qid int64 1 74.7M | question stringlengths 12 33.8k | date stringlengths 10 10 | metadata list | response_j stringlengths 0 115k | response_k stringlengths 2 98.3k |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
66,764 | >
> **Possible Duplicate:**
>
> [Is there a canonical book on mathematics for programmers?](https://softwareengineering.stackexchange.com/questions/85506/is-there-a-canonical-book-on-mathematics-for-programmers)
>
>
>
I need your recommendation for math books related to computer science in these areas:
* Boolean Algebra (Boolean logic,
gates, state machines, etc.)
* Discrete Mathematics
* Probability & Basic Statistics
Please take note that i am self-learner, so please don't put books that is very hard to read or finish, i prefer book that is 300-500 pages more like an introductory book, also any recommendation whether or not the above list priority is correct, is highly appreciated.
-note: i am a self-taught programmer, so the materials in the first item in the list are very familiar to me, but i never took any formal course in it.
Thanks | 2011/04/09 | [
"https://softwareengineering.stackexchange.com/questions/66764",
"https://softwareengineering.stackexchange.com",
"https://softwareengineering.stackexchange.com/users/22785/"
] | I have a couple of suggestions. However, before I present the books let me add that they are not 'for dummies' and they won't teach you a thing unless you work on them doing at least a couple of exercises and really spending some time trying to grasp them. They will surely take more than '21 days'...
* Logic and Computer Design Fundamentals: International Version by M. Morris Mano and Charles Kime
[http://www.amazon.co.uk/Logic-Computer-Design-Fundamentals-International/dp/0132067110/ref=sr\_1\_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1302384207&sr=8-1](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/0132067110)
+ I studied through this book. It is very well written, full of exercises and straightforward. Some people tend to recommend Patterson and Hennessy so I pass it on to you below but without having really gone through it.
* Computer Organization and Design: The Hardware/Software Interface (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Computer Architecture and Design) by David A. Patterson and John L. Hennessy
[http://www.amazon.co.uk/Computer-Organization-Design-Interface-Architecture/dp/0123744938/ref=sr\_1\_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1302384354&sr=1-1](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/0123744938)
* Concrete Mathematics: Foundation for Computer Science by Ronald L. Graham, Donald E. Knuth and Oren Patashnik
[http://www.amazon.co.uk/Concrete-Mathematics-Foundation-Computer-Science/dp/0201558025/ref=sr\_1\_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1302384402&sr=1-1](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/0201558025)
+ This is probably one of the best books on mathematics books I have ever read. Everything is perfect! The writing, the typography, the exercises, the cover design. And it is written by Knuth! Exercises are slightly harder than usual but you'll always find easier exercises. Don't let it break your motivation.
* Applied Statistics and Probability for Engineers: International Student Version by Douglas C. Montgomery
[http://www.amazon.co.uk/Applied-Statistics-Probability-Engineers-International/dp/0470505788/ref=sr\_1\_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1302384510&sr=1-1](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/0470505788)
+ An excellent book from beginning to end and extremely enjoyable. All the exercises are quite interesting, it is very applied and you should be able to do all the exercises after reading the material.
One of the things I usually do with some exercises is to try to implement the solution. As you probably found out by now the easiest way to know if you have understood something, is to implement it.
Enjoy and good luck! | The first book that pops into my mind is [Concrete Mathematics](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concrete_Mathematics), especially for a self-learner. It would nicely fill the Discrete Mathematics portion of your journey. Donald Knuth is one of the co-authors. The content has been battle-tested in a course at Stanford, and it is as entertaining as it is educational. |
66,764 | >
> **Possible Duplicate:**
>
> [Is there a canonical book on mathematics for programmers?](https://softwareengineering.stackexchange.com/questions/85506/is-there-a-canonical-book-on-mathematics-for-programmers)
>
>
>
I need your recommendation for math books related to computer science in these areas:
* Boolean Algebra (Boolean logic,
gates, state machines, etc.)
* Discrete Mathematics
* Probability & Basic Statistics
Please take note that i am self-learner, so please don't put books that is very hard to read or finish, i prefer book that is 300-500 pages more like an introductory book, also any recommendation whether or not the above list priority is correct, is highly appreciated.
-note: i am a self-taught programmer, so the materials in the first item in the list are very familiar to me, but i never took any formal course in it.
Thanks | 2011/04/09 | [
"https://softwareengineering.stackexchange.com/questions/66764",
"https://softwareengineering.stackexchange.com",
"https://softwareengineering.stackexchange.com/users/22785/"
] | The first book that pops into my mind is [Concrete Mathematics](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concrete_Mathematics), especially for a self-learner. It would nicely fill the Discrete Mathematics portion of your journey. Donald Knuth is one of the co-authors. The content has been battle-tested in a course at Stanford, and it is as entertaining as it is educational. | I highly recommend [The Cartoon Guide to Statistics](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/0062731025). It's accessible if you can handle high school algebra, but I don't know of a better work for gaining an intuition for working with *p*-values and other tests of statistical significance. |
66,764 | >
> **Possible Duplicate:**
>
> [Is there a canonical book on mathematics for programmers?](https://softwareengineering.stackexchange.com/questions/85506/is-there-a-canonical-book-on-mathematics-for-programmers)
>
>
>
I need your recommendation for math books related to computer science in these areas:
* Boolean Algebra (Boolean logic,
gates, state machines, etc.)
* Discrete Mathematics
* Probability & Basic Statistics
Please take note that i am self-learner, so please don't put books that is very hard to read or finish, i prefer book that is 300-500 pages more like an introductory book, also any recommendation whether or not the above list priority is correct, is highly appreciated.
-note: i am a self-taught programmer, so the materials in the first item in the list are very familiar to me, but i never took any formal course in it.
Thanks | 2011/04/09 | [
"https://softwareengineering.stackexchange.com/questions/66764",
"https://softwareengineering.stackexchange.com",
"https://softwareengineering.stackexchange.com/users/22785/"
] | The first book that pops into my mind is [Concrete Mathematics](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concrete_Mathematics), especially for a self-learner. It would nicely fill the Discrete Mathematics portion of your journey. Donald Knuth is one of the co-authors. The content has been battle-tested in a course at Stanford, and it is as entertaining as it is educational. | If you want to learn linear algebra (essential for search and information retrieval type work), I can highly recommend Strang's book: [http://www.amazon.co.uk/Introduction-Linear-Algebra-Gilbert-Strang/dp/0980232716/ref=pd\_bxgy\_b\_text\_b](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/0980232716) |
66,764 | >
> **Possible Duplicate:**
>
> [Is there a canonical book on mathematics for programmers?](https://softwareengineering.stackexchange.com/questions/85506/is-there-a-canonical-book-on-mathematics-for-programmers)
>
>
>
I need your recommendation for math books related to computer science in these areas:
* Boolean Algebra (Boolean logic,
gates, state machines, etc.)
* Discrete Mathematics
* Probability & Basic Statistics
Please take note that i am self-learner, so please don't put books that is very hard to read or finish, i prefer book that is 300-500 pages more like an introductory book, also any recommendation whether or not the above list priority is correct, is highly appreciated.
-note: i am a self-taught programmer, so the materials in the first item in the list are very familiar to me, but i never took any formal course in it.
Thanks | 2011/04/09 | [
"https://softwareengineering.stackexchange.com/questions/66764",
"https://softwareengineering.stackexchange.com",
"https://softwareengineering.stackexchange.com/users/22785/"
] | The first book that pops into my mind is [Concrete Mathematics](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concrete_Mathematics), especially for a self-learner. It would nicely fill the Discrete Mathematics portion of your journey. Donald Knuth is one of the co-authors. The content has been battle-tested in a course at Stanford, and it is as entertaining as it is educational. | I would like to add:
Introduction to Algorithms
Discrete Mathematics and its Applications |
66,764 | >
> **Possible Duplicate:**
>
> [Is there a canonical book on mathematics for programmers?](https://softwareengineering.stackexchange.com/questions/85506/is-there-a-canonical-book-on-mathematics-for-programmers)
>
>
>
I need your recommendation for math books related to computer science in these areas:
* Boolean Algebra (Boolean logic,
gates, state machines, etc.)
* Discrete Mathematics
* Probability & Basic Statistics
Please take note that i am self-learner, so please don't put books that is very hard to read or finish, i prefer book that is 300-500 pages more like an introductory book, also any recommendation whether or not the above list priority is correct, is highly appreciated.
-note: i am a self-taught programmer, so the materials in the first item in the list are very familiar to me, but i never took any formal course in it.
Thanks | 2011/04/09 | [
"https://softwareengineering.stackexchange.com/questions/66764",
"https://softwareengineering.stackexchange.com",
"https://softwareengineering.stackexchange.com/users/22785/"
] | I have a couple of suggestions. However, before I present the books let me add that they are not 'for dummies' and they won't teach you a thing unless you work on them doing at least a couple of exercises and really spending some time trying to grasp them. They will surely take more than '21 days'...
* Logic and Computer Design Fundamentals: International Version by M. Morris Mano and Charles Kime
[http://www.amazon.co.uk/Logic-Computer-Design-Fundamentals-International/dp/0132067110/ref=sr\_1\_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1302384207&sr=8-1](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/0132067110)
+ I studied through this book. It is very well written, full of exercises and straightforward. Some people tend to recommend Patterson and Hennessy so I pass it on to you below but without having really gone through it.
* Computer Organization and Design: The Hardware/Software Interface (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Computer Architecture and Design) by David A. Patterson and John L. Hennessy
[http://www.amazon.co.uk/Computer-Organization-Design-Interface-Architecture/dp/0123744938/ref=sr\_1\_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1302384354&sr=1-1](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/0123744938)
* Concrete Mathematics: Foundation for Computer Science by Ronald L. Graham, Donald E. Knuth and Oren Patashnik
[http://www.amazon.co.uk/Concrete-Mathematics-Foundation-Computer-Science/dp/0201558025/ref=sr\_1\_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1302384402&sr=1-1](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/0201558025)
+ This is probably one of the best books on mathematics books I have ever read. Everything is perfect! The writing, the typography, the exercises, the cover design. And it is written by Knuth! Exercises are slightly harder than usual but you'll always find easier exercises. Don't let it break your motivation.
* Applied Statistics and Probability for Engineers: International Student Version by Douglas C. Montgomery
[http://www.amazon.co.uk/Applied-Statistics-Probability-Engineers-International/dp/0470505788/ref=sr\_1\_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1302384510&sr=1-1](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/0470505788)
+ An excellent book from beginning to end and extremely enjoyable. All the exercises are quite interesting, it is very applied and you should be able to do all the exercises after reading the material.
One of the things I usually do with some exercises is to try to implement the solution. As you probably found out by now the easiest way to know if you have understood something, is to implement it.
Enjoy and good luck! | I highly recommend [The Cartoon Guide to Statistics](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/0062731025). It's accessible if you can handle high school algebra, but I don't know of a better work for gaining an intuition for working with *p*-values and other tests of statistical significance. |
66,764 | >
> **Possible Duplicate:**
>
> [Is there a canonical book on mathematics for programmers?](https://softwareengineering.stackexchange.com/questions/85506/is-there-a-canonical-book-on-mathematics-for-programmers)
>
>
>
I need your recommendation for math books related to computer science in these areas:
* Boolean Algebra (Boolean logic,
gates, state machines, etc.)
* Discrete Mathematics
* Probability & Basic Statistics
Please take note that i am self-learner, so please don't put books that is very hard to read or finish, i prefer book that is 300-500 pages more like an introductory book, also any recommendation whether or not the above list priority is correct, is highly appreciated.
-note: i am a self-taught programmer, so the materials in the first item in the list are very familiar to me, but i never took any formal course in it.
Thanks | 2011/04/09 | [
"https://softwareengineering.stackexchange.com/questions/66764",
"https://softwareengineering.stackexchange.com",
"https://softwareengineering.stackexchange.com/users/22785/"
] | I have a couple of suggestions. However, before I present the books let me add that they are not 'for dummies' and they won't teach you a thing unless you work on them doing at least a couple of exercises and really spending some time trying to grasp them. They will surely take more than '21 days'...
* Logic and Computer Design Fundamentals: International Version by M. Morris Mano and Charles Kime
[http://www.amazon.co.uk/Logic-Computer-Design-Fundamentals-International/dp/0132067110/ref=sr\_1\_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1302384207&sr=8-1](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/0132067110)
+ I studied through this book. It is very well written, full of exercises and straightforward. Some people tend to recommend Patterson and Hennessy so I pass it on to you below but without having really gone through it.
* Computer Organization and Design: The Hardware/Software Interface (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Computer Architecture and Design) by David A. Patterson and John L. Hennessy
[http://www.amazon.co.uk/Computer-Organization-Design-Interface-Architecture/dp/0123744938/ref=sr\_1\_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1302384354&sr=1-1](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/0123744938)
* Concrete Mathematics: Foundation for Computer Science by Ronald L. Graham, Donald E. Knuth and Oren Patashnik
[http://www.amazon.co.uk/Concrete-Mathematics-Foundation-Computer-Science/dp/0201558025/ref=sr\_1\_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1302384402&sr=1-1](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/0201558025)
+ This is probably one of the best books on mathematics books I have ever read. Everything is perfect! The writing, the typography, the exercises, the cover design. And it is written by Knuth! Exercises are slightly harder than usual but you'll always find easier exercises. Don't let it break your motivation.
* Applied Statistics and Probability for Engineers: International Student Version by Douglas C. Montgomery
[http://www.amazon.co.uk/Applied-Statistics-Probability-Engineers-International/dp/0470505788/ref=sr\_1\_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1302384510&sr=1-1](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/0470505788)
+ An excellent book from beginning to end and extremely enjoyable. All the exercises are quite interesting, it is very applied and you should be able to do all the exercises after reading the material.
One of the things I usually do with some exercises is to try to implement the solution. As you probably found out by now the easiest way to know if you have understood something, is to implement it.
Enjoy and good luck! | If you want to learn linear algebra (essential for search and information retrieval type work), I can highly recommend Strang's book: [http://www.amazon.co.uk/Introduction-Linear-Algebra-Gilbert-Strang/dp/0980232716/ref=pd\_bxgy\_b\_text\_b](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/0980232716) |
66,764 | >
> **Possible Duplicate:**
>
> [Is there a canonical book on mathematics for programmers?](https://softwareengineering.stackexchange.com/questions/85506/is-there-a-canonical-book-on-mathematics-for-programmers)
>
>
>
I need your recommendation for math books related to computer science in these areas:
* Boolean Algebra (Boolean logic,
gates, state machines, etc.)
* Discrete Mathematics
* Probability & Basic Statistics
Please take note that i am self-learner, so please don't put books that is very hard to read or finish, i prefer book that is 300-500 pages more like an introductory book, also any recommendation whether or not the above list priority is correct, is highly appreciated.
-note: i am a self-taught programmer, so the materials in the first item in the list are very familiar to me, but i never took any formal course in it.
Thanks | 2011/04/09 | [
"https://softwareengineering.stackexchange.com/questions/66764",
"https://softwareengineering.stackexchange.com",
"https://softwareengineering.stackexchange.com/users/22785/"
] | I have a couple of suggestions. However, before I present the books let me add that they are not 'for dummies' and they won't teach you a thing unless you work on them doing at least a couple of exercises and really spending some time trying to grasp them. They will surely take more than '21 days'...
* Logic and Computer Design Fundamentals: International Version by M. Morris Mano and Charles Kime
[http://www.amazon.co.uk/Logic-Computer-Design-Fundamentals-International/dp/0132067110/ref=sr\_1\_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1302384207&sr=8-1](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/0132067110)
+ I studied through this book. It is very well written, full of exercises and straightforward. Some people tend to recommend Patterson and Hennessy so I pass it on to you below but without having really gone through it.
* Computer Organization and Design: The Hardware/Software Interface (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Computer Architecture and Design) by David A. Patterson and John L. Hennessy
[http://www.amazon.co.uk/Computer-Organization-Design-Interface-Architecture/dp/0123744938/ref=sr\_1\_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1302384354&sr=1-1](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/0123744938)
* Concrete Mathematics: Foundation for Computer Science by Ronald L. Graham, Donald E. Knuth and Oren Patashnik
[http://www.amazon.co.uk/Concrete-Mathematics-Foundation-Computer-Science/dp/0201558025/ref=sr\_1\_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1302384402&sr=1-1](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/0201558025)
+ This is probably one of the best books on mathematics books I have ever read. Everything is perfect! The writing, the typography, the exercises, the cover design. And it is written by Knuth! Exercises are slightly harder than usual but you'll always find easier exercises. Don't let it break your motivation.
* Applied Statistics and Probability for Engineers: International Student Version by Douglas C. Montgomery
[http://www.amazon.co.uk/Applied-Statistics-Probability-Engineers-International/dp/0470505788/ref=sr\_1\_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1302384510&sr=1-1](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/0470505788)
+ An excellent book from beginning to end and extremely enjoyable. All the exercises are quite interesting, it is very applied and you should be able to do all the exercises after reading the material.
One of the things I usually do with some exercises is to try to implement the solution. As you probably found out by now the easiest way to know if you have understood something, is to implement it.
Enjoy and good luck! | I would like to add:
Introduction to Algorithms
Discrete Mathematics and its Applications |
66,764 | >
> **Possible Duplicate:**
>
> [Is there a canonical book on mathematics for programmers?](https://softwareengineering.stackexchange.com/questions/85506/is-there-a-canonical-book-on-mathematics-for-programmers)
>
>
>
I need your recommendation for math books related to computer science in these areas:
* Boolean Algebra (Boolean logic,
gates, state machines, etc.)
* Discrete Mathematics
* Probability & Basic Statistics
Please take note that i am self-learner, so please don't put books that is very hard to read or finish, i prefer book that is 300-500 pages more like an introductory book, also any recommendation whether or not the above list priority is correct, is highly appreciated.
-note: i am a self-taught programmer, so the materials in the first item in the list are very familiar to me, but i never took any formal course in it.
Thanks | 2011/04/09 | [
"https://softwareengineering.stackexchange.com/questions/66764",
"https://softwareengineering.stackexchange.com",
"https://softwareengineering.stackexchange.com/users/22785/"
] | I highly recommend [The Cartoon Guide to Statistics](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/0062731025). It's accessible if you can handle high school algebra, but I don't know of a better work for gaining an intuition for working with *p*-values and other tests of statistical significance. | If you want to learn linear algebra (essential for search and information retrieval type work), I can highly recommend Strang's book: [http://www.amazon.co.uk/Introduction-Linear-Algebra-Gilbert-Strang/dp/0980232716/ref=pd\_bxgy\_b\_text\_b](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/0980232716) |
66,764 | >
> **Possible Duplicate:**
>
> [Is there a canonical book on mathematics for programmers?](https://softwareengineering.stackexchange.com/questions/85506/is-there-a-canonical-book-on-mathematics-for-programmers)
>
>
>
I need your recommendation for math books related to computer science in these areas:
* Boolean Algebra (Boolean logic,
gates, state machines, etc.)
* Discrete Mathematics
* Probability & Basic Statistics
Please take note that i am self-learner, so please don't put books that is very hard to read or finish, i prefer book that is 300-500 pages more like an introductory book, also any recommendation whether or not the above list priority is correct, is highly appreciated.
-note: i am a self-taught programmer, so the materials in the first item in the list are very familiar to me, but i never took any formal course in it.
Thanks | 2011/04/09 | [
"https://softwareengineering.stackexchange.com/questions/66764",
"https://softwareengineering.stackexchange.com",
"https://softwareengineering.stackexchange.com/users/22785/"
] | I highly recommend [The Cartoon Guide to Statistics](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/0062731025). It's accessible if you can handle high school algebra, but I don't know of a better work for gaining an intuition for working with *p*-values and other tests of statistical significance. | I would like to add:
Introduction to Algorithms
Discrete Mathematics and its Applications |
34,752 | I wrote a mathematics manuscript (see [Extremely mild punishments for academic misconduct](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/34735/extremely-mild-punishments-for-academic-misconduct)), and sent it to a professor, who then attempted to have it published after adding coauthors to the paper. His misconduct is not my concern. My concern is that the manuscript is not of publication quality, and I would prefer that my name not be attached to it. Virtually all of the manuscript is written by me, and all the work was done by me, so I can't claim that it is not my product.
My question is: What excuse do I use to have him take my name off the manuscript?
I would prefer to remain on good terms with this professor. I would also prefer not to mention in any way that the manuscript is worthless, because it solves a problem that he had been attempting unsuccessfully for quite a while, and such a statement would be deeply challenging to his pride. | 2014/12/24 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/34752",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/26808/"
] | You have a third choice:
Do not forget that all the authors should sign a contract before publishing a paper.
I am not telling you not to sign it.
However, it would be a good approach if you told your professor
>
> I am sure that huge improvements can still be made on this paper.
> Could you please delay the submission and let me work on the paper for
> another period of time?
>
>
>
This way, you told that paper is not of publication quality and implicated that you're not comfortable with your name on it.
If the professor still insists on publishing, only then you may say
>
> It's not like I'm not trusting your judgmental skills but when I know
> that I can do better, I cannot do with less. So please do not
> misunderstand me but I don't want to be a coauthor of a work that is
> less than my potential.
>
>
>
If your professor is professional enough, he will hear what you say.
Maybe not the best solution, but I would go with this one. | I think cagirici's advice is sound but, of course involves a bit of confrontation. In fact there are no actions other than letting the whole thing pass that would not involve something that would do so. It sounds to me as if your work although not of publication quality at this time really is yours. This makes the action from the professor problematic to say the least.
So what can you do. First, regarding unwanted co-authorships: you could argue that you want to see the contributorship of the new co-authors. Search here on academia and on the web for the term contributorship and you will find many good hints on what can be counted as enough contribution to be on the paper. One link, I often use is to the [ICMJE](http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/roles-and-responsibilities/defining-the-role-of-authors-and-contributors.html). I realize the thoughts of coauthorship/contributorship varies between fields so you will have to imagine how to set the rules in perspective for your field.
Second, about just adding authors: clearly from your post the ownership of the work is yours so to have somebody else add authors is not right and you have the right to say no. You can even dump the professor and go elsewhere.
If you really want to leave your work in the hands of others you could just say that you are happy to see someone trying to take your attempt and turn it into something useful and that you do not feel you should be part of that development and that your "meagre" contributions in your view doesn't merit co-authorship. After that type of grovelling, you may wish to have a drink or two. I personally think such actions would be going too far and you really should take the bull by the horns and try to see how a proper paper could emerge and with contributors that really contribute. You can at least start by talking to the professor about the merits of your draft and how the professors sees it developing and being published in the end |
34,752 | I wrote a mathematics manuscript (see [Extremely mild punishments for academic misconduct](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/34735/extremely-mild-punishments-for-academic-misconduct)), and sent it to a professor, who then attempted to have it published after adding coauthors to the paper. His misconduct is not my concern. My concern is that the manuscript is not of publication quality, and I would prefer that my name not be attached to it. Virtually all of the manuscript is written by me, and all the work was done by me, so I can't claim that it is not my product.
My question is: What excuse do I use to have him take my name off the manuscript?
I would prefer to remain on good terms with this professor. I would also prefer not to mention in any way that the manuscript is worthless, because it solves a problem that he had been attempting unsuccessfully for quite a while, and such a statement would be deeply challenging to his pride. | 2014/12/24 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/34752",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/26808/"
] | You have a third choice:
Do not forget that all the authors should sign a contract before publishing a paper.
I am not telling you not to sign it.
However, it would be a good approach if you told your professor
>
> I am sure that huge improvements can still be made on this paper.
> Could you please delay the submission and let me work on the paper for
> another period of time?
>
>
>
This way, you told that paper is not of publication quality and implicated that you're not comfortable with your name on it.
If the professor still insists on publishing, only then you may say
>
> It's not like I'm not trusting your judgmental skills but when I know
> that I can do better, I cannot do with less. So please do not
> misunderstand me but I don't want to be a coauthor of a work that is
> less than my potential.
>
>
>
If your professor is professional enough, he will hear what you say.
Maybe not the best solution, but I would go with this one. | First, I'd say try as hard as you can to see if what you've done is already known. It sounds like there's a good chance for this to be the case if it's simple mathematics (which I infer from your question and the comments). (Math Stack Exchange might be useful here.) If so, you can just provide the professor the reference and say it's already known, so you can't publish it. Problem solved.
If not, answer this: is the problem a pure mathematics problem, or a problem in another area that just has a simple solution for mathematicians? If it's the latter, then it may not be so embarrassing to publish something with simple mathematics. Alternatively, if the question itself is pure math and interesting, but just has a simple solution, you could aim for a "recreational" journal like Math Magazine (I think that's the name of one).
Otherwise, here's one possible route that *might* work, but it really depends on the professor and the situation. You can tell him that it's his problem and that your mathematical contribution was not enough to warrant coauthorship (both true), so please not include you as an author but just mention you in the acknowledgements. |
34,752 | I wrote a mathematics manuscript (see [Extremely mild punishments for academic misconduct](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/34735/extremely-mild-punishments-for-academic-misconduct)), and sent it to a professor, who then attempted to have it published after adding coauthors to the paper. His misconduct is not my concern. My concern is that the manuscript is not of publication quality, and I would prefer that my name not be attached to it. Virtually all of the manuscript is written by me, and all the work was done by me, so I can't claim that it is not my product.
My question is: What excuse do I use to have him take my name off the manuscript?
I would prefer to remain on good terms with this professor. I would also prefer not to mention in any way that the manuscript is worthless, because it solves a problem that he had been attempting unsuccessfully for quite a while, and such a statement would be deeply challenging to his pride. | 2014/12/24 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/34752",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/26808/"
] | You have a third choice:
Do not forget that all the authors should sign a contract before publishing a paper.
I am not telling you not to sign it.
However, it would be a good approach if you told your professor
>
> I am sure that huge improvements can still be made on this paper.
> Could you please delay the submission and let me work on the paper for
> another period of time?
>
>
>
This way, you told that paper is not of publication quality and implicated that you're not comfortable with your name on it.
If the professor still insists on publishing, only then you may say
>
> It's not like I'm not trusting your judgmental skills but when I know
> that I can do better, I cannot do with less. So please do not
> misunderstand me but I don't want to be a coauthor of a work that is
> less than my potential.
>
>
>
If your professor is professional enough, he will hear what you say.
Maybe not the best solution, but I would go with this one. | Just publish the paper and move on. No one is going to hold you accountable for publishing some paper that is not spectacular. Academics are judged by the number of successes and not penalized by the number of subpar efforts. Don't create a confrontation that is not necessary as this person is going to have an effect on your future. |
3,010,380 | Hey Overflow, I have an application which serves as a user interface for a spartan/command line program.
I have the program running on a separate process, and my application monitors it to see if it is responding and how mush CPU it is utilising.
Now I have a list of files in my program (listbox) which are to be sent to the application, which happens fine. But I want to be able to read text from the com-line so as to determine when the first file has been processed.
Com-line says one of "selecting settings", "unsupported format" and "cannot be fixed".
What I want to be able to do is when it says one of these three things, remove item(0) in listbox1.
Is this possible?
I thought of programming an event which handles com\_exe.print or something or other, if possible. | 2010/06/09 | [
"https://Stackoverflow.com/questions/3010380",
"https://Stackoverflow.com",
"https://Stackoverflow.com/users/325238/"
] | The only way to get started would be to pick problems. Division I is the more difficult division, so you will probably find that the division I medium and hard problems will be somewhat interesting and challenging (unless you are quite clever.)
If you check the event calendar, you can see what algorithm competition rounds are coming up in your time zone. The competitions have the added virtue of forcing you to read and analyze other people's code in the challenge phase, so even if you would just as soon practice without a clock, you may find them interesting. | Try whit <http://projecteuler.net> Problems difficulty can be assumed by number of solvers.
I prefer this page, because it is language invariant and problems are really challenging |
3,010,380 | Hey Overflow, I have an application which serves as a user interface for a spartan/command line program.
I have the program running on a separate process, and my application monitors it to see if it is responding and how mush CPU it is utilising.
Now I have a list of files in my program (listbox) which are to be sent to the application, which happens fine. But I want to be able to read text from the com-line so as to determine when the first file has been processed.
Com-line says one of "selecting settings", "unsupported format" and "cannot be fixed".
What I want to be able to do is when it says one of these three things, remove item(0) in listbox1.
Is this possible?
I thought of programming an event which handles com\_exe.print or something or other, if possible. | 2010/06/09 | [
"https://Stackoverflow.com/questions/3010380",
"https://Stackoverflow.com",
"https://Stackoverflow.com/users/325238/"
] | TopCoder algorithm contests are a way to develop your coding speed. Solving any of the problems in the practice arena is difficult unless you already have knowledge of various algorithms.
The problems on [Project Euler](http://projecteuler.net/) suffer from the same flaw. You already have to know the algorithms to solve the problems in a reasonable time frame.
What I would suggest is to pick a project that you're interested in, and pursue it as you have time. As an example, I'm currently learning how to work with the [open street map](http://www.openstreetmap.org/) tiles in an Eclipse rich client platform. | Try whit <http://projecteuler.net> Problems difficulty can be assumed by number of solvers.
I prefer this page, because it is language invariant and problems are really challenging |
3,010,380 | Hey Overflow, I have an application which serves as a user interface for a spartan/command line program.
I have the program running on a separate process, and my application monitors it to see if it is responding and how mush CPU it is utilising.
Now I have a list of files in my program (listbox) which are to be sent to the application, which happens fine. But I want to be able to read text from the com-line so as to determine when the first file has been processed.
Com-line says one of "selecting settings", "unsupported format" and "cannot be fixed".
What I want to be able to do is when it says one of these three things, remove item(0) in listbox1.
Is this possible?
I thought of programming an event which handles com\_exe.print or something or other, if possible. | 2010/06/09 | [
"https://Stackoverflow.com/questions/3010380",
"https://Stackoverflow.com",
"https://Stackoverflow.com/users/325238/"
] | Try whit <http://projecteuler.net> Problems difficulty can be assumed by number of solvers.
I prefer this page, because it is language invariant and problems are really challenging | You need the experience of solving 2 problems in any online judge (like <http://www.spoj.com>, <http://www.lightoj.com>, <http://www.codeforces.com>) in any programming language of your choice. That will give you an idea about how are your programs tested online.
Then you can follow this -> <http://localboyfrommadurai.blogspot.in/2011/12/new-to-topcoder.html> |
3,010,380 | Hey Overflow, I have an application which serves as a user interface for a spartan/command line program.
I have the program running on a separate process, and my application monitors it to see if it is responding and how mush CPU it is utilising.
Now I have a list of files in my program (listbox) which are to be sent to the application, which happens fine. But I want to be able to read text from the com-line so as to determine when the first file has been processed.
Com-line says one of "selecting settings", "unsupported format" and "cannot be fixed".
What I want to be able to do is when it says one of these three things, remove item(0) in listbox1.
Is this possible?
I thought of programming an event which handles com\_exe.print or something or other, if possible. | 2010/06/09 | [
"https://Stackoverflow.com/questions/3010380",
"https://Stackoverflow.com",
"https://Stackoverflow.com/users/325238/"
] | The only way to get started would be to pick problems. Division I is the more difficult division, so you will probably find that the division I medium and hard problems will be somewhat interesting and challenging (unless you are quite clever.)
If you check the event calendar, you can see what algorithm competition rounds are coming up in your time zone. The competitions have the added virtue of forcing you to read and analyze other people's code in the challenge phase, so even if you would just as soon practice without a clock, you may find them interesting. | TopCoder algorithm contests are a way to develop your coding speed. Solving any of the problems in the practice arena is difficult unless you already have knowledge of various algorithms.
The problems on [Project Euler](http://projecteuler.net/) suffer from the same flaw. You already have to know the algorithms to solve the problems in a reasonable time frame.
What I would suggest is to pick a project that you're interested in, and pursue it as you have time. As an example, I'm currently learning how to work with the [open street map](http://www.openstreetmap.org/) tiles in an Eclipse rich client platform. |
3,010,380 | Hey Overflow, I have an application which serves as a user interface for a spartan/command line program.
I have the program running on a separate process, and my application monitors it to see if it is responding and how mush CPU it is utilising.
Now I have a list of files in my program (listbox) which are to be sent to the application, which happens fine. But I want to be able to read text from the com-line so as to determine when the first file has been processed.
Com-line says one of "selecting settings", "unsupported format" and "cannot be fixed".
What I want to be able to do is when it says one of these three things, remove item(0) in listbox1.
Is this possible?
I thought of programming an event which handles com\_exe.print or something or other, if possible. | 2010/06/09 | [
"https://Stackoverflow.com/questions/3010380",
"https://Stackoverflow.com",
"https://Stackoverflow.com/users/325238/"
] | The only way to get started would be to pick problems. Division I is the more difficult division, so you will probably find that the division I medium and hard problems will be somewhat interesting and challenging (unless you are quite clever.)
If you check the event calendar, you can see what algorithm competition rounds are coming up in your time zone. The competitions have the added virtue of forcing you to read and analyze other people's code in the challenge phase, so even if you would just as soon practice without a clock, you may find them interesting. | You need the experience of solving 2 problems in any online judge (like <http://www.spoj.com>, <http://www.lightoj.com>, <http://www.codeforces.com>) in any programming language of your choice. That will give you an idea about how are your programs tested online.
Then you can follow this -> <http://localboyfrommadurai.blogspot.in/2011/12/new-to-topcoder.html> |
3,010,380 | Hey Overflow, I have an application which serves as a user interface for a spartan/command line program.
I have the program running on a separate process, and my application monitors it to see if it is responding and how mush CPU it is utilising.
Now I have a list of files in my program (listbox) which are to be sent to the application, which happens fine. But I want to be able to read text from the com-line so as to determine when the first file has been processed.
Com-line says one of "selecting settings", "unsupported format" and "cannot be fixed".
What I want to be able to do is when it says one of these three things, remove item(0) in listbox1.
Is this possible?
I thought of programming an event which handles com\_exe.print or something or other, if possible. | 2010/06/09 | [
"https://Stackoverflow.com/questions/3010380",
"https://Stackoverflow.com",
"https://Stackoverflow.com/users/325238/"
] | TopCoder algorithm contests are a way to develop your coding speed. Solving any of the problems in the practice arena is difficult unless you already have knowledge of various algorithms.
The problems on [Project Euler](http://projecteuler.net/) suffer from the same flaw. You already have to know the algorithms to solve the problems in a reasonable time frame.
What I would suggest is to pick a project that you're interested in, and pursue it as you have time. As an example, I'm currently learning how to work with the [open street map](http://www.openstreetmap.org/) tiles in an Eclipse rich client platform. | You need the experience of solving 2 problems in any online judge (like <http://www.spoj.com>, <http://www.lightoj.com>, <http://www.codeforces.com>) in any programming language of your choice. That will give you an idea about how are your programs tested online.
Then you can follow this -> <http://localboyfrommadurai.blogspot.in/2011/12/new-to-topcoder.html> |
193,233 | Large house with attached garage. Overhead wires come to meter located at rear of garage....then running along-side 2 sides of house at great distance electrical & cable runs through an underground conduit to ultimately arrive at its final underground point to enter full basement & large main electrical panel.
We want to add a couple electrical appliances to studio located above garage...a great distance from main panel. Therefore, we want to know/confirm whether we need a particular electrical part to safely create a new service directly off meter box, coming into rear of garage, to then create a small sub-panel to service some new/additional electrical needs directly above garage in finished studio. We thought this would be easier than running new home runs all the way back to main panel in basement on opposite end of residential structure.
Please advise how we might do that & any other helpful info & guidance. Thank You! | 2020/05/20 | [
"https://diy.stackexchange.com/questions/193233",
"https://diy.stackexchange.com",
"https://diy.stackexchange.com/users/117520/"
] | By modern code in the US you will need a disconnect outside, then both panels could be fed from that. Putting the disconnect close to the meter would be the easiest way and a disconnect that has or can accommodate double lugs to feed the other panel. | Assuming you are in the US or Canada:
Is there a Main Breaker in your meter panel, or is it a meter socket all by itself?
From the meter to the Main is considered your "Service Entrance" and that first device must be listed as "Suitable for Use as Service Equipment" (affectionately called Susie Labeled because of S.U.S.E.). So if your meter is just a socket, then that panel in the basement is your Service Entrance. If you were to install anything ahead of it, then THAT new panel would become your Service Entrance and you would have to follow all of the rules entailed in that, then you would have to make alterations to your existing panel in the basement, because it would become a "sub-panel" and the Neutrals and Grounds would have to be separated (they can only be combined in the SUSE panel). If on the other hand there is a Main Breaker in the meter socket now, then what you are calling your "Main" panel in the basement is probably already a sub-panel, so you could add another one ahead of it with feed-through lugs going to that existing panel.
So as others said, **details matter**, INCLUDING where you are located (the Stack Exchange is international) and *exactly* what you have in place now. |
193,233 | Large house with attached garage. Overhead wires come to meter located at rear of garage....then running along-side 2 sides of house at great distance electrical & cable runs through an underground conduit to ultimately arrive at its final underground point to enter full basement & large main electrical panel.
We want to add a couple electrical appliances to studio located above garage...a great distance from main panel. Therefore, we want to know/confirm whether we need a particular electrical part to safely create a new service directly off meter box, coming into rear of garage, to then create a small sub-panel to service some new/additional electrical needs directly above garage in finished studio. We thought this would be easier than running new home runs all the way back to main panel in basement on opposite end of residential structure.
Please advise how we might do that & any other helpful info & guidance. Thank You! | 2020/05/20 | [
"https://diy.stackexchange.com/questions/193233",
"https://diy.stackexchange.com",
"https://diy.stackexchange.com/users/117520/"
] | Assuming you are in the US or Canada:
Is there a Main Breaker in your meter panel, or is it a meter socket all by itself?
From the meter to the Main is considered your "Service Entrance" and that first device must be listed as "Suitable for Use as Service Equipment" (affectionately called Susie Labeled because of S.U.S.E.). So if your meter is just a socket, then that panel in the basement is your Service Entrance. If you were to install anything ahead of it, then THAT new panel would become your Service Entrance and you would have to follow all of the rules entailed in that, then you would have to make alterations to your existing panel in the basement, because it would become a "sub-panel" and the Neutrals and Grounds would have to be separated (they can only be combined in the SUSE panel). If on the other hand there is a Main Breaker in the meter socket now, then what you are calling your "Main" panel in the basement is probably already a sub-panel, so you could add another one ahead of it with feed-through lugs going to that existing panel.
So as others said, **details matter**, INCLUDING where you are located (the Stack Exchange is international) and *exactly* what you have in place now. | If you have a meter main and you use seu to go in the house and don’t put an emergency disconnect sticker on the meter main then yes indoor has to be a sub panel if you put an emergency disconnect sticker at the meter main and service disconnect inside the house on house panel the panel does not have to be made a sub panel if you put no emergency disconnect sticker amd just a service disconnect sticker on the meter main and feed it with ser you can keep the house panel exactly the way it is just add a surge protector |
193,233 | Large house with attached garage. Overhead wires come to meter located at rear of garage....then running along-side 2 sides of house at great distance electrical & cable runs through an underground conduit to ultimately arrive at its final underground point to enter full basement & large main electrical panel.
We want to add a couple electrical appliances to studio located above garage...a great distance from main panel. Therefore, we want to know/confirm whether we need a particular electrical part to safely create a new service directly off meter box, coming into rear of garage, to then create a small sub-panel to service some new/additional electrical needs directly above garage in finished studio. We thought this would be easier than running new home runs all the way back to main panel in basement on opposite end of residential structure.
Please advise how we might do that & any other helpful info & guidance. Thank You! | 2020/05/20 | [
"https://diy.stackexchange.com/questions/193233",
"https://diy.stackexchange.com",
"https://diy.stackexchange.com/users/117520/"
] | By modern code in the US you will need a disconnect outside, then both panels could be fed from that. Putting the disconnect close to the meter would be the easiest way and a disconnect that has or can accommodate double lugs to feed the other panel. | If you have a meter main and you use seu to go in the house and don’t put an emergency disconnect sticker on the meter main then yes indoor has to be a sub panel if you put an emergency disconnect sticker at the meter main and service disconnect inside the house on house panel the panel does not have to be made a sub panel if you put no emergency disconnect sticker amd just a service disconnect sticker on the meter main and feed it with ser you can keep the house panel exactly the way it is just add a surge protector |
47,494 | Around the end of May (which would be the end of Fall here in the southern hemisphere) I bought a small potted Fittonia to keep in my bedroom. As you can see in the picture, by the time it came it was very bushy:
The store I bought it from recommended that I water it (4-5ml) every week or so, but quickly I started to realize that leaves would wither (and then they would just come off, I wouldn't even call it plucking) and sometimes the plant would overall shrivel up. I then started watering it every 2-3 days (also tried to give it more indirect light and misting), and it stopped shriveling up, but there were few leaves left, and some of them looked damaged.
I've been keeping it up and nothing has changed. I can see some small leaves sprouting, but they've been the same size for a long time now. We're nearing the end of winter (although in a tropical country), and the plant looks like this as of right now:
What have I been doing wrong? Water, light, humidity? Can I do something to repair those damaged leaves? Has the growth stopped because of permanent damages to the plant or does it have to do with the seasons? Any help on how to recover this plant would be appreciated. | 2019/08/30 | [
"https://gardening.stackexchange.com/questions/47494",
"https://gardening.stackexchange.com",
"https://gardening.stackexchange.com/users/26864/"
] | People will often only notice the [rose](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rose_hip) when it is in blossom. This is what it looks like after the flowers fruit. There are some recipes that you'll find that need rose hip. | It's a rose, possibly Rosa rugosa, though there are others which produce large, bright red hips. The hips are formed after the flowers have gone and are actually seed pods; some roses are grown for their decorative hips rather than their flowers. Image of the flower and the hips of rosa rugosa here <https://www.davidaustinroses.com/eu/r-rugosa> |
215,784 | Modern earth, no magic. Only difference is that a small percentage (~1%) of the population are biologically immortal, they can die by accidents/murder/etc but are immune to old age and disease (they will spend forever in perfect health).
My question is how do I stop these people from dominating the economy? They have all the time in the world so even small investments will grow and grow and grow without their death forcing their money to be redistributed to their children/family/state?
Edit:
As this was asked multiple times the fact a subset of humans are immortal is widely known and is a part of society, it's just how it always been. | 2021/10/20 | [
"https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/215784",
"https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com",
"https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/users/47706/"
] | Frame challenge: They already dominate the whole world, because they are the ones who actually built the modern world.
You say that:
>
> it's just how it always been
>
>
>
I'm going to arbitrarily take this in the almost literal sense that no recorded history exists of a time when these people were not alive. This can only happen in two cases:
Case 1: They have been alive since before history was recorded. If this is the case, the most likely scenario is that they have already amassed great wealth and power, and of course great knowledge (don't underestimate how much a person can learn in a millenia or two). In fact, they already had great wealth, power and knowledge well before the modern world began to take shape, and should have been perfectly capable of shaping history as they saw fit, effectively building the modern world as it is (either directly, or indirectly through preventing some particular things from happening). As such, it's difficult to argue that they don't already dominate the whole world.
Case 2: They have altered recorded history and collective memory to make it seem like they have been alive "forever". They might have been alive for merely 100 years, or 200 or 500, but they have so much power that they can rewrite history. As such, it's difficult to argue that they don't dominate the whole world. | The most powerful force in the universe is compound interest. Not even stupidity exceeds it. If they have access to compound interest, they will dominate, there are no factors that can change this. Even without immortality, compound interest is so extreme as to challenge my ability to describe it... note that the other answers have been attempted in the real world and yet have always failed against compound interest *without* immortality. How could those hope to succeed in a world *with* immortality?
I propose that your question has no plausible, valid answer. |
215,784 | Modern earth, no magic. Only difference is that a small percentage (~1%) of the population are biologically immortal, they can die by accidents/murder/etc but are immune to old age and disease (they will spend forever in perfect health).
My question is how do I stop these people from dominating the economy? They have all the time in the world so even small investments will grow and grow and grow without their death forcing their money to be redistributed to their children/family/state?
Edit:
As this was asked multiple times the fact a subset of humans are immortal is widely known and is a part of society, it's just how it always been. | 2021/10/20 | [
"https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/215784",
"https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com",
"https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/users/47706/"
] | **[Struldbruggs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Struldbrugg)**
There is a classic solution to this problem, described by Jonathan Swift in his iconic Gulliver's Travels. In there, a nation of Luggnagg had a similar issue with a number of immortal people.
>
> those immortals would in time become proprietors of the whole nation,
> and engross the civil power, which, for want of abilities to manage,
> must end in the ruin of the public
>
>
>
so the solution was
>
> As soon as they have completed the term of eighty years, they are
> looked on as dead in law; their heirs immediately succeed to their
> estates; only a small pittance is reserved for their support; and the
> poor ones are maintained at the public charge. After that period, they
> are held incapable of any employment of trust or profit; they cannot
> purchase lands, or take leases; neither are they allowed to be
> witnesses in any cause, either civil or criminal or economic, not even
> for the decision of meers (metes) and bounds.
>
>
> | When you are immortal you have no particular interest in worldly possessions any more. Been there, done that. Material wealth comes and goes; material possessions decay. Immortality changes your perspective. It makes you humble.
From the perspective of an immortal, the only things that persist through the ages are the ones that are not bound to physical matter. The immortals almost exclusively pursue scientific, spiritual and artistic quests. |
215,784 | Modern earth, no magic. Only difference is that a small percentage (~1%) of the population are biologically immortal, they can die by accidents/murder/etc but are immune to old age and disease (they will spend forever in perfect health).
My question is how do I stop these people from dominating the economy? They have all the time in the world so even small investments will grow and grow and grow without their death forcing their money to be redistributed to their children/family/state?
Edit:
As this was asked multiple times the fact a subset of humans are immortal is widely known and is a part of society, it's just how it always been. | 2021/10/20 | [
"https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/215784",
"https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com",
"https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/users/47706/"
] | >
> a small percentage (~1%) of the population are biologically immortal
>
>
>
How does that 1% work? If some immortals are killed by accident, are new immortals born to take their place? Are 1% of babies born immortal? Or is it a fixed population of immortals that may be depleted over time by accidents?
>
> they can die by accidents/murder/etc
>
>
>
Rare events and freak accidents start to become a bigger threat the longer you live. Extremely improbable causes of death do happen, and if somebody simply exists long enough, they are likely to succumb to one of them. It could be anything, from a bad slip while stepping out of the shower, to an asteroid hitting their house.
If you have no mechanism of replenishing immortals, their population will eventually approach zero.
Regardless of whether new immortals are born, existing immortals may become extremely risk-averse, withdrawing from society. Knowing that they are vulnerable to murder as well as accidents might make them think twice before doing anything to provoke the ire of the rest of society. This might inhibit them from financially dominating. | The most powerful force in the universe is compound interest. Not even stupidity exceeds it. If they have access to compound interest, they will dominate, there are no factors that can change this. Even without immortality, compound interest is so extreme as to challenge my ability to describe it... note that the other answers have been attempted in the real world and yet have always failed against compound interest *without* immortality. How could those hope to succeed in a world *with* immortality?
I propose that your question has no plausible, valid answer. |
215,784 | Modern earth, no magic. Only difference is that a small percentage (~1%) of the population are biologically immortal, they can die by accidents/murder/etc but are immune to old age and disease (they will spend forever in perfect health).
My question is how do I stop these people from dominating the economy? They have all the time in the world so even small investments will grow and grow and grow without their death forcing their money to be redistributed to their children/family/state?
Edit:
As this was asked multiple times the fact a subset of humans are immortal is widely known and is a part of society, it's just how it always been. | 2021/10/20 | [
"https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/215784",
"https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com",
"https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/users/47706/"
] | ### Everyone hates them
You mentioned they can still be killed. Well, human jealousy is definitely a thing, and I imagine most people would consider it "unfair" that a few people can potentially live forever. This isn't a huge problem for the first thirty years or so, but once it becomes "obvious" that a certain person is immortal, society turns against them.
Maybe this is even institutionalized; killing an "immortal" is not only legal, but the murderer is entitled to a percentage of the deceased's wealth.
(Disclaimer: this is pretty much the exact setup of the short story "The Trouble with Millennials" by Robert Buettner. Read it [here](https://www.baen.com/categories/free-library/free-stories-2016.html).) | You could compare this to the entailed estates of English aristocracy. While individuals were not immortal, the estates - passed down from eldest son to eldest son - were intended to be. Yet it took just one or two generations to be bad gamblers, or back the wrong side in civil wars, for the estate to become bankrupt. |
215,784 | Modern earth, no magic. Only difference is that a small percentage (~1%) of the population are biologically immortal, they can die by accidents/murder/etc but are immune to old age and disease (they will spend forever in perfect health).
My question is how do I stop these people from dominating the economy? They have all the time in the world so even small investments will grow and grow and grow without their death forcing their money to be redistributed to their children/family/state?
Edit:
As this was asked multiple times the fact a subset of humans are immortal is widely known and is a part of society, it's just how it always been. | 2021/10/20 | [
"https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/215784",
"https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com",
"https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/users/47706/"
] | ### Everyone hates them
You mentioned they can still be killed. Well, human jealousy is definitely a thing, and I imagine most people would consider it "unfair" that a few people can potentially live forever. This isn't a huge problem for the first thirty years or so, but once it becomes "obvious" that a certain person is immortal, society turns against them.
Maybe this is even institutionalized; killing an "immortal" is not only legal, but the murderer is entitled to a percentage of the deceased's wealth.
(Disclaimer: this is pretty much the exact setup of the short story "The Trouble with Millennials" by Robert Buettner. Read it [here](https://www.baen.com/categories/free-library/free-stories-2016.html).) | **Give ownership of money a time-limit**
In our modern world, this would entail something of a fundamental re-write of banking, but conceptually shouldn't be impossible.
Essentially every penny in existence is associated with a date that it changed hands.
After say.. 10 - 20 years, money that hasn't changed hands legally will revert to the State.
This essentially requires that money be moving routinely and makes hoarding money long-term much more difficult. You can't just dump billions of dollars into a bank account and expect to leave it there long-term.
The problem I see with this is that the solution is simple.
Enter into an agreement with a friend to buy things from them and they from you.
Two people making "modern art" and selling it to one another for silly volumes of money in order to avoid their money melting away..
Alternately, you'd get billionaires keeping their money in literal vaults of cash so that it can't degrade in value.
Obviously there are some kinks to work out in the plan. |
215,784 | Modern earth, no magic. Only difference is that a small percentage (~1%) of the population are biologically immortal, they can die by accidents/murder/etc but are immune to old age and disease (they will spend forever in perfect health).
My question is how do I stop these people from dominating the economy? They have all the time in the world so even small investments will grow and grow and grow without their death forcing their money to be redistributed to their children/family/state?
Edit:
As this was asked multiple times the fact a subset of humans are immortal is widely known and is a part of society, it's just how it always been. | 2021/10/20 | [
"https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/215784",
"https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com",
"https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/users/47706/"
] | When you are immortal you have no particular interest in worldly possessions any more. Been there, done that. Material wealth comes and goes; material possessions decay. Immortality changes your perspective. It makes you humble.
From the perspective of an immortal, the only things that persist through the ages are the ones that are not bound to physical matter. The immortals almost exclusively pursue scientific, spiritual and artistic quests. | **Give ownership of money a time-limit**
In our modern world, this would entail something of a fundamental re-write of banking, but conceptually shouldn't be impossible.
Essentially every penny in existence is associated with a date that it changed hands.
After say.. 10 - 20 years, money that hasn't changed hands legally will revert to the State.
This essentially requires that money be moving routinely and makes hoarding money long-term much more difficult. You can't just dump billions of dollars into a bank account and expect to leave it there long-term.
The problem I see with this is that the solution is simple.
Enter into an agreement with a friend to buy things from them and they from you.
Two people making "modern art" and selling it to one another for silly volumes of money in order to avoid their money melting away..
Alternately, you'd get billionaires keeping their money in literal vaults of cash so that it can't degrade in value.
Obviously there are some kinks to work out in the plan. |
215,784 | Modern earth, no magic. Only difference is that a small percentage (~1%) of the population are biologically immortal, they can die by accidents/murder/etc but are immune to old age and disease (they will spend forever in perfect health).
My question is how do I stop these people from dominating the economy? They have all the time in the world so even small investments will grow and grow and grow without their death forcing their money to be redistributed to their children/family/state?
Edit:
As this was asked multiple times the fact a subset of humans are immortal is widely known and is a part of society, it's just how it always been. | 2021/10/20 | [
"https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/215784",
"https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com",
"https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/users/47706/"
] | ### Everyone hates them
You mentioned they can still be killed. Well, human jealousy is definitely a thing, and I imagine most people would consider it "unfair" that a few people can potentially live forever. This isn't a huge problem for the first thirty years or so, but once it becomes "obvious" that a certain person is immortal, society turns against them.
Maybe this is even institutionalized; killing an "immortal" is not only legal, but the murderer is entitled to a percentage of the deceased's wealth.
(Disclaimer: this is pretty much the exact setup of the short story "The Trouble with Millennials" by Robert Buettner. Read it [here](https://www.baen.com/categories/free-library/free-stories-2016.html).) | It's not a problem.
===================
You might thank that an immortal will eventually gain lots of wealth. But in actual practice the financial situation of an immortal is not different from a non-immortal with a family. One normal person accumulates, passes that down to their child, who uses it to accumulate more, and so on. If "parent" and "child happen to be the same person that makes no difference to their ability to accumulate wealth. They have the same time available to do it. There is no reason why immortals should be better at it than non-immortals, excepting a better ability to think long term.
Throughout most of European history there were families who accumulated huge amounts of wealth and handed it down through their families, dominating the financial landscape of their time. They were called "nobles", and achieved this by largely handing down their estates intact from father to eldest son.
The only thing that makes a difference between families and immortals is inheritance tax - coincidentally the same thing that put paid to the power of the wealth of the nobility. Abolish this and the situations are the same. If you want to prevent the accumulation of wealth by immortals, just make an inheritance tax that gets applied every 150 years to someone even if they are not dead. |
215,784 | Modern earth, no magic. Only difference is that a small percentage (~1%) of the population are biologically immortal, they can die by accidents/murder/etc but are immune to old age and disease (they will spend forever in perfect health).
My question is how do I stop these people from dominating the economy? They have all the time in the world so even small investments will grow and grow and grow without their death forcing their money to be redistributed to their children/family/state?
Edit:
As this was asked multiple times the fact a subset of humans are immortal is widely known and is a part of society, it's just how it always been. | 2021/10/20 | [
"https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/215784",
"https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com",
"https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/users/47706/"
] | **[Struldbruggs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Struldbrugg)**
There is a classic solution to this problem, described by Jonathan Swift in his iconic Gulliver's Travels. In there, a nation of Luggnagg had a similar issue with a number of immortal people.
>
> those immortals would in time become proprietors of the whole nation,
> and engross the civil power, which, for want of abilities to manage,
> must end in the ruin of the public
>
>
>
so the solution was
>
> As soon as they have completed the term of eighty years, they are
> looked on as dead in law; their heirs immediately succeed to their
> estates; only a small pittance is reserved for their support; and the
> poor ones are maintained at the public charge. After that period, they
> are held incapable of any employment of trust or profit; they cannot
> purchase lands, or take leases; neither are they allowed to be
> witnesses in any cause, either civil or criminal or economic, not even
> for the decision of meers (metes) and bounds.
>
>
> | The last 300 years have been a historical anomaly. In addition, that anomaly suffers from survivorship bias.
If you took some money 300 years ago, and invested it in the right kinds of assets in the right corner of the world, you'd easily be insanely wealthy today.
But pick the wrong corner of the world, and your investment would be worth nothing. Do the same thing 3300, 2300, or 1300 years ago, and your investment would probably be worth nothing.
The last 300 years has experienced multiple chained economic singularities we call steps in the industrial revolution. From water power and canals, to steam power and railroads, to oil and the internal combustion engine, to electricity and computers, each has been a wave of insanely fast change and growth.
In this environment, putting aside money to bet on the future being richer than the present tends to come up aces a lot. What more, doing so in the set of superpowers that won the global conflicts -- the East-Atlantic British Empire (UK), followed by the West-Atlantic British Empire (USA) -- is going to do even better.
You toss down a fortune in Germany in the inter-war years when it looked like it was going to become a superpower, and you'd have lost it all if you picked the wrong side of East/West Germany after the war.
The world is full of places where it looked like it was a good idea to invest, then within the century every investment would be lost.
What more, such investments would be extremely alien to someone used to the previous thousands of years of history. The idea you'd take wealth and hand it over to someone to make it bigger would be a short term thing as far as the immortals are concerned; every society crashes, and when it does your investments are worth nothing. What more, in most of history, holding onto your investments requires political and military power, as if you get rich someone else will just take your stuff.
And even after all this, your immortals wouldn't be much better off than random Dynasties. Dynasties who pass down assets to a single heir are economically very similar to immortals, especially if the previous heir gets to pick the next one. Such Dynasties where quite successful -- the top ones we know as "Kings" and other nobles -- but not universally so. As your immortals can suffer being killed, such immortal single-person dynasties would typically end with simply killing the immortal.
Long-lived immortals would be aware of this problem; those that have lived a long time will have adapted their lifestyles to avoid it.
The immortals might not have the "stupid heir" problem, but they are in a sense their own stupid heir. They'll get set in their ways and not adapt to the current situation, and their financial empire will fall.
In the post-industrial-revolution singularity states, some of these concerns don't apply. The need to guard your wealth with guns is a bit less (until your society collapses), the need to guard your wealth politically remains the same (or greater).
You'll still be about as well off as large dynasties that have passed their wealth down to one person. Your investment habits that are successful in one era will fail in another, and if you chase the rabbit and change with what habits have recently been successful you'll always miss the initial growth surges.
So your return on your savings will probably be, on average, no better than the financial giants of the past. In the UK, that would be the nobles; while they are (on average) not so badly off, they aren't the titans of the world economy you seem to imply the immortals are.
In the USA, similarly, the heirs of the robber barons of 1800s are not the top of the economic pile today. |
215,784 | Modern earth, no magic. Only difference is that a small percentage (~1%) of the population are biologically immortal, they can die by accidents/murder/etc but are immune to old age and disease (they will spend forever in perfect health).
My question is how do I stop these people from dominating the economy? They have all the time in the world so even small investments will grow and grow and grow without their death forcing their money to be redistributed to their children/family/state?
Edit:
As this was asked multiple times the fact a subset of humans are immortal is widely known and is a part of society, it's just how it always been. | 2021/10/20 | [
"https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/215784",
"https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com",
"https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/users/47706/"
] | **we already do this, so it won't be as hard as you think**
In fact, I suspect the bigger problem would be the consequence of immortal welfare recipients.
We already have (in the United States, probably different elsewhere) a whole set of laws that make it pretty messy to transfer wealth from parent to child. To avoid those laws, many families (the mortal version of immortality) build *companies* that live "forever," and put their descendants in a position of retaining control of those companies. Since even compound bank interest would be a serious threat to any economy when measured over centuries and millennia, laws would quickly come to pass that restrict how wealthy any immortal can become.
But you might ask, "so where does the welfare come into this? Why wouldn't the immortals be CEOs forever and get around those laws?" Lots of reasons. Boards of Directors (who love to oust people who aren't doing what they think is best for the company) and shareholders (ditto). Also anti-trust laws that prohibit monopolies.... But when push comes to shove, there are really only so many companies that can boast the kind of prolonged wealth you're talking about.
So there really isn't enough *economic space* for your immortals to be more than a minor impact on the world's wealth. If they chose to focus on crime for their wealth, competitors would set them first in line to be bumped off. If they chose to be Captains of Industry, everyone from competitors to activists to politicians would be driven to keep them from becoming the Ruling Elite. In either case, rules and laws already exist that are intended to keep individuals (and their descendants) from acquiring too much wealth (yes, I know, it doesn't seem to be that way... but it is. You don't want to stop all wealth-mongering, it has value whether you agree with it or not. Necessity being the mother of invention, after all.), which would naturally glom on to your immortals.
This is why you'd have a bigger problem with immortals on welfare. You don't describe them as unreasonably intelligent or powerful, just long-lived. How many reasonably smart people do you know who are near or below the poverty line? More than most of us want to admit. And an immortal on welfare in many ways represents a problem just as nasty as an immortal with a trust fund.
Besides, while everyone wants to live forever, no one wants their *neighbor* to live forever. And the natural development of law would prohibit your immortals from ever having so much economic traction that they could move the world.
...Well, assuming we don't believe in the Illuminati, the Rothschilds, the Trilateral Commission or the Roswell aliens, whom we all know are really still alive because any sufficiently advanced civilization would have figured out how to gene-splice perfect health and made sure *every citizen* got it, right? | When you are immortal you have no particular interest in worldly possessions any more. Been there, done that. Material wealth comes and goes; material possessions decay. Immortality changes your perspective. It makes you humble.
From the perspective of an immortal, the only things that persist through the ages are the ones that are not bound to physical matter. The immortals almost exclusively pursue scientific, spiritual and artistic quests. |
215,784 | Modern earth, no magic. Only difference is that a small percentage (~1%) of the population are biologically immortal, they can die by accidents/murder/etc but are immune to old age and disease (they will spend forever in perfect health).
My question is how do I stop these people from dominating the economy? They have all the time in the world so even small investments will grow and grow and grow without their death forcing their money to be redistributed to their children/family/state?
Edit:
As this was asked multiple times the fact a subset of humans are immortal is widely known and is a part of society, it's just how it always been. | 2021/10/20 | [
"https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/215784",
"https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com",
"https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/users/47706/"
] | >
> even small investments will grow and grow and grow
>
>
>
This is a wrong assumption: imagine you are one of those immortals, and at the time of the roman empire you invest your money in a [garum](https://history.stackexchange.com/q/66273) factory or in manufacturing purple dye, just to name two industries with good income.
Well, you might be immortal, but your investments will collapse with the empire, and good luck with collecting your wealth in those times of uncertainty.
Even in today world, look at how many companies have survived longer than a human life: Philips was once a big name in electronics, today no more; would you have manage to avoid the derivative crash of 2008, or the dot com bubble?
Long story short, even though you might be immortal, you cannot forecast the market ups and downs. You will end up losing part of the investments, and won't end up really dominating the economy. | In order of dramatic effect in your story:
1. They must keep it secret. Anybody (mortal or immortal) found to be obscenely rich is suspected to be in immortal and lynched. The smartest immortals have managed to hide their assets extremely well, others have to feign illness or even death periodically to prevent lynching.
2. There is a widely accepted religious prohibition against compound interest.
3. Some immortals have become kings and queens. Their fortune is indistinguishable from the fortunes of the countries they lead. They have to deal with wars, foreign invasions, rebellions, technological breakthroughs, pandemics, etc.
4. This is the price they paid for their immortality: They made an ancient pact with the source of their immortality to give 9/10 of their wealth every year at summer solstice to charity. If they don't, they lose their immortality for a year. |
91,207 | Attempting to install WSUS 3.0 SP2 on a Windows Server 2003 Enterprise system. I'm asking the setup to create a new database on one of our existing SQL Server 2005 systems. When the setup gets to the "configuring database" step it stops and throws "There is a problem with this Windows Installer package. A program run as part of the setup did not finish as expected. Contact your support personnel or package vendor." The two logs it suggests I look at are below. I'm not seeing any errors that mean anything to me.
Any direction you can give will be greatly appreciated.
**WSUSSetup.log:**
2009-12-04 15:26:21 Success MWUSSetup Validating pre-requisites...
2009-12-04 15:26:22 Error MWUSSetup Failed to determine if an higher version of WSUS is installed. Assuming it is not... (Error 0x80070002: The system cannot find the file specified.)
2009-12-04 15:26:28 Success MWUSSetup No SQL instances found
2009-12-04 15:26:42 Success MWUSSetup Initializing installation details
2009-12-04 15:26:42 Success MWUSSetup Installing ASP.Net
2009-12-04 15:27:24 Success MWUSSetup ASP.Net is installed successfully
2009-12-04 15:27:24 Success MWUSSetup Installing WSUS...
2009-12-04 15:27:28 Success CustomActions.Dll Unable to get INSTALL\_LANGUAGE property, calculating it...
2009-12-04 15:27:28 Success CustomActions.Dll Successfully set propery of WSUS admin groups' full names
2009-12-04 15:27:29 Success CustomActions.Dll .Net framework path: C:\WINDOWS\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.50727
2009-12-04 15:27:33 Success CustomActions.Dll Creating user group: WSUS Reporters with Description: WSUS Administrators who can only run reports on the Windows Server Update Services server.
2009-12-04 15:27:33 Success CustomActions.Dll Creating WSUS Reporters user group
2009-12-04 15:27:33 Success CustomActions.Dll WSUS Reporters user group already exists
2009-12-04 15:27:33 Success CustomActions.Dll Successfully created WSUS Reporters user group
2009-12-04 15:27:33 Success CustomActions.Dll Creating user group: WSUS Administrators with Description: WSUS Administrators can administer the Windows Server Update Services server.
2009-12-04 15:27:33 Success CustomActions.Dll Creating WSUS Administrators user group
2009-12-04 15:27:33 Success CustomActions.Dll WSUS Administrators user group already exists
2009-12-04 15:27:33 Success CustomActions.Dll Successfully created WSUS Administrators user group
2009-12-04 15:27:33 Success CustomActions.Dll Successfully created WSUS user groups
2009-12-04 15:27:33 Success CustomActions.Dll Succesfully set binary SID property
2009-12-04 15:27:33 Success CustomActions.Dll Succesfully set binary SID property
2009-12-04 15:27:33 Success CustomActions.Dll Successfully set binary SID properties
2009-12-04 15:28:50 Error MWUSSetup InstallWsus: MWUS Installation Failed (Error 0x80070643: Fatal error during installation.)
2009-12-04 15:28:50 Error MWUSSetup CInstallDriver::PerformSetup: WSUS installation failed (Error 0x80070643: Fatal error during installation.)
2009-12-04 15:28:50 Error MWUSSetup CSetupDriver::LaunchSetup: Setup failed (Error 0x80070643: Fatal error during installation.)
**From the end of WSUSSetupmsi\_091204\_1527.log**
MSI (s) (58:7C) [15:28:49:860]: Note: 1: 1708
MSI (s) (58:7C) [15:28:49:860]: Product: Windows Server Update Services 3.0 SP2 -- Installation failed.
MSI (s) (58:7C) [15:28:49:875]: Cleaning up uninstalled install packages, if any exist
MSI (s) (58:7C) [15:28:49:875]: MainEngineThread is returning 1603
MSI (s) (58:78) [15:28:49:985]: Destroying RemoteAPI object.
MSI (s) (58:90) [15:28:49:985]: Custom Action Manager thread ending.
=== Logging stopped: 12/4/2009 15:28:49 ===
MSI (c) (30:54) [15:28:50:016]: Decrementing counter to disable shutdown. If counter >= 0, shutdown will be denied. Counter after decrement: -1
MSI (c) (30:54) [15:28:50:016]: MainEngineThread is returning 1603
=== Verbose logging stopped: 12/4/2009 15:28:50 === | 2009/12/04 | [
"https://serverfault.com/questions/91207",
"https://serverfault.com",
"https://serverfault.com/users/3111/"
] | I've found it's much easier to install WSUS to the Win Internal Database then move the DB to another SQL server. Here's the [MS article on moving the DB after the fact](http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc708558%28WS.10%29.aspx). I've done this several times and it works like a charm every time. | Without seeing the wsusca.log files this is a partial guess, but it sounds like the user you are using does not have permissions to the sql server you are trying to use.
Check out [this](http://support.microsoft.com/kb/920660) technet article on the subject. |
116,266 | I recently setup my own CA, and imported the CA cert into devices across the company. I then deployed certificates to our various servers, etc.. All using SHA-1 signatures (the default in the tool I was using: XCA).
Today I discovered the SHA-1 warning in chrome when browsing any of our servers. Oops. Can I just issue SHA-2 certs to our servers and chrome will be happy? Or will any cert in the chain (including the root CA) using SHA-1 cause the warning to appear?
If so, I assume I have to create a new root certificate and distribute that too?
The next question is what's the the best signature algorithm to use? Should I go right up to SHA-512 to avoid encountering a similar problem in the next year? or use SHA-256 for compatibility? (I don't know if some browsers have trouble with the larger hash values). | 2016/03/02 | [
"https://security.stackexchange.com/questions/116266",
"https://security.stackexchange.com",
"https://security.stackexchange.com/users/103038/"
] | With regards to Chrome browser:
1. Self-signed certificate that is inside your trust store is OK with SHA-1.
2. Root cert is OK with SHA-1. (This is just repeating point 1 in other words.)
3. All the other certificates in the chain need to be SHA-2. SHA-1 generates a warning.
The cause for the special treatment of self-signed trusted certificates (aka root certificates) is that they are umm... self-signed, therefore what shows in their "signature" field is rather cryptographical kind of nop, than a real security device. Verifying their signature provides next to zero additional security. | 1. There's no difference in scope of security about a self-signed or brand-signed certificate : you **must** use a solid bricks to build a durable walls. I'm using SHA-512, and it seems to be fine
2. There's a good practice to use same security/encryption schemas everywhere, it makes things secure by eliminating a "zoo" of different schemas
3. All the modern browsers and SSL tools are well-compatible with secure algo's and hashes **for years**, so it's not *just* safe, but it's certainly secure to drop **any** weak compatibilities : only 256+ bit ciphers, no insecure hashes(**including md5**)
4. Inspect your software's configs to disable weak SSL **and** ciphers/hashes, i.e. recompile OpenSSL, OpenSSH, Bind and webservers **explicitly disabling faulty pieces** |
10,443 | In school and at university we never had eigenvalues nor differential equations, so these concepts were really giving me a hard time. Now I developed some intuition for both concepts.
I learned that both are connected in some way, i.e. there is an eigenvector/eigenvalue approach to solve differential equations. Unfortunately most of the text I find are way beyond my understanding and seem to require very extensive study.
Is there a possibility to provide me with an intuition of the connection anyway and perhaps give an easy example of how to use this approach to solve a differential equation? | 2010/11/15 | [
"https://math.stackexchange.com/questions/10443",
"https://math.stackexchange.com",
"https://math.stackexchange.com/users/346/"
] | You could think of eigenvectors as giving you the coordinate system in which your problem has the simplest form. It's analogous to working physical problems by turning your coordinate system the right way to make some term go away. | This is the best explanation I have seen so far. This short paper not only explains the connection between eigenvalues, eigenvectors and differential equations using very clear, undergraduate math but also has lots of visualizations... and nice examples concerning the development of Romeo's and Juliet's love:
<http://wcherry.math.unt.edu/math2700/diffeq.pdf> |
10,443 | In school and at university we never had eigenvalues nor differential equations, so these concepts were really giving me a hard time. Now I developed some intuition for both concepts.
I learned that both are connected in some way, i.e. there is an eigenvector/eigenvalue approach to solve differential equations. Unfortunately most of the text I find are way beyond my understanding and seem to require very extensive study.
Is there a possibility to provide me with an intuition of the connection anyway and perhaps give an easy example of how to use this approach to solve a differential equation? | 2010/11/15 | [
"https://math.stackexchange.com/questions/10443",
"https://math.stackexchange.com",
"https://math.stackexchange.com/users/346/"
] | You could think of eigenvectors as giving you the coordinate system in which your problem has the simplest form. It's analogous to working physical problems by turning your coordinate system the right way to make some term go away. | A good reference is here: <http://www.sosmath.com/diffeq/system/linear/eigenvalue/eigenvalue.html> |
14,720 | I am currently building a self balancing robot using an L298N motors driver,and MPU6050 using an arduino microcontroller.
I managed to control my motors movements with no issues. After I extracted the data from my MPU6050 which was easy by using MPU6050 library I faced a problem: When linking the motors movement according to MPU6050 readings, the sensor freezes and stops showing its data on the serial monitor after giving couple of readings, the motors keep moving. I even have capacitors soldered into my motors to filter the noise. I am definitely sure my sensor works perfectly because it was tested before implemented into the motors drivers circuit and code.
If anyone can give me any hints why does the MPU sensor stop giving readings please.
Thanks. | 2015/08/31 | [
"https://arduino.stackexchange.com/questions/14720",
"https://arduino.stackexchange.com",
"https://arduino.stackexchange.com/users/12124/"
] | The MPU6050 is an I2C device. By default the Arduino uses the internal pullup resistors in the IO pins for the pullups on the I2C bus.
This is bad - it makes the I2C bus *very* susceptible to noise, and motors are *very* noisy devices.
You need to make sure you have appropriate pullup resistors on the I2C bus (3.3KΩ is good) and keep the I2C wires as short as you reasonably can.
Also keeping power sources as separate as possible is essential. Don't be tempted to use the 5V power from the Arduino to power your motors - you must use an external power source, or the motors will cause havoc with the microcontroller circuitry and communications. | This answer addresses the additional questions in Salah's comment:
>
> I am using a 12V battery to power my motors and the ground of the battery is linked to the ground of my motor driver then mounted onto the arduino. So you mean i must use 3.3K resistors and connect them to the SDA and SCL pins on the MPU6050??to prevent any oscillations affecting the sensor is that right ?
>
>
>
The MPU-6050 will work ok with Vdd = 3.3 V. More specifically, page 14 of the 1788002.pdf datasheet for MPU-6000/MPU-6050 products shows
>
> VDD = 2.375V-3.46V, VLOGIC (MPU-6050 only) = 1.8V±5% or VDD, TA = 25°C
>
>
>
The wiring diagram on page 39 shows SDA and SCL being pulled up to VLOGIC (which is either 1.8 V or VDD, say 3.3 V).
One suitable choice would be to operate an 8 MHz Mega and the 6050 at 3.3 V and pull SDA and SCL up to 3.3 V via 3.3 KΩ resistors.
Another choice would be to operate a 16 MHz Mega at 5 V, operate the 6050 at 3.3 V, pull SDA and SCL up to 3.3 V via 3.3 KΩ resistors, and use 3.3V/5V level translations on SDA and SCL into the Mega.
Built-in pullups for I/O pins on Mega2560 and similar devices are spec'd at 20 KΩ min, 50 KΩ max, so will provide less restoring current when a device releases a pin, than will a 3.3 KΩ resistor, and thus may be less noise-resistant or operate less speedily.
The important issues for your power wiring are these:
1, Isolate the motor drive and logic drives. They can use the same ground point but motor current should not be running through the ground lead or leads that connect to the Arduino and the MPU-6050. And use [decoupling capacitors](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decoupling_capacitor) as necessary.
2, Power the MPU-6050 with 3.3 V or less; pull up SDA and SCL to that level via 3.3 KΩ resistors; use level translators if the Mega operates at a different voltage than the MPU-6050.
*Edit: About Grounding –* For a detailed discussion, see [Staying Well Grounded](http://www.analog.com/library/analogDialogue/archives/46-06/staying_well_grounded.html), an analog.com article. For overviews, see [Star Grounding](http://web.archive.org/web/20141030161947/http://www.lh-electric.net/tutorials/gnd_loop.html) at lh-electric.net, or at wikipedia, [Ground Noise](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ground_noise), [Ground Bounce](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ground_bounce), and [Ground (electricity) Electronics](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ground_%28electricity%29#Electronics). By “motor current should not be running through the ground lead or leads that connect to the Arduino and the MPU-6050” I refer to the use of separate wires for conducting ground current. Typically, this will matter only if your motor current is high or noisy. The idea is to have a heavy wire from the ground post of the battery to the motors, and a separate wire from the ground post of the battery to the Arduino and the MPU-6050. Voltage across a wire changes as current in the wire changes. Using separate ground wires, the Arduino and the MPU-6050 are less affected by ground wire voltage changes caused by motor current. |
1,102,970 | I want to start unit testing my javascript files as part of my build process in an MVC application I am building using jquery and jqueryUI.
I know how to use qunit and jsunit but I want to try and get VS to run these tests and integrate the results into my build process.
Has anyone got any ideas on where to begin with this? General pointers on where to begin would be as useful as solutions. | 2009/07/09 | [
"https://Stackoverflow.com/questions/1102970",
"https://Stackoverflow.com",
"https://Stackoverflow.com/users/44295/"
] | Take a lookt at [JSUnit MSBuild task](http://blog.bluewire-technologies.com/2008/01/30/jsunit-msbuild-task/). I'm sure there's something similar for qunit, JSSpec, etc. | the build task suggested by mgroves worked however it only unit tested the functions and not the javascript events.
I discovered [Watin](http://watin.sourceforge.net/) pronounced "What-In". This allows you to fully control web browser and interact with the loaded web pages. IT's early days yet but I think this is a very useful way forward. |
9,201,954 | I am tying to integrate a gwt project with my already running spring project.
i am using eclispe, and i have a Spring MVC application that receives JSON requests.
i am using the built in Tomcat to run my MVC application.
now i would like to create a new GWT project and have it communicate with my spring project with JSON.
i understand that they need to run on the same ip and port so i would not have to make cross site communication.
if i try to run my GWT application as run-as->Web application (which is the normal way for the project) on the same port as the Tomcat server i get an error that the address is already in use (which makes sense)
i tried creating a new dynamic web project and make it look the same as the GWT project. even though i am able to run the application, nothing happens, and the "entry point" is not run (i am not getting any errors or anything) it just runs the default HTML welcome file and thats it. with out any GWT.
what am i doing wrong, i am surly misunderstanding something about how all this should work.
can anyone help me out please. | 2012/02/08 | [
"https://Stackoverflow.com/questions/9201954",
"https://Stackoverflow.com",
"https://Stackoverflow.com/users/445468/"
] | You need to select that you are running on an external server:
 | That is a question that can't just be answered with yes or no. It all depends on your overall architecture and what you are trying to achieve.
As I said, if it is both the same application I'd recommend to integrate the Spring project into the web project. (and if that's the case, the spring project does not need to be a web project)
If the spring project is its own application and maybe running on a different server, keep them separated. Extend the spring project so it offers the functionality (via ejb or webservice) the gwt-web project needs.
Nevertheless, I recommend you do some reading about how Java EE applications should be designed and what the different tiers (client, server/service, business, etc) are for. Oracle/Sun offers some good articles. For example: <http://java.sun.com/blueprints/guidelines/designing_enterprise_applications_2e/> or <http://docs.oracle.com/javaee/5/tutorial/doc/bnaay.html#bnabb>. |
328,506 | "It didn't happen the way I had thought it would have happened."
So, I used Past Perfect in the second part of the sentence to specify that the thought process had occurred before the actual action was carried out. Hoewever, I am unsure whether that's the appropriate way of using it, especially with the last part of the sentence. I **attempted** to use Future in the Past, but it gets confusing when I try to use it in tandem with Past Perfect. Should I have just written "...it would happen" instead?
Either way, how badly did I mess up? And how does one go about tackling such sentences? | 2022/12/04 | [
"https://ell.stackexchange.com/questions/328506",
"https://ell.stackexchange.com",
"https://ell.stackexchange.com/users/165424/"
] | Your sentence is correct and does mean what you want.
But complex mixes of tenses are hard to understand (as you have discovered) They are hard for native speakers too! So we try to avoid them for the sake of clarity. You could rephase:
>
> I thought it would have happened differently.
>
>
>
Your sentence is also confusing because you don't provide much context You use "it" and you don't say what you think would happen
>
> I thought Argentina would beat Australia easily. But the match didn't happen that way.
>
>
>
And you'll notice that there is no need for "future in the past" in that last example. | Your sentence isn't quite correct. *[ "Would have" + past participle ]* is an *unreal* construction, and implies some unreal condition, but you're just expressing your past thought about the future, which doesn't require unreal grammar:
>
> It didn't happen the way I had thought it **was going to (happen)**.
>
> OR
>
> It didn't happen the way I had thought it **would (happen)**.
>
>
>
This expresses the future with "be going to" or "will", and the past with the past forms of those --> "was" or "would". Your thought in the past happened to be incorrect, but we don't need unreal grammar to express that. It's enough to say what we thought in the past. |
248,221 | Does the RS-485 Standard include an error detection/correction scheme?
RS-232 has a parity bit for error detection, but I do not know anything related to error detection/correction in the RS-485 interface. | 2016/07/27 | [
"https://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/248221",
"https://electronics.stackexchange.com",
"https://electronics.stackexchange.com/users/116342/"
] | RS-485 and RS-232 a electrical-only standards. The same data encoding scheme is usually used on both. The difference is that RS-232 uses a single wire for the signal with levels below -5 V and above +5 V, while RS-485 uses a differential pair with 0-5 V levels. RS-485 is also intended to be multi-drop whereas RS-232 is point to point.
You can chose to use a parity bit, or not, on either physical layer.
In practice, parity bits are not used much since they give a poor level of protection for the number of bits spent. When reliability is important, chunks of data are usually wrapped in packets with more sophisticated checksums, then with a ACK/retry scheme at the level above the packets. | RS-485 has several advantages over RS-232.
* Multi-drop from one master to multiple slave nodes.
* Differential signals for higher noise immunity.
* Lower voltages means that a 5 V PSU can be used.
With the multi-drop facility it is necessary for the transmitter and receivers to be a little smarter than may be required for RS-232 communications as addressing has to be handled. Once a micro is involved it is not to difficult to add checksum calculations too.
The parity bits are a very crude protection and will detect a single or odd number of bit errors in a character. An even number of bit errors will go undetected. In contrast, a one-byte checksum has 256 possible values and the likelihood of an undetected error is far less. For additional security a two-byte, 16-bit checksum can be used.
>
> Does the RS-485 Standard include an error detection/correction scheme?
>
>
>
No, that's up to the system designer.
For a recent question on the topic see [How to calculate checksum by hand](https://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/247431/how-to-calculate-checksum-by-hand/247432#247432). |
176,167 | Hey i made a Animation and everything is going way to fast, is there an option to slow down ALL Animations in a project and render it again but slower? | 2020/04/28 | [
"https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/176167",
"https://blender.stackexchange.com",
"https://blender.stackexchange.com/users/94946/"
] | It depends on if you want to slow down the animations or the render:
* To slow down the animations themselves, go into the *Dopesheet*, put your blue cursor at frame 0 (the cursor position will determine the operation center), select all and scale up with `S` + drag.
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/VtO2V.jpg)
* To slow down the render itself, i.e. increase the amount of frames as if you were shooting in slow motion, go into the *Properties* panel > *Output* > *Dimensions* and play with the *Time Remapping* values. The *Old* and *New* values allows you to set the ratio between the current speed and the one you want, for example to double the time you need to choose a ratio of 1(*Old*)/2(*New*), to add 20% choose 10/12 or 5/6, etc. If you’ve slowed down by a half you’ll need to double the *Frame End* value, otherwise you’ll only render half of the whole animation.
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/tQcHE.jpg) | You can simply scale all f-curves.
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/kPjAk.png)
1. Turn off Only Selected (red)
2. Set pivot to 2D Cursor (blue)
3. Go to frame 1, hit s -> x and move your mouse or type in 2 for twice as slow.
Note that this won't effect drivers (unless they are simply bound to an animated property) or animation nodes.
The time remap suggested by @moonboots should work as well, but tweaking your animations with those settings may be rather tedious. |
59,768 | I was wondering which of the two sentences are correct:
1. The homework was due today
2. The homework is due today
My story is written in past tense, but character X says this in narration during the morning of the due date, not after, thus giving me the feeling that it should be 'the homework is due today'. However, I've heard of the advise of sticking with a single tense throughout a story, so my mind is telling me to type 'The homework was due today'. | 2021/12/12 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/59768",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/52896/"
] | Tenses in direct speech are different from the tense written otherwise. "was" suggests that the character has missed the deadline, while "is" suggests that the deadline has yet to be crossed. Perhaps an opinion, but "was" suggests that the character knows the time of the deadline and it has past, while "is" suggests that either 1) the deadline has yet to be passed, or 2) the exact time of the deadline is unknown. | You write the characters saying what is appropriate for them to say at the moment they are speaking, except when the plot or characterization requires them to speak inappropriately for the circumstances.
That includes the characters using the tense that is correct at the moment they are speaking.
Or in some cases they use an incorrect tense to show that they are too excited to think or speak clearly, or are very young children, or foreigners speaking a language they have not learned perfectly, or ignorant boobs, or something.
Writers usually avoid having characters use incorrect tenses and other features of speech as commonly as usually happens in real life. Thus when they do have characters use incorrect tenses or other features of grammar, it stands out.
I note that in science fiction stories involving time travel it is common for characters to wonder whether the past, present, or future tenses would be more appropriate.
But as a general rule, writers make their characters speak clearly and grammatically so the readers understand what the characters are saying, and that includes making the characters use the correct tense for the moment when the characters are speaking. |
36,534 | What is the coding language used for the software used on the ISS? Is it NASA's own coding language, or is it something like C, or C#, maybe Haskell? | 2019/06/03 | [
"https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/36534",
"https://space.stackexchange.com",
"https://space.stackexchange.com/users/30194/"
] | Almost all of the safety critical software that runs on the US side of the Space Station is written in Ada. I wrote "almost all" rather than "all" because there are probably some low level device drivers written in assembly. I can't find out in which language / languages the code that runs on the Russian side was written. I wouldn't be surprised if that also is largely Ada.
Non-safety critical software (e.g., anything running on a laptop) is written in a mix of languages. | There are a lot of programs involved in running the ISS. The exact details are difficult to discern, a lot of NASA's software is available [via this site](https://software.nasa.gov/), with some restrictions, but here is what I can find.
* Astrobee- Runs the "Robotic Operating System"
* Geolocation via a Python Library
* Some elements use LabView
I'm sure there are many other languages, including C, C++, and C#, among others, but it would be very difficult to get a complete list. |
202,850 | A player of mine wanted to play a hamadryad based on the old 4e version and this is what I came up with. The lore is that they're dryads who, through falling in love with a mortal or some other means, have unbound themselves from their home tree.
* **Ability Score Increase.** Your Wisdom score increases by 1 and your Charisma score increases by 2.
* **Age.** Hamadryads are considered adults around 75 years of age and after becoming unbound from their tree they can live up to 450 years.
* **Alignment.** Hamadryads lean towards neutrality and tend to disregard laws and rules made by the more civilised races.
* **Size.** Hamadryads tend to be a bit shorter than humans. Your size is Medium.
* **Speed.** Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
* **Oaken Vitality.** When you roll a Hit Die to regain hit points, the minimum number of hit points you regain from the roll equals twice your Constitution modifier (minimum of 2). Additionally, at first level, your Hit Points increase by 2.
* **Fey Nature.** You have advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic can't put you to sleep. You are also affected by holy water as if you were an undead or fiend.
* **Druidic Touch.** You know one cantrip of your choice from the Druid spell list.
* **Enchanting Beauty.** When a creature you can see within 30 feet of you hits you with an attack, you can use your reaction to attempt to charm that creature. The target must succeed on a DC (8 + your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier) Wisdom saving throw or become charmed by you for one minute. The creature can repeat the saving throw if you or your allies deal damage to it. You can use this feature once and regain the ability to do so when you finish a short rest.
* **Languages.** You can speak, read and write Common and Sylvan. | 2022/11/17 | [
"https://rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/202850",
"https://rpg.stackexchange.com",
"https://rpg.stackexchange.com/users/79506/"
] | This is quite strong
--------------------
I am going to use [Detect Balance](https://rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/200314/what-is-detect-balance) to baseline this. It is not perfect, but helps with tallying the impact for traits that are standard or not strongly synergistic. It scores races on a point scale, with a recommended range of 24 to 27 points, ideally 25.
Your **Ability Score Increase, Age, Alignment, Size, Speed and Languages** are all standard, as is **Druidic Touch** (choice of cantrip), and I will consider **Fey Nature** to be equal to Fey Ancestry, which lacks being damaged by holy water, but I never in 30 years of playing have experienced the PCs being spashed with holy water, so let's call that even. This all together is worth 17 points.
**Oaken Vitality**: This is OK. How good it is will depend on the class and Constititution, but we should expect someone to pick this race to put at least 14 or 16 into Constitution, if not maximizing it. This is worth about under a point per level with a d8 and 16 Con as a middle ground and can be nearly 2 points per level with a d6 and Con 20. For comparison, Healing Hands allows you to heal 1 hp per level more flexibly and is worth 2 points, and the Durable feat gives you the same effect on minimal rolls, and +1 to Con instead of the inital 2 extra hits that can make a difference in the early levels. With an uneven Con score that +1 is also worth 1 hp at first level, but then adds one more every level and has other benefits, too. So this is probably worth 4 to 6 points.
**Enchanting Beauty**: this is quite strong. It gives you a use for your reaction, and can be used often enough to count for nearly every encounter (assuming a typical number of meaningful combat encounters, and short rests in between). The attacker cannot even attack you if charmed, althought they still can attack your allies. In a way this is better than being able to cast *charm person* 3 or so times per day, even if the duration is shorter and you cannot pro-actively use it, as it does not cost your action. A level 1 spell per day from first level would be worth 3 points, so this would be worth about 9 points.
Summing this up we get 17 + 5 + 9 = 31 points, out of the recommended range.
Now, there are other races that do silly things, like flying Aaracokra, so the bar for overpowered is set pretty high these days. I still would soften this somewhat, for example by limiting Enchanting Beauty to one time per long rest. | ### Mostly fine except for Enchanting Beauty
I would maybe tone this one down to **once per long rest**, and not once per short rest, to make it more in line with other official racial abilities such as
>
> **Gift of the Svirfneblin.** Starting at 3rd level, you can cast the disguise self spell with this trait. [...] Once you cast either of
> these spells with this trait, you can’t cast that spell with it again
> until you finish a long rest. [...]
>
>
>
from Monsters of the Multiverse (Deep Gnome playable race), p. 11. |
323,579 | Lately I've been finding LOTS of JavaScript questions where had the OP even looked at the error console it would have explained what was going on.
I want to encourage people to read the console, so I let them know that they could have (should have) done so.
This particular question was my latest victim: <https://stackoverflow.com/questions/37380203/jquery-querybuilder-not-working-with-https/37380508#37380508>
So.. am I being too gruff in my answers, or should I assume that StackOverflow's target audience doesn't have the experience to even know there is an error console available? | 2016/05/22 | [
"https://meta.stackoverflow.com/questions/323579",
"https://meta.stackoverflow.com",
"https://meta.stackoverflow.com/users/807787/"
] | Overall, your message is fine. The only thing I would change is this
>
> Had you looked at the error console, it would have informed you what the issue was.
>
>
>
to this
>
> If you look at the error console, it can tell you what the issue is.
>
>
>
By phrasing it in the past tense, you're telling the OP that they should have already known this. As hard as it is to believe, they might not know about the error console. Nobody knows about it until somebody tells them. By phrasing your message slightly differently, you change your message from mildly annoyed to a friendly tip that the OP can remember in the future. | Things to think about:
People only learn as fast as they can.
Don't confuse a sub-optimal editorial or composition skills for a lack of knowledge or sincerity.
If a question irritates you, don't try to answer it - just move on and have a better day.
If all you have is a good guess at an answer, don't answer.
I have used Stack Overflow for quite some time, but only recently began contributing. I find wading through many useless answers much more frustrating than ill-formed questions.
Remember, people are looking for technical help, not vocational counseling. |
323,579 | Lately I've been finding LOTS of JavaScript questions where had the OP even looked at the error console it would have explained what was going on.
I want to encourage people to read the console, so I let them know that they could have (should have) done so.
This particular question was my latest victim: <https://stackoverflow.com/questions/37380203/jquery-querybuilder-not-working-with-https/37380508#37380508>
So.. am I being too gruff in my answers, or should I assume that StackOverflow's target audience doesn't have the experience to even know there is an error console available? | 2016/05/22 | [
"https://meta.stackoverflow.com/questions/323579",
"https://meta.stackoverflow.com",
"https://meta.stackoverflow.com/users/807787/"
] | Overall, your message is fine. The only thing I would change is this
>
> Had you looked at the error console, it would have informed you what the issue was.
>
>
>
to this
>
> If you look at the error console, it can tell you what the issue is.
>
>
>
By phrasing it in the past tense, you're telling the OP that they should have already known this. As hard as it is to believe, they might not know about the error console. Nobody knows about it until somebody tells them. By phrasing your message slightly differently, you change your message from mildly annoyed to a friendly tip that the OP can remember in the future. | @jeremy-j-starcher, you are a lot more experienced on SO than I am, so it's a bit hard for me to be so bold as to try and answer this, but this is a question/answer forum, so here I go.
The Raison d'être for Stack Overflow and the like is the fact that people do not know what they don't and need help learning. I believe we should have the same attitude as one one would towards a child learning a new language. If my son/daughter said "waked" instead of "woke" - at the age of, say 2 - I would correct and even encourage him/her rather than getting mad. If they do the same thing at age 25, my reaction would be predictably different. One factor to consider might be the users' overall reputation or a quick look at how much they have posted under a given subject.The lower it is the more forgiving we should be.
I know looking at a user profile is more work than just answering a question, but I think it would lead to a more balanced reaction - it does for me, anyway. |
323,579 | Lately I've been finding LOTS of JavaScript questions where had the OP even looked at the error console it would have explained what was going on.
I want to encourage people to read the console, so I let them know that they could have (should have) done so.
This particular question was my latest victim: <https://stackoverflow.com/questions/37380203/jquery-querybuilder-not-working-with-https/37380508#37380508>
So.. am I being too gruff in my answers, or should I assume that StackOverflow's target audience doesn't have the experience to even know there is an error console available? | 2016/05/22 | [
"https://meta.stackoverflow.com/questions/323579",
"https://meta.stackoverflow.com",
"https://meta.stackoverflow.com/users/807787/"
] | Things to think about:
People only learn as fast as they can.
Don't confuse a sub-optimal editorial or composition skills for a lack of knowledge or sincerity.
If a question irritates you, don't try to answer it - just move on and have a better day.
If all you have is a good guess at an answer, don't answer.
I have used Stack Overflow for quite some time, but only recently began contributing. I find wading through many useless answers much more frustrating than ill-formed questions.
Remember, people are looking for technical help, not vocational counseling. | @jeremy-j-starcher, you are a lot more experienced on SO than I am, so it's a bit hard for me to be so bold as to try and answer this, but this is a question/answer forum, so here I go.
The Raison d'être for Stack Overflow and the like is the fact that people do not know what they don't and need help learning. I believe we should have the same attitude as one one would towards a child learning a new language. If my son/daughter said "waked" instead of "woke" - at the age of, say 2 - I would correct and even encourage him/her rather than getting mad. If they do the same thing at age 25, my reaction would be predictably different. One factor to consider might be the users' overall reputation or a quick look at how much they have posted under a given subject.The lower it is the more forgiving we should be.
I know looking at a user profile is more work than just answering a question, but I think it would lead to a more balanced reaction - it does for me, anyway. |
116,818 | Here is my exterior hose bibb:
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/120zo.jpg)
Also from the inside:
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/hQFQG.jpg)
The valve stem is so old it crumbled when I tried to replace the washer, so I need to replace the whole thing. Notice the pipe was originally installed by drilling through the cinder block foundation instead of the wall. The siding hangs out over the foundation, so the bibb can't be flush against the cinder blocks. Also notice the unevenness of the cinder blocks outside.
Inside, the hose bib is attached to a sharkbite tee fitting (that part is my fault). You can see it in the foreground of the photo. Although there's no leak, the whole thing swivels around its axis, which is a little disconcerting.
I live in the mid-atlantic region of the US, so freezing pipes can be an issue. I was thinking about
1. replacing the hose bib with an [exterior freezeproof sillcock valve](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/B00D4VE1MA),
2. inside, attaching a board to the cinder block with tapcons, covering the big hole, and a [hose bibb anchor](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/B005G8UTUC) to that
3. outside, fashioning some kind of spacer to secure the flange away from the cinder blocks.
Number 3 is the step I'm still wondering about. Using the anchor inside would mean that I won't have to attach the spacer extra securely to the cinder block outside. But how do I go about fashioning anything that will fit that kind of surface? And how weatherproof should I make the spacer, considering it's fitting underneath aluminum siding? Any advice here would be appreciated. | 2017/06/19 | [
"https://diy.stackexchange.com/questions/116818",
"https://diy.stackexchange.com",
"https://diy.stackexchange.com/users/920/"
] | So what I did took a couple of weekends and the acquisition of new tools and skills, but I figured it out to my satisfaction.
I did Steps 1 and 2 from my checklist above. For the spacer, I build a 3x5" box out of 3/8" plywood and scribed the edges to match the uneven cinder block. I used a rotary rasp bit on my drill to “carve” the box edges to my scribe lines. It took a couple of tries to get it to fit decently, but in the end it pushed out the flat box face away from the cinder block and just under the siding.
I painted it with the same outdoor masonry paint that we used to paint the cinderblocks, and applied caulk along the edge. Inside, I filled the gap between the block and the pipe with expanding spray foam.
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/uFkzs.jpg)
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/hBC5X.jpg)
Jack's answer is still a good one. I just preferred not to punch a new hole in the wall. | I would not set the new one in the same place.
Temporarily remove the fiberglass insulation and drill a new hole in the wood siding and relocate the hose bib there. It needs to go up and to the left or right to do so. A couple of elbows added, a few short pieces of pipe, a little masonry cement to plug the old location, and you are done.
Now you can fix it firmly in place by screwing it to the wood siding.
There is a plastic washer that comes with the faucet, that goes in so the new faucet is angled so the water drains out after the valve is turned off. Very important... |
1,844,301 | looking for subversion api wrappers that would let me make calls to subversion via a web application.
any language at this point | 2009/12/04 | [
"https://Stackoverflow.com/questions/1844301",
"https://Stackoverflow.com",
"https://Stackoverflow.com/users/68183/"
] | there is [pysvn](http://pysvn.tigris.org) : you can integrate this with your favorite python web framework. | <http://www.thoughtspark.org/node/11> SharpSvn: |
1,844,301 | looking for subversion api wrappers that would let me make calls to subversion via a web application.
any language at this point | 2009/12/04 | [
"https://Stackoverflow.com/questions/1844301",
"https://Stackoverflow.com",
"https://Stackoverflow.com/users/68183/"
] | there is [pysvn](http://pysvn.tigris.org) : you can integrate this with your favorite python web framework. | You could try [Svn.NET](http://www.pumacode.org/projects/svndotnet/).
And here are some more options for .NET in a similar post:
[Is there a Subversion API that can be used to program against in .NET](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/287862/is-there-a-subversion-api-that-can-be-used-to-program-against-in-net) |
1,844,301 | looking for subversion api wrappers that would let me make calls to subversion via a web application.
any language at this point | 2009/12/04 | [
"https://Stackoverflow.com/questions/1844301",
"https://Stackoverflow.com",
"https://Stackoverflow.com/users/68183/"
] | there is [pysvn](http://pysvn.tigris.org) : you can integrate this with your favorite python web framework. | [SVNKit](http://svnkit.com/) is a pure Java Subversion client library.
>
> SVNKit supports all standard
> Subversion operations, both on working
> copies and repository. It is
> compatible with all versions of
> Subversion, works over HTTP, SSH, SVN
> and FILE protocols. It provides API to
> version virtually any object model
> with standard Subversion repository;
> there is no need to keep anything in
> the filesystem. SVNKit works with local
> repositories as well as with remote ones
>
>
>
Features:
* Repository access over http(s), svn, svn(+ssh) and file protocols.
* Working copy operations - all are supported.
* Repository administration: create, load, dump and replay
operations.
* Additionally to its own API, SVNKit implements JavaHL API.
* SVNKit is reported to work on Windows, OSX, Linux, BSD and OpenVMS.
* SVNKit does not require native binaries, it works out of the box.
* Native Subversion configuration files are used by default.
* Java Subversion command line client is part of SVNKit.
* Latest SVNKit supports Subversion 1.6.5. |
1,844,301 | looking for subversion api wrappers that would let me make calls to subversion via a web application.
any language at this point | 2009/12/04 | [
"https://Stackoverflow.com/questions/1844301",
"https://Stackoverflow.com",
"https://Stackoverflow.com/users/68183/"
] | <http://www.thoughtspark.org/node/11> SharpSvn: | You could try [Svn.NET](http://www.pumacode.org/projects/svndotnet/).
And here are some more options for .NET in a similar post:
[Is there a Subversion API that can be used to program against in .NET](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/287862/is-there-a-subversion-api-that-can-be-used-to-program-against-in-net) |
1,844,301 | looking for subversion api wrappers that would let me make calls to subversion via a web application.
any language at this point | 2009/12/04 | [
"https://Stackoverflow.com/questions/1844301",
"https://Stackoverflow.com",
"https://Stackoverflow.com/users/68183/"
] | [SVNKit](http://svnkit.com/) is a pure Java Subversion client library.
>
> SVNKit supports all standard
> Subversion operations, both on working
> copies and repository. It is
> compatible with all versions of
> Subversion, works over HTTP, SSH, SVN
> and FILE protocols. It provides API to
> version virtually any object model
> with standard Subversion repository;
> there is no need to keep anything in
> the filesystem. SVNKit works with local
> repositories as well as with remote ones
>
>
>
Features:
* Repository access over http(s), svn, svn(+ssh) and file protocols.
* Working copy operations - all are supported.
* Repository administration: create, load, dump and replay
operations.
* Additionally to its own API, SVNKit implements JavaHL API.
* SVNKit is reported to work on Windows, OSX, Linux, BSD and OpenVMS.
* SVNKit does not require native binaries, it works out of the box.
* Native Subversion configuration files are used by default.
* Java Subversion command line client is part of SVNKit.
* Latest SVNKit supports Subversion 1.6.5. | <http://www.thoughtspark.org/node/11> SharpSvn: |
1,844,301 | looking for subversion api wrappers that would let me make calls to subversion via a web application.
any language at this point | 2009/12/04 | [
"https://Stackoverflow.com/questions/1844301",
"https://Stackoverflow.com",
"https://Stackoverflow.com/users/68183/"
] | [SVNKit](http://svnkit.com/) is a pure Java Subversion client library.
>
> SVNKit supports all standard
> Subversion operations, both on working
> copies and repository. It is
> compatible with all versions of
> Subversion, works over HTTP, SSH, SVN
> and FILE protocols. It provides API to
> version virtually any object model
> with standard Subversion repository;
> there is no need to keep anything in
> the filesystem. SVNKit works with local
> repositories as well as with remote ones
>
>
>
Features:
* Repository access over http(s), svn, svn(+ssh) and file protocols.
* Working copy operations - all are supported.
* Repository administration: create, load, dump and replay
operations.
* Additionally to its own API, SVNKit implements JavaHL API.
* SVNKit is reported to work on Windows, OSX, Linux, BSD and OpenVMS.
* SVNKit does not require native binaries, it works out of the box.
* Native Subversion configuration files are used by default.
* Java Subversion command line client is part of SVNKit.
* Latest SVNKit supports Subversion 1.6.5. | You could try [Svn.NET](http://www.pumacode.org/projects/svndotnet/).
And here are some more options for .NET in a similar post:
[Is there a Subversion API that can be used to program against in .NET](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/287862/is-there-a-subversion-api-that-can-be-used-to-program-against-in-net) |
50,409 | I have recently joined a work place and have tried to be easy to approach and friendly to my coworkers.
However a few of the employees hired after me seem to make a lot of jokes towards me, or at my expense.
I understand that some work environments are more relaxed than others and that some people connect through jokes but I would appreciate if they stay in limit when they joke and don't get to talk about something, in a example a colleague rarely new and too chatty ask me every morning, "what do I know today that I didn't know, yesterday?" Or "if you take drinks to home, your wife will beat you etc.
In a few other situations colleagues will begin talking to me without asking if I am busy or if I have the time to spare which is distracting me from my work and breaking my concentration.
How can I kindly draw a line to stop the jokes and to let people know when I am too busy to chat and meanwhile I will have new people being hired, how can I end the trend of throwing jokes at me, as new people hired will see this person talking or throwing jokes at me and will do same.
I wonder, what do I lack or where did the new guys started talking like that and why? Is it me being helpful or just smiling when they say something. Really don't want that. | 2015/07/30 | [
"https://workplace.stackexchange.com/questions/50409",
"https://workplace.stackexchange.com",
"https://workplace.stackexchange.com/users/-1/"
] | **Short answer:** Call them out - firmly but politely!
A little banter in the workplace can be fine, as long as the participants are willing. However, this sounds like it may be a case of *workplace bullying*, depending on the nature of the comments. You could say something like:
>
> I like a joke or some banter as much as the next person, but your comments are distracting me and making me uncomfortable. Can you please keep it a little more professional?
>
>
>
If you have no success, then you can look at raising it with your manager (if he or she is not complicit), or take it to your HR department if you have one. Remember, workplace bullying is serious and illegal in many countries. If you feel it is heading to that level, call it what it is. But if you don't mention it to them, they won't know that they have started to cross the line for you. | Don't make it complicated - if you have to get back to work, say that you have to get back to work. Take off to do your own thing, don't give them a chance to argue with you. If you are at lunch or on a break or if they need help from you, you can go back to being easily approachable :) |
50,409 | I have recently joined a work place and have tried to be easy to approach and friendly to my coworkers.
However a few of the employees hired after me seem to make a lot of jokes towards me, or at my expense.
I understand that some work environments are more relaxed than others and that some people connect through jokes but I would appreciate if they stay in limit when they joke and don't get to talk about something, in a example a colleague rarely new and too chatty ask me every morning, "what do I know today that I didn't know, yesterday?" Or "if you take drinks to home, your wife will beat you etc.
In a few other situations colleagues will begin talking to me without asking if I am busy or if I have the time to spare which is distracting me from my work and breaking my concentration.
How can I kindly draw a line to stop the jokes and to let people know when I am too busy to chat and meanwhile I will have new people being hired, how can I end the trend of throwing jokes at me, as new people hired will see this person talking or throwing jokes at me and will do same.
I wonder, what do I lack or where did the new guys started talking like that and why? Is it me being helpful or just smiling when they say something. Really don't want that. | 2015/07/30 | [
"https://workplace.stackexchange.com/questions/50409",
"https://workplace.stackexchange.com",
"https://workplace.stackexchange.com/users/-1/"
] | **Short answer:** Call them out - firmly but politely!
A little banter in the workplace can be fine, as long as the participants are willing. However, this sounds like it may be a case of *workplace bullying*, depending on the nature of the comments. You could say something like:
>
> I like a joke or some banter as much as the next person, but your comments are distracting me and making me uncomfortable. Can you please keep it a little more professional?
>
>
>
If you have no success, then you can look at raising it with your manager (if he or she is not complicit), or take it to your HR department if you have one. Remember, workplace bullying is serious and illegal in many countries. If you feel it is heading to that level, call it what it is. But if you don't mention it to them, they won't know that they have started to cross the line for you. | It seems like you're combining several things here. Being professional doesn't mean you don't joke at work nor does it mean you never interrupt or distract someone who is working. If you accuse them of this, you won't be addressing the real problem: they're offending you.
Tell them you don't think these particular kind of jokes are funny and you want them to stop. If they don't stop, you may be forced to go over their head. Office policy should dictate these types of situations.
They're new and probably not in a position above you. They've bonded by making jokes at your expense. Maybe in another setting, you would just punch them in the face, but this is the workplace, so you have to fit your solutions in that context. |
50,409 | I have recently joined a work place and have tried to be easy to approach and friendly to my coworkers.
However a few of the employees hired after me seem to make a lot of jokes towards me, or at my expense.
I understand that some work environments are more relaxed than others and that some people connect through jokes but I would appreciate if they stay in limit when they joke and don't get to talk about something, in a example a colleague rarely new and too chatty ask me every morning, "what do I know today that I didn't know, yesterday?" Or "if you take drinks to home, your wife will beat you etc.
In a few other situations colleagues will begin talking to me without asking if I am busy or if I have the time to spare which is distracting me from my work and breaking my concentration.
How can I kindly draw a line to stop the jokes and to let people know when I am too busy to chat and meanwhile I will have new people being hired, how can I end the trend of throwing jokes at me, as new people hired will see this person talking or throwing jokes at me and will do same.
I wonder, what do I lack or where did the new guys started talking like that and why? Is it me being helpful or just smiling when they say something. Really don't want that. | 2015/07/30 | [
"https://workplace.stackexchange.com/questions/50409",
"https://workplace.stackexchange.com",
"https://workplace.stackexchange.com/users/-1/"
] | Don't make it complicated - if you have to get back to work, say that you have to get back to work. Take off to do your own thing, don't give them a chance to argue with you. If you are at lunch or on a break or if they need help from you, you can go back to being easily approachable :) | It seems like you're combining several things here. Being professional doesn't mean you don't joke at work nor does it mean you never interrupt or distract someone who is working. If you accuse them of this, you won't be addressing the real problem: they're offending you.
Tell them you don't think these particular kind of jokes are funny and you want them to stop. If they don't stop, you may be forced to go over their head. Office policy should dictate these types of situations.
They're new and probably not in a position above you. They've bonded by making jokes at your expense. Maybe in another setting, you would just punch them in the face, but this is the workplace, so you have to fit your solutions in that context. |
192,992 | At approximately 6:57 into the *Ready Player One* film, there is a humorous scene in which the avatar (looking like Jason Voorhees) of a "Hong Kong Businessman" played by [David Forman](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9718192/) is killed. After being killed in the OASIS, the Hong Kong Businessman takes off his VR vizor, shouts something in a non-English language, runs across the desks of his office, and tries to jump out the window before being tackled by somebody else in his office.
It can be seen at about 3:36 in the following clip.
On Amazon Video, the subtitles just state "[SHOUTING IN JAPANESE]" (which really doesn't make much sense considering the name of the character is "Hong Kong Businessman").
**What is the translation of what the Hong Kong Businessman is shouting before he tries to jump out the window?**
I have tried Googling several things, I've also tried looking up the [movie script](https://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/movie_script.php?movie=ready-player-one), but to no avail. Unfortunately, I'm just not seeing any answers to this question. | 2018/08/16 | [
"https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/192992",
"https://scifi.stackexchange.com",
"https://scifi.stackexchange.com/users/60011/"
] | I was able to contact David Forman ("Hong Kong Businessman") himself:
>
> [](https://i.stack.imgur.com/U3UfA.jpg)
>
> *(Click thumbnail for full image)*
>
>
> Hello [name obscured]
>
>
> I recall I was taught Mandarin on the day of the shoot but maybe they have dubbed me and are using a language of their own liking
>
>
> Sorry I cannot help
>
>
> Regards David Forman
>
>
>
I showed this to several people fluent in Mandarin and they were unable to comprehend what he said, so it looks like this was overdubbed. | If you look in the extras of the Blu-ray, it shows what the actor actually said. Phonetically:
>
> Guan le than me dou guan le.
>
>
>
Means
>
> “close, close, close them all down”.
>
>
>
Translated by a native speaker that is not me, but is absolutely trusted. |
118,298 | I have heard a lot of people say at work that we should do something "sooner than later." This grates against my native ear, but it seems fairly commonplace. I have always understood the expression to only make sense as "sooner rather than later."
I found [this](http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=2175278) Word Reference Forum thread on the subject. One poster gave a very reasonable explanation why "sooner than later" is incorrect:
>
> I think it should be "sooner rather than later".
>
>
> There are two choices: one can do it sooner(A) or one can do it later(B). Each one refers to the doing of "it".
> *>For this choice:
> I want this done A rather than B. (correct)
>
> I want this done A than B. (incorrect)*
>
>
> The fact that the adjectives are comparatives and the construction uses "than" is what makes it tempting to remove the rather. Sooner than a specific time might work (adding in e.g. by 7pm), but sooner than (another comparative adjective) in my mind doesn't work.
>
>
> However, consider:
> *I want this done quickly rather than slowly. (correct)
>
> I want this done quickly than slowly. (incorrect)*
>
>
>
I agree with him, but was also able to twist my brain around to give the phrase some kind of meaning and actually found myself suggesting ways it could be semi-correct. Here's what I wrote:
>
> I came across this thread considering the same question myself. Below are two caveats to the excellent response by Julian Stewart, and the caveat to my caveats is that you will not find me saying "sooner than later."
>
>
> It definitely makes sense to say:
>
>
> *"I'd like to walk faster rather than slower."*
>
>
> And it could make sense to say:
>
>
> *"I'd rather walk faster than (walk) slower."
> "I'd rather walk fast than (walk) slow."*
>
>
> And therefore:
>
>
> *"I'd rather finish sooner than (finish) later."*
>
>
> Secondly, I can conceive in some convoluted way that "sooner than later" can be used to communicate exactly what it denotes: a point (or range of points) in time preceding the point (or range of points) described by 'later.' I know it's screwy, but it kind of makes sense.
>
>
>
I'd love to hear what you folks here have to say on the matter and see if anyone can make a compelling and definitive argument. I fear I might have put my brain in some alternate English reality in order to make the defense I did. Talk some sense into me please? | 2013/07/03 | [
"https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/118298",
"https://english.stackexchange.com",
"https://english.stackexchange.com/users/33372/"
] | I just had what seems like an insight.
Many have brought up that some loose time reference is a necessary condition for the comparative words "sooner" and "later". I think that *sooner rather than later* becomes actually meaningful in the way if you consider that the implied time reference could actually be something such as:
*...than expected*
or
*...than we might normally do*
Thus: "We should get to this [***sooner*** than we might normally do] ***rather than*** [***later*** than we might normally do]."
The only possible way *sooner than later* makes any sense at all to me is in the very convoluted way I initially describe, which in this new paradigm would be a truncation of:
"We should get to this ***sooner than*** [***later*** than we might normally do].
or simply, as some have suggested,
"We should get to this ***sooner than*** [***later*** (some arbitrary point in the future)].
I don't quite buy the arguments that defend this, per John Lawler et al, because this seems like a completely pointless sentiment. Further, this interpretation does not use "sooner" and "later" in a comparative sense, though the full and apparently older phrase (with the use of "rather") does.
Of course, I concede all the previous statements about economy of words or an idiom being adopted in just the way that people like it best, which could be the more "catchy" phrasing. But if the question is about meaning, the answer is clear to me.
And I hope everyone else comes around sooner rather than later :) | If one wishes to be pedantic, *sooner* needs a distinct if not totally defined time reference to be strictly meaningful. Sooner than 5 pm, sooner than Thursday, sooner than you think, sooner than John finishes *his* homework.
Neither 'sooner rather than later' nor 'sooner than later' meets this requirement.
Both are used, and they must therefore be idioms. So the correct questions to ask are not 'Do they make sense?' but 'Are they widely understood?' and 'Are they accepted as English phrases?' To which the answers are 'Yes', and 'By some people'. |
118,298 | I have heard a lot of people say at work that we should do something "sooner than later." This grates against my native ear, but it seems fairly commonplace. I have always understood the expression to only make sense as "sooner rather than later."
I found [this](http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=2175278) Word Reference Forum thread on the subject. One poster gave a very reasonable explanation why "sooner than later" is incorrect:
>
> I think it should be "sooner rather than later".
>
>
> There are two choices: one can do it sooner(A) or one can do it later(B). Each one refers to the doing of "it".
> *>For this choice:
> I want this done A rather than B. (correct)
>
> I want this done A than B. (incorrect)*
>
>
> The fact that the adjectives are comparatives and the construction uses "than" is what makes it tempting to remove the rather. Sooner than a specific time might work (adding in e.g. by 7pm), but sooner than (another comparative adjective) in my mind doesn't work.
>
>
> However, consider:
> *I want this done quickly rather than slowly. (correct)
>
> I want this done quickly than slowly. (incorrect)*
>
>
>
I agree with him, but was also able to twist my brain around to give the phrase some kind of meaning and actually found myself suggesting ways it could be semi-correct. Here's what I wrote:
>
> I came across this thread considering the same question myself. Below are two caveats to the excellent response by Julian Stewart, and the caveat to my caveats is that you will not find me saying "sooner than later."
>
>
> It definitely makes sense to say:
>
>
> *"I'd like to walk faster rather than slower."*
>
>
> And it could make sense to say:
>
>
> *"I'd rather walk faster than (walk) slower."
> "I'd rather walk fast than (walk) slow."*
>
>
> And therefore:
>
>
> *"I'd rather finish sooner than (finish) later."*
>
>
> Secondly, I can conceive in some convoluted way that "sooner than later" can be used to communicate exactly what it denotes: a point (or range of points) in time preceding the point (or range of points) described by 'later.' I know it's screwy, but it kind of makes sense.
>
>
>
I'd love to hear what you folks here have to say on the matter and see if anyone can make a compelling and definitive argument. I fear I might have put my brain in some alternate English reality in order to make the defense I did. Talk some sense into me please? | 2013/07/03 | [
"https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/118298",
"https://english.stackexchange.com",
"https://english.stackexchange.com/users/33372/"
] | Here is a SWAG on this one. I suspect that it is actually an idiom based on analogy with the much more grammatical "sooner or later." I think that it is a transformation from "I'll get around to it" to "please do it now", and it is done in a parallel way. The parallelism requires the substitution of "or" with just one word "than" to keep the rhythm the same.
"Sooner than later" is a pretty new expression, picking up in the 1940s, though "sooner or later" is a much older and more common expression.
As to its grammatical correctness; it is certainly idiomatic and idioms seem to be allowed a lot of latitude on the grammatical front. Which is to say, "eat your heart out" Strunk and White. | I understand "later" to equate to a point in time i.e. 5:00 PM. Then "I will do it sooner than later" could represent "I will do it sooner than *5:00 PM*". |
118,298 | I have heard a lot of people say at work that we should do something "sooner than later." This grates against my native ear, but it seems fairly commonplace. I have always understood the expression to only make sense as "sooner rather than later."
I found [this](http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=2175278) Word Reference Forum thread on the subject. One poster gave a very reasonable explanation why "sooner than later" is incorrect:
>
> I think it should be "sooner rather than later".
>
>
> There are two choices: one can do it sooner(A) or one can do it later(B). Each one refers to the doing of "it".
> *>For this choice:
> I want this done A rather than B. (correct)
>
> I want this done A than B. (incorrect)*
>
>
> The fact that the adjectives are comparatives and the construction uses "than" is what makes it tempting to remove the rather. Sooner than a specific time might work (adding in e.g. by 7pm), but sooner than (another comparative adjective) in my mind doesn't work.
>
>
> However, consider:
> *I want this done quickly rather than slowly. (correct)
>
> I want this done quickly than slowly. (incorrect)*
>
>
>
I agree with him, but was also able to twist my brain around to give the phrase some kind of meaning and actually found myself suggesting ways it could be semi-correct. Here's what I wrote:
>
> I came across this thread considering the same question myself. Below are two caveats to the excellent response by Julian Stewart, and the caveat to my caveats is that you will not find me saying "sooner than later."
>
>
> It definitely makes sense to say:
>
>
> *"I'd like to walk faster rather than slower."*
>
>
> And it could make sense to say:
>
>
> *"I'd rather walk faster than (walk) slower."
> "I'd rather walk fast than (walk) slow."*
>
>
> And therefore:
>
>
> *"I'd rather finish sooner than (finish) later."*
>
>
> Secondly, I can conceive in some convoluted way that "sooner than later" can be used to communicate exactly what it denotes: a point (or range of points) in time preceding the point (or range of points) described by 'later.' I know it's screwy, but it kind of makes sense.
>
>
>
I'd love to hear what you folks here have to say on the matter and see if anyone can make a compelling and definitive argument. I fear I might have put my brain in some alternate English reality in order to make the defense I did. Talk some sense into me please? | 2013/07/03 | [
"https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/118298",
"https://english.stackexchange.com",
"https://english.stackexchange.com/users/33372/"
] | John Lawler has actually opened my eyes to the fact that "sooner than later" makes sense. Think about it. When we say "sooner rather than later," what we *really* mean is *soon* rather than later. So there is a redundancy to "sooner rather." Only one is really necessary. Once you become accustomed to "sooner than later," it starts to sound correct. | It's an idiom that omits a word that is not necessary, just like "long story short" rather than "to make a long story short". |
118,298 | I have heard a lot of people say at work that we should do something "sooner than later." This grates against my native ear, but it seems fairly commonplace. I have always understood the expression to only make sense as "sooner rather than later."
I found [this](http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=2175278) Word Reference Forum thread on the subject. One poster gave a very reasonable explanation why "sooner than later" is incorrect:
>
> I think it should be "sooner rather than later".
>
>
> There are two choices: one can do it sooner(A) or one can do it later(B). Each one refers to the doing of "it".
> *>For this choice:
> I want this done A rather than B. (correct)
>
> I want this done A than B. (incorrect)*
>
>
> The fact that the adjectives are comparatives and the construction uses "than" is what makes it tempting to remove the rather. Sooner than a specific time might work (adding in e.g. by 7pm), but sooner than (another comparative adjective) in my mind doesn't work.
>
>
> However, consider:
> *I want this done quickly rather than slowly. (correct)
>
> I want this done quickly than slowly. (incorrect)*
>
>
>
I agree with him, but was also able to twist my brain around to give the phrase some kind of meaning and actually found myself suggesting ways it could be semi-correct. Here's what I wrote:
>
> I came across this thread considering the same question myself. Below are two caveats to the excellent response by Julian Stewart, and the caveat to my caveats is that you will not find me saying "sooner than later."
>
>
> It definitely makes sense to say:
>
>
> *"I'd like to walk faster rather than slower."*
>
>
> And it could make sense to say:
>
>
> *"I'd rather walk faster than (walk) slower."
> "I'd rather walk fast than (walk) slow."*
>
>
> And therefore:
>
>
> *"I'd rather finish sooner than (finish) later."*
>
>
> Secondly, I can conceive in some convoluted way that "sooner than later" can be used to communicate exactly what it denotes: a point (or range of points) in time preceding the point (or range of points) described by 'later.' I know it's screwy, but it kind of makes sense.
>
>
>
I'd love to hear what you folks here have to say on the matter and see if anyone can make a compelling and definitive argument. I fear I might have put my brain in some alternate English reality in order to make the defense I did. Talk some sense into me please? | 2013/07/03 | [
"https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/118298",
"https://english.stackexchange.com",
"https://english.stackexchange.com/users/33372/"
] | I would never use either "sooner rather than later" or "sooner than later". They're both redundant. **I would use "soon"**.
What else would be the alternative to "sooner"?
*Sooner rather than banana?* | It's an idiom that omits a word that is not necessary, just like "long story short" rather than "to make a long story short". |
118,298 | I have heard a lot of people say at work that we should do something "sooner than later." This grates against my native ear, but it seems fairly commonplace. I have always understood the expression to only make sense as "sooner rather than later."
I found [this](http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=2175278) Word Reference Forum thread on the subject. One poster gave a very reasonable explanation why "sooner than later" is incorrect:
>
> I think it should be "sooner rather than later".
>
>
> There are two choices: one can do it sooner(A) or one can do it later(B). Each one refers to the doing of "it".
> *>For this choice:
> I want this done A rather than B. (correct)
>
> I want this done A than B. (incorrect)*
>
>
> The fact that the adjectives are comparatives and the construction uses "than" is what makes it tempting to remove the rather. Sooner than a specific time might work (adding in e.g. by 7pm), but sooner than (another comparative adjective) in my mind doesn't work.
>
>
> However, consider:
> *I want this done quickly rather than slowly. (correct)
>
> I want this done quickly than slowly. (incorrect)*
>
>
>
I agree with him, but was also able to twist my brain around to give the phrase some kind of meaning and actually found myself suggesting ways it could be semi-correct. Here's what I wrote:
>
> I came across this thread considering the same question myself. Below are two caveats to the excellent response by Julian Stewart, and the caveat to my caveats is that you will not find me saying "sooner than later."
>
>
> It definitely makes sense to say:
>
>
> *"I'd like to walk faster rather than slower."*
>
>
> And it could make sense to say:
>
>
> *"I'd rather walk faster than (walk) slower."
> "I'd rather walk fast than (walk) slow."*
>
>
> And therefore:
>
>
> *"I'd rather finish sooner than (finish) later."*
>
>
> Secondly, I can conceive in some convoluted way that "sooner than later" can be used to communicate exactly what it denotes: a point (or range of points) in time preceding the point (or range of points) described by 'later.' I know it's screwy, but it kind of makes sense.
>
>
>
I'd love to hear what you folks here have to say on the matter and see if anyone can make a compelling and definitive argument. I fear I might have put my brain in some alternate English reality in order to make the defense I did. Talk some sense into me please? | 2013/07/03 | [
"https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/118298",
"https://english.stackexchange.com",
"https://english.stackexchange.com/users/33372/"
] | I just had what seems like an insight.
Many have brought up that some loose time reference is a necessary condition for the comparative words "sooner" and "later". I think that *sooner rather than later* becomes actually meaningful in the way if you consider that the implied time reference could actually be something such as:
*...than expected*
or
*...than we might normally do*
Thus: "We should get to this [***sooner*** than we might normally do] ***rather than*** [***later*** than we might normally do]."
The only possible way *sooner than later* makes any sense at all to me is in the very convoluted way I initially describe, which in this new paradigm would be a truncation of:
"We should get to this ***sooner than*** [***later*** than we might normally do].
or simply, as some have suggested,
"We should get to this ***sooner than*** [***later*** (some arbitrary point in the future)].
I don't quite buy the arguments that defend this, per John Lawler et al, because this seems like a completely pointless sentiment. Further, this interpretation does not use "sooner" and "later" in a comparative sense, though the full and apparently older phrase (with the use of "rather") does.
Of course, I concede all the previous statements about economy of words or an idiom being adopted in just the way that people like it best, which could be the more "catchy" phrasing. But if the question is about meaning, the answer is clear to me.
And I hope everyone else comes around sooner rather than later :) | To me, the logical problem with "sooner than later" is that the only "sooner than later" that isn't itself some form of "later" is "now."
If someone asks you to do something and you say that you'll "get started on it later," you aren't really saying anything more definite than that you won't get started on it immediately. How long a wait "later" implies is not at all clear. The wording could mean "in a minute, after I finish what I'm working on right now" or it could mean "when hell freezes over"—or anything in between.
But if in response to the same question, you say that you'll "get started on it soon," you still aren't saying anything more definite than that you won't get started on it immediately. It's true that "soon" implies that you've placed the request in a higher position in your queue of tasks than would seem likely if you had used the modifier "later"; and for that reason, if you wait until hell freezes over to get started, you will have abused the notion of "soon." But the crucial point with regard to the phrase "sooner than later" is that "soon" is a species of "later"; and it follows (from a strictly logical parsing of the phrase) that "sooner than later"—like "sooner than soon"—implies "now."
In my experience, though, people who use the wording "sooner than later" don't intend it to mean "right away" or "as soon as possible." They intend it to mean simply "soon," with perhaps some further suggestion that the person being asked to perform the task probably has some leeway to expedite the request if he or she chooses to. Of course, idioms don't have to make sense logically to be coherent to the people who use them regularly. But if you feel unease at the phrase "sooner than later," it may be that you're reacting to the fact that, strictly speaking, it doesn't mean what it says. |
118,298 | I have heard a lot of people say at work that we should do something "sooner than later." This grates against my native ear, but it seems fairly commonplace. I have always understood the expression to only make sense as "sooner rather than later."
I found [this](http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=2175278) Word Reference Forum thread on the subject. One poster gave a very reasonable explanation why "sooner than later" is incorrect:
>
> I think it should be "sooner rather than later".
>
>
> There are two choices: one can do it sooner(A) or one can do it later(B). Each one refers to the doing of "it".
> *>For this choice:
> I want this done A rather than B. (correct)
>
> I want this done A than B. (incorrect)*
>
>
> The fact that the adjectives are comparatives and the construction uses "than" is what makes it tempting to remove the rather. Sooner than a specific time might work (adding in e.g. by 7pm), but sooner than (another comparative adjective) in my mind doesn't work.
>
>
> However, consider:
> *I want this done quickly rather than slowly. (correct)
>
> I want this done quickly than slowly. (incorrect)*
>
>
>
I agree with him, but was also able to twist my brain around to give the phrase some kind of meaning and actually found myself suggesting ways it could be semi-correct. Here's what I wrote:
>
> I came across this thread considering the same question myself. Below are two caveats to the excellent response by Julian Stewart, and the caveat to my caveats is that you will not find me saying "sooner than later."
>
>
> It definitely makes sense to say:
>
>
> *"I'd like to walk faster rather than slower."*
>
>
> And it could make sense to say:
>
>
> *"I'd rather walk faster than (walk) slower."
> "I'd rather walk fast than (walk) slow."*
>
>
> And therefore:
>
>
> *"I'd rather finish sooner than (finish) later."*
>
>
> Secondly, I can conceive in some convoluted way that "sooner than later" can be used to communicate exactly what it denotes: a point (or range of points) in time preceding the point (or range of points) described by 'later.' I know it's screwy, but it kind of makes sense.
>
>
>
I'd love to hear what you folks here have to say on the matter and see if anyone can make a compelling and definitive argument. I fear I might have put my brain in some alternate English reality in order to make the defense I did. Talk some sense into me please? | 2013/07/03 | [
"https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/118298",
"https://english.stackexchange.com",
"https://english.stackexchange.com/users/33372/"
] | If one wishes to be pedantic, *sooner* needs a distinct if not totally defined time reference to be strictly meaningful. Sooner than 5 pm, sooner than Thursday, sooner than you think, sooner than John finishes *his* homework.
Neither 'sooner rather than later' nor 'sooner than later' meets this requirement.
Both are used, and they must therefore be idioms. So the correct questions to ask are not 'Do they make sense?' but 'Are they widely understood?' and 'Are they accepted as English phrases?' To which the answers are 'Yes', and 'By some people'. | I understand "later" to equate to a point in time i.e. 5:00 PM. Then "I will do it sooner than later" could represent "I will do it sooner than *5:00 PM*". |
118,298 | I have heard a lot of people say at work that we should do something "sooner than later." This grates against my native ear, but it seems fairly commonplace. I have always understood the expression to only make sense as "sooner rather than later."
I found [this](http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=2175278) Word Reference Forum thread on the subject. One poster gave a very reasonable explanation why "sooner than later" is incorrect:
>
> I think it should be "sooner rather than later".
>
>
> There are two choices: one can do it sooner(A) or one can do it later(B). Each one refers to the doing of "it".
> *>For this choice:
> I want this done A rather than B. (correct)
>
> I want this done A than B. (incorrect)*
>
>
> The fact that the adjectives are comparatives and the construction uses "than" is what makes it tempting to remove the rather. Sooner than a specific time might work (adding in e.g. by 7pm), but sooner than (another comparative adjective) in my mind doesn't work.
>
>
> However, consider:
> *I want this done quickly rather than slowly. (correct)
>
> I want this done quickly than slowly. (incorrect)*
>
>
>
I agree with him, but was also able to twist my brain around to give the phrase some kind of meaning and actually found myself suggesting ways it could be semi-correct. Here's what I wrote:
>
> I came across this thread considering the same question myself. Below are two caveats to the excellent response by Julian Stewart, and the caveat to my caveats is that you will not find me saying "sooner than later."
>
>
> It definitely makes sense to say:
>
>
> *"I'd like to walk faster rather than slower."*
>
>
> And it could make sense to say:
>
>
> *"I'd rather walk faster than (walk) slower."
> "I'd rather walk fast than (walk) slow."*
>
>
> And therefore:
>
>
> *"I'd rather finish sooner than (finish) later."*
>
>
> Secondly, I can conceive in some convoluted way that "sooner than later" can be used to communicate exactly what it denotes: a point (or range of points) in time preceding the point (or range of points) described by 'later.' I know it's screwy, but it kind of makes sense.
>
>
>
I'd love to hear what you folks here have to say on the matter and see if anyone can make a compelling and definitive argument. I fear I might have put my brain in some alternate English reality in order to make the defense I did. Talk some sense into me please? | 2013/07/03 | [
"https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/118298",
"https://english.stackexchange.com",
"https://english.stackexchange.com/users/33372/"
] | I just had what seems like an insight.
Many have brought up that some loose time reference is a necessary condition for the comparative words "sooner" and "later". I think that *sooner rather than later* becomes actually meaningful in the way if you consider that the implied time reference could actually be something such as:
*...than expected*
or
*...than we might normally do*
Thus: "We should get to this [***sooner*** than we might normally do] ***rather than*** [***later*** than we might normally do]."
The only possible way *sooner than later* makes any sense at all to me is in the very convoluted way I initially describe, which in this new paradigm would be a truncation of:
"We should get to this ***sooner than*** [***later*** than we might normally do].
or simply, as some have suggested,
"We should get to this ***sooner than*** [***later*** (some arbitrary point in the future)].
I don't quite buy the arguments that defend this, per John Lawler et al, because this seems like a completely pointless sentiment. Further, this interpretation does not use "sooner" and "later" in a comparative sense, though the full and apparently older phrase (with the use of "rather") does.
Of course, I concede all the previous statements about economy of words or an idiom being adopted in just the way that people like it best, which could be the more "catchy" phrasing. But if the question is about meaning, the answer is clear to me.
And I hope everyone else comes around sooner rather than later :) | It's an idiom that omits a word that is not necessary, just like "long story short" rather than "to make a long story short". |
118,298 | I have heard a lot of people say at work that we should do something "sooner than later." This grates against my native ear, but it seems fairly commonplace. I have always understood the expression to only make sense as "sooner rather than later."
I found [this](http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=2175278) Word Reference Forum thread on the subject. One poster gave a very reasonable explanation why "sooner than later" is incorrect:
>
> I think it should be "sooner rather than later".
>
>
> There are two choices: one can do it sooner(A) or one can do it later(B). Each one refers to the doing of "it".
> *>For this choice:
> I want this done A rather than B. (correct)
>
> I want this done A than B. (incorrect)*
>
>
> The fact that the adjectives are comparatives and the construction uses "than" is what makes it tempting to remove the rather. Sooner than a specific time might work (adding in e.g. by 7pm), but sooner than (another comparative adjective) in my mind doesn't work.
>
>
> However, consider:
> *I want this done quickly rather than slowly. (correct)
>
> I want this done quickly than slowly. (incorrect)*
>
>
>
I agree with him, but was also able to twist my brain around to give the phrase some kind of meaning and actually found myself suggesting ways it could be semi-correct. Here's what I wrote:
>
> I came across this thread considering the same question myself. Below are two caveats to the excellent response by Julian Stewart, and the caveat to my caveats is that you will not find me saying "sooner than later."
>
>
> It definitely makes sense to say:
>
>
> *"I'd like to walk faster rather than slower."*
>
>
> And it could make sense to say:
>
>
> *"I'd rather walk faster than (walk) slower."
> "I'd rather walk fast than (walk) slow."*
>
>
> And therefore:
>
>
> *"I'd rather finish sooner than (finish) later."*
>
>
> Secondly, I can conceive in some convoluted way that "sooner than later" can be used to communicate exactly what it denotes: a point (or range of points) in time preceding the point (or range of points) described by 'later.' I know it's screwy, but it kind of makes sense.
>
>
>
I'd love to hear what you folks here have to say on the matter and see if anyone can make a compelling and definitive argument. I fear I might have put my brain in some alternate English reality in order to make the defense I did. Talk some sense into me please? | 2013/07/03 | [
"https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/118298",
"https://english.stackexchange.com",
"https://english.stackexchange.com/users/33372/"
] | Here is a SWAG on this one. I suspect that it is actually an idiom based on analogy with the much more grammatical "sooner or later." I think that it is a transformation from "I'll get around to it" to "please do it now", and it is done in a parallel way. The parallelism requires the substitution of "or" with just one word "than" to keep the rhythm the same.
"Sooner than later" is a pretty new expression, picking up in the 1940s, though "sooner or later" is a much older and more common expression.
As to its grammatical correctness; it is certainly idiomatic and idioms seem to be allowed a lot of latitude on the grammatical front. Which is to say, "eat your heart out" Strunk and White. | It's an idiom that omits a word that is not necessary, just like "long story short" rather than "to make a long story short". |
118,298 | I have heard a lot of people say at work that we should do something "sooner than later." This grates against my native ear, but it seems fairly commonplace. I have always understood the expression to only make sense as "sooner rather than later."
I found [this](http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=2175278) Word Reference Forum thread on the subject. One poster gave a very reasonable explanation why "sooner than later" is incorrect:
>
> I think it should be "sooner rather than later".
>
>
> There are two choices: one can do it sooner(A) or one can do it later(B). Each one refers to the doing of "it".
> *>For this choice:
> I want this done A rather than B. (correct)
>
> I want this done A than B. (incorrect)*
>
>
> The fact that the adjectives are comparatives and the construction uses "than" is what makes it tempting to remove the rather. Sooner than a specific time might work (adding in e.g. by 7pm), but sooner than (another comparative adjective) in my mind doesn't work.
>
>
> However, consider:
> *I want this done quickly rather than slowly. (correct)
>
> I want this done quickly than slowly. (incorrect)*
>
>
>
I agree with him, but was also able to twist my brain around to give the phrase some kind of meaning and actually found myself suggesting ways it could be semi-correct. Here's what I wrote:
>
> I came across this thread considering the same question myself. Below are two caveats to the excellent response by Julian Stewart, and the caveat to my caveats is that you will not find me saying "sooner than later."
>
>
> It definitely makes sense to say:
>
>
> *"I'd like to walk faster rather than slower."*
>
>
> And it could make sense to say:
>
>
> *"I'd rather walk faster than (walk) slower."
> "I'd rather walk fast than (walk) slow."*
>
>
> And therefore:
>
>
> *"I'd rather finish sooner than (finish) later."*
>
>
> Secondly, I can conceive in some convoluted way that "sooner than later" can be used to communicate exactly what it denotes: a point (or range of points) in time preceding the point (or range of points) described by 'later.' I know it's screwy, but it kind of makes sense.
>
>
>
I'd love to hear what you folks here have to say on the matter and see if anyone can make a compelling and definitive argument. I fear I might have put my brain in some alternate English reality in order to make the defense I did. Talk some sense into me please? | 2013/07/03 | [
"https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/118298",
"https://english.stackexchange.com",
"https://english.stackexchange.com/users/33372/"
] | Here is a SWAG on this one. I suspect that it is actually an idiom based on analogy with the much more grammatical "sooner or later." I think that it is a transformation from "I'll get around to it" to "please do it now", and it is done in a parallel way. The parallelism requires the substitution of "or" with just one word "than" to keep the rhythm the same.
"Sooner than later" is a pretty new expression, picking up in the 1940s, though "sooner or later" is a much older and more common expression.
As to its grammatical correctness; it is certainly idiomatic and idioms seem to be allowed a lot of latitude on the grammatical front. Which is to say, "eat your heart out" Strunk and White. | If one wishes to be pedantic, *sooner* needs a distinct if not totally defined time reference to be strictly meaningful. Sooner than 5 pm, sooner than Thursday, sooner than you think, sooner than John finishes *his* homework.
Neither 'sooner rather than later' nor 'sooner than later' meets this requirement.
Both are used, and they must therefore be idioms. So the correct questions to ask are not 'Do they make sense?' but 'Are they widely understood?' and 'Are they accepted as English phrases?' To which the answers are 'Yes', and 'By some people'. |
118,298 | I have heard a lot of people say at work that we should do something "sooner than later." This grates against my native ear, but it seems fairly commonplace. I have always understood the expression to only make sense as "sooner rather than later."
I found [this](http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=2175278) Word Reference Forum thread on the subject. One poster gave a very reasonable explanation why "sooner than later" is incorrect:
>
> I think it should be "sooner rather than later".
>
>
> There are two choices: one can do it sooner(A) or one can do it later(B). Each one refers to the doing of "it".
> *>For this choice:
> I want this done A rather than B. (correct)
>
> I want this done A than B. (incorrect)*
>
>
> The fact that the adjectives are comparatives and the construction uses "than" is what makes it tempting to remove the rather. Sooner than a specific time might work (adding in e.g. by 7pm), but sooner than (another comparative adjective) in my mind doesn't work.
>
>
> However, consider:
> *I want this done quickly rather than slowly. (correct)
>
> I want this done quickly than slowly. (incorrect)*
>
>
>
I agree with him, but was also able to twist my brain around to give the phrase some kind of meaning and actually found myself suggesting ways it could be semi-correct. Here's what I wrote:
>
> I came across this thread considering the same question myself. Below are two caveats to the excellent response by Julian Stewart, and the caveat to my caveats is that you will not find me saying "sooner than later."
>
>
> It definitely makes sense to say:
>
>
> *"I'd like to walk faster rather than slower."*
>
>
> And it could make sense to say:
>
>
> *"I'd rather walk faster than (walk) slower."
> "I'd rather walk fast than (walk) slow."*
>
>
> And therefore:
>
>
> *"I'd rather finish sooner than (finish) later."*
>
>
> Secondly, I can conceive in some convoluted way that "sooner than later" can be used to communicate exactly what it denotes: a point (or range of points) in time preceding the point (or range of points) described by 'later.' I know it's screwy, but it kind of makes sense.
>
>
>
I'd love to hear what you folks here have to say on the matter and see if anyone can make a compelling and definitive argument. I fear I might have put my brain in some alternate English reality in order to make the defense I did. Talk some sense into me please? | 2013/07/03 | [
"https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/118298",
"https://english.stackexchange.com",
"https://english.stackexchange.com/users/33372/"
] | John Lawler has actually opened my eyes to the fact that "sooner than later" makes sense. Think about it. When we say "sooner rather than later," what we *really* mean is *soon* rather than later. So there is a redundancy to "sooner rather." Only one is really necessary. Once you become accustomed to "sooner than later," it starts to sound correct. | I understand "later" to equate to a point in time i.e. 5:00 PM. Then "I will do it sooner than later" could represent "I will do it sooner than *5:00 PM*". |
12,180 | It's a popular claim that the TV series *Game of Thrones* has a lot more nudity, sex, graphic violence and swearing than are found in the novels (which nobody says are squeaky clean, but the claim is that the difference is clearly noticeable). Usually implied is that this is because of superficial marketing matters (i.e. "sex, swearing and violence sells") instead of artistic choices in portrayal of the story.
I gather that George R. R. Martin has been heavily involved with the development of the TV series, and often comments publicly about the work which he's doing.
**Has he made any comments about this difference?** If so, were these just a passing notice, approval, disapproval, etc.? | 2012/02/29 | [
"https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/12180",
"https://scifi.stackexchange.com",
"https://scifi.stackexchange.com/users/108/"
] | GRRM has been in the TV-industry for a long time, I'm fairly sure that he would go with the flow and not speak out against his series. I found [this interview](http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/ustv/s151/game-of-thrones/news/a329509/game-of-thrones-not-sexist-says-author-george-r-r-martin.html) where he claims:
>
> "One of the reasons I wanted to do this [series] with HBO is that I
> wanted to keep the sex,"
>
>
>
It's important to note that HBO series in general do tend to contain a lot of sex and nudity. I've heard it said -- can't remember where -- that sex and nudity is actually there for the benefit of the female audience and not, as one might expect, the male.
I think that the adaptation to TV is rather true to the spirit of the books, though of course there are some things added that are remarkable in their randomness, such as the added character of a northern prostitute who goes to King's Landing and becomes a prostitute of Littlefinger's. I would not say that the TV-series contains *more* sex than the books, but they did keep a proportionally larger amount of the sex scenes, and just the fact that they are visual adds an amount of explicitness to them.
The same goes for violence, of course. It is one thing to read that a person's arm is cut off, and quite another thing to actually see it happen. As for swearing, I'm not quite sure what you are referring to, but it feels like you are talking about Robert. They did expand a bit on Robert's character, I feel, but that is probably necessary, considering that TV-shows are more literal in their portrayal of characters. I.e. it's not as easy to describe a person through flashbacks and dialogue, because people tend to remember what they see a person act like, not what others say about him. | I have read all five books. There’s more sex and nudity (if nudity is possible in novels) in the books. In the first book, Cat Stark is naked when the maester brings her the letter from her sister that says Jon Aryan is dead. Cersie Lannister gets naked many times in the novels, while I have yet to see her naked in any episode. Other than the prostitute everyone keeps complaining about, all other characters that you see naked are naked in the books too. If they kept true to the books there would be a lot more nudity and sex.
Now, I do agree that some things only implied in the books are shown on HBO. Renly and Loras was implied in the book, because we aren't shown either of their POVs. Things that happen when we don't see a character's POV can only be implied in the book; HBO doesn’t have that restriction. |
15,234,516 | I'm writing a game for sphero, the robotic ball (having issues with their forums, can't seem to ask a question). I'm trying to do ball to ball collision detection for 2 or more players.
first of all the they give a sample here:
<https://github.com/orbotix/Sphero-iOS-SDK/tree/master/samples/CollisionDetection>
The thresholds they supply are WAY too sensitive, on a wooden floor it triggers all the time. Forgetting that for the minute, I have to use the impact timestamp from both devices to see if they have triggered collisions at roughly the same time.
My issue is when subtracting timestamps, in some cases i'm getting very wide variations and i think the difference is quite long to begin with. I'm storing several timestamps so I don't miss the correct one and I tried playing with the dead time to see if lowering it would help.
Most commonly subtracting 2 NSTimeIntervals i get a difference between 0.68 and 0.72 (I would have expected 0.01 level reactions). So Im checking if the difference is under 0.72, 3 times in a row i got between 0.72 and 0.73, several times I got 1.5, 2.6, 1.1 and even 3.8.
It doesn't seem as though its reliable. The documentation says this time comes from the iPhones reference. Both devices are synced to get time automatically, so they are as close to each other as possible.
Has anyone tried this and come up with a reliable solution, that doesn't involve keeping one ball still ? | 2013/03/05 | [
"https://Stackoverflow.com/questions/15234516",
"https://Stackoverflow.com",
"https://Stackoverflow.com/users/1185169/"
] | I did a significant amount of research on the subject of ball to ball collisions when I started as a developer for Orbotix, the makers of Sphero.
This is a very complicated problem to solve. The closest I came to making this work (for a infected zombies research game) was about 80% accuracy for detecting which ball hit which ball with a sample size of 3. The more balls you would put into the game, the lower the accuracy would become. Hence, we decided to eliminate the issue by having one ball required to stop moving before it was vulnerable, like in Sphero TAG.
There are a few factors that limit this capability, and it seems you have discovered them. I believe the biggest issue is that collision detection has poor performance while the ball is driving. Especially on a rough surface or when the ball makes quick jerky movements. This alone causes majors problems when coupled with the dead time.
I was able to get collision timestamps to within 50 ms on average. Are you taking into consideration the wifi latency in transmitting the packets between phones?
The solution is something you probably don't want to hear, but you should tweak your game play to work within the capabilities of collision detection. That is, the ball driving really slow when it can be contacted, or even come to a stop like in TAG. Ask yourself, how can I make this fun without ball to ball collisions? | I just want to say, first, that we are moving our developer support forum here, to StackOverflow, and that's why you can't post on the forums. So, you did the right thing, Simon, by coming to StackOverflow, and you should be proud.
We just changed the forums to redirect here instead of leaving people confused. |
15,234,516 | I'm writing a game for sphero, the robotic ball (having issues with their forums, can't seem to ask a question). I'm trying to do ball to ball collision detection for 2 or more players.
first of all the they give a sample here:
<https://github.com/orbotix/Sphero-iOS-SDK/tree/master/samples/CollisionDetection>
The thresholds they supply are WAY too sensitive, on a wooden floor it triggers all the time. Forgetting that for the minute, I have to use the impact timestamp from both devices to see if they have triggered collisions at roughly the same time.
My issue is when subtracting timestamps, in some cases i'm getting very wide variations and i think the difference is quite long to begin with. I'm storing several timestamps so I don't miss the correct one and I tried playing with the dead time to see if lowering it would help.
Most commonly subtracting 2 NSTimeIntervals i get a difference between 0.68 and 0.72 (I would have expected 0.01 level reactions). So Im checking if the difference is under 0.72, 3 times in a row i got between 0.72 and 0.73, several times I got 1.5, 2.6, 1.1 and even 3.8.
It doesn't seem as though its reliable. The documentation says this time comes from the iPhones reference. Both devices are synced to get time automatically, so they are as close to each other as possible.
Has anyone tried this and come up with a reliable solution, that doesn't involve keeping one ball still ? | 2013/03/05 | [
"https://Stackoverflow.com/questions/15234516",
"https://Stackoverflow.com",
"https://Stackoverflow.com/users/1185169/"
] | I did a significant amount of research on the subject of ball to ball collisions when I started as a developer for Orbotix, the makers of Sphero.
This is a very complicated problem to solve. The closest I came to making this work (for a infected zombies research game) was about 80% accuracy for detecting which ball hit which ball with a sample size of 3. The more balls you would put into the game, the lower the accuracy would become. Hence, we decided to eliminate the issue by having one ball required to stop moving before it was vulnerable, like in Sphero TAG.
There are a few factors that limit this capability, and it seems you have discovered them. I believe the biggest issue is that collision detection has poor performance while the ball is driving. Especially on a rough surface or when the ball makes quick jerky movements. This alone causes majors problems when coupled with the dead time.
I was able to get collision timestamps to within 50 ms on average. Are you taking into consideration the wifi latency in transmitting the packets between phones?
The solution is something you probably don't want to hear, but you should tweak your game play to work within the capabilities of collision detection. That is, the ball driving really slow when it can be contacted, or even come to a stop like in TAG. Ask yourself, how can I make this fun without ball to ball collisions? | The timestamps *are* generated by Sphero. But they only make sense is you're using the Poll Packet Times command to generate delay and offset values. Please refer to DID 00h, CID 50h in the API commands document.
That being said, collision detection is an ever evolving technology from our end. We employ a cleverly coded DFT frequency transform on a sliding data window real-time inside the robot. The parameters allow tuning to the surface you're running on; there are no universal settings. If you're obtaining too many false positives then please experiment. If you have ideas to improve the algorithm then contact us directly and maybe we can include it as a new filtering method. We're always open to clever ideas! |
15,234,516 | I'm writing a game for sphero, the robotic ball (having issues with their forums, can't seem to ask a question). I'm trying to do ball to ball collision detection for 2 or more players.
first of all the they give a sample here:
<https://github.com/orbotix/Sphero-iOS-SDK/tree/master/samples/CollisionDetection>
The thresholds they supply are WAY too sensitive, on a wooden floor it triggers all the time. Forgetting that for the minute, I have to use the impact timestamp from both devices to see if they have triggered collisions at roughly the same time.
My issue is when subtracting timestamps, in some cases i'm getting very wide variations and i think the difference is quite long to begin with. I'm storing several timestamps so I don't miss the correct one and I tried playing with the dead time to see if lowering it would help.
Most commonly subtracting 2 NSTimeIntervals i get a difference between 0.68 and 0.72 (I would have expected 0.01 level reactions). So Im checking if the difference is under 0.72, 3 times in a row i got between 0.72 and 0.73, several times I got 1.5, 2.6, 1.1 and even 3.8.
It doesn't seem as though its reliable. The documentation says this time comes from the iPhones reference. Both devices are synced to get time automatically, so they are as close to each other as possible.
Has anyone tried this and come up with a reliable solution, that doesn't involve keeping one ball still ? | 2013/03/05 | [
"https://Stackoverflow.com/questions/15234516",
"https://Stackoverflow.com",
"https://Stackoverflow.com/users/1185169/"
] | I did a significant amount of research on the subject of ball to ball collisions when I started as a developer for Orbotix, the makers of Sphero.
This is a very complicated problem to solve. The closest I came to making this work (for a infected zombies research game) was about 80% accuracy for detecting which ball hit which ball with a sample size of 3. The more balls you would put into the game, the lower the accuracy would become. Hence, we decided to eliminate the issue by having one ball required to stop moving before it was vulnerable, like in Sphero TAG.
There are a few factors that limit this capability, and it seems you have discovered them. I believe the biggest issue is that collision detection has poor performance while the ball is driving. Especially on a rough surface or when the ball makes quick jerky movements. This alone causes majors problems when coupled with the dead time.
I was able to get collision timestamps to within 50 ms on average. Are you taking into consideration the wifi latency in transmitting the packets between phones?
The solution is something you probably don't want to hear, but you should tweak your game play to work within the capabilities of collision detection. That is, the ball driving really slow when it can be contacted, or even come to a stop like in TAG. Ask yourself, how can I make this fun without ball to ball collisions? | You could sync the internal timers of each Sphero at the beginning of the game. These can be matched against a synced timer within each host phone. Clocks may be different, but a millisecond is a millisecond. You could also lower the threshold of the collision detection, thus making it so that the 'event' (damage, infection, etc.) can only occur if the 'attacking' Sphero is moving at a certain speed. Or a variation thereof. |
37,296,038 | Can any one explain when should we add a UIViewController as ChildViewController?
What is the benefits of adding it as ChildViewController instead of subView?
Please help me to understand the purpose of ChildViewController. | 2016/05/18 | [
"https://Stackoverflow.com/questions/37296038",
"https://Stackoverflow.com",
"https://Stackoverflow.com/users/1448317/"
] | When you add a view controller as child view controller, the parent view controller will hold a strong pointer to the child view controller so it doesn't get released instantly. This does not automatically add child's view to parent's view. So you will have to call them both.
I only used it when I needed to create multiple view controllers to be inserted in another view controller and didn't need to directly access it. | its all about **UI** and **code management** if you are using subview to achieve what you want to implement inside your app you need to code for your view inside same viewcontrollers class but something interesting i found by creating childviewcontrollers.
>
> 1. empowered to work on a seprate viewcontroller will invoked along with its **parent viewcontroller** along with its seprate class.
> 2. infinite controllers that will be updated tapping a button.
>
>
>
Creation of childViewControllers can be achived by implementing containerView.
or you must have a look of this [link](https://spin.atomicobject.com/2015/09/02/switch-container-views/) hope its helpful to understand. |
1,858 | I was explaining the idea of being vegan to one of my friends and at the end of discussion I said “so we don’t harm any intelligent living thing which we are aware of“ so if we step on an ant which we do not see it doesn’t matter, but if we noticed that there we won’t harm it.
He asked an interesting question and now I want to ask you guys
>
> Are vegans allowed to kill a mouse or beetle in their house? Why is that?
>
>
>
If we kill we are aware of killing something and it’s the opposite of the whole idea of veganism. But if we don’t I think it’s not that hygienic. | 2019/04/09 | [
"https://vegetarianism.stackexchange.com/questions/1858",
"https://vegetarianism.stackexchange.com",
"https://vegetarianism.stackexchange.com/users/2185/"
] | Short answer: avoid it, unless you can't. Safety/health matters more than trying to be perfect. Be compassionate.
---
Longer answer:
Disclaimer: I'm a beginner flexitarian, approaching veganism, the views are my own.
My approach is:
* Avoid the situation (killing the beetle) if you can. Ex: put mosquito nets at your door at home
* If the situation could not be avoided, avoid to kill the animal if it doesn't endanger you/your health/what's necessary for you to live. Ex: take the beetle outside
* Lastly, once you exhausted the different options (think hard) or are to act quickly in order to survive, kill it. Ex: imminent danger (boar), no escape options.
The bottom line is: try to be compassionate and consider the other living organism, but don't endanger yourself. If you can be clever about it and avoid the situation, do it.
And yes, as @Alexander Rossa puts it: there is no "allowed/not allowed" - you are a sentient person, kind enough to think about veganism - the limit is yours to define | You are right that keeping the mouse inside is not hygienic: they poop everywhere, almost continually. As mentionned in comments, there are "different approaches for different vegans" (@Erica). Vegans and other people are not "allowed" this or that, they decide for themselves. Instead of asking if vegans are allowed to do this, you should ask:
**Do I allow myself to kill a mouse in my house?**
Veganism should be cruelty free, not harming animals *as much as possible*. For exemple you could kick a dog that attacks you even if you are vegan, but you wouldn't be resentful and hurt it more than necessary.
You should try to find what is your ethical standpoint about this mouse. See this quote from another question on another stackexchange site, it might resonate with you :
>
> First is the truth that being a nuisance is a far lesser evil than
> murder in cold-blood... the mouse has the moral higher ground over the
> mouse-trapper.
>
>
> Second is the truth that you don't want to be murdered yourself;
> knowing this, how can you contemplate it for a fellow being?
>
>
>
source: <https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/questions/10465/how-not-to-kill-the-mouse-in-my-house>
A mouse might enter a house in search of: heat, dryness, food, comfort.
**If you decide that you don't allow yourself to kill the mouse:**
There are easy cruelty-free ways to get rid of a mouse or a beetle. For an insect, simply pick it up and put it outside. For a mouse you will need a harmless trap that locks her in a box, and then bring it out to release in a forest many kilometers away from your home. I did that myself, caught 2 mice and released them. Didn't get any new ones since. If they would come back I should take interest in *where are they entering from* and make sure to close these holes. Killing or putting poison around the house doesn't really address the source of the problem and is a bit "overkill" for me, I suspect people just get satisfaction from doing violence to a creature that annoys or scares them greatly.
Knowing that the alternative is possible, then how can you justify killing it when it's not absolutely necessary ?
Veganism is about respecting live animals and their right to live a free life. And showing compassion to them. Putting yourself in the shoes of the mouse. It can be more than just deciding what you put in your plate.
Do what you can, do the best that you can.
By the way, avoid touching the mouse with your hands, they will bite you if cornered, and they can indeed carry some disease or infectious something. If you trap a live mouse in a box, you will have the chance to observe her alive from a short distance, they have beautiful, big black eyes and they are fluffy, quite cute things they are. I think rats might be more ugly and grumpy but they are still decent fellas. :p
**Notes on insects:**
Insects multiply and coexist in very large numbers, and they are eaten/killed/expended very fast in very large numbers too. They might (speculation) not be very sentient either, some vegans might decide they are allowed to eat insect protein. So, for some, to slap a mosquito that is biting you, or a fly that entered your house doesn't make them feel bad at all, insect life is short. Poisoning a whole area or ecosystem is different. That being said, killing the mosquito while it is draining you might not be the best way to prevent a scratchy bump, I heard it's actually better to let it finish and go away.
Humans have a good chance to drive mammals, birds or fishes to extinction, but insects, not so easily.
Ants in the house might be an interesting topic too. In this case, killing the ants themselves will do almost nothing, more will come. The real trick is to stop leaving foods and crumbs in the house. Or if you want to keep your crumbs, then you can have a house full of crumbs *and* ant-poison, here we see again that killing is not the efficient or smart way to resolve.
A few spiders or silverfishes in a house shouldn't be a concern, you can let them live.
**About killing and violence:**
Killing and violence is usually fear-driven or panic-driven: punch it until it doesn't move. You can imagine someone wanting to "burn their whole house" because of scary ants or scary mice. Or when someone sees a spider and screams "Kill it, kill it !!!" That's because violence, *on the short term*, gets sh\*t done, solves the scary problem, **immediatly, for sure**. At leat it's the impression that it gives. But like we see with killing the ants on the floor, it only gives the satisfaction or seeing one problem (one ant) getting instantly solved, while the underlying issue is still present.
Also, to be afraid of something so much smaller than you, that doesn't want to harm you at all, is a bit pathetic and shows how much humans live in a disinfected bubble of illusions and reassuring beliefs about hygiene and germs. Instead of admitting they are scared, people will say that the animals are "disgusting" or "dirty" or "carry diseases", and might label them with negative-connotation words like "pest". Oh it's a pest, therefore it's normalized to kill it, pests should be killed. Same happens with some plants that are labeled maybe "weeds". In french they would be "mauvaises herbes", literally bad herbs, just to justify their extermination with the choice of words. |
1,858 | I was explaining the idea of being vegan to one of my friends and at the end of discussion I said “so we don’t harm any intelligent living thing which we are aware of“ so if we step on an ant which we do not see it doesn’t matter, but if we noticed that there we won’t harm it.
He asked an interesting question and now I want to ask you guys
>
> Are vegans allowed to kill a mouse or beetle in their house? Why is that?
>
>
>
If we kill we are aware of killing something and it’s the opposite of the whole idea of veganism. But if we don’t I think it’s not that hygienic. | 2019/04/09 | [
"https://vegetarianism.stackexchange.com/questions/1858",
"https://vegetarianism.stackexchange.com",
"https://vegetarianism.stackexchange.com/users/2185/"
] | Short answer: avoid it, unless you can't. Safety/health matters more than trying to be perfect. Be compassionate.
---
Longer answer:
Disclaimer: I'm a beginner flexitarian, approaching veganism, the views are my own.
My approach is:
* Avoid the situation (killing the beetle) if you can. Ex: put mosquito nets at your door at home
* If the situation could not be avoided, avoid to kill the animal if it doesn't endanger you/your health/what's necessary for you to live. Ex: take the beetle outside
* Lastly, once you exhausted the different options (think hard) or are to act quickly in order to survive, kill it. Ex: imminent danger (boar), no escape options.
The bottom line is: try to be compassionate and consider the other living organism, but don't endanger yourself. If you can be clever about it and avoid the situation, do it.
And yes, as @Alexander Rossa puts it: there is no "allowed/not allowed" - you are a sentient person, kind enough to think about veganism - the limit is yours to define | Great answers above!
On the subject of mouse tactics, I'd add that besides stopping up the holes where the mice get in if you can, the thing that makes the big difference is to make sure not to leave any food where they can reach it. Be thorough. If you know they can get into one of your cupboards, use that cupboard only for tinned food, or store things in plastic boxes with tight-fitting lids. They get the idea before long and stop bothering to venture into the kitchen. Only thing that works when we get mice. (I'm not sure that killing them would even work, as ours mostly come in from outdoors!)
A few drops of peppermint oil, put on work surfaces or wherever they've been going that you want them to stop going, also deters them to some extent. But if there's food up there that won't always stop them. |
1,858 | I was explaining the idea of being vegan to one of my friends and at the end of discussion I said “so we don’t harm any intelligent living thing which we are aware of“ so if we step on an ant which we do not see it doesn’t matter, but if we noticed that there we won’t harm it.
He asked an interesting question and now I want to ask you guys
>
> Are vegans allowed to kill a mouse or beetle in their house? Why is that?
>
>
>
If we kill we are aware of killing something and it’s the opposite of the whole idea of veganism. But if we don’t I think it’s not that hygienic. | 2019/04/09 | [
"https://vegetarianism.stackexchange.com/questions/1858",
"https://vegetarianism.stackexchange.com",
"https://vegetarianism.stackexchange.com/users/2185/"
] | Short answer: avoid it, unless you can't. Safety/health matters more than trying to be perfect. Be compassionate.
---
Longer answer:
Disclaimer: I'm a beginner flexitarian, approaching veganism, the views are my own.
My approach is:
* Avoid the situation (killing the beetle) if you can. Ex: put mosquito nets at your door at home
* If the situation could not be avoided, avoid to kill the animal if it doesn't endanger you/your health/what's necessary for you to live. Ex: take the beetle outside
* Lastly, once you exhausted the different options (think hard) or are to act quickly in order to survive, kill it. Ex: imminent danger (boar), no escape options.
The bottom line is: try to be compassionate and consider the other living organism, but don't endanger yourself. If you can be clever about it and avoid the situation, do it.
And yes, as @Alexander Rossa puts it: there is no "allowed/not allowed" - you are a sentient person, kind enough to think about veganism - the limit is yours to define | Law of the Jungle
-----------------
We live in a clearing in the southern Sri Lanka Jungle. From time to time we have rats.
Normally when they become a nuisance, my wife puts out a cage trap and we catch it.
In the morning we then get the neighbor kid to peddle the rat a few miles away and let it go in the jungle.
Quite often the bait is gone in the morning and there is no rat.
Last night my wife heard the trap snap shut. Later there there was a bit of a commotion. Lots of squeaking that sounded sorta like "save me, save me". My wife grabbed her camera and started filming.
There was a big Toddy Cat, (Civet), trying to open the cage.
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/SVqSb.jpg)
Sri Lankan Civet Cat
We don't really mind if our Toddy Cats eat our rats, it is a Jungle out there. We just don't want to be a party to it. It sort of worries me all the times we found the cage empty. |
1,858 | I was explaining the idea of being vegan to one of my friends and at the end of discussion I said “so we don’t harm any intelligent living thing which we are aware of“ so if we step on an ant which we do not see it doesn’t matter, but if we noticed that there we won’t harm it.
He asked an interesting question and now I want to ask you guys
>
> Are vegans allowed to kill a mouse or beetle in their house? Why is that?
>
>
>
If we kill we are aware of killing something and it’s the opposite of the whole idea of veganism. But if we don’t I think it’s not that hygienic. | 2019/04/09 | [
"https://vegetarianism.stackexchange.com/questions/1858",
"https://vegetarianism.stackexchange.com",
"https://vegetarianism.stackexchange.com/users/2185/"
] | Short answer: avoid it, unless you can't. Safety/health matters more than trying to be perfect. Be compassionate.
---
Longer answer:
Disclaimer: I'm a beginner flexitarian, approaching veganism, the views are my own.
My approach is:
* Avoid the situation (killing the beetle) if you can. Ex: put mosquito nets at your door at home
* If the situation could not be avoided, avoid to kill the animal if it doesn't endanger you/your health/what's necessary for you to live. Ex: take the beetle outside
* Lastly, once you exhausted the different options (think hard) or are to act quickly in order to survive, kill it. Ex: imminent danger (boar), no escape options.
The bottom line is: try to be compassionate and consider the other living organism, but don't endanger yourself. If you can be clever about it and avoid the situation, do it.
And yes, as @Alexander Rossa puts it: there is no "allowed/not allowed" - you are a sentient person, kind enough to think about veganism - the limit is yours to define | Veganism and vegetarianism are loosely defined concepts, not doctrines.
People choose to be vegan or vegetarian for a wide range of reasons, including:
1. Health
2. Food safety (related to Health, but a bit different)
3. Ethics/morals
4. Environmental impact (often related to ethics/morals)
5. Economics
6. Taste
So, do what fits your values, and call yourself whatever you like! But remember that most actions have consequences (short-term and/or long-term), so choose wisely. And if your choices aren't working for you or others, consider changing them! |
1,858 | I was explaining the idea of being vegan to one of my friends and at the end of discussion I said “so we don’t harm any intelligent living thing which we are aware of“ so if we step on an ant which we do not see it doesn’t matter, but if we noticed that there we won’t harm it.
He asked an interesting question and now I want to ask you guys
>
> Are vegans allowed to kill a mouse or beetle in their house? Why is that?
>
>
>
If we kill we are aware of killing something and it’s the opposite of the whole idea of veganism. But if we don’t I think it’s not that hygienic. | 2019/04/09 | [
"https://vegetarianism.stackexchange.com/questions/1858",
"https://vegetarianism.stackexchange.com",
"https://vegetarianism.stackexchange.com/users/2185/"
] | You are right that keeping the mouse inside is not hygienic: they poop everywhere, almost continually. As mentionned in comments, there are "different approaches for different vegans" (@Erica). Vegans and other people are not "allowed" this or that, they decide for themselves. Instead of asking if vegans are allowed to do this, you should ask:
**Do I allow myself to kill a mouse in my house?**
Veganism should be cruelty free, not harming animals *as much as possible*. For exemple you could kick a dog that attacks you even if you are vegan, but you wouldn't be resentful and hurt it more than necessary.
You should try to find what is your ethical standpoint about this mouse. See this quote from another question on another stackexchange site, it might resonate with you :
>
> First is the truth that being a nuisance is a far lesser evil than
> murder in cold-blood... the mouse has the moral higher ground over the
> mouse-trapper.
>
>
> Second is the truth that you don't want to be murdered yourself;
> knowing this, how can you contemplate it for a fellow being?
>
>
>
source: <https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/questions/10465/how-not-to-kill-the-mouse-in-my-house>
A mouse might enter a house in search of: heat, dryness, food, comfort.
**If you decide that you don't allow yourself to kill the mouse:**
There are easy cruelty-free ways to get rid of a mouse or a beetle. For an insect, simply pick it up and put it outside. For a mouse you will need a harmless trap that locks her in a box, and then bring it out to release in a forest many kilometers away from your home. I did that myself, caught 2 mice and released them. Didn't get any new ones since. If they would come back I should take interest in *where are they entering from* and make sure to close these holes. Killing or putting poison around the house doesn't really address the source of the problem and is a bit "overkill" for me, I suspect people just get satisfaction from doing violence to a creature that annoys or scares them greatly.
Knowing that the alternative is possible, then how can you justify killing it when it's not absolutely necessary ?
Veganism is about respecting live animals and their right to live a free life. And showing compassion to them. Putting yourself in the shoes of the mouse. It can be more than just deciding what you put in your plate.
Do what you can, do the best that you can.
By the way, avoid touching the mouse with your hands, they will bite you if cornered, and they can indeed carry some disease or infectious something. If you trap a live mouse in a box, you will have the chance to observe her alive from a short distance, they have beautiful, big black eyes and they are fluffy, quite cute things they are. I think rats might be more ugly and grumpy but they are still decent fellas. :p
**Notes on insects:**
Insects multiply and coexist in very large numbers, and they are eaten/killed/expended very fast in very large numbers too. They might (speculation) not be very sentient either, some vegans might decide they are allowed to eat insect protein. So, for some, to slap a mosquito that is biting you, or a fly that entered your house doesn't make them feel bad at all, insect life is short. Poisoning a whole area or ecosystem is different. That being said, killing the mosquito while it is draining you might not be the best way to prevent a scratchy bump, I heard it's actually better to let it finish and go away.
Humans have a good chance to drive mammals, birds or fishes to extinction, but insects, not so easily.
Ants in the house might be an interesting topic too. In this case, killing the ants themselves will do almost nothing, more will come. The real trick is to stop leaving foods and crumbs in the house. Or if you want to keep your crumbs, then you can have a house full of crumbs *and* ant-poison, here we see again that killing is not the efficient or smart way to resolve.
A few spiders or silverfishes in a house shouldn't be a concern, you can let them live.
**About killing and violence:**
Killing and violence is usually fear-driven or panic-driven: punch it until it doesn't move. You can imagine someone wanting to "burn their whole house" because of scary ants or scary mice. Or when someone sees a spider and screams "Kill it, kill it !!!" That's because violence, *on the short term*, gets sh\*t done, solves the scary problem, **immediatly, for sure**. At leat it's the impression that it gives. But like we see with killing the ants on the floor, it only gives the satisfaction or seeing one problem (one ant) getting instantly solved, while the underlying issue is still present.
Also, to be afraid of something so much smaller than you, that doesn't want to harm you at all, is a bit pathetic and shows how much humans live in a disinfected bubble of illusions and reassuring beliefs about hygiene and germs. Instead of admitting they are scared, people will say that the animals are "disgusting" or "dirty" or "carry diseases", and might label them with negative-connotation words like "pest". Oh it's a pest, therefore it's normalized to kill it, pests should be killed. Same happens with some plants that are labeled maybe "weeds". In french they would be "mauvaises herbes", literally bad herbs, just to justify their extermination with the choice of words. | Great answers above!
On the subject of mouse tactics, I'd add that besides stopping up the holes where the mice get in if you can, the thing that makes the big difference is to make sure not to leave any food where they can reach it. Be thorough. If you know they can get into one of your cupboards, use that cupboard only for tinned food, or store things in plastic boxes with tight-fitting lids. They get the idea before long and stop bothering to venture into the kitchen. Only thing that works when we get mice. (I'm not sure that killing them would even work, as ours mostly come in from outdoors!)
A few drops of peppermint oil, put on work surfaces or wherever they've been going that you want them to stop going, also deters them to some extent. But if there's food up there that won't always stop them. |
1,858 | I was explaining the idea of being vegan to one of my friends and at the end of discussion I said “so we don’t harm any intelligent living thing which we are aware of“ so if we step on an ant which we do not see it doesn’t matter, but if we noticed that there we won’t harm it.
He asked an interesting question and now I want to ask you guys
>
> Are vegans allowed to kill a mouse or beetle in their house? Why is that?
>
>
>
If we kill we are aware of killing something and it’s the opposite of the whole idea of veganism. But if we don’t I think it’s not that hygienic. | 2019/04/09 | [
"https://vegetarianism.stackexchange.com/questions/1858",
"https://vegetarianism.stackexchange.com",
"https://vegetarianism.stackexchange.com/users/2185/"
] | You are right that keeping the mouse inside is not hygienic: they poop everywhere, almost continually. As mentionned in comments, there are "different approaches for different vegans" (@Erica). Vegans and other people are not "allowed" this or that, they decide for themselves. Instead of asking if vegans are allowed to do this, you should ask:
**Do I allow myself to kill a mouse in my house?**
Veganism should be cruelty free, not harming animals *as much as possible*. For exemple you could kick a dog that attacks you even if you are vegan, but you wouldn't be resentful and hurt it more than necessary.
You should try to find what is your ethical standpoint about this mouse. See this quote from another question on another stackexchange site, it might resonate with you :
>
> First is the truth that being a nuisance is a far lesser evil than
> murder in cold-blood... the mouse has the moral higher ground over the
> mouse-trapper.
>
>
> Second is the truth that you don't want to be murdered yourself;
> knowing this, how can you contemplate it for a fellow being?
>
>
>
source: <https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/questions/10465/how-not-to-kill-the-mouse-in-my-house>
A mouse might enter a house in search of: heat, dryness, food, comfort.
**If you decide that you don't allow yourself to kill the mouse:**
There are easy cruelty-free ways to get rid of a mouse or a beetle. For an insect, simply pick it up and put it outside. For a mouse you will need a harmless trap that locks her in a box, and then bring it out to release in a forest many kilometers away from your home. I did that myself, caught 2 mice and released them. Didn't get any new ones since. If they would come back I should take interest in *where are they entering from* and make sure to close these holes. Killing or putting poison around the house doesn't really address the source of the problem and is a bit "overkill" for me, I suspect people just get satisfaction from doing violence to a creature that annoys or scares them greatly.
Knowing that the alternative is possible, then how can you justify killing it when it's not absolutely necessary ?
Veganism is about respecting live animals and their right to live a free life. And showing compassion to them. Putting yourself in the shoes of the mouse. It can be more than just deciding what you put in your plate.
Do what you can, do the best that you can.
By the way, avoid touching the mouse with your hands, they will bite you if cornered, and they can indeed carry some disease or infectious something. If you trap a live mouse in a box, you will have the chance to observe her alive from a short distance, they have beautiful, big black eyes and they are fluffy, quite cute things they are. I think rats might be more ugly and grumpy but they are still decent fellas. :p
**Notes on insects:**
Insects multiply and coexist in very large numbers, and they are eaten/killed/expended very fast in very large numbers too. They might (speculation) not be very sentient either, some vegans might decide they are allowed to eat insect protein. So, for some, to slap a mosquito that is biting you, or a fly that entered your house doesn't make them feel bad at all, insect life is short. Poisoning a whole area or ecosystem is different. That being said, killing the mosquito while it is draining you might not be the best way to prevent a scratchy bump, I heard it's actually better to let it finish and go away.
Humans have a good chance to drive mammals, birds or fishes to extinction, but insects, not so easily.
Ants in the house might be an interesting topic too. In this case, killing the ants themselves will do almost nothing, more will come. The real trick is to stop leaving foods and crumbs in the house. Or if you want to keep your crumbs, then you can have a house full of crumbs *and* ant-poison, here we see again that killing is not the efficient or smart way to resolve.
A few spiders or silverfishes in a house shouldn't be a concern, you can let them live.
**About killing and violence:**
Killing and violence is usually fear-driven or panic-driven: punch it until it doesn't move. You can imagine someone wanting to "burn their whole house" because of scary ants or scary mice. Or when someone sees a spider and screams "Kill it, kill it !!!" That's because violence, *on the short term*, gets sh\*t done, solves the scary problem, **immediatly, for sure**. At leat it's the impression that it gives. But like we see with killing the ants on the floor, it only gives the satisfaction or seeing one problem (one ant) getting instantly solved, while the underlying issue is still present.
Also, to be afraid of something so much smaller than you, that doesn't want to harm you at all, is a bit pathetic and shows how much humans live in a disinfected bubble of illusions and reassuring beliefs about hygiene and germs. Instead of admitting they are scared, people will say that the animals are "disgusting" or "dirty" or "carry diseases", and might label them with negative-connotation words like "pest". Oh it's a pest, therefore it's normalized to kill it, pests should be killed. Same happens with some plants that are labeled maybe "weeds". In french they would be "mauvaises herbes", literally bad herbs, just to justify their extermination with the choice of words. | Law of the Jungle
-----------------
We live in a clearing in the southern Sri Lanka Jungle. From time to time we have rats.
Normally when they become a nuisance, my wife puts out a cage trap and we catch it.
In the morning we then get the neighbor kid to peddle the rat a few miles away and let it go in the jungle.
Quite often the bait is gone in the morning and there is no rat.
Last night my wife heard the trap snap shut. Later there there was a bit of a commotion. Lots of squeaking that sounded sorta like "save me, save me". My wife grabbed her camera and started filming.
There was a big Toddy Cat, (Civet), trying to open the cage.
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/SVqSb.jpg)
Sri Lankan Civet Cat
We don't really mind if our Toddy Cats eat our rats, it is a Jungle out there. We just don't want to be a party to it. It sort of worries me all the times we found the cage empty. |
1,858 | I was explaining the idea of being vegan to one of my friends and at the end of discussion I said “so we don’t harm any intelligent living thing which we are aware of“ so if we step on an ant which we do not see it doesn’t matter, but if we noticed that there we won’t harm it.
He asked an interesting question and now I want to ask you guys
>
> Are vegans allowed to kill a mouse or beetle in their house? Why is that?
>
>
>
If we kill we are aware of killing something and it’s the opposite of the whole idea of veganism. But if we don’t I think it’s not that hygienic. | 2019/04/09 | [
"https://vegetarianism.stackexchange.com/questions/1858",
"https://vegetarianism.stackexchange.com",
"https://vegetarianism.stackexchange.com/users/2185/"
] | You are right that keeping the mouse inside is not hygienic: they poop everywhere, almost continually. As mentionned in comments, there are "different approaches for different vegans" (@Erica). Vegans and other people are not "allowed" this or that, they decide for themselves. Instead of asking if vegans are allowed to do this, you should ask:
**Do I allow myself to kill a mouse in my house?**
Veganism should be cruelty free, not harming animals *as much as possible*. For exemple you could kick a dog that attacks you even if you are vegan, but you wouldn't be resentful and hurt it more than necessary.
You should try to find what is your ethical standpoint about this mouse. See this quote from another question on another stackexchange site, it might resonate with you :
>
> First is the truth that being a nuisance is a far lesser evil than
> murder in cold-blood... the mouse has the moral higher ground over the
> mouse-trapper.
>
>
> Second is the truth that you don't want to be murdered yourself;
> knowing this, how can you contemplate it for a fellow being?
>
>
>
source: <https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/questions/10465/how-not-to-kill-the-mouse-in-my-house>
A mouse might enter a house in search of: heat, dryness, food, comfort.
**If you decide that you don't allow yourself to kill the mouse:**
There are easy cruelty-free ways to get rid of a mouse or a beetle. For an insect, simply pick it up and put it outside. For a mouse you will need a harmless trap that locks her in a box, and then bring it out to release in a forest many kilometers away from your home. I did that myself, caught 2 mice and released them. Didn't get any new ones since. If they would come back I should take interest in *where are they entering from* and make sure to close these holes. Killing or putting poison around the house doesn't really address the source of the problem and is a bit "overkill" for me, I suspect people just get satisfaction from doing violence to a creature that annoys or scares them greatly.
Knowing that the alternative is possible, then how can you justify killing it when it's not absolutely necessary ?
Veganism is about respecting live animals and their right to live a free life. And showing compassion to them. Putting yourself in the shoes of the mouse. It can be more than just deciding what you put in your plate.
Do what you can, do the best that you can.
By the way, avoid touching the mouse with your hands, they will bite you if cornered, and they can indeed carry some disease or infectious something. If you trap a live mouse in a box, you will have the chance to observe her alive from a short distance, they have beautiful, big black eyes and they are fluffy, quite cute things they are. I think rats might be more ugly and grumpy but they are still decent fellas. :p
**Notes on insects:**
Insects multiply and coexist in very large numbers, and they are eaten/killed/expended very fast in very large numbers too. They might (speculation) not be very sentient either, some vegans might decide they are allowed to eat insect protein. So, for some, to slap a mosquito that is biting you, or a fly that entered your house doesn't make them feel bad at all, insect life is short. Poisoning a whole area or ecosystem is different. That being said, killing the mosquito while it is draining you might not be the best way to prevent a scratchy bump, I heard it's actually better to let it finish and go away.
Humans have a good chance to drive mammals, birds or fishes to extinction, but insects, not so easily.
Ants in the house might be an interesting topic too. In this case, killing the ants themselves will do almost nothing, more will come. The real trick is to stop leaving foods and crumbs in the house. Or if you want to keep your crumbs, then you can have a house full of crumbs *and* ant-poison, here we see again that killing is not the efficient or smart way to resolve.
A few spiders or silverfishes in a house shouldn't be a concern, you can let them live.
**About killing and violence:**
Killing and violence is usually fear-driven or panic-driven: punch it until it doesn't move. You can imagine someone wanting to "burn their whole house" because of scary ants or scary mice. Or when someone sees a spider and screams "Kill it, kill it !!!" That's because violence, *on the short term*, gets sh\*t done, solves the scary problem, **immediatly, for sure**. At leat it's the impression that it gives. But like we see with killing the ants on the floor, it only gives the satisfaction or seeing one problem (one ant) getting instantly solved, while the underlying issue is still present.
Also, to be afraid of something so much smaller than you, that doesn't want to harm you at all, is a bit pathetic and shows how much humans live in a disinfected bubble of illusions and reassuring beliefs about hygiene and germs. Instead of admitting they are scared, people will say that the animals are "disgusting" or "dirty" or "carry diseases", and might label them with negative-connotation words like "pest". Oh it's a pest, therefore it's normalized to kill it, pests should be killed. Same happens with some plants that are labeled maybe "weeds". In french they would be "mauvaises herbes", literally bad herbs, just to justify their extermination with the choice of words. | Veganism and vegetarianism are loosely defined concepts, not doctrines.
People choose to be vegan or vegetarian for a wide range of reasons, including:
1. Health
2. Food safety (related to Health, but a bit different)
3. Ethics/morals
4. Environmental impact (often related to ethics/morals)
5. Economics
6. Taste
So, do what fits your values, and call yourself whatever you like! But remember that most actions have consequences (short-term and/or long-term), so choose wisely. And if your choices aren't working for you or others, consider changing them! |
1,858 | I was explaining the idea of being vegan to one of my friends and at the end of discussion I said “so we don’t harm any intelligent living thing which we are aware of“ so if we step on an ant which we do not see it doesn’t matter, but if we noticed that there we won’t harm it.
He asked an interesting question and now I want to ask you guys
>
> Are vegans allowed to kill a mouse or beetle in their house? Why is that?
>
>
>
If we kill we are aware of killing something and it’s the opposite of the whole idea of veganism. But if we don’t I think it’s not that hygienic. | 2019/04/09 | [
"https://vegetarianism.stackexchange.com/questions/1858",
"https://vegetarianism.stackexchange.com",
"https://vegetarianism.stackexchange.com/users/2185/"
] | Law of the Jungle
-----------------
We live in a clearing in the southern Sri Lanka Jungle. From time to time we have rats.
Normally when they become a nuisance, my wife puts out a cage trap and we catch it.
In the morning we then get the neighbor kid to peddle the rat a few miles away and let it go in the jungle.
Quite often the bait is gone in the morning and there is no rat.
Last night my wife heard the trap snap shut. Later there there was a bit of a commotion. Lots of squeaking that sounded sorta like "save me, save me". My wife grabbed her camera and started filming.
There was a big Toddy Cat, (Civet), trying to open the cage.
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/SVqSb.jpg)
Sri Lankan Civet Cat
We don't really mind if our Toddy Cats eat our rats, it is a Jungle out there. We just don't want to be a party to it. It sort of worries me all the times we found the cage empty. | Great answers above!
On the subject of mouse tactics, I'd add that besides stopping up the holes where the mice get in if you can, the thing that makes the big difference is to make sure not to leave any food where they can reach it. Be thorough. If you know they can get into one of your cupboards, use that cupboard only for tinned food, or store things in plastic boxes with tight-fitting lids. They get the idea before long and stop bothering to venture into the kitchen. Only thing that works when we get mice. (I'm not sure that killing them would even work, as ours mostly come in from outdoors!)
A few drops of peppermint oil, put on work surfaces or wherever they've been going that you want them to stop going, also deters them to some extent. But if there's food up there that won't always stop them. |
1,858 | I was explaining the idea of being vegan to one of my friends and at the end of discussion I said “so we don’t harm any intelligent living thing which we are aware of“ so if we step on an ant which we do not see it doesn’t matter, but if we noticed that there we won’t harm it.
He asked an interesting question and now I want to ask you guys
>
> Are vegans allowed to kill a mouse or beetle in their house? Why is that?
>
>
>
If we kill we are aware of killing something and it’s the opposite of the whole idea of veganism. But if we don’t I think it’s not that hygienic. | 2019/04/09 | [
"https://vegetarianism.stackexchange.com/questions/1858",
"https://vegetarianism.stackexchange.com",
"https://vegetarianism.stackexchange.com/users/2185/"
] | Law of the Jungle
-----------------
We live in a clearing in the southern Sri Lanka Jungle. From time to time we have rats.
Normally when they become a nuisance, my wife puts out a cage trap and we catch it.
In the morning we then get the neighbor kid to peddle the rat a few miles away and let it go in the jungle.
Quite often the bait is gone in the morning and there is no rat.
Last night my wife heard the trap snap shut. Later there there was a bit of a commotion. Lots of squeaking that sounded sorta like "save me, save me". My wife grabbed her camera and started filming.
There was a big Toddy Cat, (Civet), trying to open the cage.
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/SVqSb.jpg)
Sri Lankan Civet Cat
We don't really mind if our Toddy Cats eat our rats, it is a Jungle out there. We just don't want to be a party to it. It sort of worries me all the times we found the cage empty. | Veganism and vegetarianism are loosely defined concepts, not doctrines.
People choose to be vegan or vegetarian for a wide range of reasons, including:
1. Health
2. Food safety (related to Health, but a bit different)
3. Ethics/morals
4. Environmental impact (often related to ethics/morals)
5. Economics
6. Taste
So, do what fits your values, and call yourself whatever you like! But remember that most actions have consequences (short-term and/or long-term), so choose wisely. And if your choices aren't working for you or others, consider changing them! |
53,768 | There's a large body of works inspired by time travel and all that time-space continuum thing. But I wonder if the Terminator series ever brings up or puts into consideration the concept of the butterfly effect.
To illustrate my point with an outrageous example:
>
> If the Terminator in the Terminator 2: Judgement Day hadn't shot the two knees of the gate guard ( in the scene where the Terminator says "He'll live."), Judgement Day would have been postponed.
>
>
>
**So does the Terminator series ever brings up or puts into consideration the concept of the butterfly effect?** | 2014/04/11 | [
"https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/53768",
"https://scifi.stackexchange.com",
"https://scifi.stackexchange.com/users/5108/"
] | ### From the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Earth-199999
**Because [Malekith](http://marvel.wikia.com/Malekith_%28Earth-199999%29) was one of the first known sentients to try and utilize the [Aether](http://marvel.wikia.com/Malekith_%28Earth-199999%29) as a weapon during a time when the Nine Realms aligned, a period called the Convergence.**
* Like the [**Infinity Gems**](http://marvel.wikia.com/Infinity_Gems) upon which it was based, the Aether calls no particular user master, but a strong-willed or magically-capable individual make take control of them (if the item allows it).\*\*
* His brief control of it before being stopped by Odin gave him a permanent connection to it and its powers. Once it became free again, he could control it once extracted from the Human, Jane Foster.\*\*
>
> * The Aether is a mysterious force that existed before the birth of the Nine Realms. It is known to be able to convert matter into dark matter, and otherwise maintains an almost lifelike existence that causes it to bond in a parasitic fashion to a living host.
> * Once bonded, the energies of the Aether slowly consume any mortal host, and also have a volatile and deadly effect on any who come into contact with the host in a manner that the Aether perceives as threatening. Bonded with a stronger host that understands its power, the Aether can be employed as a weapon where it lashes out with a concussive force, or reaches out to convert matter.
> * During its brief time bonded to Malekith, the Aether also enhanced his physical form, causing him to grow threefold in height.
>
>
>
**The Aether responds to being utilized depending on the natural abilities of the user. A weak user is possessed and ultimately destroyed by the Aether, while a strong one may utilize it as a weapon depending on their spiritual/magical capacities.**
* The Aether did not wake the Dark Elves. It woke Malekith who put the Dark Elves into hibernation until he sensed the Aether and the Convergence approaching again.
* Jane Foster is merely human with no awareness of magical capacity, nor any understanding of the fundamental nature of the Aether. She couldn't make use of its power-enhancing abilities since she had no powers to speak of. | I think it had a mind... feeling almost. Did you notice how it wanted to flow into his hand? My thoughts are that it is an energy source but with a sort of artificial intelligence (not Jarvis) that enabled it to psionically bond with whosoever was unfortunate enough to discover it. Also, if it hadn't been for Malekith Jane would've died. One nurse in the movie said:
>
> She will not survive the amount of energy flowing through her
>
>
> |
28,451 | I'm stuck between choosing a car available in both automatic transmission (CVT) and Manual transmission (6 speed). I wanted to know which one will perform better in the following aspects (considering the fact that all the other factors are the same only the transmission system is different):
* Acceleration
* Fuel economy
* Maintenance
---
PS. I know the difference between normal AT and CVT my question is about CVT and MT.
PS2. The cars I want to buy is Renault Fluence 2.0 CVT | 2016/04/17 | [
"https://mechanics.stackexchange.com/questions/28451",
"https://mechanics.stackexchange.com",
"https://mechanics.stackexchange.com/users/14127/"
] | The difference comes down to the driver. While automatic racing gearboxes can beat a driver when it comes to performance, for the type of vehicle you describe, a manual can perform significantly higher than an automatic **if** the driver knows how to use it. But then if you really wanted high acceleration you would choose a different car.
Maintenance is much cheaper on manual gearboxes as they are much less complex, but if the driver doesn't know what they are doing then they can chew up clutches.
Fuel economy is close between the two - am automatic can be consistent at saving fuel by short shifting in situations where acceleration is not needed, but again, a good driver can always change at the most appropriate point for what is coming, so can be in the correct great at all times - which can save mileage.
**TL/DR** it depends. If you are experienced with a manual, get a manual. | I will answer the question in simple terms.
**Acceleration:** CVT Does not have a gears and are usually single speed, so if you want to abruptly accelerate the CVT will not be as efficient as a manual transmission, the most common problem of CVT is the rubber-band effect where you push the accelerator and after a pause and acceleration increases suddenly. Ergo, a CVT will not outrun a manual transmission at all. Manual is by far a better option.
**Fuel Economy:** In the hands of 90% of the public the CVT will generally be more efficient than the manual transmission , this is the reason we are seeing a lot of CVTs now a days, they offer better gas mileage and hassle free driving with the disadvantage in acceleration and performance which is just about the normal requirements of a daily commuter. Now in the hands of a seasoned manual driver, he can extract as much or even more gas mileage than the CVT but its generally not worth the effort.
**Maintenance:** Obviously the manual will be the best , fewer parts fewer wear and tear and fewer maintenance. Plus any wear on a manual gearbox will cost very less when compared to repairs on a CVT.
CVT only provides really two things: Good Economy and the joy of a automatic transmission in bumper to bumper traffic, so if the purpose of the car is strictly going to be commute in the city then the CVT is the better option but in every other aspect the manual is the best also the manual gearbox weighs a little bit less reducing the overall weight of the car.
Note: IF most of your driving is going to be on the express way/highway then save yourself some money and get a manual because in the express way manual can give equal or even better gas mileage and you wont have to worry about constantly shifting.
Also, A CVT variant of the car will also cost more upfront. |
302,939 | It's not unheard of for some poor soul to decide to try to troll SO under different accounts for a couple hours. It's happening right now on SO. This is probably the third time I've seen this happen, where someone posts the same stupid thing under multiple accounts until they get shut down.
When it's obvious that someone is a "serial troll", how should I, a non-mod, react? I've been flagging them and noting how they're obvious trolls, but one such flag was denied, and I feel that wasting the mod's time isn't the best outcome either.
Should I just downvote and move on? Should I flag? | 2017/11/07 | [
"https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/302939",
"https://meta.stackexchange.com",
"https://meta.stackexchange.com/users/300788/"
] | Flag posts by trolls. If they are offensive, don't be afraid to use an offensive flag for them. If they are part of a larger pattern of trolling, use a custom flag and let us know that we should deal with the accounts involved.
Getting posts destroyed by community offensive / spam flags activates the anti-spam / anti-trolling system against these accounts and slows down their ability to post. Moderators destroying their accounts as trolls slows them down further (recreated accounts are immediately suspended by the system). It has been my experience that eventually enough friction builds up that it is no longer worthwhile for them to keep trolling and they move on.
Moderators rely on community members to be our first line of defense against trolls, so your flags really do matter. We can act proactively to catch new accounts as they are created, but community spotters are our best assets.
To your declined flag, the post itself seemed to ask a homework programming question and your flag consisted of only
>
> Almost definitely a troll account. I was duped.
>
>
>
Out of context and looking at just that question, it isn't apparent why that post would be considered trolling. I can see why a moderator might have declined it. For posts that aren't obvious trolling, you might need to put a little more detail in your flags to make sure we connect them to other accounts or see why the question is considered trolling (fake programming languages, insulting wording in the code, etc.). Different moderators may handle different flags and not be aware of what others had acted on.
For the other posts you flagged, like the one where he threatened to blow up the White House, you didn't need to add much to get us to see what's wrong. | Don't engage. Nothing feeds trolls more than attention.
Least on SO, there's a pretty significant load so if its something extra special, keeping note of who's doing it, and mentioning it in the flag would probably be nice.
Other than that, there's nothing a typical user can and should do but DV (to take care of the immediate issue), Vote to delete (if that's an option), flag (so a moderator can take a look). A troll who's quietly taken care of, or ignored, is a unhappy troll. |
10,617,845 | I'm trying to do some calculations involving ray tracing, but am a little confused. Lets say I had an n-by-n image with N geometric primitives, l light sources, and k x k supersampling. How many ray intersections would I be calculating in the worst case? What if I added in reflection/refraction with depth d? | 2012/05/16 | [
"https://Stackoverflow.com/questions/10617845",
"https://Stackoverflow.com",
"https://Stackoverflow.com/users/685562/"
] | You would have to launch k x k rays for each of the n x n pixels of the image. For each of these rays you have to do collision testing, which, in a very simplified and inefficient way would translate to N comparisons (each depending on the complexity of the primitive). Now, if any of these rays hits an specular or translucid surface, you have to split the ray and call recursively. However, this time you don't do supersampling, so you just send one ray out in the reflect/refract direction. For depth d you would send that number of extra rays, one for each recursive call.
So, in total: k^2 x n^2 x d.
This is without counting the intersection calculations, which do not add any more rays but do add a lot of complexity.
There are, however, many simplifications.
* Adaptive multisampling, reducing the k^2 factor.
* Pixel interpolations, reducing the n^2 factor.
* Use some space partition structure, like BSP and/or OctTree for collision testing.
* Use some heuristic to cut out the recursion. | Not that this is a complete answer however....
See this article: <http://blogs.msdn.com/b/lukeh/archive/2007/10/01/taking-linq-to-objects-to-extremes-a-fully-linqified-raytracer.aspx> You could probably utilize that modified with some counting code to have these statistics automatically given to you when you do the trace :P |
104,811 | I am installing a new hard drive on my Macbook Pro.
I have a legitimate copy of Microsoft Office 2008 installed on my computer, but I've long since lost the install disk and license information.
Perhaps complicating things is the fact that I've decided to do a fresh install, as opposed to using Migration Assistant or simply cloning my hard drive.
I'm wondering: how can I get this software from my current hard drive onto my new one, whilst maintaining the license information? | 2013/10/10 | [
"https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/104811",
"https://apple.stackexchange.com",
"https://apple.stackexchange.com/users/10719/"
] | Since you say it's a legitimate copy (I'm assuming retail—if this is volume licensing, that's a whole other kettle of fish), one path that's open to you is contacting Microsoft.
They are equipped to deal with lost product keys, and in most cases can help you retrieve it. Worst case, they can sell you a new one at a steep discount.
See: [How to locate your product key or obtain a new product key for Office for Mac](http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2279109).
(And for the future, you might want to stash your product keys and serial numbers away for safekeeping. 1Password has a category just for this. If you don't use 1Password, Keychain Access's "Secure Note" functionality can be put to good use.) | Pretty much any of the disk cloning or migration software for OS X will retain the license, unless you have an odd install (*e.g.* my brother had a MacBook with a school license for Office that didn’t get copied over because the license file was in a special admin account). Put your old drive into an external enclosure or dock, and use Migration Assistant, [SuperDuper](http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/), [Carbon Copy Cloner](http://www.bombich.com/index.html) or Disk Utility to copy your old data to the new drive. |
104,811 | I am installing a new hard drive on my Macbook Pro.
I have a legitimate copy of Microsoft Office 2008 installed on my computer, but I've long since lost the install disk and license information.
Perhaps complicating things is the fact that I've decided to do a fresh install, as opposed to using Migration Assistant or simply cloning my hard drive.
I'm wondering: how can I get this software from my current hard drive onto my new one, whilst maintaining the license information? | 2013/10/10 | [
"https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/104811",
"https://apple.stackexchange.com",
"https://apple.stackexchange.com/users/10719/"
] | Since you say it's a legitimate copy (I'm assuming retail—if this is volume licensing, that's a whole other kettle of fish), one path that's open to you is contacting Microsoft.
They are equipped to deal with lost product keys, and in most cases can help you retrieve it. Worst case, they can sell you a new one at a steep discount.
See: [How to locate your product key or obtain a new product key for Office for Mac](http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2279109).
(And for the future, you might want to stash your product keys and serial numbers away for safekeeping. 1Password has a category just for this. If you don't use 1Password, Keychain Access's "Secure Note" functionality can be put to good use.) | MS sent me a replacement disk of Office 2010 for about US$20. Very easy to deal with, surprisingly so. |
77,180 | I'm designing a graphical widget to show credit card credit but I'm not sure that the bar moves in the right direction.
Currently, as the customer spends their credit, the bar moves from right to left:
 becomes 
Is this example correct or should the bar move from left to right as credit is spent? How would this look? I only have a narrow width to work with (~250px). | 2015/05/01 | [
"https://ux.stackexchange.com/questions/77180",
"https://ux.stackexchange.com",
"https://ux.stackexchange.com/users/2881/"
] | I think it's your markers that are causing confusion, I believe something like this would make it easier to read.
The colours are from Lucid Chart Android elements, there's no reason not to change them to your design guidelines or for something more pleasing.
You could also stick a label under the gray area with "Available to spend: 5800"
Example of above:
I think you could play around with it, unless we're talking for display on a watch? Compact Version:
 | Bend that bar into a circle!
----------------------------
A donut chart is perfect for 'percent of total' visualizations. And using color to indicate account "health" adds another layer for the visual thinker. It makes for a fairly compact presentation that delivers the all the critical data.
For smaller spaces, I would limit the displayed data to balance only and tap/click to switch to the remaining balance.
 |
1,063,650 | I am using PDF documents for various purposes using iText library.
Its like one class per PDF document. In a way there are a lot of similarities among the classes and the same have been listed below:
1. The fields have (x,y) location
2. The field can be wrapped after some no. of words
3. A field can have a value which is a function of one or more parameters
4. Subsequent page of PDF has to kept same or different
I am thinking of doing this layout business through a XML file. Any thoughts or innovative ideas of solving this are welcome. | 2009/06/30 | [
"https://Stackoverflow.com/questions/1063650",
"https://Stackoverflow.com",
"https://Stackoverflow.com/users/122221/"
] | take a look at PDFBox Library which is now in the incubator of Apache | PDFBox is nice, Used it before and good good help from the developer. You might want to have a look at XSL:FO. It is an XML based formatting language that can output the result as PDF (and other formats) using Apache:FOP. |
1,063,650 | I am using PDF documents for various purposes using iText library.
Its like one class per PDF document. In a way there are a lot of similarities among the classes and the same have been listed below:
1. The fields have (x,y) location
2. The field can be wrapped after some no. of words
3. A field can have a value which is a function of one or more parameters
4. Subsequent page of PDF has to kept same or different
I am thinking of doing this layout business through a XML file. Any thoughts or innovative ideas of solving this are welcome. | 2009/06/30 | [
"https://Stackoverflow.com/questions/1063650",
"https://Stackoverflow.com",
"https://Stackoverflow.com/users/122221/"
] | take a look at PDFBox Library which is now in the incubator of Apache | What about [Prince](http://www.princexml.com/download/)? It's a FOP engine that uses CSS files as styling, and has a Java API. It's not free though (apart from the free Personal License) |
1,063,650 | I am using PDF documents for various purposes using iText library.
Its like one class per PDF document. In a way there are a lot of similarities among the classes and the same have been listed below:
1. The fields have (x,y) location
2. The field can be wrapped after some no. of words
3. A field can have a value which is a function of one or more parameters
4. Subsequent page of PDF has to kept same or different
I am thinking of doing this layout business through a XML file. Any thoughts or innovative ideas of solving this are welcome. | 2009/06/30 | [
"https://Stackoverflow.com/questions/1063650",
"https://Stackoverflow.com",
"https://Stackoverflow.com/users/122221/"
] | take a look at PDFBox Library which is now in the incubator of Apache | [Flying Saucer](http://code.google.com/p/flying-saucer//) supports using XHTML/CSS to create PDFs. |
1,063,650 | I am using PDF documents for various purposes using iText library.
Its like one class per PDF document. In a way there are a lot of similarities among the classes and the same have been listed below:
1. The fields have (x,y) location
2. The field can be wrapped after some no. of words
3. A field can have a value which is a function of one or more parameters
4. Subsequent page of PDF has to kept same or different
I am thinking of doing this layout business through a XML file. Any thoughts or innovative ideas of solving this are welcome. | 2009/06/30 | [
"https://Stackoverflow.com/questions/1063650",
"https://Stackoverflow.com",
"https://Stackoverflow.com/users/122221/"
] | PDFBox is nice, Used it before and good good help from the developer. You might want to have a look at XSL:FO. It is an XML based formatting language that can output the result as PDF (and other formats) using Apache:FOP. | What about [Prince](http://www.princexml.com/download/)? It's a FOP engine that uses CSS files as styling, and has a Java API. It's not free though (apart from the free Personal License) |
1,063,650 | I am using PDF documents for various purposes using iText library.
Its like one class per PDF document. In a way there are a lot of similarities among the classes and the same have been listed below:
1. The fields have (x,y) location
2. The field can be wrapped after some no. of words
3. A field can have a value which is a function of one or more parameters
4. Subsequent page of PDF has to kept same or different
I am thinking of doing this layout business through a XML file. Any thoughts or innovative ideas of solving this are welcome. | 2009/06/30 | [
"https://Stackoverflow.com/questions/1063650",
"https://Stackoverflow.com",
"https://Stackoverflow.com/users/122221/"
] | PDFBox is nice, Used it before and good good help from the developer. You might want to have a look at XSL:FO. It is an XML based formatting language that can output the result as PDF (and other formats) using Apache:FOP. | [Flying Saucer](http://code.google.com/p/flying-saucer//) supports using XHTML/CSS to create PDFs. |
172,348 | I work as a software developer where we have a voluntary on-call roster, where devs do on-call duties in a round-robin fashion. Recently, my manager told me that the roster is currently too small and it's putting strain on the devs who have volunteered (it pays extra btw). As a result, devs who are not on the roster are being encouraged to do so.
The way it works is that you get put on on-call duty where you have to be available pretty much 24/7 (including weekend) for a week.
Since the company has no policy that makes this mandatory (it wasn't mentioned when I joined close to a year ago), I want to decline joining the roster since I feel like it's a lot of pressure. Would it be the right thing to do or might it paint me in a bad light? | 2021/05/11 | [
"https://workplace.stackexchange.com/questions/172348",
"https://workplace.stackexchange.com",
"https://workplace.stackexchange.com/users/121069/"
] | I want to focus on this sentence:
I want to decline joining the roster since I feel like it's a lot of pressure.
Right now, the collective you of the people who do not yet participate in oncall duty have collective bargaining power. What would need to change so the pressure gets acceptable?
One of my former jobs entailed oncall duty. It was a flat amount of money, no matter how much happened. And the amount wasn't really that big.
A friend of mine currently has a job with on call duty, they get a flat amount per shift and additional money per incident.
Her regularly ups his base pay by 50%!
But pay is not the only thing:
You said in a comment it's a whole week. Where I did it, it was shifts of Mo-Fr and then Fr-Mo. So you either had the week, or the weekend. And because we could trade our shifts, I only ever did weekends, because I preferred it that way. Others only ever did during the week, because they preferred it that way! This helps a lot.
Even better if your management software and equipment allows you to split shifts more granularly. We sadly only got one oncall Laptop with the necessary permissions, we wished for two, so we could split shifts even more granularly.
E.g.: I have plans for Saturday, but could do the shift on Sunday. One laptop? This is not feasible. 2 laptops: easy going.
We had the agreement that oncall duty topics trump everything. So if something happened, we did the work to improve the situation. Documentation lacking? Write it! Monitoring configured to sensitive? Fix it! Softwarebug? Fix it!
This had prio 1 and trumped all deadlines, save for those set by the CEO.
This meant over time, we improved our infrastructure so that less incidents would happen and we could sleep more often.
This meant whole shifts passed with nothing noteworthy happening.
How is you alerting? In the beginning, everything alerted all the time. Later on, we defined ServiceLevelAgreements. This meant certain services alerted all the time, others just during 8:00-20:00. So if this was a weekend, you could at least sleep through it.
Also, what's your reaction time? If you have to react instantly, you can't do anything else. We had enough time so I could go shopping. If it happened while I was in the supermarket, I would just quite my shopping tour, pay now and rush home.
Also, pressure can come from lack of training.
You can negotiate for a level of training you will get before you get onto oncall rotation.
Also, I read studies on how bad oncall is for humans. This study didn't look at IT, but at all jobs doing oncall. And they found one killer: Frequency. Some people do oncall for a whole month, but only once a year. That's fine.
Doing an oncall day every other day is horrible, because the time off is to short to truly relax.
There are likely other points you can think about and negotiate about.
Right now, you are in a kind of Mexican stand off.
The situation is bad, and it only gets better if people volunteer. But for those who volunteer it gets worse. So everybody wants everybody else to volunteer.
If you champion for a better version of oncall duty, you can get recognition for doing so and get something out of it.
Improving the situation also prevents you being voluntold into a bad version of oncall duty. As other answers mentioned, if not enough co-workers volunteer, the business will start voluntelling. | >
> Would it be the right thing to do or it might paint me in a bad light?
>
>
>
You say "*its not about the money. Even if they pay me a lot more, I still wouldn't do it do maintain work-life balance*".
Well what about the work-life balance of your coworkers? By not stepping up and helping your coworkers you're decreasing their work-life balance. Sure, I suppose that's not your problem, but then again, maybe they'll be less inclined to go to bat for you, should you need it, if you're not going to go to bat for them. |
172,348 | I work as a software developer where we have a voluntary on-call roster, where devs do on-call duties in a round-robin fashion. Recently, my manager told me that the roster is currently too small and it's putting strain on the devs who have volunteered (it pays extra btw). As a result, devs who are not on the roster are being encouraged to do so.
The way it works is that you get put on on-call duty where you have to be available pretty much 24/7 (including weekend) for a week.
Since the company has no policy that makes this mandatory (it wasn't mentioned when I joined close to a year ago), I want to decline joining the roster since I feel like it's a lot of pressure. Would it be the right thing to do or might it paint me in a bad light? | 2021/05/11 | [
"https://workplace.stackexchange.com/questions/172348",
"https://workplace.stackexchange.com",
"https://workplace.stackexchange.com/users/121069/"
] | This is a choice you have to make for yourself. If the extra money and positive visibility doesn't make it worth it for you, and you aren't willing to sacrifice the time required, then don't volunteer. If the company can't get enough people to staff the on-call roster voluntarily, they will have to figure something else out, like contracting additional staff just to be on-call or offering more compensation for being on-call.
If there are so few people on the on-call roster that they're being unduly burdened, they can make their own decision about whether or not the money is worth it for them to continue being on-call. Their work-life balance is not your problem to solve for them. If you volunteer just to be nice so that they can be on-call less, you're not helping them, you're helping the company because now the company doesn't have to increase the amount they pay people to be on-call.
Yes, when you put your interests ahead of the company's interests, that can affect your career at that company. A good company will understand your decision even if they would rather you have made a different one. A bad company will try to bully you into doing what's good for them even if it isn't good for you. You know better than we do what sort of company you work at. | I am going to offer a contrary outlook (at least to those that have answered here), but you may want to consider.
* Some small(-er) growing companies that I have worked at had similar arrangements where developers provided support, where the support work did not justify hiring full-time staff as of yet.
* Joining in the shared support work shows you are interested in becoming part of the team. Conversely, refusing (or not volunteering) gives the impression you are only interested in your own short-term wants, and not the supporting the larger goals of the team.
* Working in customer support for the software you develop can be very beneficial. Hearing first-hand user pains and problems will help you in crafting better solutions and evaluating alternatives when you work on the software.
* Many of the opinions provided here are obviously geared to larger companies, and jump on the "company is cheap" or "company is evil" rationale, and think support is beneath them. I would suggest ignoring these people. |
172,348 | I work as a software developer where we have a voluntary on-call roster, where devs do on-call duties in a round-robin fashion. Recently, my manager told me that the roster is currently too small and it's putting strain on the devs who have volunteered (it pays extra btw). As a result, devs who are not on the roster are being encouraged to do so.
The way it works is that you get put on on-call duty where you have to be available pretty much 24/7 (including weekend) for a week.
Since the company has no policy that makes this mandatory (it wasn't mentioned when I joined close to a year ago), I want to decline joining the roster since I feel like it's a lot of pressure. Would it be the right thing to do or might it paint me in a bad light? | 2021/05/11 | [
"https://workplace.stackexchange.com/questions/172348",
"https://workplace.stackexchange.com",
"https://workplace.stackexchange.com/users/121069/"
] | Work out what it would take to make working on-call acceptable to you, and tell your boss that. This is a negotiation, and the company is trying to get the best deal they can. Don't let them use guilt to take a deal that you're not happy with, because you have something to sell that the company wants.
* Maybe you could take extra time off instead of being paid for call out.
* Maybe you never want to be on call on Sunday morning so you can go to church, or you need to look after your kids all weekend.
* Maybe you are willing to answer calls but can't promise to always be sober enough to drive in to the office.
* Maybe you wouldn't mind taking a call in the evening but there's no amount they could pay you to be woken up in the night.
* Maybe it *is* about the money.
There will be some people on your team for whom the extra money is very valuable and others for whom it doesn't make a lot of difference. There will be those who spend their evenings and weekends on the couch, and others who need to get home to care for an elderly parent. Everyone has a different price on their free time.
If the company isn't willing to be flexible or just isn't offering enough for what they're asking from you, just say no. It's not your responsibility to make sacrifices to make the company profitable. | I am going to offer a contrary outlook (at least to those that have answered here), but you may want to consider.
* Some small(-er) growing companies that I have worked at had similar arrangements where developers provided support, where the support work did not justify hiring full-time staff as of yet.
* Joining in the shared support work shows you are interested in becoming part of the team. Conversely, refusing (or not volunteering) gives the impression you are only interested in your own short-term wants, and not the supporting the larger goals of the team.
* Working in customer support for the software you develop can be very beneficial. Hearing first-hand user pains and problems will help you in crafting better solutions and evaluating alternatives when you work on the software.
* Many of the opinions provided here are obviously geared to larger companies, and jump on the "company is cheap" or "company is evil" rationale, and think support is beneath them. I would suggest ignoring these people. |
172,348 | I work as a software developer where we have a voluntary on-call roster, where devs do on-call duties in a round-robin fashion. Recently, my manager told me that the roster is currently too small and it's putting strain on the devs who have volunteered (it pays extra btw). As a result, devs who are not on the roster are being encouraged to do so.
The way it works is that you get put on on-call duty where you have to be available pretty much 24/7 (including weekend) for a week.
Since the company has no policy that makes this mandatory (it wasn't mentioned when I joined close to a year ago), I want to decline joining the roster since I feel like it's a lot of pressure. Would it be the right thing to do or might it paint me in a bad light? | 2021/05/11 | [
"https://workplace.stackexchange.com/questions/172348",
"https://workplace.stackexchange.com",
"https://workplace.stackexchange.com/users/121069/"
] | This is a choice you have to make for yourself. If the extra money and positive visibility doesn't make it worth it for you, and you aren't willing to sacrifice the time required, then don't volunteer. If the company can't get enough people to staff the on-call roster voluntarily, they will have to figure something else out, like contracting additional staff just to be on-call or offering more compensation for being on-call.
If there are so few people on the on-call roster that they're being unduly burdened, they can make their own decision about whether or not the money is worth it for them to continue being on-call. Their work-life balance is not your problem to solve for them. If you volunteer just to be nice so that they can be on-call less, you're not helping them, you're helping the company because now the company doesn't have to increase the amount they pay people to be on-call.
Yes, when you put your interests ahead of the company's interests, that can affect your career at that company. A good company will understand your decision even if they would rather you have made a different one. A bad company will try to bully you into doing what's good for them even if it isn't good for you. You know better than we do what sort of company you work at. | You could refuse to be part of the roster, but this might turn out to limit your career advancement opportunities and possibly your standing within the team.
The people currently on the roster might be doing it to earn a little more money for themselves, but they're also increasing their visibility to management in terms of being available to work on and correct urgent issues.
You should really talk to your manager and the team members who currently work on the roster and see what the actual work entails. Do people really get woken up at 2am and told to fix issues? Is there any documentation to help resolve common issues?
Being a part of the roster can only be a positive for you. Even if you can't resolve specific issues to full resolution, performing the initial diagnosis steps is a whole lot better than nothing at all happening. |
172,348 | I work as a software developer where we have a voluntary on-call roster, where devs do on-call duties in a round-robin fashion. Recently, my manager told me that the roster is currently too small and it's putting strain on the devs who have volunteered (it pays extra btw). As a result, devs who are not on the roster are being encouraged to do so.
The way it works is that you get put on on-call duty where you have to be available pretty much 24/7 (including weekend) for a week.
Since the company has no policy that makes this mandatory (it wasn't mentioned when I joined close to a year ago), I want to decline joining the roster since I feel like it's a lot of pressure. Would it be the right thing to do or might it paint me in a bad light? | 2021/05/11 | [
"https://workplace.stackexchange.com/questions/172348",
"https://workplace.stackexchange.com",
"https://workplace.stackexchange.com/users/121069/"
] | You could refuse to be part of the roster, but this might turn out to limit your career advancement opportunities and possibly your standing within the team.
The people currently on the roster might be doing it to earn a little more money for themselves, but they're also increasing their visibility to management in terms of being available to work on and correct urgent issues.
You should really talk to your manager and the team members who currently work on the roster and see what the actual work entails. Do people really get woken up at 2am and told to fix issues? Is there any documentation to help resolve common issues?
Being a part of the roster can only be a positive for you. Even if you can't resolve specific issues to full resolution, performing the initial diagnosis steps is a whole lot better than nothing at all happening. | >
> Would it be the right thing to do or might it paint me in a bad light?
>
>
>
I wasn't hired for the maintenance of the coffee machine at work, so I won't do it. I have other work to do. But if the coffee machine was on fire, I'd drop my work to extinguish it.
The same principle applies to any activities in the company that are not officially in your contract. You are legally allowed to refuse them (within the legal bounds of course), but if you are a stickler for the contract at a time of *true* need, that is going to paint you as unhelpful (at the very least).
But this is highly contextual.
* Maybe the company has a genuine short term "act of god"-type emergency requiring more attendance
* Maybe the company hides a lack of budget/proper management by making everything an emergency all the time
* Maybe the company is consistently understaffing its efforts and expecting employees to voluntarily fix it for them
Whether I would help out or not massively depends on the context. For a *true* emergency, I'll be willing to help out, but not for a consistent issue that is caused by bad resource management.
That is my decision, but that is not necessarily yours. You have to make this for yourself. |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.