Universally Accepted Beer Education

Question: I have been searching for Beer education with universally accepted certificate like WSET for a while but I couldn't find one. I've found some courses Prud'homme ,Cicerone, and The Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) but I don't think they are like WSET.
Are there any training program like WSET for beer?
Comment: What do you mean by education?  Taste/judge or brew?
Comment: More like combination of theoretical training and tasting. For example, Pilsner lecture should generally include brewing techniques, ingredients like types of hops and grains are used (maybe their special characters and their impact on a beer), and of course at the end tasting.
Answer: Just like there is no standards for understanding Computer Science education there is no standardized wine or beer education. You get the education where you can. I have pretty extensive experience in both wine and beer education. At one time, long ago, I was a BJCP certified judge. I have a winemaking certificate from UC Davis (short course) Both were a rigorous education. Then I went on to start a winery and eventually taught at a local community college that has a 2 year wine program. I think only the lead instructor had anything like a masters in wine (MW) the rest of us just university classes and self taught.
Getting a degree in brewing from an accredited college like UC Davis would have the most clout. I wouldn't say the WSET is universally accepted as the "gold standard" in wine education. If all you want to do is get some type of certificate for being a server then the Cicerone or BJCP will probably serve the purpose. Getting a Master Cicerone would probably be the highest for beer. Beer education has always been less formal than winemaking. I'm not sure why since brewing beer is way more complicated than making wine. I'm sure it has to do with the snobbery associated with wine vs. the everyman appeal associated with beer.
Answer: As stated, the BJCP certifications, as well as the Certified Cicerone(r) are the most universally recognized across the craft beer industry.
There are many brewing degrees available as well, ranging from certificates to advanced vocational trades and brewmaster educations more common in countries that treat brewing as a tradeskill.
It depends on your industry focus, BJCP is most focused on homebrewing, judging homebrewing, and the historical preservation and relevence of beer styles.
The Cicerone program is concerned with a well rounded understanding of beer, draft line systems and maintenance, and service. It's suited for primarily industry professionals in a front-of-house role, sales representatives, or Brewers honing their sensory evaluation. The Cicerone program uses the BJCP guidelines for style recognition.
Degrees are usually for production Brewers, lab technicians wishing to specialize in beer quality assurance, or sales personnel looking to further their depth of knowledge in regard to the brewing process. Every school will be slightly different, and may be taught according to a general regional style of brewing, (German, English, Belgian), and will differ in style of brewing as well as elective material, but will usually cover the science in regard to wort production and fermentation.
And finally, brewing itself can often be a heavy amount of on the job training, with some of the most knowledgeable brewers never having a formal certification, but just a wealth of work experience.
There is nothing entirely universal or recognized as a complete education at this time.

Universally Accepted Beer Education


German word starting with 'Knall' meaning a spontaneous, unscheduled abrupt meeting

Question: I saw someone asking this question.
Is there a German word meaning 'a spontaneous, unscheduled, unexpected, abrupt meeting' starting with 'Knall~' ?
Comment: Maybe you are thinking of "Zusammenknall" depending on what you mean with meeting. But even then Knall is at the end.
Answer: There is a word Knalleffekt used for a spontaneous, unexpected, sudden event (of any kind). But I am not aware of a word starting with Knall (which means bang) especially for a meeting.
You could of course create one, e.g. Knalltreffen, but then you are in the realm of poetry, not everyday or business communication. (And pay attention to what Takkat adds regarding Knalltreffen in his separate answer!)
The Duden Universalwörterbuch (some current edition) lists for Knall:

Knallbonbon
Knallcharge
Knalleffekt
Knallerbse
Knallerei
Knallfrosch
Knallgas
Knallkopf
Knallkörper
Knalltüte

as well as the adjectives

knallblau
knallgelb
knallgrün
knallrot
knallbunt
knalleng
knallheiß
knallig
knallvoll

None of them means "sudden meeting".
However, you can think of various words starting with Blitz (lightning). The following terms are hardly to be found in contemporaneous dictionaries, but Blitz is more productive than Knall, meaning that you can create new words without being looked at with puzzlement. So Blitzkonferenz would pass almost unrecognized as a neologism, also Blitz-Meeting, Blitzbesprechung, Blitzgespräch, Blitztreffen. I could imagine finding these words used in some (informal) business communication, e.g. in e-mails to schedule a quick meeting.
Comment: +1 for thinking of _Blitz_!
Comment: What?  No [*knallhart*](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0475317/)? That's the only know I knew!
Comment: @gerrit  Yes, you are right. Interesting. *Knallhart* definitely should be in the listing.
Comment: @Janka  Good idea. More precisely, however, a *Knall-auf-Fall-Treffen* would be a meeting that takes place immediately after an important trigger event, and the peculiar thing is that it takes place immediately, not, say, after some time. So, a *Knall-auf-Fall-Treffen* is something more specific than a (supposed) *Knalltreffen* that takes place suddenly but without explicit relation to a trigger event.
Answer: This needs to be mentioned:

The only context I heard of Knalltreffen  is from dingy contact queries on certain red light district announcements.
Examples (links for obvious reasons not included but with Google you will find them easily if the source is not banned on your machine):

Suche einen aufgeschlossenen Charmeur für geile Knalltreffen.
Suche für unregelmäßige Knalltreffen gesunde, schlanke Herren.

In these cases Knalltreffen is used for the original intention behind such contacts where knallen is used in its vulgar meaning for having sexual intercourse. If any of these meetings follow they may be spontaneous but not really unscheduled, or unexpected. I can not exclude that the meaning may be regionally different, but where I live it is definitely not a word people know.
Comment: Interesting indeed. I would add, that the verb _knallen_ in its meaning of _to have sexual intercourse_ is rather obscene in german, just as its literal _to bang_ in english.
Comment: Interesting. I did not know that the word is indeed in use.
Comment: @jonathan.scholbach - Good addition! It is all rather offensive language, so no wonder we know nothing about it ;)
Answer: I'm not aware of a substantive, associating sudden occurence with Knall. I also find this plausible, since Knall more often than not also indicates the termination of something (like a bursting balloon).
So Blitz- as in Blitzkrieg is the more likely choice (and its also used in English if I consider flash mob).
There is also the term ad hoc leaned from Latin (Duden gives the meaning aus dem Augenblick heraus, probably translated to instantaneous) if just the improvised nature shall be pointed out, so the usual scheduling activities with notification weeks before are bypassed.


Is there any anime series of Dragon Ball after Dragon Ball GT?

Question: I am a great fan of Dragon Ball, and I have watched almost every series and movies of Dragon Ball. However, I'm not sure if there is any other series after Dragon Ball GT.
Comment: There are a ton of [Dragon ball  films](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_Ball#Films) that you could watch, but no new series has been made since '97. I think you have to wait until DBZ Kai ends. They can't revamp DBGT to be "closer to the manga", since there is no DBGT manga, so it might be that a new series arises, but only time will tell. I haven't heard of any news related to this, so you shouldn't get your hopes up :(
Comment: Yes! Dragon Ball Super is coming soon and it's believed that it will contain 100+ Episodes.
Comment: Will it be broadcasted on cartoon network? @Ketan
Comment: [This question](http://anime.stackexchange.com/q/21373/6166) will answer yours ;)
Answer: There is no anime series of Dragon Ball after Dragon Ball GT.
Dragon Ball Kai has no independent story but is basically the story of Dragon Ball Z itself.
Instead of an anime series, the movie Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods was released which is in official continuity with Dragon Ball Z and therefore, before the events of Dragon Ball GT.
This year (2015) the sequel to Battle of Gods - Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection 'F' will be released.
Update
A new anime series Dragon Ball Super is going to be aired from July 2015 onwards. It's story will pick up after the events of Resurrection 'F'.
Since the story of Dragon Ball Z has taken a significant turn by introducing the Super Saiyan God ability and other plot events, the fate of Dragon Ball GT is left hanging in the balance. At this minute, there is no official word about whether it will still exist in the continuity of the Dragon Ball Universe or not.
Comment: I think you are right. Your explanations seems legit. :)
Comment: Happy to help a fellow Dragon Ball fan!
:)
Comment: Maybe this answer should be updated by including the planned [Dragon ball Super anime series](http://anime.stackexchange.com/q/21373/6166)
Comment: @PeterRaeves updated the answer!
Answer: After Dragon Ball GT came Dragon Ball Z Kai.
Dragon Ball Z Kai is a high-definition remastered and recut of Dragon Ball Z, done for its 20th Anniversary. The series' plot focuses more on the manga style. The total episode count for the series is 167, comprising of :

Saiyan Saga (26 Episodes)
Frieza Saga (26 Episodes)
Androids Saga (25 Episodes)
Cell Saga (21 Episodes)
Majin Buu Saga (35 Episodes)
Evil Buu Saga

For more details on the episode list, click here.
Related : Will I miss anything by watching Dragon Ball Z Kai instead of the other series?

EDIT:
A new Dragon Ball series has been announced, titled: Dragon Ball Super
From Dragon Ball Wikia:

The plot framework and character designs were created by original author Akira Toriyama. The series will be developed by Toei, in a similar process to the Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, and Dragon Ball GT animes. The beginning of the series plot takes place after the Majin Buu Saga, potentially putting it in either the 10 year gap towards the 28th World Martial Arts Tournament, or afterwards.

Dragon Ball Super is set to begin airing in Japan on Fuji TV, July 5th, 2015.
source: http://www.dragonballinsider.com/2015/05/03/dragon-ball-super-start-date-of-july-5-2015/
Comment: Maybe this answer should be updated by including the planned [Dragon ball Super anime series](http://anime.stackexchange.com/q/21373/6166)
Comment: I have seen Dragonballz Kai , it focuses on the story of Kai's supreme Kai, etc . Dragonball Gt consist of new transformation known as super saiyan 4. So Dragonball GT was the latest anime series of Dragonball according to me @Ero
Comment: What do you want to prove? **Goku** is the main character of the story , it's obvious that he will be given the major importance. No doubt the dbz Kai focuses on world of Kai's. Kai's have important role till the end of the dbz .
Comment: Yeah..! I forgot to mention the importance of **Goku** but you take that seriously.
Comment: Can you explain the meaning of sarcastic in this situation?
Answer: Following the storyline, after Dragon Ball GT, there was Dragon Ball GT: A Hero's Legacy.
The story ends with the TV special mentioned above.
Meanwhile, the same series were remastered/revised (Dragon Ball Kai, Dragon Ball Kai (2014)), also two new movies Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods and Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection 'F' (this movies takes place on Frieza Saga).


Is it legal for a non-profit to omit the salaries of their deputy director and other lower level directors on Form 990?

Question: I'm looking at a the Form 990 for a small non-profit, and I'm noticing that under administrative/management expenses only the Executive Director's salary is listed. I know there is a Deputy Director and a Director of Business Communications who draw salaries at the organization, but they are not listed. Is this legal? It's definitely misleading...
Answer: For a small nonprofit, I'd assume that those positions would not need to be listed.
Under current IRS guidance, the organization must list:

"All of its current officers, directors and trustees." The positions you've mentioned do not appear to match any of these categories, at least as defined in the Form 990 Glossary.
"Up to 20 current employees who satisfy the definition of key employee." Key employees are those with responsibilities similar to officers, directors, or trustees, and with compensation exceeding $150,000. For a small nonprofit, I'd be surprised if either of those positions you mentioned drew a salary exceeding $150,000, so I wouldn't expect either to need to be reported.
"Its five current highest compensated employees with reportable compensation greater than $100,000." On this question, it doesn't matter what the employee's responsibilities are. If their compensation exceeds $100,000, they should be included. But if those employees are making less than that, then no, they don't need to be listed.


How do you protect your Munchkin cards?

Question: I love playing Munchkin, but haven't found a good way to protect the cards. So, how do you protect your beloved Munchkin cards?
Answer: While I hate the Munchkin game...
the cards are of one of the standard card sizes.
Mayday Games makes sleeves intended for card game play. In about 100 hours of play, I've shed 2 sleeves on my dominion set, and both of those because someone riffle-shuffled lengthwise. You'll need to shuffle sideways, rather than lengthways, but sleeving the cards is your best option. Their data sheet says the purple size are correct for Munchkin, and the green size for Munchkin Quest. It also says you'll need two packs per munchkin 168-card box.
Comment: This is *really* useful for people choosing card sizes for their own games!
Answer: Munchkin cards are one of the standard card sizes so you should be able to pick up some card sleeves at a LGS or big-box store even.

How do you protect your Munchkin cards?


joomla 2.5.6: how to fetch all articles by category id

Question: I am using Joomla 2.5.6 and using my custom query wants to fetch all articles by category id. I study Joomla 2.5.6 db model and found xma7k_content table is stores Articles meta and xma7k_categories stores Category info & it seems that we can easily fetch records by id, the alias in xma7k_content table is exactly what the article tile is but the path to view the article is some thing like
destinations/2012-08-08-05-05-05/thailand/overview-of-trips
which stored in xma7k_menu table.

If I remove date/time from path while creating article. (But how I
  could?)

or how I could use JOIN xma7k_content, xma7k_categories &
  xma7k_menu tables to get required result
Answer: Use Acesef Joomla extension and you can define your own SEF URL for the page, download here http://www.joomace.net/joomla-extensions/acesef-joomla-seo-sef-urls.
Check the document for more info.


Is there a way to make wiring a bare microprocessor to a shield easier?

Question: I currently do most of my AVR work on breadboards, but the large variety of Arduino shields and code out there makes me wonder if I'm not beating my head against the wall sometimes, and looking up port to pin mappings both wastes time and slows me down. Is there any convenient way to adapt AVRs (other than those pin-compatible with current Arduinos) to Arduino shields?
Comment: @Cybergibbons: That is exactly what I'm asking.
Comment: To that one, I don't have an answer. Honestly, my way of working around this is to almost exclusively use I2C or SPI devices so there are only a few pins to remember.
Comment: Are you asking: Is there a way to make wiring a bare microprocessor to a shield easier?
Comment: @JarrodRoberson You have replaced the AVR in the title with microprocessor, AVRs are not microprocessors, they are microcontrollers which is a microprocessor+memory+peripherals etc. You have also removed the word Arduino from the shields but the question refers to Arduino shields, not shields in general.
Comment: @alexan_e read the OP comments right about yours ...
Comment: You could (scrape off and) desolder the chip in an Arduino board and replace it with a '28 Pin IC Socket' (google that term to see what I mean).
Answer: You can make adapter boards (one for each mcu model).
The bottom side (male headers) would plug to the breadboard and the upper side would have female headers with the same pinout as an Arduino board (female hearers placed in the appropriate positions to match Arduino shields).
Such a board shouldn't be difficult to design.
Here is an image that resembles what I describe

It would adapt the pinout of a bare AVR to the pinout of a typical Arduino so that shields can by directly plugged on top of it.

Also a pinout diagram may come handy to speedup things when you use a bare chip with Arduino code.
(image source)

Another similar solution is a small printed sticker placed on top of the AVR
(image source)
Comment: +1 for the didatic effect of the adapter board picture AND VERY TIDY breadboarding.
Comment: @Ricardo Although I do agree it's a good picture, it is from another site (source listed). Otherwise, great answer! BTW: Be cautious if the shield connects to ICSP... the Ethernet r.3 does to add Mega compatibility.
Answer: The Arduino-way of doing that is making a lookup table that translates pin number to PORTn / DDRn / PINn SFR and the related bit. You can use the same trick and make GPIO pins count in a convenient way as they are in the package. Only special peripherals (like SPI / PWM) cannot be accounted for in this way because they are hard wired to a pin.
A good start is the below Arduino.h library sniplet if you want to re-use that concept.
// Get the bit location within the hardware port of the given virtual pin.
// This comes from the pins_*.c file for the active board configuration.

#define analogInPinToBit(P) (P)

// On the ATmega1280, the addresses of some of the port registers are
// greater than 255, so we can't store them in uint8_t's.
extern const uint16_t PROGMEM port_to_mode_PGM[];
extern const uint16_t PROGMEM port_to_input_PGM[];
extern const uint16_t PROGMEM port_to_output_PGM[];

extern const uint8_t PROGMEM digital_pin_to_port_PGM[];
// extern const uint8_t PROGMEM digital_pin_to_bit_PGM[];
extern const uint8_t PROGMEM digital_pin_to_bit_mask_PGM[];
extern const uint8_t PROGMEM digital_pin_to_timer_PGM[];

// Get the bit location within the hardware port of the given virtual pin.
// This comes from the pins_*.c file for the active board configuration.
//
// These perform slightly better as macros compared to inline functions
//
#define digitalPinToPort(P) ( pgm_read_byte( digital_pin_to_port_PGM + (P) ) )
#define digitalPinToBitMask(P) ( pgm_read_byte( digital_pin_to_bit_mask_PGM + (P) ) )
#define digitalPinToTimer(P) ( pgm_read_byte( digital_pin_to_timer_PGM + (P) ) )
#define analogInPinToBit(P) (P)
#define portOutputRegister(P) ( (volatile uint8_t *)( pgm_read_word( port_to_output_PGM + (P))) )
#define portInputRegister(P) ( (volatile uint8_t *)( pgm_read_word( port_to_input_PGM + (P))) )
#define portModeRegister(P) ( (volatile uint8_t *)( pgm_read_word( port_to_mode_PGM + (P))) )

The pinMode, digitalWrite and digitalRead functions are defined in /usr/share/arduino/hardware/arduino/cores/arduino/wiring_digital.c which can be used for further inspiration.
Comment: While this answer covers the software part, my question actually asks about the hardware part.
Comment: @IgnacioVazquez-Abrams can you elaborate a bit more in your question then? Not sure if I understand what you're asking.
Comment: I have bare AVR chips, and I want to use them with existing Arduino shields without having to add a couple dozen jumper wires.


Twitter retweets vs. replies

Question: What's the difference between a retweet and reply? A retweet looks just like a reply with a quote of what was replied to. Is there anything else different.
Answer: Typically, a "retweet" is what you call it when you're merely quoting someone else's tweet with the purpose of sharing what they said with your friends list. A "reply" is not a quote, but rather a response to someone else's tweet.
Answer: If you are following someone on Twitter and they tweet something you want to share with the people following you, you retweet.  This reposts the tweet onto your timeline and makes it possible for your followers (who may not be following the original tweeter) to see the tweet.
If you are following someone on Twitter, they tweet something and you reply to that tweet, the people following you can see your reply, but they don't know what the original tweet said.
If you choose to reply with a quote, then the original tweet will appear in your timeline as well.  (Not all Twitter apps will allow you to reply with a quote.)
Answer: There is no difference between an "old school" retweet and reply except the existence of the conventional "RT" and usually retweets didn't add any additional commentary.
Recently Twitter changed to have Retweets be their own very special sort of Tweet. Gone is the "RT" of old, but now one can easily find the Tweets that one has Retweeted or had Retweeted.
More information can be found at the Twitter FAQ.
Answer: Let me try some examples.
If we assume twitter as a mailbox, then a retweet would be a forward mail. A forward mail just some nice photos, jokes or some other interesting things which you got from someone and forwarding it to your contacts.
In the same scenario, if you reply back to that forward mail or some other mail which has been addressed to you it can be compared to a reply on twitter.
Now, those are what reply or retweet mean. Visually, old style retweet (refer Al's answer for old and new retweet styles) and reply are almost the same except the RT. Many people prefer the old style retweet as it allows you to comment/reply while you RT it.

Twitter retweets vs. replies


Were labor shortages ever a problem for the railroads in the Old West?

Question: Many different rail lines were built in the western United States from the 1850s onwards.  Was construction ever delayed/canceled due to difficulty in finding workers, or due to workers leaving the job?
Comment: You don't drag workers from Ireland and China if you have a labor surplus.
Answer: There were absolutely labor crunches while building the transcontinental railroads--these roads were stretching across a vast, unpopulated (by European Americans, that is) and harsh terrain. Labor shortages were worst during the Civil War, for obvious reasons. However, I can't find evidence of any major delays in the railroads' construction. This is due in part to governmental support to the railroads, but I believe it is mainly attributable to the unique vulnerability of the Chinese laborers.
Irish immigrants were the other major labor pool available to the railroads, but they proved to be more "rambunctious" than the Chinese. Speaking English and facing less ethnic hostility than the Chinese (though still facing considerable hostility), they had better alternative employment opportunities. Furthermore, they looked more like your average American, and so could escape their labor contracts and blend into the surrounding population. Thus in the classic formulation of Exit, Voice, and Loyalty, Irish laborers had "exit" open to them.
But the Chinese were structurally more predisposed to choose "loyalty" to the railroad company than were other ethnic groups. "Exit" could result in imprisonment or worse:

The only recourse for dissatisfied workers was flight--abandonment of
  the labor contract and escape into the Chinese population in
  California and the neighboring states. This was a drastic step, in
  that fugitives from labor contracts, especially when Chinese, couldn't
  expect much sympathy from the courts if their contractors caught them
  and delivered their own form of exemplary justice. Yet it happened often
  enough . . . [that Congress] . . . wrote a law authorizing the federal
  government to enforce labor contracts concluded on foreign soil.
  Fugitives from the construction gangs who had signed such contracts
  henceforth had to deal not only with the contractors but with federal
  marshals. (Brands, 58).

"Exit" was even less attractive when construction teams were working in wildernesses miles away from Chinese communities. Such distance and isolation made "voice" a poor option as well. Chinese laborers on the Central Pacific maintained a strike for about a week, but it was destined to fail. Remember, construction crews were like moving cities, and so all food and supplies was delivered to these crews along the single track stretching back to its point of origin. In other words, the railroad company controlled the food supply.

What broke the Chinese strike was a tactic more direct: the threat of
  starvation. Charles Crocker ordered the provisioners to the Chinese
  camps to stop supplying them with food. "They really began to suffer,"
  Edwin Crocker recalled. "None of us went near them for a week," . . .
  The hungriest of the strikers agreed to return to work, but others
  vowed violence against the waverers. "Charley told them that he would
  protect them, and his men would shoot down any man that attempted to
  do the laborers any injury. He had the sheriff and posse come up to
  see that there was no fighting. (Brand, 61).

When the Civil War ended, the bargaining position of the Chinese became even weaker. The Central Pacific considered applying to the Freedman's Bureau in order to employ former slaves on the construction crews. As one Central associate noted, "A Negro labor force would tend to keep the Chinese steady, as the Chinese have kept the Irishmen quiet" (Brands, 60-61).
In short, neither exit nor voice were attractive options for Chinese railroad workers. By default, "loyalty" ensured the timely construction of the transcontinentals. American Indians were more threatening than labor problems: Sioux and Cheyenne warriors made regular raids against the Union Pacific in spring 1867, destroying equipment and sometimes killing workers. As one railroad man wrote to Ulysses S. Grant at the war department: "We've got to clean the damn Indians out or give up building the Union Pacific Railroad" (Brands, 65).
Answer: I was surprised to find out that, yes there were troubles with labor shortages.  From Public Broadcasting Station "American Experience" article on the "Workers of the Central Pacific Railroad",

In early 1865 the Central Pacific had work enough for 4,000 men. Yet contractor Charles Crocker barely managed to hold onto 800 laborers at any given time. Most of the early workers were Irish immigrants. Railroad work was hard, and management was chaotic, leading to a high attrition rate. The Central Pacific management puzzled over how it could attract and retain a work force up to the enormous task. In keeping with prejudices of the day, some Central Pacific officials believed that Irishmen were inclined to spend their wages on liquor, and that the Chinese were also unreliable. Yet, due to the critical shortage, Crocker suggested that reconsideration be given to hiring Chinese. He encountered strong prejudice from foreman James Harvey Strobridge.

I'd recommend either purchasing the DVD the series has on the transcontinental railroad, finding it at your local library, or at least reading the article.  I imagine that given your interest in the subject you would really appreciate it.
Answer: Krauss (High Road to Promontory) notes that the Central Pacific had trouble keeping workers.  Here's why: the railroad was being built through the mining regions of California (which was perfectly natural as the CP hoped to profit from shipping the ore).  The CP would transport the workers from San Francisco up to the worksites.  After a week of work, the workers would leave to stake a claim in gold country.  The workers used the CP for free transportation inland, and there was precious little the CP could do about it.
The Union Pacific faced different labor challenges.  Untrained workers were relatively easy, but it was difficult to find trained workers willing to chance getting killed by Indians (hundreds were killed this way).  For example, twice the UP's chief surveying team was ambushed and wiped out by Indians.  Why would a surveyor or engineer work on the UP when he could just as easily find work on an Eastern railroad where he wouldn't get shot at?
When working through Utah, both railroads hired Mormons to supplement their workforces.  Interestingly, it is claimed by Bain (Empire Express) that the Central Pacific paid the Mormons 40% more than the Union Pacific paid them.  The Mormons were actually grading two parallel roads for 200 miles - one for the UP and one for the CP.  Large sections ended up being abandoned because there was no need for 2 railroads in a desert where few people lived.


Steeping Specialty Grains

Question: What is the proper procedure for steeping specialty grains while extract brewing?
Temp, time, grain bags or not.
Answer: I don't know if there's a "proper" way to do it, but I've always used a grain bag with good results up until my most recent batch.  Time and temperature vary based on the grains being used and desired flavor profile, among other variables.
For my most recent batch I steeped 2 pounds of specialty grains in 3 quarts of water in a separate pot, drained this through a cheesecloth-lined colander into my brew pot, then rinsed with 1.5 quarts of 170 degree F water.  I don't know if it made a difference, but I kind of liked doing it this way.  It seemed like more grain surface could come in contact with the steeping water to allow for more flavor extraction.  It's kind of like how it's better to steep tea in a filter cup than in one of those tea balls.
Comment: I also just witched to the method (from using a grain bag) you described in my latest batch. Filtered out grains with colander and cheese cloth, then rinsed with 4 qts of 170º water. Definitely more satisfying than just steeping the specialty grains.
Comment: What made you choose four quarts of rinse water?  My recipe called for 1.5.  It seemed to me like I could get more goodness out if I used more, but I also figured the recipe's creator had good reason for the amount they used.
Answer: So, from a different perspective, steeping grains is just the same thing as mashing, you're just using a bag to remove the grains rather than draining the water from the grain bed.
I'm also not sure that there is a "proper" way, but just like a mash the temperature and amount of water you have mixed in with your grain makes a significant difference in what you get out of it.
During a mash you're converting starches in the malt to sugars and there is a specific temperature range that works very well for that.  In your grain bag, you're using entirely specialty malts, so there will be very little starch-sugar conversion going on, because those malts do not have the diastatic power to convert their own starches, so you don't necessarily need to worry about it as much, but if you're temperature is too high, you're going to leech a lot of tannins out of the grain in addition to the flavor compounds that you're looking for.  170F is probably about as hot as I would get it.  I'd shoot for 150F - 160F.
You also want to make sure that your grain isn't bound too tightly inside the sack.  You want to make sure that the grain has as much surface area as possible in contact with the water.  Leave it in there for an hour, and you're probably fine.
Back when I was doing partial extract, before going to all-grain, I was putting a small amount of normal pale 2-row malt into my grain sack.  Pale malt has lots of diastatic power and can help starch conversion with specialty grains.  You still won't get enough out of it to not also want to use malt extract, but I always found that I had a much fuller flavor from my specialty grains when I supplemented them with 10% -20% extra pale malt.
Comment: Interesting idea for adding pale malt to the specialty for more flavor extraction. I'll have to try this next time.
Comment: I'd say that the fuller flavor was from the freshness of mashing the extra 2-row, not from conversion in any of the specialty grains. JMHO

Steeping Specialty Grains


Makefile Backup Target

Question: Goal: I'm trying to create a PHONY target inside my Makefile so that when I run the command "make backup",
It will move all the files that end in "~" into the specified backup folder.
Here is my code currently, and I'll explain the problem after:
C++ Syntax (Toggle Plain Text)
.PHONY: backup
backup:
@mkdir -p ./backup/include #make folder (don't complain if it already exists)
@mkdir -p ./backup/src #make folder (don't complain if it already exists)
@mv -fu *.h~ ./backup/include #move header file backups into desired folder
@mv -fu *.cpp~ ./backup/src #move source file backups into desired folder

Problem: This works great, BUT ONLY if a file ".h~" and ".cpp~" file already exist in Makefile's current directory. I would like this target to move the files if it can, and just be quiet if there are no files to move..
Error Message: mv: cannot stat `*.h~': No such file or directory
*I'm on linux(ubuntu) and so my shell is "bash"
Appreciate the help, I've been stuck on this all night trying all kinds of commands from if statements to the "find" command. Just thought I'd finally ask for some assistance
Answer: Try this:
.PHONY: backup
backup:
@mkdir -p ./backup/include #make folder (don't complain if it already exists)
@mkdir -p ./backup/src #make folder (don't complain if it already exists)
@mv -fu *.h~ ./backup/include &> /dev/null #move header file backups into desired folder
@mv -fu *.cpp~ ./backup/src &> /dev/null #move source file backups into desired folder

The &>/dev/null should redirect all the output from the mv command to /dev/null, which just gets rid of it.

Makefile Backup Target


Can I install TextMate 2 and keep TextMate 1?

Question: I would like to try TextMate's new version but since it is a beta release with some bugs and unfinished features, I don't want to use it everyday. Is there any way to install TextMate 2 and keep Textmate 1?
Answer: No need to use /Applications or ~/Applications, you can put text mate 2 in any folder you wish.
For example if you have Textmate in /Applications/Textmate.app, create a folder in /Applications/TM2/Textmate2.app
Answer: Put TextMate 2 in ~/Applications and Textmate 1 in /Applications then. As I remember, they use the different folders in App Support


Is 'sola gratia' as a soteriology traceable in the period leading to the Protestant Reformation?

Question: Protestants often consider the Roman Catholic church to have significantly distorted the gospel. Were there Christians prior to the Reformation who had essentially the same understanding of the doctrines of salvation (particularly sola gratia) as the later Reformers did? I'm interested in people between Augustine (approx. 400 AD) and Luther (1517 AD).
Comment: Related: Compare the difference between "Protestants" and "Reformational Catholics" in [this article](http://www.firstthings.com/onthesquare/2013/11/the-end-of-protestantism).
Comment: Research Monergism -- it was a theology alive and well in the early Church, and it was rejected and condemned officially around at 6th Ecumenical council in 680.

And FYI your question is a tad presumptuous. The thinking is typically the Catholics added to the Gospel, not distorted.
Answer: Another theologian who anticipated some of the important thoughts of the Reformation, including sola gratia, was Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153), who was frequently cited by both Luther and Calvin.
Answer: Just to list some:

John Wycliffe (1320-1384 AD)
Jan Hus (1369-1415 AD)
Jerome of Prague  (1379-1416 AD)
Peter Waldo (1140–1218 AD)
Girolamo Savonarola (1452–1498 AD)
Comment: Could you add summaries of the significant points in these men's theology that make you think they fit the bill for this question? How did each of them express their ideas on soteriology?
Answer: Yes. They were called heretics. Augustine probably would not have even needed to write about it if it weren't for Pelagius. You can read all about early views like the ransom theory, Abelard's idealistic view on moral influence, Anselm's notion of satisfaction of God's honor in the 11th century and not to mention earlier views seen as heretical like Origen's recapitulation theory which said that demons and the Satan will be be fully justified in the end at Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atonement_in_Christianity I could type it all here but to copy would be plagiarising and why do all work for you. You want to learn, read. Best book on early views of salvation is Gustaf Aulen Christus Victor which is cheap on amazon but also can be in your library if your country has them http://www.amazon.com/Christus-Victor-Historical-Study-Atonement/dp/1592443303
Comment: Do any of those have a protestant understanding of salvation? I'm not familiar with them, but recapitulation certainly isn't!


is it necessary to learn notation or how to read staff paper for making music?

Question: If I have knowledge of some musical terms such as intervals, chords, circle of fifth etc. but I don't know how to read or use staff paper but use piano sequence instead which I feel is pretty much same. is there anything that i can learn in staff paper or notation which I can't learn by using piano sequencer?
Answer:
is it necessary to learn notation or how to read staff paper for making music?

Necessary? No. More ideal? Yes.

is there anything that i can learn in staff paper or notation which I can't learn by using piano sequencer?

Yes. Specifically it enables you to learn from an enormous amount of existing notated music and books that use notation. Those things aren't published in "piano sequencer" form so you wont be able to take advantage of them.
I think your premise that they're the same thing is wrong. They're both useful but for different things. I'd guess that most people (myself included) that know how to read music and also use DAW software end up using their ears and the sequencer grid in that context rather than looking at a staff notation view. But notation is still very useful in other contexts when learning.
That said, you don't have to feel bad for not knowing how to read music. Plenty of people, many legendary musicians even, get by without it. But I also wouldn't look for an excuse or talk yourself out of trying because it really can be helpful. You don't even have to read well (ex. sight-read) to still benefit. Simply knowing enough of the basics to slowly pick up a new tune would be a big help.
Comment: Yanni apparently still uses his own musical notation to *write down* his compositions. Someone's plush job is to translate all that Yanni notation to regular sheet music.
Answer: I think no.
You certainly don't need to know how to read musical notation in order to play music on an instrument. Many people learn by ear and, steeped in a particular idiom, make music entirely without reading it or writing it down.
I don't know much about sequencers, but I just tried doodling with one online. It looks to me like you could use that without reading music as well. To me, it looks just like a carousel organ or organette music strip. Dots and dashes of varying lengths equate to different tones and time values. Seems pretty intuitive.
Answer: Ultimately, it comes down to the fact that sheet music and all its theory is not a requirement for learning music, BUT sheet music and music theory does help improve one's understanding of music. For example, sheet music makes changes in the key obvious with accidentals, whereas otherwise one wouldn't have much of a warning. Also, composing without understanding is not impossible, but this is the biggest area where understanding helps a lot. Essentially, music theory can help one see patterns in music and apply them in one's own creations, where without it one would have to adopt a more trial-and-error strategy.


What does the girl cutting her hand in Animatrix: Beyond symbolize?

Question: In the film, The Animatrix, specifically the Beyond section after the girl and the kids are quarantined, they return to the spot that had the glitch. I understand why she dropped the can (to see whether it will float), but what was the fixation with the blood?
Answer: There's a couple ways to interpret this scene.
The straightforward approach is to just assume she was cutting her hand with the can to see if maybe the 'power' they thought they had had to do with the can or with themselves, meaning maybe only organic matter (bodies, blood, etc) will work, but the blood still dripped to the ground.
The other more psychological approach is her realization that the place has no more 'magic' to it and the cutting is possibly an extreme way to feel something after having this area's special properties taken away from her.
Finally, it could just be dramatic effect and nothing more, though the stories of the Matrix have never been known to use imagery for something so basic, I believe.
Answer: If you watch the film carefully, you see that the can came from the "glitched" area and bounced out of quarantine as the Agents were resetting it. The can is the one object that survived their purge. When she cut her self, maybe she realized the truth, or had some form or power or aspect of the glitched area transferred to her.
Or maybe it was a straightforward sadness, loss-of-innocence scene. There's no way of knowing for sure. One of the most beautiful moments in film, regardless, and few will appreciate it.
Answer: I think it's consequence. The whole story is this "haunted house" that allows the kids to do whatever they want, free to explore and roam. It's childhood. The agents' truck is the looming, oncoming reality of adulthood. They dispose of the magical playground, and the main character feels hurt, now outside of the consequence-free environment they came from.
Answer: I experienced it as a metaphor of blood - life, the latter in the sense of experiencing "real" life. The "glitch" experienced with the kids opens a door for the character to see that there is more to this life than the "bloodless" one she was living before, a door that before was invisible. In a way, her act of dropping the blood in the floor while slowly breathing resembles saying "I am here, I am real, I can feel". For me, somehow this act is connected with the glitch, which showed her this new door of freedom, deepness, or awareness. Blood becomes then a metaphor for life.


What are the names of the 12 original Battlestars?

Question: In the miniseries it is said that there was 12 original Battlestars, one for each of the 12 colonies of man. We know that Galactica of Caprica was one of them. Do we know any of the other twelve and what colony they represented? Was Pegasus considered an "original" Battlestar?
Comment: Chances are the Battlestar is a class of ship not a model of ship.  So both would be Battlestars but would have been commissioned at different times.  Chances are the Galactica was a model from earlier in the war than the Pegasus.  It is even possible that the Pegasus was commissioned post Cylon war.
Comment: I don't think Pegasus would be considered an original because well Galactica was older than Pegasus.
Comment: Understood, the question was is the Pegasus one of the "12 original", and do we know any of the others?
Answer: The short answer: There is no official list
Perhaps this is a question best left unanswered.
Here is a transcript of a dialog recorded at the Galactica 15 Yahren Reunion, between Glen Larson, and an inquiring fan (actually, Larry Mager dressed in Commander Cain garb):

Fan: What were the names of the twelve battlestars? We've seen different lists.
Larson: They weren't battlestars. They were the names of the planets.
Fan: You have the Galactica, the Pacifica, the Atlantia, the Pegasus... the ship names.
Larson: We never arrived that there were twelve battlestars. We only actually shot the Atlantia, the Pegasus, the Galactica. I can't think of any others.
Fan: During the attack by the Cylons on the fleet, you hear in the background, the Pacifica, the Triton is moving up alongside the Acropolis. You hear these different names coming up. And we are tryng to decipher what they were.
Larson: I appreciate the question and we have reason to want to look into that, and we'll have to research that.

Source
Comment: Larson may have only shot three, but more are mentioned in dialogue in the series.
Comment: The author specifically asks about BSG: Reimagined, not BSG: TOS. The "15 Yahren Reunion" took place in 1993.
Comment: @DjangoReinhardt Where do you see the OP specifically asking about the reimaged series?
Comment: @Beofett Maybe I'm wrong. I just assumed "miniseries" meant [miniseries](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battlestar_Galactica_(TV_miniseries)).
Comment: I find "miniseries" to be somewhat of an ambiguous term.  Most likely you're right, but I can see arguments for calling the original series' extended pilot movie a miniseries, or the aborted 10 episodes of Galactica 1980, as "mini-series". It really depends upon how the local TV stations choose to air the show, and given how long the original has been in syndication, its not inconceivable that it was aired as a miniseries. Note also that the OP accepted this answer; it's possible they just didn't realize the source predates the new series, or they may just not care.
Comment: @Beofett Yeah, the confusion led me to post this: http://meta.scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/3251/why-is-there-only-one-battlestar-galactica-tag
Answer: oBSG
A partial list can be constructed from the dialog in the premier of the original BSG; several more from subsequent episodes.
From the Wikipedia entry on Battlestars:
Galactica, Atlantia, Pacifica, Triton, Acropolis, Pegasus, Columbia, and Rycon are all mentioned on film.
Solaria, and Cerebus are mentioned in the novelizations.
Prometheus was on a list given to the production department.
That makes 11 mentioned in OBSG sources. We don't have a canon affiliation to given colonies, either. Adama heads for Caprica because it's home to him... to try and rescue his wife.
nBSG
The Galactica is one of the original 12, according to the miniseries.
According to the Battlestar Wiki, 3 are known from the nBSG video: Galactica, Columbia, and Athena. These belong, according to the designer (as quoted in the wiki), to the Jupiter Class, which means we know 4 of the 12.
The Pegasus is not of the Jupiter class, which probably rules it out, as the Mercury class is newer. It might, however, have been a replacement for a Jupiter class Pegasus.
Comment: @Kakturus Usually, but not always. Sometimes (rarely, but sometimes) the "class ship" doesn't exist.  Sometimes, the class ship isn't finished, or is converted to something else while being built (happened with one class of freighter in WW II, turned into a fighter transport), and rarely, it's scrapped. A few cases of the class name never having been intended exist, but not in the US nor UK to my knowledge. It's common enough in Sci-Fi to not have a class ship, tho', and so it cannot be a certainty that there is a BS Jupiter.
Comment: In the nBSG episode where the Galactica & Pegasus first realize the other survived, I believe someone mentions that the Pegasus is a "newer & more sophisticated" type of Battlestar. I may be wrong, however - I'd need to go back and watch the episodes again to be sure.
Comment: There was also the Acheron: http://en.battlestarwiki.org/wiki/Archeron
Comment: The Acheron is a heavy cruiser, not a battlestar - according to the dialogue. I won't add it because the source is non-canonical, while canon dialogue is clear she's a heavy cruiser.
Comment: Wouldn't the first of its class, the Jupiter, also qualify? Sure, there might be no mention of the ship itself. But according to naming conventions the class name is usually the name of the lead ship.
Answer: This is in regards to the original series.

Eight Battlestars were seen or mentioned by name during the TV series. Of these, five were known to have survived by the time the original movie took place.

Many are identified in background radio chatter in the original pilot film ("... Battlestars Atlantia and Acropolis losing speed..") (Background voiceover Male: "...Request damage reports from Battlestars Triton and Pacifica.." Background voiceover female: "...no response from the Triton and the Pacifica") (Background voiceover female: "...This is the Acropolis. We're on fire. Request shuttles to..." )

A sixth Battlestar (the Pegasus) was thought to have been lost, but reappeared during the series.

Battlestar Galactica
Built 500 yahren before the close of the Thousand Yahren War. It is commanded by Commander Adama. The Galactica has about 150 Vipers aboard, a mixture of its own, some from the other Battlestars at the Peace Conference, and a great number of fighters from the Pegasus.
Battlestar Atlantia
Lost at the Peace Conference. Atlantia carried President Adar and the Council of Twelve. Was the first battlestar destroyed in the Battle of Cimtar.
Battlestar Pacifica
Lost at the Peace Conference. Novelization states that she was sister ship of the Atlantia, was the largest of the battlestars and had previously been destroyed.
Battlestar Triton
Lost at the Peace Conference.
Battlestar Acropolis
Lost at the Peace Conference.
Battlestar Pegasus
Sole survivor of the Battle of Molecay, 2 yahrens before the Destruction of the Colonies. The Pegasus was commanded by Commander Cain. Missing in action since the Battle of Gamoray when she destroyed two Cylon Basestars. Viper pilots from the Pegasus' Silver Spar Squadron wore a helmet design that bore a black 'flying horse', unlike the Galactica's Blue and Red Squadron pilots' falcon/eagle crest Viper helmets, due to the Pegasus' own namesake.
Battlestar Columbia
In the episode "Gun on Ice Planet Zero", a Cadet Cree claims to be from the Battlestar Columbia in an attempt to foil the interrogation efforts by the Gold Command Centurion Vulpa. Vulpa answers back that the Columbia was lost in the Peace Conference with the rest of the fleet.
Battlestar Rycon
In the episode "Take the Celestra", during an awards ceremony Commander Kronus is described as having 'risen from the ranks to command the Battlestar Rycon, a ship famed for destroying 3 Cylon Basestars at the Battle Of Cosmora Archipelago, but at the cost of the Rycon herself presumably.
Battlestar Solaria
Another ship mentioned as destroyed in the novelization of the original series first episode. Was the last Battlestar destroyed according to the Battlestar Galactica novelization, when Lt. Starbuck and Lt. Boomer tried to find another ship to land on because of burning up a lot of fuel due to the use of full turbos on their Vipers, during the Battle Of Cimtar. Its ship insignia and the ornamental crest on its Viper pilots' helmets would have featured a 'Burning Sun'.
Battlestar Prometheus
Another ship that was on a list of names given to the costume department during production of the series. The Prometheus's Viper pilot helmet ornament and ship insignia would have featured a hand holding a burning torch. Rumor has it that Prometheus would be found by Galactica during the second season.
Battlestar Cerberus
In the novelization for "War of the Gods", Adama recalls serving with Cain and a friend named Apollo on the battlestar Cerberus as young Viper pilots. Apollo is killed in a battle at Sagitara and Adama names his son in his honor.

Wikipedia, Battlestar (fictional spacecraft), Battlestar Galactica (1978–1980), List of Battlestars
Comment: I've edited your answer so that it is clear what is from an external source and what isn't. You can do this with the markdown `>` and by providing a link to where this has come from, see [help/referencing](https://scifi.stackexchange.com/help/referencing).
Answer: Galactica,Atlantia,Pegasus,Pacifica,Caprica,Triton,Acropolis,Rycon,Solaria,Cerebus,Athena,Orion.
Comment: Welcome to the site. Do you have any source you can provide for this information?
Answer: Twelve colonies/tribes are mentioned, and yet, we see only five flying in formation during the opening credits. Five Battlestars and no screening or escort vessels. Also, logically we should discount the PEGASUS as it was thought lost, while under the command of Commander Cain in some battle in the past. It was a surprise to all aboard GALACTICA including Adama, who presumably was old enough to have remembered, or even served with him. Cain did seem to remember Adama as a fellow Colonial warrior.
Also, and forgive my 64 year old memory, wasn't the Colonies at war with the Cylons a thousand year's war, which ebbed and flowed over time. In any case the battlestars would have had to be part of different classes. They wouldn't just keep cranking out the same class. As new technology was made available it would have to be integrated, and over time the frames would need to be replaced. So it stands to reason they would have different classes.
Comment: This is only tangentially relevant to what the 12 ships' names are.
Answer: Galactica, Atlantia, Pacifica, Solaria, Columbia, Triton, Acropolis, Rycon, Cerebus, Athena, Orion & I think that Archeron is one
Comment: Welcome, please add a source for this. See also [about].
Comment: Welcome to Science Fiction and Fantasy! It looks like your answer is quite anecdotal, do you have any more information to add? Here added references to the points you make would help back up your answer :)


Prepaid cellphone (Handy) or SIM card for Germany, Czech Republic, Austria and Hungary?

Question: I'm going to spend all May 2014 in Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, and Hungry and I want to have a smart phone to have the possibility to see maps and thins kind of data and of course make some local calls.
So my question is what's the best way to solve this, buying in Berlin a phone, buying here in my country (Mexico) an unlocked phone and buy in Berlin a SIM card or maybe rent a phone in Berlin.
If someone has good advice or information I really appreciate it.
Comment: if you want to see maps, you can use/buy offline maps for your smartphone, it might end up cheaper than having a data plan (I suppose that's what you imply) or simply getting paper maps. Please clarify if you would like to make only calls or more.
Answer: Get an unlocked phone at home - it will probably be cheaper, but more importantly easier to comparison shop and take your time to get familiar with the phone.
There are many providers of relatively cheap prepaid SIM cards in Germany, which all offer international roaming and due to EU regulations prices for this have become much more reasonable.
However, for more than minimal international data usage in a short time, ALDI Talk is the best provider I know of, since they have a package offering EU-wide data access for 5 EUR, valid for one week and recently upgraded to 120 MB:
http://www.alditalk.de/nord/Surfen/EU_Internet-Paket_120.php
But I'd still heed Vince's comment and get an offline map app, since intensive use of a map app can use up 120MB more quickly than you'd think.
Comment: I have very good maps in my iPad to navigate on off line, so this is covered, but anyway a very good advice!, but I would love to have access to the net to have info in specific places, like you normally have using a printed guide, so this time I will use just guides on line. On the other hand my trip start in Berlin but then I have a rented car so I would love to have the road help that google maps provide, and also have the possibility to make some local and international calls, mostly into Europe.
Comment: The ALDI talk may not be a good solution because they have no micro SIM cards. You must order them online, so first you loose time (if you're only a few days in Germany) and second, the issues with receiving post without 'external' address.
Answer: A similar cheap prepaid SIM in Hungary could be Bluemobile in Lidl stores. You might try Tesco stores for their service or bigger service providers as Vodafone. Buying SIM cards in Hungary need registration of personal data, so a passport or ID must be at hand.
Comment: Actually, you can buy anonymous SIM cards at street kiosks of used phone dealers without any ID card.


What Can I Make in a Rice Cooker Besides Rice?

Question: I received a rice cooker as a gift. I like to know if anything else I can done with it other than, cook rice. you have some ideas?
Comment: Mine has a timer; one of my favorite things is to put in some old-fashioned slow-cooking steel cut oats and water at night, set the timer, and wake up to hot oatmeal.
Comment: If you google things like "rice cooker recipes" or "things to cook in rice cooker," there's a wealth of other recipes that you can use besides the basic "rice, similar grains, or steamed foods." I've personally made mac and cheese and a frittata, and have a recipe for corn bread I'd like to try out.
Answer: Almost anything that can be cooked in a slow cooker (on low) can be done in a rice cooker.
Roger Ebert (the film critic) has a cookbook for rice cookers : The Pot and How to Use It
... but there's lots of other ones out there, too.
Answer: I've read that oatmeal works, and probably other types of grains as well. If yours comes with a little steamer insert like mine did, you can steam vegetables in them. There was a fad awhile back of people making cake in them, too.
Answer: Any grains that cook by absorption, such as bulgur, work well. You can use it for couscous but as that just needs to be soaked in boiling water there not much point.
Wetter foods can be cooked in it but the cutoff won't work, so you'll need to keep an eye on them - only worth it if for some reason you can't put a pan on a stove.
While it is rice-based, risotto is worth a mention: a single pot meal in the rice cooker. It's worth starting from a recipe. Other similar rice-based dishes can also be done.
It's worth getting a rice cooker recipe book if you're feeling adventurous.


Can I refuse to reveal the salary for my last position if it was a bit low?

Question: If my salary was a bit low for my last position, can I refuse to reveal it if a potential employer asks and how would I word it? Especially since I was fired from my last job, I am worried that a lower salary would make me look doubly bad
Comment: I often write confidential in the salary history box.  Any company that will disqualify you for not revealing your previous salary is not a company I would want to work at anyway.
Comment: If they bring up the subject mention you feel your previous wage was below market value.  You should of course be more worried over the fact you were fired.  If everyone was fire then you should make that clear.
Comment: It sounds like you have a salary amount that you want in mind. Perhaps you should just tell them that number to make sure that everyone is on the same page before going through lengthy interviews and that nobody wastes their time.
Comment: You shouldn't give it here, but the reason for your firing is relevant. If it was for performance, your previous employer essentially said that your skills weren't worth even the "low" salary they were paying. You need to know and be able to prove that the market disagrees. You also need to consider whether you're assessing your market value correctly.
Comment: Don't refuse, just say your salary was around the current salary your looking for now. Past employers aren't allowed to disclose your personal information such as salary, so they have no way of checking, and it is not illegial to lie.
Answer: Being fired is going to look bad. There's no avoiding that. But you need to be honest about that because they're going to ask for references at some point and you're going to need to explain why you're not listing your previous company. Also be honest about the reasons, cause if the same thing is going to get you fired from this place then you're wasting everyone's time. If the reasons are the kind of thing that will get you fired from anywhere, be quick to tell them what you're doing to ensure it doesn't happen again.
With all that in mind, are you really looking for significantly more money than you were paid in your previous job? Bear in mind that you are slightly damaged goods right now and you need a job where you can rebuild a clean record. You are almost certainly not worth market value, at this point in time.
If your previous wages were so low that you still think you're worth significantly more, be honest about that. Say "My previous wage was $X, but I think I'm worth significantly more than that." Again, if you're not honest, this might come out in the references, and that - combined with your firing - is going to look a hell of a lot worse.
If you refuse to reveal it at all then they might assume it was even worse than if you'd been honest.
Comment: I like your answer, it make sense to me. But I have seen people build entire careers on failure. It boggles my mind, but I've known guys who managed to make sure that everywhere they worked they left on shaky terms with projects in shambles. Somehow they kept scoring bigger and better gigs. Perhaps the OP is one of those people :).
Comment: I don't know.  I got fired once and still got 20% higher salary at my next gig.  Long story short, was being payed well below market, just got an outstanding review, so I asked for a 10% raise.  They played the whole "let's make his life hell until he quits" game, then fired me when that wasn't working fast enough.  It was many years ago, so I don't remember how I explained it when asked.  Said something about a "personality conflict" or some such.
Answer:
[C]an I refuse to reveal it if a potential employer asks and how would I word it?

I've refused to reveal it when it was embarassingly low. That company had included as part of the non-disclosure agreement that salary and other benefits were confidential and were expressly covered by the NDA. This part of the NDA is expressly forbidden by federal regulations (and many court cases have upheld it), but I chose to use that to my advantage when it was not in my interest to reveal that information.
You could phrase it along the lines of "while the salary itself was below market average, the other benefits involved brought the compensation package up to the market norms." If you do pursue this route, you had better think of other "benefits" that offset the money, as they may offer them to you in order to save a buck. The reason they are determined to pry your last salary out of you is that many people have a belief that people may not ask for more than a 15-20% raise (from their last job) when switching jobs. Their beliefs should not stop you from getting what you are worth.
The important thing to remember is that salary is just one part of a compensation package that could also include university reimbursement, extra time off, working from home, or other non-monetary items. You really need to add those up to get a total package value. And if the money is low, emphasize the package value when they're hardballing you.
Comment: You bring up good points. I have always taken a job offer as the chance to hold the power in the discussion about salary. You are able to tell them what would make you switch jobs ( or accept a job offer if your not employeed ). While there is a limit to this power ( clearly you can't ask for 1 MILLION DOLLARS! ) you do hold enough power to direct the compsensation package in your favor.  At this point they want you to work for them, as long as you don't make them change their minds, they normally are willing to work with out provided its not a crazy request.
Answer: You can say the salary of your last job was a bit low and that's why you're applying for this job. If the potential employer keeps asking exactly how low it was. You can say you rather not tell because it's low. Then you can try to change the subject. If they still want to know, I am not sure you really want to work for them.
Honesty is the best policy. However, that does not mean you must tell everything.
Answer: Frankly, your previous salary is none of the company's business, and they're stupid for asking you what it was.*
Why? Because they're basing your value to them using the criteria from another company, possibly in another industry, from a different job.
If I'm applying at Frobozz to work on Flood Control Dam #3, what I did at Acme, Inc (Anvil testing) is irrelevant—and again—none of Frobozz's business.
I always use @Tagurena's excuse: my salary is under NDA (meaning I Never Disclose to Anyone). 100% of the time this has worked.
*The real reason, of course is to save money by lowballing you. Either they go with the low-priced applicant, or (if you're the hiree) so they can start you at a lower salary than what others get.
Answer: Yes, because it's irrelevant
Here's how I would answer (based on my personal situation).

That's really not relevant to our discussions. My last company has a
  different business model than you do, so their ability to profit from
  my skills was different.
Also, I've learned a lot of skills since I was last hired.
Also, the market demand for people with my skills has changed.
The question real question is, what are my current skills worth to
  your business?

Besides being a good verbal defense, this is absolutely true. Remember: your labor is a product that you're selling. All prices are based only on supply and demand.
I mean, suppose you were going to buy a used car. Does it make any difference to you what the previous buyer paid for it? Of course not. You will pay what it's worth to you, determined by some combination of market value and your own needs.
Turn it the other way around, too. What would the employer say if you asked "what did you pay the last person in this position?" Probably the same thing that you'd say if a the car dealer asked you "what did you pay for your last car?" You'd say, "that's irrelevant. This is a different car."
Like a car, the price of your labor is determined by what similarly skilled labor costs in the market, and what the employer needs. Only they know what they need, but you should bring salary data along to show the market value.
The beauty of arguing from market value is that it can't be countered. If they won't pay a fair price, someone else will.
Comment: I should add that this has worked for me in getting a raise, too, when I changed roles in the same company. My boss started by saying "we typically pay $X," and I countered with "jobs like this pay $Y in this area." He laughed and said "so you're saying if we don't pay you more, you'll be gone." If anything, he seemed impressed that I was confident of my own value. I got the raise.
Answer: Politely explain that you won't release your salary information as that could jeopardise your position. Invite the company to offer you a fair offer as a base for a discussion based on your working experieence.
You do not have the obligation to say your past or current salary.


Email to a professor after long time for recommendation

Question: I did my bachelor at university A in which Prof. X supervised my graduation project. I asked him for a recommendation when I was applying to university B for masters and he wrote me a great one. That was a year and a half ago, and now I am applying for PhD at university C. I need his recommendation again but I feel bad for not emailing him for a long time. I don't know how to write my email. I don't want to jump directly for the recommendation. Could you share your suggestions on what to write ??
Answer: After a decade of teaching, I get these quite often. While people use a variety of styles, the one that I am most responsive to is:

Initial formal e-mail asking me if I remember them (with hints such as "I was the student who wrote the thesis on faster-than-light dog walking"), then telling me what they've been doing for the past X years (with a recent CV or resume as an attachment), and transitioning to their desire to move on to a new career or grad school and asking me if I could write a letter of recc for them. Close with an offer to talk on the phone (or come up to campus) to help refresh their memory of them.

Once you get the ok, make it as easy as possible for me to write the letter. If there are things you want me to emphasize, be blunt about saying it ("Please don't mention the folly of FTL dog-walking" or "Please emphasize my familiarity with temporal dilation and astrophysics").
Comment: Thanks a lot for your kind answer ! I wrote one email with a short introduction and also sent him his old recommendation and then asked for the recommendation very polity. Thanks again.
Answer: If someone has already written you a recommendation letter in the past and you want them to write another one, the key question is: has the old letter become obsolete, or can it (in essential content, anyway) still be used?
If the answer to the above question is yes, I think you're golden: just thank the professor for writing the recommendation before and ask them if they are willing to write an updated copy.  They will have the same question as above, so be clear to them that you are not looking for them to say anything they haven't already said.
If the answer is no -- significant updating is required -- then it becomes a "bigger ask".  If the additional information is something that you feel like you can faithfully supply to them in the form of written documents -- e.g. updated CV, new papers -- then you should enclose them along with your email request.  If you really need a qualitatively different letter, then an in-person visit is probably in order, and if that seems impractical and/or doesn't go well, then perhaps you should really be looking for someone more au courant to be writing your letter.
In your case, I suspect that the affirmative is more likely to apply: at least in my field and location (mathematics in the United States) applying for a master's program is essentially identical to applying for a PhD program.  Even assuming you did a master's degree, getting a letter from someone who only interacted with you as an undergrad and who only addresses your undergraduate career would be totally appropriate.  (You should however try to get at least one letter from your most recent program or job, if at all possible.)  In this case, the letter is likely to begin by mentioning that the professor's interactions with you were limited to the undergraduate program at his university and mention that he can't speak to your master's program but that someone else will.  After that he can really cut and paste the former letter, if he likes.

I don't know how to write my email. I don't want to jump directly for the recommendation. Could you share your suggestions on what to write ??

If I have learned one thing in my time on this site, it is that the world is a big place and there are relatively few universal tenets of academic culture.  But in the part of academia I am familiar with (again, mathematics in the United States), your request for an additional letter is absolutely standard.  I would not view a year and a half as a "long time" -- as I mentioned above, the determining factor is not the number of years that have passed but to what extent the letter needs / is desired to be updated: that's what takes up the professor's time and effort -- nor do I see lack of contact in the interim as anything to be embarrassed about in the slightest.  By not jumping directly to the recommendation request you risk taking up a busy person's valuable time by giving them more text to read.  I would begin with a short paragraph of the "Hello there?  Remember me?  I hope you are well" variety -- two or three sentences would be sufficient.  And then yes -- jump to the recommendation request.  Writing these letters -- and rewriting them in the intervening years -- is part of our job, after all.
Comment: I think it's worth emphasizing as well that Prof. X has probably not lost sleep over why user18244 hasn't emailed him lo these last 18 months.  Students always move on and Prof. X has plenty of new students to teach, mentor, and write letters for.  So user18244 probably shouldn't worry about not keeping Prof. X up to date.
Comment: Agreed that a year and a half is nothing. I've had students write who have disappeared for 4-5 years. Those are the ones where I really need reminding who they are.
Comment: I appreciate the detailed answer thanks a lot. I wrote just two very short sentences thanking him again for the old recommendation and for the time I spend under his instruction and then asked for the recommendation. I also sent him his old recommendation as it has lots of details that he needed. Thanks again for the helpful and detailed response.
Answer: How about (drum roll) the truth?
Paraphrasing you:
"Thanks for the recommendation letter you wrote me when I was applying to university B for masters. [Tell him how it went and what you did.]
Now I am applying for PhD at university C, and I want to ask your recommendation again, but I feel bad for not emailing you for a long time."
Continue from then on. He may be good people and help you out. What's the big deal? Piece of advice: stop thinking of (lowercase) professors as the aristocrats of knowledge.


unable to install LibreCAD (some package could not be installed)

Question: I had tried to install LibraCAD from Ubuntu software center but fail. Then I tried using terminal command, and the below show:
<code>tay@tay-Presario-CQ45-Notebook-PC:~$ sudo apt-get install librecad
[sudo] password for tay:
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
Some packages could not be installed. This may mean that you have
requested an impossible situation or if you are using the unstable
distribution that some required packages have not yet been created
or been moved out of Incoming.
The following information may help to resolve the situation:

The following packages have unmet dependencies:
 librecad : Depends: libqt4-help (>= 4:4.5.3) but it is not going to be installed
            Depends: libqt4-qt3support (>= 4:4.5.3) but it is not going to be installed
E: Unable to correct problems, you have held broken packages.
tay@tay-Presario-CQ45-Notebook-PC:~$
</code>
Please help to provide solution.
thank you.
Answer: try installing libqt4 from the Ubuntu software center, you should look for the "see thechnical documents" on the lowest part of the software center.
also install Libre CAD from their repositories.
<code>> $ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:librecad-dev/librecad-daily
>
> To stay up to date with the newest build, simply use Ubuntu's "Update
> Manager" or:
>
>     $ sudo apt-get update
>     $ sudo apt-get upgrade
</code>