Instrumental Variable Paper for Minimum Wage

Question: I am trying to write a paper dealing with minimum wages and employment.  I understand there is simultaneity bias between these two variables so I must come up with an instrument.  Does anyone have any ideas for instruments?  I am also wondering if it is feasible to do a cross-sectional study instead of a time-series one in this scenario.  *Note:  The class requires using IVs and I am open to suggestions for other topics.
Comment: Have you looked at the rather large literature on the matter?
Comment: Yes, a lot of them deal with time series.  I am trying to figure out a method to do a cross-sectional study
Comment: Have you thought of using difference in difference method and natural experiment. For instance on 1 January 2015 Germany introduced a new statutory minimum wage of € 8.50 per hour, which is a perfect opportunity to measure the impact of such law.
Comment: Trust me, I would prefer doing a D&D or regression discontinuity paper, but the class requires one using instrumental variables.  I am also open to suggestions of other topics using IVs.
Answer: Neumark and Wascher did a lot of work on the minimum wage in the 90s and 00s, including their 1992 piece "Employment Effects of Minimum and Subminimum Wages: Panel Data on State Minimum Wage Laws". A non-paywalled version of the article can be found here. It includes use of panel data (cross sectional data that you are interested in can be considered a special case of panel data) to study the effects of the minimum wage on employment.
From page 65:

"Another possible source of bias arises from the potential endogeneity of state minimum wage levels. If state legislators choose the timing of minimum wage increases to correspond to periods in which minimum wage increases will have the smallest (or perhaps least noticed) disemployment effects, the estimated minimum wage effects in Table 2 will be biased upward..."

They too were concerned with endogeneity between the minimum wage and employment, so their solution was to use a fixed-effects specification and put in state and year effects in the first stage of the regression, with the instrument being "the [adjusted] mean of the minimum wage level in all geographically bordering states" (p. 65). Their data was from US states. So the setup for their study could be a useful starting point for you, or those interested in a similar question to this.

As Tobias mentioned, you can also use political variables as an instrument. In Lemas (2004), Political Variables as Instruments for the Minimum Wage, lags for the endogenous variable (min. wage) can be used with serially uncorrelated errors, but if that does not hold, you can use political measures such as influence-weighted politicians' support for or against the minimum wage, among other measures that can be found in section 4.2. of the paper.
Answer: You want something that correlates with minimum wages but not other determinants of employment. It will be difficult to find something that is really convincing. You could try variables related to politics, for instance democratic/republican party state governments or something in that direction.
Comment: This is a comment and not an answer.


Would you hide prices for a B2B software on products' public site?

Question: I'm working on a cloud based B2B software and top management is insisting we don't show the prices on our public site. I can't understand the reasoning behind this. How will this affect the customers - are they more likely to sign up if they see prices up front or is this irrelevant?
Answer: This is a strategy usually followed by companies that follow price discrimination as a strategy.  This could be because:

The cost of providing that product actually depends (usually statistically) on who is asking for it.  Think of insurance companies here, where a healthy 18 year old with no history of medical problems is likely to cost a lot less to insure than a chain smoking 70 year old who has had 3 bypass surgeries.
You simply have a high markup and can afford to give different prices to each user as a way of trying to maximise your profit.  If you're charging different prices to different people, you don't want to announce publicly what the prices are - or you will end up with some unhappy customers.

Overall, on websites, I have seen little evidence that price discrimination reason 2 is effective.  However companies who do this tend to keep any data secret, so I can't comment definitively on it's effectiveness.
I can however say that it provides a poor UX regardless of whether it helps achieve business goals.
Comment: @mijata: As a customer, I have two rules I use to estimate pricing.  1.  If you require a phone call to get pricing on higher volumes, I assume the price will be lower (else I would just accept the lower tier's pricing and not call you).  2.  If you refuse to post prices at all, you are more expensive than any competitors who do post prices.
Comment: @Nicholas you are comparing B2C with B2B in your comment.  B2B practices are significantly different from shopping in a department store.
Comment: I agree it provides poor UX and the only argument is that the competitors can see the prices up front and if we hide the prices, they'll need to sign up :(
Comment: @Brian My sentiments exactly.
Comment: @Brian & JohnGB: would you buy products from a department store that had no price label on things, and just expected you to slap down your plastic for whatever number came up at the till? Such places often have an abundance of "concierges" milling around trying to get some commission from your custom.
Answer: Well from a true User Experience point of view, no, it's not a good idea. If the user is interested in a product then they want to know how much it is in order to make a decision about purchasing it or not.
However, from having done B2B websites in the past this issue often crops up. There are a variety of reasons for not showing prices though.

Different customers would pay different rates, so there is no 'one price' per item, it depends on the account the customer holds with the you.
Prices may vary depending on how many are ordered (so for 0-50 items they come in at £50.00 per item, but for 50-200 items the cost is £40.00 per item).
None of the competitors show prices so you don't want to be at a disadvantage by showing that your products are expensive, you'd rather get the prospective client on the phone before the find the prices so the sales person can work their magic to get them on board.
There might not actually be a price for the item, it could depend on how many sales the department have made that month as to how much they'll charge for the items.

The list could go on.
Such decisions aren't really made because of user experience, they're made because of business decisions. What explicitly is the business requirement for not showing prices? What do the competitors do? Take all those requirements into account and that should help you make a case one way or another.
Comment: This is definitely a business decision. However, the app has clearly defined price plans based on the number of users and no other differentiating features.  Most competitors do have prices listed on their sites.
Comment: Yes, these are the reasons I see repeatedly. Also, sometimes a company handles sales only through their sales staff, not via an online checkout process. In some of these cases the purpose of the site is to show product details rather than prices.
Answer: That all depends on your pricing strategy.
For example Boeing does this because their pricing is extremely flexible, based on number of orders placed, additional services contracted with the order, options and exact product configuration, etc. etc.. It's just not feasible for them to list even approximate prices, and their intended customer know and expect that.
For example if you order one 737 jetliner with standard seats, no training or maintenance support, and are a first time customer, you still have different options (engines, avionics suite, the list goes on) but will pay a higher price than if you buy 100 aircraft with, add a maintenance contract, training for your ground crew, and are a repeat customer (or there's major competitors to underbid for the contract).
If you're Adobe and offer an off the shelf package of products with no customer specific modifications available, it's much more feasible (and customary) to show list prices for various package options and volume discounts, but even then the actual unit price will depend  (at least for large orders) on contract negotiations between the companies involved.
Ergo, it all depends on your portfolio, your company policies, and your target industry.
Answer: A big factor is how difficult is it to convey the value of what you're selling?  If the unique value is not apparent, then you don't want someone just comparing you based on price.  Instead, you want a chance to explain your relative strengths whether you're priced higher than competitors or not.
For example, if you priced a software development tool as price per developer, it may not be clear that you do not charge for users of the apps developed with your tool, but your competitors do.  In other words, total cost of ownership of your solution is actually lower, but that might be difficult to convey to someone who is just looking for that "per developer" price and will base their decision solely on that number (which in fact may not be in their own best interest).


The two fundamental theorems of Finance, as they relate to the martingale measure

Question: I RECENTLY read this in an article by Battig and Jarrow, "the first fundamental theorem relates the notion of no arbitrage to the existence of an equivalent martingale measure, while the second fundamental theorem relates the notion of market completeness to the uniqueness of the equivalent martingale measure" can someone explain the difference between the two fundamental theorems? As easy and palatable as possible, preferably.
Answer: Let $\Omega$ be the outcome space at some future date and fix a specific outcome $\omega \in \Omega$. Now consider a portfolio that gives one unit of currency if $\omega$ happens and zero otherwise, i.e., with payoff $\mathbb{I}(\omega)$. Any other payoff function can be given as a linear combination of these portfolios. The price of this portfolio today is
\begin{equation}
q_\omega = E^\mathbb{Q}[\mathbb{I}(\omega)] = \mathbb{Q}[\omega]
\end{equation}
The price is simply the probability of $\omega$ happening under an equivalent martingale measure $\mathbb{Q}[\omega]$. The no-arbitrage condition tells us that the price $q_\omega $ should be unique as long as $\mathbb{I}(\omega)$ can be replicated (FTAP1). If $\mathbb{I}(\omega)$ can be replicated for all possible $\omega \in \Omega$ (completeness), then all $\mathbb{Q}[\omega]$ should also be unique (FTAP2).
Answer: As I discussed in another answer, in the case of a stock with two possible moves, + and -, we have market completeness: there is a unique risk-neutral measure obtained from the fact that there is a unique straight line through two given points.
For a market with three possible moves (say +1, 0, -1) and just one stock, it turns out that there is more than one risk-neutral measure; i.e., the market is not complete. This corresponds to the fact that given three points in the plane $P_i(x_i,y_i)$, $1\le i\le 3$ with $x_1<x_2<x_3$, there is more than one straight line that lies between the two lines

$\ell_{12}$ through $P_1$ and $P_2$, and
$\ell_{13}$ through $P_1$ and $P_3$.

Namely, there are many lines that go through $P_1$ but have an intermediate slope between the slopes of $\ell_{12}$ and $\ell_{13}$.
If you add another stock to the market, it becomes complete again as far as I recall.
This all gets much more technical when you have continuous time and arbitrary real numbers as moves for the stock price. But it is still just a matter of whether the risk-neutral measure exists and is unique.


What is the difference between pre-tax and post-tax paycheck deductions?

Question: I am getting insurance for about 4 months, the length of my contract with a company.  I am given the option of having the cost deducted from my paycheck pre-tax or post-tax.  What is the difference?  There is a link about Section 125 of the IRS code concerning Cafeteria Plans, but a lot of it is foreign to me and I can't find much about it online.
Answer: Pre-tax deductions are taken out before taxes, and therefore reduce the amount of income that you have to pay taxes on, known as your taxable income. Post-tax deductions come out after taxes and don't have an effect on your taxable income.
If you're going to have the deduction anyway, pre-tax deductions can save you the amount of the deduction times your marginal tax rate. I'll give a simple example. Say you earn $70,000 a year in taxable income. As of 2013, you'll pay a 25% marginal tax rate on any of your taxable income above $36,250. In other words, you'll owe 25% of 70,000 - 36,250 = $33,750, i.e. $8,437.50 in taxes within that bracket (in addition to the lower tax rates on income below $36,250).
If you have a pre-tax deduction of $5,000, you only owe 25% in taxes on 70,000 - 36,250 - 5,000 = $28,750, i.e. $7,187.50. Your take-home pay in that tax bracket, after the deduction and taxes are taken out, is 28,750 - 7,187.50 = $21,562.50.
If you have a post-tax deduction of $5,000 instead, you still owe taxes of $8,437.50 on the $33,750, and after the taxes are taken out, you also face the deduction of $5,000. Your take-home pay in the 25% tax bracket is now 33,750 - 8,437.50 - 5,000 = $20,312.50.
It's no coincidence that the amount you saved when taking the pre-tax vs. post-tax deduction, i.e. 21,562.50 - 20,312.50 = $1,250, is equivalent of the marginal taxes you owe on the $5,000 amount of the deduction: 25% * 5,000 = $1,250. Remember that in these examples, I'm only talking about your income in the 25% tax bracket. Per the Fairmark chart linked above, you'll still owe $4,991.25 on your income below $36,250, whether or not you take a pre-tax or post-tax deduction.

Note that some pre-tax deductions are phased out at certain levels, in which case there might not be as much of a difference between the savings of the pre-tax vs. the post-tax deduction. This occurs with traditional IRA's, for example.
Also, the pre-tax deduction may be enough to lower your taxable income into another tax bracket. For example, if you earned $40,000 in taxable income, you would normally owe 25% of 40,000 - 36,250 = $3,750 in taxes, or $937.50. Add this to the $4,991.25 that you owe on your income below $36,250, and your total tax bill is $5,928.75. However, if you took a pre-tax deduction of $5,000, you would reduce your taxable income to $35,000, in which case you would owe 15% on the income above $8,925 (again, see the Fairmark table). Following the table for the amount of your income, you would owe 892.50 + 15% * (35,000 - 8,925) = $4,803.75 in taxes.
Also, there are situations where taking pre-tax deductions may reduce your taxable income enough to open up other opportunities in the tax code. For example, if your income is above a certain level, you may not be able to make the full contribution to a Roth IRA. However, if you have enough pre-tax deductions, your adjusted gross income may decrease enough to allow you to make these contributions.
Comment: I would suggest that using IRAs is a bad example for this issue which has to do with employers providing a benefit (e.g. employee can purchase health insurance for spouse and dependents at group rates) which can be paid for with pre-tax or post-tax dollars. Health insurance premiums paid post-tax are deductible from gross income in arriving at the taxable income, but with severe restrictions that make the deduction not usable by most people. IRAs, on the other hand, are very different beasts, and in particular have nothing to do with employers. (And please do not nitpick about SEP-IRAs).
Comment: @DilipSarwate Fair enough. I would argue that IRA's are still a good example of the basic differences between pre- and post-tax deductions, and the complications than can arise in dealing with them, but I'll work on writing up a different set of examples tonight or tomorrow and replace the parts of the answer that deal with IRA's. If you beat me to it, feel free to edit the answer or post a separate answer so that the information is at least included.
Comment: @JohnBensin - the tax chart is for taxable income. In a few places within your answer, you say gross income. A single filer sees at least $10K off the top from standard deduction and exemption.
Comment: @JoeTaxpayer I tried to clear up the references to gross income, since you're right in that I'm actually referring to *taxable* income.
Comment: @johnBensin - good edits. And a nice explanation of this topic.
Answer: Most people elect to have these deducted pre-tax because it reduces your taxable income. That mean that it is pulled from your income before social security, medicare, state and federal taxes are calculated. The reduction of pre-tax income can also make other deductions possible if it keeps your annual taxable income low enough, this really only impacts a few people, and would be considered a bonus benefit. Bottom line for most people pre-tax payments results in a higher take home pay.
The only reason I could find to make your health insurance premiums post-tax would be because that keeps your wages high when calculating monthly income for social security benefits. This would only impact people who were either near retirement, or were close to not making enough money in a quarter to potentially not get credit for the quarter.
One other distinction was that if the premiums were made pre-tax you can only change your insurance if you had a life event.  Post-tax premiums did allow you to make insurance changes without needing a life event. Again this would only impact a small number of people.
Comment: `The only reason I could find to make your health insurance premiums post-tax would be because that keeps your wages high when calculating monthly income for social security benefits.`  Is this really true?  The Social Security wages are reported separately from taxable wages on the W-2. Don't the SS wages _include_ the amounts paid pre-tax (e.g. health insurance premiums paid by employee, nonRoth 401k employee contributions etc) that are not included in taxable wages, and aren't SS benefits computed based on SS wages and not on taxable wages?
Comment: I actually found that referenced on a few state government and company websites. If that info is wrong then I saw no reason why anybody would want to pay it post-tax.
Comment: Could you cite a few sites that claim that SS benefits are based on taxable wages rather than SS wages? As a lifelong employee of a State whose employees do not pay SS tax, I am not qualified to get SS benefits (or so the Social Security Administration informs me in writing every few years), but I did have enough income subject to Federal _income_ tax (which is what people generally refer to as taxable income), and I would love to get SS benefits based on that income.
Comment: Here is a link to state retirement benefits: http://www.hrs.colostate.edu/benefits/ben-pre-tax-vs-post-tax.html   Here is one that discusses the impact on social security: http://www.upstate.edu/hr/document/benefits_faq.pdf
Comment: Also if you didn't pay social security taxes, you aren't eligible based on your job.
Comment: Actually, according to the [Social Security Administration](http://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/ssb/v73n1/v73n1p83.html) the _employee's share_ of health-care premiums is not subject to Social Security tax _only if it is paid for through a qualified cafeteria plan_ (also mentioned by the OP). In the absence of such a plan, the health-care premiums _can_ be paid for with pre-tax money as far as _income_ tax is concerned but those premiums _are_ included in the wages subject to Social Security tax.
Comment: A reason I found to do post-tax is because Section 125 states you may not change coverage until the end of the cycle except for qualifying reasons (job loss, death, etc.)
Answer: Pre tax example:
Pre (before) tax dollars for health insurance are deducted from gross pay first before Social Security and Medicare are calculated.
 Example:  weekly gross pay is $500, pre tax health insurance is $60.  $500 - $60 = $440 social security and medicare taxable wages.
$440 x 6.2% = $27.28 for Social Security tax
 $440 x 1.45% = $6.38 for Medicare tax.
All pre tax dollars including Social Security, Medicare and traditional 401k are deducted from gross pay resulting in federal taxable wages for a pay period.
$500 x 4% = $20.00 traditional 401k.
$500 - $60 - $20.00 = $420 federal taxable wages.
Post tax example:
 Post (after) tax dollars are deducted from gross pay after social security and medicare have been calculated .
Weekly gross pay is $500.
$500 x 6.2% = $31.00 for social security tax
$500 x 1.45% = $7.25 for medicare tax.
$500 x 4% = $20.00 Roth 401k
Because there are no pretax dollars, the whole $500 is federal taxable wages.
$500 x 1.45% = $7.25


Can I melt butter to make compound butter, and subsequently refrigerate?

Question: I want to make compound butter using my powerful blender. I am having trouble doing this with solid or soft butter because the blender cannot create a vortex and mix as well compared to blending with liquids. I was thinking of melting the butter and adding ingredients (e.g., shallots) and blending it into a beautiful liquid, and then refrigerating it. What would this do?
Answer: No need to go power tool.
Just use soft butter, a spatula and your herbs and/or spices; mix them all up in a regular bowl.
If you melt butter it will separate the fat from the milk solid and will never solidify after that.
Comment: @Behacad You can chop everything in the blender **and then** add it to the softened butter without ever putting the butter in the blender..
Comment: I have done this before, but it requires that I chop up the ingredients first. If I use the blender, I can toss in entire shallots of chunks of garlic or whatever I want! I was hoping that blending the butter would somehow prevent the solidification problems, but I suppose that is not avoidable...
Comment: The problem is that you need a certain about of stuff in the blender for it to work, and I can't just drop in a couple cloves....
Comment: Do you have a mini food processor? Max's approach is probably the simplest from a cleaning perspective.
Answer: You can do this, but it won't have the same texture when it resolidifies. It'll likely be softer and more translucent. See this answer for a bit about why this happens.
I make lazy garlic butter sometimes by melting and gently heating the garlic in it (not enough to fully cook it, just to soften the garlic and mellow and release the flavor). It definitely works, in terms of producing something that tastes like butter and garlic.
I don't know if you necessarily need the blender for this. Mincing is plenty to make the flavors release well, and soft pieces of minced garlic don't bother me. I believe it'd work if you blend while melted if you want. I'd probably try not to overdo it, though, because you're likely going to be breaking the remaining fat globules and disrupting the texture even more.
One compromise might be to blend with as small an amount of melted butter as necessary to get your blender to work well, and leave the rest of the butter soft and unmelted to mix into.
Of course, blenders just aren't that well-suited for this task. A mini food processor is a much, much better way to chop small amounts of solid things, so if you don't mind another smallish purchase, that'd be my first choice.


How does high speed sync mode work?

Question: Some flash units have a high speed sync mode, that allow a camera to take a
photograph with the flash while using a shutter speed that exceeds the X-sync speed.
The photo won't appear with improper light levels. How might this high speed sync mode work?
Comment: Covered under the answers to [What is sync speed?](http://photo.stackexchange.com/questions/1615/what-is-sync-speed), but it's complicated enough that I think a stand-alone question is useful.
Comment: High speed sync is discussed in detail at http://photo.stackexchange.com/questions/35327/which-flash-modes-use-the-least-power
Answer: Each camera with a mechanical shutter has a speed that is the fastest it is capable to sync with a flash. It is usually around 1/200 to 1/250 sec, but can be much faster or slower depending on the camera. At speeds faster than this the second curtain of the shutter begins to close before the first curtain is completely open. The sensor (or film) is not being exposed all at the same time, but instead is being exposed from top to bottom (or side to side for most older film cameras) by the opening between the two curtains. The faster the shutter speed, the narrower the gap between the first and second curtain.
Since an electric flash strobes at a very short duration, only the fraction of the sensor that is behind the slit between the two curtains will be exposed to the light from the flash, and the top and/or bottom of the frame will have dark bars across them. The solution when flash is needed at a high shutter speed is for the flash to fire a series of bursts while the curtains move across the sensor. This means the flash must fire several times in very quick succession. To have enough power for that many pulses of light, each one must be weaker than a single, high powered burst. Each pulse is dimmer, but because the flash is pulsing many times, the total power used is relatively high in most cases.
Comment: Note that the shutter behaviour described is called a rolling shutter (for OP).
Comment: Depending on who you ask, it is incorrectly called a rolling shutter by some people when applied to a mechanical focal plane shutter in a still camera. http://photo.stackexchange.com/questions/9523/what-is-a-rolling-shutter-when-do-i-have-to-be-aware-of-it
Answer: The problem with a shutter "faster" than the sync speed is that the first and second shutter are both partially closed at the same time.  Thus, there is no moment during which the flash can fire and expose the whole sensor.  High speed sync works by firing the flash multiple times as the shutters expose small portions of the sensor continuously.  It gives up a lot of flash power since the flash has to fire repeatedly in rapid succession, but it will allow an even flash exposure faster than the shutter can normally operate for being fully open (the sync speed).

How does high speed sync mode work?


Is autofocus important for ultra wide angle lenses?

Question: I want to know if autofocus is important for ultra wide angle lenses, for casual users. I mean, users like my mom. I don't mind about manual focusing, but I suspect that wide angle lenses will focus the entire scene without need to focus, but I want to be sure about this.
Comment: "Your mom" isn't exactly something we can quantify. Maybe you could explain her experience level and skill so we don't have to guess.
Comment: My mom: Point and shoot
Comment: @PhilipKendall OK, done.
Comment: As in [**my mom**](https://www.google.co.nz/search?q=%22my+mom%22&biw=1422&bih=998&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjNivugwv7JAhUELaYKHUxhCAAQsAQIIA&dpr=0.9) ?
Answer: My wide angle lens's focus goes slightly beyond infinity (it's the same for most other lenses too). If I turn the focus ring all the way, as far as possible, the picture will not be as sharp as a properly focused one, even at 12 mm zoom (APS-C) and f/10. So the whole scene will not be "automatically" in focus, regardless of how the focus ring is turned.
Manual focusing does require some skill and good vision, especially in a small viewfinder. If the user doesn't have good vision or is not willing to put in the effort to carefully examine if the scene is in focus, then it probably won't be a good experience using such a lens.
It is definitely true that accurate focus is less critical with a wide angle lens than a telephoto. But a wide angle lens does not eliminate the need to focus, at least not unless you somehow manage to lock it at infinity focus and then only shoot things that are far enough (which is not that far with a wide angle).
Answer: It really depends on the skill level of your mum. If she has a basic idea then it wouldn't matter. However if its for point and shoot photography, and she will want to photography a wide range of subjects, then autofocus might be more appropriate.
Critically, the depth of focus will be wider at any given aperture, so if the lens was left at say, f8 then she would likely be fine. If however she were shooting wide open and had objects both very close to the lens and in the distance that she wanted in focus, then she will struggle. If your mum is the type to not understand or even touch an aperture, then I would suggest autofocus would be easier.
I will also add that the lens choice should depend more on subject choice than technical ability. If your mum wants to shoot portraits, unless her name is Bill(ie) Brandt, she likely won't be happy with an ultra wide.
For the record, I wouldn't personally shoot with an autofocus lens. But then I have specific needs and understand them and how the camera helps to achieve them. If you are learning, it is often easier to  start with a camera and lens that offers as much automation as possible but allows you to override it, so that you can gradually learn what is important in your own work.
Answer: In a word, No. As you guess, focus is much less critical with a very wide angle lens. First, the depth of field is inherently much better than with telephoto lenses. As a journalist, I relied on a 24mm wide angle (35mm standard film body) for a lot of fast moving indoor shots. Less demanding than longer lenses in terms of light needed, motion blur, shake, focus, and even distance/room required to shoot in.


Fingering for piano arpeggio

Question: What would be a good piano fingering for these left hand arpeggios? They are played fast. I don't know if it is better to play 531-5321 or 531-5312? We only have F#.
Answer: Don't know what # or b are involved. On the assumption none, then they're probably easiest rolled, so keep the same fingering for the outside notes, leaving index to play the extra. If, as I suspect, it's G# on top, then the same applies.
However - it's you that's playing, so only you can really decide. That's part of the 'fun' of playing something new. Working out what best fits your hand. Sometimes there's no best, but it's worth considering what's happening in the next bar. perhaps your hand needs to go down again, perhaps up beyond those notes. It's an important criterion.
Comment: Thank you for the answer. I forgot to mention that we have #F. So the notes here are all white keys. I had a feeling that it is easier for the brain to handle the same fingering for the outside notes, when played fast.
Answer: I would play it as 531-5421. Because these are dotted half notes, you should have enough time to switch. If however, these were arpeggiated eighth notes, then I'd keep the common fingers and go for a more awkward (at least for me) 541-5421.
Answer: And, I would play it 531-5321. Which goes to show you that it's as Tim says: different people use different fingerings for the same passage.

Fingering for piano arpeggio


Does accepting an answer make other people slightly less likely to respond?

Question:
Possible Duplicate:
Is accepting an answer discouraging more answers?

I know that it depends on a case-by-case basis. But I'm just wondering.
Answer: Dunno about other people, but when I have a better answer I provide it.  There's always a chance OP will change their selection.
Also, I think you tend to get more ambient rep in cases like this, as people see that the selected answer pales in comparison to my glorious winged answer.  Which often radiates a golden aura, and sometimes can cure urinary tract infections.  The color of the aura is just a coincidence, btw.
Comment: I detect no ego  ;)
Answer: I depends on what type of question it is.  If you question is, "How do I iterate through this list?" and you accept and answer people will most likely not place any more answers.  If you question is, "Using LINQ what is the most efficient way to iterate through a list?" you may get more answers because people feel that they have a better answer then the accepted answer. This is the same for an answer that is more open ended then "I need help with this" type of question.
Answer: I guess it does : if you mark an answer as accepted, it means your problem is solved -- so there is no need to add an answer.
Except in some cases, of course, when the accepted answer is not that good ; but even then, I'd rather add comments to help the accepted answer be improved by its author (as it's the answer that is most likely be the one people coming from search engines will read).
Answer: In most of the cases this will deter other users from answering unless they know that the accepted answer is just wrong.
If you want/need more answers, I would suggest for you to delay the acceptance of an answer.


What's the difference between 済む, 終わる, 出来る and 上がる

Question: I've seen all four used in the context of something being finished. What's the difference between them?
Comment: May have been downvoted as a possible duplicate of http://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/5039/78
Answer: My non-native intuition, with examples stolen/adapted from alc:

済む means "to complete", in the sense that its negative implies that there are things lacking, or things yet to do/happen. Perhaps 済んだ has the sense of "over and done with", and has a slight feeling of relief about it. 済まない means "it is not finished", and implies that the speaker feels a sense of guilt hanging over them; more commonly written すまない (すみません), it means "sorry" (probably with a feeling of "I am in your debt").

済んだことだ。 It's in the past. 済んだ話 a story from someone's past; all in the past
これで済んだと思うなよ。 You won't get away with this. (lit. Don't think it's finished with this.)
仕事はほぼ済んでいる to be nearly done with one's work

終わる simply means "to finish", "to end", "to come to an end", "to cease", etc. It refers simply to the point at which something stops, and doesn't necessarily imply that anything has been finished or completed, merely that it has stopped.

終わることのない戦い an endless struggle
テストが終わったよ。 I just finished my test. (lit. the test ended)
着替えは終わっている to have clothes on (lit. the changing clothes is finished)

出来る is an interesting verb. It usually means "to be possible" (more often translated as "to be able", but be careful - it's actually intransitive). It doesn't mean "to finish", but certain tenses allow it to take on a similar meaning. It can also mean "to be built/set up".

出来た! I managed it! (lit. I was able to do it! It was possible! I was up to it!)
新しく出来た市立図書館 the new (lit. newly built) city library
最初の結婚でできた子ども child from (someone's) first marriage (lit. a child that arose from / came about from...)

上がる also doesn't mean "to finish" on its own. As a suffix verb, it means something like "do thoroughly" or "to completion", so 焼きあがったばかり means "freshly baked (to completion)", 出来上がる means "to be completed / ready", 仕上がる means "to be finished" (the 仕上げ are "finishing touches"). It can also mean something like "to go as far as it can go": 煮上がる means "to boil up" or "to be completely cooked".
Comment: I doubt it. Perhaps you could talk about a long drought that had now finally 済んだ, in the sense of "let up", but I'm not sure. Summer and puberty could perhaps 済む, if you considered them as processes that had many goals to achieve (and finally achieved them before ending), but it sounds somewhat mechanical to me. You might have to ask a native speaker.
Comment: Can 済む ever be used with things, that one cannot control? (e.g. the weather, a season, puberty)
Comment: You could use 已む for the weather, eg 雪が已んだ。"stopping" or "finishing" is not its primary/only meaning. 済む and 澄む(become clear, clarify) share their history. 結婚式は滞りなく済んだ describes the situation from.an outside point of view (it doesn't focus on your control over it, "it ended" not "we ended it"), but that's still not the same as the weather. You could say 雨に濡れずに済んだ, but of course, it doesn't apply to the rain directly here.
Answer: They all means "to finish", but "to finish" has two different meanings.
One is "to get through" or "to come to an end", which means something ended.
The other is "to complete" or "to come to be available", which means something is ready.
済む, 終わる = the former
出来る, 上がる = the latter


What is the best level or method for gathering coins?

Question: I'm trying to help my son upgrade some of his Skylanders figures, and wondering which level in Skylanders Giants is the best for gathering coins. Alternately, is there some other method for quickly gathering coins, such as the Battle modes, etc.
Answer: I found Kaos's Castle really good for gathering coin, especially if you have 3 or 4 wealth wheels in the luck o tron
Answer: When you go to the back of the ship, where the pirate is, there are elemental doors. When you match the element all the way through, you get a nice handful of dough. That's what I do to get more money.


Sidra question. Why did the spies in sh'lach become r'shoim and why then did Joshua send spies

Question: The m'raglim were the greatest of the yidden. Even Joshua and Caleb had to be 'prayed' for or pray themselves they shouldn't join them. What was so difficult to bring about the 'correct' result? And why did then Joshua send spies seeing what disastrous results that could happen?
Comment: I have seen the similar questions here.
Comment: I must stress my own answer here is always my own not taken from any sefer. That means it may not be right.
Comment: But you could ask the same question on Adam ha'Rishon?
Answer: Rabbi Frand points out that they were not originally reshaim. They were righteous men who wound up rationalizing that it would be better for Bnai Yisrael to remain in the desert, living a miraculous life. Once they started rationalizing, they started down a slippery slope that led to their bringing a "bad report". Another point is that they allowed themselves to be panicked as it says in 13:33
לג  וְשָׁם רָאִינוּ, אֶת-הַנְּפִילִים בְּנֵי עֲנָק--מִן-הַנְּפִלִים; וַנְּהִי בְעֵינֵינוּ כַּחֲגָבִים, וְכֵן הָיִינוּ בְּעֵינֵיהֶם.
33 And there we saw the Nephilim, the sons of Anak, who come of the Nephilim; and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.'
Rav Hirsch at the beginning of the parsha points out that they were not the official leaders of the tribes, but people who were regarded with respect within the individual tribes. After all, the actual nesi'im were considered "too old" to actually go on such a trip. Thus, they sent "young" men who would be more able to deal with the trip and also would be able to find the areas of the land most appropriate for the each tribe.
In answer to your question about how Yehoshua could send spies lies in the difference between the two missions. The group that Moshe sent was more like a congressional junket and the meraglim were more like the chief staffers. Thus, the meraglim could not sneak around and attempt to find out things. The stood out as Bnai Yisrael and were noticed immediately. They came back and delivered their "report" in public as well as inserting their own interpretations. Had they just given "just the facts" the people would not have panicked and Moshe Rabbeinu could have sent them in with no problems.
Calev and Yehoshua were under extreme pressure to join in on the consensus so as to issue the "compromise" report. It would have been like some of the congressional committes that generate a report for the congress. It is very hard to attempt to maintain the minority report. Consider how Obamacare passed into law.
Yehoshua sent Kalev and Pinchas who hat already proven themselves able to resist the pressure and maintain the truth. He sent them secretly (undercover) and they reported to him alone. This would be like a CIA mission reporting back to the head of the agency only or like an OSS mission to Europe during the war. They reported the exact facts, recruited Rachav and made sure that no-one else knew what was being done.
Yehoshua sent Kalev and Pinchas in the same way that an army sends scouts ahead (Just as the tribes settling the East Bank went ahead as the initial scouts and front lines). That is, he knew that Banai Yisrael were supposed to fight "b'derech tevah" (according to the normal way of fighting). Thus he sent professionals ahead of the army to determine the best path, to see if the enemy was waiting with troops, and were to attack first. The cloud and the fire would no longer be available to show were to go. He already knew that Hashem would help them, but he had to show hishtadlus.
The reason and method behind Kalev and Pinchas was completely different from that of the meraglim. That is why I compared them to the OSS missions sent to Europe during the war. The decision to cross and attack had already been made. The report (to Yehoshua alone) would not change that. It would only help determine the methodology that would be used after they crossed and were moving to conquer the land.
"Yud-Hay" Will Save You from the Counsel of the Spies

We recently mentioned the opinion of the Zohar that the problem of the
  Meraglim was that they fell victim to the disease of "negius"
  [conflict of interest]. They were afraid that when they entered the
  Land of Israel, they would lose their respective positions of
  prominence.
...
The Chidushei haRi"m suggests that the
  problem the Meraglim had with going into Eretz Yisrael was due to the
  very fact that they were righteous individuals. Because they were
  Tzadikim, they loved and longed for the type of existence that they
  experienced in the Wilderness.
...
The Meraglim, fearing the impending dramatic spiritual decline from
  the heavenly existence of the Wilderness era to the materialistic
  existence of having their own land, opted not to enter the land.
...
Where, then did they go wrong? The ultimate answer is that the
  Almighty does not want us to live that way. This is not the life of a
  Jew. The life of a Jew is to live a life where he has to worry about
  making a living and deal with all the physical requirements and needs
  of this world -- while at the same time remaining a holy person.
...
This is the name of the game. This is what Judaism is all about. We
  are not like other religions who believe that we cannot bridge the
  worlds of spirituality and physicality.
The Kotzker Rebbe emphasized the first two words in the pasuk that
  begins, "Anshei Kodesh tiheyun Li" [Men of Holiness you shall be to Me
  - Shmos 22:30]. HaShem wants MEN of holiness, not just angels of holiness. G-d wants Man with all his evil inclinations and lusts and
  laziness. G-d desires to see such a creature become holy. Holy MEN,
  not holy angels!
...
Achieving spirituality in a physical world is a difficult task. The
  Meraglim legitimately had what to fear, but that is how the Almighty
  wanted life to be. He put us here and made us physical beings but our
  life's work is to try to transform the mundane into the holy -- to
  take the wine and make it into Nesachim, to take the bread and make it
  into Challah, and to take the wool and to turn it into Tzitzis.
Comment: Some answers are too long to read. Some answers are too long to scroll through!
Comment: http://meta.judaism.stackexchange.com/a/76/759
Comment: I will shorten the quote
Comment: This answer unlike mine does not answer why Joshua had to send spies at all.
Comment: @cham I had given the reason by implication. I added it explicitly.
Comment: Did they report any of this back to Joshua @sabbahillel. I dont think recruiting rachav helped them in their war.
Comment: @cham Logically they had to report back in order to have Yehoshua be able to give the appropriate orders about what to do with Rachav. Similarly, the results of what they found out allowed Yehoshua to proceed and give the appropriate orders. The fact that Hashem intervened and ordered the procedudure for the miracle does not invalidate the procedure **before** Yehoshua found out that there was to be a miracle.
Answer: So the Malbim gives a very lengthy answer to the last part of your question as to why Yehoshua sent spies especially given the previous failure in parsha shelach lecha

(ספר יהושע עם פירוש המלבי"ם (ב:א
איך שלח יהושע מרגלים אחרי שראה הרע
שנמשך משליחות המרגלים בימי משה?
How did Yehoshua send spies after he saw the bad that resulted
from sending spies in the days of Moshe?

The Malbim goes on to list 5 differences between the two sets of spies:

When Moshe was leader the request for spies came from the Bnei Yisrael pressuring him to send them, but in this instance, Yehoshua himself made the decision based on pure motives.
In Moshe's time, the spies were sent from the desert of Paran which was very far from the land of Israel and as such the land represented 'the great unknown', but in the time of Yehoshua the spies departed from east of the Jordan River and Israel was within sight.
Different terminology is used in both instances. In Moshe's time the Torah refers to the spies as "תרים" and with Yehoshua the lashon is "מרגלים". The difference being that a תר tends to focus on the positive, namely how good the land is etc. whereas a מרגל looks to the negative i.e. the weaknesses of such a territory. This had implications in each case. In the case of Moshe, each tribe had to send its own representative to pass judgement to truly determine that it was good for them. However, in the case of Yehoshua, the spies are not listed by name. The decision to conquer the land was already in place. Thus, the exercise was just to scope out the land to see the weak points and thereby guarantee a successful operation.
Yehoshua's spies was a covert operation whereas the spies in Moshe's time was much more public with the Jewish nation waiting for them to report back. If Yehoshua's spies came back with a negative report they would have reported solely to him which would have allowed Yehoshua to act without any national fallout.
Finally, the spies in Moshe's time were spying out the entire land of Israel whereas the spies of Yehoshua were only focusing on Yericho and the surrounding area.
Answer: The spies that Moshe Rabbeinu sent, although he wasn't aware, were sent with bad intentions. The people didn't trust that the land was great, but to Moshe they told a different story. Therefore some say (I do not recall who, right now) that since the Halacha is that a messenger has the status of the one who sent him, they got evil thoughts. On the other hand, Yehoshua initiated the idea of the spies that he sent.
Additionally, these spies were sent with questions to answer. Moshe Rabbeinu, being sure of the land's greatness, told them to report about the nature of the land. They got it into their head to be true reporters and to objectively judge the land without any preconceived notions from what Hashem said about it.
Yehoshua and Kalev, through their righteousness saw everything through the real truth, that they knew to be absolutely true. It turns out that these two were the only ones to see things correctly, that the land is fruitful, and that the inhabitants are healthy, and that Hashem kept them preoccupied. On the other hand, those who threw away truth in the name of 'objective truth' — which is actually unguided truth — saw a very narrow view and fit all else into that view.
Yehoshua sent tried and tested men. Not just were they great in insight and purity, but they were proven to be fully loyal to Hashem. What was holy to Hashem was holy to them and what was detested by Hashem was hated by them.
When these two spied in Yericho, their whole experience was to be chased into hiding and escape, while striking a deal. And yet, they saw much past that. They reported that all the people are terrified of them.
The Medrash calls the 10 spies, fools. This is because they didn't see things correctly.
EDIT:
To summarize the above, there are two distinctions between those of the Midbar and those of Yehoshua. First is the intention of the actual senders. Second is that Kalev and Pinchas were trusted, tried, and tested.
But a very basic answer is that just because someone, or even a group, fell through with something, that doesn't mean it is an irresistible pitfall. Moshe Rabbeinu wasn't afraid to go up for the second forty days.
Moreover, the Meraglim didn't go unnoticed. They had to stick around an extra 38 years because of that. Believe me the lesson was learned. Moshe Rabbeinu brought it up at every opportunity. It wasn't going to happen again.
Comment: koach hapoel b'nifal. See my answer. This doesnt explain why Joshua had to send spies at all.
Comment: The stated goal is the same by both. As I mentioned, they told Moshe a different story. In דברים א:כא they told Moshe that they need it to know which way to enter. This is the purpose of any spy. Those of Yehoshua were no different.
Comment: He just 'walked' round the town and the walls fell down what @HaleiVi was there to tell 'how to enter' when there were no walls left
Comment: @cham How to enter doesn't mean where is the door. That they'd know even with the wall. There's more to a war than finding the door knob.
Answer: My answer goes a long an altogether different track. The previous answers do not fully answer my questions.
The yidden in the desert where on the highest madrega a dor deiah. These meraglim were 'n'siim' 'anshai shem' in other words the top. Hashem is trying to tell us something here like everything in t'nach it is not just a story. We find even though they were so 'high', at every 'little' step they faltered. They made the golden calf and wanted every time to go back to Egypt. Even after forty years when Aaron died they didnt want to go on and went back seven 'journeys'. The lesson is that a person has to work for his madregos. They were given it on a 'plate'. They had manner to eat. True one can get very high but the slightest ill wind throws them off balance. This applies to even the greatest of them. Joshua sent the spies who basically all they did was to find out the 'mindset' of the people there. He was also scared that the yidden would turn back unless they knew that the people there were scared of them.
Comment: But why wasn't he afraid it would backfire? Moshe Rabbeinu did the same. He sent them to tell of the greatness of the land.
Comment: @HaLeiVi Yehoshua sent "professionals"and they reported to him alone. They also did not give their opinion but just reported the facts.
Comment: He took the chance @HaLeiVi because he had no choice.
Comment: Joshua just 'walked' round the 'town' and the walls fell down. Not much 'telling how to enter' here
Comment: @sabbahillel Those of Moshe Rabbeinu were supposed to do the same. The question was how Yehoshua knew his would be different.
Comment: @cham so the short answer is that he had no choice in something that could turn out so drastically bad? And this is for the sake of something we have to make up about them, that they weren't holding by following Yehoshua -- although they just promised him just that?
Comment: And @cham, this was long before he found out that the walls will fall. Second, once the walls fall, and he has access, he still has to fight them. Surely they have to know the ins and outs.
Comment: @HaLeiVi that is why I gave the analogy of the difference between a congressional junket and an OSS mission. The meraglim went publiclly and returned publiclly. Kalev and Pinchas were sent secretly and as a result would not have been able to give a "press conference".
Comment: @sabbahillel my comment here is on cham's answer. However, where do you find this distinction? Moshe sent those and Yehoshua sent these.
Comment: @HaLeiVi from the descriptions in the Torah and Yehoshua and from the meforshim on the pesukim.
Comment: @sabbahillel, the Pesukim differentiate when they came back. But that is the question. The 10 spies weren't either supposed to address the crowd. But where do you see that Moshe made a public event of sending them and that by contrast Yehoshua did it differently?
Comment: By the way they were chosen, the names of the chosen and the meforshim who discuss why they are not the same as the nesi'im in Naso.
Answer: Apparently the meraglim felt capable of keeping the Torah in the midbar, but felt incapable of bringing the message of Hashem to the entire world.
See Yeshaya (42.12)
אָנֹכִי הִגַּדְתִּי וְהוֹשַׁעְתִּי וְהִשְׁמַעְתִּי וְאֵין בָּכֶם זָר וְאַתֶּם עֵדַי נְאֻם יְהוָה וַאֲנִי אֵל
Which the Targum translates to:

...אֲנָא פָּרְקִית יַתְכוֹן מִמִּצְרָיִם כְּמָא דְקַיְמִית לֵיהּ בֵּין
בִּתְרַיָא וַאֲנָא אַשְׁמְעֵית יַתְכוֹן אוּלְפַן אוֹרַיְתִי מִסִּינַי
וְעַד אַתּוּן קַיָמִין וְלֵית בְּכוֹן נוֹכְרִי וְאַתּוּן סָהֲדִין
קֳדָמַי אֲמַר יְיָ וַאֲנָא אֱלָהָא
I redeemed you from Egypt as I swore to Avraham at the bris bein
ha'besarim, and I made you hear the teaching of My Torah at Har
Sinai... and you are my witnesses before Me says Hashem, and I am God.

Which implies that the purpose of giving the Torah was not just to keep the Torah, but also to declare Hashem as God in the world.
Note: This is probably why when Moshe prayed to Hashem for the salvation of the benei yisrael after the chet ha'meraglim, he stressed the chilul Hashem that would result from the destruction of the benei yisrael.


How can you choose what document libraries show up in Word 365 when saving to Sharepoint Online?

Question: I am using Sharepoint Online and Office 365, and I would like to be able to choose which document libraries show up in desktop applications (e.g. Word or Excel) when saving files. I feel pretty certain this is somehow possible, as for example, in the site contents of my site, there are Site Assets and Style Library document libraries.

These document libraries do not show up when trying to save a document in Word.

In this example, I'd like to be able to hide the Test Wiki page library and the document libraries associated with Shortpoint (which are already hidden in the browser, so they do not show up in Site Contents already). Is this possible?
Answer: No, it cannot be removed/hidden.
You can remove Add Items and Edit Items permissions from the users in the specific libraries, for example give users Read permission or less in these libraries, so that they cannot upload the files to these libraries from Office client applications.


When doing a friendly battle or tournament on Clash Royale are all your card the cap level or is that just the max level it can be?

Question: I was playing Clash Royale and wondered if all the cards were the standard or is that just the maximum level they can be. Please help me.
Comment: Related question (ignores the tournaments, because they weren't a thing back then): http://gaming.stackexchange.com/questions/263216/friendly-battle-card-level-cap/263218
Answer: Your card levels are the lesser of:

The Tournament Rules max for that card type (Common/Rare/Epic/Legendary)
The highest level you've leveled that card

That is to say, you don't get to play the card at the Tournament Rules max unless you've leveled it that high - but it can't go any higher.
Answer: Well, there is a Tournament level Limitation, but it depends on the kind of the Tournament how it is treated!
First of all the Limitation is that the Towers and the king Tower are limited to level 9.
The same level is the Limitation for Common Cards.
Rare Cards are Always Limited to level 7 and Epic cards are during that Battles maximum level 4. Legendary Cards are always level 1.
Exception!: If someone uses a mirror on level 4, the mirrored cards are going to be 1 level above that limit!
Well, in Friendly Battles, the Cards are always exactly Leveled Like mentioned above.
In Challenges And Custom Tournaments Cards are played the Level that you got it but if you got them higher leveled than the Limitation then they are during battles exactly that levels Mentioned above.
In Draft/ Special challenges where you can play ALL The cards, they are treated like in Friendly Battles.
In Special Challenges Where you can play with your decks the same way as in Classic/ Grand Chanllenge (e.g. the first Double elixir Challenge).
I Hope I could help you and I Hope I didn't explain it too complicated.
Answer: The rarity of cards does not matter . King tower, princess towers and all cards are capped at level 9 in friendly battles and in events and tournaments.
I don't have any card of level 9 so I don't know if they have a higher level or not all my cards are 6-7 and a level 8 witch.
However I have heard rumors that some cards have a higher level than 9 but I personally don't support it unless I check it myself.
Comment: All cards go up to level 13.
Answer: As EBongo answered  the card can't go above the max level as in the tournament rules and the cards certainly do not level up to the max or tournament max level. Though in a recent update in friendly battles(ONLY IN FRIENDLY BATTLES!) cards are leveled up to tournament level if they are less than that.


What does 년대 mean?

Question: I found an anki deck with 1000 most common words (I have to translate them to english on my own) but I couldn't find much information about the meaning of this one. One resource mentioned it means "year", is that true? Are there other meanings?
Comment: It means "(the) ...s" as in the 2000s.
Answer: @Klmo's comment is right.
Here, I append some more details.

(eng) ~ (kor) ~ (meaning)
2010s ~ 2010년대 ~ from 2010 to 2019
1900s ~ 1900년대 ~ from 1900 to 1999
2000s ~ 2000년대 ~ from 2000 to 2099
Answer: To add a bit more, this is the same word as 연대 (年代), just pronounced differently because of 두음 법칙 (the initial sound rule). Basically, hanja that are normally pronounced with ㄴ or ㄹ as the initial sound are pronounced (and spelled) differently when the hanja comes at the beginning of a word, as opposed to the middle of a compound. This is why "year" is sometimes pronounced 년 (as in 내년 (來年), "next year"), and sometimes pronounced 연 (as in 연말 (年末), "the end of the year," or 연세 (年歲), the formal word for "age").
In this case, the decade number is being treated as part of a compound word, so it is pronounced 년대 (80년대), while when used on its own, to mean an unspecified era, it would be 연대.

What does 년대 mean?


Is this the sort of place to ask about game design for my own game?

Question: I want to ask about game design for a totally homebrew game I'm doing. But having read the rules it appears the questions are specifically known tabletops. Is asking about how I can design my game against the rules? If so, any suggestions for where else I should look?
Comment: [How much searching have you done?](https://rpg.stackexchange.com/search?q=%5Bgame-design%5D+is%3Aquestion) And how *How* is your *How*? That is, do you need help generating ideas or do you need something critiqued?
Comment: @HeyICanChan I did look in that tag but my situation is a bit more niche I think. I suppose its a bit of both. In my game I'm facing a problem with players so I need ideas for how to fix it. The reason I've been unsure is because my game is less a character roleplay and more a roleplay as nations. This is why I was unsure if it'd fit. Its got game elements but its mostly about roleplay.
Comment: The site fields questions about large-scale RPGs like [*Microscope*](https://rpg.stackexchange.com/tags/microscope/info) so it should be able to field questions about your homebrew. And questions about how people are playing your game should be on topic as the site fields social questions all the time. You're welcome to be more specific here on Meta than you would on the main site. I mean, you can totally ask here *Can I ask [this question] on the main site?* or even *How can I ask about [this complicated issue] on the main site?* and get help workshopping it *before* you ask.
Answer: Game design questions, broadly speaking, are on-topic. See game-design, and also our encounter-design, campaign-design, homebrew, and tags-about-design-im-forgetting tags. But they still need to be good Stack-answerable questions, which are sometimes tricky in the world of design.
Too broad and unclear are likely tripping points. One key when writing questions is to go ahead and be selfish: ask a very specific question. You don't have to worry about making the question too pointed: good answers will tend to expound design principles and processes that future readers can leverage for their own uses.
Idea-generation is not going to go well. "I want to have ten distinctive tribes of goblins, what should their dress look like?" is the sort of thing better suited to a forum. Sometimes those questions get re-phrased as "how do I go about designing ten distinctive tribes' garb?" which is passable, but (in my opinion) don't tend to get great answers. If what you're stuck on is coming up with names for goblin tribes, just pop into one of those fora linked above and ask. Not every bit of your homebrew process will fit the stack model.
When you're not sure go ahead and make use of our resources. As HeyICanChan mentioned in a comment it's always fine to post a "first draft" of a question here on meta to ask if it's going to work on mainsite. [Chat] is also a helpful resource, usually when someone's looking for a vaguer "will asking about this topic work?" up/down.
Lastly, remember that if down- or close-votes do come the way of any of your eventual questions please remember: they're not a reflection on you, they're a reflection on the post. I hope to see some posts about your game start dribbling in and hope you, too, find RPGSE to be a healthy community full of knowledgeable, considerate people.
Comment: Okay thank you! I think will post a rough draft in meta to see if its kosher and then see where it goes from there.


Why Start Pirkei Avos With Kol Yisroel?

Question: Why do we start off saying Pirkei Avos by first saying the Mishna from Sanhedrin "Kol Yisroel"?
Comment: Very closely related - https://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/57332/5275. BTW, there's an open bounty on this question. You seem like the "perfect" M.Y. member to contribute an answer ... Mr. "Mega" man :-)
Answer: A few answers:

It's to make the simple Jews feel better, knowing that they too have a share in Olam Haba, not just the scholars (Kol Bo, cited in Mateh Moshe 486)
Before studying the maxims for proper behavior in Pirkei Avos, we want to start off by describing the goal towards which these lead us. (R' Moshe Almosnino, cited there)
We recite these chapters in the weeks leading up to Shavuos, as a preparation for receiving the Torah. The first step to that is improving in Ahavas Yisrael (see Rashi to Ex. 19:2). We therefore remind ourselves that every Jew has a portion in Olam Haba, and is not (G-d forbid) beneath us to help him physically and spiritually. (The Lubavitcher Rebbe zt"l, Likkutei Sichos 1:262-3)

Why Start Pirkei Avos With Kol Yisroel?


Skill assessments for Australian PR process

Question: I am thinking of applying for an Australian PR (skilled independent visa subclass 189). Both I and my wife are software engineers. For this visa would both of us have to get our skills assessed by Australian Computer Society (ACS)? Or is it OK if only the primary applicant gets the skill assessment?
Answer: Under the General Skilled Migration Points Test under SkillSelect, Partner skill qualifications are worth 5 points. If you think these 5 points will make a difference in you pass mark, you could both get assessed. If the primary applicant qualifications (could be either you or your wife) are enough, you wouldn't need. I would personally get both assessed, just in case some other points criteria, such as IETLS score, end up not meeting expectations, in which case those 5 points would make a difference.
Answer: As mentioned above, technically it would only need to be the primary applicant that gets a skills assessment.
But just to provide an other angle for looking at this, if you think of it in terms of how many points you get back for the amount of money spent, submitting your partners skills for assessment costs around $500 AUD for just 5 extra points. So pretty poor return on investment.
If you can manage it, scoring highly in the IELTS represents better value for money.  You can get a maximum of 20 points if you score 8 or above in each category. It costs around £160 GBP ($340 AUD) to sit the test, so in my opinion focussing your efforts on a great score in the IELTS gives you more bang for your buck.
That said, 60 points is the minimum for a 189 Visa and you could get selected faster if you have more points than that, so any extra points you can get are useful.


I'm trying to figure out number of measures

Question: Im trying to figure the number of measures using the bpm and the length of the song. So I was wondering if you have any ways I could figure it out for me.
Answer: Impossible in general. There's not enough information. For example, a song at 120bpm lasting 2 minutes would have 1bps but 30 measures in 4/4 and 40 measures in 3/4. Of course, should you have a good guess at the time signature, any of the two (length, time signature, bpm) can be computed from the other three.
Answer: Multiply minutes by bpm, giving you total number of beats.   Pop and rock music is typically in 4/4 time, 4 beats per measure.  So divide by 4 to get number of measures.
If the music is more complex, you will have to be more clever.


What's required for the lifting of a temporary question ban?

Question: Although it has been in place for more than a year, the only question ban I've encountered on any Stack Exchange site was a temporary one that would have supposedly allowed me to ask one more question on the Physics Stack Exchange after it would've been in place for only six months, with subsequent questions allowed if that question would appear satisfactory to the staff. The ban, never removed, resulted in my posting a question, today, on the Astronomy Stack Exchange instead.  As there would appear to have been some oversight, I'm wondering whether I'd have the option of transferring the question to the PSE site.  (I'd like to get the answer from Meta before any transfer or duplication of the question, but, if either the transfer of the question between sites or its duplication on the PSE site might be arranged, I'd like to know.)
Comment: The inner details of the algorithm are secret (even to moderators), so any information we gave you in that regard would be speculative.
Comment: [Possibly related](https://math.meta.stackexchange.com/q/24803/166791).
Comment: Not to be too demanding, but I'd also like to verify whether "if [the new] question is positively received" means that it must receive a score of 1 or higher.  (In other words, is "'positively'" received supposed to be taken literally?)
Answer: You asked this question on March 9 (i.e. 3 months ago). According to the faq on the mother meta, you have to wait a full 6 months before asking another question:

If you're unable to improve your existing questions, you'll get the chance to ask one new one 6 months after your last question. If that question is positively received, you may be able to continue asking questions; if not, then the ban will be reinstated.

In other words, you had one chance in March and your question was not well-received so the ban was reinstated. You will have another chance in September.


Should I pay points on my mortgage?

Question: We're looking into refinancing from a 30 year mortgage at 5.5% (currently 23 years left) to a 20 year mortgage at 4.5%.  Paying points will reduce the rate somewhat, but since we don't have extra money to pay them, the price will be rolled into the mortgage.  Is it better to pay the points and reduce the rate?
Answer: When you add points, a break-even date comes into play. That date varies depending on the rate and number of points. As an approximate example, having one point at those rates would have a break-even point of about 5 years. At that time, the amount you save with the lower rate makes up for the extra cash you paid for points. After that, you are saving money.
If you don't plan on having the loan that long, the points are not worth it. Also, you need to calculate the break-even date based on your own parameters. I suggest searching for an online calculator or spreadsheet that supports point calculations.
You may also be able to deduct 1/30th of your points every year. Ask you accountant about that.
Comment: +1 for creating your own spreadsheet. This is invaluable. For what its worth - when I got  NEW mortgage to buy a NEW house, I was able to deduct all of your points in the same year instead of 1/30th of the points every year. I would much rather get the tax benefits the first year instead of only getting 1/30th of it every year (especially because there is a lower threshold at which no tax benefit applies - if itemizing < standard deduction, you have no tax benefit)
Answer: Check out the Mortgage Professor's website, in particular Calculator 11a:

Who This Calculator is For: Borrowers who want to know whether they
will save or lose money over a specified period by paying points in order
to reduce the interest rate on an FRM.
What This Calculator Does:This calculator shows the costs and benefits
of paying points to reduce the rate on an FRM, and the minimum period
they must hold an FRM before it makes sense to pay
additional points (the "break-even period").
Answer: From what I hear, usually not.  Get an amortization schedule for the property, and see what the savings on the interest rate is.  Then see what the interest versus borrowing less is.
The consider that you can invest the buy down money, or better yet use it as down payment and borrow less money.  Typically (as experienced by wife who use to be a loan processor) the buy down did not save any money, and just made the broker a bigger commission.

Should I pay points on my mortgage?


How authentic is salat ul hajah?

Question: I have read a hadith about salat ul hajah or prayer of need which says pray two rakat after ablution and then making a particular Dua. But the grade of the hadith is daif. My question is, is there any more hadith more reliable to indicate about salat ul hajah? Also should daif hadith be acted upon? Also there is a sahih hadith about a blind man asking the prophet(saw) to make Dua for him and the prophet(saw) taught him a certain dua, can it be considered as prayer of need as well?
Answer: Not Authenticated (Muhammed didn't say it)

حديثُ صلاةِ الحاجةِ فإنَّ فيه يا محمدُ أتشفَّعُ بك إلى اللهِ
  [الإنصاف في حقيقة الأولياء]
فيه مقال => means an argument about it

And this is not correct due asking Mohamed You should ask God not a person
Muslim faith is to worship God not the prophet
But if you want something pray God , raise your hand and call him with his best names .

How authentic is salat ul hajah?


What are the things to look out for when buying a motion detector?

Question: I was looking at portable motion detector that can detect motion within 0 meter to 50 meter. It can either sound an alarm or flash light when it detect motion. So, what are the things that I need to look out for when buying such motion detector?
Comment: In my experience the quality of motion detectors can vary greatly: some seem quite sensitive and some seem half-blind. Therefore you might want to try out any sensor you're considering, and check the return policy.
Answer: Well is it to be used indoors or outdoors? Because a lot of the technology is generally used for detection indoors. That is not to say you do not get them for outdoors it's just in my experience the ranges are more limited.
You get detectors that work on four different technologies they are:- Passive Infared (PIR), Microwave, Ultrasonic and Tomographic. The last two are more uncommon in the general market. More and more these days you will find the first two technologies have actually been combined into a single detector commonly known as a Dual-tec the idea is to limit false activations.
Apart from the detection technology detectors are based around two types of usages. One type of detector tends to be used as an activator for mains voltage lighting. And are commonly fitted these days for reasons for saving power as they switch the lights off after a person leaves the area. The second usage of these detectors is for intruder detection. Since you seem to be interested in activating a light and or sounder I would suggest using the low voltage intruder detection version as inside of the device they commonly use an alarm circuit and a tamper circuit and a 12v power source. The alarm circuit is normally a open/closed circuit which can be made to do what you so desire. You can run the sounder and light directly off the device as long as it's low voltage and low current usage or within the detectors specification however if not you can stick in a relay that will do the job. This option will most likely be the cheaper option also
Another advantage of low voltage intruder detection detectors is that quite a few have ability to adjust the detector range this is normally done via a dial which takes the form of a variable resistor built onto the printed circuit board of the device. Some manufactures also give you interchangeable lenses for the front of the device which alters the spread patterns of the microwave/infared radiation. This can increases or decrease the height and width of the beams. Another thing to watch out for which is not hugely important but can and i have seen it cause issues is that if you have multiple devices and they overlap make sure that you are buying different frequency devices. By that I mean that a manufacture will sell multiple versions of the exact same device the difference is what frequency the radiation is put out at this is designed to stop devices interfering with each other.
I have tried to cover all the bases with the little information you provided. If your after more detail on anything just let me know, I have extensive knowledge in this area.
Edit: After reading your post again I noticed the key word "Portable" this could change the outcome entirely. Could you explain the usage of your device so that i can revise changes
Comment: +1 Thanks for the details. Actually, I was thinking of putting near the door of a room in a house. (Probably, on top of the room) The door is usually locked inside when I am busy in the room. So, if someone want to look for me, they just stand outside the door and the motion detector will alert me and I will open the door. (Yeah, I know it sound a bit stupid cause I can use a door bell but I want something that is hand free - nowadays too many bacterias & virus are spreading and I wish to stop it) Also, I don't want anyone to touch or knock on the door. (My target is hand free)
Comment: Also, I am looking for something simple and priced reasonably too. It should be operated by batteries, otherwise, I have to find a power source, which is quite hard for my case.


Why doesn't Professor Xavier use Wolverine's healing power to fix his legs?

Question: Why hasn't Professor X used Wolverine's DNA to heal his spine, or whatever injury caused him to be unable to use his legs. If Stryker can put DNA (with powers) into anyone, why doesn't Professor X, who is a much more intelligent person with an unlimited budget, do the experiment? He is friends with Wolverine, after all.
Comment: Xavier and the X-Men typically shy away from genetic experiments on mutants. Historically, such things end badly.
Comment: I haven't followed comics for years, but as I recall, back in the early New Mutants run, Xavier was grumbling because he was physically fine, but there was some kind of block in his mind keeping him from using his legs, which, for a telepath, is just depressing.  Later, he did use them.
Comment: He probably likes the nickname "Wheels" better than "Chrome Dome"
Comment: Does Xavier WANT his legs back?
Comment: I suppose so. Who doesnt need his legs. and can we say, What if .. What if he likes his legs back.
Comment: Sounds like an answer, @KeithHWeston.
Comment: @Phantom42 - You could probably make that into an answer.
Comment: Thereafter, he could use Wolverine's healing power to grow back his lush, thick head of hair.
Answer: I haven't followed the X-men or New Mutants (or any related groups) for quite a few years, but I remember that near the beginning of the New Mutants, Professor X was irritated at his inability to walk, as his body was fine; it was nothing more than psychosomatic pain that kept him from walking.  As possibly the most powerful telepath on earth, that was rather frustrating and confusing to him.

He was later able to walk; how long it lasted is unknown to me, as I stopped reading around then.
Comment: No, his original injury was from Lucifer dropping a rock on his legs. The psychosomatic pain was a complication later after Lilandra tried to cure him.

[Here](http://i939.photobucket.com/albums/ad236/beecover/fourkeys.jpg) is where the slab is dropped on him.
Comment: nice answer. so it isnt something that nicked his spine. it was more of a psycho... something problem
Comment: ill look at the link when i get home. So the First Class is a remake?
Comment: @Sid: Yes, to some extent.  There have been several alternate versions of this one implied by various comics and movies, besides the original version above.  (I vastly prefer the Ultimate universe version, in which Magneto did it.  Much better for both characters.)
Answer: Xavier and the X-Men typically shy away from genetic experiments on Mutants. Historically, such experiments end badly or are so morally questionable that it's a line they just don't want to cross.
He has, however, had his legs cured by the results (or more specifically the side effects) of genetic experimentation (the Legacy Virus) and by the powers of another mutant (Xorn).


what alternatives can possibly back a new currency

Question: A currency can be backed by a trusted issuing authority, by a scarce resource or by the scarcity of its money base (eg bitcoin). Are there any other known working alternatives.
Comment: How is scarcity a relevant feature? My poop is relatively scarce and grows at a small rate, yet nobody would consider using that that back their currency. Mostly unrelated: If you're into science fiction, this is a good book: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Making_Money
Comment: I would recommend reading Felix Martin's "Money" for an introduction to the topic. Money is a system of clearing and credit-- it being "backed" by something is an idea that doesn't hold up well when compared to historical examples.
Answer: The value of money is derived entirely from others' willingness to accept it in exchange for things of value.
Money has in fact emerged— Rai stones on Yap is the classic example— without the existence of either a "trusted authority" mandating its use (I assume that by "trusted authority" you mean a government-mandated fiat currency) or any recourse to a scare resource (e.g., notes redeemable for silver or gold).
While the Yap stones themselves (the monetary base) were in fact scarce, and some degree of scarcity is a necessary condition for money to act as an effective store of value, it's not a sufficient condition, as FooBar noted in his comment. Even if a monetary base is finite, what matters is that people are willing to accept that form of money as payment, which is in turn generally determined by whether other people will be willing to accept that form of money as payment. It's collective agreement that money has value that makes it valuable. If people some day find no reason to continue using the Rai stones as money (they've been replaced by US dollars for day-to-day use, and they're only used for certain traditional exchanges now), they will lose their value as currency, despite their continued scarcity.
Specifically regarding Bitcoin, there has been significant skepticism in the economics community about whether it is actually a currency, with Yermack (2013) noting that it functions poorly as a store of value and unit of account, and that its transaction volumes have been quite low.


Can I fix the Xbox 360 "Red Ring of Death" myself?

Question: I've heard of kits that can fix your Xbox 360 if you happen to get the Red Ring of Death. Do any of these work, and do they void your warranty? Are there any other noteworthy tips or tricks?
Answer: It voids your warranty if you open up the console. I've tried fixing an Xbox 360 myself by doing the X-Clamp replacement but that fix only lasted about 8 months before it red ringed again. Since Microsoft paid 1.5 billion dollars for you to have a 3 year warranty for your Xbox 360, you should just have them fix it for you for free. That is, assuming you've had this Xbox 360 less than 3 years.
Comment: Turnaround time is fast plus I suspect I may have an entirely new xbox out of it.
Answer: You may hear of something called the towel trick if you have googled this. Whatever you do, do not try this. Your 360 might run for about 10 minutes, and you've just voided any warranty you may have had.
Other than that, I don't know of any solutions that work.
Comment: +1 for the warning. If anyone isn't aware of how the _Towel Trick_ works, I shall explain:  A common cause of the RRoD is that a physical connection may come unsoldered inside your xbox.  The so called _Towel Trick_ works by overheating your console so much that the solder _re-melts_ and then seals the connection again.  This kind of extreme heat is obviously not a good thing.   As _Macha_ stated, do **NOT** try this technique.
Answer: I would not advise opening your Xbox 360 to fix the RRoD. Unless a lot has changed in a few years, the fixes I found for RRoD only made the problem worse. Let alone it voids your warranty. I was personally never able to get my RRoD console fixed with solutions found on the internet. And then I found that once I had opened it, Microsoft would not even touch the console for any amount of money.
This my blog about the experience, it's mostly about the customer support and UPS experience, but you get the picture: STAY AWAY
http://www.greyhats.com/gaming/why-my-xbox-360-support-has-sucked-40
Answer: I don't have any experience with the kits you're looking at, but try unplugging your AC adaptor, dusting it out, moving it to a spot with more ventilation, and plugging it back in. Worked for me when I got the RRoD - apparently it's just a generic error indicator for a number of problems.
Comment: Correct - the different indicator lights can mean different things, from an unplugged cable to catastrophic failure.
Answer: As an owner of a video games repair shop, the kits do work only for certain fixes, but they definitely won't last as long as a reflow of the board.
Consider the kits as temporary fixes for some red ring of death related issues. Any board that has the dreaded red ring of death just means the board is prone to heat and gives it a higher chance of it overheating again. If you just apply the kit fix and it overheats again, it just means it would require a reflow of the chip instead. Keep in mind it's the heat that's causing the issue, so its always best to mod the 360 internal fan to keep it cooler.
You will need to know how to solder and have a soldering iron. Here's a very good article on the RROD subject on the differences of a reflow and reball.
I know many people do their own research and find forums regarding this RROD repair topic, but I must honestly say there is a lot of false and misleading information from others that have fixed their own systems or only a handful of them. Most RROD occurrence's is different, which is why you will need to find the error code to find the culprit chip.
Answer:

Guys in this video is shown the easiest way how to repair your xbox, without opening it :)
Comment: unless you can tell us how to fix it in text, this answer is marked for deletion. We do not accept answers, where the answer itself is only present in the form of a link or video.

Can I fix the Xbox 360 “Red Ring of Death” myself?


How Do I Maintain User's IE Internet Options?

Question: I would like to maintain IE Internet Options for users on a terminal server without having to log in and change them manually.  Specifically, I want to be able to indicate computers to include in the Local intranet as well as setting some Custom level security settings.  Any assistance would be appreciated.  I assume there is an administrative way to get access to these, I just don't know it.  Can someone help point me in the right direction?
Answer: In an Active Directory scenario you can create a GPO to set all those configuration options for your users.
If this is a stand alone server, you can configure these options by changing the options in the Local Computer Policy. To do this:
On the server (as an admin) click Start, then run and enter mmc.exe
Click File, then Add/Remove Snapin
Select Group Policy Object, click Add
Select 'Local Computer' as the realm
Click Ok, then Ok again
All set
Answer: As an alternative to using policies you can set up a user profile the way you want and copy that to the default user profile. Then any new users will inherit those settings. Policies will lock the settings in, whereas the profile method gives them the starting settings, while allowing the users to change them, giving the same results as you are currently getting.


Legendre expansion of $r(x) = f(x)/g(x)$ using a finite number of samples from $f(x)$ and $g(x)$

Question: I have two finite sets of events $\{x_1, ..., x_N\}$ and $\{y_1, ..., y_N\}$ that are sampled from the PDFs $f(x)$ and $g(x)$, respectively, where $x \in [-1,+1]$. I want to estimate the Legendre expansion of $r(x) = f(x)/g(x)$ using these events. What is the best method? (Note that $g(x)\neq0$ over $[-1,1]$)
Comment: Your use of $x$ to refer to events is confusing here. Do you mean that you have sampled values $f(x_i)$ and $g(x_i)$ for $i\in{1,\ldots,N}$, and would like an expansion for the function $f(x)/g(x)$ using the Legendre polynomial basis in the $x\in[-1,+1]$ interval?
Answer: I believe you are asking how to compute
$$\frac{f(x)}{g(x)}\approx\sum_{n=0}^p a_n P_n(x).$$
You could interpolate your samples of $f$ and $g$ to a uniform grid on $[-1,1]$, calculate the ratios at each of these points, and then use the trapezoid rule to calculate the integral
$$\int_{-1}^1 P_n(x) \frac{f(x)}{g(x)} dx \approx \sum_j w_j P_n(x_j)\frac{f(x_j)}{g(x_j)},$$
where $\{w_j,x_j\}$ represents the quadrature weights and abscissae, respectively. Given that I don't know what the functions $f,g$ behave like, I can't say much for the accuracy of this approach beyond that it should be OK if $f/g$ is smooth.
Comment: Thanks! I think this should work for my case. The functions $f(x)$ and $g(x)$ are not extremely smooth, although $f(x)/g(x)$ is. I guess as long as the interpolated versions of $f(x)$ and $g(x)$ are both wrong by approximately the same factor (which sounds plausible) this should cancel in the ratio


Discovering which PCMCIA Wifi card can work on OS X Leopard

Question: I've got an old PowerBook G4. I've installed Mac OS X Leopard on it. Now, i want to buy a PCMCIA wifi card for surfing internet. But I can't understand, which cards are compatible and which not. Information in internet is very old, and I found information only about OS X 10.4. Also, I've read, that all cards,based on broadcom chipset are compatible. For example, does Linksys WPC54G works with my computer?
Answer: There is a list of such cards on Low End Mac up to 10.4
But I believe better way would be just to go to ebay for native Airport Extreme if your particular model is aluminum one.
If it is Titanium then CardBus is the way to go since original Airport 802.11b cards are rare, pricier and don't support WPA2.
P.S. And I wouldn't recommend 10.5 on Titanium Powerbook


Unattended/silent install of Oracle XE Express fails

Question: I am experimenting with silent installs of Oracle 10g XE on a fresh XP VM.  I have an iss file, copied from the standard one from oracle, called "foo.iss"  Here is my command:
<code>>OracleXEUniv.exe /s /f1"C:\xe\foo.iss" /f2"C:\xe\foo.log"
</code>
I just followed what I found on the Oracle support site.  This command causes a temp folder to be created, which contains an installer file: "Oracle Database 10g Express Edition.msi"
So it looks good.  But the process then just silently fails.  No log is created in the install folder (C:\x) except for setup.log which only has:
<code>[ResponseResult]
ResultCode=-3
</code>
In C:\windows is the larger log file, OracleDatabaseXEServerInstall.log
Is has alot in it, and ends with:
<code>1: Standard project type, let scripting engine clean up setup files...skipping action
Action ended 17:43:27: ISSetupFilesCleanup. Return value 1.
MSI (c) (34:BC) [17:43:27:420]: PROPERTY CHANGE: Adding ISSETUP_UISEQUENCE_PROCESSED property. Its value is '1'.
MSI (c) (34:BC) [17:43:27:420]: Note: 1: 2262 2: Upgrade 3: -2147287038
1: Not using skins for this installation.  Could not find skin file .
MSI (c) (34:BC) [17:43:27:650]: Note: 1: 2262 2: DuplicateFile 3: -2147287038
MSI (c) (34:BC) [17:43:27:700]: Note: 1: 2262 2: ISRequiredFeature 3: -2147287038
MSI (c) (34:BC) [17:43:27:920]: Note: 1: 2205 2: C:\DOCUME~1\dlwiii\LOCALS~1\Temp\_is33\Oracle Database 10g Express Edition.msi 3: ISAlias
MSI (c) (34:BC) [17:43:27:920]: Note: 1: 2228 2: C:\DOCUME~1\dlwiii\LOCALS~1\Temp\_is33\Oracle Database 10g Express Edition.msi 3: ISAlias 4: SELECT * FROM ISAlias
1: Ready to launch program block.
1: User aborts the installation, ready to launch __OnAbort.
MSI (c) (34:BC) [17:43:30:434]: Destroying RemoteAPI object.
MSI (c) (34:B8) [17:43:30:454]: Custom Action Manager thread ending.
=== Verbose logging stopped: 8/27/2011  17:43:30 ===
</code>
Any idea what I am doing wrong?  The command line looks suspect, as when I run the install program with just /? I get the following, which shows no /f1 nor /f2 options at all:

I am simply playing with this, but would really like to solve this, as unattended installs look like a great option to ensure consistent database deployments.
Cheers,
Daniel
Answer: Never mind, I had mistyped this line:
OracleXEUniv.exe /s /f1"c:\xe\foo.iss"  /f2"c:\xe\foo.log"
Omitted the second set of quotes.  Looks like it worked just fine.