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Archive 15←Archive 18Archive 19Archive 20Archive 21

For those who wish to keep up to date ...

Little 'un's page Pesky (talk) 06:56, 23 November 2012 (UTC)

Thank you for offering --Gerda Arendt (talk) 07:07, 23 November 2012 (UTC)

Hey, didja see what I found?

Just as others are pleased by a good horse or dog or bird, [Socrates said,] I myself am pleased to an even higher degree by good friends.... And the treasures of the wise men of old which they left behind by writing them in books, I unfold and go through them together with my friends, and if we see something good, we pick it out and regard it as a great gain if we thus become useful to one another.

— Xenophon, Memorabilia I, vi, 14
Check out the date ;P
Marbled end boards

Yup, it's a real one. Pesky (talk) 08:53, 28 November 2012 (UTC)

Wow! Where'd you find that little gem? (Love finding things like this at places like a yard sale or something...) Montanabw(talk) 18:54, 28 November 2012 (UTC)
Wow is right. 1760. Its beautiful!(olive (talk) 19:41, 28 November 2012 (UTC))
This is the original Parris edition (though the 1762 one is often referred to as "the original", it was actually just a re-print of the 1760 edition, with no text unchanged). Where it was? ... on a bookshelf in the sitting room. Sorting through my parents' stuff, preparatory to moving house. Having found this rarity, of course, I am now having to check all books very carefully indeed ... We have no idea what else may be uncovered! But there are certainly a lot of very old books in here! I'm just re-reading the Wolfville books (by Alfred Henry Lewis). They seem to be ... errmm ... possibly the originals, too ;P Pesky (talk) 10:38, 29 November 2012 (UTC)
Decorated spines
Page edges gilded

Is this OCLC 38497421? If so, it's way beyond just "rare". Congratulations. Now get it locked away somewhere safe (and climate controlled) before it disappears on you, then figure out what to do next. Of course, a freely accessible online image would always be welcome. :-) LeadSongDog come howl! 19:04, 29 November 2012 (UTC)

Decorated panels

Hehe! No, it's the one before that one! Even rarererer! (it's this one ...; OCLC 741270249). ESTC knows of only eight copies (whole or part) catalogued worldwide. Hmmmm. And Cambridge University Library has 4 of them, the British Library one; CUL's copies include two partials. It will most probably go to the Bloomsbury Auction House, as one of their specialities is old, important and rare books. It's survived remarkably well in our normal household atmosphere; still seems to be in its original blue-black, gilt-decorated leather. I'll upload a few more pics in a little while and slap 'em in here. Of course if you happen to know anyone who wishes to pay vast oodles of filthy lucre for it, that would also be kewl ;P Pesky (talk) 22:26, 29 November 2012 (UTC)

Ok, so the NYPL has the 1762 Bentham here, and it has damage. The say it has about 1000 pages, with damage to the last two. Scanning services on rare books such as here typically run 25 to 30p per page, it isn't trivial. Of course that includes more than just imaging. You might look into submitting a simple pdf of images to the Internet Archives and letting them deal with the whole OCR thing. Alternatively, it is not at all unlikely that Cambridge would be interested in doing the scan simply to have it for inclusion in their collection, given that they first published it. It never hurts to talk to a librarian, just speak softly. :-) LeadSongDog come howl! 22:01, 30 November 2012 (UTC)
I'd suggest an archivist or preservation librarian and not just the run of the mill librarian. And be very sure they remember just who owns the work... Intothatdarkness 22:04, 30 November 2012 (UTC)
If I had the time, I could scan and OCR it (though the text is exactly the same as the 1762 edition, so no change there). It certainly won't be going to any auction house without a hefty reserve on it. I may be able to scan/photograph any illustrations and upload them to Commons (something to add to my ever-extending to-do list, lol!) We seem to have no obvious missing pages, just from riffling the edges and visually-checking for gaps or sections where it drops open, but as the pages aren't numbered it's not an easy task to verify for sure that none are missing. The Librarian at Cambridge University Library itself wasn't astoundingly forthcoming about anything in his/;her email response to me, but we shall see what comes of it. Our family's, on the whole, fairly good about preserving /restoring antique stuff (including leather, ancient paperwork, etc. etc.), with my parents having been in the antiques business themselves, and my grandfather having been an educated collector of rare paperwork, and so on and so forth, so in terms of continuing to take care of it in the meantime it should be just fine. I should have worn cotton gloves, of course, for the purpose of taking photos of it, but can certainly do so when handling it for any further photography or scanning (I'd rather photograph than scan as laying it open to get decent scans is likely to stress the spines.) Pesky (talk) 10:47, 1 December 2012 (UTC)
Congratulations! I contributed an epigraph that I read from George Anastaplo [1]. Kiefer.Wolfowitz 11:24, 2 December 2012 (UTC)

I wonder if I can beg a favor ...

I apologize, I know your plate is very full right now, but I can't think of anyone else who might be able to assist the editor referred to here, and I'm a bit worried about him. Please feel free to remove this. Yngvadottir (talk) 18:49, 1 December 2012 (UTC)

Ach, what a shame! I'm afraid I really don't have the time that would be needed to devote to this. Have you tried Worm? Worm has an excellent record with (and rapport with) adoptees and such like; if anyone can turn this around, it would be likely to be him. Pesky (talk) 22:51, 1 December 2012 (UTC)
He just got indef-blocked :-( I think Worm was too busy with the Arbcom election to have been looking. Damn. Thanks for responding, and sorry for bothering you at this time; I knew it was a long shot you'd be able to do anything. Yngvadottir (talk) 05:11, 2 December 2012 (UTC)
Oh dear! Now I feel guilty ... :( At least indefinite is not supposed to mean infinite; perhaps Worm or someone could email him to discuss ways forward to working up a proper unblock request, and some re-training so that he can see where he went wrong. If Worm isn't in a position to help out, maybe one of my more experienced and patient talk page stalkers may have the freedom to step in and see if there's anything they can do. Meanwhile (back at the ranch) I have to return to my daughter's house to continue with the work of re-organising, re-decorating, and making "clinically clean" the environment so that poor little grandson's compromised immune system faces no major challenges as and when he's allowed to return home. I think I may try the experiment of mixing disinfectant concentrate in with the paint to create bug-resistant walls ... have to try a small area first to see if it affects the paint! The carpets are having a generous coating of antibacterial spray applied to each section as I go around rationalising everywhere. Pesky (talk) 10:18, 2 December 2012 (UTC)
Don't. I had all the information; if there was anything I could have figured out to do, I should have done it. However, a couple of other admins have offered him a little help: one put the block template on his talkpage so he can appeal, and Bwilkins, bless his heart, has laid out for him exactly what he needs to do. I hope this ends happily; the only thing I'd ask - if you have time - is if you could look at that talkpage message and see if you can think of any ways of making it clearer? I know I'm not the most logical person, so I can't judge whether there's anything he may misinterpret. ... And as to the rest of what you write, oh good! I hope the poor mite comes home soon and thrives! --Yngvadottir (talk) 13:02, 2 December 2012 (UTC)
We're hoping that he will at least be allowed home for a night or so at Christmas; his chances of thriving, however, aren't looking too good, poor little scrap. He does manage to keep fighting off really bad patches, which is encouraging (and helps to motivate the medicos, as if they needed any more motivation!) It's likely that, long-term, his chances are fairly poor, but if any small sprog can fight his way out of it, it will be Leon. On two or three occasions since he was diagnosed in August, the doctors have thought they were on the point of losing him ... and then two days later he's up, chuckling, and running about again, seeing what mayhem he can cause on the ward. He's very much everyone's favourite there. Pesky (talk) 21:03, 3 December 2012 (UTC)
Children can be so resilient; hugs to the lil' fellow and prayers too! Montanabw(talk) 22:13, 3 December 2012 (UTC)
It's a shame you can;t actually meet him – you'd fall instantly in love with him! I pass on all the thoughts, prayers, hugs and wishes from WikiFolks; my daughter is very thankful for them. Pesky (talk) 22:52, 3 December 2012 (UTC)

ROTF

"The penis, mightier than the sword ..." ... laffed my butt off on that one. Loved it. :) — Ched :  ?  02:21, 5 December 2012 (UTC)

Hehe! Glad it raised a laugh! Pesky (talk) 06:02, 5 December 2012 (UTC)

Please comment on Wikipedia talk:User pages

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And now he's learning to drive ...

Caught on video! Pesky (talk) 22:50, 5 December 2012 (UTC)

This is not a newsletter

This is just a tribute.

Anyway. You're getting this note because you've participated in discussion and/or asked for updates to either the Article Feedback Tool or Page Curation. This isn't about either of those things, I'm afraid ;p. We've recently started working on yet another project: Echo, a notifications system to augment the watchlist. There's not much information at the moment, because we're still working out the scope and the concepts, but if you're interested in further updates you can sign up here.

In addition, we'll be holding an office hours session at 21:00 UTC on Wednesday, 14 November in #wikimedia-office - hope to see you all there :). I appreciate it's an annoying time for non-Europeans: if you're interested in chatting about the project but can't make it, give me a shout and I can set up another session if there's enough interest in one particular timezone or a skype call if there isn't. Thanks! Okeyes (WMF) (talk) 11:23, 10 November 2012 (UTC)

I am banned from 'freenode' but not from wikipedia. I'd love to get involved, but you're using a system I can't access. Any ideas? 88.104.12.106 (talk) 08:19, 8 December 2012 (UTC)

Winter Wonderland

Peace is a state of balance and understanding in yourself and between others, where respect is gained by the acceptance of differences, tolerance persists, conflicts are resolved through dialog, peoples rights are respected and their voices are heard, and everyone is at their highest point of serenity without social tension.

Happy Holidays to you and to all stalkers. ```Buster Seven Talk 15:58, 12 December 2012 (UTC)

Please comment on Wikipedia:Village pump (policy)

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Request for Comment re Death Penalty lawyer Bio AfD

Please comment re application of WP:SIGCOV to career defending people on death row: >>>>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Articles_for_deletion/Log/2012_December_17#Stephen_Aarons <<<< — Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.142.163.23 (talk) 07:37, 21 December 2012 (UTC)

Psst...

Just wanted you to know I mentioned you here.Intothatdarkness 17:11, 21 December 2012 (UTC)

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Greetings

Hello, I saw your post at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Editor Retention. As for myself, I've been focused on content covered by WikiProject Medicine, and I haven't dealt with the issues you raise. Maybe you might take a look around, perhaps at Wikipedia_talk:WikiProject_Medicine#Good_article_top-500_goals_for_2013.3F or elsewhere around the project, and find a new and productive home? Best wishes. Biosthmors (talk) 19:50, 27 December 2012 (UTC)

I think we all start out writing content, but then when we have conflict with various POV issues, we discover, for better or worse, the "drahmahz" boards. Some people get trapped there and never escape other than to harass article editors for perceived "sins" against rule WTF-A(5)(b)(6)(iii). Not sure the solution, but when in doubt, I keep on editing articles. Montanabw(talk) 22:21, 27 December 2012 (UTC)
I think there's also a subset that is actually attracted to the drama and minutia that surrounds Wikipedia's various obscure policies and essays disguised as policy. Not sure as to numbers or percentages, but I'm also not convinced that's important. It's their existence that's important. I'm glad I spent a fair amount of time dabbling around in all areas...it's kept me from getting too involved in any single aspect. I'd write more content, as there are many areas here that I have experience with that are woefully neglected or populated with (blunt word time, hide the children) shitty articles requiring total rewrites to even be marginally acceptable, but I've seen enough of the underside of this place to know that I really don't want to invest the time and energy to deal with the passive/aggressive bullies and POV types that lurk in my areas of interest. So I continue to dabble. Intothatdarkness 22:35, 27 December 2012 (UTC)
Yes, I think you nailed it. I sometimes wonder, for example, if WPEQ is really plagued with trolls more than other projects, or if it's just that it's a project where people such as myself, who actually do care about quality and accuracy, routinely take on the trolls and POV pushers and run them off instead of just quietly retreating to a corner somewhere and leaving the field to the jerks who run off the content contributors. I don't know. But this may be why there is such a disproportionate number of GA and FA-class articles that are on rather obscure topics, they are noncontroversial and few people have the expertise to evaluate them -- taking a big one up is an open invitation to every troll, diva and drama queen on wiki. Montanabw(talk) 21:23, 28 December 2012 (UTC)
I think you're correct with your assumption about GA and FA stuff. I know the areas I dabble in have some POV pushers lurking about (ran into a few just in the Montana stuff...and that was obnoxious enough), and it's discouraging. I've toyed with being more aggressive, but at the end of the day I find it more satisfying to do original research (and get it published in actual journals) than do battle with people who are convinced that if something doesn't exist online it isn't real. Intothatdarkness 22:33, 28 December 2012 (UTC)
Hehehe! Remember "Stallion Man"? We do get some weirdies. But, on the whole, we deal with them OK. I've said before, we can generally retrain any horse which doesn't need to be shot. We don't often appear on the drahmahz boards. Maybe that's because loads of us are females, or because we're used to dealing with the less-sapient species (which can also be bloody-minded bastards) as a matter of lifestyle. A half-a-ton of equine POV pusher requires sensible handling ... Pesky (talk) 12:43, 30 December 2012 (UTC)
Oh GAWD! Did you have to mention "stallion man"! Just the thought of that weirdo is giving me twitches (ala Inspector Dreyfus! LOL! Say, if you are around, could you review and comment on the pending GA for Kerry Bog Pony? I got into a(nother) shitstorm with an editor who previously decided that I am satan, and failed the GA nomination out of what I can only attribute to spite. It's Dana's article, she didn't deserve that. You have a lot of credibility on the English breeds and I know your eyes will help things calm down over there. Montanabw(talk) 21:16, 30 December 2012 (UTC)

I will certainly take a look at it when I have some spare minutes - just now I have to finish redecorating / sorting etc. my daughter's house ... with a two-day deadline for part of it! Pesky (talk) 12:08, 3 January 2013 (UTC)

Case report

Hi. I just read through your case report. How awful. What a bunch of lazy and ignorant fools in the ANI thread. I'm so glad that greasy little weasel has left the project. What a pile-on. You have my sympathy. You got mobbed by Wikipedia's finest. --Anthonyhcole (talk) 00:23, 3 January 2013 (UTC)

The saddest thing is that I still wish he and I had been better able to understand each other. In the grand scale of things, there were far, far worse sinners in that fiasco than he was. People who should have known better, and who I sincerely hope still cringe in shame when they remember their part in it. If they ever do ... Pesky (talk) 12:35, 3 January 2013 (UTC)
The original version of the above was four times bigger. I told you what I thought of every player in that farce. I think only Chzz came out of it with his integrity intact. I thought better of it. But if you ask me to, I'll happily tell you. --Anthonyhcole (talk) 13:11, 3 January 2013 (UTC)
(edit conflict)Yes, that is sad; and people should've known better. I've only just been made aware of your case report by this thread, and it does seem sadly typical of how WP operates. I was only vaguely aware of the story from things Chzz (talk · contribs) said to me at the time – yet another outstanding WP editor who's been lost to the bizarre workings of WP. Well done you for putting that together, I know how laborious it can be; but it shouldn't be necessary! Aye, there's the rub... I hope you have a "new improved" 2013! Nortonius (talk) 13:19, 3 January 2013 (UTC)
I wrote that up while it was still very fresh in my memory, and the diffs were easy to locate. Much of it, actually, was from a write-up I did for Chzz as a "working document" for him while he was trying to hammer some sense into the (apparently) senseless and some insight into the (apparently) inblind. Nice neologism there, I think. It's that kind of stuff which is responsible for us losing good, productive editors, not all of whom will do the WP:DIVA thing and post a retiring rant. I damned nearly quit over it. I suspect that an awful lot of people just get to the point where they think "Fuck this shit" to themselves, and walk fairly quietly away. I still haven't got over that, and it's been over a year now. Interestingly, it was the deal with Stallion Man (mentioned above) which kinda kept me hanging in a bit. Funny how a year-old oddball case can turn up twice in quick succession! I remember giving up part of my Christmas Day / Birthday to deal with the Stallion Man issue! (There, that's dedication for you ....[sotto voce in appropriate Welsh accent])

Yes, what an awful loss to the 'pedia it was, losing Chzz. I still miss him. Geniuses aren't always easy for other people to understand and get along with, and people equate the odd kick in someone's gallop over one issue with malintent, which are two things very different from each other. Pesky (talk) 15:07, 3 January 2013 (UTC)

Adding: I was treading on eggshells trying to work out how to cope with it, having received an admonishment from an admin who had clearly already made a comment against me earlier in the thread (violation of WP:INVOLVED), and worried sick that if I tried to address that issue I'd end up blocked, etc., for having complained about it. Didn't help that the admin regularly hang out on the Arb boards dealing with Arby stuff. So, rock and hard place stuff. How do you try to get some sense and balance from the involved admin, huh? Several people tried to, without much success. I'm thankful that Chzz managed to keep on going until the admonishment was struck from the record. Many other editors wouldn't have had such an experienced person available to them; they'd have given up in despair and disgust. But all those sinners sinned - every last one of them. And I'd be mightily surprised if I was the only editor they've done it to. Looked at in the light of that, the almighty kerfuffle over the odd snap, snarl, cussword here and there is just pathetically hypocritical. Pesky (talk) 15:23, 3 January 2013 (UTC)

Very hypocritical. I've tried raising that point in places like Editor Retention, but it gets shut down or ignored every time. It seems you have to either scream louder than everyone else or adopt some sort of "holier than thou" air to get noticed. Sadly, neither course of action really appeals to me. Intothatdarkness 15:42, 3 January 2013 (UTC)
I had a go in my own humble way of trying to get people at WP to see what they were losing in refusing to listen to Chzz, but it seemed mostly to be ignored, when it wasn't simply misunderstood. I've little idea how many editors Chzz helped, mostly newbies I think, too, but I know it was in the hundreds. "Genius" and "inblind" are appropriate. How many new editors has WP lost through the project's seemingly innate inability to value Chzz's contribution? For all the purblind inblind blethering about Malleus's outspokenness, how many inexperienced editors has he helped, in trying to build an encyclopedia? More than a few, I'm sure. I'm pretty much at the "fuck that shit" stage myself, and Pesky I know what you mean about how long it takes to get over stuff. I didn't make a single edit in 2009 after a couple of experiences which I found rather painful and tiresome, but nothing like as bad as what you lay out in your case report. If this place doesn't just curl up and die, I really think it'll only be because it has already achieved a notability beyond itself, which alone will keep it bubbling over for some time to come; new editors are apparently drying up, but of those who join a fair few will no doubt add good things before they too get pissed off with it all. WP feels to me like a kind of unhealthy mould these days. Who knows, people might actually try to make an encyclopedia of it one day, but I'm not holding my breath! Nortonius (talk) 17:40, 3 January 2013 (UTC)
I've been doggedly staying around here because I am such a great believer in the adage that all that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing. there yet could come a point of diminishing returns for me, but as I a one of those people who prefer to actually write articles and contribute content, as long as that is allowed, I am going to keep doing so. Some drama hits, but so far, I've outlasted most of the people who have tried to go after me, I have a clean block record and have never lost an ANI. At the moment, only one (non-blocked/banned) person on WP appears to completely hate my guts, and that individual has their own psychological issues that I'm not going to even try to figure out, so that ain't too bad. Montanabw(talk) 18:03, 3 January 2013 (UTC)
Maybe the place has just got on their nerves far too much, or something? But, wherever we are, there will always be some personality clashes. That's just life. When it's a case of individual persons that we have trouble with, that's one thing; when it's the whole atmosphere that's becoming wossname, that's different. I'm not fully retired, just not very active atm, what with the combination of suffering from atmospheric pollution and the Real Life shite. Little grandson is having one of those "Where do we go from here?" scans today, so fingers crossed. Pesky (talk) 07:12, 4 January 2013 (UTC)

HO HO HO

Just hadn't run into you lately, hope all is well with you & yours and that 2013 will the the very best of New Years.

Shearonink (talk) 01:03, 1 January 2013 (UTC)
Things could be better. But we're coping. Pesky (talk) 08:48, 5 January 2013 (UTC)

Social/structural change in Wikipedia

If you can add anything to this list it would be appreciated. I think we need to talk about a central repository for this splintered discussion. Perhaps a notice in Signpost? --Anthonyhcole (talk) 14:13, 11 January 2013 (UTC)

Main page appearance: New Forest pony

This is a note to let the main editors of New Forest pony know that the article will be appearing as today's featured article on January 13, 2013. You can view the TFA blurb at Wikipedia:Today's featured article/January 13, 2013. If you prefer that the article appear as TFA on a different date, or not at all, please ask featured article director Raul654 (talk · contribs) or his delegates Dabomb87 (talk · contribs), Gimmetoo (talk · contribs), and Bencherlite (talk · contribs), or start a discussion at Wikipedia talk:Today's featured article/requests. If the previous blurb needs tweaking, you can change it—following the instructions at Wikipedia:Today's featured article/requests/instructions. If this article needs any attention or maintenance, it would be preferable if that could be done before its appearance on the Main Page. The blurb as it stands now is below:

A New Forest pony

The New Forest Pony is one of the recognised mountain and moorland or native pony breeds of the British Isles. Height varies from around 12 hands (48 inches, 122 cm) to 14.2 hands (58 inches, 147 cm). The ponies are valued for hardiness, strength, and surefootedness. The breed is indigenous to the New Forest in Hampshire in southern England, where equines have lived since before the last Ice Age. The New Forest Pony can be ridden by children and adults, can be driven in harness, and competes successfully against larger horses in horse show competition. The population of ponies on the Forest has fluctuated in response to varying demand for youngstock. Numbers fell to fewer than six hundred in 1945 but have since risen steadily, and thousands now run loose in semi-feral conditions. The welfare of ponies grazing on the Forest is monitored by five Agisters, employees of the Verderers of the New Forest. The ponies are gathered annually in a series of drifts, to be checked for health, wormed, and tail-marked; each pony's tail is trimmed to the pattern of the Agister responsible for that pony. Many of the foals bred on the Forest are sold through the Beaulieu Road pony sales, which are held several times each year. (Full article...)

UcuchaBot (talk) 23:03, 2 January 2013 (UTC)

Congrats, Pesky! Intothatdarkness 23:12, 2 January 2013 (UTC)
Looking forward to a great ride! I looked up the word surefootedness when I worked on Alpine route with PumpkinSky, those were the days ... (click on peace) --Gerda Arendt (talk) 12:16, 3 January 2013 (UTC)
EEEEEEEEK! As I am only semi-here, please could my beloved stalkers help to keep an eye on it for me when it goes live? Pesky (talk) 12:32, 3 January 2013 (UTC)
I (one of them) will, promised, --Gerda Arendt (talk) 12:43, 3 January 2013 (UTC)
I'll do what I can... Intothatdarkness 14:37, 3 January 2013 (UTC)
So far, this is staying untouched, but a shitstorm over naming conventions has arisen at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Equine Someone wants to re-dab with parentheses our 300 or so breed articles, and is also questioning if our "breeds" (notably some of the British pony breeds) should be called "landraces" and other stuff that is long settled within WPEQ. Same editor appears to be tweaking this MOS in the same manner. WIll cause a mess. I can take point, but if you would pop over and explain about the Exmoor Pony, the Eriskay Pony and all the other semi-feral horses being recognized as breeds (after reading that bit in the MOS first), I could use some help defending our status quo as a reasonable way to avoid confusion. Montanabw(talk) 17:50, 3 January 2013 (UTC)
I possibly confused things even more, but my brain is only marginally functional at the moment! Pesky (talk) 08:00, 4 January 2013 (UTC)
I was a little more clear here ;P Pesky (talk) 14:20, 4 January 2013 (UTC)

The pony looks bold on the Main page, precious again! --Gerda Arendt (talk) 00:15, 13 January 2013 (UTC)

Pony prize

Pony!
Congratulations! In hono(u)r of your first TFA appearance of New Forest Pony, you have received a special pony award (I think it's your horse, but still)! Ponies are cute, intelligent, cuddly, friendly (most of the time, though with notable exceptions), promote good will, encourage patience, and enjoy carrots. Treat your pony with respect and he will be your faithful friend! Montanabw(talk) 00:36, 13 January 2013 (UTC)

Yes, he's mine :D Getting a little above himself just at the moment, but as and when time and weather allows we will do a little revision on boundaries and education and such-like. There's no malice in him, he's just a big flashy clown ... Pesky (talk) 10:39, 13 January 2013 (UTC)


Congratulations!
Thanks again for the video, which I can appreciate more with every passing day! Because of the musical play-gym only increases the bambina's demands for rhythmic entertainment, Mrs. Wolfowitz and I have been on constant call for dancing.  :) Kiefer.Wolfowitz 10:31, 13 January 2013 (UTC)
ROFLMFAO ... I'd forgotten it was today, lol! Jeeze, I have a memory like a ... wossname ... thingie ... with holes in ... Roquefort?

KW, I'm glad you love that video! It creases up all parents that I know who have a smattering of self-knowledge and enough sense of humour to laugh at themselves ;P (Link to full song here, by the way. Pesky (talk) 10:39, 13 January 2013 (UTC)

FYI, Youtube doesn't play videos for me, since I've disabled Java indefinitely. Java 7 has a security problem. I've installed no-script in my Firefox browser. (Most of the WP gadgets have disappeared.) Kiefer.Wolfowitz 12:19, 13 January 2013 (UTC)

Groveling

Your post at Blocking policy. Very well said. I'd like to eliminate all indef blocks (except for what I call technical blocks, e.g. username) with this as rationale. I saw one admin claim they have never asked for groveling, but I don't think some realize how requests for conditions before unblocking can be viewed.--SPhilbrick(Talk) 19:49, 14 January 2013 (UTC)

I've seen far too much of the requirement for a publicly-humiliating apology, under the guise of "showing that they knew what they did wrong". A block isn't supposed to be putting an editor on the naughty step and then demanding that they say sorry. It should be to prevent disruption. Preventative, not punitive. And yet we have too many (not all, not even the majority of) admins who seem to like the extra little power-byte of demanding that someone crawl back with their tail between their legs. In this case, the admin concerned demanded that:

  1. You need to concede the fact you could have handled this better and, while good intentioned, your actions contributed to a vast display of animosity.
  2. You need to apologize for the aspersions cast on me on your talk page (I won't ask for their removal but that would be nice). I recognize you are upset and that is likely the source of these comments but I don't judge people by how many edits they have and I would expect likewise. We all have variable amounts of time to contribute to the project and I admin in topic areas scattered with the entrails of admins who tried to bring some peace. It subjects one to burnout and the need for a break and I've taken several over the years. I don't pretend to be a perfect person but I don't react well to attacks on my integrity with facts that have nothing at all to do with my decisions.
  3. I will concede that my admonishment was too strong for the situation and have thought better of it after you recognized what my concerns were.

Please respond if you agree, I will make the changes to AN/I when agreed.

... I had to apologise for this and this before an entirely unjustified admonishment was removed ... make your own mind up on that one, eh? Pesky (talk) 20:18, 14 January 2013 (UTC)

It also doesn't help that Admins often fail to hold each other accountable. I've seen more than a few refuse (or fail) to give clear answers to questions regarding their actions (even saw one dismiss that as the "puling masses") and no action was taken. How is that in the letter or spirit of their being accountable and having to explain their actions? Intothatdarkness 20:49, 14 January 2013 (UTC)
Seems like a lot of schoolyard mentality out there. Sort of controlled anarchy and purely social discipline. WP needs a clear rule of law, not a set of scolds. Montanabw(talk) 22:54, 14 January 2013 (UTC)
Yup, a lot of the wrong mentality lurking around; also a lot of apathy. We came across a lovely quote today: "Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are." (Benjamin Franklin). Pesky (talk) 12:14, 15 January 2013 (UTC)
I suspect that a chunk of it has come about because, frankly, many who have been here for a longer period of time have developed OWN about the entire process, not just articles. They're vested in the whole mess, and simply are not capable of taking that step back and seeing where it doesn't work. Any attempt to modify or change is seen (and felt) as a deep personal attack. Hence some of the Admin "circling of wagons" behavior. I'd also posit that many of the longstanding feuds and snarks between these "vested" contributors make the entire process more intractable as people who have other axes to grind come into any discussion simply to grind those axes. Some of those folks (IMO) are involved in the change discussions, which more or less guarantees that actual change will never take place. Intothatdarkness 15:01, 15 January 2013 (UTC)

Block expungement

I've finally had a chance to read through the discussions, with mixed emotions. Some very good points made, but I feel that the discussion is not heading to a consensus. I may not weigh in at the moment, partly because I don't know ow to do anything other than pick at some edges, plus, I have to visit my brother in the hospital tomorrow, then off to NY for 3 days, so wary of starting something I cannot continue. Which pains me because it is a subject I'm very interested in. I thought Chris was going to pull it together, but that effort was derailed. Will have to think about how best to contribute, but thanks again for pinging me, and don't take my possible failure to weigh in as lack of interest.--SPhilbrick(Talk) 20:26, 14 January 2013 (UTC)

Hehe! Real Life has a habit of getting in the way of stuff! The current idea of expunging / adequately marking oopsie blocks (wrong button or wrong user or just fat fingers error) seems to be getting support. It's a good start, and I'm sure the situation will stil be here waiting for you when you get back! Pesky (talk) 11:46, 15 January 2013 (UTC)

Cuddles - awesome video

Just uploaded awesome video of Cuddles here. Yup, it's Commons; not putting entire file on my page as it has a runtime of about 20 minutes! Pesky (talk) 20:46, 17 January 2013 (UTC)

An' she is gonna be faymuss again! She was Media of the Day on August 1 2010 with her strike-feeding on a rat; she's making another star appearance on 21 January as MOTD, eating a Runny Babbit. Or something like that. Pesky (talk) 22:13, 17 January 2013 (UTC)

Committee invitation

Hi, I would like to invite you to apply to join the IEG Advisory Committee on Meta. --Pine✉ 09:33, 18 January 2013 (UTC)

Hey Pine! Long time no see, etc. Unfortunately, Real Life commitments mean that I can't really put aside time and brain resources for any on-wiki commitments (or committees, for that matter), but thanks for thinking of me :D Pesky (talk) 09:39, 18 January 2013 (UTC)

flaw

Pesky, I love analogies, problem is, they are always tough, to make good ones. (For example, the rising water was threatening to do the Man of Faith in, and it only defeated him, after he stupidly refused aid. Problem is, the rising water, representing a future threat, giving time to make correct decision to accept aid, is passe in this case. The water has already drowned the Man of Faith, before the story begins. The block/threat/damage/drowning, has already taken place, it is not a future threat. Ask yourself if there is a future threat on Peny now that is worse than his present situation. They already "got him", he feels unjustly so, without policy basis. He's been roasted already, and in heaven already. The story was cute, but the analogy is broken.) Ihardlythinkso (talk) 07:30, 18 January 2013 (UTC)

Hmmmm ... I think he may still be standing on one tiptoe on top of the chimney pot ... either that or treading water. Pen's turned out to be right an awful lot of times; and being mega-high-IQ / and a bit like this, really has trouble getting to grips with the fact that the vast majority of people just can't see what's clear to him. He's far from perfect, but he has the potential to be an incredibly valuable resource, particularly in graphics work and in subjects which fascinate him. It's worth one last shot, but I'm not going to be begging him (any more) – there's only so much I can do. Pesky (talk) 07:49, 18 January 2013 (UTC)
He's already blocked. There's no "tiptoe distance" from a block to be "saved" from. What you want to do is create something new from here -- lobby to send a spirit back to Earth. (Ok. Might work; might not. The spirit resents being sent to heaven prematurely & unfairly, but isn't asking for transmutation back to earthly form. Will you force that upon a spirit, who is not so motivated but accepts fate no matter its course?)

Me thinks Peny & Malleus have in common, not only each are brilliant (different, of course), but each have resolute conviction, and are ... not wrong. Ihardlythinkso (talk) 08:13, 18 January 2013 (UTC)

Yes, he's blocked. But blocked is only "on the chimney top". He could get off it. But ... if he doesn't want to be here, why is he still here? Why is he still talking? Why hasn't he just gone away somewhere else, scrambled his password, asked for a WP:CLEANSTART, or whatever? Only he can really answer those questions. But there have to be answers. Anyhoo, the snow is falling, falling (if sideways, at speed sometimes, still counts as "falling"), the neighbourhood looks clean and shining, and so on. We've had 4 inches of snow in as many hours, and it looks set in for the morning, at least, if not the rest of the day. Pesky (talk) 08:32, 18 January 2013 (UTC)
My concern with the Pen situation is akin to what I've seen with a few other users; they are basically being punished for pissing people off, not for actually doing anything to harm the encyclopedia itself. I'm calling it the "off with their heads" approach, applied pretty much the same as did the Queen of Hearts -- upon being annoyed, regardless of any actual "crime." Inedef bans for what are basically civility violations or poor people skills - or simply not kowtowing to the person who seeks to be kowtowed to - are being handed out too often, and many good editors are being run off due to the toxic atmosphere. It's a mob mentality that concerns me. Montanabw(talk) 19:44, 18 January 2013 (UTC)
Me thinks you're right Montanabw. As soon as power is put in the hands of some, over others, it guarantees abuse of said power. And the "haves" like to retain their powers, for a lifetime like the Queen of England for Christ's sake. It's *fun* to have power over others, right? (See User:Intothatdarkness's comments in the "Grovel" section.) Structural change is the only way out, and, that won't be supported by the Admin corps for reasons already explained. Malleus said Arbcom would need to be done away with, and I don't know what he felt about the Admin corps, but I'm venturing that would have to go too. It's pretty sick-o when you think about it. Pen's case is just a manifestation of the problem. It's what the structure breeds. Like, go look under a moist rock sometime. Cheers, Ihardlythinkso (talk) 22:55, 18 January 2013 (UTC)
Yup. It would be nice to bring some sense to the situation. Knowing precisely what Pen's block is actually for would be a good start - I've asked for clarification on Pen's talk so that we can at least attempt to break the stalemate. Pesky (talk) 11:38, 19 January 2013 (UTC)

Hi

If you could help me fill in the refs on Sanna Jinnedal it would be very much appreciated. Thanks.--BabbaQ (talk) 12:04, 20 January 2013 (UTC)

Hi BabbaQ (and welcome to Granny Pesky's talk page :D ) I'm actually very tied up with Real Life stuff just at the moment, but I have a load of lovely talk page stalkers who may possibly see your message and might be able to help you out. Have a look over here (citation templates information, etc.) in the meantime, as using the templates and filling in as much of the info as you can pretty much does a heap of the work for you. This page will also give you a lot of help. Pesky (talk) 12:54, 20 January 2013 (UTC)

Hello

Just stopping by to say, I hope the little one is holding his own. All best wishes to you and your family, Pesky.(olive (talk) 19:37, 29 January 2013 (UTC))

Hey

Hey my friend, My question is,it is possible to change Typeface.--EEIM (talk) 05:38, 5 February 2013 (UTC)

Invitation to join Wikiproject Conflict Resolution

Wikipedia:WikiProject Conflict Resolution.--Amadscientist (talk) 09:46, 13 March 2013 (UTC)

Precious again

Yogo inspiration of civility
Thank you for speaking up for civility, decency and fairness, treating editors as living people, - you are an awesome Wikipedian! --Gerda Arendt (talk) 10:58, 14 March 2012 (UTC)

A year ago, you were the 59th recipient of my PumpkinSky Prize. I miss the photographer, again, and Ched, and you ... and put "Letting go of the past" on top of my talk, --Gerda Arendt (talk) 13:28, 14 March 2013 (UTC)


Awww, thanks! I missed this when I came to my page the other day. I think the thing that every human being needs to remember is that all the others, no matter how much we may hate their guts, are also human beings. Pesky (talk) 11:43, 12 April 2013 (UTC)
So short, so true, - thank you! - Did you see this? Assuming good faith, --Gerda Arendt (talk) 11:47, 12 April 2013 (UTC)
I hadn't seen that, no. One of the things I have occasionally wittered-on about, in here, is how impossible it is for an innocent person accused of socking can prove their innocence. For example, anyone with a shared ip (college, café, wifi hotspot, whatever) is likely to share many characteristics with someone else from the same area. Maybe same school, same college, same hobby clubs, same local/regional idioms / "accent" and so on. So similar characteristics and interests easily accounted for. We really shouldn't presume guilt based on dodgy "evidence". CU evidence isn't as cast-iron as peple are led to believe. Pesky (talk) 19:28, 13 April 2013 (UTC)

For Pesky and family

I'm so sorry, Pesky. Nikkimaria (talk) 00:28, 23 March 2013 (UTC)

Yes, you're in our thoughts. Keilana|Parlez ici 01:49, 23 March 2013 (UTC)
Indeed. So sad. PumpkinSky talk 02:13, 23 March 2013 (UTC)



Wow, guys. Wow. You're all just amazing. Reading all these messages just now has brought tears to my eyes. I'm overwhelmed by it. I'm not likely to be doing much in WikiLand for a while, as my back is being a total bastard and I can't sit for long at all. (50mg Morphine every 4 hours kind of total bastard.) It's going to need more surgery, almost certainly, before I'll be able to sit for long enough to do much in the way of editing, etc, but I'll pop in from time to time just to see how you's all getting on. Big MegaHugz to everyone. We played this for the going-in music at Leon's funeral, and family members carried his coffin. Pesky (talk) 17:27, 9 April 2013 (UTC)


This memorial video was put together by Leon's parents, and was played at the wake. Pesky (talk) 21:30, 9 April 2013 (UTC)

Thanks for sharing this Pesky.Of course its almost to sad to stand, but then one has to think that such a babe must have had so little work to do on this earth that he finished up quickly and went onward. Hugs and love to you and your family.(olive (talk) 21:39, 9 April 2013 (UTC))
I think they just had an urgent need of someone who could remind the angels to have fun and laugh, as well as the Angely stuff. Mentor, kinda thing ;) Pesky (talk) 08:27, 10 April 2013 (UTC)
I agree. I've heard it said the angels are jealous of our ability to evolve and experience, so a little help now and then from a joyful soul is in order.(olive (talk) 14:18, 10 April 2013 (UTC))
PESKYYYYYYYYYY !!!!!! .... It is so great to see you post .... hugz, hugz, hugz. — Ched :  ?  12:01, 12 April 2013 (UTC)
Ooooohhhh, hugzies! Snufflecation-by-cleavage, the ultimate Granny weapon, hur hur hur :p Megahugglesnugglecuddles for Gramps Pesky (talk) 15:00, 12 April 2013 (UTC)

Leon's site, for some of the background story. Also some news stories. Pesky (talk) 19:31, 13 April 2013 (UTC)

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