Diagram for mapping project dependencies or relationships

Question: Is there a particular diagram established for the mapping of projects that are related? The goal here would be to find a way to make ties between related projects either based on dependencies or requirements. I've found some things on brain mapping a single project but nothing that would show relationships of several projects. Any ideas would be helpful!
Comment: ? Gantt Chart? network map?
Comment: I didn't understand if you are looking for a tool or some advice on how to present some kind of roadmap, could you be more specific?
Answer: What you are looking for is a Visual Portfolio Map
Here is a good article that describes what a Visual Portfolio Map is and why you need one: How to Manage Interdependencies in a Project Portfolio.

But first, what are these interdependencies and why do they matter to
  us? They can take a number of forms including (but not limited to) ...

Resources: Two projects require the same subject matter expert
Functionality: One project depends on functionality delivered by another project

Also, you can see links to some research here how a visual map helps the quality of decision making substantially compared to lists and matrices: The evidence is here: Visual portfolio mapping delivers better decisions.

Map shows the project interdependencies as a social network map. Each project is represented as a circle, color-coded by 'strategic
  fit', and sized by budget
List shows the same information, but in a tabular form
Matrix also shows that same information, but as a matrix

The research found that the use of the map was correlated with the
  highest levels of decision quality. Not just to a small degree, but
  nearly 3 times better.

Here is an example of a Visual Portfolio Map:

Most PPM (Project Portfolio Management) software will have the capability to create some variation of this diagram.
Comment: This is exactly what I was after. I upvoted but I'm new to the site and it isn't displayed :( Thank you for your very thorough response.
Comment: As the person who asked the question, you should be able to accept the answer.
Answer: Here's the materials:

A board where you can stick pins
Index cards for stories
String & pins

Process:

Break down your requirements to user stories (vertical slices through your tech stack that DELIVER VALUE TO YOUR USERS) and add these to your board.
Find out which ones have dependencies outside your team/project.
Use pins and string to draw a line to another project where the dependency is.

When you're ready, take a picture.


Layman's guide to getting started with Forex (foreign exchange trading)?

Question: How should I get started with Forex (foreign exchange trading)? How should I prepare myself for it? Please give your answer thinking of me as a layman.
Comment: As a layman, you probably shouldn't.
Answer: Currency Trading For Dummies, no offense. The "For Dummies" series is well known for its expertise in every field one can imagine.
That said, what prompts you to want to get into this? The average person is very likely to lose money as the long time experts walk away winners. Do you have an urge to trade commodity futures? I sure don't.
While I offer the book as a guide, the real answer is "you shouldn't."
Answer: Unless you have a lot of money to get rid of you should spend at least a year trading with a dummy account.
It takes a long time to work out what is gong on and your training will get very expensive if you start using real money.
Don't start trading with real money until you :

Have a strategy. Never trade on a whim. Only trade if your strategy says it is time to trade.
Are able to stick to that strategy. It is amazing how easy it is to stray from your strategy just because you feel it is right or you have to try to make up some losses. You will lose money doing this.
You are making significant profits for at least 6 months using 1. and 2. with your dummy account.

Even after all this, you will probably still lose money. Make sure you only trade with money you can afford to lose. ie. Never trade with this months rent money.
Comment: +1 for Are able to stick to that strategy. Funny money is much easier to lose than real money.  Its amazing how stressful riding out a bump in the market can be even when you knew it was coming.
Comment: I am software developer and thinking about doing the same as OP. Big big plus for 'at least a year trading with a dummy account'. Perhaps 'at least' being the most important word here. Thanks.
Answer: There are various indexes on the stock market that track the currencies.  Though it is different than Forex (probably less leverage), you may be able to get the effects you're looking for.  I don't have a lot of knowledge in this area, but looked some into FXE, to trade the Euro debt crisis.  Here's an article on Forex, putting FXE down (obviously a biased view, but perhaps will give you a starting point for comparison, should you want to trade something specific, like the current euro/dollar situation).
Answer: I definitely can recommend you a site called babypips. Their beginner course section is great to get a good overview what you "could" do in FOREX trading. For starting out I definitely recommend a dummy account! (NEVER use real money in the beginning!)
Answer: Starting with the Dummy Forex account is a wise move for every new forex trader. Do forex trading with a dummy account at least for a year. Startling directly with real money is a terribly costly move. Therefore, it is wise to have a solid trading strategy to execute. Make sure that your strategy is realistic and practical. Most importantly, using your dummy forex account, it is must for you to make at least one or two profits in a year. At last, be sure to invest money that you can recover without any tension.
Answer: Every beginner is confused at first because of the technical terms and intimidating information about the financial market. So mostly fail and some don't want to continue to invest because of the fact that they cannot understand what they are dealing with. It may look complicated at first, but once you have learned, everything will go on smoothly. So let me share some tips with you, bud.

Invest just enough money. Do not invest all the money you can't
afford to lose.
Continue to learn and educate yourself. Read and watch articles
related to investing as well.
Don't be an emotional trader. Emotion can hinder a person to make
logical decisions, therefore, lowering the chance of you making the
right the investment.


What Does a Compressor Pedal Do?

Question: Quite often, when I see a pedalboard of guitarists I admire, there is a compressor pedal in the chain.   How exactly does this pedal affect the sound?
Answer: A compressor "compresses" the signal that your guitar produces by normalizing the dynamic range of the audio input signal based on a threshold value. This effect is used virtually everywhere in recording. Everything you hear in music that is produced today is compressed in some way--and it can sound anything from a subtle barely noticeable effect to a thick, dampened squish.
The benefit of a compressor lies in that every note played will be at nearly the same amplitude, and therefore nearly equal in volume. This will help normalize tones that are sometimes lost in the mix because of complex overtones, and it will result in a more articulate sound. Notice that if you don't pick all notes of an arpeggio at exactly the same pressure you will likely get a different sound for each note, especially if you are playing a tube amp. Tube amplifiers react dynamically to stronger and weaker signals--it's the allure of them--and thus the non-uniformity of picking at different strengths will be exaggerated. A compressor will fix this problem and normalize all notes of the arpeggio regardless of the player's technique and equipment, which is consequently why many soloists prefer them. Compressors also have the ability to increase the sustain of notes beyond sounds that are normally usable on the instrument; yet another reason the effect is a popular tool in the soloist's arsenal. The tiniest signal can be normalized to the same amplitude of a fierce pick attack, and a trailing note will resonate at the exact same volume until the string stops inducing a signal on the pickup.
Drawbacks of a compressor mirror their benefits. More expressive musical genres such as blues rely on the dynamics of the player. Picking technique and signal volume become part of the performance itself. In this case, a compressor will nullify exactly what you are trying to preserve. However, I have seen some blues guitarists use compressors so this is obviously not true universally.
Compressors also dampen the attack of plucking a string. This will make the note sound a bit squishy and with less snap. This is related to how fast the compressor reacts and normalizes the amplitude of the input signal. Slower reaction times result in a more natural uncompressed tone, while faster reaction times result in the trademark squishy sound. Some people consider the "squishyness" of a faster attack time a plus, while others don't like it. Nearly all compressors allow you to adjust this parameter, but it can never be completely transparent. You can get quite close with parallel compressor designs that blend the original signal into the affected signal, but the nature of the effect will still color the sound; that's what it's supposed to do.
Comment: This is a great answer, Jduv, although I wouldn't say "every note played will be at the exact same amplitude."  That'd only be true if the compressor completely squashed the dynamic range, which is seldom the case in actual use.
Comment: Great answer, and only really added mine because of "Compressors also dampen the attack of plucking a string" -- if you take the compressor's attack time up, you can accentuate the pluck.
Comment: Thanks for your feedback Alex. You are absolutely correct--sorry I missed that. I updated my answer.
Comment: That's the most complete and precise answer I've ever seen or heard about what it does, I have had to explain it a number of times particularly why in some cases it wouldn't be beneficial. Very articulate, great job.
Answer: I feel a bit silly writing a new answer when Jduv's is so good, and so well received, but I'm going to anyway partly because I want to use simpler terms, and partly because I have a point to make about attack.
Imagine you had a signal that was sometimes too loud, and sometimes too quiet. You'd deal with it by turning the volume down when it's too loud, and bringing the volume back up when it's quiet. A compressor does exactly this, except it adjusts the volume automatically, usually very quickly.
At its simplest then, it takes a signal that has a variable volume level, and fixes it up so that the volume is more constant.
Whether this is desirable musically depends on the player and the style of music; it is an artistic choice.
Compressors have a number of adjustable parameters. The following ones address the basics:

Threshold - how loud the signal needs to be before the compressor kicks in
Ratio - how much to "turn down the volume". For example, if the ratio is 2:1, that means that for every 2dB the input signal increases, the output increases by 1dB.
Attack time - how long it takes for the effect to kick in.
Release (or sustain) time - how long the effect continues to hold as the signal decreases.
Knee - the shape of the volume adjustment; if you imagine a compressor as a man turning a volume knob, is he turning it directly to the appropriate position, or turning it slowly to have a less abrupt effect?

Compressors are incredibly versatile, having loads of different uses.

One use for the guitarist is to "clean up" the sound when the player is uneven in their playing.
Another use is in extending sustain. As you strike the note, it's loud so the compressor brings the volume down. As the guitar's signal dies away, the compressor releases, so the note reaching your amp carries on.
Another use is as a safety net to avoid ever outputting too high a signal
Aside from its use as a guitar effect, and its use on other individual tracks, compression is used extensively in mixing and mastering. One of the many possible effects is the "surging" effect in lots of pop and dance, where everything swells to fill the space in between drum beats. Some radio stations even apply compression to their entire output.

Maybe a little counter-intuitively, a compressor can be used to increase the attack; to make something sound more dynamic and staccato:
Imagine the waveform of a clean guitar note:

First we have silence
then it starts off loud
then it slowly fades away, linearly.

If we apply compression, and we set, say, 10ms of attack time, it does this:

First we have silence
then it starts off loud
10ms later, the compression brings it down to "base" level
as the input signal fades, compression maintains it at "base" level, until there's no longer a note to work with.

So it accentuates the attack of plucking the string. Alternatively, with a really short attack parameter, you could dampen the pluck.
Affordable compression units have side effects on the timbre of the sound. Really high end studio equipment minimises this -- but it doesn't matter to the guitarist, because the side effects are rarely unmusical; indeed they are often pleasant. Some units are desirable precisely because of their side-effects.
Comment: Good expansion on attack.
Comment: I feel even more silly to have written my answer, I should have read yours more thoroughly before. I mainly wrote it so I could include a graph.
Comment: One thing I've wished for in my multi-effects pedal would be a means of having the compressor normalize the volume of the sound to a certain level before applying distortion, but then undo the effect of that compression after.  I don't know that I've seen effects pedals do such a thing, but I would expect that it should add a level of independence between sound character and envelope shaping.
Comment: Nice answer, however, I would add/change that "compression" used across the entire output at a radio station should be changed to _all_ radio stations, and the type of compression at that point is in fact _limiting_ (compression at 10:1 ratios or greater), any _broadcast_ radio station should be doing this to prevent "over-modulation" of the radio signal (technical vs aesthetic reasons… similar to not going over 0dB on digital, although there _are_ exceptions… kind of). I did read an article awhile back in Mix that alluded to the end of the "loudness" wars (I don't believe it).
Answer: My explanation is more for generic compressors, but I believe it is relevant for guitars as well.
A compressor is most often used to amplify quiet sounds more than loud sounds.
You could think of it as someone turning up the volume on quiet parts, and down on loud parts. This is done by a compressor much faster than a human with a volume knob could :)
As a result, the output has a thinner volume range than the input of the compressor.
Here is an example of a compressor setting:

If there is no compression at all, the output is equal to the input. If you have -20 dB in, you'll have the same -20 dB out. It is represented by the black line in the graph.
With compression as in the example above (green curve):

if you have -80 dB in, the output will be right above -60 dB (20 dB amplification).
if the input is at -20 dB, the output will be at -8 dB (12 dB amplification).
if the input is at -3 dB, the output will also be around -3 dB (no amplification).

In other words, the amplification gain varies with the loudness of the input.
Further, this gain is often restricted from changing too fast. This is what attack and release times are for. The attack time prevents the gain from going up to fast, while the release time prevents it from going down too fast.
Answer: Compression is really about reducing dynamic range and ends up consisting of either one, or both of

Make soft sounds louder (usually called make up gain)
Make loud sounds softer (the typical use of compression)

Limiting, is a specialized form of compression which has an "infinite" amount of reduction at a particular volume threshold. Basically, the signal will never go above this point.
Typically, compressors have

Attack

The amount of time between a signal being over the threshold before compression is applied. this is useful for keeping the "attack" of the initial transient before the application of compression

Release

The amount of time to actually apply compression to the signal

Threshold

The input level that when exceeded, triggers the "attack" of the compressor

Compression amount

The amount of signal reduction applied, usually a ratio, with the larger relating to "more". Lower amounts of compression are typically used to "glue" sounds together, large amounts can be used for various effects.
Compressors also may have

Gain

Typically called "makeup gain". This is the amount of gain applied to the signal before compression (typically before. Sometimes after, depends on the compressor. Always read the manual!)

Knee

The "knee" of a compressor relates to how quickly the full compression amount is applied to the signal. for guitar pedals, you wont usually get to change this, but for plugins you'll be able to control how much compression is applied to signals above the threshold using this.
So, using a combination of all of the above, we can shape the resulting signal. Typically for guitars (and bass), what you want to do is retain the pick "attack" but make the resulting "notes" more similar in volume. This will mean reducing very loud notes, and amplifying very quiet notes. This has the advantage of typically introducing more sustain as well as the tail off of the note will be amplified using the compressor pedal.
Guitar pedal compressors typically don't provide all of the above options, opting for simplicity. its quite common that you'll only get 2-3 parameters to play with. But understanding what the pedal is actually doing will help you shape the sound in a pleasing way. usually the manufacturer will tell you the release/attack/etc timings/values that are set inside the pedal so you can work with them.
The typical usage is where note volume consistency is important. such as when you're chugging away on the low E (or B), and quite often when you're doing fast solos. when you want to be more expressive with your picking velocity, you can turn it off ;)
Its usually recommended that you put a noise gate before your compressor (and some people put one after too) as this will help stop unwanted noise being amplified as "quiet notes" by your compressor pedal.
Comment: This is a good, comprehensive answer. It'd be a lot easier to follow if you'd start each sentence with a capital letter.

What Does a Compressor Pedal Do?


Why is "busy" pronounced "bizzy"?

Question: Of all the ways I could come up with to pronounce the word "busy", "bizzy" would be very low on my list.  At least "bussy" or "boosy".  Why "bizzy"?
Comment: English is not a mathematical language. Ever heard why "ghoti" is pronounced "fish"?
Comment: @JohnK ... Holy crap! A quick google search reveals that ghoti IS pronounced "fish" or as a silent word! WTF English!
Comment: @pavium: I'm not one of the sort, but some pronounce *bury* as in *Cadbury*, not like *berry*. Then again, many pronounce the *berry* in *blueberry* and *strawberry* the same as the *bury* in *Cadbury*.
Comment: How else would you pronounce it? Seems natural to me. OTOH, compare with "bury", pronounced "berry".
Comment: @JonPurdy How one pronounces all the examples you sited will depend on which side of the Atlantic you happen to reside.
Comment: As Yoda says: *Is or Is Not, there is no Why!"
Answer: The problem isn't so much that "busy" is pronounced "bizzy", but that "bizzy" is still spelled "busy". An awful lot of English spelling is based on a language that would sound very foreign to most English speakers today -- English as it was before the Great Vowel Shift (and at a point when we still had velar fricatives, which is why there are words spelled with "gh"). The language has undergone major changes in pronunciation, while the spelling has merely been tidied up a bit so that words are spelled the same way every time. (Mostly.)
If you really think about it, almost none of English spelling makes any sense with regard to vowels. It used to, at least to the same extent that alphabetic writing makes sense in any language. Your example "bussy" would have been pronounced roughly like the Modern English word "boozey", but with a doubled/stressed "s"; "boosy" would have had a long "o" (both in the modern schoolroom sense that "the vowel says its name", and in the sense of duration).
What happened during the Great Vowel Shift was systematic. That's why we're able to derive spelling rules dealing with things like "silent Es" and so forth -- the "real" orthography applies to a differently-pronounced language that has changed in a particular way, so if we know how it has changed, we know how to apply the rules of the old language to the new one. But there are also differences that are dialectical -- the accepted spelling of some words reflects a dialect of Middle or Early Modern English that may have won the war, but it lost some of the battles. If "busy" is spelled "busy" today, it's probably because it was pronounced that way in the London dialect at one time. Unfortunately, written documents are the only recordings we have of the pronunciation, so we can never know exactly how it was pronounced, but we do know that there was at least some method to the madness back then.
As Ham and Bacon points out, "busy" is an old word. The problem with giving Old English roots (in this case, "bisig"), though, is that Old English was itself a bundle of dialects. Generally, what's reflected in etymologies is a "majority rules" case. That does not imply that the Old English dialect that gave rise to the Middle English dialect that made "busy" (or "busie") seem like a good idea did not also use a "u" or "y" (high front rounded) sound in their version of the word.
Comment: It originally (in Old West Germanic) only had -i- as a vowel, as follows from all other source languages. Maybe, when -y- also became pronounced as -i-, some confusion arose as to the original vowel, and "bysig" also become common (it does occur in OE) as a spelling, which might help to explain the "busy" spelling...
Answer: The spelling of busy (and bury) is the result of dialect mixture.  Different Middle English varieties had different outcomes of Old English short /y/.  In the East Midlands variety that underlies the standard, it became short /u/ as in blush; in Kent, short /ɛ/ as in merry (for people who pronounce it with the same vowel as in met, anyhow); in the West Midlands, short /i/ as in bridge: all three of these words had short /y/ in Old English (blyscan, myrige, brycge).  Busy is an East Midlands spelling for an West Midlands pronunciation; bury is likewise a East Midlands spelling, but for a Kentish pronunciation.
UPDATE:  I'm dyslexic about left and right, which also extends to east and west.  Obviously it's East Midlands (where London is) that underlies the standard, so that's what this now says.
Comment: Great explanation! I think you might reach more people if you set short  as in *met* (presuming that's what you meant, IPA /ɛ/), as there are a whole lot of *marry/merry/Mary* mergers in the world whom this might otherwise confuse.
Comment: I like your answer. When I looked up, even OED did not give a clear answer. It only says: "The ME. typical form was bisi, bisy, bysy: the form busi (with ü = OE. y) occurs in the later text of Layamon, but otherwise the u form is not found before the 15th c.: its prevalence in modern spelling, while the pronunciation is with i, as in ME., is difficult to account for."
Comment: You're right, but met doesn't have an OE ancestor with y.  But I added a parenthetical explanation.
Answer: I reckon its in its etymology. It originally came from the Dutch word bezig:

O.E. bisig "careful, anxious, busy, occupied," cognate with O.Du. bezich,

The root was actually spelt with a 'z', and it was changed to 's' later. This can also be seen in the word "organisation":

1375–1425; late Middle English organizacion  < Medieval Latin organizātiōn

Note that its root, Latin, was spelt with  a 'z'.
Comment: Note that "cognate" does not imply "comes from". In fact it's a common West-Germanic word, which occurs natively in Dutch, Low German, Frisian and English. So it seems to be a coastal word. Old English also had "bysig", and the Middle Dutch spelling was "besech" (modern Dutch "bezig"). Your source alo indicates that the change in spelling (15c) has an "unclear reason".

Why is "busy" pronounced "bizzy"?


Is there such a thing as an acid without a hydrogen?

Question: I'm in AP Chemistry and we are learning about the Brønsted-Lowry model and my teacher mentioned that "for the most part" acids have hydrogen, could there be such a thing as an acid that has no hydrogen in it?
Comment: By definition, Bronsted-Lowry acids (proton donors) must have a proton, so they must have hydrogen. Lewis acids are a different matter altogether though, and chances are you'll come across it soon enough. PS @JonCuster question was changed, OP meant "without hydrogen" not "anhydrous".
Comment: Not totally related, but most students don't realize that a hydrogen ion is simply a proton. You'll benefit from that knowledge in college level chem.
Comment: @R.M. - certainly one could say that the reactions/equations that determine the hydrogen ion concentration are different between anhydrous HF and aqueous HF.
Comment: @gogators my teacher actually taught that to us at the beginning of the chapter, and it makes some of the actions of acid base reactions a lot more intuitive
Comment: $\ce{AlCl3}$ and $\ce{BF3}$ are acids without hydrogen. :)
Comment: Well, one can buy gas bottles filled with anhydrous HF (nasty stuff, not to play with at home). Now, you can ask if that is an 'acid' in the bottle. Once exposed to air or water, it certainly is.
Comment: @orthocresol - So it goes. Still an interesting question - is pure HF an acid or not without the presence of water.
Comment: @JonCuster HF is a stronger acid than F- is. Acidity is a continuous scale, not an either/or or yes/no binary category.
Comment: @JonCuster Would methane still be considered a flammable gas if it's stored in an anoxic environment?
Comment: OP, I appreciate that you called it a "model". In my opinion that is a much better way of describing it than "theory". Arrhenius, Bronsted-Lowry, Lewis... After all, they are only human conceptions to aid us in categorizing our observations of how different chemical species react. There was never some hypothesis that "acids release protons" that became a theory, rather, Bronsted and Lowry *defined* that "acids release protons", in their very useful but ultimately arbitrary categorical model.
Answer: It depends on which definition of acids and bases you are using.
According to the Arrhenius theory, acids are defined as a compound or element that releases hydrogen (H+) ions into the solution. Therefore, there are no Arrhenius acids without a hydrogen atom.
According to the Brønsted–Lowry acid–base theory, an acid is any substance that can donate a proton and a base as any substance that can accept a proton. Hence, there are no acids without a hydrogen atom according to this theory.
But according to the Lewis theory of acids and bases, an acid is any substance that can accept a pair of nonbonding electrons. In other words, a Lewis acid accepts a lone pair of electrons. According to this theory, acids without a hydrogen atom can exist. (A coordinate bond is formed between the Lewis acid and base. The compound formed by the Lewis acid and base is called a Lewis adduct)
A great example of this would be $\ce{BF3}$. It is neither an Arrhenius acid nor a Brønsted–Lowry acid but it is a Lewis acid. The boron atom accepts a pair of nonbonding electrons from another atom or ion to complete its octet. Here $\ce{BF3}$ is a Lewis acid as it accepts a pair of nonbonding electrons.

The fluorine ion here is a Lewis base as it donates a pair of electrons.
If you want to get more rigorous about the definition of Lewis acids: "a Lewis acid is a type of chemical that reacts with a Lewis base to form a Lewis adduct".
More about Lewis acids and bases here.
Comment: Just out of curiosity, would such thing form acid-like solution in high pressure liquid form of oxygen difluoride? (assuming it didn't have access to anything else to react with, I know I'm probably showing just how little I know by asking this question)
Comment: How could fluorine make a dative bond with the bromine atom when fluorine has a higher electronegativity than bromine?
Answer: There are quite a number of theories regarding acidity and basicity, but in this case, will explain the Lewis acid.
The Lewis Theory of acids and bases
This theory extends well beyond the things you normally think of as acids and bases.
The theory

An acid is an electron pair acceptor.
A base is an electron pair donor

The Lewis acid-base theory explains why $\ce{BF3}$ reacts with ammonia. $\ce{BF3}$ is a trigonal planar molecule because electrons can be found in only three places in the valence shell of the boron atom.
As a result, the boron atom is sp2 hybridized, which leaves an empty 2pz orbital on the boron atom. $\ce{BF3}$ can, therefore, act as an electron-pair acceptor or Lewis acid. It can use the empty 2pz orbital to pick up a pair of nonbonding electrons from a Lewis base to form a covalent bond.
$\ce{BF3}$, therefore, reacts with Lewis bases such as $\ce{NH3}$ to form acid-base complexes in which all of the atoms have a filled shell of valence electrons, as shown in the figure below:

Consider another scenario:

Water is an example of a lewis base. Carbocations are examples of lewis acids. When water reacts with a carbocation, as shown above, one of the electrons pairs from oxygen is used to form a new sigma bond to the central carbon in the carbocation.
References

The Lewis Theory of acids and bases
The Lewis Definitions of Acids and Bases
Lewis acids Chemistry
Answer: As noted by others, there is the concept of Lewis acids, and other answers to this question explain that concept well. To reiterate: A Lewis acid is a chemical that will accept electron pair donation from another chemical (which is called a Lewis base in this context). It is also true that Brønsted-Lowry defined acids as $\ce{H+}$-donors and bases as $\ce{H+}$-acceptors. As such, a BL acid without hydrogen is strictly not existent.
I note two important exceptions that sort of defy the strict definition. Boric acid $\ce{B(OH)3}$ does not detach one of its original protons but accepts an electron pair from $\ce{OH-}$. This raises the concentration of $\ce{H+}$ through protolysis of water. $\ce{FeCl3}$ reacts likewise. Of course, these reactions require water, thus, in the strict sense, a complex of water and the substances noted constitutes the BL acid, not the substances themselves.
Answer: Plenty of answers here focused on the definitions of Brønsted-Lowry and Lewis acids, which is great. But there is an important point I saw mentioned only in passing (in TAR86's answer), and I think it comes closer to answering your question that reciting the somewhat arbitrary acid-base definitions of our forefathers (useful as they are).
Could there be such a thing as a Brønsted-Lowry acid that has no hydrogen in it?
Yes! At least in a pragmatic sense. As elaborated here, highly-charged metal cations such as $\ce{Al^{3+}}$ and $\ce{Fe^{3+}}$ can liberate protons in aqueous media. When such cations are placed in water, water molecules  coordinate/associate with the metal ion:
$$\ce{Al^{3+} + 6H2O -> [Al(H2O)6]^{3+}}$$
Here is a structural cartoon of the hexavalent aluminum hydrated complex:

This complex easily releases three protons:
$$\ce{[Al(H2O)6]^{3+} -> Al(H2O)3(OH)3 + 3H+}$$
So, not only is $\ce{Al^{3+}}$ a Lewis acid, but practically speaking it is also a Brønsted-Lowry acid (and triprotic, nonetheless!) Such highly-charged metal cations are as close as you're going to come to a Brønsted-Lowry acid without hydrogen. While they are not acids in a literal (single-step) sense, if we are considering aqueous solutions, then functionally speaking they are indeed Brønsted-Lowry acids because they effect the release of protons and thus lower the solution's pH.
I'm not sure if your teacher had this in mind, or was just trying to cover their arsenic in case there were exceptions they had forgotten about, but there is your answer.
Answer: I just wish to clarify the other answers. The definition of a "Lewis Acid" is a chemical species which reacts with the electron lone pair of a "Lewis Base" (and a Lewis Base is a species which has a reactive lone pair of electrons). This is a generalization and abstraction of the more common Brønsted-Lowry theory.
Consider that Science is full of 'levels' of abstraction. We have positive integers (the natural numbers), but then we add zero, then negative integers, then rationals, finally we might think we're done when we get to real numbers, but then along come complex numbers, and quaternions, octonions, vectors, fields, and on and on.
While historically a fact, so you need to be familiar with the concept of Lewis Acid/Lewis Base/Lewis Adduct, you should also be aware that all chemistry has to do with the (partial or total) donation and accepting of electronic charge, so while lone pair chemistry is a large enough area to justify its own terminology, it's just the same old, same old "chemistry is about the electrostatic interactions of atoms" story.


Host DNS server

Question: I just switched to dedicated hosting for my web server and my host does not provide DNS services. Is it good practice to host a DNS server on the same machine as my web server?
Answer: You can host DNS and web servers on the same machine, but it is the best option unless you have no other choice or you can not afford other choices.
Simply, hosting different services on different hosts allow you to have more secure servers. A good reason is that the vulnerabilities in one service may affect the whole system and thus affecting other services. When you have them separate, hopefully only one system will be affected.
Another factor should be looked at: system performance. If you expect that you server can handle the traffic volume of both services, it should be fine.
Comment: any reliable DNS service providers that you would recommend?
Answer: While there is nothing fundamentally wrong in running a DNS service on the same machine as a web service it has the drawback that there is no redundancy. On the other hand, for many smaller sites that don't also run an a mail server it often hardly matters, because if the web service is down it may not really matter whether or not the DNS lookup can be made.
Of course if you need DNS to be up for mail, or any other reason, it's a whole other matter and you really should have a second DNS server.

Host DNS server


2012 BMW X5 50i high engine oil consumption

Question: I have my BMW X5 50i consuming a lot of engine oil. Observed black and wet dripping oil with thick smoke through exhausted.
Comment: What color is the smoke? Is it black? Is it blue? Is it white? Each color tells a different story, so be specific. How have you observed excessive oil consumption? How much oil do you replace on what time schedule? Are you replacing 1 quart per 1000 miles? 2 quarts? 3 quarts? What is "a lot"? How many miles on the vehicle?
Comment: Welcome to the site. This is a Q&A site, not the typical forum. We are all volunteers here to help give detailed answers to specific questions for you. So, what is your actual question? Do you want to know what causes this? Do you want to know how to fix it? Please use the [edit] feature to add a question to your post.
Comment: My X5 2012 suddenly started to consume oil, took it to BMW and they told me I had two server leaks that caused the oil consumption. Normally if I did each job individually it would be over 3K each job 1nd close to 7 K for bot individually. BUT if I did it now they would do it for just over 3 K so I said YES go ahead, picking up the car they presented me a bill for over 5K, the case manager felt so bad that he gave me 300 usd I cash. NOW IT IS USING OIL AGAIN and it is only a month later. Every 170 miles I have to put in a quart. Car was returned to BMW today. Let us see what enormous problem t
Answer: Most likely you have a bad cylinder head gasket (or cracked cylinder head).
Here are some tests you can do to check:
- When the engine is cold(!!!) open the coolant expansion tank and check the water surface with a flashlight. A failing cylinder head gasket might leak oil to the coolant.
- You may notice that the coolant level also decreasing (coolant leaks to the cylinder)
- When you do the first test with checking the coolant at a cold engine, close the expansion tank, and then use the car as usual. The next time when your engine is perfectly cold again, open up the expansion tank once more --> if you hear a hissing sound, as the over pressure leaves the system (and in extra: it has a smoky scent) then the exhaust gases also found a way to the coolant lines.
- In some cases power loss is also noticable
All of these symptoms point to a faulty cylinder head or cylinder head gasket.
Some garage has testing equipment to find exhaust gases/oil in the coolant, so they can test your coolant as well.
Answer: If you have that amount of oil appearing in the exhaust, then I would also check the rings for excessive wear - a compression test should show what is happening.
Answer: If you allow the vehicle to idle for 15 minutes, and then step on the gas, does it smoke excessively?
If so, you're one of many (read almost all) that have bad valve stem seals. BMW revised the seals (the 'old' ones are affected by the engine's heat, and deteriorated prematurely), but they haven't settled the class action suit that's been filed against them yet.
All German Auto in Escondido CA has a solution that'll cost about $4,000. The typical BMW dealer will cost $10,000.
Answer: You got a turbo on that one, classic turbo seals leaking,  do the rad thing don't burn yourself (do it when not too hot), also where you put the oil in lift the cap when ticking over  check for to much back pressure,... and look for cream in rad and under oil cap. = head gasket.
if it is turbo seals make sure the oil return to the sump is clear of gunk this can back pressure the seals.
rebuild kits are cheap 100, another core is probably a better idea cheaper than a whole turbo.
Answer: never forget the egr valve can cause many problems, I used to get a backfire and a cloud of blue smoke on the over run and a misfire, ... good luck.
Answer: Consuming a quarter(engine oil) in 5k is normal for big engine BMWs(mine do so) however if you have a blue gas coming out of your exhaust you probably have a burnt head gasket, to be sure you may open water reservoir cap(under the hood, do it when the car is stone cold), if compressed air came out with a pisssssssss sound while opening the cap and there is some green sludge under the cap, be sure you have a burnt gasket.
If you also have recieved this message too "The engine is too hot drive moderatly" with red color(the yellow one is a warning but the red one is a bad news) and you have the above problems for let say more than 3 weeks! you may harm your head cylandr as well. It is an appoximate estimation and depends on the weather condition, slope of the road you have droven on and .....
Suggestion: Go to a BMW mechanic or your dealer immediately and have it fixed before hurting other compartments of your engine.


Does Lojban really have "unambiguous resolution of sounds into words"?

Question: Lojban.org claims that "Lojban has [...] unambiguous resolution of sounds into words"¹ and that "Lojban [...] sounds can be divided into words in only one way."² What is the evidence for this? Is there a list of rules, algorithm, or program that one could use to segment any Lojban sentence with no spaces into words? Can this be done based purely on Lojban phonotactics, or does it require some knowledge of Lojban vocabulary? Does this require the sentence to be grammatically correct, or can it be a random mishmash of Lojban words?
Answer: This was an important consideration in the design of Lojban, so while I haven't gone through the process of verifying it myself, I'm fairly confident that it is true for most of the language. (Since just one mistake would make it false overall, it's hard to be certain that it's true for all parts of the language: there are a few difficult parts.) It's not extremely difficult to design a system like this for a constructed language, and Lojban has been around long enough that I imagine someone would have spotted any obvious errors in the original design of the phonotactics.
Note that in practice, the rules are only fully unambiguous as a mapping from a phonological/phonemic transcription to the sequence of words, not as a mapping from physical sounds (phones) to the sequence of words. Spoken Lojban, like any spoken language, is not immune to having auditory signals obscured by noise, or to having a certain phone being perceived as one phoneme by one speaker but as another phoneme by another (e.g. an English speaker listening to a Spanish speaker of Lojban might mishear as /b/ an unaspirated [p] phone that was intended as /p/).
I don't know exactly where the rules are laid out. My understanding is that no part of the rules requires knowledge of Lojban vocabulary: the rules work from the information included in the normal Latin spelling of Lojban, including the characters ' and  . (which represent contrastive elements of Lojban pronunciation), plus stress. I'm not sure about whether there are any ungrammatical sequences of valid words that could break the rules, but I don't think so.
In Lojban texts written with spaces, stress is not typically written, but stress has to be provided for proper word division of unspaced spelling.
The contrastive element . (the period), which is necessary for unambiguous parsing, is supposed to be pronounced as a "pause" (it looks like a lot of people interpret this as a glottal stop).
Proper nouns and borrowed words are subject to special restrictions for the purpose of avoiding ambiguity
There are some "hacks" (my characterization) to get around certain possible ambiguities.
Proper names, which might otherwise introduce ambiguous sequences of sounds, are required to end with a consonant followed by a . (the character representing a "pause"), and cannot used to not be allowed to contain the sequences la, lai or doi. In 2015, the la/lai/doi rule was officially abandoned in favor of a simpler rule stating that all names have to start as well as end with a . "pause" (the new rule is called "dotside").
There are also complicated rules about what forms borrowed words can take.
Some links
Some rules about Lojban phonotactics can either be implemented multiple ways, or have changed over time. Here is a link to a discussion from 2015 with some more details:

https://groups.google.com/forum/#!msg/lojban-beginners/f-u86pPQ-TQ/BVFmXWTSgSQJ

And another link with discussion of some difficult points:

https://mw.lojban.org/papri/Talk:BPFK_Section:_PEG_Morphology_Algorithm
Answer: There is a potential area of ambiguity in Lojban phonetics with regard to something called a "buffer vowel".
A "buffer vowel" is an optional epenthetic vowel used to break up consonant clusters. It is intended for use by speakers of languages that have phonotactic limitations on consonant clusters (emphasis mine):

Many languages do not have consonant clusters at all, and even those languages that do have them often allow only a subset of the full Lojban set. As a result, the Lojban design allows the use of a buffer sound between consonant combinations which a speaker finds unpronounceable. This sound may be any non-Lojbanic vowel which is clearly separable by the listener from the Lojban vowels. Some possibilities are IPA [ɪ], [ɨ], [ʊ], or even [ʏ], but there probably is no universally acceptable buffer sound. When using a consonant buffer, the sound should be made as short as possible.

The buffer vowels appears to tend to be a high mid vowel, since that's an open space in the Lojban vowel system. But this appears to be a place where some ambiguity can arise:

[ɪ] (buffer) is close to [i] (Lojban 'i')
[ʏ] (buffer) is close to [y] (acceptable variant of Lojban 'i')*
[ʊ] (buffer) is close to [u] (Lojban 'u')
[ɨ] (buffer) is close to [ə] (Lojban 'y')

As "The Lojban Reference Grammar" puts it (emphasis again mine):

Since buffering is done for the benefit of the speaker in order to aid pronounceability, there is no guarantee that the listener will not mistake a buffer vowel for one of the six regular Lojban vowels.

The standard guidance seems to be to pronounce a buffer vowel short, and regular vowels long. I'm not a Lojban speaker, so I don't know well how this works in practice. Since the grammar does call out the potential ambiguity, I thought it made sense to mention in response to this question.

* roundness does not matter in pronunciation of Lojban vowels.

Does Lojban really have “unambiguous resolution of sounds into words”?


Send to or copy multiple documents

Question: Is it possible to use the feature "copy" or "send to" for multiple documents? We can't work with "open in explorer", because we need the filter option in our library.
Is there a code or tool for this "problem"?
Answer: Have you thought about using Document sets? You could upload all of your files into a Document set and then Send that single item to the destination.
Answer: I'm not sure this answers your question as I'm not sure if you're trying to download the files or copy them to a new library, but I'm assuming you're just after a bundle of files that can be mailed off. If that IS what you're after, I think I can help, if not, hopefully I'm at least getting you on the right track.
If you're running 2010, there are several solutions that enable downloading the files as a zip based on a selection in the web view. Here's an article on one such solution.

Download multiple documents for SharePoint 2010

If you're running 2013 there's an easier option that doesn't require a farm install and uses the new app model. I gather you're NOT from your tags, but if someone else finds this later or you upgrade at some point, it might be useful.

Download multiple documents

Based on the OP's response, here are a couple more ideas that may help with your needs.
First option would be to use a PowerShell function to copy from one library to another. The code provided by the blog author will copy all files from a library, but it would not be challenging to add a filter to laser in on specific files based on properties. This would not be so helpful, however, if it's not easy to programmatically define what files should be moved.

How to Copy SharePoint Documents Between Site Collections Using PowerShell

Another option which is a little more klugey, but may work very well for your needs would be to add a checkbox column to your library called "Copy". From there, you can create a workflow that could be manually run and would ask the user what library to copy to. The workflow could then be configured to copy the file and clear the copy flag. Check this link for details.

Workflow: copy document from one library to another
Comment: I "need" solution for both situations. Copy to file server and send to another library. I looked at your link for 2010, this could be an option for us.
Comment: OK! I think I see where you're going. I'll update my answer with some more information that may help.
Answer: This is available out of the box if Publishing Infrastructure features are enabled on site collection.
There is "Manage content and structure" option available in Site Actions menu that allows you to use library's views, filters and perform bulk operations like Move/Copy.

Send to or copy multiple documents


MAAS nodes hung at commisioning

Question: Got another machine up and running 12.04. All three of these machines have different cpu  a dell amd64,hp intel, and MX-3203 VIA. I have a copy of maas and a desktop in all three.  No matter which way I furnish maas on any machine the nodes hang with commissioning status.  Booting the newest machine dell amd64 to maas is actually the worse. One node hangs at commissiong [MX-3203 VIA] and the other node has problem with cobbler server  [HP intel]. All the while its constantly going into NAK bailout. I've gone through the bugs  and tried everything but no fix has worked. Can't even remove the node to start over.  Any advice would be helpful.
Answer: Check the clocks on the machines.  If they are too far out of sync it stops OAuth from working which makes the commissioning script hang when it tries to access the metadata on the maas server.

MAAS nodes hung at commisioning


How can one "treat writing as a job" even though it doesn't pay?

Question: I hear this advice a lot: "Treat your writing as a job." But it seems to me that this is easier said/done when it is actually paying off and, thus, one is encouraged to do it. But what if one is being discouraged by painful (even bewildering) rejections? How then does one 'treat it as a job' when it isn't even paying in any sense?
Answer: Some people are volunteers, and they never get paid (except with a verbal or written thank you).
Some people get paid as soon as they do something (e.g. a waiter paid almost entirely in tips).
Some people get paid at the end of the day.
Some people get paid at the end of the week.
Some people get paid at the end of the month.
You are working a job where you'll get paid next year, or maybe the one after, or maybe not at all.
It's not the length of time, it's the uncertainty of "maybe not at all" that makes your situation so much different from the others.
The advice to "treat it like a job" means that you have to ignore that "maybe".
As long as you're thinking that you might not get paid, you might be wasting your time, etc. you are going to find yourself not working as diligently as you should, working shorter hours, being careless, and even giving up too soon.
If you don't have the mindset that you are working at a permanent job, and that you are a responsible and hardworking employee, you simply won't be productive and what you do produce won't be as good as it could be.
If it helps, think of yourself as working at a volunteer job.  You will work hard, be productive, care enough to do it right, and enjoy yourself in the meantime.
Comment: Well put! This helps especially during the periodic 'writers block'.
Answer: As a writer with a day job (programmer) I wondered why was I so much more successful as a programmer than a writer? Here are some of the answers I discerned:

I go to work every day as a programmer, whether I feel like it or not.
I don't get emotionally tied up in people's responses to my programming work.
I'm process-focused, not goal-focused, in my day job.
If I encounter obstacles in my day job, I work through them until I reach eventual success.
I don't expect special treatment, lucky breaks, or magical interventions in my day job. I go through all the standard processes and meet all the best practices as anyone else. I believe my outcomes will be based on my effort, not my talent.
It doesn't bother me if a work project takes a very long time to complete, or if I don't see immediate progress. I just keep moving forward, in the belief that the project will eventually come to fruition (and if it doesn't, I just chalk it up to learning).
I'm part of a larger team as a programmer, that can give me valuable and immediate feedback, or that I can learn from.

The more I emulate these aspects of my day job in my writing, the better --in my own estimation --I become as a writer. Clearly, I can't do everything the same --I can't afford to spend 40 hours a week writing, for example --but I can adapt it to what is achievable.  In other words, I make sure I write every single day, even if it's only 15 minutes (whether I feel like it or not).
Comment: I think that this is a brilliant analysis and synthesis.
Comment: Really great post! Puts something measurable behind the phrase, "treat writing like your job".
Answer: Stephen King, in a live interview, was asked "What advice do you have for people that want to write?"
His answer (I am repeating from memory) was: "They should write. But I have to tell you, most of the people that say they want to write for a living, do not really want that. They want to HAVE WRITTEN, they want to have a best selling novel that is always generating income, they want to come on talk shows like this, they want some fame."
He has elsewhere talked about his own path, many years of writing stories without selling any, or making a few hundred dollars on them and that's it. But the bottom line is, he loves to write, and writes on his current story every day of the week, regardless of holidays or weekends or whatever.
Now you could say that is approaching writing "like a job"; because like a job you have to put in the hours every day, and like a job there will be some stuff you dislike but have to do, or that you struggle with. There may be disappointments, you submit a year's worth of work and it gets rejected everywhere, without any explanation. (just "Not right for us at this time.")
But that is the only relationship it really has to a job.
I agree with King, if you don't love to write, for the sake of writing, then you will probably not become a professional author. There really is an ART to writing, and like all art it takes some natural talent, and for most people that aren't like musical prodigies, natural talent must be turned into professional talent by many years of practice and discovery and often explicit training in the form of tutorials, books or classes.
Do not treat writing like a job.
Treat it like a hobby you love doing, and do not HAVE to be paid to justify doing it, but like any hobby you want to become better at it, and you HOPE one day you will be good enough to turn pro, and lots of people will be happy to pay for your work.
You should devote some regular hours to this hobby, but if the only reason you write is for the money, and you believe that if you never get paid then all of your writing was a tragic waste of time, then you should quit now. You almost certainly do not have the interest and drive in crafting stories to become good enough to sell them.
But if you DO love writing stories, and enjoy pushing your imagination and coming up with new stuff, then you aren't wasting your time. People can enjoy painting without any intention to sell. My nephew plays pool every Saturday, he's really good; he's run two tables in a row. He doesn't intend to go pro, he's got a job he likes, a wife and four kids, and pool is just fun with friends. A friend of mine plays the piano a few times a week, learning songs and practicing songs, but she doesn't plan to become a song writer, or a professional pianist, she just likes to play.
Are people wasting their time and money pursuing their hobbies? Is it a waste of time and money to be entertained, by TV or going to a play or by, say, reading fiction?
I would find that a disconcerting attitude for an author, to believe that reading something just for entertainment is a total waste of time and money. It's like they'd think of their audience as suckers.
If you want to be a writer, start writing. Write for the fun of it. Study technique and crafting, see how the pros deal with issues, so you can have more fun by writing better. Dream of going pro, but if that's the only reason you write, find another hobby, like investing, or playing poker, or gambling on sports, where your chances of success are (seriously) far better.
Answer: Do not come to any art for the profit. When the profit fails to come, you'll be discouraged. Do it for the love of it first then other things, money too shall follow.
Ernest Hemingway  advised:
     "Work every day no matter what has happened the day or
      night before, get up and bite the nail".
That's the spirit of the advice.
Answer: Speculative Work and Self Employment
You are in effect working for yourself, without pay or profit in the short term, in hopes of selling your product for pay [and ideally profit] in the future. As such it can be strongly advised to consider your ventures in the same line as you would any other small business.
Focus on your product, what you are selling, and who you are selling it to. Review your processes to develop your product, and carefully consider what your product actually is long term, and who your customers are. But be wary of how you draw boundaries here.

Consider the fact that in the long term your best product might not really be your writing, and your customers may not really be your readers. You yourself might be your best product, and your real customers may be those in the publishing industry.
Refocusing towards marketing yourself, and improving your personal marketability, may be highly important goals over the long term. As would continued expanded networking to help better establish connections that may lead you to more potential customers.

Setting your goals, milestones, and deadlines accordingly, and carefully considering problems that may be limiting your 'sales' will go a very long way toward eventually reaching sustainable sales.
With all that said...
Two of the biggest hurdles to get over when doing Spec work is to be able to stay focused and build strong progress towards goals, and at the same time being able to establish accurate and sensible goals.
Keep asking yourself "What can I do to add value", and "How can I best achieve value".

Is your writing polished and presentable?
What style of writing do you 'click with', and is your current writing method producing results?
What are the flaws and issues holding you back?

If you are hitting roadblocks in sales, then it may be time to step back and look at what the problem actually is.

Are you marketing effectively?
Is your product sensible and polished?
Are you selling the right thing to the right customer?

Many of these questions aren't ones that are easily answered by yourself in isolation. Having feedback from others who can offer fair and honest views will help cut through doubt and confusion. But be wary of who you're getting feedback from... Writing feedback is honestly one of the hardest things to do due to how subjective everything is, and being at risk of getting false data back from friends or family trying to be 'too supportive'.
Always keep in mind that there is far more to being a profitable artist than just the art itself.
[Some of the most profitable artists got to where they are not because they produced great art, but because they were damned good at selling the art they did produce...]
Answer: A "Job" is something where you work diligently to be paid a guaranteed sum of money at the end of the day / week/ month. Since you are getting paid, therefore you will give your best effort and dedication to do a decent 'Job' of it.
In the same way, people say treat writing as a "Job" to bring in the necessary discipline and dedication to churn out good works. Writing is not as easy as it seems and it requires a good amount of dedication and discipline to sit and type out a story everyday. It may seem easy, but it's not. You may have a great imagination to come up with brilliant plot ideas. But unless you have the discipline to sit down, type out those plots to make meaningful stories, things won't work.
So when people say treat writing like a 'job', I guess they mean treat it with the seriousness it deserves. Of course, don't expect money to come gushing in at first. But keep at it and you will certainly become good at your field. Money, Awards and plaudits will follow.
Answer: As a publisher, I can tell you a short story.
One day I was contacted by someone who already published different books and was interviewed multiple times, as we can see in his personal writer website. All of this seemed definitively interesting to me. I digged deeper to have an idea of his style and so on.
What I found is that in interviews he is constantly saying that he is lazy and has difficulties to write regularly.
In addition, in one of his stories, he make something especially dirty and ugly happenning, that is not fitting at all in my audience.
If he was constantly writing and behaving like a professional when he has to show off as a writer, I would have probably offered a contract to him. But since I saw all of that... I dropped.
I would also add that if you aren't profesionnal from the start, if you are a success one day, you might regret what you did or say earlier. Better to think your career long-term.
So now you saw from the point of view of the writers and from a publishing house. I hope that will help !
Answer: "Treat writing as a job" - doesn't mean you have to get paid for it.
It means you have to do it like you would do any job:

Every day, rain or shine
Good mood or grumpy
Whether you want to (today) or not (today)

To be an author, you have to write.
If you want to be an author, then writing is your job - whether you are paid for it or not.


How to get a dev team to use TDD and CI?

Question: I'm a software development program manager who has experienced many of the benefits of test-driven development and continuous integration. But some of the dev teams I work with don't follow these practices. It's not my place to tell them how to do their jobs, but how can I encourage them to adopt these practices without overstepping the bounds of my role?
Comment: Maybe its a good idea to ask a similar question to actual programmers on http://programmers.stackexchange.com/ . If you turn the question around a bit, how could you be motivated by an external to embrace TDD and CI?
Comment: What's the business value to you or your organization to encouraging this adoption? I know the answer from my own perspective, but you'll get better answers here if you can articulate the value from *your* perspective.
Comment: It is a possibility that some programmers who are competent in writing new software and/or troubleshooting bugs in source code might be less competent in setting up software, editing configurations or watching over daily automation reports. I'm not saying there is an inverse correlation - what I'm saying is that the two skill sets might not have any correlations whatsoever. If this is the case, be prepared to look for helping hands either within the team or from other teams who can get through the initial hurdles. Keep in mind that programmers are still responsible for continuous maintenance.
Answer: Lead by example. You can't force people to do what they don't believe in, particularly in your role. But if you work the way you believe is right, and if you quietly show results, then you should eventually win people over to your side. Don't force anyone, simply work in the way you believe is right, mention your positive results, and if they are interested then show them more.
I first realised the power of TDD when one of my team insisted on doing it for his own work. I thought he was wasting time, but I trusted him enough to let him work the way he thought best. Then one day he showed me dozens of bugs he'd found in our software and quietly corrected. He'd found these because he wanted to check the behaviour of the code he was working with, written tests for it, and found holes. He didn't convert the whole team at that moment, but he did convert me. I'm sure he did it for other people, too... just quietly.
On a related note, see this video from Dan North, and in particular story #3, The Coach. http://www.infoq.com/presentations/interactions-career
Answer: In my experience this is a process of years. Developers who do not practice "Quality Build In" in their daily process will see it as extra work. They rather be programming...
Quality Build In

Lean manufacturing companies will have quality built in their processes as much as possible. By building quality into your process, you prevent unnecessary rework and scrap. This means that your machines are capable of detecting abnormalities (jidoka) and your fixtures have mistake proofing to avoid mis-assembly (poka yoke).

Management commitment
From my perspective this should be management vision, they should communicate to these teams that this is what is expected from them.
Keep in mind that automated testing adds extra effort in the short term, while being really agile and lean on the long run. Developers time will be spread around 33% requirements, 33% programming and 33% automated testing. This will slow the team down and this might be a issue if management is not in on this.

Explain why this is a good practise
Give the team time to experiment with it, writing and running automated tests
Set realistic goals for code coverage increase per release/cycle
Comment: Good answer by Niels. I don't have good answer but if possible one can have the matrix with bugs reported by QC team before and after following unit testing. That will help developer that they can figure out issues well before anybody else can point out and they can fix it much before they are caught by QC.
Comment: @TabrejKhan to add what? :)
Answer: A Results-Oriented Approach

I'm a software development program manager who has experienced many of the benefits of test-driven development and continuous integration. But some of the dev teams I work with don't follow these practices. It's not my place to tell them how to do their jobs, but how can I encourage them to adopt these practices without overstepping the bounds of my role?

While you may not be in a position to dictate good work practices, it seems likely that you are in a position to drive a results-oriented approach. Generally speaking, TDD and CI are practices that are designed to reduce defect rates, and that should be your focus.
As one example, you might draw up a pie chart showing how much time is consumed fixing bugs rather than doing greenfield development on new features. By making the defect rates a visible cost to the developers (who will generally prefer working on new features to fixing bugs), you create an incentive for the developers to inspect-and-adapt their workflow.
This isn't a question of "holding people accountable." Rather, the goal is to create a causal link that helps the developers see the natural consequences of their current development practices. This may be all that's necessary to invite change.
Note that at the end of the day you probably shouldn't care whether they're writing software using TDD and CI, or writing code on stone tablets using cuneiform. What you really care about is software quality and efficiency of delivery, and you should definitely maintain reasonable targets for both of those things. It is then up to the development team whether they want to do things the easy way or the hard way; you can provide guidance if they'll take it, but you have to let some people learn by making their own mistakes.
Focus on tangible results (e.g. defect rates or feature lead times). Set reasonable objectives for your projects. Challenge your teams to improve their processes or toolchains when they fall short of reasonable expectations. You can't protect people from themselves, but you can encourage professional growth, especially if you're providing the time, money, and equipment necessary to implement real process change.


Fortnightly Topic Challenge #36: Twisted Classics 1

Question: This is the second installment of the Fortnightly Topic Challenges Rerun described here and the thirty-sixth installment of the FTCs overall, with topics suggested and voted on here. This fortnight's topic is "Twisted Classics" (suggested by Alconja) and will span from the 18th of June to the 1st of July. During this period, we will compile the list of questions with a relevant title and post it as an answer to this question.
In the meantime, please go and propose and vote on future challenges!
Everyone have fun, and happy puzzling!

Link to other Fortnightly Topic Challenges.
NOTE
The Twisted Classics topic challenge does not have a single specific tag associated. Due to the nature of this challenge, please add your own questions to the list below. The suggestion is copied to this post for posterity.

Twisted Classics
Make a puzzle that is an alternate take on the sorts of classic puzzles you'd find in a newspaper or an old school puzzle book.
The Classics
Any straightforward, printable puzzle of a well known genre. The kind of thing that your grandma would probably recognise, at least in form. For example (list isn't necessary exhaustive, but should give the general idea):

crosswords
cryptic-crosswords
logic-grid
sudoku
chess (e.g. win in $x$ moves from current position)
rebus
word-search
word-square
word-ladder
matches

The Twists
This is pretty much up to the creator and can be as much or as little of a twist as you want, but some possible suggestions are:

Genre fusion - blend with another genre of puzzle
Meta puzzle - multiple classics whose solutions lead to another puzzle
Variant rules - e.g. a sudoku where the centre squares of each 3x3 must always be even, or a logic grid which includes a fixed number of lies amongst its clues
Alternate structures - e.g. a crossword in a hexagonal grid, or a three dimensional matchstick puzzle
Reverse puzzling - work backwards from a final state and some other restrictions to a starting condition
{your creative ideas here...}
Comment: @Sleafar - I think yes. In terms of the spirit of the challenge, "game show" fits into the same category as newspapers and puzzle books. I.e. readily available/recognisable to a general audience.
Comment: Does [tag:connect-wall] count as a classic?
Answer: List of all questions published as part of the Fortnightly Topic Challenge #36:

Just a Regular Word Search by Riley
Word Ladders go to the movies by David Starkey
Twisted Connections by Sid
I don't want to let my friends down by Joe-You-Know
Bumblin' Stumblin' Rumblin' Jumblin'! by Chowzen
R.H.P.C. crossword puzzle by Thomas Blue
A mazegic square by crcroberts
Code Movie Wall by Sleafar
A globetrotting riddle, with a twist by SKOG
Pikurossword, or: Three-in-One by Level 51
The Vowel Sudoku Challenge by TwoBitOperation
Plot Twist (variety cryptic) by Deusovi
add entries in the form
https://puzzling.stackexchange.com/questions/<question-ID> by [username](https://puzzling.stackexchange.com/users/<user-ID>)

The highest voted puzzle is Just a Regular Word Search by Riley, with a score of 38 at the end of the fortnight.
The most viewed puzzle is A mazegic square by crcroberts, with approximately 970 views during the fortnight.


What is the reason that Tor doesn't have Qwant as a search engine?

Question: Qwant claims like DuckDuckgo to be a privacy focused search engine with european servers and their own indexing. So what is the reason Tor doesn't show it as a search engine?
Thank you for your help!
Comment: Because there can be only one default, and DDG got in first?
Comment: It's not even a option to choose. You have to install via addons the search over Qwant
Answer: Installing addons makes your browser more easily identifiable, therefor they decided to go minimalist on it.  Think about it this way: if 80% of Tor users used DDG and 20% used Qwant, by using Qwant you're making it 20% easier to finger print DDG users, and you're making yourself 80% easier to fingerprint by fragmenting the search engine base.
Answer: As for why, you would need to ask the developers directly.
If you want to add you own, please see the answer in "Special search in tor". No extra addons are needed and it will not increase your fingerprintability as long as the service truly down not track users. If it does, then it is the same as any other non-private search engine.


Can I freeze baked puff pastry?

Question: Can I freeze a baked frangipane puff pastry braid and have it come out right when thawed?  Will it be soggy or change the texture?
Answer: I never tried to freeze a frangipane braid myself, but I assume it will be fine. The crust might not be crispy anymore though, a little more chewy and the overall thing might be a little bit drier.
Answer: I've frozen cooked puff pastries but warmed them in the oven when defrosted and the pastry has crisped up well. If you don't want warmed pastries maybe if it comes out soft you could crisp for a 10-15 mins in the oven at about 190c and cool before serving. You can then sprinkle with icing sugar/flaked almonds/drizzle icing, whatever suits.

Can I freeze baked puff pastry?


Local Cache miss using MESI Coherence Protocol

Question: My notes on MESI state that there are a few courses of action when we experience a local cache miss on read, depending on the global state of the data (whether other copies already exist, and the state they exist in)
I'm having some trouble understanding how we know the state of the data when we miss on a read.
As far as I'm aware, MESI data is attached to each cache line, so if we have do not have a copy of the required data (we missed on the read) then how do we know the relevant MESI data, so we can make the decision on how to react to the miss? (whether we should read from memory, check for shared/modified copies etc)
Answer: In cache coherence protocols there needs to be a single location where the global state can be figured out.  There are two ways to implement this location.  The first is to use a directory.  The second way is to broadcast all information on a shared bus.
If you are using a directory, then the cache that misses sends a message to the directory node that "knows" the global state for that cache line.  The directory records the list of caches that have a copy of the cache line and what the state is at each of those caches.  (This is easier than it sounds at first, the line is either invalid everywhere, modified in exactly one cache, exclusive in exactly one cache, or shared in more than one cache.)
In a directory-based coherence protocol, when a cache misses it sends a message to the directory for that line.  If the directory sees that the line is invalid everywhere it forwards the request to the main memory, which responds to the cache, and the directory updates its state so that it knows the cache has an exclusive copy.
If the directory sees that the line is modified or exclusive in another cache, it forwards the request to that cache, changes the global state to shared, and (in most versions of the algorithm) saves the identifiers of the two caches that are now sharing the line.
If the directory sees that the line is in state shared, it forwards the request to one of the other caches sharing the line, and adds the requester to the list of sharers.
Directory based cache coherence is elegant, and scalable, but requires more than the necessary number of message hops for small systems, so for small systems a hack is used to replace the directory.  Instead of a directory, all requests from caches or responses to requests (from other caches or from memory) are placed on a shared bus.  Every message is broadcast to all the other nodes on the bus.  So in the case of a read miss: the cache that missed broadcasts a request for the data in state "shared".  All the other caches and the main memory are listening to the bus (this is called snooping).  If one of the other caches has the line in state modified or exclusive, it changes its state to shared and sends the data back on the bus to the requester.  If several of the other caches have the line in state shared then they will all try to send the data back on the bus to the requester (and the bus arbiter will ignore all but one of the replies).  Finally if none of the other caches have a copy of the line then the main memory will respond with the data.  The cache that made the request sees that the responder was main memory rather than another cache, so puts the newly received line in state exclusive.
Comment: Brilliant answer, and extremely informative thank you :)
The point I was overlooking is that the cache that experiences a read miss doesn't actually need to know if any other copies or exist, or where to look. It simply attempts to read from memory and then the operation is **interrupted** by any snooping caches which have up-to-date copies. I was confused as I was thinking "how does the cache know which cache to ask?" which isn't the case at all.
Thanks again.
Comment: Ah I should mention it was only in the case of a bus-based coherence protocol that I was getting confused, but your explanation of directory-based coherence is worded so well that I may use it to replace my current notes on the topic


What was up with the looks being exchanged with Count Dooku and Anakin?

Question: During the Attack of the Clones light saber battle between Anakin and Count Dooku there was a scene where the focus was on their two faces and the looks they were giving each other.  It was weird.  It had one of those "I am your father" vibes and was seemingly meant to display some sort of emotional tension.  However, then Anakin has his arm chopped off and this tension is dropped.  Any script direction or novelization clarification or elaboration on this scene?
Comment: Out of universe: it reduced the choreography required for the fight, especially for the aging Christopher Lee.
Comment: I always figured that Dooku was sensing the dark side in Anakin and possibly thinking if he were "apprentice" material.  Dooku cuts off his arm and then force pushes him backward - he couid have easily just killed Anakin right there but didn't.
Comment: @Mykewlname, I like your answer better than the official one.  Nice head canon.  :)
Comment: There's nothing in the script I can see - http://www.imsdb.com/scripts/Star-Wars-Attack-of-the-Clones.html
Answer: These long face shots were deliberate, albeit not for the reasons you might think. Due to Sir Christopher's advancing age (79 at the time of filming) and relative infirmity it was next to impossible for him to be involved in even short fight sequences. Filming him in close-up, and then having his face digitally mapped to a stunt double for longer shots was the solution the makers found to get around this.

And another decision made before production began was to have a
"digital double" of Christopher Lee. Though Lee boasts he holds the
record for most sword fights in front of the camera than any other
actor, the legend was 79 at the time of shooting, so a majority of his
shots in the sequence were done by a stunt double. Then when the double's face could be revealed on camera, it was replaced digitally by Lee's face.
Business Insider Article: "Christopher Lee did his incredible lightsaber fight against Yoda in 'Star Wars' when he was 79"
Comment: I'm not sure that explains the face shots explicitly - it provides plausible reason but doesn't outright say so - they could have also filmed non-face body and pasted Lee's face with the similar amount of work. Mind you, most likely your assertion is correct, imho.
Comment: Why didn't Christopher Lee just use Force Valor like Yoda to overcome the infirmities of old age?
Answer: I think you're reading too much into "looking concentrated, because George Lucas thinks that 'looking like you're on the loo' is enough of a directorial advice".
R.A. Salvatore's novelization indicates there was no hidden subtext there:

But Dooku retracted impossibly fast, and Anakin's down-cutting green blade hit nothing but air. Dooku stabbed straight ahead, intercepting the blue blade. The Count's hand worked up inside and over, then back around with a sudden twist, launching the blue lightsaber from Anakin's grasp.
... {{ previous paragraph discusses Anakin attacking with two blades, which precedes the scene you linked to - your scene starts after he already only has 1 blade }} ... next paragraph is the only one pertaining to the scene itself:
Dooku went on the offensive immediately, driving the surprised and off-balance Anakin back. Anakin fought hard to regain his fighting posture, but Dooku was relentless, thrusting repeatedly, keeping the young Padawan stumbling backward. And then he stopped, suddenly, and almost on reflex, Anakin turned back on him, roaring and slashing hard.
... {{ the next paragraph is slashing off of Anakin's hand, which is the end of the scene }}


Does stereotype thinking affect the application design?

Question: I am wondering how does stereotype thinking affect the way we design for users. Will user experience designer/researcher be able to empathize with user if he/she suffers from unconscious bias.
Comment: Isn't this why we run target-user interviews and end-user testing?
Comment: What kind of "stereotype thinking" do you have in mind?
Comment: Some stereotypes, like old folks are bad with computers, would certainly affect the way I design a website targeting older people. There's not many more I can think of though that would affect my designs.
Comment: @DasBeasto when you target old people you have to adjust the product. Sure one might think it's a stereotype but most old folks will be happier with a product they can use
Comment: Precisely Andrew Martin, as a UX practitioner, if you can't empathise with your user base, you're not practising good UX
Comment: Consider the opposite stereotype: Our users are mostly young and hip, so they're going to be able to read tiny text and they like exploratory UIs full of animations and snappy language. You might end up with something that older folks can't use and more sensible young people don't want to use.
Answer:
Will user experience designer/researcher be able to empathize with
  user if he/she suffers from unconscious bias.

It depends but really shouldn't.
For example I watch users enter orders, process sales, etc... and look for their pain points.

How many applications do they need to have open at one time.
How often to they get lost or waste time going back and forth.
Do they subconsciously peer in to see closer.

Let's take that last example: Does it make a difference if it's a 30 year old or a 60 year old who has to look closer at the fine print on the monitor? No. It's a use case that needs to be handled.
Then you solve the problem.
Answer: Yes, Stereotypes are by definition Bad Assumptions
Google defines stereotype is "a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing." usertesting.com describes UX as "a design methodology rooted in a deep understanding of the user." (emphasis added)
Good information is available about creating websites for different categories of web users, such as the elderly. Failing to take such information into proper account, and instead of relying upon uninformed preconceptions, would be very poor UX indeed.
To minimize the effects of unconscious bias from a design process, either don't call out the information about expected users belonging to unprivileged group in the first place, or make sure your design team gets high-quality information to correct any preconceptions.
Answer: I think it's impossible to fully avoid all stereotyping / unconscious bias but there are a number of strategies that have been proven to work to combat unconscious bias (this topic is certainly not limited to user research). Much of it has to do with being aware of what biases you might have and actively looking for ways to avoid them. For user research, look for user groups that have historically been overlooked: people of color, people with low income or disabilities, etc.


Can I download whole folders in Dropbox app?

Question: Is it possible to sync whole folders in Dropbox app? I currently download file by file a slow process
Comment: Some alternatives to be found here: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/1120/complete-dropbox-implementation-for-android
Answer: Sync isn't possible and the "download folder" function is also missing on Android.
You can support this feature request: https://www.dropbox.com/votebox/2133/android-download-upload-folders
Answer: As answered here, you can use file explorers such as ES file explorer to achieve this functionality.
Answer: I use the dropsync (comp.ttxapps.dropsync) app to keep full synchronization on my big dropbox which I have shared on several computers and several android devices. I've rarely had problems getting large volumes of files per directory trees in my dropbox handled.
The only issue I've encountered is when the particular device had a default bandwidth limit applied, which I generally reset to unlimited.


Vietnamese visa question

Question: I am traveling to Vietnam. My initial plan was to start in Ho Chi Minh, but due to a long story you don't care about, we have opted to land in HCMC and then fly directly to Hanoi. Since we are now buying another ticket, do I need to get our visas in HCMC or Hanoi? We will only have carry on, so there's no need to go to baggage claim.
Answer: Ho Chi Minh city is going to be your  international point-of-entry and you will have to clear immigration there. So that is where you need a valid visa. You can get it there if you like but make sure that there is enough time between since the wait can be long, otherwise you will have to apply for a visa at the embassy closest to where you live.
My experience is at least 30 minutes just waiting for the visa to be printed. You will have to line up and that will depend on how many people need one but expect a good 10-20 mins. Then you have actually go through immigration with your newly-printed visa, so it takes another variable while.
Answer: If you need a visa for Vietnam, get an eVisa if possible, or a regular visa at the nearest Consulate. The pre-arranged visa, which is really not a visa on arrival, still requires you to get an approval letter ahead of departure, and queue twice once you're at the airport. There's no reason to waste time if you don't have to.
HCMC will be your point of entry, and you'll go through Immigration there. This will be sped up if you have already a visa, either electronic or a sticker in your passport.

Vietnamese visa question


Can you still be tracked when using a VPN?

Question: If I am using a VPN to connect to Twitter, can an organisation like Anonymous or Lulzec track me and find out my identity?
Comment: short answers: NO , let me tell you why?, as you know a VPN is a tunnel that help you hidden you IP   but the VPN company and US you now what are you doing if you want to hdden you location i give you a tips : if you going to do something ilegal or bad NEVER DO THIS IN YOUR HOME  may : stackbuks, coffe , small ,etc
Answer: Using a VPN in and of itself isn't going to stop people who want to trace specific activities on-line.  A VPN encrypts the traffic from your machine to the exit point of the VPN network.
So what it protects you from is someone trying to look at your network traffic if they sit between you and your VPN provider (for example a correctly set-up VPN should prevent someone on the same wireless network as you from reading your traffic)
A VPN isn't therefore likely to protect you from an adversary like "Anonymous" unless they happen to be on the same local LAN as you.
Comment: I built my own vpn and hosted it on AWS. Will I be protected if I'm sure IP leak ain't happening ? I'm speaking of sniffers and man-in-the-middle kind of attack or simply let's say your ISP trying to target ads.
Comment: I don't understand. Why would it protect between "someone on the same wireless network " when you already have https encryption?
Answer: People can still trace you with other methods. Just because your IP is different and your traffic is encrypted in a tunnel doesn't mean you can't be tracked. There are other ways people can track you. For example:

they can find who you are by doxing
your IP isn't the only thing that identifies you on the internet
your VPN service can see your IP and what you are doing and if hacked or owned by someone who wants to find you they can
they can install malware that is hard to detect and can be installed without you knowing,  which means your info will be leaked from the malware
your VPN can leak your real IP at times.

There are MANY more things that people can use to track you that will take too long to explain.
If you want to be safe, install an anti-virus, anti-malware, and firewall (if you don't wanna pay there are free versions, but remember you get what you pay for), don't mess with anyone (even if you don't suspect them to be a hacker), and don't act tough on the internet. I recommend you still use a VPN because it is another layer of security, but remember you can be tracked if you are their top priority and if they are smart.
Answer: Using an offshore VPN can help you to hide your real identity. Every site you visit will see the IP of the VPN-Server instead of your real IP. On most VPN-Services, your IP isn't dedicated to a single user, which make it harder to identify a special customer.
But this is more related to the sites you're using, because the owner of the site can see and track your IP. People from Anonymous wouldn't be able to get this data, unless the Site (in your case Twitter) get hacked. But this seems like a special scenario, which is not part of the question.
Please note that using Tor or a (secure) VPN-Server is not all you have to do for protecting your identity. Escpecially on platforms like Twitter or Facebook you should be very carecully which information you share. You can get identified for posting private infos. This can happen by mistake, for example by posting an image which has your GPS data in the EXIF-Infos.
It should be clear that you're not protected when you use your regular Twitter-Account with a VPN. Maybe you shared information in the past which can be used to get your identity. So you should create a new account for this, which is not related to you or your real account (different name etc).
Answer: Short answer- yes.
Tracked by who? Some 16 year-old who wants to troll you? Then I doubt it. Government? Yes.
VPN's (most) keep records of all your traffic (even though many claim they don't, laws in many nations prohibit them from destroying them). Not to mention if malware is placed on your machine then your real IP is easily gained which the VPN cannot do anything about.
Comment: I'd be interested in knowing more about how I'd be identified and the person figuring out my real name/location, whatever personally identifying info. Ignore malware. I mean from someone using network tools or whatever passive means to get my real identity when I'm connected using Express VPN using a server on the other side of the country. Also assume I have a brain and don't give out personally identifying info, my real email address, etc.
Answer: Well if you dont use your real name and if you dont tell people things about you and your life youre not easy to be tracked. Most people that use vpns and get tracked are forgetting to turn on there vpn or using bad ones. Or the tell there real first and or there last names. If you use a vpn and dont tell your real name and or state. Your fine. Malware isnt that easy to be installed. Just make sure you have an anti malware and anti virus. It will protect you against the most used virusses and malwares. If you use an good vpn from an good provider it will cost a lot but your imposible to be tracked. And if youre rly scared just get your self an pfsense firewall and setup an proxy. Its even posible to setup multiple proxys. So you are not behine one but behind 2 or 5 or even more.


How can I only search the Primary inbox in Gmail?

Question: With the new Gmail inbox, I've gotten into the habit of ignoring everything that's not in the Primary inbox. I don't care about anything that's in any of the other inboxes (inboxen?). When I search for something, I only want to see things from my primary inbox. However, searching for something brings up results from all the inboxes. How can I only search the Primary inbox?
Comment: I wish that Gmail had made this simple. Like "in:inbox is:unread category:primary".
Answer: Gmail now supports
category:primary is:unread

Comment: This seems correct, but it would be nice if you could link to a source for your information.
Comment: https://support.google.com/mail/answer/7190 would seem to be the source for the information, but I don't see that it was announced anywhere.
Comment: you are the man, been looking for this for a while
Comment: this is great - TIP: bookmark the search results page -- and put it somewhere handy in your browser
Comment: That is the filer I've been looking for years :D
Answer: The category filter now knows how to filter the "Primary" inbox, so you can use
in:inbox category:primary

Or, to show just unread messages in the "Primary inbox":
in:inbox category:primary is:unread

Earlier answer:
Doesn't look like the "category" filter knows how to filter to the "Primary" inbox, but you can do it by excluding the other categories like so:
in:inbox -category:(updates OR promotions OR social OR forums)

Or, to show just unread messages in the "Primary" inbox:
in:inbox -category:(updates OR promotions OR social OR forums) is:unread

Comment: `category:primary is:unread` as specified in the accepted answer does in fact work. Just putting it in a comment here directly since the first time I looked here, I took this as fact.
Answer: Confirmed, as of 1-30-14,
is:unread category:primary

works.
I think I've been using is:unread category:primary-inbox for a while but I think they just discontinued it, because it wasn't working for me today.
Answer: category:primary is:unread works better than in:inbox -category:(updates OR promotions OR social OR forums) is:unread. The latter, for me, excluded other unread emails from my primary inbox.
Answer: I landed on this and what I ended up finding most useful was the source of information we are all looking for:
The GMail Advanced Search topic in Google's Help/Support documenation
https://support.google.com/mail/answer/7190
This is the most important thing to remember as in the future it will change yet again. Remember to look up Advanced Search in Google's help forum for the current solution.
As of April 2014 what works and is supported is:
is:important

or
label:important

an example is:important is:unread to clean out your primary inbox.
"Meaning: Messages [...] that were marked as important by Priority Inbox"
I intend to, but of course cannot promise, I will update my answer as the solution changes. I am quite dependent on advanced search.


How long should I knead bread dough by hand?

Question: Is there a general rule to the amount of time I knead dough? Some recipes will say "until it is considered soft and smooth". Regardless of what the recipe claims, I am kneading the dough for a minimum of ten minutes when it asks for it.
Answer: Time isn't the main factor, gluten development is. You should knead the dough until the gluten is sufficiently developed to give the dough elasticity, and the final bread good structure.
There are two simple tests you can perform to check whether your dough is kneaded sufficiently. First, the Poke Test. Form the dough into a ball, and with a floured finger, give it a light poke. If it springs back to its original shape, you're on the right track.
Secondly, you can do the Windowpane Test. Grab off a chunk of dough, then try and stretch it apart. If the gluten is sufficiently developed, the dough shouldn't tear - it should stretch to a point where you can see light through it, hence the name.
Answer: I agree with ElendilTheTall that we should not use a fixed time to identify a well-kneaded dough.
A lot of factors such as brand and type of ingredients used apart from weather climate and temperature plays a part in the development of gluten.
If you want to see how a well-kneaded bread dough should feel and look like, you can check out my link, where I have posted some pictures and videos to help.
http://eelistan.hubpages.com/hub/how-long-to-knead-with-stand-mixer
Have fun and enjoy experimenting with the texture of your bread dough while kneading! :)
Comment: Welcome to Seasoned Advice! Whilst this may theoretically answer the question, [it would be preferable](//meta.stackoverflow.com/q/8259) to include the essential parts of the answer here, and provide the link for reference.
Answer: I agree that each dough is different but I usually let the just-mixed dough (shag stage) sit for 5 minutes before working it into a ball and then knead a one-loaf country loaf of dough by hand for about 8 minutes. (And I put the timer on for 8 minutes to be sure I reach at least the 8-minute mark, going on a couple of minutes more as needed.) Most dough seems to transform to softer and more supple by 6 or 7 minutes into the kneading work and then feels "alive" and soft by 8 minutes.


My friend loved a girl, but she passed. Will they have each other in heaven?

Question: My good friend loved this girl for years and she loved him back just as much.  They did not engage in any haraam act and hardly ever met. They wanted to marry soon but Allah took her away. Now my friend is in really shook and he wants to know whether he'll have her in Jannah, if he pleads with Allah?  And if he marries another girl because of nikah being a sunnah, can he still have the girl he loves in Jannah?
Answer: The description of Paradise in the Koran is:

41:31 We [angels] were your allies in worldly life and [are so] in the
  Hereafter. And you will have therein whatever your souls desire, and
  you will have therein whatever you request [or wish]

If your friend desires and asks for marriage to his love, it will happen because it is the promise of Allah.


A modern replacement for DH.82's Gipsy Major engine

Question: While I deeply appreciate any vintage aircraft that is powered by their original engines, I was wondering if there are any modern replacement engines available for the de Havilland Tiger Moth aircraft with Gipsy Major engines installed that require no or minor modifications of either the aircraft and/or the engine itself?
Comment: That's a pretty unusual configuration these days - 4 inline cylinders, with the cylinders below the endine.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_Gipsy_Major#/media/File:DHGipsyMajorengineDrover.JPG

Certainly nothing like the flat-4 pancake engines used in modern Cessnas and Pipers.
Answer: The Avia (now LOM) M132 4 cylinder inverted inline might fit. Some adaptation work is probably required.
Comment: Seems it is used in the Fisher R-80 Tiger Moth. I don't know how I didn't think about that!
Answer: No there isn't.  The closest thing would be a Fairchild Ranger inverted in-line 6, almost as old and 70 lbs heavier and I don't think it's ever been tried.
The DHC-1 Chipmunk, DeHavilland Canada's first in-house design (and later license built by mother DH in UK), also used the Major, and a lot of them have been modified with opposed Lycomings, but I can't imaging anyone ruining the lines of a T Moth that way.