How do I motivate my 8-year-old to practice the piano regularly?

Question: I end up offering TV time as a reward but he complains so much while practicing, tracks time by calling out every 2 minutes, and practices without respecting the piano or the music (bangs it out). He then gets the TV time but I am so angry and exhausted from dealing with his attitude that even though he gets the reward, he knows I am still mad. So, basically, how do we motivate our kids to learn and develop their talents for their own sake, instead of ours?
Comment: There's a whole host of issues going on here that have already been addressed in some of the answers, but I'm curious, why in the WORLD would you give him the reward if he behaved like that?
Comment: What is important to you in the situation?  Learning the piano?  Learning music and to read music?  Exposure to a certain style of music?  Music Theory?  Is there a way to problem solve with him and find a win-win that works for you both?  Perhaps the piano just ain't his bag if he hates it that much.  The behavior however, definitely needs to stop.  That is horrible!!  I would say if he isn't giving it an earnest effort for the 30 minutes, he doesn't get the reward.
Comment: I've never met a kid that enjoys piano lessons (myself included). I think that's just part of growing up. Maybe you can ask your child what they'd like to do to make it more fun. Different music? Different instrument?
Answer: First of all, why are you making him take piano? Do you feel he'll gain something from it? Is he naturally good at it, so you want to foster that in him? Are you trying to make him learn it, because that's what you feel society expects? Are you doing it because it's something you enjoy and want to pass that on to him? Additionally, why are you being his teacher?
It seems to me that he doesn't like playing piano, or at the very least, he doesn't like you giving him lessons.
If he genuinely likes playing piano.
If he likes playing piano, but doesn't like you teaching him (ie - he'll play it on his own, or showed an interest in it previously), then hire a teacher. The student-teacher dynamic is different from a parent-child or spousal relationship, and is and can be often more demanding than the latter two (for example, my basketball coach could yell at me and it wouldn't bother me, but if my parents were to do that, I'd react very differently). If you play piano, and especially if you're good at it, he may also be intimidated by you, and see your skill as big shoes he's expected to fill. If so, then his behavior is his way of channelling and communicating that fear.
He may be more motivated simply because it's not his mom teaching him.
Additionally, he's starting to get to that age where mom and dad aren't the center of his world, and getting into the age where he wants to assert his independence. He may be feeling like you're smothering him by being his piano teacher. Having someone else take on that role may give him the sense of freedom he's looking for.
Another way you can help motivate him is to find shows or competitions that he could participate in. Let him pick the music and instill in him the importance of practicing so that he does a good job. This will give him a sense of purpose to the learning, and a goal to work for, instead of just aimlessly learning a skill.
You can foster his talents in other ways, without being his teacher. Buy him a keyboard, both for the portability, and for the variety. Get him music books with music from his favorite movies, shows, or artists (if you can't afford to hire a teacher, this is probably the next best thing, because it gives him something he can relate to and be proud of; very few 8 year olds can really understand/appreciate the classical greats, and even if your son can, his friends probably won't). Maybe see if you can arrange a meeting with his favorite local musician (or a local musician in general).
If he doesn't like playing piano.
If he doesn't like playing piano, then it would be a good idea to consider your motivations for trying to force him to learn it. Forcing a child to learn piano when they have no interest is, in my opinion, no different than forcing a child to play sports when they have no interest - it's often done because it's what's expected ("boys don't dance/play piano/cheerlead, they play {insert sport here}"), and not because that's what the child wants to do. Forcing your child to do something like that solely because it's what you believe they "ought" to be doing will do little more than foster a disdain, or even downright loathing, of both you and the activity in question.
What does he actually like to do? What does he want to try? If you want to foster his talents, then foster his talents, and what he's interested in, not what you think he "should" be doing. If he's interested in something, it will be significantly easier to motivate him (and if you still have trouble motivating him for the "daily grind" aspect of his chosen activity, most of the above "if he likes it" tips can be modified to suit).
Learning piano teaches discipline, patience, and a respect for art, yes, but so can learning a different instrument, or pottery, or painting, or theater. Things like sports and martial arts can't teach respect for "the arts," but they can teach discipline, respect for others, and respect for their fields, among other valuable lessons.
Edit based on comment - Since he does say he likes piano, I would work on rewarding him for actual practice. No more rewarding him for going through the motions and being a bear.
Additionally, I'd say go with some of the ideas in the "if he likes it" section (keeping the rest for others' sake) for what you can do to foster him (recitals, competitions, supplemental instruments, etc). I would also still take a look at what songs he's playing, and work with him and his teacher to find songs that he'd like to learn. To an 8 year old, being able to play the latest Kelly Clarkson song, or whatever 8 year olds listen to these days (egads, I feel old saying that!), is going to be far more interesting than being able to play Fur Elise. This may be a little more pricey, due to copyright matters, but your teacher might know ways of getting discounts.
Perhaps it's just a time of day that doesn't work well, and he'd be more apt to practice at a different time of day (studies have shown that people's productivity levels go up and down throughout the day in sync with various biological rhythms; and it's been my experience that artists tend to be more finicky about such things, so if he's naturally artistic, then this might be an issue). Try changing the time of his practice.
Can you change the practice location? It may also be simply because he's at home, or in the living room, that makes him not want to practice. Having a place set aside specifically for the activity (out of the house, if possible) can help get into the mental state for practicing, increasing focus.
Also, get him involved in the above changes. Work with him to find a time and place to practice, have him pick out the music to work on, etc. Simply being involved in the decision making process can be a huge motivator, and only following top down orders tends to be a big demotivator (the same goes for adults!).
Comment: Forcing a child to do something they don't want to do is a tough decision. Sometimes it makes sense (they don't like Hockey, so why force them to play?) but sometimes it's important they stick with it (they don't like math, but they have to graduate). Where piano lessons falls in that spectrum is likely going to vary from family to family. Personally, I think music should be like math...a required part of everyone's education. But, that said, music doesn't HAVE to be just piano.
Comment: I wish I had added, I am not his teacher. he does like the piano, he repeatedly asserts, so I know he will not want to stop lessons. I feel that it is essential that he practice, because I am paying for his lessons, and practice is part of the discipline of learning anything!
Comment: @makmom I was told by my parents that if I didn't practice, they would not pay for lessons. Well, it made me quit piano, which may not be what you want - but it made me understand the financial implications in a broader sense. It was the right choice for me (also, I had 2 instruments at the time, continues with the other).
Comment: @makmom - Edited my answer.
Answer: Being a parent, who happens to be a piano teacher, who happens to also teach my 2 daughters piano.....
I would find out why he doesn't want to practice.  Is there something he'd rather be doing at that time?  Have him help you come up with a time that works for him.  One of my students practices before breakfast-seems early to me-but, it's what works out best for her and her family.  Other of my students practice right after school-and some are homeschooled and practice during their normal school activities.  If he enjoys playing piano and his lessons-finding out why practicing is so tedious would be a good start.  Does he have siblings that are watching tv at that time?  Maybe say noone gets to watch tv until x time... in the meantime, everyone take care of homework/practice/chores, etc.
How long has he been taking lessons?  My youngest, who just began this year, isn't all that interested in practicing-so, I let her practice when the mood strikes her, for the most part.  Some of my students take lessons every other week, because they aren't able to practice enough in 1 week.  Would he feel less pressure if you did something like that?
If you aren't happy with how he is practicing, then send him back and tell him no tv (or whatever) until he practices the way his teacher wants him to-and with the right attitude.  If he's not willing to comply, I've also had students (a little older than 8) who were told they would pay for the lessons if they didn't practice right.  Sure, both of these cause a fight-I've been there.. but, in the end, they know what is expected of them and that Mom/Dad isn't going to accept less than their best-because that's really all we want.  Have you asked him to rate his practice on a scale of 1-5 or 1-10 on whether he put his best into it?  Maybe if his and yours averages to (7+ or 4+) X then he gets tv-if not, then no tv?  Give him some control of the situation and help him to see that he is IN control of the situation.  It isn't you-but him who controls whether or not he gets his reward.  Personally, in my house, if it's not with the right attitude, then it doesn't count-and my kids know that.. doesn't make them happy all of the time, but they do know where the bar is.
Hope this helps!
Comment: thank you all. I think the comments that made me step back and think was 'why reward bad behavior during practice?' well, I guess i give in to pressure and the fuss he makes if I dont give him the TV time. Going forward that will have to change. Bad attitude, no TV. the suggestions about giving him a measure of control over the situation are also great. will certainly try to incorporate that. its just, when he does not get the TV he yells and cries till i cannot stand it. of course, this is a different issue, i realize.
Answer: The following things motivate my 8-year old boy to practice the piano (Not in any particular order):

The love of a song.
The possibility to impress on his peers (I guess girls, but he would never admit it).
The posibility of me learning a piece, or part of a piece faster or better than him. What I'll do when he gets stuck and demotivated is try to learn the piece myself (not being a piano player...). When he notices that I make progress, he forces me off the piano chair in order to practice and prove to me that he learns faster and better (which he does :-).
Comment: i agree. once my son's teacher got him off Bach and Beethoven, and onto songs, he's much more motivated. Also, he tends to hop on the chair the moment i try to squeeze him out :)
Answer: I motivated my daughter to practice clarinet by playing with her. We got some duets and played together. Even now (20 years later) when she comes home we'll go in the cellar and do those duets again, loving every minute.
I suppose this is a bit tricky with a piano, but... there are tunes for four hands, right? And maybe he could accompany you (or his mates) singing some popular song?
Comment: And when my kids were learning their letters, doing long rows of 'A's and 'B's I was learning japanese, so sometimes I sat down and did my homework at the same time. Then I said which A was prettiest and the child said which tsu was prettiest, which was good for all of us. So maybe you can practice at the same time, or learn the same tunes, and have him tell you how you're doing.
Answer: I am thinking about the same way I motivate myself : have him play songs he likes.
Disney ballads (like "A Whole New World" or "Prince Ali") are really easy to play, and lots of fun.
Comment: I would recommend getting whatever score _he is __already__ interested in_.  Disney is a great place to start, though.
Comment: would you suggest a particular collection/book/score? thank very much for chipping in.
Answer: As a music teacher, I give the following hints:

Make sure that your ideas about what and how he/she should practice are in line with your teacher's.
if the child is younger than 8, he/she may just not be old enough to be deeply engaged. Ease up, until about 8 years old.
If you push too hard (how much that is is decided by the child, sorry) the child will resist, even if he/she likes practice.
The real key is the habit of practice. Your job is just to get the child to sit at the piano and start. Not to monitor how long (or short). If the instrument and the lessons are engaging, the child will practice enough. The child's job is to practice the material that is being assigned in the lessons to the teacher's satisfaction. You can not really decide that for the teacher.
A great way to engage with the child and encourage practice is to assign the child to teach you how to play. Even if you know how, let them tell you. even if you think the child is wrong, be their student. Nothing teaches better than teaching.
Have fun with your child every once and a while (bang on the keys with him and have fun).
If you practice what he/she teaches you, he/she will become jealous of your time on the piano and want to/ ask to play.
Sometimes a child will not take to it. It is not the end of the world. I wanted to play guitar and piano lessons seemed too rigid. Maybe a new teacher with a different style, or a different instrument, is called for instead.
Answer: Perhaps your son would be more productive in his practice if you were actively involved, as parents are in the Suzuki method.  There is a nice book about how to be a parent practice coach -- http://www.carriereuning.com/soundcarriespress.html.  The author has published some of the material in the book on her website: http://www.carriereuning.com/practice.html
The most important thing when you are a practice coach is to provide positive feedback.  As often as you can, find SOMETHING you can say something positive about.  Try things like this: "You are playing so many notes correctly, it's hard for me to come up with a suggestion for how to improve this piece.  Hmm... do you want to add some dynamics?"  This can be done no matter how simple the piece, and it can be done even if the editor didn't put any dynamics in.  Note, it can be fun to ask the child to write in their own dynamics -- you don't have to slavishly follow what the editor suggested.  The important thing is that the piece not be boring!
You might want to set up some groundrules for television, such as (these are just suggestions):

do your work first (including piano, housework and homework).
some days there may not be time for TV.
set a maximum amount of time.  If time runs out in the middle of a program, perhaps he could pick up where he left off the next time -- this might be easier if you were using a computer.
whine or pester, or even MENTION TV, and you get a strike; three strikes and you're out -- no TV today.
scream and you go in time-out
three time-outs and you're out of luck for today
find other fun things he looks forward to doing

It might be helpful to break the direct connection between piano and TV that got established inadvertently.
If you can play simple tunes, then it might be fun to play some easy duets together.


Hiring Company Contact outside of recruiter company which contacted to represent me

Question: I have agreed via email to have a recruiting company represent me for a position. The recruiter scheduled the first two interviews with me and the company. Today, the first person at the hiring company contacted me directly to schedule a third interview. I did call the recruiter and let her know, because I have never experienced this before. Has anyone else experienced this? It seems odd to me and I don't want to be unethical.
Comment: Just tell your recruiter that you got the third interview invite from company X (which you already did) then prepare for the interview. I don't see anything strange in particular (and if there is indeed, your recruiter would have let you know, and it shouldn't be anything you need to be worrying about).
Answer: This is very normal business practice, for the hiring company to reach out directly to the candidate to organize interview dates and details, especially for second, third, or more interviews.
So long as you keep your recruiter in the loop and up to date, then you are being both professional and ethical and all should be well. The caveat is that the hiring company never asks you to withhold information from your recruiter.
Your recruiter will no doubt have a good agreement in place to protect them should the hiring company try to hire you behind there back. That sort of behavior is getting rarer and rarer, thank goodness. Companies are beginning to see that the cost of litigation, even only so far as settlement, far outweighs the cost of recruitment fees.
All that being said, you clearly have some good ethical spidey senses, so I've no doubt that they will serve you well in your career, best of luck. T


Concept of "non-superimposable mirror image" in chirality

Question: I didn't understand the fact that chiral objects are non-superimposable on their mirror images. I mean, if you put your right hand (apparently an achiral object) in front of a mirror, the mirror image will be like your left hand, but, when you make your hand touch the mirror, isn't it superimposable on its mirror image (and hence achiral)? Doesn't that mean that everything is achiral?
Comment: The mirror image of your hand does not superimpose on your hand. If the palm of your hand is facing away from you, the mirror image palm will be facing towards you. If you rotate the mirror image so that the palm faces away from you, it's thumb will be on the opposite side. Thus your hands are chiral.
Answer: Your hands are chiral, that is why you need two different leather gloves, one that only fits your right hand, and one that only fits your left hand.  If your hands were superimposable, then you would only need one kind of glove and it would fit both hands.
Answer:
if you put your right hand (apparently an achiral object)

No, your right and left hand are both chiral objects, as we will see below.

in front of
  a mirror, the mirror image will be like your left hand,

Yes.

but, when you
  make your hand touch the mirror, isn't it superimposable on its mirror
  image

No, that mirror image is not superimposable.  Just because the bottoms of your right hand and left hand can overlay one another does not make them superimposable. If you could take that 3-dimensional  mirror image out of the mirror and place it next to your hands and compare it to your right and left hand, it would look like your left hand.  And, just like your real left hand, you couldn't pick the mirror image up and place it next to your right hand, look at them both and say, "they are the same" because, for one thing, the thumbs are on opposite sides.  Therefore, they are non-superimposable mirror images.
Comment: Our hands would be achiral if they were 2-dimensional (planar) and could still be manipulated through 3 dimensions.  If these planar hands existed in a 2-dimensional world, they would still be chiral.
Comment: Would our hands have been achiral if they were just plane having outline as our original hands and with all fingers pointing in same direction?
Answer: I have to say that when they taught Chiral molecules to me in Chemistry, they always used confusing molecules to demonstrate. The easiest to visualise the mirror symmetry is with spirenes (spiral molecules).
Think of a spiral staircase, it can spiral clockwise, or it can spiral anticlockwise, but if you tried to put one of each in the same space (superimpose them), nobody could climb the stairs !
Comment: I think @RogUpton's point is that it's very helpful to *also* have a visualizable example, not just a simple one. Some students learn better by visualization and it's important to provide multiple examples.
Comment: You're talking about molecules like `CHFClBr`, right? They use those because they are the *simplest molecules* that are chiral - not because they are the molecules for which the chirality is most visualizable.


Release Objective C object in C-array with ARC

Question: I don't know how to release an Objective-C object that I have stored in an old-fashioned c-array.
(Remark: While writing this after much searching, I think I found a bug in the test-code so this seems to be a solution rather than a question.  Well, I've spent a lot of time on it so I'll post it anyway...)
I'd like to convert older code to ARC, because I am spending too much time on debugging memory-management related bugs (sorry---the retain/release rules simply aren't hardwired in my spine, and it takes me literally hours to find a missing retain, because the errors pop up at unrelated moments, probably during or after memory cleanup).
So I have some existing code with c-style arrays (say a two-dimensional array of UILabel*'s),  where I can happily calloc() the pointers and access them through some array[col*colstride+row*rowstride], where array is of the type UILabel **;  Let's assume the UILabel*s are filled at random order, so I can't use an NSMutableArray for that.
Now in ARC, the compiler wants me to make the type of array to be UILabel *__strong*, it seems (some people write that as __strong UILabel **).
What I don't understand is how I can tell ARC to release the UILabel objects when it is time to do so (say in the dealloc() of my object that uses the c-array). In trying to understand the problem, I have a small set of objects, Memory and MemoryUnit, the former trying to store a large c-array of the latter.
-(Memory*)init {
  self = [super init];
  if (self) {
    MemoryUnit * unit = [[MemoryUnit alloc] init];
    array = (__strong id *) calloc(sizeof(MemoryUnit*), 1024);
    array[0] = unit;
  }
  return self;
}

-(void)dealloc {
  for (int i=0; i<1024; i++) array[i]=nil;
  free(array);
}

In MemoryUnit we have the objects to be stored in the c-array (so this MemoryUnit is in the place of the UILabel mentioned above).  For testing I had the code
-(void)dealloc {
  NSLog(@"removed %x", (int)self);
}

in its dealloc() for debugging.
Comment: You should add your solution as an answer rather than appending it to the question. It is much easier to nderstand, and it makes it possible to link to the answer.
Answer: As Bryan said, we need an answer in the stack overflow system.
So I do:
Solution
Apparently, setting the array element of type MemoryUnit *__strong to nil causes the object to be released, as if this element had been declared in a @propetty and @synthesize pair of statements. This is actually suggested in C-style array of pointers to Objective-C objects under ARC I think
(I found the documentation in XCode very terse, and the ARC compiler definitions only told me what was not allowed rather than giving a hint on how to do things correctly.)


Are deep V wheels only for fixed gear bikes?

Question: I'm in the market for a new set of wheels. I've been noticing a style which I think is called "Deep V". I plan on adding gears to my currently single-speed bike (not a fixed gear). However, searching online, the majority (if not all) are advertised as being for fixed gear bikes. Are deep V wheels intended for fixed gear bikes? Is there any reason I would want to avoid them for a normal geared bike?
Comment: possible duplicate of [Is deep v wheels safer then the standard fixie rims](http://bicycles.stackexchange.com/questions/18981/is-deep-v-wheels-safer-then-the-standard-fixie-rims)
Answer: Deep-sectioned rims -- particularly Velocity Deep Vs -- became popular among fixed gear riders because they came in a variety of colors (bling) and the larger section made that bling all the more prominent.
However, deep-sectioned rims have many applications beyond urban fixed gear bikes. They're typically heavier and don't do well in cross winds, but in straight-ahead road riding, they are thought to be more aerodynamic.
As long as the rims come with machined sidewalls, they'll work fine for your purposes. The machining greatly improves braking by making the contact point for the brake pads more consistent.
All that said, if you're riding around town or even doing more recreational road riding, I think you'll be better served by a smaller sectioned rim like the Velocity Aerohead.
Comment: One other reason why some riders may prefer the deep V rims is for increased wheel strength.  Typically, the deeper cross section on the rim will provide extra lateral stiffness in the final wheel.  In return, you get a wheel that may be more suitable for big riders and/or you can use a few less spokes to save weight and improve aerodynamics.
Comment: @psycling The point about strength of the Deep Vs is an interesting one. I imagine that since so many fixed gear riders are one frame with aggressive geometry that provide clearance for 23 mm tires at best, the stronger rim did help out with the high pressure tires and crappy urban roads.
Answer: I can't help but elaborate on some of the previous excellent answers:
As indicated in the comment above by psycling, a deep section wheel has increased lateral strength; that is, side-to-side. Depending on spoke count and pattern, the built wheel will also have a reduced vertical compliance; it's less likely to absorb head on/up-down impact as well as torque applied to the drive wheel by the rider.
Lateral stiffness is apparent to me when grinding along on a tall gear, throwing the bike side to side, as typical with a fixed gear (or singlespeed). An average wheelset makes this movement feel 'spongy,' like every time you stomp on a pedal with the bike leaned over the front wheel is springing sideways a little bit. This flex is reduced with a deep section wheel, resulting in a more solid feel. I don't know about the detail of the physics on this, but my perception of riding a laterally stiff wheelset when I'm limited to one gear ratio is that less of my effort is 'wasted'. More fun.
The weight added by the rim around the circumference of the wheel is a factor to pay attention to; it will result in a cycle which feels noticeably slower to accelerate, depending on the weight cost vs. another wheelset. Some folks don't think this matters, but I'm not particularly perceptive and even I can tell the difference a few hundred grams makes here.
These characteristics are valuable when you're a velodrome track star, as acceleration from a stop isn't as important as cruising efficiency and there aren't any potholes. There's no strong argument why you shouldn't use a deep-v wheel on a geared bike, but if you examine the way you ride a bike with multiple ratios (fewer forehead-vein-popping climbs) you may find that it makes more sense to use a lighter rim with a more conventional cross section. I have ridden the Velocity aero rim as previously mentioned and it made a very nice, durable wheel, a good compromise.
Of course, there's also the style points to consider...
Answer: Old thread, but here's my take on the question:  the answer is an emphatic NO.  My LBS suggested deep-vs (32 spoke) for my Giant Defy Advanced 1 two years ago when I kept breaking spokes on the stock Giant wheels.  I was just too heavy (260 lbs.) for those wheels.  The deep-vs have been bombproof.  No deflection in 2 years and 3,000 miles of riding.  I was praising them to one of the mechanics the other day, and he said, "Yep.  You're going to be riding those wheels a long, long time."
Comment: I agree with Brooke's comments regarding the robustness of the wheels, but would emphasize Paul's comments about 'don't do well in cross winds'. My old bike had deep-Vs and more than once I did an involuntary lane change in a strong cross-wind. Not the best idea if you ride well-trafficked roads in blustery locations.


What is the Biblical basis for the belief that separation from God is in itself sin?

Question: The normal understanding in Christianity is that sin brings separation from God. However is there biblical basis for holding to the belief that separation from God is in itself sin rather than a consequence of sin?
Answer: I can think of one clear-cut verse off the top of my head. Assuming that the question you are asking is about one who was once not separated from God but later became separated (actually this is true for all man if you think about it, since man was with God at the beginning and later separated himself from God)

Jer. 2:13  For My people have committed two evils: / They have
  forsaken Me, / The fountain of living waters, / To hew out for
  themselves cisterns, / Broken cisterns, / Which hold no water.

Of course, you can also read into the context of the Bible and see. When man decided to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil rather than the tree of life, he actively made a choice to choose the representative of Satan (tree of knowledge) over God (the tree of life). In this way, the original sin itself is actually the act of separating himself from God in the way of disobedience.
Comment: I will read into the context...
Answer: Your question is very direct and simple yet it is profound in its implications.  Sin is  a relational breach from God and the remedy for sin is a restored relationship with God.  This we emphatically have with Jesus Christ.
If we look at the relational claims of Christ:

John 5:19 …verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.
John 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

The relational commandment upon which all the law rests:

Matthew 22:37-39 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind…and the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

The eternal security of our relationship with God:

Romans 8:39 …nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

How we will abide:

1 Thessalonians 1:3 Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father;
2 Thessalonians 3:5 And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ.
Jude 1:21 Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

The eating of the Tree of knowledge of "good and evil" isolated man from the will of God the Father.  Jesus Christ is at the mercy of the will of God the Father thus works which originate from our own sovereign wills will consistently fall short of the mark.
The sealing presence of the Holy Spirit makes manifest the will of the Father in our lives:

John 16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.
Answer: It is worth considering, I think, that the Greek verb translated as "sin" - hamartanō - has the meaning in ancient Greek of something like "missing the point" or "failing in one's purpose".  In this sense, "sin" refers to an act of omission rather than an act of commission.  The late Orthodox Archbishop Dmitry Royster wrote that one meaning of "sin" is man's "fundamentally missing the very point of his existence" (St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans: A Pastoral Commentary, p.33).
This is not to say, however, that the word "sin" (hamartia) in the New Testament does not also take on the meaning of and act that is committed and something that can be enumerated.  We have, for example, He shall save his people from their sins (Matthew 1:21); John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins (Mark 1:4); And when He saw their faith, He said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee (Luke 5:20); and *If ye believe not that I am He, ye shall die in your sins (John 8:24).


Upgrade from Windows Server 2003 to 2008

Question: I want to be able to upgrade from 2003 to 2008 without any loss of files or programs.
Is this possible to do?
Comment: 2008 or 2008 r2?
Comment: 2003 R2 - 2008 R2
Answer: Yes, if the two systems use the same language and the same CPU architecture (x86 or x64).
But be careful, because maybe some hardware and/or applications you have on the server don't work on Windows Server 2008; be sure to check for compatibility issues.
Also, although in-place upgrades of the O.S. are supported, they're usually not considered best practice because they lead to an "unclean" installation.
Comment: The current system supports only 4GB (standard edition), would an upgrade to Windows Server 2003 Enterprise edition be a easier jump to make?
Answer: These three articles discuss how to upgrade from Windows Server 2003 to Windows Server 2008. These all come from the Microsoft Support website.
Information and resources to use when you plan to upgrade Windows Server 2003 to Windows Server 2008
Supported paths for upgrading from Windows Server 2003 to Windows Server 2008
How to upgrade Windows Server 2003 R2 to Windows Server 2008
Good luck on your upgrades!
Answer: I wouldn't personally do this as an in-place upgrade. There are a lot of differences between Server 2003 & Server 2008, and chances are you will find things not working after the upgrade. However, if you really can't avoid a clean install, you should at least do a test upgrade on a separate machine or VM.
Answer: You can if you are upgrading to the same architecture, as already mentioned.
If you are running Server 2003 x86 you might want to just do a clean install of x64 2008 or R2. Microsoft will not be releasing any more x86 server operating systems, so you can expect x86 application support to start to decline as well as not having an upgrade path past 2008. 2008 R2, for example, is x64 only.


Will a steel guide bushing harm a drill bit?

Question: I want to build a jig to speed up production of a furniture item.  The jig will hold a piece steady while the user hand-drills a hole in a certain spot.  I want to use a steel bushing to guide the drill bit so that the hole is straight.  The bushing will be 3/4" long with a 1/4" ID, for guiding a 1/4" bit.  My question is, will this be damaging to the bit?  I'm thinking that the cutting is done with the point, which never touches the bushing, and the flutes that do touch it just collect the waste, so it would be okay.  What do you say?
Answer: This is fine and commonly done in industry. The "sides" of the drill bit, more precisely the margin of the flute land is not designed to cut, but rather to clear chips from the sides of the hole and prevent the bit from binding in the hole. The margin is ground at an angle very close to tangential (and often not ground at all).
Drill bushings are a standard tool and die component:

available for example here: https://www.zoro.com/value-brand-drill-bushing-type-h-drill-size-h-h326hp/i/G3097355/
They are generally made from hardened steel, to withstand repeated use without excessive wear. They are often pressed into a tool plate or jig at the desired hole position.
If your application only called for a small number of uses, regular steel (e.g. 1018 cold-rolled steel) might serve just fine. But if it's for production use, a purchased item will likely be better and more economical than what you can produce yourself.
Note that a drill bushing for a 1/4" drill may not be precisely 0.250" internal diameter. In this case, perhaps 0.252" is more appropriate. A bushing hole with insufficient clearance will cause excessive drill margin wear. A purchased item will have thought all that through for you.
There are other considerations when using drill bushings, like where the chips go and so on. Here's one resource with some discussion on that. Many others are easily found on search now that you have the right technical term :)
https://www.carrlane.com/catalog/index.cfm/29425071F0B221118070C1C513906103E0B05543B0B012009083C3B285350414A2D020609090C0015312A36515F56455B
Answer: No.
My Answer needs to be 30 characters long so I can't leave it at that much as I'd like to :-)
Comment: Any elaboration on that? It's so unlike you to post a 1-word answer :D
Comment: @rob No detail required in this case, the answer is a simple no :-)
Comment: Although I had the same reaction, it may not be obvious to everyone why a simple "no" without any explanation is sufficient.


Should sweet potatoes be peeled when preparing them?

Question: I want to make a sweet potato dish -- maybe candied yams.  Should I peel the sweet potatoes before cooking or are these recipes intending for me to keep the skin on?  None say to peel the potato first.
Comment: @Darcy - welcome.  Can you provide us an example of the recipe?  It will vary depending on your application.
Answer: Candied Yams, I would peel first.
However, for mashes and other similar soft dishes, I find it best to bake them until soft and then remove the peels when cool.
Comment: If you bake a sweet potato, you can pretty much peel it with your hands.
Comment: For me, it comes down to how I'm cooking the sweet potatoes.  There is only one place I've ever gone that leaves the skins on (ment to be eaten) and I don't think it works very well.  If you are going to be dry roasting (oven or grill), the skins stay on. This helps protect the flesh from the high dry heat.  Other techniques, whether wet or as a serving preperation (as in not a mash), I take the skins off.  If I'm going to boil, steam, fry, or sautee, I take the skins off.  I'll even roast the sweet potatoes with the skins off if I'm going to just serve them as is.
Answer: I like to maintain the shape, texture and nutrition of my sweet potatoes, so I try to avoid peeling.  Sweet potatoes have a naturally thin skin so most recipes can survive.  I usually cut off the two thin tips (tend to be drier and harder) but then scrub the potatoes.
Next step depends on the recipe.  If you are going for mashed sweet potatoes and you are fine with the concept of "dirty mashed potatoes" where you leave some of the skin on, this will work great for a rough mash with great texture.  If you are of the mind that mashed sweet potatoes have to be smooth and fluffy, then you are going to have to peel.
For candied sweet potatoes, I cut them so they are circles about an inch or so thick and lay them out on the bottom of a buttered baking dish.  Sprinkle some butter, brown sugar, crushed pecans and/or coconut on top and bake.  The skins help the circles stay together and, again, are so thin that they don't get in the way.
Answer: It comes down to personal preference. Sweet potato skins are a bit tougher than regular potato skins. I don't find them very appetizing. In every candied yam recipe I've made, eaten, or seen the sweet potatoes have always been peeled.
Also keep your guests preferences in mind. You're much more likely to please everyone with the peeled potatoes than with peels on.
Comment: In general, I dislike peeling vegetables (lots of vitamins going to waste) but sweet potato skins are just not very appealing.
Comment: @Jenn: Agreed. I'll eat baked potato skins if they are properly cleaned, but baked sweet potato skins are like leather.
Answer: Another note about sweet potatoes is that they have two layers of flesh. The lighter, outside layer, underneath the skin, tends to be stringier than the rest of the flesh, which is darker. In many applications, including just roasting, you get a nicer texture when you remove the outer layer of the sweet potato as well as the skin.


What can I safely store in my workshop?

Question: So junk will be used if you don't have the raw material.  What about weapons and armor?  Will these stay safe or will it scrap them once it runs out of junk?  What about items that don't turn into junk at all (like bubble gum)?
Answer: I've run out of junk for certain items and it didn't pull from any of the "more important" items.  When you start building things, you'll see which materials are used to make your items.
Comment: I've observed the same thing. The workshop will never scrap weapons or armor, so you need to scrap these yourself.
Comment: Considering that without the right Perks, most weapons and armor scraps to very basic components (Steel, Plastic, Metal, Leather), I really DO NOT want my Legendary Combat Armor to turn into a single piece of metal.
Answer: As discussed in this answer, which goes over the component creation process in detail, Fallout 4 only automatically "liberates" the components from junk items.
In writing the component creation answer I confirmed this with science. I created situations where it would have needed to liberate components from items of the following types, but it didn't liberate them:

Weapons
Moddable armor
Non-moddable armor
Clothing

What can I safely store in my workshop?


Photoshop Without Shortcuts

Question: Is it possible (for pros & semi pros) to use Photoshop effectively without shortcuts?  (PS newbies, as far as i know, don't use very many Shortcuts)
Answer: It's possible, yes. There are very few items, if any, which can only be addressed via shortcuts. Most things in Photoshop can be accomplished or accessed at least 2 ways.
Of course, work time can increase considerably with the fewer shortcuts you use.
Comment: how about shift when making a straight line? any substitute for that?
Comment: @June I stated there are very few items. That would be one such item. That's not a shortcut though.. it's a modifier. There is a difference.
Answer: Yes it is possible, but you'll be working much slower. Personally I don't use a lot of shortcuts as I've gone one better and built a configurator panel instead. It contains commonly used tools like vector/layer masks, brush and save/export presets.
Ultimately though, if everything is conveniently located, there is little time difference between a panel and a shortcut. It's when you have to go 'File>Save for Web>Save' for example that is the real time suck.
Answer: If you mean keyboard shortcuts and you're thinking of some kind of working setup where there wouldn't be a keyboard easily within reach (e.g. working on a big desk-filling tablet, or on a laptop/slate PC with a pen tablet screen and no built-in keyboard), there are tools you can set up to get on-screen buttons for some of the more common keyboard shortcuts.
Also, the fact that people have gone to the (considerable) trouble of making these tools and setting them up is itself an answer to the question: it's possible to work without shortcuts, but potentially such a frustration and loss of productivity that many people would rather hack their operating systems to get alternatives.

Here's one example I know about: an example for Windows called PaintDock (see the dark column on the left):

It's intended for a couple of specific brands of Windows 7 tablet that are large-sketchbook size and don't have a built-in keyboard. The idea is, you draw with the pen and poke the on-screen buttons with your other hand (while avoiding resting your palm on the screen). Or, you use the pen for the buttons with 'palm rejection' turned on, and have 'ctrl', 'shift' etc set up as on/off toggle switches.
It's based on free software called AutoHotkey. There's more detail and some suggested variants described in length on this long long thread.  There's a variant of the same idea kicking around called ArtDock that has button selections for a wider selection of design software. Setting them up is complicated enough that I've been meaning to do it for ages and still haven't got around to it...
There are probably others. I've not seen anything like this for Mac, but I'm pretty sure it can be done. Most people doing design work on a Mac without a keyboard conveniently within reach are probably using a Wacom tablet that has its own customisable buttons, so there's less demand.

Photoshop Without Shortcuts


What is the 成语 for "face like buddha, heart like scorpion"?

Question: I was watching Raise the Red Lantern (which is an excellent movie by the way) and saw this phrase come up on the subtitles, but wasn't able to catch what the actual Mandarin behind it was. Does anyone know what it translates to?
Comment: Hello Squazic, and welcome to CL&U! :) You might want to describe the scene, I think it would help a lot! Also any detail that at first might seem not useful, could help as well. :) And if you managed to "hear" something, you can write the pinyin too.
Comment: Maybe the "scorpion" part is 心如蛇蝎 (heart like a snake and a scorpion).
Answer: I didn't see this film, so I am not sure if this is the original one used in the film.
From your description, I guess the idiom is "人面兽心", which literally means "a human's face and a beast's heart", actually is used to describe a man who looks kind, but really is vicious, evil or wicked.
By the way, I think you can show us the time point or the scene when this line appears so we can easily catch it for you.
Update:
The original word in the film is "菩萨脸,蝎子心". I don't think it's an idiom. I'll treat it as an analogy, a figure of speech. Actually, "菩萨" isn't Buddha, but Bodhisattva, an image in Buddhism. The subtitle translated the meaning well and I think it's easy for you to understand.
Comment: It's the scene where the main character, Songlian, and the third wife are talking about the second wife, right after Songlian discovers her servant has a voodoo doll of her with a bunch of pins in it.
Comment: @Squazic Ok, I just watched this film, and I found that sentence, however, I think it's not an idiom. I edited my answer, please read it.
Answer: If you insist to have it translated into the idiom, I think 佛口蛇心is the most suitable. It is the closest in meaning, and really is an idiom.
Comment: This may be the most suitable answer.
Answer: 面如桃李 心如蛇蝎。I think this idiom should be appropriate, although buddha is 佛陀 in Chinese, but 桃李 means the flowers of peach and plum.
Answer: The face of a Buddha, the heart of a scorpion means someone who appears to be kind and gentle but who in an instant will deliver a mortal wound by word or by action after another trusted them. In the film it is clearly to see why the warning comes to the young bride.
I had a Chinese friend in Hawaii who used to tell me "beware of those who smile at you to gain your trust, before you give them your trust make sure their hands are in front of you" which she explained it was her Grandmother's way of saying that before you trust someone you need to know them well to make sure they are worthy of your friendship. The hands in front of you meant that they would not be able to hide a dagger to later stabbed you with.
By the way, I saw that movie many years ago when it came in and promptly bought it for my collection. A real treasure of Chinese films.
Answer: 笑面虎 may be what you are looking for
EDIT 佛面蛇心 may be another term for what you are looking for
Comment: @congliu,okay,then it should be 佛面蛇心
Comment: `明 梅鼎祚《玉合记 焚修》:"师父不要骂,动了嗔心,要变白蟒哩。好两个佛口蛇心。"` 佛口蛇心?
Comment: It'd be better to be a 四字成語. But nice try!


Time ScheduleField, Best practice

Question: No code, but I looking for best practice, things to consider.
I am doing an i18n scheduling app. I have a depart time (tA) and arrival time(tB). Often tB will be the next day. I want to display the times on iPHONE, ANDROID as a tick down clock for when tA departs and tB arrives. These are daily scheduled events and I dont want Date field. Example tA is 5:23AM and tB is 3:23PM. or... tB is 01:23Am the next day. I also want to format this number as a Military string like 01:23 or 22:33 or as a normal time string.
My question, What sort of field type should I use for this kind of Time stamp? I was thinking of just an INT of seconds but I wanted to get some feed back. The use case is something like when a train leaves a station or a scheduled flight. My software platform will be... Swift, Kotlin, GoLang, Dart, and JS/Polymer. just looking for comments.
Comment: If you're wondering about the data type, I don't consider it a UX question. For inputs I would say you should always offer the platform default, the one that people are used to.
Answer: From UI point of view I like how some flight planning sites handle a situation when a plane leaves on one day and arrives on the next day- examples from Momondo and Skyscanner

Time ScheduleField, Best practice


Does ice made with hot water melt faster than ice made with cold water?

Question: This is an other side of the coin question about the freezing of hot water vs cold water, called the Mpemba effect.
Comment: It is entirely possible. For example ice made from water that has been heated will have much less dissolved air in it that ice made from water kept at a low temperature. Whether this has any effect on melting I don't know, but it seems a possibility. If the water is hard then boiling will reduce its ionic strength, and that again may have an effect.
Comment: A good question for this. http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/what-if-serious-scientific-answers-to-absurd-hypothetical-questions-randall-munroe/1118864093?ean=9780544272996
Comment: I know that ice cream made from liquid nitrogen melts faster than ice cream made via ice cream methods involving refrigerated ice cream.  Somewhat different, but an interesting comparison
Comment: using pure water there is a definite difference, the hot water ice is not as consistant and solid as the colder water ice. see snaporaz below. the question was really meant to see how many would look at the problem from an analytical point of view instead of the 'mainstream scientists', and show as Mew and Snaporaz did that looking at the problem by analyzing the assumptions first is a good start, then asking what is really going on here and how would this effect an outcome. good detective work guys. Also Mark hit on the same issue under different conditions. haste makes waste.
Comment: Related: http://physics.stackexchange.com/q/32989/2451
Comment: Somewhat related (trapping of dissolved gases): http://physics.stackexchange.com/q/265958/
Answer: The Mpemba effect is the subject of significant controversy. Here is an example of an experiment that failed to demonstrate such an effect:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5121640/
I myself attempted a simplistic experiment in high school that failed to demonstrate the Mpemba effect.
It is reasonable to assume that if a sample of hot water and a sample of cold water are subjected to the same cooling process, the initially hot water will end up slightly warmer and therefore melt sooner.
Answer: Ice made with hot water tends to contain less dissolved air. The latter tends to lower the freezing point, so ice made from cold water will melt at a higher temperature.
Answer: first of all ice made from hot water tends to freeze much earlier than water from cold water this is explained through Mpemba effect see this wikipeda article for more information
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mpemba_effect
Although i want to clearly state you that this effect is still not accepted by mainstream scientists today and is still debated As far as Melting of ice is concerned once it freezes at 0 degree celcius it does not really matter it is made of hot water or cold water both types of ice will melt at 0 degree celcius.The melting point of ice at 1 atmosphere of pressure is very close [3] to 0 °C (32 °F, 273.15 K); this is also known as the ice point.
Comment: With regards to the Mpemba effect, surely it would be a simple experiment to confirm or deny the effect once and for all?  So why is there such controversy?
Comment: Will the cristall structure be the same? For example: is possible that, somehow due to Mpemba effect, in one case we have smaller domains with an ordered cristall structure resulting in weaker bonds that keep our ice together and therefore needing less energy to melt completely the ice.
Comment: I don't think this answers the question. The first part of your answers discusses the Mpemba effect, which the OP didn't ask for and which they already know about. The second part of your question just says melting is unaffected, without giving any justification or evidence for the claim.
Comment: If I had to rate the responses at this point Snaporaz and Mew are right on target. first Mew proposed once and for all testing the validity of the Mpemba effect claims. Excellent start. and then finding out as I did last night, in a very controlled test, that in fact it is a valid claim, to figure out why, which is what Snaporaz got .. in making crystals a more consistent growth of a solid happens when the temp is closer to the melting/freezing point. this takes longer, and would make a different 'ice'


Is it legal to mention famous singer and song title in autobiography?

Question: I've been writing an autobiography about sexual abuse that happened to me throughout my childhood. The abuser was the dad of a famous singer. Once I was old enough (18) to leave home and file charges (I carried the abuse in silence as a child), my singer relative had become very popular. I didn't want to ruin his fame. Fast FWD 35+ years...the abuser is dead, the singer is still around, and I have a need to write this book without biting my tongue anymore. My story will not be about this singer, but yet feel it's important to mention the reason for me keeping silent all these years. I by no means am accusing them of any abuse or knowledge of it. Is it legal to mention the singers name? I'd also like to use one of their song titles as a subtitle. Is that legal?
Answer: Merely mentioning the name of a famous singer and songs that the singer has written does not violate any intellectual property right of any kind.
Comment: Sounds sensible, but what are the mechanics of it being OK to mention song title vs song text? Fair use?
Answer: That's a no on the song title as subtitle issue too.  There is no copyrights on words or titles, but rather the ideas of the work itself.  If you are doing this because you know the singer personally, and the song is a more well known song from the singer's career, it's perfectly fine as the whole idea behind the words is being fundamentally transformed and thus Fair Use can be applied.  As a sort of example, there are two movies with the title of Frozen... though the first one was nowhere near as popular as the second one (and I'm just now thinking that as the second one is a popular musical... it may be too close... but I don't think anyone in that movie is that old).
Since you are close to this singer, have you asked them if it is alright to do this?  Do they know about the abuse or will they be put on the spot when this is released.
Comment: Un, copyrights are on words (or musical notes or whatever).  Copyrights are not on ideas.  You might want to edit and restate what you said.
Comment: @DavidThornley is correct.  There are plenty of books that use song titles as subtitles.


Where are good places to farm souls in Dark Souls?

Question: I'm right before Anor Londo bosses and I need to soul farm to level 69 so I can use soul spear. I would also like to upgrade my pyromancy glove and buy the remaining spells that I can. At the moment I'm level 59. The dragon bridge isn't enough anymore, even with the update. Right now, I'm farming Valley of the Drakes. I kill 2 drakes per run, which gets me 2000 souls in 2 minutes. There has to be a better way. Are there any better places where I can soul farm?
Comment: Don't forget about quelanna in blighttown when you're upgrading your pyro glove. Not only does she have some good pyromancies but she also allows you to "ascend" your glove, offering extra upgrades!
Comment: I'm not off topic nor am I asking for anyone to join my game I'm asking for areas to soul farm. I'm not asking for insults or negative responses. I kindly asked for someone to kindly be helpful as you are not.
Comment: I edited your question so that what you're asking is clearer. Hopefully that will help you get the answer that you're looking for.
Comment: There is an article about this: http://darksouls.wikidot.com/soul-farming
Answer: Two areas that come to mind for quick soul farming are the forest hunter's area in the Darkroot Garden and the Painted World of Ariamis.
Darkroot Garden - Purchase the Crest of Artorias from the blacksmith in the Undead Parish for 20,000 souls (this initial investment can quickly be earned back). Next, go down to the forest from the undead parish and head toward the giant stone doors. Use the crest to unlock the doors. In the next area are several NPCs each worth 1000 - 3000 souls. There is a bonfire hidden behind an illusion wall in the ruined structure just before the crest door. The 2 knights in heavy armor and the archer will not respawn but it is still worth it to farm the sorcerer, cleric, thief and bandit. To use this method you must not be in the forest hunter's covenant.
Painted World - Requires a bit more effort to get to but is a bit more efficient if I recall correctly. First you must return to the undead asylum by climbing to the crow's nest in Firelink. In the asylum return to the cell you started the game in and retrieve the Peculiar Doll item. Next, go to the room with the giant painting and white robed enemies in Anor Londo. If you interact with the painting while you have the doll you will get transported to a new area. The new area contains the phalanx enemies (deformed enemies with spear and shield) that are easy to farm once the shortcut to the bonfire has been opened up. Once finished farming the only way to leave the area is by heading to the arena where Priscilla is and jumping off the ledge.
Comment: The phalanx enemies were the best farming in the game iirc. On NG you can get 10,080 souls from them with just the covetous silver serpent ring. I was able to cut down my farm time to under 1 minute on them using the great scythe and attacking them from behind. Wide sweeping attacks are best for these guys so the zweihander, greatsword, and various halberds should work. If you have the symbol of avarice it brings up your souls earned to 13,000 which is the max efficiency you can get for them.
Comment: If you have pyromancy or miracles Great Fireball and Wrath of the Gods both work very well for easy kills.
Comment: What about soul duping ? It's not real farming but it doese it's work and its the quickest way to get those 10 lvl he whants.
Answer: I take it that you're building an Int build then.
I myself have a dex build and have been farming in anor londo myself a lot by parrying silver knights. After a few tries you get their patterns down and they yield a lot of souls. Because of the crit damage from the parry/riposte you get 20% extra souls.

Silver Knight (spear/sword) : 1000 souls
Silver Knight (dragonslayer bow) : 1300 souls
Silver Knight (spear/sword) Crit : 1200 souls
Silver Knight (dragonslayer bow) Crit : 1560 souls

I am not sure how well an int build can exploit this, but they are my primary source of souls.
Answer: Since you're in Anor Londo, you can go to the first bonfire and farm the sentinels. They go down fast with a bleeding weapon. This area is also not open to invasion if I remember correctly.
Answer: In addition to Monkeez answer, Painted World was my favourite place to farm. Using Poison Mist (bought from Engyei in Queelag's Domain) you can poison most of the Phalanx in one hit. Then, while they're dying, you can either run down toward Priscilla (kill everyone on the bridge) or clear out the Annex. By that time the poison will have killed most of the Phalanx enemies, leaving only a few to pick off.
So roughly looking at ~30,000 souls in 5-7 minutes.
Repeat as necessary!
Answer: The baby skeleton just before nito drop humanity and they always come back. Goldserpent ring and silver help a lot when you tire go feed the humanity to the Kingseeker Framp at fire link shrine .


How does one insert cas9 into animal cells?

Question: How could cas9 be inserted into cells by researchers looking to edit a genome? I imagine for engineering bacterial systems you could just put in the cas9 coding region in an expression vector, but is that how it is also done for eukaryotic cells?
Comment: In short, yes. It's just under a mammalian promoter.
Comment: Any other notable adjustments that would need to be made?
Comment: I should clarify my earlier comment - it's under a promoter appropriate to the organism of interest. I work with mammalian cells, so I have "mammalian" stuck on my brain...
Comment: Right, I guess what I mean is, are there any amino acid substitutions or things like that from the bacterial cas9 sequence? Or does it generally fold nicely and work well just using the same ORF?
Answer: If you are talking about the nuclease functionality of Cas9, then you aren't adding the Cas9 gene into the genome, you are transfecting it on a plasmid. Usually there is either some form of permeabilization done to the cells, or the construct is inserted into a viral vector in order to transfect the cells in tissue culture. In multicellular animals, you would need to use the viral vector route as would need to be done with any gene therapy technique. Addgene is a nonprofit plasmid repository that has many of the CRISPR/Cas9 constructs that have been developed, and they have an excellent resource on their Website.
You wouldn't really want Cas9 active in the cell after it has done its job, as you increase your likelihood of off-target hits. The target shouldn't be in the genome anyway if the targeting event occurred, because you have either substituted in another piece of DNA or you have cut the DNA and the DNA repair mechanisms have introduced random nucleotides in order to repair the double stranded break.
Eukaryotic cells, for the most part, cannot maintain plasmids. The Cas9 gene will be transcribed along with the guide RNA. The resulting protein/RNA complex targets the sequence of interest and makes a cut. When the cell replicates the plasmid will likely be lost, but the daughter cells will inherit the genomic edit made by the targeting event.
If you are looking to insert a different gene at the target site, say a reporter into the genome, then you co-transfect a linear piece of DNA with homology arms around the cut site so that that donor will be inserted via homologous break repair.
One of the Cas9 constructs that has bene developed has disabled the nuclease activity, so that the Cas9/RNA complex ends up acting as a binding protein to suppress the activity you are looking to study without actually deleting or replacing the gene. In this case you may look to insert the Cas9 cassette, in which case you would use a recombination event as you would with any other type of incorporation into the genome.


Origin of the term Yoshke?

Question: I have often heard Jews refer to Jesus as "Yoshke". Is the origin of that appellation based on halachic issues regarding mentioning names of foreign deities, or some other Jewish law or custom?  When was its first recorded use?
Comment: I wonder if it's related to Acher, who wasn't considered a deity by anyone but who tradition doesn't want to name anyway.
Comment: Acher got his name from a story which involved him.
Comment: Actually, @sam, it's probably more likely that the story was invented to explain the name. There are dozens of possible explanations as to why somebody would refer (in the third person) to another person so dismissively, but the odds that it all goes back to what a single woman said to him when the two were in a field is quite unlikely.
Comment: Its a Yerushalmi in Chagigah,so not sure what you are saying.
Comment: @sam - No it isn't, it's in the Bavli (Hagigah 15a). The corresponding section in the Yerushalmi (Hagigah 77b-c, 2.1) says nothing at all about how he got his name. It was the story in the Bavli to which I was referring: the one with the prostitute in the field, who knows that he is Elisha ben Abuya but who refers to him as "somebody else". That story is just that. A story. Invented to explain why he was called Acher in the Mishna, but not the actual reason for his having been called that. The actual reason is simply the Mishna's dismissiveness of him.
Comment: Sry mixed it up have not seen it in a while ,I knew it was in both I thought it was in the Yerushalmi.My point is thats how he got his name if the gemarah brought a story.They could have used any other type of name.
Answer: Yoshke is simply a Yiddish diminutive nickname for Yehoshua (Joshua, for which a parallel English nickname would be Josh). Thus, it was simply a way for European Jews to make reference to Jesus in a manner that (a) conveyed the idea that Jesus was not viewed as important and (b) not likely to be picked up on by nearby Gentiles.
I doubt there is any record of the earliest use of the name, as it was, and still is, used almost exclusively in speech.
Comment: @ShmuelBrin Yes, though that might actually be for Yoseph.
Comment: I think it is..
Comment: According to my reference on Ashkenazic names, Yoshke comes from Yosef, not Yehoshua, but it's often wrong.
Comment: You mean like https://www.shmais.com/go/img/largepics/image2524.jpg
Comment: @CharlesKoppelman I've encountered that usage as well.
Comment: Like calling Richard Nixon "tricky Dick".
Comment: Note that the full phrase ימח שמו וזכרו has the abbreviation ישו which is also the transliteration of the name used for that person.
Answer: I believe the original term was Yoshke Pandre referring to the notion that Jesus was not fathered by Joseph, a Jew but rather a Roman centurion named Panthera. The intent is to be derogatory. There is a chapter on this in Peter Schäfer's Jesus in the Talmud

Origin of the term Yoshke?


Equivalent information from GetAdaptersAddresses() in Windows 2000 (WIN2KSP4)?

Question: I have a C++ (VS2005) application that makes use of GetAdaptersAddresses() on Windows XP and I need to provide most of the same information from IP_ADAPTER_ADDRESSES with regards to IPv4 (I don't need IPv6) in Windows 2000 (WIN2KSP4).
(The IPv6 Technology Preview for Windows 2000 is not an option)
Please remember when looking at MSDN, that under "Requirements" it should be
"Minimum supported client : Windows 2000 Professional" (although, I do realize that MSDN isn't always correct*)
The call to GetAdaptersAddresses looks like:
<code>// flags = GAA_FLAG_INCLUDE_PREFIX | GAA_FLAG_SKIP_DNS_SERVER | GAA_FLAG_SKIP_FRIENDLY_NAME
GetAdaptersAddresses(AF_INET, flags, NULL, reinterpret_cast<IP_ADAPTER_ADDRESSES*>(info), &actualSize)
</code>
The version of IP_ADAPTER_ADDRESSES that I have looks like:
(fields that are struck-through are not needed)
<code>typedef struct _IP_ADAPTER_ADDRESSES {
  union {
    ULONGLONG Alignment;
    struct {
      ULONG Length;
      DWORD IfIndex;
    } ;
  } ;
  struct _IP_ADAPTER_ADDRESSES *Next;
  PCHAR                              AdapterName;
  PIP_ADAPTER_UNICAST_ADDRESS        FirstUnicastAddress;
  PIP_ADAPTER_ANYCAST_ADDRESS        FirstAnycastAddress;
  PIP_ADAPTER_MULTICAST_ADDRESS      FirstMulticastAddress;
  PIP_ADAPTER_DNS_SERVER_ADDRESS     FirstDnsServerAddress;
  PWCHAR                             DnsSuffix;
  PWCHAR                             Description;
  PWCHAR                             FriendlyName;
  BYTE                               PhysicalAddress[MAX_ADAPTER_ADDRESS_LENGTH];
  DWORD                              PhysicalAddressLength;
  DWORD                              Flags;
  DWORD                              Mtu;
  DWORD                              IfType;
  IF_OPER_STATUS                     OperStatus;
  DWORD                              Ipv6IfIndex;
  DWORD                              ZoneIndices[16];
  PIP_ADAPTER_PREFIX                 FirstPrefix;
} IP_ADAPTER_ADDRESSES, *PIP_ADAPTER_ADDRESSES;
</code>
Through a combination of calls to:
<code>  GetIpAddrTable       (MIB_IPADDRTABLE, MIB_IPADDRROW)
  GetAdaptersInfo      (IP_ADAPTER_INFO)
  GetIfTable           (MIB_IFTABLE, MIB_IFROW)
  GetIfEntry           (MIB_IFROW)
</code>
I can get some of the information I need:
<code>  AdapterName
  FirstUnicastAddress   // I think I have this
  PhysicalAddress          // MAC address
  PhysicalAddressLength
  Flags
  Mtu                      // only available from MIB_IFROW
  IfType
</code>
That leaves me my problem, and 3 questions:
1) IF_OPER_STATUS OperStatus != dwOperStatus from MIB_IFROW
Anyone have thoughts on how to get the equivelent information or something close to it?
2) I believe that I have found the equivelent to FirstUnicastAddress with IP_ADDR_STRING IpAddressList from IP_ADAPTER_INFO.  Assuming that I am correct (am I?), how might I determine that the addresses are in the same order; that the first address from FirstUnicastAddress is the same as the the first address in IpAddressList?  And yes, it would be usefult to transverse the list if there is more than one address in the list.
3) FirstMulticastAddress : Getting this information has been made harder by my limited knowledge of multicasting.
 I had thought that using WSAIoctl with SIO_GET_INTERFACE_LIST would lead me to an answer, but no.  Lately I've
 been trying to use getsockopt with IP_MULTICAST_IF.  So far, I'm only managing to get 4 bytes returned with  ip_mreq.imr_multiaddr set to 0.0.0.0.  I'm hoping it's user error on my part since GetAdaptersAddresses returns
 2 addresses for my network card and 1 address for loopback.  So, how do I get all the multicast addresses
 associated with each interface?  And if I do get the getsockopt call working, how do I get more than 1 multicast
 address from it?
Thanks,
Bill

Regarding the MSDN doc for ip_mreq at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms738695%28VS.85%29.aspx, it lists Minimum supported client as Windows XP.  Yet I found this nice little KB article  support.microsoft.com/kb/131978
Answer: You are probably looking for GetAdaptersInfo, documented at: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa365917%28VS.85%29.aspx


SQL performance, how to exactly measure bottlenecks

Question: Yesterday me (programmer) and one of my coworkers from our Hosting department started series of tests to address performance issues with our websites. We are running a server with Windows Server 2008 with 8gb of ram. We are going to upgrade our server with an aditional 8 gb ram because our customers are experiencing slow performance of the backend (Sitecore). We think that our performance issues are related to having too many databases on our server. We have had a quick look into performance counters on the server we are testing on, but our test server is totally different from our live server. We isolated some websites on the testserver and started some stresstests / database tests on that server and tried some measuring with the counters with which we don't have any experience.
How can we adress the problem on our live server using performance counters? Is there any good guide on how to adress this kind of performance problems out there?
Any advice would be much appreciated!
Answer: I don't think that performance counters will give a useful answer for this, since they only really tell you often certain things happened or what kind of throughput your are getting, but you already know that the throughput isn't great.
I've had a look at the available performance counters on our MS SQL Server, and nothing in there strikes me as particularly helpful for this. You could try out some of the counters in the SQLServer:Wait Statistics category to get some indications.
However, I would start with the usual suspects:

More often than not, performance bottlenecks with db-backed web sites are connected to slow database queries. This is often caused by missing indices and bad query design. Depending on your version of SQL, you should be able to google some advice for identifying slow queries.
If you are running MySQL as your database, you should regularly analyze the slow query log.
Also for MySQL, inspect the server health variables, especially the full join selects.
If at all possible, separate the DB server from the web server. The constant context switching is not good for performance, either.
Answer: At a previous job I was tasked with finding some performance issues and advising a path for correction. I always start out looking at some basic counters in perfmon.
<code>%Disk Time
%Idle Time
Avg Disk Queue Length
Avg Disk sec/Transfer
Pages/sec
% Processor Time
</code>
I will also try to isolate some of the slow pages in the application and review their queries. Sometimes heavy hit pages, like the main page, can have slow queries that will slow other properly performing queries down. Once I've tracked down some of the queries I will typically execute them in the management studio and look at their query plan to fine pain points like a missing or improper index. This is pretty basic in the end. This was also easy for me as it was a SAAS application where many many clients all connected to the save servers, using the same software.
The slowness could be coming from the fact this you are hitting a natural tipping point where your web traffic plus your database server is too much for one box. But before you go dumping $5,000 into a new database server take a peek into the perfmon data and see if something is just not standing out already. In my case to much disk IO on a direct attached storage array was the issue. Adding additional spindles was one possible solution. As well as adding more memory to allow more caching, and offloading the log files onto a different RAID array in the machine. In this instance also the web tier was not on the DB server so this was not the issue for me.


Gas solubility in water and alcohol

Question: I know that a certain gas is soluble in water but not in alcohol. How can I find the solubility of the gas in mixture of water and alcohol? Do I use a simple linear relation? The gas in question is not a noble gas, but does not react with either liquid.
Comment: If this were an ideal situation in which there were really negligible solubility in ethanol and significant solubility in water, then you could just calculate solubilities in mixtures as being linear with the fraction of water.  But, your first sentence seems unlikely for a real situation.
Answer: So long as we assume that this is an ideal situation in which there is really insignificant solubility of the gas in ethanol but significant solubility in water, then yes, you can assume that the concentration in the mixture is linear with the water fraction of the liquid. In other words:
$${H_m = H_w * x_{w}}$$
Where:
${H_m}$ = Henry's law solubility of the gas in the water-ethanol mixture
${H_w}$ = Henry's law solubility of the gas in water
${x_{w}}$ = mol fraction of water in the liquid phase

Gas solubility in water and alcohol


When requirement changes comes during the sprint, who takes the final decision to include or not

Question: If change request is pushed by the client during the sprint aggressively, who takes the final decision if it needs to be included or not
Comment: What do you mean by "in between the sprint"? Are you referring to during a Sprint, such as some time after Sprint Planning?
Comment: "In between Sprints" implies "after Sprint A ends and before Sprint B starts". "During a Sprint" implies "after Sprint A starts and before Sprint A ends". "In between the Sprint" is meaningless and not understandable. Please pick one of the above.
Comment: Being a non-native speaker myself, I'd guess the intention was "comes in"... "during sprint". In this case, the between is not the recommended word. Once OP confirms, we can rephrase it and remove all comments.
Comment: In Scrum, there is no concept of "in between the Sprint" - the end of one Sprint immediately leads to the start of the next. I suppose it could also lead to the termination of the effort in the case that there are no more Sprints.
Comment: That's my bad.. its during sprint.. Thanks Tiago.. Edited
Answer: The final decision is up to the product owner. If it's really, really, really important, the product owner could just cancel the current sprint and start a new one with just this single story in it.
Please note that that is an extreme measure and normally the product owner should consult the team about it and figure out a good way for all participants. But prioritization is the product owners domain. They say what is important and what needs to be done first.
Comment: @sumit I want to add that customer expectation is an KEY part of the quality assurance in your projects. Understanding this, you will reduce rework. As your are in a Scrum framework, then scope should be done at the beginning of each sprint. It should be validated and controlled. As others have said, PO must reduce changes during the current sprint, because it will create scope creep. Before to act, you may explain clients how you manage iterations and wait for the next wave. If it is something critical, then the scope of work for that sprint failed. Do lesson learned and correct next sprint.
Answer: First and foreMost, it is the responsibility of the product owner to decide the requirement change should be included in the current sprint or not. Obviously , this involves more development work and chances of pill overs in the sprint. Ideally the product owner prioritize the requirement change over other stories and deliver based on that . And finally, it is all about agile framework. Changes are always welcome in the agile development to improve the quality of the product
Answer: I consider nvoight's answer to be mostly correct, but there are other considerations.
In Scrum, the Product Owner is accountable for managing the Product Backlog. In the context of handling requested changes, the Product Owner is the one who needs to remain accountable for ensuring that the request is reviewed, expressed appropriately, and ordered with the rest of the Product Backlog Items. The Product Owner also collaborates with the Development Team on an ongoing basis to refine the Product Backlog Items.
However, I'd also argue that the Scrum Master has a role to play. One of the responsibilities of the Scrum Master is to help stakeholders understand empirical product development, Agile Software Development, and Scrum. The stakeholders are only only the Product Owner, the Development Team, and the development organization, but also include clients.
I would be quite concerned if a client, in the middle of a Sprint, was aggressively requesting changes. I would have a few approaches and, if I were in a coaching role with the team, would work very closely with the Product Owner.
The first thing I would look at is the Sprint cadence. Sprints are typically between 1 and 4 weeks long, with 2 and 3 week Sprints being the most common. Outside of a critical defect that is preventing work from happening, I would question why the change could not wait until the next iteration. I would consider that if this was important enough, a potentially shippable increment can be produced before the end of the next Sprint that included just the priority change - Scrum allows for, and techniques such as continuous integration and continuous delivery enable, multiple potentially shippable increments to be provided during a Sprint.
For non-critical issues, I would encourage placing the changes at the top of the Product Backlog and ensuing appropriate time with the team to understand and refine the work. Doing this will likely yield higher quality work. By giving the team time to understand the need or want, work with the Product Owner to refine it and estimate it, there is a better chance of the work being done right. In addition, if the change is extremely high risk or requires a large amount of effort, the Product Owner will be able to manage stakeholder expectations or work out a plan to decompose the work and slowly introduce the changes in an appropriate timeline.
Cancelling a Sprint is an option, if the change request is deemed important enough and cannot be done with the current capacity. However, the Scrum Guide uses the phrase "traumatic" to describe cancelling a Sprint due to its disruptive nature. Also, cancelling a Sprint may not be possible in a scaled environment where multiple teams are synchronizing their Sprints and have dependencies.
Comment: Thanks @Thomas for detailed explanation


Biharmonic function

Question: Is a family of bounded bi-harmonic functions defined in the unit disk an equicontinuous family of functions on compacts? A bi-harmonic function $u$ is a solution of the equation $\Delta^2 u =0$.
Answer: Yes. Let $x$ and $y$ be two points in the interior. $f(x)$ and $f(y)$ can be expressed as an integral of $f$ against a continuous function, the Poisson kernel on a circle around them. As $y$ converges to $x$ the continuous function converges pointwise to $0$.  Obviously we have
$|f(x)-f(y)|\leq b ||P_x-P_y||_{L_1}$
where $b$ is the global bound and $P_x$ and $P_y$ the Poisson kernels, and the $L_1$ norm of the difference in poisson kernels is bounded as a function of $|x-y|$ on every compact set.
Answer: Yes. First, $\Delta u\in C^\infty$ because it is harmonic, thus $u\in C^\infty$, because $\Delta$ is elliptic. Next, a harmonic function $f$ is its own mean; for instance
$$2\pi f(x)=\int_0^{2\pi}f(x+re^{i\theta})d\theta,$$
for every $r<1-|x|$. From this we deduce that if $\phi\in C^\infty(|x|-1,1-|x|)$ is even, has compact support and satisfies
$$2\pi\int_0^1\phi(r)dr=1,$$
then we have
$$f(x)=\int_D\phi(|y-x|)f(y)dy.$$
Applying this to $f=\Delta u$, we find
$$\Delta u(x)=\int_D\phi(|y-x|)\Delta u(y)dy=\int_D\Delta \phi(|y-x|)u(y)dy,$$
whence
$$|\Delta u(x)|\le 2\pi M\int_0^{1-|x|}r\phi(r)dr,$$
where $M$ is the supremum of $|u|$. Finally, $\phi$ can be chosen of the form
$$\phi(r)=(1-|x|)^{-2}\rho\left(\frac{r}{1-|x|}\right)$$
for a fixed $\rho$, and this gives an upper bound
$$|\Delta u(x)|\le C(1-|x|)^{-2}M$$
for an absolute constant $C$.
This bound is uniform over every compact subset of $D$. It is not difficult to finish the argument, which looks like Ascoli-Arzela.

Biharmonic function


Interval and proper time

Question: Is the definition of $$d s^2=-d \tau^2$$ assuming that $c=1$, so that we always have $$\left({ds\over d\tau}\right)^2=-1$$?
Is there a reason for this definition?
Don't we get an imaginary ${ds\over d\tau}$?
Answer: It depends on what convention you're using for the metric's signature. Some people use the metric signature (-+++), which is what you have there. The interval is then:
$$ds^2=-dt^2+d \mathbf{r}^2$$
On the other hand, some people use the (+---) convention:
$$ds^2=dt^2-d \mathbf{r}^2$$
In this signature $ds^2=d \tau^2$. Which one you use is a matter of preference. Special/General Relativity textbooks tend to prefer (-+++), though a lot of Quantum Mechanics textbooks prefer (+---).
Comment: Thanks, elfmostat! I use (-+++). May I ask: how does an imaginary ${ds\over d\tau}$ make physical sense?
Answer: Yeah, you do. The reason $\mathrm{d}s$ and $\mathrm{d}\tau$ are defined this way is that one or the other will be real for any given path. For a spacelike interval $\mathrm{d}s$ will be real (indicative of the fact that the distances we measure in everyday life are spacelike intervals), and for a timelike interval $\mathrm{d}\tau$ will be real (since times we measure in everyday life are timelike intervals). They fill complementary roles, but they're really just two ways of expressing the same thing.
$\frac{\mathrm{d}s}{\mathrm{d}\tau}$ itself doesn't really have any physical meaning. It's actually always equal to $\pm ic$ because of the definition.
Note that all the above only applies if you use the $-+++$ metric. If you use $+---$, then $\mathrm{d}s^2 = \mathrm{d}\tau^2$ and it's not an issue.

Interval and proper time


Are there any self sustainable sanitation solutions for remote and underdeveloped areas?

Question: My organization wants to install toilets and some kind of recycling method in remote underdeveloped areas. The installments should be suitable for hilly and mountainous terrain. Since the area we cover does not allow for regular maintenance by humans, we need a solution which is self sustaining. My question is, are there any sanitation and recycling solutions out there which can be installed in remote areas, are eco friendly and don't need human intervention to work? Are they expensive or affordable?
Comment: Compost toilets?
Comment: I agree with Earthliŋ. [Composting toilets](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Composting_toilet) is the only thing that comes too mind. They do require some human effort though.
Answer: Composting Toilets and Capacitation
We are doing work in the Colombian Andes, and this is our current go-to solution.
The idea is to elevate the toilet, create a seal for insects, keep waste dry with sawdust, ash, lime, rice husk, or other dry product.
When the bin fills, remove it, seal it and date it with proper saftey equipment.  We use long gloves and face masks.  Place new bin for collection.
After two years, the bin can be emptied and its contents composted.  This is the best way to get it back into the soil and growing plants.  With the two years wait and composting, there is 'no' risk.
Your organization will need to teach people using these systems how to operate them. You may need to give them gloves.  You need to show them how to compost the waste.
Once the community gets the rhythm, and the compost is replacing fertilizer costs, the overall costs and benefits of the project beat out any other sanitation option.
Comment: Seems like a lot of bin changes - a two person liftable 50kg bin would only hold around 50 liters of waste,  which wouldn't last long for a small village, and every bin change opens the risk of contamination, and requires "proper safety equipment" and subsequent sanitation or disposal of that equipment.  If the soil has suitable drainage and far enough from water supplies to prevent contamination, an old-fashioned pit latrine seems more sustainable since it requires no special tools to build and a new one can be built when the old one is too full of solid waste.
Comment: @Johnny the problem with the pit is that it takes years to break down into soil, and it doesn't kill some crucial pathogens. It's also a lot of work to dig a proper drainage channel for each pit (pits fill up), but if you don't you get pathogens flowing straight out of the pit onto the ground around the toilet and out onto the surrounding soil and watercourses. It can be done, but it's skilled work to build a good one and the "good" parts are not very intuitive (see: thousands of years of excrement-based diseases)
Comment: It's not clear that keeping bins full of (liquid + solid) waste around for years is really better than digging a new pit periodically that only fills up with solid waste. Especially when replacing the bins means sending in people in expensive personal protective gear to swap out the bin, which puts them into close contact with the waste. A sufficiently large pit latrine can last a year or longer, so it's not like new ones need to be dug frequently, and they can be made with only basic tools.
Answer: Composting toilets seem like the obvious solution. In warmer climates it's easy to have a hot compost that cycles fairly quickly, in colder climates you will likely need to heat it or accept a very slow cold cycle (which is risky because not all pathogens will be killed in a cold cycle).
The key is to mix in cellulose to help aerate the mix and even out the nitrogen (human poo has too much for most composting). That can be sawdust or woodchips, or you can buy mulch from a garden supply place. Once a container is full it needs time to compost down, so you need multiple containers. You also need a separate system for urine, as that will turn the bin anaerobic and it will stink and not compost properly.
In New Zealand the Department of Conservation(DOC) use commercially made composting toilets in some huts and camping areas, as do Tasmania's Parks and Wildlife in Australia. They're common enough that I've seen a variety of types and they're not remarkable enough to get special mentions that I can find. They're just there.
In the past I have used a passively ventilated DIY system that worked as well as the Excelet, but obviously without the necessary approvals it could only be our second toilet. That was literally just a bucket, 5cm of gravel in a bag made of plastic shadecloth to keep the compost out of the gravel (rather than proper geotextile), and a length of 25mm PVC pipe down the side of the bucket to let air into the bottom. When the bucket was full we emptied it into a black plastic bin at the bottom of the garden that was set up in a similar way (but bigger). That's messy, but not as messy as you might think. The top layer of the bucket is very fresh, but if you empty it with a fairly fast, smooth motion by the time that fresh stuff hits the bottom of the big bin there's a lot of partly-composted material falling on top of it so there's no splash or mess. We had two, 100 litre bins for a household of four people. We emptied a bin about every 6-9 months and a 20 litre bucket every week or so (the numbers don't add up mostly because we didn't completely fill the bucket, and the bin was composting so it would lose volume over time).
We now have an Excelet commercially made one because it's got all the paperwork and certifications to be the only toilet in the house, and we intend to move it into the granny flat we are building (as the only toilet). They say that even in Australia it's a good idea to keep the full bins in the sun so they get heated into the thermophilic zone above 40 degrees Celcius. In Sydney we get outside temperatures above 35 degrees quite regularly in the summer so it doesn't take much to get a black plastic bin over 40 degrees.

I've also worked at a music festival that used 220 litre wheelie bins as the toilets. They had separate urinals and pee-only stations, but the poo toilets were slightly elevated platforms with a toilet lid support directly over the bin, and a bucket of sawdust/wood shavings in each cubical. We had attendants explaining them and adding extra wood when needed. They also had a wire hook for getting things back out of the toilets. Those bins were taken out when full then just left in the sun for six months to a year with no further attention (AFAIK). After a year they were thoroughly composted, and then emptied onto a sifter rack so that all the rubbish people dump into them could be picked out before the compost was used on a farm. The guy has formed a company that does this!


degree of the extension galois

Question: I have a problem with the solution of the tasks of abstract algebra.Help please.
$F=({\bf Q};+;\cdot),K=({\bf R},+;\cdot)$.

Determine the degree of the extension $F_K^* (\sqrt 2,\sqrt 3):F]$.
Designate a primitive element of the extension $[F_K^* (\sqrt 2, \sqrt[3]3):F]$, over the field $F_K^* (\sqrt 2)$.
Determine the Galois group of the field $F_K^ * (\sqrt 2, \sqrt 3)$ over the field $F$, i.e., the group $(G, \circ)$, where $G$ is the class of all automorphisms $Y$ of the field $F_K^* (\sqrt 2, \sqrt 3)$ such that $Y(x) = x$ for $x\in {\bf Q}$.

Definition. For any Z:Univ;A:Class;F,K:Field, where F⊏K, Z is an extension of the field F of the field K of class A <=> Z = $F_K^*$ (A): = K (F__supp ∪ A | Field) .
Answer for 1.
Is my thinking is right? Is this a good answer? Does it solved?
since $[\Bbb Q(√2,√3):\Bbb Q] = [\Bbb Q(\sqrt 2,\sqrt 3):\Bbb Q(\sqrt 2)]*[\Bbb Q(\sqrt2):\Bbb Q]$
and since $x^2 - 2$ is irreducible over $\Bbb Q$, and
$x^2 - 3$ is irreducible over $\Bbb Q(\sqrt 2)$
(the former is obvious, and latter can be shown by assuming there
is $q + r\sqrt 2$ such that $(q+r\sqrt 2)^2 = 3$, for $q,r \in \Bbb Q$.
that is $(q^2 + 2r^2) + (2qr)\sqrt2 = 3$, leading to:
$q^2 + 2r^2 = 3qr = 0$. if $r = 0$, then $q^2 = 3$, impossible since $\sqrt3$ is irrational.
if $q = 0$, then $2r^2 = 3$, writing $r = a/b$ for integers with $gcd(a,b) = 1$,
we have $2a^2 = 3b^2$. if $p$ is a prime dividing $b$, then $p$ divides $2$
(since $p$ does not divide $a$, and thus $a^2$). since $p^2$ divides $3b^2$,
$p^2$ must also divide $2$, and this is impossible. hence $b^2 = 1$,
but there is no integer solution to $2a^2 = 3$, since $2a^2$ is even and $3$ is odd).
therefore $[\Bbb Q(\sqrt2,\sqrt3):Q] = 2*2 = 4$.
I tried to solve the second. Is my solution is correct?
Answer for 2. a primitive element of Q(√2,√3) is √2+√3. it's clear that
√2+√3 lies in Q(√2,√3), hence Q(√2+√3) is contained in Q(√2,√3).
note that (1/2)[(√2 + √3)^3 - 9(√2+√3)] = √2, so
√2 is in Q(√2+√3), hence √3 = (√2+√3) - √2 is as well.
hence they are equal fields.
Answer for 3. consider the polynomial $f(x) = (x^2 - 2)(x^2 - 3)$ in $\Bbb Q[x]$.
any automorphism of $\Bbb Q(\sqrt2,\sqrt3)$ that fixes $\Bbb Q$ must send a root of $f$ to another root of $f$.
furthermore, such an automorphism must send a root of $x^2 - 2$ to a root of $x^2 - 2$,
and similarly for $x^2 - 3$. now $\Bbb Q(\sqrt2,\sqrt3)$ is a normal separable extension of $\Bbb Q$
since $f$ is separable, and $\Bbb Q(\sqrt2,\sqrt3)$ is the splitting field of f over $\Bbb Q$. hence:
$|Gal(\Bbb Q(\sqrt2,\sqrt3)/\Bbb Q)| = 4$.
we see that the following 4 assignments all determine automorphisms:
$\sqrt2\mapsto \sqrt2$,
$\ \sqrt3\mapsto \sqrt3$ (the identity)
$\sqrt2\mapsto -\sqrt2$,
$\ \sqrt3\mapsto \sqrt3$ (sending only $\sqrt2$ to its conjugate)
$\sqrt2\mapsto \sqrt2$,
$\ \sqrt3\mapsto -\sqrt3$ (sending only $\sqrt3$ to its conjugate)
$\sqrt2\mapsto -\sqrt2$,
$\ \sqrt3\mapsto -\sqrt3$ (sending both $\sqrt2$ and $\sqrt3$ to their conjugates)
thus this is all of them. since every automorphism has order 2,
this is isomorphic to the klein 4-group, V.
Comment: Could you check whether these arrangements are good? Do not I made a mistake?
Comment: My question is whether the solution to the second task is correct?  if anyone noticed some error?
Answer: Yes, all seems correct. What about question 2?
Comment: Aha. I guess, it is only $\sqrt[3]3$, and a similar argument works as in 1.
Comment: Yhm $\sqrt[3]3$ . yes

degree of the extension galois