How do I repair my porcelain floor?

Question: How can I repair chips in a white porcelain floor?  The chips came from dropping heavy cans, and they are small, less than pencil eraser size.
Comment: Do you have any extra tile that matches stored somewhere in the house?
Answer: The general recommendation for repairing a chip in a porcelain tile is to fill the chip with an epoxy that has as close as color match to the original tile surface as possible. When you go to purchase the epoxy make sure to select a type that indicates that it is suitable for use with porcelain.
Prepare the chip area for patching by wiping the chipped area and surrounding surface with a microfiber cloth to remove all dust and dirt. Then thoroughly clean the are area with rubbing alcohol to make sure that all oils, remaining dirt and other deposits are completely removed. It is important to let the area full dry after the alcohol wash.
Mix the epoxy according to manufacturer directions on the package. You can use a small discardable container or old clean bottle cap to hold the epoxy while mixing. (Note that if you are working in multiple areas that will take an extended amount of time you may want to prepare the epoxy for only part of the project at a time).
Use a matchstick or toothpick to apply the epoxy into the chip area a small amount at a time. Work to fill the chipped area level with the surrounding tile surface without overfilling the damaged area.
Protect the area from traffic or use until the epoxy has completely set up. Some epoxy materials could take till over night to fully harden.

How do I repair my porcelain floor?


External Disk Capacity for Time Machine

Question: I have a 500 GB hard drive in my iMac, and I am planning to buy a new external hard drive to use for Time Machine. I don't know if Time Machine synchronizes, or something else.
What size external drive should I get for Time Machine?
Answer: The Time Machine drive should be equal to or larger than the drive that it backs up. TM images the drive completely, then saves incremental changes. Time Machine saves the hourly backups for the past 24 hours, daily backups for the past month, and weekly backups for everything older than a month.
If your internal is 500GB with 100GB free (using 400GB), and your TM is 500GB, then you will get a full image, and then some amount of history (filling up the remaining 100GB of the TM disk). The history length depends on your use habits.

Change a few small files occasionally? Lots of history.
Change lots of big files a lot? Then the 100GB free will save a few hours or days.

If you have a bigger TM, you will have a longer history to browse.

I personally have a mostly full internal, an equal sized TM, and change files quite often, and find that I usually have a few months of history. Plenty of time to restore a file I accidentally delete.
Answer: There isn't much to add over the previous answers, but I would mix them a bit.
Your Time Machine drive should be at least as large as the internal one. I've read somewhere a recomendation of it being 1.5 to 2 times the internal drive, but that actually depends on how you use your machine. If you deal with lots of small files, 1.5 will probably do. If you deal with video, and keep them in your internal drive, at least 2 times the internal storage.
Remember that Time Machine keeps a copy of each version of any file changed, so if you change the metatags of a 1.5 GB video file, you will get 2 copies in your TM storage. If you make lots of individual small changes to your music files, they will be stored as different backups as well.
Also, I agree that you should by the largest drive you can afford, and resist the temptation of partitioning it when you see the unused empty storage. I originally had a 250 GB internal drive and a 500 GB TM drive that was ok. I bought a 1.5 GB external drive and moved my backup there. Then I upgraded my internal storage to 500 GB and had to increase my TM storage to 750 GB. Then I found that eventough OS X allows me to change the size of a partition, it isn't able to move the start of a partition. My TM partition was the last one, so I had to use Linux to do that, and since it was a large backup partition I didn't have available storage to backup it. Quite a bit of cold sweating, but everything went ok. I just would avoid repeating that.
Answer: Time Machine keeps copies of everything on your hard drive, and all revisions. It doesn't keep multiple copies of the same file when it's not been changed. I'd suggest you want a disk with around twice the capacity of the disk space used on your Mac -- so if you're using 300GB of the 500GB on your iMac, you'll want around 600GB for Time Machine. That will allow you to keep a reasonable amount of history of file changes. But it depends on how many changes you're making to your files.
Answer: Just get the largest within your budget, that way you can migrate to a larger internal HDD if you need in the future as well. Also the larger the HDD, the more version of history it can store. And more space is never wasted. :)
Comment: My question is more about productivity than economy :) Thank you.
Comment: I wonder what you mean by productivity. But since you have 500G internal, I'd suggest atleast 1T external for time machine.
Comment: You beat me to the punch. My advice for buying memory & hard drives is always to buy the most you can afford. I've been telling people this for, probably, 10 years.

External Disk Capacity for Time Machine


2007 Nissan Armada power window fuse location

Question: According to the fuse block diagram, there is not a dedicated fuse for the power windows. Anyone know if the power windows are on another fuse? Front drivers side window will not go down and switch makes no noise when you hit it.
Comment: You could also gently try to help the window down the first tiny bit and see if it goes from there.  It's possible you simply have a small dead spot on your window motor.
Answer: Look in the underhood fuse box, it may be a maxi-fuse, or a circuit breaker. However they are not fused separately so if the other windows work it's not the fuse.
The most common cause is the motor. One thing you can do is sitting in the car with the dome light on push the window button up and down and see if you notice the dome light get a little dimmer when you push the switch. If so it's defiantly the motor, other than that you will have pull the door panel off for further troubleshooting.
Answer: Most of the stuff in the cabin of your car (power windows, radio, etc.) are commonly grouped together on the fuse labeled 'ACC'. This fuse is located in the fusebox under the hood or in a seperate fusebox located inside the cabin. Please consult your manual for the location of the fusebox(es) and a diagram of all the fuses.
However, when one window doesn't work while the others are perfectly fine I suspect there's something wrong with the button or the motor. You can use a multimeter to troubeshoot these.
Answer: Well according to my Haynes repair manual for a Nissan Armada 2005-2010 year model the power windows are protected by fuses and a circuit breaker. The fuses are located in the fuse panel and each motor is equipped with an internal circuit breaker, this prevents one stuck window from disabling the whole system.
Answer: Im almost certain your problem is not as intense as a failed motor and/or master switch. I suggest checking ALL your fuses (cabin and under the hood), use a test light. Change any fuse that "fails" to "light up" the test light. If none, then with the ignition off, sort of strategically "jiggle" the fusebox's main harnesses. I'm almost convinced therein lies your problem.
Comment: Welcome to Motor Vehicle Maintenance & Repair!  Would you mind [editing](https://mechanics.stackexchange.com/posts/58278/edit) your answer to clarify what you mean by "any that 'fails'"?


implement facebook login

Question: I want to implement facebook login using php. the php page should automatically login to facebook using a user name and password specified. is it possible? which platform should i use. the script should not aske for username and password. just log in using a username and password probably stored in a mysql database or php variable.
Answer: It's not possible I'm afraid, you have to use Facebook Connect.
Here's the latest OAuth2.0 info: http://developers.facebook.com/docs/guides/web
Bit of a read, but should help.
Answer: You can't do that. What you are supposed to do is request permission from the user to access their information when they are not online. Then Facebook will allow you to query information about the user. Facebook will control what you have access to.
An alternative is to get a permanent session key, which is what "desktop" applications use for access Facebook. That sort of works like an automatic login.
Answer: If you are lazy you can use JanRain / former RPX Now:
http://www.janrain.com/products/engage/get-janrain-engage
The API is a bit simpler than direct facebook access. Also you could support users of other platforms (Twitter, OpenID in general).
But there are drawbacks of course, like making yourself depended on an additional party.

implement facebook login


How to create a responsive web design?

Question: How do you exactly create a very responsive web design? Do you create application for your website to be responsive when using mobile and/or tablets?
Comment: I'd start by googling 'responsive design'
Answer: Responsive Design
A nice definition and or article on responsive or fluid design can be found here: http://www.alistapart.com/articles/responsive-web-design/ . And I do not have to add to much to it. A responsive design is a designed site that adjusts to its environment and mostly adjusts itself to the screen resolution of the medium used by the visitor. This to make sure the site looks good on a 17" screen monitor, but also on your iPhone 5. It should not just fit, but content display should be appealing too, so often some content is not loaded or loaded later or in another form to make it look good.
Twitter Bootstrap
OS CMS like Joomla! use Twitter Bootstrap to help in creating sites that display well on devices with different screen resolutions making the site responsive to the need of the user and the device he or she is using. WordPress also has themes like Roots that integrate Bootstrap and HTML5 Boilerplate. But Bootstrap can be implemented in any CMS or static site.
Responsive DIY
With HTML5 and CSS2 or 3 you can create your own responsive design as well of course. I just means making your site load content in a different way to make it fit and look good on an iPhone, Galaxy Tablet or Nokia Lumia as known examples. See an ok sample at Microsoft's knowledge base here.
My Two Cents
Still I'd recommend a framework like Twitter Bootstrap. Why not use a system that is Open Source and has already worked out the major issues?
Comment: The article you have provided is very useful because it actually provides the code on how to implement a responsive web design. Thanks Rhand!
Comment: Just need to add http://adaptive-images.com/
Answer: I really like Zurb Foundation. I have built a few sites with it and had no issues. I have found it easy to extend - it's easy to build a prototype that and then take to full production. (I've been using version 2 - there is V3 out - however V3 has dropped support for IE7)
http://foundation.zurb.com/docs/
Also a new tool someone in the office was playing with was jetstrap.com
Let's you visually do responsive layouts - you can then check the code and see how it's done and might be a good way to get started.
Answer: I found the book "Responsive Web Design" by Ethan Marcotte extremely useful when I first looked into the subject. It will take you through the complete design process so you can understand how the coding works and what the limitations are. From there you can then go to some of the more complex frameworks, but have enough knowledge to better understand how to use them and get them working.
Answer: Usually it's done with CSS media queries and breakpoints for viewport widths.
It's a huge topic though, with many different opinions and techniques. I highly recommend you read lots of articles on the topic.
Somewhere like Smashing Magazine would be a good place to start:
http://mobile.smashingmagazine.com/tag/responsive-design/

How to create a responsive web design?


Is there a way to cycle between full screen windows on OS X?

Question: I have multiple Safari windows in fullscreen mode and I'd like to cycle through them using the keyboard (pretty much like command + ` works when windows are not fullscreen'd). I know I can control + ->/<-, but that will make me pass through all my non Safari windows. Is that even possible?
Answer: The short answer is no. OS X, by default, does not have a method which allows you to contextually change between spaces, staying in the current application.
From my experience, your best bet is likely to focus on tabs for your navigation, replacing (or augmenting) spaces. Safari tabs can be switched between with the keyboard using Command+Shift+{ and Command+Shift+}, which would give you functionally the ability to quickly switch between pages, while still not worrying about other applications getting in the way.
Comment: I use separate windows to organize my navigation based on the subject. For example I have a window with multiple tabs for work related stuff, one for personal stuff, etc.
Answer: I just tried having multiple Safari tabs open at once and was able to do the 3-finger swipe to switch between each space, which got me to the tabs.
Answer: I've tried something like that but it seems that fullscreen apps turn into new desktops.
When you open exposé(F3) with fullscreen apps running you can see the "new" desktops for each app.
Answer: I don't have a Mavericks machine to test with but older Mac OSes use CMD+` to cycle through an application's windows. This worked just now on Snow Leopard.
Comment: Yes, that still works for windows not in fullscreen state; as these windows are treated as other desktops, ⌘+ ` does not work.


92 ford escort - Is there a way to remove a ball joint without a pickle fork AND without removing the brakes?

Question: I'm trying to replace the ball joints on my escort but i don't have a pickle fork. Most of the things i've seen so far without the fork require removing the calipers and rotor. Is there another method?
Answer: This year Escort uses a ball joint that attaches to the knuckle via a pinch bolt. It is not a taper fit shaft that is typically used. The ball joint shaft has a radius notch that the pinch bolt slides into. In theory once the bolt is removed the ball joint should slip out. The theory part means that a "pickle fork" may be needed to get the shaft to slip out. The ball-joint is attached to the control arm by two bolts. Not pressed in as shown in the generic video Typically the brakes must be removed to get the ball joint to clear the dust shield behind the rotor. You may be lucky and slip the ball joint past the dustshield  by loosening the ball-joint to control arm mounting bolts. You may also have to remove the sway bar mounts from the control arm to allow it to pivot low enough to get the balljoint to clear.
Answer: I always prefer to use a scissor-type ball joint separator, like this one rather than a fork-type one, if it'll fit. They're less likely to cause damage to other parts (and to the joints themselves, but that doesn't matter if you're replacing them.
What's stopping you buying a fork-type one? They're incredibly cheap (the above site has them for £5, so less than US$10 ), certainly much less than the value of the time it'll take to remove and replace the brakes!
Answer: This is how you can remove the ball joint from the LCA.
This is how you remove the ball joint from the knuckle. He took the entire assembly off the vehicle. However you may be able to finagle it out while it is still on the car.
Answer: Just use a hammer, on the backside without knocking the axle.. In same time put a (long) iron bar for maintening down, and knock with medium force.
If it don't come, don't hurt you or the car, disassemble all the front half axle, this is quick and will be easy to dissasemble into separates parts when this is not under pressure.
Usually not necessary but sometimes better, not really longer.with good tools, and it is preferable to never force if you work alone, so the second solution could be better, depending of the context.


What is the difference between homology and cohomology?

Question: In intuitive terms, what is the main difference? We know that homology is essentially the number of $n$-cycles that are not $n$-boundaries in some simplicial complex $X$. This is, more or less, the number of holes in the complex. But what is the geometrical interpretation of cohomology?
Comment: I use de Rham (co)homology as the yardstick for my intuition. It tells me that homology about stuff that you integrate over. Cohomology is about stuff that you integrate. See also here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Rham_cohomology#De_Rham.27s_theorem
Comment: The question is answered in every good textbook on algebraic topology. I prefer Hatcher.
Comment: Homology could be thought of as compactly supported object while cohomology may not necessarily be!
Comment: Some of the comments and answers at http://mathoverflow.net/questions/640/what-is-cohomology-and-how-does-a-beginner-gain-intuition-about-it and http://mathoverflow.net/questions/6125/what-is-a-cohomology-theory-seriously may be relevant.
Answer: As to what cohomology actually measures, I think a general theme is "the failure of locally trivial things to be globally trivial", or perhaps "the failure of local solutions to glue together to form a global solution".  In the de Rham cohomology of a smooth manifold, any closed form ω is "locally trivial" in that you can cover the manifold by contractible charts, over each of which a solution to dα=ω exists by the Poincaré lemma.  The cohomology class [ω] measures the failure of existence of a global solution of this equation.  Similar remarks can be made about simplicial, singular, and (especially) Čech cohomology.
Answer: Let me give a somewhat elementary answer.
 Like a lot of things, this stuff (presumably) came out of calculus.
Start with integrals of the form $\int_C \omega$, where $C$ is closed curve and $\omega$
a differential. If one assumes that $d\omega=0$, then by Stokes the integral depends only the
homology class of $C$ i.e. $C$ can  be replaced by any $C'$ such that $C-C'$ is
boundary of something. Dually the integral is unchanged if $\omega$ is replaced
by $\omega+d(something)$. In other words, it depends only on the cohomology class of $\omega$.
This can be carried out in higher dimensions, as well. At first glance cohomology seems completely dual to homology, and therefore seemingly redundant. But in fact it has more structure. Since you multiply (wedge) differential forms together, cohomology becomes a ring. This is still true in more general approaches such as singular cohomology. On the homology side, one has an intersection pairing, but this is harder to describe and only available for really "nice" spaces.
Perhaps another feature of cohomology worth mentioning is that is contravariant: cohomology classes pullback from the target to the source under a map of spaces. This important in the theory of characteristic classes, where such classes are pulled back from to maps to certain universal spaces. Such classes measure the amount of "twisting" of bundles.
Answer: Cohomology is a graded ring functor, homology is just a graded group functor. As groups cohomology does not give anything that homology does not already provide. Whatever geometric interpretation you have for homology would mostly probably work also for cohomology. But the multiplication in cohomology allows better differentiation between topological spaces which is not possible with homology. In this sense cohomology is a finer invariant. Specific examples can be found in the book of Spanier.
There are extraordinary cohomology theories, cobordism, K-theory, etc., which are also important. These satisfy most of the Eilenberg-Steenrod axioms.
Also cohomology can be generalized to algebraic geometry, which is very important. One cannot stress how important this is. Cohomology is the king there.
One helpful way of thinking of (integral) cohomology maybe the following. In homology, you look at sums of simplices in the topological space, upto boundaries. In cohomology, you have the dual scenario, ie you attach an integer to every simplex in the topological space, and make identifications upto coboundaries.
Comment: Doesn't the comultiplication on homology provide exactly the same extra information as the multiplication on cohomology? The way I always understood it is that we prefer cohomology for algebra because corings are annoying to think about and work with...
Comment: You don't have a comultiplication on homology in general; see this question: http://mathoverflow.net/questions/415/does-homology-have-a-coproduct
Comment: Extraordinary cohomology theories are always dual to extraordinary homology theories.  So your 2nd paragraph Anweshi isn't so much a special feature of cohomology.
Comment: Harry, I'm not sure what you mean by that. If "cohomology in AG" means sheaf cohomology (a la Grothendieck), then sheaf cohomology does generalize singular cohomology: the sheaf cohomology of a constant sheaf on a locally contractible space is singular cohomology --- so even the notations agree!
Comment: The cohomology in algebraic geometry is not strictly a generalization.
Comment: Ryan Budney, as functor cohomology represented by spectra, but homology are not corepresented. May be this is first thing that literally does't have dual.
Answer: On a closed, oriented manifold, homology and cohomology are represented by similar objects, but their variance is different and there is an important change in degrees.  For simplicity, consider homology or cohomology classes represented by submanifolds.  Then if $f : M \to N$ is a smooth map between manifolds of dimension $m$ and $n$ respectively and $W$ is a submanifold of $M$ representing a homology class then $f(M)$ represented (really, $f_*([M])$ is) a homology class of $N$, in the same dimension.  On the other hand, if $V$ is a submanifold of $N$, then we can consider $f^{-1}(V)$, which is a manifold if $f$ is transverse to $F$.  Its codimension is the same as that of $V$ (that is, $n - dim(V) = m - dim(f^{-1}(V))$).
Note that this preimage is generically at least as "nice" as $V$ (smooth is $V$ is, with reasonable singularities if $V$ has, etc.) whereas little can be said about the geometry of $f(W)$.  That's one reason I think that cohomology is of more use in algebraic geometry.
If you want to relate this view of cohomology to the standard one, a codimension $d$ submanifold of $M$ (that is, one of dimension $m-d$) generically intersects a dimension $d$ one in a finite number of points which can be counted with signs.  The former defines a class in $H^d(M)$ while the latter a class in $H_d(M)$, and this intersection count is evaluation of cohomology on homology.
This point of view is more applicable than it might seem since in a manifold with boundary cohomology classes are similarly defined by submanifolds whose boundary lies on the boundary of the ambient manifold.  Since any finite CW complex is homotopy equivalent to a manifold with boundary, one can view cohomology in this way for finite CW complexes and often infinite ones as well.
Answer: I think Hatcher's book has a good elementary exposition of some of the differences between homology and cohomology. I believe it's in the introduction to the cohomology chapter.
Comment: To give another link, the key point there, perhaps, is the existence of the cap product on cohomology, explained also at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cup_product#Interpretation
Answer: My geometric intuition about homology and cohomology of a space $X$ is that the first is an abelian group over maps from spheres into $X$ made commutative (allowing to patch maps together by cut and glue) and the second is maps from $X$ into spheres made commutative (again allowing to cut and glue).
Comment: You seem to be describing homo*topy* and cohomotopy and not homology. By a stretch of imagination, your intuition of homology might be somewhat OK, but cohomology is very far from maps into spheres.


What is the cheapest way to get from Eindhoven to Amsterdam?

Question: What is the cheapest way to get from Eindhoven or Eindhoven airport to Amsterdam and back?
Comment: [Walk?](http://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=52.379018,4.900264&daddr=Eindhoven+Airport,+Luchthavenweg,+Eindhoven,+The+Netherlands&hl=en≪=51.750839,5.597534&spn=1.001501,2.90863&sll=51.444593,5.568008&sspn=0.252071,0.727158&geocode=FYo9HwMdqMVKAA%3BFT4yEQMdiUZSACE6Ixf3lUj1jg&oq=Eindho&dirflg=w&mra=ls&t=m&z=9) It will take 1 day and 2 hours... I'm pretty sure google means 26 hours.
Answer: I'm currently working in our Eindhoven office and can see the runway from here ;)
Hitchhiking is unlikely to work; there's no decent location to get picked up near the airport. The A2 highway is close, yes, but there's no parking lot or something similar. Furthermore, you're not allowed to walk on the highway itself. You'd have to post on the on-ramp, but there's no room to stop there.
The train would be easy, and there are 7 buses per hour to the station. Pick the 401 (22 minutes; it uses a reserved buslane so no traffic jams); the 103 takes a horrible detour. Costs 3 euros one way, and you'll need coins for that.
There are actually 4 trains per hour to Amsterdam; two of them go to Central Station and the other 2 go to Amsterdam Airport (south of the city). Depending on where you're going, either route is an option. All trains stop in Utrecht, where you can transfer.
Comment: AirExpressBus? I've never seen one of their buses (and they'd have to pass my office to get to Amsterdam). It seems they only run 4 buses a day instead of 4 per hour. And I don't believe a word of that claimed 1:30 travel time either. The A2 has been improved near Amsterdam, but the southern part is still a work in progress.
Comment: What about the shuttle service? About 20E according to the website, so costs like the train. Is it worth it?
Answer: The cheapest is probably hitch hiking. It's about 120km, and the A2 runs basically the whole way, but I've no idea how easy it would actually be to get picked up.
The easiest is probably taking the train. During the day, there are 2 trains an hour from Eindhoven direct to Amsterdam Central, journey time of 1:20. The ticket costs €17.50 for a single in 2nd class. Alternately, there are 4 trains an hour (2 direct, 2 changing in Utrecht) which will take you to Amsterdam's Schipol Airport, journey time of 1:27 (with or without the change), at a cost of €18.00 single in 2nd class. You can look up times and prices on ns.nl, which is the website of the Dutch Railways.
Comment: Assuming they're starting from the airport (the question as it stands asks for either the airport or the town)
Comment: You need to add 2,50 for the bus fee from the airport to the station.
Answer: I was about to suggest the bus / shuttle service as well, but it looks like the locals already disagreed on this option :)
If your trip is still a few weeks away and the train or bus is no option, you might try your luck by placing a listing on one of the rideshare sites:

Ride 4 Cents (Eindhoven)
carpoolworld.com (Netherlands)
Share your ride (Netherlands)
liftshare.com search page
Answer: This question is pretty old but I came across it when trying to find some cheap way to travel from Eindhoven to Amsterdam.
If anyone would like to save some money I recommend group train tickets - the price drops from 20 to 7 euros per person and the great thing is that the group doesn't have to travel together, not even the same train, only the destination needs to be the same. More info in this thread: Group travel in the train in the Netherlands, how does it work?.
Answer: Hitchhiking is by far the cheapest option. I have had personal experience hitching across Holland both in and out of Eindhoven and I've never wited much longer than 1 hour maximum for a lift pretty much anywhere in Holland.
When hitching my best advice is to always hitch from a petrol station, as that way you can talk to drivers to;
A: determine if they're going the same way as you
and,
B: critically assess risk and not just take the first thing that comes along.
I believe the petrol station method is such an advantage it's worth either asking someone at the airport (also good hitching locations often) for a lift to the 1st service station on your way or even catch a taxi there.
If you are after specific hitching recommendations then you should check out http://hitchwiki.org/ (an excellent resource) and for Eidhoven in particular head here: http://hitchwiki.org/en/Eindhoven
Answer: When flying in, the bus they supply is only slightly more expensive than train tickets to Amsterdam, slightly less expensive than paying for the bus to the station and the train without a public transport chip card.
The time it is taking is also a bit less than taking the bus to the station and the train from there.
Better option next time is to fly to Amsterdam airport rather than to Eindhoven, as it is much cheaper and faster and not having to pay for the bus or train will make up for the difference in flight prices.
This comparison in prices held true over the last couple of years, I do not expect it to change by much as Ryan air seems to dictate that price level.


Small amounts of moss on asphalt shingles?

Question: What's the best way to remove moss from asphalt shingles?
Answer: Moss is there for a reason. It grows because there is moisture. Typically overhanging tree limbs and shade are the problem. You want to cut back the branches over the house so that your roof will get sufficient sunlight and airflow to dry out.
Once you do that, a good stiff push broom should be sufficient to scrub off the moss from those shingles.
Check for roof damage. That moisture is a killer. It is possible that you will need to replace shingles, or even the wood underneath. You may also have venting problems, preventing the roof from properly drying out.
Finally, once you ensure that the roof can dry out, and remove the moss which helps to keep it moist, and replace/repair any problems, you can then add zinc strips to the top of your roof to help retard moss from returning. The zinc leaches out gradually with rain, retarding new moss or algae from growing on your shingles.
Nothing will work unless you dry out the roof and keep it dry though.
Answer: Mechanically, just scrape it off, but you will need to do so carefully. A piece of ply wood would do - it will give you a large edge to scrape the maximum amount of moss off, but won't be too sharp which will reduce the chance of it digging into to the shingles. Work down the shingles starting at the fixed edge that way you won't potentially lift them.
You might want to look at why it's forming in the first place. If the shingles are shaded and constantly damp these are ideal moss growing conditions. Prune any overhanging trees and make sure any gutters are clear.
Comment: Thanks Chris. Appreciate the prompt response. Would I need to add any cleanser after physically removing it?
Comment: @Mike B - you could try scrubbing at it with a stiff yard brush to get rid of as much as possible - but again you need to be careful to avoid damaging the asphalt. Other than that I don't know, sorry.
Answer: I've also used the Moss B Gone product, attach it to the hose and spray.  This is basically iron and it kills the moss, if you have moisture problems I'd suggest doing it on a warm day so it kills the moss then drys out fast.  This has worked out well on the moss in my yard and on the roof, got rid of it in a couple days using the hose, and no ladder needed.


How does "upload an image" behave in a Responsive Design environment?

Question: i.e. "Upload CTA" usually launches an OS based file selection interface on desktop devices. How would this work within a responsive design environment if the user is on a mobile browser. Would it / could it go directly into the native photo app so the user can choose a picture? Or would it not work at all?
Comment: @yisela I think this could very well be a User Expereience question, well suited for this site!
Comment: This would be better suited for stackoverflow. I'd say it probably depends on how the plugin is written, but in the last responsive web app I did, we left mobile out because it wasn't done automatically.
Answer: To answer the last part of your question first: how uploading an image works on different devices depends largely on the support for and implementation of HTML5 features such as the File API and file form input fields. On iOS, for example, a prompt appears asking whether the user wants to take a picture with the camera or upload an existing file (see this screenshot).
The more interesting part of your question is how to make the design respond appropriately to those capabilities. What if the device does not support device uploads at all? One solution could be to provide the user with alternative ways for uploading the image. For example, many photo sharing sites allow you to post images via email. If the image is already uploaded elsewhere, you might want to allow the user to get the image from Dropbox, Google Drive or something similar. There is actually a product that tries to do all of this for you called filepicker.io (I have no affiliation with them, but I heard good things about them). Perhaps this is an option for you.
Depending on what you're designing, you may also want to respond to context. Perhaps uploading an image is not critical for completion of the current task, so even when users are on a device capable of uploading files, they might want to skip that step for now because they don't have the file at hand or cannot be bothered doing it on a small screen (especially when multiple files need to be uploaded). A user on a mobile device might be on the move, after all. In that case, it might be appropriate to allow the user to skip that step and complete it at a different time and/or on a different device.
All of these things matter when designing for the colourful mess that is the web and there are probably a lot more, depending on what you are trying to do.
Comment: Great idea about uploading elsewhere and being able to pull that item from that location instead of from the device. If you'd have to get upload working on *all* devices that means including lots of device detection, something responsive design should avoid.
Answer: It is supported on opera browser via getusermedia feature of html5
http://dev.opera.com/articles/view/playing-with-html5-video-and-getusermedia-support/
If the user has to leave the app to fetch any data and come back to you application, then it doesn't give a good experience especially if it has to be done repeatedly.
Answer: It depends greatly on the device and how old its OS is and which browser is being used. You should definitely consider the scenario where the user is unable to upload something with his device.
If the user is able to upload, it happens often with a flow similar to that of desktop devices. The browser will open a dialog that allows the selection of media and will return the user to the form when the item has been selected. Some devices will also allow you to create media and select it in one go.
With uploading, orientation is also an issue. Some devices don't store images in their correct orientation. On iOS all camera images are stored in landscape orientation and rotated when their metadata suggests it should be displayed as a portrait image. Because of this, the upload of a portrait image will result in it being rotated 45 degrees. Your server-side logic will have to extract the intended orientation and rotate the image accordingly.
Providing a good UX for uploads across all devices will not be an easy task!


How Can I Make Supplies Matter In D&D 3.5e?

Question: On long journeys we always forget to track supplies so I am looking for a way to make supplies actually matter in D&D 3.5.
Comment: If you want to take this to an extreme, check out [Torchbearer](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/burningwheel/torchbearer).
Answer: The starting point should probably be to take efforts to not forget to track supplies. To help with that, you could, say, print out/write down the Starvation and Thirst rules on a note and stick it to your DM screen.
That being said, supplies generally don't matter in 3.5. There are just too many ways to trivialize it, even if rigorously tracked. Here are some reasons:

Rations are cheap, as is a mule to carry them on long hikes. The cost is so low that it isn't usually a problem at 1st level, and becomes an extraordinarily low percentage of your total wealth once the levels pile on.
Surviving without rations is an easy Survival check.
There are magic items to circumvent the need entirely. In core, you have the Sustaining Spoon and Ring of Sustenance. Out of core you get things like the Magic Item Compendium's Everlasting Rations (which are too expensive for what they do, but they do negate the bookkeeping).
Low level spells can create food.
Some PCs don't need food at all. Elans, Warforged, Necropolitans...

If you wanted to make rations matter, you'd have to start cutting these down, one by one. And I wouldn't recommend it for most games - it's all too likely to end closer to "ration accounting 101" than the "gritty survival horror" houserules like this tend to be aiming for. You may want to check out a different system if that's what you're after.
Comment: +1, Unless the party is attacked while cooking dinner, I don't really care if my players are eating deer, trail rations, or horse-fodder for dinner.
Comment: The only time most supplies matter in D&D is when you don't have access to them.  You want supplies to matter?  Your ship is attacked by an overwhelming force of mind flayers, everyone is knocked out.  They take basically EVERYTHING.  You wake up when a storm drives your ship against a rock and it splits in two.  You make it to shore, the whole party is completely naked other than various bits of low-value gear that wash up.
Comment: Why do you say that "Everlasting Rations (which are too expensive for what they do, but they do negate the bookkeeping)" when they cost 350gp (per human) while Sustaining Spoon costs 5400 for just 4 humans?
Comment: I know in ADND and 2nd supplies mattered a lot. I want to have a gritty survival feeling. But if it is trivial for 3.5 then so be it.
Comment: @Simanos, I think the spoon is also too expensive compared to the cost of  mundane rations.
Answer: I like the other answers, but an alternative approach is to focus on logistics and role playing.
The bottom line, as others have pointed out, is that minute bookkeeping is very rarely fun.  A logistical challenge can be interesting though.
I should say, I have never made food a major mechanical issue in any game.  But it can be a good flavor issue and a major logistical challenge can be interesting (I haven't done this in 3.5, so it might just be too trivial there).
In a game where supplies are meant to be an issue, make sure the party has a supply plan in place.  I don't track every bit of food and I rarely make it a mechanical thing at all, but it makes them think a bit about the combination of magic, foraging, and carried supplies they will use.  I then mention (but don't keep track of) of what they found, their use of magic.  When things are lean, I mention the hunger pains, the way lack of supplies gets on nerves (especially if there are NPCs with them).  A successful hunter or forager could easily be the hero of the day.  A significant source of rations might be a major plot point, even if it isn't tracked mechanically.
But of course, all of that is only interesting if there is something making it challenging.  In a post-apocalyptic world where food is scarce and something another group will fight you for, then its interesting.  If they have magics that let them generate food or sustenance they might easily get attacked for that.  If they managed to get a rare large animal, they might have to fight with other two legged scavengers to be able to keep it.  Even in a campaign that isn't survival driven, it can be interesting for them to need to carefully defend that donkey that is carrying their provisions when they get ttacked.  But its interesting as plot points, background, and a conflict driver, not in fine bookkeeping with mechanical effects.
The other way its interesting is if you have a truly large group, like say a large army unit, or your enemy does.  Many wars in the real world have been won or lost based on logistics.  Sure scavenging for a small group is easy in many environments, and a few magical items or spells to sustain a small group might be trivial.  But if you have an army you need to worry about keeping and maintaining your logistical line.  Scavenging for such a group is on the lines of seizing a hostile grain store, not hunting a brace of rabbits.  That again can drive plots if you have to make tactical decisions to protect a long supply line or moral decisions about letting the local civilians starve so you can feed your troops.  A potent magical cauldron capable of feeding a platoon might just be a macguffin to get your players to try for a stealth mission to try to seize it to help with the supply situation.
Comment: For a historical analysis of army logistics in the ancient world, check out Donald Engels' book "Alexander the Great and the Logistics of the Macedonian Army", which covers marches through terrain without forage or water.
Comment: Very good points all around; I definitely agree that these are much more interesting approaches.
Answer: Always remember that RPGs are only interesting when you get to make decisions
Accounting and bookkeeping aren't interesting because usually they're less "do I take this or that?" and more "well now, have I forgotten anything?" Even "do I take this or that?" isn't very interesting if you have no information to go on: if it's just a toss-up which you take, getting it right doesn't feel like success and getting it wrong is bad luck rather than a mistake. That's not interesting.
Therefore, don't leave supply issues too open-ended. This causes problems of almost "reverse-metagaming," where the player doesn't know (or remember) things that the character would. Make sure you indicate to your players what options they have (in a general way and of course leave them opportunities to be clever). If supplies are short, make it clear what options would be obvious to them, and what consequences they can reasonably expect for doing so.
For example:

Wizard, you calculate that you just barely have enough food to make the rest of the trip, but strict rationing would have to start now, and it's going to be very rough on the sick or elderly; some may not make it.
Fighter, you can see that attempting to raid that bandit camp and steal back your supplies is going to be extremely dangerous, but it might be possible. You'd probably need some of the caravaners to provide a distraction, and you might get some of these boys killed.
Ranger, you're pretty sure you can supplement the food we have while this forest lasts, but there's a pretty bare plain after it that will be rough. If there are any hunters among the caravan, though, you might be able to rebuild your stock with some time, but you also know that the dreaded RUDs of this forest could take them out before they could shout.

I left out the Cleric because, well, the Cleric would just be:

Cleric, you know your god will provide. As in, literally, you can create food & water enough for the whole caravan from here til judgment day if you have to.
Comment: Would those who downvoted care to share constructive input on how the answer could be improved?
Comment: +1 for cutting to the heart of the matter: The way to make supplies matter *to the players* is to make them interesting, instead of just utilitarian.
Comment: @SevenSidedDie Even if that were the case and this were more broadly scoped, I did say *usually*. The important part is handling the disconnect between player knowledge and character knowledge, in this case where the character knows things that the player doesn't. I have never personally prepared for a caravan trip through the badlands of Xzyzll, but if I'm playing a veteran caravaner, I expect that my character's got a pretty good idea. I don't find it interesting when my DM asks *me* (rather than the character) what I'm bringing, and much less so when I get "haha, you neglected a swizzle!"
Comment: @KRyan That's just my guess for the downvote, that's all. I know it isn't a style of play that would appeal to you, but to many, it does, even if they're not caravan experts in real life. Real-life experience isn't even relevant (or necessarily correct!) -- in that style of play, gaining the experience that's relevant to a particular fantasy world is what the low levels (and previous dead characters) are for. :)
Comment: @KRyan Probably the downvotes are from old-school adherents who disagree with the assertion that logistics can't be an interesting decision. You're right that it's not in an information vacuum, but it's incorrect to assume an information vacuum (most old school games put smart intel gathering at the heart of play). But for most 3.5 games, that *is* a fair assumption and taken with this context that shouldn't be cause for a downvote. But, I suspect that's where the downvotes are coming from anyway.
Comment: Returning to your original comment: I don't think the downvoter, if this is their reason, can offer any constructive criticism. So, I don't think you need to worry about the downvote signalling a real problem with the answer.
Answer: I think the easiest thing to do to reduce bookkeeping and make it simpler is to (instead of treating each piece of food as something else to keep track of) group rations together. Figure out how much your group needs to eat each day (per person) and how much they need together. Then figure out how much enough food for one day for everyone should cost and how much it weighs.
Example: Let's say each human or human-like creature needs ~2500-3500 calories (They are walking/fighting all day, which tends to make one hungry). That's several loaves of bread, or maybe one loaf, a half-pound of red meat (dried/smoked), some vegetables and a flagon of beer or two (that's the stuff to give the troops!). Feel free to tweak the numbers if you disagree. All together, I'd guess maybe 2-4lbs, so let's say 3lbs per person. I'd estimate the price at 5sp, although it depends what the economy is like in your game, and what different things cost. If the PCs want to pay a little more for more compact food, raise the price to 1gp or so.
Thus, if we have a party of 4 (human, half-elf and two dwarves) who can be expected to eat about the same, one day of food for everyone weighs about 12lbs and costs 2gp. If they are going to be travelling for a week, that's (7 x 12 =) 84lbs and (7 x 2 =) 14gp. However, after 2 days they decide to turn back. After 4 days' travel, they're back home. Take off (4 x 12 =) 48 lbs of weight to leave 36 lbs of food (12 days of food for one person, or three days for four people).
The advantage of this is that if the group is exploring a dungeon, they can pay for food in days at a time, letting them plan ahead. Also, they and you know when the food should be gone. If you have someone Creating food, then they simply produce their own food-days, which you can add to their total.
Optionally: To simulate spoilage, make food keep for about a week (depending on what it is - if the group pay more, it should last longer) then roll 1d6 for each food-day left. If a 1 comes up, it's spoiled. Increase/decrease the numbers if you want.
This system saves bookkeeping because once you've worked out the price and weight of food-days, you only have a single, small number to keep track of.
Comment: One trick players could use when marching long distances to a destination, then marching back along the same route, is to hide supply caches along the path so they don't have to schlep food back and forth. This allows the PCs to march farther and frees up carrying capacity for more treasure.
Answer: I had to take care of something similar for an adventure I ran once (it was for Silhouette, not any flavour of D&D, but the principles still apply, I believe).
The PCs were "under siege" in a sort of barrack/tool shed close to a mining entrance. So they had a selection of stuff they could take with themselves, and it was clear they had to try to hide in the tunnels to escape their enemies. This made the logistics (do I take rope or 4 extra rations?) important, because they had not much time, the item selection was limited, but still they couldn't take all with them, and they had no idea if they would need more food, more water, more rope...
Basically I created (designed in Word and printed with my PC) small "character sheets" for the items that they had at their disposal.
In case of small items that could be taken together, I created sheets with tick boxes a bit like this:
<code>+-----------------+
|     Rations     |
|                 |
|  [][][][][][][] |
|  [][][][][][][] |
|  [][][][][][][] |
|  [][][][][][][] |
+-----------------+
</code>
If someone wanted to carry say, 20 rations, they would just cross off the extra ticks. (And of course I asked them to cross one off whenever someone ate a ration).
For a lantern, for example I'd do something like:
<code>+-----------------+
|     Lantern     |
|                 |
|  Hours left:    |
|                 |
|   [][][][][][]  |
|   [][][][][][]  |
+-----------------+
</code>
The system I was using wasn't super-fussy about encumbrance, so I winged it (let's say you have 10xSTR+5 carrying capacity - Silhouette stats are 0-based, -5 for your weapons and clothes... Rations "weight" 1/5 of enc unit, lantern is 2/5, 100 yards of rope is 2 units etc.)
This way the players could discuss and take decisions, the items had a token that represented them in play, and consumable could easily be crossed out (the mines were difficult terrain, so in some places you had roll vs. Athletics or lose some random item, like 1d3 rations etc.)
Answer: Make them rare.
In most settings, it is incredibly trivial to get the sort of supplies you need to survive in the wild.  Rations are incredibly cheap.  Pack animals are reasonably priced.  Magical items are available that make sustained food consumption even more trivial.  Some races don't need food, and in most cases a survival check to eat is not difficult.
But there are no rules saying you have to provide any of these things to the player.

In an ongoing campaign I am playing, our DM made it perfectly clear that survival rests entirely on our shoulders, and so far it has been the major threat of the campaign.  I and the other player are essentially Norsemen on a lone quest.  We are allowed the clothes on our back and a small number of goods for survival provided by our tribe.
There is no 'merchant' from which we can buy rations.  It is extremely cold, and blankets and fire are essential.  Harsh weather and difficult terrain adversely affect our ability to hunt and forage for food.  Most importantly, we are not elves and we have absolutely no magic.
We also have to hunt if we want meat, not 'make a survival check' (that only helps us find an animal we could eat), meaning the other party member has to use up arrows to shoot game, while I have to basically attack them with my sword.  And most of the time we do not have much luck, barely scraping by with what we find.
We still have fierce encounters of course.  Like fighting off packs of wolves on ice packs, or horrid sea beasts that burst forth from the ice we are trying to cross back over.  Oh, and undead warlords from past tribes.  Yet the constant threat we face is freezing to death or starving each day.

This doesn't have to be done in a brutal tribal setting either.  "Trail Rations" may be listed under equipment, but there's no rule saying you have to make a merchant sell those rations at every town they come across.  Pack animals may be cheap-as-listed, but if it's the only mule for miles, double or triple the price to make it a real luxury.  Ban elves if you really want to make them work for their supper (Unless you have a player who really loves elves, this shouldn't be a problem).  Limit the party to one druid or ranger at most, if that's going to cause problems.
And feel free add a few modifiers to make foraging more difficult (poor crops, blighted lands, unfavorable weather, unfavorable terrain, being unfamiliar with the land they are in, just to name a few).

Food and transport aren't the only things that you need to survive either.  Consider, for example, shelter and comfort.  Can you really honestly say that your heroes are going to be well-rested after sleeping a night on the ground, in full armor, in the middle of the winter?  They would freeze to death, or at the very least be exhausted or fatigued(conditions you can enforce!) from the lack of sleep.  Make them take off their armor and put away their weapons if they want to make camp.  Make it dangerous to start a camp without a fire, for fear of the wolves that will attack if they let it go out (and make them sleep in shifts to re-enforce this fear).
There may not be any rules against sleeping on the ground in Core, but there are rules for effects of extreme environments, including cold temperatures such as ice-cold nights.  So make them suffer those effects if they fail to bring a bedroll or at the very least a blanket.  And encourage them to bring a tent for shelter against the rain (because of course you should make it rain once in awhile).

In short, if you want to make equipment non-trivial, make it hard for your PCs to actually get equipment.  If you want to make hunger and other environmental conditions non-trivial, make your players fight these conditions constantly, and make it clear that they will suffer if they do so poorly.
Of course, given that these matters are trivialized in many games, you should be sure to make it clear from the start that equipment will not be trivialized, or else all you will be doing is enforcing a -2 penalty onto everyone without any sort of understanding for the player as to why this is happening.
Answer: You could try to have the rations give a small bonus. If there is a boost involved, the players are more likely to be interested.
As an example: Divide food into three categories: Hearty, Energizing and Comforting. If the character eats hearty food, he gets a +1 Fortitude bonus. Energizing food gives +1 Reflex, and Comforting gives +1 Will.
Then each morning the players need to state what kind of food they are eating, and scratch it off their supplies.
Add flavor; hearty food might be venison or good iron rations. Energizing food might be fruit or might simply be adding coffee to standard rations. Comforting foods might be candy, or a lunch packed by the inn-keeper's daughter.
Add complications; Maybe energizing food is ruined if it becomes wet. Maybe you lose Will for a day or two after having eaten the last of the comforting food.
Answer: Hiking with a pack of 35lbs would at a good pace would consume 7000 calories for a male 160lbs.  A larger male would need 9000 calories.  Long distance hikers consume whole cartons of ice cream and bottles of olive oil.
Adventures aren't long traditional long distance hikers.  First off they are carrying 50lbs of weapons, armor, and adventuring equipment.  Their packs would be double the average hiker at least.  Also, fighters are "always" in their armor.  Armor isn't comfort or easy to move in.  It would take effort.  Effort requires additional calories.
All of this calorie expenditure would dramatically affect con, str, and dex, not to mention int, wis, and cha as delirium sets in.  Adventurers wouldn't be able to eat enough calories. Starvation, illness, and accidents would actually be how most adventurers would die.
With this bit of realism in mind, I think supplies stop being trivial.  It makes it another form of survival.
Comment: Also, an advisory: the moment you start applying physics (like joules used while moving) to 3.5... bad things can occur. Very few of 3.5's subsystems can withstand this kind of scrutiny (as I've learned the hard way). On the other hand, if you want to present an overhaul of the survival rules, this isn't a bad place for it.
Comment: Welcome to the site! Please take a look at the [tour](http://rpg.stackexchange.com/about) and the [help](http://rpg.stackexchange.com/help); they're a useful introduction to the site. It sounds like you intend a modification of the [starvation and thirst](http://www.d20srd.org/srd/environment.htm#starvationAndThirst) and/or [overland movement](http://www.d20srd.org/srd/movement.htm#overlandMovement) rules. Could you give some specific examples of the rule changes you'd make? And once you have 20+ rep, feel free to [join the chat](http://chat.stackexchange.com/rooms/11/rpg-general-chat)!
Comment: I feel that this doesn't answer the question: it addresses *why* supplies shouldn't be trivial, but presumably the querent already knew that since he's asking *how* to make supplies non-trivial. This doesn't answer that.


What is sumac used for?

Question: A friend of mine told me she uses sumac (I am not sure she was teasing me, or what).
Is sumac used in cuisine? If it is used, what is it used for?
Answer: Sumac is commonly used a tart flavoring element in the eastern Mediterranen region.  Historians believe that it was the common sour element in cooking for that area prior to domestication of lemons.  It is a characteristic seasoning element in Fatoush, a Syrian bread salad.
It's not usually available in the mainstream spice section of most grocery stores.  The best place to locate it is in mid-eastern markets, delis, upscale stores such as Dean & Deluca or online through Penzey's or the Spice House.
Comment: I find the sumac is often left on tables next to the salt and pepper at Persian restaurants. It is commonly used to add a light sourness to kebob.
Answer: The fruit of some varieties is used in traditional Middle Eastern cuisine. They dry it and use it like paprika (though it's flavor is more citrusy.)
Make sure you get the right kind. Sumac runs the gamut between edible and poisonous.
Answer: It's used in Mediterranean cooking, though I don't know why more people don't use it.  There were shakers of it on each table at a restaurant I used to go to before its nearby location closed - http://www.sorrentogrill.com/.  Anyways, my favorite thing to get there was the Braised Chicken on Wednesdays.  I would heavily sprinkle sumac on it!
The sumac gave a great earthy, slightly acidic, and very slightly salty flavor.  It was the reason I got the dish - because I knew I could have the sumac with it!
They also served warm pita with a yogurt sauce.  I would add sumac to that yogurt sauce, along with some salt, for a great way to start the meal.
You should definitely get some and experiment with it.  It's certainly not a strange taste, just a very pleasing combination of flavors you don't get from other spices.  If you ask me, it also has a hint of mushrooms.
Answer: Sumac is a major component in zatar, a Mideastern spice blend. Goes very well with any meats, especially beef, goat, and lamb.
Answer:
salads of any kind
if you make any deep fried food (such as falafel) dip them once into sumac, it adds an amazing flavor
on top of dips
in meat loaf / meat ball type dishes
Answer: I asked the same question to one of my friend, we do not use sumac that much either. He basically said whenever you eat onion use sumac. I tried couple times it works. You can add it to any salad. I make onion salad with sumac, very easy. Mix onion and sumac and squeeze it by hands. It goes great with hot dog, burger etc.

What is sumac used for?


What's the difference between Greek and Bulgarian Feta Cheese

Question: I went to buy some feta cheese today and noticed that there was both Greek and Bulgarian feta. I was wondering what the differences are between the two and can they be suitably substituted for each other?
Comment: I can't speak to all the Bulgarian feta style cheeses (technically called sirene as others have noted), but I can speak to the ones commonly available in NYC - they are softer and creamier, the texture is somewhere between feta and unripened goat cheese.  The taste is also milky sweet with a bit of a lemony tang. It's not as hard as Greek feta, so the crumbles will eventually turn into a paste.  They're somewhat interchangeable.
Answer: Having worked for some time as a cheesemonger, I found that Bulgarian Feta was generally saltier and more assertive than many Greek fetas.  I also found the texture to be a bit grainier with the Bulgarian feta and a bit more dense.  However, my experiences are limited in that while I sold five different Greek fetas, I only sold one Bulgarian Feta.  I'll also point out that while Feta is historically made with goat milk, it can also be made with sheep milk or cow milk as well, so one has to take the milk source into consideration also (for a quick overview, cow feta will generally be mellow and creamy, while sheep, and particularly goat feta will be more acidic.  But even then, the brine can completely counteract these generalizations!).
Comment: A deli near me also carries "Hungarian Double-Cream Feta", which is *delicious*. It's much softer and smoother than most other fetas, with a very strong flavor. If you can find it anywhere near where you live I recommend it.
Comment: @JSBangs, ooh, that sounds lovely. It would probably make an out-of-this-world kőrözött... damn, now I'm hungry.
Answer: In my experience, the only difference is country of origin. There can be bigger differences between different brands of Greek feta cheese than between any given Greek feta and Bulgarian feta.
Answer: The difference is that Bulgarian Feta simply does not exist. There is Bulgarian cheese similar to Feta and it's called Sirene, which has several different variations, depending on the milk used : originally it was made with sheep's milk, but nowadays it's mostly made of cow's milk, with the sheep's milk and buffalo's milk versions being considered delicacy.
(Real) Bulgarian Sirene is usually greasier, less crumbly and with more full-bodied taste than Feta, especially the Feta that isn't actually Greek. Sirene is known under the name Bulghari in Lebanon and Bulgarit in Israel, where they easily make difference between Sirene and Feta.
To sum it up, the difference between Sirene and Feta is just as the difference between Brie and Camembert - they are different kinds of cheese made in different geographic areas.
Comment: Interesting point. But international cooking terms are more complicated than that. For example, Dutch has no word for Gouda-style cheese; they only use the word "cheese" for gouda. Still, the correct English way to refer to a Stolwijk cheese is "gouda", because it was made by a process shared with other gouda cheeses, even though the final result differs from a Beemster in taste. Similarly, while Bulgarians call Bulgarian-style feta "sirene", which means just "cheese", it is still correct, in English, to call it "Bulgarian feta" even though it is a different subtype of feta than the Greek one.
Answer: I will start by saying that the term "Feta" can only be used for a certain kind of cheese produced in the greek mainland or the island of Lesvos. Feta is a white cheese produced from a mixture of goats' and sheeps' milk (30% and 70% respectively) and then cured in brine for at least two months. There are lots of other things that have to hold true for a cheese to be considered "Feta" and to be able to have this name legally.
It is true though that because of the different diets of the animals in different parts of Greece, they can vary a lot in how they taste or on their texture (softer or more firm.) In addition the duration of maturing can make a huge difference in how they taste.
In the European Union the only cheese that can be legally called Feta is:
1) Greek
2) Adhere to the rules I stated at the begining.
That doesn't mean that there aren't other excellent white cheeses (made from goat, sheep pr even cows' milk.) But they cannot be called "Feta"
Comment: This is part of the Protected Geographical Status framework (PSG: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protected_Geographical_Status).  It is only enforced within the EU.  The US is heavily opposed as they make their own products using those names already.  Feta in particular has PDO status (Protected Designation of Origin) which is the most strict criteria, it would be illegal to sell anything called Feta in the EU unless the criteria specified above hold. http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2002:277:0010:0014:EN:PDF
Comment: I suspect this doesn't apply outside the EU. Here in Britain the supermarkets stock "greek style goat's cheese", where in the US they can probably legally call it feta.
Comment: @slim : correct, the US doesn't enforce (and for the most part ignores) European PDO status ... they might accept a copyright on the name, though.  The only PDO-like term that I'm aware of in the US is [Bourbon](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bourbon_whiskey).  [Vidalia Onions](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vidalia_onion) are actually handled through trademark.
Answer: In the Balkans they have what they call "white" cheese and feta.  The white cheese is more consistent with American style feta cheese (although less salty and not as dry) and Bulgaria is very well known for producing this style of cheese.  The feta cheese produced in the region is nothing like American feta and is smooth and creamy (almost the consistency of cream cheese) and therefore you would never crumble it.  Feta is typically sliced and eatin on the side or cubed and placed in salads.  Also, feta can be made from cows milk, this was my favorite
I suspect when importers sell these two cheeses to foreigners they don't differentiate between the two types of cheeses.  American feta isn't even similar to Greek style feta cheese.  To be honest, I don't even remember seeing Bulgarian feta cheese, only French and Greek.
Answer: This question has become difficult to answer due to the politics that the EU plays with it's member countries. As you can guess EU countries are patriotic to their own countries interests much more so than to an actual "European UNION".  The EU is an economic construct.  Keep that in mind when asking this question, as some answers will come from patriotic Greeks, and Bulgarians, and even from people with those heritages even though they are not citizens of those countries.
On to the question at hand.  The political answer, which is relevant to EU countries, is also an answer based on the legality of using the word "Feta".
Why? Because Greece finally received "protected" status for the cheese called "feta", and with that, the only country that can produce this type of white cheese and call it "feta" is Greece.  Other EU countries that also produce this very same cheese, even when using the same ingredients and processes, can not name their product "feta".
How is Bulgarian "feta" different or similar to Greek feta?  The differences will lay in the base flavor profile of the milk used.
Basically both of these cheeses are "feta", as they use the same basic recipe and process, as long as they are using at least 70% sheep mile and 30% goat milk.
Cow milk "feta" uses the same process, but it's flavor profile is quite different.
Then again, which is a truer feta, a Bulgarian or French cheese using 100% sheep milk, or a Greek cheese using 70% sheep and 30% goat milk blend?
The truth is that this salty white cheese, that the world has come to know as "Feta", has been made in the Balkan region for centuries.  Bulgaria is in the Balkans as is Greece, as are all the countries formerly part of Yugoslavia, and Albania.
In Slavic speaking Balkan countries feta is simply called "sirenje/sirene".  This word literally translates to "cheese", yes, simply "cheese".  That's due to how old and indigenous this product has been to the whole Balkan region.  This cheese is cheese to this region as the peoples of this region.
For Greece to claim that all "feta" style cheese is Greek in origin, and can only be truly called "feta" only if made in Greece, is simply putting politics and patriotism in front of historical reality.  The word "Feta" came into the Greek language and lexicon only since the 17th century, not the thousands of years that Greece claims.  And, it's largely agreed upon that the word "feta" comes from and Italian word "fetta" meaning "slice".
Thus, even the word "feta" is relatively new compared to how long this type of cheese has been made in the region.
Greece is playing politics, rather successfully, in order to now corner the market on "feta" cheese, as it's become a very popular cheese around the world.  In the USA, many restaurants serve "Greek salad".  This salad comes with various ingredients as there is no universal "Greek salad" in the US, but the reason why it's "Greek" is because of the inclusion of feta cheese.  I've seen "Greek salad" that is basically iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, and olives, with some crumbled feta cheese, and that inclusion somehow makes it "Greek".  Global marketing is the reason why "feta" has become known as being "Greek".
I think the EU was wrong when they made their decision.  But, if they feel compelled to throw Greece a bone, then they shouldn't exclude other Balkan countries who also have historical claim to this type of cheese.  Let Greece keep and use the word "Feta" for this cheese made in Greece.  But also allow other countries that also make this cheese call it
"Feta-style" cheese.  Forcing them to use a completely different word will also hurt their economies.  Why should Greece's economy be any more important than the others?
I've eaten a lot of feta cheese in my 47yrs, and began eating it as a stable food in my diet since I was able to eat that type of food.
Not all Greek made feta is identical.  Not all French feta is identical.  Not all Yugoslavian feat is identical, and not all Bulgarian feta is identical.
Great, I say.  This is how it should be, as long as the basic recipe and procedure is followed, the resulting texture and flavor profile differences is what makes it great to actually try different feta's.  If all we have for feta is a Greek government mandated recipe, think how boring this type of cheese would be.
Having various levels of sheep to goat milk, or all of one or the other, adds it's own unique character to this type of cheese.  The different grasses and varying minerals and content in the water the sheep and goats consumer will directly translate to the flavor profile of a particular feta.  Why limit this to only one country, especially since a whole region has claim to it?
Even French feta adds it's uniqueness to the world of feta.  I really like the creaminess and sweetness of French feta.  But, it's not the best feta for certain recipes and uses.
That's the beauty of allowing variation.
I'm all for the product having a specific base that must be honored so that it can be called a "feta", like using only sheep and goat milk.  There's even room for cow's milk feta as long as the producer clearly shows on the packaging that they are not selling a true sheep and goat feta, but a different cow milk type feta.
Again, the problem is politics, patriotism, and protectionism where it doesn't belong.
Answer: It originated in the geographical area of Macedonia and was made by then Bulgarians living in that geographical area which today is divided between the Republic of Macedonia, Greece and Bulgaria.
So you can call it
1. Siren(y)e
1. Bulgarian White Cheese
2. Macedonian White Cheese
3. (Just)White Cheese
Comment: So are you saying that there isn't a difference between them?
Comment: There is a difference but my comment was edited. The difference is that the "greek feta" is a bad copy unknown to the local peoples living in the region. The sirene as local balkan peoples know it is far superior to the "greek feta" version that is available in the USA. The only reason that made it popular in the west is that Greece was on the other side of the iron curtain. None of the local Balkan peoples would touch the "greek feta" as it is not salty, not grainy and not flavorful enogugh compared to the "sirene" (bulgarian or maceodnian feta as you know it).
Answer: Being a great fan and quite familiar with both kinds - Greek Feta and Bulgarian White Sirene (spelled as " 'sireneh "), by eating them both with great pleasure for decades, I could say, that there are so many kinds of these cheeses, depending on the region, process/producer, season, breed/breeding, grass/grazing, etc., that sometimes even the best professional can't make the difference between the Bulgarian and the Greek version.
My opinion is that Feta and Sirene are just two names in different languages of two same things. Yes, Bulgarian sirene is a little more greasy and non-crumbly. And I prefer the taste of Bulgarian sheep white cheese Balkan than every Greek Feta. Cow's cheeses are almost the same.
I remember the times thirty years ago when white Bulgarian sheep sirene in tins and especially the more famous Bulgarian Yellow Cheese - the legendary Kashkaval, or in Greek - Kasheri, branded RODOPA - the single Bulgarian state producer at that time, was sold more or less legally on Bardari Market in Salonica and other markets and all Greeks used to search and buy them as the best quality cheeses at incredibly low price. Greek tourists in Sofia used to go back home oftenly with one or several blocks of kashkaval each. Now there are many Greek producers who managed to achieve the taste of these popular cheeses and to fill the market with high quality production, though at ~50% higher prices than the Bulgarian ones.
These two cheeses are the most popular on Bulgarian and Greek market, and also in all other Balkan countries, thousands of tons are been eaten, and the great Bulgarian Shopska Salad or Greek Horiatiki or Tirokafteri Salads are impossibly to be made without a goodly piece of white/feta cheese, seasoned with a cup of olive oil, though there are lots more great and expensive cheeses produced by diaries from both countries as types of Gruyer/Graviera, Mozarella, Parmigiano, Blue and Green Roquefort, Brie, Camembert, Gouda, Cheddar, Gorgonzolla, etc.
My beloved Greek friends  are very sensible, emotional and jelaous when they patriotically defend their confidence that the white cheese is invented by ancient Hellens, but the truth is that there are no certain evidences where exactly the first feta cheese has been  produced - on Greek, or Bulgarian or even on Turkish territory. Some evidences show Thracians and Slovians and even the Huns, as ancient producers of cheeses as well, so speaking without hard evidences in hand, is nonsense.
Let's just sit all together around the rich table near the beach of Kassandra and to meet the sunset with icy divine wines, wonderful cheeses and sweet talks.
Answer: The real Bulgarian sirene and yogurt have another very small ingidient that makes them specific and different. This is Lactobacillus delbrueckii subspecies bulgaricus the bacteria that turns the milk into cheese or yougurt.
Comment: As I read the facts, the name comes from the fact that the bacteria was identified by a Bulgarian. It doesn't seem to be the case that it is only found in Bulgarian yoghurt.
Answer: As a Bulgarian born and living in US, I can say that the white cheese we all know is just WHITE CHEESE. FETA is a name imposed by the Greek companies in US already years, so everybody accept that all white cheeses are FETA, or all "Greek Yogurts" are "Greek", although the original yogurt comes from Bulgaria (check Whole Food, $5, glass jar). There is a slightly difference as the Bulgarian one is more smooth as a texture (buy from local Bulgarian or Arabic markets but insist on Bulgarian made). Some say that is salty, the all you need is to keep it in tap water a night and the next day will be smooth as cream cheese but with much more less fat, 12%. The White Cheese is known as one of the less cholesterol cheeses in the world along with the Parmesan and the Fresh Mozzarella.
Comment: The question is about feta, not yogurt, and it's really hard to tell what you're actually saying about feta - it's certainly not the case that all white cheese is feta.
Answer: My experience has shown me that the main difference between Bulgarian and Greek Feta cheeses is that the Bulgarian is more creamy and tasty than the Greek version. For example, a week ago I went to the grocery store in Grand Cayman to look for Greek Feta cheese, in order to make the famous Bulgarian "Shopska" salad. Well, I just made the salad and ate some of it, but the salad does not taste authentic. The only reason why I bought Greek Feta is that there isn't any Bulgarian Feta sold here. As I had done several years ago in the U.S., I will never repeat my purchase again, because I just find the Greek Feta as having a fake (not as strong) taste compared to Bulgarian Feta. It looks the same (well - drier), but I can't seem to taste the aroma as I can with the Bulgarian. Normally, I can eat "Shopska" salad every day, but it turns out that I would rather not eat it at all, unless made with Bulgarian Feta. I have to mention that I am a Bulgarian so I might be biased, but my wife is from the Carribbean and she feels the same way. She just never even wants to taste the "Shopska" salad I make if I don't use the Bulgarian Feta for it. The same goes for all my friends that have tried both kinds. Again, this is just my own experience and it is mostly based on the Greek Feta sold outside of Europe and the Bulgarian Feta sold in Bulgaria and the U.S. (specialty stores).
When it comes to Yoghurt, I have similar experience, except for the fact that I like Greek yoghurt better than Greek Feta. I just don't understand why they always strain it. Bulgarian yoghurt is the best tasting one in my opinion as well. I have tried many different kinds of yoghurt since I now live outside Bulgaria, but none of them compares, save the Greek one. However, when I make yoghurt using Greek one as a base, it does not become as tasty as when I make yoghurt using Bulgarian one as a base. Not to mention that there are some specific things prepared from yoghurt in Bulgaria, such as, Tarator (cold summer soup) and Airyan (cold drink made by mixing water and yoghurt), that just do not taste right if prepared with yoghurt other than Bulgarian. Bulgarian yoghurt just seems to be a bit more sour and flavorfull.
And just so that I don't come by as bashing all things Greek, I would like to mention that I love Greek food and the country of Greece as well! Just try both types of Feta and make up your mind which tastes better for you and you will be set. In theory, they can be used interchangeably.
Answer: Well, cow's milk is a no-no for me - this is a Balkan cheese, so whether greek or bulgarian it should be made with sheep and/or goat's milk. Sheep and goat's live in mountains, not huge industrial scale cow herds.
The worst are the cow's milk 'feta' style cheeses made in denmark. Too soft and foamy, none of that fresh fizz or tanginess you get with sheep and goat.
In my opinion the Bulgarian sheep sirene is the most consistently good, but some Greek 'aged' goat/sheep feta are just as good.
Comment: First, in Denmark, the word "feta" is used for a completely different kind of cheese, it is a homonym. Second, there are lots of cow herds on the Balkan peninsula, and at least in the last 70 years, cow feta has been more common in Bulgaria than sheep or goat.
Comment: Is there an answer to the actual question that was asked in here somewhere?


Syncing address book contacts through iPad and iPhone?

Question: Is there a way to sync Address Book contacts added from an iPad, on iPhone and Mac without having to manually sync with a USB cable and through the Mac?
Answer: There are a number of options, these solutions assume you want to sync your contacts to Apple's Contacts.app on your iOS device and not a third party app.
MobileMe
Apple's service is the most straight forward (it should just work) and offers other benefits such as storage.
Microsoft Exchange
iOS devices can use Microsoft's Exchange protocol to update the device's email, calendar and contacts. If you are running Snow Leopard you can use also connect your Address Book, iCal, and Mail to the same exchange server and your contacts will sync between your iOS device and your Mac's Address Book. A free option would be to use Google sync on your iOS device which uses Microsoft's exchange protocol. However Google Sync doesn't work for desktop applications like Address Book right now. So you would have to find a way to sync your Address Book contacts to Google which is possible.
Comment: I've been syncing my Google contacts onto my Mac, and it works.  I'm away from my Mac so I can't check exactly how I have it configured, but it works.
Answer: With Snow Leopard's address book, you can sync you computers contacts to your gmail. Go into address book preferences/accounts and then choose the option to sync with google. See this link on how to do that.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=AddressBook/5.0/en/21507.html
Then on the iPhone or iPad go into settings/mail,contacts,calender and set up ur gmail as Microsoft Exchange. See this link on how to do that.
http://www.google.com/support/mobile/bin/answer.py?answer=138740
Answer: You can host your own calendar (CalDAV) and contact (CardDAV) server using Mac OS Server 'Leopard' or Server 'Snow Leopard.' These will sync over the Internet to iCal and Address Book on your Macs, and to your iOS devices.
If you don't want to get an expensive Mac Mini Server you could go with using an old retired notebook or even a virtual machine with a Linux installation. The open source project DAViCal will provide you with both CalDAV and CardDAV services.
I am personally using an installation of DAViCal too keep my Macs and iOS devices in sync using a older machine I have at home as the server. I would recommend this solution as you remain in control of your own data. Getting it up and running requires some work, but you would be able to congratulate yourself with the accomplishment. There are step-by-step tutorials for setting up both Linux and the DAViCAL software available.
Answer: Here is a useful guide about syncing contacts between iOS devices. I used to have MobileMe set up and used it in combination with the Address book. I am on a Windows PC now and manage my contact through Windows Contacts for my PC a third party app to transfer contacts between my iPhone and iPad 3 (I currently do not use the same iCloud account for both).
Answer: You can sign up for Apple's MobileMe service. It is $99/year and is the only option (AFAIK) for what you want to do.


World of Warcraft with wine disabling sound output for other programs

Question: This problem seems to be opposite of any other wine sound problems, sound works beautifully in World of Warcraft under wine, but it remove all audio output for other programs such as Mangler and the system sound test program. I have tried starting programs before and after WoW to see if that will make the audio work but that doesn't help, I'm all out of ideas.
Comment: Can you add what WINE version you are using and Ubuntu version you are using.
Answer: I was trying to figure out what was causing this issue for me and the post above about "Disable background info" had me thinking about in-game sounds. The setting was actually called "Enable sounds in background" for me (version 4.3.4 at the time), though that didn't fix it. I copied this installation from my Windows install and so all the settings were the same. I noticed I had my sound channels set to "High (64)" and when I swapped to "Low (24)" immediately the sound buffered in Mangler all played at once. I still left "Use Hardware" checked, and haven't had issues so far but I haven't done extensive testing. Hope this helps!
Answer: I played World of Warcraft about a year ago and this is actually a setting. In your audio menu there should be a checkbox that says something along the lines of "Disable background audio". Just uncheck that.


$n +1$th Fibonacci number modulo $n$

Question: The Pisano period studies the $n$th Fibonacci number $F_{n}$ modulo $n$. Is there anything about $F_{n + 1} \pmod n$?
Comment: The Pisano period studies th $n$th Fibonacci number modulo *$m$*. The module is unrelated to the index as far as the pisano period is concerned - the period is a function of the module.
Comment: There is hardly anything special about the sequence $F_{n+1} \pmod n$
Answer: The sequence $F_{n + 1} \pmod n$ is interesting enough to have been added to the Online Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences, but not interesting enough for its entry to have been expanded past the bare minimum: https://oeis.org/A002726
However, its plot does not indicate any periodicity:
(log-y)
(linear)
The plot indicates higher density of points around $y=1$, $y={x\over2}$, $y={x\over3}$ and $y={2\over3} x$, but the function looks random except for that. The positions of zeroes and ones do not indicate much regularity either - except all zeroes seem to be at prime positions.
Note, however, the sequence $F_n \pmod n$ that you have mentioned does not show any striking regularity either, except the dense lines are now just two, $y=1$ and $y=x$: https://oeis.org/A002708 (plot)

The pisano period is defined as the period of the sequence $F_n \pmod m$ - for any fixed $m$ this sequence is periodic with the period being a function of $m$. Stated mathematically, $F_n \equiv F_{n+\pi(m)} \pmod m$ where $\pi(m)$ is the Pisano sequence.
Ref:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pisano_period
https://oeis.org/A001175
Answer: If you are looking for some regularity in the sequence, you have that for $p\ne 5$ prime:
$$ F_{p+1} \operatorname{mod}p = \begin{cases} 1 \quad &\text{if the congruence } x^2 \equiv 5 \pmod{p}\text{ has a solution}\\0 \quad &\text{otherwise}\end{cases}$$

$n +1$th Fibonacci number modulo $n$


How can I make sure my bottle cap is sealed tightly?

Question: I have concerns over why our beers are not carbonating properly. One suggestion was to check and make sure the bottles are sealed properly. What might be a good way to do this?
Answer: A quick check would be to stretch a rubber balloon over the neck of your bottle after capping. If the cap is not sealed the balloon will slowly inflate.
Answer: If you're using a butterfly capper, check to make sure you're pressing hard enough. There should be a slight ring-shaped indentation in the cap after capping a bottle.
An easy way to check once they're capped is to simply store a few upside down. If there's a leak, the gas will bring some beer with it as it leaks out the cap.
Comment: I've heard that storing beer bottles tipped or upside down can cause strange tastes due to the cap deteriorating.
Answer: There are Go / No-go guages that are used in industry for online checks to ensure a  tight crimp on a crown. Failing this immerssion on a a water bath will quickly show if you have leakers. The folks who make the crowns will provide the data on what a tight crimp should be. hope this helps


How did programmers work back when a computer was very expensive, rare, as big as a room?

Question: I assume they weren't able to sit in front of a computer for the whole day like we do today. So how did they write their program? On a piece of paper and type it later when the computer is available? How did they do their testing?
Comment: Well... for one thing they really did review their code, before submitting it to a compiler. No fun to lose precious time on missed semicolon.
Answer: Circa 1974, you'd sit at a convenient desk and write your program out long hand on paper. You'd test it by walking through it in your head using test data. When you were satisfied that your program was correct, you'd go to the punch card room and transcribe your program onto punch cards, one 80 character line per card. You'd also punch cards for any data your program might need. Then you'd also punch a few incredibly cryptic cards in Job Control Language (JCL) that would tell the computer how to compile and run your program, and what input/output devices it would use. Then you'd take your cards to the 'IO Window', where you'd hand them to a clerk.
When your turn came, the clerk would load your cards into a hopper, and push a button to tell the computer to start reading them. The output of your program would generally go to a line printer or a drum plotter. When your program was done, the clerk would collect your cards, and your hard copy output, and put them in a pigeon hole where you could pick them up. You'd pick up the  output, review the resuilts, and repeat the process. It would take anywhere from 20 minutes to 24 hours for a complete cycle. You can probably imagine that you were not happy when you found that the only output was a printed message from the compiler telling you that your program had a syntax error.
You might also have access to a computer through a teletype, so you could actually have an interactive session with a remote computer. However, typing on a teletype was physically painful (very stiff keys, and loud), so you still generally wrote and tested your program on paper first.
By 1976 UNIX systems and mini-computers like the PDP 11-70 were becoming more common. You usually worked in a room full of video terminals with 25x80 character displays. These were connected to the computer via serial lines. Crude, but not too dissimilar from working at a command prompt today. Most editors back then were pretty crappy though. Vi was an amazing improvement.
Comment: Also numbering punch cards was a very good idea for cases like dropping the cards pack.
Comment: Lets not even forget about the ways management enforced this. Your department was billed for time on the mainframe.
Comment: @Louis Rhys: Will this link help? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punched_card
Comment: There was a famous story about some boss giving his assistant a tray of punch cards containing a set of random numbers. The assistant dropped the tray, and cards went all over the floor. Not knowing what else to do, the assistant picked up the cards and spent a couple hours sorting them into numerical order, which of course spoiled their randomness.
Comment: The good old days.  When the keypunch was a shared resource.  And we had little red dot stickers we could put on our deck of cards to show that it was high priority and would get put into the card hopper first.
Comment: This one is still my favorite: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VT50
Comment: well fortunately visual studio has a good debugguer now...
Comment: @configurator no, there was no internet. There were machines to punch cards in several buildings on different university campuses, and one computer. The trucks took the cards to the computer, and brought back the output the next day or so.
Comment: @Giorgio, there are a few different way of defining a 'random' list of numbers, but they are mostly getting at the idea that there should not be any evident pattern in the numbers. Think of it this way: suppose you and I want to play a betting game. We'll take turns picking a random number from a list, and if your number is higher than mine, you win. You pick first. Would you want to play that game if the list of random numbers is sorted in order of increasing size? Mandatory XKCD reference: http://xkcd.com/221/
Comment: I remember my uncle telling me that one!
Comment: what is a punch card?
Comment: When I was four, my dad took me to work once and I was allowed to use the card punching machine. It was awesome. :) Do not fold, spindle or mutilate.
Comment: I used cards as late as 1981. Also when my mother was doing her grad work, their university didn't have a computer so the cards went on a truck once or twice a day and the printouts came back. Made typos super frustrating.
Comment: Yup, that's pretty much what I did when I started programming in 1971, except we had an IBM 1620 that was only the size of a couple of small cars, and we ran our own punch card decks through the reader rather than hand them in to a clerk.
Comment: @KateGregory: So basically, your mom used the internet?
Comment: @KateGregory: That was a joke... They didn't have a computer in the building, so they used the information highway to get their compilation done.
Comment: @Charles E. Grant: How is a list of sorted numbers less random than a list of unsorted ones?
Comment: @Giorgio it introduces all sorts of correlations into any data tagged with a 'random' number from the sorted set. For example, you might have a time series of observation from a scientific instrument. Back in the day, you'd label the observations with a random number from your list, then sort the data by those labels to reduce the effect of instrumental drift over time on your analysis. If the label were already sorted before you assigned them to the observations, they'll end up still being in chronological order.
Comment: @CharlesE.Grant: What I meant is that any permutation of a list of numbers is equally likely, so even the sorted list is a random value. At least this is my intuition, I might be missing something.
Answer: I learned programming in PL/1 in 1975 (on IBM 370/168), as a teenager (I was born in 1959). I had the privilege of having a father working at IBM France. His boss,
M. Dornbush, wrote a book (in French) about programming in PL/1.
At that time, a program (as done by someone learning programming) was a packet of a few hundred punched cards. Charles E.Grant's answer describes the process: you wrote your program on paper first, and you checked it quite carefully. Then you punched the cards (on an IBM29 keypunch machine), and finally you put the card deck into the punched card reader. Notice that at that time source programs where quite small (a program of several thousand statements - that is, punched cards - was a very large program).
As a teenager, I was impressed by the ability of the PL/1 checkout compiler, in particular to suggest corrections on typos.
In the next years, I played with an old CAB/500 computer and an IBM/1620 computer at the Palais de la Découverte science museum in Paris (both computers were old enough to sit in a museum). CAB/500 was produced in the 1960s, and my father wrote its PAF compiler (a sort of BASIC language) when I was an infant or a toddler (1958-1962).
Today, I am still doing stuff (MELT) related to compilers, and one of the few who can claim that he saw his own father writing compilers!
The funny thing with PAF on CAB/500 was its interactive editor (with a physical tty & punched tapes) capable of completion (on keywords). It was a bit like the original IBM PC, somehow a "personal computer".
The funny thing with IBM/1620 was that you had to bootstrap it by entering a few digits on the keyboard to load the monitor and the Fortran compiler.
Notice that in the 1950s some computers did not even had punched card readers (AFAIK it was optional on IBM650 & IBM7094), but I never saw them.
Notice also that access to computers in the mid 1970s was a huge privilege (because they where costly equipments). Perhaps the equivalent today might be to get access to silicon making machines, or to datacenter-scale computing power.
Answer: It depends on how far back you want to go.
The earliest "Programming" used punchcards which looked like This (That's cobol) where they wrote out their code with very little interaction of anything particularly electrical and then fed them (when they actually got a chance) into the one computer into the building for the code to run for a while and spit out a print out of some form. Often there were lots of other people wanting to use the same computer, so you'd have to wait anywhere up to a couple of days (if it was really busy) for your results, which more often then not would be completely useless (you think getting a syntax error now can be frustrating. Imagine if you had to completely re-write a section of your code and then wait a day to compile it). They didn't have to check input nearly as much, or do usability testing or any of the other critical tests since, because computers where so scarce, they'd often be the only ones doing anything with the program.
When the PDP and equivalents became more common, a programmer (especially in college environments) would write their code out on paper, and then book time with the PDP to type their code in and run it a few times. They didn't get much time unless they were working in the small hours of the morning, so people staying up all night just to get their code to sort of run was not uncommon, and the limited availability of time on the "real" PDP's (or equivalent) lead to a number of groups building their own clone to get a bit more time.
Answer: I would say that back in those days, actually using a computer program might be slight easier than writing one today. Given that todays IDE's is much more user friendly than the user interfaces of computer programs back then, even when they had remote serial terminals. Most programs used cryptic undocumented key sequences or commands.
My only experience with ancient computer systems is the old Kodak 2610 Photo color printer. It booted from serial TTY using an optical stripe reader. During my employment I only had to reboot it once after a powe failure.
Command control was perfomred via a serial vt100 tty, but all configuration was saved and restored using a mechanical tty that could read and write paper stripes.
Answer: I remember my mother telling me that she was programming in college (Circa 1969-1970) She said that the first year they used punch cards, which was painful. The 2nd year they got a PDP-8, which was an amazing computer and I think they actually had a terminal, or at very least paper tape.
I think she was working in fortran and lisp.
Answer: Jerry Weinberg answered a similar question a while back on one of his blogs:
http://secretsofconsulting.blogspot.com/2008/12/how-we-used-to-do-unit-testing.html
I think this might bring some light to your question.