Trivia - A Google a Day XXI

What body of water surrounds the world's longest island chain?
Pacific Ocean

About whom was written "he was brought to the Brick Church, at Fifth Avenue and Thirty-Seventy Street, that those who knew him might not be deprived of opportunity to see his face for the last time" in the New York Times in April 1910?
Mark Twain

What nation's capital city is nicknamed "Big Durian"?
Indonesia

What Russian Marxist does Aldous Huxley name his female lead in "Brave New World" after?
Vladimir Lenin

Since 2003, Egypt has demanded the return of what ancient artifact that's been on display at the British Museum since 1802?
Rosetta Stone

What feature of the Enteroctopus dofleini is covered with teeth that can eat through shell?
Salivary Papilla

One place has more hail than any other location in the world. What did a 1978 study suggest is likely the cause of this phenomenon?
Tea Debris

What is the birth date of the dog that Ted Kennedy placed temporarily with Dawn Sylvia in Hume, Virginia on January 5, 2009?
October 9, 2008

From what country is the only tennis player to have won each of the four Grand Slams at least four times, as of 2012?
Germany

In 1959, a revolutionary fabric was introduced that allowed for "wiggle room" in fashion. Its name is an anagram of what word?
Expands

Trivia - A Google a Day XX

In how many "flavors" are quarks available?
6

The Belaz Dump Truck is the pride of what nation?
Belarus

What is the nickname of the author of "Love in the Time of Cholera"?
Gabo

What is the title of a 2007 competitive eating documentary, starring Paul Barlow Jr., that was produced by a world renowned organization concerned with science and nature?
The Science of Speed Eating

What kind of cells have the ability to differentiate themselves into other types of specialized cells, which could be key to curing some of the most baffling diseases?
Stem Cells

Who gets killed in the final scuffle involving the former lieutenant of the Venetian army in Shakespeare's tragedy about a jealous Moor?
Roderigo

What does it say at either side of the main entrance of the building to where AOL Corporate Headquarters relocated in 2006?
Nielsen

If you travel over the International Bridge from the Michigan city to the same-named Ontario twin city, on what street will you find yourself once across the border?
Huron Street

To whom is the NOLA park at 901 North Rampart Street dedicated?
Louis Armstrong

What successful American restauranteur opened his first eatery late in his teens, and then went on to establish a popular chain of seafood restaurants throughout the U.S. and Canada?
Bill Darden

Trivia - A Google a Day XIX

Named by Jacob Roggeveen, what island is world renown for its 887 moai?
Easter Island

Who played the role of Marty McFly for the first five weeks of filming of "Back to the Future" before he was axed by the director, who didn't feel the actor's "comic sensibilities" were right for the part?
Eric Stoltz

At what college did "Pistol Pete" play before going on to become an NBA legend?
LSU

What was the name of the British television show that inspired the American reality TV show that launched the career of Ty Pennington?
Changing Rooms

How many cervical vertebrae does the world's tallest mammal have?
7

What was the first piece that Inge Morath's husband put on Broadway?
The Man Who Had All the Luck

What is the street address of the venue that is home to the NFL team that was coached from 1997-1999 by the former Dallas Cowboys tight end who retired as a player in 1972?
1500 Sugar Bowl Drive

The spread of bacterium yersinia pestis is transmitted to humans by fleas that have lied on infected animals. But what animal was the source of the infection?
Marmot

What is the capital of the nation that flies a tricolor flag that is comprised of vertical stripes of green (at the hoist), white (middle) and orange?
Dublin

In terms relative to its own size, what bird lays the smallest egg?
Ostrich

Trivia - A Google a Day XVIII

Because of the geometric shape of its territory, which European nation is often referred to as "L'Hexagone"?
France

Which country has been runners up the most times in the World Cup without ever winning it?
Netherlands

What is the surname of the group of sisters featured in the best known painting by their brother Branwell?
Bronte

Under what title was the Beatles' 1964 film marketed in Italy?
Tutti Per Uno

What character in "Anna Karenina" did Tolstoy use to convey many of his own beliefs and struggles that are explored as several of the themes in the novel?
Levin

Who is the only person ever to win an NBA Championship, an Olympic Gold Medal a Rhodes Scholarship and a seat in the United States Senate?
Bill Bradley

The most remote island in the world is a dependent territory of what nation?
Norway

What movie was Peter Hedges inspired to write based on a combination of his mother's battle with cancer and a story he had heard about a New York City family's troubles with Thanksgiving dinner?
Pieces Of April

What did Galileo use as points of reference when tracking the rotation of the sun?
Sunspots

What mountain range lies between the locations for the launching and the landing of mission IML-1?
Rocky Mountains

Trivia - A Google a Day XVII

What river provides the eastern boundary of the U.S. state that was the 29th admitted to the Union?
Mississippi River

Who is the author of the sprawling novel that tells the tale of six generations in a town called Macondo?
Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Cheng Ho was a fleet admiral and explorer who, starting in 1405, led a number of naval expeditions that opened new trade routes for what Chinese dynasty?
Ming

How many states (not including the state it launched or landed in) are between Spacelab-3's 1985 launch site and its landing site (not including Georgia)?
6

What is the name of the Staph infection that is resistant to antibiotics and puts people in healthcare facilities at the most risk?
MRSA

What does the female character in Mark Twain's book about the beginning episode of the Bible want to pluck from the heavens and wear in her hair?
The Stars

What "autonomous region" includes nine major islands and an islet cluster, in three main groups?
Azores

What empire was the continuation of the Ancient Roman State into the eastern region of the Mediterranean, its name derived from the ancient name of Constantinople before it became the capital of the Roman Empire in AD 330?
Byzantine Empire

From where did Chinese factories import cow bones to make tiles to meet the demands of the game craze that broke out in the 1920s?
Chicago Slaughterhouses

What Serie A football team has been home to all three of the following players: the winning captain of the 1982 World Cup Final and both captains at the 2006 World Cup Final?
Juventus

Computer Science - Launch of Da Shi Xiong

With some help from some friends, I am proud to announce the launch of http://www.dashixiong.org/ a website to help ease the transition of foreign asian students to the United States.

The following is a link to the location of the Facebook app that will allow you to login directly through facebook. http://www.facebook.com/DaShiXiongCommunity

Trivia - A Google a Day XVI

What is the imaginary line surveyed between 1763 and 1767 in an effort to resolve a border dispute between colonies in the U.S.?
Mason Dixon Line

What organ do frogs use to assist in hearing in order to avoid damage to their tympana?
Lungs

What will you find on display at the museum in the Gate Tower of Leeds Castle, Maidstone, Kent ME17 1PL, United Kingdom?
Dog Collars

What crawling robot was created at the University of Portsmouth as a reaction to the 1986 disaster in the Ukraine that turned an entire area radioactive?
Robug III

What is the origin of 80% of the population of the island republic that is south of Turkey and west of Syria?
Greek

Considered by many as one of a short list of the greatest NFL players ever, who was referred to as "a fullback who played halfback" by George Allen?
Jim Brown

What band's debut album was named the 13th Greatest Album of All Time, and the "most prophetic rock album ever made" by Rolling Stone Magazine in 2003?
The Velvet Underground

How many U.S. naval ships have been named for the site of the battle won by Gen. Washington against Cornwallis in 1781?
5

Besides being honored as their respective leagues' 1963 MVPs, what did Sandy Koufax and Elston Howard have in common?
Number 32

In what city will you find the 605 ft. structure, designated an historic landmark in 1999, that affords panoramic views of downtown, as well as the surrounding mountains, the bay and nearby islands?
Seattle

Trivia - A Google a Day XV

In what U.S. Supreme Court case did the court hold that suspects must be informed of their rights to decline to make self-incriminatory statements and of the rights to legal counsel?
Miranda v. Arizona

In 1979, the HSCA concluded the JFK assassination was the result of what?
A Conspiracy

Some sonnets are classified as "Italian" or "Petrarchan". What are the last six lines of this type of sonnet called?
Sestet

The lead actor in the movie "Biutiful" was nominated for an Oscar as Best Actor. Who did this actor marry in 2010?
Penelope Cruz

What is the name of the venue where the winningest team in NCAA basketball history plays?
Rupp Arena

Which city has an NFL franchise name for the animal with the scientific taxonomy Panthera tigris
tigris?
Cincinnati

What June parade could you watch pass by if you stood along the Boardwalk near Surf Avenue in Brooklyn?
Mermaid Parade

Only one sport was wholly invented in the United States. On what street will you find the capital building in this state?
Beacon Street

The name of a now-extinct bird has come to be synonymous with being slow-witted. In what ocean will you find the nation that was once home to this bird?
Indian Ocean

What is the name of the presidential bodyguard who was infamously absent the night of April 14, 1865, having been sent to Richmond by the president?
Ward Hill Lamon

Trivia - A Google a Day XIV

What is the given name of the rapper who takes his moniker from the J/Z subway lines that have a stop at Marcy Avenue in Brooklyn?
Shawn Carter

What is the English translation of the Olympic motto" "Citius, Altius, Fortius"?
Swifter, Higher, Stronger

Which Baseball stadium would you find at 1060 West Addison Street in Chicago?
Wrigley Field

What mountain range dominates the interior of the nation that has "Out of Many, One People" as its national motto?
Blue Mountains

Which artery flows down into the lungs via the bronchiole?
Pulmonary

Which of Fitzgerald's characters was surprised to learn that his friend's opulent library actually contains real books?
Owl Eyes

What series of bills was passed in an attempt to squash the public activities of political radicals who sympathized with the French Revolution and who were critical of the president's Federalist policies?
Watership Down

What occupation was shared by the Rhode Island delegates to the Continental Congress who were signers of the Declaration of Independence?
Lawyer

What Asian capital has used more than 1000 air raid shelters below it to create a massive underground city?
Beijing

Distinguished by the label of its number of toes, which is faster: the sloth that has nine bones in its neck or the sloth with six bones in its neck?
Two-Toed Sloths

Trivia - A Google a Day XIII

Who delivered the oration for the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania on the afternoon of Thursday, November 19, 1863?
Edward Everett

What river that originates in Grisons in the eastern Swiss Alps empties in the North Sea?
Rhine

In what category did Bravo's Atlanta "Housewife" Kandi win a Grammy in 2000?
Songwriter Of The Year

The author of the best-selling novel that centers on the Finch children used her middle and last name as her pen name. What is the author's given first name?
Nelle
She was the author of To Kill a Mockingbird

What is the name of the home where the former president of the C.S.A. spent three years penning his memoir?
Beauvoir

What was the name of the estate that was designed for the stars of "The Mark of Zorro" and "Coquette"?
Pickfair

What is the name of the famous Scot, born in 1997, who was an identical twin to her mother, born six years earlier?
Dolly
Dolly refers to the cloned sheep

What geometrical shape, consisting of a single bend and two lines that proceed to an infinite distance in parallel directions, has the same name as the path of an object propelled away from the earth and then pulled back by gravity, like a fly ball in a baseball game?
Parabola

In what novel does Almásy discover the Cave of Swimmers, and then return there later with the badly injured Katherine?
The English Patient

In the post-apocalyptic horror-fantasy novel that elaborates the scenario of the author's earlier "Night Surf", by what nickname is the 108-year-old Nebraska woman, Abagail, also known?
Mother Abagail

Computer Science - Computer Networking Acronyms

This is a list of common Computer Networking Acronyms. Definitions/small descriptions will be updated over time.

802.5 - Token Ring
AAL5 - ATM Adaptation Layer 5
ACL - Asynchronous ConnectionLess Link
ADC - Analog to Digital Converter

• Converts a continuous signal into a digital one by encoding it in levels through binary.

ADSL - Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line

• Commonly used by service company, model where company gives the user greater download than  upload speeds due to, attenuation factors to and from the service provider.

AES - Advanced Encryption Standard
AIFS - Arbitration Inter Frame Space
AJAX - Asynchronous JavaScript and XML
AMPS - Advanced Mobile Phone System
AODV - Ad hoc On-Demand Distance Vector
AP - Access Point

• Allows access to internet services usually connecting to a wire 

APSD - Automatic Power Save Delivery
ARP - Address Resolution Protocol
ARPA - Advanced Research Projects Agency
ARQ - Automatic Repeat Query
AS - Autonomous System
BGP - Border Gateway Protocol
BOC - Bell Operating Company
BSC - Base Station Controller
CA - Collision Avoidance
CCK - Complementary Code Keying
CD - Collision Detection
CDMA - Code Division Multiplexing

• Uses linear independence to send multiple signals through a single channel. The idea is the following, the sender and receiver use the same code which form an orthogonal set with every code used in the channel. The senders and receivers all send and read from one channel. The senders simply allow superposition to sum their signals of ones and zeros, the zeros are usually sent as negative voltage but its still just a voltage difference so it doesn't matter much. The receivers remove the noise by multiplying each bit in the data stream by their own code, basically doing the same operation of the inner product in linear algebra to take advantage of the lack of linear combination for an orthogonal set of codes. This returns back a 1/1+ or 0 for the given code set out of the data stream. This retrieves the information out of the combined signal.
• This technology is used by Verizon Wireless, and was developed by Qualcomm. 
• In mobile technology, the signal gets put a Vocoder, or voice encoder that transforms the analog voice signal into digital. This data gets sent through some convolution encoding scheme, such as viterbi

CDN - Content Delivery Network
CFI - Canonical Format Indicator
CMTS - Cable Modem Termination System
CGI - Common Gateway Interface
CIDR - Classless Inter-Domain Routing
CRC - Cyclic Redundancy Check
CRL - certificate revocation list
CSMA - Carrier Sense Multiple Access

• Checks for whether or not a channel is in use

CSNET - Computer Science Network
CSS - Cascading Style Sheets
CTS - Clear to Send (CSMA/CA)
DAG - Directed Acyclic Graph
DAMPS - Digital Advanced Mobile Phone System
DCCP - Datagram Congestion Control Protocol
DCF - Distributed coordination function
DCT - Discrete Cosine Transform

• Used in JPEG Compression, similar to Fourier Transform, transform to wavespace

DES - Data Encryption Standard
DHCP - Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
DHT - distributed hash table
DIFS - DCF inter frame spacing
DMCA - Digital Millennium Copyright Act
DMT - Discrete MultiTone
DMZ - DeMilitarized Zone
DNS - Domain Name System
DOCSIS - Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification
DOM - Document Object Model
DSLAM - Digital subscriber line access multiplexer
DTN - Delay-tolerant networking
DVMRP - Distance Vector Multicast Routing Protocol
ECMP - Equal Cost MultiPath
ECN - Explicit Congestion Notification
EDGE - Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution
EIFS - Extended Inter Frame Space
EPC - Electronic Product Code
FCFS - First come first served packet scheduling
FDD - Frequency Division Duplex
FDDI - Fiber Distributed Data Interface
FDM - Frequency Division Multiplexing
FEC - forward error correction
FEC - Forwarding Equivalence Class
FIFO - First in first out packet scheduling
FSK - Frequency Shift Keying
FTP - File Transfer Protocol
FTTH - Fiber to the Home

• Fiber optic to each individual home

FTTC - Fiber to the Curb

• Fiber optic to the curb of a neighborhood before reaching home

FSM - Finite State Machine
GCM - Galois/Counter Mode
GGSN - Gateway GPRS Support Node
GMSC - Gateway Mobile Switching Center
GPRS - General packet radio service
GPON - Gigabit-capable Passive Optical Network
GSM - Global System for Mobile Communications
HDTV - High Definition Television
HEC - Header Error Control
HFC - Hybrid Fiber Coaxial
HLR - Home Location Register
HMAC - hash-based message authentication code
HTTP - Hyper Text Transfer Protocol
HSS - Home Subsciber Server
IAB - Internet Activities Board
iBGP - Internal Border Gateway Protocol
ICANN - Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
ICMP - Internet Control Message Protocol
IDEA - International Data Encryption Algorithm
IETF - Internet Engineering Task Force
IMAP - Internet Message Access Protocol
IMP - Interface Message Processor
IMT-2000 - International Mobile Telecommunications 2000

• Determines 3G standards

IOT - Internet of Things
IP - Internet Protocol
IPTV - Internet Protocol television
IRTF - Internet Research Task Force
IS-IS - Intermediate System to Intermediate System
ISDN - Integrated Services Digital Network
ISO - International Standards Organization
ISP - Internet service provider
ITU - International Telecommunication Union
ITU-T - International Telecommunication Union – Telecommunication standarization section
IXC - Interexchange Carrier
IXP - Internet Exchange Point
JPEG -  Joint Photographic Experts Group
JSP - JavaServer Pages
JVM - Java virtual machine
L2CAP - Logical Link Control Adaptation Protocol
LAN - Local Area Network
LATA - Local access and transport area
LDPC - Low Density Parity Check Codes
LEC - Local Exchange Carrier
LEO - Low Earth Orbit Satellite
LER - Label Edge Router
LLC - Limited liability company
LLC - Logical Link Control
LSR - Label Switched Router
LTE - Long Term Evolution
MACA - Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance
MAHO - Mobile Assisted Hand Off
MAI - Multiple Access Interference
MAN - Metropolitan Area Network
MANETs - Mobile Ad hoc NETworks
MFJ - Modified Final Judgement
MGW - Media Gateway
MIME - Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions
MIMO - Multiple Input Multiple Output
MIPS - Microprocessor without Interlocked Pipeline Stages
MOSPF - Multicast Open Shortest Path First
MPEG - Moving Picture Experts Group
MPLS - Multiprotocol Label Switching
MSC - Mobile Switching Center
MTSO - Mobile Telephone Switching Office
MTU - Maximum transmission unit
NAP - Network Access Point
NAT - Network address translation
NAV - Network Allocation Vector
NIC - Network Interface Controller/Network Interface Card
NRZ - non-return-to-zero
NRZI - non-return-to-zero inverted

• Superior to NRZ, can synchronize, receiver can get clock

NSAP - Network Service Access Point
NSF - National Science Foundation
OFDM - Orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing
OSI - Open Systems Interconnection
OSPF - Open Shortest Path First

• An adaptive routing protocol

OUI - Organizationally Unique Identifier
PAWS - Protection against Wrapped Sequence numbers
PCF - Point Coordination Function
PCM - Pulse-code modulation
PCS - Personal Communication Services
PGP - Pretty Good Privacy
PIM - Personal information manager
PIM - Protocol Independent Multicast
PIN - Personal Identification Number
PKI - Public-key infrastructure
PMD - Physical Medium Dependent
POP - Post Office Protocol
POTS - Plain old telephone service
PPP - Point-to-Point Protocol
PSTN - Public Switched Telephone Network
QAM - Quadrature amplitude modulation
QPSK - Quadrature Phase Shift Keying
RAID - Redundant Array of Independent Disks
RED - Random Early Detection
RFC - Request For Comments
RFID - Radio-frequency identification
RNC - Radio Network Controller
ROHC - Robust Header Compression
RPC - Remote procedure call
RPR - Resilient Packet Ring
RSA - Rivest Shamir Adleman Algorithm
RSVP - The Resource Reservation Protocol
RTP - Real-time Transport Protocol
RTS - Request to Send (CSMA/CA)
RTSP - Real Time Streaming Protocol
SACK - Selective ACKnowledgement
SCO - Synchronous Connection Oriented Link
SCTP - Stream Control Transmission Protocol
SDSL - Symmetric Digital Subscriber Line
SGSN - Serving GPRS Support Node
SHA - Secure Hash Algorithm
SIFS - Short Inter frame space
SIG - Special Interest Group
SIM - Subscriber Identity Module
SIP - Session Initiation Protocol
SIPP - Simple Internet Protocol Plus
SMTP - Simple Mail Transfer Protocol
SNR - Signal-to-noise ratio
SOAP - Simple Object Access Protocol
SOF - Start of Frame
SONET - Synchronous Optical Network
SPE - Synchronous Payload Envelop
SSL - Secure Sockets Layer
SST - Structured Stream Transport
STS-1 - Synchronous Transport Signal-1
TCP - Transmission Control Protocol
TDD - Test-driven development
TDD - Time division Duplex
TDM - Time-division multiplexing
TELNET - Network Virtual Terminal Protocol
THF - Tremendously High Frequency
TSAP - Transport Services Access Point
TPDU - Transport Protocol Data Unit
UDP - User Datagram Protocol
UTP - Unshielded Twisted Pair
UMTS - Universal Mobile Telecommunications System 
URL - Uniform resource locator
VCI - Virtual Channel Identifier
VPI - Virtual Path Identifier
VDSL - Very high bit rate Digital Subscriber Line
VLAN - Virtual local area network
VLE - Variable Length Encoding
VLR - Visitor Location Register
VSAT - very small aperture terminal
WAN - Wide Area Network
WiMAX - Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access
WDM - wavelength-division multiplexing
WEP - Wired Equivalent Privacy
WFQ - Weighted Fair Queueing
WPA2 - WiFi Protected Access 2
WSAN - Wireless Sensor and Actor Networks
XML - Extensible Markup Language
YUV - Luminous Hue Saturation

• Used in JPEG Compression

Trivia - A Google a Day XII

What was the nickname of the Hall of Fame running back who played for the Bears for 13 seasons?
Sweetness

In 1985, who was memorialized in record books as the youngest player ever to win at Wimbledon?
Boris Becker

What famous sculpture, discovered by a peasant on April 8, 1820, is named for the Aegean island of Milos on which it was found?
Venus De Milo

What is the capital of the nation that flies a flag comprised of a white band, to symbolize a truce, at the hoist that is separated from a red area on the right by five triangles that serve as a serrated line and represent the five pillars of Islam?
Manama

The highest commercially navigable lake in the world is shared between what two countries?
Bolivia & Peru

What biological agent, which is sometimes depicted with a diamond-head tip, gets its name from the Latin for "poison"?
Virus

What is the portmanteau for the chemical reaction that is the opposite of the reaction in which a material's atoms take on electrons?
Redox

In Claude Monet's painting "Poppies Near Vétheuil" (ca. 1880), what is the tall structure in the background?
Notre Dame de Vetheuil

Only one man was twice honored with the "Thanks of Congress" during the Civil War. To what rank was this individual promoted after the war?
Lieutenant General

When is the phenomenon that occurred on both Samuel Langhorne Clemens's birth and at his death next calculated to arrive?
2061

Trivia - A Google a Day XI

What common human ailment do norovirus and rotaviruses cause?
Gastroenteritis

In 2011, which NFL QB threw for over 500 yards and four touchdowns in a single game, the first time this had been done since 1962?

Tom Brady

What is the predominant color of the flag of the country that lies northwest of China and southeast of Kazakhstan?
Red

Of the country Kyrgyzstan.

In the least densely populated autonomous country in the world, in what city does nearly half the population live?
Ulan Bator

Ulan Bator is the capitol of mongolia.

Aside from Roderick, who else marks the end of the lineage for the inhabitants in the house of Usher in Poe's short story?
Madeline

How many cartridges came with the Magnavox Odyssey when it was purchased?
6

What was the birthplace of the 1972 Olympian credited with popularizing the running craze in the U.S.? (City)
Coos Bay, Oregon

What author's Pulitzer Prize-winning 1939 work is considered to be among the first of the concept that would come to be known as "young-adult fiction"?
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
who wrote The Yearling.

What actress turned down the role of FBI Special Agent Clarice Starling, later telling Barbara Walters, "A difficult decision, but I got nervous about the subject matter"?
Michelle Pfeiffer

The acting role for the cop in Hannibal Lector movies.

What was the surname of the Quartermaster General who ordered 26 Union soldiers buried in the rose garden of the wife of the commander of the Confederate Army?
Meigs

Trivia - A Google a Day X

As of 2012, what country provides 78% of its electricity through nuclear power, placing it 17th on the 2009 world list for carbon dioxide emissions, lower than many less populated countries?
France

Between August 12, 1908 and May 26, 1927, 15 million Model T's rolled off the assembly line in Highland Park, Michigan. Henry Ford said, "any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long as it" was what?
Black

What was the nickname of the weaponeer on the aircraft that flew "Little Boy" to its intended target?
Deak

The little boy was the bomb dropped on Hiroshima by the Enola Gay, a B-29 flying super fortress.

Who collaborated with Langston Hughes on "Mule Bone: A Comedy of Negro Life in Three Acts", a play that was published posthumously in 1991?
Zora Neale Hurston

What is the date of the first known appearance of the celebrity ranked in 1996 by TV Guide as #23 on its list of the 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time?
October 13, 1974

When sulfuric and nitric acids occur in high amounts in debris from the atmosphere, what is it called?
Acid Rain

Dawn Tinsley was a character in a popular British TV show that inspired an American version. In the American production, what is the original position of the character modeled after Dawn Tinsley?
Receptionist

How many yards was the last of Rob Bironas's record breaking eight field goals in a single game in 2007?
29

When measured from its base rather than from sea level, this mountain is the world's tallest. Where is it located?
Hawaii

The mountain is called Mauna Kea. 

Despite the depiction of those gathered at Lincoln's deathbed in Currier & Ives "The Death of President Lincoln", who was actually never present at Peterson House?
Mary Todd Lincoln

Mary was Abraham's wife.

Computer Science - Visual Studio

When importing a project that uses the universal compilation method of cmake and qt into visual studio, its possible to get some errors. Namely that the ZERO_CHECK for the project is out of date, and that the system cannot find the file ALL_BUILD. This error occurs in the debug phase, if your project is up to date and can properly compile, just building it will execute properly. It is only when you attempt to create an executable that this break occurs.

In the event that this happened, just right click on the solution explorer to open a menu, select set startup projects, and set your current project as the startup project. This will allow the debug to run properly.

Trivia - A Google a Day IX

What film was nominated for two Academy Awards, including Alan Owen for Best Screenplay and George Martin for Best Score?
Hard Day's Night

Of 32 full-length plays and 20 one-act plays by Eugene O'Neill, which one is a comedy?
Ah, Wilderness!

What feature is the color sepia on the species Sepia officinalis?
Their Ink
Sepia officinalis refers to the cuttlefish, and sepia refers to a dark brown gray color.

What is the nickname of the state that has northern and eastern borders defined by the Columbia and Snake rivers, respectively?
The Beaver State

The beaver state is oregon.

What was allegedly stolen that inspired the dispute that resulted in a skirmish that led to the death of the man that originally mapped the Hawaiian Islands?
A Boat

What book was the bestselling book on science before Stephen Hawking's "A Brief History Of Time"?
Cosmos

Which was written by Carl Sagan.

On what river will you find the only inland municipality of the four direct-controlled municipalities in China?
Yangtze

In Poe's work about a decrepit dwelling and the failing family lineage, who is it that invites the narrator to his abode to witness its disrepair firsthand?
Roderick Usher

Who married the grandson of the man to whom her father had served two terms as Vice President of the United States?
Julie Nixon

What is the location of the establishment that held the contest that Joey Chestnut won for the fifth time on July 4, 2011?
Coney Island

The competition is a hot dog eating contest.

Trivia - A Google a Day VIII

The amendment to the U.S. Constitution that guarantees a citizen's rights concerning prosecution also guarantees protection from what?
Double Jeopardy

Double jeopardy refers to being twice punished for a single crime.

Which winner of six majors co-wrote a book of golf anecdotes called "The Snake In The Sandtrap"?
Lee Trevino

Which NFL stadium would you find at 4201 N. Dale Mabry Highway?
Raymond James Stadium

For whom was Ronald and Nancy Reagan's Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Rex, named?
Usher Rex Scouten

In 1933, explorer László Almásy wrote "Unknown Sahara" that included a chapter on the Cave of Swimmers, which he discovered. In what 1992 work of fiction is the Cave of Swimmers mentioned?
The English Patient
The cave of swimmers is referring to ancient cave pantings cave paintings.

What is the capital of the Caribbean island that flies a "snake flag" that features four of its native fer-de-lance vipers?
Fort-de-France

What is the source of stem cells that have been used to treat leukemia and lymphoma since the 1970s?
Adult Bone Marrow

Tom Wolfe novel was made into a movie that was released in 1983. What is the name of the actor who was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in that movie as the first pilot to travel faster than sound?
Sam Shepard

The first man to fly faster than the speed of sound was Chuck Yeagar, pilot for the test aircraft the bell x-1.

Rising 2815 feet out of the surrounding plain and boasting a ridge of more than 5 miles, this monolith is composed mostly of gray sandstone, and is the world's greatest rock. In what country will you find it?
Australia

What group of elements is comprised of relatively soft, silvery-white metals that tarnish when exposed to air, forming their oxides, that are very reactive, that have high boiling and melting points, that increase in hardness as the atomic number increases, and are located left to right across the Period Table by increasing atomic numbers?
Lanthanides

Trivia - A Google a Day VII

What has been installed at Algiers Point to facilitate the control of two-way marine traffic on the Mississippi River?
Traffic Light

At what event in Anaheim in October 2011 did Chris Metzen announce big news for fans?
BlizzCon
Chris Metzen announced Mists of Pandaria, the fourth expansion pack for world of warcraft.

What is the name of the jeweled egg made in 1903 for the last czar of Russia?
Peter, The Great Egg
This is one of many jeweled eggs called the Faberge eggs.

Which NHL team plays its home games at 1255 Hempstead Turnpike in Uniondale?
New York Islanders

Named for the son of Philip II of Macedon, this city was the one-time capital of what country?
Egypt
Phillip II of Macedon sired Alexander the Great.

What is the brand of government issued cigarettes and gin distributed to the Party members in George Orwell's novel "1984"?
Victory

What program nickname is a reference to both the school's signature color and the fact that the fans often make up a disproportionate majority of the crowd at most venues where the Wildcats play?
Big Blue Nation

What is the birthplace of the father of the woman who has a son named Knox with a man who began his film career in "No Way Out" & "Hunk"?
Yonkers, New York

This is the birthplace of Jon Voigt, father of Angelina Jolie, and wife of Brad Pitt.

What group of nomadic warriors built their capital city in 1325 on an island in a lake in the Valley of Mexico, which today is the Federal District?
Aztecs

To make sure he was unable to return to his home after the Civil War, on whose property were Union soldiers buried?
Robert E. Lee

Trivia - A Google a Day VI

What country, which declared it's sovereignty in July of 1990, celebrates Victory Day on May 9 each year?
Belarus

What institution's entry way includes a pair of famous stone sculptures by Edward Clark Potter, which were originally named Leo Astor and Leo Lenox, in honor of the institution's founders?
New York City Public Library

What lake is the source of the greatest river in the United States?
Lake Itasca

What is the true identity of the vocalist "Joan S. Jonas" who teamed up with the Jonas Brothers to sing "That's Just The Way We Roll"?
Miss Piggy

What First Dog made headlines when he had a tonsillectomy shortly after his owner left the White House?
Rex

Some mammals, other than those in the family Suidae, take the name "boar". What requirement does an animal need to have to be termed a "boar" other than being fully grown?
Must Be Male

Into what animal did Belgian researchers introduce a variant of the disease CMT, one of the most common hereditary disorders of the human peripheral nervous system?
Fruit Flies

What does Jonathan Swift's outrageous written attack over the state of Irish/British relations sarcastically suggest the poor eat to quell their hunger and stop their poverty?
Babies

If you alphabetized the nations that have islands in the Arctic Ocean, which one is second on the list?
Denmark

What was coincidentally invented while experimenting with CFCs and labeled PTFE?
Teflon

Trivia - A Google a Day V

What first name was shared by the co-founders of the company that developed the first microcomputer for use with video display?
Steve

What is the predominant climate type in the country that forms the easternmost part of Africa?
Tropical Monsoon

Baer's "Brown Box" was the first of what kind of device?
Gaming Consoles

In 1869, the former president of the C.S.A. turned down an offer to become the first president of a newly established university. By what name is that school now known?
Texas A&M

What is the Enteroctopus dofleini's spiky tongue called?
Radula

A U.S. city tried to have its name changed to "Anvil City" in 1899, but the request was denied by the U.S. Postal Service. In what state is this city located?
Alaska

The ship in Coleridge's famous poem sails into a land of ice. What color are the icebergs?
Green

On the way to BlizzCon in 2011, what nearby bakery-restaurant on W. Katella might you have stopped in for some French toast before checking into the convention?
Coco's

What cosmic drink likens itself to a hit in the head by a brick surrounded by a lemon rind in Douglas Adams' six volume series about the universe?
Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster

What animal uses several layers of chromataphores to change its color based on its emotional state?
Chameleon

Computer Science - Making an icon

On the mac after downloading Xcode its possible to create .icns files for your apps with a command line function called iconutil assuming that you installed the command line tools associated with Xcode. Make sure those are all enabled. Prior to Xcode 4.4, you would use an application called icon composer but this app has long been deprecated.

So first start by creating a folder called icon.iconset.
mkdir icon.iconset

Then create your image files using whatever image editor you want. Create images that are exactly 512x512, 256x256, 128x128, 32x32, 16x16 in size otherwise the utility will fail.

Then just run the following command in the area you want to create the icon in, not necessarily in the icon.iconset folder.
iconutil -c /filepath/to/icon.iconset/folder
The utility should run fairly quickly and generate a .icns file for you to use!

Trivia - A Google a Day IV

Which boxer starred alongside Sylvester Stallone in the 2006 movie "Rocky Balboa" as Mason 'The Line' Dixon?
Antonio Tarver

What is the only bone in the human body that is not connected to another bone?
Hyoid

When NBC decided to replicate "The Office" for American television, who was the network's first choice for the role of Michael Scott?
Paul Giamatti

What boyhood friend of Paul Cezanne's is featured "in a Straw Hat" in Cezanne's painting c. 1870-71?
Gustav Boyer

At his retirement in 2006, what tennis legend was the most recent of only five players to have won all four Grand Slam titles?
Andre Agassi

What robot helped recover the black box from the 1999 disaster that occurred sixty miles from Nantucket Island?
The Deep Drone

Vincent van Gogh was the houseguest of a physician who treated him in his last weeks at Auvers-sur-Oise. What is the name of the painting van Gogh gave to the doctor to thank him?
Blossoming Chestnut Branches

Technically, what city is the world's largest in terms of square miles?
Honolulu

What is the term for an area of peatland that forms in a climate of high rainfall with a low evapotranspiration that allows peat to develop over large expanses of undulating ground?
Blanket Bog

What is the name of the first vessel that shipwrecked Jonathan Swift's main character, a traveling doctor, on an island out of proportion containing the Blefuscudians?
Swallow

Graphic Design - Gimp Example

So this is just an example to help solve the issue of the layer boundaries in gimp messing with editing images. Let us start with two pictures, a picture of Yoona from Girl's Generation and Psy doing his Gangnam style.

First we use the normal editing techniques, in this example, the picture is not clearly defined enough for the magic wand tool/fuzzy select tool so we can't use that to quickly get rid of the background on the image we want to superimpose on to the other. So we can just use the lasso tool, and invert to get a rough selection of what we want to get rid of.

Then we have to create an alpha channel so that we can make our background transparent.

Then we cut the section out

Then use the erase tool to get rid of the extra background space and crop the picture. As you can see the layer size is clearly defined here.

This is where the issues begin. As you can see by the yellow box, the boundary of that layer is much smaller than the actual picture because we copy and pasted it in. 

This becomes a major problem if we want to enlarge the picture like so. In order to remove that background simply select the layer that you want to work in and change the visibility to that layer only.

 This results in an inaccurate boundary when we try to view the picture as a composite.

So in order to get this to work properly, all we have to do is select the layer with Psy, and create a new layer from visible by right clicking on the layer and selecting the new from visible option.

This readjusts the size of the layer to that of the whole image so that you can now scale properly, and so we finish this up by anchoring the layer after scaling. The reason why you need to anchor the layer is because the way scaling is coded into gimp is that a temporary manipulatable layer is created. This means you aren't actually on the main layer you are trying to work on until it has been anchored.

And here is the final result! Psy photo bombing Yoona.

Computer Science - Gimp Unwanted Feature

While using GIMP, I realized that sometimes there'd be times in which the layer I was working on was't well defined.

Notice how the yellow box doesn't quite line up with the edges. What is happening here is that the yellow box defines the boundaries of the current layer you are on. Unlike as in other image processing software such as photoshop where the boundary size is fixed to the canvas size that you define for the entire image.

This is to allow for different layer sizes so that you can minimize the amount of data each layer requires. The reason for this is because Gimp's functionality was designed on much older computers, and so minimizing the size of the image could be seen as a feature. However, none of its modern competitors have incorporated this feature because it significantly adds to the complexity of manipulating the image, with little to no benefit since the computing power of the average computer has gone up significantly. I will go over an example of an easy way to change how you use gimp in order to more easily use gimp, especially when copy and pasting is done, which completely messes with the boundary of a layer.

Trivia - A Google A Day III

Who played the role of the husband in the 1951 television series with a second episode entitled "Lucy Does A TV Commercial"?
Desi Arnaz

Inside the star Lucy in the constellation Centaurus directly above Australia is the world's largest what?
Diamond

Which of Golf's Open Championship courses has the postal code CT13 9PB?
Royal St. George's Golf Club

According to the legend, who was led to the landmass beneath Australia by Te Wheke-o-Muturangi?
Kupe

Colonel Tibbets flew a B-29 that he nicknamed after his mother. What was the code name of the bomb dropped from this plane on August 6, 1945?
Little Boy

The name of the post-war home of the president of the C.S.A. is French for "beautiful to see". If you visit this national landmark, what will you see directly across the street?
Gulf Of Mexico

Once known as the Erythraean Sea, this body of water connects to the Persian Gulf by way of what strait?
Bab-el-Mandeb

In whose name is the memorial hall that is located on the former site of Zhonghuamen Gate at the southern end of Tiananmen Square between Zhengyangmen Gate and the Monument to the People's Heroes?
Mao Zedong

What famous Renaissance playwright originates from the area known as Warwickshire?
Shakespeare

The author of "Ten Days That Shook The World" is the only American to be buried in the Kremlin Wall Necropolis. What American playwright was a close friend of this author?
Eugene O'Neilla

Trivia - A Google a Day II

Whose grave in Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles is marked with a tombstone that reads: "She did it the hard way"?
Bette Davis
Bette Davis was an American actress who was able to play a huge range of characters.

What would you buy a ticket to see at 1380 Port of New Orleans Place in New Orleans?
Mardi Gras Floats

Ozymandias is an example of what poetic form?
Sonnet
A sonnet is a 14 line poem that follows a specific rhyme and structure. William Shakespeare wrote many famous sonnets both in and out of his plays. 

What was the given name of the drummer for the band that topped Billboard magazine's list of all-time top Hot 100 artists published in 2008?
Richard Starkey
Ringo Starr also known as Richard Starkey was the drummer for the Beatles.

What power of God does Edmond Dantes claim to possess in Alexandre Dumas's "The Count of Monte Cristo"?
Providence

Which former NFL quarterback was born on the exact same day as the actress nominated for an Academy Award for her performance in "Agnes of God"?
Jim Kelly
Agnes of God is a play that tells the story of a novice nun who gives birth and insists that the dead child was the result of a virgin conception. The actress's name was Meg Tilly who was an Oscar-nominated actress and published novelist. 

What crater on the moon is the same distance across as the journey from Walt Whitman's 1884 house to Atlantic City, New Jersey?
Copernicus

General George Washington's victory at Yorktown turned the tide of the American War of Independence. Under what monarch did the commander defeated at Yorktown serve?
George III

In what county is the highest of the coastal mountains that ring the low plains at the center of the island that is separated from Great Britain by the Irish Sea and the North Channel?
Kerry

Kerry is a county in Ireland.

Who wrote the lines "child of love and light" that accompanied Richard Rothwell's portrait of Mary Shelley when it was shown at the Royal Academy in 1840?
Percy Shelley

Trivia - A Google a Day I

This is just a log to keep track of random trivia from the game a google a day.

What is the name of the crank that attaches to the side of a Victrola?
A Winding Key
A victrola is a product of the victor talking machine company which produced phonographs, and phonograph records.

What city would you visit to tour the only royal palace found in the United States?
Honolulu
In Honolulu the Iolani royal palace was used as the official residence for  the reigning monarch of Hawaii.

What disease is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae?
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that causes watery diarrhea and vomiting. 

Which former world heavyweight champion won the first 40 fights of his professional career losing the 41st to Muhammad Ali?
George Foreman
George Foreman also was the spokesperson for his foreman grill.

Who is the only player to have scored three goals in the final of the World Cup?
Geoff Hurst

What bay separates East Egg from West Egg in F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel "The Great Gatsby"?
Manhasset Bay
The west egg and east egg areas of the city were inspired by long island.

Although its name is a misnomer and probably a British corruption of the original Spanish name "Las Chorreras", what Caribbean town is likely the place where Christopher Columbus first set foot in the New World?
Ocho Rios

What band sang the song with the lyrics that served as the inspiration for the name of the company that produced the show in which Mercedes McNab played the part of Harmony Kendall?
Yes

What name does the protagonist give himself when his desires for inappropriate relations overtake him in Nabokov's 1955 novel?
Humbert the Hoarse
The novel is Lolita.

In 1917 during WWI, with whom did John Dos Passos enlist in the Norton-Harjes Ambulance Corps?
E. E. Cummings

Computer science - Open Finder from Terminal

When developing on a mac this will help make things a bit easier to manage. When in a terminal all you have to do to open the finder from the command line is use

open .

as shown in the following, it will open up finder in the current directory your terminal is in.