The role of a software tester in an agile environment?

Question: What would you say was the role of a software tester in an agile environment?
Is it just testing and logging bugs or is it more important to work closely with the project architects and developers to improve the design and code early on?
Comment: when you say "just testing", what does "just testing" mean to you? I ask, because skilled, thoughtful testing is required to go far beyond what some project stakeholders will initially think of as "just testing".
Answer: The role of a software tester in an agile environment - as with any other environment - is whatever it needs to be for that specific project. Sometimes there'll be a lot of close-up work with design as well testing (I personally think of design as the testing that happens before you start testing, because that's where a lot of the potentially problematic issues get sorted out), sometimes less so.
Regardless of how your particular projects and workplace sorts out, there are a few things that need to happen:

There needs to be something that documents what was tested, how, and why. This isn't so much for record-keeping purposes unless the industry you're working with requires that, as for future reference. It's not uncommon for someone to refer to old test documentation to sort out how a particular feature works and what areas of it are likely to be problematic
There needs to be at least some coordination with the programmers so you're not duplicating work. If there are a lot of unit tests in place covering the logic of the feature, the tester can focus much more on external validations. The idea is to work with the other members of the team so that your specialty, testing, supports theirs and theirs supports yours (this being the world of theory, such wonderful things are quite feasible. In the world I live in, or at least the place I work for, things are still somewhat in flux).
There also needs to be a fair amount of communication and coordination with the product owner. All the different roles in the team should be working together, and the product owner is the effective oracle on whether the feature you're building is the right feature.

In my experience with an employer in transition between waterfall and agile, I've found that I wind up initiating a lot of the communication and coordination. That may be an artefact of my employer's environment, where there is no greenfields development and the application codebase includes routines that go back over 20 years - as a tester, I've worked across a large range of it, and tend to have a broader view of what interacts with which than programmers (who naturally focus on the features they're developing or the bugs they're fixing) or product owners (who with my employer tend to have deep knowledge of the feature developments they've worked with but not the broad base of interaction).
In all, the role can be whatever you make of it, if you approach it with tact as well as enthusiasm. Good luck!
Answer: I'm not sure "more important" is the way I would phrase it.  The way we approach agile is to  to deliver software the customer wants quickly with high quality.  What does this mean for a Tester?  Members of our teams work together to complete tasks.  This means a tester could do a code review, help write out requirements, code functionality, pretty much anything.  The goal is to complete the project.  If your time is best spent doing one of the above tasks, that's what you work on.
Does this mean the testing piece isn't important?  Absolutely not.  Testing is just as important in agile as it is in waterfall.  In fact in my experience, testing in an agile environment is easier.  Not because of the methodology exactly, but because the team members work together more.  There is much less fighting between developers, testers, and project managers.  Everyone's goal is the same (at least from my experience).
I guess a quick summary of how I would describe my position would be:
I'm a team member with an emphasis on testing.
Comment: Agree with you there Steve. All team members should be able to do each others role to a certain extent. Now for some lingo bingo - we're "generalising specialists".
Answer: The Agile Manifesto talks about this principle: Individuals and interactions over processes and tools.  There are no absolute rules for the role of a software tester in an agile environment, except that the tester must test.  Aside from that, the software tester's role depends upon the skills and interests of the relevant parties and their interpersonal relationships.
If a tester has strong design and coding skills and has a good rapport with the project architects and developers, it may make sense for the tester to invest time in those areas.  If the tester is not a strong designer or coder, or if the project architects and developers are not receptive to the tester's design and coding suggestions, or if the software tester is not receptive to his suggestions being rejected when there are good reasons for doing so, the tester should think twice about early involvement in designing and coding.
A software tester's primary job is to test; otherwise, they would not be called a software tester.  Regardless of how much satisfaction a tester feels when involved in early design and coding, and regardless of how much they contribute in those areas, it is important that the tester test and log bugs.  If an individual does not want to test, or does not feel it is important, they should not be a software tester.
Answer: In an agile environment, more people test, and fewer people only test. Developers write and run tests. Testers start doing things that they didn't formerly do, but which make great use of their testing skills.
In what follows, I use the word tester in a slightly unusual way, to mean "people who can apply testing skills," regardless of their job title.
A key new job of testers is to help describe the features. Just before a feature enters development, testers and others meet with the product owner to talk about the feature. One goal of the conversation is to create a set of examples that help describe the feature in concrete terms. Good testers are a great help here, because they know how to detect ambiguity, and they know how to think of relevant scenarios that haven't yet been considered. Applying those skills before development starts, rather than during or after development, means that everyone on the team understand the feature more fully. So testers, instead of "only" detecting problems, help to prevent them.
Some testers will have programming skills. They can help to turn the examples into automated tests, typically during development. Not all testers have that skill, and not have the ability or desire to become skilled at that. More and more "testing" jobs require it.
If the key examples are described up front, and if they are automated so that anyone on the team can run them at any time, what's left for testers to do? Exploratory testing. You help the team identify risks and doubts and concerns. Then you run tests to explore those. Exploratory testing means simultaneously designing tests, running tests, and learning about the system. It's very different from tests defined up front. Each test gives you information, which you then use to think up and choose the next test. You can begin exploring as soon as there's something to execute.
Also during development, testers can help developers build their skills at testing. In an agile environment, developers typically write lots of unit tests. Many developers can benefit from working with a good tester to build skills at designing tests.
Do a google search for "exploratory testing." Also important is "session-based testing," as developed by Jon Bach and James Bach.
Answer: Honestly, I would think the role of a tester is more than just finding & logging bugs in any project (agile, waterfall, seat-of-your-pants develpment, etc).
Being a good testing isn't just passively sitting & waiting for code to come over the wall then test.  At any point in a project if you notice something, have an idea or something you feel you can do/contribute, find something you don't understand, or just get that 'feeling' it is a tester's job to bring that to the full team.  We want it addressed early & as cheaply as possible in the development.  That could be day 2 in a sprint or half way down the V in Verification/Validation.
Answer: The participation of tester in an agile environment starts from requirement and it continues till the Project delivery. And hence, testers involvement doesnot stop with just testing and logging bugs. To be more precise, Testers involvement is required for
a. Attending Project Meetings to understand Requirements, Changes - since agile is based on iterative and incremental Process. Constant interaction within team and with Product customer is required
b. Effective communication is required for testers among developers, testers and Product owner.
c. Should be capable enough of prioritizing tests I.e High and important features needs to be tested and delivered. Then, follows the Medium features and low level features. Needs to be capable enough on identifying the work items for the day
d. Testers should suggest for Test Automation of Unit & Regression testing, since agile expects more of application changes during pre/post release Build.
e. Should Focus more on exploratory testing and practice Pair Testing
f. should provide continuous feedback about the application progression to entire Team
Answer: The Agile Testing Quadrants provides a good framework for understanding the role of testing in Agile projects. This is a good reference for seeing where your testers can add value, depending on their skills.
This framework places test types in quadrants based on whether they are Business Facing or Technology facing, and if the role of the tests are to support the team or to critique the product.

In our team, the developers usually do the unit testing, and the quality members do things like:

Contribute to user stories (they have good expertise in the domain,
and strong customer affinity)
Pair with the developers to do parallel testing
Automate the system level tests (UI based tests) Document the acceptance criteria in our tool, and "accept" the story when its ready.
Performance & security testing
Answer: Agile testing is being able to adapt to the current project. Mainly should be able to collaborate with development and product owners to drive continuous improvement of the product.
And continually add Business Value to Agile Teams through Proactive Participation.
Design and execute automated functional tests within the test automation framework.
Develop and Maintain functional Regression tests.
Identify and track software defects.
Comment: This reads like a job posting - given that this is a new answer to an old question, perhaps you could expand on your response.
Comment: Where does the picture come from?


Is there anything special to pay attention to when preparing a bicycle for powdercoating?

Question: I am thinking of having an old bike powdercoated to spruce it up a bit.
What do I need to do to prepare the frame? Remove all components? What about stickers and decals? Some kind of chemical etching dip?
It is an aluminium MTB frame.
Answer: You'll definitely need to remove all components.  For threaded bits you have two choices - leave junk bolts in there that will get powdercoated over and then carefully remove them (leaving a bit of an edge around the bolt hole) or let them get masked but almost certainly somewhat powdercoated into and use a tap and die set to chase them before reassembly.  Be prepared to face/ream/chase the headtube and bottom bracket in any case.
Do make sure you've cleaned it as much as possible, removing any residual grease and road dirt.  I wouldn't worry about the stickers and decals, the media blasting to prepare the frame should take care of that.  With the relatively low cost of media blasting I wouldn't bother trying to strip the paint myself.
Make sure you find a powdercoater that is familiar with bicycle frames; particularly when it comes to media blasting they need to understand how thin the tubing is.
Answer: I have taken a bike to a powdercoater before. Many of them actually do motorcycle frames regularly so they're very good with prepping the surfaces and screw holes and dealing with complex shapes.
The hardest thing for me was the fork race-- I had to have it removed by a bikeshop. Some people have success with a DIY approach, but it is safer to do it with the right tools and experience (it is not a routine maintenance activity).
If there is residual grease or frame-saver compound in the tubes, the powder-coater should have solvents to remove this stuff. Just ask them about your concerns.
Answer: Everything must be removed from the frame. Powdercoaters will do the sandblast/strip for you generally. Alu must be chemical dipped. Good powdercoaters will put plastic/rubber plugs in the screw holes so that they remain clean. It's always good practice to chase the threads when you get it back from the powdercoater.
Answer: You indeed need to remove as many components as you can. I took an old cruiser to a powder coater a few months ago and had a pretty nice result. From my experience they will sandblast the frame before so you do not need to worry about it being dirty or having stickers... it will all be taken care of with the sand.
As mentioned in other posts the main issues are the threads and the bearing races. The worse for both would be if they get sanded. Try to cover them as well as you can with duck tape or equivalent and make sure you clearly explain them not to touch those areas. On my bike there was a bit of paint on the bearing races for both the fork and the bottom bracket (old type of cranks/bb). I used a dremel with a metal spinning brush in order to nicely clean the races and reface them, and it seems to be working pretty well so far (make sure you grease them afterwards).
Good luck with it!
Answer: Make sure to clean out all grease and oils in the frame tubing.  I just recently had my bike painted and while they hung the frame up to dry, heated grease caused a little defect in the frame on the top of the seat post insert.


What happens if a single spark plug unexpectedly goes down in a multi-cylinder engine?

Question: AFAIK vehicle manuals say owner must replace spark plugs every N miles. Suppose he fails to do so and a single spark plug unexpectedly dies in an engine with multiple cylinders right in a freeway. What likely happens to the vehicle?
Answer: Spark plugs are normally a wear and tear kind of part instead of an "all or nothing" kind of failure.  Over time, they get worn or build up deposits from years of use and they become less effective and efficient.  I have rarely ever heard of a spark plug failing 100% all of a sudden.  Over time, it would contribute to reduced gas mileage, rough idle, and sluggish performance.  They recommend them to be replaced at a certain interval to keep top running performance.  It is a very common part of a "tune up".
If it did some how fail, I would imagine it would be like the time I had a car where a spark plug wire got hit by the cooling fan and cut it.  The car lost a lot of power as it was only now running on 5 out of the 6 cylinders.  The car had only a top speed of like 45/50mph and it sounded like it was working really hard and very sluggish, so I pulled over immediately to investigate. It was very noticeable, but it did not present any immediate hazard other then requiring me to slow down and get off to the side of the road.
Comment: I had the spark plug unscrew itself, letting enough air by to blow the spark plug boot off (and prevent it from possible staying on).  Of course I was 4 hours from home in a DOHC inline 4 cyl car, with no tools and no stores open on a Sunday night...  It was a mighty rough 3-cyl drive home that night on backroads (as I didn't want to be slow and also possibly get stranded on the turnpike).
Answer: If you keep driving it that way for very long, the fuel that's pumping through the non-firing cylinder will contaminate the catalytic converter.  That can result in the catalyst overheating and melting, possibly blocking the exhaust in the process (BTDT and cats are not cheap...).  If you're really having a bad day, the cat could theoretically catch on fire and possibly result in a full-blown vehicle fire.
Answer: I had a spark plug fail completely and another one hardly work on an old 5 cylinder Audi GT coupe sport. It was as rough as a badger, but you could still drive it back home to sort it out. Certainly not fatal:-)
Answer: It should carry on running, albeit somewhat lumpy. I've seen a car (a 6-cylinder BMW) spit out a plug on the motorway, it carried on running quite happily, just got noiser and lost some power (as you would expect!). The owner pulled over at the next exit, found out what had happened and drove to the nearest parts shop to get a new plug.
Answer: No one has mentioned vibration yet.
When one of the spark plug wires went 'bad' on my Chevy LS1, the spark plug failing to fire immediately translated to regular vibrations that changed frequency with RPM and became especially bad at idle.
Replacing the wires (and spark plugs) eliminated the vibrations completely.
Answer: Most newer cars will blink the check engine light if a spark plug suddenly fails. If you ever see a blinking check engine light it means you have a major misfire even that is going to damage your expensive catalytic converters!
Answer: One thing not mentioned here is that the unburnt fuel from a cylinder misfiring will find its way into the oil and cause symptoms similar to a flooded engine. I called a mechanic to try boosting the engine on a relative's car today, and he said it was extremely flooded, the spark plugs needed to be replaced and the oil changed, and he wouldn't be able to do it until next week.
When I looked at the engine to see if changing the spark plugs was something I wanted to do myself, I noticed two of the six were completely disconnected. The oil smelled like gas and the oil level was quite a bit over full.
Answer: I could be wrong but I thought you should able to get Check Engine Light with proper code of given Cylinder Misfiring.
Answer: Spark plugs can fail in a number of ways - most commonly, the electrodes get encrusted with carbon deposits, but the electrodes can be worn away, the ceramic insulator can crack, the threads can fail, or the body can crack apart. Generally the plugs degrade over time, causing weak spark, poor combustion and reduced gas mileage.
In most cases, a failure would cause a single cylinder to stop firing, causing strange engine sound and loss of power. An unlikely worst case failure would see part of the spark plug break off and bounce around in the combustion chamber, damaging the cylinder, cylinder head and piston until it was crushed small enough to be spat out the exhaust port.
On most vehicles spark plug replacement is cheap and easy, and is worthwhile maintenance
I've completed a 2 hour endurance race on a vintage motorcycle running on only three of four cylinders due to an ignition fault. While I knew something wasn't right - the inability for my 1000cc four-cylinder to easily pass a 500cc single on straight-line acceleration was a big clue! - the engine ran smoothly enough to continue without danger.
Answer: I had a plug go out on my 1991 Honda Accord. On my way to work the other night my car was running fine when all of a sudden it sounded like a piston smacking a valve. Obviously, it lost a lot of power. When I took a closer look, I observed a plug wire popped out of the hole, so I put it back in the hole, thinking maybe that's all that happened. But it blew off again as soon as I started it.
Closer examination led me to discover that the plug actually busted inside itself (which was new to me). The smacking noise was the inside of the spark plug being pounded against the outside of the plug from the combustion of the engine. So the whole inside of the plug was moving up and down while the outside of the plug was stationary. I put a new plug in, and I'm back in business.
Answer: The engine starts to misfire (for obvious reasons). Unburnt fuel gets passed through the exhaust manifold and you'll start to smell it. In the worst case, you might have a fire in a part of the car where you don't want it (which is a soft way of saying you might burn to death).
But I've driven 20 miles + with a misfiring engine and nothing serious happened except for poor consumption figures.


What is this technique called? Holding finger on string above 12th fret

Question: In this  video, scroll to around 1:24. Andy McKee puts his right hand on 12th fret (Not sure) and pulls out his left hand from 3rd or 4th fret producing a peculiar sound. What is this technique called? And how exactly is it done?
(I am not sure if this is a proper way to ask a question, but had no other way to explain)
Answer: Yes, it looks like he is slapping natural harmonics on most (if not all) the strings at the 12th fret with his middle finger. You should also know that the particular chord that rings out from the slap comes from a very pretty alternate tuning Andy is using, so you won't get the same sound if you were to just try it on a guitar in Standard tuning. If someone knows exactly what tuning it is, I'd like to know as well.
I don't think there is a pull off involved, he's just quickly getting the chord voicing in his left hand out of the way in time for the open string harmonics to ring clearly when he slaps down.
You can use this technique not only for open strings natural harmonics, but with chords too.
Grab a chord for example A [00222x] and slap with right hand the 2nd, 3rd and 4th strings on 14th fret while holding your chord with your left. You can try other than 12 fret intervals like 5 and 7 frets.
Acoustic virtuosos are truly a special breed..
Comment: Googled, the tuning is EBG#C#AF#.
Comment: Definitely a slap harmonic. Typical of McKee.
Answer: If you hold your finger lightly over certain frets (barely making contact with the string), you get a harmonic note that is different than what the fretted note at that position would be.
What I see him doing at 1:24 is using his right hand to finger the harmonic at around the 12th fret and plucking (or pulling off) the string using his left hand. Sort of the opposite of what you normally see. He probably did this both for visual effect and so his left hand was in place for the next thing he wanted to do.


How do you DM differently when it's for only one person?

Question: I've just finished running my first session with only one player, and it felt pretty different from running a session for a group.
Could someone with more experience in this talk about what one should do differently in that situation?
I'm not referring to mechanics like encounter-building, but focus on how to handle the change to the social dynamics.
Answer: Your comment on another answer implied you wanted to hear more about play style, pacing, and social dynamics, so I'll take a (long, it turns out) stab at that.
Spend a lot of time with the both of you discussing what the character wants to accomplish. Continually checking in and talking about the character's (and player's) objectives during the game will naturally help with pacing and allow you to keep an eye on the big picture, while highlighting the places in that big picture that you both find interesting to zoom in on.
Just as importantly, keeping the big picture and those goals in mind will put the focus of the game on the character, and it will help you, as GM, to concentrate on playing a supporting role to the character's unfolding story. The best part of being the player in a 1-on-1 game is being able to really dig into a character and push for their goals, so enabling this is a high priority.
Although pacing will probably come naturally from the big picture, if you expect to jump around a lot that will help you make the shift from a party-based style of play to a 1-on-1 style. Rather than allowing the game to move moment-to-moment (which gives a group of players lots of opportunities to all contribute), take the freedom of only handling one PC as an opportunity to hone your scene-framing skills. Tightly focus in on the points of conflict and character development (which won't always be the same thing) so that you can quickly get to what the meat of the character's story is right at that moment.
You might worry that such tight scene framing might miss out on those great "slice of life" parts of roleplaying that emerge organically when you play with looser, moment-to-moment scene framing, but you can have it both ways. Frame focused scenes that are deliberately about letting the character unfold, with or without a conflict. Put them in their home for a few minutes (for example), ask the player, "What's it look like when you first walk into your own home?" Let the player explore their character and interact with their environment for just a bit, to enjoy the experience. Such focused scene framing is possible without feeling artificial because in a 1-on-1 game you'll both get to know the character very well, quickly, allowing you to frame scenes that are just "obviously" interesting and relevant.
Other answers have mentioned that 1-on-1 games can be exhausting and you can get a lot done in them. Use variations in your pacing to build in breathing space where you can both relax and recuperate from the more intense parts of the game. After a tough scene, pull back and look at the big picture for a bit. Don't be afraid to let the game sort of meander occasionally just to get a break from such high-impact scenes. Make a point to pull out of roleplaying mode and chat about what just happened after particularly affecting stretches of game. While this would arguably be "wasting time" in a group game, you'll find that you cover so much ground in a 1-on-1 game that not only will you have time for it, but it will sometimes be necessary to properly appreciate what just developed, let alone think about potential repercussions.
Answer: I find the physical situation of roleplaying and looking straight at each other's faces is often be too intimate when playing 1 on 1, so I like to have a shared map or other visual reference that's between us, or that we're at 90 degree angles from one another both facing the map.
Both the player and GM should have things they want out of the game.  They should be very up front and clear about those.  If the player is thinking about the Stallone remake of Get Carter, and the GM wants more of lost soul on a Lovecraftian island, there needs to be significant negotiation.
I'd also use a ruleset that's really strong for 1 on 1 play, and that you're very comfortable with.  S/lay w/me jumps to mind, but there are beginning to be more and more indie games tailored for 1 on 1 play.
If you are adapting a party-based system to one character, I would suggest keeping the reward cycle flowing quite fast.  The PC is the star, so it's OK if they're a big mover and shaker in situations.  The real fun comes from the consequences of those decisions.
Comment: I just want to emphasise this bit: *The PC is the star, so it's OK if they're a big mover and shaker in situations. The real fun comes from the consequences of those decisions.*
Answer: I think, in a case like that, it makes sense to a certain extent to tailor the story to that player's character.
Think about the kind of character they built, and let their decision and their abilities drive the adventure. This is more than just a question of game mechanics. If they play a ranger, the events of the game can center around what's happening in their forest, and nearby villages. Use it as an opportunity to develop the character in detail. Challenge the character by letting them use their abilities in unorthodox ways, and presenting them with obstacles appropriate to their nature. Remember, that one player is the hero in his or her own story. Let the player's imagination drive the story, too.
In literature, a side character who helps show something about the main character is called a foil. Let your main NPCs reflect different aspects of the character. Some examples:

A young, rash warrior may have a mentor, who provides him with anchoring wisdom
A holy priestess might face an evil nemesis, bent on tempting her to serve the Big Bad
A detective follows hot on the tail of a thief character, always one step behind
An experienced wizard has an incompetent apprentice, who he keeps around because he lacks charisma and needs social contact with someone who looks up to him

I'm not entirely sure if this answers your question; but, I hope you find it helpful and interesting.
Comment: Definitely good ideas.  I was primarily thinking of how you run the game (e.g., pacing, tone, etc.), although this will definitely help me as I continue to develop his side quest.
Answer: Tailor the game to the two of you. You have opportunities that are not possible with a larger group.
My primary experience with 1:1 gaming is with my spouse of 15 years. We played RPGs intensely the whole time. The game was heavily tailored to exactly what each of us wanted to get from the experience. So all manner of interesting stories and changes were possible. That level of intensity is something special and, for those who have spouses who game, I highly recommend it.
In 1:1 gaming with a friend the emotional intensity is toned down a bit and adult themes tend to get much less of a spotlight. Still, you have an unique opportunity to tailor the game to fit the desires of this one player and can have a number of experiences that just aren't possible in a group. Assuming leadership or noble positions in society tend to be easier with a 1:1 session. Likewise, playing someone outside the law and society is also easier with a 1:1 session. So take advantage of the opportunity.
Comment: I think roleplaying with a spouse is one of those forms of roleplaying that largely goes unrecognized in the hobby. I know mine goes from the traditional with dice and everything to more informal negotiation based. All are pretty intense.
Answer: I have run a few one GM, one player games and they are really intense, almost tiring for the player especially.  I found most players were pretty well cooked after two or three hours of that kind of play.
I like the character to be injected into a situation where there are lots of NPC's to interact with...a city filled with a colorful criminal underworld, a complicated tribe living under a monster-haunted mountain, etc.
As with most games, I want a prominent situation, something that really sends the campaign off and running quickly.
Choosing the game becomes more important and in some ways easier.  You only have two people to talk it over with, so you can choose a game that you both really love and that fits one-on-one play.
I have found this kind of play really rewarding.  It almost feels like we get a year's worth of gaming done in a month's worth of sessions.
Answer: My biggest worry and adaptation is that I scale back the NPCs and hirelings. I don't want them to overshadow my solo player. I ask a lot of questions, I'll give feedback more on decisions and in general, I try to fill the "party" role of being an advisor/sounding board without taking over the game. It's tough.
Answer: When DMing for one person, I do take a pretty different approach.  There's no worry of keeping loot balanced for the entire party, it's  a lot easier to tailor the story specifically to the single player, and perhaps use (or abuse) elements of their background.  It's very easy to bring up repercussions for their previous actions because you don't have to be worried about disturbing the entire party cause one person lets their roguish tendencies get the better of them.  It is a lot more personal, but it can lead to some more involved stories then trying to sandbox play a party of five in my experience.
When I run a personal game, it's heavily dependent on who the player is.  In most cases, I can only find time to roleplay with one particular friend and he's not the best with puzzles or hints, so, in tailoring games for him, I look to video games for plot lines, things he'll sink his teeth into right away.  For other friends, I try to make them investigate more, learn more about the world I have envisioned for them to explore.  Since it's only a single player, it works a lot like Oblivion or other RPGs where they can create whatever story they want in the long run.
Answer: I find that my biggest problem in a 1-on-1 is maintaining my interest, followed closely by having something resembling a plot. I tend to run "sandbox" style, and cue off my players. My most comfortable group size as a GM is 5-7 players; 2-3 is not easy.
My coping method is to use moderately abstracted systems (GW Judge Dredd, Pendragon, Burning Wheel, DL5A, Saga Marvel or Advanced Marvel), and in media res setups, and most of those have great random stuff tables or systems. I also make use of all the random tools provided (59D Search charts for JD, random holding events in Pendragon, random card flips for inspiration in DL5A or Saga Marvel, the random crime charts in MSH) to provide hooks for both myself and the player to grasp on to.
Burning Wheel is actually quite easy to sandbox for one player, tho'; it's so player focused already, and the use of beliefs, instincts and traits points you to where the player wants you to hit his/her character, that you can much more easily keep momentum up.
More often, however, I just break out the board games when I'm down to one player.


Facebook last login

Question: I think somebody logged into my Facebook account. Is there any way for me to find the last login IP address or the location from where this occurred?
Answer: You can configure Facebook to always ask you to register the device whenever you log in to a new location. It then shows a log of where you have recently logged in from. Note that when you log in it asks you to choose the location name yourself, so it's possible that an attacker could get a lucky guess as to what you would set it to yourself, but this can help determine if people might be accessing your account without your permission.
To enable this setting, click on the Account dropdown in the upper right, then click Account Settings. Then click "manage" next to the Security section. There you can enable tracking and see where you've logged in from and when.

Since I originally posted this answer, the tool has been updated, and now shows the location you last logged in from, based on GeoIP. If you hover over the estimated location, it will tell you the IP associated with that login. It will also tell you what type of device you were logged in from, for example, chrome on Windows 7. You can terminate any other sessions which may be unauthorized activity.
Comment: I use this as a safety feature, and I know from experience that Facebook usually sends these notification emails **right away**, so that gives you a pretty close time of when someone logged in...
Comment: Even though it claims to show recent account activity, the new Account Activity section unfortunately does not seem to show any session that has logged out.
Comment: Hm, that is indeed unfortunate. If you configure the logging as I mentioned in the first part of my post, it will show you previous logins even after the session is terminated; however, it will not show you the IP as you pointed out.
Answer: Actually, we can see the IP address, browser client type, time date, and location of our last login
Here is what I found:

Login to Facebook and click on "Account" dropdown menu on the top right corner of your screen. Click on "Account Settings".

You will be taken to the Facebook "My account" page, where you will a number of tabs, each account for settings for different sections of Facebook. Click on Settings tab.

Find the "Account Security tab "under settings, you will have the account activity details listed under "Most Recent Activity"

You can find the last accessed time, location and the device from where your account has been accessed. You can even enable SMS or email notifications whenever your account is accessed from a new computer or mobile device, just select "On" radio button under "Login Notifications" and click Save button.
Answer: You can get a list of the sessions that are currently logged in to your account.  From the Account menu in the upper right corner choose Account Settings, then click the Account Security change link.  This shows the current logins, including IP address if you hover over the location, and will even allow you to log out other sessions.  However, if the other session has logged out then it does not appear.

Also under Account Security you can turn on notifications if a new computer or mobile device logs in to your account, but that won't help with prior logins.
If there is activity from an unexpected (far away?) location, Facebook does track that and may ask you to answer some questions to confirm your identity.

Facebook last login


Does having images in an article based website is more likely to do good in seo or without images?

Question: Is an article-based website more likely to do good in seo with or without images?
What are the benefits of having images in terms of seo?
Would stackoverflow sites perform better if there were images in every post?
Answer: Having images in a web page is not a ranking factor for the page they are in. However, the page the images are in is a ranking factor for image searches.
Answer: Not directly. However, there may be marginal benefits to including images to something that already has good content. For what it's worth, SEOmoz has suggested that articles with images tend to get more of a response from users that translates into more natural links to those articles, compared to articles without images.
So if images on a page increase user engagement and lead to more links to that page, that could indirectly increase your SEO even though the images on their own don't make Google or Bing like them more.
Of course, this assumes that images will increase user engagement, which I would consider generally likely to be true - if the images are good - but it is not a magic bullet that will rescue poor content or any number of other issues the site may have.
Comment: This is what I was looking for - "Of course, this assumes that images will increase user engagement" and thus will increase users trust that the websites have taken a step further to provide more information visually. :)
Answer: Having a mixture of text and images vs. having only text doesn't appear to make any difference with ranking based on what I've observed.
Having just images without any descriptive text or tags will generally make a page perform worse in search results unless it's linked to heavily with a particular anchor text.
There are some 'gurus' right now who are suggesting that the recent Panda updates value pages with graphical content over those without. Perhaps that's what you've heard. I disagree with this generalization although it's likely that Google is using certain analysis techniques to determine, graphically, the level of above-the-fold advertising on a page. Would they extend this to certain keywords? Possibly. After all, you would expect a high quality blog post about some reality show starlet to have photos. OTOH, you wouldn't expect a scholarly paper on a Shakespeare play or Chinese rice production to have much in the way of graphical content.


Exercises for the bottom/seat/buttocks area

Question: I am over weight (1.85m/6 ft 1" and 105 kgs/231 oz). I started working out 8 months ago and I have lost 25kgs/55 pounds. Over the last 2 months I am focusing on muscle exercises as much as cardio and aerobic ones. My question is this: What exercises would you suggest for the upper bottom/seat/buttocks area. I am doing squats. But apart from that, are there any additional exercises that can help tone that area?
Comment: You've gotten past the hardest part, losing the initial weight. 80 kilos at 6'1" is a pretty decent weight, so at this point if you want to start building muscle, I'd look at a program like Stronglifts 5x5, so that you get a complete body workout and don't play "hit or miss".
Comment: What kind of squats? Front squats? Back squats? How deep are they? Are you also doing deadlifts?
Comment: I am only doing back squats right now and they are pretty deep. i lift about 70 kg in the back squats (that includes the weight of the bar.) Are you suggesting front squats and dead lifts  as well ?
Comment: can you elaborate on "hit or miss". and FYI: I am 105 kgs after losing the 25 kgs. I was initially 131 kgs :) so I still have a very long way to go :)
Comment: What I mean, is that you should be working your whole body, not just focusing on the butt area. One, you can't "spot reduce", and two, if you focus on one area that will tend to get overdeveloped compared to the rest of the body. A routine that incorporates the entire body will ensure balanced development, and increased muscle mass will help increase your metabolic needs.
Answer: Back squats are a great start, but I would also suggest doing front squats because it's feasible to go much deeper with them, and going very deep (ass to calves) with a front squat uses your hamstrings more than the back squat to just below parallel. The deadlift works your lower back more, so by adding both front squats and deadlifts you're approaching the butt area from both sides.
Also, the deadlift and front squat are quite good for a lot of other muscles, so you'll be ending up in better shape overall. There might be some isolation exercises you could do, but I prefer to see what benefits can be achieved from compound exercises, and only resort to isolation exercises if absolutely necessary - I like to spend as little time working out as possible.
If you're doing multiple work sets of back squats now, I would recommend against suddenly throwing on an equal number of sets for the front squat and the deadlift. If, for example, you're doing 4 sets now, cut it down to 2, so you're doing 6 sets total for the 3 lifts.
Answer: The website ExRx (http://www.exrx.net) has a long list of exercises and descriptions, which you can sort by muscle group. Here's there list of exercises that work the butt (gluteus maximus): http://exrx.net/Lists/ExList/HipsWt.html#anchor169231
Doing anything on that list should help work that area.
Answer: Stiff-leg deadlifts, that will work your butt lots.
There are many different exercises, but sticking to the basics is what usually works:

Back squats
Stiff-leg deadlifts
Answer: Squats, lunges, and deadlifts are all great at targeting the buttock (if done right).
"Doing them right" entails:
1) Proper warmup and activation
2) Proper form
Most people have "sleepy butts" (from sitting all day) and need to activate their glutes before they can use them. If they don't do this and lack the proper activation, other muscles (like hamstrings and quads) will simply take over the movement. Before we do glute activation (such as this), however, we need loosen up our hips (with an exercise such as this)
With proper activation, your form should be immediately cleaned up. But if you have any doubt, I suggest you check out Bret Contrera's videos.
Answer: When you ask about "toning" one area, it sounds to me like you are really talking about losing fat from that one area.  If that is the case, the answer is that you cannot as stated by the answers to this question: Is working out localized muscle going to help burn fat in that area more than building up overall muscle mass?
So the best you can do is to continue to lose weight and your body will decide which places it will remove the fat from. Sorry for the bad news...


Is making all your desktop content available the same as making all the functionally available?

Question: I was wondering if the argument for providing all the content from your desktop site on your mobile site includes making all the functionality and features also available?
Comment: This would depend on how you approach the project though. Trying to convert an existing desktop site into one that works on a mobile would cause you more problems than starting the whole development with both mobile *and* desktop in mind from the outset.
Comment: There usually isn't argument that you smash all of your desktop web site on to a separate mobiles site.
Answer: This is a difficult one to answer but there quite a few myths out there. For example the previous answer says...
"For example, you may want people to use the mobile site to view all the products, but not necessarily to purchase or rate/review the products."
This is based upon the idea that people browse products but don't go through the whole checkout process on a mobile. Having built a mobile website for a retail store the evidence was that people DID want to buy on their mobile, providing it was easy enough. And even for those that went thought the whole process there was significant sales to mean the functionality should stay in.
It is true that different modes of activity are more prevalent but many users are frustrated that the mobile version of the site is better designed but often misses out key functionality - for example buying on an ecommerce site.
A well thought through responsive site can deliver on the needs of all the users but there are still pluses and minuses to that approach. Also keep in mind mobile devices no longer mean a mobile phone used on a train, for example, but also includes someone on their ipad in a cafe or on their notepad sized device at home.
Giving everything to everyone and providing a clear, simple and effective user experience should be your goal. Redesigning for other devices will nearly always bring up better ways of doing things that can be reincorporated with the main site. Compared ebay's mobile offerings and their main site and you can see many ideas that should be on the main site - such as the ease of accessing watch-lists.
Splitting up functionality is often done for ease of building and getting things out there rather than for user experience reasons.
Answer: Yes and No.
There is a a lot of analysis you would need to do before you move everything from your desktop site to mobile site.
The internet of things is moving towards Mobile/Tablets etc. Talking a little into the premise of the argument presented in your question, that argument is brought up because the screen size of the mobile is small compared to the desktop and hence it is said that even though the design is different (because of difference is size of screen/resolution), the content should be the same.
That being said, for website's that provide functionality/features- you never know what features a customer might want to use from his mobile. For example, a desktop website might allow me to view a preview of each item in a list when I hover my mouse over it. This functionality obviously cannot be the same in mobile, however I might want to use this feature in the mobile website, probably by some other mechanism.
The idea here is to reform your mobile design website while keeping the content and functionality same. The mechanism to provide that content and functionality can be poles apart, however it just shouldn't compromise on your user experience. THAT is what a great mobile site design.
Also, if you think that some content is irrelevant for the mobile website, double check it. Use google analytics or any other such software to make sure that your desktop site doesn't get much hits on that page/feature. Because IF they do, then you can't ignore the possibility of them being wanted to be accessed on a mobile device as well.
In summary, yes the functionality and features are important to be replicated in the mobile site. No, they don't need to be (rather they shouldn't be) in the same design framework as the desktop site.
Check out Flickr's mobile website. They do an awesome job of providing features and functionality available on their desktop website and replicating it to their mobile website. Not that I fully support all of their design choices, but they are definitely in the right direction.
Answer: If the site is designed well enough, then there is a good separation of the content from the functionality of the website and therefore it may make sense to not include all the functionality and features even if you make all the content available. For example, you may want people to use the mobile site to view all the products, but not necessarily to purchase or rate/review the products.
In designing for both desktop and mobile, it is very important to consider consumer behaviour and your customer experience. If you provide users with the convenience of a mobile site but a suboptimal experience, it might detract from the rest of your website/brand/image. There are various strategies for responsive design if you are building a website from the ground up, but it does require more consideration about the content of your website as well as the users.
Comment: What if the people using the mobile site actually *do* want to purchase / review products?
Comment: I'm interested in your comment that if a site is well designed then content and functionality are separated. In many e commerce sites I've been working on to big a separation leads to a poor experience and lower sales. Do you have any examples to illustrate what you mean?
Comment: What I am referring to is the separation of model/view/control, or model+view/control for software applications. This approach allows the way people access the content (and interaction with it) to be separated in the design, so it becomes a matter of applying different strategies for display screen space and the type of interactions allowed (basically the difference between desktop and mobile). I find that 'responsive' websites like Boston Global tend to have very homogeneous content, so it makes sense to apply a design that caters for different devices.
Comment: I'm not sure I'd ever suggest NOT having the option for customers to give you money.
Answer: No and no. Content != Functionality.
In this case not even all functionality is applicable to both platforms. For example, a desktop site might benefit from keyboard shortcuts or a detailed navigation sidebar which are not applicable on a mobile device. Similarly, a mobile device might incorporate location awareness, "get directions", or the ability to place a call instantly which may not be appropriate on a desktop site.
So not only is content categorically different than functionality, you may need to offer functionality on the mobile version that doesn't exist on the desktop version.


Why are updates downloading so slow?

Question: All other connection speeds are normal, average download speed is about 2mbps but my updates are lucky to get to 100kbps. Updates and this website are the only things running any ideas what the problem could be?
Comment: Thats what I did and my computer wont start! I am in the middle of retrieving my old files and then fresh installing ubuntu.
Comment: You're certain you cancelled during "Getting new packages" and no other phase, such as "Installing the upgrades"?
Answer: It might be your local mirror being slow from the 12.04 attention. You might want to switch mirrors temporarily:

How can I get apt to use a mirror close to me, or choose a faster mirror?
How do I change which mirror I get updates and software from?
Comment: I have had local mirrors slow down for a number of reasons.  In addition to external factors, there is an apt option which rate limits downloads speed.  You may want to check if Acquire::http::Dl-Limit has been set.
Answer: Been using ubuntu a long time now and can tell you its the mirror. Back in the day the canadian mirrors were so slow it was almost impossible to install (with download updates while installing option). So most of us just got in the habit of selecting "New York" as our time zone during install so that it would default to us.archive.... (the american faster mirror at the time which is in same time zone so no harm no foul). Now days though I have noticed the same problems you are describing. During a week day you will be lucky to get 100K/s. On the weekend around 3am it seems to get up around 800K/s (as fast as my modem goes so might be faster for others). So what I did to test is open up the sources and change the country code from "us.archive...." to "ca.archive....". The first thing it did was educate me that the canadian mirrors have been upgraded and fly pretty good now (during the afore mentioned weekend time). Alas it still suffers during the week days, though in my experience is still faster then the US servers (around 100-200 K/s). Just keep changing the mirror until you find one that works. I havn't tested any but "us" and "ca" so I cannot offer any insight there.
Edit sources file: sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list
Answer: Apart from what Jorge suggested (about choosing best servers), you can actually remove some extra third-party repositories (like launchpad ones which you might have installed for some extra themes etc) to make the process a LOT faster.
You can read about it here: How to remove a repository?
Let's say you want to download and install some extra plugin - say Gmail video chat one. Having just that repository selected in this list, before you do a
sudo apt-get update

will make it drastically fast because you don't have to download all other unnecessary lists.
This list file is kinda big one (about 24 MB minimum -for default packages - and removing unwanted repositories will save you say one minute or something.). You can read about this more here: the size of apt-get update lists is too big
At the same place (where you select these repositories), you can "Select best server" to make download as fast as possible. Sometimes, when mirrors near you go down, this will automatically select the best server at that time. You can read the second answer here: How can I get apt to use a mirror close to me, or choose a faster mirror?
All those settings are under "Update Manager", so take a look at it, and happy tweaking!
Answer: I just read that apt-fast is able to make the download faster than apt-get using multiple connections by using aria2 as the default download manager.
Here is the link to the article.
Comment: Welcome to Ask Ubuntu!  Could you [edit] your answer and provide more information in the answer instead of just linking off-site? (copy-paste the Ubuntu instructions)

Why are updates downloading so slow?


Will my reputation score decrease if I'm idle for too long?

Question: When (theoretically only, of course) being away too long from SO, will my reputation score decrease some day due to the fact of being idle/away for too long?
Answer: No. However, because all active members continue to gain reputation, your score's relative value will decrease   over time.
Answer: To complement David's answer, there might be some decrease in rep due to deleted accounts or deleted/moved questions in which you have answers, but there is no time-dependent reduction. All rep count is based on your total activity, not the time you've been active.
Note that this rep reduction could very well be offset by upvotes in your standing questions and answers.
Comment: +1, your rep can change...but not from doing nothing
Answer: As someone who did what you describe, for unavoidable health reasons, my experience is that reputation doesn't noticeably decline.
In fact, if you've answered enough questions, it might slowly creep up as people discover your good answers and vote them up.
(The other side of the coin is that you might be voted down for hastily composed answers)
Ideally, it should be possible to reach a critical mass of answers which can sustain your reputation score without further effort.
Answer: No...I presume at some point in the far future your account might be deactivated perhaps...but you do not lose reputation over time through in-activity
Answer: Your reputation doesn't go down on it's own, except for some odd circumstances - like if you've somehow gained a lot of rep through duplicate questions that eventually get deleted.
On the contrary if you have a good base (maybe the low thousands) you'll probably see your rep go up. I think I average about 5 rep a day worth of "interest" on the answers I've already "deposited". And a lot of it is from the same questions - answer a question that is asked a lot and you'll get repeated hits from other SO users coming to your solution and voting it up.
Given that I (~5000 rep) already earn ~5 rep/day in interest (0.1%), I have to wonder what some of the top users get. Those in the 200K reputation range could well be getting almost all of their 200 rep a day just from old answers.
Comment: The Jon Skeet factor :-)


Logitech Wireless Keyboard & mouse not working after upgrade to 12.04?

Question: I upgraded my Dell Dimension 9200C to 12.04 Precise Pangolin with no issues, I ran it fine for a night but when I went back in a couple days later my Logitech Wireless Keyboard K350 and M510 mouse weren't active when booted.  I can boot into an older version from the main the boot screen the mouse and keyboard work, but the network stack is gone.  It says the networking manager on this version is not compatible.  I'm scratching my head, it isn't the mouse and keyboard, they work fine on my dual boot, and they load fine in Knoppix.  They did work fine on 12.04 for 1 night.  Open to suggestions before I re-install completely.
Answer: I had the same problem; still do. But my solution now (after other failed ones) is to de-port and then re-port the two USB receivers after the initial daily boot up; then both the wireless mouse and keyboard work fine. A very minor nuisance at worst.
Hope this is helpful to someone.
Answer: I do have similar problems. It works for a couple of minutes and then fails in most cases no matter  what. Have you check that bug?
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/991932


What could be causing my toilet to back up?

Question: I live in a mobile home and my guest toilet continues to back up. When you flush it the water level will rise to the bowl rim and slowly go back to normal. I have taken the toilet off of the floor and cleaned it out, replaced the wax ring, and cleaned the gas vent that goes to the roof. I have also had the septic pumped as a last resort but it doesnt make any sense that it continues to back up. My other toilet doesnt do it and the guest toilet just started to do it out of the blue. Does anyone have any other ideas?
Comment: There could be something stuck in the trap. Tooth brushes can get really lodged in there
Comment: Toilet ducks are good culprits too! Very hard to see sometimes in the trap also
Answer: It sounds like something is in the trap of the toilet. To be positive, you can run a camera through it, or alternatively, remove the toilet and pour a large bucket (larger than a flush) of water down the exposed drain - if it drains quickly and does not backup, you know the issue is with the toilet.  If it backs up then you know the issue is with the drain (or vent possibly)
If the drain is the problem then the best bet is to have a plumber come run a camera down it to determine where the problem is (from the question you said you "cleared" it, I assume this means running an snake/auger down it)  It could be an object is stuck, or the drain could be collapsed, etc.
If it is the toilet then you need to and remove whatever is stuck in the trap. Sometimes objects like toothbrushes can get really stuck and the only option is to replace the toilet.


Crockpot recipe when converting temperature from low to high?

Question: I have a crockpot recipe for burritos, located here, that I really want to make. It says to cook the mixture on low heat for 6-10 hours but that is too long/short. I really want to convert the recipe to a high heat so I can cook it quicker. Do you think it is possible to cook this on high? If so would the recipe itself change and how (more/less water required)? How long should I cook it on high?
Answer: You can probably get away with high heat, but you need to watch the liquid content. Since you're not cooking something that is liquid and can circulate to heat evenly, you risk burning the food or having it dry out.
I can't see any reason this needs to cook for such a long time. Ground beef is finely divided, so cooking for extended times won't benefit it that much. I'd say bring it to a boil either on high in the crock pot or on the stove, then transfer to the crockpot for 2+ hours (as long as you have).
Answer: At high you can cook this for 3 hours. For food safety the key is to get over 140F and up to 160 for ground beef. In my experience with the slow cooker I use, what I recommend will work; but there is variation with slow cookers.
And so you have a reference, according to About.com, One hour on HIGH is equal to two hours on LOW.
Link to source on About.com


Dell Latitude E6420 multiple-monitors not working

Question: Has anybody managed to use a Dell Latitude E6420 with Ubuntu 11.10 64bit installed on it with dual monitors? I could not get it working. I have the notebook plugged into the docking station with two monitors attached (one via VGA one via DVI). The same setup works pretty well with Windows 7. Any thoughts?
Answer: I have this working, although it's worth noting that I have the Intel integrated graphics. If I boot with the laptop docked, I get the login screen replicated on both monitors, although not at the correct resolution. Once I log in, nine times out of ten, the left-hand DVI monitor goes blank but the right-hand VGA monitor is fine and at the correct resolution.
The only way I've found of waking up the left-hand monitor is to go to Displays and temporarily disable the left-hand monitor; specifically, I disable it and then click the "restore previous settings" button. Because the Displays window is necessarily on the right-hand monitor, when dropping to a single monitor, it gets moved one virtual desktop to the right -- that took a while to discover!
Aside from this, a suspend-undock-wake sequence completely and irretrievably corrupts the display on the laptop screen.


There is a crackling sound each time I mute or unmute the sound

Question: Sound otherwise is fine but there is a crackling sound when I mute or unmute the sound, also when a video player stops or starts playing a movie, or when any application using sound stops or starts - there is always this annoying crackling sound, how do I fix it?
Answer: There is something in your audio chain that is incorrectly (de)activated when sounds starts or stops, you should try to reinstall the audio related drivers as well as programs like ALSA. When such options don't help, use this page as a troubleshoot guide.
I've recently fixed such a problem on Windows, so it should be fixable in a similar way on Ubuntu.


What is $\frac{d}{dx}\left(\frac{dx}{dt}\right)$?

Question: This question was inspired by the Lagrange equation, $\frac{\partial L}{\partial q} - \frac{d}{dt}\frac{\partial L}{\partial \dot{q}} = 0$. What happens if the partial derivatives are replaced by total derivatives, leading to a situation where a function's derivative with respect to one variable is differentiated by the original function?
Answer: Write $$\frac{d}{dx}\left(\frac{dx}{dt}\right)=\frac{d}{dx}\left(\frac{1}{\frac{dt}{dx}}\right)$$ and use the chain rule.  $$\frac{d}{dx}\left(\frac{dx}{dt}\right)=\left(\frac{-1}{(\frac{dt}{dx})^2}\right)\frac{d^2t}{dx^2}=-\left (\frac{dx}{dt}\right )^2\frac{d^2t}{dx^2}$$
Answer: Alternatively, the chain rule $\frac{dy}{dx} = \frac{dy}{dt}\frac{dt}{dx}$ gives $$\frac{d}{dx}(\frac{dx}{dt}) = \frac{d}{dt}(\frac{dx}{dt})\frac{dt}{dx} = \frac{d^2x}{dt^2}\frac{dt}{dx}.$$
Of course, this is the same as Ross' answer above.  That is, we have the identity $$-\left(\frac{dx}{dt}\right)^2\frac{d^2t}{dx^2} = \frac{d^2x}{dt^2}\frac{dt}{dx},$$
which follows from differentiating the equation $\frac{dx}{dt}\frac{dt}{dx} = 1$ with respect to $t$.
Answer: $\frac{\partial L}{\partial \dot{q}}$ may be understood as the generalized momentum of the system (e.g. $\frac{d}{dv}\left(\frac{1}{2}mv^2\right) = mv$, the derivative of kinetic energy with respect to velocity is momentum).  Then $\frac{d}{dt}\frac{\partial L}{\partial \dot{q}}$ is the time derivative of the generalized momentum.  Likewise the $\frac{\partial L}{\partial q}$ term behaves like a generalized force. This begins to look like Newton's second law, but for generalized coordinates.


So I don't know if my primary is done

Question: I started primary 5 days ago. On the second day it had a healthy yeast cake on top. Day three it began to fall and yesterday, so day 4, it went all the way down. The temp is at 70 degrees and is an ale. The airlock stills bubbles but about once every thirty seconds to a minute. I want to keep it in for at least a week, but after day 7 should I move to secondary fermentation?
Comment: Have you taken any hydrometer samples?
Answer: Use a hydrometer and take a reading at the same time every day for the next three days. If the reading is the same each time, then fermentation should be done.
Airlocks aren't really a great indicator as far as determining when fermentation is finished, so don't rely entirely on that. Also, Sometimes you may not see much krausen during fermentation, other times it will explode!
The beer will tell you when it's done. I used to let my beer ferment for 5-7 days, but I've got a lemon/citrus wine that has been fermenting for 3 weeks now. If you bottle too soon you'll have bombs!
Answer: Unless your recipe calls for lots of dry hopping or the addition of fruit, you probably don't really need to do a secondary at all. Pitch yeast, let it rip, wait 3 weeks, then bottle. If the fermention kicks off within the first 24 hours and looks strong, then don't even bother checking gravity for the first 2 weeks (unless you have a strong drop in temp during fermentation, in which case the yeast might stall out).
The old lore of "1-2-3" (1 week primary, 2 week secondary, 3 weeks to condition) is pretty out dated. The top level gurus of homebrewing, and the yeast companies themselves, are more and more recommending AGAINST secondaries unless you have a good reason to do so. Yeast health and ingredient quality have improved greatly since the surge of homebrewing some years back, so you don't have to worry about autolysis and such within 'normal' brewing conditions.
Answer: Temperature can definitely affect fermentation.  If yeast gets too hot it can die, and if too cold can become inactive.  70 degrees should be in the "okay" range for most ales. While airlocks aren't the best way to tell if your beer is done fermenting, if it is bubbling (even slowly) it is still fermenting.
Secondary fermentation is primarily for clarifying or dry-hopping (hops or other flavors).  That really depends on what you want done. You might even notice that moving to a secondary tank wakes up some of the inactive yeast and will ferment a little more.
If you start looking at Cloning recipes you will find out that some brews tell you to wait MONTHS in order to let your beer age a little.
As an important aside, the longer you leave your beer the more the yeast re-absorbs some of the bi-products that can happen during the fermentation process.  This will only improve the taste of your beer.
Comment: Good information, but airlock bubbling does not necessarily mean it's still fermenting. It could just as easily be CO2 coming out of solution as the beer changes temperature.
Comment: Point taken.  I meant bubbling slowly and consistently, but you are right.

So I don't know if my primary is done


2011 ford focus ses changing tires

Question: I ahve a 2011 ford focus and trying to change my back rear tires which are low profile sport tires on right now to my winter tires. and the sport tires are not coming off on the back. help?
Comment: Do you mean the tyres aren't coming off the wheel, or the wheels aren't coming off the hub?
Answer: My first thought is I hope you are changing all four tires, not just the rears. The most common cause is corrosion between the wheel and the hub. It is more of an issue when alloy wheels are mounted to steel hubs. This sets up a condition called galvanic corrosion.Apply a liberal dose of penatrating oil (PB Blaster is my personal favorite) If you loosen the lug nuts several turns and rock the car forward and backwards. Something in the area of 3-4 mph forward then a quick stab on the brakes, 3-4 mph backwards then a quick stab of the brakes. The idea is to use the enertia of the car to break the wheel loose. Avoid usung a mallet on the wheel as you could damage the wheel or the tire. Once the wheel gets loose apply some Never-Seize to the hub and the inside of the wheel. This will prevent them from locking together next year.

2011 ford focus ses changing tires


What is a camera app for the iPod touch geared towards filming video?

Question: I know that there are several camera apps for iOS, but what's a good one for the iPod Touch? More specifically, I'm looking for an app for taking good video.
Comment: How would you define "good", especially compared to the builtin Photo/Capture app?
Comment: I am looking for an app that is geared more towards taking video. More features for taking video...
Answer: When I need more control over the video I'm recording I use Canopy Camera Tools. The Canopy app lets you choose a separate focus and exposure point - unlike the stock Camera app. It also lets you lock the white balance once you found a good exposure. Those features are also available when you want to take a picture.
You can also make time-lapse video's with Canopy.
I'm sure there are alternatives to Canopy but this is the app I use.
There are also apps that - unlike the stock Camera app - let you zoom while you're recording a video but since any zooming is achieved through digital zoom and not optical zoom they will degrade the quality of the video.
Answer: Capture is handy. Launching the app starts recording and quitting the app stops recording. Admittedly less useful now that iOS 5 has the camera shortcut on the launch screen, but it's nice for when you want to launch directly into video recording mode.


The Plancherel Formula for SL2

Question: What are the important questions to start to study about Plancherel Formula for SL2?  And what is the relation this topic and the Arthur's paper, "On some problems suggested by the trace formula (1984)" Can anyone suggest any source shows this relation?
Answer: Another standard reference for the Plancherel formula is the book: $SL_2(\mathbb{R})$, Addison-Wesley, 1974; of course $SL$ stands for Serge Lang.
The Plancherel formula and the Selberg trace formula have in common that a trace is computed in two ways. But they deal with different representations of $G$. For $G$ a suitable locally compact group (type I, unimodular, separable), and $f\in C_c(G)$, the Plancherel formula is $f(e)=\int_{\hat{G}}Tr\pi(f)\;d\mu(\pi)$, where $\mu$ is the Plancherel measure on the dual $\hat{G}$; and the difficulty is, in concrete examples, to describe $\hat{G}$ and $\mu$ explicitly (or at least to describe explicitly the support of $\mu$, called the tempered dual).
For the Selberg trace formula, I found the Wikipedia article fairly readable:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selberg_trace_formula
Answer: I can't speak to the second question, but a canonical source on Plancherel for $SL(2)$ is
An Introduction to Harmonic Analysis on Semisimple Lie Groups
V.S. Varadarajan

The Plancherel Formula for SL2


Echad Vachamishim Umeya - mi yodeya?

Question: Who knows one hundred fifty-one?
Please cite/link your sources, if possible. At some point at least twenty-four hours from now, I will:

Upvote all interesting answers.

Accept the best answer.

Go on to the next number.
Answer: On 8 Adar the Jews of Barbados were granted permission to take an oath on the Old Testament, 1674. This was a first for the New World. 151 years later, also on 8 Adar, Jews of Maryland were allowed to take a non-Christian oath. A declaration of belief in Reward and Punishment in the World to Come was part of their oath.
Adar (Orthodox Union)
Answer: Yaakov Avinu finished working for Rachel 7 years after he married her. He was 84 when he got married + 7 = 91
Yitzchak was 60 years older than Yaakov - so Yitchok was 151 when yaakov finished working for Rachel.
Answer: The Jews sinned during the days of the shof'tim for 151 years. Source: parenthetical remark printed in Rashi to Y'chezkel 4:5. To fit the tune, 151 were the sin-years of the judges, I suppose.
Answer: According to various Kabbalistic sources going back to the Arizal, one who becomes angry should fast 151 fasts in atonement (this being the gematria of כעס plus one for the overall word (כולל)). This number is also associated with the root קנא, "to be jealous," as in the description of Pinchas' zealousness for G-d's honor during the affair at Shittim.
Answer: ותרא את התבה בתוך הסוף = 151

Echad Vachamishim Umeya - mi yodeya?


Is it better to use worker drone/scv/probe to activate a Xel'Naga Tower or an army unit?

Question: If you decide to activate a Xel'Naga Tower, is it better to use a single worker, or a single army unit?
Comment: My gut feeling is this is race dependant. Got any particular race in mind?
Comment: I don't believe there is one true answer to this question. But when you have a standing army as Zerg use a zergling, as terran use a marine, as protoss use a zealot. Doesn't really matter as long as you got that vision.
Answer: A basic soldier unit is better than a worker, both for ramp scouting, tower holding, or simple patrolling. Early to midgame, you should be building workers as fast as you can, as they are the life-force of your army, and pretty much every strategy can be traced back to them (harass to decrease enemy workers, push to exploit an early expand lest the increase in enemy workers overwhelms you economically, etc). Army units are secondary and much more disposable, not to mention can defend the tower, as well as sneak a kill against unattended or weaker scouts (depends on the matchup). The listed cost of a worker is 50; unless you have maxed your minerals, which happens much after the struggle for towers, merely the time it takes for the worker to get to the tower would've netted you at around 50 more minerals if that worker had been mining instead. Add in the time spent there, and suddenly losing 2 or 3 50-mineral units to get a tower sounds like a trifle compared to losing a worker for the same purpose.
You need all the workers you can get. If your base isn't producing workers for even a second (time spent upgrading human bases excluded of course), or if you're sacrificing any of them before you have 30 on every base and 2-3 bases, you're probably doing something wrong. Even for the Zerg, who use the same queue for both warriors and workers, you're better off with the cheaper and more powerful zergling.
To illustrate, check this chart*, which states that a single worker earns you ~60 minerals per minute. Consider the average time spent on a tower, and remember that you'll have missed on enough money to expand as soon as your worker spends 5 minutes on the tower (travel time included):

*chart source is http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=321242
Comment: wow impressive, you earned my +1
Answer: As this is more of an opinionated question i shall give my experienced answer. Having any/all of the Xel'Naga Towers on a map is very important in keeping map control, map control is incredibly important when it comes to controlling/spying your opponents movements.
It is much more efficient to control a Xel'Nage Tower then to keep a small force of fast moving units constantly scouting the area. Although doing both will ensure your opponent isnt trying anything sneaky. I personally will send a Marine(of course a zealot or Zergling will work in substitute), as this allows a little defense on these strategic points of the map. I have watched as one of my marines has destroyed a couple units of a force moving across the map unattended, as well as unattended scouts.
Now obviously controlling these Xel'Naga Towers gives you a decent advantage over your opponent in concerns of scouting. Keeping this in mind this should not be your only methods of scouting, as your enemy can still surprise you and they often will try to. The only time I will use a worker to control a Xel'Nage Tower is when i am setting him aside for a secondary scouting mission close by.
Answer: Imho I prefer always go with a soldier rather than a drone.
The reason for this is that many players go with a drone so your soldier will kill it and remain having control of tower. Chances are that enemy player will send drone and forget about it, specially in 4vs4


Is it worth supporting iOS 3.x or iPhone 3G devices anymore when developing a game?

Question: Is it still worth it for a game developer to try and support older devices: iPhone 3G and earlier or to support older OS: iOS 3.x and earlier?
Or is it recommended to make use of OpenGL ES 2.0 supported be the iPhone 3GS and above?
Do you know what percentage of users still use those earlier version of devices/operating systems?
Comment: [This](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:IPhone_sales_per_quarter_simple.svg) is the only thing I've found so far that may help. but doesn't really seem to help, so I'm looking for much better answers.
Comment: Actually, now the 3Gs is free with a new contract.
Comment: This question is interesting but kinda localized. It might be obsolete in just a few months (assuming Apple decides to dump 3.x)...
Comment: Should be noted that the 'free' iPhone version is the 3G...
Comment: AFAIK the 3GS supports up to iOS5 and 3G up to iOS 4.2, so there's actually still no need to support iOS 3.x (but the 3GS device should be supported as it may gain popularity now)
Comment: The 3GS is still a large percentage of the market; the good news is that it's the first iPhone with OpenGL ES 2 support, the lack of which is the primary difficulty in targeting the 3G with new games.
Answer: No.
When iOS 4 was introduced, the app store introduced a new rule: "You can't upload binaries which deploy for iOS 2.x". This sent a clear message that Apple doesn't want to have users nor developers trailing in firmware updates. Since today (depending on where you live on the globe) Apple is expected to announce iOS 5, the app store will likely disallow uploading binaries which can be deployed on 3.x.
But this is speculation. Think better that by the time you finish your game iOS 3.x devices will likely not be in use any more, or represent such a fraction of the whole market that it is economically not sensible to develop for them. There are similar questions/answers here with more information and links to statistics.
UPDATE: Well, my speculation was wrong. Apple has not banned 3.x development, the latest Xcode still allows deployment of 3.x and I haven't seen any new notes about deployment versions when uploading to itunes connect, so at least I will try to keep providing 3.x compatibility for the apps I have which support it. As a reminder, only original iphones and 1st generation ipod touches are unable to upgrade to 4.x.
UPDATE 2013: Looks like Apple dislikes old hardware, the recent Xcode versions don't work on lesser than Mountain Lion machines and they don't support building binaries for armv6, meaning devices which can't upgrade to iOS 4.x. It is still possible to download Xcode 4.4 manually from Apple's developer file section, the last supporting 1st generation devices. Grab it while it lasts if you want to support old hardware!
Comment: That's right... It's a good point, we could extrapolate that the iPhone 3G will be supported for another year.
Answer: Really... It depends on your goals and resources.
For an indie, a rule of thumb is: if it takes more than your spare time to support then no. The iPhone 3G is a legacy device.
Apple still services it when they come for repair, but there are no iOS updates and users don't expect all apps to be available on it.
With iOS 5 the iPhone 3G will be left behind. It can't run 4.3 and users using it will have the opportunity to get a new one discounted by their carrier. You can't be sure the hardware will be supported when iOS 6 is released, so is it worth to add support for just one year or less?
If you don't support the device, the impact it will have on you will depend on the kind of game you produce. If you have great graphics people will understand. Otherwise it will be harder to mitigate the response from iPhone 3G users.
At my previous employer we had to support all versions as long as the SDK allowed it. But the maintenance cost was not huge as we had our own framework and all games used it. So keeping it compatible with all iOS/Android versions was not an issue. But we didn't use OpenGL ES 2 to avoid issues with older hardware and other OSes.
But for an indie developer its more a question of time and $. I would really advise to get the game out there and patch it later if you can to allow other users to get it.
If you aim for budget users, if you have some sort of social game, then I would say: use OpenGL ES 1 support the oldest devices you can.
I remember hearing there have been Around 35M iPhones 3G sold... You could try to extrapolate the sales from this chart for what is worth:
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fichier:IPhone_sales_per_quarter_simple.svg
I don't think there are precise numbers freely circulating. But you should not waist your time if you really don't need to support the older devices. Simply add support if its free or close to free in your case.
Answer: No, for two reasons.
1) While there are a lot of "old" (pre-OGLES 2.0) devices out there, they account for only 5-6% of the market share of people actually playing/downloading your app, depending on who you ask.  Here's an example of a company announcing the drop in support for older devices: http://www.ngmoco.com/we-rule/blog/2011/08/11/support-for-earlier-generation-devices/
Keep in mind that that particular example is a free-to-play game, so it probably has a larger percentage of older device users (think hand me downs to kids and that kind of thing) than people who have newer/faster/shiner devices.  This, however, is speculation.
2) It's hard to test.  Unless you have an iPhone 3G or a newer device with its near-original OS installed (like an iPad 1 with 3.2.x installed), you can't be sure that the newer features you may want to use (like GameCenter) are going to fall back gracefully.  You can accomplish it by using weak-linking, but Apple doesn't test it for you.  If you don't set it up properly, what will happen on the devices using an older OS is that it will just crash.


Will the Radeon HD 7670M + 7670M Dual Graphics Work Well With Photoshop CS5?

Question: I have just recently purchased the HP Pavilion M6 15.6" Laptop - Silver (AMD A10-4600M / 1TB HDD / 8GB RAM / Windows 8). This laptop has a AMD Radeon HD 7670M + 7670M Dual Graphics.I am having some troubles with my photoshop CS5. The grey screen when opening a new file keeps flickering between a checkerboard backround and the grey backround. Does this have anything to do with the graphics card if so what graphics card should I upgrade to. Or is it just simply windows 8?
Answer: The main problems with Photoshop in Windows 8 have to do with the display drivers not being up to snuff for facilitating the GPU acceleration Photoshop needs.
Watch the web site of the maker of your video card (would that be ATI?  AMD.com then) for driver updates.
As a workaround you might consider going into Edit - Preferences - Performance, entering the [Advanced Settings] for the GPU, and reducing the mode to Basic.  In an extreme case you could consider disabling the [  ] Use Graphics Processor setting entirely.


When do we need composite order groups for bilinear maps and when prime order?

Question: Why we need bilinear groups of composite order? What's the special security property of the composite order group in comparison with one of prime order? To put it in another way when do we need composite order groups for bilinear maps and when prime order?
Answer: A composite order group is like having a 2-dimensional vector space, because of the Chinese Remainder Theorem. More concretely in the context of a bilinear map, if $g$ is a generator with order $N=pq$, then $g_p = g^q$ generates an order-$p$ subgroup, and $g_q = g^p$ generates an order-$q$, and $e(g_p, g_q) = 1$. They cancel each other out, and so you can think of $\{g_q, g_p\}$ as an orthogonal basis for the a 2-dimensional vector space.
The way this is typically used is that the bilinear "functionality" of a scheme is carried out in one dimension (e.g., in the exponent of $g_p$) while the other dimension (e.g., the exponent of $g_q$) is used for "blinding". Orthogonality ensures that the blinding factors just disappear after the bilinear map.
Recently, Okamoto & Takashima [1] have developed a framework for cryptographic constructions using prime-order bilinear groups (called dual-pairing vector spaces, DPVS). It is a nice abstraction that allows you to build (from prime-order groups) $n$-dimensional orthogonal vector spaces that have a suitable pairing. It's like having the above effect, but now even with of a product of $n$ primes! I think most people in the field believe that composite-order constructions can be "ported" to prime-order groups, using these DPVS techniques.
[1]: Hierarchical Predicate Encryption for Inner-Products, by Okamoto, Tatsuaki and Takashima, Katsuyuki, in Advances in Cryptology -- ASIACRYPT 2009, 2009
Answer: In most cases it seems protocols initially described in the context of composite order groups can be converted to prime order groups, thanks to the work of David Freeman and others.
Which is just as well since calculating pairings over composite order groups is impossibly slow, in part because only a few pairing-friendly curves of low embedding degree are suitable for use with composite order groups. So the answer to the second part of your question is that (hopefully) composite order groups for bilinear maps are never needed (although they might be continue to be used in academic papers to initially describe a new protocol).
Answer: One specific example of a multiplicative group of a composite order is RSA. Group order could be not known to a proving party (hidden from). With this setup, one can prove relations over integers, not residues modulo group order. Proof based on Lagrange 4-squares theorem is a well-known example. No efficient implementation is known for a proof of "more" relation for a secret committed with a group of a known prime order. The best implementation of such a proof with a prime-order group assumes commitments to bits of the secret.
Comment: I don't see how this answers the question. The question is about bilinear maps.
Comment: Reagrdless of bilinear maps, composite order can be made unknown (just like RSA) resulting in efficient proofs for integers (not field elements). One particular example is "more" proof designed from four-squares theorem. One would expect even more interesting proof protocols with bilinear maps of hidden order.


Will a Nikon 1 NIKKOR wide-angle lens work with my Nikon D3000?

Question: I am looking for some advice on what wide-angle lens to get for the D3000. At the minute I have seen this 10mm lens but I am unsure whether it will work well with the camera in question. Ideally I would like to be getting a lens within the £200 mark and below the 18mm that comes with the stock lens.
Answer: No, that lens won't work with a D3000, because it's for the new "Nikon 1" system, which uses a smaller sensor and a different (smaller) lens mount. (And, because of that system's smaller size, note that the resulting angle of view is almost exactly what you see through your kit lens at 18mm.)
Your best bet for a budget ultra-wide lens for your camera may be the Samyang 14mm f/2.8. This will run you around £300, and is manual focus only, but is fairly well-reviewed for its price. Another option might be the Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 zoom. It's not as fast, but will autofocus (neither of which are a big deal in an ultrawide in my opinion). Like the Samyang, reviews note complex distortion and other artifacts, but it still manages to come in at under £350.
The fact is that good wide angle lenses are intrinsically expensive. So, another option is to be happy with the 18mm of your kit lens until you can save up a bit more. I was in the same situation and got a cheap wide-angle zoom, which in retrospect could be considered wasted money better saved towards the nice ultra-wide I eventually got (a Pentax 15mm — no help to you!). On the other hand, getting something let me get images right away, which is arguably infinitely better than not having anything.
Comment: As an aside, I've used the Sigma 10-20 on a Canon body, and I _like_ the distortion produced by the lens, as does everyone I've ever shown the photographs to. I can never figure out why reviews complain so much about it.
Answer: The Tokina 11-16mm is another good, sharp lens.  A used copy might be close to your budget


Simulating a camera flash

Question: Can anyone give me some tips on simulating a camera flash in After Effects. I am trying to make it keyframing the scale and opacity of a white shape layer but I can't get it to look right.
Answer: As a photographer, a flash is simply a very short burst of white light (as you're no doubt aware). The maximum time at full power is usually around 1/250th of a second, which is equal to 1/10th of a frame. In that case, if you were to accurately represent a flash being fired, you would simply boost the exposure of a single frame by several stops (to make it almost completely white, whilst retaining a little bit of detail).
Something as simple as this would suffice.

For one frame.

If you really wanted to be technically accurate, you could simulate the CMOS flicker of a flash by only boosting the exposure on a horizontal portion of the frame, say the top 2/3rds or something.
Comment: So, we've given him two different answers. One that simulates a subject getting hit by a flash, and one that simulates a flash firing into the camera.
Answer: In After Effects, there is an effect Exposure that controls the exposure of the layer. You could probably use that instead of a white shape layer.
Answer: I suppose you mean that you've filmed a flash that you want to "fire" in After Effects.
If you buy the Video Copilot Optical Flares or Red Giant Knoll Light Factory you can simply put a lens flare on the flash and animate the strength.
Download a trial and see for yourself!

Simulating a camera flash


Why did this glass start popping?

Question: I remember a while ago my father dropped a glass lid and it smashed. It looked something like this. When that happened, for about 5 minutes afterwards, the glass parts were splitting, kind of like popcorn, and you could hear the sound. I was just wondering why this happened, and the particles didn't just sit quietly in their own original parts?
Answer: Due to internal stress in the material.
This stress might be there due to fabrication technology or due to heat cycling while usage (less likely).
Answer: Here is an idea. You could have cracking (fracture) behaving as a critical process. From the dropping of the glass you could have micro-fractures forming. In time and because of the amount of tension (and energy) concentrated in the glass from the fall, these micro-fractures slowly could organize to form big fractures, which would cause the popping sounds you continued to hear for some time after the fall of the glass lid. If it was some kind of crystal that broke I would be more confident that that was the case, but since it is some kind of glass, I am not so sure that it can happen something like that, since glass is amorphous, but I am not sure that it can't either.

Why did this glass start popping?


Is it an apparatus or a system?

Question: Imagine that I have a device that gets inserted into a car engine to speed up the car. It consists of 3 parts that are connected via tubes. Is it an apparatus that gets inserted into a system (the car engine) or is it a system that gets inserted into a car engine (system)?
Comment: http://www.xtgenixau.com/addys-focus-reviews/
Answer: There is no hard and fast distinction between a system and an apparatus and it doesn't matter much. The actual statutory categories do not include either term. In 35 USC section 101 the listed categories are process, machine, [article of] manufacture, composition of matter and improvements to any of those things. An article of manufacture is something made in a manufacturing process. And a machine (originally and loosely) was something with multiple, interconnected moving parts.

Is it an apparatus or a system?


Why does WordPress get posts from MySQL from a virtual hostname but not the direct hostname?

Question: I'm developing a WordPress site on my Mac, running OS X 10.6.4. I'm using OS X's built-in Apache server to run the site locally during development. I've set up WordPress and connected it to OS X's MySQL with no problems. The site seems to work fine, and I can post, edit, etc.
The WordPress installation is in a folder called ~/Sites/mysite.dev.
I've also customized my .hosts file and Apache's httpd-vhosts.conf file, to redirect requests for mysite.dev to this folder. So when I enter http://mysite.dev in a browser window, the site loads. No problems here.
So I can access the site, in a browser, from two different addresses, http://mysite.dev, and http://localhost/~Gabe/mysite.dev/.
Here's what's weird: When I go to http://mysite.dev, the WordPress site loads normally. When I go to http://localhost/~Gabe/mysite.dev/, WordPress can't find any posts from the database: It gives me the "Sorry, no posts met your criteria" message (which is built into the theme for when a search for posts returns nothing). N.B.: Apache processes the PHP code normally in both cases -- but in one case WordPress can get posts from MySQL, and in the other case it can't.
My first thought was that this was a problem with WordPress's configuration, so I changed the WordPress URL to http://localhost/~Gabe/mysite.dev/, but this made no difference.
I don't understand why using the two addresses produces different results. Any help appreciated.
(Here's why I care, in case you're wondering: I want to preview the site in BBEdit's web preview window, and BBEdit will only load the site via the http://localhost/~Gabe/mysite.dev/ address.)
Comment: Can you post your `.hosts` and `httpd-vhosts.conf` files?
Answer: I was able to solve this problem—it turns out that WordPress behaves better when I set both the WordPress address and the site address to http://localhost/~Gabe/mysite.dev/.
Comment: Yeah, keep in mind that wordpress is totally bound to the URL of the site. It's some restriction that sucks with wordpress totally, so better understand that you bind your blog with the URL you enter in your browser than anything else. That's the same when you stage your development site to a server in the internet with a new toplevel domain name. You need to change everything in the database that referenced to the old site URL.
Comment: P.S. please mark your own answer as answer.


looking for a creative way to store all my tubing

Question: Every time I brew I think to myself, "damn there has to be a better way to store all this tubing"! Currently I have a drawer (twice the size of a file cabinet) where I throw my racking canes, tubing, and rando crap but it sure is unorganized. I do store my stock, yet to be used tubing coiled vertically in beer boxes which works great for that purpose (not having to access it often). figured I would see if anyone out there has a good ideas!
Comment: Could you wind it around an old cardboard tube (such as from paper towels or toilet paper)?
Answer: I mounted an empty, plastic speaker wire spool to the wall in my brewing closet (room under the stairs where I kept all my brewing equipment) to hang all the tubing on.  I made sure to mount it high enough on the wall that I didn't have to coil the tubing around the spool.  This allowed the tubing to dry well and kept off the ground and out of my way.  The spool was deep enough that I was able to lay all the sections of tubing side by side so they weren't stacked on top of each other.
Answer: I mounted a garden hose tidy to the wall - it's semicircular and not too deep. I hang all the tubes from that. It allows them to drip dry and gives easy access.
(It's late here, I'll post a picture during daylight.)
Answer: Do you have an open wallspace?  Perhaps you could hang the tubing in a coil (and perhaps your canes, brushes, etc as well), as one might with tools in a garage?