Is there a way to setup continous integration for apex tests?

Question: I would like to have continous integration (with Jenkins) for my apex code in order to run them automatically after each push to my git repository. Does anyone know a way how to do that?
Comment: We use Jenkins and the deploy Ant task routinely to deploy and test managed packages and customer-specific customizations. See http://force201.wordpress.com/2010/03/11/continuous-integration/ for a tweak to the deploy to better integrate the test results.
Answer: There are a couple of decent Dreamforce presentations here:
Team Development: Possible, Probable, and Painless and Continuous Integration in the Cloud.
We ran into some issues with this in practice and there was no way to get true automation (i.e., set it and forget it). We were also setting it up with Selenium.
Here were the issues that I remember.

Some features aren't supported in the metadata API and cannot be moved via the ant migration.  If you have any unit tests that work with those features, you have to manually work on your CI org.
Deletions are harder to maintain.  You have to manually update and apply a destructiveChanges.xml file or replicate the deletion in the CI org.
We ran into a situation where some metadata XML files had 'invalid' data in them.  The suggested solution was to build a post checkout script that manipulates the offending XMLs into valid XMLs.  Not ideal.
On projects, we wanted to track just our changes and push out just our changes in source control.  In theory, this would allow much easier rebaselining.  This would have required more manual maintenance of XML files (e.g., 2 new fields added on Account and only want to push those 2 fields not all (*) fields).

My conclusion is that it is worth doing if you can get it set up, but if you are working on shorter term projects and don't have a decent amount of time budgeted in for it, it probably isn't worth setting up.
Although it isn't CI, check out http://developer.force.com/cookbook/recipe/automated-unit-test-execution.  You could set it up to run every hour or something like that.
Comment: +1 for issue #1. If your codebase is dependent on time-dependent workflows, recursive workflow, M-D rehoming, etc, it's quite difficult to fully automate a fresh install. You can do it with Selenium but it's a bit of a pain. I wish SFDC would put some more resources towards giving developers an experience more competitive with the likes of Java/.NET/Rails etc for CI, but that seems unlikely in the near future.
Comment: Worth noting is that, at a minimum, the metadata from an org in which you are developing should be backed up nightly so you aren't SOL if someone refreshes by accident.  For this, it is easy to set up a simple Jenkins job that runs each night and pulls down all of the metadata and checks it into a repository.
Comment: Regarding issue 2, you might want to take a look at the undeploy tool here, https://github.com/financialforcedev/df12-deployment-tools. The aim of this tool is to clear out your designated CI org prior to pushing in your org your latest build.
Comment: Another issue I'd add: if you're dealing with managed packages, automating the "build" and install of a new package is even more difficult. We've given up and just do periodic manual upload/install/test runs, including automated tests and a manual smoke test.
Comment: None of these YouTube links work anymore "Team Development: Possible, Probable, and Painless and Continuous Integration in the Cloud."
Answer: We're trying to set up the same, and while we still have to get some configurations right, I do think we have gotten the overall setup.
Using github plugins to jenkins you can poll for repository changes. We're using ssh keys between jenkins and github as authentication.
Jenkins uses ANT, and so does the force.com migration tool, you can use the deploy xml file you'd write for the migration tool to run with ant from  jenkins, this can include that all tests need to be ran.
I believe this is the setup used by quite some teams already, yet no one seems to have written  a full description on how to set it up publicly (at least, I've not found one). I may give it a try once we have our system fully running
Answer: I'm doing a presentation at Dreamforce '12 on this exact subject: Team Development and Release Management for ISVs
In the session I'll outline going through a complete CI life-cycle (develop, version control, build, package, deploy to AppExchange).
This session is mostly geared to AppExchange releases but could easily be a good building block for anyone whom wants to do CI. I'm hoping to get the Github repo up which will include a link to the Amazon AMI preconfigured like the one we use to manage multiple devs and builds with Jenkins at Bracket Labs
Comment: Look forward to it!
Comment: Is there any related document or video you can share so that we can also setup CI
Comment: Ugesh: see github repo here: https://github.com/BracketLabs/AppExchange-Team-Development-on-Force.com-Platform-Demo - this demo will get you started. And I will support working with it. As for the video, I don't know if it's available yet.
Comment: Thank you very much. All the images are broken in the github repo.
Comment: Just fixed them when I saw that before (I took them down cause they were causing issues (with the Eclipse IDE's memory heap) ... so I need to make a note to delete them from the `src` directory after you clone it.
Answer: Check out the sample code for the ApexTestQueueItem sObject here:
http://www.salesforce.com/us/developer/docs/apexcode/Content/apex_testing_unit_tests_running.htm
and the more involved cookbook recipe:
http://developer.force.com/cookbook/cookbookRecipeSource?id=a1V30000000AV1vEAG
Answer: Download the Force.com Migration Toolkit and start tinkering with it.  The salesforce-ant jar contains a component for deploying code, but that component also allows you to run either all tests or individual tests (specified by a  child element under the deploy component).
Unfortunately, there is no component for explicitly running tests, so it looks like (I havent tried this myself) that you must deploy something in order to run the tests.
Hope that helps.
More info on the migration toolkit: http://www.salesforce.com/us/developer/docs/daas/salesforce_migration_guide.pdf
Answer: RABIT [ Rapid Automated Build Install and Test ] has a salesforce specific edition which has all the CI needs like meta deployment , Apex Unit Testing , scheduled dataloading bundled into a product . you can visit rabitforce.com for the documentation
Answer: I feel that continuous integration for Salesforce is a lot of work given the nature of the platform, metadata, cloud based architecture with everything being routed by web services. However, I have used Flosum and it is an excellent solution for automated builds, much better than using Jenkins for Salesforce. We found that it not only automates the apex tests, but also helps with many activities for Salesforce release management. I would encourage you to try it out.
Answer: I wrote an article describing how to achieve this: https://apexandbeyond.wordpress.com/2017/03/04/continuous-integration-for-salesforce/
We are using this in our company and deploying more than 10000 components every month including objects, fields, workflow and classes
Comment: If the article answers the question, please cite the relevant content here. You can **[edit]** your post to improve it in this way. Links can break over time, so answers that contain only links are often deleted.
Comment: I get that @AdrianLarson, but is not something that can be explained in one comment in here, that's why I put the link to the full explanation


In Mahayana Buddhism, what is the relation between nirvana and phenomenon?

Question: I have seen nirvana described as the unborn, unconditioned, etc, but then how is it possible to experience nirvana if the experiencer is a conditioned phenomena? I feel as though there is a causal connection implied by that, which would make nirvana dependently originated and subject to permanence.
Comment: Are you asking about the official Mahayana stance, or interpretations of Nirvana?  For instance, I take a secular view of Buddhism and have a particular interpretation of this claim, but don't want to submit an answer if you're looking for something different.
Comment: I would love to hear your input, I only added the "in mahayana" because I am not very familiar with the more traditional sutra stuff, and moreso with madhyamaka and yogacara texts, and a couple of purely mahayana sutras.
Comment: To assume there is an experiencer separate from experiencing is indeed the fallacy that keeps us adrift.  It is a very subtle point, one that can only be reached by diligent study, reflection, and meditation.  Experiencing requires no experiencer.
Comment: Sova, I'm aware that the separation between experiencer, experiencing, and experienced is imagined, I've spent some time studying a couple of the maitreya texts. Perhaps my question is worded badly. This question is more about the character of nirvana and how it relates to or doesn't relate to phenomena.
Comment: I guess my main problem is the description of it as 'unconditioned', maybe I am just interpreting this word wrong.
Comment: @JoeMcDonagh I've seen some Buddhists treat it literally, turning Nirvana and the unconditioned into a transcendent metaphysical reality, and get into all sorts of hair-splitting (and irrelevant) theological debates about it. So I think your interpretation reflects the views of some Buddhists.
Comment: Barzell your perspective is appreciated I think you made me look at the term 'unconditioned' more appropriately.
Answer: Since you said individual interpretations are ok, here is mine. I'm approaching this from a secular Buddhist perspective, one which treats Buddhism as a psychology and rejects anything unscientific.
Everything is conditioned, including Nirvana.  Furthermore, since enlightenment is realizing the self is conditioned, it makes no sense to claim the enlightened "self" is unconditioned.
However, one can use "unconditioned" in a relative sense when speaking of Nirvana.  Our contentment is usually a function of what we encounter, and in this we are conditioned.  Yet if our contentment is relatively independent of what we encounter (Nirvana) then we can speak of us/Nirvana being unconditioned -- relatively speaking.
Again, this is to be taken in a very relative, phenomenological sense.  Our biology is still conditioned, what brought us to Nirvana was conditioned, etc... Yet our experience feels unconditioned as our well-being is not dependent upon the usual conditions, and in that sense we can say we are unconditioned or that Nirvana is unconditioned.
I hope this helps.
Comment: I can get behind this
Answer: If you are look at this problem according to a dichotomy between a subject and an object - in this case the self that perceives and a nirvana that is experienced - then you will inevitably conclude that that one conditions the other.  After all, everything else we know in this world has a form that contacts the self through the sense gates and, in turn, gives rise to feelings and our thoughts about what we perceive.  But what happens when we gain insight and remove that thinking subject from the equation?  What happens when we gain the wisdom of non-self and directly see that everything shares in the same emptiness?
With this wisdom, the entire conditioned chain is broken.  Vijja replaces avijja and action, rebirth, mind, matter, the senses, contact, feeling, birth, and all other links in the causal chain never arise.  Nirvana isn't something that a "self" perceives.  Nirvana is the extinction of self.  It is deathless because it is never born according to the twelve links of causation.  It doesn't exist "out there" in some secret place that the the mind has to discover.  One doesn't find nirvana, one becomes it.
Answer: Mahayana
In Mahayana Chan tradition the primodial mind is called the Buddha nature. But the zen tradition also emphasises that the Buddha nature is sunyata (emptiness),the absence of an independent and substantial "self".

Hsing Yun, forty-eighth patriarch of the Linji school, equates the Buddha-nature with the dharmakāya in line with pronouncements in key tathāgatagarbha sūtras. He defines these two as:
is the inherent nature that exists in all beings. In Mahāyāna Buddhism, enlightenment is a process of uncovering this inherent nature … The Buddha nature [is] identical with transcendental reality (*nibbana). The unity of the Buddha with everything that exists.

So awakening is the mind seeing it own primordial mind, unblemished. Although they all have slightly different definitions of the Buddha nature(primordial mind). See below:
Tibetan Buddhism

Gelug
The 14th Dalai Lama, an important Gelug figure, speaking from the Madhyamaka philosophical position, sees the Buddha-nature as the "original clear light of mind", but points out that it ultimately does not exist independently, because, like all other phenomena, it is of the nature of emptiness:
Once one pronounces the words "emptiness" and "absolute", one has the impression of speaking of the same thing, in fact of the absolute. If emptiness must be explained through the use of just one of these two terms, there will be confusion. I must say this; otherwise you might think that the innate original clear light as absolute truth really exists.
Jeffrey Hopkins conveys the same understanding:
The basis of purification is the Buddha nature, which is viewed in two ways. One is the clear light nature of the mind, a positive phenomenon, and the other is the emptiness of inherent existence of the mind, a negative phenomenon, a mere absence of inherent establishment of the mind.[90]

Bön/Dzogchen

Germano relates Dzogchen, via Buddha-nature to Madhyamaka, Yogācāra and Abhinavagupta:
...the Great Perfection represents the most sophisticated interpretation of the so-called "Buddha nature" tradition within the context of Indo-Tibetan thought, and as such, is of extreme importance for research into classical esoteric philosophic systems such as Madhyamaka and Yogacara, while also providing fertile grounds for future explorations of the interconnections between Indo-Tibetan and East Asian forms of Buddhism, as well as between Indo-Tibetan Buddhism and contemporary Indian developments such as the tenth century non-dual Shaivism of Abhinavagupta.[96]
The 19th/20th-century Tibetan Buddhist scholar, Shechen Gyaltsap Gyurme Pema Namgyal, sees the Buddha nature as ultimate truth,[97] nirvana, which is constituted of profundity, primordial peace and radiance:
Buddha-nature is immaculate. It is profound, serene, unfabricated suchness, an uncompounded expanse of luminosity; nonarising, unceasing, primordial peace, spontaneously present nirvana.

As for phenomenon it is Maya - an illusion

In Mahayana... Under the influence of ignorance, we believe objects and persons to be independently real, existing apart from causes and conditions. We fail to perceive them as being empty of a real essence, whereas in fact they exist much like māyā, the magical appearance created by the magician. The magician's illusion may exist and function in the world on the basis of some props, gestures, and incantations, yet the show is illusory. The viewers participate in creating the illusion by misperceiving and drawing false conclusions. Conversely, when appearances arise and are seen as illusory, that is considered more accurate.
Altogether, there are "eight examples of illusion..: magic, a dream, a bubble, a rainbow, lightning, the moon reflected in water, a mirage, and a city of celestial musicians." Understanding that what we experience is less substantial than we believe is intended to serve the purpose of liberation from ignorance, fear, and clinging and the attainment of enlightenment..

See post of the Primordial mind of different schools
Comment: Wonderful and in-depth post. My one problem here is that in some instances nirvana is said to be unconditioned yet the DL says it doesn't exist independently, which seem to be contradictory ideas. If nirvana doesn't exist independently, then it must be conditioned. Or is it that nirvana is some type of dependently originated thing that is not subject to decay? Seems like a stretch of sorts.
Comment: When the DL says nirvana doesn't exist independenly, he meant it exist in the nature of emptiness & unconditioned.
Comment: Right. The emptiness of liberation is discussed in the last third of the MMK which I have put some time into; it seems my problem was understanding the term 'unconditioned'. I think my perspective has been shifted straight though and I will be marking this as answered. Thank you for your input!!


Philco 90 - What do the four dials do?

Question: I'm posting this here hoping that other DIY'ers might be able to help - not sure if Home Improvement is the right place, but this seems the closest on Stack Exchange.
I'm constructing an antique radio out of scraps I can find on the Internet. I'm not sure what to make the dials do in the Philco 90.
Top dial - radio channel tuning
Right dial - volume
Middle dial - tone(?)
Left dial - not sure at all.. AM/FM? FM didn't come about until mid-1930s. Anachronism?
Answer: Looking at these operating instructions for a Philco 90, the top knob is indeed the station selection knob, the bottom left is tone, bottom right is volume, and the center is the on/off switch.

Philco 90 - What do the four dials do?


What are the downsides of Hodl Invoices?

Question: As far as I understand hodl invoices enable some interesting use cases. However, I heard that they can be detrimental to the network. Is that correct and in what way? Additionally, at a talk at the Lightning Conference 2019 it was mentioned that people should avoid relying on them in the future. Why?
Answer: I didn't attend the conference but here is my take on Hodl invoices. In a normal Lightning payment, the sender pays an invoice which contains the payment hash and the payee releases the pre-image to that payment hash for the successful resolution of the payment. In a hodl invoice the sender pays an invoice to the receiver, but the receiver does not release the pre-image instantly. Instead it waits for other conditions to be satisfied for the payment to be released. To cite an example, let us say you are in an apparel shop and you did not find a T-shirt of your size. The owner tells you that they need to check in their inventory to see if the item is available and they will courier it to you if it is available. But for they ask you to pay in advance. In this case, you pay the invoice, but the shop owner will only release the pre-image if the item is available.
This can possibly create some routing issues. Since hodl payments are identical to normal payments, intermediate nodes cannot tell the difference. So, by forwarding hodl payments the intermediate nodes are locking in their liquidity in invoices that will take long time to settle, thus hindering their ability to route more payments. Even if the amount is small, Lightning implementation allows only 483 concurrent HTLC payments to conform with the standard transaction size, which will take up the transaction number space. Although this might not be an issue now, but as Lightning gets more adoption it might have he potential to squeeze the liquidity out of the network.
Another issue that I see is that if the receiver does not cancel the payment or send the pre-image within the min_final_cltv_expiry, than the penultimate node will force close the channel with the receiver through an on-chain settlement. If the penultimate node had opened the channel, then under the current specs, it is liable to pay the fees associated with it (including the HTLCs). Moreover, with hodl invoices you are trusting the receiver to do the right thing in terms of releasing the pre-image or not, based on other physical/virtual conditions.
Comment: @nickler (1/2) What you are saying is the `min_final_cltv_expiry` which is specified by the recipient. Intermediate nodes are not aware of that when adding the HTLC. What they know is the `cltv_expiry` which is calculated by summing the `cltv_expiry_delta` of each intermediate node and `min_final_ctlv_expiry` of the recipient. Now, in a normal operation, if there are 19 intermediate nodes (max) in the path, then using 12 blocks (default suggested by the specs) that is equal to 228 blocks (1.5 days) + 9 (default for final node) = 237 blocks.
Comment: (2/2) Compare that to a hodl invoice add where the final node wants 1 day of time (144 blocks) and there is only one intermediate node that uses 12 blocks of `cltv_expiry_delta`. That comes to 156 blocks. Now, since the intermediate node does not know where it lies in the routing path, it does not know if the first case (237 blocks) is the normal invoice vs second case (156 blocks) which is a hodl invoice. So you cannot actually justify just based on the `cltv_expiry`.
Comment: Thanks. Just to clarify, when you said that "intermediate nodes cannot tell the difference" I was first thinking that they should be distinguishable based on the ctlv_expiry. But apparently the default is on the order of hours, which is already way further down on the HODL scale than a normal lightning payment.
Comment: HODL Invoices wld be a great way to get non-custodial escrow services onto ln. Is this still bad practice? There a better way to do it?
Any idea if PTLCs would enable more than 483 concurrent HODL invoices?
I'm imagining that a lot of apps on Nostr will require escrow (marketplaces, Amazon, etc..) and would be best to keep it non-custodial escrow for least amount of screw-ability. And best to keep it on L2 to keep it near free.
I'm just assuming 'escrow' lightning node services will spring up and will over time have to pay more for channels due to the illiquidity they cause


How/why does foreign investment get scared by the monetary policy?

Question: In an interview with Daron Acemoglu, he says "the hot money which was floating through Turkey has stopped after FED's declaration that we are going to give much more attention on monetary policy".
Basically I know some fundamental things like monetary policy interests with the foreign currency but dont get exactly how does it effect directly. Why or how do foreign investments get scared by monetary policy?
Comment: @ChrisW.Rea - I asked at the Econ chat room if they'd like this one. No response yet. I understand etiquette is to ask before migration.
Comment: @JoeTaxpayer Understood. FWIW, my note was more for the OP. I suggested *"Consider"* to the OP as in: go there, read their FAQ & meta, ask at meta if still unclear, post only if on-topic.
Answer: Monetary policy affects the value of a country's currency (e.g. interest rate & money supply changes affect the value of cash).
Foreign investment is made by purchasing that country's currency (via currency exchange), then purchasing financial instruments in that country (stocks, exchange traded funds, bonds, etc.)
If a country decides to lower their currency's value over time (to make their goods cheaper to foreigners, for example), then any foreign investment would be exposed to currency devaluation.
A concrete example…

Turkish commodity market, sells 1 ton of cotton for 230 Lira (~$100USD) on January 1, 2015.

US investor exchanges $100USD into 230 Lira, buys 1 ton cotton on 1/1/2015.

Turkey decides to lower currency value by decreasing interest rate, increasing money supply, reduce reserve requirements. Value of Lira drops from 230 Lira for 100 USD to 270 lira for 100 USD.

US investor sells 1 ton cotton a year later for 250 Lira.  Exchanges Lira to USD. Receives $92.60USD.

What would normally be a modest ~9% gain from price appreciation of the cotton from 230 to 250 turns out to be an ~8% loss due to currency devaluation which occurred from monetary policy changes.
If a foreign investor isn't confident that monetary policy will drive up a country's currency value (in which they will be investing), then they should rightly be scared by monetary policy changes a government plans to make.
Comment: The investor can buy an option at Step 2. In this example, it would work.
Answer: Conceptually, US monetary policy affects the US/Turkey exchange rate because of interest rate parity. Exchange rates and interest rates obey the following identity (where all quantities are specified in logs, and "tomorrow" is meant loosely as some future date):
$$\text{USD per TRY today} = \text{Expected USD per TRY tomorrow} \\
+ (\text{TRY interest rate}-\text{USD interest rate})-\text{TRY/USD return premium}$$
This is an arbitrage condition. If the return premium is zero, it is equivalent to the statement that if I borrow at the US dollar interest rate today and invest in Turkish lira at the Turkish interest rate, then convert back to dollars tomorrow, I should expect to break even. (This is called uncovered interest parity, and it generally does not hold, though it can be a decent approximation in some settings.) The "return premium" is thrown in as a fudge factor, reflecting the fact that there might be some risk or other premium on lira investments -- for investors to be indifferent between dollar and lira, they demand a positive expected return on lira over dollars.
Now, suppose that the Fed raises the USD interest rate (or signals that it will do less QE than anticipated, etc.). Then, all else equal, the identity above implies that the lira will weaken today relative to the dollar. This is the sense in which a tightening monetary policy in the US pushes down other currencies relative to the dollar. This weaker lira will be accompanied by a smaller net capital inflow into Turkey, since Turkey's net imports will decline.
Now, all else might not be "equal", since central banks (particularly in developing economies) will often try to limit currency fluctuations; in this case, we might expect the Turkish central bank to raise rates to partly offset the Fed's action. These higher rates will lead to diminished investment, and a somewhat weaker Turkish economy.

An aside: the quote mentions "hot money", a term that I dislike because it's so vague. If we define "hot money" to be "international investors' capital moving at high frequencies", hot money doesn't necessarily leave the country when the currency weakens. Indeed, possible central bank interventions in the foreign exchange market aside, if "hot money" is the only private capital moving around quickly, then total hot money flows must net out to zero in the short run: the net capital inflow must equal the current account deficit, which is trivial over the span of a few days. The key point is that although "hot money" doesn't leave in equilibrium, the exchange rate might have to fall substantially for the market to equilibriate.
For instance, if investors holding "hot money" collectively get jittery about a currency and want to hold dollars instead, the currency might collapse until it reaches a value where (in the aggregate) they remain willing to hold the same amount. In the identity above, this would be reflected in a dramatic rise in the TRY/USD return premium. This is a common story of crises in developing countries with open but fragile capital markets.


First time Flambe

Question: So trying to impress someone the other night i tried a flambe.  I probably got in over my head, but it looks so cool when you see someone else do it so i thought a flambe bananas foster would be the way to go.  I can live with only one eyebrow (I'm sure the other will grow back) but what I'm worried about was the taste. The finished product tasted a little off (not burnt but in that realm). I used good booze that was fresh so i don't think that's to blame.  Or maybe it's like cooking over a camp-fire; everything has a distinctive taste.  Thoughts? Hints?
Comment: +1 for having fun drinking the good booze, despite it then causing a lost eyebrow
Answer: Sounds like you may have used too much liquor, good or not.  That flavor is going to dominate...and go up like a rocket.
Flambe is about the effect, not the cooking.  When I used to make Bananas Foster table side, all of the cooking, caramelization, everything is done before you torch it.  You could serve it without the flambe and there would be very little difference, only the bit of flavor that comes from whatever alcohol you choose to use.
Since you are only using the alcohol for show, you don't need very much, a couple of ounces maximum.  If you warm it slightly (we kept the bottle in the back in a warm water bath) the alcohol will light easily.  If you use a higher proof alcohol, like 151, it will light easily, but has very little flavor.  If you use a lower proof alcohol, you can get into tasty liqueurs that will add some finish to your dish in addition to the show, but you don't want to get too low on the proof, or it won't ignite.  Think 80-100 proof orange liqueurs, for instance.
It's also a good idea to turn off the cooking flame before you put in the liquor, then control the ignition by using a lighter.  Your eyebrows will thank you.  If you pour the liquor in one spot and light it, you can then do the really cool move of using a large spoon to spoon flames (carefully) as you spread it around the dish.
For a wonderful after dinner effect, go with flaming coffee.  It's a long story, and takes careful practice, but it resulted in excellent tips during my college years.  And, no, it's not the same as flaming shots.
Answer: When doing a flambe, make sure to expose the alcohol to plenty of air.  A higher proof liquor also helps the flame to catch.  I've used Bacardi 151, which specifically states that you should not burn it, and it does well, but I do it knowing that it's considered dangerous.  A regular liquor should work fine if exposed to plenty  of air.
The result shouldn't taste burnt.  Instead you should let the fire go only for so long as it takes to get carmelization (for sweet things) or the Maillard reaction (for meats).  Even though it might not look so cool you should cover your dish to put the flame out if you think it's starting to get overdone.  The distinctive taste you are going for is cooked well, not smokey or burnt.

First time Flambe


Cartoon spider feet -- Any ideas?

Question: Making sounds for a cutesy iPad game for little kids learning to read. At one point there is a cartoon spider that runs across the top of the screen. The producer has requested a sound for this. I'm kind of at a loss. Any ideas?
Answer: Re-watch A Bug's Life for tons of ideas. If you can get the DVD, there's a whole track where it's SFX only: No dialogue, no music. Full of neat ideas there. Seem to remember that Ben Burtt used handcuff ratchets for the feet of the roach in Wall-E. Just some ideas of existing SFX to get you unblocked.
Close-up, dainty, tight foley or SFX seem like they'd work well: Keeping footfalls short, truncated, short, like quiet IDM/electronic clips/hits/thwips. Just another thought.
But, of course, it all depends if it's meant to be funny, creepy, silly, or a notification of some kind.
Answer: Take an Unbreakable plastic comb (for your hair), bend the tines back with your thumb, and let them pop up one by one.
Comment: ooh, good idea!
Answer: I might try a small (very) garden trow or small hand shovel in grass, time compressed and pitched up. Bugs usually get a "skittery" sound no matter what kind of feet they have. The time compressions will shorten it and make it a tiny tap. Good luck!
Answer: You could maybe try dropping small pasta shells or tapping your nails on a hard surface. If it's a cutesy kids thing I imagine something like a xylophone run would help soften the mood as the spider runs past as well.
Comment: good call on the xylophone

Cartoon spider feet -- Any ideas?


Password recovery

Question: An employee has just recently quit. I have access to our domain control of which active directory sits upon. Unfortunately the employee did not leave us with his password to log into his local machine. Is there a way for me to go into active directory and change his password or allow myself into his box under his login credentials to clean up his account?
Comment: Cue loads of password recovery tool spam ;)
Answer: If you have Domain Admin privileges on the domain you should be able to go into Active Directory Users and Computers, select his account, right click and select "Change Password." You should then be able to log in as that account with the new password.
Answer: If you are a domain admin on your network, then you can simply change that user's password to something you know and then log in as that user.
Answer: Why do you want to log in as him?  If you want to clean out his account, then just log in as yourself ( being an admin ), and delete his user profile directory, and then his account.

Password recovery


The relation between bounded invertible and surjective operators

Question: Please, answer me that how is the set of all  bounded invertible operators (for example on a Hilbert space) clopen (closed and open) in the set of all bounded surjective operators? In fact, which topology do imply this?
Comment: Did you manage to show that the set of invertible operators is open?
Comment: (I meant, for classical operator norm)
Answer: In the set $\mathcal{Sur}(H)$ of bounded surjective operators you should take norm topology norm induces by $\mathcal{B}(H)$, where $H$ is a Hilbert space. By $\mathcal{Inv}(H)$ we denote the set of invertible operators.
Recall that a bounded surjective linear operator between Banach spaces $A\in\mathcal{B}(X,Y)$ is invertible iff there exist $c>0$ such that for all $x\in X$ we have $\Vert A(x)\Vert\geq c\Vert x\Vert$. This is direct corollary of open mapping theorem.
Take arbitrary $A\in\mathcal{Inv}(H)$, which is, of course, surjective. Then we have $c>0$ such that for all $x\in H$ we have $\Vert A(x)\Vert\geq c\Vert x\Vert$. Then for all $B\in\mathcal{Sur}(H)$ with $\Vert B-A\Vert<c$ and all $x\in H$ we get
$$
\Vert B(x)\Vert\geq\Vert A(x)\Vert-\Vert(A-B)(x)\Vert\geq c\Vert x\Vert-\Vert A-B\Vert\Vert x\Vert=(c-\Vert A-B\Vert)\Vert x\Vert
$$
By previous result this means that $B\in\mathcal{Inv}(H)$. Since for all $A\in\mathcal{Inv}(H)$ we found $c>0$ such that $\Vert A-B\Vert<c$ and $B\in\mathcal{Sur}(H)$ implies $B\in\mathcal{Inv}(H)$, then $\mathcal{Inv}(H)$ is open in $\mathcal{Sur}(H)$.
As for the closedness I'll refer to the article Closure of invertible operators on a Hilbert space. The main result of this article is the following:
$$
A\in\mathrm{Closure}_{\mathcal{B(H)}}(\mathcal{Inv}(H))\Longleftrightarrow\mathrm{dim}\;\mathrm{Ker}(A)=\mathrm{dim}\;\mathrm{Ker}(A^*).
$$
Since we are working in the set of surjective operators we always have $\mathrm{Ker}(A^*)={0}$. Now take arbitrary $A\in\mathrm{Closure}_{\mathcal{Sur}(H)}(\mathcal{Inv}(H))$, since $\mathrm{Ker}(A^*)={0}$, by previous result we get $\mathrm{Ker}(A)={0}$. Thus $A$ is surjective and injective, hence invertible by corollary of open mapping theorem.
In fact $\mathcal{Inv}(H)$ is open not even in $\mathcal{Sur}(H)$ but also in $\mathcal{B}(H)$. One can prove it using Neumann series. There you can find a proof of this fact.
Moreover $\mathcal{Inv}(H)$ is path connected - see theorem 5.29 and corollary 5.30 in Douglas's Banach Algebra Techniques.
As for the set $\mathcal{Sur}(H)$ it is also open. See MSE question Why is the space of surjective operators open?.
This small survey shows us the following structure. The set of surjective operators is open in $\mathcal{B}(H)$ but not connected. It have at least two components. The first one is $\mathcal{Inv}(H)$, it is open, connected and consist of invertible operators. The second one is $\mathcal{Sur}(H)\setminus\mathcal{Inv}(H)$, it is consist of surjective not invertible operators. By open mapping theorem this means that operators of $\mathcal{Sur}(H)\setminus\mathcal{Inv}(H)$ have non trivial kernel.
Comment: By the way, the proof of openness within the set of *surjective* operators is easier (no need for Neumann series). A surjective operator $A$ is invertible iff it has a lower bound: $\|Ax\|\ge c\|x\|$ for some $c>0$. Any operator $B$ with $\|A-B\|<c$ has a lower bound as well, by the triangle inequality.


Why does the ISS need thermal blankets if the Sun is hot?

Question: If space is cold at 2.7 Kelvin and heat can't escape in a vacuum then why is the ISS wrapped in space blankets if the sun is hot?
Answer: As noted in another question, the ISS faces some pretty hot temps. Remember, the Sun heats radiantly. When you're sitting in that much radiant heat, without an atmosphere to dissipate it, you're going to get hot really quick (emphasis mine)

Without thermal controls, the temperature of the orbiting Space Station's Sun-facing side would soar to 250 degrees F (121 C), while thermometers on the dark side would plunge to minus 250 degrees F (-157 C).

And

"In space there is no air for conduction or convection," he added. Space is a radiation-dominated environment. Objects heat up by absorbing sunlight and they cool off by emitting infrared energy, a form of radiation which is invisible to the human eye.
As a result, insulation for the International Space Station doesn't look like the fluffy mat of pink fibers you often find in Earth homes. The Station's insulation is instead a highly-reflective blanket called Multi-Layer Insulation (or MLI) made of Mylar and dacron.
"The Mylar is aluminized so that solar thermal radiation can't get through it," explains Hong.
Comment: In other words, the ISS needs space blankets *because* the sun is hot.
Comment: Would it be better to think of the mylar blanket as a flexible mirror to *reflect* the radiation?
Comment: @RonJohn That's literally what they describe it as
Comment: This also points out a problem that a lot of things in space have to take into account. One side can be hundreds of degrees, while the side facing away from the sun will be minus hundreds of degrees. That's a *serious* temperature gradient.
Answer: Insulation can function in both ways, keeping heat on whichever side is desired. In space limiting the amount of thermal input from the sun is very valuable since that heat is easily acquired but hard to get rid of.
Answer: 'Heat can't escape in a vacuum' is false. While there's no air to absorb the surface heat and transport it elsewhere you're still losing heat through infrared radiation.
You're still losing significant amounts of heat while the ISS is in earth's shadow.
Comment: They are concerned with both.  Plenty of hardware has heaters on it too to keep things from getting too cold.
Comment: While true, ISS is concerned with shedding heat and reducing the gain of more heat, not with the retention of heat.


What are the metrics for a good SRS (Software Requirement Specification)?

Question: I have been searching but all that I have found is the characteristics of a good SRS (Software Requirement Specification). What are the metrics that you could use to ensure that the set of requirements is good?
Comment: Can you clarify the text of your question? I'm not sure what you're trying to say with "all that I have found its the characteristics of a good SRS".
Answer: Some of the metrics for a good SRS are no different than the metrics defining any good specification. For example:

maturity: measured by number of TBXs, shorthand for to be determined (TBD), to be reviewed (TBD), to be suppplied (TBS), etc.
verification information: in a good spec, each requirement will have an associated verification method (i.e. test, inspection, demonstration, or analysis) and a methodology (i.e. what action will be taken to verify the requirement). Verification methodology doesn't have to be long, but it's important. For example, if the requirement is a system with some percentage of up-time, how is that going to be measured? For how long? What counts as down?
baselined: a spec that's not under revision control isn't very useful
Answer: Weinberg and Gause proposed an "Ambiguity Metric" in their book "Exploring Requirements. Quality before Design" (Dorset House 1989). The idea is that you ask "qualified individuals" to estimate the cost or effort to design and build a solution to meet the requirements. When the range of estimates is large, you know you still have work to do.
I don't know if anyone ever used this, but I don't think it very practical.
What you can do is quantifying your requirement testing or review process, which you should do anyway. For instance, 17 out of 20 requirements passed the tests. You may calculate a general number, or more detailed depending on the individual tests (e.g. 15/20 are incomplete; 3 we haven't figured out yet how to test ...).
Tests of individual requirements can be any or all of the criteria for 'good requirements' that most textbooks on requirements engineering will offer, e.g.

Completeness of the requirement template
Traceability
Consistent terminology
Is it relevant for the business objectives?
Is it testable
The maturity number Adam proposed is also a good one
Etc.
Answer: IEEE 830 requires an SRS to be correct, unambiguous, complete, consistent, ranked for importance, verifiable, modifiable, and traceable.
Every one of these qualities could be (and should be) verified in their own specific ways. How exactly - depends on the format of SRS document you're using.


Caring for a Japanese Maple

Question: I have a Japanese Maple tree that we planted 6 years back. It is on the east side of the lot and gets morning and afternoon sunlight. I have not done much to care for it and it has not grown in size at all in 6 years. What do I need to do so it grows in size?  I am in Northern California.
Comment: JStorage, it looks like your maple is buried too deeply in this picture.  Could you pull the soil away from the trunk until you find the roots? The cambium might be compromised.  I'd prune out all the dead stuff if the trunk is intact.  Japanese maples are not meant to be 'fast' growing.  But something is wrong if this is the 6th year.  Have you fertilized? That might be the problem.  I really think it is too deeply buried and the cambium is in trouble. Check that out, please, and let me know?  No bark should be beneath the soil at all, not even an 1/8 of an inch.
Comment: @stormy - every year new leaves show up so that is not an issue.  When you say buried too deep what do you suggest?  Remove the soil till the roots are exposed and leave it that way?  Also, any recommendations on the type of fertilizer to use would be helpful?
Comment: Pull the soil away from the bark as far as you can.  You just have to keep an eye on the base of your tree.  Jap Maples are happy with the extra moisture and acidity of the soil.  There are other solutions but a bit more work and may risk your tree. A balanced fertilizer, one with at least the 3 macro chemicals.  I really like Osmocote.  Lasts and lasts and works and I did it MAYBE once per year.  The basic fertilizer needs taken care of, done deal for awhile.  I feed the soil with decomposed mulch.  Water, once in a while and deep deep deep.  Works for me because I always forget the water...
Answer: It has grown, and about as much as I'd expect in six years for a healthy Acer palmatum variety, if you include the dead twigs at the top. It's simply showing signs of dieback, which is usually caused by verticillium wilt, and is very common in Acer palmatum (japanese maple) varieties. Prune back all the dead shoots showing at the top and throughout to live wood now. You may find the dieback is worse next year, or it may improve, there's not a great deal you can do once it's set in except keep your fingers crossed.
Information on dieback here http://homeguides.sfgate.com/prevent-twig-dieback-japanese-maples-22287.html though it's a little late for preventative treatment now.
Comment: whoa, this is interesting, Bamboo!  This just might be the 'bee's knees' who the heck made that saying?...pruning with sterilized pruners before and after will certainly help. Verticillium wilt I thought was faster than that but heck, this makes sense.  I gotta go look at your info site...

Caring for a Japanese Maple


What kind of software can I use to design LEGO MOCs?

Question: What kind of software can I use to design LEGO MOCs? I hear the LDD is not so good to use so is there alternative software I can use?
Comment: See also [LEGO Digital Designer Alternatives](https://bricks.stackexchange.com/q/1867/56) for an original list.
Answer: A popular alternative is stud.io, provided by Bricklink.
Another possibility mentioned by Alex in the comments is LDCad.
Comment: Just to add to this, stud.io is the typical go-to software these days. LDD is (in my opinion) simpler to use, but has pretty much been abandoned by Lego at this point. Both softwares are liable to change now that Lego owns BrickLink.
Comment: I would suggest adding LDCad as an option. It was a go to software prior Stud.io for those who prefer LDraw parts. However it is still quite good. Although might be preffered by people with more challenging requirements.
Comment: thank you for your answer! do you know if it is possible also to work in stud.io with other 3d-files or only with bricks that are pre-integrated? So if i would have designed new bricks could i use them too?
Comment: @fabian I don't know if stud.io supports custom pieces, but LDraw [certainly does](http://www.melkert.net/LDCad/faq#faq_unoflib).
Comment: I generally agree with both Alex and MindS1, but overall, I think the initial question might fall into a realm of too many varied opinions to be able to choose just one program. If someone was building a shed in real life, how can someone say that the best tool to use is a hammer? How does one cut wood with a hammer? how does one strike nails with a saw?  I've used LDD for years, so LDD is my main go to, but I use other software also to perform tasks LDD can't do. I think the original question could be re-worded differently by asking, "What program do you use, and most importantly explain why?
Comment: @RinRio-Oki Asking which one is _the best_ would certainly be opinion based. But OP is simply asking about alternatives, and so the question can be answered objectively.
Comment: @  zovits supports GoFundMonica Fair enough.
Answer: In the comments you asked,

...do you know if it is possible also to work in stud.io with other
  3d-files or only with bricks that are pre-integrated? So if i would
  have designed new bricks could i use them too?...

Looks like Brinklink also offers a tweak program to make custom bricks called PartDesigner, that's able to export right into Stud.io.  I've never used it, but it might be promising to you.

Answer: The kinds of software used to design LEGO MOC doesn't necessarily have to be solely confined to Computer Aided Design programs.
We can get really creative and exploit functions of programs never intended to be used for MOC bricking.
Enter: Adobe Photoshop - PS's main role is a visual graphic editor, but it does something strange if an image is magnified past 400%.  PS breaks the image down into nice square shaped pixels. Perfect for making LEGO MOCs.
I use the PS squares created in two main ways:

1) Top View pixel creation - Where the scale is a perfect 1:1.
2) Side View pixel creation - Where two 1x1 plates stacked on top each
other, almost equaling a PS square.
Note: A 2x2 plate stacked on a 2x2 brick makes a nice a square also,
but this will increase the size of our creation.

Well, anyway, the magnifying function is clearly not intended to brick out an outline, but it works well here.
I'm sure there are many other methods within and outside this specific graphic program to aid us in our build.  PS does has a pixelation filter, and outside the program there are LEGO mosaic makers, but this interesting quirk breaks a solid image into pieces, where with minimum time and effort, a more precise stud length can be quickly counted out.
Speaking of counting, it will also help to know your LEGO Math here.  So, when using Side View, 3 Plates = 1 Brick.  Pixels of the same color can be group and merged into money saving bricks.
Here are two examples of Top View.

Below is an example of one Side View pixel method I'm currently working on.


RVM won't switch to OS X system ruby

Question: I'm on Mac OS X 10.8.1, I install rvm stable (after running rvm implode to clear it out), then install 1.9.3. However, it's impossible to switch back to the system ruby.
rvm use system
# -> Now using system ruby.
ruby -v
# -> ruby 1.9.3p194 (2012-04-20 revision 35410) [x86_64-darwin12.2.0]
/usr/bin/ruby -v
# -> ruby 1.8.7 (2012-02-08 patchlevel 358) [universal-darwin12.0]
echo $PATH
# -> /Users/agnoster/.rvm/gems/ruby-1.9.3-p194/bin:/Users/agnoster/.rvm/gems/ruby-1.9.3-p194@global/bin:/Users/agnoster/.rvm/rubies/ruby-1.9.3-p194/bin:/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/usr/sbin:/bin:/sbin:/usr/local/n/current/bin:/Users/agnoster/.yadr/bin:/Users/agnoster/.yadr/bin/yadr:/Users/agnoster/.rvm/bin
type rvm | head -n1
# rvm is a shell function

This wouldn't bother me much, except that it also won't install a new 1.8.7 and I have some gems I'd like to test again 1.8.7. Travis is nice here, but I'd really prefer to be able to run 1.8.7 locally.
It looks like rvm is just cowardly refusing to fix the path. If I manually strip all .rvm-1.9.3-related stuff from the PATH, if works. Why isn't rvm doing that itself?
Answer: you found a bug with resetting PATH on zsh - this should be reported as an bug: https://github.com/wayneeseguin/rvm/issues

RVM won't switch to OS X system ruby


Why does hashing public keys not actually provide any quantum resistance?

Question: In the discussions about taproot, it was mentioned that outputs will include the public key directly instead of hashing them. It is stated that, currently, hashing does not really provide quantum resistance. Why is that?
Comment: [Related](https://crypto.stackexchange.com/q/59375/2301) on crypto.SE
Answer: Although hashing a public key by itself does provide quantum resistance, this is really only when it is considered by itself in a vacuum. Unfortunately, public key hashes do not exist in a vacuum and there are many other things in Bitcoin that need to be considered.
Firstly, if public keys were hashed, the funds are only protected before they are spent. As soon as a P2PKH or P2WPKH output is spent, the public key is exposed. Whilst the transaction is unconfirmed, an attacker with a fast enough quantum computer could compute the private key and create a conflicting transaction which sends the funds to himself instead of the intended recipient.
Furthermore, if that attacker is a miner, they could do this with every single transaction and simply refuse to mine transactions that don't send the coins to himself.
While this is a problem, people often argue that it's better than someone just spending the Bitcoin outright because they have the public key from the blockchain. While that is true, there are an extremely large number of outputs with exposed public keys.
Over 5.5 Million Bitcoin are in outputs with exposed public keys, either because they are P2PK outputs, or because users are reusing addresses and thus public keys are exposed in other transactions. So if a quantum computer existed that could produce the private key for a public key in a reasonable amount of time, the attacker would be able to steal so much Bitcoin that they would decimate the Bitcoin economy and Bitcoin would become worthless.
So while your particular outputs may be protected by hashes, the value of those outputs would be 0 as millions of Bitcoin are stolen. All that the hashes really do is provide a false sense of security.
Then there are issues with tooling and wallet software the simply expose public keys in other ways than just in transactions and in the blockchain. No existing tools treat public keys as private information; there's no reason they should.
Many wallets send the parent extended public keys to a server so that the server can watch for transactions and send that data back to the client. Anyone who uses such a wallet, even temporarily, exposes their parent public key to a service provider. That provider could then compute the private keys to the public keys they have, derive all of the child keys, and steal all of the Bitcoin associated with anyone who has used their wallet.
Additional issues exist with complex scripts and contracts involving public keys. These scripts, such as multisigs, do not hash the public keys. Furthermore, these contracts typically exist because not all parties necessarily trust each other; one of them could be malicious. In such cases, a malicious participant in the contract would know the public keys involved (by virtue of knowing the script) and be able to steal the Bitcoin associated with those outputs. Existing public key hashes do not protect against this.
So overall, there are tons of ways that public keys are already exposed outside of transactions. These all would allow different kinds of attackers to steal millions of Bitcoin thereby causing the value of Bitcoin to go to 0, which renders any Bitcoin protected by public key hashes to be worthless anyways. Furthermore, users are probably exposing their public keys in unintended ways due to the software that they are using. So using public key hashes only serves to provide a false sense of security, while also increasing the size of transactions. In general, it is not worth the extra size.
Lastly, it is possible to do a transition to post quantum cryptography if it is found that a QC exists which can break ECDLP. If detected in time but still too late to do a proper upgrade, all use of signature algorithms relying on ECDLP (i.e. ECDSA and Schnorr) could be soft forked out thereby locking all coins. The coins could then be spent by providing a Zero Knowledge Proof of some non-exposed or quantum resistant information that indicates ownership of the private keys for the public key.
For example, users could provide a proof that they have the BIP 32 seed that was used to derive the private key for the given public key. Since it is a Zero-Knowledge Proof, the seed itself is not exposed (note that the seed is not part of a public-private keypair so there is no public component that is shared). Since most wallets use BIP 32, this should be sufficient. There may be other ways to prove ownership without risking coins that have not been thought of yet.
And of course, this all assumes that a quantum computer capable of computing the private key for a public key appears without the public being aware of the technology being close to existing. What is likely to happen is that the progression of quantum computers will be observed, and, at some point prior to them being powerful enough to break ECDLP, Bitcoin will soft fork in a Quantum resistant signature algorithm. Eventually, signatures relying on ECDLP will be removed. And all of that will occur before quantum computers truly becomes a threat. So in that scenario, hashing public keys provides no help anyways.

Note that all of the above is not just limited to quantum computers. It generally applies to any cryptographic break of ECDSA (or Schnorr).
Comment: Perhaps worth noting that considering one of the current Post Quantum signatures schemes (such as [RFC 8391](https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc8391#page-40)) for Bitcoin today would be extremely premature. Such signature schemes would greatly affect Bitcoin's usefulness, because they are huge in terms of size and/or slow and/or have footguns such as statefulness. This is still a very active research field with new schemes being proposed frequently and ongoing standardization efforts.
Comment: I would like to add that Taproot will complicate the transition to a QC-secure signature scheme significantly as it exploits the linearity of Schnorr signatures, for which no QC-secure replacement is currently known.
Comment: The mention of using a ZKP of a BIP32 seed to recover coins in a post-quantum world is interesting. Based on your reasoning, I'd agree hashing a pubkey doesn't provide meaningful protection for your BTC-stored wealth, but clearly there are advantages to more complex constructions for addresses (the BIP32 key-derivation function being more quantum-proof, in this case). So I think this prompts the question: what constructions *are* known to provide some level of safety from a quantum computer defeating the ECDLP?
Comment: I very much disagree on a couple points here. The idea that a miner could refuse to mine transactions that aren't sent to them is not well founded. Miners are incentivized to mine blocks with the highest total fees they can include. Unless the vast majority of miners had access to QC, there wouldn't be any string incentive for *any* of the miners to do this. Second of all, you assume that if 5.5 million bitcoins were stolen with a QC, that bitcoin would be "Decimated". The dollar has survived far more monetary inflation than that, so I think that is also quite unfounded.


Who was the first Pope?

Question: I know that Peter is the first Pope, but I do believe that he is called a bishop and is one of several including the Bishops of Constantinople, Jerusalem, Alexandria, and others. Who was the first Pope to call himself by that name? Was it Leo who increased Papal power or someone else?
Comment: The question is perfectly intelligible as it stands.
Comment: This question is not clear. You need to state whether "pater" or "papa" or "il papa" is the word in question. You also need to state whether the person is ascribed to having written that himself, or whether others have written something calling him that.
Comment: [wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope#Title_and_etymology) says "The earliest record of the use of this title was in regard to the by then deceased Patriarch of Alexandria, Pope Heraclas of Alexandria (232–248).[24] The earliest recorded use of the title "pope" in English dates to the mid-10th century, when it was used in reference to Pope Vitalian in an Old English translation of Bede's Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum.[25]"
Comment: Actually, Pope is just "Father", so it was "a normal title" for christian priests long time ago. Even now still there are **two** Popes: of Rome and of Alexandria.
Comment: It's *papa*, not *pater*, the actual Latin word for "father." It isn't quite "daddy" either, as that was *tata*. It was a word used for a father, though, similar to English's own "papa" or "pop".
Comment: Maybe the question should be reworded as "Who was the first bishop of Rome to claim supremacy over all other bishops?"
Comment: [Is the Pope even Catholic?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMf4OtC7SXY)
Answer: The first title to be used for "pope" properly was the Latin Pontifex Maximus, which was originally the title for the chief of the College of Priests (Collegium Pontificum), sort of religious priests of the city of Rome itself.
By the time Christianity came around, the Pontifex Maximus of Rome was the emperor. That changed with Gratian who renounced it. Later, Leo I (as you guessed) resumed the title.
Papa (Gk. πάππας, "pappas") from which comes the English pope, was applied to senior priests, but seems to have been applied to the chief of Christian bishops only with Pope Heraclas, if Wikipedia is to be believed.
Answer: There is a disagreement between different authorities. Some consider Clement to be the first legitimate successor of Peter the Apostle and the first Bishop of Rome after him. The Catholic Church itself considers Clement to be the first pope after Peter. The reason for this is that the Liber Pontificalis, the official book on the popes of the Church, specifically says that Peter chose Clement to be his successor. Other authorities consider Linus to have been the first pope after Peter..
Comment: According to the official Catholic list the first four popes are (1) Peter, (2) Linus, (3) Anacletus, (4) Clement.
Comment: @TylerDurden If all the bishops of the time called themselves something like Pope, how could the power of the Pope as head of the church exist? It sounds like all the Bishops were equal. When was it established and practiced that the Bishop of Rome would be the head of all Christendom?
Comment: it is rather silly to ask who was the first person to used a title translated into English as pope.  The question should  rather be which alleged successor of St. Peter first called himself Bishop of Jerusalem and which first called himself bishop of Rome; then which alleged successor first called himself Archbishop or Metropolitan of Jerusalem & the same for Rome, the first to call himself Primate of Italy, the first to call himself Patriarch, and the first Bishop of Rome to claim to rule the whole Christian church.

Who was the first Pope?


Where can I find a specific node to exit from?

Question: I have been doing a bit of research and I know it is as simple as adding the
"Exitnodes IP address" command to the torrc file. I was just wondering if there is a publicly available list of IP addresses so that I may be able to find a better bandwidth. I am just trying to access a website to make it think I am an Argentinian user, but when I do the Exitnodes {ar} configuration, Tor connects but every website times out.
Comment: Possible duplicate of [Can't open Tor Browser with Greek IP](https://tor.stackexchange.com/questions/12321/cant-open-tor-browser-with-greek-ip)
Comment: There appears to be only one exit in Argentina.
Comment: If you're doing it for better bandwidth, this won't help you. The bandwidth of the tor connection is minimum of bandwidth between you and entry node,  nodes themselves, between exit note and destination as well as any limits any of the node imposes. Just specifying exit node will not give you anything, even if it has very fast connection between itself and the destination server.
Answer: Well, you need to elaborate a TorStatus script - like here and filter by country. However - just a side note - check your connection, because even from out far - but to make every site to time out - well, that's odd... I've never met THIS kind of situation just by itself, usually it was a bad connectivity to Tor network, i.e. ISP connection and modem/router problems. Check this part. If you'll add some details about your router/modem and connection type - I'll be able to help you further


Plastic Ukes and clip on tuners

Question: I'm getting a ukulele for a child and was thinking of getting a plastic rather than wooden one as they are said to be more durable and have better tuning stability and intonation than cheap wooden ones. I will also get her a clip on tuner. My question is, do clip on tuners work properly with plastic ukes? Given that they have hollow headstocks, I'm not sure if there's enough mass for the tuner to pick up the vibrations.
Comment: Doesn't answer the question at all, but the cheap wooden ones are not all alike. I have a 15GBP Makala "Dolphin" one and the intonation and tuning stability is superb, even after being donated as a toy to a two and a half year old; I also have a 15GBP Stagg one which is basically unplayable. The Makala one has been dinged and the body actually holed, and it still sounds fine too.
Answer: I want to commend you on providing a child with a musical instrument and encouraging them to learn to play.  Ukelele is a good first instrument for a child.  Hopefully the seed of inspiration you are planting now will lead to a lifelong pursuit of music and musicianship.
Yes a clip on tuner should work just fine on a plastic uke. The are extremely sensitive and pick up even very weak vibrations.
I think you will be fine clipping it on the headstock on just about any plastic uke and getting enough vibration for the tuner to sense.  I like Snarks but any good clip on tuner should work.
There are also good inexpensive tuners that have a microphone so vibration is not needed - but try an inexpensive clip on first.  I am sure it will work just fine and they are easy to use.
Some ukes have a bridge that will accommodate some clip on tuners, so you could clip the tuner on the bridge if for some reason it was not picking up enough vibration from the headstock.
And if you got a uke like the one pictured below - you could even clip it on the edge of the soundhole.
Answer: "Yes" is short answer.
My clip-on tuner will detect vibrations in my electric guitar which has no resonant cavity. I also don't think the hollowness will reduce vibration, I rather think it might lead to greater resonance even?
The other thing to note is that many clip-on tuners let you switch between vibration and microphone, I would strongly recommend getting one like that (Snark for instance) which would remove the problem even if it did occur!
Comment: I don't think a solid headstock on an electric guitar is a good comparison to a hollow headstock. Electric guitars do have resonance in the neck, you can actually feel it in your fretting hand. I expect a clip on tuner will work with a plastic uke, but I'd prefer to have it verified by someone with first hand experience.
Comment: I meant no resonant cavity, oops. The fact the strings attach to the head mean it will be vibrating anyway but I can't give personal experience.

Plastic Ukes and clip on tuners


Do "once a year" and "once in a year" mean the same thing?

Question: I've seen  people using the phrase once a year but I wonder isn't it should be once in a year. Are they both the same and acceptable?
Comment: Regardless of correctness this would probably identity you as a non native English speaker
Answer: There is a slight, but meaningful, difference.
"Once a [time period]" implies frequency observed over a range of time greater than [time period]. "Once in a [time period]" implies an observed frequency of 1 in a single [time period].
If somebody were to say something occurred once in a month then he means he is talking about an event with a time of a month. If someone says something occurs once a month then he definitely has data larger than a month.
Example:

My last boyfriend, Eric, would buy me flowers once a month! But John has only     bought me flowers once in a year. Does John hate me or is he just less sentimental and thus will only buy flowers for year anniversaries?

Another example:

During the first year of our relationship, Phillip bought me flowers once a month. Why would he now only buy me flowers once in a year?

As FumbleFingers brings up in the comments, the "once in a [time period]" could instead be an application of figurative speech and not based on technical data. The following example shows a usage of the phrase that indicates exaggerated speech is at play.

Wow! That's rare; it only happens once in a blue moon!

This is perhaps more indicative of a common idiom but still important to bring up.
To slightly elaborate on what was established above, it may not be obvious that the phrase "once in a [time period]" can be used to establish a cap on repetitions in a [time period]. See below.

Alice: "So, he goes to Mexico 10 times a year?"
Bob: "Yes, but never twice in the same month; he only goes once in a month."
Comment: +1 this is hard to explain at common usage context, but you did elaborate it well on the last part. That being said, it's noticeable that even in formal technical context, `in` can be remove/omit if [time period] is referring to a `collective time noun`(*I don't know what should I call it*), and `in` should be implicit if/while using a range of [time period] like, `twice in the same month`. This clearly sums it up.
Comment: Hmm..  reading it in the question, my instinct for "in a" was a future tense sentence - "I'd only go on vacation once in a year", something that would occur more than one time, but not necessarily every year.  The past-tense example at the bottom of your answer sounds really awkward.
Comment: Why the addition of "max"? Only already restricts the meaning; it's more likely you would have one or the other. Plus "max" is informal for "a maximum"
Comment: The most common instances of *once in a [time period]* are probably ***blue moon, lifetime, century*** - which all reflect the same ***rarely*** implication as your own example, so I think that's relevant to the matter of contexts where ***in*** works. I agree it's very often used in contexts where ***in a [time period]*** effectively means ***since** a [timeperiod] ago* (until now). But there's always an allusion to "frequency" - which is indeterminate from a sample of one, so the "imprecise measurement" allusions are right there just under the surface.
Comment: FumbleFingers and Izkata, are there usages of what you are bringing up in which you cannot remove the word "in" and it still make sense? The only one I could think dealt with an idiom (once in a blue moon).
Comment: I think I added an example to cover the "not necessarily every [time period]" comment. Nice catch.
Comment: "Yes, but never twice in the same month; he only goes once in a month." For this sentence, using "same" means there isn't an equivalent of "once a month" here; you could say "twice a month" which has the same effective meaning without explicitly saying same. "He goes once in a month" could also be stated without the "in" and no change in meaning
Comment: @eques "He goes once a month" means he goes once *every* month. That would be 12 times a year, more than the stated 10.
Comment: @noamtm. "once a month" specifies a frequency. Depending on context, it can mean every month, but when you have a context where it is established that he goes 10 times a year, once a year would not be interpreted as once every month, especially with "only" there.
Comment: You are right, it is now omitted. "once in a month" is not implying every month.
Answer: The main reason they're "not the same" is because of this huge difference in frequency of use...

I don't think there are any many1 contexts where you need to include in, so the easiest option is never to use it (because in most contexts it will sound odd to native speakers if you include in).
But as often happens in English, where one of two different versions of an expression becomes dominant, the less-favoured alternative may nevertheless survive, and start to carve out its own "semantic territory" and associations. Take, for example...

1: It doesn't snow here often. Usually not more than once in a year.
   2: She doesn't go out much. Probably not once in a month.

There's nothing "unidiomatic" about those usages (though they'd be fine without the extra preposition). I think the reason they're acceptable is because they stress the infrequency of the event (it's rare, uncommon).
Another important factor is that the occurrence rate being referenced has to be somewhat imprecisely measured, unpredictable, irregular. So (for me at least)...

3: I've always had regular checkups. I see my dentist once in a year

...doesn't work at all.

1 Note that in has semantic significance in constructions like I haven't seen him once in a year, where it means once in the past year (i.e. - the twelve months immediately preceding time of utterance). There are also closely-related usages such as once in a lifetime, once in a blue moon where in is idiomatically required. As with the examples above, all these contexts imply infrequent / sporadic.
Comment: I thought there could be a situation where something happened `once in a year`, where you have a specific year in mind (like last year), and don't know anything about other years
Comment: The first statement seems supported by the second. Both are false. While I agree there are usages where the "in" can be removed and the same meaning retained, this is not true in all instances. See my answer.
Comment: I don't think number three is really "doesent work at all", it makes perfect sense to me and I've heard many people say that.
Comment: @Mario: Unless the context included both elements above (infrequent *and* sporadic) I think  that would normally be something that *happened once in **the** year [whichever year it was]*.
Comment: @Muntasir Alam: I have to say that seems odd to me, given my headline chart showing how rarely ***in*** is used at all. Obviously my final example "makes sense", in that anyone can understand what was *meant*. But my specific context explicitly excludes the two main factors (infrequent, sporadic) that are closely associated with those few contexts where ***in*** is still likely to be used. Perhaps this is an aspect of usage where Canadian English is a bit out of step with "mainstream Anglophones".
Answer: It's important to remember: the word a can be used as a preposition, meaning per. See this screen shot focusing on just a few of the many definitions found on Wordnik:

Therefore, the phrase once a year is perfectly grammatical, acceptable, and idiomatic.
Answer: Once a year is considerably more common: here is an NGram. It implies that something takes place once in every calendar year. For example:

I take a holiday in Norway once a year

Once in a year is much less common and is in decline: many of the older references relate to annual religious observances. In modern usage, it refers to something that happened only once within a one-year period which need not necessarily be a calendar year, for example:

He bought me a drink only once in a year.
Answer: Once a year/month/week would be more common. Once in a year/month/week would be understood, but less likely used. You are more likely to hear "Once in the past year" or "Once in the past five months" than "once in a year"
For an expression of the form "once a ", "a" acts as a preposition meaning "per"; it could also be defined as "each"
Comment: It is completely irrelevant which is used more often, and which one you are more likely to hear. What's important is which one is correct to use in which situation.
Comment: It actually is not completely irrelevant; it might be secondary. Plenty of questions comment on the relative frequency of occurrences of expressions. "Once in a year" is less common in most situations than "once a year" except for examples like @Michael
Answer: I think that there's a precision difference between those two phrases.
"Once a year" says to me that every year, about the same time, something happens.
He goes on vacation in Florida once a year.
- It's some sort of a tradition, which is usually tied to a particular time.
He only goes to Florida once in a month.
 - It's more rare to hear this, especially longer than a month, and it's a "may or may not happen" sort of occurrence.
Comment: I am not alone in this distinction: http://forum.wordreference.com/threads/once-per-year-once-a-year-once-in-a-year.1404669/#post-12110911 However, I can't find anything official...  Still looking...
Comment: Annual and "Once a year" are synonyms, and annual is definitely a periodic occurrence roughly a year apart from the last time it happened:  http://www.thesaurus.com/browse/annual.  But, in general you can see from usage, most, though not 100% of the time, "once in a year" is describing an at least sort of event, where "once a year" is a schedule.
Comment: Got any sources for "once a year" implying some degree of regularity for when within the time frame it occurs? It doesn't seem to imply that in all cases.
Comment: I see nothing in your link to suggest that "annual" means "around the same time". "I take an annual trip to London" means I take a trip to London once a year, but isn't indicated that it is the same time each year
Comment: Maybe it's too much of an inference, but I would say that an annual trip or an annual contest, annual renewal or whatnot is around the same time each year.   When you are discussing trips, for instance, I usually hear a clarification, "I'm taking my annual trip to Europe, but it's in April this year."  Highly nuanced, but the examples in [dictionary.com's definition](http://www.dictionary.com/browse/annual) imply more than the definition says.  Even "annual salary" which is sort of a different case, means at the end of a year, you have collected all the money in the annual salary...
Comment: I do have to say, there's no reason why "once a year" should be correct.  But it extends well...  "Four times a year" and "Four times in a year" are similarly different in a parallel way.   "Four times a year" is 4 equidistant dates in common usage, but "Four times in a year" seems like a probability or a maximum, not a certainty...
Comment: Many annual things do occur around the same time each year, but the term annual does not imply that on its own. The examples in your link have explicit time periods in them ("come April" or "winter"), or mean "pertaining to a year" (definition 1) instead of "occurring once a year". An annual salary means over the course of the year that much money is paid, not that it is paid out once a year. This other definition is not identical to "once a year"
Comment: Once a year is correct because as pointed out in another answer "a" can function as a preposition meaning "per". I do not see "4 times a year" requiring equidistant dates.
Answer: In addition to what has already been explained, it would be presumed that an event which happens once a year probably occurs around the same time. Valentine's Day only comes once a year.
Answer: "Once a year" denotes something recurrent that happens each period.
"Once in a year" denotes something happened in the last year.
"I used to party once a week, but since I married I went to a party once in a year."
Comment: Not necessarily in the past year; it could refer to some other timeframe. For example: "When I was recovering from my surgery, I only went to a party once in a year." That usage might be considered a shortened form of "once in a year's time."
Answer: From my perspective this is the difference in meaning:

Once in a year: The expectation is that it happens each year and 1 time each year
Once a year: The expectation is that it happens at a 1 year interval

Example
This difference is usually not relevant, but here is an example where only 1 of the two seems appropriate:
Someone whose birthday is around 1 january, may celebrate it in december or january.
In this case it would be strange (wrong?!) for the person to say:
Once in a year I celebrate my birthday


Is there any cooperation between South Korea and Japan in the area of defense production?

Question: Is there any cooperation between South Korea and Japan in the area of defense production given they have several common enemies in the region?
Comment: They may have a common enemy in NK, but SK doesn't have China or Russia as an enemy AFAIK.
Answer: Short answer: Yes, South Korea, Japan, and the United States participate in joint military exercises together
Long answer:  South Korea certainly has an enemy in North Korea, and Japan has significant interest in preventing North Korea from engaging in hostilities because they could easily get caught in the line of fire, which is likely the cause of the current cooperation. I wouldn't say they have "several common enemies". While both SK and Japan may have some disputes with China, they are no more military enemies with China than the US is, though all are certainly wary. With respect to Russia, SK has decent relations and while Japan and Russia have some disputes I would not call them enemies.
Outside of the current DPRK situation I wouldn't expect much cooperation between the two, as even though they share a common ally in the US and a common looming regional power in China, the deep cuts that Japan inflicted on its neighbor during WWII have yet to fully heal, with the topic of comfort women being a particularly sour point. There's a lot to delve into on those relations, but I think that falls outside this question.
Comment: They are also economic competitors. In two areas that Japan was once dominant: autos and electronics, S Korea has made serious inroads. Makes for a very interesting 'frenemies' situation.


Function is recursive iff its graph is recursively enumerable

Question: So I understand that a function is recursive if there exist a Turing Machine that accepts it and halts on every input, since function is defined everywhere.
But how to prove that function is recursive if and only if the language {x#f(x) |x∈(Г -{#})*)} (graph) is recursively enumerable?
Answer: In order to prove your claim, you need to prove two things:

If a function is recursive then its graph is r.e.
If the graph of a function is r.e. then it is recursive.

Let's see what you have to do to prove these two claims.
Claim 1. Suppose that $f$ is recursive, i.e. it is computable by some program. You have to come up with another program that enumerates $x\#f(x)$. For example, assuming the inputs are natural numbers, it could output $1\#f(1),2\#f(2),3\#f(3),\ldots$.
Claim 2. Suppose that $\{x\#f(x)\}$ is r.e., that is, some program enumerates $x\#f(x)$ for all legal inputs $x$, in some order. Given an input $y$, we need to use this enumeration to compute $f(y)$. It is natural to wait for $y\#f(y)$ to be enumerated and extract $f(y)$.
Your task now is to flesh out these proof sketches.
Answer: Unfortunately, there is a painful terminological overloading of the term "recursive" in computability theory. So you must pay attention if you are talking about a function or a set.
In relation to functions, "recursive" is used as a synonym of "computable".
This is also the intended meaning of the world in the definition of "recursively enumerable set", since the attribute "recursive" refers to the enumeration function, that must be computable, and not to the set being enumerated.
In relation to sets, "recursive" means decidable. This is due to the fact that you are implicitly referring to the "recursiveness" (that is, computability) of the characteristic function of the set, that by definition is a total function.
So, coming to your question, the fact that the function is recursive only means that it is computable, but does not imply that it is also total.
For total functions, the function is recursive if and only if its graph is recursive, that is probably what was puzzling you.


When is a player flagged as a cheater?

Question: I read in the 1.0.1 changelog that:

Players who haven't cheated will no
  longer be flagged as a cheater.

and I am wondering how a player can be flagged as cheater?
Comment: That sounds like a bugfix to me.
Answer: The actions to get flagged as a cheater are liquid spam, projectile spam, add tile spam and remove tile spam.
If spam checking is enabled, all players are checked for spam on every server tick. The server keeps track of placing liquid and tiles, shooting projectiles and removing tiles for each player. Every tick of the server clears 4 projectile shots, 3 tile placements, 5 tile removals and 2 liquid placements from its memory, from every player.
If you keep doing these 4 actions faster than the server clears them from its memory for long enough, you will be kicked from the server.
Answer: I don't think inventory editing will flag you as a cheater,
however, using tools like cheat engine on a server likely will, as it allows players to become literally invincible!
Comment: yeah i did that one time just to try it out :)

When is a player flagged as a cheater?


No OS will boot, all freeze

Question: This is for a computer with the following configuration:
Asus P5KPL-AM/PS motherboard
Pentium D 820 (dual core 2.8 GHz)
1 x 2 GB DDR2-800 Transcend RAM
1 SATA2 Samsung 160 GB HDD
1 PATA LG CD/DVD Writer
PS/2 generic Keyboard
USB Razer mouse
The computer was working fine till a month ago with a Hitachi HDD in place of the Samsung. But that drive died and I sent it in for warranty replacement. Since then and till last week, the computer had not been turned on. I then got hold of a spare but XPSP2-loaded Samsung drive from another computer and decided to get this computer temporarily running. However, when I tried to boot into XP, it didn't load. It got stuck at the first graphical screen. When trying Safe Mode, the file list would be updated up to diskio.sys and then freeze. If I tried to boot Kubuntu off a CD, I would get past the first menu, but then get stuck at the subsequent graphical interface in the loading process. A similar thing happened with a friend's Windows XP-on-a-pen-drive.
I switched the RAM into the other slot, but no luck. Then I booted the Ultimate Boot CD and ran Memtest86+ and a couple of the bundled CPU stress tests but these detected no errors. Some searching on the Internet brought up the notion of the CPU failing to switch from "real" to "protected mode".
I'm hoping to get a fix on what the problem is and what I can do about it.
Edit: I've flashed to the latest BIOS, but that doesn't help. Also, Knoppix LiveCD also freezes. I notice that the LED in my mouse goes off at the time of freeze, but trying to boot without the mouse connected produces the same result.
Comment: Tried without the drive?
Comment: Without the CD and only the HDD? Yes.
Without the HDD and only the CD? Yes.
No luck both times.
Comment: Any errors show up when it freezes booting linux?
Answer: Do you have access to another graphics card?  If so, disable the on-board graphics, and try it with the video card.  It does sound graphics-related.

No OS will boot, all freeze


How can I increase my bike skill in GTA San Andreas?

Question: In GTA San Andreas there is adriving school where I can increase my car skill but how can I increase my bike skill?
Comment: Are you talking about bicycles, or motorcycles?
Comment: I think they use the same skill. But specifically I am looking for motorcycles.
Answer: In addition to the driving school, there's also a motorcycle school (and a boating school, and even flight school!).
The motorcycle school is unlocked after you're able to get to Las Venturas, and it's south of the stadium.  There should be an "S" icon on your map when it is available.
Comment: Or you just just ride a bike and get skill from that
Answer: Instead of using schools, just drive for a long time without crashing. Also, bicycle skill and bike skill is different. Your cycling skill effects bicycles, while your bike skill effects motorbikes.
Answer: There is a driving school at San Fierro near your Doherty garage and there is a bike school at Las Venturas. You can increase your skills there unless if you're still stuck at Los Santos.
If you mind changing some of the data in the game's files, go to the ar_stats.dat file inside the data folder of your main San Andreas directory and find the lines , which are these:
CODE
STAT_INC_MOTORBIKE_SKILL  25
STAT_TIMELIMIT_MOTORBIKE_SKILL  180
STAT_INC_DRIVING_SKILL  20
STAT_TIMELIMIT_DRIVING_SKILL  300

Now change the 180 to 1 and the 300 to 1 too. Save and load up your game. Get in any car and drive around. You'll instantly notice your stats rapidly rising. The same will happen for your Motorbike skill when you rid a motorcycle.

This means that in normal gameplay time, 3 minutes of uninterrupted riding of a bike would increase the skill by 2.5%, while 5 minutes of uninterrupted driving of a car would raise the corresponding skill by 2%...
Answer: I never bothered with the bike school missions. If you are willing to cheat, You can simply do it by entering the code on PC

NATURALTALENT

But you have to use the cheat everytime you open a saved or new game.
Answer: It is possible to increase your bike skill. If you are willing to cheat, use NINJATOWN and steal the BF 400 bikes.
Comment: While this technically answers the question, I don't think the asker wanted cheats.


'센스' vs 'sense'

Question: In Korean, I often hear phrases like '저 남자 참 센스 있다.' which literally translates to 'That man has a real "SENSE"'. However, as far as I understand, although '센스' is a transliteration of the English word 'sense', they don't mean the same thing. '센스' means something like 'considerate' or 'has good etiquette'. How did this separation of meaning start and is maintained?
Comment: Checking the dictionary, it seems like Japanese has センス *sensu* with a similar meaning.  Any Japanese speaker to confirm this?
Comment: He has such a great sense of
Comment: The sentence you gave literally means "That guy truly has a sense!". 참 is an adverb here.
Comment: "센스" translates to "wit" as for clever word playing (not limited to it though). I cannot say for sure good translations for the word; _the ability to catch what others like_? Mental sharpness? I don't know but it's about that.
Answer: As a retired soldier of korean army, I think sense 센스 meaning "Even if I do not ask for it first, someone do something I will like."
"센스있네", "You have a sense" meaning "That's the way it's done" or "That looks good" or "It is good for me, and I don't want to asking for(because it is annoying or embarrassing), and it was done."
"센스 없게 왜 그러냐?" "Why did you do that without sense?" meaning "I don't like what you did. (Even if it was done well in common sense)" This idiom is used very common in korean army.
Comment: thanks for providing similar usages. very interesting. But it doesn't answer my etymology question.
Answer: Native korean here.
센스 has a distinctly different meaning than 'sense', but rather has a closer meaning to センス(sensu), a english-based japanese term.
I don't know which came first, 센스 or センス, but they both share the meaning of 'a feel for something'
'Sense' can be directly translated to 감각, which has two large meanings in Korean.
The first meaning is simply 'sense(the noun),' while the second is 'a feel' as in 'have a feel for something(know how to do something well)'.
센스 있네 can be translated to 'you have a feel for it.'
센스 없네 would mean 'you don't have the feel for it' or 'you are doing it the wrong way' and so on.
Notice that the 'it' in these examples could literally mean anything depending on the situation.
I would say this term probably started being used in the 60s or 70s when a lot of 'Konglish(Korean English)' and 'Japanese English' terms were being invented.

'센스' vs 'sense'


Apps still running after closing the lid on MacBook

Question: I've noticed that when I close my macbook (snow leopard) some apps are still running, namely: the grooveshark desktop app and VLC.
Just wondering if there is a setting I missed somewhere.
Answer: Does it not turn off the screen and go into sleep mode? When you say apps are still running, does your computer keep playing a movie or music when you close the screen?
Usually it takes upto 30 seconds to turn off the apps, I don't know how it works on the low level but to my understanding it just saves the state of the apps in the memory so when you open the lid, the apps launch quickly.
Answer: Closing the lid on your MacBook should be putting it to sleep. Sleep suspends the entire application level, so when the system is asleep there will be no activity from any applications on your system.
You'll know your MacBook is asleep because the screen will turn off, the fans will tun off, and the hard drive will spin down. As @Muhammad mentioned, this can take a few seconds. Once sleep is complete, your power light will start pulsating like the slow heartbeat of a hibernating mammal.
You can demo this for yourself and test to make sure sleep is working by manually putting the computer to sleep with the display still open. Go to the Apple menu and choose Sleep, or hit command+option+eject.
On my 3-year old MacBook Pro, the system suspends and the display turns off after just a few seconds, followed soon after by the hard drives spinning down, but the fan keeps running until the processor has cooled off—then the power light starts pulsating.
I don't regularly use Grooveshark or VLC, so I'm not sure how they're designed to behave. When you tell your computer to go to sleep, System Events sends a message to every app notifying them of this, which is why iChat logs off and iTunes stops playing when you close your MacBook. If VLC and Grooveshark are ignoring this message and preventing sleep, then you should report that bug to the developers (after making sure they are up-to-date) and then make sure to quit (or pause) them manually before closing your MacBook.


Is it possible to give reputation points to another user?

Question: I was in the process of editing what was a good and eventually accepted suggestion when it was deleted for being just a link.  That was why I was editing it, because it was the right link it just needed a lot more explaining.
 I absolutely love the link and never would have known about it without the original post and it seems unfair that I get all the points.  I wouldn't mind sharing them if there is a way to do so.
I have also had times when a quick answer was made exponentially better in edit by someone else that I though it would be nice to share some rep.
Comment: Just being able to "give away" rep would kind of defeat the point.
Comment: Yeah, I get that. My thoughts ran more toward sharing with someone whose edit totally changed the quality of an answer, or someone whose comment adds a whole other dimension to the completeness and quality of the resource.
Answer: The only way to really give users more reputation than a few upvotes is a bounty. If you really liked his answer, then you could suggest to him to post it again, or just go to his profile and upvote a few answers.
You cannot just give away reputation though, it can only be earned through questions, answers, bounties, and edits.
Answer: Pretty much ditto what Simon said, just a few more points:
Giving reputation could be too easily and obviously abused and there are already sufficient mechanisms for people to get reputation equal to the amount of effort they put into the site and specific questions and answers. Missing one question here or there, even for a new member, shouldn't be a shattering thing.
Simon's suggestions are good though: Finding a users other answers and up-voting them, and encouraging a re-post and drawing attention to it.
I'm generally against throwing the baby out with the bath water, but in this situation it is a small thing to lose a question here or there that didn't have enough effort put into it. The good user will learn and grow and produce better, more thorough answers in the future. So much the better when they are aware of such unique and useful things as this particular user does.


Rent a car in Greece (Thessaloniki) and drive to Macedonia

Question: I am considering flying into Thessaloniki, renting a car and driving to FYR Macedonia (Skopje), returning it back to Thessaloniki. Do rental companies allow this by default? Is there anything special I need to look into in the rental agreement? How does the insurance work in this case?
Comment: Are you planning to return the car to Thessaloniki? And I presume you mean FYR Macedonia -- Macedonia itself is part of Greece. Finally, just as a comment because a negative is never a surety: you will not find a car hire company which would allow to take the car out of the EU. What surety could you give them that you return the car?
Comment: I think you should just check the rental car company websites and talk to them if necessary. Many years ago I rented a car in Europe and was able to legally take it to (then communist) Yugoslavia. Make sure whatever insurance you will have covers you appropriately as well as whether they allow you do it. They may charge a surcharge or it maybe forbidden.
Comment: @chx Is this really the place for political stances? Not reverting the edit (as it's not incorrect) but just saying. Anyone knows that Macedonia in an international context refers to the FYR
Comment: @chx in my experience rental companies allow drivers to take cars out of the EU, as long as you tell them what you're planning so they can give you the proper insurance documents (and possibly charge a bit extra).  The surety for the return is the same as if you're not leaving the country: if you don't return the car, they charge your credit card for the cost of replacement.
Comment: @chx, improved the question. Thanks, that is what I was worried about.
Answer: It is technically possible but practically virtually impossible.
There are so many issues you would face:

finding a car rental that would allow you to do this
getting legal permission from a car rental to drive across the border
obtaining insurance that is valid in both countries
receiving clearance from both customs
etc.

Many car rental companies won't even let you take your car to a Greek island, not to say to another country.
Your only option is to leave a car in Greece, cross a border by bus/taxi/etc and rent another car in Macedonia.
Comment: Are you speaking from experience?  I have done cross-border car rentals into and out of the former Yugoslavia, although never from or to Greece.  I asked the company if my itinerary was permitted before I made the rental, and then when I picked up the car, they provided me with an insurance card ("green card") valid for the countries to which I was traveling.  When I crossed the border, I simply showed the rental agreement and the green card along with my passport.
Comment: To my surprise, Sixt and Europcar prohibit cross-border rentals originating in Greece (according to website) and Hertz allows only with advance written permission which I suspect is seldom forthcoming. I start to think this will be a long search, and although I expect something will turn up, probably not from such a large chain, it's not my trip.
Comment: phoog, how about providing Andrew with the car rental company's name you have used?
Comment: @OleksandrKravchuk better to provide to the OP!
Answer: I continued to research after my previous discouraging comment, and it is difficult but not impossible. Avis will allow, if the reservation is made directly with them (there is an email at that link), and an additional insurance fee of over 100 Euros, depending on car class. Also, renter must have either American Express or Diners Club.
Economycarrentals.com, which you can see recommended on other sites, is now a No. Thrifty, No. Enterprise theoretically can be arranged, but many surcharges including loss of unlimited mileage.
Answer: First ask to the rental company if they allow you. If they do, make sure that in your car, together with the documentation, the insurance green card is included. This document proves that you are covered for driving abroad.