Jr.," in the Sumter [South Carolina] Banner (April 19, 1848), reprinted from the Tennessee Telegraph:

When that was over, somethin else was got up; the galls and boys was all strung round agin, and had therselves numbered. Jerry got a big plate and placin hizself in the middle o' the ring, sez he to the galls, sez he—

"When I turns this round, I'll call out one o' your numbers, and if you ketches it before it falls you won't have to pay no pawns—ef you don't, you will, and—"

"Let 'er rip, Jerry!" said Cousin Jake, "we'll have it now."

And from "From Selkirk's Colony," in the [Madison, Indiana] Daily Courier (August 22, 1849), quoting the "Minesota Chronicle 27th":

By their arrival we have intelligence of a revolt against the Hudson Bay Company's Agent, at the lower settlement on Red River. The populace mobbed (just think of a mob away down towards the Bay--isn't civilization traveling?) and surrounded the court, threatened Mr. Hugh Polesin, a government officer, and gave another officer, Mr. Thorn, notice to quit the country as soon as convenient, if not sooner. The difficulty arose from the arrest of some Half Breeds for violating the law prohibiting trading with the Indians for their furs. The Hudson Bay company claims a monopoly of this business we suppose. The populace, however, seem resolved to "make the fur fly"—if not in one way, at least, in another.--Let her rip—it's all oak.

The repeat occurrences of the larger phrase "let her rip—it's [or she's] all oak" here and in the earlier advertisement from February 1846 lead me to wonder whether this might not have been the original expression involving "let her rip." If so, it would seem to be an expression of confidence in the resilience of the (figurative) vessel: being made of oak, the boat would be less susceptible to breaking open if it happened to strike a snag or other submerged object in the river.
It recurs years later in "Fanny Blair; or, Scudding for Life," in Gleason's Literary Companion (April 30, 1864):

Holding on with unsteady grip to the starboard combing of the cabin gangway, stood captain Nesbitt, in a state of wild and stubborn intoxication. All he did for some moments after Fanny and her companion reached the deck was to say,

She's all oak. Let her rip."

And in a series of jokes related only in supposedly being attempts by disparate characters to recite the Lord's Prayer in unison, in Harper's New Monthly Magazine (November 1864):

and a short-haired Bowery boy was anxious to "Let her rip," because he claimed "She's all oak;"

The following anecdote, recounted in "Let 'er Rip, She's All Oak," in the [Warren, Ohio] Western Reserve Chronicle (October 31, 1855), may be the source of this longer form of the expression:

An old tar stood on deck one dark night when it blew "great guns," As "Ollapod" said of the storm in Lake Michigan, the lightnings were hissing above, and the thunder was rumbling below, but the old salt paced the deck, and as sea after sea struck his good ship, he rolled over his quid, and defied the storm : "Let 'er rip : she's all oak."

At least in this version of the expression, it appears that the "her" in "Let 'er rip" is the storm, but the "she" in "she's all oak" is the ship.
The earliest Google Books match I could find for "let her rip" is from G.W. Bradbury, "A Down East Duel," in The Literary Museum (November 21, 1846):

"O hang it, Sandy, let's quit this [duel] ; I'll pay for the calf and horse, and give up the bet too."

"No, sir. Don't be a coward : take aim—one, two, THREE, let 'er rip!"

Another early match comes from "Prosperity lets go the Bridle," in The (Old) Farmer's Almanack (1849):

O yes, so it verily does. When one gets up somewhat in the world, handles a little cash, and thinks he can afford to have two coats for Sunday, what strange pranks he will play. "Let her rip!" cried Bill Crackit, when he overturned his father's buggy, going to a cattle show. This young prig was not brought up exactly in the way he should go, which was not found out till too late. His father was prosperous, and became indulgent. He did not keep the reins in his own hands long enough; but, thinking his son was "a sprightly boy," gave him up the bridle.

Conclusions
Although Maximilian Schele de Vere, writing in 1872, expresses serene confidence that "let her rip" originated as a defiant expression of bravado by steamboat captains as they raced recklessly down rivers strewn with dangerous objects, I can easily imagine that this might be a folk etymology explanation. The fuller expression "Let her rip—she's made of oak" likewise may reflect an after-the-fact understanding of the phrase's original meaning.
On the other hand, the main alternative explanation of the phrase's origin——that the ripping alludes to the bursting of a steamship's boiler—appears 37 years after Schele de Vere's and is similarly lacking in supporting documentary evidence. The source of this alternative explanation, J. Redding Ware, argues that "let her rip" was "a common expression amongst these [American steamboat] captains [of the 1840s]" as a riposte to people urging that he protect the boiler by proceeding at a less reckless speed; but Ware cites no account from the 1840s (or later) that corroborates this assertion.
My only definite conclusion is that the expression was in established use in what was then the U.S. West (Ohio) by early 1840 (RaceYouAnytime's answer cites an instance from 1837)—and that readers even then were expected to understand that a turn of phrase linking it to ripping one's shirt open while vigorously cheering was intended jocularly.
Comment: Yes, but if ( - for example - ) we knew that steam engine operators (well before the existence of riverboats) used the phrase "let it rip" in relation to their boilers, then that would be the origin.   It would be quite obvious to someone living in that era  ........  (the sadness of etymological searches).
Comment: Sven, there seems to be two competing riverboat related aspects (i) "rip open" the boiler (ii) "rip" the hull on an obstruction.  Any thoughts?  {BTW it's quite interesting that many, many idioms were generated in the "steamboat/gambling" historical milieu.}
Comment: @Fattie: I think both ripping hazards would increase whenever a steamboat raced along at full speed: the speed of travel would greatly increase the danger of the boat's running into something in the river, and maximum stoking of the boiler would substantially increases the pressure and stress on the boat's power-generating system. In short, either factor could lead to a major rupture that would sink the boat.
Comment: @Fattie: The only instance I found of "let it rip" in close proximity to a discussion of a boiler appears in "[Extinguishing Fires by Steam](https://books.google.com/books?id=2wt0xTBO6d0C&pg=RA1-PA227&dq=%22let+it+rip%22+boiler&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjugtLCq8bdAhW6GDQIHQvFAUoQ6AEIKTAA#v=onepage&q=%22let%20it%20rip%22%20boiler&f=false)," in _The Friend_ (1853), where a workman intentionally opens a safety valve on a boiler in a factory in order to "let it [the steam] rip" and subdue a fire on the factory's roof. But that's not a tear in the boiler—and it's after the advent of steamboats.
Comment: but @svenYargs look at Mike's answer which appear sto be from "oxford reference" ?  http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199829941.001.0001/acref-9780199829941-e-28358
Comment: @Fattie: the question mark in Green's etymological note ("? f. steamboat engines that exploded or ripped when under excessive pressure.") is highly warranted. Ware was British and made his assertion about the familiar language of 1840s-era American steamboat captains in _Passing English of the Victorian Era_ (1909). I will certainly include Ware's claim in my answer—and I wasn't even aware of Ware until your comment pointed him out—but I am not convinced that his explanation, coming almost three-quarters of a century after the expression arose and offering no documentary support, is correct.
Comment: ahh - very good point, @SvenYargs.  Good one, excellent.  Actually I don't think I can see that through the OxfordReference paywall FYI.
Answer: Etymonline.com gives a later date for "let her rip". The word "rip" was invented quite early to mean to move with slashing force, but it wasn't put into idiomatic form until the 1850s:

Meaning "to move with slashing force" (1798) is the sense in let her rip, Amer.Eng. colloquial phrase attested from 1853.

It is also interesting to note that someone says "rip" might come from "R.I.P.", but I doubt that very much.
Comment: I must say, I've always associated the turn of phrase with descriptions of farting. Thus, I always imagined it described the ripping of the seat of ones pants from the force.
Answer: According to Dictionary.com, Urban Dictionary and Online Slang Dictionary, the idiom "let (something) rip" is slang. Here is what UD defines "let rip" as under:

to fart, especially a big loud fart that produces a long ripping sound.

However, the older idiom is informal and denotes making any vehicle move very fast. Additionally, in this sense, "the idiom is particularly used in American English," says Macmillan Dictionary.

Origin:
Focusing our attention on the verb rip in "let (something) rip." is of the first order. Here, rip suggests the verbal (of verb) sense of rip that means to move something with slashing force; the word rip as a verb got this sense circa 1790s (see here).
Conversely, it is worth noting that the origins of the majority of idioms/phrases cannot be said with the certainty, as KnowYourPhrase site (under the entry of let her rip) explains something well about it here. To know something about the origins of such idioms, one can head towards their explanations and usage history through getting into some old newspapers, poetries, books or other similar sources: however, knowing an idiom's history doesn't necessarily mean that it originated in that specific period.
The site KnowYourPhrase also provides the oldest example (sense of moving anything, like vehicle, faster) from a book titled Out West, published in 1910:

"Git up more steam--this ain't a funeral! Let her rip! Don't mind the speed limit! Keep the whistle going!"

In addition, the site also gives another example from the newspaper Farmington Enterprise, but the publishing year (1809) it cites is wrong. In fact, that quote from the newspaper was published on May 12, 1909, denoting the meaning of giving someone permission to tell a story:

"'Say,' said Tommy, 'did I ever tell you about the circus we had at our house the other night?' 'No,' said I, settling back in my chair, 'let her rip.'"

Moreover, as mentioned previously, the idiom is widely used in American English, along with this, The Macmillan Dictionary says that the colloquial phrase "let (something) rip or let her rip" was attested from 1853; so in this regard, The Free Dictionary in its sub-site of idioms mentions mid-1800s:

let it rip Also, let her rip. Go ahead, proceed unchecked. For example, Once you get the tractor started, let it rip. The use of her in the variant comes from a tradition of referring to vehicles as feminine. [Mid-1800s]
Comment: The KnowYourPhrase site has got the 1809 date wrong; the quote is from a story called ["The Flood", copyright 1909, published 12 May 1909 in *The Enterprise* (Harlem, MT).](https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83025323/1909-05-12/ed-1/seq-7/#date1=1789&index=1&rows=20&words=circus+had+house+our+we&searchType=basic&sequence=0&state=&date2=1963&proxtext=%22circus+we+had+at+our+house%22&y=0&x=0&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1)
Comment: @JEL, I've edited it now. :)
Answer: The Texas gunfighter and assassin, Killer Jim Miller, was reported by multiple witnesses to have shouted the phrase when he stepped off the box at his 1909 lynching.
After I posted this, somebody asked for references from a reliable source:
-- Bill James, Jim Miller, The Untold Story of a Texas Badman, Henington Publishing Company (1989).
-- "Four Men Pay Price of Bobbitt's Death Miller, Allen, West and Burrell are Lynched by Mob at Ada this Morning". The Daily Ardmoreite, April 19, 1909 (oklahomahistory.net).
-- Metz, Leon Claire. The Shooters, Berkley Trade; Reprint edition (September 1, 1996), p. 159.
-- http://thislandpress.com/07/20/2012/four-men-hanging/
-- Bill O'Neal, Encyclopedia of Western Gunfighters, University of Oklahoma Press (1979), pp. 230–233.
Comment: Thanks for the edit. You seem to be unfamiliar with our format, which is a Q&A, not a discussion forum. I would suggest taking the [site tour](http://english.stackexchange.com/tour) and reviewing the [help center](http://english.stackexchange.com/help).
Comment: Welcome to EL&U. We prefer answers which include references; can you provide a citation from a reliable source?
Comment: I've sent five references off to... who?  The webmaster? Anyway, hopefully they'll show up.
Comment: My comment was only meant to be of historical interest -- certainly there is no suggestion that Killin Jim originated the phrase in 1909.  But interesting, to me at least, how he used it!
Answer: I've found two appearances of "let her rip" in print earlier than the 1837 citation that several people have mentioned.
The first is in an article in a Boston paper in 1834 that chides "the respectable six-penny papers" for only caring about cholera when it affects the well-to-do:

But as long as it is confined to poor people, they say, as the boy did who tore in pieces his new trowsers, 'Let her rip! Father's rich, and mother don't care a cent about it.'

--New England Artistan, Farmer's, and Mechanic's Repository, August 23, 1834, p2
The other is from a Bangor, Maine, story about a moose hunt in 1836:

Well the gentleman 'and others' came with gunshot of a moose, and the gentleman having a gun, and the 'others' having none, the gentleman up with his gun and 'let her rip.'

--Daily Commercial Advertiser, March 21, 1836, p2
Answer: In sports this is often used in the form of go or take (more) action.  For instance if I wanted my QBs to start throwing the ball around I would say "Let her rip."  If I were standing next to one QB and wanted him to throw the ball harder I might also use it - "Come on, let her rip!"
The more I think about it I hear it involving mostly swinging or throwing but I am sure there are other examples.  Barrie's definition is right on but thought I would add modern usage in AE.


Deactivate Caps Lock in 14.04

Question: I really don't need Caps Lock (who does?) and would rather have it as a Shift key as I sometimes hit it by mistake especially on the small netbook keyboard.
Since I don't read while I type this might mean I have to retype half a page. I only find solutions for Ubuntu 12.04 but they don't work for 14.04 (Somehow the "typing" dialog looks totally different, not as user friendly).
I've tried anyway and clicked on + to make a custom shortcut. It asked me for a name (I put Name: Caps Lock) and for a command (command: disable, and I also tried command: Shift), but that did nothing. It shows on right side under custom shortcut, but I still have Caps Lock.
I am new at Linux so please, if you have an answer don't just say: Use mxpt.de or so, but please tell me how to get to the dialog box or to a command prompt and what I need to do. (Somebody had a solution with Gnome Tweak or so, but I cannot find that program in Ubuntu 14.04).
Comment: Welcome to askubuntu! Have you tried the software center? You can install it from there and then follow the instructions here:http://askubuntu.com/questions/453793/remapping-caps-lock-in-14-04-trusty-tahr
Answer: Opening a terminal and typing in:
xmodmap -e "keycode 66 = Shift_L NoSymbol Shift_L"

followed by enter/return should remap the Caps Lock button the Left Shift.
However, this will need to be executed on each boot. You can do the following to automatically run this every time the system boots.

Search "Startup Applications" in the dash and open it.
Click add. For the name put "Caps Lock to Shift" and under "command" put xmodmap -e "keycode 66 = Shift_L NoSymbol Shift_L".
Press save and restart. Enjoy!

If you would rather disable Caps Lock, you can execute the following (in terminal):
setxkbmap -option caps:none

Once again, this will reset once you restart, so add a startup entry (like above) to execute this on boot.
Comment: With this I got where I wanted to be. Than you. Great help including explaining how to get there.
Comment: I used the second one as the question is TL;DR and comes up first when you google how to disable caps lock.
Comment: No problem, @Karsten Decker!
Comment: This should be default lol!
Answer: You can remap Caps Lock is by using Gnome Tweak Tool.
You can install it via the Ubuntu Software Center if you wish or by the command line; it does not come installed on Ubuntu 14.04 by default.

Open a terminal by holding CTRL, ALT and T at once or by search it in the dash.

Type in sudo apt-get install gnome-tweak-tool. This tells apt-get to install gnome-tweak-tool. You need to have sudo as one  needs to have root permissions to install software.

Open Tweak Tool

Select "Typing" from the left bar.

Select "Caps Lock act as shift" where it says "Caps Lock key behaviour".

Update for version 3.32.0-1
The option is now under:
Keyboard & Mouse > Additional Layout Options > Caps Lock behaviour
Comment: Thank you both of you. I used method of Yharooer, and was able to disable Caps Lock which is good enough. (I could not read the end of the options like in your screen shot, so it was a bit guessing what additional... it would be).
Comment: works in 17.10!
Comment: I think it was additional shift key. Anyway, glad it helped!
Comment: In Fedora 34 this was the only solution that worked. Thanks! Curiously, after changing the Caps Lock key in the terminal, Tweaks knew that it had been remapped to Shift even though the key didn't act like it. When I changed it again in Tweaks it did fix it.
Answer: Newer method
More modern distros (ubuntu 20.04) now come installed with gsettings instead of dconf:
gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.input-sources xkb-options "['caps:none']"

Older way
As for ubuntu 17.04 you can set a dconf setting:
dconf write /org/gnome/desktop/input-sources/xkb-options "['caps:none']"

No need to re-login.
Comment: Just to say the command below dconf write /org/gnome/desktop/input-sources/xkb-options "['caps:none']" also works for ubuntu 16.04. Thanks to the poster.
Comment: Also works on 18.04. Install `Dconf-Editor` with `apt-get install dconf-editor -y`.
Comment: Also works on 20.4
Answer: To permantly disable CAPS-lock:
xkbset nullify lock

To re-enable it
xkbset nullify -lock.

To just toogle CAPS-lock:
sudo apt-get install xdotool
xdotool key Caps_Lock

Comment: Thank you! Just released me from a world of trouble
Answer: for Ubuntu 17.10
sudo apt install -y gnome-tweak-tool

Open Gnome Tweaks
Select Keyboard & Mouse from the left panel
Click on Additional Layout Options from the right side
Click the arrow next to Caps Lock key behavior. Set Caps Lock key to what you want.
Answer: There are many tools out there which can get the sort of thing you want. Probably the best one for you would be Gnome Tweak Tool. To install it, run this command in Terminal:
sudo apt-get install gnome-tweak-tool

Once it is installed:

Open tweak-tool and click on the typing section in the left column.
You should now see the line Caps Lock key behaviour on the left.
Choose Disable from the drop-down list. And then it should disable the Caps Lock key.
Comment: Bums me out when when the first response/answer is the best answer but it doesn't get accepted and a copy of the first answer gets more votes.
Comment: This answer might not technically be correct (or maybe have an alternate answer). On my system, Ubuntu 16.04, with Genome Tweak Tool, I had to choose the option **Caps Lock is disabled** rather than **Disabled**. The latter refers to disabling the **Caps Lock key behavior** in the tweak tool (I think), as mine was set to this option and the Caps Lock key still functioned as default.
Comment: @nicorellius: This was the case on 15.04 when writing of the answer was done.
Comment: My bad, I was responding thinking it was for 16.04. Thank you.
Comment: @nicorellius:Ok, that's fine.
Answer: This one is to disable the caps lock permanently without restart:

setxkbmap -layout us -option caps:ctrl_modifier  gsettings set
org.gnome.desktop.input-sources xkb-options "['caps:ctrl_modifier']"
Answer: The other answers show 2 excellent ways to disable the key with a command (xmodmap -e "keycode 66 = Shift_L NoSymbol Shift_L" and setxkbmap -option caps:none) but no great way to run this at startup.
From https://askubuntu.com/a/934797/282454 with some minor edits:

Place your script into a system-wide directory such as /usr/local/bin with an appropriate shebang
[Removed script example]
Make it executable e.g. sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/disable-caps.sh
Create a custom config file in /etc/lightdm/lightdm.conf.d. Use a name such as 99-disable-caps.conf. (The 99 prefix means that it will be run after the standard setup scripts provided in /usr/share/lightdm/lightdm.conf.d.)
Add the location of your script as a display-setup-script in the [Seat:*] section:

  [Seat:*]
  display-setup-script = /usr/local/bin/disable-caps.sh
The display-setup-script should be run after the X server is started, but before any greeter is run - see LightDM: Adding system hooks.

[Seat:*] is relatively new (Ubuntu 15.10 and later); use [SeatDefaults] on older systems.
Answer: I tested the following on 16.04
1. Install DCONF
sudo apt-get install dconf-tools

2. Disabling classic caps behaviour
The following disabled the caps key
setxkbmap -option "caps:none"

3. Configure option to re-enable it (optional)
If you still want to be able to re-enabled caps but only by pressing both shift keys  (left and right)  at once try the following
setxkbmap -option "shift:both_capslock"

Answer: Here's my script that I use to enable/disable caps lock
$ cat ~/bin/caps
#!/bin/bash

let state=1
if [ $# -eq 0 ]; then
    xmodmap -pke | grep 'keycode\s\+66 = Caps_Lock' > /dev/null
    [ $? -eq 1 ] && let state=0
else
    [ "$1" == "on" -o "$1" == "1" ] && let state=0
fi

if [ $state -eq 1 ]; then
    echo "Caps lock off"
    xmodmap -e "keycode 66 = VoidSymbol NoSymbol VoidSymbol"
else
    echo "Caps lock on"
    xmodmap -e "keycode 66 = Caps_Lock NoSymbol Caps_Lock"
fi

Deactivate Caps Lock in 14.04


If Kartavirya Arjuna could invade lanka and capture Ravana, without any help from a army (according to Vayu Puran) then why couldn't Rama do the same?

Question:

I know that their are other versions of this story but these two screenshots are from Vayu Purana pages 101 and 104. No version of this story mentioned Kartavirya needing to build a bridge to get to lanka.
Also Vayu Purana doesn't even mention Kartavirya needing an army to attack lanka (other versions say he needed an army during the battle). Why did Rama need an army? Why did Rama need to build a bridge?
Comment: The precise answer is given In Bhagvat Purana , in which both the things are clearly mentioned.
Comment: There's a theory that the original Lanka in the Ramayana story was a place close to Ayodhya (i.e., not the present day Sri Lanka) or at least it's somewhere within the Indo-Gangetic plain. Later poets like Valmiki expanded on the idea and made it the present day Sri Lanka. This would explain why everyone didn't require a bridge to invade Lanka (if indeed Kartavirya-Arjuna is a true historical character).
Comment: To swift pushkar i have not read Bhagvat Purana. And this question is about Vayu Purana. The case is different. And your answer was flawed, as you said that Vayu Purana states Kartavirya defeated Ravan at the Narmada river but in reality if you look at the screenshots it says that he directly invaded lanka.
Answer: Yes kartavirya-arjuna or Sahastra Bahu Arjuna was very powerful Kshtriya Warrior. He could have inveded Lanka alone &  defeated Ravana alone , without even need of  an army or bridge on sea to reach the lanka ,due to his powers and siddhis.
Now let's try to answer your questions from scriptures.
First of all let's see what kartavirya-arjuna was capable of and what powers he was possessing.  His powers and the boons he got from Shree Dattatreya are mentioned in Shreemad Bhagvat Purana -Skanda 9 -Chapter 15- Verses 17-18-19.

श्री शुक उवाच  हैहयानामधिपतिरर्जुनः क्षत्रियर्षभः । दत्तं
  नारायणांशांशमाराध्य परिकर्मभिः ॥17॥ बाहून् दशशतं लेभे
  दुर्धर्षत्वमरातिषु । अव्याहतेन्द्रियौजः श्री तेजोवीर्ययशोबलम्
  ॥18॥ योगेश्वरत्वमैश्वर्यं गुणा यत्राणिमादयः ।
  चचाराव्याहतगतिर्लोकेषु पवनो यथा ॥20॥
haihayānām adhipatir arjunaḥ kṣatriyarṣabhaḥ dattaḿ
  nārāyaṇāḿśāḿśam ārādhya parikarmabhiḥ bāhūn daśa-śataḿ lebhe
  durdharṣatvam arātiṣu avyāhatendriyaujaḥ śrī-tejo-vīrya-yaśo-balam
  yogeśvaratvam aiśvaryaḿ guṇā yatrāṇimādayaḥ cacārāvyāhata-gatir
  lokeṣu pavano yathā
Sukadeva Gosvami said: The best of the kshatriyas, Kartaviryarjuna,
  the King of the Haihayas, received one thousand arms by worshiping
  Dattatreya, the plenary expansion of the Supreme Personality of
  Godhead, Narayana. He also became undefeatable by enemies and received
  unobstructed sensory power, beauty, influence, strength, fame and the
  mystic power by which to achieve all the perfections of yoga, such as
  anima and laghima. Thus having become fully opulent, he roamed all
  over the universe without opposition, just like the wind. SB
  9.15.17-19

So he was undefeatable by enemies , was possesing enormous strength , His bodily strength i.e. was inexhaustible.Besides he was also possessing Yog-Siddhis like anima and laghima. With which he could have easily defeated Ravana of Lanka.

Also note that as said in the Vayu Purana quote in your question ,kartavirya-arjuna did not invaded lanka and made Ravana captive from
  bringing him from there but the story took place at banks of River
  Narmada.

Now Let's see what Shree  Rama Was capable of..
According to Bhagvat Purana and Valmiki Ramayana. Shree Rama was avatara of Lord Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Being. i.e. ParaBrahman.
As a person, Rama personifies the characteristics of an ideal person (purushottama). He was Maryada Purusottama and His kingdom was called Rama-Rajya.

The very precise answer of your query  is given in this verse of Bhagvatam.
It's said in the verse that Lord Rama did not needed any help of monkeys or didn't needed to build bridge on sea , It's all the leela of Bhagavanta. As Lord himself took this avatara upon request of god's. The power of Lord is supreme against any normal human being like
kartavirya-arjuna ,who were killed by
Avatara of Lord himself . When arjuna forcibly took kamadhenu from Rishi jamadagni.

नेदं यशो रघुपतेः सुरयाच्ञयात्त  लीलातनोरधिकसाम्यविमुक्तधाम्नः
  । रक्षोवधो जलधिबन्धनमस्त्रपूगैः किं तस्य शत्रुहनने कपयः सहायाः
  ॥20॥
Lord Ramacandra's reputation for having killed Ravana with showers of
  arrows at the request of the demigods and for having built a bridge
  over the ocean does not constitute the factual glory of the Supreme
  Personality of Godhead Lord Ramacandra, whose spiritual body is
  always engaged in various pastimes. Lord Ramacandra has no equal or
  superior, and therefore He had no need to take help from the monkeys
  to gain victory over Ravana. SB 9.11.20

Simply Rama did not needed to bulid bridge nor he was requiring any help of Monkeys .
It was his Leela
Comment: parashurama defeated Kartavirya Arjuna but at mata setha swyamvara lord rama was shown above lord parashurama and easily took up the bow of lord vishnu isn't it?
Comment: Yes you are right but the scope of Shree Ramas superiority is limited to particular chapters of Puranas in which he is glorified . Elsewhere in other chapters of same purana glorifies other gods also. The Mention of this incidence happened near the banks of narmada is mentioned in bhagvat purana.
Comment: That's complete biasedness though. Rama was not superior to everyone. What about Vishnu himself? Shiva Purana says no one is superior to Shiva. The Devi Purana says no one is superior to the Devi's (like Durga). You can't say everything is a leela.
Also the Vayu Purana screenshots that i gave clearly stated that Kartavirya INVADED lanka. It doesn't even mention the river Narmada.
Comment: You are also right but you are also wrong too. As this question is about the incident from the perspective of the Vayu Purana. In the Vayu Purana it is said that he invaded and conquered lanka. In the Mahabharata i read that Kartavirya had a chariot that could go anywhere he desired, so i assume that's how he attacked lanka. So i already have the answer to my question. But some people (including you) keep bringing up the counterpart of this incident in Bhagavat Puran where the incident is narrated and shown differently. I was talking about Vayu Purana where an invasion of Lanka is described.


Press on pressure sensor once, turn on LED for 6 seconds

Question: I am working on a project where I would like to press on a pressure sensor (0-1024) once and turn on the LED and turn off by itself after 6 seconds. I am quite new to arduino and I can't seem to understand how to code this with using a pressure sensor as a switch rather than an actual switch. Any ideas?
Comment: When it is allowed that the Arduino does nothing during the delay, you can use the delay() function. Using millis() is a lot better, but that requires a specific way to use it. The Blink Without Delay ( https://www.arduino.cc/en/Tutorial/BlinkWithoutDelay ) is a start to learn how to use millis(). Is the pressure sensor a FSR ? Is it a school project ? Can you show your sketch ?
Answer: Sensors which give a range of outputs need to have their outputs processed using a technique called hysteresis.  That is, normally, the turn on threshold is higher then the turn off threshold.
For example, the thermostat in your home uses hysteresis when controlling your HVAC system.  Otherwise your thermostat would constantly be turning on and off your HVAC system likely causing an early failure.
Here is a stackexchange Arduino question about hysteresis.
Answer: If you're having a problem implementing the system in software, there is a hardware approach to do it. The phenomenon is called monostable multivibrator. Monostable mode retains its output for a certain time interval before coming back to previous state. You can use a simple RC circuit configuration to implement this functionality along with Arduino setup. Just interface FSR in voltage divider format, read the voltage and switch another GPIO interfaced with RC circuit configuration.


Why are my 14-bit RAW files being saved as 8-bit on my computer?

Question: I shoot a Canon 5D Mark ii at the highest quality setting. RAW files on this camera are supposed to be 14 bit, but when I save them on my computer, they are all being converted somehow to 8 bit. I use a kingston card reader. I'm simply copying the images into a file without altering anything. What's going on? How can I save the files at the higher quality that the camera is supposed to be recording them?
Comment: Can you provide additional information?  How do you know the files are 8-bit after you copy them to the computer? What software tells you this?
Comment: I'm not sure how this possible. If you shoot raw, your files should be 14-bit .CR2 files. How do you know they're 8-bit? What software are you using them in? If they're 8-bit, then they're likely JPEGs.
Answer: You probably need to analyze things step-by-step as your question makes little sense.
If you shoot RAW, then your card will contain RAW files. They should have an extension other than JPG. You should be able to confirm this simply by browsing to your card using the operating system file manager. If you see a RAW file (.CRW, .CR2, etc) than you have a RAW file. Period.
When you more or copy these files to your computer they are still RAW files. And therefore they are still 14-bit per-component, as opposed to JPEG images which are 8-bits per component. Now, a RAW file is NOT an image.
The computer must convert a RAW file into an image before showing it you. This is where you are likely getting confused, depending on the software you use. Most preview software simply display and embedded JPEG preview which is stored inside RAW files. Some will produce an on-the-fly preview based on default conversion parameters. In this case, the preview always has 8-bits per component. This is probably what you are checking and tricking you into thinking you have 8-bit files.
When you open a RAW file into a RAW converter, the converted reads the 14-bit and converts it according to the parameters you choose. At this point, it is up to you what you store the processes files as but if you store them as JPEG, only 8-bits per component will be stored since that is all JPEG can handle. Instead you have to choose a higher-bit-depth file-format like TIFF, PNG (16-bit option), OpenEXR, etc.
Comment: Yes. That explains it. The only way an unsupported RAW file can be seen is by showing the embedded preview which is 8-bit-per-component.
Comment: Itai, This is helpful. I can't open my raw files yet because the cs3 ACR plug-in won't support the 5d mark 2 raw files. I'll be upgrading to cs5 soon. In the meantime, I've brought files into Adobe Bridge. When I single click on a file, the metadata file properties show the bit depth as 8. You think this is just the preview? Thanks, Joe
Comment: Actually, you may *try* simply installing the RAW codec in the meantime: http://software.canon-europe.com/software/0039964.asp
Answer: If you are shooting JPEGs, they are by the definition of JPEG, 8-bit images. To get higher bit depth (i.e., to take advantage of the extra detail your A/D converters give you), shoot RAW images. Then, you can import them into a 16-bit per channel color space.
Answer: Apart from what Bridge says, once you do upgrade Adobe Camera Raw and open your files, you can set the workflow bit depth along with resolution and color space.  There is a link at the bottom of the ACR screen.  Clicking on it will allow you to change the default.  It should be 16 bit by default, but something to check once you've got a version that will read your RAW files.
Answer: If you go to photoshop edit/preferences/camera raw / 'save image settings in' - choose sidecar xmp files.
I don't know why it works, it just does. My cs4 was driving me nuts as everything I opened was 8 bit, even though I'd previously opened the same raw file a few months ago and it was 16 bit.
I couldn't find the ACR screen by the way in cs4 or bridge - where is it?
Comment: Hi Doug. Welcome to Stack Exchange. Thanks for your answer! Note that this isn't a discussion forum, though, so if you have a question that is to clarify the question or another answer, please post it as a comment. Or if your last bit about ACR is really a question of its own, please post a separate question. ([ask]) Thanks!


Can I use a Sony HVL F43AM off-camera with Sony HVL F43M as master?

Question: Can I use the Sony HVL F43AM flash as an off-camera flash with the Sony HVL F43M as the transmitter? Or am I just better off buying some cheaper flashes for off-camera flashes? (I already own the Sony HVL F43M)
Comment: Which camera model?
Comment: I have a sony A7 and would mount the Sony HVL F43M on the camera.
Answer: According to page 47 of the HVL-F43AM user manual, the HVL-F43AM can be used as either a WL controller or as an off-camera flash, so yes, if you purchase another HVL-F43AM, you'll be able to remotely control it by using the one you have on the hotshoe of your camera.
However, keep in mind, that unlike the newer "RM" units, the version of the Sony WL system the HVL-F43AM uses is the optical (light-signal) version, not the radio version.  It will, however, let you have TTL, HSS, and remote power control over the off-camera flashes.
Also, several third-party flashes (e.g., Godox TT685-S, Metz 44 AF-1, Sigma EF 610-DG, Phottix Mitros+ for Sony, etc.) can use optical WL as off-camera flashes, so you don't have to get a Sony OEM flash.
But optical slaving relies on "line-of-sight", where the sensor on the flash has to be able to "see" the light signals from the controller unit, and is best used where the ambient light is not particularly bright (e.g., in studio conditions).  Once you go on location into bright sunlight, most optical wireless systems will lose range and reliability, and have much more stringent line-of-sight requirements (due to the lack of bounce surfaces nearby).  This is why radio triggering is often preferred.
Whether you'd be better served to go to a 3rd-party radio-based system (e.g.,Godox/Flashpoint, Cactus, Jinbei/Orlit, or Phottix) or going with Sony's own OEM flashes depends on your budget and usage.  The third party gear might make more sense if you shoot more than one brand of camera or may leave your current camera system, if you need radio triggering reliability, or want to expand to larger-than-speedlight options.  Sticking with OEM might make more sense if you never plan to leave the camera system you're in, and primarily use speedlights on-camera with only occasional off-camera usage, and prefer warranty repair and customer service to low-low pricetags.
Comment: Not worth a new answer, but another useful link is [the accessories compatibility page](http://support.d-imaging.sony.co.jp/www/cscs/accessories/compatibility.php?area=us⟨=en&mdl=ILCE-7&cat=9) for the a7 (ILCE-7). The F43AM is listed, and when you click on it you see that it supports wireless optical flash with a compatible controller, and that the list of compatible controllers include the F43M.


nginx does not close socket

Question: ngnix is not closing the socket after the connection finishes.  I've googled and can't come up with anything to will tell nginx to close this connection, other than what I have below: keepalive_timeout 0.
In both the request and response headers, I can see Connection: close, but the socket still sits around in the TIME_WAIT state for about a minute.
tcp        0      0 127.0.0.1:80            127.0.0.1:40345         TIME_WAIT   -

Here are the headers:
Request Headers:
Connection: close
Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded

Response headers:
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Server: nginx/0.7.67
Date: Thu, 21 Apr 2011 15:34:31 GMT
Content-Type: text/xml; charset=utf-8
Transfer-Encoding: chunked
Connection: close

Part of my nginx config:
nginx config file:
{
...
        keepalive_timeout 0;
        client_max_body_size 1M;
        fastcgi_read_timeout 60;
        fastcgi_send_timeout 60;

    location ~ \.php$ {
        fastcgi_pass   unix:/tmp/php-fastcgi.sock;
        #fastcgi_pass   127.0.0.1:9000;
        fastcgi_index  index.php;
        fastcgi_intercept_errors on; # to support 404s for PHP files not found
        fastcgi_param  SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
        include        fastcgi_params;
        fastcgi_param SERVER_NAME $host;
    }
}

Answer: Waiting in TIME_WAIT state for few minutes is by design,
please check following links for full description:
http://developerweb.net/viewtopic.php?id=2941 http://www.ssfnet.org/Exchange/tcp/tcpTutorialNotes.html

nginx does not close socket


When parents apply for UK visas, can one be approved and one refused?

Question: For people who apply together for a UK visitor visa as parents, or parents and one child, can it be the case that one visa gets approved and the other rejected? Or is it a required that all should be approved or all rejected?
Answer: Yes the result can be different for different applicants even if they apply together.
Here is one such example.
Answer: In the UK, for example, a big question is always: "Will this person return to their home country once their permission to stay in the UK runs out". If Mr. X applies, they might say "Mr. X is married to Mrs. X, so he will surely return home to her". If Mr. X and Mrs. X both apply, that reason to return home has disappeared. So it's quite possible that each of them individually would get a visa, but not both together.
Answer: Both applications had the same result, as both were approved. The wife's application was dependent on the husband's application, so maybe that's way the result was the same.
Comment: It is normal for a dependant applicant to be approved if the primary is approved. But you asked if it was possible otherwise hence the other answers. Congrats!


Move fast ...... Or you will lose

Question: Suppose you're on a 4 × 6 grid, and want to go from the bottom left to the top right. How many different paths can you take? Avoid backtracking -- you can only move right or up.
Comment: (In the future please be aware that for content you did not create yourself, **[proper attribution](/help/referencing)** is required. You need to include (at minimum) where it came from—and any additional context you can provide is often helpful to solvers. Posts which use someone else's content without attribution are generally deleted.)
Comment: I think its from this site https://betterexplained.com/articles/navigate-a-grid-using-combinations-and-permutations/
Comment: Related: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxicab_geometry
Answer: This is, I'm sure, answered somewhere else. It is also related to Pascal's triangle.
Simply fill out the grid as follows:

In this grid, each number represents the number of ways of getting to that particular intersection. And that number is precisely the number of ways to get to the intersection below it added to the number of ways to get to the intersection to the left of it.
Comment: This tip is also mentioned in MathCounts Mini #89
Answer: A more mathematically oriented answer:

You have $10$ moves to make in total and you need to choose which $4$ of them are going to be up.
The number of ways to do that is $${10\choose 4}=210$$
Answer: Write them out. Start with

rrrrrruuuu
rrrrruruuu
rrrrruuruu
...
uuuurrrrrr

and then count them up. You should have 210 in total.
Or:
$$\binom30+\binom41+\binom52+\binom63+\binom74+\binom85+\binom96$$
$$=1+4+10+20+35+56+84$$
$$=210$$
Answer: Here is a small python program which solves it. Every step we can go up or right with the goal being 4,6.
<code>def count(up, right):
    if up > 4:
        return 0
    if right > 6:
        return 0
    if up == 4 and right == 6:
        return 1
    return count(up + 1, right) + count(up, right + 1)
print count(0,0)
</code>
output : 210

Move fast ...... Or you will lose


Why doesn't Edward transmute any large blocks or weapons other than spears and a blade?

Question: Why does it seem like Edward can never create large blocks or large weapons to kill his enemies? I'm only on season 2 so so far, but it seems he always creates spears and arm blades.
Comment: just a hunch but probably because he need to pick weapon most suitable for him? what's good of a mace or war hammer if he can't use it properly. Also blade and spears look cooler
Answer: Two reasons (one in-universe and one out-of-universe): character definition and familiarity.
Character definition (and easy identification) are part of a good story.  Say you see an image from an FMA:B episode and you see flames shooting across the screen but can't see who's attacking.  Any guesses as to who's lighting it up?  If you didn't guess Roy Mustang, well, we need to educate you in the ways of FMA:B.  See pink sparkles and muscles, who is it?  Major Armstrong.  Red lightning and explosions?  Kimblee.  The list goes on.
By giving each person a distinct fighting style, it does a few things for the story.  It helps people to differentiate characters.  It helps people to find someone they can admire / relate to / enjoy watching.  It also keeps things interesting.  Mustang is an absolute terror to fight against.  Until you get him wet, then he becomes the laughing stock of the show.
As far as in-universe reasons, I'm sure it has to do with familiarity.  For example, Major Armstrong is always shouting about his "alchemical style that has been passed down the Armstrong line for generations".  That's how he was trained to fight.  And he's good at it.  It plays to his strengths.
But think about it.  Could Armstrong create a sword if he needed it?  Sure, draw the appropriate circle and poof, sword.  But I doubt he would be terribly efficient with it.  Look at the way he moves.  He moves like a boxer and wrestler.  Trying to do that with a sword just wouldn't work.  Fighting with swords is different from hand to hand combat.  Which is different from using guns or throwing fireballs or ...
One other thing to consider is the need for transmutation circles.  Most alchemists keep their favorite one handy.  Armstrong's gauntlet things or Mustang's gloves have a circle on them to enable their preferred alchemy.  I doubt most people keep a plethora of those handy for whatever they need.  That would also imply they have the knowledge to use multiple types of alchemy.  While most alchemists can handle the basics, they tend to specialize.  There are multiple mentions of alchemists who specialize in things like medicinal alchemy, chimeras, etc.
I know you've asked about Ed specifically and I'll address that now.  Ed is a special case.  He doesn't need a circle, so he should be able to theoretically do whatever he wants.  But, as stated above, he may not know enough about a particular type of alchemy to use it effectively.  Just because he wants to use a gun in a fight doesn't make it a good idea.  Does he know how to make a good gun?  Ammo?  Can he hit the broad side of a barn even if he had the gun?  No, Ed is going to use what he knows he can be good with.
Not sure if you are there yet, but Ed was trained by Izumi Curtis.  And part of that training was hand-to-hand sparring.  So Ed is trained in and comfortable with close quarters combat.  So his choices in weapons are going to reflect that.  So an arm blade or spear are going to suit him nicely.  A gun or cannon aren't going to make good weapons.  Too much potential for collateral damage, hurting yourself, etc. especially if you aren't proficient with them.  Could he try blowing stuff up like Kimblee?  I suppose, but he's just as likely to wound himself as his opponent if he can't control it well.
TL/DR:  Ed is trained in close quarters combat.  So he picks weapons that play to that strength.  Anything else would like be a burden or liability if he tried it out in real combat for the first time.
Comment: Also worth noting that the spear and blade suit Ed's size as well as fighting style. With the spear, he can keep distance from opponents with longer limbs, and with the blade he can close distance and put them at a disadvantage.
Answer: To put it simply: time.
Alchemists, decompose matter, reorganize it, and then recompose the way they want, this requires deep knowledge of the item to transmute/create, in the heat of battle you need something to hit or defend yourself and you usually need it NOW, so, alchemists prefer simple transmutations, that don't require much time.
I can't remember much but there are battles where Ed has some prep time and makes some complex devices.
Mild spoiler
Put scar for example, his arm tatoo is a transmutation circle, and he only uses it to decompose matter so he destroys everything, and since he doesn't reorganize nothing, his transmutations are really fast.
source: mostly remembering the manga that I read about a year ago


Is earning money from link shortener haram or halal?

Question: Im putting download links of APK's game on youtube, apk's in which i provide paid games for free in a download link. Whenever they press the link, i earn money. As far, like 1200 pressed and downloaded it, i got only $0.80. So i would like to know if this money is haram or halal
Answer: Firstly, what you're promoting, i.e. links to paid games, is haraam. Because, it is piracy. See this:
What is the Islamic stance on Internet piracy?
This alone makes the income from promoting these stuff haraam.
But to address your question, if the content you were promoting were permissible and the ads on the link shortener did not go against Islamic principles, then there would have been nothing wrong. But, it is highly unlikely that link shorteners don't have ads that go against Islamic principles. In fact, most of them usually contain links to inappropriate sites.
And finally, there is also the case of whether video games themselves are halaal. They may contain music, nudity, gambling etc. Plus, there is the issue of promoting wastage of time.
Answer: See, link shorteners use ads for revenue. So it clearly depends on the advertisers policies and link shortening website.
If the link shortening website asks users to click on its ads then your revenue is haram.
If there are no ads on the website you use and they still pay you then its halal.
I recommend use shorte.st, they don't add any third party ads in its website


wouldn't Psychophysical Parallelism require an explanation as to why the mind and body correlate?

Question: One thing I don't understand about Psychophysical Parallelism, is that it states that the mind and body are perfectly coordinated, yet there is no causal relationship between them. If this is true, then how do they explain the perfect correlation, would it be just a coincidence?
Comment: Calling something "causal relationship" does not explain it either, it just names it. One can then name another one, like Leibniz's "pre-established harmony", or even "explain" it by a common cause, God in Leibniz's case.
Comment: My question https://philosophy.stackexchange.com/q/53408/33787 FYI
Comment: It would have to be an identity relationship and a double-aspect theory. If mind-body are distinct phenomena with no causal relationship then their co-ordination would be inexplicable. A double-aspect theory implies a third encompassing term - usually thought to be God, Consciousness or Spirit.
Answer: This would (from the point of view of people who defend the parallelism approach, at least) be sort of like asking how "mass times velocity" and "momentum" stay perfectly coordinated if there is no causal relationship between them. Mass times velocity doesn't cause momentum, it defines momentum (at least, it did in classical mechanics). (With respect to causality the goal is to show that the causal consequences of a system with a certain momentum are consistent with the causal consequences of a system of point masses with the corresponding velocities; whether psychophysical parallelism must  have some concept corresponding to this goal is not entirely clear, but Leibniz's famous version of it did.)
This is not to minimize other possible problems with parallelism, but if you think that body "causes" consciousness the way your computer "causes" pixels on the screen to light up, you're not actually considering the parallelism hypothesis yet.