What is the difference between Cajun and Creole cuisine?

Question: What is the difference between Cajun and Creole cuisine?
Answer: The previously accepted answer contains a good link, but not any information here on Seasoned Advice, so I thought I would write out a few things from my understanding after having developed an abiding interest in Cajun foods over the past decade.
Basically, Creole is a much broader term with a longer history. While it is perhaps inaccurate to say Cajun is a 'subset' area and culinary style, it is more geographically- and flavor-specific than just saying Creole. The history of people and region identified as Creole (on the American continents) goes back a long ways, and Cajun is a more recent phenomenon. Creole can also refer to other peoples and regions other than just in the South/Central parts of North America, though such use in the United States is a distant memory.
In the past century, the "Cajun" term has certainly attained an independent status as a self-identified people, region, and flavor -- the last no doubt owing to the flavor potency of their offerings. Which offerings, in my opinion, when consumed, are nearly always exquisitely enjoyable examples of perfection in the experience of food.
Comment: it's not authoritative, but for specifics, Google led me to [this post](http://www.yumsugar.com/Difference-Between-Cajun-Creole-4848623) with a couple examples, including how a cajun jambalaya starts with roux, while a creole version will have tomatoes
Answer: Both Cajun and Creole cuisines originate from French/European influence but there's a specific difference between them -
Cajun is French 'provincial' cuisine adapted by local workers for and with local ingredients.
Creole is French 'aristocratic' cuisine as practised in the better off households of the south and mimicking the influences of higher quality French/European cuisine but still having local Cajun influence using higher quality but still local ingredients.
Both cuisines have French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian (European) influences, reflecting the previous occupants of the southern territories as well as African and Native American influences.


Search returning no results after moving to new server

Question: We moved to a new server a few months back and everything seemed to be working fine. But just today someone flagged up that searches never return any results. Everything was fine before switching to the new server and I can only assume that the configuration of the new server is the problem.
However, a problem is that the server admin who setup the new Sharepoint server is no longer with our company and I have been left in charge of it. I know next to nothing about the setup of the server and have been reading various web pages and I am getting lost in all the jargon. Some mention SSP, which I don't seem to have access too. Some suggest installing IFilters. Some have mentioned Office Server Web Services web site on the application server, this is not on our Sharepoint server.
Is there a definitive guide to what should be done in this case? Is there not an easy way to setup the search? I don't need it to search the documents for the specific terms, just the web pages that are there.
Any help appreciated, if you need any more information I can provide whatever you need.
EDIT: As mentioned below:

I have checked the site collection and I am an admin, along with the
  guy that left the company. I cannot access the Search admin page
  though. I have searched the internet and found that it would be
  located at
  http://localhost:<port>/ssp/admin/searchadministration.aspx though
  and there doesn't appear to anything there. The SSP is not
  installed/available.

EDIT 2:
Doing a bit more research on this and it seems that we don't have MOSS installed in the server, it seems to just be WSS. Does this mean that searching the site is impossible?! I wouldn't have thought so.
Answer: Since you have mentioned this as a SharePoint 2007 issue, I can suggest you to look up on few things,

Check whether the default SSP in the central admin site is running. If you dont have access, go to the particular site collection and add yourself as a site collection admin from central admin itself and get access.
If you reach the Search admin page now, check whether the index server, default content access account are running fine. Also check whether there is any crawling being done previously.
Check for content sources and crawl the whole site and if everything goes well your search might start giving results.

But there can be numerous problems that might be stopping from Search to work, but unless you follow the steps and go 1 by 1 and report the exact place where you are failing, you wont be able to find a solution and it might be difficult to help.
Good Luck ...
Comment: I have checked the site collection and I am an admin, along with the guy that left the company. I cannot access the Search admin page though. I have searched the internet and found that it would be located at `http://localhost:/ssp/admin/searchadministration.aspx` though and there doesn't appear to anything there. The SSP is not installed/available.


How can i reconstruct a polynomial with access to its roots and not to some points evaluation of it?

Question: Is there any other element that can let me interpolate a polynomial other than the well known lagrange interpolation by which a polynomial of degree $d$ can be reconstructed from $d+1$ pairs: $x_i,f(x_i)$. If i have another kind of information which is related with the polynomial, ie: some roots can i reconstruct it?
Comment: Aren't roots also points of evaluation: $(x_i,0)$?
Comment: right. But is there something special on the evaluation on 0 that makes it sufficient to reconstruct it with less than d+1 points?
Answer: If you know all the roots of a polynomial, then you can almost reconstruct it. If $a_1,\dots,a_n$ are the roots, then the polynomials with exactly those roots are of the form $c(x-a_1)(x-a_2)\cdots (x-a_n)$ for some constant $c$ (assuming we really know all roots, ie that we are not necessarily limiting ourselves to the real roots or something like that).
Comment: To be pricise, this answer requires that you know all the roots _and their multiplicities_, and that this includes roots that lie in an extension of the ground field (so for a real polynomial, you need to know the complex roots, and their multiplicities, as well).
Answer: I believe the polynomial is uniquely characterized by its coefficients, from which in an order n case you will have n+1 . Identifying the polynomial on which a set of sampling points lie thus corresponds to the estimation of its coefficients that can be achieved by solving a linear system of equations (polynomial regression). In order for the system to have a unique solution the system needs to have a rank of n+1 in case of a degree n polynomial (the matrix may not be square assuming the presence of redundant rows as a result of an overdetermined system, assuming no noise having more than n+1 points results in redundancies). For this reason in the general case you need at least n+1 different points to be able to find the solution.
Peter


Does having video on a website increase the quality of traffic coming to the site?

Question: I was wondering if anyone had any actual statistics on this. I was curious if having a video on a website makes an exceptional difference to the quality of traffic coming to the site.
Comment: Define the quality of traffic. What makes traffic "quality"?
Comment: Great question. I guess its a medley of 1. How long they spend on the site, 2. If they are a returning user.. An unquality traffic would be granted I get people to come, but they don't stick around, and never return.
Answer: Just having a video in-and-of itself isn't going to deliver quality traffic as you don't hear people saying, "I feel the need to watch a video. I don't care what video or how it good it is. It just has to be a video". So if your goal is to attract "quality" users you should post "quality" content and that includes videos. If you can produce quality videos that your users would find useful/entertaining (depending on what your site is about) you will give users a reason to stay on your site and come back in the future. If the videos are not useful/entertaining you'll encourage users to leave your site and they'll be less likely to come back.
Answer: There are lots of different types of videos that can yield different results, for example a viral video, might generate a lot of traffic and even repeat visitor as they show their friends, but they won't be loyal visitors or even high converting visitors. On the other hand if you're doing an in depth series such as how to do X and have parts 1-10 each posted a week apart, if it's useful people will want to subscribe and visit your site often as a reference.
These are just two examples of uses for videos, there are many more. So the short answer is that it can but it doesn't always.
Answer: Does having MP3s on a website increase the quality of traffic coming to the site? What about JavaScript? What about bullet lists? Or cooking recipes?
Having rich content increases the quality of traffic coming to a site. It's got nothing to do with a specific technology or content type. Arbitrarily adding a video to your site for the sake of having a video is not going to do anything for your site except slow down the performance. In fact, that sort of thinking is indicative of a get-rich-quick mindset that is not conducive to running a successful website.


Greyed out songs when trying to add from iTunes to iPhone?

Question: I just got an iPhone 4 and downloaded the most recent version of iTunes onto my computer because I had a version that was too old. It told me I needed to convert the songs to create an AAC version of my library in order to sync them to my iPhone, which I had not synced because I didn't want to lose the existing music. When I converted the files, they copied to the phone, but are greyed out and won't let me play them, could somebody please help?
Answer: Try playing the greyed out songs directly on your iPhone. If you cannot do that, do the following.

Ensure that the greyed out songs are indeed playable within your iTunes library (not within the iPhone section of your iTunes library)
Connect your iPhone to your iTunes, navigate to your iPhone section > music, select all greyed out songs and delete them.
Make sure that the "Sync music" and "Entire music library" options are ticked under the "Music" tab and sync your iphone once again with iTunes.

This should resolve the issue.
Comment: thanks a million! but if I click the sync option will it delete all the existing songs on my phone?
Comment: depends. If all of your iphone songs are already loaded within your iTunes library on your PC, then there is no danger of deletion. If you need to transfer songs from your iphone to iTunes, make sure to read this: http://www.copytrans.net/support/gettingstarted-copytrans/smart-backup/
Answer: I made a playlist, copied and pasted the songs from the old one, and deleted the old one.  I re-synced the phone and it worked.  It worked for all of them just by recreating one.
This solution fixed the grey circles next to 60% of my songs.  I planned to make all new playlists but started with one as a test.
I chose a playlist where I had just purchased a new song today.  Perhaps that caused a jam somewhere.  Hope this helps someone.
Answer: I solved this issue by selecting a song (or songs, one whole album), right-clicking, and selecting "Uncheck" selection.  Then did the same to "Check" selection and it began syncing ("un-greying") all of the songs in my library that were stuck like that.
Answer: I hope anyway who has this 'kind' of problem, greyed out songs. And they like to delete them forever. then continue reading
I don't want to advertise programs but I think it solves it quickly , and yes it really did work for me. I was really fed up using itunes and having those unsynced music.
Programm is called 'Copytransmanager. (google it up, read reviews and you'll see!)
With this programm i easily deleted all the greyed out songs, unlike using itunes which I stucked on over 3 weeks. Of course there are plenty other programms to do this, but I read a lot on other forums etc people got this problem. So I'm just post here quickly to help!
I think once you've downloaded it, it's easy to find out how it works. (simple design, though it's not as clear as itunes.
Greetings and I hope a few could use this information. Once again, I do not like to promote/advertise other programs but sync/resync doesn't seem to solve for some.
*Also if you like to keep those 'greyed' tracks, they: make a backup somewhere and you can put them back on with itunes or just CopyTrans again.
Answer: I had this same problem: After dragging songs from library to phone, I looked at the music on my phone (from the iTunes' PC interface) and saw the songs listed but "greyed-out".
Solution:
I clicked on Music underneath My iPhone on the sidebar. On the bottom right of the screen there is a button called Autofill located next to a button called Settings. I clicked the Autofill button, and it said that I could not add any more music because all of the space was reserved for data. If you get that message when following the steps above, try this:
In that same tab, to the left of Autofill on the right, click Settings. There is a slider located at the bottom of the dialogue box that pops up which allows you to define how much space is reserved for data (non-music data.) If that slider is all the way to the right, you will not be able to add any songs to the iPhone manually. Slide the bar to the left to allow for more space for music, the try adding your songs. Worked for me.
Answer: If you drag the music from your ITUNES LIBRARY to the Iphone (drag it towards the right side of the screen where it says Iphone), then it will no longer be greyed out!!! :) And it will not sync anything.
Answer: Just fixed this problem on my iPhone 4S. Simply select all greyed out songs (Edit -> Select All) drag them to trash and voila - you can start dragging and dropping music from your library.
Answer: Simple fix for me.....I found that it was the format of the songs. I made an mp3 copy in my tunes of the purchased songs, and they showed up with normal text. I was then able to copy the purchased songs to my devices. Go to File, Convert and change formats as needed.


What can we do to increase participation in Global Jams?

Question: Our global jam is coming up this weekend, and I wonder what we can do to increase participation and also collaboration between the different events. Maybe we still have time to implement some of the suggestions.
Answer: Starting a twitter account. Posting updates and relevant news. Reaching out to prominent bloggers in the Ubuntu and Linux world. Posting on forums, just getting the word out. I see on your website you have badges. Get as many people as possible to post the badge maybe some sort of contest. But then again people only do what they want to.
Also directing people with a very specific goal, much like a video game. Help them feel that they are actually contributing in a measurable way. reputation or goal bars for example.
Either way goodluck! :)
Answer: I think a big thing is that concrete > vague. Tools like harvest and such that help users find specific items to work on will help increase participation and work. I'd love to see each area (packaging, bugs, docs) have someone up the team work on a "todo" list of things they'd like to see get done for the Jam. This way the participants and would-be participants can go through the list and hopefully get more useful concrete accomplishments done. I know our Jam is very vague. "Let's all get together, have some pizza, and find something to do". I'm sure a lot of time won't be very Jam productive while it will be fun for us :)
Answer: what I've found works well is to have a bit of structure to it.  Have a rough timetable of what you and your team want to do. Keep it basic, cover the small things like logging into launchpad creating an account, there will be people who've not done it before, lets encourage all levels to take part.
Next talk about bug and how the role of logging one has an effect, now talk about triaging them.
There are different levels of a global jam, so why not get people working in groups of 2-3 people who work on different areas, like wiki clean up, bugs, documentation, plans for the team for the future.
Take a break and chat about the work you've done, don't forget about the online community, join in #ubuntu-locoteams and let others know how you are getting on,  if you've reported a bug poke someone to verify it.


What is the definition of the valuation of a fractional ideal?

Question: I am reading Local fields and see Serre using $v_{\mathfrak{p}}(\mathfrak{a})$ where $\mathfrak{a}$ is a fractional ideal of the Dedekind domain $A$ and $v_{\mathfrak{p}}$ is the valuation associated to the discrete valuation ring $A_{\mathfrak{p}}$. Serre did not really define this in the book, I looked it up on the web and found the following definition: since $\mathfrak{a}$ is a fractional ideal, there exists $d\in A$ such that $d\mathfrak{a}\subset A$. Define $v_{\mathfrak{p}}(\mathfrak{a})$ as $v_{\mathfrak{p}}(d\mathfrak{a}) - v_{\mathfrak{p}}(d)$ where $v_{\mathfrak{p}}(d\mathfrak{a})$ is defined to be the power $k$ that gives $d\mathfrak{a}A_{\mathfrak{p}} = (\mathfrak{p}A_{\mathfrak{p}})^{k}$. This work fine in proving the theorems following this idea in Serre's book. However, I could not prove that this is well-defined since $d$ is certainly not unique. Clarification is appreciated. Thanks.
Answer: Let $d'$ be any other nonzero element of $R$ such that $d' \mathfrak{a} \subset R$.  Then
$v_{\mathfrak{p}}(d' \mathfrak{a}) + v_{\mathfrak{p}}(d) = v_{\mathfrak{p}}(dd' \mathfrak{a}) =
v_{\mathfrak{p}}(d') + v_{\mathfrak{p}}(d\mathfrak{a})$.
So
$v_{\mathfrak{p}}(d'\mathfrak{a}) - v_{\mathfrak{p}}(d') =  v_{\mathfrak{p}}(d \mathfrak{a}) - v_{\mathfrak{p}}(d)$.
(In general, Serre's Local Fields routinely leaves computations like this to the reader, so you should probably get practice working them out for yourself now, before the material becomes more difficult.)
Answer: Fractional ideals in Dedekind domains have unique factorization into (positive or negative) powers of prime ideals. To find $v_p(a)$, see what power of $p$ occurs in the factorization of $a$.
Now check that the strange definition of valuation you got off the web is equivalent to this definition (and thus independent of $d$).


Getting back into Pro Tools, Advice?

Question: I'm a musician/engineer and have not used pro tools in ten years, I'm now researching cheap ways to get up and running at home, and need advice on MP9 vs. Pro Tools SE, and how to get bang for my buck in the computer Department as well. I'm fairly well retarded with computers, and want to keep it simple and effective; a dedicated computer, only running pro tools.
Any perspective would be greatly appreciated.
Answer: You'll have to figure out whether you're money rich or time rich. "fairly well retarded with computers" is basically an argument against being time rich. :) I'd say go with vanilla Pro Tools 9 or 10. It runs on any interface and you will end up with Pro Tools, not another half-baked DAW that never made it to industry standard (and by this I mean PT is the half-baked DAW that did). I'd say stay well away from Audacity, regardless of what the word is. The same with Reaper (and for this I expect to get flamed). The good news is PT costs much less these days.
Answer: I'm an avid Pro Tools user but haven't really compared those two options. I believe Pro Tools SE only comes with Avid/M-Audio bundled hardware so if you are getting those hardware, you can try it out first before knowing to buy M-Powered.
I'm not sure what else you are looking for with regards to advice so some specifics would be useful.
If you want cheap, you can try out Presonus' Studio One Free as an alternative.
Answer: If you're not too attached to ProTools, you could even look at free software like Audacity.
And if you want some tutorials to guide you through ProTools features and techniques, you might take a look at http://www.lynda.com/ . I believe they've got a bunch of videos there and I've heard good things.
Answer: There's 3 years of post specific PT tutorials on my blog free of charge at www.protoolsprofessional.com
Answer: Unless you have a specific reason to use PT, consider (preferably try and see yourself) all alternatives, because they can feel subjectively better.
M-Audio, nor Avid hardware are not known to be very good bang for the buck (unless the hardware is required to run PT), so even here there are a lot of alternatives.
It's all just a matter of taste, but only you can decide what you want to use and how much you want to pay.
Answer: There is a learning curve to any DAW, so regardless of how inadequate you feel towards computers, you will always have to learn the clicks and menus on all of them.
From being a user of a few DAWs (currently use PT), your workflow and understanding of any of them is relatively similar; the main goal is to gain those clicks and hand contorting keyboard short cuts. I would concentrate on getting a core DAW that is stable and has a good community for keeping you in the know and full of potential updates and plugins; I would recommend PT10 or Cubase.
Just be sure that you pick a DAW that you can afford.
Personally, I would recommend both Cubase and Pro Tools. Both have strengths, Pro tools is great for simple sound editing and Cubase holds the monopoly for Midi sequencing and in the box music creation.
Logic Pro is another good DAW if you are an apple user, but from the current trends from the apple pro developers, Logic could be up for a "dumbing" down in the next year or two. Great at the moment tho and very stable platform on Mac.

Getting back into Pro Tools, Advice?


How to Handle a Powergamer / Munchkin

Question: What are some strategies that I can employ to handle a power gamer that constantly outshines the rest of the party? This is a friend of us all and we don't want to boot him, but combat simply isn't fun when the party has nothing to do while he mops up an encounter by himself.
Comment: Rocks fall, power-gamer dies.
Comment: I think the best option is to talk to them and see if they would be willing to try an enabler role.  Those can be really effective characters, but it happens by helping the rest of the party.  So the player gets to shine by helping others do very well.  Overall, everyone wins!
Answer: Does he know there's a problem? There are plenty of mechanical ways to limit his character, but bear in mind that you may wind up moving the frustration from yourselves over to him. And if he's at all smart, he's going to recognize what's going on.
My generic answer for problem behavior is "talk to the guy," which is harder but often more effective.
I really dig the idea of giving him bigger monsters to fight. Obviously being awesome is part of what's turning his crank; if you can figure out ways to let him show his awesome without overshadowing everyone else, that's a win for everyone.
Comment: Great answer, but as some other people said, non-combat encounters are a good way to add blance as well.
Comment: Improve communications, absolutely.
Most of the responses here are negative. Don't go that way; employ a positive method to resolve this and most other problems.
Comment: I've had encounters with nightmare-riding rangers hating humans shooting human bane arrows at the power-gamer and the rest fighting off dire boars. That's when I realized we needed to talk, and we did, and it was no problem in that he agreed to tone it down for the next campaign.
Comment: To expand on the "Does he know it's a problem" part of this answer: It is important that all of the players **and** the GM are on the same page as to what type of game will be played as well a what type of characters will be created.

In this case, this situation is not a PC problem, it is a player problem. Player problems should be dealt with in the real world, not in the game world.
Answer: Spice up the plot with non-violent encounters in which weaponry is not an asset.
Use multi-threat encounters where one character just cannot defeat all opponents.
Any artifical hurdles can easily backfire if the player feels he is being unfairly targeted by the DM.
Answer: You can do a very nice trick. Talk with him and with his consent entrap him into a lesser character.
In normal gameplay, the player plays the lesser character. However, once per day, he can try to "morph" back into his (e.g.) human form for a reduced amount of time (like one or two hours, with increasing difficulty for every additional hour to keep staying in normal form) via a willpower saving throw. Have it based on the willpower of the original character, not of the lesser one, and make it with a difficulty so that he succeeds in one case out of four. If he fails, the lesser character loses consciousness until the end of the encounter. Note that this strategy is very similar in concept to the Space Ace "Energize" option.
I already tested with strong success this strategy. In my case, it was a very powerful 10th level warrior hosted into the body of a kobold. The backstory is that the character was part of a dragon-slayer guild, and one dragon was able to beat them. He was the only survivor, and was cursed into the most repulsive and insignificant reptile creature, a kobold. This kobold saves the party of 1st level characters from an ambush, and joins them because he is a smart but very goofy sorcerer and tool-builder of his tribe, outcasted due to his tendency to attract troubles.
Answer:
I'm not a power gamer myself

That may be part of the problem. You appear to want a game that is ill-suited to power gaming, while he seems to want very much to min/max, optimize, and otherwise employ power gaming techniques. Maybe the two of you need to discuss what sort of game each of you wants, and bring the other players into the conversation as well.
Have the discussion before the game session starts, and preferably in person. Email can easily be misinterpreted. It's OK to have this sort of meta discussion, and it becomes vital where there's a potential mismatch of expectations.
Comment: [The Same Page Tool](https://bankuei.wordpress.com/2010/03/27/the-same-page-tool/) is valuable during such discussions to get… ah… on the same page.
Answer: If the guy likes a challenge, ask him to play and optimize substandard builds via awkward race/class combinations or weird flavors and themes. The artificial handicap is optional and can scratch the powergamer itch without blowing away the other party members. Doing this may edge him into more RP interesting characters as well.
Answer: If you're playing with a system that rewards character optimization, I don't understand how "power gaming" - within the letter and spirit of the rules - isn't simply good play.  Why would you penalize a player for intelligent use of the rules?  Would you penalize a player who's a good combat strategist just because the other players aren't as good at it?
It seems like many games are structured so that some options stack with other options to give great mechanical advantages to players who discover the combos.  It also seems like part of the fun, for some players, of playing those games is discovering and implementing those combos.  If you and the other players are uncomfortable "keeping up" with the power gamer, then it seems like the problem is either the system or the compatibility of the group.
I wouldn't run a game with a crunchy, combo-heavy system if I were uncomfortable with players optimizing character builds.  Being penalized for intelligently using the system would have to be maddening - metagame "revenge" for intelligent play reeks of Ear Seekers.
Comment: Because there's no such thing as a perfect ruleset. Because a group shouldn't have to ditch a ruleset just to avoid exploits; and the next ruleset isn't immune. A power gamer will eventually find and apply "simply good play" to a hole. It makes every tool the rules give the GM obsolete, so they have to start GMing outside the rules to keep the game from collapsing under the structural damage caused by exploiting a weak point in the rules. Dominating a ruleset is an accomplishment, but if you're not *all* there to do the same, it makes the coexistence of different playstyles no longer possible.
Comment: "Would you penalize a player who's a good combat strategist just because the other players aren't as good at it?" -- When considered in the context of the overriding goal -- fun for ALL, not just for One -- your comment is simplistic. :/
Comment: If you're playing a wargame, sure.  In an RPG, the players should build their characters around a concept rather than min/maxing.  Each group must find its own happy medium between story and game, of course.
Answer: Make sure your campaign isn't all about combat. Have situations where even if you kill everything the problem/issue isn't resolved. Also provides some context for all the characters. For example a cleric would be associated with a temple, an ex-navy engineer have some navy buddies. By playing to each of the character's backgrounds in turn you create opportunities for them to shine.
Answer: Build the encounters to match your player group. If you have 4 decent players and one power gamer throw in a group of weaker enemies with a powerful leader. Such that the power gamer has no choice but to engage the more powerful enemy while the others take care of the others.
Perhaps a group of skeletons being bossed around by a Skeleton Warrior, or a Lich, (not sure what level range you are going for.)
for lower levels throw in some Orcs with a troll for reinforcement. Something to keep his attention while the others still have fun.
Basically balance the enemies to your players.
Comment: Speaking personally, I wouldn't be too happy playing the sidekick, while a single player was the centerpiece to every fight.
Comment: +1 for this, but I would also worry that this would become transparent pretty quickly, and still leave the other players like they were playing second fiddle.
Answer: IMHO is a typical problem caused by the GM: let me explain.
One of the PCs is very successful at doing something, and the other characters are not. This can be a problem only if the other players are bothered by the situation.
If nobody cares and everybody has fun, keep on going.
Else the solution is either to make sure everyone can have fun. Go read something on RPG players types and craft your game so that everybody can have their share of fun. Customize your game for your group: the power player can have lots of hard fights while other players can have fun other ways.
And there are always combat situations like a really strong subject needs help from weaker subjects: tanks without support from infantry, artillery and aviation are not as strong.
Your tank might have the ubergun and the awesome armour and be fast as heck, but he needs enablers. And make sure enablers don't strictly need the tank to succeed/have fun. A tank is useless outside of the battlefield :)
Again: the source of the problem is the character in your game, not the character in isolation.
Answer: Aside from Bryant's good suggestion to talk to the guy, you can also study this powergamer's character for what his weaknesses are and take advantage of them.  For instance, I once had a player in my D&D 3.5e game who could hit for tons of damage, but he had to recharge the attack, and that provoked opportunity attacks.  So, I started to work my future encounters so that he was always at least double teamed, and when he had to recharge he was in danger of multiple opportunity attacks.
Another suggestion is to limit what your characters can use to create their characters.  If your powergamer is taking advantage of multiple splatbooks to create their character, you could institute a 'one splatbook per character' rule where each character can only use the core rulebooks and at most one splatbook to create their character.
Answer: In addition to the good suggestions already offered...
I would encourage you to offer that player something better than the opportunity to happily smash each and every bad-guy/thing/lich with halitosis: offer him rich role-playing, and reinforce him positively when he embraces it (in-game with rewards, above-game with comments of appreciation like, "What a great decision! That was just exactly what your character would say! Love it, man!"). Reinforce, encourage, and get the rest of the group to do so, too.
Sure, it may take a while for this person to transition from munchkin to a role-player who's happy to play a narcoleptic thief with severe allergies and palsy...but everybody's got to start somewhere, right?
Of course, this is so easy to answer because none of US have ever been the munchkin, have we?
Answer: Answer is simple, put them in environment where their skills are useless, for example force them to do more thinking less using their "skills".
This is reason why I prefer weaker characters. Those players think more when they playing.
If you want to have well balance team, try to make characters by your own and tell players to use them. Last thing, at the end of the day, you are GM, you can say I don't care if in XXX manual was written, I'm GM and I don't allow that because this is breaking my concept of world.
Comment: Even in my power games (Rifts RPG) there are books I don't use 99.9%, because they have material I deem broken. O.K. 80% of the time :).
Answer: Another option is to have maps that have terrain that helps some of the other character's power sources, thus making them more effective, but keeping him the same.  You will be able to have stronger enemies (maybe with reduced XP since there is a conditional buff for the PCs), he'll be dealing the same awesome damage as before, and the rest of the party should be on par with him as well.
Answer: If, having talked to your power gamer, you find that it's part of playing that they like and you don't want them to leave then you need to cope with it.
Is it a problem to have one character a little more powerful than the others? If the character is min-maxed then chances are it is toward a specific goal. As long as the group's goals are varied enough, then the affect of the power gaming is reduced. When their talents do come to the fore then let them have their moment of glory.
Min-maxed characters tend not to be overpowered when it comes to narrative situations, so you could use more of those.
If they find a major abuse of the rules then you can congratulate them, give a different bonus as a reward for finding the flaw and then houserule the loophole away. Ensure you give them a reward, though because finding a loophole is quite a clever thing to do!
Answer:
Talk to him and see if this is a result of previous bad GMs killing him off. Assure him you won't do this.
Make combat easier. Abstract these encounters to little/no rolling. Your player gets to be awesome, you don't end up wasting time on him slaying little minions. (Keep the big fights big though, only do this for small encounters).
Make combat secondary. Design encounters that have goals other than "kill all the things." Heists, hostage situations, burning buildings with people/paper objects in them, etc. Put enemies in there but make it obvious that time/other factors are the goal.

How to Handle a Powergamer / Munchkin


How does a Support in bottom lane handle Caitlyn's Traps?

Question: When I am playing Support in bottom lane vs. Caitlyn (plus her Support) and she keeps putting her Traps in the brush, how do I react to that? Should I try to take them out in a safe second (by walking over them) or, is it better to just leave them there?
I mean, at the moment I'd rather clean the brush when it's safe, because with my Alistar, I can just heal up again and so those traps won't be in the way if there is an emergency.
But I just want to know if this is really the right way to go, or if I should instead leave them there?
Answer: I usually consider the following:

Is the trap in a real bad place ?

That is to say, it impedes your placement near your tower or prevents the carry from having a good spot to farm. If YES, remove it ASAP.

Is the trap in a bush ?

Usually bushes are a frequently used place for traps. In there, you need to consider having vision on it. In fact, even with a ward up, you're more likely to get caught inadvertently. It can be a good thing to remove those traps, but only if it is safe and you can afford loss of mana/health do to so.

Is the trap here to prevent gank ?

If YES, that could mean the area is not warded. If you are sure of this, it could be useful NOT to remove the trap. If the jungler is aware of its position (verbally or visually with a ward) it could provide a better surprise effect for ganks.

How many traps are visible ?

Caitlyn can set up a maximum of three traps. Sometimes it's better to see the three traps rather to risk being caught in hidden ones. Example, if three traps are in the two botlane right bushes (or on the field), you can safely go in the river bush to put some ward.
In summary, if the trap is a real threat to your carry: remove it. Everything else is trivial and depends on your play-style. If you have to make extensive use of trapped area, you should consider cleaning so as to acquire full efficiency.
Comment: Yeah that are some good points you make. Especially the point with "Rather have 3 Traps you exactly know where they are instead of 2 and 1 unknown" is really considerable at some point!
Comment: Her traps give vision, so don't spring them if your jungler has sneaked in unnoticed!
Answer: If its safe and you are not worried about loosing a small amount of health take it out. Just remember that they might use it as an opportunity to launch an attack, if Cait is nearby she will probably Q you, if is Taric or anyone with a stun you could get stunned for long enough to take some serious damage.
I would say in general if you have them pushed to take it out, as you said ali can just heal the damage tone trap will do, just watch out for anything else that being seen might cause.


VDI to Hard Drive

Question: Is any way to copy file system from VirtualBox .vdi file (or others like that) to physical partition on a hard drive?
Answer: There is probably a utility to do this, but you can do it rather easily without any special software, which is always a useful trick to know, as it will work with any type of virtualization software.
Simply boot up a live image in the virtual machine with .vdi attached. Make sure networking is enabled and the machine with the target disk and guest can see each other. Then, dd the virtual partition and pipe to netcat on the guest, and receive it on the host system with netcat and write to the partition with dd.
On the target machine run:
netcat -l -p 4444 | dd of=/dev/<target partition or disk>

It will wait. Inside the guest run:
dd if=/dev/<source partition or disk> | netcat <target-machine-ip> 4444

This is assuming the source and target devices are exactly the same size, which they probably are not.
Note that the target machine does not have to be the virtualization host machine, it can be any machine that the guest machine can reach over the network.
For special software to manipulate .vdi images in a variety of ways see: Mount a VirtualBox drive image (vdi)?
Answer: You should copy the contents of the file system instead of writing an image to a physical disk in bitwise mode. This is especially recommended for SSDs with TRIM support, because when TRIM kicks in it will delete files that it doesn't know about (it just starts to clean blocks where it assumes that no files are stored, which is the case for everything that is written in bitwise mode to a SSD). Additionally, copying files to a new file system automatically defragments the files for you.
You can use cp or rsync with the -a parameter as root to preserve permissions and ownership.
At last you need to re-install the boot loader, to have a functional booting operating system. GRUB and GRUB2 can be re-installed via live CD with the --boot-directory option, Windows should provide similar functionality on its installation disk.
Answer: You can convert VDI file into RAW format, then use dd command to copy the image into partition.
For example:
VBoxManage clonehd --format RAW file.vdi file.img
dd if=./file.img of=/dev/<partition_here>

Note: Use sudo if required. Be careful when specifying the right device in /dev.
Related:

Migrate from a virtual machine (VM) to a physical system
Is it possible to convert virtual machines to physical environments?

VDI to Hard Drive


What does 'wear-wite' mean?

Question: I've got a spoon (probably a boulion spoon) with the following text in capitals:

wear-wite rustless
       nickel silver Sheffield
       Made in England

What does 'wear-wite' mean?
Answer: I think "Wear-Wite" is a previous brand of cutlery made by the manufacturers, Viners. The term "wear-wite" only appears in reference to cutlery made by Viners. It doesn't even turn up as a material used by other manufacturers so I don't think it has a wider meaning.
Answer: I looked up the meaning of "wite", and it gives several, but I think the one you're specifically looking for is :

(obsolete or poetic) To go, go away, depart, perish, vanish

Now I looked up Sheffield silverware, and it turns out that old silverware usually flaked off because electro-plating wasn't known in those days, that is, in the past. Before electroplating was invented, the way they put silver on the cutlery was, they copper as the base metal, then the silver was put on via heating and pressing. Thus, when the silverware grew old, the silver just flaked off.
What "wear-wite" means, is that the silverware is the type that does not have the silver flaking off, but the type that had the silver "wear away(wite)"; "wite" I think in this case means to "vanish, go away", and thus, the silverware didn't flake, but "wear away", and vanished gradually.
Comment: You may be right, but that word is so obscure that without evidence I would doubt it. Also, it's not clear to me that "wearing away" is something you would want to advertise to your customers, even if it would be preferable to flaking off.

I think it's just a [Commercial spelling](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensational_spelling) of "white" - "this stays white even as it wears".
Answer: I think that it means wears 'white'... i.e. it is an alloy of silver and therefore as the product wears down it will continue to be the same colour throughout and you will not get the flaking. I have an old bent and worn tablespoon that has the words "STAINLESS NICKEL SILVER, MADE IN ENGLAND, WEARS WHITE THROUGHOUT" moulded into the back of the handle. Therefore, I would suggest that the word 'WITE' is an older spelling of 'white'.
Comment: No, I think "wite" is a marketer's spelling of "white".

What does 'wear-wite' mean?


Increased weight from lack of sleep?

Question: Over the last 2 weeks I went from 215 to 220 and the only significant change was a change in sleep habits, from a solid 8 to about 6 hours.  Could sleep have that much of an impact?
Answer: It's possible, although a 5lb weight gain in two weeks suggests that there might be other changes that are occurring that you are not considering.
Lack of sleep contributes to higher stress, usually caused by higher levels of cortisol in the system. Cortisol increases your appetite, and can change how your metabolism reacts, causing you to "hoard" the calories that you are taking in. Cortisol is usually highest in the mornings, tapering off during the day.
It's also been shown that the type of fat stored due to excess cortisol is the abdominal/visceral fat, which has a greater impact on heart and stroke related incidents.
Also, the hormones ghrelin (the "eat" stimulating hormone) and leptin (The "stop eating" signal hormone) are affected, causing you to have a greater appetite and to eat longer before stopping.
All of these can be factors in the weight gain cycle, and I would venture a guess that there is also some other stressor in your life that is causing you to miss the extra sleep. Adjust the external factors, and things should return to normal fairly soon.
Comment: In short, what I've been told, is that not enough sleep slows down your metabolism also; so you store more food in your body in the form of fat.
Comment: @givanse - That would be the cortisol affect, which I addressed in my second paragraph. Although it does occur to me to add an edit, I had forgotten something.
Comment: @JohnP Maybe add some sources too...
Answer: It's possible.  But sleep alone can't cause any weight gain.  It is the increased appetite, due to hormone changes due to the lack of sleep which will cause the weight gain.  Have you noticed such appetite changes?
There are a few ways you can gain weight:
- Eating more kilo-joules then you burnt through exercise and metabolism
- Having excess water retention (e.g. of a cause is protein deficiency)
- Drinking excess water before weighing yourself
- Pregnancy
Probably your weight gain is in water, unless your appetite has increased.
If you continue to gain weight without explanation, see a medical professional.

Increased weight from lack of sleep?


Have you used Debian unstable/testing on a production/personal server?

Question: I prefer Debian GNU/Linux as operating system for servers. I generally tend to think stable is the best choice. But I use unstable/testing on the desktop.
Are there real cases of servers using Debian unstable/testing?
Answer: Two years ago we needed PHP5 in production environment. Debian stable wasn't yet there and for some reason, backports was not considered. We let our hosting company install testing and it worked nicely.
However now that we need to update to Lenny, we just can't upgrade the production system on the go, we've to clone the system, upgrade, test, etc. because the version numbers of many applications has greatly increased over the last two years.
So this now creates work for us (internal work hours) and also payload for our hosting comapny which we've to pay.
Lesson learned; or at least, next time I'm prepared to what comes in the future.
Answer: If it's production, then don't use unstable. Use stable and backports instead, and testing if you must. Testing is ok for a desktop machine you can afford to break for a day. It's not for production.
Also, Zoredache mentioned apt-pinning. It's a little confusing at first, but worth learning. If you go that route, start with reading the apt_preferences man page. The key to apt-pinning is keep it simple and start small.
One last thing about the relative stability of the releases. Stable is always rock-solid, and testing is usually as reliable. When there's an impending release, testing gets much more stable and unstable gets a little stagnant. After a release, testing becomes a little less stable and unstable becomes buggy again.
Answer: I have used several unstable/testing packages, but I don't use testing/unstable.  You can use things like Apt Pinning, backports, or you yourself can backport the specific packages you need for your environment.
Comment: I've to add a word of caution: to me it seems until you aren't a master of Pinning, don't do it. I'm not and nearly wrecked a few systems with it.
Answer: I've used testing on servers before, but these days backports has removed much of the reason for doing that.
Answer: stable + backports is the way to go: we even do custom backports for select packages, using the same sort of versioning scheme as backports.org
Answer: Backports can cause problems as they introduce applications which can mismatch libraries which can thus cause problems later on down the line.  Stable is often outdated and thus I quite often use testing on internal machines (ones that can't be accessed externally).
Answer: I had a problem with unstalbe once and I will never run it again on production. proftpd after apt-get upgrade went crazy and was unkillable. It survived multiple kill -9's. We tried to kill it and one of my collegues reminded himself about killall5 - the most powerfull kill command on linux. He then invoked it without any parameters to see the help "the proper syntax would be", but the help never came... The fun part is that everything has died, but proftpd port was still open.
You can have half-stable half-unstable if You configure it well, but as it was already mentioned - backports solve most problems quite well. Production boxes are not worth the risk. It usually works fine, but sometimes You can have a bad luck.


How extensive is CD47?

Question: CD47 aka the "don't eat me" signal has recently been claimed to be expressed on all tumor cells. This doesn't seem to corroborate with other cell-biology experiments. On what other cells is CD47 expressed?
Answer: I don't know how extensive. Let's run a simple data query and find out: Go to GEO at NCBI. In the "Gene profiles" window, type CD47, and hit enter to launch the query. At the top of the resulting page, use the link labeled "Limits" to restrict the 7000+ results to human by entering the term "human" in the "DataSet organism" window. So, there are 3700+ results. Look through them to get an idea of which cell types and under which conditions CD47 is expressed.
Let's try a second method. Go to the BioGPS portal. Enter CD47 in the appropriate window and run the query. From the results, select the row with ID # 961 as this represents the human gene CD47. The resulting gene expression/activity chart for Hs (human) will show you in more general terms where CD47 is expressed.
Answer: I can't give a comprehensive answer to this, but the CD proteins are found on white blood cells of various types.  If you think about it its impossible that a surface protein could be only observed on cancer cells as cancer is a cell line which is a reproductive dead end.   You can see on the geneatlas box on the lower right side of the page - its gene is expressed, at least to a small amount, on nearly every major tissue type.

How extensive is CD47?


Can one move a relpath in one command?

Question: This question is similar to one I asked recently, but the answers to that question, for the most part, do not extend to this one, AFAICT.  The main difference between the two questions is that the earlier one was about copying while this one is about moving.  Also, that earlier question was unnecessarily specific by referring to the relative path to a file.  In this question I've removed this overspecificity.
I find myself doing this often enough that I wonder if there's a standard Unix way to do it:
% mkdir -p /TARGETDIR/relative/path/to
% mv ./relative/path/to/x /TARGETDIR/relative/path/to

In other words, I don't want to just move somefile to /TARGETDIR, but actually I want to "move" (so-to-speak) its entire relative path.
I know that I can write a shell function or a script to achieve the same effect, but I'd like to know if there already exists a way to do this with a single command?
Answer: Rsync could do it:
rsync -R --remove-source-files a/b/c/d /TARGETDIR/

But strictly speaking it's more a copy than a rename.
a function is simple:
mkmv() {
  mkdir -p -- "$2/$(dirname -- $1)" && mv -- "$1" "$2/$1"
}

and probably more efficiently (though rsync has a few more options which allow you to copy permissions or other attributes of the files or directories).

Can one move a relpath in one command?


What's a good strategy for completing the "Fly 1750m without collecting coins" mission in Jetpack Joyride

Question: This is the last mission that I have to complete, but I can't seem to come up with a good strategy to complete the mission.  I always seem to inadvertently collect a coin or two along the way to 1750m.  Is there some sort of winning strategy to complete this mission?
Comment: I ended up just playing until I had enough coins to buy my way out of the mission in the stash :)
Comment: My favourite technique is to avoid getting the 1750m mission in the first place.  The first time you get a "without coins" mission, *don't complete it* until there are no new missions available.  You can never have more than 1 of any given mission type at a time, so saving the 500m or 750m "without coins" mission until last will prevent you from catching the 1750m mission.  You just have to be careful to grab at least 1 coin before reaching the limit so you don't complete the mission accidentally.
Answer: First of all, avoid using any vehicles, they get hard to steer pretty fast and you might pick coins by accident. So unless you are sure you can control your vehicle, either avoid picking them up or destroy them intentionally as soon as possible. In any event, turn off the magnetic vehicle add-ons if you have any.
Use powerups. Buy the Head Start powerup and when using it stay close to the ground. In my experience, 80% of the times you'll reach 750m without any coins. Grab a few Quick Revive powerups as well, use them only if you've reached a significant distance without picking any coins (say, 1250m). In the event you have a choice between death and picking up coins, die and revive yourself. I'd avoid using the Final Blast unless it's a last resort, you may end up collecting coins while you tumble away, in any case, don't use it if you have a Quick Revive unless you've used that first.
Picking up tokens is up to you, they don't count against you, and you might get a revive or a Final Blast in the slot machine, but if you use them and get coins or cash them in you'd lose your mission. I'd say - prefer to use powerups before spinning the wheel for the first time.
The mission isn't that hard, I've completed it successfully several times (I finished all missions 8 times by now), it's just takes a mixture of skill, luck and clever use of powerups.
Comment: If you have enough money for Revive you might as well purchase the mission unlock. (10k -> 15k)
Answer: What I've found to be very useful on that is to turn off ALL magnetic upgrades (vehicle and, avoid getting any vehicles on the way. while you're running, look to the right most part of the screen, the coins come in very specific patterns and are often easy to avoid if you remember the patterns. I have completed all missions 24 times and I am now on my 25th play through. the first 10 times, that mission was available on a normal basis (they repeated in the same order) since the big update it occurs less often, but still one of the hardest missions!
Answer: What I did before there was gadgets, I just stay on the ground and jump before zappers, some things that would help are air barry's, 1500 boost on the ground, final blast, gravity belt is optinal, and Quick revive.
Answer: If you are buying Gadgets just to win that mission or buying utility things like final blast then you can just buy the unlock for the mission, it will cost you 15,000.
Answer: I have done all the missions 30 times each and have never had enough money to buy quick revives and small blast and soon. If you look at the right side or your screen and move away as soon as you see the coins, you should get it. Don't get any vehicles or spin tokens because they are harder to control and you might spin yourself $1000 which you do not need.
Comment: Please use correct grammar and punctuation. I have edited your answer.
Answer: I have a very simple answer: Stay on the very top of the screen for as long as you can.


Cooking beef: how to make it tender?

Question: I have been trying to sauté beef and make pan sauces, but the meat seems to always become somewhat dry and chewy. How do I avoid this? I have the same issue when stewing beef in a slow cooker or dutch oven.
Comment: http://cooking.stackexchange.com/q/3378/1092 may be relevant
Answer: The cut is important for both techniques. For sauteing, you need a lean cut - fillet, sirloin, or good rump steak. These should be cooked quickly over a high heat. As Cerberus has suggested, if you are cooking something else in the same pan, take the beef out and re-add it later; don't boil it in a sauce.
Stewing beef needs some fat and cartilage which breaks down during slow cooking and tenderises the meat. Packs of such beef are usually sold as such in the supermarket; look for a pack with plenty of fat marbled through the meat; 'Lean stewing steak' is as useful as a waterproof teabag! My personal favourite stewing beef is brisket, as it breaks down into nice tender fibres after 2-3 hours cooking.
Contrary to popular belief, browning meat does nothing to 'seal in the juices'. It simply provides a bit of extra colour and flavour by 'caramelising' the outside a little. So if you have a strong flavoured stew (like a chilli, for example), just throw the chunks of meat straight into the sauce.
Comment: Browning beef may not seal in the juices, but the Maillard reaction is still valuable for taste.  One should brown the beef in advance for the extra taste.
Comment: +1 For debunking the "sealing" myth. It is still good for taste, as you say.
Comment: I wish celebrity chefs would start using the word "[sear](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Searing)" instead of "seal".  It would certainly cause less confusion as the word only has one meaning in the context of cooking.
Answer: I'd say you either sauté it on a very hot fire (in oil/butter, no watery liquids yet) for a very short time (less than a minute if you have small chunks), or you let it simmer for as long as possible, so that you get a stew-like effect, which makes it tender in a very different way, could be 45 to 180 minutes for a real beef stew. Anything in between usually doesn't work for me.
I sometimes put the beef in a bowl after sautéing, then add it back into the pan when the sauce is ready to be served. You could put the bowl in your oven at low temperature (60–100 C, 150–220 F?) to keep it a bit warm while you make the sauce. Just as you can keep a steak warm at ca. 150 C for ca. 10 minutes after frying it for a few minutes (works well for me). Or you could just sauté the meat in a different pan just before serving it.
Answer: I think bmike has hit it on the head.  If you're cooking with a well marbled good cut of beef then cooking it too much will toughen it.  If you've a lesser quality cut of meat then long braising will render it tender...   the falling apart on your fork effect.
When I am making beef stew I figure I'll be simmering it for a fairly long period of time, so I buy packaged stew beef, mostly because of the cost factor, brown them well, and then add them to the dish.
This is similar to buying a lesser quality roast that you'll put in the oven or braise for a long slow low temp period of time whereas I'll cook my 1 1/4" rib steak for 6 or 7 min on the highest heat to maintain tenderness.
Answer: When frying: Try using a less lean cut, or if you want to use a lean cut try marinating it in oil for a while beforehand. The fat; either natural in the beef, or oil from the marinade; will help you against dry and chewy.
When slow cooking: If you sauté before slow cooking it is unusual to get dry and chewy, even with the worst cuts. Maybe your slow cooker does not get hot enough or you don't cook for long enough. Slow cooking often takes hours.
Comment: *always* takes hours.
Answer: If using a crock pot, add water to the crock pot when you slow cook the meat.
Answer: It's a bit odd, but tenderness is something you cook out of very tender meat. So, keep the temperature as high as you can and the cooking time as short as possible based on the thickness of the meat.
If you start with a tough cut or have cooked the tenderness out of a steak, then it's a long slow process with hours of moist cooking in a crock pot to break down the fibers and return the meat to a tender place.
Answer: I'm a Cajun so I cook slightly different. I have never had a problem with my stew meat and I use everything from Walmart to whole foods. The key for me is when I marinate it, even if for 20 minutes, I use pineapple juice. This breaks down the amino acids. This can also be done with wild game. Not to worry your food will not have a pineapple taste. Monitor your meat if your doing the low and slow option after about and hour go test your meat if it seems a little chewy cook for another 30 then you will be fine.
Hope this helps.
Comment: Welcome to the site. Could you elaborate a bit? You marinate for 20 minutes, then cook for an hour and test?
Comment: Wait, what? Breaks down the amino acids?
Answer: I found if you wish to tenderize cheap tough meat, gravy beef before you cube it, lay first layer in bowl, cover in lots of salt, place next layer and so on till all is covered. Then leave for an hour, pull out meat and thoroughly rinse off all salt. Cube it and crock pot the stuff in a thick gravy sauce. You will be pleasantly  surprised how tender cheap cuts can be good for BBQ as well.

Cooking beef: how to make it tender?


Should I use mysqldump or mysqlhotcopy for MySQL database backups?

Question: I have a WordPress blog running on a MySQL database that I want to back up regularly. Would it be better to use the mysqldump program or the mysqlhotcopy script to make backups? What are the pros and cons of each? Are there any other options I should consider?
Answer: I can tell you that I currently use mysqldump to maintain a backup of my database.  I do this because my goal is to keep weekly backups so that in the event someone removes their webpage(s), I can recover it from at most a week ago.
The good thing about this is that it is a basic text file so I can import it over to any computer with MySQL, load it up, and search around for the missing data.  Note: in order to get what I wanted, the command I'm using in my script is this:
mysqldump --databases databaseName > /file/path

The --databases is what makes mysqldump dump the CREATE DATABASE IF NOT EXIST headers so that I can import it anywhere I want.
While this method works for me, I'm sure that there are better methods out there for other purposes.  I can also say that, as for any backup solution, you should store it at least on another computer, and preferably offsite (our in the cloud) if you can.
Answer: I would consider using a WordPress plugin called "WordPress Database Backup (WP-DB-Backup)" which is also listed on the Wordpress Database backup guide. This plugin can backup the database on a schedule and email it to you(assuming its a small database). You can also just back it up locally. You can exclude comment spam and revisions to make the DB smaller
Less control but easier to implement.
MySQL dumps give you the most control. Your hosting service can also be a limiting factor. Some hosts don't give you access to run cron jobs or run the mysqldump command.
Answer: SUGGESTION #1
If you do any backups of MySQL Instance it is best to setup MySQL Replicaton so that any impose server load or increase disk I/O does not impact your production database is any way.
Once you setup MySQL Replication, you can script a mysqldump in different ways (Please see my post on the DBA StackExchange for the variety of techniques), as long as you run those mysqldumps on a Slave.
SUGGESTION #2
If you cannot setup another server for MySQL Replication and all your data is InnoDB, you will have to perform a point-in-time mysqldump. This is done using --single-transaction option with the mysqldump. Thus, if you ran a mysqldump starting at midnight and the backup ended at 12:15AM, the mysqldump's output when restored reflect the data as of 12:00 AM.
SUGGESTION #3
Another program available for MySQL Backups is XtraBackup from Percona.
XtraBackup is a comprehensive tool that behaves like rsync but has directed purpose in life. It can start off copying all InnoDB data and tablespaces. It has the ability to create checkpoints internally and perform in-place an InnoDB crash recovery to help get perfect point-in-time backup. XtraBackup also has an extra feature which allows for the creation of incremental backups. Another additional feature is the creation of InnoDB log files, also built by an in-place crash recovery. There is also some wrapper software to provide frozen copying of MyISAM tables as well.
It performs a back of the MySQL Instance, but with a distinct difference. The point-in-time of the backup is based on when the backup completed rather than when it started. Thus, if you ran XtraBackup starting at midnight and the backup ended at 12:15AM, the mysqldump's output when restored reflect the data as of 12:15 AM.
Answer: Depends on your storage engine for your tables. It works only for ARCHIVE and MyISAM tables accordinto this MySQL Manual Page and must be run on the same machine (ie not using local socket or TCP/IP)
MySQL also says

If you are doing a backup on the
  server and your tables all are MyISAM
  tables, consider using the
  mysqlhotcopy instead because it can
  accomplish faster backups and faster
  restores.
Answer: I recommend using one of the many pre-existing mySQL backup scripts to take the pain out of getting it right.
I use "automysqlbackup" which is an open-source shell script that can be set as a cron job on the server. It covers almost every conceivable backup situation: http://sourceforge.net/projects/automysqlbackup/. It has worked flawlessly for me for several years - thoroughly recommended.
Answer: mysqlhotcopy is a Perl script circa '05. So it adds dependencies, for Perl and various Perl. I'd pass on this one.
mysqldump is a C program being distributed with MySQL and actively maintained. If you add the -x option it locks the tables so you're golden.
I personally have this script in cron (you'll want to remove those ` escapes if you want to run it by hand) and it works like a charm for me, backing up each one of my databases to a local file, as well as a full dump of all databases.
And if you have more than one database there, you'll also want to dump the grants for them. Maatkit will help you there, and you'll just mk-show-grants -uroot -pPASSWORD > mygrantsdatabase.sql to have your grants tables backed up and ready to import again.
Answer: I also know that a number of server management tools such as Interworx and Ensim use mysqldump to backup the databases and then a simple mysql command to restore. From this it would be my guess that this is one of the best ways.


Why would my cities go into a demand loop for luxury resources?

Question: Every so often, your cities will want a luxury item and if they get it, they will enter
"We love the king day". Is it normal for multiple cities to demand the same resource? 4 of my cities wanted Ivory, so when I got it, they were happy. Then they all wanted gems. So they got gems and were happy. Then for the next few thousand years I was in perpetual king day because they were always demanding gems and ivory, which I had. Is this normal? Is this a glitch/exploit? Ivory and gems were the only thing that they were asking for.
Comment: Never had that happen to me, did you have all available luxury resources in possession? If you did, that might explain it.
Comment: No. Even if I did, they only asked for gems and ivory.
Answer: They should demand luxuries that you don't currently have, giving you an incentive to acquire them.
Usually by the time that I can acquire every luxury resource, AIs have already begun shutting me out of trade deals by demanding 4 or 5 luxury items for the one I don't have.
Answer: As David says in his answer, your cities are supposed to demand a luxury resource that you currently do not have.  That's why as you obtain more and more luxury resources, all of your cities will end up demanding the exact same luxury resource, because it is the only one that you have yet to obtain.
I'm not certain why your cities were cycling between resources (perhaps because you were trading away one resource?), but I can confirm that in all of my gameplay, whenever I have obtained all the luxury resources, my cities will constantly demand the exact same luxury resource, putting them in a perpetual "I Love the King Day" for as long as I control all the luxury resources.
Comment: I did not have all of the luxury resources, nor did I trade any of it away.


Will using all the Google web tools boost trust of a website or help SEO?

Question: I have using a single Google account and using that I created Google webmasters account so my website uses single User account access all the service provided by The google like adwords, adsense,webtools, google Map etc.  Will this increases trust of my website?
Answer: Basically, no:

Verification doesn't affect PageRank or affect your site's performance in Google's search results.

–from the Webmaster Tools "adding a site" page.
Comment: I knew it was there somewhere!
Answer: I would have thought this question was asked before, but I can't find it. I also can't find Google's definitive answer on the subject. (Update - see Su's answer for where they say that.) However I'm pretty sure that the answer is no. If the answer was yes, then people would do all those things to increase their ranking and the quality of search results would go down, which wouldn't help Google in the long run.
The tools provided by Webmaster Tools can help you increase the quality and relevance of your site, but just signing up for it won't do that - you have to put in the work to use the tools.
Comment: Not only that, Google would surely be reprimanded for being anti-competitive.
Answer: No, but by using all the available tools you will be able to diagnose any issues on the site, which can help you boost your site's performance over time.


Determination quantity of integers, the sum of digits of which is equal to $N$

Question: For a number in the range $1 \le N \le 36$, i want to find a quantity of four- digit numbers, the sum of digits of which is equal $N$.
I would be very grateful for the algorithm!
Thank you!
Answer: Hint: One simple algorithm starts:
<code>foreach $x ( 1000 .. 9999 ) {
   ...
}
</code>
It may run about 0.1 second slower than figuring out the result in a smarter way, but that's easily saved by the faster development time. And you can tabulate the 36 results so you don't have to run it more than once anyway.
Comment: Thank you for your answer, Henning Makholm!
Answer: Try assembling the digits from the number.
Answer: The generating function for these is
$$f(x) = (x^1+x^2+\cdots+x^9)(x^0+x^1+x^2+\cdots+x^9)^3.$$
It will produce all answers at once and the coefficient $[z^N] f(x)$ of the term with degree $N$ gives you the count of four digit numbers that sum to $N.$ For example, $[z^{11}] f(x) = 279.$
This polynomial contains only 36 terms and you can compute it e.g. with a computer algebra system since 36 is a very reasonable size to work with. Or you could start with an array of coefficients and code the multiplication yourself. The point is that the problem dimension is not of an order that would cause difficulties, so it is not in need of optimization.
Comment: Thanks a lot for such a detailed answer, Marko Riedel!
What you say is very important to me. Thank you!
Answer: Here is a C program (tested with gcc version 4.3.2) that will do the above computation.

#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>

int main(int argc, char **argv)
{
  int n;

  if(argc!=2 || sscanf(argv[1], "%d", &n) != 1 || n<2){
    fprintf(stderr, "single numeric argument please");
    exit(-1);
  }

  int mx = 9*n + 1;

  int a[mx], b[mx], c[mx], pos;

  for(pos=0; pos<mx; pos++){
    if(pos>0 && pos<10){
      a[pos] = 1;
    }
    else{
      a[pos] = 0;
    }
    if(pos<10){
      b[pos] = 1;
    }
    else{
      b[pos] = 0;
    }
  }

  int m, p;
  for(m=1; m<=n-1; m++){
    for(pos=0; pos<mx; pos++){
      int s = 0;
      for(p=0; p<=pos; p++){
        s += a[p]*b[pos-p];
      }

      c[pos] = s;
    }

    for(pos=0; pos<mx; pos++){
      a[pos] = c[pos];
    }
  }

  for(pos=1; pos<mx; pos++){
    printf("%04d %010d\n", pos, a[pos]);
  }

  return 0;
}
Comment: Thank you, Marko Riedel! Thank you very much!


How do I record music as a background for my voice

Question: I am looking for a program that will record my voice. I also want to add music (a type of slow music), and when I speak I want this music as a background for my voice so my words will still be clear when I speak.
Answer: First, make sure you have rights to the music you are recording in the background.
Second, you will need a program to record your voice.  If you want a free program, try Audacity.  If you don't mind spending a little money, try Reaper.  Reaper will allow you to adjust the EQ while you are listening to the recording and give you instant feedback as to what the changes sound like.
Record your voice into your program of choice, then either import or record the music on a separate track.
To get your voice to stand out and put the music in the background, you will use a combination of volume and EQ.  The background music should be adjusted so the level is low enough to not overpower the voice, but also still be able to be heard clearly.  You will also want to use the EQ to slightly lower the level of the frequencies in the same range as the voice.


How do monitor speakers not produce feedback?

Question: I always see monitor speakers hooked into recording systems in example diagrams.  There are monitor outputs on my audio interface.  Can you really monitor recordings on speakers in the same room as the mic?  How is there no feedback?  You can monitor with speakers in real-time during recording?  Or is it meant for listening to it after you've finished recording?
Answer: Generally, monitor speakers are in a different room from the microphones. Monitor speakers can and do feed back into microphones.
Answer: They will feedback under certain circumstances.  For example, if you have your monitors on and you're recording vocals right in front of the monitors, you will have crazy feedback, especially if you're using a condenser microphone.  Think about it this way:
You have to imagine the audio signal path.  If you have your monitors on and your mic on at the same time, what will happen?  Let's say you sing into the microphone.  The next thing that happens is the audio signal goes in the mic and then into your audio interface.  Then, it goes into your DAW, back out of your DAW to the monitors, where it then feeds back into the microphone...repeat.  As long as the input gain on your microphone isn't turned up too high, this won't happen.  But if you have to have your mic in the same room as your monitors, just turn the monitors off (or mute them if your interface has an option for that) when you're using your microphone.  Hope this helps :)
Answer: The monitors will only feed back if they are close enough to the microphone and the volume is turned up too loud.
You can use the monitors during recording.  You can avoid feedback by turning down the volume or simply not routing the microphone through the monitors.  With my current setup I have a few microphones pointing at a drum set.  The microphones and my keyboard are routed through an audio interface.  Only the keyboard goes through the main speakers, so there is no chance of feedback.
A bigger problem with using monitors while recording is that the sound from the monitors is picked up by the microphones.  To get a cleaner recording, it is usually a good idea to use headphones where possible.
I usually use headphones while recording and switch back and forth between monitors and headphones when playing back, editing, and mixing.
Answer: Where you do need monitors in the same room as the microphones, and volumes are high enough that you get feedback, a good desk will give you the ability to isolate the exact frequency you get feedback on and cut it by 3dB, 10dB or more.
This will have an effect on the final recording, but sometimes that is the trade-off you make. If the Q is high enough (the frequency range being cut is narrow enough) it can be undetectable to the ear.


"cannot find symbol error" with defining a string

Question: So this code is supposed to take an entered string, turn that string backward, then compare the original and backward string to see if they match and return true if they are palindromes. Before turning the text backward, I'm trying to convert it to lowercase, however I'm getting a "cannot find symbol" error on the line where I take the parameter passed to the method, convert it to lowercase, and store it in a new variable.
I have no idea what's causing this, from what I know about java(which isn't much), the "cannot find symbol" error while defining a variable within a method is often caused when the method or class cannot access whatever value is assigned to the new variable, however it seems to me like method isPal should have no problem being given the variable 'str'. Please, can someone tell me where I'm going wrong?
public class Lab14TEXT05st
{
    public static void main (String args[])
    {
        System.out.println("\nLab14TEST05\n");
        boolean finished = false;
        do
        {
            System.out.print("Enter a string  ===>>  ");
            String str = Expo.enterString();
            System.out.println();
            System.out.println("Entered String:     " + str);
            System.out.println("Palindrome:         " + Palindrome.isPal(str));       <---This line should be passing string str to 's' in the isPal method
            System.out.println("Almost Palindrome:  " + Palindrome.almostPal(str));   // used only for the 100 and 110 point versions
            System.out.println("Least Palindrome:   " + Palindrome.leastPal(str));    // used only for the 110 point versions
            System.out.println();
            System.out.print("Do you wish to repeat this program [Y/N]?  ===>>  ");
            char repeat = Expo.enterChar();
            finished = (repeat != 'Y' && repeat != 'y');
            System.out.println();
        }
        while (!finished);
    }
}

class Palindrome
{
    public static boolean isPal(String s)
    /*
     * Precondition:  s is an arbitrary String.
     * Postcondition: The value of true is returned if s is a Palindrome, false otherwise.
     */
    {
        String s2 = s.toLowerCase;  <--The error message points to this line
        String s3 = "";

        int n = s.length() - 1;
        for  (int k = n; k >= 0; k--){
            s3 += s2.charAt(k);
        }

        if (s2.equals(s3)){
            return  true;
        }

    }

Comment: I think your homework will be much more valuable if you do them yourself...
Comment: Who the hell tagged this as C#?
Answer: You're trying to call a function.
That requires parentheses ().


Why is the FIFA Head-to-Head Season Squad update crashing for me?

Question: when I play FIFA Head-to-Head season, my game sometimes gives me the old squads, then kicks me after searching for a game.This started to happen recently and is really draining my battery!Can anyone please help me? Can you help me find a way to fix it?
Answer: I had this problem on my Xbox 360, to resolve it I deleted the team file (can't remember the exact name of the file) from my Xbox. It can be found under Settings -> Storage -> Hard drive -> Fifa 12. The file is named something like Online squads or Online teams, delete it, boot Fifa up again and a new file will be downloaded when you try to play online.
Answer: I believe it's related to EA's update servers not working properly.
When this happens, a workaround is to go back to the main screen of FIFA. Reentering head to head menu should force a reload.


What's the right way to hold a pick?

Question: It there any difference between holding a pick in a fist like this

and with your fingers sticking out like this:

I've found that most online guitar lessons teach it the first way, but I've noticed some bands pick using the second way.
Comment: It's all about what feels best for you.
Answer: From what I hear other players say, there is no definitive 'right' or 'wrong' way to hold your pick. It depends a lot on personal preference, comfort, and playing style.
For example, an acoustic strummer may want to hold the pick with the thumb on one side, and using the index and middle finger on the other to hold it. A folk guitarist may want to employ the technique demonstrated in the second link you provided, so they are free to fingerpick if they wish to.
If your pick holding is causing you aching in your fingers or hand, you may want to think about trying a new position, because this is your hand telling you that you are doing something not quite right.
Answer: In both pictures, the pick is being held between the thumb and index finger in essentially the same manner (it's impossible to tell quite how the index finger is placed in the first picture). The only difference is how you hold your non-active fingers. Since they are not doing anything, by definition, it doesn't really matter how you do it. It's mostly a matter of comfort and won't make a huge difference to picking style.
Personally, I use a closed fist when strumming so that I don't get my fingers caught up in the strings. I use an open hand when playing single notes or lead as I find I have slightly better articulation of my thumb and index finger to control pick attack, and occasionally to pick using just the motion of the thumb and finger (and as mentioned to do hybrid picking).
Mostly, I think it's preference though. Whatever feels more comfortable. Just make sure that if you're making a fist, it's not tense. Your right hand should always be loose.
Answer: The former gives more control and is especially good for heavy downpicking while the latter is for hybrid picking
Answer: May be when you will be good enough / satisfied by your skill level, you might end up making a new style for yourself :)
Answer: I think both images reflect same technique. That's the standard (or recommended way). The difference is in how you lean the other 3 fingers, but that's another scope.
Basically, I'd say there is three typical ways of holding the pick, and I used them all.
I tell you my experience in case it's interesting.
15 years playing acoustic guitar auto-didactly. Evolving constantly.
I started holding it like most amateurs, with index and middle in one side and the thumb in the other one. All fingers appointing the edge of the pick. I think that's the technique best suited for strumming so I still use it. It gives you plenty of control and allows you to sound very mellow and sweet, like caressing strings, just by relaxing a bit the amount of pressure.
Then I started with licks and solos, and I evolved to essentially same attach but without the middle finger. I need to press stronger, and leave less edge, and I also subconsciously rotate a bit the angle. For slow or melodic solos, I find it the most natural and sweet sound.
Then I abandoned on purpose the pick for ever and I was like 7 or 8 years only playing with fingers, and learning arpeggios (yes, it's an acoustic guitar!). But suddently I learned syncopated fingerpicking, and then the thumb became really trained.
Finally, I started studying the way guys do fingerpicking with a pick. The single way to do that is by facing the edge of the pick perpendiclarly and stroke with the whole arm instead of the wrist so you can free your remaining fingers. Steve Howe was the one that lead me to change my pattern after 15 years. Know what? All that impossible pick holdings I have tried in the past (even the fingerpicking thumb pick) made sense suddently!! Wow, it was completely intuitive for me using it that way finally, unlike before, thanks to getting the idea of travis fingerpicking.
Now I am amazed about what I have been missing. With the new adopted holding, the one in your picture, I see a milimetrical control over the stroke, I can go totally fast, using tremolo picking, free my other fingers, easier/cleaner palm mute... and the pick is much safer so it does not escape/fall.
The only drawbacks I find are that is marginally more difficult for me to jump from one string to the other, especially big jumps, and that sound is a bit more aggressive and muted, like more bluesy. The amateurish way allowed me to control the tone better, but I might be a bit picky (no pun intended :) ) on all this.
Obviously there are big virtuosos that still use their first approach and master it perfectly, but technically, I'd say that this holding is the way to go if you plan to become a versatile player in the future.
Comment: Great answer! Coming from finger picking only (incl. syncopated picking) but finally going back to the basics to learn how to use a pick, this answer really helped me out to decide what to begin with. Thanks!
Answer: I agree with yossarian.
I don't see a difference between those two grips. To me, the pick is being graped between the thumb and the index finger, which is "correct".
What the other fingers are doing is not that relevant - you will curl those fingers up, or perhaps hold them against the body of the guitar (for support). Fanning them out is useful when tremolo picking. You'll just do with them what feels natural depending on what you are doing.
With practice, it should just become a natural part of your technique and you won't think much about how they are placed.
The free fingers can also be used to hide the pick while you are playing, so you can switch to finger-picking.
The important part of what those pictures demonstrate is that the pick is perpendicular to the thumb. Holding the pick at that angle is what I consider the "best" approach.
You'll be able to attack the strings cleaner, harder and you'll be able to pull off artificial harmonic much easier and at will with that grip.
Answer: There is likely no "perfect" grip or hand position.  However, part of more advanced playing is learning to manipulate the pick as you're playing.  Extending the pick a bit for a more forceful tone, retracting it for more muting or even actively fingertip-muting (Al DiMeola refers to this as his "Mutola" technique."
As well, different angles of attack can alter the tone.
As long as you don't drop them all the time.....Should be good.

What's the right way to hold a pick?


Property (T) and subgroups of finite index

Question: Suppose $G$ is a discrete group and $H \leq G$ a subgroup of finite index. If $H$ has Kazhdan property (T), does it follow that $G$ has property (T)? (I've read somewhere that (T) is preserved by exact sequences, so if $N$ is normal and $G/N$ is finite, then the fact above holds ; here, however, we do not assume $H$ to be normal)
Answer: Yes. For groups $H\subset G$, with H a lattice,  H has (T) iff G has (T). When both groups are discrete being a lattice is the same as being finite index.
Almost every thing you ever need to know about Property (T) can be found here
http://perso.univ-rennes1.fr/bachir.bekka/KazhdanTotal.pdf
Answer: I think even more is true. See Proposition 2.5.5 in "the book":
Bekka, Bachir; de la Harpe, Pierre; Valette, Alain (2008), Kazhdan's property (T), New Mathematical Monographs, 11, Cambridge University Press, MR2415834, ISBN 978-0-521-88720-5, http://perso.univ-rennes1.fr/bachir.bekka/KazhdanTotal.pdf
for (I think) a stronger result about property (FH)
Answer: Since $H$ contains a subgroup of finite index which is normal in $G$, what you are asking also follows from Theorem 1.7.1 of the book of Bekka, de la Harpe and Valette (mentioned in Jon Bannon's comment.)


Ubuntu on Pandaboard giving me troubles

Question: I'm trying to install the OMAP4 extras for ubuntu on my pandaboard. For some reason, a few packages can't seem to be agree with eachother.
This what I did so far:

installed on Ubuntu 11.10 on sd card
Powered on Pandaboard and let it finish it's initial install
Did an "apt-get update" and "apt-get upgrade", to install updates

So far, everything went fine, and I was quite happy with my Pandaboard, but then I made the mistake of typing this:
apt-get install ubuntu-imap4-extras
At first, everything seemed ok, and it started downloading and installing. But then after a while it just crashed. I tried it again but then it gave me this:
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
ubuntu-omap4-extras is already the newest version.
You might want to run 'apt-get -f install' to correct these:
The following packages have unmet dependencies:
gstreamer0.10-openmax : Depends: gstreamer0.10-plugins-bad but it is not going to be installed
gstreamer0.10-plugin-ducati : Depends: gstreamer0.10-plugins-bad but it is not going to be installed
ubuntu-omap4-extras-multimedia : Depends: gstreamer0.10-plugins-bad (>= 0.10.22-2ubuntu4+ti1.5) but it is not going to be installed
E: Unmet dependencies. Try 'apt-get -f install' with no packages (or specify a solution).

So I tried to the suggestion: apt-get -f install:
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
Correcting dependencies... Done
The following extra packages will be installed:
gstreamer0.10-plugins-bad
The following NEW packages will be installed:
gstreamer0.10-plugins-bad
0 upgraded, 1 newly installed, 0 to remove and 4 not upgraded.
88 not fully installed or removed.
Need to get 0 B/1,794 kB of archives.
After this operation, 4,571 kB of additional disk space will be used.
Do you want to continue [Y/n]? y
(Reading database ... 143575 files and directories currently installed.)
Unpacking gstreamer0.10-plugins-bad (from .../gstreamer0.10-plugins bad_0.10.22-2ubuntu4+ti22.214.171.124+1_armel.deb) ...
dpkg: error processing /var/cache/apt/archives/gstreamer0.10-plugins-bad_0.10.22-2ubuntu4+ti22.214.171.124+1_armel.deb (--unpack):
trying to overwrite '/usr/lib/libgstbasecamerabinsrc-0.10.so.0.0.0', which is also in package gstreamer0.10-plugins-good 0.10.30-1ubuntu7.1
dpkg-deb: error: subprocess paste was killed by signal (Broken pipe)
Errors were encountered while processing:
/var/cache/apt/archives/gstreamer0.10-plugins-bad_0.10.22-2ubuntu4+ti22.214.171.124+1_armel.deb
E: Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (1)

Seems like two packages (plugins-good and plugins-bad) are fighting over the same library.
Any idea on how to fix this??
Answer: My steps to solve this problem:
dpkg -r --force all gstreamer0.10-plugins-good
apt-get -f install
apt-get install ubuntu-omap4-extras

Force to remove the good package first!
Answer: Try this to clean and update your system
sudo apt-get autoremove
sudo apt-get clean
sudo apt-get autoclean
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade

Ubuntu on Pandaboard giving me troubles


Can I map mouse mouse buttons 3 and 4 to control the system volume?

Question: Is it possible to map mouse buttons 3 and 4 to control system volume on a Mac? KeyRemap4Macbook doesn't seem to have the functionality, nor SizzlingKeys. I have them both. Is there some way to manually bind these buttons to control system volume?
Answer: What kind of mouse? Is there a proprietary driver for it?  Kensington has a driver for their mice & trackballs that can assign their buttons.  Before I had  an effective Kensington driver, I used USB Overdrive. It works with a lot of multi-button HID devices.
Answer: If mapping the buttons to perform key press F11 (volume down) and F12 (volume up)  doesn't work, then i'd suggest the following application.
ControllerMate (commercial ~$25 USD) it allows you to map almost any input device button from mice, non-standard and standard keyboards, and game controllers, to specific tasks (and they can be as complex as you want).
The image below is from their website and shows an iTunes Volume control created from their application.  For me this application blows USB Overdrive out the water if you need the features it provides.

A list of known compatible devices is available from their website here if you want to see if your device is listed and supported.
A demo version is available here


How should one prepare beef heart?

Question: I've got one in my freezer.  The whole heart.  After a cool defrost...
How should I cook this heart o' cow?
Steaks are the only application that come to mind.
Comment: Don't overcook or it will get tough
Answer: If it's from an animal that is "young at heart" (veal/calf), it may be tender enough to cut into thin strips and pan-fry or grill quickly as "steaks."  Don't overcook, or they will be really tough, and you'll be heartbroken.
But to get to the heart of the matter, if it's really an adult beef heart, it's too tough and chewy to cook quickly.  Braising is my preferred method and the one closest to my heart.  This is one of those things can cook all day and will eventually become incredibly tender -- tasting like a slightly unusual and hearty pot roast.
You can also stuff them and then either braise or roast them -- again, "low and slow" heat is the most heart-friendly.  If you roast it, also be sure there is enough moisture in the stuffing (i.e., leave a "soft spot" in your heart), or else it can dry out during a long bake.  (You can also "roast" it in a dutch oven or something.)  When you open up your heart after cooking, a dry stuffing will just leave you with a heavy heart.
A final option is to use it as stew meat.  It will take longer to cook than most stew meats, so you might want to simmer for a while first before adding vegetables.  Then cook until the flavors come together and your heart's content.
Once, when I had leftovers after making a stuffed heart, I was just going eat it, but then I had a change of heart.  I chopped up the tender meat and added it to chili.  It probably was about 1/3 of the overall meat in the chili, along with some diced chuck chunks and some ground beef.  It came out incredibly good: there was a deep earthy flavor that really worked well.  I served it to a number of friends without explaining the dish, and they didn't notice anything unusual; I didn't have the heart to tell them.  In fact, a number of people said it was some of the best chili they had tasted, which was really heartwarming to hear.
Take heart!  There are lots of ways to cook it.  Any slow-cooking method or recipe you might use for a tough cut of beef will probably work -- just follow your heart.
(I am actually serious about all of these methods -- but, okay, truly sorry about the puns.  From the bottom of my....)
Comment: I like the cut of your jib.
Comment: you could also consider grinding it for use in other preparations to utilize it's nice mineral-y flavor.
Comment: What a nice, heartfelt answer.
Answer: You can find in some sites a method you would like, such as Site 1 or Site 2.
But as a personal experience, we chop the heart it into cubes.
In a frying pan put some olive oil, slice an onion or two; then place the heart. After being a little brown, add some lemon juice. Let them boil for 10 min, then pour in hte serving dish. Upon serving you could add some Sumac spice.
Answer: One of my favourite dishes as a kid was stuffed lambs hearts but these were tender enough to be roasted and the fat in the stuffing helped to cook the heart.
Hearts are hard tightly packed muscle with very little fat to help cook them. Pig, calf and lamb hearts are tender enough to be cooked with a stuffing which includes some form of fat, but ox and cow beef hearts are simply too tough to cook that way and need to be treated as a tough cut of meat and braised until tender.

How should one prepare beef heart?