Configuring SQL server 2005 enterprise edition

Question: What are the basic settings required for running SQL server 2005 enterprise edition in a local computer.
When i take program from start menu it shows only sql server configuration manager, surface area manager, error reporting and a command prompt. There is no SQL server launching shortcut. How i get it?
Comment: I suppose the other authors already answered your question. I just wonder why to install Enterprice on local computer, if Developer Edition has all features of Enterprise and the license cost is significantly lower ?
Answer: Well, I think SQL Server already runs on your machine. What do you mean of "SQL Server launching shortcut"? There is no such standalone thing. SQL Server components run as services. Check for them running using Start -> Run -> services.msc.
If you mean some GUI for managing the server, it is called SQL Server Management Studio, it can usually be found on the second disk, if you used CDs for installation. Try to reinstall the server and don't forget to check Management Studio while installation (it can be found under some other node, like 'User tools' or something, I don't remember for sure now).
Answer: My recollection of the SQL Server installation is that it's irritatingly easy to not install the SQL Server Management Studio. It's an option that isn't ticked by default.
On my system the shortcut  for Management Studio points to "C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\90\Tools\Binn\VSShell\Common7\IDE\SqlWb.exe" so you can easily see if it's installed.
JR


Why are country singer often good at low notes?

Question: Why is that country musicians who grew up singing in church are often good at singibg low notes? What factors would make them sing low notes easily?
Does upbringing derermine what vocal range you will end up with or are you just born with a certain range that no southern church can do anything about?
I never hear tenors in country music (more in opera and classical church choirs).
Comment: you got it backwards.  people good at low notes are often country singers...
Comment: A cynical answer might be "if somebody can sing high notes well enough to be an operatic tenor, why on earth would they want to sing country music instead?"
Answer: A singer's range is determined initially by genetics and then by training. There are plenty of tenors who sing country music. You are hearing nothing more than the popularity of lower voices in country music, which causes singers with lower ranges to be able to be more popular than they would in other genres, which often favor higher ranges.
Singing country or church music does not make one's range lower or higher.
Answer: The typical country vocal sound is "intimate", the sound of a close-by utterance.  A rumbling voice in its comfort range is one that can retain that impression reasonable well even through a PA while screams and shouts are more of a projecting or traveling sound rather than one that is already close by.
Basically it works pretty well for the kind of sound composition typical for the genre.  Country also tends to be more text-heavy than pop or rock, and the text conveys better when close-captioned at comfort pitch and volume than yelled at high pitch.
Good musicians tend to gravitate into genres where their qualities come out best, and country is a genre where a low voice happens to be an asset in the typical genre pieces and instrumental setup.
Answer: its from habbit they develop more in the lower range, could be they started singing low in church so they didn't attract to much attention to them selves while in church.Nothing like having your parents giving you looks while you are in church


I think evolution has goal

Question: Richard Dawkins says evolution doesn't have any goal. But I think evolution has one. At the end evolution creates intelligent being. If we find another earth like planet evolution sould have the same pattern. Evolution is not a chaotic event. Am I wrong?
Comment: This is not much of a questions, but only an empty proposition which is not supported by any logical arguments or empirical proofs.
Comment: What do you mean at the end? What makes you think we are at the "end" of evolution? If anything can be said to be the "most evolved", that would be viruses, not humans.
Answer: Yes you are wrong I am afraid. Evolution is the process of change through time of species by inherited changes. Heritable differences mainly come about from random mutation in the genome. These genetic differences between individuals lead to fitness differences between individuals, ie one individual is better able to produce offspring, thus spreading more of its genes in to the following generation, than another individual. For example, environmental change causes selection for a dark body morph in moths, stabding genetic variation and new mutations affecting body colour is then more favored by selection, and those with the dark body genes survive and reproduce better.
There is no end or goal to evolution. It is often mistakenly said that humans have stopped evolving. This is wrong and to suggest we have is to suggest that evolution is directed and has an ultimate goal. As long as genetic fitness variation exists there will always be some level of evolution because there is a difference between individuals in selection coefficient. Selection is also very unstable, it can change drastically an rapidly, evolution could only then stop if selection was constant and favored one "ultimate genotype" over all others in which case all genetic variation would cease to exist.
If we found another planet which had the exact same conditions and time as earth we may find the same species, but it is not likely. It requires the same mutations and selection processes occurring. Analogous to this is the observation of "many solutions to one problem" where different species use different adaptations to deal with a common problem. For example, geting oxygen is difficult for water deelling species. Sea mammals like whales gather oxygen by going to the surface and breathing and then holding their breath. Fish have evolved gills, a different solution to the same problem, to harvest oxygen from the water. These solutions evolve from random changes with selection acting only on the results (those that could filter oxygen from the water or hold their breath the best survived and reproduce best).
Comment: I'm writing this on my iPhone in an airport - if people have some references for examples and reading please feel free to add them.
Comment: What do you think what is the next evolutionary step for mankind?
I didn't said we would find same species in another planet. I said we may find same pattern. I think evolution has a pattern and there for it can be said as a goal. You put the initial value you will find the final value. I think it is not a chaotic process.
Comment: Just remember that every species is undergoing evolution and few, if any, have evolved intelligence...
Comment: @KarziArafatAhmed Just as evolution can lead to different solutions to one problem, as above, it can also lead to similar ones between species. This is called convergent evolution, given the same selection as on our planet, another planet could host similar species as ours. It is not moving towards a goal. How would it know where to go? What is controlling it?
Comment: @KaziarafatAhmed On the inherently tricky and mostly unanswerable topic of future human evolution you can look at these earlier posts: [Scientifically based theories of future human evolution?](http://biology.stackexchange.com/questions/9739/are-there-any-scientifically-based-predictions-or-theories-of-future-human-evolu/9764#9764), [Is evolution possible in contemporary humans?](http://biology.stackexchange.com/questions/5007/how-is-evolution-possible-in-contemporary-humans), ...
Comment: [cnd]: ...also [Medical progress and human evolution?](http://biology.stackexchange.com/questions/8401/has-medical-progress-stopped-human-evolution) @KaziarafatAhmed

I think evolution has goal


When and where does Attack on Titan take place?

Question: Is the setting of "Attack on Titan" (Shingeki no kyojin) supposed to be Earth in the distant future and Titans suddenly appeared out of nowhere and devolved society to medieval level of technology? Or is this just a completely fictional setting?
Comment: I made an [interactive map here](http://davidmear.com/snk/map/) which you can use to drag the walls around and try to find a suitable spot. As you can see, they're sort of too huge to make sense in Central Europe, so somewhere around 54.2395, 42.7587 was my best guess. I don't there have been any clear references to locations though.
Comment: @DavidMear - that's a great map!  I am wondering if maybe after climate change, there's a little more leeway (depending on the year).
Answer: As @Madara said, Attack on Titan is set on Earth, but in a different situation. This is evidenced by a reference to a real-world legend in episode 15:

 Two captured Titans are named Sawney and Bean, which is stated in-universe to be based on the legend of Sawney Bean.

If we use that same evidence as part of a timeline, there's two possibilities:

The year 850 means that we are at least 850 years following the aforementioned legend, putting us no earlier than year 2350 A.D. This seems possible but unlikely, as their technology shows no signs of being derived from our own.
The year 850 is some marker to an event that happened prior to the legend, in which case we have no frame of reference other than that the story must take place in or after the 1500s. This seems to be the more likely answer.

Keep in mind, though, that in the Attack on Titan universe:

 The oriental races are wiped out; Mikasa has her mother's oriental blood, but is the last surviving member of the Asian races.

With this in mind, it is highly unlikely that it is in Japan or even nearby (though the location is also unstated). However, seeing how many names are European (Jäger is German for "hunter", Armin is a Germanic name, cf. Arminius & Herman), it's most likely that the story takes place in Germany, or at least in Europe, where the remaining survivors of the Titan catastrophe are now cornered.
Answer: I'm assuming it would be in Germany and/or the surrounding European countries. The architecture of the districts within the Maria and Rose walls (including their outliers like Shiganshina District) looks to be very much like traditional German architecture. However, the Stohess District resembles Czech architecture and Utopia resembles Parisian mid-rise styles.
The tall 80m-treed forests which are both in & outside the walls could be the Black Forest in Germany. There is also a small alpine section within the walls & outside, which could be the Swiss/Italian Alps. Not only that, but the characters have German names such as Reiner, Bertholdt, Jaeger, etc.
Answer: Spoilers ahead.
In Chapter 93, page 6, we are presented with a geographic representation of the Attack on Titan world:

The region in pink represents the

Mid-East Allies

The region in blue represents the

Nation of Marley

The region in red represents

Paradis, Island of Paradis, or Paradis Island, whichever you prefer to go by, and that is where most all of the story takes place (where Eren & the titans reside)

Cross-referencing with a world map it becomes clear that

if we are using geography as an identifying feature of the Attack on Titan Earth, this is not the Earth that we know. Unless the map was drawn in such a way as to purposely hide defining geographic characteristics, it is likely that the Earth in Attack on Titan is more of an alternate universe Earth. There are a lot of references that we are familiar with, especially later on in the manga, but it is clear that the geography doesn't match up to anything on our current Earth. In addition, the names of these regions are Marley, Paradis, and Mid-East Allies. And the peoples in the first two regions are called Marleyans and Eldians. So it further solidifies that the AoT Earth, while similar, is more than likely an alternate-universe Earth and not the same Earth that we currently reside on.

That means that

since this is not the same Earth, we can not use our own timeline to judge what time period this takes place. It is a completely different world, albeit with a lot of similarities, but it makes the most sense to stick to the timeline that AoT presents to us throughout the manga and anime.

Later in the manga, however, we see that

while Paradis Island looks like it's living in our version of the medieval times, the rest of the world is not.

In fact, we see in chapter 86, pages 146-147, that

during Grisha Yeager's childhood (so some time before Eren), humanity was in possession of airships and military technology that we might have seen from the 1900s to 1930s or 40s. Again, we can't compare the timelines in AoT to our own since we know AoT's Earth is not our Earth but this should help give you a better understanding of the AoT world.

In Chapter 86, page 156-157, we are presented with

military uniforms that look sort of similar to WWI/WWII era uniforms. In the same frame we can also see the soldier smoking a cigarette while taking a break on a mowed grass lawn. In chapter 94, we can also see the type of firearm that this child is carrying which is an excellent example of more sophisticated technology. I blocked out the text in the frames as it wasn't necessary.

So at this point it's obvious that

we did not, prior to these chapters, have a good understanding of the AoT universe and there's a good reason, too. But those are unnecessary spoilers.

I recommend reading the manga for more information on the backstory of AoT for further information on timeline, place, and technology within the AoT universe.
Comment: Flip your map vertically and horizontally. Paradis = Madagascar, then Africa, Europe, etc.
Answer: So first of all, the story cannot possibly be taking place 2000 years in the past. I am not going to talk about technology development or the size of the characters (2000 years ago, Levi Ackerman wouldn't have been considered as short).
Anyway, Sasha gave me the first part of the answer. In the trainee corps arc, we can see her eating a potato, and the potato was imported into Europe from the South America, which proves the story takes place after the discovery of the American continent (Europe really started to grow potatoes in the 17th century...).
But then I ticked on how they calculated the size of the titans. They used "meter-class", which mean they have the metric system. The metric system having been invented after the French revolution in 1789 and was finally accepted by the French Academy of Science on 26th March 1791.
The story should take place after this date.
I've also noted that Mikasa (in the trainee corps arc when Eren seems unable to have his "natural balance") speaks about "artisans" who make the 3D maneuver gear, and with a look with the general development of the city (no trains, no steam boats). This suggests that the industrial revolution (~1840) has not yet taken place. My theory is that titan have appeared (year 743 in the story) between 1791 and 1840 (and that because of that new-found enemy, the industrial revolution never took place...). The story starts with the colossal titan 102 years later (year 845 in the story), which means between 1893 and 1942 in our calendar.
Answer: It's a completely different universe and settings than ours (still Earth though, just under different circumstances). However, according to technological advances and the construction style, I'd say that the year they describe, around 800 - 900 doesn't seem far fetched.
As for the location, I'm not sure, the names of the characters don't seem Japanese, something European maybe?
Answer: My guess is 52.2051, 47.5557 on your map.
It makes sense geographically - perhaps Germany led the way to the evacuation, and it seems more logical for Asians to have arrived here rather than in Western Europe.
The one thing I looked for was that there are rivers that passes through all the districts, through all 3 walls. Though the map referenced in the manga seems to have two rivers (one running north-south and the other running east-west, roughly speaking) crossing through the walls.
Answer: It doesn't say where they are except for the name of the walls the humans hide behind as protection from the titans. But seeing as the character names are of German decent (and even some of the lyrics from the anime's openings), I'd say they're in Germany, or somewhere in Europe that has very strong German influences. In all reality though, they're just somewhere on Earth, hiding behind walls from human-like, man-eating creatures
As for the time... It might take place in the distant future, after humanity has gone (nearly) exinct
Answer: Maybe it could be arround Germany... but with a lower sea level so more landmass will be available (120m less sea level or less and you have continental Europe and UK, Irland as one big landmass)
Answer: I read an article stating that the story take place in Bavarian era. Too bad I forgot where I read it, and after a brief check on wiki, it is said that There had been a kingdom ruled by a king in the Bavarian Era, in Germany, and we know as well in the anime that the three walls were under a King's reign.
Answer: Since some of the characters in the show talk about the world before (Hanji and naming the titans after the infamous cannibal Sawney Bean), it's completely likely that the series takes place in the future rather than before common times.
As for location, it's most likely that the Walls are located in Germany, or nearby in Europe. However, it's also likely for the series to take place in Northern US, border-lining with Canada. Mostly since many German immigrants settled in that area, and majority of SNK characters are German. At the same time, it leaves room for reasons of why there are many other nationalities, like Japanese and French. Since America is just one big melting pot in itself.
Answer: You are all forgetting the fact that they possess flintlock firearms and sophisticated pneumatic mechanisms within their 3D gear.
Point being the story has to take place in a post-Renaissance period.
Comment: I don't really know they had rifles in one of the episodes.I would like to know the same thing
Answer: Well, flintlocks such as in this show, weren't really made as well as they were her until the 1700's. Though, as we can see, from multiple parts in the manga. As-well as in the show, their ships are wooden, and they are pre-industrial era. Which means, this show probably is taking place at about 1750-1800 AD. As they are past the renaissance, though, they did not quite reach the industrial era yet. Which means, it is actually probably in the 1800's as technology has halted for a hundred years. As the titans came into play in the 1700's, and for 100 years people have just been halted. If you notice though, if this had happened 100 years after, in 1850. Or 1950, the titans would not have been much of a problem due to the weapons. It is almost as if the titans came at about the perfect time, where humans were just un-able to mass murder the titans. If it were set after a modern era however, then there would obviously be better machinery around, such as tanks, airplanes, or even spacecraft. It is quite evident that it is pre industrial, and this is evident not only through their weapons or technology for that matter. But their clothing as-well. Many nations at the time had organized looking clothing, and a system of departments for the military. So, the best bet for when this show is occurring is from the 1700's, when the titans arrived, till the 1800's, which is when the show and manga takes place. If anyone says it was in the 900's, remember, weapons and technology such as in this were not seen on a mass scale, or at any large scale at all. 1700'S = Titan Arrival, 1800'S = AOT
Answer: What about in the opening episode where it says "To you, two thousand years in the future"? At first I thought it meant that we're (roughly) two thousand years after the rotation from BC to AD, but since the show starts off in 845 (or 844, can't remember atm) that doesn't make sense since we're obviously not in the year 2845.
The other option would be to add two thousand years to our current timeline making it 4013 and then subtract 845 to get 3168, the year that the calendar supposedly reset again.
It bothers me that it's not clear when the story is supposed to take place because I think it would help in solving some of the mysteries if we at least had a time period to work off of. Then again, maybe that's the point.
Answer: Since the titans have only been on the earth for 100 years, and the people left only have technology of Cannons, ect. They obliviously aren't going to be in a future of our timeline with this technology, but they could be if other events were changed in their past. But it seems way more likely that they are around the year c.700-c.900 on the original timeline.
Answer: I always thought of it as a futuristic collapsed society type theme. They were forced to build walls and revert back to medieval society but they focused their technology on their ODM gear to combat the titans. There is reference to the past (our current real life time). Perhaps the biggest supporting evidence of this was episode 6 where Misaka's kidnappers are talking about her race and they state:
"she's exotic. what they used to call an Oriental.You know about all that right? back when there used to be different breeds of people, a bunch of them from the far east came scrambling here for safety. the old perverts in the capital really go for that sort of thing. this little beauty's going to fetch a mint at auction. it's great business. she's the last of her kind. all the rest of her people died out."
hope that helps. the year that it starts out on is 845 so the yearly calendar reset for some important reason, but it hasn't revealed a lot about the history yet (just that the titans appeared over 100 years ago.) As far as location goes it's safe to assume that it is probably German. accounting for the kidnapper's claim that there is currently only one race and we have names like: -Yaeger (german for hunter) -Arlert is old german anglo-saxon, and Armin's wiki page trivia section states that "The name 'Armin' may have multiple meanings, either from an old German word meaning "whole", or "Herman", meaning "soldier"". http://shingekinokyojin.wikia.com/wiki/Armin_Arlert -Erwin - Derived from the Germanic name Hariwini, composed of the elements hari "army" and win "friend".
Add it all up with a lot of blonde hair (Armin, Reiner, Nanaba, Christa, Annie, Erwin, etc) and it seems that they were leaning toward a German-oriented character base with names that are literal puns toward the fact that they are soldiers.


Any way to redirect (301) pages for unpublished articles/links (404)?

Question: I am wondering if where is any way in joomla to solve following issue:

I am having URLs (articles) which may have been externally linked
Now I want to disable this links (unpublish)
but if I unpublish I loose a backlink
so I would like to have a option in Joomla to have a fallback for specific sub-URLs if they report a 404 to redirect them to the upper category menu-link

Is there any common plugin or even a standard of joomla available?
For more clearance out of the comments here some examples:
the old link sprachsuche google
this was changed to sprachsuche google und siri
this is the simple case there the URL only changed and I can handle it via a simple redirect and for this cases the redirect component is fine.
But if I have a URL, which is non accessible (since protected or outdated) e.g. job posts with a limited valid time like webdesign stuttgart which points to a 404.
Since I have a lot of such URLs, I would like to have a sort of redirect component, which detects such outdated links and gives me a option to redirect them with a pattern to the category page. Something like:
if ((status==404) && (article-publishing==disabled)) redirect-301 to karriere
Means I keep all links, and the content is matching to the link-visitor by ending on a carrer page. Have multiple such scenarios, but this is the easiest to explain.
Of course could now go into the redirect component to handle all links manually. But this is only detected if someone checks it intentionally. I would like to have a sort of default behavior for the redirects.
Hope I could clarify the things now better?
Answer: In your error.php file you can add the following code:
<code>if (($this->error->getCode()) == '301') {
    header('Location: /your error page');
    exit;
}
</code>


Can you use ASIO input and a different output?

Question: Can you set a DAW to use ASIO input and something else (laptop speakers for example) as the output?
Comment: I have seen many people asking how to combine their PC's internal speakers and ASIO. I made this as an easy way to provide them with information.
Answer: No, it is not currently possible to use ASIO in a DAW as an input source, only, without using it as the output on Windows.
However, I have seen people claim ASIO4ALL let's you mix devices in some DAWs.
Answer: You can do this on Mac OSX but not on Windows. ASIO is limited to one device only, whereas on OSX you can create "aggregate or Multi-Out" virtual devices which you can then configure within your DAW.
Answer: On the Microsoft Windows, you can use ASIO4ALL to use an audio output that is different from the audio input. For example, in the following screenshot, ASIO4ALL is configured to use the Focusrite USB as input, and the Virtual Audio Cable as output:

Note that you have to check the device (e.g., "Virtual Audio Cable") in addition to the the in
 (or out) checkboxes for it to be enabled:

Also, it seems that one can only use 1 output at once (e.g., one can't send the output to both the "Virtual Audio Cable" and the speaker). To be confirmed.


How can I get a better mobility and flexibility?

Question: I want to get a better mobility and flexibility. A first goal I have is touching my feet with outstretched legs. Also, I want to be able to lift the outstretched leg into a horizontal position while standing upright. How can I accomplish that? Is it effective to do a stretching workout on one day a week? Or is it better to stretch before a 'normal' workout? I really appreciate any help!
Comment: Your question is too get involved to get into, but basically do standing bend-over & touch-toe stretches that everyone does, whatever they are called. At least 3 for 30-60 seconds. Raising your leg into a "front kick" position (I assume that's what you mean) requires not only flexibility, but the strengths to do so, which comes from quads and hip flexors here. You need to strengthen those muscles. You either do leg extensions on a machine or simply stand up straight and raise your leg slowly. This is assuming you don't got to the gym and do squats.
Answer: There are a lot of activities you can do.  You can do activities where the flexibility is a by-product, and important to the activity, but not the main goal, itself - dance, yoga, martial arts are a few obvious candidates.
If you want to improve your flexibility, at all, stretching once a week won't cut it.  If you want to drastically improve it, daily is more like it.  Maybe you could see some decent improvements with every other day, but much less than that probably won't do much of anything for you.
If you are exercising with other activities more active or "ballistic," movements as part of the warmup are okay.  Traditional static stretching before a workout is pretty useless and actually increases the likelihood of injury.  That kind of stretching is much more beneficial as part of your post-activity warm-down.
My daughter is flexible to the contortionist level.  She says she spends about 45 minutes every evening exclusively doing stretching/flexibility work.
Comment: Does it matter whether you do stretching in the evening or let's say in the afternoon or in the morning? As far as I know the muscles are more flexible in the afternoon. Is that right?
Comment: It seems like the consensus answer is "anytime you can stretch is good," but, yes, just from the activity of the day, you are probably going to have warmer, more limber muscles at the end of the day vs. just after waking up.


Does Phantasm Stack?

Question: The rune for Spirit Barrage, Phantasm, deals damage over time in a small area of effect. If I overlap them and an enemy is standing on 2 or more at once, does it take double, triple, etc. damage? Or can an enemy only be affected by a single Phantasm at a time?
Answer: Yes, they do stack in damage.
But, you can only have three Phantasms at one time.
If you cast a fourth, the first one disappears.
Answer: I've tried this pre-1.0.4 (since my main was a WD), and it stacks, adding another Phantasm on the area. Most likely it still works.

Does Phantasm Stack?


Can I just tune my guitar how ever I like?

Question: I wrote a song, and have a guitar I never got to using, and I decided to write a guitar part to the song. The thing is, I know what intervals and harmonies sound good so I just got my guitar out, and started playing with the tuning until I found notes that sounded good together. While I wrote the song I made it really simple so I play two notes at one time and the outcome sounds really simple and pretty, I have a low note keeping a steady beat and high notes that make really nice harmonies when I'm singing and harmonizing with my sister. So, my question is, is it really weird/uncommon to just tune the notes however the heck I want? Also do I have to play with the neck pointing right or left, it feels most comfortable for me to lay my guitar on my right thigh and my left hand on the neck of the guitar. I'm planning on singing and playing this song for my school's talent show so I just want to make sure i'm not going to embarrass myself up on stage when other guitar players notice i'm doing everything wrong..
Comment: **you may tune your guitar however you like provided people around you can tolerate your notes.**
Comment: If you've ever been to a concert and noticed someone frequently bringing  different guitars out for the performer, this is one reason why. Guitars with different tunings are kept back stage so that the performer doesn't have to retune the same throughout the concert. (The retuning could be minimized by playing all the songs with the same tuning in the same block, but there's still the uncomfortable pause when the guitar needs to be tuned for the next block.)
Comment: It obviously worked for Joni Mitchell!
Comment: Are you tuning to frequencies relative to A 440 in the standard 12 tones to the octave or do you really mean that you are just picking whatever frequencies you like as your open string? If it's the latter, there's nothing "wrong" with it but it will be difficult to notate without using just tablature. If you ever play with other instruments it could also be problematic. The only real limits are practical ones. If you are having fun, go for it.
Comment: It is not clear from your question exactly how you prefer to hold your guitar. I guess it's like a Hawaiian or lap steel, but we need some clues, please.
Comment: I'd say go for it. When I was a child, I taught myself to play by copying the tuning off my fathers banjo and coming up with my own "crazy chicken" style (because I sort of plucked at the notes). Eventually I started lessons and the teacher really hated the fact that teaching me properly might squash the creativity I had in coming up with my own style. Retrospectively I think he was right. At the end of the day music is about creativity, and if an oddball tuning works for you, then use it! Get *another* guitar to tune right maybe, but nurture your weirdness I say. Its what makes you unique.
Comment: With all that said (from my above comment), the standard tuning is a thing of wonder. Its almost mind boggling how *perfect* it feels when you know it, 5-5-5-4-5 and you've got an easy tuning to make almost any chord you want and the ability to make almost any scale or arpegio with minimal hand movement. You owe it to yourself to learn it. But continue to explore your own tunings, if thats how your musical brain is wired, don't fight it, develop it.
Answer:
[I]s it really weird/uncommon to just tune the notes however the heck
  I want?

Contemporary guitar practice includes a large number of tunings. Commonly used systems include open tunings (where the open strings are tuned to sound a particular diatonic chord), slack tunings (where the standard series of intervals between strings is preserved, but the entire tuning is lowered by some number of semitones, usually between one and five) and dropped tunings (where the standard series of intervals is preserved for all strings except for the sixth string, which is lowered to form a perfect fifth interval with the fifth string), but that is hardly an exhaustive list.
Using a non-standard tuning is certainly a valid artistic choice.

Can I just tune my guitar how ever I like?

Having said the above, there are limits to what is possible and/or practical that result from the physical properties of guitars and strings, as well as your hands.
Guitars and strings are designed to operate within a specific range of tensions. If a string is stretched too tight (tuned too high) it is more likely to break. Excess tension on the guitar neck - as a result of tuning a number of strings too high - can result in warping or breakage. I have personally witnessed bridges being pulled off acoustic guitars due to excess string tension.
Another potential issue is intonation along the length of the string. A guitar is typically set up with certain assumptions about what strings will be used - including material and thickness; and therefore, tension - and how they will be tuned. If you choose to string and/or tune your guitar differently, it is possible that the strings will not remain in tune along the entire length of the fingerboard. This can be remedied through intonation adjustment - if your guitar permits such a thing. Most acoustic and classical guitars have fixed bridge saddles, however, making intonation adjustments difficult, if not outright impossible.
Finally, the standard guitar tuning has evolved to facilitate a wide variety of material and playing styles. Alternative tunings tend to be more specialised, so they might make it much easier to play certain pieces or styles (for example, open tunings are favoured by slide guitar players), at the cost of making other things more difficult.
If you only need to play one particular song, whatever tuning makes it easiest is perfectly fine (within the limits set out above). If you want to play a large variety of material, an unorthodox tuning may be a hindrance.

Also do I have to play with the neck pointing right or left, it feels most comfortable for me to lay my guitar on my right thigh and my left hand on the neck of the guitar.

If I understand you correctly, this would be a lap guitar style - the guitar is laid in the lap of the player with the strings facing upwards and the player plays with both hands reaching down, much like a keyboard player might.
This way of playing guitar is most often used by slide players - for example, Pink Floyd's David Gilmour - as it is closely related to lap-steel guitar (essentially, a pedal-less version of pedal steel), but as Tim points out, it has also been used by guitarists who fret with their fingers, such as Jeff Healey. It is not common, but - again - is a perfectly valid artistic choice.

I just want to make sure i'm not going to embarrass myself up on stage when other guitar players notice i'm doing everything wrong.

It is possible that you might get asked why you play in an unusual way, in which case "because it's easier for me like this" is a completely sensible answer. At the end of the day, the quality of your performance is what matters. Whatever lets you reach your musical goals is good.
EDITED:
Alternate stringing methods
Aside from different tunings, some guitarists also choose alternative stringing methods - changing the order in which the strings are put on the guitar.
The best-known alternative is reverse stringing - reversing the order of the strings, low to high, so that the lowest string is closest to the floor when the guitar is held in a conventional fashion and the highest string is furthest from it. This is typically done to enable a left-handed guitarist to play a right-handed guitar (or vice versa), by holding it upside down. Jimi Hendrix is the canonical example of this, having played upside-down, right-handed guitars extensively.
Reverse stringing isn't the only possiblity, however. It is possible to come up with any number of alternative stringing methods - from reducing the number of strings to changing their order (one example I have seen involved having the bass strings in the middle of the fingerboard, surrounded by the higher ones). Alternative stringing methods may involve non-conventional tunings, as well, especially if the order of strings is changed considerably.
As with alternative tunings, alternative stringing systems can be quite specialised - making some things easier, while other things are harder, than if conventional systems were used. Reverse stringing - when used to convert a guitar for reverse-handed play - is an exception here, since the resulting stringing and tuning is standard, albeit suited to a different handedness than the guitar was originally built for.
The importance of standard tuning and technique
It has been pointed out in the comments that - while using alternative stringing, tuning and playing posture is a perfectly valid artistic choice - there is a lot to be said for developing proficiency with standard tuning and playing styles. It is a sentiment I wholeheartedly agree with.
I have have stressed repeatedly in this answer, that alternative stringing, tuning and posture involves trade-offs. The "normal" way of doing things is standard for a reason: it works best in a wide variety of applications. Following mainstream instrumental teaching allows us to tap into a legacy left by generations of past musicians, who have refined both the instrument and the playing techniques. When we choose to step outside these bounds, we are given freedom to explore new musical territory, but we are faced with a whole host of new mistakes we must make ourselves, in order to learn from them.
Having a solid foundation in well-trodden territory can be quite helpful when we decide to strike out into the wilds.
Comment: One caveat I would add: I'd recommend playing some with normal tuning and holding a guitar the "normal" way, at least every now and then, just to keep up with your skills.  By all means play with what sounds interesting, but there's hundreds of years of fine tuning that has refined the guitar to where it typically is today.  Make sure that, while you have fun, you don't miss out on the lessons one can learn from a more traditional approach.  (source: I happen to be in the process of re-learning piano, from scratch, because I did things my own way and picked up some bad habits which limited me)
Comment: Very extensive and complete dissertation on alternate tuning of guitar.  Also your last paragraph is solid gold.  I could only give you a plus one but wish I could have given more.
Comment: +1 I would just add one thing: If you need very strange pitches, you can even choose a non-standard set of strings. For instance if the tuning was 1D 2B 3A 4F# 5A 6D, you could use a 3G string for your F# rather than to overtense a 3D string by 3 halftones.
Comment: Bob Log III uses a very unusual guitar tuning : A - A - E - A - C# - E.
He's one of the best guitar players I've ever seen, he uses it because it's what he needed for his style.
Comment: Nice detailed answer, however, I did *not* interpret the OP's description of holding the guitar as holding it in a lap style.  Therefore, I would suggest that for even more completeness, perhaps add a bit about left handed vs. right handed guitars, Hendrix, etc.
Comment: It sounds like OP has tuned the guitar so that the strings form a chord, so fretting is a simple barre. One significant benefit of this is that she can focus on other things - such as singing! - without overloading herself.
Comment: @DylanCristy I had considered adding a section regarding different *stringing* methods - such as reverse stringing in order to allow left-handed playing on right-handed guitars, but I thought it would introduce an unnecessary tangent. I will edit the answer to include this.
Comment: @CortAmmon I have expanded my answer to include the point you have raised.
Comment: E.g. Nashville tuning requires restringing since the EAD strings are tuned an octave higher.
Answer: It is NOT wrong! It's unorthodox. Provided you're not going to strain the guitar neck by putting lots of unnecessary tension on it, do what you like. The only problem I forsee is when your friend who has a guitar asks you to play it. It's going to be awkward for you!
As far as playing the guitar on your lap - I've often thought that actually, it's in many ways a better option. There are some excellent players who play like that - the late Jeff Healey is one - worth a google - and just because it's different doesn't make it wrong. You'll probably be able to play things that standard players struggle with!
Comment: @Yorik - true. I just hope the OP is ebullient enough to shrug off the naysayers.
Comment: I agree wholeheartedly, but the OP should still be prepared for certain rigid-minded individuals who will take issue with unorthodox methods: schoolkids can be {jerks}. And recall that virtually every major art movement since the 14th century takes its name from a disparaging remark by a critic. Baroque was a put down.
Comment: @Zessa - I've often envisaged a guy on a deserted island when a guitar gets washed up. Never seen one before, and wonders how it's played. Probably would try horizontally first. Of course, the salt water never affected it...
Comment: There's actually an entire tradition of this in Hawaii. The traditional story is that Mexican cowboys were brought over to work Hawaiian herds and they taught guitar to the native Hawaiians and then left. Without traditional teachers they developed their own tradition. It's probably more complicated but that's the traditional story. Check it out. It's not wrong, just different and you might have a hard time replicating it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slack-key_guitar
Answer: Your question reminds me of a saying my dad often repeated - "different strokes for different folks".
I admire your creativity and talent.  It's easy to follow the path laid by those who precede you, but it takes courage and inventiveness to forge your own path.
There is nothing wrong with creating or inventing a tuning that perhaps few if any have ever used.  So called standard tuning is just one method of tuning the guitar that is popular and has been repeatedly taught through the ages.  There are many guitarists who use a different tuning as a matter of course and other guitarists who use many alternate tunings.
The most prolific purveyor of alternate (many self invented) tunings is an artist named David Wilcox DavidWilcox.com  I met him at a house concert several years ago and he changed tunings between every song during his performance.  I asked him and he told me he has used over 100 different tunings.
Many of his tunings can be found here David Wilcox songs with tunings.  Some are common alternate tunings used by many but many are very unorthodox.
It should be noted that he uses composite guitars which may be capable of withstanding more string tension than a wood guitar - which could allow for some tuning tensions that might damage a wood guitar.
Feel free to continue to invent tunings for other songs.  It's a valid way to exercise your personal creativity.  Just be sure to write down the ones you like so you will remember how to reproduce them.  Use a chromatic tuner to help identify the pitches you end up with and keep a journal of all your custom tunings.
Just be sure not to put too much tension on the bass strings which could put damaging stress on your bridge or neck.  If you over tighten your treble strings they might just break before your guitar does.
Have fun with your song writing and guitar playing and good luck at the talent show.  You will be displaying a talent for writing songs, inventing alternate tunings, stunt guitar playing, singing, AND playing an instrument!  With all those different talents on display, I think the audience is in for a real treat!
Answer: Of course you can
And you'd hardly be the first player to do so. John Rzeznik of the Goo Goo Dolls does some pretty crazy tunings:

Rzeznik is well known for his distinctive and unusual guitar tunings ... Perhaps the most famous example of this is the B-D-D-D-D-D tuning of his signature hit "Iris" wikipedia

Ultimate Guitar even compiled a list of their Top 10 Favorite Songs with Alternate Guitar Tunings
Learning to create good music on the guitar using alternate tunings takes a lot of time, creativity, and patience. But that is par for the course when it comes to doing anything well in a "non-standard" way.
Comment: As someone already said in another answer, make sure your nonstandard tuning does not strain the neck. I once tuned my guitar in order to play Iris, and while tuning it back to normal, the strings tore the soundboard from the far end of the lower bout. It's been really satisfying to play Iris in its intended tuning, but it won't ever happen again. :(
Comment: See [David & Jad Fair's take on learning guitar](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kt1At1Fq8dE). Not in the link, but the quote continues: _Tuning the guitar is kind of a ridiculous notion. If you have to wind the tuning pegs to just a certain place, that implies that every other place would be wrong. But that's absurd. How could it be wrong? It's your guitar and you're the one playing it._
Comment: @Zachiel: even in that state I am sure you could have pounded out a tune if you swung hard enough!
Comment: @Yorik or if I kept it shut with the elbow after going for a -5 slack tuning, which I did for one year and a half.
Comment: For CSNY's "Suite:Judy Blue Eyes" and "4 and 20 years ago" both use EEEEBE. Sonic Youth uses all kinds of crazy alternate tunings and have to take a pile of guitars on tour.
Comment: And I believe Robert Fripp now uses his own tuning with all the strings tuned in fifths like a 6 string violin might be tuned.
Answer: Succinctly, the limits are:
1) If the strings are too lose, they will flop rather than resonate.
2) If the strings are too tight, they will stress the instrument or break themselves.
3) No one else will be able to play it easily.
Other than that, "Fill Your Boots".
Answer: I got my start playing guitar with a tuning which I invented to make things easy for me, but which I think yields better voicing than standard tuning for a wide range of music.  Swap the bottom two strings, and tune G-D-d-f-g#-b.  When using that tuning, the left hand will generally be further up the neck than with standard.  For C and G chords, the index finger will be on the fifth fret; for D chords, it will be on the fourth.
More specifically, a G chord is x-5-5-6-6-8: index finger bars the top five strings, the middle finger bars the top three, and the pinkie hits the top string.  For a C chord, reach around a bit and use the ring finger instead of the middle finger, to play 5-5-5-7-8-8.  For a D chord, pull back and go down to the fourth fret, to play x-0-4-4-6-7.  Chords for other keys can be played by simply shifting the G and C chords up and down the fretboard.  For a seventh chord, lift up on the ring finger (if used) or else the pinkie.  Other chords including Minor chords, major sevenths, minor sevenths, etc. can also be accommodated easily.
Different people have differently shaped hands, and Flat Finger Tuning probably won't work well for everyone, but I'd be interested to hear any thoughts by people who try it out.
Comment: @Tim: Setting the indicated tuning without swapping the bottom two strings would result in a fifth string whose tension is about 50% lower than normal, and a sixth string whose tension is about 50% higher than normal.  If you're using a set of light-gauge strings, tuning the sixth string up to a G might be okay but the low D would be very loose; if you're using heavier strings, the D might be okay but the G would be dangerously tight.
Comment: @Tim: Swapping the fifth and sixth strings will mean that the fifth string is an E string tuned down two frets, and the sixth string is an A string down two frets.  Completing the picture, the fourth string would be a d at standard pitch, the third a g down two frets, the second a b down three frets, and the first one an e down five frets.  Using heavier string gauges for the strings which are tuned down more may improve action, but that's more complicated than just swapping the bottom two strings.
Comment: 'Swap the bottom two strings', Seems like everything has changed. Explain more clearly, please.
Answer: You can definitely tune however you like but there are some things to consider.  As Tim mentioned in his wonderful answer, you wouldn't want to be tuning your strings too tightly, or you may risk warping your neck or ripping the bridge off.  The other thing to consider is Intonation and Tone.  Guitars are set up to handle specific strings tuned at specific frequencies.  There is plenty of wiggle room in how this all works but once you get too far away from it, you start to have problems.  When the strings are too tight, there isn't enough give to the string to allow proper vibration, which will affect the tone and the sustain.  The same thing can happen when the string is too loose, as well as the potential of the string vibrating against the fretboard.
If your tuning is drastically different than a normal tuning, I would recommend taking it to a shop and having a technician check it out.  Some of the issues can be resolved by using different gauge strings.  For instance, if you're tuning a lower pitch string too high, it adds tension but if you swap it out for a smaller string, you can achieve the desired pitch without having too much tension.
Lots of players are known for having atypical tunings, such as Ani DiFranco, who seems to have a different tuning for every song and basically has to change out her guitar every song, one, to avoid retuning constantly, and two, each guitar can be set up for that specific tuning.
Also, it sounds like you're holding the guitar the same as most people do.  A normal right handed guitar has the left hand holding the neck.  When sitting, most place the guitar on their right thigh, though the Classically trained and/or posturepedically aware are taught to keep it on their left leg with the leg elevated slightly.
Comment: It seemed to me like the OP has the guitar flat with strings facing up. But it's not crystal clear - yet.
Comment: @Tim - I see.  I didn't gather that from the question but rereading it I can see that that might be the case.
Answer: I'd say: "sure!" in agreement with most freedom-loving knowledgeable folks writing about it here.  CAVEAT: make a recording of it-- in case you forget what the tuning was, you can always have that reference which might just save you from a boatload of brain-hurt!
That said, I advise against it.  It's hard enough learning one tuning, as in really learning it, to a "muscle memory" degree, which is crucial for impressively jamming live.  I recently have come to appreciate this way more than ever.  A ukelele came into my posession that actually stays in tune (i.e. is playable) - something I hadn't been able to afford.  Jamming to magnificently splendourous Grateful Dead concerts with it, I found myself way less concerned with needing to keep my eyes on the fingerings or even my mind concentrating on the patterns--  because all four strings are equally spaced wrt pitch, unlike the standard guitar tuning!  So what's happened is, I can generally bang out counterpoint just as fast as the chord changes get, without having to think about it.  Maybe consider such a tuning across 6 strings--  I've yet to go there.
Comment: As to artists, Neil Young has some great alternative-tuning songs.  Thoroughly described at  http://songx.se !
Comment: The only alternative tuning for Neil Young that I know of is double-dropped D (both E strings tuned down to D). Cinnamon Girl and The Loner use this tuning.
Comment: It seems that I did an inadequate job at selling you on visiting that site-- it's simply superb.  He uses DADGBE in many tunes.  But other tunings too.. sampling from page 1:
`A Rock Star Bucks A Coffee Shop EADGBE
Ain't It The Truth EADGBE
Albuquerque  DADGBE
Ambulance Blues DGCFAD
Angry World DADGBE
Are There Any More Real Cowboys? EADGBE
Are You Ready For The Country? EADGBE
Aurora EADGBE
Baby What You Want Me To Do (cover) EADGBE
Bad Fog Of Loneliness EbAbDbGbBb
Bad News Comes To Town EADGBE
Bandit BbFBbEbGBb
Be The Rain DADGBD
`   -- this web-editor is nuts. No \n insert?!
Comment: Okay, I agree, it's a fantastic site. And, okay, DADGBE is (single) dropped-D...but I don't really consider, e.g., DGCFAD alternative, or anything where all strings are tuned up or down the same amount. BbFBbEbGBb is interesting, but it's double dropped-D tuned down a major third (I'm not even familiar w/that song, I'll have to listen).
Answer: Absolutely fine - if you like it, for yourself.  If others like it, for them also! You could even emulate some non-12 tone music that way (Indian, etc.) - however your frets would still be a limiting factor as you move up or down the neck (bending might make that available to you however - consider John McLaughlin's work with scalloped fingerboards)
Answer: Interesting question, and some interesting points raised in the other answers.
I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned the practicalities of using a non standard tuning whilst performing live.
It's a pain to change tuning during a live performance, it interrupts the flow of the set.  You can't blend songs together, you can mitigate this by having other band members carry on while the guitarists switch, but it depends on how picky you are about your performance ;-)
Switching to drop D and back again is relatively simple, but if you have an exotic tuning, that is quite a departure from your current tuning, you'll probably find it impractical to change tuning on stage.  You could just use a different guitar for each tuning, but you'll need enough guitars, and you'll have to accept the break in flow caused by the instrument switch.
Comment: @DoctorJones I have a Variax 300 (electric).  I think the electric models are very good.  The acoustic models are pretty bad though - they all sound like an acoustic with a cheap piezo pickup, and the resonator models both sound more like banjos.  The main fault with them was the necks though.  The 500/600/700 had nice Strat-style necks, but the 300 was very poor quality and not nearly so playable.  Intonation was fine, but the neck and fret finish was cheap and nasty.
Comment: @DoctorJones Also the new ones, they've forgotten what the purpose of a Variax was, and added mag pickups.  The whole point of the instrument is that you don't need mag pickups!  And all the improvements which Variax users asked for with actual experience of using them in real life, they just flat ignored.  But that's Line6 all over - great R&D, but utterly crap salesmanship with the class-leading products they invent, and zero customer support.
Comment: The question appears to be posed with the express object being one number. Were it more, you'd have a fair point. There are also now a few guitars available with auto tuning which works rapidly - at a price!
Comment: As as Variax owner, I can testify that this is one of the real advantages they have.  You don't physically retune the strings - instead the instrument pitch-shifts each string as needed.  Of course it doesn't (can't) work at all acoustically, but for an electric guitar you can rarely hear the little "twang" it makes acoustically over the top of your amp, so all you hear is the pitch-shifted version out of the amp.  For a gigging musician, this is a godsend.  And it doesn't require those awful auto-tuning mechanisms either.
Comment: @Graham wow, they look really neat!  I'm going to have to go to the guitar shop and try one.  What's the intonation like on them?  Would you say they are of a good enough quality to use for recording?


How to configure 2 LAN Cards

Question: How do we configure two (2) LAN cards on one computer. One LAN card is connected to the internet via the DSL through a router, configured as DHCP. The other LAN card is to be connected via our office's IP/VPN (for email and other office online processes). I know it could be done, but I do not know how. By the way, the operating system is Windows XP.
Comment: What is it you want to do? Direct email/office processes to one card, and all other traffic to the other card?
Comment: are you trying to route traffic thru this computer (from the office to the internet) or just allow this computer access to two different networks?
Comment: Yes, direct email/office processes to one card and all other traffic to the other card. That is exactly what I want. Thanks in advance.
Answer: I think you need to use XP's route tables to redirect packets based on their destination address.
Packets directed to your office you want to pick up and route via your office nic.
This is done with XPs route command.
The basic syntax is
<code> route ADD <destination> <subnet mask> <gateway (vpn dhcp server)> <metrix> IF <interface number>
</code>
There's some tutorials floating around here and there.
Comment: If the routes need to survive a reboot then it's a good idea to make them persistent by using the -p switch:
route -p ADD     IF
Answer: I've never had any trouble at all doing this. Windows seems to handle it quite gracefully. When your computer has two network cards, you get an icon for each one in the Network Connections window, and you can configure them separately. Traffic intended for one network (say a web server on the intranet) goes through the appropriate network card automatically.
If you're having specific trouble, let us know with a little more detail, including error messages and whatever behaviour you're seeing.

How to configure 2 LAN Cards


Design of an elliptical transfer orbit

Question: I was working an example in Charles Brown's "Elements of Spacecraft Design" but I can not figure out how the Time of Flight was calculated. Here is the problem Example 6.5. I got the correct answer when calculating a, rP, and e, but after that I haven't been successful. Could anyone help?
Comment: It looks like they just calculated the julian dates and subtracted them.  What seems confusing about it?
Comment: Can you [edit] and include the problem in here? We shouldn't have to go somewhere else, and it will help against link rot.
Comment: I rolled the question back to the original, Rusty. Having two pages from the referenced book as images violates both copyright and accessibility concerns.
Answer: How to compute time of flight
It's easy if you know the gravitational parameter $\mu\equiv GM$, the semi-major axis $a$, the eccentricity $e$, the initial true anomaly $\theta_0$, and the final true anomaly $\theta_1$ (or equivalently, the change in true anomaly $\Delta \theta \equiv \theta_1 - \theta_0$).
Step 1: Compute the initial and final eccentric anomalies from the eccentricity and the initial and final true anomalies via
$$\tan \frac E2 = \sqrt{\frac{1-e}{1+e}} \tan\frac\theta2$$
Step 2: Compute the initial and final mean anomalies from the eccentricity and the initial and final eccentric anomalies via Kepler's equation
$$M = E - e\sin E$$
Step 3: Compute the change in mean anomaly via
$$\Delta M = M_2 - M_1$$
Step 4: Compute the mean motion from the gravitational parameter and semi-major axis length via
$$n = \sqrt{\frac \mu {a^3}}$$
Step 5: Compute the time of flight from the mean motion and the change in mean anomaly via
$$\Delta t = \frac {\Delta M} n$$

How to design a transfer orbit
This is considerably more challenging. Here the goal is to find the transfer orbit given the initial and final position of the object. This is Lambert's problem. The underlying equations are transcendental; there is no nice closed form solution. Instead you need to make a guess and then iteratively refine the guess. There are a number of ways to iteratively solve Lambert's problem.
Comment: In the example above for the 'Theta at Earth = 180', Theta_1 = 180 and Theta_2 = 312.99. I would then calculate E and M for both and use those from then on right? I am doing that but I don't get 116.15 days. I am getting 168.
Answer: edit: There's more about the math for hyperbolic orbits in  @DavidHammon's other answer.
I'll add to @DavidHammon's clear answer by including the parabolic and hyperbolic equivalents just to have everything in one place. I've transcribed from this handy table and added alternate forms for $E$ and $F$ from Wikipedia. I did some spot checking with numerical integration just to make sure the results agreed.
Ellipse, Circle $(0 \le \epsilon < 1)$:
$$\tan \frac E2 = \sqrt{\frac{1-e}{1+e}} \tan\frac\theta2$$
$$\text{or}$$
$$\cos E = \frac{e+\cos\theta}{1+e\cos\theta} \tan\frac\theta2,$$
$$M = E - e\sin E,$$
$$\Delta M = M_2 - M_1,$$
$$\Delta t = \sqrt{\frac{a^3}{\mu}} \Delta M,$$
Hyperbola ($\epsilon > 1)$:
$$\tanh \frac F2 = \sqrt{\frac{e-1}{e+1}} \tan\frac\theta2$$
$$\text{or}$$
$$\cosh F = \frac{e+\cos\theta}{1+e\cos\theta} \tan\frac\theta2,$$
$$M = e\sinh F-F,$$
$$\Delta M = M_2 - M_1,$$
$$\Delta t = \sqrt{\frac{(-a)^3}{\mu}} \Delta M,$$
Parabola ($\epsilon = 1)$:
$$D = \tan\frac\theta2,$$
$$M = D + \frac{D^3}{3},$$
$$\Delta M = M_2 - M_1,$$
$$\Delta t = \sqrt{\frac{q^3}{\mu}} \Delta M,$$

To get the semi-major axis $a$ or to get $q$, use the following (don't worry that $a$ is negative for the hyperbola):
Ellipse, Hyperbola:
$$a=\frac{r_{peri}}{1-e}$$
Ellipse:
$$a=\frac{r_{peri}+r_{apo}}{2}$$
Circle:
$$a=r$$
Parabola:
$$q=r_{peri}$$
A quick check with $\mu=1$ and $r_{peri}=1$:
<code> e      theta      a     v_peri    E/D/F       M         t
1.5   90.000000  -2.0   1.581139  55.14281  40.94513  2.021271
1.0   90.000000   n/a   1.414214  57.29578  76.39437  1.885618
0.5   90.000000   2.0   1.224745  60.00000  35.19020  1.737177
0.0   90.000000   1.0   1.000000  90.00000  90.00000  1.570796
</code>
If you want to try it in Python:
<code>def deriv(X, t):
    x, v = X.reshape(2, -1)
    acc  = -mu * x * ((x**2).sum())**-1.5
    return np.hstack((v, acc))

def get_D(theta, e):
    if e == 1.0:
        D    = np.tan(0.5*theta)
    else:
        D    = np.nan
    return D

def get_E(theta, e):
    if e < 1.0:
        term = np.sqrt((1.-e)/(1.+e)) * np.tan(0.5*theta)
        E    = 2.*np.arctan(term)
    else:
        E    = np.nan
    return E

def get_E_alt(theta, e):
    if e < 1.0:
        term = (e + np.cos(theta)) / (1. + e*np.cos(theta))
        E    = np.arccos(term)
    else:
        E    = np.nan
    return E

def get_F(theta, e):
    if e > 1.0:
        term = np.sqrt((e-1.)/(e+1.)) * np.tan(0.5*theta)
        F    = 2.*np.arctanh(term)
    else:
        F    = np.nan
    return F

def get_F_alt(theta, e):
    if e > 1.0:
        term = (e + np.cos(theta)) / (1. + e*np.cos(theta))
        F    = np.arccosh(term)
    else:
        F    = np.nan
    return F

def get_M_from_E(E, e):
    if e < 1.0:
        M = E - e*np.sin(E)
    else:
        M = np.nan
    return M

def get_M_from_F(F, e):
    if e > 1.0:
        M = e*np.sinh(F) - F
    else:
        M = np.nan
    return M

def get_M_from_D(D, e):
    if e == 1.0:
        M = D + D**3/3.
    else:
        M = np.nan
    return M

import numpy as np
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
from scipy.integrate import odeint as ODEint

# http://www.bogan.ca/orbits/kepler/orbteqtn.html

quarterpi, halfpi, pi, twopi = [f*np.pi for f in [0.25, 0.5, 1, 2]]
rads, degs = pi/180, 180/pi

mu = 1.0

th0, th1 = 0.0, halfpi
print "th0, th1 (degs): ", degs*th0, degs*th1

eccs = [1.5, 1.0, 0.5, 0.0]

for e in eccs:

    print "e: ", e

    rp =  1.0  # periapsis

    if e < 1.0:
        print "     is ellipse!"

        ra = rp * (1+e)/(1-e)
        print "rp, ra: ", rp, ra

        a0 = 0.5*(rp + ra)
        v0 = np.sqrt(mu * (2./rp - 1./a0))
        print "a0, v0: ", a0, v0

        E0,  E1  = [get_E(th, e) for th in [th0, th1]]
        M0,  M1  = [get_M_from_E(E, e)  for E  in [E0,  E1 ]]
        print "E0, E1 (degs): ", degs*E0, degs*E1
        print "M0, M1 (degs): ", degs*M0, degs*M1

        print "E0, E1: ", E0, E1
        print "M0, M1: ", M0, M1

        dt = np.sqrt(a0**3/mu) * (M1-M0)

        print "dt (sec): ", dt

    elif e > 1.0:
        print "     is hyperbola!"

        ra = rp * (1+e)/(1-e)
        print "rp, ra: ", rp, ra

        a0 = 0.5*(rp + ra)
        v0 = np.sqrt(mu * (2./rp - 1./a0))
        print "a0, v0: ", a0, v0

        F0,  F1  = [get_F(th, e) for th in [th0, th1]]
        M0,  M1  = [get_M_from_F(F, e)  for F  in [F0,  F1 ]]
        print "F0, F1 (degs): ", degs*F0, degs*F1
        print "M0, M1 (degs): ", degs*M0, degs*M1

        print "F0, F1: ", F0, F1
        print "M0, M1: ", M0, M1

        dt = np.sqrt((-a0)**3/mu) * (M1-M0)

        print "dt (sec): ", dt

    elif e == 1.0:
        print "     is parabola!"

        print "rp: ", rp

        v0 = np.sqrt(mu * (2./rp))
        print "v0: ", v0

        D0,  D1  = [get_D(th, e) for th in [th0, th1]]
        M0,  M1  = [get_M_from_D(D, e)  for D  in [D0,  D1 ]]
        print "D0, D1 (degs): ", degs*D0, degs*D1
        print "M0, M1 (degs): ", degs*M0, degs*M1

        print "D0, D1: ", D0, D1
        print "M0, M1: ", M0, M1

        q = rp

        dt = np.sqrt(2.*q**3/mu) * (M1-M0)

        print "dt (sec): ", dt

    time = np.array([0, dt])
    X0   = np.array([rp, 0, 0, v0])

    answer, info = ODEint(deriv, X0, time, atol=1E-13, rtol=1E-13, full_output=True)

    x, y, vx, vy = answer.T
    theta = np.arctan2(y, x)

    print degs*theta[0], degs*theta[-1], " should be ", degs*th0, degs*th1
</code>
Comment: edit suggestions welcomed!
Comment: There is a problem here! As noted in [this comment](https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/191971/hyper-parabolic-kepler-orbits-and-mean-anomaly/358556?noredirect=1#comment1282477_358556) some of these were mis-transcribed. I'll fix this today after coffee...

Design of an elliptical transfer orbit


Why are fires smokey?

Question: Combustion, in chemical terms, is a reaction with a certain molecule and oxygen, and it produces, energy, $\ce{CO2}$, and $\ce{H2O}$ (That's how I learned it at least). So what makes a fire'smokey'? I had always thought that smoke was simply $\ce{CO2}$, but read that it was actually the result of incompletely 'combusted' material, yet I don't fully understand what this means. Is smoke made from material that starts to combust but stops before it finishes, or does it never even begin combustion? What would the chemical reaction be of a wood (Or other similar) fire that produces a lot of smoke? And finally, is there a certain element or compound that gives smoke its 'smokey' smell?
Comment: Related http://chemistry.stackexchange.com/questions/6954/why-does-a-wood-fire-create-benzene
Answer: Fires need oxygen to burn properly. By that I mean if there isn't sufficient oxygen supplied to the fire, the material that is burning does not completely burn up. They come to the middle of the combustion reaction but they run out of oxygen. These bits of incomplete combustion are called soot or smoke. $\ce{CO2}$ is another by-product of combustion. There are particular woods that give off certain smells and flavours like hickory, but smokey smells are probably only caused by carbon.
Comment: @IvanNeretin I'm sure it's not the only one, but [guaiacol](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guaiacol) is one of the major odor compounds in wood smoke. The purified stuff has a remarkably potent and persistent aroma.
Comment: Carbon does not have a smell at all. The smell must be caused by some mixture of organic substances, too complicated (and too carcinogenic) to look into.
Answer: Smoke is essentially aerated ash, unburned organics (including charcoal) and steam.  You have to remember wood is not a pile of cellulose, but the remains of a dead organism. All the essential minerals that the plant needed for life are still in the wood such as calcium, phosphorous, sodium and potassium (namely potassium).  When the organic matter is fully combusted, water and carbon dioxide are produced and the other elements are left as ash which can become aerated.  When the water vapor reaches the cool air it condenses into a visible steam.  However in real life wood is not fully combusted, but rather many unburned organic compounds due to a limited amount of oxygen, which give it its smell and fine aerated particles of charcoal which is scentless but very dark.  This presence of unburned hydrocarbons in smoke is the cause of backdrafts in firefighting and can be demonstrated by lighting the smoke of a candle that has been blown out.
Comment: Thanks @A.K. I guess this is as close as I can get to a chemical formula :)
Also, thanks for the edit on those symbols, I'm still figuring out this stack exchange so I'm not sure how to do that yet :)

Why are fires smokey?


devenv.exe doesn't unload properly when left open for an extended amount of time

Question: If I leave Visual Studio 2010 SP1 open for an extended length of time (say, 4+ hours) and then attempt to close it, the solution I am working on is closed and the window goes away, but the process itself never exits and never releases the memory it had claimed. I've disabled all extensions and the problem persists, so I'm inclined to think it's a problem with VS2010, but a quick Google search doesn't turn up any known issues. How can I solve this?
Answer: This smells like a misbehaving add-in or plugin.  Save your settings and start-up VS using `devenv /resetaddin'.
Optionally, I would save, reset and selectively import my old settings.
Answer: You could try running it in safe mode (which is everything with original install settings) and see if you get the same problems.
Type this into the Windows Search bar OR press *Win + R (*RUN) and enter || copy/paste:
devenv.exe /safemode


Can I have camera directions in a script?

Question: I plan on becoming a writer/director and I'm wondering if it is okay to have camera directions in my scripts.
Answer: It is certainly fine to have directions in a script which provide information which is vital to the telling of the story (entrances and exits and key actions not made clear by dialogue are obvious examples) but you probably don't want to go into too much detail at the scrip stage. Obviously if you are directing it yourself you can do what you like but even so you should be wary of making detailed decisions at too early a stage and you probably want at least one version of the script which is fairly clean or it will become unreadable.
There may also be certain shots or effects  which are really crucial in setting a scene (the opening scene of Star Wars being one possible example) but again for a general script these should probably be descriptive rather than technical.
Bear in in mind also that if you are pitching a scrip to other people they probably aren't that interested in camera directions at this stage, they just want to see if the scrip and story are any good. Adding too many notes will just detract from this.
Film is also an inherently collaborative process and if you are too prescriptive you are taking away the ability of performers and the production team to make creative decisions and it is highly likely that your initial ideas will change once you get to actual production.
Even if you want to both write and direct a project it does still make sense to keep some separation between the roles. By all means keep notes on your ideas for shots but these are probably best kept separate from the scrip itself.
Obviously one you get to detailed production planning and filming itself there will probably be dozens of different technical scripts floating around each with its own set of directions for sound, score, lighting, camera positions, effects etc etc
Equally if it helps you to keep directorial notes at an early stage by all means do so but it will probably be better all round of these are a separate, parallel document.
As an aside I recently worked on a stage production (on a very tight schedule and budget) where all of the lighting cues (which in this case were a reasonable analogy for camera shots on film)  were worked out in an evening on paper with the production designer (me), the director and the stage manager, the second act didn't even get a technical rehearsal and it was all fine. Having said that this was at a fairly advanced stage in the production process when we all knew the show, the set and the performances really, really well.
Answer: YES, but
You are the scriptwriter, not the director. Stick to the script, the locations, the characters and the dialogue. Your job is to write the script.
You can specify camera shots, angles, and such, but expect most directors will ignore it. Many places will drop your script if they feel it is too stuffy or with too much directions. Unless your scene absolutely requires a specific way to do it, stay away from giving too many details.
Answer: I agree with Chris, it depends entirely on who is going to be reading it. If you are going to be at the helm from start to finish then I would suggest keeping a separate copy of the script where you can write in cinematography notes. If you have a copy of Final Draft then that's all the better.
However, if you're pitching to an agent, I can't speak for them myself but I was always taught to cull any and all stage direction from your scripts, and the same with prose. You want to be clear with what is happening in scene and dialogue, and if you're spending time trying to tell some agent or cinematographer you haven't met how you want it to look on screen, your story may suffer for that. Entirely up to you obviously, but I would suggest either keeping them separate or do away with stage direction.


What does a black reflector do?

Question: I'm familiar with using white / silver / gold reflectors to add fill light to a photo.  When would you use a black "reflector"?
Answer: To remove light.
If you're shooting outside, or in a place where there's lots of background light being bounced around, it might not be enough to place an item to create a shadow onto your object, since light reflected off of that item might still give you tints or light you don't want.
A black "reflector" creates shadow and doesn't reflect light (or as much light, depending on the quality) onto your object, which might help you darken it.
For instance, if you're trying to take a portrait outside, and the face gets a bit too much light on one side, a black reflector might help you reduce that by both creating a "shadow" by blocking light, and not reflecting any light onto that side of the face.
Comment: Is this why photographers tend to wear black, to avoid adding stray light to the scene?
Comment: It absorbs light significantly (not sure if this should be phrased as absorbs all light), so light doesn't get reflected back. Compared to a white reflector it is inefficient at 'reflecting'.
Answer: Basically, it's to subtract light. It can reduce bounced light or provide isolation of your subject to make it stand out more. I do this all the time with things like smoke photography because it eliminates stray light and provides a clean, dark, background for the smoke to stand out. For example:
Comment: Stunning picture.  :)
Answer: Imagine your subject in a very small room, and the walls are painted in red.
A large window is giving you some very lovely soft light on the subject's face. You have decided there is no need for fill light (either because the light is soft enough, or you are happy with the contrast/shadow).
But wait, since the room is so small, the sunshine is hitting on the red wall, and it is bouncing an awfully red tint on your subject's face.
You want the interior of the room as background, but the strong red tint in the model's face is just awful.
Well, using a black reflector, positioned closely to the shadow side of your subject's face, you will remove the red cast without adding fill light, so you can keep the mood you want with natural light.
Sometimes when taking photos of shinny objects, you want to be able to block reflections of unwanted lights. Say you are shooting a stainless steel watch next to a Christmas tree (just a crazy example, I doubt if anyone would do that in a real world setting), you may not want the reflections the rainbow of lights of the Christmas tree on the watch. You can use a black reflector to cut it out.
Having a black surrounding also makes the sparkles that you do want to keep stands out more.
Answer: Black  is a "dark reflector". Think of it as of "anti fill light". It really works that way, just like the white reflector, but subtly adding shadow instead of fill light. It takes time to learn how to use it, as the concept of "dark light" is unnatural and non-intuitive, but after all it's just a tool like all others.
Answer: A black reflector has several usages. The main one is to block light when you have a light environment and you want darker shadows on that side.
On this example, the "studio" has white walls, and you want a more dramatic shadow, so you need to "absorb" some of the lights on the shadow side, so it does not bounce back.

It is very important when taking photos of glossy objects, for example, jewelry. You are not only taking the photo of the object but also of the surroundings because they show on the reflective surfaces.

And I would say that they are indispensable for transparent objects. Remember that the size does not matter, they can be small, you want to control where you are blocking the light.

When you use them to block incident light they are also called flags. A flag does not need to be black, it is simply projecting a shadow.

Of course, they are normally out of the frame. I left them inside so you can see them.
And in some cases, you can use them simply as backgrounds.

What does a black reflector do?


Does Malta use the locative?

Question: The locative is used to express a location in a city or a small island, e.g. Romae instead of in Roma.
But it's not entirely clear which islands are small.
I am currently on Malta and I'm curious to know which category this island belongs to.
This island was known to (and occupied by) the Romans, so there must be classical examples.
Do they all agree on the way to say "on Malta"?
Answer: Both Melitae and in Melita seem to appear:

Cicero, Epistulae ad Atticum 3.4.1:

Statim iter Brunddisium versus contuli ante diem rogationis, ne et Sicca, apud quem eram, periret et quod Melitae esse non licebat.

Cicero, Epistulae ad Atticum 10.7.1:

…Melitae aut alio in loco simili…

Cicero, Epistulae ad Atticum 5.19.3:

De Patrone et tuis condiscipulis, quae de parietinis in Melita laboravi ea tibi grata esse gaudeo.

A quick corpus search suggests that Melitae is more common, but there are not enough attestations of either one to draw very strong conclusions.
Comment: Cicero uses locative *Melitae* 5 times and *in Melita* only once. Perhaps a better explanation for the latter is that he wanted to disambiguate, i.e. prevent the reading "the ruins *of Malta*"?
Comment: What about a hypothesis test?
Comment: @Rafael It would certainly be nice to see something more elaborate than what I did. [This is the search I used to find *Melitae* and *in Melita*](http://latin.packhum.org/search?q=melita) (if you want no false positives, make two separate searches) in case you want to play with it.
Comment: I was kidding. But with both numbers, the choice can be modeled as a Bernoulli trial (assuming the same probability along history, though) and one can do some Bayesian inference (happy to do it, but I'm not sure I'll tell all locatives apart from genitives right)
Comment: @brianpck That's quite possible, but I didn't feel confident enough to draw conclusions from a sample of 5+1. Perhaps a comparison to similarly sized islands would give more support for preferring the locative.
Answer: It is a fun exercise to apply some math to the issue (statistics/Bayesian inference specifically). I'll try to avoid technical language, for the sake of readability. Of course, math is not magic, so we need some assumptions and simplifications.
In the following, I'll assume,

The only evidence we have is what brianpck says in the comments, that Cicero uses the locative Melitae 5 times and in Melita only once.
Every time Cicero wanted to say what we would translate as in Malta, he chose at random between Melitae and in Melita, but the chances are not even, let's say he had p% probabilities of choosing Melitae and (100-p)% probabilities of choosing in Malta (e.g. 60% and 40%)

With these assumptions, math can help us tell whether a specific value of p is plausible or not (thanks to the binomial distribution), but for that we need two more definitions:

A small value of p is implausible if there is less than 5% chances that the outcome of Cicero choosing at random gave the evidence we have or something better (i.e., more instances of Melitae)
A big value of p is implausible if there is less than 5% chances that the outcome of Cicero choosing at random gave the evidence we have or something worse (i.e., more in Melita's)

Note that these assumptions could have been wildly different, leading to wildly different results.
The question on whether the choice of in Melita was forced by disambiguation remains open, so I'll solve the two extreme problems I can identify:

Assuming Cicero didn't really care about disambiguation, and his choice of in Melita was just one more random instance, and
Assuming disambiguation was the only explanation for choosing in Melita in that occasion, i.e., he was forced to do so, and only had a choice in the other five. In this second problem, all the evidence we have is 5 times Melitae, but we may still be interested to know to which extent we can rule out that he could have chosen otherwise.

1. Assuming no disambiguation wanted

a value of p less than 41.8% is implausible. P(Melitae>=5 out of 6 given p=41.8%)=5%
a value of p greater than 99.1% is implausible. P(Melitae<=5 out of 6 given p=99.1%)=5%

This leaves us with plausible values of p as defined above between 41.8% and 99.1%. Of course, statistics cannot tell with 100% certainty that p was not outside this range, it is just saying what is more reasonable to expect given our assumptions and the evidence we have.
This is undoubtedly disappointing since with as little evidence as we have, we cannot even tell whether one was actually preferred over the other. Had we more examples, we could narrow down that range.

2. Assuming disambiguation unquestioned
It sounds like a safe assumption to say that Cicero chose to use in Melita to avoid an ambiguous Melitae that could have been read as a genitive. Given that, we only have 5 choices out of 5 of Melitae. I'd blame no one if they say that's enough evidence for them to think Cicero would have chosen Melitae every time there was no ambiguity.
But a skeptic could ask whether there was any chance that Cicero would have chosen differently in a lost text or in speech, and we have no answer. The best we can do (in the absence of further evidence or any other reasonable assumption) is to ask math for help. Not that you cannot blindly rely on it, but it gives meaning answers if we keep our assumptions in mind. In this case:

a value of p less than 60.7% is implausible, P(Melitae=5 out of 5 given p=60.7%)=5%
a value of p of 100% is still plausible! Did I mention I'd blame no one? P(Melitae<5 out of 5 given p=100%)=0%

This leaves us with plausible values of p between 60.7% and 100%. In this case, we could say (with a lot of caveats, starting form the very assumptions), that it is reasonable to think that Cicero preferred Melitae, but still can't rule out he wouldn't have used in Melita.

Edit: regarding the title question, I think at least the optional use of the locative is out of question. Concerning its normative use, it seems more reasonable if we accept the disambiguation hypothesis (but p=99% sounds pretty much like normative, so we can't rule it out if we don't accept it).

Does Malta use the locative?


Translate Shipping and handling, grandtotal, subtotal for PDF invoice, from backend in Magento 2

Question: How can I translate the "Shipping & Handling", "Subtotal", "Grand Total" from the PDF invoice that is generated after you press the button PRINT in the backend. The invoice needs to be translated. And those in particular are not translated. Where are the files that contains this information?
Answer: Try adding adding your translation strings to your theme file :
<code>app/design/frontend/vendorname/themename/i18n/en_US.csv
</code>
Example :
<code>"Grand Total","Big Total"
</code>
Note : be careful with spaces in some translations


Granting permission to SQL database

Question: How do you grant a user xp_cmdshell, sp_OACreate, sp_OAmethod, and sp_Destroy on SQL server 2008? What is the prons and cons of granting this permission? Please let me know. Thank you!
Answer: All those 4 procedures require the sysadmin fixed server role or CONTROL SERVER permission. What are the pros and cons of granting this level of permission to a user that's not a DBA? This is like opening Pandora's box :-).
Answer: Instead you should consider using SQLCLR as some of the ones you listed are notorious for memory issues + security issues as well.
Note that you can also shoot yourself in the foot with SQLCLR but I am NOT qualified to speak abt it.
Comment: Agree. sp_OA% have so many issues...

Granting permission to SQL database


Burninate the [ssid] tag

Question: All of the questions tagged with ssid are related to wireless-networking. There are only 4 followers of ssid. All experts on wireless-networking should be experts on ssid. I see no purpose of the ssid tag. Should we burninate it?
Answer: Yes, ssid is a subset of wireless-networking, but it is a meaningful subset.
Whether each question using the tag is actually a question ABOUT the ssid is irrelevant. Some questions CAN be mostly about the ssid and therefore the tag is a meaningful distinction between it and other aspects of the broader wireless-networking.
Answer: Keep the ssid tag.
While there will be clear cases where the ssid and wireless-networking tags will have synonymous meaning, the function of an SSID within the realm of wireless networking is distinct enough to merit its own set of questions and specific expertise.
There are a lot of wireless-networking questions. To merge the ones focused on SSIDs into the larger pool would make them less accessible to both question askers and answerers.

Burninate the [ssid] tag


Strange wifi trouble caused by update?

Question:
Possible Duplicate:
Can't connect to any wireless connection after updating

My wifi connection has been working flawlessly for 2 years running first ubuntu 11.04 and gradually upgrading to 12.04. A few days ago the connection to my router suddenly stopped working after a restart (it had been connected right up until the restart). The network icon on top shows that it is trying to connect and after a while it stops and tells me I am disconnected. All other devices (6-7 or so) connected to the router continue to access as usual so I do not think it has anything to do with the router itself. Also I found out that I have no problem connecting to the hotspot of my cell phone. Both on my cell and on the router I have WPA-PSK, but I guess that they would be using different standards (n on router versus b/g when using phone hotspot?).
Any ideas on what the problem might be? Tips on how to debug it? I did install the latest upgrades through synaptic prior to restarting, can I have upgraded to a broken driver or something?
Here is the info from lshw -C:
<code>*-network
beskrivning: Trådlöst gränssnitt
produkt: BCM4313 802.11b/g/n Wireless LAN Controller
tillverkare: Broadcom Corporation
physical id: 0
bus info: pci@0000:44:00.0
logiskt namn: eth1
version: 01
serienummer: ac:81:12:3d:93:9a
bredd: 64 bits
klocka: 33MHz
förmågor: pm msi pciexpress bus_master cap_list ethernet physical wireless
konfiguration: broadcast=yes driver=wl0 driverversion=184.108.40.206 (r326264) latency=0 multicast=yes wireless=IEEE 802.11abg
</code>
Answer: it might be a bug in the "bcmwl-kernel-source"-package this helped me out!
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/bcmwl/+bug/923809/comments/25

Strange wifi trouble caused by update?


How to implement character limit validation on Single-Line Text and Multi-Line Text fields?

Question: I want to implement character limit on input by user on Single-Line text and Multi-Line Text fields. Please guide me.
Answer: You need just to assign a validation rule to your fields
The Sitecore field validators is a set of user-input validators that can be applied to either an item, a specific field type or a specific field on a specific item.
Sitecore comes with a set of standard validators, including broken links validation, email validators, max length validators and XHTML/W3C validation. You can find all validation rules at <code>/sitecore/system/settings/validation rules</code>.

You apply rules to fields on individual items by selecting the field on a template to apply validation. Select the Validation Rules secion and select the rules to apply in the fields "Quick Action Bar" (applies validation to the left of the field), "Validate Button" (validation is run when clicking the Validation button on the Review tab), "Validator Bar" (applies validaton to the bar at the right of the fields) and the "Workflow" (applies validation when workflow is running).

More informations you can found here: https://briancaos.wordpress.com/2011/05/09/using-sitecore-field-validators/
Answer: hi you can crete custom sitecore field validators especially 'Max Length' validation rules  under 'sitecore/system/settings/validation rules/' from the template '/sitecore/templates/System/Validation/Validation Rule'.
'Parameters' field should be like '[parameter]=[value]&[parameter]=[value]'
i.e. like building a querystring.
One of the parameter is result & it defines the default result value of a validation.
start implementing this custom validation rule to the item or __Standardvalues under field section 'Validation Rules'


Program that archives and manages not needed files

Question: What I am looking for is a program that can archive old, "not needed anymore", "don't know where to put it" files. Something like the trash folder (well not exactly) but not for deletion, instead for archiving.
Perfectly, each file or folder would have a ID (to handle files and folders with same names).
I do not know if such program exists since I searched and find nothing like that.
Answer: You can use LogicalDOC for this, it is a complete document management platform, and can do the most simple to the most complicated tasks, however I think you wish for a more simple solution. I would then ask you: are these file with important/classified content which you would be concerned?
If the answer is yes, then I would again suggest LogicalDOC. If the answer is no, I have other options for you:

Use a specific cloud provider only for archiving. Most cloud offers a small free option for you to use as you wish, which for archiving files is excellent. I would suggest you pick a provider and create an account specifically for archiving these old documents. For a lot of space I suggest MEGA (50GB for free account). If you don't have that much files you can always look into other providers with less space.
Alternative cloud provider: Evernote/OneNote. You can keep files (has a limitation on sizes though) organised and maintain in a database for later review. Also lets you search which is fantastic.

Hope this helps.
Links:

https://www.logicaldoc.com/download-logicaldoc-community

https://mega.co.nz/

https://evernote.com/


Can I get Yongnuo YN622C to trigger Novatron M500 strobes?

Question: I recently purchased a set of second hand Novatron 500 strobes. I own a set of Yongnuo YN-622C transreceivers. I have a sync cable between the strobe and a YN-622C, and the second set on my Canon 5D Mk II. I can't get the strobes to trigger. What am I missing? I am very new to this so please bear with me and help me out. I can't seem to find any answers anywhere :(.
Answer: Few things to check:

Make sure you have a YN-622C directly on the hotshoe to act as transmitter. The PC port on the YN-622Cs is output-only--you cannot hook it up to the camera's PC port and have it act as a transmitter.
Make sure all your batteries are in good health and fully charged. Bad or weak batteries in the flashes, camera, or triggers can make debugging what's going on harder.
Make sure your triggers are on the same channel.
Make sure you're in M mode, not TTL--the Novotron is a manual-only light and will not understand TTL, HSS, etc.  You also will not be able to control it through the camera menu or the 622 triggers to do anything other than fire in sync with the camera shutter.
Use the test button on the transmitter to see if the receiver fires the flash and/or lights up.  If the triggers communicate, then it could be the camera-to-transmitter connection isn't good (so, if test button works, test the shutter button).  And if the light isn't firing, but the triggers are communicating, then it's the trigger-to-the-flash sync connection.
If the triggers simply aren't communicating, and you know they've got good batteries, and are on the same channel, then consider doing a factory reset.

Refer to the TOYUG (The Other YN-622C User Guide) for more details.
As an aside, make sure that what you think is the sync connector is the sync connector. Some of my googling mentions some Novatron lights use a HH (household) sync connection, not PC or 3.5mm miniplug, so if the M500 is one of these, you'd need a PC-to-HH cable to hook up a YN-622C to it.
Alternatively, the Novotron M500 also has a "dumb" optical slave on it, so you don't have to use radio triggers to pop it remotely. You would, however, need a flash on the 5DMkII (probably with the flash in M mode to avoid preflashes) to trigger it, since the 5DMkII doesn't have a pop-up flash.
Comment: Thanks so much for your help. With all info you have shared i think i have narrowed it down to "trigger-to-the-flash sync connection". i will try the optical slave option and see if that gets it working.  Thanks a ton again.
Comment: Thanks Inkista. The dumb optical slave idea worked. But now i have the flash firing as well :). I think it was  either the wire (which is new) or the Y622C not compatible with the novatron? Any ideas? Before i invest in another set of transceivers i thought an expert advice will surely help.
Comment: I'd say it's probably the cable, then. The YN-622C is compatible with manual studio strobes. But I've never used a studio strobe, so I'm probably not the expert you want. Try [the POTN board](http://photography-on-the.net/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=35)--there are a lot of 622C experts over there.
Comment: Thanks so much. Please know I totally appreciate your help.


Find the value of integral

Question: find the value of $\int_{|z|=2}^{}\log\frac{z+1}{z-1}dz$ assume that for $w\in C-\{z;\text{Re}(z)\leq0\}$ we have $-\pi<\text{Im}(\log w)<\pi $
Answer: Note that $(z+1)/(z-1)$ is on the negative real axis only for $z$ on the line segment from $-1$ to $1$. So deform the contour to one consisting of the straight line segments
$L_1$ from $-1+\eta-i\epsilon$ to $1-\eta-i\epsilon$ and $L_2$ from $1-\eta+i\epsilon$ to $-1+\eta+i\epsilon$ and two arcs of circles, where $\eta $ is very small with $\eta >> \epsilon > 0$.  Note that for $z \in L_1$, $(z+1)/(z-1)$ is in the upper half-plane near the negative real axis, while for $z \in L_2$, it is in the lower half-plane.  Thus for $z \in L_1$, $f(z) - f(\overline{z}) \approx 2 \pi i$, so that $$\int_{L_1} f(z)\ dz + \int_{L_2} f(z)\ dz \approx
\int_{-1}^{1} (2 \pi i)\ dz = 4 \pi i$$
Thus (after convincing yourself that the integrals over the circular arcs go to $0$) the answer is $4 \pi i$.
EDIT:
Another way to do this: note that by Cauchy's theorem the answer should be the same for the integral over $|z|=r$ for any $r > 1$.  So take $r$ very large.
Note that for $|z|$ large, $$\frac{z+1}{z-1} = 1 + \frac{2}{z} + O\left(\frac{1}{|z|^2}\right)$$ and so
$$\log\left( \frac{z+1}{z-1} \right) = \frac{2}{z} + O\left(\frac{1}{|z|^2}\right)$$
Thus $$\oint_{|z|=r} \log\left( \frac{z+1}{z-1} \right) \ dz = 2 \oint_{|z|=r} \frac{2}{z}\ dz + O\left(\frac{1}{r}\right) = 4 \pi i + O\left(\frac{1}{r}\right) $$
Answer: Parametrize the integral using $z=2 e^{i t}$, $dz = 2 i e^{i t} dt$.  The integral is then
$$i 2 \int_0^{2 \pi} dt \: e^{i t} \log{\left ( \frac{2 e^{i t}+1}{2 e^{i t}-1} \right )} $$
Use the fact that $\log{z} = \log{|z|} + i \arg{z}$ and we end up with four integrals to evaluate (expressed as two here for reasons of space):
$$\begin{align}\\ &i 2 \int_0^{2 \pi} dt \: \left [ \frac{1}{2} \cos{t} \log{\left ( \frac{5 + 4 \cos{t}}{5 - 4 \cos{t}}\right )} + \sin{t} \arctan{\left ( \frac{4}{3} \sin{t} \right )}\right ]\\ &- 2 \int_0^{2 \pi} dt \: \left [ \frac{1}{2} \sin{t} \log{\left ( \frac{5 + 4 \cos{t}}{5 - 4 \cos{t}}\right )} - \cos{t} \arctan{\left ( \frac{4}{3} \sin{t} \right )}\right ]\end{align}$$
The last two integrals are zero.  The first integral evaluates to $i 2 \pi$, while the second also evaluates to $i 2 \pi$.  The result is then
$$\oint_{|z|=2}dz \: \log{\left( \frac{z+1}{z-1}\right)} = i 4 \pi $$
NB I used Mathematica to evaluate these integrals.  I will try to prove these results by hand, as these integrals do look interesting in and of themselves.  But in any case, even though I used Mathematica, it still took significant amount of work just to get the integral into a form where Mathematica could be useful.

Find the value of integral