BlackBerry handheld penetration testing

Question: Are there any relevant resources, tools or documents about penetration testing of BlackBerry handhelds?
Comment: Maybe relevant https://www.symantec.com/avcenter/reference/attack.surface.analysis.of.blackberry.devices.pdf
Answer: I recently did a Blackberry handheld security review and used this checklist from the DoD as my source information - http://web.nvd.nist.gov/view/ncp/repository/checklistDetail?id=252
This is also a useful list of resources from RIM http://docs.blackberry.com/en/admin/deliverables/7533/List_of_available_BB_AMT_tools_555278_11.jsp
This looked interesting to me as it is the commercial equivalent of the Autoberry Tool used by the US government - http://fixmo.com/products/sentinel There are no prices on the site though and I would guess it might be pricy.
Comment: This is link-only-answer mostly. It would be nice to get a good answer.
Answer: This might be of interest to you:
http://www.defcon.org/images/defcon-14/dc-14-presentations/DC-14-X30n.pdf
This is a slide presentation from the 2006 Defcon event, where the researcher into detail on how an attacker might use the BlackBerry device to run proxying software, granting the attacker remote access to the company LAN (due to how BlackBerry's set up essentially a VPN connection over the Internet).
The proof of concept demonstrated includes the writing of the proxy application as well as performing a simple TCP exploit of a machine running on the LAN to allow privileged access, as well as downloading intranet web pages.
Answer: The Blackberry browser is now based of webkit, I would start by looking at fairly recent webkit exploits because you can be pretty sure that the same vulnerabilities if present on the blackberry browser will take a good while to be patched.
Here is an example of a recent BB security advisory reporting a vulnerability in webkit. http://btsc.webapps.blackberry.com/btsc/search.do?cmd=displayKC&docType=kc&externalId=KB30152
The blackberry bold fell in the 2011 pwn2own competition to a webkit vulnerability and there was also a fairly recent root exploit in the blackberry playbook which exploited a vulnerability in its file sharing implementation.
As far as recent tools and documentation goes, I don't remember seeing anything specifically on blackberries but there has been a lot of research done on mobile platforms and applications, I would look at applying some of this to the blackberry as a good starting point.

BlackBerry handheld penetration testing


Intersection forms of 4-manifolds with boundary

Question: Let $X$ be any simply connected smooth 4-manifold with a fixed Euler characteristic $e$, signature $\sigma$ and boundary $Y$. Assume that the determinant of the intersection form $Q_{X}$ is equal to a fixed integer $k \neq 0, \pm 1$. Is it true that the number of possible intersection forms for such $X$ is finite? Any reference would be appreciated.
Answer: The classification of integral quadratic forms is discussed in Chapter 15 of Conway-Sloane. In particular, the discussion there implies that there are only finitely many integral quadratic forms of a given determinant and dimension. Section 11 in the chapter discusses methods for computing the number of such forms.
Comment: @Agol Thanks a lot for the reference!
Answer: As the question is posed, the answer is not. If you take connected sum with $\Bbb{CP}^2$ you preserve the determinant, but change the intersection form.
Comment: Thanks Daniele. I should have added that the Euler characteristic and the signature of $X$ are fixed as well.


How to make an image's color look consistent across different applications?

Question: One time I had some images for buttons for users to click on, and they looked bright and sharp on a Mac's Preview app, and on some other graphics apps on the PC, but when it was displayed on Chrome on a Mac, the color became dull.  Someone suggested it was due to "color profile" in the image, but is there a way to remove it, if PhotoShop is not available to me and I have to rely on bundled or freeware tools on the Mac or the PC?
Answer: If you're interested in working with color profiles with free software, GIMP does that. In their documentation, you can find background info on color management, enabling color management, and customizing color management.
I did some digging, though, and it turns out that this is a known issue for Chrome. According to the issue ticket, it's been an issue for two years!
Answer: If you're working on a Mac I suggest ImageOptim. It optimizes your PNG and removes all colorprofiles and unnecessary stuff. Win/win situation.
On a windows machine try PNGcrush


What advice do the sages give for improving one's concentration in prayer?

Question: Following up on Isaac's question seeking experience-based advice to improve his prayer:, I am seeking something a bit different.  I remember reading some advice on the subject given (I think) by Rav Schach, zt'l, that one should from time to time use a different siddur in order to force himself to go through the siddur word for word and concentrate on what he is reading.  Can someone point me to published suggestions by other gedolim?
Comment: http://he.wikisource.org/wiki/%D7%A9%D7%95%D7%9C%D7%97%D7%9F_%D7%A2%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%9A_%D7%90%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%97_%D7%97%D7%99%D7%99%D7%9D_%D7%A6%D7%97 and https://he.wikisource.org/wiki/%D7%A9%D7%95%D7%9C%D7%97%D7%9F_%D7%A2%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%9A_%D7%90%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%97_%D7%97%D7%99%D7%99%D7%9D_%D7%A7%D7%99%D7%98_%D7%90 regarding Yerushalmi Berakhot 4:4
Answer: Rabbi Weinberger of Aish Kodesh http://www.ravmosheweinberger.com/, speaks at length quite often on the topic of prayer. Most recently, I have been re-listening to his shiurim on Bilvavi Mishkan Evenah. It has reminded me that kavanah does not simply start with the actual act of prayer, it is a life-long quest to continually remind ourselves that Yesh Bo're Olam, there is a Creator of the world, yitbarakh shemo.
Over the past few days, since I started reviewing Rav Weinberger's shiurim, I have found it quite helpful to remind myself during prayer that every single moment is an act of creation and Hashem Yitbarakh is continually involved with every single moment of existence. Literally, that very moment at which I said the Shema, Hashem Yitbarakh was creating my lungs, lips and brain such that I could utter the words in this physical world. As the Ba'al HaTanya reminds us, "Hashem is very near to you."
In addition, I once heard by the Gerrer Hasidim a common meditation in prayer was to picture oneself standing before the throne of Hashem Yitbarakh while praying. You literally try to picture yourself standing at the the feet of a massive, universe encompassing throne. You continually remind yourself that you are in fact always standing before Hashem Yitbarakh.
Comment: Welcome to Judaism.se!
Answer: Rebbe Nachman of Breslov has an enormous amount to say about this topic. Many of the paragraphs in the chapter on prayer in Likutei Eitzos relate to concentration in prayer:
http://www.azamra.org/Advice/prayer.html
Some further selections, from Sichos HaRan and other sources, are collected here (The Essential Rabbi Nachman, edited by R' Avraham Greenbaum):
http://azamra.org/Essential/prayer.htm
To summarize briefly, here are some of his pieces of advice:
1) focus on the simple meaning of the words
2) make sure to say the words with sincerity and truth
3) simply push irrelevant thoughts aside, or ignore them
4) try concentrating on a particular part of the service, and eventually exapand the portions of the service which you're able to daven with kavanah (Sichos Haran #75)
5) exercise great determination and firmness in pushing away irrelevant thoughts
6) make sure to pray audibly and to listen carefully to the sound of your voice
7) give charity for causes in the land of Israel
8) study the legal codes daily (see paragraph 55 in Lukutei Eitzos)
9) be prepared to sacrifice yourself for the sanctification of G-d's name
10) search for good points within yourself so you will be happy
11) force yourself to concentrate (paragraph 88, 90)
12) offer hospitality to a Torah scholar (paragraph 67)
13) say the words simply as if you were a little child (paragraph 92)
14) get yourself in a happy mood before you pray (Sichos HaRan #75)
15) pray with a happy tune (Id.)
Comment: Your answer is much better than mine. :)
Comment: No need to apologize for hafatza!
Answer: Rambam, in Mishneh Torah, says the following:
"One should clear his mind from all thoughts and envision himself as standing before the Divine Presence. Therefore, one must sit a short while before praying in order to focus his attention and then pray in a pleasant and supplicatory fashion.
One should not pray as one carrying a burden who throws it off and walks away. Therefore, one must sit a short while after praying, and then withdraw.
The pious ones of the previous generations would wait an hour before praying and an hour after praying. They would [also] extend their prayers for an hour."
http://www.chabad.org/dailystudy/rambam.asp?tdate=2/26/2013&rambamChapters=3
By "sitting," Rambam presumably means meditating, because the purpose of the sitting is to "clear his mind from all thoughts and envision himself as standing before the Divine Presence." So Rambam seems to be saying that one should meditate on G-d for a while, by visualizing the Shechinah and clearing one's mind of other thoughts, before beginning davening to ensure one davens with kavanah.
As for other gedolim, I believe the approach of Chabad, as described by the Alter Rebbe in the Tanya, towards achieving kavanah is to meditate on the greatness of G-d before davening. This leads to a great love and awe for G-d, and motivates the meditator to serve Him with enthusiasm and holy intentions.
Answer: Rabbienu Avarohom ban HaRaMbaM HahHosid in his Hamaspig laOvdei HaShem says that the foundation of Judaism in our times and obviously in his is Taffilo. Taffilo is the Ovodoh of our times therefore to have a stable foundation in Judaism one needs to start with the proper Taffilo. What is proper Taffilo? It is as if a person is standing infront of a king and he is begging him for what he needs (sustenance). One should come to the king with proper clothing which is clean and clean body, clean environment, nothing should be distracting him in the area, clean thoughts,and have a clean heart(Mishnei Toroh chpt4 holochoh 1 by Rabbeinu Avarohom's father RaMbaM). Once these things have been taken care of before time for prayer, during prayer one must be careful to be standing not sitting or leaning on things for support for the only support a person needs is HaShem, lest he is sick or old and he can't pray without sitting or leaning on something, he should be facing towards the Beith HaMeegdosh, he should prepare his body for meaning he should have his feet together and his arms should be on top of his stomache at around the heart level and he should have the right hand over the left, and his eyes should be looking downwards as if he is a slave and unworthy of looking at the holiness of the king, but at the same time he should keep his heart in the heights of heaven. He should adjust his clothing as to not look like disrespectful before the king, he should be standing in a proper place facing a wall, and the wall has windows he should open them, he should also have a proper tone in his voice as if he is singing his praises and his needs to the king, and the last two are keedoh waheeshtahHawoyoh(chpt5 holochoh 1). Rabbienu Avarohom in his Hamaspig goes into depth regarding all these subjects. What he says is that the navee'eem and common folk did not do keedoh waheeshtahHawoyoh(naphiloth apoyeem) the way we do it today. He brings proof from T.N.K and the Gamoroh, that real keedoh waheeshtahHawoyoh(naphiloth apoyim) is by going on your knees, beerkayeem al apoyeem, similar to what the muslims do. He says it is of no concern that muslims do birkayeem al apoyeem because they took the meenhogeem from OUR navee'eem and we took the arabian meenhogeem as the posuk says " אַף חֹבֵב עַמִּים, כָּל-קְדֹשָׁיו בְּיָדֶךָ; וְהֵם תֻּכּוּ לְרַגְלֶךָ, יִשָּׂא מִדַּבְּרֹתֶיךָ." Yiso Meedabrothacho, meaning they took our meenhogeem, yet we took their meenhogeem with regards to our woman dressing up as their women using a garment called a bageer. Therefore, the meenhogeem of the goyeem are our own meenhogeem which we dropped and which we should reclaim. Therefore, doing proper naphiloth apoyim is the best way to attach oneself to HaShem, like a slave/avad infront of a king/malach. In Yalkut Shimoni(http://www.tsel.org/torah/yalkutsh/shmuel.html#A1277), it says that the purpose of the Beith HaMeegdosh was for heeshtahHawoyoh, and the purpose of the next Beith HaMeegdosh will be the same, without proper tefillo, the Beith HaMeedgdosh won't happen.
I hope this helps with proper tafillo. HasSlocho Rabo.


Real-time traffic monitoring router / firewall device

Question: I'm looking for a router & firewall device that will provide built-in bandwidth monitoring; meaning, I go to the web control panel for the device and I can see a real-time breakdown of how much traffic each IP is using (and even better, identify the MAC of each machine so I can exclude them from the network if necessary). I know there's third party solutions that can analyze syslogs in real time, but really what I want is a simple, plug-and-play device that offers this kind of real-time analysis out of the box.
Answer: I'm going to advocate Pfsense again. PFsense can by default graph outgoing / ingoing bandwidth. If you add the Bandwithd plugin, you can graph the traffic coming out of each node of your network on a per-IP basis. It even displays the type of traffic.
It's really simple to setup and works very well. You can put in transparently on your network by putting it in network bridge.
Answer: if you have netflow capable devices use it. although it originated at cisco many hardware vendors support it. if it´s too taxing on your hardware use sampled netflow.
but most of all get a netflow agregator like http://nfsen.sourceforge.net/ for accumulating and visualizing the data.
Answer: I believe smoothwall offers built-in graphing via MRTG. Not sure if it will do reporting via internal IP's out of the box.  I think there are some other forks of this project that do similar things, but i can't remember the names.
ntop is probably more flexible for your needs.  You should be able to run this on any linux distro that you can purpose as a firewall with iptables.
Answer: I second PFSense, as a very satisfied user.
Also, hosts3d (formerly homestead) if you're running *NIX / *BSD.  It is IMHO the most underrated network utility that currently exists.
Answer: MAC filtering is not very difficult to get around.
You can just force all traffic to go through a proxy, for example squid, and force authentication.
Block direct access to the internet, so the only way to get out is via the proxy.
Then let squid do the accounting for you.
Answer: iftop is a useful *nix utility for watching traffic.  Depending on what firewall/router infrastructure you have, it might fit the bill.
Answer: Untangle is a great way to go.

Plug and play
FOSS
Great features, including reporting.

http://www.untangle.com/Open-Source-Package


Is there a currently available way to connect firewire to a 2011 MacBook Air besides the Apple Thunderbolt monitor?

Question: If one wanted to connect a firewire peripheral to a 2011 MacBook Air, one could buy Apple's Thunderbolt monitor, connect the monitor to the Air and the peripheral to the monitor. That's kind of overkill, however, for simply connecting a Firewire music keyboard. Does any other method currently exist?
Answer: Nothing shipping immediately, however Sonnet did announce a Thunderbolt ExpressCard adapter  that you could pair with a Firewire ExpressCard to give yourself some Firewire capabilities. Their site claims it will start to ship by December 14, 2011. At one point a   direct Thunderbolt to Firewire adapter was announced, but I can't find any concrete info on it, so I wouldn't count on it appearing any time soon.
Overall Thunderbolt support from anyone other than Apple has been pretty slow to take off. There have been some suggestions that Intel was slow releasing final specs for manufacturers and/or getting production hardware out the door. I've also read that some manufacturers may be waiting for the 2nd generation of cheaper Thunderbolt chips to ship sometime in 2012. Lots of promise in the technology, and I think it will take off sooner or later, but it's still in the early stages unfortunately.
Answer: Apple announced a Thunderbolt to FireWire 800 cable at WWDC 2012. It seems that this cable will be shipping in July 2012. (The adapter is mentioned at the bottom of this page.)


Is it normal for a newborn to develop pimples?

Question: My daughter is 2 weeks old and has developed a pimple like rash on her forehead.
Is this a common problem for new babies?
What things (if any) can I do to alleviate the problem?
Comment: My 2 week old daughter has such a rash - it started on her forehead three days ago, spread to cheeks and eyelids, but seems to be slowly disappearing already.
Answer: Yes it is common! Just wash with water and a soft cloth. "Baby acne occurs when hormonal changes in the body stimulate oil glands in the baby's skin. The condition can look worse when the baby is crying or fussy, or any other instance that increases blood flow to the skin. Baby acne is harmless and usually resolves on its own within several weeks" (Medline Plus, National Institute of Health).  It lasted about 2 weeks with my firstborn.
Answer: Newborns are exposed to all the intense hormones of labor that flooded through the mother's system and made birth possible. It gives the baby acne that can last for a while. Talk to your pediatrician if you're worried, but it's pretty standard for the acne to show up within a week or two of birth. My son had it all over his chest. You don't need to do anything to their delicate baby skin, just give it time.


How to enroll in Gmail

Question: I have Cox email. I need to send a very large attachment (14MB). Upon trying to send the message with the attachment, I get a return message that says the message is too large. Is it possible to switch to Gmail to send the large message? Please assist me. I am not very computer savy.
Comment: First step to computers: Please do not post personal information on the internet, we can assist without it.
Comment: To create a Gmail account, follow the steps from here: https://accounts.google.com/SignUp?service=mail
Answer: GMail allows attachments of up to 25MB (see this link)
If sending still fails, make sure that the recipient can also receive large attachments.
Answer: You can use Gmail to send it. Gmail's maximum attachment size is 25 MB. Enrolling in Gmail is quite straight forward.
Go to http://gmail.com. Click the red Create Button and follow the 3 simple steps.
Then click the gear icon  in the upper-right, select Settings and select the Accounts and Import tab
In the Check mail using POP3 section, click Add POP3 email account.
Enter your COX email address then click Next Step.
Gmail will populate sample settings for the server name and port. Please use these instead
Server: pop.cox.net
Port: 110
Enter your Password.
Do check Leave a copy of retrieved messages on the server
Click Add Account.
Once your account has been added successfully, you'll have the option of setting it as a custom From address. This allows you to compose messages in Gmail, but have them appear to be sent from your other email account. Click Yes to set up a custom From address. (See below for more information)
Go back to http://gmail.com (if you logged out, sign back in)
Click the gear icon in the upper-right, select Settings and select the Accounts and Import tab
Under Send mail as, click Add another email address.
In the 'Email address' field, enter your name and COX email address.
Choose to use Gmail's servers to send your mail
Click Next Step >> and then click Send Verification. Gmail will send a verification message to your COX email address to confirm that you own it.
Open your COX email account and either click the link in the message Gmail sent or enter the confirmation code in the Accounts section of your Gmail settings.

There are also some options for attachments larger than 25 MBs at How to send big files via email?
References
http://support.google.com/mail/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=22370
http://support.google.com/mail/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=21289
http://ww2.cox.com/residential/idaho/support/internet/article.cox?articleId={a8fb24c0-6440-11df-ccef-000000000000}

How to enroll in Gmail


How to succeed with making omelette

Question: Sounds simple but I seem to fail every time, that is it turns into scrambled eggs instead. How do you make it so that you can flip it over both without it breaking and before it burns?
Comment: whisk egg thoroughly with some whole milk, generously butter the medium hot cast iron, pour the egg mix, sprinkle salt and pepper, cover the lid and cook the omelet in low heat.
Answer: This depends on which type of omelet you want to make, I'll run through the three types I know how to make.
The thick Waffle House style omelet (it's the kind that poofs up and is about an inch thick all the way around, IHOP also serves this omelet) is achieved by beating the eggs and incorporating a LOT of air in to the mixture.  Restaurants do this by using a milkshake machine to whip the eggs.  This type of omelet is easy to flip and cook, you just put enough butter to coat the pan, pour off any excess and then pour your egg mixture in to the pan (you are going to have to use an omelet pan for this).  Let the omelet cook while occasionally swirling the pan in a circular motion.  When the omelet has cooked most of the way through flip by either the toss in the air and catch in the pan method (not for beginners!) or the fork and spatula method (place spatula underneath and hold omelet onto the spatula with a fork on one corner). This will yield a thick fluffy omelet but it can be hard to work enough air into the eggs at home.
The second type is the French omelet and it doesn't require flipping at all. The french omelet is what you see in fine dining brunches if you see it at all in the U.S.  This omelette is made by mixing your eggs and pouring the mixture into a medium low heat pan.  As it cooks you take a fork and pull the cooked egg off the bottom and into the center of the omelet. Here is a video that goes more in depth.
The third type is what I call the grandma omelet.  It's made in a frying pan instead of an omelet pan and features a fairly flat egg wrapped around some cheese and other toppings.  For this omelet you need medium heat.  You should coat the pan with butter and pour in the egg mixture to a heated pan.  Let cook for a minute or two, then swirl the uncooked egg to the outside of the pan use a fork to lift the very edge to allow the uncooked egg to take the place of the cooked next to the pan.  Let the egg cook till desired doneness (side note: your omelet should and will have a small amount of uncooked but heated egg, it should be not runny, but still not be entirely set) and add toppings and fold over.  Then serve.
To address your scrambled egg problem, you need to let the egg set more before attempting the flip and lowering the heat on your pan will take care of the burning. Just remember that eggs are extremely delicate and respond better to lower heat and close attention.
Also the names are just the ones I use in my head, if somebody knows the correct terminology, let me know and I'll update to reflect it.
Answer: One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet that I find makes all the difference is this: I put the eggs in a bowl of warm water for 5 mins or so before I crack and blend them. Cold eggs tend to get rubbery when they hit the hot pan.
I also use clarified butter (ghee), and I ALWAYS keep a LOW heat. After gently pouring the eggs in, I let it just sit for a minute or three, until it's clear that the bottom has set. Then, using a rubber spatula, I gently lift and loosen the omelette all the way around, and shift the uncooked egg part so it flows underneath. Once the top is almost dry, I put in my ingredients across one half, and then quickly lift and flip the other half over it, making a half-moon shape. The insides will continue to cook while I gently flip it over to one side and the other, finishing the outside to a very light golden.
That's my technique, anyway. :)
Answer: I usually make open omelette which can be a bit trickier but my technique always works perfectly so maybe it would help you as well.
First I melt around 1 teaspoon butter and I spread the beaten eggs in the pan with a spoon. I put the lid on and let it cook over very low heat until it's almost cooked all over (around 5 minutes). To flip, I let it slide to the lid and flip it over the frying pan. If you want it folded, the low heat and the fat will allow you to have a better control of the the doneness and you won't fail.
Answer: The technique I used to use was to lift up the edges and tilt the pan very slightly, to move the uncooked egg out to the sides.  This worked pretty well in the sense that it didn't break or burn, but didn't produce that perfectly smooth omelet.
The technique I use today is to simply use the bottom of a fork and make circular motions across the surface to spread around the uncooked egg.  I do this on lower heat and, obviously, with lots of fat (butter or bacon fat if I'm making bacon at the same time).  When the top "layer" of egg starts to set, it's time to add the other ingredients, briefly melt the cheese / warm the vegetables / etc., and fold.
To fold it, simply tilt the pan so that the egg starts to slide off the side; then use a fork or spatula to lift the end and fold it back over the other side.  Works for me every time.
Answer: To prevent burning while maintaining a high heat, use clarified butter.  You get a higher smoke point, because the milk solids are no longer there.
Answer: I'm pretty happy with the way I make my omelets so here is the way I do it. I usually make very small omelets and they cook for no more than 45-60 second on a very hot plate. I use either one or two eggs. The result is a pretty wet and "runny" omelet, but I think they taste delicious.

take one or two ROOM temperature eggs
(not directly from fridge) and wipe them well together. I only add salt, pepper and a pinch of water.
cut the vegs you want in your omelet. I prefer garlic, onion, red pepper and mushrooms. Since its a small omelet, cut them very well and use small amounts.
heat a little oil in a very hot pan for some secs
add garlic and onion in the oil and cook for some secs, add red pepper, mushroom etc. for some secs
then add eggs and use the trick of lifting the omelet so that everything gets cooked
i usually have the plate so hot that it takes no more than 45 secs to make the omelet, after that amount, I add some cheese, flip it over and take it off the plate

This makes a great omelet and usually it's a bit runny and wet just like I prefer it :)
Answer: Like Kyra said, I use butter (somewhat liberal amounts) in a Teflon pan before pouring the egg.  Make sure the pan is to temperature before pouring the eggs in.  It helps if the eggs are at room temperature.  The eggs should bubble fairly soon after pouring, 10-15 seconds.  That helps to make sure the omelette is cooked without burning.
The right size pan is important.  Use a large enough pan so that you don't have too thick of a mass to cook through.
As far as flipping, if you're not good with flipping it in the pan there is no shame in using a spatula :)  Something flexible with a little give at the tip I have found helps to get underneath the omelette without breaking it up too much.  Be sure that you get under it enough or else it will break.
Answer: Lots of butter (actually, I use Smart Balance, wife=nurse, what can I say), medium heat, very think coating of egg.  I make my eggs simply as 1 egg + 1 tbl.spoon water, whisk.  Teflon rounded edge pan.  No flipping over, just flip up the sides over the center to cover chesse, ham, etc. added on top when just starting to dry out.
Answer: A French-style no-flip omelette can also be made without needing to pull the egg toward the center with a fork.
For many years, the top hit for "omelette" on Google was Pineapple Girl's omelette recipe, which is quite easy to make, and has a special addition over the traditional French omelette: a delicious, crispy filigree of egg around the border. The original site is now down (and has consequently disappeared completely from Google search results), but the internet archive still has a copy of what was the world's most popular omelette recipe.
While I hope the internet archive of this omelette recipe will always remain available, I'll also give my own set of (overly wordy) instructions on how to make this type of extra-delicious omelette:
You'll need eggs, whatever toppings and spices you want for the omelettes, at least one 10-inch non-stick skillet, or ideally one per person (that is, ideally two), so you can sit down to eat with your guest(s) without anyone having to eat an omelette that's not piping hot from the skillet.
Begin by setting out three eggs per omelette to warm up to room temperature, and then prepare whatever filling you want for your omelettes...this can be anything.
Personally, I've found one set of toppings I like and tend to stick with it: diced ham (or diced ham steak, if a whole ham is too much to buy at once), grated cheese, a few sautéed mushrooms, some wilted spinach, and a lightly cooked diced roma tomato (the latter usually cooked together with the spinach, but separately from the mushrooms).
If your toppings don't require pre-cooking, and you're reasonably quick at chopping/shredding them, you can wait until after getting the omelettes are started to prepare them, but I find it a bit nerve-racking myself, and prefer to have everything ready in advance.
If you used your skillet to prepare any of the toppings, you'll probably need to wash it again before using it to cook the omelette, or it may still end up sticking. If it's in perfect condition, it may not be necessary.
Scramble the eggs, together with any spices, i.e. a dash to an eighth of a teaspoon salt, optionally pepper, perhaps a hint of hot spice via a spiced salt such as Tony Chachere's (which makes much it easier to add just a hint of hot spice than trying to pinch an optimum dusting). Optionally, add about two tablespoons of milk to the egg, for a softer texture (personally, I like this recipe about equally with or without milk, try it both ways).
Spray the skillet with oil, heat the skillet somewhat, and add the egg. Swirl the egg in the skillet so it leaves a thin layer all around the skillet, the layer should extend about 3/4 of an inch above the egg in your skillet.
Now wait until the egg has mostly firmed up, but still has a thin layer of runny egg all across the top. Swirl the skillet a second time to re-coat the same 3/4 of an inch above the omelette. This time, the layer will be noticeably thicker (although still quite thin).
At this point, you can begin adding toppings on half of the omelette, to let them warm up a little. If the omelette isn't cooking evenly, add them to the runnier side, since the side you add them to will stay in the pan longer.
As the omelette continues to firm up, the thin layer of egg will become crispy and brown, and pull back on its own from the side of the skillet (this is why a non-stick skillet is a necessity for making this type of omelette). When this happens, add any remaining toppings, and fold the more cooked half of the omelette over the less-cooked half, enclosing your toppings. Be careful not to break off the lacy border.
Give it a moment more for the cheese to melt and (if the lower half was still overly runny) for the egg to firm up a little more on the bottom, then serve (carefully, don't break off that lacy border) and enjoy!
Answer: The deal with omelettes is practice and more practice. And you need to use more heat than you can probably imagine. The pros saute at much higher temps than most home kitchens are able to deal with. I will cook some restaurant style dishes at home including omelettes.  My trick is to have all of my mis en place in order and ready for the intense and fast pace of cooking an omelette. My favorite technique is to finish the omelette in a 425F oven just after flipping it. You need the oven hot for roasted potatoes anyway right. At home  I whip two eggs with a tsp of heavy cream and a pinch of kosher salt in a copper bowl. I use a heavy Lincoln professional 8" non-stick skillet with its plain metal oven proof handle and the pan has never seen a dishwasher or tool other than a wooden spoon or chopsticks. A great pan will allow you to use much less fat. Burner on high but only let the pan partially preheat or the fat and non-stick surface will burn. Pour in about 1/2 tsp of olive oil and a tsp of butter (olive oil helps keep butter from burning). Pour in the whipped eggs immediately into the sizzling fat. I then use a wooden spoon to work (French Fold) under the omelette to allow the raw egg to slide under the cooked. This happens fast. About a minute.
Flip the omelette free style. Top with a little shredded Tillamook or Beechers aged cheddar and then put the pan in the oven for about a minute--it will fluff up and melt the cheese. Pull the pan out of the oven and add fillings like some sauteed mushrooms and fresh herbs, fold over onto the serving plate by letting the omelette slide half moon onto the plate and then using the pan like a hinge fold the other half moon over releasing the omelette onto the plate with the rounded part of the omelette matching up the round edge of the plate. Pairs well with Irish Coffee.
Answer: Lots of butter to grease the pan. :D

How to succeed with making omelette


Can I vent my bathroom exhaust fan into a plumbing drain vent?

Question: I installed a bathroom fan in the ceiling.  My bathroom is in the room right next to the laundry room.  The washing machine has the standard drain pipe vent of a pvc pipe venting to the outside through the roof.  To avoid cutting another hole in the roof I connected the bathroom fan vent to the washing machine drain vent in the attic so it can vent outside.  The only problem I can foresee with this is maybe some rain could possibly get down into the bathroom fan, but that is very unlikely the way I have it set up.  Any other issues or problems I can't see?
Comment: NOOOO,  the answer is **NO YOU CAN NOT**.
Answer: You have two big issues here.
First is that you have a serious risk of venting sewer gasses into your home. This is why drain vents open above the roof line or use one-way air admittance valves. This is likely to be unpleasant and possibly unhealthy.
Second is that a drain vent is typically too small and too moist to properly vent a bathroom fan. Your fan is probably designed to use a 4" duct, and instead it's going through a 1.5" diameter pipe. And if any lint/dust gets pushed out by your fan, it risks accumulating on the sides of the vent pipe, potentially blocking the pipe and slowing both your drainage and ventilation.
Beyond those functional problems, you'll also have a pretty visible issue that anyone inspecting your attic will see. You should do this the right way: add a properly-sized duct line and a roof vent for ventilation, and re-seal your drain vent pipe.
Comment: I see Sewer gas as a major problem.  Definitely not a good move.
Comment: The homeowner might come home one day to pieces of his house all over the neighborhood.
Answer: Not enough detail to be sure, but I doubt that the drain vent has a large enough cross-section to allow enough airflow.  The vent pipes in my house are 2"; the ventilator conduits are 6" or 8".  You may find that your fan is spinning and making a lot of noise but not moving much air...
Also, your statement that it's "very unlikely" that rainwater will get into your fan does not fill me with confidence.  The downside, if rain does get in, isn't just that the fan might stop working - it very well might catch on fire*.  So make absolutely certain that rain won't get in, OK?
*My sister's bathroom ceiling fan caught fire a couple of months ago - albeit due to advanced age, not rain damage - and came very close to burning down the house.  So this is a topic that concerns me.
Answer: The answer is no way! Sewer gas is explosive and could settle back into your exhaust fan which has an electric motor that is not rated for explosive gases. You're now not at code for the sewer or the fan. If a fire or explosion were to occur, good luck on your insurance claim and worse if someone was to be injured. Vent the fan through the roof as required and fix your sewer vent system.


Conjugacy class of a full Jordan block over integers

Question: Can we characterize all integer matrices that are similar (over $\Bbb Z$) to a full Jordan block with $0$'a on the diagonal? In other words, can we determine the conjugacy class of such a matrix over $\Bbb Z$? The more general question is when we consider nonzero integers $b_1|b_2|\ldots|b_{n-1}$ ($b_1$ divides $b_2$, $b_2$ divides $b_3$, etc.) on the upper diagonal, and $0$'s elsewhere.
Answer: One set of condition is that the matrix $A$ is nilpotent (which can be read off
from the characteristic polynomial $p_A(t)$ being $t^n$) and that its cokernel
is isomorphic to $\mathbb Z$ (or equivalently its elementary divisors are $n$
$1$'s and one $0$). Indeed considering (through $A$) $\mathbb Z^n$ as a module
over $\mathbb Z[t]/(t^n)$ and letting $e\in\mathbb Z^n$ be a lift of a generator
of $\mathbb Z^n/A\mathbb Z^n$ we get by Nakayama's lemma that it is a generator
of $\mathbb Z^n$ as an $\mathbb Z[t]/(t^n)$-module giving us a surjective
$\mathbb Z[t]/(t^n)$-module-map $\mathbb Z[t]/(t^n)\rightarrow\mathbb Z^n$. It
is also injective as that can be checked over $\mathbb Q$ in which case it is
clear as $A$ as $\mathbb Q$-matrix has a single Jordan block.
As for the more general question a Jordan block of the assumed type has cokernel
isomorphic to $\mathbb Z\bigoplus \mathbb Z/b_1\bigoplus\cdots\bigoplus\mathbb
Z/b_{n-1}$. I haven't really thought about it carefully but I doubt that that is
the only invariant.
Comment: Very interesting! It gives me a new insight to the problem when you mention a basic fact like Nakayama'a lemma. I am very glad to hear from you on this problem; I had the honor to attend your wonderful lectures in ICTP in the summer school for noncommutative geometry in 2004. Thank you very much again!
Answer: An extended comment on Torsten's reasonable answer:  It might be interesting to know why these special Jordan blocks are singled out at first.   I guess these are (in old-fashioned language) Jordan forms of "nonderogatory" nilpotent matrices as treated in matrix algebra books (characteristic polynomial = minimal polynomial)?   Anyway, there is quite a bit of older literature in this direction including a 1972 Academic Press book Integral Matrices by Morris Newman which integrates some group theory with linear algebra in the spirit of Fricke-Klein.
I'd approach the basic question here concretely by observing first that the matrices with rational entries similar to the given Jordan block are precisely the matrices over $\mathbb{Q}$ having this Jordan form.   For this the point is to compare the rational canonical form over $\mathbb{Q}$ with the Jordan form over $\mathbb{C}$: here there is no problem with the eigenvalues of a given nilpotent matrix being in the smaller field.   In turn, the similarity of an integral matrix with its Jordan form over $\mathbb{Q}$  using an invertible integral matrix runs into further problems of an arithmetic nature which I don't know how to analyze so concretely.
In the broader Lie-theoretic setting, you have the orbit of a regular nilpotent element in the full matrix algebra under the adjoint group associated to the general linear group.  Here there are interesting arithmetic questions, when you start with an orbit over (say) $\mathbb{Q}$ and try to relate it to orbits under restriction to a natural arithmetic subgroup (here the group over $\mathbb{Z}$).  There is substantial literature on all of this, related to features of a number field and its ring of integers, which I don't have at my fingertips.   But that's probably the most natural setting for the question asked.  The modern literature on arithmetic subgroups of reductive groups is extensive and beautiful.
Answer: The answer to your first (less general) question is this : Let $A$ be a $n\times n$ matrix with coefficients in $\mathbb{Z}$. Then $A$ is similar over $\mathbb{Z}$ to a full Jordan block if and only if $Im(A^{n-1})=Ker(A)$. (Here and afterwards, I am seeing $A$ as an endomorphism of $\mathbb{Z}^n$ and taking kernels and images there.)
It is easy to see that this condition is necessary. To see that it is sufficient, you can go as follows :
(1) Let $A$ be as before, but assume only that $A^n=0$. Then, for every $k\in\{1,\dots,n-1\}$, the map $Ker(A^k)/(Im(A^{n-k})+Ker(A))\longrightarrow Ker(A^{k-1})/Im(A^{n-k+1})$ induced by $A$ is injective. This is very easy.
(2) Now assume that $Ker(A)=Im(A^{n-1})$. From (1), we deduce that, for every $k\in\{1,\dots,n-1\}$, $Ker(A^k)=Im(A^{n-k})$.
(3) Assume again that $Ker(A)=Im(A^{n-1})$. Note that this implies that $A^n=0$ and $A^{n-1}\not =0$, so that $Ker(A)$ is a $\mathbb{Z}$-submodule of $\mathbb{Z}^n$ such that $Ker(A)\otimes_{\mathbb{Z}}\mathbb{Q}$ is $1$-dimensional; from this we get that $Ker(A)$ is a free $\mathbb{Z}$-module of rank $1$. Pick an element $e_n\in\mathbb{Z}^n$ such that $A^{n-1}e_n$ is a generator of $Ker(A)$. For every $k\in\{1,\dots,n-1\}$, let $e_k=A^{n-k}e_n$. Then I say that $(e_1,\dots,e_n)$ is a basis of $\mathbb{Z}^n$. (And $A$ has the form we want in this basis, so we're done.)
You can prove this last fact by induction on $n$. It is obvious for $n=1$. If $n>1$ and we know the fact for $n-1$, then, by the induction hypothesis applied to the restriction of $A$ to $Im A=Ker(A^{n-1})$ (seen as an endomorphism of this space), we get that $(e_1,\dots,e_{n-1})$ is a basis of $Im(A)$. As $A(e_i)=e_{i-1}$, this implies that $\mathbb{Z}^n=\mathbb{Z}e_2+\dots+\mathbb{Z}e_{n-1}+Ker(f)$, but $Ker(f)=\mathbb{Z}e_1$, so we're done.
Note that the following conditions are equivalent :
(a) $Ker(A)=Im(A^{n-1})$
(b) $Im(A)=Ker(A^{n-1})$
(c) $A^n=0$ and $Coker(A)$ is isomorphic to $\mathbb{Z}$.
So, in this particular case, the invariant given by Torsten Ekedahl is enough.
In the general case, there are other invariants, and I don't know the general answer. For example, consider a $n\times n$ matrix $A$ with coefficients in $\mathbb{Z}$, and assume that it is similar (over $\mathbb{Z}$) to a matrix with $0$'s on the diagonal and under the diagonal, nonzero integers $b_1,\dots,b_{n-1}$ on the upper diagonal (no divisibility condition) and some integers (zero or nonzero) elsewhere. Then the integers $b_1,\dots,b_{n-1}$ are uniquely determined up to sign, because $|b_1\dots b_k|$ is the order of the quotient $Ker(A)/A^k(Ker(A^{k+1}))$. But these are still not the only invariants. For example, if $n=3$, we can see by direct calculation that the $GL_3(\mathbb{Z})$-conjugacy classes of the matrices
$$\left(\begin{matrix}0 & b_1 & c \\ 0 & 0 & b_2  \\
0 & 0 & 0\end{matrix}\right)$$
and
$$\left(\begin{matrix}0 & b_1 & d \\ 0 & 0 & b_2 \\ 0 & 0 & 0\end{matrix}\right)$$
(with $b_1,b_2$ positive integers) are the same if and only if $c=d$ modulo $gcd(b_1,b_2)$.
For bigger $n$, it becomes more and more complicated, and I'm not sure what to do. (Perhaps some more experiments would indicate an answer ? A quick way to obtain necessary conditions is also to look at what happens for conjugacy over $\mathbb{Z}_p$; the problem becomes much simpler there, especially with your divisibility hypothesis, because there's only one prime in $\mathbb{Z}_p$. But I don't know if you can get sufficient conditions this way.)
Comment: This is very nice! It would be great if we could generalize it to the other case.


Internet SSH Server Security Considerations

Question: What steps should I take to reasonably secure my linux desktop before opening sshd to the Internet so I can connect from anywhere?
Answer: I'd highly recommend you use RSA keys rather than passwords for remote SSH logons.
Second, you'll want to install Fail2Ban or something similar to discourage brute force breakin attempts (although again, disabling password authentication in favor of RSA public/private key authentication for SSH access would make this a mostly moot point)
Third, it's possible to prevent root from being allowed to connect via ssh; I recommend you do so and use sudo once connected.
As for the rest... Well, all the usual precautions when making a service available over the internet apply, although SSH is by its nature safer than most.
Comment: Keep your software up to date, don't ever transmit anything sensitive over an untrusted connection if you can possibly help it, make sure that your firewall allows **only** the types of connections you intend to trust through, etc.
Comment: Elaborate on "usual precautions"
Answer: Make sure you keep your SSH server up-to-date. OpenSSH has a good security record, but you don't want to.
Consider carefully whether you need to allow password authentication. Normally you should be logging in only from trusted computers (don't type a password on a computer that may be running a key logger), and these trusted computers are generally under your control and have your ssh private key. So in most circumstances password authentication is not useful and you should disable it. The main reason to forbid password authentication is that users are poor at managing passwords: they reuse them (so the passwords get leaked) and they are bad at choosing hard-to-guess passwords (so the passwords get brute-forced). If you're the only user on the machine, and your password is strong, and you don't use that password anywhere else, and you don't have and will never have any kind of test account with an easy-to-guess password, and you will never open an account for a friend, then it's ok to allow password authentication.
You may want to restrict the set of users who are allowed to log in over ssh. In particular, disabling root logins may make attacks slower if you're up against an attacker of low-to-medium sophistication. This isn't that big a deal though; escalating from a user account to root is rarely the hardest part.
If you can, keep logs on a separate machine or on read-only media. Note that there are many bots that perform brute-force attempts to log in with guessed passwords or weak keys. These bots are inoffensive against a properly secured setup (strong passwords, no low-entropy key), but can generate a log entries. A way to largely get rid of these brute-force attempts is to run ssh on a non-default port. Note that this is only a way to keep the volume of logs down (and perhaps slightly reduce the traffic from probing), it does not provide any additional security per se.
See also this similar question on Security Stack Exchange.
Answer: Have a good read of the Hardening Linux Server question over on security stackexchange. It covers off closing weak services and removing unneeded and outdated services.
Answer: Limit the SSH-Connection-Rate and follow the link mentioned in the article to further harden your ssh-config. Also Limit sshd to use only protocol 2, forbid direct root-login via ssh.
Allow only your account to log in. Disable password authentication. Do not use port 22. Use a passphrase for your private key.


Geometry Prove - two perpendicular lines in a circle

Question: In a circle of radius r, two lines (AB and CD) are perpendicular to each other and meet at X.
Show that:
Comment: You are being assigned contest-math as homework?
Comment: yes, and teacher asks us to find different approaches to solve this problem :S
Answer: This is a famous lemma from Archimedes.

Let $O$ be the center of the circle and extend $C$ through $O$ to meet $E$ so that $\overline{CE}$ is a diameter. Join points as shown above.
Angles $\angle CBX$ and $\angle CEA$ are equal because they subtend the same arc $AC$ of the circle.
Angle $\angle CAE$ subtends a diameter of the circle and is hence a right angle.
Therefore triangles $\triangle BXC$ and $\triangle EAC$ are similar. This shows that $\angle ACE = \angle BCD$.
Equal angles subtend equal arcs, and therefore arcs $BD$ and $AE$ are equal and hence segements $|BD|$ and $|AE|$ are equal.
From the Pythagorean theorem, we finish off as
$$\begin{align}(2r)^2 &= |AE|^2 + |AC|^2
\\ &= |BD|^2 + (|AX|^2 + |CX|^2)
\\ &= (|BX|^2 + |DX|^2) + (|AX|^2 + |CX|^2)\end{align}$$
Therefore
$$4r^2 = |AX|^2 + |BX|^2 + |CX|^2 + |DX|^2$$
as desired.
Answer: I will prove it for the isolated case of when the line $AB$ is the diameter. Cannot think how to generalize this now, but perhaps it will at least give some ideas.
Assume $AB$ is the diameter and $X$ is WLOG to the right of the origin, and the radius of the circle is $r > 0$. Let $\alpha$ denote the angle $XOC$ where $O$ is the center of the circle.
Then, $|AX| = r(1 + \cos \alpha)$ and $|XB| = r(1 - \cos \alpha)$, while $|CX| = |DX| = r \sin \alpha$. Note that
$|AX|^2 + |XB|^2 + |CX|^2 + |DX|^2
 = r^2 \left( (1+\cos\alpha)^2 +(1-\cos\alpha)^2 + 2\sin^2 \alpha\right)
 = r^2 \left( 2 + 2\cos^2 \alpha + 2\sin^2 \alpha \right)
 = 4r^2$
as desired.
Answer: Another way to solve it is introducing Cartesian system of coordinates with the origin at the circle center and axes along AB and CD. Let's say X has coordinates $(x, y)$ then $A(a, y), B(b, y), C(x, c)$ and $D(x, d)$. All four points lie on the circle, so the equation of the circle holds for them
$$
A: a^2 + y^2 = r^2\\
B: b^2 + y^2 = r^2 \\
C: x^2 + c^2 = r^2 \\
D: x^2 + d^2 = r^2
$$
From $A$ and $B$ one can find that $a = -b$, and analogously $c = -d$. Then
$XA^2 + XB^2 + XC^2 + XD^2 = (a-x)^2 + (b-x)^2 + (c-y)^2 + (d-y)^2 = \\
a^2+b^2+c^2+d^2-2x(a+b)-2y(c+d)+2x^2+2y^2 = a^2+b^2+c^2+d^2+2x^2+2y^2$
which is sum of all LHS for the equations $A-D$ above and consequently $4r^2$
Answer: Let $O$ be the center of the circle, and let $M$ and $N$ be the midpoints of segments $AB$ and $CD$, respectively. Write $a:=|XA|$, $b:=|XB|$, $c:=|XC|$, $d:=|XD|$, $m := |OM|$, $n:=|ON|$.
Then (noting that $OMXN$ is a rectangle),
$$\begin{align}
|AM| = \frac{1}{2}(a+b) &\qquad |ON|=|MX| = \frac{1}{2}|a-b| \\[5pt]
|CN| = \frac{1}{2}(c+d) &\qquad |OM|=|NX| = \frac{1}{2}|c-d|
\end{align}$$
Now, $\triangle AMO$ and $\triangle CNO$ are right triangles with hypotenuses $|AO| = |CO| = r$, so that
$$\begin{align}
r^2 &= |AM|^2 + |OM|^2 = \frac{1}{4}(a+b)^2 + \frac{1}{4}(c-d)^2 \\[5pt]
r^2 &= |CN|^2 + |ON|^2 = \frac{1}{4}(c+d)^2 + \frac{1}{4}(a-b)^2
\end{align}$$
Adding these equations causes the "$ab$" and "$cd$" terms to cancel; multiplying through by $2$ gives
$$4r^2 = a^2 + b^2 + c^2 + d^2$$


How to avoid 404 error with git instaweb?

Question: I have tried running git instaweb start in two different repositories. In one it works fine, and indexes all the repositories in my home directory (even though run in a subdirectory). When run in another the web site simply says "404 - No projects found".
More information:

The top-level repository directories both have the same owner and permissions.
The "non-working" repository has an @ sign in the directory name.
Answer: Found a likely cause while writing the question: Cloning the repository to a directory without the @ character in the name fixed it.


How should SSL traffic be treated once it has been terminated?

Question: Ideally, how should SSL traffic be treated once it has been terminated at an SSL appliance especially if the traffic contains sensitive information like personal financial information before it's being stored in a database?
Comment: Please edit and add your security goals and the constraints of your organization.
Comment: Please clarify - when you say "once it has been terminated at an SSL appliance" are you chiefly concerned with decrypted traffic being re-transmitted across an internal network after terminating at the SSL appliance?
Answer: I don't think it really matters how your application handles the data; if an attacker can access your application's memory you're busted anyway, no matter what security measures you take. So after the connection has been terminated it doesn't matter how you handle it, but it matters how you store it.
The answer is that you should store it encrypted, but then the problem is how to keep the encryption key private: Where to store a key for encryption?
Besides this, I don't think there is much to it.
Answer: There is nothing special to "SSL traffic". SSL is used to exchange bytes, and there's only one kind of bytes: those which contains 8 bits. Any byte value can be handled by SSL, and SSL does nothing which depends on the meaning of these bytes. Once the data bytes have been received, there is no SSL anymore; SSL is for transfer only, and not an attribute of the data itself (in the same way that water sent through a copper pipe is not copper-pipe-water, it is just "water" and the copper pipe is totally irrelevant once the water has exited it).
The proper term is "sensitive data": if the data was deemed worth using SSL for its transfer, then it is probably data of some value which should be kept away from the prying eyes and inquisitive fingers of third parties (the "attackers"). Therefore, if the data is to be stored somewhere, then it should probably be stored with care. Not because it came over SSL; but because the data intrinsically needs it.
Analogy: imagine that you are transferring one metric ton of pure gold from one point to another. You will probably want to use an armoured truck, and some armed guards. And then, on the receiving point, you'll want a vault, again with armed guards. Will you need the vault and guards because the gold was transferred with an armoured truck ? Of course not; it is the other way round: you used an armoured truck because the gold is worth a lot and is bound to attract thieves. And you need the vault for the same reason. If you had used an armoured truck and guards to transport one metric ton of turnips, you would not use a vault with armed guards for storage, even if it was delivered with an armoured truck (and, of course, the truck might be seen as a tad overkill for turnips).
Secure storage of sensitive data, especially of a financial nature, can be quite challenging. There are regulations for that, and compliance is often an unavoidable requirement. I advise you to lookup PCI DSS.
Answer: This is fundamentally an issue of transport vs message based security - endpoints are the demarcation points for transport security, e.g SSL, whereas the software infrastructure has more control/flexibility over message based security - this issue has been addressed earlier here - When should I use Message layer encryption vs transport layer encryption


Are all iPhone4 apps available for iPhone 5 also?

Question: My father in law is considering getting an iPhone 5.  There are some specific apps that he is interested in; are all apps available for iPhone 4 also available for iPhone 5, or do developers have to port them?
Answer: All for previous iPhone and iPod touch devices will run, but won't necessarily be optimized for the larger screen. If that's the case, the app will run at the previous (3.5" size) with a black bar above and below the app's content.
Answer: It is far, far more common for a developer to specify that an application needs a minimum iOS level as opposed to not being available on a specific device.
For the applications that are available only for some devices, the most common (by far) restriction is that they test for new hardware and refuse to run on an older device. If an application needed multiple microphones to do noise cancelling, one would presume that it might not install or run on an older iPhone that had only one microphone.
In your case - apps purchased and running on an old phone are almost certainly going to run on newer hardware. The worst that would happen is that the app wouldn't take use of the entire larger screen and only draw itself centered using most of the iPhone 5's slightly taller screen.


"Was talking" vs. "Has been talking"

Question: An online instructor was asked by a student at the end of their conversation:
Which of the following is correct and why?

It was nice talking to you.
It has been nice talking to you.

Is talking a gerund here?
Comment: Are you asking two questions here, or is the question about if *talking* is a gerund your only question?
Answer: At the end of an online conversation, both It was nice talking to you (past simple) and It has been nice talking to you (present perfect) are correct. However, if the statement is made some time after the conversation ended, then it would be more usual to use the past simple.
Talking functions as a gerund in your examples. You could equally say:

Talking to you has been nice.
Answer: To build on Shoe's answer, It was nice talking to you has another connotation ("It was nice talking to you until x happened...") which could be problematic in an online setting, since it's difficult to detect emotional meaning in text. (As an aside, I suspect this is why comedians are funnier talking to a live audience than writing something in a book.) If the student meant to imply that things went sour somewhere along the way, it would be wise to add an ellipsis or to use some form of markup language.
Answer: To further elaborate:
"It was nice talking to you" is inappropriate to say to someone at the end of a conversation because it refers to a previous conversation.  Although, it does not mean a distant point.  In fact, the scene might be like this:  You had a pleasant conversation over lunch, paid the check and got up and prepared to depart without continuing the conversation, in which case it would be perfect to say "it was nice talking to you."
"It has been nice talking to you" indicates two things: 1) the conversation is over, and 2) it just concluded.
"It is nice talking to you" is the sort of thing you would say to someone with whom are currently engaged in a pleasant conversation.  The conversation is not over with yet, and it has been enjoyable so far.
"It had been nice talking to you" implies that at some specific point in the past, 1) you had been engaged in a pleasing conversation up to that point 2) at which the conversation was either stopped or became unpleasant.
Then you have such delightful sentences as "It will be nice talking to you" when you get together with someone in the future; "It shall have been nice talking to" by the time you finish that future conversation before we part again for some other activity.  This is an awkward sentence, but it has its place.  To wit:
John and Martha went to school together and always enjoyed late night into the morning conversations.  It's been years since they have had the opportunity.  Tomorrow they are to meet again, right before John is to leave for a job far off in the bush of Australia.
"John," says Marsha, "I am so looking forward to our meeting tomorrow."
"Me, too," says John, slightly ungrammatically.
"We just won't have enough time to say all we need."
"I feel exactly the same," adds John.
"Two hours just isn't enough."
"You're right, Marsha, it isn't."
"Two hours to say so much ...  And then you will be gone."
"True, but it will have been nice talking to you.  It will make the following years easier to bear."

"Was talking" vs. "Has been talking"


What is Electromagnetic Induced Transparency?

Question: Please can anyone explain the concepts of electromagnetic induced transparency? I am having problem with the technicality of the explanation on wikipedia. Please I am an engineer with a physics background though and would love if this can be explained with little to no jargons . I am working on optical buffers and studying recent technologies and would love and explanation on this.
Answer: As you may know, electromagnetic induced transparency (or EIT) is a technique for eliminating the effect of a medium on a propagating beam of electromagnetic radiation. To obtain transparency or to improve transmission, you have to apply two laser wavelengths whose frequencies differ by a Raman transition of a medium. From a classical point of view, you can eliminate the effect of a medium on a propagating beam by stopping the electrons to move at the frequencies of the applied field (i.e. if the electrons do not move, they do not contribute to the dielectric constant). This non-movement will happen if at each applied frequency, the electron is subjected to two sinusoidal forces of opposing phase.
For a quantum mechanical treatment of the problem and other details I would suggest this article http://www.unl.edu/amop/pdf_files/RMP_EIT_Fleischhauer.pdf
Hope this helps.


What is a good sandal type of cycling shoe for summer riding?

Question: I am looking forward to the southern summer and was wondering if anyone could recommend a good sandal style cycling shoe (I have SPD pedals)?
Answer: I bought a pair of Northwave Shark shoes this year which are SPD compatible and used them in the short British summer.  They have open vents on each side so are kind of sandal like.
Weird thing is that the site www.northwave.com, only shows these in the PDF catalogue and not in the Product listing.
I had been looking for some time to get this style of shoe so grabbed them when I could.
Answer: There are several companies that make sandals which are SPD compatible, even Shimano!
Unfortunately everything I've seen personally looks relatively dorky style-wise, but I'm sure someone offers a SPD compatible sandal that also looks cool.  Then again, some cyclists think their glove/short/jersey tan looks cool so YMMV... but I guess it would still look less dorky than wearing casual clothes and cycling shoes!
Shimano sandal
Keen
Bike Nashbar
Comment: The Shimano link is already broken - I tried http://www.shimano.com/publish/content/global_cycle/en/us/index/products/shoes/mtb/product.-code-SH-SD66.-type-.html and found the details.
Answer: Here you go Simon: http://www.northwave.com/eu/shoes_det.php?itemid=464&catid=4&area=4
They look great!


In Conquest of Planet Earth, Do I conquer a Location with my remaining Alien Ships after Losing the final Fight Round?

Question: Consider a scenario where I land 2 Alien Ships at a Location with a Resistance level of 1. This means there will be 1 Fight.

From the Battles, Fights, and Fight Rounds section of the Rules Wiki:
Another very important set of terminology to differentiate are the terms Battle, Fight, and Fight Round. A Battle is all of the Fights at a given Location, a Fight is single combat against one Human Resistance (or a grouping of enemy Aliens), and a Fight Round is one round of combat between the Aliens and the Resistance to see if either side is defeated. So one Fight is a subset of an entire Battle, and a Fight Round is a subset of a single Fight.
As an example, if your Aliens attack a City Location with a Resistance Value of 3, which would be a Battle involving 3 separate Fights (one Fight for each of the Resistance). Each of those Fights would then be resolved in a series of Fight Rounds.

At the conclusion of that Fight Round, the Resistance has a higher Strength Total. That means that they win the Fight Round and I lose an Alien ship.

From the Resolving the Fight section of the Rules Wiki:
Whichever side has the higher Strength Total (including Fight Dice rolls) wins the Fight Round.

Since that is the only (and, therefore, final) Fight of the Battle, the fighting should be completed for my turn, I believe, because it says may, below. This would only be true if there were more Fight Rounds to be completed.

From the Resistance Victory section of the Rules WIki (Emphasis added by me):
If the Resistance wins the Fight Round, 1 of the Alien Saucers involved is Destroyed and returned to the player's Alien Pool. If there are still Aliens at the Location, you may start a new Fight Round. If there are no Alien Saucers left at the Location, the Battle is over and the Aliens have lost (any remaining Resistance cards are discarded).
Next time this Location is attacked by Aliens, a brand new Battle must be fought from the beginning; with entirely new Resistance (any Fights previously won here are ignored).

Does this simply mean that the remaining Alien Ship stays on that Location (and can therefore start the attack over again on my next turn), or does it mean that I have survived all of the Resistance that the humans can throw at me and I have therefore conquered that Location (and should place a Conquest Marker on it, gaining the associated Terror Points)?
P.S.: If someone with 150+ Reputation could add "conquest-of-planet-earth" as a tag, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks!
EDIT: thesunneversets response got me thinking...
The Exploring Empty Spaces section says...

to conquer a Location you must fight a number of Human Resistance equal to the Resistance Value of that Location."

...but it doesn't say you must win the fight, just that you must fight them. Later on in the Battle at an Existing Location section, it says...

If you have one or more Aliens at a Location with a Resistance Value of 1 or higher that has not been conquered (no Conquest Marker on it), you must fight a Battle there as described in the section on Fights below.

...and similarly in the Fight any Enemies at a Location section,

If you have one or more Aliens at a Location (or Landing Site) with one or more Resistance Counters or enemy Aliens, you must resolve a Battle at that Location as well.

Because these rules seem to indicate that an Alien Ship could be on a Location without explicitly having moved there in the same turn, I'm inclined at this time to think the Alien Ship can stay there, but the Conquest Token doesn't get placed.
Answer: I don't think the line "you may start a new Fight Round" means that the Alien Ship can stay on the Location, or claim a victory.  I think it means "you may carry on trying to defeat the Resistance by starting a new Fight Round... or choose another valid option".
What other valid options are there?  See the next section of the rules:

After each Fight Round is resolved, the Aliens have the opportunity to
  escape; immediately ending the Battle as though the Aliens had lost.

I think it's completely intuitive, based on other similar boardgames, that you should have to keep attacking until you either win fairly or are forced to flee.  No sneaky short cuts!


Will adding "www." to my domain setting in Google Analytics impact already collected data?

Question: I have a profile in Google Analytics (GA) that has been collecting data for a year. The domain setting in GA is "http://example.com". The site, however, will redirect any non-www request, to www.example.com, via a typical .htaccess refinement.
The source problem I'm trying to fix is that In-Page analytics does not load. When accessing In-Page analytics in the new GA, I get the following error:

We've identified problems in your setup. These may cause problems
  loading In-Page Analytics. Your site doesn't load ga.js from Google.
  If you host the Google tracking code on your own servers, it isn't
  updated automatically and can miss important changes. We didn't find a
  tracking snippet on your site. In-Page Analytics cannot load. Please
  make sure you have tracking installed correctly. If your snippet is
  included in a separate JavaScript file, you'll have to manually check
  it is being loaded correctly.

When loading In-Page Analytics in full screen mode -- visting the domain directly -- I get:

Access denied. Please try relaunching In-Page Analytics from the report.

After researching the issue online, I've found the following proposed fixes:

Log out of the target site when using GA, in the case your site doesn't load the tracking codes for logged in users (our current Drupal configuration indeed does this)
Clearing cache
Clearing cookies - specifically the GASO cookie
Ensuring your GA domain setting uses www if your site redirects to www forcefully

I've tried items 1-3 and the have not addressed the issue. I would like to try #4, but want to make sure this change won't impact data I've already collected and that GA will consider all data collected before and after the change as the same site.
Answer: You could try changing the setting of your tag to 'one domain with multiple sub-domains'.
I'd try that first because if you change the domain setting in the way you suggest GA will preserve your existing data, but will track all the 'new' urls separately. You may be better off preserving the existing profile and beginning a new one.


GIS Development Trends

Question: What do you think are the top current trends to watch in GIS Development?  Which capabilities/tools do you think will be most in demand to both developers and end users in the future?
Comment: Also: http://gis.stackexchange.com/questions/1965/gis-buzzwords-topic/1985#1985
Answer: Web Services - for both data and tools. On desktop, web, or mobile apps. For users (transparently) and developers.
Data
The amount of effort for each GIS project to collate data, import it to a geodatabase, trackdown metadata, add in updates is a huge cost in time and budget.
Well implemented WMS/WFS services (and ArcGIS web services) mean this only has to be done once and maintained by the owners. The national SDIs in Europe are a large part of getting these implemented.
Projects can then focus on project related datasets, but with a myriad of (hopefully current) related datasets added in in a few lines of code.
Tools
GIS "cloud" tools are not too far behind. For example why go to the trouble of buying routing data, installing and configuring a routing module on a server, customising and testing it when you can make a one line call to a dedicated web service and get better results.
Answer: I think low-tech desktop GIS analysis is one area that will be become very important. Google Earth really exposed many people to the visualization side of things, but is still hard to do a buffer and overlay analysis (technically and data-wise). I interact with many planners and non-profits and they struggle to do simple analysis of their problems using GIS due to technical hurdles. (One major flaw is that many of those who are familiar with GIS are educated in universities that only have ArcGIS; when they start working, only large companies can afford it, or they have the most basic version which does not allow raster analysis).
I think QGIS is one of the easiest to use desktop tools out there (but there are others), so hopefully in the future there will be a wide range of free or low-cost desktop GIS tools that people are trained on in universities, and that they can apply in their jobs.
Answer: In my opinion, another trend is that on client side end users will used web browser-based GIS applications, while users with a more technical or professional profile, will also use desktop, feature rich applications (gvSIG, GeoMedia, ArcGIS, OpenJump...).
I think this makes sense because end users need less features that GIS "power" users. Other reasons are the cost of non-free applications (paying a licenses for an underused software makes no sense) and the fact that web based GIS systems have no installation or deployment on client side.
A problem to be solved is access control to geographic information. When end users edit or add attributes to features, there will be the need of restricting or allowing to read, edit or delete sets of features depending on user role. As far as I know neither WMS nor WFS address this issue. An interesting question about this was post in this website: "WMS with Access Control (ACL) for different users? Or solution for thousands of points on web map?"
Answer: "Open" web products targeted for niche markets
I think we've all had fun putting maps on the web, the next generation of mapping products will consist of sophisticated apps geared towards niche market applications. Instead of these apps being closed (data, source, or access) though, they'd be "open" to some extent. Some will be opensource, open data, free use, etc that allow for PPGIs, GISci, researchers, policy makers, Engineers, technologists, and others to all communicate under one medium.
Imagine the following Scenario:

Designing a highway:
Engineers in "real-time" can determine the best location of right of way while working with Environmental experts depending on environmental, first nations, flooding, wet lands, etc situations.  This is crucial as the current situation involves  a procedural / hierarchal approach, where the right of way is bought first, then the it'll be sent for review by other experts. A real time accessible GIS (system and data) will allow those professionals to work together.
Mobile Technical Applications: I imagine that there will be a great need for apps that involve sophisticated modeling, using mobile devices only, whether installed on the phone or through a web interface
Answer: I usually take the kiss method. Stuff like geotagging, Of course as mentioned by geographika the cloud services are only going to expand. I also see a huge increase in "personal" image processing. What I mean is that more sofware (especially open source) is making image processing and the extraction of data from sat or aerial photos more desktop centric. Or the lay-geotech is more likely to be successful learning how to accomplish these tasks now. "Whew!" I think I got it out. You also cannot count out advancements on the mobile/phone technology front. Stuff is happening so fast there that it is hard to track or keep a finger on it.
Answer: True 3D data models / datasets. Particularly in applications such as Hydrology where knowing the xy extents of an aquifer is certainly not enough to get a true picture of the volume, or solid geology, where provinces have volume and map overlap/undercut each other at different depths below the surface.
Answer: Very rash thing to say (and I may look back at this and be wrong), but IMO (and a lot of others) HTML5 will be the dominant language for Online Mapping APIs.
Saying that, this post sums up to not always be looking ahead very nicely.
Personally I am sticking with HTML4/CSS/Javascript, until the plug-in's die off...
Answer: As a programmer who has used GIS from time to time, I am amazed at the number of geographers that stick to using text-based file formats.  I am really looking forward to seeing tools that can converge a diverse set of data, but I think we still need to fix the problem of folks still tossing CSVs around.  It is very inefficient.
In short, I think the next big thing is the next big thing from 20 years ago.

GIS Development Trends


Can I separate app download stats to see one app vs. another?

Question: We have released two apps under our iTunes connect / developer account, and it looks like the day by day reporting includes both apps and I can only see it broken down by app for the previous day. Unless I check stats daily and track it elsewhere, I can't see how each Indiv is doing.
Answer: If Apple's recent improvements don't let you break out sales per app, you might want to look at a service like AppViz that has programmed that feature in and assists in synthesizing the data most accountants and developers need to understand their sales patterns and account for sales accounting-wise.

https://appviz.com


Translation of "twang"

Question: In English (at least American English), "twang" is an onomatopoeia describing the sound of a plucked or vibrating string. It also describes a characteristic of that sound (more common in, say, country music or certain types of guitars). Is there any close word in Spanish for "twang"? If not, how would you describe this concept to a Spanish speaker?
Answer: Playing with Google Translate I get these:

Noun: tañido, sonido vibrante, acento
Verb: vibrar, hacer vibrar

In sentences where it seemed the most like it was focusing on the onomatopoeic sound itself the word acento was chosen most regularly.
Obviously acento has the primary sense of "accent". It seems there may be no Spanish word that means "twang" and only "twang" but this is perfectly normal when mapping one language to another. There is tañido, which I'm not familiar with. Wiktionary suggests it is more associated with bells than strings but it may also work for you.
Answer: Although this alternative is not "formal" (as it is something you'd find in light-hearted books/movies/comics/comedy TV/etc), you could use "pum" (pronounced "poom" in Spanish), or even "pow".
Answer: No equivalence, I'm afraid  (I play guitar, but not electric). It seems that the word is used among electric guitar players untranslated:
http://www.guitarristas.info/foros/donde-sale-twang/6753
http://www.guitarrista.com/phpbbforum/viewtopic.php?f=111&t=79492
http://www.guitarraonline.com.ar/index.php?sec=articulos/pastillas&titulo=Articulos

Translation of "twang"


Planning a cruise

Question: I'm planning a cruise. What are some resources that would be helpful to review? I'm not looking for discount cruise websites, more resources about which destinations offer unique land / adventure excursions.
Answer: Well, I can offer a bit of personal experience. Take it with a grain of salt, as I'm no travel professional, but hopefully I can at least help you consider things you might not have considered otherwise.
Planning a cruise really depends on what you and your companions enjoy doing. Some people like traveling to cities, some people like traveling to beaches, or mountains, etc.
There's a world of difference between a Caribbean cruise and a Baltic cruise, and the Baltic one will of course have more of a focus on the beautiful cities than on any beaches. A Mediterranian cruise is somewhere in between. There are also non-city cruises that mostly focus on nature (but not quite hot beaches) such as cruises on the Alaskan coast.
The sea isn't the only possibility as there are also river cruises, with Viking being perhaps the most popular, going through the Rhine or the Seine.
Personally I like using cruises as a sort of city sampler, where you get to hit 8 or so cities in 8 different countries in just 9 or 10 days of traveling, without having to worry about booking hotels and the like. This is nice as it lets you get a taste of the atmosphere of a city or country and the next time you travel you can choose to return to one of the cities for (say) a week.
Answer: As a travel professional, I thought Simon's answer provided some great guidance toward the cruise options available to you. My recommendation for a resource in planning your cruise is to consult with a travel agent that specializes in cruises. Any travel agent can book a cruise but you don't want someone to process your transaction...you want a cruise expert. You want someone to advise in the decision process as well as guide you through the planning leading up to your cruise whether it be with shore excursions and what to do at each port of call, pre or post-cruise experiences or simply documentation requirements and everything in between.
For planning purposes, any travel is a matching process and this is especially true with cruising. As Simon mentioned in his comments, the type of cruise, whether it be river or ocean, is a matching process. Cruise line, destination, stateroom type and location on the ship...these all depend on a matching of options with the clients' personalities. A full service travel agent will spend the time to speak with and get to know you in order to make the matching process accurate. Any travel is an investment. We work and save for that much needed vacation in order to make it through another year of work/school before our next vacation so the importance of doing it right is huge. Working with a travel agent that specializes in cruises will lead to the best return on your travel investment. We never want to come back from a vacation feeling like it was a let-down and not worth the investment. We want the best value for our travel budget and a travel agent that specializes in cruises is my advice as your best resource.
Comment: I appreciate your answer. I guess I was looking for more of community input as a starting point. I have ideas of where I want to go, but thought I'd test the waters here.
Answer: If you want to enjoy the cruise for itself, you can check Cunard's Queen Mary 2 which offers transatlantic cruises from England to New York in a week among other voyages.
Answer: I usually like to begin my research via apps. There is also an excellent app called Cruise Finder on Iphone. That can give you an idea about the various kinds of cruises, durations and prices to begin with. LibertyTravel.com also has agents who can provide you with some initial directions.

Planning a cruise


Ale bottle conditioning temperature

Question: For bottom-fermented beers the conditioning/storage temperature is crucial and supposed to be really low (32F / 0C). Is this the same for top-fermented beers or is conditioning / storage at higher temperatures acceptable or even called for?
Answer: The question is a little ambiguous because the term conditioning is used to mean two different things.  Conditioning in the bottle is sometimes refered to as the process of naturally carbonating the beer.  (adding a little sugar back to the finished beer prior to packaging for the yeast to use in the generation of carbonation), trapped in the sealed package).
Here however I believe the original author is meaning conditioning from a maturation standpoint.  The usage of 'condition/storage' suggests this to me.
For lagers (bottom fermenting) the beer is usually only stored at the 32C range while still in the bulk format.  Usually done in a secondary fermentor.  For both ales and lagers, the temperature of storage is usually kept below 55F or cellar temp (as mentioned by markskar).
However, the longer you want to store any style of beer, the cooler you should keep it.  So standard fridge temps at 45F or less is a good idea.
Comment: Ha!  Good point.  I gave you an up vote in lieu of the OP. lol
Answer: The mid-50's to low 60's is about what you'd want to bottle condition an ale.  Lower temps could cause the remaining yeast to go dormant and not carbonate the beer adequately.
As far as storage goes, it depends on the style in most cases.  IPA's need to be treated like deli meat--you want to drink it fresh or the hop character will start to fade.  Higher ABV brews can be stored for much longer if kept at cellar temps, and can develop more complex flavors over months or even years.
Generally speaking, for long term storage (greater than 6 months) you'd want to cellar below 55 degrees, but not too cold or the beer may not mature very much.
For short-term storage after bottle conditioning, any reasonably cool (low- to mid-60's), dark place is good, and colder is fine too.

Ale bottle conditioning temperature


Rechargable Batteries

Question: We have some rechargeable batteries that are used on our Nagra LB's (8 in total) They are not the best and many of them are now refusing to recharge. There have been a number reasons for and my question is this: When recharging, can you just leave the batteries in the recharger for as long as you want or will this process eventually damage the batteries lifespan
Answer: Older/cheaper batteries can be damaged by "overcharging", but good ones won't be. Also depends on your charger. "Smart" chargers will stop charging once the battery is full, and can keep them full over an extended period of time. Check the manufacturer's specs on the batts and charger to figure out which boat you're in.
Also, how long have you used them? Rechargeables are only rated for a certain number of charges before they "die".
Comment: I own 36 Powerex AA's and one of the MaHa 8 bay chargers to use in my wireless units.  They're fantastic batteries and have more than paid for themselves!  I did a bit of research on rechargeable AA's and those were, by far, the most highly rated.
Comment: Based on opinions seen on the JWSound.net forums, I went with Powerex AA's, iPower 9v's, and Maha chargers, and have had awesome results. Eneloops are also popular. I've had horrible luck with many other major brands.
Answer: Yep - leaving batteries in the AA charger was a no no while I had rented Fostex and Maranz.  Specifically said to not leave them in past when the light turned green - the batteries would then start to drain life.
I like the lithium ion battery packs - the kind that look like they go on camcorders - but they are for the Sound Devices portable recorder line. Those wont drain back down, and you can charge them with the wall adapter plugged into the device, or with a battery charger for the wall as well.
Sometimes you can find what I guess could be called "logs" that fit into certain devices that are hooked to a larger battery source/brick. Might try looking for one of those if one exists for the Nagra.
Best of luck!
Answer: modern day chargers will switch off after a certain amount of time. this can be up to 16 hours. (this variable amount is one of the reasons why you don't mix different brand chargers&batteries). NiMH batteries are fiddly and in addition to a varying memory effect usually self-discharge. Only brand (AA) that I've seen perform well over a long period of time is Eneloop (now licensed and branded by Apple too).
Answer: The whole issue of battery "memory" and decreased capacity over time has to do specifically with the battery's chemistry. Eventually, any rechargeable will dry up, it's simply a matter of how fast they do it (and "memory" affects that particular variable). NiMH and Lithium Ion are two of the chemical types least susceptible to battery memory. But, like I said, sooner or later everything dies.
Comment: That's so emo, @Shaun. :-)
Comment: @NoiseJockey - Emo is for panzies! lol.

Rechargable Batteries


Fermentation #2

Question: So earlier I had mentioned the broken spigot on my primary that I managed to siphon into a glass carboy. It had been in primary for 6 days . Earlier I noticed that there was about an inch & 1/2 of foamy / spungy substance on top after the transfer, Came home this eve, bout 8 hours later & the foam has settled & there doesn't seem to be any activity at all.. Is this batch gonna spoil ? Is it any good? Should I just let it sit in there for another week or so? It's an English ale. There isn't any clarity at all... Don't really know what to do... Help again!!!
Answer: The foam on top was krausen - it's a mix of yeast, proteins, hop oils. During your original primary, temperatures fluctuated from 63 to 70C, so it's quite likely that fermentation wasn't complete after 6 days, and when you transferred to the carboy, fermentation continued, possibly more vigorously since the yeast were roused and resuspended as part of the transfer to the carboy.
Once primary fermentation is done, the krausen will often fall back into the beer. You can leave the beer for a further 2 weeks after this to condition and clean up. If you're impatient, you can bottle after a week, but you'll need typically 2 weeks conditioning in the bottle before the beer is at its best and fully carbonated. (By all means taste the beer before then just to get a feel for how "green" beer tastes, and how the carbonation is progressing.)
Comment: And don't ever thing on throwing away any brew before you give it a try after bottling and maturing enough. :)
Answer: Sounds completely normal.  Don't even think about it for the next two weeks.

Fermentation #2


Where is Jimmy Jenkins?

Question: There is a strange challenge ("JEEEEENKINSSSSSS!!!" under "Miscellaneous") that involves killing Jimmy Jenkins. Where is he?
Comment: There are posters around Pandora that mention Crater Lake. For example, in Sanctuary near the Fast Travel terminal on the wall.
Comment: It's random. I found him in the Wildlife Exploitation Center in the room on the right before the one with the BLOODWING banner.
Comment: Is it a reference to [Leeroy Jenkins](http://youtu.be/LkCNJRfSZBU?t=1m23s) ?
Answer: We found him in one of the structures around the Pipeline in the Arid Nexus; I'll try and find the location's name tonight. He was in a random Hyperion ammo/cash chest on top of the building.
It appears he spawns randomly; I found him in a coop game once, then searching the area again solo I failed to find him. Sidenote, in coop he only counts for the single player that deal the killing blow. Share with your buddies or farm him solo; if you seriously want to max out the challenge it'll take a long time.
I've also found him in one of the Loot Midget boxes in the Wildlife Exploitation Preserve (there's 4 of them near the place where you first try to find bloodwing, with the shielded pens). I think he might spawn anywhere a Hyperion Loot Midget (LWT Loader, Loot Gun Loader Midget, Loot Jet Loader Midget) can spawn.
Answer: If you have a character that is doing the "Wildlife Preservation" and the "Doctor's Orders" missions you will always have something jump out of the boxes near bloodwings first holding cell.  Eventually Jimmy Jenkins will bo one of those loot midgets.  There is no where else where you can have loot midgets every time so this place works the best.
When I finally killed Jimmy he jumped out of the first and fouth boxes so I was able to kill him twice in this room.  Having the above mentioned missions active is required.
Answer: According to random message boards on the internet, he is located at or around Crater Lake.
Comment: New users cannot comment until they get a certain rep desaiw.
Answer: I just found him in a cardboard box in T.K.'s house.  Made me want my own little Jimmy Jenkins to hide in boxes.....
Comment: His location is apparently random. Making a list of random locations isn't that useful :). Welcome to the site!
Answer: He has a chance of spawning where "trap boxes" are. So wherever you come across a loot midget or anything that come out of something: REMEMBER IT! Eventually Jimmy might come out. Anything after the wildlife reservation has the best chances!
Answer: Jimmy Jenkins is a named variant of the "Wee Loot Loader" that can spawn randomly from Hyperion ammo crates.  As part of the Challenge Accepted achievement/trophy, you'll have to kill him at least once.
There is a "glitch" of sorts that involves having the Doctor's Orders quest and opening the crates in one particular room of the Wildlife Exploitation Preserve.  There is a high chance of getting a Loot Midget/Loader from these crates.  If you have the Creature Slaughter Dome DLC, you can spawn from the Dome's exit and repeatedly enter the game, open the boxes, and quit in order to farm him fast.
Gearbox patched this at one point and it stopped working, although I believe they reverted the patch.  It's a cheap way to farm loot loaders in Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode, which have a chance to drop very high level items, so it may get patched again in the future.
If the "glitch" has been patched, you don't have this quest anymore (or it would be a pain to get it) and/or you don't have the DLC, you'll need to find a high concentration of Hyperion ammo crates to farm him from.  I used the part of Thousand Cuts close to the exit to the Bunker.  I've got a map detailing my route plus some helpful tips over here if that's of interest.
One note I'll mention directly here is that there appears to be a very low chance (possibly none?) of spawning a loot midget/loader from a crate if there are enemies around, so you'll want to clear an area before you go box-crazy.

Where is Jimmy Jenkins?


Are all healthy animals more likely to defecate near the end of a rest-cycle?

Question: Just what the title states.
It stems from observation & personal experience that a person/dog/cat/monkey is more likely to relieve oneself immediately after it wakes up from the peak-sleep cycle of it's body-clock. Is this observation true? What causes this behaviour ?
Answer: I think we can actually go farther than mere behavioral argumentation. The separation of the autonomous nervous system into parasympathetic and sympathetic is, one the one hand, associated with the sleep/wake cycle, on the other with parasympathetic/sympathetic activity (low/high epinephrine secretion). This duality certainly applies to all vertebrata (i.e. big animals), as fight & flight is associated with all vertebrata, see e.g.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fight_or_flight_response
In other words: from the existence of fight or flight in all vertebrata I infer the existence of a dual autonomous nervous system (parasympathetic and sympathetic) in all vertebrata, although there may be other proof. Since in sleep the parasym. NS is active, the bowel moves. Conclusion: the bowel moves in the sleep of all vertebrata.
Comment: I'm sorry, I don't understand your answer. Could you elaborate please?
Comment: I have added a reformulation. Better now?
Answer: I'm prefixing this one by saying that I don't actually agree with you (also, I think the old nut that the plural of "anecdote" is not "data").
That having been said: wouldn't the simplest explanation just be "because it was likely a long time since the animal's last 'relief'" since it's been sleeping for XXX hours? Or would you argue that this observation is also true after, say, a 20 minute nap?
Also, what does this have to do with a nervous system?
Comment: Accepted this may be anecdotal; I'll update the question on this & remove the note on the nervous system too. But I would argue the second paragraph with the clarification that an animal/being is more likely to defecate after the _typical_ 'night/rest' cycle which is the 'deepest' such sleep cycle.
Answer: Digestion is an energy consuming process. It is, therefore, often followed by a period of rest. Animals will, consequently, often digest during sleep. It follows that they will eliminate the waste products of digestion upon awakening.
Given the above, I doubt there is a causal link between sleep or rest and the need to commune with nature, water a tree, appease the porcelain god, or whatever your preferred euphemism happens to be, soon after awakening.


Delete file from the /usr/sbin

Question: What is the goal of /usr/sbin folder?
I found in that folder modem-manager, which makes me many problems. Can I delete it from that directory?
Answer: /bin (and /sbin) were intended for programs that needed to be on a small / partition before the larger /usr, etc. partitions were mounted. These days, it mostly serves as a standard location for key programs like /bin/sh, although the original intent may still be relevant for e.g. installations on small embedded devices.
/sbin, as distinct from /bin, is for system management programs (not normally used by ordinary users) needed before /usr is mounted.
/usr/bin is for distribution-managed normal user programs.
/usr/sbin with the same relationship to /usr/bin as /sbin has to /bin.
/usr/local/bin is for normal user programs not managed by the distribution package manager, e.g. locally compiled packages. You should not install them into /usr/bin because future distribution upgrades may modify or delete them without warning.
/usr/local/sbin, as you can probably guess at this point, is to /usr/local/bin as /usr/sbin to /usr/bin.
In addition, there is also /opt which is for monolithic non-distribution packages, although before they were properly integrated various distributions put Gnome and KDE there. Generally you should reserve it for large, poorly behaved third party packages such as Oracle.
As far as deleting modem-manager goes, deleting the folder will probably only give you more problems if certain external programs are calling for it and its not there.  I would find out what the underlying problem is for why it is giving you so many problems.
Comment: So, you should use the package manager (Synaptic, software center, apt-get) to remove the complete package, not just the single executable file. That way, you will see which other packages have this one as a dependency.
Answer: You should never just delete system files, you will run into problems 100 %.
`/usr/sbin/ usually contains files with the »setuid« bit set – when executed they will run under their owning user instead of the user who executed them.
To remove modem-manager, find the package that contains that file and remove it using apt-get (hint: the package is named modemmanager, sudo apt-get remove modemmanager to remove it)

Delete file from the /usr/sbin