Can a space station settlement orbit the sun?

Question: Is it possible to create a large space station orbiting the sun around 10 million kilometers away from the sun? It would be a large settlement which houses around 200 people. Energy would not be a problem provided they bring solar panels with them. So is this possible and would 10 million kilometers be too small? Could they create sustainability? Humans would have 10 years to build it and our current technology plus any new tech they develop in the next 10 years.
Comment: 10M km is about a quarter of the distance from [Mercury](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_(planet)) to the Sun at closest approach (Mercury's perihelion, point of closest approach in its orbit, is almost exactly 46M km, but that's orbital radius so you should subtract the [Sun](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun)'s radius for about 45.3M km from the sun's perimeter). Hint hint, [Mercury's sunlit side is kinda warm](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_(planet)#Surface_conditions_and_exosphere), and heat rejection is non-trivial in space.
Answer: Solar radiation increases/decreases according to an inverse-squared principle, much like sound on Earth.  The closer you get, the exponentially higher the energy of the sun will become.  To put it in perspective, check out http://www.pveducation.org/pvcdrom/properties-of-sunlight/solar-radiation-in-space
According to those calculations, if you are 10 million km from the sun, you will get something like 290,000 watts per square meter.  That's ~200 times more intense than the sunlight on Earth.  Things will get rather toasty in our space station.
So how can we prevent this heat from cooking our intrepid stationkeepers?  A reflector can help in a major way (there are reflectors designed to reflect gigawatt lasers, so they can handle the sun), but even the best mirrors are about 99.9% efficient, so our station will receive about 2.5x the energy of the earth even behind a giant mirror.  There are better options, though.  A reflector paired with a heat shield, or layered reflectors and heat shields, can do wonders.  Certain high-temperature ceramics can exist up to temperatures in the thousands of degrees C.  These could shield the station (hopefully from behind a reflector) and keep the inhabitants relatively cool.
The real issue is that the leading edge of the station (the side facing the sun) will erode eventually.  Space is an inhospitable place, and even if the station isn't baked to a crisp, micrometer strikes will bring the reflector plate down eventually, and the ceramics will chip away.  Once this shield is gone, the station will literally be toast.  Hope your folks have a backup plan.
Comment: Ah yes.  Semantics.   My apologies, everyone, "Exponential" implies an e^x style formulation, while "Polynomial" implies x^n.  So sorry for wasting everyone's valuable time with my slight semantic error.  It's a good thing you caught that mistake @Taemyr or else everyone might have been seriously confused.
Comment: O(N^2) is not equal to O(2^n).
Comment: inverse-squared principle and exponentially higher.
Comment: @Taemyr I don't think I understand what you mean.  Where do I use either of those formulae?
Comment: The part facing the sun is not the leading edge, it's the side. The leading edge (facing the direction of motion) is 90' around from the sunward direction
Comment: It *still* says exponential and leading edge. This is a high-vited and accepted answer. How about editing it (and then these comments can be deleted).
Comment: Regarding the eroding you could construct a second duplicate layer directly behind the first so after it works its way through shield 1 it hits a brand new shield 2.  If raw materials, were a non-issue you could keep adding layers from behind preventing the station from being toasted.  Of course, you would need layer 2 up almost immediately so the workers could construct it in relative safety behind the still perfect layer 1.
Answer: http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2010-07/how-close-could-person-get-sun-and-survive
This article from popular science has some good information.

Riding in the space shuttle, though, someone could get much closer to
  our star. The ship's reinforced carbon-carbon heat shield is designed
  to withstand temperatures of up to 4,700° to ensure that the
  spacecraft and its passengers can survive the friction heat generated
  when it reenters the atmosphere from orbit. If the shield wrapped the
  entire shuttle, McNutt says, astronauts could fly to within 1.3
  million miles of the sun (roughly the two-yard line). But the
  integrity of the shield degrades rapidly above 4,700°, and the cockpit
  would begin to cook. "I would advise turning away from the sun well
  before that point," McNutt says. Much hotter than that, the shields
  would fail altogether, and the vehicle would combust in less than a
  minute.
Of course, just getting that close to the sun would be quite an
  accomplishment, says NASA radiation-health officer Eddie Semones. The
  constant exposure to cosmic radiation during the voyage would most
  likely prove fatal before the astronauts crossed the 50-yard line.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIpDpRUVrNU
So the answer seems to be YES, if you can survive the insane amount of crazy radiation.  In KM 1.3m milion is 2,092,147km so being 5x further away would be good.  You would probably have to generate a large magnetic fields with backup generators to block the radiation.  If they ever failed even for a short time everyone dies.
Comment: Instead of a magnetic shield, perhaps there is a second rotating structure orbiting between the settlement and the Sun. Aside from maneuvering, it wouldn't require power to operate. And, if it's transparent, it could be used to control the day-night cycle of the colony (like in Lary Niven's *Ringworld* series)
Answer: It is technically feasible so long as the temperature can be controlled, as suggested by MozerShmozer. Indeed his answer suggests why anyone would want to do such a thing; they will be able to accommodate a very high energy lifestyle.
Orbiting the sun at that distance will be much like orbiting any other astronomical body, you will essentially be in free fall (unless the station is rotating to create the effect of gravity), and that near the sun you might want to deploy a large "wake shield" ahead of your orbit to protect the station from orbiting particles that would also accumulate due to the Suns's massive gravity, not to mention the particles emitted by the sun itself.

Another trick which would work very well in that region is to deploy a solar sail of sufficient size to counteract the gravitational pull of the Sun and suspend your station under it. This concept (by Robert L Forward) is known as a Statite. The patent drawing shows a statite "hovering" over Earth, with sufficient planning you could build a statute capable of hovering almost anywhere in the Solar System.
Comment: How does making it a statite help? Orbiting debris will be at a high relative velocity!
Comment: @JDługosz at that orbit there will be no debris, everything evaporates, over sun life time - I mean sun already cleaned that region. I guess.
Comment: How would that be different from orbiting at the same distance, if your statement applies to all points at this distance?  In any case, stuff falls in and stuff is belched out; we never postulated perminant dust orbiting in close but oddly oriented orbits as being the abrasive hazard.
Comment: @JDługosz do not know, was it to me or not, but if for my comment - there will be no permanent or not permanent, or high electricity orbiting particles. Anything at that orbit will evaporate over time, because of radiation (and vapor pressure in vacuum) and because of particles (H, He and other), because solar flares - in therms of small debris it have to be most clean place  in our system. Although I'm not fan of hovering over Sun without no reason, in OP's situation there no obvious reason for that. Looks like just funny fact Thucydides wished to notice.
Answer: Yes, a space station settlement could orbit the sun, but, as others pointed out, preferably at a much larger distance. In fact, the earth orbits at about the "perfect" distance of 150 million km, so that it does not get too hot or too cold.
The issue is the energy needed to escape from Earth. It took a lot of energy to bring the international space station at an orbit of just 400 km above sea level. If you look at a (physical) globe of say 30 cm diameter, and at the distance Amsterdam to Paris, you understand that ISS circles just a few millimeters around that globe. To bring that same ISS in a substantially higher orbit, or even to escape velocity, would need unimaginable amounts of energy. And your 200 person space station is much bigger than ISS.
Could this be done? Practically: no. Theoretically: not in 10 years. In your phantasy (phantastically): of course.
My question is: why not use the Earth itself as such space station?
Answer: Yes

distance from the Sun, 30 light seconds
visual size of the Sun at 10kk km will be 8° (diameter)
radius of the Sun, $\approx$ 2.3 light second (diameter 4.6 light second)
effective temperature of absolute black body, sun side surface, $\small \approx 1500K$
energy flux, $\small \approx300kW/m^2$

This is not an easy situation, specially for those who do not have much experience in space building, and do not have much stuff to operate in the space ad proven technologies needed for such operation. So this 10year+10year of OP's setup - is source of an uncertainty. We may develop technologies which may make this task an easy task, but will we do it or not in the time, I do not know. Thus I suggest one of possible, but sort of low tech solution, which isn't state of art. And this is not Only solution in any way.
Body with 400m radius will make cone of full shadow, height of that cone will be 5720m (1:14.3 ratio).
Ratio of base area(let it be circle) to side area of that cone in our case where $r \ll h$, is also 1:14.3
full surface area of a cone is ${\pi r^2 + \pi r \sqrt{r^2 + h^2}} = \text{base} + \text{side area}$
$\frac {\pi r \sqrt{h^2+r^2}}{\pi r^2} = \sqrt{\frac{h^2+r^2}{r^2}} = \sqrt{1 + \frac{h^2}{r^2}} = \frac{h}{r} \sqrt{1+\frac{r^2}{h^2}} \approx \frac{h}{r} + \frac{1}{2} \frac{r^2}{h^2}$
$\frac{h}{r} = \cot(4 \deg) \approx 14.30$ , $\frac{1}{2} \frac{h^2}{r^2} \approx 0.00244$ which is less then $\frac{1}{6000} \text{ of } \frac{h}{r}$

formulas was not totally necessary, but, who knows

This 1:14.30 ratio is actually important for station
Energy from the bottom of the station have to be dissipated by surface which is in the shadow. Near the cone it will be area of half shadow, where flux will change from 0 to full 300kW/m2 solar energy flow, using that gray area we may improve overall energy generation, but consideration of this matter is omitted.
Bottom
One may use mirrors for the bottom of the station-cone, to reflect the solar energy, but reducing reflective efficiency of this solution have to be expected at this distance from the Sun.
Sun temperature is around 5772K, and spectrum is divided into the following: 5% of the total energy is gamma and UV; 51% 300-800 nm, 41% 800-3300 nm.
The 5% is significant amount of energy at that orbit, and as high energy spectrum it will erode the initially perfect mirror, or layers of reflective materials, specially protective coating if there is such one - more imperfections faster the erosion will develop. It can be solved through constantly refurbishing of the mirror. I do not count solar wind particles erosion, even for perfect reflective mirror we have to protect mirror from them, it can be done by magnetic fields - which can be a challenge by itself.
Thus the mirror isn't an easy option, and sucsess is highly depend on successes in technical development, testings etc - it might fail in 10+10years plan, or do not achieve good enough results, and with necessity to refurbish the surface of the mirror in such not an easy environment is fragile and technologically hungry solutions, so even if it may be a part of a self-sufficient solution, we may choose another approach which requires less maintenance and which is less technologically advanced.
But first of all the energy, how much of it we may produce and use at that distance.
Energy
Despite abundance of energy at this distance(10 million km) solving the problem of electricity generation may be not so easy, because of energy density of the solar flux, solar wind, it isn't just as simple as plug solar panels and you are in the game, specially as a long therm solution.
It will have the same problems as mirror solution for the bottom of the station, erosion and degradation, and same protection from solar wind plasma needed. Multilayer cells have around 40-50% efficiency (up 64% theoretical, at the moment, according wiki, I heard 70% efficiency)
But as multilayer they may degrade faster then usual cells, specially so close to the Sun which is a strong gamma and neutron source. How much energy they need to be produced, how much energy they may produce in their life time, will it be enough to renew them in this environment, specially with small station production capacities. Who knows. Development of technology isn't so easy to predict.
But those efficiency's are not way too far from electricity generation with steam power, and solar cells just do not work at temperatures where steam generation works. So this way we will go with 40% efficiency, good enough. No need in super duper technologies for to repair and to produce.
Thus as the electricity generation device we choose a steam turbine, was good enough for my grandpa, good enough for the space.
With 300-340K of side surface of the station, it means 460-760W of the waste heat can be dissipated with each square meter of the surface. With above given parameters of the station, we have 5-8 GW in form of electricity. Which we have to spend some where outside of the station(for propulsion as example). More realistically 3.3GW at 300K (waste and electricity(which will become waste after some use) combined, electricity will be something like 1.3GW here)

there may be another ways to generate energy so close to sun, as example using solar wind(plasma) directly to generate potential, also use photons to accelerate electrons and get energy from them (reverse vacuum tube) and such solutions may work entirely at 1500K (or 1260K actually, because 2 sides irradiate heat). Some materials will form plasma at such circumstances, and just that fact is enough to get energy. These solutions, as they may work in that environment without need for additional cooling, may solve energy and heat problem for station completely(at that orbit). As we have energy, we may cool station, specially in case where energy solution is also heat dissipation-protection solution. But such solutions have to be tested, perfected etc - and how much time it will take, no body knows.(depends). So without smart technologies, like this one Laser Wake Field Acceleration but for our needs at that orbit and without lasers, and and and ....
But needs to say -- the station may potentially operate with significantly larger amounts of energy then just 1.3GW of electricity. In given situation with steam it can be 15GW, if side surface works as a radiator at about 650K(cold end for steam). Usual hot end for steam is about 823K, so efficiency will be pretty low about 21%, but because of black body emission is proportional to T4 it maximizes electricity generation.

Heat

usually people are concerned about that more then it needs actually, and I'm perfect example of that with this kind of answer.

With ratio 1:14.3 we can't just take all energy at bottom and dissipate it, our optimistic dissipation capability with 400K (above boiling point of water, and we still may produce energy at that point) is 10GW in form of heat. Bottom gets $\approx$ 15 times more, so our abilities to dissipate are 6.6% of what we may potentially have to dissipate.
There are good news too

there are lot of material with melting point above 1500K, Specially Fe, Si, SiC, C, and pure SiO2 with it's almost 2000K.
zero gravity - we may have just molten ball at bottom of station, as shield(reducing flux) - I mean structural strength of materials is not big issue here.
we no not need some rare and unique materials

Black body surface, with 0 heat conductivity, will have temperature 1500K on side of sun. But some sheet of material heat conductive, will have temperature  1261K because it emits energy to sun and from sun - so just plain sheet at bottom of station, will reduce energy 2 times.
Sphere will dissipate energy all around and will have temperature 1060K, 4 times less energy(approximately, visual angle of the sun isn't counted here)
But lets take look at that cone station(r=400m, h=5720m), and If it will be kinda solid, will it have equal temperature on all over it's surface. No, because of heat transfer rate in the material of the cone. So less heat conductivity will be, more will it be the difference between hot part(base of the cone) and cold end(the tip of the cone).
Space Shuttle Thermal Tile Demonstration
This demonstration is good, but eventually any material used for insulation in furnaces will work same way(I mean for needs of the station, not in this kind of demonstrations), just a layer of the material have to be ticker. But we do not need that layer be thin, more then that, we explicitly wish it to be tick enough to stop gamma rays, neutron flux, solar wind, this way thicker it is better is it and for thermal protection and for other types of protection.
So we may take good enough amounts of a material from the mercury, which is near by. SiO2 stuff on top, Fe bars as structure keepers, and heat conductors in perpendicular direction(this way heat conductivity of shield will be more in radial direction and less in axial direction). Ticker it is for longer it lasts, better it is as protection against high energy electromagnetic waves and particles, less energy transfer to "cold" end where people are.
First layer acts as brute force, as heat dissipation system, as filter for spectral energy(cuts everything with short wave length gamma, UV etc).
As next layer it may be used something more valuable and suitable for heat protection at lower temperatures, there are lot of solutions to use, they are not space grade(yet), but first layer isolates (if solutions need that) from space - and converts the question: how do you would survive and build station in such hard environment, in to the question: how do you usually protect furnaces and workers.
As example
Thermal conductivity of steel is around $92 \frac{W}{m \cdot K}$, SiO2 $8 \frac{W}{m \cdot K}$, basalt-glass $1.2 \frac{W}{m \cdot K}$
We know hot end temperature(1500K), as we steam energy generate, we know cold end temperature 818K(545°С) which is hot end for steam system, we know how much energy we may dissipate 10GW(at  boiling point of water and this energy is equivalent to the energy flux from hot end to cold end in the heat shield) and it is something around 20$\small kW/m^2$ at bottom for station (r=400, h=5720), so we may say how tick this bottom have to be for different materials.
$P=-\varkappa\frac{S\Delta T}{l}$, $l=\varkappa\frac{S\Delta T}{P}$
for material with $1 \frac{W}{m \cdot K}$, only 0.034m, or 3.4cm tick - woow that's unexpected.(basalt wool is used for insulation)
For steel it will be 3.15m tick.
If we do not generate energy and just dissipate energy at 300K at side surface of the cone we have to consume less energy from the cold end of the shield, so thickness have to be ticker about 3 times roughly speaking(3 times less energy, 3 times ticker bottom).
Considering the fact we have to have ticker radiation protection layer then for heat protection - heat protection isn't issue after all.
Conclusion
There are lot of challenges in building such a station, but heat alone is not an issue. For those who thinks about ISS heat dissipation arrays, coolant there is NH3 and temperature at which heat is irradiated is 240-200K. Two times difference in temperature means 16 times difference in power of irradation.
Another big challenge is getting lot of materials to some point where station have to be build, but for 200 peoples station do not have to be so big, all parameters scale well with base surface area. For 200 people at the station it needs something like 20kW per person - for food, technical needs etc, so cone dissipation energy have to be 4MW or roughly 750 times less then the same in the bigger station which was used above as example. It means surface of base have to be 750 times less, so it will be a cone with parameters (r=14.6, h=208m) volume 46406 $m^3$, it is not much a volume per person so it have to be bigger then that, just to be able to place all needed equipment for recycling, maintenance of the station etc. So energy isn't a limiting factor here, and it is more a question about technologies and equipment and sizes and volumes needed for it, for food production, process waste, production lines needed to make repairs in station in- and out- side.
As my opinion we talking at least about 100'000 tonnes of mass (average density 1$\small t/m^3$) and + another 100000 tonnes for shielding, mostly for radiation protection (I think 30m layer may be good enough)
There are ways to solve different parts of the problem, but OP information and 10+10 plan isn't good help here.
But there is nothing which can't be solved by 1000000 launches from Moon or from Earth.
There are other and more reasonable ways to build the station, but looks like OP is about another apocalyptic situation, so one rocket per 7 million peoples each day in next 3 years and station will be done.
7500 m/s delta from earth to mercury, after that solar sails, ION drives with higher ISP and down to 10kk km to the Sun.
Better approach would be establish production base on the Moon, and lift the stuff with Non-rocket spacelaunch.
And the station may be assembled entirely on the moon and be launched from the Moon. Or it may be assembled in L1 point with other constructions we may wish to assemble there.
Is 10+10years possible, with current tech - yes, definitely. And most important tech from them all is our ability to automate tasks.
Will we have such station in 20year, not sure, I do not see any sense at the moment in doing that, but if I do not forget about it for fun or if scientist's will say they need such station - then sure, why not.
Answer: To steal from Brin's Sundiver (and to a degree, Niven's Ringworld), an hypothetical high-temperature superconductor tied to a very efficient laser could shed whatever excess heat by beaming it back into the sun. (Which is the entire premise of Sundiver)
Naturally, such superconductor materials are made of equal parts science and fiction, …


Speeding up the browsing of PDFs in Adobe Acrobat

Question: I have the most recent version of Adobe Acrobat 9 (9.0.5) installed on a relatively powerful workstation: A Windows 7 64 bit machine with 96 GB of RAM and two six-core processors Intel Xeon X5690 @ 3.47 GHz (it's a workstation for scientific research)
What puzzles me is that the navigation of PDF documents is still not smooth on Adobe Acrobat 9 on my machine. For example, for a PDF that is 10 MB in size, eight pages long, the scrolling is still not as smooth as I would expect it to be. It can take somewhere between 0.2 to 1 seconds to move between pages or render a figure. Surely a fraction of a second is not that much that I can't read the PDF, but I often  scroll back and forth between pages, and when I do this the latency becomes more noticeable.
If I open the same file in SumatraPDF or in PDF-XChange Viewer I can browse the PDF efficiently and move through pages with virtually no latency.

Are there any options in Adobe Acrobat 9 that would speed up the scrolling/rendering of PDF files?
Why is Adobe Acrobat so slow considering the specs of the machine? Why is it much slower than a relatively feature-rich PDF viewer/editor such as PDF-XChange Viewer? (note that, in contrast to SumatraPDF, PDF-XChange Viewer has significant editing capabilities).
Answer: It is an uniprocessor 32bit program. Don't expect much from it.
9.5 is minimum supported by adobe. Try that before Reader X


Eating two consecutive meals on Shabbat Erev Pesach and Seudah Shlishit

Question: When Erev Pesach was on Shabbat, nearly every shul rav I have encountered has advised this procedure on Shabbat morning:
Daven very early so that Shabbat davening will end before the last time one is allowed to eat chametz.
Go home, wash and eat a meal with challah. Then bentch, and wash again and eat another meal with challah. This way, you will have eaten your 3 Shabbat meals all with challah.
I have read that one may fulfill Se'udah Shlishit eating fruit and one may also eat matza ashirah on Erev Pesach. For some reason, the rabbis insist that all 3 meals should have challah / chametz.
Considering this answer that explains that Seudah Shlishit must be eaten in the afternoon, which, in this case, would be after the time one would be allowed to eat chametz, how do these rabbis suggestions accomplish having the 3rd meal immediately after the second, as they suggest?
Comment: You may find https://judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/76809/what-is-technically-required-for-shalosh-seudas/76813#76813 enlightening
Answer: Magen Avraham (OC 444:1) writes that one should split his morning meal into two meals, because there are opinions who hold that one can fulfill his obligation of eating three meals by doing so.


What would be the architecturally-right place to put custom -D defines?

Question: What I am trying to accomplish is to include information about the state of my environment at build time in my code. For example, I may want the setup() code to print the git sha it was built against, and the time of build.
There are two related issues here:

How to include that information in the code
How to specify to the build environment what to generate in the first place.

The first can be addressed in a number of ways:

-D options can be generated at build time, and the corresponding defined macros expanded in the code. For example, the compiler could be invoked as g++ -DGIT_SHA=$(git rev-parse HEAD) -DDATE=$(date '+%Y%m%d-%H:%M:%S'), and my code could have something like #define strfy(_x) #_x followed by Serial.println(strfy(GIT_SHA));. Or the build tool could generate a header file that would define these as external string variables, which the main sketch could then include and print. Or any other number of tricks.

The question I am really asking is: how should I specify this sort of stuff for arduino-builder?
Ideally, it would be a custom recipe in platform.txt, but if there is a way to invoke shell commands in recipes and use the results to modify other variables (such as preproc.macro.flags), I haven't been able to find it (if there is documentation, it's really well hidden). Ideally I would want to be able to say preproc.macros.flags=-w -x c++ -E -CC -DGIT_SHA=$(git rev-parse HEAD) and have the shell command be executed at the point.
So, before I set out to hack arduino-builder, do people have any opinion on this? My main criterion is something that would be of general value and has a chance of being incorporated in the code, rather than a kludge that only works for me and which I have to patch every time I upgrade. Please do not suggest workarounds. I can think of several myself!
I did try to search, and this sort of issue has come up before, but I didn't see any satisfactory answers from people who knew what they were talking about.
Thanks!
/ji
Answer: That is a tough one...  Because arduino-builder is basically a custom go script you don't get the facilities you get in a Makefile, like shell execution.
I would be inclined to do this kind of thing outside that environment - use some external program or tool to generate a config.h file (maybe use something like GNU Autotools) that contains your custom defines. That can then be #included in your sketch.
Answer: For the date and time of compilation there are predefined preprocessor symbols: __DATE__ and __TIME__.
Comment: Unfortunately these are at compile time and not at link time.
Comment: Seems appropriate; the OP used compiler command-string examples.
Comment: I'm not stating it is inappropriate. I'm adding that this solution has a drawback.
From experience I learned that a IDE that only builds changed files (like the newest versions of the arduino IDE) will end up with outdated dates and time on the Arduino.


How do slats reduce stall speed?

Question: I've read in PHAK that slats reduce stall speed, but in what way? Is it because of the increase in surface area?
Comment: I'm sorry, but I actually read it somewhere else (I forgot where, I read too many stuff), but PHAK is Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge by FAA ( https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/phak/media/pilot_handbook.pdf ).
Comment: Could you include a link (or better description) to what PHAK exactly is?
Comment: In some very rare cases they don't just reduce stall speed but [eliminate it altogether](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonov_An-2).
Comment: Nice info! But it says there that it only has a very low stall speed (50kph), not necessarily eliminated?
Answer: It's because leading edge devices allow a higher Angle of Attack.

The four types of leading edge devices work by pointing the nose of the wing downwards so that at higher AoA there is no flow separation at the upper surface near the nose. Deflecting the slats does not increase $C_L$, the aeroplane must increase AoA to do that. Lower stall speed comes with the higher $C_{Lmax}$

From this answer, which also contains a graph showing that flaps increase $C_L$ at constant AoA.
Comment: The leading edge flaps are the ones which deflects downward, and the slats technically extend forward to create slots (which prevents immediate airflow separation) don't they? I'm a bit confused with the main difference of these two, because they function the same
Comment: Yeah their function is the same, of all four: re-align the nose to be more in line with the free stream at high AoA. Note that if increased wing area would be a factor, the $C_L$ would rise at constant AoA, which it doesn't.
Answer: The two main leading edge devices are leading edge slots and leading edge flaps:
Slots energize the boundary layer to delay stall by allowing higher pressure air from below to "leak" in a controlled way to the upper surface.  The slot is effectively a convergent duct, large at the bottom and small at the top, so the air is slightly accelerated as it flows through the outlet at the top, more or less parallel to the skin surface.  Because the air is slightly accelerated relative to the freestream just above it, being squeezed through a convergent duct in effect, Coanda effect enhances its ability to follow the upper surface contour and help the freestream stay attached.
Leading edge flaps, basically drooping leading edges, increase wing camber the same way that a trailing edge flap does, increasing Clmax somewhat at a given angle of attack.
If I combine the leading edge SLoT and flAp together, I get a SLAT.  The slat extends its nose down and forward from the normal LE position, increasing camber somewhat, like a LE flap.  The slot created when the slat extends energizes the boundary layer and delays separation, allowing the wing to generate lift into the mid 20 degree range.  So you get a little bit higher CLmax for a given AOA and it can operate to a much higher AOA, giving you the highest possible CLmax and lowest stall speed.

Fixed slots were all the rage in the 30s and 40s to control flow separation forward of the ailerons on airplanes like the Globe Swift, negating the need for wing washout, but these didn't really reduce stall speed, just kept the ailerons working in the stall.  They fell out of favour because the drag penalty of the always open slot was worse then the efficiency loss of washout.
Comment: I see what you did there. Very nice way to remember it!
Answer: Slats increase the camber of the wing, which increases the coefficient of lift.
When you deploy slats, the AOA is actually lowered for that part of the wing.  This is the same washout principle Dunne ingeniously applied to the D.8 swept wing bi-plane in 1912!
You now have a more heavily cambered wing at a lower angle of attack, so more lift is to be had by increasing pitch more.  Since the Clift is higher, one can generate the same amount of
lift at a lower speed.
Airflow underneath the wing and its contribution to lift may be worth further study.  The action of the air curling around the wing leading edge and impacting the "underside" in an upwards and forward manner (Eye of Jupiter?) or a bit of compression may help explain why they work so well (in addition to the benefits of lift creation by increasing camber on the upper part of the wing).
Slats are greatly helpful in reducing the AOA and increasing the Coefficient of Lift of part, or all, of the wing. You can now pitch up a little more, but be careful.
Comment: `Slats are greatly helpful in reducing the AOA and increasing the Coefficient of Lift` is not what they do. Leading edge devices don't raise $C_L$ at constant AoA, see graph. They are not helpful in reducing AoA, they allow for greater AoA without stalling.
Comment: Mate - please look it up. AoA as defined by the angle relative to the free stream.
Comment: But it's OK, I can delete the comments if you like.
Comment: Right, look at the chord line angle to the free stream after the slat is dropped.  What is there is a more cambered wing at a lower AOA.  So that PART of the wing now has different properties.  Lower AOA AND more camber. So you've washed out the wing tip (relative to the rest of the wing). The reason why this is so important (slats really helped the Sabre Jet (the first of the too small horizontal stabilizer (guess what happens with a swept wing))aircraft) to understand  their role in lowering AOA relative to the rest of the wing and assisting horizontal stabilizer in preventing stall.
Comment: Because when an aircraft goes to excessive AOA, the lift of the horizontal stabilizer should be going positive to help lower AOA, even without neat tricks like pushing the stick forward (ha, ha, ha).  Good slats will also help as will generate a pitch down as they (on a swept wing) are behind the CG, and by virtue of their increased lift at higher alpha (from your graph).
Comment: Yes that is my point, you're talking about the local AoA relative to the nose, Best specify that.

How do slats reduce stall speed?


How can I find maximum and and minimum values of $ f(x,y)=xye^{-(x+y)}$?

Question: How can I find maximum and and minimum values of $ f(x,y)=xye^{-(x+y)}$ in the region $(x-1)^2+(y-1)^2 \leq4$ ?
Answer: First look for critical points of $f$ in the interior $(x-1)^2 + (y-1)^2 < 4$. Do this by comparing the partial derivatives of $f$ to zero. Next search for critical values on the boundary $(x-1)^2 + (y-1)^2 = 4$ using Lagrange multipliers. Compute $f$ in these points and, by putting everything together, you will find the maximum and minimum of $f$ in the region.
EDIT: Computing the derivatives:
$$f_x(x,y) = x(1-y)e^{-(x+y)} \\\\
f_y(x,y) = y(1-x)e^{-(x+y)}$$
Comparing both to zero we get:
$$x(1-y) = 0 \\\\
y(1-x) = 0$$
Simultaneous solutions are $(0,0)$ and $(1,1)$, which are both within the interior (but as we will see these points don't matter anyway). Computing $f$ at these points gives $0$ and $e^{-2} \approx 0.135$ correspondingly.
Now to the boundary. It is given by $g(x,y) = 4$ where $g(x,y) = (x-1)^2 + (y-1)^2$ and the partial derivatives:
$$g_x(x,y) = 2(x-1) \\\\ g_y(x,y) = 2(y-1)$$
Using the Lagrange multipliers method, we have to solve
$$g(x,y) = 4 \\\\ f_x(x,y) - \lambda g_x(x,y) = 0 \\\\ f_y(x,y) - \lambda g_y(x,y) = 0$$
to find the critical points on the boundary. Substituting:
$$(x-1)^2 + (y-1)^2 = 4 \\\\
 y(1-x)e^{-(x+y)} - \lambda 2(x-1) = 0\\\\
 x(1-y)e^{-(x+y)} - \lambda 2(y-1) = 0$$
Assuming $x,y \neq 1$ we can divide the last two equations by $(x-1)$ and $(y-1)$ correspondingly, so they become:
$$ ye^{-(x+y)} = - 2\lambda \\\\
 xe^{-(x+y)} = - 2\lambda $$
which implies $x = y$. Substituting into $g(x,y) = 4$, we have:
$$2(x-1)^2 = 4 \quad \implies \quad x = 1 \pm \sqrt{2}$$
Corresponding values of $f$ are
$$f(1 - \sqrt{2}, 1 - \sqrt{2}) = (3 - 2 \sqrt{2}) e^{-2 + 2\sqrt{2}} \approx 0.393 \\\\
f(1 + \sqrt{2}, 1 + \sqrt{2}) = (3 + 2 \sqrt{2}) e^{-2 - 2\sqrt{2}} \approx 0.0466$$
For the case where $x = 1$ or $y = 1$ we plug them directly into $g(x,y) = 4$ to get
$$x = 1 \quad \implies \quad (y-1)^2 = 4 \quad \implies \quad y = -1, 3 \\\\
y = 1 \quad \implies \quad (x-1)^2 = 4 \quad \implies \quad x = -1, 3$$
Corresponding values of $f$ are
$$f(-1,1) = f(1,-1) = -e^0 = -1 \\\\
f(3,1) = f(1,3) = 3e^{-4} \approx 0.0549$$
We conclude that the minimum value of $-1$ is attained at $(-1,1)$ and $(1,-1)$, and the maximum value of $(3 - 2 \sqrt{2}) e^{-2 + 2\sqrt{2}}$ is attained at $(1 - \sqrt{2}, 1 - \sqrt{2})$.
Comment: @MuhammadKhalifaTranCer: Nope. You have $y=0$ *or* $x=1$. The same goes for $f_y$. But this only gives you the interior points, which according to wolfram happen to not be the maxima and minima in the region. The extrema actually achieved on the boundary, which is the second half of the question.
Comment: could you tell me if the critical points are (1,0) and (0,1) or not? I'm not sure
Comment: @MuhammadKhalifaTranCer [I don't think so.](http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=extrema+x*y*e^%28-x-y%29+on+%28x%E2%88%921%29^2%2B%28y%E2%88%921%29^2%3C%3D4) Recheck your computations.
Comment: Fx =-xye^-(x+y) +ye^-(x+y) = 0 so -xy+y = 0 and then y(1-x)=0 so y=0 and x=1 is a point is that right?
Comment: @MuhammadKhalifaTranCer The critical points *are not* $(1,0)$ nor $(0,1)$ see my reply below.
Comment: how would i calculate the minimum on the boundary Lagrange gives me only the maximum at (1-√2,1-√2) ?
Comment: @MuhammadKhalifaTranCer: I do not know your calculations. Likely you forgot one of the cases somewhere. I can try to post the calculations here, but they are likely to be different from yours, so I can't say whether it is beneficial for you.
Comment: don't worry just post them I'm sure they'll be of use to me somehow
Comment: @MuhammadKhalifaTranCer: see the calculations posted.
Comment: Thank you buddy that was really helpful :)
Answer: There is a theorem, called the second derivative test for multiple variables, which states that you can find the maxima/minima of f by studying f at its critical points. You have limited the domain of this function, so we will only include values inside the domain, and use another method to find values on the boundary (Lagrange Multipliers). The theorem states that at a point $(a,b)$, where $f_x(a,b)=f_y(a,b)=0$, if f is defined on an open interval around $(a,b)$ then let $D=D(a,b)=f_{xx}(a,b)f_{yy}(a,b) - [f_{xy}(a,b)]^2$.
There are 3 cases for $D$:
1) if $D>0$ and $f_{xx}>0$, then $f(a,b)$ is a local minimum
2) if $D>0$ and $f_{xx}<0$, then $f(a,b)$ is a local maximum
3) if $D<0$ then $f(a,b)$ is neither a local minimum nor a local maximum (saddle point)
It's helpful to remember $D$ as the determinant of the hessian of the function. ie, $D=\left|\begin{array}{ll}
f_{xx} & f_{xy} \\
f_{yx} & f_{yy}
\end{array}\right|
= f_{xx}f_{yy} - [f_{xy}f_{yx}]^2$
Note that we know though by Clairauts theorem, $f_{xy} = f_{yx}$
Ok, so coming back to your question:
$f_x = (1-x)ye^{-(x+y)}\\
 f_y = (1-y)xe^{-(x+y)}$
So there are critical points at (1,1) and (0,0).
These both lie in the domain...
And we also have that
$f_{xx} = (x-2)ye^{-(x+y)}\\
 f_{yy} = (y-2)xe^{-(x+y)}\\
 f_{xy} = (x-1)(y-1)(e^{-(x+y)})$
So $D(a,b)=e^{-2(a+b)}((a-2)(b-2)ab - (a-1)^2(b-1)^2)$
So evaluate D at the critical points:
$D(0,0) = e^0(-1) = -1 < 0\\
 D(1,1) = e^{-4}(1-0) = e^{-4} > 0$
So $(0,0)$ is a point of inflection and $(1,1)$ is a local maximum...
The local maximum for the unbounded problem is then $e^{-4} \approx 0.02$
We're not done yet. It could be that it grows/decays arbitrarily so the bounds you gave may hold local maxima/minima too. To solve this we use Lagrange multipliers.
The way I like to do these is write the gradient of f as a linear combination of the gradients of the constraints. Often one can get away with little more than the AM-GM inequality. Never mind that though, onto Lagrange:
$\nabla f(x,y) = \lambda \nabla g(x,y)$
And
$g(x,y) = 4$
where here, $f(x,y) = xye^{-(x+y)}$ and $g(x,y) = (x-1)^2 + (y-1)^2$
I'll let you figure the partial derivatives for g out yourself. After that, we get the system:
$\begin{array}{lcl}
(1-x)ye^{-(x+y)} = \lambda 2(x-1) \\
(1-y)xe^{-(x+y)} = \lambda 2(y-1) \\
(x-1)^2 + (y-1)^2 = 4
\end{array}$
One could treat this casewise,
if $x=1$ then $y=-1$ or $3$
if $y=1$ then $x=-1$ or $3$
and if $x$ and $y$ are neither $1$, then $x=y=1\pm \sqrt{2}$
Finally we must check these 8 points (2 boundary and 6 interior) as to which is maximal/minimal.
My favorite way is to plug them in and see which are the highest/lowest...
I've used python 2.7, my code is:
<code>points = [(1,-1),(1,3),(-1,1),(3,1),(1+sqrt(2),1+sqrt(2)),(1-sqrt(2),1-sqrt(2)),(1,1),(0,0)]

def f(x,y):
    return x*y*e**(-(x+y))

maxima = max(f(p[0],p[1]) for p in points)

minima = min(f(p[0],p[1]) for p in points)

for x,y in points:
    if f(x,y)==minima:
        print 'f(%d,%d) = %1.3f is a local minima' % (x,y,f(x,y))
    if f(x,y)==maxima:
        print 'f(%d,%d) = %1.3f is a local maxima' % (x,y,f(x,y))
</code>
You will find then that the minima in the boundary are at $f(\pm 1, \mp 1) = -1$ and the maximum is achieved at $f(1-\sqrt{2},1-\sqrt{2}) = (3-2\sqrt{2})e^{2(\sqrt{2}-1)}$.
Answer: It happens that we can answer this question easily without resorting to Lagrange multipliers. In the sequel, let $R=[-1,3]^2$ and $D=\{(x-1)^2 + (y-1)^2 \le 4\} \subset R$.
Let us deal with the minima first. Note that $f(x,y)=g(x)g(y)$ where $g(t)=te^{-t}$. The function $g$ is unimodal and its global maximum occurs at $t=1$, with $g(1)=e^{-1}>0$. Also, $g(t)\searrow-\infty$ when $t\rightarrow-\infty$ and $g(t)\searrow0$ when $t\rightarrow+\infty$. Therefore, on the square $R=[-1,3]^2$, $f$ is the most negative when $g(x)$ is the most positive and $g(y)$ is the most negative (or when $g(y)$ is the most positive and $g(x)$ is the most negative). Hence
$$
\min_{(x,y)\in[-1,3]^2}f(x,y) = \max_{x\in[-1,3]}g(x)\min_{y\in[-1,3]}g(y)=g(1)g(-1) = -1.
$$
Since $(1,-1)\in D\subset[-1,3]^2$, we see that $\min\limits_D f(x,y)=f(1,-1)=-1$. By symmetry, $(-1,1)$ is another global minimum point.
To find the maximum, we first note that, by a similar argument to the above, we have $\max_{D\cap[0,3]^2} f(x,y) = f(1,1) = e^{-2}>0$. It remains to compare this maximum value to $\max_{D\cap[-1,0]^2}$. Now, when $x,y\le 0$, we have, by A.M.$\ge$G.M.,
\begin{align}
(-x)(-y) e^{-(x+y)} &\le \left[\frac{(-x)+(-y)}{2}\right]^2 e^{-(x+y)}\\
\Rightarrow\quad g(x)g(y) &\le g^2\left(\frac{x+y}{2}\right).
\end{align}
In other words, on $D\cap[-1,0]^2$, the maximum of $f$ occurs when $x=y$. Since $g(t)\le0$ and $g(t)\searrow-\infty$ when $t\rightarrow-\infty$, $f(x,x)$ attains maximum on $D\cap[-1,0]^2$ when $(x-1)^2+(x-1)^2=4$, i.e. when $x=1-\sqrt{2}$. As $f(1-\sqrt{2},\,1-\sqrt{2})=(3 - 2 \sqrt{2}) e^{-2 + 2\sqrt{2}}>e^{-2}$, we have confirmed that $(1-\sqrt{2},\,1-\sqrt{2})$ gives the global maximum of $f$ over $D$.


Filter search posts by post meta?

Question: I'm working with a custom post type with custom taxonomy and custom fields and trying to filter the displayed results (on admin post listing page) by the custom field values...
I've been trying to modify a function i found here to do the job to no avail:
function wpg_filter_manage_quotes() {
  global $typenow;
  if($typenow != 'quotes') {
    return;
  }
  $post_types = get_post_types(array( '_builtin' => false));
  if(in_array($typenow, $post_types)) {
    $filters = get_object_taxonomies($typenow);

    foreach($filters as $tax_slug) {
      $tax_obj = get_taxonomy( $tax_slug );
      wp_dropdown_categories( array(
        'show_option_all' => __('Show All '.$tax_obj->label ),
        'taxonomy'        => $tax_slug,
        'name'            => $tax_obj->name,
        'orderby'         => 'name',
        'selected'        => $_GET[$tax_slug],
        'hierarchical'    => $tax_obj->hierarchical,
        'show_count'      => false,
        'hide_empty'      => true
      ));
    }
  }
}
add_action('restrict_manage_posts', 'wpg_filter_manage_quotes');

The above function works as it should to add a dropdown to filter by custom taxonomy, but for the life of me I can't figure out how to modify it to work with custom field data...

I'm wanting to add a dropdown to filter by Author as well, and the author is stored as a custom field value. I've also got a list of all authors currently being used in my options array in the database... It's stored as an array in a variable like so: $wpgqs['used_authors'].
Any ideas?
EDIT:
The more I look at it, the more I think I'm going to have to hardcode the selectbox... If that's the case, then I guess I just need to know which filters/hooks I need to be using to add the hardcoded selectobx to that particular submit button's form?
Answer: take a look at my answer to a very similar Question.
Comment: great! now I just need to get rid of the input area and simply list all the authors rather than the meta keys... lol

Filter search posts by post meta?


Blood pressure during exercise

Question: What happens to blood pressure when we exercise? Does it increase, decrease, or remain the same? If it does increase, why are patients with high blood pressure recommended to exercise?
Answer: As pointed out in the answers above, your blood pressure increases transiently as you exercise because more oxygen and nutrients are consumed by your muscles. However, regular exercise increases your "cardiovascular reserve"-this means your body will be able to function well at lower blood pressures. However, caution must be taken in hypertensive patients whose blood pressures are already up the roof. In these patients, gentle exercise and life style modifications (diet, stopping smoking, weight loss etc) may reduce their blood pressures over time. This will also reduce their risk of cardiovascular catastrophes in the future.
So whilst exercise will reduce blood pressure, it is not recommended as a first line of life style modification in hypertensive patients because exercise itself is stressful initially and stress is also bad for a hypertensive patient. Hence, exercise is good but gentle exercise is recommended for hypertensive patients. But again I doubt gentle exercise will do maximum good to your cardiovascular system because the type of exercise that helps lower your blood pressure is one that makes you sweat (e.g tread mill, etc). But once the blood pressure of a hypertensive patient is under control, then they can safely exercise and this should help lower their blood pressure long term. I hope this makes sense.
Answer: Blood pressure increases during exercise as shown in this paper, but the reason that experts recommend exercise for hypertensive patients is that increases in fitness decrease blood pressure (demonstrated nicely in this study of >2000 children, measuring fitness and blood pressure changes over 12 months).
In a way, the doctors aren't saying that exercise itself will decrease blood pressure, more: "increasing fitness will decrease blood pressure, fitness will increase with regular exercise, therefore you should exercise more."
Caution should be used though for taking up new exercise regimes and doctors should be consulted.
There are of course other well documented benefits to regular exercise and personally I find it is great stress relief which could indirectly aid lowering of blood pressure (stress increases blood pressure, mine is 80/50 - very low - and I would describe myself as quite easy going :D).
Answer: Increases during exercise, but as we get fitter it decreases. Vessels become more optimal, they grow to supply muscles better, the heart beats less as it becomes more efficient. However this goes beyond that, hypertensive patients are at risk of stroke and heart attacks. Exercise reduces many risk factors: stress, obesity and coronary artery disease and many others. Thus exercise is really helpful.

Blood pressure during exercise


uncooked pork left out overnight in original packaging

Question: My kids helped unpack groceries last night and left a bag of uncooked pork chops in the original packaging out overnight.  They were still in the shopping bag on the floor of the kitchen.  There was also ground beef that comes in the chub packaging left out.  The chubs were frozen when I bought them. When I put them away in the refrigerator, they were still partially frozen.  I am on a very limited budget and can't afford to replace these items.  Are these items safe to eat?
Comment: I would not accept any advice on this subject from internet commenters.  Contact your nearest county extension service or even the butcher at your grocery store.  Any expert would have you test the temp of the meat prior to refrigeration.  Since you did not, any guess made here other than "toss it out" is endangering your life and the lives of your kids.
Comment: @jbarker2160 I think that you mean you wouldn't accept any advice saying to keep it. You seem to be fine saying to throw it out. (And I don't really see how contacting someone is going to help, since they're going to say the same thing: if you didn't check the temperature, you can't be sure.)
Comment: There's a standard FAQ for questions like this [here](http://cooking.stackexchange.com/q/34670/15018).
Answer: Personally I think some of the people here enjoy throwing food away. As you state you are on a limited budget I can emphasise as I'm in the same position. I've been a chef for 10 years so I've done my fair share of food hygiene courses and top ups (boring) and I stick to the rules at work as I'm required to by law. However at home I have no issue at all with defrosting meat on the side overnight. And if I personally, accidentally left some pork chops in a vacuum packed package over night. I'd just give them a rinse and have them for breakfast. I know it's good to be safe but neither I my partner or our 2 children have ever had any sort of tummy bug never mind food poisoning.
How do the people here think humans survived before fridges?
I expect I'll get some down votes for this...

After re-reading my post I would like to emphesise, I would never intentionally put me or my family in danger. If it was the middle of summer and I'd left the pork on the side I would be more drawn towards throwing them out. Considering your Beef was still frozen I'm assuming your kitchen wasn't hot and the pork like the other post mention's likely never got into the danger zone because of it's cooling effect.
Comment: There's a reason we usually stick to official advice here. USDA/FDA/etc. procedures likely reduce risk to 1 in a billion/serving or less. Maybe in this situation 1 in million, 1 in 1000, or 1 in 100, but without knowing a LOT more about the meat in question, even a microbiologist couldn't estimate risk. The problem with "I've always done X and it hasn't hurt me" is (1) most food poisoning produces mild symptoms that sometimes take days to incubate, and (2) even 1 in 100 risk for a scenario means many people never get sick, but thousands could be doing the same thing every day and getting sick.
Comment: All of that said, I don't know whether I'd personally throw this meat away if this happened to me. I certainly don't "enjoy throwing food away." But my decision would be a complex judgment call based on a large number of factors. I can't make the same judgment call for someone else over the internet with incomplete information.
Comment: On this I want to tell a story. I was a Veterinary Technician for many years. Once upon a time, I worked in an ER clinic is Des Moines, Iowa. A night came that we treated a Siamese cat after being hit by a car. The cat died from her injuries. During her death throes, she bit her owner. She was a vaccinated house cat. It was absolutely ridiculous that state law *required* us to send the cat's remains to be tested for rabies. I'll be damned if that cat didn't come back positive. Rabies is 100% fatal. The owner would be dead today if we hadn't have taken that ridiculous step. Just sayin.
Answer: This sort of topic seems to engender no small amount of confusion and opinionizing. Let me encourage you to think of this problem as though you were thawing the meat, in other words as though you had been thawing the meat overnight, albeit accidentally. If by break of day the chubs of beef were still frozen, then obviously they're fine. This explains your seeming emphasis on the pork chops.
If the pork chops were 1)in the same bag as the chubs of beef, 2)lying directly beneath them, and 3)quite cool to the touch when you discovered the problem, then the chubs likely did a fine job of keeping the chops at or below 40°F for the night. If any of these conditions however were not met, I'm afraid it's not worth risking the sickness that could follow from exposure to the overnight growth of pathogens or toxins.
If all three conditions were however met, still you should prepare the chops at once, not store them any longer in the refrigerator. The parallel principle here follows from what it would have been if you were thawing out these chops in cool water, as per the FDA's pointers here, in which event you would have still been keeping the meat below 41°F even though outside the refrigerator. If all of the above (three) conditions were met, this is clearly the logical equivalent of having met the thaw by water terms. But again, cook them at once. And again, discard them if any of the three conditions were not met.


Renting a flat in Montenegro

Question: I want to rent a flat in Montenegro for 2 persons for about one month. Is there any problem I should be aware of (I heard in some countries you need to have a job or local bank account to rent a flat).
Comment: I suspect that the job/bank-account requirements would never apply to a short-term rental.  Montenegro has a strong tourist sector, so one-month rentals are surely common there.  Unfortunately, I cannot help further as my closest experiences are in Croatia, not Montenegro, so probably similar, but not directly applicable.
Answer: Borrowing from one of my answers on a similar question:

Long-term rentals everywhere around the world typically require the tenant to prove the ability to pay the current and every future month rent. This is done by showing salary slips (usually the last 3 in France), payment receipts from previous rental agreements, a reference letter, and/or binding someone else to be your guarantor to cover any missed payments (this person too will have to show proofs).

Short-term rentals on the other hand are often bound by simpler contracts (if any) which involve up-front payment for either the full rental period, or blocks of several consecutive months. No need to ask for proof of payment ability if the tenant pays everything in advance.
Now I don't know about Montenegro specifically. Going out on a purely speculative limb though I would say that since Airbnb does have various short-term rental listings for Kotor, montenegro, it should be easy to rent a flat in Montenegro for a short period of time without having to worry about proof of employment and other bureaucracy.
For completeness sake note that a gazillion other rental websites exist out there. Here on TSE we don't really do recommendations, hence the answer to what would be a good site for renting a flat in Montenegro (in the bay of Kotor)? might be off-topic here.
Comment: It's not really true that everywhere in the world you need to prove that you are able to pay your rent. By now, I only had to prove it in England, and I also lived in Poland, Spain and Germany (several flats in each).
Comment: @simpleBob In Poland, Spain and Germany nobody asked you for employment proof/history?
Comment: yes, I think in those countries, most people just assume that if you couldn't pay it, you would not be asking to rent it. Which, somehow, makes sense.
Comment: @Daniel not really, you could end up staying months with the landlord getting no income because you can't afford. Unless it's very easy to evict a tenant in those countries

Renting a flat in Montenegro


How to connect multiple light fixtures to one switch?

Question: I am remodeling my basement, currently I have 5 light fixtures and each one has its own switch.  I would like to make it so when I turn on the switch at the bottom of the stairs all the lights turn on.  I would also like to add several more light fixtures.  I am new to electrical work.  I have a solid background with framing and drywall.  The basement is not finished so I have great access to all ceiling joints and current fixtures.  I have been reading online about 2 wire nm.  I am curious though how you run wire to one fixture, hook it up, and then run the wire to the next fixture.
Comment: @ArgentoSapiens If you're a "beginner" Electrician, you're an [Apprentice](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apprenticeship) and you're trained by a [Master Electrician](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master_electrician). Or at the very least, you have somebody who knows what they are doing watch over you.
Comment: @Tester101, if you're never a beginner, how are you ever going to begin?
Comment: @ArgentoSapiens the beginner who needs to ask such questions ought to practice with a book rather than with a house.
Comment: @MatthewPK, that's a more reasonable response than "call an electrician." Thank you.
Comment: @ArgentoSapiens I disagree. If the question is "how should I accomplish this task", with "should" being the operative word, **this** user should call an electrician. Perhaps that won't always be the case, but I think based on what I read so far that **today** it is true.
Comment: Look for a model number. Print out manual. Trace wires and connect like with like. Triple check before you turn it on. Turn it on and wait 5 minutes at least. Don't smell smoke? You're good then!
Don't check my answer against a book, cardinal rule: of you don't think you can do it, you can't do it.
Answer: Basically, you want to start with a switch.  You run a black and white wire in from the bottom  of the switch box (from the panel).  This will take the form of 12/2 or 14/2 cable. You run another 12/2 or 14/2 cable from the top of the switch box to the first light. You connect the black wire to the switch.  You connect the 2 white wires together, and then connect the other terminal on the switch to the black wire of the cable leaving this junction box towards the first light.  The ground wire should also be connected together in this manner, but to the ground terminal on the switch.  Each light will have a cable "entering" (from the switch) and "exiting" (away from the switch).  At each light you'll connect the entering and exiting black wires together, as well as 1 terminal on the light.  Do the same with the white wires.  If there is a ground terminal on the light, do that as well, otherwise just connect the incoming and outgoing ground wires together.  At the last light, just connect the incoming black wire to 1 terminal on the light, and then connect the white wire to the other one.  This method is called wiring in parallel, so if one light blows, the current can still continue to the other lights to light them up.
Some other things to be aware of:
Most home wiring is either 12 or 14 gauge, corresponding to either a 20 amp or a 15 amp circuit, respectively.  The maximum "design capacity" is 80% of that.  Let's say you're using a 20 amp breaker with 12 gauge wire.  This circuit should run at no more than 16 amps.  Let's assume you're using 100 watt bulbs at 120 volts.  Using watts/volts = amps, for 600 watts/120 volts = 5 amps.  So this would work fine on a 15 amp breaker, depending on what else is on that circuit.  http://www.thecircuitdetective.com/ is also a superb reference for novice electricians to get an idea of how things work.
Something like this is what you're looking for the end result to be:
Comment: How do you determine how many lights you can connect to a single circuit?  How do you determine which size wire to use? Which way do you wrap the wire around the screw terminals?  Do you have to connect the ground wire to the junction boxes, and if so how do you do that?  How do you secure the cable between and at boxes? How much wire should be exposed inside the junction box? How do you protect the cable from physical damage?  What do you do if a stud/joist is in your way when you're running the cable?
Comment: @Tester101 42. Green. 7. Depends. No. Purple.  Aaron's answer isn't bad, but Tester101 has a point, which is that you need a competent electrician watching you, correcting any mistakes you might make.  You should probably take a course on residential wiring to get your feet wet, and then you'll have a much better understanding of how it works and learn some of the do's and don'ts.  Electrical work can be unforgiving.
Comment: Thank you for the schematic and detailed instructions. Just added 4 ceiling fixtures to my basement and successfully connected them to a single switch, which I had to relocate as the old one was behind the door (really). Simple once you understand how the connection should be made, which is why this is a great reference. As for the comment above: I agree that simple things like these can be done safely with someone with half a brain. After all it is my house and can't afford having an electrician come over to do something I can do myself and leaving me with a huge bill. However the concern I h
Answer: Instead of needing to do electrical work there are power strips that have a wireless remote controls. Belkin creates the product and they are sold at Office Depot or Staples.
Belkin Description:

Control Standby Power to Your Whole Electronic Systems.
  Now you can
  control power to your whole electronic systems with a single click.
  The Conserve Switch AV Surge Protector with Remote lets you shut off
  power—including standby power—to all your entertainment electronics
  with one touch of the wireless remote switch.
One-Click Control.
  The wireless remote controls six Remote-Switched
  outlets for all your entertainment components—your TV, DVD player,
  VCR, gaming console and more. Two Always-On outlets stay on for
  devices that need continuous power, like your DVR. Place the remote on
  a table or shelf, or mount it on the wall, for the convenient way to
  save energy.
Comment: Light fixtures don't plug in with power bars.
Answer: As a beginner myself, using a book, an electrician friend for advice, great caution and 1/2 brain, I wired a complete panel in my home, added garage lighting and several other circuits for appliances. I saved myself thousands of $ at the rate of $80-90 per hr electricians in our area.  Electricians went through much training and OJT in order to become licensed.  But like anyone in a trade that took much training, we often feel self inflated and feel that no one else can or should do our work unless they go through the same.  But the bottom line is, if its your home electrify away and don't worry about possessive electricians.  Just do it safely in order to protect yourself, family, others and property.  For the simple stuff like wiring a planel and adding circuits for switches/outlets its a breeze. Save yourself much money if your state allows you to do it on your own.
Comment: Hello, and welcome to Stack Exchange. You're being a bit breezy about the dangers involved in doing your own wiring. People have burned their houses down as well as losing their loved ones because they weren't competent electricians. I'm not saying only formally trained electricians should do electrical work, but it certainly isn't for everyone.


Marriage or no marriage

Question: I am a 28 years old man. I have an incredible desire to be emotionally and physically attached to someone of the opposite gender. However, I do not like the idea of providing for her and the children. I might be able to compromise on providing for her but I will never be in favor of having children. I have been looking all my life and here I am. Turning 29 but unable to find someone who would agree on my conditions. Yet, I still stand my ground and do not want anyone who disagrees with my conditions even if I have to live the rest of my life single. My question is, can I satisfy my desires through masturbation and am I commiting a sin by not marrying. Provided my circumstances.
Comment: This post includes two questions that are widely answered on the site: Is not marrying a sin: No. Is satisfying desires by masturbation in order not to commit a sin halal: Yes for some scholars others (the majority) consider masturbation haram. Your circumstances are not special: You won't die if you neither married nor stop masturbating.
Answer: You're not badly being sinned for not wanting to be married, but it is preferred for you to be married in Islam
For sex
Islam says that sexual urge should be fulfilled only through marriage.

Marriage or no marriage


When Blender says out of memory error what exactly do I need to free up or replace?

Question: I am trying to render this complex scene I am using an hdr and a couple of hair particle systems and when I tried to render the animation it said out of memory so what do I need to do ? Do I get a new bigger ram or a new graphics card . I've been using blender for about a year and it was rendering fine but now I am trying both cpu and gpu renders and it won't work .
Comment: Optimize your scene, reduce complexity, subdivision levels, particle counts, texture sizes, number of objects, use instancing whenever possible. If that is insufficient then consider upgrading
Answer: Are you rendering it on GPU or CPU?
If it's GPU then you
(a) try splitting up and rendering the scene over different render layers
-OR-
(b) try rendering it on CPU instead. I had to render a complex scene too earlier this month, it kept crashing every time I tried to rendering it on GPU; worked just fine on CPU however it took longer (obviously). If the problem still persists on CPU rendering then you could consider upgrading your RAM; I, myself, have 16GB and that just barely enough for complex renders.
Comment: @RonyAhmed 60fps means you need to render 60 images to get one second of animation. And you should render as individual PNG or EXR images, not a single movie file.
Comment: @RonyAhmed yeah, what he said, rendering the output as an image sequence is a very safe method, in case the render does fail, you can continue from that point onwards... As for your other question, no, it doesn't affect the frame rate
Comment: What does the frame rate effect ? Does it take up memory or what ? I rendered another scene with a lot of particles but no hdr at 24 FPS I want to try 60fps is that too extreme?
Answer: There is not onefactor that determines the amount of nemeory use, but a multitude of them:
The amount of vertices/edges/faces, number of subdivisions, particles, texture size and bit depth, complexity of the shaders, volumetrics, simulations, ray bounces, samples, render size, post production effects, etc, etc
As you see the list is long. Optimize as much as you can.


How do I change login background in elementary OS Freya or Loki?

Question: I cannot change the login screen background in elementary OS. Is there any way to change it?
Comment: Not completely sure, but isn't the login screen background the same as your wallpaper?
Answer: You can change it by editing the file
sudo -i scratch-text-editor /etc/lightdm/pantheon-greeter.conf

There you will find the line
default-wallpaper=/usr/share/backgrounds/elementaryos-default

Add a line to the file something like this:
default-wallpaper=/usr/share/backgrounds/168.jpg

Logout and you can see the change.
Comment: Down voting this answer as this is a workaround/hack and isn't the cleanest way to fix this issue.
Comment: you have to get root rights to edit this file. `sudo scratch-text-editor /etc/lightdm/pantheon-greeter.conf` you can also use vim, nano or what ever commandline editor you like.
Comment: @davidak you should use `sudo -i` on a GUI program. http://askubuntu.com/q/632798/186134
Comment: Yeah, this is _not_ the recommended way guys. This is going to change the system wide default, rather than adding a per using setting as the software tries to do. You could potentially override this per user for the logon screen.
Answer: Just copy your wallpaper to /usr/share/backgrounds (you're going to need root privileges to do so) and then select your wallpaper from System Settings -Desktop - Wallpaper.
That should also change the login background.
In fact there is a bug where the login picture cannot be changed:
https://bugs.launchpad.net/elementaryos/+bug/1391716
also:
https://bugs.launchpad.net/pantheon-greeter/+bug/1324373
In this case the new images copied into the usr/share/backgroounds may not even be seen from Settings.
To fix this:

Open Files as administrator
Select the image file in /usr/share/backgrounds and open its Properties
Change permissions to 644

Use System Settings -Desktop - Wallpaper as normal
Comment: I _thought_ the login screen background was supposed to change when you cycle through the different users on your system, but for some reason that wasn't working for me _until_ I copied the users' backgrounds into `/usr/share/backgrounds` as prescribed here. So this is my favorite solution, because it fixes that problem.
Answer: Copy your wallpaper in /usr/share/backgrounds
then :
cd /usr/share/backgrounds

Just remove the symlink and add another one.
sudo rm elementaryos-default
sudo ln -s yourWallpaper.jpg elementaryos-default

Comment: that just gave me a black login screen
Comment: you should warn people that your answer affects a lot of the system settings. Among other things `sudo rm elementaryos-default` changes a lot of settings that may be used by other custom settings (in my case it changed `xinput list`): I had a desktop file set to disable my touchpad; after that, the same desktop file has started disabling my keyboard instead. Little things like that :p
Answer: You can also install Wallpaper-Slideshow which will automatically change both your desktop and login background after a user-defined period of time.
Answer: I have another way ,worked with me without change anything by Permission or File.
1. You open Applicatons -> System Settings -> Desktop -> Click what wallpaper if u want.
=> That will change Backgrounds wallpaper and Login wallpaper
2. You chose what picture do you want to be backgrounds wall paper -> Right click -> Set background.
=> So your desktop will change and your login doesn't.
Explain :

will change elementary-default file by System.
Only background change

Note :
You should use 2560*1600 to be your login
And i don't thing rm elementary-default or  editted by yourself  is good idea
Move your picture to folder /usr/share/backgrounds/ so you can see it in your Desktop option
Answer: I reinstalled the system after a while and a new hard drive. Didn't have the problem at all so it must have been solved in updates.
It's always better to update than to muck about with things
Answer: None of the above solutions work at the moment. Following method works fine (tested in elementary OS 6 ODIN and OS 5).
Full guide: https://www.debugpoint.com/2021/07/change-lock-login-screen-background-elementary-os/

Open a terminal in your elementary OS.
Install git and following dependencies for greeter package.
sudo apt install git

sudo apt install -y gnome-settings-daemon libaccountsservice-dev libgdk-pixbuf2.0-dev libgranite-dev libgtk-3-dev libhandy-1-dev liblightdm-gobject-1-dev libmutter-6-dev libwingpanel-dev libx11-dev meson valac

Go to temporary /tmp directory and clone the latest greeter master branch from GitHub.
cd /tmp
git clone https://github.com/elementary/greeter.git

After cloning is complete, open the path /tmp/greeter/data in a file manager.
Rename your desired wallpaper image with texture.png and overwrite the following file in the path /tmp/greeter/data/texture.png
Open the file /tmp/greeter/compositor/SystemBackground.vala in a text editor and replace the following line -
resource:///io/elementary/desktop/gala/texture.png

with
resource:///io/elementary/greeter/texture.png

Save the file.
Open the terminal again and build greeter using the following commands.
cd /tmp/greeter
meson _build --prefix=/usr
sudo ninja install -C _build

All done. Test using -
lightdm --test-mode --debug

Answer: If you use the system settings to change the background, the new background is stored in
~/.cache/wallpaper/.
You can copy the new background by hand or let do the job by incron.
Incron is a filebased cron. If you have installed and edit /etc/incron.allow,  you can use incrontab for the copy job.
Call
incrontab -e

and insert
/home/USER/.cache/wallpaper/ IN_CLOSE_WRITE cp /home/USER/.cache/wallpaper/$# /usr/share/backgrounds/elementaryos-default

And every time you change the background of your desktop, the logon background will also changed.
Answer: Yes you can change it !! Instructions in the following link: Change Lock Screen wallpaper in elementary OS. It's basically copy your wallpaper into /usr/share/backgrounds/ , rename it to elementaryos-default and change properties to read (644).
Answer: I had this problem and am only a self taught linux user but this is how I solved it and the bug of the greeter.
I deleted the elementaryos-default.jpg file and replaced it with one I liked and changed the image name back to elementaryos-default.png (the one I liked is png file)
This gave me a white screen on user accounts,except the main admin one
Thinking as it's a new install of my OS and I HAVE A GOOD BACKUP, it doesn't really matter a lot if I mess up I did this.
I renamed all the files with "wallpaper" in the name - one at a time
I changed recursively all the files and the backgrounds folder to 777
Then I did this:
sudo su
ls -l

total 27872

-rw-r--r-- 1 saparonia saparonia   60293 Oct 15  2015 1877-wallpaper.jpg

-rw-r--r-- 1 saparonia saparonia  106528 Feb 10 20:18 1a-wallpaper.jpg

-rw-r--r-- 1 saparonia saparonia   76441 Mar 28 22:55 1b-wallpaper.jpg

-rw-r--r-- 1 saparonia saparonia   53674 Jan  3 19:09 1c-wallpaper.jpg

-rw-r--r-- 1 saparonia saparonia   33025 May 14  2014 1d-wallpaper.jpg

-rw-r--r-- 1 saparonia saparonia  105513 Oct 16  2014 1e-wallpaper.jpg

-rw-r--r-- 1 saparonia saparonia   52607 Sep 23  2015 1f-wallpaper.jpg

-rw-r--r-- 1 saparonia saparonia 1426136 Feb 23 21:19 1g-wallpaper.jpg

-rw-r--r-- 1 saparonia saparonia 1388122 Feb 23 21:24 1h-wallpaper.jpg

-rw-r--r-- 1 saparonia saparonia 3245250 Feb 23 21:25 1i-wallpaper.jpg

-rw-r--r-- 1 saparonia saparonia  144468 Dec 26 17:36 1j-wallpaper.png

-rw-r--r-- 1 saparonia saparonia  514417 Oct 14  2014 1k-wallpaper.png

-rw-r--r-- 1 root      root       596305 Jan 21 01:01 1l-wallpaper.jpg

-rw-r--r-- 1 saparonia saparonia   39549 Oct  6  2015 1m-wallpaper.jpg

-rw-r--r-- 1 saparonia saparonia  626079 Mar 20 18:43 1n-wallpaper.png

-rw-r--r-- 1 root      root       369125 Jan 21 01:01 1o-wallpaper.jpg

-rw-r--r-- 1 root      root      1216788 Jan 21 01:01 1p-wallpaper.jpg

-rw-r--r-- 1 root      root       902549 Jan 21 01:01 1q-wallpaper.jpg

-rw-r--r-- 1 root      root       248439 Jan 21 01:01 1r-wallpaper.jpg

-rw-r--r-- 1 root      root       284736 Jan 21 01:01 1s-wallpaper.jpg

-rw-r--r-- 1 root      root      1116445 Jan 21 01:01 1t-wallpaper.jpg

-rw-r--r-- 1 saparonia saparonia 2958367 Nov  5  2015 1u-wallpaper.png

-rw-r--r-- 1 saparonia saparonia  214524 Nov  5  2015 1v-wallpaper.jpg

-rw-r--r-- 1 root      root       518625 Jan 21 01:01 1-wallpaper.jpg

-rw-r--r-- 1 saparonia saparonia 2634642 Nov  5  2015 1w-wallpaper.png

-rw-r--r-- 1 saparonia saparonia  483944 Oct 12  2015 1x-wallpaper.png

-rw-r--r-- 1 root      root      1161255 Jan 21 01:01 1y-wallpaper.jpg

-rw-r--r-- 1 saparonia saparonia  134226 Dec 12  2014 1z-wallpaper.png

-rw-r--r-- 1 saparonia saparonia  906804 Nov  7 08:43 2a-wallpaper.png

-rw-r--r-- 1 saparonia saparonia   29273 Apr 12 22:07 2b-wallpaper.jpg

-rw-r--r-- 1 saparonia saparonia   60631 Mar 27 11:31 2c-wallpaper.jpg

-rw-r--r-- 1 root      root      1497930 Jan 21 01:01 2d-wallpaper.jpg

-rw-r--r-- 1 root      root       768501 Jan 21 01:01 2e-wallpaper.jpg

-rw-r--r-- 1 root      root       576166 Jan 21 01:01 2f-wallpaper.jpg

-rw-r--r-- 1 root      root       200307 Jan 21 01:01 2g-wallpaper.jpg

-rw-r--r-- 1 saparonia saparonia  168051 Apr  4  2015 2h-wallpaper.jpg

-rw-r--r-- 1 root      root       467776 Jan 21 01:01 2i-wallpaper.jpg

-rw-r--r-- 1 root      root       397147 Jan 21 01:01 2-wallpaper.jpg

-rw-r--r-- 1 saparonia saparonia   54136 Oct 17  2015 3-wallpaper.jpg

-rw-r--r-- 1 saparonia saparonia   66901 Jul 30  2015 4-wallpaper.jpg

-rw-r--r-- 1 saparonia saparonia   80100 Mar 30  2015 5-wallpaper.jpg

-rw-r--r-- 1 root      root       703958 Jan 21 01:01 6-wallpaper.jpg

-rw-r--r-- 1 root      root       498830 Jan 21 01:01 7-wallpaper.jpg

-rw-r--r-- 1 root      root       633430 Jan 21 01:01 8-wallpaper.jpg

-rw-r--r-- 1 root      root       480634 Jan 21 01:01 9-wallpaper.jpg

-rw-r--r-- 1 saparonia saparonia  141363 Oct 18  2014 elementaryos-default.png

root@Florence:/usr/share/backgrounds# cd /usr/share/

root@Florence:/usr/share# chown -R saparonia:saparonia /usr/share/backgrounds/

root@Florence:/usr/share# chmod -R 755 /usr/share/backgrounds/

root@Florence:/usr/share# cd /usr/share/backgrounds/

root@Florence:/usr/share/backgrounds# chmod 644 elementaryos-default.png

root@Florence:/usr/share/backgrounds#

The greeter now shows each login image when I scroll through users
 It works but I get a scrambled image for about a second when logging in on any user account
Answer: This is a bit of a hack however in Loki (0.4.1) You can right-click on the login background image and set it as desktop, then through the command line enter the command:
gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.background picture-uri file:///path/to/file

This will set the user's background image. Allowing you to have different images.
It's a bit hacky but it is the simplest way (2ish steps)
EG:
gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.background picture-uri file:///home/wwjdtd/pictures/801.png


Did a devotee curse Lord Vishnu to turn into a stone?

Question: Lord Vishnu received a curse from one of His most loyal devotees. The curse turned Him into a stone.

Who is he/she? What is the reason for Cursing God?
Do any Scriptures mention this Curse?
Answer: Yes. It was Tulasi who cursed Vishnu to become Saligrama Stone and Tulasi became Gandhaki River and Tulasi plant. Saligrama Stone is Swayambhu representation of Lord Vishnu and one gets many virtues by worshiping it.
Story of Tulasi and Shamkachuda is described in detail from Chapter 27 to Chapter 41 of Rudra Samhita (Yuddha Khanda) of Shiva Mahapurana,  from Chapter 17 to Chapter 25, Ninth canto of Devi Bhagavatam and  from Chapter 15 to 22 of Prakriti Khanda of Brahma Vaivartara Purana . I will answer this question from Shiva Purana but Devi Bhagavatam and Brahma Vaivartara Purana also says the same.
Tulasi was cowherdess in Golaka (Krishna's Loka) and ardent devotee of Sri Krishna .Radharani cursed Tulasi to get born in country of Bharata and Sudama was born as danava Sankhachuda.
Samkhachuda performs Tapasya for Brahma and gets Krishna Kavacha. Chapter 28 says:

वरं ययाचे ब्रह्माणमजेयत्वं दिवौकसाम्।  तथेत्याह विधिस्तं वै सुप्रसन्नेन
चेतसा।। ५ ।।
श्रीकृष्णकवचं दिव्यं जगन्मङ्गलमङ्गलम्।  दत्तवाञ्शङ्खचूडाय सर्वत्र
विजयप्रदम्॥६॥
He asked for a boon from Brahma, that he should be invincible from the
gods. Brahma, getting pleased said to him, "Be it so." For this
purpose he gave him away the Krsna-kavaca which bestowed welfare on
the universe and made the holder victorious everywhere.

Samkachuda later marries Tulasi and develops enmity towards Devas listening words of Sukracharya.
During war, divine voice of Brahma (akasavani) says due to kavacha and chastity of his wife Tulasi, Shiva and Devas couldn't kill Samkachuda. Chapter 40 says:

यावदस्य करेऽत्युग्रं कवचं परमं हरेः। यावत्सतीत्वमस्त्येव सत्या अप्यस्य
योषितः ।। १२।।  तावदस्य जरा मृत्युः शडुचूडस्य शडूर!।
नास्तीत्यवितथं नाथ! विधेहि ब्रह्मणो वचः।। १३।।
Till such time the demon carries in his hand the kavaca of Visnu, and
till such time the chastity of his wife is preserved, Samkhacuda could
neither become old no meet with his death. These are the truthful
words of Brahma.

So, Vishnu turns into a Brahmana and asks Kavacha from Samkhachuda and destroys chastity of Tulasi and thereafter Shiva kills demon Shamkachuda with ease.
When Tulasi was lamenting, Shiva manifests there and explains everything to Tulasi. Chapter 41 says:

शङ्कर उवाच  मा रोदीस्तुलसि! त्वं हि भुङ्क्ते कर्मफलं जनः।
सुखदु:खदो न कोऽप्यस्ति संसारे कर्मसागरे॥ ४०॥
Siva said, "O Tulasi, do not lament, Everyone has to reap the reward
of his actions. In the ocean of karmas in this World, there is nothing
like the pleasure and the pain.
तपस्त्वया कृतं भद्रे! तस्यैव तपसः फलम्।  तदन्यथा कथं स्याद्वै जातं
त्वयि तथा च तत्॥ ४२॥
O Tulasi, you discarding this body shall achieve the divine body. Then
you taking to the form of Laksmi, would enjoy the company of Visnu
daily.
इदं शरीरं त्यक्त्वा च दिव्यदेहं विधाय च।  रमस्व हरिणा नित्यं रमया
सदृशी भव॥४३॥
Discarding this body, when you take to the divine form, then you would
enjoy the company of Visnu, like LakSmi.
तवेयं तनुरुत्सृष्टा नदीरूपा भवेदिह। भारते पुण्यरूपा सागण्डकीति च
विश्रुता॥४४॥
When your body comes to an end, then you would be known as the
auspicious river Gandaki in Bharata.
कियत्काल महादेवि! देवपूजनसाधने। प्रधानरूपा तुलसी भविष्यति वरेण
मे॥४५॥
O Great goddess, because of my boon, for a long time you would become
the means for the adoration of the gods
। स्वर्ग मत्यें च पाताले तिष्ठ त्वं हरिसन्निधौ।  भव त्वं
तुलसीवृक्षो वरा पुष्पेषु सुन्दरी।। ४६॥
You would always keep the company of Visnu in the heaven, earth and
Patala. O Beautiful one, among the flowering trees, you would become
the beautiful Tulasi plant.
हरिवै शैलरूपी च गण्डकीतीरसन्निधौ। सङ्करिष्यत्यधिष्ठानं भारते तव
शापतः।। ४९॥
Lord Visnu, because of your curse to him, would remain on
your banks in the form of StOne.
तत्र कोट्यश्च कीटाश्च तीक्ष्णदंष्ट्रा भयङ्कराः।  तच्छिक्त्वा कुहरे
चक्रं करिष्यन्ति तदीयकम्॥५०॥
The crores of terrible sharp-toothed worms shall penetrate and erode
the stones and carve rings on it.
शालग्रामशिला सा हि तड़ेदादतिपुण्यदा।
लक्ष्मीनारायणाख्यादिश्चक्रभेदाद्भविष्यति॥५१॥
Because of the difference in the cakras, those stone will be termed as
representing Laksmi-Narayana etc. and will be treated as auspicious
and the bestower of the merits.
शालग्रामशिला विष्णोस्तुलस्यास्तव सङ्गमः।  सदा सादृश्यरूपा या
बहुपुण्यविवर्धिनी। ५२॥
The Salagrama-sila of Visnu, and the confluence of Tulasi there, the
place will enhance the merits.
तुलसीपत्रविच्छेदं शालग्रामे करोति य:।  तस्य जन्मान्तरे भद्रे!
स्त्रीविच्छेदो भविष्यति॥ ५३॥
The one who removes the Tulasi-leaf (Holy basil) with Salagrama-sila,
he will not face separation from his wife in the next birth.

Shiva also explains greatness of Saligrama stone and merits acquired by worshiping it in subsequent lines.
Comment: Same story is found in Devi Bhagavatam. You can add that too.
Comment: @Rickross ohh.. I didn't know. I thought Devi Bhagavatam mentioned Lakshmi becomes Tulasi cursing each other (Ganga and Saraswati)?
Comment: She was overcome by grief as her beloved husband lost his life and worse still her chastity was affected. **Thus Tulsi cursed Vishnu to turn as a stone** I found this here: http://www.kamakoti.org/kamakoti/details/devibhagvatpurana71.html
Answer: The story of the curse of Tulasi is enumerated in shlokas 23 -27, Ninth Canto Chapter 24 of Srimad Devi Bhagavatam.  This English translation is from the English Translation by Swami Vijnanananda. Tulasi cursed Lord Vishnu as follows:

"O Lord! Thou art like a stone. Thou hast no mercy. By hypocrisy Thou
  hast destroyed my chastity, my virtue and for that reason didst kill
  my husband. O Lord! Thou had no mercy;
Thy heart is like a stone. So Let Thee be turned into a stone. Those
  who declare Thee as a saint, are no doubt mistaken. Why didst Thou for
  the sake of others, kill without any fault, another Bhakta of Thine.
  Thus speaking, Tulasî overpowered with grief and sorrow, cried aloud
  and repeatedly gave vent to lamentations."


What feature classes do ʙ r ʀ belong to?

Question: I am unsure which features would be inclusive of trills, any information is greatly appreciated! Also, if anyone knows of a feature chart online that includes trills and could link to it that would be great.
Comment: [+trill] ......
Comment: Well, what I meant to imply is that if you need that feature, make it up and use it.  Be bold.  That's where features come from -- linguists make them up.  But of course it's up to you to show that no combination of previously known features is suitable to characterize the change that you're interested in.
Comment: Sorry I should have been little for specific. In my class we're not using that feature, but we are using coronal, anterior, distributed, labial, continuant, nasal, lateral, syllabic, sonorant, consonantal, voice.
Answer: There is no standard answer, though there is a correct one (I daresay). Trills are voiced sonorants but they have to be distinguished from glides and nasals. Their value for [continuant] depends on how exactly you define/diagnose that feature -- the issue is that trills are "intermittent stops", so there is some oral airflow (but there is a complete oral constriction). "Voiced oral sonorant stop" would identify the trills, and trilliness would be a consequence of the minimal vocal tract constriction, which is necessitated by the feature [+sonorant]. Essentially, the constriction is so loose that it is temporarily blown open by the increasing air pressure (and the cycle repeats). The only other candidate for "voiced oral sonorant stop" would be [ɾ], so this analysis might not work if the language has [ɾ] and it can be shown that the segment is a sonorant and a stop.
[Edit]
Bearing on mind the observations in the comments, and upon reflection, voicing is not an essential feature of trills, just of the trills listed in the question.
Comment: Trills are not necessarily voiced. Nivkh contrasts voiced and voiceless alveolar trills, for instance. [roɟ] 'to help' [r̥oɟ] 'to carry' (Mattissen 2003: 38).
Comment: @limetom The example doesn't need to be as obscure as Nivkh; Icelandic and Welsh also contrast voiced and voiceless alveolar trills (and Polish and Ukranian have [r̥] as an allophone of /r/).


How are potential terrorist organizations evaluated for inclusion on terrorist watch list?

Question: How are potential terrorist organizations evaluated for inclusion on terrorist watch list?  Is it a panel of independents or academics or law enforcement?  Does it have political appointee input?  Is it classified?
Comment: What are you asking? Make it more consise and this is a good question, maybe.....
Comment: If you want to improve the question, it is better for you to edit the changes in the original question than to add them as comments. It is better to keep the question simple (and easy to answer); if there are other related issues you can ask them in a separate question.
Comment: What is the process the State Dept goes through to determine if a group is a terrorist outfit?  And was that process followed for the Muslim Brotherhood decision/non-decision?
Comment: Are these classified decisions?
Answer: The process by which the State Department decides than an organization is a foreign terrorist organization is described in detail here with a list of all such organizations. There is also a state sponsors of terrorism list that has only three members (Sudan, Syria and Iran).
The key elements of the process are as follows:

Identification The Bureau of Counterterrorism in the State Department
  (CT) continually monitors the activities of terrorist groups active
  around the world to identify potential targets for designation. When
  reviewing potential targets, CT looks not only at the actual terrorist
  attacks that a group has carried out, but also at whether the group
  has engaged in planning and preparations for possible future acts of
  terrorism or retains the capability and intent to carry out such acts.
Designation Once a target is identified, CT prepares a detailed
  "administrative record," which is a compilation of information,
  typically including both classified and open sources information,
  demonstrating that the statutory criteria for designation have been
  satisfied. If the Secretary of State, in consultation with the
  Attorney General and the Secretary of the Treasury, decides to make
  the designation, Congress is notified of the Secretary's intent to
  designate the organization and given seven days to review the
  designation, as the INA requires. Upon the expiration of the seven-day
  waiting period and in the absence of Congressional action to block the
  designation, notice of the designation is published in the Federal
  Register, at which point the designation takes effect. By law an
  organization designated as an FTO may seek judicial review of the
  designation in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of
  Columbia Circuit not later than 30 days after the designation is
  published in the Federal Register.
Until recently the INA provided that FTOs must be redesignated every 2
  years or the designation would lapse. Under the Intelligence Reform
  and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (IRTPA), however, the
  redesignation requirement was replaced by certain review and
  revocation procedures. IRTPA provides that an FTO may file a petition
  for revocation 2 years after its designation date (or in the case of
  redesignated FTOs, its most recent redesignation date) or 2 years
  after the determination date on its most recent petition for
  revocation. In order to provide a basis for revocation, the
  petitioning FTO must provide evidence that the circumstances forming
  the basis for the designation are sufficiently different as to warrant
  revocation. If no such review has been conducted during a 5 year
  period with respect to a designation, then the Secretary of State is
  required to review the designation to determine whether revocation
  would be appropriate. In addition, the Secretary of State may at any
  time revoke a designation upon a finding that the circumstances
  forming the basis for the designation have changed in such a manner as
  to warrant revocation, or that the national security of the United
  States warrants a revocation. The same procedural requirements apply
  to revocations made by the Secretary of State as apply to
  designations. A designation may be revoked by an Act of Congress, or
  set aside by a Court order.
Legal Criteria for Designation under Section 219 of the INA as amended
It must be a foreign organization. The organization must engage in
  terrorist activity, as defined in section 212 (a)(3)(B) of the INA (8
  U.S.C. § 1182(a)(3)(B)),* or terrorism, as defined in section
  140(d)(2) of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years
  1988 and 1989 (22 U.S.C. § 2656f(d)(2)),** or retain the capability
  and intent to engage in terrorist activity or terrorism. The
  organization's terrorist activity or terrorism must threaten the
  security of U.S. nationals or the national security (national defense,
  foreign relations, or the economic interests) of the United States.

The official who is in charge of this function within the State Department (subject to supervision from the Secretary of State and input from the President's National Security Office, the Secretary of Treasury and the Justice Department) is the Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights, Sarah B. Sewall, who leads State Department efforts to prevent and counter threats to civilian security and effective governance, such as terrorism, violent extremism, conflict, mass atrocities, and transnational crime. More background is available here.
Countries other than the U.S. have similar lists that overlap with the U.S. one.
U.S. News and World report had a story earlier this year discussing the efforts of Republicans in Congress, led by former Presidential candidate Ted Cruz, to have the Muslim Brotherhood classified as a foreign terrorist organization. Medialine has a story on the same topic a little less than a year ago. The story notes some key aspects of the debate
Comment: This answer is directed at the question that your comments reveal you meant to ask even though what you actually asked was something different.
Comment: Thank you for the answer. It is much better than the last one. But unfortunately I had to remove a large part of it because it was a verbatim copy of the text on http://www.themedialine.org/featured/no-unity-in-labeling-the-muslim-brotherhood-terrorist/ which is `© Copyright 2001-2016. The Media Line Ltd. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED`. To avoid violating 3rd party copyrights and [Section 3 of the Stackexchange TOS](http://stackexchange.com/legal/terms-of-service), please paraphrase it in your own words. (the first blockquote is OK, because US government publications are public domain)
Answer: The terror watch list is a list of individual people believed by any of multiple law enforcement or intelligence agencies to be associated with terrorism or terrorist organizations with virtually no oversight or checks or balances. At least one court has held that this process is invalid because it lacks due process protections for individual put on it. This terrorist watch list is classified and it can be hard to learn if you are on it. Information is provided to airlines and the TSA as people seek to fly, not to individuals on the list.
Terrorist organizations are not put on the watch list. Organizations are designated as such by the State Department using a process similar to that used to adopt federal regulations. This is public information and indeed access to this difficult to find list is necessary to comply with a variety of laws prohibiting material support of terrorism.
Comment: The question is based upon a false premise that needed to be clarified.
Comment: Welcome to Politics.SE. Thank you for your first answer, but I think it has a lot of room for improvement. I think the first paragraph isn't what was asked in this question, because it specifically asks about organizations, not individual people. Further, your answer could be improved a lot by describing the "process similar to that used to adopt federal regulations" in more detail. Who starts it, who has input on it and who makes the final decision? Finally, In order to make your answer more credible, please add some sources to it.