When is it a good idea to start considering an LLC or incorporation?

Question: I've done freelance work as an independent contractor for years, which works well-enough for sporadic freelance work. But as I get more gigs and an established portfolio, are there benefits to forming an LLC to serve as the agent being hired, rather than myself individually, even though there's only one of me? What other benefits/disadvantages of forming an LLC should I be considering as well?
Comment: Tagging by region is not really a good practice. We should have a meta about this. Questions are often closed as "too localized," but this probably isn't a good one to close as localized.
Comment: This question is good, although very limited to certain regions of the world.
Comment: @ashes999: Good point; there should probably be a Meta discussion about what areas of the world legal questions can/should cover.
Comment: Maybe just tag your question with a country and state tag? As @ashes999 mentioned, I think the definitive answer depends a great deal on location.
Comment: @ashes999 however, that is not the correct use of "Too Localized". Mentioning a region doesn't make it too localized. saying "why is there a big purple giraffe outside my house" does.
Comment: yeah it's not too localized, tons of countries have business entities that resemble or are exactly like Limited Liability Companies (LLCs). See [wikipedia LLC article.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limited_liability_company) There are slight variations on the benefits in each jurisdictions though.
Answer: LLCs were created for just this scenario: you're an individual or small business who wants to enjoy the protections being a company or corporate entity entails without becoming a full-blown corporation.
An LLC allows you to operate as an individual without putting your personal assets at risk. You pay taxes as an individual (in the US anyways) but enjoy protections against lawsuits and other risks operating a business brings.
Given that the costs of establishing an LLC can be trivial depending on the state you incorporate in, it's better to set up an LLC and protect yourself than to take on personal risk.
Answer: Besides liability limitation, which Paperjam covered well in his answer, LLCs also provides tax flexibility. You can elect to have your LLC taxed as a disregarded entity or as a corporation. As a disregarded entity, it's as if you there was no LLC. As a corporation, there is more paperwork; however, besides paying yourself ordinary wages, depending on your income sources, you may be able pay yourself dividends, which are not subject to self-employment tax.
Comment: Oooh...dividends. I *like* that.
Comment: Note that the affordable care act imposes payroll taxes on sub-S corporate dividends.  I assume the same goes for LLC's too.
Answer: It has always been a simple answer for me...   start an LLC as soon as you make your first $125.  I chose this because that is the minimum to start the LLC for paperwork in Ohio and to open a bank account.
That is my standard and I do it just to protect my personal assets.  That is the core reason for an LLC.
Comment: I think the amount is more like $400 in RI, and there is an annual fee of some sort too, maybe somewhere between $250 and $400. So the answer to the question depends a great deal on location, I think.
Comment: Maryland specific: here there is a business property tax filing for LLCs that costs $300 per year to file. IANAL, but it appears that whether or not you file determines whether or not your business "is in good standing in the state of Maryland".


how do i configure the production environment in scriptcase

Question: im working with scriptcase php code generator and as i build up my project, i uploaded it into my account in siteground.com. Now, i try to open it from the browser using mydomain.com/project_folder and it needs the initial configuaration.. all well till now, the prboblem starts when i get to the 3rd step where i need to setup or edit my db connection.. here it shows me this:
"404 - Not Found
The page you are trying to access does not exist.
If this error persists, please contact the website webmaster.
If you are the webmaster of this site make sure that:
You have uploaded correctly your files to the public_html directory which is the web-root of your account;
You have not misspelled the URL. Bear in mind that letters are case sensitive and no blank spaces are recommended;
In case you have applied SEO - SEF URL rewrite rules, make sure you have renamed the htaccess.txt file to .htaccess. If there is already a non-empty .htaccess file, check it and make sure the necessary rules are uncommented."
.. and, when i click on the rename connection, it shows:
"Rename Connection
There are no connections saved on the production environment."
none of these reasons is the one causing the problem..than what should i do??
thanks in advance!!
Answer: Not sure about siteground but important to give all files in the _lib directory of your app 777 permissions while you are setting it up
Also SC heavily uses sessions -- make sure you clear all cookies in your browser when moving from one SC app to another


RNA seq: Should non-infected units be used for RNA-seq?

Question: I am designing a RNA-seq experiment to study transcriptomic profile changes upon parasite exposure. Some papers I read, mostly extract RNA from the entire treatment group (organisms exposed to parasite), without (seemingly) bothering if all the organisms were indeed affected. Doesn't this practice bias results? Are there any studies on how this could affect results?
Answer: It will dilute your signal if you have a pool of samples +/- the parasite prepared as one library prep. It is always better to maximize the number sequencing libraries (usually cost prohibitive) and extract RNA from samples you are confident exemplify the condition of interest, and an equal number of control samples to maximize your statistical power.


What are some red wines that mature quickly and are available in kits?

Question: I'm looking for red wine kits that will mature quickly (6-18 months, as opposed to 2-5 years). I like big, complex reds, but I'd like some wine to drink while I'm waiting for them to mature. I prefer the "high-quality" kits that come with 4 gallons or more of juice.
Answer: I have used the Wine Experts kits (premium and ultra premium). They are drinkable in less than 12 months and are 4 gallon kits.
Answer: I believe that most wine kits have something done to them so that you can drink them sooner than if you were fermenting grapes. Check the kit instructions to be certain.
Disclaimer: I've never made wine from any kit but I know people who have.


Is blending genres well received by readers?

Question: My writings tend to be a blend of multiple genre's.  I know some can work well together, like sci-fi and fantasy, but are there genre's that should not be blended?  Also,  is it confusing to reader's when there is not a clear genre?
Comment: ..what genres are you blending?
Comment: I didn't want to specify to make the answers given more applicable to others, but for me, it would be sci-fi, fantasy, and romance.  Based on the answers given below, I believe the heart of my story is fantasy though.
Comment: Depends on the genres in question.  Writing an epic civil war story is probably going to be a lot more plausible in a setting like Star Trek than it would be in a setting like Peppa Pig.
Answer: You can very clearly blend elements of genres. Lots of people have done it. The real question is, will it produce a work with crossover appeal? That is, will it appeal to fans of both genres?
A good example to look at here is Joss Whedon's Firefly. It is a very clear blending of elements from westerns and space-opera style science fiction. Which audience did is appeal to? Clearly it appealed to science fiction and fantasy fans. Did it appeal to fans of westerns? Not as far as I can tell.
Now imagine a romance novel set in 1850s Wyoming with a cowboy as the hero. Clearly it will borrow elements from westerns again. Will it pull a lot of Louis L'aMour fans? Probably not.
A genre is fundamentally a promise to the reader that they are going to receive a particular kind of reading experience. Fans of westerns like horses and big hats and schoolmarms in their books to be sure, but they also want a kind of rugged earnestness of a John Wayne, not the smarmy smartassery of a Nathan Fillion.
Firefly, in other words, is science fiction set on a western backlot, but it is still science fiction because it delivers the kind of viewing experience that a science fiction fan wants, not the kind of experience a western fan wants.
So, can you blend elements from one genre into another genre? Certainly. But the result had better still be squarely aimed at the reader of one genre and had better clearly give them the core elements of the experience they expect from that genre, or no one in the entire publishing chain, from agent, to editor, to publicist, to bookseller, to reader, is going to know what to do with it.
Comment: +1 for noting how genre is a promise to the reader. A very good point.
Answer: Putting elements of one genre into a work that is another genre is not going to confuse your readers.  The real genre is what constitutes the internal conflict faced by the protagonist.
For instance, if the chief problem faced by the protagonist is that he/she is powerless in the face of evil, you have a horror story.  The dressing can consist of elements of science fiction (the Alien franchise), ordinary hum-drum life (Mommie Dearest), or have supernatural elements (typical horror).
Likewise, if the whole point is that there are men who prefer honor to life, you have a western, whether it's set in outer space (Firefly) or the Old West (just about any classic western).
Fantasy and science fiction both have their own unique internal struggles (personal good and evil for fantasy, and social good and evil for science fiction).  Both tales are usually dressed up with characteristic elements, but in the case of Star Wars, the tale is about the impact of personal good and evil, so even though it is packed with the trappings of science fiction, at its heart it's a fantasy story.
Naturally, there are a lot of stories whose internal struggles are a blend of the distinct genres; 1984 is both horror and science fiction.
So identify the key internal conflict in the story—start over if it doesn't have one!—and then add the dressing you want.
Answer: It's very well received by readers --when done well.  Many popular and influential books and movies have imported elements from one genre into another.  Harry Potter is Agatha Christie as YA Fantasy.  Neuromancer is film noir in cyberspace. Star Wars is a fairy tale in a distant galaxy.
But if you do it poorly, it will read like a parody or a pastiche.  In general, you need to understand both genres well and be respectful of each.  If you're just plundering different sources for cool ideas it will feel lazy and derivative.
Answer: There is a snobbery amongst readers (and writers). This is evidenced by the sheer volume of fantasy writers on this site. When they go to the library or the book-store they rarely look past the fantasy section.
The main genre of you work is purely marketing. But be aware the readership has certain expectations of any genre - don't put anal sex in 'Christian' literature even if your story is about a prostitute finding God.
Romance crosses all genres.
However, outside of your marketing genre the sky's the limit. e.g. I have a thriller which spends a lot of its time in the fantasy genre - the MC is a heroin addict. I also have a science fiction series which spends at least three volumes 'thinking' its science fiction. Scientists spend the bulk of the story trying fix an anomaly they believe they created but it turns out they were not to blame - all that came to pass was deemed by the gods on Mount Olympus (fantasy).
With each genre comes and expectation of 'style'. Fantasy readers expect worldbuilding etc.
Comment: No kidding. Recently, an American columnist was commenting about the movie "Saturday Night Fever," and noted that its gritty story and unhappy ending would be rejected in our era. He noted that last year's top movies all involved either superheroes or animation. Essentially, video games on the big screen.
Answer: Example 1: "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies." Classic, or horror?
Example 2: "The Seven-Per-Cent Solution." Mystery, or sociology?
Example 3: "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy." Sci-fi, or humor?
Answer: You can do this when they work well together.
One of my works is a romantic comedy. But it incorporates science fiction. I have to be careful to downplay the science fiction because it is really a "mechanic" that drives the comedy; the "science" is not there for its own sake.
In these kinds of situations, one genre will be dominant, and the other(s) will be subordinate. That way, there will be a "clear genre" that is not confusing. As another poster pointed out, only one genre should determine the reading experience. I was not writing my piece for science fiction fans, although I would be pleased if they read it.


SPUtility.TransferToSuccessPage() throwing Exception

Question: in my application page when i m using Sputility.transffertosuccesspage ,its throw an exception, " Unable to evaluate expression because the code is optimized or a native frame is on top of the call stack. "
The same exception was also occur if we use response.redirect(abc.aspx); but we can resolve this exception with (abc.aspx,false) but how to solve Sputility.transffertosuccesspage exception.
Thanks
SAAD
Comment: i move SPUtility.TransferToSuccessPage outside the try block and it works fine
Answer: If I recall correctly, I believe these methods throw a ThreadAbortException. I'd move them out of your try\catch block.
Comment: yes you are Right John


Intermittent bug post closed for wrong reason

Question: This question was closed as not reproducible, but actually confirms this bug perfectly. Should it be re-opened and closed for the right reason (as a bug)?
Answer:
This question was closed as not reproducible

Comment on the question:

A couple of reboots later and it has decided to start working again. I have no idea what happened here but its working again.

It was closed with the correct close reason, it doesn't need to be reopened.
Answer: If you're sure it's a problem represented by that bug, answer it. I've reopened it to allow that.
I consider this a much healthier option to just shutting the question down. I've been through the reasoning before but if nothing else, it gives us a duplicate target for future questions about the same problem.
I note that in this case we're talking about a bug you reported which is still currently un-triaged and hasn't progressed at all, and (as far as I can tell from the report) hasn't been pushed upstream. There are going to be some issues. I don't think that neccessarily rules it out from being a viable answer but point out its status and what it needs to be improved (perhaps other people can help).
Comment: I've turned it and Windows 8 questions into a canned comment (with Autocomment).


FQL to search newsfeed

Question: I am having a strange issue with an app that I am developing. I am using PHP SDK to call the Graph API on server side and here is my code that calls the API:
$params = array('q' => 'George', 'limit' => 100);

$newsfeed = $facebook->api('/me/home', 'GET', $params);

And next is the code to render HTML of the newsfeed. I have a footer below that once clicked, loads further posts. But what I have observed is that in case of searching the newsfeed by providing additional 'q' parameter, we do not get results beyond one week.
Now I am giving a second try to FQL instead of Graph API. Good thing with Graph API was that appending a q parameter to /me/home would do the searching for you automatically and you had nothing to do. But with FQL, this does not seems to be the case as per the following documentation suggests:
http://developers.facebook.com/docs/reference/fql/stream/
My idea is to use following FQL:
SELECT post_id, actor_id, target_id, message, comments, likes FROM stream WHERE filter_key in (SELECT filter_key FROM stream_filter WHERE uid = me() AND type = 'newsfeed') AND strpos(message, 'facebook') >= 0

Any ideas how the search can be implemented? I actually want to emulate the news feed within the application so please enlighten me about batching multiple FQL queries if you have any ideas on that.
Answer: try to set the source_id = me() like this:
SELECT post_id, actor_id, target_id, message, comments, likes
FROM stream
WHERE source_id = me()
AND strpos(message, 'facebook') >= 0

FQL to search newsfeed


irreducible components of the fibre product

Question: Is it known if all the irreducible components of  the fibre product Xx_sY
 are birationally equivalent? (Suppose X,Y,s are irreducible complex curves, for instance)
Answer: No. If $E/F$ is a cubic field extension, separable but not normal, then $E\otimes_F E$ is the cartesian product of $E$ and the Galois closure of $E$.
Answer: Certainly not: even in the case of $X=Y=S=\mathbb{P}^1$ and the two maps $X,Y \to S$ are the same and general of degree at least three.  In this case one component is the "diagonal" $\mathbb{P}^1$ and the remaining component is a curve of genus 1, I think.
Comment: Interestingly enough when the degree is $3$ this is a special case of Tom's example.
Answer: In higher dimensions, the irreducible components don't even have to be of the same dimension. Consider a blow up of a smooth (closed) point $f:X\to S$ with exceptional divisor $E$. Then $X\times_S X$ has a component that is birational to $X$ and another one which is just $E\times E$ (here the $\times$ is over the point that is blown up). It is easy to see that this one has dimension $2\dim X-2$ which is larger than $\dim X$ as soon as the latter is at least $3$.
Answer: Outside of the curve case, this can even happen for birational maps.  One example is to take a non-rational surface $X$ over $\mathbb{C}$ and blow-up a smooth point, yielding $\pi : Y \to X$.  The product $Y \times_X Y$ has two components.  One is isomorphic to $Y$ (and thus birational to $X$) and the other is a rational surface (if I recall correctly, just $\mathbb{P}^1 \times_{\mathbb{C}} \mathbb{P}^1$) intersecting the $Y$ component along the exceptional divisor.


Our Team Finished Our Project Before The Deadline!  What Now?

Question: I have 1 project under me and looks like we are ahead of time in this. We told client that the project will be completed in a month, and the developer completed it in 2 weeks. What should you do in this situation?
Answer: Start with a high-5 all around! :)
Meet with your customer. Let them know you think you've completed the feature and give them a demo. Ask them if it meets their acceptance criteria. My bet is the customer will have some tweaks or changes now that they have seen it. By circling back to them right away, you've got a chance these changes can be made without impacting the customer's final delivery date.
Frequent communication with the customer will ensure you are going in the right direction and allow for changes as reality intercedes.
And if you really are done, then celebrate. Success is something to be recognized.
Comment: +1 for giving it back to the customer. It is rare that you build exactly what they wanted.  Just because you think you've got it figured out, doesn't mean you do. And if you actually are done early, a demo like this gives them the chance to start to use it earlier, request additional features, or simply pay less than expected (if they are paying an hourly rate).
Comment: WebEx! If nothing else, you tell them "We're done," and see what they want to do next.
Comment: @jmort253 Yes, agreed. My comment was meant regarding Joel's comment they should tell them "We're done". In my view whether or not someone is done is in the end the customer's decision not the developer's decision. But then again, there can be other factors.
Comment: Customer are not in the city. They are located away...
Comment: @Joel I would let the customer decide whether you're done. They might see the demo and decide that it doesn't meet their requirements. +1, though, for suggesting to meet with the customer to ask them for their feedback. If they are happy with the scope and happy with early delivery, this might generate additional "brownie points".
Comment: @John - Joel pretty much pointed that out as one of the reasons to follow up with the customer. "My bet is the customer will have some tweaks or changes now that they have seen it." and "Frequent communication with the customer will ensure you are going in the right direction..." +1
Comment: @john - Good point. I think Joel gets it, and I think you get it, but perhaps that is a good point for Joel to clarify in the answer just so no one misinterprets it. :)  Of course... Joel didn't specifically use the words "You're done". Those are your words ;)
Comment: @John- Really good point. Words are so very powerful and we have to be careful with them, lest they lead us down a dark path. Saying "We're done" is probably a little to blunt and could lead to bad results if you aren't really. Somethign more like "Based on our understanding, we've completed the functionlity, does it meet your requirements?" Of course, if you have solid acceptence criteria, you'll know.
Answer: I'd echo Joel's answer about checking with customer and also simpixleated's about polishing.
A few other thoughts though, on the lines of "are you sure you're finished":
You have a month project, developed in 2 weeks.  Is there any plan for testing the software that has been developed?  Either from a functionality point of view or other less visible aspects e.g. performance under load, security, usability, accessibility etc.
Is the deployment method understood and tested?  If it is software to run on the client's PC has it been installed and tested on PCs other than the developers to prove there are no unknown dependencies?
Is user acceptance testing or usability testing planned - this can flush out unexpected needs or problems.
I find depending on the client items such as above can be greater effort than the actual development
Answer: No offense, but it looks like something too good to be true! Did you clearly understand what your clients asked? Did you miss a part of it? Sorry to be a skeptic, but usually you have much more work than you can handle. Unless you planned wrongly at the beginning. I would call your clients as soon as possible to validate with them if what you did corresponds to what they asked. If it is yes, congratulations! But do not expect to leave something like that every time.
Comment: I think this is a great point. It's quite possible that the project was seemingly completed early simply because the team didn't understand the requirement.  +1
Comment: It's entirely possible that it is a planning mistake - after all variance goes both ways.  Just because the IT industry usually under-estimates, it can sometimes over-estimate too. Sometimes you think something could be difficult and allow contingency, but it turns out the developer has done something similar before, or finds reusable components that speed things up and all is done ahead of time.
Comment: @Kris - Either way, the team shouldn't bust out the champagne until talking to the client and agreeing that it is indeed completed. I'm with you though, sometimes it does happen that something is really done.
Comment: agreed :)  acceptance criteria and signoff are important.  I mentioned user acceptance testing in my answer - I'd expect user testing and signoff before software is formally delivered and the all important final payment changes hands!
Answer: Polish, refine, and deliver something beyond your own expectations and standards of quality. You could easily spend another week or two testing and improving (without adding unrequested features) every little detail and still deliver it ahead of time. For example, testing on additional platforms/browsers, fixing bugs that may have been acceptable before, running through additional validation tools, etc.
Comment: What if the functionality isn't what the customer really wanted? What if the customer has realized they didn't explain all their functionlity? You have an opportunity to touch base with your customer, take it. My opinion.
Comment: @ simpixelated - This is where the term 'gold-plating' comes from; adding things that weren't asked for, and it's the flip side of scope creep. If you've completed the project according to the customers specs and requirements, then continuing to work on it beyond that is just spending their money without a good reason. What you're advocating also brings with it a risk issue - You're done and it's ready. But now you add or change something (without authorization) and break it and have to spend additional time to fix it, and possibly jeopardizing the finish date.
Comment: "You could easily spend another week or two testing and *improving* (my emphasis) every little detail and still deliver on time."  It sounds like @simpixelated is just suggesting that the team make sure the quality is there, that there are no major defects and that minor bugs are fixed. I understand that "gold-plating" implies adding features not asked for, whereas this sounds to me like he's just suggesting taking the time to make sure all i's are dotted and t's are crossed, kind of like re-reading over a proposal + correcting errors before submitting it.  +1
Comment: @Trevor - Still, perhaps one of us should edit this answer just to make that point real crystal clear that "beyond expectations" doesn't mean go crazy and start adding in random features. I think it is worth pointing out specifically that this time should only be used for careful review and fixing of defects. If you and Joel misunderstood, it's quite possible many others will as well :)
Comment: I think thats a good idea Joel. Thanks, will keep this in mind.
Comment: @JMort - could be. It was his use of "beyond expectations" that led me to gold-plating. But it's possible your read was better than mine. Thanks for the diff perspective. +1
Comment: I definitely was not insinuating new features, so I'm glad that was made clear. I was more thinking beyond the expectations of your own standards. I also really like Joel's idea of contacting the customer to make sure what you've done is what they expected.
Comment: @jmort253 Nice answered.
Comment: @simpixelated - Can you update your answer to make it more clear that you *don't* mean start adding random features?  Thanks for the follow up.
Comment: I think this answer is a good example of Parkinson's Law.
Answer: Congratulations! And pass it along to the team. Specifically, take the team out for a celebration; food and/or activity. if possible, consider giving them a bonus.
Do not pretend the project is not over - that's a sure-fire way to demoralize the team.
Unless there's a good reason not to, inform the customer that you are ready to deliver - and make a big deal about the early delivery. After all, you want the team to repeat this feat.
Do not start adding features, no matter how trivial. If it's tested and approved then ship it. Adding even the smallest feature could cause major delays; if it aint broke, don't fix it.
Do not squeeze the next schedule on the assumption that you have a Super Team. That's equivalent to punishing them for doing a great job.


How exactly does heterozygous sickle trait help patients survive malaria

Question: Heterozygous sickle cell anaemia trait is known to increase the survival rate of carriers to malaria attacks. How does a recessive gene not expressed in the phenotype allow for such an advantage? Is the red blood cell of a recessive carrier structurally different from that of a non-carrier?
Answer: Sickle cell anemia is characterized by the formation of sickle shaped red blood cells rather than the usual biconcave ones. For a double recessive homozygous genotypic person, i.e. an infected person, this causes severe lack of oxygen diffusion into the RBCs because of defective haemoglobin production.
In case of a carrier, he/she carries the gene for the defective version of haemoglobin but does not show the symptoms for the disease.
The malarial agent, Plasmodium uses haemoglobin, or more specifically haem as its main nutrient source The defective sickle haemoglobin induces the expression of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) enzyme in hematopoietic cells (those which produce erythrocytes, for example marrow of long bones). Carbon monoxide (CO), a byproduct of heme catabolism by HO-1, prevents further accumulation of circulating free heme after the infection by Plasmodium. This decreases the pathogenicity of the organism and prevents the disease from occuring.  Moreover, sickle haemoglobin inhibits activation and/or expansion of T lymphocytes (specifically CD8+T cells), which recognize the antigens expressed by Plasmodium and hence do not attack it. This is an immunoregulatory effect that does not involve the heme oxygenase enzyme.
This leads to the carrier person having innate resistance to malaria (or at least Experimental Cerebral Malaria )
And no, the RBC itself is not structurally different. Though there might be some
sickle shaped RBCs in the blood, their number is very less. The major difference comes from the haemoglobin in the red blood cell.
Here is the original paper which explains the phenomenon in detail.


What was the significance of Kurtz joining airborne

Question: In Apocalypse now what was the relevance of Kurtz wanting to join airborne. I understood that it was surprising because of his age but why would it prevent him from being promoted and why did he want to join it so bad?
Answer: I think the key is the line "He could've gone for general, but he went for himself instead."
Kurtz had apparently lost interest in climbing higher in the military ranks, which presumably would have taken him away from combat and the front lines. He seemed to want to go in the opposite direction -- toward the heat of the fight -- so Kurtz requested Airborne training as a first step toward returning to combat.
Kurtz took himself out of the running for promotion by enrolling in Airborne training. Promotion would have required continuing to follow an advancing career path -- whereas Kurtz brought his career advancement to a halt by enrolling in Airborne training.
Comment: @CGCampbell Honestly, I buy this answer here more than yours, it seems absolutely reasonable. Your answer either seems to lack a continuous thread of dedcution or I simply lost it when reading, but at some point your answer seems to somehow contradict itself or talk across the important information, even if I can't pin it down exactly.
Comment: Its a shame @CGCampbell answer has gone as I felt it complemented this one but this answer is much more succinct and focused
Comment: @CGCampbell I would rather your answer wasn't deleted though! This answer doesn't really explain why promotability is limited
Answer: Being qualified in a airborne course expands your application as an active soldier. That's what Kurts wanted, be active, embrace the war, the weight of anything that would be necessary to do in order to win the war.
After he joined the special forces, with the training in how to mix with the local population, convincing them to fight against the NVA and VC under your advice, he gone to the final part of his process of taking the war by the hair and winning it. The joint operation he conducted shows to the Higher ranks that
He meant business, and whatever he needed to do in order to finish his business.
Being a airborne gave him the mental strenght to become the leader he needed to be to win the war. After it, he , in my opinion, was only about gathering the techniques on how to make the vietnamese fight for what he believed.
Answer: It wasn't Airborne that killed his promotability, it was Special Forces.
The first pertinent quote (from the script) is:

WILLARD (V.O.): At first, I thought they handed me the wrong dossier.  I couldn't believe they wanted this man dead. Third-generation West Point, top of his class...Korea, Airborne, about a thousand decorations, etc., etc. I'd head his voice on the tape and it really put the hook in me, but I couldn't connect up that voice with this man.  Like they said, he had an impressive career.  Maybe too impressive.  I mean, perfect.  He was being groomed for one of the top slots in the corporation.  General, chief of staff, anything.  In 1964, he returned from a tour with Advisory Command in Vietnam, and things started to slip.  His report to the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Lyndon Johnson was restricted.  Seems they didn't dig what he had to tell them.  During the next few months, he made three requests...for transfer to Airborne training, Fort Benning, Georgia...and was finally accepted.  Airborne?  He was thirty-eight years old.  Why the fuck would he do that?  1966...joins Special Forces, returns to Vietnam.

The second pertinent quote is:

WILLARD (V.O.): Thirty-eight fucking years old. If you joined the green berets, there was no way you'd ever get above colonel.  Kurtz knew what he was giving up.  The more I read and began to understand, the more I admired him.  His family and friends couldn't understand it. And they couldn't talk him out of it.  He had to apply three times, and he put up with a ton of shit, but when he threatened to resign, they gave it to him.  The next youngest guy in his class was half his age.  They must've thought he was some far-out man humping it over the course.  I did it when I was nineteen, it damn near wasted me.  A tough motherfucker.  He finished it.  He could've gone for general, but he went for himself instead.

Now, for the why any of that is important. You have to look into the history of the US Army a bit. Airborne Infantry was a thing newly developed in World War II.  While there were smaller applications earlier, the first major Airborne drops were during D-Day, inland from Normandy. They went, by and large, fairly well. Then during Operation Market Garden, there were more Airborne troops dropped, which went, by and large, again really well. So Airborne and the philosophy and change to Army tactics that were developed from it, were well accepted. By the years before Vietnam, the only officers who would get ('full bird') Colonel were those who had the political backing to continue on to Brigadier General. A Colonel in those years would have served in Korea, and an Airborne Colonel would have been viewed as the more well rounded officer. Not having Airborne wouldn't have precluded promotion, but Airborne was the "Up and Coming Young Officer's Thing-To-Do."
Now let's discuss Special Forces. Like Airborne in the beginnings of WWII, during the years just before Vietnam, Special Forces was only just then being built up. (Kennedy did so, for many reasons, not the least of which was the glamor effect). The origins of Special Forces were OSS, and various other special groups, usually called Commandos. The problem with the OSS and Commando groups were that the regular senior officers didn't have a clue about what to do with them, or how to use them. (A good movie to watch for this specific thought it The Devil's Brigade. If you watch it, pay close attention to Carol O'Conner's character and how he treats the Brigade.) Those troops and their officers were Prima Donna's. They never really had a chance to shine enough beyond single missions to evolve a philosophical change in Army tactics.
So, now we have Kurtz. He was a golden child. Being groomed for Generalship. On the fast track. Airborne was a way to help achieve that. There was no problem at all with his Airborne training and wings. In fact, they would have made him even more likely to make promotion.
Special Forces? Not so much. In fact, with that, he instantly became un-promotable. There simply were NO generals in or from the Special Forces branch at all.
Finally, when you read the line

Airborne?  He
                           was thirty-eight years old.  Why
                           the fuck would he do that?
  That was simply because Airborne training was, and is, very extremely physical and a thirty-eight year old is a grandfather compared to all of the 17-18 year olds.

(Of course, by today's standards, a Special Forces Colonel has a better chance at promotion than not, because today, with the current unconventional warfare doctrine, it's not the major Army commands fighting the wars as much as the SF groups. But that's just my opinion as a retired Army NCO.)
Comment: This is the best answer. As a Canadian soldier training with the US Rangers (etc.) I heard about this exact same scenario. I also believe one of histories of the invasion of Grenada discussed how the regular Army viewed (very poorly) the Spec. Ops side of the house--incl. sending in Spec. Ops teams without support or proper resources (like maps--apparently one unit used tourist maps). NOTE: I'm using the term 'Spec. Ops.' here b/c I don't recall which units were involved in the mission + SF units and command have changed significantly... @CGCampbell maybe you can fill in these blanks..?
Answer: Sedition.
When Julius Caesar went to Gaul he did so with the sole purpose of him becoming emperor of Rome.  And his men backed him up.
Listen to the respect, and awe that Willard has of Kurtz.  Kurtz is dangerous to military order.  Kurtz is dangerous to the chain of command.
"he could have went for general" - he could have maintained military order.
"he went for himself instead" - general isn't good enough for him.  He has got to be more.  Like Caesar who couldn't just be consul or a great general.  He wanted a kingdom.
its seditious.


How to play audio without being root (via sudo)?

Question: In order to play audio (espeak or aplay for example) I have to be root (via sudo). How can I do those as just a regular user? Is there a group I must be a member of or do I have to change some permissions somewhere? Thanks.
Answer: have you tried:
adduser <username> audio

as suggested here, or:
usermod -a -G audio <username>

as suggested here.
Comment: It's good to suggest adduser and addgroup rather than more primitive alternatives.
Answer: The user has to be in the audio group:
gpasswd -a [user] audio


Verifying that the subset of polynomials with vanishing integral is a subspace

Question: In the vector space $P_3$ of all $p(x)=a_0+a_1x+a_2x^2+a_3x^3$, let $S$ be the subset of polynomials with $\int_0^1p(x)dx=0$. Verify that $S$ is a subspace and find a basis.
I'm not sure where to start on this question. Can somebody help please?
Comment: What should we have to do to confirm that $S$ is a vector space? You may find a simple criterion in your textbook for a subset of a vector space to be a subspace. So, once you confirm that $S$ is a vector space, how can we find a basis? It is not an easy question, and unlike to the former question that requires a routine prodecure for the confirmation, it requires an idea.
Comment: Here is a possible approach: Clearly no constant polynomial except for zero polynomial can be a member of $S$. And also we know that $\{ 1, x, x^2, x^3 \}$ is a basis of $P_3$. So we can modify this basis as $B = \{ x - a, x^2 - b, x^3 - c \}$ and ask if we can find $a, b, c$ so that $B$ is a subset of $S$. Once such $a, b, c$ are found, prove that $B$ is indeed a basis of $S$.
Answer: Hint $\ $ The map $\rm\: L(f) = \int_0^1 f\:$ is an $\mathbb R$-linear map between the $\mathbb R$-vector spaces $\rm\:P_3$ and $\mathbb R$,  hence its kernel $\rm\: K = ker\ L = \{f : Lf = 0\}$ forms a subspace of $\rm\:P_3$. If you haven't yet learned this general fact then you can prove it now with no greater effort than that required for your special case, but with the benefit that you now have a more general result which yields greater conceptual insight.
To find a basis of  $\rm\:K,\:$ note that for $\rm\:n\in \{1,2,3\},$ $\rm\: 0 \ne x^n - L(x^n)\in K,\:$ by $\rm\:L(r) = r\:$ for $\rm\:r\in \mathbb R$. But $\rm\:dim\ K \le 3,\:$ (why?) and these $3\:$ elements of $\rm\:K\:$ are independent, hence $\ldots$
Answer: Hints:
As usual, to show that $S$ is a subspace of $P_3$, prove that the following hold
$\ \ $1) $S$ is non-empty.
$\ \ $2) $p\in S$ implies $\alpha p\in S$ for all $\alpha\in\Bbb R$.
$\ \ $3) $p_1,p_2\in S$ implies $p_1+p_2 \in S$.
For 1), you just need to find any polynomial $p\in P_3$ with $\int_0^1 p(x)\, dx=0$.  For 2) and 3), use the linearity of the definite integral.
For a basis of $S$, note that the dimension of $S$ is at most 4.  Since there are polynomials in $P_3$ that are not in $S$, the dimension of $S$ is in fact at most 3.  Now try to find three independent vectors in $S$. A hint here: how can you modify $p(x)=x^n$ so that its definite integral over $[0,1]$ is 0? For example, take the polynomial $p(x)=x$. We have $\int_0^1 x\,dx={1\over2}$. So, $p$ is not in $S$... But, $x-{1\over2}$ is in $S$.

An alternate approach towards finding a basis of $S$, if you can't appeal to dimensionality arguments, is the following:
Assume $p(x)=a+bx+cx^2+dx^3$ is in $S$. Then
$$
0=\int_0^1 p(x)\,dx = a+{b\over 2}+{c\over 3}+ {d\over4}.
$$
It follows that $a=-{b\over 2}-{c\over 3}- {d\over4}$. Thus, we may write:
$$\eqalign{
p(x)&=\textstyle \bigl(bx-{b\over 2}\bigr)+\bigl(cx^2-{c\over3}\bigr)+\bigl(dx^3-{d\over 4}\bigr)\cr
&=\textstyle b\bigl(x-{1\over 2}\bigr)+c\bigl( x^2-{1\over3}\bigr)+d\bigl( x^3-{1\over 4}\bigr).\cr
}
$$
Using the above, you should be able to find identify three independent vectors in $P_3$ and argue that they span $S$.
Answer: To verify it is a subspace, you must check the vector space axioms.  You need to show that the $0$-vector is contained in it.  You need to show if $a\in\mathbb{R}$, then $\int_0^1ap(x)\,dx=0$ for any polynomial $p(x)$ such that $\int_0^1p(x)\,dx=0$.  And you must show for any two polynomials which integrate to zero, that their sum also integrates to zero.  You should also check that the sum of two polynomials with degree at most $3$ also has degree at most $3$.
Answer: Take a general polynomila of P3, calculate its integral between 0 to 1, and
the result  equal to 0 gives you an homogeneous linear equation in the coefficients.
Take for example a0=-a1/2-a2/3-a3/4, substitute in the initial polynomial, and you have a general polynomial of S.
Descompose it as a linear combination of some polynomilas, where the coeficinets are the scalars in the combination.
By this way you have : S=Span(...) and you know that span is a subspace of the space.
and the polynomilas of the linear combination are a generator.
Answer: An engineer's non-rigorous approach:
You need to check 3 things to confirm that a space is indeed a subspace:

The $0$ vector lies in the space.
If $A$ lies in space, then so does $kA$.
If $A$ and $B$ lie in subspace, then so does $A+B$.

(All these three can be condensed into one condition that $k_1A+k_2B$ lie in space if $A \& B$ do. But I like to think of it in the above 3 rules.)
Now, select a polynomial $p_1$ as per the requirement such that it lies in the space. Such a polynomial exists because the $0$ vector itself suffices. Condition number one is ticked off.
If $\int_0^1p_1(x)=0$, then for any value of $k$, $\int_0^1kp_1(x)=0$. Condition 2 is ticked off.
Now, if $p_1$ and $p_2$ are in the space, then $\int_0^1p_1(x)+p_2(x)= \int_0^1p_1(x)+\int_0^1p_2(x) =0 $. Condition 3 is ticked off.


Can Minecraft Pocket Edition play with a desktop Minecraft?

Question: My kids are playing Minecraft on 2 PCs, creative mode.  They are connected by the way of one of them starts a single player game on the other one than joins that game over the LAN.
Can I, using Minecraft PE on my iPad, join their game as well?
Comment: Could you accept a different answer? Mine is outdated. I think [**this one**](http://gaming.stackexchange.com/questions/90308/can-minecraft-pocket-edition-play-with-a-desktop-minecraft-on-lan#283182) has the most precise and relevant information.
Comment: You could use an emulator for true "Pocket edition" (the very old versions), but the controls would likely be horrible to use.
Answer: No, you can't. They're entirely different games.
Comment: You can as of version 0.12.1 (Sep 2015) http://www.pcworld.com/article/2982932/software-games/minecraft-pocket-edition-now-lets-windows-10-ios-and-android-gamers-play-together.html
Comment: Just a ping to let you know there's a bounty for answers to be updated!
Comment: This is somewhat incorrect now (unless you mean natively), otherwise: [As of Mar 2020, **YES**](https://gaming.stackexchange.com/a/380214/75275)
Answer: There are now two different versions of Minecraft on PC

The java version, the original one
The windows 10 version, which can play along the Pocket Editions on Android and iOS

You cannot join their Java version on PC, but you surely can on the Windows 10 version.
Of course, they need Windows 10 on their PC to install it
It is possible to get the Windows 10 version for free if you have already existing Minecraft accounts, just go on the website in account management and you should find the option
(There might be some elaborate way to play the java version on your ipad, but this would require so much work it isn't worth it, if you do get it working, you will still have the Controls issue (how will you control a game designed to work with keyboard and mouse?))
Answer: To expand a bit on BlaXpirit's answer, the PC version, the Pocket Edition, and the XBox 360 Edition are all separate games, with separate features and in separate states of development.
The games are written in different languages for different platforms, and the XBox version is actually developed by a different company than Minecraft is, so it is (unfortunately) very unlikely that these versions will ever be able to join each other in online play.
Comment: I wish that they would make them all compatible some day!
Answer: This is impossible because the different versions of the game are not compatible. They use different protocols and have different features. Here is a short list of what can play together:

Java edition (original): All 3 major PC platforms: Windows (any), Mac, and Linux. Supports the most customization, mods, and has the most content.

Bedrock edition: Android, iOS, Amazon Fire Phone (on these it's called the "Pocket edition"), and Windows 10 (on Windows 10 it's called the "Windows 10 Edition"). Less content, less mods, if you have Windows 10 the primary advantage of using this version instead is cross-play with mobile.

Pi Edition: Only supports the Raspberry Pi's Raspbian OS for ARM.

There are also console versions (PS3/4/Vita, Xbox 360/One, Wii U) which I believe are only playable if you own the same console.

Anyway, if you want to play together with your kids you'll need to purchase a PC. Their world is and will only be compatible with the Java version of the game.
Answer: It depends if your children are using Minecraft for PC or Minecraft Windows 10 Edition.
Minecraft for PC and minecraft Windows 10 Edition is 2 different games.
With Minecraft Windows 10 Edition you can play with Minecraft PE users via LAN and multiplayer servers.
You can get Minecraft from PC to Windows 10 Edition for free.
Claim Windows 10 Edition:
https://mojang.com/2015/07/get-minecraft-windows-10-edition-beta-for-free/
For more info:
https://mojang.com/2015/07/announcing-minecraft-windows-10-edition-beta/
Comment: I don't think "upgrade" is the right word
Answer: Java Edition and Bedrock Edition do not have native crossplay. However, you can use a proxy like Geyser to connect to a Java server from a Bedrock Edition client. You will need to run a standalone JE server.
Download the server software from Mojang's official page, put it in its own folder, and run the downloaded .jar file. You can copy the folder of your existing world and paste it into the server folder, but you have to rename it to "world".
After setting up the server, you must set up Geyser.
This section of the Geyser wiki explains how to set it up.
You can connect with the server IP "localhost", and Bedrock players can connect with your LAN IP on the port 19132.
Answer: No
You cannot do this for several reasons!

They are entirely different games
They both rely on different programming languages
Pocket edition and PC minecraft both have different features, which is why this will not work.

PE: Nether Reactor Core
PC: The End
PE: Lacks some textures that PC has
PE: Minimal or No red stone support

There are many many more reasons out there, but those are just a few examples!!
Comment: The fact that they are different programming languages should make no difference. The games are communicating over a network, so as long as they use the same communication protocol there is no reason the games could not work together. Programming languages should not be an excuse.
Comment: @Tony I think that's why this answer still has a score of zero despite being otherwise correct.
Comment: -1 The list of feature differences is no longer accurate.
Comment: @Tony I guess the point is that they _aren't_ using the same communication protocol.
Answer: Yes. You can now play Pocket edition with PC edition as of pocket edition version 0.12.1 This has been true as of September 2015, so this feature has been out for almost a full year as of the day I am typing this. The feature requires players to play on the same network, but allows Pocket Edition players to use the many features of PC edition and do things such as going to the nether. This does not work the other way around however. Also the host PC player must be online in order for the Pocket Edition player to be able to play on that world. If the host quits (or their computer shuts off, etc.) then the Pocket Edition player(s) will be forced off of the world, unlike servers. Hope this helps out.
Answer: Speaking of desktop Minecraft, now there are two editions for desktop:

Which mostly everyone knows, the PC version.
Windows 10 Minecraft version.

If you wanted to link up the PC version, you can't. I will describe the solution below at last.
However if you have Windows 10 Minecraft running as server then you can join your MCPE to that specific world.
Now, unfortunately if you had PC version, consider switching to Windows 10 edition. There are few world converters available, so try to convert PC world to PE world and play it from windows 10 edition. (Here is one converter but it is old.)
The problem is: it can't be said that these converters will work with latest versions of minecraft, because Minecraft gets constantly updated. If this method fails then you will have to start a new world.
Answer: It depends if they're using Minecraft PC or Minecraft Windows 10 Edition. If they're using Minecraft PC, no, I'm afraid it won't work. With Minecraft Windows 10 Edition, people using Minecraft PE will be able to join using LAN or servers. This link can be used to upgrade Minecraft PC into Minecraft Windows 10 Edition: https://mojang.com/2015/07/get-minecraft-windows-10-edition-beta-for-free/
Answer: THIS IS NOT POSSIBLE...
Yet.
According to the official Minecraft wiki, cross-platform compatibility will be added in PC/MAC edition 1.14! This update is scheduled for late 2017
Woo!
Comment: I remember the update happening and it only applied to cross-platform play between Windows 10 edition, console and mobile edition.


Understanding effective interest rate and compounding period

Question: An article I'm reading says "An effective monthly rate [on a loan] is quoted over a one-month period.  Since it is effective, it is compounded once per month."  Is that still true if there's no compound interest on the loan, for example if you pay all the interest due each month?
Comment: What happens if you _don't_ pay the interest in a month?
Comment: Most loans in the US do not allow compounding - so unpaid interest is not added to the unpaid balance.  It's just set aside.
Comment: Can you link to the article source?
Comment: Here it is: www.jstor.org/stable/41948835
Answer: If you pay all the interest due at the end of each month, then the interest can't compound because it isn't there (regardless of whether it is a compounding loan or not).  It your loan is a compounding loan, it also matters how often your loan compounds.
Example with monthly compounding
If you have a $100 loan at a monthly effective interest rate of 5%, and the interest compounds monthly, and you make a $5 payment at the end of each month, then there is nothing to compound, since you are paying off the interest.  Your loan will stay at $100 for as long as you pay it.
If you pay nothing over the first year and your loan is a compounding loan, at the end of the first year you will owe $179.59 (loan_amount = initial_loan*(1+monthly_rate)^12).
If your loan is not a compounding loan, and you don't pay anything, then you will owe $160.
So there is only a difference between a compounding loan and a non-compounding loan if you don't pay down the interest each time the interest is applied.
Same example, but with annual compounding
If your $100 loan instead compounds annually, with an effective monthly interest rate of 5%, then your effective annual interest rate is 79.59% (annual_rate = (1+monthly_rate)^12 - 1).  If you don't pay back any of the loan over the first year, you will owe $179.59 (just like in the compounding example above.)
However, if you pay $5 at the end of each month, then after 11 months of payment your loan amount will be $45 (= $100 - 11*$5) and then after compounding at 79.59% your loan will be $80.81 before you make your 12th payment.  In this case, you would eventually pay off your loan by making $5 payments every month, even though the effective monthly interest rates are the same.


Looking for korean text corpus

Question: I'm looking for a list of text corpus for korean. Is there any web site where I can find it?
Regards.
Comment: Try opendata.stackexchange.com
Answer: There are a bunch of Korean corpora on this page:
http://semanticweb.kaist.ac.kr/home/index.php/KAIST_Corpus
You have to request them and get a code for downloading, and the zip format wouldn't open with the regular windows unzip program.  I had to use a Korean zip program called bandizip to unzip the files.
The KAIST raw corpus has just plain hangeul text.
The "High-quality morpho-syntactically annotated corpus" was pos-tagged by hand, but has quite a few errors and inconsistencies.
The automatically-analyzed large-scale KAIST corpus was pos-tagged automatically.
Also, the 국립국어원 has a searchable corpus at https://ithub.korean.go.kr/user/corpus/corpusSearchManager.do#, but I haven't used it much.
Answer: See a list of Korean corpora available in Sketch Engine at https://www.sketchengine.co.uk/user-guide/user-manual/corpora/by-language/korean-text-corpora/
Some of them are accessible with 30-day free trial account on Sketch Engine.
Answer: You can try a search on the Virtual Language Observatory. Enter "korean" and "corpus" in the General search slit and search (600+ results) and then use the facets on the right hand side of the site to restrict language (to Korean) and resource type (to Corpus, Dataset, or Collection).
You will find both spoken and written corpora.

Looking for korean text corpus


How to get instant pudding to come out smooth?

Question: How can you make instant chocolate pudding come out smooth and even consistency instead of having little chocolatey clumps in it? Could something be wrong with my technique? The box says to beat pudding mix into cold milk and then whisk for 2 minutes, should be simple, right? Whisking longer doesn't seem to remove the lumps, so it must be something else.
Comment: What kind of milk are you using?  I noticed a significant difference between skim (fat free) milk and 2% or whole milk.  Something about the milkfat helps the pudding blend better.
Comment: We always use whole milk
Answer: I like to put the pudding mix in the bowl first and add the milk a little at a time, stirring or beating well after each addition, until you have smooth emulsion. Once the pudding mixture is smooth, add the rest of the milk and beat with your whisk as usual. Of course an electic mixer will help smooth it out as well.
Comment: This works for adding liquid to almost any powder.  Work a little at a time, because once you have lumps in a large amount of liquid you just end up pushing them around the liquid instead of breaking the lumps up
Comment: I use this same method (though I rarely use an electric mixer - just not worth the hassle). Adding a little liquid to dry ingredients first almost always turns out smoother than the other way around.
Answer: It could be a bad quality pudding mix, improperly stored pudding mix, or a wrong ratio of mix to milk.
In the case of badly dissolving powders, you want to be more careful. You should use the proper amount of liquid - start out with around 1.5 times more liquid than powder by volume, and make a slurry. When the slurry is smooth, mix it under the rest of the liquid. This frequently helps.
Also don't store your pudding in humid places, because it can start clumping a bit in the pack. A cabinet above a stove is not a good place. You might want to find a glass jar or a tin container with a tight lid and refill from the paper package into such a container for storage. If the pudding mix is packed into individual sachets, you can place the sachets themselves in an airtight container.
Finally, it may be the brand you are buying. Food industry has means of making powders which are very easily dissolved, e.g. by using modified starch in puddings. If yours clumps too easily, they probably chose a bad type of starch. Try another manufacturer.
If you still get clumps, whisking won't get rid of them. Use a blender to break them up. An immersion blender does the job with less hassle, but a standard blender will work as well.
Answer: Many chefs and home cooks will push a variety of sauces and custards through a strainer or sieve to achieve a smooth consistency.  They same technique can be applied to pudding.
Answer: I had this problem - I used an immersion blender to break up the clumps and it worked like a charm!
Answer: You need to warm up the milk on in the stove
Before it boils put on medium low and start whisking in the pudding mix.do so slowly.after which you can use the electric mixer for a very smooth consistency!
Comment: I don't know much about instant pudding but if it says to use cold milk, it's possible that hot milk will be problematic for the pudding mix content.
Comment: Yeah, don't do this for instant pudding: it won't work with warm milk.
Answer: The classic method (which will work satisfyingly even if using pure cornstarch instead of pudding mix) is to whisk the mix (or starch) into a PART of the milk (or substitute) that you leave cold, then heat the remaining milk/liquid (including sugar and other additions), then slowly add the cold mixture to the hot liquid while at the same time whisking the combined liquid like it owes you money. This can often work even with mixes that are designed to work with shortcuts (like adding everything to cold liquid).
Comment: The question is about instant pudding. Cooking instant pudding would be a terrible idea.


Hurst Exponent Calculation

Question: I am trying to calculate the Hurst Exponent using Excel. I am facing a problem where the exponent value sometime goes beyond 1. Can someone share a link / material so that it will help me to calculate accurate values using Excel.
Comment: I just started calculating the Hurst exponent a few days ago using OpenOffice.
I've been looking for examples as well to help me finish it, no luck so far.
Post your study if your able, it will help me, and maybe someone can make the necessary corrections?
Comment: You can find several different implementations of the Hurst exponent here: http://prorum.com/index.php/2173/calcular-expoente-dependencia-dependence-series-temporais
Answer: A detailed description of the Hurst Exponent can be found here. A further (rather short search of Google) turned up this site claiming to provide an Excel Workbook with, among other things, Hurst Exponent estimation.
Answer: You can try the excel sheet we did a few years ago:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/272792633_Excel_Hurst_Calculator

Hurst Exponent Calculation


latex.mathoverflow.net/png images broken

Question: Prior to MathJax and jsmath, MathOverflow used http://latex.mathoverflow.net/png to generate images of mathematical equations to insert in posts (e.g. this one). That didn't last very long but all of those image links are currently broken.
Comment: Could it be a good occassion to instead of fixing this get rid of it? How many question should there be that might be affected (I have no idea how long this was used)? This seems even somewhat more feasible in view of the fact that the posts are not turned unreadble.
Comment: Is there any way for moderators to "edit" the comments that need to be LaTeX-ified, or to replace them with latexified copies?
Comment: Sure thing. Go ahead!
Answer: Upon discovering that the question linked in this question was mine, I decided to fix it and discovered also that a simple regexp would not suffice.  Sometimes it should have been displayed maths, sometimes not, and there were sufficient other small changes that I felt it needed a person to do.  For example, not every mathematical phrase in that series of questions and answers was sent off to latex.mathoverflow.net, and I'd used the \sb command to get round the dodgy parsing of underscores (seems this isn't supported by MathJaX).
Is the list of questions using latex.mathoverflow.net very long?  Maybe you could post the links and then kind hearted users could (slowly!) go through them and fix them.  Say, no more than 5 a day to avoid flooding the active tab?
Comment: It seems a bit stupid that you work a lot with this and then get get a downvote as a result...
Comment: @AndrásBátkai I found that highly amusing.  But it did make me realise that when editing old posts it is probably a good idea to state that this post is ancient history and so voting on it *just because it is on the active list* is a bit pointless.
Comment: I tried to search for latex.mathoverflow.net on the site in order to identify posts for manual fixing, however this seems to fail both with the search on the page as well as  with Google; presumably one would have to search the database or a dump. Now, likely I could somehow manage to do this, but I never did, while I have the impression some do this all the time, so I will wait for a while if such a list is created by somebody who can do this more easily then me before venturing to create it myself.
Comment: @quid Yes, it would be easiest from the database dumps as the *text* `latex.mathoverflow.net` doesn't appear on the pages but only in the page source.
Comment: see my answer http://meta.mathoverflow.net/questions/374/latex-mathoverflow-net-png-images-broken#answer-382
Answer: I ran a quick query, here are the non deleted posts and comments containing latex.mathoverflow.net/png in CSV format: http://pastebin.com/2ffiacNF
Answer: These are the questions provided by m0sa (thank you!), that would contain the type of "LaTeX" that creates problems. (Please note that at the moment it works, so the post does not look broken, but looking at the source it will be clear that this is done different from how it is done now.)
Everybody who is in an editing-mood can pick a post here and add MathJax. After having completed it, please strike-out the post (rather than delete) from this list.
As Andrew Stacey said let us try not to make too many at once. (The revision history of this question could serve as a guide to know how many were done in the recent past.) At the bottom there are three comments where moderator powers wouls be needed. (I also put the corresponding questions there to minimize bumps.)
Still to do:

All done

Completed:
http://www.mathoverflow.net/questions/4516
http://www.mathoverflow.net/questions/4473
http://www.mathoverflow.net/questions/4615
http://www.mathoverflow.net/questions/4625
http://www.mathoverflow.net/questions/4658
http://www.mathoverflow.net/questions/4601
http://www.mathoverflow.net/questions/4494
http://www.mathoverflow.net/questions/4664
http://www.mathoverflow.net/questions/5161
http://www.mathoverflow.net/questions/5321
http://www.mathoverflow.net/questions/5338
http://www.mathoverflow.net/questions/4429
http://www.mathoverflow.net/questions/4083
http://www.mathoverflow.net/questions/4115
http://www.mathoverflow.net/questions/4121
http://www.mathoverflow.net/questions/4125
http://www.mathoverflow.net/questions/4128
http://www.mathoverflow.net/questions/4130
http://www.mathoverflow.net/questions/4135
http://www.mathoverflow.net/questions/4169
http://www.mathoverflow.net/questions/4174
http://www.mathoverflow.net/questions/4180
http://www.mathoverflow.net/questions/4193
http://www.mathoverflow.net/questions/4233
http://www.mathoverflow.net/questions/4246
http://www.mathoverflow.net/questions/4268
http://www.mathoverflow.net/questions/4276
http://www.mathoverflow.net/questions/4296
http://www.mathoverflow.net/questions/4333
http://www.mathoverflow.net/questions/4406
http://www.mathoverflow.net/questions/4409
http://www.mathoverflow.net/questions/4422
http://www.mathoverflow.net/questions/4424
http://www.mathoverflow.net/questions/4452
http://www.mathoverflow.net/questions/4456
http://www.mathoverflow.net/questions/4459
http://www.mathoverflow.net/questions/4460
http://www.mathoverflow.net/questions/4672
http://www.mathoverflow.net/questions/4674
http://www.mathoverflow.net/questions/4709
http://www.mathoverflow.net/questions/4728
http://www.mathoverflow.net/questions/4779
http://www.mathoverflow.net/questions/4851
http://www.mathoverflow.net/questions/4865
http://www.mathoverflow.net/questions/4939
http://www.mathoverflow.net/questions/4966
http://www.mathoverflow.net/questions/5006
http://www.mathoverflow.net/questions/5008
http://www.mathoverflow.net/questions/5013
http://www.mathoverflow.net/questions/5044
http://www.mathoverflow.net/questions/5064
http://www.mathoverflow.net/questions/5103
http://www.mathoverflow.net/questions/5122
http://www.mathoverflow.net/questions/5144

http://www.mathoverflow.net/questions/1845#comment-6101
http://www.mathoverflow.net/questions/4180#comment-4382
http://www.mathoverflow.net/questions/4429#comment-4719
Comment: Couple of lessons from doing a couple of these: there may be more than one part of the post that needs fixing (ie check the answers too, and take the opportunity to fix minor things in those since the whole thing will be bumped anyway); and the "alt" text may not fully correspond to what is in the image.
Comment: Oh, and not all of these questions are questions.  Some are answers.  So if fixing more than one issue in a question-and-answer list, it will be that the answer should also be struck out (if you can locate it in the list).
Comment: (I only accepted to improve visibility.)
Comment: Thanks to everybody who contributed so far, and especially to @AndrewStacey for the remarks. I was aware of the answer-issue but did not know the potential "alt" text problem. In any case, once this is completed/close to completion I will double-check the changes.
Answer: I propose we ask the Stack Exchange team if they can do a search and replace on the database for us.
As an example, we want to replace

![\sum\sb {n \ge 1} \frac{1}{n} \cos(n \pi t)](http://latex.mathoverflow.net/png?%5Csum%5F%7Bn%20%5Cge%201%7D%20%5Cfrac%7B1%7D%7Bn%7D%20%5Ccos%28n%20%5Cpi%20t%29)

with

$\sum\sb {n \ge 1} \frac{1}{n} \cos(n \pi t)$

It's probably a reasonable thing to do with a regular expression!
Comment: Would not be better to have displaystyle here?
Answer: In the meantime, I got the script that produces the images running again. I don't think this is a good solution, short term or long term.


Is "ghee" clarified butter or beurre noisette?

Question: Reading the Wikipedia pages on "Ghee," "Clarified butter" and "Beurre noisette" has left me somewhat confused as to what ghee is. Some statements on the pages seem to suggest that it's always clarified butter, some that it's always beurre noisette, others that it can be either of the two depending on regional variations, and then it also might just be something in-between. Can someone clear up my confusion? Does it make (much) of a difference for cooking Indian recipes (I presume not, as ghee plays a less prominent role in a curry than beurre noisette does when it's used as a sauce).
Answer: Judging from those Wikipedia articles:
Clarified butter is rendered butter, which means that the solids are removed.
Beurre noisette is browned butter, which contains the solids.
Ghee is slightly-browned (it should have a golden color) butter that is rendered. So you melt the butter till it's golden. Then you remove the solids by pouring the top layer into a container. So you have a combination (if you like) of clarified and browned butter.
Answer: I was doing some product demonstrations at an Asian market in Portland once, and an Indian vendor treated me to some of his samples brushed with a brownish ghee. I mentioned that I had never seen this kind of ghee before; I was used to a more yellowish, clarified-butter style.
He told me "Yeah, my wife hates it when I make this kind of ghee, but I prefer it because it has more flavor."
So, there's at least some anecdotal evidence that within the Indian ghee can vary in style from a simple clarified butter to a strained brown butter. His was slightly less brown than when I make a brown butter, but I suspect there's a broad continuum.
Answer: The primary distinction between ghee and beurre noisette is twofold:

In preparing ghee, every effort is made to ensure that all of the water is evaporated from the butter, so that it is has good long term storage properties.   Evaporating the water is a side effect in making beurre noisette, and so it may or may not be fully purged, and room temperature storage is not recommended.

In preparing ghee, the milk solids are left behind (again, so that it has a long shelf life), and the product is essentially pure milkfat.
Any color imparted to ghee during the preparation is flavor and color compounds that have dissolved into the fat phase, as the milk solids are not part of the final product.
In beurre noisette, the browned milk solids and the flavor that they impart are the entire reason for making it, so they are included in the final product.   The name reflects the color (as of hazelnuts) of the browned butter, due to the browning of the milk solids.
Comment: I imagine you could make a dark ghee from beure noisette, sounds like a nice experiment.
Answer: For your question if ghee is clarified butter or not, the answer is yes, it is sort of clarified butter but it is not Beurre noisette. As for your confusion, it is not Beurre noisette as for beurre noisette you need to caramelize the milk solids present in the butter to achieve the nutty flavour profile and a little bit browning of the product.
It does not make much difference if you use either of ghee or beurre noisette to cook Indian recipes because there are many Indian recipes that are changing across the globe according to people's taste preferences.
Answer: Both have a nutty flavour but beurre noisette still contains the milk solids. Ghee doesn't (unless the person using the word "ghee" is for is unaware of the differences so not using its technical meaning).
Beurre noisette (also known as brown butter, sometimes 'caramelised butter') is whole butter. It shouldn't have water content but can sometimes still have some water remaining.
Ghee is a toasted form of clarified butter (milk solids removed), and never has any water content. It keeps better than whole butter and has a higher smoke point.
Beurre noisette - butter is heated until the milk solids in it are toasted. All the water content is usually cooked off during the browning process. (In black butter the heating just continues to a darker colour.)
Clarified butter is any butter where the milk solids (protein) have been removed. - because there are no milk solids it burns less easily (at a higher temperature). It keeps better than whole butter and has lower (or no) water content.
For the specific kind of clarified butter called ghee (an word from India where the form originated), the butter is heated, the milk solids sink, then heating continues until the milk solids are toasted. The milk solids are then separated (and used in other recipes or discarded). The process gives ghee, unlike the european forms of clarified butter, a nutty taste and a browned colour (depth of colour to taste). The cooking process required also removes all the water content.
Regular (or classical European) clarified butter is heated to a low simmer so the milk solids float to the surface where they are skimmed off off before they change colour. It has no toasted flavours and, given the shorter process needed, usually has a significant proportion of the water still in it.
Answer: It definitely varies regionally, but I have always thought: it is both.
It is generally made by clarifying butter, but taking a longer time to do it so the nutty flavors characteristic to beurre noisette are more prominent.
Answer: Ghee is clarified & browned (fait noisette) butter (beurre).
Of course, the degree to which it's browned can vary to taste or custom, as I'm sure it does with beurre noisette too.
Note also that, if you intend to produce ghee, you need to brown before clarifying; it's the milk solids that will brown, and clarifying removes them leaving only (in the case of ghee, infused) butterfat.
Answer: The only difference between buerre niosette, brown butter, and clarified butter is the milk solids are cooked longer... with clarified butter you stop the process before the milk solids get toasted (and sometimes remove the solids), brown butter they are toasted and black butter they are basically burnt. that's where the name comes from. Ghee is clarified butter traditionally boiled to clarify making it not brown or black... but technically all of them are ghee.

Is “ghee” clarified butter or beurre noisette?


Looking to use a tag slug/URI and loop through entries of that tag

Question: It doesn't appear that tags are handled the same way as categories in the sense that categories have a slug (which results to a URI). I'd like to use tags to link to a "tag" page, similar to a category page, but "Really Cool Tag Name" doesn't work/look right as part of a URL. I've used the Slugify plugin to turn the tag in to a slug, however, I'm not sure the best approach to return the relationship of that tag as that slug is not related to the tag at all. Would the best practice be to add an additional slug field to the tag group? Then I'd be able to make that relationship. Thoughts?
Answer: Here's a really DRY way to do it.
Setup a route, something like "news/tags/(tag)" to load the "news/index" template (the same one used for listing all entries).
In the "news/index" template:
{# If there is a tag token in the URL, set a filtered variable. #}
{% if tag is defined %}

Tag: {{ tag }}

    {% set tag = craft.tags.name(tag).first() %}

    {% set entriesToShow = craft.entries.section('news').relatedTo(tag) %}

{% else %} {# No tag token in URL, assume unfiltered overview page. #}

    {% set entriesToShow = craft.entries.section('news') %}

{% endif %}

{# the entry loop for both filtered and unfiltered entries #}
{% for entry in entriesToShow %}
    {# display entry #}
{% endfor %}

When templating tag links to this system use:
{{ siteUrl }}news/tag/{{ tag.name|url_encode }}

This method allows you to reuse your entry loop and you don't even need a "tags" template. I can also be expanded to filter by categories as well without needing another template.
Answer: There is a detailed help article dedicated to that in the help section of the Craft website.
In short

create a route
get all entries related to the tag
use {{ tag.name | url_encode }} to create the URL pointing to the tag page
Answer: I setup a route, in my case "news/tag/[tag]" with a template news/_tag. Then in the template I find the tag:
{% set actualTag = craft.tags.name(tag).first() %}
{% if not actualTag %}{% exit 404 %}{% endif %}

and get the entries related to the tag (could additionally restrict this by section):
{% set relevantEntries = craft.entries
  .relatedTo({
    targetElement: actualTag,
    field: 'tags'
  })
%}

[edited to add:]
To get the list of tags with links to the tag pages (twig url_encode to translate tag name to url):
{% for tag in craft.tags.relatedTo({
    sourceElement: entries,
    field: 'tags'
  }).order('name')
%}
  {% set tagUrl = '/news/tag/'~(tag.name|url_encode) %}
  {{tag.name}}
{% endfor %}

Comment: Do you use the tag as is in the URL or do you "slugify" it or create a secondary field for the "slug" field?
Comment: I use the tag as is. My theory is that is what tags are designed for.
Comment: So you use it with spaces if applies? i.e. "this is my tag" Which would render ".com/news/tag/this is my tag"
Comment: craft turns that into "this+is+my+tag", and I use that
Comment: Actually, I pass it through url_encode, and use that:{{tag.name|url_encode}}. Editing my original answer to include that...
Comment: For your route, does `news/tag/[tag]` work or do you use the wildcard and/or slug? In place of `[tag]` - `new/tag/*` or `new/tag/slug`
Answer: Not sure if this is the best way to go, but thus far I've used a custom route (in Settings->Routes) to setup tag listing/landing pages. Something like tags/* so the wildcard catches the tag slug.
{% set tagId = "" %} {# set the initial tagID variable outside of your loop to access it later in the template #}

{% if craft.request.getSegment(1) == "tags" %} {# if you're on the tag listing template #}
    {% set tags = craft.tags.find() %} {# get all tags in the system #}
    {% for tag in tags %}
        {% set tagUrl = tag.name|lower|replace({' ': '-'}) %} {# do the same string manipulation that you did to create the slug that links to this page #}
        {% if (tagUrl == craft.request.getSegment(2)) %} {# grab the tag that matches your URL #}
            {% set tagId = tag.id %}
        {% endif %}
    {% endfor %}
{% endif %}

Then, grab entries that are related to this tag:
{% set tag = craft.tags.id(tagId) %}
{% set entries = craft.entries.section('blog').relatedTo(tag).find() %}


Application of Latin names for Taxonomy

Question: The current taxonomy has family names like Canidae and Felidae. But Felidae has sub families like Felinae and Pantherinae. Roaring cats and non-roaring cats. My question is based on the fact that we can have common words for these families based in Latin: Felines, Canines, Pantherines. Can every family in the taxonomy be represented by this latter form? Is Pantherine a valid name? Is was created by dropping the a from the subfamily but caninine was created by dropping the da from the main family and replacing with in.
Answer: Is "Pantherine" a valid vernacular name for this group in English? Sure, although "panther" is much clearer ("Pantherine" in English would mean "like a panther", not "a panther"). Also, many family names are fairly obscure: even a pretty well-known group, like Apidae, would become "Apinine" in your scheme, which is less clear to me than "a family of bees".
Is it a valid family name? No. The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN Code), which governs all scientific names for animals, says:

Article 29.2. Suffixes for family-group names. The suffix -OIDEA is used for a superfamily name, -IDAE for a family name, -INAE for a subfamily name, -INI for the name of a tribe, and -INA for the name of a subtribe. These suffixes must not be used at other family-group ranks. The suffixes of names for taxa at other ranks in the family-group are not regulated. [emphasis mine]

Family names that don't have an "-idae" suffix need to be corrected (ICZN Code Article 220.127.116.11).
Note that the ICZN Code doesn't cover other ranks in the family-group or above.
Comment: I think OP is getting at the fact that certain non-formal names are "valid" in English to refer to *members* of a group, hence: scarabaeid, coleopteran, neopteran, etc.
Comment: Yes I think the common English form are valid too. I would however like to know the correct forms for singular and plural in zoological and botanical names since comman names are not always obvious. I would assume all nouns there are in plural since they are talking about groups. And I assume the form is neutral. But I see words like Goniotrichum which is singular neutral so I wonder if I can change to Goniotricha ? Or is there some article I can read that would show how to convert all latin taxa names to common forms? like deuterostomia to deuterostomes.
Comment: And you say Apidae would become Apinine but in my system it would be Apeidos since wiktionary lists eidos as the singular form of idae.
Comment: *Goniotrichum* is a genus name, which are usually singular nouns -- a name like *Homo sapiens* means "[a] sapient [adjective] Human [noun]". IMO you would refer to "*Goniotrichum* species", rather than "Goniotrichums".

Application of Latin names for Taxonomy


Losing my lower range

Question: As I get older the lower end of my voice is deteriorating. I can still sing as high as I always have but it's my lower range that isn't what it used to be. I also can't seem to make interval jumps like I once did. When I was 47 I was in an accident and had to have surgery. They put a breathing tube in me and after surgery my voice was hoarse. Since then the lower end of my range has been a problem. I haven't heard of voices going higher as you age.
Answer: Nor have I.  Based on your description, the breathing tube is more likely the culprit, not your age. I'm 52 and have my low register intact! I have temporarily lost my low range because I've dried my vocal chords out (drinking coffee before I sing or speak - I do voiceovers as well! ) and this may also be why your low register isn't functioning, that said,   it really sounds like you may have some damage to your vocal chords, I'd suggest a ENT take a look down your throat, specifically your vocal chords to check for damage!

Losing my lower range


Can you share digital games on Nintendo Switch like how it is for PS4 and Xbox One?

Question: I have multiple switches as one is in my home and another in my other home for the kids. I've been buying physical copies of games so I can bring it over to my other home, but can you do this for digitally purchased games for the nintendo switch?
Answer: No, digital games are tied to a single Nintendo account that can only be on a single Switch at a time, but you can transfer the account between Switches, but this is a reasonably time consuming task (around 5 minutes). All save files tied to that account will move with account. Downloaded games will stay on the Switch but cannot be played by anyone if the account it was purchased against is not on the Switch.
Answer: Sort of? It's a bit of a complicated process. (It's nothing like any sort of Family Sharing or what have you that other devices may have).
According to official Nintendo support, here's what you have to do:

If  you want to move your digital games to a different system, you can
  deactivate your current console, then use your Nintendo Account to
  access the Nintendo eShop on the new console. The new console will
  automatically become the active console for your Nintendo Account, and
  all of your digital games can be played on the new system.
Key Points: You can activate one console at a time for your Nintendo
  Account. Your games are only playable on the current active console.
  While a console is active for your Nintendo Account, everyone on the
  console can play the games you've purchased. If you change the active
  console for your Nintendo Account, your games will not be playable on
  the deactivated system unless you make that the active one again for
  your Nintendo Account. Save data (for digital AND physical games)
  cannot be transferred between systems. Physical games are not tied to
  a specific console or Nintendo Account, and can be played on any
  system you like.
How It Works:

Link a Nintendo Account to your
  Nintendo Switch console.
Access the Nintendo eShop. Your console is
  now activated for your Nintendo Account. Purchase games and / or add
  funds in Nintendo eShop. These will be tied to your Nintendo Account.
  Everyone on system can play games, but only you can use funds in your
  Nintendo Account balance.
To change the console where you play your
  games, access the Nintendo eShop on your active console and deactivate
  the console for your Nintendo Account. Games you've purchased will no
  longer be playable on the deactivated console.
On the second Nintendo
  Switch console, use the same Nintendo Account to access the Nintendo
  Switch eShop. This is now the activated console for your account. You
  can now use this console to make purchases and download new and
  previous game purchases.

So technically you can, but it's complicated, and isn't exactly sharing, just moving.


Fitting copula for discrete margins

Question: How can I fit a copula for a bivariate vector of negative binomial and Bernoulli margins?
I would prefer a Frank or Clayton copula.
Comment: It will probably be worth looking at  the copula package
Answer: With one margin being Bernoulli, it looks to me like the general form of copula for that bivariate discrete case would specify a $p$ (probability that the Bernoulli variable is 1) for each value taken by the negative binomial. I'd probably be inclined to write a function for those conditional $p_i$ (how $p_i$ changes with $i$ -- note that they don't themselves form a probability function; they don't add to 1, for example - as long as they're all probabilities). You are probably after something where the $p_i$ are monotonic (which suggests the possibility of using a cdf for that function). You might be able to use the CLayton or Frank copulas to come up with a suitable conditional cdf for the $p$'s.
Answer: If your marginal distribution function has a closed form (or is limited sum of mass probabilities) you should write log-likelihood function and maximize it.

Fitting copula for discrete margins