Prove that the elements $b_{1} = (x_{1}, y_{1})$ and $b_2 = (x_{2}, y_{2})$ form a basis of $\mathbb{Z} \oplus \mathbb{Z}$ if, and only if, $x_{1}y_{2} - x_2y_1 = ± 1$  I was able to show that these vectors are linearly independent because the determinant between them is by hypothesis $\pm 1$. But I could not show that they generate all $\mathbb {Z} \oplus \mathbb {Z} $. How to proceed?
Let $x = (a, b), y = (c, d) \in \mathbb{Z}^2$. What is the condition on $a, b, c, d$ so that ${x, y}$ is a basis?   My answer: $ad\neq bc$ and $gcd(a, c) = gcd(b, d) = 1$.  The first condition ensures that they aren't the same vector; the second ensures that we can actually "get" all of the integer values/lattice points.  Is this correct?  Thanks.
Is password confirmation necessary on a Change Password dialog? I faced a problem to answer a negative question, for example, when someone asks you:      Don't you have any money?   It's a yes/no question but how should one answer the question without ambiguity?  When you answer "yes", does it mean "yes, I don't have any money"? or the other way "Yes, I do have money"? the questioner may think you are agreeing to the negative, that yes, you do not have any money.  I know it's better to answer with "on the contrary" but is it possible to answer yes or no? Determine if wire in switch box is safe to re-purpose? I need to pull a neutral wire to my light switch for a smart switch.  It's presently switching an outlet that I don't need switched, and the other side of the outlet already has unswitched power.  My plan is to use a smart switch, which requires neutral, to control a different device wirelessly.    I can't feasibly run a new wire, because the wires aren't run through conduit.  Instead, my plan is to repurpose the switched wire to get neutral from the outlet.    The switch, which controls an outlet has two wires, one black and one red.  The switched outlet has a white neutral wire, plus the red and black wires that I assume run directly to the switch.  I've completely disconnected the red and black wires from the outlet and the switch.  The black wire is measuring 120V AC when measured against ground using the box as ground, both at the outlet and at the switch. Using my DMM, the red wire is measuring 24V AC with respect to the box/ground at both sides.  I assume this is a  caused by induction from the charged black wire over to the floating red wire.    Our house is ~100 years old and this particular switch seems to be run using armored cable (note the paper wrap around each wire.)  There are literally only two wires in the switch box; no wire nuts.    If relevant, we do have some old knob and tube wiring active, but I'm pretty confident there's none on this circuit.  Is there some way I can determine with enough confidence that the red wire isn't connected elsewhere such that I can know it's safe to connect the red wire at the outlet to netural? The number of different ways to choose $k$ out of $n$ unique items The number of different ways to choose $k$ out of $n$ unique items:   Without repetition and without order-significance: $\binom{n}{k}=\frac{n!}{k!(n-k)!}$ Without repetition and with order-significance: $\binom{n}{k}\times k!=\frac{n!}{(n-k)!}$ With repetition and with order-significance: $n^k$ With repetition and without order-significance: $?$   Thank you! Existence of minimal prime ideal contained in given prime ideal and containing a given subset Let $R$ be a unital commutative ring, $P$ $\subseteq$ $R$ a prime ideal, $X\subseteq P$ a subset. Show there exists a minimal (inclusion minimal) prime ideal contained in $P$ which contains $X$.   My approach: Let $\langle X\rangle$ be the ideal generated by $X$. $P^c$ is a multiplicative set, as $P$ is prime. $\langle X\rangle\subseteq P\subseteq R$ and $P^c\cap\langle X\rangle=\emptyset $ so by Zorn's lemma there exist prime ideal $I_1$ satisfying $\langle X\rangle\subseteq I_1\subseteq P$. As $I_1$ is prime, it's complement is a multiplicative subset which does not intersect $\langle X\rangle$, hence I can find prime ideal $I_2$ satisfying $\langle X\rangle\subseteq I_2 \subseteq I_1$ and so on... I've got an infinite descending chain of prime ideals and I can't be sure that the process will stop.  Hints will be appreciated, thank you.   Edit: Can I conclude that every prime ideal contains a minimal prime ideal? Why do we care about eigenvalues of graphs?  Of course, any novel question in mathematics is interesting, but there is an entire discipline of mathematics devoted to studying these eigenvalues, so they must be important.  I always assumed that spectral graph theory extends graph theory by providing tools to prove things we couldn't otherwise, somewhat like how representation theory extends finite group theory.  But most results I see in spectral graph theory seem to concern eigenvalues  not as means to an end, but as objects of interest in their own right.  I also considered practical value as motivation, e.g. using a given set of eigenvalues to put bounds on essential properties of graphs, such as maximum vertex degree.  But I can't imagine a situation in which I would have access to a graph's eigenvalues before I would know much more elementary information like maximum vertex degree.  (EDIT: for example, dtldarek points out that $\lambda_2$ is related to diameter, but then why would we need $\lambda_2$ when we already have diameter?  Is this somehow conceptually beneficial?)     So, what is the meaning of graph spectra intuitively?  And for what practical purposes are they used?  Why is finding the eigenvalues of a graph's adjacency/Laplacian matrices more than just a novel problem? A little brain fart What is a nicer, less immature saying?  I love using 'A Freudian slip', but that is only applicable in certain situations. Do you pluralize the singular possessions of / items or people associated with individual members of a plural group? In a situation where say a group (or at least a plurality) of men is being addressed — for example on a sign passed by many married men — which is correct?  &quot;Remind your wife.&quot;  or  &quot;Remind your wives.&quot; Where can I download Ubuntu 16.04? I am unable to find the link for downloading Ubuntu 16.04 onto my   desktop/laptop. I am able to see the link only for 18.04, but I need 16.04. Need help to understand Maximum Likelihood Estimation for multivariate normal distribution? In maximum likelihood estimation for the parameter, mean $\mu$ of multivariate normal distribution, I end up with the following result:  $\mu_{MLE} = \dfrac{1}{n}\sum_{i=1}^n x_i$  The way I understand the above equation is the following way below, but I am wondering if the above equation means the following equation:  $\mu_{MLE} = \begin{bmatrix}\mu_1\\\mu_2\\\vdots\\\mu_n\end{bmatrix} = \begin{bmatrix}\dfrac{1}{n}\sum_{i=1}^n x_1\\\dfrac{1}{n}\sum_{i=1}^n x_2\\\vdots\\\dfrac{1}{n}\sum_{i=1}^n x_i\end{bmatrix} = \begin{bmatrix}E(X_1)\\E(X_2)\\\vdots\\E(X_n)\end{bmatrix} = \begin{bmatrix}\bar{X_1} \\ \bar{X_2} \\ \vdots \\ \bar{X_n}\end{bmatrix}$   And also Maximum Likelhood Estimation for $\Sigma$, I have ended up with the following equation:  $\Sigma_{MLE} = \dfrac{1}{n}\sum_{i=1}^n(x_i-\mu)(x_i-\mu)^T = \begin{bmatrix}Var(\sigma_{11}) &amp; Cov(\sigma_{12}) &amp; \dots &amp; Cov(\sigma_{1n}) \\ Cov(\sigma_{21}) &amp; Var(\sigma_{22}) &amp; \dots &amp; Cov(\sigma_{2n}) \\ {}&amp; \vdots&amp;  \\ Cov(\sigma_{n1}) &amp; Cov(\sigma_{n2}) &amp; \dots &amp; Var(\sigma_{nn})  \end{bmatrix}$  Somehow, I got the equation following some algebraic steps, but I can't see how this part, $\dfrac{1}{n}\sum_{i=1}^n(x_i-\mu)(x_i-\mu)^T$, works and produces the covariance matrix. Hope to hear some explanations. nginx support for .htaccess / rewrite rules? Differences from Apache? I've been working with Apache http servers for quite some time, and finally making the move to static-content servers alongside the others dynamic-content machines.   I was wondering, does nginx support ".htaccess" files, and things like mod_rewrite?   As I'm very used to the syntax, I was wondering what the (syntax) differences were, and what the learning curve is like moving from Apache configs to nginx. Description list with aligned descriptions is exactly what I'm looking for. I want my description environment to produce this:  Label is long   text  lab2            blalballalaa label3          possible second rule label four      hello world   Someone offered this:  \newenvironment{mydescription}[1]                                                   {\begin{list}{}%    {\renewcommand\makelabel[1]{##1:\hfill}%    \settowidth\labelwidth{\makelabel{#1}}%    \setlength\leftmargin{\labelwidth}    \addtolength\leftmargin{\labelsep}}}   {\end{list}}   Which works great (the parameter is the longest label), except I think the enumitem should be able to do this. Unfortunately, the documentation for it is extremely confusing to me. Could someone show me how to achieve the same result with enumitem? I tried writing a shell script which can do automatic login into a ssh server using password which is mentioned in the script. I have written the following code:  set timeout 30 /usr/bin/ssh -p 8484 root@172.31.72.103 expect  {    "root@172.31.72.103's password"     {       send "password\r"     } }   This code is not running properly, still it is asking for the password. Can somebody please help me in solving this How to hide password input from terminal in ruby script Repeatedly rolling a six sided die four times and summing the highest three results gives you a distribution with what mean and standard deviation? Repeatedly rolling a six sided die four times and summing the highest three results gives you a distribution with what mean and standard deviation?  I've only taken AP statistics, but I would like to learn how to do this. Do you add Proficiency bonus AND the stat modifier to skill rolls? I know this basic knowledge, but I seemed to have missed this info in the player's manual.  Say someone makes an stealth check: do I add their Dexterity modifier and their proficiency bonus in Stealth to the roll? In other words, does the Dexterity modifier apply to all Dex-related skills, including ones with a proficiency? How do I withdraw a paper from a journal after it was accepted but before it was fully published? On the advice of a senior colleague, I decided that I do not want to publish the paper anymore and with that journal. I wrote the editor several times; he has received the emails, but refuses to reply. I know he gets the emails because if its on other matters he has replied but not on the paper. I am ready to forfeit the processing fee I gave them but they refuse to reply and have already published the abstract of the paper to their site but not the full paper. Is legal action an option and do I have the right to sue? What are the guidelines in matters like these? This morning I read this sentence (see ):     On July 24th and again on July 29th,   Egyptian police did shoot dead unarmed   African migrants attempting to cross   that border.   Why "did shoot" and not "shot"? Opacity problem over white object in Illustrator I have a problem. I'm working with an object at 50% opacity. When it's over the artboard itself the color looks great, but when I put a white object behind it I get this weird color that doesn't look accurate.  This happens with every object and only in CMYK. I'm pretty sure this never happened to me before so maybe I changed something in the settings or I don't know.  Does anyone have any idea? Sort thebibliography by citation order