User talk:Engleman/2006

FHWA C or E?

The version of the SHS I go by specifies using FHWA C on the "INTERSTATE" portion for three-digit shields. Most interstate shields out in the field also go with using type C for the "INTERSTATE" text, however, it all depends on how the sign contractors will interperet the design. Personally, I prefer using the 1988 MUTDC standard when designing the signs, as it is still widely used nowdays and offers the best legibility (also, signs manufactured by a lot of states' DOT tend to follow the '88 standard fairly close). Outside contractors usually have their own design standrad to follow; I have seen some route markers that were designed rather poorly and it irks me every time I see them. ;] -Kamlung 05:12, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

Your new Interstate shields

To get the text to display in the right font once uploaded, you need to convert it to a vector object. In Inkscape, select the text and hit Ctrl + Shift + C or do Path > Object to Path and it should render fine on Wikimedia servers. The downside is then the text isn't editable as text anymore. Scott⁵¹¹⁴ 19:54, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

Yes, when I was making up some state road markers, I had to keep a template around with the text not converted. (I set it to read-only to keep me from accidentally overwriting it.) As for merging all the blue rectangles into one blue vector object, you could do that by selecting them all and using the Path > Union command. You should get one large blue path, but it might need to be tweaked to remove some of the extra nodes. Scott⁵¹¹⁴ 21:33, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

There you go - I've uploaded a new version to commons. Rather than try to do something with the existing vectors, I just deleted them and redrew them from scratch. They still don't follow the white lines exactly but since the lines will be on top of the edge of the vector it won't matter much anyway. I gave you something you can tweak, anyhow. Oh, and I converted the word INTERSTATE to vector for you as well. Scott⁵¹¹⁴ 23:12, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

That's caused by an obsolete font cache, probably. According to the Inkscape FAQ [1]:

Q: I installed a new font on my Windows system, but Inkscape does not see it.

This is a bug caused by Inkscape using an obsolete font cache. This cache is stored in the file called .fonts.cache-1. 
This file may be in your Windows folder, or in your Temp folder, or in "My documents" folder, or in the folder listed 
in the $HOME environment variable. Use file search by name to locate this file. Then simply delete this file and restart 
Inkscape; now it will see the new fonts. 

Try that and see if it works. Scott⁵¹¹⁴ 18:32, 16 January 2006 (UTC)

I imagine the cache file would be a dotfile somewhere in your home directory then. (if you're running Linux, that is - I haven't ever used Mac OS X so I don't know how it stores its configs and stuff. Try doing a search for the file name, including hidden files.) I know the feeling about getting beaten by Spui. I had just made about 10 circular signs and he uploaded all from 0-200 to Commons. He must be able to script or something. :P Scott⁵¹¹⁴ 22:28, 17 January 2006 (UTC)

Shields

It was pretty much by hand, with some shortcuts to make it faster. I'm not sure about state names, as there are just too many. --SPUI (talk - don't use sorted stub templates!) 20:52, 17 January 2006 (UTC)

Unfortunately, I make them in Macromedia Freehand, and export into Illustrator format to convert to SVG. The alignment of the text gets rather off in the process if I don't convert to paths. --SPUI (talk - don't use sorted stub templates!) 04:20, 19 January 2006 (UTC)

Honestly, I'm not sure if this is a good idea. On articles about an Interstate in more than one state, would we have one shield per state? It seems best to simply use the neutered shields. Photos can be added for states that still use state names, or older shields on other states. (Like the photo on Interstate 4.) --SPUI (talk - don't use sorted stub templates!) 05:38, 19 January 2006 (UTC)

Can you please not upload the state name images on top of the neutered ones (like with I-678)? --SPUI (talk - don't use sorted stub templates!) 10:01, 20 January 2006 (UTC)

I-105 (OR) and I-405 (OR) have no images... could you please upload them? --Rschen7754 (talk - contribs) 00:56, 23 January 2006 (UTC)

Template:Project U.S. Roads

too big for my user page; will put here:

--Chris 15:52, 20 January 2006 (UTC)

TfD notification

Wikipedia:Templates for deletion/Log/2006 January 25#Template:Interstatedis TFD:Interstatedis and Intdis Tedernst | talk 20:03, 25 January 2006 (UTC)

Commons changes to images

I'm leaving you this message to advise you that this image: Image:Interstate24.png and many like it have been replaced by SVG images at Wikipedia Commons. Since you have a page there devoted to these, it will soon become a page of deleted images, and I thought you may wish to request deletion of that page so as not to be associated with a page of deleted images. ℬastique▼^parℓer♥^voir♑ 20:16, 26 January 2006 (UTC)

US Collaboration of the week

You have voted for Transportation in New York City on WP:USCOTW. It was selected to be this week's winner. You are invited to contribute to improve Transportation in New York City in any way you can. Cmadler 13:34, 30 January 2006 (UTC)

Tear of the Clouds - Hudson crossings

I think your Hudson River crossing project has merit, but I made some changes in order to keep what was there from being too confusing for those who may not be familiar with the river, her official source, and the many crossings.

First, for the Lake Tear of the Clouds entry, the reference to the 112th Street Bridge has no bearing on the lake itself as the official source. As someone who grew up in Essex County and went to school in Troy, I can tell you that the bridge is almost a world away. There are thirty crossings of the river before the Waterford-Lansingburgh crossing, and the fact that it is the northernmost crossing with a Wikipedia entry is not encyclopedic. Hence, the fact does not belong in the Tear of the Clouds entry.

Second, the Hudson River crossings template. I like it. I like it a lot. I would like to improve it if I can. But listing two bridges in one when the next bridge does not have an entry is confusing. In the 112th Street Bridge article, one could look at that and assume that another name for the Collar City Bridge was the Patroon Island Bridge, which isn't true, they are different bridges. I know the intent was to link to the next bridge with a Wikipedia article, but the manner was potentially confusing. The answer, really, is to flesh out the Hudson River crossings project a bit.

Which leads to my third and final point - perhaps an article on Minor Hudson River Crossings is in order for less distinctive bridges, like the crossing at Tahawus and the Riparius Bridge. That way each link would at least link to an anchor point in that article with a short description of the bridge, its location, and what it links.

Drop me a line on my talk page - let me know what you think. -- RPIRED 03:53, 13 February 2006 (UTC)

• I beg to differ. The templates are for information AND navigation. As I mentioned, putting two names on the box is confusing, and putting just the next one with an entry is wrong. I have already volunteered to write an amalgamated entry on minor crossings in order to satisfy the navigation issue that you have. But returning them to the way they were is just a cluster, confusing, and really not in line with encyclopedic methods. - RPIRED 17:34, 13 February 2006 (UTC)

I removed the "navigation functionality" because it is misleading, as I mentioned before. The format in which it was presented made it appear that there were alternate names for a single bridge. Its presence also interfered with its general informational viability. I wouldn't worry about it too much, as I have already begun work on a page listing minor crossings - I have information on every road bridge between New York and Newcomb. I'm still looking for information on the three Tahawus bridges, the trail footbridge in Newcomb, and several railway bridges, in use and abandoned. But I suspect your issue with the navigational use of the templates will soon become moot. - RPIRED 18:44, 13 February 2006 (UTC)

Still working on it. It's something that I'm doing in my spare time. - RPIRED 14:45, 27 February 2006 (UTC)

SHS-compliant SVGs

I was wondering how you made the Interstate shields so they conformed exactly to standards. I'm wanting to make an ALT plaque, and got a copy of the SHS, but I'm unsure what to do to in Inkscape to get all the measurements exact....Scott⁵¹¹⁴ 19:20, 23 February 2006 (UTC)

All right, I've got them done. They're on commons as Image:Alt_sign.svg and Image:Alt_sign_blue.svg. ...Scott⁵¹¹⁴ 03:08, 26 February 2006 (UTC)

Template:Routeboxny

I just noticed your change on 13-Feb altered the Legend from imbedded to linked. While I agree with this in principle, the problem this created is that the colors used in the NY route boxes do not agree with the US legend you linked to - altho they should for the sake of consistency. So now there are a number of NY routes with improper coloring. For example, "FFDEAD" used to mean "runs concurrent with", now it means "does not have an interchange with". Quite a different meaning, which causes alot of cleanup work for others. When making a global change, you should look at what gets affected and rectify the ramifications, or better yet, start a discusion by notifying previous contributors when a change has an affect on so many pages. --Censorwolf 17:06, 27 February 2006 (UTC)

Chris - Please see Template talk:Routeboxny and Wikipedia_talk:WikiProject_New_York_State_routes/Routebox_legend. Let's discuss. --Censorwolf 13:20, 12 March 2006 (UTC)

Chris - added discussion at Template talk:Routeboxny --Censorwolf 14:13, 15 March 2006 (UTC)

List of NY Routes

Chris: Hope you're ok with me tablizing the routes list List of State Routes in New York. It looks nicer, but it makes it more difficult to modify. --Censorwolf 17:30, 14 March 2006 (UTC)

I started building a table in "Category:New York State articles needing work" to show status of each route page. All NY route pages now comply to the current standard name "New York State Route N" --Censorwolf 19:57, 17 March 2006 (UTC)

Fair-use images removed from your user page

Hello, Engleman. I've removed some images from User:Engleman/contrib images, as they are copyrighted images that are being used under claims of fair use. Unfortunately, by Wikipedia policies, no fair-use images can be used on user pages; please see Wikipedia:Removal of fair use images. These images have not been deleted from any articles. If you have any questions, please let me know. —Bkell (talk) 23:05, 22 July 2006 (UTC)

Final state highway naming conventions debate

Engleman, your participation is welcome in the Wikipedia:State route naming conventions poll. Please give your input as to the process by 23:59 UTC on August 8.

Regards, Rschen7754 (talk - contribs) 21:39, 5 August 2006 (UTC)

NY Route shields listed for deletion on the Commons

Shields listed for deletion:

Image:NY Route 117 Shield.svg

Image:NY Route 133 Shield.svg

Image:NY Route 134 Shield.svg

To voice your opinion regarding the entry for these shields, please visit its entry. Thanks! --TMF ^{T - C} 22:18, 15 September 2006 (UTC)

new RFC

You may be interested to know that an RFC has recently been initiated regarding Fair use images of Canadian politicians. Many images of Canadian public figures are about to be deleted, including ones you have uploaded. Please feel free to participate. - Mcasey666 05:44, 2 November 2006 (UTC)

NYSR-NYCR Newsletter - Issue 1

The New York State and County Route WikiProjects Newsletter Issue 001 – December 2006
Intro Issue The Beatles WikiProject has been running a newsletter for some time now to great success, and, after some consideration, I've decided to launch a similar effort for the New York County Routes and New York State Routes WikiProjects. This could prove to be a very effective medium of communication between the members of the groups, and with increased communication comes the possibility of increased production. For the most part, this first issue will be a "dry run" of sorts, to work out any bugs in the system. The first serious issue with permanent sections will most likely be January's issue. Nothing as elaborate as the Wikipedia Signpost is planned, but the amount of information that will be found here will more than make up for the lack of framework.	From the Editor This is a work-in-progress and likely will be for some time. As we get settled with a format, I'll begin to make some improvements to the barebones structure and give a little more life to this page. Your feedback on the content and format of this newsletter is greatly desired. With your help, we can make the newsletter better and more informative! Don't be afraid to comment! Lastly, remember that this is your newsletter and you can be involved in the creation of the next issue (Issue 002 – January 2007). Any and all contributions are welcome. Simply let yourself be known to any of the undersigned, or just start editing! Happy holidays to everyone, regardless of how you celebrate. Contributor to this Issue TwinsMetsFan (Editor, Distributor)
DOT Beat Plans to reroute New York State Route 63 in Peoria, Covington, Wyoming County (15 miles southeast of Batavia) were unveiled on December 6. The project will eliminate a sharp curve present in the center of the hamlet, rerouting NY 63 along a new alignment to the north. Details will be finalized by Summer 2007 and construction will commence in Summer 2008. NYSDOT conducted a meeting on November 29 with Binghamton-area residents about the future conversion of New York State Route 17 to Interstate 86 from Horseheads to Binghamton. Topics of note included improvements to exit 67 (New York State Route 26, Endicott) and alternatives to exit 68, an eastbound exit only leading to Oak Street in Vestal, among which was the closure of the exit. New York State Route 23A, closed from Palenville to Haines Falls since June when record rains caused a retaining wall to collapse and give way to a mudslide, was reopened on November 22. During the time that the road was closed, numerous upgrades were made, including the replacement of culverts, upgrading of drainage systems along the road and the repair of both the collapsed wall as well as the existing retaining walls. Project News Remember to vote on next month's project featured article! Articles needing cleanup can always be found at Category:New York State articles needing work. Both state and county routes needing cleanup are fed into this category. Articles on reference routes are now being created in large numbers. As a general reminder, use {{Infobox NY Reference Route}}, link to your new article on the List of New York State Reference Routes and Parkway Routes, and, if you need a reference marker made, see TwinsMetsFan or Fwgoebel. Likewise, articles on county routes are also being made in impressive numbers. When writing these articles, be sure to abide by the guidelines on the project page, to maintain a consistent feel across all of the articles. Missing shields for county routes? See TwinsMetsFan or Northenglish. County routes in New York was recently created. Pictures of actual county route shields are greatly desired and needed. Also, if possible, some additional text and history about county routes in New York State would be welcome. New York State Route 11A remains the lowest active route without an article. The lowest decommissioned route with no article is New York State Route 7C. New York State Route 52 was, unfortunately, not qualified enough for Good Article status due to a lack of references (full report). Any references that can be added to the article, particularly the history section, are greatly appreciated. There are routes still lacking mileposts. Member News One month ago today, Fwgoebel came on board to the project and, in the time since, has contributed over 50 new articles on touring routes and has added to dozens more, including helping in the effort (along with JB82 and TwinsMetsFan) to convert all usages of Template:NYSRInt to {{NYint}}. It may be belated, but welcome!

Want to help on next month's newsletter? Don't want to receive these in future? Don't want it subst'd next time? – It's all here. TMF ^{Let's Go Mets - Stats} 06:53, 16 December 2006 (UTC)