How can I help my child learn to pull herself up?

Question: My daughter is 10 months old.  She does not crawl (she hates tummy time), but she loves to stand as long as someone puts her in the standing position and she has something to hold onto.  I'd like to help her learn to pull herself up into standing position, but don't want to force her.  What can I do to motivate her to pull herself up?
Answer: Around 5 months, I took all of my little one's toys and put them on a low-height-couch (I took off the cushions). Then I'd sit with her in front of the couch, and help her stand up. She'd lose balance and fall down (no worries, I was right behind her, and caught her) but then she'd want to get up. She'd try and push herself up (from my lap) or look for my hands to assist her in getting up. Eventually, she mastered pulling herself up, without my assistance, quite well :). The standing and playing with her toys strengthened her legs fairly well (we think). I slowly started increasing the height of the couch (blankets, putting the cushions back on) and moving her toys around the couch so she'd cruise (walk holding on to the couch) on the couch.
She also absolutely hated tummy time. So I'd sit on a recliner/put myself in a reclined position and just hold her (face down). She'd then lift her head to see around her (essentially tummy time on YOU) and that helped strengthened her neck.
Now, at almost 9 months, she is a little cheetah when she crawls and pulls herself up against walls...cabinets...tables...my knees...everything...
Note, ours had a keen interest in walking/standing and had fairly strong legs. If yours isn't able to hold her own weight, I wouldn't recommend trying this. Every child, ultimately, is different.
Answer: Mine doesn't like tummy time either. I've had the most success getting her to pull herself up by having her grab my fingers as I pull her up.  I do this every chance I get, and it seems to be working on her subconscious, that is she will sit up and stand up on her own more often.
I started out kind of holding her wrists as I did pulled her up when were playing around.  Repeat, repeat, repeat.  Now sometimes she'll hold onto my fingers if I put them in her hand and she'll follow them up under her own power....although maybe she "thinks" I'm still doing all the work. :)
Answer: Work their muscles!
Before my niece was standing, after diaper changes while she was on her back, we'd hold her hands and have her do some work in pulling herself up. Of course we would help her but allowing her to try first helped develop her core muscles.
We had her stand on our lap once we noticed she liked standing and straightening/tensing her legs. We taught my niece how to stand on her own by standing her up by her pack-and-play. She would hang on to the side rails of it for support. She got used to hanging on with one hand and figuring out how to balance herself.
To pull herself up, we put her toy links on the outside of the pack-and-play. We put one of her toys at the end which was a very spherical bee (just to make it stand out more). She used the links as rope to pull herself up. We would point at the rope and put her hand on it to help guide her how to use it.
I imagine babies, due to their curious nature, like being motivated to stand up so you aren't forcing her. I usually hear of parents who prefer delaying motivation because a mobile child is more work and they want a few more months of "peace".
Answer: I did a similar thing as Rhea...although we made it personal and had my son grab my finger and pull himself up.  It took awhile but he got a good grip and after some time learned to pull himself up.  Sometimes I'd make mock exercise grunts just to get a reaction out of him, it worked and before he was 1 year old he was pulling himself up on anything he could.


How to prevent "open air incidents"?

Question: We have a newborn who seems to like to pee when we change his diapers. Any tips on how prevent this?
Comment: If it's any consolation, I think all babies do that.
Comment: Fortunately, I've only found this to be a problem for the first month or so. Both of our daughters stopped doing it relatively quickly.
Comment: You can't really stop biology. ;) Best is to make sure you have a 'shield diaper' at the ready.
Comment: This was an issue with our firstborn for a little while, and my third (who is 3 months) will sometimes do this in the bath, but it generally goes away relatively quickly.
Answer: In short, you have to be a ninja.
Boys are much better at getting money shots than girls (my nephew got me in the ear as I turned my head to shield my eyes). What you have to do is have a towel in one hand, as you take the diaper off with the other.
Place the towel (can also just be the new diaper, but you'll usually end up changing twice) over the problematic area as you remove the diaper. Hold the towel in place, apply what ever has to be applied and then secure the new diaper. Finally, remove the towel.
As long as you don't let the 'draft' in, you're usually pretty safe. If he still has to go, he will and that's easy to manage.
But, even with ninja skills, you're going to get wet from time to time.
Comment: @Tim - donno... I don't have any skills other than Google-fu and neither of my 2 kids ever managed to nail me :) [ I used a second diaper technique ]
Answer: A couple of tips I was given years ago: open the diaper, let the air drift in, wait a couple of minutes, then change it.  (Or, if you're in a hurry, open the diaper and let a breeze in for a few seconds, but be prepared to cover again.)  I was also told that changing a baby on their stomach works, but that's obvious and may not be good diapering practice, anyway.
There are any number of other tricks to encourage the deed, which may be done before changing the diaper.
Comment: +1 for "cheating" by opening the diaper and then closing it again until he's peed :-) We learned that trick too, through experience.
Comment: I suppose there's a reason it's an open air incident.  :)
Answer: The only thing you can really do is alter the timing of when you change him.  Try waiting 15-30 minutes past when you'd normally change him.  Most babies tolerate that unless the diaper is soaking wet or poopy.  Other than that, make sure you have the clean diaper under him in place before you undo the dirty one.  That way if he doesn't need wiping or ointments you can get the exposed time down under a second with practice, and if he needs longer you have a diaper right there to block.
Answer: One charming product that helps meets the need is the Peepee Teepee. Any cloth will work. We used fabric diapers as burp cloths and pee shields.
Answer: Set the child on a toilet after removing the diaper. Then the child will pee in the toilet, and will get familiar with a future skill. See my answer to a previous question: How can I potty train a 12 month old?
Comment: Heh - better be quick with that ninja move :-)
Answer: One thing we learned quickly is to have the new diaper already under the old one before removing it, remove the old one and then the time to getting the new one on is greatly reduced which may help you beat the open air peeing.

How to prevent "open air incidents"?


How do I access variables outside a function

Question: I have a custom function which defines a bunch of variables. I would like to be able to call this function from inside a loop so I can have access to all its variables, like so:
functions.php
function get_album_info() {
  $album_art = wp_get_attachment_image_src( get_sub_field('album_art'), 'full' );
  $album_date = get_field('album_date');
  // ...10 more variables here
}

Template
<?php while (have_posts()) : the_post(); ?>

  <?php
  // Get all the variables here to use them below
  get_album_info(); ?>

  <img src="<?php echo $album_art; ?>">

<?php echo $album_date; ?>

<?php endwhile; /* End loop */ ?>

I want to use a function here because I will be using it across several templates and don't want to have to define these multiple times. I know I can use global variables, but this requires having to include them at the top of the template, which means a lot of repetition across templates. What options are available to me?
Answer: You could return the data and set a local variable:
function get_album_info() {
    $album = array(
        'art' => wp_get_attachment_image_src( get_sub_field('album_art'), 'full' ),
        'date' => get_field('album_date')
    );
    return $album;
}

$album = get_album_info();
echo $album['art'];
echo $album['date'];


e-commerce/webshop design template

Question: Though I m not a designer, my boss asked me to make a design for a webshop (selling books).
I love to work with GIMP and i wondered if there are any such templates which I could use as a start?
Update : as Im not a professional designer i might have not have been totally clear ( sorry about that) : what i meant is that i have to render an impression of what the website might look like  (header, different pages, colours schemes, ...)  just to convince other people to within the company. There's no real site building necessary, all i need is a rendering of a site in gimp. Hope this is clear?
Comment: Is your boss developing the store from scratch or is the intention to use some e-commerce platform? Usually design can be implemented regardless of the e-commerce app, but if you get a template that has the necessary code or elements ready, it can make the store launch faster — and you probably might not have to do so much sacrifices in the design later on, when you have some grasp on the limitations of the platform.
Answer: If you really want to design the site, your best bet would be to begin looking at sites for inspiration, then create a design that is appropriate.  Once you have the design, you will need someone to help you code the site itself and the e-commerce functionality.
This is an ambitious first project.  You may be better identifying a template that is appropriate for your business, modifying the template in GIMP as necessary, then working with someone on the development side.
Regarding inspiration sites, check out Smashing Magazine as a starting point.  For ready to go templates check out Theme Forest.  This is the point where I say, unless you really have to do it yourself, patronize your local web design professional. It may cost less time and money in the long run.
Answer: If you don't have skills in WebDesign and need to make this in a hurry, go straight into HTML5/CSS3. You can do almost all the marvelous tricks designers do straight into code.
Look at this presentation, it can give you a light about the subject http://www.slideshare.net/zomigi/designing-with-css3-effectively-efficiently
If you decide to go this way, this links can help you a lot :)
http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/css/must-read-css3-tips-tricks-tutorial-sites/
http://stylishwebdesigner.com/70-must-see-css3-tips-tricks-and-tutorials/
http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/08/5-css3-design-enhancements-that-you-can-use-today/
http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2011/01/50-awesome-css3-techniques-for-better-designs/
But remember, if you wanna go on as a Webdesigner,read some books about the subject. People often think that Webdesign is going straight into photoshop and start to push pixels around like crazy. There's so much more behind the final pixels.
This is just a in-a-hurry workaround. :)
Good luck!
Answer: Although it is nice to have a pretty picture of what your website imaginably will look like, the truth is that whatever you mockup in Photoshop/Gimp will never be exactly realised, and it certainly will never be exactly realised cross browser.
If you design this way then you will have a problem down the line in that you are promising designs to your boss that cannot be realised and may not suit the HTML/templating of your chosen e-commerce solution.
Your best option is to keep Gimp/Photoshop for resizing logos, not putting the whole mock-up together. See Firebug as your design tool, start off with an existing template, change the colours/fonts to suit your company style-guide, put the logo at the top, put some content in, e.g. products + pictures. With that done you are going to be 90% there towards a design that will work, plus you are less likely to go flat 'n' dull. Photoshop-only 'designers' can tend to forget about the mouseovers leading to dreary websites. Also think of your audience - are they really going to be that wowed by a font? Maybe if they are a bit not-in-the-real-world, but most customers are content focused and happy with relatively plain design with quality navigation.

e-commerce/webshop design template


What should I look for when shopping for my first DSLR?

Question: I am thinking of buying a digital SLR camera. What things should I be looking for?
Answer: Things to look for when buying your first dslr:

Price. Far from me to tell anyone how to spend their hard earned cash, but having an idea of what money you want to pay will help.
Ergonomics. Does the body feel good in your hands? What about when you have your lens attached?
What brand? I'm a fan of Canon. Nikon is equally awesome. There are other brands as well, but I recommend the big two: Canon and Nikon.
Beginner/creative modes. Since this is your first camera, having modes that do some automation will ease you into using an SLR.
Entry Level/ Prosumer Level body. If you have a sufficient budget, consider which would serve you better: Buying a more expensive body now, with features that you can grow with, or a less expensive body with fewer features, leaving you more cash more lenses. In terms of producing great images the chain of importance goes: Photographer >>> Lens > Camera Body.

My first dSLR was a Canon 20D, a prosumer body. I chose it because I have larger hands, and the 20D size and weight felt better (twss), and I wanted something I could grow with.
Comment: In addition to "the big two" Alan mentions, only one other brand, Pentax, is still making mainstream DSLRs, with Sigma making a somewhat quirky one as well. See [What do Pentax and Sigma DSLRs offer that differs from Canon and Nikon?](http://photo.stackexchange.com/questions/20092/what-do-pentax-and-sigma-dslrs-offer-that-differs-from-canon-and-nikon) for more on this.
Comment: It takes a while to learn your camera well and what you need that it cannot do, and in that time technology has moved on quite rapidly.  I would suggest going for a good entry level camera body, and then spend more money on a better all-round lens to go with it.  Then when you outgrow it, you know what you need and can buy that, and with the newest technology.
Answer: The general answer to this question is: whichever gets you done with worrying about what camera to buy the fastest.
For some people, that means get whatever low-end equipment you can afford to start playing around — get an entry-entry level camera which strikes your fancy plus the kit lenses (and hopefully a decent prime). Treat that as basically disposable and use it to figure out your style and needs for the next step.  For others, it might mean skipping that and going right to the higher end —  short-circuiting years of longing and painful not-quite-there upgrades, arguably saving money overall.
One can actually do very high quality work with any DSLR on the market today. If you're in this for the long haul, what you start with doesn't really matter; what matters is getting started. If you later feel you made a mistake, changing camera bodies within the same brand isn't a big deal. Changing systems can be more of a challenge, but if you go the low-end entry route you won't have as much to worry about, and if you go the higher-end route the equipment should retain pretty good resale value. So don't be too scared to just jump in.
I do understand the desire to research before making a big purchase. There's nothing wrong with that to some degree, but it's easy for people of a certain mindset to go too far — a warning I feel well-qualified to give because I personally naturally fall pretty far on the side I'm cautioning about. So, despite the bold text above, I am going to thrown out a few more things to consider; specifically, I think the following questions and their answers are some of the most helpful on this site for anyone making this initial DSLR decision:

How much do lens lineups vary across DSLR platforms?
Are there disadvantages to a prosumer camera for a beginner, aside from cost?

And, actually, these days, it's worth considering if a DSLR is really the right choice. If you're sure, go ahead with the above, but otherwise, you might look at:

What do I need to consider to choose between dSLR, mirrorless, or a compact as my first "serious" camera?

before taking the plunge. But even then, I really recommend jumping in. Getting started with a system you later leave behind is better than agonizing and delaying and wrestling with comparisons when you could be taking photos.
Answer: Things to consider when thinking of purchasing your first dSLR.
0. Am I all right with an "orphaned" system?
[Updated in 2023]: both Canon and Nikon haven't released a new dSLR body or lens for years, and are pretty much out of the dSLR business. While you can still find new copies to purchase in both mount systems, Canon and Nikon are now only developing mirrorless cameras and lenses for the foreseeable future. Technical innovation in mirrorless and far fewer mechanical parts (=> much cheaper to manufacture/service) means mirrorless is now the dominant camera type in the market. You want to think long and hard about whether mirrorless may not be a better path to pursue than dSLR.
You can get some astounding deals on the used market in dSLR gear and the lenses and bodies are perfectly fine to create quality images. And the lenses you purchase can be adapted to their relative mirrorless mounts (though there may be incompatibilities with Nikon Z with older Nikon F lenses). But moving forward and expanding or upgrading in a dSLR mount system looks very different than it did pre-2019.
1. Can I afford a dSLR?
If you've never used an interchangeable lens camera system before, realize that the cost is astronomical in comparison with fixed-lens cameras, because the camera body itself is just the start of your purchases and the basis of your system. It is also (weirdly) the most disposable piece of gear these days, unlike film camera bodies. That's digital electronics vs. mechanical devices for you.  A single lens can easily outstrip the cost of the body. Support gear, lighting gear, filters, bags, etc. It can all mount up with surprising ease. IMO, you probably need 2x or 3x the amount you spent on a body/lens kit to get a basic system with a dSLR.  Think in terms of US$1000-$1500, not $500, for a basic (low-budget) dLSR setup and about twice that for an extended or higher-quality setup. Needless to say, many of us spend a great deal more.
2. Do I need a dSLR?
Four or five years ago, it was P&S vs. dSLR, so the decision was pretty clear. But today, there are quite a number of fixed-lens compacts with sensors and lenses with image quality rivaling dSLRs, and the entire class of mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras has appeared, and smartphone cameras get better all the time.  What and how do you plan to shoot? Are you ok lugging 20 lbs of gear with you? 5 lbs? 1 lb?  Do you hike for miles into the mountains to reach your landscape shot? Do you need to be silent and unobtrusive for street shooting? Do you plan to work in a studio? dSLRs are larger and heavier, and are the best cameras for fast action responsiveness, and as more mature systems have the largest options for expansion, the best used markets, and the largest 3rd party support. By comparison, mirrorless systems have only been around for a handful of years. But they're smaller, lighter, seeing astounding amounts of innovation, and yielding image quality at the level of dSLRs, but have smaller overall systems and less 3rd party (think: lenses, flashes, flash triggers) support from being so young. So, what/how you shoot also determines which type of camera might be better for you.
Features come and go and play leapfrog across brands and models. All of the cameras are good. None of them are bad. What you have to look at is the system overall.
3. What lenses will I need?
Don't think of lenses as accessories for your camera body.  We know, P&S and phone cameras have trained you to think this way, but your camera body is actually the accessory for your lens collection. Sensors and bodies come and go. New camera body models are introduced and then depreciate at an astonishing rate. A lens, however, may not see a "replacement" for decades, if ever. Lenses often hold value in the long term, and in some cases, can even appreciate.  Look to the glass. Canon and Nikon are often touted as being the best systems to look at simply because they have the largest selections and any 3rd party lens made for other brands are made for them, too. But Pentax makes pancake lenses. And Sony has Zeiss glass in its lineup.  Learn about focal length, max. aperture, and what type of lens you might need for what you want to shoot. Then see if the mount system you're thinking of buying into has those lenses.
4. Am I OK with giving up P&S/phone camera convenience?
The focus on most articles about "upgrading" from P&S to dSLR emphasize the gains. Not many talk about the losses.  dSLRs, by default, don't do as much in-camera processing as P&S cameras or the computational stuff smartphone cameras do (e.g., "portrait mode"). This is to give the photographer the choice of relying on the processor in the camera, or to tweak to taste by individual image with the RAW data. Are you prepared to get post-processing software and learn to use it?  P&S cameras have small sensors and small slow lenses so that you can't misfocus easily.  dSLRs let you misfocus all you want. That's how you get that bokeh you think you need so badly: having things out of focus. You'll have to master focusing the camera. P&S cameras have tiny lenses with very deep depth of field--so they can do macro. Bigger sensors and bigger lenses mean larger minimum focus distance. To do macro on a dSLR, you probably need a $400+ macro lens.  You ok with that? Bridge P&S cameras have superzoom lenses that give you the equivalent "reach" of 500mm and 600mm lenses on a full-frame camera. Those types of lenses cost $1000+ on the dSLR side of the fence.  You ok with giving up that reach?  You will get a lot of gains from moving to a dSLR, but this isn't a straightforward "upgrade" in all areas: you are shifting from one type of tool to another. And of course, you're liable to be lugging a bag of gear around with you, not just slipping a camera into a pocket or purse.
And of course, fixed-lens or interchangeable-lens, mirrorless or dSLR, most dedicated cameras aren't internet-connected, don't automatically backup images to the cloud, or have your photos on your phone instantaneously ready for use in texts, emails, or apps, or are nearly as good at always being with you as your phone's camera. And there's nothing about a phone camera that stops you from practicing composition.
Most anyone who shoots with a dSLR will also have a compact camera as well for the added convenience and will still be taking pics on their phone. For most it's not "or"; it's "and". Think of it like big red toolboxes (that you still have to buy tools for) and swiss army knives. Tools for the task.
See also: What do I need to consider to choose between dSLR, mirrorless, or a compact as my first "serious" camera?
Answer: Find out what brand of cameras your photo friends own. The relative differences between Canon and Nikon are fairly small (and probably don't matter until you get very advanced), so a big advantage when starting out is buying the brand the people you hang out with have bought. That gives you a source of free advice, plus the ability to try out cameras and borrow lenses to see how things work.
Don't overbuy. You can buy a really good camera in the entry level; even if you outgrow it, having a second body around is a good thing, or you can sell it and upgrade. If you get serious about this, you probably WILL outgrow it, so don't overspend. Buying more expensive cameras means buying features you won't need, use, or understand and might make growing into the hobby harder and frustrating. The Canon Rebel is a great way to get started.
Do you really need a DLSR? There are some really nice cameras that just don't happen to have interchangeable lenses. We've used the Panasonic Lumix superzooms for years, the current model is the DMZ-fz35) and it can turn out really nice pictures without many limitations. Another is the Canon G11. Consider whether you need a DLSR or whether you're really looking for a good entry level camera (how badly do you need/want interchangeable lenses?) -- some of these high end point and shoots match entry level in image quality and are less expensive and more convenient.
if you stick with a DLSR, figure out your lenses first, and don't cheap out on them. Assume you'll upgrade your camera body 2-3 times before upgrading your lenses -- if you pick your lenses well. So be willing to spend a bit more on lenses and buy a less expensive body. It's a good investment. Avoid "kit" lenses that come bundled with bodies. waste of money, IMHO.
I like as an entry level set something like the Canon Rebel and a good third party lens with a decent superzoom capability, like the Sigma 18-200 (I wrote a bit about why I prefer that lens to the Tamron I actually own here: http://www.chuqui.com/2010/01/a-few-thoughts-on-lenses/) -- the cost difference between the rebel with a kit lens and the rebel body only is about is about $250-275. You can buy the body only and the sigma for pretty much the same money and get a much better and more flexible lens..
consider renting a camera for a week with the lens you're considering. Make sure you like the results, make sure it's comfortable in your hands.
Answer: So, I recently bought a used camera. To decide which to buy, I developed this technique:

Make a list of all features that are important to you.
Assign a point value from 1-10 to each feature. Give a 10 to something essential, a 1  to something that barely matters.
Write down the stat for the feature for all of the cameras that you are interested in.
Give no points to the camera that does the worst for a feature. Give 1 x the point value for the next worst. Give 2 x the point value to the next camera and so on. Do this for every feature.
Add up all of the points for each camera, then divide this by the price.

This method is a little complicated, but it pays off. It made it clear to me which camera was the best deal.
Answer: The tricky part about landscape and wildlife is that they sometimes imply different, if not opposite requirements. Landscape often demands a camera/lens combo that can capture as wide a scene as possible. Wildlife usually requires one that can zoom as far as feasible to capture an elusive animal from a safe distance.
To take pictures of a large landscape you can either stitch several photos together, or rely on a wide angle lens (in the 15-30mm range for example). The size of the camera sensor here is important. If you have enough resource to buy a full frame (35 mm equiv) camera, you will be able to use wide and ultra wide lenses to their full potential. On smaller-sensor DSLRs, wide-angle lenses have smaller angles of view that depend on the corresponding crop factor.
Most consumer cameras use APS-C sensors, which effectively "zoom in" by a factor of x1.6. What it means is that your new 16mm lens behaves like a 25.6mm. Your 50mm like 80mm, etc. No matter how wide your lens actually is, you will not capture a scene as broad as if it had been mounted on a full frame camera/sensor. This is not all bad though, since a lens is usually optically better at its center anyway. Ultra wide lenses can also introduce a lot of unpleasant optical distortions.
There are two sides to this coin. What is detrimental to wide landscapes is good for distant wildlife though, because you can zoom even further with a telephoto lens mounted on a APS-C sensor. The crop factor still applies, this time to your advantage. A 200m zoom suddenly behaves like a 320mm, allowing you to get that much closer to a bird and use cheaper lenses.
You didn't mention your budget, so keep in mind that full-frame cameras are usually much more expensive than consumer APS-C cameras. They are bulkier and heavier as well, requiring sturdier tripods. They also demand better lens/glass if possible, since they are using the whole image circle.
I don't do too much landscape, but I take a lot of pictures of large abandoned buildings. In this scenario I really benefit from a 16-35mm lens mounted on a full-frame sensor. I do have a 70-200mm lens as well to shoot from a distance. If I'm willing to compromise a bit of optical quality I can always use small lens extenders to reach x1.4 to x2.0 further.
Of course, it's not one or the other. As jrista pointed out in the comments, you can capture perfectly great landscapes with a telephoto and go for a different, compressed look.
More:

Field of View Crop Factor (Focal Length Multiplier).
Telephoto Landscapes by Andy Mumford
Answer: Most cameras nowadays support much the same options for using an aperture priority or shutter priority modes, as well as your full auto options, so that isn't a great way to set them apart. Most of the major brands will give comparable image quality too.
When thinking about cameras specific to a task, you need to think about how you'll use it; In the case of landscape or wildlife photography you might want to consider features such as weather proofing, and differences between models. It is also important to consider weight if you're going to be carrying it around (along with lenses, tripods, waterproof clothing, kitchen sink, etc.)
Answer: I'll assume a $1000 budget.  Adjust as required.
The best entry level DSLR is probably the good quality well known brand one that you determine will help you achieve what you want. All the top name brands perform well enough to start with and to learn on, there are some differences and some features that may suit you better, but without a personal "fitting" it is unlikely that anyone here will be able to say with certainty what will work for you. If you have a friend who already owns equipment of a given brand that may make a difference - as may the existence of a local club that focuses on a given camera brand.
The usual "safe" choices are Canon or Nikon (alphabetical order - either OK) but also very safe are Olympus & Sony and there are a number of entirely adequate other offerings.
No eg $1000 camera system would be the camera of choice for a professional wedding photographer BUT any wedding photographer worth their $ would be able to take reasonably good wedding photos using such.
If you especially value low light photography you may wish to look at good used lenses that have a reasonably large maximum aperture (f/2.8 or better). All camera makers also offer something like a 50mm f/1.8 prime lens at an utterly bargain basement price in terms of performance per $. Some also do a 35mm f/1.x but these are sometimes more costly enough to eat more of your $1000 budget than you can really afford.
Many entry level DSLRs have kit options with one or two low cost and relatively modest quality lenses. These are usually lower cost when bought this way than if bought separately and the quality is usually good enough to be useful while you are learning.
"Best brand" recommendations usually bring out brand purists and the arguments never cease. I'm going to mention one brand for a special reason - you can decide if it matters enough. I started with a Minolta SRT303b film SLR decades ago due to a friend's recommendation and have used mainly Minolta and then Sony (who bought Minolta's camera business) ever since. [I also have D700 Nikon but that's irrelevant here]. Optically and functionally Sony's DSLR line is similar in performance to Canon or Nikon or Olympus or ... .     There is one major difference.
All Sony DSLR camera have "in body" antishake to provide image stabilisation. Most other manufacturers provide antishake mechanisms in selected lenses. Lenses with anti-shake cost a premium over lenses without it - in some cases the lenses may cost around double the non-equivalent stabilised lens price. As the Sony cameras have in-body stabilisation ALL lenses are stabilised. You get 2 to 3 stops of improvement by using Sony antishake (always turned on by default). This means that a Sony with only modest low light performance can compete in many cases with a very good low-light performance camera when photos are hand held and when hand stability is a limiting factor. My A77 Sony is 3 times worse noise-wise than my D700 Nikon, but hand held in low light the Sony is often a match for the Nikon (heresy!!!) due to the ability to use lower ISO and lower shutter speed. When subject movement is the limiting factor no camera stabilising scheme helps and the D700 'tramples' the A77 with ease.  Whether this matters depends on what is important to you, but I have found that the ability to use ANY Minolta AF lens and have it stabilised as of right is very valuable. [eg The Minolta 500mm mirror lens is the only only 500mm AF stabilised mirror lens ever made].
FWIW - Sony make the sensors for the top Nikons, so much of the differences are in presentation and processing and not raw sensor performance.
Answer: As this question was originally asked five years ago and still keeps getting asked over and over again by beginner photographers and enthusiast consumers alike, I'll try to bring few fresh points to the table.
This answer assumes that you have already decided to purchase a dSLR. But if you are still not sure whether to get into the dSLR world, please do read inkista's answer here.
Also, bear in mind that this answer is limited to the 'first' dSLR purchase.
The dSLR industry has made incredible strides in technology which has enabled choosing a camera which can make bad pictures very rare. This, counterintuitively, makes selecting a 'good' camera quite difficult. So, try to keep the following in mind:

Price: Like the saying goes, "The best camera is the one that's in your hands", a top of the line camera that you cannot afford is of no help to you. So, buy a dSLR that you can afford.

If you are someone who's really serious about making great pictures and wish to take your craft to the next level, you need to understand that it is better to have some money left to spend after buying your first dSLR because a dSLR is usually not the only factor to make great pictures. You might need to get a different, if not better, lens.
For example, you might want to buy a portrait or wildlife specific lens to suit your tastes or needs. Or you might need to buy a good steady tripod, if you wish to go long-exposure.
The bottom line is that there are other accessories that are non-trivial for the serious amateur-hobbyists. This is something that makes bundle-pricing an attractive thing when it comes to camera gear. Look if you can find a good deal that can get you things like an extra lens kit, tripod, extra memory card, extra battery for a little price increase. Although the kind of tripods that are sold in cheap deals not really of the best quality, a basic tripod is good enough for beginners.
If you are someone who's only buying a dSLR with the expectation that it can simply deliver better images for your vacations, events or family trips, you might not have to bother much about most accessories mentioned above. But spare batteries, a good camera bag to keep your gear safe, fast memory cards that actually can record Full HD or 4K video are still things that should take some attention of yours.
And it is very surprising that this factor can really help eliminate many available-but-not-affordable options to you and help to narrow things down.

Brand: Something that many people do not realise in this regard is that it goes beyond personal brand preference. It is something like the ecosystem that you'll get locked into. It goes without saying that most brands today produce gear that is virtually incompatible outside its own brand. This means all your future accessories like camera lenses, external flashes and batteries are limited by your brand selection.

This again is of great importance to the serious amateur hobbyist photographer. That is because at some stage in your life, you'll want to grow into a better lens for the zoom or the aperture range.
You don't want to limit your future by making a poor choice today. If you choose a Canon/Nikon, they offer a very wide range of camera lenses, flash accessories that are definitely very much more that sufficient. Sony currently (as of 2015) makes some fantastic camera bodies, whereas the availability of lenses is relatively low.
For the normal photographer, understand that almost all well-known brands are making just enough models of lenses to give a little amount of creative flexibility.
The bottom line here is that it is very frustrating if you find yourself limited by the options offered by your camera manufacturer. And it becomes a huge pain-point if you have to migrate to a new manufacturer (for this reason) in the future - meaning, you have to buy similar gear again. The decision you make now will have lasting effect.

Ergonomics: Try to explore as much as possible before making your decision final. Your experience with your camera depends on how much you are comfortable, if not in love, with your camera. Make sure you try out a camera from the local store and see how it feels to you - in person. This is something that can sometimes make an impression that can make or break the deal.

Is it too heavy for your taste? This is a crucial element because it shall take up considerable space/weight when packing for vacations and when out shooting for long periods of time. Most full frame cameras tend to be heavier and larger than the APS-C sensor range cameras, so you need to compromise on extreme image quality versus convenience.

Specific feature support: Despite the great technical improvement across the range of dSLR cameras, few cameras brands or models have particularly limited functionalities in some remote area of settings. Understand that although almost all cameras all considerably much above average on the whole, they might be lacking one or two specific things or be different from other models.  That very functionality might be a deal breaker for you.

For example, some entry level Canon cameras do not offer external microphone support for recording audio along with the video. There are some notable variations in the minute details like frame rates, resolutions supported when it comes to video recording. So, if you plan to buy your camera with a very specific use case in mind, like heavy videography, make sure you cover the corresponding minute details that matter to you before purchasing the camera.

Your Patience: This is something you should know when buying your first dSLR. Whether you are the casual photographer or the serious amateur hobbyist, understand that a dSLR is only a tool that forms a small part of the bigger picture or the craft. And usually comes with one or two dials for controlling the various modes, many menu screens for the various settings, built with the intention of giving more control over the final image. Learn to embrace it.

Don't simply be intimidated by the sheer number of settings or menus or modes.  You might be in for a fairly steep learning curve. But there are some excellent resources available online. Try to learn how a dSLR works in conjunction with the fundamental physics principles of light (such as the exposure triangle) rather than trying to master the settings without knowing the context or intention for which each setting was created in the first place. An educated and informed decision in using a particular setting can greatly help in improving your final output and most importantly the satisfaction involved with the process.


High altitude pizza crust - how to adjust yeast?

Question: I'm trying several pizza crust recipes at an altitude of 4,500' (about 1500 meters).  All of the recipes I have are presumably for sea level, and the results are as expected - too much yeast for this altitude causes the dough to over-rise and then collapse.  Can anyone suggest how much to reduce the yeast at this altitude - 30%, 40%, 50%, more?
Comment: how much granulated yeast do i need for 50# of flowr for thin crust pizza dough?
Answer: Sugar fermentation occurs more quickly at high altitude so you need to cut back on the time that you're allowing the dough to rise.
Salt controls the action of the yeast so you might be able to increase it slightly since you're talking about pizza crust and not a sweet yeast dough.
Are you using all-purpose flour?  If so, try bread flour.  The higher gluten content of bread flour typically requires a longer amount of time for rising due to the extra gluten that needs to stretch and expand.  Additionally, it will be a stronger dough even when it is expanded.
Comment: I second the salt suggestion. Try 10% more salt.
Answer: I don't think that reducing the yeast is going to help much. Remember that the yeast is going to reproduce in your dough anyway.
Try rising in a cooler location, even the refrigerator. It'll make your bread better anyway. Start with ice-cold water when you prepare the dough, and then keep it cold overnight. After that, bring it out to room temperature in the morning and let it work from there. Keep an eye on it — don't rely on the clock to tell you when to punch it down for a second rise.


How to sync Thunderbird calendar on laptop with calendar on Samsung Galaxy S III

Question: I want to sync my Thunderbird Lightning calendar on my office laptop with my Samsung S III calendar. How can I do that?
Answer: Have you considered using the Google calendar?
As far as I know you can sync the Samsung S III and the Thunderbird Lightning calendar with the Google calendar.
Samsung SIII:
http://www.samsunggalaxys3forum.com/forum/samsung-galaxy-s3-help/1278-samsung-s3-s-calendar-not-syncing-google-calendar.html
Lightning:
http://www.vikitech.com/7955/sync-google-yahoo-windows-live-calendars-thunderbirds-lightning
Answer: As you don't specify, I assume your office laptop is running Windows. In this case you might want to take a look at the MyPhoneExplorer Client App for your SGS, and its desktop pendant for your laptop. As far as I know (I'm not a Windows user), this should be the best and complete solution -- not only caring for your calendar with Thunderbird and others, but doing a lot more useful things to manage your device.
If you do not care for those extras, you might rather take a look at BirdieSync for Thunderbird (or simply search the playstore for thunderbird).


Do I need to have played Mass Effect to enjoy Mass Effect 2?

Question: I have never played Mass Effect, but I hear that Mass Effect 2 is great.
Do I need to play the first to understand the second?  Will I be lost?
Comment: Related: [Should I continue one of my Mass Effect playthroughs in Mass Effect 2 or start afresh?](http://gaming.stackexchange.com/questions/7441/)
Answer: They do a pretty good job of introducing the world and story in ME2, if you have not played ME1. That being said, I feel that picking up ME1 for $20 is well worth it and will definitely enhance your ME2 experience.
For example. certain characters will not appear in ME2 if you did not play ME1. Make sure you get ME1 and ME2 on the same platform too. You can't transfer saves from different platforms.
Comment: Heck, you can see it on steam sales for as low as 5$!
Comment: @Raven: I think I have a copy of Mass Effect 1 because of that!  Although, I haven't actually played it yet...
Comment: Poor Council, Poor Wrex
Answer: ME2 has an independent storyline that can be understood without ME1, though many events will lack context and be somewhat less compelling as a result.  The biggest problem with not importing a ME1 save game is that if you create a character in ME2 directly, the history assumes the least happy endings for all of the major events in ME1.  You won't really have much trouble understanding the game, but it will be a somewhat more depressing game.  On the other hand, if you don't know the story to begin with, you might not realize it.  If you like playing the evil asshat, your experience may be essentially unchanged.
Getting all of the happy endings requires not only that you import a ME1 game, but that you play through ME1 with a nearly capped charm/intimidate rank (a perfect ending at Noveria requires 5 out of 12, the happy ending at Feros requires 10 points out of 12 -- the only scene that requires 12 is the awesome resolution of the Saren plotline, but that has no effect on ME2).  You'll also want to make a point of doing Wrex's character quest before Virmire.
Completing the ME1 mineral scanning quest will give you additional starting resources in ME2.  Completing the "Rich" Accomplishment will give you additional starting funds.  High ME1 Paragon/Renegade scores will also translate into a starting bonus to ME2 Paragon/Renegade scores, making it easier to get good plot endings in ME2.  A high level in ME1 will translate into starting XP in ME2, though if you plan on buying the DLC quests, there is probably enough XP in the game to hit L30 without it (without DLC, you'll end at around 26 with no imported character after doing all side quests, IIRC).
Answer: Two things that might help in the decision making process:
1) ME2 will, as Elpezmuerto said, transfer your save file from one game to another, enriching your playthrough in ME2.
2) Mass Effect is a trilogy, as stated by EA and Bioware.  Essentially, you are short-changing yourself a third of the experience by jumping straight into ME2.
Answer: I would strongly recommend you to do so. I played ME2 without playing the original version and I didn't understand anything. Sure, I understood what it was all about but you won't be able to put certain people and conversations in context.
Also it teaches you how to play the game. ME2 assumes certain things or doesn't make some things very clear. For example, I didn't know you could mine planets for minerals until one of the loading hints told me about it! Plus I didn't fully understand how to order your squad to modify their attack on the battle field. Sure it's all there when you bring up the wheel but its not very evident what to do. This lack of clarity is what I hated about ME2. You have to read the in game user guide (The box didn't even come with a grain of useful information in terms of printed material.
Tech cool down? Anyone?
So... play ME1 first.
Answer: While you do not need to play ME1 to enjoy ME2, you certainly can and will get a lot better understanding of the world and its major players by going through ME1 first.
That and you can import your character/stats from ME1 to ME2, which is a major plus!


Who changed the size of the transaction log?

Question: Can I know, who and when changed size of database transation log?
Answer: Most likely you did. Most cases database files, including transaction log, are configured for auto-growth. Auth-growth enables the file to increase its size as needed, any time is needed. The trigger for growth can be any activity that requires log space. The activity that triggered the growth is most cases ordinary, normal activity. The true problem is why is the log growing. Most times is simply lack of log truncation, see Factors That Can Delay Log Truncation. Other time it can be a single event that generates a lot of log and requires growth. But most often is just bad maintenance (lack of truncation).
To shrink the log now, see How to Shrink the SQL Server log.
If the log was explicitly increased in size, the event is likely captured in the default administrative trace.
Comment: Here's an example of using the default trace to find out about log growth: http://strictlysql.blogspot.ca/2011/01/finding-last-database-growth-date-and.html?m=1
Answer: No. Point. This stuff is not tracked in SQL Server.
You can possibly see when (there is an event log that is available via standard reports) and see if it it was someone or auto growth (as per settings), but if it was a user, no - it is not tracked who issued the command.
That is pretty much never needed in any professional setup. You know, where you do not have clueless people do random changes. In a professional setup you have change tickets first, so you can see when a change was planned, implemented.


Is there a sport aspect to Krav Maga?

Question: I'm familiar with the basics of Krav Maga (history, philosophy and approach), but not a practitioner.  There's a lot to like in this martial art from my perspective, but I generally don't see any mention of a competitive/sports aspect of the art - in fact, I generally hear practitioners specifically promote how Krav Maga is not sports-oriented.  All of this got me to wondering, is there a sports-oriented version/aspect of Krav Maga?  And if so, how does it differ from the more self-defense oriented Krav Maga practice?
Comment: I didn't go into the detail but it's look like there is tournament with judge for military http://www.jspace.com/news/articles/elite-soldiers-compete-in-idf-s-first-ever-krav-maga-tournament-video/14166. Hope they will do something like this for civilian also.
Answer: First, Krav Maga doesn't refer to itself as a martial arts. It's more appropriately called "Self defense tactics system." This might seem like marketing fluff, but the idea is that there is no art to it, and it want's to separate itself from traditional martial arts.
Second, there is no sports (also known as competitive) aspect to Krav Maga. Krav Maga itself takes it's learnings from many martial arts: Boxing, Tae Kwon Do, BJJ, Muay Thai etc, which do have competition and rules, but eschews them for a simplified fighting style.
If you want Krav Maga with a competitive nature to it, then I recommend MMA, which has a lot of overlap with krav maga, minus the weapon defense, small joint manipulation, and other "hurt at all cost" moves (eyepokes, ball-kicks, etc), which are generally illegal in competitive martial arts.
Comment: It's not my distinction. Its the distinction that Krav Maga's various associations make. Krav Maga has no Art to it. It's all about street mentality w.r.t. self-defense. KM is far from perfect, but I certainly think the distinction is a valid one.
Comment: Why make the separation between a "Self Defense tactice system" and a "martial art"?
What do you think Karate/jujustu/kung-fu were made for? Its not at all different then what Krav was created for; fighting.
Comment: Personally I would say it like any art is simply a sub category. A focus on one thing or another does not really make it a different animal.
Answer: Krav Maga is a relatively new martial art which was developed by Israeli military for military applications, as such it does not have a competitive/sports aspect  as with Taekwondo or Seido.
Comment: It's not really due to time. BJJ started in 1914, while KM was first started in 1930's. It's due to philosophy more than anything. Also maybe smart marketing, since people won't see KM fighters get their butts kicked in the ring, they won't lose credibility.
Comment: Getting the Ass kicked inside the ring doesn´t mean that the style is bad. If specific techniques would be allowed inside the ring, who would win? It is still and will be always the one who wants it more. The skill can be trained however, but a kick is a kick and a punch will be always a punch. Ever noticed how shiny techniques crippeled down to simple straight punches and beautiful hooks changed to windmills in real fiughts? Btw. there was one fight as I recal with Tomy Bloom inside an octagon he won without Krav techniques.
Answer: Krav Maga has no competitive aspect, as the rules of competitive fighting would be incompatible with many techniques, but to answer your question, the Krav Maga taught to civilians around the world is the sports-oriented version of Krav Maga.
There's a lot of marketing rhetoric about how deadly and effective Krav Maga is, and practitioners and instructors will tell you that Krav Maga is not a martial art but a self-defense system, blah, blah, blah, but you should keep in mind that the Krav Maga taught to Israeli Special Forces is not the same thing that instructors around the world teach to civilians.
People are right when they say Krav Maga is deadly and intended to quickly  incapacitate the opponent by causing serious injury or death, but most of the time an instructor teaching Krav Maga to civilians won't teach many details that set up the conditions for causing serious injury or death to an opponent. This is simply because civilians learning Krav Maga for the sake of self-defense won't need to kill an attacker with their bare hands in order to defend themselves, and there's a good chance they will go to jail if they do that. That kind of legal trouble associated with the name  will bring the kind of bad reputation that no contract disclaimer or public relations effort can prevent.
Answer: As far as I know there has been one tournament held last year by the Israeli Self Defense Force. The scarcity for competition in this field are likely due to it's brutality. Krav Maga leaves the opponent damaged and crippled through the use of eye gouging, groin, and throat shots. It was created for the purpose of self preservation and many of the techniques would be unsafe and unethical to preform for sport.
Answer: No, it doesn't have a sporitng element, but if you can have shooting sports (IPSC, IDPA, etc), then you can have Krav Maga sports too. Set up a course and let each competitor run it. The guy with the shortest time/ highest kill/death ratio wins. Now give me lots of money for the idea.
Answer: I took Krav Maga for about a year with two different organizations.  It can teach you to defend rather quickly and get you to safety in a B- line.  But to say it teaches to kill is over kill. Any martial art can teach you to kill, but going to jail is not worth it.  Once the adversary is on the ground leave the scene—hitting more than that will get you locked up for too much force.  I like the bursting concept of it, to many choke escapes.  One or two will do but to go thru your mind selecting out of 12 is useless under stress.  The knife blocks are even worse, very dangerous.  Use objects around you to defend against a knife and any other weapon.
Comment: I find this confusing: "I like the bursting concept of it, to many choke escapes. One or two will do but to go thru your mind selecting out of 12 is useless under stress." Could you please clarify?
Answer: user1592 is right. Imagine someone who knew KM just walked into an MMA cage and started fighting. KM practitioners are trained to kill right? They probably would most commonly seriously injure someone every time they entered the ring. If you ask someone who is an expert on KM, they'll say they know a gazillion ways to kill someone. That's not okay to put in a competition, even MMA. I've even talked to someone who has just a few years to get to intermediate KM. Guess what? He knows a couple hundred ways to kill that are ONLY to be used IN SELF DEFENSE.
I'll cite some sources of the most lethal martial arts and you can read about the top few. You'll notice KM is usually 1st place, at the end, on the list. These lists tend to count down.
http://list25.com/the-25-most-lethal-martial-arts-ever-created/?view=all
http://www.cracked.com/article_16595_6-great-martial-arts-killing-man-with-your-bare-hands.html
http://mma.top5.com/list-of-top-5-deadliest-martial-arts/
I know your probably thinking "duh" after reading some of those links. Maybe everything said on some of those isn't the most reliable, but reliable or no they all say KM is the most deadly. The reason is because its simply for serious self defense and involves some serious techniques that probably will kill the person they are performed on. The real purpose of KM is probably more likely to be used if someone has a knife or a gun and threatens you, not for MA competition.

Is there a sport aspect to Krav Maga?


What is an "open tuning"?

Question: I know that Keith Richards has been known to use open tunings on some songs, but what is an open tuning exactly and when/why would you use it?
Answer: An "open tuning" is one where the open strings, when strummed, are tuned to form a chord. So an "open D tuning" is going to something along the lines of (low to high) D A D F# A D -- that's a D major chord.
There are certainly more common open tunings than others but the range of open tunings available, even with a standard set of guitar strings on a standard scale guitar, is pretty large when you take in to account more than just major and minor chord shapes.
From this Wikipedia article, some more common open tunings would be:

Open A: E-A-C♯-E-A-E
Open B: B-F♯-B-F♯-B-D♯
Open C: C-G-C-G-C-E
Open D: D-A-D-F♯-A-D
Open E: E-B-E-G♯-B-E
Open G tuning - G-D-G-B-D (popular with The Stones. Note only 5 strings here...Keith is crazy)

There's quite a few more, including some suspended open tunings and 1st-and-5ths only tunings that make for some cool acoustic tunes. Check that link.
I was at a clinic with Don Ross last year and I believe he said he was up to the 40 or so open tunings range now. Granted he uses a long scale guitar to help extend the range of notes he can open tune to. He tries to plan his sets around tunings so he doesn't have to change many strings from song to song.
Answer: As Ian said, an open tuning is one where the open strings form a chord.
Having a chord available on the open strings is very useful for slide playing (unless you're REM or Steve Cropper (who often uses a Zippo lighter as a slide, so he really doesn't need a full open chord)) since it gives you chord intervals among the strings at the same fret. So for slide blues you can tune the open strings to the root chord (I); then your subdominant (IV) is at the fifth fret and your dominant (V) is at the seventh fret (with chromatic mediants at the third, fourth, eighth, ninth, and tenth frets).
Open tunings are also useful for "folk" guitar styles as they can give you many nice drone strings to beef-up a simple fretted melody. And for rock styles they can offer interesting possibilities for partial chords (I think this was the big draw for Keith Richards).
My favorite tuning is D-G-D-G-B-D, which I feel compelled to mention as it was omitted from Ian's list (otherwise excellent). It's Open G.  Why use it? It's better than Open D for almost everything. You can slide into the root from below (unlike Open D). You get a minor third at the top (nice for sliding into 5-b7 part of the chord) (also nice for fast melodic runs by puting shorter intervals on the higher strings (where your fingers are curled) and longer intervals on the lowers strings (where your fingers are already stretched out). And you can still do one-finger power-chords, but you have to do them on the "A" string (standard). And it's easier to return to standard (than with D) because you've only altered 3 strings (D)E-(G)A-D-G-B-(D)E (not 4 (D)E-A-D-(F#)G-(A)B-(D)E ).
Open G also gives you "more" Octaves. If you play a little melody across a few strings, it is much easier to find the octave transposition. The Open chord is very "5"-heavy giving it an unstable, edgy effect.
For a while I dropped the whole thing down a whole step producing C-F-C-F-A-C. But then, everything's too low to sing properly. But I often still write with a C-clef which was quite natural for this tuning.

What is an "open tuning"?


How can I take advantage of fog in my photographs?

Question: Ir's been quite foggy here for the last few days. The quality of light is different. Colour saturation is fairly low. Near the edge of the fog bank the sun looks great, as if there is a huge ND filter in front of it. Anyway, this weekend promises more fog. Are ther any particular tips to get great shots taking advantage of fog?
Comment: Don't use _on camera_ flash. Light from the side or behind, like che's suggestion, could be useful.
Comment: definitely do not use flash. Like driving in fog you dont use high beams. same concept.
Comment: Now you've got me wishing I had a foggy day here.
Answer: There are MANY links below...hover over each one to identify where they start and end, and view each example. ;)
For nature:
Position your camera behind a lone tree or under a forest canopy, and let the filtered sunlight (or moonlight) create rays of light in the fog. Capture trees fading into the fog. Find a lake shore or some islands out on the water, and capture the islands or far shore appearing out of the mist. Elevate yourself above the fog, and shoot down into it.
For City:
Capture a bridge fading into the mist at night. Frame a bridge head on, and look into nothing. Photograph a building rising into nothing. Capture city spotlights beaming into space.
Tips:
Use ETTR (see also, What is ETTR (Expose To The Right)?), but moderately, and don't worry about the low contrast (your histogram should have a peak near the right end, but not entirely there, and cover only a portion of your total dynamic range.) Fog will certainly reduce the dynamic range of most scenes, and can create very moody photos. Fog is a GREAT tool for night photography, as it enhances the illumination provided by street lamps, buildings, etc. Fog is also an excellent way to frame silhouettes of pretty much anything, especially if you put the light source directly behind the silhouetted subject...then you also get kind of a halo of light shafts.
Comment: +1 for making Wikipedia look pale with its [citation needed]'s
Comment: Haha! Aye, Wikipedia has slacked off lately. Guess they are too busy making money now to actually be a real encyclopedia.
Answer: I shot a (relatively popular) series of photos in the fog last year at night, feel free to check the EXIF info or the pics for inspiration. Essentially I was using my fastest lens, a 50mm f/1.4, hand held (this flash fog didn't last long, no time for a tripod). I relied on a lot of silhouetting, and city lights (naturally diffused by the fog). The light really had that color, this is not a white-balance mistake.
Comment: THATS HOT. WELL DONE
Answer: You can wait till it gets dark, and street lamp create shafts of light, and use those to your advantage. You can also backlight someone (for example with car headlamps) and him look like he's stepping out of a flying saucer.
Answer: There will be no or almost no shadows, so textures will mostly disappear, you will have to work exclusively with colors and/or shades of gray.  You can use the fog to your advantage since it will very strongly separate objects that are close to the camera from the background.
As other have suggested, if you can get some light source, there is a lot you can do with light in a fog.  Shafts of light from street lights or sun beams in a forest, or, with a good lighting, you can make the whole scene look like it's softly glowing.


Is "chaqu'un" an acceptable form of "chacun", or is it not a real word? From what is "chacun" derived?

Question: Instead of "chacun", is it OK to write "chaqu'un" or is that not a real word?
Is "chacun" derived from or a simplified form for "chaqu'un" (chaque un), i.e. "each one", or not?
Comment: Could you tell us where you found this spelling?
Comment: @victor Just in some informal personal writing, not published.
Answer: The word is chacun. The word chaque is always spelled with the final e anyway. I'm surprised to find so many Google hits for chaqu'un; I wouldn't have thought it to be a common spelling error.
Etymologically speaking, chacun is related to chaque, but it is not a contraction of chaqu'un. It's rather the opposite, in fact. The word chacun comes from the vulgar Latin  word cascunum (with a similar meaning), which in turn seems to be a cross between quisque unus ("each one") and unum cata unum ("one by one"). The contraction into one word happened back in Latin, not in French. The word chaque arose later, in Old French, as a derivative of chascun (as it was then spelled), by analogy with quelque and quelqu'un.
If you look at published books, you'll see that there is no contest: the spelling is chacun.

The only occurrences of chaqu'un are in older texts (early 19th century is the most recent I could find), and there are very few of these. So I would say that it's an old spelling error, but a spelling error nonetheless.
Looking at some old dictionaries, I find no mention of a recognized variant spelling. Féraud's dictionary does list chaqun as an incorrect spelling for chacun.
Looking at modern usage, the Leipzig corpus (which includes many newspapers and websites such as Wikipedia) has very few occurrences of chaqu. The usage examples are striking by the number of other, uncontroversial spelling errors they contain. So I feel confident in dismissing chaqu'un as incorrect, even under the most descriptivist approach.
Answer: Like everyone else said chaqu'un doesn't exist.
Chacun comes from old French "chascun" which in turn comes from the Vulgar Latin word cascúnum (a crossing of "quisque(unus)", that literally means "every one" = « chaque un ») and catúnum (from [unum] cata1 unum), literally « un à un »).
You can read more about it on the CNRTL site definition for "chacun".

1: It comes from Greek κατά "exprimant une notion de temps, avec idée de distribution: κατἐνιαυτόυ « chaque année »"
Answer: "chaqu'un" doesn't exists at all in French language. The unique construct is "chacun" (or "chacune" for the female form), translated to "each one".
The word came from ancient French "chascun", which is derived from the Latin "cascunum".
Answer: chaqu'un is not a real word and must not be used.
chacun seems to be originating from a contraction of latin roots of chaque un and un à un. (wiktionary.org)


Can you do circuit training every day?

Question: Is circuit training most beneficial if you do it everyday?   Should you take days off or alternate with something else to get better results?
Answer: It depends on the circuit you do. You could alternate a circuit such that you don't do the same muscle group on consecutive days if you like working out every day. If you are working your muscles hard, you definitely want a 48-hour recovery period for each muscle group.
I did a pretty intense circuit program 3 days a week (M-W-F) so I could have weekends free. And if you do it right, you sure appreciate those days off. But sometimes due to scheduling, I've done circuits consecutively. So long as you know your limits and keep good form, you can avoid injury.
You can always do another activity for days in between. I would suggest if you worked legs the day prior to not run a really long distance the next day. A lower level of intensity like a leisurely walk, swim, or bike ride is nice but it's all relative to your activity level. Listen to your body.
Answer: Since circuit training is a form of strength training (strength endurance), you should only do it 2-3 times per week with a day or two in between. Failing to take time off will cause you to reach a plateau due to the fact that your skeletal muscles will develop faster than your internal organs can keep up.
Comment: I also feel that the bit about skeletal muscles could use some clarification.
Comment: "your skeletal muscles will develop faster than your internal organs can keep up." ---- what???

Can you do circuit training every day?


When should you start brushing your child's teeth?

Question: My seven-month-old son just cut his first two teeth.  When do we start to brush them?  Is two teeth enough to brush?  Or should I wait until he has more?  If so, how many more?
Comment: Teeth need brushing! So if you have 1 brush 1!
Answer: Teeth require brushing. If there are any teeth at all, they need to be brushed.
Brushing early on helps get the habit in place - there's no reason to wait with that. Even better, by beginning this early, there's less "risk" from those days where you give up for various reasons.
Answer: We started this as soon as he had a few teeth (round about 12 months in our sons case) and found it easier to make it fun,
Essentially one of either my wife and I clean our teeth with him, we clean his teeth then let him hold the brush and "attempt" to clean his own too (he hasn't quite got the hang of this bit at 16 months :) )
Once done we ask him to let us smell his breath, this is the bit he really likes as he breathes on our noses and we exclaim how nice it smells, in fact he insists everyone in the apartment smells his breath!
Answer: We started brushing our son's teeth once he got them out, although he was not into it the thought we had was getting him used to it early.  Many things kids have can have sugar, or cause decay, so even with baby teeth you still want to have a clean mouth.  Problem is whether or not your son will allow you to brush.
Answer: As soon as the teeth are through, you start to brush.
Get him into the habit of spending time brushing teeth to establish good oral hygiene. Be careful that if you use toothpaste (pea sized amount), it's not swallowed.
Comment: I would put just enough toothpaste on the brush that he could taste it (even less than a pea size) and have him keep his mouth open.  My husband would brush his teeth at the same time and spit, and we encouraged Matthias to spit too.  If you're really worried about swallowing the paste, you can brush without toothpaste, it just won't be as effective.
Comment: Children who cannot yet spit should not use a fluoride toothpaste, period. They make baby toothpastes that do not contain any fluoride and are thus safe to swallow.
Comment: there's also special tooth paste for children, which contains the right "mixture" of ingredients, e. g. the amount of fluorine (enough for the age, but not too much). However, how do you want to avoid that it's swallowed? Our son learned rinsing out his mouth not until he was about 3.5 years old. If we gave him a cup with water before, he would swallow it and was not able to hold it in his mouth and spit it out afterwards.
Answer: I've found that teething babies love to have a toothbrush to chew on. It makes their gums feel better. It also helps establish a bedtime routine later on (don't expect this to catch on right away or anything). The soft-bristled ones specifically for children 0-1 are great this way.
Answer: You should start brushing as soon as teeth appear.  Allowing the child to play with the brush before teeth appear will help when you need to actually brush.
Use a special childs toothbrush.  They have very soft bristles and tiny heads.
Use special childs toothpaste.  This has less fluoride (you should use a fluoride toothpaste) and a gentle flavour.  UK advice is to use a mint flavour to make changing to an adult toothpaste easier.  (We only have mint over here; there's one "wintergreen" toothpaste, and some weird flavours for children, but there's no cinnamon.)
Start by using a smear of toothpaste until the child can learn to spit.
At nighttime you may want to encourage them to leave the toothpaste on the teeth, rather than rinsing.
Answer: Wiping the gums with a bit of gauze before teeth have even popped out is recommended by my hygienist because bacteria can build up on the gums.  It also gets them used to the sensation of having something in their mouth right away making brushing easier later.
She says they make tools for this task, but they need disinfecting right away if you buy the tool.


Ubuntu hardware compatability

Question: I have only previously played with ubuntu using virtual machines with VMware Fusion.  So everything just sort of worked.  I've never had to install any drivers.  I'm considering putting it on some real hardware and using it as a media center.  What should I be looking for as far as checking hardware compatibility?  How does installing drivers work? Any quick and easy recommendations / guides?
Answer: try running the LiveCD first,see if anything isn't working out of the box,usually the wireless connectivity is an issue in some installations
Answer:
Nvidia drivers are better than Radeons, and works VERY well, including 3D!
Some new audiocards are sometimes not detected automatically, but it's a rare case.
Currently, there were no Wi-Fi issues noticed. Networking was always the strong point of all *nix systems :)
Hewlett-Packard has very nice *nix support. All other printers work without any issues using CUPS. See the list here
Scanners are also ok. Here's the list of devices supported by sane
Comment: ATI's drivers are far inferior to those of nvidia's on any operating system
Answer: When I made the switch to Kubuntu (the KDE based flavour of Ubuntu) I first booted off the Live CD and found that everything worked.  So rather than looking through long lists of things that work (as most things will), just pop in a CD and try it.
Answer: usually  you don't need any driver when install ubuntu it recognize them itself.
and you can use:
<code>lspci
</code>
to determine what is your system configuration to find extra driver or check that this part can work on what distribution of ubuntu.
Answer: For a Media Center specifically:

Use a motherboard with an integrated
Intel GMA chipset for graphics.  Yes,
the memory will probably be shared,
but you won't notice it with a media
center.  Intel GMA is well supported because the driver is open source.
Use Hauppauge SD cards.  I don't believe the HD cards work yet.  The PVR-350 comes with a non-Windows branded remote.
My experience with wireless (802.11x) cards has been frustrating.  Wireless cards in laptops work well.  I bought a wireless -> Ethernet bridge for my media center.  Onboard LAN cards work great.
Mythbuntu worked right out the box for me.  The drivers stuff was automagic.
Browsing here is where I go for my media center questions, including hardware compatibility questions.  Obviously this is just for MythTV and not any other Linux Media Centers.

Bottom line:  Almost everything work with Linux now.  The question is how much pain you want to deal with.  The above is my recommendation for a minimum pain system.  You're interested in stability with a media center, not bleeding edge features, latest drivers, etc...
Answer: If you're really cautious, you could look for a pre-built system that is sold with either Windows or Ubuntu, but the same hardware. Then you know all the pieces should work with either.
Dell had some like this when I bought my computer. I wiped their pre-installed version of Ubuntu to set it up the way I liked it, but I didn't have to worry about hardware compatibility.
Answer: See the wiki
You can do some research on the Hardware Support section of the Ubuntu Wiki. It doesn't cover everything, but whatever you learn, you can contribute back.
Answer: Check out the UbuntuHCL.org hardware compatibility database.

Ubuntu hardware compatability


Are there one-dimensional ideals in any local ring

Question: I would like to know if it is always possible to find a one-dimensional ideal in a local commutative ring... actually I am interested in finding a curve through a point on a scheme (locally). If the ring is of finite dimension it should be obvious, but does anybody know about the situation in more general rings?
Comment: I assume you mean "a local commutative ring in which not every prime ideal is maximal;" otherwise, Artinian local rings provide a finite-dimensional counterexample.
Comment: Also see http://mathoverflow.net/questions/75320/connecting-points-on-a-variety-by-the-image-of-a-nonsingular-curve
Answer: Given your comment about curves I suppose by a one dimensional ideal you mean an ideal such that the ring mod this ideal is one-dimensional.
The answer is this: if you assume your ring to be noetherian yes, if not no.
Let $(A,m)$ be a local ring.
Case 1: $A$ is noetherian. Take the set of prime ideals other than $\mathfrak m$. By the noetherian assumption this set has a (possibly more than one) maximal element. Call that $\mathfrak p$. Then the quotient ring $A/ \mathfrak p$ is a local domain that has exactly two prime ideals, so it has dimension one.
Case 2: $A$ is not necessarily noetherian. Karl Schwede constructs an example in this paper that has a single infinite chain of prime ideals $(0)\subset \mathfrak p_1\subset \mathfrak p_2\subset \dots \subset \mathfrak m\subset A$. He does this to exhibit the scheme $(\mathrm{Spec} A)\setminus\mathfrak m$ as a scheme without a closed point, but it also works here. Since all the prime ideals of $A$ appear in that chain and there are infinitely many "above" any of them except $\mathfrak m$, this ring does not have a prime ideal "of dimension one". In fact taking any prime other than $\mathfrak m$ gives you an infinite dimensional quotient ring. This implies that if the quotient ring by any ideal is finite dimensional, then it has to be 0 dimensional: Take the quotient, if it has finite dimension then the only prime ideal it can have is the image of $\mathfrak m$ and hence its 0-dimensional.
Answer: The above answer says there is a ring such that for any nonmaximal prime ideal there is a nonmaximal prime ideal containing it. In fact valuation ring with infinite products of integers group as valuation group is an example. A paper about spectral space of commutative rings written by Hochster tells us there is also ring with  spectral space which order  just inverse the spectral space of a given ring. So there also exists a ring such that for any nonminimal prime ideal there exists another nonminimal prime ideal which is contained  in it. That is there is a ring which has no prime with height 1.


Can I program EV3 with the NXT-G IDE?

Question: I am helping prepare a team for First Lego League and the new EV3 kit is what will be used. We are currently teaching the kids with NXT 2.0 kits that we have using the NXT-G IDE. It appears that we cannot get the [free] EV3 Home Edition software until September 1, 2013, losing important time and requiring some learning curve. Is it possible for us to continue using NXT-G software to program the new EV3 kit when it arrives?
Comment: I found out that the Educational Software is available now, for a price. The Home Edition software is available free on Sept 1, 2013. First Lego League teams who buy the EV3 kit get a team license of the EV3 software.
Answer: No, it appears that you need to use the EV3 software to program the EV3 kit, as per the FAQ on the LEGO site: http://mindstorms.lego.com/en-us/News/ReadMore/Default.aspx?id=476781
The EV3 sensors also won't work with the NXT brick either.
Though, I'd imagine if you're getting an EV3 kit, it should come with the EV3 software.
Answer: I think I found the answer from a post back in January (unless things have changed since then). It came from user named bungeshea, who said "it is unlikely that NXT-G will work with EV3 bricks as EV3 bricks run a custom build of Linux, whereas older bricks run a custom firmware". So I assume the answer is NO (unless someone creates an NXT firmware upgrade that can emulate the EV3 API...highly unlikely).
Comment: NXT-G definitely can not be used to program the EV3 brick.

Can I program EV3 with the NXT-G IDE?


Can the lensbaby achieve a similar effect to a ± 8.5° tilt?

Question: I quite enjoy the ± 8.5° tilt that the Canon TS-E 24mm f/3.5 provides. The cost is quite high at around $2,000USD. It seems that some people use lensbaby lenses for something of a similar effect. What lensbaby would most closely achieve the look I am used to from the ± 8.5° tilt of the Canon lens? It is possible that I am mistaken and this effect can not be produced by the lensbaby arsenal, but any direction would be great.
Answer: If you want to use the tilt to throw things out of focus, then yes. If you want to use it to bring things into focus (using the Scheimpflug principle), then the Lensbaby optics are not what you want.
All of Lensbaby's optics are designed for special photographic effects rather than straight photography, displaying at least one "major flaw" (spherical aberration over at least part of the lens, field curvature, vignetting, etc.) in order to achieve the desired effect. While their more expensive mount and optics are made of better stuff than the cheaper models, they are still aimed at the special effects market and are designed to have a "look".
Canon (and other maker-brand) tilt-shift lenses are designed for straight photography, to overcome the limitations of a fixed-geometry lens and provide some of the features of a view or technical camera. That includes changing the plane of focus, not in order to minimize it, but to maximize the field of sharp focus in the image, and to correct perspective distortions for things like architectural photography. They go out of their way to provide flatness of field and a very large image circle so that both the tilt and shift can be used to maximum effect. It is only a side effect of the movements provided, used in pretty much the opposite way that they are intended to be used, that you can create some of the effects that the Lensbaby optics are specifically designed for; other aspects of the Lensbaby look need to be added in post-producion.
Comment: You were right on track, I didn't specify but I was talking specifically about throwing things out of focus(quite the opposite of the "point" of a tilt shift lens) :)
Answer: Edit: Sorry somehow I missed the part about it being a 24mm lens. Lensbaby does not have a wide angle flat field optic. This answer will likely be of no use.
Lensbaby uses lenses with fewer elements and less advanced coatings, image quality will be a factor. The other factor is the build quality. Cannon and Nikon tilt lenses are built very solidly. Lensbaby's lower costs cannot support the same construction methods.
It would apppear as though the best combination of reproducing the look achaiveable by a profesional tilt lens would be with the: Edge 80 Optic with a Composer Pro. The Composer pro does not ship with a flat field optic installed, images produced by it have a circular region of focus. The flat field optic will produce the straight line focus you are familiar with from Canon's offerings.
These two will set you back about 600-700 USD depending on which Composer Pro you purchase.


Colloids in digestion

Question: I am looking for examples of colloids involved in digestion for a cross-curricular (bio-chem-physics) lesson plan.  Although I have found references implicating colloids in both lipid and protein digestion, I haven't been able to identify which colloids they are speaking of.  Can someone provide specific examples?
Answer: Fat released from food will form macroscopic lipid droplets in the aqueous environment of the gut. In the small intestine, bile synthesised by the liver is secreted into the lumen via the bile duct. Bile contains bile salts which act as detergents to disperse the lipid droplets by forming micelles. I think this dispersion of micelles could be described as a colloid.
I have no idea what the reference to protein digestion could mean, although some hydrophobic proteins might become associated with the micelles that I've already described, and I imagine that bile salts might help to solubilise protein aggregates in the gut lumen by direct interaction - they, or their derivatives, are sometimes used by protein biochemists as detergents for protein solubilisation (e.g sodium deoxycholate.

Colloids in digestion


Why not use usual topology in ordered spaces ?

Question: This is a similar question to the one about the lack of use of usual topologies in measure theory. By usual topology here is meant the Hausdorff-Kuratowski-Bourbaki concept, based on open sets, or alternatively, closed sets. In ordered spaces a variety of convergences are defined. Hoever, in their general cases they do not correspond to convergence in any topology. The question is : is there some other concept of topology so that appropriate instances of it may give precisely one or another set of convergent sequences in order spaces ?
Comment: Can you be more explicit about what "variety of convergences" are defined in an ordered space?
Comment: Any better book on odered spaces given a variety of types of convergences. One of the best books is Luxemburg & Zaanen : mRiesz Spaces I. North-Holland 1971.
Answer: Pretopological spaces generalize both the topological notion of convergence and most kinds of order convergence. In a toplogical space X, one can define a satisfactory notion of convergence by filters. A filter in X is a nonempty family of subsets of X that is closed under finite intersections, supersets and that does not contain the empty set. The systems of neighborhoods (not just open neighborhoods) of a point forms a filter. A filter is said to converge to a point if it contains all neighborhoods.
One can abstract from this concept and define a pretopological space by a set X of points and for every point x in X a Filter representing abstract Neighborhoods such that x is an element of every neighborhood. A filter now converges again to a point if it includes every neighborhood.
There are various criteria by which one can identify pretopological spaces that are actually topological spaces. The Handbook of Analysis and its Foundations by Eric Schechter contains a lot of material on various forms of convergences and is a good reference for such questions. But there is no reason that the various noions of order convergence are topological. Actually, using the Bourbaki classifcation topological structures and order structures are separate types of structures. They only coincide if one wants by, say, using the order topology on a completely preordered set, in which case topological convergence also leads to a nice type of order convergence.
Comment: I am familiar with Schechter's book, and even personally with Schechter. Some say that the trouble with the HKB topology is that it is not Cartesian closed as a category. But perhaps, the trouble could be made explicit without categories ?


What will be the best practice for having 'reviewed' source code in a source control repository?

Question: What will be the best way to manage reviewed source code in a source control repository?
Should the source code go through a review process before getting checked in, or should the code review happen after the code is committed? If the review happens after the code is checked in to the repository, then how should that be tracked?
Answer: A technique I've used on multiple teams is this:

developers can integrate source on their own branch or local repo without review
developers can integrate with the trunk/master without review
code must be reviewed, and the review comments addressed, before it can be integrated from trunk/master onto a release candidate branch

It's the code author's responsibility to seek review, and the release branch maintainer's responsibility to ensure that only reviewed code is merged.
There are tools that support code review, but I've never used them. Tracking who did the review for any merge can be done inside the repo. I've used svn properties and perforce jobs attached to commits to show who reviewed what.
Comment: +1: except "it's the code author's responsibility to seek review".  Unless management demands reviews be completed, they will slide into irrelevance.  There must be some kind of reward system (even casual or informal) or it won't get done.  The branch maintainer answers to someone and has some kind of reward for being disciplined in checking for code reviews.  This piece of the puzzle is important, also.  Could you describe why folks would be disciplined at doing this?
Comment: @S.Lott on the teams I've worked on, professional pride. Also, if you don't get review, your code doesn't get integrated (as described above). Therefore your code doesn't get into the product, and you've done no work that day/week/iteration. If your developers aren't motivated to do their work, you have worse problems than organising your source control repository.
Comment: @Graham Lee: "Professional Pride"?  I scoff (but don't have much to go on.)  "developers aren't motivated to do their work" is the issue.  Many managers will subvert a good process by demanding a release prior to the schedule or demand additional features be wedged in.  What motivating factors are in place to prevent subverting the process?  What stops a manager from saying "We need this tomorrow, we don't have time for code reviews"?
Comment: @S.Lott I don't know about you, but I don't release a buggy heap of shit no matter how much a manager thinks he knows better about how my job is done.
Comment: @Graham Lee: I try to avoid releasing buggy code.  My question is "what motivates your team to avoid management from subverting your process."  It's a good process, I want to know more.
Comment: @S.Lott Essentially, "seeking review" is delegated from the branch maintainer. So ultimately the responsibility lies with that person (and hence the authority to reject code that isn't reviewed). If presented with unreviewed code, the maintainer can reject it, seek review himself, or escalate as appropriate. But really the team should try to avoid such potential conflict, just as part of working together well as a team.
Comment: I know a number of people (including myself) who have used both a "code review" process like what you are recommending, and also software that forces code review per commit.  Every last one has wound up convinced that the latter process is much, much better.
Answer: Google has the best code review practices of any place I have ever seen.  Everyone I met there is in complete agreement on how to do code reviews.  The mantra is "review early and often".
Suppose you use a process that looks like what Graham Lee suggested.  (Which is a process I'd previously used myself.)  The problem is that reviewers are being asked to look at big chunks of code. That is a lot more effort, and it is harder to get reviewers to do it. And when they do do it, it is harder to get them to do a thorough job of it. Furthermore when they notice design issues, it is harder to get developers to go back and redo all of their working code to make it better.  You still catch stuff, and it is still valuable, but you won't notice that you are missing over 90% of the benefit.
By contrast Google has code review on every single commit before it can go into source control.  Naively many people think that this would be a heavy-weight process.  But it doesn't work out that way in practice.  It turns out to be massively easier to review small pieces of code in isolation.  When issues are found, it is much less work to change the design because you have not written a bunch of code around that design yet.  The result is that it is much easier to do thorough code review, and much easier to fix issues changed.
If you wish to do code review like Google does (which I really, really recommend), there is software to help you do so.  Google has released their tool integrated with Subversion as Rietveld.  Go (the language) is developed with a version of Rietveld which is modified for use with Mercurial.  There is a rewrite for people who use git named Gerrit.  I have also seen two commercial tools recommended for this, Crucible and Review Board.
The only one I have used is Google's internal version of Rietveld, and I was very pleased with it.
Answer: I've never separated code for review by commited/non-commited criteria - the only criteria I've encountered is that unit tests and integration tests are green.
As for tracking I would recommend to update the flow in your favorite issue tracker. For exampe instead of:

Product owner -> Analyst -> Developer -> QA -> Release engineer

You may want to introduce one more stage (review):

Product owner -> Analyst -> Developer -> Reviewer -> QA -> Release engineer

Therefore for every ticket in Implemented state you can assign a reviewer and only Reviewed tickets will advance to QA.
Answer: I have only the one experience of code reviews, so I can't say how good it is.
I was working with a small(~10-15) group of coders, and we were using VS Team Foundation Studio. We were asked to commit code about once a day, and before each commit code was to be reviewed by somebody else in the group (hopefully by somebody also involved in the project). During commit, the name of the person was also included in a field.
Comment: Only committing once per day strikes me as a red flag.  Sorry.
Comment: Maybe. I too was somewhat surprised at first. However, it wasn't a hard and fast rule and you could "shelve" local changes as much as you wanted.
Answer: I worked on a team who code reviewed everything that was checked in on a change by change basis during a couple of reviews a week. This meant we weren't always right up to date with code reviews but it achieved what we set out to achieve.
So first, ask what you want to achieve by reviewing the code. In our case, it wasn't to catch idiot developers, there was an assumption of competence rather than an assumption of incompetence. It did allow the team to get an overview of other areas of the system, and allowed some questionable design decisions to be corrected before they became set in stone. By questionable, I mean there's always more than one way to skin a cat, and not everyone is aware there's a cat skinning knife already in the toolbox, so to speak.
Answer: The way that we tackled code reviews was that every task from our project tracking software was reviewed.  At the time we were using Mantis and SVN.  Our project commits were tied into both systems.  Every commit had to be tied to a task in mantis.  Once the task was completed a status of "Ready for Review" was assigned to it.
RFR items were then either picked up by anyone who had some free time for reviews or was assigned to a specific person for review.  On Fridays all RFR items had to be reviewed before the end of the day so that there weren't carryovers to the following week.
The only problems that we ran into with this process was large items that had a ton of files.  To handle this the coder and reviewer would get together and the coder would run through the changes until the reviewer understood them.  They would do the code review together.
This process broke down when management dictated that if peer programming was done a separate code review was unnecessary.  Developers became lax about the process and small stupid bugs began to be introduced.  Eventually we went back to the original process and things came back together.
Answer: On my team we've been using a practice for the past year or so that seems to work very well.
Our organization uses Perforce for version control. Perforce (as of a year ago) includes a feature called Shelving. With shelving, I can "shelve" my changes for a particular issue. They are stored in the version control system but are not checked in. Then I ask another developer on my team to review the code.
The other developer can view my pending changes in Perforce from his own computer, and compare the changes to the most recent revisions. He can also "unshelve" on to his local machine if he wants to try out my changes. When he's completed the review, he lets me know. I then check in my code with "Reviewed by Bob" at the end of the comment.
This has worked really well for us. First of all, code reviews in general have proven to be extremely helpful. Additionally, Perforce's shelving feature allows us to do the reviews without checking in or any major difficulty even though our team is geographically widespread -- that is very important. And it works great.


multiplicity under specialization

Question: Let $C$ be a projective non-singular curve defined over a field $K$ with the characteristic zero. Let $y,z$ be non-constant rational functions defined $K$ such that $y$ is defined at all poles and zeros of $z$ and gives an injective mapping of this set into the algebraic closure of $K.$ Let $(y_1,y_2,...,y_m)$ be all conjugates of $y$ over $K(z)$ and $r$ be the largest of the multiplicities of the zeros of $z.$ If $(y'_1,...,y'_m)$ is a specialization of $(y_1,y_2,...,y_m)$ over $z \rightarrow 0.$ \
   Is this true that the multiplicity of any $y'_k$ in $(y'_1,...,y'_m)$ is less than $r ?$
Answer: After a few days thinking about this question, I found out the answer. I write it down here, it might help someone get trouble like me.
Let $\mathcal{o}$ be valuation ring generated by maximal ideal $(z)$ in $K(z)$ and $v$ be the absolute value corresponding to it. Let $K(z)_v$ be the completeness of $K(z)$ with respect to $v$.  Let $K(w)$ be the function field of $C$, then it is easy to see that if $\mathcal{o}'$ is an valuation ring extending $\mathcal{o}$ to $K(z)$ then $\mathcal{o}'$ is the valuation ring of a zero point $Q$ of $z$ and its ramification index is the multiplicity of $Q$ in the zero divisor of $z$. Hence, the ramification index of $\mathcal{o}' \cap K(z,y)$ is less than the multiplicity of $Q$.
Because $y$ defines at zero points of  $z$, we see  that $y$ is integral over $\mathcal{o}$. Thenfore, the absolute value corresponding to $\mathcal{o}' \cup K(z,y)$ in $K(y,z)$ is an unramified extension of $v$. Hence, its ramification index equals its local degree. This imlies the local degree is less than the multiplicity of $Q
We know that each extension of $\mathcal{o}$ to $K(y,z)$ is induced by an embedding $\sigma: K(y,z)\rightarrow \overline{K(z)_v}$ (the algebraic closure of $K(z)_v$). Let $F(Y)$ be the irreducible polynomial of $y$ over $K(z)$ and $F(Y)=F_1(Y)\cdots F_k(Y)$ be its irreducible  factorization in $K(z)_v$ (the completeness of $K(z)$ with respect to $v$). Note that $F_i\not = F_j$ by $K$ having zero characteristic. Then, $(y_1,\ldots,y_m)$ are zeros of  $F(Y)$.
Consider an extension $\overline{\mathcal{o}}$ of $\mathcal{o}$ to $\overline{K(z)_v}$.  We claim that  $y_i,y_j$ are mapped to  the same image by the canonical place $\phi$ of   $\bar{\mathcal{o}}$ iff they are zero points of the same $F_s(Y)$.  Indeed, suppose $\sigma_i, \sigma_j: K(z,y) \rightarrow  \overline{K(z)_v}$ are embeddings which map $y$ to $y_i,y_j$, respectively. Then, $\phi \circ \sigma_i =\phi \circ \sigma_j$ as places of $K(y,z)$. Hence, they induce the same absolute value in $K(y,z)$. This follows our claim. Now, we can easily imply the answer of the question, as the multiplicity of $y'_i$ in $(y'_1,\ldots,y'_m)$ equals degree of some $F_s$ which equal the local degree.

multiplicity under specialization