Difference Between OAUTH, OpenID and OPENID Connect in very simple term?

Question: I am very confused the difficult jargon available in web about OAUTH, OpenID and OPENID Connect. Can anyone tell me the difference in simple words.
Comment: Good comparison see at https://spin.atomicobject.com/2016/05/30/openid-oauth-saml/
Comment: See also: https://security.stackexchange.com/q/133065/2113
Answer: OpenID is a protocol for authentication while OAuth is for authorization. Authentication is about making sure that the guy you are talking to is indeed who he claims to be. Authorization is about deciding what that guy should be allowed to do.
In OpenID, authentication is delegated: server A wants to authenticate user U, but U's credentials (e.g. U's name and password) are sent to another server, B, that A trusts (at least, trusts for authenticating users). Indeed, server B makes sure that U is indeed U, and then tells to A: "ok, that's the genuine U".
In OAuth, authorization is delegated: entity A obtains from entity B an "access right" which A can show to server S to be granted access; B can thus deliver temporary, specific access keys to A without giving them too much power. You can imagine an OAuth server as the key master in a big hotel; he gives to employees keys which open the doors of the rooms that they are supposed to enter, but each key is limited (it does not give access to all rooms); furthermore, the keys self-destruct after a few hours.
To some extent, authorization can be abused into some pseudo-authentication, on the basis that if entity A obtains from B an access key through OAuth, and shows it to server S, then server S may infer that B authenticated A before granting the access key. So some people use OAuth where they should be using OpenID. This schema may or may not be enlightening; but I think this pseudo-authentication is more confusing than anything. OpenID Connect does just that: it abuses OAuth into an authentication protocol. In the hotel analogy: if I encounter a purported employee and that person shows me that he has a key which opens my room, then I suppose that this is a true employee, on the basis that the key master would not have given him a key which opens my room if he was not.
Comment: "Server" here means "a computer which sits in some room, waiting for data to come through the network, and then responds to it". That's hardly _jargon_.
Comment: @ThomasPornin, a hotel room key is analogous to an OAuth 2 access/bearer token; it is not analogous to an OpenID Connect ID token.
Comment: @user960567 at some point you can't really distill details or ideas any further by switching 'jargons', especially when dealing with complex topics like authentication, authorization, or delegation.
Comment: Great Thanks. Can you just explain it in English jargon instead of server jargon. I like the hotel example. But for explaing the OPENID(first paragraph) you are using Server word
Comment: @ThomasPornin: Wouldn't you say that OAuth is about authorization AND authentication? Because authentication is always the base of a successful authorization, isn't it? Although in your example of OAuth (at least in the Authorization Grant Type) authentication takes place on the server of entity B where authorization is done on Server S. Right?
Comment: @GayanSanjeewa And [now they don't](https://developers.google.com/accounts/docs/OpenID#shutdown-timetable).
Comment: @ThomasPornin, Hey expert please check this, there are lot of confusion out there, http://security.stackexchange.com/questions/44843/how-secure-is-redirecting-user-from-http-normal-bank-com-to-https-secure-ban/44880?noredirect=1#44880
Comment: It seems this distinction: "OpenID is a protocol for authentication while OAuth is for authorization" is no longer valid. Google use OAUTH 2.0 for both authentication and authorization now (https://developers.google.com/accounts/docs/OAuth2Login)
Comment: OK, so A is the Consumer and B is the ID-provider.  What is Server S?
Comment: @BenV according to the page you linked, Google now uses ONLY OAuth 2.0 functionality within OpenID Connect. They've stopped supporting OpenID 2.0 in favor of OAuth 2.0 merely because the latest version of OpenID has support for OAuth, without making it clear to the user the apparent vast differences that I'm still trying to figure out. This would seem to suggest OpenID in and of itself is no longer used??
Comment: According to [the link](https://developers.google.com/accounts/docs/OpenID#shutdown-timetable) BenV provided, OpenID Connect does not even support a separate OpenID protocol anymore. Instead it is a pseudo-authentication layer built entirely on OAuth 2.0, requiring the user give the site access to his e.g. Google account and allowing both sites to monitor the users' activity of the other.  Is this true?? Does OpenID exist as a separate protocol anymore?
Comment: So OpenID is about letting users log in using another service. OAuth is about letting some server do stuff on your behalf. Right? In some sense, they seem to be going in opposite directions.
Comment: Great explanation! I was using OAuth to Authenticate. You saved my day man!
Comment: It should be noted that OpenID is a protocol for authentication _delegation_, and not for the actual authentication procedure itself. As per the spec: "The methods used by the Authorization Server to Authenticate the End-User (e.g. username and password, session cookies, etc.) are beyond the scope of this specification."
Answer: Simple Terms

OpenID is about verifying a person's identity (authentication).
OAuth is about accessing a person's stuff (authorization).
OpenID Connect does both.

All three let a person give their username/password (or other credential) to a trusted authority instead of to a less trusted app.
More Details
To understand something, look at its history.
OpenID & OAuth have developed on parallel tracks and in 2014 merged into OpenID Connect. Throughout their history, OpenID and OAuth have let an app use a trusted authority to handle private user credentials. Whereas OpenID let the authority verify a user's identity, OAuth let the authority grant limited access to a user's stuff.
OpenID 1.0 (2006) lets an app ask an authority for proof that an end user owns an identify (a URL).

End user to app: I am Steve A. Smith.
App to authority: Is this Steve A. Smith?
The end user and authority speak for a moment.
Authority to app: Yes, that is Steve A. Smith.

OpenID 2.0 (2007) does the same, but adds a second identity format (XRI) and adds flexibility to how the end user specifies the identity and authority.
OpenID Attribute Exchange 1.0 (2007) extends OpenID 2.0 by letting an app fetch & store end user profile information with the authority - in addition to verifying the end user's identity.

End user to app: I am Steve A. Smith.
App to authority: Is this Steve A. Smith? Oh, and if it is, also fetch me his email address and phone number.
The end user and authority speak for a moment.
Authority to app: Yes, that is Steve A. Smith. His email is email@example.com and phone number is 123-456-7890.

OAuth 1.0 (2010) lets an end user grant an app limited access to resources on a third-party server that an authority owns.

App to end user: We'd like to access your pictures on some other server.
The end user and authority speak for a moment.
Authority to app: Here is an access token.
App to third-party server: Here is the access token that proves I am allowed to access pictures for an end user.

OAuth 2.0 (2012) does the same thing as OAuth 1.0 but with a completely new protocol.
OpenID Connect (2014) combines the features of OpenID 2.0, OpenID Attribute Exchange 1.0, and OAuth 2.0 in a single protocol. It allows an application to use an authority...

to verify the end user's identity,
to fetch the end user's profile info, and
to gain limited access to the end user's stuff.
Comment: Thanks for this great answer Shaun.  The historical perspective and easy-to-read scenarios clarify a lot of confusions.
Comment: OAuth 2.0 does not do the same as OAuth 1.0, because OAuth 1.0 provides both authentication and authorization before using a resource, while OAuth 2.0 provides only authorization. In OAuth 1.0, every request is signed with a pre-negotiated secret shared key between the client and the server and thus every request is authenticated (because of the signing process) and authorized (because the user has authorized the token). While with OAuth 2 this may not be the case - you may have implementations where only having the Access token is enough to access resources (no authentication).
Answer: Many people still visit this so here's a very simple diagram to explain it

Courtesy Wikipedia
Comment: Why couldn't someone snap up the certificate in the OpenID Authentication and pretend to be the authenticated user?
Comment: @ptf Sounds like a separate question!
Comment: @ptf If they can get access to it, then of course they can. An OAuth token, and, well, *any* form of access token is of course capable of being used by a third-party whose gained access to it somehow. The server said could, in either case, attempt to apply heuristics (e.g. geolocation, access behavior) to assert that it may be a malicious actor and expire session or force MFA assertion.
Answer: We already have a diagram and a lot of good data so here is an example in case that helps.
Let's say I want to post a comment to StackOverflow.  StackOverflow only allows comments if a user has 50 reputation.
StackOverflow must authorize this request (e.g. only allow it if the user has >= 50 rep).  StackOverflow would not use OAuth to do this because StackOverflow owns the protected resource.  If StackOverflow were trying to post a comment to Facebook on the user's behalf then it would use OAuth.  Instead, StackOverflow will use local authorization (e.g. if (user.reputation < 50) throw InsufficientReputationError();)
In order to do this StackOverflow must first know who is making the request.  In other words, in order to authorize the request it must first authenticate the request.
StackOverflow first checks the session and the HTTP headers to see if the user can be quickly authenticated (e.g. this is not their first request) but that fails.
Let's pretend StackOverflow has decided to use OpenID Connect.  This means that StackOverflow trusts an identity provider.  This is a service that StackOverflow trusts which can tell StackOverflow who the current user is.  In this example we will assume that is Google.
StackOverflow now asks Google who the current user is.  However, Google must first ensure that StackOverflow is allowed to know who the current user is.  In other words, Google must authorize StackOverflow.  Since Google is the owner of the protected resource and StackOverflow is the one accessing it we can use OAuth here.  In fact, OpenID Connect mandates it.
This means that StackOverflow has to authenticate with an authorization server that Google trusts (in reality, this would also be Google, but that doesn't have to be the case) and get an access token.  It takes that access token to Google and asks for the user's identity.  Google then returns the user's identity (signing the identity on the way) and StackOverflow then authorizes the request now that it knows the user's identity.
In case you missed it there were multiple authentication and authorization steps each.

StackOverflow attempted to authenticate the request using session cookies but that failed.
StackOverflow then authenticated the request by using OpenID Connect
Google authorized SO's request for identity by using OAuth
The Authorization Server authenticated StackOverflow (probably using a client id & client secret).
In addition, as part of the OAuth workflow, the Authorization Server may have authenticated the request by asking the user for her username & password.
Furthermore, the user herself may have authorized SO's request for identity by responding to a grant screen (e.g. "do you want to allow StackOverflow to have access to your email?")
StackOverflow authorized the request by ensuring the user had >50 reputation.

What is OpenID (without the connect)?
This was an earlier protocol that allowed an identity provider (like Google) to pass user information to a service (like StackOverflow).  However, it used another method (not OAuth) for Google to authorize that StackOverflow is allowed to access the user's identity.  OpenID had some security flaws (which I believe were addressed) but in my opinion the real killer was simply the fact that OAuth had better support and thus tended to be less work than learning OpenID's custom protocol.
As of today everyone is abandoning it.  Don't use it.  Use OpenID Connect.
"Abusing" OAuth
In the scenario I described above OAuth is being used exactly as intended for authorization.  However, there is another workflow which can often confuse people.  This arose because in many situations (most?) the server providing the user's identity and the OAuth authorization server are the same server.
In this case it seems a bit excessive that an HTTP request is first made to the authorization server to get an access token and then again made to the same server to get an identity token.  So an extension was created for the OAuth spec to allow the authorization server to bundle user identity information with the access token.
This allows authentication to happen entirely in the browser (e.g. StackOverflow's servers need not be involved).  However, that sort of authentication is less useful and (I think?) is less commonly used.
Comment: +1 for explaining the part "What is OpenID (without the connect)?"
Answer: In addition to the other responses: I think that a lot of confusion comes from inacurrate, or at least unusual use of the terms Authentication and Authorization
OpenID Connect 1.0 is marketed as an Authentication solution, while it does not, by itself, handle the authentication. The "real" authentication in its basic sense (process of validating the user credentials to prove an identity) is out of scope of OpenID Connect.
OpenID Connect should be better marketed as an Authentication Delegation or Federation protocol, allowing a Relying Party to use the existing authentication process, user database and session handling from a third-party ID Provider. That is functionnaly similar to SAML 2.0.
Note: strictly speaking, from a Relying Party point of view, obtaining and validating an ID Token from an ID Provider can be considered as an Authentication method. I believe that is where "OpenID Connect is a Authentication protocol" comes from.

Same reasoning for OAuth 2.0 being an Authorization protocol: usually authorization is the process of defining an access policy that determines which users have access to which resources. That definition hardly applies to OAuth.
OAuth 2.0 is actually giving a way for users to allow an application/client to access their own resources on their behalf. In other words, OAuth 2.0 is authorizing clients applications, not users, to access the resources. The Authorization Policy (granting users access to resources) is supposed to be existing prior to deploying OAuth.
I would have labeled OAuth an access delegation protocol.
I apologize if that post raises the confusion even further :)
Comment: Yes, I thought the same. If we try to grant the user access to resources then it should be handled in a different way because it is not a delegation like what oauth2 does
Answer: To summarize: OpenID Connect is a federated identity API that includes a profile and extension of OAuth 2.0 that enables a client (i.e. mobile app or website) to redirect a person to a central identity provider for authentication, and enables that person to authorize the release of information to that client.
You should read my blog OAuth vs. SAML vs. OpenID Connect: https://gluu.co/oauth-saml-openid
The OpenID Connect API includes a number of endpoints, not all related to OAuth:
OAuth Endpoints

Authorization : Front channel website which renders the login page and authorization (consent) page. (RFC 6749)
Token : Back channel endpoint, normally requiring authentication, where a client can request access tokens, id_tokens, and refresh tokens. (RFC 6749)
Configuration  : provider metadata published at .well-known/openid-configuration, including the location of endpoints, supported cryptographic algorithms, and other information needed by the client to interact with the OP.  (RFC 8414)
Client registration : Endpoint for an application to create or update an OAuth client (RFC 7591)

Non-OAuth endpoints

Userinfo  : Access token protected API at which the client can request claims about a subject. This is the Resource Server in OAuth terms.
JWKS : The current public keys of the OP used for signing and encryption
Session management : Used by all three OpenID logout specs (none working that well)
Webfinger : Used to bootstrap OP discovery working backwards from an email address (or other identifier), i.e. how do you figure out the configuration endpoint for a domain. (RFC 7033, but not part of the OAuth WG)
Comment: You mean, all this time, with all your answers, Gluu and OXD are *your* products? Please note that you must disclose your relationship to the links you provide and especially with the products you reference. I'm afraid that every reference to Gluu that you have posted is "promotion" and could be considered an ad.
Answer: As mentioned already, Oauth is one thing, OpenID is another, and OpenID Connect combines the two.
But, as mentioned already, the use of authentication and authorization to differentiate Oauth and OpenID is just plain wrong. Authentication, the confirmation of the veracity of an entity's claim to a stored identity, is attributed to OpenID but it is definitively part of the Oauth process. Authorization, permission to access a specific resource or container, is attributed to Oauth but it is definitively part of the OpenID process.
In my experience, the real difference between Oauth and OpenID can be seen in the typical non-auth-related activities being performed, and by whom, under each scheme.

OpenID facilitates user access to a permissioned container with bundled resources (e.g. web site access).
Oauth facilitates automated access to a permissioned resource within a container (e.g. CRUD ops on a file or record through a web api).

OpenID Connect, then, allows a user to access a web address and once in, gives the underlying web application a way to retrieve additional, off-site resources on the user's behalf.


Accessing PAT,NAT of coverages using arcobjects

Question: I want to access the polygon attribute table (PAT) and node attribute table (NAT) of an arcgis coverage using arcobjects VBA, is this possible?
Answer: I think I was able to do this many years ago, but haven't tried it lately. IFeatureWorkspaceFactory.OpenTable used to work on tables that would otherwise be hidden (like TIC files).  You need to include the extension as part of their name when opening them though.
Answer: You can export the ArcInfo coverage files (pat, nat, aat) to Txt or dbf using these free tools, then query the txt or dbf files from VBA. This solution doesn't require ArcObjects so may or may not be helpful to you. Doesn't run on win7 64bit.
http://code.google.com/p/infolib/
BTW, Ogr2ogr will convert coverage features poly and line (no NAT) to csv,dbf,etc.


How Avoid Vignetting using a variable ND filter

Question: My camera is  Nikon D700
Lens 28-300mm
Lens 24-70mm
I have a Variable ND filter 77mm size
How do I avoid vignetting around the edges of the filter?
thank you.
Answer: It's an angle of view issue. The light path is intercepted at the frame corners by parts of the filter blocking parts of the light path.
If you wish to use a filter at extreme settings and a standard version causes vignetting then you need either

A wider active area of filter at a given distance from your lens front surface (which may not be possible without machining your lens front !!!, or
To mount the filter element closer to the lens (which again may not be possible with major surgery.
If you are using another filter between lens and ND filter it will add to vignetting effect - take it off.

You could fabricate a stop that presents the lens entering the focal length range where vignetting occurs - messy and prone to either be not used when needed or left in place when not needed.
If you are serious and desperate enough you can probably fabricate or have fabricated a custom mount that uses the ND material from the existing filter and mounts it in a ring which is either broader or shallower. However, given that many other filters do not cause vignetting at short focal lengths, chances are that either you are doing something fixable or the filter manufacturer has a bad design.
You MAY be able to modify the ND filter without changing to a custom mount.View the vignetting effect at minimum focal length.
Now, remove the filter and insert a flat stick (iceblock stick about right) into the corner of the field of view and adjust position until it gives similar depth of vignetting penetration to the filter ring. This shows you how much intrusion you have to deal with. Next inspect the filter ring and see what needs to be done to remove the same amount of intrusion. It MAY be possible to machine the filter outer surface enough to fix it. Maybe not. Removing the ND material while you machine the ring "would be wise". If less venturesome you can reduce the ring thickness on a whetstone with time, water and elbow grease. BUT it should not be necessary if the manufacturer has done their job properly.
If you can find some other kind of filter than fits and that does not cause vignetting you MAY be able to swap the ND element into it. Or not.
Answer: My guess is that you get vignetting at 24 and 28 but not at 300mm. Vignetting from a filter is due to the fact that the filter prevent the collection of the same amount of light in the border of your image than in the center. It is just a mechanical effect in the sense that the ring holding the filter intersept part of the light. Appart not using your lense at the smalest focal length you may get another filter either bigger or which can be mount closer of the lense.
Comment: See my answer. I've effectively expanded on what you said. As the core of answer is the same in both cases we get "parallel evolution" :-).


Should I create new table for each User to store their product List?

Question: I'm creating a Web based billing and inventory management system. I need to store the product details such as name, price, stock left and also want to store details of every bill for each user uniquely. Should I create separate table for every user to store these information?
Comment: No you shouldn't. This is the bad design pattern that violates the relational principles and vastly complicates the further proceeding.
Comment: So if there are 100,000 customers, you'll have 100,000 tables???  There's a limit to how many tables a database can have.  Also it's a very bad design if you do it that way.
Answer: Creating a unique table for every user to hold their billing/purchase details would be an absolute nightmare to maintain.
It would be best to create different tables for each entity. For example, you could create one for all users, one for all bills/purchases, and one for all products. You can connect the user table and billing table by a user ID. In the billing table, each row can have a user ID to signify which user that purchase record belongs to. The user ID would be a reference back to the user table. The billing table should also have a reference to a products table which would hold the product name, stock left, etc.
This is just an example though and depending on your system design, you may need more tables.
Comment: I would disagree with this statement that three tables is what should be done as it could be more tables are needed and that won't be known until you get down to designing the details of the system. For example you may want two tables for bills/purchases one with information about the bill/purchase itself and another with all the items associated with the bill/purchase.
Comment: Sure, that is definitely possible. It's impossible to tell without more information about the system that Shibi is setting up though. I just wanted to give them a high-level way of designing the system to start off with and steer them away from doing unique tables for each user purchase.
Comment: Which is why I said suggesting 3 tables isn't best. While it is clear that creating a new table for each user isn't a good idea it also isn't clear how many tables would be best for what is being attempted here.
Comment: The three tables were merely a simple example of a possible design. I edited the answer to make it more clear that it is an example and not the absolute only design path that Shibi could take.
Answer: Creating new tables for each user is a bad design pattern and causes more work in the long run. One of the issues that can quickly become apparent is trying to retrieve data from the system.
If you need to return a report on multiple users, for example users who have not paid their bill you would now have to search through all of the tables in order to find users who have not paid. This could cause you to have to look through a lot of tables where you will not find a match in order to get to the data you need.
However if you have all the data in a single table you are able to use the where clause and a single select statement to get the data you need which will be much more maintainable in the long run.
As for how many tables you will need that will depend on what data is being stored and you will need to take time to design that.
Answer: No you don't need separate tables for every user to store information.
Just create Product table with its detail such as
Name
Price
Qty
When you sale products to customer/user your product qty should be triggered for -(Stock out)
When you purchase stock your product qty should be maintained as +(Stock In)


If we can reduce travel time to Mars below the Hohmann standard, would we still use the same launch window?

Question: If we can reduce the travel time to Mars below the Hohmann transfer orbit's typical 258 days, would we still use the usual Hohmann launch window or delay launch accordingly?  For example, if we followed Zubrin's plan and used additional fuel to make the trip in 180 days, would we launch at the usual launch window, or 78 days later?  If we could use nuclear-plasma rockets to reach Mars in 40 days, would we launch at the usual launch window, or 218 days later?  Thanks!
Answer: Below is a typical porkchop plot, showing the 2005 Earth to Mars opportunity.
A "Hohmann" transfer in its pure form only exists between co-planar orbits. Since Earth's and Mars' orbits are not coplanar, the 180° transfer would actually require a huge plane change, which results in the opportunity splitting into two pieces on either side of 180°. In a great stroke of imagination, mission designers decided to refer to those as Type 1 (for less than 180°), and Type 2 (for more than 180°).
On the porkchop plot you can see the contours of the Type 1 on the bottom and the Type 2 on the top. The solid red lines are constant transit times in days. The blue closed curves are constant $C_3$, which is the energy required for the transfer.
So the most efficient travel times are about 200 days (Type 1) and 400 days (Type 2), with the Type 2 being a smidge more efficient. 180 days is actually not bad at all for this particular opportunity, requiring only a little more $C_3$. In fact you could get a nice 20-day launch period with a transit time of 180 days for a $C_3$ of less than $18\,\mathrm{{km}^2/s^2}$.
40 days transit time is a completely different story. You would launch a few weeks before the Earth-Mars closest approach, and arrive a few weeks after. In 2005, the closest approach was Oct 29, at right end of the x-axis of that plot. You would be arriving almost one y-axis box below the plot. I don't know what that $C_3$ would be, but it goes up fast as you leave those wells.
Comment: It would be interesting to see plots for a "worst case" and "best case" transfer window, since the fairly elliptical orbit of Mars results in quite a large variation in what is achievable for a given amount of delta-v.
Comment: That would depend on worst case for what parameter. The 2005 opportunity was one of the worst for $C_3$. 2003 was one of the best. You might want to ask a new question for that.
Answer: Earth and Mars really only align every 26 months or so. One particular instant in that is the Hohmann Transfer window, the rest is just close to it, in terms of time, delta-v, etc. If delta-v isn't an issue, we can launch any time, but it will be faster when Earth and Mars are close to each other, if it is an issue, but we have more than is current, we can launch a bit after the optimal transfer window and arrive there beforehand.
Comment: It is probably somewhere between. There is something known as a pork chop plot that might give you an idea of what that would look like.
Comment: If delta-v isn't an issue you could accelerate to the speed of light, travel in a straight line and then stop when you get there :)! As the... crowsmic ray... flies?
Comment: Pretty much, although it might not be that fast depending on the ability to manage large amounts of acceleration.
Comment: Thank you.  But I'm not sure I understand your response.  If we have the delta-v to reduce the Hohmann trip of 258 days to Zubrin's 180 days, would we launch at (or about) the standard Hohmann launch window and arrive 78 days earlier than a Hohmann transfer - or would we launch 78 days after the Hohmann launch window and arrive at the normal time for a Hohmann transfer?  Thanks!


Can a song be made entirely of samples?

Question: I'm just wondering what the point is of synth instruments (manipulating waveforms) if I can just use samples for everything. For example, say I sample a single middle-c piano note. My understanding is that a DAW sampler can then change the pitches of this one sample so I could potentially get all the notes across the piano from just this one sample. Similarly I could use samples for all harmony, beats, and melodies across all instruments. So could my entire song be made of samples, why use synth instruments then?
Comment: Related: this answer, which covers some of the aspects of this & also includes examples played entirely using samples [massively multi-sampled samples, but samples nonetheless]. https://music.stackexchange.com/a/79765/12556
Answer:
Can a song be made entirely of samples?

Of course.

For example, say I sample a single middle-c piano note. My understanding is that a DAW sampler can then change the pitches of this one sample so I could potentially get all the notes across the piano from just this one sample.

So far, you're right to an extent - simplistically-speaking, the piano is one of the instruments that can be reproduced quite accurately* with samples. However, it can't be done at all accurately by sampling a single middle-C note and repitching that one note. This is because the way the timbre of each note evolves is very different at different points on the keyboard - and also different when the note is struck at different velocities. So a convincing piano multisample will need to consist of at least dozens, and probably hundreds, of individual samples. This can take hundreds of megabytes, or even a number of gigabytes, of RAM to store - which is one of the drawbacks of sample-based synthesis.
(*And even then, some aspects of the sound of a real piano come from the way the different strings resonate with each other - which would possibly take even more samples, plus some clever programming, to emulate).

Similarly I could use samples for all harmony, beats, and melodies across all instruments.

Well, all instruments is where it gets really tricky.
Let's step away from music for a minute and imagine that you want to make a sampled version of your own human voice. You could just record yourself saying each word in the dictionary, and then construct any phrase, perfectly realistically, out of that, right?
Well, of course you couldn't - the way humans use their voice, they never quite say the same word twice - it depends on the way they are expressing and intoning the sentence due to the meaning and context, how it joins on to the words that come before and after, the emotions, how tired you are... there's a lot of variation.
Now something like a violin perhaps doesn't quite have as many input parameters as the human voice does - but there are still all sorts of ways of bowing, articulating notes and joining each note to the next - so many so that building a truly realistic sample-based instrument and programming the ways the samples were selected would be an incredibly complex proposition. A synthesized physical model of a violin would have the advantage here.
And of course - you can only sample instruments that exist. One of the great things about synthesizers is that they can create sounds that couldn't exist acoustically.

why use synth instruments then?

Because they don't use oodles of memory
because they can be programmed to react to multiple, constantly-changing parameters much more easily
because they can create sounds that can't easily be created acoustically

Having said all that - there isn't necessarily an abrupt line separating sample-based instruments and synth instruments. Many sample playback instruments are "sample + synthesis" - providing some extra processing on top of the basic sample playback - and many 'pure' synths still make use of some basic wavetables which are played back much as a recorded sample would be.
Answer: I think you have a number of issue combined in this question.
But about the piano sample using only middle C, you could do this but when the single sample is pitch shifted through the full piano range it will not have the right timbre.
Really good sample libraries use sample from the full range of an instrument as well as different dynamics. Really good sampling gets articulations too. Like for a violin different bowing techniques.
On the general question, can a whole song be all samples? In part I think that happens with recordings now. Drums, guitar, bass patterns can all be samples. Some parts will be from performance like vocal, or synth. Perhaps there aren't a lot of records that are 100% sampled, but I don't think there is a technical limitation. Voice is the obvious problem if you wanted to have actual text sung rather than just 'oooh' and 'aaah.'
I'm not sure if this is part of your question, but using samples doesn't necessarily mean using sequencers. I set up an old midi keyboard into a DAW, found some excellent soundfonts for various instruments and then recorded performances using those sampled soundfonts. I didn't sequence the parts.
Answer: Yes, we can make music with only sampled sounds.  And we do.  If we're trying to imitate 'real' instruments, it's almost exclusively what we do.
There'll be more than one base sample for each instrument though.  You can only shift the pitch so far before the sound becomes unreal (remember 'Pinky & Perky or the Munchkins?)  A good sample set has a new base sample for every few notes.  An ultimate piano sample set might sample EVERY note, and sample it several times, at different dynamic levels.
Why also use synthesis?  Well, we've stopped kidding ourselves that synthesised instruments are perfect imitations of real ones (we continue to kid ourselves that sampled ones are though :-)   But we still use the characteristic sounds that synthesised sound CAN deliver.  It isn't ALL about imitating orchestral and rock instruments. Sometimes a MiniMoog is the sound we want.  (And yes, sometimes we make do with a sample of it :-) )
Answer:
I'm just wondering what the point is of synth instruments (manipulating waveforms) if I can just use samples for everything.

Synthesizers don't usually make convincing substitutions for acoustic instruments and samples of synthesizers certainly exist, so you've asked a reasonable question. But samplers haven't subsumed all of synthesis and I doubt they ever will.
As originally conceived, synthesizers generate their own waveforms from scratch. It's this property that gives the synthesizer its name. Samplers, on the other hand, essentially play back a recorded sound.
We now also have synthesizers that use sample playback as the basis of waveform generation. It was new technology in the late 80s and early 90s. Instruments like the Roland D-50 and Korg M1 blurred the lines between synthesis and sample playback.
There is more to synthesis than just generating a waveform, of course. Waveforms are shaped with the amplifier and filter components of a synthesizer and further modified with LFOs, effects, etc. If you didn't have these things available to you, you could not create new sounds, and creating new sounds is the real point of using a synthesizer. Over the decades, synthesizers have been applied to the problem of reproducing the timbre of acoustic instruments, which they can occasionally do with limited success. Samplers are better at that particular problem, but also have significant limitations. (Mathematically modeling how acoustic instruments produce sound is the next technology. It has taken over sampling as the state-of-the-art in the development of digital pianos, for example.)

My understanding is that a DAW sampler can then change the pitches of this one sample so I could potentially get all the notes across the piano from just this one sample.

The timbre of an instrument changes when the musician alters the pitch and dynamics. Pitch shifting can't recreate that, so many samples are required to make a sampled instrument sound anything like the genuine article.
For example, on an acoustic piano, C4 has a different timbre from E6. Pitch shifting C4 up by a major 17th doesn't recreate that timbre. But that's not the only problem. The act of pitch shifting itself introduces timbre changes which are exacerbated as intervals get wider. Listen to this example:
https://vocaroo.com/i/s0xKEzAQ1cOp
You hear three sounds:

A piano, sampled and played back at C4.
The same sample, pitch-shifted to E6.
E6 resampled and played back at C4.

It's not even recognizable as piano!

I could use samples for all harmony, beats, and melodies across all instruments.

True.

Why use synth instruments then?

The most compelling reason to use a synthesizer is the same as it ever was: to make new sounds.
Answer: musique concrète
Some one did that in the 50s and in the 60s. They actually spliced open reel tapes and replayed the pieces. Ant this was made to manipulate the sound to obtain new and weird sounds.
Absolute Genius
made an episod showing that using a DAW and samples is way easier to use razor blades and greasy pencils if one likes to obtain new sounds staring to concrete ones.
Clearly an acoustic instruments has precise characteristic that are varying in the way they sound dependant on pitch, loudness and even the other notes played. Also a synts could have easily variable timbre based on note, velocity and time. A digital instruments like a DX-7 couldn't be replicated simply with samples only. You can have sampling based synthesiser where the oscillator are reproducing sampled pieces and are further processed.

Can a song be made entirely of samples?


When do we use "arrive at" versus "arrive in"?

Question: When do we use "at" and "in" with "arrive" talking about place, not time?
Answer: Arrive carries 3 prepositions: in, on, or at.

He arrived in New York.
He arrived at the station.
He arrived on the scene of the accident.

Also:

He arrived here. [no preposition]
He arrived at 12 o'clock.
He arrived within 10 minutes.
He will arrive in an hour.

So it turns out that 'arrive' either carries or doesn't carry a preposition depending on the place or time that follows it, i.e. if the place or the time carries a preposition.
Comment: @Valentina: I guess the reason is that, once you've arrived, you've stopped moving - so it's no longer about a direction, it's just a place. At least - that might be a good way of remembering :)
Comment: we don't usually say "in New York" or "at the station" when we say about the direction. We usually say "to New York" or "to the station". With ariive it's a different story! That's why it's confusing.
Comment: Wow, that's an interesting idea! I've never thought of it, thank you! It's really a new explanation for me. But what's about if we want to say: "I've come to New York". I've also stopped moving! But it's still TO :)
Comment: The Oxford Advanced Learners' Dictionary states the example of 'arrive' with 'in' as: 'in New York'.
Comment: "I arrived *in* Stuttgart at midday": I think of *Stuttgart* as a town.    "I arrived *at* Stuttgart" at midday": I think of *Stuttgart* as a railway station or airport.
Answer: For time:
'at' with a specific point in time = "I will arrive at 4:30"
'in' with a period of time = "I will arrive in 30mins"
Confusingly it's 'on' with a day = "I will arrive on tuesday"
For places:
'in' with general areas, countries, cities etc. = "I will arrive in Italy", "I will arrive in Rome"
'at' with specific places = "I will arrive at your house", "I will arrive at the airport"
You can use also use 'in' with a specific place if you mean specifically inside.
"I will meet you at the shop", could be waiting outside - but "I will meet you in the shop"  means I will be inside.
Comment: what's if we talk about a place?
Comment: You can also "_arrive in_ a car."
Comment: what does it mean - arrive IN a car??? Is it the same as BY car?
Comment: @Valentina, in a car, by car mean the same thing generally
Answer: AT and IN
It is taught that IN is used before the names of big places like towns, cities, states, and countries and that AT before the names of small places like villages. I live in the District of Kannur, in Kerala State of India. I will say: I live in Kannur|I live in Kerala|I live in India. The locality I live in is known as Naluvayal. It is a small place. A friend of mine who does not live there will say: Abootty lives AT Naluvayal. It is because he does not give any importance to Naluvayal. At the same time for me Naluvayal is an important place since my house is there. So I will say: I live IN Naluvayal.


Why does HR request I bring a birth certificate or passport to interview?

Question: I've completed my phone screen with the company about a week ago, and they are now scheduling me for an onsite interview. However, they are asking me to bring either my birth certificate or passport with me. This is the first time I've been asked this as part of the job interviewing process. They had asked me in the phone screen whether or not I was a US citizen, I am, but I've been asked that numerous times before and have never been required to show my birth certificate. What's the purpose behind showing a birth certificate or passport before even finishing the interview process?
Comment: Is the job in the US?  I added the US tag based on what you said in the question, but please confirm.
Comment: Is this for a job that requires a security clearance (US citizens only)?
Comment: It's a certificate, certificates are there to proof things, anyone would be able to lie about the question whether or not they are a US citizien. It can also help to prevent identity theft and help them check facts about you (eg. whether you actually have the name you put on your application and if your CV is correct).
Comment: Is it significant that they ask you to "bring" rather than "supply" or "submit"?
Comment: Would it be possible just to ask them why they need it?
Comment: This is the same in the UK: HR need to see the original passport or birth certificate to prove entitlement to work. Often, a copy suffices (since they have to keep a copy anyway), but it's not supposed to. [UK govt guidance](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/right-to-work-checks-employers-guide) It would be unusual to be asked to provide these prior to [or at] an interview though; normally it's on a job offer.
Answer:
What's the purpose behind showing a birth certificate or passport
  before even finishing the interview process?

They most likely want this so that you can fill out the form proving you are eligible to work.
In the United States, it is Form I-9.  This is probably a time saving mechanism for them before extending an offer.
Comment: Doesn't it run against [I-9/USCIS rules/Immigration and Nationality Act](https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/employee-rights-resources/preventing-discrimination)? 'Employers must not: Demand that an employee show specific documents, **Ask to see employment authorization documents before an individual accepts a job offer** (...)'. This runs against both of quoted rules.
Comment: @wnnmaw Conducting the form I-9 is illegal before the employee has accepted the offer of employment. But what is keeping the company from making an offer and then doing the forms there. Why not ask the potential employee to bring their birth certificate in case you decide to offer them employment? Its not like there is a cost or harm to the potential employee from bringing it. And its nice to know if your potential employees are obstinate mules before you hire them....
Comment: And possibly they have been burned in the past by making an offer to someone who then could not provide documents showing they were legal to work in the US.
Comment: @MaciejPiechotka That information deserves to be it's own answer, not just a comment, as it opens up other, significant issues.
Comment: @MaciejPiechotka, from [EEOC.gov](https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/practices/inquiries_citizenship.cfm) "Federal law also prohibits employers from conducting the Form I-9 and E-Verify processes before the employee has accepted an offer of employment."  **This behavior appears to be illegal,** OP should consider consulting a legal professional
Comment: @wnnmaw: Requiring proof of citizenship is not illegal.  The behavior that would be illegal is only a speculation in this answer.  It's possible that the answer is correct and the company is wrong, but the reverse seems more likely.
Comment: @kingledion Because employee might not have a US birth certificate and it is rather unusuall to ofer/accept job on the spot. Company probably opens itself to lawsuits for discrimination if they did reject applicant who presented EAD or green card for example or asked for clarification over email.
Comment: @BenVoigt Depending on job requirements (in particular whether security clearance is required), [limiting employment to citizens might well be illegal](https://www.workplacefairness.org/immigration-status#2).
Comment: It could be both a time-saving mechanism for them and against the law. It's possible the HR person OP is working with doesn't understand they aren't supposed to be asking for these documents yet.
Comment: @Makyen I will do it later today then.
Comment: Birth certificate or passport isn't even close to the whole list of valid I-9 documents. Additionally, the birth certificate is not enough to complete the I-9. I don't think this speculation is supported by the documents that were requested.
Comment: I'd add an image [like this](http://mckinsol.com/files/i-9-list-of-acceptable-documents.jpg) to bring the point home: A list of acceptable documents to prove you are eligble to work.
Comment: @MaciejPiechotka: The job in this question asks about citizenship; someone with a green card cannot be hired.  They'd meet the I-9 identification requirements, but fail the citizenship requirement.
Comment: @BenVoigt OP does not mentions anything which would indicate that job involves any kind of security clearance I'd give a chance to both security clearance and attempt to do illegal descrimination (possibly due to misunderstend of I-9 process rather than active malice).
Comment: I think you guys are overthinking this. If you need to hire someone right away, and you're almost sure you're going to be extending that offer because you're in a bind and you need someone right away. Or maybe it's the fact that your HR person in charge of the federal database for i-9s is planning to go on Christmas vacation early. You simply ask the candidate to show up with all the proper documentation just in case.
Comment: @StephanBranczyk - Asking for documentation related to filling out an I-9 form prior to offering employment is illegal "UNLESS U.S. citizenship is required by law, regulation, executive order, or government contract".
Comment: @DavidHammen, No. Doing it is illegal. Asking for it is not. For all he knows, he may be offered a job at the end of that interview. And if he accepts such a job offer, then they just need to scan the documents he brought with him to the interview.
Comment: @StephanBranczyk "Doing it is illegal. Asking for it is not." [USCIS](https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/employee-rights-resources/preventing-discrimination) seems to disagree: "Ask to see employment authorization documents before an individual accepts a job offer". Ok they technically ask to bring instead of ask to be shown but I don't think this is distinction which matters in this case.
Comment: @MaciejPiechotka, It does matter in this case because if they interview him, offer him a job, he accepts, and then they ask to see those documents after all of that. Then it means they haven't broken any law.
Answer: Mister Positive's answer provides one possibility, I've seen another. Depending on the industry and the work of the organization, they may require compliance with laws and regulations regarding export of the things they work on. Everything beyond the lobby may require controls in place. Knowing your citizenship status is necessary to ensure you can be in the facility and what kind of controls are necessary.
Comment: The term to google is "ITAR compliance".
Comment: I think this is more likely than premature evaluation of work ordinary work authorization. I'm a US permanent resident. For US work authorization, I show my green card, which is evidence of both identity and permission to work in the US. There are buildings and facilities in the US that I cannot enter, and jobs that do require US citizenship.
Comment: @MonicaCellio A quick search shows that it limits the information to 'US Persons' including permanent residents and political asylees. It would need to be much more restrictive security clearance than ITAR.
Answer: As pointed out by others, it might be an attempt to speed up the process of I-9 - electronic verification that you are eligible to work in the US. However, if this is the case, they have done a few things wrong.

First of all, any of the I-9 documents from list A or any combination from list B and C are valid and the employer may not require any particular combination.
Second, the employer may not ask for any such document before you accept their offer.

There might be different requirements for jobs requiring security clearance or something. I'm not familiar with them, but you would probably know about it from the job offer advertisement.
I don't see what might go wrong for the employee if they present their birth certificate unless the employer decides to discriminate against you because of it (I'd foresee more liability being placed on the employer as they get irrelevant protected information they can potentially discriminate against) but then I am not a lawyer.
Comment: Asking for specific documents, and checking them before making a job offer, could be a means towards covert discrimination against other people, not just the OP.
Answer: See here: https://www.uscis.gov/us-citizenship/proof-us-citizenship-and-identification-when-applying-job
It answers your question.
It says very clearly that it applies to just hired employees, not potential:

Every employer in the United States must verify that each newly hired employee can be legally employed in the United States.  A U.S. citizen may show a variety of evidence to meet this requirement:

So it begs the question why you are being asked to provide this before being hired. It's unclear who "they" are in your question and I assume  you are in contact with a HR rep and you possibly interviewed with a manager at the department you applied for. It could be HR got the wrong message from the manager and assumes you are a new hire. It could also mean you got the job but they never told you.
Honestly I would question this because it could mean a sloppy workplace if they don't know what is going on.
Comment: @GalacticCowboy [Another website](https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/employee-rights-resources/preventing-discrimination) provided in someone else's comment also states that it is illegal to *"Ask to see employment authorization documents before an individual accepts a job offer"*.
Comment: I suspect you're overthinking this: if they need to know this information for "newly hired" employees, then they can avoid the expense (however minor) of pursuing and extending an offer to someone who ultimately is not eligible, and at the same time reduce paperwork *after* the hire if they've already verified this information.
Comment: Dan, I agree. Your link says: "U.S. birth certificate **along with** a government-issued photo identification document." as one of the two choices. I've only been asked once and they got photocopies. It is one of those "we know what we want, will you do it" things. Hang onto your stuff until it's time, everything is leverage if they've got a list that continues to grow; that why no one messes with people, unless they figure they can.
Answer: Here is the most charitable explanation:   If the interview goes well, they may be hoping that you'll be signed on as a new employee by the end of the visit.  I would not find this especially surprising for a job in retail, for example.
If it's for a role where quick sign-on would not be a reasonably expected outcome of even a very positive interview, the most charitable explanation is that they are trying to verify legal permission to work early on, to avoid later delays and/or avoid going through the work of making an offer to someone who can't actually start work and do the job.  As other answers indicate, this is probably illegal, but starting out with an adversarial tone citing legal specifics is unfortunately unlikely to enhance (and more likely to hurt) your odds of actually getting the job.
You might be able to ask the recruiter directly, what the documents are needed for and if they're really needed at the interview specifically. Would they really deny an interview if you showed up without those documents (especially if you'd asked in advance, instead of just appearing forgetful or unprepared)?  Probably not, but it can be useful to ask for the reason.  They might also understand if you don't have those paper documents handy and would have to get them out of storage etc., assuming you indicate you'd be able and happy to do so before starting work there.
Is the interview at a controlled facility, for example a part of the US government?  I've been to controlled facilities where visitors must prove citizenship just to get into the building and into an office/conference room (for an interview or any other purpose), and visitors or groups which included non-citizens meant having to change the meeting venue and convincing the hosts to leave their own space for that alternate venue.
Answer:
... they are asking me to bring either my birth certificate or passport with me.

That's not saying that they want you to provide it to them before the second interview and before they actually do hire you (unless they actually did say that), only that you bring it with you.
My guess is that they may want you to have it with you in case they want to make an offer to hire you at the end of the second interview.
Also, they may have already decided to hire you but as a formality they are required by policy to have a second interview.
In any case (for future reference), you could have let them know that you have the document available but wonder why they need it at that (second interview) time.
Answer: Another possibility why they might ask for something like this is that maybe, before they proceed with the actual interview, they might want you to sign an NDA.
I have never signed one of those and I have no idea what documents are required for something like this, but it is a possibility. Although, afaik, they usually mention this on the phone or in an email message, a step which maybe was skipped accidentally.
If I were you, I would go to the interview and take these documents with me. When/if they ask for them, I would ask what they're needed for and evaluate the situation on the spot. These are important documents which contain a lot of personally identifiable information; it's very reasonable to inquire into why they need them.
Comment: Interesting point. I've had to sign a couple of NDAs for previous work and have never been asked for any form of identification.
Comment: @tpm900 you show ID to the Notary Public when signing things that will be witnessed by such.


How does Saruman the White compare in power to other beings?

Question: Was Saruman the White as powerful as Sauron without the ring? Was Sauron afraid of him? Could Saruman kill a Balrog?
Answer: Saruman was a Maia of the house of Aule; that makes him one of the beings who existed before the creation of the world (he would have participated in the creation, but not to such an extent as the greater Powers) which in turn makes him pretty damn powerful indeed.
Regarding relative power, you could place him above all of the Elves, Dwarves and Men in his Valinorean incarnation; on Middle-Earth he would have been constrained by the body he had accepted which made him subject to (hypothetical incredibly slow) ageing and to the cares of the world (ref: Unfinished Tales, Istari essay) so Sauron or a Balrog would most likely have been above his capability (in the latter case he may have stood a better chance than Gandalf though), but I don't believe that Tolkien ever made a definitive statement on that matter.
Despite that, one can conjecture that if he had been capable of defeating Sauron, he would have definitely made an attempt to do so.  He wanted the Ring, and Sauron was an obstacle to him getting that.  Also remember - it took the full power of the White Council to merely drive Sauron (in his Necromancer guise) from Dol Guldur; not to destroy him, just to drive him out.  A lot of trouble could have been averted if they had destroyed him, and if they had been capable of doing so it seems most likely that they would have.
Comment: I believe that it is explicitly mentioned in the unfinished tales or somewhere that the Maia who became the five wizards were purposefully limited in their powers on taking semi-mortal form, just so that they would have to help the Elves, Dwarves and Men to destroy Sauron rather than simply overthrow him and take his place.
Comment: "...which made him subject to (hypothetical incredibly slow) ageing..." are you sure they age at all. I recall that they originally descended to middle earth as old men. But it has been quite some time since i have read any of the books.
Comment: Remembered one quote from LotR regarding relative power levels: '*"Dangerous!" cried Gandalf. "And so am I, very dangerous: more dangerous than anything you will ever meet, unless you are brought alive before the seat of the Dark Lord*'; combine with '*I am Saruman, one might almost say, Saruman as he should have been*' and it seems obvious that Saruman would have killed a Balrog but was not as powerful as Sauron (even without the Ring).
Comment: UT confirms the ageing bit - "*Men perceived that they did not die, but remained the same (unless it were that they aged somewhat in looks)*" - Istari essay.
Comment: Another quote from *Unfinished Tales* regarding ageing: "The first to come was one of noble mien and bearing, **with raven hair**, and a fair voice, and he was clad in white" - Saruman, when he arrived, had black hair.
Answer: He's probably at least as Strong as Gandalf (the White), Galadriel and some of the other higher level magic using characters in Tolkien's lore, Maybe a little more powerful then those two however, if he was viewed as the Leader of the White Council, although probably not as strong as Sauron, definitely not Melkor, at their full power.
I imagine too, once he made his own Ring he gained some additional abilities and enhancements to his powers as well, Still probably wouldn't be strong enough to take on Sauron with his Ring of Power. If he was to acquire the One Ring however, He could have took Sauron's place as Dark lord, which was his goal. I think, prior to his fall to madness, he was probably the most powerful person in Middle Earth during that period.
I know it mentioned Sauron feared his Voice. however I don't think he himself feared it as much as he feared Saruman's abilites with it, possibly Sarumon could turn his army against him, or a portion of it if need be. And I'm sure that he could kill a Balrog. If Gandalf was able to and he wasn't as powerful as he would become, nor did he have his staff, I'm sure Saruman could make quick work of the Balrog.
Answer: As the Valaquenta says:

Sauron [...] was only less evil than his master in that for long he served another and not himself.

We have also seen him raising mountains around Mordor. So said Galdor in the Council of Elrond:

And yet we see that Sauron can torture and destroy the very hills.

And I am reasonably sure there was a quote of Sauron raising the hills around Mordor to protect it but I can't find it. And that is a vala-level skill indeed.
Even if not weakened as the istari were, a maia could not have confronted him alone. (Alone -- Sauron did bow before Eönwë but he had the Host Of Valinor at his back and while it's not clear where Tulkas was at the point, it's quite likely he was not far and as we know he was stronger than Morgoth himself in battle.)
Comment: Can you edit this to clarify, please.
Comment: Clarify what? I thought this clear?
Comment: I was thinking of: where does the quote come from, evidence that Sauron raised the mountains around Mordor, what the part in parentheses means. I'm just not sure I follow your argument.
Comment: Added a few things. I can't find the direct quote about what Sauron did to the Ered Lithui but I will try to find. But certainly the Council of Elrond refers to it.
Comment: That helps a little, but I'm not convinced that destroying hills is as difficult as creating mountains. I still don't understand what you are getting at in the sentence in parentheses, Sauron was also defeated by the Númenóreans and the Last Alliance.


Add intro and outro to multiple files (batch)

Question: I am fairly new to video editing but I have a ton of video files that I need to add an intro and outro to. I do a lot of other print work and in photoshop I can batch file folders to repeat the same action to all the files in the folder. I would imagine there is some way of adding the intro and outro in the same manner with a video editing program like Adobe After Effects so I can select the folder and automates all the adding and publishing. Is this possible with any system???
Answer: This is indeed possible with After Effects via its Scripting Interface, though this is a bit harder to use than Photoshop Actions. You will need to learn Adobe ExtendScript and how to use it in conjunction with After Effects.
For this particular job I'd suggest a different approach using FFmpeg. It's an open source video encoding and processing tool that is used for many video automation tasks in the industry.
You will have to write a script here aswell but that would be a LOT easier and shorter than digging into Adobe ExtendScript in conjunction with After Effects.
Assuming you have an rendered video of your intro, outro and main media file in the same codec. You can then use the concat command in ffmpeg to mux the three file into one, which results in a joined video without any re-encoding of the source media.
Here is a tutorial on how to do that in the Linux bash but you can do the same thing with AppleScript or Windows Batch script. You want to generate a filelist like shown in the tutorial:
file '/path/to/intro.mov'
file '/path/to/main.mov'
file '/path/to/outro.mov'

You would generate this filelist for every main media file and only change the path for your main media file for every "export".
Just for reference, this is the final command you would then use:
ffmpeg -f concat -i filelist.txt -c copy output.mov

How the script part looks that comes before the FFmpeg command that generates the file list, completely depends on your operating system and or choice of scripting language.
Note that you don't have to use the source codec, instead of doing copy you could also encode the output file into a different codec by specifying a codec with encode setting instead.
For example:
-c:v libx264 -preset medium -f mp4

Answer: This is also possible with AviSynth.  I recently built a tool that generates a quick AVI Synth script for a video file, an intro and an outro, encodes the newly created video and then uploads it to Youtube.  AviSynth has a bit of a learning curve, but if you have some basic development knowledge, it is pretty easy to get working.  Here is the script I generated out.
videoMTS="G:\terra\video projects\camera dump may 2014\00016.MTS"
ffindex(videoMTS)
videoFeed = Trim(Audiodub(FFvideosource(videoMTS, fpsnum=2997,fpsden=100), FFaudiosource(videoMTS)),120,1022)

vidWidth = Width(videoFeed)
vidHeight = Height(videoFeed)
vidFPS = FrameRate(videoFeed)

openImage=ImageSource("G:\terra\tool development\Proverbs---Opening-Picture.jpg", end=180, fps=vidFPS)
closeImage=ImageSource("G:\terra\tool development\Terra Nova - Closing Picture.jpg", end=180, fps=vidFPS)

BlankAudio=BlankClip(clip=videoFeed,length=180)

openImageAudio=AudioDub(openImage,BlankAudio)
closeImageAudio=AudioDub(closeImage,BlankAudio)

openImageSized=ConvertToYV12(BicubicResize(openImageAudio, vidWidth, vidHeight, 0.0, 0.75))
closeImageSized=ConvertToYV12(BicubicResize(closeImageAudio, vidWidth, vidHeight, 0.0, 0.75))

Dissolve(openImageSized,videoFeed,30)
Dissolve(last,closeImageSized,30)

It had a few tricks because I was working with an MTS file and two images, so I had to do some initial processing to make them work together.  They kay parts are getting the width and height and framerate of the main video, making sure it matches up with the clips being used as intro and outro and then scaling them appropriately.  I then add a dissolve for each with a 30 frame duration.
This just goes in a file with an avs extension and can then be opened by FFMPEG or most other encoders as long as AVISynth is properly installed.


A compendium of Shas Concepts?

Question: Is there a sefer, a website, or an app with all the concepts in Shas?
Halachic Concepts such as - "Women are exempt from time-bound commandments".
Comment: Is http://www.webshas.org/ useful?
Comment: There is a sefer called Klalei hagemara 3 vol,but it's in Hebrew
Comment: Gr8!!! @Rosends
Comment: Let me know what the Hebrew sefer is called. I can translate Hebrew lol. And, It's not my question @mbloch
Comment: @Moshe you are right, the other is not your question. Regarding this one, I am still confused. Are you looking for a "readable book" which you can read from beginning to end to understand key talmudic concepts? Or a dictionary/encyclopedia reference-style book which you consult for specific questions?
Comment: Either one @mbloch
Answer: The multi-volume אנציקלופדיה תלמודית has many such, but is as yet incomplete. It's in Hebrew. I think I've heard that some volumes have been translated (or perhaps issued separately) in English.
Comment: @kouty, good point! Please post an answer.
Comment: We have See Chemed older than the encyclopedia
Comment: I'm not familiar with the sefer. I work with kesef nivhar. The best answer is encyclopedia as you wrote
Answer: Aspaklaria is very good and it's free.
http://www.aspaklaria.info
Comment: Aspaklaria is an encyclopedia of aggadah, not halachah
Answer: Please take a look at HaMafteach, I think it fits the description you mentioned. It is in English.
From description of book:

HaMafteach locates for you every topic, saying, anecdote, maxim, parable, significant subject matter, law, Biblical exegesis, and Biblical and Talmudic personality mentioned in the Talmud. The English edition includes a transliteration of Hebrew and Aramaic words and phrases, and a new integrated glossary. Hamafteach is an invaluable sefer for Rebbeim, teachers, authors of seforim, researchers and scholars, as well as for anyone who wishes to swim in the yam shel Talmud.
Comment: Not sure this addresses his q,the Mafteach is basiscally a giant index of the gemara, it itself does not explain concepts
Comment: surely this includes 'all the concepts in Shas', no? @sam
Comment: There's a free HaMafteach app in the play store. But there isn't a section specifically for halachik entries, (or any other groups of concepts) so I don't think that's what the OP is looking for. But I may be wrong.
Comment: halachic concepts was only a exampled qualifier
Answer: If you are looking for a "readable book" which you can read from beginning to end to understand key talmudic concepts (rather than a dictionary or encyclopedia), then R Adin Steinsaltz' Reference Guide to the Talmud

clearly and concisely explains the Talmud's fundamental structure,
  concepts, terminology, assumptions, and inner logic; provides
  essential historical and biographical information; and includes
  appendixes, a key to abbreviations, and a comprehensive index.

Practically it describes talmudic methodology, terminology, hermeneutical principles and halakhic concepts (there are more than 100 pages of these in my edition). It covers "Women are exempt from time-bound commandments" both under "mitzvot" and "women" and they are cross-references in the index.
Answer: Kesef Nivchar brings the gemara and primary Rishonim arranged by concept, covering 160 concepts:
http://hebrewbooks.org/19582
(There are newer prints available.)

A compendium of Shas Concepts?


Are there any limitations to vanity addresses?

Question: I have noticed that many bitcoin addresses begin with numbers or uppercase characters. I realize that all addresses begin with the number one but can I generate an address with the second character being lowercase?  Is it significantly harder to generate an address with multiple lowercase letters at the beginning? Are there any other limitations in regards to generating vanity addresses?
Answer: Overall, you have to start with a "1" (unless you're doing alt-coins). Then the first letter is the only one that can be more tricky to generate (some letters from the end of the Base58 alphabet are harder). Also, generating an address with a lot of leading 1s is a lot harder than any other characters due to how addresses are constructed (leading 1s mean that you have a whole leading byte of 0x00 at the start of the address, or about 1 in 255 change in comparison to 1 in 58 chance for any other letter). After the leading 1s and the first letter, everything else is the same 1 in 58 chance of being any letter no matter what it is.
So all in all, you can generate any combination of letters and numbers in a Bitcoin address as long as it starts with "1", but some combinations are harder to generate. The same can't be said for other altcoins with a specific netbyte, since some starting patterns may be outside of their name space.
Comment: from the link regarding the base58 address space they do not mention the difficulty of getting an address that begins with 10, or does the zero fall after 9 and before A?
Comment: nevermind I see 0 is not part of the base58 implementation to prevent confusion with the capital O.
Comment: In addition to the above answer, 0 (zero), O (uppercase letter o), l (lowercase letter L) and I (uppercase letter i) are not allowed in Bitcoin addresses because they can be ambiguous.


Origin of Fujimura set

Question: If we have 10 coins arranged in an equilateral triangle and we want to know the minimum number of coins we can remove so that none of the remaining coins form an equilateral triangle the remaining coins form a Fujimura set. See here for more on this problem.
We have been looking at these sets and some generalizations in Polymath1. In the paper "Density Hales-Jewett and Moser numbers" the problem has come up of finding a citation for the original problem. In Martin Gardners article ""Eccentric Chess and Other Problems" which later appeared in his book Mathematical Circus he cites a a "recent book" of Fujimura. And we are trying to find the cited book. At least one person has checked Fujimura's book The Tokyo Puzzles and did not find it there.
So the question is if anyone knows of the book by Fujimura where the problem was introduced.
Answer: As far as I know, The Tokyo Puzzles is the only book he ever wrote (at least that was translated into English).  However there are several editions of it (1969, 1970, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1982).  Are you sure this is the same Fujimura?

Origin of Fujimura set


What causes rapid nitrogen inversion?

Question: When I asked my teacher whether a nitrogen bonded to 3 unique groups counted as a chiral center, they said that it did not because nitrogen undergoes rapid inversion at room temperature. What causes this? And what other atoms are capable of doing this?
Comment: There might be quantum tunnelling effects as well. It's possible that the smaller mass of N as compared to P etc. makes the tunnelling more likely
Comment: @orthocresol Along the same lines is the higher electronegativity of N vs P, which makes the quantum tunnelling more favorable. To be honest, though, I don't even know what that means. I'm just regurgitating the Anslyn and Dougherty book's ideas.
Comment: related http://chemistry.stackexchange.com/questions/464/why-dont-trigonal-s-and-p-compounds-undergo-inversion-at-room-temperature
Answer: In the second row of the periodic table, elements have relatively small differences between the size their $\mathrm s$- and $\mathrm p$-orbitals. Therefore, the orbitals of $\ce{NR3}$ can go from $\mathrm {sp}^3$ to $\mathrm {sp}^2$ with relatively little energy increase, so an amine can become planar and then reorient with the inverted stereochemistry. The same occurs with carbanions. I'm not certain, but I'm guessing oxonium cations do this, as well, and I would even guess that it would happen more quickly due to oxygen's smaller size.
The reason we don't see this with $\ce{NF3}$ is because orbitals with more $\mathrm p$ character are more affected by induction, so the highly electronegative fluorine atoms would lose electron density during inversion, which would be energetically unfavorable (to the point that it doesn't occur readily).
Chiral phosphines do not invert because the size difference between $\mathrm s$- and $\mathrm p$-orbitals for larger atoms is greater, so converting $\ce{PR3}$ $\mathrm{sp}^3$ orbitals to $\mathrm {sp}^2$ would require much contraction and, therefore, more energy than for the analogous amine.

What causes rapid nitrogen inversion?


VMWare Workstation 8, Sharing a VM without copying them to "Shared VMs location"

Question: I have a host computer (Win7-64) with three different harddrives. It runs several VMs which are distributed among those harddrives for a better performance. Now with VMWare Workstation 8 it is possible to "share" the VMs. I'd like to use this feature, but I have to convert the VMs to "Shared VMs". When I try this WMWare forces me to copy the VMs to one predefined folder, thus making my effort of distributing the VMs among the harddrives meaningless. Is there any possibility to keep the VMs where they are and share them anyway?
Comment: Can't you copy it back to your original drive ?
Answer: I had the same issue and as fortunate to receive some help to solve it.
You can accomplish this by using a "symbolic link" using mlink under windows. Works perfectly although if you need to "remove" the shared vm, do not use the wizard, just delete the link first.
See this link for details: http://communities.vmware.com/message/2015370#2015370
Best regards, Dave Melnyk
Answer: I don't think you can actually do that, though I too really hope they added it.
I just started using Workstation 8, but it seems like the "sharing" part of it is kind of lacking in features. it works great, except the control over it is extremely lack-luster.
Of course you can change where that default location is where the shared VMs go to, but there are no settings to allow you to use different locations (sadly) as soon as you might move it, Workstations wont know where it is, and if you re-add it, it will just be a normal VM, share it again, and it goes right back to the same place.
I know this isnt really an answer, but just wanted to let you know that it doesn't seem (as of right now) that it can be done. Hopefully they release an update or something that will add some more functionality (like user control! ie. hiding vms from certain users, or only allowing the user who started the VM actually control the VM, other than admins... etc etc.)
Comment: And 4 years later it's just as under-featured...
Answer: I hadn't tried this feature yet, so if VMware doesn't allow you to designate multiple locations, you could do some NTFS trickery like Mount Points, Junction Points, Symbolic Links, to make the program believe the data actually resides in that directory, but actually that directory is a pointer to the true location.
There are many tools to make these links, but my favorite is Link Shell Extension.
So, what you probably could do is after VMware puts the Shared VMs in the Shared VM directory, you could move the VM back to it's dedicated drive and make a symbolic link at the location and name that VMware put the Shared VM, and have the symbolic link point to the dedicated drive folder.  VMware should be none the wiser.


How long does fresh parsley keep in the fridge?

Question: How long does fresh parsley stay good if kept in a refrigerator?
Comment: related : http://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/9612/will-vegetables-and-fresh-herbs-last-longer-in-the-refrigerator-in-a-plastic-bag
Answer: If you stand it up in water like a flower, these guys say 7 to 10 days. I say 2 weeks, even.
That link has a freezing technique, but I think thawed parsley is worthless. Dehydrated is okay when you've no option, but it's very bland and too earthy, to me. Where I live, it's cheap, so I just stay stocked up on fresh stuff. Both parts of this advice goes for bundles of cilantro leaves as well.
Comment: There are a number of purpose-made options for this--we have the Prepara Herb Savor--that are more stable/sturdy/compact for use in the fridge. You don't have to buy one of these, of course, but they do work well.
Comment: That's a good idea. I'm going to go get some vases for cilantro.
Answer: You can also preserve herbs by wrapping them in damp paper towels (either completely or just around the stems) and then placing the bundle in an open plastic bag (or one with holes poked in) Replace or re-wet the towels when they get dry. It's the equivalent of a vase without the worry about it spilling.
Answer: Here's a variation of Martha F.'s answer: discard any brown leaves, wash the parsley, shake dry to remove as much of the water as possible, wrap in a dry, clean, cloth dish towel, place in a supermarket plastic bag and store in the refrigerator vegetable bin. The parsley will keep for 2-3 weeks. Few people use the stems--although they can be finely chopped and sauteed in olive oil with garlic and onions as a base for sauces--in which case, cut off the stems and use to create a stock.
www.menwholiketocook.com
Answer: Usually, it can last about three days, or four if you're lucky.
This is for normal fridge temperatures (about 4 degrees C), and normal parsley.
If I'm not mistaken, the optimal temperature for leafy greens is about 12 degrees Celsius. That'll get you a few more days.
If you're worried about being able to tell when it's spoiled, it's quite simple. The leaves will become sort of gooey and discoloured. The other option, for different humidity situations, is that the parsley will dry out. Either way, it's obvious that the parsley is no longer fun to eat a lot before it becomes a problem, there's little danger of it passing its use-by date unnoticed, like with meat products.
Answer: Parsley can last up to a week, if you keep the leaves dry and weed out any leaves that are starting to turn, and are not put off by the decaying parsley matter. Putting a dry paper towel around the leaves will keep the moisture level down, and cause the parsley to last longer, this also works for lettuce.
Answer: I have been able to store large bunches of parsley for long periods by wrapping stems in wet paper towel then placing in a plastic bag in the crisper compartment . Never had to throw any away .


Integrated thermometer compared to rod thermometer

Question: I am considering to buy a 200 litre pot from stainless steel for brewing. Those with an integrated thermometer are significantly more expensive than those without and I was wondering if the integrated thermometer is worth the money. What is the advantage of an integrated thermometer compared to a conventional rod thermometer? ... well obviously they are integrated and I suppose more convenient but what else? ... are they more accurate or better in any other way? Thanks!
Comment: What's the price difference? Just curious.
Comment: The price difference is 115€
Answer: I doubt accuracy are that different. But these integrated thermometers  as you called are way easier to handle, especially when mashing (closed lid). This one you showed is SS, therefore much more robust.
If the brewpot you wanna buy is the one in the picture, then I  would guess that this difference in the price is not only due to the thermometer itself+fittings. They put this shinning SS case to make the kettle look nicer.
The very same thermometer in this picture costs 16 euros.
Well, I would buy one SS thermometer, like the one in this picture, and install it by myself.
And if you don't want to drill a hole in the kettle, then you could buy one like this
Answer: The integrated thermometer may already be sanitary-welded into your vessel.  The higher price tag is maybe from the significant amount of work involved.
Installing a thermometer yourself involves either welding, or using a weld-less fitting - typically sealed with a silicon washer and thread tape.
What are you using this pot for?  If it's a kettle, then the temperature isn't that useful anyway.  For water and mashing sure.
One thing to watch out for, is that if you are using this vessel as a Hot Liquor (Water) Tank, the water settles into layers at different temperatures. The water needs to be circulated past the temperature probe for accurate readings.


Can I reflect a radio wave by receiving it with one antenna and then sending it back out with another?

Question: An outside source is broadcasting an RF signal at 406 MHz. I want to know if it's possible to receive this signal with one antenna, and then simply send the signal to another antenna that sends it right back out. I want this to be a simple circuit where the receiving antenna only receives and the transmitting antenna only transmits. The transmitting antenna can have a slightly different frequency but it would need to be as close to 406 MHz as possible. The intention is to reflect a signal right back at it's source, in as simple of way as possible. Will this work?
Comment: Are you considering a completely passive setup? If so, then the returned signal cannot be at a different carrier frequency.
Comment: Yes, I want it completely passive. I would like it to be the exact same frequency. Similar to a corner reflector, but using antennas instead of shape to reflect the signal.
Comment: Welcome to Ham StackExchange, Brad, and thanks for the additional details. Please, explain your remark, "using antennas instead of shape to reflect the signal." Since all antennas have a "shape" and that shape influences their behavior, perhaps you have in mind some constraints.
Comment: Yes, I realize the antennas would essentially have a shape. But let's say I want to stand outside and hold a device to reflect an RF signal back at it's source. If I used an actual corner reflector,  it would be a large physical object at that frequency. It would reflect the exact same signal but I would like to do it with something that is more like a circuit board. As small and simple as possible.
Comment: It would help if we knew the end result you're trying to achieve. As the one commenter said, the power reflected back to the source will be much lower than the radiated power produced by the source.
Answer: Yes, it's possible. Simply connecting two antennas with a feedline will do this.
If you want to reflect the signal right back at the source, you can more simply just omit the second antenna, and terminate the feedpoint of the first antenna in a short or leave it open. Since the short or open can't accept any power, any power received by the antenna must eventually be re-radiated by it, or lost in the resistance of the antenna, etc. Chaff works on this principle.
I can't imagine any practical application for this, however. Sometimes people construct passive reflectors this way to get a line-of-sight signal around an obstruction. But reflecting the signal directly back at the source seems rather pointless, since the field strength at the source is already strong. The minuscule power reflected back at the source is insignificant compared with the power already at the transmitter. It's like trying to burn out the sun with a mirror.
Comment: Thank you for the informative answer. I've designed circuits but I've never worked with radio waves. I understand the basics and it seemed like a possible solution,  but I figured I should ask the experts before I wasted too much time on it. The goal is basically a cross between RFID and radar. You have a signal being transmitted in a short pulse and then it's going to listen for a return signal. I want a circuit about the size of an RFID tag to pick up that signal and send it back. I don't want to send information. Just detect if the circuit is in range.
Comment: @Brad you might look at how [chaff](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaff_(countermeasure)) works, as it performs a similar function, albeit with a different intent.
Comment: Passive reflectors were actually used in real situations, but rarely and only by "big guns".

Looses are huge and you have to use very high power transmitters and high gain antennas to get decent or better said usable results.


Monitor goes black after a few seconds

Question: I have a widescrceen Samsung LCD that goes black after it's been on for 5-10 seconds.  Once the screen goes black, turning the monitor off then on again brings the image back for a few seconds.  I've turned the brightness down quite a bit and it's staying on now, but this doesn't seem like a desirable permanent solution.  It's worked fine for about a year until now.  Any ideas?
Comment: I assume you've checked the cables and that the connectors are seated properly.
Answer: Sounds like your backlight inverter may be going.
When it goes black, can you see a ghost-like image of the graphics you expect on the screen (try looking at it from an angle)?
If you can, then that's definitely the backlight system failing.
Answer: This is a common problem for all LCD screen TV. LCD screen goes black after a few seconds of turning on. When you repeat it's still the same.
You have a faulty inverter causing the back light of the LCD not functioning. Check for a bloated capacitor on the power supply and inverter circuit board. This capacitors can be seen visually by looking the top of the capacitors. If it is not flat these capacitors might be the problem.
If you tested it with a multi tester it is OK, but if the TV is power on, capacitors is no longer working as normal. Try replacing the bloated capacitors. Also, there are some capacitors that may have causing the problem. Try to replace the high voltage capacitors (light blue in color) located in the inverter circuit board. Replace all $ or 5 pcs capacitor. Usually the value are 12pf by 3KV and 4.7KV by 3KV.
Goodluck.
Benjie Ramos (Philippines)
Answer: I had a similar problem.
I went to my local Comp shop and had the inverter replaced for $20 plus 15 minutes. No problems with it since.
Answer: I have had the same thing happen with my Samsung 55" LED TV- the screen goes black with no sound 10 seconds after starting,  but pressing the channel button shows good signal and he channel still selected. You can change channel but screen stays blank and silent. Turn on/off and it does it again.
After messing about a bit I found that simply pressing 'source' and pressing the centre button to (re)select the TV tuner fixed the problem. (you can see the little window top right showing the tv tuner screen next to 'screen mirroring', HDMI1 et al)
This has happened 3 times in 6 months, prob a software issue. Hope this helps.

Monitor goes black after a few seconds


How do I repel bugs from face

Question: I have been doing some weeding recently, because it's summer now, and I really hate it when I sit down to dig something up and every flying insect seems to try to fly into my face. Is there some kind of natural bug repellent that I could apply to my face, or is there some kind of easy face mask or something like that that I could make?
Answer: Look for a Bug-net mesh hat or head-covering.
Most come attached to a broad stiff-rimmed hat. A hoop holds the mesh away from your skin to keep stinging insects from piercing you through the mesh.
A few are unstructured and can slip on over your bare head, a cap, or bonnet.
They are available with different mesh sizes from extremely fine (that are hard to see through in sunlight) to coarse (that let you see great but don't stop the no-see-ums that get into your eyes when your hands are dirty or carrying nitroglycerine over gravel.
Answer: I've seen hats that were modified by hanging a row of wine bottle corks from string attached to the brim of the hat.  The corks hang down a few inches and are always jiggling around in front of your face, shooing away the bugs.  If you do this, make sure the strings are all about the same length and spaced apart to avoid the corks wrapping around each other.  Here's a pic.

Source bugoff.com
Answer: You're baiting them.
Stop wearing perfume or cologne that will attract insects to you. The little creatures are drawn to your scent. The innocent lotions, oils, salves, unguents, and detergents you use on yourself and your clothing are luring the little guys to what to them looks like a big beautiful flower.
The most natural bug repellent is NO attractive odour.
Answer: When my Uncle is riding horses, he says someone told him to tuck a dryer sheet into his shirt pocket or collar. He tried it and said it worked so well, he tucked one in his horses bridle as well. It's worth a try.
Answer: Look for clothing impregnated with "Permetherin" which is a derivative of the chrysanthemum developed for the US military to repel insects.
The label lists effectiveness with many different types of crawling and flying critters you'd find in your garden. It is an insecticide (insects) and aracnicide (spiders). It is available as a cream to apply to the skin; but, there are possible reactions as with stuff like this. Read the contraindications and side effect warnings.
The clothing is good for about 70 washes according to the label if it is not dry-cleaned. Wash in mild soap only.
For exposed skin, the clothing label suggests using insect repellant suitable for direct application to the skin! (Go figure.)
Answer: Natural repellent , flexible recipe, works really well:

100 gram of whole cloves
100 ml of mineral oil, baby oil, sesame, almond, etc.
1/5L of vodka (or any other alcohol/spirit with no strong nor sweet smell)

Put cloves in alcohol, stir 3 times a day, during 4 days. Then add the oil, mix well, and it's ready to use.
Spread a few drops in your face, arms and legs.
Comment: Is there a reason this recipe uses whole cloves instead of clove oil?
Comment: @Underverse Never tried but might work.

How do I repel bugs from face


How do I achieve the color tone effect in this sample photo in Photoshop?

Question: In post-processing, how do i achieve a high dynamic range, but low local contrast, monotone (but not necessarily grayscale) effect for photos? An example would be this "li river" shot, which has a light blue monotone and a soft, low-contrast feel, but fairly high overall dynamic range? Is such an effect possible using Photoshop?
Comment: What 'effect' in the photo do you want? Describe the quality you're trying to get to.
Comment: I would like to know how he achieved the color tone using photoshop?
Answer: This looks like a simple desaturation, followed by a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer set to Colorize. Probably a bit of Levels/Curves adjustment for contrast.
Answer: Looks to me like it could also be a gradient map. Just set the dark end of the gradient to a slightly bluish hue. Gradient maps are often used to warm up black and white photos using a slightly "chocolatey" dark.


How to solve this error database looks to have been partially upgraded in CiviCRM

Question:
I Upgraded CiviCRM 4.6 to 4.7 latest version but when I try Import database using drush $ drush civicrm-upgrade-db this command that time showing this error. when I going to this path http://example.org/civicrm/upgrade?reset=1 if anyone knows the solution of this issue please tell me. thank you in advance
Comment: Can you provide more detail
1. Version from to
2. Procedure used to upgrade.
3. Why you reimported database
Answer: You would be able to successfully upgrade following these steps:

Empty the civicrm database
Restore civicrm database from the backup that you had created before performing upgrade
Temporarily remove the paths for custom PHP/template files if you have through: Administer->System settings->Directories
Try upgrading to version 4.7 again
Restore the custom files paths if point 3 was applied

Hope this fixes the issue.
Answer: I would also suggest jumping on chat.civicrm.org to get support on it - but back up & try again is definitely a good step if you have a backup


Old Wiring to New Light Fixture With Switch

Question: I bought a new light fixture to replace an old outdated light-bar the bathroom of my apartment. The building was constructed in 1926 so everything is super old. When I took the old fixture down, I noticed it didn't have a ground wire. Just black wires and one white wire. The white wire was grouped together with other black wires and there was one single copper black wire on its own. The two clumps of wires were connected to the old fixture but I can't remember where the single black wire was... I have a photo but I'm not sure how to attach it.
Answer: Sounds like you have your switch leg ( switch loop ) mixed up.  You need to isolate it.  It is the wire going to the switch.  A simple continuity test will determine which wire is the switch leg. You need a continuity tester and most voltage testers check continuity.  As for the ground, there is none available unless you provide a new circuit to the panel assuming it is grounded correctly.  Since there is no ground you can remove the fixture ground to avoid any potential problems and to save space.
Here is an example drawing I made (Revision 2):
Comment: +1 The white wire in the switch loop should be marked with black tape to show it is being used as a *hot* line. I also would leave the ground folded back into the fixture body (away from live terminals) in case the location is ever rewired or the fixture is moved to a grounded location.


Does lateral stability decrease during transonic flight? If so, why?

Question: I haven't got much more to explain other than the title of the question itself. This question was written down in my notes that I took while studying Principles of Flight for my EASA commercial license.
Answer: Ideally it would not. With increasing Mach number the lift curve slope of the vertical tail goes up proportional to the Prandtl-Glauert factor $\frac{1}{\sqrt{1-Ma^2}}$ while the destabilising fuselage as a slender body is mainly unaffected by Mach effects. But that is only theory which assumes a perfectly rigid body.
In reality, elasticity decreases the effectivity of the vertical tail. Higher loads lead to higher deformations which in turn decrease the loads and with them the stabilising moments. What happens in detail depends on the structure: A light aircraft will experience decreasing directional stability as dynamic pressure increases.
At supersonic speed, fin effectivity is further reduced by the now again decreasing lift curve slope as Mach increases further. Now even the rigid aircraft experiences decreasing directional stability and elasticity will reduce stability further.

Directional stability over Mach, from Ray Whitford's Fundamentals of Fighter Design
Comment: How is **ve** defined?
Comment: Wow, looks like [normograh](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lettering_guide) writing, I hadn't seen that since I left school :-)
Comment: @mns: I have only those figures, and they have no units. It is a qualitative measure of directional stability, that's all I know. British nomenclature is odd at times.
Answer: It depends- there are two things in play here and the net effect would be dependent  on their interaction.
The most important contributor to lateral stability is dihedral effect, $C_{l_{\beta}}$, which is not usually affected by high Mach numbers. However, in case of a highly effective vertical tail (which would be improving the lateral stability by introducing a rolling moment), the increase in lift curve slope of the vertical tail increases in its contribution, which would improve lateral stability.
However, lateral stability would degrade if the lift distribution over the wing is affected by shock wave formation. The net effect would depend on the magnitude of these things.

Change in lateral stability derivatives with Mach number, from Chapter on lateral-directional stability from USAF test pilots school.
It can be seen that the $C_{l_{\beta}}$ decreases in transonic regime, which improves lateral stability. However, at these speeds, aeroelastic considerations become important, leading to effects like aileron reversal and reduction in lateral control effectiveness due to flow separation as a result of shock formation.