Does it matter when you add the salt?
Does the point at which salt is added to a dish affect how the flavor is changed?
Getting random row through SQLAlchemy Convert JavaScript string in dot notation into an object reference The orbit of satellites around Earth eventually decays, or so I read. This is typically caused either by atmospheric drag, or by tides. I would assume most satellites have a limited service life in orbit. Hence the question - What is the typical orbital life of a satellite? How long before it's successor must be launched into orbit ?  EDIT: For instance, a weather satellite What's a good word for a person, or a state, when a person is constantly waiting for life to get good, but does nothing to actually make it happen I've written a song about people who constantly wait for something good to happen to them and am looking for a word to describe this state/paradox/condition.   The song is about people who expect life to get better for no reason, talk about moving to a bigger city or a different place as if that would magically make them rich, famous and happy, and keep talking about how they are going to do this or that, but never do it. I was under the impression that there's a psychological term for this state, but can't google it up, so I probably made it up.  This is essentially a song about myself, I keep talking about how I love to make music, or shoot videos, but I never actually produce anything, yet it's the only thing I can think of. When it comes to the moment to take action – I just stay at home watching tv shows.  I know it's a broad question and list of topics, but I guess I'm looking for a word that describes this state – of doing NOTHING. The bikeshed problem and Stack Exchange In short, :     If you go before the Board of   Directors and ask for 1.5 billion   dollars to build a nuclear reactor, no   one will review or discuss the details   of the plant. They will assume that   experts have been over every inch of   the plans, and not want to look   foolish by asking a silly question.      However, if you ask the same group to   approve a 30 dollar expenditure for   lumber with which to build a bikeshed   (presumably a British term for the   smallest possible building) then be   prepared for a 45 minute discussion   about all aspects of the bikeshed,   including the color of the paint. The   explanation for this is that everyone   can grasp the scale of a bikeshed.   To transform this problem to Stack Overflow terms, questions that are trivial such as "How to convert a C string to a QString or "What is the difference between . and ->" get a lot more views, answers and votes than real questions of the form "How do I frob this widget" that bother real professionals. Fewer views mean less possible votes for good answers and hence less incentive for people to answer.  How can Stack Exchange solve this problem? QM without complex numbers How can I extract a predetermined range of lines from a text file on Unix? Print lines between (and including) two patterns My  has failed me.  In Python, are the following two tests for equality equivalent?  n = 5 # Test one. if n == 5:     print 'Yay!'  # Test two. if n is 5:     print 'Yay!'   Does this hold true for objects where you would be comparing instances (a list say)?  Okay, so this kind of answers my question:  L = [] L.append(1) if L == [1]:     print 'Yay!' # Holds true, but...  if L is [1]:     print 'Yay!' # Doesn't.   So == tests value where is tests to see if they are the same object? Take a sponge ball and compress it. The net force acting on the body is zero and the body isn't displaced.  So can we conclude that there is no work done on the ball? How to use "text" as a verb Python rounding error with float numbers javascript not working, working on fiddle but not on my webserver Do known-plaintext attacks exist for public key encryption? Unable to preserve ownership in a copy but able with a move? What's the fastest and easiest to read implementation of calculating the sum of digits?  I.e. Given the number: 17463 = 1 + 7 + 4 + 6 + 3 = 21 Why does speed of light have to be constant? Trying to install Steam ERROR: You are missing the following 32-bit libraries, and Steam may not run: not I've already installed Steam, but when I click on the program I get this message  ERROR- You are missing the following 32-bit libraries, and Steam may not run: not   I don't know what to install or even do. Is there a word for the sadness over "What might have been"? Square roots -- positive and negative It is perhaps a bit embarrassing that while doing higher-level math, I have forgot some more fundamental concepts. I would like to ask whether the square root of a number includes both the positive and the negative square roots.  I know that for an equation $x^2 = 9$, the solution is $x = \pm 3$. But if simply given $\sqrt{9}$, does one assume that to mean only the positive root? And when simply talking about the square root of a number in general, would one be referring to both roots or just the positive one, when neither is specified?