Scottrade cash interest?

Question: I'm looking into opening a Scottrade account in the future, and was wondering if they pay interest on cash in your brokerage account? Are the rates published anywhere?
Answer: As a longtime customer of Scottrade I want to say that I'm very happy with it. Now, to answer your question: they do give you a nominal cash interest rate but it is VERY low -- this past month it was 0.01% APYR. The interest that I earned in my Scottrade account in August (31 days) on average credit cash balance of $729.36 was $0.01.
I don't know if or where they publish the rate, but you would get a much better rate from an average savings account. However, you can purchase CDs/bonds/tbills through Scottrade if you want cash/safe investments.
Answer: http://www.scottrade.com/online-brokerage/interest-margin-rates.html
Rates fluctuate based upon the federal funds rate.
Comment: @Mike I think you're right that it's the "Credit Interest Rates" tab.
Comment: "Scottrade customers earn interest on uninvested deposits" That's the part I'm after. Is that the Credit Interest section?
Answer: These interest rates are very low. One of the reasons that I prefer E*Trade is because on their on-line savings account the interest rates are several times higher than on ScotTrade margin accounts (currently it's 0.7% on E*Trade, on any amount, IIRC).
The transfers between the accounts on E*Trade are immediate, and they allow using the money for investing immediately even for transfers from outside source. If you can wait a couple of days for the money to arrive before your investment (unless ScotTrade, like E*Trade, allow investing external transfers immediately), you can look at AMEX, ING Direct or Capitol One on-line savings accounts for even higher rates.
Oh, and needless to mention, on-line savings accounts are FDIC insured, I'm not sure if the uninvested deposits on Scottrade are.

Scottrade cash interest?


Good color palette, usable for the color blind.

Question: I'm designing a chart right now, that will slowly have more items added to it. I'd like to create an list/order of colors for the items, that will be most usable for the color blind to differentiate between each item. Any ideas how/where to start?
Answer: If you want to go with "trial and error" approach, I'd suggest a tool named Color Oracle (cross-platform) which simulates deuteranopia/deuteranomaly, protanopia/protanomaly and tritanopia -types of color blindness on your computer screen.
(Also Photoshop has color blindness proof setups available under View → Proof Setup (CS5 has, at least). But Photoshop might be a bit overkill, if you're about to design a chart.)
Comment: +1 for photoshop proof i was trying it the other day. Its pretty awesome
Comment: The point being that testing is the right approach; choosing a "safe" palette is going to be needlessly restrictive.
Answer: What kind of color blindness are you trying to address? This link
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_blindness
should give you a good idea of the various colors to avoid based on the type of color blindness.
In general, making anything dependent on choosing between blues and greens can get dicey; you might want to see how your stuff looks as purely monochromatic.
Since there's a range of "color blindness" you probably also want to always be sure that controls, etc. have redundancy (e.g., the big red button should also be labeled "Self-Destruct button" in a nice contrasting color (black on red or white on red).
Comment: @Lauren: Well, you can't be too careful when designing UIs for your evil lair...
Comment: good call for redundancy
Comment: yep, and make sure you hire a five-year-old to test your grand plans. :)
Answer: There are many kinds of color blindness. The key is to make sure there's adequate contrast. Even better, don't rely on color alone - have the same information always covered in shape, contrast or order of the items. If your image is easy to understand in black and white, it passes.
Comment: While technically there are many kinds, the large majority have deuteranopia or the milder deuteranomaly. Nearly all the rest have protanopia or protanomaly. All of the above are a loss of red-green. All remaining types together (blue-yellow or monochrome) are less than 0.01% of the population, as I understand it. So, I mainly target normal vision and deuteranopia (using the Adobe simulation) and then tweak a bit using the protanopia simulation.
Comment: If you replace red entirely with an otherwise-unused color (usually magenta, or orange), that helps. Android has done a lot of that. (Or, you could replace green.) Swapping out colored icons isn't easy, though, if you use red (or green) in just some of your icons. (For us, our legacy icons can't all be monochrome.) If you have the luxury of swappable palettes then you could optimize separately for deut. and prot., and even add a third option for tritanopia/tritanomaly. If you have swappable, having a high-contrast mode (light text on dark bg) is a lot of substitutions but even more useful.
Answer: I'm color blind. "We" like graphics being discriminated using color just as much as "you" - it's just there are fewer colors in our world than yours. Here's a pragmatic suggestion in the spirit of the 80/20 rule.
If your first type of color sensors (proto) don't work your vision is proto-anopic. If they just misbehave a bit you're proto-anomolous. Repeat for the other two types of color sensor and substitute 'deuter' or 'trito' for 'proto'. (I think these are Greek for 1,2,3).
The pragmatic opportunity arises from the fact that deuteranomaly is very much more prevalent than the other types; 5% of all males. The others score less than 1% in males, and even less in females. So a simple solution for us deuteranomalists goes a long way - I personally don't want to have to configure colors myself just to be able to see a difference in the lines on a graph. (Which happens ALL the time).
I've included below a small set of colors that I can see the difference between effortlessly. I've tried unsuccessfully to put more in - so that gives you an idea of how small the palette needs to be.
Nb. Don't forget it's no use referring to these colors by name in the user experience you create. For us Deuts - it seems as if "you" have invented a great many needlessly duplicated names for pretty much the same colours :-)
rgb(255, 204, 153)
rgb(204, 204, 255)
rgb(255, 102, 102)
rgb(139, 230, 2)
red
yellow
rgb(51, 51, 255)
rgb(153, 153, 153)
rgb(153, 0, 0)
rgb(51, 51, 51)
rgb(0, 0, 102)
rgb(120, 102, 75)
Comment: The html fragment I copied in to show the colors hasn't showed up properly - so let me try again:
Comment: here ya go https://jsfiddle.net/kgasj68o/
Answer: There are some tools for firefox out there Example
Afaik, there's also a certificate that has some guidelines. I looked into my papers but haven't found it so far. Google will surely tell something about the different available certificates for your country.
Answer: The most common kind of color blindness is red-green color blindness (which may be a defect in detecting red or in detecting green, but rarely both).  So avoid relying upon distinctions in the red-green part of the spectrum.  (Light green and light orange will tend to appear the same to such people, for example.)
If you want to be especially cautious, you can place your colors on a blue-yellow axis (very deep blue; aqua; white; chartreuse; brown); all the red-green problems still render the individual able to tell that blue is different; yellow has the advantage of activating both green and red cones, so if there's a problem with either one, it's still plenty visible.  Alternatively, any stretch where the brightness increases (e.g. red->yellow->white) is visible to most people.  Don't assume that red is different than black, however.
Answer: I'm resurrecting this because it's hard to find concrete examples or How-To's.
You can use simulators to help accomplish this goal, keeping in mind that targeting Deuteranopia covers the majority, and supporting Protanopia as well covers nearly everyone else. (I believe the remainder is less than 0.01% of the population.)
Adobe products like Illustrator have very helpful simulators (open a new Window and choose View > Proof Setup > Color Blindness...) that can instantly show you a live side-by-side rendition as you tweak your colors. And there are free standalone tools as well, like Colour Contrast Analyzer.
The following is a just a sample screenshot from Illustrator showing a six-color palette (where the sixth color is either Red or Magenta, not both) and both simulations. The bottom-left one is the most critical one, statistically.
Note that in this case purple has become only marginally useful (quite faded, and even so still has low contrast with blue and/or magenta). Also, the "safest" option (full-on Magenta replacing Red) can be rather loud. For most people with CVD, tweaking the saturation/brightness of red and green can provide recognizable contrast.

(Please check with me before re-using this palette / image in its entirety.)
I'd highly recommend using the HSL color space. HSB (a.k.a HSV) is pretty friendly too, especially compared to RGB or CMYK. (FYI, only the H hue values will be identical in the two systems.) Here, each column uses a single hue number.  You can always extract the RGB codes later, either from Adobe or using the excellent tools at colorizer.org. Hex RGB codes are, sadly, the most concise and directly usable by programmers etc., although if you're working in CSS, it directly supports HSL (yay).
Blue's saturation here is deliberately low to (a) be a gentler link/button color and (b) to contrast more with these well-saturated magentas and purples. Within a column, the main variation is brightness, but you can get away with some saturation variation too.
Answer: If you aren't in Photoshop or you're in an earlier version that doesn't have the color-blind proof view mentioned above, you can check your design's brightness contrast by converting to grayscale. Or, if it's an earlier version of PS, you can use either a hue and saturation layer with the saturation turned all the way down, or a gradient map using black to white as the gradient. Put that layer as the top layer in your document, then whenever you want to check the contrast, turn it on. I prefer the gradient map because it is more accurate in terms of what colors contrast against each other in terms of brightness (red shows as a little lighter than it is if you just desaturate), but either can show you problem areas in the design. So long as your page looks fine in that view, it should be ok to a color-blind user.
Answer:
Figure 1: Ishihara colorblindedness test.
I just answered a similar question, at some length:
What's a good source of color palettes to provide to a color-blind user?
The basic upshot is: the specific color-blind experience of your userbase (as there is considerable variance) is worth investigating; your palette will likely evolve from what you might see through colorblind eyes.
Pic related:
Comment: But it seems odd that given how common some forms of colour-blindness are there are not websites that just list convenient palettes. It feels like reinventing the wheel each time.
Answer: I know I already answered this q -- but I just found this:
http://disturbmedia.com/max/colour-blindness.html
... which is a color-blindness simulator that seems particularly well-suited for yr task. I looked at it and I felt so bad for the colorblind that I was compelled to think of palettes that'd work for them too, out of compassion. Really -- I am not entirely joking; have a look.


Do I have British citizenship by descent?

Question: I'm curious to see if I am eligible for British citizenship. My brothers and I were born in the US between 1957 and 1961 to an English mother (she was born in England) and a British father (he was naturalized at an early age). Both parents are now deceased. I still do have Aunts and Uncles as well as most of my cousins living in England and Wales (although I doubt this has any bearing).
Comment: Have you asked your nearest British consulate?
Comment: What's the difference between "English" and "British"?
Comment: England vs. the rest of the Empire. :)
Comment: My mother was born in England while my father was not, but was naturalized at an early age.
Answer: This is one of the cases where the government's citizenship checker is not really helpful, but let's try to answer the questions newertheless:
When were you born?

Before 1 January 1983

As you were born before 1983
Were you born in the UK or a qualifying territory?

No

No, the US is not one of the qualifying territories
Were you a UK and Colonies citizen on 31 December 1982 with right of abode in the UK?

Now this is the tricky question. This basically asks you whether you are a British citizen or not, so to answer it you need to check the section 5 of the 1948 nationality act. Based on this you are already a British citizen by descent, if your father was a British citizen not by descent before you were born.
You've said that your father has been naturalized as British citizen, so he is a British citizen not by descent. If he had done this before you were born, then you are already a British citizen by descent.
See my other answer on how to apply for your first British passport from abroad.
If your father naturalized after you have been born, then you are not a British citizen, as mothers could not pass on citizenship before 1983. However, you can try to register as British citizen. To register you need to have all of the following:
You were born before 1 January 1983

This is okay
You would have become a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies by
descent if women had been able to pass on citizenship to their children
in the same way as men at the time of your birth

This is also okay, as your mother was a British citizen not by descent when you were born
You have right of abode

You have multiple ways where you can get this, fortunately as

your mother was, at the time of your birth, a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies by birth, legal adoption, naturalisation or registration in the United Kingdom, Channel Islands or Isle of Man

applies to you, this part is okay. And finally
 the Secretary of State is satisfied that you are of good character.

if you haven't commited a crime, act of terrorism, and you haven't tried to illegally enter the UK previously, etc. then this should be okay as well.
If all of this aplies you have to register for British citizenship using form UKM. Fortunately you only need to pay the ceremony, which is £80 as of 2015 per adult. You will also need two referees to sign the form, which has it's own rules. You should defintiely read the form UKM guides and maybe also hire a solicitor to help you with it to make sure everything is in order. The guide will also contain where to send the application form and related documents (like your current passport), which is as of 2015:
Department 1
UK Visas and Immigration
PO BOX 306
Liverpool
L2 0QN

Comment: I went the registration route back in 2011 just on my own and carefully followed the UKM form instructions, and while I was constantly worried that I was filling something out wrong, it all went pretty smoothly - all the points you bring up were the same ones I encountered. IIRC I only paid ~$120 for the registration application, and then another $140 for the citizenship ceremony at the consulate. Holy cats prices have gone up in just a few years!
Comment: @Danny this is no doubt a result of the significant anti-immigration sentiment in the UK.  US fees are similarly steep, for similar reasons.
Comment: I think that the fee information here is incorrect. No registration fee is required for UKM applications - you only need to pay the ceremony fee. See http://www.immigrationboards.com/british-citizenship/registering-as-citizen-pre-1983-foreign-born-to-uk-mother-t132271.html#p826418 The "ceremony fee only" in https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/448606/Master_Fees_Leaflet_2015_07_21.pdf means only only ceremony fee is payable.
Comment: @oskarpearson - it looks like they have since removed the fee associated with the application itself. Back in 2011 I sent my originals to the British Embassy in Washington, and there was a fee associated with their making copies and forwarding those to Liverpool, including the return postage to send the originals back to me. You had me starting to wonder whether I was rooked into paying twice, but I see other stories similar to mine where they paid fees up front and then for the ceremony: http://www.canuckabroad.com/forums/applying-for-british-citizenship-ukm-form-ceremony-vt10487-10.html


How do aircraft engine manufacturers achieve a higher bypass ratio while still meeting the thrust requirements for a given aircraft?

Question: I understand that a higher bypass ratio leads to greater efficiency as less air moves through the core, and therefore less fuel is burned. However, how is the thrust requirement for the same aircraft met with a newer engine that has a higher bypass ratio? Since most of the mass flow will be provided by the front fan, I want to understand what changes are made to turbofan engines that allow the same amount of thrust while minimizing airflow through the core.
Comment: The core is mostly a fixed size but you grow the fan. Tough part is to harvest energy from the gas to drive the fan.
Comment: Does your question boils down to "For the same engine thrust, how can BPR be increased without increasing fuel consumption in the core"?
Answer: Early turbojets were so inefficient that adding a fan was considered but not implemented because that would had made the engines even more sluggish and narrowed the operating limits even more. If you compare the Jumo 004 with the EJ200, you will find that both are of similar size, have  8 compressor stages, but vary widely in their compression ratio and thrust (3.2 vs. 26 compression ratio and 9 vs. 60 kN dry thrust).
When compressor flow was better understood, turbine temperatures and pressure ratios rose, the excess power delivered by the engine core rose and allowed to drive a second turbine and shaft; initially with bypass ratios as low as 0.25. If you compare the overall pressure ratio with the bypass ratio, you will certainly spot a trend:
<code>Engine             compressor       pressure ratio     bypass ratio
RR Conway        7LP, 9HP stages       14  :1             0.25:1
P&W JT3D      2fan, 6LP, 7HP stages    12.5:1             1.42:1
GE CF6-6      1 fan, 1LP, 16HP stages  25  :1             5.8 :1
RR RB211-535  1 fan, 6IP, 6HP stages   25.8:1             4.3 :1
GE 90         1 fan, 4LP, 9HP stages   42  :1             9   :1
RR Trent XWB  1 fan, 8IP, 6HP stages   52  :1             9.3 :1
RR Ultra Fan                          >70  :1           >15   :1 (projected)
</code>
A more efficient core allows to leave more energy in the exhaust past the high pressure turbine, so the low pressure turbine can extract more power to drive a larger fan.
Comment: By using fuel and air more efficiently. Higher compression ratio, better burners, more efficient turbines.
Comment: @flextempers: If you stay firmly in the subsonic realm, and want to minimise fuel consumption on long range flights, then yes. Note that increasing bypass ratio will give you diminishing returns and a bigger, heavier nacelle with higher drag. At some point you might want to artificially keep the nacelle flow laminar for longer to still achieve positive gains from that higher bypass ratio.
Comment: Good answer! How is more energy extracted with a smaller core region and less fuel?
Comment: Understood, so the goal for turbofan engines is always to have the highest bypass ratio possible while maximizing core efficiency and decreasing core size?
Comment: This is fascinating. What do you mean by 'artificially' keep nacelle flow laminar? Can't the thickness of the nacelle remain relatively constant even with a large increase in fan diameter?
Comment: @flextempers: It's about the wetted surface of the nacelle. A bigger diameter will result in a proportional surface increase. Laminarisation can be achieved by sucking the boundary layer away through tiny holes in the surface. Google for active laminarization.
Answer: The gas generator is the core of the jet engine: the combination of compressor - combustor - turbine. The difference is in extraction of power by the turbine. If the turbine is larger, it can extract more power from the gas stream to drive the compressor + fan. If there is no bypass fan, less power is extracted from the gas flow by the turbine, and the exhaust speed is higher.
The power of a gas generator is converted into thrust by accelerating a gas flow. Efficiency increases if more gas is accelerated to a lower velocity:

Thrust of a jet engine is given by
$$ F = \dot m * (v_e - v_0)$$ with $ \dot m$ = gas stream in kg/s, $v_e$ = exit velocity of the gas stream in m/s, and $v_0$ = aircraft air speed.
The propulsion efficiency of a jet engine (with complete expansion) is defined as
$$ \eta_p = \frac {2}{1 + v_e/v_0} $$

So for a given thrust, if $V_e$ is reduced and $\dot m$ proportionally increased, the propulsion efficiency increases.
Notes:

Complete expansion of the exhaust stream takes place if it does not reach the local speed of sound. If it does, it means there is a choked exhaust and part of the thrust is produced by higher pressure behind the exhaust. This can be accounted for by computing an effective $v_{e_{off}}$ that would produce the same thrust.
Propulsive efficiency is 1 = 100% if $v_e$ = $v_0$, but unfortunately there is no thrust anymore.


How do I deal with a child that refuses to do a chore or task?

Question: How do I deal with 7 year old kid who refuses to do a chore or task? He's not listening and ignores my request.
Comment: None of these things work for my grandsons. They don't have many privileges, but the things Mom does take away don't mean anything to them. Reinforcement when they do their chores does not make them want to do it more often. Their Dad's won't enforce any of the restrictions when they go to their house so they still get to do the things they like to do just not as often. Timeouts do nothing. They hide their clean clothes all over the house so they don't have to put it away.
Answer: You have two options, positive reinforcement or consequences.
You should probably try positive reinforcement and adding basic things as "prizes" for doing the chore. You might think that for doing the task the child shouldn't get a prize, and that's fine; but a price could be something simple like a sticker, a star in the chart, even a hug. This will depend on the kid. However, if you make him part of the decision of what the prize is, the kid will more likely get the chore done.
With consequences you can then instead establish consequences like if you don't get X done you cannot play video games. Note however that this could be turned into positive reinforcement. If you do X, then you can play 30 minutes of video games.
You could argue that both options are the same, but it in part depends on what the child knows today as prizes and standard "rights".
We use both with our three kids, but what to use depends on the chore, the kid, and the thing that the kid is immediately most interested in.
Comment: For a **seven year old**, I strongly disagree with offering incentives (i.e. *bribes*) to do or consequences (punishment) for not doing the chores, which are fundamentally all part of living together in a household. There is a middle ground of explaining why everyone in the house needs to do their part or the household grinds to a halt. If you describe it as a chore, that's a negative connotation right from the start. How about taking the position of the family being a team and that the team gets great results when working together towards the same goal?
Comment: Dinner is a reward. Reward doesn't mean that it's special. But it reinforces the behavior. I think we essentially agree, I just think that anything that motivates a behavior is a reward for that behavior. You are thinking rewards as special treats, toys, etc. My point is that they don't have to be.
Comment: By expanding "reward" to encompass, well, everything, you are bringing it beyond the usual definition of the word.  By your phrasing, life is a "reward" offered to children for eating and breathing.  "Reward" in the context of motivating children to do specific tasks generally *is* something "special".  Saying "dinner is a reward" implies that children don't deserve dinner unless they do something to earn it.  Expanding definitions of terms to blur meaningful distinction is a semantic argument that does nothing for providing practical advice.
Comment: After you explain and the child doesn't comply, what do you do? Also, if he/she complies, then he sees the reward in it. You are essentially giving him a reinforcer that he values.
Comment: For example, you ask them to set to table ready for dinner. They refuse. So when dinner is served up and they have no plate, knife or fork, how will they eat? Dinner is not a reward, but a necessity. Them not being able to eat their dinner because they didn't lay the table is a very clear example of why they needed to do the task.
Comment: While I chose this answer (I chose one which didn't cause too much diagreements), the other answers also had good insights. Thanks to everyone.
Answer: In contrast with the other answers, I advocate not rewarding children for doing chores, particularly if they started off by ignoring or refusing to do them.
Offering children rewards for completing chores and basic tasks teaches them that they should expect rewards, and that tasks or chores that don't result in a rewards are not worth doing.  It leads to a sense of entitlement, which leads to frustration and disappointment later in life when they learn that that is not how the world really works.  Yes, they will get "rewarded" for doing their job later in life with pay, but more and more people seem to believe that getting paid for their job only requires them to do the minimum required by their job description, which is not a healthy attitude in a competitive marketplace.
The fact that he's currently defying you by ignoring or refusing requests to do chores only makes the risks worse.  Offering rewards now is essentially bribing him to behave to minimum expectations.  You are sending him a message that not only is it acceptable to refuse to do what he is told, it is also a valid tactic to refuse and then hold out until a suitable reward is offered.
Instead, I suggest restricting privileges until your son starts doing his chores.  You don't need to state them as punishments.  Instead, simply refuse to agree to any new activity or toy that he asks for, citing his lack of chores as the reason.  In the short-term, this will be much more difficult, as he will probably offer strong (and loud) resistance, but long-term I believe it presents a much healthier (and more realistic) understanding of the way responsibility works.
Comment: That's entirely your prerogative.  However, I believe it is a parent's job to teach children the lessons they need in order to be a good adult. "You don't have to do basic chores, and you should only do tasks that aren't fun if there's some additional benefit to you" is not a good lesson, and "if you refuse to do things that I ask you to do, I'll reward you" is even worse, and I believe these result in adults who have poor attitudes towards work, chores, and sometimes life in general.
Comment: @Ale sorry, but I think there's a big difference between "here's a prize for making your bed" and "sorry, you can't go over to the playground because you haven't done your chores yet".  I also think there's a difference between "go sit in time out because you didn't make your bed" and "sorry, you can't go over to the playground because you haven't done your chores yet".  Claiming "its all rewards" and "it just depends on how you sell it", while arguably true, reduces it to the point where meaningful discussion on what works and what doesn't fails.
Comment: I disagree Beofett, I thik the fatc it teaches kids that you have to work for rewards, is a life lesson, in my opinion.  We give our kids pocket money, which can be topped up by working with us.  I don't think kids, per se, should have to work around the house, I don't, I believe it's their choice whether they help (outside of the obvious).
Comment: Giving back privileges is the same as giving rewards. As I mention in my answer, it is all the same, just depends on how you sell it. And I agree in general that they shouldn't get a new video game each time they make their bed; rewards|privileges can be pretty much anything...
Comment: Just... everybody... read this book. Please. http://www.alfiekohn.org/books/pbr.htm
Comment: @Kivetros, put that in an answer by itself please, along with a short summary. Some might find it interesting.
Comment: Agreed.  It looks interesting enough that I ordered a copy.
Comment: @torbengb As you wish.
Comment: My point is that if you establish a plan, whatever your rewards and consequences are, it should work. I don't give them presents for doing the things they should do, but I reward them with thank you's and good jobs; if they don't do it, I punish them with a sermon of why they should do it. I'm lucky that works pretty much all the time. But each parent/kid combination needs to find what works for them.
Answer: @torbengb requested that I elaborate my comment into a proper answer, so here goes.
According to Punished by Rewards by Alfie Kohn, it's an extremely bad idea to try to get people to do things by bribing them with rewards / praise. The book explains it better than I can, but essentially, conditioning a child (or anyone, really) to do a thing in order to get another thing has several extremely negative consequences:

The work is always of lower quality; the doing of the thing simply becomes a means to an end whereby one can attain the proverbial 'carrot', and people will do as little as possible to get the 'carrot'.
It conditions children to always expect something in return, regardless of the task - and it reinforces the behavior of 'doing as little as possible to get by'. They learn to seek external gratification, rather than to be able to appreciate the sense of accomplishment from a job well done.
The focus is always removed from the task at hand, and is rather placed on the 'reward' - and the more this happens, the more that people are apt to totally lose interest in whatever they're doing. Disinterest turns work into drudgery; drudgery takes its toll, and sometimes the task doesn't get completed; the 'carrot' isn't obtained, the worker gives up, and on the cycle continues. I've been there myself, on more than one occasion.

Now, this might be a lot to take in at once - the whole concept of 'doing things for the sake of doing them' might be a little much for your seven-year-old to grasp, especially if you've operated with sticks and carrots thus far. I encourage you to read the book for yourself, and to see what you can take away from it for your situation.
Just remember this - bribes are ALWAYS a quick fix. They never last. Having worked with youth as much as I have, I've seen this happen a million times. You might get them to obey you once or twice, but in order to keep them under your control the carrot's got to get bigger - and way out of proportion to the task at hand.
Comment: -1: provides a good counterpoint to another answer, but never answers the original question
Comment: Sorry in advance for what may be a somewhat off-topic comment. I don't want to advocate either way here, but there is an interesting counter point to this in the book "Women don't Ask" by Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever - namely, their claim that girls tend to get what they want less in later life because they learn that they are expected to carry out tasks (e.g. helping with cleaning) without special rewards, whereas boys learn early that they "deserve" a reward for tasks they are assigned (e.g. mowing the lawn).
Answer: I too have found that my example and especially doing the chore with them greatly helps.  My 8 year old son loves helping me wash the cars because we usually turn it into a competition.  Mom is the judge of the cleanest car and for some reason, he always seems to win.  Also, during the summer, you can turn it into a water war.
Also, at 7, most chores (beyond the simple) require you to let them know they are doing it to your expectations, so you're probably close by anyway making sure they don't put tire cleaner on the paint job.
Answer: Make it fun. Have them do the chore with you and make it enjoyable. Spend enough quality time with them building a loving and trusting relationship so that they want to be with you and want to help.
I think positive reinforcement and reward is much more important than any kind of negative consequences for not helping with a chore.
Answer: Time to teach them about Team work
As children get older, they're more able to help out around the house and do little tasks themselves. When they do this, it means that Mum and Dad will have more time and energy to spend with the children and doing fun things together.
Explain to your child that if you have to tidy their room for them, cook, clean up, lay the table, pick up their toys, etc, then you have less time to play with them, read to them, go out and about, etc. If they could do some of these tasks themselves, then we will all have more time for the nice things.
Some of the tasks they should be able to do themselves are:

Putting their toys away in the cupboard/toy chest
Putting their books away
Putting their dirty laundry in the laundry basket
Helping hang out the laundry
Vacuuming at least two rooms of the house once a week
Laying the table for dinner, or wiping it clean after dinner

I strongly disagree with offering incentives to do or punishments for not doing things that  they should do anyway - it's not that you want them to do these tasks, they need to do them regardless.
For a fascinating insight into motivational strategies, listen to Dan Pink's TED Talk on motivational strategies. Yes, it is more aimed at adults in the workplace, but the 'team work' aspect is the key:

Originial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrkrvAUbU9Y
With animations: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc
Comment: We're fortunate in that our son enjoys participating in doing these things just by his nature.  But we frequently justify cleanup as "Yes, I'll make a puzzle with you, but, before we can do that we need to pick up all these toys!"  Then start cleaning, and he always joins in the fun.  Now he's gotten to a point where he is lecturing me about cleaning up my office, and my wife the kitchen!
Answer: My wife would likely disagree with this, as I've used it on her a few times, but for fear of being labeled a socialist, I think the right answer here is to explain that as part of the family they need to pull their own weight and help keep the house running if they want to enjoy the rewards of being part of it. (Our son isn't really old enough to do much chores yet, but he's starting to help with things like cleaning his toys up.)
That could be as simple as taking out the kitchen trash after dinner... you enjoyed the food with us, but didn't help prepare it? Fine you can help clean up after it.
Comment: uh, yeah... you'll note I used the word "reward" right in the answer....
Comment: what you explain is a reward system. No matter what the reward is, if you point out what you get in exchange for doing something, it is a reward. Like I tried to explain, a reward is not always candy or video games. Food in itself is a reward. "You can come to dinner once you've picked up your dirty clothes"|"You get to eat dinner after you pickup your clothes". It's all how you sell it.
Answer: Okay, I'm late to the party on this one, but I can't not respond.
First, let me point out that it isn't a request and thinking of chores as a request is starting you out on the wrong foot. Doing chores should be a bare minimum for any child. Chores are a part of being a family and living together. You are a parent, not a servant, and part of your job is teaching children that there are expectations involved in living together and they are at the age where it is time for them to begin learning what that means on a practical level.
Chores are awkward because children are small and not very capable so it takes three or four times as long for them to do things and it's often easier to just do it yourself—not to mention the aggravation and bad feelings as you ride them to get their chores done. You have to remember, though, that your time and emotional resolve are an investment in producing capable adults (eventually), and that this is something they need to learn.
Enough background. How do you do it? Coercion, plain and simple. How you do so is up to you. Personally, I'd go with the theory that a child who fails to provide the bare minimum effort is inviting you to demonstrate the bare minimum you have to bring to the relationship. A week of bland food, no chauffer service, no compliance with his/her requests, no friends over, no going to friends houses, no new clothes/toys/what have you will make your point. I'd accompany that with the explanation that your job is to see that they learn what it takes to be a responsible adult, and that you still love them (indeed, it's that love that prevents you from taking the easy path and simply doing all the chores yourself).
At any rate, that's the path we took with our kids. They still slack occasionally if we don't follow-up with them, but they're at least competent to do the work, now. And seeing them become competent adults after the years of effort has been very rewarding...
Answer: The creative way is to make every chore fun. I used the Mary Poppins technique when giving chores. Of course I don't know magic... But we sang the "Spoonful of Sugar" song and cleaned the house as quickly as we sang.
I'm sure you can think of imaginative ways to incorporate fun with chores! :)
Answer: A house is not just a mom and a dad. The kid are a part of it. Make it clear that just like mom and dad going out to work (even when they don't feel like it) to support the household - each kid has his/her own responsibility that's not an option.
Answer: I made chores part of my daughter's allowance.  Dusting, general picking up around the house, and helping in yardwork for a set amount of money weekly.  If she did not do her chores, she didn't get her allowance.
The rule was half of her allowance was hers to spend as she liked, the other half went into her college fund.  It helped her learn that all those things she thought were 'cool' and 'fun' were also EXPENSIVE.
She learned to evaluate what she 'needed' vs what she 'wanted'.
Answer: We use a simple method of rewarding them helping us with extra pocket money, removing the extra pocket money if they don't do what is the minimum expected of them (make beds, keep bedroom tidy), and also restricting times for certain activities, like using the computer, TV, DSi etc, which is already limited in use.
Obviously, what I'd encourage is to find out what they really, really, really like doing, and use that as the carrot and the stick.
The combination works well, but the carrot has to be as enticing as much as the stick isn't, for want of a better analogy.
Comment: IMO, bribery or reduction in pocket money is not the answer here - you'll get half-hearted efforts as they take learn the route which maximises payment for the minimum effort.
Comment: Apologies, we remove the extra pocket money, not the normal pocket money; that's inviolate.  Of course they will learn to maximise payment by minimum methods, that's human nature.  we fidn the most effective route, the stick as such, is to remove the things they like doing the most.


Remove Altova Mission Kit

Question: I tried the Altova software, and it's fine, but too much for my humble needs. I uninstalled it.
Now, every time I right click on anything, the system tries to install Altova Mission Kit 2012. It's crazy, it pops up all the time.
I can't seem to get rid of Altova. I have uninstalled all Altova products, they do not appear in my add/remove software dialog, so I can't do any further uninstall. I have used Revo uninstaller to try and get rid of them, but it does not find any trace.
At the same time, my start menu has shortcuts to Altova products (the whole suite). The target for them is greyed out, so I can't edit it. The "start in" reads : "C:\Program Files (x86)\Altova\DiffDog2012\" though there is no folder there. If I click on these shortcuts, I will get the install dialog. Very frustrating and I can't get rid of this thing. How can I completely remove all traces of Altova from my computer?
Answer: You did some mistake at time of installation of Altova Mission toolkit.
              They provide the option which functionality you need like(Mapforce,XMLSpy,etc). To remove the specific feature functionality then use same setup which you use at time of installation and disable the feature option on modify option in the altova mission toolkit setup. I never try for removing but I think if you disable all features option then Altova Mission toolkit remove from your system.
Answer: I had the problem with Altova Mission toolkit 2018. The eventvwr tool mentions a problem in C:\Windows\Installer.
The solution was to download a fix from Microsoft:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/17588/fix-problems-that-block-programs-from-being-installed-or-removed.

Remove Altova Mission Kit


Why do pools get so often DDoS attacked?

Question: In other words: who has incentives for attacking pools?
Do you think it's the government?
Answer: There are several groups of people that could have incentives to DDoS mining pools:

Owners of other mining pools. Mining pools make profit from the blocks mined by their miners. So it would make perfect sense for them to attack other pools to encourage users to abandon the pool and perhaps find a new home at theirs.
People mining at other pools, including their owners. When a miner is mining for a pool that has issues, chances are high their shares get lost. This means that chances exist that the pool under attack will no longer be able to find blocks and so the hash power of its users is lost, causing new blocks to be found less frequently. This can be advantageous to people mining at other pools because this will result in the difficulty being lowered, giving them a higher chance of finding blocks. (And again, as more blocks are found by another pool, the pool owner makes more profit.)
Opposers of Bitcoin. This doesn't only need to be governments, but can also include banks and payment processors like PayPal, Visa or MasterCard. Bitcoin is very innovative as a payment option and has the potential to take over a significant part of the online payment industry. Also, Bitcoin abolishes the centralized concept of money, from which banks make profit. So they all have reasons not wanting to see Bitcoin succeed as a successful currency and payment method.
Answer: One other reason that Steven hasn't mentioned and which I know to be true (having been told by pool operators who have suffered such attacks) that the DDOS attacks have been ransom demands by script kiddies with botnets.
These are simple extortion attempts, and account for many such DDOS attacks.
Answer: I believe the main reason is competition.


Need suggestion regarding tax relief under DTAA

Question: Need some suggestion on the tax relief under section 90 of Income Tax.
I was deputed in USA during the period of Jan-2014 till Aug-2014. During this period my salary (Indian salary converted to $) plus living allowances gets credited to US bank account. I paid all the taxes (federal, social security, state taxes) in US using W-2.
When I returned to India in Sep-2014, my employer deducts the tax on the salary computed during that deputation period (Apr-14 to Aug-2014) which results in 0 net salary - which means I paid the tax on salary in USA as well as in India (which is not even credited in my Indian account). So my question while filling for tax relief under DTAA in ITR at India:

Shall I include both salary plus living allowance (during Apr-2014 to Aug-2014) as Income from Outside India or only salary (as I read that living allowance is exempt from tax) under FSI. Please note that salary is credited in USA account not Indian account
Only federal tax can be considered as tax paid for relief.
Answer: Please consult a professional CA

as Income from Outside India or only salary

Open to interpretation

Only federal tax can be considered as tax paid for relief

Yes thats right. DTAA is here


What helps against astringent mouthfeel from spinach or chard?

Question: Spinach and chard dishes, if prepared from fresh veggies, have a somehow astringent mouthfeel, that can be unpleasant. Does anybody know what exactly causes this mouthfeel chemically and/or knows a good counter substance that makes the astringency go away?
Comment: possible duplicate of [What counters astringency?](http://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/25874/what-counters-astringency)
Comment: While there is overlapping information, I don't think it is an *exact* duplicate per the standard, since it is talking about cooked applications, not smoothies, and is asking what the underlying chemistry is.
Comment: "Exact duplicate" doesn't mean the two questions have to be the same word-for-word; the other question already has an answer talking about the chemical composition, specifically tannic and oxalic acids, and I'm not seeing any apparent difference in the answers between raw vs. cooked applications.
Answer: Blanching briefly does an excellent job of neutralizing bitterness, or more precisely, astringency, even if the blanched spinach is recooked.
Basically, boil water, add washed spinach until submerged (5-30 seconds depending on preference; chard could go up to a minute or so depending on the target texture desired). Drain quickly. Submerge drained spinach in a bowl of ice and water to rapidly chill. Press spinach to remove excess water.
Recooking, even in applications like quiche, will do a very nice job of retaining the bright green color and generally astringency, if present at all, is minimal. If I am not recooking in some way, I often just dress simply in something like fresh ginger and soy sauce or a ground sesame, mirin and salt based sauce without reheating.
Answer: A remedy I would recommend would be a bit of butter or oil, just enough to give a bit of a coating. You could do classic with a bit of butter, salt, and pepper. You could do Italian with some olive oil and garlic. Or Asian with some sesame oil and soy.
Answer: Spinach and Swiss chard contain small amounts of oxalic acid.
This is the same substance that makes rhubarb so tart--in fact, it is the active ingredient in some cleaning chemicals, like Barkeeper's friend.  While toxic in large quantities, you would have to eat a lot of greens (on the order of pounds to kilograms) at once to have any issues other than the unpleasant taste and mouth feel.
While you could chemically neutralize it, as with baking powder, the results would probably be hideous on many levels, including strange color changes.
I would buy only young spinach leaves for short, fast cooking methods; or use one of the longer braise type preparation methods.
Comment: saag paneer....
Answer: Though the adding-fat answer is the correct one in my mind (have had plenty of puckery young-spinach sauteed), funnily enough vinegar or lemon replace one pucker feel for another. Growing up, vinegar was always on the table with greens.
I particularly like Chinese black vinegar (from Shaanxi) for tougher greens and balsamic for tender ones
Answer: I learned a little trick for this while living in Italy. When you are cooking the spinach, add a bit of milk or heavy cream, just enough to coat it lightly and cook off. I use about 2 tbsp for about 6 oz of raw spinach. Alternatively, I have soaked spinach in milky water before cooking. Rather than patting it dray or straining it, I use tongs to pull the spinach out of its bath, which leaves just the right amount of the milky water on it. This solves the aftertaste problem every time for cooked spinach. I'm at a loss for raw!


What makes sour beers sour?

Question: I like sour beers and am curious what makes them sour. What's the process that results in the range of sourness?
Comment: Are you looking for the reason behind the sour flavor or an explanation of the process that makes sour beer?
Answer: From the Wiki page on Sour Beer:
"[S]our beers are made by intentionally allowing wild yeast strains or bacteria into the brew. Traditionally, Belgian brewers allowed wild yeast to enter the brew naturally through the barrels or during the cooling of the wort in a coolship open to the outside air – an unpredictable process that many modern brewers avoid.
The most common agents used to intentionally sour beer are Lactobacillus, Brettanomyces, and Pediococcus. Another method for achieving a tart flavor is adding fruit during the aging process to spur a secondary fermentation or contribute microbes present on the fruit's skin."
Answer: Try to see if this site you can find all the info you need
6 Tips on How to Brew Sour Beers

What makes sour beers sour?


What could be the cause of death for my carnivorous plants?

Question: In the past year I've had a venus flytrap and two sundews that each arrived healthy, flourished (and ate!) for a month or two, and then died (after which I tried again and bought a new one!). They all lived indoors in a sunny window. The care guide I received with them said to give them distilled water only, which I did. The plants were planted in small pots, with new sphagnum moss. I made sure the moss was kept moist to slightly wet at all times. I'd like to try again, as the sundews were super effective at controlling little gnats and fruit flies, but I'm worried about just killing it again. What am I doing wrong, and what should I be doing instead?
Answer: Of course it is difficult to know for sure, but it sounds like your general care is "the right type of thing".
Yes only use distilled water. Don't use "any old bottled water", mineral water, well water, or tap water. Rain water is generally considered acceptable but you might to avoid it if you have a lot of pollution in your area. Pollution generally translates into acid rain => increased acidity which is generally not a problem for carnivorous plants (CPs) as they prefer things a little acidic (alkali water and dissolved salts tend to be the problem). Serious CP growers invest in a reverse osmosis unit to create suitable water.
Do NOT let the plants dry out - they generally like things soaking - they are bog plants after all.
Do NOT feed the plants - let them do their own catching.
I would strongly recommend against buying them from a florists, or even the big box Home Depot/Lowes type stores. These places do not necessarily keep them in the best of conditions. Instead, go to a specialist, reputable carnivorous plant supplier. "Specialist" because they will know how to look after the plants. "Reputable" because you do NOT want plants from the wild, or imported against CITES (this is general advice - I assume you're in the US, so Venus Fly Traps are 'locals'!).
I would recommend the book I have from the days when I grew these:  "Carnivorous Plants" by Adrian Slack, published by AlphaBooks in the UK. In the 90s it was the definitive guide - there may be other books available now.
I managed to grow Drosera (sundew), Dionaea (Venus Fly Trap), and Sarracenia (trumpet pitcher plant) from seed. These are probably the three easiest groups to grow. My main problem was laziness/forgetfulness to water. One of the Sarracenia (a hybrid variety) lasted about ten years and flowered.
Of the Drosera, I would recommend Drosera capensis. This is the most tolerant and it is a reasonable size (bigger than any Drosera that I've seen in the wild). It becomes a weed for the serious growers - readily spreading its seed into neighbouring pots!
Comment: I would use a tray and keep it standing in water. Not necessarily for drainage (these are bog plants and when I've seen them in the wild they've always been in saturated/boggy ground) but so you can ensure the water remains 'good'. Also a tray allows watering from below. Surface watering might risk damage to the plant.
Comment: Thanks! My plants were purchased online from a reputable source, and arrived quickly and in good condition. I may try a pitcher plant next. Do these plants in general need a lot of drainage? One plant I kept in a large mug with no holes in the bottom. I could understand if lack of drainage/too much water was the problem for that one.
Comment: Yes try a *Sarracenia* pitcher plant (avoid *Nepenthes* which requires a terrarium, and *Darlingtonia* which is meant to be difficult to grow). Don't give up on the *Drosera* sundews. Try *D.capensis* - I think they are the easiest CP to grow. Also try seeds - you'll probably be pleasantly surprised how well they do (and cost less than another plant)!
Answer: Actually I find nepenthes easy to keep in a sphagnum moss and foam mix and nepenthes sanguinea or khasiana don't need terrariums at all also allow good drainage and water the Venus flytrap from below in a terrarium for the summer but in the winter cool it down so it can go dormant the drosera needs similar conditions but no summer terrarium as they seem to like it a little cooler and do well just in a tray of water. Also even though easy care I find sarracenia boring as as they don't don't grow in a very wild way just tall leaves and from a distance look like tall grass blades and often look frail. Although S. purpurea is cool looking with its tubby pitchers and all the bright red ones are cool too. Good luck growing
Comment: Also I have found nepenthes can and have lived over 800 years and have an indefinate lifespan but flytraps and sarracenia live ten to twenty and sundews live three to five tears. Also even if part of a nepenthes dies of old age th new growth will just create a new plant and this constant process will allow one of these amazing plants to outlive any person on this planet so you wouldn't have to worry about it dying of old age on you


How tough is it to eliminate the background noises of this video?

Question: As in the title, how tough is it to eliminate the background noises of this video?
Comment: Need some more info here. Because I could give a simple answer: yes it is difficult. Only problem is that then I wouldn't know what DAW or video editor you're using so I wouldn't be able to push on what I think is the best possible path
Answer: To remove the noise you need a software capable of FFT (Fourier) based analysis. This may sound complex, but it's a simple operation of marking an area where only the noise is, then run the filter which will try to remove the noise marked.
Be aware though, this has some squicky (literally) side-effects making parts of the audio sound hollow and with small "squicks" here and there.
Room reflection / reverb require a different approach. It cannot be removed itself, but you can reduce it by chaining gate, limiter and compressor. The settings for each must be adjusted based on the sound. Start with the gate to find threshold and attack. To little attack will make it sound very unnatural so be gentle on this one. Use the limiter to amplify the audio and then the compressor to "compress" the sound down again.
I don't have a setup where I am to try different settings and so forth, so this last part is just from top of my head.
Recommendations for noise removal:
As omphteliba recommended, Adobe Soundbooth. But in addition, this little guy is low-budget but can do amazing stuff:
http://www.goldwave.com
Audacity also support noise filters, but I don't know how well they work. Latter software is free.
Answer: If you have Adobe Soundbooth you can use the clean-up feature. You select a part of the video that only has the noise and Soundbooth tries to filter out the noise when the two people speak. Your mileage may vary.


How to discourage players from rushing?

Question: I recently started GMing for my D&D group, and it was my first time as GM.  My group often tries to rush through things before I can describe their environment ( ex: running through a cave before I can say "there are 3 goblins blocking your path"). I don't know haw I should discourage them from rushing and interrupting me so much. I have brought it up with them but they continue to do it.  How should I discourage them from doing this?
Answer: Step 1: Talk to them
If this is bothering you, bring it up at the table. Just explain that you'd like to finish describing the scene and they're cutting you off. Maybe you can work it out without having to do anything else. Remember that your goal as a GM is for the players to have fun, but you should be having fun too. If you're not having fun because of this, it's an issue to discuss with them.
Step 2: Be Patient
Are these new players? Because they sound pretty excited, which is good! But experienced players don't tend to rush so quickly, because sooner or later those "3 goblins blocking the path" are going to be "a wall of fire" or "a giant pit trap" or "a sleeping dragon who is rather unhappy you woke him up".
Eventually not looking around before leaping in is going to get them into trouble. You will then simply have to not let them backtrack on what they did, and watch them fight out of it. That can lead to some memorable moments, and be a teaching experience all on its own.
Step 3: Don't let them
If you don't want to do that (or it doesn't work), your last option is simply to not let them. When they say "I run in!", just tell them they can't do anything until you finish your description, and keep going. This will likely annoy them, though. It's usually better to let their excitement get them into trouble on its own, rather then you reacting negatively to it.
Comment: This reminds me of a nice anecdote with a player who rushed everywhere in order to get the first loot. It was eventually solved as follows:

DM: "You open the door and discover a large chamber filled with spider webs. In the center of the room there is a gold"...
Thief breaks in: I run into the room and get it!
DM continuing: "a gold bear trap. Role a dice for damage".
Comment: Might just be you have long pauses in your speech pattern that they assume are 'the end of description', and if that is the case, you just need to explain to them "no, I still need to finish, just wait a moment".
Comment: Maybe using pre-drawn map segments you lay over the map as they enter rooms immediately showing them whats in there? Also you could basically give monsters surprise rounds since the players are basically sprinting everywhere, also traps, lots of traps.
Comment: I'd stress more of the "let them suffer" in "be patient", to be honest. If they don't learn to let their GM finish (or at least ask if they're finished explaining the room) then they should be suitably rewarded with attacks of opportunity against them, traps going off etc. Its a matter of courtesy at times; in any other situation cutting people off and talking over people would be rude, and I don't see how this wouldn't be the case here.
Comment: If, as @Zibbobz was saying, your speech patterns are a little too slow for your hyperactive players, put the game on hold for a second and explain to them that you will prompt them when you are ready for their actions, e.g. "What do your characters do?" at the end of the description. Warn them that hilarious and/or dire consequences may ensue if their characters attempt to act without you completing the description (i.e. rushing in without assessing the situation/environment).
Comment: +1 for "Before you do that, you might want to know about the dragon."
Answer: The simplest method is to simply go along with brutal consequences: if they don't wait to see what you describe, then they crash into it headlong. This can be both effective and hilarious when used judiciously. But it does require some care: you don't want to use it when the consequences will be lethal, because that just isn't fun for anyone involved. You want the party to be annoyed, not dead.
Good: "OK. The first one of you through the door trips over a goblin who was standing not far behind it, and the second one of you trips over the first. Your speed bump's buddies turn toward the party, and they don't look happy. Both draw weapons, and if the muffled swearing from underneath you is any indication, the other one wants to also. Roll initiative; two of you are starting prone, and you're pinning the goblin you tripped over."
Bad: "There was a sphere of annihilation in the middle of the room. You die."
Other than that, a simple "hold on" when the players start to interrupt you is generally effective. It's just urgent enough to hold the players' interest for a few seconds (which should be all you need for an initial description), without going overly melodramatic. It may take a while for the players to get the picture, but they'll learn.
Answer: The easiest way to deal with this is to ask a simple question: "Are you sure?"
This puts the ball in your players' court. If they reply affirmatively, proceed with whatever you had in front of them. If they run past enemies, the enemies get attacks with advantage. If there was a pit, they fall in the pit. If there was a giant flaming sphere of DOOM they die.
Asking if they are sure will force most players to stop and think about what they are doing. If it doesn't, the only thing that will is for the scenario to play out as realistically as possible- without you purposefully removing threats.
Comment: Another good Question of Death is "In what order are you entering the room?"
Comment: "Are you sure?" was like the Question of Death for my gaming group when I was growing up. It was always that "look, if you're going to do this, I am not going to be responsible for the hosing of your character". Great stuff.
Answer: First of all, consider yourself somewhat lucky.  Most groups I've played with have the opposite problem:  they are so overly cautious it might take 10 minutes to get through a door after all the precautions are taken.
Your players are giving you hints about the pace they want.  I would recommend tailoring your descriptions to make them shorter, and to put the most relevant information up front.  Also, it might help to write things down to avoid pauses until you get better at winging it.  Use phrasing like, "3 goblins block the entrance to an enormous cave," rather than, "You come to a large entrance...it's to a cave with...stalactites hanging almost to the floor...there are 3 goblins blocking the entrance."
As per the other answers, you can give small in-game consequences, but I would make this a last resort compared to working on your pacing and phrasing.
Answer: Although Tridus's answer covers most of the ways I would suggest, there is one additional possibility I can think of. If they insist on rushing in then give them in-game consequences to their actions.
For example, rushing into a room could leave them unprepared for traps, enemies, whatever situation you've devised for them. After a couple of experiences where their actions put their characters in a lot of dangerous trouble, you may well find that is enough to get them to slow down a bit.
Comment: I'd personally be sticking very OBVIOUS, easy to disarm/avoid traps all over the place.  If they listen, they know it's there.  If they charge in, they get punished.  It wont take long for them to figure out that maybe they should wait.  Once they get better, you can wean them off the traps.
Answer: These are all great answers, but I'd like to address the personality issue. Worst case scenario - you have a group with players that interrupt not only you, but each other and perhaps at least one or two that tend to dominate the conversations. In the best case, the players will work this out themselves and learn to be courteous and wait their turn. In the worst case, you probably need to implement a tool, like running every encounter as a combat round with turns and each person has to wait until their turn, or even a "conch", a physical, tangible item at the table that gets passed around, and only that person can speak. In the end, players like that who do not learn to be more cooperative don't typically get invited back. I'm a sucker for loyalty though, so I tend to try and work with someone that's interested in the game and shows up, sometimes to a fault, losing less patient players.
Comment: I half-wrote a similar answer, it could relate simply to the DM giving attention to whoever is speaking. If there's a little competition it leads to whoever speaks first, acts first, and thus the players have an incentive to interrupt to get their turn.
Answer: One way you can do this is by giving them warning that something's inside before telling them the cave is even there.  It piques their attention and puts the emphasis on story and challenge rather than location.
"As you approach, a pulsing, fiery warmth washes over you.  It carries the smell of metal and singed rock."
"Chattering, indistinct voices draw your attention towards the mouth of a large cave."
"Up ahead, the fog seems to swirl of its own accord.  You glimpse unknowable shapes forming and dissolving in its depths, breaking against a series of large stalactites.  Roll for perception... [somebody passes] Eyes narrowed, you can make out the shape of a cave mouth, ahead and above you.  [if they roll high] Either some foul breeze is stirring the fog and raising goosebumps on your skin, or the mist itself crawls from within.  Either way, if there's another way forward, it's hidden in the writhing miasma."
That sort of thing.
Answer: One player-GM conflict that seems to come up not infrequently is that GMs want to go through the entire description of an area, despite the players not being interested; GMs will then sometimes bury the lead and leave those goblins to the last so the players can't jump ahead. One of the first thing the PCs see will be the goblins, and thus one of the first things the players hear about should be the goblins. If they're jumping forward despite that, they're probably the problem. If you are burying the lead, and trying to get in lines of description before the goblin, that's probably the problem there.
If it's one player, you may need to work with that player. But if everyone is getting bored during your descriptions, that's probably just not the style of play they like.
Answer: Impulsive players is, I have to say, not the absolute worst problem that you as a DM can have. In fact, I'd say the biggest issue is the opposite: PCs who have no sense of agency, who have to be virtually tossed out of bed and into a dungeon. There are a lot of things you can do to players to make them less impulsive, but I think that in doing so you do run the risk of making them too scared to go outside (the old skool dungeon called Tomb of Horrors is a great example of something no good DM should ever, ever lay upon his charges).
That being said, one of the kind of fun things that I like to do as a GM is play the world while the characters move through it. If they're too brazen to take the hints of someone you're trying to implant a story through, go ahead and try to roleplay how that person might react to, for instance, some 1st level fighter talking all kinds of smack about them. Maybe they get angry, maybe they laugh in the fighter's face. Along the same lines, if the characters break the law, you can show them how medieval punishment works (maybe some roughing up by the guards and some time in the stocks if the crime was relatively minor, maybe a tersely worded admonition to get out of town and don't think about coming back if it wasn't) and let them decide if they really want to keep on doing things without thinking them through all the way.
I know that as a player I have the tendency to seek out conflict. Sometimes that looks like I'm being impulsive but dammit, when you put a giant yellow button in the middle of a panel with a flashing light that says "DO NOT PUSH THIS BUTTON", my character is going to find a way to push it. To some degree, RPing is about living vicariously through people who can run and jump higher than we can and/or cast spells. Part of that vicariousness is trying things out that sometimes don't make a lot of sense at first blush, or (if you're me), getting into character to the extent that a stubbon dwarf isn't merely stubborn when the plot asks him to be stubborn but is stubborn even when people would dearly like him to stop being that way.
The one thing I think you want to draw the line on is your own sanity. While I don't think a GM ought to require that the players get on rails and woosh through their meticulously planned campaign step by excruciating step (granted, some GMs do think that way), neither should you as a GM feel obligated to play, for instance, a world around a party of Chaotic Stupid players/PCs. If that's the kind of "rushing" you're talking about, sit down and talk to folks about it (use "I" statements, etc.). If folks don't want to do this, maybe let someone else take a turn at GM, or try playing something else that's more amenable to folks' playing styles and enjoyment. It is, after all, a game, and games are meant to be fun for everybody.
Answer: If the description they're trying to rush past mentions some enemy they're most likely going to have to fight, one simple solution is the indicate that immediately, for instance by saying "Combat!" or "Roll initiative!" Once they know they're in a fight, they're likely to be more attentive to your description of what they're in a fight with - if only so they can tell you which enemy they want to target.
Of course, that only works if there's a shift between two modes of play happening - if there's no reason to roll initiative because all they're up against is a wall of fire, then just start telling them the consequences of their actions.  If you start with how much damage they take, you'll have their attention fairly quickly - and you can always let them take back their action when they consider that their characters wouldn't have done something so stupid.
Answer: As suggested by some colleagues, it may be fun and educative to "harm one to teach hundred". What harm means, depends on you but personally I would choose a climax: first time it may happens something funny, second one someone will get in troubles, third one some will get in REAL troubles.
As side note, I can suggest you to ask your players if you are too verbose or if you tend to get too boring while describing your scenarios.
Have nice fun.
Answer: I find that using signals or patterns in my descriptions help immensely. For example, it's a custom at one of my tables to raise a hand when speaking- This means the players can clearly see when the DM is done with his description, and don't rush off to do something before I'm done talking. At another table, we picked up the habit of ritual phrases from Dogs in the Vineyard, and added in "That's all you know" at the end of the DM describing a scene or "that's how it went" when anyone finishes an action. At my FATE table, we have a pet rock we pass around to show who's turn it is. Each table has its own little pattern, but having a clear indicator of who has the floor can be very useful.
If you don't like the formality implied above, or if changing the pattern of your play would be disruptive, I might suggest altering how you describe the scene. It sounds like you're trying to describe things depth first- Give the cave in detail, and then moving on to the goblins huddled in the middle of it. Try switching to breadth first descriptions- "The cave is large, perhaps thirty feet wide. You see a flickering fire, a bunch of huddled goblins, a large chest to the side, and scorch marks on the back wall." Then either do a second pass ("The floor and walls of the cave are worn granite...") or just pause after giving a quick inventory of the area and wait for player questions. I find that it's trickier to convey mood or atmosphere when doing the quick inventory, but it should prevent interruptions. (If your players interrupt before you finish the first sentence, you need to have a talk with them.)
You can convey mood through the questions your players should ask, if that's something you're interested in. (Q. How many goblins are there? A. There are ten crowded closest to the dim light of the fire, but you can see uncountable eyes reflecting the flickering firelight from the darkness of the shadows.) Since these are questions the players have asked, they will be more interested in details than if you begin just telling them. As a side effect, I've noticed that deliberately giving less details than I know the players want (for example, saying "A lot of goblins" without giving a number) will usually get them to ask for details, and in the process of asking for more and more details, they slow down a little as they get a better picture, and they force me to think of things I didn't plan sometimes. (What's fueling the fire? How smooth is the floor?)

How to discourage players from rushing?


Can an adult be Baptized if they are not Catholic

Question: I believe in Jesus but I am not Catholic. Can I still be Baptized?
Comment: Are you asking if an adult can be baptized in the Catholic church if he or she is not Catholic?  Or just whether or not an adult can be baptized at all in any church?
Comment: You mean, like a [Baptist](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baptists)?
Comment: No-one's a Catholic until he's baptised.
Comment: The Catholic Church will not baptize you unless you claim union with the Catholic Church.
Comment: This question requires a great deal of elaboration about what the Church defines as "invincible ignorance."
Comment: If you are a catholic, then the answer is no, else it is yes. Jesus was baptised, he was a Jew. Read about the others people that where baptised in the bible.
Answer: Definitely.  Many churches (e.g. Baptists) would be glad to welcome you and baptize you.
Comment: If this is what they are asking ... The question is unclear. It seems odd that someone would not know of other denomination.
Answer: Yes. Anyone (even a non christian) sincerely willing to do a baptism can perform it on you. With water, the appropriate wording and a genuine intent, it's a baptism.
However, if you're sincere in your relation to God and wanting to make progress, you'll want to ask Him directly (prayer), read the holy scriptures (of course) but also seek the wisdom from fellows, like you would do for any subject. You wouldn't want to reinvent the wheel ? You wouldn't want to struggle with something everyone else learn in a few minutes from a good teacher ?
Even if you only read books, that will definitely lead you in a "school" of thinking. You may change it later if you think you learned everything from it and/or found incoherencies. This is perfectly normal. It's how we seek the thruth.
It seems our Father wants His children to be united. So you may want to join a "school"/denomination while still being open to all your brothers in faith which are sincerely seeking thruth and not judge anyone on where he is on his journey to the truth, being a christian, an atheist, a muslim...
Comment: According to what tradition?  Yes, anyone can perform a baptism, but not all traditions would accept it.
Comment: @AffableGeek - According to Catholicism, if someone is near death and wishes to be baptized, and _Catholic_ may baptize in the Name of the Father, etc., even (yes, I was taught this) with spittle if there is no water to be found.
Answer: Baptism was performed by John, Christ's cousin, to signify repentance of sins and reconciliation with God (Matt. 3) :

Then Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea and all the district around the Jordan; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins. ...when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them...bear fruit in keeping with repentance; and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham for our father'; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham"...."As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire."

Some people believe that Baptism is necessary to be reconciled to God. This may be based on Acts 2:

"Peter replied, 'Each of you must turn from your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.' Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church--about three thousand in all."

Some people believe that it is an outward act (accompanied by an inward faith and repentance of sin) not necessary for salvation, but an act signifying repentance and willingness to embark on a life of obedience to God 1 Cor.:

"But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."

Nowhere does it say that you must believe in the doctrines of a particular denomination (Catholic, Presbyterian, Anglican, Baptist, or any other) to be baptized. You need only to repent of your sins, believe in and accept Christ as your Lord and Savior to be saved. The Baptism with Water is an affirmation of this saving faith.
Usually, you are baptized by a member of a particular denomination and introduced or accepted into that church to be in community with other followers of Christ. But that is not necessary to being saved by faith.
If you believe that you are a sinner, that Christ died for your sins so that you could be reconciled to God, that you renounce sin, and that you want to follow Christ, then you are completely correct to want to be (and to therefore be) baptized by water as a lasting symbol of your saving relationship with God.
It should not be hard to find a willing minister to do this, but be ready for Him to ask you how you intend to grow in your relationship to Christ after baptism.


Synergy keyboard layout

Question: I have an issue with Synergy. I do really love how it works but when I leave my host PC with non-English layout I can't type anything on the secondary PC.
My host PC is Windows 7. I have English and Russian keyboard layouts.
My secondary PC is Ubuntu 12.10. I also have English and Russian keyboard layouts there.
The keyboard and mouse are connected to the host PC (Windows 7).
When the mouse cursor leaves the host PC with Russian layout the keyboard doesn't respond in the secondary PC. I can't type and can't change the layout.
The only way is to return the mouse cursor to the host PC, switch keyboard layout to English and go back to the secondary PC.
It's kind of annoying.
PS: I updated to the latest version (1.4.10) of Synergy with the same result.
So, is there way to fix this?
Thanks in advance.
Answer: You should report a bug on the synergy tracker.

Synergy keyboard layout


How to convert celestial Coordinates with a radius, to max and min celestial coordinates?

Question: I am writing a piece of python code to convert right ascension and declination with a given radius to minimum and maximum right ascension and declination. I firstly can't understand why the min and max is not always just the given coordinates +- the radius, and secondly how I would write a piece of code to make this conversion. Cheers.
Comment: Could you give more detail of what you are trying to do and why.  I have read your question several times, and I cannot understand what you are trying to do.  As an aside, you can't just add radius (a length) to Ra/dec (an angle and hence dimensionless).
Comment: I think Ronan's question can be interpreted as follows.  Let the unit sphere be parametrized by $(\cos\alpha \cos\delta, \sin\alpha \cos\delta, \sin\delta)$.  For a given point $p$ on the sphere with coordinates $(\alpha_p,\delta_p)$ and a distance $d$ what are the maximum and minimum values of $\alpha$ and $\delta$ among all points on the sphere within $d$ units of $p$.  (Assuming $2 \sin\theta = d$, the maximum $\alpha$ is $\min(\delta_p + 2\theta, \pi/2)$, the minimum $\alpha$ is $\max(\delta_p - 2\theta, -\pi/2)$.  Finding the minimum and maximum $\alpha$ is harder.)  ("radius"=$2\theta$)
Comment: @irchans. I think you intended to write that the max declination $\delta$ is $\min(\delta_p + 2\theta, \pi/2)$ instead of the maximum right ascension $\alpha$. Likewise for the minimum declination.
Comment: @JohnHoltz   Yes, of course, you are right !
Answer: If you were working with a rectangular coordinate system as shown in the figure below (that also had no bounds), then it is correct that the right ascension would be $RA=RA_p\pm d$ (points 1 and 3) and the declination would be $Dec=Dec_p \pm d$ (points 2 and 4) where d is the radius of the circle.

The sky is spherical, so the lines of RA are not a constant separation. (It also has limits such as declination less than $\pm 90$.) Therefore you need to use an equation for spherical trigonometry. The angle d between two points i and j is
$$\cos(d) = \sin(Dec_i)\sin(Dec_j) + \cos(Dec_i)\cos(Dec_j)\cos(RA_i - RA_j)$$

For points 1 and 3 on the circle, $Dec_i=Dec_j=Dec_p$ in the above equation, and you can solve for the difference in right ascension $RA_i - RA_j$ to be added to or subtracted from $RA_p$. For points 2 and 4, $RA_i=RA_j=RA_p$ and the above equation simplifies to $Dec=Dec_p \pm d$. Of course, keep in mind that declination is between -90 and +90. For any other point on the circle, you can assume either an RA or Dec (within the bounds of the above 4 points) and solve for the other unknown.
Answer:
Imagine that you are at 80 degrees north and 0 degrees east (on the Prime Meridian).
It is only 10 latitude degrees from you to the north pole.
Notice that the distance from you to the 45th meridian (shown in green) is about 7 latitude degrees ($\sin{\pi/4}\cdot 10$) because if you walked to the closest point on the 45th meridian, the north pole would be directly to your left and the three points 1) the closest point on the 45th meridian, 2) the north pole, and 3) 80 degrees north on the prime meridian almost form an isosceles 45-45-90 triangle.
If you draw a circle around the position (80 North, 0 East) with radius of 7 latitude degrees, the maximum latitude would be 87, the minimum latitude would be 73, the maximum longitude would be about 45 degrees east, and the minimum longitude would be about -45 degrees (45 degrees west).
Also, the point on the 45th meridian closest to your starting position (80N 0E) would have a latitude of about 83 degrees, not 80 degrees.
The example above illustrates that the spacing between longitude lines gets closer near the poles.
In general, if you are at the position ($\delta$ north, $\alpha$ east) and you draw a circle around yourself with "radius" $\rho$, then the min/max latitude/longitude of the enclosed points would be $\delta-\rho$, $\delta+\rho$, $\alpha - \gamma$, $\alpha + \gamma$ where
$$
\gamma = \mathrm{arcsin}\left(\frac{\sin\rho}{\cos\delta}\right).
$$
(where $\rho$ is the angle between you and the edge of the circle as seen from the center of the Earth).
Notice that

if $\delta=0$, then $\gamma=\rho$,
$\gamma\geq\rho$,
if $\pi/2-|\delta|=\rho$, then $\sin\rho=\cos\delta$ and $\gamma=\mathrm{arcsin}(1)=\pi/2$, and
if $\pi/2-|\delta|<\rho$, then there is no solution for $\gamma$ because a pole is enclosed by the circle.

The formula can be derived from dot products between your position vector and the vector perpendicular to the either extreme meridian.  I need to do a lot of visualization and to fix several false starts to get it right.
For the original example of a circle around 80N 0E with radius 7 degrees, the formula yields
$$
\gamma = \mathrm{arcsin}( \sin(7\pi/180)/\cos( 80\pi/180))\cdot180/\pi = 44.573 \mathrm{\ degrees}
$$
which is close to the estimated 45 degrees.


What does 琴酒相壽 mean?

Question: This Chinese phrase 琴酒相壽 occurs in some calligraphy given to a colleague.
What does this mean in English?
I've tried basic Google searches and Google translator. I see other examples of the calligraphy but no explanation.
Answer: This is the same as 弹琴敬酒 为你祝寿, which means something like "playing the qin and drinking wine, to celebrate a loyal friend's birthday". Note that playing the qin is considered a very high-class and cultured activity in ancient China, as well as being one of the four main skills any learned person must acquire---"琴棋书画", i.e. playing the qin, playing qi (Chinese chess), calligraphy, and painting. So the phrase 琴酒相寿 has a certain poetic or picturesque feeling to it beyond the meaning of the words themselves.
Comment: Thanks. This is very useful.
Answer: There is a bit of wordplay in 琴酒相壽. The tricky part is 壽, which sounds the same as 授 (to give). 琴 is an instrument. 酒 is alcohol. 相 here denotes 表示一方对另一方的动作(one applies an action upon another). Both 琴 and 酒 are used to toast one's birthday.
琴酒相授 literally means to give 酒 and 琴. By replacing 授 as 壽, it implies the purpose  why they give 琴 and 酒. It's because they want to celebrate their 壽(birthday).
So, 琴酒相壽, as a whole, roughly means play 琴 and give 酒 to celebrate one's birthday.
Comment: it's more odd to add the character "授" for explanation :(
Answer: the phrase "琴酒相壽" is very odd, imo.
"相" can only be interpreted as mutually (互相). in most scenarios, when there's only one host (the "birthday-er"), participants of the event would not have the same birthday as the host. so, even they play the "琴", and drunk, for celebrating the host's birthday, it's one way, not mutually.
only in the situations of

twins, triplets, or whom were born on the same day
ceremony that people with the same age, "birth-year" ("同甲", or "同庚") celebrate together

then, one of the twins, or one of the participants of the latter; he/she uses this phrase for celebrating others' birthday, it's valid and truthful.
otherwise, i would not recommend this one for celebrate someone's longevity.
edited.
considering several 4 characters idioms, with 1st, 2nd character as noun, 3rd one is "相":

萍水相逢
名實相符
骨肉相連
首尾相應
鷸蚌相爭

isn't it clear, the usage of "相" as mutually?
that the reason why i say "相壽" is odd.
anyway, have fun :)
Comment: You're taking the phrase way too literally, imo.
Comment: really, how do you interpret "相"?
Comment: The same way, of course. But the point of the phrase is not in the literal meaning of the words; it's a bit idiomatic, if you will.
Comment: 相 in the context should not be interpreted as 互相. It should be 表示一方对另一方的动作, as in 好言相劝.

What does 琴酒相壽 mean?


Output pin low used to complete 12V LED circuit?

Question: I have a project that (in part) will drive 3 LEDs where the LED
anodes are at 12V.  The thought is to drive each LED by connecting
each cathode to a 650 ohm resistor, and connect that to an Arduino DIO pin which, when needed, is set to output LOW.  Arduino VIN = same 12V with
common ground.  Am I going to have an Arduino problem of any sort?
Comment: Why would you want to do that?  Do you want to switch the LED on/off by changing the digital HIGH/LOW state of the Arduino pin?  If so, no, that will not work.  Depending on the power consumption of the LEDs you could (i) low power, drive directly from the Arduino like in the Blink example, (ii) high power, drive via the same code but with a transistor in between the IO pin and LED.
Comment: That doesn't work. When you set the pin to output LOW, then leds will be on (like you want). But if you set the pin to output HIGH, the voltage is 5V, so there is still 7V (12V - 5V) across the leds, and the leds will light up dimly. If you set the pin to input, the voltage at the pin will become around 12V, which exceeds the allowed voltage. The clamping diodes inside the MCU will clamp the voltage to around 5V, so the leds will still be on, dimly, and the internal clamping diodes will die from overheating, potentially destroying the the entire MCU.
Comment: The detailed Gerben explanation is the WHY my approach will not work.  Thanx.
Answer: No, what you propose will not work. And it risks damaging your Arduino.
Normally you would include a single transistor which the Arduino uses to control the power through the LEDs. This removes the 12V from the Arduino and turns the output into an actual switch.
The problem is that the Arduino's GPIO isn't just a single transistor.  It is (amomgst other things):

Two complimentary transistors (that's the C in CMOS) for HIGH and LOW switches
ESD Diodes
Input buffer

By just adding the one transistor like this:

simulate this circuit – Schematic created using CircuitLab
the 12V is kept well away from the Arduino. Setting the output HIGH will turn on the transistor, allowing the current to flow to ground. Setting it LOW with turn it off, blocking the flow of current and switching the LEDs off.
Further: the Arduino's GPIO has a maximum sustained current of 25mA. Ideally you don't want to even come anywhere near this. By adding the transistor it acts as a buffer and allows you to deal with much higher currents - and hence more, and brighter, LEDs.
Incidentally, R1 in that schematic is there solely to keep the transistor off when the Arduino is not actively driving the output - e.g., when it's either unpowered or is running the bootloader - or you happen to have the GPIO in INPUT mode (as it defaults to).
Comment: Thank you.  I am aware of the transistor approach, altho I had not considered the addition of R1 and using a mosfet.  Each Arduino output will be driving only one LED.  My original post was motivated by a desire to minimize the component count needed to drive each LED...and to have a better understanding of Arduino I/O limitations.


Package emacs-snapshot-nox has unmet dependencies

Question: I'm trying to install emacs24 for an external repository, but I receive an error regarding unmet dependencies and wonder how I can continue the installation and resolve this error?
The output looks like this:
<code>dito@dito:~$ sudo apt-get install emacs-snapshot-nox
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:
  emacs-snapshot-nox: Depends: emacs-snapshot-bin-common (= 1:20111012-1+squeeze1) but it is not going to be installed
                      Depends: libncurses5 (>= 5.7+20100313) but 5.7+20090803-2ubuntu3 is to be installed
                      PreDepends: dpkg (>= 1.15.6) but 220.127.116.11ubuntu4.5 is to be installed
E: Broken packages
dito@dito:~$
</code>
Answer: You can get an updated package for dpkg from this ppa.
https://launchpad.net/~n-muench/+archive/programs-ppa2


Are there any hechshers that certify food as kosher for B'nei Noach?

Question: Are there any hechshers that certify food as kosher for B'nei Noach? Or any restaurants that offer such food? If not, how do observant B'nei Noach ensure that the meat that they eat was definitely not taken from a living animal? Presumably eating only meat that is kosher for b'nei Yisrael would be one way to do this; is such practice common among Noachides?
Comment: As I recall, the Ben Yehoyodoh states in Meseches Megilla that the queen in the British Isles in his time would eat shechted meat; I think he means Queen Victoria. Just thought I'd mention it with the current Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations this weekend.
Comment: The queen of his time was indeed Victoria. Does he say she ate **only** "shechted" meat? And does he say why?
Comment: Hello @Richie, and welcome to Mi.Yodeya! This type of response is best left as a comment, which you will be able to leave once you've accumulated 50 reputation points. For now, I'll convert it to one.
Comment: @ShmuelBrin -- The issue is: Was the animal living at the time a piece was removed from it? That's what is forbidden.
Comment: @Richie, Do you know why she was eating [only?] shechted meat? Was she trying to be a Righteous Gentile or was it for some other reason?
Comment: Related: http://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/36475
Answer: There are certain foods likely to be taken from live animals and most others would not be.  So for example, I'd trust that most chicken or beef available on the market is not eiver min hachai.  But snow crab legs are apparently often taken from live snow crabs.  So if the ben noach knows what foods are likely to be problematic, they can avoid those or devote extra caution when eating those things.
Comment: Hmm. But it seems that observant Jews are a fair amount more careful than this with regards to their own meat; that is, they wouldn't trust mass production/state supervision to make sure standards were upheld. I guess if a Noachide wanted to be stringent, his only option would be to eat Jewish kosher food, then?
Comment: I heard somewhere that depending on the factory settings, non-kosher meat plants will sometimes begin butchering the cow while it is still twitching, which can be a big problem for a Ben Noach.
Comment: @SAH I've read a midrash that Joseph thought his brothers were not Jewish and would therefore "tell on them" for doing things that would be permitted to Jews but forbidden to bnei Noach. There's a technical description regarding a case of *ever min hachai* that was still kosher. Jews would be permitted it, but not non-Jews. Such a marginal condition is unlikely but means that not 100% of all kosher meat is kosher to non-Jews, but in practice, it's probably fine.
Comment: @CharlesKoppelman See [here](http://judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/38217/difference-between-eiver-min-hachai-for-jews-and-noahides)
Answer: The Noachide community does not seem to be large enough to support "kashrus agencies" or even institutions such as restaurants. Perhaps there are some that I have not heard of (particularly the possibility of a restaurant owner who intentionally observes the relevant laws) but it doesn't seem to exist as such.
Regarding the broader issue I will recycle my answer from https://judaism.stackexchange.com/a/21964/899 which I believe has a great deal of overlap:
This is a great question that highlights the differences between the halachah for a ben Noach and the halachah for Am Yisrael.
I think that it is worthwhile to ask this question l'maaseh to a posek who has some familiarity with the laws for the bnei Noach but...
While it might seem that it is safest to purchase kosher meat to avoid any issue of ever min haChai (the prohibition against eating a limb from a living animal, the "kashrus" issue for B'nei Noach), it is not clear that this is automatically the case. According to some authorities although a Jew is permitted to eat meat taken subsequent to the two simanim (signs) of shechita (slaughter) being severed, while it remains prohibited to a ben Noach as long as the animal moves (Rambam in the Mishneh Torah, Hilchos Melachim 9:12,13, the footnote in the Moznaim English translation explains that the Rashba and others rule that a non-Jew is not liable in the circumstance where a Jew isn't based on Hullin 121b).
Practically however, State and Federal laws in the United States regarding slaughter would prevent commercially produced meat from being taken while an animal is still alive. Although I'm not sure we can apply concepts such as Rov [majority] or Chazakah [presumption] in the framework of the Sheva Mitzvos B'nei Noach, nevertheless it seems to me reasonable that one can rely on the government in this situation insofar as they are effectively exercising their obligation to set up "court" which prevent taking an "ever min haChai". As such it would seem permissible for a B'nei Noach to purchase pork sold commercially in the stores. Furthermore the Rambam rules (ibid 10:1) that with the exception of murder a non-Jew is not liable for an inadvertent transgression (b'shogaig).
With regard to shellfish it would not seem to be a concern because it is not clear that the prohibition applies to fish at all. The Rambam understands the prohibition as not applying to poultry/fowl (ibid 9:11). Though the Rava'ad (see Moznaim ibid) disagrees, he exempts a sheretz (creeping creature), and it is would seem seafood is just out of the equation. Additionally shellfish are often sold live, whole, or effectively whole/clearly "slaughtered". If there is reason to be concerned about ever min haChai regarding seafood it shouldn't be difficult obtaining seafood whose suitability is evident.
Answer: Regarding cattle and swine, the common practice for slaughtering and butchering animals involves 1. stunning the animal 2. bleeding the animal and 3. butchering (removing the limbs) of the animal. Bleeding is the process of slitting the throat and allowing as much blood as possible to drain out. So for these animals, biological death, that is death that is kosher for Noahides, has a high likelihood of having taken place before the limbs were removed.  Chickens are normally bled as well before slaughter, so again, there is likely no problem. The reason for the bleeding is simple.  It reduces mess/cleanup when butchering the animal. Eiver min hachai only applies to domestic and wild land mammals and birds.  It does not apply to fish, reptiles, insects, crustaceans such as shrimp and lobster or even sea mammals such as whales and dolphins. So, for example, removing the limb of a lobster while alive does not fall under eiver min hachai. That being said, a Ben Noach is also prohibited from practicing tza'ar ba'ali chaiyim, that is, cruelty to animals.  And this prohibition may apply in this type of case.
Comment: Is that the process for all meat, or just kosher meat?
Comment: Daniel.  Technically, all meat. The US requirements have mainly to do with how the animal is treated before bleeding and slaughter.  There are several types of approved methods for making sure the animal is properly relaxed beforehand.  These include electric shock, stunning, etc. The idea is to essentially knock out the animal without killing it so that the heart keeps beating so that it can be bled fully. This likely results in death before limbs are removed. Kosher slaughter does not require biological death before butchering can take place but I'm sure the US laws still apply anyway.