Can [sic] be used to show an omission or error in punctuation?  Eg:   Original:  He was, happy to get a raise.  Revised:  He was [sic] happy to get a raise.  There shouldn't be a comma after 'was'.  Original:  Mike liked lasagna, Diane preferred ziti.  Revised:  Mike liked lasagna [sic] Diane preferred ziti.  There should be a semicolon - not a comma - between the sentences.
Can [sic] be used to highlight a punctuational error?    In the sentence below, the bracketed sic would obviously denote that the punctuation preceding it was an error &mdash; that is, a semicolon should supplant the comma. Has anybody ever seen this usage, and would you support it?     The sun is high, [sic] put on some sunblock.
I'm trying to write an automated test of an application that basically translates a custom message format into an XML message and sends it out the other end.  I've got a good set of input/output message pairs so all I need to do is send the input messages in and listen for the XML message to come out the other end.  When it comes time to compare the actual output to the expected output I'm running into some problems.  My first thought was just to do string comparisons on the expected and actual messages.  This doens't work very well because the example data we have isn't always formatted consistently and there are often times different aliases used for the XML namespace (and sometimes namespaces aren't used at all.)  I know I can parse both strings and then walk through each element and compare them myself and this wouldn't be too difficult to do, but I get the feeling there's a better way or a library I could leverage.   So, boiled down, the question is:  Given two Java Strings which both contain valid XML how would you go about determining if they are semantically equivalent?  Bonus points if you have a way to determine what the differences are. Graph Theory: Tree has at least 2 vertices of degree 1 How to delete file(s) in secure manner? Is there a way to make sure that a deleted file can not be recovered?   As you know, deleting a file by pressing shift-del or using trash doesn't mean that file is gone forever. It resides somewhere in the computer.  In day to day life, law enforcement or thieves use recovery programs to reveal our private data or something else.   They can recover all data that resides on hard disk, in RAM, and even USB.  To protect us from these people, what should one do? Which program should one use?  Note: I don't want an answer like first use a recovery program then erase that file with shred. With just one program, I want to erase all unused/deleted files on my computer. I am a beginner using QGIS (1.8.0 Lisboa) on a Mac (OS X 10.6.8 Snow Leopard). I work on a file with two layers in the following sequence (top to bottom):    a vector polygon layer with a few outlines of various buildings in France and Italy (CRS: EPSG:4326 - WGS 84 - "on the fly" re projection is activated ) a Google satellite layer uploaded via open layer plugin.   Sometimes when changing the scale (scrolling in and out) the Google layer updates a little wrong in size or position compared to the polygon layer. But as soon as I "pan" the map everything reconstructs right. Now the problem I have concerns the print composer.  The result of any kind of export - pdf, or image or svg - of my map (vector layer + Google layer in the background) differs from what is shown in the preview of the print composer: the vector layer and the Google layer positions are mismatching and in a different scale. I can send some pictures showing screenshots of the print composer preview and the final results if required.  I tried almost everything:    new files with different CRS settings "cache" update preview "render" update preview different paper sizes,  different scales,   The problem appears only using an open layer map (Google, OpenStreetMap...). If I try the same using two vector layer (shapefile) - one with the buildings, another one with the city in background - everything works out great.  ...exasperating! Since it is a real important research project I would be very grateful for some help and tips. Split a string by a delimiter in python Print file content without the first and last lines Is there a simple way I can echo a file, skipping the first and last lines? I was looking at piping from head into tail, but for those it seems like I would have to know the total lines from the outset. I was also looking at split, but I don't see a way to do it with that either. I was wondering if there is a simpler way to find the last to digits of a power such as $3^{45}$. I reduced it modulo 100 to get the answer, which is 43. But I was curious if there was a simpler, or more eloquent way to get this result.  Here's my method:  Using the fact that $3^4=81\equiv -19 \pmod{100}$ and $19^5=2,476,099\equiv -1 \pmod{100}$  $$ 3^{45}\equiv 3(3^4)^{11}\equiv 3(-19)^{11}\equiv 3(-19)(19^5)^2\equiv 3(-19)(-1)^2 \equiv -57 \equiv 43 \pmod {100} $$  I just felt like this was sort of a messy way to find out that the last two digits are 43. Is there a way to display the number of messages for any label in the Gmail label list? The Gmail sidebar displays the list of our labels (or some of them, according to settings). Next to every label name there is a number showing how many unread messages we have for that label.  Is there a way to display also the total number of messages for each label?  Example:  [to answer] (0/36) [to do] (0/55) [waiting answer] (0/7) cooking (2/48) family (6/352) friends (1/1828) website (2/412) work (12/12801) Do there exist an infinite number of integer-solutions $(x,y,z)$ of $x^x\cdot y^y=z^z$ where $1\lt x\le y$? Question : Do there exist an infinite number of integer-solutions $(x,y,z)$ of $x^x\cdot y^y=z^z$ where $1\lt x\le y$ ?  Motivation : After struggling to find a solution, I've just got one solution, which is  $$(x,y,z)=(1679616, 2985984, 4478976).$$  In the following, I'm going to write how I got this solution.  Letting $d$ be the greatest common divisor of $x,y,z$, we can represent $$x=ad, y=bd, z=cd$$ where $a,b,c$ are coprimes with each other. Then, we get $$d^{a+b-c}\cdot a^a\cdot b^b=c^c.$$  In the following, let's consider without the condition $x\le y$. Here, I suppose  $$a=2^m, b=3^n, a+b-c=1.$$  (As a result, this supposition works.)  Then, we get $$d=\frac{c^c}{2^{ma}\cdot 3^{nb}}.$$  Hence, letting $c=2^k\cdot 3^l$, if  $$kc\ge ma=m\cdot 2^m, lc\ge nb=n\cdot 3^n,$$ then $d$ is an integer.  Since $(m,n)=(4,2)$ satisfies the above conditions, then we get $d=2^8\cdot 3^6=186624.$ Hence we can get  $$x=9d=2^8\cdot 3^8=1679616, y=16d=2^{12}\cdot 3^6=2985984, z=24d=2^{11}\cdot 3^7=4478976.$$ Note that here I interchanged $x$ and $y$.  P.S : I was surprised to get this solution because I got this almost by chance. So, I don't know the other solutions. If you have any helpful information, please teach me. SHM with acceleration at mean position Suppose we have an equation of  motion as $$\frac{d^2x}{dt^2} = -kx + c,$$ then can it be called a SHM? Since acceleration is still proportional to displacement. But then, how will we define the mean position? One of my associates had their Hotmail account broadcasting spam, and presumably hacked. They managed to change the password, but after that, the account got locked; Hotmail asks you for a phone number, and they're supposed to call you with a code.  This person requested the code several times, with different numbers (even two of mine!), but never received any call with the confirmation code.  I referred them to the full-length process, which includes answering the security question; apparently, they forgot their question (having entered it over a decade ago and never reviewed it since).  What options, if any, exist to restore access to this person's account? They only want to grab their contacts; they plan to operate full-force on GMail going forward. From Wikipedia: Fermi was known for his ability to make good approximate calculations with little or no actual data, hence the name. One example is his estimate of the strength of the atomic bomb detonated at the Trinity test, based on the distance travelled by pieces of paper dropped from his hand during the blast. Fermi's estimate of 10 kilotons of TNT was remarkably close to the now-accepted value of around 20 kilotons, a difference of less than one order of magnitude.  I have not been able to find any references explaining how he made this calculation. Please provide a reference or an example calculation.  See also: How can I install a Canon printer or scanner driver? Future humans build using dirt, go to war over small amounts of it I am looking for a short story that I read in the 1970s (It may have been published in the 60s) about humans using the Earth's dirt to make stuff; as a result the Earth has shrunk and is smaller than the moon; also how nations go to war over a country's amount of dirt; Microcosmic God was in the same book.  Bought book through a science fiction book club; a collection of short stories. All of a sudden, without any change in the index.html, our site is showing up in Google search results (on multiple browsers and devices) with Google Preview text that, instead of giving a summary of our site, now says:     Your browser does not currently recognize any of the video formats available. Click here to visit our frequently asked questions about HTML5 video.     We have a YouTube embed on our homepage that does include an html5 parameter in the media URL link in the embed, but there are no issues playing the video with any browser and device we can find.  What would suddenly cause this text to appear in Google search results?   We are using the  tags as the metatags in the &lt;head&gt; of our webpage and do indeed have title and description tags.    To mimic the behavior of Googlebot, I installed Windows on a VM and got Chromium 41 running. I get the same Google Preview text with the html5 video message when the site comes up in Google search results using this browser.    When I view the site in Chromium 41, I see the YouTube embed and it renders on the page and plays with no issue, just as with all other browser and devices we've tested on. The only time we see this message is in the Google search results, not on our actual site. Is gnu coreutils sort broken? Enumerations on PHP I know that PHP doesn't yet have native Enumerations. But I have become accustomed to them from the Java world. I would love to use enums as a way to give predefined values which IDEs' auto-completion features could understand. Constants do the trick, but there's the namespace collision problem and (or actually because) they're global. Arrays don't have the namespace problem, but they're too vague, they can be overwritten at runtime and IDEs rarely know how to autofill their keys without additional static analysis annotations or attributes. Are there any solutions/workarounds you commonly use? Does anyone recall whether the PHP guys have had any thoughts or decisions around enumerations? Name for “having no concern about the truthfulness of one’s own remarks” Take the following statement:     I hate the ease with which X makes disparaging remarks about their rivals without the least concern as to whether they are truthful or fair.   Now I would like a word expressing this lack of concern, so that I could just plug it in the blank below and keep the meaning of the sentence above:     I hate the _________ with which X makes disparaging remarks about their rivals.   This is an all too common attitude and I think it deserves a name of its own. The word that came to my mind was levity, but I haven’t come across this word very often and I’m not sure of its particular tones and shades of meaning.      Simple definition   : a lack of seriousness   : an amusing quality   Full definition   1 : excessive or unseemly frivolity   2 : lack of steadiness: changeableness     The attitude I’m trying to name certainly displays lack of seriousness as to the truthfulness and fairness of the remarks, but I do not want to imply they are made in jest or that X is being silly or thoughtless. X could be very serious about their aims: “I’m going to say this; don’t give a dam whether that’s true or not; even if it’s not true I’ll get away with it.” This excludes, I think, all the words Merriam-Webster lists as related to levity, which probably means it excludes levity too:     facetiousness, flightiness, flippancy, frivolousness, frothiness, frivolity, light-headedness, light-mindedness, lightness, silliness   So I’ll accept an answer that despite my reservations shows that one of these words is indeed the one that works best in the sentence above; or gives a more fitting word; or shows that no word really fits (I am of course aware of the difficulties of proving a negative).  I prefer a single word but I’m willing to trade singleness for meaning: so I would take a short phrase it fits better than any single word.  Update  I’m spoilt for choice. But I wonder whether the various suggestions implying lack of concern would in my sentence imply lack of concern specifically for truth, which is what I’m after, or could instead be interpreted as lack of regard for norms of polite behaviour, rival’s feelings, or consequences (say, libel lawsuits, rivals reacting with violence, people feeling encouraged to attack the rivals, etc.)  Tweak the example sentence if it helps (say, I hate the ____ of X’s remarks). Viber notification is not in the right position I've been learning C#, and I'm trying to understand lambdas.  In this sample below, it prints out 10 ten times.  class Program {     delegate void Action();     static void Main(string[] args)     {         List&lt;Action&gt; actions = new List&lt;Action&gt;();          for (int i = 0; i &lt; 10; ++i )             actions.Add(()=&gt;Console.WriteLine(i));          foreach (Action a in actions)             a();     } }   Obviously, the generated class behind the lambda is storing a reference or pointer to the int i variable, and is assigning a new value to the same reference every time the loop iterates.  Is there a way to force the lamda to grab a copy instead, like the C++0x syntax  [&amp;](){ ... } // Capture by reference   vs.  [=](){ ... } // Capture copies