Why do I feel lousy, low, out of energy after the high coffee gives?

Question: I started drinking a lot of coffee after coming to college. I became instantly energized and social after grabbing a cup or two. But then at night I became extremely dull, unsocial-able, and quite depressed and completely lack of energy and I crashed into the bed just to wake up late in the mornings. Why is this happening?
Answer: Because coffee and other stimulants do not supply "energy" - they cause your body to use its energy reserves a greater or prolonged rate than it normally would.
Your body does not burn/feed off the caffeine, the caffeine causes your body to burn glycogen/glucose and fat.
So, naturally, once their effects wear off, and your body returns to it's normal state, the energy stores are going to be more depleted than they usually are, and your body will recognize that as feeling run-down afterwards.
That's to be expected.  If you use more energy and engage in more activity, one should feel more tired afterwards.
Answer: This effect is known as caffeine withdrawal. It's normal that you may feel a bit loose of you don't have caffeine after a while. The whole set of adverse effects of caffeine withdrawal is enlisted as:

headache
fatigue
anxiety
irritability
depressed mood
difficulty concentrating

according to WebMD.
Answer: I suggest looking at the broader picture of your daily habits, such as the amount and quality of sleep, sugar intake, alcohol consumption if any, and amount of exercise. The caffeine high you get in the morning could just be masking a chronic lifestyle/health problem.
Answer: I think there are two potential issues -
(1) The coffee is masking underlying fatigue, as outlined here:

Since caffeine works as a central nervous stimulant, it will cause the
  body to "forget" that it is tired. When used in moderation, caffeine
  can help to keep energy levels up during the day. The caveat is that
  tolerance is built quickly; to make up for adenosine receptors that
  have been inhibited by caffeine, the brain will create even more
  receptors. As a result, more caffeine is needed to keep drowsiness at
  bay.
When the brain detects increased adenosine, it will make you feel even
  more tired than if you'd never picked up a cup of coffee at all. Now,
  you'll need even more caffeine to keep energy levels up and help your
  brain to function at its best.

(2) Along the lines of Coffee Withdrawal in an earlier answer, coffee affects neurotransmitters like serotonin. This is a good resource that might explain the issue further: Coffee and hormones: Here's how coffee really affects your health.
Answer: this article here recommends in part to get rid of coffee addiction by first trying to cut off some other smaller habit you have, and then on the wave of doing it, - continue to something bigger, like cigarettes or coffee..


censor bleep delay - sam broadcaster

Question: So am needing software solution that will allow a radio presenter to replace incoming mic audio with a bleep sound or cut out the section of audio where a person swears on air.
We currently use the following software

voicemeeter banana
Sam Broadcaster pro

And an external mixer that the mics plug-in to which then connects to the pc.
Now in both voicemeeter and Sam Broadcaster we can set delay on mic input.
However in both cases we can't replace the audio with a sound.
In Sam Broadcaster we can turn mic on and turn mic off. Cutting out the section that the swearing happen.
With voicemeeter I would think that muting the channel that the audio is in with a delay would mean that we would again just have dead air and not a bleep sound.
So I am asking the question on here does anyone know how FM radio stations and TV station add that delay + bleep sound .
Answer: An internet search will tell you what radio stations use. Keyword: "profanity delay"
If you are only able to use your current set up I would suggest having a channel with no delay on it that plays the bleep sound effect you want and is the trigger for a ducker assigned to the incoming microphone channel that needs censoring, which can be done in VM banana; I believe.

censor bleep delay - sam broadcaster


Why Android device screen rotate only in Portrait and Landscape orientation?

Question: I have android device LG E400 which has only two types of orientation first one is Portrait and Second is Landscape.
It works on 90° Orientation(Left Landscape), 270° Orientation (Right landscape). Why can't it rotate in 180° (Bottom side to Top ).
Why Android OS couldn't have made that feature yet?
Comment: Android does handle 180 degree rotation. Your manufacturer's ROM or launcher must be preventing it.
Comment: Exactly. If you try Cyanogenmod (for example) you'll be able to rotate 0, 90, 180 or 270 degrees.
Answer: Some phones do not support 180° rotation because it is not supported by the rom. A lot of manufacturers prevent 180° rotation I believe for sake of simplicity. Theoretically, you only need one landscape mode and one portrait mode for basic functionality.
To fix this 'problem' you could install a custom rom that supports 180° rotation. Alternatively, you could root your phone, install the Xposed framework, and install a module that will enable all rotations. I have also heard that there are apps that let you do this but I have not used any myself and therefore cannot confirm if they work or not.


Why do dendritic cells have CD4/CD8 on their surface?

Question: Why do dendritic cells have CD4 or CD8 antigens on their surface? What is their function without the presence of a T-cell receptor?
Answer: There is no direct connection between CD (cluster of differentiation) receptors and T-cell receptor (TCR).
CD-receptors are used to label and distinguish different cells belonging to immune system: macrophages, T- and B-cells etc. Dendtritic cells play a significant role as antigen presenting cells and belong to vertebrate (and human) immune system and thus bear certain CD receptor.
These cells participate in the process of learning a new antigen by the immune system. During the very first phase the antigen is taken up by these cells, cleaved and processed. Depending upon the antigenic properties of the molecule it can be recognized as a valid antigen. In this case dentritic cells participate in the process of antigen presentation, where this new antigen bound to the MHC receptor is expressed on the cell membrane.

TCR is the protein that binds to this complex (MHC + antigen) and as long as this binding takes place the signal about antigen is propagated further to the immune system (leading to formation or augmentation of immune response depending upon the cell type which connects to this complex).
Comment: This doesn't answer the question.

The classic explanation for the function of CD4 is that it's a co-receptor for MHC II (along with TCR), and likewise CD8 helps TCR bind to MHC I.

Since DCs don't express TCRs but *do* express CD4 and CD8, the function of these proteins on DCs is interesting!
Answer: I believe rather than canonical involvement in T cell activation the question was what role does CD4 and CD8 have in a non-T cell population. Here is an article that provides some interesting insight:
CD4 and CD8: an inside-out coreceptor model for innate immune cells
http://www.jleukbio.org/content/86/2/251.full
Comment: While the linked article may be useful, you should add some explanation in your answer rather than just providing a link.


Using MathOverflow to help with referee work

Question: Suppose I am refereeing a paper and wish to remain anonymous as referee. Suppose I had trouble understanding some of the proofs in the paper and made a post on MathOverflow and received a very helpful answer, that in my opinion will be useful not just to me as a referee, but also to the author in order to improve their paper. It seems reasonable that when I point out the argument I received from MO I should acknowledge where I got it from. But in doing so I will need to point to my post, and therefore reveal my identity. Would it be appropriate in this scenario to make the MO post using an anonymous login, specially made just for that purpose? I would be interested in hearing what other ways to proceed may be.
Comment: You'll want to be careful to disclose contents from the paper on a public forum, as a referee you are bound to confidentiality; discussing with a colleague is permitted, a more public discussion is not.
Comment: Your suggestion to post using an anonymous account in such situation seems reasonable to me.
Comment: @Carlo depending on whether the paper is already public, for instance on the arXiv. It's then perfectly natural for anyone interested in the paper to ask a specific question about a specific step if it'sunclear (though clearly not ok to just outright ask if the paper/theorem at hand is correct).
Comment: Ask me, will be happy to play sockpuppet for such occasion :)
Comment: In this older post Dmitri Pavlov raised another issue related to refereeing: [Privacy of software-generated links to questions and answers](https://meta.mathoverflow.net/q/2167).
Comment: @Carlo Beenakker Yes your point is well made. The question in my post is general enough that only addresses a step in a proof involving standard and well-known facts, so I don't think it reveals much of the result itself.
Comment: @StefanKohl, it's definitely an appropriate situation to use a sockpuppet account.  The one caveat is that any references should be to the best *answer* and not to the *question*, lest one be accused of anonymously pointing directly to one's own item.
Answer: I don't think there is anything inappropriate about using alternate accounts to ask questions.  I have asked many questions using alternate accounts over the years (for all kinds of reasons, e.g. shame at not knowing something basic!).  As long as your different accounts don't interact (and especially don't vote for each other!), this does not violate any rule that I am aware of.
That being said, I think it is a little weird to initiate an anonymous online discussion of a paper you're refereeing.  I'm not sure I would go so far as to say it is unethical, but it's definitely not standard practice, and I think that many editors would get annoyed at one of their referees doing it.
Comment: Thank you for your comments. Of course my question was hypothetical. I would not initiate a discussion on a paper I am refereeing, whether anonymously or not.
Answer: On my opinion, if you have a question on the paper that you referee, you may ask only the author. (You can hide your identity if you wish by
passing your question through the editor.) A referee is not only anonymous but also is supposed to be confidential. Which means you are not supposed to discuss anything in the paper that you referee with the third parties, anonymously or not.
Comment: I'm not sure I would go quite this far.  Several times when refereeing papers, I have asked colleagues/collaborators of mine for help understanding certain technical points.  For many papers, there is no single person other than the author who deeply understands every input to the proofs!  I don't think that you should do this in public, but for people whose discretion you trust it can be fine in the right circumstances.
Comment: With preprints being readily available, I don't see a problem with referees discussing papers (discreetly) with others.  I can imagine there being a problem if the preprint were not freely available though.  Any mechanism that helps the referee understand more thoroughly whether an argument is correct or not, I think it is to be welcomed.
Comment: I agree with both remarks. IF a preprint is available, of course one can discuss it with anyone. Discussion with a colleague you trust is different from a discussion n MO:-)
Comment: An anonymous account on MO is anonymous only for ordinary users of MO. Moderators know your IP, email and so on.  Thus by asking a question on MO violates the privacy of refereeing.
Comment: @MarkSapir: Whenever I make an anonymous post, I don't give a valid email address (the system only demands *something*, but you don't have to give a real email address if you don't register the account).  And as long as you don't post from your university, it will be pretty hard to even figure out what city you're in from the IP address (at least if you're using a big network like e.g. Comcast).
Comment: An IP address defines your location up to a few feet.
Comment: @Mark Sapir: Yes, but it would require a subpoena to figure out your location from your ip address.  If the law got involved and really wanted to know who referred a paper, I assume they would just contact the journal.  I doubt any journal would even argue with an order from a court to divulge a referee.
Comment: @AndyPutman: The moderators (and some other people at SE) know the location of any poster in MO. You can ask the moderators on meta if you want to make sure.  My journal would not disclose the identity of a referee with or without a court order. I am pretty sure Annals of Mathematics would not too.
Comment: I recall Tim Gowers once asked a question here about a certain topic that wasn't his speciality and then, lo and behold, he was later talking about a certain mathematician's work in that area, for they had just won the Abel prize. Tim was very careful to ask the question in a way that made it seem like a natural inquiry, not like he was giving away the Abel laureate in advance. Of course, he could later confess to doing this, since his lecture wasn't then a secret.


PCI SATA Controller Card Locking Up at Boot

Question: So I have the following setup -
ASUS M2N4-SLI Motherboard with AMD Chip of some kind with 4 GB Dims 2 CD/DVD ROM Drives
  1 320 GB SATA Drive containing the CentOS Operating System and 2 250 GB SATA Drives which
  are mirrored in software RAID1 and mounted to the filesystem.
The issue I am having is this - I would like to add 2 more drives and configure them for RAID1 just like the 2 I have in there now, only the problem is all the drives I own are SATA drives and my motherboard SATA controller only has 4 ports.  So, thinking the solution must be simple, I go down to Frys and purchase a "SABRENT" '4 Port SATA PCI Host Controller Card'.  I plug it in and boot up.  No issues.  Bear in mind I think this card is pretty cheap, it only cost me 25 bucks - and I have yet to install the "drivers" as I can see the motherboard already sees the card and when I check using CentOS utility I can see the card there too.
Now when I attach the two new drives to the PCI Controller ports, I go through the motherboard's boot up screen, I see the PCI card's 'RAID' utility option like I did the first time, and then suddenly I see printed on the screen the following information:
"2 ST31000528AS"
Which I assume are the drives I've attached via SATA cables to the PCI Controller card - problem is that's it, I don't get any farther than that - I am not able to progress past this point to the normal boot up screen that the CentOS normally shows me, etc, etc.
Anyone have any ideas about what might be going wrong?
Answer: Check your BIOS and set the boot controller to be the onboard SATA controller versus the add-in card.
Comment: Check the boot ROM of the controller you've added. Maybe an `F8` when the new SATA controller begins to initialize?


reading ffmpeg output and sending it to a form

Question: I can run arguments through ffmpeg just fine, but I need to be able to read its output LIVE as it streams (as you may know, ffmpeg can take a while, and it updates its stderr twice a second with current frame, etc).
I have a form called prog that was declared globally with ProgressForm prog = new ProgressForm();  The user inputs a folder of video files, some data is gathered, and then a button is pushed to start the encoding process with ffmpeg.  The button_click event creates a new thread like so:
 runFFMpeg = new Thread(run_ffmpeg);
 runFFMpeg.start();

runFFMpeg was initialized globally earlier with private Thread runFFMpeg;.
Now I have the method run_ffmpeg:
private void run_ffmpeg()
{
    string program = "C:\\ffmpeg64.exe";
    string args = //some arguments that I know work;

    ProcessStartInfo run = new ProcessStartInfo(program,args);
    run.UseShellExecute = false;
    run.CreateNoWindow = true;
    run.RedirectStandardOutput = true;
    run.RedirectStandardError = true;
    Process runP = new Process();
    runP = Process.Start(run);
    runP.WaitForExit();

    //NOW WHAT?

 }

I'm not sure what to do now to get the data LIVE, but if I can, I would be updating prog, which has a number of controls, including progress bars, etc.  Typical output (that I'm interested in) looks like "frame= 240 fps= 12.8 q=0.0 size=   1273802kB time=00:00:08.008 bitrate=4415.2kbits/s dup=46 drop=0".  I know how to parse that to get what I need, I just need that line!
Answer: run.Start();
StreamReader sr = run.StandardError;
while (!sr.EndOfStream)
{
    string output = sr.ReadLine();
}
run.WaitForExit();

string output will be your line.


Do high tops prevent sprained ankles?

Question: For years, basketball players were encouraged to wear high tops because it was believed they prevent a player from rolling his ankle. But recently, players such as Kobe Bryant have worn mid and low tops on the court. Is there reason to believe that one of these types of shoes is safer than any other?
Comment: Should be on skeptics. :P
Answer: Yes, high tops appear to help with ankle injuries.
A study was done by the National Center for Biotechnology Information to determine if there was a difference in ankle rotation when wearing high tops compared to wearing low tops. In the study the participants stood on a platform on one foot and the platform would be released at a random time which would turn the base of the foot by 35°. The degree and rate of ankle inversion was measured to determine the amount of stress that was being exerted on the participant's ankle. The following is the conclusion of the study:

High-top shoes reduced the amount of inversion by 4.5°, the
  maximum rate of inversion by 100.1°/s, and the average rate of
  inversion by 73.00°/s when compared with low-top shoes.
  Depending upon the loading conditions, subjects wearing
  high-top shoes may reduce their risk of ankle sprains.

Now, as to why some players prefer to play in low top shoes, this article from ESPN explains that Kobe Bryant was originally inspired by soccer players who exert similar strain on their ankles in low top shoes. According to the article, low top shoes weigh 20% less which provides the player with more energy and greater ability to change direction. Also, most professional players have their ankles taped and wrapped before each game whether they wear high tops or not which also helps with preventing ankle injury. Kobe Bryant is quoted in the article:

I've been playing basketball all my life and I've worn high-tops for a lot of those games, and I've rolled my ankle plenty wearing high-tops. If you come down on somebody's foot, you're going to roll your ankle and there's not a lot you can do about it. But to have a low, I feel like it gives your foot more freedom to change direction.
Comment: Here's another study that supports the idea that high-tops may prevent injury: http://www.mdpi.com/2075-4663/2/4/85
Answer: From my personal experience I can say that High-tops are helping to prevent sprained ankles. In the past I got problems with sprained ankles during practice while wearing my Low-Tops. Since buying High-Tops I have no problems anymore.
Comment: The backing is my own experience, as I stated in the answer.
Comment: Please provide objective backing for your answer.
Comment: Please see accepted answer for an example of objectively-backed answer.
Comment: To necrobump, an "objectively-backed" answer **can** include personal experience and first-hand insight (see this [answer](http://sports.stackexchange.com/questions/1175/benefits-of-compression-apparel) for example). On the other hand, since the OP is asking for objective analysis regarding injury prevention between high-top and  mid/low-top types of shoes, personal experience may fall short in that the sample size is one person compared to a "study."
Comment: Nonetheless, +1 for first-hand insight. I have been rolling my ankles more often lately and may look into a high-top shoe next time around.
Answer: Here's another study that supports the idea that high-tops prevent injury: http://www.mdpi.com/2075-4663/2/4/85
Answer: I have coached football and basketball among other sports for over 25 years.  About 15 years ago I made a big push to get my teams in low or mid tops.  The reason where the following:

players ran faster
players had more ability to cut and switch directions (their input not timed)
I had too many players losing major playing time due to high ankle sprains
at the time high tops where very poorly designed for speed

What we noticed is that players got more sprained ankles if they were new to wearing lows.  Not a lot more but maybe a 20% increase.  But during the first three years we had no more than 2 high ankle sprains a year.  Down from 10-15 in years before.  Given that a sprained ankle would keep a kid out of practice for 2-3 days and a high ankle sprain from 2 weeks to the whole season, we were extremely happy with the results.
The only issue we had was, what to do with our bigs.  The lineman in football were iffy with going low and same for centers.  A few refused.  The rest did mids.  I can say this.  We unequivocally had no issues with high ankle sprains with players in lows and no other ankle wraps.  Your ankle will generally sprain at the lowest spot available.

Do high tops prevent sprained ankles?


Like vs "Did you find this review helpful?"

Question: For a site like IMDB in which users write reviews,  is it preferable to allow users "Like" a review( e.g. goodreads.com) or answer "y/n" to the question "Did you find this review helpful?"?
Comment: @Kroltan: That answer actually *is* helpful. (It's not *merely* or even *primarily* helpful; but it hasn't jettisoned helpfulness for the sake of humor. In fact, its helpfulness is a key part of its humor!)
Comment: Just a data point, not a full answer: Steam reviews of games are often just memes or jokes (e.g., "10/10 would die again"), which many people find funny but somewhat fewer people find helpful.  Steam's use of "find helpful?" tries to counteract this so the _actual_ helpful reviews sort higher, to mixed results.
Comment: "Like" is not equal to "Helpful". A great example is SO itself: A joke answer might be very humorous and well constructed, but is not helpful at all. Classic sample: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1732348/regex-match-open-tags-except-xhtml-self-contained-tags/1732454#1732454
Comment: To follow on from my previous comment, Steam now says "Was this review helpful? [Yes] [No] [Funny]".  Might be something to consider if your reviews have the same problem.
Answer: I think "Did you find this review is more helpful" is more precise, and attempts to solve the disconnect between negative sentiment and a "like" action. In other words, a user may really dislike a product or dislike a reviewer's writing style, quality, etc. but at the end of the day, the review was helpful in their decision whether or not to purchase the product. So the user can comfortably say "this helped me" even if they can't say "I liked this"
Answer: I don't suppose you've ever read Jared Spool's The Magic Behind Amazon's 2.7 Billion Dollar Question?
In times like these I would recommend looking to those that have done the research before you, such as Amazon. According to Mr. Spool, the question "Was this review helpful to you?" generated Amazon $2.7 billion in revenue. While they didn't actively consider a like button, the article does discuss a yes or no feature and plays on the art of good design. My recommendation would be to put a "y/n" feature to the question "Did you find this review helpful?" as this article describes.
Answer: A simple up/down arrow system like Stack Exchange seems to work pretty well. The arrow 'shape' can vary from a thumb up/down.
If you did however add a like, you need to add a dislike/disagree button.
Comment: Mouse over the comment "upvote" button here on SE.  Now, consider comments like [this one](http://math.stackexchange.com/questions/12906/is-value-of-pi-4#comment27691_12906) or [this one](http://math.stackexchange.com/questions/71874/can-i-use-my-powers-for-good#comment170064_71874).  Then, consider: do users *actually* vote up things that are *helpful*?
Comment: Many would disagree with this conclusion. Search for the word "poll" on meta SE...
Answer: I can like something without it being helpful.
"Did you find this review helpful?" is more direct and will give you a relevant answer. Whereas "Did you like this review?" can give you the wrong information. I sometimes "Like" things, not because I actually found them helpful, but because I do know that it's a popular topic that many others are interested in, so why not vote for it? Also, I may like a review that wasn't helpful. It may not have been what I had expected, and thus didn't answer my questions, but it may have been good enough to distract me from what I intended to read it for.
If you want to know if something is helpful, then ask a direct question: "Was this review helpful?"
If you want to know if they liked the review, say "Did you like this review?"
Answer: Ideally, prompt the user to think in terms of whether the review is helpful or useful in making a decision.
There are a lot of reviewers who make silly jokes, angry rants, or spout on political views.  A significant number of users might enjoy reading those reviews, even though they may be irrelevant to the subject and get in the way of a more serious user's research.
I'd avoid terms like Like/Dislike or Agree/Disagree so that reviews are less likely to be promoted or buried for the wrong reasons.
Answer: As Daniel Zahra said, simple up/down arrows work well, but I would consider adding hover texts. Something like "this comment is helpful"/"this comment doesn't contribute to the conversation" (but for reviews).
I have found it helps for me if I am about to "misuse" voting systems by upvoting things I just find funny or personally agree with.
Comment: The need for "hover text" on any particular solution would be a mark that it is not an appropriate solution. If the user needs a hint to avoid misusing an action, the implementation does not properly communicate its intentions properly.
Answer: You can even use a simple heart button. If the user likes the review than the user will use the heart button. It is same as a like button of goodreads.com . But instead of "like" "heart" is used.
Comment: It looks cute..and completely irrelevant as well..


Smokey A/C from 07 Toyota Camry XLE

Question: A while back my wife mentioned that smoke was coming from the front vents after a bit of driving with the A/C on. This does not happen regularly and the Freeon levels do not change. The other day, I witnessed this myself. There was no freeon odor - it didn't have an odor much at all. Then after about five minutes, it just went away. If freeon was leaking out, my A/C today would not be working, but as far as I can tell, everything still seems to work. To answer some basic questions:
1. No it was not smokey outside
2. No I do not smoke
3. No, it was at 73-degrees, not full cold when this happened.
Yes, we were in the car for only a few minutes after leaving the mall (which is approx 30 miles from my house) On the way there, cold A/C, no smoke.
-TiM
Comment: Are there any noises (banging, clanging, etc.) when you run the a/c? Does the a/c run continuously or does it switch on/off? When you drive the car long distances, does the a/c blow the same temperature, or will it start to get warmer as its driven longer?
Comment: A/C unit is quiet & operates efficiently. My 07 Camry XLE has an AUTO function. This car has a large dash that gets very very hot, so the A/C unit works pretty hard for the first few minutes of driving on a hot day, then it calms down. It is as cold as I request it to be while in the AUTO mode. I run it in manual at times to verify output remains cold. This morning, I started the car, forgot my lunch, got it then left the driveway. Noticed there was a small amount of water drainage, so the drain tube is not clogged as far as I can tell.
Answer: After running the A/C awhile do you see a puddle under the car while it is parked. It is normal for this to happen. I am speculating that the evaporator drain is clogged or draining slow. The water is collecting and what you see is frost blowing out the vent. If it is smoke it should rise as it comes out the vent due to it being warm. If is frost is will sink slightly as it comes out of the vent.
Comment: Thanks, but if it were clogged or draining slowly, how come this condition only happens randomly? This is a commute car that drives approximately 90+ miles a day, but the smokey output is not constant - it is rare and random. It happened the other day while we were driving. Then it is gone. I know this car has A/C drainage issues, but I don't believe the drain ever clogs. It is a design issue around the evaporator. That standing water is minimal and causes foul odor when switching from AC to heater as the weather changes.
Answer: Along this lines of what @mikes said, when the A/C first starts, if it is really humid inside the vehicle, you can get fog coming out of the vents until the A/C brings the humidity down. This is because as the cold air coming off of the A/C hits the interior air, it is condensed, making fog. This probably lasts for about two to three minutes and then all is fine. Could be a bit longer if it's really humid. I used to see this all the time when I lived in the State of Georgia.
Comment: I live in Missouri near Saint Louis. I used to live in Georgia, so I know the south. Here, humidity is not a problem. It does get pretty hot - but no where near Georgia hot/humid.
Comment: @user11427 - Even so, this seems the most likely cause of the "smoke" you talk about. It doesn't take a lot of humidity, just a really good working A/C unit for this to occur. When you see this happening, put your hand into the mist and see how it feels. I'll bet it feels just like water, because that's what you are seeing. This is *completely* normal and a property of physics. I actually think it's pretty cool to see, lol.
Answer: You did not decribe the smoke. what colour? Smell? You can tell a lot from these details. Did you use heater or cooler? I suggest changing the a/c compressor. They are semi consumable and not expensive and wear out after some time.
Comment: Smoke appeared to be water based. As stated in the original post, it did not have a freon smell - in fact, not much of a smell at all. Maybe a bit of cleaner odor I used a while back, but that's about it. Smoke cleared itself out of the air about a foot from the vent, so that again tells me it isn't chemical.
Comment: To be honest, A/C compressors are not cheap, and the repair is somewhat painful in that you will need to have a shop evacuate the system, then with your vacuum pump and manifold gauge set, draw the system down to a vacuum for 30 minutes or so. This is basically throwing parts at the problem. I would recommend diagnosis before loading the parts gun and shooting basically with eyes closed and fingers crossed. Especially since there is no smell of R134a (not freon)

Smokey A/C from 07 Toyota Camry XLE


Including a real event in a story

Question: I was thinking about writing a short story depicting a real event that took place over 2000 years ago. I'm not using any real person, but I am using the place and it's surroundings. I've seen plenty of books, movies and songs being about the event, but wanted to be 100% sure that I'm not breaking any laws regarding it.
Comment: The frame challenge of the question is whether you can provide evidence beyond reasonable doubt on what is real relative to the event you refer to. Real in this case also includes establishing whether the facts occurred in a specific location.
Answer: No one owns a copyright or trademark on historical events, especially ones that happened way before copyrights or trademarks were invented. There is no reason why this would be illegal. (Note: I have not checked every one of the nearly 200 nations for laws against this, but anywhere where the internet is legal I'm sure history is too.)
As others have pointed out in comments some nations do have laws against blasphemy or distorting history (I'm guessing you can get away with the latter if you clearly label it fiction(?)), if you live in North America or Europe it's probably not an issue though, but you may want to check the freedom of speech laws for your country.
Comment: However one thing to be aware of is that some of what you think happened at that event may actually come from a fictionalization of that event, and if that fictionalization is still in copyright, then using that "fact" about the event might actually be problematic.
Comment: And it might be good to add that in some places there are laws against "blasphemy" or against "distorting history."  Though that's unusual.
Comment: @Cyn: you made a VERY good point.. both distorting history and blasphemy are definitely crimes in many countries.   Worse it might just invite fanatics to come and kill you.  And 2000 years probably isn't enough distance for many people.  if your story is about the missing 30 years in Jesus' life in Roman middle east, where he was pretty much forest gump experiencing history ...  I am pretty sure.. that would get you into a LOT of trouble.  Or if you went that route with Mohamed.  You would probably get a fatwa against you...
Comment: @celtschk That is a very good point and, if you can expand on it a bit, deserves its own answer.
Answer: My first impulse is to agree with DJSpicyDeluxe. No one "owns" an historical event. No one can sue you for copyright or trademark violation for saying that Caesar Augustus became emperor of Rome or some such.
No one owns a copyright in facts. You can only own a copyright in how you express facts. That is, if, say, a newspaper prints a story about the president visiting Ruritania, if you were to copy their words exactly or very closely and claim you wrote it, that would be copyright violation. But if you describe the same events in your own words, that is not copyright violation. The newspaper doesn't own the fact that the president visited Ruritania, they just own the story they wrote about it.
But that said, depending where you live, some countries have laws against criticizing the government or government-favored religions. If you discuss the life of Mohammad in a way that makes Mohammad look bad, you could get in legal trouble in most Muslim countries. If you describe some atrocity committed by the government, even if it was centuries ago, that can get you in trouble in some countries. Like, if you live in Turkey, you must be careful what you say about the genocide of the Armenians. Conversely, in Germany you can get in legal trouble if you speak positively of the Nazis.
So really, I think to answer your question we'd have to know where you live, what historical event you want to talk about, and how you want to present it.
Comment: My intent here was to be informative and not to get into a debate about "good censorship" versus "bad censorship".
Comment: Grouping together a bunch of dictatorships censoring "what's against the government" with Germany not allowing to praise Nazis suggests some sort of similarity between the two, which I'm sure you didn't intend, but it's still staring at me. (And I just commented on your other post about people being more sensitive about what they're routinely hurt with. Here be example.)

Including a real event in a story


Does exposure compensation affect shutter speed in aperture value mode?

Question: When I am shooting in AV/aperture value mode, and I switch to +1 EC, will it affect my shutter speed?
Comment: See also this more general question:
[When I change the EV compensation, how will that affect my aperture, shutter speed, or ISO?](http://photo.stackexchange.com/questions/26234/when-i-change-the-ev-compensation-how-will-that-affect-my-aperture-shutter-spe)
Answer: Yes, this is generally the case. If you fix a value like aperture (which is what you are doing when you set the camera to Av mode), one of the other exposure factors must change — and the only other options are shutter speed and ISO. If you are using automatic ISO, that may or may not change first, according to your specific camera's program line.
If you are using a fixed ISO value, the shutter speed is the only free variable. It will change up until your camera's limits — most shutters don't go faster than ¹⁄₄₀₀₀th of a second or so (some go to ¹⁄₈₀₀₀ or more, though), and particularly on point and shoot cameras, or mirrorless cameras (or DSLRs in live view), there may be a relatively short limit on the other side too. If you run up against one of these limits, obviously the camera can't automatically do anything about it, and what it does do will depend on the camera. (Underexpose? Refuse to take the picture? Depends.)
So, specifically, if you dial in +1 EC, shutter speed or ISO will increase by one stop, to make the exposure that much brighter than the meter reading would indicate. That means the shutter will stay open for twice as long — or the ISO sensitivity will double. (Or, theoretically, each could increase by half a stop, to get the same effect on exposure.)
Answer: Yes. If you are in Aperture Priority mode, you are fixing the aperture where you want it and letting the camera decide the appropriate shutter speed. Thus, if you switch to +1 EC, the shutter will stay open longer.


Identifying hue, brightness and chroma of color and reaction time

Question: If someone knows how identify hue, brightness, and chroma of color, please let me know.
I am a PhD student at Educational Linguistics UNM.
Answer: The standard way of identifying colours is by matching them to a Pantone colour. Pantone is as near as there is to an industry standard. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantone for details. You can buy a swatch of colours from Pantone, then you compare your colour with the swatch to identify the nearest Pantone colour and get the cirresponding HSB values from the Pantone data.
Note that not all Pantone colours can be identified with hue, saturation, brightness values as the HSB system can't describe every possible colour. Still, you'd get pretty close.
If your doing some experiment that you plan to publish, have a look at the literature to see what standards people use for defining colour. Pantone is standard in the publishing business, but it's possible researchers in your field use some other standard.
Answer: Your question is how to place a given colour in the HSV colorspace. The study of colorspaces is a whole field in itself, and the most relevant colorspace depends on your application. HSV and HSL colorspaces are built to be more intuitive than the more technical RGB. The wikipedia page linked above contains the formula to convert from RGB to the HSV value, as well as swatches.


My 3 year old is having problems at daycare but not at home what can I do to address this?

Question: My son just turned 3 and moved to a new daycare 4 weeks ago. He had a good first few days and his behaviors have gotten steadily worse. He's spitting, hitting, biting, and pinching. He's had bitting problems in the past but we've worked with the past daycares and he got better. His last real issues at daycare was in Jan. The kicker is he doesn't do these at home very often. He's stubborn and will tell us now and climb but not to the extent they are claiming at daycare. They are very structured and the place before wasn't. We have tried everything we can thing of but have no idea where to go from here. They have told us if he doesn't improve they will ask him to leave. This is one of the few daycares in the area and it also functions as a preschool which we will need next year. Any advice is welcome. Thanks.
Answer: For the most part, at that age there's not a lot you can do that will have a direct, immediate impact.  At home, you're best off focusing on helping him learn to manage his emotions as a skill, as opposed to retreading the issues from daycare; hours later, he won't recall much if anything from earlier and he won't really learn much.
Instead, focus on what you can help him learn that will help him in the future, the next time this comes up.  Roleplay issues with him.  Give words to his feelings, so he has the vocabulary to understand what he's feeling and to describe them to the teachers.  This is a phase, and one that many children go through; both of mine did (more one than the other), and both of mine were on the other side also with several other children.  You can help him learn, but some of this is maturation as well, and takes time.
The most troubling thing here, honestly, is that it sounds like the daycare is not taking responsibility for their job here.  This is not an uncommon issue for toddlers at this age.  Biting, hitting, all of it is normal to some extent; we learn over time how to handle our emotions and our differences without these things.  The daycare should know how to handle this, and should be handling it.  If it were me, I'd see this as a sign to find another daycare, rather than worrying about something being wrong with my son.
If this is impossible, as it seems you're suggesting, then what you can do with them is a few things.

Sit down with them and talk about how they handle the children when issues arise.  Ask them what you can do at home to help.  Be very open to suggestions, and come with some of your own.  This shows that you're a dedicated parent who wants to help make things better, and not only means you're working with your son (and thus are more likely to be able to resolve things) but also shows that you're more likely to be cooperative yourself with them.  This is important, because even if you aren't able to change anything, this decreases the likelihood they will kick you out.
If they'll let you, spend some time observing where your son can't see you.  Observe situations that come up, and how they handle them. Then, have a discussion of what happened when you were there and how they handled things.  You might be able to give them pointers for how to handle things better; and you might also be able to learn something about what triggers these issues so that you can help your son.
Find out how your child feels about the daycare.  If this is a new issue for him, it's probably just because of the new situation - change is always hard for children - but it could also be that he doesn't mesh well with one or more of the children, or with one or more of the teachers.  It's entirely possible that there is some irritant causing your son to act out.  It's very likely there isn't, but do your homework just in case. When you observe as in 2. above, you may be able to see some of this, but it's just as valid if you ask your son about his teachers - if he has a strong negative reaction to one of them, well, perhaps you should talk to the other teachers and find out why.

Do realize though that they may already be planning to kick you out, and just are going through the motions. Right now I'm sure they can have their pick of kids - so they're more likely to be aggressive with removing kids that are more work for them.  So there might not be anything you can do.   I knew a child who went to the school my son goes to, who just didn't work out with that school - she was a bit higher maintenance, and the school decided they didn't want to keep her.  It happens, and it's not your fault or his fault if it does.  Just pick up and find another option; and probably even if you don't want to, now is the time to figure out what those possible options are, just in case.


x86 segmentation and threading

Question: Is some connection between using x86 segmentation and a possible implementation a thread package? I've been told that usually x86 segmentation is implemented in operating systems these days with an identity function (0 offset, unlimited limit), but can segmentation somehow be useful when dealing with multithreading?
Comment: How would segmentation ever be useful on x86?
Comment: @DeadMG 32-bit VMWare uses segmentation extensively to protect the hypervisor from the guest kernel(s).
Comment: @DeadMG: Google's NaCl (Native Client) on x86 uses it to sandbox untrusted code.
Comment: For compatibility between x86-32 and x86-64, you certainly want to use an identity function for CS/DS/SS since x86-64 supports nothing else.
Answer: AFAIK, Windows is using one segment register to point to the thread specific variable area for the thread.
Note that what is useful here isn't the segmentation -- I think limit and protection are not really used, and IIRC that's the only thing which is now supported in 64 bits mode --, but the fact that segment registers had fell into disuse and so were available to be used simply as base register without impacting existing code.
Comment: It's the [Thread Information Block](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Win32_Thread_Information_Block) at FS:0
Answer: So I found out that one interesting use of segmentation in thread packages (not saying this is actually done anywhere, but it's at least a potential use) is to manipulate the stack segment so that threads within a single process can share an address space, but not collide on the same stack. Each thread has its own stack, but the code running in the thread doesn't have to know where its stack is--if it doesn't try to manipulate its own stack segment register, the register will be set when it starts to point to an entry in the LDT, which leads it to some stack designated specifically for it in the process's address space.
This is similar to how I imagine kernels work when they run on a system with multiple cores. When an interrupt or exception occurs on one core, stuff gets pushed the kernel stack by the hardware--but this could mess up the stack if the kernel is also running on other cores at the moment that the exception/interrupt occurs. Instead, each core's kernel could have a separate stack, designated by entries in the IDT and GDT.

x86 segmentation and threading


Which airlines are willing to take whitewater kayaks in luggage?

Question: I would like to travel to Europe from the U.S. East Coast with a whitewater kayak (approx. 8' long, 40+ lbs or 240 cm 17+ kg) but no airline seem to be willing to take an item that large.  Does anybody have experience with airlines that have more liberal luggage policies, understanding that it may cost some more?
Comment: Where are you flying from? (This will affect the airlines available to you.)
Comment: updated the post
Answer: Icelandair takes large sport items, such as Vaulting Poles, Windsurfing boards, Kayaks, between Europe and North America, for a fee of 16.400 ISK/117 EUR/168 USD each way.
Their hub is (unsurprisingly) on Iceland, and they fly to a number of destinations in North America and Europe.  For the U.S. East Coast, they currently fly to/from Boston, New York, Washington D.C., and Orlando.  Their European connections are mainly in western Europe.  See their destinations page and their routemap.
(I took a bicycle with Icelandair, and it was only 39 EUR extra from Stockholm to Toronto.  Not bad at all, in my opinion)
(I do not work for Icelandair, but I can still tell you that as a bonus, you can take a long layover on Iceland, I'm sure it has excellent whitewater rafting!  This doesn't cost any extra for the ticket.  I don't know if the no extra cost applies to baggage fees.)
Answer: "willing to take" is a bit different from "will it fit in the hold". A kayak is pretty big, and it may simply not make the bend between the cargo door and the hold itself. Bicycle boxes, for example, just fit in medium-haul planes like the 737. They don't fit at all in smaller planes. And a very large plane isn't a solution either if the entire hold is set up for containerized cargo.
It sounds like Iceland Air has enough demand that they set up a process. So just call a few airlines. There's also the option of air cargo.
A very fast internet search shows things are not so expensive - it may be cheaper to buy one in Europe and resell it (or just leave it behind) than to fly yours over.
Comment: a whitewater kayak costs around US$ 1,000...


What are the legal tournament formats for MtG?

Question: What are the current legal tournament formats for Magic: The Gathering?  What are the differences/definitions of each format?  At what point do sets rotate in/out of a format?
Answer: You can visit the Banned / Restricted Lists for DCI-Sanctioned Magic: The Gathering Tournaments page to see a list of formats, plus deck construction rules and a list of banned/restricted cards for each format.
With the exception of prerelease Limited, new sets enter their appropriate formats on the day of their official release. The specific dates for upcoming sets are spelled out in the "New Releases" section of the most current Magic Tournament Rules (PDF link).
As for a description of each format, plus differences and defining characteristics, is probably overly broad as a question.
Comment: Note: While it's not a tournament format, Commander does have rules listed in the CR. Cards are legal in Commander as of their set's prerelease.


Trace system calls, including stack (and java stack if possible), on android?

Question: I have an android app that reads/writes a data file which seems to be encrypted, and i want to make a tool to read/write that file, so i need to reverse the encryption.
The app in question consists of a few hundred classes and several .so libraries, and grepping through the classes and the output of strings on the .so files doesn't find the name of the game file (i tried case-sensitive, omitting the extension, and all that stuff), so the "easy" way to find the function doesn't work. So, what i want to do is intercept calls to the open system call, and check the stacks (dalvik and C) for the callers.
On Windows, this is quite easy using procmon which saves the stack of each system call; on Linux, there is strace -i which doesn't give me a stack backtrace, but at least an IP value; also, i could make a named pipe having the filename in question to make the app block on opening it and attach gdb to get the backtrace.
The problem with using strace and or a debugger on android is that i a) it seems to be non-trivial to get a version of strace that works with a particular OS level of android, b) when i try the named pipe approach, the app just exits, c) unless the whole encryption stuff is done in one of the .so libraries, i need the Java stack as well.
I found jtrace which seems to be a replacement for strace, but doesnt show the stack, and this question has some links, but they seem to be targetted at instrumentation/profiling, not what i need.
So the question really is in the title: Is there a tool that traces system calls on android, and shows the stack trace, like procmon does on windows, including the java stack if possible? Or another idea to quickly find the code that opens and decrypts the file?
If all else fails, i'll probably attach IDA to the process, put a breakpoint on open, and write a breakpoint condition that checks the file name. But that still won't give me the java stack, and i'd like to avoid the effort if there's a "nicer" tool.
Comment: Have you tried simply chmod 000 /location/to/datafile and using the logcat Monitor to see the error message your apk generates?
Comment: @Sigtran: I like the idea. Unfortunately, the log did contain an error message entry, but no stack backtrace.
Comment: You might be able to get some mileage out https://github.com/CalebFenton/simplify or at least from modifying smalivm so it does what you want
Comment: I'll be releasing an open-source tool next month to do exactly what you need: [https://recon.cx](https://recon.cx/2016/news/2016/05/09/Final-Selection.html)
Comment: Guntram Blohm. Did you get suitable solution for you problem?
I'm now fighting with same problem.
Answer: you can get system call stack with strace too. you just need to compile strace with libunwind. After that you just need to use -k to get system call stack for each system call.
Answer: JavaJournal, which was built on top of the pyspresso framework, was designed specifically for tracing method calls in Java.


Microphone becomes inactive when I open a new project in cubase

Question: I just bought a CAD USB microphone .Now using ASIO for all i managed to get it connected in CUBASE 5 and I can see the bars moving when i tap the microphone . But as soon as i open a new project the microphone becomes inactive .Can anyone help me with this problem?
Answer: I dont use Cubase but if its like other DAW's the problem is most likely this,
Generally when a new track (or project with new tracks) is added to a DAW (at least in digital performer) its muted and set to the default input. You have to select the input for the track (in your case the CAD) and un-mute it to hear it. Most DAW's allow you to set up a default track template that when the track is created it will adhere to that template. If you set it to always use your CAD as the input and un-mute the tracks you should see it.
You may also have to select the CAD as your input when you create a new project, again most DAW's allow you to set your default input so setting the CAD as default should do the trick.
This is all a best guess others confirm please.
Answer: It's likely to be an ASIO driver problem. I was having a sound issue a couple days ago with FL Studio and all I needed to was toggle some of the settings.
i found the solution for my problem with the video below, it's for FL Studio but if you imitate the instructions on Cubase you shouldn't have a problem. Let me know if you figure it out or not, i dont mind helping because i know how frustrating it is working with ASIO drivers...
http://youtube.com/watch?v=cbabtLVeP5Q
Answer: It's been a while since I've used Cubase 5. I'm now on Cubase 8.5, but from what I can remembers - you'll need to go into your VST connections settings and set the correct input as the USB microphone.
I normally create a blank project and set all of my program settings to match and work with whatever hardware I have. I then save that project as a template. When starting a new project simply select that template and all of your settings will from the base project will be loaded- granted that you have the correct hardware attached to your PC.


Pyrex prep bowls: meat and dairy?

Question: Can Pyrex mixing bowls be used for both meat and dairy preparation? (Not at the same time obviously, but washed in between.) I'm not referring to the Pyrex baking pans which would be kli rishon and cannot be used for both, but rather the prep bowls to mix ingredients in.
Comment: Shaindy, welcome to Mi Yodeya! Please note that we are not here to offer practical rulings on Halachic questions. For that, you should consult your rabbi.
Answer: While you should check with your own local authority, this site (the Star K) makes the following two statements from which you could draw an inference:
a. Q: There are many varieties of glass on the market. Do arcoroc, duralex, pyrex, corelle and crystal have the halachic status of glass?
A: Yes, they do.
b. Q: Can other glass dishes, such as salad bowls or casseroles, be used for both dairy and meat meals?
A: If the food is cold, or the glass dish is used as a Kli Sheini, it may be used for both dairy and meat meals. Unless it is used on the oven or range, a Kli Sheini is okay.

Pyrex prep bowls: meat and dairy?


Rear hatch always reads open

Question: The back door in a Jeep Grand Cherokee (1998) is always reading open, even when it's closed quite firmly. This causes the vehicle to beep when the car is being driven. I've taken apart the door, played with the sensor until it reads closed again, put everything back together, and give it a final test, to which it stops working again. Do I need to replace the sensor, or just learn to fix the sensor better?
Comment: Any pictures you could share with where the sensor is mounted?
Comment: I would, but it seems to be working now, and I'm not one to ruin something that's working just to get a picture, so...
Answer: The sensor itself is only part of the equation. There is also:

The wiring from the sensor to the computer module.
The object that strikes the sensor (the door itself, or a striker on the door).

If the sensor works consistently when you manually press it, then it tells me that it's not getting reliably pressed by the door when the door is closed. This could be because the striker or door is out of adjustment or because the sensor itself doesn't sit properly in its hole. If the door has been involved in an accident at some point, this is an area to examine very closely.
If the sensor is intermittent even when manually pressing it, then test the sensor with an ohmmeter.
Answer: I had the same problem on my '98 GC and it turned out to be the lock/sensor on the glass hatch door. By pulling the cover off the entire hatch, I could tweak the wires going into the sensor/lock assemblies. When I torqued the one on the glass door, it would go on and off.
While I haven't found a good way to fix it yet, I was able to yank the wires off that assembly completely and the problem went away until I do (remember to lock it first, if you care). I lost the ability to use that glass door, but it hasn't bothered me enough to fix it yet.

Rear hatch always reads open


i want learn about sound mixing when shooting film, can anyone suggest me a good DVD or book to get start?

Question: i want learn mixing for film. i know the boom pool connect to audio mixer and it connect to a recording device when you shooting. i don't know even basic thing about how to separate 2 different audio coming from different mic or mix that together in shooting, its just basic but i don't even know that. can u guys please recommend me any good book or DVD to get start??
Answer: The most important thing to know about location sound isn't how to push buttons and faders, or really even how to use recorders. The single most important thing to know is how to use a microphone. If you don't know what various mics should sound like, in various conditions, it doesn't matter how you record it or what track it's on or what the level is, it will be bad.
The best thing I could recommend is to get paid to learn. Go and be a boom op first. Learn to know what you are hearing and how to use various mics in various conditions, optimum or horrible. Simply reading will not train your ears or you ability to make decisions and choices on the fly. Learn what it takes to be a good boom op. How to solve the puzzle that is each shot and how to dance with the talent and crew when Action is called.
On set recording is dealing with pressure and troubleshooting. How can you get that mic where it needs to be and around all the lights, stands, the dolly, the focus puller, the gripology, dealing with a horrible location, in advance. You will want the Locations people and the cinematographer to be your best friends. A book won't tell you how to charm a cinematographer who wants to light your boom op off the set.
Answer: Tomlison Holman - Sound for Film and Television, is good book too. Includes stuff from shooting to post.
Answer: Ive got the Roll Sound book which covers a lot of useful stuff. http://www.rollsoundbook.com/ sale on at the moment too.
You could try YouTube for some basic info. Good luck
Answer: Rose - Producing Great Sound for Film & Radio is not bad.
Bob Katz - Mastering Audio is a kind of audio engineer's bible. (for post sound)
Ric Viers - The Sound Effects Bible - good for an introduction to most audio concepts that are required knowledge to capturing good sound.
Some websites
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/indepth/tips_and_solutions/Audio
http://filmsound.org/
Depends what angle your coming at it from? (director wanting to learn more? musician wanting to learn sound design?)
Best of luck.
Nicol
Comment: I agree with Nicol's list, but also would suggest signing up on Jeff Wexler's forum at jwsound.net. Just listen and read for a while before asking any questions. That board is almost wholly focused on production recording for film and television, which will be a lot more specific to what you need to learn than Social Sound Design. (No offense meant to this great community or its members.)
Comment: +1 for Ric Viers - The Sound Effects Bible Very helpful for beginners
Answer: Not sure if you're looking for material on post or location... but I'm currently reading "S. Dean Miles - Location Audio Simplified", and can already say that only halfway through the book, I've learned tonnes!
I highly recommend it (you can see some sample pages on Trew Audio's website):
http://www.trewaudio.ca/store/product.php?productid=768
http://www.locationaudiosimplified.com/BookStore2010.html
Answer: If you can wait for a while Ric Viers' nearly done with his new book which is unofficially titled "The Location Sound Bible" which is supposed to cover sound mixing and stuff.
[Update] Release date is now the 1st of September, looking forward to it.


What brain wave states are associated with hypnosis?

Question: What brain wave states are most correlated with deep hypnosis?
Answer: Hypnotic states are associated with increased theta wave activity. Hypnotically susceptible participants also exhibit hemispheric beta wave asymmetry, but non-susceptible participants do not (Sabourin, Cutcomb, Crawford and Pribram, 1990).
References

Sabourin, M. E., Cutcomb, S. D., Crawford, H. J., & Pribram, K. (1990). EEG correlates of hypnotic susceptibility and hypnotic trance: Spectral analysis and coherence. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 10(2), 125-142.
Comment: If there is an asymmetry, does this mean that the hypnosis might be happening only on "one side" of the brain? The other side is still functioning as usual? Would non-susceptible people not hypnotize because it is not possible to get the entire brain in to a theta state and still communicate with the person - they would effectively just "be asleep"? Can half of the brain "fall asleep" - be in a theta state - with the other side still awake?
Answer: There is a really nice and recent review about the current state of research regarding hypnosis, which also cites the resource of another answer here). I will quote here the part about EEG studies but would recommend to read the whole article (if you can't access the article, sci-hub can probably help you).

3.1. The EEG spectrum
Historically, the most popular approach to understanding the neural
  substrates of hypnosis has been to examine EEG correlates of
  hypnotizability and changes in the EEG spectrum which occur when
  hypnosis is induced (e.g., Lee et al., 2007; for a comprehensive
  listing of studies, see Hinterberger et al., 2011; Vaitl et al.,
  2005). Many of these studies were "fishing expeditions", conducted in
  the hopes that they would yield interesting results, rather than tests
  of specific hypothesis about the nature or locus of electrocortical
  changes associated with hypnosis. Still, they were not always without
  some theoretical rationale, however weak. For example, in the late
  1960s it was suggested that hypnotizability and hypnosis were
  associated with increased density of alpha activity in the EEG – a
  hypothesis which drew strength from early reports of increased alpha
  density in Zen and yoga meditation, as well as the meditation-like
  experiences once thought to be produced by EEG alpha biofeedback.
  Similar considerations, as well as speculations concerning the
  relevance of 40-Hz activity to focused arousal, perceptual binding,
  and consciousness itself, prompted investigation of the gamma band of
  the EEG (DePascalis, 1999, 2007). Finally, in a manner reminiscent of
  the 19th-century analogy between hypnosis and sleep, the association
  between theta activity and hypnagogic imagery led some investigators
  to focus on this portion of the EEG spectrum (Sabourin et al., 1990;
  Williams and Gruzelier, 2001).
The most thorough of these studies was reported by Ray et al., who
  took advantage of advanced EEG technology to examine alpha, beta, and
  theta activity recorded separately from frontal, temporal, parietal,
  and occipital sites of both left and right hemispheres in hypnotizable
  and insusceptible male and female college students before and after a
  hypnotic induction (Graffin et al., 1995; Ray, 1997). As might be
  imagined, given the 3 × 4 × 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 design, the results of this
  experiment were quite complex. Analysis of baseline differences,
  before hypnotic induction, revealed higher theta power in hypnotizable
  compared to insusceptible subjects, especially in frontal and temporal
  areas. Hypnotizable subjects showed greater resting alpha activity
  only in the temporal area. The induction of hypnosis decreased theta
  activity in hypnotizable subjects, while increasing it among
  insusceptibles, particularly in parietal and occipital areas. Alpha
  activity generally increased across all sites in all subjects,
  consistent with enhanced relaxation and reduction of visual activity.
  Graffin et al. interpreted the changes in theta as indicative of
  heightened concentration among hypnotizable subjects, but the fact
  that theta activity decreased in hypnotizable subjects and increased
  in insusceptible subjects suggests that, following the induction of
  hypnosis, both groups of subjects were actually in very similar
  cortical states.

I would say the summary is: It's complicated.
Comment: Would 'insusceptible' mean "not able to be hypnotized"? Or just harder to? Some data would be impossible if unable to.
Comment: I think it is "just harder to" and in the original studies (Griffin et al. 1995 and Ray 1997) they actually talk about "high and low  susceptible individuals" so I don't know why he refers to them as "insusceptible" here.
Comment: I know someone who used to run a hypnosis clinic, and he says that some people will not *allow* themselves to be hypnotized, and others are *harder to* for various reasons, not always because they are actually resisting it. I was excited a while back when I read about the relationship of alpha activity to meditation. Being able to "meditate" while walking around in everyday life is an amazing experience, and I figured it amounts to a large-scale alpha state. (Not sure if that is correct.) I think it relates to what is called "awakening" or satori.
Answer: I am studying hypnotherapy at University and this is what I have learnt.
During the induction stages of hypnosis, the body becomes more and more relaxed and the brain enters changing levels of brain wave pattern.  There are five brainwave frequencies, however there are four main different brainwave patterns when looking at hypnosis.  These are Beta wave pattern, Alpha wave pattern, Theta wave pattern and Delta wave pattern as measured by an EEG (Electroencephalograph).
In the fully engaged and focused state, the brain will show a Beta wave pattern which is  from 15 to 40 cycles per second
In a restful state, the brain will show an Alpha wave pattern which is from 9 to 14 cycles per second
In a deeper state of hypnosis, similar to dreaming and some meditative states, the brain shows a Theta wave pattern which is from 4 to 8 cycles per second
And in the deepest state of hypnosis, the brain shows a Delta wave pattern which is from 1 to 4 cycles per second and it is associated with deep dreamless sleep. The deeper the sleep, the higher the amount of delta waves.
The other brainwave frequency is Gamma (40Hz - 70Hz) associated with Processing of various attended stimuli (visual, auditory, touch) and the grouping of the various features of a given stimulus, particularly visual, into a coherent whole.
An important point is that there is no such thing as a "gamma state" of mind. Gamma waves largely play a supporting – though integral- role in the brain. From an EEG point of view, they will be present mostly while a subject is awake, but they will always be supported by other waves in the beta, alpha, theta, or delta ranges.
Brainwave patterns change in a gradual way.  That is to say that it will not switch immediately from say 27Hz (27 cycles per second - Beta Waves) to 2Hz (2 cycles per second - Delta Waves).  The frequency of brainwaves gradually decreases and increases as required.  The speed of gradual change in brainwave frequency however can be fast or slow depending on the individual and the ability of the hypnotherapist.  During reorientation, the brainwave patterns will gradually increase towards the Beta waves bringing the client back to full state of awareness.
All the above mentioned brainwave frequencies are normally present together in the brain. However, the dominant frequency in the EEG pattern determines what shall be called the current state of the brain. If the amplitude of the alpha range frequencies is highest, then the brain is said to be in the alpha stage. Note, that other frequencies still exist and it is impossible to give any "exact frequency your brain is operating on." However, for simplification purpose, it is often assumed that such a single frequency exists.
In general, we are accustomed to using the beta brain rhythm. When we diminish the brain rhythm to alpha, we put ourselves in the ideal condition to learn new information, keep facts, perform elaborate tasks, learn languages and analyse complex situations etc. Meditation, relaxation exercises, and activities that enable the sense of calm, also enable this alpha state.  Considered as an integral part of the relaxation process before sleep. The alpha frequency band has been studied extensively in meditations of various kinds (like Zen, TM etc) and in almost all cases an increase in the alpha waves has been noted during meditation.
In the Theta state associated with dreams, deep meditation, sleep, and hypnosis, this is seemed to be involved with short-term memory. It is a state of somnolence with reduced consciousness. The theta-state is described by sleep researchers as stage 1 sleep or the twilight state. In this state, subjects pass out of the alert alpha-state into a theta-state in which they lose their sense of lying in bed, though still being awake.
Subjects can be easily awoken from this stage of sleep, and it has many interesting properties. For a brief time as we lie in bed at night, neither fully awake nor yet asleep, we pass through a twilight mental zone like a state of reverie. Many people associate this drowsy stage with hallucinatory images, more fleeting and disjointed than dreams, and compare it to the viewing of a speeded-up, jerky series of photographic slides. A host of artists and scientists have credited the imagery of this twilight state with creative solutions and inspiration for their work.
Meditative states associated with the increased presence of delta waves seem to occur mostly in very experienced practitioners, possibly because entering a delta state and maintaining consciousness at the same time is tremendously difficult.
Sources: Chrysalis Courses and Brain Wave Frequencies
Comment: I have observed my body falling asleep in meditation a few times. A couple times I observed my mind fall asleep. I was thinking basically "Cool!" while my mental activity disassociated in to random fugue images and incomprehensible thoughts. In dreams there seem to be what I call "empty symbols": things that make sense in the dream state and feel consistent and very important, but on waking, they have no content / meaning.
Answer: Excellent observations. Read my article online
The Dream as Posthypnotic
Command
Here is the Abstract
The posthypnotic command is issued in deep hypnosis when a subject's brainwaves are in theta mode of 4-7 cycles per second. This is the same frequency that the dream state features. It suggests that dreaming and deep hypnosis are equivalent states.  The word hypnosis, meaning a condition of sleep, suggests that the ancients understood this equivalence.
    When a subject in deep hypnosis is commanded to execute a certain task at a given time after 'waking up', the subject will do so at exactly the designated time. When asked for a reason for his action, the answer will never be correct, for while under hypnosis he was asked by the hypnotist to forget the command. But the subject will certainly have a perfectly rational explanation no matter how absurd the order may have been.
    This is precisely the case when we are asked to give an explanation for any action we have executed. If my hypothesis is right, our answer to the same question is equally wrong, yet perfectly rational. Indeed, while we have no idea where our motivation arises and where our ideas come from, we are in the same position of darkness as the hypnotised subject.
    My research in dreams has convinced me that dreams are the source of our inspiration and motivation. Evidence for this comes from creative people who have received ideas from their dreams or have been presented with solutions by them to their problems. Famous scientific discoveries have been made with the help of dreams by Thomas Edison, Kekulé, Otto Loewi and Elijah Howe, for instance. Among the men of creative writing Robert Louis Stevenson stands out, for he deliberately invoked his dreams to provide him with new plots for stories. But he also suspected that the honing and reworking of his dream plots was also done for him by his "Brownies and Little People" of the night.
    Like the posthypnotic suggestion, the dream has a timing device determining when a dream or part of it should manifest in waking time. Perhaps the most convincing evidence for this is Michael Barnsley's twenty-year nightmare that taunted him to put the wires of a matrix in order. Since he had no idea of what the matrix was supposed to do, he was naturally unable to solve the problem posed to him. The nightmare only ceased after he met Benoit Mandelbrot who had by then invented a computer program for fractal math, a program that provided all the necessary information for Barnsley to understand the dream that ended the nightmares by providing him with the solution of the confused wires of the dream matrix. This dream gave him the circuitry that led to the invention of image compression software.
    The wet dream, which occurs at the end of the night of dreams and is a heightened sexual state, indicated by morning erections, shows that the sexual content of the dream forces the dreamer, who by then is free of the nightly muscle inhibitors, to act it out. This leads us to surmise that the sexual aspect of the dream tends to manifest on the dream day. A thorough investigation of this circumstance proved the inference right. This led me to devise a test of the dream's power to compel us to execute its content. It entails the interpretation of the sexual meaning of the dream and making a prediction on account of it. The corresponding manifestations verify my theory.
    I found support in my view that dreams were posthypnotic commands in the experimentations of Professor Libet, who found that our decisions were made unconsciously up to half a second before we became conscious of them. They demonstrate that our decisions are made unconsciously. There is no better explanation of this process than the dream. In short, the subjects tested by Libet would have dreamt the experiments ahead of time, thus providing them with the appropriate dream memory. It was this that determined the unconscious choices
of the experimentees, registering half a second before becoming conscious fact.
The somnambulist provides another factor that supports the hypothesis that dreams are posthypnotic commands. He, like the wet dreamer, is in a state of reduced muscle inhibition and is consequently free to act out his dreams. I realise that there is considerable controversy with regard to the causes of sleepwalking. But the difference between the wet dreamer and the somnambulist is minimal. Indeed, why would the dream state be constrained by muscle inhibition if it were not for the prevention of acting out what the dreamer experiences? Clearly somnambulism is a most illustrative case of dreams being posthypnotic commands. There can be little doubt that the dream is very much a posthypnotic command, signalling that our life is in the hands of a Master Hypnotist of infinite capacity.
Comment: Welcome. Answers should not be copy-pasted material. They should, ideally, be carefully synthesized answers that target the question explicitly.
Answer:
There does seem to be changed activity in the brain, however. The most
  notable data comes from electroencephalographs (EEGs), measurements of
  the electrical activity of the brain. Extensive EEG research has
  demonstrated that brains produce different brain waves, rhythms of
  electrical voltage, depending on their mental state. Deep sleep has a
  different rhythm than dreaming, for example, and full alertness has a
  different rhythm than relaxation.
In some studies, EEGs from subjects under hypnosis showed a boost in
  the lower frequency waves associated with dreaming and sleep, and a
  drop in the higher frequency waves associated with full wakefulness.
  Brain-wave information is not a definitive indicator of how the mind
  is operating, but this pattern does fit the hypothesis that the
  conscious mind backs off during hypnosis and the subconscious mind
  takes a more active role.
Researchers have also studied patterns in the brain's cerebral cortex
  that occur during hypnosis. In these studies, hypnotic subjects showed
  reduced activity in the left hemisphere of the cerebral cortex, while
  activity in the right hemisphere often increased. Neurologists believe
  that the left hemisphere of the cortex is the logical control center
  of the brain; it operates on deduction, reasoning and convention. The
  right hemisphere, in contrast, controls imagination and creativity. A
  decrease in left-hemisphere activity fits with the hypothesis that
  hypnosis subdues the conscious mind's inhibitory influence.
  Conversely, an increase in right-brain activity supports the idea that
  the creative, impulsive subconscious mind takes the reigns. This is by
  no means conclusive evidence, but it does lend credence to the idea
  that hypnotism opens up the subconscious mind.
Whether or not hypnosis is actually a physiological phenomenon,
  millions of people do practice hypnotism regularly, and millions of
  subjects report that it has worked on them. In the next section, we'll
  look at the most common methods of inducing a hypnotic trance.

Source: How Hypnosis Works at How Stuff Works
Comment: Unreliable secondary source that does not cite any peer-reviewed literature.  Furthermore, the information is overly general (i.e., no explanation of specific oscillatory states) and hinges on outmoded constructs (left-brain/right-brain B.S.)  I believe this merits a downvote, but I will be happy to re-evaluate if you update your answer with some better research =)


Can commercial airplanes be converted to drones?

Question: Is it possible to convert a commercial airplane into a drone, such that if a pilot fails to respond to ATC it can be remotely piloted?
Comment: Can a drone be hijacked and made to crash?
Comment: An unoverridable remote control would only turn the problem from dealing with insane pilot to insane ATC. An overridable remote control on the other hand, would do nothing in case of deliberate pilot action.
Comment: @Alexander How about some organization spends an inordinate amount of time and resources in order to crack the system. Now you have remotely controllable aircraft capable of being used (e.g. 9/11) in horrific acts of terrorism. Or, not even terrorists, some government might want the ability to control the aircraft of another government (Russia/Ukraine, Israel/Any arab nation, ISIS/Any infidel run country, etc.)
Comment: possible duplicate of [On modern commercial airliners, how much of the flight could be fully taken care of by the auto pilot?](http://aviation.stackexchange.com/questions/2866/on-modern-commercial-airliners-how-much-of-the-flight-could-be-fully-taken-care)
Comment: How about a remotely (ATC-)activated autopilot, unoverridable from cockpit for an ATC-defined amount of time (or until disengagement command sent from ATC)? That would solve the problem of required bandwidth and, depending on the amount of available fuel, buy some time for negotiations/interceptions/whatever. Any such command issued by an ATC should immediately brought to attention of some other ATCs, by sound alert or sth. like that, and they should be allowed to tune in on the voice conn. Multiple "downvotes" by them should make the system unlock the autopilot.
Comment: @CGCampbell Nope, remote activation/deactivation of Autopilot is not changing AutoPilot settings and won't make the plane remote-controlled. You can't control it, but the pilot cannot as well. The autopilot takes control from copilot, flies on until Dusseldorf, and by that time we hopefully have some psychatrist that can talks him out of his plan. And regarding governments, I should have mentioned that this would be purely an Airline thing. GA is completely left out, since, heck, most GA planes don't even have an autopilot...
Answer:
Is it possible to convert a Commercial Airplane into a Drone

For what its worth, yes this would be technically possible however it comes with some risks.
When To Take Control: This brings into the simple idea that in an emergency the pilot may need to be in control of the situation as they often have the most information about exactly what is happening. If the plane had a serious issue and the ground controller did not know what was happening they may take control and only exacerbate the problem.
Connection Reliability: Keep in mind that planes are flying at very high altitudes moving quite fast. Maintaining a reliable connection in these conditions is difficult. Since a reliable connection is hard enough to maintain you again may create more issues than you solve. This also has to be a fully duplexed channel since the plane needs to transmit its telemetry and receive control inputs in what is more or less real time. At this point the data up/down rates would push the limits of what we can do today.
Connection Security: As mentioned you would need to secure the connection to prevent someone from taking it over maliciously. This in and of its self is a big problem. But lets not turn this into a digital security debate.
Cost: As nice as safety is its not free. Since there is currently no system in place on a global scale to do this it would have to be created. Someone has to pay for that and unless the FAA is going to require it you will have to get the airlines/aircraft makers on board with this voluntarily. On top of that any system that is added like this would have to be certified by the FAA.
So while it is possible there are very real barriers to a system like this include but are not limited to the ones listed above and before someone comes back with the "if it makes it safer than we should spend the time figuring it out" response I will mention that modern technology is as good as it is and there are already companies and individuals researching new tech like this but Keep in mind that with FAA regulations taking the time they do to get, planes are flying with tech that is now considered "dated" by the tech world.
Comment: @raptortech97 Regarding the military, even in the relatively short history of drones, [remote control hacks have already happened](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran%E2%80%93U.S._RQ-170_incident), even by governments with relatively unsophisticated capabilities. Now imagine this had been an A380 instead of an RQ-170 and al-Qaeda instead of Iran. That's a pretty good reason not to do this.
Comment: I take issue with your points about connection security and reliability, because the military makes these connections with their drones all the time.
Comment: @raptortech97, hence the parenthetical expression at the end...
Comment: Yes they do but they can afford momentary drop outs as well as a more or less small fleet and thus can devote massive resources to a single drone. Doing this for every aircraft in the sky would be difficult.
Comment: And it's a drone with nobody on board. If it crashes, you lose hardware, not lives. (Understanding, of course, that if it's an armed drone, there could be a larger than expected explosion on the ground.)
Comment: @FreeMan if it's armed and you crash in the wrong area, you absolutely do lose civilian lives
Comment: Remote links via iridium constellations ensure that uplink is not at all problem.  Furthermore operating a drone by flying it remotely is a bit out dated.  Since sophisticated autopilots negate requirements for any link at all  except prior to touch down.
Comment: @raptortech97 I agree with Dave in that this would push the limits of current technology.  If you want a high quality Iridium satellite uplink you'll pay through the nose for it.  The kind of bandwidth and reliability we're talking about is almost too much to be even available on the civilian market.  See http://aviation.stackexchange.com/questions/2198/why-dont-all-commercial-aircraft-transmit-gps-data-in-real-time/
Answer: In order to prevent both incidents such as Malaysia 370 and Germanwings 9525, you would need a system that could have immediate and complete control of the plane, as well as impossible to be disabled by the crew.
In addition to the other reasons offered, this sounds like it would be a bad thing more often than it would help. Is the plane allowed to fly if it is not working? Who decides when to take over control? ATC? Do we trust that whole system?
Comment: Do you know something about MH370 that I don't? Been diving for those recorders have you? ;)
Comment: @falstro I too was curious as to the relevance of that incident...
Answer:
Is it possible to convert a Commercial Airplane into a Drone?

Techical feasibility is just one aspect.
Let's start from what is a Drone nowadays: it is a remotely controlled aircraft.
This means that to "convert" a commercial aircraft into a drone you need:

a pilot on ground
bi-directional communication

Bi-directional communication is the "easy" part: plug in a bi-directiona antenna, write some thousand lines of code to make it usable within the aircraft system, spend years and tons of money to certify the new components and the code and you're good to go.
Now you need qualified personnel on ground continuously on stand-by, something that is going to cost (and is not given that it will popular).

Now let me add a second part:

Would it be useful?

It is not given, by reading the few official informations available ATC had no idea about the situation on board in those 8 minutes, it is not given that such a system would have been activated.

Should it be done?

I would say that the benefits are  dubious at best: you're opening a channel on every aircraft that allows them to be controlled remotely. Someone is gonna try to crack whatever encryption is going to be used, with results much worse than the original "problem".
Comment: That last paragraph for me is **key** to this answer!
Comment: Frederic, the following comment is not to answer the original question, but to address your " second part "  comment. If this type of  remote take over  technology was available, it  would have its advantages in some specific emergency situations, especially  for smaller type private jets where hypoxia had become the concern. The distressed aircraft could then be remotely flown to a lower altitude until the situation was stabilized or flown over an unpopulated area. ...Thank you
Comment: @garyv440 it's **Federico**. Anyway, my remark remains valid: would the benefit be enough to counteweight the inherent problems of such an idea? aren't there other solutions?
Answer: Is it possible to convert a Commercial Airplane into a Drone?
Yes
Can it be done at will?
Not likely
Boeing has converted an F-16 into an unmanned drone (some pictures here).
Please note that it cannot be done just by the push of a button, in a case similar to the Germanwings airplane. A drone costs a lot of money, and fitting every airplane with such technology is not feasible.
Comment: Incidentally, the conversion of aircraft into drones was first done in 1935; the goal of that (and, for that matter, of the QF-16) is to be an aerial target.
Answer: I'm interpreting your question as really two questions:

1. Can commercial aircraft be modified so that they can be remotely piloted?

Yes, with some hardware modifications on the aircraft to allow for command and control and telemetry data to be transmitted.  If installed as a separate system, you would need VHF/UHF antennas, RF amplifiers, FMS/autopilot interface, etc.  On the ground, a bunch of directional antennas and ground stations strategically/geographically placed to allow for maximum coverage.  Realistically, UHF communication is only going to get you out to around 150 miles or so in good conditions.  Any further than that, and you need microwave (GHz frequency) links, and even then, this is no good over the oceans due to curvature of the earth.  HF is an option, but I'm not sure how well you can use that for reliable data transmission.
The good news is that ATC towers and aircraft already have equipment that operates at these higher frequencies – the radar transponder/beacon system – however, serious modification of the system is required to make this feasible.  Aircraft telemetry requires a much wider bandwidth, and more constant connection than what's necessary to ping back with a simple four-digit code that transponders currently reply with, though it's possible, but probably at the expense of other aircraft flying in the same region, as the directional ground antenna would have to be pointed at the aircraft in question (and not constantly rotating).

2. Can ground controllers take over in the event of an emergency?

If this became a thing in commercial aviation, it would likely be at the behest of governments and their aviation authorities, not private airlines.  The sheer cost of equipment upgrades would not make, say, Delta and Lufthansa corporate types happy, but it would be very popular with equipment manufacturers like Boeing, Rockwell-Collins, and BAE.
So let's say we solved the problem of communication mechanism with the aircraft, we still need command/control equipment on the ground.  The military has long been a pioneer in the field of unmanned systems, and I speak from experience that it has taken a long time to get to the point where they are currently.  Early systems were all a hodgepodge of various protocols, datalink standards, and ground control stations, but ever so steadily reaching commonality.
One of the earliest attempts at this was the One Station Ground Control System (OSGCS), developed in the early 2000's, but even as of five years ago, was not in common use across the board, mostly due to program and fielding costs.  These costs would likely see any commercial-sector implementation at national levels, where command and control centers would house the (most) expensive equipment and the qualified operators, with a network connection to the ATC towers with the communication equipment.  In practical theory, I don't think this would go down well, but let's assume a perfect ATC system for the time being.
So then there's the security of the system.  What prevents anyone from hijacking an aircraft remotely?  Now you need to add a very good authentication/encryption mechanism, and standardize that across national boundaries.  What if it's a foreign carrier over your soil?  And good luck getting the United States to share its cryptography standards.
Then there's the human factor – what override procedures are available to the pilots, if any?  What options does the ground commander have at his disposal?
So I think it's entirely possible, but there are a ton of obstacles to overcome, and implementing this system would take years (probably decades at best) and billions of dollars to achieve.
Answer: Can you if you prepare for it? Yes, it's been done for both full scale crash tests NASA's controlled impact demonstration and boeing's crash experiment; the final leg of the flights was done remotely both times (you don't want a pilot in there for longer than you need to).
It requires modification of the aircraft to decode the radio signals into control inputs. But the existing auto pilot will help a lot. Doing so remotely in mid-flight is flat out impossible.