Can't write, can plan

Question: I can plan all sorts of specific aspects in a novel such as characters, locations, and the plot in general, but I struggle to actually write it the way it is in my head. How do I learn to write rather than just think about what I want to write?
Comment: Question: when you say "*the way it is in my head*", what do you mean? It seems to me that you're not certain how the story formulates in your mind. Are you a very visual thinker? Do you see the story as a series of images? Writing from a visual perspective isn't always easy, but it can be done. In order for the story on paper to match the story in your mind, you need to analyze the way you think about storytelling. It's possible that prose isn't the best medium for you, also.
Comment: Related: [How does one deal with world builder's syndrome?](http://writers.stackexchange.com/q/796/26)
Comment: @lea I think of it on a very small and detailed scale. Individual characters and their lives, interactions, and role.

It's not heavily visual. Sometime I do think about how a scene would unfold visually, from a thrid-person perspective.
Comment: I can't speak for people in general but personally I'm finding "Start simple and work your way up" to be a good approach.  I wanted to write this big epic science fiction book but couldn't really get into it in anything more than the broadest of strokes.  Then I thought of taking the same characters and putting them in a more mundane setting (in this case university) where you could write simpler stories that are easier to relate to.  I started making more progress with that, and there's an added bonus that when I get to the sci-fi story the characters will already have a richer history
Answer: The relationship between planning and doing is a bit tricky, isn't it? I used to have a great deal of trouble with this, too. In my case, it was because I planned things that I didn't really know how to write. I would envision scenes in which someone dealt with a difficult, emotional situation that I have never experienced; scenes in which my characters would convey various informational tidbits to the readers (I wasn't quite sure how); or scenes that looked good in my outline but just wouldn't come together. For me, planning a novel was a little too much like making an overly-ambitious to-do-list (the kind that can never be completed because it isn't realistic!).
Of course, as has been noted in the other answers to your question, the solution was to practice. More experience writing was really a double solution: it helped me to execute more of my plans, and also to know how to make plans that are more realistically useful.
Several things helped me get the practice that I needed.

Starting small: When I worked on vignettes and short stories, it helped me to plan something that I could actually execute, because the entire piece centered around a small and manageable event. As I worked on these pieces, I learned about my own writing abilities, and was able to build a more realistic sense of how to plan.
Choosing familiar material (the old adage about writing what you know): I realized that I needed to write the kind of stories that I have read most often. For me, it helped a great deal to take the typical outlines and tropes of folk tales and rework them.
Learning to start over: My writing got a whole lot better when I was forced to take several longer pieces and trim them down to the bone. This practice helped prepare me to cut my work with new ruthlessness. It is hard to abandon a scene that isn't working, especially if it seems vital to your novel outline, but sometimes you just have to do it.
Linking the writing and planning process: for me, it is important to be writing scenes from a story while I plan the overall plot. If I don't, I still lose my feel for reality and plan stuff I can't write.
Answer: It really comes down to two things, and nearly all professional writers recommend both of them: read a lot, and write even more. Just like anything else, you need to practice. Practice, practice, practice.
You need to develop your own unique voice, and the only way to do that is through trial and failure. See what works, see what doesn't, and if you persevere, you'll learn.
Answer: There are really two distinct challenges to writing:

emotional
technical

Emotional Challenge
If you are stuck emotionally, then you may feel as if everything you write is just a waste of time.  If this is your challenge, then you simply must change the way you perceive the writing that you do.
Not Writing Is The Only Failure
Instead of considering it a failure to write poorly, begin to consider "not writing" your only failure.
The truth is that no matter how poorly you write, if you do in fact write, then you can begin to learn how to make things better.  Of course, if you do not ever write, there will never be a way to evaluate whether or not you write well.
Many writers love language and have read great books and the emotional problem they have is that if they write and it turns out poorly then they have an idea in their mind that they will only have proven to themselves that they are not the actually great writers they dream of being.  All day long they dream of sitting and writing but are crippled by this fear of failure. They start and stop continually without ever achieving anything significant in fear of proving to themselves that they are not great writers.  This is too bad and is summarized beautifully in a great quote:

No one ever became perfect by doing nothing. ~Anonymous

Much writing advice often concentrates on (and often becomes distracted by) emotional difficulties and unfortunately does not provide very much technical help.
A Great Thought Experiment
Imagine if a publisher contacted you and said,

"I'm writing up a contract that guarantees you $10,000 if you'll
  simply complete a 250 page novel.  I don't care how good you believe
  it is.  All I want is a completed text of 250 pages.  Can you please
  churn it out in 6 weeks?"

I'm betting that you'd at least start in the 5th week and churn out 250 pages of something.
Well, why do you need that motivation?  Why not write 250 pages just to see how it feels?
Why is it that the money would make you feel as if you weren't wasting your time?
For Help, Try This Book
There are a number of books over the last 20 years that I've read that have actually helped me become a better writer. I may not be the greatest writer, but I am far better than I was 20 years ago, so it must be something.  I must've learned something.
One of those books is very old but has some great information that the author stumbled upon about how your brain works with writing. It's Becoming A Writer, by Dorothea Brande.  Am I allowed to add links to books here?  I hope so. Amazon link to Becoming A Writer, by Dorothea Brande
That book walks the reader through a lot of the emotional and has you set up Writing Appointments.  You determine an exact time each day to write and then you watch yourself to see if you follow through.  Basically, she says, if you never show up, your not a writer.  Interesting and much more.
Technical Difficulties
Now to the technical difficulties.  If you are worried about your writing not being good and learning that you are not the Great Writer of Our Time, then you need to work on your technical ability so that you can be a better writer, so that people will actually enjoy your writing.
The first problem however, of getting technical help, is the problem of defining what great writing actually is.
I define it here as:
Writing That Works (more in a moment on the inspiration of this phrase)
But, what does that mean?  That seems very loosely defined.
That is why I further define Writing That Works as:

Clarity
Writing that is appropriate for the context
Stimulus / Response Writing
Smooth transitions
Music
Style

If you were to successfully achieve all of these with your writing, then it would be great writing -- and, of course, great reading.
Some quick notes on each of these.
Clarity
If readers cannot tell what you're saying and are forced to re-read your sentences they will not suffer your writing long.  Make it clear.
Appropriate
If you are writing about the mating habits of the swallow tail butterfly in your novel about a bank robbery you are not writing a novel about a bank robbery.  If you show a gun in the first scene, have it go off in the third scene - ala Chekhov's Gun.  Show the reader, only what is appropriate for your story.  Consider this at every moment as you edit your story and you'll get something done.
Stimulus / Response Writing
Learned it from Jack Bickham's book, Scene & Structure (at Amazon). Once I learned this little gem I understood what to write and what not to write.  Make things happen.  When it happens follow the natural response.  Continue on.  A story will break out and your readers will be able to follow what is going on.
Smooth Transitions
When you write the next thing that the reader is thinking because you've led the reader to think that, then you know you are writing great.
Music
I hope you know that the sound that the words make in your readers' heads actually matter.
That's why some people can write anything and you want to read it.  It's about phrasing and sentence lengths and more.  You can learn this stuff.
Style
Many authors have such a strong voice you can tell it is them writing even without knowing who wrote a piece.  Write like you talk. You can learn style by reading various authors and counting the words in their sentences, examining closely what types of words they use.  And then finally learn like the artists of old, by copying what they've written.  Try to get your sentences phrased so they sound like their sentences.  It's a fun game and you'll learn a lot.
Desert Island Book
Finally, if I were marooned on an desert isle and could only have one writing book it would be the one that teaches all of this: Make Your Words Work, by Gary Provost - Amazon link.
Solve Technical, Resolve Emotional
Finally, as you concentrate on the technical you will find much of the emotional just slides away.  Most likely that is because you are distracted by the work and learning but it is also because you'll become a better writer and you'll know it.  As Norman Mailer famously said,

Writer's block is only a failure of the ego.

Once you trust yourself you'll probably find the block falls away.
Comment: Hey there.  Next time you want to systematically edit large numbers of old posts, could you do it in smaller batches?  You kind of took over the front page there. :-)  Thanks.
Comment: @MonicaCellio I apologize for that. I didn't expect that to happen at all. I let my web site domain lapse and was attempting to keep links current. Thanks.
Answer: I think you deserve some credit for being able plan and envision your story. When it comes to writing, you can be more of a Plotter, someone who outlines beforehand, or a Pantser, who is someone led by their gut feeling. A Google search yields some hefty results like this article that can give you the down low on how both approaches can help you get the best results.
That said, as far as translating the vision in your head onto paper, the journey of a writing a story begins with the first word. I recommend looking at Anne Lamott's "Bird By Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life" for some inspiration. Here are some great passages that I look to whenever I face a blank page and can't seem to start:

Thirty years ago my older brother, who was ten years old at the time, was trying to get a report written on birds that he'd had three months to write, which was due the next day. We were out at our family cabin in Bolinas, and he was at the kitchen table close to tears, surrounded by binder paper and pencils and unopened books about birds, immobilized by the hugeness of the task ahead. Then my father sat down beside him put his arm around my brother's shoulder, and said, "Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.

If perfectionism is your enemy, you can consider this passage:

Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people. It will keep you cramped and insane your whole life, and it is the main obstacle between you and a shitty first draft. I think perfectionism is based on the obsessive belief that if you run carefully enough, hitting each stepping-stone just right, you won't have to die. The truth is that you will die anyway and that a lot of people who aren't even looking at their feet are going to do a whole lot better than you, and have a lot more fun while they're doing it.

Remember, it's okay not to get it right the first time:

"But how?" my [writing] students ask. "How do you actually do it?"
  You sit down, I say. You try to sit down at approximately the same time every day. This is how you train your unconscious to kick in for you creatively. So you sit down at, say, nine every morning, or ten every night. You put a piece of paper in the typewriter, or you turn on the computer and bring up the right file, and then you stare at it for an hour or so. You begin rocking, just a little at first, and then like a huge autistic child. You look at the ceiling, and over at the clock, yawn, and stare at the paper again. Then, with your fingers poised on the keyboard, you squint at an image that is forming in your mind -- a scene, a locale, a character, whatever -- and you try to quiet your mind so you can hear what that landscape or character has to say above the other voices in your mind."

In short, you just have to take it word by word. Without the words, there is no novel, regardless of how planned your story is.
Answer: For a more pragmatic take on this issue:
Every writer has to have (at least) two contradictory personalities at work, the inner producer, that puts words on page, and the inner editor, that criticizes the work and makes it better.  If your inner editor dominates, you'll never write anything, but if you don't have an inner editor, your work won't have any quality control.  Planning work avoids your inner editor, because you know it's just for your own benefit, but actual writing wakes your internal editor up, and that can stop some people from ever writing ("writer's block").  So here are some tried and true practical methods for getting around your internal editor.

Write at your "worst" time.  I learned this recently (suggested in the excellent book Rest, by Alex Soojung-Kim Pang) and it's more than tripled my productivity.  The idea is if you are a night owl, get up early and write, and if you are a morning person, stay up late and write.  Your internal editor will fall asleep (or not wake up) and you'll produce reams of material in a hazy dreamlike state.  If you want additional efficiencies, you can then go over the material again at your "best" time.
Take the pressure off.  Tell yourself, it's just a rough draft, no different really from planning.  No one else will ever see it, because you'll completely replace it before you move on.
Prime the pump:  Start by writing a full page of complete nonsense, no self-censoring allowed.  If that doesn't work, see if you can write just five minutes (or one paragraph) of your book, and then stop cold, and resume the next day.  Sometimes that first step is the hardest.  Once you get going, a lot of writers advise breaking off for the day in mid-thought so you don't have to start from a stopping point the next time.
Answer: Participating in National Novel Writing Month (November) helped me with this same problem. No excuses, no edits, no revisions, just write, for 30 days. I had a few friends who participated, and we supported each other in the Writers.SE chat room.
It helped me break out of the idea that I needed to compose in my head so that what I put on paper was the perfect expression of my thoughts. It helped me get over the notion that I always had to know the whole story before I could consider writing it. These were two major road blocks for me prior to two years ago.
Answer: I'd like to add to @Elliot's excellent answer by saying that it doesn't really matter what you write, so long as you just keep practicing. If you're reluctant to start writing your "dream project" because you want to do it justice, then work on a different project first.  Try improvising a story, without planning anything about who the characters are or how it'll turn out--just start writing and see what happens.  Do some other writing exercises or participate in workshops.  Commit to NaNoWriMo.  Or do what I did: keep a journal and write something in it, anything, every day.
Most importantly, don't get discouraged if you end up writing a lot of garbage--in fact, you should expect to.  If you're challenging yourself enough to get better, most of your writing will be way worse than if you'd played it safe--but the stuff that's worth keeping will get much, much better.
Answer: Take small bites.
Try writing 100 words a day.
Answer: At the heart of all art is vision. The artist is an artist because the see something and find a way to express what they have seen so that others can share in the experience. No work of art can succeed without vision. If you have not seen, you cannot show.
It may or may not be necessary or helpful for an artist to make a plan. But a plan is not a vision. You can plan till the cows come home but that will not give you one iota of vision. A plan can serve a vision by introducing discipline into the expression of the vision. But the vision stands outside the plan. The vision is not in the plan.
Fundamentally all stories are about the same thing: what is it like to X. The X's themselves are pretty mundane:

fall in love
go to war
fight a bully
make a friend
return home after a long absence

What sets good stories apart is not that they come up with some extraordinary new experience to write about, but they they write about the ordinary experiences that everyone cares about with a particular vision. The more vivid and true the vision, them better the story.
Read the plot summaries of any of the great works of literature (Wikipedia is full of them). You will find nothing remarkable about them. Their greatness does not lie in the plan but in the vision.
Unfortunately, we don't all have an artistic vision. Some people can prattle on happily without one. Others stall at the starting line because no matter how much the have planned, they have no vision. There is nothing that is burning in them to be said to the world. When the vision comes, the words will come. Alas, there is no promise that it will ever come.
Answer: If you are using clay to make a sculpture, would you stop after two minutes because the brown heap in front of you doesn't resemble the Rodinesque masterpiece you envisioned?
Most people understand intuitively that making a sculpture involves a period where your work doesn't look anything like the thing you want to end up with. That's just the nature of clay.
Well, that's the nature of words as well. But somehow, most people (myself included), have the idea that words have to be perfect as soon as they hit the page. Maybe school have something to do with it, or maybe the act of writing words down gives us humans the notion that the words are immutable.
Two remedies that work for me (sometimes):

Write fast, without looking back, and without correcting spelling. This is the equivalent of throwing clay at the armature (your outline). You need this to have something to work with. Many writers have a problem leaving spelling errors uncorrected, but editing text that may not make it to the final draft, is a waste of time.
Find other stories that have descriptions of characters or settings that you like, and steal them. This would be the equivalent of taking a dolls head you find inspiring, and put it on top of your heap of clay. It gets you started, and you shape the rest of the body around it. In later revisions, you will probably makes changes to the head and face, to make it fit better with your own sculpture (this is where the doll face metaphor looses its power). At this point, it is no longer plagiarism, since you have made it your own.

Don't get it right, get it written. The mess is part of the process (rhyme intended).
Answer:
I can plan all sorts of specific aspects in a novel such as characters, locations, and the plot in general,

The short version of the below: Plan the first chapter, plan the first scene, and experiment with the first dialogue: The first interchange between two of your characters. Or really ANY interchange between two characters, you can decide if it is first or needs something before it, after you write it.
I'm an analytical and logical writer (a computer science professor with graduate degrees in mathematics and statistics), or what I like to think of as rationality in service to emotions.
However, I am also a 'pantser,' like Stephen King. So while I do think of my main character cast including my villain or obstacles, and I do keep in mind at least one possible ending, I don't create a detailed plot or feel obligated to stick to my original ending if something better occurs to me.
The way rational seat-of-the-pants writing works is simple. You have some sketch of your characters, and main character, and your story thread. All the stuff you say you can plan.
Rationally, figure out where this story starts. Something triggers the plot, the problem to be solved. Take your cue from other fiction: In Spiderman, we are briefly introduced to Peter Parker before he is bitten by a radioactive spider. We meet his love interest, and witness his social ineptness.
Superman's intro is loving parents sending him to Earth because Krypton will be destroyed. Or it is the Kents finding him in a field.
The Lord of The Rings depicts an idyllic rural beginning for the hero, before the wizard arrives and the problem begins.
Your story needs a beginning, usually to convey some background information. A normal home life for Joe before his wife is killed in a bank robbery (the trigger). Or before Joe and his fishing buddies accidentally hooked the body of a gangster, with about ten million dollars in diamonds chained to his wrist, that five rival gangs have been desperate to find first.
Think about it, without writing. Either find the first scene, or the first KEY scene (the triggering event that begins the plot). You can pre-fill later. Who MUST be in it?
What do they have to say to each other? Can you write even one exchange of words?
In the seat-of-the-pants approach to writing, each next scene grows out of the decisions or events in the current scene. That can be interrupted by changes in the POV, but basically the rule holds: What you had the characters decide and/or experience in this scene, tells you what they must do next.
There is flow, for each character, including the villain. Where does the story end up? Maybe at the original ending, maybe not. It is much like life itself, we have vague ideas of where we want to be in years to come, but where we actually end up depends on the decisions we make each day. If the characters continue to make decisions and don't give up on the problem, they will end up somewhere: Irrevocably defeated (maybe dead), or victorious for now, or perhaps both, undergoing a transformation of who they are, discovering an alternative to winning (eg love, parenthood) that feels more important than their former goal (eg wealth, fame).
The solution to your dilemma is MORE planning, at least planning in greater detail, until you get down to conversations and individual actions taken. Then the craft (detailed in other answers on this forum) will help you convert those conversations from a wall of dialogue to something readable, and to put your scenes together. Don't do the whole book: Just the first key scene that launches the plot. Rationality will tell you what must have come before it, to set that up, and to not introduce characters and their personalities and skills so cold (e.g. if a significant character is a politician recognizable to the public, that should be set up in some other scene before the key scene, with the main character seeing them on television talking about some crime issue or something else tangentially related to your story).
The outcome of a scene should be either a decision, or a feeling or change in the character, that helps you choose the NEXT scene. If not a decision, a strong emotion: We close on Karen crying. (for some reason, crying is usually a sign of recognizing loss, defeat or surrender, it often sets the stage for deciding on a change in one's life; so the next scene can be Karen discovering what that change will be).
This advice is not the same as "just start writing." Continue to plan in enough detail that you come to a conclusion about the most logical place and time for the Plot to begin. Before that point, you need just enough to logically justify the choices made by the characters at that time. In one of my stories, that is about two days in the normal lives of the characters involved in the Key scene.
Make sure your scene has a conclusion! You will know it does not when you do not (as the author) have any candidate (or candidates) for what the NEXT scene might be. Because in the scene your characters are driven to advance toward their goal (or change their course), so what actions occur as a result of their decisions, or what new decisions come about based on the outcome of actions, is what the next scene is about. For that character, or team.
Don't make them stupid and give them decisions the reader will think stupid or implausible. At least I don't, there may be a market for fiction about fools, but I don't care for it. I prefer heroes that win on purpose against villains that do NOT make ANY stupid mistakes to conveniently defeat themselves.
Answer: I don't actually have a solution for this, as I have no idea how, but I suggest getting a friend who can write and just tell them exactly how to make the book.
I don't have a problem with writing, it's the planning that hecks me up.

Can't write, can plan


Is there a standard siphoning hose size?

Question: We have a hose that fits some of our equipment (bottle filler wand) but it is loose on both the racking cane and auto siphon. Is there a standardized size for this equipment or does it vary?
Answer: In my experience, there are three common sizes: 3/8", 1/2", and 1".
Racking equipment commonly uses 3/8" tubing. This will, of course, vary by brand, but I've found that most of the equipment I've ever used requires 3/8" tubing. 1/2" is less common but still easy to find.
1" tubing is often used for blow-off tubes since it fits easily into most glass carboys and provides enough space for blow-off gunk so that it doesn't clog.
Answer: I expect someone with more experience will answer your question outright, but in the mean-time, you might want to consider a hose clamp:

Available (via google) from some homebrew stores, or any hardware store.
http://www.bittercreekhomebrew.com/Small-Hose-Clamp-pr-289.html
Answer: I've always had problems with air bleeding in between hose and racking cane. Nice way to get oxidation. I used to always wrap electrical tape around it tight - but that's a PITA. I then tried a standard hose-clamp like the one above and couldn't get a good seal.
I'm now going to try one of these little guys
http://www.amazon.com/Snapper-Ratchet-Closure-Nominal-351--394/dp/B0015HOOSQ
Comment: It's very difficult to get a good seal with certain types of hose.  A hose clamp is best combined with a hose barb, and softer plastics like vinyl will seal better than plastics like polyethylene.
Comment: Good idea. I was thinking a zip-tie would also work


Does prayer remove bad deeds of past lives?

Question: If this birth is based on the deeds of our previous life, then our destiny is pre-determined. So, there is no need for god unless prayer offered to him will erase the bad deeds.
Comment: It does not erase it, but it can lessen its effect. Rather than getting a very large knife slash, one get a pinprick instead. Instead of breaking your leg in an accident, you scrap your knee instead.
Comment: Comments I'm here seem to be conflicting.
I would suggest you check with the sadhu at your local temple.
A sadhu who has dedicated his life to a temple would be better placed to handle this question, I am pretty sure a sadhu has heard or answered this question before
Comment: "Sins getting erased" can merely be a side effect of prayers. If prayers are offered with [one of] the purposes of erasing sins, then they would certainly remain unmoved. :-)
Answer: Prayer, PujA (worship) etc can remove sins committed in infinite number of our past lives.
Here is a proof that prayer in the form Mantra Japa can do it:

Lakshyadwayen pApAni saptajanmakritAnyapi | NAsayet TripurA
  devi sAdhakasya na samsayaha || JaptvA lakshyatrayam mantri yantrito
  mantra vigraha | PAtakam nAsayedAsu yadi janmasahasragam ||
.........
[Lord Shiva said] If the devotee does japa [of the mantra] two lakh times, Goddess
  TripurA will destroy all his sins that was accumulated in his past
  seven lives. And one who does japa of the mantra three lakh times,
  becomes himself the personification of mantra and yantra and destroys thereby
  the sins that he has accumulated over his past thousand lives within no time.
NityAshodashikArnava Tantram 5-11,12

Here is a proof that prayer in the form of Stotram can do it:

Sourashtre Somanadham, cha Sri Shaile Mallikarjunam, Ujjayinyam Maha
  Kalam, Omkaram, amaleshwaram, Paralyam Vaidyanatham, cha Dakinyam
  Bhimasankaram, Sethubandhe thu Ramesam, Nagesam thu Darukavane,
  Varanasyam thu Viswesam, Trayambakam Gouthami thate, Himalaye thu
  Kedaram, Ghushmesam cha Shivalaye, Ethani Jyothirlingani sayam pratha
  paden nara, Saptha janma krutham papam smaranena vinasyathi.
.........
The twelve Lingas of light are, Somanatha in Sourashtra, Mallikarjuna
  in Sri Shailam, Mahakala in Ujjain, Omkaram in Amaleshwara,
  Vaidhyanatha in Parali, Bhimasankara in South, Rameshwara near the
  bridge in Sethu, Nageswara in Daruka forest, Visweswara in Varnasi,
  Trayambakeshwara in the shores of Godavari, Kedareshwara in Himalayas,
  And Ghushmesha in Sivalaya. He who remembers them, Morning and
  evening, Would wash away sins, committed in his seven births.
The Dwadasa Jyotirlinga Stotram

And, here is a proof that prayer in the form of Puja (worship) can do it as well:

MahApAtakayuktAtmA yadi Devim prapujAyet |
  SamidurvAsahAswatthapallabairathavAharkijah || MAsen hanti kalusham
  saptajanma kritam naraha ||
..........
[Lord Shiva said] The devotee who (even if he is afflicted with mahApatakas or great sins) worships Devi with the leaves of
  Sami, DurvA, Aswattha or Arka plants destroys thus his sins
  accumulated over his past seven lives.
NityAshodasikArnava Tantram 2-66

And, in the commentary of this verse Acharya ShivAnanda interprets the word saptajanma as to mean infinite number of past lives. Usually in such verses the words such as sapta (7), sata (100) or sahasra (1000) are to be interpreted to mean numerous or infinite rather than just a specific number.
Comment: Hinduism supports karma theory, which means people who do bad deeds will be born in lower varna family. Am I correct?
Comment: @Ajay It will depend on the karmas that one does. also being born in a high varna does not imply one has no sins, it only implies one has relatively less sins than the one who is born in a lower varna.
Comment: Where did you get the stotra of goddess tripura to remove sins ?
Comment: @Sania Which stotra are u talking about? I have not given any TripuraSundari stotra in my answer. But there are many stotras for the Goddess. If u want i can give you the links.
Answer: Repeating the name of God is very effective in lessening the effects of past deeds.
Sri Sarada Devi:

One has to suffer the consequences of one's deeds. But by repeating the Name of God, you can lessen its intensity. If you were destined to have a wound as wide as a ploughshare, you will get a pin-prick at least. The effect of Karma can be counteracted to a great extent by Japa and austerities.
Answer: As I am a devotee of Rama, I will be elaborating on the supreme infallibility of Naam Japa (name chanting), especially of Lord Rama.
Rama Nama gets exactly the same importance in Saguna Upasana (worshipping the Absolute Truth as a Being with a form) as does the Pranava ('Om') MantrainNirguna Upasana (worshipping the Absolute Truth as formless).
Rishi Manu shows that the Rama Nama has links to all the other mantras that ever exist.

In Syavana Smriti (Syavana is the name of a rishi), Syavana says that
  the Rama Nama is the essence of all the Vedas, Shastras, Itihasas and
  Puranas.

Sage Vasishta meditated on the Rama Nama for quite a long time. Hence he wanted to name the Almighty with the same Mantra that he had chanted.
RELIEVES PLANETARY EFFECTS: Once you start believing in Rama, you should never believe on any propaganda of Planetary systems. Planets are there in the Universe to perform their role but not misguide you. Even if you are suffering from malefic effects, Ram naam is your only savior. Remember, at the end Karma will bite you for your wrong doings and planets are a readable medium for discernment. Ram naam can only divide the problems so that you can handle it better. But it will be always there. If you love God, then you should have no reason to fear.

The 'sthala purana' of Kasi says that the deity Kasi Viswanatha
  initiates the Rama Nama to each and every being at the time of their
  death, in their right ear.

Shiva on the other hand mentions to Parvati:

Rama rama rameti rame rame manorame
  sahasra nama tat tulyam rama namo varanane
"O dear wife, Parvati, one thousand names of Visnu (another name of
  Narayana) are equal to one name of Rama and three names of Rama are
  equal to one name of Vishnu."


Is it safer to take Naproxen once a day or twice a day?

Question: Given the choice of taking 500mg of Naproxen once a day, or 250mg of Naproxen twice a day (separated by ~12 hours), which is safer for the kidneys and liver?
Answer: Naproxen has a half-life of between twelve and seventeen hours.1 Constant steady-state serum levels of Naproxen are produced after four to five days..1 It stands to reason that the lower the dose the lower the renal and hepatic load and vice versa; the higher dosage requires the kidneys and liver to remove more of the drug. @D Bagnall is correct, however, that the half-life is not affected by the dosage, other than the obvious fact that a higher initial dose leaves more drug in your body after the half-life period than a lower dose.Most NSAIDs produce their effect by inhibiting the production of the COX-1 and COX-2 enzymes.2 COX-1, and (to a lesser effect) COX-2 help protect the stomach from its acidic environment.3 Contrary to popular believe, NSAIDs do not "burn" a hole in your stomach. Because of the protective effect of these enzymes, NSAIDs should be take only while symptoms persist. If needed for longer periods, you should consult with your physician.But to answer your main question: As far as your liver and kidneys care it's the dosage that matters. One should always take the lowest dose that produces the desired effect.
Comment: I think the root of this question is asking about whether it is duration of therapy or max concentration that has greater adverse impact on renal function. Taking 250 twice daily leads to a lower max serum concentration.
Comment: @DoctorWhom, agreed. And lower doses more often leads to a more constant serum level, rather than peaks and valleys.
Answer: Short answer: the kidneys and liver don't care if it's 500mg once a day or 250mg twice a day.
One must consider two things: the amount of medication needed to relieve symptoms and how long it lasts.
The body metabolizes 500mg and 250mg at the same rate, therefore 500mg won't last twice as long as 250mg.  But if the 250mg isn't strong enough to reduce the symptoms, it makes no sense to take it at that dose.
Comment: Welcome to Health. Great to see you around. Just an FYI: We work different to most SE sites and other online communities as that we require references in every answer. This is to ensure a thorough quality of answers because Health is such an important topic. Please ping me once you did [edit] your question (using "@username" in a comment) so I can upvote! Cheers and welcome again.
Comment: Your statement, "But if the 250mg isn't strong enough to reduce the symptoms, it makes no sense to take it at that dose," is very ambiguous. Does that mean one should take more, or none at all, if symptoms are not relieved?


How do I fix bass on earbuds and speakers?

Question: I want you to know that I have no education in music production. I am self-taught now for almost two years. I score orchestral music using FL Studio, but I have a problem. The sounds are different depening if I listen with semi-high quality earbuds or high quality speakers. Mixing while using the earbuds will overpower the low frequencies on the speakers, but mixing with the speakers will eliminate all the warm bass when listening on earbuds. Professional music does not have this problem. I would be greatful if someone could explain the reason and how to fix it. Thank you!
Comment: "Professional music does not have this problem."  I'm gonna have to disagree. All audio is effected by the device it is played though. Professional music may be mixed so the difference is small, but it still changes.
Comment: This question is too broad. You have to learn to mix bass which is a part of mixing the whole track. So you have to learn mixing :)
Comment: Ooo, have to second frcake, there is a lot that goes into mixing and it takes a long to learn (properly). You *can* mix on earbuds, assist with a spectrum analyzer if needed (f.ex. the free SPAN) so you see your EQ curve, but have in mind that mixing is just one step in chain, then mastering which gives that final polished sound. If you have problems getting the levels right I would recommend you sending your stems to a mastering service until you feel you have bass/levels etc. under control. It's indeed a very broad topic.
Answer: This is why studio monitors used in recording produce neutral sound as close to 1:1 as possible.  Consumer audio gear, either because of being cheap or because of being intentionally biased, have a strong impact on the way playback sounds.  These changes are designed such that they will play back a neutrally mixed sound to the best of the particular design's ability.  If you mix based on something that is heavily biased, this constraint is no longer true and the result is that it will sound much worse on the other end of the spectrum from whatever you mixed on.
Thinking of it another way, consumer gear is basically like a tinted window.  People are used to seeing the tint when they look through the particular type of window, so they don't think anything of it, but if you took the image from one window and looked at it through another different type of window, things end up looking very wrong.
You want your mix to sound as natural as possible on a flat system and then rely on each particular "window" that various speakers provide to reproduce that natural sound in a way that the user is used to.
Answer: Complicated question when you understand it:

professional musicians normally test their music across a wide variety of setups prior to releasing to the public. That means they may have a variety of different pieces of hardware that they'll test prior to releasing to public. Obviously, you can replicate this is by testing with your own, your friends, and your family's sound gear, somehow gaining access to a sound studio, copying to your phone and then testing on a variety of hardware at your local electronics retailer, etc...
they'll also have 'reference/studio type gear' as well. This is gear that is basically designed to have 'little to no sound bias'. Namely, no bias (treble, bass, mid, etc...) in the way they re-produce sound. This means that once you create a 'master track' and produce it via this type of gear it will sound the same if someone down the line uses 'reference/studio type gear' as well (good example of this are ATH-M50X headphones which are often described as having a flat EQ curve/sound to them). It also means that the if people down the line have biased gear the 'relative distance' between your gear and their gear is likely to be smaller
another thing is that professional musicians also generally know how to produce/mix things better as has been stated by frcake. There are plenty of tips online about this but one thing I've noticed about them is that they have more experience, understand sound better, and they generally understand how their sound differs to others. A good example of this is their use of 'reference tracks'. If you can listen in and understand how the 'sound signature' differs from current sound and how you want to sound it will give you a easier time in doing what you want. How you achieve this is ultimately up to you whether by taking a course, studying from freely available online resources, purchasing music production magazines or books, listening to heaps of music, etc...

http://edmprod.com/50-tips-mixdowns/
https://www.subbassdj.com/blog/top-10-mixdown-tips-tutor-alex-grover

one more thing to note is that in some cases professional may have professional level gear as well. What I mean by this is that in some higher end sound studios they may have software which can take the sound signature (for instance, EQ curve) from one track and then apply it to another. Very useful to get a sonic signature applied to an arbitrary track and speeds up the process of production drastically as well. Can get a bit pricey depending on the solution you choose though

https://www.gearslutz.com/board/mastering-forum/644921-best-eq-cloning-replicating-spectrums.html
Answer: Easiest rule of thumb:
always eq the low end more than you think you need to. You want a flat mix.
-Everyone loves bass that fills the room, but If you pay attention and load up your favorite tracks into FL studio and pull up an EQ, you'll see there actually isn't much bass. (0-60ish Hz).
-if you need to,try boosting bass around 130ishHz to get a more prominent sound, without drowning the room in bass, creating a muddy mix. I usually lower bands 1 and 2 this way first!


What are the copyright terms on patents?

Question: Are patents (and the attached text, diagrams, images etc) covered by copyright? Or are they, by virtue of being published patents, in the public domain?
Answer: In the U.S. the text and drawings of a patent application/patent may be copyrighted by the author. If such protections are being claimed, the patent application must contain this authorization from 37 CFR 1.71  (d) and (e)-

e) The authorization shall read as follows:
  A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to (copyright or mask work) protection. The (copyright or mask work) owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all (copyright or mask work) rights whatsoever.
Comment: For what it is worth, utility patents rarely seek to preserve a copyright in the application or patent itself, even though it can be done. On he other hand, in the case of a design patent, reservation of copyright rights is probably more common.
Comment: So that would mean a diagram from a US patent without that authorization could be used say printed on tee shirts  without running the risk of copyright infringement?
Comment: You might have that backwards. That authorization is to allow the patent itself to be copied even if aspects of it are copyrighted. If you are going to make money on this, I would get legal advice. It may be that patents published back when copyright notices where required to get protection might be OK but not more recent ones.


Uploaded verified local fXL epubs don't open in Google play books

Question: My fixed layout epub is verified with epubcheck-4.0.1: no errors, no warnings. On ibooks and Readium: no problems at all.
I upload the file to my google play books library on Chrome, Firefox, safari. The epub doesn't open and gets stuck with "Processing..."  keeping displayed.
Now, I 'buy" a free fixed epub from the google play books store. The epub opens. I downloaded the epub. Upload it again. Now it doesn't open any more. Message: "This book cannot be opened
This book contains content that is not yet supported in your browser."
I try the same procedure on an Android device. Same behavior.
I am stuck and would be grateful to have a few hints to move from this gridlock.
Answer: This is not possible to read a local epub on the playbook reader within a browser. The native play books reader must be installed instead.


Should I remove dead grass/weeds from my raised beds before planting?

Question: We bought a house that already has raised beds. One is FULL of grass and weeds, too much and deep to pull by hand. I understand I should/can put newspaper or cardboard down and then mulch, but do I then pull the dead weeds/grass before planting veggies or do I do that right on top?
Answer: Once the weeds are completely dead, unless the soil is very soft, you'll usually want to loosen up the top layer. This is easier once the dead layer is removed. And some weeds carry vegetable diseases (even without symptoms) and can infect crops. An example in my area is hedge mustard, a common weed, that almost always carries clubroot where I am, so I can't grow Brassicas in an area where I've seen hedge mustard, for a couple years.
I'd recommend raking (or cutting, if they're tough) the grass/weeds once they're dead, and working up the top layer of soil before planting. If you could work in a little (or a lot, I guess :D) compost in, that's even better.
You can plant through dead material, and get good results, however. I've found, for instance, that broccoli (in my area) likes very firm soil, so I don't work it at all when I am ready to plant the starts. I just pop them in, through the dead plant matter, and then add more (usually as lawn clippings) to make it weed proof. That has worked great for me.
Answer: I've found it best to pull out all grass and weeds and replace the soil with well rotted compost and manure. It's a PITA, but this way, you can till the soil and start fresh. Just grab a shovel and dig away. Plus, I've found that grass is impossible to eradicate and the tiniest bit of root can easily take over. Starting fresh will also make it easier to weed and you'll know that all the nutrition you put into it will only be used on the plants (as opposed to any leftover weeds/grass that's still alive). It'll also make aerating the soil much, much easier since you don't have to worry about all the dried-up and tangled roots from the weeds. Good luck!
Answer: Putting down the newspaper will block sunlight to the weeds, so they will probably die. You can cut openings in the thick layer of newspaper to plant your new plants. Then they will have the sunlight advantage over the weed competition.


Ruby for Systems Administration

Question: I've used Python, Perl and Shell for systems administration. Wondering if anyone uses Ruby for systems administration? Any pluses/negatives? I know that this question is subjective and am interested in experiences. Thanks.
Answer: Puppet and Chef are two very popular configuration management tools, that are written in Ruby. I recon their use and popularity will spawn some use of Ruby in the sysadmin field. Python and Perl are so abundantly available however (and installed by default on most *nix flavors) that Ruby is be dwarfed by them. I expect that to be the case for the foreseeable future.
Answer: Ruby is an excellent language for sysadmin scripting. Rake is also a great tool for many sysadmin tasks.
I highly recommend the book "Everyday Scripting With Ruby". Also, check out the ruby PLEAC site for some great examples.
HTH!
Tom Purl
Answer: Ruby is generally regarded as specially good for implementing domain specific languages.
One tool that uses this strength that comes to mind is Puppet, but I'm sure there are others:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puppet_(software)
Me in particular - I don't use Ruby for sysadmin tasks directly, but I do use Puppet.
Answer: As there are books on the topic, and even the IBM/AIX crowd has gotten into the game I would say there are plenty of people doing it.  I haven't personally deployed many ruby scripts, but we have written a few service daemons with it, and it's a very nice language, with much of the power of Perl but fewer of the "Write Only" tendencies.
Answer: I started using Ruby back at version 1.45 when it wasn't included anywhere. One of the things that drove me to it was the incompatabilities between Perl 4 and Perl 5 - my environment included both but a particular script had to be debugged because of these incompatabilities, which ended up including a test for whether the interpreter was version 4 or version 5.
For me, Ruby was love at first sight: all the expressiveness of Perl and the object-oriented paradigm of Smalltalk. Ruby was also designed from the ground up to be easy to use, and to be easy for Perl programmers (and others) to switch to. Coming from a background that included both Perl and OOP, I found it easy to use.
Ruby has to be one of the only languages that had ease of use as a design goal.
I wrote quite a few system admin tools in Ruby; one of the biggest was a backup system that took an Oracle database, copied it cold to a backup directory on the database host, then coordinated with a backup server to copy the files and keep the last 7 days to a month of database backups (not to mention, all of these - local directory and backup host files - were backed up to tape!).

Ruby for Systems Administration


iPod Nano 5g recording specs?

Question: What are the specs for voice recording on the Ipod nano fifth generation (such as how long can the iPod record until its battery runs out, what are the mic specs, does it continue recording until it runs out of space or battery)?
Answer: Apple's information article on recording on the iPod nano is here.
The iPod nano can operate for up to 24 hours on a battery charge.
The built-in microphone is monaural and, I guarantee you, is of the lowest quality. You may be able to purchase a compatible third-party external monaural microphone of higher quality that connects through the headphone port or the dock connector. Consult the microphone or headset manufacturer for compatibility information for the iPod nano.
Apple does not state any restriction on the length of the recording. The document I cite above states that the iPod nano records in WAV format, which usually implies 16-bit 44.1KHz uncompressed audio, and in this case it will be monaural using the built-in microphone. This kind of file takes up 5MB per minute in file size, and I assume that you can continue recording until the iPod nano's battery runs down or until the iPod nano no longer has any available file space to hold the recording.
Comment: some website says that the recording will stop after 1 hour is that true?
Comment: I do not know the answer to that question.

iPod Nano 5g recording specs?


How to prove the equality $\sum_{j=0}^n (x)^j (-1)^{n-j} \left\{{n \atop j}\right\} = x^n$?

Question: How do you prove $$\sum_{j=0}^n (x)^j (-1)^{n-j} \left\{{n \atop j}\right\} = x^n,$$
where $(x)^j=x(x+1)...x(x+j-1)$ and $\left\{{n \atop j}\right\}$ is a Stirling number of the second kind?
Comment: Is your $(x)^j$ the same as $x^\overline{j}?$
Comment: @FuZxxl Yes, rising factorials.
Answer: To remove the $(-1)^{n-j}$ term we replace $x$ by $-x$ and prove
$$x^n = \sum_{j=0}^n \left\{ { n \atop j } \right\} (x)_j , \quad (1)$$
where $(x)_j = x(x-1)(x-2) \cdots (x-j+1)$ and $(x)_0 = 1.$
We proceed by induction. Note that $(1)$ is true for $n=0$ and so we take $n>0$ and assume $(1)$ is true for $n-1.$
$$\begin{align*}
x^n &= x \cdot x^{n-1} \\
&= x \sum_{j=0}^{n-1} \left\{ { n-1 \atop j } \right\} (x)_j \\
&= \sum_{j=0}^{n-1} \left\{ { n-1 \atop j } \right\} (x)_j (x-j + j) \\
&= \sum_{j=0}^{n-1} \left\{ { n-1 \atop j } \right\} (x)_{j+1} +
\sum_{j=0}^{n-1}  j \left\{ { n-1 \atop j } \right\} (x)_j \\
&= \sum_{j=1}^n \left\{ { n-1 \atop j-1 } \right\} (x)_j +
\sum_{j=0}^{n-1}  j \left\{ { n-1 \atop j } \right\} (x)_j \\
&= \sum_{j=0}^n \left\{ { n \atop j } \right\} (x)_j.
\end{align*}$$
The last equality follows from the recurrence relation for the Stirling numbers of the second kind:
$$ \left\{ { n \atop j } \right\} = \left\{ { n-1 \atop j-1 } \right\} +
j \left\{ { n-1 \atop j } \right\}.$$
Comment: It's really a cool proof.
Comment: @Fan Zhang: I'm glad you like it. However, unfortunately, I can't claim it as mine; it's just a standard argument that I happened to know.
Answer: Use the definition! (Note we prove equation (1) which appears in Derek's answer).
Stirling numbers, $\displaystyle \left\{ { n \atop k } \right\}$ are the number of ways to partition set of $n$ items into $k$ non-empty subsets:
Let $\displaystyle x$ be any positive integer $\displaystyle \gt n$.
Let us count the number of ways to choose an $\displaystyle n$-tuple $\displaystyle (a_1, a_2, \dots, a_n)$, by picking the $\displaystyle a_i$ from $\{1,2, \dots, x\}$ with replacement.
The total possibilities is $\displaystyle x^n$.
Now count the same, by counting tuples with exactly $\displaystyle j$ distinct colours, and adding up varying $\displaystyle j$ from $\displaystyle 0$ to $\displaystyle n$.
Since the identity is a polynomial in $\displaystyle x$, and is satisfied by infinitely many integers $\displaystyle x$, this is true even if $\displaystyle x$ is made complex.
Answer: There's a simple but not very well-known formula on row sums for number triangles that can be applied here.  I believe it is due to Neuwirth.  Suppose you have a triangle of numbers $R(n,k)$ with $R(0,0) = 1$ and, for $n \geq 1$, satisfying $$R(n,k) = (\alpha (n-1) + \beta k + \gamma) R(n-1,k) + (\alpha' (n-1) + \beta' (k-1) + \gamma') R(n-1,k-1).$$
There are several interesting number triangles that are special cases, such as the binomial coefficients and both kinds of Stirling numbers.
Anyway, the formula is that if $\beta + \beta' = 0$ then $$\sum_{k=0}^n R(n,k) = \prod_{i=0}^{n-1} \left((\alpha + \alpha')i + \gamma + \gamma'\right).$$
It is easy to verify that $R(n,k) = \left\{ { n \atop k } \right\} x^{\underline{k}}$ satisfies the above recurrence with $\beta = 1, \beta' = -1, \gamma' = x$ and all other parameters $0$.  Thus the row sum formula yields Derek's reformulation of the problem (Eq. (1)):
$$\sum_{k=0}^n \left\{ { n \atop k } \right\} x^{\underline{k}} = \prod_{i=0}^{n-1} x = x^n.$$
Answer: The Stirling numbers of the second kind represent the marked combinatorial species
$$\mathcal{Q} = \mathfrak{P}(\mathcal{U}\;\mathfrak{P}_{\ge 1}(\mathcal{Z})).$$
This immediately implies that the bivariate generating function of these numbers is
$$Q(z,u) = \exp(u(\exp(z)-1)).$$
Hence we have
$${n\brace j} = n! [z^n] [u^j] \exp(u(\exp(z)-1)).$$
This gives the following expression for the sum:
$$ \sum_{j=0}^n x^{(j)} (-1)^{n-j} {n\brace j} =
(-1)^n n! [z^n] \sum_{j=0}^n (-1)^j x^{(j)} [u^j] \exp(u(\exp(z)-1))
\\= (-1)^n n! [z^n] \sum_{j=0}^n (-1)^j x^{(j)} \frac{(\exp(z)-1)^j}{j!}
= (-1)^n n! [z^n] \sum_{j=0}^n (-1)^j {x+j-1\choose j} (\exp(z)-1)^j.$$
Now observe that we can extend the sum to infinity since $(\exp(z)-1)^j$ produces terms in $z$ with exponent larger than $n$ when $j>n$ that do not contribute to $[z^n]$, giving
$$(-1)^n n! [z^n] \sum_{j=0}^\infty (-1)^j {x+j-1\choose j} (\exp(z)-1)^j.$$
Using the Newton binomial this becomes
$$(-1)^n n! [z^n] \frac{1}{(1-(1-\exp(z)))^x}
= (-1)^n n! [z^n] \exp(-zx) = (-1)^n n! (-1)^n \frac{x^n}{n!} = x^n, \quad\text{QED.}.$$


How should I solicit feedback from a tree maintainer for patches sent to the lkml?

Question: I have submitted a patch to the linux kernel that has gotten several reviews and gone through a couple iterations on the mailing list.  It has been ACKed and reviewed by two developers, but they say it is up to a specific developer to approve the patch.  This developer is relatively absent from the mailing list.  I do not want to harass him personally, but I would like some sort of acknowledgement that the patch can or cannot be accepted.  What is the best way to solicit feedback from this developer?  Is it acceptable to send a private email to him or to one of the reviewers or is it important for all communication to be public through the mailing lists?
Comment: If you don't get a reply from someone specific, just CC them directly. If you did something wrong (such as not using the mailing list concerning that particular kernel component), they'll usually tell you.
Answer: It's pretty standard practice to address the email directly to the direct maintainer (use the To: field) and CC any relevant people/lists.  If you forgot to address the maintainer directly in the original thread, you're probably fine simply forwarding it to them.
Don't consider it personal harassment to send one email---anyone maintaining part of the kernel has to sift through a lot of email, and probably simply hasn't seen your patch because it wasn't addressed directly to them and so got lost in the noise.  Of course, do your due diligence first---make sure that your change isn't already in their kernel tree (or patchwork, etc.) before you do that.
Answer: If the patch has been through reviews and ACKed by "core" people, I'd look if it is included in the maintainer's tree. Depending on that, perhaps bother them personally.
Is there a specific list for this feature/area? Perhaps you should bring it ip there.


HP storageworks ultrium 448

Question: Goodday,
I have never cleaned the servers at my work but they are now running 5 times a week for 5 years.
Now they asked me to clean it with the tape that has come with it.
My qeustion is how do you clean it? Just put the tape in but then what?
Hope someone gives me an answer.
Comment: I'm prepared to bet the "clean drive" lights have been on for years but ignored as being "normal".
Answer: If this is for cleaning the tape drive, then you just need to put a cleaning tape in the drive, and it will automatically start a cleaning cycle.
The drive will eject the cleaning tape once it's done a cleaning cycle.
Answer: You just put the tape in until it either finishes or ejects.
You really should have been doing this regularly.
Answer: As others have stated, just put the cleaning tape in and wait until it ejects.
If you haven't cleaned the drive for 5 years, you really, really need to check your backups and make sure they're readable.  If I'd walked into this situation, I'd check at least a couple of tapes (depends on the backup schedule) and make sure I couple restore everything, and then test restoring something off of all the other active tapes.
Answer: LTO recommendation are not the preventive cleaning that was needed with older drive like DLT.
It's an "on demand" cleaning. You put the cleaning tape in the drive, the drive clean itself, then eject the cleaning tape... job done.
With LTO drive, when you put the cleaning tape in a drive which doesn't need it, the drive ejects the tape immediately.
But some decreases the number of cleaning left, even it doesn't use it.
A cleaning tape with an number of cleaning left null is ejected immediately.
So you may have some cleaning tape unusable, even if no drive ever load the tape.
Comment: Not strictly true. Some of the newer HP LTO drives will do an on-demand cleaning every time you put in a cleaning tape. However, the point about only cleaning LTO drives when they actually need it is very, very true.

HP storageworks ultrium 448


Keyboard Shortcut For 'Show Transform Controls' in Photoshop

Question: Does anyone know if you can set up a key command to toggle Show Transform Controls off and on? Transforming with CMD + T off and on is the best solution that I know of, but it would be nice to have a way to toggle Show Transform Controls since my solution only applies to the layer you are working on.
Answer: As far as I know, no keyboard shortcut.
Select the Move Tool and then check the Show Transform Controls option in the top toolbar:

If you want to hide the controls, you can quickly toggle hide/show all extras with ⌘ + H
Comment: Thanks! Hiding with ⌘ + H works perfectly. That's a great hack to know.


facebook post action url error

Question: Im working on posting to facebook on an ios app. I had it working fine but somehow it has stopped working. I have the users auth at this point and all thats fine it just keeps giving me this error when i try to post to facebook "the post's action links must be valid urls"
below is my code for the post
    currentAPICall = kDialogFeedUser;
    SBJSON *jsonWriter = [[SBJSON new] autorelease];

    // The action links to be shown with the post in the feed
    NSArray* actionLinks = [NSArray arrayWithObjects:[NSDictionary dictionaryWithObjectsAndKeys:
                                                      @"someName",@"name",@"www.validurl.com",@"link", nil], nil];
    NSString *actionLinksStr = [jsonWriter stringWithObject:actionLinks];

    // Dialog parameters
    NSMutableDictionary *params = [NSMutableDictionary dictionaryWithObjectsAndKeys:
                                   shareInfo.facebookShareText, @"name",//name is heading with link to above
                                   @"text text text", @"caption",// caption makes text grayed out
                                   @"more wonderful text", @"description",// block text for the share
                                   shareInfo.shareUrlShort, @"link",//actual link
                                   shareInfo.facebookShareImage, @"picture",//url of picture to be displayed
                                   actionLinksStr, @"actions",
                                   nil];

  //the post's action links must be valid urls
    //make post to wall feed
    [_facebook dialog:@"feed"
                      andParams:params
                    andDelegate:self];

the post works if i remove the actionLinksStr from the params as the error says that the link within it is not valid. This has been working for months but just stopped when i tried it today and i cant seem to get it back working again. Has anyone any idea why this error would suddenly start happening with no change to the actual sharing code? the url im passing into the action link is definately valid. any help would be much appreciated thanks
edit: just gonna flag this as a bug on facebooks dev site. see if i can get any feedback from there. still a mystery to me
Answer: Make sure you are using a valid URL. In your code example above, change www.validurl.com to a complete URL: http://www.validurl.com

facebook post action url error


Is this Avast screen authentic?

Question: Lately, I am getting this Avast pop-up as soon as I start my machine:

I updated the software and restarted, and got the pop-up again. Is it authentic?
Answer: Avast has been pushing their priced versions more lately, I'm frankly disappointed in them for doing so in such a spammy way. While I can't guarantee that the screen you're seeing is legitimate, it would appear to be at least similar to legit screens I've seen from avast.
If it keeps nagging you and you're looking for a good free anti-virus product, I've come to rather like Microsoft Security Essentials. It's lightweight and seems fairly effective. And doesn't nag you.
Comment: Absolutely MSE. +1
Comment: Yeah, I've noticed each time that they hide the free link more and more craftily in their web site. Avast5 has a crummy tasktray icon as well, which really looks cheap.
Answer: When something pops up on my screen that seems doubtful, I sometimes use Process Explorer to figure out which process is generating it.  Process Explorer is one of the better freeware task managers out there; you can download it at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896653.aspx.  There's a button on its toolbar that looks like a target; drag the toolbar button over any window and Process Explorer will highlight the process that created it. If the process that created the questionable window is clearly one of the Avast processes, it's legitimate.
One more thing: the dialog you're seeing isn't telling you to run updates on Avast.  It's actually telling you that your subscription to the free version of Avast is expiring, and that to continue using the free version you have to re-register.  That explains why the message didn't go away when you applied updates.
Answer: You could always run an anti-malware/spyware scan with something like malware-bytes to make sure it is simply a spammy-authentic pop-up screen.
Also, what you could also try is, click the upgrade link in the box and see where it takes you.
If it's authentic, you'll reach avast. If it's fake, you'll be directed to some dodgy URL.
Like nhinkle stated; if it annoys you, go for MSE. It's a very good alternative to any free anti-virus.

Is this Avast screen authentic?


Is it best practices to have a network card for each virtual machine on a server?

Question: I am looking at purchasing a new server to host 3 virtual machines for a client. I have read that the virtual machine should be given its own network card. In this case, is it best practices to have 4 network cards, one for the hyper-v server and 3 for the virtual machines.
Comment: Depends on what your virtual machines' needs are, but not necessarily, no.  For that  matter, things are even going the other way now, with technologies that allow you to split up a single 10 GB physical NIC into multiple virtual ones.  Whether that's a good idea, or you want a separate physical NIC per VM, though, is all down to the details, which you haven't provided nearly enough of to give a decent answer.
Answer: Short answer: no, also because typically you can run dozens of VMs on a single physical server and you just can't stick enough network ports in it.
Longer answer: no, you usually do something in software (like network bridging, NATting, software-defined network gear, vSwitch, Vyatta, stuff like that), and if you really need "something like a real ethernet port" you are going to look at I/O-virtualization technologies (that means compliant motherboard, firmware, ethernet card).
Comment: I'd go so far as saying that if you need the full I/O for networking, then you probably also need dedicated resources in other areas, so why use a VM for this?  Virtualisation isn't going to be the best option for everything.
Answer: No it isn't. Each VM should have its own virtual network card (vNIC) connected to one or more virtual switches (vSwitch) which in turn is bound to one or more physical NIC's (pNIC). You could have as few as 1 physical network cards in the server and share that between the host and the virtual machines, although that isn't considered good practice.
What you would typically do is create a virtual switch in the hypervisor that is bound to one of the pNIC's and then you connect the VM to the vSwitch through the vNIC, which in turn connects the VM to the physical network.
Of course this is an overly simplified explanation and virtual networking can get fairly complex (VLAN's, VST, EST, etc.) but hopefully you get the gist.
Answer: It wouldn't hurt, but I wouldn't say it's best practice. The whole idea behind virtualization is that you're sharing resources. And typically, the hyper visor that you're using will be built to handle sharing its physical resources between virtual guests in an efficient manner.
Answer: Having a single card for every virtual machine is probably not necessary, but I can see why it might be recommended, to allow the virtual machine to make full use of the network. It's probably overkill in most cases, and if you need to make full use of the network on each virtual machine, it might be worth considering other bottlenecks that virtual machines can create, shared I/O is always going to bring some limitations.


Puncturing space suit during EVA. What would happen?

Question: What would happen, if the space suit of a spacewalking crew was punctured during the extravehicular activity (EVA)? What are the chances of this happening? Has this already happened to anyone in the history of space exploration?
Comment: @coleopterist Not entirely. Taking a glove off is kind of different from puncturing a suit. The latter has happened before. Life support kicks in with all its reserves and people return to the nearest airlock. This is worth a good individual answer.
Comment: If anyone is thinking about the stunt portrayed in the movie "The Martian", I'd like to point out that it did not happen in Andy Weir's original novel.
Comment: possible duplicate of [Reaction to taking a glove off in space](http://space.stackexchange.com/questions/122/reaction-to-taking-a-glove-off-in-space)
Comment: They would slap on a bit of duct tape, and ask mission control if they really *have to* abort the EVA just because the safety regs advise they do so.
Answer: Chances: Murphy's law - bad things eventually happen. Reasons: Besides (micro-)meteorites, as mentioned by @TildalWave, the risk is with the astronauts themselves. EVAs are for repairing stuff, 'plumbing', handling tools and equipment etc. It is natural to break stuff while you work.
In terms of numbers, although there were plenty of EVAs in history, everybody survived them. And besides problems with heating and cooling, water at the wrong place inside the suit or just overpressure, there have never been severe problems yet. So it is hard to put a number on it.
Space suits (just like manned space crafts) are designed to handle leaks or holes of a certain size for a certain amount of time. In a space craft, the idea is to give astronauts time to 'jump' into their pressure suits or another available safe space craft before they run out of air. In a suit, the idea is similar – provide enough time for a safe return to an air lock.
If you are interested in details, have a look at the specifications of space suits for EVAs. I found an example for the Russian Orlan suit. The system is referred to as "leak compensation system" (section 4 | page 28).
Please note that there is virtually no absolutely airtight suit. There are just too many connections and o-ring-seals. All suits therefore leak permanently to some degree. If the amount of leaked air increases above 'normal', for whatever reason, a suit's life support system can increase the amount of air pumped into the suit at the expense of the duration of an EVA.
Real life incidents of leaking or punctured suits are rare. As far as I know, there are no documented cases of suits loosing air rapidly in space. But keep in mind, every suit leaks, so there were in fact a few suits leaking more than they should. Partially punctured suits are also a known problem. A famous modern example happened on STS 118, where two of the five layers of material of the glove of an American suit were punctured. Another interesting incident, although initially unnoticed, happened on STS 37.
Answer: I depends on what caused the tear / puncture and how fast the depressurisation is due to it.
If, for example, the puncture was caused by a micrometeorite, the relatively fast depressurisation of the space suit might not be of the greatest concern for the unfortunate astronaut, as the micrometeorite could pass through the astronaut's body at speeds possibly an order of magnitude greater than a bullet exiting a shotgun can travel, causing anything from punctured through projectile wound, to instantly internally liquefying the poor astronaut's body in an unrecognisable mix of all of his/her internals, if the micrometeorite hits the space suit at extreme velocity relative to the movement of the EVA engaging astronaut and is big enough (where total energy released is $E_\text{k} =\tfrac{1}{2} (m_\text{in} - m_\text{out})(v_\text{in}-v_\text{out})^2$ where $m$ is mass and $v$ velocity of the penetrating object).
However, assuming the tear / puncture was made by other (non-lethal on their own) causes, such as parts of the space suit unwittingly getting trapped between some equipment, brushing against a sharp object, or similar, then the problem becomes one of trying to temporarily re-pressurise the space suit's internal pressure with whatever life support oxygen and other gases in the breathable mix are left available, hopefully adding to the suit's internal pressure faster than the depressurisation is occurring and moving to the nearest airlock as soon as possible (as @ernestopheles mentions in his comment). If the puncture is within the reach of the astronaut (or one of his/her team), they might also try to apply pressure on the puncture manually, or by applying some adhesive patch in hope it stops or limits the speed of the depressurisation.
Frequency of such micrometeorites is tough to judge, and depends on where the EVA is taking place. On planets with at least some atmospheric pressure, chances are they would burn up upon entry to the planet's atmosphere. Around Earth's orbit, there might be bigger risks involved also due to loads of space junk orbiting Earth, that we've put in space during previously aborted or retired missions, lost tools, e.t.c. that might be orbiting the Earth due to inertia.
As for the other part of your question, if this already happened to anyone, I don't have any knowledge of such accident happening to anyone while actually in space, but it did happen while testing space suits and EVA equipment here on Earth, in relatively controlled environment of a vacuum chamber, which was luckily repressurized fast enough not to cause permanent health issues or even death to the test subject involved. See this answer for more information on that accident and what would happen, if your body is exposed to the vacuum of space.
Comment: You mean materials, which can (temporarily) heal themselves? I have never dealt with space suits, so I can not answer this directly. Please ask someone else - preferably life support engineers. However, I worked with vacuum chambers - which is when I learned to admire space suits. I can not think of any (adhesive) material, that would do the trick in a vacuum. In terms of compartments, think about the possible pressure (equals force divided by area) gradient and the limits of the human body.
Comment: You need to apply *a lot* of pressure on a puncture for a significant effect to occur. About the patch - I think you are talking about using one while the astronaut is 'outside' (?). There actually are [adhesive materials](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Materials_for_use_in_vacuum#Adhesives), which work in a 'vacuum'. But it is a nightmare working with them. Unfortunately, this is nowhere near a quick emergency solution while performing an EVA ;-)
Comment: @ernestopheles - I'd imagine it so too, yes. Their most immediate course of action should be getting the astronaut into the airlock ASAP and re-pressurize it. But if that is not possible within a few tens of seconds of the puncture happening, then they might try other ways to stop or limit the effects of depressurisation while pushing towards the airlock. But a question now - is there any research in using some within the suit adhesive that would release on sudden pressure change, or compartmentation of space suits, like in some advanced automotive tires when they are punctured?
Comment: The impact speed of a micrometeoroid could indeed be an order of magnitude higher than that of a shotgun slug, but the average micrometeoroid would also be a few orders of magnitude less massive than the average shotgun slug (and kinetic energy depends on mass as well as speed).  (Note that getting hit by a shotgun slug is itself generally nothing to sneeze at, although I - fortunately! - have no direct, personal experience of this.)
Comment: Because kinetic energy is proportional the square of the velocity, while momentum is linearly proportional, what happens with hypervelocity impacts is that the object explodes on impact, as if it was made of an explosive somewhat more powerful than TNT (at 3 km/s, it's about 1 kg of TNT per kg). The projectile won't penetrate much, and layers of foil between you and the projectile actually function as effective armor.
Answer: In fact there was a puncture incident during one of the earlier Space Shuttle EVAs. Glove got punctured due to it's fabrication/assembly defect. The thing was that astronaut didn't even notice until after the EVA he found strange red spot on his hand. Hole was not big and his skin sealed it, so air leak was below any alarm levels. And astronaut was excited enough (it was his first EVA) that he didn't notice.
Comment: I believe that would be the [STS-37](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-37#Spacewalks_2) EVA and the astronaut in question either Jerry L. Ross or Jay Apt. Here's [Geoffrey A. Landis sci.space.tech post](http://www.mu.org/~joe/traveller/archive/General/Explosive.Decompression.txt) (archived) adding Gregory Bennett's account of the incident. Similarly, though not in orbit, Joe Kittinger, Jr. lost pressurization in his right glove during a high-altitude balloon parachute jump at ~ 19.5 mi altitude. The hand became stiff, painful and swollen to double its normal size, but later fully recovered.
Comment: Can you specify which mission, and possibly provide a reference? Thanks.


"Abandoned" as an antonym of "Abstemious" (adj) ?

Question: Can we use  "Abandoned" as an antonym of "Abstemious" (adj)?
Please explain your answer.
Comment: Notwithstanding the answers below, I don't think this is a common usage for "abandoned".
Answer: It took me a while to wrap my brain around your question, but I think I've got it now, and the answer is "yes, but".
abandoned: 1. wholly free from restraint 2. given up; forsaken
abstemious: marked by restraint especially in the consumption of food or alcohol
So, if you're using abandoned in the "wholly free from restraint" sense, then yes, it seems like a perfect antonym for abstemious. The but comes from the fact that most people would probably interpret abandoned as the past tense of abandon, in which sense it has nothing to do with restraint or lack thereof. Without sufficient context, using it as an antonym for "abstemious" could lead to much head-scratching.
A much better antonym for abstemious is gluttonous.
Comment: `A much better antonym for abstemious is gluttonous` or simply may be 'wild' or 'unreserved'!
Comment: 'glutton' is referred to a person who loves food, so I guess 'gluttonous' is more accurate.
Answer: Yep!
Abstemious means moderate in appetite, restrained, characterized by abstinence, etc. Abandoned can mean unrestrained and uncontrolled. These are pretty opposite from each other.


My out-of-the-money call options are near expiration and won't sell in the open market. What are my choices?

Question: I had attempted to sell my contracts off today but was unsuccessful. They are currently OTM options and will expire tomorrow. What can I do to minimize loss and why was I unable to sell?
Comment: If you have something that is worthless, or worth very little, how can you "minimize your loss"?  There is no way to "minimize the loss" - the price is the price.  One thing that may be causing confusion: on the markets people often glibly say the price of MSFT **"is"** $101.  But this is meaningless.  Consider a house for sale on your street.  Say someone said the price of the house "is" $200,000.  You'd know that is a silly statement.  It might sell for $1,000, $1,000,000 - or it might simply never sell.  Market instruments are like that. There are simply no bids for your instruments.
Answer: Out-of-the-money options close to expiration often have no bids. If no one is willing to pay even $0.01 for them, you will have to let them expire worthless. Your loss essentially already happened when the underlying failed to surpass your strike; you would at best be fighting to salvage pennies now.
Answer: As an analogy, consider people betting on an (American) football game between Team A and Team B. Let's make buying the option analogous to betting on Team A. Then selling it is analogous to betting against Team A. The sale price of the option is analogous to the odds a bookie will offer. The expiration date is analogous to the end of the game. Being OTM is analogous to Team A being behind. If you want to sell an option, then you are betting against Team A, and you are asking the buyer to bet for them to win. If Team A is behind, but it's only the first quarter, then there's still a chance that Team A will have a comeback. But as the game goes on, the probability of that happening (given a constant score differential) goes down. Similarly, if the stock price stays the same, then as time goes on the price of an OTM option goes down. This is known as "theta". If you call up a bookie right before the end of the game and tell them that you have, say, $1000 that you want to put down on Team A losing (so you're asking the bookie to bet that Team A will win), the bookie would have to offer really short odds for it to be fair; for instance, they might have to offer $1 to your $1000. And the hassle of setting up the bet is probably worth more than the $1. So they'll just refuse to take that bet.
Similarly, the expectation value of an OTM option the day before expiration will quite likely be so low that it's not worth people's time to make an offer. There are occasional exceptions, such as if an earnings report is coming out right before expiration.
As for minimizing your loss, there's not much you can do now. In the football analogy, if you put down $1000 for Team A to win, and they're down 8 points with 1 minute to go, you've already lost the $1000. Unless you can find a chump, you're not going to find anyone to bet on Team A to win.
Comment: @Mindwin: Trading on knowledge of what's in the earnings report would be insider trading, but the answer is not talking about knowing what's in the report, just knowing that a report is coming.  If the schedule of said report is public knowledge, not insider knowledge, it's not illegal to anticipate that no matter what the report says, volume and volatility and likely to increase.
Comment: But 99 out of 100 times, acting on an earning report that is coming out later today or tomorrow is insider trading, and that is a crime. XD
Answer: You can always sell your calls at the market price (the bid).  If the trade did not execute then you are asking for a price greater than the market price.
If the bid is zero then it is highly unlikely that anyone is going to take them off your hands  even for mere pennies and you can chalk this one up as a total loss.
The opportunity to minimize your loss occurred some time ago before you entered the rapid theta (time) decay of the last few weeks before expiration.
Comment: Well, I assume it would be a market maker that would buy it because a) they are required to make a market, and b) it's free to them since they don't pay commissions.  And, like you said, there's a tiny chance it could actually acquire value.  But what I don't know is if there is anything preventing a MM from actually executing a trade like this (and of course I'm not planning to deliberately risk such a trade myself just to find out!)
Comment: What happens if the bid is zero and you enter an order to sell at market?  Will a trade (ever) actually take place with no money changing hands?
Comment: If the bid is zero then the option is OTM and worthless.  Why would anyone buy a worthless option, incurring commission costs? Suppose expiration is hours to days away.  Even if you could, why would you want to sell a worthless option for nothing when it's effectively a lottery ticket?  IOW, if great news hits and share price powers up, a worthless long call could generate a decent gain (not likely but possible).
Comment: I would surmise that being required to make a market has something to do with there being a market.  Zero bid is not a market.  Let's carry it to the extreme.  You own shares in a company that goes bankrupt, is delisted and ceases to exist.  Would you expect a market maker to buy your shares for zero?  For what purpose?  The next time that you have a long option that is expiring worthless, see if you can sell it for zero.  If that happens, let us know,
Comment: Yeah I haven't held options in a long time, and when I did I never had to urge to sell a worthless option for nothing on the off chance it would recover some value at the last moment.  Hence my hope that somebody else would know. :-)
Answer: As others have said, the money is almost certainly already lost, with nothing you can do to get it back.
Most options expire worthless and the person who owned them last loses money on the option. Buying options is something that is often done to "hedge," rather than to generate income. That is, the person buying the option often does not expect to make money on the option. Instead, they buy an option for a stock they already own, as protection against sudden swings in the price of that stock. This is sort of like buying life insurance -- you buy life insurance, but hope you don't have a chance to use it.
Comment: just to note, losses are not limited to the last person who owned the option... they off course suffer the final loss but as the price can fluctuate before that, each seller before that most likely realized either a gain or loss.


AD Domain not available in assign permissions dialog locations

Question: I just joined one of our windows 2003 servers to our AD domain. It has been operating as a standalone server for a while. After joining the domain, when I go to assign permission to anything the only "location" available to choose in the dialog is the local computer. I can select the Locations button to list available locations - but the only one to choose from is the local computer. Any idea how to get the AD domain to appear so I can assign permission to domain users/groups?
Answer: You did log into the domain after you joined the server .. right? When you join a computer to a domain, you need to select the domain on the logon box as it defaults to the local machine. That's got me a few times.
Other than that, I'd check your network connection, and failing that I'd get the server to leave the domain and re-join it again.
Answer: In addition to what Ben recommended, check the DNS settings on the NIC of that server. This can happen when they are not pointed to the correct DNS server, or the DNS server is not responding correctly or responding at all.
Answer: I had the same problem as stated above. The domain name was not available on the "LOCATIONS" section from the permissions properties;  however I solve the problem by rebooting the Domain Controller, hopefully that this will help.


"Spit and baling wire"

Question: I just heard the phrase: "spit and baling wire". I cannot find it anywhere—can you help give me a reference, the origin...and the meaning?
Comment: Baling wire wraps around hay, cotton and cardboard boxes. Balers compact these items into a conformed shape under pressure.
Answer: It means something cobbled together or a makeshift solution. For example:

My old car is so old and broken down, it only gets by held together with spit and baling wire.

Baling wire is wire used to hold together bales of hay. Little pieces of hay often fall off bales, as baling wire cannot keep every little piece of hay together. And of course, spit doesn't really hold much of anything together. I hope that conveys the makeshift nature of the idiom.
Comment: Not sure if this is regional, but I'm more familiar with "bubble gum and baling wire".
Comment: Or "bubble gum and paper clips".
Answer: Origins of this (and similar) phrase(s) may be a bit murky, but are generally associated with farming and the introduction of compactor-style baling machinery that produces rectangular bales (the most common type of hay bale prior to the introduction of the far larger round bale).  In American farming on the south-central plains (Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas), the McCormick baler is often considered the standard, producing a standard bale between 35 and 90 pounds in weight (depending upon the type of hay:  prairie at the lower end of the scale, alfalfa at the upper) with rough dimensions of a little under 2 feet height, 2 feet width, and 4 feet length.
For one cultural reference that has become related to the primary question, consider that a "MacGuyvered" solution is usually achieved by the use of spit and baling wire -- heavy on the spit.
There is a comparative quote I remember from my youth which may help reconcile the variations on the theme that include some form of gum or other adhesive:

Anyone can succeed with bubble gum [chewing gum] and baling wire.
  That's for amateurs!  The true professional succeeds with SPIT and
  baling wire.
Comment: +1 for [MacGyver](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacGyver)

"Spit and baling wire"


Bluetooth GPS compatibility list for Android 2.2 / Archos 43 tablet?

Question: I've been looking at a very inexpensive bluetooth GPS (DeLorme Earthmate BT-20) to pair with my Archos 43 Internet Tablet running Android 2.2.  Is anyone aware of a compatibility list that I should be referencing when considering pairing my device with a bluetooth GPS?  I assume that the Android app will be used to reference maps, and the GPS will simply provide coordinates, but I may be mistaken.
Answer: I don't believe you need to worry about hardware compatibility beyond the BT specs.  Your A43IT uses Bluetooth 2.1 EDR so as long as the BT GPS supports that it should be all set.  You'll either need an internet connection to use Google maps, or like you were planning, an app that downloads the maps, like CoPilot.
I haven't gotten around to buying one yet, but I've been doing some digging in preperation.  Here's some links that may help:

BlueGPS4Droid - App over at XDA that interfaces with the BT GPS
This guy is using his Nexus 1 to give his A70IT WiFi and GPS
Here's another relevant thread... and another.

Let me know what you end up doing and what works in case you beat me to the setup.
Answer: Globalsat BT-359CS works fine with mine.  Watch the screen saver though.  If it kicks in the bluetooth connection gets messed up.
Answer: I finally purchased a BTGP35KM and everything is fine. Also, I have discovered Google Labs Zone which enables downloading a 10 sq miles map on your Android, thus enabling offline (only found the french version here).


is there any verse where it says men have more physical strength than women?

Question: Assalamu Alaikum. I just want to know is there anywhere in the Quran where it clearly says that,men were given more physical strength when compared to women. if yes please explain it detailly. And if men were given more physical strength then please answer what is given more to women than men quranically?
Comment: These are two questions you should stick on one question per post and the second question seems unclear to me.
Comment: Relevant post [Are men above women in Islam](https://islam.stackexchange.com/questions/17519/are-men-above-women-in-islam)
Comment: It would be helpful if a short answer is provided to this.  especially to the first part of my question. @Medi1Saif
Answer: The short answer is no there's no verse saying that women are given less physical strength than men.
In fact there's no verse that says men have been given something more than women nor vice versa. Both have been given duties and responsibilities and both have been reminded of their duties and responsibilities towards the other when there's something which might apply to one gender exclusively. For example when the Qur'an speaks about given birth Allah reminds the father that it is his duty to feed and cloth etc.
The long answer is that in most general purposes men and women are equal both have their duties and both are ordered to worship and do good deeds, but in some details they might differ.
And anywhere Allah has given what seems more rights to (or exceeded) men he also demanded additional duties. Men are asked to be in charge of the women they are asked to spend their wealth for them, to cloth and feed them and to work for being able to be in charge of their families.

Men are in charge of women by [right of] what Allah has given one over the other and what they spend [for maintenance] from their wealth.  ... (4:34)

Allah has lifted this duty and other duties from the women.

Side notes on this verse

Some scholars added in the context of this verse- other reasons for the supposed accentuation on men like prophet hood etc..
Others pointed at the fact that the statement is general and doesn't necessarily exclude the existence of women who may excel men at some deeds or acts etc. So this verse may apply for a majority of women, but there are indeed women who are stronger than some men and who would be able to do whatever men are able to do.
Some scholars considered not being able to be in charge of the family for a husband as a reason for his wife to nullify the marriage!

And what ever each of them does for the other is a graciousness none of both should deny.

... And do not forget graciousness between you. Indeed Allah , of whatever you do, is Seeing. (2:237)

That's why Allah also says:

... And due to the wives is similar to what is expected of them, according to what is reasonable. But the men have a degree over them [in responsibility and authority].  ... (2:228)

While in most other verses of the Qur'an we are faced to verses addressing both genders equally like in:

And it is He who produced you from one soul and [gave you] a place of dwelling and of storage. We have detailed the signs for a people who understand. (6:98)

saying both genders have one origin, so they have basically same conditions!

And We have certainly honored the children of Adam and carried them on the land and sea and provided for them of the good things and preferred them over much of what We have created, with [definite] preference. (17:70)

saying both genders and humans in general have been preferred over all other creations.

O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted. (49:13)

saying by default everybody -in particular both genders- is equal by Allah the only measurement that makes a distinction is the righteousness (taqwa).

And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me. (51:56)

saying that all humans (male and female) are created to worship Allah!


Is "nice to meet you" an appropriate online salutation?

Question: When one makes a new acquaintance with somebody in person, you may say "it was nice to meet you", e.g. when you leave. What if you make a new acquaintance over the internet, what do you say when you finish the conversation, business transaction, etc.? You didn't actually meet the person, you only exchanged some emails. One could say "it was nice to talk/do business/etc. with you" but that doesn't confer the fact you made a new acquaintance and it was enjoyable experience for you. Does the word meet really work in this case or is something else better?
Comment: It could be understood as "nice to virtually meet you."
Comment: Thank you for asking this question; I've often agonized over the correct phrase to use in that first return email.  "It was nice to exchange bytes with you?"  Ewwwww...
Answer: If you talk with someone on the phone before (or instead of) meeting them in person, it would sound odd to say "nice to meet you." Instead, you would say "It was nice talking with you," and possibly add that you look forward to meeting them (or hope to meet them, at least) in person.
Similarly, an exchange of written correspondence doesn't constitute a meeting either. It would be laughable to use "Nice to meet you" as the close of a letter.
I personally avoid using "meet" to describe an internet encounter, whether in email or chat, even though my fingers often want to type just that. Such an encounter is a kind of meeting, as @kiamlaluno notes in his comment, but it seems so much less than a real meeting that it feels awkward to call it that. Nevertheless, this is the Internet, and what may hold for one medium may not hold for another. I would say that if you have a lengthy, soul-baring chat session with someone via the Web you might well say it was nice to meet that person, since you did exchange more than just a few words. But that would be a figurative usage, and it could apply to a similarly lengthy phone call.
As a final note, people talk about others they have "met online" all the time. So I think this argues for at least considering online encounters as legitimate "meetings" — and if they can be called meetings, I suppose it would not be too surprising to hear "Nice to meet you" in an email. But I think it still involves more than the exchange of a few words.
Comment: I'm surprised *I'm glad to make the acquaintance of you* wan't metioned. Or it's simply wrong to say that?
Comment: @Philoto: You would say "I'm glad to make your acquaintance," not "the acquaintance of you."
Comment: I've used "nice to meet you" before for first meeting on a telephone before and didn't find it odd. It's a telephone-conference, which is still a meeting. Similarly, if you see a blind person, you can still say "nice to see you" without feeling any guilt. We don't need to overly adjust our vocabulary to deal with technical disabilities. Another example is "sounds" for example, we might say "My boss just sent me an email. He *sounds* angry." We know what is meant and don't need to feel any shame in using *sounds* to describe an e-mail (which technically doesn't sound like anything).
Answer: It depends on the formality of the exchange or, more specifically, the necessary level of formality in language that your relationship requires.
If it's an informal relationship, you can be a little more colourful with your use of the English language and perhaps put quotes around "meet" to indicate that you are using the term metaphorically. You are certainly not the first person to worry about using meet in this way and, I believe, the meaning would be understood.
If the relationship is more formal, then the appropriate phrasing would be dictated by the purpose and content of your exchange. In this instance "It was nice chatting/doing business with you" would be more appropriate.

Is “nice to meet you” an appropriate online salutation?