How to keep my Persian Cat Cool?

Question: Recently the weather in my city has gone extremely hot and humid and that has started to concern me. I have a Triple Coat Persian Cat and he is most definitely not enjoying the summer. He usually sleeps and stays around cool areas of the house including the laundry area and the bathroom. Although the laundry room is clean however the bathroom isn't and is dangerous for him. I've tried discouraging him however he still prefers it. How do I keep my cat cool effectively without hurting him?
Comment: Think about what he finds attractive about the bathroom and duplicate it elsewhere. Tile floors, or tub, that soak up and dfiffuse heat better than other surfaces? ...Unless you keep the bathroom door closed continuously, the only answer to "it's dangerous" is "make it less dangerous"; that will make it safer for humans too. Catproofing and childproofing are similar.
Comment: If you don't like that I used your comment in my answer I can remove it for you.
Answer: There are a few little things you can do and a few that require a lot of money. First and foremost: Keep your house at around 20-22 degrees Celsius! This will help quite a lot. Second, I have tried this with my own cat and it worked very well: put an ice cube or two in your cat's water dish. This cools him off and also encourages him to drink lots of water. I also really like keshlam's idea:

Think about what he finds attractive about the bathroom and duplicate it elsewhere. Tile floors, or tub, that soak up and diffuse heat better than other surfaces? ...Unless you keep the bathroom door closed continuously, the only answer to "it's dangerous" is "make it less dangerous"; that will make it safer for humans too. Cat proofing and childproofing are similar. -keshlam

That will definitely solve your problem of your cat going into the bathroom. Another idea, make sure your cat has some nice cool places where he feels safe and where you don't mind him being. Find a nice spot of shade and put a bed or blanket or even towel there. You can also purchase blankets and beds that have built-in cooling tech. They all work in various ways. Here are some good ones:
http://www.amazon.com/Green-Pet-Shop-Cooling-Small/dp/B0047LFDQO
https://www.amazon.ca/Aspen-Pet-80134-Cooling-16-Inch/dp/B00DJRCQ3U
http://www.amazon.com/Furimals-Warming-Cooling-Pet-Large/dp/B00CXHQC8C
Yes, they are all from Amazon. Apparently Amazon is the top exporter of pet cooling (and heating) mats.
Hopefully these helped you. There may be other ways of solving your problem, but these are definitely the most efficient. Unfortunately, those cooling pads can get quite pricey. However, they are totally worth it! Stay cool,
Answer: I have a long-haired cat too and this is a constant problem for us!
If you have the money to afford a cooling pad, I'd highly recommend one, however, I've worked out a few other cheaper solutions through the years that may help you out.
First of all, I'd recommend making your bathroom safer for your cat. I'm not sure exactly what's making it dangerous for him, but the cool porcelain tub is one of my cat's favorite things on hot days.
I've also built a home-made "cooling pad" for him with good results. I simply made a few ice packs by filling large freezer zip-loc bags with water and freezing them so they're flat and thin. I double-bag them so they won't leak. (I'd generally advise against using commercial ice packs as they tend to not use plain water as filler -- if they break they could be dangerous for your cat depending on what's inside.) I then wrap the bags in a towel (to protect from sharp claws) and place it near his favorite napping spot. it's a big hit. I keep a couple frozen bags in the freezer at all times, and stick one in his towel in the late morning when it starts heating up. Obviously, don't use this in a small-kennel situation where the cat can't move away from the ice pack.
More options: does your cat have any tile or stone floors to lie on? My house doesn't have too many, which is why he spends so much of his time in the bathtub. At night, he likes to sleep on a slab of Masonite (compressed particle board) that I place at the end of my bed. It has the cooling benefits of a hard surface but still allows him to be needy and sleep with me. If your house is mostly carpeted, consider investing in a masonite (or better yet, granite or marble) slab for him to lounge on. You can buy big pieces of masonite from your local hardware store, and have them cut it to whatever size you want for pretty cheap. You can even put an ice bag under it for extra oomph.
Finally, remember that the best solutions are often the easiest. I have a small table fan that I have pointed at his favorite nap spot. I leave it on all day in the summer. If it gets turned off for whatever reason he will come find me and complain until I turn it back on. If you go with this option, make sure there's a good "cage" around the fan with bars that are close enough together that a paw can't slip through. Cats do really stupid things sometimes, and it's best to assume that if they can injure themselves they will.

How to keep my Persian Cat Cool?


What are the arguments for and against Johannine Comma?

Question: There have been many debates regarding the reliability of the Johannine Comma, a verse in 1 John which many textual critics do not think is authentic. Assuming the verse itself is authentic, what are the arguments for and against the authenticity of the Johannine Comma?
Comment: See also: [What is the argument against the authenticity of 1 John 5:7-8 in the KJV?](http://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/q/2649/3555) and [Why is 1 John 5:7-8, found in the KJV, kept in the NKJV when it is believed to be inauthentic?](http://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/q/12/3555)
Comment: First I didn't migrate my question to BH, someone else did. Second, my question is about the Johannine Comma as a text not one contained in KJV. similar but completely different question.
Comment: "Authentic" in what sense?  In the sense of accurately reflecting what might or might not be in some "autograph", or authentic in the sense of correctly reflecting Apostolic teaching?
Comment: Context, and the tags, clearly show the question is asking about whether it came from the autograph, or if it is a later interpolation. This site is for examining biblical texts, not theology in itself.
Comment: @MarkEdward - actually the site is about _interpreting_ biblical texts:  [What topics can I ask about here?](http://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/help/on-topic)
Answer: The authenticity of the Johannine comma, found in1 John 5:7, has been a subject of debate from the early sixteenth century. Wikipedia says the general consensus today is that that passage is a Latin corruption that entered the Greek manuscript tradition in subsequent copies.  Manuscript evidence can be found here, in Wikipedia.
The text including the comma reads (KJV):

For there are three that bear record in heaven,
  the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost:
  and these three are one.
And there are three that bear witness in earth,
  the spirit, and the water, and the blood:
  and these three agree in one

If the comma is removed, it would read:

For there are three that bear record,
  the spirit, and the water, and the blood:
  and these three agree in one

Arguments against the Johannine comma
The nature of Jesus and the concept of Trinity came to the fore in the late third century, resulting in fierce debate through the fourth century, including the Arian controversy. The Johannine comma begins to appear in Latin texts from this period and in later Greek texts. It is not found in the earliest Greek texts.
The editors of the 1808 New Testament in an improved version found the following reasons for rejecting the comma:

This text concerning the heavenly witnesses is not contained in any Greek manuscript which was written earlier than the fifteenth century.
Nor in any Latin manuscript earlier than the ninth century.
It is not found in any of the ancient versions.
It is not cited by any of the Greek ecclesiastical writers, though to prove the doctrine of the Trinity they have cited the words both before and after this text
It is not cited by any of the early Latin fathers, even when the subjects upon which  they treat would naturally have led them to appeal to its authority.
It is first cited by Virgilius Tapsensis, a Latin writer of no credit, in the latter end of the fifth century, and by him it is suspected to have been forged.
It has been omitted as spurious in many editions of the New Testament since the Reformation:—in the two first of Erasmus, in those of Aldus, Colinaus, Zwinglius, and lately of Griesbach.
It was omitted by Luther in his German version.

As this site notes, the Johannine comma has been ommitted from the United Bible Societies Greek New Testament, widely accepted as representing current scholarly opinion.
Argument for the Johannine comma
Dr. Thomas Holland provides a counter-argument. He acknowledges the comma's absence in early manuscripts, but says that the Greek grammar is faulty in manuscripts where the comma does not exist, as pointed out by Gregory of Nazianzus as early as 390 CE. This issue is resolved with the Johannine comma in place.
Comment: A Protestant named Jim claims on http://forums.catholic.com/showthread.php?t=128663&page=3 that there is no problem with the grammar of 1 John without the comma.
Comment: @KingDavid Thx for that helpful comment. If I am neutral on this issue, I still must say that both views can't be right, and the 'against' case seems to strong. I am no Greek expert, but what I take from Jim's comment is that gender agreement does not apply if the referent is represented in the text by more than 1 noun: which I hope to investigate. More importantly, he says that Gregory never said that there was a gender agreement problem. Unfortunately I can't find a neutral article on this on the web but if this is actually true a side issue is: who was trying to deceive us by claiming this?
Comment: I am leaving my answer on the 'for case' as is, first because I have not yet validated Jim's claims; second because I was asked to provide the arguments against and for the comma, and this is an important argument used for the comma, whether or not it turns out to be true.
Comment: I am really disappointed that you have found the decidedly shabby article by Holland to be "persuasive". The way he amalgamates "minority readings" with readings found only in modern (post-Renaissance) Greek manuscripts can only be called an act of deception.
Comment: @fdb I take your point. In my defence, I did not personally find Holland's article persuasive, but it seemed that others do.  I was trying not to let my acceptance of the 'against' case influence how I presented the 'for' case. The question asked for arguments both against and for the comma, and this was the best (for what it was worth) I could find for the 'for' (authentic) case. I take your advice and have removed the word 'persuasive'.
Comment: @Davïd Thank you.  I had not intended this to read as an 'innovation'. I knew it was not in UBS4, but was uncertain about earlier versions, so I stuck with what I knew. Following your information, I have amended the relevant text.
Answer: (Arguments Against)
Adam Clarke summarizes well the arguments against the Comma when he says:

But it is likely this verse is not genuine. It is wanting in every MS. of this epistle written before the invention of printing, one excepted, the Codex Montfortii, in Trinity College, Dublin: the others which omit this verse amount to one hundred and twelve.
It is wanting in both the Syriac, all the Arabic, Ethiopic, the Coptic, Sahidic, Armenian, Slavonian, etc., in a word, in all the ancient versions but the Vulgate; and even of this version many of the most ancient and correct MSS. have it not. It is wanting also in all the ancient Greek fathers; and in most even of the Latin.

Clarke goes on to point out that Coverdale and Tyndale both included the verse, but enclosed it with parentheses (note that Tyndale's original 1526 version did not include parentheses here, but he added them to his later revision in 1534):

Coverdale Bible (1535)

Tyndale New Testament (1534)

Clarke concludes with:

Though a conscientious believer in the doctrine of the ever blessed, holy, and undivided Trinity, and in the proper and essential Divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ, which doctrines I have defended by many, and even new, arguments in the course of this work [this commentary], I cannot help doubting the authenticity of the text in question....

(Arguments For)
However, Thomas Coke defends the verse in his Preface1 to 1 John:

[...] but the fact is, that this passage is found in a great number of manuscripts, and those the most ancient, and is quoted in books of the most venerable ecclesiastical antiquity, and all much older than those manuscripts which do not contain the passage, from the omission of which some modern heretics and daring critics pretend to draw inferences fatal to the authenticity of this text. But, not to mention St. Jerome, who found it in the Greek manuscript of the New Testament from which he made his Latin version, in which we find it also, and a long comment upon it in his Preface to the Canonical Epistles,—we find it cited in proof of the Trinity in the Confession of Faith, presented about the end of the fifth century by the bishops of the African churches to Huneric king of the Vandals, an Arian, and a great persecutor of the orthodox defenders of the doctrine of the Trinity.

Coke goes on to mention that Cyprian and Tertullian also referenced the Comma.
Here is Cyprian who is definitely quoting the Comma:

The Lord warns, saying, "He who is not with me is against me, and he who gathereth not with me scattereth." He who breaks the peace and the concord of Christ, does so in opposition to Christ; he who gathereth elsewhere than in the Church, scatters the Church of Christ. The Lord says, "I and the Father are one;" and again it is written of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, "And these three are one."
-Ante-Nicene Fathers VOL 5. Cyprian. The Treatises of Cyprian, Treatise I "On the Unity of the Church", section 6.

Cyprian specifically says that "and these three are one" is written. 1 John 5:7 is the only place where that reference is found.
Here is Tertullian's reference:

Thus the connection of the Father in the Son, and of the Son in the Paraclete, produces three coherent Persons, who are yet distinct One from Another. These Three are one essence, not one Person, as it is said, "I and my Father are One," in respect of unity of substance not singularity of number.
-Ante-Nicene Fathers VOL 3. Anti-Marcion. Against Praxeas, "The Paraclete, or Holy Ghost. He is Distinct..." (Chapter XXV).

However, as you can see, Tertullian's is somewhat vague. I suppose he might have been referencing the Comma in 1 John 5:7, but without saying something similar to Cyprian's "it is written," it's hard to say that Tertullian is actually quoting anything.
But Thomas Coke seems to think that he is, along with John Gill who also uses him and Cyprian to help prove that the Comma is indeed authentic. Gill says that since Athanasius, who also quotes the Comma and lived in about the year 350, and Cyprian lived in about the year 250, and Tertullian in about the year 200, that this "may be enough to satisfy anyone of the genuineness of this passage...."
John Gill's defense of the Comma:

For there are three that bear record in heaven
  That is, that Jesus is the Son of God. The genuineness of this text has been called in question by some, because it is wanting in the Syriac version, as it also is in the Arabic and Ethiopic versions; and because the old Latin interpreter has it not; and it is not to be found in many Greek manuscripts; nor cited by many of the ancient fathers, even by such who wrote against the Arians, when it might have been of great service to them: to all which it may be replied, that as to the Syriac version, which is the most ancient, and of the greatest consequence, it is but a version, and a defective one. The history of the adulterous woman in the eighth of John, the second epistle of Peter, the second and third epistles of John, the epistle of Jude, and the book of the Revelations, were formerly wanting in it, till restored from Bishop Usher's copy by De Dieu and Dr. Pocock, and who also, from an eastern copy, has supplied this version with this text. As to the old Latin interpreter, it is certain it is to be seen in many Latin manuscripts of an early date, and stands in the Vulgate Latin edition of the London Polyglot Bible: and the Latin translation, which bears the name of [Jerome], has it, and who, in an epistle of his to Eustochium, prefixed to his translation of these canonical epistles, complains of the omission of it by unfaithful interpreters. And as to its being wanting in some Greek manuscripts, as the Alexandrian, and others, it need only be said, that it is to be found in many others; it is in an old British copy, and in the Complutensian edition, the compilers of which made use of various copies; and out of sixteen ancient copies of Robert Stephens's, nine of them had it: and as to its not being cited by some of the ancient fathers, this can be no sufficient proof of the spuriousness of it, since it might be in the original copy, though not in the copies used by them, through the carelessness or unfaithfulness of transcribers; or it might be in their copies, and yet not cited by them, they having Scriptures enough without it, to defend the doctrine of the Trinity, and the divinity of Christ: and yet, after all, certain it is, that it is cited by many of them; by FulgentiusF26, in the beginning of the "sixth" century, against the Arians, without any scruple or hesitation; and [Jerome], as before observed, has it in his translation made in the latter end of the "fourth" century; and it is cited by AthanasiusF1 about the year 350; and before him by CyprianF2, in the middle, of the "third" century, about the year 250; and is referred to by TertullianF3 about, the year 200; and which was within a "hundred" years, or little more, of the writing of the epistle; which may be enough to satisfy anyone of the genuineness of this passage; and besides, there never was any dispute about it till Erasmus left it out in the, first edition of his translation of the New Testament; and yet he himself, upon the credit of the old British copy before mentioned, put it into another edition of his translation.
F26 Respons. contr. Arian. obj. 10. & de Trinitate, c. 4.
F1 Contr. Arium, p. 109.
F2 De Unitate Eccles. p. 255. & in Ep. 73. ad Jubajan, p. 184.
F3 Contr. Praxeam, c. 25.

Gary Everett, in his Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures (2013 edition) for 1 John 5:7, in addition to mentioning Tertullian and Cyprian, quotes Jerome and several others as well:

Jerome (A.D. 324-420) tells us that 1 John 5:7 had been left out of some Bibles by disloyal translators, saying:
"…especially at the particular passage where the unity of the Trinity in the first epistle of John is read, in which indeed disloyal translators are truly, actually guilty of calling it a common mistake." (Prologue to the Seven Canonical Epistles) (PL 29 cols. 827-829) (author's translation).
Victor Vitensis (late 5th c.), bishop of Vita, quotes 1 John 5:7.
"There are three who bear witness in Heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit, and these three are one." (De Persecutione Vandalica 3.13) (PL 58 col. 227C) (author's translation)
Vigilius (fl. A.D. 500), bishop of Thapsus, quotes 1 John 5:7-8.
"There are three, it is said, who give a witness on earth, water, blood, and the Beloved, three are in us; and there are three who give witness in heaven, the Father, the Word and the Spirit, and these three are one." (Contra Varimadum 1.5) (PL 62 col. 359B) (author's translation)
Cassiodorus (A.D. 485-580), Roman author and monk, cites 1 John 5:7-8.
"Which event testifies on earth three mysteries: water, blood, and spirit, which we read in the Lord's Passion is fulfilled; in heaven, moreover, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and the three are one God." (Epistola S. Joannis Parthos 10) (PL 70 col. 1373A) (author's translation)
Isidore (A.D. 560-636), the archbishop of Seville, cites 1 John 5:7-8.
"Since there are three which give testimony on earth: the Spirit, water, and the Blood; and the three are of one in Christ Jesus; and there are three which declare a testimony in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Spirit, and the three are one" (Testimonia divinae Scripturae 2) (PL 83 col. 1203C) (author's translation)

Conclusion
The controversy over the Comma will probably never end, since it is missing from enough manuscripts to give even die-hard Trinitarians such as Adam Clarke reason to doubt it's authenticity.
However if we are to take Jerome's complaint about "unfaithful interpreters" seriously, along with the citations of bishops such as Cyprian, then the passage is indeed genuine.

1 The link I have provided to Coke's 1 John preface has antiquated spelling and might be hard to read. His preface is not currently available on Studylight.com, as it mistakenly contains his introduction to 1 John 5 instead. However his preface with modern spelling can be read freely with theWord Bible software or eSword.


Performance requirements for web application

Question: I would like to set performance requirements for web application. I am interested in performance from user experience view so I plan to measure time from request is sent until onLoad event is fired in the browser. I am aware that each application is different and performance requirements might differ as well. Still it will be good to have some guideline values that can help assess performance and set up targets. Does any of you have some stats/report that present average/max page load times for recent web application or some studies that can help in setting up performance targets?
Comment: I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because more about the user experience instead of testing performance. Possible duplicate of http://ux.stackexchange.com/questions/71939/deciding-on-minimum-performance
Comment: Voting to leave open, as QA professionals are often asked to come up with performance requirements, especially in small offices or startups. Reporting on performance is often a significant part of a QA professional's job in these situations.
Comment: Take a look at https://stevesouders.com/ it might provide what you need.
Comment: Thanks for pointing this out. I have already found some kind of answer when watching https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5_iAzS3WMQ
Answer: To be precise and very specific there are no certain guidelines and benchmark defined for the web application related to their Performance. This is a thing which comes to mind of every QA, but unfortunately there are no worldwide or Organization wise accepted standards for the Response Time. It depends upon a number of factor including (but not limited to) Quality of Code, Server Configuration, Complexity of Application and code, Expected/Actual User Load, Time when user hit the server, Bandwidth etc.
But as per the book "The Art of Application Performance Testing" by "Ian Molyneaux", there is something mentioned about what you are looking for (Note: This is should not be taken as Line drawn over stone)

The following list summarizes research conducted in the late 1980s (Martin 1988) that attempted to map user productivity to response time. The original research was based largely on green-screen text applications, but its conclusions are probably still relevant.
Greater than 15 seconds
This rules out conversational interaction. For certain types of applications, certain types of users may be content to sit at a terminal for more than 15 seconds waiting for the answer to a single simple inquiry. However, to the busy call-center operator or futures trader, delays of more than 15 seconds may seem intolerable. If such delays can occur, the system should be designed so that the user can turn to other activities and request the response at some later time.
Greater than 4 seconds
These delays are generally too long for a conversation requiring the end-user to retain information in short-term memory (end-user's memory, not the computer's!). Such delays would inhibit problem-solving activity and frustrate data entry. However, after the completion of a transaction, delays of 4 to 15 seconds can be tolerated.
2 to 4 seconds
A delay longer than 2 seconds can be inhibiting to operations that demand a high level of concentration. A wait of 2 to 4 seconds at a terminal can seem surprisingly long when the user is absorbed and emotionally committed to completing the task at hand. Again, a delay in this range may be acceptable after a minor closure. It may be acceptable to make a purchaser wait 2 to 4 seconds after typing in her address and credit card number, but not
at an earlier stage when she is comparing various product features.
Less than 2 seconds
When the application user has to remember information throughout several responses, the response time must be short. The more detailed the information to be remembered, the greater the need for responses of less than 2 seconds. Thus, for complex activities such as browsing camera products that vary along multiple dimensions, 2 seconds represents an important response-time limit.

Also, before mentioning the above content writer himself has marked.

By the way, if you were hoping I could point you to a generic industry
  standard for good and bad performance, you're out of luck because no
  such guide exists. There have been various informal attempts to define
  a standard, particularly for browser-based applications.

So, just go through these lines and then discuss the same with the client/higher management and then decide your benchmark based on your study, User Load, Application framework, Future scope of application etc. For instance you can take reference of a similar application which is currently live in market.
Remember, these are the goals/benchmark which you have to define, but they are always negotiable depending upon conditions.
Comment: These metrics change as technology advances. You can google these things and find articles like, http://www.webperformancetoday.com/2012/02/28/4-awesome-slides-showing-how-page-speed-correlates-to-business-metrics-at-walmart-com/
Comment: @kirbycope excellent article! thanks for sharing!
Answer: A number of tools which can help:

Wireshark - network sniffer, allows to inspect network packets
YSlow - page load analyser which has some useful built-in presets you can use as a baseline. Also it can provide some recommendations on how page load speed could be improved.
A load testing tool to check how does you application behave under the load. The best of free and open-source are:

Apache JMeter
Gatling
Grinder
Tsung

See Open Source Load Testing Tools: Which One Should You Use? article which highlights the main features of the aforementioned tools, has sample test with load reports and comparison matrix.


Can humiliation be liberation?

Question: Do you think that pointing out ego fixations publically serves to free students of their egos? What do you think are the advantages, and drawbacks of this teaching method? Why do you think it works or does not work? In more ancient times, it was very common for aspirants to be repetitively humbled by teachers, in an attempt to free them of ego attachment. That is a less common tactic nowadays, but I have seen it still show up occasionally. I had two experiences in which a teacher has pointed out my ego fixations in front of a group, leaving me to feel humiliated. The first time it happened I ended up more cemented in my own suffering. The second time I was able, later in my own meditation, to take a perspective on the experience and see how my false-self was keeping me stuck in fixation.  Now I find myself standing more firmly in my own truth, but less confident in the teaching I was given. Does anyone have a similar experience?
Answer:
Do you think that pointing out ego fixations publicly serves to free students of their egos?

In general, no. To me, it is cultish behaviour.

What do you think are the advantages, and drawbacks of this teaching
  method?

No general advantages. Probably some drawbacks, such as making the student project ego onto the guru. The student that cannot free the mind from ego will abandon their ego & take up the ego of the guru.

Why do you think it works or does not work?

The Buddha, according to the Pali suttas, simply pointed the way/path & the student went off & practised alone. The capacity to give up ego can only occur in a mind ready & prepared for it.

In more ancient times, it was very common for aspirants to be repetitively humbled by teachers, in an attempt to free them of ego
  attachment.

Possibly in Hinduism, Mahayana or Zen but I do not recall reading this as something that commonly occurred in the ancient Pali suttas. While I have read public admonishments in the Pali suttas by the Buddha for monks publicly preaching wrong views (e.g. MN 22; MN 38), I don't not recall many of these public admonishments leading to enlightenment (although there might be some, somewhere). For example, in SN 22.85, Venerable Yamaka was publicly preaching wrong views and the Venerable Sāriputta approached Venerable Yamaka, in private, addressing Venerable Yamaka as "friend", to rectify the wrong views, which resulted in Venerable Yamaka attaining enlightenment.

I had two experiences in which a teacher has pointed out my ego fixations in front of a group, leaving me to feel humiliated.

Indeed.

The first time it happened I ended up more cemented in my own
  suffering.

Indeed.

The second time I was able, later in my own meditation, to take a perspective on the experience and see how my false-self was keeping me
  stuck in fixation.

Yes, in your own meditation. If the teacher gently pointed out the ego-fixation in private, the same result may have occurred. I think public humiliations give a bad example to students. Often students imitate their teachers.

Now I find myself standing more firmly in my own truth, but less confident in the teaching I was given. Does anyone have a similar
  experience?

Yes. Teachers can disappoint us when they do not act with the virtue & care we expect however this gives us an opportunity to be more firm & mature in our own virtue & care. Even if a public humiliation resulted in your mind eventually abandoning 'false-self', this does not mean you should engage in this cultish behaviour.
Comment: Also, I want to say that I completely agree with you about not engaging in this behavior! (I am resisting the urge to add 10 more exclamation points)
Comment: Thank you for your answer. This is very interesting and appropriate. The term "cult" never occurred to me, but I see how this is a dynamic that goes on in such circumstances. This teacher is definitely not a cult figure, but I do see how she has internalized some institutional pathology.
Answer: Here's another perspective.
My core practice and a teaching that got me into Buddhism was radical annihilation of ego. I suppose normally it is considered an advanced practice but that's what I got from day one. Murder the ego.
No egoistic thoughts were allowed, no defending self, no saving face, no looking better, no emotional revenge, no congratulating oneself on achievements, no feeling superior - none of that stuff that normal people do to feel themselves strong and whole was allowed in my life. Don't ask why.
In the hindsight I'm not sure I wish anyone go through that, but I must admit it was very effective. Having no room for ego takes away the clear goal behind all decision making, and forces oneself to always try and evaluate everything from different perspectives. It requires one to always try and be perfect, without ever feeling entitled to own position.
Traditionally, ego is considered the biggest obstacle to Enlightenment. Not because accepting anatta is some sort of requirement. Not even because un-identifying with "I" removes the context in which death could apply. It is mostly because ego is the very tangle of attachments and illusions that we are trying to liberate from. The act of maintaining a consistently flat social image is the opposite of opening to one's true multidimensional nature.
So when Buddhist teachers shatter one's social image, they only do one a service, by helping destroy that which holds one down like an anchor.
Now, I don't say it's not painful. But you have to understand that pain and humiliation is not the point. It's not that ego is killed by making one look bad or feel bad in front of others, that's just a side effect. Ego is murdered by shattering it's consistent model of the world (and by implication, consistent idea of oneself as a person, cuz the two are related like mirror and its reflection).
Those models cannot always be explained away. Oftentimes the teacher does not have time or energy or conceptual vocabulary to deconstruct one's illusions step by step. It could take years, like it does sometimes with therapists you know.  Instead, Buddhist teachers take karmic responsibility for playing a tribal surgeon and causing much pain, with the hope of helping one break out of the box.
So please, focus on your model of the world and image of self, and not on humiliation. Feeling offended will only serve to lock you in your own prison. The more someone gets enlightened, the more difficult they are to offend or humiliate, because they get so round and fluid that there's nothing to grasp them by. Enlightened people are so down to earth and no nonsense, and can navigate situations so well, that they are never even in a position when they can be embarrassed, because they don't get attached, they don't fight themselves into a corner. In this sense they seem like the simplest and most normal people you ever met. Authentic and comfortable in their own skin, regardless of circumstances.
Why don't we try to imitate that rather than getting offended?
Comment: Very interesting thoughts. This gives me another way to consider the situation.
Comment: And if you have written anything about your journey to ego annihilation, I would be interested to read it.
Comment: The first comment sounds like passive aggressive way to say you found my thoughts disagreeable ;) For the second part, no I'm not normaly in the habit of talking about my dear self, and I think I said enough already.
Comment: :D Since I read your comment I have been trying on the perspective of going willingly toward ego annihilation. I discovered that my ego is guarded by cosmic terror--that is why I asked about your story. I was curious if you had experienced the same thing. But I understand everyone's journey is their own.
Comment: Try "Cutting through Spiritual Materialism". I don't remember if it's really that good, I read it 20 years ago, but that's what got me started on annihilation of ego.

Can humiliation be liberation?


asp mvc return viewmodel with html anchor

Question: I have a view for a blog post that return a view model with the post and the comments, and an anchor point at the end of the page where the comment form is.
After i submit the comment form, i want the POST method to return the View() but with the anchor point in the link
ie : www.blog.com/article/my-first-article#comments
right now i only have www.blog.com/article/my-first-article and in order to view the Validation Errors you must scroll down to the comment.
Any Ideas?
Thanks,
Alex

<code>    [HttpPost]
    public ActionResult Index(ArticleWithCommentsViewModel vm)
    {
        if (ModelState.IsValid)
        {
            var newComm = new comment();
            newComm.Name = vm.Name;
            newComm.Email = vm.Email;
            newComm.CreatedDate = DateTime.Now;
            newComm.Comm = vm.Comment;
            newComm.ArticleID = vm.ArticleToComment;

            _db.comments.InsertOnSubmit(newComm);
            _db.SubmitChanges();
            return RedirectToAction("Index", "Article");
        }

        ArticleWithCommentsViewModel vm2 = new ArticleWithCommentsViewModel();
        vm2.TheArticle = _db.Articles.ToList().Single(x => x.ArticleID == vm.ArticleToComment);
        vm2.comments = _db.comments.ToList().Where(x => x.ArticleID == vm.ArticleToComment);

        return View(vm2);
    }
</code>
Answer: Think might be a little low tech but it might work:
<code>return Redirect("www.blog.com/article/my-first-article#comments");
</code>


Is there any way I can install Windows games on Ubuntu?

Question: I recently switched to Linux from Windows and really like Ubuntu but I have alot of Windows games I can't play anymore.
Answer: Free solution
There are several ways to run Windows games on Ubuntu. You could try Play On Linux, which is a front end of Wine. It is more user friendly to install a good number of windows games on Ubuntu.
Not only Play On Linux, you could also try Stream. Recently, Valve games released a native Ubuntu client of Stream. This'll help you to play a lot of popular windows games on Ubuntu.
Lastly, you can also try Wine separately. To get a detailed list of supported games by Wine click here
And importantly, you can install all these applications from Ubuntu Software Center, along with using commands in Terminal.
Paid solution
Along with free solution you can also choose paid solution, if you want. Crossover Linux is very good paid solution. They have different type of packages with professional support.
Answer: As already mentioned, WINE is a very good option. Besides opening the terminal and running sudo apt-get install wine, you can also find it by searching for WINE in the Ubuntu Software Center (I know every user isn't comfortable venturing into the terminal, and I don't want you to think you have to use it if you don't want to).
WINE works very well for most programs, but some may require some tinkering in the WINE configuration to get things set up just right.  In my experience older programs are more likely to run without issue than newer programs are, but there are plenty of exceptions in both of those categories.
For a database of software that works in WINE, along with ratings of how well the software works, you can look at the official site here.

If you are willing to pay money for additional convenience, there is also a program called CrossOver, released by CodeWeavers. CrossOver is built on top of and using WINE, and CodeWeavers is the largest contributor to the WINE project, so while CodeWeavers does make money off of your purchase, at least some of the purchase price goes back into development of WINE.
There is a free trial of CrossOver available in the Software Center that will work for 15 days, if you would like to give both WINE and CrossOver a try and see which meets your needs better.
Answer: You can use Wine.  To install, just press Ctrl+Alt+T on your keyboard to open Terminal. When it opens, run the commands below.
sudo apt-get install wine

For more information on Wine Click Here


Using a picture which had been modified beyond recognition. Is that copyright infringement?

Question: Say I take  this pic:

and turn it into this (plus adding title and name of author):

And then use it as a cover for a book at Amazon.
Is that copyright infringement?
Answer: UK copyright law:
Yes, it is infringement. You are creating a derivative work. This treatment needs the permission of the copyright holder.
Answer: German copyright laws, as well as most copyright-related laws worldwide, also thinks this is a copyright infringement as you are basing your work on the creative work of another party that owns all (copy)rights related to the original work.
In fact, in most western countries you will be civil prosecution and damage claims will merely be the tip of the iceberg you're hitting with such a harmless-looking "modification". Besides that, chances are that it won't let your criminal records look as clean as before after "they" are done with you.
Therefore, a well-meant tip: do not even think about doing it!
For further research on the issue, you might want to start reading about international copyright laws and treaties.
A few usable starting points are:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_copyright_agreements
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Copyright_Act_of_1891
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_law_of_the_European_Union

And if you're no wikipedia fan, you can check what the more "serious" websites say:

http://depts.washington.edu/uwcopy/Copyright_Law/International_Copyright_Law/
http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/copyright/index_en.htm
http://www.rightsdirect.com/content/rd/en/toolbar/copyright_education/International_Copyright_Basics.html

Those should get you going. After reading all that, you'll know why I stated you shouldn't even think about such a copyright infringement… that is, unless you get a written permission issued and signed by the copyright-holding party.
Answer: Yes this is copyright infringement.  Furthermore Amazon will remove your title from sale if they ever find out that you do not have permission to sell it and if the the artist contacts Amazon in regards to the infringement Amazon will prevent you from ever selling your title again or any other content.
Depending on which region of the world you could also face royalty fees associated with using this image without the proper rights.  In America this is known as "damages".
Now the likelihood of the artist finding out may be minimal but as an artist in the field would you like it if someone ripped off your work?  Do the right thing and either contact the seller or spend the few dollars for it since you already found it on iStockphoto.
As Scott put it best here.
If you click on the tag you will also see copyright questions and answers:

Is vectorizing an image copyright theft if the image is not CC/Public domain?
Is it OK to include a stylized reproduction of a copyrighted painting in a design?
Under the U.S.'s Copyright Law, is it an act of copyright infringement if we changed the color of another artist's image to black and white?
Under the U.S.'s Copyright Law, is it an act of copyright infringement if we changed the color of another artist's image to black and white?


How would it be possible for sunlight to cause zombies to self combust into flames

Question: I haven't been here in a while but I got another question, Would it be scientifically possible for sunlight to cause a zombie to self combust into flames? And if they would only self combust if their heads were exposed to it, but if they had head cover or gear, then they would be perfectly ok? I know this sounds quite a bit like a concept from Minecraft (because it's based from that), but I would want to know if it's scientifically possible.
Comment: They could be farting pressurized methane, but, in most places in the world, that still wouldn't self ignite in direct sunlight. :)
Comment: Sunlight could work this way if focussed with a parabolic dish, Archimedian death-ray style.  The head piece is tricky though...
Comment: Please click on the "add a comment" link to add a comment under posts. You edited [this](https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/a/104562/28789) answer, but you should only edit the answer if you want to change something, for example to fix typos.
Answer: The Short Answer
No.
In the realm of scientific realism, there are no chemicals that are simultaneously so sensitive to light that it would trigger an exothermic reaction strong enough to burn a "person" to "death", while stable enough that they could otherwise be carried about by that person.
The Longer Answer
On the other hand, you already have zombies.  Assuming they're actual "dead former people now walking and doing things", your scientific credibility is already in sharp decline.
So if it's something you really want as a characteristic of your zombies, you could make it happen.  Let's say that your Z-parasite, your microorganism/parasite/magic that makes the zombies, was originally created to organically generate binary fuel for something.  It keeps that fuel in the space formerly reserved for its victim's brain, separated by a (for an equally contrived reason) extremely photosensitive but otherwise impermeable membrane.  Expose the holes in that "zombie's" head to light, the membrane degrades, a bit of the fuel components touch one another, and whoosh.
Comment: I'd say that it is *possible*, but it is not *plausible*. The Z-critters might have photosensitive specialized versions in the retinas to allow their collective to see (the host brain being no longer functional), and the binary fuel might be their energy transport mechanism - they're essentially small fuel cells. Overload the retinas and the whole array goes up in flames. Then a LED flash becomes a feasible anti-zombie weapon.
Comment: Hey, I _said_ it was contrived.  Putting zombies in a science-based tag is... usually tricky.
Comment: "Tricky" is an understatement. Undead is practically impossible without a made up disease/virus or magic. I did like the answer though.
Answer: Real Life Case of a Toxic Woman
She didn't exactly explode, but a woman brought into an emergency room suffering organ failure died and then gave off a noxious gas that injured several hospital workers. She had been taking cancer meds and possibly huffing solvents, one of which may have reacted to the oxygen and a few of the medications the doctors gave her to become a highly toxic gas. The cause is not definitively determined, but the fact that a dying woman's body seemingly manufactured and spewed some sort of nerve gas is an actual medical mystery that some very determined investigators are still trying to solve.
https://skeptoid.com/episodes/4291
Perhaps instead of exploding you could have some kind of fictional drug that was used to try and treat the victims of the zombie virus that now makes them toxic to be around, or release some kind of gas that is highly combustible.
Answer: We can assume the zombification is used by a fungus that infects the dead flesh and forms networks that enable it to simulate animal behauviour, process sensory stimulus, and operate the musculature of the host body.
Zombi attacks are then simply attempts to spread the spores via saliva and to weaken the immune system of the victim until it can't fight off the fungal infection. At which point the infection kills the victim and produces a dead body it can control and use to spread itself.
Ability to see would require the fungus to infect the retina. It is the one place in the body that has the optics to produce an image. The fungus can't use the nerve cells of the host since those are not operating properly, it must do the sensing directly.
We can further assume the fungus is not only light sensitive it actually takes damage from the UV in sunlight. This means that unless the eyes are protected from sunlight by some sort of head gear, the fungi infecting the eyes will die or be suppressed.
This will blind the zombi which is sufficient reason to avoid sunlight by itself but we want it to trigger self-ignition. Easiest cause would be bacteria that consumes the flesh of the zombi but is normally suppressed by the fungus to some sort of mostly harmless equilibrium. When sunlight suppresses the fungus the bacteria goes berserk and produces enough heat to make the volatile compounds in the flesh combust. Zombi flesh has no blood circulation so its temperature can rise locally easier and faster than in a living human. Especially since those same volatile compounds make a convenient energy source for the bacteria.
Now we just need to handwave in a reason for the flesh to be rich in volatile compounds. And I mean handwave, the actual metabolism and chemistry of zombies is bit beyond current science for obvious reasons.
But it is reasonable to assume that zombie flesh is fairly energy rich and possibly flammable. Zombies do not have a blood circulation. This means not only that they dry out making them directly more flammable but also the flesh can't use blood to redistribute energy from storage to muscle. The energy needed for metabolism is stored locally in energy rich compounds. These would make good food for bacteria and reasonably break into volatile and flammable compounds when heated.
(Ass-u-me, the thing that makes an ass out of you and me. <- sufficient disclaimer?)
Answer: This can be achieved if your zombies have a lot of sperm in them.

Still reading?
Sperm oil is probably not what you are thinking, unless you are knowledgeable about whales. It is extracted from sperm whales (and from the head, not from the testes).
From the wiki:

In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, sperm oil was prized as an illuminant for its bright, odorless flame.
flash point 260-266°C

260ºC = aprox 500ºF
So you need the zombies to some sperm oil in them. You could explain that as a byproduct of zombification.
The next step is to get zombies to reach the flash point when exposed to sunlight. You could explain that with an extreme form of cutaneous porphyria. Porphyria is a disease linked to the legends of vampirism, with symptoms such as:

(...) severe shortening of digits, loss of skin appendages such as hair and nails, and severe scarring of the skin with progressive disappearance of ears, lips, and nose. Patients may also show deformed, discolored teeth or gum and eye abnormalities.

The mechanism through which it acts goes like this (from the same link as above):

Skin disease is encountered where excess porphyrins accumulate in the skin. Porphyrins are photoactive molecules, and exposure to light results in promotion of electrons to higher energy levels. When these return to the resting energy level or ground state, energy is released. This accounts for the property of fluorescence typical of the porphyrins. This causes local skin damage.

So there you have it. Monsters filled with flammable oil, and with a photoreactive substance known to exist in porphyria-affected humans accumulating on their skin. Just add a little sunlight and watch the fireworks!
Answer: Gases and Heat

We know decomposing bodies produce gasses such as carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulphide (highly toxic), ammonia, methane and etc.
Depending on your world the virus responsible for zombies 'being' could have a byproduct producing an even more unstable decomposing gasses which have a flash point or autoignition temperature like Carbon disulfide when exposed to extended sunlight the heat concentration on the flesh could have the potential to ignite.


Is the size of the Ethereum blockchain a problem for full nodes in the coming months?

Question: In August 2017 the size of my chaindata directory was about 12GB. Now it's November and my chaindata directory is now 220GB - as per expectations with the growing popularity of Ethereum.
I run my geth node on Windows 10 with this command-line:
geth.exe --syncmode fast --cache 1024 --datadir D:\Ethereum\GethBlockchain

I had been running my node on my 2TB platter drive, however around late October my geth node simply couldn't keep-up with the new blocks: it was processing blocks it received at a slower rate than they were being produced, I assumed it was my internet connection or something else.
However I saw in Task Manager that my 2TB disk's Random IO was at a constant 100% usage. I swapped it out for a 500GB SSD (just SATA3, not NVME/U.2/M.2) and my disk Random IO dropped to about 20% and geth was able to process blocks fast enough again. It seems that Ethereum (or at least geth) really needs fast Random IO SSD drives in order to process new blocks (why? don't Merkel trees mean there's no need to query older blocks?).
Given that the blockchain is growing at a very fast rate such that it will probably hit 1TB within a few months (and then likely 2TB and onwards before halfway through 2018) this is a problem because that's hitting capacity limits of SSDs affordable by normal people - then you start needing special (read: expensive) setups comprised of either super-expensive high-capacity SSDs or a massive array (presumably concatenation/JBOD, no need for RAID necessarily) of SSDs just to store the blockchain. I don't like the idea of having to spend $200 every few months for another 500GB SSD - eventually I'll run out of SATA ports.
If this holds true, even without it continuing to accelerate, eventually the Ethereum blockchain will be impossible to store on a geth full-node running on commodity hardware: removing its democratization and putting its control only in the hands of those who can afford the hardware necessary to run a full-node.
I read that geth with --syncmode fast will prune the blockchain of unneeded extra data (e.g. intermediate results for smart-contracts) during its initial sync, but after the sync is finished then any new blocks processed will retain that extra data and that it is not currently possible to prune those new blocks.
This has been raised in the Geth/Mist repos on GitHub, the advice seems to be to delete the entire blockchain and run another --sync fast - but I'm finding that this becomes less and less feasible as time goes on. There is talk of this inability to prune/clean-up the blockchain store as a temporary inconvenience, so I hope it means they'll add support soon.

Why does geth perform so much random IO?
Is there any way to compress the chaindata directory contents at all to minimize disk usage?
What will happen when commodity hardware cannot be used to run a full-node? Do the Ethereum Project organizers have a plan for this eventuality?
Answer: Regarding 3, I don't think this will happen for a long time. There are other options for running a full node. I'd suggest looking at Parity, running a full node using that client with the "warp" feature only takes 20-30 GB.
For more detail as to why, I suggest reading this blog post:
The Ethereum Blockchain Size Will Not Exceed 1 TB Anytime Soon


Smali vs Decompilation for malware detection in apk files

Question: When it comes to reversing apk files, I understand that are mainly 2 approaches. The first involves using a decompilation engine which will try to produce java files which are more readable but can be unreliable when the apk uses obsfucation. The 2nd method i know of involves converting the dex files into smali code which are more reliable but slightly harder to understand. When it comes to detecting malware by looking for method calls, which approach is more suitable? (I am not interested in re-packaging the code into a working apk.)
Answer: Smali, obviously. There's no reason to add an extra level of inefficiency and errors into your tool. Decompilation is primarily useful for making the code easier to read for humans.
Answer: If you want to understand the overall structure, like to locate the suspicious method, I would recommend decompile to java to check first, since java is in a much higher level and can be indexed easily to see the code structure.. For smali, it's more suitable for repackaging since it's just a kind of assembly for dex binary, but its level is low and needs some learning if you're not very familiar with it


Overheating of the system in video viewing

Question: Installed elementary os When watching videos and some apps starts overheating CPU. The HP Probook 4530s . Please tell me what to do ?
Answer: the first thing i would do is clean the fan from any dust. get compressed air in a can or via a compressor.  unplug power cable and battery. then spray in the fan holes from the buttom to the exit of the fan heat output.
let me note that windows has a cap of 85°c linux has a cap of 95°c  so linux runs hotter.  therefore a laptop was not build to be placed on you lap use solid underground.
software wise you could install tlp or powertop (only pick one not both)  they will limit speeds of the cpu to maintain better heat output.
Answer: Open a terminal and execute sudo apt install tlp. That's going to install TLP, a tool that helps with the overheating and powersavings on laptops. You should also update your video drivers with sudo ubuntu-drivers autoinstall to make sure it overheats the least possible.


Loki 0.4.0 touchscreen support

Question: How do I enable touchscreen support on my Lenovo Yoga 3? The screen rotation works perfectly, but touch/scrolling/multitouch do not.
Comment: What a shame, the touch panel on the Dell XPS 9360 has worked out of the box. Did you get this working in the end?
Answer: Elementary OS DOES support touch. I have Dell XPS 15 with a touch screen and am running Loki without any special touch modifications. It all works as you would expect (including being annoying when someone touches your screen). I can click, drag, move and do so in combination with modifier keys. I'll be clicking on the "Post Your Answer" by touching the screen...
Answer: Elementary OS does not yet support touch but soon they will we have plans
Comment: but they have added this in just not all pcs work sorry
Comment: Could you please elaborate your answer? How have you come to this conclusion?
Answer: Actually, Elementary DOES support Touch, because I'm using it on my Dell Venue Pro with touch support. It doesn't work well in every scenario, but you can use touch.
However, you may be missing some drivers for touch. Lenovo may need different module.
My Dell Venue uses two touch sensors provided by Wacom, so they are recognized properly.

Loki 0.4.0 touchscreen support


How to calculate the resulting frequency of two tones played together?

Question: I it possible to calculate the resulting frequency when you play two tones with a frequency of X and Y at the same time?
Answer: This question has simple answers only when one is talking about sinoidal signals of equal amplitude.  Since the respective phase changes all of the time, one can answer this question by starting with both signals at phase 0, and then we have

So basically you get a function with the mean frequency of the two, and it is beating with an envelope with a frequency of the difference of the two functions (formally, it is half the difference but since you cannot hear the difference between an envelope of cos(x) and |cos(x)| and the second has double the frequency of the first, the envelope frequency ends up as the difference itself).
The formula works for any value, but its interpretation as a tone with a beating envelope makes only sense when frequencies a and b are reasonably close.
This is the basic technique with which accordion "tremolo" registers work, and also organ "tremulant" registers.
Comment: To be more accurate: if the two frequencies are close together, you can't hear the very low difference frequency, but you can usually hear the "beat" caused by amplitude changes at that low frequency.  In fact, that's a good way to tune: when you stop hearing the "woooaaaoooww" beat, you're in tune.  Oh, and you also get the sum frequency, which for e.g. "a" and "b" a fifth apart, generate the next octave of the lower note.
Comment: Thanks. Now I will be able to do my 12 tone tuning scale, that has the pitches 1, the resulting frequency of 1 and 2, the resulting frequency of 1, 2 and the last number I got, and this go on. With this scale being a octave one. Will problably sound really good.
Answer: You have to add both two frequencies and you will have the first new tone. then subtract the largest least the less and you´ll have the second. try it


Does mining with multiple computers add up?

Question: Let's say I have four computers, each mining bitcoins at 5 Mhash/s. Is this the same as mining bitcoins on one computer with a speed of 20 Mhash/s?
Answer: Yes, and that'll net you around 0.01 USD worth of BTC per year (as of January 2016), assuming your power is free.
Comment: Alternately, you can sell your keyboards, and that'll net you more money. You can still use a computer with just a mouse.
Comment: .01 seems generous for 20 Mhash/sec
Answer: Yes, the hashrate adds up.
But GPU mining ended in 2013. The tiny bitdust you will earn will never reach a mining pool's minimum cash out limit. So you will never see any bitcoin. This will be a pure loss consisting of spent electricity and worn-out hardware.
You could buy a USB stick for mining, for 10 USD. It would mine at a loss due to electricity costs. Even if you have free electricity it would never earn back the 10 USD. So this would also be a loss.
The only way to mine now is with modern stand-alone miners. They have a much higher hashrate and efficiency and they use a tiny built-in computer instead of connecting to your PC. You'll want to get one that runs 1 TH/s (1000 GH/s) or faster. You will not want to pay more than 0.30 USD per GH/s for a miner with power supply. You will need cheap electricity.
Answer: Yes. More generally though:
x mining machines with an average hashrate of y hashes per second will have the same chance of finding an arbitrarily low blockhash in a period of time as one mining machine with a hashrate of xy hashes per second in the same length of time.


Pork shank meat yield

Question: I am trying to estimate the quantity of usable meat four pork shanks will yield. I need to feed 10 people and I have two front and two hind shanks that weigh a total of 5Kg. I am hoping to get half of that weight in cooked meat so that I am left with 250g per person. I will braise them at low for a few hours and I seem to remember that they don't shrink that much. Can someone advise on whether that 50% yield by weight is realistic?
Comment: Related (about how much meat you need per person, not the actual yield): http://cooking.stackexchange.com/q/59215/1672 is probably the most general but there's also http://cooking.stackexchange.com/q/57050/1672 and http://cooking.stackexchange.com/q/40692/1672 and probably others!
Comment: Thanks! I cleaned up the comments and edited to make the explicit question more specific; "will they starve" really sounded like you were asking "is this enough".
Answer: Well, I am in position to answer my own question now. I used 6 shanks (I got two more as I got worried they wouldn't be enough) and fed 10 adults and two children very comfortably with some leftovers.
My original shank weight was 6.8Kg and I had four front and two hind pork shanks. I would guesstimate they yielded about 300g x 12 people ~ 3.5Kg so, if ever anyone needs the info:
Pork shanks yield about half their weight in pure meat
As an aside, I would advise anyone cooking pork shanks to separate them from their skins and salt and dry the skins separately in the fridge for a couple of days before crackling them on high. The crackled skins were almost as delicious as the shanks themselves (my recipe called for very slow cooked pork which turns the skin to rubber which is a waste).
Another aside, the bones from the shanks are INCREDIBLY gelatinous (and tasty). I kept them and made terrine that smells much nicer than using trotters.

Pork shank meat yield


Recommendations for good Newtonian mechanics and kinematics books

Question: What are some good books for learning the concepts of Kinematics, Newton laws, 2D Motion of Object etc.?
Comment: The best pedagogical book is S. L. Loney's Dynamics of rigid bodies. Its theory and problems are excellent. Mastering Loney's problems is a real feat.
Answer: One would be hard pushed to find anything better than

Kleppner and Kolenkow, An Introduction to Mechanics

It is concise and comprehensive and has lots of great exercises.
Comment: Actually, it is the only Mechanics book which builds Newtonian Mechanics from a layman's perspective straight to the deep
Answer:
Young and Freedman, Sears and Semansky's University Physics.

This is an excellent book, with pretty much every concept on covered in first year university level physics.
Within the mechanics section ($\simeq$ 500 pages)(which I presume the OP wants), it has chapters on

Motion along a straight line
Motion in 2D and 3D
Newton's laws of motion
Applying Newton's laws
Work and kinetic energy
Potential energy and energy conservation
Momentum, impulse and collisions
Rotation of rigid bodies
Dynamics of rotational motion
Equilibrium and elasticity
Fluid mechanics
Gravitation
Periodic motion

The other sections are: Waves and Acoustics (2 chapters), Thermodynamics (4 chapters), Electromagnetism (12 chapters), Optics (4 chapters), and finally Modern Physics (8 chapters).
The book has hundreds of worked examples on each topic and around 1000 examples to try without help (half of the solutions are in the back).
In my opinion, it's the best value for money of any physics book in the world.
Answer: I would suggest

David Morin, Introduction to classical mechanics.

It's the best book of mechanics i've ever seen. It's full of solved interesting problem. You can easily see the deep difference between this and other mechanics books.
Comment: Morin's book is a terrible grocery list of ambiguous problems. His "worked solutions" and "proofs" have gaps you could drive a truck through. The only good thing I can say about it is this: it ends.
Comment: There are some excellent problems in there, some require creative thinking. Also, the derivations are not rigorous in any sense, but they are always full of intuition.I always love a physics book full of intuition
Comment: +1: the context is so so, as David Morin already wrote in his book - his book is intended to be just an reference, but the problem sets are excellent, especially useful solutions are provided.
Answer: Try

I.E. Irodov, Fundamental Laws of Mechanics.

Don't use its problem book as mentioned in a previous answer. The book is written in traditional Russian style, but it will give you clear & super advance idea of mechanics. Its useful to a High School guy as well as for a PhD student.
Answer: I learnt mechanics as an undergrad with

John R. Taylor, Classical Mechanics,

and found it interesting and straightforward. The presentation is wonderful, but most exercises are quite difficult for an undergrad.
Comment: What do you mean by "too much emphasis on physical aspects"? What else is there to emphasise?
Comment: This book is good but puts too much emphasis on physical aspects. In complicated problems, this is often not that helpful.
Comment: The book doesn't focuses on Newtonian mechanics as the OP wants, it's for Lagrangian , Hamiltonian and advanced mechanics
Comment: I can assure you that this was one of the recommended books for my first course in Newtonian mechanics at Sapienza University of Rome, first year of physics, and I think it was appropriate for the course, laying out the foundations in a simple and interesting way. It also does work well as an introduction to Lagrangian and Hamiltonian mechanics, and I read the rest of the book avidly over summer to prepare for my course in analytical mechanics, but that's not why I'm recommending it.
Answer: Go for

H.C. Verma, Concepts of Physics

It's a two volume series and has very good conceptual exercise, problems and objective type questions.
Comment: I strongly disapprove this suggestion. This book is just hyped up. The language in this book is unclear and sometimes even misleading. There are also lots of abrupt changes in topic as the we flow through the book. The book has almost no rigour and doesn't provide satisfactory explanations, in short tries to promote rote learning. The treatment of the subject is poor. An introductory  reader will end up getting confused after reading this book. The irony is that the name of the book is "Concepts of physics".
Comment: @Guji2203 I disagree. I have seen same questions with varying data given as 10 consecutive problems
Comment: The book is meant for high school level, so it's theory doesn't goes deep enough for undergraduate major. But the problem set is excellent and very conceptual.
Answer:
This answer contains some additional resources that may be useful. Please note that answers which simply list resources but provide no details are strongly discouraged by the site's policy on resource recommendation
  questions. This answer is left here to contain additional links that do not yet have
  commentary.

Jewett and Serway, Physics for Scientists and Engineers with Modern Physics.
Resnick and Halliday, Fundamentals of Physics
Jacob Pieter den Hartog, Mechanics and Mechanical Vibrations. Wonderful introductions, easy to read and pedagogical.
I. E. Irodov, Fundamental Laws of Mechanics, paired with Problems in General Physics. There is something very efficient about the economy of Soviet authors, who use very few words to say a whole lot. I read from these books and learnt well.
L.D. Landau, E.M. Lifshitz, Mechanics (vol. 1, 3rd ed., 1976).
Greiner, Classical Mechanics, Point Particles and Relativity, and Classical Mechanics, Systems of Particles and Hamiltonian Dynamics. (The second part of the last book might go beyond the scope of your question)
Feynman, Leighton and Sands, The Feynman Lectures on Physics, vol. 1.
Answer: I recommend "Thinking Physics" by Lewis Carroll Epstein.  It's a long accumulation of conceptual problems in introductory physics, for example, "Suppose you drop a ball out a window and it hits the ground at 3 m/s.  Now you throw a ball out the same window straight down at 4 m/s.  How fast will it hit the ground?"  The answer is 5 m/s, and the book illustrates how these numbers are related to the Pythagorean theorem due to kinetic energy depending on the square of velocity.  I learned a lot by working through this book as a supplemental text when I was a college freshman.
http://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Physics-Understandable-Practical-Reality/dp/0935218084/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1298917867&sr=8-1
Answer:
V.I. Arnol'd, Mathematical Methods of Classical Mechanics.

It is a graduate book, more focused on the mathematical and modern aspects. If you like to see classical mechanics and learn about manifolds, differential forms, and so on, this is for you.
Comment: The OP wants something on "the concepts of Kinematics, Newton laws, 2D Motion of Object etc"
Comment: @ungerade While I agree that V. Arnold is a great book, I downvoted because I don't think it fits with the request for "learning the concepts of Kinematics, Newton laws, 2D Motion of Object etc". This should not be a first book on Classical Mechanics.
Comment: Best book ever! It contains one of my favourite quotes ever: "Hamiltonian mechanics is geometry in phase space"
Comment: @ramanujan_dirac This topics are covered in this book.
Answer: Assuming you are asking undergraduate mechanics book. I found the one used by Caltech is unbelievably awesome.

The Mechanical Universe: Mechanics and Heat, Advanced Edition, by Steven C. Frautschi, Richard P. Olenick, Tom M. Apostol, David L. Goodstein

(pick the advanced edition intead of introduction edition)

The good parts of this book:

It teaches you scientific reasoning (unlike other textbooks, mostly solely on problem solving).
Focus on the (real stuffs) physics, instead of math (the math part is easy once you learned the math independently anyway).
Very entertaining and enlightening problem sets (another book with totally different style, but good problem set is David Morin).
Comment: The book was written by Caltech profs, but when I was there a few years ago David Goodstein himself taught physics from a different book entirely. Still this book is probably better than the one they replaced it with.
Answer: Fundamental Laws of Mechanics
by I. E. Irodov
Download at: https://archive.org/details/IrodovMechanics
Answer: There are two books by David Halliday, Robert Resnick and other authors.

Resnick, R; Halliday, D; Krane, K; Physics, 5th ed., Wiley: Hoboken, NJ, 2002.
Resnick, R; Halliday, D; Walker, J; Fundamentals of Physics, 10th ed., Wiley: Hoboken, NJ, 2014.

These are classic two books which can be used at high school level for an introductory physics course. Both come in two volumes of which the first volume contains mostly mechanics including Kinematics, Newton's Laws of Motion, Collisions and Rotational Dynamics.
The first one, Physics, in my opinion, is slightly more detailed and rigorous than Fundamentals of Physics.
For problems, as mentioned in other answers a good book is Problems in General Physics by I. E. Irodov. One another small Russian book for problems is Aptitude Test Problems in Physics by S. S. Krotov. This book contains many problems taken from Moscow Olyimpiads.
Comment: Krane edition is better than the Walker edition for undergraduate major
Answer: If you are interested in Newtonian Mechanics, the best is to follow "Kleppner and Kolenkow" and "Berkeley Series" and try to solve most of the problems from these books. This would prepare a good base for your understanding. Particularly for problem-solving, I would prefer Prof. H. C. Verma's "Concepts of Physics" where you could find a variety of problems and conceptual questions.
For Classical Mechanics, the best would be to start with "Landau and Lifshitz" and "Goldstein" and try to solve problems from the later. This is sufficient though. For more advanced study, I would recommend "V. I. Arnold" which deals with the mathematical aspects like none others.
Answer: I would like to recommend the following book:

Classical Mechanics and General Properties of Matter by Satyendra Nath Maiti and Debi Prasad Raychaudhuri

If you liked studying from Kleppner and Kolenkow then you would definitely like this book. The book is the best exposition on the topic, as per me. The book is quite explicit in describing the various concepts and is quite mathematically pleasing to read. The various topics covered by the book are:

Units and Dimensions (Introductory chapter, I haven't looked at this since I have quite familiarity with topic, but there is a section on something known as $\Pi$ theorem, which I would study sometimes later)

Vectors (The title is quite deceptive because it covers more that what we might call vectors)

Dynamics of Particles (The chapter covers Newton's Laws of motion, in quite depth, application of the laws in varius circumstances and various other related topics such as path integral, conservative force, Work-Energy Theorem.)

Inertial and Non-Inertial Frames of Reference (Starts with introduction to various frames and reference, the talks about Galilean Transformation, principle of equivalence and inertial and non-inertial mass, then rotating frames of reference and various other related topics.)

Dynamics of System of Particles (COM, Linear Momentum, Angular momentum, their conservation laws. treatment of system of system of particles, Two body problem: reduced mass, system of variable mass.)

Lagrange's and Hamilton's Formulation of Mechanics

Small Oscillations

Dynamics of Rigid Bodies

Gravitation

Gravity and Pendulum

Elasticity

Viscosity

Mechanics

Surface Tension

Brownian Motion

This books is amazing,one should give it a try if you are considering Kleppner and Kolenkow and likes of it.
Also, the book provides appropriate reference to other litterateurs if and when needed.


Unjustified Ending of The Proposition

Question: The ending of 2005 Australian movie The Proposition left me unsatisfied.
Arthur Burns takes revenge from Captain Stanley for the death of his brother
but doesn't do anything to Eden Fletcher who was the real culprit.
In fact Stanley tried to save his brother from flogging that lead to his death.
Why would the director create such an unjustified ending ?
Answer: If Captain Stanley hadn't held Mikey (despite believing him innocent) as leverage in order to get Charlie to kill Arthur, then Mikey wouldn't have been in a position to be flogged. Further, Captain Stanley had extorted Charlie to assassinate Arthur, and if it wasn't done by  Christmas, Mikey would be hung. That makes three good reasons to kill Stanley - falsely imprisoning Mikey, threatening to kill Mikey, and trying to get Charlie to kill Arthur. Captain Stanley is ultimately responsible for everything that happened after the raid at the beginning of the movie. Besides, Arthur is a sadistic rapist murderer, so we shouldn't expect justice to come from his hands. Justice comes from Charlie, who stops the rape of Martha and kills his own brother Arthur.
Full synopsis of movie
Comment: Your answer is very good, but I think Arthur wasn't a rapist. It was the other guy with him who sings the song - "O ! Peggy Gordon" in the movie
Answer: At first I was thrown by the ending, and didn't find it satisfying. I thought about it for two whole days, and then concluded that it could not have ended in any other way. It is clear throughout the film that Charlie is questioning the ways of his brother Arthur, and ultimately decides that the wayward life of the bushranger is what led Mikey to be killed. He decides to draw the line to this path, perhaps thinks it best to make something of his life, and in the process saves Stanley and Martha by killing Arthur and his sidekick.
Answer: I think a key piece is missing here.    Based on the events as they occur:

Arthur Burns only knows what Charlie tells him about the situation (Mikey will be hung on Christmas).
Charlie Burns only knows the situation as it stands at the time he departs from the shootout at the beginning of the film.
Up until Fletcher shows, Stanley is the one in charge and is the one who imprisons Mikey.
Fletcher does not appear in the film prior to Charlie's departure, and was not involved in the decision to hang Mikey, release Charlie, nor offer the pardons (he says as much to Cpt. Stanley before the flogging).
When Arthur and Charlie free Mikey, they then become aware that he has been beaten near to death, leading them to believe Cpt. Stanley to have changed the terms of the agreement.
The Burns gang only knows that Mikey was killed in Stanley's custody and that Stanley sent Charlie to assassinate Arthur.

The key point being, the only member of Burn's gang who knows Fletcher was ultimately responsible is Mikey, who is shown to be unconscious and dying.    All of their knowledge is based on old information, but given their criminal disposition and the decision Charlie ultimately makes, Arthur would take it out on Stanley for the part he actually played, not just what they believe him to have done.

Unjustified Ending of The Proposition


Partitioning array elements into two subsets

Question: Problem:

Given a randomly ordered array of n-elements, partition the elements
  into two subsets such that elements <= x are in one subset and elements

x are in the other subset.

One way to do this is to sort the array in ascending order. But with
  this solution we actually ordered the array in addition to partition.
  Also sort is costly.
For example, let's take this array \$[37,36,27,11,15,12,34,29,4,10]\$
  and partition value is 17.
So the array after partition should be
  \$[10,4,12,11,15,27,34.29.36,37]\$
Comparing these two data sets we can see that elements from left side
  greater than 17 must be moved to right side and at the right side
  elements less than 17 to left side.
Initially we do not know how many elements are less than < 17. One
  way to solve this, pass through the array and count the number of
  elements less than 17. Once we know the partition value (here it is
  15), then make another pass through the array to make the exchange.
  But this is \$0(n^2)\$.
We need to find a solution where this can be done with only pass
  through the array. Looking at these data sets we can find that even if
  we do not know the partition value(here it is 17), 37 can be exchanged
  with 10, 36 can be exchanged with 4 and so on.
This is something like left partition is growing to right and right is
  growing to left.
| Left Partition ->    ||   <- Right Partition |
^                    ^                       ^
i=0            partition point           j=n (length of array)

So we get the basic mechanism to exchange, while two partitions have
  not met do

Extend the left and right partitions inward exchanging wrongly  placed elements.
Exchange can be done by the standard technique
t = a[i];
a[i] = a[j];
t = a[j];

Moving inwards from left and right can be done by,
from left to right: while(a[i] <= x) i = i + 1;
from right to left: while(x < a[j]) j = j - 1;
where a is the array, i is the starting index 0, j is last index
  that is the length of the array.

One case is, initially we don't know a[i] and a[j] should be
  exchanged since there is no initial move inwards from the left and
  right to check if an exchange is really necessary. we can overcome
  this by placing a check before passing through the array:
while(a[i] <= x) i = i + 1;
while(x < a[j]) j = j - 1;

Algorithm (it is based on R. G. Dromey's How to solve it by computer):

Establish an array \$a[1...n]\$ and partition value x.
Move the two partitions towards each other until a wrongly placed pair of    elements is encountered.
While two partitions have not met or crossed do

exchange wrongly placed pairs and extend both partitions inwards    by one element.
extend left partition while elements less than or equal to x
extend right partition while elements greater than x

Print partitioning index p and partitioned array.

Here is my solution:
public class PartitionArray {

  public static void main(String args[]) {

    int[] elements = {37, 36, 27, 11, 15, 12, 34, 29, 4, 10};

    int x = 17;
    int p = 0;

    int i = 0;
    int j = elements.length - 1;

    while (elements[i] <= x && i < j) i = i +1;
    while (x < elements[j] && i < j) j = j - 1;

    int tmp;

    while (i < j) {
      tmp = elements[i];
      elements[i] = elements[j];
      elements[j] = tmp;

      i = i + 1;
      j = j - 1;

      while (elements[i] <= x && i < j) i = i +1;
      while (x < elements[j] && i < j) j = j - 1;

      p = j;
    }

    print("P: " + elements[p]);
    print("Partitioned Array: " + Arrays.toString(elements));
  }
}

Comment: Technically it's still `O(n)`.  A second pass is `O(2n) == O(n)`.
Answer: Unless it is a homework for sort algorithm study :

Manage ArrayList and load your list of number,
put all number<=x in a new ArrayList,
delete them from the original ArrayList,
finish with .addAll(..), to concatenate if needed.

Knowing that VM is optmized, it would be interesting to compare performance of this approach with your one.
Comment: Inserting or deleting an element from an ArrayList is `O(N)` (if we exclude special cases).


PHP mail() bounces

Question: I am sending email using mail() under PHP5 on Dreamhost (which I believe uses the local sendmail or other MTA) ... bounces are coming back to the sending shell user, instead of to the user in the From:/Reply-To: header.  Any ideas?
Answer: Catch all
If mail is sent to a non-existing user on a domain it may be sent to the MTA's admin account.
This used to happen on my php contact form when spammers attempted to email an account on my domain that did not exist.  The message would be passed to the admin MTA account instead of routed to the non-existent user.
Answer: I'm not sure if this is the case on sendmail, but in Exim, you needed to authorise the shell user to become a trusted user to allow it to send the correct From: header.
If you don't have access to change sendmail configuration, and you're sure you're sending the correctly-formatted From: header in your mail() call, you will need to contact Dreamhost's support.
Answer: You need to include the additional_parameters in the mail() call.   If sendmail is being used then specify that as
$additional_parameters = "-fwhateveryou@used_in.theheaders"
e.g.
$additional_parameters = "-email@example.com"
mail($send_to, $message_subject, $mailBody, $mailHeaders,$additional_parameters);
That works for me to get the bounces back to the right place

PHP mail() bounces


Deal with OpenGL context restoration in Android 2.x libgdx?

Question: I read somewhere that OpenGL context can be restored automatically by libgdx framework. And in my case, everything is OK with the real phone 4.0.3. But when I test with Android 2.x, it doesn't work well, just return me a white blank:((.
Isn't it true that i can leave restoring OpenGL context to libgdx? Could you please share your experiences with this? Or libgdx just can't work with Android versions lower than 4.x?( I use Opengl 1.0).
Comment: in fact, opengl context is lost when Android app is restarted. And I don't know how to handle it :(
Answer: See http://www.badlogicgames.com/wordpress/?p=1073.  The post is from 2010, and so it talks in about some future features that are now current (TextureAtlas and TextureRegion), and the point of the article is about how dynamically generated textures cannot be automatically managed by libGDX, but implicitly it describes the texture management problem, and how libGDX can be used to solve it in certain cases (basically libGDX needs to know how/where to reload your texture from).
libGDX should work fine on Android 2.x or 4.x.
Are you sure the underlying process is hanging around in both the 4.x and 2.x Android cases?  Texture lossage is only a problem when an Activity exits and the Application stays alive until the Activity is restarted.  If the Application exits, everything is re-initialized.


Disabling SSL v2 and weak ciphers on client PC's

Question: Is it a requirement to also disable SSL v2 and weak ciphers on client PC's? I have seen quite a few posts for disabling them on servers, but nothing about a regular client PC, say, running Windows XP or Windows 7.
Answer: You might want to read the three excellent answers to the question How does SSL work, where it's all explained, but in a nutshell, the server will select which ciphersuite (and compression) to use during the SSL/TLS handshake, after it receives supported ciphersuites from the client. Since you removed support of certain weak ciphersuites on your server end, they can't be selected for the SSL/TLS transport encryption, even if they are supported on the client.
Edit to add: As has @DavidHoelzer mentioned in the comment below, not all websites have yet moved to TLS, and you don't want to be punishing your users for that. Even the weaker ciphersuites are better than none at all, if you remove support for them on clients. Your users would most likely still use those websites, even if they couldn't connect to the host using HTTPS, and would end up opting for HTTP, exposing them to many more threats in the process. In short - I wouldn't recommend it.
Comment: Two quick points.  First, you should expect that the server will attempt to negotiate up to the highest common cipher/protocol supported.  This should, hopefully, take you to TLS/1.2.  Second, requiring that browsers disable SSLv2 won't matter so much when they connect to you but your users may hate you when they try to connect to the many thousands of sites who have not yet moved to TLS.  I know, it's been years, but until people get bitten (or a PCI auditor sits on them for TLS/1.2) they don't seem to react.
Answer: In "normal" SSL, the client announces what it supports (versions, algorithms), and the server responds with what will be used for the connection. There is something special with SSLv2, though. If:

the client starts by sending a ClientHello in SSLv2 format, and
the server agrees with doing SSLv2 (e.g. because the client announced that it supports only SSLv2, or the server supports only SSLv2),

then the algorithm negotiation follows the SSLv2 style in which both client and server send their list of supported algorithms, and the client chooses.
In any case, there won't be an algorithm or protocol version which will be used unless both client and server agree to use them. Moreover, at least with SSLv3 and ulterior, the client sends an ordered list of preferred algorithms, and it will not put weak cipher suites first. So, in practice, client and server will accept to use SSLv2 and/or a weak cipher suite only if both support them and there is no better version or cipher suite that they both support. So this does not happen often; and if it does happen then it could be argued that SSLv2 or a weak cipher suite is better than not being able to connect at all.
(Note: there is a technical detail about SSLv2, though. In SSLv2, an attacker can force client and server to agree on a weak cipher suite even if they both support strong cipher suites. However, if both client and server support SSLv3 or TLS in addition to SSLv2, then the attacker cannot force them to use SSLv2. See section E.2 of TLS 1.0.)
Therefore, there is no absolute requirement of disabling SSLv2 on the clients. However, it is better to move away from SSLv2 (should have been done already a decade ago); there is a RFC on that subject.
Browser vendors have not waited for that. For instance, IE 8.0 disables SSL 2.0 support by default on the client. It can be re-enabled, but it can be assumed that almost nobody did that, and the Web did not implode. Similarly, Chrome dropped support of SSL 2.0 since version 10, and recent versions of Firefox don't support it either. You might be, in fact, a little late in the SSLv2-haters crowd. The World has moved to SSL 3.0 and TLS.
As for weak cipher suites, they will be used only if there is no better choice, and 56-bit DES is still better than no encryption at all, so I say: let them live.
Answer: You would do this per client application.
e.g. in old Firefox
https://www.mozilla.org/security/announce/2007/mfsa2007-06.html
I could not find a way to disable sslv2 in modern firefox. I think it is long gone.
In Chrome, this discussion suggests that sslv2 is disabled by default:
http://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/chrome/jH53hxAhVys
And this question has an answer about IE5.5, IE6 and IE7
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/10103635/which-browsers-were-the-last-to-support-only-sslv2
I could not find information about the Safari web browser.


How to show the node delete tab and put a view in it?

Question: I would like to show a 'Delete' tab near the 'View' and 'Edit' tabs in the node page and insert a custom warning message and a view in it. If I create a view tab page with path /node/%/delete it works fine, but the submit button is missing and I can't figure out how to add it. Any idea?
Answer: By creating a view with path /node/%/delete, you have completely replaced the existing page (the delete confirmation form). According to Drupal logic, this is normal behavior.
What I would do is:
1) Do not use the page display of your view, but add a block display to the view. Add your message as view header. Place that block above the main page content and restrict it to the node/*/delete path.
2) Create custom module, implementing hook_menu_alter with one line of  code (credits):
function MODULENAME_menu_alter(&$items) {
  $items['node/%node/delete']['context'] = MENU_CONTEXT_PAGE | MENU_CONTEXT_INLINE;
}

Of course you need to replace MODULENAME with the actual name of your module.
Comment: You are completely right, my mistake. The `%` placeholder is used in hook_menu(_alter) while the `*` placeholder is used in block visibility settings. I'll update my answer.
Comment: Instead of node/%/delete I used node/*/delete. Perfect. Many Thanks.
Answer: You can use hook_menu_alter to add the tab and hook_form_alter to add your message to the page. You can then create a view block and add the block to the content area for the node/*/delete path.
Use the following code and replace MYMODULE with your module name:
/**
 * Implements hook_menu_alter().
 */
function MYMODULE_menu_alter(&$items) {
  $items['node/%node/delete']['context'] = MENU_CONTEXT_PAGE | MENU_CONTEXT_INLINE;
}

/**
 * Implements hook_form_alter().
 */
function MYMODULE_form_alter(&$form, &$form_state, $form_id) {
  if($form_id=='node_delete_confirm'){
    drupal_set_message('my msessage');
  }
}


What is the difference between mkv and mp4 files?

Question: I don't know if this is the correct exchange site to ask this question. I would like to know what is the difference between mkv and mp4 files?
Answer: Both MKV and MP4 are container file formats. Container formats define how actual audio, video, subtitle and other data are structured. MKV is an open standard format, while MP4 comes from the ISO and is based on the QuickTime file format.
Answer: One thing I have found with video creating/playing software on GNU/Linux is that the MP4 container format can only be replayed once a video is finished while mkv (Matroska) containers will replay even on partially completed files.  So at least when using the common Free Software toolchains on GNU/Linux, mkv appears better suited for streaming.
You can use the same codecs either way.  WEBM is a subset of Matroska with a restricted list of permissible codecs.
Answer: I would like to add that MP4 has restrictions of what can be muxed to MP4 and what not, while MKV has nearly no limitations at all.


Do above counter bowl sinks require special cabinets?

Question: I am currently renovating a bathroom.  In the process, I'll be replacing the ugly 1970s vanity with a new craftsman style cabinet, solid surface countertop, and two above counter glass bowl sinks.  However, I am getting a bit concerned about the sink height, as the sink will no longer be set into the vanity.  How is this typically dealt with?  Standard height cabinets?  Special cabinets that are lower/designed for these sinks?  Something else?
Answer: If the vanity is so small that it just supports the bowl but with no usable countertop, then the vanity is often lower than standard by 8" or so.
But if there is usable space on the counter than it's more important to have that work space (shave space?) at a comfortable height than it is to have the top of the sink at a standard height.
Answer: They're typically used on standard height cabinets, but have the effect of making the bowl higher. Here's another question that deals with bathroom vanity height.
Answer: Take into consideration the expected users of the bathroom (not just current but future).
It sounds like this is probably your master and so will be focused on adults, so the raised height should be fine.
If this is a common area bathroom or connected to a secondary bedroom, even if you don't have children, you want to consider visitors and future re-sale so keeping the sink level at standard height would be best.


Did the chariot drop in importance between bronze age Greece and the iron age Greece? Why, why not?

Question: In what I've read about classical Greece - about Persian wars, Pelaponesian wars, Battle of Leuctra, Macedonia conquest...etc. - military discussion seems to be mostly about the Phalanx with a bit about cavalry.  At some point, however, chariots were a very important military advance.  Why the decline (if any)?  Did this decline take place elsewhere?
Comment: There wasn't a decline, chariots were never militarily important in Ancient Greece. As Michael mentioned in his answer, the terrain simply wasn't suitable for wheeled vehicles. Chariots were used, but their role was mainly ceremonial or for races.
Comment: @yannis  but the epics depict the Mycenaeans using chariots  and it's believed they were used at some point  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycenaean_Greece#Warfare
which still begs the question why the decline?
Answer: You kind of answered your own question by mentioning the phalanx.
First of all, you will often read some historians saying that chariots were not used by "mountain" people or that the terrain in such-and-such country was not suitable for chariots. This is not true. Macedonia is one of the most mountainous areas in Europe and they were famous for their horses and chariots. Likewise, the idea that Greece did not use chariots is completely untrue, as anyone has read the Iliad knows.
The key factor with chariots is that they are most effective in unorganized fighting when people are spread out. What made chariots obsolete was the adoption of highly disciplined, organized, shoulder-to-shoulder fighting. If you have seen the movie "300" you may remember the scene in which Leonidas gives a lecture on how the Spartan hoplites fight in close formation and lock their shields together, so they fight as a single unit. This kind of tactic in combination with the use of the spear will defeat the use of chariots. Phalanxes are a continuation and advance on this basic tactic.
The Romans never had problems dealing with enemy chariots for exactly the same reason: they fought in highly disciplined, close formations called "centuriae" using rectangular shields that could be joined together to make a tight wall, bristling with spears. Such a formation will easily defend against a chariot.
Another factor in the decline of chariots is the decrease in the use of champions. In many cases chariots were used essentially as battle taxis. A champion would use the chariot to gallup to a place of fighting, kill everybody using a weapon supremacy, then jump in the chariot and ride to the next hotspot. This only is useful if you have champions that have some kind of superior ability and weapons. If the champion is using a bronze broadsword and the average soldiers are using clubs, like in ancient Gaul, then it makes sense. But if every soldier has a good sword, then the champion becomes less important. Thus, economics is a factor too.
Comment: While Homer's illiad describes the chariots as Taxi's  history Professors are skeptical that was the chariots true purpose.  e.g. Gregory S. Aldrete History of the Ancient World  do you have any other sources that cite chariots as used for tranportation only?
Answer: I would speculate that chariots weren't used as much on Greek turf due to their lack of maneuverability on hilly terrain. On the plains of Egypt they would have a deadly impact, but try to drag them though hills and orchards, let alone the mountains…
Persians did try to use cavalry, but even that proved to be ineffective, and possibly had cost them defeat at Marathon.
Comment: How did it cost them Marathon? The reason they lost there was precisely because the cavalry was away.
Comment: @JeroenK: IIRC at Marathons Persians counted on cavalry and disembarked accordingly; Athenians lined up the Phalanx above them on the hills, where cavalry would be ineffective; after a lengthy standoff Persians gave up and started embarking to the ships, cavalry first; when only Persian infantry remained in the field Athenian stroke. If numerically superior Persians didn't invest so much in cavalry they wouldn't have to split. It's hard to tell though whether that would change the outcome, only that Persians would have a better chance.
Comment: I follow your reasoning now, but i think it's invalid. On the open fields of Persia cavalry was a great asset, as Alexander showed when conquering them. Anyway i don't think it's about not investing in your infantry (don't forget about the 10 000 Persian Anusya) but about military doctrine: the Persian infantry was not trained as a Phalanx but as archers who where capable in close combat. To summarize, the Persians did invest in their infantry, it was just not equipped to face a Greek phalanx.