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June 2008

I need help preparing for a collaboration/competition

I saw you listed at WP:HAU and was wondering if you'd be interested in helping out on a graphic arts project (no experience necessary, as we have some time)...

I'm preparing to coordinate a large collaboration/competition and for it I'm developing some awards. Each award will include an image, and that's where I need help...

I've got to have all the awards done by July 15th, and I don't even have the first one finished yet.

I'm looking for someone who knows how (or is interested in jumping in and learning how) to work on images in xcf format using GIMP, or Inkscape, etc. (Because I and others will need to be able to edit each image's layers after you are done with it).

If this sounds like something you are interested in helping with, please drop me a note.

By the way, both GIMP and Inkscape are free, making it easy to get started from scratch.

I look forward to your reply.

The Transhumanist 12:56, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

Hi. Well, I've never used GIMP or Inkscape before, and I'm not used to downloading files onto my computer unless I need them. However, I may be able to help if you need help with Microsoft Paint, as I often use the program. What kind of awards are you planning? I've already uploaded one barnstar (Template:MOTD Barnstar) using paint, and I just learned how to change the file format, but I'm not sure if it can do .xcd . I also have image stacking software if that might help (RegiStax), but I'm also new at that and it takes an hour just to stack one image! So, will paint be any help with your process? Also, if they are due by July, I think I should be able to have enough time to help if you need it. Thanks. ~AH1(TCU) 17:15, 2 June 2008 (UTC)
When I started this project a couple weeks ago, like you, I had only used MS Paint (and was reluctant to use, and was even intimidated by, other raster graphics editors). But I had read so many comments about GIMP (from other users here that I finally (with much hesitation) decided to download and try it. I was amazed!
Then, as I went looking for others who used GIMP (in order to take advantage of the xcf file format which saves layer info and therefore allows people to collaborate easily on the creation of images - each person can work on a different layer if need be which makes sharing projects easy), I kept running into users who loved Inkscape (a vector graphics editor, with many raster graphics features), and found out it also supports xcf.
If you have the patience to spend hours tinkering with images on MS Paint, then you will absolutely love these other programs. The menus are semi-familiar and not too hard to figure out. Plus there is lots of help on these available - they have their own help, and there are lots of 3rd-party instructions available on the Web.
But I didn't need help much. With a little bit of trial and error, it was pretty easy to figure out which commands corresponded to the MS Paint icons and menu items. And many of the other commands are quite intuitive.
I was also very surprised at how powerful these programs are, being that they are free.
Trust me. You'll love them.
Without knowing much about the GIMP (except that it was "kick ass"), I was able to do the following:
I started looking around Wikipedia for a general geography award, and the interlingual barnstar caught my eye:
File:Interlingual Barnstar.png
But the awards for the contest I will be running will be non-barnstar awards, and so the barnstar embedded in the image above makes it unusable for my purposes. So I stripped out the globe and barnstar, to get this:
File:Globe stand.png
I needed a transparent background, and all that took was to add a transparent ("alpha") layer, then select and delete the original background so the transparent background is all that was left:
File:Globe stand with transparent background.png
I then found a picture of Earth in this screen capture from NASA's Worldwind program:
I carefully drew (with the pencil tool) a thick red ring around the Earth, blacked out (painted black over) everything outside the red ring, then made the black transparent, followed by making the red transparent, leaving just the globe.
The GIMP supports layering, scaling, and positioning, which makes it easy to add components, so I added the blue marble to the globe stand to get this...
File:Blue Marble in stand.png
(I also adjusted its brightness).
Then I took this:
And added an alpha layer (1st transparent layer) to it and then deleted the white surrounding the globe (leaving just the transparent background), removed the black, changed the remaining white lines to black, and touched it up by erasing bits here and there, and adding a couple lines. Then I pasted the whole thing into the above image as a new layer, positioned it over the Blue Marble and underneath the rim of the globe stand and reduced the layer's opacity by a little over half.
File:Blue Marble Puzzle Globe in stand.png
In the version above, I also isolated the shadow on the floor below the stand by moving it to its own layer (so it can be easily altered later), and I enlarged the canvas (the picture size) to make room for another item or two (I'd like to add a passport).
All of the above was a lot easier than I thought it would be. And if I can do it, then you'll be amazing at it.
GIMP is the same type of program as MS Paint, it just has a lot more tools and commands. And since it's free, why not try it?
I still use MS Paint for some of the little tricks I've learned to use it for, but now I use GIMP for almost all my image work.
Would you like me to send you the xcf file of the globe above so you can start tinkering with it? If you'd like to give this a try, email me your email address, and I'll email it to you.
The Transhumanist 21:57, 2 June 2008 (UTC)
Hi. I can't download anything at the moment, although I may be able to do so later. Anyway, I can't click the edit tabs for the sections on your talkpage, maybe it's my browser, but part of the right region of each section is cut off. Also, my computer is relatively slow at times, will GIMP work on my computer (Windows) at a reasonable speed? Also, I thought the Wikipedia logos were all copyrighted, how is it possible that we would be allowed to use them? Also, do files pasted onto GIMP have to be in xcd, or can you copy and paste ordinary images onto GIMP? Also, I'm used to uploading all my images as public domain, if I upload any GIMP images, what license should I upload them under? How much disk space does it take up, and how much is required, and how much do the images take up? Thanks. ~AH1(TCU) 22:28, 2 June 2008 (UTC)
I use Windows, and GIMP works fine for me. You'll just have to try it and see.
The Wikipedia logos are copyrighted. And we're Wikipedians using the logos for Wikipedia purposes, on Wikipedia user pages. For example, here are some popular versions users have come up with:
You are getting very sleepy...



I don't know why my user page is going off the right of your screen, but you can probably use the horizontal scroll bar to see it.
The license to use is GNU.
Yes, you can paste almost any kind of image into GIMP. GIMP is the same kind of program as MS PAINT, and I'm pretty sure it can do everything PAINT can do. GIMP supports many file formats, and you can work on different images in different windows at the same time. You can also load or copy and paste entire images into separate layers in the same image. You can also save images to whatever format you like, such as PNG. Before uploading them to Wikipedia, they have to be saved in PNG format (or one of the other formats that Wikipedia supports). The xcf format retains all layer information, and so we'll be using that as the working format.
The image currently is about 700K in size. In memory, GIMP takes up about 24 Megs. By comparison, Firefox takes 354 Megs.
The Transhumanist 23:01, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

WP:HAU

Hello yet again. I regretfully inform you that the bot we were using to update the user status at Wikipedia:Highly Active Users, SoxBot V, was blocked for its constant updating. With this bot out of operation, a patch is in the works. Until that patch is reviewed and accepted by the developers, some options have been presented to use as workarounds: 1) Qui monobook (not available in Internet Explorer); 2) User:Hersfold/StatusTemplate; 3) Manually updating User:StatusBot/Status/USERNAME; or 4) Not worry about it and wait for the patch to go through, which hopefully won't take long. If you have another method, you can use that, too. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me. Useight (talk) 17:50, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

I guess it was just an unecessary strain on the servers. Useight (talk) 22:14, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

Back to the drawing board ...

It appears the globe stand was from a copyrighted image.

This means we're back to square one.

We need to either find another globe stand, or come up with a new idea altogether for the "Wikipedia World Traveler" award.

I look forward to any ideas you might have.

The Transhumanist 00:19, 4 June 2008 (UTC)

Hi. Well, I'm not sure if this is what you're looking for, but will any of these images be of any help? Thanks. ~AH1(TCU) 17:23, 4 June 2008 (UTC)
That's the first place I looked, but you prompted me to look again... Maybe a globe stand could be created from scratch. Or maybe this one could be extracted and coverted to gold. Thanks for the heads up. The Transhumanist 18:50, 4 June 2008 (UTC)

My userpage

Thanks, but I think I'll leave it as a honeypot for now. If it gets really bad, I'll sprotect it myself. NawlinWiki (talk) 21:07, 4 June 2008 (UTC)

Parachuting into thunderstorms

Hey AH1,

regarding your recent post on the Reference desk: looking at our parachuting article, I notice that it doesn't actually discuss weather and parachuting at all. I can make a couple of reasonable guesses as to why parachuting into a thunderstorm would be dangerous (for starters, the wind would probably make it pretty hazardous, as I suspect it could not only carry you pretty far from your drop zone, but possibly even tangle up the parachute), but guessing is no good.

If you're more knowledgeable about the subject than I (which wouldn't take much!), could you perhaps expand the article a little? I know I'd be interested in reading about that! -- Captain Disdain (talk) 00:16, 5 June 2008 (UTC)

I have read in a chapter of a weather-related book that a member of the U.S. military once had to eject while flying over the top of a summer thunderstorm; this is not an online source. Based on the description of his ordeal, it seems remarkable that he survived, and it would appear extraordinarily dangerous to parachute into even an ordinary thundershower. 69.140.152.55 (talk) 14:59, 5 June 2008 (UTC)
Yeah, that would be Colonel William Rankin, whom AH1 has already mentioned.
AH1, to answer the question you asked on my talk page, I'd say you should do both: I think the parachuting article would benefit from information about parachuting in bad weather (even if it's just a paragraph or two), and at least to me, Colonel Rankin certainly seems notable enough to deserve an article. Especially as you appear to have a good reference source handy. -- Captain Disdain (talk) 20:24, 5 June 2008 (UTC)

Torino scale

Hello, AstroHurricane001. You have new messages at Talk:Torino Scale.
You can remove this notice at any time by removing the {{Talkback}} or {{Tb}} template.

69.140.152.55 (talk) 15:40, 5 June 2008 (UTC)

rfa thanks !

hey astro, I just wanted to thank you for your participation in my recent RFA. i got pretty nervous there towards the end, so those "late supporters" really helped calm my nerves. i've left some templated thank spam for you below. also, feel free to check out my in-depth RFA analysis (comments welcome). happy editing, xenocidic (talk) 23:56, 5 June 2008 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Administrators' noticeboard#Wikipedia:Upload

I've answered the question you posted in this discussion, and I've asked you one in return.

I've also posted some links to traffic statistics for you to look at, to compare the Upload page to other pages that appear on Wikipedia's sidebar menu.

I look forward to your further input on the discussion.

The Transhumanist 03:27, 6 June 2008 (UTC)

Mass Clear Up

Thanks for the mention in the noticeboard. Tried my best to revert all of the random rubbish the user had created. Was partly wikibooks fault as they released a code which performs mass moves in one click so this user was able to do what would normally take 10 mins in 1 using the code. Anyway User:Nancy might want to hear that you mentioned me in the noticeboard. Chemistrygeek (talk) 21:12, 6 June 2008 (UTC)

Tropical cyclones WikiProject Newsletter #17

Number 17, June 7, 2008

The Hurricane Herald

This is the monthly newsletter of WikiProject Tropical Cyclones. The Hurricane Herald aims to give a summary, both of the activities of the WikiProject and global tropical cyclone activity. If you wish to change how you receive this newsletter, or no longer wish to receive it, please add your username to the appropriate section on the mailing list. This newsletter covers all of May 2008.

Please visit this page and bookmark any suggestions of interest to you. This will help improve monitoring of the WikiProject's articles.

Storm of the month

Cyclone Nargis
Cyclone Nargis

Cyclone Nargis was the costliest and deadliest natural disaster in the history of Burma (Myanmar). It formed on April 27 in the central Bay of Bengal, and after initially tracking north-northwestward it turned to the east. Quickly strengthening to reach peak winds of at least 165 km/h (105 mph), Nargis made landfall in the Ayeyarwady Division of Burma on May 2 near peak intensity. The cyclone killed at least 80,000 people and potentially over 300,000. Passing near the metropolis of Yangon, the cyclone destroyed thousands of buildings, and damage was estimated at over $10 billion (USD). In the wake of the storm, the ruling military junta of Burma initially refused foreign aid, and after they allowed foreign assistance, the government was criticized for its poor handling of the aftermath of the storm.

Other tropical cyclone activity

  • Northwestern Pacific Ocean – Typhoon Rammasun was the strongest tropical cyclone worldwide during the month, though it did not affect land. Tropical Storm Matmo formed east of Luzon in the middle of the month and lasted for three days. Severe Tropical Storm Halong (Cosme) was the deadliest storm in the Pacific basin, causing 58 deaths and $94 million (USD) in damage after hitting Luzon on May 17. At the end of the month, Typhoon Nakri formed and reached peak intensity over open waters before becoming extratropical in early June.
  • Eastern Pacific Ocean – Tropical Storm Alma was was the easternmost forming Pacific tropical cyclone on record. Forming from a trough on May 29, it became a strong tropical storm before making landfall near León, Nicaragua, killing at least two people.
  • 2008 Atlantic hurricane season– Tropical Storm Arthur formed from the remnants of Tropical Storm Alma as it made landfall on Belize, causing flash flooding and at least nine fatalities.

Project News
Several other languages are active in the realm of tropical cyclone articles, though as much as ours. The French Wikipedia has 76 storm articles, the Spanish Wikipedia has 99 storm articles, and the Portuguese Wikipedia has 116 storm articles. Each of the projects have several storm articles we do not have, and the coverage on non-notable storms outside of the Atlantic is better, particularly in the Southern Hemisphere.

During the month, User:Potapych finished working on Template:Infobox Hurricane Small, which is used for the small Infoboxes in season articles; he has updated several season article already with the changes.

Main Page content

Storm article statistics

Grade Feb Mar Apr May
FA 36 38 40 41
A 8 8 8 17
GA 123 130 131 129
B 96 91 103 101
Start 216 211 208 209
Stub 7 9 9 9
Total 487 487 499 506
ω 2.96 2.94 2.92 2.88
percentage
≥Less than B 		45.8 45.2 43.5 43.1
percentage
≥GA or better 		34.3 36.1 35.9 367.0

Member of the month

Cyclone barnstar
Cyclone barnstar

The May member of the month is Juliancolton. Joining the project in November 2007, Julian has become an active member of the project, working on new articles in the Atlantic basin. He has created two featured lists (List of Maryland and Washington, D.C. hurricanes (1980–present) and List of New York hurricanes), and rewrote the article on 2006 Atlantic hurricane season, which became featured during May. Juliancolton is currently working on a featured topic for Hurricane Dennis and its effects by region.

♬♩ Hurricanehink (talk) 02:49, 8 June 2008 (UTC)

Heads Up!

This is User:Tm93. I was recently surfing through the different users' pages. I came across one name User:Sex a girl. I noticed that you had asked them change their name. That was in February 2007. It is now June 2008. I'm not trying to cause any trouble or stick my nose in other people's business, but I would like to see that innappropriate content be removed.Tm93 (talk) 08:04, 11 June 2008 (UTC)

6/12 DYK

Updated DYK query On 12 June, 2008, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article William Rankin, which you created or substantially expanded. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page.

--Bedford Pray 00:08, 12 June 2008 (UTC)

Question

This is User:Tm93. I noticed that at the top of your page you have an icon that says whether you are online or not. Two questions...

  • One: How did you insert that on your page?
  • Two: Do you have to be logged out or can you be logged on, but still be offline?

Tm93 (talk) 09:20, 12 June 2008 (UTC)

  • Thanks fo the info. There is no rush. Whenever you have time, you can either write the whole thikng down on my talk page or you can just reply underneath this message and leave me a note that tells me to come back here to read. Your call.Tm93 (talk) 17:41, 12 June 2008 (UTC)
  • When I followed the link a message popped up said,
"If a message on your talk page led you here, please be wary of who left it. Code that you insert on this page could contain malicious content capable of compromising your account. If you are unsure whether code you are adding to this page is safe, you can ask at the appropriate village pump. If this is a .js page, the code will be executed when previewing the page."
Did this message pop up when you added it?
Tm93 (talk) 00:28, 14 June 2008 (UTC)
I just noticed that in the code it says User:Misza13. Do I need to change that for my user name or no?Tm93 (talk) 01:01, 14 June 2008 (UTC)
I think that I'm just going to have to leave it off. I've tried it several ways and I just can't seem to get it. I hate to give up because I'm not a quitter. I've tried it several different ways and I can't seem to do it. I don't even have the links to click whether I'm on or off. O well!!Tm93 (talk) 08:20, 14 June 2008 (UTC)
  • Ok I finally have the links at the top of my page, but when I click "in" nothing changes. It just takes me to a different page.Tm93 (talk) 21:32, 16 June 2008 (UTC)
  • When you said that you tried doing whatever you did, it made me want to try something. Therefore, now it works. Thank you for all of your help. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Tm93 (talk • contribs) 21:57, 16 June 2008 (UTC)
  • Ok. I have the status thing working, but I no longer have the links. I tried deleting my browser history and my temporary internet files, but still no links. But I can't complain, my status thing is still working. Once again thanks for all of your help. if I have any questions that you might be able to answer, I'll ask.Tm93 (talk) 23:19, 16 June 2008 (UTC)
  • Now what. I removed those words from my monobook. what next? or do I not do anything.Tm93 (talk) 02:44, 18 June 2008 (UTC)
  • That's weird. I now have the links. Why can't I have just my two status/links instead of havinh all three? I've deleted the busy one from the template. Or can I just have one link? Because all the links do is take me to the page, they dont change my status. I have to manually type in or out. I don't mean to keep bothering you. I really do appreciate all of the help that you've been.Tm93 (talk) 15:28, 18 June 2008 (UTC)
  • I appreciate all of your help. I'm tired of messing with it. I will just enter it manually each time. At least it works to a point. Heck! If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have gotten this far for quite some time. Thank YOu for all of your help.Tm93 (talk) 06:03, 19 June 2008 (UTC)

Hello

You are a comic genius.--Michael WhiteT·C 19:39, 14 June 2008 (UTC)

Stupid Question

Are you against getting a barnstar? If not where would you like me to place it?Tm93 (talk) 17:33, 19 June 2008 (UTC)

Barn Star

The Guidance Barnstar
I give you this barn star for guiding me on how to insert a status box on my user pages.
Tm93 (talk) 18:21, 20 June 2008 (UTC)

2008

Tim Carter is notable as he has past professional appearances and meets the policies WP:BIO and WP:FOOTY, however I was reverting from revisions and the guitar hero stuff was being added by accident. 86.148.189.82 (talk) 21:49, 21 June 2008 (UTC)

Question

When is your wikipedian birthday/did you create your account?Tm93 (talk) 06:54, 22 June 2008 (UTC)

Help

Ok. I tried to importScript to my monobook. script. It didn't work like I had expected it to. So I removed the script from my monobook and bypassed my cache, but the links and the graphics for the script are still there. How do I remove them? The script has changed how my tabs at the top of the page look. I can still understand what they do, but the graphics are messed up. I would much appreciate your help once again. I really do appreciate it.Tm93 (talk) 00:17, 23 June 2008 (UTC)

Never mind. It changed back after I bypassed it a couple more times. No need to help me with this now. Sorry to bother you.Tm93 (talk) 00:19, 23 June 2008 (UTC)

...

Enigma message 06:28, 29 June 2008 (UTC)

It's about the forced indefinite semi-wikibreak and that you won't be contributing to MOTD anymore. It makes me very sad. Enigma message 16:01, 29 June 2008 (UTC)
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