How do I convert a Word document into a page by page Kindle ebook?

Question: I downloaded a very important document in .docx format (Microsoft Office Word format).
Is there a way to convert it to an ebook page by page to read on a Kindle?
Comment: What kind of ebook format? There are several and readers usually don't support all of them.
Comment: @svick A format supported by a kindle
Comment: What tools do you have available? Linux or Mac or Windows and what version. Also, do you need any ebook features beyond what saving it as PDF affords?
Comment: tried using the Amazon converter but can not see my files. Any suggestions?
Comment: @NickBesedin I converted your answer to a comment since it is not an answer to the question asked. You may also consider creating a separate question (you can always link back to this question if it makes sense to reference it).
Answer: To convert a .docx file to another format, you should download a program called Calibre

First you must add the .docx file to your Calibre library

Then you need to select the book, and click on Convert books

Select your output format (for Amazon Kindle, select AZW3), and click OK. After it has completed, the newly converted ebook will appear in your Calibre library folder
Answer: There is a very easy way to do this with no extra software required. Since you asked about the Kindle specifically, you can just let Amazon take care of the conversion for you automatically.
Fist there is one time configuration. From the Amazon website, load up Manage Your Kindle. From there find Personal Document Settings in the menus. The first heading on the page should be a list of your Kindle devices and their settings. Identify which device you want to read your documents on and note the email address that has been assigned to it. Also make sure lower down that any and all addresses from which you might wish to send yourself documents are in the approved senders list.
With that out of the way, you have to do is send an email!

Address it to your Kindle's address.
Attatch the DOCX1 file.
Set the subject line to "convert"
Make sure you are sending from an address you have authorized.

Presto, the document will be converted to the native Kindle format and sent to your device using Wispersync. If you fail to use exactly that subject line, you will only get the file in its original format. By using the word "convert" in the subject you trigger Amazon's servers to convert it to a more usable format for you.
1 This trick also works for PDF and a number of other formats. The usability of the results do depend on how cleanly formatted the original document was.
Comment: @user743 One good reason is it doesn't run on my OS. Other more general reasons include not having to bother installing anything at all no matter where you are and more convenience if you're emailing documents anyway. Just forward a copy and read.
Comment: if you own a kindle why shouldn't you download `send to kindle`, it's easier. with a option for `PDF` to convert, or not.
Comment: Your solution was fast and easy to do. Thanks!
Answer: According to the Calibre supported formats list, .docx is one of the supported input types. For the Kindle, you probably want to use AZW as the output.
So you should go to the Calibre website, follow the links to download the appropriate version, install it, and follow the directions on how to add your .docx file to your library and then convert it to AZW.
Answer: As far as I am aware, PDF files work fine on the Kindle and can be converted to that form directly from Microsoft Word.
As shown below, when you go to save the Word document, you can choose to save it as a PDF. I would recommend saving as a DOC/DOCX file before you do this, so that you have a backup in case anything goes wrong.

You would then just transfer the newly created PDF file over to your kindle via the USB cable and it should open perfectly fine.
My brother used to do this for his university reading.
Answer: Disclaimer: I work for Nevron Software.
PDFs are not a good option to export ebooks as they cannot be reflowed. As a consequence text may not be readable on smaller devices. I work for a company that created a small text editor similar to MS Word which supports reading and writing of EPUB, Rtf, Docx, Html and PDFs files. You can view it here: http://www.nevronoffice.com. The free online version (requires Silverlight) can be used to convert your document from DOCX to EPUB.
Answer: Another option would be to save your .docx file as html and use Kindle Gen from Amazon to convert to .mobi.
Answer: Another service which works quite well and does the job online is the following one: https://ebook.converter.page.
It supports all common ebook formats and is available for free.


Failure of Noether normalization

Question: I was in a class recently where we were trying to roughly count the dimensions of certain spaces of rational maps from algebraic curves into closed subschemes $Z \subseteq \mathbb{A}^n$.  One way to simplify the proof is to find a map from $Z$ to $\mathbb{A}^{n-1}$ with finite fibers, but we couldn't figure out whether you could always do this.  I'd like to know when and how badly this can fail.
Let's assume that $Z$ is a reduced closed subscheme of $\mathbb{A}^n$ (and not equal to all of $\mathbb{A}^n$), and that everything is over an infinite field $k$.

Noether normalization says that if $Z$ is irreducible, then there's a finite map $Z \to \mathbb{A}^{n-1}$.  Are there examples of reducible $Z$ of pure dimension $n-1$ such that no such map exists?
Are there examples of reducible $Z$ (no restrictions on dimension) such that no map $Z \to \mathbb{A}^{n-1}$ with finite fibers exists?
We could restrict attention to the linear projections $\pi:\mathbb{A}^n \to \mathbb{A}^{n-1}$.  In this case, $\pi|_Z$ has a positive-dimensional fiber iff $Z$ contains a line in the direction of the kernel of $\pi$.  So: are there examples of $Z$ that contain a line in every direction?
Answer: It's probably too late here, but I do not see where one needs "integral domain" in the proof of Noether normalisation. As for projections (3rd question), for infinite fields linear transformations are good enough in Nagata's proof (see Mumford, Red book).

Failure of Noether normalization


Is it right to teach other people?

Question: Everyone of us is unique, with different percepts, respective back ground & nature. although Way of living can be equally beneficial to everyone, inhaling & exhaling peace of mind, together. So many religions, text, even our history tell us about us. All these teach us while a few people get elevated level and again start teaching us.
I've learned a lot from them but the best i learn and adapt that comes within and stay within me IS ACTUALLY RESULT OF MY ABILITY TO BEND MY THINKING. My question is just this simple - is it right to share my thinking with others or not? Aren't we are becoming more dependent on others?
Comment: Hi. Do you mean In general? Or From the buddhist perspective?
Comment: From the buddist perspective, actually.
Comment: I've edited the title to better reflect the content of the question. Please roll back if the title isn't suitable. Metta
Answer:
How is it right to teach other?

If one's teachings teaches people how to become free from suffering and that teaching deals with ultimate reality then that would be considered wholesome way of acting.
If one teaches freedom from suffering but one's teachings are dealing with concepts such as a Creator God it is not wholesome since it will not lead people to Liberation. It will instead bring more delusion into other beings minds and steer them further away from the path to end suffering. Since delusion is what is keeping beings in Samsara it would be considered unwholesome to input more delusion in them.

Is it right to share my thinking with others or not?

What kind thinking are we talking about?
If one is sharing unwholesome ways of thinking with others that might lead to wrong speech, wrong action.
Another aspect to mention is also whether or not the other being in some way has agreed to be told about one's thoughts. Sometimes a being might have problems in his or her own life and might not have energy to listen to other beings problems. If one then just unloads on that being without that being wanting to listen that might not be a good thing.
In the same way if one has criminal intentions and wants to commit a crime then if one tells another innocent being about ones plans one will actually involve that being in the act. Now that being has some unwanted knowledge which is placing that being in an unfortunate sitation. Should the being go to the police with the information or what to do? These are just examples of what might happen if we share wrong and unwholesome ways of thinking with other beings.
One could also choose to share wholesome thoughts, i.e. thoughts of renunciation, peace, friendliness, loving-kindness and the like. This would be beneficial not only for oneself but also for other beings. One might share an advice with another being who is in need for advice. Wholesome actions will produce wholesome results.

Aren't we are becoming more dependent on others?

This question is difficult to answer since it can be answered in many different ways. It's actually subjective. Some people will say no while others will say yes. I do not have an answer for this question.
What i would like to point out is the "attachment-factor" in the question. The Buddha clearly stated that we should be our own refuge and not rely on other people for salvation. With that in mind one should strive to set oneself free. One should practice diligently and not be negligent. A human life is very short and we must practice while the body and mind is still intact. Old age, sickness and death will come to all of us.
See Dhammapada Verse 166 - The Story of Venerable Attadattha.
Being dependent on others will not set one free. The Buddha's only show the way. We ourselves must practice it.
May you be well and happy and free from suffering.
Answer: Nah, because knowledge is not enough anyway. Even if someone is totally open to learning from you they must be even more eager to put things into practice in order to reach a particular field's skillful attainments.
Buddhism teaches the Middle ground: do enough learning but also do enough practice to achieve one's goal. Don't have too much pride in either knowledge nor practice because knowledge without practice is useless and practice without knowledge is blind.
That being said, if there is something you can share with someone that you think for sure would help them, then it is the poison of greed to hold it back!
Anyway, it is most likely that you are wrong because people can find all sorts of ways to ignroe excellent wisdom and intelligence, nothing is perfectly persuasive..
Answer: The way it was explained to me is that, similar to what Sri Lanka said, there is a risk of creating more delusion and dukkha if one is teaching while one has not fully attained enlightenment.. ie.  the way to liberation is not transmitted fully. Since I am just a pilgrim on the path of a thousand steps, I can only offer my own experience in support of other's paths.
Some people teach for the joy of it, some people for the ego gratification it supplies. I've always thought of buddhism as being about the 'doing' and not so much the 'talking'. So for me, I'd rather practice with others than try to 'teach' them about it...

Is it right to teach other people?


Physical Quran and mobile Quran

Question: Are there difference in benefits in reading a mobile quran compared to a physical Quran? Due to the nature of my job, I am travelling from site to site. I feel it's more convenient to carry "iQuran". Much appreciated.
Answer: Quran was never written until after the death of the Prophet PBUH. Thus all the benefits mentioned from the prophet PBUH about reading quran (reward wise) is from reading Quran from Memory. By the rule of inclusion, that means reading it from the book also is considered the same rewards, as well as reading it digitally.
There are some hadiths that give priority to reading from Paper, but according to this Fatwa they all are weak.
This is also shown by this Fatwa where Shikeh Bin Baz said there is no difference between reading from memory or from a book. The only 2 requirements to get rewards when reading Quran are:

Your Forethought to be on the Quran (like meditating to Quran).
Your heart to be into the reading.

If those apply to you when reading the Quran regardless of the medium you will get rewarded In Shaa Allah.
Also according to the following Fatwa, you don't need to be purified (wudu) and you can enter the phone into the bathroom OK, since it is a digital pixels and not actual written words on paper.
Comment: The statement *"Quran was never written until after the death of the Prophet PBUH"* is not 100% true, the prophet used to dictate the verses he was revealed each time to his scribs so it was written down on (scattered) papers, a physical copy of the quran (a Moshaf) was not existing at least not an approved one,as some shaba had indeed their (private) quran copys which included verses which have been abrogated before the death of the propeht().
Answer: Qur'an was revealed to give guidance to mankind, it was not supposed to be just written on paper. Writing on paper is one means to spread it though. But there are other means too by which it can be spread, like mouth and iQur'an. :)
May the creator guide us all.
Answer: As long as you have wudu, speak niyat in the heart, and solemnly asking for guidance from Allah SWT, IMO the preparation to read Quran is considered complete
Answer: I firmly believe that while one can read Quran in any form but the paper is always preferred. I think the Aya'h that mentions not to touch Quran without wudu is very exclusive to the paper print. As mentioned in the post that digital one can be taken anywhere and touched without wudu.This does not pertain to the actual paper print. May Allah guide me if I put anything wrong
Comment: Salam and welcome on Islam SE. Please consider taking our [tour], checking our [help] and read [answer] to learn how this site is supposed to work. Please consider adding references to support your claims.
Answer: Quran is Quran either you read it on mobile or on paper.
I got this by hearing same kind of questions by word on mouth. Somebody asked about how to read Quran on computer. Answer was, you need to do widhu because you can't touch monitor's screen or read it without widhu?
Comment: I dont get your answer please make your little clear please

Physical Quran and mobile Quran


Magento 2: Products with internal IDs > ~16500 not showing in category

Question: i have a magento 2 running on nginx and PHP7 with about 45.000 products - just simple products, no additional attributes, Default attribute set.
The problem is: products with a high id, about more than 16.500 (entity_id) are not showing.
It is definitely not because of settings like visibility, product_online, stock, category assignment etc. - i checked everything, deactivated all caches, deleted the cache/ and page_cache/-directorys, reindexed via console times and times.
Also i deactivated all external modules.
When opening a product with a high id, which should normally be shown, via directly entering the url to the frontend product page with the urlkey, it appears and is buyable. When i search the product via product search in frontend, it appears and i can buy it! But when going to the category which it is assigned to, it does not appear. no matter if i just assigned 1 or 2 or more categories. Doesnt matter if it is a first level or in a subtree. There are about 500 categories with subcategories (all under the root-cat which is set for the store).
When i try to move a product which is working to any other category, it keeps working and is showing in the new category. If i move a product which is not working, it doesn't matter in which category - it does never appear, in no category.
I tried to clone a working product (with a lower id) and just change a number in the sku and save again - it gets a high id and is not working!
when i clone all fields of a working product to a not working product, the product keeps on not working. if i clone data from a not working product to a working product, it keeps working...! It is NOT a setting thing.
I analysed all product- and category-related database tables and compared working with not working products in a category, also all index tables - all is set the same!
I changed limits in php, memory_limit is over 2G (!), post_max_size is 100M, time_limit is set to hours, i just have no solution. I get no error message.
In the admin everything works fine and is showing correct.
When looking in the backend, i can see that there are e.g. 230 products in a category. When i go to the frontend, there are only 8! when i sort the assigned products of a category in admin category manager, i can see there are 8 products with ids below ID ~16.500, the other 222 are with ids bigger than ~16.500.
all these products are sent to google shopping via export modules, are all showing correctly in products grid and category assigned products list, in the csv-import/export... everything is fine!
Unfortenately, this is a live system and the problem is there since beginning, so i have not all products left. in the range there is product ID 16533 which is not working (and everyting greater) and i have product id 16483 which is working (and all products with lower id). I don't know how to add a product with ids between this, without killing the system (the entity_id of a product is used in so many tables...). So i cannot say which is the real last id which is still working, just that it must be about 16500. i googled all the ids betwenn 16483 and 16533 with keywords like "magento 2 not showing category" - there seems to be just nobody on this planet which seems to have the same problem :-(
I isolated the load-method on /vendor/magento/module-catalog/Model/ResourceModel/Product/Attribute/Collection.php which just gives back 8 products for this example category (while testing i'm working with just this category now, its easier to debug. but all categorys have the same problem). The DB query of this method works with temp tables, so i cannot test this... i even tried to delete these 8 products from the category to suspend it is a problem with one of these products.
The Collection PHP-Model is really complicated, i don't know how to go on, the debug_backtrace-Function doesnt work, just gives me a blank page...
This costed me more than 4 days now :-(
Perhaps someone has an idea or a hint, where to continue with finding the error...
Thank you.
UPDATE (10mins after sending):
I now modified the SQL query of /vendor/magento/module-catalog/Model/ResourceModel/Product/Attribute/Collection.php::load (removed the search_tmp) and posted it to phpmyadmin - it returns all 230 products which are assigned to the category! It MUST be filtered after this point!
I compared every field of working and not working products - there is NO difference! tax class, prices, all the same type (different prices etc., yes, but same tax class, NULL-Fields etc.)...
The only thing i removed to test is:
<code>   INNER JOIN `search_tmp_57ed0f6b27ee36_24981671` AS `search_result`
           ON e.entity_id = search_result.entity_id
</code>
It must be an error with big entity_ids...
does anybody have a store with more than 16500 products with magento 2 CE?
Thank you.
UPDATE 2 (1h after sending):
Additional Info: All products was imported via the csv manager of magento. it was the same amount (about 45.000) from beginning. The only other thing we did was adding products via the admin system manually sometimes 1 or 2 for testing purposes.
UPDATE 3 (next day):
I found out that the category view is using the search model. so perhaps the thing i removed, with the temp sql table, is the solution?
Perhaps somebody knows how i can remove this? No matter if hardcoded to try first.
Reference this: https://github.com/magento/magento2/issues/4045
I tried to find the issue "MAGETWO-53563" there, but cannot find this in bug tracker...
Comment: Were these products imported through the default Magento import or via a custom one? Are you sure there are no hardcoded values in your code?
I advise you use something like Xdebug to trace things rather than `debug_stacktrace` as the latter won't give you much information, plus you'll be able to put breakpoints where needed and have watchers.
Comment: I advise you to export your simple products catalog and reimport it on a fresh magento install.
Comment: Hi, the products was imported via the import/export feature of magento (csv files).
Comment: There are no hardcoded changes. just inserting and deleting for testing now. only in module-theme, but this was just changes like google analytics code and trusted shops URL (just naked html)
Comment: Do you have 45k product all in one category?
Comment: @KAndy: No, i have about 700 categories in the tree. I think no category should have more than ~500 or 1.000 products. Normally about 20 to 200.
Answer: Magento2 has limit on max product displayed in category. By default it's 10k.  See size node in  Magento/CatalogSearch/etc/search_request.xml  file
Comment: Hi, Thank you, this was a good hint to think about and search for overrides for this. I changed this to 100000 (reindexed, deleted cache etc.) but nothing changed. I will keep on searching for overrides, perhaps this is the solution.


working from UK as a freelance for company in France

Question: I live in the UK and I work as a freelancer. I am not a Brtish citizen (but EU one), I  live in London and previously I was hired by a company in the UK. Few months back I started to work for a French company as a freelancer. I was told that as a self-employed I just need to pay taxes in UK and invoice French company for my work. As the accountant in France started to have some doubts about it, I would be very grateful if somebody can answer this question.
Thank you in advance.
Comment: I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because you need country specific tax advice, which you won't find here.
Answer: Your situation falls under the European Union VAT system. In that category most freelancing should be a B2B service, which means the customer pays VAT in their country, i.e. you invoice without VAT and your French customer pays the VAT with their tax declaration. For more details see:

http://ec.europa.eu, Where to tax?
https://www.taxation.co.uk, Reversing the charge

This is all rather confusing to read for a first invoice. But if you do this for several customers in EU countries, or if you also buy services (e.g. use Amazon Web Services), then it does work quite well and simplifies invoicing.
Note: This is under the assumption that your are VAT registered in the UK, and both you and your customer have VAT IDs for the paperwork. Without a VAT registration it is probably slightly different and you should really seek local tax advice.
Comment: That's some useful info for non-VAT entities. Thanks.
Answer: Well, any rules regarding tax will probably apply to most countries, especially the European continent. The general rule of thumb is that you declare your income in the country that you reside. As long as the money you're earning is from legitimate sources, I don't see an issue.
The UK government won't complain about receiving tax from a foreign source of income, and the French government can't prevent companies from outsourcing work to freelancers from other countries. Even if the French government punishes them with some kind of tax embargo, it will be theirs to pay, not yours.
Edit: Here is some more information that you may find helpful, so far no one has voted to close it: UK freelancer living in Thailand working for UK based clients...tax?
Answer: Have you declared yourself as self employed with HMRC? Are you planning on operating as a Ltd company? As @user3244085 says, you need UK specific tax advice, possibly an accountant.
As an abridged version:
UK residents pay UK tax. You declare your income either as self-employed or you start a Ltd company. For the formaer, contact HMRC and get a UTR code. For the latter, contact an accountant.
Answer: I have a UK registered consultancy business for 22+ years, and contracted in six EU countries - hopefully my time/experience counts for something.
The French accountant is more likely uncomfortable with the arrangement, but I believe with near certainty, is not illegal.
There is a law in many EU countries that I once heard refered to as a "chain law". It can effect contractors/consultants and this might be the concern of the French accountant. Basically, if you invoice the French company and do not pay your taxes, their concern is the French company might be held liable for them (and thus end up paying you and HMRC).  My understanding is the UK does not have this law (but BE, NL and I think F and DE do). The French accountant will not be familiar with UK tax laws, assumes the worst and thus is possibly concerned that if you don't pay the Queen then he will have to do it for you.
I strongly recommend you read a previously answered question, https://startups.stackexchange.com/questions/8576/how-to-build-a-startup-freelance-software-qa-in-the-us/8585#8585  Register yourself a UK Limited Company - You only need to be UK resident and nowadays a single person can create a Limited Company (when I started trading you needed a minimum of two 'officers' to form an Ltd). Opening a company is easy, but maintaining a company has (a little) paperwork. My UK accountant charges about 400GBP a year and I recommend you follow a similar route. Alternatively there are consultancies that act as umbrella companies - you work for them as an employee, they raise your invoices and do the paperwork. In return, they'll charge an admin fee. I'm not a fan of this, but I know others who have followed it happily for years.
Expect to face some pains - ask any IT contractor about IR35 (Inland Revenue 35). The law came in 10+ years ago however the taxman has decided to re-examine and apply the law in a manner that makes contracting within the UK a less profitable business.


Tune quoted in Jinkx Monsoon's "Cartoons & Vodka"

Question: From 2:43 to 2:47 in Jinkx Monsoon's "Cartoons & Vodka", where is this tune from? It's so familiar, but I just can't place it.
Answer: It refers to a part of the melody from In the Hall of the Mountain King from Peer Gynt by Grieg.
Comment: While I agree that the brief melody in OP's reference is _influenced_ by the Grieg piece, I don't accept that this conclusively addresses OP's question. OP's ref track is clearly based on "cartoon" references, and the full riff is obviously different than the exact Grieg piece. I know that the Grieg piece was used in Looney Tunes and likely influenced the Inspector Gadget theme, but the specific run in OP's ref is also related to some other animated show that I (too) vaguely recall, but can not place.


"Without reason" or "Without reasons"?

Question: Do we say "Without reason" or "Without reasons"?
(e.g. She started laughing without (apparent) reason(s).).
Is "reason" countable or not?
Can we ever use a plural noun after "without"?
Answer: In the phrase "without reason", reason is a noun. Reasons can be counted so "without reasons" is grammatical. However, it is not idiomatic; the English idiom is to use "without reason". Note also that this is a formal usage which is uncommon in everyday conversation:

She laughed without reason (formal register)

contrasted with

She started laughing for no apparent reason (informal, everyday register)
Answer: "Reason" is certainly a count noun. However, it is also a verb. In the sentence "She started laughing without reason" could mean either "she didn't have a reason to start laughing", or "she starting laughing without thinking about it." In the first example, it is a noun, in the second it is a verb.
The most common way is to say "bla bla bla... without reason", and it is would probably be the countable noun, most of the time, but is slightly ambiguous. It would be perfectly fine for you to say, "she started laughing without reasons". It is grammatically correct, just not the most common way of putting it - which is probably a good thing.
So, to answer, your question: "Yes."
Comment: This answer is wrong, so it's another one to add to the long and unfortunate list of incorrect and yet upvoted and accepted answers. Find me one single example of "without" followed by a verb in its plain form: "I left the house without eat breakfast", "He came without bring his coat" etc. Never, never, never. Also the word you are looking for is "idiom".
Comment: It couldn't be a verb in this case. If it were a verb, it would be in the gerund, i.e. "She started laughing without reasoning". Other examples: "He entered the room without saying a word", "He gave us a signal without the teacher noticing".
Comment: Thanks. I can't vote you up, since I don't have enough reputation yet.
Comment: Don't worry. Keep asking questions, and your reputation will increase :-)
Answer: reason most definitely can be countable: "give me five reasons why it isn't", but it can also be uncountable, "Reason is Man's greatest ally". Which are we dealing with? We can't quite pin it on without either; off the top of my head, "life is awful without friends" or "you can't do that without grounds to do so".
To my ear, making reason plural is unquestionably wrong.

*She started laughing without (apparent) reasons.
She started laughing without (apparent) reason.

I can't think of a single grammatical ground for invalidating the first. The fact that we can find other instances of without and a plural noun should prove it possible. Despite this,it is simply not said. I don't think you wouldn't be understood if you said it, but it would raise eyebrows and red pens. This isn't really an idiomatic phrase, perhaps in use, but not in the sense of compositionally; there is certainly something to be had from the meaning of just these words.
I am assuming here that we're after the without reason that means something like "without justification". The OED suggests that this meaning comes from the Middle French sans raison, from the Old French sanz reisun—the first recored use was in a1387. I'm no expert in French, but Google translates this as unjustifiably, which seems like a good start. I'd be interested to hear the modern version from a native speaker.
This construction is not without companions. Compare to:

without rhyme or reason
without reason or measure
without friendship/companionship, justification

There are other examples; these things do exist. It's almost as if these things, especially in the abstract, exist beyond count. Also compare, "she said it without justification" not *"she said it without justifications", but "she said it without grounds" not *"she said it without ground". In cases like without reason, the plural is unnecessary and muddles the meaning. I'm stil not entirely sure why–input?
Comment: At last! Someone who understands that _usages_, not the nouns themselves, are either count or non-count (though even that may be an oversimplification).
Answer: According to a COCA query americans say "without reason" 21 times more often than "without reasons".  Statistically speaking She started laughing without reasons is odd.  According to CALD reason is both countable and uncountable.  Yes one can use a plural noun after "without".  Again, a COCA query provides hundreds of hits for without followed by a plural noun.
Answer: It is without reason. Reasons is used in sentences like the prime minister resigned for personal reasons.
The New Oxford American Dictionary reports also the following phrases:

beyond all reason (he indulged Michael beyond all reason).
by reason of (persons who, by reason of age, are in need of care).
for some reason (for some reason she likes you).
listen to reason (the child is usually too emotionally overwrought to listen to reason).
it stands to reason (it stands to reason that if you can eradicate the fear, the nervousness will subside).
Answer: Googlefight says 103.000 hits for "without reason" and only 6.670 hits for "without reasons":
http://www.googlefight.com/index.php?lang=en_GB&word1=%22without+reason%22&word2=%22without+reasons%22
Answer: I think "without any reason" is much better, because "she started laughing without reason" means she started laughing without logic, but "without any reason" means without any cause.

"Without reason" or "Without reasons"?


10 gears to singlespeed

Question: My second hand Hercules bicycle came with 10 gears. Two gears in the front and five in the back. The gearshift does not work well and since I cycle in the same gear all the time anyway, I consider turning it into a single-speed bicycle. Can I just remove the derailleur in the back and adjust the length of the chain? Any reason why I shouldn't do this besides the obvious fact that I will have less gears? Anything I would have to take care of?
Comment: If I see correctly, you have a nice vintage Sachs rear derailleur. Those are interesting for Eroica bikes enthusiasts (not as much as Campagnolo, but still). Instead of throwing it away you can provide a second life for your groupset (which you are planning to ditch anyway).
Comment: Lots of good ideas here: https://bicycles.stackexchange.com/q/11269/11160
Comment: I may be a bit dense but why exactly do you want to change anything? Can you not just leave the chain on the gear you like it and be done with it? When sprocket and chain are worn you still can consider exchanging the whole drive train with a single speed setup which will last longer.
Comment: Depending on what gear you want to choose you may have issues with the chain slipping off. This is for two reasons.

1. The chain line is wrong. A derailleurs secondary job (after derailing) is to allow for a misalignment  between the front chain ring(s) and the rear sprocket that your chain is on.

2. A multi-speed chain is designed to derail easily.

Consider buying a single speed chain, leaving the derailleur on or dealing with your chain-line.
Answer: I've got a 2nd hand Hercules too and I've done this exact thing. Get a quality chain tool and look up some videos on Youtube about how to remove and re-link a bike chain. I pretty much winged it as I had no clue what I was doing. It took a bit of work and a lot of frustration to get the chain length right. I probably did it wrong, but it works.
EDIT: Argenti Apparatus mentioned the dropouts.. One thing i did to get the chain tight was loosen the rear wheel from the frame, and pull it back as far as i could pull it.
Answer: If your bike has slotted dropouts and a rear wheel secured with axle nuts (which Poster's answer implies you have) you can do a single speed conversion without the need for a chain tensioner device.
The derailleur can be removed, chain shortened and tensioned properly by adjusting the position of the rear wheel. The chain should be able to move 0.5 inch up or down at the halfway point between the sprockets.
Link to Park Tool video on single speed chain replacement and tensioning below.
You can use the existing chainrings and cassette like Poster did but you need to consider what gear ratio you want and what sprocket/chainring combination you will to use to get that. You ideally want a combination that allows the chain to run as straight as possible.
You probably want to get a new chain rather than shortening the existing one as it's more than likely worn out. Check how worn the cassette sprockets are too.
Comment: If there were no skipping with the current chain, I'd leave it as is. Often a new chain then precipitates a new cassette etc. because the older sprockets wont mate with the new chain.  Not saying issues wont happen soon anyway (old bike being ridden again...), but may as well not tempt fate until necessary?
Answer: Any bike can be converted to singlespeed, but you'll need a bit more than just cutting chain to length. Chains will stretch over time and require periodic tensioning to ensure they are correctly aligning with the cog and chainring. This can be accomplished with tensioning bolts through the dropout (only some frames come equipped this way) or using a chain tensioner that attaches to the same point as the derailleur but only contains a single jockey wheel with a spring that keeps the chain from going slack. A number of companies make them and all work in generally the same fashion. Surly singleator, The dangleberry... etc. Just do a web search for bicycle chain tensioner and you'll get many hits.
Just be sure to pick a gear ratio that works for your geography and desired level of effort. The most common gear ratio on modern singlespeeds is 42:16 if you want a starting point.
Edit to add: The type of dropouts on the bike will also have an effect on achieving proper tension. Older road frames will often be equipped with a small set screw through the dropouts on one or both sides to add/release chain tension. More modern/dedicated singlespeed bikes will utilize horizontal dropouts (really just a sliding track for the skewer/rear axle) and may or may not employ the set screws for tensioning. In those cases, tension can be achieved manually by pulling the rear wheel into tension but I'd caution that, without some type of set screw on each side; it is very easy to misalign the wheel in the rear triangle and/or pop it out of tension under hard pedaling efforts.
Comment: Very good answer, just mention the difference horizontal dropouts make. When your frame has horizontal dropouts you may not need the tensioner at all, but if your frame has vertical dropouts, the tensioner is amost obligatory.
Answer: As @Poster's answer already shows, it is very doable, it is generally reliable and the only tools needed are a chain tool and an appropriate wrench for the rear axle nuts.
I'd say that there are 2 levels of involvement regarding this conversion, at least from a budget and time perspective.
Low budget, low effort
One reason to do this conversion is having no budget for repairs, or not being willing to spend money on that bike (it is a beater commuter, for example) or not having all the resources at hand (an emergency)
This option involves only removing the derailleur, shortening the chain and adjusting chain tension by changing the position of rear axle in the dropout. This applies to horizontal dropout frames only.
For vertical dropout frames, you may need to keep the derailleur. Remove the cables and use the regulator screws to keep the derailleur at a specific position, so it acts as a chain tensioner.
This setup works fine, but you may have trouble with chain dropping, and the bike will still have parts that are not being used, you'd be carrying that weight for no reason.
Medium budget/effort
The solution? Changing the rear cassette for a single speed freewheel and use a single speed chain. If the chainrings are removable, remove all the unused ones. If possible, install a singlespeed chainring.
This leaves the bike with a cleaner look, it will be also, easier to clean. (pun somewhat intended), it will be lighter and more importantly, singlespeed parts are beefier so they take a bit longer to wear out.
Singlespeed chains are not designed to bend side to side, so the links are thicker. The whole chain is thicker also, as it doesn't have to fit between tightly spaced gears.
Multispeed chainrings and cogs may have ramps, bumps and other modifications to help ease gear shifts, which may be counter productive in a single speed setup. On the other hand, single speed specific parts have no such features at all when they are the cheapest options, they are literally "plain" gears, while higher quality components may even have chain retention features, all of that favoring a less chain-drop prone ride.
Changing a freewheel however requires special tools, depending on the particular freewheel. Once unscrewed from the hub it's only matter of screwing in the new one. For freehub equipped bikes, a single-speed conversion may be necessary, It consists of the single cog and some spacers, however, a freehub is more common on modern bikes with more than 7 cogs.
Te same goes for removing the chainrings, as a crank arm puller may be necessary. The chainring themselves are usually bolted to the crank spider for which you may need a hex key.
Some cranksets bolt two chainrings with the same bolts, so in order to only remove one of them, you'll need either shorter bolts or spacers (washers the same thickness as one chainring) When replacing the chainring for a single-speed specific one, it may already be thicker than the multi-speed ones, so the washers are not required.
In case the bike has a single-piece crankset, the only option may be changing the hole part. Another possibility is that the bike has cranks that can be separated from the axle, but the chainrings are welded or riveted to the spider. There the options may be changing the crankset, or leave the one that exists as is.
For vertical dropout frames, you'll need to add a proper chain tensioner, either bought readymade or DIY
For horizontal dropout frames you may want to add tension regulators, these are additional bolts and pieces to keep the axle from sliding along the dropout, making the setup more reliable.
All these modifications are not strictly necessary, and not necessarily have to be done all at once, with the exception of the singlespeed freewheel or cog and chain, as the difference in thickness/width may not allow it. However, a singlespeed chain works good enough with most cheap or old multispeed chainrings.
The good thing about all of this is that singlespeed parts are very basic and easy to manufacture so they are available in a very wide price range. Last year (2017) I restored a singlespeed bike and the freewheel and chain did cost about 12 US$. Sure, the parts where from China or Taiwan (I don't remember exactly) but I was pretty confident that they would last enough.

10 gears to singlespeed


How much description is necessary?

Question: I have trouble imagining things. With me everything is blurred, as if I were almost blind. That's why I find it hard to describe things. For example, the protagonists enter a castle. I have a very rough idea of what the castle looks like. But when it becomes more precise, it becomes much more difficult. I couldn't say exactly how the rooms are decorated, only that they are decorated. I'm always worried that I won't describe enough and the readers can' t get a picture of the setting. How much description is necessary and when is it too little?
Comment: If you like, you can also ask (in a separate question) how to help yourself visualise a location.
Comment: "Blindness" of this sort is sometimes known as [aphantasia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aphantasia).
Answer: A complaint from readers if description is not sufficient goes something like: "It felt like floating heads were talking in a white room."
Readers wish to feel grounded. You don't necessarily need to do this with external detail and description (but there is a quick work around for that, below the first quote box). You can instead do it with internalization, ideas and reactions, and so on. Instead of describing the castle, for example, describe the person's response to the castle:

It was like being alone in a cave. So big, with nothing to to focus on,
  nothing familiar, nothing comforting--just open space and hard
  surfaces. It made him nervous to even be there. He hesitated
  to make any noise at all, afraid the sound would echo.

That's mostly internal stuff and vague externalities, but it grounds the reader. You want the reader to be grounded more often than not.
Now, if you decide what you want is external detail and can't picture it in your head, simply pull up an image online. Google image 'castle' and you will see the following details without any imagination needed:

Soaring turrets, ivy draped stonework, softened edges--perhaps from
  centuries of rain, narrow windows occasionally dotting the walls, grey
  and brown brick ...

Those are details from the outside of the castles, but you can specify inside a castle in your search.
This is a similar trick to the common advice regarding dialog--just pay attention. Listen and look and take notes. You are allowed to do this. :) You are allowed to use tools like this, especially if it helps you reach a better story.
Answer: How much description is necessary is a matter of style, taste and to a certain extent, genre.
Some genres, such as Young Adult, possibly crime and others tend towards more broad strokes when it comes to description.
Other genres, such as fantasy, sci-fi and literary (not exactly a genre, but you know what I mean) usually indulge in much more heavy description.
Whether you should write a lot of description or not, you need to learn from experience. If you enjoy painting a vivid, detailed picture, then great! Tha's what you should do.
But if you find it bogs you down and you just want to get back to the action / dialogue then you have your answer.
Having said that, it is almost always a good idea to use specifics in description, even if they are sparse. So saying the room was 'decorated' is not much help. Even saying there were tapestries on the walls would be better. Describing the exact content of the tapestries is even better.
But you say that you have trouble visualising that level of detail, in which case, I have a few suggestions:
Images - I'm a huge fan if using images to inpire and inform my writing. Look up castles in a Google image search. Browse until you find one you like, then narrow your search to images of that specific castle. What details do you notice from the photos? The content of the tapestries? The colour and style of the stones? The number and shape of the turrets? Does it remind you of something, like a skull or a tree or a mountain?
Blueprints - just another form of images I suppose, but I find it very helpful to find example blueprints of the places I'm decsribing. This can help you make sure your charcters don't do anything logistically impossible and can also give you ideas about how the surroundings can incluence the plot, such as tables and chairs getting in the way of an argument or brawl.
I wrote this article a long time ago that goes into more detail - you may find it useful: https://www.novel-software.com/blog?article=developing-locations-and-settings
Answer: Description isn't just visual.
You did a pretty decent job describing your "blindness" to imagining how something looks.
Let's imagine that castle....

How does it sound?  (echos indoors? surrounded by ponds with singing frogs? what about hearing more outside noises when inside? I can imagine the windows are non-existent or not very tight, but then the walls are thick, so is sound more muted or more noticeable?)
How does it smell?  (musty? old? mineraly from stonework? can you smell forests or ponds or other open space when indoors?)
How does it *feel?" (are the walls very sturdy or do they seem like they're going to fall down?  Is the floor thick and unyielding?  Is it cold?)
Where is it located compared to other places?  (Far away from regular houses?  Was it difficult to get to?)

All of these things will immerse your reader in the setting and help her/him to imagine being there.  Even if you were good at visual description, you would need to involve the other senses.
As a direct answer, yes you need description and you need some of it to be visual.  It can be small things if the setting is familiar.  I've never been in a real castle but they're so common in books and movies that I can imagine one.  If I was reading a book set in a castle, I wouldn't need more than a few words here and there that oriented me to the type and size of castle and a few other details as needed.  But if the setting was someplace else and not familiar, I would need more.
You don't need (or want) pages of description.  It's best to weave it into the story.  Perhaps a short paragraph setting the scene then a line here, two lines there, and a few evocative adjectives.
The best way to know if you've done too little (or too much) is to ask people to read your work.  There's no hard and fast rule.  If they don't understand the setting or can't immerse themselves in it, then you need more.  If they're bored with the long descriptions and want to get back to the story, then you need less.
Answer: Not a direct answer to the question, but I find that it can help to look through dictionaries to find the right nouns, adjectives, and verbs to describe a setting, especially if it's somewhere architectural like a castle.
In this particular instance you might find the following two lists of castle-related words useful:
https://www.macmillandictionary.com/us/thesaurus-category/american/castles-towers-and-fortifications
http://medievalcastles.stormthecastle.com/castle_words_terms_and_definitions.htm

Examples from the first list:

belfry noun - the part of a tower that has a bell in it
bell tower noun - a tower of a church or other building in which there is a bell
campanile noun - a tall tower with a bell at the top, especially one near a church but not a part of it

Examples from the second list:

Motte and Bailey: an early form of castle where a large mound of dirt was built up then a wooden fortification was placed on top. This wooden fortification was in the shape of a timber fence that formed a circle like a crown at the top of the mound. The Mound is the motte, and the timber fence and the space it enclosed is the Bailey.
Ashlar - Blocks of smooth square stone. They can be of any kind of stone.

The same goes for any sort of setting, or even a character or event you're trying to describe.  Trying to describe a character?  Look up a list of facial-feature descriptors.  here, for example is a list of terms just for describing a person's eyes:
https://www.macmillandictionary.com/us/thesaurus-category/american/describing-the-appearance-of-someone-s-eyes
(edit: adding a more direct answer to the question)
As for how much description is necessary, it depends on the pacing as well as the desired tone you want to achieve in that section.
For instance you might glide over a whole event by saying something like:

"He strode through the gates, across the busy courtyard, and didn't stop until he stood before the throne"

Or draw it out a bit:

"He entered under the tall arching gates and strode across the courtyard, now full of milling townsfolk, livestock, and a retinue of soldiers.  None of these gave him much heed and he was able to enter into the winding hallways on the other side.  The air in the stone halls was damp and chill and he hastened forward down a series of torch-lit halls and dim chambers until he found the throne room.  No guards warded the great oaken doors so he slowly heaved one open and slid through the opening,  then swiftly crossed the chamber until he stood before the throne.
Answer: Something to keep in mind:
Your readers are not stupid and they have imaginations of their own.
You don't need to write a lot of description, just enough so they can form an idea of what people, places and things look like.
Here are techniques you can use:
Pick out a novel you enjoyed reading.  Start reading it again, and when a character or a location is introduced, make a list of the adjectives the author uses to describe that person or place.  Odds are it's only about three.
Pick a visual example, then describe it with two to four words.  Do an internet search for 'castle interior' or 'palace throne room' then pick an image you like and describe it with a few adjectives.
EDIT:
In one novel, a character was referred to only as 'the girl in the orange sweater' despite appearing in a series of tense scenes.
Comment: Exactly.  Writing "Protagonista's raven hair cascaded over her smooth shoulders like wave of midnight sky, with the whisper-soft ends coming to rest at her slim shapely hips." will make the reader throw your book away in an airport trashcan.
Comment: @TheLeopard I would absolutely read a book like "Protagonista of the Raven Hair" - assuming it was consistently as obviously satirical and over-the-top as that.
Comment: And conversely, too much detail will turn off many. "Boy&girl watched a romantic film together and enjoyed it" is far more believable than "Boy&girl watched The English Patient together and enjoyed it" because the boy would have started making snide remarks after 20min and a full-blown argument involving one's sister and the other's mother would have broken out by minute 45.  [...] Basically, superficial detail like that precise title will just annoy some readers, date the story, and break the spell of those that were taken by your story (as they imagined themselves & their  favourite movie)

How much description is necessary?


Why is custom recovery a prerequisite for flashing a custom ROM?

Question: I have read in many guides that before flashing, we need to have a custom recovery like CWM installed. I am not able to understand why is this a prerequisite for flashing a custom ROM. Can I flash a ROM without custom recovery?
Answer: Stock recoveries usually check the update.zip file being flashed for a specific signature that is only known by device's manufacturer and/or carrier.  You cannot therefore flash custom ROMs on stock recoveries, hence the need for a custom recovery which bypasses said check.
Comment: Yet sometimes the signature can be kept intact or forged. In those cases the stock recovery will do fine. For example you can flash a new recovery using the stock recovery with a SGN n7000.
Answer: Technically, it's not prerequisite, but convenience.
You can download an update using your handset and store it locally on the sdcard, then reboot manually into recovery. Or use Rom Manager to do all that in an app and enjoy backup/restore and OTA updating without the need for a computer.
Stock recoveries won't let you do all the fancy stuff that a custom recovery let's you do.
Among them are:

backup/restore
using adb in recovery mode
flashing custom .zip's (that's what you'll need)
format individual partitions
wipe individual parts (Dalvik Cache, /Cache)

Some handset makers have their own means of low level access to flash. Fastboot then has not all needed commands built in.

HTC/Google/others: fastboot
Samsung: fastboot, proprietary (Heimdall open source flash tool)
Sony / SonyEricsson: fastboot, proprietary (Flashtool by Androxyde)
...
Comment: U said that it is just a convinience, but is there a possibility that the stock recovery will not allow the flashing of an update if it is not signed? In that case it is a necessicity rather than a convinience right?
Comment: Yes, stock recoveries won't allow that (often). You can use other means besides any recovery to flash images (Heimdall & Flashtool being 2 of them). So for Sony & Samsung you can bypass to use a recovery (theoretically)
Comment: why do you call odin fastboot?


How to lubricate the 4.5v train motor for set 7722?

Question: How I can lubricate the 4.5v train motor on my #7722 train set? It squeals.
Answer:
Undo the 2 screws at the top and then take of the top cover.
You can now take the actual motor out  of the casing. It just sits loose in there.
Then you can undo the 2 screws in the bottom to free the metal block with the plastic gears.
It is most likely those gears that cause the squealing because of dust/dirt that got into them.
I would recommend to clean them first using a soft brush. (Paint-brush works well). You can stick an axle through the bushings and turn the gears manually or rotate the big gear shown at the top with your finger. Just let the gears run against the tip of the brush.
Don't stick the brush in too deep! You don't want the hairs of the brush to get caught in the gears!
Then lubricate with a little bit (a few drops is enough) of plastic safe oil. the movement of the gears will spread the oil around eventually when the whole thing has been put back together and is running again. (This might take some minutes of running though. Don't expect the noise to go down after 5 seconds!)
Don't use WD-40. It will degrade the plastic !!!
You should NOT lubricate the actual motor itself. Some of the oil you put on the gears will eventually make it into the electric motor and that should be enough.
Comment: Cheers Tonny - perfect answer, and thanks for the disassembled image - my motor's buried away somewhere!
Comment: @Zhaph-BenDuguid I had to do some digging too :-) I knew I had 2 of these laying around, but they haven't been used for at least 30 years. Not sure if they still work. At least I was smart enough back then to take the batteries out of the battery units before storing them. Would have been really messy by now if I had left them in.
Comment: heh, sadly for a couple of mine either my brother or I weren't that smart - although the mess wasn't too bad - after a little work with some emery paper the contacts were clean and allowing current to flow for my son's orrery ;)
Answer: Here's a video of someone lubricating an engine of similar size of the x482 engine inside x469b : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_0SKz8aHRk
I used this technique (if the video disappears: a tiny amount of lubricant directly on the rotating bit of the engine that the axle with gear sticks out of, so between the metal gear that's fixed to the axle and the engine housing) with exactly the same effect as in the video: the high pitched squeaking noise disappears completely, immediately. I probably used the wrong oil, I think it's best to also do this with something that won't damage the plastic, but on the other hand I doubt very much will make it's way out of the engine and the metal parts surrounding it onto the plastic gears or housing.
Note that you can test first if the engine is the noisy bit by holding the power to the contacts at the end of the engine after getting it out like in the picture in Tonny's answer.
Too bad I don't know how to open my 6216m engines to do the same thing there.


What are the "easy" Mitzvos that one steps on with his heel?

Question: Rashi in the beginning of Parshas Eikev here brings a Chazal that says "If one keeps the easy Mitzvos that one (tends to) tread on with their heel" then G-D will reward them with his Covenant and kindness. (Translation based on Artscroll.) Is there a list of these Commandments that Chazal are referring to that someone can provide? Sources please.
Comment: Pirkei Avot says that we don't really know which are the "easy" and "hard" ones as we don't know the reward for mitzvoth. So, I surmise that the Torah is referring to each person's individual evaluation. Each person will place different mitzvoth in that "heel" category. Maybe that's the message Moshe is stating?
Comment: related question https://judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/2290/why-the-heel-of-the-foot-parshas-ekev
Comment: http://dectorah.blogspot.com/2006/08/parashat-eikev_115682074498216427.html
Answer: Daas Zikeinim of the Tosafos on that passuk quote chazzal who give Shiluach Hakan as the example of the easy mitzvah.
Interestingly the D.Z. goes on to explain 'walking on the mitzvah' quite literally. They say the person ignores the mitzvah to send away the mother bird and tramples the nest.
They add on another mitzvah that literally can be trampled when one is not careful and that is Tzitzis when they drag on the floor.
Rambam in Avos 2 1 gives examples of what he calls easy mitzvos. Simchas regel and learning Lashon Hakodesh.
Comment: Interesting, I would like to look up the DZ later. Regarding Simchas Haregel, it's quoted from the Vilna Goan  but don't know where it's brought that being happy on Yom Tov for 7 days straight is an extremely hard mitzvah to keep, so not sure if he holds like that Rambam.
Comment: That sounds too much like all my Lithuanian relatives:)
Comment: @Earl here's some links for you
Comment: thank you, I looked up the DZ. I accepted this answer for now but wondering whether there is a list of any more easy Mitzvos.
Answer: Rav Hirsch states that this is a matter of carrying out all the mitzvos as a national unit and therefore all the mitzvos are in the category of mishpat

As such, as the duty we owe to what is right, for which no thanks and
  no reward can be claimed, are they to be carried out. But they all
  correspond so deeply to the nature and purpose of things and men, and
  they are all so much in harmony with each other, that by their being
  faithfullt carried out by the nation, a condition of the richest
  blessings of a national existence on earth emerges. This result which was not what was striven for, but which comes automatically by itself is called
  עקב, literally heel. It is that which follows obedience, not what went
  before, not what obedience had in eye.

Rav Hirsch explains that this is what Rashi had in mind when he speaks of the  easy mitzvos. It is a matter of treating every mitzva as both the easiest and the most important. Rav Hirsch also points out that evry person will tend to overlook some mitzvos at various times or to think that something seems so trivial that he might as well say Why would Hashem nitpick on such a trivial detail. Everyone might think this because of the way the current society deals with something (so what that might be changes with society).

we are not to weigh the separate mitzvos in our minds to consider
  which Mitzva would probably expect a larger reward so that we pay
  particular attention to that one. The paths of Torah form an ever
  widening circle in which they overlap each other and lose themselves
  one in the other. We cannot foresee the results of fulfilling any
  Mitzva. They interlock one to the other, and far reaching results
  arise from what is apparently the smallest and seems to us the least
  important Mitzva. That is why all Mitzvos without distinction should
  be performed with equal conscious faithfulness, all be of equal
  importance to us, all only to be done in the feeling of its being our
  duty without giving a though to what we might consider deserving a
  greater or lesser reward.

Rav Hirsch adds

to give our attention just to that which, according to the changing
  circumstances of the times, seems to be trivial and petty and tends to
  be left behind


Can there be another Dalai Lama?

Question: From what I understand, the Panchen Lama is supposed to choose the next Dalai Lama. If he has been captured, is there any hope for another Dalai Lama to be chosen?
Answer: Dedi,
The Panchen Lama is supposed to facilitate the recognition of the Dalai
Lama. However, depending on his devotion and his powers, the Dalai Lama himself can state the place and time of his reincarnation. If not, he would give to adversaries a way to hack the process (by capturing and controlling the Panchen Lama).
It's sad, but every monk has to be aware of the danger and to practice his way to enlightenment!

Overall 'Dalai Lama' means an 'Ocean of Compassion.'

Hope it helps!
Answer: Because of the Panchen Lama situation, the Dalai Lama has said that he would not be reborn in territory controlled by China and may choose to not be reborn in this world at all. He said that the institution of having a Dalai Lama, which has been around for a few centuries might have served out its usefulness.
Related note but not directly related to your question:  He once also said he might choose to be reborn as a woman.
Answer: Maybe everyone knows, my input is just duplicating. The selection of the lead Lama was introduced by Qianlong Emperor of Qing in 1792, called གསེར་བུམ་སྐྲུག་པ (gser bum skrug pa), or drawing lots from the Golden Urn, to pacify the political power struggle between the different Lama sects.
One of the two Urns is kept in Jokhang Temple in Lhasa >>

Emperor Qianlong said in his stone engraved "About the Lama":

乾隆皇帝在其御制碑文《喇嘛说》中有精到阐述:"其呼土克图之相袭,乃以僧家无子,授之徒,与子何异,故必觅一聪慧有福相者,俾为呼必勒罕(即汉语转世化生人之义),幼而习之。长成乃称呼图克图。此亦无可如何中之权巧方便耳。其来已久,不可殚述。孰意近世,其风日下,所生之呼必勒罕,率出一族,斯则与世袭爵禄何异?
  …… 然转生之呼必勒罕,出于一族 (all coming from the same clan),是乃为私 (this is
  for self-interest only)。佛岂有私 (How could the Buddha be for
  self-interest)?故不可不禁 (Therefore couldn't not prohibit
  it)。兹予制一金瓶,送往西藏,于凡转世之呼必勒罕,众所举数人 (the nominated few persons by
  all),各书其名置瓶中 (writing every of those names put into the
  urn),掣签以定 (drawing lot to confirm),虽不能尽去其弊 (though couldn't
  rid all the faults),较之以前 (yet compared to what was in the
  past),一人之授意者 (appointing one person),或略公矣 (this may slightly
  be more fair)。"

The stone engraving still resides in this palace in Beijing >>

Well, facts taking many camouflages, we will never know what is real. The only remedy maybe, practice, until one gained divine vision so that we can really know what is what. However, that the fun may be lost since ambiguity or fuzziness is always intriguing and enticing :)

Can there be another Dalai Lama?


Whats the difference between 毁灭,销毁,和烧毁?

Question: I know they all mean to Destroy to some extent, but was told 烧毁 is specifically to use fire. What are the different contexts or situations you would use them in?
Thanks!
Answer: 毁灭 is the general term for 'to destroy'
销毁 also means destroy, but it is more specific.

To 销毁 something, you have to have possession of it. If you delete the data in your computer, you can claim it is 销毁数据 (or 毁灭数据), but if you hack in someone else's computer and delete data there, you can only say you are 毁灭数据.
To 销毁 something, you have to have legitimate right to do it. Destroying the opium in China's standpoint was a legal act of 销毁違法商品 (destroy illegal goods); but in the British's eyes. it was an act of 非法毁灭私有財物 (illegal destruction of private property)
To 销毁 something, that something must have physical form. You cannot 销毁 a dream, an ideal or a reputation.
销毁 has to be a human's act. We can say a natural fire  毁灭了一万棵树 (destroyed ten thousand trees) , but not 销毁了一万棵树

You can 毁灭 something that you do not have possession of. The object doesn't need to have physical form, for example: ideal, dream or enemy, and the act need not to be legal; Of course you can also legal or legally destroy (毁灭) physical things like city or building
烧毁 is the verb 烧(to burn) plus its result complement 毁 (destroy), it means "burn and destroy" or "destroy with fire"
Answer: 毁灭 is used for abstract description, you can say 毁灭一座城市、毁灭一个民族 and so on.
销毁 means destroy so that no trace is remaining, for example, 销毁文件。
烧毁 means destroy with fire, therefore you can say 一场大火烧毁了这间屋子。
Answer: 毁灭
to destroy, usually via natural power

销毁
销 (destruct) + 毁灭 (destroy)
to destroy something by means of destruction, via human power or authorities

烧毁
烧 (burn) + 毁灭 (destroy)
to destroy something on fire

Whats the difference between 毁灭，销毁，和烧毁？


Should I include forum posts in the sitemap?

Question: I am launching a medical discussion forum for sharing study materials and discussing other topics. The forum will probably grow fast and reach at least a few hundred topics.
Should every discussion topic be included in the sitemap?
Answer: Sitemaps not sitemap when dealing with high volume of content
Your first mistake would to assume that you use 'a sitemap', when dealing with sites that contain a lot of content you need to think in terms of 'sitemaps'.
Google indexes content without a sitemap
Now it's worth mentioning that Google will pretty much index any important URL without the need of a sitemap, many don't even bother with a sitemap and ensure their site has a very friendly way of finding content without having to go down to deep in the URLs to discover the new content but others believe that a sitemap really does help Google.
Sites are issued importance ratings
Every site is issued a importance rating, if you have a low rating then you get less page crawls and indexes per a visit (Google works on resources), so more important sites get longer and more regular visits, so a sitemap doesn't necessary mean indexation - if you have millions of low quality threads being created a sitemap won't necessary mean these URLS get indexed any quicker than Google just discovering them.
Sitemap Paradox
It's worth reading our very own sitemap paradox which Jeff Atword asks the very same question regarding the usage of a sitemap on the Stack Exchange network. Your need to make up your own decision what is best for your requirements.
Making a sitemap with multiple sitemaps
If you proceed to want to create multiple sitemaps then your need to familiarize yourself with the sitemap protocol.
Answer: Short answer. For a new site, I would not bother but I would prepare. I would just make sure your site can be crawled by spiders. Most forum software is fine for this. If per chance that you have content that cannot be reached via the crawl, then a sitemap may help. There is some exception to this of course.
Sitemaps, generally speaking, only really advantage medium to larger sites. Google, for example, will largely ignore the sitemap of a smaller site that can be crawled. When you reach say about 5,000-10,000 posts or more, then I would work on the concept of a sitemap.
My experience does not include the concept of a sites importance. I think it is in actuality a matter of sites size and complexity as to whether a sitemap is beneficial to a search engine. Bing, is said to be different. But Bing has been different from the start. Bing/MSN, Yahoo, and all the rest failed to see the importance of a scalable fresh index instead focusing on other things instead of crawling the Internet. That is why Google is where it is. Google will read a sitemap of a larger site and spider that site rather rapidly regardless of the sites current or past performance. But, as I said earlier, it may ignore a smaller sites sitemap preferring to crawl it the old fashion way. It is strange the tactic that Bing has taken on still to this day. It is odd that after all the talk about competing, and all the years of failing, they still do not get what separates Google from the rest- getting down to the business of indexing the Internet. Bing has a weird selection process that is impossible to move if they are not indexing because of the weird selection process. It is a self defeating cycle. I would not worry about Bing yet. I would worry about making Google happy. In the end, the rest will follow.
Now you said that your site is a discussion forum which is a bit harder, in some manner of speaking, to handle than say a blog. You will want each of the discussion topic pages and each user supplied question and forum of course. The way I think I would go about it is to create a sitemap file per topic you create in your forum. I would also create a sitemap for any static pages as well. Then I would create an index sitemap that includes each forum topic (again the ones you created). From there, then I would create an entry into the appropriate sitemap file for every user supplied question/discussion.
The idea is to allow room for growth. However, if your site becomes really active, you will run into limits. Each sitemap file can only have 50,000 entries. This is not a hard limit, but a recommended limit. I cap mine at 45,000 just to be safe. This means that if you approach about 45-50k entries in any forum topic you created, you will have to create an additional sitemap for that topic. For example: headtrauma.xml could expand with headtrauma2.xml then headtrauma3.xml with these new sitemap files added to the index sitemap.
If this gets confusing, it will not be if you dig in. Just start small with a plan to grow. That is what I am trying to say. Create what ever you create with volume in mind even if you are not there yet.
I do not know if your forum software has a feature for this. Just in case: you can easily roll-your-own. I wrote and deployed mine in less than 30 minutes with no growth limits! You are a smart guy. I know this! If you chose to, I am sure you can create a custom sitemap generator that perhaps can run as a cron job once a day. I do not advise getting more granular than this since Google will only likely check it once in a day though they have checked more times a day for extremely active sites.
Comment: I am using the Yoast SEO plugin for Wordpress for sitemap generation and it actually pings Google whenever a new article is submitted. I don't have experience in sitemaps but I trust the author of the module, so why do it myself when I can use the experience of others and spend the time saved on other pleasant things :)
Comment: I agree. Wordpress and other software has gotten so sophisticated these days that I often do not advise recreating the wheel unless there is something that needs to be done that varies from the norm. I rolled my own bit of code that is automation oriented and not at all user friendly so I really had to write my own sitemap component. The options that existed required spidering a site that is about 500,000 pages and growing rapidly. I found that rather silly.
Answer: No need to include each forum threads in Sitemap. Whenever you are creating a thread in forums means you are adding additional information to your site, Google will always look for updates where ever the updates it will find it will index.
If you don't use sitemap also Google will index your site, sitemap is just an indication of how many URL's having our website. Making our site crawl engines friendly we are using Sitemap.
Thank you.


Bat mitzvah gift from non-Jew

Question: Would it be offensive for my daughter to give her friend a Star of David necklace for her Bat Mitzvah? We are not Jewish but my daughter wants to recognize her friend in a meaningful way. Thank you.
Comment: it certainly wouldn't be offensive. Whether she would choose to wear it out not, though, would depend as to whether her friends and peers wear one. You may want to do some homework and find out.
Comment: Similar to but definitely not a duplicate of this: [star of david and the cross](https://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/22915)
Comment: I can't speak for the rest of the world but in Israel there is nothing wrong with it even in more orthodox circles. It's a perfectly acceptable gift. Since I don't have any references other than 'common culture' here - I'm not posting an answer.
Answer: A star of David necklace is not a ritual object (just pretty jewelry), and I've never seen anybody take offense at one being given by a non-Jew.  This is, in fact, one of the safest Jewish items you can buy; were you to try to select books or ritual objects, you would quickly run into matters of differences in tradition and would risk getting the "wrong" ones.  (Also, family members are likely to give ritual objects.)
I've seen the Orthodox proprietor of a Judaica shop gently question a customer who seemed unfamiliar with Jewish objects and who was shopping for a mezuzah, but I've never seen people shopping for jewelry be questioned.  That's anecdotal and limited (I don't spend a lot of time in that shop), but I'll include it anyway.

Bat mitzvah gift from non-Jew


Barcode scanner with RS232 interface not working with USB adapter

Question: I used RS232 interface of barcode scanner (Datalogic QD2100), for my project but a problem arises. The manual given with this barcode scanner has certain barcodes for mode setting (scan mode-flashing, scan mode-always ON etc), restoring default settings, select interface. The output of the barcode scanner is a female RS232 and so i used a male RS232-usb converter cable to connect it to my laptop. I installed the driver which came with RS232-usb converter cable and also installed the software which was sent to me regarding barcode scanner. I have set the com port to COM1 and opened word. My cursor was placed in the word and when i do scan any barcode it doesn't show up on word. I used RS232 interface selection (using the barcode provided in the manual) first time and as i did not get any data in my word i used usb interface selection and that too didn't work. I have used barcode scanner with an old pc which has RS232 male pin and it does work. So my question is how can i possibly get my barcode scanner to work with my laptop which does not have any RS232 port.
Answer: The problem is not RS232. On the contrary: RS232 ís FUN. It always WORKS! And you never run into version problems of drivers and so on because every operating system has standard RS232 support. See all the industries today where it is still in use because of the reliability. The issue here is USB: your RS232 to USB converter converter only converts data to a serial port. If you look in your hardware list of Windows, you will see that your converter simulates a serial port. A serial port is NOT a keyboard! So the data will never appear in applications (like Word) that only listen to keyboard devices! However, for barcode scanners there exist SPECIAL converters that convert RS232 to USB and behave like a keyboard. They have a double function: emulate a USB keyboard AND translate character codes from RS232 to USB because USB does not use standard ANSI.
Comment: Yes, came here thinking exactly this "A serial port is NOT a keyboard! So the data will never appear in applications (like Word) that only listen to keyboard devices!" What you can do is try your barcode reader with a program that actually listens to the serial port. PUTTY is one. Windows used to come with a "Terminal" program but I can't find it now.
Answer: RS232 is no fun.  We use several barcode scanners like yours but had to upgrade to the newer USB style to get it to work.  If that's not an option, there are some Express or PCI adapters that you could install in your computer that work.  Again, not all of them work for us, you might have to try a couple.
We have had the best luck with a laptop that has a PCMCIA slot using this PCMCIA adapter and then you'll need a short ethernet to RS232: Amazon PCMCIA Adapter
If it's a desktop you might need something like this: Amazon PCI Card
Answer: If you must use an RS232 to USB converter, be sure it uses the FTDI chipset.  That's the gold standard for RS232 to USB and I've had troubles when using something cheap in the past.  Here are some choices: www.amazon.com
Also, maybe something like the following is what you need to convert the serial communication into keyboard input: serial2keyboard.  This is a free utility to convert a serial signal to a keyboard event.
Good luck!
Comment: Can you give a more detailed description of the linked content, and explain how it relates to the question? This will help ensure that this answer remains useful in the event the linked page goes offline. In addition, please be careful posting links in answers of this nature—they could be seen by the community as spam, correctly or otherwise. See the [help/behavior] for more information.


Can anyone tell me why the arclength integral is an uppersemicontinuous function on the set of continuously differentiable real-valued functions?

Question: The continuously differentiable functions are equipped with the topology induced by the sup norm.  I know that I can make the arclength integral close to the arclength of a piecewise linear function.  My idea is to take two functions which are adequately close together, and take two piecewise linear functions which are close to the integrals and show that we can make the difference of the arclength integral of the piecewise linear functions as small as we would like.
Comment: probably Fatou's Lemma ...
Answer: I don't think this is true:
For example $f: (0,1] \to \mathbb R$, $f(x) =c\sin\left(x^{-1}\right)$ has distance $c$ from $0$, but by considering it as a function on $[\delta, 1]$ for smaller and smaller delta, we can increase its length as much as we wish. (You can always reparametrize the so obtained function without changing the length, so for each $\delta >0$ we can get a function on $[0,1]$ which is $c$-close to $0$ and has arbitrarily big length)
Quite generally, the distance between two functions usually tells us almost nothing about the relationship of their derivatives (we always can find a function that oscillates wildly and has the same distance).
Comment: You're absolutely right Sam!  It's lower semicontinuous.  Do you know how to justify it being lower semicontinuous?
Answer: This example was mentioned in a related question. I am adding it to this answer as well, just for the sake of completeness.
It is from the book Mathematical analysis: linear and metric structures and continuity by Mariano Giaquinta, Giuseppe Modica, p.204.
I hope it qualifies as fair use if I copy their picture.

This example shows that length is not upper semicontinuous.
Comment: This example is basically same as this one: [Is value of $\pi$ = 4 ?](http://math.stackexchange.com/questions/12906/is-value-of-pi-4)


Reading Output signal from external circuit using Rpi GPIO Pin

Question:
I am trying to read a signal coming from an external circuit thru the use of raspberry pi's gpio. the signal I am trying to read is a 3.3V signal coming from a voltage divider circuit. this circuit also has an external power source (not coming from Rpi both VCC and GND.) I'm a bit lost to what I am missing. Thanks!
Comment: Have you connected the grounds of the Pi and the external device?
Comment: @joan yep I connected the ground of the pi and the externad device. I noticed that when I turned on the external device. the Rpi I'm using is somehow turned off. that is I am using a VNC viewer to view that behavior of my code. but as I mentioned when I turn on the device that Rpi is disconnected.
Comment: It's worrying if the Pi switches off.  That suggest a serious problem with the wiring.  Clear photos showing the wiring may help.
Comment: @joan The Pi didn't actually turned off. I only assumed that it was not functioning normally. during my testing earlier, I connected the signal from the device 3x and the  VNC viewer got disconnected 3x also. so I assumed that that was the case.
Answer:
read signal from external circuit by Rpi GPIO
signal is 3.3V from voltage divider
circuit divider circuit has external power not Rpi

Well, if the divider Vcc is 5V or higher, there is risk that the Rpi will be fried, or life shortened.  The cause is usually called the "latch up" effect, when Rpi GPIO is connected by a resistor to 5V or higher, as illustrated below.
A way to get around is to use a digital buffer between Rpi GPIO and the signal to read.

Update2019apr22hkt1559
And if you wish to measure AC/DC current of motor/pump/batteries, you might like to read my answers of the following posts.
The Pumps to measure current flowing

References
Measuring Battery DC Current using ADC
Measuring AC Motor Current using ADC
Comment: Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been [moved to chat](https://chat.stackexchange.com/rooms/95073/discussion-on-answer-by-tlfong01-reading-output-signal-from-external-circuit-usi).


Why do Jews believe they can hasten the coming of the messiah

Question: Why do Jews believe they can hasten the coming of the messiah even though they failed to stop the destruction of both the first and second Beis Hamikdash?
Comment: Why is it unreasonable to assume the possibility of success, just because one once failed?
Comment: what makes you think the hastening the coming of moshiach is impossible because of the destruction of the first to beis hamikdashim?
Comment: Why do we think we can cure cancer when we cannot prevent it from happening? The two concepts (destruction of the Temple vs encouraging redemption) are conceptually but not functionally related. Besides, Tanach seems to suggest we didn't do all that much to stop the destruction of the Temple...
Comment: Your underlying question begins with Het Adam HaRishon
Comment: @YiddenForYiddishkeit If my answer is acceptable, I'll put it in the answer section: "Why do the Ninevites believe they can hasten the coming of their salvation even though they failed to stop Yonah's prophecy against their city? עוֹד אַרְבָּעִים יוֹם, וְנִינְוֵה נֶהְפָּכֶת. 'Yet 40 days and Nineveh will be overthrown' (Yonah 3:4)." We know this did not take place within the allotted time .... because of Teshuva on the part of the people of  Nineveh. I suppose if the belief ("of hasten[ing] the coming of the messiah") of our fellow Jews is anchored in Teshuva, then that might be the answer.
Answer: All of the other answers are incredibly missing the point. This is an explicit Gemara (Sanhedrin 98a), based on Yeshaya 60:22.

אמר רבי אלכסנדרי רבי יהושע בן לוי רמי כתיב (ישעיהו ס, כב) בעתה וכתיב אחישנה זכו אחישנה לא זכו בעתה
Says R' Alexandri: R' Yehoshua Ben Levi posed a contradiction. It is written "[Mashiach will come] in its time," and it is also written, "I will hasten it." [He settles the contradiction:] If they merit it, "I will hasten it." If they don't merit it, [it will come] "in its time."

Why do we believe we can hasten Mashiach? Because G-d Himself said we can.
Comment: @mevaqesh Do you really think G-d would give us an option that we can't use? I'm not sure what's questionable about it - the Navi made this claim, and the Navi speaks in the name of G-d.
Comment: Your post is incredibly missing the point. Even if we accept your questionable contention about what God himself said, that is irrelevant. The OP didnt seem to ask whether merits can hasten the redemption, but why people think _their_ merits can hasten the redemption given that so many others proved themselves unworthy.
Comment: Again, that is simply immaterial. The OP didn't ask for a proof that it is possible for the redemption to be hastened. He asked why folks think that they will be successful in that endeavour.
Comment: (You like that question so much you had to post it twice?) I feel that I did - because G-d told us we can.
Answer: there is a concept that each generation rectifies a bit and this rectification remains intact. i.e. even if they sin, it does not destroy what was rectified. so each generation fixes a bit more until eventually it is enough to bring the third temple.
secondly, God commanded us on this and promised us it's coming through his prophets thus as the Ramchal writes in the Path of the Just (ch.19)

"it is Zion; no one inquires after her" (Jeremiah 30:17), which our
  sages expounded: "this implies it needs inquiring after" (Sukkah 41a).
  Thus we learn from here that we are obligated in this matter, and
  cannot exempt ourselves due to our lack of power. For on all such
  matters, we learned: "It is not incumbent upon you to complete the
  task, but neither are you free to abstain from it" (Avot 2:16).
Comment: How do you know there is a concept like that or that it applies here?
Comment: @DoubleAA read it in few places over the years. forgot the sources though
Answer: Because we messed up again and again doesn't mean we should give up. God believes in the potential of future generations to achieve what their anscestors did not.
Deutoronomy 30:1-3

אוְהָיָה֩ כִֽי־יָבֹ֨אוּ עָלֶ֜יךָ כָּל־הַדְּבָרִ֣ים הָאֵ֗לֶּה הַבְּרָכָה֙ וְהַקְּלָלָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר נָתַ֖תִּי לְפָנֶ֑יךָ וַֽהֲשֵֽׁבֹתָ֙ אֶל־לְבָבֶ֔ךָ בְּכָ֨ל־הַגּוֹיִ֔ם אֲשֶׁ֧ר הִדִּיחֲךָ֛ יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ שָֽׁמָּה:
  2and you will return to the Lord, your God, with all your heart and with all your soul, and you will listen to His voice according to all that I am commanding you this day you and your children,      בוְשַׁבְתָּ֞ עַד־יְהֹוָ֤ה אֱלֹהֶ֨יךָ֙ וְשָֽׁמַעְתָּ֣ בְקֹל֔וֹ כְּכֹ֛ל אֲשֶׁר־אָֽנֹכִ֥י מְצַוְּךָ֖ הַיּ֑וֹם אַתָּ֣ה וּבָנֶ֔יךָ בְּכָל־לְבָבְךָ֖ וּבְכָל־נַפְשֶֽׁךָ:
  3then, the Lord, your God, will bring back your exiles, and He will have mercy upon you. He will once again gather you from all the nations, where the Lord, your God, had dispersed you.

Or as it says in Tehillim 68:

לְמַ֚עַן יֵֽדְע֨וּ | דּ֣וֹר אַֽ֖חֲרוֹן בָּנִ֣ים יִוָּלֵ֑דוּ יָ֜קֻ֗מוּ וִֽיסַפְּר֥וּ לִבְנֵיהֶֽם:In order that the last generation might know, sons who will be born should tell their sons.
  7And they should put their hope in God, and not forget the deeds of God, and keep His commandments.     זוְיָשִׂ֥ימוּ בֵֽאלֹהִ֗ים כִּ֫סְלָ֥ם וְלֹ֣א יִ֖שְׁכְּחוּ מַֽעַלְלֵי־אֵ֑ל וּמִצְו‍ֹתָ֥יו יִנְצֹֽרוּ:
  8And they should not be as their forefathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, who did not prepare its heart and whose spirit was not faithful to God.     חוְלֹ֚א יִֽהְי֨וּ | כַּֽאֲבוֹתָ֗ם דּוֹר֘ סוֹרֵ֪ר וּמֹ֫רֶ֥ה דּ֖וֹר לֹֽא־הֵכִ֣ין לִבּ֑וֹ וְלֹֽא־נֶֽאֶמְנָ֖ה אֶת־אֵ֣ל רוּחֽוֹ:
Comment: Please excuse the poor formatting, my device is acting up.
Answer: We believe we can hasten the coming of Moshiach, meaning the final redemption because the entire Jewish people were present at Sinai and accepted the whole Torah, written and oral. And one of the teachings of the oral Torah is that fulfilling the mitzvot, in particular the mitzvah of Tzedakah, which is called the mitzvah in Yerushalmi Peah 1:1 because it is equated with all the mitzvot in the Torah

וצדקה תציל ממות ולא מית אלא שלא ימות לעולם הבא צדקה וגמילת חסדים שקולות כנגד כל מצותיה של תורה

, hastens the redemption, like is found on Bava Bathra 10a.

It is taught in a baraita that Rabbi Yehuda says: Great is charity in that it advances the redemption, as it is stated: "So said the Lord, uphold justice and do charity, for My salvation is near to come, and My righteousness to be revealed" (Isaiah 56:1).

The destruction of the first two Temples, or sinning in general, is not a factor in that relationship. And in fact, that doubt arises from the presumption that G-d did not intend for sin. But the Torah teaches that this type of belief is incorrect.
The Torah preceded the creation of the universe by 2000 years like is found in Midrash. And it is written in the Torah that Adam sinned. That means all these consequences of sin, including the destruction of the two Temples, are intended too from before the creation of the universe. And all of it is for the good like is said in the Amidah prayer three times each day כי אל טוב ומטיב אתה.
Comment: I don't see how this answers the question. The question didn't seem to be about the mechanism for hastening the arrival of the messiah, but about why Jews think that they will succeed in performing such behavior given that their great forebears failed at it.
Comment: I agree with @mevaqesh. How does this indicate Jews will choose to perform Tzedakah which would hasten the redemption? The question isn't how to do it, but why do we think Jews will do it. Plus if we are sinning so much as to delay the coming of Mashiach, even this little bit of hastening could still leave a net delay.
Comment: ״in fact, that doubt arises from the presumption that G-d did not intend for sin״ What doubt? I don't understand what God's intention for us to sin has to do with anything. "And all of it is for the good like is said in the Amidah prayer three times each day כי אל טוב ומטיב אתה." Not only do I not say that phrase three times a day, I don't believe I've ever said it once. Moreover, the phrase itself doesn't seem to imply the claim you say it does. Moreover, the link you included discusses a different phrase.
Comment: @YaacovDeane, you seem to be confusing two different things: the blessing הטוב והמטיב and the blessing in the Amidah called ברכת השנים.
Comment: @YaacovDeane I do pray the Amida but without those words. I clicked the link and searched for exactly the phrase you suggested but couldn't find it.
Comment: At Sinai they thought the redemption had already happened and they were going to the promised land next week to live happily ever after
Comment: @DoubleAA Source?
Comment: @DoubleAA "What doubt?" The doubt mentioned about whether we can hasten the redemption even though we failed to prevent the destruction of the Temple. You don't pray the Amidah? Try clicking on the link for the words טוב ומטיב. It will take you to a great discussion of the whole subject by Rav Eliezer Melamed on the web site Peninei Halacha. The 1st two paragraphs address the exact things mentioned above in regard to the Temple destruction, how all these consequences of sin are only for good and do not bar any of the promises in the Torah pertaining to the redemption.
Comment: @paquda No, I'm looking at the meaning of the words. Although one is using the 'Heh' Of designation, the meaning of the phrase is the same.
Answer: I think you might attain a significant perspective on this issue by watching this interview segment with the late Prof. Yesha'yahu Leibowicz:
ישעיהו על ליבוביץ על ביאת המשיח
The subtitles do not quite express what he's saying though, so let me restate it:

Q: And you, do you believe in the coming of the Messiah?
A: I am one of those people who believe the Messiah will come [Leibowicz puts extra stress on the prefix "YA", which indicates the future tense].
Q: When?
A: [shouting] will [again, stress on the "YA" prefix] come.
  For ever. A messiah which has come is a false messiah. Any Messiah who
  comes is a false messiah, since the essence of the Messiah is in that
  he will come.

So (my non-believer interpretation now) the coming of the Messiah is something like the horizon - it never actually materializes, but a feature of your existence is that you sense it in the distance. And thus, expectation of the Messiah is an existential state which does not go away.
Thus, hastening the coming of the Messiah does not mean that you expect him to arrive in 100 years and with your Tzdaka or with your devoutness you would shave off 5 years or 20 years (or just a day), so it will now be 95 or 80 years or whatever. It's that the existential state of expectation is improved, i.e. your life or the world is in the state of the Messiah more hastily approaching than less hastily approaching. It is certainly a great thing to live during times at which the Messiah approaches with haste rather than very slowly - wouldn't you say?
PS 1: So whatever happened or didn't happen with the temples doesn't have any bearing on it.
PS 2: Leibowitz was a philosopher, not an accepted authority on Halacha nor any other position in established Judaism.
Comment: How many practitioners of Judaism subscribe to this?  That the Messiah will never come?  Isn't this like saying the anticipation of dinner is more valuable than the dinner itself?
Comment: @JBH: That depends on what you mean by 'subscribe'. Note that Leibowitz himself does _not_ subscribe to the notion that the Messiah will never come. Ask yourself this: Is yearning for the horizon more or less valuable than reaching the horizon?
Comment: For me, an horizon represents a mystery and a challenge.  But the horizon is merely symbolic of what I discover "beyond" it.  The value of an horizon is always temporary because the horizon is not the goal.  Discovering what is beyond the horizon is the goal.  Does your metaphor extend like this?  It suggests the Messiah's only value is to help us strive for something else.  Something hidden today as the horizon hides my destination.
Comment: @JBH: The horizon metaphor does not extend like that. But the Messiah is more like the horizon than like dinner, which you routinely actually have...
Comment: Fair enough.  Thank you for helping me understand the matter better.