Who does the cat represent in Animal Farm?

Question: It's well known that various characters represent real Soviet figures. Who does the cat, who is fond of shirking physical work but enjoys reaping the rewards, represent? Does the cat even have any significance in the novel?
Answer: Yes. In the words of Jesse McDevitt-Irwin:

suggests that she could represent the educated of Russia, more specifically, the educated who did not believe that communism was the correct path. She also skips out on work, which could mean the educated because they did not do physical nature. One more clue is the nature of a cat on a farm: the cat performs a service (rodent control) and receives benefits (milk, shelter). This further implies that the cat was privileged under the Czars, which further implies the wealthy, educated class.
Comment: Sorry, I've downvoted this answer because it's just a quote from somebody else, without any elaboration or arguments in your own words to support the conclusion.
Comment: Trouble between the Ta'veren!
Answer: The cat does have significance, but it's hard to say who exactly she represents.
She skulks around and doesn't do any work, votes for both sides, and makes people satisfied enough that she never actually has to do anything.

the behaviour of
  the cat was somewhat peculiar. It was soon noticed that when there was work
  to be done the cat could never be found. She would vanish for hours on end,
  and then reappear at meal-times, or in the evening after work was over, as
  though nothing had happened. But she always made such excellent excuses,
  and purred so affectionately, that it was impossible not to believe in her good
  intentions.

It seems like she represents the unhelpful people of society, the thieves and criminals and people who profit over other people's work.
There's someone of that kind in every society, who has no interest in the politics and leaves in the end. This cat represents all of those people.

everyone,
  indeed, except the cat, who had suddenly disappeared just before Napoleon
  ordered the animals to assemble.
Comment: Sorry, I've downvoted this answer because it seems to be mostly just a guess "*It seems like ...*" - a plausible one, but without much support or justification.
Answer: As acknowledged above, the cat probably represents opportunistic, underground criminals who persisted after the revolution. Her attempts to lure the wild birds by offers of camaraderie are simply a modified form of her (presumed) exploitation of weaker beasts pre-Animalism. Bribery was said to be ubiquitous in Soviet Russia and the cat managing to charm the authorities could well be a reflection of this. Her impunity also captures the confused relationship Marxism-Leninism had with crime; despite the totalitarian policing, criminality that wasn't directed against the state was ideologically couched as a hangover of capitalism and to be regarded as a mental disorder. This is possibly why the other animals are so forgiving of the way she shirks work.
The fact that she is explicitly feminine and depicted as seductive may also be an allusion to prostitution specifically. Supposedly, prostitution surged after implementation of the New Economic Policy and initial attempts by police to crack down on the practice were foiled by the lack of recourse to any penal code; again, the failure of the pigs to do anything more than question the cat captures this ineffectuality.
Her non-appearance later in the novel could correspond with the clearer codification of a penal code in the Soviet Union and the attendent punishment of law-breakers, although personally I think she just carried on with her ways and since ultimately there wasn't any more to say about underground crime under Stalin than in any other territory, Orwell didn't elaborate on the allegory.
Answer: The cat represents both intelligence and unsavory part of society, in a way. In short, the cat represents secret intelligence services, specifically civilian ones (KGB, CIA etc). It's spy and spy community.
The cat always lurks in the shadows, listens to other animals, watches over them. It is also the only animal which leaves the farm and visits other farms and nobody knows what it is doing there. In fact, nobody knows what it is doing anywhere, what is the work that cat does. The cat is one of the animals inherited from old system, is used then warped or discarded as the new system takes form. Cats allegiance is uncertain but it does its job well.
If you see it in the light, it is usually sleeping, it always looks lazy and harmless, a good person to confide in. It is insidious, friendly and purrs nicely. But it also has quite sharp claws and it's job is to find and remove vermin. It is a subtle form of control in the system. Cat is spying and doing subversive actions. It is a cloak and dagger compared to sword and shield of dogs.
It is also indicative when the cat leaves the farm forever (or maybe is killed). When dogs take over as open police/military force and other farm animals are so brainwashed that they report each other so cat's usefulness is diminished in the eyes of pigs. Also, the need to spy on other farms is diminished by pigs becoming friendly with them. Intelligence services greatly diminished (for a while at least) after the end of Cold War. It is indicative of dictatorship. Open and brutal forms of control are now thinking they have subdued the society so much that they don't need intelligence services any more, because they think they know everything about everyone and that there is absolutely no chance of rebellion.
Answer: The cat represents Russian intelligentsia. Never truly a contributing part of the communist society, the cat "emigrates" at the first sign of trouble.
Comment: Do you have any further evidence to support your answer or develop your idea? There is a previous answer saying the cat represents the intelligentsia - do you have any new evidence or analysis to add to it?
Answer: To my mind, the cat represents the elite group of people who are always on job hunting,  the fact that she leaves and comesbback at supper time
Comment: Hey, thanks for the answer? Would it be possible for you to perhaps expand on this a bit more? Is there any support for this is in the text?


Why doesn't my s-log3 footage reach 100% value?

Question: Why does my footage captured with s-log3 gamma curve on a Sony FS5 seems to clip before 100% if I see it on a waveform?
Answer: A log curve is a mathematical transfer function.  SONY have defined a LOG curve (as many vendors do) that imagines future/alternative sensors having larger electron well capacity (higher clipping) and lower noise (lower clipping) than your current silicon design supports. In other words, you are seeing where your sensor's designs fits into an idealized LOG space.  You are not seeing a LOG curve that is limited by only what your particular sensor can achieve at the present moment.
Comment: Isn't that a waste of bits of data? Can I do something about it?
Comment: Panasonic's VLOG-L is a much larger waste of bits of data ;-)  But to answer your question: not unless and until SONY offers a RAW codec for your particular camera.


How to get hang of mathematical language that is so extensively used in economics?

Question: For last couple of weeks I am trying to read "Game Theory" from Fudenberg and Tirole and "Microeconomics" from Jehle and Reny. But the kind of maths they use for their theorem-proof-theorem analysis, is just not getting into my head. What book can I use to easily master such kind of Real Analysis that can help me to understand these books?
Comment: Rudin's book on Real Analysis is often suggested. Kolmogorov and Fomin is a reference I use now, but is a bit steep (including for me). For more basic techniques, you can try Simon and Blume's "Mathematics for Economists", which may be more topical and direct.
Comment: I second the Dover book Introduction to Real Analysis by Kolmogorov and Fomin (and Silverman). I found that book very useful when working with both Jehle and Reny, and Mas-Colell. Generally speaking, the Dover collection are very good go-to math books.
Comment: The advice you get will differe depending on your background, so it would be useful if you could post some info. For example, are you an econ PhD student, an interested layman, etc? What kind of mathematics background do you have? Are Mas-Collel / Fudenberg & Tirole prescribed course texts, or would you also entertain suggestions of (potentially more appropriate) alternatives?
Comment: I want to pursue PhD and only mathematics background that I have is of calculus, linear algebra and other concepts taught in engineering.
Answer: If you don't have any background in Real Analysis, I suggest you to read "Analysis I" written by Terence Tao.
I was in a similar situation that you a year ago. I studied Economics at college but we never had to do rigorous proofs (as a matter of fact, I did not know what was a theorem, a mathematical proof, or mathematical logic until I read the book). We only learned some "rules" of derivation and integration, and to manipulate algebraic equations in order to get some important results in Economics. However, a professor suggested me to apply to a PhD program and to take a real analysis course. It was really hard because I had never seen something like that. The books recommended by the analysis professor were the common books you will be recommended here: Baby Rudin, Kolmogorov and Fomin, Ok, Abbot, Apostol, etc. I read some of them (specially Baby Rudin) and I found them too difficult.
The problem was that I found difficult "thinking as a mathematician". Therefore, I started to search for the "best book" in real analysis, and I found this one written by Terence Tao. It was amazing, not only because the deep understanding and the outstanding expository skills of the author, but because he started from the very beginning: he answers some important questions (what is analysis and why to do it?) and starts explaining what are the natural, integer, rational, and real numbers (and also the Peano axioms, and some operations). He also starts explaining what sets are.
Then, he develops the most important concepts of analysis: sequences, limits, convergence, series, etc.
I think the most important feature of the book is that it is completely focused on building mathematical skills: how to prove a proposition, different ways to do it, how to use your intuition to develop a proof, etc. And also, it gives you a complete understanding of the topic. This makes it starkly different from other books such as Baby Rudin (which assumes that you know lots of results that, in fact, you don't), which is useful as a reference book and also when you have some well understanding of the topic (I moved easily from Tao to Rudin when the analysis course I took required me to do so). Another important characteristic of  the book is its appendix: it gently introduces you to the basics of mathematical logic: what mathematical statements are, the structure of proofs, (nested) quantifiers, etc; and gives several examples of proofs.
I often see questions like this and I have always found puzzling why no one recommends this book. It is maybe the best mathematics book I have ever read (as it may seem obvious, I love that book I have fond memories of me learning how to make proofs and what real numbers and analysis really are). Also, it is strange because Terence Tao is unarguably the most important mathematician alive and a very kind person. You can see his blog and the books he has published in the following link: https://terrytao.wordpress.com/books/. I hope this recommendation would be useful.
Answer: It's hard to make a best advisement given that we don't know your background. One can struggle with proofs for a few reasons: terseness of the presentation, a weak background in the prerequisite material, or a weak background in proof-writing in general. (1) and (3) are generally associated with mathematical maturity.
I advise folks interested in economics to pursue an undergraduate degree in mathematics. If that is not feasible or realistic, then I suggest at a minimum some proofs-based work in linear algebra and real analysis. Friedberg's Linear Algebra text is a good exposition and will help you build up some maturity. It's a solid prerequisite for analysis. Once you start talking about the derivative as a linear operator, linear algebra is a must-have. However, linear algebra doesn't otherwise appear in real analysis before that.
For analysis, Abbott is friendlier than Rudin, and will likely provide you with sufficient background to move forward. Abbott is geared towards juniors in an undergraduate curriculum, while Rudin is the hard-core senior level text. If you don't have mathematical maturity, Rudin will force you to struggle. Once you have mathematical maturity, the conciseness his writing is quite nice.
Fudenberg and Tirole is a very technical, terse book. It is a good reference, but not my favorite exposition into game theory. I might be inclined to look through Maschler, Solan, and Zamir instead. It's gotten good reviews, though I haven't had a chance to look through it myself.So take this with a grain of salt. It is definitely more comprehensive than Fudenberg and Tirole, though.
Answer: I suppose I will suggest starting with Theory of Games and Economic Behavior by Neumman.
If I recall it, believe it or not, assumes very little mathematical background from the reader. Maybe you should check it out and see if reading it increases your proficiency with other works.
The reason that I think it will is that I'm not sure if the problem you're having is one of mathematics competency or one of comprehension. If it is the latter then you should know that authors tend to skip multiple steps in problem solving because they assume that you can figure things out on your own.
If this is where you're struggling, then the seminal book I mentioned is a good choice; because the authors are more forgiving and offer many examples. Looking back on it it has a whole section dedicated to a review of very basic set theory.
Answer: I think good preparation could be to watch some analysis video lectures. Examples this I think are quite good include
Su's lectures
Feinstein's lectures
These lectures have the advantage that you get to (repeatedly) watch someone doing proofs and therefore learn about the kind of axiomatic reasoning that goes into putting together the kind of results you see in your graduate econ books.


Uses for cross-processing

Question: What are the reasons to cross-process (developing C-41 film in E6 chemistry or vice versa) films? How repeatable are the results with the same film? In Flickr they all look different and you never know if this is the result of chemical or additional digital processing so realistic examples are also welcome.
Answer: Repeatable? Definitely.
Using the same film, cross-processing has perfectly repeatable results, but it helps to be specific:  the negatives will turn out the same, positives (virtually always scans) may not, and it's the positives you see on Flickr and elsewhere.
The reasons for this are pretty simple: both the film emulsions and processing chemistry (both E-6 and C-41) are highly standardised.  If either one changed unexpectedly to any degree, you'd get unpredictable results regardless of whether you were cross-processing.
Scans (especially of E-6 in C-41, but the reverse as well to some degree) admit much more variation - if done at the lab, it depends on the machine, it's presets, how much effort the operator takes, and whether they're familiar with cross-processed negatives.  When people scan at home, they might do so with different goals in mind - some may want the extreme colour casts, some may prefer to correct the image to almost "normal", and anywhere in between.  The results are like you see: the same film (even the same image) can have wildly varying results depending on its treatment.
I should add that this is true to some degree of any negative film – there is always much more room for variation in the colour balance and treatment when converting to positive than when shooting direct positive film.
Why? Good question.
I don't think there's a general answer to "why" - often it's just a matter of enjoying the look (like with any other film/technique), following a fad (they've happened a few times), or even not having easy access to E-6 processing.  If there is a general reason "why," then I don't think it's significantly different to any other film.  For example, original Agfa Precisa1 yielded a high-contrast image with exaggerated blues, but otherwise mostly neutral colour shifts, and an almost-clear base.  As a result, it was reputedly used for commercial shots of blue jeans.
Examples
The above makes "realistic" examples difficult, but here's some mine (otherwise it's impossible to comment on processing/lighting) to display the kind of range you can get, shot on Precisa:

(from left to right)

Very cool lighting, a window on the shaded side of a building, almost "straight" and very typical Precisa blue.
"Golden hour" lighting; very warm, corrected (maybe even over-corrected?)
Fluorescent lighting at night; corrected, but mostly for the green of the lights, not the cast of the film.
For comparison, non-cross-processed Precisa in cloudy/cool light.

Going back to the question of repeatability, even with such a broad range of outcomes, in the same situation I'd have every confidence of getting the same result.
1 Current new/in-date Agfa Precisa is not manufactured by Agfa, but is a different emulsion packaged under the brand.  It's reported to have a greenish cast when cross-processed (I haven't tried it myself).
Comment: very nice answer and examples, I am now tempted to shoot film more frequently
Comment: I have to say that I didn't get nearly as natural colors out of Precisa. All I got was crazy green cast and massive grain. But I didn't scan them myself either or maybe it's a different emulsion (Agfa Precisa 100 CT).
Comment: @Karel - A green cast is characteristic of the current Precisa. The whole story is too long for a comment, but in brief: the rights to use Precisa are owned by a holding company, and they're repackaging some other emulsion using the brand. Sorry, I should have added a note to that effect (I'll do that now).
Answer: The reason is to achieve this special "cross-processed" look with colder shadows, warmer highlights and more color contrast.
In film photography results are repeatable only for the given exact combination of film, chemicals and the developing process details: length, temperature, etc.
In digital photography results are absolutely repeatable.
However nowadays people call almost any color distortion "a cross process", which renders the term too general to mean something.
Answer: The results are actually pretty repeatable if (and that is important for ALL darkroom work) you keep all variables the same. You will have to use the same chemicals, the same development times and the same temperatures. Even the same drums/tanks. If you vary at least one of the variables the result get less predictable. This applies to standard color and black and wite processing too. Just not quite to the same extend because the negs and chemicals have been designed and tested for the standard processes. Predicability increases again when you get some experience playing with the variables.
If you do not develop yourself you will have to trust the lab of your choice and hope that they will keep their machines always well calibrated and stay with the same chemical brands.
But to be honest, for me the exciting thing about cross processing and the main motivation behind using it is unpredictablilty.

Uses for cross-processing


Add a content widget inside a blogger post!

Question: I am wondering if it is possible to add a blogger widget (say recent posts widget) within a blog post in blogger.
Any pointers on doing this?
Answer: Use widgets that provide HTML and JavaScript, then copy and paste that into your post. To display recent posts, for example, you could sign up for FeedBurner, then use the HTML code generated by their BuzzBoost widget (under Publicize>BuzzBoost in the FeedBurner control panel) to display the latest posts from your RSS feed in the blog post itself.


Relationship between temperature of nebula and size of star

Question: I was wondering, in the process of star formation, does the temperature of the nebula that produces a star play a role in the size of that star? I mean, it's only logical that the size would depend on the amount of matter around.But then, if the temperature is lower, that means that the net density is lower, so the star would 'absorb' less matter. Or is that not a factor, and the growing star would gobble up anything on its vicinity? I've encountered some contradicting sources and I'm trying to double check.
Comment: The gas won't be the same temperature everywhere, so the temperature in different sections may determine how much collapses and when, which would indeed influence the mass of the star and thus - in all probability - the size of the star.
Answer: This is such a complex issue that I'm not going to try to be comprehensive. One major thing you are missing is that stars tend not to form in isolation, especially massive stars, but in groups and clusters.
The basic unit in star formation is the Jeans mass.
$$ M_J \propto T^{3/2} \rho^{-1/2}$$
where $T$ is the temperature, $\rho$ is the density and $M_J$ is the minimum mass for a cloud to gravitationally collapse.
So from this point of view, a higher temperature cloud must be more massive in order to collapse in the first place.
But as the cloud collapses, the density goes up and the Jeans mass decreases - and the cloud fragments into smaller sub-units and ultimately into a cluster of stars.
Exactly how this pans out in practice is basically the whole research field of star formation. It depends not only on relatively simple things like the temperature of the gas, its density, the equation of state; but also on much more complicated ideas like magnetic field support, competitive accretion between stars, feedback from newly-formed stars and protostellar outflows and the rate at which turbulence is generated and then dissipated.
There almost certainly is no simple relationship as you propose. In fact the outcome of star formation seems to produce a mass function (number of star per unit mass) that is only weakly dependent on the initial conditions, but may differ a bit in low density and high density environments.


How can I export my social graph out of Facebook?

Question: Before I contemplate deleting my Facebook account, I'd like to export my social graph (a.k.a. contacts).
What are the steps and/or recommended tools for this?
Comment: I don't believe it is possible.  The options I knew about a year ago won't work today any more.  I don't like this about facebook...
Comment: Related: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1189245/fetch-email-of-a-friend-in-facebook-app
Answer: I don't believe this is possible.
There are facebook apps to allow you to export your friends names, without the e-mails.  some promise to give you the connection with gmail if you will give them your gmail password, I wouldn't do it if I where you.
Also, see this thread.
Answer: If you're a programmer, you can use the API to get easy access to most of the information from your social graph. Notably missing were email addresses, the last time I looked.
Answer: There is an easier way! And yes, I tried Soocial and Plaxo which did not work as I would like and you can check out how I set it up on my blog.
If you go to http://memotoo.com and setup an account you can have your Facebook contacts synchronised using one of the provided applications to that service. They will then sync their server with Google and you get all of your contacts :)
I also have it synchronising contacts from Plaxo, Soocial and LinkedIn along with a plethora of other sites and apps.
Answer: Backupify is your friend!

You have important data locked up in social networks and web-based applications. Backupify provides daily automatic backups, archiving, and export for all your social media and personal accounts.

I found this to be a very handy tool for getting a backup of most of my online social data.  It did a good job of collecting most of my FB data, but you will need to follow the linked work arounds to maximize the data you export:
http://www.backupify.com/tour
And the main limitation for the free account is that you "only" get to use one account per service (ie. if you want to back up 2 Twitter accounts you need to upgrade)
So now you shouldn't have to think twice about deleting you FB account!  :)


Secure boot error on Lenovo z475

Question: I can't seem to install Ubuntu 12.10-desktop-amd64 to my computer. I've written the install to my memory stick but it flashed secure boot error really fast then sits on the grub screen.
Answer: I found the problem. There was no mention anywhere of having to use a special image called amd64+mac anywhere. Everything worked after I used one of these images.
Answer: Ubuntu 12.10 is supposed to include Secure Boot support; but maybe there's a bug that's affecting you, or maybe your computer tried to boot the disk in BIOS/legacy mode rather than in EFI mode (which is required for Secure Boot).
Probably the easiest way to proceed is to disable Secure Boot. This is a firmware option, but unfortunately, there's no standardization of firmware user interfaces, so I can't provide step-by-step instructions on how to do this. You'll just have to activate your firmware setup utility (usually by pressing Del or a function key early in the boot process) and browse the options until you find one related to Secure Boot.
Once you've done this and booted the Ubuntu installer, drop to a shell and check for the presence of a directory called <code>/sys/firmware/efi</code>. If it's present, proceed with the installation. If it's not present, you've probably booted in BIOS mode. Although you could install in this way, that will create complications related to selecting which OS to boot, so I recommend you reboot and try checking your computer's boot menu (usually accessed by pressing a function key early in the boot process) to find a way to force an EFI-mode boot of the Ubuntu installer.
Answer: I have the same notebook and the same problem.
When I tried to boot using different ubuntu live versions it hangs up in the grub menu (totally freeze) most of the times.
But the menus respond with other distros or at least it can boot (with debian 6 and 7 full use of boot menu and boots with fedora 17)
And one thing that i'm not able to figure, but happens, is that if a boot with debian live cd, not install anything, just boot, and then reboot with a ubunutu live cd (12 or 13) the grub menu doesn't freeze most of the times.
Its odd.
It's not too elegant, but you can give a try to this, and try ubuntu 13, that seems to be more compatible with this lenovo model (z475)

Secure boot error on Lenovo z475


Any instructions given by contemporary prominent preachers on how to receive the gift of tongues?

Question: Is there any method/instruction given by prominent preachers recently on how to receive the gift of tongues? Some specific way of prayer, some specific steps to follow, what kind of attitude is required and so forth?
Comment: I think "contemporary prominent preachers" is very broad (especially for this topic); there is a wide range of opinion - are you interested in a specific group?
Comment: @RyanFrame I don't think there will be many preachers who gave this kind of instructions. As you think that this is very broad, I assume that you know some preachers who give instructions on how to receive the gift of tongues. If so, please mention at least one. I really want to know.
Comment: DJClayworth answered well, so I think I withdraw my objection to the question. But I have heard "if God wants you to have it, He'll give it to you, so don't worry about it," "if you want it, pray faithfully and God may (or may not) give it to you," "it is passed on through prayer and the laying on of hands," and "fake it until you make it." Given this site's definition of Christianity, the fourth is as valid an answer as the previous three.
Answer: You are overlooking the most important word in your question, and that is 'gift'. A gift is something that is freely given - the giver chooses whether or not to give, and the receiver can only choose whether or not to accept it - if it is given. If the receiver can compel the giver in any way, or tries to earn it, then it isn't a gift. It's long been part of Christian theology that Tongues and rather supernatural abilities are 'gifts' in that sense. Check out 1 Corinthians 12, where this is made explicit. Also check out 1 Corinthians 13, which is an explanation of something better and more important than spiritual gifts - Love. It's not accidental that those chapters are next to each other.
General advice as far as I know is that if you earnestly desire a specific gift, keep praying for it. But be aware, as with all other prayers, God may not grant you what you are asking. He may have a better, alternative plan for you.
The exceptions to this are the Pentecostal traditions where speaking in tongues is a sure and necessary sign of being a true believer. In that case if you don't have that gift, consult with a Pastor.
Comment: What are these "Pentecostal traditions" exactly, and why at this point does tongues no-longer become a gift? That last paragraph seems to contradict the rest of your answer (which I thought was really good).
Comment: Some branches of Pentecostalism believe that the gift of tongues is *always* given to a believer who has received the Baptism of the Spirit. They still consider it to be a 'gift'. The first paragraphs describe the beliefs of most Christians (those who accept the genuineness of the supernatural gifts), and the last one specific branch of Christianity.
Comment: Thanks for the clarification. Be nice if we ask just had a single common view!


Private license and Apache License Version 2.0 in one commercial product?

Question: If I'm using an official cordova plugin licensed under Apache License Version 2.0 in my commercial product, am I allowed to sell it (the source code of my product to another party) under two different licenses (my license + Apache v 2.0 license)?
For instance, I developed and designed a mobile app which uses Camera and Contacts plugins both licensed under Apache License Version 2.0. However, I did not modify the code of any of the said plugins, so it's not a derivative work according to Apache License:

For the purposes of this License, Derivative Works shall not include works that remain separable from, or merely link (or bind by name) to the interfaces of, the Work and Derivative Works thereof.

In other words, I'm building a wrapper around the plugins, but I don't interefere in their original code. I know that the license allows me to even sell such a plugin without modifications as long as I do it under the Apache License Version 2.0.
I also know that I could modify the source code of the plugin and then sell these modifications under my own license, but I'd still have to provide license and attribution for the original code that hasn't been altered.

You may add Your own copyright statement to Your modifications and may provide additional or different license terms and conditions for use, reproduction, or distribution of Your modifications, or for any such Derivative Works as a whole, provided Your use, reproduction, and distribution of the Work otherwise complies with the conditions stated in this License.

What I'd like to know is if I'm allowed to sell the product where one license would refer to the code that's completely separable from the cordova plugins that would be subjected to the Apache License Version 2.0
Answer:
You may add Your own copyright statement to Your modifications and may
  provide additional or different license terms and conditions for use,
  reproduction, or distribution of Your modifications, or for any such
  Derivative Works as a whole, provided Your use, reproduction, and
  distribution of the Work otherwise complies with the conditions stated
  in this License.

That means yes, you can release your own code and Cordova code together, each under their own license, as long as you comply with the terms of the Apache License in your distribution of the Cordova bits.


What is the origin of the phrase "hunky dory"?

Question: What is the origin of the phrase "hunky dory"?
Answer: Nobody really knows.

There's no agreed derivation of the expression 'hunky-dory'.
It is American and the earliest example of it in print that I have found is from a collection of US songs, George Christy's Essence of Old Kentucky, 1862.
We do know that 'hunky-dory' wasn't conjured from nowhere but was preceded by earlier words, i.e. 'hunkey', meaning 'fit and healthy' and 'hunkum-bunkum', which had the same meaning as 'hunky-dory'. 'Hunkey' was in use in the USA by 1861, when it was used in the title of the Civil War song A Hunkey Boy Is Yankee Doodle. 'Hunkum-bunkum' is first recorded in the US sporting newspaper The Spirit of The Times, November 1842.
Answer: My two favourite sources for this kind of question are The Word Detective and World Wide Words.
They both cite the Japanese road theory, the Word Detective then adds:

The least exotic theory of all, but
  almost certainly the true clue, traces
  "hunky-dory" to the archaic American
  slang word "hunk," meaning "safe,"
  from the Dutch word "honk," meaning
  "goal," or "home" in a game. To
  achieve "hunk" or "hunky" in a child's
  game was to make it "home" and win the
  game.
The question of where the "dory" came
  from brings us back to our old friend
  "O.K." Children very often do not just
  say "O.K." -- they say "okey-dokey,"
  thus engaging in what linguists call
  "reduplication," or the emphatic,
  joking repetition of parts of a word.
  "Hunky- dory" is almost certainly a
  similar product of reduplication by
  children who had won their game.

And Michael Quinion adds:

It may be that hunky-dory was the
  result of a bilingual pun, perhaps
  invented because American sailors knew
  the word dori and prefixed it with
  hunky as an imagined Japanese street
  of earthly delights.

My favourite quote is from the Word Detective:

It's an entertaining theory, but like
  most entertaining theories about word
  origins, lacks supporting evidence.
Comment: Odd are that someone said "hunky dunky" and someone else decided that "hunky dory" sounded better. I myself frequently do this sort of neologizing word play. Edit: and I see below that hunky dory was used in a poem .. a forge of neologisms in search of a rhyme.
Comment: Thanks for providing the links to The Word Detective and World Wide words.  I had not seen them before.
Comment: Dutch: Baseball = Honkbal
Answer: The earliest I found is in the 1866 book Tony Pastor's Waterfall Songster: A Splendid Collection of the Newest Comic Songs, Written and Sung by the Renowned Comic Vocalist, Tony Pastor, at his Celebrated Opera House, in a song called "Hunkydory":

It's the second song in the book after the eponymous "Waterfall Song", so perhaps it was a popular one.

Gary Martin of The Phrase Finder found the same song (with almost identical words and to the same tune) four years earlier:

It is American and the earliest example of it in print that I have found is from a collection of US songs, George Christy's Essence of Old Kentucky, 1862:

Hunkey Dorey
As sung by Christy's Minstrels.
    Air - "Limerick Races"
One of the boys am I,
    That always am in clover;
    With spirits light and high,
    'Tis well I'm known all over.
    I am always to be found,
    A singing in my glory;
    With your smiling faces round,
    'Tis then I'm hunkey dorey.

Martin found some other 1866 quotations:

Not long afterward, in October 1866, the US magazine The Galaxy, seemed unclear why the phrase was used, which also indicates that it wasn't very long in the tooth at that date:

"I cannot conceive on any theory of etymology that I ever studied why anything that is 'hunkee doree', or 'hefty' or 'kindy dusty' should be so admirable."

That citation does at least suggest that 'hunky-dory' was in common enough use in 1866 for the author not to see fit to explain its meaning, although it's a pity 'hefty' and 'kindy dusty' weren't explained as these have now disappeared from the language. It seems that The Galaxy writer had been perplexed by the recent popularity of the the expression, which appears in several publications in 1866; for example, The Galveston Daily News, June 1866, had this piece of advice:

In the morning wash with Castile soap, in soft rain water, and you are all "Hunky-dore" - as fresh as a lily - as sweet as a pink.

I found some 1880s snippets that offer explanations. First, Library of Universal Knowledge, Volume 1 (1880):

Hunk, a large piece; "all hunky," all right; also "hunky dory."

Hunky dory isn't in the OED, but this US slang meaning of the hunky is, the noun dating from 1861 ("he was 'a hunkey boy'"), with similar hunk from 1856 "Now he felt himself all hunk").
Second and less believable, Cruise of the revenue steamer Corwin in Alaska and the N. W. Arctic ocean in 1881 ...: Notes and memoranda ... (1883):

Persons fond of tracing resemblances may find in "Ignik" (fire) a similarity to the Latin ignis or the English "ignite," and from " Un-gi-doo-ruk" (big, huge) the transition down to " hunky-dory" is easy.
Answer: Etymonline says

1866, Amer.Eng. (popularized c.1870 by a Christy Minstrel song), perhaps a reduplication of hunkey "all right, satisfactory" (1861), from hunk "in a safe position" (1847) New York City slang, from Du. honk "goal, home," from M.Du. honc "place of refuge, hiding place." A theory from 1876, however, traces it to Honcho dori, said to be a street in Yokohama, Japan, where sailors went for diversions of the sort sailors enjoy.

But that's pretty nebulous.
Edit: I'll add that I don't see how you'd get hunky-dory from Honcho Dori, which would be pronounced something like "HOE-NN-CHO DOE-(d)EE" ( the (d) representing a soft vocalized tongue tap).
Answer: Here's what I found in a New York State newspaper from 1870:

The slang expression of hunky dory is Scotch, and is a synonym of the Latin "non compos." He is "unco dour in the uptak," is the full expression.

Google translates "non compos" as "not in control" but its translation of the full expression leaves much to the imagination: "Dover hook on the uptake." Origin in post-Civil War time seems to be realistic.
Comment: Nice research but I dispute the logic of the article.  As a Scot, I can tell you that "unco" means "excessively/strangely" and "dour" means obstinate, sour, sullen or intransigent.  None of this has anything to do with the generally accepted meaning of Hunky Dory.
Comment: This was a newspaper in 1870 so they didn't cite a source but typesetter's wry comments are frequently used as fillers. I assume they meant non compos mentis, as in not in a right frame of mind. My Webster's dictionary from 1960s says hunky dory means "as well as can be expected."
Answer: Derived from the Latin, "Hunkous Dorius" who was known for his fair disposition said to arise from his parentage, his father being an owl and his mother, Sensoua, the step-sister of the goddess Venus.
Hunkous Dorius, was the hero of a number of stories, he was said to be a teacher, a sailor and an athlete of tremendous prowess. When the Discus was thrown properly, sometimes a shout or cry of "Hunky Dory" would be heard, as an exclamation as to the righteousness of the throw.
To this day its usage remains a positive statement of the current state of affairs and is frequently used in programming androids and bio-forms to provide a positive null state for default programming functions and indicates a properly working programming state with all basic variable defined and ready to populate with proper values.
Comment: I'm... going to have to ask for some sources for this claim.


From what part(s) of Germany were the majority of Texas immigrants in the mid-19th century?

Question: A large number of the immigrants into Texas in the middle of the 19th century were from what is today Germany. However, the people were "German" more by language than nationality; the German Confederation of the time was not a monolithic modern nation-state. Did a few principalities, kingdoms, or cities contribute the bulk of these immigrants? Which ones? Or were all German-speaking areas roughly equally represented?
Answer: I wasn't able to find an actual location-of-origin census, which would be definitive. What I did find was two major drivers for German immigration to Texas.
The first was Adelsverin, which was an organized attempt to form a "New Germany" in the Republic of Texas, starting in 1842. The founders of the society seem to be from all over Germany. The most famous product of this is probably Fleet Admiral Nimitz, whose grandfather came over from Bremen in north Germany.
The second was the 48'ers. These were Europeans (largely but not universally German) who were supporters of the liberal revolutions of 1848 which failed. German speaking liberals from all over Europe ended up exiled. The interesting thing about the 48'ers isn't which part of Germany they were from, but the politics they brought with them. German immigrants tended to be Liberal (in the original pro-voting, anti-authoritarian sense), pro-Immigration and staunchly anti-slavery.
Comment: @mart I don't know about the names, but [Bavaria was most certainly heavily involved](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_I_of_Bavaria)
Comment: Could one assume that more 48'ers would come from areas where the 48 revolution attempt had a broader base? None of names of the notable 48'ers sounded bavarian to me, FWIW; and Bavaria was not exactly a hotbed in 48 IIRC.
Answer: Here's a great map from the book German Seed in Texas Soil: Immigrant Farmers in Nineteenth-Century Texas by Terry Jordan:

Page 33, visible on Google books, discusses this map in much greater detail.
Answer: Look up Adelsverin. It was a German settlement enterprise founded by German noblemen. The nobles seemed to come mostly from the Rhineland.
Answer: This is more of a comment but there are some museums in Germany which are about emigration to the states. See for example this website with contact data for research (They state that they have passenger lists etc.)
http://www.ballinstadt.net/BallinStadt_emigration_museum_Hamburg/Welcome.html
Comment: Please do a summary of what you links to in your answer, because that link might become dead anytime.


Is there such a thing as too much vanilla?

Question: I have been making cookies for decades and I have noticed a dramatic change in quality based on the usage of vanilla.  Using weak vanilla or just not enough will lead to bland cookies, oftentimes regardless of the usage of other ingredients.  This has lead me to add twice to three times the amount of vanilla that is called for in my recipes.  So far, I have been happy with the results.  Is this a common experience?  Is there a recognizable upper limit to the addition on vanilla? Or is it that, since I am a fan of vanilla, I am simply making cookies to my personal taste?
Comment: I've found that using too much extract causes a metallic aftertaste, but that may be more due to the alcohol used for the extract. Also, too much vanilla flavor overloads the taste buds - you can no longer taste the actual cookie!
Comment: I LOVE VANILLA it s great don't worry about your cookies they all turn out great! Just keep making your delicious cookies and wear a bright smile on your face.
Comment: I find that at least artificial vanillin (not castoreum), if seriously overused, though I like it in moderate amount, makes me sniff and wonder if somebody stepped in dogfoul...
Answer: How much is too much is a totally subjective thing. Yes, there is such a thing as too much, but where that point is will vary among tasters. There is no objective question here to answer. No one answer to the question will be "correct".
I really like vanilla, and I like flavors to be on the rich side, so I tend to be a bit heavy-handed with vanilla. A few (very few) times I have been surprised to have that heavy-handedness criticized. Why would they not like my amazing vanilla ice cream? They experience vanilla differently than I do. What is ideal for me may be overdone, even cloying, to my neighbor.
So, when it comes to various flavorings (vanilla is just one of many), get to know your own "likes" and what your audience likes. After that, you can ignore what the recipe says and just do what feels right to you, knowing your audience and the potency of your ingredients as well.
Comment: LD50 for vanillin is about 1.5g/kg (rats), so you'd have a hard time poisoning yourself. The alcohol vanilla is dissolved in is more toxic. Too much of that'll make your cookie dough soggy.
Comment: @WayfaringStranger Nice! Yes, the LD50 would *objectively* be too much vanilla! :)
Comment: great story, I feel the same way, I was just wondering if I was unwittingly killing my food.
Answer: Even if the price of vanilla has dropped significantly over the past years (at least in Europe), vanilla is still considered a quite expensive flavour. Perhaps that is also why recipes often operate with smaller amounts of vanilla than what is felt to be right.
Just as with any other spice or natural flavouring, it is also very difficult to determine a fixed amount for a recipe. Depending on the quality, one vanilla pod or one teaspoon of vanilla extract can be within a wide range of actual amount of flavour.


Importing data from SQL Server to Neo4J

Question: First let me explain. My platform is mostly Windows and my data mostly resides in a relational database (SQL Server 2008). I primarily work with C# but occasuionally work with PERL and JavaScript. I was looking to learning what a graph database could do for my data but there seems to be a continual stream of tools and utilities that are not available that I need to install and learn. I am so busy learning the tools that I loose focus of what I really want and that is to work with a graph database.
It seems that Neo4j is relatively small and should be accessible to evaluate its features. I would like to import my data from an existing SQL database into Neo4J with the relationships established initially via the foreign keys. The idea seems relatively straightforward but it seems I need to learn Java, PHP, etc. not only to access Neo4J but also to access the existing database. I was wondering if anyone had some recommendations, tools, documentation that would accomplish this goal fairly simply. Do I do down the route of PHP? Java? What additional libraries/packages do I need? What tools are most useful? Thank you.
Comment: Did you have any luck with this. I'm from a .Net background and have the same issue
Answer: I think you want the Neo4J batch importer, which can be found on github.  Using this, we were able to export 20 million nodes and relationships to import them into Neo4j.
Answer: I think you will have to write your own. Neo4jD looks interesting.

Importing data from SQL Server to Neo4J


Does UX/UI apply to web pages and web apps only?

Question: As I've said in my previous question, I am venturing into UX/UI and very intrigued and anxious to get deeper in this industry. I was thinking if UX/UI only applies to designs and experience for web applications (Apps) and websites or does this also apply to any GUI used in desktop applications, web browsers, and any GUI for that matter used in any software application? I want to know if UX/UI is also used in media such as movie posters, print ads or billboards.
Comment: The clue is in the name really. *User Experience*. If you think of a User as being a Human then if a user *experiences* something, then it's UX. Also, UX is not UI. The interface is just a small element of UX.
Comment: UX can be applied to anything:  as is exampled by the discussions on here tagged 'physical'  http://ux.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/physical
Answer: First of all, please don't treat UX and UI as synonymous ever again :-)
http://uxmag.com/articles/seven-things-your-boss-needs-to-know-about-ux
Second, welcome to ux.stackexchange.
Third, it's a little bit hard to answer if "UX is used" because UX can't be used. User Experience, or let's say, Perception Experience is always there where a being is percepting something. So there is an experience when watching a movie poster. It's just not the user experience as there is no real user but actually a cinema visitor for example (if this poster is in the cinema).
The easiest way to resolve the definition dilemma is to talk about Experience Design in general.
When you put movie posters next to the cinema rooms itself, which poster should the visitor see? A poster of the movie that runs in this particular room or a poster of, let's say, a movie that will be released in the next few months? Depending on what experience the visitor may have, the answer might be one or the other. If I want my visitors to have a great experience while visiting by finding their way to the room fast, I would go with the current movie poster. If I want them to be aware of future movies even if they want to go in right now in a different movie, I'll put the future movie poster in.
Someone will need to think about it and decide. It should be an experience designer (but mostly will be a complete stranger to that field unfortunately).
I'll try to answer your question this way: Experience design uses all necessary media channels.
Answer: Theory
Theoretically and by definition, the field of UX applies to any product or service. The techniques we use, such as user-centered design, can be used to make any product/service easy and enjoyable to use, and to elicit responses such as trust and pride in ownership. We can do it for digital SLR cameras. We can do it for bath tubs. We can do it for employment placement services. We can apply it not only to the product and service itself, but to all the "touch points" related to the product: advertisement, availability, packaging, maintenance, service and technical support, and disposal. We can make better movie posters. Sure we can.
Reality
In practice, we do software user interfaces, primarily web and mobile sites/apps. A UX practitioner and a UI designer are effectively synonymous (but a UI designing and UI developing are not the same).  Look at the questions on this site. By my last count over 90% concerned software user interfaces. The percent is even higher if you exclude the questions that appear to be purely design exercises (e.g., Cool/heat and sun/snowflake display on A/C and other machines), rather than involving products the poster is actually designing for production.
Why the Limits?
Expanding beyond UIs has long been an aspiration of UX practioners, impacting our very self-definitions. It hasn't happened because there are already other professions designing other things. There are already graphic designers, advertisers, industrial designers, fashion designers, stylists, human factors engineers, marketers, promoters, architects, cartographers, and more. They've been doing it for decades, longer than UX has existed. I'm inclined to think they know what they're doing by now (except those twits designing a lot of consumer electronic hardware out there, but that's more traditional human factors engineering than UX as practiced). The truth is we don't know enough outside of UIs to design other things, and it would be arrogant to think that we do.
Likewise, a lot of UX knowledge is specific to UI design. Again, purvey the questions on this site. Many seek knowledge relevant to UI's only. Knowing the difference between Find and Search is not going to help you know where to place billboards along the road. Understanding how screen readers work won't help you design movie posters. If you're trained and experienced in UX, then you'll have to leave a lot of the training and experience behind if you go off to design printed ads.
UX Cross-pollination
That is not to say we don't have something to offer for non-UIs designs. Cross-discipline pollination is often fruitful. So, yes, we could improve of movie posters, but we're only likely to succeed if we combine our UX knowledge with a study of graphic design (for physical media), advertising, marketing, and everything else involved.
Comment: I don't totally agree with the sentiment of this post: while there may be traditional professionals who have dealt with movie posters / print ads / billboards the fact that technology means that these mediums are becoming more INTERACTIVE means that UX will tend to spread further into other fields.
Answer: At the interview of my current job, I said: "My work is about human, the fact that you are a banking IT is only a medium". Of course this sentence emphasizes a bit too much; we have our specialties / expertise. Yet I believe being a UX designer is also about keeping the toilet brush closer to the toilet.
I would suggest you Norman's awesome book if you want to think further: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Design_of_Everyday_Things
Comment: "also about keeping the toilet brush closer to the toilet." <-- Agree, as a UX designer, you *are* an experience designer. It's just that you are specialized in creating experiences for users of a web site for example.
Answer: User Experience is a broad term that refers to the sum of the pleasures and frustrations that a subject lives while interacting with an organisation, a good or service, being it watching the latest ad on TV, reading the ingredients on the back of a product, listening to a piece of music while waiting to talk to the customer care guy or gathering information before making a subscription to a service on an online store.
An Interface is a means to let two or more systems exchange information in a standardised way that is appropriate and understandable by all the involved parties.
The user interface is used to let a human input, manipulate or get a desired output or action from a machine, being it a mechanical device or a computer. If you are familiar with the development world, another good example of interface could be an API.
As you can see the two terms are very abstract, broad and applicable to many different cases; untied to any specific media.
Answer: Regarding the confusion between UI and UX, it is a common misconception. But it is a misconception.
This image is one of many that shows the cross-disciplinary role of UX. This diagram isn't perfect and there are many variations of diagrams like this as UX professionals continue to improve and refine where their role fits and where it doesn't.
UI is a discipline that would be a subset of the Interaction Design circle. It specifically focuses on the creation of visual interfaces. While UI is an important aspect of UX, it is only a part of the what a user experiences when they interact with a company, product, brand, or event.


How can I copy text from xterm (Awesome, Debian, VirtualBox)?

Question: I ran the minimal Debian installation inside a VirtualBox instance, installed X11 and Awesome window manager manually (without any custom configuration yet) and installed VirtualBox additions as well (and enabled shared clipboard in settings). However, copy-pasting text from xterm terminal still doesn't seem to work: CTRL+C is sent as a signal to a terminal, and Shift+Insert inserts the text that I had selected (which probably means that it got copied to some buffer somehow), but it is still unavailable from the host operating system.
Answer: X11 uses two buffers: PRIMARY and CLIPBOARD. To copy/paste to the CLIPBOARD buffer you can often use CTRL-C and CTRL-V. You can insert to the PRIMARY buffer by selecting a text and paste from it by pressing the middle mouse button.
If you want to use the CLIPBOARD buffer, put this in your ~/.Xresources file and use Ctrl+Shift+C and Ctrl+Shift+V to copy/paste from/to the CLIPBOARD buffer in xterm:
xterm*VT100.Translations: #override \
                 Ctrl Shift <Key>V:    insert-selection(CLIPBOARD) \n\
                 Ctrl Shift <Key>C:    copy-selection(CLIPBOARD)

You need to run xrdb -merge ~/.Xresources after putting that into the file.
Comment: Using `xrdb ~/.Xresources` will destructively overwrite your default configuration. instead use `xrdb -merge ~/.Xresources`
Answer: It is not necessary to modify the xterm translations resources to copy data to/from Firefox, unless you prefer to use the keyboard to help with the process.
Since 2006 xterm has a feature selectToClipboard which lets you switch between the PRIMARY selection (standard) and CLIPBOARD (Firefox, etc).
Because some programs do use the primary selection, and some don't, it is a menu entry in xterm (controlmiddle-mouse):

Adapting the suggestion for control-characters like the GNOME applications lets you use the keyboard, and at the same let the menu switch between the two types of selections:
xterm*VT100.Translations: #override \
                 Ctrl Shift <Key>V:    insert-selection(SELECT) \n\
                 Ctrl Shift <Key>C:    copy-selection(SELECT)

although adding shiftInsert might be closer to the original intent:
xterm*VT100.Translations: #override \
                 Shift <Key>Insert:    insert-selection(SELECT) \n\
                 Ctrl Shift <Key>V:    insert-selection(SELECT) \n\
                 Ctrl Shift <Key>C:    copy-selection(SELECT)

A plain controlC is usually assigned to an INTR signal:
$ stty -a
speed 38400 baud; rows 40; columns 80; line = 0;
intr = ^C; quit = ^\; erase = ^H; kill = ^U; eof = ^D; eol = <undef>;
eol2 = <undef>; swtch = <undef>; start = ^Q; stop = ^S; susp = ^Z; rprnt = ^R;
werase = ^W; lnext = ^V; flush = ^O; min = 1; time = 0;
-parenb -parodd cs8 -hupcl -cstopb cread -clocal -crtscts
-ignbrk -brkint -ignpar -parmrk -inpck -istrip -inlcr -igncr icrnl ixon -ixoff
-iuclc -ixany -imaxbel -iutf8
opost -olcuc -ocrnl onlcr -onocr -onlret -ofill -ofdel nl0 cr0 tab0 bs0 vt0 ff0
isig icanon iexten echo echoe echok -echonl -noflsh -xcase -tostop -echoprt
echoctl echoke

Further reading:

Why can't I select/paste to/from other programs? (xterm FAQ)
Answer:
Open xterm and highlight the text you want to copy.
Go to the application in which you wish to paste and hover the mouse cursor over the field you want to paste in.
Click the scroll button on your mouse. (on laptops this can be done by pressing left and right click at the same time)

When you highlight text, it copies the text to your primary buffer. Keep in mind that if you highlight any other text before pasting, that text will then replace the previous content in the primary buffer.
Comment: Please, read question carefully. "Go to the application in which you wish to paste" — this suggests that you didn't notice that I needed to paste it into the host OS.
Comment: Sorry I don't have third button on the mouse. using trackball in here
Comment: This is the ONLY recommendation that worked for me using an Azure Debian vm running xterm, connected by Microsoft Remote Desktop on macOS. I was able to paste into a Debian text editor. I did have to attach a mouse to my Mac.
Answer: Turns out, I didn't account for the fact that X11 has two buffers: primary and clipboard. My text from xterm was copied into primary buffer, while I needed it in clipboard buffer.
I was able to fix the problem by installing parcellite package, launching it and configuring it to synchronize two buffers.
Answer: What worked for me (openSuSe 42.3 x86_64) was extracted from https://www.davidsimmons.com/soft/xtermhacks/#copynpastenopatch.
You can also check https://askubuntu.com/questions/237942/how-does-copy-paste-work-with-xterm/1300290#1300290 for other responses.
TLDR
Add to ~/.Xresources:
XTerm*VT100.translations: #override <Btn1Up>: select-end(PRIMARY, CLIPBOARD, CUT_BUFFER0)
and the run xrdb -merge ~/.Xresources.


Is asking for implementation (any language) or detailed documentation/paper to implement an algorithm off-topic?

Question: Here I asked about implementation or a document/paper with enough details to implement an algorithm. Is it off-topic?
Answer: Let's break it down:

Asking for an open-source implementation is off-topic.  Asking for an open-source implementation to do X is equivalent to asking for a software package to do X.  They're both off-topic here.
See https://cs.meta.stackexchange.com/a/31/755 for a relevant policy statement: "[asking] for a complete software package [...] is definitely out of our mandate as the underlying problem/task is not related to computer science".
Asking for an algorithm for some well-defined task certainly is on-topic here.  That's our bread and butter.
Asking for papers that describe an algorithm for some well-defined task is on-topic.
A note of advice: in my opinion, it's probably more useful to ask for an algorithm to do X, rather than asking for a paper that describes an algorithm to do X.  If you ask for an algorithm to do X, you might get back a paper reference, or you might get back an algorithm even if there is no paper. If you ask for a paper, you've ruled out an entire class of useful answers.  But either one is in scope and on-topic.
Asking for papers that describe how to implement an algorithm for this task feels borderline to me.  It could be OK -- or it might be problematic.  The risk is that there may not be any paper that describes how to do an entire implementation, including all relevant implementation issues.  And many implementation considerations tend to be a matter for Stack Overflow; we focus on the science (e.g., algorithms, concepts, fundamental techniques, rather than programming language specific concerns).
My advice would be to start by asking for an algorithm for the task; then, if you run into any specific issue with implementing the algorithm, ask another question about that specific issue, either on Stack Overflow or here, depending on whether the issue has to do with fundamental computer science concepts or has more to do with programming/coding.  Asking for implementation advice before you even have an approach or algorithm seems to me like it's getting ahead of things.  But this is just friendly advice.
Asking for "X or Y" where X is off-topic and Y is on-topic is not good practice and risks having your question closed as off-topic.  Don't ask for something you know is off-topic here; remove all the off-topic requests from your question, and focus only on the part that is on-topic.

In summary, to make your question on-topic, you'll need to remove the part of your question that asks for an open-source implementation.
If you want to rehabilitate the question to be on-topic here, for your sake, I'd recommend that you focus on asking for an algorithm for power graph analysis/visualization, rather than on asking for a document or paper -- but that is your choice.

Note: In this answer I'm focusing only on what's on-topic.  Even if the question is edited to be on-topic, it will still need to meet our other requirements, including being focused enough that it can be answered in a few paragraphs; containing enough information that the task/question is well-defined; and describing what research you've done and what approaches you've considered.  As it stands, the question is open-ended and what you mean by "power graph analysis/visualization" is not explained, so you would do better to explain what you mean by that: what tasks do you want to be able to do?  what visualizations do you want to produce?  what requirements do you have for any such system?
Comment: @AliShakiba, OK.  Thanks for elaborating on your concerns -- that helps!  I confess I'm still trying to work out what exactly your question is.  Are you asking for an algorithm for some task (some task related to power graphs)?  Or, do you already have an algorithm in mind and you are asking for details regarding how to implement it?  If the latter, is there some specific aspect of the algorithm you are unclear on?
Comment: "As it stands, the question is open-ended and what you mean by "power graph analysis/visualization" is not explained", it was not open-ended, just you are not familiar with the topic so it looked open-ended to you. I found the paper with pseudocode to implement it. It is ignorance and arrogance to describe someone's question as vague instead of realizing you are not able to understand it.
Comment: See "Computational Network Theory - Theoretical Foundations and Applications", page 226.
Comment: @AliShakiba, I'm afraid I don't own the book, so I can't easily take a look at page 226 right now.  Sorry about that.  Would it be easy to summarize the ideas there that you think I should know?  Incidentally, you might find it interesting to take a look at the guidelines from the CSTheory.SE [faq](http://cstheory.stackexchange.com/help/on-topic): "Questions should be based on knowledge sharing [..] Try to make your question interesting for others by providing some background knowledge".  That's a different site, but their advice may be helpful for improving the question.
Comment: In any case, you're more than welcome to edit your question to address the feedback you've been given.
Comment: Already deleted the question. Here is [the link](https://www.google.com/search?q="Initialize+C+and+C′+to+empty+sets%2C+and+M+to+an+empty+numeric+matrix") to the algorithm (open first result).
Comment: "Power Graph" is a specific simplification/visualization of large graphs/networks, there was a link to Wikipedia article about it in my question.
Comment: If I can understand what question you want to ask, and if you are still interested in seeing the question appear here, I'd be happy to offer advice about how you can edit the question to improve it and make it suitable here.  (cc: @AliShakiba)  Putting a question on hold is not intended to necessarily be a permanent state; if it can be edited to make it suitable, then it can be re-opened, and that's a great outcome.  I am glad to try to help you work out how to edit it to make it suitable here, if I
 can.
Comment: @D.W. My task was to find an open-source implementation or implement power graph analysis algorithm for large graph/network simplification/visualization. So I was looking for either an open-source implementation or a detailed explanation so that I can implement it myself.
Comment: Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been [moved to chat](http://chat.stackexchange.com/rooms/43240/discussion-on-answer-by-d-w-is-asking-for-implementation-any-language-or-deta).
Answer: Borderline. While it is a computer science reference-request on first sight, it may not be answerable as such.
In my experience, there will often not be such papers, so the question is probably "please tide me over from abstract description to code"; that's a programmer's task and clearly offtopic here.
Comment: This is definitely not a programming request, as I'm fine with a description which includes enough details to implement it myself. Many of papers about algorithms include pseudocode as part of algorithm description.
Comment: @AliShakiba Some do, many don't. Is my experience, fwiw.
Comment: Found my answer: "Computational Network Theory - Theoretical Foundations and Applications", page 226


Is it possible to search in comments at my questions?

Question: In a comment to my question I have got a general advice which I intend to try again. Is it possible to find the comment, without opening all my questions, clicking at 'show more comments' and Ctrl+F? Thanks.
Answer: I don't know if there's a way to list every response you've gotten here at once, but there is this:

Go into your user profile.
Click the Responses tab.

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How do I get my fisherdwarf to fish (or how to create a fishing zone)?

Question: How do I get my dwarves to start fishing? I have enabled the fishing labor, and made sure that the standing orders do not forbid fishing outside of zones, but my dwarves never seem to go fishing. There are a couple of murky pools on the map, but whenever I try to create a fishing zone on or around them, it only says 0 no matter how many tiles I select.
Answer: Sounds like there just aren't fish to be caught on the map (Except perhaps in the caverns? Did you discover any underground bodies of water yet?) Perhaps the biome you are in is inhospitable to fish. If that's the case, you probably won't ever be able to fish in that fortress.
That said, fishing is a rather minor part of the food industry, and can be easily ignored.
Answer: Fishing happens even in murky pools, as fishermen will catch muscles in murky pools.
Fishermen fish whenever they want. If they don't have other tasks waiting/assigned, they might go fishing. Once a fish is caught, someone with the task fish cleaning is needed, and a fishery workshop will need to be constructed and available (reachable) for the fish cleaner to process the raw fish into an edible food of fish.
I only zone fishing zones of activity when I need to control where the fisherdwarves will fish (ie, you have an underground pool you want them to fish from, or an enclosed lake that you only want them fishing from, and not all of the possibilities beyond your fortress's safe area in the embarkation site.
Fishing is an excellent way to provide food variety in an early fort. One skilled fisherman can provide a steady supply of fish for several years, allowing more of your gathered or harvested plants to be brewed rather than eaten.


Why did Minato's nine tails help in the fight?

Question: I understand that Naruto's half of the nine tails had been befriended by Naruto but why did Minato's nine tails help? Wouldn't it make more sense that he would've resisted and didn't let Minato use chakra mode or tailed beast mode?
Comment: I would assume they bounded after death or something. I don't recall any explanation in the anime or manga
Answer: Dark Kurama (the half sealed within Minato) has a good reason to help them. His very existence is under threat by Uchiha Obito (and later Uchiha Madara) Eternal Tsukuyomi. If Obito's team win, he will be sealed into the Gedo Statue and returned to being a part of the Juubi. Regardless of whether the tug-of-war between Dark Kurama and Minato happened or not, Dark Kurama would still help Naruto's side so that at least he can still be him.
With the tug-of-war taking place, he is even more willing to help since he's been tamed by Minato.
Answer: It was explained that Minato mastered the tailed beast in the tug-of-war of chakra war and began controlling it just like Naruto did. He gained the same chakra cloak like Naruto had in the 4th Shinobi World War.
Comment: Where was this explained?
Answer: He mastered controlling him and also dark Kurama had no reason to not help his other half since his existence was under threat of getting back to being a part of the juubi.
Answer: Kurama's other half is inside Naruto and moreover if obito captures Kurama he will be trapped in the gedo statue and Naruto has gained Kurama's respect by treating him as a friend.


What are some good tips and techniques for packing a backpack?

Question: How do I pack a backpack to prevent injury to my back and keep it comfortable while hiking?
Answer: The key to keeping your back happy is to drive as much pack weight to your hips as possible.  A side note on weight is that the lighter your pack overall, the happier your back.
A lot of the packing order depends on your particular pack, but in general, the bottom of a pack is below your hips.  Therefore, it is best to put something big and light in the bottom.  A fleece is one idea, or your sleeping bag (if it's down, might be less great if synthetic due to the amount of crushing that will happen).
Now that we have the level of stuff above your hips, heavy things go next, right against your back.  I like to put my food bag on one side and the tent on the other.  Down the middle, cooking gear, maps, books, etc.
If there is room left away from your back, stuff your sleeping pad and random clothes.
On the top all this stuff, put whatever light items you have left (i.e. repair kits, first aid kit, rain jacket).
The key to this idea is that your heavy things are silo-like, i.e. tightly packed stuff sacks.  That way their weight will be driven to your hips, and anything stacked on them will also drive weight to your hips.  The "looser" your packing job, the less efficiently this will happen.
Comment: +1 I think the key is to have a predictable center of gravity. Heavy items that are too high or too low can have a tendency to throw you off balance. Keep the heavy items in the middle as close to your back as possible.
Comment: +1.  Also, keeping things more tightly packed keeps them from shifting side-to-side.  Being lopsided in weight can really mess up your day.
Comment: @Ryley *might be less great if synthetic due to the amount of crushing that will happen* Down will handle crushing better than synthetic?
Comment: The loft of quality synthetic degrades significantly faster than quality down.  The rule of thumb I've heard is 3-5 years for synthetic, 5-10 for down.
Answer: Well, this can somewhat depend on the type of backpack you have and the length of the trip you're planning to take (so how much you will be carrying), but there are a few general principles that apply to almost all situations:
From the bottom up:

The sleeping bag. Most backpacks have a larger, separately-zipped area at the bottom that is the most convenient for storing a bulky item like a sleeping bag. You might also be able to fit other items that you will be using at the same time (for sleeping, at night) in that area.
The heaviest, bulkiest items. You need to pack the heaviest items on the lower/central side so that they will be closer to your back. If they are too high up they will pull the backpack away from your spine and put pressure on your shoulders. The closer to your spine the heavy items are, the easier it will be to balance your backpack and the weight will be positioned better over your hips. Usually the heaviest part of the backpack is your food, so that should go here.
Lighter items that don't need to be accessed often. Clothes, basically. You can also wedge clothes in around the heavy items (your stove and food) to prevent them from moving in your pack and keep the centre of gravity stable. Packing the tent body here is also good for keeping the heavy items in place.
Sleeping pads can be attached inside the lid of the pack or you can use some extra straps to strap it outside. If you have space, you can unwrap your sleeping pad and use it to line the inside of the pack, packing the rest of your items inside it. This helps to keep everything stable and also protects it from getting wet.
If you have space, you can separate the tent body and the tent poles and pack them on the inside. You can stuff the tent body in at the bottom of the pack and place the poles vertically across the length of the whole pack. Otherwise you might have to pack the tent in the lid.
Most packs have small outer compartments that are good for storing things you might need to access really easily whilst walking, like first aid kits and snacks.
Comment: "... pack the tent in the lid." Surely that's contrary to the goal of keeping frequently-required items in outer pockets.
Answer: One option that is super useful when you're travelling in a group is to have different packs for different purposes rather than each person carrying their own stuff. For example we have a "tent pack" and a "kitchen pack". The advantages include:

a significant weight difference, which you could use to support hikers of different strengths.
it's quicker to find something when you need it, because you know which pack it's in.
on arrival at camp, you put the packs on opposite sides of the site and there's less running around.
no concern about "food in the tent" if sleeping bags and food are not even in the same backpack.
we only need one super-waterproof large liner (for the tent pack) since it's ok if pots, dishes etc get wet (food is in smaller super-waterproofs.) Pretty much everything in the tent pack needs to stay dry.

If you're in a group of 2 or more, consider it. Also, if you don't live together and didn't pack together, the pause before setting off during which you reorganize everything into categories is a fantastic way to check that you've all brought the right stuff.
Comment: but the tent itself does not stay dry... (nor does it need to)
Comment: The tent might be inside or outside the liner. As you say, it doesn't much matter. What does matter is that you are freeing up roughly half your stuff to not need to be in a "can fall in the lake" waterproof bag. That's a very useful thing.
Answer: OK, so here's a completely different take on this.
I'm an enthusiastic customer of Aarn Packs - a specialist New Zealand company. They are one of the few manufacturers to explore load carrying from the ground up, in conjunction with a university department of ergonomics.
The radical answer to improving weight distribution in a pack is to move some of the load to the front with a bodypack rather than a backpack.
This means that, depending on strap settings, up to 100% of the weight can be channelled vertically to the hips. The centre of gravity moves forwards so the wearer can maintain a fully upright posture, spinal load is reduced, balance is better, shoulder and back pain are virtually eliminated, and you have easy access to the front pockets on the move.

You pack your heavy items and water in the front pockets, so they counterbalance your clothing, sleeping back etc in the main pack. When you get it right, your centre of gravity (green spot) stays central:

Combined with additional innovations in the harness system that add stability and freedom of movement, this is a strikingly effective alternative to conventional packs.
It does get a little getting used to, and putting the pack on is slightly more hassle. But you have a surprising unobstructed view of your feet, and the payoff in terms of comfort and energy saved is well worth it.
Here's what it looks like in practice. Notice the more natural posture of the Aarn wearer compared to the guy with the external frame:

No commercial interest here - just a happy user. Small companies with the courage to innovate deserve support, I feel.
Comment: @MartinF - the key difference between the commercial design and your DIY design is likely to be that the front pockets have a stay that transfers almost all the weight to the waist-belt. This balances the load front and back so there is almost no strain on the neck, shoulders and spine. The stay also keeps the pockets off your chest so you have ventilation. Finally, there are two front pockets, and you can see your feet in the gap between them. You'll find detailed info on the Aarn website.
Comment: I invented this setup myself, except mine just consists of a regular backpack and a front daypack. Glad to see it's being tried commercially.
Answer: As mentioned in other answers, it will depend on the type of your backpack.  You can for example pack like this:
First you unbuckle all straps of your backpack, and lay it on the ground.  Next to it you spread your ground sheet or shelter half, fold your sleeping bag or blanket on top of it, so it will be about as wide as the central part of your backpack, and put your extra clothes, food for cooking in the evening and morning, and anything that you will not need during the day, like so:

Then you fold the top and bottom parts of the sheet over your sleeping bag or blanket,and roll everything up tightly.  Place the roll on the central part of the bag (if the roll is too large, you have too much stuff.  Get rid of some of it), like so:

Fold the bottom flap up over the roll, fold the side flaps over the roll as well, thread the side straps through the middle strip on the bottom flap, and buckle them to the other side strap.   Then fold the top flap with a detachable compartment down, and buckle the long bottom strap to it.
Place items that you will need on the trail, but don't want to keep in your pockets (map, snacks, emergency kit, rain poncho, ...) into the top detachable compartment.  Strap your pot, canteen, hatchet, knife etc to the outside of the pack with extra straps, and you are ready to go.
Comment: There are commercial packs that use this idea - they seem to be moderately successful. See: https://backpackinglight.com/equinox_katahdin_review/#.VRBkSI6sU8A and http://hikinghq.net/gear/moonbow_gearskin.html
Answer: Here's some advice from REI's page "Tips for How to Pack a Backpack":

Packing a backpack is pretty simple, but there are some tips to make the process easier and to get you better results.
Ideally, a well-loaded pack will feel balanced when resting on your hips and nothing should be shifting or swaying inside. As you walk, the pack should feel stable and predictable, one with your upper body.
If possible, first pack your backpack at home. You can spread out your gear on a clean floor, visually confirm you've got everything, and feel less rushed as you load up. Use a checklist to ensure you've got everything you need.
Comment: Pont - Where community members have been helping you by adding the required attribution, **do not** delete the attribution! Our rules require them - plagiarism is not permitted here.
Answer: Assuming that you have the right kind of a backpack according to your requirements.
First, you need to separate things that you need frequently and things you'll need less often. The way I camp/trek and plan things, I am okay to pack everything all over again in the morning.
Generally, it is best suited to pack lighter items in the bottom of the pack and heavier stuff toward the top, the idea is to keep heavier stuff closer to your back and not on bum. This keeps your center of gravity relatively high. Center of gravity plays a very important role in balancing your body when in motion. Higher Center of gravity tends to make it easy to haul the backpack easily while your performance with balance is hampered. Women naturally have a lower center of gravity, so the women I know and trek with, they pack heavier stuff at the bottom, that further increases their stability.
Remember, The lower your center of gravity is , the easier it is to keep yourself balanced, pack feels heavier. The higher your center of gravity is, the easier it is to haul the pack but chances are more to dwell/tip off or go off-balance.

If your pack doesn't have a separate space for sleeping bag, keep it at the bottom, usually you'll only need it after you are done for the day. So extra Clothing and your sleeping bag can go lower sections of the backpack.
Heavier items like water bottles, tins, food and fuel up against the pack's back panel, and not in the front. If you place the heavy items on the outer sections of the backpack, you will experience that the pack constantly putting you off-balance, leaning back.
Importantly, keep the Headlamp, Flashlight, Medical Kit (Um, wait, you do carry these, right?) always handy, i.e. upper most sections of the pack.
Unimportant things like Jelly, Bars you can keep in the top outer section of the pack.
A well-folded Garbage pack can find its place in the side-pouches if there are any.

So, order of packing:

Sleeping bag
Extra Clothes
Food (Heavy meal)
eat-on-the-go Food for next day (Lighter)
Liquid items (Water, juices, fuel bottles/can)
Hydration pack (closer to the back)
eat-on-the-go food for today (Lighter)
Electronic equipment like portable chargers, camera lenses
Medical Kit, Headlamp, Flashlight.
Rain Cover (If it is not in a small pouch compartment at the bottom on the backpack)


The nasal allophones of /g/

Question: In this this post's comments, Zhen Lin said that the rules surrounding the nasal allophones in compound words are 'complicated', but couldn't remember them. I'd like to know what these complex rules are.
Answer: Here is what I know.  If, by "complex rules", you refer to more complex ones than these below, I wish one of the experts here would post an answer.
By the way, the nasal sound we are discussing here is called 「鼻濁音{びだくおん}」 in case someone did not know.  "Nose-muddy-sound", literally.  Since you know the word now, you can hear how it actually sounds on Youtube.  It has quite a few videos on the subject.
The other sound, I do not even know what it is called.  It is the "g" sound used in English words such as "game", "forget", "sugar", etc.  I will call it the non-nasal here.
The Big Basic Rules

Use the non-nasal when the ガ行{ぎょう} syllable comes at the beginning of a word.

「がっこう」、「がんばる」、「ぎんこう」, etc.

Use the nasal for the particle 「が」.  No exceptions!
Use the nasal for basically all non-word-starting ガ行{ぎょう} syllables.  (Exceptions will be discussed below.)

「にんげん」、「おんがく」、「にげる」, etc.

Exceptions

Use the non-nasal for all of the ガ行 syllables in onomatopoeias.

「ギリギリ」、「ゴロゴロ」、「ガリガリ」, etc.

Use the non-nasal for ガ行 syllables in non-Sino loanwords.

「ポイントゲッター」、「オルガン」、「エゴ」, etc.

Use the non-nasal for number "5" (「五」).

「25日{にち}」(にじゅうごにち)

「5月(ごがつ)」 will truly test your ability as the 「ご」 is non-nasal while 「が」 is nasal.
When a ガ行 syllable is preceded by the honorific 「お」, it is a non-nasal.

「おげんき」、「おぐあい」, etc.

Compound words can be rather complex when the latter parts start in ガ行 syllables because, unlike everything else we have discussed above, "personal judgement" is invloved.
In 「音楽学校(おんがくがっこう)」, for instance, the first 「が」 is 100% nasal, but the second 「が」 is pronounced with a non-nasal by the majority of us native speakers (including professional announcers, voice actors, etc.).  This is because the part 「学校」 in the second half of the compound word "feels" more like an independent word to many of us than like just a part of the longer word 「音楽学校」.
When an originally カ行 syllable becomes a ガ行 syllable by rendaku, that ガ行 syllable is pronounced as a nasal.

「飛行機雲(ひこうきぐも)」、「天然氷(てんねんごおり)」, etc.

There should be a couple of more, I think, but this is all I can recall right now.
Here is a good video about 鼻濁音 by the National Institutute for Japanese Language and Linguistics.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amscTH7z3iM
Comment: I'm definitely used to pronouncing the non-nasal version after ん, but I'm not a native speaker. Still, I've heard there's some variation in regards to that environment.
Comment: @Sjiveru Japanese wikipedia says use of nasal [ŋ] is on decline, while the fricative [ɣ] is on the rise (this is news to me!).  It also says it's a feature of traditional Eastern dialects, partially absent from Tōkai-Tōsan and Western Kantō, and wholly absent from dialects like Chūgoku and Kyūshū.
Comment: Does the loanword rule also apply to names? I say this because in *Attack on Titan*, I noticed Willy Tybur pronounced the German name "Magath" with a nasal and it immediately stood out to me even though it's quite a common thing, especially for a refined speaker such as Willy, but I only now realized that it might have stood out as it was a foreign name — it is not nasalized in German, of course.

The nasal allophones of /g/