User talk:Parrot of Doom/Archives/2012/August

Cameraman?

Cuddles in action

Richerman suggested I contact you with regard to getting a possible high(ish)-frame-rate video of my boa constrictor in strike mode. At the moment, the best vid I have of her (taken on an iPhone, lol!) is this one (which was media of the day about a year ago). I think it would be great if we could swap the vid in the Boa constrictor article for one at about one-tenth speed, so that readers can get some appreciation of just how incredibly fast these snakes are in action. How do you fancy a short holiday in the beautiful New Forest (we can provide accommodation, somewhere within the family) to get some shots? Various other local family members also have other reptiles (bearded dragons, corn snakes, young pythons, etc.) which you could get some shots of if you'd like. Whadda ya think? Pesky (talk) 08:27, 9 August 2012 (UTC)

I don't mind taking photographs locally or even shooting video footage around here when I'm able, but what you're asking for is a bit more than a favour tbh, especially as I'd likely miss out on work while filming your snake. You're welcome to employ me but you'd need to budget somewhere between £1,000 - £2,000 plus VAT for a day's filming with hi-mo kit. Parrot of Doom 20:30, 9 August 2012 (UTC)

This sounds like exactly the kind of thing Wikimedia UK would be able to help with. They have both the funds to hire professional equipment and staff if the footage needs to be created directly, or (more likely) the contacts and clout to persuade a zoo or a college teaching herpetology to release some existing footage into the public domain. If you ping RexxS or Daria Cybulska they should be able to talk you through what would be required, and what the likelihood of success would be. Black Sheep (talk) 13:38, 10 August 2012 (UTC)

Hehe! Out of my budget range, unless I win the lottery! If Cuddles were better behaved, I could probably transport her around, but the chances of her co-operating after being transported are, frankly, minimal! (And an annoyed and unco-operative eight-foot boa is not a creature to be trifled with ...) It would be good to get some stuff released into the public domain, if someone already has some. Pesky (talk) 04:57, 12 August 2012 (UTC)

Ann West

I've just discovered that Wikipedia has an article on Ann West. Naturally it's not in great shape, but then very little here is, and whatever decent content there is gets constantly eroded anyway ... I just couldn't believe that Sun report. Two reporters couldn't even get Ann's age and year of death right. Malleus Fatuorum 14:39, 18 August 2012 (UTC)

I'm not sure she's deserving of an article - she campaigned on one subject only, and that subject already has an article? Parrot of Doom 14:45, 18 August 2012 (UTC)

I'm not sure she is either, and it's only been there since May anyway. Maybe an AfD is in order? I'm thinking of asking for semi-protection of the Moors murders, as I'm getting rather tired of all the vandalism and nonsense that's been added since news of Brady's letter broke. What do you think? Malleus Fatuorum 15:12, 18 August 2012 (UTC)

Ah! I've just seen this as well. Probably explains what's going on. Malleus Fatuorum 15:15, 18 August 2012 (UTC)

PS. Can you imagine the shit storms there are going to be when Brady dies, or if the police do find Keith Bennett's body? Malleus Fatuorum 16:31, 18 August 2012 (UTC)

He might not die for another 20 years, who knows. Delete Ann West, I'll support that. Parrot of Doom 16:50, 18 August 2012 (UTC)

There's no need for this article. Worth a prod, or straight to AfD? Mr Stephen (talk) 17:07, 18 August 2012 (UTC)

I don't know the difference between the two, but if its a choice between "lets get rid of this article because obviously it isn't needed" and "lets have weeks of discussion and to-ing and fro-ing ending in name-calling and bans", well... Parrot of Doom 17:41, 18 August 2012 (UTC)

I'll prod it first and see if anyone objects; if anyone does, then I'll open an AfD. Malleus Fatuorum 18:50, 18 August 2012 (UTC)

... and done. Malleus Fatuorum 18:52, 18 August 2012 (UTC)

The prod has been contested, so now we have to have the "weeks of discussion and to-ing and fro-ing ending in name-calling and bans". Malleus Fatuorum 15:27, 21 August 2012 (UTC)

Apparently suggesting the deletion of a pointless article is in bad taste. Well I never. Parrot of Doom 15:59, 21 August 2012 (UTC)

I expect the editor who said that had confused Ann West with Winnie Johnson. As I saw you observe recently elsewhere, very few of those who comment seem to take the trouble to actually read an article. Malleus Fatuorum 16:10, 21 August 2012 (UTC)

Ian Brady's letter, and the 400th anniversary of the trial of Pendle witches have left me wondering what the fuck are we doing here? How many articles can the very few active editors protect? Malleus Fatuorum 22:37, 22 August 2012 (UTC)

There comes a point at which "the encyclopaedia anyone can edit" should contain "articles that only those who know something about the subject can edit". Moors murders isn't perfect, I think there's more to be said about the case's lasting notoriety, but like you I won't stand for trivia being inserted. By the way, I was up working in Darwen the other day and planned to take a pic of that 1612 thing, but I didn't have time. Parrot of Doom 22:42, 22 August 2012 (UTC)

As for what I'm doing here, well, apart from having a stab at making decent articles for people to read, I've learnt a hell of a lot about what I've written about. In general knowledge terms I'm now very well acquainted with lots of fascinating topics like Lord Lucan, and that knowledge always comes in handy when you're nattering to people about life. And everyone I've ever spoken to about the Cock Lane ghost or Gropecunt Lane has expressed nothing but astonishment and fascination. It's really quite pleasing to possess such knowledge. Parrot of Doom 22:50, 22 August 2012 (UTC)

There is that. I think back to the effort I put in to finally understand a book that had fascinated me since my university days, the results of which I was pleased to share and hopefully encourage others to read. But the daily grind is intolerable. Malleus Fatuorum 22:56, 22 August 2012 (UTC)

You've more than enough talk page watchers I think to enable you to post a list of valued articles and ask that those watchers add them to their watchlists. I have some, but not all, of your articles on my watchlist and try to do my bit. I have similar problems with Pink Floyd articles, people keep adding instruments to the personnel sections, if I don't revert them then within weeks they'll become 100kb sections of pure crap. Parrot of Doom 22:59, 22 August 2012 (UTC)

But when we're gone, what will happen then? There's no quality control here, and I'm seriously beginning to wonder what the point is of having a decent article for a few days/weeks/months only for it to be savaged once nobody's watching over it. Wikipedia is entropy in action. Malleus Fatuorum 23:12, 22 August 2012 (UTC)

Well, you could always create a book from your best articles and drop it in at the library :) If ever I tire enough of this place to leave I think I'll just copy every one of the articles I've written and upload them to a blog. Parrot of Doom 23:27, 22 August 2012 (UTC)

You could do that with your Gunpowder Plot articles, but I've been a bit of a dilettante in comparison. My idea was to establish templates for articles on witch trials for instance, but nobody else cares so why should I? My recent experience at the Core Article Contest has simply confirmed me in my view that I'll use Wikipedia as a convenient store until something better comes along. Malleus Fatuorum 23:45, 22 August 2012 (UTC)

All that fuss over the capitalisation of a word or two? No wonder so many articles sit in a dreadful state. By the way I don't understand how ISBN formatting works and doubt I ever will, so I just put the number in and wait for someone cleverer than me to fix it :) Parrot of Doom 10:04, 23 August 2012 (UTC)

I don't understand it either, I just use this. Malleus Fatuorum 12:00, 23 August 2012 (UTC)