How are the categories for climbs decided?

Question: In cycle racing, there are five grades or categories for climbs - Category 4, 3, 2, 1 & Hors (Above Category or HC).  How do they decide what is category 1 and what makes it so hard it is a HC?
Answer: As noted above, part of the ranking of a climb depends on its placement within a stage: usually, the ending climb of a stage gets "bumped up" by a category. You can see that in the plots below, which show climbs as categorized by the organizers of the Tour de France itself for the 2012, 2007, 2005, and 2004 editions of the Tour, and plotted by the length of the climb and its average gradient. If given the length of the climb and gradient, you can calculate the total elevation change for that climb, and the dotted contour lines in each plot show that. Cat 2, 1, and HC climbs are named. For example, in 2004 the Vilard de Lans climb was classified at a Cat 2 climb rather than (evidently) a Cat 3 because it was the end of the stage. Similarly, in 2005 the climb to Pla d'Adet ended the stage, and it appears that its category was also increased from (arguably) Cat 1 to HC.
As an aside, the Madeleine was climbed in both 2004 and 2005 but, as you can see, the length and gradient of the climbs were different in those years. In 2004, the Madeleine was climbed from the southern side; in 2005 and 2012, the approach to the Madeleine was from the north.
Comment: When I started to behold this answer, I already (correctly) suspected who was its author... Very, very nice work!
Comment: How did you generate the plots?
Comment: I used the official TdF website for the name of each climb, its category, length, and gradient. Given those data, it's simple to calculate the elevation contours.
Comment: I saw this answer now that the question became active again. It appears that the y-axes represent the *average* gradient of the climbs. This raises a question for me: climbs do vary in gradient. I wonder how that plays into the subjective classifications. Naively, I'd expect a climb that varies a lot in gradient over its length to be harder than one that varies less. I'd also guess that steeper gradient at the start and easier at the finish would be easier than the reverse. That's not a criticism of this particular answer, as it applies generally (if I'm right)
Comment: @WeiwenNg Yes, those are avg gradients, as reported by the official TdF site. As you can see from the 2005 and 2007 Tours, Roselend is rated "low" relative to its total rise, while Iseran is rated HC. That's both because Roselend is a fairly steady climb while Iseran is a bit more uneven, and also that the start of the Iseran is already at altitude and the top is very high. So total rise and placement in the stage isn't the whole story.
Answer: As has been mentioned, the actual categories are fairly subjective. Things such as the fame of a climb as well as how the organizers feel about giving out King of the Mountain points on a given stage will affect rankings.
That said, there are some general rules of thumb if you want to get an idea of how your local climb rates up to a given ranked climb in the tour though. There are always exceptions to climb rankings, but this should give you a basic list to start with.
Category 4
2km or so @ 6%
4km or so @ < 4%

Category 3
2-3km @ 8% (or less on average, but with very steep pitches)
2-4km @ 6%
4-6km @ 4%

Category 2
5-10km @ 5-7%
10+km @ 3-5%

Category 1
5-10km @ >8%
10-15km @ 6%

HC
Often Category 1 climbs as the last climb of the day
15+km @ 8%+ (Alpe D'huez, etc.)
20+km @ anything uphill. (Galibier is ~=4% over 40km if I recall correctly)

As I mentioned though, you can find exceptions for any of these. Some examples would include:

2006, the TdF included the Cauberg, a key climb of the Amstel Gold race. It covers about 1.5km with an average of about 5%, it was ranked Category 3. There are a couple hundred meters @ 11% on it and placed just before the finish, it shattered the peloton.
2010, stage 12 finished just after the Col de la Croix Neuve. This was ranked as a Category 2, despite being only 3.1km long. It averaged 10% though, so hardly easy.
Many of the category 4 climbs in the early flat stages would be unranked on a hillier stage. They exist so there is excitement in the king of the mountains classification early.
Comment: In addition to the above post, I wanted to include Strava's own way of calculating climb category : https://strava.zendesk.com/entries/20420292-How-are-Strava-climbs-categorized-For-Rides-

As they say, their system uses and objective view, while races can use more subjective reasons (and still be valid).
Answer: I prefer the cycling lore that it was decided by which gear of a Citroen 2CV you needed to be in to drive up the hill/mountain. For HC climbs you had to go up them in reverse.
Scientific? Not so much. Perceived Gallic? Mais oui!
Answer: For Strava climbs there is an objective categorization that is length in meters times grade in percent, with this categories:
score = length(m) * grade(%)

Cat 4: score > 8000
Cat 3: score > 16000
Cat 2: score > 32000
Cat 1: score > 64000
Cat HC: score > 80000

For example Alpe d'Huez has a length of 13800m and average gradient of 8.1% (according to Wikipedia), giving a score of 111780, which would place it as a HC climb since its score is way above 80000.
Answer: The tour organizers rank them subjectively based on their steepness, length, and also where they occur in the stage (climbs near the finish garner a higher ranking). Another criterion which seldom makes a big difference is road condition. Some people feel that the ratings have been inconsistent over the years, or have been inflated in recent years.  In short, there is no scientific way of rating the climbs, it's just a judgement call from the race organizers.
Note, others have indeed tried to quantitatively rank the climbs. You could apply their methodology to climbs near where you live to figure out how a local climb might be ranked at the end of a tour stage.
Comment: Great link to podium cafe! I can't wait to run their formula on some of my favorite, and not so favorite, climbs.
Answer: Another important criteria is where the climb is placed. If you put an otherwise cat 1 climb at the end of a mountain stage with an uphill finish, it becomes an HC climb.
Answer: I was told by Doug Dailey (a club cycling colleague and long ago British champion, British Cycling legend), that the categories were historical, and based on early Citroen capabilities (1920's ?). If said car could only go up a hill in 1st gear, it was defined as category 1. If it could do it in second, category 2, etc. Sounds plausible and very French. J
Comment: ...and for hors categorie, the Citroen 2CV could not survive it and you need a horse. That part doesn't sound like it would work as well in French :)
Comment: So a 2CV can get up the Mur de Bretagne (2.2km at 6.5%) in third gear?
Comment: Also, this claim has alread been [posted in an earlier answer](https://bicycles.stackexchange.com/a/39286/13174).
Answer: from the graphs you could derive a single formula which would be rougly
Category = 10.5 - log2 (Grade x Distance)
(where HC = 0)
for example for Alpe d'Huez
it's 12 km or 12000 m
at 8% or 0.08, so:
cat =
10.5 - log2(0.08 * 12000) =
10.5 - log(960) =
10.5 - 9.9  =
0.6
which seems fairly accurate (so tougher than cat 1)
Comment: Do you have any sources backing up that this is actually how the decision is made?
Comment: As noted in a comment on a previous answer, distance * grade is just the total height of the climb, and there are numerous examples where 2 different climbs of the same total height have different classifications.
Answer: @pablete mentioned the Strava Climbs with the formular:
score = distance(m) * grade(%)

This score can be easily boiled down to just the rise in meters because
grade = rise / distance * 100

which means the Strava score is basically this:
score = distance * rise / distance * 100

After simplifying this becomes:
score = rise * 100

Oh! So this is just a very subjective and inaccurate categorization of total rise without any reference point.
In my opinion the Strava categorization is completely useless.
Comment: This is just a rant, not answer. The categorization consists of two points. The total elevation gained and the minimum average gradient necessary. It must be a continuous climb, otherwise you don't get the required minimal gradient.
Comment: Why is this a rant? True it is not a direct answer. But due to my low reputation points I couldn't answer to @pablet directly, so I posted it here. You explanation though still makes no difference to the result. Your minimal gradient is just a threshold, but the formular `score = rise` basically remains the same.
Comment: But as the answer by R.Chung nicely shows, the rise corresponds to the categories used in real races quite well. It can never perfectly copy the TdF categorization because some climbs even change their categorization from year to year.
Comment: Sorry, but the graphs from R.Chung only showing this: `The more _rise_ you have made, the higher the category.` Grade is derived from rise and distance. So, when you made a climb/rise of 500m you are in category 2, when you made a rise of 1000m your are in HC already. Try it out. You can calculate the grade from the rise with `grade = (rise / distance) * 100`. Then you can put it in the Strava formular `score = distance * grade`. With the score you can get the category from a mapping. cat4 > 8000, cat3 > 16000, cat2 > 32000, cat1 > 64000, hc > 80000 according to Strava.
Comment: That is what I am saying, the more rise, the bigger the category. Even in real TdF. Therefore Strava categories are good and far from "useless".
Comment: Ok, maybe they are not completely useless. What I am saying is that you do not need the distance for it at all. But this is what is sold to us. The category is not distance related, so the category is way more basic then it appears. It is just a categorisation of rise. Which does not tell a lot about the conditions of the climb. Good look riding up a rise of 300m (cat 3) in a distance of 800m.
Comment: Yes, total rise is an important piece of the story, but the purpose of the plots is to show that's total rise isn't the entire story. If you look at the 2007 Tour, you'll see that Roselend is rated lower than Iseran, though total rise for Roselend is greater. (That's because Roselend is an even climb while the Iseran is a little more uneven, and that the Iseran is the highest pass used in the Tour.)


The [helpdesk] tag isn't helpful

Question: If you look at helpdesk, most of the questions have nothing to do with helpdesks, or they are denoting a "helpdesk"-style question. I recommend that this tag be deleted because it does not have a clear purpose, nor are they useful in any way.
Comment: Those questions are posted on SU, and SU is the helpdesk.  How could you miss that?  All questions on SU should have a [helpdesk] tag as well as a `[SU]` tag, and probably a [question] tag.  They also share that they are in English, so they should have an [english] tag.  And since the questions will have at least those four tags, they should also have a [tag] tag.  That doesn't leave any tags for what the question is about, so we should increase the number of tags per question to 10.  And probably use one of those for the [increased-tags] tag.
Answer: Done
Tag removed from all questions.
Questions about setting up a helpdesk service are off-topic for Super User. If the question has to do with helpdesk software, it might be on-topic for Server Fault, but remember not to migrate crap. In any case, this is a meaningless meta tag.
Answer: Why don't we just rename the tag to "helpdesk-software" or something?
That way people who just want to ask a "helpdesk" style question will not use that tag.
EDIT: Or mitigate them to server fault!
Comment: Unfortunately, that's rather off-topic for SU, as what you're referring to is essentially server software. I would just remove the tag altogether.
Comment: +1. That's a fair point.

The [helpdesk] tag isn't helpful


Cutting already installed tile?

Question: I am planning on installing floating laminate flooring in my hallway among other places in my house. I wanted to take out the tile on the outside of this small bathroom and I wanted to wait to replace the tile flooring in my bathroom until I could replace the toilet, vanity and molding inside the bathroom at the same time. I am not sure how thick this tile is but it seems to be fairly sturdy. I was wondering, is it possible for me to make a cut in this tile at the door jamb where the laminate transition will go and cleanly take out all the tile outside of the bathroom while leaving all the tile inside the bathroom without chipping it? Thank you in advance.
Answer: You're going to need two tools to do this and two specialty blades. A diamond cut-off disc to make the majority of the cut attached to a grinder. And you'll need a diamond (if available) or carbide-tipped oscillator bit and the corresponding oscillating tool ( sometimes called a multi-tool). For the majority of the cut you will use that diamond cut off disc with a wet sponge, a very wet sponge touching the blade obviously being very careful. Due to the diameter of the diamond disc you can't get right into the corners that's where the oscillating tool comes in handy. The oscillator will allow you to complete the cut right to the edge and then you can remove the tiles as required.
If you don't own these tools they should be available for rent but as a do-it-yourselfer both an oscillator and a grinder are essential.
Comment: So would something like this work? A PORTER CABLE PCE606K - 3-Amp 11-Piece Oscillating Multi Tool Kit along with a UNIVERSAL FIT 2-1/2" DIAMOND-GRIT OSCILLATING SAW BLADE.
Comment: Exactly, only thing is I'm not aware of any oscillating bit specific to cutting tile. I've done it with dimond embedded and carbide. I find the dimond works best. It's still a bit tough and doing it wet seems to help.
Comment: You can also use a dremel tool with a diamond wheel for that last inch or two. I would also cut right along the grout line for the left side of the doorway.
Comment: I will never buy another porter cable tool. I bought a brand new Porter cable oscillating tool and it failed in one year.  I understand that occasionally the lemon gets through but I attempted to contact customer service at Porter cable **twice**   And they refused to respond to me so they've lost a customer.
Comment: I've never used porter cable, I'm on team red/black and teal/black. Milwaukee and Makita have always been good to me.

Cutting already installed tile?


How far out will Israel's borders reach at the time of Mashiach?

Question: In Genesis 15:18, God promises Avram (Abraham) that his offspring will be given the land from the river of Egypt (it is disputed which body of water this refers to) all the way until the great river of Perat (commonly translated as the Euphrates River).
Is there an obligation for us to have sovereignty over those lands when Mashiach comes so that we will possibly have to go to war to acquire those lands, or will we be able to wait for Hashem to make it happen without having to militarily intervene?
(One can assume that the world will know that Mashiach is the true Messiah and that we will not have to make war at all, even if we are obligated to conquer, but it is possible that there will be some Amalekim or other enemies who will not accept him.
It is also notable that the verse in Deutoronomy 11:24--which talks about which lands we will conquer--makes no mention of the river of Egypt, but rather puts the 'sea that is behind' (Mediterranean Sea?) as the western border.
It may be possible that the descendants of Yishmael will be able to retain those lands because they are the offspring of Abraham. Even though Genesis (21:12) says that Isaac (Yitzchak) will be 'called offspring,' the next verse says that Yishmael is still the 'offspring' of Abraham, so when Yishmael's descendants fully return to Hashem, perhaps they will regain some of the inheritance.)
Answer: Your question reads, "How far out will Israel's borders reach at the time of Mashiach?" Affirmed in chapter 47 of יְחֶזְקֵאל, the pshat reading of Genesis 15:18בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא , כָּרַת יְהוָה אֶת-אַבְרָם--בְּרִית לֵאמֹר:  לְזַרְעֲךָ, נָתַתִּי אֶת-הָאָרֶץ הַזֹּאת, מִנְּהַר מִצְרַיִם, עַד-הַנָּהָר הַגָּדֹל נְהַר-פְּרָת, is illustrated as follows (remember you did not ask for hard borders and this image is not mine, which explains the presence of words I would not use, such as "West Bank"):


Server to server communication over NAT/router

Question: I have two servers that need to be able to send requests to each other, and I need them to be able to communicate over a NAT or router. One server has a registered domain, and it is always waiting for connections. The other server sends the first request (the login request) to the first server when it starts. What is the best way to allow the two server to continue to communicate?
Answer: Huh? This shouldn't be a problem. If the first server, the one with the registered name, is always contacted by the other one.
As long as the second machine has general Internet connectivity, all it needs to do is e.g. open a TCP/IP connection to firstserver.example.com or whatever, and they should be able to continue to communicate over that connection indefinitely.
This is no different from general surfing using NAT.
Comment: his question is about NAT traversal I think


MSTest and NHibernate

Question: Does anyone have any experience getting MSTest to copy hibernate.cfg.xml properly to the output directory?  All my MSTests fail with a cannot find hibernate.cfg.xml error (I have it set to Copy Always), but my MBUnit tests pass.
Answer: You can try adding the DeploymentItemAttribute to one of your tests, or edit your .testrunconfig file and add the file to the Deployment list.
Answer: Edit localtestrun.testrunconfig (in your solution items folder). Select the deployment option and add the hibernate.cfg.xml file to the list of additional files to deploy. The file should then get copied to the output directory where the test gets run.
Answer: Ran into the same thing a few weeks ago -- this is actually a bug with MSTest -- I believe this was corrected with the recent Service Pack Release (even though it still says "Active").  If not, all I had to do was reference my hibernate.cfg.xml directly (sloppy but works for testing -- this is referencing the hibernate.cfg.xml file in my tests project from the "TestResults" folder):
<code> try
           {
                sessionFactory = new Configuration()
                    .Configure()
                    .BuildSessionFactory();
            }
            // Assume we are in "MSTest mode"
            catch (Exception)
            {
                sessionFactory = new Configuration()
                    .Configure(@"..\..\..\Program.Tests\" + @"\hibernate.cfg.xml")
                    .BuildSessionFactory();
            }
</code>
Answer: a workaround rather than an answer: NHibernate supports programmatic configuration. so you can write your own native properties/config file and parse it into hibernate configurations on startup.
Answer: I like to mark my NHibernate config files as Embedded Resources, and use the Configuration.Configure() overload which reads config files from the Assembly Resources.

MSTest and NHibernate


Sending Authentication information to a web service

Question: We are designing a system where a WPF client will call both WCF services and Java web services.
What we are wondering is how we should send the authentication information such that it is compatibile with both the Microsoft and Java web services.
All user are logged into a Windows Active Directory.
Some possibilities are Kerberos, SAML, WIF ... Can anyone make a recomendation on what we should use?
Answer: You should look into libraries built around JAAS and LDAP.


How far do radio waves travel?

Question: I have read that radio waves just keep traveling but the signal gets weaker because of how the wave spreads. OK, I get this, but what confuses me is that satellites emit signals from space that our phones and GPS modules pick up regardless of distance, versus walkie-talkies and WiFi routers whose signals don't travel nearly as far relative to GPS and phones. If GPS modules can pick up waves from space, why can't my laptop reach my WiFi Signal from far away? And why are walkie-talkies not able to transmit and receive at much further distances? Do all radio waves potentially travel the same distance? Or does the distance depend on the power of the signal? What determines the power of signal, wavelength or frequency?
Comment: "regardless of distance": no, not at all. Move the satellite 1.5 times further away, and you won't be able to do anything useful with the received signal. And: the data rate of GPS is roughly rounded 0, and of Iridium satellite phones is a couple of kb/s; of your LTE phone it can be multiple MB/s.
Answer: Radio waves don't stop at a distance, they just get weaker; you've read this correctly. The reason that communications stop working at some distance is that the signals are too weak to be understood.
Besides distance (and being absorbed or reflected by objects in the path) causing the signal to be weak in an absolute sense (how much power there is), there is also the question of signal-to-noise ratio. That is, there are other radio waves, from other transmitters, natural sources, and even unintentional noise sources inside the receiver itself, all of which "drown out" the desired signal just like acoustic noise can make it hard to hold a conversation.

Ok i get this but what confuses me is that satellites emit signals from space that our phones and GPS modules pick up regardless of distance versus; Walkie-talkies and WiFi routers whos siganls don't travel nearly as far relative to GPS and phones

There are several factors here, including:

The GPS system is predictable by the receivers. If you've ever used a dedicated GPS receiver, you may notice that it takes longer to get a location fix the first time it's turned on or if it's been off for a while. This is because it's using the information about where it last was, and what time it is, and the last satellite-orbit information it copied from the transmissions, to make good guesses about what it expects to receive. This allows GPS to work with a very poor signal-to-noise ratio.
(Almost) nobody else is transmitting on the GPS frequencies, because that's illegal. They're reserved for the purpose. In WiFi, there are lots and lots of devices all using the same few channels; if two transmit at the same time on the same channel (and distance/obstacles don't make one significantly stronger) then neither will get through, for that one packet.
GPS is sending a lot less information per second than WiFi. The Shannon-Hartley theorem tells us that there is a maximum rate of information transfer across any channel (here, a limited range of radio frequencies) depending on the signal-to-noise ratio. So WiFi is doing a harder task.
Your phone does not just use GPS to obtain its location; it also detects nearby WiFi devices and cell towers, and constructs a best guess from all of these information sources.

Do all radio waves potentially travel the same distance?

There is no limit on distance. In a vacuum, with nothing else around, a wave simply loses power with distance. On Earth, with atmosphere and trees and buildings and so on, different wavelengths/frequencies will be reflected and absorbed differently. Generally, longer wavelengths (lower frequencies) can be used at greater distances, because absorption generally tends to increase with frequency.
Also, in the "HF" regions of the spectrum, below 30 MHz, signals are actually refracted off the ionosphere allowing them to propagate around the curve of the earth, whereas higher frequencies usually pass through the ionosphere — which is better if you want to talk to satellites!

Or does the distance depend on the power of signal?

If you increase power from the transmitter, then any receiver receives proportionally more power. Therefore, the signal-to-noise ratio improves (unless the power is so high as to cause overload). So more power means a larger usable range.

What determines the power of signal, wavelength or frequency?

Neither; they're completely independent. If you have a transmitter that can produce a power of $x$ watts at a frequency of $y$ MHz, then you can always reduce its power output to some lesser value. This is done routinely for any non-broadcast communication; reducing output power saves battery and lets other users use the same frequency at a distance without "overhearing" each other as much (just the same whether these are 'walkie-talkie' voice communications or several WiFi networks or anything else).
If you get into fundamental physics, you may hear that the energy of a photon is proportional to its frequency, and that radio waves are made of photons. This is all true, but practically useful radio transmissions are made up of many photons. So changing the transmitter power changes the number of photons emitted per second, but each photon still has the same energy.
(Also note that wavelength and frequency are the same thing just measured reciprocally: you can convert one to the other using $\lambda = \frac{c}{f}$, where $\lambda$ is the wavelength, $f$ is the frequency, and $c$ is the constant speed of light.)
Comment: @zEyeland Also, the GPS satellites were designed with the intent of providing a signal that a small receiver could detect.  So, they transmit with an effective power of 500 Watts, on a frequency that doesn't have competing signals, sending slowly (low symbol transmission rate).  Kevin's post is just excellent.
Comment: @zEyeland The wave has greater _amplitude_ (it's "louder", or "taller") Considered as photons, there are more in the same space, so you could say they're more tightly packed, but they don't interact ([superposition principle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superposition_principle)) so it's not that they behave differently but that at any given location, there will be more for a receiver to collect. So if you draw the spherical boundary of "minimum useful power", that'll be bigger, but defining that boundary depends on the performance of your receiver, not any kind of physical distance limit.
Comment: @zEyeland There can be radio waves and sound waves of the same frequency (low frequency radio waves and high frequency sound might both be found in the kHz range). You can't hear them because they're waves in the electromagnetic field, not in the pressure of the air. (Comments aren't a good place to ask questions. Let's wrap this up. Chat is also an option.)
Comment: Great explanations to my questions, Thank you. Oh one more thing; how should I visualize increase/decrease of power of a transmitter. Naturally I identify a power increase would speed up the wave but I am sure that is not the case. You mentioned that more power only increases the usable range. Should I visualize a greater powered wave with more tightly packed photons that take look to spread?
Comment: Great thanks for information. So I increase the amp of a radio wave; now the wave is stronger/louder/taller but I still can not hear it because of the frequency. Versus a sound wave amp being increase; I will noticeably hear the loudness. Correct?
Comment: The FAST radio telescope in China has received radio signals from 5,870,000,000,000 miles away.
Comment: @zEyeland Yes, that is correct on higher amplitude radio waves not being audible due to being at a frequency we can't hear.  As an aside, ears hear air pressure waves, not radio, so even a  radio transmitting at 15 kHz would not be audible.  But the concept is correct.  Now, there is a  way to see the signal is louder.  That is shown on the S meter of the receiver.  When the signal is stronger the S meter reads higher.
Answer: The curvature of the Earth also makes a difference between how a signal will propagate near the ground versus in outer space.
And at a large enough distance, the random quantum behavior of the atoms and electrons in your receiver radio will drown out their reaction to any incoming radio waves.
Answer: Light is a form of radio wave. That type of radio wave travels billions of light years before being received on earth by telescopes.
Answer: Signals that don't bounce or refract are also limited to line of sight propagation.   In other words, your walkie talkie held in your hand can only be heard by other walkie talkies about 3-5 miles away in general, because further than that, the two walkie talkies are over the horizon from each other (i.e., this big rock called the planet Earth is between them).
To overcome this limitation, the height of one or both has to be raised.
So distance is limited by all of these factors (some of these were described well in other answers):

attenuation of the signal by absorption (air, trees, walls, rocks, etc.)
attenuation of the signal by spreading
signal to noise ratio (noise from other signals, natural and otherwise, on frequency and on close frequencies)
propagation effects (multipath propagation, reflection, refraction, ducting, and horizon)

Each of these factors can be mathematically modeled with equations, but different effects dominate in different situations, so no one equation will give you a distance for all situations.
Comment: Horizon is 20 miles away if you are standing.  The walkie talkie range limit is due to low power with small antennas.
Comment: If your horizon is 20 miles away, you must be about 20 feet tall or something.  Normal people have a horizion about 5 miles away.
Comment: Note that horizon distance is affected by frequency, because lower frequencies refract towards the earth and travel further.  VHF is about 5 miles.  HF is about 100 miles.
Comment: I stand corrected.  I was thinking of nautical applications where the lookout is high up. Even then, it would be 20 km, not 20 miles.  The wikipedia article on Horizon seems technically accurate, describing light horizon. Speaking of height, refraction, and communication, I used to live in Birmingham, AL and could hit the Talledega repeater on my HT, 50 miles away, with 4-5 watts with a rubber duckie on 2 meters.  High tower, sensitive repeater receiver, and I was in a valley that pointed towards Talledega.  A bit surreal.

How far do radio waves travel?


Did women suffer from alcoholism as much as men in 19th century America?

Question: What was the general view on women drinking alcohol (and becoming intoxicated) during the 19th century in the US and did they become alcoholics in about the same extent to which men did?
Comment: I'd say a *dim view* and a *lesser extent*, but I've no sources. The 19th century Temperance Movement being what it was, I doubt you'd find many women of breeding admitting to alcoholism. Indeed, I find you can determine the equality of a society not by how openly we praise a quality in a previously oppressed group - but how openly we can criticise a quality in said group. I.E. Able to treat everyone as equally human with the same flaws and weaknesses. The prohibition probably failed in part because it mistook exalting woman and debasing men on the topic of alcohol for true social equality.
Answer: Before Prohibition, in the USA public social drinking tended to be carried out in saloons. These were places where it was not socially acceptable for women to be. Thus the only women you would generally find in a saloon were...non-socially acceptable women. Entertainers, prostitutes, etc.
As a result, alcoholism was viewed as an almost entirely male behavior. Where it impacted with women was when their men spent all of their time and/or money in saloons rather than taking care of the family, and when they came home drunk. I'm not saying this was necessarily the reality, but this was the vision of the situation pushed by the Anti-Saloon league and the Woman's Christian Temperance Union.
Because of this, women were viewed as a reliable voting block for prohibitionists, which is why the ASL and its allies pushed women's suffrage in the states, and also pushed for (and eventually got) the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote nationwide. We like to think that men suddenly became enlightened or something, but the honest truth is that crass alcohol politics played a vital part in the achievement of women's suffrage in the USA.
Ironically, with the passage of prohibition, saloons were essentially outlawed, and were replaced with speakeasies, where women were every bit as socially accepted as men. So one of the unintended consequences of prohibition was the general spread of social alcohol consumption (and thus alcoholism) to women.
All of this is covered in wonderful detail in Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition. If you are interested in this subject, I can't recommend that book highly enough.
Comment: I think this is an excellent answer. I think we should recognize that female alcoholism may have played out in private/in the home.  We simply would not have have any records; saloon drinking was public and would generate more records.
Comment: @MarkC.Wallace - Oh yes. As always, the detailed granular view is very different from the high-level societal view I'm able to give in a reasonably-sized answer. For instance, this doesn't touch on soiree's put on by the upper classes, where alcohol was freely available to all, or on the "non-social" drinking engaged in by the lower classes, or family drinking engaged in at meals and other occasions, particularly by non-WASP Americans. It also doesn't address the basic classim and xenophobia involved in Americans' attitude toward alchol in that era. By all means, read the book!
Comment: That's a great answer. Thank you for that!
Comment: One of the pubs I drank at in the 1970's still had a separate *Ladies and Escorts* entrance and associated interior facilities until at least 1978. Such signs were a frequent sight in small Ontario towns through the 1960's.
Answer: This is a case where  the more you think about the reliability of the statistics, the less you trust them. It was socially acceptable for men to drink in public. It was not socially acceptable for women to visit saloons and it appears that female alcoholism and drunkenness were taboo. So drinking, if it did go on, would be at home while the men were out. Maybe alone or in female company. Men would not admit to their wives' drinking. Virtually everyone involved in areas that took an interest in drinking, such as doctors, politicians, journalists were male. They might not be interested in women's problems, or it might seem inappropriate to talk about it. What we know about history generally is the men's view and so I would say the statistics on this are about as good as the statistics on perfect murders.
We have seen from sex-abuse scandals all over the world that if people choose to keep quiet about something then the statistics can be virtually 100% wrong and that this is particularly likely when women are the victims.


Windows 10 IoT Wrong Time

Question: my issues is that when I boot my pi the time is always off. Now I have already set the time to my location I am in Eastern standard time(US), I have also tried to manually set the time using Powershell(PS) with remote access. Does daylight savings time play a role? Regardless if it is or not the clock is still not off by a complete hour and is something along the lines of being off by two hours and fifteen minutes.
Answer: The Raspberry Pi does not have an onboard RTC (Real Time Clock).
This means that when the Pi is powered off, and back on again, it thinks that it is the same time as when it was powered off. (Assuming is has a fake-hwclock which most OS's contain.) Because it does not have a clock that ticks while it is off.
There are two ways to combat this:
1. NTP [Network Time Protocol
The easiest one by far. Just connect the Pi to a network, either via Ethernet or Wifi, when the Pi boots it will pull the current time from the network.
2. I2C RTC [Real Time Clock]
The best method for portable projects, or when a network is not an option. You can purchase an I2C RTC here or here (if you don't want to/can't buy it from these sellers you can just search this on Google). There is a great tutorial for this at The Pi Hut for Raspbian systems. It works by a tiny battery powering a small clock on the module, and when your Pi boots, a script is ran that pulls the current time from this clock.

I am currently using both NTP and an RTC on multiple Raspberry Pis and I can say they both work great.
Comment: This is my fault for not making the question more clear. My raspberry pi is displaying the wrong time, RTC doesn't seem like a option(don't have the money), I already have my pi connected to my companies network through Ethernet that is how I am able to connect to my Pi through PS, however the time is still not adjusting to the networks time.
Answer: An option could be to use an external Web Service to get the time if your router does not have your appropriate time-zone available.

Windows 10 IoT Wrong Time


How do I upload a video from my iPhone to Dropbox?

Question: I have a video and want to upload it to Dropbox to send it to someone.  How do I do that?
Answer:
Upload photos and videos manually

Open the Dropbox app.
Tap the + (plus) icon.
Tap Upload photos.
Find the files you want to upload, and tap to select them for upload.

A check mark indicates the file has been selected

Tap Next to enter the Save Settings screen.
  Choose which folder your
  photos will upload to, or rename all photos at once:

To rename all photos at once, tap Rename All and enter the new name
  for your photos. Photos are then automatically numbered in the order
  in which they were added. You can tap and hold the three horizontal
  lines to the right of an image to reorder it.
Tap Confirm to return    to the Save Settings screen

Tap Upload.

https://help.dropbox.com/syncing-uploads/upload-mobile


When was it first said in Christianity by a Church Father that heretics must be tortured physically?

Question: This question is very similar to the one I had asked before: "When was it first said in Christianity by a Church Father that heretics must be put to death?", however, there is still a difference. In this question I am not looking at the approval of taking someone's life, but rather at the first known case of an approval (by any Church father) of inflicting physical tortures on heretics, perhaps, accompanied by cutting off some parts of their bodies (tongues, noses, hands, etc)
Comment: Lot of reading.. But you might be interested in Mosheim's Institutes of Ecclesiastical History, Ancient and Modern here is a link to a chapter detailing the events surrounding the first heresies. http://books.google.com/books?id=EIEPAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA157#v=onepage&q&f=false
Answer: The Definition of Torture
The first thing to identify in such a question is the definition of torture. Torture is a fluid term and similar or even exact same actions may seem like torture against one person but not against another, so there is a subjective nature to the question.
There is also the consideration of certain execution methods actually being torture. As Christians, we are familiar with crucifixion, which involves a prolonged death and great suffering. During medieval times, drawing and quartering, flaying, and burning at the stake all are meant to kill, but are equally meant to torture. Other methods of execution that are today considered inhumane in many cultures would be stoning, hanging, and beating to death, however, these methods do not necessitate the prolonging of death, and if done in a particular way, can actually be quite swift. Also, until the banning of "cruel and unusual punishment" torture as we know it was typically just part of the penal system. It was viewed as necessary for either deterring crime or exacting God's punishments until roughly 1690, when England's bill of rights officially made torture illegal.
We are also going to neglect any torture that was not sanctioned by legal officials. The nature of this question necessitates that only examples of torture that public, Christian religious officials allowed or ordered. To further complicate things, we are looking for the earliest example of hypothetical approval of such actions. This proves more difficult to demonstrate unless specific torture events are mentioned.
So the definition we will work with is the WHO 1986 definition of Organized violence:

The inter-human infliction of significant, avoidable pain and suffering by an organized group according to a declared or implied strategy and/or system of ideas and attitudes. It comprises any violent action that is unacceptable by general human standards, and relates to the victims' feelings.

So whether an event is considered torturous or not has nothing to do with it ending in death. Instead, it must include:

Physical pain that is avoidable, which includes unnecessarily prolonging death.
Publicly sanctioned by Christian religious officials.

Definition of Heresy
We must also define heresy. Heresy, like torture, has also proved to be a fluid term over the centuries. Originally, heresy first came into use when Christians found that some small groups, such as the Gnostics, held slightly different beliefs on key dogmas which made them incompatible with "the orthodoxy of Christianity."
Irenaeus is credited with thrusting the idea of Christian orthodoxy and safeguarding the religion from heretics in his work Adversus Haereses, which he wrote to discredit Gnosticism and encourage the traditional elements of the Church.
Generally, heresy has been defined as anything that is not in full agreement with "Christian Orthodoxy." What has changed often over the centuries is opinions on what Christian Orthodoxy is. So we are left not defining heresy ourselves, but leaving it up to the accusers. Whether we would call any person or groups heretics is irrelevant.
Where did it start
Torture has a long history thousands of years older than any Christian example. When looking closely at the New Testament it is difficult to make a case for torture, killing, war, or any violence. So how did the Christian church go from a persecuted and tortured group in the first and second centuries to an advocate and performer of some of the most heinous tortures?
It started with the Romans. Roman officials commonly tortured enemies and criminals, often with the intent to execute them afterward. And the old Roman Empire slowly became the Roman Catholic Church starting with the conversion of Constantine I. Irenaeus set the stage to confront heresy head first. Later, Augustine came to the conclusion that "compulsion" and violence were acceptable to turn the heretic from his ways, arguing that Paul was struck by Christ Himself before his conversion and became the most successful apostle. Augustine was accepting of fines, imprisonment, banishment, and moderate floggings, but likely would have been disgusted at the treatment of people in the Middle Ages.
But by 1252, Pope Innocent IV, himself, issued a papal bull that authorized the use torture against heretics, giving us the single most obvious approval and mandating of torture for heretics. This bull read:

[Heretics are] murderers of souls as well as robbers of God's sacraments and of the Christian faith ... [and are] to be coerced—as are thieves and bandits—into confessing their errors and accusing others, although one must stop short of danger to life or limb.

Pinning it down to the first Christian approval of torture is difficult because it was a long road from Augustine to Innocent IV. There are quite a few examples of people being executed in horrific ways, such as burning, but whether religious officials approved is difficult to determine. Again, because our modern definitions of torture are different, some punishments given at the time were not considered torture, but just part of the punishment. Paschal I, who was Pope in the ninth century, is said to have blinded his enemies before they were executed. The same is said of Hadrian III. Whippings, beatings, branding, and removal of hands or legs were common punishments for many crimes, including heresy since Constantine I. Whether they were considered torture is almost entirely subjective, but most of them were approved and even ordered by religious officials.

Misc sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torture
http://www.heretication.info/_heretics.html
http://www.heretication.info/_torture.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Christian_thought_on_persecution_and_tolerance
http://egregores.blogspot.ie/2010/10/augustine-in-defense-of-torturing.html
Comment: I don't quite understand why such uncertainty about what the torture is. Perhaps, I wasn't clear enough in my question, but I meant inflicting ANY KIND of physical pain, and not necessarily resulting in a death. Therefore, all kinds of physical-pain-inflicting punishments mentioned in your answer are to be considered "in" in the view of this question - regardless of how they were being viewed in their times. Hence, I like your WHO definition. So, as for the "torture", we take our modern definition, and as for "heresy", we take take the definition of those who called it "heresy", as you said.
Comment: Apart from that, it's a very good answer. Thank you.
Comment: @brilliant Yes, for you and me, defining torture is probably very easy and obvious to point out. I mean to show that some punishments were probably not viewed as torture, like burning at the stake. I would definitely call it torture, which results in death, but the people ordering it on heretics and criminals probably would not. So that is the problem with finding the first instance of approval. They clearly did approve of these actions, but they didn't think it was torture. It was just the proscribed punishment for the crime.


How can I change all white pixels to black but keep the transparancy intact using Gimp?

Question: I have toolbar icons in a file that are all white with transparent background.  Using gimp, how do I change the white to black without affecting the transparency?
Comment: Colors > Invert
Answer: General case, any color to any color:

Click on the "Alpha-lock" icon, which is the small checkerboard icon in the "Lock" line at the top of the Layers list.

Bucket-fill the layer with the new color (black for you), the alpha lock will ensure that pixels keep they current opacity (this means, without any active selection, to use the bucket-fill with the "Fill whole selection" option.

Faster for your specific case (black to white or white to black):
Just use Colors>Invert
Answer: Another approach is to select all color channels, but un-select the 'alpha' channel in the channels toolbox, then fill with desired color.  If you find you do not have an 'alpha' channel, then the mode of the image must not support transparency.
Comment: Clever, but just another way to prevent changes to the alpha channel. So same approach, but different means.
Comment: @xenoid - your answer helped me see this tactic...  Thanks!


How does one efficiently clean-up loose hair strands from one's back after washing hair in the shower? Is there a gadget designed to help with this?

Question: I have shoulder-length to long hair whose loose strands cling to my wet back after I wash it in the shower, and even toweling off is sometimes not effective enough to remove the hardest-to-reach areas of my mid-back.  Is there any gadget that can help collect the loose strands that I can't reach?
Answer: A much simpler and free way to remove those pesky hairs, is to wrap a towel around yourself so it is wrapped around your back, so that you are holding both ends of the towel in front of you, and the towel on your back. take one end of the towel that you are holding, and pull forward , let the other hand be pulled, but don't let go of either end of the towel. then repeat the motion with other hand so you feel the towel going side to side across your back. that should remove any stubborn hairs that are clinging on.
Answer: I also have shoulder length hair and had a similar problem. I use a three step approach:

Direct the shower head directly at your back before you get out of
the shower.
Towel off with careful attention to your back.
Use a blow drier to remove any remaining strands.
Answer: A "lint roller" should do the trick. It's like a roll of adhesive tape, only the adhesive is on the outside of the roll.

Once you're dry, you can hold the roller by the handle, reach over your shoulder, and roll the adhesive part across your upper and middle back. If you missed any part of your back, you can reach up under your armpit behind you, and roll the adhesive over the lower portion of your back.
In my experience, the adhesive doesn't bother my skin (unless I roll it over a hairy part like my forearms).
Answer: I would use a cleaning brush, also called neck duster, after drying off. You've probably seen your hairdresser use them to clean off your neck before taking the cape off.
However, you might need to modify the handle for comfortable use on your own back.
http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NjAwWDgwMA==/z/c~AAAOSwstxU7Ic7/$_35.JPG

Another option would be a rubber lint roller. The hair strands stick to the roll due to its texture, so it works without adhesive. Just wash off with warm water.
http://www.promo-wholesale.com/Upfiles/Prod_r/Lint-Remover_20090637700.jpg

One more alternative is those old-fashioned lint brushes. They tend to be less abrasive as even many hair brushes to avoid damaging the fabric.
Answer: I use a toothbrush. Works well on clothing too.


Damaged Ears are common

Question: I've been working in the industry for almost six years.  I've come across all types of engineers and a majority of them have a hard time hearing.  Recently I've been wondering why this is the case?  How is an industry full of sound professionals lacking in good hearing?
Another curious phenomenon that I've come across is DJs.  DJ's have the worst hearing because they stand in a club all day sometimes with a speaker pointed directly at them and for some reason, they can still get a crowd dancing by their mixing skills.
Comment: I went to see three movies last week, one was a fictive documentary and two were action movies. I've seen all three in different cinemas. The two action movies (Priest and Detective Dee) were loud, so loud in fact that in one case -- Priest -- I might have spent 15 minutes with my fingers stuck in my ears.
Comment: I cannot stand going to the movies anymore. They crank the volume so loud to the point of pain and it's disappointing, because I don't remember it being that loud 5-10 years ago. It's definitely killed the movie going experience for me. As far as going to bars, I usually bring some earplugs with me just in case there's a house band playing or the music is being obnoxiously blared from the speakers.
Comment: I've also got two pairs of earplugs in my wallet without which I never leave the house. One I use for myself, the other is for whoever is around me and I can convince to wear them. They're always fresh ones btw ;)
Comment: Same here Justin. I always take a pair of earplugs with me if I'm going somewhere loud (Cinema, Club etc.)
Answer: I strongly believe that the quality of your hearing has little bearing on your work. Our active/critical listening skills are in our brain, not our ears. It's important to take care of your ears, but your critical listening and creativity are much more important than your ability to pick out a 17k tone (and hopefully you'd have measures in place to make sure you pick up any unwelcome high frequencies).
IMHO, the majority of our audience care a lot more about emotional content than audiophile quality.
Comment: Agreed.  Technical pedantry is such a downer.
Answer: That's why I've pretty much quit drinking, smoking, and going to bars of any kind.  People are inconsiderate and extremely noisy to begin with, let alone when they're drunk.  It's a little too much for me to take most of the time.
There's almost nothing out there that is damaging to the ears that isn't the product of human creation.  So, unless you're willing to go out of your way to avoid it (i.e. stop leaving the house) it's something you'll just have to reconcile yourself to.
Answer: Two things to take with you to a dub stage: an SPL meter & ear plugs!
Answer: I have a pair of ear plugs which I carry all around except for the times I really need them. But the alternative I found is pretty accessible and easy to acquire. Whenever I step into an ear killing environment, I head straight for the toilet first, grab some toilet paper, wet em, and stuff them in my ears. Works well for the blasting music, but people have to speak a little louder. Doesn't really matter I reckon since they would have to speak up even if I didn't block my ears.
On another note, I recently took up some drumming lessons and my friend who was coaching me was a little concerned at how soft I played. She told me it was rare for anyone wanting to learn drums to hit them so softly, but I replied that I couldn't hit them any louder cos it was hurting my ears. Hahaha... played much better after I put on the earplugs. That was a first for her.
Comment: Get yourself a pair of "Thai Sticks."  They're composed of a bunch of little stick wrapped together.  They end up being the same weight, but because they bend a little, don't make anywhere near as much noise.  Still waaaay too loud, but better for the people without plugs in.
Comment: Very nice tip on the straight-to-the-restroom approach, Tak.
Comment: @g.a.harry did a googled for "Thai Sticks" and found something else entirely that'll probably still reduce the noise if taken enough. Hahaha... I'll keep those sticks in mind for when I get a drum kit. For now, I'll just whack my pads and that doesn't produce much of a sound at all!
Comment: I'll second the wet Toilet Paper... after years in bands, and trying all sorts of plugs (including some sem- custom ones) I've found that the old TP still has the best SPL reduction and a fairly even frequency drop. Of course, when the sound guy has the system set to "stun" like the guy with the band I saw the other night, they don't do much...
Answer: I have slight tinnitus (almost pure sine tone around 8k) around 4-6dB above my minimum sensitivity threshold from noisy rehearsal rooms and such when I was too daft to know better.  I've tested and had tested my hearing response, which is still pretty good (range/weighting & sensitivity). At low levels the HF drone I hear cuts through a bit, but I barely consciously notice it any more.  The most negative effect was on confidence, after paranoia about it getting worse and affecting my ability to work with detailed sound effectively.  Eventually I figured it's about using what you have effectively...for DJs where you're working off crowd reactions, as long as their hearing's "functional" it can work.  Since I got tinnitus (5 years ago) I've assiduously worn earplugs when necessary and it hasn't gotten worse (or noticeably affected my ability to work), so, err, rock on. And wear earplugs, our health system can only stockpile so many hearing aids...
Comment: My situation is very similar.  The tone is up at about 14k so it's a bit more difficult to ignore, but my spectrum response is still almost perfect up to about 17.8k or so.  Custom musicians' plugs have been a lifesaver as far as that goes.
Answer: For me it was being a naive teenager in a rockband and one a-hole of a music teacher that make sure that us noise people practiced in the most inappropriate room (all concrete)  in the school. No earplugs and little sense, but working in clubs mixing in my 20's didn't help the issue either. Training about noise and earring damage needs to be done early on and anyone that put someone into danger knowingly should be charged or fined or something.
I always carry earplugs in my wallet now, and generally avoid working in loud environments, I also don't go out to concerts anymore (except in a very blue moon).
Comment: Agreed - from what I've seen, hearing health is often ignored, not taken seriously, or not even considered by people, especially early on.
Answer: Musician's earplugs are a godsend.  Pricey compared to foamies, but a lifelong investment in your perception and continuing career (not to mention getting to hear the shows you attend in a more accurate way than with over-the-counter plugs).
That said, I only know a few colleagues who own them, and can't believe DJs or any other high-SPL professionals can get by without them.  Hard to imagine a lot of those guys being performant after a few years of sledgehammering their ears in clubs.  I've worked with guys who have incredible talent and nearly-flawless hearing, but whose sensitivity to highs has decreased a bit despite their best efforts.  It could just be due to the inevitable effects of age, but all the more reason to do everything we can to preserve what we've got.
Answer: For what it's worth I've found that less coffee and less booze (.. unfortunately) results in less ringing for me. I got quite paranoid for a while when I moved to the suburbs, because it's dead quiet and all of a sudden my ears were keeping me awake at night! I'd read nightmare stories about things like Menieres and figured I was going down that path.
Alas! less rum.. less beans.. no tinnitus.
Answer: You're right. I have found the same thing to be true. I am very protective of my ears and what I expose them too. (Maybe to a point of annoying my wife.) I know a lot of guys who blare their music at dbs that would I would never think of, or go to car races and other sporting events where you know it's going to be loud. You only get one shot with your ears and if you're going to make money with them you are choosing that lifestyle.
Ear plugs are good to keep on you.
Answer: Does Tinnitus severely affect youability to mix or design and has the ringing ever gone away
Comment: From what I understand there are a few different grades ranging from "deaf by sound" to "did the neighbours leave the TV on again?"  Mine's been going about 3 or 4 years now and hasn't even begun to fade.  Hasn't affected my ability to mix or work, though I do find that my ears tend to get tired a tiny bit faster than some of my friends.
Comment: Generally no if you have had it for a while then you compensate for it naturally. As @G.A.Harry said, you do get tired a bit faster with it though.
Answer: When I was 14 I damaged my ears for the first time with my first walkman, I then started playing in a rock band. 7-8 years later I was at a concert which was so loud, it gave me tinnitus for a month, a year later I had a similar experience.
Then I started protecting my ears, as I was getting scared of losing my hearing and as I was starting to work professionally with sound. I kept on playing in a rock band for 7-8 more years, but I was careful about wearing earplugs at rehearsals and concerts, so it didn't get any worse.
Now I am 38 years old and my hearing is still damaged from the early, wild years, but it is not so bad, it doesn't affect my ability to work. My "professional hearing" has gotten a lot better over the years through experience.
When I am working as a re-recording mixer, it occasionally gets very loud in the dubbing theatre, but I never wear earplugs. But then I am not working on big Hollywood blockbusting action movies, the films I get are more arty and not necessarily so loud. But there may be gunshots or explosions and loud action scenes, and those scenes have to be loud. So after working on a loud scene, I do feel quite tired, so that is usually a good time for a coffee break.
I only rarely go to concerts or clubs, because I like to stay home with my kids instead. But occasionally I go, and if it gets loud, I enjoy it a lot, and I use earplugs if it is too loud for my ears. But I just love the physical feeling you get from very loud music. It instantly puts a smile on my face!
I listen to music and podcasts on my iPhone almost every day, while cycling to work or when I'm out running. Sometimes I play quite loud. I know it may be dangerous for my hearing if I overdo it, but I can't seem to live without it. I just like the emotional rush from being engulfed by music. It inspires me to make better sound for the films I work on.
I love sound, and I also love loud sounds. I need them in my life just like need my coffee to be strong.
Answer: I was at an AES meeting a year or so ago concerned with archiving, maintaining and restoring old analog masters (specifically The Beatles). The guy giving the presentation played a recording (and showed us the waveform) of a track that had a problem 12Khz noise running through it. He played a before and after and asked if anyone could hear the difference. Only two guys out of maybe two hundred audio professionals could hear the 12K and they were the youngest people in the room.
Answer: I would expect that almost everyone who works with audio has some form of hearing damage.
Here is a list of time taken to receive a dose equivalent to the upper exposure action value in the UK (85 dB).
85 dB = 8 hours
95 dB = 45 minutes
100 dB = 15 minutes
105 dB = 5 minutes
110 dB = under 2 minutes
115 dB = under 30 seconds
I know have spectrafoo running with a calibrated mic when I am working to keep track on what I am exposing everyone to.
There are simple wall signs that illuminate when you reach a specified limit, but I have yet to come across one in any studio.  There is even a cool personal system that includes ear plugs that you can carry with you.
Answer: Unfortunately for most of us in the industry, by the time we realise this is not just a hobby but something we want to do for a living, we have already suffered some degree of hearing damage. Part of the problem is also that, because the hearing loss is gradual and our ears are so good at compensating, we have usually suffered noticeable damage by the time we realise.
It is usually only at this point that we discover that our hearing loss is irreversible and the only compensation is by use of a hearing aid.  The upside is that, because our ears are so adaptable, we can usually carry on with our chosen career. We learn to put measures in place to compensate for our shortcomings.
Some recommended measures:
1) Ultrasone headphones for monitoring purposes
2) A set of Etymotic musicians earplugs for the studio
3) A set of Etymotic EB15 earplugs to carry with you - just in case
I have recently started to notice some damage myself. While my hearing is still fair, I am starting to struggle to hone in on a specific sound source (e.g. a voice in a crowd). Like everyone else, I'm kicking myself now that I didn't take more care 20 years ago.

Damaged Ears are common


Eco friendly Bike cleaning

Question: What is the most eco friendly way to clean your bike? I want to use a degreaser and other cleaning solutions that are biodegradable.
Comment: The most eco-friendly way to clean a bike is not.  Aside from the drive train there is no need to clean a bike until the thickness of crud on it begins to be significant, weight-wise.  For the drive train you can simply oil and wipe, or you can use a chain washer with an eco-friendly degreaser.
Answer: For most things, you can just wipe the bike down with a wet towel or sponge and it will be about as green as you can get and adequate (well, as green as you get would be to leave it dirty). Some dish soap and a hose (on shower setting, not jet or super soaker or whatever) if its really dirty. Don't use a pressure washer or something since you might get dirt into bearings or crevices.
If you want to use degreasers, citrus degreaser should be biodegradable depending on what brand you get for the chain. Park Tool among others make a convenient little thing you clamp onto the chain to clean it.
One link to look at is Park Tool's guide.
Answer: In addition to dish soap and citrus based degreasers there are also alcohol based one like the Finish Line's Speed Bike Degreaser. It does not require water and evaporates after application, thus minimizing your environmental impact. That said I usually the Finish Line product first to remove greasy messes and finish off with soap and water followed by just water.

Eco friendly Bike cleaning


How to define %category% for custom taxonomies?

Question: So when you put %category% in the permalink structure that tag will be replaced with the path from the root category to the furthest subcategory, where, when placed in multiple categories, it will take the category order in account.
So how is this possible for custom taxonomies?
I came up with the following code:
http://pastebin.com/pVyKzryS
I was wondering if someone had a better way to accomplish the same?
Answer: This will probably be easier to do when the following filter lands:
http://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/18752
Update July 16. 2012: Fixed.


Is there a risk of interference between a 403 MHz and a 433 MHz Radio?

Question: I hope the question is not too stupid, as I am very new to Radio. According to my logic, the obvious answer is no. However I believe to have read somewhere that interference may be a problem when the second frequency is close to some multiple of the first? I do not know the exact bandwidths and have no way of testing the setup beforehand.
Comment: Depends on what is transmitting and what is receiving.  Are you talking about commercially available ham radio gear?  If so, there should be no risk to interference.  If you are talking about something you cobbled together on your work bench then maybe.
Answer: There is the possibility that one transmitter could de-sense the other's receiver. But it is difficult to predict - you simply need to try it.
Answer: To add to what Glenn W9IQ says, it depends on how sensitive the front-end of the receiving radio is. If it is not designed to be near strong out-of-band signals, then a strong out-of-band signal could 'swamp' the receiver's front-end, meaning that it can't process signals in its intended band properly because it is effectively overloaded.
As Glenn stated, it's not easy to predict. The best way to see how badly the receiver is affected by a nearby transmitter, is to try it. If transmitting causes intended signals to be wiped out, then that means that the receiver is affected.
The good news is that this is not too difficult to overcome - especially since the two frequencies are not harmonically related. You can put a good band-pass filter in line with the receiving antenna and that would cut out all frequencies outside the intended band. A properly-designed high-pass filter could cut out anything below 433MHz, and would be a simpler design. If the receiver is never used to transmit, then a filter would be relatively simple to make. If the receiver also transmits, then the filter would need to handle the power of the transmitted signal as well.
Comment: How would a harmonic relationship make a filter any less effective?
Comment: That depends on the harmonic output of the (very close) transmitter. Putting a band-pass filter on the transmitter would of course make things better all round, but since the frequencies are not harmonically related that's not necessary in this case
Answer: You seem to be thinking of harmonic distortion. A signal passed through an amplifier with harmonic distortion will add new signals at multiples of the original signal. For example, if the input is at 100 MHz, then there may be new signals at 200, 300, 400, ... MHz.
Any real amplifier will produce some degree of harmonic distortion, though in any properly working station it will be negligible. Usually the odd harmonics (in the example, 300, 500, 700 MHz, ...) are stronger when an amplifier has a push-pull output stage, which is very common.
So, harmonic distortion can not interference between 403 MHz and 433 MHz, since these numbers are not related by any integer factor.
Harmonic distortion is not the only mechanism that can cause interference, but it does seem to be the one you are thinking of. Intermodulation can also cause interference, though the frequencies where that interference appears is somewhat more complicated to predict since there are more unknowns.
And of course there are many other ways interference can happen. You ask if it's "possible", and strictly speaking the answer is yes. But it would be very unusual, and would require extremely cheap, poorly designed, or broken equipment.


Show date on the Apple Watch Series 2 Home screen

Question: How do I show the current date on the apple watch Series 2 home screen. I am only able to see the time, location, weather etc but not the date.
Answer: Apple Watch doesn't have a great variety of faces to choose from. You have to choose one that has a "complication", which means configuration option and/or display option, that can be configured to display the date. Press and hold your current face at a location that doesn't activate another function, swipe left and right to look at available faces, then choose the customize button at the bottom or the New choice, and select one that includes date by default or lets you add one thru the use of a complication. You can control this process with greater intricacy using the Apple Watch app on iPhone.


Why not default a user's view to the middle of a sorted list?

Question: Is there a compelling reason (besides convention) why a user's typical default view of a long sorted list is always the beginning of the list and not the middle?  Assuming a random distribution of selection targets, it would be more efficient to start in the middle and scroll up or down to find the target selection. For example, when I open my contacts, starting in the median position would halve the average distance I need to scroll. The idea came to me when reading about recursive binary search algorithms. Is there something different in the way that humans perform searching a sorted list that would make the beginning a better place to start than the middle?
Answer: The human brain and a computer algorithm work quite differently.
Your assumption that it should be easier to start in the middle of a list is wrong.
In those cases you would first need to figure out what the middle point of your list was.  Then you would need to figure out whether the item you are searching for would be above or below this middle point. Then you could start scrolling in the right direction.  If the thing you're looking for would be above the middle, then you would have to search backwards - a pretty complicated mental operation.
I'm not even sure if I know the alphabet backwards... :-P
Comment: +1 "a pretty complicated mental operation", that is the answer right there. It add two decision for someone to either go up or down. On top of that it requires that person to think in a reverse order from what they are used too.
Comment: If you want to test the mental workload of some task,  then ask the test user to count backwards from 100 while they're performing the task. Really reveals where you are thinking. Try for example to do perform a task with mouse/toolbar and then with keyboard shortcuts. You'll notice how the brain really "works" to remember the shortcuts.
Comment: I agree with Jørn E. Angeltveit, people ussually read sorted lists (contact list, phone book, dictionary... ) in alphabetical order, doing it backwards feels odd. I even get confused when reading a long list of emails from oldest to newests (and I can recite the spanish alphabet backwards :)
Comment: Good point. I guess there is a reason why cops ask people to recite the alphabet backwards to determine if they are drunk. :)
Answer: A few reasons:

it's generally easier for a user to grok how items are being ordered if they start at one end of the list;
it's typically simpler to get users to scroll down an interface than up, especially on the web where content is usually laid out as a long, static page. Yes, there are some visual tricks that imply some content is hidden up above the viewport, but without them the extra content can often be missed;
as Jørn mentions, humans - unlike computers - can find reverse searches expensive;
finally, binary searches only apply when items are distributed arbitrarily. Many lists are sorted by some intrinsic characteristic that actually do make the first items the most relevant;
Comment: The point about web and hidden info is important.  There was a question about this a while ago: http://ux.stackexchange.com/a/11297/95
Answer: If you have a long sorted list, you shouldn't have to swipe to your destination anyways. There should be some way to accelerate the scrolling. For example in contacts, you usually have a scroller on the side with letters so you can jump to a specific letter.
It's a bit hard to substantiate this claim, but I think starting at the top feels cleaner. It's hard to describe; it may even be a bit of OCD. I would be quite annoyed by an app that starts me off mid-list. Maybe it's that I've come to expect them. When I look at lists in general, I start at the top. I don't binary search my lists. I don't binary search my way to page 248 of a book. I jump to roughly the right spot then linearly make my way to 248.
I think you dismiss convention a little bit in your question; I think its valuable. Convention ensures that skills learned in one situation (one app's list view) transfer to a different situation (another app's list view). This decreases the amount of time people spend learning new things that don't significantly improve their lives.
Putting my personal feelings aside though you bring an interesting problem up though. You made the assumption of a random distribution for selection targets. But in reality people look certain folks more than others in a contact directory. People look up some words more than others in a dictionary, and they look up some recipes in a book more than others when cooking dinner.
So what about putting you in a place in the list with the minimum cost of scrolling using a cost function that takes into account the probability distribution of you wanting to select each list item.
Comment: And even if the mid point would be convention, the actual midpoint would be different in each situation - depending on your list's distribution.


How do I get client to participate in acceptance testing?

Question: We have a weak spot in our flow. Whenever the time for acceptance testing comes, our client simply doesn't do it in time. There are 50 user stories in Jira waiting to be reviewed by him. The number is getting bigger with each iteration. Because of that bottleneck, it is very hard to work on new stories, as it often happens that he ask for a change request regarding already resolved user stories.
Comment: Is this an internal client within your org, or an external client with whom you have a contract?
Comment: External client
Answer: A viable strategy could be the following.
First, make him truly aware of the delay he's causing: you might produce a Cumulative Flow Diagram to point out the slowdown (quite easy given that you work with Jira).
Then, help him dispose the pending approvals:

as Ashok said, show him how to test the user stories
schedule a weekly UAT session (possibly attended by a team member who can support him) to fix the project workflow; after some sessions, you might update the Cumulative Flow Diagram to highlight that the bottleneck is being removed
Answer: I think the question is why he's not reviewing the stories. I'd use the lean approach that Toyota developed: help the client eliminate his own bottleneck.
Possible reasons:

he doesn't have dedicated resources to the project
he doesn't know how to review the stories (as he's external and not involved in the development efforts, he might not know all the testing required)
he doesn't understand he's a bottleneck
he doesn't understand he's losing money (in the end it goes to that) by not accepting the stories.

So you can address the issue directly with the client. If not responsive escalate to management - use data to show how they hinder your work and potential losses because of the bottleneck. In both cases, offer your help (train, mentor, whatever is needed) to solve the problem.
Answer: Ask whoever tested to write-up the steps for testing
Because this is new development, your external client will not know the exact steps for reproducing the use-case conditions. This is most likely slowing him down.
We had this same problem. Our testers then wrote-up the exact steps to follow to test each story. This is not very difficult for the testers because they have gone through these steps themselves.
If the external client is not setting aside time for this, this won't solve that problem. If he is setting aside limited time, this way he will accomplish more during that time.


How to find a keyword in "nano" editor in Ubuntu?

Question: I am trying to find some keywords in a configuration file which is opened by nano editor, So can anyone help me to find keywords in this editor?
Thank You.
Answer: Open the configuration file through nano editor. Press ctrl+W and then enter the string you want to search. It will search for the string inside the file.
^W      (F6)            Search for a string or a regular expression

Answer: Try ctrl+g. You will get
Main nano help text

 The nano editor is designed to emulate the functionality and ease-of-use of the UW Pico text
 editor.  There are four main sections of the editor.  The top line shows the program version, the
 current filename being edited, and whether or not the file has been modified.  Next is the main
 editor window showing the file being edited.  The status line is the third line from the bottom
 and shows important messages.  The bottom two lines show the most commonly used shortcuts in the
 editor.

 The notation for shortcuts is as follows: Control-key sequences are notated with a caret (^)
 symbol and can be entered either by using the Control (Ctrl) key or pressing the Escape (Esc) key
 twice.  Escape-key sequences are notated with the Meta (M-) symbol and can be entered using either
 the Esc, Alt, or Meta key depending on your keyboard setup.  Also, pressing Esc twice and then
 typing a three-digit decimal number from 000 to 255 will enter the character with the
 corresponding value.  The following keystrokes are available in the main editor window.
 Alternative keys are shown in parentheses:

^G      (F1)            Display this help text
^X      (F2)            Close the current file buffer / Exit from nano
^O      (F3)            Write the current file to disk
^J      (F4)            Justify the current paragraph

^R      (F5)            Insert another file into the current one
^W      (F6)            Search for a string or a regular expression
^Y      (F7)            Go to previous screen

^W      (F6)            Search for a string or a regular expression
^Y      (F7)            Go to previous screen
^V      (F8)            Go to next screen

^K      (F9)            Cut the current line and store it in the cutbuffer
^U      (F10)           Uncut from the cutbuffer into the current line
^C      (F11)           Display the position of the cursor
^T      (F12)           Invoke the spell checker, if available

M-\     (M-|)           Go to the first line of the file
M-/     (M-?)           Go to the last line of the file

^_      (F13)   (M-G)   Go to line and column number
^\      (F14)   (M-R)   Replace a string or a regular expression
^^      (F15)   (M-A)   Mark text at the cursor position
M-W     (F16)           Repeat last search

M-^     (M-6)           Copy the current line and store it in the cutbuffer
M-}                     Indent the current line
M-{                     Unindent the current line
^F                      Go forward one character
^B                      Go back one character
^Space                  Go forward one word
M-Space                 Go back one word
^P                      Go to previous line

^N                      Go to next line

^A                      Go to beginning of current line
^E                      Go to end of current line
M-(     (M-9)           Go to beginning of paragraph; then of previous paragraph
M-)     (M-0)           Go just beyond end of paragraph; then of next paragraph
M-]                     Go to the matching bracket
M--     (M-_)           Scroll up one line without scrolling the cursor
M-+     (M-=)           Scroll down one line without scrolling the cursor
M-<     (M-,)           Switch to the previous file buffer
M->     (M-.)           Switch to the next file buffer

M-V                     Insert the next keystroke verbatim
^I                      Insert a tab at the cursor position
^M                      Insert a newline at the cursor position
^D                      Delete the character under the cursor
^H                      Delete the character to the left of the cursor
M-T                     Cut from the cursor position to the end of the file

M-J                     Justify the entire file
M-D                     Count the number of words, lines, and characters
^L                      Refresh (redraw) the current screen
^Z                      Suspend the editor (if suspend is enabled)

^Z                      Suspend the editor (if suspend is enabled)

(M-X)                   Help mode enable/disable
(M-C)                   Constant cursor position display enable/disable
(M-O)                   Use of one more line for editing enable/disable
(M-S)                   Smooth scrolling enable/disable
(M-P)                   Whitespace display enable/disable
(M-Y)                   Color syntax highlighting enable/disable
(M-H)                   Smart home key enable/disable
(M-I)                   Auto indent enable/disable
(M-K)                   Cut to end enable/disable
(M-L)                   Long line wrapping enable/disable
(M-Q)                   Conversion of typed tabs to spaces enable/disable
(M-B)                   Backup files enable/disable
(M-F)                   Multiple file buffers enable/disable
(M-M)                   Mouse support enable/disable
(M-N)                   No conversion from DOS/Mac format enable/disable
(M-Z)                   Suspension enable/disable
(M-$)                   Soft line wrapping enable/disable

Also you can use man nano


fixed point of a parabolic commutator

Question: For a hyperbolic isometry $g$ of the hyperbolic plane, denote by $ax(g)$ the oriented geodesic running from the repelling fixed point $p_g$ and the attracting one $q_g$.
Let $G$ be the fundamental group of a hyperbolic once-punctured torus and suppose that $G$ is generated by two hyperbolic elements $a$ and $b$. In particular, the projections of their axes $ax(a)$ and $ax(b)$ are simple closed geodesics on the torus with intersection number equal to $1$. Assume also that the commutator $aba^{-1}b^{-1}$ is a parabolic element, hence it has a unique fixed point.
The boundary of the disc model $\partial D$ is subdivided into two arcs by the points $q_a$ and $q_b$. Denote by $J$ the arc which does not contain the point $p_a$.
If the pair $(a,b)$ is positively oriented (namely $ax(b)$ crosses $ax(a)$ from the right to the left), then the fixed point of $[a,b]$ lies in $J$.
How can we prove this?
Answer: I think you can just prove this by computation for one explicit example, and then it will hold for all other such punctured tori by connectedness of Teichmuller space.

fixed point of a parabolic commutator


Best way to breathe for long-distance running

Question: What is the best way to breathe while running long-distance? One can breathe in through the nose only, the mouth only, or both nose and mouth. The same applies to breathing out. Are there studies comparing the advantages and disadvantages of the various methods?
Comment: Related: [Improve breathing and increase lung capacity](http://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/334/improve-breathing-and-increase-lung-capacity)
Answer: I run only as fast as I can breath through my nose. Our respiratory system is designed such that for any level of aerobic activity in which we regularly participate we can obtain sufficient oxygen by breathing through our nose. I don't know what kind of pace you want to run at, or how long you mean by long distance, so there's considerable room for interpretation here, but in the long run most people are better off breathing through their nose as much as possible.
Upsides:

Our sinuses and nasal passages are designed to clean, humidify, and heat or cool the air we breath to provide optimal oxygen uptake in the lungs. Our mouths provide no such service. Dust and particulates flow quite freely through the mouth and throat. (I'm not saying our noses can filter out everything, but any filtering is better than none).
Running at a pace that allows for breathing through the nose will encourage you to slow down enough to build your aerobic base, enhancing your bodies ability to burn fat and use the oxygen you breath. As time progresses, this pace will increase, and eventually you will be able to run as fast as you previously were while breathing through your mouth.
Breathing through your nose helps your body stay relaxed, and helps keep your heart rate lower for a given rate of exercise. Translated to running, this means you don't feel like you're working as hard as you do when you breath through your mouth.

Downsides:

Breathing only through your nose will force you to run slower until your body adapts. There is a major emphasis on speed training, intervals, etc in the running community, and most people are unable to function without gulping down huge mouthfuls of air. When you take a way that air volume, you have to slow down for a while while your body builds its natural aerobic efficiency back up. Many people have a hard time being patient during this retraining period.
It feels a little stressful if your nose starts feeling like its getting clogged, or runny. This is your body telling you to slow down a little bit. Again, many people don't want to slow down.

Anecdotally, I've seen great benefits from breathing only through my nose as often as possible, not just when running. Living in a dry climate, I often ended up with a semi-permanent sore throat when running or cycling a lot. Switching to nose-only breathing initially slowed me down significantly, but in a couple of months I was right back where I started, but feeling much more relaxed when I run.
Disclosure: My fitness has degraded significantly in the last 6 months, as I quit my job to go back to being a full-time student to finish my degree, then moved to a different state and started another job. Before that, I was able to run several miles (~10) at a comfortable 9:30 minute per mile pace while only breathing through my nose.
There is a summary of some of the research done by Dr. Lieberman at Harvard here.
Comment: Nice answer @alesplin!
Comment: Full nasal/deep breathing is supported in the book Body, Mind, and Sport by John Douillard.  Great read, by the way.
Comment: @alespin Your link states _Your body needs oxygen badly, and in general the least resistant and highest volume throughput entryway for oxygen into your body is your mouth. I always thought I was mentally weak for not holding my mouth shut through a workout, but it seems that my preference for high intensity training put me in a position where nose-breathing was inadequate for my oxygen needs._
Comment: _If you recall Lieberman's comments above, the turbulence and resistance created by our nose is incredibly useful, but this benefit diminishes when there is a corresponding need for higher-intensity work output. Ultimately, you'll have to decide what is more important to you._ This is in direct competition of your entire answer.
Comment: @Aaron: Re-read my answer. I said that I train at an intensity such that I don't need the greater volumes of O2 provided by nose-and-mouth or mouth breathing. It clearly states that for _aerobic_ training, we can adapt to nasal-only breathing. The inverse should be obvious: for anaerobic, high-intensity training, you probably need more O2.
Comment: @alesplin The problem is that _high-intensity_ is a measure of scale and varies for each individual. While anaerobic is black and white, _high-intensity_ is not which means that for a long distance run the OP could certainly enter an anaerobic state depending on terrain and a number of other factors. I think we need to state the negatives to breathing in via both mouth and nasal other than warming the air and filtering the air as those two variables can also be directly relational to the environment you're in. Your answer seems to be geared at _not_ entering an anaerobic state during your run.
Comment: I can go anaerobic while obtaining plenty of O2 via nasal breathing. I couldn't 2 years ago. The OP wanted to know about long distance running. To me, that is not something you do anaerobically _or_ at a high intensity. Nasal breathing provides a level of comfort in long distance running I've never found breathing through my mouth. But it should be obvious: if, for whatever reason, you need more O2 than you can obtain via nasal breathing, slow down or open your mouth.
Answer: You should always breathe in through both your nose and mouth and out through your mouth. you cannot get enough of the needed oxygen only using your nose or mouth by itself.

You should allow air to enter through both your mouth and nose when
  you're running. Your muscles need oxygen to keep moving and your nose
  simply can't deliver enough. Make sure you're breathing more from your
  diaphragm, or belly, not from your chest -- that's too shallow. Deep
  belly breathing allows you to take in more air, which can also help
  prevent side stitches.
You should exhale through your mouth and try to focus on exhaling
  fully, which will remove more carbon dioxide and also help you inhale
  more deeply.
Comment: Agree with the diaphragmatic breathing, not so much anything else.
Comment: I guess I take most issue with "always". And, as I  mentioned in another comment, the book Body, Mind, and Sport by John Douillard fully supports the ability to get enough oxygen via only nasal breathing (based on research and personal experience as opposed to just personal experience) which contradicts your second sentence.  Do you have proof other than personal experience that you cannot get enough oxygen from just nasal or just oral breathing?
Comment: @RyanMiller The down side to inhaling air via both your mouth and nose? I have certainly heard the argument to exhale via your nose as heavy mouth exhaling exhibits fight or flight tendencies but inhalation via both makes sense. Taking in more oxygen is not a negative and when your body _requires_ it both your nose and mouth should be used.
Comment: also, you probably don't want to breathe in through your mouth in extremely cold or extremely "dirty" conditions. Breathing nasally can cleanse and warm the air before it gets into your lungs.  Breathing through your mouth will not cleanse or warm the air nearly as well as nasal breathing.
Comment: @RyanMiller As stated in alesplin's link, Dr. Lieberman indicated that through studies it is not physically possible to supply your body with enough oxygen in an anaerboic setting via the nasal passage alone; which could certainly occur in a long distance run.
Comment: @Aaron - No. Anaerobic by it's very nature lasts up to ~ 2 minutes at most. Anything longer than that HAS to be aerobic. You can have anaerobic phases during that run (Such as indian runs and other sprint variations) but that is still a short lived phase. Any run that could conceivably be termed "long distance" is going to be aerobic. Period.
Answer: I've never found it possible to consciously breathe in through my mouth and nose at the same time. I recommend just opening your mouth and breathing. The deeper down you take the breath the better off you'll be but I wouldn't be artificial about it.
This is one of the things that will naturally develop for you as you train.
Lastly, I would note that sometimes the stitch is caused by a different pattern of foot strides to breaths - e.g. because you're running up or down hill. Often, the stitch can be fixed by consciously changing your striding pattern to something different.
Answer: I agree that "One can breathe in through the nose only" and if it works for you then why stop. I tried nose breathing when doing weights years ago after reading an article on its benefits but gave up because I found it near impossible.
Recently over the last month I tried it again incorporating it into my 1 hour bike rides
which includes riding up steep hills I am amazed at the results. Initially I took it easy but I have now reached the point where I am as fast as I was when I was breathing through my mouth averaging around 25km/h. I have noticed that by concentrating on a regular balanced deep breathing pattern of inhaling and exhaling through the nose climbing hills seems much more manageable.
Answer: I agree with @alesplin. IMO, breathing is directly related to one's stamina. If you have good stamina, then you can run or workout more which is ultimately the result of proper oxygen supply to your blood and muscles. Everything in the start is slow. If you want an explosion of oxygen to increase your running distance/pace, only possibility is to start slow.
You can practice deep breathing with your nose while breathing in and with your mouth while breathing out, when running. Initially you will only be focusing on breathing properly, but that's ok because when it's going to be unnoticeable, you never know. But the rewards will be plenty. You will have increased stamina and your breathing will be coordinated with your steps. By practicing deep breathing, you will have increased supply of oxygen which will curb the lactic acid formation in your body muscles. As the quantity of lactic acid in the muscles decrease, you will tire less. But this will be a gradual process. And it will be fruitful. I have been practicing it since one year and the results are very rewarding. I have scaled from 500m to 6kms non stop just by practicing this.
Answer: I focus primarily on breathing out, making sure my lungs are cleared of air as much as possible. With the effort on breathing out, the lungs just fill up naturally due to the pressure difference (same with playing a wind instrument incidentally).


The meaning of the Dexter lock in the series Dexter

Question: Every time the series started I remember wondering about the lock on Dexter's door. I was sure I had the same one in my garage so I went to check and it turned out to be a "Dexter" lock. Is there a specific meaning to this?
Comment: I think people here are misunderstanding the question. I thought the OP is talking about [**the actual Dexter lock**](http://consumer.schlage.com/products/pages/productdetails.aspx?ModelNumber=JD60619) (by Schlage) that looks like the character's apartment lock (though some people say it's actually a Defiant lock) and asked if there's any meaning behind this choice.
Comment: Yes Walt, that is what I meant. The lock has "Dexter" on it.
Answer: Well, it did look pretty solid...
But no, I don't think there was a special meaning - apart from making Dexter's normal morning-ritual look "gruesome" by using weird camera-angles.
Also, remember that the whole opening credits - plus a bit extra - were shown in one of the episodes of the first season, to show that "life is good, and everything is great in Dexter's life"...  It was also parodied in a episode right after Dexter's son is born, and he's extremely sleep-deprived due to the baby - his t-shirt got baby-food/burp stains, his shoe-laces snaps, and he looks dead tired.
Answer: I've always taken the opening credits of Dexter as a way of the producers to show that, on the surface at least, Dexter is a normal person.  He sleeps, wakes up, has breakfast, gets dressed and goes out.  Just like you or I would.
The showing of locking the door I'd always taken to mean that even when someone is a serial killer they don't take how dangerous they are for granted and assume people will know it's the home of a serial killer, and therefore they shouldn't break in.
Dexter is a normal guy with a normal routine.  The lock will be just a normal, everyday lock.
Why do they show this?  Because it's showing that Dexter is very careful to blend in with everyone else.  Don't stand out and don't give people a reason to remember you.
Answer: Took several hundred tries... But persistence paid off.  Finally got the feed to stop on those few seconds where the lock is in the shot. I could read it and it said DEFIANT.
Comment: https://www.quora.com/Whats-written-on-the-door-lock-of-Dexter%E2%80%99s-apartment