Procedures used for preserving the integrity of the Vedas

Question: It is said that the metering of the sanskrit verses in Vedas and process of recitation imbue certain qualities to the scripture that make it inimitable(if I may use the word) or easy to identify errors and corruptions introduced over time - a kind of a linguistic/phonetic error correction code. What exactly are these precautionary methods used for preserving the Vedas and how are they being put to use? Have any corruption been identified in available sources of Vedas based on this methodology?
Comment: I found the answer to his question in this Agniveer blog - http://agniveer.com/no-textual-corruption-in-vedas/
If anyone would like to add details that may be missed out here, please do.
Answer: Very special procedures are applied to preserve Vedas. Here are some of them:
1) Divisional Protection:
Veda Výas divides Veda at the end of Dwapar into Rig, Yajur and Sama so that it becomes suitable for men of Kaliyuga so that they can just study part of it as they do not have enough memory and intellect to learn all. For eg. There have been several Vedas Vyasa for this purpose, the present Veda Vyasa being Krishna Dwaipayana. For eg. Here
 is what Vishnu Purana tells:

Twenty-eight times have the Vedas been arranged by the great Rishis in the Vaivaswata Manwantara in the Dwápara age, and consequently eight and twenty Vyásas have passed away; by whom, in their respective periods, the Veda has been divided into four. In the first Dwápara age the distribution was made by Swayambhu (Brahmá) himself; in the second, the arranger of the Veda (Veda-vyása) was Prajápati (or Manu); in the third, Uśanas; in the fourth, Vrihaspati; in the fifth, Savitri; in the sixth, Mrityu (Death, or Yama); in the seventh, Indra; in the eighth, Vaśisht́ha; in the ninth, Sáraswata; in the tenth, Tridháman; in the eleventh, Trivrishan; in the twelfth, Bharadwája; in the thirteenth, Antaríksha; in the fourteenth.....

Also families are associated with Shakhas and it is duty of descendent of that family at least to learn his Shakhas and Vedas.
2) Meter protection:
Samhitas are the most important part of Vedas as they are the heard words during meditation. Samhitas of Vedas are itself revealed in specific meters such that not a single syllable can be removed or added from it. For eg. Gayatri mantra of Rigveda is in Gayatri meter and it contains 24 letters. In the similar way Samhitas are revealed in other chhandas like Anusthub, Jagati etc. For eg:

Gayatri= 24 syllables in total. 3 verses each of 8 syllables.
Anushtup= 32 syllables in total. 4 verses each of 8 syllables.
Brihati= 36 syllables in total. 2 verses of 8 syllables, 1 verse of 12 syllables and 1 verse of 8 syllables.
Pankti= 40 syllables in total. 5 verses each of 8 syllables.
Trishtubh= 44 syllables in total. 4 verses each of 11 syllables.
Jagati= 48 syllables in total. 4 verses each of 12 syllables.

And so on other meters also. As each meter has specific number of letter so it helps in protecting Vedas.
3) Swara Protection:
This is an advanced method of protection. It protects not only words of Vedas but also tone of Chanting. Vedas are chanted in level of pitch. They are:

i)Uddata = Pronounced in Normal pitch. Syllables aren't marked for it.
ii)Anudatta = Pronounced in Lower pitch. Syllables are marked by sign "_" below it. Syllables bearing such signs are chanted with lower pitch.
iii)Swarita = Pronounced in Higher pitch. Syllables are marked with longer ' sign above it. They are chanted with higher pitch.
iv) Dirgha swarita = It is Swarita pronounced for longer time period. Represented by longer '' sign above syllable. For eg. Here is an example of Swara marks:

A single mantra has various signs in various places thus giving a specific tone to it. Thus Swara protection protects even tone.
4) Mudra protection:
To protect even the tone more precisely, Mudras ie. position of specific position of hands and heads are moved.

udātta - right hand to shoulder
  anudātta - hand to knee
  svarita - hand moved to 45 degree angle to the body

udātta - head up
  anudātta - head down
  svarita - head turned slightly to the side

udātta - palm turned up
  anudātta - palm down
  svarita- hand moved horizontaly to the right

udātta - thumb on index finger
  anudātta - thumb on little finger
  svarita - thumb on ring finger

In this way an advanced Veda reader can immediately recognize mistake in pronounciation just by looking the chanters hand position.
5) Patha protection:
It is also advanced method applied for protection of Vedas. It includes method of recitation of Vedas by repitition of syllables and words. There are various Patha methods like 'Vakya', 'Krama', 'Pada', 'Jata', 'Ghana' etc.. Among them Ghana is the most advanced method. In Ghana recitation single syllable is recited 13 times. The pattern is
1-2, 2-1, 1-2-3, 3-2-1, 1-2-3 ।
2-3, 3-2, 2-3-4, 4-3-2, 2-3-4।
3-4, 4-3, 3-4-5, 5-4-3, 3-4-5।.....
For eg. Gayatri mantra is chanted in Ghana Path in this way:

ॐ तत् सवितुस् सवितुस् तत् तत् सवितुर् वरेण्यं वरेण्यं सवितुस् तत् तत् सवितुर् वरेण्यम्।
  सवितुर् वरेण्यं वरेण्यं सवितुस् सवितुर् वरेण्यं भर्गो भर्गो वरेण्यं सवितुस् सवितुर् वरेण्यं भर्गः।
  वरेण्यं भर्गो भर्गो वरेण्यं वरेण्यं भर्गो देवस्य देवस्य भर्गो वरेण्यं वरेण्यं भर्गो देवस्य।
  भर्गो देवस्य देवस्य भर्गो भर्गो देवस्य धीमहि धीमहि देवस्य भर्गो भर्गो देवस्य धीमहि।
  देवस्य धीमहि धीमहि देवस्य देवस्य धीमहि धीमहि इति धीमहि।
  धियो यो यो धियो धियो यो नो नो यो धियो धियो यो नः।
  यो नो नो यो यो नः प्रचोदयत् प्रचोदयत् नो यो यो नः प्रचोदयत्।
  नः प्रचोदयत् प्रचोदयत् नो नः प्रचोदयत् प्रचोदयत् इति प्रचोदयत्॥

Thus a 24 syllabled Gayatri becomes such long in this Ghana Path. It helps both in memorization and preservation of Vedas.
For eg if I have to say 'I am writing answer here' in Ghana format. I have to recite like this:

I am - am I - I am writing - writing am I - I am writing, am writing - writing am - am writing answer - answer writing am - am writing answer, writing answer - answer writing - writing answer here - here answer writing - writing answer here, answer here - here answer - answer here ।।

In this way our Vedas were preserved by Vocal tradition from teacher to disciple.
Veda parts:
Vedas are divided into four parts: Samhitas, Brahmanas, Aranyakas and Upanishads. Generally by saying Vedas only Samhita part is understood. However Other are also equally important as well. Brahmanas and Aranyakas are also protected using Swara marks and recitations although Samhitas are preserved most importantly. Due to less importatce in preservation of Brahmanas and Aranyakas, several Brahmanas and Aranyakas are already lost. But in the part of Upanishads it is said that some Upanishads were composed latter and they just claim to be associated with Vedas. Muktika Upanishad listing 108 Upanishads are generally considered Valid but still there is debate among the authenticity of these 108 Upanishads and Muktika Upanishad itself. However there are principle 13 Upanishads quoted by Badarayana in Brahma Sutras. They are considered the most authentic. They are:

Isha, Kena, Katha, Prashna, Mundaka, Mandukya, Aitareya, Taittiriya, Chhandogya, Brihadaranyaka, Kaushitaki, Shvetashvatara, Mahanarayana.

There is no question of authenticity for these Upanishads. However there are other authentic Upanishads as well.
Summarizing in shortcut:

A capable student learns Vedas from a learned teacher. He recites those mantras consisting specific number of syllables  in specific tone, repeats them in specific pattern, moves his body parts (hands and head) in specific way for each syallble. In this way he learns in extremely precise way.
Comment: I was listening to prushsuktam in ghanapath, I am confused why sahasrashirsheti sahasraksha is said but purushah iti purushah is not said, similarly in Gayatri mantra why we do not say varenyam iti varenyam but say dhimahi iti dhimahi. Thank you
Comment: This is the first time I am seeing an explanation for the "mudras" that I have seen in so many videos of veda chanting. Always wondered if this was very specific to a particular tradition since I have not seen the Tamilnadu smarthas practice veda chanting this way.
Comment: @Tezz ji wonderful answer as always. I have a question in relation your answer and Puranas. When Vedas had such perfect system, why is there such a contrast between Vedas (the events and stories) compared to the Puranas. When I say Vedas I dont mean the Upanishad part. Pranam


Usage of ты instead of вы

Question: In the trailer for the latest Terminator film at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ui81ZjE-oQQ, at 0:59 Sarah Connor says "если хочешь жить" to a character she's never met before, then at 1:04 when she says his name he replies "ты знаешь кто я?" She then says "Мы ждем тебя..." I'd have thought "если хотите жить," "Вы знаете кто я," and "Мы ждем Вас" would be more appropriate on a first meeting between adults. Can someone explain why ты would be okay?
Comment: Just a side note: when the original Terminator was first shown on the big screen in Russia — 1992, I think — I distinctly remember it was *"следуйте за мной, если хотите жить"*. Perhaps there's some generational change in norms involved.
Comment: @Nikolay Ershov or this may be due to a change in the plot. In this new film it seems she knows him beforehand so he is not a stranger for her.
Comment: @Anixx I haven't seen it yet but from what I gather, the "come with me" scene is still their first actual meeting. Sarah has known *about* him this time, but Kyle had known *about* Sarah too in the first film. You have a point about the gender difference, though.
Comment: @Anixx That said, there's also the fact that she's technically some 40 years his senior, and one could speculate that in spite of time travel making them close in apparent age, Kyle would be intuitively more likely to use вы towards her than vice versa, having known her for years from an old photograph and as the mother of John Connor who too was decades older than him.
Answer: In a firefight, respecting formalities such as "Вы" would connotate a degree of "hyperfomality" that would be either humorous or imply that the speaker is socially awkward nerdy or overly polite individual. Generally russian language drops into "terse mode" when in combat. The more dangerous the terser it gets.
Also, tho its not the case here, using "Ты" in translated american-set movies is homage to english language lack of ты/вы distinction. It falls on the translator to exercise creative license to figure out where ты or вы is more appropriate based on the context.
Comment: I see, and would this apply to talking to an enemy as well, not just a fellow soldier?  At 2:10 one Terminator tells another Terminator "Я ждал тебя" before they start fighting.
Comment: motivation is somewhat different but yes, absolutely. in addition, one would say "вы" to the enemy to show a kind of battlefield respect, which isn't uncommon.
Comment: "В боевой обстановке офицеры переходят на мат и информативность команд возрастает втрое"
Answer: They are young people, of the same age, and it is totally possible to use "ты" among such people. Especially if the one who starts such an address is a girl. I often get addressed this way by girls I do not know.
Conversely, addressing by вы would likely show she does not want to do anything with the person except purely official duties (that is speaking as an official person on duty, ex officio, like a police officer, rescuer, etc) or that she thinks that he is too old/unattractive.
I think if he was handicapped or his face was not visible (such as being in a bike helmet or in a mask) she would be more likely to use вы.
Answer: "Ты" is intrusion in a private space. If people are friends or relatives such intrusion is usually permitted (and "ты" is used), otherwise "вы" is preferred.
Usage of "ты" in "если хочешь жить" implies that there is no time for formalities: concept of "your private space" is now useless, either you die or you allow someone else to tell what you have to do in order to survive.
Basically this is what happens to Bilbo when he joins the Dwarves in their quest: he has to forget about handkerchieves and other necessities  of his prior life (including his private space), because now they tread a dangerous road.

Usage of ты instead of вы


Create "/blog" sub-site on WP multisite network

Question: I've had a site for a few years that till yesterday consisted of two WP 3.2.1 installations- one for the main site and one for the blog, which had a different theme and was located at [site.com]/blog.
We need a few more blogs now, and I wanted to unify the user database, so I decided to convert the main site into a network and then migrate the blog over as a new site within the network.
Initial issues were:

WP doesn't allow existing sites to use the subfolder system when converting to a multisite network (only subdomain)

Got around this by first going with subdomain, then switching to subfolder with appropriate changes in wp-config.php and .htaccess, as documented here

WP doesn't allow you to create a network site called "blog"

I got around this by creating a site with some
really random name, then just searching through the DB and replacing
that name with "blog", resulting in a site called "blog" (WP only enforces the "blog" name ban upon site creation)

The main site gets a hardcoded "blog" slug for all permalinks

I used this workaround to remove the slug (basically go to network admin panel, edit settings for main site, manually remove "blog" from the permalink, then go to main site dashboard, open permalink settings (but don't edit or save))

So now I have a site (in the network admin settings) called "blog," the posts on the main site are now back to the old permalinks (e.g. [site.com]/2012/01/20/hello-world), and even categories and such are working fine on the main site.
Problem is I'm unable to actually access the new "blog" subsite.  Going to [site.com]/blog/wp-admin shows me the main site's dashboard, instead of the new "blog" subsite's.  More strangely, going to [site.com]/blog redirects to [site.com]/2011/05/04/blog/ and gives a 404 (no idea where that date, etc. are coming from).
Main reason I need the subsite to be [site.com]/blog is I want to avoid breaking all the links we have out on FB/Twitter/etc.
Any ideas?
Comment: Does this answer your question? [How do I get /blog on my WordPress multisite](https://wordpress.stackexchange.com/questions/536/how-do-i-get-blog-on-my-wordpress-multisite)
Answer: "blog" is a reserved name within the Wordpress system, so you really can't be using it as you are trying to do.
A better solution would be to name the site something else that is a legal wordpress site name, and then use .htaccess to redirect the old links to the new ones.


Why is my Radon level high even with passive ventilation in place?

Question: We have about 6 PVC pipes with Aqua covers on them that were installed when we built our log cabin.  We were told that they were for the Radon to escape.
   We just had a 24-hr test done and the number was 14. They said it was too high and we needed to get a "something inhibitor". I have no idea what they're talking about.   My son's bedroom is down there for five years - he seems fine?  Are these pipes that we have sporadically around the house for radon gas escape?
     We also have one about 60' away from the house - it's a drain pipe for gases to be released.
         What do I do and do you know where or what they're talking about?
Answer: Radon is serious business
But at least there's some cool science around it.   Ever wonder why volcanos exist? Why is the earth hot? Turns out it is radioactive decay.  When God created the earth He "aged" it 5 billion years, which destroyed all radioactive substances except uranium, which has such a long half-life that some still exists.   "Half-life" means the element spontaneously decays randomly - in 4.5 billion years, half your uranium-238 will decay into Thorium-230.  That decays much sooner into Radium-226 (which was discoved by Marie Curie in 1898, yes, a woman scientist then). That's all well and fine, these are all heavy metals that combine with other elements to make heavy molecules, and just stay in the earth.  The heat of decay becomes volcanos.
However, Radium-226 decays into Radon-222.  Problem.  Radon is also a noble gas, to enter a whole 'nother branch of science.  The noble gas you know best is helium: it's like air, but lighter than air.  Noble gases  are complete by themselves, they don't want to combine with any other elements - which is why they are gases.
The problem is radon doesn't want to stay in the earth.  It is lighter than earth, so it tries to go straight up, and heads for places like basements.   However, unlike helium it is heavier than air, so it likes to collect in low places.
Radon is highly unstable (short half-life), which means it is highly radioactive. It will soon decay into Polonium-218, famous for being used to kill Russian dissidents.  Noble gases are harmless, but if radon decays while it's in your lungs, two things happen.  First, it emits alpha radiation which lungs are vulnerable to.  Second, it turns into polonium-218 which is not a gas, it's a heavy metal, so it falls to the bottom of your lungs instead of being exhaled. So the bottom of your lungs take damage from the polonium both from the heavy metal toxins and from the radiation when it decays. Not good.
This is a natural process. Nuclear technology had nothing to do with it.
This damage is cumulative. Every decay is a "dice roll" - 99.9% of hits, the DNA damage is detected and the cell self-destructs. But that is done by the 17p and 11q chromosomes, if that takes a hit, the error may replicate endlessly.  That's what cancer is.
The upshot is, do whatever you need to get that stuff outta there.  No more sleeping in the basement - not even tonight - and get some windows open throughout the house to keep fresh air rolling through.
Given the large number of pipes, I gather this is a "passive system" - they are hoping convection or gravity would carry the radon away.  That was probably a good bet, but not every good bet wins.  This one didn't.  The next step is to use small fans to force the air to circulate.  I wouldn't wing-ding this, this is one of the extremely rare cases where I say at least consult with a professional.
If you're into DIY, ask them how much work you can do yourself, like get power wired to the right places in the right way, e.g. On the generator board but not on a circuit that might trip, e.g. The table saw circuit or AFCI/GFCI.
Dueling safety systems are a problem, like a low-water trip on a fire pump.  Save the pump, lose the hospital. You don't want a GFCI saving you from a ground fault by shutting down the radon system.
Answer: Pipes are installed under your house and extend up through the roof. If radon will passively escape and lower your radon gas level, then you're fine. If the radon gas level does not go down, then you'll need to hook up a fan on one of the pipes running up through your house and "exhaust" them out from under your house.
Answer: Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that can cause lung cancer. You can't see or smell radon. Testing is the only way to know your level of exposure. See https://www.epa.gov/radon for more info. That said, it looks like you've tested for it by a certified Radon tester and discovered that it's above acceptable levels. You should mitigate it by contacting a Radon Mitigation Specialist who will install a noiseless fan on the exhaust pipe connected to the pipes under your house. Once installed, the test should be taken again to ensure levels are below 4 pCi/L. In the meantime, don't let anyone sleep in the basement. You can find professionals in the EPA link I referenced.
Comment: How much do you charge for a project like this?
Answer: With an action level of 2.0 pCi/L, the cancer risk presented by radon gas is hundreds of times greater than the risks allowed for carcinogens in our food and water.
If you have readings of 14 - I wouldn't let my kid sleep in the house.  People used to smoke in houses and have their children exposed to cigarette smoke.
The pipes allow you to either passively have radon escape or to attach a powered fan to depressurize the soil gases and suck them out of the house.   Radon is a decay product of Uranium and is found in granites and bedrock.
Comment: Curies - a unit of measure also named after Marie Curie, along with curium and polonium (she's from Poland).  Though I am thinking we should rename it Putinium.


Seperating bathroom light and exhaust fan on single switch

Question: I have a single switch that turns on both the bathroom light and a separate exhaust fan at the same time. I want to change this to be able to power them on independently via a dual rocker switch or two switches. I have read that I may have run a new wire for the exhaust fan. I'm a bit confused on the wiring and need clarification on which wires are which. I have three wires crimped together with a wire nut which one wire seems to be going to one of the terminals.  Would this be possible without running a separate wire for the exhaust fan?
Comment: Can you provide a zoomed-in photo of the back of the box's interior, with the box in the same state as your prior photo?
Answer: It is possible that the two black wires (other than that going to the switch) are going separately to the fan and light. If so, the change is easy.
To test this do the following:

turn off the breaker
separate the three black wires nutted together
wirenut the black to the switch with one of the others and insulate the other in a separate wirenut
turn the breaker back on test the switch. Hopefully, the switch will operate only one of the fan or light.
turn the breaker back off
switch the black wires so the other one is connected to the wire to the switch
turn the breaker back on and test the switch. Hopefully, it will only control the other of the light or fan
Turn the breaker back off and optionally restore the original wiring

If the test results followed what I marked "hopefully", you are in business. Remove the other wire to the switch and wirenut it to two wires to run to one side of the dual switch (if one side of the switch has a removable bridge, just connect the single wire to that side). Connect the two blacks originally wirenutted together to the other side of the switches (if that side has a removable bridge, remove it).
For the pigtail wires, you should use the same guage wire as the rest. Examine the wires for printing on the insulation (look for an AWG number).
I'd also recommend against using the back push-in connectors. It's better to use the screw terminals.
Comment: I have to say, it is highly, highly unlikely that the two separate cables go to the fan and light separately. The likely scenario is that the two blacks and both constant hots and are the feed.
Comment: it depends on the age of the house I have found this plus a ceiling heat element in 1 switch, the switch failed so the owner put them on 1 switch.  years later wanted them seperated but forgot what he had done, crazy to have a heat element at your exhaust fan but that was a popular fixture in the late 50s early 60s
Answer: There's no way to know for sure what the wires are for, without actually testing to find out. The bundle of black wires could be power fed to the box (likely), or independent wires to the fan/light (not as likely). There are a few ways to figure out what's going on.
Using a non-contact voltage tester
This method is fairly safe, as you're not working with exposed live electrical parts.

Put the twist-on wire connector back on, and separate the bundle of black wires from the switch as much as possible.
Turn the breaker on.
Hold the non-contact voltage tester near the bundle of black wires.
Toggle the switch.

If the voltage detector senses voltage no matter which way the switch is flipped, you're out of luck and will have to run an additional wire.
Using a multimeter/voltmeter
This way requires working on exposed live electrical wires, so don't attempt it if you're not comfortable with that.

Pull the grounding wires out of the box, enough so that you can get a probe on them.
Put the twist-on wire connector back on the black bundle.
Turn the breaker on.
Stick one probe from the meter into the twist-on wire connector, so that it makes contact with the exposed wires and/or the interior metal cap.
Touch the other probe to the grounding conductor.
Toggle the switch.

If you measure line voltage no matter which way the switch is flipped, you're out of luck and will have to run an additional wire.
Eliminating wires

Remove one of the wires from the black bundle (not the one going to the switch).
Put the twist-on wire connector back on the bundle, and put one on the black wire that was removed from the bundle.
Turn on the breaker.
Toggle the switch

If nothing happens when the switch is in either position, the isolated wire is the feed to the box. If both the light and fan come on when the switch is toggled, the isolated wire is probably feeding through to another circuit. In both these cases, you'll have to run an additional wire.
If only the light or fan turns on when the switch is toggled, then you're in luck. Connect the wire that's on the switch (not the one leading to the bundle), to the common terminal of the new double switch. Connect each of the wires from the bundle (excluding the one to the switch), to separate load terminals on the new switch. Install the switch and coverplate, and enjoy.


what instance name in connection string for Dynamic management Views

Question: I want to run the following query ::
SELECT S.*
  FROM sys.dm_exec_requests S
  JOIN sys.dm_exec_sessions R ON r.session_id = s.blocking_session_id

It works when i run it in SQL Server Console.
But I haven't been able to do the same thru code.  I am using the following connection string:
"Data Source=localhost\\sqlexpress;Initial Catalog=Master;Integrated Security = True"

Till now I have used sys and MsSQLSystemResource in the place of Master in the connection string ; But i am facing same error which says that there is problem connecting .. instance name could be wrong ..
i keep getting the following error
System.Data.SqlClient.SqlException (0x80131904): A network-related or  instance-specific error occurred while establishing a connection to SQL Server. The server was not found or was not accessible. Verify that the instance name is correct and that SQL Server is configured to allow remote connections. (provider: SQL Network Interfaces, error: 26 - Error Locating Server/Instance Specified)

Answer: Data Source=(local)\sqlexpress

I assume the double \ was for escaping
Comment: yes it was ! shuldnt it be ?
Comment: i didnt understand your answer btw. what are the braces trying to suggest ? is that the syntax ?
Comment: That is the syntax for a local SQL Server install.
Comment: i am going for a remote connection. i have also gone for "Data Source=\\sqlexpress;Initial Catalog=Master;Integrated Security = True" but even that dont work
Comment: Can you add the exact error please?


How to adjust the lens in dark?

Question: I have CANON EOS-600D DSLR.
few days before I was on my terrace to capture some sunset scenes. When I was returning It was almost dark but I saw a bat flown to  nearby tree and hung itself there. I started taking its pictures with flash on but was not able to adjust the 55-250mm lens properly.
Later by seeing the previous images I did some trial and error and successfully clicked the pictures.
But is there any faster way to do the same? I am a beginner and trying to learn of my own.
Comment: What exactely do you mean by "adjusting the lens"? Zoom, focus, aperture?
Comment: or http://photo.stackexchange.com/questions/9031/how-do-you-focus-in-the-dark
Comment: @MichaelClark i think I am asking about Wild life.. not landscape..
Comment: If the bat is just hanging in the tree, then it's pretty much like a landscape scene in that you have a (reasonable) amount of time to focus.
Answer: I assume by not being able to adjust the lens properly you probably mean focusing. In case your cameras auto-focus is not able to focus correctly in the dark your best bet would be to flick to manual focus and by trial error get the right focus.
A good way to easily get the correct manual focus is by using live view (this can be tricky in dark as you might just get a completely dark screen).
To get some more ideas you can read these articles:

Focusing in the Dark
How to Focus a Camera in the Dark
www.bencoffmanphotography.com/2013/01/night-photography-101-focusing-in-the-dark/
TIPS FOR FOCUSING IN THE DARK - www.beyondmegapixels.com/2010/02/tips-for-focusing-in-the-dark/
Answer: General:
I assume the problem is focus and not camera shake given the flash should freeze motion pretty well.
Without sufficient light and contrast your camera will not autofocus. Most flash units will have a focus assist that draws bright red lines on the subject, allowing for a contrast the camera can focus on. This will only work when your Canon camera is in one shot focus mode (do not confuse with the drive mode). If in AI Servo mode, the flash focus assist will not work. The flash focus also has a limited range -check the flash manual. to set focus modes you'll need to be in a "creative" mode such as Av, Tv, or M. (Not the green rectangle mode)
Is the camera in one of the creative modes? Such as Av, Tv, or M? You'll need to use one of those modes so you can set the camera to use one focal point. Center point is best. You'll see the focal point as a red rectangle when you autofocus. What your manual may not tell you is the camera is actually focusing on an area at least twice as wide as the rectangle you see. If it finds something more contrasty in the back ground -even outside the red box but close, it will choose the higher contrast object for focus. Select center point focus and be aware of other higher contrast light just outside the focus rectangle.
In very low light, you may just have to use manual focus. Some more expense lenses have distance scales so you can focus by approximate distance, but I hate answers that tell you to buy different stuff. Your eye can focus better at lower light than the camera can. Look for anything on or near the bat with a glare or shine and adjust focus until that glare or shine is minimized. Otherwise look for a line that you can judge is sharper or not.
A final option is to cheat. Get a friend or a light source you can aim and leave in place to provide extra light for focus. The flash will overpower it, so it won't show much in your final image. Otherwise, autofocus with the camera on a tripod while the light source is on, them turn off autofocus  and the light source before taking your shot. In this case you could even forego the flash, set for ISO 125 and take a long exposure -assuming the bat and the tree aren't moving. You may find the natural light is more interesting. -Or cheat and set a light source at an interesting angle on the bat! (I once used truck headlights to illuminate a news photograph of a police armored vehicle on a dark country road.)
Summary: Av or M mode, one shot focus or manual focus, center point focus, look for contrast or lines to focus on, add light even if only during focusing.
I love night photography without flash. Lots of interesting light. Good luck.
Comment: I was with Av Mode and manual focus. autofocus was not set
Comment: +1 for "...area at least twice as wide as the rectangle you see." Sometimes much more than twice!   http://photo.stackexchange.com/a/43813/15871

How to adjust the lens in dark?


Stopping the audio after playing with AVAudioPlayer

Question: Hi guys hope you all can help me with this issue.
What I would like to do is when user left view B to view A, the audio plays, when user left view A to view B, the audio stops.
so when user left view B (removing viewB from superview) back to the main view which is view A, the methods playIT & hahaPlay will be called. When user left view A to View B (view A add subview B) the stopPlaying method will be called instead. But here's my problem, even the stopPlaying method is called, the audio is not stopped. I realised the alert is shown but for some reason the statement> [audioPlayer stop]; is not functioning.
I've already defined the audio player in header file just fyi.
All the methods below are in the viewcontroller called soundView.
Sorry I might be doing the whole thing in a wrong way, maybe some of you can enlighten me and correct my mistakes?
-(void)playIT{

    filePath = [[NSBundle mainBundle] pathForResource:@"6431"
                                               ofType:@"aiff"];
    fileURL = [[NSURL alloc] initFileURLWithPath:filePath];
    audioPlayer = [[AVAudioPlayer alloc]
                   initWithContentsOfURL:fileURL error:nil];
}

-(void)hahaPlay{

    UIAlertView *alert = [[UIAlertView alloc] initWithTitle:@"playing" message:@" playing" delegate:nil cancelButtonTitle:@"Yep, I did." otherButtonTitles:nil];
    [alert show];
    [alert release];
    [audioPlayer prepareToPlay];
    if(![audioPlayer isPlaying]){

        [audioPlayer play];
    }

- (void)stopPlaying{
    UIAlertView *alert = [[UIAlertView alloc] initWithTitle:@"Stop playing" message:@"Stop playing" delegate:nil cancelButtonTitle:@"Yep, I did." otherButtonTitles:nil];
    [alert show];
    [alert release];

    [audioPlayer stop];

}

Answer: Maybe you're losing the reference somewhere by mistake, try setting a breakpoint near the stop call, and checking audioPlayer just in case that the audioPlayer is nil. Just saying because usually this is the reason for most of these type of problems for me...
Also will the following work?
[audioPlayer pause]
audioPlayer.currentTime = 0;


New tag "verb" in difference to "verbatim"

Question: there is now only "verbatim" and it should make sense to have the short form "verb". "verbatim" is more general for a lot of verbatim environments and the problem having verbatim code as arguments. "verb" is a specific tag for inline verbatim material.
Comment: There are only 27 questions with the [verbatim] tag so far. I don't really see the point of splitting it.
Comment: I agree, but the tag description of both should make this clear. Also: Should both tags be allowed on a question?
Comment: I disagree, but I'm not an expert in tagging questions.
Answer: I generally prefer tags that are about a concept to tags for a specific implementation of the concept. The exception is when the concept is to large as to be useful; then specific subtags are in order (e.g. the graphics tag and the tikz-pgf and pstricks tags; or fonts and fontspec). Also I prefer tags about packages to tags about commands.
The reason for this is that tagging should primarily help in finding information. If there are too much questions per tag, sorting by tag doesn't help much. If there are only very few questions per tag, then there are too many possible tags to look up and information gets distributed across too many places.
Anecdotal evidence has show that users don't particular care about which verbatim implementation does the job and are often unaware that there exist several implementations. As verbatim is a relatively low frequency tag, I don't see a reason to split it into implementations.
However, to avoid confusion, it might be sensible to rename so that it is clear that it is about the concept of verbatim input (maybe to verbatim-text?).
Then if the need ever arises, we can easily add a verb sub-tag. (Though I doubt that that need will arise anytime soon: there are currently 5 questions that would be tagged with verb.)


What happens to All Access albums in my library when I unsubscribe from Google All Access?

Question: So, I added a few albums from Google All Access to my Google Music library. When I look at my library, I cannot tell the difference between albums I purchased (prior to my All Access subscription) and albums added from All Access. If I unsubscribe from All Access, what happens to the albums I added to my library from All Access?
Answer: That's exactly what happened to me today:
My free trial finished and I lost all my All-Access tracks from my Library and Playlists.
When I called Google's Support they told me the tracks would re-appear whenever I paid the monthly fee, so I did it and fortunately it worked!
Still I don't know how to distinguish between All-Access and Purchased/Uploaded tracks.
I created a similar post: Google Play Music: How can I distinguish between Purchased/Uploaded and All-Access tracks?
Regards!


Can I puddle a little 2 part epoxy to fix a problem with a flood poly coat

Question: I want to put the final coat(s) of wipe on poly over a gloss poly next to last coat of material. I previously applied many coats of Gloss polyurethane, but now I need to finish this project today. Can I puddle some epoxy over a few little problem areas, so that I can sand and put on a final cost of wipe on satin poly?
Comment: Any one had this problem before?
Comment: I doubt this would do what you want it to do. I had written a more comprehensive Answer but I lost it when I logged off last night! Long story short, this probably won't work as well as you hope in the short term (problems with adhesion and perfect edges) and long term it's likely that the fills will become more and more visible (epoxy discolours with light exposure).
Answer: Since it's due in a day, and this is a year later, I suspect that I'm too late.  That ship has sailed.
Epoxy I suspect is a lot harder than your other finish, and I think you will find that sanding it without totally destroying the finish around it will be difficult.
Since the problem is a 'hole' fill the hole with the same material you are using to finish it.  Water based varnishes something like 30% solids, so you will need to fill it a bunch of times.  E.g.:  If your defect is 400 microns (.4 mm or about 1/64 of an inch) fill, let dry, it's now 280.  Fill let dry its about 200.  140. 100 70 50 35 25 ...
You can get there a bit faster if the earlier coats have some form of bulk additive, such as fumed silica (used in fiberglass finish coats.)  Ideally the mix will be close to the colour of your base material.

If you must turn in in a day, just finish your coats, and leave it.  You can finish it later.  The epoxy trick, may leave you with a destroyed finish that requires stripping and starting over.
Answer: Use a small quantity of yacht varnish.  I will fill your irregularities and when it is thoroughly dry you can sand it flat and proceed as planned. Polyurethane will not fill holes in itself very well.
Comment: Spar varnish has a reputation for yellowing. I think it would become very obvious over time.
Comment: Possibly.  I look at that piece of work every day and have done so for the last 15 years.  Polyurethane goes yellow too and there is no sign of a difference. None.
Comment: Good to know! I would have assumed it was worse over that much time.
Comment: @CharlieKilian, you're right to have reservations about this. 'Spar varnish' isn't a thing, it's a class of thing and some are *significantly* more yellow than a typical oil-based poly right in the can, and they ain't getting any lighter! The rule of thumb is, the more oil in the varnish the more it discolours with light exposure and there's no way around that.


Casting a shadow over a whole scene with GLSL in 2D?

Question: I'm making a (non-isometric) side scrolling 2D game and I want each fragment that I draw to cast a small drop shadow when it is near another object. What sort of algorithms are used in fragment shaders to cast shadows in 2D games?
Comment: Could you clarify what exactly you want to do? What do you mean when you say that every fragment should cast a small drop shadow?
Answer: you need to provide much better information to get a very useful answer, you are vague. (what does near mean in 2d? that doesn'f fit with how shadows work at all...)
the lazy, easy solution is to not use shaders at all - draw everything twice, a first pass with flat colour offset down and to the left/right - this is the drop shadow, then render everything normally over the top. you can combine this with a blur (using a shader if you must) in between the two passes for a bit of polish, and unless you are on a mobile platform or pushing lots of triangles the expense should be fine.
if you have depth to your scene (you really need to clarify this, it is easily the most important point) then you might want to use depth testing to not cast shadows onto "nothing". If that is not quite enough then maybe vary brightness and blur depending on the depth of the existing scene fragments vs. the current object fragments being drawn. varying shadows based on depth is fairly complicated, and you typically need to resolve and sample a render target to do this, as well as writing some vertex + fragment program - in which case you might as well just use shadow mapping (which is well researched and documented - you should Google that if you decide it is appropriate)
Answer: It really depends on how your game graphics are set up and how you want this effect to work. In 2d "shadows" aren't really uniquely defined so you need to decide what sort of behaviour you want from them.
If you're looking for something like drop-shadows in Photoshop then you first need the relative depths of objects to be defined somehow, either individually or in bins (i.e foreground, middle, background).
To actually cast a drop-shadow a simple method would be to render all onscreen shadow-casting objects to a texture w/ a simple shader that outputs opaque black (for solid pixels) or transparent/0-alpha (for empty pixels); then use this "shadow buffer" w/ multiply blending on the shadow-receiving objects -- you can offset the shadow buffer to make the drop-shadow fall e.g to the left and down.
If you want objects to both cast and receive shadows (i.e object-by-object shadows instead of layer-by-layer) you could try a similar approach where you iterate over all objects from front to back, rendering the object w/ the current shadow-buffer applied and then adding the object to the shadow buffer. This would involve a lot of texture binding/unbinding though (assuming you have hundreds of objects) so I'm not sure if it's a good solution.


Creating Mech Sounds Similar to Gundam Wing

Question: So, long story short, I'm working on a video game and I've been asked to make Giant Mech Robot sound effects similar to those of the old Gundam Wing shows. So more synthesized stuff it seems. I've attached a link at the bottom of this for an example video clip I've been given. What I've done so far was to go out and record trucks, machinery, jacks and fork lifts, pitch shifted, added reverb, compressed and added a variety of effects through busses and so forth. (I use Logic Pro usually for my audio editing) Unfortunately my team came back and said it sounded too mechanical, and they're right. My effects have ended up sounding more like realistic mechs than a synthesized cartoon effect as in the link. I'm pretty decent at creating things but I'm sorta stumped at how to go about this and was curious if anyone had any ideas for how I should approach this.
Answer: First off, I think it's cool they didn't just ask you to make it sound like Transformers! But I think it's a difficult task because the sound in the clip is very stylised and not actually in very tight sync to the action.
It feels like you hear more swooping/flying around and atmos than actual synchronised movement sounds, so perhaps part of the challenge is how to implement sounds like those into the game. Might be more difficult if your mech is walking most of the time.
The sounds themselves seem like old-school synth and effects, lots of resonant filter sweeps of different material running through effects and reverb. On the synth side you could try different combinations of oscillators and ring modulation both modulated with LFO sweeps. I'd also try starting with the sounds you've got and trying effect them more heavily.
I've been making some interesting sounds by loading in snippets of sounds (music also works well) in as impulse responses into an IR reverb, depending on the sounds and mix it can add a kind of resonance, fusing the two sounds together. I'd try this on some of your mechanical sounds using synth snippets as IR's, then start pitch shifting and layering again with these.
Good luck though, sounds like a fun project!
Answer: I would suggest adding some square or sawtooth waveform synthesizers to what you already have.  From your description it seems like you were somewhat satisfied with your mech sounds before your feedback but ended up agreeing with it.  To me this says that the sounds you created are sufficiently 'Giant Mech Robot'-like but that they are not properly stylized for this particular project.
I would personally accomplish this by recording the synth sounds, line them up against the recorded samples, then determine what the best solution for the mix is.  You may be able to just line them up and set the levels but that may be problematic for some more dynamic samples.  This could be handled by automation but, depending on how many samples you are working with/creating, that may not be incredibly efficient.  Beyond that you could try side-chaining a noise gate to the recorded samples, setting the attack short, so that the synth comes right in, and the release long, so that the synth sound will fade against the more quiet dynamics but still be present.  You could mix this so that the synth sound is way on top, giving more of the desired sound for the project but still allowing you to hear the 'natural' sounds that were initially stimulating your 'Giant Mech Robot' vision.  By having the synth sounds dynamically controlled by the 'natural' sounds, you can give 'natural' dynamics to your synthetic sound.  This approach could also give you a lot of issues but the biggest ones that come to mind are samples that start quiet and end loud (this approach basically wouldn't work with short attack/long release), longer samples with only one dynamic peak triggering the gate and samples that have several dynamic levels, such as each noise within the sample getting louder.  I think that automation will yield the best results for dynamics and will allow you more freedom to have the synth not strictly follow the sample dynamics.  However, this could be the most time consuming approach.
For the synth sound itself I would have a few ideas as well.  You can add a sense of motion to the sound by using the pitch bend.  For example, I imagine an arm going outward bending the pitch slightly up.  This idea could be used very blatantly by bending the pitch dramatically, like more than a 1/2 step (one note on a keyboard), or very subtly by only slightly bending.  The subtle approach could allow the effect to remain subconscious and just be more believable.   You can also side-chain different components of the synthesizer to your samples.  This will allow the natural dynamics of the sample to make a map for a change in tone.  For example, the cutoff frequency of the synth would work well.  So when the sample is loud, the filter is more open, allowing more of the noisy harmonics to come through, and when the sample is more quiet, the filter closes itself, quieting the harmonics and rounding out the tone.
Within Logic I would recommend using the EXS24 plug-in.  This allows you to create synth sounds using 1, 2 or 3 oscillators, and you can pick which waveform you want for each.  You can then blend those as you wish, which can also be controlled by the side-chain.  For instance, 1 square wave and 1 sawtooth, mixed with more square; the side-chain will effect the mix of the two oscillators so that the louder the sample, the more sawtooth you hear.
I like the idea of trying to make the synth imitate the samples because it will probably help bring a sense of life and realism to the robots, which is probably why a few of my suggestions involve side-chaining.  You can also check out the 'Enveloper' plug-in but I'm not familiar enough with it to say much about it.
If you don't know much about side-chaining or how to do it within Logic, this video is a great tutorial.
If you want some explanation about the ESX24, this video is also great.  Part two of this video is more about the layout and how to actually use it.
I highly recommend watching all the SFLogicNinja videos to gain a higher understanding for the resources within Logic but it is formatted somewhat like a blog where he will talk about himself and what he has been up to, sometimes for an entire video.  His videos are also only up to Logic 9, so if you have 10, there may be a few slightly different things but the functionality should still be there.
Answer: If you had access to Camel Alchemy it could be an interesting direction to take the samples you already have recorded and mould them into the more stylised sounds your after. Import them  as Additive/Spectral then you can utilise Alchemy's additive synthesis modules which I think could work for what your after. There is also a whole bank of resonant filters for you to have fun with...
Answer: Wow!  I was Googling Gundam Wing sounds for article research and did not expect to find such a recent discussion!
Good luck on this.  Please let us know some technique you use to replicate these very intersting and iconic sounds!
I also am happy they simply did not ask for transformer sounds (even if that would have made your job easier!)
One thing I have been using a lot of pitch envelopes in Reaper.  With pitch envelopes you could take a servo or machine sound and quickly pitch it up or down which would give you the mechanical base but add enough artificiality to possibly achieve some of what they are asking.  Logic has pitch envelopes for the beginnning and end of audio reions but you dont have the flexibility to draw in it like you do in Reaper.


Can we apply for a Schengen tourist visa while visiting another country on a short-stay visa?

Question: We are Indians and will be visiting UK on short-stay visas for about five months.
Can we apply for Schengen tourist visas while we are in London?
Comment: @Phil The other question missed critical details (which is why I did not answer it at the time). I think it's best to keep this one and close the other one.
Comment: @Relaxed, fine by me.  I think you answered and I flagged at pretty much the same time.
Answer: Usually no, you won't be able to apply for a Schengen visa in the UK.
The general rule, defined in article 6 of the Schengen visa code is that

An application shall be examined and decided on by the consulate of the competent Member State in whose jurisdiction the applicant legally resides.

And you're obviously not a resident in the UK so you should not apply there. The same article does however open another possibility, namely that

A consulate of the competent Member State shall examine and decide on an application lodged by a third-country national legally present but not residing in its jurisdiction, if the applicant has provided justification for lodging the application at that consulate.

If you just want to apply because it's more convenient for you, I think you can just forget about it. Beside exceptional circumstances the only thing I can think of is to argue that it was too early to apply in India (you are not supposed to apply more than 3 months in advance for a Schengen visa and you intend to stay 5 months in the UK).
But even if you do have a convincing justification, most consulates in London have stricter requirements. For example, here is what's on the website of the French Consulate General in London:

Your UK residency must have at least 3 months validity after the intended date of departure from the Schengen area.
As per the decree 2008-1176 of the 13th of November 2008, the French Consulate, London, is not competent in processing visa applications of people not resident in the UK, i.e. holders of 'C-Visit' visas or of a British visa valid for 6 months or less. People who are not resident in the UK must apply for their Schengen visas at the French Consulate in their country of residence.

So even though they could (or perhaps even should) entertain the possibility that you have a good reason to apply in London without being a resident, they are obviously not very friendly to the idea. (I haven't checked all 20+ consulates in London but I came across similar language from at least half-a-dozen of them in the past.)
Furthermore, nearly all Schengen consulates in London use some third-party outsourcing company to filter visa applications. They will just go through their checklist, notice that you don't have the right UK visa and reject your application (this means they will decline to process it, it does not count as a refusal and there will be no traces of this). Merely getting to talk to an actual consular officer who knows the rules and could accept to examine it will probably be an uphill battle.
If at all possible, I would therefore apply in India (or in your current country of residence, if it's not India).
If you positively can't do that and still want to try your luck in London, I would try to take a print out of the relevant parts of the regulation and use it to insist (calmly but firmly) that your application should be examined nonetheless. Also join a short letter for the consulate itself in which you can show that you know the rules (mention article 6(2)) and lay out your argumentation.
Comment: This is hugely helpful. Thank you for taking the time to provide detailed information and your suggestions. :) Quite often it's the opinions / suggestions that make all the difference!
Comment: Could you cross-post this reply to http://travel.stackexchange.com/questions/73277/i-am-indian-traveling-to-singapore-for-a-week-on-a-tourist-visa-and-need-to-app ?
Answer: 2.8. Can a consulate accept an application from an applicant not residing in the
jurisdiction of the consulate?
Legal basis: Visa Code, Article 6
As a general rule, only applications from persons who reside legally in the jurisdiction of the
competent consulate (as described in points 2.1-2.5) should be accepted.
However, an application may be accepted from a person legally present – but not residing - in
the jurisdiction of the consulate where the application is submitted, if he can justify why the
application could not be lodged at a consulate in his place of residence. It is for the consulate
to appreciate whether the justification presented by the applicant is acceptable.
"Non-residing applicant" means an applicant who resides elsewhere but is legally present
within the jurisdiction of the consulate where he submits the application.
"Legally present" means that the applicant is entitled to stay temporarily in the jurisdiction on
the basis of the legislation of the third country where he is present either for a short stay or
EN 24 EN
when he is allowed to stay for a longer period of time while maintaining his permanent
residence in another third country.
https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/sites/homeaffairs/files/policies/borders/docs/c_2010_1620_en.pdf


Use views result to send data to a rule

Question: I have a custom view that display several email address.
How I can use these addresses to send it an email with a rule?
Answer: This module will help you views_rules
From module page:

View loop
A view loop is similar to a regular Rules loop, but allows looping
  over rows of view results.
Collect view result rows (action):
This action collects each variable in all view result rows into list
  variables for use in Rules.
Comment: Thanks!
I'm trying...
I can extrapolate the email to send a message. But there is a way to use the also other fields (title, name) to compose a custom message?

I'm sorry but I'm a newbie to drupal!
Comment: @vincenzodb of course you can create a custom message. You just need to add title and name fields to the view, and use those fields in the custom message.
Answer: See subhojit777's answer first. views_rules is a good module I guess but I have personally used Views Bulk Operations with Rules module and the outcome was great!
When Rules and Views Bulk Operations (VBO) modules are present, you will see the integrations in both ends.
You can use a Rule (to be clear, a Rules Set) as an action for a VBO form. You can basically, for example,  have a button and a table with a list of nodes and checkboxes so you can choose a set of nodes and click the button to run the Rules set on the chosen nodes.
In other words, execute a Rules Set on a selection of items using VBO module.
You can do this from the other side as well.
Create a View, and you will see an action to execute a Rules Set on a View using Rules itself.
For an example, you can promote all blog nodes made by the current user to the front page when the user updates his account.
This can be done by creating a Rules Set that promotes given node to the front page, and a View that lists all blog nodes from a given user ID contextual filter , and a Rule that runs when the user profile is updated.
Johan from nodeone.se has a really nice set of videos about this:
http://nodeone.se/en/using-rules-components-with-vbo . You will see many videos in nodeone.se site.
Good luck!
Comment: Thank Ayesh!
I know VBO, but I have not found a way to make it work in the backend automatically.
 I'm sorry but I'm a newbie to drupal
Comment: Did you see nodeone.se videos ? If you have a few hours, go ahead and watch the videos. I'm sure they will help you to get started.

Use views result to send data to a rule


What is the halacha regarding averot that one must not do even to avoid death?

Question: What is the halacha regarding averot that one must not do even to avoid death? I have heard, but do not believe it to be correct, that the halacha is that one must prefer death to (1) forced conversion to another religion, (2) cursing the name of G-d, and (3) (one other which I forget!). This seems to me contrary to the idea that the laws are for life, and not that life is for the purpose of the laws, for example, it is permitted to eat tref in order to save one's life. Please instruct me on these questions. Thank you.
Comment: Mark, welcome to Mi Yodeya, and thanks very much for the interesting question! I hope you'll look around and find other Q&A of interest and stay learning with us. And if you haven't done so already, you should take a look at the [tour](https://judaism.stackexchange.com/tour)
Comment: possible dupe http://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/14477/759 http://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/8787/759
Comment: Very important to note,that the SA(Rama) 157 explains that if one doesn't give his life then he made a chilul HaShem and is patur because he is considered an o'nes,this only applies if the person wasn't able to run away but if he was able to run away then it's considerd a case of meized.כל מקום שנאמר יהרג ואל יעבור אם עבר ולא נהרג אע"פ שחלל השם מכ"מ נקרא אנוס ופטור ודוקא שלא יוכל לברוח אבל אם יכול לברוח ואינו עושה הרי הוא ככלב שב על קיאו ונקרא עובר במזיד (ב"י בשם הרמב"ם פ"ה דיסודי התורה). }
Answer: The gemara (Sanhedrin 74a) lists three sins which a person should choose not to transgress, even at the expense of his life. They are idolatry, murder, and sexual impropriety.
According to Ramba"m, one must also die to avoid public desecration of God's name (e.g. if someone threatens to kill you if you do not perform a sin in public) or when there is a public decree in the land against performing mitzvot. In those cases, death should be chosen over any sin.

This seems to me contrary to the idea that the laws are for life, and not that life is for the purpose of the laws, for example, it is permitted to eat tref in order to save one's life.

I disagree with your claim. I think to some extent, the purpose of life is to follow the laws in order to get closer to God. Eating non-kosher food in order to survive allows us to perform more mitzvot that we wouldn't get a chance to do it we were dead. But if the purpose of life is to get close to God and sanctify his name, it makes sense that we should choose death over doing something that desecrates the name of God.
Answer: There is a verse that seems to say to live through or by means of the mitzvot. We shall see later that this is not quite an injunction. The verse say's "VeHay Bahem".
We will begin the study of the subject by the following assertion. (Gemara Sanhedrin 74A)

תניא א''ר ישמעאל מנין שאם אמרו לו לאדם עבוד עבודת כוכבים ואל תהרג מנין שיעבוד ואל יהרג ת''ל {ויקרא יח-ה} וחי בהם ולא שימות בהם {Has it not been taught: R`Ishmael said: whence do we know that if a man was bidden, 'Engage in idolatry and save your life', that he should do so, and not be slain? From the verse, [Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgements,' which if a man do] he shall live in them: but not die by them. I might think that it may even be openly practised. but Scripture teaches, Neither shall ye profane my holy name; but I will be hallowed? '}

This is not the opinion retained for the Halacha but it is good as an introduction to the subject, because his reference to our verse around the law of "Yeahreg Veal Yaavor". Rabbi Yshmael reads our verse as an injunction, saying that attachment to Mitzvot is not to take over life. But we looked earlier that perhaps the message of the Torah is prognostic in nature. The Torah's message may be: the prognosis (of the Torah) is that thanks to the mitzvot you live (finally). We will trying to visit this subject according to another of drashath Chachamim.
We have already announced that according to the Sifra it is a promise:

וחי בהם -
  לעולם הבא.
  ואם תאמר בעולם הזה והלא סופו מת הוא, הא מה אני מקיים וחי בהם?
  לעולם הבא.

You will live in the "'next' world" (after the live).
Appaently the two Hazal contradict one another.

Rabbi Yshmael will continue and clarify that there is a principle of passing life before the offense mitzvot is inapplicable when it comes to break publicly:

יכול אפילו בפרהסיא תלמוד לומר {ויקרא כב-לב} ולא תחללו את שם קדשי ונקדשתי

He learned this from another verse we will examine.

וְלֹא תְחַלְּלוּ אֶת שֵׁם קָדְשִׁי וְנִקְדַּשְׁתִּי בְּתוֹךְ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲנִי ה' מְקַדִּשְׁכֶם:

Let's reading and comment the Sifra:
 ולא תחללו
שומע אני ממשמע שנאמר ולא תחלל אמור קדש (the verb should be in the active form "Sanctify") וכשהוא אומר ונקדשתי מסור את עצמך וקדש שמי.
יכול ביחיד?
תלמוד לומר:(This occurs, (i.e. that the gift of your life leads to sanctification of My Name)).  בתוך בני ישראל המרובים.(Among the children of Israel (that is to say in the presence of an assembly of Jews))

Now consider the dialectic between the promise of life and the importance of ensuring name (that is to say a public renown of G_d). We will guide our reflection. There is in a Jewish act (i.e wen a Jew makes an act) an expression, in the same way that mention name denotes an object. This dimension is obvious when the actions of a man are public. For a Jew, his public activity is related to the meaning of the name G_d.

A second step is to note that there are highly expressive acts.  In this they are similar to language. Such as bow down to an idol. Let's say that acting in such acts is like talking. In this perspective, idolatry in general is more meaningful than the desecration of Shabbat.

The third step of our reasoning is to see in certain acts such degree of meaning they disturb man, even when he is alone. It is here that fits the divergence between Rabbi Yshmael and Chachamim:
 Sanhedrin hop. cit.

א''ר יוחנן משום ר''ש בן יהוצדק נימנו וגמרו בעליית בית נתזה בלוד כל עבירות שבתורה אם אומרין לאדם עבור ואל תהרג יעבור ואל יהרג חוץ מעבודת כוכבים

Idolatry, even in the discretion is "Yahreg Veal Ya'avor" d/t his expressivity.

Regarding the other two offenses It's different. (And besides, there is no Machloketh).

The Gemara say's about the killing:

מי יימר דדמא דידך סומק טפי דילמא דמא דהוא גברא סומק טפי

"Who says your blood is redder than his?" We can not justify thinking of saving himself by causing the death of another.
Gilui Arayoth may be similar perhaps to the latter. But I confess really did not understand.
Returning to the beginning of the remarks of Rabbi Ishmael. He sees in the verse "Vechay Bahem" a message that the effort not to violate must not take over the life which is assumed to be a value as there is a promise of life (life in general).
I hope to have put a little light
Answer: As Daniel wrote the three averot that one must not do even to avoid death are Avoda Zara (idolatry), murder, and Gilui Arayut (sexual impropriety)
Rabbi Nevanzal (his books of the parasha) explained why are these three are the averot that one must not do even to avoid death. He explains that these three are working against the way of life...
1 - Avoda Zara - Our whole purpose of life is to embrace G-d so worshiping anything else will differ the purpose of life. (This doesn't mean that you rather die than to convert another religion. We rather die only if the other religion isn't monotheistic.)
2 - Murder - Well our goal is to bring life not destroy life... (I rather die than kill also because who says that my blood is better than someone else)
3 - Gilui Arayut (sexual impropriety) - I forgot his reason.
At the end he also says that all three are really a form of Avoda Zara (idolatry), but I also forgot how he got to this.
p.s.
sorry that there are so many parts that I forgot.


Sharing folders between Windows 8 as host and Ubuntu 13.10 as guest in Virtualbox

Question: Sharing folders between Windows 8 as host and Ubuntu 13.10 as guest in Virtualbox 4.2.18 r88780 with adequate rights on the guest side. The shared folders in /media/sf_ appeared empty, with Nautilus returning an endless "Loading..." message (my own transaltion of French "Chargement..."). In the terminal, the ls command returns nothing and suspend the command prompt. Any idea?
Answer: Thanks to DbhTPnx at this post: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2181408
Remember, Virtualbox's "check for updates" doesn't indicate the availability of the 4.3 upgrade.
You should go to https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads download manually. And when update, You should reinstall the additions in the guest Ubuntu 13.10 and restart the guest.


What's the most effective way to harvest rhubarb?

Question: I've got a big, lovely rhubarb plant in my yard which I'd hoped to be able to harvest a few different times over the course of a summer. How should I harvest my rhubarb to encourage it to regrow quickly? Should I cut it off near the base, pull it up from the root, or something else? Should I harvest it all at once, or should I leave some of the stalks in place?
Comment: While not part of the answer, I always like to add this fact to Rhubarb conversations for people who may not know: The leaves are very poisonous.  Please do not use them.
Comment: Also don't pull the stalks if there has been a frost the night before - there may be more oxalic acid in those stalks.
Answer: I usually just "snap" off the stalks - a sharp yank on a shaft straight down is usually enough to free it.
I typically only harvest the stalks that are above a certain size.  Though some folks just take all at once.  Rhubarb is pretty hardy - it will likely suffer through much punishment.
Comment: Hardy for the right climate - indestructible in my native Yorkshire (where they are a commercial crop) but I've had no success in North Texas.  Cut the stalks when they are young for crisp rhubarb. It becomes stringy if you wait too long.
Comment: You can make rhubarb wine with stalks that have gone too stringy:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2011/may/25/how-to-make-rhubarb-wine?INTCMP=SRCH  Haven't actually tried it, but it sounds like a tasty idea!
Comment: *Very* hardy: I planted a crown last year that I thought died during a long dry spell. Come to find out this spring that it's very much still alive and sending up shoots!
Comment: +1, I harvest all of mine until you can't tell if there is a plant there anymore. Any every year it comes back and encroaches a little farther into my strawberry bed.
Answer: I watched a video on this precise question because my neighbour invited me to take rhubarb from her plant, and I wanted to make sure I did it in a way that wouldn't affect her plant.
The video was made by Tom Cole at Capel Manor College in London. It has been deleted, but these are the points I took from it:

Don't cut the stalk with a knife. Pull it right out with a sharp tug. This apparently promotes new growth and "invigorates the roots" so it helps the plant. (Also the bit right at the bottom is the most delicious part to eat!)
Don't take more than 3 or 4 stems per season per plant. I actually took up to 5, because there were so many, but I think the idea is to make sure to leave the plant with at least 3-4 stalks leftover for the new season.
Answer: The new growth is often sweeter, with the older larger stems being tougher, less flavour and more fibrous. The root is very deep. It's recommended that it's dug up every couple of years and moved. I've not moved mine for 10yrs and it was already ancient when I moved in.


What is the buzzing noise generated by the engines in this 777 takeoff video?

Question: I've flown a few times in my life, both in economy and executive class. Every time I fly in executive, during takeoff, there is a different noise from the engines. In economy class (behind the engines) the wind sound dominates, but in the executive class you hear the noise in the video below until you're high in the skies. Why is that?
Comment: Behind the engines is also behind the wing.  The wing disrupts airflow (the wind noise).  Behind the engines much of the engine noise is muffled by the wing and engine cowl.
Comment: Related: [Why do most A320s make that distinct scream on takeoff?](//aviation.stackexchange.com/q/14492)
Answer: That buzzing sound is from the tips of the fan blades breaking the sound barrier.  When you're sitting farther back in the airplane, that sound is overpowered by the sound of the exhaust, which is the roaring part of a jet engine's sound.
So in general, sit forward of the wing, you'll hear the fan sound (the buzz), sit aft of the wing and you'll hear the exhaust sound (roar).  It'll vary from airplane to airplane of course, and when thrust is reduced and the fan speed slows, the buzz will subside.
Comment: Thrust was reduced there.
Comment: Do you know why the engine suddenly changes sound at 1:45 ?
Comment: I notice that sound every time I fly, and I always thought it was either the thrust that was reduced or it was the air pressure/clouds that changed the sound of the engine. Thanks Ralgha!


Did Jesus say to preach to Gentiles, or not?

Question: Besides Paul, who never met Christ, was Jesus' message ever meant to be told to the Gentiles?
Comment: Paul never met Christ?? Have you read Acts 9? Even aside from that, as a leading Pharisee it's pretty unlikely that they never crossed paths before.
Comment: This question could have many different answers, depending on the perspective and denominational affiliation of the answerer. Questions here should be more specifically and objectively answerable. See: [What topics can I ask about here?](http://christianity.stackexchange.com/help/on-topic)
Comment: While I agree this question might use some additional context, I'm okay with it not asking from a particular denominational perspective, as it is straightforward and practical - it would be difficult to put theology into this question.  If there are truly different camps here, then that it would great to explain that with a survey answer and enlighten us all...
Answer: Jesus told the disciples to preach the Gospel to all nations.

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in
  the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matthew
  28:19, ESV)
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and
  you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria,
  and to the end of the earth." (Acts 1:8, ESV)

Paul wasn't the first one nor the only one who preached the Gospel to the Gentiles. According to Acts, Peter was the first to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles. Peter received a vision from the Lord and received a command to preach to the Gentiles in the house of Cornelius the gentile. The Gentiles were filled with the Holy Spirit and were baptized.

While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all
  who heard the word. And the believers from among the circumcised who
  had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit
  was poured out even on the Gentiles. For they were hearing them
  speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared, "Can
  anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received
  the Holy Spirit just as we have?" And he commanded them to be baptized
  in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for some
  days. (Acts 10:44-47, ESV)

Peter reported this to the believers in Jerusalem and they all glorified God.

When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God,
  saying, "Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that
  leads to life." (Acts 11:18, ESV)
Comment: @josetapadas Not exactly. Jesus was also preaching in Samaria  but I'm not sure Samaritans are gentiles or not.
Comment: So while alive Jesus never tried to preach to other besides the lost sheep of the house of Israel?
Comment: @josetapadas Just to add to Mawia's great answer:

     John 10:16  KJV   And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.

Jesus wanted to first save the Jews, but later included the Gentiles as Mawia  said in the great commission.

     Matthew 23:37  KJV  O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
Comment: @josetapadas You may be interested in this account in Matthew: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%208:5-13
Comment: @josetapadas there were a delegation of Greeks who came to see Jesus. John 12:20-22. So it is reasonable to believe that Jesus ministered to Gentiles.
Comment: But if all the people were amazed that the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles, that would mean that the Great Commission, Matthew 28:19, was a later addition--for they would not have been amazed at preaching to Gentiles if Jesus had already commanded them to do just that.  (Also, Samaritans were Israelites, and AFAIK Jewish except for disagreeing with Jesus' sect of Judaism over where sacrifices should be made: Mount Gerizim or Mount Zion.)
Answer: Yes, He talked about it after His resurrection:

Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them
into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit:
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and
lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Matthew
28:19-20 ASV
Comment: and how about before He died?
Answer: Did Jesus say to preach to Gentiles, or not?
Most of the preaching Jesus did was to Israel announcing that the kingdom of heaven was at hand.

Matthew 4:17  From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say,
  Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

This was because Israel had been promised a king and a kingdom and Jesus came to offer that kingdom to Israel with a new covenant.

Jerimiah 31:31-32  Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will
  make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of
  Judah:   Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers
  in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land
  of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto
  them, saith the LORD:

Nothing Jesus ever said hinted that he knew Israel would drop the ball and that the kingdom would be delayed for over 2,000 years. In the "Great Commission" Jesus tells the disciples what the expected role for Israel is to be.

Mark 16:15-18  And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and
  preach the gospel to every creature.   He that believeth and is
  baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
  And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they
  cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;   They shall take
  up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt
  them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

As far as the gentiles go, we have a hint that they were to be included.

John 12:20-24  And there were certain Greeks among them that came up
  to worship at the feast:   The same came therefore to Philip, which
  was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would
  see Jesus.   Philip cometh and telleth Andrew: and again Andrew and
  Philip tell Jesus.   And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is
  come, that the Son of man should be glorified.   Verily, verily, I say
  unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it
  abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.

From this we might conclude that Jesus was saying that there was a harvest to be had among the gentiles, but that it had to wait until his resurrection.
Comment: What about the Samaritan woman and town that he preached to, many of them accepting him as Messiah?  Also, the answer would be better if you edit to answer it directly at the start (yes, no, or maybe...) and then expound.  Most of the answer I am thinking that your answer is no, then you only really address the question at the end.
Answer: If Jesus meant for his disciples to go to all nations and preach the gospel to Gentiles, why did Peter need a vision in Acts 10 to visit Cornelius, a Gentile (actually a proselyte of the gate)?  Why did Peter tell Cornelius it was an unlawful thing for him, a Jew, to be in the house of a Gentile?
Because Jesus in His earthly ministry was strictly preaching to "the lost sheep of the house of Israel".  Salvation to the world, apart from the nation of Israel, was not revealed until the ascended Christ shared this "mystery" with the Apostle Paul.  The apostle Paul is THE apostle of the Gentiles (ROM 11:8 KJV).  The "mystery" revealed is revealed in Ephesians 3.  Rightly divided the word of truth (II TIM 2:15) and you will see Paul's unique authority and apostleship.
Comment: Welcome to Christianity.SE. For a quick overview of what this site is about, please take the [Site Tour](http://christianity.stackexchange.com/tour). Though you do speak of related matters, this answer doesn't focus on the question, which is specifically *not* about Paul's preaching, but about Jesus' message and whether it was meant to be told to the Gentiles. See: [What makes a good supported answer?](http://meta.christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/692/what-makes-a-good-supported-answer). Meanwhile, I do hope you'll stick around and browse some of the other questions and answers here.


Drawing a three-quarter circle in Inkscape?

Question: I've been able to approximate a three-quarter circle in Inkscape using bezier curves, but is there a more precise way I can draw a three-quarter circle in Inkscape?
Answer: Use the circle tool to control-drag a uniform circle and once created, double click to edit and change the start and end angles to 90 and 0 (or 360) as in the image below.
If you want an outline, then add a stroke and remove the fill.
If you don't want the arms on the section either, then double click the shape and choose the middle circle tool in the toolbar
Done!
[note: If next time you draw a circle, you get a three quarter circle, click the right most circle tool in the toolbar for a normal circle]
Comment: A note to the complete noobs like me out there: you need to be using the CIRCLE tool not the EDIT POINTS tool when clicking; otherwise the angle options won't show.


Redline heart rate running

Question: Just started to use HRT monitor on runtastic. My max heart rate I think should be 179. I am 41 and my resting HR is 45. Just ran 15k this morning and according to the data I was in redline (defined as 90-100% of maximum heart rate) for 54% of my run and 29% in anaerobic. I was not running too fast and I run about 30-40k a week. Reading up on it many posts advise against longish periods in this zone. Am I putting my body under undue strain?
Answer: 220 - Age for maximum heart rate is one of the worst myths in sports. Your maximum heart rate may be less than 179, or it may be much more. For example, I am currently in my late 40's, and I regularly hit in the high 190's on hill sprint cycling workouts.
There are various step tests and self administered tests that you can do outlined on the web, I would encourage you to do one of these to see where you might fall.
I would say that with a resting heart rate of 45 and history of running 30-40k per week that 179 is probably not anywhere near your true maximum. It does suggest that you had some factors that were raising your heart rate, I would "expect" your heart rate to be in the 140's for a typical 15k effort, but that's a wild stab as everyone is very different in exercise response.
Comment: @GeoffHutchison - We are saying the same thing in different ways. :)
Comment: Great answer. I knew a woman who could comfortably talk when her heartrate was 210. She had a small heart.
Comment: I disagree with the comment that "179 is probably not anywhere near your true maximum." My RHR is 40, but my MHR is probably ~175 bpm and I'm 38. Likely, I have a bigger heart, so the volume pumped per beat is larger.. thus the lower max.
Comment: @GeoffHutchison - I have seen HR's spike in the low 210's in the last couple years and I am 48. If he is exercising comfortably at 179, he is probably well under (25+ bpm) his theoretical maximum. And while you have a larger heart, that doesn't mean that your maximum is ~ 175. Unless you've done a clinical stress test, no way to really accurately tell. All it means is that for equivalent workloads, you generally have a lower HR than the guy next to you with a smaller hear.
Comment: @JohnP All I'm saying is that your answer is great, except that phrase. *You* (and likely the OP) may have much higher max HR. Some less-trained people may have trouble hitting their max, but a true max HR is genetic and has nothing to do with training volume or RHR. I've compared semi-pro marathoners and there's quite a distribution.
Answer: I agree with doing a self-administered test. The tough ones aren't fun, but you'll know the truth.

Run a 5k race or time trial hard, running the last 1k-800m increasingly faster. Sprint hard to the end.
Find a long, hard hill (e.g., ~2 minutes from bottom to top). Run up it 2-3 times. Push hard as you get to the top.
Run 2km on a track, increasing pace with each lap. On the last lap, try to accelerate with each 100m section until you're running a full-out maximum sprint.

Obviously it helps if you have a training group or partner to help push you with one of these efforts. You should be able to take the max HR from a workout like this and add a few bpm to get a "true" max. (Let's assume that it's really hard to truly max out in a workout vs. a race.)
I'm 37 with a resting HR of ~40 bpm and found my max was probably around 175 bpm.
But I've used the various "training zone" percentage ranges and they match up really well with perceived effort. Take your real max HR and subtract your resting HR to get the "heart rate reserve" (HRR):

Zone 1: 60 to 70%; very comfortable effort; use this for warmup and cooldown
Zone 2: 70 to 80%; comfortable enough to hold a conversation; most training is done here
Zone 3: 81 to 93%; "comfortably hard" effort; you may be able to say short, broken sentences.
Zone 4: 94 to 100%; hard effort; the pace is sustainable, but conversation is a few words at a time. For most people this is around 5-K pace.

The key for me is that these threshold and tempo ranges match up really well with tempo and threshold workouts.
Comment: Well written answer, thanks for contributing.

Redline heart rate running


How to pass a 2D array to a Stored procedure?

Question: I'm trying to pass a 2D array from by C#.NET program to a stored procedure in SQL Server 2005. I dont know how to accomplish this. I'm gathering my data in a DataGridView.
Can anyone help me with this?
Answer: SQL Server doesn't support arrays as such.
Depending on how much data you have, you can do something like this: How to Pass and Handle a Delimited String similar to handling an Array() of Values.
You can also read Erland Sommarskog's article on the subject of Arrays and Lists in SQL Server 2005 which outlines various different approaches to tackling the problem.
Comment: I guess I'll divide the data and go with this one. Thanks. :)
Comment: It appears that the first link is not valid any more.
Answer: At SqlServerCentral there's an excellent article by Jeff Moden on how to split a CSV list in Sql server. The tally table approach is also shown in the article by Erland Sommarskog, but this one seems to use slightly different concepts. So it might be worth comparing performance of the two.


Is it necessary to install Yoast for a website which is installed inside an existing WordPress installation folder?

Question: I am setting up a new website inside an already installed WordPress website folder (e.g., www.example.com/newsite/). I am using the Yoast SEO plugin for my old website (www.example.com). Is it necessary to install the Yoast SEO plugin for /newsite again, and go through Google Authorization Code and Search Console too?
Comment: Yoast is always optional.  Maybe you are asking if the subdirectory installation will get all the functionality of Yoast from the base?
Comment: Actually I want to create a blog section for my website in a separate wordpress installation.
Answer: If you are setting up a separate WordPress site (meaning no multisite) and you want to use Yoast SEO then, yes, you will have to install the plugin again. The new site has no way of using the existing copy in your old site. You also have to register it as a separate entity for Google.
I am not sure what your plan is but I would not recommend hosting a new site in a folder inside an existing domain. If you want it to rank properly, it should have its own domain. Aside from that, I would also place both sites in separate folders alongside one another instead of nesting one inside the other.
Comment: https://webmasters.stackexchange.com/questions/104215  is also related to my question and have a good answer.


What is the color of the State Alchemist pocket watch?

Question: So in my re-reading of the Fullmetal Alchemist series I remember them describing the State Alchemist issue pocket watch as being golden in color. But then in the both of the animes they show the pocket watch as being silver. Why is this different? And what is the true color of the pocket watch?
Comment: I never remember reading that the watch was gold. Do you know what chapter this was in?
Answer: The correct color of the watch is silver.
A popular fan scanlation of the manga (volume 1, chapter 3, page 19) incorrectly states that the pocket watch is gold in color.

Third panel down on the left: "The president's crest! The hexagram gold watch!"
The correct color is in fact silver, according to the raw version. Here is the same panel, taken from the raw manga (volume 1, page 117).

The same panel as above reads:

大総統{だいそうとう}紋章{もんしょう}に六芒星{ろくぼうせい}の銀時計{ぎんとけい}!!

Specifically here, the term 銀時計{ぎんとけい} (gintokē, lit. "silver watch") refers explicitly to 銀{ぎん} (gin, lit. "silver"); as @Memor-X mentioned, it is similar to 金{きん} (kin, lit. "gold"), which most likely led to the confusion.
Answer: The Wikia pages indicates it is a silver pocketwatch.
Looking up Brotherhood's differences from the manga, while Brotherhood follows the manga more faithfully than the 2003 series, most of the changes are omission of the scenes which are covered in the 2003 series, with some slight changes in other scenes due to the aforementioned omissions.
For example, May Chang's first appearance was in Youswell in the Manga, but since this was omitted in Brotherhood as the main points of the events (Yoki being tricked, people of Youswell gaining ownership to the deed of their town, and the start of Ed's fame as "Hero of the people") were already covered in the 2003 anime, the dialogue during her second visit was changed to avoid confusion.
There doesn't seem to be any mention of either the 2003 series of Brotherhood changing the pocketwatch's composition, but instead only the change in the hexagram presumably as to not invoke Judaism. However, I have yet to read the manga and just looking at the covers, the most we can ever see is the silver chain which the watch is connected to.

I also want to point out that, Gold in Japanese is Kin (金), while Silver is Gin (銀). It could be quite possible that the translation may have made a mistake. However, without seeing the pages myself, this part is just speculation.
Answer: The pocket watch is in fact gold according to the English translation of the manga. Yoki mentions this in chapter 3 of volume 1 saying: "A gold watch with the president's crest and the hexagram!! GAH!" After Ed introduces himself in the Inn by showing them the watch. It would be very interesting to find out which side the mistake was made on, translation or the anime and all colored artwork. :) I was wondering about this too for some time but couldn't find anything on it online.
Comment: It's a mistranslation. The raw manga explicitly says 銀時計 (_gintokei_) meaning "silver watch". (Volume 1, chapter 3, pg. 117.)
Comment: Everything I've ever read or heard of Fullmetal Alchemist has always described it as silver, though.  What source do you reference to prove that?


What Constellation Is This? (Photo Included)

Question: Observed on 9th of Jan 2021 in Newcastle Upon Tyne (UK) looking WSW at a little after Midnight.
Answer: If it was rather small, I suppose you were looking at the Pleiades, which is an open star cluster (not a constellation).
Take a look at this web application: https://stellarium-web.org/
You can set a time and location and find constellations and other objects really easily.
Comment: Not a constellation indeed, but can be considered an asterism (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asterism_(astronomy) ) . The "mini dipper".
Answer: Yes, those are the Pleiades. The form corresponds exactly to the photo below:

(source: Star-Gazing - the disk below the Pleiades is Venus, this is a photo from April)
As @theWrongAlice says, they're not a constellation, but they are part of Taurus (the Bull).
Comment: Is it just me, or does Glorfindel look like Alexander Armstrong?
Answer: In such situations, I find Astrometry.net particularly helpful. Feeding it your image, I got this result:

Of course, the stars Pleione, Sterope, and Taygeta are enough to identify the Pleiades.
While in this case it's fairly easy to identify the Pleiades by inspection alone and verify this, for less recognisable cases Astrometry.net is a very handy tool. They've got an online version, where you upload a photo and the recognition is done server-side, or you could install the app, either from repos or build from source.
Comment: Thanks. That's a great resource.


What are the problems with naive pool sharing mechanisms?

Question: @David's comment on this answer suggests that naive approaches to mining pool management don't work. What attacks are possible on such naive approaches, such as every miner gets a share proportional to his work?
Comment: [This paper](https://bitcoil.co.il/pool_summary.pdf) offers a more complete analysis.
Answer: The primary problem is an "attack" of sorts referred to as "Pool Hopping." Pool hopping was first described in a paper by Bitcoin forum member Raulo and between the paper and the ensuing discussion, it was determined that there is a strategy by which pools utilizing a proportional payout method can be exploited to maximize the miner's payout at the expense of other miners in the pool.
The attack works something like this:

If the number of shares submitted to a pool are less than or equal to 43% of the current difficulty, the miner mines at this pool.
If another pool has a lower share count, the miner switches to that pool instead
If no pools in the miner's list are at or below the 43% mark, the miner switches to a pool with a fair payout system as backup.

The math for why this works is well described in the paper I've linked, but the basic concept is this: If I submit one share and it's the only share in the pool so far and it just so happens to be the share that solves the block, my share was worth 50 BTC to me. If my share is one of two, it was worth 25 BTC and so on. Shares submitted in "short rounds" (i.e. rounds that take n < difficulty shares to solve) are worth more each than those in "long rounds" (n > difficulty shares). If a miner stays at a pool for a long time, the long and short rounds even out. Pool hopping ensures that you're always part of those "short rounds."
The full explanation is somewhat more complex, but that's a fairly basic explanation. 43% was chosen due to the math explained in Raulo's paper and there are a few scripts and applications to automate the pool hopping process, some free and some commercial.
There is rampant argument about the ethics of pool hopping, but there is little argument as to its effectiveness. Even hopping between a single proportional pool and a fair-scored backup pool sees substantial earnings increases. Hopping between multiple vulnerable pools increases gains dramatically.
Comment: "Hopping between multiple vulnerable pools effectively multiplies these gains by the number of available pools" - That's not literally true. The potential rewards asymptotically scale as the logarithm of the number of pools (but, in the limit of few continuous miners, scales as the hashrate of the continuous miners).
Comment: Modified my wording. I think my insecurity over that last sentence was actually what sparked my [Pool Hopping Math](http://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/1639/pool-hopping-math) question, which you answered so excellently. I seem to have forgotten to change my wording here :)
Answer: The problem isn't with giving every miner a share proportional to his work - this is the ideal, and the problem is how to give every miner a share proportional to his work. By itself this isn't an unambiguous specification of how rewards are given. Two reasonable interpretations are:

Split each block's reward according to the number of shares submitted since the last block. This is the proportional system which suffers from the pool-hopping problem.
Give each miner a reward directly proportional to the number of shares submitted, regardless of blocks found. This is the PPS system, which puts the operator in a lot of risk so it only makes sense if he charges a high fee. In the future, though, the infrastructure will exist to reduce the operator's risk and thus allowing PPS with a modest fee.

The different reward systems try to offer the ideal of fair payments while minimizing variance, maturity time, vulnerability and so on. Summary of mining pool reward systems and Analysis of Bitcoin pooled mining reward systems analyze the different methods and the background for their necessity.


How should I adjust data for both inflation and foreign exchange rate?

Question: I'm not sure if this is typically done, but suppose my data point is in 2013 JPY and I want to express in 2016 USD. Do I apply CPI to express data in 2016 JPY, and then apply exchange rate to 2016 USD? Or do I apply exchange rate to obtain 2013 USD first, then apply CPI to bring forward to 2016 USD? Or is this all redundant?
Comment: Depends on what you are trying to do. Please elaborate.
Comment: @denesp - To add to the description under the question: This is strictly for the purpose of intellectual analysis and not for practical purposes. I have insurance claims data for companies in Japan from 2010-2016. I'd like to understand the shape of the loss per claim (severity) vs. limit (sum insured) curve and then compare this curve visually to those from other countries. Obviously, the companies will not transfer their portfolio, but without converting to USD and adjusting for inflation (some countries I'm analyzing such as Mexico experiences serious inflation) I can't compare the curves.
Comment: "Applying CPI" means multiplying by the relevant price index. "Applying the exchange rate" means multiplying by the exchange rate. A basic property of multiplication is *commutivity*: changing the order in which multiplications are performed does not affect the outcome. So it doesn't matter which you do first.
Answer: NO, it is not redundant. Controlling for nominal effects gives you a better picture, and makes more sense on a theoretical level. To transform assets into USD use
$\textit{asset}_{USD}=\frac{s_t P_{t,JPY}}{P_{t,USD}} \textit{asset}_{JPY}$
where the fraction is the real exchange rate, $P_t$ is the respective price level and $s_t$ the nominal exchange rate.
Alternatively, you can work with differences
$\Delta rer =\frac{\Delta s_t \pi_{t,JPY}}{\pi_{t,USD}}$.
Note that the real exchange rate is far from perfect, but it is common practice in macroeconomics. Also, it does not matter which transformation you do first, as its purely multiplicative.


What happens to enchantments that are attached to creatures when the creatures are returned to your hand?

Question: What happens to enchantments that are attached to creatures when the creatures are returned to your hand?
Answer: They go to the graveyard, just as they do if the creature leaves play in any other way. From the basic rulebook:

Some enchantments are Auras. An Aura enters the battlefield attached to a permanent and affects that permanent while it's on the battlefield. If the enchanted permanent leaves the battlefield, the Aura is put into its owner's graveyard.

So: creature goes away, aura dies, nice and simple, whether the creature was destroyed, exiled, bounced back to its owner's hand, or stuck back in its owner's library.
Or if you prefer the detail of the comprehensive rules:

303.4c If an Aura is enchanting an illegal object or player as defined by its enchant ability and other applicable effects, the object it was attached to no longer exists, or the player it was attached to has left the game, the Aura is put into its owner's graveyard. (This is a state-based action. See rule 704.)

The main exception is that if the enchantment happens to be an enchantment creature with bestow (for example, if you've attached a Baleful Eidolon to your creature), it instead stops being an Aura and becomes a creature.
Comment: @HaoYe It still wouldn't be an Aura though, yeah? Just an Artifact Enchantment attached via the equip ability? But yes, I suppose!
Comment: Also if the enchantment happens to be an equipment that gained an enchantment type because of Arbiter of the Ideal-style effects. :)
Comment: Simply because OP doesn't mention auras, just enchantments.