Biggest GM pitfalls for new GMs?

Question: What are the biggest/most common GM pitfalls (or mistakes) for new GMs?
One pitfall per answer, please!
Answer: Common Pitfall:  Railroading (too often)
A new GM will often have a specific plotline/storyline and expect that the players will follow the path you have planned out.  This is often not the case, despite clues, hints and anything else you have left for the players which make it obvious to you as the creator which way they should go.  To the players, it's often not as obvious (since they don't know the end game) or sometimes they know, but don't have a motivation to follow the path you want them to.  The solution for many new GMs (and some experienced ones) is railroading (i.e. forcing the players to follow the path you've set/planned out).
While this is, on occasion, useful.  It's bad practice to make a habit of it.  Be flexible ready to change things on the fly if the party doesn't follow your planned route.  If they go a whole other direction, be prepared with various ways you can encourage or guide them back around to where you eventually want them to end up.  Or be prepared to take the campaign in a whole other direction (at least temporarily) when needed.
Comment: Don't be too scared if the players come up with something totally different then what you planned. Sometimes this can turn out to be something really awesome and fun! Play along with them and sometimes they can come up with something that probably was a better idea and they feel acomplished for working out such plans!
Comment: @The Jug: Absolutely.  Some of the best sessions I've run have been where the party when completely off the plan within the first 15 minutes and I had to wing things as we went.  Just do a bit of preparation for when they do.  One tip, though:  If you do find yourself winging it, take notes on what you have added to the campaign by doing so.  You can find those things coming back up later, especially if a PC asks you about something that happened.  (Which has resulted in me making stuff up a second time once or twice...)
Answer: Common Pitfall: Underestimating (occasionally overestimating) how much time is need to play a given scenario/section/etc.
While sometimes players will find an ingenious way to short-circuit the rough scheme you had planned, and thereby leave you woefully short of prep, the more common problem is that what you thought would take an hour or two of play to get through actually takes more than twice as long, particularly if your players are fond of lengthy in-character conversations.
It's very difficult to predict how much time is required for a given adventure, and people who have been GMing for 20+ years are still struggling with it. Be very sceptical about any time estimates you make!
Comment: Yeah, I try to not estimate how long things will take anymore.  I try to have a few encounters/scenes ready, or else I try to make sure that I have too much stuff - less work for the next week then.
Answer: Common(ish) Pitfall: Mary-Sue NPCs
This is usually seen in new GMs who can't let go of having "their" character. The Mary-Sue NPC is wonderful at everything, seemingly invulnerable to harm, and in the worst cases completely takes over the game. The end result is that everybody is bored except the GM, who has effectively dispensed with the need for any players, except possibly as an audience.
Temporary "plot immunity" for some NPCs is sometimes desirable (although see "railroading" in a different answer). But if you're not prepared to see harm come to an NPC at some point, they should be very peripheral to the game, at best. And flawed characters are generally a lot more interesting and convincing than people who are perfect in every way.
Comment: Similar to Pulsehead: if an NPC is adventuring with the PCs, make sure they aren't better at any area that a PC has made their focus.  e.g. Don't have a super tracker NPC join the party if there is a ranger PC, least the ranger player get bitter. But, if no PC cares about an area, an NPC expert is okay.  No PC took tracking? Okay, Bob The Super Tracker will be welcomed.
Comment: One way to ensure this is to give your NPC some MAJOR flaw.  I created an ambassador that the PCs had to escort to a peace negotiation.  He was useless in: combat, horse-riding, camping, cooking, hunting, and foraging.
Answer: Allowing and Giving Insufficient Descriptiveness
Bad
P1: I swing at Orc #1
GM: 20 - you hit, double damage. P2, next!
P2: I move to the 3rd orc, and swing. 18.
GM: You hit
P2: 4 damage.
Such bland narration is fine in a miniatures game, but in an RPG, it's going to become a problem.
Good
P1: I swing my poleaxe at the Orc with the big falchion. I got a 20.
GM: Your swing connects with a sickening crunch, somehow missing his shield. Double normal damage. P2, what's Ferd doing
P2: Ferd's Charging the orc with the snarl...
GM (interrupting): he spots this and says, "Come and get it!" and the snarl becomes a snaggletoothed grin
P2: When I get there, I try to smash him with my warhammer. 18. 4 dam.
GM: "You'll have to do better'n dat, oomie..."
The little bits of color text, while they do slow down play, often make play far more interesting, enjoyable, and memorable.
Comment: But would this not be a matter of preferred style, rather than pitfalls/errors per se? A more accurate pitfall might be failure to find out what level of description is best for the group. fwiw, my group prefers color when color is more useful and appropriate, as in settings & clues... but not during melee.
Comment: In reality as I encounter it such descriptions fast become annoying and the players demand to go on with the fight.
Comment: It really depends on the game and the group. Your "speedy" approach would be completely unacceptable to my players, so it's horses for courses here!
Comment: Agreed Dave - I have found my group prefers more description.  In fact, I have yet to have them complain about too much description.
Comment: Unless you're into minis-game mode, probably not. My experience is that, over the last 30 years, I've never had more than 1 player in a group complain about more, and everyone else complained about him.  So, No, Frank, I don't think it's really a style issue for 99% of adults. In fact, it's YOUR own advice... (Basic Set, no less!) There is such a thing as Too Much... but that's, for me, when I'm having to come up with more than two sentences a combat action. In case you haven't noticed, verbosity isn't my weakness... but it's an attention span issue for players.
Comment: I've played with about 8 different groups over the years. Never have I ever heard anyone complain about descriptions, and I think my favorite campaign was with a GM by the name of Richard Mason - best Storyteller I ever worked with.
Answer: Oops! We all make errors in games... of technical mechanical points, of judgment calls in variable situations, and many more. The novice GM often lacks the experience and judgment to correct and/or resolve errors quickly without disrupting the flow of the game. Many new GMs have not learned that the rules are less important than the fun.
When an experienced GM makes an ad-hoc ruling which is technically at odds with 'by the book' rules but does so in a way acceptable to the players, and in so doing keeps the game going smoothly, then the fun of the game is maximized, and a disruption of the mood (delay for checking rules) is avoided.
Comment: This is a big help!  I DM on my laptop and have an OO doc open that has: What sucked tonight? What rocked tonight?  What did I not know tonight?  Any time I do something REALLY well, really poorly, or can't find a rule in under 2 minutes of digging; I type it into that document.  Next day or two, I go over that file and figure out what I did well (and try to work more of that situation into the game since it's fun), figure out how to fix what I did poorly (to make more fun), and look up those pesky rules I forgot about (to keep it going next time).
Comment: I think I know what you mean here, but would you consider an edit to make it clear exactly what the pitfall is here? Something like "Worrying too much about getting the rules exactly right, and spending too much time looking them up"?
Comment: If, as a GM, you can sort of inspire that collaborative spirit from the rest of the group, then you can rely on the group to help you find the correct answer. Or, in the worst case, allow you to make up an answer so we can keep playing.
Answer: One of the toughest GM pitfalls: saying "No".
You are ultimately there for the entertainment of your players; keep that goal paramount. Their enjoyment is more important than the plot, the NPCs' goals, historical consistency, all your hard work, and even adherence to the rules. Ideally they should go hand-in-hand, but when they don't, it's your task to try and find a way NOT to say "No."
Instead, try "Yes, but..."
It can be as simple as, "Yes, but there will be a big negative modifier to the die roll, and you'll take damage if you fail". Or, it could serve the narrative in interesting ways:
"Yes, you can execute the unconscious prisoner, but his fine clothing suggests he's worth more alive than dead, and he has powerful allies."
"Yes, the archmage will agree to help you, but you suspect his price will be heavy."
"Yes, against amazing odds you've managed to slide the expensive-looking ring off the baron's finger. But as you hold the heavy ring in your hand, it seems to be...calling your name? You feel an overwhelming desire to slip it onto your own finger..."
This is not to suggest there should be no limitations, just that limitations should serve the players' enjoyment. Try to put the decisions in the players' hands. Determine consequences, not boundaries. Try not to say "No."
Comment: Saying "No" is not a bad thing (despite the numerous games which give the "Yes, But" or "Yes, And..." advice). It's saying "no" for the wrong reasons. "No" is the right call when a player is attempting something that is, within the scene framed, utterly implausible, or is explicitly not possible in the setting or mechanics. Like jumping a ship to a planetary surface in Traveller, or a mortal doing aggravated damage to a Vampire with a punch in Vapire: the Masquerade. ——¶—— No has its place, used in moderation. ——¶—— That said, "Yes, But" and "Yes, And" are better most of the time.
Answer: Figure out your 1 greatest flaw in making PCs.  This flaw will bite you in the behind almost constantly.  For me, it's names.  So here I am with this wonderful map and a great plot for an adventure, but naming (my great flaw) still needs to be done.  There are almost no names on my map, and to combat the urge to name things "thus-and-such" or "blah-dee-blah", I realized I had to name everything forseeable in the next 2 sessions, but then add a print-out of appropriate names, and whenever used, I'd mark that the blacksmith in Izzleheim was Gorfnyr (both names pulled from my actual list, btw).
Comment: Yeah, figuring out what your blind spot is can be super important to a new GM. It is not always naming the NPCs. But that can be hard if you are not inspired. For instance for me it is demonstrating characters motivations when their motivations aren't simple (like greed or bloodlust). Like in my mind it maikes sense, but sometimes the players don't grok it and then they don't know what to do with this guy (or gal)....
Answer: Setting oneself up as "opposed" to the PCs. While most conflict is between NPCs and PCs, there is a difference between them. The NPCs are there primarily to provide assistance or opposition to the PCs, but that doesn't mean that the GM should be opposed to the characters (nor, indeed, over-generous with assistance).
Comment: This is true, but such systems are largely the exception rather than the rule. Most RPGs require a degree of judgement and restraint from the GM, and I've certainly seen inexperienced GMs fail to realise that the right level of challenge is the one that maximises everyone's fun.
Comment: There are a number of games where the GM is explicitly there to oppose player actions; the most blatant and explicit is *Burning Empires* where it really is players vs GM.
Answer: Underestimating your players:  Whenever you've got encounters with enemies, you've got one brain coming up with ideas for your baddies, and the players have several brains figuring out how to deal with them.  You are outnumbered and will sometimes be outthought.  Accept that.  Let them have an easy time now and then if they earn it. Try to avoid throwing in additional difficulties ad hoc because the bad guys don't do as well as you'd thought, although if the players start on a course of action you're not prepared for you can think of problems they'd encounter.
Comment: @C. Ross That's really system/playstyle-dependent. Games where tactics aren't important (or non-existent!) don't suffer when the bad guys go down easy, since the enjoyment is located elsewhere in the game/system than in tactical challenge.
Comment: Not disagreeing, but *sometimes* throwing in additional difficulties can be beneficial.  If all the enemies go down easy, the players get bored, and there's nothing easier to fudge than a few more hit-points.
Comment: Plus, there's the issue in many indie games of players narrating up the opposition, such that the GM doesn't actually have a choice over the encounter. Or can use the narrative controls to deny the GM access to reinforcements (by defining the reinforcements are non-extant, or stuck behind some other issue). But in such cases, the fun is, as SSD notes, lying elsewhere.
Answer: Common pitfall: Going overboard.
I've seen a few PCs turned GMs who approach the game as a greedy player.  They're the ones who will run a game for all denizens of the World of Darkness instead of running a Vampire or Mage game.  Or they'll start a triple gestalt D&D game with all published books and Dragon magazine allowed.  I think the attitude is that they're giving everyone what they want, because it's something that they wanted to play.  But the result is unfocused and badly powered.
I'm not saying that new GMs shouldn't be ambitious, but they need a good understanding of how the game works out of the box and why that's the default setting, before making so many big changes.
Comment: Yeah, this can either be super awesome or superbad. If the GM knows the rules in all the boooks and has a way to tie all the different setting elements together, it is great.
Otherwise, it is a recipe for disaster.
Answer: Mismatch of Game to Gamers
Probably the hardest to overcome, and the most pernicious throughout gamerdom, is mismatched game and gamers. Different games have different mechanics and levels of mechanics because people's tastes differ.
The most common breakdown, the "Gamist-Simulationist-Narrativist" paradigm presented by Ron Edwards, looks at it from how the rules approach game play. It's one part of the larger picture, but there are some games which try to present accurate simulations, others which try to encourage, or even enforce, narrative structures, and others still which focus on being a competition or game to the partial exclusion of narrative and simulation. If you don't have the right system for their desires, the game may go well, but often will be less satisfying.
Another part is rules detail and rules precision. Some people want, or even need, detailed mechanics. The very idea of "off the cuff" rules calls is a problem for them. Others hate looking things up, and the very idea of more than a straightforward and flexible process become problematic. Even in narrative focused games, some, like Mouse Guard or Burning Empires, have lots of precise rules. D&D is noted in the current edition for lots of detailed rules; it's not a good simulation, and it's not very narrative in focus, but has LOTS of detailed rules. But one can get a very similar but-kicking tactical game feel in 1/4 the core-rules-pages by playing Warhammer FRP 1st or 2nd edition... or by playing Palladium Fantasy.
With a new GM, the problem is compounded: Most novice GM's don't know what their own preferences are, let alone their players' preferences, and further, seldom have a range of systems to pick from on their shelves.
This can be mitigated somewhat by experience with other types of gaming. If you like your boardgames simple, a page or two of rules only, you're unlikely to enjoy a highly detailed set of mechanics with special case rules galore. On the other hand, the guy who plays boardgames with 100 page starting rulebooks, and 500page advanced ones, is more likely to enjoy the rules for everything.
Likewise, some GM's naturally gravitate towards chopping some parts of a ruleset out, and plopping in different parts to alter the feel or focus. This also can mitigate the issue of mismatch. But realize also: if one's made rules mods, new players need to be made aware of them, since there is an issue of broken trust for many players when they find out that the rules at the table aren't the ones in the book.
Answer: Mixed expectations
If you and your players have different expectations about a game, it can be very, very frustrating.  To take some real examples:
I thought I was playing a more cinematic Vampire game, the GM erred on the side of realism.  A heroic boot-first leap into the windshield of an oncoming car left my character briefly stuck in the windshield.
I ran a My Life With Master game.  I failed to clearly communicate that it's a game of personal horror, of being weak and being pushed to be horrible.  The players got more of a slightly goofy, "Hey, we're Igors and monsters!" vibe.  Everyone was frustrated and one player was very angry as they were not interesting in playing someone who did terrible things.
I signed on for an Eclipse Phase game where we were told we would all start as crew on a freelancing cargo transport/smuggling vessel.  Most of the group went in expecting and designing characters for a Firefly-like game with lots of travel.  When the GM destroyed the ship in the first adventure, it was quite frustrating.
Make it clear up front what sort of game you'll be running.  And that means that surprises are bad.  Surprises within the expectations are cool.  Surprises that change core setting or genre assumptions are very, very dangerous.  By way of example, I'm tinkering with a BPRD (Hellboy) campaign inspired by Witch Hunter Robin.  (Spoilers for Witch Hunter Robin follow.)  My original plan was for the twist (that the BPRD is destroyed and the PCs go from legal law enforcement(ish) to guerrilla freedom fighters) to be a secret.  But my experience since makes it clear that someone signing on for a BPRD campaign could be very frustrated if I take the the BPRD/law enforcement part away.  So I plan on spelling out the broad picture in advance.
Answer: Common Pitfall: Overreaching everything.
It's tough work being a new GM. You have to keep up with N players and M monsters/NPCs. That is potentially N x M interactions. New GMs almost always overdo it. Enthusiasm can take you only so far.
Solution: Ask the players to help - with rules - with session logistics (food, playing space, etc.) - with details, and even with plot. Most importantly, be honest with them and HAVE FUN! What makes RPGs different from all other games is that there is no way to 'win' that doesn't involve everyone having a good time!
Answer: I have seen a lot of research fail in Earth games set up. Normally (but not only) Geography and History.
If you are planning a plot in some away city or continent, you should at least see the wiki site for that place and look at a map of said place.
Answer: Giving players exactly what they ask for!
Quite often, players will have goals for their characters. Allowing them to achieve those goals is good. Giving them their goal on a silver platter in the first session or two is not. Achieving a goal after much hard work is good. Giving them the goal with minimal conflict is not. Giving the characters exactly what they were hoping for is boring. Giving them something that keeps the spirit of what they asked for, but is very different, is interesting.
Answer: Failing to communicate the world
To nick someone else's metaphor, you have a great big searchlight illuminating the world as it exists in your head.  Everything is obvious because you see and know all.  But the players are working with a flashlight, based on what you tell them, what the books tell them, and common sense.  It's very easy to assume that something is obvious when the players don't realize it at all.  In particular, what about things that the character should obviously know, but the player might not?  It might be knowing the proper way to address a noble, or it might be as fundamental as "what time of day is it?"
The solution isn't to describe everything in excruciating detail.  Instead, pay attention to the players' plans.  When they discuss something that sounds insane, ask why they think that's a good idea, why they think it will work.  That will usually quickly identify any gaps in understanding.  When they announce that they do X, and X makes no sense in context, again, ask why they're doing X, what they think it will accomplish.  When you identify gaps in understanding, things that the characters should reasonably know, clarify.  Whatever you do, don't punish them for their misunderstandings.
A real example of how it can go wrong: At a convention game, we're the SWAT team for a local police department.  Rich people aboard a large yacht for a party are taken hostage by terrorists. What do we do?  Well, we arrange a black rubber raft and dress all in black.  We're going to quietly paddle up to the side, wait for the patrolling guard to pass, then climb up and disable him from behind.  "Great," the GM announces, "as you paddle up, the guard sees you and raises the alarm!"  What?  How did he see us? "Well, your black raft and black clothing was pretty visible in the middle of the day."
Answer: "Why are we doing this, again?" quests.
In response to @Pulsehead's comment on Mary-sue NPCs, at least you have the possibility of the players treating him like a gandalf-bazooka (also an excellent reason not to have high-powered NPCs tag along).
The most prototypical "Why are we doing this, again?" quest is the escort quest, especially those modeled after MMO quests have the players escorting a feckless, worthless, no-body of an NPC across incredibly difficult terrain because the plot says so.
I, myself, have endured these, and pondered the feisability of cutting off the escortee's head, casting the preserve-corpse spell of that edition, hustling over to the destination, and just reviving him.
Quests have to make sense, and they have to be worth the risk, and they have to be fun. Moreover, they need to present at least one real choice (defined as consequences), otherwise the players are just roped along for the ride.
Comment: +1 for DMotR reference.  But to defend my NPC, he wasn't a plot-bazooka.  Essentially, two countries were at war.  There was an unknown third party instigating the two countries.  The PCs learned of a string of destroyed villages in their country, and get the mission to go to the other country.  They find out that there are a few destroyed villages THERE as well.  Investigate while the Ambassador negotiates the peace, and then bring evidence of the third party to the negotiations in time to tip the balance towards a peace treaty.
Comment: Well, a limp-noodle is in many ways worse than a bazooka. While a short amount of making sure the noodle doesn't get into trouble is fun, unless it turns into a "March Upcountry" (by Weber) style saga, it's not entertaining in the long run. But this conversation illustrates quite neatly that extremes on either direction are just boring. :)
Comment: This entire question could arguably be answered as "go read DMotR". It's mostly in there somewhere!
Answer: Not Saying "Yes"
A lot of times, a new GM wants to "control" the game. And saying "no" is a great way to control what is happening in your game.
One example I can cite is we were playing SpyCraft 2.0 and my character wanted to purchase a stretch mini-cooper. I wanted a vehicle big enough for the whole group of characters, and I thought a mini-cooper would be fun and funny as a stretch limo.
  The GM said "No" and then one of the other players went on the internet and found actual photographs of stretch mini-coopers. And the conversation devolved at that point. I felt bad, but the whole thing had snowballed out of control by then.
  The point is, there was no real reason not to have one available (except that the GM admitted they thought it was a stupid idea and that they shouldn't exist). Whereas saying "Yes" and moving on would have been just as interesting and the game could have moved forward.
  Don't get me wrong, you will need to say "No" more than you will need to say "Yes", but don't let it build up into a habit where you just automatically say "No" to any idea that you can't immediately predict how it will turn out.
Comment: Saying Yes reflexively is as bad as saying no reflexively.
Answer: Ignoring the players
There is more to listening to your players than listening to their instructions for what their PCs do.  Watch their body language.  Are they bored?  Players flipping through books, browsing the web on their smartphone, or dice stacking are potential symptoms of a problem.  "Umm, what's going on?" when you ask for an action in combat is another possible symptom.  Occasional symptoms are harmless, but if it's common you have a problem.  If you have these symptoms, it's time to identify the core problem, after the game ask them what could be better.
pay attention to player-to-player discussions.  This is an opportunity to find out what interests the players.  As they make plans, you'll get a sense of what they like, what they want, and what they expect.  You also get a chance to notice mistaken assumptions and can correct them before they become too entrenched. ("It must be a small dragon, it's a little cave entrance." "Umm, you can see the cave entrance, and it's fifty feet wide.")  The catching mistakes is important enough that I got on more about it in "Failing to communicate the world" in another answer.
Pay attention to context. Why are they doing what they do?  Ask if necessary, it's harmless.  Do they refuse the help of an NPC who could benefit them?  Perhaps they've had too many NPCs stab them in the back, so you (or an earlier GM) have inadvertently taught them to distrust all NPCs.
Answer: Inability to say NO.
There are occasional players who can't help but one-up themselves at every opportunity.  Their rogues cannot be introduced to a maiden without a seduction roll, their rangers cannot be introduced to a king without cracking wise, their fighters have never seen a peasant that they did not immediately need to brawl with, and their bards have never met with nobility without making egregious diplomacy checks for horrific goals.
While it is important to allow players to develop their character concepts, it is also important that you be ready, willing, and able to use whatever mechanisms are necessary, either in-game or meta-game, to preserve the flow of the game and the fun-factor of the OTHER players at the table.
Answer: Focusing too much on the design of their game world or telling one particular story, and not enough on having fun.
Lightweight game systems like maxium game fun are a good antidote to this.  The less time you spend designing things, the less emotional investment you have in them when the players want to do something that makes it all a waste of time.  I think railroading pretty much always is a result of this.
Note that having a focus on game fun does not mean being nice to PCs.  You are the source of all their troubles, remember.
Answer: Houserules & Options
A common problem for novice GM's is coping with house-rules and options choices: both theirs and their former GM's.
Many novice GM's forget to tell players that they've made a change in the rules, or which optional rules are in force.
Many novice GM's don't realize that some part of the game mechanics in play was actually their GM's house rule, and then encounter a rules lawyer going "No, that's NOT how it works," creating a trust issue.
Occasionally, a novice GM will wind up with more houserules than rules, and not realize it is time to either change game systems, or rewrite the houserules into a standalone game.
The solutions:
Make certain one keeps track of one's houserules, and which optional rules are in play. Write them down, and make copies available to players, especially experienced players new to one's group.
Look at one's body of houserules. If it's just one or two, or a series of rare but important special cases, its a non-issue. If, on the other hand, it's several typed pages and making drastic changes used often, perhaps one really doesn't like the game system they're hung upon.
Comment: This is great advice, don't change the rules until you have a solid grasp of how they work and what changing them will do to your game.
Answer: A lot of new GMs allow real world relationships to affect game balance, ie your girlfriend finds the coolest magic item, your best friend learns some special skill not available to the other players, the player you like the least doesn't get the benefit of a doubt on a fumble - the list goes on. More subtle forms of favoritism include giving some players more time to interact with NPCs, or roles within a storyline that are not earned.
Don't think you do it, but have a complaint or two that you do? Have someone (hopefully someone you are certain is going to be impartial) do a behavioral analysis of your session, measuring interactions rewards, punishment, positive and negative enforcement, etc on a night's session. Just use checks or ticks on a grid next to each participant's name.
Answer: I think one of the most common mistakes GM's make is making too many rolls.
Party comes up on a locked door.  The door doesn't serve any dramatic purpose its really just a random locked door.  Thief tries to pick but fails.  Bard tries to pick but fails.  Strong characters try to bash it down, probably fail.  Break out the axes and start hacking, after an hour and a half of total play now they find it was just a broom closet.
If the door is really not adding anything to the game just give the thief an automatic success.  I swear I have no idea how any thieves guild in any fantasy setting could ever make any money.
Another aspect to this is the GM that wants you to roll five sneak rolls in row and when you fail one all hell breaks loose.  Part of this is people are just dumb at math and don't realize how unlikely five sneak rolls are for all but near 100% success.  For example if your sneak chance is 0.5 (50%) the odds of successfully rolling that five times in a row is 0.5^5 (.5 * .5 * .5 * .5 * .5) or 0.03125 (3%).  If your chance to sneak is .75 (75%) the odds of successfully rolling that five times is 0.2373 (24%).  Even 0.90 (90%) is only 0.5905 (59%).
SIDE NOTE - don't confuse the odds of rolling a subsequent dice after the rolling some already.  If you roll a 20 on a 20 sided dice, the odds of rolling a second 20 is exactly 1 in 20 or 5%.  If you need to roll two 20's in row and have rolled nothing yet, the odds of rolling two 20's in a row is 0.05^2 or 0.0025 (< 1%).
Answer: Switching Systems/Games
This is an issue that is easily carried beyond just "new" GMs, but it is common to become enamored with a new game, system, setting, whatever and go through the whole grass-is-greener syndrome.
I know I myself have done this several times, and I have been in groups where the GM has done this way too often. This issue very quickly alienates your player base and will prevent good gamers from showing up at your table.
I find that a good cure for this is to discuss with your players the desires of a particular game, understanding both what the GM and the players hope to get out of a scenario. While playing, always remember that roleplaying brings about many unexpected ventures, and while something else may seem "shiny" right now, you have no idea the amount of fun or change that your current game may bring. Make sure these goals are worked towards, and be sure to address any issues if these goals seem to be an impossibility.
Another potential cure is to stop looking at new material while playing a new game. This may be impossible for some fans of the hobby, but I find its very easy to dedicate one's self to a game if "roleplaying" becomes synonymous with that game, and that game only, for a short period of time.
Comment: It's seldom a novice GM issue. And many people do want to play the right system for the genre. Then again, my 30 years gaming says those who hold to the "system is irrelevant" belief also tend to be in the "One univrsal system works for everything" camp, and complain about any change of system... And 99% of the time, fail to do the setting they mushed into their favorite system any justice at all.
Answer: Sorry its a long post dont think I saw this.  just general distractions.  Someones house with other roommates so players and DM get side tracked often.  Take official break for eating and drink etc as doing those while saves time takes away from the experience of the game and hard to restart.

Biggest GM pitfalls for new GMs?


FOSS Font editing or creation tools for windows

Question: What are the best free or open source font editing/creation tools available for free on the Windows platform?
Answer: FontForge
Comment: Not user-friendly.
Answer: I've never designed a font, so I'll just say that Oleksandr's recommendation of Font Forge fits with what I've heard.  Inkscape supports exporting laying out of images for export to Font Forge, so can be considered part of a font design toolchain.
Something nice about using free software  font design tools is that they can make use of Raph Levien's Spiro-spline code, which is currently implemented in Font Forge and Inkscape; it is covered by a patent which can be used freely with GPL software and under license by non-copylefted software.
Spiro splines are really pleasant to use.  Raph Levien wrote the algorithm towards his PhD thesis, wanting an algorithm that was better than cubic splines for his own font design.
Answer: My Font Tool for Tablet PC is a free tool provided by Microsoft in Microsoft PowerToys for Windows XP Tablet PC Edition.
I installed it once to try and it didn't leave me a permanent impression, but it's worth a try :)


There exist an infinite subset $S\subseteq\mathbb{R}^3$ such that any three vectors in $S$ are linearly independent.

Question: Could anyone just give me hint for this one?
There exist an infinite subset $S\subseteq\mathbb{R}^3$ such that any three vectors in $S$ are linearly independent. True or false?
Comment: Is there a subset of $\mathbb{R}^3$ with the property that every plane through the origin meets it in at most 2 points?
Comment: Do you know any facts about linearly independent sets?
Answer: Try $\left(\begin{matrix}1\\t\\t^2\end{matrix}\right)$ with $t\in\mathbb R$.
Do you know to compute
$$\left\vert\begin{matrix}1&1&1\\r&s&t\\r^2&s^2&t^2\end{matrix}\right\vert? $$
Comment: +1 I'd just like to point out to future readers of this excellent answer that the curve $t\to (1,t,t^2)$ in $\mathbb{R}^3$ is also known as the **twisted cubic**.
Comment: @Kuttus ... and that equals $(r-s)(s-t)(t-r)$ and is non-zero unless two of the numbers are equal. :) Actually, the fact that the functions $x\mapsto 1$, $x\mapsto x$ and $x\mapsto x^2$ are linearly independent lurks behind this as a shortcut: If a linear combinaton of the rows is the zero vector, then the correspondnig quadratic polynomial has three distinct roots $r,s,t$, hence is the zero polynomal, hence the linear combination was in fact the trivial combination, hence the rows are linearly independent, hence so are the columns (which is what we were actually after).
Comment: the determinant is $(st^2-s^2t)-(rt^2-tr^2)+(rs^2-sr^2)$
Comment: good one!!. Please clear my doubt, consider the random gaussian vector $[x,y,z]$, where each entries are independent gaussian random variables. So shouldn't the set of all realizations of this random vector be a set of the kind he is looking for?
Answer: Three vectors in $\mathbb{R}^3$ are linearly dependent if and only if they lie in a plane.
Consider the following process for building $S$. We can start with the empty set, and choose any two vectors $v_1, v_2 \in \mathbb{R}^3$ and add them to $S$. Then to choose a third vector $v_3$ to add to $S$, we must make sure it is not in the unique plane containing (i.e. spanned by) $v_1$ and $v_2$. Thus $v_3$ can be any vector in $\mathbb{R}^3 \backslash span(v_1, v_2)$.
Similarly, if at some stage $S = \{v_1, \ldots, v_k\}$, we can add to $S$ any vector $v_{k+1}$ in $\mathbb{R}^3 \backslash \bigcup_{x_i, x_j} span(x_i, x_j)$. Note that $\bigcup_{x_i, x_j} span(x_i, x_j)$ is a finite union of planes, so it can never be all of $\mathbb{R}^3$. In this way we can choose an infinite set with the desired property.
Comment: The key issue with this approach is to prove that a finite union of planes is not all of $\mathbb R^3$. For a more general result: http://mathoverflow.net/questions/26/can-a-vector-space-over-an-infinite-field-be-a-finite-union-of-proper-subspaces
Answer: Consider vectors of the form $v_x=(1,x,x^2)^T$. Then for any distinct $x,y,z\in \mathbb R$ matrix $(v_x v_yv_z)$ is nonsingular (Vandermonde matrix), so $v_x$, $v_y$, $v_z$ are linearly independent.
Answer: The parametric curve $t\mapsto(1,t,t^2)$ has the property that any three distinct points on it are linearly independent (without the "distinct" one clearly cannot have a solution). To check, just compute the determinant, which is Vandermonde.
Answer: Inspired by the Vandermonde matrix example, let $f:\mathbb{R}\rightarrow\mathbb{R}$ be a strictly convex function. Then
$$\left\vert\begin{matrix}1&1&1\\x&y&z\\f(x)&f(y)&f(z)\end{matrix}\right\vert\not=0$$
for any three distinct numbers $x,y,z$.
Answer: The elegant example given by Adam can be generalized: let $P \subset \mathbb R^3$ be any plane that does not pass through the origin (equipped with the usual subspace topology), and let $C \subset P$ be a strictly convex* closed subset of $P$.  Then the boundary $S = \partial_P\, C$ of $C$ in $P$ satisfies your requirement.
(* By "strictly convex", I mean that any non-trivial convex combination of two points in $C$ should belong to the interior of $C$, i.e. for all $x,y \in C$ and all $0 < \alpha < 1$, the point $z = \alpha x + (1-\alpha)y$ lies in the interior of $C$.  Geometrically, this basically means that no part of the boundary should be a straight line segment.)
Proof: Let $x$ and $y$ be any two distinct points in $S$, and let $z$ linear combination of $x$ and $y$ which is distinct from both.  By definition, $z = \alpha x + \beta y$ for some $\alpha$ and $\beta$.  If $\alpha + \beta \ne 1$, then $z \notin P$, and thus $z \notin S$.  Thus, $z$ can only belong to $P$ if $\beta = 1 - \alpha$.  Let us assume below that this is the case.
If $0 < \alpha < 1$, by strict convexity as defined above, $z \in \operatorname{int} C$ and thus $z \notin S$.  If $\alpha \in \{0,1\}$, then $z = x$ or $z = y$, contradicting the assumption of distinctness.  The only remaining possibility is that $\alpha < 0$ or $\alpha > 1$, but if either of those holds, then either $x$ is a convex combination of $z$ and $y$, or $y$ is a convex combination of $z$ and $x$.  In either case, $z$ cannot belong to $S \subset C$, since otherwise the fact that $x,y \in S = \partial\,C = C \setminus \operatorname{int} C$ would contradict the assumption that $C$ is strictly convex.
Besides the example given by Adam, one example possible concrete example of such a set would be e.g. the circle given by $P = \{(x,y,z) \in \mathbb R^3: z = 1\}$, $C = \{(x,y,z) \in P: x^2 + y^2 \le 1\}$ and $S = \partial_P\,C = \{(x,y,z) \in P: x^2 + y^2 = 1\}$.

The sets given by constructions like mine and Adam's are generally one-dimensional curves.  Indeed, it's not hard to show that a set satisfying your requirements cannot contain any two-dimensional surface, since any surface would have to intersect some plane passing through the origin along a curve containing more than two points.
However, it is possible to construct a set which satisfies your requirements and is dense in $\mathbb R^3$.  Basically, to do this, you'd start with an arbitrary enumeration $\langle a_i \rangle_{i \in \mathbb N}$ of the rational points $\mathbb Q^3$ (which are a countable dense subset of $\mathbb R^3$) and then, for each $i \in \mathbb N$, choose a point $b_i \in \mathbb R^3 \setminus \{0\}$ such that $|a_i - b_i| < 1/i$ and such that $b_i$ is pairwise linearly independent of all $b_j$, $j < i$.  (This is always possible, since the set of pairwise linear combinations of $b_j$, $j < i$ is the intersection of finitely many planes, and thus has zero volume.)  Then let $S = \{b_i: i \in \mathbb N\}$.
Note that the "construction" outlined above is not entirely constructive, since it requires an arbitrary choice of a point at each step of an infinite process.  I do, however, believe that this dependency on choice could be eliminated by giving an explicit rule that assigns a definite value to $b_i$, given $a_i$ and $\{b_j: j < i\}$, similarly to the method I sketched in this answer to a related question.
(Do note the caveat brought up by Asaf Karagila in the comments to the other answer, though.  I still think the construction I outlined shouldn't require even dependent choice, since an explicit formula for $b_i$ may be provided: basically, the idea is that, for each $i$, it should be possible to explicitly generate a finite ordered list of points $c_k$, $k \in \{1, \dotsc, n\}$ within radius $1/i$ of $a_i$, such that at least one of those points is guaranteed to be pairwise linearly independent of $\{b_j: j < i\}$, and then always choose the first such point.  Still, I freely admit that I'm not nearly as experienced with this stuff as Asaf is, and that there could be some gap that I've missed.)
Answer: Existence : Consider three points $x_1,\ x_2,\ x_3$ in a plane $P\ :\ x+y+z=1$ which are not in a line.
Pick $x_4$ in $P-\bigcup L_{ij}$ where $L_{ij}$ is a line passing $x_i,\ x_j\ (1\leq i,\ j \leq 3)$.
Repeat this pocess infinitely.


How should I Lift and eat so I can Gain Weight?

Question: I want to be good at football next year so I'm lifting anywhere from 4 to 6 times a week. I'm a defensive lineman so I want to gain weight (in muscle of course). How should I lift (weight, reps, frequency) and eat (to help with the weight lifting) to gain weight?
Answer: The question to that is how much experience lifting do you have?  If you are brand new to lifting, then I would suggest doing the Starting Strength program to get your strength up as quickly as you can.  That calls for no more than 3 full body workouts per week.
The reason I suggest Starting Strength over other alternatives for you would be for the power cleans.  Power cleans have a lot of carryover to get that explosive start off the line.  You can see the general outline of the program laid out pretty well here.
Eating to gain weight is fairly easy.  You just need to eat big.  If you eat another 1000 Calories on lifting days over maintenance, you will get bigger.
If you've been lifting for a while and are making gains weekly or monthly I would suggest structuring your program around Wendler's 5-3-1 program.  That is the best and most flexible program to be able to structure your lifting and your skill work and conditioning which will be very important for your sport.
Comment: Starting Strength FTW.
Comment: Also support Starting Strength. Your schedule of lifting 4-6 times a week could be hurting your strength gains, though. You likely need more time to recover between lifting sessions.
Answer: Some general rules of thumb, eat 1.5 grams of protein for each lb of bodyweight.  If you weigh 200 lbs, you need 300 grams of protein, each day, to provide enough fuel for new growth.  Also think about eating at least 15-20 calories per lb of bodyweight.
So if you're 200 lbs and want to gain weight, you need to aim for 300 grams of protein and minimum of 3000 calories per day.
Wendler's 5/3/1 is a great strength program, as is the Juggernaut method or the traditional Westside 5x5 method, all easy to find and research.
Eat big, lift big, get big.


I can't get in inline image in gmail

Question: I've spent hours on more than one occasion trying to get a picture into a gmail message that is inline with the text. Nothing works. There is no "insert image" option under settings/labs. I've been doing this AGAIN for hours. I'm in rich texting, I have no problem getting a picture from my computer or online, but I can't get the frigging thing to allow text next to it.
Answer: You should have a option in Labs for "Inserting Images by Ken T".
If you do have the labs option for "Inserting Images" and you've enabled it but you still don't see the option in the Rich Text editor make sure you don't have "Offline" support enabled.  It will not work with this.  If you do, remove the "Inserting Images," disable "Offline Support" then re-enable "Inserting Images" and you should be good to go.
If you don't see the "Inserting Images" option trying doing a text search on the labs page for "image".  If you still aren't seeing it I'd wonder if you are using regular Gmail or are you using Google Apps for your domain?  Sometimes with Google Apps, labs features are not available to all accounts.  I have that option on all my Google Apps accounts but its different for everyone.  If you are the admin (and if not ask your google apps admin...) go into your google apps managment and enable "pre-release features" under "domain settings".

I can't get in inline image in gmail


How to export aerial imagery as layers in layered PDF?

Question: I want to show aerial imagery as layers in my pdf, so people can turn them on and off (e.g historical images). However according to ESRI images become merged when exported as a layered pdf. What is the point of this? The only way around it would be to merge the tif (or ecw in this case) to a single band image but this would result in it being grayscale I think? I tried everything...
Comment: I am not 100% sure on my answer so I will leave it here. I would export the map as an adobe illustrator file and then inside of AI take care of the pdf creation.
Answer: Try overlaying multiple data frames within your .mxd. When you export to layered PDF only images or transparencies from within individual data frames are merged into one image layer. Essentially you can have many imagery layers, rasters etc all in one PDF, all individually toggle-able, but stored in different data frame folders within the PDF. Make sure that your data frame alignments & extents are identical by zooming to the same features or bookmarking in each data frame & using guides around the edges of the document to snap your data frames to.
Another tip is to open your exported PDF in Acrobat Pro, and use the "Reduce File Size" tool. This will reduce an A3 PDF with Aerial Imagery and rasters from aprox. 40 MB to approx. 1 MB.
Answer: the only way to accomplish that is to not have any other layers with special symbology.
Starting here in esri help it explains some of the export functionality.
Here is more detail about the pdf export.  esri help
Pay particular attention to the "rasterization" of certain layers, such as transparencies, and other special label marking.
Answer: Click to Export Map from the File Menu in the ArcMap that open a export map dialogue window at the bottom of the window you see tabs for General, FOrmat, Pages and Advanced. Go to the Advanced Tab in the Layers and Attributes drop down select Export PDF Layers and Feature Attributes also check if you want your pdf to have coordinates check export map georeference information box. Then export the map this will enable the layers functionality in PDF. For viewing different layers in the PDF i think you should have acrobat reader 8 and higher version. In the PDF expand the Layers list on the left panel. I've also attached the examples for you. I hope this will solve your problem.
Comment: This won't solve the OP's problem, which is that if you have multiple raster layers in a data frame, they will be flattened into one image layer upon export to PDF. Your example deals with a vector layer on top of a raster.
Answer: See http://support.esri.com/en/knowledgebase/techarticles/detail/30882.  In ArcGIS all layers with rasters, transparency settings or bitmapped symbols, and all layers below them in the TOC get combined into the Image layer in a pdf.  If you have Adobe Acrobat Professional 9 or later you might be able to export each image to its own pdf, and then use the Import as Layer menu option in the expanded pdf Layers window to add additional "images".


How fast can toy helicopters change the turning direction of their propellers?

Question: I saw someone do some tricks with a toy helicopter where he would turn it upside down for a while and it would still stay in the air. I thought it should have crash or at least not fly for very long in that position, but I was wrong. Is it possible for the helicopter to have change its propellers turing direction so fast (in less than a second) so it could still fly upside down?
Answer: The helicopter you saw must have had collective pitch control, as many do.  This allows it to reverse the pitch of its blades almost instantaneously and fly upside down.  It does NOT reverse the direction of rotation of it's blades.
Answer: Yes all it is doing is changing the angle the blades sit at to such a degree that they effectively push up instead of down. Then it can fly upside down as long as you want.


What blogs should I be following if I am learning photography?

Question: I am beginner and looking for sites/blogs.
Comment: Maybe make this a community wiki?
Comment: Please make questions that ask for a list of answers (i.e. polls or list-of-X questions) community wiki. While there not exactly the type of questions this system was designed for, at the very least the author should make them community wiki. I converted this question.
Comment: Also one blog per answer would be a good stipulation.
Comment: — it kind of has to be, as there's no single answer. Even answers which try to summarize the whole Internet can't be complete, and could be disagreed with by a reasonable person.
Comment: @Robert I am not convinced that this should be community wiki.
Answer: I love Digital Photography School.  It has a variety of tips and interviews and challenges.  Beginners and pros alike should check it out.
Comment: DPS is awesome, been reading it since I bought my SLR and it has taught me a lot.  Love the little challenges too, although need to think more about entering them!  Some nice shots on display as well, great for inspiration
Comment: Nice link! I didn't know about DPS.
Comment: [Digital Photography School](http://digital-photography-school.com/) (as the name implies) is a good place to learn about photography.
Answer: For lighting, Strobist is a must-read. Check out Lighting 101 series for introduction into off-camera flash, and then Lighting 102 with detailed overview of properties of various properties and ways you can alter them. There's also an index of all the entries.
Comment: Strobist is simply indispensable. Make sure you check out the archives!
Comment: I think Strobist is great, but make sure you fully understand the basics first such as aperture and exposure.
Answer: Count me in as another Thom Hogan fan. I also like Ken Rockwell's blog/site. They are both fairly Nikon focused, though Ken does some Canon reviews.
For camera/lens reviews, I also like http://dpreview.com/, which also has pretty decent forums.
Comment: People should be aware that Ken Rockwell is frequently insane. But I enjoy reading his stuff, if only to see what the latest absurdity is.
Comment: Ken is a straight up, tell-it-like-he-sees-it person and I like that attitude.  If he's reviewing a $1000 lens but he reckons it's not worth it over another $150 one instead, he'll say so.  It doesn't matter if he's right or not (you don't have to agree with his sometimes-unusual statements) but you can appreciate his perspective.
Comment: +1 for Ken... maybe I'm insane too, but I like his perspective.
Comment: Ken is a bit odd, but for a new person coming into the DSLR world, his guide to the D5000 was really great. He walks through *all* the menus, explains what each setting is for and recommends a value.
Answer: PhotoFocus
Personally, I read PhotoFocus at http://photofocus.com/
It's run by a photographer called Scott Bourne, and I have found it a very rich source of ideas, information, news, technique and just plain thought-provoking stuff.
He also publishes a podcast (same URL), which I also enjoy.  The podcast is all Q&A, often with famous photographers as guests.
Comment: IF you can put up with Scott Bourne!
Answer: Luminous Landscape (http://luminous-landscape.com/). As the name suggests - strong orientation towards landscape photography and also equipment.
Answer: One of my favorites is The Online Photographer: http://theonlinephotographer.com/
I'm also a big fan of Thom Hogan, though his site isn't exactly a blog. He does tweet occasionally, though. He has a strong Nikon focus. http://bythom.com/
Comment: The Online Photographer is one of the very few places that does not mutter about equipment all the time. Recommended.
Answer: Chase Jarvis is an excellent resource for pro behind-the-scenes stuff, lots of excellent material available as a podcast.
I would also recommend The Art of Adventure Photography, Bruce Percy is a marvellous photographer with an amazing way of capturing the light.
Martin Bailey is an amazingly dedicated blogger and podcaster who is also worth checking out.
Answer: When I was a brand new photographer, Cambridge In Color was extremely helpful. Great articles, not too long, and not too technical (but they do cover technical concepts.)
Another great site, although much more loaded with content and a little harder to find specifics, is Digital Photography School. Beautifully designed site (as an ex graphic designer, I find this site a wonderful piece of work), it has plenty of information for any photographer.
As a nature photographer, I have always found NatureScapes.net's articles to be helpful. I am not sure if nature photography is an interest for you, but there is still a lot of useful general photography information in some of their articles.
Another great site, although again more geared towards nature, is ND Magazine. One of the main editors is one of my favorite photographers, Andy Mumford. It was after reading some of his articles on this site that I started following his work. Some excellent tips here on how to be an excellent photographer.
Another site that I frequently use is The Digital Picture. This site has EXCELLENT lens reviews. It was primarily a Canon site, but the author has started reviewing Nikon gear as well. Brand and off-brand lenses are covered in great detail by someone who has had extensive use of all the equipment reviewed.
Comment: I agree with you about Cambridge In Colour
Comment: ...And about Digital Photography School...
Answer: Scott Kelby
I also follow Scott Kelby at http://www.scottkelby.com/blog/
I find that (apart from promoting his own training and books - which is not a bad thing) Scott gives a good load of news, and has a weekly guest blogger section, where another famous photographer writes an entry.  These can be very thought-provoking and inspirational.
I personally found John Wright's entry extremely encouraging.
Answer: DIY Photography
If you enjoy Strobist then you might also enjoy DIY Photography at http://www.diyphotography.net/
I find it's a bit varied, but there are some total gems when it comes to home-made photo gear and accessories.
Answer: Strobist is a great resource for all things flash-related.  In addition to their excellent 101 series, they have great anecdotes and tips to help with tricky lighting situations.
Answer: Check out photo.net.  It's probably among the oldest photography sites on the web.  I've learned plenty from visiting it.
Answer: TWiP
This Week in Photography is a weekly podcast discussing all things photo-related with a number of regular and guest professional and serious-amateur photographers, mainly from the US. Their new website, http://www.thisweekinphoto.com/, contains show-notes from all of the episodes they've recorded, plus articles written by the hosts on a range of photographical topics.
Answer: Nick Miners.com
Nick is a friend of mine who posts articles on his blog covering a range of photography topics. All posts are photography related, and cover a range of subjects, from beginner's-guide style overviews of the zonal system, to comments on new versions of software.
Answer: I really love Petavoxel. He uses his extensive knowledge of physics and photography to explain in very clear language how different camera manufacturer's choices lead to better or worse photographs. In particular, he specializes in myth-busting. For example, "back side illumination" isn't all that it's cracked up to be. And he's constantly focusing on sensor size and light sensitivity.
Comment: Very good blog, one of the best I've ever read.  I highly recommend everyone goes through his entire blog archive as there is a lot to be learned.  Unfortunately he doesn't update his blog too often.
Answer: I have been blogging photography tips for 3 years or so, much of it is aimed at true beginners who are using Auto mode or just beginning to learn about manual controls, but other topics like image editing with Gimp are covered as well:
http://blog.muddyboots.org/
Answer: I am surprised that Petapixel has not been suggested yet
Answer:
dpchallenge - good contest site
strobist - do it yourself lighting
flickr - thousands of groups discussing any topic or piece of equipment you want
Answer: I would recommend:
http://froknowsphoto.com/
Answer: I have enjoyed Tangents by Neil van Niekirk for its articles on lighting, especially about using on-camera flash for getting good light fast (essential on indoor events).
Answer: The "Digital Rev TV" Youtube Channel is always worth a visit. Not so much for technical advice, although they are testing gear all the time (admittedly in their own way). This one is rather for remembering what photography should be foremost, beginners in particular: A bucket full of fun!
Answer: PhotoQuotes.com
My site has more than 3000 quotations about photography - http://www.PhotoQuotes.com - you can learn a lot by reading those quotes.
Answer: Jonathan Cherry "Mull It Over". Every week or so, he interviews an emerging photographer and links to his/her gallery. A great way to discover new talents. At the end of the day, the path to be a better photographer goes through watching A LOT of other people pictures.
Answer: Don't forget to subscribe to the D-Town TV podcast as well.
Answer: It's not much of a blog, but National Geographic has some truly inspirational photos worth watching.
Answer: Photo equipment distributor Manfrotto has what they call an "on-line school", the Manfrotto School of Excellence. This has a series of articles from professional photographers and writers, including Michael Freeman, and apparently Scott Kelby is signed up for 2011. There's several sections of the site; some are overtly related to Manfrotto products and promotion, but others are general-interest photography. Particularly interesting sections are:

Learn & Share

and

Beyond the Basics
Answer: Read Ming Thein at http://blog.mingthein.com. He writes frequently and I love the pictures he includes with every blog post. Start by reading the "Technique" section at http://blog.mingthein.com/technique to begin with. Also, he answers questions on his blog quite quickly.
Answer: Photocritic photography school
In order to learn step by step enroll yourself as a student in the free photography classes conducted by Photocritic at school.photocritic.org
Answer: DPReview.com is a daily visit. Also known as Digital Photography Review, this is the standard of all photo gear review sites.
While not a photography learning site, we photographers spend much time, well, obsessing over cameras, lenses and other bits. Knowing your gear is an essential part of having a good shoot.
DPReview.com also has a very active forum where photography is discussed.


SharePoint 2010 Main Summary Blog Page

Question: Is there a way to get posts to roll off on the main summary blog page? Basically we don't want posts to keep displaying after so many days (i.e. they need to roll off once they reach the set expiration date). I know the purpose of the blog is to show a running list of the posts, etc., etc. But our USERS have different thoughts about how the blog should be used. If someone could help with this I would greatly (GREATLY) appreciate it.
Answer: How good are your XSLT Skills?
I'd solve the problem by using a CQWP with a query to match your users needs in terms of content expiry and posts to show.
Then write some custom XSLT to create the HTML that you need and style as needed.
Comment: Unfortunately I have no XSLT skills. So I guess I'm doomed!!!
Answer: This post describes it in practical steps of using the CQWP web part and XSLT layout for the display of the results -
SharePoint 2010 Content Query for Blog Posts

SharePoint 2010 Main Summary Blog Page


re-using wood from a concrete form?

Question: I strive to not waste materials wherever possible, and "use once then discard" methods are particularily irksome. So with this mind, what suggestions do you have for enabling re-use of lumber used for concrete forms?
Answer: If you use it for a form again no problem . . . otherwise, the remnants of the concrete on the wood will damage your power tools.
Answer: Going on the advice of a friend who used to teach carpentry, we painted the boards with a light coat of oil before building the forms. When we knocked the forms apart there was little concrete stuck on, perhaps 10% coverage. I let the boards sit and dry out completey then wacked them with a hammer, taking care of another %5 or so. After that a belt sander with coarse grit paper removed the remainder of the concrete and oil stains.
The final result is boards that while not good as new are suitable for most applications (might not be paintable) and safe for power tools. We're using them for our deck joists.
Answer: Anybody that's ever watched a concrete skyscraper go up in New York knows that you can reuse lumber forms again and again. Typically they'll have two complete sets of forms, one which ends up being used for the concrete structure on odd-numbered floors, and another which is used for the even-numbered floors. While the concrete is setting on, say, floor 17, they are removing the forms from floor 16 and hoisting them up to use floor 18.
Answer: I would save it to re-use as a form, or for bracing, or other one-off uses.
Answer: Depending on how you set it up you can build the frame on the inside of the plywood forms so that the bracing ends up being flush with the concrete.  This allows them to be left in place and used in place of furring strips to attach insulation, siding, etc...  or you can set it up so that they aren't flush, so that you may use the space for additional insulation.  These methods have the added benefit of not requiring you to drill holes or use concrete nails etc... that weaken the structure.  After you remove the plywood from the exterior, you can remove the majority of the concrete with a large spade and reuse them for floor or roof decking.
Answer: Re-use for forms. Lumber is cheap anyways, so go get yourself a new piece if you want to use the same type of wood again.

re-using wood from a concrete form?


Should I translate my own writings into a second language I also know well?

Question: Nabokov was very discouraged when he translated his Lolita into Russian. And he spent half a year on it. So should I try the translation myself?
Comment: Your English is better than my Russian.
Comment: I am writing in my native language now, but I think to expand my audience to English-speaking folks. Just for option to go strictly to English publishers.
Comment: I'm curious...why didn't you choose to write in your native tongue to begin with?
Answer: I would always seek help from a professional translator, no matter how proficient I deem myself in the target language. A professional translator has studied the intricacies of both languages (and probably a few more); he has linguistic tools at his disposal I might not even imagine existed; he can look back at years of professional experience; and he is getting paid to get it right, it's his entire job. He will deliver a better result much faster.
Most importantly, though, you can always talk to him. In fact, a professional translator will always be proactive about talking to you should he have any questions. And even if he's totally happy with his output, you can still say, "nope, that's not quite what I had in mind. You've translated the name X as Y where I would have preferred Z, and in this sentence here you are actually implying something that is not true to my original".
Now, I'm not saying that you should never even think of translating any works of yours yourself. If you feel like trying, by all means do. It's a fascinating experience. However, the thing is that if you do the translation yourself, you will still need to show it to a professional editor afterwards, or at the very least have it proofread by a few native speakers of the target language (one is never enough). So you will still have to work together with another person of five, except that it will be much more cumbersome and take forever.
Lastly, even if you invest a few years and achieve true mastery in translation, it will still be a trade-off: never forget that you could be spending all that time writing new works instead.
Comment: (Full disclosure: I am a native speaker of Russian. I studied translation at one point in my life, but not from/to English. Most importantly, I couldn't finish my studies for personal reasons, so I do not hold a degree and do not work in that profession.)
Comment: I agree. I'm reminded of the masterful translations of the works of Stanislaw Lem from Polish to English by Michael Kandel, who even went so far as to create a sonnet about a haircut where every word began with the letter "S".
Comment: One thing to consider, though, might be the cost of having a professional translator translate your entire book. That should cost thousands upon thousands of Euros. But I agree that it would probably result in a much higher quality.
Comment: "...you will still need to show it to a professional editor afterwards, or at the very least have it proofread by a few native speakers of the target language (one is never enough)." - Well, you need those when you write in your native language as well, so it's not much of a point. I've just checked some of the translated books I have on my book shelf and they all have a translator, an editor and at least one lector, usually two, so even with a professional translator you'd still need an editor and a lector (or at least a proof reader). Personally I'd rather spend my money on a good editor.
Answer: If you have the time to do so, and there is a want for the translation, I say it wouldn't be a bad idea. By being able to do the first translation yourself you can be sure all the little things that make it through, that way some important piece of characterization doesn't get lost.
Though in the end, it's also about time. If you don't have the time to do the work it might be better to supervise it instead of doing it yourself.
Answer: I think that translation is an art in itself, not unlike writing in that it's also a creative endeavor. If you want to do it because you think you'll get something out of the creative experience, I'd recommend you go for it--with help from a professional translator. But if you just want your work out there, I'd recommend someone who is a translator because they won't be emotionally tied to the work like you are.
Answer: I usually translate my work for these reasons:

It gives me a good reason to read it again (and you always find something if you read your own work).
When I translate, I often find better ways to express myself in the original language.
Answer: I think languages are very different in a lot of subtle things, so I wouldn't trust a third party to translate my thoughts, the way I write, and my subtle hints and intentions into another language I know well.
I'd really try hard to translate it myself as to not lose any of those traits upon doing it.
If it's a language you don't really know well, you'd have no choice though.
Answer: Your English writing skills could use a little smoothing out, if the question above is representative. However, that will improve in time with practice and the help of a good editor. If you have the ability, it'd be a shame not to use it.
Answer: I doubt anyone knows what you wanted to say better than yourself. Even the most skilled translator can miss some fine points you wanted to express. As someone who has seen quite a number of bad translations, I'd never let anyone translate it into a language I know well enough to translate myself. To help, maybe, to edit and give a hand with some subtler points of language, yes, but the whole translation, no.
I'm reading a book right now in English and was surprised to find it in the bookstore translated into Croatian, so I flipped through it and I literally shuddered. It wasn't that it was badly translated, per se, but since it's written in first person, the voice was completely different. It wasn't the same character anymore. I know some things get lost in translation, but this felt like a completely different character was telling the same story. Not to mention that some names were Croationized while most didn't. You just don't do that, you either do it all or none at all.
There are just as much of bad translators out there as there are good ones, it's a lottery which one you would ran into. The ones that have actually lived in a foreign country and are truly fluent in that foreign language are really rare. Translator also needs to have a flair for writing, because it's not all literal translation, sometimes you need to be creative to translate phrases and sentence structures that don't even exist in the other language, and still keep the original meaning in the original voice and style. It's not straightforward. So who better to do it than the original author?
Answer: I was instructed by multiple Princeton professors that one's native language is the only acceptable target for a self-produced literary translation. (Of course, not everyone obeys these rules--but even the Nabokovs suffered for it.)
If the "second language" is your native language, I'd say go for it.
Answer: I would say yes because the more people can read it, the more feedback you can get that could help you with writing.


Do MacBook Pro displays degrade over time?

Question: I work on MacBook Pro (15", mid 2010) pretty much every day for at least 8hrs. I remember my previous (non-Apple) laptops displays used to darken over time. Should I expect something similar happening to my MacBook Pro?
Comment: Everything degrades over time, and will eventually break.
Answer: I have had a MacBook Pro since early 2007, and the display is as bright and crisp as the day I bought it. I've also had an iBook G4 since early 2005 and there's no problem with its display, either.
I doubt you'll have any problems for quite awhile if at all, as newer models tend to have better displays then older models.
Answer: Of course!
But by how much?
There are plenty of display technologies out there (LCD, LED-backlight, OLED, ...) which makes a general answer quite difficult. Most of us will also recall some pretty fancy abbreviations like TFT, WXGA...
I'll radically simplify the problem by assuming (!) that we may distinguish between only two basic display technologies used in Apple's Macbook Pro. Each technology has experienced little quality improvements over time, but distinction between the fundamental technology behind should be more important:

Macbook Pros (2006): LCD

Macbook Pro (2007 - Today): LCD with LED-backlight.

more energy efficient
thinner
more color vibrant and brighter
increased lifespan

I do not have official numbers regarding the lifespan and change in lux of Apple's displays, so I'll tell you my experiences:
On my Macbook Pro mid 2007 I've had to use a higher brightness level year-by-year. This is not as bad as with the LCD display of my black macbook, but degradation is noticable! Today, after more than four years of almost daily use, the black Macbook's brightness is not acceptable in summer. The MBP does a fine job, but during the day I constantly use one of the top four brightness levels.


Is the Electorate Badge Working?

Question: Has the electorate badge increased the number of votes on questions since it was implemented?
Comment: I contend that it would be working as designed if it increased downvotes as well.
Comment: It's working for me ;)
Comment: @dmckee Good point, I should have just said votes.
Comment: Good question...  I would say it hasn't base don the number of these acquired on SU.
Answer: This is anecdotal, obviously:

I now go to Stack Overflow daily and expend my entire vote amount on questions. I don't vote on answers any more.

I guess this is to pay reparations for the fact that I used to vote on answers about 90% of the time.
Answer: One thing I do a bit more is downvote bad questions; I now downvote bad questions that are marked CW a lot more, so much so that I will go to a CW question just so I can downvote the question (and vote to close, if it isn't already closed). It hasn't really changed how I upvote good questions though, as I was doing that already.
I don't think the way I vote on answers has changed much either, except I will no longer go through all answers in a CW poll-type question up- and down-voting each one (this was the main way I exhausted my vote quota; I no longer ever run out).
Answer: I'm going to assert, 'no.' My reason is as follows. I continually observe sympathy voting. Some truly awful question will get a downvote or two. Moments later, it's back to 0. The user is net positive for rep, reinforcing mediocre questions. The question is back to 0 or even above, giving it a rating it does not deserve.
I offer an example.
Comment: I was going to suggest that the fabled re-weighting of down-votes will help here. But 2 down-votes + 2 up-votes at -5 and +10 still gives a +10 rep gain.
Answer: The badge was not announced on the blog, and I don't recall it being mentioned on the podcast.  The only people who know about it are those that got it, those that monitor the tags page aggressively, and those that spend enough time on meta to see an electorate related message float by.
Still, when the January data dump is made available you should be able to use stackql or another query service to find out what, if any, impact the new badge made on question votes.
Comment: So, basically noone knows about it.
Answer: I don't think so.
As bmargulies mentioned, some truly worthless questions are being voted on.
I refuse to expend 2 rep to downvote when it'll back up soon after
Edit:
A prime example of vote up idiocy... How many bytes in a 32bit integer? ...5 down and now 4 up
Comment: A good argument for regular periodic recalcs?  That question is now deleted and presumably all the rep from it doesn't count for anyone after a recalc.
Answer: It has increased them coming from me, so yes.  Although my part is small relative to the whole....  Not that I particularly care about the badge, but the discussion around the badge got my attention.
Answer: I think it encourages randomly voting on questions. I once asked a question about a non-existing technology I made up, trying to keep the title as obscure and scary looking as possible, to get the Tumbleweed badge. Yes, this is not good behavior, I know :)
Well, what's interesting is that my question about something that doesn't exist was upvoted. It's impossible that whoever voted it understood the question and thought it was "useful" as it was designed to drive people away.
(I would link to it but then someone left a comment so I deleted it, and I don't have enough rep to see deleted questions)
Comment: +1 You're a great badge hunter...

Is the Electorate Badge Working?


Baby breastfeeds for only 5 mins before sleeping again

Question: My daughter is 2 months old and is exclusively breastfed. After drinking for only 5 mins she falls asleep again and wakes up crying again after 30 mins. We have tried different things like tickling her but have failed to keep her awake to drink for longer. Her weight is in normal range now but we are worried about of her not getting enough. Pls suggest some way of keeping her awake and feed longer.
Answer: As suggested above plus a bit more what we've been doing with our six week old when she's prematurely falling asleep mid-feed is:

Feed until she falls asleep
Remove items of clothing until she wakes
again
Feed until she falls asleep

We've found rubbing the palms of her hands as she feeds, if she looks like she's dropping off,
helps. our midwife mentioned it's an acupressure point for the gut, I'm
not sure if this is true, but she does seem to pick up feeding again
when we do it

Change her nappy (but keeping her undressed)
Feed
until she falls asleep again.
Re-dress her (she'll hopefully, but not
always, wake up at this junction again)
Feed until she falls asleep.

Seems to be working for now, I'm certainly suggest giving the hand rubbing a go, we didn't have much luck with tickling ourselves.
Answer: Try removing some of her clothes so she is a little colder - we found keeping their feet out helped quite a bit.
Remember though that all babies are different, if she is at the right weight don't worry too much - at this stage just work around her needs.
Answer: She's could just be building up your supply. Frequent short feedings can increase your production. Don't try and discourage them, and definitely don't try and put her "on a schedule". Those are just recipes for ending up with a formula fed baby.
Also, she could just be a super efficient eater. My kids never really ate for longer than 5 minutes, even during the day.
Also, she could just be cluster feeding, albeit this generally happens in the evenings, my 11mo is currently cluster feeding from about 3:30am to 6:30am (when I finally just get up and take him away from mom so she can sleep for an hour while he happily plays in the living room).
Her weight is normal, her behavior seems normal. You don't need to worry about that. What you do need to worry about is mom-burn-out. Breast feeding is really really really really hard. Bravo and congrats for getting it done for 2 months! It's going to take real dedication to keep it going for a year (or 2 or 3, whatever your goal is). Dad is going to have to be really supportive. At the very least, if mom has had a particularly rough night with frequent wakings (this is still happening with us and we have an 11mo) giving mom some disruption free sleep time in the morning; at least 40 minutes so she can get at least one good un-interrupted sleep cycle in. Also, find a le leche meeting near you and get support from them.
Answer: If she is normal weight, I wouldn't worry too much!
We tried really hard to make sure our son didn't associate feeding with sleeping immediately afterward.  We followed a Feed->Wake->Sleep cycle.  We would feed him immediately when he woke up.   Given that it is so cozy while feeding it is less tempting to fall asleep if they have already been sleeping and are ready to be awake.  This also helped to make sure that he could sleep without demanding to be fed every time (this comes in handy later).
Answer: One thing I've tried that I've found very useful, especially for the bed time feeding when you want them to eat as much as possible so that they'll sleep longer, was to break up the feeding with a bath. I would nurse as much as he would take, then give him a bath to wake him up and get him hungry again, and then nurse again till he fell asleep.
Answer: I'm no expert, but breast milk induces sleep in babies, babies also have small stomachs. A breast feeding baby can fill there stomach in 5 mins, this with the naturally induced sleep means when they are small they well feed every 30mins to 1hr is completely normal.
Unfortunately this doesn't do much for your sanity. Every kid is different so don't go reading the web with these mothers that love to tell you how their baby sleeps all night, those are the lucky ones.
If your baby is health, then its doing the right thing to maintain that. My wife still breast feeds at 10months but he also mixes the day with solids. Please don't try to force your baby to do something because you read it somewhere. Your baby well let you know what it needs.
Comment: Welcome to the board! +1 for your last sentences. New parents especially get to surfing and feel like they're doing it wrong because of everyone elses highlighted euphorian anecdotes.
Answer: My sister-in-law had this problem with her firstborn.  The lactation specialist suggested tickling his feet, but when he fell asleep, he was right out.  Once she was convinced the foot tickling didn't work, the specialist recommended lightly flicking the end of the baby's nose. That didn't work either.
Finally, my sister-in-law figured out that she could squeeze her breast gently and give the baby a squirt, which woke him up enough to eat some more. (Obviously, he fell asleep at her breast and was still sort of latched on for this to work.)
Answer:
Pls suggest some way of keeping her awake and feed longer.

No. Oh no wait... drink more coffee. Yeah that.
There. . . that's my answer to the question. But the solution to the problem is that you don't need to.
Abstractly, she's 2 mos. By 3 mos, everything will be different. By 6 mos, this post will have long been forgotten as she becomes coherent and sleeps less.
Realistically, her :05 at a time feedings are extremely inconvenient to working parents or a stay at home mom with household duties (note that, as much as I wanted to, I didn't make a Kitchen joke).
I wouldn't worry about it. Just try to deal with the lack of sleep.
And don't drink more coffee... that was a joke.
[edit] And I just realized i got suckered into responding to an 8 mo old question. If the poster is still following their notifications, I'd be curious to know what happened.
Answer: Our pedatrician said the first 5-10 mins of flow has a different consistency than the later flow, which has more nutrients. This latter flow makes baby feel full and also has a sedative in it. It is not present in the first flow. She told us if they only go 10 mins they will wake up hungry within the hour, was you would if you had lolly water instead of a meal. So at least use the same breast until baby has had 20 mins, even if you did have to change him or even bathe him during/between the feedings.
Comment: "has a sedative in it" - I would like to see a qualified source for that claim.
Answer: Every baby is different, so you really have to find a way on which technique will work with the baby or not.  And also at this month, babies tends to have shorter feeding time and sleeping hours.  I remember, that the first three months of my baby was really very exhausting because I had to adjust to his body clock and he also feeds from time to time.
When it comes to sleep, I don't wake him up, because he will really cry if I do so. Anyhow, I'm always on his side, ready to feed him.  It is also important to note that as long as your baby's weight percentile is normal, there is nothing to worry about.
Answer: There are a few triggers that can be the reason why baby feeds for only five minutes as mentioned in your question. Always check for tongue tie and you will know it if baby is not suckling with a grip. Not enough milk supply. Ask your self if this happenes to both breasts.  Also babies with gas indigestion or reflux (silent reflux) would have similar problems. Sometimes babies with their heads tilted will become tired after a few minutes. I always find looking in to the foods that the mother is eating and avoid the foods that cause indigestion can be a big help. I would also consider an Osteopath for the baby and probiotics for the mother.


How often should I reboot Linux servers?

Question: I have many Linux servers (SUSE 9 &10) used to run web services that provide data to large calculation grids.  Recently we have had some difficult to explain outages (i.e. hardware and software logs are not showing any obvious errors) and we are starting to wonder whether the long uptime (typically 200-300 days) is the issue.  Given that these servers are heavily utilised, should I consider a regular reboot cycle?
Answer: You must reboot after a kernel update (unless you are using KSplice), anything else is optional. Personally I reboot on a monthly cycle during a maintenance window to make sure the server and all services come back as expected. This way I can be reasonably certain if I have to do an out of schedule reboot (i.e. critical kernel update) that the system will come back up properly. Automated monitoring of servers and services (i.e. Nagios) also goes a long way to helping this process (reboot, watch the lights go red and then hopefully all back to green).
P.S. if you do reboot regularily you'll want to make sure you tune your fsck checks (i.e. maximal mount count between checks appropriately, otherwise a quick 2 minute reboot might take 30 minutes if the server starts fsck'ing a couple terabytes of data. I typically set my mount count to 0 (tune2fs -c 0) and the interval between checks to 6 months or so and then manually force an fsck every once in a while and reset the count.
Comment: Regularly testing your DRBCP is a must, and this type of check is a *great* start in that direction.
Comment: KSplice is correct, with KSplice you can live patch running software (Kernel, Database, etc.). However Since Oracle bought KSplice that's probably not a solution for anyone not using Oracle stuff (who recently bought KSplice).
Comment: You don't need to reboot after kernel update - http://www.ksplice.com/
Answer: I actually reboot my servers on a fairly regular basis, any time major configuration changes are made. It's important to know that in the event of an emergency the server software will come up without a hassle. The last thing you want is to be in a position where you are trying to recover from an outage but are having to mess with your server configuration because you didn't thoroughly test it when you set it up.
Answer: Linux servers never need to be rebooted unless you absolutely need to change the running kernel version. Most problems can be solved by changing a configuration file and restarting a service with an init script.
You need to watch out for reboots... if you changed anything "on the fly" without reflecting your changes in a service's configuration file, those changes will not be applied after a reboot.
I usually reboot after scheduled system updates, though. It's generally not necessary, but I do them when nobody's in the office, so why not? There are often kernel upgrades when I get to doing the update, anyway.
Comment: @JonasDralle, services should automatically stop and restart when they get upgraded. Otherwise, it is a bug in the implementation of that service!
Comment: Of course they need to reboot from time to time. When you update software and that particular software is currently running you'll still be using the old version of the software because the copy of the old version is still active in the RAM. You'll need to restart that piece of software (by service restart or reboot) for the update to take affect. Some applications need a reboot and can't be updated thru service restart
Answer: Not really required, linux memory handling is excellent. But if you're having uptimes of that length you're probably running kernels that have known vulnerabilities - you might want to watch that.
Comment: Linux may handle its memory ok, but individual applications may not - their heaps could become fragmented if they run for a long time.

Of course things like prefork Apache (which recycles its processes) don't generally suffer from this. Other things which use a single very-long-lived process (e.g. mysql) may. Depends on your application.
Answer: I think you should reboot if there has been a recent kernel update OR a libc update. A lot of things are linked with libc and it's not really possible to unload that lib from memory completely and replace it with the new version unless you do a reboot.
For example, even basic things like /bin/ls and other things in /bin use libc. If you are just running a console and using bash, you are using libc.
$ ldd /bin/bash
        linux-gate.so.1 =>  (0xffffe000)
        libtermcap.so.2 => /lib/libtermcap.so.2 (0xb8029000)
        libdl.so.2 => /lib/libdl.so.2 (0xb8025000)
        libc.so.6 => /lib/libc.so.6 (0xb7ed9000)
        /lib/ld-linux.so.2 (0xb804b000)

$ ldd /bin/ls
        linux-gate.so.1 =>  (0xffffe000)
        librt.so.1 => /lib/librt.so.1 (0xb7f3a000)
        libacl.so.1 => /lib/libacl.so.1 (0xb7f33000)
        libc.so.6 => /lib/libc.so.6 (0xb7de7000)
        libpthread.so.0 => /lib/libpthread.so.0 (0xb7dd0000)
        /lib/ld-linux.so.2 (0xb7f61000)
        libattr.so.1 => /lib/libattr.so.1 (0xb7dcc000)

And yes, if you change files in /etc/init.d which affect startup in some way, I would recommend a reboot. You don't want to find out that you made a small mistake in a startup file when you need things up and running again quickly.
If a server has gone many days without a reboot it actually means that there is no way to be sure that it will come up again properly. Once again this is because a lot of config files might have been changed on it, and no one has rebooted it for a long time to make sure it comes up. Also, if the server has a lot of updates due and you haven't rebooted for a long time, reboot before you apply the updates, otherwise if there is a problem, you can't be sure it was caused by a configuration error a long time ago or the new updates you applied.
Lastly, if you reboot a critical server after a very long time, the fsck might mean you have to wait a very long time now for it to come back up. You can use tune2fs to avoid this, but it's a good idea to check it regularly I suppose. This is why you shouldn't be in a position where you are dependent on just 1 server and if that goes, your whole website is gone. You should have another one on standby.
Answer: Another thing to look for while having this unexpected downtime, is to look at how exactly the memory and processor are being used and by what programs.
 top should be able to determine which processes are the culprit for the loss of resources, and then be able to manage them directly.  Another idea would be to initialize a cronjob to shutdown and restart your processes on a specific schedule.
Comment: +1 - Not all outages are caused by a kernel problem.
Answer: Its not a bad idea to reboot if it has been that long so you can run a disk check ( fsck ) on the root partition.  Your argument can be that this helps ensure data integrity.
Answer: A properly run Linux server should only need rebooting for kernel updates.  The same can't always be said for some of the software - for instance, I sometimes have to restart apache2 or mailman.
Answer: My infrastructure has two data sites, the alpha (where operations takes place on a daily basis) and the beta (the backup site, in case things go horribly wrong at alpha). Although this is not currently the case, I am pushing to have scheduled downtime at the alpha site every 6 months, so that we can run all services from beta.
This will accomplish two things. First, it will prove that our disaster recovery site is completely viable. Second, it will give me a week's worth of time to remove accumulated cruft at alpha.
As it is, I don't reboot my servers as frequently as I should. I agree with the other posters who said that it's important to know that your servers will come back up when you need them to. You don't want to "think" that they will, only to find out that you've changed something and not done it correctly, or not documented it.
Answer: You can additionally wrote some scripts which will check (as much as is possible), if the current state of your machine, is going to be the state of the machine post-reboot.
What I mean by this is...

/etc/init.d/*

Check that all services currently running, are flagged to start on boot
Check that all services not running are flagged not to start on boot

/etc/fstab

Check that all mounted filesystems (i.e. /etc/mtab) have a corresponding entry in /etc/fstab
Check that all filesystems specified to be mounted on boot in /etc/fstab are also currently mounted.

This is of course not a complete check by any means, but it does reduce the risk of troubles post-reboot.
Additional to this, you should (imo) set a policy for server package updates, in some sensible order, say 1 group per week...

Crash & Burn Servers
Development Servers, Training Servers
Test Servers
Pre-Production Servers
Production Servers

Also have an overall plan, such as "All servers will go through a complete OS upgrade once every 6 months".
Answer: Depends on the tasks running on the server. For some virtual servers we often use reboot instead of i.e. apachectl restart and it just takes 5-10 seconds longer. But some heavy loaded machines are rebooted several times per year with a whole admin crew monitoring the process.


Increase number of reps

Question: I've been going to gym for a few months now. I was told that doing low reps with heavy weights builds strength and I've followed this low rep heavy training religiously and seen my strength improve. Now I'm finding that I'm able to lift heavy weights for a few reps 4~5 , but lighter weights also in the same 4~5 reps range. I'm stuck in the 4~5 rep range for 60% ~ 85% of my max. Should I change my training method and start with even lighter weights and go for higher reps?
Answer: First of all, strength is not for reps but for pushing your body to the limit. If you want power you have to concentrate on the low-rep series for 85% + of your max.
However, it is normal not to make so many reps if you are building strength. It is the key to success as I said earlier in this post.
And for example: before a year or so I wanted to increase the number of my push-ups reps. I was doing strength that time. So, I started doing 50 push ups after my training for a week. And what happened? My PB dropped with 5 kg. That is 5kg just for a week! Imagine if you continue doing this for a month...
So, consider your goals and decide if you want to lift/pull that two times heavier than you weight or stick to high reps and low power.
Answer: It makes sense that at 85% of your 1 rep maximum that you'd only be able to do 5 reps. That is close to what a lot of the formulas for predicting your 1 rep maximum based on your 5 rep maximum would say.
For example, if you can do 5 repetitions of 175lbs, the formulas on Wikipedia predict a 1 rep maximum between 197 and 206 (average 202).
<code>175 / 202 = 86%.
</code>
So, it looks like you're just about right. 60% seems a bit low, though. Does it differ based on the lift? Maybe that says something about your form on particular lifts, or perhaps you're 'cheating' a bit when you check your 1 rep maximums.

Increase number of reps


How can I test microphones to determine their quality?

Question: I recently inherited the leadership of the audio/video committee at my church. I bought a cable tester to check all the audio cables and adapters, and tossed anything that didn't pass. Now I'm faced with a small collection of microphones (approximately ten) that nobody seems to know which of them are good and which are defective. This past Friday one of my guys was doing a live event and ended up selecting a microphone that is apparently bad. How do I go about testing these microphones to make sure they're working properly as designed?
Comment: Can you declare, what was "bad" with that microphone? And can you explain, what kind of testing do you imagine?
Answer: If you mean bad in the sense in which a bad cable is bad – i.e., broken or fine – simply connect the microphone to a mixer with headphone output or an active speaker, tap on the microphone and say something into it. You'll notice if one doesn't work, there will be no sound! Or e.g. heavily distorted sound, or failing sound when you jiggle the plug etc.
Determining how good a microphone is is another matter. Reasonably robust dynamic microphones tend to remain quite constant in their sound quality up to the point where they completely fail, so if you see a microphone of a good brand that does work at all you can usually assume that it works well, for instance having some SM58s is always a comfort. Though different types of microphones do of course perform different for different tasks: reliable as such dynamic microphones are, I'd hesitate to use them to e.g. record a piano or other acoustic instruments because the sound isn't quite as "open" as it ought to be. Usually, one has to know how each microphone sounds, but that requires a lot of experience. It is also possible to precisely measure all the acoustic properties of a microphone, but that's really complicated and doesn't seem to be what you need.
Answer: I'm afraid this might sound cliche or condescending, but try them out and trust your ears. If you knew what each mic was you could look up all their specs, but that information may not be all that useful to you. I could, and would be happy to answer questions about what those specs mean, but I think it's much more useful to you to just trust that the one that sounds the best is likely the best.
You should also google the makes and models of each of the different makes and models to find out what they are best used for (voice, instrument, etc.) or ask about them on hear. In the end I'm guessing you took on this responsibility less to learn about which microphone is best for what and more to help out your church. That's why my advise to you is to ask for the opinion of others (on here or IRL) and trust your ears. Learning the specs, and what the specs mean is one thing, but learning what the changes in these specs sound like, that's a totally different thing. To quote (or at least paraphrase) Joe Meek "If it sounds good, it is good."
Good luck!