## Comments on “Which combinatorial problem is similar to this problem?”

Regarding the post Which combinatorial problem is similar to this problem?, it is quite hard to believe that, in the absence of information on the cost function, there is no algorithm better than exhaustive search to tackle this apparently easy-to-understand problem. I surfed the Internet and found something called the Weighted Constraint Satisfaction Problem, and I wonder whether this can be of any use in this case.

Any advise would be much appreciated.

## Combinatorial Problem similar in nature to a special version of max weighted matching problem

I have a problem and want to know if there is any combinatorial optimization that is similar in nature to this problem or how to solve this special version of the max weight matching problem.

I have a general graph $$G(\mathcal{V},\mathcal{E},\mathcal{W})$$. I want to find a maximum weight matching of the graph $$G$$ that must cover a certain subset of vertices and has a specific size. For example, if I have a graph with eight vertices, I want to find a max weighted matching that must cover the subset of vertices $$\mathcal{V}’=\{1,2,3\}$$ and the size of the matching is $$\lceil{|\mathcal{V}’|/2}\rceil$$. So one more vertex needs to be chosen that maximizes the weighted matching. How to find the optimal solution in polynomial time if possible?

## SEO for websites with similar content

We have 3 businesses, located in different areas, with different names. They have different domains, and do not cross reference each other.

The business is the same function (medical), and branded differently, however to make things easy we triplicated the main website. Google now ommits the 2nd and 3rd business (the least busy) when googling. I have checked and the pages are on Google, however it omits them from search results.

Is it sufficient to change the meta tags and some content for them to be seen as separate sites and not duplicates?

We have gone through and setup separate my business pages etc.

## Izito and similar sites keeps appearing in my search results

Izito and similar sites keep appearing on my search engine results. It started a few weeks ago. It has been happening on both – my Ubuntu and Windows computer, and even on a new Windows computer. It has been happening on Chrome and Microsoft Edge and on Google and Bing. I have since installed Bitdefender AV and done factory resets and it still keeps coming back after a while. I was wondering if someone could please advise on what might be causing it, what damage / impact it might (have) caused, and how I could get rid of it.

## Is an improvised weapon treated as similar enough to a weapon to use its properties still considered “improvised”?

In PHB, the 2nd paragraph of the description of Improvised Weapons (p. 147) states:

In many cases, an improvised weapon is similar to an actual weapon and can be treated as such. For example, a table leg is akin to a club. At the DM’s option, a character proficient with a weapon can use a similar object as if it were that weapon and use his or her proficiency bonus.

If I am understanding this correctly, then the mentioned table leg (or similar object) can be treated as a club. If that is correct, then it would have the light property, as the club has it. If that is also correct, that would mean I can wield a light weapon in one hand and an improvised club-like weapon in other hand, and use Two-Weapon Fighting with those, as both are light.

If all of that is still correct, then can an improvised weapon that is similar enough to a real weapon – e.g. a table leg used as a club – still be treated as an improvised weapon for the purpose of the last bullet point in the Tavern Brawler feat (PHB, p. 170)?

Specific scenario that I am wondering about: I wield a Scimitar (a light weapon) in one hand and a table leg (treated as a club, so also light) in the other hand. On my turn, I attack with the table leg as my Attack action. Then one of two things happen:

1. I miss – then, as both wielded weapons are light, I proceed to attack with my scimitar (per Two-Weapon Fighting)

2. I hit – then I drop one of my weapons to free one of my hands and attempt to grapple the target.

Of course this is assuming that I have the Tavern Brawler feat, which states:

• You are proficient with improvised weapons.
• Your unarmed strike uses a d4 for damage.
• When you hit a creature with an unarmed strike or an improvised weapon on your turn, you can use a bonus action to attempt to grapple the target.

Does all of that work as I’ve described, or is there somewhere a flaw in my reasoning?

## Is there a “Shadowdark” or similar in the Shadowfell like how there’s a Feydark in the Feywild?

The Material Plane (or Prime Material Plane) has an underground realm known as the Underdark.

There are planes in 5e that were introduced in 4e, the Feywild and the Shadowfell, that are reflections of the Material Plane.

In the Feywild, there is a realm called the Feydark, which is a reflection of the Underdark of the Material Plane.

Is there an equivalent realm within the Shadowfell that is a reflection of the Underdark? A "Shadowdark" or similar?

I’m looking for lore from official 5e or 4e material, but I don’t expect there to be any such lore from editions before 4e because the Feywild and Shadowfell didn’t exist before then (although, since the Plane of Shadow from previous lore is considered to be the same as the Shadowfell, there might be something relevant from previous editions, but I’m expecting that most of the relevant information will come from 4e).

## How to leverage the fact that I’m solving 1000’s of very similar SMT instances?

I have a core SMT solver problem consisting of 100,000 bit-vector array clauses, and one 10000-dimensional bit-vector array. Then, my program takes as input k << 100,000 new clauses, and adds them to the core SMT problem. My goal is, for any input of k clauses, to solve the entire problem.

Is there any static optimization or learning I could do on the core problem in order to find a better way to solve each of its siblings? For instance, is there some property of the graph of bit-vector variables being constrained in each clause that I could use as a heuristic for solving the specific instances?

Thanks!

## Can I use the haste action to break free of vines or similar things?

Haste states:

Choose a willing creature that you can see within range. Until the spell ends, […] it gains an additional action on each of its turns. That action can be used only to take the Attack (one weapon attack only), Dash, Disengage, Hide, or Use an Object action.

This obviously does not allow to use any other actions that you can usually use, like casting a spell, as the more specific rule beats the general rule of what actions can be used. But what if some other specific effect grants additional option to use an action for? For example say an Assassin Vine has entangled me, that grants me the additional action option of breaking free from the vines:

A creature restrained by the plants can use its action to make a DC 13 Strength (Athletics) check, freeing itself on a successful check.

Can I use my haste action to try to break free?

As far as I can tell, I have two specific rules contradicting each other. If there is no official ruling on this, does anyone know what be ruled in AL?

## Is there an organisation similar to the Illuminati?

I am making a character who is a conspiracy theorist. If the setting were the modern world he would see the touch of the Illuminati on everything that happens, and talk about the secret cabal that rule the world.

Is there anything in lore (5th edition, Forgotten Realms preferably, but any edition and any setting is acceptable) that has a similar theme?

I know there are secret organisations such as the Harpers, but the lore I am aware of doesn’t involve directly trying to control the world through subtle means.

Bonus question if there is no such lore: Is there any lore or organisation that would be directly responsible for ensuring no such organisation could exist?

## How can I stay safe when I’m visiting potentially harmful websites on Android 9.0+ or similar MIUI?

I mean harmful by the fact that they might have ads, popups or other ways in which they might transfer malware to my phone or exploit vulnerabilities. And by visiting I mean interacting, clicking on items found on them, playing videos on them, like adult sites for an example of such a website.

Is there a sandbox or a VM on such Android phone that might help? Or am I secured if I have a basic antivirus, NoScript and an adblocker? Is there any you would recommend?