Factoring the following polynomials

Question:
Factorize the following polynomial:

$t^3 -9t +8$
$t^6 -91t^2 +90$
Comment: Have you gone over Rational Zero Theorem? By inspection, $t=1$ is a solution of the first expression
Comment: Always, look if a trivial solution to $expression=0$ exists $(0,\pm 1,\pm 2)$
Answer: It's not so bad to be baffled... :)
Putting $t=1$ and and $t^2=1$ into the first and second expressions respectively will make them zero, so $(t-1)$ and $(t^2-1)$ are factors for the first and second expressions respectively.
You can work out the other factor(s) by equating coefficients of powers of $t$.
$$\begin{align}t^3-9t+8&=(t-1)(t^2+t-8)\\ \\
t^6-91t^2+90&=(t^2-1)(t^4+t^2-90)\\
&=\left[(t-1)(t+1)\right]\left[(t^2-9)(t^2+10)\right]\\
&=(t-1)(t+1)(t-3)(t+3)(t^2+10)\\
&=(t-3)(t-1)(t+3)(t+3)(t^2+10)\\\end{align}$$
Answer: Hint:
Both have factor of $t-1$.
How to find? You can do as instructed by Vince R. above, But another easy way is to take sum of first coefficient and third coefficient and then add with second coefficient. If it comes Zero then $t-1$ is the factor.
$t^3-9t+8$
$(1+8)+(-9)=0$
$t^6-91t^2+90$
$(1+91)+(-91)=0$
Answer: Hint: both of them have a factor $t-1$
Answer: To solve $t^3 -9t +8$ try to find one root by checking different vaule for t.
From the rational root theorem follows that a rational solution of a polynomial with integer coefficients and leading coefficient $1$ must be an integer dividing the constant term of the polynomial. So if the polynomial $t^3 -9t +8$ has a rational solution it must be among the numbers $\{\pm 8, \pm4, \pm2, \pm1\}$. By substituting $1$ for $t$ in the polynomial you see that $1$ is a zero of the polynomial.
From the he factor theorem follows: if $1$ is a zero of $t^3 -9t +8$ then $t-1$ is a divisor of $t^3 -9t +8$. So we divide $t^3 -9t +8$ by $t-1$  using th polynomial division  algorithm to get the quotient $t^2+t-8$. The remainder is $0$ because $t-1$ is a divisor.
So we now know that $$t^3 -9t +8=(t-1)(t^2+t-8)$$. The remaining solutions can be found by solving
$$t^2+t-8=0$$
(Why?)
To solve $t^6 -91t^2 +90$ we start with substituting $u$ for $t^2$ in the equation to get
$$u^3 -91u +90$$
now we have  a third degree polynomial as we had in the former case. We solve it using the samce technic.
After we have found solutions $u$ we can find solution $t$ of the sixth degree polynomial by solving the equation $$t^2=u$$

Factoring the following polynomials


Alphazero-Stockfish game 10 move 19

Question: Given sufficient analysis time, say 24h per move on an decent computer, can current top chess engines (including Stockfish) eventually "see" that move 19 by Alphazero is actually good, and even suggest that move? And in general elevate the play so as to discover many Alphazero key moves in the others games as well (which could have neutralized Alphazero)?
Games here: https://arxiv.org/pdf/1712.01815.pdf
Comment: include the game or at least a link to it please
Answer: Current top engines running for 24hours would change their evaluation and find some improvements but would not be able to find ALL the key moves that A0 did.
"Old style" engines problems are twofold:

their eval functions are worse than A0(because of humans adjusting heuristics). This is somewhat similar to why "blank-state" A0 beats AlphaGo which was "seeded" with human games.
Their search algorithms suffer from horizon effect(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horizon_effect) that A0 was able to exploit in the examples given.

Let's take Game 10 in question:
<code>[fen ""]
[White "AlphaZero"]
[Black "Stockfish"]
[Date "2017.12.05"]
[Result "1-0"]

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. d4 e6 3. c4 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Be7 6. O-O O-O 7. d5 exd5 8. Nh4 c6 9. cxd5 Nxd5 10. Nf5 Nc7 11. e4 d5 12. exd5 Nxd5 13. Nc3 Nxc3 14. Qg4 g6 15. Nh6+ Kg7 16. bxc3 Bc8 17. Qf4 Qd6 18. Qa4 g5 19. Re1 Kxh6 20. h4 f6 21. Be3 Bf5 22. Rad1 Qa3 23. Qc4 b5 24. hxg5+ fxg5 25. Qh4+ Kg6 26. Qh1 Kg7 27. Be4 Bg6 28. Bxg6 hxg6 29. Qh3 Bf6 30. Kg2 Qxa2 31. Rh1 Qg8 32. c4 Re8 33. Bd4 Bxd4 34. Rxd4 Rd8 35. Rxd8 Qxd8 36. Qe6 Nd7 37. Rd1 Nc5 38. Rxd8 Nxe6 39. Rxa8 Kf6 40. cxb5 cxb5 41. Kf3 Nd4+ 42. Ke4 Nc6 43. Rc8 Ne7 44. Rb8 Nf5 45. g4 Nh6 46. f3 Nf7 47. Ra8 Nd6+ 48. Kd5 Nc4 49. Rxa7 Ne3+ 50. Ke4 Nc4 51. Ra6+ Kg7 52. Rc6 Kf7 53. Rc5 Ke6 54. Rxg5 Kf6 55. Rc5 g5 56. Kd4 1-0
</code>
This is a game worthy of Tal from Alpha0! White is making a positionally based long term sacrifice of a piece and pawn. Ie nice idea but surely a computer would defend this. However human intuition turns out wrong here.
At move 19. we are at least 30 ply (15 full moves) from Stockfish giving back the piece.
There is no way for regular engines to fully search 30ply deep in the middle game without improvements in their pruning algorithms.
As an experiment I run 30 threads(15 cores) on latest Stockfish 8 at 25kn/s for some time with various hash sizes. So my machine was 1/3 of Google's -> ie I have to run it at least 3 times longer.
Even at move 32. Stockfish was thinking it was better.
What was interesting that within 1 second of me making the move Stockfish was suggesting as good the eval dropped and Stockfish realized the move was bad. This could be the limits on its hash size or just the horizon effect.
A0 will hopefully provide inspiration for regular engines to incorporate new techniques.
My hope is something like Stockfish Zero which would use 1000s of crowdsourced GPUs to train the network then only requiring  a single high end GPU to play.
Answer: Yes, they can. Running the computer at www.chess.com/analysis (which is Stockfish 10) to depth = 47, this is the principal variation and recommended move:

19.Re1 Kxh6 20.h4 f6 21.Be3 Bf5 22.Rad1 Qa3 23.hxg5+ fxg5 24.Qh4+ Kg6 25.Qh1 Kg7 26.Bc1 Qc5 27.Be3 (0.00)

Playing 19. Re1 is always one of Stockfish's top 3 options, too. Further, keep in mind that Stockfish 10 is old, we now have Stockfish 11, and Stockfish dev is even stronger.
That said, do be careful about taking AlphaZero's proposed moves as gospel. It's very possible it is wrong, and the position after 18...g5 is drawn or even lost for White. We will never know for sure unless and until we have tablebases.

Alphazero-Stockfish game 10 move 19


Can I replace the rubber on a DSLR body with leather?

Question: Is there any reason that I shouldn't replace the rubber on a DSLR with leather? I only ask because I like the older SLRs look and I have a Nikon D5200 id like to mod in some way. What issues should I be aware of if I attempt this?
Comment: To definitely answer this question one would need to survey the owner of every single DSLR that has rubber on the external parts of the body. There have been millions upon millions of such cameras sold over the past 15 years. With such a large number of possibilities, I highly suspect the answer might well be "yes", but  good luck finding that *one* in *several million* potential camera owners.
Comment: Sounds like a fun project if you have the leatherworking skills. If you do it, you should buy a set of replacement grips to modify. The main grip piece is rubber bonded to hard plastic; if you can get the rubber layer off, that would be better than putting leather on top of it.
Answer: I don't see why not. See this question for advice on repairing the rubber grip, and if you're just looking to replace that (and if you're comfortable with working with leather in general), I'd say go for it.
That said, for considerably less effort, you might consider a classic leather camera case, like this one (chosen randomly from Amazon; not a specific endorsement). That covers and protects the whole camera (and a mounted lens) and flips open for easy use.
Answer: I think the main issue is going to revolve around how you're removing the existing rubber on your camera without damaging the camera.
The second issue is getting new cover pieces that will fit perfectly with appropriate cutouts (say, for the infrared sensor on the front of the grip), and then which adhesive you're going to use to attach them.
Most of the pre-made replacements I've seen have been for restoring vintage cameras where the adhesive and the leather/vinyl have disintegrated over time, or for mirrorless cameras. I don't think I've ever seen a ready-made kit for covering a dSLR, like the ones for mirrorless offered by Aki-Asahi.


Am I allowed to freely shop for mortgages before closing?

Question: The bank gives you a commitment letter at some point along with a required Good Faith Estimate of your loan amount and interest rate.  Then they will "lock" in that rate for 30-60 days.  If rates drop, can't I just go to another bank if they aren't willing to lower my rate before closing?  I realize that starting the process over is a pain, but am wondering at which point I have to follow through with the lender.
Answer: Well, I think you need to read whatever you signed so far.
I was in a similar situation, and none of the documents I signed before closing obligated me to do anything. I was signing that the data I supplied was truthful. I suppose it wasn't kind of me to walk away from the first bank, but the rate fell, and the new bank was giving the lower rate, while mine stuck to the 'lock-in'.
Comment: "I suppose it wasn't kind of me to walk away from the first bank" It's a business transaction - nothing more. Kind doesn't come into it.
Comment: I had a very similar experience. Banks, especially the brokers, don't like if you lock in your rate and then leave the lender, but in my case there wasn't anything stating that it was required to stay with that bank. I ended up locking at a rate a good 0.25% lower than the first bank.
Comment: Never sign anything from a lender without reading *AND* understanding it.  This is also true, but more so when you are borrowing money.
Comment: Kind might come into it if it's a small business, but this is a bank. If they could, they would do the same thing.
Answer: Read what you sign.  My wife used to work for a mortgage broker back in the boom, and people could not show up at signing and there is nothing anybody can do about it.  I assume you are free to walk anytime, especially if you have signed no contract.
The only real consequence is that lender won't want to work with you, (but if they won't fix a lower rate for you, then some might say they weren't in the first place).
When I got my papers (5 years ago) I signed nothing until I got the loan.  I got good faith estimates all over town and gave nobody my signature.  Has the deal changed since then?
Comment: Nope, I haven't signed anything either.  Just checking... seems to be the norm.
Answer: You are shopping but depending on how long you are in the process, your original lender may become passively upset and withhold the appraisal and other pertinent info from your second lender. Plus, the seller may not extend your contract to accommodate you.
When a  lender locks a rate they are obligated to deliver a mortgage to the secondary market Not sure, but I believe many times they have to pay a fee if they don't.
It isn't fair. Perhaps in the future, when consumers lock a rate, they should make a deposit, and forfeit it, if they go elsewhere. Or they have the ability to lock you at a .25% rate lower if the market drops. Realtors have that clause, home contractors also require an upfront fee.


How to unload a ByteArray using Actionscript 3?

Question: How do I forcefully unload a ByteArray from memory using ActionScript 3?
I have tried the following:
// First non-working solution
byteArray.length = 0;
byteArray = new ByteArray();

// Second non-working solution
for ( var i:int=0; i < byteArray.length; i++ ) {
    byteArray[i] = null;
}

Answer: I don't think you have anything to worry about. If System.totalMemory goes down you can relax. It may very well be the OS that doesn't reclaim the newly freed memory (in anticipation of the next time Flash Player will ask for more memory).
Try doing something else that is very memory intensive and I'm sure that you'll notice that the memory allocated to Flash Player will decrease and be used for the other process instead.
As I've understood it, memory management in modern OS's isn't intuitive from the perspective of looking at the amounts allocated to each process, or even the total amount allocated.
When I've used my Mac for 5 minutes 95% of my 3 GB RAM is used, and it will stay that way, it never goes down. That's just the way the OS handles memory.
As long as it's not needed elsewhere even processes that have quit still have memory assigned to them (this can make them launch quicker the next time, for example).
Answer: (I'm not positive about this, but...)
AS3 uses a non-deterministic garbage collection which means that dereferenced memory will be freed up whenever the runtime feels like it (typically not unless there's a reason to run, since it's an expensive operation to execute). This is the same approach used by most modern garbage collecting languages (like C# and Java as well).
Assuming there are no other references to the memory pointed to by byteArray or the items within the array itself, the memory will be freed at some point after you exit the scope where byteArray is declared.
You can force a garbage collection, though you really shouldn't. If you do, do it only for testing. If you do it in production, you'll hurt performance much more than help it.
To force a GC, try (yes, twice):
flash.system.System.gc();
flash.system.System.gc();

You can read more here.
Answer: Have a look at this article
http://www.gskinner.com/blog/archives/2006/06/as3_resource_ma.html
IANA actionscript programmer, however the feeling I'm getting is that, because the garbage collector might not run when you want it to.
Hence
http://www.craftymind.com/2008/04/09/kick-starting-the-garbage-collector-in-actionscript-3-with-air/
So I'd recommend trying out their collection code and see if it helps
private var gcCount:int;
private function startGCCycle():void{
    gcCount = 0;
    addEventListener(Event.ENTER_FRAME, doGC);
}
private function doGC(evt:Event):void{
    flash.system.System.gc();
    if(++gcCount > 1){
        removeEventListener(Event.ENTER_FRAME, doGC);
        setTimeout(lastGC, 40);
    }
}
private function lastGC():void{
    flash.system.System.gc();
}

Answer: Unfortunately when it comes to memory management in Flash/actionscript there isn't a whole lot you can do. ActionScript was designed to be easy to use (so they didn't want people to have to worry about memory management)
The following is a workaround, instead of creating a ByteArray variable try this.
var byteObject:Object = new Object();

byteObject.byteArray = new ByteArray();

...

//Then when you are finished delete the variable from byteObject
delete byteObject.byteArray;

Where byteArray is a dynamic property of byteObject, you can free the memory that was allocated for it.
Answer: I believe you have answered your own question.
System.totalMemory gives you the total amount of memory being "used", not allocated. It is accurate that your application may only be using 20 MB, but it has 5 MB that is free for future allocations.
I'm not sure whether the Adobe docs would shed light on the way that it manages memory.
Answer:
So, if I load say 20MB from MySQL, in the Task Manager the RAM for the application goes up by about 25MB. Then when I close the connection and try to dispose the ByteArray, the RAM never frees up. However, if I use System.totalMemory, flash player shows that the memory is being released, which is not the case.
Is the flash player doing something like Java and reserving heap space and not releasing it until the app quits?

Well yes and no, as you might have read from countless blog posts that the GC in AVM2 is optimistic and will work its own mysterious ways. So it does work a bit like Java and tries to reserve heap space. However if you let it long enough and start doing other operations that are consuming some significant memory, it will free that previous space. You can see this using the profiler overnight with some tests running on top of your app.
Answer:
So, if I load say 20MB from MySQL, in the Task Manager the RAM for the application goes up by about 25MB. Then when I close the connection and try to dispose the ByteArray, the RAM never frees up. However, if I use System.totalMemory, flash player shows that the memory is being released, which is not the case.

The player is "releasing" the memory. If you minimize the window and restore it you should see that the memeory is now much closer to what System.totalMemory shows.
You might also be interested in using FlexBuilder's profiling tools which can show you if you really have memory leaks.
Answer: Use bytearray.clear()
As per the Language Reference
this

Clears the contents of the byte array and resets the length and position properties to 0. Calling this method explicitly frees up the memory used by the ByteArray instance.


What is the best way to clean the sensor on a interchangeable lens camera (mirrorless or digital SLR)?

Question: I've got a couple of spots of dust on the sensor of my Canon 20D. A rocket blower isn't shifting them, and I'm ridiculously scared of some of the more direct methods for cleaning sensors — what methods/systems have you tried, and how successful have they been?
Comment: Please define "best'. Safest? Most effective?
Answer: A cheap rocket blower can be worse than not cleaning at all.  It inhales air from your environment, which can be dustier than your sensor. If you use one, make sure to get a high-quality model which includes a filter.
I use Pec Pad (pecpads) and Eclipse cleaning solution, with a sensor swipe.  This link has all of these products in the search.  It works well to remove spots.
A tip: take a picture of a clear blue sky at f/22 to identify all your dust spots.
Comment: I've used rocket blowers, but I don't blow; I squeeze the rocket away from the camera, and release when it's close to the surface I'm trying to clean. ie. Use it as a vacuum, rather than a blower.
Comment: I also use pecpads and eclipse solution. It's not that difficult to do yourself. Good point about the sky picture at high F number. Also take shot after each cleaning step to verify that you indeed removed the spot (sometimes they only move from one place to the other! :)
Comment: It can be worse, but if you do it frequently and only in your house and you store your camera in a humidity controlled area (like a cabinet with dessicants), it is often all you need.  The Giottos brand claims to have a filter at the bottom, as well.

Humidity causes dust to stick.  I have dessicants in my camera bag as well as my cabinet and the rocket blower always takes care of them.  Dust inside the camera is ineveitable, so I don't bother with wet methods.  Sticky dust is preventable.
Comment: Any advice to add to this answer for someone convinced that the spots themselves are abrasive (e.g sand)? Use a dry wipe and 'pat' first to see what you pick up? I don't want to scratch my sensor by moving the stuff on it around during a cleaning.
Comment: If you read the fine print in the guarantee at Photographic Solutions, you will see that they specifically say: "Please note that PEC*PAD is guaranteed for lenses only, and is not intended for use on sensors."

http://www.photosol.com/store/pc/viewContent.asp?idpage=12
Comment: -1 for not addressing concerns about Pec Pads
Comment: A good rocket blower will have an intake filter to keep out dust. In practical experience, they're very effective.
Comment: @Marc - absolutely right, i've had my dust spots move around endlessly.
Comment: Photographic Solutions, the manufacturer of Pec*Pad lint free wipes, recommends against using them for sensor cleaning. They say only the material on their swaps is safe for the coatings on the filters in front of the sensor.
Comment: It's the swabs themselves, not the material they're made of that makes the difference with PEC*PADs. The maker is simply not interested in any possible consumer liability stemming from people using them on, say, a popsicle stick/tongue depressor (or what have you) to clean their sensors. Lens coatings are *at least* as delicate as anything sitting over the sensor chip.
Answer: I think the definitive article on the subject is "Cleaning your Sensor" by Thom Hogan, written by someone reputable with a lot of experience.  I would disregard most scary personal anecdotes and product reviews by people who have given this one try, quite possibly misused the product, and then ranted about it.
It is safe to clean your sensor yourself with the right products with care. If you are not careful, use the wrong products, or don't follow instructions, it's easy to end up just moving the dust around or picking up oil from surrounding areas and spreading it across the surface and making things worse (and then claiming that the products don't work!)
There are three main contaminants that you have to deal with:

light dust clinging to the sensor due to static charge - this is often taken care of by the camera's cleaning function, or can be blown off by a rocket blower
heavier dust "stuck" on the sensor, which can usually be removed with a dry brush
oil, and dust that is really, really stuck on - these usually require wet wipes to remove

Your camera's built-in sensor cleaning function, along with a rocket blower, will remove most light dust. Most cameras can be set so the cleaning function is run whenever the camera is powered on or off.
For heavier dust you have two options: - dry brush, and wet wipes/swabs
dry brush
this method uses a statically charged, dry brush (such as the Arctic Butterfly) to attract the dust.
A light brushing against the filter surface may be required to dislodge the dust. You must be very careful not to touch the bristles of the brush against any surface other than the IR filter itself, or you may pick up oil or other contaminants and spread them onto your sensor.
The advantage of a dry brush is that it is reusable and effective on most light dust.  If properly used it will not leave any residue on the surface.
After using the dry brush, use the camera's in-built cleaning function a few times to pick up any dust that was loosened but not removed off the surface.
wet wipes/swabs
For oil, or really stubborn dust, the final course of action is to use wet wipes, such as "Sensor Swabs".
Again, you must take care not to touch these against any surface other than the IR filter to avoid picking up dirt, dust or oil.  You need to
buy a swab that is the right size for your sensor, and swipe once or twice across the surface, then do not reuse.  These swabs require a solution - make
sure to use whatever solution is recommended (e.g. Eclipse) and do not use too much solution to avoid leaving residue on the filter surface.
These swabs tend to be pricey - if you are good and efficient at cleaning, they are worth it -otherwise you may use up 4-6 of these getting your sensor free of dust.  So depending on your confidence and steady hands, you may want to consider having the sensor professionally cleaned if a rocket blower or dry brush cannot dislodge the dust.
There are also sensor "pen" products. I have not used them.  Be careful not to use a "lens pen", PEC*PADs, or any other device that is made to clean lenses or LCDs.  Make sure the product is designed specifically for sensors.
Comment: Also, LensRentals has made [video on sensor cleaning](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRW9AmDPqr0). Like for Tom Hogan, I trust that the people at LensRentals know their stuff.
Comment: I trust the writers at lensrentals a LOT more than I trust someone like Thom Hogan. His primary area of expertise is in being a youTube/media personality. He's also an excellent photographer. But how do we even know he cleans his own sensors? How do we know how many times he's actually cleaned various sensors?
Comment: This answer should be edited with the [LensRentals blog](https://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2017/04/guide-to-cleaning-your-camera-sensor/) as the reference. Considering their business, they are an authoritative source. Otherwise this is great advice.
Comment: The LensPen sensor cleaner is identical to the ordinary LensPen, except for the size, shape of the head (more triangular than round) and the articulated handle. The LensPen proper is simply the wrong size and shape to adequately clean the sensor. Keeping separate cleaners makes perfect sense from a contamination POV, but it's contamination, not material, that makes the difference.  PEC*PADs are perfectly safe, provided that you don't use them with an inappropriate applicator or re-use them dirty. Lenses are no tougher than the filters sitting in front of the sensor.
Answer: I had a Canon 30D and got a bad dust spot on the sensor ... the only way I was able to get rid of it was to take it to a camera shop and get it cleaned.
I was thinking about cleaning the sensor myself, but decided against it.  If the camera shop screwed it up, they had the resources & skill to fix it.  If I screwed it up, I would probably have to pay a lot more than $60.
I would suggest taking it to a good CAMERA shop (not a 1 hour photo printing place that also sells cameras) ... you might pay more, but I'm betting you'll get better quality results.
Answer: I highly recommend sending it in directly to the manufacturer's repair shop.  The sensor in your DSLR is one of the most critical and sensitive parts of the camera, and should not be maintained either by you or an untrained camera shop employee.  If it is under warranty, this service may be covered.
I've actually tried the Eclipse + pecpad solution, and maybe it's just me but I was not able to obtain a clean enough sensor for my liking, and it seemed that it takes quite a bit of practice before you become good at this skill.  Not worth the risk, in my opinion.
If you are stuck on location and need to continue taking pictures before you can get the camera repaired, then see if your camera has a "dust reference photo" feature, which requires you to take a picture of a blank sheet of white paper from about a foot away at the highest f-stop your lens will allow.  This can then be input into the manufacturer's software (in my case, Nikon CaptureNX/ViewNX) to remove dust spots from any images taken with a dirty sensor.  This worked wonders when I was stuck in Thailand with a dirty sensor and no hope of repair before returning to the U.S.
Comment: The focusing screen is generally easier to screw up than the low pass filter :)
Answer: I ordered a sensor cleaner from eyelead in Germany. It's a gel pad on a stick, that the dust sticks to. The pad is then cleaned using adhesive paper which is more sticky than the pad.
It's a bit tricky to reach into the corners because the pad has rounded corners, but other than that it works great to get dust away from the sensor.
As there is no cleaning fluid, I suppose that it won't work on spots that actually needs dissolving, but I have never had a need for that.
Answer: A blower bulb I purchased once contained release agent used during manufacturing process.  When I attempted to clean my sensor, the bulb ejected powder onto the sensor.  Least recommended method of cleaning for me. I had to use a wet cleaning method using swabs specially designed to fit my 1.6 crop sensor.
Swabs and a wet solution are relatively expensive and the swab is one time use.  After a few packages of swabs were used, the VisibleDust Arctic Butterfly was suggested to me.
The Arctic Butterfly is a powered nylon brush that uses a static charge in nylon bristles to grab on to and pull dust up off the sensor.  It works extremely well without using liquid, and it's reusable.  In fact, I've only used one swab in the two years since I obtained the Visible Dust system.
A much fancier version of the butterfly:
http://www.visibledust.com/products3.php?pid=3
Answer: There is no single "best" way to clean the sensor of a digital camera. To put it more precisely, which way is the "best" can depend on a number of variables. The most significant variable, by a fairly large margin, is determined by what, exactly, needs to be cleaned from the sensor. The same method that is most effective and safest for removing lightly attached dry dust particles is not the best way to remove a sticky wet substance that has managed to get onto the filter stack in front of the sensor.
Another consideration that can affect what is the "best" way to clean a sensor can be summed up by answering the question, "How clean does it need to be?" A less risky method that is effective enough to shoot 'complex' scenes with lots of detail at wide apertures with long focal length lenses may not be the best answer if the camera needs to be used with wider angle lenses at narrower apertures shooting fairly uniform fields of brightness and color. For the second scenario a more risky but more effective method might be a better choice.
There are more effective methods, and there are safer methods. They are generally inversely proportional to each other. The methods, in order from the lowest to highest risk factor are:

Automatic dust removal system
Air blower (with a filtered intake). Be sure to use a blower that doesn't spray dust into your camera's light box. Good blowers have a one-way intake valve with a dust screen to prevent sucking dust into the blower along with the air.
Dry brush
Electrically charged brush such as those made by Arctic Butterfly.
Dry cleaning products, such as the LensPen brand's SensorKlear that use a combination of microfiber and microscopic carbon beads to remove oil and smudges.
Wet cleaning systems that use swabs and cleaning fluid
'Tape' method that uses a cleaning instrument with a sticky surface that attempts to capture hard to remove dust without leaving residue behind.
Answer: I concur ... go with a camera shop.  Additionally, I would recommend going with a manufacturer authorized repair location.  Theoretcially they have more training.
Answer: Air blowers will work fine for removing dust that isn't "welded" to your sensor. Dust that is "welded" in place, usually happens by moisture getting inside the camera while there is dust on the sensor and then dries, needs to be wiped off with sensor wipe. The one time it's happened to me, I used vdust http://visibledust.com/products3.php?pid=305. They are one time use wipes on a stick with a solvent. If you can't find your size just a smaller size, I did this without any streaking (the store I was at didn't have the APS-c size :( )
Answer: Personally I don't worry too much about dust unless it is obviously visible in images, which is more likely in photographs of clear skies stopped down completely than in photographs of more complex scenes wide open.

If you want a chance at getting your sensor "clean", you need to work in a clean environment. Otherwise, your sensor may still contain numerous dust specks despite 15+ cleanings. Consider filtering the air.
You can use an ordinary HEPA air filtration system, but a water-based vacuum cleaner can clear the air much more quickly and thoroughly. Just keep checking and replacing the water until the water stays clear. Let it continue processing the air while you work on the sensor.
Use a blower to remove whatever dust you can from the camera and sensor. Leave the sensor alone if it is clean enough after this step.
If you feel the need to use a wet process, understand that you risk making it worse by getting fluids into the sensor stack, leaving residues behind, or cementing dust to the sensor so that it will be impossible to blow off in the future.
Once your sensor is perfectly clean, attach your favorite lens to the camera and never take it off.

To demonstrate, here are images taken at F36 to demonstrate sensor dust before and after blowing out the dust and a single cleaning with a wet-process, as described above. I spot two specks in the after image. There may be more, but it's less than the before (more than ten). Rather than chase down every speck, I'm quitting while I'm ahead.
Answer: While I'm downloading memory cards I give the sensor a brush with an Arctic Butterfly this seems to get the worst off , however when it has been really bad I've used a LensPen SensorKlear (not the same as a lenspen!!!) but I have thrown those out after one use as I'm not too convinced by their self cleaning abilities.
To test the sensor I've always just staken a shot of a plain white wall af the smallest aperture available and reviewed it zoomed in fully on the camera screen, scrolling to make sure the whole screen is covered.
Answer: Once, while travelling, I ended up with a huge dust spot clearly visible at f5.6
I didn't take my rocket-like blower on that trip. So .... I used the microfibre lens cleaning cloth on the sensor :D
It got rid of the big spot and replaced with with many tiny spots of dust. The tiny spots weren't visible till f11 or so, so it was okay for the meantime.
Upon returning to work I gave it to my work buddy that had a microscope and nitrogen tank. He brought it back clean. Sadly, he's since quit. So, in the future i'll just take it into canon if too many spots appear.
Comment: by "taking it into canon" you mean bring it to a shop for sensor cleaning?
Comment: Yep. If a blower can't clean it. I think a shop may be better equipped to clean it. It seems to me that my 5d4 gets less dirty than my 6d. So maybe theyve improved things with time
Answer: Just take it to a local camera shop / repair man.
I've done it once and the camera came back pristine. I paid £35 (~$55) in the UK
Comment: Was that a local/independent, or a chain (as I'm in the UK as well)
Answer:
what methods/systems have you tried,
  and how successful have they been?

I bought an Olympus, I simply turn it on and let it clean the sensor - so far very sucessfull.
Comment: This was true when this question was asked three years ago, but by now they pretty much all work.
Comment: One test showed that Olympus has the only internal dust cleaning mechanism that really works.
Comment: Bit of an expensive option buy a new body, although next time I buy a body, it'll have built in sensor cleaning...
Answer: As you are concerned, you should send the camera to a reputable servicer and have them handle the cleaning.
Personally, Ive used the following:

arctic butterfly (AA powered spinning brush to get rid of loose dust)
eclipse cleaning fluid + pec pads + little spatula (for getting rid of tough dust, moisture, "sticky substances", etc.)

I don't use blowers, as it doesn't offer any control of where the dust goes.
Read the various guides, practice on a glass surface, and account for the fact that the mirror box chamber is pretty small. :)
Some caveats for whether you use the brush or the pec pads:

The sides of the mirror box can sometimes harbor dust
The sides location of joints/etc can contain lubrication oil, which the brush and pads can pickup and smear on the sensor. (been there, done that)

Periodically checking the results via an OOF shot will help to determine if you are getting the sensor clean.
But yeah, if you have reservations, send the camera off to a service place.


Do NEA (Near Earth Asteroids) have minable water ice?

Question: Water is very useful for rocket fuel and life support in space. But does water, in abundance and form which conceivably could be usefully mined this century, really exist in NEA's? Or do we have to go all the way out to the frost line, the Asteroid Belt, to find asteroids with available water? (Lunar polar water ice is not topic here, I think, but low delta-v asteroidal water).
Answer: No and yes.
I'll address the "no" answer first. The answer is no if you truly mean "water ice". Ceres is close to the limit of where water can exist as water, as opposed to in the form of hydrated rock. Those intriguing bright spots on Ceres may well be water ice that has been exposed to vacuum (but they might just be salts). Ceres most likely is inside the frost line, but just slightly. That's part of what makes Ceres so intriguing. Ceres orbits at 2.7+ AU. It is not a Near Earth Asteroid. Contrary to mainstream thinking, perhaps the current frost line is at 2.7 AU (as opposed to 5 AU). There's no way that it is at 1 AU.
The answer is yes if you look beyond ice as a source of water. Some carbonaceous asteroids contain water in the form of hydrated minerals. Some of them contain quite a bit of water, up to 22%. We'll find out more when OSIRIS-REx launches next year and returns a sample from 101955 Bennu in 2023.
Comment: @LocalFluff - Where the frost line is now and where it was when the solar system formed are two different things. Even during the formation of the solar system, the frost line was not at one fixed location. It instead migrated inward and outward with the growth of the proto-Sun and with changes in the composition and density of the protoplanetary disk.
Comment: Okay, "ice" does not include hydrated minerals, that explains some of my confusion reading about this. Is there really a debate about where the frost line is? 2.7 or 5 AU is a huge difference, and I would think that it is pretty straight forward physics with insolation at different distances. Can't Dawn figure out where it is relative to the frost line?
Comment: But the young sun was fainter, and while forming with maybe violent eruptions, the disc was protected by material. How could the Sun ever have sublimated most water in asteroids 5 AU away?
Comment: That's backwards, @LocalFluff. The proto-Sun was more luminous than the  star it would become. Protostars than eventually form a one solar mass star follow the [Hayashi track](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hayashi_track) and then the [Henyey track](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henyey_track) during the course of their pre-stellar evolution. Perhaps you should frame this as another question.
Answer: Unlikely.
Plugging numbers into the Stefan–Boltzmann law gives us a temperature near 273°K (0°centigrade) for bodies near earth's orbit. The exact answer for atmospherless bodies depends on albedo.
Any water on nearby asteroids will thus boil until it freezes, and then sublimate.
That's why the search for nearby ice is focused on lightless, cold regions of craters near the moon's south pole.
Space probe Rosetta and its attendant comet are still 200 million km from the sun, and already outgassing water. IIRC, that started back in January, when the comet was 390 million km from the sun, well beyond Mars. Black body temp. out there would be around -100°C.
Looks like I was wrong about when jets first appeared: More jets from Rosetta's comet! September 19, 2014. On that day, the comet was 500 million km from the sun. That's outer belt. No spectra that I know of, so possibly not water. Water seems most likely though.
Likely we'll have to go out at least that far to find ice on small bodies.
Comment: But are NEA's believed to contain some substantial fraction of water (ISRU-wise) under their hard outgassed dark crusts? Recent encounters with 67P and Ceres has given me the impression that the surface and the interior could be very different. But those objects aren't NEA. Boltzman, I think, talks about molecules exposed to the Sun in naked space. Not so much about the interior of asteroids.
Comment: I figure that if an object is near the sun for any length of time, even its interior is going to reach thermal equilibrium. We haven't seen a lot of evidence that asteroid interiors are hermetically sealed so as to prevent outgassing. They tend to be more rubble pile-ish, so no hidden water reserves. -Don't mean to be snarky here, just short, as comment space is limited.
Comment: @WayfaringStranger An NEA could have a high aphelion. If an NEA had a 1 x 5.2 AU orbit, surface temperatures would vary from 120 to 270K. And more time would be spent in the colder parts of its orbit. However such an asteroid wouldn't fit LocalFluff's "low delta-V" criteria.
Comment: They could have water locked away in minerals: http://sservi.nasa.gov/articles/dawn-sees-hydrated-minerals-on-giant-asteroid/ That might be worth mining.
Answer: Likely. Very likely.
Snodgrass Agarwal Combi Fitzsimmons Guilbert-Lepoutre Hsieh et al. 2017 The main belt comets and ice in the solar system. The Astronomy and Astrophysics Review 25, 5
Schorghofer Hsieh 2018 Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets 123 9 2322-2335
…and follow-on works in the past ~2 years.


require.js: how can I load a module that defines a name under a different name?

Question: I'm trying to load underscore.js with require.js like this:
require(["libs/underscore-1.2.3.js"], function(_) {
    ...
});

But this doesn't work because underscore.js exports a module name: define('underscore', function() { ... }).
Without renaming lib/underscore-1.2.3.js, how can I load it with require.js?
Answer: Alright, after some more googling, I've found: https://github.com/documentcloud/underscore/pull/338#issuecomment-3245213
Where

@dvdotsenko all AMD loaders allow mapping a module ID to a partial path, usually the configuration is called 'paths', so to do what you want:

   requirejs.config({
       paths:
           underscore: 'js/libs/underscore-1.2.3.min'
       }
   });
   require(['underscore'], function () {});

Since underscore is used by other higher-level modules, like backbone, a common dependency name needs to be used to communicate a common dependency on underscore, and it makes sense to call that dependency 'underscore'. The paths config gives a way to do the mapping to a specific URL you want to use for that dependency.

This doesn't answer my question (ie, I still don't know how I'd go about loading underscore if all I had was a URL), but at least it's a functional workaround.
Answer: While this doesn't strike me as the most ideal solution, you can require your external files, and then require their registered module names in the inner block.
JSFiddle Example
require(
    ['require','http://documentcloud.github.com/underscore/underscore-min.js'],
    function(require){
        require(['underscore'],function(_){
            var a = _.intersection([1,2,3],[2,3,4]);
            document.write("Underscore is available in the closure : " + a);
        })
    }
)

It might not look pretty, but that might be a recommended pattern for loading up initial assets so that they can be required intuitively in dependent modules.


rescaled metric quantities on rescaling metrics

Question: I have the following basic, surely stupid, questions. Assume we have a Riemannian metric $g$ on a manifold $M$. let $a\in\mathbb{R}$ a constant and consider the metric $g_1=ag$. Which are the transformation rules for the scalar and sectional curvature and for the Ricci tensor? For the sectional I guess are the same $K_g(\pi)=K_{g_1}(\pi)$, but what about sectional and Ricci tensor. Moreover how does change the metric on tensors: is it true that $g_1(v,w)=a^{l-m}g(v,w)$ if $v,w$ are $(l,m)$-tensors? Thank you
Answer: If you look here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levi-Civita_connection#Christoffel_symbols you'll see that the Levi-Civita connection for both metrics are the same.  Therefore the curvature tensor is the same.  Since everything else you mentioned is in terms of the curvature tensor and metric, its easy to see what happens.  For example, $K_{g_1} = \frac{1}{a} K_g$.
You also have to be a little careful since the curvature tensors are the same as $(3,1)$ tensors but if you raise or lower indices you will get different tensors (since you're using different metrics to raise/lower).
Comment: and scalar curvature how does it change?
Comment: @unk2: $S_{g_1} = \frac{1}{a} S_g$.
Answer: Warning: If $a \leq 0$, the tensor field $g_1 = a g$ will not be a metric and the notion of 'curvature' is not meaningful for $g_1$. However, for $a > 0$ the question is valid, even if $a$ is a smooth positive function on $M$. This is called a 'conformal change' and you will find many transformation laws under this keyword, for instance http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_formulas_in_Riemannian_geometry#Under_a_conformal_change


Which apples make the best cider?

Question: So I'm going to start making wine from grapes this year.  To that end, I just picked up a grape crusher and a press.  With those toys, I can also make cider.  There's an orchard near me that grows dozens of varieties of apples.  Which ones make the best cider?  I know, "best" is subjective but I'm sure there are some types of apples better than others.  Should I go "straight varietal" or should i use a blend of apples?
Comment: A little more detail: I plan to make a sparkling beer-style cider in beer bottles as apposed to still apple wine.  My plan is to ferment it dry and bottle condition with priming sugar.
Comment: I made a cider last year using 3 gallons of pasteurized cider right from the local orchard.  The apples were a blend of nothing special, some mac, fujis and whatever.  Very non descript.
To that 3 gallons of cider I added 2 pounds of DME and one more gallon of water.  I boiled the DME component for 15 minutes.  Then dumped the cider in to repasteurize it in a sense.
Turned out great and I called it malted cider.  I only post that to address your "Beer_Style" comment.
Comment: That's an interesting recipe.  I called it "beer-style" to differentiate it from apple wine.  I mean, fermented fruit juice is wine.  Fermented apple juice is usually called cider.  When it's carbonated and served from beer bottles, people tend to think of it as a sort-of beer.  When it's left still and stored in wine bottles, people want to call it apple wine.  Also, if I choose to use an ale yeast, that would make it more "beer-style" than if I went with a champagne yeast.
Comment: I guess apple wine would have a higher alcohol content, too.  I haven't looked into it, but I'm guessing that apple wine makers will chaptalize to get to the brix levels they need to hit 12% alcohol or so.  I don't want to go that route.
Comment: BTW, I used the Fermentis S-04 English Ale yeast in my cider.
Answer: My recommendation is to blend at least three of your favorite eating apples together.  Find one that is known for producing a lot of juice.  Then chose two others that have interesting flavors. A buddy of mine pressed about 15 pounds of apples last year and got only got maybe a couple gallons of juice.
From what I have read and gleaned from talking with better cider makers than I; the english heirloom varieties are really the best apples for making hard cider from supposedly.  You can find some orchards here in the states with these types of apples.  There are apples that are grown more for eating out-of-hand, and then there are varieties that were actually bred for making cider from.
Lastly, if you look at cider recipes from winning ciders at the NHC.  Many of them are blended apple varieties.

Which apples make the best cider?


Cactus turning white/brown/yellow

Question: I believe this cactus is a cereus jamacaru but I am not 100% sure. I had it in relatively low light room but across from a south facing window in the sunniest spot of the room. I watered it once before I noticed something was wrong. It started out by turning yellow and a little brown at the top and now it is starting to turn white. I repotted it and used a soil that has better drainage and the pot it is in has a hole in the bottom too. I even transferred it to different levels of light (maybe too quickly from what I've read) I also believe it has scale insects. After researching how to remove them, I started the process this morning and I have also ordered a cacti insecticide just for future prevention. Are there any other diagnoses? I don't know if I'm correct and I am wondering if there is a way I can cut the bad parts off or if it will even recover. Any Ideas? The attached picture was last week- it looks worse now and has since been moved to a less sunny place- it was out in the sun for a day or two.
Answer: if the underlying issue was scale infestation you need to treat that. But you also need to remove all the dead and rotting tissue with a sterile knife.  Let the cut area dry off before you let any moisture get on to the cactus.
Answer: First, chop off anything that's not green. If you're lucky what's left will send out new offsets. If you chop the not-green part off, and you see yellow/brown in/around the central bundle it's likely to be a goner. Keep chopping until you don't see rot.
I get the sense that you haven't had this plant long. If that's true, whatever happened happened well before you owned the plant.
Most cactus don't do anything fast, and that includes dying.
Good luck!

Cactus turning white/brown/yellow


How could Deku hit 1000,000% One for All punch when he had no memory of it?

Question: In his fight against Bloodthirsty Muscular, Deku hits a 1000,000% One for All punch when we haven't seen even All Might use that much power. How can this be possible?
Comment: it just felt like that to him so he said it. otherwise if a 100% could destroy his hand a1000,000% would make him explode
Comment: Duplicate of https://anime.stackexchange.com/questions/46793/does-one-for-all-give-unlimited-power/46804#46804
Answer: It was confirmed by the Author that it wasn't actually 1000,000%. Deku said that to pump himself up.
This is explained in this article, as well as the image below:
Comment: To be exact and clarify, the author confirmed this in volume 9, in a page explaining that the "1,000,000%" Smash was indeed just a battle cry fueled by adrenaline.
Answer: In the last episode of My Hero Academia (Season 3, episode 8) , they gave an explanation for this (spoilers)

 According to the doctor who cured Midoriya from his battle with muscular, when Midoriya says "100%" he would be using 80% of his power that's the upper limit a person can use in normal situations, and when Midoriya says 1,000,000%, he was using 100% of his power which is a power only a person can use when he is in an extreme situation, something that makes any person (including Midoriya) being bad injured after because no person is capable of using 100% of his power without hurting itself, that's why a person can only use 80% of his power in normal situations for not hurting his own body


What does "left the rest behind" mean in this sentence?

Question:
Sonneti are now creating for customers who left the rest behind
Answer: If you're one of the pack of frontrunners in a race, you've left the rest [of the contestants] behind. The meaning is the same here: Sonneti are targeting their products to the customers who are the trend-setters.
Answer: To leave the rest behind means ignoring the rest, to not show interest in something different from what you selected:

"Pick what you like and leave the rest behind"

In that context, it means:

"Sonnati products are for customers who are not happy with the other existing products and who want something different."
Answer: Previous answers suggest that customers who left the rest behind refers to discriminating connoisseurs or trend-setters.  Those interpretations may be correct, but my own first impressions were morbidly different: that it references either dead persons, who have left living friends behind, or old people, whose friends have died.
Inadvertent mixing of present tense (now creating) with past (left) leads to misinterpretation.  Perhaps the verb in the ending phrase should be leave rather than left.
Comment: I agree present tense is more commonly heard, as in *her good looks leave the rest behind*. I also initially had a negative impression—not that the customers died and "left the rest behind" but that they, perhaps, abandoned their peers or are lonely.
Answer: The question was, literally, what does left the rest behind mean in this sentence?
It means, literally, that the sentence was written by someone for whom English is not his/her native language.
The confusing admixture of tenses and the ambiguous left the rest behind (the rest of whom or what? Other customers? Other similar products? Firms competing with Sonetti?) renders the sentence's meaning entirely unclear.
Yet, conversely, even though the sentence itself is inherently nonsensical, the author's intent is clear: the Sonetti firm makes products for discriminating customers.
As an aside, treating Sonetti as a plural noun (Sonetti are now making) would fly only in the UK and derivative dialects. In the U.S., Sonetti would be treated as a singular noun (Sonetti is now making), the theory being that Sonetti is a company, a firm, a single entity no matter how many people work there. If, for some obscure reason, a U.S. speaker wanted to use are with Sonetti, s/he could write Sonetti workers are now making.


Setting up bracketing on a D7000

Question: I went though the steps, but in csm/bracketing/flash e2 through e6 are not highlighted. When right click on e5-Autobracketing, a balloon pops up "option not available on this setting" what did I miss?
Answer: You're in the wrong mode.  Either Auto or one of the 'Scene' modes which take over many of the camera functions.
Set your camera to either P (Program), S (Shutter Priority) or A (Aperture Priority) mode and bracketing will become available along with a load of other options.
The manual will tell you in more detail which modes all of your cameras features do (and don't) work in.
Answer: Those options probably are only enabled if you are in Aperture or Shutter priority, or full Manual exposure modes.  If you are in full Auto or Program mode, or a scene mode, many options are not available, as those modes let the camera decide for you.  You may need also to check the metering mode.  Spot metering for example may limit your choices as well.
Comment: P is fine for bracketing.  You treat it just the same as A/S modes.

Setting up bracketing on a D7000


If Cooper wanted to stay, why did he send the NASA Coordinates?

Question: In Interstellar, after Cooper arrives in the Tesseract, Cooper tries to send the message STAY to his daughter in the past so she won't let him go on the mission. If that was his intention then why did he send the coordinates of NASA afterwards? If he didn't send the coordinates, he wouldn't have found NASA or go into space, he would have stayed.
Comment: THAT is a good question! +1
Comment: Please mark the answer which you feel is correct.
Answer: He first sends the message of STAY.
Remember the scene in the beginning of the movie just before Cooper visits the teachers of his children.
We are shown that Murph has some thick lines on her book.
In the end we are shown that she is actually figuring out the morse code behind the falling books represented by the thick lines.
Thus she was indeed receiving the messages of STAY before getting the co-ordinates.
Now in the teseract Cooper initially wants Murph to stay in the room, so he sends the message of STAY.
When he realises that what has happened in the past cannot be changed, then he wants to save the future of mankind.
That is why he sends the location of NASA to his past self.
Comment: `he realises that what has happened in the past cannot be changed` He actually shaped the past by sending the NASA coordinate. This is what I don't look in time loop stories, it makes things very confusing.
Comment: This is a compact but confusing answer to one who doesn't already understand most of the movie. The answer by cde below seems to be better.
Comment: This answer is completely wrong. It is not true that `she was indeed receiving the messages of STAY before getting the co-ordinates.` It is very clear that in the tesseract Cooper sends the "stay" message when Cooper is leaving Murph's room to go to NASA. No clue how this answer was dreamed up. It is ALSO false that `in the tesseract Cooper initially wants Murph to stay in the room.` No, he wants Cooper to stay in the room, not Murph. In his panic he is trying to prevent himself from leaving his daughter.
Comment: He sends STAY to get himself to stay on Earth. The answer posted by cde is more accurate.
Answer: Because Cooper was only saying STAY out of confusion and panic. To set the scene, Coop has just committed suicide to allow Brand to survive the slingshot to the other planet, and plunged into the unknown that is Gargantua, a massive Black Hole. Nearly passed out, he ejects from his exploding Ranger spacecraft, only to be thrown into a Tesseract, a 3rd Dimensional representation of 5th Dimensional Space. He sees a young Murphy through the back of the Tesseract wall, calls out to her but she can't hear him and he still has zero clue about what is happening. He doesn't know if he's alive or dead or what. He knows that Murph has experienced Decades without him due to temporal relativity and may be dead relative to him as well. The entire mission may have been pointless, and in the end he will die without his daughter. Panic sets in.

Here he goes through an accelerated Kübler-Ross Model/The 5 Stages of Grief.

Denial: He goes into the Black Hole believing that maybe he'll make it out alive. When he arrives in the Tesseract he still doesn't know what's happening.
Anger & Bargaining & Depression: He sees himself and Murph and he lashes out against the Tesseract walls. He punches and yells and attempts to get Murph to make his past self to stay. He breaks down sobbing when it fails.
Acceptance: He, with TARS help, accepts that he can't change the past, but he can make sure that it was not in vain. He finally understands what is happening. He gives up on STAY and moves on to something useful, like saving mankind by giving Murph the Quantum Data.

Once he realizes his situation, how the Tesseract works, how They are facilitating the changes, he is no longer panicking and can think rationally. He finds the right time to give the NASA Coordinates and then the Quantum Data. Once he ensures that the past has come true, They close the Tesseract.
Comment: Ok here are some questions. Cooper mentioned that "They" it's just "us" in the future. Since mankind has survived already into 5 dimmensional beings, why did they have to come back and help humans survive? Are they from a different timeline where most humans didn't make it? Are they from a plan B? Are they helping humans just to save lives? Cheers!
Comment: @m.spyratos pre-destination paradox.
Answer: IIRC he sends stay before he realises the importance of his and her mission, then decides to send the locations of NASA as well as encode the quantum data.
Comment: @BobbyAlexander, why so close minded?  He receives the co-ordinates first, but IIRC he *sends* stay first.  Remember, he has the ability to send messages *through* time!!!
Comment: IIRC, the STAY was received before the coordinates - but it seemed the opposite because the coordinates were revealed to the viewer before the STAY was revealed to the viewer (a clever play on time by the filmmakers)
Comment: I agree with this. First he wants to escape the mess he's in and be with Murph, so he sends STAY. Then he realises she can complete the equation and sends the co-ordinates. However in earth time, the co-ordinates are received first.
Comment: This is not correct. He received the co-ordinates first, else he wouldn't have had a reason to leave in the first place.
Answer: I think that Cooper saw his neccesity on the team as a key motivation for giving the coordinates. The team was lacking an experienced pilot and if it wasn't for his earlier decision to depart on Miller, the entire mission would have been for nothing potentially wasting millions (or billions) of earth lives.
This is one of the key plot points of the movie. The juxtaposition of Cooper and Mann's motivations and actions. Cooper was willing to go even at the cost of his life and his family's happiness because he saw the greater need of all humanity. Mann only appeared willing to die for humanity, when it came time, he sacrificed the chances of humanity rather than giving his life.
Comment: I think that when Tars says " They didnt send us here to change the past" then Cooper says " They didnt send us here Tars, we brought ourselves". To change the world. So he gave the coordinates. Let it happen. And he then knows that he must do something in that 4th dimensional world. To communicate with 3 dimensional world( not only the past). So i think that he thinks that he no longer need to regret about the past. Because he realised he sent himself.  To save the world. They have her bedroom, its infinite time and space. Its all to communicate. To save the world. Thats why he send the coord
Answer: As with most stories that deal with contradictions of time, what happens happens because it happens.
Even if you accept that messages can be sent through time, the events that occur are fixed. If Cooper does anything other than what occurs in the events in the film, the entire timeline would be modified. He can't change what happens because in the timeline he is in, he sends the message STAY, then he sends the coordinates, and then he sends the quantum data.
The events occur and become human history, and the future humans, knowing what happened because of learning from history, know their part to play as well. If Cooper does not do what he did to cause the following events to occur, the future humans would not have selected Murph's bedroom for the tesseract.
Belief and stories are two central themes in Interstellar. The humans who save the species have faith, as opposed to the population who have given themselves over to propaganda and small thinking. It is the pursuit of continuing the story of the human race, faith that it can survive, that keeps it alive. That undefinable belief is the story of life!


Any concerns with online upgrade of tails? Should new ISO be downloaded instead?

Question: I have been using the online upgrade process offered by Tails in the pop-up dialog.
But, I got to thinnking (paranoid) that maybe I should download a new iso, burn to CD/DVD, boot to CD/DVD and then install to USB drive, instead. Upgrading while online seems to me like an additional vulnerability, since I have no way of knowing what is being downloaded/uploaded or what is going on. Any thoughts/concerns/recommendations? Thanks.
Comment: You should definitely download the new ISO, unless you're using something like VMWare or VirtualBox.
Answer: I don't see how running a Tails virtual machine (if that is what you mean by "... unless you are running something like VMWare or VirtualBox."), has any mitigating impact on my scenario/concern. I believe that anything that could be done to a physical instance of Tails (hack/snoop/sniff/etc.), can be done to a virtual instance of Tails, can it not?
Comment: This is not an answer. Please use your original "unregistered" account (access credentials are stored in cookies) and add this as a comment to your question. Thank you.
Answer: I don't know of any additional vulnerabilities introduced specifically by the Tails online update process. However, when a new version of Tails comes out, I now download the new .iso because:

The new updated version in .iso format has a SHA256 Checksum that can be used to verify the cryptographic signature of the image. You do not get that with the online upgrade that I am aware of, unless it is done silently during the online upgrade process.
Doing a clean install from the iso wipes the USB thumb drive that could remove any malware on the drive if there is any on it from prior use.

For these 2 reasons, imo it is better to do a clean install from a new .iso image. But it is not as convenient.


Python or R for implementing machine learning algorithms for fraud detection

Question: I was wondering which language can I use: R or Python, for my internship in fraud detection in an online banking system: I have to build machine learning algorithms (NN, etc.) that predict transaction frauds.
Thank you very much for your answer.
Answer: I would say that it is your call and purely depends on your comfort with (or desire to learn) the language. Both languages have extensive ecosystems of packages/libraries, including some, which could be used for fraud detection. I would consider anomaly detection as the main theme for the topic. Therefore, the following resources illustrate the variety of approaches, methods and tools for the task in each ecosystem.
Python Ecosystem

scikit-learn library: for example, see this page;
LSAnomaly, a Python module, improving OneClassSVM (a drop-in replacement): see this page;
Skyline: an open source example of implementation, see its GitHub repo;
A relevant discussion on StackOverflow;
pyculiarity, a Python port of Twitter's AnomalyDetection R Package (as mentioned in 2nd bullet of R Ecosystem below "Twitter's Anomaly Detection package").

R Ecosystem

CRAN Task Views, in particular, Time Series, Multivariate and Machine Learning;
Twitter's Anomaly Detection package;
Early Warning Signals (EWS) Toolbox, which includes earlywarnings package;
h2o machine learning platform (interfaces with R) uses deep learning for anomaly detection.

Additional General Information

A set of slides, mentioning a variety of methods for anomaly detection (AD);
A relevant discussion on Cross Validated;
ELKI Data Mining Framework, implementing a large number of AD (and other) algorithms.
Answer: This is largely a subjective question.  Trying to list some criteria that seem objective to me:

the important advantage of Python is that it is a general-purpose language.  If you will need to do anything else than statistics with your program (generate a web interface, integrate it with a reporting system, pass it on to other developers for maintenance) you are far better off with Python.
the important advantage of R is that it is a specialized language.  If you already know that there is a technique you want to use, and it is not a usual suspect (like NN), then you probably will find a library in CRAN that makes life easier for you.

And here is another, more subjective advice:

both languages are not really performance-oriented.  If you need to process large quantities of data, or process very fast, or process in parallel, you will run into trouble ... but it is far easier to run into such trouble with R than with Python.  In my experience, you find the limits of R within some weeks, and the way to push them is quite arcane; while you can use Python for years, never really missing the speed that C developers always mention as the Holy Grail, and even when you do, you can use Cython to make up for the difference.  The only real trouble is concurrency, but for statistics, it is hardly ever an issue.


Which filter should I use on a bright day

Question: If I want to use slow shutter speeds on a bright day, which filters are appropriate.
Answer: Filters modify the light that reaches the sensor. Depending on the type of filter they may allow only certain colors to pass (colored filters), reduce the amount of light reaching the sensor without regard to color (neutral density filters), allow only polarized light (polarizers), diffuse the light slightly (soft focus filters), cause certain kinds of highlights (e.g. starburst filters), etc.
If you want to decrease the shutter speed you're using (longer exposures) without reducing aperture or sensitivity (ISO), you can use a neutral density filter to block some of the light. Think of it as sunglasses for your lens -- it's a gray looking filter that simply absorbs some light. They come in different densities, and you can even get a gradient ND filter that'll block more light from one side of the image than from the other. These last are used, for example, to darken the sky without darkening the foreground.
Answer: There are two types of filters that are commonly used to reduce the overall amount of light.

Neutral Density Filters: Reduce the amount of light entering the lens without changing the color of the light. Densities are expressed in terms of stops. An ND2 filter will reduce the amount of light by two stops, which allows 1/4 the total amount of light that would enter the lens without the filter. An ND 8 would reduce the light by 8 stops. Variable ND filters are available that contain two elements that change the overall density as one is rotated in relation to the other. Quality variable ND filters can be quite expensive (A Singh-Ray 77mm Thin Mount Variable ND filter goes for about $400). A graduated ND filter has one edge that is darker than the other and can be useful when the sky is very bright and the foreground of the scene you are photographing is darker.
Polarizer Filters: Alter the type of light entering the lens by only allowing light polarized in one direction to pass through. Without getting too technical, polarizers will decrease the total amount of light reaching the lens, reduce or even eliminate reflections off of water or glass and metallic objects, increase contrast, and increase the saturation of certain colors. They have a marked effect on blue skies and green vegetation and are popular with many landscape photographers for this reason. Most polarizers reduce the amount of light reaching the lens by about 2 stops, but it does vary from one to the next. In order for Auto Focus systems to work a circular polarizer must be used.

It is also possible to combine a polarizer and ND filter for additional reduction of the total light reaching the lens. When stacking filters attention must be made to vignetting, especially on wider angle lenses.
For how to use a polarizer, see How does one use circular polarizers?


How to eliminate static-y hair?

Question: During the winter my hair gets static-y and starts to stick straight out.  How can I combat/prevent this from happening?
I would like something that would work while I am away from home.
Answer: My wife runs dryer sheets through her hair for that.  She says they work great.
Comment: Any brand work better than others, or does that not seem to matter?
Comment: We just use the generic Wal-Mart brand.  She runs them through her hair.
Answer: I know you've accepted the answer, but preventing this problem is the sole reason I use fabric conditioner on laundry, otherwise, not only is my hair doing strange things, but my clothes are likely to stick to each other while I'm wearing them, and spark and crackle when I take them off... and fabric conditioner is what's in dryer sheets.
Answer: You should try hair oil.

Seal the Moisture
  If your hair is of medium density or a wavy texture, an oil based leave-in conditioner is a better option. Apply an even coat after towel drying. This helps to seal moisture into your hair before the dry air around you has a chance to rob moisture away. Again, you don't need a market bought conditioner. Jojoba oil, or coconut oil, or peach kernel oil or shea butter will make a wonderful leave-in conditioner. Rub a small amount into your palms then spread it through your hair. It will give you a great boost of sheen and volume and prevent further flyaway. Obviously, use sparingly and keep away from your roots and fringe.   http://www.hairbuddha.net/prevent-static-hair/

How to eliminate static-y hair?


IDA Python call func from idb names with specific arguments

Question: I'm new in IDA Python, so the question is hard for me. I didn't find any solution in google, so I have to ask for the help there. During code analysis I found decryption function. There are about 1000 calls of this function with different arguments. The function takes one argument - encrypted string, which address is moved to eax before the calling.
I'd like to write script for running the function for all encrypted strings. I find address of the function using idc.LocByName. Then I found all references to this function (using idautils.CodeRefsTo(addr, 1)). Now I to find the function's argument for each reference and call the function with this argument.
Could you please advise the way I can do it?
Thanks.
Answer: In general you have 3 possibilities:
1 - Recover arguments statically and use AppCall either with IDC or IDAPython in debug session
2 - Rewrite decryption function in python, recover arguments statically and run the recovered function on each occurrence.
3 - Use something like PyEmu for running functions.
Usually I find variant 2 easier then others.
Comment: Thanks. Variant two looks like solution. I'll try to implement it.


Powering Raspberry Pi 24/7

Question: We are working on a thesis and we are thinking of using Raspberry Pi for our data logging of our greenhouse monitoring system. We decided to to use a solar panel to power the Pi 24/7 but we don't know what battery pack we  should use to meet the power consumption of the Pi. What would you suggest?
Comment: Possible duplicate of [How do I build a UPS-like - battery backup - system?](http://raspberrypi.stackexchange.com/questions/1360/how-do-i-build-a-ups-like-battery-backup-system) and [How can I run the Pi on Solar Power?](http://raspberrypi.stackexchange.com/q/86/54871)
Comment: Welcome to Raspberry Pi! Please take the [tour](http://raspberrypi.stackexchange.com/tour) and visit the [helpcenter](http://raspberrypi.stackexchange.com/help) to see how things work here. One suggestion on the house: try to search this Q&A too, there are other answers covering powering the Pi by solar modules and batteries.
Answer: Assuming no power-hungry peripherals and no heavy computations, your RPi will draw about 0,5-0,7A. Since you want to run it 24/7, you should account for these rare cases where it's raining for several days straight without any useful sunlight. If you want your RPi to survive a 5-days outrage (120h), you'll be fine with a battery of 60Ah. This won't be cheap, but if you can afford such a battery, then problem solved.
There are several tricks which can reduce this number to something more reasonable.

If you don't mind losing data on rainy days and only want to reliably keep it running at night, you can reduce your estimated outrage time to about 12 hours and use a battery which is 10 times smaller.
If you can afford a little soldering, you can make use of DC power converters. A 5V 60Ah battery holds as much energy as 24V 12.5Ah battery, the latter being cheaper and easier to find.
You may want to investigate how much power you can save by e.g. disabling HDMI, Bluetooth, etc. If you can keep current consumption under 0,25-0,35A, you'll be able to cut the battery capacity in half.
Above all, check if you can use Arduino for your project. Arduino consumes a ridiculous 0.02A when fully powered, and sleep modes can potentially reduce this current by another 100 times. Chances are, you don't even need a solar panel since Arduino would live off a pack of Duracell for the whole year.
Answer: I am not familiar with battery specific supplies but I have worked with Uninterrupted Power Supplies, and I believe you can get solar ones.
I would also like to suggest you find one with a wall plug as well to assure reliability when it isn't generating power from solar.
The only concern then becomes can you find one small enough for a Pi? Most UPS are for desktops or servers, which may be greatly excessive. Whichever you choose, it must be able to supply the Pi whilst under load.
Another option you can look into kinda stems off of a project I did back near the end of highschool. Essentially, I disassembled a camping solar clock and a Nintendo DS charging cable and MacGyver'd them together. This proved to be fruitless as the DS received an inconsistent charge, was unable to keep up with the load. This would be another issue you may run into.
EDIT: As a quick search, I was able to pull this up too, which may interest you.
Answer: There is a variety of cheap solar powered 5V USB smart phone powerbanks offered at Ebay. Some of them hold a capacity of 50Ah or even 100Ah.
Those powerbanks include all neccessary functions in one easy installable device. I can't say how long it takes to charge one while under load of a Raspi nor do I know how long the last not beeing charged. But that's easy to measure. Simply power your Raspi by a fully loaded powerbank with a covered solar panel and wait for the Raspy to brown out. You may want to append a timestamp to a text file by cron every minute and afterwards read the file.
The powerbank may have to be installed outside the greenhouse to receive the full solar spectrum.

Powering Raspberry Pi 24/7


How can I repair the agitator on my hotpoint washer?

Question: Could anyone please advise me how to remove the agitator on a hotpoint washer model HTWP1200DOWW? The agitator is not spinning.
Answer: I found this doing a web search and think it will be helpful:
"5-5 AGITATOR
Most GE-designed washing machine agitators are not fastened to the shaft by any screws or bolts. To remove, simply tug upwards on the bottom of the agitator. There are exceptions; see "handwash" agitators below.
If you find that you cannot remove the agitator by pulling on it, try tapping the top of the agitator gently with a rubber or wooden mallet. If you still cannot remove the agitator, pry off the plastic cap in the center. Then cut out the little piece of plastic in the center of the hub with a knife; this will expose the top of the agitator shaft. (Figure GE-6)Hit it with a little WD-40 to loosen it.
GE-designed agitators have a removable rubber spline insert that connects the agitator to the transmission shaft splines (Figure GE-6.) If the splines are stripped, you can replace the whole agitator, or just the rubber spline insert.
Figure GE-6: Agitator Hub

To remove the insert, remove the plastic cap and cut out the center plastic piece as described above. Push out the old spline insert (it can be difficult.) To replace, put the new insert onto the top of the transmission shaft and push the agitator down onto it.
Hotpoint and JC Penney have a "handwash" agitator on some designs. The "handwash" agitator is actually a small agitator that fits inside the larger, main agitator.
The "handwash" agitator has a small screw underneath the metal disc on top of the agitator; make sure you remove it before trying to pull up on the "handwash" agitator. There are locking tabs that you must twist to remove the larger agitator from the smaller one.
Once the screw is removed, the "handwash" agitator should lift out easily. If not, tap with a rubber mallet a described above, or shoot some WD-40 into the screw hole."
Source: http://www.appliancerepair.net/washing-machine-repair-5.html


What is the desktop plugin for lotus same time chat agent?

Question: I have Lotus Notes and SameTime chat installed. I have heard that there is a desktop SameTime chat plug-in, which when installed, will enable me to open up the same time chat, without first opening the Lotus Notes mail client. Does anybody have any more information about this? If so, where can I download and install it from?
Answer: I believe you are looking for the standalone IBM Sametime client. With a Notes and Domino license you are entitled to use IBM Sametime Entry which includes the standalone Sametime desktop client: http://www-01.ibm.com/software/lotus/notesanddomino/additionalswentitlements.html
The IBM Sametime client is part of the IBM Sametime Entry package available on IBM Passport Advantage. This document can help with part numbers: http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg24029130
Comment: I have notes 8.5 . If i upgrade this one, will i be able to install the stand alone client ?
Comment: Yes, you can have both Notes and the standalone Sametime client installed.
Answer: Pidgin Instant Messenger has the ability to connect with the SameTime network, this could work as a standalone chat client.
Answer: You can run the standalone but if you are already using notes, you should use the internal one to save memory, since the standalone and notes both load a huge instance of the eclipse framework.


What are some techniques to solving for a nonlinear recurrence?

Question: If I have a list of numbers that isn't in OEIS, how would I go about determining if there's a relationship between these numbers in the form of a closed-form expression or nonlinear recurrence?
Answer: Some ideas that might help:
Find the first order differences, then the second order differences ... as many times as possible, depending on how many numbers you actually have, and look for a constant column. If you get a constant column of differences after some stage, then you have a polynomial.
If that fails, then try looking at the ratios of successive numbers. If they seem to be converging to a fixed real number, or appear to exhibit some pattern, such as oscillating, then you have something which might be something like a Fibonacci/Lucas sequence with a formula of the type $a^n+b^n$.
If the ratios of consecutive terms are increasing at an approximately constant rate, then you might have something like a factorial - or even a gamma function.
Alternatively, post the numbers here, and see if anyone on MSE can suggest a relationship.


Migration from Windows to Linux hosting

Question: I'm looking forward installing a CMS for my sites - most likely Joomla - but apparently Windows hosting doesn't support it. I was wondering what kind of changes I'd have to perform if I changed to Linux. It took me a long time to finally have the PHP form working and I wouldn't want to go all through that again. Aside from that and a Wordpress widget, I don't think I use any other code that would need tweaking.
Comment: Pardon me as i cannot comment yet. This maybe a better question for http://serverfault.com as well
Answer: In a standard linux (apache webserver) hosting environment it should be easier to get a php form and wordpress widget to work without tweaks. Without knowing what you did to make them work, it's difficult to answer your question. I've used hosts such as readyhosting.com that allow php to run on windows servers, but many hosts have better support for php based applications on linux hosting.
Overall, moving to a linux host for easy management of a cms system should outweigh whatever work it took to get your other items working on windows.
Answer: Windows supports Joomla because it supports PHP. However you may not find many hosts that have it as a pre-installed option. However a Google search turns up one that gives you instructions on how to install it on their hosting and so there may be others.
Answer: As the person above said, installing Joomla is possible in windows hosting account where php is supported. But you have to manually install it(download from Joomla, upload to site, config etc). Could be a pain.
Comment: I removed a link to a windows web host that supports PHP as it added nothing to your answer.
Answer: Windows hosting is not just for ASP.NET. You can use Apache, PHP, and MySQL very easily here.
This is the platform that the majority of developers use for PHP and MySQL (for example: mysql.com reported that 6-7 out of 10 downloads where for Windows builds, in 2009). And there is no reason why you can't get a Windows VPS, uninstall any control panel that comes with it or disable IIS, and use Apache + PHP + MySQL.
You could also use an all-in-one wamp package that will install this software for you.
There are free packages such as XAMPP and WampServer.
There are also commercial packages such as Wamp Developer, which installs Joomla for you automatically.

Migration from Windows to Linux hosting


What is the difference between living beings and dead matter according to scriptures?

Question: I am trying to understand from a spiritual point of view what distinguishes the dead from the living.
I read in Bhagavad Geeta 7.5 that there is an inferior and superior nature of the self. The superior living on the inferior.
But what exactly is the difference?
I am confused because this implies that only living beings such as humans, animals, cells, etc. have a soul and dead matter doesn't. But then in the Upanishads it is stated that the Self (Soul) is everything.
Comment: Only living beings have a soul, and material objects are dead. A soul is that what makes a living being live and conscious entity. So obviously inanimate objects do not have a soul. And that statement from the Upanishads doesn't mean that everything is living, but it just means that the Supreme soul has expanded itself into everything and has become this world, living beings, inanimate objects, etc, thus producing this whole world. Thus since the world has emerged from the Supreme soul and is an expansion of it, in some sense we can say the Supreme soul is this world and everything.
Comment: Onephys- I recommend starting with Madhava Vidyaranya's sarva darsana sangraha https://archive.org/details/Sarva-darsana-sangrahaOfMadhavacharya and http://www.sanskritebooks.org/2009/11/sarva-darsana-sangraha-of-madhavacharya/ . Specifically sankhya and vaiseshika discuss the physical aspects of the universe. Also read commentaries on Chandogya and lalita sahasra nama bhashyam, Specifically, commentary on the names "chicchaktischetana rupa jadassaktir jadatmika" Bhaskara raya's Lalita Bhashyam is the most authoritative.
Comment: Onephys- "Does that mean that I as a human being am one soul or a agglomeration of many souls of each and every cell? "  I can tell you that pursuing this question with vigor will result in viswa roopa sandarsanam. To address your original question : the difference is chaitanya or consciousness aka chitshakti. Yes, non-living entities are also distortions of the supreme but they are manifestations of jadashakti not chitshakti.
Comment: @moonstar2001 Thank you very much for your comment. Could you please refer me to literature (scriptures, commentaries, etc.) which talks about chitshakti and jadashakti. I am very keen on understanding this in depth. Thank you
Comment: It could be that every single cell of your body has a soul of their own, but you have nothing to do with that. Every soul is one individual, one living being, and you are just one such spiritual soul in your body responsible for your human body, while millions of other souls of your million cells are not living life of a human as you are, they just live as a cells of your body. Of course every soul got appropriate type of body according to his merits and demerits, ie karma, so it's not by chance that you got a human life, and other souls in your body got simple cell live to live.
Comment: Thank you very much for your comment. I have although one more question as a serious aspirant. It is said in BG 7.5 that the higher form of prakrti has taken the form of individual souls. Does that mean that I as a human being am one soul or a agglomeration of many souls of each and every cell?
Comment: I think you are looking at this from very abrahamic point of view.  Things do not have souls,  souls have things or rather purusha differentiates between prakriti and identifies with particular part of it because of maya and  past karmaphal.  Eg.  My intellect,  mind,  ego,  body,  chair,  laptop, table are all prakriti.  Me that is purusha is identifying with only some parts of this prakriti.  Purusha only identifies with those parts of prakriti which enable him to experience fruits of his past karma, so no chair,  laptop,  table etc.
Answer: First, your interpretation of verse 7.5 is almost there, but not quite, which leads to your confusion. It is best to read verses 4-7 together and not separately. Verse 4 refers to the apparent division of Brahman, the Self, when seen through Maya. According to Sankara's commentary on this verse, the elements referred to in the verse are the subtle elements and not the gross elements (Bhagavad Gita with the Commentary of Sankaracarya, Swami Gambhirananda translator). These are the apparent divisions of Mahamaya.
Verse 5 refers to the fact that it is really Brahman alone that is behind Maya and is the real cause and upholder of the universe. The two verses are meant to contrast that the perceiver of the universe, the individual jiva, is identified with the only real Perceiver of the universe, the universal Jiva, Brahman (verse 5); and that the universe being perceived is due to egoism, one of the eight-fold divisions of Maya referred to (verse 4). Sankara says in his commentary on this verse:

...By anankarah, egoism, is meant the Unmanifest, associated with (Cosmic) ignorance. As food mixed with poison is called poison, similarly the Unmanifest, which is the primordial Cause, is called egoism since it is imbued with the impressions resulting from egoism; and egoism is the impelling force (of all). It is indeed seen in the world, that egoism is the impelling cause behind all endeavor.

Verse 6 and 7 then tries to spell it out more succulently by stating that these two Prakritis are only Brahman.
To understand this more clearly, Sri Vidyaranya Swami says in his Pancadasi 15.7-8 (Swami Swahananda translator):

(Another Sruti says): 'The supreme Self, though one only, exists in every object. Like the moon reflected in water, though one It appears as many.' (Amrtabindu Upanishad 12.)
The moon which is reflected in water is faint in muddy water and clear in pure water. Similarly Brahman is two-fold according to the quality of the Vrittis (modification) of the mind.

Does this imply that only living things have souls and dead matter doesn't? Yes and no. Pancadasi 15.20 says:

Existence, consciousness, and bliss—these are the three-fold nature of Brahman. In objects like clay, stone, and so forth, only existence is manifest, whereas the other two are not.

And verse 23:

The two, absence of consciousness, and misery, and non-existence—these are the three forms of Maya. Non-existence is illustrated by such expressions as 'the horns of a man'; absence of consciousness is seen in such objects as wood, stone, etc.

What is consciousness and misery? These two are egoism, referred to in Gita verse 7.4. Without these two present, then you have only matter—stone, wood, etc. which are constituted from the other subtle elements referred to in the same verse.
Finally we read again in the Gita (9.4-5, Swami Gambhirananda translator):

This whole world is pervaded by Me in My unmanifest form. All beings exist in Me, but I am not contained in them!
Nor do the beings dwell in Me, Behold My divine Yoga! I am the sustainer and originator of beings, but My Self is not contained in all beings.

So Brahman pervades and sustains all, is omnipresent in all—but Brahman unmanifest remains separate from Maya. This is the eternal divine mystery.
Comment: @SwamiVishwananda Yes. I meant dead "gross" body. Can infer the same to rocks or sand particles? Does concept of "rebirth" apply to those things which have only "sat" without "chit" and "Ananda" (at Vyavaharika level only)?
Comment: @Swami Vishwananda Does concept of "rebirth" apply to those things which have only "sat" without "chit" and "Ananda"(like sand and stones(continuation of The Destroyers Qn....)? Also what sources would u recommend to read more about how Advaita explains consciousness, soul, rebirth/reincarnation and related concepts?
Comment: @devibhakt Feel free to disagree with any philosophy not just Advaita! It is generally considered the last level as one moves from duality(Dvaita) towards non-duality and many people often misinterpret the verses and misunderstand the interpretations due its difficult nature.Also right from birth we are heavily conditioned by Prakriti Devi to be attracted towards forms, so it is in-fact extremely hard to break the bonds of duality and completely understand Advaita. Sure i am also really interested in another perspective on this topic(highly interested in Tantra btw :) )!
Comment: How is consciousness egoism? After all, Nirguna Brahman is nothing but pure consciousness.
Comment: @ChinmaySarupria don't get it confused with the Western concept of egoism. See Sankara's definition of anankarah - egoism - as quoted above. It is the Unmanifest (Brahman) associated with Cosmic ignorance (maya).
Comment: btw, all living things are defined as bhutanam - possessing souls. See Chandogya Upanishad VI.3.1
Comment: Thanks for the answer. It was very informative. I am also reading Sankaracarya's commentary with Gambhirananda's translation. I am also curious in understanding what is meant by: "and by which this world is upheld." in BG7.5 What is meant by this upholding? It appears to me from the sloka that it is the individual souls which are upholding the world, meaning that sentient beings carry a special function. What is that?
Comment: upheld - sustained, same as in verse 9.5 quoted at the end above and also verse 10.42. He is the creator, sustainer, and destroyer. Vishnu, the sustainer.
Comment: @ Swami Vishwananda,minor  typing error observed-for ahankarah, "anankarah" is typed-paragraph as follows:-.By anankarah, egoism, is meant the Unmanifest associated with (Cosmic) ignorance.Thank you.
Comment: Swamiji, do you mean "Dead" have existence (sat) without Chit and Ananda (Consciousness and bliss)?
Comment: @TheDestroyer if by dead if you mean your gross material body, then your statement is correct. if by dead, you mean the subtle body that leaves the material body behind upon death, then no.
Answer: You're right that living beings have soul and dead matter hasn't. Let me clarify your following confusion:

But then in the Upanishads it is stated that the Self (Soul) is everything.

According to Upanishads and Brahma Sutra, Brahman (ब्रह्म) is निमित्तोपादान कारण (material & sufficient cause) for all the creation i.e all these are made from and made by Brahman.
Now when you're refereeing to the self (soul), there are two meanings:

Individual Self, also called Jivatma
Supreme self, also called Paramatma

And the verse you've mentioned (7.5) clearly say about Jiva (Individual soul) using jīva-bhūtāṁ.
You may find in many scriptures which say 'Only one fourth of Brahman makes up the world.' Aitareya, Taitteriya and Chhandogya Upanishad discuss how the world is made from (and by) Brahman.
Now, How the self (soul) is everything is explained with the help of Advaita and Vishishtadvaita Vedanta as follows:

According to Advaita, the Universe/World and the individuality of the self appears because of ignorance (अज्ञान)! and there is only one truth - Brahman (Supreme Self) (You may be aware of Advaita Sound : ब्रह्म सत्यं जगत् मिथ्या means  Brahman is the only truth, the world is unreal, and there is ultimately no difference between Brahman and individual self!)
You can read Vivkekachudamani (विवेकचूडामणि) verse 226-231 that demonstrate how everything is verily Brahman. And verse 241-249 states the non-duality of Atman (Individual Self) and Brahman (Supreme Self). Fore more explanation/understanding you can read Aparokshanubhuti.
And hence the clarification to your confusion is explained how the Self (Soul) is everything!

According to Vishishtadvaita, universe/world is real and created by and of/from Brahman (The Supreme Self). In other words, Brahman transforms one fourth of the self into creation as explained earlier. And talking about Jivatma (Individual Soul), Brahman (Supreme Self) dwells inside Jivatma (Individual Self). There is body-soul (Sharira-Shariri) relationship between world and Brahman and between Jivatma and Brahman.
So while talking about the Self (Soul) is everything, it should be  interpreted as the Supreme Self (not Individual Self). So, Brahman (Supreme Self) is everything because it is in world/universe as well as in Jivatma and everywhere outside them also.

The verses (You've mentioned in question) 7.4 and 7.5 talking about insentient (जड़) and sentient (चेतन) receptively and said are प्रकृति of Krishna which is explained with the help of Advaita and Vishishtadvaita above.

Conclusion: सर्व खल्विदं ब्रह्म । (Chhandogya Upanishad 3.14.1)