User talk:Mdw0

Capitalization of titles

In response to your question about capitalization of Latin titles, I assume that the English rules apply, as the Romans had no lowercase letters and therefore no capitalization rules. The rule in English is that titles remain uncapitalized except when they're attached to a person's name (Barack Obama is a senator, so call him Senator Obama). You could do the same for Roman titles, but it seems that Romans are generally referred to just by their names ("Senator Cicero" sounds a bit superfluous, doesn't it?), except sometimes when referring to emperors. A. Parrot (talk) 18:02, 17 October 2008 (UTC)

Friendly fire

None of the online sources make the claim about white flags on all the ships, but the unreliable source did. Either way, it is a rather "major" detail (if true), so I didn't want to be accused of sanitising what text was left by removing it immediately. I am currently working through some of the print sources that have been suggested, but there is only so much time in the day, and I have my honeymoon to get through next week, for one thing. Presumably if Jacob805 has actually read all the sources they listed, the {{fact}} tag woud have alerted them to the need to come up with another one in this instance. Nick Cooper (talk) 07:45, 22 October 2008 (UTC)

Australian inventions

It is a nice article, indeed. I have nominated it to be featured on the Main Page as a DYK feature in the next week. For it to qualify, the one thing we need to clean up is the citation format. All of the citations have to be in proper format -- no bare url's. I'll continue to chip in where I can. 23:42, 10 December 2008 (UTC)

DYK for List of Australian inventions

On 17 December, 2008, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article List of Australian inventions, 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.

BorgQueen (talk) 04:56, 17 December 2008 (UTC)

Australian Inventions

I'm sorry, but your article on Australian Inventions is extremely false.

Some of the sources you provided don't mention the invention they're referencing and inventions claimed such as 'powered flight' and the 'refrigerator' are blatantly false. I suggest you make the list less ambiguous, i.e. make each invention very, very specific, because although a component of the fridge was invented by an Australian, the overall invention was not, or I will go through and remove them myself. Taifarious1 06:20, 17 December 2008 (UTC)

I think the referencing is pretty good - if you have specific examples I'd love to see them. Regarding powered flight and the refrigerator, I think you might need to re-examine your pre-conceptions. Just because Hargrave didn't invent the fixed wing aeroplane doesnt mean what he created wasn't powered flight. Also, a large room that uses vapor compression to create ice inside is definitely refrigeration. Just because its not the device used to chill food in your kitchen doesnt mean its not a refrigerator. Your arguments are welcome, but I think you'll need to come up with something more concrete than your own idea of 'ambiguousness' which can be highly subjective. Mdw0 (talk) 07:06, 17 December 2008 (UTC)

Well going by that logic, New Zealand invented Nuclear Power, Nuclear weaponry, the Nuclear submarine because Earnest Rutherford split the atom. We laso invented the Trafalgar Class submarine and contrary to your claim that you invented the torpedo, false thanks to Hamilton's jet, the torpedo belongs to us. We also invented that egg beater so that must also mean we invented cake! Just because you invent something that has had a small bearing on later inventions, such as the Wright Brothers, who are the true pioneers of flight, doesn't mean you invented every subsequent achievement. Don't be naive. Taifarious1 07:25, 17 December 2008 (UTC)

I suppose its up to you to back up those claims, then, isnt it? Looking over the article again I'm comfortable with the claims - the article doesnt say Hargrave invented flight, or the aeroplane. The claim is for powered flight, which is fairly specific, as per your request. The Wright Brothers have the fame, but you'll find there are lots of claimants of various types of flight before them. There are many supporters of the Wright Brothers in these matters, but the other claimants have their supporters too. If you can find someone who invented powered flight before Hargrave, lets hear it. I'm more than happy to adjust the text if I'm proven to be wrong. And the refrigerator really is a refrigerator - what makes you think it isnt? Mdw0 (talk) 22:33, 17 December 2008 (UTC)

Actually you'd have trouble with the nuclear claims primarily because you'd need to argue Rutherford was technically a New Zealander and not an emigre when he split the atom. He may have been born in New Zealand and done his undergraduate schooling at Christchurch, but let's face it, once he started at Cambridge he never lived in NZ again. All of his inventive and theoretical work was done in England and Canada, well after he left. If Rutherford had been born in Sydney I'd never claim such overseas inventions to be Australian. Mdw0 (talk) 00:15, 18 December 2008 (UTC)

Well in that case I suppose Heath Ledger wasn't really Australian because the vast majority of his films were American. That sort of logic is totally absurd. A person doesn't stop being a nationality because they live or work in another country. Taifarious1 00:54, 18 December 2008 (UTC)

What nationality Heath Ledger felt he was might be one thing, but no-one could claim the films were Australian. If someone emigrates for good and spends their entire adult lives away from New Zealand you'd have to make a case for their still being a New Zealander, but any work or discoveries they'd made in England while working in a team of English people and funded by English backers, would surely have to belong to England, not New Zealand. Mdw0 (talk) 01:15, 18 December 2008 (UTC)

Ah ha, because Macau stole the Sky Tower and made it slightly bigger so ours is now the pathetic version of theirs. And i'm not saying hos movies can claim to be Australian, i'm saying that since he lived almost his entire life in the US, couldn't, going by your logic, Americans claim him as their own. Taifarious1 01:26, 18 December 2008 (UTC) - And Oman isnt on there because it just seems like on of those places that you go to and someone detonated a bomb outside your hotel or something, stereotypical sure but not really a stretch of the imagination in this day and age. And the UAE is on there for 2 reasons, first, its a completely revolutionised country, tough on crime, big on investment, its like the Arab version of Singapore, the clean, safe part of the region, and secondly cause I had a friend that went there, said it was fantastic.

As I said the nationality of the person post-emigration may be debatable. I think Ledger bought a house in Sydney and came back often enough to qualify - someone like Rupert Murdoch you could say is now American. Reading over Rutherford's history I'd have to say he emigrated for good and wasn't a New Zealander by the time he'd split the atom and theorised neutrons. However, what I was saying is that you'd struggle to claim Rutherford's inventions or theories as New Zealander because he'd done all the work in England with an English team and English backing.

OK, Macao makes sense now - its a bit puerile and parochial but so are some of my motivations. But why is Mongolia no good while China is OK? You might want to watch out for the UAE - the terrorists really hate the moderate, open Muslims they see as collaborators, making Dubai a particular target. And if someone had a similar glowing revue of Oman, and their more welcoming attitude was publicised, might it come off the 'never' list? Never seems a bit extreme - you know what they say - never say never. You don't need to put all of Israel on the never list - I get sick of the militant Israeli attitude but I went to Jerusalem last year and it was absolutely magic. Mdw0 (talk) 01:52, 18 December 2008 (UTC)

I don't know why I don't like Mongolia, I remember years ago I saw this video of like these really poor people in Mongolia and I think that may have had something to so with it. And I didn't put Israel on there cause of all the conflict with Palestine etc. I put it on there cause of the Israeli-NZ spay scandal, the fact that they tried to spy on us made me really dislike the way they conduct their affairs. Same with France, sure it may be a really great place to visit, and I would love to go, cause I can speak French, but the Rainbow Warrior bombing really put me off, I mean, how many Americans do you see travelling to Afghanistan after 9/11?? Taifarious1 02:05, 18 December 2008 (UTC)

I would never question why a New Zealander would have a problem with France. Still, maybe this should be a like/dont like list rather than a go/never go list. Sometimes contact means discussion and presentation of views, and in all these countries there are groups with differing views. A lot of French people have never heard of the Rainbow Warrior. The only contact they have with Australia and New Zealand is via the rugby teams. Mdw0 (talk)

Mmm. Yes, good idea. I also don't like their belief in their 'superior civilization' really urks me. But I like the fact that people can believe whatever they like, Not anyone's place to tell them that what they believe is wrong =] Taifarious1 02:27, 18 December 2008 (UTC)

Sure it is - especially when no-one else has the nads to do it. Nothing wrong with a bit of dissention. Belief should be questioned - that's what makes it strong. Mdw0 (talk) 02:35, 18 December 2008 (UTC)

Ha. Thats rather refreshing, But the French civilizations' belief in their culture resulted in the Vietnam war, as did America's belief in Democracy over communism, telling someone their beliefs are inferior is no way to win friends, and certainly not allies Taifarious1 02:48, 18 December 2008 (UTC)

Metal Storm

Yes I would, most 'modern' inventions were/are redesigns of previous concepts, a good example would be the Helicopter based on Da Vinci's Aerial Screw. But i would probably label it something like "Metal Storm stacked projectiles" but being sure to highlight that it is a modern technology on the concept of historical stacked projectiles. Its still an invention though.

Hope that helps =] Taifarious1 06:46, 19 December 2008 (UTC)

Concept vs Conceptions

A lot of your argumentation was fallacious, using irrelevant (red-herring) argumentations. This isn't a big deal, but since you want to make it so:

As demonstrated by Anthony Eden, the correct usages of the terms:

Concept and conception are applied to mental formulations on a broad scale: You seem to have absolutely no concept of time. "Every succeeding scientific discovery makes greater nonsense of old-time conceptions of sovereignty" Anthony Eden.

In other words, the word "concept" can be plural, but tends to be used for referring to ideas that can be numbered and divided. When referring to an ovelapping and sum-total set of ideas, "conceptions" is the correct term: that is what it was invented for. Even the pronuncation of "conceptions of race" is different than "life begins at conception." Ironically, when referring to the fertilization of an egg, the word is rarely used in the plural. Context clues abound here, there should be no issue.Ryoung122 14:35, 1 January 2009 (UTC)

Use of non-free images

I note that you have restored a number of non-free images, that were removed, to User:Mdw0/List of Indian Inventions Please note that non-free images are not permitted on user pages for any reason. Refer to WP:NFCC#9 and Wikipedia:Non-free content criteria exemptions for more information. --AussieLegend (talk) 10:25, 14 January 2009 (UTC)

I understand your dilemma as I have had the problem myself. What I normally do is uncomment the images while I'm editing so the layout can be checked and then once I'm finished I comment them out again so they're not ever seen outside article namespace. If you want others to be able to view the proposed layout when you're not editing, there are a couple options open to you. Edit your page (User:Mdw0/List of Indian Inventions) and save it with the layout as desired. Then edit it again and comment out the images so they're not seen in your userspace. Then point everyone to the proposed layout rather than the current version. Alternatively, you can do the same thing to the article itself, as I've done as a demonstration. This is your proposed version while this is the article as it currently exists. Also, when you have been advised that you have done something wrong,[1][2] don't immediately revert to the version that is in breach of policy, as you did here. Play it safe, leave the page as is and discuss it first. Otherwise, you can end up in trouble, possibly even find yourself blocked. --AussieLegend (talk) 00:24, 15 January 2009 (UTC)

Cool - I'd thought about putting the alternate layout in the history of the article but didn't know how to link directly from the text. Mdw0 (talk) 00:31, 15 January 2009 (UTC)

You deserve it

		The Teamwork Barnstar
		For productively working with others with civility and patience even in case of clear disagreement I award The Teamwork Barnstar to Mdw0 JSR 0562 17:32, 25 January 2009 (UTC)

The month that you spent patiently has not gone unappreciated.

Personal Message

I am going to be out of major editing at least for a while so my plans for division of History of Science and Technology in India or splitting/expansion of List of Indian inventions are on hold. I may be around to make a few random edits but would prefer to be off Wiki till Feb end due to job commitments. I might take long to reply till then.

I have taken the liberty to copy/paste the barnstar to your userpage. I hope you don't mind and please take it down if you wish to.

Sincerely, JSR 0562 17:32, 25 January 2009 (UTC)

Message from JSR

The education in India article, a top importance article under WP: India, has recently been rewritten by me. Though the rewrite is is no way complete I invite you to take a look and see, and if possible contribute. Sincerely, JSR 0562 18:21, 6 February 2009 (UTC)

Put them back in any manner that you consider best. I noted some inconsistency while dealing with commas in different sources so thought would harmonize them later. Thanks for your efforts and many corrections in the article :) JSR 0562 05:24, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

Punctuation in Place Names

I've had a look across Wikipedia including the Manual of Style and other places, including the Geographical Names Board of NSW and there is NOTHING to definitively say NO punctuation in place names. Only the bureaucratic Names Board advises to AVOID using diacritical marks in road names and seeks to eliminate posessives. Such marks - especially apostrophes where places names are named after people with O' at the front of their name - are used across the nation, and the argument is far from done regarding possessives. Even the most common elimination, that of the full stop after St for Saint, is only about 50-50 - check St. Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney. Its NOT a reason by itself to be renaming entire articles without consensus. Mdw0 (talk) 02:43, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

So what do you have a problem with exactly? J Bar (talk) 03:45, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

It WAS you that renamed the St George Stadium article, right? And who remarked 'punctuation not used in place names'? Mdw0 (talk) 06:34, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

Yes. It was me that made that change. I make lots of edits every day to many articles, so I don't keep track of every edit, tha why I had to ask what you were refering to. The Geographical Names Board of NSW may be a bureaucracy to you but it is the OFFICIAL reference point for place names and that is what wikipedia editors are using as a reference for wikipedia articles. Recently in the UK, they have decided to follow the Australian initiative and will drop punctuation from place names too.

St George is a region and the place name is listed without punctuation. St George Stadium is named after the region and not a church, so it makes sense that it should not contain the punctuation too. In fact, that's the way it has been listed in other reference material such as Street Directories. It's no big deal anyway. If you feel that strongly about holding onto the antiquated punctuation marks, then move the article back to the old page. I don't see it as a major issue, especially since the stadium is now closed anyway. J Bar (talk) 11:12, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

Bureaucracies are always official - thats what gives them their power. That dosent make them right. They follow the policies of a government or a high-ranking official, policies which can be changed. In this case they are going against common usage, so they've got an uphill battle, and for no reason that I can see other than they dont understand how to use punctuation correctly. I agree one full stop really isnt worth fussing sbout, but it was the attaching remaerk and in your replies that no puntuation at all is used in place names that needed correction. Not even the Geographical Names Board says that. Punctuation is most certainly used, especially apostrophes. Punctuation isnt any more antiquated than spelling. It indicates certain unspoken information that is important. And the stadium is most definitely still used - when I find out by which groups I'll edit the article. Mdw0 (talk) 22:27, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

It's not a case of them not understanding how to use punctuation correctly. The decision was made to avoid mistakes that were constantly made in the past by everyone. The decision to drop punctuation happened in NSW over 30 years ago and has progressively been adopted across the rest of Australia. I don't think it's an uphill battle. There is no battle at all. Place names without punctuation is in common usage now because councils and government departments all follow the rules and you will struggle to find any new signage out there today that still uses it. As is the case with many things, there's people that don't like change and will fight anything. For example, we have had many people constantly changing the title of the suburb aticle in wikipedia from Brighton-Le-Sands to Brighton-le-Sands, because that's teh way tey remember it. Even though it was officially changed in 1970, people keep using old reference material to try and change it back to the old way with the lower case 'l'. The fact is, we need to follow some standard and the naming boards are the standard that is used. J Bar (talk) 06:28, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

cinema of India

I have just managed to put together a rewrite of the cinema of India article. You're invited to take a look :) JSR 0562 10:45, 29 March 2009 (UTC)

That Barassi Line

My problem is with the straight line and specifically the bit that runs through Qld and NSW. The uninformed reader would deduce from the drawing that there is some part of Queensland where AFL is the dominant code. Is this your assertion ? And the uninformed reader would deduce from the drawing that in almost 1/2 of NSW, AFL is the dominant code ? Is this your assertion ? I am absolutely arguing the accuracy of the line and therefore the accuracy of the drawing. -Sticks66 08:56, 30 March 2009 (UTC)

And since you ask I have a problem with the two sections of the article titled The Future and Current Situation which lack citations, lack logic and read like someone's opinion. But my comments on these are on the article talk page.-Sticks66 10:39, 30 March 2009 (UTC)

Flamethrowers

The difference between the Greek and Chinese models of flamethrowers is actually quite substantial. The Greeks used a metal furnace to provide the necessary heat for the oily mixture of Greek fire shot from a siphon attached to a single-piston bellows. This would produce a single spurt of flame on a periodic basis (i.e. each time the bellows were deflated). Instead of a furnace, the Chinese used an incendiary gunpowder fuse to light the flame shot out of a siphon attached to a double-piston bellows. Thus an upstroke was followed immediately by a downstroke, providing a continuous flame, and a function not apparent in the Greek model. Yes, both employed siphons, pistons, and an oily mixture. You could argue that a spurt of flame is still a flame, regardless of whether or not it fires in a continuous, non-stop stream. However, an even greater key difference between the two is that the Chinese invented a new gunpowder-activated weapon with a fuse, whereas the Greek model is representative of weaponry in Europe before the age of gunpowder. I think the passage at List of Chinese inventions should stress this fact just as much as the continuous stream of flame and double piston bellows.--Pericles of Athens^Talk 05:21, 8 May 2009 (UTC)

The originality lies in the fact that the Chinese flamethrower is in fact a gunpowder weapon, while the Greek flamethrower is not. The delivery systems are completely different. I'll give you another example to make this point clearer. Ancient crossbows in China were used to shoot not only arrows with long wooden shafts, but also round metal bullets. Chinese crossbows even had hand-activated levers, much like the earliest forms of the matchlock rifle. Would you suggest that since the matchlock rifle—a gunpowder weapon—merely uses a gunpowder blast to fire off metal bullets instead of tension as seen in the crossbow, it should thus be considered only an adaptation of a crossbow?--Pericles of Athens^Talk 06:35, 8 May 2009 (UTC)

Caesar

I thought you were changing the effect of the statement to say that Caesar had achieved that which he had been described as threatening. On re-reading, I see that I had misinterpreted the previous text, which suggests that your copyedit was doubly justified. Mea Culpa. -- Ian Dalziel (talk) 11:24, 3 June 2009 (UTC)

Fascism

I am contacting you because you commented on this topic a while ago.

Following a recent RfC, there is currently a proposal regarding the issue of whether or not it is appropriate to characterise fascism as "right-wing".

Even if you don't have much to say, it would be useful if you could let your view be known in order to help guide the discussion towards some sort of conclusion.

Please take a look: here.

Thank you. --FormerIP (talk) 23:15, 21 June 2009 (UTC)

Your vandalism of my comments

Your recent edit to Talk:Fascism, modifying my comments, was deliberately unconstructive and has been reverted. If you persist in vandalizing Wikipedia, then you will be blocked from editing. —SlamDiego_←T 02:07, 24 June 2009 (UTC)