I have function like this:  private T DeserializeStream&lt;T&gt;(Stream data) where T : IExtensible     {         try         {             var returnObject = Serializer.Deserialize&lt;T&gt;(data);             return returnObject;         }         catch (Exception ex)         {             this.LoggerService.Log(this.AccountId, ex);         }          return null;     }   Everything is good, except that it complains about return null; part     Cannot convert expression type 'null' to type 'T'   How do I return null from function like this?
I have a generic method with this (dummy) code (yes I'm aware IList has predicates, but my code is not using IList but some other collection, anyway this is irrelevant for the question...)  static T FindThing&lt;T&gt;(IList collection, int id) where T : IThing, new() {     foreach T thing in collecion     {         if (thing.Id == id)             return thing;     }     return null;  // ERROR: Cannot convert null to type parameter 'T' because it could be a value type. Consider using 'default(T)' instead. }   This gives me a build error      "Cannot convert null to type parameter   'T' because it could be a value type.   Consider using 'default(T)' instead."   Can I avoid this error?
Book: Nanobot apocalypse on Earth, originally used for weather control A few years ago I read an excellent sf book about nanobots that went out of control. In the book they were used for weather control, when they went amok the scientists threw in yet another bunch of nanites and so on, until Earth became uninhabitable, teeming with nanites, I remember the weather also became cold. The planet still could be visited but when they lost cloaking the nanites would attack.   Also, some humans in the book merged with nanites, they could behave benevolently but I forgot the plot too. I only remember fragments of this book, I would like to read it again in English. (loaned a long time ago from a library here in Sweden but they closed the library).   I only know that it was written by an Anglo-American contemporary SF writer, probably 30-55 y.o. When an option expires does that constitute a buy or sell A similar question recently asked about stock sales and option buys triggering wash sale rules.  If an option expires, is that considered a buy/sale ?  What I mean is: let's assume I have a call option with a target date of August 16. Now I sell the underlying stock somewhere before that (after July 16th). Does that trigger wash sale rules (if the option expires in the money, exercised by default) ?  Is an option expiring out of the money considered a sale ? math fallacy problem: $-1= (-1)^3 = (-1)^{6/2} = \sqrt{(-1)^6}= 1$? I know there is something wrong with this but I don't know where. It's some kind of a math fallacy and it is driving me crazy. Here it is: $$-1= (-1)^3 = (-1)^{6/2} = \sqrt{(-1)^6}= 1?$$ Hint:  $a^2 -ab +b^2 = (a+b)^2 -3ab.$  I know we can say that there exists an $x,y$ such that $ax + by = 1$.  So in this case, $(a+b)x + ((a+b)^2 -3ab)y =1.$  I thought setting $x = (a+b)$ and $y = -1$ would help but that gives me $3ab =1.$  Any suggestions? PostgreSQL check bloating of a table In another  regarding a difference between short on and short of, the  says the following:     ... But this is not always the case. A person can be short on/of money,   but lacking a specific amount, someone can only be €10 short or short   €10. This construction never uses a preposition.   but is that really true? I can see sentences like "I am short of 10 dollars" quite often. lsusb relevant output Bus 001 Device 006: ID 0bda:8812 Realtek Semiconductor Corp. RTL8812AU 802.11a/b/g/n/ac WLAN Adapter  Upon plugging the device it is recognized by lsusb, however when I go to wireless settings no adapter is recognized. The driver is installed (by going to software and updates -> addition drivers and selecting the open source driver). In the comedic music video  there are many clips of vintage scifi films, some of which I recognize.  This one however, of a large blue floating holographic head talking to some kind of military installation does not look at all familiar.  Does anyone recognize this film? Is it possible that galaxies' redshift is caused by something else than the expansion of space? I was thinking that maybe photons loss energy naturally when they travel great distances.  Or maybe the mass of all matter is increasing over time and therefore photons emitted in the past are necessarily less energetic.  Or is the expansion of space backed up by so much other evidences that trying to find another explanation is completely foolish? Supersymmetry in Quantum Field Theory Good tools for drawing schematics I was going to add a bit of information to my post on a previous day using schematics and some instructions. What programs are being employed for this purpose?  I mostly want to see what others are using and that I can easily use to give descriptive schematics.  In a perfect world, and I know this is a case of me wishing, it would be:   Free. Extremely easy to draw schematics in. Allows simple production of waveforms for the inputs/outputs. How do I space quads evenly? Is there a way in blender or an addon that allows me to select a bunch of faces (or verts) and evenly distributes (or relaxes) them into quads clean quads.  Without screwing up the vert ID/order.  Edit: I would like to have the shapes of my quads to turn into perfect squares while maintaining the volume of the object and the vertex order. Read echo'ed output from another PHP file I have an unused copy of Mass Effect 2 Collector's Edition bought via Amazon.com in the US, including a special code for Inferno Armour (also unused).  Will it work fine if I install and start playing the game in the UK? Does geographical location matter?  Thanks! Keyboard layout/language changes in every boot Not able to see links to chat, logout, or privileges Boolean and Texts I have used Hexagon for years but find that it sometimes crashes when trying to do Boolean operations with texts.  I have been trying to make the two tables of the Ten Commandments and have been trying to use Blender.  I did it about two years ago in Blender and lost everything on my computer so I am trying again with the latest version of Blender and am having difficulty.  I start with a cube and then get it close to the dimensions I would think the Ten Commandments might look like. I then bevel the top using the bevel modifier. But in doing it this way I don't have any cross sub divisions on the face of the object. I have tried sub dividing first but then I find that I can't bevel the top arches as far as I would like. I still don't know how to add divisions after I bevel the top. Yes I am still a novice at this program.  In any case I did figure out how to make text and turn them into an object. When I make the texts I do all four of the commandments for one side and then the other six for the other side. So this makes allot of texts to cut out.  When doing the Boolean operation in Difference sometimes nothing happens. I am thinking I need to have some sub - divisions on the face of the sized cube after it is beveled but am not really sure if this is the problem.  This whole thing about normal's is still Greek to me. I have watched some videos on how to cut letters into a cube but for some reason it does not work this easy after I bevel the top of the cube. Or it could be that Blender does not like a bunch of texts all at once.  Could someone show me a video or give me some simple steps to make my project work? I'm searching for a really simple and beautiful proof that the sequence $(u_n)_{n \in \mathbb{N}} = \sum\nolimits_{k=1}^n \frac{1}{k} - \log(n)$ converges. At first I want to know if my answer is OK.  My try: $\lim\limits_{n\to\infty} \sum\limits_{k=1}^n \frac{1}{k} - \log (n) = \lim\limits_{n\to\infty} \sum\limits_{k=1}^n \frac{1}{k} + \sum\limits_{k=1}^{n-1} \log(k)-\log(k+1) = \lim\limits_{n\to\infty} \frac{1}{n} + \sum\limits_{k=1}^{n-1} \log(\frac{k}{k+1})+\frac{1}{k}$     $ = \sum\limits_{k=1}^{\infty} \frac{1}{k}-\log(\frac{k+1}{k})$ Now we prove that the last sum converges by the comparison test: $\frac{1}{k}-\log(\frac{k+1}{k}) &lt; \frac{1}{k^2} \Leftrightarrow k&lt;k^2\log(\frac{k+1}{k})+1$ which surely holds for $k\geqslant 1$      As $ \sum\limits_{k=1}^{\infty} \frac{1}{k^2}$ converges $ \Rightarrow \sum\limits_{k=1}^{\infty} \frac{1}{k}-\log(\frac{k+1}{k})$ converges and we name this limit $\gamma$ q.e.d Putting a table next to a figure Evaluating this integral : $ \int \frac {1-7\cos^2x} {\sin^7x \cos^2x} dx $ The question :  $$ \int \frac {1-7\cos^2x} {\sin^7x \cos^2x} dx $$  I tried dividing by $\cos^2 x$ and splitting the fraction.  That turned out to be complicated(Atleast for me!)  How do I proceed now?