When will it be appropriate to start electing/appointing moderators?

Question: While the site has only been open for a couple of days, although I still think we could discuss when you think we should elect moderators. I think in roughly a week when the dedicated users have had a chance to show their initiative .
Comment: Related (close question because it's not the right time): http://meta.opensource.stackexchange.com/questions/93/call-to-nominate-candidates-for-pro-tem-moderator
Comment: Also related: http://blog.stackoverflow.com/2010/07/moderator-pro-tempore/
Comment: Again: `If your meta site does not have a post to nominate Moderators, start one now! Pro Tem appointments will begin about two weeks after the site is created.`
Answer: Beta sites have appointed moderators, not elected moderators. Moderator elections are only run on established ("graduated") sites.
The initial moderators for a beta site are appointed by Stack Exchange staff, a few weeks into the public beta. Normally beta sites run a nomination thread, where people can offer their candidacy or nominate other people. Stack Exchange staff is not bound by that thread, they can skip people mentioned on it and select people who weren't mentioned or who didn't have a high score there. The main effect of a nomination is to ensure that the nominee will not be overlooked, without guaranteeing that the nominee will be given priority over other potential candidates.
The right time to start this thread is a week or so into the public beta. Starting a nomination thread a couple of days after the site has started is too early. Potential moderators need to demonstrate the right kind of participation: level-headed, providing guidance, participating on meta, etc. It's pointless to run a nomination thread before people have had time to shine. It's even a little negative because it can cause people to work to look like good moderators, rather than doing what they would be doing for the good of the site.
Starting a nomination thread before the public beta is also discouraging for people who don't discover the site until it goes public, because they never got the word during the Area 51 days, yet do have something to contribute.
Comment: Excellently put!
Answer: The blog posts from Stack Exchange say that

About a week into public beta, we will...

start looking for moderators, etc etc. So, a few days into the public beta someone needs to start a mod nomination post so that when the SE team come searching there are some candidates there for them.
Comment: I think it's important to note that ***the SE*** team will come out to the community.
Comment: Note that this is not a "mod-election post", it's a moderator **nomination** post.
Comment: @Zizouz212 Yes, but we're expected to start the nomination post ourselves.
Comment: @ArtOfCode I think what he means is that SE sometimes starts the posts.
Comment: @HDE226868 They do? I have to admit I've never seen that happen.
Comment: http://meta.law.stackexchange.com/questions/78/who-should-moderate-this-site
Answer: This question indicates a lack of understanding about how the beta process works. Beta sites do not have moderator elections. They have moderators Pro Tempore, whose invitations are chosen by the Community Team based on:

Their observation of user participation during the early beta period, both on main and meta;
Guidance from the community.

That guidance generally comes in the form of a nomination thread just like the one that was recently posted here. This is not an election and staff has no obligation to invite the users whose nominations receive the most votes to be pro tems. Anyone may nominate anybody, including themselves. Users may decline the nomination. Users who were not even nominated, and did not choose to nominate themselves, may be invited to volunteer (as in my own case on Engineering SE). Elections are a much more involved and orderly process that does not occur (to my knowledge, at least) on beta sites.
Now that you know the difference between a nomination thread, which offers guidance to the community team about who might be interested, who definitely is not interested and a general picture of public opinion (don't read too much into it), and an actual election, read When should Moderator Pro Tempore nominations start? on MSE:

Use your best judgement; there is no set rule for this.
The private beta is usually only around a week long, so most sites
  start the nomination thread at the end of that or early into public
  beta. This works out fairly well since that gives the users on the
  site a few days to get a feel for things and decide whether or not to
  nominate themselves or someone else.
We usually come in about a week or so into public beta to start
  looking for volunteers.

I think it's ridiculous to close a perfectly on-topic meta thread just because some users think it's come too early. It's not uncommon at all for these "7 Essential Questions" posts to show up pretty much immediately after beta launch. There is not going to be such a volume of activity that, in a few days or a week, we won't be able to make perfectly good use of the existing Q&A. In fact, it's reasonable to expect that a reasonably steady trickle of answers as users nominate themselves and others will keep it bumped near the top for that time. So I am voting to reopen the nomination thread.
Comment: Having a moderator nomination thread too early is somewhat harmful. I don't like seeing it before the public beta, it's exclusionary to people who didn't participate in the private beta.
Comment: I'll explain my downvote, at the least. I think it is actually pointless to have a thread so early. Why should people answer? Why should others vote on the answers? ~48 hours have passed, and that's not much to go on when thinking about nominees. This isn't an election, I know, but community support for nominees is generally a good measure of whether or not the user in question is a good moderator, because the voting is based on observations by the users of the users.
Comment: There will be many people who vote on nominations based on the behavior of a user up tot his point, or up to tomorrow, or the next day. But at any given time, a user could stop participating as much. Asking it a week in minimizes that possibility because users have shown a commitment. The problem with those votes is that unless the user edits the post, they cannot be taken back. That's what I'm concerned about.
Comment: It is not your responsibility to manage other users' voting habits. If you feel that strongly then by all means, leave a comment reminding people they may not be able to easily retract a vote. You can also flag the question for CW conversion, since nominees are supposed to be able to edit posts to indicate if they accept a nomination, and that generally requires CW status at this point.
Comment: Regarding the last point, self nomination is often the case; I've seen threads where 90% of nominees are self-nominated (that stat isn't hyperbole, believe it or not). Getting off from my pseudo-tangent, there's no harm per se in the post being there, but there's no reason for it to be there. Why invite nominations at this point? If we leave it open, that is an implied invitation to post. Besides, why do you care enough to vote to reopen? Please don't take this the wrong way, by the way; I'm trying to argue a point, not be malicious, and I know the same is true for you.
Comment: I care about the closure because micromanaging meta is harmful. Rationalizing some vague discomfort about timing into an off-topic close vote cannot be allowed to become a trend. At best it's navel-gazing and at worst it's vote manipulation (FGITW affects Meta, too).
Comment: Yes, vote manipulation is very offensive. Hopefully it's not what motivated any of the CVs here. You cannot possibly know that for a fact, though.
Comment: Let me answer your rhetorical questions with some of my own: Why do you care? Why should I? What possible harm is done by the date stamp on the question? It is a necessary question to have. If it's too early to answer, then don't answer. If it's too early to vote, then don't vote. Others may disagree; let them.
Comment: "Vague discomfort" is not a good summary of it; I think that it's quite clear what would happen. "Vote manipulation" is a bit of an offensive name, and inaccurate.
Comment: I can't know that for a fact, true, but I think that, judging from the comments, there were other reasons, which I hope you read.
Comment: @Giles That is the best argument I've heard so far against asking the question very early. I suppose I dodged the question of what my actual opinion is about the best time to post the question (spoiler: I upvoted your answer), but that's only because the cat is very much out of the bag and it seems moot.


How to boot external drives on a Acer C7 Chromebook

Question: I want to run a plain Ubuntu install, but the BIOS does not easily allow for booting into USB drives. I currently have the Chromebook in developer mode and I found a USB command on the chromium developer info website, but I not sure how to enter the command in.
Answer: I know this reply came a bit late, but if you're still looking to replace ChromeOS completely with plain Ubuntu, have a look at this article: http://johnlewis.ie/pre-built-coreboot-firmware-for-chromebooks/
Warning, this involves hardware hacking and will most certainly void your warranty. I've detailed my personal experience here: https://askubuntu.com/a/361561/97517


Mount ext3fs in Windows

Question: I'm surprised I couldn't find this question trough the search. What's the easiest/best way to mount an ext3 formatted partition in Windows (7 RC, in this case)?
Answer: Just found this overview of three ways to access an ext3 partition.  Don't know if the first supports Windows 7; the second supports Vista so it likely does.  Both of those are just file managers, though.
The third, Ext2 IFS, is the only one I've heard of before, and it does support ext3.  It sounds like you wanted the partition mounted so all apps can access it, and that's what this does.
Answer: I found various answers for Windows in general with this search. "Four Applications for Accessing Ext3 Partitions From Windows" looks like the most comprehensive look at it - from having spent 30 seconds on each of a few results.
I don't know whether any of them will work with Windows 7, mind you. This guide is for Vista, and I suspect Windows 7 is similar enough to Vista for that to be at least worth trying.
Answer: I guess one possible way is to run Windows inside VirtualBox on Linux and configure directories to be shared.
(Disclaimer: I've only ever done this the other way around. Disclosure: I work for the producers of VirtualBox, but do not work on it.)

Mount ext3fs in Windows


How long should I keep a cut onion?

Question: Since I only cook for one or two, I will tend to buy an onion and only use part of it, and then keep the rest in the fridge. Sometimes it will be a while before I use the rest. Is there any guidance on when I should finally just throw it out? What are the signs to look for? What degradations should I expect to trade off against constantly throwing out half an onion (decreased flavor, increased bitterness)?
Answer: When I use fresh onions, we store the unused parts for up to a week in our fridge in either a ziploc or a sealable rubbermaid-style container.  For particularly pungent onions they go in the crisper drawer to keep the smell from being too strong in the rest of the fridge, but usually they're just on one of the shelves.  Stilltasty says 2-3 days but my personal experience says otherwise.
Generally in our house, they don't last long enough for the flavor to degrade too much, but they will get a little dried and the smell will get stronger over time.  After a week, they shouldn't be bad in the sense that you'll get sick - but you'll want to use them in a meal where the onion is the star, as the aroma will take over the dish.
Another option that I'm a big fan of is to dice or strip the leftovers (or, a 5 lb bag at once!) and freeze them on a cookie sheet (instead of in a bag, where they'll turn into a giant clump).  Once fully frozen, dump them into a plastic freezer bag, and store in the freezer for easy access to a handful at a time.  For most applications, you can defrost them right in the pan/pot/casserole as you cook, so they're very handy and accessible.  We do the same with peppers in our house for convenience.
Comment: @mfg - so far so good with the freezer-to-pan transition.  the only difference so far is a slight texture difference (a little less crispy) if i'm sauteeing them fast for something like a stir fry.  sometimes to be safe i add them to a cold pan with the oil and let it all heat up together, but i've gone from freezer to a hot oiled pan with no problem as well. for caramelizing low and slow, they seem to do great, and even get softer a little faster!
Comment: Freezing would actually be helpful for caramelizing onions. Part of the work that needs to be done is to collapse the cell walls; the freezer will have done that for you.
Comment: +1 for alt suggestion: do you notice any kind of over heating of the onions due to the freezer-sautee pan? I.E. if I wanted to carmelize them, would I run into a difficulty due to them transitioning from cold to hot so quickly?
Answer: I've had good luck with sealed glass containers ... including when storing sliced or diced onions.  I find that plastic containers can start to pick up the onion smell if you leave onion in there for too long.
I've kept a halved, but otherwise in one piece, onion for over a week.  If it dries out a little, you can always just take a slice off the cut side.
Cut up onion can keep for about a week, but it helps to have used a sharp knife -- a dull knive damages more cells and it'll start to break down faster.  (and if it's sharp enough, you can slice it up, but keep the shape, so there's no extra exposed cut surface to lose moisture from).  The more damage you do to the cells, the stronger the 'oniony' smells will get.
My judge on if it's still okay to use is to look at it -- if it's gone translucent, smells funny or looks funny (including dried out), I pitch it.
Comment: Great advice on the sharp knife, I've noticed that's made a significant difference in how long it lasts without stinking up the fridge.  I'd +2 if I could, as the glass container advice is spot on - I used a plastic container once, and had to make that the "onion container" until the end of its life.  My only addition to that: If your glass container has a plastic lid, consider lining it with foil or plastic wrap before sealing so the lid doesn't pick up the smell.  I learned that the hard way storing garlic; my one blue Pyrex lid still smells like garlic 3 months later.
Comment: Another thing to note is that the less cut it is, the longer it will stay fresh. A half onion with the root-end still attached will stay fresher than a tupperware full of pre-diced onion.
Comment: @stephen : I haven't had a problem with the pyrex lids and onion, but I also tend to buy mild onions (red, sweet, etc.) unless they're for a specific purpose, and when I'm storing a 1/2 onion, store it cut-side down (against the glass).
Answer: If you have no container, you can also use a piece of plastic clinging wrap to cover the cut part. If you notice that the cut dries out or does not look appetizing anymore, simply cut of one thin slice and presto, it's fresh and juicy again.
Answer: Another option is to caramelize one or two onions in a frying pan, and then freeze the pre-cooked onions in smaller portions. (I tend not to like cooking with frozen onions, since the extra water will steam the onions rather than allow them to cook at the higher temperature you could achieve without the extra water.
Answer: A couple of years ago I found a container designed to store cut onions. It looks like a plastic bowl with a rubber and metal lid. The smell is kept inside the container and the onion lasts several weeks.
I don't know how it works, but it most certainly does! Before I had it, I would wrap an onion in plastic and it wouldn't last quite a week.
Answer: I tend to put them in a sealed container with just a small splash of vinegar or lemon juice.... Seems to help them to not dry out.. :-)
Answer: I just wrap it up in foil. It will start to smell when it's going bad. You're not supposed to save onions, since they are so cheap. You can also buy already diced onions at Walmart. I believe they stay good for at least two weeks.
Answer: Cut onion can be stored 7-10 days in a sealed container in the refrigerator. I've not experimented specifically with glass or plastic, but I can understand how glass would be better. I'll have to give that a try.  Sharp knives are key, that was a spot on tip!
With regard to the comment about cut onion absorbing bacteria, that is false. Anyone interested in more on that can click here: http://onions-usa.org/faqs/onion-flu-cut-myths
Answer: http://onions-usa.org/all-about-onions/how-to-select-cut-prepare-store-onions
straight from those who know what we are crying about..
Comment: Summarizing the information would add value.
Answer: I like to store them in a bottle, they will last at least a week.
Comment: In a bottle alone? With some sort of liquid? What kind of bottle? In the fridge or on the counter?
Answer: I also used to save unused onions for another day, until I read that a cut onion should not be reused in cooking as the peeled surface drinks up all the toxins and bacteria out of the atmosphere and into the onion.
One remedy for flu symptoms is to place a cut onion on the bedside table before sleeping. In the morning the onion will be black in colour having drawn up all the bacteria etc in the room. And the flu symptoms will have disappeared.
I would rather chuck out a half-used onion (after leaving on the kitchen surface overnight) knowing it had worked as a kind of disinfectant.
Comment: "the peeled surface drinks up all the toxins and bacteria out of the atmosphere and into the onion" is the most ridiculous superstition I have heard of lately.
Comment: it is not true that cut onions left in fridg is poisonous or that they drink up toxins and bacteria out of the air. I did research on it and I found it all to be false

How long should I keep a cut onion?


What are the usual methods for getting a daily word count?

Question: Do, normally, only words which are eventually to be kept count, or do you also count rewrites? For example, if I rewrite a 50 word paragraph 10 times, is my daily count up to 50 or up to 500?
Answer: Why does it matter, if your word count is 50 or 500 after a rewrite? You should ask yourself, why do you want to count your words.
If you use the number to motivate yourself ("Look, I wrote 100 words. What a good day!"), then count the rewrites.
If you need the number to show someone your progress (like your publisher who pays you to finish the book), then he is probably not interested in the rewrite-count, but that's a thing you should clarify with your publisher.
If it is only for you. I would say, it does not really matter. Keep (re)writing. Every word, rewritten or not, takes you one step further to your main goal. I do not count my daily words. I only count all words of the finished novel, because I put that info into my cover letters/synopsis.
Comment: If the numbers are the way the question author gets motivated, then there's nothing wrong with that. Of course, when it comes to rewrites, quality is more important that quantity.
Comment: @neilfein: Have you got the impression, that I think something is wrong with it?
Comment: Yes, I got that from the first sentence in your answer. Although I see that it could be meant a couple of different ways, it came across to me as dismissive. (Good answer otherwise, sorry if I misread it.)
Answer: To answer to your question, I personally count only the initial revision.
The reason why: It's generally more productive to write without going back to edit, keeping all self-criticism held in until you're done with the session.  Even better, wait a day or two before revising at all.  You'll come at it fresh and be able to see problems you wouldn't have noticed right away.
Comment: Do you count the words you write as part of the count for the day when you're revising, even if it's 2-3 days later? Or, do you write the words for that day first, and then not count revision words?
Comment: @blueberryfields I don't worry too much about the minutiae of the word counting.  Revising can take a lot longer than writing for a lot lower word count, so it's hardly the same scale.
Answer: Normally I base my word count on what's in the file when I finish my session. I don't count any minor tweaks or changes. If I spent the day rewriting a single paragraph I would end up only counting the final result.
On the other hand if I'm doing a big rewrite, like a full scene or a whole chapter I will usually count those changes. There's no hard and fast rule for this, but usually if I'm cutting out enough to save it's enough to be worth counting.
Answer: It all depends on your goal.

If you're trying to hit a deadline by doing x words per day, then you have to compare the word count of your written work before the edit and after. Some people use pages for this rather than words.
If you want to see how much effort you're putting in or you have a goal for each individual writing session to say "this was a successful session" or "okay, this session is done", count the words you typed.

I don't think there's a hard-and-fast rule on this, it really is up to you and what you're trying to achieve by knowing the word count.


How to get street names from OpenStreetMap?

Question: I have some SHP layers that contain some streets and buildings data, and i'm showing it with openLayers (by GeoServer).
they are not contain the names of the streets or the numbers of the buildings.
there is a way to get from OSM list with the streets names and the numbers of buildings with the location of theme, its can be in any format(kml, shp, gml, text etc)?
Answer: You can download roads and buildings from overpass query and export in geojson, gpx, kml format.use the following query:
<code><osm-script>
    <union>
        <query type="way">
            <bbox-query {{bbox}}/>
            <has-kv k="highway"/>

        </query>
        <query type="way">
          <bbox-query {{bbox}}/>
          <has-kv k="building"/>
        </query>
     <recurse type="way-node"/>
    </union>
  <print mode="body"/>
</osm-script>
</code>
select the bounding box from the toolbar by clicking on "manaually select bbox" or it will take your current map view as bounding box of the query.
Answer: You can extract data from OSM for a particular region but you cant get the name for your streets with a location query because they surely wont match perfectly.
See this question: How can I extract data from OSM which includes the street names? for information about OSM data extraction procedure.
Answer: You can get the OSM data as SHP from WeoGeo (my employer) for any location in the world. The streets/highways layer has names of streets and the buildings have numbers and type, when provided by the OSM user who created or edited the feature. You can also select the output to be any of the file formats you mentioned.
http://market.weogeo.com/datasets/osm-openstreetmap-planet.html
Comment: This service is closed.
Answer: You can get shapefiles build from OSM data for most parts of the world from Geofabrik.
These contain street names, but not the number of buildings.
Furthermore, buildings are missing in Openstreetmap data for many (especially less populated) parts of the world.


Is there an easy way to type IPA?

Question: I'm currently using the virtual IPA keyboard on TypeIt, but it takes forever. Is there an easy way to type IPA? I've found this list of Unicode keyboards on SIL.org but I'm not too sure how to evaluate their efficacy. I'm running off Windows if that matters.
Comment: One could use LateX, just as we do in maths, and type command sequences that will compile to IPA later. But then you have to type the whole document in this, and many people find this hard to learn. But it's quite superior, also for multilingual documents, diagrams etc. Look into Latex (it's free, and also available on Windows).
Comment: I agree with Henno. tipa is quite convenient.
Comment: what do you type in? word? With some programs there are some workarounds, like defining auto conversion (which you can do in word).
Comment: I use x-sampa input on Linux.  I type the x-sampa symbols on my keyboard, and they're converted to IPA on-the-fly.  I'm sure similar ones must exist to other operating systems.
Comment: Here's [an IPA AutoHotkey script](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1d4zhMrlULhxpEhLd6ymssbcxEThRoSpu/view?usp=sharing) I found and adapted. Download and run with AutoHotkey installed. The way it works: Press Win + F to enter IPA mode. Now, each key on your keyboard accesses some IPA characters, and repeated pressing cycles through them. Hit space to accept. For instance, Win+F then e lets me access the following set: ə ɚ ɵ ɘ while Win+A lets me access the following set: ɑ æ ɐ ɑ̃ I can easily type almost anything this way. If you know any AHK you could probably add composition to it.
Comment: @LukeSawczak I was interested in that AHK script, but it looks like the file is no longer available. Would you mind reuploading it somewhere, or maybe pasting it as plaintext either here or in a github gist or something?
Comment: @ETL Sure: https://pastebin.com/5uKx2Xc6
Comment: @ETL Also, here's a reference on the symbols associated with each key: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1152mY0T6YGGsVaTs0K1r8pPsuhZS9elg/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=115375324503533643788&rtpof=true&sd=true
Answer: When you think about it, easily typing the entirety of IPA is a tall order. Just look for example at the IPA vowel diagram, and try to write down yourself which sequences of keys should give which output, or do the same for all of the diacritics.
On the other hand, I'd think that most people need most of IPA very rarely, but use a subset of it constantly. For example if you are writing a paper on English phonology, you'll need <ɪ> to be easily typable, but you can just copy-paste <ɤ> if you need it. (Of course,  if your paper is on, say, Estonian, you'll want exactly the opposite.)
A working solution for this kind of problem is to create your own custom keyboard layout via the Microsoft's free keyboard layout creator. The program is quite powerful, and very easy to use, and making something appropriate in it won't take long, depending on how much of IPA you want available on key press. Of course, "do it yourself" is not the easiest solution, but the plus is that it will be tailored exactly to your needs, and you can change it whenever you want. And as I said, considering how different the needs of different IPA users are, a single solution won't be able to satisfy everyone's needs.
Another advantage of a custom keyboard layout is that you can use it in any text editor: it doesn't require using a special program or a specific webpage, and you can easily switch between different keyboard layouts by hotkeys.
Comment: I think the most natural interface for me would be if it was implemented with an IME, similar to inputting pinyin->Chinese. I played around with the keyboard layout editor and I don't think that it's capable of doing that sadly. I've settled on an SIL keyboard, but there's such a large learning curve I'm going to need to keep the manual open for a little while to look things up.
Comment: Yes, I have no experiences with IME for Hanzi and such, but I'm sure they're more powerful than this, which is just the classic dead keys + control keys combo, so it's not appropriate for the entire IPA, where drop-down menus you mention in another comment seem to me the only viable choice. This is appropriate for someone who needs IPA or alternatives regularly only for a fixed and not too huge set of languages.
Answer: The SIL keyboards that you linked to are indeed the best of breed. Like any input method for typing outside of ASCII, it takes an investment of time to learn the keystroke sequences, but in my opinion it is far more efficient than websites with soft keyboards when you need to enter a lot of IPA. I have used them on both Linux and Windows. To the operating system, it looks like any other IME for entering Chinese characters, Devanagari script, etc., so you access it through the "language bar" on Windows and corresponding language-switcher-type interfaces on other platforms. On Linux at least, there are a few applications where the keyboard doesn't work (e.g., Atom text editor; I think the problem is with Atom and not the IPA keyboard but I haven't tried to debug the issue).
If you just want a better web-based soft keyboard, I think Richard Ishida's is amazing, others I work with prefer Weston Ruter's because it resembles the official IPA chart. There is also an Android app though it is described as a "proof of concept" and I haven't personally tested it very thoroughly.
Comment: I must disagree with "best of breed."  I have long used on Mac "Unicode Hex Input" where I hold down Alt while entering the Unicode value in hexadecimal.  It is just as easy to remember four hex digits as the complicated key-sequences of the other.  But the SIL keyboard highjacks keyboard shortcuts such as print.  But I now use something better, mentioned in my answer.
Comment: I just use a [X-SAMPA](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-SAMPA) input method on Linux.  I find X-SAMPA to be easy to learn and mnemonic, and then the input method converts it to proper IPA.
Comment: You can also try out the SIL IPA keyboard at Keyman.com without needing to install it. Keyman is owned by SIL. https://keyman.com/keyboards/sil_ipa
Answer: There is a difficult way, and also a quick and easy way, to use the website mentioned by the Original Poster in their question, IPA TYPEIT:

http://ipa.typeit.org/full/

If you use the cursor to manually click on the letters on the on-screen keyboard, it takes ages and is mentally exhausting as well as morally tedious.
However, if you look at the page that the link takes you to, you will see that the on-screen keyboard is broken into sections. On the left of each section there is a symbol in orange that relates very simply and intuitively to a symbol on your physical keyboard. In order to get any of the IPA symbols from that section,  instead of moving the cursor to the correct symbol on the screen, just use your manual keyboard. Press ALT and then keep tapping the key shown in the orange circle until the desired IPA symbol pops up. Once you get used to this, it really is quite fast and I find it much easier than any of the other methods that I know of.
Answer: No, there is no good way.  See the answer and comments to my complaint here:
feature request.
Comment: Aw man that sucks!
Answer: This has been preying on my mind, and I have the beginnings of a design proposal for how to type in IPA.  The basic idea is that you type in a phonetic character by typing an ordinary lower case character followed by zero or more uppercase characters. This capitalizes (so to speak) on the fact that it is rare in ordinary spelling that you would want to have a literal interpretation of "tI", for example, so it is feasible to treat this as a palatalized "t".  And "tH" is an aspirated "t", "aN" is a nasalized "a", and so on.
When you're typing things in interactively, you don't necessarily have to know everything about the system of interpretation, because you can see whether the result of your typing is giving you the phonetic script that you intended.  And if it isn't what you want, you can backspace over what you typed and try something else.
There should be a fallback that lets you type in a character with no obvious interpretation but which you can footnote to say what you want about the sound.
Comment: To add onto this, (and I mentioned this on another answer) I think it would also be helpful if it showed you options in parallel to your keystrokes similar to a Chinese or Japanese IME keyboard. For example, if you pressed "a" it would give you the options of: { 1. æ 2. ɑ 3. ɒ 4. ɐ }, if you press 1,2,3, or 4 it will select the corresponding glyph, and if you press any other key it will leave it as just , allowing natural typing. This creates a natural mapping between the knowledge we already have of QUERTY keyboards and of IPA symbols, so it would not have a large learning curve.
Comment: a fine idea, +1.
Comment: @RECURSIVEFARTS Perhaps see my comments about IPA TYPEIT in my answer below. Might be helpful.
Answer: If you already know X-SAMPA, you could use my X-SAMPA ↔ IPA Converter. There, you can type in X-SAMPA, then convert to IPA.
For example, if you type %int@"n{S@n@5 f@"nEtIk "{lf@%bEt, and press >>, it yields ˌintəˈnæʃənəɫ fəˈnɛtɪk ˈælfəˌbɛt.
Answer: You may find Eckher IPA Keyboard useful.
Comment: It is not useful, because it does not allow you to type IPA, it allows you to access a fixed subset of IPA as employed in *some* English transcription practices.
Answer: I find it hard to believe the SIL keyboard is the best thing out there.  Although I don't use Windows much, it has a feature where you can hold Alt and type the Unicode number on the keypad.  I heard you have to do it in octal, though, which is stupid.
I use Unicode Hex Input on Mac which is similar.  I just have an IPA chart nearby with all the Unicode numbers.  The ones I've done several times I no longer have to look up anymore.
IPA Palette (https://www.blugs.com/IPA/) is also pretty easy to use.  I find it hard to believe someone hasn't done something similar for the Windows world.  If not, go to his site, download his GPL source, and port it.
For IOS (iPhone/iPad), you can add keyboards.  One of them takes advantage of the IOS hold/drag to make it easy to pick characters from similar ones in the Latin alphabet.  I suspect Android has something similar.
Yes, I've tried the SIL "IPA Unicode 6.2(v1.5) MAC" and it's definitely harder to use than either of the above.  (Not to mention that it hijacks some of my favorite keyboard shortcuts!)
Answer: An alternative to the "language keyboard" approach is the compose-key approach, exemplified by the inexpensive program "Accent Composer" (which I have used for decades), and also available in a number of open source versions for Windows, listed here. Accent Composer and AllChars use a "hotkey" (I don't know the other 3, I assume they are the same) e.g. F12 or right-ctrl (you pick) then a two-key sequence, and it returns whatever in in the table for that letter pair. For example, you can assign eh to ɛ, o/ to ø, 9. to ʕ and so on. Or you can assign 99 to ʕ – you can pick your ow mnemonics. The minor downside is that you have to set up a translation table for IPA (unless someone has cooked up an IPA translation table). My main rule is, if I have to look a character up on Character Map more than 5 times, I will just add a mnemonic for Accent Composer.
In the set of 4 open source programs, the one called WinCompose apparently supports sequences of ? any length, at least more than 2, which potentially allows better mnemonics.
Answer: Here is an easy way to type IPA English characters easily. Watch this video:
Type IPA English easily
Comment: The video review seems to be poorly recorded and looks way too excessive comparing to a single link. Please consider directly referencing the toolset/application, not the video telling how good it is.

Is there an easy way to type IPA?


In which text first time "Gautama leaving Yashodhara for searching truth" story is written?

Question: In which text first time "Gautama leaving Yashodhara for searching truth" story is found to be written?
 This text was written how many years after death of Buddha?
Comment: See also [Which suttas in the Pali canon are relatively early or late?](https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/q/18894/254) -- I'm not sure we know the sequence in which they're written -- so we can't say for sure which time is "the first time", though some people guess or assess via textual analysis that some bits might be later or altered somehow -- and/or maybe all suttas were written at the same time (i.e. at the [4th council](https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/a/18895/254)).
Comment: If they were first time recorded in fourth council, then https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_Buddhist_council says it happenned in 1st century BC. And Gautama was in fourth century BC. So can we deduce that first time, it was recorded 200-300 years after him?
Answer: Gotama left his extended family, clan or royal lineage rather than merely Yashodhara. The earliest Pali suttas never mention Yashodhara but only Gotama's mother & father.

So, at a later time, while still young, a black-haired young man endowed with the blessings of youth in the first stage of life — and
  while my parents, unwilling, were crying with tears streaming down
  their faces — I shaved off my hair & beard, put on the ochre robe and
  went forth from the home life into homelessness.
Ariyapariyesana Sutta: The Noble Search

It seems Gotama has no interest in sex and women. The scriptures are not written like a modern romance novel or Hollywood movie.

Monks, I lived in refinement, utmost refinement, total refinement. My father even had lotus ponds made in our palace: one where red-lotuses
  bloomed, one where white lotuses bloomed, one where blue lotuses
  bloomed, all for my sake. I used no sandalwood that was not from
  Varanasi. My turban was from Varanasi, as were my tunic, my lower
  garments, & my outer cloak. A white sunshade was held over me day &
  night to protect me from cold, heat, dust, dirt, & dew.
I had three palaces: one for the cold season, one for the hot season, one for the rainy season. During the four months of the rainy season I
  was entertained in the rainy-season palace by minstrels without a
  single man among them, and I did not once come down from the palace.
  Whereas the servants, workers, & retainers in other people's homes are
  fed meals of lentil soup & broken rice, in my father's home the
  servants, workers, & retainers were fed wheat, rice, and meat.
Even though I was endowed with such fortune, such total refinement, the thought occurred to me: 'When an untaught, run-of-the-mill person,
  himself subject to aging... illness... death, not beyond aging, sees
  another who is aged, he is horrified, humiliated & disgusted,
  oblivious to himself that he too is subject to aging, not beyond
  aging. If I — who am subject to aging, not beyond aging — were to be
  horrified, humiliated & disgusted on seeing another person who is
  aged... ill... dead, that would not be fitting for me.' As I noticed
  this, the [typical] young person's intoxication with youth entirely
  dropped away.
Sukhamala Sutta: Refinement
Answer: See also Which suttas in the Pali canon are relatively early or late? -- I'm not sure we know the sequence in which suttas were written -- so we can't say for sure which time is "the first time", though some people guess or assess via textual analysis that some bits might be later or altered somehow -- and/or maybe all suttas were written at the same time (i.e. at the 4th council).
If they were first time recorded in fourth council, then https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_Buddhist_council says it happenned in 1st century BC. And Gautama was in fourth century BC. So can we deduce that first time, it was recorded 200-300 years after him?
I think we're meant to understand that the suttas were remembered when they were first spoken (e.g. spoken by Gautama) ... and "recorded" in the First Council ("a gathering of senior monks of the Buddhist order convened just after Gautama Buddha's death in ca. 400 BC").
By "recorded", I mean that they agreed on what to memorise, what to consider as "canon".
They were later written in the Fourth Council:

The council was held in response to a year in which the harvests in Sri Lanka were particularly poor and many Buddhist monks subsequently died of starvation. Because the Pāli Canon was at that time oral literature maintained in several recensions by dhammabhāṇakas (dharma reciters), the surviving monks recognized the danger of not writing it down so that even if some of the monks whose duty it was to study and remember parts of the Canon for later generations died, the teachings would not be lost.

I don't know in which texts "Yashodhara" (or Yasodhara) is mentioned by name -- there are some References in her Wikipedia article.
One the sources (the main source?) of the detailed story of Gautama from before his "noble search" started (i.e. the story with details of his leaving his wife) is in the introduction to the Jataka tales (e.g. here) -- perhaps she isn't mentioned by name though, though his son (named "Rahula") is:

Within the chamber was burning a lamp fed with sweet-smelling oil, and the mother of Râhula lay sleeping on a couch strewn deep with jasmine and other flowers, her hand resting on the head of her son. When the Future Buddha reached the threshold, he paused, and gazed at the two from where he stood.
"If I were to raise my wife's hand from off the child's head, and take him up, she would awake, and thus prevent my departure. I will first become a Buddha, and then come back and see my son." So saying, he descended from the palace.

I'm not sure what the provenance is of the Jataka Tales. They're included in the Khuddaka Nikāya of the Sutta Pitaka but somehow not exactly suttas (I'm not sure whether or when the Buddhist councils were involved with them).


Sour Beers for the beginner

Question: What sour beers would be a good starting point for someone that enjoys pale ales and too strong of a flavor profile may turn them off at first?
Comment: Given how sours are often produced by smaller, regional breweries, it might help to get some kind of geography from you before making a recommendation.
Comment: Northwest region
Answer: I'd start an introduction to sour, or wild ales  with the more approachable Lambics, like Lindemans Framboise Lambic.  With a beer like that, the sour notes from the wild yeast are offset by the sweetness of the fruit and the pleasant texture from the fizz of the carbonation, making it an approachable drink not only for one not used to sour ales, but for one not used to beer at all.
Another option (for a North American) might be a beer categorized as an American Wild Ale, such as Russian River's Consecration, or Sierra Nevada Brux which will have the sour character but also be conscientious of the flavors favorable to the American palate.
Comment: You're right that Lambic beers are a good starting point. I suggested Geuze which is more or less a type of Lambic. But people don't like my suggestion :(. The Lindemans Framboise however is really fruity and sweet. I wouldn't recommend it since (imho) it differs too much from ale beers.
Comment: @ValentinGrégoire Well, in the question, Wayne specifically asks for beers that don't have a particularly strong flavor profile, which is why a sweet lambic is a good choice, and probably why your Gueuze recommendation isn't getting much traction. Gueuzes in my experience are typically are quite strongly flavored, and so aren't really a good fit for this scenario.
Answer: I would highly recommend Rodenbach as a starting point. It is relatively inexpensive, surprisingly available for it's style, and damn tasty. It is a Flanders Red style, brewed with sour cherries, of which there are many similar brands ranging from candy-sweet to very sour. Rodenbach is the perfect balance of the two IMO. If you like the style, graduate to the Grand Cru, which adds more age, funk and sour.
After these I'd check out Flanders Brown ales (similar though less cherry), and Geuzes, such as Almanac's Golden Gate Gose. If you're feeling adventurous and spendy, make your way through Almanac's unique "Farm to Barrel" series of wild fruit beers, as well as The Bruery's Oude Tarte and possibly Sour in the Rye (warning, this one will melt your tastebuds).
Answer: You might also want to try a berliner weisse. They can be pretty sour, but are still very drinkable (at least in my opinion). Some breweries have these on tap, and offer a choice of flavored syrup as a sweetener (e.g., raspberry, strawberry, peach).
In terms of bottled ones to look for, Dogfish head has Festina Peche. My current favorite is Cruiser, a recent release by the Ithaca Beer Co. available in 6 packs and pretty reasonably priced. Berliner Weisse are usually available this time of year, so check your local beer store for some other seasonals.
Answer: In general, G(u)euze Beer is pretty sour.
More on that here.
Since I don't like Geuze beer, I don't know much about it. However, I once tasted 7 different Geuze beers from a region in Belgium around Brussels and those were really sour. I wouldn't recommend those.

Sour Beers for the beginner


How can I add depth to my story or how do I determine if my story already has depth?

Question: I am new to writing. I wrote a lot when I was a kid and teen. I wrote my first book at 6 and then again in high school. I was also in journalism. After high school, life happened. I took an almost 20 year break, so I consider myself "new". I'm currently writing a YA Paranormal, but I'm unsure if it's meaningful, if it has enough depth.  How do I determine this? Can I provide a synopsis, is that allowed here?
Answer: @MatthewDave suggests asking yourself what your story is about. I would go farther: ask yourself what is the meaning of your story, what it is you're trying to say.
If you're saying nothing at all, then no, your story doesn't have much depth. And at this point, it's too late to change that - you'd have to start from scratch. "What you're trying to say" is the core around which you're weaving your story. It's what guides you when you need to choose whether events would go this way or that. It's not something you can add after the fact.
If you're saying something, your story has some depth. That's a start. Exploring complex ideas, addressing their multiple facets, perhaps touching on multiple ideas, is what would give your story satisfying depth.
As an example, Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises is, on the surface of it, about a group of friends who go to see the bullfights in Pamplona. Beneath that surface, Hemingway explores the Lost Generation and how they deal with the war trauma in the post-war years. And it is also a story about a man coming to terms with the fact that the woman he loves will never be with him. It is a story about people who might seem shallow at first, but are not; and about finding strength, day after day, to deal with life, and about so much more. All in a story so short I'm not sure if it qualifies as a novel or a novela. That is depth.
Comment: This is the feeling/idea I was hoping to invoke with my answer, you just said it much better. In Twilight's case, the answer is 'Mormon white vampires are hot', whereas Mort/Reaper Man both have a similar theme of 'Death comes to all, and worrying about preventing/avoiding it is pointless stress most of the time'. It's evident which of the two has more depth.
Answer: Welcome.
No, synopses are not allowed here for critique. But, the question "How do I know if my story has enough depth?" is a good one in my opinion.
I'd say you have a few ways to assess it.

Your instincts. Since you are asking, the answer might be that you need more depth.
Beta readers, writing groups, and so on. If readers say they are bored, then you have not given them enough to chew on and might benefit from more depth.
Craft books. It's great that you wrote a story at six. I did not. I generated my first story when I was about 30, and had kids who enjoyed Curious George, and I started making up Curious George stories with them--following the structure of every Curious George story ever written. It is amazingly easy to make up a Curious George story--because the structure is so well-defined.  Similarly, craft books can break the elements of a good novel down for you--the pacing, plot points, structure, number of characters, types of characters, number of subplots, how to bring in senses, how to more fully immerse, how to tackle themes, and on and on. You can use what you like from such books and ignore the rest--Paranormal is its own thing, after all, and you have a story unique to you that you want to tell.
Favorite books. Which author have you read that you would love to meet in real life? Look at their books, and break them down. How do they pace their narrative? How many plots do they weave? How much background do they provide, and how is it given? How are themes spoken to? Then compare to your own work.

I think there's no short cut but to apply your own analytic and creative and instinctive faculties to it, and also be willing to take on other opinions on your work.
Comment: Just one more thing to do. I think he should also read his book after completion. I have felt that it adds depths to my poems everytime I read them after writing.
Comment: Thanks for this information! I appreciate your advice. 1.) My instincts tell me I need to add a subplot. There's a plot twist at the end of the novel- I'm providing subtle hints to my readers throughout about the villain (as they do not know who the villain is, yet). And I am also having my readers second-guess themselves by putting in little hints about other characters, so they are are essentially clueless - it could be any of the characters, but my readers have to use their critical thinking skills to determine who they think it is until it's revealed at the end of the novel.
Comment: .2.) My beta readers are on Wattpad, so far so good (I even had a lit agent read it and got good comments from her, but only in regards to the first few chapters) 3.) Yes, I love crafting stories and this is where my issue about depth comes in at...is it intriguing or suspenseful enough? Does it leave my readers wondering and wanting more?.. I think you gave me the answer to this one, and I appreciate it!
Answer: "Depth" is a word that could mean many things.  In common among many of the ways I could apply the word "depth" to writing is a sense that there are connections within the writing that are not explicitly put forward in the sentences.
These connections may be between the backstories of the characters, or they may be between actions in one part of a story and another, or many other possibilities.  "Depth" is where paying attention to the story gives the reader information about and a better understanding of the story.
Managing "depth" can be a difficult adjustment to get right.  At one extreme you can demand perfect attention to and deep analysis of every detail for a story to make sense.   At the other extreme, things just happen; every sentence stands on its own.
All right, examples:
John discusses having a dream with his teenage girlfriend about being attacked by a spider.  Three hundred pages later, the ex-girlfriend is the CEO of a multi-planetary munitions contractor about to attack John's homeworld.  John must choose the manner of defense, either accurate harpoon missiles or reliable nets. The ex outfits her fleet with 100% defense against harpoons because she knows he will avoid the nets because the icon next to the "fire nets" button looks like a web.  She wins.
Or...
John had a girlfriend.  Lots of stuff happens.  Ex-girlfriend runs huge, evil company that attacks John's world.  John chooses to defend with the weapon she is 100% ready to counter.  Oh well.
Ok, the example is maybe too simple.  But I think you would agree that the first example has more depth.
The real key is:  How do you feel about it?  If the story feels flat, add more depth.  If you have to constantly check your notes to remind yourself why a character acted as they did, maybe the connections are non-intuitive, unbelievable, or excessively convoluted.
When you think it is about right, have someone else read it, and listen carefully to the substance of their feedback.
Comment: Thanks for your feedback and advice! I don't think my characters are flat- I think I might need to add a subplot, that's my conclusion anyways. Am I allowed to copy and paste the comments from my beta readers on here?
Comment: I am not a moderator or rule-setter for SE sites.  It seems to me, though, that posting reader comments raises three issues.  First, with the commentators:  Did they intend that their comments would be publicly displayed?  Second with Writing SE comments sections: Comments are not for ongoing discussions, so I don't think they belong here.  Third also with Writing SE questions section: Questions are best when they contain a single question that can be specifically addressed.   I put my email in my profile if you want to discuss anything further.
Comment: You might consider visiting the chat group associated with Writing.  https://chat.stackexchange.com/rooms/168/the-overlook-hotel
Answer: A good way to ask if your work has meaning is to ask this simple question:
What is this story about?
With this in mind, a shallow story pops out like a sore thumb; the extent their answer can go to is 'It's about good people who are kind defeating bad people who are selfish' would be a good example. Or to use an actual example, say, Twilight:
'It's about a wallflower girl getting romanced by a hot mormon demigod vampire'.
This alone shows there's little going on beneath the surface. On the contrary, my most recent unpublished novel was actually overwrought, meaning it was equally bad, but unlike Twilight, also unmarketable. When asking the same of 'The Tale of Amerei Gemcutter', the answer looks something like this:
'It's about a girl coming of age, escaping a neglectful family, learning a skill, then settling on a new family while understanding the balance between accepting her desires while doing what's right, while also having a man learning to balance reason with assertiveness, getting over his abusive family and past, and accepting his worthiness to become a parent.'
This is way too much for one story, and the publishers were right to reject me as overly ambitious and rambling. Contrast with something like Terry Pratchett's Mort, which is:
'It's about a teenage boy getting an insight into the nature of death, fate, and duty as he gets an apprenticeship with the embodiment of Death'
Or perhaps my latest novel-in the works:
'It's about a woman who was raised in a cult getting exposed to ideas beyond her paradigm, and how she matures to cope with this.'
The answer to this simple question says a lot about the story's depth and quality.
Comment: @DPT The closest thing to a subtle theme Twilight has is the weird mormon vibe (a side-effect of the writer being mormon). Jacob is native american and the 'wrong' choice, representing the temptation of mixed-race pairings, while Edward is a spitting image of Joseph Smith's self-description (white and delightsome, golden-red hair, warm eyes, etc). If you read with mormon ethics in mind, Twilight comes off as a good ol' Mormon propaganda. Even extends to Bella's mannerisms (holy crow instead of actual curses, treating drinking cola as a serious vice, etc)
Comment: "What is this story about" can be a very deceptive question. Hemingway's *The Sun Also Rises* can be described as being about a bunch of friends going to see the bullfights in Pamplona. Not much depth in that description, is there? Or *The Old Man and the Sea* - it's about an old man trying to catch a fish. The depth in those novels is not in what else is happening - there's nothing else, per se; but in what is happening under the surface of this description. It's easy to miss if you just look at a one-sentence summary.
Comment: Edward was a Mormon?
Answer: +1 Galastel; I would say one way to approach an answer to her question, "What is the meaning of your story", is to ask yourself What do my characters learn?
Deep stories, at least by my definition, have characters learning something about the world (our real world, not their fantasy world), how it works, what is important in life, what is not that important.
I certainly don't want to slap readers in the face with life lessons; but my characters always learn something I personally think is important about life.
For me, the definition of "shallow" is characters that prevail but haven't changed by becoming any better. That might be a fun read, an adventure with imagination and clever plot twists, and I'm willing to have a shallow good time. But those stories are not deep. I'm not going to read them a second time. I don't fall in love with the characters, or feel like they are real people. I don't feel compelled to keep the book, it is something I'll donate to a school.
Answer:
I'm unsure if it's meaningful, if it has enough depth. How do I determine this?

You might start by asking yourself: what kind of meaningfulness or depth am I looking for?
With very few exceptions, a fictional work is at heart a story about a character. Really good novels, of course, go well beyond being just a story: they have a thematic meaningfulness (the work invites the reader to consider the issues raised), or a depth of characterisation (one or more characters are complex in nature, richly described, or deeply examined), or a complexity of plot (e.g. multiple sub-plots meaningfully woven into the main storyline; or a frame story; or a non-linear plot line), or an artistry in the language itself. The truly great works of literature generally tick multiple boxes.
But are you planning your first novel to be a truly great work of literature? Most of us would settle for far less on debut: for example, simply getting published is a tremendous tick of approval, because it means an editor thinks your novel has sufficient appeal that people you don't know will want to buy it.
So perhaps when you ask yourself about meaningfulness and depth, you might first consider whether any of the elements - theme, characterisation, plot, language - actually require more work. For example, not every novel needs thematic depth: in fact, most of the novels in the New Releases section of your local book store just tell an entertaining story, with minimal thematic content. Teenage Leigh tracks down a fugitive; Jane falls in love with Larry; Ruh-el finds the nor-dragon's weakness and saves her village; Murray finally gets a job, but not the one he was looking for.
Add a theme if you will: Leigh's "voices in the head" turns out not to be a mental health disability but a paranormal gift; replace "Larry" with "Fatima" and set it in a small-minded town.
Or is it depth of characterisation you feel is lacking? Are your primary characters underdeveloped: do they have clear strengths and weaknesses, a past and a purpose, real bodies and clothes and mannerisms? Do they evolve as the plot progresses? Are your minor characters just cutouts? Is there sufficient tension between the different characters?
Instead, is it the plot itself that lacks depth? Are there enough twists and surprises? Are there sub-plots you can add or explore? Is the story too linear?
Or perhaps you're just telling a good old-fashioned tale, no great thematic depth, the characters are well-crafted, the plot is entertaining, but is it the language itself that lacks complexity? Is there insufficient variation in tone, pace, sentence structure? Is the dialogue too predictable? Are the dialogue tags too flowery? Does the linguistic cleverness of the first few chapters tail off? Is there inadequate description of setting? How often are touch, smell or taste evoked?
It's easy for an emerging writer (I'm thinking of myself here!) to waver between an exuberant confidence in their own ability and a demoralising doubt in the quality of what's actually produced. Beta readers and redrafting certainly help along the way, and hopefully the above offers a useful mechanism to reassure yourself that your novel has the depth you're after (or to identify where further work is needed), but the most important task for any writer is a simple one: write write write.


Why do so many sites make the mega footer a dark color?

Question: Such as www.braintreepayments.com. I see this type of design so frequently nowadays. It's so common that it looks like a template, yet all kinds of companies that you wouldn't think would be using web design templates are using it. Is it becoming some sort of a standard?
Comment: Similar post discussing mega-footers (I assume this is what you are referring to?) http://ux.stackexchange.com/questions/5231/is-it-a-good-idea-to-have-a-large-footer-containing-many-links
Comment: Thanks. That's indeed what I'm referring to, although I don't see any mention in that posting about why mega footers so often have a very dark background color. Maybe my question should be edited to reflect that specific question.
Answer: It's because the page content is typically on a light background. The dark footer clearly visually delineates the 'page content' from the 'site footer' area using contrast.
Answer: It clearly indicates the law of closure or the way a site gets binded up well with a darker patch at the bottom. This is really against a contrasting color that the black works. The footer is a great area also to unearth some of the information/link that we do not find somewhere else. So keeping a distinct color such as black, always a design decision but sometimes this has become a pattern where designers and managers automatically put that band, since its a wise decision and not a show-stopper.
Answer: From an aesthetic perspective, the dark mega footer "closes" the dark header.  This way the content on the light background is sandwiched between two dark elements.  This reuses the design language introduced in the header to draw attention again to the footer.
Answer: I think there is a connection with other questions on mega-footers, which have become popular of last, and there are differences in the way they need to be presented. Mini-footers were largely there to contain the stuff that no-one normally read, so were often done in relatively low contrast - they were there, but there was no need to draw any attention to a few pieces of writing at the bottom of the page.
The Mega-footer approach, however, requires the details held here to be clearly visible. As the normal styling is to have the page background light, and the writing dark, it makes a lot of sense to provide a contrast to this and make the mega-footer background dark, and the writing light.
So I think it is less of a "template" as such, and more of a style that has been shown to work, and so one that most designers will follow.
Comment: "a style that has been shown to work" Is this correct? I'd love to see any research or test results that support this but I've never found anything either pro or anti mega-footer.


Do I need to pick up my luggage and re-check it between Washington, DC and and Shanghai?

Question: My flight is from Reagan National Airport (DCA) to John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK, operated by American Eagle) then to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX, operated by AA) and then to Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG, operated by AA). My luggage will be checked through or I need to pick it up and re-check it at one of these airports?
Answer: Your luggage will be checked through to China as American Eagle and American Airlines are code share flights assuming you booked it on the same itinerary. If not, you can request them to check it through to the final destination.
Since all the flights except the last one are local flights, you will not need to collect and recheck in your baggage after customs, and it will suffice to do so once you land in China.
Answer: Normally yes, you should be fine if you booked the flights as one trip.
Specially if you also check in and get all the boarding passes. If there is a longer stop somewhere and you would want to get your luggage out, you can say so during check-in.
The chances where you cannot check your luggage through are only when you are entering a country and continue on a domestic flight so they can force you to go through customs & immigration and other such occasion.


What is the difference between a black oxide bit and a titanium bit?

Question: I have a black oxide bit and a titanium bit but do not understand what the difference, if any, is between them. Is it how long they last or how they cut the wood? Anything on this would be great!
Comment: Many consumers lose the bit before this can make a difference...
Comment: @keshlam, or drop the darn thing and dull it.
Comment: Alas, I can't really justify a sharpener, even if they are relatively cheap.
Answer: Black Oxide
Bits coated with black oxide should be cheaper than titanium ones. They have decent heat resistance. Most sites that talk about the breakdown between the types rate these for better water, rust and corrosion resistance.
Titanium
Titanium is a little ambiguous as there are multiple coating that use titanium. For the most part though they should outlast black oxide bits and are better rated for heat resistance. so you should be able to run them faster for longer.
What does this mean for a woodworker?
Both bits are rated for more or less the same materials. It is true that titanium coated should outlast a black oxide coated bit. However, for a wood worker, they should both be just fine and provide the same results in relatively comparative times (This largely depends on each bits size and pitch as well as some other factors).
Answer: Between Black Oxide and Titanium coatings, bits with a Titanium based coat will generally fare better when drilling through soft steels and other metals (~A36 hardness). The greatest contributing factor, however, is the base material used to make the bit, and how it was formed (forged vs. ground). A soft, ground bit will not fare as well with the same coating as a harder, forged bit.
Strictly between same material bits, those with Ti coats will outlast those with Black Oxide in denser materials. This is due to Ti bits having greater surface hardness, which allows the structure to hold up against the longer duration drill times needed to bore the denser materials. Even with the increased 'lubricity' (or reduction of friction due to surface texture) Black Oxide bits boring in metals are slowed; such that friction resilience can not compensate for lack of competitive surface hardness.
TL;DR: Friction wears soft bit surfaces faster. Titanium coated bits generally have greater hardness, and thus last longer.
Answer: For wood working it makes no difference at all. Titanium coating is an exceptionally thin layer of titanium nitride on HSS or other steel ; produces a gold color. Claimed to be an advantage cutting high strength steels (not wood). black oxide is the normal oxides that are on HSS ( high speed steels ) when tempered at the usual tempering temperatures of 950 to 1100 F. Again adding a very thin hard layer , and saving the manufacturer the cost of removing it.If a bit is ever resharpened these coating are gone. Searching the internet , I find "black oxide" is more of a decorative finish with very marginal corrosion protection ( my evaluation as a corrosion professional).
Comment: One thing I think is interesting about this is that looked at in isolation is does at first seem to make no difference, but in practice it does for a couple of reasons. I didn't answer the Q back then for various reasons, the main one being I didn't want to write a treatise on twist bits! First thing is that you often see the oxide coating on cheaper bits so black might by itself point to the steel not being as good as typical bits coated in nitride. P.S. The black oxide is generally formed as a distinct manufacturing process, it's not the native black scale.


what exactly covers 'the ornamental design of nesting cups'?

Question: Is infringing of this design the exact copy of the design? Can a part of the design CHOICE be copied, for instance the way that the handles stack/nest? If the shape of the handles would be different, but they do nest the same as these ones, is that infringing of the patent?
Answer: Determining the scope of a design patent is difficult. How close something needs to be in order to infringe a design patent depends on what came before the patent. If the patented design is very different from what came before it, it is interpreted more broadly than it would be if it was a small change from what came before. If all drinking glasses were cylindrical and you came up with the first square glass you might have coverage for a relatively wide range of square shaped glasses.


What is the relation between Pratītyasamutpāda and Four Noble truths?

Question: First two truths are relate to "samsara". But how 3rd and 4th truths relate to Pratītyasamutpāda?
Answer: If we divide Pratītyasamutpāda to three existences it's much easier to explain. (this can be explained for each moment as well)

First existence
   1. Ignorance
   2. Formations
Second existence
   3. Consciousness  4. Nāma-rūpa   5. The six senses   6. Touch    7. Sensation
   8. Craving
   9. Clinging
  10. Becoming
Third existence
   11. Birth
   12. Old age and death

If we take second existence as the current life, points 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 (consciousness,  nāma-rūpa,  the six senses,  touch and sensation) are another form or representation of the five aggregates which is same as suffering or the first noble truth.
If you crave for the sensations (nourished by ignorance) in this existence, then this will form your next life. Although craving, clinging, becoming, ignorance and formations in this life are all causes for the next life, craving is the main culprit, hence craving becomes the second noble truth.
If craving is ceased in this very life, there won't be another existence,that means you've overcome the suffering, this can be achieved and has been achieved, hence this becomes the third noble truth.
To realise this, you have to follow the eightfold path, which is the fourth noble truth. However, Pratītyasamutpāda doesn't straight away relate to the fourth noble truth as the other three here.
Answer: The teaching of Dependent Origination is part of what is known as the Middle Teaching (majjhena-dhammadesana). It is taught as an impersonal, natural truth, a description of the nature of things as they are, avoiding the extreme theories or biased views that human beings are want to fall into as a result of their distorted perceptions of the world and their attachments and desires within it. The cycle of Dependent Origination which describes the problem of human suffering comes in two limbs: the first limb, called the samudayavara (origination mode), is a description of the arising of suffering, corresponding with the second Noble Truth, the cause of suffering; the second limb, called the nirodhavara (cessation mode), is a description of the cessation of suffering, corresponding with the third Noble Truth.
http://www.dhammatalks.net/Books3/Payutto_Bhikkhu_Dependent_Origination.htm#C9
Answer: The 3rd and 4th truths do not relate to Pratītyasamutpāda. Instead, the relate to Pratītyanirodha. In  other words, the 3rd and 4th truths end/destroy Pratītyasamutpāda.
Pratītyasamutpāda is the 2nd noble truth explained with more detail (quoted below).
When the Buddha gave the 1st sermon on the 4 noble truths, this was simply an introductory or beginners teaching & not the Dhamma in full.
In summary, there is no difference between the 4 noble truths & Pratītyasamutpāda/Nirodha, apart from the 4 noble truth is a short version & Pratītyasamutpāda/Nirodha is a long version.

"And what is the noble truth of stress? Birth is stressful, aging is
stressful, death is stressful; sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, &
despair are stressful; association with what is not loved is
stressful, separation from what is loved is stressful, not getting
what is wanted is stressful. In short, the five clinging-aggregates
are stressful. This is called the noble truth of stress.
"And what is the noble truth of the origination of stress?
"From ignorance as a requisite condition come fabrications. From
fabrications as a requisite condition comes consciousness. From
consciousness as a requisite condition comes name-&-form. From
name-&-form as a requisite condition come the six sense media. From
the six sense media as a requisite condition comes contact. From
contact as a requisite condition comes feeling. From feeling as a
requisite condition comes craving. From craving as a requisite
condition comes clinging. From clinging as a
requisite condition comes becoming. From becoming as a requisite
condition comes birth. From birth as a requisite condition, then old
age & death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, & despair come into
play. Such is the origination of this entire mass of stress &
suffering.
AN 3.61


how to normalize the state space for articulated robot environments?

Question: What is the common representation used for the state in articulated robot environments? My first guess is that it's a set of the angles of every joint. Is that correct? My question is motivated by the fact that one common trick that helps training neural nets in general is to normalize the inputs, like setting mean = 0 and std dev = 1, or scaling all the input values to $[0, 1]$, which could be easily done in this case too if all the inputs are angles in $[0, 2 \pi]$. But, what about distances? Is it common to, for example, use as input some distance of the agent to the ground, or a distance to some target position? In that case, the scale of the distances can be arbitrary and vary a lot. What are some common ways to deal with that?
Comment: and by articulated I mean robots with joints, as opposed to, say, a wheeled robot.
Comment: Welcome to SE:AI.  We sometimes have issues with overlap, since the general field of AI is so broad.  We do like robotics questions, so long as they involve the decision-making aspects!  :)
Answer: This paper might provide some answers https://arxiv.org/pdf/1810.05762.pdf
For the observations / states they used not only angles, but also velocities, heights and positions (Table 2).
In 4.2 Learning algorithm you can see that they mention this, which is related to your question about normalization:

Additionally, for stability we whiten the current observations by
  maintaining online statistics of mean and standard deviation from the
  history of past observations.


Air conditioner broke after putting to much washer fluid

Question: I have a Nissan Versa 2012, the air conditioner stopped working and is giving a hissing sound after I put too much washer fluid in the reservoir. I mean two events have to be related as it happened exactly after that what could be the problem?
Answer: Those two systems are not linked.
Perhaps an a/c pipe was corroded and finally broke when you closed the hood for example.
This sounds like coincidence, but you will need to fix it.


How do I render .dae models?

Question: I'm building a game for iOS. I'm quite new to OpenGL but what I want is to take a 3D model I have made in Google SketchUp and use it in my 3d game. The problem is I don't know how to proceed. I have built 3d graphics in OpenGL before by specifying the vertices, but the 3D shape I have made is too complex. Is there a way .dae files can be broken down and re-formed as an OpenGL 3D model?
Answer: Look into the (horribly named) AssImp asset importer library (http://assimp.sourceforge.net/).  It allows loading a variety of 3D file formats into memory, which you can then use to generate your preferred in-memory format for rendering models.
You might consider using AssImp as a preprocessor pipeline stage.  That is, have a separate tool to covert the Collada format into a custom format designed for your game needs.  This is a production level thing, and not strictly necessary in early development or for personal projects.
Comment: "AssImp". Damn.
Comment: +1. I have written a COLLADA importer before and my only advice on it is: don't. Even if all you ever want to import is COLLADA, get ASSIMP because their resultant DOM is simpler than that of a COLLADA scene, and they have post-processing optimisations built in. If you re-he-he-he-heally want to process the DAE yourself, skip the parsing stage and go straight for one of the classes produced by XSD.exe then at least you can use Intellisense to help navigate that maze!
Comment: Asset-Importer-Lib was the name initially.
Answer: How you handle vertex buffers, that's up to you. The .dae extension means that you're dealing with a COLLADA file. COLLADA reads like any XML file you've come across and can be parsed with the same tools. There are plenty of tutorials on both COLLADA and parsing XML, there are also plenty of XML parsers availible already, which means that most of the work has been done for you. I suggest you just try searching via Google, now that you know what you're dealing with.
Answer: The ".dae" format is the Collada format. A format specifically developed as exchange format. It's not recommended to use it for games, because the data is not setup in a way it could be easily used, also Collada has a absolutly huge overhead.
Google Sketch Up isn't a suitable for making game assets either. The geometry it generates is not optimized enough for games and it doesn't give the "artist" control about that eater.
Neither were made with games or other low level applications in mind.
Well, about Collada, its XML, so you should be able to load the parts you need from it with a simple XML reader. More in-depth informations about Collada can be found at the official website: http://www.khronos.org/collada/
Comment: While more or less accurate, your answer isn't an actual answer.  Whether its a good idea or not, it is entirely possible to load and render game assets directly from Collada files.

How do I render .dae models?


AWS Amazon EC2 - password-less SSH login for non-root users using PEM keypairs

Question: We've got a couple of clusters running on AWS (HAProxy/Solr, PGPool/PostgreSQL) and we've setup scripts to allow new slave instances to be auto-included into the clusters by updating their IPs to config files held on S3, then SSHing to the master instance to kick them to download the revised config and restart the service. It's all working nicely, but in testing we're using our master pem for SSH which means it needs to be stored on an instance. Not good.
I want a non-root user that can use an AWS keypair who will have sudo access to run the download-config-and-restart scripts, but nothing else. rbash seems to be the way to go, but I understand this can be insecure unless setup correctly.
So what security holes are there in this approach:

New AWS keypair created for user.pem (not
really called 'user')
New user on instances: user
Public key for user is in
~user/.ssh/authorized_keys (taken by
creating new instance with user.pem,
and copying it from
/root/.ssh/authorized_keys)
Private key for user is in
~user/.ssh/user.pem
'user' has login shell of
/home/user/bin/rbash
~user/bin/ contains symbolic links to
/bin/rbash and /usr/bin/sudo
/etc/sudoers has entry "user
ALL=(root) NOPASSWD: [path to
scripts]
~user/.bashrc sets PATH to
/home/user/bin/ only
~user/.inputrc has 'set
disable-completion on' to prevent
double tabbing from 'sudo /' to find
paths.
~user/ -R is owned by root with
read-only access to user, except for
~user/.ssh which has write access for
user (for writing known_hosts), and
~user/bin/* which are +x
Inter-instance communication uses
'ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -i
~user/.ssh/user.pem user@[host] sudo [scriptname]'

Any thoughts would be welcome.
Mark...
Answer: Ok, no responses saying that this is hideously exposed in any way, except for the fact that if someone gets into the user login, they get the user's PEM key. Which shouldn't let them get anywhere else*.
It is working with the above approach.
*Usual caveats apply


PNG file for PDF

Question: Is it best to save an Adobe Illustrator file as a PNG, then opening the PNG and saving it as a JPEG, before converting it to a PDF file? I've noticed PNG files look blurry and pixelated when converted to a PDF file.
Answer: I don't know why you would ever want to export as a PNG, convert to JPG, then save as a PDF.  Any time you save as a JPG, you are going to lose quality.  There is a reason that AI lets you save files directly as a PDF.

The image quality will also be greatly affected by the compression settings that you choose in the Save Adobe PDF options that will pop up.
If file size is not an issue (printing, for example) then I typically set it up as follows:

You can adjust the compression to suit your needs, if file size is an issue.
Comment: When I save an ai file (4.25" X 5.5", 300dpi) as a PDF, the file is huge, around 14MB. When I save an ai file as a PNG, then open and save as a JPG, then convert the JPG to PDF, the file is only 1.10MB.
Comment: The decrease in file size is almost certainly because of the JPG compression, which is also why you're getting the blurry/pixelated image.  Do you want top quality or a small file?  You can't have it all.  That's why I said you can adjust your compression settings to save a PDF with the best balance between the two, to suit your needs.  Turn on Bicubic Downsampling in the options that I showed you above and mess around.  Start at 300 ppi and work your way down, until it's a file size/quality you're happy with. @JourneyManDesigns
Comment: I need small file size only for email, but with image quality. I experimented with compression settings: Preset: Smallest File Size, Compatibility: Acrobat 6, Bicubic Downsampling to 200ppi for images above 300ppi, Image Quality High, Compress Text Line and Art.
I saved the ai file as a PDF with these settings and created a file only 381KB and with a decent quality image.
Success!
Thanks for your valuable time, advice, and consideration. Much appreciated.

PNG file for PDF


What is the difference between 'roof' and 'canopy'?

Question: What is the difference between 'roof' and 'canopy'? And would you describe the sky as the roof of the earth or the canopy of the earth? (Sky meaning everything up to the ozone layer.)
Answer: Typically, a canopy is used to provide shade while a roof offers more solid protection; canopies filter and roofs protect.  You often hear 'canopy' used to describe the sky-ward protection you experience in a forest or jungle--basically only shade and maybe a little protection from rain.  A cave would offer roof-like protection--shade, protection from rain, and protection from big, hard, nasty things that fall from the sky.
These pseudo definitions could be applied to earth's atmosphere in a similar way.  Ask, "Does the atmosphere provide a shade-like protection against things from outer space, or does it offer more solid protection?"  I think for most of the big, hard, nasty things that fall from outer space that our atmosphere is only a canopy, but if you are specifically talking about types of radiation that our atmosphere completely reflects or absorbs you could claim that our atmosphere (or sky) is a roof.
Answer: Though both refer to some sort of surface above something, I think they are distinct in terms of structural support. That is, a roof is generally a rigid object held in place, while a canopy is looser and hangs above something.
For example, big-tops and forests have canopies while houses and caves have roofs.
Answer: In both cases I think the words are acceptable for poetic usage.

"He slept beneath the roof of the sky;
  the canopy of the stars"

The words themselves aren't quite interchangeable. "Canopy" implies a certain level of permeability, whereas "roof" implies a more solid boundary.
Answer: The sky (with your definition) is a thick layer, so I think neither roof nor canopy is an appropriate word.
Comment: but doesn't the sky from the clouds upwards cover the earth like a canopy / roof covers what is below it?
Comment: @nicholas: The clouds count as a canopy. Why would the sky?
Answer: It is said the Himalayas are the roof of the earth, so perhaps the sky cannot claim that title?

would you describe the sky as the roof of the earth or the canopy of the earth.

Yes, I would describe the sky sometimes as the roof of the earth, sometimes as the canopy of the earth. Of course I would also sometimes describe it as the X of the Y, where X and Y are any other handy words that evoke whatever quality of the sky I am trying to communicate. Playground:Gods. Scarred-battleground:Jetliners. TV-Screen:Cosmos. Note to self: don't give up day job.
So, to answer your question, you first have to know what it is you are trying to communicate. Most people understand the basic (above/below) relationship between sky and earth, so metaphors like roof and canopy might seem a bit, well, banal.

Sky meaining everything up to the ozone layer

Metaphor is poetic, you should avoid seeming like Babbage writing to Tennyson


How to implement bus sharing / DMA on a 6502 system

Question: Was it possible for NMOS based 6502 system operate in the following fashion: while 6502 is not touching the bus one custom chip sets up memory read op, then two chips read the data off the bus at the same cycle. If yes what else beside a signal from the master chip to the slave chip was needed? The chips must have retained the ability to use the system bus separately. As far as I understand ANTIC and CTIA never read from their data pins at the same time
Answer: The 6502 is one of the few CPUs without build in capabilities to share the bus (*1,2). It always drives the bus. Any sharing will need external logic to detach the CPU and let others drive the bus  (see CMOS Enhancements below as well).

Full bus access can be gained (*3) by waiting for any non write cycle (R/W = high during PHI2 = high) and halting the CPU by pulling RDY lowprior to the falling edge ofPHI2`  (see CMOS Enhancements below as well). The CPU will halt operation and external logic can be used to decouple bus control signals allowing external circuitry to access. With the bus acquired timing can be complete independent from the CPU clock, thus as well allowing asynchronous as well as faster access. After releasing RDY the CPU will continue as before (*4).

Now, since the 6502 only uses the bus during half of it's cycle (PHI2 = high) there is a possibility to offer

Hidden Access by restricting non-CPU access to PHI2low time. This should always be possible (*5). Here the BUS gets simply detached at the start of PHI2 = low and reattached when PHI2 gets high again.

While this seams simple at first it carries the disadvantage that all access must be guaranteed to be finished within this time, as well as being in sync with the CPU. While the first may be no problem for single byte access, it gets a distinct hurdle when more than a byte must be accessed.
The second means, that if the access has to be hard coupled to a external clock (like video), the CPU has to be clocked accordingly - either by having it run at video access clock (or multiples thereof), like for example the C64, or by applying a variable speed clock, like the Apple II did.
In case of the C64 tying the CPU to video clock, to enable hidden access for the VIC, could only solve part of it, as memory bandwidth still wasn't sufficient for full display resolution. Here the VIC had to stop the CPU every 8th line to refill it's buffer in addition to access RAM during PHI2 = low
The 8-bit Atari setup of SALLY, (G/C)TIA and ANTIC is a more complex beast but more straight forward at the same time. To start with, while SALLY was basically a NMOS 6502 CPU, it could be directly stopped by asserting a /HALT signal on pin 35 (*6). When applied, the CPU not only halted operation, but as well put all bus signals into tristate to allow full external access. In addition, Address (and data) bus were always tri-stated during PHI2 = low, automatically freeing the bus for hidden access without external logic.
Now wile the ANTIC accesses video memory, it's not just a stupid graphics chip, but a processor in it's own right, executing a program, the display list. For any access it halts the CPU. This is done in three cases:

Programm access (Display list)
Graphics data (Playfield)
Sprite data (Player/Missile)
RAM refresh

(Once again it's quite obvious where the Amiga design is originated)
Using DMA of course slows the CPU down to speeds between ~90% with low res (mode 8/9) down to ~60% with high res. Then again, the CPU is clocked at 1.8 MHz, so this translates to 1.0 .. 1.6 MHz, which is still quite fast compared to other machines of the same or even later time (*7).
So if there's an intention to build an Atari like system, a standard NMOS 6502 will only fit with a lot of external components. A R65102 might save some of them but may be hard to come by, while a 65C02 is eventually the closest to a SALLY that was (and still is) sold. Though it does need some tweeking to work like in an Atari.

CMOS Enhancements
While this all of this is true for the NMOS version, the 1982 CMOS does aid bus sharing by having tri-state buffers included, controlled by the 'new' BE (*2). It  will put all R/W as well as all address and data lines into high impedance. BE operates exactly like external buffers by being non sychronized with clock or bus cycles. All prior caution about bus synchron operation needs to apply.
In addition RDY signal is now obeyed for write cycles as well, taking away the need to create a bus available signal that includes R/W. Bus access can now be applied basically any time.
Using a CMOS version will save at least 4 external TTL chips for bus detachment and remove the need to wait for write operations to finish when acquiring the bus - also it's the only one available today, so I'd go for it.

General advice for system design with DMA:
It is always a good idea to see what memory regions do need DMA at all and only share these. Instead of stopping the CPU every time a DMA access happens, have them act independent as long as they do not interfere - that's as in accessing the same component. Sinclairs Spectrum is a great example, as the CPU only gets stopped when accessing the lower 16 KiB of same which it shares with video. All other RAM and ROM access is handled at full speed, even while video reads its RAM. This ofc only works as great due the Spectrum having two independent RAM devices. But even with a single RAM (16 KiB Spectrum), the method still provides considerable speedup for ROM code. The same is true for a 6502 as more than 70% of all reads are code fetches.
With concurrent access restricted to RAM, ROM code (like BASIC) will only be slowed when a collision happens during RAM access. With device specific sharing the mentioned CPU halt during VIC buffer load would have been less influential for BASIC programs or ROM based games.
So when using external buffers, putting them not around the CPU, but before the RAM may bring additional performance gains without much additional hardware.

*1 - The original NMOS 6501 did feature a protocol for bus arbitration.
*2 - While the 6502 didn't offer it, Rockwell's  NMOS R65102/R65112 did - and so did Atari's (NMOS) SALLY.
*3 - Strictly speaking, pulling RDY does not stop the CPU, but extends the current cycle. So this isn't really a feature for bus sharing, but access extention for low speed peripherals that can be twisted to insert external bus cycles.
*4 - It might be still advertised to synchronize this with a rising edge of PHI2 to make sure CPU (and memory) gets a full phase to finish the resumed bus operation.
*5 - Unless that time is already used by other mechanics, like DRAM refresh.
*6 - In addition the R/W pin was moved from pin 34 to pin 36.
*7 - C64 being ~0.98/1.02 MHz (PAL/NTSC) with slowed down to less than 0.9 when using full graphics.
Comment: Thank you very much for such a detailed reply! So much useful info to digest..
Comment: There are some nice schematics available here https://atariage.com/forums/topic/277464-sally-replacement-by-standard-6502/ on using a standard 65(C)02 in an 8-bit Atari, showing the HALT and Tr-state logic (straightforward TTL) needed for DMA bus access in those systems.
Comment: @StarCat yes, it's a nice hack, it would in theory work for a NMOS, as /HALT done by stopping the clock, in reality it **only works with a 65C02**. The NMOS CPU uses dynamic storage and can (by spec) only be halted for 10us. The longest continuous DMA sequence (IIRC) is ~90 clocks or 45 us in mode 2. So it won't work with an NMOS CPU. Now since a 65C02 is already required to make it work, the buffers (244/246) can be replaced by pulling BE low. In addition the logic to stop the clock can be replaced by a much simpler handling of RDY.
Comment: I don't know how long the DMA sequences in the original Atari were, but you are probably right about the fact that it might have stopped the clock for too long on an NMOS 6502. I've adapted and built the above (or similar) schematic for a 65C816 many years ago and it certainly did work with this CMOS CPU. It looks like in the Atariage schematic they did not make use of the BE pin because they were simply unaware of its existence (even left pin 36 floating).
Comment: Ok, just checked, real continuous DMA only happens in (cahracter) mode 2..5, longest with wide playfield, resulting in 96 clocks or 54 us DMA (normal is 80 clk, narrow is 64 clk). All other modes have at maximum 8 clocks in a row (for displaylist and player/missile access at the begin of a line)
Comment: Actually, my understanding, from both the [_MCS6500 Microcomputer Family Hardware Manual_](http://archive.6502.org/books/mcs6500_family_hardware_manual.pdf) and [this thread on 6502.org](http://forum.6502.org/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=5861) is that you do _not_ need to wait for a read cycle to pull `RDY` low: you need only make sure you wait for any write cycles to complete if you pull it low during a write cycle. (The advice to use `SYNC` on page 115 is just one (easy) way for you to ensure you don't stomp on a write; but you could just wait for the longest possible write time, instead.)
Comment: @CurtJ.Sampson On a 6500, every non write cycle is a read cycle, as every cycle is a memory cycle. Thus waiting for a write cycle to complete is the same as waiting for a read cycle. Isn't it?
Comment: @Raffzahn That is absolutely correct, and also completely irrelevant when it comes to when you pull `RDY` low. It's perfectly fine, as far as I can tell, to pull `RDY` low during a write cycle. (MOS never says you can't do this, and experimentation seems to have shown that it's ok.)
Comment: @CurtJ.Sampson It's just complete pointless as pulling ready during write will not extend the cycle. Even more, doing so in hope to extend the next read cycle is undefined behaviour, as ready is only to be pulled if an address has been recognized. Not doing is mmost definitly a bad design and will, as so often, result in incompatibilites with future versions. In this case 65C02 and later.
Comment: Sigh. Nobody except you is talking about extending the write cycle. Once again: MOS never said that _you can't pull `RDY` low on a write cycle_; you made that up and you're wrong about it. As for "incompatibility with 65C02 and later," well, clearly you've never read section 3.10 of the [W65C02 data sheet](http://archive.6502.org/datasheets/wdc_w65c02s_oct_8_2018.pdf): "[The Ready (RDY)] signal allows the user to single-cycle the microprocessor on all cycles including write cycles." But leave your post wrong if you must; at least people can get correct info from the comments.
Answer: The 6502 drives the address bus full-time, but the "Phi2 low" or "Phi1" phase of the bus can be (and often was) used for non-CPU data transfers without interfering with the CPU's performance.  Most often the Phi1 phase was simply dedicated to video display reads, with the side-effect of performing DRAM refresh cycles.
If your system design includes this type of display logic, you'll need to suppress your other DMA cycles while the display is actively driving pixels, ad perform them only during blanking intervals.
You will in any case need memory that's fast enough to perform a complete read or write cycle in just the Phi2 phase of the CPU cycle, and buffers to isolate the CPU's address and data pins from the bus so that the DMA transfer can be substituted.  You'll also need to account for the NMOS CPU's relatively weak drive towards logic high when handing control of the bus back to it.
Using a CMOS CPU might be easier, not least because many versions of it came with a "bus enable" or "data bus enable" signal by which the address/data or only data lines could be tri-stated at the CPU itself, saving you a buffer.
Comment: It was commonplace for Atari 800 code to actually [read images from disk](https://www.atarimagazines.com/compute/issue11/51_1_UNLEASH_THE_POWER_OF_YOUR_ATARI_CPU.php) this way, using the ANTIC co-processor. Wrote such a program myself once (the eponymous Teddraw).
Answer: There was a simpler but much more expensive solution used in the 1981 BBC Micro, it used 4MHz RAM and a 2MHz 6502A and let the 6845/VideoULA have the other 2MHz (every other 4MHz cycle). There is a modern blitter for the BBC Micro, but it wouldn't have been available BITD. https://stardot.org.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=14125
Comment: That's the 'hidden access' solution using the first half of the 6502 cycle. The majority of 6502 used this, from PET and Apple on.