What is the easiest way to prepare a rabbit snare with minimal tools?

Question: If I don't have much with me and I want to catch a rabbit for food, What is the easiest way to prepare a snare? What kind of knot should I use and where should I put the snare?
Answer: Though I have never been hunting, neither have got into a situation where I had to bank on wildlife for survival, I had once imagined and practiced a very basic snaring technique, without involving an animal in real. But, this technique that I am going to explain is NOT necessarily the best one to implement under extreme circumstances.
Things you need:

Ideally a wire or a Strong thread and/or shoelace, preferably a nylon thread of you have.
Some rabbit bait
A knife for fine craft work

Hunting is a skill that involves fine craftsmanship, understanding the surroundings and the mentality and habits of animals. Look for the places where you are most likely to find rabbits. You should be looking for their droppings, tracks, rubs, scratches, signs of feeding, shelter or burrow entrances, food and water sources, etc. Select a place suitable for setting up the trap like the one I have drawn in the picture. (Kindly neglect my bad work with the Paint tool)
Pick a tree or something similar that can give the kind of a recoil action when the latch is disturbed, so that the loop shall swing in the opposite direction and above the ground (+ a rabbit's height).
Fix a base deep in the ground. Make a notch on it to latch the trigger in it as shown.
Craft a trigger which can be latched into the base as shown. This may take some time.
Tie a string (you can use a shoelace) to the tip of the small plant. The plant should be tough enough to bear the weight of a rabbit.
Make a loop of wire and tie it to the trigger part. Practice the loop part multiple times as this simple knot is too crucial to fail.
You may have to put some obstacles around the set up so that the animal is forced to be diverted towards the setup.
Finally put the bait in front of the setup such that the rabbit will have to pass through the loop. So that when he necks though the loop and move ahead, the latch is popped, the trigger is lifted and the rabbit is hung.

This set up may fail in case of strong winds and other physical disturbances. make sure the you don't put one such set up on a cattle trail as that would injure the cattle.
Lastly, a humble request, on a personal note, though hunting is legal in many parts of the world, try not to hunt for no reason and just for fun, be humane with your hunting techniques. Don't trap an animal for fun and in a manner that it would torture them physically. God forbid, but, if you at all are really into a situation where hunting is the last resort for survival, make sure that you kill them quick, after-all its a life that you are taking, don't make it slow and painful.
Comment: Downvote? Care to explain?
Answer: The best place to snare a rabbit is on a trail.  Find an area that is overgrown and thick.  Look for areas like this
http://www.instructables.com/id/Snaring/step8/Game-trails/
In my experience, baiting rabbits is very hard.
I don't have a good knot I use for snaring.  I typically make snares before I go out to the woods, but in a survival situation this is not practical.
Here are two good snare videos.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=YANo1IWJZNI
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VS0KI573vIk


Add a new close reason

Question: This question got closed as "off-topic" recently. The reason it was closed is because it's a question asking for pastoral advice, and if not that it's probably a duplicate. In any case, if we're going to close questions for that, oughtn't we have a close reason specifically for it?
Answer: If you have decided that "questions asking for pastoral advice" are outside the scope of this site, then it is [off topic]. You can be more helpful by simply adding a comment "Please talk to your pastor. Such personal questions are not well suited to this site, per our FAQ".
Please, if a member uses this site incorrectly, leave them a thoughtful comment to help. Don't be so quick to toss about close reasons like some form letter stamped "REJECTED" across the bottom. It is much more helpful if you actually talk to them. The close reasons are there only to provide a broad categorization for why questions are closed; not to offer such specific advice.
In the earlier days of Stack Overflow, we used to have a much longer, much more exacting list of close reasons. It became simply too arduous for users to decide which close reason best described the situation, so we've pared back considerably. You really don't want to enumerate a long list of reasons to reject a users question. It's community unfriendly and sends some people off on a crusade looking for posts that run afoul the long forbidden list. That's not what you want here.
Answer: Currently "Off Topic" seems to be the best choice (since it indicates something falls outside the scope of this site) with a comment explaining why StackExchange is not an appropriate outlet for that particular need.
Edit: wax_eagle's suggestion of "too localized" also makes a lot of sense, since these questions would always be of a personal nature and the specifics of a case would need to be delved. This should be done in the context of a pastor or other counselor not this site, thus they wouldn't be generally applicable.
Comment: actually, too localized may be the best one.
Answer: I do not see how this question linked is asking for pastoral advice. On SEs, you are encouraged to ask questions that you actually, personally have, not just "how many angels can dance on the head of a pin" thought questions.
Though the poster shares a bunch of personal details, he does not ask "help me!"...  He asks extremely specific and legitimate Christian belief questions.

How is it fair that I am not aloud into heaven when God was the one who made me homosexual?
In that case, should homosexuals be able to marry and love one another
(husband/husband, wife/wife) but be forbidden from sexual conduct?
How can a God who created my body and mind, create a world where I am specifically hated or considered "mentally ill", and/or "not of God".

If someone who wasn't gay asked these same questions, they would be legitimate? If someone was "just askin'" out of morbid curiosity?
So someone who actually has a vested interest in the question can't ask them? And you think that is a positive think that will make this SE more valuable?
There is a huge difference between someone asking for specific pastoral advice, and someone asking about general Christianity questions because they bear upon their specific situation.
I'll be honest, interpreting questions like this as OT is just dumb.  Go look at parenting.SE.  The highest rated questions there are EXACTLY parallel to questions like this one. https://parenting.stackexchange.com/questions/1776/how-can-i-prevent-my-8-year-old-from-spending-time-with-his-bad-friend
Or heck, like my Tyranny of the Weaker Brother question.  It's a point of theology, but it does affect me.  Is that asking for "pastoral advice" and should be mod-closed?  Because I see zero difference in nature between the two questions.
Answer: I think this would be more likely to get implemented if you can come up with a more generic reason that will work on other Stack Exchange sites as well.
I don't think they're particularly fond of making a lot of special exceptions for individual sites, so you should try to justify this as something that would be useful on more sites than this one.
Comment: StackOverflow is never going to need a "_we are not qualified as a community to offer pastoral care_" close reason :) There are a few sites with custom close reasons. It's not hard from a technical point of view, it's just a matter of having to cross-train different communities. However with another religious themed site out there there could be one more usage. Frankly I think the scope of this site and the questions it is likely to field ARE fairly unique and might call for some special measures.

Add a new close reason


Are there codified or at least customary acceptance criteria?

Question: In this question, there are two answers, both of which I up-voted, but I didn't "accept" either since there didn't appear to be a reason why one stands out as clearly preferable to the other.  Apparently, my lack of "acceptance" offended someone who's taking me to task for it in comments on one of my questions.  Some people (or at least one person) seem to get rather passionate about acceptances.  Has anyone defined codified some criteria that say when one should "accept" an answer and what that is supposed to mean?
Comment: I believe [Willie's answer](http://meta.math.stackexchange.com/a/3657/856) to the previous question "[What factors should be considered to accept an answer](http://meta.math.stackexchange.com/q/3656/856)" is relevant here.
Comment: It's just reputation points. One criteria might be lack of obnoxiousness. Sometimes people win marathons (a 26+ mile race) by a fraction of a second.
Comment: Well, if I wanted to be a grammar nazi, I might say that you should have written "One criterion might be..." and that "criteria" is plural.
Answer: If your only problem is that there isn't a clear reason to prefer one answer to the other, but you still feel that your question has been answered satisfactorily, then I'd say to go ahead, flip a coin and accept one of them. Or choose the one whose author needs the rep the most, or whatever.
Getting the question marked as "no longer open" is more important than making sure nobody is treated more fairly than someone else, I think.

That being said, I think there is too much mindless pressure for users to get their "accept rate" up, just for the sake of having it up. The person who took you to task complained about a 42% accept rate, which is slightly ridiculous in my eyes. I wish we could reserve that kind of remarks for users who seem to be avoiding to accept anything on general principle (or out of ignorance, but then the remarks really should be phrased more kindly than they usually are).
One reason for this is that the warm fuzzy feeling that comes from having an answer accepted is becomes considerably cheapened for me by the possibility that the answer may not have been very helpful for asker at all, perhaps he's just being bullied into "working on his accept rate" for its own sake.
Comment: Indeed, one can argue that pushing readers to accept answers that they don't want to accept is highly detrimental to the site, because it discourages later answers that might be more comprehensible or more enlightening to the OP (and readers). IMO, accepting answers too quickly is one of the major problems of the site. The content of the site would be *much* richer if the software forced the OP to wait a few days before accepting answers.
Comment: For a peon's perspective: indeed, I have been peer-pressured into keeping a 95-100% acceptance rate. When I am about to ask a new question, I go back and make sure to accept an answer to my most recent question. Sometimes it comes down to a coin flip. sometimes there is no best answer, but I would rather (for whatever subjective reason or misconception on my part) accept "unacceptable" (or "underacceptable") answers than risk having future questions ignored because DP doesn't like my acceptance rate.
Comment: Surely you have seen that in lists of questions, questions with an accepted answer have the number-of-answers shown on a green background? Why one should want to do that is to help other users of the site quickly find the questions where their work will do the most good.
Comment: @TheChaz, I'm one of the people who bugs others about accept rates, but it would never occur to me to chide someone for having "only", say, 90%. I don't think I've ever commented on any rate over 40%, and mostly when I comment the rate is in the 0 to 20 range. I don't know who has been pressuring you to keep over 95%, but I'd advise you to resist any such pressure.
Comment: I didn't know there was such a thing as getting a question marked "no longer open".  Why should one want to do that?
Comment: @Gerry Myerson: Thanks for your input.
Comment: Are questions with accepted answers really "no longer open"? If I'm not mistaken, it is possible to post an answer after another answer is accepted.
Comment: They are "no longer open" in the everyday sense of "open questions" as ones for which a good answer is not known.
Answer: Firstly, I fully endorse Rahul's comment. <code>:-)</code>
Secondly, let me explain, or at least give my point of view, on why some users are getting worked up about the acceptance rate. There are two main ways of user-interaction which can be used to express gratitude for providing an answer beyond a simple "thanks." They are "up votes" and "answer acceptances". (There's also "bounties", which we'll ignore for now.) Many people have their own ideas about what each of the two means, so I won't try to attach meaning to them. But I will point out that there are two main technical differences:

Up votes are worth less reputation than acceptances (+10 vs +15)
Acceptances can be more easily rescinded than votes (a vote can only be changed within a certain time frame, or after an edit was made to the corresponding answer; an answer acceptance can be removed any time).

Because of the difference, people regard the two with different values. Now, in spite of the actual intentions behind a questioner deciding not to accept an answer, some users may interpret a low acceptance rate as (the list is not intend to be complete, but just a description of some of the comments I've seen)

the questioner being "stingy" with an intangible commodity with no actual worth and which violates the "have a cake and eat it too" rule.
the questioner is "leeching" from the community; while answers here are given voluntarily and time spent here are of the users' own wills, some people still think that people who ask questions should "give something back" to the community, be it providing answers or giving people reputation points.

I will not debate whether either of the views are reasonable. This is just to give you some ideas on what may be behind comments calling you on your accept rate.
Thirdly, for (not-so-)new users with low reputation and a habit of asking poorly motivated questions, I do sometimes decide not to answer a question because of extremely low acceptance rates. This is due to mainly lack of feedback. If the user consistently refuse to provide the context in which the questions are asked, nor any details about his/her personal mathematical background, and if the user does not indicate whether previous answers to his or her questions are actually useful, how am I to know whether the answer I have in mind will be useful to the person who asked? This is especially frustrating in the case when I know I can explain the same thing in several different levels, but the user gives no indication which one level is most suitable.
Answer: My opinion is that it is perfectly fine not to accept any answer if one has good reasons to do so.
For example, during the month I was testing MathOverflow, I posted a question on a tantalizing problem of Halmos, namely: explain why the following "proof" gives the correct answer.
$$\rm\begin{eqnarray} (1 - ba)^{-1} &=&\rm: 1 + ba + baba + bababa + \cdots \
&=& \rm: 1 + b (1 + ab + abab + ababab + \cdots) a \
&=&\rm: 1 + b (1 - ab)^{-1} a
\end{eqnarray}$$
One easily checks that the final answer is correct in every ring, even though the derivation using (formal) power series generally cannot be interpreted in every ring.  As Halmos wrote

Why does it all this work? What goes on here? Why does it seem that the formula for the sum of an infinite geometric series is true even for an abstract ring in which convergence is meaningless? What general truth does the formula embody? I don't know the answer, but I note that the formula is applicable in other situations where it ought not to be, and I wonder whether it deserves to be called one of the (computational) elements of mathematics.

A long time ago (perhaps sparked by a conversation with G. C. Rota), I found what I thought was a good answer to this question. But none of the current MO answers (or comments) have helped me to remember this answer. So I have not yet accepted any answer, in the hope that someday the question will get bumped into the view of MO reader who knows the method that I had in mind.


How many confirmations are required for funds to be received?

Question: If I am not mistaken no single block in the public tangle is ever fully confirmed.
What exactly determines the treshhold when funds are actually received, making
the transaction relatively irreversable and "complete" in most peoples eyes? Does the receival automatically implicate the complete nature of a transaction or not, considering this happens online and thus on the main public tangle? Thank you.
Comment: In the current live tangle, there is a central authority, called "The Coordinator", which ultimately decides which transactions are confirmed. (One confirmation by the coordinator is enough). For what happens when the coordinator is gone, there are some theories/estimations, which you can find when you search for "Coordicide" here or on the IOTA blog.
Answer: The current situation: The Coordinator is issuing transactions and these transactions are connected to branches of the tangle. These transactions are called milestones. The full-nodes are still validating the transactions. So, if the milestones are breaking these rules, the milestone is not valid. Mobilefish recorded a fantastic video and explains this in detail.
Eventually: It depends on the use-case. It is a matter of risk management. You could also say that your transaction is confirmed when the RWMC is 51%. Another issue might be a network which is partially offline. IOTA also works if your network is not connected to the main-tangle all the time. So, you could also say a transaction is confirmed when it is confirmed in your sub-tangle, even if it is not connected to the main-tangle. Depending on the transaction value and the size of the sub-tangle. If you have a small transaction value, the chances are little that somebody is attacking your sub-tangle which is currently offline. When your sub-tangle is online again, it is likely to get confirmed by the main-tangle. But you also need to connect it to the main-tangle via transactions.
Answer: As stated by others, in the current tangle the entitiy called "Coordinator" issues so called "milestones" every 2 minutes or so. As every transaction must reference two older transactions (normally "tips", meaning unconfirmed transactions), the milestones references one transaction and the previous milestone. Your own transaction is considered valid, meaning the funds can savely be considered received, if it is referenced directly or indirectly by a milestone. This takes about 2 minutes.
The original consensus mechanism described in the whitepaper is not implemented yet but probably will, or some variant of it, at some point in the future.


What is the recommended home design software?

Question: I am going to be finishing my basement.  I would like to design the new basement myself using design software.  What is the recommended home design software?
Answer: See this question. Google Sketchup seems to be a good option if you don't want to pay big bucks.
Also, here's a tutorial for framing layout in Sketchup.
Comment: When I first tried Sketchup I struggled. But then I saw what other people were doing with it and I watched and walked through training videos. I'm so glad I did because I can draw things freely now. I cannot recommend this highly enough. It is an AWESOME bit of software. I liked the tutorials on this website: http://sketchupforwoodworkers.com/ They're geared toward the sort of designs I wanted to do.
Answer: Good roundup of tools from here: http://www.charlesandhudson.com/archives/2010/07/3d_virtual_room_planning_tools.htm
A couple that stand out, both run in your browser, and allow drag-and-drop of furniture and appliances, measurements on walls, 3D renderings, etc.

Autodesk Homestyler
MyDeco 3D
Answer: I used 3D Home Architect several years ago. It worked well and was inexpensive. As a matter of fact, I got it to design my basement.
Answer: There is an article (in Swedish) comparing 28 different programs for drawing houses. The summary table is straight forward even if you do not speak Swedish, and translated via google probably is ok quality to get the points made.
Answer: I have used Home Designer Suite by Home Designer Software, the consumer version of the Chief Architect professional 3D home design software. Here is a version of a house that I created. It is not free, but for ~$99 I really like the functionality and features.


Why is it okay to say "Sono in cucina"?

Question: I've been wondering why it's okay to say "Sono in cucina" without any article while it's necessary to say "Sono nel negozio", for example. With what nouns can we simply say "in"?
Comment: Welcome to Italian.SE! You could also say _Sono **in** negozio_, it's perfectly correct.
Comment: Related question:  https://italian.stackexchange.com/questions/4079/preposition-a-or-al/, maybe a duplicate.
Comment: Maybe the double "n" is felt hard to pronounce by whom told you that "sono nel negozio" is required. In standard Italian there is a difference between "sono in negozio" and "sono nel negozio"; basically, in the former case, the hearer knows what shop is meant, in the latter case a further specification is usually needed.
Answer: In the sentence "Sono nel negozio" the word "nel" is an Italian composed preposition, nel = in + il.
So, "Sono nel negozio" works like "Sono in negozio"  and "Sono in cucina" works like "Sono nella cucina".
Specifically you use only in when the owner of the place you refer is clear or familiar.
Instead, you use nel when referring to where the location you are talking about is located.
"Sono nel negozio di scarpe" can be used inside a common store implying that the store is in a bigger place like a shopping center, "Sono in negozio" usually is used when I am in my own store, or in a store I work in.
"Sono in cucina" when I'm in my kitchen.  "Sono nella cucina" if I'm a visitor in a house for sale and someone is looking for me (es.: sono nella cucina della casa che sto visitando).
Comment: It's not clear to me if "essere in cucina" is used when the owner of the place is clear or when the speaker is the owner. Could you make it clear in your answer? If I'm a visitor in a house, the owner of the place is clear, yet you used "nella cucina", which makes me think the first rule is not valid.
Comment: @AlanEvangelista hi, I edited the answer to add details, I wanted to focus on the context.  **in** or **nel** are slightly different in common speech, I hope i gave you the right interpretation.

Why is it okay to say "Sono in cucina"?


Can I update the kernel of my 10.04 LTS to the latest kernel?

Question: I want to update the kernel version of my current 10.04 LTS to at least 2.6.37 (because the drivers for my eth0 and wlan0 interfaces are included in the said kernel).
If it is possible, how do I do this? Is there a repo I add to my sources list?
Answer: You don't have to add the PPA. Just install the linux-image-generic-lts-backport-oneiric package from the lucid-updates suite:
sudo apt-get install linux-image-generic-lts-backport-oneiric

If you're using out-of-tree modules like Virtual Box or proprietary drivers, you'll likely need the headers as well:
sudo apt-get install linux-headers-generic-lts-backport-oneiric

Other package names can be found on http://packages.ubuntu.com/source/lucid-updates/linux-meta-lts-backport-oneiric
Comment: Like the description says: "The quality of these packages is such that you had better know what you're doing. Don't come crying to the kernel team if it kills all of your kittens." It might, it might not, but there aren't any dependency issues.
Comment: thanks, and it will work without any problems? It will not be a problem as there are dependencies, etc.?
Answer: It is no longer necessary to use a PPA to install 2.6.38 on Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid.
The ubuntu-updates repository for lucid has it now.  You probably already have that in
/etc/apt/sources.list

$ apt-cache policy linux-image-2.6.38-12-generic
linux-image-2.6.38-12-generic:
  Installed: (none)
  Candidate: 2.6.38-12.51~lucid1
  Version table:
     2.6.38-12.51~lucid1 0
        500 http ://packages/ubuntu-updates/ lucid-updates/main Packages
        500 http ://packages/ubuntu-security/ lucid-security/main Packages

$ sudo apt-get install linux-image-2.6.38-12-generic

Note that the "-12" will be incremented for future versions, "-12" is today's version.
To look for future versions:
$ apt-cache search linux-image-2.6.38

Also ppa:kernel-ppa/ppa has been replaced with ppa:canonical-kernel-team/ppa
See: https://launchpad.net/~canonical-kernel-team/+archive/ppa
Answer: I always follow these instructions for Ubuntu/Mint, takes like 5 minutes + download time.
As always be extra cautious when upgrading to a new kernel: it sometimes breaks compatibility with certain software/hardware.
 I never had any issues myself but it goes without saying to practice caution and keep the last working kernel in hand
http://www.unixmen.com/upgrade-your-kernel-the-safe-way-in-ubuntu-linuxmint/


Random variable $Z = |X-Y|$

Question: Let's take two independent, random variables $X$ and $Y$ from set $\{1,\ldots,n\}$
probability, that $X =i$ AND $Y = j$ is $\frac{1}{n^2}$.
I want to determine the expected value, so I started:
$$E[Z] = E[|X-Y|] = \sum_i (a_i) \cdot P(|X-Y|=a_i),$$ (sum is to $n$) but I don't now how to count $P(|X-Y|=a_i)$, cause some values values are repeated. Can anybody give a prompt?
Answer: Draw the  $n\times n$ grid of points with coordinates $(i,j)$, where $i$ and $j$ range from $1$ to $n$.  The points $(x,y)$
such that $x-y=k$ are the points on the line $x-y=k$. For $k=0$ there are $n$ such points, the points on the diagonal. For $x-y=1$, there are $n-1$ points, for $x-y=2$ there are $n-2$ points, and so on. For positive $k$, we are dealing with the points of the grid which are below the diagonal line $y=x$.
Similarly, there are $n-1$ points such that $x-y=-1$, $n-2$ points such that $x-y=-2$, and so on. These are the points of our grid above the diagonal $y=x$.
So for $2(n-1)$ points, the absolute value of the difference is $1$, for $2(n-2)$ points the absolute value of the difference is $2$, and so on. Finally, there are $2$ points where the absolute value of the difference is $n-1$. In all cases, each point has probability $\frac{1}{n^2}$. It follows that
$$E(|X-Y|)=\frac{2}{n^2}\left[(1)(n-1)+(2)(n-2)+(3)(n-3)+\cdots +(n-1)(n-(n-1))                 \right].$$
We next obtain a closed form for the above expression. By expanding, we can  see that our sum is equal to
$$\frac{2}{n^2}n\left[1+2+3+\cdots+n-1\right] -2\left[1^2+2^2+3^2+\cdots+(n-1)^2\right].$$
By the usual formula for the sum of the consecutive integers, and the sum of consecutive integers, we get, after some algebra,
$$\frac{(n-1)(n+1)}{3n}.$$
Remark: The standard formulas that were used for the closed form are $1+2+\cdots+k=\frac{k(k+1)}{2}$ and $1^2+2^2+\cdots +k^2=\frac{k(k+1)(2k+1)}{6}$.
Comment: now it's like it should be
Answer: $$E[Z] = E[|X - Y|] = \sum_{i = 1}^n \sum_{j = 1}^n |i - j|P(X = i, Y = j) = \frac{1}{n^2}\sum_{i = 1}^n \sum_{j = 1}^n |i - j| = \frac{2}{n^2}\sum_{i = 1}^{n} \sum_{j = 1}^{i - 1} (i - j) = \frac{2}{n^2}\sum_{i = 1}^{n} i(i - 1) - \frac{i(i - 1)}{2} = \frac{2}{n^2}\sum_{i = 1}^{n}\frac{i(i - 1)}{2} = \frac{1}{n^2}\sum_{i = 1}^{n}i(i - 1) = \frac{1}{n^2}\sum_{i = 1}^{n}i^2 - i = \frac{1}{n^2} \left( \frac{n(n + 1)(2n + 1)}{6} - \frac{n(n + 1)}{2} \right) = \frac{(n + 1)}{2n} \left( \frac{2n + 1}{3} - 1 \right) = \frac{(n - 1)(n + 1)}{3n}$$

Random variable $Z = |X-Y|$


How can I operate a modern camera when I must do so left-handed?

Question: I need a small camera with optical zoom and full HD video capability for lefthand users. I saw some old samsung hmx camcorder, but there aren't new available. I think to use also a action cam, but are all with fix wide angle lens. The only solution I see is to use a small remote control (like gimbals) attached to the camera.
Comment: @AlexandervonWernherr there are lefties, and there are people with no right hand at all.
Comment: You're right, but I'm sorry to ask you to trust me. I cant.
Comment: Since I am also a lefty, but using right hand cameras, I have to ask: What's wrong with using a right-hand-camera? One get's used to it really fast.
Comment: @xenoid I am a aware of that, thanks. But still the motivation of this question may have influence on the answers.
Comment: How much control does there need to be? Constantly changing settings? Just click a shutter?
Comment: https://www.the-digital-picture.com/News/News-Post.aspx?News=14288
Comment: Worth pointing out for many of the people answering - this question appears to be about any digital camera - rather than DSLR
Answer: I am unaware of any "left-handed" digital cameras. However, some old film cameras, such as Exakta cameras, were produced with the shutter release on the left side. Also, Nikon considered, and produced prototypes of, left-handed F100s (per Ken Rockwell).
Manufacturers have little incentive to produce "left-handed" cameras because the vast majority of people have no difficulty operating the shutter button with their right hand, regardless of which hand they use to write with. I am fully aware that some people may be missing or unable to use an arm, but it is not up to me whether manufacturers produce such cameras. Several of the options I mention are applicable to such situations.

Use an unconventional grip. Some people operate two cameras simultaneously this way. Thumb on shutter button in right hand. Index finger on shutter button in left.

YouTube: Left handed compact camera
Ugly Hedgehog: Left-handed camera?

With Exif auto rotation, cameras do not have to be held "right" side up.

Operate the shutter button with the left hand, with the camera in portrait orientation. This works for cameras that have the shutter button set at an angle.
Attach a power grip with shutter button to the camera. Operate the shutter button on the power grip with the left hand, with the camera upside down. Caleb's answer has photos to demonstrate this technique.

Use symmetrically designed cameras, such as the Canon PowerShot N, which lacks a shutter "button". Most 360-degree cameras are also symmetrically designed.
Use cameras that can release the shutter in response to touch input, such as the Samsung HMX camera you reference.
Build a Left-Handed Camera Rig or purchase a left-handed camera grip/bracket (search your favorite shopping sites). Wirewrap suggests getting a pistol grip.
Put the camera on a tripod or chest mount with an L-bracket to hold the camera upside down or sideways. Operate the camera with your left hand. This is the approach StessenJ used.
Write a letter to the CEO of your favorite camera company.
Learn to operate the camera with your right hand. Then you can use your left hand for other tasks, like writing notes or operating a computer. Similarly, right-handed people can learn to operate cameras with their left hands to free their right hand for other tasks.
Aside from physical limitations, which hand to use is a matter of motivation. I am able to perform many tasks, including writing, with both hands. Discomfort is transient, and dexterity comes with practice. Being "right-handed" or "left-handed" means you have given one hand decades of extra practice. There is little difficulty if you learn to perform new tasks with either hand. Consider that no reasonable person complains about having to use their non-dominant hand for tasks that require both hands to work equally well, such as typing or playing piano.

Some pictures of alternative grips:
Comment: In response to a clarifying question ("What's wrong with using a right-hand-camera?"), OP responded with, "You're right, but I'm sorry to ask you to trust me. I cant."). I believe this clearly implies the intent of the question is about finding left-handed cameras for people who **cannot** (whether by injury, disability, etc.) use a right hand with a camera **at all**.
Comment: Your last comment is a bit presumptive. It doesn't matter if the OP is actually disabled. The premise of the question doesn't rely on OP being functionally one-handed (it could be research; they could be asking for family/friend; etc). But basing your assumption on the HMX requiring 2 hands completely misses an assistive device that OP would certainly find useful: a tripod. And requiring OP "should simply have stated so"... is not required. That's an unfair bar.
Comment: "can operate it with left hand" is a far cry from a camera that has the appearances of being hostile to left-hand-only users. The OP asked if there are cameras that are left-hand capable (or at least, less difficult for left-hand only). Aside from your suggestion of the PowerShot N (which I think is a great suggestion), the rest of your answer is more or less dismissive of the situation of being left-hand-only, or comes across as "make due with right-only" (which I'm sure, OP is more than qualified to know about how to make due in a 2-hand/right-hand world).
Comment: "You are adding words and intent that are not present in the question. The question is vague about requirements, stating only that the camera be _for lefthand users_". Fair point, granted. "it is not up to me to decide whether such cameras exist." Neither I, nor OP, were asking for justification for _why_ they don't exist, just if they did. "I have at least bothered to provide options." Also fair. I don't have any suggestions, and I'm left-handed. I have found it mildly frustrating, but honestly, the vast majority of lefties do just learn to deal, so that kind of advice is probably moot, IMO.
Answer:
How can I operate a modern camera when I must do so left-handed?

Add a battery grip and hold the camera upside down. This puts the shutter release and thumbwheel on the battery grip under your index finger, and also gives your thumb access to most of the other controls.

This works very well in portrait orientation with your left hand under the camera, since your palm can support the weight of the camera and free up your index finger and thumb to operate the controls. It's a bit more awkward in landscape orientation, with your bottom three fingers trying to hold the camera, but it does work. Adding a hand strap would help, and if you can support the camera on something (right arm, your knee, a monopod, etc.) there's no issue. (Shooting one-handed with your right hand is awkward for the same reason.)
Many smartphones work well left-handed. For example, the volume buttons on the left side of an iPhone work as shutter release buttons. It's easy to hold the phone in your left hand and trigger the shutter with your thumb.
Answer: I have some experience with operating a camera with one hand. Be it left or right, it is more difficult than with two hands.
I can recommend using a pistol grip. In the old times they came with a wire release operated by the trigger. For a digital camera you need an electrical remote control built into the grip. I don't know if such a device exists in the market.
Answer: I was right-handed but then I had a stroke that paralysed my right arm, so that left me with little choice... I could press the shutter button on the HS-10 with my left middle finger from below, but the better solution was to put the camera(s) on a tripod. That leads to better photos and movies anyway.
And then, after a year and a half, when my hand slowly started working again, particularly the index finger on the shutter, I was so happy that I treated myself to a 6D.  :-)
Answer: Not that I've ever done it, but you might be able to route a cable release to the left side of the camera to trip the shutter. I imagine if you have fabrication skills, you could make a left grip for most SLR type cameras (perhaps attached to the base plate and embed the cable release in the grip.


Is it professional to ask a coworker to turn off the chat notification sound?

Question: I have a coworker at a job which I just started, in an open concept office, who runs Slack and maybe once every three minutes I'm treated to the ping pong sound of notifications. I'm somewhat afraid to confront them this early on about it, but it's really disturbing my workflow. I have noise canceling headphones but they aren't great ones, and the sound can overcome them. Is it professional to ask a coworker to turn off the chat notification sound?
Comment: open office is one of the worst ideas ever conceived by cheap employers so yeah if he's not your boss go ahead and assertively tell him that the sound is too loud for an open area
Comment: Have you spoken with your other coworkers about this?  What do they think of it?
Comment: Is the sound coming from phone or laptop? If phone maybe you can ask them to keep it on vibrate mode.
Answer: Especially in open plan offices, it's a common courtesy to turn off your sound, or use headphones if you do need/want sound. (edit: AFAIK this is not culture specific, but I may be wrong)
This means that it's not inappropriate to courteously ask if your colleague can turn off their sound. Explain that the sound is distracting to you.
If they have a valid reason not mute their computer, or they strongly prefer not to, then you can work towards a compromise. Maybe they can turn down the volume to a level where it no longer disturbs you. Maybe they start using headphones if they prefer.
If they refuse your request and are unwilling to compromise, that becomes an issue for your floor manager/team lead to deal with. Approach them and explain that the constant sounds are distracting and/or invasive.
Comment: It's a courtesy, yes.  A _common_ courtesy?  Oh, if only we lived in a world where that were true.
Comment: Its culture specific.  You wouldn't listen to music, but in many offices it isn't uncommon to hear slack notifications going off.  If its happening once an hour, deal with it.  If its happening constantly that's more of an issue.
Comment: @Kyralessa: The commonness might be cultural because I don't really often see anyone doing otherwise :)
Answer: I dont think there is anything wrong with asking them about it nicely... I wouldn't "confront them about it" but instead bring it up casually and with curiosity.. while it is kind of obnoxious to have noises like that in an open plan, there may be a reason for it...
Our team just recently moved into an open plan and, while the team has laptops with no audio, our manager specifically has speakers on his desk to hear the notifications he gets. Apparently his boss expects him to drop everything and respond to Slack messages within a minute or hes in trouble..
Answer:
I'm somewhat afraid to confront them this early on about it,

There's nothing to be afraid of here. After all, these interruptions are the biggest reason behind loss of productivity, therefore, loss of money.

Is it professional [...]

Yes, very much.
Maybe they themselves is fine with the sound (though I feel it is equally annoying to everyone, including the receiver), but once he gets to know it's bothering someone else, they should be turning if off (to down to a level that does not bother others).

what should I do?

Just talk to him, ask him:

"Hey listen, would you mind turning that volume down for the notifications? It's really distracting. Thank you."

It should solve the problem.
Answer:
I have noise canceling headphones but they aren't great ones, and the
  sound can overcome them. With that in mind, what should I do?

Look around. Learn what others do in response to the pinging of chat notifications.
If tolerating this sound is just a part of the work culture at your shop, then it's time for you to get better headphones.
Answer: You need to ask him (don't treat this as confrontations) if he can just turn the notification off. Maybe people around him are sitting far away to not hear it?
The later you do that the worse it will get because it will get assumed it didn't bothered you earlier.
Such sound cues are usually discouraged in open space offices (just like microwaving fish or not). And yes they are, not just for the people around you but for the user. Such thing if throwing anyone off their focus.
You need to wage in two things. By turning the ping off he just loose one notify. By keeping it up he is disturbing other people. The gain is much more higher than loss.


How to create a turn restriction in ArcObjects

Question: I am having difficulties creating turn restrictions in ArcObjects. I have found a way to Add a a network turn to restrictions through the INetworkForwardStarEx.AddTurnRestriction() interface. But how to I create the INetworkTurn that this method takes.
Answer: INetworkTurn is a noncreatable object. You can only get it from querying an existing turn element. So if the turn you are trying to query does not yet exist, you will have to first create it.
Once you do have a turn, you will need to use INetworkQuery.QueryTurn and pass in the turn element ID as an argument.
http://resources.esri.com/help/9.3/ArcGISEngine/arcobjects/esriGeoDatabase/INetworkQuery_QueryTurn.htm
This method will return INetworkTurn for you. You can then pass this value into INetworkForwardStarEx.AddTurnRestriction()
Hope this helps.
Answer: I have now identified the answer. You simply create the feature as a conventional feature in the turn featureclass:
A) Create a turn shape as a ratio of the road segments involved. Remember that the roads can be connected in different ways: FromPoint to FromPoint, FromPoint to Topoint, ToPoint to FromPoint or ToPoint to ToPoint. So be careful which segments, you create the turn-shape from.
C)  Fill out all attributes. The attributes Edge1FCID and Edge2FCID holds the internal id of featureclass of the roads involved in the turn. These can be found in the table sde.GDB_ITEMS in the  geodatabase. The fields Edge1Pos and Edge2Pos indicate how much of each road segments are involved in the turn. This value should match the shape created in A. Again, remember that the roads can be connected in different ways. That should be reflected in the  Edge1Pos and Edge2Pos values.
C) Build the network.
Answer: My guess is that you have to have to embed the ID for the from and to interior or exterior edges in the arc.object this creates.


Large trap door - alternative to door with frame 4595708

Question: I need to build a large trap door, the trap door 4x5 with frame 6x8 is too small for my model. Other doors/hinges seem to have too much resistance and the door doesn't fall by itself, it must be rotated. Do you have any ideas as to which parts I could use? I thought I could use 3 of these doors together, the problem is finding the right counterpart.
Answer: This hinge combined with a technic pin lets you easily make large trap doors. You can see a train-track-sized trap door in this model using two of these parts. In this model the trap door falls down when you retract an axle that normally holds it up. Other arrangements are possible.
The beauty of this particular hinge is that it is symmetrical, so there aren't two different halves to keep track of, and you can use any kind of technic pin you want. The relatively long plate on it makes it sturdier than some of the older variants like this one.
Comment: @Ana You're welcome. There are, of course, infinitely many other ways to do it. But this is using one of the newer, available-in-stores techniques. And using different pins to hold the plates together allows you to have looser or stiffer trap doors.
Answer: You can build your own trap door from System and Technic pieces. Use plates for the surface and frame (maybre reinforced by bricks if necessary), and attach one or more (depending on the weight and size) Technic joints underneath. I have no pieces with me at the moment, so I can't show you, but if you need clarifications, I'll look up images of the pieces I'd use.


How to enroll in contest?

Question: I see the contest going on right now on Writing Meta about the tags and Questions.
 I would like myself to include my question in this contest, but I didn't find a way to submit my entry.
Answer: Start here:
Contest: ask questions, earn badges, win prizes! (final week)
The contest rules are in the form of a question on Meta.
The submissions are in the form of an answer.
Go to the bottom of the answer and click on "edit."  Add your name, then put relevant tags, and question link on a new line.  Start a new line for each qualifying question.  Be sure to read the rules carefully and ask if you have any more questions about it.
Comment: @Secespitus the rep requirement is lower for community wiki -- 100, which Prasad has now reached.  Prasad, sorry about the inconvenience; the SE platform has some limitations (e.g. to fight spam), which can be frustrating for new contributors.  Sorry about that!
Comment: @Prasad_Joshi You can leave a comment under that "answer" in that case. Someone with enough reputation can edit that in for you when they come across your comment. You need 1000 reputation to edit posts. On Main you can also suggest an edit with less than 1k rep, but on Meta there is no edit suggestion. So just leave a comment with a link to your question(s) and ask if someone can edit that in.
Comment: @Prasad_Joshi Done. Good luck and have fun!
Comment: I'm not allowed to edit that answer to enroll
Comment: @Secespitus Please add https://writing.stackexchange.com/questions/43694/do-i-need-to-convey-a-moral-for-each-of-my-blog-posts and help to enroll me.

How to enroll in contest?


How to separate the data plot for spin up and spin down band structure into 2 different graphs, in Pymatgen?

Question: I am a beginner user of the Pymatgen package. In order to process the data from VASP DFT calculation software, I use Pymatgen to visualize the output band structure. When I do spin polarised band calculation, I cannot separate the band structure of spin up and spin down into 2 different subplots or graphs. Can anyone tell me how can I deal with this? Because it looks messy when the package automatically plot it into the same graph.
Answer: Here I provide an example with my own python scripts to realize your purpose rather than using Pymatgen (You can save data firstly with Pymatgen and plot with python). I assume that you can perform correctly the band and dos calculations with the VASP code. The example I pick up is the monolayer FM NiBr$_2$ and the final result is the following:

Example GitHub link: https://github.com/Kohn-X/VASP_two_spins
Comment: Thank you for your support. Your code work very well. May I ask one more question. Is it possible to also include the Projection plot in each plot ? I want to do the projection of electron from different type of atom. Ive already include the LORBIT tag in my INCAR file.
Comment: Of course, you can. You can project to atom/orbital.


Why is it "el arte moderno" and "las artes finas"?

Question: (I'm a native Spanish speaker.)
Why the apparent change of gender?
Comment: @Filmzy, esto no es como con el agua. En ese caso aún ponemos el adjetivo en femenino.
Comment: Puedes hacer las preguntas en español, si quieres. De hecho, es lo recomendado en este foro, aunque se pueden hacer también en inglés; pero esto es sobre todo para personas que todavía no se manejan bien en castellano.
Comment: Related: http://spanish.stackexchange.com/q/44/12
Answer: arte can be either feminine or masculine in any sense, per the DPD:

Este sustantivo, que era femenino en latín, puede usarse en ambos géneros, teniendo en cuenta que, en el español actual, cuando va en singular, lo normal es usarlo en masculino […] y, cuando va en plural, lo normal es usarlo en femenino.

The reason no doubt is related to the fact that arte takes el as its singular article no matter what, so after enough uses of el arte(fem.) contrasted with las artes(fem.), some people started reinterpreting the singular as el arte(masc.).   Words that  began with /a/ underwent some interesting changes especially during the period in which the rules for when you use feminine article el were in flux.
After a period of confusion, arte settled with the sort of uncountable-ish use in masculine, and when used in a more skill-based sense, being feminine.  Because the former is used normally in singular and the latter more often in feminine, the association of masculine-in-singular and feminine-in-plural came about, but it's not strict or universal: el arte posmoderno es interesante mientras los artes vanguardista y moderno me aburren; poder escribir poesía es un(a) arte literaria.  So basically, the confusion continues today, permitting use in either gender.
Answer: Las palabras agua, águila, arte, hacha, entre otras, son femeninas y por eso se dice las aguas, las águilas, las artes y las hachas pero estas palabras tienen además la particularidad de comenzar con "a" tónica.
Para evitar la cacofonía de la doble a tónica en el singular se usa "el" así: el agua, el águila, el arte y el hacha.
Según la RAE:

Por razones de fonética histórica, este tipo de palabras seleccionan en singular la forma el del artículo, en lugar de la forma femenina normal la. Esta regla solo opera cuando el artículo antecede inmediatamente al sustantivo, de ahí que digamos el agua, el área, el hacha; pero si entre el artículo y el sustantivo se interpone otra palabra, la regla queda sin efecto, de ahí que digamos la misma agua, la extensa área, la afilada hacha. - See more at: http://www.rae.es/consultas/el-agua-esta-agua-mucha-agua#sthash.p5aFUB75.dpuf

De igual forma aplica para los artículos indefinidos un y  una

Un águila
Unas águilas.

También la RAE dice lo siguiente específicamente sobre la palabra "arte":

No obstante, con el sentido preciso de 'conjunto de normas y principios para hacer bien algo', es normalmente femenino, incluso en singular, y así se habla de arte amatoria, arte cisoria, arte métrica o arte poética. En el español actual, si se usa en femenino singular, debe llevar la forma el del artículo, por ser palabra que comienza por /a/ tónica (→ el, 2.1): el arte poética, no la arte poética. http://buscon.rae.es/dpd/?key=arte&origen=REDPD

Nótese que dice "es normalmente femenino" porque en su twitter aclaran
https://twitter.com/RAEinforma/status/341352406547828736
Answer: I was going to add this as a comment because what I'm about to write doesn't necessarily give you the "why," but instead, the "what" about some of the differences between "el/la arte" and "los/las artes."  I think guifa does the best job of that and DGaleano adds some important points.  My answer adds on to what guifa has said regarding the subtle nuances between "arte" when treated as masculine and "arte" when treated as feminine, both in singular form and in plural.  If translations over at Reverso provide any reliable, useful lessons with regard to this, it would be the following:
el arte
The use of "el" + "arte" often refers to "art" in general and is often used without a definite article in English.  This applies even when adjectives are combined with it.  Some examples:

¿Qué es el arte?  (What is art?)
Las cosas que hago por el arte.  (The things I do for art.)
Algunas personas no entienden el arte. (Some people do not understand art.)

And this applies even when a descriptive adjective is added to it:

el arte callejero (street art)
el arte contemporáneo (contemporary art)
el arte primitivo (primitive art)
el arte abstracto (abstract art)
el arte surrealista (surrealist art)

For more, see: el arte.
Sometimes "el" + "arte" will refer to a singular type of art.  For example:
el arte marcial (the martial art)
The indefinite article with this term is used similarly.  For example:
La danza folklórica conocida como "Tinku" comenzó como un arte marcial.
(The folk dance known as "Tinku" began as a martial art.)
But "martial arts" would be "las artes marciales."
Not all art is the same
I also visited the Wikipedia article on "Art" and a key point made in it (and something guifa alludes to in his answer) is this:

Until the 17th century, art referred to any skill or mastery and was not differentiated from crafts or sciences.

Having said that, in English, conceptually, there exists a huge divide between what we would consider the "fine arts" and what we would consider (again, from Wikipedia):

acquired skills in general, such as the decorative or applied arts.

However, in English, when we say "the arts," we are usually referring to art created for aesthetics or beauty (e.g., painting, sculpture, photography), but not practical or functional purposes (e.g., pottery).  Keep in mind that the lines between these two distinct types of art blur a bit.  For example, photography could be created for aesthetic purposes, commercial purposes, or both.  The same is true for pottery, architecture, and other works of this nature.  Regardless, I highly doubt the average English speaker would make any distinctions between these different types of arts — the aesthetic and the practical.  Anything remotely artistic might be referred to as "the arts" and I'd say fewer than 25% of the English-speaking population would even be aware of the distinction between "fine arts" and "applied arts."
As for the Spanish language, I don't know if, in common usage, distinctions are made between "fine arts" and "practical arts."  But I can tell you that terminology exists to distinguish between them (at least according to what I found via Reverso).*  For example:
fine arts = las bellas artes
practical arts = artes prácticas
However, "a fine art" would simply be "un arte," and "the fine art" would be "el fino arte." On the other hand, "a practical art" would be "un arte práctica" (cacophony rule in play here).  You can also use "las artes aplicadas" for "practical arts."
As you can see, both are grammatically feminine and this applies to several other types of art that, in English, we tend to use only in their plural form.  For example:

the applied arts (las artes aplicadas)
the decorative arts (las artes decorativas)
the performing arts (las artes escénicas)
the visual arts (las artes visuales)

When referring to a type of art in general, it will either be feminine plural or masculine singular
Just another observation I made through Reverso.  Here are some examples:
the primitive arts = las artes primitivas
primitive art = el arte primitivo
the contemporary arts = las artes contemporáneas
contemporary art = el arte contemporáneo
Difference between "los artes" and "las artes"
Namely it is this:
los artes = gear
las artes = art
For examples, see:
los artes and las artes
Singular feminine use of "arte"
The examples of "la arte" that I saw were so few that I must assume that adherence to rules related to "cacofonía" (see DGaleano's answer) were simply incorrect and not to be used.  But it goes beyond that because I don't believe I saw any instances of "una arte" either.

So, as I mentioned earlier, this does not answer why there are differences, but what the differences are.  Nevertheless, I felt the content of my answer was closely enough related to be added here rather than break it off into a separate post.  If anyone disagrees, I can recreate it, Q&A style.  HTH.


How long does raw ground meat last in the fridge?

Question: Does it make a difference if it's raw ground pork or raw ground veal?  There is no sell-by date since I got it at the butcher.
Answer: The store kept it at 30°F (-1°C) or less, at least in the US. Since your fridge is probably warmer, you probably want to use (or freeze) within two or three days, regardless of the sell-by date.
Answer: Depending on your refrigerator (Europe has them at +4 Celcius) your meat should last no longer than 3-4 days. This assuming it did not spend more days in the butchers' fridge before being given to you.
Remember tho -- your nose is always the best teller. You will know if it smells funny instinctively; and een if you eat meat that is not 100% fresh, you might as well feel sick for a day or so, and learn the lesson for the next time. We evolved along with our sense of smell, and if we are still here there is a reason* :)
*simply put, those who had a decent sense of smell survived and had childrens
Comment: Your nose cannot detect bacterial contamination, only rancidity. Don't follow this advice.
Answer: If it's raw, stick with the best-before date on the label.  If cooked, you have at least 3-4 days, regardless of whether it's pork, veal, or regular beef.
Answer: Three days is pushing it, in my opinion.  Best use on the second day.


Will I be prone to viruses?

Question:
Possible Duplicate:
Do I need to have 'antivirus software' installed on Ubuntu?

I replaced windows because of the viruses and such. I was wondering if I had to worry much about them with Ubuntu.
Answer: You shouldn't worry much about viruses in Linux. However, you should still be careful at scam websites that steal info and such.
If you really need want to be extra safe just install an antivirus software.
Clam AV Virus Scaner is found in Ubuntu Software Center.
For more lecture: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_malware
Viruses are also kept off because of Ubuntu using a central software repository, so that software is checked for being virus-free. This is a good safety feature unless you use software repositories by other people. You should always check if they are trustworthy.
Security bugs also get fixed very fast, because of a lot of people able to fix and actually fixing these, due to Open Source Software.
Answer: If you are worry about Microsoft Based Systems Viruses, you can feel tranquil. Even when you can run a windows based program including a virus, etc. It will probably won't find a way to do what it would do with ease in a Windows Based System. Anyway, take in consideration the recommendations provided by @tibike on his answer in order to make sure you are apart of any malware.

Will I be prone to viruses?


is there any system in place to prevent downvote trolling?

Question: I've seen multiple of my answers get a lot of downvotes even when the asker marks them as the correct one that worked, they are completely grammatically correct, address the issue fully and are, imo, good answers. Yet they get like 3 or 4 downvotes and so do the questions. This has happened a few times and I really want to know if there is anything to guard against people downvote trolling good answers or downvoting other answers so theirs appears first.
Comment: What Seth's talking of: http://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/28756/what-can-i-do-if-im-the-victim-of-serial-downvoting
Comment: It is also worth noting that there is an automatic system in place to detect people targeting you with votes, either up or down. If the system detects this it will remove the votes. Since this system has never activated on your account you can be pretty sure that any downvotes you receive are not targeted at you as a user. This is a good time to go back and evaluate the quality and correctness of your posts, because this is what voting is based on, not genuineness.
Answer: So, lets look at some real data, answers of yours with down-votes, that are in the negative votes:
Most recently: What are the difference between Unity and Ubuntu GNOME? A duplicate question, on the surface the answer looks ok but immediately notice - One paragraph - No capitalization of product names - run on sentences - a lot of conjecture, no sources. And the first statement is technically wrong: https://askubuntu.com/a/115160/47291  Poor question and a answer that needs lots of help - It's a new user so they just accepted the first thing. I personally didn't down vote that, but I can see why it would attract downvotes, and the more you comment on it the longer it stays on the front page for all to see and attract more downvotes.
Next: https://askubuntu.com/a/512624/47291 , Ok, maybe... but he did say "I then selected the USB drive in the boot options." in the question. So the answer is short, and clearly ignores what the user already stated. I didn't down vote this one either, but I can see why someone would.
https://askubuntu.com/questions/505137/upgrade-ubuntu-12-04-lts-to-ubuntu-14-04-lts/505172#505172 This one is well explained by the(apparent) downvoter.
What are the risks if install a secondary desktop environment / interface on my ubuntu? Don't assume that someone will edit for you, or even care it was edited when it is also not technically correct. The other answer is right in that multiple desktops will cause random strange problems.
Dual-Boot issue (and much more...)  no capitilization, no steps, you just told him what to do in one rambling sentence, not how to do it, then when he has problems, you say "google it", then you ask why someone downvoted? I'm surprised some of these don't get more downvotes. Also, I didn't downvote this one.
https://askubuntu.com/a/489714/47291 yes, that is why there is a "Off Topic" flag and close vote... everyone already said that in comments. I didn't down vote this.
https://askubuntu.com/a/489020/47291 Downvoter(apparent) clearly explained, answer has information that seems to be wrong, and no sources to back it up.
https://askubuntu.com/questions/498278/why-does-linux-ubuntu-have-better-wifi-connectivity-than-windows-xp One run-on sentance, no capitalization, and no sources for a very surprising statement. I did not downvote this. But it is clear why someone did.
And that is only Answers I'm looking at, as you asked if someone is trolling your answers, and the clear answer is - no, you just have a string of answers that are of poor quality. Also I didn't list any that were balanced zero or had positive votes, because ultimately the upvotes are worth more points.
Comment: I apologize if I made a question when I was king of angered that people kept downvoting my answer and not saying why or anything, and remembered it happening in the past so I do now see that many of them had been poor quality.
Comment: unfortunately I think I brought a couple true serial downvoters upon myself and am now deeply sorry for my rant
Comment: err... the second link, which answer it is supposed to link to?
Comment: BTW, wow, so many questions to VtD...
Comment: @Braiam the second link was showing what others said about gnome classic vs gnome 2
Answer: Sometimes answering dull questions also make your answer dull and if you do not explain it clearly (if there is some obsolete things etc) you are downvoted. Remember one thing, at least 125 reputations give you the power to downvote. Suppose a user asked "What is Ubuntu? " and you answered "It is a Linux distribution". The user may accept it but both of you can get downvote for this dull conversation.
Comment: This is important, low quality questions tend to generate low quality answers. If you think that your answer is good enough but the question don't live up to the quality, edit the question or ask a self-answered question.


How to determine if the user requested a certificate using "Mark keys as exportable"?

Question: We have a Windows 2008 R2 running a standalone CA (certificate authority) and the web enrollment, so the users access http://[server-name]/certsrv websote for request certificates. The Advanced Certificate Request form (/certsrv/certrqma.asp) allows request a certificate with "Mark keys as exportable" (checkbox).
See picture: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3724852/web-enroll.png
I'm wondering if there is a way from the CA to determine if the user checked off the "Mark keys as exportable" option? - For example from CA Pending Requests list:
See picture: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3724852/ca_pending_requests.png
Our goal is Deny the "Mark keys as exportable" requests, so the user do not export the certificate and install it into another computer.
Answer: Why don't you just disable the "Allow Private Key to be Exported" option on this specific
template? Then, no one can even select that option. Seems like doing that would solve your larger issue.
Comment: I agree, but since this is a standalone CA, I'm wondering how do it? - In Active Directory CA I have the option for edit the template, but in  standalone CA I'm wondering where is that option?
Answer: Like MDMarra said - it's none of the CA's business how the client handles their keys, so the fix is going to have to be at the stage where the user generates their key.


How can I implement an n-bit Toffoli gate?

Question: I want to create a Toffoli gate controlled by n qubits, and implement it in QISKit. Can this be done? If so, how?
Comment: Thanks for the Q&A. Good to see you here Ali!
Answer: A simple way to do this is illustrated in Figure 4.10 of Nielsen & Chuang.

Where U can be any single-qubit rotation (in this case, an X gate).
This circuit works like this:
We want to apply U to the target qubit only if the AND of all control qubits is 1. A normal Toffoli gives us the AND of 2 qubits. So by chaining a few Toffolis, we can get c1.c2.c3.c4.c5, with the catch that some "work" (or ancilla) qubits have been introduced to store intermediate results. After applying the final CU, we get the final result in target. Now we can clean up the intermediate work qubits by undoing their computations, returning them to the |0> state.
This model of reversible computation is known as the "compute-copy-uncompute" method, and was first proposed by Charlie Bennett in 1973.
Here is the QISKit code to construct the circuit and visualize it:
from qiskit import QuantumRegister, QuantumCircuit

n = 5  # must be >= 2

ctrl = QuantumRegister(n, 'ctrl')
anc = QuantumRegister(n-1, 'anc')
tgt = QuantumRegister(1, 'tgt')

circ = QuantumCircuit(ctrl, anc, tgt)

# compute
circ.ccx(ctrl[0], ctrl[1], anc[0])
for i in range(2, n):
    circ.ccx(ctrl[i], anc[i-2], anc[i-1])

# copy
circ.cx(anc[n-2], tgt[0])

# uncompute
for i in range(n-1, 1, -1):
    circ.ccx(ctrl[i], anc[i-2], anc[i-1])
circ.ccx(ctrl[0], ctrl[1], anc[0])

from qiskit.tools.visualization import circuit_drawer
circuit_drawer(circ)

Yields:
Answer: I want to add a method that does not use ancilla qubits, but does require gates more complicated than just controlled-not. I believe this method was first presented by Barenco et. al. in this paper, Lemma 7.5:

Where $V^2=U$. In your case you are interested in a "control-n not" gate, so you need to find some $V$ such that $V^2=X$. A solution that works is
$$
V =
\frac{1}{2}
\begin{pmatrix}
1+i & 1-i \\
1-i & 1+i \\
\end{pmatrix} \ .
$$
This is a recursive definition, so the "control-n not" gate is defined in terms of the "control n-1 not" gate. This would continue until you reach the two qubit gate CNOT.
This implementation is a little difficult, however, a simpler one exists if one does not mind collecting a relative phase (see Lemma 7.9 of the same paper).
To implement a gate such as $V$ in QISKIT, you will need to use the advanced single qubit gates.
Comment: Has anyone worked on implementing this gate on Cirq?
Comment: @maor The last link you posted does not have any information on advanced single qubit gates. Can you repost a link which describes what you are talking about?
Comment: Link fixed! Thanks for pointing this out.
Answer: Qiskit's QuantumCircuit has mct method to build multiple-control Toffoli gate with several modes: basic, basic-dirty-ancilla, advanced, noancilla. For instance Toffoli gate with 3 control qubits:
from qiskit import QuantumCircuit, QuantumRegister

controls = QuantumRegister(3, "c_qb")
target = QuantumRegister(1, "t_qb")
circuit = QuantumCircuit(controls, target)

circuit.mct(controls, target[0], None, mode='advanced')

print(circuit)

Output:
c_qb_0: |0>──────■────────■────────────────■──────────────────────────────────■──────────────────────────────────■────────────────────
                 │      ┌─┴─┐            ┌─┴─┐                                │                                  │
c_qb_1: |0>──────┼──────┤ X ├──────■─────┤ X ├──────■────────■────────────────┼─────────────────■────────────────┼────────────────────
                 │      └───┘      │     └───┘      │      ┌─┴─┐            ┌─┴─┐             ┌─┴─┐            ┌─┴─┐
c_qb_2: |0>──────┼─────────────────┼────────────────┼──────┤ X ├──────■─────┤ X ├──────■──────┤ X ├──────■─────┤ X ├──────■───────────
           ┌───┐ │-pi/4 ┌───┐┌───┐ │pi/4 ┌───┐┌───┐ │-pi/4 ├───┤┌───┐ │pi/4 ├───┤┌───┐ │-pi/4 ├───┤┌───┐ │pi/4 ├───┤┌───┐ │-pi/4 ┌───┐
t_qb_0: |0>┤ H ├─■──────┤ H ├┤ H ├─■─────┤ H ├┤ H ├─■──────┤ H ├┤ H ├─■─────┤ H ├┤ H ├─■──────┤ H ├┤ H ├─■─────┤ H ├┤ H ├─■──────┤ H ├
           └───┘        └───┘└───┘       └───┘└───┘        └───┘└───┘       └───┘└───┘        └───┘└───┘       └───┘└───┘        └───┘

Comment: Is there an analogous function to the mct which couple apply to an arbitrary n-controlled U-gate and which does not use ancilla qubits?
Answer: EDIT: You can simply use mct gate: https://qiskit.org/documentation/stubs/qiskit.circuit.QuantumCircuit.mct.html
As of Qiskit 'qiskit': '0.19.6', this process is much simpler. You can create your custom gate, and assign to it N amount of controlled qubits: https://qiskit.org/documentation/stubs/qiskit.circuit.ControlledGate.html
Here's an example for the N toffoli gate or cNx:
number_qubits = 10
N = number_qubits - 1

cnx_circ = QuantumCircuit(1, name="X")
cnx_circ.x(0)
cnx = cnx_circ.to_gate().control(N)

It should look something like this when applied to a circuit:


Why can't I assign any more assassins to my Dens?

Question: So far, I have 3 Master Assassins all assigned to Dens. I have 4 more assassins at rank 10, just waiting to be assigned a den so they can begin advancing to Master Assassin. However, it's no longer giving me the option to do Master Assassin missions, or assign an assassin to one of my conquered Templar Dens. Do I need to advance further in the story, or is this a bug?
Comment: Removed the xbox-360 tag, since this isn't console-specific.
Comment: I've got around 4 or 5 master missions waiting for me, so I'm not sure what is holding up the mission spawns.
Answer: I had no trouble doing all these immediately (beginning of chapter 3, I believe I did it) and in fact you can even max them all out in that chapter - unlike previous games, you can access pretty much the entire city except the very small Arsenal district from the very beginning.
What you might be missing, though, is that you can only have one mission at a time open.  There doesn't appear to be any way to influence which den's mission will come up, but when you finish one, if you have a level 10 Assassin, the next one should crop up.  This also goes for the level 14 missions as well - you have to take them one at a time.  (Those are extra obvious because the Den Leader shows as on a mission in the assassin's interface even though they're actually still there.)
Answer: I had the same issue, but in my case, it was caused by an animus fragment showing on my map. I had been ignoring it for some time, but when I finally collected it, my players leveled up past 10 as they should.
Answer: This can be very glitchy- I was only able to get the first master assassin mission to work, having got all the others to high levels. Then one of my level 10 guys died and suddenly all the master missions have shown up on my map. Glitch-tastic!


Can enemies see Twisted Fate's portal destination when teleporting into a bush?

Question: When playing Twisted Fate, if I choose to use his ultimate and teleport inside a bush, can nearby enemies see the destination animation (cards on the ground before Twisted Fate appears) ?
Answer: Short answer: Yes.
The cards will appear on the ground, so are obscured (but not entirely hidden) by brush sprites. However, it is still visible, just not entirely apparent. Red/Green colorblind users will want to enable the colorblind mode in order to see this, however.
If TF's port isn't great, then the edge of the circle will be visible outside the brush and be clear as day.
It's decided less visible than Shaco's smoke when he Deceives out of a bush.
And, as was mentioned by Asgade, you can hear the distinctive card-shuffling sound regardless of whether or not you notice the cards.
Answer: If they look hard enough or the placement of it is bad enough to stick out a bit, then yes they can.
Answer: Yes you can, there's no light but the spell animation is mostly hidden by the actual cover of the brush.
You can also hear it.
Answer: Yes.
This works like the "jump" from shaco, where you can see the smoke when he uses it. Tf cards (where he will land) it's visible from outside too.
Is the same for wards (since the patch changes), where you see the ward while someone is using it for teleport.
Edit: Ok I tested with my wife, and YES, you can see the ground with cards where Twisted Fate is gonna land. BUT you need to be in ranged sign of the brush (the brush must NOT be in the fog)
PS: Sorry i could not make SS, i am in a Mac running Boot Camp. I tried and I could not make any SS thanks to my video board, Sorry.


How can I check from the command line if a reboot is required on RHEL or CentOS?

Question: I'm using CentOS and Red Hat Enterprise Linux on a few machines without the GUI. How can I check if recently installed updates require a reboot? In Ubuntu, I'm used to checking if /var/run/reboot-required is present.
Answer: https://access.redhat.com/discussions/3106621#comment-1196821

Don't forget that you might need to reboot because of core library updates, at least if it is glibc. (And also, services may need to be restarted after updates).
If you install the yum-utils package, you can use a command called needs-restarting.
You can use it both for checking if a full reboot is required because of kernel or core libraries updates (using the -r option), or what services need to be restarted (using the -s option).
needs-restarting -r returns 0 if reboot is not needed, and 1 if it is, so it is perfect to use in a script.
An example:

root@server1:~> needs-restarting  -r ; echo $?
Core libraries or services have been updated:
  openssl-libs -> 1:1.0.1e-60.el7_3.1
  systemd -> 219-30.el7_3.9

Reboot is required to ensure that your system benefits from these updates.

More information:
https://access.redhat.com/solutions/27943
1

Comment: For Fedora, `needs-restarting` is [an DNF plugin](https://dnf-plugins-core.readthedocs.io/en/latest/needs_restarting.html). It doesn't support `-r` or `-s` (yet).
Comment: It's worth mentioning that at least the `-s` option requires root access.
Comment: CentOS 6 doesn't support `-r`, either, and the `needs-restarting` it has is not good enough (doesn't notice when a newer kernel is available).
Comment: `$?` still is `1`, even so `needs-restarting -r` says `No core libraries or services have been updated.`
Answer: About comparing installed kernels with running one:
#!/bin/bash
LAST_KERNEL=$(rpm -q --last kernel | perl -pe 's/^kernel-(\S+).*/$1/' | head -1)
CURRENT_KERNEL=$(uname -r)

test $LAST_KERNEL = $CURRENT_KERNEL || echo REBOOT

Hope that helps!
Comment: At first I thought this wasn't working as it continued to tell me to reboot after I had, but then found out that if you are using a DigitalOcean instance, you need to manually change the kernel from their control panel first before rebooting.
Comment: The `kernel-` string must be removed to compare it with the output from `uname -r`, which doesn't contain it.
Comment: Is there a reason why the `kernel-` string is being removed from the output of `rpm -q`?
Answer: You could compare the ouput of uname -a with the list of installed kernel packages
Comment: Is a different kernel the only reason a linux server would *need* a reboot?
Comment: Normally, when staying within the 'normal' package upgrade processes (up2date, yum etc.), there shouldn't be really many other reasons to reboot the system besides the kernel upgrade
Comment: I suspect that certain other packages may require a reboot eben iof the kernel does not change (when I installed kexec-tools-2.0.0-258 on centos6.0 there was no memory reserved for the dump)
Comment: BeyondTrust's pbis-open package requests the user to reboot after installation via stdout.
Answer: One thing that can be helpful to look at in terms of "is a reboot required" is whether or not there are any files that have been removed/replaced by the update but for which the old files are still loaded/used by active processes.
Basically, when YUM updates a file that is in use by a process, the file itself may have been marked for deletion, but the process keeps using the old file since it has an open file-descriptor to the old file's inode.
A command to get a count of the number of old files still in use:
#lsof | grep "(path inode=.*)" | wc -l

That command will give you a count of the files.
Use this instead to see which files are actually in use:
#lsof | grep "(path inode=.*)"

That command will produce output similar to the following on a YUM-updated box:
COMMAND    PID   USER   FD      TYPE DEVICE SIZE/OFF   NODE NAME
sshd      3782   root  mem       REG   8,17          153427 /lib64/libcrypto.so.0.9.8e (path inode=153253)
mysqld    3883  mysql  mem       REG   8,17          153259 /lib64/libcrypt-2.5.so (path inode=153402)
mingetty  4107   root  mem       REG   8,17          153243 /lib64/libc-2.5.so (path inode=153222)
...
etc

Comment: Is this a reliable way to detect kernel updates (obviating the need for me also to check that)?
Answer: uname -a vs. rpm -q kernel and needs-restarting from yum-utils
Answer: Check whether running kernel is the latest one.
If it's not, check whether system was restarted since kernel install.
If it was not, reboot.
CURRENT_KERNEL="$(rpm -q kernel-$(uname -r))"
test -z "$CURRENT_KERNEL" && exit 0     # Current kernel is a custom kernel

LATEST_KERNEL="$(rpm -q kernel | tail -1)"
test -z "$LATEST_KERNEL" && exit 0      # No kernel package installed

LATEST_KERNEL_INSTALLTIME=$(rpm -q kernel --qf "%{INSTALLTIME}\n" | tail -1)
test -z "$LATEST_KERNEL_INSTALLTIME" && exit 1      # Error reading INSTALLTIME

test "$CURRENT_KERNEL" = "$LATEST_KERNEL" && exit 0 # Latest kernel running, no reboot needed

BOOTTIME="$(sed -n '/^btime /s///p' /proc/stat)"
test -z "$BOOTTIME" && exit 1           # Error reading BOOTTIME

test "$LATEST_KERNEL_INSTALLTIME" -lt "$BOOTTIME" && exit 1 # Latest kernel not running, but system was restarted already
                                        # User switched back to an old kernel?

echo reboot

Comment: This doesn't work if you have a PAE enabled kernel version. The uname -r comamnd returns the PAE suffix after the .elX part but not the rpm names.
Answer: I know this question has been answered already and that folks have posted information about checking for newer kernels as well as deleted files, but I recently wrote a script that checks for both.  If either condition is detected, the reboot is scheduled for +30 minutes.
#!/bin/bash

PATH=/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/sbin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/root/bin

NEW_KERN=0
DEAD_FILES=0

die () {
    printf "Error, exiting: "
    echo $@
    exit 1
}

for X in lsof wc column awk rpm sed head uname dd tr cut date logger shutdown; do
    which "${X}" >/dev/null 2>&1 || die "required application ${X} not found"
done

DATEY="$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S)"
TMPFILE=/tmp/"$(dd if=/dev/urandom bs=1 count=256 2>/dev/null |tr -c -d '0-9a-f' |cut -c-7)"

[ $TMPFILE == "/tmp/" ] && die
echo "### Reboot automation notice: ${DATEY} ###" > "${TMPFILE}"
lsof +c0 -d DEL | grep -v '\s/SYSV' |awk 'NR==1 || !/dev\/zero/ {print $2,$1,$4,$NF}' | column -t >> "${TMPFILE}"

if [ $(cat ${TMPFILE} |wc -l) -gt 2 ]; then
    DEAD_FILES=1
else
    echo "### Reboot automation notice: ${DATEY} ###" > "${TMPFILE}"
fi

C_KERN="kernel-$(uname -r)"
A_KERN="$(rpm -q --last kernel |head -1 |sed 's|\s\+.*$||')"

[ $A_KERN != $C_KERN ] && NEW_KERN=1 && printf "Running $C_KERN, but $A_KERN available\n" >> "${TMPFILE}"

echo "### End of reboot automation notice: ${DATEY} ###" >> "${TMPFILE}"
if [[ $DEAD_FILES -eq 0 && $NEW_KERN -eq 0 ]]; then
    echo reboot not required
else
    logger -t rebooter -p auth.warning -f "${TMPFILE}"
    [ $DEAD_FILES -ne 0 ] && echo "   Processes running with broken links to executables,"
    [ $NEW_KERN -ne 0 ] && echo "   New kernel available,"
    echo Reboot is required
    shutdown -r +30 "System reboot is required.  To cancel use shutdown -c.  But don't because this system needs to be rebooted"
fi

[ -f "${TMPFILE}" ] && rm -f "${TMPFILE}"

2020-07-15 Update
Since originally writing this answer, I've improved and updated the script.  It is available on github here: https://github.com/qth/jutil/blob/master/rbc
Answer: Here is my version of the alexm code.
You can do this:
LAST_KERNEL=$(rpm -q --last kernel | perl -pe 's/^kernel-(\S+).*/$1/' | head -1)
 CURRENT_KERNEL=$(uname -r)

 if [ $LAST_KERNEL != $CURRENT_KERNEL ]
 then
    echo "It is time to Reboot!"
 else
    echo "There is nothing to do!"
 fi

Answer: install.log install.log.syslog  yum.log you check this place what all got new rpm got install


Quoting from non-English literature

Question: When quoting a book in a question that was originally written in a language other than English, is it preferable to quote it in the original version or in an English translation, or both? If one should supply a translation, should it be an official one of some kind or is it okay to do the translation oneself?
Comment: Related: [Non-English Question Policy](https://stackoverflow.blog/2009/07/non-english-question-policy/); [Do posts have to be in English on Stack Exchange?](http://meta.stackexchange.com/q/13676/244929)
Answer: What
My strong recommendation is to always, if possible, include both.

If you have access to it, include original text.
Always include English translation, if nothing else, from Google Translate.
However, no matter what your translation source (professional published translation, your own translation as fluent speaker, or Google copy/paste), please cite where the translation is from.

Why?

Original source is needed because StackExchange is geared towards experts.
When working with a text, no translation is ever 100% precise (for a variety of reasons which exceed the margins of this answer). As such, a true expert analysis which relies on the text may require relying on the un-changed original, both for the person answering, the person who asked for an answer, and for later readers.
On some level this is similar to Skeptics.SE. A citation should be to primary research source, not to Wikipedia summary or to an article translating the research into popular wording.
The site is geared towards English speakers, like a vast majority of SE sites.
As such, most readers will NOT be fluent in the source language, so English translation is non-negotiable.

Qualifications:
I'm fluently bilingual, and one of the few experts on Russian/Soviet works on Scifi.SE, with a reasonable body of work to show for it, which largely follows the above convention and was very well received by site users, even in obscure Russian works tags.
Here are examples of answers:

In-universe, is Gesar the same person as the central Asian folk hero?@SFF
Is Gesar a joker?@SFF
Answer: Add an English translation, at the least.
I've read some works by Dostoevsky, a Russian writer in the 19th century. Now, I'm absolutely not fluent in Russian - actually, you could count the number of Russian words I know on one hand, and still have four fingers and a thumb available. However, I was able to answer a question about Dostoevsky earlier today, including an English translation of part of one of his stories.
Stack Exchange is meant - with the exception of certain sites - to be used in English. I think we should apply this to quotes, as many people will be like me - having read translated versions, but knowing nothing about the original text. Otherwise, the quotes will be useless to a large fraction of visitors.
Answer: Ultimately, this seems like less a matter of site policy and more a matter of how to write questions to get the best answers. Both English and non-English sources are appropriate; you're just going to have more reliable success with English ones.
If the non-English version is particularly necessary, or the translation itself is the topic of conversation, or for any other reason the English version is unavailable, I'd say go ahead and use the non-English version.  If you can, and you're confident enough that your translation won't hamper answerers, it's a good idea to include that, too.
But if you can, and it doesn't hamper your question in any way, try to stick to English. Literature.SE doesn't need to be an English literature only site, but SE as a whole is an English site.
Answer: This site is in English, so your post should be comprehensible by an English speaker.
If you quote a passage, indicate who the translator is (give both the name and the publication, if you have this information). If the translation is your own, say so. Translations can be misleading or wrong sometimes, so it's important to know where they're coming from.
I think it's generally not useful to include the original text, unless there's some doubt regarding the correctness of the translation.
Comment: Sorry, -1. Including the original text is absolutely vital for experts, because true experts on a specific work are likely to need to see the original language nuances - unless the question itself is **specific** to a specific translation.

Quoting from non-English literature


What should I do if I'm stung by a scorpion?

Question: What should I do if I'm stung by a scorpion? Is the venom harmful to humans?
Answer: The answer is right there in your link.   Some select tidbits to answer your question:

All known scorpion species possess venom

Of the 1000+ known species of scorpion, only 25 have venom that is dangerous to humans; most of those belong to the family Buthidae.

First aid for scorpion stings is generally symptomatic. It includes strong analgesia, either systemic (opiates or paracetamol) or locally applied (such as a cold compress). Hypertensive crises are treated with anxiolytics and vasodilators.

Unless you're an entomologist specializing in scorpions and you are damn sure the scorpion that stung you is not one of those dangerous to humans, you need to get medical attention ASAP.  You probably won't have morphine or another opioid analgesic, but you might have a cold compress, so use it.  As for vasodilators, you probably won't have any of them handy either, so, as I said, get to a hospital ASAP. And the advice in the snakebite question about lying down and trying to slow your pulse while someone (hopefully the third in your party, leaving one to look after you) runs to get help is a good idea.
Answer: Treat it like it is a snake bite. always have a snake bite kit with you when hiking and camping. As well as a basic first aid kit. Also have an Epi-pen handy.
Comment: The epi pen is not for the scorpion sting but to have incase some one gets a bees sting. thanks for the negative comment about a life saving suggestion. I guess having a first aid kit is a bad idea as well. thanks again.
Comment: I would never recommend Epi-pen without at least further information. Of course an anaphylactic reaction is a possible outcome of toxication and there an Epi-pen comes in handy, but possible reactions to scorpion venom include hypertension and other affections of the cardiopulmonary system in which case adrenaline (thats what an Epi-pen contains) is harmful and potentially lethal.
Comment: I suggest you read my comment more carefully. The important part: **further information**. If you would elaborate on why to take an epi-pen, well then it can be viable. Without additional information it is simply dangerous, having an epi-pen without any ideo on when and why to use it is more dangerous than not having one.


How often may a question be asked again?

Question: I think there must be some kind of consideration to new ways of solving old problems.
Comment: Are you referring to a "follow-up question"? If so, see [I've just been told I have to post a follow-up question, why and how?](http://meta.tex.stackexchange.com/q/2117/5764)
Answer: The StackExchange model is that questions should be asked once (with duplicates closed as appropriate), but that answers can be added, edited or deleted over time. Thus for an older question where there is a change resulting in a new answer, the correct approach is to post a new answer (or if you also wrote the existing one perhaps to edit it). If you don't know the answer but believe a change is possible, adding a bounty will make the question 'active' and draws attention to it.
Comment: but doesn't this apply to questions that are about *exactly* the same problem?  if the question includes a new "wrinkle", it doesn't seem appropriate to modify the original question, at least unless the op is asked whether it's okay.  in such a case, i'd prefer to see a new question, with a reference to the old one, specifying just *why* it is different.
Comment: @barbara beeton Which is exactly what I was thinking. Frequently I've seen questions in Meta that are more or less "How do I ask a question about bla bla if there's a question about it and it's already closed?" I think, if a user justify it's question, knowing there has been some package actualization or something of the same nature, the question must be valid, especially if it's been like, say, 5 years since it was responded.
Comment: @EstebanMendoza Can you give some links?


With National Visa D for Hungary, can I stay a couple of days in another Schengen country before arriving Hungary?

Question: I've got the National D visa for Hungary for studies. I am from Peru. The best price for me is taking Air Europa Lima-Madrid-Amsterdam ticket and from there I would need to change of terminal, take my luggage to take the another ticket KLM to Budapest. Is that possible to do with a D national visa?
Answer: In principle, there should not be any problem as your type D visa allows you to enter the Schengen area and visit other countries (up to 90 days in a 180-day period).
However, your visa needs to be valid (i.e. you can only use it after the day it starts to be valid in Hungary, you can't plan your trip to arrive just in time in Budapest). If border guards wonder why you are going to the Netherlands instead of Hungary, simply being able to show your other ticket should be enough to alleviate their concerns but having something proving you are registered as a student and your studies start later cannot hurt either, just in case.
Note that your visa situation will be checked when boarding in Peru, long before you come to the passport check in Madrid. If you have a valid type D visa, the airline should not make any problem but that will be the biggest hurdle. Once you entered the Schengen area in Madrid, you most likely won't be checked anymore (i.e. not on landing in Amsterdam and also not when taking your flight to Budapest or landing there). You do have to show ID to the handling personnel to check in and board the KLM flight but there should not be any systematic police check.


Whonix Workstation Country Code

Question: Should I be concerned about the timezones in my custom whonix workstations (arch, ubuntu, kali)? Installation mediums always ask for my country code. I usually pick a random one. When building workstations, which country should I appear to be coming from to make my packets less identifiable?
Answer: Packets won't carry your local time information, application data will though.
You probably want to make your timezone UTC since this is the most "generic" timezone and the easiest to calculate your own local time from (since timezones are measured as offsets from UTC). Random timezones are probably counter productive, because some timezones will have relatively few users and that's likely to just make you stand out.
Tails currently uses UTC for this reason, see their FAQ.

Whonix Workstation Country Code


Is asking for advice or critique on your world on-topic here?

Question: This recent question is a little baffling and very long-winded, but it seems OP's intended "question" is asking for advice, critique, or feedback on their construction of their matriarchy so far.  Is this on-topic on Worldbuilding.SE?  I usually live on Writing, where asking for critique or advice is off-topic.  Is that the case here too?
Comment: I don't think it is. There is nothing *specific* to solve about that question it's more about discussion than. And it's really too broad if it's "this is my fictional world" (well, OK not the *entirety* of it but a pretty big slice).
Answer: OFF-TOPIC
That's the short answer.
Advice & critique are, of course, valid worldbuilding matter for discussion.  Simply off-topic for this forum.  Stack Exchange operates on the principle of one focused query gets focused responses.  Generally speaking we try to play by SE's rules as best we can, while understanding that geopoesy as an artform in its own right or as an adjunct to story writing and gamesmithing simply doesn't fit the SE mold all that well.

The long and short of it is you should be seeking this kind of advice & feedback on what's known as a "long form discussion forum" for in depth and potentially long term discussions, for quick advice questions, you could also try a "short form discussion forum".
For the latter, Reddit is best. High volume + large membership means you're very likely to get some kind of random advice. There are a lot of fantasy & sci-fi worldbuilding forums there as well as gaming forums that cater to a worldbuilding perspective. You could try Fantasy Worldbuilding, or for a broader scope, Worldbuilding.
For higher quality more in depth discussion within a real community setting, where you might get less feedback, but feedback of higher quality, I'd suggest the CBB or the ZBB.
And of course, when you've got some tidbit of lore a bit polished up, feel free to submit it to the Universe Factory!
Stack Excahnge is specifically designed to help you with relatively narrowly focused worldbuilding queries. See What is Worldbuilding All About? We'd love for you to hang around, get to know this forum better and by all means, whenever you're facing a sticky worldbuilding problem, by all means ask here! Check out our Catalogue of Question Types to help you understand what we mean.
Answer: If such a worldbuilding question was posed as a reality-check on a particular discrete portion of the setting in such a way that it did not rely solely upon personal opinion, and was not applicable only to the particular story or world in the question, and it could be asked without requiring potential answerers to read reams of material, then I'd say "Yes"... it would appear to be on- topic.
Answer: Agree with Elemtilas. Can be made on-topic if the question were presented as "here is a bullet point list of facts about my matriarchy. Are there any contradictions within this list?" That's a specific, answerable question. Could also be on topic asking for list of historical matriarchies that could be used as a model given story constraint X. Note that just asking for a list of historical matriarchies is a question for the History stack exchange.
Answer: I think we'll end up having to discuss the meaning of on topic. IMO the question is on topic but unfortunately it is too broad. It just needs to be more focused to be a valid question. An off-topic question however would not be salvageable even if it were focused from the start.