Heat water in two buckets using one immersion rod

Question: I use an immersion heating rod in a bucket to heat the water. The process takes around 10-15 minutes. I wish to heat another bucket full of water simultaneously when the water in the first bucket is getting heated-up. My purpose is to use a single immersion rod and heat two buckets at once. The process will definitely take double time but it is fine with me. Is there any way that I can use some coils or metal rods that if placed in the two buckets could transfer heat from one bucket and heat the water in another bucket also? Please suggest any other ways, approaches or materials to use.
Thanks.
Comment: @elliotdawes Being on-topic at another site is not a reason to close.
Comment: Can you not use a bigger vessel like a 40 litre trug, then fill your buckets from the trug when ALL the water is hot...?
Comment: This question might be better suited on the [Physics Stack Exchange](http://physics.stackexchange.com/)
Comment: While it's probably on topic here as @J.Musser notes, this would probably get a better answer from the Physics community.
Answer: Place two buckets into bathtub (or bigger container, but not too big) and place your heating rod inside bathtub/container.
Comment: That would take much longer, as you'll need 100-200 l of water in the bathtub.
Answer: Assuming that you want to do both buckets at once because you wish to avoid having to swap the heating rod between the two buckets:
The simplest way is to use a larger container that can hold at least as much water as both of the smaller buckets combined. That way, the water itself will serve the purpose of circulating the heat, and your two smaller buckets are at the ready for whenever you need them. If the larger bucket has a spout at the bottom (or some other simple way of getting the heated water out), then you can keep both smaller buckets at the ready and fill them when you need them.
Answer: Two buckets, two siphons full of water, one situated at the top of each bucket, and one situated on the bottom of each bucket insulated. put the heater in one of the buckets. As water is heated, it rises to both buckets because of the upper siphon that is full of water, and is replaced by colder water from both buckets because of the siphon connection at the bottom of both buckets, thereby heating both buckets at the same time, no connections, no leaks. Be sure to place the heater away from the siphon so that no bubbles get in the hose and break the siphon.
Comment: Siphoning in both directions between buckets?  That is a perpetual motion machine.
Answer: It might work just under very specific conditions, but here it goes:

you will need two buckets, one smaller than the other, and the smaller one has to be made of a conducting material (any non-painted metal would do, I guess).
Put the smaller bucket inside the bigger one, and fill both with water.  The smaller one will be filled like always, but the bigger one will be filled just in the sides, as it will contain the smaller one inside.
Put the immersion rod in the smaller bucket, and turn it on.
Once the water inside the smaller bucket is heated, it will start heating the water in the bigger bucket, as heat will be conducted through the metal.

Some heat might get lost during the procedure, mostly due to the metal used I guess.
Comment: Makes for a good heat transfer problem for my students! `:P`
Comment: Putting the small bucket inside the larger one is equal to just the larger one due to displacement. You'll increase the time for the heating by the mass of the smaller bucket in addition to the liquid. No?
Comment: Heat transfer from the inner bucket to the outer bucket will take a "lot of time". If we had the dimensions of the buckets and materials with which the bucket were made in addition to the wattage of the imm rod, we could actually figure out how long (~hours) it would take for the temperature to reach a certain value.
Comment: True, it will take more time than heating each bucket separately.  I was just looking for a way to heat both buckets, without having to move the immersion rob from one bucket to the other.
Answer: Obviously You want two buckets to get hot At once due to simultaneous usage of hot water during the same period of time. The Best method would be To fill Both buckets and leave the rod in one of the buckets. Once it heats up and is ready for usage quickly just change the rod to hang in the other bucket and use the hot water whilst the other person waits. Or If you really are desperate buying a second rod is a must. It would cost you a little more money but would make life a whole lot easier. Unfortunately connecting metal wiring and trying to get the rod connected to another bucket is too risky and you may get electricuted. Do not try Funny stuff when handling water and electricity.
Comment: -1 This answer ignores the question. It is neither heating the two buckents simultaneously nor using a single immersion heater.
Answer: I will assume you have two Home Depot style buckets of the same size that need to be heated at the same time and for the sake of not having to monitor, you want them to simultaneously heat until both are at about a heated equilibrium. Efficiency is also not a factor.
The hard way:
I seem to recall this exercise that should when scaled fit your purpose..if I recall it correctly.
You will need a 6-12" platform, a two fuel siphon hoses or equivalent garden hoses, clamps, and a weight of some sort in addition to your immersion rod and buckets.
Place the immersion rod in the lower bucket. Then place the first hose a couple (1-2") under water inches of each bucket. Then place the second hose laying sideways or 1" from the bottom of both buckets. Important for this to work when placing those hoses initially you have to have vacuum (water filled with pressure) in each hose.
The Easy Way:
Alternately you if want guaranteed circulation, I would just get electric utility pump, depending on purpose use of water a submersible utility / sump pump,  or one they sell to fit directly on top of the Home Depot style buckets, not if two pumps they need to have the same flow rate. They also sell ones specifically for recirculating/mixing ( 2x in / 2x out) so you don't need two pumps just one. This would allow you to for go / skip the elevation, maintaining vacuum, and whole physics hassle.
Answer: I think that the image will clarify your question connect two bucket via a tube. It will exchange cold and hot water in the buckets. The result is that both buckets of water will get heated.
Comment: Connecting the buckets makes one (weird shaped) bucket from the two and begs the question.
Comment: Without a second connection at the bottom, to enable a convection loop, this won't actually work over any reasonable time frame.  You'll get a thin layer of warm water in the second bucket, no more (absent stirring the indirectly heated bucket and waiting a *long* time).
Answer: If your immersion rod is waterproof, then you can macgyver your two buckets to be connected with a small hole and put your immersion rod with about an equal length in each bucket, so it heats up both buckets at once
Comment: For this answer to be useful it should include a description of how to create such a hole and prepare a waterproof seal that would resist the temperature rise.
Comment: Sorry, will do that once I get the chance
Answer:
Place the two buckets next to each other.
Take a length of copper wire, wrap this around the heating element several times. Remove the coil you've made from the heating element.
Wrap the other end of the copper wire around the heating element several times. Keep enough space between the two coils that you can dip one coil (on the heating element) in one bucket, and the other coil in the second bucket.
Repeat step 2 and 3 several times, so you end up with several coils of wire on the heating element, and several wires going from one bucket to the other. The more the better (increased heat transfer).

Of course, all proposed solutions ignore that it's much easier to heat one bucket, then the other. You spend far more time jury-rigging the buckets than you save by heating them at the same time. And if you're going to buy copper wire, it's probably cheaper to buy a 20-litre bucket instead.


What officially disallows US presidents from driving?

Question: Why can't the US president drive, officially? Or is it not official? What steps could be taken to allow this action.
Comment: That's nothing, [one Australian PM](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/oct/22/tony-abbott-bushfires) fought bushfires while he was PM, though some complained about what it'd mean for his security detail.
Comment: Of interest: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UM-Q_zpuJGU&t=17m23s, though not on public roads so probably doesn't count.
Comment: @DigitalTrauma also note at around [4:50](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UM-Q_zpuJGU&t=4m50s) and [18:15](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UM-Q_zpuJGU&t=18m15s) when they try to leave the grounds.
Comment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3p9y_OEAdc&t=11s as you can see here, GWB was not prohibited from driving either
Comment: It was reported that Lyndon Johnson would sometimes lead the Secret Service on a chase through the back roads of Texas.
Answer: Legally, nothing prevents the U.S. president from performing ordinary activities.
In practice, U.S. presidents try to avoid doing things (like driving) that make it harder for the Secret Service to protect the president. But if a president insists on doing something (such as riding a horse on a remote ranch, or cutting brush with a chainsaw on a large ranch), the Secret Service will accommodate him.  Where possible, arrangements will be made so that the president can perform his hobby (such as jogging) in a securable location (such as a custom-built White House jogging track, or a university athletic field). The Secret Service will even arrange for its agents to be trained in a hobby (such as horse-back riding) to be able to provide the best possible support for the president.
Also, there are benefits to a president from letting someone else drive. He can read through notes, make telephone calls, or sit back and relax. The driver will be a professional who knows how to handle a variety of emergency situations. Also, the driver can handle any worries about making the route unpredictable.
Comment: Will they accommodate a female president too? ;-) +1 (which takes you to 100 and your first Gold Answer badge. Congrats)
Answer: @Jasper's answer does a good job of explaining, but just to mention that the "no driving" rule also applies to Ex-Presidents.
From NBC:

That's because current and former presidents and vice presidents are not allowed to operate motor vehicles on the open road.
For security reasons, high profile government officials and former officials, like Barack Obama and Joe Biden, as well as both Bill and Hillary Clinton, have to rely on their appointed secret service teams, who are trained in "evasive and defensive driving maneuvers."
The assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963 was a turning point in this lifetime security requirement. Lyndon Johnson was the last president to drive on public roads.
Though the rule is not law, it's highly enforced by the secret service and all parties seem to adhere.

And a blurb from BBC

...US presidents and former presidents are not allowed to drive on public roads...

And miscellaneous quotes from current and former Presidents and Vice-Presidents:

Bush, 67, whose main residence now is in Dallas, auctioned the 2009 Ford F-150 King Ranch 4x4 SuperCrew for charity for $300,000 in January, saying in a statement that he hadn't driven on a public road for "many, many years." ...
Biden, 71, hasn't given up completely on the idea that he'll one day drive again. He owns a 1967 Chevrolet Corvette, a green convertible with a 327-cubic-inch engine and side exhaust pipes. He told "Car and Driver" magazine in 2011 that being banned from driving is "the one thing I hate about this job."
  ...
"One of the regrets I have about public life is that I can't drive anymore," Hillary Clinton told the National Automobile Dealers Association in January.  Bill Clinton has shared the same sentiment.
Comment: @DarrelHoffman To be fair, every road is her private road.
Comment: Meanwhile, I understand that the Queen of England drives all the time, and she's reportedly a demon behind the wheel, too.  (Though possibly not on public roads...)
Comment: @DarrelHoffman, indeed, not on public roads. And her consort surrendered his driving licence recently after an accident.
Answer: As BruceWayne points out, there's no law preventing the president from driving. It's just a really bad idea. If you watch the Zapruder film, you'll see why anybody driving the president needs split-second response times. JFK's armored car appears to slow down momentarily after the first shot is fired, which kept the president in the line of fire. Watch the Reagan shooting tape if you want to see how much the Secret Service improved in a few years. Every single agent knew exactly what to do, including throwing Reagan in the limo and driving fast to GW Hospital.
Comment: JFK's "armored car" wasn't exactly the safest vehicle to begin with, since it was an open-topped convertible, such that Kennedy and the other VIPs in the car were fully visible to (and unprotected from) the crowd.  The driver slowing down was the least of his problems...
Comment: @DarrelHoffman It wasn't that bad of a car. After the assassination, the Secret Service sent it back to the builder for a permanent roof and other upgrades, after which it went back into service. I saw it in Michigan.

Removing the roof was a last-minute decision based on the improving weather conditions in Dallas. A little rain would have changed history.
Comment: A little rain might have helped The Umbrella Man keep a lower profile… https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umbrella_man_(JFK_assassination)
Answer: Another reason to keep "important" people from driving is to keep them from having car accidents.  In February 1977, Rene Levesque, then premier of the province of Quebec (in Canada) was driving home from a late night poker game.  He hit a homeless person on the road, killing him.  That was the last time a Quebec premier was allowed to drive.
Ref: https://beverlyakerman.blogspot.com/2012/11/quebec-corruption-lets-not-forget-rene.html
The best quote from that posting:

"Quebec is the only place in the world where it is the victim who is given the blood test," a former provincial Liberal minister dryly commented.
Comment: I don't know whether a governor of a state in the U.S. is an "important" person, but when the eccentric Rudy Perpich was governor of Minnesota, there were several occasions when he went missing and nobody knew where he was. On each such occasion he had driven, alone, to some location within the state that was some hours drive from the capital (i.e. from St. Paul). It wasn't like that time when the governor of South Carolina drove alone to Atlanta and flew to Argentina after telling people he would be hiking in a national park in Georgia.
Comment: Another "important" person who recently had a car accident was the Duke of Edinburgh.
Comment: A buddy of mine claims he was almost ran over by the late John McCain while riding his bicycle in Washington DC. McCain was in his late 70s at the time.


Open-source fonts visually similar to FF Fago or Neo Sans Intel

Question: Are there open-source fonts visually similar to FF Fago or Neo Sans Intel (used on intel.com website and also Intel manuals (small example))?
Answer: From a quick visual check:

FF Fago: Adobe Source Sans Pro
Neo Sans Intel: Latin Modern Sans

Note that I didn't do a detailed comparison (didn't check letter spacing in particular); those are just what comes to my mind and seem relatively similar. If you are looking for specific font features / characteristics, please specify them.
Answer: I would use "Ubuntu" to replace the "NeoSans".
To replace "Fago" I would use "Aller".
They're both designed by The Dalton Maag Font Foundrie.
The first one, "Ubuntu", is free to use and you can download it from  http://www.google.com/fonts/.
The second one is free, but only up to 25 users, and you can download it here: http://www.daltonmaag.com/buyonline/sans/aller.


How can I convert an FAA pilot's certificate to a Canadian one?

Question: What do I have to do to obtain a Canadian pilot's license if I already have an FAA one?
Answer: Transport Canada has all the information here for each FAA license type (and type ratings); the necessary forms and contacts are here. These are the basic requirements for a private pilot, for example:

6.1 Conditions for Conversion - Private Pilot – Aeroplane.
(1) Must hold an FAA Private airman certificate with airplane category and
  class rating(s).
(1) Age: Must be at least 17 years of age.
  (2)
  Medical fitness: Must hold either a Category 1 or Category 3 TCCA
  medical.
  (3) Knowledge: Must pass the Conversion - Private Pilot
  Licence – Aeroplane, (FAAPA) written examination on air laws and
  communications. Must be able to read, write and communicate in English
  or French.
  (4) Experience: Must provide proof of a minimum of 45
  hours pilot flight time.
  (5) Skill: No additional practical flight
  test is required.
Comment: Is "*either* English or French" what is intended?
Comment: "Read, write and communicate in French." That'll probably catch a lot of Americans out... :/
Comment: If they meant "English and French," that is what they would have written. I'm surprised at this, however: you could only get away with speaking French in Quebec, where ATC are bilingual. Seems to me English should be required for a national certification.
Answer: If anyone came here like me looking for the ability to just rent in Canada once in a while, You can go here and fill out the form. Apparently it only takes 2 days and costs $45 to get the Foreign License Validation Certificate.
You have to actually go to a Transport Canada office, which is a huge inconvenience if you aren't in one of the few Canadian cities that has one, but when you do go it's pretty straight forward, and your license validation lasts for a year.


Inno Setup : Stack Overflow or Super User?

Question: Inno Setup is used to create installation packages using a script. If I have a question on Inno Setup, should I go to Stack Overflow or Super User?
Answer: I believe it's better suited to Stack Overflow.  Super User is for end-users and computer enthusiasts; some scripting questions are appropriate, but if you're packaging a development project it seems a little outside of SU's scope.
Answer: I'd say if it is asking how to code the script, then it's StackOverflow.
However, if it's how to workaround or otherwise install an existing package (i.e. it doesn't involve recompiling the installation package) it's SuperUser.


What does "What price [noun]?" mean?

Question: I've come across phrases like "What price freedom?" a lot. I speak British English and it doesn't read nicely to me. It seems some words are missing. Does it mean "What is the price of X?"? Where did this phrase originate from and why is it used in this way?
Comment: [A related question by me](http://english.stackexchange.com/q/208536/48335), asked in Nov 2014.
Comment: As an aside, and because no one else has mentioned this useful terminology, this is a fixed phrase for what is known as a "a Pyrrhic victory".
Answer: Various dictionaries have different things to say.

What price [fame/success/victory etc.]?
something that you say which means it is possible that the fame, success etc. that has been achieved was not worth all the suffering it has caused
What price victory when so many people have died to make it possible?

(Cambridge Idioms Dictionary, 2nd ed.)

price [...]
what price (something)? what are the chances of (something) happening now?

(Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged)

What price something?
What is the value of something?; What good is something? (Said when the value of the thing referred to is being diminished or ignored.)
Jane's best friend told us all about Jane's personal problems. What price friendship? Jack simply declared himself president of the political society. What price democracy?

(McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs)

what price ——? used to ask what has become of something or to suggest that something has or would become worthless : what price justice if he were allowed to go free?

(New Oxford American Dictionary 2nd edition, from OS X)
Apart from Collins's strange definition, it seems that the general meaning of "what price X?" is "what's the value of X?" (not "what's the price of X", in the modern sense of price).
As for how it came to be, my wild speculation of the day is that it could have been used grammatically in an anaphoric expression, eg What price is freedom to us if we tolerate this tyranny? What price justice? etc.
Comment: I like the anaphoric experssion theory.  Yes, that could well have happened.
Answer: The New Oxford American Dictionary says:

what price ——? used to ask what has become of something or to suggest that something has or would become worthless: what price justice if he were allowed to go free?

Unfortunately, it doesn't give an origin for this specific expression.
Comment: I presume it is elliptic for "At what price?", which is grammatically normal.
Answer: The aim of this post is to at least attempt to explain and answer, in part, the OP's second question. Namely:

Where did this phrase originate from and why is it used in this way?

The origins
of the catch phrase or idiom is somewhat disputed
In The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English: J-Z; its author, Eric Partridge, claims:

what price...?
  consider the worth of something!; what do you think of something?
UK. 1893
  Occasionally admiring, but generally sarcastic, in reference to a declared or well-understood value

However, according to The Yale Literary Magazine (1925) it all began with the 1924 Broadway comedy-drama play, What Price Glory?, which was made into a silent movie two years later.

"WHAT PRICE GLORY?", I suppose, started it and set the idiom. And then came the long
  string. . . What Price Popularity, What Price Athletic Commercialism,
  What Price Monogamy, What Price Mahogany Chairs, What Price What-
  and-what-not?

Source: Google Books
The Broadway play and film were both a huge success; it permitted one of its authors, Maxwell Anderson, to leave teaching and journalism in order to begin a long and successful career as a professional playwright. In fact, if one looks at the biographies of the two playwrights it becomes clear where the inspiration for the play title came from.

Maxwell Anderson
He became the principal of a high school in Minnewaukan, North Dakota, also teaching English there, but was fired in 1913 for making pacifist statements to his students. [...] he became chairman of the English department at Whittier College in 1917. He was fired after a year for public statements supporting Arthur Camp, a jailed student seeking status as a conscientious objector. Anderson moved to Palo Alto to write for the San Francisco Evening Bulletin, but was fired for writing an editorial stating that it would be impossible for Germany to pay off its war debt.

Laurence Stallings
[...] he joined the United States Marine Reserve himself in 1917. He was assigned to active duty and arrived in France in time to participate in the fighting at Château-Thierry, where he was wounded in the leg in the Battle of Belleau Wood. After begging the doctors not to amputate, he came home to spend two painful years recuperating (He later damaged it with a fall on the ice, and it was amputated in 1922.

Meaning
Because it is recognized as being an idiom,  What price _NOUN__? does not have to comply with the semantic and grammatical rules of everyday English. The idiom in its entirety carries the meaning. Idioms are not meant to be deconstructed nor the order of their words changed. If you do so, you change their figurative meaning. Take for example the idiom rise and shine, although we can physically 'rise' from our beds, we cannot shine—that verb is used as a metaphor.
Therefore one could consider the idiomatic phrase What price freedom? to convey a literal, figurative and metaphorical meaning. Or more simply, regard it as a figure of speech, which Wikipedia defines

A figure of speech is figurative language in the form of a single word or phrase. It can be a special repetition, arrangement or omission of words with literal meaning, or a phrase with a specialized meaning not based on the literal meaning of the words.

What price [is] freedom?
[At] what price [does] freedom [come]?
What [is the] price [we pay for] freedom?

The above phrases can be summarised by the Cambridge Dictionaries' definition: something that you say which means it is possible that the fame, success etc. that has been achieved was not worth all the suffering it has caused.
Google Books shows how the formula What price + noun has been used (with some curious choice of expressions) in the American English corpus since the 1920s
Answer: One possibility is that the phrase gained traction as being a very concise, and yet grammatically valid sentence.  Consider the following exchange:

Tom: I bought some medicine for you, it should help.
Harry: What strength medicine?
Tom: Very strong; it's supposed to act fast.

The phrase "What strength medicine?" is grammatically valid, and is being used to enquire about how strong the medicine.  In the same way, one could technically see the phrase "What price freedom?" as a grammatically valid sentence.
That said, in this form, the noun (medicine/freedom) being referred to should already have been mentioned.  There should also be more than one instance of it, such that it can have different strengths/prices/etc.  As 'freedom' is generally considered an abstract concept and there aren't multiple 'freedoms', and given that this construction is frequently used as an article heading or something, it looks much more like it's being used as a lazy way to say "What is the price of freedom?"
Why this has taken root I have no idea, and would be interested in knowing who started it.  It always grates on me and I don't see why people seem to find it natural to elide various words in this instance in order to shorten the sentence at the expense of valid grammar.
Answer: it's a misattribution to Thomas Jefferson but the earliest quote that probably has that comment is from Philpot Curran in his speech on Right of Election in 1790 (published in a book titled "Speeches on the late very interesting State trials" in 1808)".:

"It is the common fate of the indolent
  to see their rights become a prey to
  the active. The condition upon which
  God hath given liberty to man is
  eternal vigilance; which condition if
  he break, servitude is at once the
  consequence of his crime and the
  punishment of his guilt."

The sense is that "the price of freedom is eternal vigilance".
It could also be a reference to a quote by Friedrich Nietzsche

"The individual has always had to
  struggle to keep from being
  overwhelmed by the tribe. To be your
  own man is a hard business. If you try
  it, you'll be lonely often, and
  sometimes frightened. But no price is
  too high to pay for the privilege of
  owning yourself."

What does "What price [noun]?" mean?


barre chords versus power chords or simplified chords

Question: I learned barre chords many years ago, when I was learning guitar. It seemed at the time there was no other option, or perhaps I never ran across other options.
Now that I have taken up my guitar again, I see power chords and "half" barre chords everywhere. Is it because full barre chords are difficult, or is there an advantage of those ones over full barre chords (besides simplicity)?
Answer: From my experience, half barre chord and simplified chord leave some of your fingers free and you will have flexibility to add some more harmony to the play. Beside, sometimes you don't want too much ringing note: maybe it will be too thick and noisy for your play, so you ignore some of them by play half barre/simplified chord. This is also an explanation for the use of power chord, when you play with distortion sound, the sound will be horrible if you play a chord with many notes are played at the same time
Of course, another reason is it is much more easier to get used to, compare to full barre one
Answer: You can strum 6-string chords, and this may often require a full barre.  But, as you discover the possibilities of guitar playing, that's very likely what you'll do LEAST!  Just as a pianist rarely plays 10 or 12-note chords, you'll play a variety of textures.  No point in a full barre if you're only going to play 2 notes.  It's not really about being 'easier'.  Just about doing what the music requires.
Comment: Thank you everyone for taking the time to answer, as I have been discovering this second time around by learning some music theory, there so much more to playing guitar than I ever thought! i am on a wonderful ride
Answer: Not really, the "power chord" is not there for simplicity (even though they do seem easy).  They are somewhat harmonically ambiguous.  In rock and more specifically metal, the 3rd and other tones add too much texture to the rhythm section.  Sometimes the root motion can be intricate enough and playing the 5th and octave allows one to create a powerful sound using parallel harmony with tones that have common harmonics.
The 1 and 5 share many overtones that support each other and help create a resonance.  This literally adds to the power of the acoustic signal.  In some cases guitarists may play power chords out of laziness but they serve a purpose on modern music.
The half barre chord is used a lot in classical guitar along with open strings, either explicitly or via resonance, to create a full sound.
Answer: 'Power chords' are easier to play, there's no doubt there! Especially when the bottom is tuned to D! But, they have become part of some styles of music, and actually need to be there for that reason.
Full barre chords? For many decades in bands I would pretty well always use them - depending on the make up of the rest of the band. However, on guitar there are many of the 'more advanced' chords that don't lend themselves to being played with all six strings. Mainly due to voicing and not being physically able to reach all the notes required.
Another good reason to only play three or four notes from certain chords is complementing the other players. The 'less is more' syndrome!
As already mentioned, playing with distortion means using fewer notes, as the harmonics highlighted by the distortion will only make big chords sound muddy.
If you are the only guy playing, and rhythm guitar is what's needed, why not play full barre chords if you can?


Road trip from UK to Romania & Mobile Data

Question: I'm doing a road trip from UK to Romania this summer but I don't have a GPS. I'm looking to use Google Maps on my iPhone. How could I get mobile data (I have a UK mobile)? I of course would like to avoid roaming charges but would it really mean I'd have to get a SIM card for every country I'm going through? Or is there perhaps another way of doing it?
Comment: Either wait until 2017 when EU rules ban roaming charges within the EU, or get a sim with Three, who also don't charge for roaming within the EU (also US, Canada and others)
Comment: I called Three and was surprisingly told that Tesco Mobile (my provider actually!) actually has free roaming this summer. :)
Answer: There are various offline map solutions for iOS. I use ones based on openstreetmaps such as osmAnd. With these types of apps, you can download maps for the areas you intend to visit either before hand or at places where wifi access is available. Search the app store for "offline maps" to see other possibilities.
Comment: +1 for osmAnd.  I use it all over the globe without data connectivity.  It is not quite as detailed as Google for the really tiny obscure roads, but has plenty enough to get off the beaten path.
Answer: For mobile data - as of the 30th April 2016, by EU law, you can only be charged a small excess (+ €0.05 /mb) on what you would normally pay. From 15th June 2017, this will advance further to not additional charge from what you would normally pay. It isn't clear to me if this includes included minutes, texts and data allowances as part of a monthly contract or top-up incentives however. So if you're happy with those prices, you could use your existing contract.
Alternativley, you could seek out a mobile provider that already treats all of the EU as the same as the UK with no raming charges. Three is the best known of these in the UK (and they cover more than just the EU!), however a quick google search (and your comment) indicates that Tesco Mobile also offer this service.
Of course, @Berwyn's suggestion of just downloading the maps before you go is also useful.
Comment: I don't believe Three offers no roaming charges for the EU at the moment. Looking at their website I see a list of 19 countries for which there aren't any additional charges, but of those 19 at least half of them are not part of the EU. Perhaps I've overlooked it?
Comment: http://www.three.co.uk/Support/Roaming_and_international/Roaming_abroad


How does activated carbon bind the adsorbate?

Question: I read some articles and journals about activated carbon and found a problem about how the adsorbate could bind to the activated carbon. Some said it is because of intramolecular forces (van der Waals) and some said it is because of chemisorption. If chemisorption plays a role, what would the bonding be?
And if the bonding is just caused by intramolecular forces, what is the active site of the activated carbon? An answer or illustration for better understanding is greatly appreciated.
Answer: Activated carbon works by enlarging the surface area of elemental carbon. Activated carbon can reach surface areas of several hundred square meters to several thousand square meters per gram. Also elemental carbon is fairly non reactive, non toxic and cheap.

As seen in the picture, activated carbon forms a micro structure with incredibly small pores, so that many molecules can be adsorbed (the forces involved decrease with a factor $1/r^{6}$ with distance). The adsorption itself is an application of the London dispersion force (one of the Van der Waals forces).
I don't believe chemisorption has anything to do with this.
Answer: Chemisorption means chemical reaction occurs during absorption process, and any bond type other than intermolecular forces (dipole-dipole, H-bond, Van Der Waals) is possible. Activated carbon absorb using intermolecular forces, and I do not think it is chemisorption. The absorption is strong because the surface area is huge, not because of any real chemical bonds.
Comment: Not all solid can have such a big surface area like activated carbon. Sulfur for example as find powder do absorb but it is reactive, and not as cheap as activate carbon. If you do a search, there are a lot of physical absorbent that utilize intermolecular forces to absorb. Activated carbon is just the most commonly used one.
Comment: So what inter-molecular force is responsible? And why carbon and not sulfur for example? I think if you discuss these points too, this would greatly improve your answer.


Value of a certain integral

Question: How to find the value of the integral
$$
\int_o^{\infty} \! \frac{x^8}{1+x^4+x^6+x^{10}} \, \mathrm{d}x
$$
given to be $\frac{1}{12}(3\sqrt{2}-1) \pi$ by WolframAlpha and, in general, is there a procedure to find the value of the definite integral of a rational function of the form $\dfrac{x^l}{p(x)}$ where $deg(p) > l > 1$ from $0$ to $\infty$ ?
Comment: Every real polynomial can be factored into at most quadratic terms, every such fraction can be split into partial fractions (uniquely) and every fraction with at most quadratic denominator can be integrated.
Comment: What do you mean by "such integrals" - what would the general form be?
Comment: I think he means rational functions
Answer: You can type it in here to find the answer to the problem,
http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=int_0%5Einf+%5Cfrac%7Bx%5E8%7D%7B1%2Bx%5E4%2Bx%5E6%2Bx%5E10%7Ddx
In general, these types of integral problems are generally tackled with "the calculus of residues". Marsden - Basic Complex Analysis - Chapter 4 - Page 296, gives a lovely table for these kinds of problems. For example, if $\deg(Q(x))\ge 2+\deg(P(x))$ then,
$$\int_{-\infty}^\infty \frac{P(x)}{Q(x)} dx = 2\pi i \cdot \sum\left(\text{residues in $H^+$}\right)+\pi i \cdot\sum\left(\text{residues on $\mathbb{R}$}\right).$$ I don't know of any general methods that don't use residue theory.
Comment: $H^+$ is the upper half plane. That is, $$H^+=\{x+yi:y>0\}$$
Comment: Thanks for the reference. What is $H^+$ though ?
Answer: For the given integral, the denominator can be factored so you get
$1+x^4+x^6+x^{10}=1+x^4+x^6(1+x^4)=(1+x^4)(1+x^6)$.
Then, using partial fractions you can split the denominator
$\dfrac{x^8}{(1+x^4)(1+x^6)}=\dfrac{x^2+1}{2(1+x^4)}+\dfrac{x^4-x^2-1}{2(1+x^6)}$
Which gives you two solvable (although challenging) integrals. In general, this would be my approach to solving any integral of the given form, but if it failed I would probably try using a series to approximate the functions and integrate term by term.
Answer: You can apply the residue theorem; in this case, the integrand is even and therefore may be extended to the entire real line.  You may show, then that the integral over the real line is equal to
$$\oint_C dz \frac{z^8}{z^{10}+z^6+z^4+1} $$,
where $C$ is a semicircle of radius $R \to \infty$ in the upper half plane, which, in turn, is equal to $i 2 \pi$ times the sum of the residues of the poles inside $C$.  The poles inside $C$ turn out to be
$$z_1=e^{i \pi/6}$$
$$z_2=e^{i \pi/4}$$
$$z_3=e^{i \pi/2}$$
$$z_4=e^{i 3 \pi/4}$$
$$z_5=e^{i 5 \pi/6}$$
The original integral is therefore
$$i \pi \sum_{k=1}^5 \frac{z_k^5}{10 z_k^6+6 z_k^2+4 } $$

Value of a certain integral


The meaning(s) of 차돌?

Question: I heard this sentence today '따님을 차돌같이 잘 키우셨어요'. I've only ever know 차돌 being a type of meat, but looking around on the internet I've found several more meaning of this word including 'quartz', 'marble' and 'shrewd person'. I can only assume that in this example the person was referring to the latter, but can I check if 차돌 has these meanings and if '차돌같이' is used often as 'set phrase'? Thanks in advance.
Answer: '따님을 차돌같이 잘 키우셨어요' In this sentence, the meaning of 차돌(chadol) is

The man of firm[steady](on the good side) character
The man who always prepares something and can hardly do mistake

'차돌' is not commonly used. It is very old expression. :)
But if someone uses this word, it will look very smart(The man have good vocabulary).
Comment: If someone uses this expression, I would think they are not smart but just very old. I can't imagine anyone under 60 using this expression.

The meaning(s) of 차돌?


Locking Xbox 360

Question: To make a long story short, I need to lock my Xbox when I'm away from the house to prevent my youngest sibling from getting into it on the occasions he's left home alone.  Is there a way to lock it so that he can't use it?  I searched through settings on the console but found nothing to indicate a way to lock it, such as a password required to boot.  Obviously I could do something like take the power brick but I want to check for a better way.
Comment: If you want to make sure he doesn't play your games set up a family setting. So your child has to put in a password every time he wants to play.
Answer: Nope, there's no trivial way to software-lock the use of the Xbox 360 short of modding it. Taking the brick or AV cable is probably your best bet.
Comment: Looks like I'll be taking the brick then.  I was hoping the Xbox would have something similar to a boot password but that was probably asking a little much.
Comment: @sommerjj It may, but if it does the Xbox's security model doesn't allow us to access it—that's why accessing that kind of thing would require modding.
Answer: Set up a parental control passphrase and set the lowest ranked game that he can play to EC (Early Childhood). This worked for my brothers when I was younger and needed to go do something. Just dont make the code ABXY and you should be fine. Although, taking that brick is ultimately the end all, be all of security.
Comment: It's honestly easier just taking the brick, (or just the cord that comes off the brick) than trying to set that up and having to undo it and put it back on constantly when I use it.
Comment: Ironically Netflix wasn't around then so I have not tested the applications side of this but I'm sure you can limit the play time etc.

Locking Xbox 360


How much should I feed my puppy?

Question: I have a Havanese-Maltese mixed puppy that is 14 weeks old and weighs 3.5 pounds.  I have been feeding her 1/4 of Blue a day.  Every time I fill her bowl up, she devours the food.  Should I increase the amount of food I give her to a 1/2 cup?  Any help is appreciated.
Comment: Blue? What's that?
Comment: Is that a wet or dry food?
Comment: Dry food.  The breeder we bought the puppy off of was giving her Purina Puppy Chow dry food, and we wanted to make the transition as soon as possible.
Comment: http://www.bluebuffalo.com/ is the main link... and this is the link to my specific brand. [My Dog Food](http://bluebuffalo.com/dog-food/lp-puppy-small-breed-chicken?pf=1&lifestage=puppy&breedsize=small&type=dry&animal=dog)
Answer: There are a lot of generalized guidelines for what to feed your dog, and how often.   It is best to look at the directions of the food you are feeding for their recommendations, and overall to make sure you are feeding them a healthy brand of food, without any unhealthy fillers like corn or wheat.
From
Dog Breed Info (for adult dogs):

Although it differs by weight and age of the puppy, feeding patterns are important as well (feeding at different times of the day, instead of all at once):

Puppies should be fed three to four times a day therefore if you are currently feeding ¾ a cup of puppy food twice a day you should consider spacing it out by feeding ½ cup three times a day. Smaller meals are easier to digest for the puppy and energy levels don't peak and fall so much with frequent meals.

It also depends on your dog's body condition:

It is important to be able to judge your dog's body condition score in order to determine how much food you should give.  The recommendations on the labels are guidelines only and will not apply to every dog. You may need to feed a little more or less depending on your dog's condition score. Ideally you should be able to feel but not see the ribs and by looking straight down at your dog while she is standing there should be a recognizable waist. Ask your veterinarian if your dog is at a healthy weight during your next visit and ask for example of body condition scores.

Although these resources are helpful, they are also generalized, and the best way to see exactly what you should be feeding your dog is to discuss this with your veterinarian during your next check-up, as they will be able to correctly assess your puppy's condition and subsequent nutritional needs.
Answer: The best way to really tell is by feeling your dog. Until you have some experience with it you can ask a dog trainer, groomer, breeder or your vet for some help... just let them know you want an honest answer and don't take it personally if they say your dog is a little on the heavy or light side. I have had a lot of people ask but then be a little hurt when I have to tell them. I have also had groomers and vets tell me they wont tell someone when their dog is overweight because the risk that they will loose that person's business is to high.
The good thing is that with a little practice it is fairly easy to tell if your dog is within a good weight range. When you feel your dog you should be able to easily find their ribs but not their hip bones as easily. This will greatly depend on the dogs breed, with some breeds like Italian greyhounds and Vizsla you should be able to see their ribs but with a pug you shouldn't. What I typically ask people to try is feeling their own ribs and paying attention to if they can easily find them to count them. Think about your physical health and then compare how that feels to how their dogs ribs feel. Another good rule of thumb is to feel the back of your hand, that is about what your dog's rib cage should feel like.
It can also be helpful to look at images of dogs. You should see a well defined waist but you should not see hip bones. Like I said earlier for some breeds you should also see ribs. It sounds like you have a breed that will be easier to judge by feel than looks though.
For puppies it can be a little harder because when they are very young they have less muscle tone so at times they will feel a little more ribby than an adult or a little more "plush" if they are just about to go through a growth spirt. Their needs change as they go through periods of growth. The directions on the bag are just a VERY rough guideline. For example, I have three dogs that are between 38 and 44 LBS and one eats half of what the other two eat... she has a different energy level and just processes the food differently just like people do.
Many puppies also go through periods where they don't really want to eat as much as they used to. This can mean that they are teething and it isn't comfortable to eat dry kibble or it can mean they just need less food because their growing at a different rate.  If this happens, add a little water to the food and let it get just a little soft to see if they eat better. If they do then it's probably just sore gums from teething.
In my experience, most pet dogs are overweight but that may or may not hold true outside of the US. So, even though your question didn't specifically ask about the risks...Overweight puppies can grow faster than they are really supposed to and this can cause structure issues and injuries in adulthood. Overweight adult dogs will have shorter life spans because they are prone to issues like hip dysplasia and diabetes. If you have an overweight dog you also have to be careful not to suddenly take them on long hikes or other activities that they are not physically fit enough to do or you will risk injury.
Answer: For new dog owners, it is often very confusing to decide how much should they feed their pet. Here are some guidelines that will help you decide:
1- As you are currently feeding Blue 1/4 a day. I suppose it's one time in a day. You may increase it to 2 times in a day. See the reaction of the puppy and slowly and gradually make it 3-4 times a day. It would be best if you can consult a vet in this regard.
2- Take a note on the amount of calories you feed your pup. If you are feeding it 100 calories per portion, 3 times a day then it makes it 300 calories.
3- A proper mix of dry and wet food should be given. I prefer feeding dry food throughout the day in small portions. But, as said before, make a note of calories.
4- How much to feed your dog depends on the weight and size of your dog. Also, the activity level of your dog plays a key role in deciding the amount of calorie intake. Hyper active dog will need more calories as compared to non active dog. (Source: http://www.petsworld.in/blog/puppy-feeding-tips-for-new-dog-owners.html)
5- Dog food advisor offers an useful dog food calculator - http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-feeding-tips/dog-food-calculator/, you might try that too!
Hope this helps.
Answer: As an anecdotal answer: don't react too quickly to your puppy willingness to eat quickly or lack of interest in eating his food quickly.
My little boy has been eating extremely quickly from 2 to 3.5 months then was much slower and he's now back to the fast food drive-through mode.
If you try to adapt too quickly you're likely to create more weight problem. It is normal for the puppy to change his eating style over time.
Follow your vet and food brand guidelines and the good rules from this answer.
At 14 weeks your puppy should be fed at least twice a day and preferably three times a day.

How much should I feed my puppy?


How Tor handles cookies?

Question: Could you explain to me how Tor handles cookies? Thing is that these cookies can carry any and all information about my computer. Things such program details, length and count of every single session on my computer can be transferred directly to the company's web site regardless of how anonymous I am? What I am asking is: Should I still avoid going to the web sites of the companies which software I'm using (without logging in of-course) or not?
Answer: In general Tor Browser saves the cookies which come from the originating site and deletes them when you close the browser. You can also click on "New Identity" which will also delete all your cookies.
You can find out about the cookie behaviour when you enter about:config into the URL bar and search for the term "cookie".
One of the central points is the setting Network.cookie.cookieBehavior. This controls how the browser allows cookies. Currently it is set to 1 which means "Only cookies from the originating server are allowed".
Furthermore Network.cookie.lifetimePolicy is set to 2 which means that cookies are deleted at the end of the session.
The developers of Tor Browser have a design document where they describe their policy regarding cookies and other tracking technologies. You'll find further details there.
Answer: No, by default Tor Browser allows cookies.
If you disable cookies you will look different from most other Tor Browser users, this means you will be in a smaller anonymity set and therefor less anonymous.
Instead you should use Tor Browser's "New Identity" button located under the Tor Button (Green Onion) menu. This will clear state associated with your current browsing session and unlink your browser from any previous browsing, including any cookies that have been set.
Furthermore, cookies are an integral part of many websites functionality and disabling them will potentially cause unexpected breaks in normal website functionality, for example: the ability to login to a website.
Cookies are only one of the myriad ways in which websites can influence browser state to track you, disabling them will harm your usability, anonymity set and in doing so won't stop websites from being able to track you.
For more information read The Design And Implementation of the Tor Browser.
Answer: Cookies can only contain data that the site put there. All they can 'find out' about you is that you are the same as before.
Tor Browser clears cookies on shutdown.
Answer: Yes. Leaving less tracks = being more anonymous

How Tor handles cookies?


Running cron job CiviCRM on Drupal in the CPanel

Question: I am trying to configure the CiviCRM file "sites/all/modules/civicrm/bin/cron.php" to be run as a cron job.  If I paste the url:
https:// domain.com/sites/all/modules/civicrm/bin/cron.php?name=username&pass=password&key=key
in to the web browser, with the username, password and key specified then the cron.php is triggered.
But if I create a cron entry via the CPanel and define the command as:
/usr/local/bin/php /home/username/domain/sites/all/modules/civicrm/bin/cron.php?name=username&pass=password&key=key
then the cron job is not triggered.
If i try:
/usr/bin/wget https://domain/sites/all/modules/civicrm/bin/cron.php?name=username&pass=password&key=key
then the cron job is equally not triggered.
Any ideas what the issue might be?  Or what else i could try to get it to run?
At the moment I do not have access to server logs so can't see what is causing the issue.
Answer: I appear to have resolved the issue with the help of the thread at Cron job with shared hosting CPanel
The issue was related to missing backslashes after the username and the password.
/usr/bin/wget https://domain/sites/all/modules/civicrm/bin/cron.php?name=username\&pass=password\&key=key


Should I start writing a paper early or after all research is finished?

Question: I am working on research that will lead to a paper. The research isn't finished but I've finished enough that I have a good idea of what the basic idea of what the paper will say and look like. Is it better to start writing the paper now and make revisions as my research progresses or is it better to finish the research, have firm conclusions already in place, and then start writing?
Comment: I suspect the answer will turn out to vary a lot from author to author. In general, you need to have enough of an idea of whether the research is going to be able to optimally fashion your work as a story -- but the process of writing the paper can often usefully help to steer the ongoing work.
Comment: I think this is an opinion question. Some folks like to maintain the paper as they work through the research,  others prefer to just take lab notes and turn them into a paper when they know what the results are. Either works; do what makes sense for you.
Comment: You should write up an outline and/or flow chart to give yourself an idea of how exactly you want to frame the paper. Having a game plan before you start writing will keep you from scrapping the paper and starting over from scratch. Always remember to think like an outsider. A way of writing the paper which might make sense for you might not make sense for an external reader.
Comment: In my experience, it's often not possible to have firm conclusions without writing things down (or up).
Comment: Is the main purpose of the paper a) to check the validity of your emerging conclusion, or b) to get the word out on a conclusion you believe to be correct, or c) to help firm up the phrasing and structure of your thesis (or d) for pragmatic career purposes like getting published and cited and building your reputation)? If a) you found it was incorrect, how likely is that to totally upset your research?
Answer: The concept of "finished" is problematic when it comes to research.  I think that the same quote applies as for art: research is never finished, it is only abandoned.
Less poetically and more pragmatically, it is often only in the process of writing that certain critical aspects of the work become apparent.  When a person is in the midst of working on a project, they tend to get very close to the material and begin to take as clear and obvious things that are very much not so for others who are not so deeply involved.  Writing one's work up in a scientific paper forces one to step back and build those gone-implicit arguments from the ground up (or at least it does if you are writing well).
This often leads to discovering unexpected problems, which lead to new literature searches, new theorems, new experiments, and even whole new perspectives.  I have had nearly the entirety of a paper change out from under me as we wrote it and revised it, and the work became much better as a result.
So, to return to your question, of when to begin writing up a paper.  My advice and experience is this: begin writing when you think you have achieved the key results that you want to build the paper around.  As you begin to do so, you will likely discover gaps that need to be filled in, which will shift how you write the paper, etc.  When the process converges, you know you've got a good paper on your hands, and it is ready to submit into the tender mercies of your dreaded peers.
Don't let yourself move forward with the research, though, to try to achieve the next key result.  It's fun and exciting to do new things, but you must also have the discipline to cross the Is, dot the Ts, and observe the little things that need to be corrected and might otherwise escape your notice.
Comment: Your point that "it is often only in the process of writing that certain .. aspects come more apparent" is a good one. I frequently recommend to my students to actually write a first draft of the introduction *very* early in the process (and be prepared to revise that), so that they have to think about the overall narrative and how this paper fits into a larger picture (e.g. their PhD research). I also hope that this will help them to recognise when the paper is finished ..
Comment: @AleksandrBlekh Actually, it was deliberate, as one of "the little things that ... might otherwise escape your notice."  You win the prize for being the first to notice the joke.  But the point is as you say: mistakes (and not just typos) happen to all of us, no matter how experienced.
Comment: Ironically, the "cross the Is, dot the Ts" did escape my notice (:
Comment: @jakebeal: Oh, so it was a joke. Then, I won no prize and actually failed... to recognize your intent (I guess, I was in a too serious of a mood at that time :). Just another confirmation of the point we both agree upon ("mistakes happen to all of us").
Comment: You meant [dot the i's and cross the t's](http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/dot_the_i%27s_and_cross_the_t%27s), not vice versa. I guess, _typos_ are immune to ranks, skills and levels of experience... ;-)
Answer: To sharpen jakebeal's point a bit: my primary specific recommendation is that you not spend any significant amount of time polishing the paper until you're confident that very nearly the sum total of its contents are collected in front of you, literally or figuratively.  A more-or-less-messy pile of scratch can be enough to facilitate the process of thinking through one's lines of argumentation, depending on one's personality and modes of thought, while taking a comparatively small amount of time away from continuing the necessary research/experimentation.
Just like it's often a terrible waste of time to plan most experiments or lines of research too far ahead, it's also typically a terrible waste of time to refine a manuscript too far ahead.  You may find you've spent a couple dozen hours wordsmithing text that never finds its way onto an editor's desk.
Comment: I guess that depends on the person. A messy pile of paper does not help me get thinking, personally. Only when I see a reasonably polished draft, I see where the hand-wavy bits that need more research lie.
Comment: @xLeitix, fair enough -- like I said, "depending on one's ... modes of thought. Your pile of scratch clearly has to be far on the 'less-messy' end of the spectrum. :-)
Comment: Though, @xLeitix, as I think about it some more, I think you might be describing a point in the process further along than what I was envisioning. Ironing out hand-wavy bits does seem more like a near-the-end-of-the-process sort of thing.  The 'pile-of-scratch' approach is more for earlier in the process, when the large strokes of the effort are still being figured out.
Answer: For me, writing a paper is a process that is not unlike how an author writes a book. I am constantly thinking about the "story" while I am doing the research. While working on a research project, I will suddenly think of some nice manner of presentation, phrase or even a single word that capture nicely some aspect of the work and I write these down in a raw manuscript file. Then, as the project advances to a more mature state where I know the majority of the results I will jot down a very rough outline. The actual hardcore writing then consists of putting everything together.
So in short, I suggest to start jotting ideas about writing as early as possible, but don't worry waste time on organizing or polishing these notes.
Answer: It depends – on your content or type of research as well as on your approach to writing.
The two approaches to (scientific) writing I would like to distinguish are:

Start with writing a quick draft and then revise and restructure it many times.
Start writing with a clear structure in mind and try to optimise every sentence from the beginning.

In my experience, neither approach is generally better, but for most people, one approach is better suited than the other. If you are the person who prefers approach 1, you might start writing as soon as you finished an aspect of your paper; if you prefer approach 2, this may be a waste of time, depending on the content (see below). While there is a grey zone between the two approaches, I have not met anybody yet whose approach lies in it.
The types of content I would like to distinguish are:

Modular papers: There are several chunks of work that have little interdependencies to each other. If you would practice extreme salami publication, you would publish each one as a single paper, with no paper building up upon an unpublished one. So while some of these papers would cite others, there would be no loops in the citation graph.
Interdependent papers: There is no structure like the above. For example the results of experiment A lead to experiment B, whose results in turn inspire to repeat experiment A with other settings and so on.

Obviously, modular papers are much more suited for early writing.
To give an example from personal experience, I am the sort of person who prefers the second approch to writing and I wrote most of my papers so far after all the work was finished. Nontheless, I recently wrote a paper in a totally different style. However, this paper was a method paper, which I knew to be modular. I did things in the following order:

Encounter a lack of a method during research.
Have an idea for a method.
Look, whether somebody had the idea already or there is a better method.
Devise the core method.
Find central conjecture required for core method.
Prove conjecture.
Write down core method and conjecture (I started this step the very next day).
Perform theoretical runtime analysis of method.
Write down runtime analysis.
Apply method to artificial data to test its performance.
Write down results.
Devise artificial test case to compare method with best existing method and perform the comparison.
Write down results.
Apply method and existing method to real-life problem from step 1.
Write down results.
Write abstract, introduction and conclusion.

At no point in the process did I need to perform revisions to already written stuff other than adding a sentence for explanation or renaming a variable. While I am very happy to have done it this way and this saved me a lot of time, I also know that this approach would not have worked at all for any of my other papers.
Comment: While I upvoted all nice answers here, including yours, I disagree with you on the _second approach_. I very much doubt that in the _beginning_ (per OP's description) or, even, in the _middle_ of research, it is possible to come up with **clear structure** and more so with **optimal sentences**. This is based on my _limited_ research experience (working on my dissertation research for some years). When I say "clear structure" here, I refer to a _detailed structure_, not the high-level one, which IMHO **can** and **should** be finalized upfront.
Comment: @AleksandrBlekh: As I detailled in the last part of my answer, I have done to some extent done this and it worked fine as far as I can tell: Two people read the paper and had no big issues to remark and in particular no issues that I consider in any way connected to my approach to writing.
Comment: Fair enough. I'm sure that it depends on the nature of research, type of paper and the researcher.


Which will be the best style for kung fu for self defense for a weak person?

Question: I just came to my new school, where I feel like a loner and there are some students who are professional boxers. The bullying is common here. I'm afraid that they can beat me. I am a weak one unlike most of them, they have good muscles. So, after watching the movie Drunken Master, I want to learn Kung Fu, so that I can protect me at least. My age is 15 and I'm weakest in my class. I want to learn self defense in Kung Fu which is the easy and fast to learn style.
Comment: Gong fu (kung fu) translates to skill obtained by hard work over time, which is the opposite of fast and easy.
Comment: @Abhas -- Fwiw, I was bullied as a kid in school before I got a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. Honestly, dealing with bullies is going to be more about learning to be calm when you're afraid and being willing and okay with feeling fear and anxiety. That kind of confidence and self-awareness is impossible to teach quickly, but I promise  you -- you don't have to beat your tormentors in a fight to be safe. As terrible as it sounds, the worst they can do to you is cause physical pain if you resist them. They're broken and taking things out on you, but you don't have to let them make you afraid. Ever.
Comment: @Chris said "If you do not give them a reason to bother you then you should be fine." Um... no. Bullies pick on people they feel that they can dominate. People who are smaller, introverted, physically or socially awkward, unusual physical appearance, wearing hand-me-down clothes, being of a different ethnicity, not good at sports? Those are great reasons, in their minds, for them to bully you.
Comment: You may want to look at https://martialarts.stackexchange.com/questions/159/which-martial-arts-focus-on-self-defense?rq=1
Comment: You live by the sword, you die by the sword. Do not try to fight bullies, that is not how you deal with those kind of people. If you do not give them a reason to bother you then you should be fine. My one friend used to always say when someone asked him what he would do if someone wanted to pick a fight with him: "Why do I want to fight? I can drive, I will just run him over." Basically stick to what you are good at. If you are good with people maybe you can have some friends around that would discourage bullying.
Answer: Protecting yourself from bullying has more to do about confidence than about martial arts. Learning martial arts will raise your confidence, but coming across as unsure and uncertain, even if you're a grandmaster, will still get you bullied.
Because of that reason, the style of kungfu matters less. The club you go to and your trainer matters more. Make sure you feel good at the club and during the trainings. Make sure the trainer has a positive attitude. That way, you'll reach your goals of not being bullied while getting better at kungfu.
As a sidenote, plenty of semi-professional or professional fighters actually are really kind-hearted people. Don't take "professional boxer" as a sign of them being a bully. Of course there are bullies amongst competitive fighters, but they're in a vast minority.
Answer: Source: Black Belt in Ju Jitsu
First, I completely agree that learning to fight won't fix your problem; it'll probably just get you into trouble.  However, learning a martial art is a great way to build confidence and THAT can definitely help with the bullying (speaking from experience here).  One thing to note though, is that NO martial art is "fast and easy" to learn; they're all disciplines that require lots of training and focus.  Without that discipline, you're in danger of hurting yourself or seriously injuring someone else which, even in a fight, is not what you want to do.
All of that being said, one discipline that I would recommend is Ju Jitsu.  I'm a black belt in Japanese Ju Jitsu and the style is based on controlling someone by using their own strength, weight and energy against them.  It's a fantastic style for learning ways to deal with larger, stronger opponents.
Also, one of the below answers mentioned Wing Chun.  I'm not sure why it got downvoted; Wing Chun is a great style for someone who doesn't want a discipline based on strength. It was originally designed as a "women's martial art" but picked up a lot of steam with both men and women.  Wing Chun is one of the styles that Bruce Lee studied.
Comment: +1 for mentioning the use of an opponent's strength and mentioning Wing Chun
Answer: Fighting will not solve your problem
Learning how to fight will not help. It will take too long, land you in trouble with the law/school, and even if you succeed at becoming a fighter, all you achieve would be to turn yourself into a bully.
Using weapons is an even worst idea! Leave knives, shives, and bats at home. You can cause serious harm to yourself with those.
What will (might?) help…
Child safety from no-nonsense self defence is a good place to start. They have a section on bullying about half way down the page. It makes for grim reading.
However, there are things you can do:

Talk to your parents. They should be your first port of call. They can talk to the school officials, move you to a different school, and they are there to help you.
Talk to your teacher(s). Preferably one you like, if not the head of your class (if you have such a thing), and otherwise the head teacher. It is their responsibility to keep you safe while at and around school. Some schools have special counsellors and appointed persons that you can talk to, some do not. All of them are still legally responsible to listen and more importantly help you.
If the two previous things have failed, and only in that case then you should seek help elsewhere: a good place is anti-bullying charities. You can find the closest to your local via Google.
You might consider talking to law enforcement. But this should be your last resource.

Sean Duggan is absolutely right in his answer that you should develop an athletic outlook: get fit, flexible, and stronger. It will help you in all kinds of way and the sooner you start, the less effort it will be.
Raf's answer is spot on about martial arts styles being irrelevant compared to the teacher. If you look for an art, look for a good school and teacher more than a style. I would encourage you to do that but not for fighting bullies: instead look at developing your physique, your self confidence, making new friends.
Answer: Wing Chun/Jeet Kun Do. It originated (according to legend) as a style for women and has a focus on efficiency rather than strength.
That answers the question, but the solution, I think .. is to gain weight and muscle mass.
Honestly, you can spend the same amount of time learning martial arts and try to use it in a fight - or - just bulk up and more likely people will leave you in peace.
Given that any training whether its martial arts or weight lifting, would take several years to gain any real benefits from, and you likely graduate in 2 or 3 years .. don't you think you should consider another strategy, e.g. political: make friends with some tough guys? That partially worked for me.
I took up Goju Kai at about the same age and the only thing I learned from it was how to not panic in a fight, focus my mind, and deliver a clean strike, even while I was getting beat up.
I agree with @Kalmino, it can get you in more trouble, because once I became use to bloody sparring from the dojo I found myself picking fights with anyone that made fun of me, even if I knew I might get beat up. It didn't matter, because I lost all fear. The fact that other kids knew that I lost all fear was the single most significant thing to being left alone. (same principle as the comment from Raf)
I've noticed the same thing as pojo-guy, once I got into fights with people from my weight group and upward, I eventually realized my limits and they weren't far beyond my own capabilities for some one of my weight.
Comment: While Wing Chun may be a useful tip the "bulking up" may or may not be. I have worked out seriously for fifteen years and bench well over my weight but am honestly puny even so. Some of us have genetics for slimness not size.
Comment: I believe the OP is asking for information applicable to his case, and he has not indicated that he has this genetic trait that you have. Until he indicates otherwise, I still recommend that route for his use case.
Comment: Fair enough - but note I did say "may or may not". Given he is small presently - at the least it is clear that bulkiness were not a natural state for him.
Comment: @javadba, that is a valid but separate subject with separate Q&A (https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/23994/gym-3-times-a-week-no-muscle-gain)
Comment: Your answer would benefit from the caveat mentioned. It is your answer so you decide - but it is not accurate to simply relegate it to a different question.  Your answer is depending on the *impression* that people get by just *looking* at someone. This approach will not work for many of us.
Comment: @javadba. Thank you. I elaborated my answer. I *don't* speak from impressions. I speak from real experience and based on the answers I see from others such as pojo-guy and Kalmino (other people with real martial arts training also) they tend to agree with at least some of what I have to say, and I agree with their comments. If you think you can make better comments than these, please do so and lets see your upvotes.
Answer: Let's keep in mind that your goal is safety.  Depending on what kind of danger you are facing, martial arts may, or may not help.
First, consider if there are any adults who you can turn to for help.  There may be legal or school problems on top of the bullies, so having someone with the ability to navigate that and help you stay safe and find the best solution is important.  You may need to reach out locally to organizations that help youth.
Second, if you don't have that, then you have to seriously consider the type of danger you are in.  If it's just people talking mean, and pushing you around, it is survivable.  Terrible, emotionally destructive, but survivable.  Maybe, in those cases, it might be worth fighting back.  Depending on what the types of responses you might get.
For me, I fought back when someone punched me.  I won the fight, but it cost me a lot.  The guy came after me with a knife, next.  He was caught by police.  Then he sent his cousins after me with a gun.  I got to spend the next several years on the run from a gang.  So, in hindsight, fighting back cost me more than taking a punch.
If you do seek out training - do talk to your instructor - the advice they have MUST be about more than fighting.  It may be about how to endure, it may be about when to run, but fighting is one tool and only sometimes useful, in these situations.
Answer: Frankly, you probably don't want to actually fight (you can encounter some pretty severe penalties in some areas, including much of the United States of America) and no martial art is going to quickly show you how to go up against people bigger than you, let along people bigger than you and trained to fight.
My recommendation is to work on your running: speed, endurance, and ability to quickly traverse obstacles. And get teachers or administrators involved.
Answer: I'll stay out of the debate regarding the best way to deal with bullying, but I think it's worth noting that a martial art that is easy to learn probably isn't going to be particularly effective. You get what you put into it, and if your opponent is following a difficult training regimen to prepare for boxing, finding a school that teaches kung fu in an "easy" manner won't be great. I'd guess only 1 of 3 people makes it through the first weeks of class at my kwoon; the plus side is that those who do get the benefit of getting in far better shape while also learning effective self-defense.
Finding the right teacher and school will provide you with the needed environment to develop self-confidence, increase your fitness level, and pick up self-defense on the way; highly recommend it.
Answer: Three questions:

Are you willing to hurt people?
Are you willing to get hurt?
If you have a seventy yard head start, and can choose how long the race is, can you outrun any sprinter on your high school's track team?

Know how to hurt people, and be willing to get hurt
How nasty are you willing to be?  What are the informal rules where you live for what fighting tactics are so unacceptable that they will get you knifed or killed?  Except in extreme circumstances, stay on the safe side of that line.
Consider attending a "rape prevention" or "self-defense" course at your local police department or a nearby college.  You will learn a martial arts style that is just as nasty as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.  This martial arts style involves:

Situational awareness (so you don't get into fights, and cast a "bigger aura")
Knowing the law about what use of force is legally justifiable in dangerous situations.
Keeping your balance.
Yelling, "Back off!"
Making your opponent pay for staying too close to you.
High-leverage, close-in moves.
Backwards (or sideways) 1-2 Elbow-Hand punches to the gut and the groin.
Knees to the groin.
Blows to the solar plexus, throat, nose, and eyes.
Blows that damage joints (like knees, insteps, and fingers).
Biting.
Grasp-breaking techniques.
Wrestling techniques for getting un-pinned.
Live practice against live opponents.
Practice getting hurt and continuing to fight.

Or retreat at speed
If you are not willing to be that nasty, join your high school's track team.  You will learn how fast you can go, how to pace yourself, and how to outrun anybody if you have a big enough head start.  (You won't be able to outrun a top distance runner -- but top distance runners have better things to do.)
Get stronger
Either way, take up weight lifting.  If you cannot afford weights, look into the Charles Atlas exercise program.  Eat enough complete protein that you gain muscle.  When you are strong, fewer people will want to mess with you.  And standing up for yourself will be easier.
Make friends
"Quantity has a quality all its own."  Consider joining a sports team -- or maybe even your local boxing gym.
Answer: 5th dan Black belt.
Martial arts, in general, work best against someone of about the same size and strength as yourself.  A typical expectation is that one dan belt rank should give you the same benefit as 10 lbs of mass, given the same level of general athleticism. That's an advantage, but not much of one.
In a fight (meaning no rules, both parties out to kill), athleticism and muscle are the primary factors for determining a winner. Even when I was younger and more fit, I could not go up against a 300 lb body builder and expect to win, no matter what art I practiced.
Bruce Lee's primary art before establishing Jeet Kun Do was Wing Chun. About 70% of Jeet Kun Do is still Wing Chun. One of the things that made him controversial was that he added western style weight training to his regimen. there is no question that weight training enhanced his ability as a martial artist.
Learn any martial art. After you've been around you will realize that they all teach the same skills, just in different ways.
The masters of old trained with many schools before blending them and founding their own system. Augment your martial arts training with sound strength and cardiovascular training, like any serious fighter in any system does (some systems already have resistance training built in, so don't over do it).
After that, avoid trouble. The purpose of martial arts is that knowing them you will never need to use them, but they are there just in case.
Comment: `One of the things that made [Bruce Lee] controversial was that he added western style weight training to his regimen.` That's an interesting piece of trivia I haven't heard before. I'll be sure to research that in the future. Thanks.
Comment: "In a fight (meaning no rules, both parties out to kill), athleticism and muscle are the primary factors for determining a winner." You seem to place a lot of importance on weight and strength, which I cannot refute due to my lack of combat experience related to this. But I do want to remind you that speed and technique (that is to say, how efficiently you use your muscles / skeletal structure and where you strike) can compensate for lack of pure weight to a certain extent which should be considered very meaningful in real-life circumstances.
Comment: The most commonly accepted figure is that 1 rank of black belt (800 hours of training) up to 4th degree is equivalent to 10 lbs of advantage. this is why in real life you want to end the confrontation as quickly as manageable. The smaller person only has that advantage you cite for the first exchange of blows.
Answer: Since you mentioned pro boxers, I recommend styles that specialize on kicking. It will prevent boxers from getting in range to fight.
Comment: I agree that kickboxing is a good mix, but it takes a lot of practice to learn the footwork to keep people at a distance. People feint a move in, your leg comes up, eventually your leg goes back down, and they rush in an pummel you with their fists. Which is painful, and hurts.
Comment: Um...Maybe you can try different tactics, such as waiting for the opponent to attack and kick when they are moving in, that way there would be almost no need for footwork if you can guarantee a hit to the abdomen / waist. You have to be proficient enough to end a fight with a single kick. That way when your leg goes back down your opponent would be in no condition to "rush in" on you.
Comment: For guys with very average reflexes (raises hand), timing that is easier said than done, and most kicks are not very hard to block. IMO expecting to end a fight with a single kick is not realistic - it only happens in pro fights after many many dozens of landed kicks.
Comment: Um...The stuff about timing you mentioned is an eye-opener. But..."For guys with very average reflexes", blocking a fast roundhouse / side kick is also unrealistic from my experience, and I would expect you to break your opponent's arm with ease even if he somehow blocked it.
Answer: I recommend taking a public speaking or debate class and work towards a peaceful resolution. That will help with shyness, which in turn will pro-actively prevent bullying.
Short of that, learn San Soo or Krav Maga.  That way if they try to box, you can just break their arms with very little pressure.
Bullying can be deadly.  In my mind, the objective of martial arts is to win the fight as quickly as possible.  Generally this means either running away or putting your opponent in the hospital.  Don't feel bad about it; you'll be doing them a favor.
Comment: "with very little pressure" - sure, because all bullies are made of glass
Comment: "Take a public speaking or debate class." I trained to kill in seconds... How fast can you talk? In 3-4 sec?
Answer: Been there, done that. I'm a taichi/paqua/hsing yi & others martial arts bum.
Parkour is what you should be looking at. Being able to run and go where you can't be pursued.
Comment: Participation in parkour would serve as a general strength and fitness training regimen. Virtually everyone has agreed that improving his general level of fitness is as important for his true goal as training in a martial art.
Comment: But there's a chance you actually got a downvote for substance: I'm not particularly knowledgable on this topic, but doesn't parkour require both substantial upper- and lower-body strength, what with all the climbing and falling and running? (As in, OP mentioned in the question he/she is physically pretty weak.)
Comment: I have edited your comment, since I suspect you might have gotten a downvote purely from the style of your answer. (The edit will show up once it goes through the peer-review process.)


How do I easily remove silicone?

Question: Since some parts of the siliconed area of my bath tub are damaged, I need to replace the silicone. Is there an easy method to remove that silicone?
Answer: I use a plastic putty knife.  Some of my guys even use plastic knives (yes the kind you use at bar-b-ques).
The whole purpose is to scrape it off without damaging what is underneath.  The plastic knives add a serrated cutting tool and the shape is better for cracks/smaller areas.
Some things life (others) has taught me:

WD-40 helps for some reason.  If I give the area a quick spray, wait 10 mins, it cleans up easy 80-90% of the time.  No idea the science behind this.
Razors/metal knives aren't worth it.  Yes they are faster.  But all it takes is one chip and that ends up taking longer to repair than the total removal of the caulk.  I have learned my lesson 5-6 times.
Hair dryer is a mixed bag too.  Unless you are 110% sure it is silicone, I wouldn't be aiming a hair dryer at it as it may make your mess bigger.
On tough jobs I go back to my fix for 90% of cleanup.  Bucket of steaming hot water, Dawn, and bleach.  Sponge some of the hot water to the problem area - I use a kitchen pad which is a sponge on one side and a mild scrubber on the other.  Wait about 30 seconds and repeat until caulk residue is broken down enough to remove with a light scrub.
Answer: To remove the last traces ready for the new layer, a product is available. It's called "silicone eater" or "silicone remover" here in the UK, and is sold with the sealants wherever there's a good selection of them.
You really do need to get most of it off mechanically first, and it's always worth seeing if it just peels once you've made a start - sometimes it isn't very well stuck. Angled scrapers are sold in the same place, made of plastic with a fairly sharp edge.
Answer:
Patience, elbow grease and a few tools worked for me to remove silicone from a glass door insert for a tub. I used a plastic scraper (pictured) for the initial few passes. A razor blade scraper (pictured) for detail silicone removal and the silicone solvent (pictured) for final passes. This may seem like overkill but results were great and no tub damage.
Answer: "Easy" is relative.  A hair drier, razor blade scraper, needle nose pliers, patience and care.
Comment: Regarding using a razor blade, I'd use a *plastic* blade instead of metal.
Answer: I use a box cutter to cut it out myself. I've had good success with it, but be careful if you have a fiberglass tub.
Answer: Mineral spirits (e.g. paint thinner) will soften silicone caulk, use that with your scraping tools as mentioned in DMoore's answer.   I will follow up with a wipe with acetone or alcohol to clean any residue before reapplying.
Answer: Putty knife (spade) and 8 in one tool works well. If you are looking for a solvent try Zep degreasers. They also have industrial strength removers and for a great price. Silicone is made to withstand moisture. On occasion I even cut my cleaning products with isopropyl alcohol.

How do I easily remove silicone?


When was cognitve dissonance discovered?

Question: I am trying to understand when cognitive dissonance was first defined. Would mental health professionals have known about the concept of cognitive dissonance in 1972?
Comment: Have you had a quick look [at the Wikipedia page on cognitive dissonance](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_dissonance)? Quickly looking for references at the bottom you can find at least that the concept existed before 1972: _Festinger, L. (1957). A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance._ I still believe this is a valid question though, but try doing some minimal initial research next time.
Comment: **Cognitive Dissonance Dissonance!?** Cognitive dissonance, as defined and researched by Festinger is a very counter-intuitive, but important concept. Be sure you understand it, before you try to use it. In my experience, the great majority of the people using the concept have no idea what it really means. If you're really interested I would encourage you to read Festinger's book (it's brief), examining the exact research he did. I am not current in the followup research, and that also may have changed the conception.
Answer: Glen McGhee's "A Cultural History of Cognitive Dissonance," (2005/2014) notes that Gustav Ichheiser (1897-1969) dealt with personal dissonance and dissonance reduction in 1928 (212 Note 2). Also Kurt Lewin's tension theory, and Festinger's level of aspiration work in 1940.
Lorne L. Dawson also has an interesting chapter, "Clearing the Underbrush: Moving Beyond Festinger To A New Paradigm For The Study of Failed Prophecy" (2011) that reminds us of the seminal role that Festinger/Riecken/Schachter, "When Prophecy Fails" (1956) plays in the development of cognitive dissonance theory.
Cognitive dissonance has been a part of social psychology and experimental psychology for a long time -- but what do you mean by "mental health professionals"? How were they trained? Where did they go to school? In the 1970s, there were numerous therapies, including Gestalt, Rogerian, Reichian, Freudian, Jungian, etc. Or are you talking about social workers? MSWs?
Comment: Hi, and welcome to CogSci! This is already a great answer. In the future, once you have enough reputation to leave comments, you can ask for elaboration such as your last paragraph through comments on the question. For now, once you receive feedback you can just update your answer (or keep it as is, it is already valuable!).


Standard size of HLT for all grain?

Question: I'm just beginning all grain and starting to put together my lists. I have a 5 gallon kettle that I used for extract batches. I plan on upgrading to a 11 gallon boil kettle. Will the 5 gallon kettle be enough to hold my heated up water for 5 and 10 gallon batches?
Answer: The HLT (Hot Liquor Tank) interestingly isn't there to hold wort or anything with alcohol (liquor here is referring to a liquid being used in a process). It has a simple job: It holds and heats water to be used in the mash. You also add salts such as gypsum in the HLT.
With 10 gallon batches, a 5 gallon HLT absolutely not big enough.
That being said, the answer to your question (on a 5.5 gallon batch) really depends on a case by case basis relative to your grain bill, boil time, sparge process, lauter deadspace, batch size and evap rate. To help clarify I'll use an example.
Say I'm doing a 5.5 gallon batch on a 13.5 lb grain bill with a grain absorption factor of 0.1 gal/lb, boil time at 60 minutes, evap rate of about 20%, deadspace at .5 gallon and plan on batch sparging. Since I'm at a 20% evap rate, I need about 7 gallons for my boil. I would probably want to have about 4.72 gallons of strike water and 4.13 gallons of sparge water. Since the grain absorbs about 1.85 gallons, this would yield 7 gallons for the boil. In this specific case, if you filled and heated the HLT with your sparge water during the mash you'd be OK. But I honestly recommend getting a bigger pot for your HLT.
If you start playing with the numbers, you can easily go over 5 gallons. For example even if you were doing 5 gallon batches, having a different grain bill or larger evap rate will absolutely increase the amount of water you'll need out of that pot.
I hope this helps.
Comment: "HLT (Hot Liquor Tank) interestingly isn't there to hold any liquor or wort" - that's not correct. When used in the brew water is referred to as "liquor" in brewing parlance.
Comment: @WalzenBrew Chris' approach is how you want to size your HLT. My tl;dr would be: figure out how much water (or liquor, if you prefer) you need in the mash of your biggest beer and get a kettle at least big enough for that.  If you don't want to refill for the sparge, double it.
Comment: @mdma: Thanks for pointing that out, I have updated my answer.
Comment: @TomMcCann Great suggestion! I think I'll go that route. Cheers
Answer: I would say that it's not sufficient for 10 gallon batch unless you're happy refilling, 3-4 times. I brew 10 gallons and have a 20 gallon HLT which I fill to 18-19 gallons at the start of brewday, and use all of it.
For a 10 gallon batch, many target 11-12 gallons into the fementor. This means a preboil volume in the order of 14-16 gallons depending upon evaporation rate. Grain and hop absorption accounts for the remainder.
I have 20/20/20 gal for BK/MLT/HLT - I based my sizes on what is described in theelectricbrewery, and I think they are about right for what's needed for a 10 gallon batch. The MLT is probably the one that is least used, since I don't often brew big beers. Although I recently brewed a 14% RIS and the 20 gallon MLT was full with grain.

Standard size of HLT for all grain?


event income reports

Question: I'm not getting the results that I expect from the event income reports. I've used the "No-show" status for people who have paid but don't turn up to the event. However the report only seems to included the income for participants with a status that is "Counted". That's right for the attendee numbers, but not for the finance. If I set the "No-Show" status to be "Counted" then I assume the figures will come right, but it won't show the numbers actually at the event. I can't think of a way round this.
Answer: I think that this is simply not covered. You can read more related threads on SE question How to create a contribution or event report that indicates amount of payment and balance owed and at the old forum on Event Income Report Misleading - need to look at actual contributions, not fees.
How can we get reports with real event payment status and no expected incomes? This is a very common request from our users that we have yet to respond.

event income reports


How can I remove the SIM lock from a Samsung Galaxy S?

Question: I bought one from bell Canada, and I can't put in a SIM card from any other service provider. Does anyone know how to unlock this phone?
Comment: You might want to post the 2nd problem as a different question..
Comment: I was able to access the phones internal memory by selecting usb mass storage from usb settings but I still cannot connect the device to samsung kies as MTP usb device fails to install.
Answer: To unlock your phone, use GalaxSim Unlock.
You need root for this app. If you don't have root, the app will give you instructions on how to root your phone.
Comment: @LeroyKayanda Why don't you try rooting with SuperOneClick from shortfuse.org instead? It's easier. I can't seem to access the site right now though. Try it later?
Comment: Rooting the Galaxy S is pretty easy: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/20292/how-do-i-root-my-samsung-galaxy-s
Comment: I have installed  GalaxSim Unlock but the instructions to root from XDA developers are quite complex and I would not want to risk bricking my phone by using rooting instructions for another model phone. Anyone with instructions for samsung galaxy s GT_I900M from bell Canada running android version 2.2 FROYO.
Comment: Ive tried super one click but it has this problem of freezing and not responding when it reaches a point of waiting for device.. Ive now downloaded odin. A link to how I can root my galaxy s with odin would be appreciated.
Comment: @Leroy Kayanda There's a lot of Guides if you search on Google. Here is an example using Odin: http://www.android.gs/root-samsung-galaxy-s-i9000-android-2-3-6-gingerbread-xxjvu-firmware-with-cf-root/
Comment: @LeroyKayanda Make sure you have your device drivers installed for ADB.
Answer: You can unlock your Samsung Galaxy S using unlock code .You can get unlock codes from the network provider or online vendors like Unlocking4U.com . But, Most Network providers will provide the unlock code only if the contract period is over . From Online vendors you can get the Unlock code at any time for a small price.
Answer: First you need to know if your phone is CDMA or GSM. If it's a CDMA phone then it cannot be unlocked.
GSM phones can be unlocked to make it work with other networks. If you want to unlock your phone for free you can root your phone but it is at your own risk. Also rooting voids your warranty.
Safer method is to get an unlock code from the unlock code providers like http://www.samsungsimunlock.com/ There are other unlock code providers like http://www.unlocking4u.com but there are slightly expensive.
Unlocking phones is restricted in some countries. Recently US passed a law where unlocking phones is illegal that are manufactured after Jan 26th 2013. Phones manufactured before that date can be unlocked. Please check your local laws before unlocking.
Answer: Installed the adb drivers for samsung galaxy s. Enabled the phone to be rooted using superoneclick and finally unlocked using Galaxysim Unlock. Thanks for the tips.