What is Lanczos resampling useful for in a spatial context?

Question: GDAL includes a resampling method beyond the normal mix of nearest neighbor, bilinear, cubic and splines: "Lanczos windowed sinc resampling". I understand that its a convolution filter, but unlike images where results tend to be subjective, the resampling used for spatial data has other implications. What's Lanczos and how does using it affect the output?
Comment: This is an exact duplicate of http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1854146/what-is-the-idea-behind-scaling-an-image-using-lanczos which has a good answer.
Comment: Section 4 of a [1979 paper by Claude Duchon](http://www.icess.ucsb.edu/gem/Duchon_1979_JAM_Lanczos.pdf) may be helpful.
Answer: What is Lanczos resampling?
Although the theory is described in an early paper and the Wikipedia article, a "feel" for resampling methods is best obtained by computing them on simple or standard images.  This can be a vast topic, requiring extensive experimentation, but some simplifications are available:

These operators work separately in each color channel.  Therefore it suffices to study how they work on a monochromatic ("black and white") image.

Most convolution operators used in image processing work the same way in the x and y directions and independently in both directions.  In effect, they are really one dimensional operators applied first to the rows and then to the columns.  This means we can study them by studying "1D" images, which can be plotted in detail.

Everything we need to know about a linear operator (which includes all convolution operators) can be inferred from how an operator works on the simplest non-constant image of all: this is a sudden jump from one value to another.

Let's look at an illustration of several popular resampling methods.  Actually, we need two illustrations: one to show what happens in "downsampling," where the new image is coarser than the old, and another to look at "upsampling," where the new images is  refinement of the old.  Let's start with the latter, because it shows more detail.
Upsampling

The original 7 by 7 image on the left is really one-dimensional because each row is the same.  The resampling occurs across the columns.  The dimension of the other five images is 80 by 80, showing in detail how each method interpolates between the original coarse pixels.  Nearest-neighbor sampling retains the sharp division between dark and light while the other four methods blur the intervening region to some extent.  Notably, the Lanczos resampler creates some regions that are darker than any in the original and others that are lighter than any in the original.  (This can have implications for GIS work, because such an extrapolation of the original values can potentially cause the new values to be invalid.  They can also extend beyond the range of the original color map, sometimes causing the extreme values in the resampling image to be rendered incorrectly.  This is a problem with bicubic convolution resampling in ArcGIS, for example.)
(NB: The "bicubic" method shown here is a bicubic spline, not the "bicubic convolution" of ArcGIS.)
Using lightness to depict image values, although natural, is not very precise.  The next illustration rectifies this by graphing the cell values (vertical axis) by column (horizontal axis).

Lower values on the graphs correspond to darker parts of the images.  A thoughtful examination of the original uncovers a hidden assumption: although the original image looks like a sharp jump from dark to light, the jump actually occurs over one-seventh (1/7) of the extent of the columns.  Who is to say what really happens in that interval in the original scene the image is depicting?  We therefore should not be too critical of differences among the resampling methods that occur within this short interval: each one is giving a different but potentially equally valid rendering of what might be occurring in the original scene.  In this sense, it is no longer apparent that nearest neighbor sampling is the most faithful interpolation method.
One conclusion we should draw is that the accuracy of any upsampling method depends on the nature of the underlying scene.  If the scene consists of values that should smoothly vary from one point to the next, then the nearest neighbor method is likely to be the least faithful way of resampling among those shown.
Downsampling

Here we see the result of downsampling a 16 by 16 image to 8 by 8 images (a 2 by 2 aggregation).  Nearest neighbor accurately retains the sharp boundary.  Lanczos differs from the others by enhancing the apparent sharpness.  A close look shows that it darkens the dark area on one side of the boundary and lightens the light area on the other side.  The graphs clarify this:

The bilinear, bicubic, and Gaussian resamplers show characteristics of convolution operators that have all positive weights (or very small negative weights): they average, or "smear," neighboring values.  In downsampling this causes sharp features to be blurred.  The extent of the blur depends on the width of the kernel.  Like these others, the Lanczos resampler also blurs the jump, but it "overshoots" it on both sides.  That's the contrast enhancement seen just above in the images themselves.  Because of this tendency to increase contrast (the local differences between the highs and lows in the image), the Lanczos resampler is often called a "sharpening filter."  These graphs show that this characterization requires a nuanced understanding, because evidently it does not actually reduce the averaging of values on both sides of the jump.  At pixel 4, its value of 0.56 is comparable to the values computed by the other convolution filters.
How does using it affect the output?
Let's take a look at what happens in a more complex image.

The original, which is a 13 by 13 image now includes a pattern with the highest possible spatial frequency (alternating between light and dark with every column at the right).  We cannot hope to reproduce such features when downsampling: the smaller amount of pixels simply cannot hold all this information.  Let's focus, then, on what happens when such an image is upsampled.  If we care about faithful reproduction of the scene, we will want this high-frequency pattern to be reproduced accurately.
The smaller images are resampled to 25 by 25 pixels: almost, but not quite, a 2:1 refinement.  To my eye, the Lanczos and bilinear methods reproduce the stripes most sharply among the four convolution resamplers.  Nearest neighbor is, of course, the most faithful (because it cannot average values at all).

These graphs of the same results show that the Lanczos resampler was able to maintain the contrast in the stripes (as seen by the size of the vertical swings from lows to highs) at the expense of introducing a variation of intensity within the constant-value light area in the middle of the image (pixels 5, 6, 7 of the original).  This variation shows up as stripe-like artifacts within the light part of the image (the middle).  Of the resamplers shown here, it is alone in introducing such spurious detail.
What is it useful for in a spatial application?
Evidently, Lanczos resampling is not a panacea or omnibus solution to resampling.  It is superior to many other convolution resamplers in maintaining (or even enhancing) local contrast.  This can be useful when the resampled image is intended for viewing identification of detailed features or boundaries.  When the resampled image will subsequently be analyzed or processed, Lanczos resampling may increase the ability to detect edges and linear features.
When the resampled image will be analyzed in other ways, though, the benefits of Lanczos resampling are doubtful.  It typically will (artificially) increase local measures of spatial variability, such as focal ranges and focal standard deviations.  It will not affect spatial means on the whole--like the other convolution resamplers, it is usually normalized (which means it's a local weighted average, with no bias introduced)--but it may increase some local averages and decrease others compared to the other resamplers.
The (necessarily brief) evaluation here suggests the Lanczos resampler generally should not be used for downsampling: for that application, it appears to offer nothing that simpler (and more commonly available) methods have, which retaining the potential disadvantage of extrapolating beyond the original range of data values.
Afterword: a general comment
The investigation described here is an example of what anybody can do when they have a question about how a GIS operation works.  It uses the GIS itself as the subject of the investigation: to know what some operation or analytical method does, simply apply it under controlled experimental conditions.  In this case that amounts to constructing simple test images, resampling them according to available methods, and examining the results.
There are three critical aspects of this approach to learning about how GIS works:

Theory.  The experimentation usually cannot be done "blind": it helps to know some theory.  We don't usually need to know much, but we need the basics.  In this case, the theory of convolutions greatly reduced the number and types of images that we need to experiment with.  We didn't need to know anything about Fourier analysis, etc.  (Make no mistake, such knowledge is beneficial.  But lack of specialized knowledge of this sort shouldn't stop us.)
Practice.  By using our GIS itself to perform the experiment, we are able to see what it actually does.  This avoids disconnects between theory (which tells us what the software should do) and practice (which is what it really does).
Quantification.  Unless the question concerns visual perception, for evaluating the results we should not rely solely on looking at maps (or, in this case, images). To get the best information, we need to quantify the output (done here with graphs) and, often, describe and summarize it with statistical methods.
Answer: You might know Lanczos filters or similar type of filters from your image programs, where they are often called 'sharpening filters'.
A good example from this forumtopic:
The first image shows the original file, and next to it how it would look like after reducing the grid size if you use a smooth interpolation method (like bicubic downsampling).

However, if you apply a Lanczos filter to this image, or use it to resample, the differences are amplified, you could say that the contrast is locally increased.

In the case of spatial data this can be very useful: imagine you are trying to reduce a gridded polygon map, or if you want to run algorithms which rely on edge detection (eg digitize a scanned polygon map, image segmentation (example) ).
On the other hand, you nay loose some spatial accuracy. Imagine that the 16x16 map represents air pollution in a city, than the resampling which uses the mean will more adequately represent the mean air polution within that grid cell.
Comment: I don't think these images are what you claim.  The top right clearly is not the cell mean; if it were, the vertical stripes in its upper left quadrant wouldn't be there.  Some form of "sharpening" was applied to *that image* to get the one beneath it (lower right), which is falsely aliased: this is not preservation of features, but creation of artifacts.  Because (almost) all filters are unit normalized, including Lanczos filters, your point about the mean applies to *every one* of them, not just an unweighted neighborhood mean, and therefore is not a distinguishing characteristic.
Comment: I've integrated your comments. But *within* the cell, the smooth interpolator would most likely yield a better prediction
Answer: From Wikipedia:

Lanczos resampling (Hungarian
  pronunciation: [ˈlaːntsoʃ]) is an
  interpolation method used to compute
  new values for sampled data. It is
  often used in multivariate
  interpolation, for example for image
  scaling (to resize digital images),
  but can be used for any other digital
  signal. The Lanczos kernel indicates
  which samples in the original data,
  and in what proportion, make up each
  sample of the final data.   The filter
  is named after Cornelius Lanczos,
  because he showed how to use Fourier
  series and Chebyshev polynomials for
  various problems where it was not used
  before.
Application: The Lanczos filter is a windowed form of the sinc filter, a
  theoretically optimal "brick-wall"
  low-pass filter. The sinc function is
  infinite in extent, and thus not
  directly usable in practice. Instead,
  one uses approximations, called
  windowed forms of the filter, as
  discussed in window functions: filter
  design, and the Lanczos filter is one
  such windowing. The windows vanish
  outside of a range, and using larger
  ranges allows one to improve accuracy
  in exchange for more computation.
Evaluation: The Lanczos filter has been compared with other filters,
  particularly other windowing of the
  sinc filter. Some have found the
  Lanczos (with a = 2) the "best
  compromise in terms of reduction of
  aliasing, sharpness, and minimal
  ringing", compared with truncated sinc
  and the Barlett, cosine, and Hann
  windowed sinc.
Limitation: Because the kernel assumes negative values for a > 1,
  output values can be negative even
  with non-negative input. Negative
  values are out of bounds for image
  signals and cause clipping artifacts.
  Negative lobes also induce ringing
  artifacts.
However, both undershoot and ringing
  are reduced compared to the
  (non-windowed) sinc filter, due to the
  windowing; the ringing is particularly
  small, as the positive side lobe size
  demonstrates, especially for a = 2.
Comment: Most of this Wikipedia article is too vague to be helpful (as others have previously noted).  The answer is indeed in the very last sentence, but would be understandable only by someone who knows what "undershoot" and "ringing" are (aka the "Gibbs oscillation" in 2D), knows what is being referred to by the "positive side lobe," and deeply understands the relationships between kernel shapes and their effects on Fourier transforms.  In short, to be intelligible and useful this answer needs some amplification.
Comment: I don't see how the wiki extract answers the question of what effects the Lanczos filter has on spatial data and what it would be useful for.
Comment: Why down vote? What is wrong with this answer? I have given the original link as well.
Comment: That's true. I just gave the answer in a general sense for *What's Lanczos and how does using it affect the output?*


Why is Christmas on December 25th?

Question: Why was December 25th chosen as the day to celebrate Jesus' birth?
Comment: Jesus was born at a time of the year when it was still warm enough for shepherd to be out in the field with their sheep. I hold therefore that Jesus was born  in autumn in a manger, with shepherds paying them a visit. I also hold, that Mary and Joseph moved with the baby from the  temporary manger to a house where they later on were visited by wise men. This 2nd visitation, which involved the star of Bethlehem could have occurred around, if not on,  the 25th of December.
Comment: The climate of Bethlehem the last 30 years (meteoblue.com); states that the mean daily temperature for Bethlehem, at the end of December , would be somewhere between +3 and -4 degrees Celcius. And that on "cold nights" the temperature would drop to -15.
Comment: Related: [Date of Christ's Birth](http://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/1360/on-which-date-was-christ-born) and [When did celebrating Jesus' birth begin](http://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/4772/when-did-christmas-the-birth-of-christ-first-begin-as-a-christian-celebration)
Comment: Please avoid turning the response into an apologetic for the date chosen over and against any preexisting pagan holidays, or vice versa (*if* it was indeed a pagan holiday, which I don't know if it truly was). Simply answer the question: "Why was the date chosen?"
Comment: Luke 2:8 "There were also in the same region shepherds living out of doors and keeping watch in the night over their flocks".
Answer: This is a good recent blog post covering Pope Benedict's thoughts on the matter.
The key is the date set for the annunciation (March 25th):

Traditionally held to be the first day of creation
Traditionally held to be the date when Abraham was to sacrifice Isaac after a 3 day journey to Mount Moriah
Extrapolated to be the date of Jesus' annunciation (when the Angel Gabriel came to Mary)
Futher extrapolated to be the date of Jesus' crucifixion (on the Lunar calendar at least) to parallel Abraham's attempted sacrifice and align with the passover.

Therefore, as vsz says wikipedia says, but should say louder, add 9 months, et voila you've got December 25th.
As for the age of the feast as celebrated by Christ's Church, said blog post also notes St. Pope Leo the Great mentioning the feast of the Nativity of Jesus in the winter:

But this Nativity which is to be adored in heaven and on earth is suggested to us by no day more than this when, with the early light still shedding its rays on nature, there is borne in upon our senses the brightness of this wondrous mystery. (St Leo Magnus, Sermo 26)

I'm not going to say that only stupid people think that Christmas is an attempt to quash pagan solstice shenanigans, but I will say that people ought to think long and hard before believing the Discovery channel over thousands of years of tradition.
Comment: Thank you for the edit. Additionally, though, the question is not "are there thousands of years of tradition" - but rather, what are the **origins** of the tradition. The fact that it is old is neither in doubt, nor relevant to the question.
Comment: So looking at that information, somebody could just say that they started with a date of December 25th and then backtracked 9 months and stuck Annunciation there at some later time.  Given that neither date is fixed by the bible, I don't think that the logic as presented in this answer (Annunciation date necessarily leads to Christmas date) works.
Comment: Isn't it far more likely that Annunciation is on March 25th because Christmas is on December 25th than the other way around?  I found [this Q&A](http://www.ewtn.com/library/Liturgy/zlitur109.htm) by a professor of liturgy to be useful.  He points out that the first evidence for a feast of Annunciation comes >300 years after Christmas.  And the date wasn't due to some sort of biblical or historical evidence (nor is it universally accepted) - it was based on the idea that Christ should be associated with a new creation which is assumed to be on this date, which is assumed to be spring.
Comment: That (and the other 2 linked to it) was a fascinating blog post, thanks. It is *slightly* dampened by the fact that this view is **far** from universal within Christianty - but well worth a read, cheers.
Comment: I'm no expert on the Jewish calendar, but isn't March 25 just a little bit too early to be holding Passover, and thus to be the time of the Crucifixion?
Comment: There is a problem with this. March 25th was widely taken to be the spring equinox. Jesus's death was set by the later church at March 25th because this coincided with the equinox. Jewish tradition held that great men lived a whole number of years, thus the Annunciation was also set to March 25th. So, even if Christmas was set to December 25th because it was nine months after March 25th, it was still done so based on the traditional celebration of the spring equinox. Sol Invictus was also seen as conceived on March 25th and born on December 25th.
Comment: So while it is no longer historical to associate Jesus directly to Sol Invictus, it is clear that both traditions were inspired by a common pre-Christian tradition.
Comment: @PeterTurner But that is because the Passover is a spring equinox holiday--part of a tradition of spring equinox celebration predating the Jewish holiday.
Comment: The date in which Christmas is celebrated is not a Catholic dogma. The same [Catholic Encyclopedia](http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03724b.htm) recognises that the use of the date of a pagan celebration as inspiration for the 25th of December "has a strong claim on the responsibility for our December date". We know that the Encyclopedia, having the Imprimatur, cannot contain doctrinal errors. You should acknowledge in your answer that the Catholic doctrine on the topic is undefined, and not dogmatic, as you seem to suggest.
Comment: @Mason, if Catholics determined when Passover was it wouldn't be. I'm not sure it's possible to conflate the two systems, Passover happens on the same day of the Jewish calendar every year, Easter starts on a different day of the Liturgical calendar every year.
Comment: @called or the Passover...
Comment: @called that makes about as much sense as saying that the independence day should be July fourth because the conditions are good for shooting off fireworks
Answer: "Chronograph" 1 – a document dating to 354 AD 2 in Rome: This was a list of martyrs and their birth dates, and a list of bishops of Rome and their birth dates. The Chronograph lists these dates (birth dates) in calendar order. The first date listed is the "8th of Kalens of January" ("Kalens" is used to refer to the first of a month – putting a number in front of it counts backward.) This translates to our December 25th. The notation in the Chronograph is that this is the birth of Christ in Bethlehem.
On the list, the last two bishops were added on apparently after the list was otherwise complete (dates out of order). The first bishop had died in 336 AD. Thus, it is probable that this list dates to 336 AD.
In 303 AD, under Diocletian, was the "last" persecution of the church. After this time of persecution, lapsed Christians-those who had recanted under persecution, were allowed back into the church (upon profession). There was a group called the Donatists that disagreed with this practice – they felt that the lapsed Christians should not be allowed to rejoin the church. The Donatists broke away from the church.
Augustine opposed the Donatists. He noted 3 that "the Donatists do not celebrate Epiphany", which was started as a celebration of the baptism of Jesus. Apparently, the Donatists celebrated Christmas – Augustine doesn't say that they didn't.
    This would push the celebration of Christmas back to before 311 – the time of the Donatist split.
A document called "De Pascha Computus" – calculating the date of Passover. The document also lays out a scheme to calculate the birth of Jesus. The calculation fell on March 28 of our calendar.
There were several assumptions made in calculating this date – assumptions from Jewish tradition. Jewish tradition held that the time of the Passover celebration was also the time of the beginning of creation. The sun, moon, and stars were created on the 4th day of creation. Malachi 4:2 refers to the "Sun of Righteousness" (referring to Christ). The reasoning is that it was symbolically fitting for March 28th to be the birth of the light of the world.
Though use of December 25th is not supported, yet the plan of celebrating birthday of Jesus was prevailing around 243 AD.
Note that even as early as the 12th century, it was thought that December 25th was co-opted from the pagans.
EVEN IF it was co-opted, it was infused with new meaning by the best theologians of the time.
But there is good evidence that a date of December 25th is true – it just happened to fall on the winter solstice. Early Christians believed that December 25 was the true day. It is likely that the early Christians would try to identify the birth day of their Saviour.
"De Solstitiis" – a North African document from the 300's attempts to determine the date of Christ's birth entirely from the evidence given in Scripture. It assumes a date of March 25th for Christ's death (Passover).
The reasoning begins from the conception of John the Baptist. The angel made the announcement to Zechariah. Zechariah completes his "time of service" and returns home. (Luke 1:23-24) The time of service is complete in the fall of the year (when the Jewish year changes). When Zechariah returns home, Elizabeth conceives John. This is around the time of the Fall Equinox.
The announcement to Mary comes in Elizabeth's six month – this would be about the Spring Equinox. This also happens to be Passover – the date of the death of Christ – March 25th (by the Julian calendar).
Birth of John – 9 months after Fall – Summer solstice.
Birth of Jesus – 9 months after Spring Equinox – puts it at the Winter Solstice – on (or about) December 25th (Julian calendar).
This reasoning is based on the presumption of the conception of John the Baptist.
This line of reasoning is adopted by Augustine – he notes that the conception and crucifixion occurred on the same day. Also accepted by John Chrysostum – in the 380's, he reproduces this reasoning in the east – using the common eastern calendar – winds up 2 weeks off – January 6 for the birth of Jesus and April 6 for the death of Jesus. Augustine and Chrysostum promoted the celebration of December 25 because it is believed to be the actual date.
Since Clement of Alexandria was in the "east," we can assume that he used the eastern, or Egyptian, calendar in his calculations. He arrived at a date of January 6th (according to our calendar). This is the reason for the eastern church using Jan 6 and resisting December 25.
Also, Epiphanius (died 403 AD) in Palestine does the same calculation as in De Solstitiis, using the eastern calendar for dates, and also winds up two weeks later than December 25.
All these calculations have nothing to do with pagan festivals or equinoxes and solstices. (Jan 6th is two weeks after the winter solstice.)
Let me add here: We do not find any historical date in Bible, may be for obvious reason since the bottom line in Bible was to deliver a message of Salvation and not a historical record of events that took place. Notwithstanding this, there is always an urge in humans to remember and celebrate those events, which influenced their destiny. That urge gradually led the early Christian to commemorate all those sacred events that took place in life of our Lord as remembrance and veneration of our Lord. Savior and Emmanuel (God with us) spent His life as one of us and like us among us the earthly creatures. His birth, death and whatever mighty deeds He carried out are by no means any ordinary events.
Suppose we were those unfortunate who never knew the birth date of one of our parents, we would somehow try to decipher the probable date from whatever source. As such not knowing the date would not stop us from celebrating this event. In similar scenario, we were unfortunate not to know the exact date of our Lord's birth and in absence of any exact dates in Bible, it is not at all a SIN to fix appropriate day for this event in a year to give us opportunity to commemorate them in honour of our Lord. If one ponders it in an unbiased mind, it is not an issue at all whether Christian celebrate the Christmas on 25 December or 6 th of January as some do. What is important is we need one day to celebrate the day of birth of our Savior. Whether it is the date which coincides with the birth day of some pagan god or with birth of any other founder of any other present day religion is immaterial for any true and broad minded Christian. Celebrating a birthday by no means can be considered as Pagan.
Because paganism was prevailing during the early years of Christianity, just by relating any event in Christian practice to a pagan practice is easiest way to create doubt in minds of believers by saying that it relates to pagan practice.

1 The Chronography of 354. Introduction to the online edition
2 The Manuscripts of the "Chronography/Calendar of 354 A.D."
3 Augustine on Baptism Against the Donatists, Book 6
Comment: yes it is strenuous work, but that is what would make this answer better than the others on the Internet.
Comment: Thank you, though, for what you have done. I have upvoted this.
Comment: This is good, but please add more sources for your claims (and preferably not Wikipedia, although this is fine for general claims that are not in dispute). For instance, you wrote, "in 274 AD, Aurelius established December 25th (the winter solstice) as the Birth of the Sun Unconquered (Natales Soli Invicti)." Yet there is no source for this information. For an example of how I answer, which gives an example of using sources (formatting not important, just the idea of using sources for claims), see [this answer I wrote.](http://christianity.stackexchange.com/a/23791/1304)
Comment: This is very good, though. I just want to be able to *verify* your claims for myself. Thanks +1
Comment: Did some changes but the answer which you referred is really a strenuous work.
Answer: The exact day for the birth of Jesus is not known. You can find a lot of info on Wikipedia, with references. The most interesting for this question might be:

The precise day of Jesus' birth, which some historians place between 7
  and 2 BC, is unknown. In the early-to-mid 4th century, Western
  Christianity first placed Christmas on December 25, a date later
  adopted also in the East. Theories advanced to explain that
  choice include that it falls exactly nine months after the Christian
  celebration of the Annunciation, or that it was selected to
  coincide with either the date of the Roman winter solstice or of
  an ancient pagan winter festival in order to stamp out these
  celebrations and replace them with a Christian one.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas)
Comment: welcome to Christianity.SE! If you are going to do a copy/paste from another source, please be sure to provide **all** references from that source - as it is, this answer needs a LOT of cleanup before it can be accepted
Comment: @warren: You are right. I edited it to contain a link to the article itself, where all the references can be found. I assume this is more convenient to the QA, and might point him to be able to search more effectively for such common questions himself.
Answer: There's a number of reasons to understand that Christ was conceived about 12/25 and was born at Tabernacles in the Fall.
Some believe that Nisan was the first month of the year.  True enough at the time of the Exodus, but prior to that the first month was Tishri, which is in the fall.  So any math that adds nine months to the March/April time frame to arrive at 12/25 has no bearing on the question.
In short, from a Scriptural time and tradition that follows, the time of creation was at the Fall equinox, not the spring time.  When Passover was later instituted in Egypt, the first month became Nisan (March-April) about the Spring equinox.  Some are confused by this change.

And it came to pass in the six hundredth and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth: and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and, behold, the face of the ground was dry. Gen. 8:13

This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you. Ex. 12:2

The first month of Noah nonetheless presaged Christ at Gen.

8:4 And the ark [Christ] rested in the seventh month [Nisan], on the seventeenth day of the month [upon resurrection], upon the mountains of Ararat.  Christ rested on the 17th of Nisan, having been crucified on the 14th and resurrected on the 16th.

So, Christ would have been born at Tabernacles in the Fall coinciding with creation.  Nine months prior at conception is about the winter equinox.
He was circumcised on the 8th day, corresponding to the Sabbath rest of the 8th day (Lev. 23:39), the great day.  Or in the New Testament corresponding to Christ's offer:

In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.  John 7:37

And the Word became flesh, and did tabernacle among us, and we beheld his glory, glory as of an only begotten of a father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14 YLT

Luke 2:8 mentions the shepherds in the fields tending their flocks.  This too points away from a winter night to presumably a Fall night.
Why was 12/25 chosen instead?  It would have been about the time of the angel visiting Mary.  9 months later puts us at Tabernacles.
The priestly course of Abijah (Luke 1:5, 1 Chr 24:10) may be calculated as serving the week before the summer solstice.  John was then conceived the next week.  Thus this gives us the 6 months earlier at the summer solstice (John) from the winter equinox (Christ) and was born 9 months later at Passover (John).
In type (physical mimicking spiritual), John said He must increase, I must decrease (John 3:30).  The solstices were the change of seasons.  Thus Christ was conceived about 12/25.
Over the centuries, there had been a concerted effort to divest Christianity from various Jewish roots and understandings.  Realities lost led to man-made traditions.  It is true enough a number of pagan celebrations occurred about the winter solstice, like the birth of Sol Invictus.  Subsequently, 12/25 was incorrectly chosen as the birth, rather than the conception of Christ.  But tradition and scripture point to Christ's birth at Tabernacles in the fall.
Answer: I've found a very nice and detailed article discussing the relation between the Roman calendar and the date of Christmas. It is well worth to read in full, but the passage most relevant to this question is the following:

In seeking to determine the date of Christmas, critics have tended to
  discuss the matter in one of two ways. Adherents of "Calculation
  Theory" seek to demonstrate that the Nativity of Jesus can be
  determined independently by the chronology of the liturgical calendar.
  Proponents of the "History of Religions," on the other hand, tend to
  interpret Christmas as a substitution for the annual birth of Sol
  Invictus on December 25. In fact, these two approaches should not be
  juxtaposed and need not be mutually exclusive alternatives.
In the Julian reform of the Roman calendar, December 25, the eighth
  day after the Kalends of January (VIII Kal. Jan.), was recognized as
  the winter solstice. Nine months earlier, March 25 was the vernal
  equinox, the eighth day before the Kalends of April (VIII Kal. Apr.),
  which marked the beginning of spring. This tradition of assigning the
  equinoxes and solstices to the eighth day before the Kalends (the
  first day of the month) later was embraced by the church in its
  calculation of the birth date of Jesus.
Because Jesus was deemed to be perfect, his life was thought to be
  complete as well and to comprise a whole number of years. March 25
  (the eighth Kalends of April) was believed to be the date of his
  conception (Annunciation) and, exactly nine months later, December 25
  (the eighth Kalends of January) his Nativity. The date of Jesus'
  conception and crucifixion, therefore, were thought to have occurred
  on the same day of the year, March 25 (the eighth Kalends of April)
  (Tertullian, Adversus Judaeos, VIII.17; Hippolytus, Commentary on
  Daniel 4:23; Augustine, On the Trinity, IV.5; Dionysius Exiguus,
  Argumenta Paschalia, XV). Fittingly, this also was the day on which
  the world itself was believed to have been created.
Answer: This appears to be a rather good defense of the traditional December 25th date: Yes, Christ Was Really Born on December 25: Here's a Defense of the Traditional Date for Christmas.
He makes three main points which I'll paraphrase as follows:
1) December 25th was not based on pagan celebrations, because Saturnalia occurs on December 22nd and the pagan feast to the Unconquered Sun that was celebrated on December 25th likely came about after Christians were celebrating Christmas on that date.
2) There are multiple references from the early to late second century about Christ's birth occurring on December 25th. Oral tradition could probably reliably indicate the birth of an important figure 1 century after the act.
3) There is a way to calculate the birth of Christ from the Bible itself by figuring out when the "course of Abias" was (which was when Zacharias was in the temple when it was announced that he would have a child, John the Baptist), and then calculating John the Baptist's birth from which Christ's birth can be calculate. This calculation gives 2 possibilities, one of which is consistent with December 25th. Also the Protoevangelium of James corroborates this hypothesis.
There are also multiple calculations done by 2nd and 3rd century writers that held the opinion he was born in the spring. But if the evidence in this article is worthwhile, then it would seem that December 25th is indeed the correct date.
Comment: Reading from other sources, any argument relating to Zechariah's time of serving in the temple is not really convincing by itself. People on different sides of the argument use varying calculations for when he was serving to try to prove his point.
Answer: December 25th was chosen as the day to celebrate Jesus' birth as a result of III- and IV-century Christians...

holding the notion that persons specially chosen by God - with Jesus obviously being the foremost of those persons - lived to an "integral age", meaning that they died on their birthdays,

calculating the Roman date of the day of Jesus' birth as either the same as the Roman date of the day of his crucifixion or, more often, as the Roman date of the day of the year of Jesus' birth (with that year being chosen according to some other criteria) whose Hebrew date was 14 Nisan, the Hebrew date of the day of Jesus' crucifixion according to the Gospel of John, eventually settling to March 25, and

in the IV century, switching the "integral age" notion to Jesus' conception instead of his birth, so that if his conception was reckoned to have been on March 25, his birth was reckoned to have been on December 25.

The "integral age" notion had originated in Judaism when a statement made by Moses on his last day, "I am a hundred and twenty years old this day" (Deut. 31:2), began to be interpreted in the sense that he was turning 120 years that very day, so that he had died on his birthday. BTW, note that the dates of the feasts of the Nativity and of the Assumption/Dormition of Mary in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendars, September 8 and August 15 respectively, are consistent with Mary living to an "integral age" according to the Hebrew calendar.
A very good presentation of this subject is:
William Tighe (2003), Calculating Christmas. The Story Behind December 25
Further details in:
Philipp Nothaft (2013), Early Christian Chronology and the Origins of the Christmas Date: In Defense of the "Calculation Theory"
Answer: In a museum in the city of Rome (in the year 2013) I read the following theory which is also found in the German language Wikipedia.
(However, according to the Wikipedia entry it is not sure if the theory really reflects the facts.)
It is a known fact that very early Christians didn't celebrate Christmas but only other holidays - for example Easter.
When Christians started to celebrate Christmas, they were looking for a suitable date. They were choosing the date of a high Roman public holiday. And December 25th was a public holiday in Rome long before Christians started to celebrate Christmas on that day.
Because this day was a public holiday in Rome, they didn't have to go to work that day and because they didn't believe in the pagan religion, they didn't participate in the Roman ceremonies that were celebrated on that day. So they had time to celebrate the newly introduced Christian holiday.
And even more practical: In times of persecution nobody could use the fact that they did not celebrate on a pagan holiday as proof that they were Christians!
The fact that Christmas was initially only celebrated in the Roman empire on December 25th and Christians outside the Roman empire did not celebrate Christmas on December 25th makes this theory at least plausible.
Comment: How far did the Roman Empire extend during the era you're referring to?
Comment: @PeterTurner I have no idea about the extent. However, according to the German Wikipedia (entries about "Christmas" and the Roman holiday of the Roman god "Sol"), Christmas was not celebrated in the whole Roman empire on December 25th. The Christians in the east of the Roman empire (Constantinople) as well as northern Africa (Egypt) were initially refusing the date of December 25th according to Wikipedia.

Why is Christmas on December 25th?


ASP.Net SqlBulkCopy some text data type values converting to exponential values

Question: ASP.Net SqlBulkCopy some text data type values converting to exponential values
bulkCopy.DestinationTableName = "TABLE NAME";
bulkCopy.ColumnMappings.Add("Mobilenumber", "Mobilenumber");
bulkCopy.WriteToServer(dr);

above code inserting excel column mobilenumbers of text data type to database column mobilenumber varchar(100)
Some numbers are inserting without any change but some numbers inserting as exponential values.
If datatype of excel column changed to Number with leading zeroes is 0 then without converting into exponential , values are inserting into database table.
My requirement is without converting any sheet datatype (To the sheet only) manually, i have to upload because i have to upload many files.
Please, can any one help on this.
Answer: By using the below connection strings and changing the setting for TypeGuessRows=0 in the registry of Jet and ACE.
ExelconnectionString = "Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;Data Source=" + filname + ";Extended Properties=\"Excel 8.0;IMEX=1;ImportMixedTypes=Text;TypeGuessRows=0;\"";

ExelconnectionString = "Provider=Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.12.0;Data Source=" + filname + ";Extended Properties='Excel 12.0;IMEX=1;ImportMixedTypes=Text;TypeGuessRows=0';";


Two onsite interviews, how to handle travel expenses?

Question: I have been invited for on-site interviews by two companies, A and B, in different but not too distant countries. I don't really know how to take care of the travel expenses. Should I explain to both that I will be visiting two companies and only request one way ticket from both? Another possibility is asking A to pay for a a return ticket from B's country which feels wrong in some sense.
Answer: Get round trip tickets from both, do not discuss your interview with the other company at all, and schedule them so that you have time to do both.  The reason is that you never know what will actually happen when the day gets here.  If necessary schedule them so you have a few days to recover from travel from the first before departing for the second.
One company could decide that they no longer want to interview you and decide not to send you a ticket.  This could leave you in the uncomfortable spot of having to go back to the other company to now purchase a round trip ticket on short notice, or purchasing a leg on your own(on short notice).  Requesting the change is not going to make points with either company especially since it will cost them more money.  Paying for the ticket yourself is probably not something you are interested in either.
Another reason is a company may be less willing to fly you out for an interview if they know you are interviewing with a different company in another country.  You could end up with no interviews as a result.
Comment: Also, there is no guarantee they wont change the date of the interview on you.
Comment: That would be pretty a jerk move for a company to withdraw from an agreement like that, but still a great reason to consider getting tickets from both.
Comment: @JustinHelgerson - Sure would but happens
Comment: Thanks, it feels wrong but I guess I'll get round trips for both and will burn some tickets. Such a waste though.
Comment: @Fusha - If you are more comfortable with the risk that you could end up footing the bill for the trip one way, then you can go with Nix or Leigh's good answers.  For me I am not comfortable with risks like that so this is how I would do it.
Answer: One thing you could do, is to order the tickets yourself, and have them reimburse them later. You could pay extra for open or flexible tickets, in case you need to make sudden changes.
In the event that they should ask about your weird itinerary, simply explain that you had personal arrangement in that nearby country anyway, so it made much sense to do it that way, in order to save you some time and them some money (since presumable a round-trip is more expensive). You don't have to tell them you were at a job interview.
You could then make company A pay for the trip out, and company B for the trip home. The trip between the two could go to whoever you like the least. :)
If you want to, you could even mention this when you schedule the interview. "Oh, the 15th? I'm actually visiting my buddy "Raccoon Ramblin' Randy" in {nearby country} on the 10th. That means I will have to change my return flights ..."
Another thing you could do, is to ask for a one-way ticket, and pay for the ticket between the countries out of your own pocket. Explain that you would like to take this opportunity to take a personal vacation, and learn more about their wonderful country! Immediate plus points with the interviewer!
Answer: The countries aren't too distant, but there will still be travel between them, correct? And do you know that there won't be an overnight stay involved?
I would propose that the first-interview company pay for your ticket to their country, and that the second-interview company pay for your ticket home. And if there are any on-the-ground expenses in country (hotel, coach or train between the two countries), that the companies split that cost between them.
If they have another suggestion, or policy, let them suggest what they'll do. Your suggested solution is more fair, but if a particular company's internal policies are that much of a bugbear, they may just find it easier for one company to pay for your round-trip airfare from your home country to, say, Company A's country; while Company B picks up travel between the two countries and any other expenses.
Answer: When I have had on site interviews for which the company is reimbursing me for expenses, they have required submissions which mirror employee expense reports. I needed to itemize expenses and  scan and attach receipts. As long as the costs are within general expectations they don't question you.
For example, I am in Chicago. I had an interview in Los Angeles. At the time my daughter lived in L.A. I stayed at her apartment and used her car. I could have rented a car at the company's expense. Nonetheless they only reimbursed me for local mileage for my "personal" car because that is the expense I could document.
If you submit a one way ticket for reimbursement,  the company need not know if you were splitting the cost to visit your  family or if the other part of the ticket was being reimbursed by a different company. Just don't "double dip".


Unblocking of skype in Fortigate

Question: I have fortinet fortigate 40c. It is not a bundle product. We use it to unblock 300 of our websites and rest are all blocked by default. Now, we want to unblock skype. The problem is just specifying skype.com to unblok doesn't help it opening the application. So what options do i have.
I have  specified skype to open in application server as well  but yet it doesn't work.
Answer: You need to create an application filter and apply it to your LAN->WAN IPv4 policy. This is different to a wildcard web filter that you have created.
Currently your default application filter (or your custom one) may be set to block Skype. You can also set up an application filter override, to allow Skype explicitly.
Comment: I tried doing that too. It didn't work. When using skype application, it says check your internet connection.
Comment: There may be other application control entries that it relies on. I have just had a look in Fortiguards database and it appears that Skype also requires Skype_Communication so make sure that is whitelisted also. I would look back over your policies and ensure that users are hitting the correct web/application filters.

http://fortiguard.com/appcontrol/app-12753
http://fortiguard.com/appcontrol/app-30197
Comment: is it to be enabled in application sernsor ,skype_communication?
Comment: I could not get the skype_communication in the application sensor. All i can find is skype
Answer: It might well be that it's not the AC blocking Skype but the WF.
1- Do you have a valid UTM licence? If not, WF will block.
2- Enable logging on that policy.
3- Make sure it's the first policy from top down so that it gets hit by traffic.
4- Disable WF. Disable AC. If Skype now is connecting, enable AC. If that is working, enable WF. If not, check the AC blocking rules, especially the 10 blocking entries.
Comment: No, we don't have the UTM licence. So we block all the websites except for what we need and we excempt and enable them.
Answer: I had the same problem on a Fortigate 90D: Skype chat works, but not calls.  I investigated a bit and I found the culprit: webfilter... and firewall.
Explanation with an example:
I have 2 IPV4 policies for 2 types of users (let's call them LAN and GUEST).  Both policies are using the SAME webfilter.  The only difference is: LAN policy only has a few ports open, while GUEST policy has ALL ports open.
Logs are telling me that on BOTH policies, Skype is blocked by the webfilter.  After reading Skype documentation, i know that if Skype is blocked on standard ports (80 or 443), it will use a random port to connect.
So:

For the users under my LAN policy, Skype is blocked by the webfilter, then use another random port.  And the random port not being allowed in my LAN policy --> Skype calls are not working.
For the users under the GUEST policy, Skype is also blocked by the webfilter, then use another random port.  All ports being open in my GUEST policy: CALLS ARE WORKING !

My only option if I don't want to open all ports on my LAN policy in order for random Skype ports to work is to AUTHORIZE ALL WEBSITES IN THE WEBFILTER.  Then apply, wait a few seconds, boom: Skype calls are working !  If I block pornography websites -> Skype is not working.  If I block "Security Risk" category --> not working !  Even worse than that: putting the categories on "monitor" also seems to block skype calls !  You must select AUTHORIZE.
Conclusion: Skype calls are blocked by the webfilter.
Only solution:

Allow skype to connect on standard ports by authorizing all websites in the webfilter, since it looks like skype is blocked in multiple web categories.
If you don't want to allow those categories in the webfilter, skype will be blocked on standard ports and will use a RANDOM port to connect, so you must open ALL ports in your policy (since it's impossible to guess which one will be used) in order for the Skype to work.
Third option, but it didn't work for me: you can specify a custom port in Skype connection options, then eventually authorize it in your policies.  I tried it, but Skype was still using random ports.
Comment: I changed the Inspection method to proxy based in web filtering profiles and the skype started working.
Answer: I changed the Inspection method to proxy based in web filtering profiles and the skype started working. I hope this one helps for all.

Unblocking of skype in Fortigate


Dnase data for GRCh38

Question: This question below turned to be completely faulty. I don't have to do anything with DNase data for GRCh38.
I asked it because of the file count difference between hg38 and hg37, which I thought to be too big.
For hg38 there're 95 files *Peak.txt.gz. For hg37 there're 236 *narrowPeak.gz, but after merging pairs PkRep1 & PkRep2 (probably FASTQ(SE/PE) reps) we get only 123 files. Finally, this difference (123 & 95) no longer seems to be big and we have even cleaner situation without PkRep1 & PkRep2.
One again: there's no problem with DNase data for GRCh38 assembly and only my question was misleading. I'd like to apologise for the confusion I introduced.

I'm interesed in transciptional activity, thus I'm willing to use DNase hypersensitivity sites to detect regions where transcription factors are allowed to bind.
In previous genome assembly GRCh37 / hg19 I used to use narrow peaks files from these two sources (University of Washington and Duke University, respectively) (files with suffixes .narrowPeak.gz):
http://hgdownload.cse.ucsc.edu/goldenPath/hg19/encodeDCC/wgEncodeUwDnase/
http://hgdownload.cse.ucsc.edu/goldenPath/hg19/encodeDCC/wgEncodeOpenChromDnase/
With the most contemporary assembly GRCh38 there're also some annotations attached (files with trailing Peak.txt.gz):
http://hgdownload.soe.ucsc.edu/goldenPath/hg38/database/
And here four complementary question arise:

Consider only datasets, which come from University of Washington.
For GRCh38 / hg19 I counted 236 narrow peak files, whereas for newer
GRCh38 there're only 95 files. How to explain this differene? Do the datasets represent exactly the same coverage, but with much lower granularity / precision (datasets that come for several tissue lines are merged into fewer files)?
With GRCg37 / hg19 we have both narrow peaks as well as broad peaks,
whereas GRCh38 comes with only one type of of file *Peak.txt.gz.
Does it mean that with the newest version we have only narrow peaks? Are the broad peaks hidden somewhere else?
With GRCh37 / hg19 we have two separate sources of DNase data: UofW and Duke. For GRCh38, it seems that only UofW datasets are availabe. Is any other source of DNase data available, maybe stored separately (Duke or other lab)?
Let's suppose that you're in my place and you would like to determine cis-regulatory areas. What type of data can be used to do so? Mabey DNase datasets but from other source or even completly different type of data (NOT DNase)?

Thank you in advance for your answer.
Comment: No need to apologize. Your question was very interesting actually and it will aid the future researchers a lot am sure! I would suggest you to revert it to OP
Answer: I am unsure that how much does it answer your question, but have a look at the homepage of DeltaSVM - In his work, Lee et al. have used similar datasets (only for GRCH37 I reckon) and I am sure they will address some of your queries.
As you yourself can better determine which dataset(s) are ones you need.

Dnase data for GRCh38


What are the pros and cons of flip lock vs. twist lock on tripods?

Question: I am in search of a tripod. While doing a bit of research myself, I came to know that there are two broad variants of leg locks, viz. flip and twist lock. In many forums, I find people expressing conflicting views preferring each one over the other. This seems to confuse me even more while not being aware of what each type of lock operates. What are the prime considerations in choosing a particular lock system?
Comment: I've removed the requests for off-site resources from the question as we strongly prefer answers to be self-contained, but other than that, this is a good example of how to write a shopping question. Good job :-)
Comment: I suggest you go to a good camera shop and play with tripods of different kinds. You might find yourself hating one kind (in which case, you should buy the other kind, regardless of what anyone else says) or you might find yourself completely indifferent between the two (in which case, you should choose your tripod based on other factors).
Answer: For most people it is just a personal preference. Some say the flip locks are more bulky and can get snagged on objects. Some will tell you that one or the other is faster to set up and take down.
I have both types(Manfrotto flip locks and Benro twist locks) and have no preference. I find them equally fast to set up and take down, and have never had a flip lock snag on something.
Both flip(or lever) locks and twist locks are designed with varying levels of quality. Get a well designed tripod and you should be happy either way.
Keep in mind that in addition to modern flip locks, some older tripods have lever locks that twist to lock and unlock.
Comment: In flip lock, is there a hinge system that 'flips' on a leg section? In twist lock, do we need to 'twist' the leg?
Comment: I have updated the photo showing a modern Manfrotto flip lock on the left and Benro on the right. The middle lever lock is a Manfrotto from the 1970's. It worked very well and was fully adjustable.
Answer: I used to have a Bogen/Manfrotto 3205 legset (bought about 20 years ago). (Looks like 190 might be the current model?) I had two complaints about the flip locks:

They were loud. Out in the woods, with dead quiet around me the "snap!" as they closed was defeaning. Without exaggerating: it was loud enough to disturb wildlife.
Every once in a while I would get my finger stuck in the lock area somehow. It would snap down with enough force to leave me with a bruise!

Now, this is definitely anecdotal -- I have since heard from others that theirs was not that tight and didn't have that level of force. I did try loosening the lock screw a bit (to try and remove some of that force and snap) however the lock wasn't securely tight in that position.
I replaced that legset eventually with something that uses twist locks. They make no noise and have never snapped my fingers.
Comment: +1 yes, they can be loud, and they do like to catch fingers, quite true!
Comment: I like the wildlife tip. Same thing would apply in theatre or concerts but normally one is set up ahead of time in those cases so the noise would not be a problem. If you do move around a lot between events, the noise could be a big deal.
Answer: I prefer the twist style when the tripod is new and in good condition.  I find it a bit easier to adjust one-handed.  However, when the tripod gets older, or it's wet and cold, or it's been exposed to the elements and isn't functioning as smoothly, it can be harder to get a good grip on the twist collars. With the lever style I think it's easier to get a grip on the mechanism and have enough leverage to open and close no matter what the condition of the tripod.
I've never had a tripod that deteriorated to the point that it wouldn't function, but I have had hiking poles with the twist mechanism, all of which deteriorated to the point that they no longer would hold in place with much force placed on the leg.  I don't think a tripod holding the weight of an SLR + lens would have this problem, especially if reasonably well looked after.
If you are going to be adjusting the tripod wearing gloves, or you're going to subject it to sand and salt water, then the lever style may be effective longer.  Otherwise it's just personal choice.


How can I get the value of an account created in mocha test?

Question: I am new to ethereum and am using truffle and mocha for development. I am writing an app that is sending ethereum to a contract. The ether stored in the contract is then used later.
I have a function that creates a ticket by calling to a seperate contract: TicketAccount (which holds all the tickets in an account).
function createTicket(bytes32 _name, uint _cost) public payable returns(address ticket) {
    var setBalance = _cost * 2;
    var ticketAddress = accounts[msg.sender].createTicket.value(setBalance)(_name, _cost);
    return ticketAddress;
  }

I am referring to the docs here
This is the function it is calling to. A user must have registered an account to be considered an owner.
function createTicket(bytes32 _name, uint _cost) public payable isOwner() returns (address ticketTransaction) {
    // ... code here
  }

I am writing a mocha test where service is my original contract where the createTicket can be called from.
it("should create ticket", function() {

    var newTicket = service.createTicket.value(20)("Ticket Name", 20);
    return newTicket.then(function(newTicket) {
      assert.isOk(newTicket);
    });
  });

This is the error that the test is giving
TypeError: service.createTicket.value is not a function

UPDATE: I have also tried this method to no avail. This gives me the dreaded invalid opcode
var newTicket = service.createTicket.sendTransaction("Ticket Name", 20, {from: accountOne, value: 40});

Answer: I think the format your looking for is:
service.createTicket(arg1, arg2, {value: 30, from: accounts[3]}, function(err, result) {
   console.log(result)
}

At least, that works for me.


Designing my company's logo – should I get professional help?

Question: I am getting frustrated trying to design a logo for my company. It is taking me longer to launch my website because of it. Should I have a professional handle the logo for me or should I just throw up something I am not satisfied with?
Comment: You're kind of asking a group of professionals if their services have merit. :) I suspect you'll get the same answer from many :)
Comment: This is completely a matter of opinion. In my opinion, yes.
Comment: I'm voting to close this old question, as it's completely a matter of opinion (in my opinion, yes, hire a designer to do a design job)
Answer: If you're asking this question, 99% of the time you should hire someone.
By asking this question you show that at least one (likely all of) the following are true:

You care about the design enough to want it to be done very well (as you should).
You don't feel very confident in your own ability to create a great logo.
You don't have a very clear goal in mind and could use some more thought on the subject.
You don't have the know how or time to carry out your idea in a way that creates the logo at a high quality.

If two of them are true (I sure hope the first one is), you should hire someone to do it for you. That doesn't mean you pay someone $5 to do it either, you need to pay someone who actually knows that they're doing or else they won't be of a help to you at all, which means it may cost little more than what you're wanting to pay. A good logo is hard work and takes a lot of thought and effort. Compensation has to cover that.
Comment: re: your closing sentence: a modification for the sake of non-designers, good design works sometimes takes very little *perceived* effort, with the majority of the work and effort having been spent in the previous 10-20 years of work and effort on other projects. To a novice, there are many possibilities, to an expert, few.
Answer: I've been designing logos for 20 years and designing a logo for yourself is a difficult task. You need a good design process, time and confidence. If you can afford a good designer I would recommend that.
If time is important then use a distinctive font and come back to the logo later. Many successful businesses have revised logos that are nothing like the one they started with eg. Apple.
Comment: FWIW, 'distinctive font' isn't even always critical (Crate&Barrel, American Airlines, etc)
Answer: Should you hire a [plumber] or just [fix the toilet] in a way you are not satisfied with?
Should you hire a [mechanic] or just [guess what's wrong with the car] in a way you are not satisfied with?
Should you hire a [lawn care service] or just [use that old push mower] in a way you are not satisfied with?
This isn't a graphic design question. It's a question asking if you should hire a professional to do something or do it yourself even if you won't be satisfied with it.
The answer to that question, alas, is something only you can answer.
Answer: Designing a logo is tricky. You need to take many surprising factors into account. Some of the things include aspect ratio, printabiliity, scalability, colors for print web and black and white, uniqueness etc etc... There are also all kinds of skill factors involved.
A person that has done it before can help because they now some of the caveats. In reality logo design is much more than just coming out with a logo. Its about a corporate branding strategy that's closely tied to the business strategy. As such be prepared to help the logo designer quite much.
It is also important to not be too critical for the end result, otherwise you will be doing versions for eternity. Self criticism can ruin even a perfectly good logo. So hiring somebody with a known good taste can be worth it. (Sometimes however the designers are known to troll, just to see what they can get away with).
Don't expect the logo designer to turnaround the thing faster as there's all sorts of questions that they need you to answer.
See:
Which should be designed first: logo or website?
Answer: Nothing in graphic designing is difficult as the difficulty of designing a Logo.
The logo is summarizing in a visual language your concept. it is your idea about your company and the way people will remember you. It is something like nativity.
So first before thinking about Colors and shapes. Think about the idea ... The Concept behind your service. The philosophy of your company/service. take you time to figure out what is your actual message you want to keep in your customer memory. if you succeed finding a concept -which is sometimes is a very difficult to find- then you should find something to represent your concept in a visual representation that is echoed in the depth of human knowledge through the ancient history to the present.
why we do that? because we design for humans. and humanity is a very complex thing you must deal with.
When Designing a Logo actually you are sending an SMS (Short Message Shock) it must be recognizable with your concept in a visual message.
sometimes you can do that from the first design and sometimes your logo can be a living being that can be developed through years and ages.
Logos designing seems to be a Graphical designer task but actually it is a philosopher thesis. :)
Comment: Any citations for these things such as 'Short Message Shock'? And what does 'logo can be a living being' mean?
Comment: @DA01 do you really want to know? or you are just makes a mockery of me!
Comment: they are rather esoteric phrases that I've ever heard. Do they have a source? If they are of your own creation, I think you need to explain them.
Comment: They are my own !? not really but I promise If I had enough time I will explain ... as it force me going into "Languages and philosophy terms" and this is out of subject here.
Answer: If you need profesional help depends if you want a profesional look on your company or not.
It would be an interesting topic to analyze about how people starting a company want everything done by themselves. This could be a budget issue, but sometimes is about being afraid of delegate things.
There are things to consider in a logo besides personal satisfaction. Design trends, technical issues, abstraction level, and the most important, a professional look.
So, it's up to you.
Comment: This suggests that an individual company owner cannot create a professional logo which I don't agree with
Comment: @MarkMussler I don't see it suggesting that at all. I think what it's saying is that an owner can do everything themselves, but maybe they shouldn't.
Answer: Your logo defines you and your company voice. You should work out a brief detailing what it is that your company provides services for. Once this is clear you can delve into the design of a logo as this creative brief may help point out clues that lead to a path for the logo creation. Brainstorming the basic elements of your product usually helps me in creating a logo. But in reality if you are unsure of anything its always best to have a professional create it for you, & I don't mean on fiverr which is destroying the creative industry. Remember you get what you pay for. Graphic designers are highly undervalued when in reality they create the face of your company and the branding of your product.
Answer: While you're asking about the logo, I think this question has bigger implications. A logo is only one aspect of your company/brand (albeit a very important part). A distinctive design for your website (or marketing materials, or whatever it is people will see) can be just as important, depending on what it is you do.
Hiring and developing a relationship with a designer may be good not just for your immediate logo needs but so you have a ready person that already understands your mission/goals, a person you've already vetted and can work with.
But as Dean's answer suggests, a simple text logo isn't the worst thing (many great logos are simple--IKEA comes to mind), and it can always be changed later.
Answer: First Option: If you have shortage of time, you can just start with a simple text logo, use two colors max and select a font that suites your company image
Second option: is that if you have any ideas, then roughly draw them on paper or get some inspiration from web and send those ideas to a professional designer as it is not easy to select Font and  colors or create a specific Mood/brand.
Also your logo is going to appear on your Business cards and will have the first impact on your customers/site visitors when they see it...
Answer: I've tried making my own site with such wysiwyg tools but they stll look very unprofessional. I would suggest hiring a designer, a small site won't cost much or you can try crowdsourcing platforms. Make a contest, name your own price and choose from dozens of proposals.
Comment: What means "good one"? Good one for you, good one for me (how could you know that?)? Please explain the advantage of the named site or delete it (otherwise it could be interpreted to be spam ...)
Comment: Design contests are a great way to waste your money. Remember, you're 'hiring' people willing to work for free in that situation. You rarely get top talent...or even mediocre talent  in that situation.

Designing my company’s logo – should I get professional help?


Double stranded RNA Single stranded DNA

Question: I have seen in textbooks referring to ds RNA and ssDNA.
How a RNA can be double stranded and likewise how a DNA can single stranded  and if they do exist why are there names not interchanged?
Answer: The main differences between RNA (ribonucleic acid) and DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is that DNA contains a hydrogen atom where RNA has a hyroxyl (-OH) group and RNA's uracil is substituted for DNA's thymine.  The below image shows several deoxyribose molecules bound together, and off to the side, a ribose molecule. It is the OH group on the bottom right of the ribose molecule that is exchanged for a hydrogen in deoxyribose.

The structures of RNA and DNA are almost identical, so there is no reason why you can't have double stranded RNA. Similarly DNA can be single stranded. In fact, for DNA replication and transcription, the DNA strands must be separated. dsRNA and ssDNA are most commonly found in viruses. Check out these lecture slides for more about them: http://www.columbia.edu/itc/hs/medical/pathophys/id/2009/viruses2Color.pdf
Comment: "DNA contains one less oxygen atom" — please edit your answer to be more precise. The naive reader would have no idea what you mean, and the difference between ribose and deoxy-ribose is what produces different structures of dsDNA and dsRNA.
Comment: edited for clarity, though the reason I added the image originally was to provide the reader with a fairly self-explanatory comparison.
Answer: Complementary base-pairing is possible for RNA
As the poster is no doubt aware, the double-stranded structure of DNA is stabilized by A–T and G–C base pairs. He will also be aware that in transcription of DNA to RNA (in which A is replaced by U) A–U base pairing occurs. Hence, there is no physico-chemical reason why dsRNA cannot occur between suitable complementary strands.
Viruses provide examples of single- and double-stranded DNAs and RNAs
As is mentioned in another answer, the genomes of bacterial and eukaryotic viruses provide examples of dsDNA, ssDNA, dsRNA and ssRNA.
It takes two to tangle
Whether or not a particular DNA or RNA is double-stranded or single-stranded in Nature depends on whether both complementary strands are present. That depends on biology, not chemistry. Thus, a virus that is single stranded has evolved a replicative strategy whereby many copies of one strand are copied from a few copies of the complementary template. In double-stranded viruses (and organisms) the replication method starts with a double-stranded genome and makes a copy of each at the same time, resulting in equal numbers. (They are also synthesised in a way that allows them immediately to hydbridize.)
Nature is full of black swans
The fact that most DNA encountered is double-stranded and most RNA encountered is single-stranded, just reflects the nature of the genome and translation apparatus of cellular organisms. But transfer-RNA and ribosomal-RNA (and mRNAs) have double-stranded helical portions, and there are a variety of less abundant species of RNAs with individual functions that may involve helix formation. And, of course there are also DNA/RNA hybrids, for example the Okazaki fragments that occur during DNA replication.
Comment: why not link to your answer to "Does dsRNA exist in eukarotic cells?"
Answer: I'll try a third pedagogical approach, the above answers are sufficient.
The typical college-entry level textbooks on biology will state that DNA is double-stranded and RNA is single-stranded. This is misleading later on, especially when you encounter an instance of single-stranded DNA and double-stranded RNA.
The posters above have already answered your question well - dsRNA and ssDNA exist all over the tree of life. However, I'd like to emphasize that they also exist transiently all the time in every single cell...
3 critical examples:

DNA must unwind and become single-stranded for DNA replication.
The same is true for transcription.
RNA has a tertiary structure too. Ribozymes rely on this. However, the most abundant RNA species in all cells is ribosomal RNA. It forms these structures:

These are 'single-stranded', but are capable of dimerizing with another RNA species if there is sufficient complementarity between local regions. Below you see many RNA hairpins and loops and locally these are double-stranded, even though it's a single molecule.
In situ hybridization is also another common technique in biology, it takes advantage of pretty much all 'exceptions to the rule' you mention. Nowadays, RNA is increasingly probed. Here is a simple diagram of how it works:

If they do exist why are there names not interchanged?

The names for RNA and DNA are not interchanged because they are different chemically! They just share features, most notably the ability to complement and hybridize to themselves and other nucleic acids, given enough complementarity.

Double stranded RNA Single stranded DNA


Illustrator: how to only export artwork inside the artboard and ignore what falls outside

Question: I need to export what I created to a jpeg for print.  The image you see below was created in a new file by first creating a 3.5 x 2.5 file which automatically made a white canvas. I made my design ON THAT WHITE CANVAS. You can see the baseball falls off of that canvas. When I go to save I do not want that extra baseball fall off to be saved. I want ONLY what I designed on the white canvas to be saved.
Answer: If you must use JPG:

Go to 'File → Export'
Choose 'JPG' from the 'Type' dropdown menu
Tick 'Use Artboards' (this excludes the fall off)
Click 'Save'
Since you mentioned needing this for print, choose CMYK with the largest 'Quality' and 300dpi 'Resolution'

Note: for printing purposes a PDF might work better. In which case you should use 'Save as' and choose PDF format.
Comment: Saved me, thanks!!!
Answer: Add an artboard (or other cropping criteria) size clipping mask (rectangle) just before you export as JPG. Release the mask when it is not needed.
Answer: check this out, it will export and crop the artwork of each layer, instead of artboard. Works very well for me. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YEgoEsu4Vk)
Comment: It seems that you misunderstand the question. The OP wants to export the artboard without anything that lies outside, not to export the artwork only like explained in the video. Besides that please don't just post a link as an answer, but instead explain the process in your own words. That link will eventually stop working and your answer won't make sense anymore.


Frozen list headers

Question: I have created a custom List in SharePoint 2010 and need to keep the headers frozen on top, so when scrolling down they don't move.
I only have access to out of the box.
Any solutions for this.
Thanks in advance.
Answer: A no code solution would be to create a new 'DataSheet' view. Check it as the default view. Of course, that may not be the desired GUI presentation you were hoping for, but, you do get the static headers frozen to the top!

Frozen list headers


How do I facilitate a project risk assessment?

Question: Let's say I wanted to asses the risks in a project like the one in this link: https://github.com/tanay-bits/baxter_skeletonteleop, where I am tele-operating a robot using a vision sensor. How can I facilitate a project risk assessment?
Comment: Hi King, welcome to PMSE! As your question stands, it's highly likely to be considered too-broad and thus potentially closed. Besides, there's no canonical answer for 'what risks you see in my project', so I'd ask you to rewrite your question to address the _actual problem(s)_ you might have found doing your risk assessment.
Comment: Try this tool of mine: [0rsk.com: Cause + Risk + Effect](https://www.yegor256.com/2019/05/14/cause-risk-effect.html)
Answer: A bit of googling will probably give you too much information.  I'm going to take the position that you facilitate a risk assessment for your project the same way you facilitate a risk assessment for any project.  The key is to facilitate; Subject Matter Experts (SME's) will propose risks peculiar to the project.
The number of methodologies for facilitating risk management sessions is roughly equivalent to the square of the number of people involved. I'll offer up two that I think are most useful.

the one which is most applicable to your project is to gather everyone for a pre-emptive post-mortem (a pre-mortem).  Put up a calendar for 1 month after the projected delivery date and announce that everyone is here to understand why the project failed.  We all acknowledge that we did our best, but the project failed and now we need to understand why.  Collect theories on why the project failed.  record all the theories, then group similar risks to discover themes.
The best approach (impractical for you ) is to collect data for a year and then analyze the data to determine risks.  Data is always superior to theory; the only excuse to prioritize theory over data is when there is beer involved. Most people don't have this as an option, but beginning 5 minutes after the facilitation session you should start to gather data, and to prioritize risk analysis based on data over risk analysis based on anything other than data.  The session you're going to facilitate will help you to determine what data to collect.

Once you've collected a set of candidate risks, you'll want to iteratively assess, analyze and document the risks, develop risk response strategies, risk indicators, triggers, monitors, etc.
A couple of things I would advise you to do:

explain the Godzilla clause and use it heavily. If necessary, assign someone the responsibility of invoking Godzilla.  For every concievable project someone will begin to discuss risks that are as damaging as Godzilla, but also as likely as Godzilla. When someone starts discussing risks that are like Godzilla, invoke his name and move on.
Keep a parking lot - I can predict that someone in the session will begin to exhibit an obsessive fascination with elements that the rest of the group perceives as less than fully relevant.  You need to keep that person's trust by recording their obsession, but you need to stop that obsession from hijacking the discussion.  The parking lot is where we record those, and it is your obligation to research the issue and get back.
Start with a calibration exercise.  A risk session without calibration is like Thanksgiving with your racist uncle; pointless and satisfying only to those with malice.  Define likelihood ( If we ran 100 projects like this one, then a rating of 1 indicates that the event would occur 10% of the time or less...) and consequence - (A rating of 1 indicates that the event would adversely affect the schedule/scope/cost/quality by a 10% variance....).  Experience indicates that many of the ferocious arguments in risk meetings are really about "I thought medium meant 50%, and you thought it was 75%".  That discussion generates heat, not light.

(My boss will not permit discussion of probability - it is sufficient to merely assert that it is not 100% certain and it is not Godzilla improbable.  Subsequent analysis (based on data) can refine the value.
A couple of things I strongly advise you never do:
* Don't solve the problem  - identify the risk.  Shut down any attempt to argue over how the risk should be addressed. It is fine to propose one possible mitigation, but don't permit discussion - move on to the next risk.

Don't permit any discussion of consequentialism, frequentism, likelihood, bayes, probability, etc.  Any time the discussion veers off into nuances that your grandmother wouldn't be able to track while preparing Thanksgiving dinner, drop the hammer.  Bayes vs frequentism is fascinating but should only be done when all participants are fortified by an unending supply of pints & pretzels.
I have never found it productive to categorize threats into natural hazards and others.  If my data center is destroyed by a hurricane, a meteor, a terrorist, or because Godzilla has chosen to nest there, what matters is how to get the data back up and running, not isolating the cause.
Develop a threat model and decompose that threat model into categories, then collect your SME's and ask them to rank the categories on likelihood and probability.   (DOD and the US Government eat this up - they adore this kind of paralysis by analysis.)

I've got to stop before I write a book.
Answer: Use a Risk Breakdown Structure to help the team facilitate analysis.
See Risk Breakdown Structure, Risk Doctor
This works just like a WBS or OBS, and breaks down threat areas in a logical manner to a more discreet level of specificity, enabling you and your team to ask the types of questions that will enable you to identify the threats on your project.
Once you get the structure of your facilitated work sessions, then you need to combat the human psychology of all of this, where you need to work through a set of various biases that sort of inhibit our ability to assess threats in a cogent and objective way.  Good luck on this last part.  Very tough nut to crack.


Is respect a form of ego?

Question: If a warrior chooses to leave the battlefield, he will be humiliated by his country men therefore losing his respect. Buddhist monks have attained great peace even by letting go humiliation. Is this respect or social status an ego? Is it a part of human emotions just like happiness & sadness.
Does social status or respect exists?
Answer: If you read Pali suttas, you will see how Buddha says times and again, that people's opinion about a person is in large degree a reflection of person's virtue.
Basically, human ethics and Buddha-Dharma both stem from the same Reality or Truth of how things work, so naturally there is a large overlap. Things that are considered shameful by society are, for the most part, considered unskilful in Buddhism and vice-versa.
In the example of respect, the quality that is respected in society - such as consistency in applying one's (ethical) principles despite all kinds of distractions and pressure to the contrary, map to the quality of perseverance which is one of the Six Paramitas in Mahayana.
At the same time, since the end-goal of Buddhism differs from the end-goal of lay life, there are instances when the two systems disagree. In one of the (SN or AN) suttas Buddha said, it's easy enough to act skilfully when one gets approved by society, but only a wise person can uphold it when met with misunderstanding and blame. So clearly, Buddha was aware of the occasional conflict and insisted that in such cases the ethics of Dhamma must prevail.
Then, in Mahayana this is further analyzed in terms of the Two Truths: relative vs. absolute. From the perspective of the Absolute Truth, we clearly understand that the values of the relative truth are inherently pointless and purely conventional. So, for example, such a despicable act as cursing in public - is understood to be inherently empty - neither impure, nor pure. The ethical value of sounds is assigned entirely based on social convention. The sounds themselves are just that, sounds - and what may be offensive in one country could be a greeting in another.
Then again, from the perspective of the Relative Truth, our actions have real, objective effects. If someone is actually offended at our cursing, it is kinda pointless to argue whether the sounds have inherent meaning or not. The truth of the matter is, if you know that your acts will have certain effects, should you heed that or not? The answer is yes, of course.
Finally, from the perspective of the Unity of Two Truths, which is said to be the perspective of the enlightened mind, the conventional valuations existing on the relative level are understood to have grown from, or to have roots in, the Absolute Ground of All, so in that sense they are like shadows or echos of the truth, they are like reflections of The Law in pieces of broken mirror, not entirely valid, but not completely false either.
So, for example, respect in general, however conditional and superficial it may be, and regardless of the individual judgements made in all fairness or not, is still a reflection of something real that has an intrinsic value - the consistency of virtue, which is a reflection of the fundamental steadfastness and orderliness of Dharma ("Monks, whether or not there is the arising of Tathagatas, this property stands".)
In Tibetan Buddhism, especially in its most ancient Nyingma tradition, there is this deep respect for the wandering yogis famous for their complete and openly demonstrated disrespect for the social norms. In East Tibetan folklore there are numerous anecdotes about such yogis e.g. pissing in public and performing many other regrettable acts. The traditional moral of the stories is, the enlightened mind does not worry about the social morals, what it cares about is helping others progress on the Path, which is considered the higher virtue overriding the social norms.
At the same time, the fully enlightened mind of the Buddha is expected to be so infinitely skilfull, that its every single act is supposed to look valid and admirable from every possible point of view! Think about it, how cool is that? There may be infinitely many perspective on things in the universe and somehow Buddha is supposed to look perfect from every one of them. It's up to you to decide for yourself, whether you take this literally or as a didactic figure of speech, but the moral of the story for me is, the wiser and the more skilful we get, the less disagreement we generate with our acts - which kinda makes sense.
As for the ego question, of course Pride (in the sense of Conceit) arising from respect, and Self-Beating arising from Loss of Respect, are not the most healthy qualities of mind, according to Buddhism. Technically, both come from an idea of Self being valued high or low in the others' eyes, therefore from the ego. Not surprisingly then, learning to let go of the deeply ingrained attachment to saving one's "face" and the panical fear of being disgraced has traditionally been a big part of Mahayana's teacher/student relationship. At the same time, on the lower levels of virtue, Pride and Self-Beating could be useful motivators stirring the sentient being towards a better path, so in this sense they can be useful to a certain degree. Check out "hiri and ottappa" for the traditional take on this.
So, to summarise this overly long answer, the social conventions such as Respect and Shame are inherently empty, partially valid and useful on the relative level, ultimately to be transcended for oneself on the path to liberation, can sometimes be overridden by the higher-level Dharmic concerns, but are nevertheless never neglected even by the fully enlightened Buddhas because of their effects on the unenlightened minds.
Comment: This is a truly wonderful answer. It gives the three views and brings them together and this no easy thing to do. Respect! I'd upvote it a few times if I could.
Answer: Paying respect or veneration is an act of acknowledging greatness in a person. It has nothing to do with ego. But it can lead to ego if the recipient isn't mindful. On the other hand, if one's actions are directed by one's craving towards the joy that arises when one receives respect, it is very likely that ego is involved.
if a warrior fights a battle to gain praise from countrymen or avoid being put to shame, it is unwholesome. If a warrior leaves a battlefield because of his cowardice, it is unwholesome. But if a warrior leaves a battlefield knowing that the act of killing is evil and immoral, it is wholesome regardless of what the countrymen would think of him.
Comment: Thank you for replying, what I have understood is the expectations behind all actions is ego. They say, doing actions for good purpose is not ego. If the warrior did not fight knowing the violence involved, however the purpose of war is salvation of many, is it wholesome or unwholesome.
Comment: Ego is not the expectation behind all actions. But ego can be involved when doing actions for good as well. Not necessarily though. When the intention come to the mind to save people, it is wholesome. When the intention comes to the mind to kill, it is unwholesome. You have to understand that wholesome or unwholesome is just a momentary mind state. Both wholesome and unwholesome mindstates can arise in rapid succession during war.
Answer: I think that conformism, e.g. ...

Behaving like other people
Behaving as other people want you to
Also reacting to other people's expectations

... is a existent phenomenon.
This can be beneficial, e.g. ...

Teamwork, playing together (games)
Learning with and from each other (studying)
Cooperating (mundane work and commerce)
Harmlessness and compassion (within a loving family or society)

You might find it easier to keep any sort of discipline (not just on the "battlefield", but e.g. any kind of scheduled activity) when you're with other people who do and expect the same (see also e.g. SN 45.2).
That might, I'm not sure, be an example of where external social cohesion (i.e. cooperating with and "mirroring" other people) helps to overcome inner restlessness, and so experience "peace".
I suppose that, conversely, though, a social pressure to conform is not beneficial (e.g. if pressure is to do something that you don't want to do or shouldn't do). And in that case the "peace" (mentioned in the) OP might come from recognising and abandoning the 'craving' -- closing the gap between what people want you to do and what you actually do, not by doing what they want but by deciding to not accept their disapproval (see also SN 7.2) and possibly follow some other guide instead e.g. an independent sense of what's right.
You used the word "humiliation" rather than "disapproval". I think that "humiliation" might be a word which implies social comparison, for example, "I have become a low-status person by running away from battle" -- or perhaps a personal comparison, "I fell short of my image of myself as a warrior". I think that maybe all forms of comparison are defined in Buddhism as being a form of "conceit" or "pride" (see e.g. the answers to this topic) -- to answer the question, perhaps that is what people mean when they say "ego".
AN 4.159 says that conceit can be an instrument ...

'This body comes into being through conceit. And yet it is by relying on conceit that conceit is to be abandoned.' Thus was it said. And in reference to what was it said? There is the case, sister, where a monk hears, 'The monk named such-and-such, they say, through the ending of the fermentations, has entered & remains in the fermentation-free awareness-release & discernment-release, having known & realized them for himself in the here & now.' The thought occurs to him, 'The monk named such-and-such, they say, through the ending of the fermentations, has entered & remains in the fermentation-free awareness-release & discernment-release, having known & realized them for himself in the here & now. Then why not me?' Then he eventually abandons conceit, having relied on conceit. 'This body comes into being through conceit. And yet it is by relying on conceit that conceit is to be abandoned.' Thus was it said, and in reference to this was it said.
Answer: What a "fart" (just to call the story by it "low-light")... things do not "exist" but arise by causes and decay. When there are still cause, it arises, dependent on the quality of the cause it might be even looking as existing.
Giving and gaining, losing of honor, respect, is one of the eight loka-dhammas, "around which the world turns around" (gain/win, lose, happiness, pain, praise, blame, honor, dishonor). While all are used as means of the path, especially the giving and letting go of making it ones one, an Arahat is total beyond this wordly- Dhammas, is not touched, and the steady abounding is a training of a sekkha. As an attribut of all eight kinds of Noble ones stinginess (holding on) in regard of honor (vanna-macchariya) is no more a matter. To be able to even reach Jhana, not to speak about Path and Fruits, all 5 kinds of macchariya (dwelling, family, honor, gains, dhamma) need to be absence.
Possible a famours Zen story takes honor and respect as a "fart" if holding on it. Not that one should underestimate the merits by giving (up) not only (material) gain. The deed in making merits, Abhivadana, or Apacāyana works exactly agains this "adornment" of mind, jey seldom practiced by moder/western "yogies".
It's how ever worthy to bring up, that the Buddha, after awakening, saw that it is burdensome to live without any dedication toward anything and he appreciated the suggestion of Deva-king Sakka to dedicate like all Buddhas before, his rest of existance toward the Dhamma, sacca. So "one can not totally without it" but it's a matter is wisdom toward what one sacrifices the 5 holding-on-aggregates and for what the rest of fuel is used.

Extended article on Respect and Veneration
Topic on BSE: Teachings regarding Veneration/Respect (as one of the traditional 10 meritorious deeds)
Kammic cause of shyness (for doing proper and bad veneration)
The Buddhas teachings of what it takes to be of lowest Cast (social status): An Outcast.

As Nyom Chris once cited a teaching of a Bhikkhuni of what is the matter with "identification/food", it's used to overcome it by the proper use according the path to liberation. It would be not smart to abound a constructive part of the raft before having grossed the river and especially to develope very gross factors, paths, like Giving, Virtue, this use is very needed, a good health self-estimate (better in regard of ones skilful deeds).
At least Venerables gift Selves & Not-self: The Buddhist Teaching on Anatta is a very helpful guid to understand the use og "egos and not-egos" toward beyond.
[This gift of Dhamma, not for commercial purpose, trade, stakes or exchange for gains of ordinary wordily gain, which should be deleted in the case the place and owner does not allow or give such dedication]

Is respect a form of ego?


Retrieve page or pages that contain certain component on the component presentation list

Question: I need to retrieve the page or pages that are published and the component presentation of the page (or pages) contain a certain component. If a component exists on multiple pages, I would like to know which one is the closest to the root. How can I achieve this using queries in TOM.Net?
Comment: A good place to start would be to look at the API documentation.
Comment: You say that you want to achieve this using TOM.Net. Where will this code run? For example, are you doing this within templating code (executed when an item is published) or within the Events System, maybe? Some more information may help to determine the best approach and whether TOM.Net is even the right solution.
Comment: If it will be a TBB, then it will most certainly run at rendering time.
Comment: @JonathanWilliams This is going to be on a TBB and run at the runtime. This code won't run at the rendering time.
Comment: @AtilaSosI meant publish time. The TBB is going to run at the publish time.
Answer: I'm a bit confused by your comment "this is going to be on a TBB and run at the runtime. This code won't run at the rendering time."
In general, TBB code runs at rendering time. And the reason why Jonathan asked for it, is because only templating and event handler code is supposed to use the TOM.NET (rather than the Core Service).
Anyways, assuming that you want to use the TOM.NET: have a look at method IdentifiableObject.GetUsingItems in the API reference docs.
With this method, you can find the (published) Pages on which a given Component is used. Distance from the root can be determined using Page.PublishLocationPath.
Answer: What have you tried so far? I'm asking because this question is a "do my homework instead of me" type, so there is little chance that someone will write your code instead of you. Best we can do is give you some hints, and then using the API found HERE you can easily put together your own code. For debugging purposes you can attach to the Template Builder process, or do it the hard way with log statements.

To retrieve the published pages you can use the
PublishedItemsFilter class
To see whether a Component is used on a Page, you can either look
at the ComponentPresentations of a Page,    or you can use the
'where used' functionality with the UsingItemsFilter on the
relevant Component
To find the one Page closest to the "Root", you can compare their Path or PublishLocationPath property. Or do a search by item type Page starting from the Root and going deeper each iteration