What is the money bag icon in Tropico 3?

Question: What does the black money bag icon that rotates over buildings in Tropico 3 mean?
Answer: "It means that teamsters haven't been moving goods into/out of the building. For basic industry, this means that output goods aren't being removed, for second tier industry it can mean the same or that it isn't having input goods moved to it. Generally the cause of this is because you don't have enough teamsters, they aren't spending enough time on the job as opposed to fulfilling their needs, or that they can't reach the building efficiently."
Credit to - http://www.gamerswithjobs.com/node/46864?page=3
User Tannhauser
Answer: "It means nothing has been outputted from that facility in the last year. In the case of farms it may be due to the farm still growing the product, in the case of factories, it could be that it hasn't been supplied any materials to create it's product and or there isn't any workers at that facility." Credit to - http://forum.kalypsomedia.com/showthread.php?tid=2509, user City Builder
I've seen farms, logging camps, and other lowest-level production buildings with this icon over them, even if they have zero output goods.


Migration of GUI extensions from Tridion 2013 SP1 to Web 8.5. Is it fully backwards compatible?

Question: I can't find a lot in Tridion Docs regarding GUI extensions. Are there any known issues migrating from 2013 SP1 to Web 8.5? Thank you in adavance
Answer: There is a very extensive topic in the SDL Web 8.5 documentation regarding GUI extensions: http://docs.sdl.com/LiveContent/content/en-US/SDL%20Web-v5/GUID-44562CE1-5D81-4E64-B65B-C8BFA0BAA53D, including a SDL Web 8.5 GUI API reference.
With regards to API changes, there are the following topics:

GUI API delta compared to SDL Web 8 -
http://docs.sdl.com/LiveContent/content/en-US/SDL%20Web-v5/GUID-A79A03DF-48C2-484C-B0D4-C41FF894E827
Backwards compatibility in Content Manager Explorer -
http://docs.sdl.com/LiveContent/content/en-US/SDL%20Web-v5/GUID-9A4F45A5-E933-4AD0-9C3A-486E80135F54
Deprecated GUI API utilities (SDL Web 8) - http://docs.sdl.com/LiveContent/content/en-US/SDL%20Web-v1/GUID-6F63CD65-5C0E-4B06-AD66-48E9B6D9A946
Answer: Yes, some of the Tridion Controls namespaces has been changed in SDL Web 8.5 like below,
so, in C# we need to recompile the UI Extension dll's
using Tridion.Web.UI.Core.Controls; (Used to be Tridion.Controls earlier)
using Tridion.Web.UI.Editors.SiteEdit.Pages.PropertiesBox;
as well as in the UI Extension javascript namespace references,

Tridion.Web.UI.Editors.SiteEdit.Pages.PropertiesBox.DrillDownListPropertyPanel
initialize event has been renamed to _initialize

So, recompilation and namespace adjustments are required to get the UI Extensions working with SDL Web 8.5


How to add yahoo users to my MSN list

Question: I tried to add a friend with yahoo account to my hotmail account msn. I followed the step. But my friend failed to show on my msn list. When I tried to add him again, it says "already added". But actually in fact he is nowhere on my list. Any suggestion?
Answer: Contacts on Windows Live Messenger 2011 can be organized by 'Categories' or 'Online Status'. The contacts section of Live Messenger's options has this setting. (Screenshot 1)
If organized by 'Online Status', check if your Yahoo contact is not in the 'online' or 'offline' list/group. If organized by 'Categories', then the new contact will automatically go to the list/group 'Other Contacts'. Check here. (Screenshot 2)
If all else fails, simply type in a part of your contact's e-mail address in the search bar available with Live Messenger. The contact should now show up. (Screenshot3) On the context menu available from this contact, you should be able to move it into one of your more familiar lists/groups.

How to add yahoo users to my MSN list


What's the difference between "Reparieren" and "Ausbessern"?

Question: Both have the meanings "repair" and "mend".
Are they used interchangeably or each fits in specific places more than the other ?
I am really finding a big difficulty knowing to use each.
Answer: There are qualitative differences.

Ausbessern is less strict, it means something like "revamping", "overhauling", "restoring", "touching up" or perhaps "improving", while
Reparieren is stricter, it is fixing something that was broken and/or is not functional anymore, i.e. it really means (fully) restoring the functionality or shape of something.

If a e.g. car doesn't work anymore, you repair it (Reparieren - restore the functionality), while if the body work has dents or scratches, you overhaul the car (Ausbessern). Note that Reparieren generally means to fully repair something, while Ausbessern can also mean to partly restore something, as well as you can.
Again, the difference is mainly qualitative.
Comment: @Ludi: I think that if you overhaul the body (Karosserie) of a car, you can talk about "ausbessern".
Comment: While the explanation is very good, I should perhaps clarify that I don't find "ausbessern" natural when used directly with the word car (Auto). "Ausbessern" fits well in: "Das Loch in der Tapete ausbessern", "das Dach ausbessern"... I think a main difference between these words is that "reparieren" can be applied to most nouns directly, while "ausbessern" only fits with certain words: Schaden, Loch, Dach, Tapete...
Comment: Exactly! I just wanted the non native speakers to be aware of collocations.
Answer: Usually "reparieren" is used when fixing something that is broken, i.e. that is not working without the fix at all or at least partially. "Ausbessern" on the other hand is used for describing the process of improving (a part of) something that is already working, but maybe not yet optimally.
This is highly subjective, though, and the two can most if not all the time be used interchangeably. Please also note that the Duden lists "reparieren" as a generally more frequently used word, which I can confirm based on my experience.
See http://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/reparieren and http://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/ausbessern for some examples and other synonyms.
Answer: If you're not sure, use reparieren -- it's more common than ausbessern.
You would e.g. say:
"Max repariert ein Auto", but not "Max bessert ein Auto aus."
In another context:
"Max repariert einen Zaun" could be replaced with "Max bessert einen Zaun aus".
I would say, "ausbessern" is more like like filling a hole or like @Pharguin said, improving something.

Edit:
You'll find "ausbessern" more in relation to clothes, while "reparieren" comes up in a rather mechanical context. - However, this is not a universal rule as you can see in the example with the fence (Zaun).
Comment: The other way round: for clothes, you can use ausbessern ("Ich muss noch Socken ausbessern" (more precise and also more usual would be stopfen or nähen, though), but reparieren only for broken mechanical parts ("den Reißverschluss reparieren")
Comment: To me, "reparieren" implies fixing a broken thing (e.g. by replacing the broken parts) whereas "ausbessern" does not necessarily imply 1. that sth is broken in the first place (i.e. is not working at all) and 2. it sounds rather like a temporary/non-professional "fix" for something. I miss this part in your answer (also see Pharguin's answer below)
Comment: I'm not sure, if I completely agree with your 2nd statement. Even a professional might do some "Ausbesserungen" because someone demanded it.  I guess you might find "ausbessern" often with a somewhat **optical touch** to it.
Comment: Is that in any way a contrast to what I said?
Comment: no, it's just an example for ausbessern, but not reparieren which could complement your examples
Comment: Ah, okay, I added that.
Answer: As already stateted reparieren is more frequently used than ausbessern and there are only minor differences. They depend on

how much is broken/how strong the functionality is limited
Extent and effect of the fix

Examples:

If the thing is completely broken and does not work at all any more

Reparieren: At least functional again maybe back to the orignal
Ausbessern: In general not possible

If the thing is at least partially function or took only some damage:

Reparieren: Fully functional again maybe back to the orignal
Ausbessern: Functional again, maybe only temporary and not as good as new

If there is only a scratch/minor problem with no or only slight impact on the functionality:

Ausbessern/Reparieren: Both are possible

If there is only a scratch with no or impact on the functionality:

Ausbessern: Probably preferable over reparieren

Wiktionary says reparieren is a generic term for ausbessern and translates reparieren to repair and ausbessern to mend.
Answer: "Reparieren" means to "repair" something that has experienced a major loss of functionality, perhaps making it equivalent to its original, "new" condition, or nearly so.
"Ausbessern" refers to "improving" something that had a minor loss of functionality, or even no loss at all, and improving it somewhat (from a low base).
"Reparieren" is more commonly used, because it is the more common phenomenon.
Answer: Let's have a look into common practice and then derive more general conclusions from it.
1) Cases where reparieren is used well, and ausbessern would be strange or plainly wrong:

Ich muss das Auto zur Reparatur bringen.
Ich muss den Wasserhann reparieren.
Kannst du mal das Deckenlicht reparieren?
Der Hausmeister repariert die Kaffeemaschine.

2) Cases were only ausbessern is good:

Frau Müller bessert ihre Tagesdecke aus. (repariert)
Die Lloyd-Werft soll den Unterwasseranstrich der QR2 ausbessern (reparieren).
Unserer Rad- und Wanderwege sollten ausgebessert werden. (repariert could be used too, but I would find it odd)
Warte, ich muss noch schnell mein Make-up ausbessern (reparieren)

3) Cases where both are possible, depending on context:

Die Straßenmeisterei bessert die Fahrbahndecke aus / repariert die Fahrbahndecke.
Pioniere der Bundeswehr sollen die Landebahn bei Prizren  ausbessern/reparieren
Ganz sauber muss der Beton sein, damit später der Mörtel an den Stellen hält, die mit 30 Tonnen Zementspachtel ausgebessert/repariert werden müssen.
Herr Pötschke bessert seinen Gartenzaun aus/repariert seinen Gartenzaun

(Some of these examples were taken from a real-world text corpus of German language.)
My conclusion is: reparieren is for univeral use; ausbessern is predominantly used for improvements of the surface of something.
Notes:
The example with the fence (Zaun) and ausbessern seems a bit strange, but obviously the fence is seen here as a surface whose integrity is being restored by the ausbessern activities.
The example with the cement filler (Zementspachtel) would actually call for ausbessern, as Spachtel clearly refers to repairs being done to a surface. On the other hand, the sheer amount of cement used here (30 metric tonnes) make me accept reparieren as well.


Does perspective to someone else break first precept?

Question: Recently I meet a monk, I noticed that he has perspective to politicians that what they doing wrong, they are wrong, but I seem he speak a lot about politics, OK. But he also being little rude even when he was telling an incident he used some 'rude' about politician. So when I tell this to my uncle he said 'When he's monk he should not be rude to someone or harm even by "Kaya (Body/Physically)", "Vacha (Talking)", "Man" (Mind/Thinking)'. So does it break first precept? If you caught me doing wrong(Killing, Stealing, Inhumanity) and if you make specific perspective to me for lifetime does it break first precept? Thinking wrong about someone else for what it is (Thief, Terrorist, Murderer).
Answer: It certainly doesn't break the Vinaya rule against killing (which says it doesn't count as "killing" unless somebody dies, plus other conditions).
I expect your uncle is right to say that he should avoid being rude; and even talking about politics at all could be considered questionable behaviour.
I haven't seen any hint, though, that the first precept isn't meant to be taken iterally; for example:

pāṇātipātā veramaṇī:'abstaining from the killing of living beings',is the first of the 5 moral rules binding upon all Buddhists
(Buddhist Dictionary by Nyanatiloka Mahathera)

If the behaviour is wrong I don't think it's because it breaks the first precept -- instead I think it would be because it's not Right Speech, or something like that (e.g. not friendly).
Comment: He was saying hurting not only mean physically but other ways like speech and as I questioned above.
Comment: I think different people have different (more and less strict) interpretations of the precepts. For example, some take the 3rd precept to mean "avoid sexual misconduct", strictly sex with a specific list of protected types of people; and others say that it means, much more generally, "sensual misconduct". I haven't previously heard of the first precept meaning (generally) no hostility instead of (specifically) no killing, though "no hostility" is probably a beneficial virtue even if it isn't listed as a precept.
Comment: So we can consider it as hatred toward someone. And if about precept when it said killing wouldn't be unless intention of killing. But he speak killing or even hurting someone with speech and mind/thinking making wrong perspective to see them. So it'd be fall  speech and hatred.
Answer: Does perspective to someone else break first precept?
(for example in a way of words or signs: "It would be good if he is death", "Better they would not exist"...)
Just because nobody seems to answer use- and helpful, and only in short: Yes, if certain factors are fullfiled. As for a monk doing such and certain factors are fullfilled, it a Pārājika, meaning he is no more afflicted with the community and has lost his possibilities to live and practice within the community. (Think on certain monks spreading hate speech and certain people act on that, or others, telling "its no problem to kill an embryo", people act on it... just to give samples to think.)
In reagard of kamma, thoughts are plenty enough to have effects. So take care in all, body, speech (incl. signs, gestures, writen words, drawings... and all other kinds of communication, even mental if one is able to) and you thoughts.
One might know where to ask if serious more interested.
(Note: This is a gift of Dhamma and not meant for commercial purpose or other wordily gains.)
Comment: You're right. When I answered "no", that was in reply to a question about "being little rude" about a politician. I didn't consider the example of recommending someone's death, which as you said would be a grave fault.
Answer: Your uncle is right 'When he's monk he should not be rude to someone or harm anyone by "Kaya (Body/Physically)", "Vachi (Talking)", "Mano" (Mind/Thinking)'.  That monk does not follow Nobel Eight Fold path to "Nibbana"(Enlightenment). Does he break first precept? No.  But he breaks the Nobel Eight Fold Path to "Nibbana".  Theravada monks are promised to  "Sabbadukkha,Nissarana,Nibbana,Sacchiaranatthaya" (For the realization of Nibbana, the deliverance from all sorrow) in the ordination procedure which is directly related to follow Nobel Eight Fold path.
Comment: Yes we must not hurt anyone must be kind to all human being.


What is best approach to provide a WMS of world coverage of 1 meter CIB?

Question: I have been tasked with creating WMS's of several raster types to include 1 meter CIB. We have an overall ESRI environment to include ArcGIS Server and we have a butt load of original CIB data (world coverage). Not asking for the perfect answer, unless you want to provide it, but could sure use some pointers, general directions and maybe some sage advice of what NOT to do.
Comment: I hope you have many terra-bytes of storage for your tile cache. And time to generate it.
Answer: Have you considered to creating a TMS like OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, etc ?
I was working some time ago on a similar project, but only for USA data, and we decide to preprocess the data and create a tile pyramid images structre to serve it much more faster and with less computer resources.
Cheers.
Answer: There is some useful advice on this presentation from Matt Walker where the hardware/software combination is discussed on building a national tile server for the UK.


Decrypting SSL traffic for Security Onion at or before the interface

Question: I have Security Onion installed and doing full packet capture on my home network. I also have a firewall (pfSense) which does my routing. I have Security Onion sitting just behind my firewall and mirrored from a switch. It works great except I want to decrypt my SSL traffic. I would very much prefer to have the decryption take place on the fly instead of manually decrypting with wireshark that way Snort sees everything as well. I installed squid on the firewall to try to proxy my traffic but it is not working right. It forwards everything on but I can't get it to decrypt (run live capture on the firewall and it is still encrypted). If I can get this working, will that be enough (using the firewall's private key to decrypt)? If so, how would I go about setting this up in Security Onion? Thank you for your help.
Answer: To set up general TLS decryption Security Onion will need to have a certificate trusted by your endpoints.  Usually this certificate has a CN of * so it can sign anything.
So you'd generate a TLS keypair for encryption.  Its cerificate will need to be added to your root store either on your ActiveDirectory Domain Controllers, some other central store for other systems, or in the individual endpoints.  This keypair will allow Security Onion to act as a TLS proxy yet still be able to be trusted by endpoints.
The firewall cert is unrelated as TLS is end-to-end encryption where the server has the private key and no one else.  TLS decryption subverts this by introducing a proxy that can decrypt, inspect, and re-encrypt TLS traffic.  This only works if the certificate used for re-encryption is trusted by the endpoints.  It is a controlled MitM.
CAUTION: This is very dangerous if done improperly since it can enable malicious MitM if the keypair is stolen.
Comment: Note that my answer only works if the decrypting proxy is inline (it can't act as a proxy otherwise).  The firewall still won't see unencrypted traffic.  Given the way keying works in TLS it isn't practical to decrypt mirrorred traffic.
Answer: The SslBump feature in Squid allows the proxy to inspect the decrypted web traffic, but the tools on the Security Onion node (Snort, Zeek etc.) will still only see the encrypted traffic because they don't support passive TLS decryption.
You will need to replay the proxied network traffic in decrypted form to a network interface in order to enable the tools on your Security Onion node to sniff them.
Here's how you can configure Security Onion to sniff decrypted TLS traffic:

Install a TLS proxy, like PolarProxy or SSLsplit in your network
Configure all clients to trust the root CA cert used by this proxy
Configure your pfSense firewall to forward TLS traffic (TCP 443) to the proxy
Push the decrypted traffic from the proxy to a network interface using tcpreplay
Allow Security Onion to sniff the decrypted packets from that interface

We have created a guide on how to install PolarProxy in Security Onion here:
https://netresec.com/?b=2013af4
Disclosure: We develop and maintain PolarProxy


Is there an online sample sentence database or search engine?

Question: Sometime, I am not sure if I use a specific word correctly. I would like to get some sample sentences to learn from.
So, is there a online sample sentence database/search engine?
Comment: Related to  http://linguistics.stackexchange.com/questions/4232/english-text-corpus-for-download
Answer: You could try using a corpus. For example, a search for copper in the British National Corpus returns 50 random sentences -- simply refresh the page to see another random sample:
http://bnc.bl.uk/saraWeb.php?qy=copper
Answer: Lots of dictionaries offer sample phrases. Merriam-Webster, Wiktionary, and the Free Online Dictionary come to mind. Complete sentences are usually provided to put expressions in context.
And then, of course, there is Google. It allows you to search for sample sentences by using the operators * (wildcard) and ~ (similar word or synonym). For example, if you are not sure which preposition to use in the phrase "he has not covered himself __ glory", you can use the search string "not ~covered * glory".
Answer: Use a corpus to help you. You can search for sentences with specific words, limit results by formality level (spoken, magazine, newspaper, fiction, academic), search by word class, and find common collocates for words, along with many other features. Here are some corpora:

BYU Corpus Collection
Corpus of Contemporary American English
Corpus of Historical American English (COHA)
BYU-BNC: British National Corpus
TIME Corpus of American English.
Answer: I like netspeak more.
You can search for usages of a single word or a combination of words. It gives you sample sentences and tells you how often each word is used, so you can see what is the most common way to use a word. I was introduced to this website in a writing course about academic writing and I've been using it ever since.
Answer: Vocabulary.com's dictionary provides usage examples of a word from popular magazines and newspapers. Their dictionary service is blazing fast.
Wordnik.com also provides meanings for words as well as sample sentences for those words
Answer: You could also check out http://www.freescrabbledictionary.com/api/ They provide an api as well.


Using part of an external hard drive for ubuntu and another part for windows

Question: I have a 1TB external hard drive that I have installed ubuntu 14.04 on, partioned as 150gig for ubuntu and 2gig for swap space. The remaining memory is free. What I am wanting to do is use the remaining 800+gigs for misc files in windows 7 while keeping ubuntu separate. Since the drive is partioned as ext4 file system, windows will not even recognise the drive. Is this possible?
Answer: Windows will still recognize the disk drive. It will recognize the partitions you already have on the drive, but will be unable to allow you to do anything with them, or tell you anything about them other than that they're there. You will still be able to partition the remaining space. You can also make a Windows partition in Ubuntu on the drive: How to make a partition windows can read?


How do I filter a custom post type loop by a field?

Question: OK, very simple task, I'm just not good at PHP.
I have a page where I want to list some staff using a styled list. Here is the page all working fine, I just need to divide the results - http://www.themontessoripeople.co.uk/montesori/?post_type=people
I downloaded a "custom content type" plugin and added the content type of "people" and added the appropriate fields. Now I want to filter the posts I have added by the custom field called "hierarchy".
Here is how I want the page to display:

Notice in the image I have headings for each group of posts filtered by the room. The custom field "hierarchy" contains the room variables of either "management", "babies_room" and "toddlers_room".
How do I amend the code below to filter the posts by the value held within <?php print_custom_field('hierarchy'); ?> ?
<?php $col = 1; ?>
    <?php if (have_posts()) : ?>
        <?php while (have_posts()) : the_post(); ?>
            <?php if ($col == 1) echo "
"; ?>

                <div class="post col<?php echo $col;?>" id="post-<?php the_ID(); ?>">

<?php the_title(); ?>

                                 <?php print_custom_field('job'); ?>

                                <img src="<?php print_custom_field('staff_image:to_image_src'); ?>" width="160" height="160" alt="<?php the_title(); ?>-image" />

<?php edit_post_link('Edit Post', ''); ?>

            <?php if ($col == 1) echo "
"; (($col==1) ? $col=2 : $col=2); ?>
        <?php endwhile; ?>

Answer: Something like this should work:
meta_key=hierarchy&meta_value=management

This should be added into the query_posts function, that is not shown in your code block, but should come before it.


Should I take courses that are not directly part of my research topic?

Question: I've received conflicting advice as to whether I should choose my coursework based on my research topic or not. The main pro usually is that I'll quickly be able to get up to speed on my research. The con is usually that there are so many other courses that I could take, in which I could learn topics I may not ever have a chance to formally learn, and given the constant need to hunt for funding, I may never have a chance to put aside and study in-depth again. Any definitive answers to this topic?
Answer: I don't think a "definitive" answer is possible, but the following is based on personal experience and observation of many other students.
If your advisor is okay with it, take as many courses as you can in things that interest you and are in the realm of your discipline.  As an applied math grad student, one of the best things I did was to take a graduate course in optimization from the CS department, even though I thought it had nothing to do with my thesis (in numerical discretization of PDEs).  It ended up being crucial and allowing me to publish at least one paper that I never would have written if I hadn't taken that course.  I also took courses in things like astrophysics, quantum mechanics, and turbulence; I don't use those things much but I can converse with scientists in those fields, which is often useful.
Of course, I didn't take, say, philosophy or Italian or business management courses -- stick to courses related to your field.  And make sure that whoever is paying you is okay with it.
Answer: As with David Ketcheson, I don't think a definitive answer is possible, but here are my thoughts:

It depends on the attitude of your program. Are they trying to ramrod you through your coursework as swiftly as possible? Do they support "dabbling" in other aspects of your graduate career - side projects, practicums, etc.? The answer will likely change wildly depending on those answers.
How set is your "research topic"? I've bounced around several in my time - I think picking up skills that might be useful trumps "Is it directly relevant to Thesis Aim #1". After all, the moment you get out of your PhD program, your research agenda changes again. If all you have is a hammer, and what you'd really like to do is research screws, you're in trouble. If on the other hand, you took 'Seminar in Advanced Screwdriver Theory'...
When it comes down to it, do you need to "take" the course, or do you just want to learn the material? I've sat in on several classes (my university doesn't have a formal auditing system) because I wanted to hear what they had to say. That's a nice, low risk way of expanding one's horizons.

I've found if nothing else it widens your contacts in the university, gives you a better feel for "Surely someone in Department X knows how to deal with that...", etc.
Answer: If you are interested in a teaching job, my answer is yes, definitely.  You may be asked to teach some courses that are not in your field, or even before it happens, the search committee may want someone who can teach a wide range of courses.
Answer: Yes!
How do you know in advance what's going to be useful later?  The wider a net you cast, the more tools you have at your disposal.
Answer: I think this does depend a lot on the kind of person you are/ the way of job you like to have.
I studied IT, but I visited a broad variety of courses. Even history, chinese for beginners, and some other stuff which you might think is not related to my field of work. I don't regret it!
But as a Software Engineer it's actually important to understand a lot of different fields. As you can be on projects that differ a lof from each other.
Also you propably can widen your personal network of contacts, if you go to class with students that you didn't know before!
I would stick to the topics you are interrested in, instead of ending up as an unhappy person after your studies.
Answer: In graduate school, you have to maintain a higher GPA than an undergrad. In some schools I've been to, a C lands you on probation, and a second C gets you dismissed. In my view, this means that courses too far away from your core research will be excessively risky. I dislike this, as it means that I can't afford to learn things that stretch my boundaries.
Answer: As @EpiGrad, @JeffE, and @Swiss Coder said, you should learn about subjects that are outside the direct focus of your research. This provides you with knowledge and tools you might otherwise never obtain. I would add though, that it is rarely wise to take a course in something you have no interest in simply for the sake of "knowledge". However, if you are truly interested in something, don't scrap the possibility of taking the course just because it is not directly part of your research topic. Higher education is intended to help us become well-rounded humans,not force us into the narrow trench of knowing only about a specific field.
Also consider, of course, whether you really need to take a course on this, or if there are other ways to learn what you want to know. Auditing a course is a good option, especially if you don't need to receive credit for it. There are also numerous online options for learning,on your own time and without tuition costs. For myself, though, online learning without the support of a professor and peers rarely works well. I need the motivation of knowing that someone is tracking my progress.
So definitely explore subjects outside "your" area of expertise, and keep in mind that a formal course may not be the only or best option.


The spirit of five precepts

Question: The first precept tells us to refrain from killing living beings. If everyone in a city practices five precepts, everyone will become vegetarian.
Is it true the spirit Buddha wants us to develop is vegetarianism?
Answer: If every single person in a city or country practised the first precept with heedfulness, and also practised Right Livelihood, which prohibits trade in meat, then nobody would work as a butcher.
Those practicing Right Livelihood would also not be meat importers, suppliers or retailers.
The first precept is not about vegetarianism, or any type of diet. It's about allowing sentient beings to live with ease.
However, if you observe the first precept, it is still ok to buy and consume meat that was frozen in the supermarket. The reason for this is that you did not have the intention to kill and in fact, you did not kill that animal.
You're simply buying frozen lifeless meat that was long dead before you arrived at the supermarket. Please also see this question for a detailed discussion on this topic .
Comment: Perhaps this logic is unsatisfying. It is a crime to buy goods which one knows or suspects were stolen. Most people are capable of following a chain of causes back to its beginning and forming a conclusion, so the obvious question is: why shouldn't we in this case?
Comment: Perhaps because in this case, the stolen good cannot be returned to its owner? So rather than throwing it away ...
Comment: @ruben2020 But according to most Sri Lankan Buddhists the spirit of vegetarianism is in the first precept (as described above: the more first precept is practiced, the less animals are killed hence vegetarianism), if not, in the Buddha's teaching. Thai Buddhists has totally opposite view. They are both practicing Dhamma from the same Buddha. What the Buddha really taught?
Answer: According to my personal interpretation, the first precept reminds us how we hurt ourselves when we perform the action of killing. There is a famous concept from the Harry Potter movies (and maybe the books), "Killing rips the soul apart". They mean it literally in the movies. I find the concept very similar to the first precept.
So it does not really imply vegetarianism, but something deeper. Indeed, many Buddhist monks are not vegetarian. They can not be, because they have to eat whatever food they are given by the laypersons. To be particular about not eating any type of food is likely to become a problem while following a monastic life.
Answer: There is no such a concept as "Vegetarianism".It's originally comes from Hinduism. Buddhism emphasis on moral value of respect life. We can practice this moral value up to our capacity and practical conditions.E.g- The citizens of Ice land totally depend on fish for their survival and they got little chance to practice this morality in their life style.But when you have plentiful vegetables and fruits and access to it and still kill animal for food that is your desire for meat and you violate and break the morality. The reason why there is no Vegetarianism as forced concept still you eat only vege farmers kill thousand of insects using pesticides sake of your vege food and you know animals are being killing for your food. This is the nature of Human realm and confirm existence of suffering.

The spirit of five precepts


Are the players on the same team as the DM?

Question: I need an answer because I am a beginner. And I got the players handbook and it does not say a thing about this.
Comment: Are you sure you mean Pathfinder, because "DM" and "Player's Handbook" are D&D terms?
Comment: Welcome to RPG.SE! Take the [tour] if you haven't already, and check out the [help] for more guidance. Could you clarify your situation a bit more? What prompted this question, and what does it have to do with the Pathfinder beginner box?
Answer: The GM isn't on a team, they're the referee.
The way Pathfinder, D&D, and similar games work is that there are one or more player characters (the "party") that are controlled by the players.
The GM (DM, in D&D) usually doesn't run a player character (PC), but they are responsible for representing all aspects of the world, all the non-player characters (NPCs) and monsters and stuff, and adjudicating the rules.
So the GM may be controlling a character or creature that is friendly to the PCs, or a character or creature that is hostile to the PCs, or both at once!  The GM is the orcs you fight and the friendly cleric that heals you and the rain that falls on you.
GMs aren't supposed to be hostile to you in general; they are generally taught to give the players a fun challenge. It's no good to be "against" the players, because you can always kill PCs just by saying "rocks fall, everyone dies!"  The GM is on your team inasmuch as they want everyone to have fun. Because their role is running monsters and the other stuff that you fight, they are often in opposition to you tactically, as they are responsible for the "other team" as part of their job.  Some new GMs do get confused by this and decide it's them against the party, but that ends up being a problem that has to be solved by them wising up or their players leaving.
The context of your question isn't clear, so I'll add a note that might be relevant - some GMs, especially new ones, do run a PC of their own that's part of the party, these are referred to as GMPCs (or DMPCs). This is generally frowned upon because of the conflict of interest inherent in doing it, but it happens.  That GMPC may be on your side, on your side most of the time, betray you, have other plans - just like any other person in the game world might.
Answer: In the sense that everyone wants to have fun, then yes, the GM and players are on the same side.
Sometimes you'll find the DM (if they are newer) has the belief that they are AGAINST the players and out to kill them. This can dampen the fun for everyone involved.
Think of it more like the DM is trying to detail a world in which the players have the freedom to roam and have adventures. The goal of a good DM is to let everyone shine and experience the world through their characters eyes.
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Answer: The GM/DM is the game
No, the DM is not in the same team as you. The DM is in no team at all. He is the world you (your characters) breathe in. You describe what you want to do in that world, the DM will give you the result of your action. He will also give you all possible extra information you might ask him. Because the monsters and NPCs are part of this world, the DM will also be the one to control the monsters and NPCs.
The monsters will usually want to kill your PC, however this does not mean the DM is on the opposing team! His task is to make a fun and challenging game for his players, but also to stick to the rules. So he is also the referee for the game.
Answer: Players yes, characters no.
The players and the GM are all on the same team - they are a group that is enjoying the game together, and the actions of everyone should be aligned to that goal.
That does not mean, however that the characters that the players play cannot suffer setbacks, defeat and death. Just like a movie would be boring without the heroes struggling and having to overcome challenges - and in many of the best movies having much of the movie world being against them - the game world is not the characters' friend.
But in the real world, around the gaming table, everyone works towards the same goal - a great enjoyable evening. It's just that the GM's role is different from that of the players.
Answer: The GM is no more or less on the players' team than the author of a novel is on their protagonists' team
The GM's and players' interests are aligned on the large scale, in the sense that all want a fun/engaging game experience (presumably).
The GM's and players' interests are not aligned on the small scale, in the sense that the GM will resolve actions, take decisions on behalf of monsters/NPC's without regard to what the players would like, based on what makes sense in the world they've created.
The GM fulfills multiples roles during the game
I'll use a combat encounter as an example, though the principle applies equally in all areas of the game:
I'm a GM planning their adventure, and I've decided that there is a goblin tribe hiding in the ruins the party are exploring. How many goblins? There could be 5 or 50. But I want the players to be able to fight and win, so I decide that this particular tribe is closer to 5 than to 50 in number. I do this because I'm wearing my prepare a game experience that will be fun for everyone-hat: if I were 'on the players' team' I would put in no goblins at all and place unguarded treasure instead (boring to play: not fun), and if I were against them I would put in a thousand unkillable hell-demons instead of a few goblins (killing them instantly: not fun). I do neither of those things, because I am neither for nor against the players: I am for an enjoyable game experience, which generally means challenging but beatable (or whatever effect you're going for in the specific scene).
Later, I'm running the adventure and my players have encountered the goblins. When it is the goblins' turn in combat, I don my play the villains as though they're trying to win-hat: when the goblins take their actions, they will do everything they can (within the rules of the game and within the limits of what the goblins could actually do within the game world) to kill the player characters (or drive them off, or escape from them, or whatever the goblins are trying to accomplish in this scene). It's not that I, the GM, am trying to beat the players. Rather, the goblins are trying to beat the characters, and I play them to the best of my ability.
One of the players - a wizard - takes their turn. They cast a fireball spell at a goblin, but their target happens to be nearly submerged in a pool of standing water. Does it work, or fizzle out? The rules don't specifically say. I don't immediately rule 'Yes, the fireball works as normal because the rules don't specify that it doesn't' (siding with the players) or 'No, fire doesn't burn underwater' (siding against them). I put on my resolve actions and interpret the rules-hat instead and consider the issue. What makes sense in a believable game world? Will the player feel cheated if an option they chose doesn't work as intended? Will either of the options make fireball significantly more or less powerful than the game designers intended? Are there any alternatives I could consider (e.g. let the fireball work but do only half damage)? Any or all of these might factor into my decision.
As a GM you wear many hats. I hope this about clears up which 'team' each of them puts you on!
Comment: Welcome to the site!  This is a great answer.  Check out the [tour] when you have a minute, and enjoy your time here!
Comment: I added a header that introduces your bottom line about 'as a Gm you wear many hats' since I think that (organizationally) it gets a core point/theme of your answer in early.  If you don't find that to improve your answer, by all means edit/revise.
Answer: The answer is "it depends on how you look at it."
At the highest, and possibly most important level, you, the DM, and all the other players want to work together to create an enjoyable experience.  At that level they are on your team.  If people aren't having fun, they pick up their ball and play with someone else.
And that's where the simple answers end.  Because what we have found over thousands and thousands of years of storytelling is that people like conflict.  It is likely possible to have enjoyable games without conflict, but it is something we crave.  Thus we invent major classes of stories built around conflict.  We have "man vs. man" stories such as the struggle vs the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz.  We have games that parallel this, such as Chess and Go.  We have "man vs. himself" stories such as fight club, where the conflict is within.  The Game† is an excellent example of that.  And, of course, there is "man vs. nature" where the heroes go up against the forces of an entire world.
And to that end, the DM takes on the duty of creating and shaping conflict.  All of it.  And upon taking on this scared duty, they cease to be your friend.  We love them for not being our friend.  Some of them are very good at it.
I think we all try to grapple with this in our own ways.  As a computer engineer by trade, I naturally use computers in my metaphors.  There's a very important concept in computer science called Turing Completeness.  It's an important classification marking how powerful a particular programming language is.  However, once you achieve it, there are some painful side effects.  It's often very desirable to know whether your program will halt after a while, or if it will process for eternity, never ceasing (until you accidentally trip over the power cable).  Many programs we can prove halt.  Many programs we can prove loop endlessly.  However, there's a class of them which are incredibly hard to prove one way or the other.  You are left pondering whether you might have guessed wrong.
The DM is the same way.  It's easy to DM in a way which makes you too friendly.  It's easy to DM in a way which makes you the enemy of everyone else at the table.  But the good DMs make it hard for you to tell.  They sit in the grey area between friend and foe, and then ask you to put your life on the line and roll the dice.
I choose the computer science metaphor because it provides a fun twist.  It turns out that there are a class of programs that you cannot decide whether they halt or run forever.  You can mathematically prove that you cannot decide them one way or another.  They are known as "undecidable" programs, and every Turing Complete language has them.
In that grey area between friend and foe, on your team or against your team, there is a fine line where the DM simply isn't provably either.  They defy being put into the bin of friend or foe.  They must be put in a third bin, and that's where the real fun starts.
†. I have lost the game.
Answer: The Game Master isn't exactly on a team, they're more like a combined narrator and arbiter. They have a responsibility to run the game. A good GM will make sure that everyone has fun, and that the players have agency (that their choices and actions have meaningful outcomes). From the Pathfinder RPG Database:

The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game is a tabletop fantasy game in which
  the players take on the roles of heroes who form a group (or party) to
  set out on dangerous adventures. Helping them tell this story is the
  Game Master (or GM), who decides what threats the player characters
  (or PCs) face and what sorts of rewards they earn for succeeding at
  their quest. Think of it as a cooperative storytelling game, where the
  players play the protagonists and the Game Master acts as the
  narrator, controlling the rest of the world.

According to d20pfsrd, the GM has a number of roles:

Host
Mastermind
Mediator
Actor
Patron
World Builder
Story Teller
Game Designer
Director

I haven't played Pathfinder myself (unless you count the Kingmaker game), but Dungeons & Dragons is pretty similar:

The DM describes the environment.
The players describe what they want to do.
The DM narrates the results of their actions.

If you are unfortunate, your GM may be opposed to you. Although I have not had to deal with this personally, I have heard of cases where the GM just seems to be trying to kill the player's characters (I'm guessing Tomb of Horrors is a good example of this).
Comment: I think it's worth expanding on this answer to elaborate on your main point a bit more.
Answer: The DM is an interface between the players and the game. He is not the game or the world,. He is neither a player or a teammate.
Without the DM, you would just have boring hardware in the form of rules books, written stories, dices and characters sheets.
The DM is the one person who run the game and handle world, entities and players interactions by the rules and on the story-line. He is:

The sense of the players (see, touch, hear...)
The voice of NPC entities
The motion of things and livings
The wind in the branches
The twittering of birds
The spirit and the mean of everything in the game
The guardian of the rules

but most importantly and ideally, the DM is:

A minded and friendly director, who is committed to ensuring that players have fun while respecting the rules and the story he or she has designed and tells.

The later is what distinguishes the most, a DM from an MMORPG computer game engine.
Answer: The GM and Players play together to have fun. So, in that sense, they are on the same team. But, the adventure is ultimately about the Players / Player Characters. So, the GM is a passive-supporter of the Players, in that the GM is providing the struggle the Players have to work through, but is trying to make it a rewarding experience. Hence, the GM may fudge dice rolls that could be seen as unfair or just out-right ruining of the adventure.
The problem is that some GM's get ego's, and think they're directors trying to force the players to act out certain scenes in a play. That's wrong.
Another is the GM thinking the goal is for the Player Characters to just become gods. So, they shovel riches on them and don't challenge them. That's also wrong.
It's a steady balance.
The GM provides the world and the RNG'ing in that world to counter the Players having control over characters. The GM ultimately wants the players to have a good time, but may have to make a decision the players won't like.
You could also view this from Player-to-Player...
Are the players on the same team? Yes, in the sense that they should be trying to create an enjoyable experience for each other.
But, in the game world, one player's character may be stealing and back-stabbing the party. If it's just to be a dick, then it's not enjoyable. But, if there's a valid reason (maybe they're possessed, maybe they're stealing from the party to save them from something else, IE: bad actions with good intentions) it can be enjoyable when others find out.
Ultimately, you can think of gaming as the GM helping the Players write their Characters' story. The GM is a facilitator, so they do help the players and root for them. But, it's their job to challenge them, too.
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How do I prevent pet aggro as a Demon Hunter?

Question: Is there any trick to have my pet bat not aggro stuff? I've lost plenty of treasure goblins this way.  I think this is so stupid (it should start hitting it -after- me)...
Comment: This also annoys me (and my friends which I group with). I would prefer pets, Monks Ally, followers etc to not attack them.
Answer: No.
The same thing happens with companions (incidentally, this is half the reason I don't use one; the other half is the inane conversations). There's no real way to control them, other than give the treasure goblins a wider clearance than you otherwise would. The other solution is to simply use a different skill if you don't like the way your pet works out.
Regarding treasure goblins specifically, it is possible to herd them. If you can use vault or other skills to get onto the other side of them, you can push them back the way you have come and away from other enemies rather than chasing after them and pushing them deeper and deeper into more enemies which you will then need to kill. In single player at least (may not work as well in multiplayer) goblins will always run away from you, not your pets or companions.
Answer: The one thing that you can do is re-summon the pet. This will cause it to warp back to you, giving you enough time to back up so it does not attack.  With companions you can dismiss them if you see a treasure goblin. This is also a lot easier with the Templar since you see him run to the treasure goblin, compared to the other range companions. But there is no other way to put them on "hold" sadly.


Why was Neville Longbottom in Gryffindor?

Question: So, students in Gryffindor are supposed to represent bravery. How does Neville represent bravery, to the point in being accepted into the house. I've always thought of his strongest traits being things like loyalty, willingness to work hard, etc, and these things would tend to put him in Hufflepuff.
Comment: Brave is not about not being scared; it's about what you do, scared or not.  To give Neville credit, he's scared a lot.. but that doesn't stop him when he decides what he has to do, all the way back to the first book.  Arguably, it takes more real courage to do something when it scares the heck out of you, then if you weren't frightened at all -- by that standard Neville is remarkable.
Comment: See also http://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/7514/ Why Was Peter Pettigrew Sorted To Gryffindor?
Answer: First of all, in the first 4 years, it isn't really shown that Neville is NOT brave - the only thing he's really afraid of is his Grandmother and maybe Snape during Potions. With good reason. :)
You may be confusing a lack of confidence/assertiveness with not being brave, but they are not the same (for a good in-universe illustration of the opposite, think Prof. Lockhart).
First four books, he's clumsy, and is not yet showing any magical talent.
Starting with the fifth year, Neville is shown to have been changed, and repeatedly proves his bravery and willingness to fight.
NOTE: He first shows bravery in the First Year (see System's great answer for details), but the real Gryffindor-y Neville emerges in the Fifth year.
There's another instance of him showing a Gryffindor quality - more specifically, integrity. He argued with the Hat to sort him into Hufflepuff (src: Pottermore), because he felt he wasn't brave enough to be a Gryffindor.

Fifth year

He joins DA

He shows marked and significant improvement in his magical abilities while in DA

He voluntarily joins the DA members who accompany Harry to Ministry of Magic battle in the end of OoP, even arguing with Harry about it:

Neville: "We were all in the D.A. together. It was all supposed to be about fighting You-Know-Who, wasn't it? And this is the first chance we've had to do something real — or was that all just a game or something?"
Harry: "No — of course it wasn't —"
Neville: "Then we should come too. We want to help."

During the battle at the Ministry, he refused to leave as per Harry's suggestion after Dolohov broke Neville's nose and wand.

When being threatened and tortured by Death Eaters, he told Harry not to give them the Prophecy

Sixth year

participated in the Battle of the Astronomy Tower. Along with Luna Lovegood, he was the only member of Dumbledore's Army to reply to the summons via the coins.

Seventh year

Neville got in trouble with the Carrows for refusing to practise the Cruciatus Curse on other students as a method of punishment, as well as for standing up against their bigotry and cruelty.

along with Ginny and Luna, restarted Dumbledore's Army.

attempted to steal Godric Gryffindor's Sword from Snape's office

Neville was eventually left alone to lead the rebellion efforts (Luna and Ginny were not in Hogwarts anymore). When avoiding the Death Eaters at one point, Neville stumbled into the Room of Requirement, which he was able to turn into a hiding place for the D.A., and to connect to the Hog's Head in order to get food from Aberforth Dumbledore. By May, most of the D.A. had taken to living there.

During the first round of battle, Neville used various plants to attack Death Eaters, and helped transport the injured and dead when a temporary cease-fire was called.

When the Death Eaters approached with a "dead" Harry, Neville stood up in defiance of Voldemort. He was subsequently forced to wear the Sorting Hat as it burned because he refused to join Voldemort. Fortunately, due to Harry's sacrifice, Neville was able to shrug off the Full Body-Bind Curse.

Because of his tremendous bravery shown on the battlefield, Neville was able to pull Godric Gryffindor's Sword from the burning hat, in the process proving himself a true Gryffindor, something that was doubted constantly throughout due to his apparently weak-willed, shy, and bumbling nature. In a single stroke, he killed Nagini, destroying Voldemort's last remaining Horcrux.

Neville subsequently teamed up with Ron Weasley as the defenders of Hogwarts and Death Eaters were forced into the Great Hall and defeated Fenrir Greyback.

All in all, pretty convincing evidence of someone's bravery
Comment: Actually, even in first year he demonstrated bravery.  He was even awarded points for Gryffindor by Dumbledore for standing up to his friends when he believed that there were going to get in trouble.
Comment: I think it should also be noted that being scared does not mean not being brave. Being brave means doing something even when you're scared of it. Which Neville shows in abundance.
Comment: @Pearsonartphoto - are there examples of him being **not brave** as opposed to shy/non-assertive/not-confident/etc?
Comment: It creates a bit of a chicken/egg problem, but I'll definitely agree that he was very brave at the end of the series. It just seems like not quite so much at the beginning...
Comment: @Beofett - it was covered by another answer, that's why I omitted it. Sorry.
Comment: @DVK yeah, I saw that after I added my comment.  I meant the comment as an expansion on your already great answer, and not as a criticism.
Comment: @Beofett - I added it
Comment: He's also a "legacy"
Comment: +1 for contrasting Neville with Gilderoy Lockhart :-)
Answer: Neville is actually quite brave. He might whine a lot and complain, but in the end when the going gets tough he isn't afraid to deal damage. Off of the top of my head Dumbledore once praised him saying:

"There are all kinds of courage, it takes a great
  deal of bravery to stand up to our
  enemies, but just as much to stand up
  to our friends. I therefore award ten
  points to Mr. Neville Longbottom."
Comment: When he was a young child, his parents were *tortured by Death Eaters until they literally went mad*. If I were him, I'd probably be too scared to ever leave the house. And he still stood up to the best (maybe the only?) friends he'd ever had. He's probably the bravest character in the series.
Comment: "It takes a great deal more...but you only get ten points for it."
Comment: And, @Pearsonartphoto, this example, is from the first year.
Comment: It only takes a great deal more in the films...
Answer: While the Sorting Hat did consider putting Neville in Hufflepuff, bear in mind that Neville did pull the Sword of Godric Gryffindor out of the hat during the final battle with you know who, so at the very least, Neville was a true Gryffindor.

"Only a true Gryffindor could have pulled that out of the hat, Harry."
  -Albus Dumbledore
Answer: It's been quite a while since I've read the books or watched any of the movies; but I'd say it's most likely because he never gives up. Sure he's scared a lot (particularly in the early books) but still he stands up for what he thinks is right/keeps trying/etc.
Answer: I'm currently rereading the series and there are so many (smaller, less-notable) ways that Neville showed bravery even from the beginning. Honestly, if I were Neville i wouldn't have the guts to do half of what he did; for example, when he lost Trevor on the Hogwarts express, I would have looked for him in quiet desperation by myself, not daring to admit to everyone that I had lost my pet. That's not even close to everything though. There was the obvious one where he stood up to Harry, Ron, and Hermione; that took a lot of courage. Then there was that time we all seem to have forgotten when he told Malfoy he was worth ten times more than Malfoy and got into a fist fight with both Crabbe and Golye at the same time. Then there was also the time when he "lost" the list of passwords he wrote to get into the common room, when Mcgonagall asked which idiot did it, Neville admitted his error in front of everyone knowing there would be consequences, he could have lied (I would've). Its actually super obvious in hindsight
Answer: Pottermore contains a nice list of Neville's achievements that make him a true Gryffindor. These few are some things DVK's excellent answer left out, that further show his bravery.
"Neville Longbottom true Gryffindor"
Year 1 "Standing up to Harry, Hermione and Ron when they try to sneak out of the Gryffindor common room."

'You can't go out,' said Neville, 'you'll be caught again. Gryffindor will be in even more trouble.'
'You don't understand,' said Harry, 'this is important.'
But Neville was clearly steeling himself to do something desperate.
'I won't let you do it,' he said, hurrying to stand in front of the
  portrait hole. 'I'll – I'll fight you!'

Year 5 "Facing down Bellatrix Lestrange (who tortured his parents to insanity)"
Despite being injured he still fought against Bellatrix(sadly to no avail)

'Longbottom?' repeated Bellatrix, and a truly evil smile lit her gaunt face. 'Why, I have had the pleasure of meeting your parents, boy.'
  'I DOE YOU HAB!' roared Neville, and he fought so hard against his captor's encircling grip that the Death Eater shouted, 'Someone Stun him!'
Answer: You must remember that Neville could have been the Chosen One if Voldemort hadn't gone after Harry.
Several times in the books and movies, Neville showed his bravery, however small. For example, in either The Chamber of Secrets when Harry and Hermione were going out of the common room after hours, he tries to stop them, saying things like "I'll fight you." Ultimately that ended up with Hermione jinxing him, but he did stand up to his friends, which takes a huge amount of bravery.
Also, in The Deathly Hallows final scenes, Harry couldn't destroy the last Horcrux, Nagini, and therefore couldn't yet destroy Voldemort, but Neville came in with Gryffindor's sword and cut her head off, which took an enormous amount of bravery because obviously Nagini was a giant snake that could have easily killed him.
Answer: Neville is probably one of the bravest characters of the entire series. As many have said before, his bravery is shown in small acts: standing up to the trio (Harry, Hermione, and Ron in the first book), asking for help, admitting he was wrong, etc.
But I believe his bravery is best shown in his classes, particularly potions. If one remembers, his boggart is Professor Snape, one of his teachers. He had to go to school and continually see and interact with literally his worst fear. I'm honestly surprised he didn't have total mental breakdowns having to deal with Snape on a daily basis. I know that I wouldn't have the strength mentally to deal with something like that.
Comment: You might want to add more sources for "asking for help, admitting he was wrong".
Answer: What I gathered from the books primarily is that the sorting hat can see what your natural traits are, but it can also tell where your heart wants you to go, despite yourself. Most of us envy traits we don't have and would like to improve what we are weak at. The same is true of Wizards. Harry should have been a Slytheryn, but he wanted to focus on his brave and bold nature. Harry deeply wanted to reject everything about himself that was Slytheryn. Ron should have been Hufflepuff, but his entire family had all been Gryffindors and he wanted to live up to his family's heritage so to speak. That was deeply important to Ron. Hermione is clearly Ravenclaw, but she wanted to be more than just a brain, she craved using her smarts for action, not just academia. Likewise, Neville may have been best as a Hufflepuff, and asked to be there, but deep in his heart he wanted to learn to be brave, even if the idea terrified him. The hat knew Neville had the potential to be far more bold than his grandmother ever gave him credit for. If he was allowed to be in Hufflepuff he may never have shaken off all the self-doubt she poisoned him with. Over the years at Hogwarts he did learn to be bold, brave and be confident in himself. Seems like the had sorted him fine.
Comment: What does this add that existing answers don't already cover? Also, do you have any non-anecdotal support for your assertions?
Answer: A person can also choose his or her House, like how Harry asked to go to Gryffindor instead of Slytherin.
On another note, the sorting hat sees the potential in people. So it might have seen that Neville would be more suited in Gryffindor than in any other House, because of the potential of his bravery.
Comment: Sorry, this is actually 100% wrong in this case. Neville told the Hat to put him in Hufflepuff and did NOT want to be in Gryffindore (source: Pottermore)
Comment: Harry didn't choose his house.  He asked not to by in Slytherin.  The hat chose Gryffindor.
Comment: Harry Potter shared traits of both a Slytherin and a Gryfindor. Harry Potter is very resourceful, and will break any rules he has to in order to get what he wants. But he is also very brave, and daring. The hat though he was better suited for Slytherin since it will help him achieve greatness, but he is a true Gryfindor as shown in the Book 2.


Jobs email alerts don't know the difference between Cambridge, GB and Cambridge, MA

Question: If I search for jobs near Cambridge, the website understands that I mean the real Cambridge, not any of these newer towns in the US. I can see all the gossip about which local employers are hiring and what new start-ups there are. (And I find out about my employer posting job openings before I find out through our internal system!) But if I subscribe to email alerts for this search, all the results are about Cambridge, MA. Since the search doesn't have any keywords, just the location, that's a lot of irrelevant results.
Comment: @JonClements What you're saying is that the process of setting up the alert loses some information that was in the original query, producing behaviour that's surprising to the user and inconvenient. I don't see how that is anything other than a bug.
Comment: I have a feeling this might be because when you're actively searching on the site the geo-ip lookup can kick in making the results more sensible. The email alerts are probably text based search only. I have a feeling  this is by design and more a feature request (I'm not a dev so don't quote me though!)
Comment: If the developers threat the location as text, then that's a bug, a place can have multiple names that are basicly the same location, but different texts if written as text
Comment: @JonClements your analysis is 100% correct!
Answer: When you search for jobs in "Cambridge" on Stack Overflow, we can determine accurately which Cambridge you're referring to because (since you're loading a page from the site) we have your current IP address, which we can use as a "hint".
In the case of job alerts, the job search performed to populate the email doesn't know about your IP address, hence we default to Cambridge, MA. That's the default Cambridge returned by the Google Geocoding API in the absence of a region hint. I agree that Cambridge, UK should be the default, but here we defer to Google.
In order to address your problem, you can edit your job alert a change the location field from
Cambridge

to
Cambridge, UK

Comment: The default cambridge. You've heard it here first folks, there is now a default cambridge
Comment: I already guessed that was the cause of the wrong behaviour, but the fact it works this way doesn't make it any less wrong. If you have to save extra information (the inferred location) when I turn on email alerts to make the emailed jobs match the jobs from the web interface, then you should do that. Trying to use the implementation as an excuse for the user-facing behaviour is poor form.
Comment: @DanHulme It's not meant to be an excuse, just an explanation of the behavior. While that is not necessarily what you were looking for, that's the best answer I could give in a timely fashion. And yes, I agree we should make this better, marking as [tag:status-deferred]


How to put songs to my iphone from itunes without deleting songs in my iphone

Question: I have a problem. My friend placed music in my iphone using his laptop recently. Unfortunately i want to put more song in my iphone using my computer. However, I cant sync my iphone to my comuputer since it says that syncing will delete all the music in my iphone. How can i put music in my iphone without deLeting the songs in my iphone? :| :|
Answer: You will need to manually manage your music now. You can do this by plugging your iPhone into your computer (or wifi connecting to iTunes), and then, after selecting your iPhone, under the "Summary" tab, select "Manually Manage Music and Videos".
If you are running iTunes 11 go to the the "On my iPhone" tab, and you can now manually manage the music that you have on your iPhone. Unfortunately, unless you erase the music he shared with you, you won't be able to automatically manage your music.


What is the minimum thrust needed to takeoff?

Question: In passenger airplane how much thrust is required to takeoff? What factors does it depend on?
Comment: 0, provided sufficient wind
Comment: You want exact lbs.ft or % or for B747 or Cessna 172 or just principle behind it?
Comment: Elevation (pressure), temperature and weight are the three that come to mind.
Comment: 0 provided the runway slopes enough. There are glider videos that literally takeoff by rolling down hill
Answer: You need at least enough thrust to keep the airplane flying at the speed of minimum drag. This is quite a bit higher than the minimum flight speed, so you should add something to quicken the acceleration to this point. Also, you want to climb eventually, so you better add some more thrust.
Normally, the static thrust of an airliner is at least a quarter of its weight. If the airliner is empty, this can become as much as half of the weight.
One reason is altitude capability: Since thrust goes down with the density of air, the static thrust in the cruise altitude is only a quarter of sea level thrust. The thrust of a modern high-bypass-ratio engine drops with speed, so at cruise speed and altitude, thrust is roughly a sixth of sea level static.
The second reason is safety: The take-off should be continued even after one engine fails in the late acceleration phase. Now a normally two-engined plane has only half as much thrust available and should still get into the air, so it doesn't crash into whatever follows at the end of the runway.
The thrust needed to sustain flight is about 1/18 of aircraft weight, and if you factor in the multiples given above, you will notice that if the aircraft can fly at full thrust in cruise, this fits nicely with a static sea level thrust force equivalent to one third of its weight force.
The factors for take-off thrust are:

Runway length: Short runways need more excess thrust for faster acceleration.
Runway elevation: Higher places have less dense air, so more speed is needed to get airborne, and less thrust is available from the engines than at sea level.
Runway slope. Taking off downhill is equivalent to having a little extra thrust.
Air temperature: Colder air is denser, so minimum speed is lower and the engines develop more thrust.
Wind speed: A headwind is equivalent to starting the takeoff run at this speed.
Minimum flight speed: A low wing loading and low-drag flap settings reduce the speed at which the aircraft can take off.
Comment: The 1/18 is typical required thrust for airliners at best glide speed, but at $V_2$ it will be higher. I'd say perhaps 1/12–1/10, but I haven't seen those values quoted anywhere publicly, so that's just a guess based on simulator that estimates behaviour from geometry and some fudge-factors. And don't forget some reserve to be able to actually climb, not just sustain flight.
Comment: @JanHudec: True, especially with flaps set for takeoff. But I didn't want to imply that the 1/18th applies for takeoff. If the runway is long enough, though, the minimum thrust needed for takeoff would be indeed about 1/18th of weight.
Comment: Only very theoretically. You'd need to lift off to the ground effect (where drag is lower) and accelerate in ground effect to best glide speed (that is something like 260-280 knots).
Comment: @JanHudec: I do all acceleration on the ground and lift off just when reaching minimum drag. Of course, climbing would require more thrust, but if the minimum is asked for, this is it. Only the runway needs to be long enough, and I need to disregard maximum tire speed.
Comment: a) are you sure wheels would still provide less drag at 260 knots than wing-in-ground-effect (or at least wing out of ground effect) and b) are you sure the tires would not blow up long before you got to that speed?
Comment: @JanHudec: a) absolutely yes! The airframe has half as much drag than in flight, that leaves a lot of drag for the wheels before flying is better; b) they probably would. It needs special tires for that speed (like those on the Space Shuttle), and the really fast cars have simple aluminum disks for wheels.
Answer: The amount of thrust necessary is the force required to accelerate the aircraft to take off speed, a speed which allows the wings to generate enough lift to sustain the aircraft in the air.
Factors include

aircraft weight
runway condition (length, slope, dry/wet)
flaps configuration
head wind component
If it's a multi-engine aircraft, the ability to safely get airborne in the event of a single engine failure is considered as well.

If by "amount of thrust", you mean the acceleration force: engine power ranges from 160hp on small propeller planes to thousands of pounds in turbine jets (Boeing 777's engine is rated at 417kN). In most GA planes, takeoff power = full power. In larger aircrafts, typically it is slightly below full power to save engine wear.

Note that "thrust" is not used to get an airplane off the ground. "Lift" is used to get it airborne and counteract the "weight". "Thrust" is produced by the engine(s) to propel the plane forward, "lift" is created by the wings.
Comment: Most airliners are actually in the tens of thousands of pounds _per engine_. The 777 is even more, with up to 115,000 lb. per engine (rated... it's been tested to something like 127,000 lb., IIRC.) Fun fact: A single engine from the 777-300ER is sufficiently powerful to fly a DC-9 straight up _while still accelerating_.
Comment: So essentially a 777-300ER is an overweight DC-9 VTOL?
Answer: It all comes down to Newton's second law of motion in that:
$$F= m \cdot a$$
The trust required for a 70 m/sec. 10.000 kilos takeoff speed and weight with an acceleration of 2g is: 20 Kilo Newtons, it will take 35 seconds and 1225 meters of runway to become airborne .At the moment airplane manufacturers have to trade off Power and Speed to the best fuel economy. but with propellers a max speed is about 662 K hr ( SAAV 2000 ) and jets with a optimun speed is 880 k hrs. Both do not travel at the optimun speed for ANY airplane of around 700 kms per hour wich is where induced drag and atatic drag are at their lowest so a propeller airplane is slow and a jet is fast and the penalty is fuel consuption because the jet have travel at the speed of combustion in the engines and propellers can not be made bigger than they are now (speed of sound limits their size at the tips)
Comment: That's a lot of trust... :)
Comment: 2g = around 20m/s2 so the time to accelerate will be more like 3.5 seconds not 35seconds
Answer: Notwithstanding exceptions and certain details the operator can decide about, generally the minimum thrust required to satisfy EASA (and FAA) regulations on takeoff performance for civilian jet aircraft is that which allows for a given weight, aircraft configuration, runway, and set of environmental conditions to

Accelerate to the value of V1 speed pertinent to that specific
takeoff with all engines operating
Either reject the takeoff from V1 speed with either all engines
operating or one engine inoperative within the allowed distance for
the stop case or
Continue the takeoff from V1 speed with one engine inoperative,
accelerating to VR and V2 speeds pertinent to that specific takeoff
within the allowed distance for the takeoff case
Climb out from the runway at V2 speed while meeting a minimum climb
gradient defined in the regulations (depending on the number of
engines)
Clear all obstacles under the takeoff flight path by a certain
predetermined margin
Reach a minimum height for flap retraction or attain clean
configuration and associated speed within the maximum time limit for
engine operation at takeoff thrust (usually either 5 or 10 minutes)

This is a rather simplified, condensed version of various paragraphs in EASA CS 25 (Certification Specification for Large Aircraft) and EASA Air Operations regulations, chapter POL (Performance and Operating Limitations - e.g. CAT.POL.A.205 details takeoff distance requirements). For more details, I'm afraid that actually reading the regs is as good as it gets...


Are stock exchanges market makers?

Question: Are stock exchanges like NASDAQ and NYSE market makers? In other words, are they providing liquidity by pairing individual buyers and sellers with each other in real-time? Or does it work differently?
Answer: No, they are not market makers.
A market maker is someone who (i) quotes two prices (one 'low' and one 'high'), (ii) will buy from any seller at the low quoted price (even if there is no corresponding buyer right now), (iii) will sell to any buyer at the high quoted price (even if there is no corresponding seller) right now.
This injects liquidity into the market when there is an imbalance in the number of sellers and buyers.
NASDQ and NYSE are not market makers, they are marketplaces in which market makers operate.
Comment: Correct. Stock exchanges are neutral platforms, they do not trade.
Comment: If this is the case, how are the prices of stocks the same across all stock brokers?
Comment: @user31652 the price is set by competition in the market. The market makers and brokers alike must be quoting essentially the same prices, because noone would buy from someone quoting a higher price or sell to someone quoting lower price. The transaction and information frictions in routine securities services are so low that there is no way to get away with any price other than 'the market price'.
Comment: @user31652 if the prices were different, there would be an arbitrage opportunity : by selling at the highest price and buying at the lowest price simultaneously, you would be able to earn a profit, without taking any risk. Investors would exploit this anomaly until it would resorb itself.

Are stock exchanges market makers?


Videos of surgery

Question: Where can I find a website which contains videos of open trauma (HD if possible)? I want to accustom to these views (because I am a medical student).
Comment: @jaaq What you describe would be an EMT-B in the US.
Comment: Depending on where you live, there are paramedic programs that happily accept med students, as another set of helping hands with good knowledge is always welcome. And you'd get lots of practice and desensitization.
Comment: @jaaq I'd be shocked to see a med student in a paramedic program in the US. Depending on location, paramedic training can be up to two years of classwork followed by weeks of on-the-job training, which will mean long shifts. I doubt any med student would have the time.
Comment: @CareyGregory yes, the american paramedic system is very much different from where I come from, with highly different priorities. Over here we only focus on stabilizing and transport, since the average distance to the next hospital here is <15 minutes; if it'd take longer we get a helicopter instead. Basic paramedic training here can be completed within 3 months working/training 50 hrs a week as part of the military draft exemption programme. After that we're fully certified for the job; but as I said, much different (smaller)skillset than in the US, but well equiped for all tasks at hand.
Answer: Top quality resources for videos will be found at sites from surgical academies, which often offer free or low-price subscriptions to students/residents/trainees:

American College of Surgeons curriculum for residents at https://cine-med.com/acsonline/
American College of Surgeons Journal at https://www.journalacs.org/featuredvideo
Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery at  https://journals.lww.com/jtrauma/Pages/videogallery.aspx
Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons at https://www.sages.org/video/
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists at https://cfweb.acog.org/onlinevideos/

Other sites I have not thoroughly explored but appear to offer quite a bit:

https://medschool.ucsd.edu/som/surgery/divisions/trauma-burn/training/videos/Pages/Videos.aspx
https://www.csurgeries.com/

Uncertain of quality:

https://medtube.net/

Regarding desensitization to blood, surgery, trauma, deliveries, and the like, watching videos definitely will help.  However, there is nothing that can replace the real thing - especially when you are actively involved in the cutting, cleaning, suctioning, retracting, stretching, etc.  Be very aware of this, and consider spending time shadowing in the ER or OR as an observer (i.e. able to leave at any time) before you need to take an active role in the procedure.
Therefore additionally, I want to encourage you that if you are expected to be part of a surgical team and know there is a possibility that you may experience nausea/vomiting, lightheadedness, or syncope: it is your professional and ethical responsibility to inform the chief resident and/or attending, as well as the circulating and/or scrub nurse, so that they can plan for your replacement if anything happens.
Secondly, the second that you notice symptoms or feel you are becoming overwhelmed, it is imperative that you tell the person who will replace you, hand over your task, and remove yourself from the surgical field.  Sit right there on the floor if you have to, but try to avoid (1) faceplanting into the open surgical field of the patient's body or (2) fainting in the trauma bay or OR and hitting your head on the tile floor, becoming a trauma patient yourself.  I had classmates with such stories and it was horrifically embarrassing for them.
Instead, be more like a certain medical student who told their attending and the circulating nurse that they'd done extensive desensitization training but this was their first real surgical case.  So then after a prolonged surgery with heavy blood loss, when they overheated after sweating for hours in the scrub suit and began to vaso-vagal, someone was already scrubbed in to take over for them immediately - and they could remove themselves to a safe spot to sit.  Rather than be humiliated by contaminating the field or becoming a patient themself, they were thanked for being responsible and self aware.
Comment: Even if you are scrubbed in (sterile) there is NOTHING stopping you from walking out of the OR.  The issue is that if you are participating, they NEED TO KNOW whether you might have to leave so they have backup.
Comment: A good German resource is [Sectio Chirurgica](https://www.sectio-chirurgica.de/).
Comment: I saw the links but .. for me I prefer trauma which appear from outsite (without endoscopy or internal surgery), like trauma orthopaedic ... you can say all trauma with discontinuity off skin. Because my problem is like what you said : symptoms vaso-vagal !
Comment: If you have some experience (from your friends) about a solution for the problem, try help me, because it is impossible for me to enter an operation room then to quit it (because it is sterile).
Comment: @user16752 You can always exit the operating room. Because it is sterile you will need to go through all checks to come back in. Also, operating rooms have multiples stages of hygiene, usually as medical students you are not sterile and can not enter the surgical field, but considered sterile enough (due to different clothing etc.) so that you can pass through the scrub room into the operating theatre. Nothing prevents you from leaving the theatre, sitting down in the scrub room and taking a break. I did it myself a few times.
Comment: I struggled with this too.  What helped me was focusing on the importance of protecting the patient's life, the anatomy involved, and being as technical about it as possible.  It usually goes away with time.  Repeat exposure helps a lot.  Now I can do anything without reacting to it.
Comment: In the US it is common for med students to scrub in to the surgery and participate in retracting, cauterizing, suctioning, and other assisting duties.  Often they get a chance to do sterile prep and suture as well, and more for those who show ability and an interest in surgical specialties
Comment: @DoctorWhom Ah okay yeah it depends here whether you do an internship or just pop by electively. Sometimes in the earlier years of studying they just watch; I kinda let the part slip when you get to participate. But even then as you said, nothing stops anybody from simply walking out of the OR
Comment: Ok, I will try all what you have say ;) I will focus in the life of patient and trry to forget my feelings.

Videos of surgery


2002 Chevy Silverado brake issues

Question: Our truck was doing fine then one day my husband left work and went to stop and when he would press the brakes they will go all the way to the floor and they make a hissing sound the whole time the brakes are being pushed.  It's extremely difficult to stop the truck. He checked brake fluids and it's still full and we havent noticed any leaking on the drive way or anything ..please help.  At a loss
Comment: Welcome to Motor Vehicle Maintenance & Repair! Sorry you're having the issues. If the brakes are pumped when they go to the floor, does this help anything? Also, is this an intermittent problem, or is it happening all the time? If intermittent, how often does it happen? Do you know if the Silverado has regular vacuum assist or if it has a Hydroboost system?
Answer: A hissing sound when the brake pedal is depressed sounds like there could be a leak in the vacuum servo, also known as a vacuum booster or vacuum brake assembly. This is the device that uses suction from your engine to deliver your power brakes, the sound you hear is the suction from the engine's vacuum system being pulled through the servo.
How it works: When you push on the brake pedal you move a diaphragm in the booster, causing it to use engine suction to pull on the diaphragm, making it easier to push the pedal. The booster pushrod in turn pushes on the master cylinder plunger, and it applies the brakes. Your booster always hisses when you push the brake pedal it's just that you don't normally hear it because there's a baffle to reduce the noise, however if there's a rupture in the diaphragm inside the device it can make a lot of noise. You might also notice the engine running rough when the braking, or even stalling due to the loss of vacuum.
However, a failing master cylinder would make your brakes hard to depress, not make the pedal go to the floor without braking action. That problem sounds like you have a failure in your master cylinder. Ruptures in vacuum servos are usually caused by a failing master cylinder letting the brake pedal being pushed too far too often. There are seals and springs inside the master cylinder that wear out, letting the plunger move too far, it usually happens over time so you wouldn't notice anything.
To me it makes sense to replace both components, although it's possible that your servo is still okay I personally wouldn't trust it anymore. They are often sold as one anyway, especially if you are going for a refurbished unit, which is a good way to save some money as long as it's done by a reputable shop.
If it was my car and I'm doing the work I would replace both components, then bleed the brakes on all four wheels, although if you have ABS there might be some extra steps.

2002 Chevy Silverado brake issues


Is Trello going to a pay model?

Question: I'm loving Trello. I love the simplicity of it and how easy it is to build projects in it. I'm creating boards like crazy but I need to know that I'm not setting myself up for a heartache in the next few weeks/months when trello converts over to a pay model, I can't afford. Is trello converting to a pay model? I don't see anywhere that it costs anything. It's amazing and I want to keep using it.
Answer: Please see http://trello.com/privacy

Free... for how long?
Trello is free forever. We may add pay-only features in the future, but everything that's free today will be free tomorrow and forever. [...]
Answer: Trello has added 'Trello Business class' for business customers.
From the blog article located here:

What's in the box? All the power of a Trello organization plus extra
  features like Google Apps integration, extra administrative controls
  for boards and members, one-click bulk data export, and a new,
  view-only observer role. All for $25 per month or $200 per year per
  organization. It doesn't matter if you've got 5 members or 50, 10
  boards or 200. It's a simple and affordable price.

Is Trello going to a pay model?


What directs macromolecules to their cellular locations

Question: For example I know that after transcription a mature mRNA is sent outside of the nucleus through the nuclear pore and then it goes to ribosome. But as for the free floating ribosomes that are out somewhere in the cytoplasm, how does the mRNA get to those organelles? Is there something else that attaches to the mRNA to help it? Even then I don't understand what force is helping a large molecule (mRNA) find and even larger macromolecular assembly (the ribosome).
Comment: I have changed your title to remove the anthropomorphic implications.
Answer: This is fairly often question for molecular biology

how does the mRNA know exactly how to get to those organelles

The secret to understand it, is that nothing knows where to go. Different molecules have different affinity to each other. Molecule A likes molecule B, but not molecule Y. Inside the cell, thermal fluctuations causes disorder that drives molecule A to bump into all kinds of molecules, including Bs, Zs, Ys, and others. However, when stumble upon molecule B, molecule A will very likely form some sort of stable complex with it. One example, is ribosome and mRNA.
When mRNA and ribosome join into complex, their inner parts can be considered in the same fashion: they will jiggle a lot around, but most likely jiggle will produce polypeptide, not, let's say DNA, or not cause mRNA to fall away from the ribosome.
So, you can say that mRNA tries to go everywhere it can, without any clear direction, apart from the fact that it will most likely form something stable (i.e. useful) with ribosome. Or maybe it will be mRNA degradation protein, such as ribonuclease.
PS: "will very likely form some sort of stable complex" means that in some reasonable time mRNA will find and bind to ribosome. However, it might take billions of years for ribosome to bind DNA and produce some sort of polypeptide.
Answer: Once a eukaryotic mRNA enters the cytoplasm, in most cases it is probably the cytoplasmic concentration of the eukaryotic translation initiation factors that determines whether or not a specific mRNA is translated on the ribosomes.  The concentration of ribosomes in the cytoplasm tends to be quite high, and I think the same is true for the eIF subunits.  The short answer to the first part of your question is therefore: diffusion and the law of mass action.  The last sentence of your question is unclear (to me) and should probably form the basis for two separate questions.


Need help identifying window manufacturer

Question: I have what appear to be vinyl windows with internal sashes and rubber seals.  All the seal in all the windows are failing and need the windows replaced.  I am having trouble finding the manufacturer.  The tag in the window has Advantage DH-Mechanical printed on it. There are yellow tags also with the numbers 124-3 printed on them.  Can anyone assist.  All the windows are failing the same way.
Answer: If there are no redeemable markings or stickers, you may need to rely on the physical appearance of the window frames to help identify the manufacturer. Key identifiers that would help include (but not limited to):

Whether the window is interior or exterior glazed.
Whether the window is a slider, casement, awning, or fixed/picture unit (take clear pictures of the hardware as those can be useful identifiers, especially for manufacturers who use custom or specialized hardware for certain window types. Hardware can include casement/awning hinges or crank-out arms, slider rollers or locks, and/or vertical slider spring balances or locks).
If the interior jamb is attached to the frame or integrated as a monolithic unit (same with exterior options such as a brickmould or nailing flange).
The window material is PVC; PVC w/ aluminum cladding; aluminum; wood w/ aluminum cladding; fibreglass; or other.
The interior and/or exterior finishes are material, painted, laminated, cladded, etc.

From there, take pictures of your windows and talk with local window suppliers or sellers (in person, over the phone, or email) within your area and ask if the windows look familiar and match existing window series. While this method may be more time consuming, you may be able to increase your odds of finding the original manufacturer through local parties identifying your windows. This method may also help if your series of windows are discontinued and cannot be found online anymore.
Answer: If the window sashes will tilt in, look for the stickers on the sides or bottom.