User talk:Madman2001

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You have new messages (last change).

Welcome!

Hello Madman2001, and welcome to Wikipedia! Thank you for your contributions. I hope you like the place and decide to stay. Here are a few good links for newcomers:

I hope you enjoy editing here and being a Wikipedian! Please sign your name on talk pages using four tildes (~~~~); this will automatically produce your name and the date. If you have any questions, check out Wikipedia:Where to ask a question or ask me on my talk page. Again, welcome!  -- SoothingR(pour) 15:54, 12 December 2005 (UTC)

Contents

[edit] Tibás

See Talk:Tibás for my response to your edit summary question, SqueakBox 15:29, 19 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Tanjung Gemuk

If you know so much about Tanjung Gemuk why don't you improve the article?! --DelftUser 19:17, 19 December 2005 (UTC)

  • Sorry, I know nothing about Tanjumg Gemuk. Madman 19:25, 19 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] The Beat Monks

Hey guy, I wikified the page and included the most pertinent info on the band. Though I know they're obscure, that isn't enough of a reason to delete an article. Since I just created the article yesterday, you should give it some time before nominating it for deletion.

[edit] Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Sheffield pubs

Hi! I just wanted to let you know that, even though I nominated this article for deletion, I have decided to see if it is possible to save it. I have been through the article removing all of the POV and review-like elements and I have started to expand the rest. With a lot of cleanup I think that it could be saved (although I don't think that it is there yet). Anyway, please take another look at the article and see if my edits change your opinion on the article. Thanks, JeremyA 03:24, 30 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Tlapacoya

Many thanks for copyediting/wikify this article! You did an outstanding job!! --Hurricane111 21:49, 1 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] article for deletion

Hey Madman, by your edits I know that you enjoy cleaning up wikipedia, but the article that you put up for deletion which I happened to create is very notable. Please see the latest info I added. Anymore evidence of the article's notability, I would be happy to provide. Thank you for keeping the conversation civil. Travb 04:39, 3 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Article: Tramp chair

Thanks for cleaning it up, looks much better now. - Dharmabum420 06:07, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] re: Stockton Massacre

Right, same to you. Whew! Hard work but rewarding. Pleasure to work with you. Herostratus 00:44, 21 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Maps

You asked me how I make my maps. In photoshop of course. :)

As for the United States of Greater Austria map, these borders were only proposal, you can see that in the article:

Map which I created for that article is based on the map from the external link in that article. You can see that link here:

I usually use one map as a model and draw another based on that one in photoshop. If you want to draw map with higher quality, you just have to spend more of your free time for drawing and to use options in photoshop. Nothing more, nothing less. Of course, you should to have a good model map on which you will base your work. PANONIAN (talk) 23:33, 7 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] prettifying

Just {{subst:}} one of the prettytable templates in the table header i.e. {| (You can go by with just {{prettytable}}, the others are for all sort of specific case, suchas centered table. In olmec, it was {{prettytablecenter}}). (note that in practice, the template/s is/are legacy code.) Circeus 01:45, 8 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Mixe-Zoque languages

On the stub about the Mixe-Zoque languages, I got my list from Ethnologue and it showed some specific dialects of languages but I took them out. Then I searched for the list but I could not find any other. When I compared the list on Ethnologue to the list on Mesoamerican languages, the last mixed some of the specific dialects I took out and mixed them with the main languages. I am sorry but I do not know more about it. Tim Q. Wells 01:45, 8 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Re: Image:Isthmus of Tehuantepec close-up?

I used GTOPO30 data for that map. The detail is limited by the resolution of that dataset. I don't remember specifically, but I don't think I would have downsized the image while constructing the map, and if that's the case that particular dataset cannot be used to make any more detailed of a map. I can also play with the shading and coloring options of the program used to render the map (or try another program) to see if a more suitable map for your area can be made. I'll look into it. --Kbh3rdtalk 17:53, 20 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] See Popocatépetl talk page

Hi, Madman,

Dropped a comment on the talk page of Popocatépetl re your recent edit: welcome your response. (I didn't like your deleting the map.)

--Lavintzin 15:32, 5 March 2006 (UTC)

As far as the map goes, it doesn't make a lot of difference to me. I thought that the article was a little crowded, and that seemed the least interesting of the images and was, as noted, available elsewhere.

By all means, re-insert it. Madman 16:13, 5 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Olmec edit warring

Agreed Madman, and I've set the ball rolling by applying for page protection at WP:RFPP. It seems that we've been bought a few hours' respite in any case since that anon contributor has been blocked for a 3RR violation by Freakofnature, but they will presumably take up cudgels again once the block expires. Would appreciate your help to find suitable wording for the proposed notice on talk:Olmec, as we need ourselves to ensure any claims of bias or 'censorship' are unfounded. Cheers, --cjllw | TALK 01:45, 14 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Second Sino-Japanese War

Hello there Madman2001, I'm here to tell ya that I reverted your changes to Second Sino-Japanese War. They were good copyedit edits, but unfortunately the anon who edited before you (so you pretty much cleaned after his defecation) inserted a bunch of POV and bad setences. Even though your edits were balanced and NPOV, I still think the old version is better. What follows explains the rest, after all. Cheers. -- Миборовский U|T|C|M|E|Chugoku Banzai! 18:19, 12 April 2006 (UTC)

<Sigh> Another heroic effort goes for naught.  : ) Madman 18:33, 12 April 2006 (UTC)

Sorry :( -- Миборовский U|T|C|M|E|Chugoku Banzai! 19:15, 12 April 2006 (UTC)
Well, I checked out the intro section and, indeed, it was more comprehensive than what I had cobbled together on the fly. I'll pull this off my Watch list, since you seem to be watching and to a large extent moderating the article. Indeed, it sounds like there are quite a few folks out there with some pretty strong viewpoints on this matter. Hang in there, and thanks, Madman 21:16, 12 April 2006 (UTC)
Alright. Feel free to check back once in a while. ;) -- Миборовский U|T|C|M|E|Chugoku Banzai! 00:39, 13 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Expands

Hi. I think you may have mistaken my adding of expand tags as something random. It's not - it's part of a criteria-driven exercise for identifying articles in need of expansion. Users familiar with the subject matter of these articles will know what needs to be added, and should hopefully remedy the situation in due course. If not the tags can always be removed, or discussed on talk pages. Thanks for your interest though. Are there any you are specifically worried about? SP-KP 00:50, 17 April 2006 (UTC)

No, I am just concerned that the "Expand" template is ugly, I fear it flags an article as substandard, and I fear that the "remedy in due course" may be a long time in coming. I would have less concern if, when someone flags an article "Expand", they would explain what they would like to see added as per the template. Madman 03:24, 17 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Copyright violations removed by rewriting offending sections

Hi,

You pointed out the copyright violations in Spanish conquest of Mexico. It was on my mental "to do" list to do something about those eventually. Your "copyvio" notice put it on the top of my list. I have now fixed the copyright violations by rewriting the offending sections. The rewritten article is in Spanish conquest of Mexico/Temp.

What's the next step in getting an admin to replace the copyvio text with the replacement text?

Richard 19:33, 18 April 2006 (UTC)

I have been advised by another Wikipedian that the next step is to ask you to review the rewritten article and agree that the copyright violations have been resolved. Could you do that please?

Richard 16:02, 19 April 2006 (UTC)

Yes, Richard, I will do that. I hope to be able to do that today. I was hoping to do that yesterday, but got delayed with my paying job. Thanks for the quick response! Madman 16:50, 19 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Lest you get bored...

I added a comment to Talk:Spanish conquest of Mexico regarding the source of spelling and grammar errors. If you have a penchant for this kind of copyediting, take a whack at the following articles:

Aztec Aztec religion Aztec social structure Human sacrifice in Aztec culture Siege of Tenochtitlan

The source of errors in these articles is pretty much the same, our Aztec expert who is less than proficient in English.

There are other articles related to the Aztec empire which may also need copyediting but the ones listed above are the ones that I've noted as having the most problems.

Enjoy...

Richard 04:13, 21 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Great section on Tlacaelel

That is really well written. I'm not sure if it's any shorter than what was there before but it is absolutely a lot more to the point. It really gets across how important he was. Thanks! --Richard 03:10, 6 May 2006 (UTC)

  • I'm not sure it is any shorter, either, but I'm glad you liked it! It was your note above that really started me on all this Aztec-related copyediting, lo, those many days ago. Madman 04:17, 6 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Aztec society section in Aztec article vs. Aztec society article

Thanks for your copyedits on the Aztec society section in the Aztec article.

You may have missed the discussion on this topic. We (well, Piet and I) agreed to shorten the Aztec article by moving the "Aztec daily life" stuff to the Aztec society article and to trim the "Aztec daily life" section in the Aztec article to be a summary of the Aztec society article.

Your copyedits are appreciated but I wonder if you could take another look at this text in light of the above decision and then copy the appropriate edits over to the Aztec society section.

P.S. You've been doing a lot of great work with images and formatting and generally improving a bunch of Aztec-related articles. This is much appreciated.

--Richard 19:42, 14 May 2006 (UTC)

Thanks for your kind words, and thanks for the heads up. I will definitely copy the appropriate edits over to the Aztec society section. Madman 13:26, 15 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Huitzilíhuitl

Hi. The information you removed from the article was good information, at least if my sources are correct. (But I'll double-check what they say about the relationship to Matlalcihuatzin; maybe I misread it.) I wonder why you removed the information, especially the part about making the position hereditary. That seems like an important point to me. Do you have some information that contradicts my sources? --Rbraunwa 18:16, 17 June 2006 (UTC)

Every other source I have reviewed indicates that the position of tlatoani (or hueyi tlatoani) was never hereditary. For example [1], [2], Encarta, and the Aztec article here in Wikipedia, which says "The most important official of Tenochtitlan government is often referred to as the Aztec Emperor. The Nahuatl title, Huey Tlatoani (plural Huey Tlatoque), translates roughly as "Great Speaker". This office gradually took on more power with the rise of Tenochtitlan. By the time of Auitzotl, the title of Emperor had become a more appropriate analogy for this office, although as in the Holy Roman Empire, the title was not hereditary."
Similarly, I did some checking about the relationship between Huitzilíhuitl and Matlalcihuatzin and all the web references referred to her as his daughter.
Overall, I was attempting to use bring your additions in line with the "style" we've been using for the Aztec-related articles (which is one reason I substituted tlatoani for ruler and Lord and removed the term "cacique").
I really enjoyed your addition to the article. There is no doubt that the Aztec ruler articles need beefing up. Thanks for addressing this and I look forward to any other Aztec-related articles you may be working on. Thanks, Madman 00:49, 18 June 2006 (UTC)

Hi Madman, I just uploaded some more information on Acamapichtli. Can you take a look at it, at your convenience? --Rbraunwa 18:42, 22 June 2006 (UTC)

Hi again. Thanks for your edits on Acamapichtli. If you don't object, perhaps I will continue doing what I've been doing and letting you add the finishing touches. I've worked on a third article now, Chimalpopoca. Clearly your background on the Aztecs is better than mine, and also your knowledge of the conventions that have been adopted at Wikipedia. Rbraunwa 21:48, 25 June 2006 (UTC)

P.S. I still plan on writing the footnote about the dates for Huitzilíhuitl; I just haven't gotten to it yet. Rbraunwa 21:50, 25 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Image

hey! On June 14th you uploaded the Image:Lake Texcoco c 1519 .png image. On that page you indicated that the "This image is copyrighted. However, the copyright holder has irrevocably released all rights to it", presumeably, because it was your image. If so, I was wondering if you could change the tag from norightsreserved, to something like {{self|GDFL}}. With the no rights reserved one, there is an implication that the image is anothers work, and requires that you e-mail the Wikimedia PR department, and add the {{confirmation}} tag. --Irishpunktom\talk 10:30, 20 June 2006 (UTC)

Done. Madman 12:59, 20 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Tuxtla photos

Mad about you: You asked for more tuxtlas photos. Here are some: http://www.tuxtlas.com/news/events/santa_marta_air/index.html Dongringo

These are gorgeous pictures. One or more of them would be a great addition to Wikipedia. Perhaps the owner would be interested in uploading them?? Madman 15:36, 26 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Re: Nahuatl language GA nomination news and Q

Hello. The improvements look good. I think this definitely qualifies as a good article. I will add it in a bit.--Esprit15d 17:53, 2 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] My Olmec edits you've reverted three times

Since it seems you think there are too many Olmec heads for people to handle, I'll move them to a gallery. Jamidwyer 22:16, 6 August 2006 (UTC)Jamidwyer

  • Hey, I think that's a great idea, sir. I was thinking along the same lines. Please do. I would love to see it. BTW, do you have any photos of Olmec artifacts? The Olmec figurines article could certainly use some. Thanks again, Madman 22:43, 6 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Images &c

Hi there Madman. I've been offline the past few days and so only now responding to your post at my talk page. I agree with you that there's a reasonable limit to the number of colossal head imgs needed at the Olmec pg, however the situation seems to be redressed so will keep an eye out for it for now.

I've noted the problems you've run across in the FPC nom for your (fine) Lake Texcoco map, and surely the process itself needs refining to clarify (if indeed there is a consensus) what img formats are preferable to use in cases such as this. I'm not myself that well-versed in the SVG format, but have uploaded to commons an SVG conversion of your file at commons:Image:Lake Texcoco c 1519 .svg. I had to first convert the PNG to BMP and then to SVG, which has blown out the file size a bit- to be improved, you would have to tweak the original file in whatever imaging program you used to create it. Preferably, if you have a version or layer of your file which does not contain any of the text, you could load that into some SVG utility (like the Inkscape one mentioned in the FPC comments), and then add in the text portions & save as SVG- that should (I think) reduce the file size and also take advantage of SVG's facility to record the text as separate elements. Like I say, I'm no great shakes at imaging formats, so there could well be some alternative way to get the same result they are looking for at FPC. Regards, --cjllw | TALK 08:12, 8 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] (RE: Mojarra pictures) No problem.

And yes I have better versions. If you want I can make them available to you. See my response on User_talk:Maunus

Sorry I dont have many better photos from the museum of Xalapa. See again my talk page.--Maunus 14:43, 8 August 2006 (UTC)
Ok I did have some, check them on my user subpage. You may want to use any of them in an article. Theres also a high resolution pic of the inscription. some mesoamerican photos. --Maunus 15:38, 8 August 2006 (UTC)
I do have photos of Chalcatzingo and Xochicalco but I cannot currently acces them. I will upload as soon as I can and give you a message here when i do. Maunus 18:36, 24 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Maya zero glyphs

Gidday Madman. I've now uploaded a couple of versions of Maya glyphs for zero - I've even done these in proper SVG format ;-)

There's this one, typical of the inscriptions Image:MAYA-g-num-0-inc-v1.svg , and these two, typical of the codices (one aligned vertically, the other horizontally):  

I don't know why the last of these (horizontal) renders much smaller than the other two when you specify the same pixel size in the image tag, nor why the codex versions seem slightly larger than the inscription version- they should all be the same default size. Probably something to do with the s/w that Mediawiki uses to render svg's as png. How do they appear to you - do you use IE as your browser, and if so have you installed an SVG viewer plugin?--cjllw | TALK 04:06, 14 August 2006 (UTC)

he last one does look smaller, but measuring them it looks like its an Optical illusion. I think they are the same size. Cool glyphs! Sorry for intruding on the talk page. Maunus 08:15, 14 August 2006 (UTC)

Hi Maunus, I'm sure Madman won't mind! What I meant was, it seems I have to manually increase the px specification in the image tag for the last one to get it to display at around the same size. For comparision, here are the two codex-style glyphs (horiz/vert) with the same px specification in the image tag (in this case, I've set both to 20px):  

To me, the second one above looks tiny, it's not until I bump up its px spec to say 40px that it looks halfway decent (the first one here is kept at 20px):  

It's all rather odd, and I gather there's still a few bugs to be ironed out in Mediawiki representation of SVGs. Will see if there's any explanation for this behaviour about somewhere. Cheers, --cjllw | TALK 09:13, 14 August 2006 (UTC)

This is great. Just to be sure (before I insert it into the 0 (number) article ) this shell glyph is used for zero in the Long Count?? If so, I think I'll use the one for monuments then.
Also, how did you do this? Did you draw this freehand and then scan it??
Regarding the "px" specification, I believe that the 20px or 40px refers to the width of the picture. Consequently, if their widths are identical, the vertical glyph will be larger than the horizontal glyph.
Finally, I am glad to know that you have done this using SVG!!  : ) Thanks, Madman 12:56, 14 August 2006 (UTC)

Aha! Of course, how bone-headed of me. I'd resized the canvas for these imgs to the same dimensions as the glyphs, so they would fit together nicely, like Image:MAYA-g-num-0-inc-v1.svg this; but of course a natural consquence is that their actual widths are different. I may have to tweak their relative proportions and make the default size a bit smaller and more uniform, so you don't need to specify different px widths to make them appear the same size. Thanks!

The inscription version is supposed to be typical of Classic era Long Count inscriptions, and is prefixed to period glyphs (eg katun) in Initial Series sequences such as 9.0.19.2.4 where it represents a zero count for the period it is affixed to. The codex version also represents zero (can also signify '20' or completion in context when accompanied by a dot).but the codices don't have Long Count dates (it's possible that there are LC graffiti or mural-style dates where this simplified representation is used in that way, would have to check).

The codex version I just created freehand in the application, while for the inscription version I started out with a character from a freeware Maya font, turned it into a png then had the app generate a vector path, which I then modified and tidied up freehand.--cjllw | TALK 23:53, 14 August 2006 (UTC)

Just a correction to my earlier loose statement (now crossed out above)- the Dresden codex indeed does have some Long Count dates, however these have the numeric portions only (ie the period glyphs are not shown). And it is indeed in this context that the glyph appears, signifying zero (tuns or k'ins or whatever). Cheers,--cjllw | TALK 06:35, 16 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Olmec

Gosh. Thanks you very much for the award! It is much appreciated, and gave me a ray of sunshine too. I wonder if this new editor is a reincarnation of User:Roylee, who also added some bizarre stuff about parallel human evolution in Central America. 14:58, 19 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Re : Matthew Stirling

Thanks! it wasn't very difficult to find good material on Stirling. The only thing I'm still looking for is a copyright-free photograph of him.

Sdsouza 22:21, 26 August 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, I've spent a good half-hour combing thru the Internet. I doubt that there is a copyright-free image. I'm thinking we'll need to rely on Fair Use to obtain a photo. Madman 05:03, 27 August 2006 (UTC)
Oh. Am not sure how to interpret Fair Use yet. Found an excellent image at http://www.nmnh.si.edu/naa/images/stirling3.jpg, but the org's copyright language sounds restrictive (http://www.nmnh.si.edu/naa/copyright.htm). Thanks for searching though, and again, thanks for the encouragement. Sdsouza 00:47, 28 August 2006 (UTC)
I read your fair use justification, and while it clarified things for me quite a bit, I wasn't sure I could apply it to an image of T Proskouriakoff that I found at http://www.archaeology.org/0301/reviews/mayanist.html. Apologies for the trouble, but could you please review, for Tatiana Proskouriakoff?. Cheers Sdsouza 22:30, 28 August 2006 (UTC)
Well, SD, Fair Use is usually a judgement call. This image of Tatiana is probably a photograph (as opposed to a frame from a movie) and the copyright is owned by an individual, which I am more reluctant to "fair use" than one from the Smithsonian, which is a taxpayer-supported research organization that allows its works to be used for educational purposes.
Let me look around myself. If that's the best bet, we may want to go with it. Madman 22:42, 28 August 2006 (UTC)
Hi, am continuing to use this stub for the Tatiana image question, because I didn't want to open up a new one. I have received permission on e-mail from Ms. Char Solomon (biographer of T Proskouriakoff) to use the photographs on her site (http://www.charsolomon.com). I wrote to her using (mostly) the standard Wikipedia template for requesting copyrighted material. Am going ahead and uploading some of the photographs from her site. Sdsouza 07:05, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
I agree on the unflattering part :). Do you think any of the other photos on http://www.charsolomon.com is more appropriate? Ms. Solomon very kindly sanctioned the use of any of those. Do browse in your spare time, and choose any one. I, or you (the permission mail has already been forwarded to permissions AT wikimedia DOT org) can upload it. Sdsouza 17:41, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
Hi, mea culpa, completely overlooked a message from you. Have changed the photo to one that hopefully won't make her turn in her grave (peace be unto her). Sorry again. Sdsouza 23:18, 17 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Olmec revisited

Hi Madman, I tend to agree with your recent comments at my talk pg, and will weigh-in to the discussion as and when I am able. Unfortunately I'm a little snowed under with work and some other stuff at the moment and so am not presently devoting much time to wp- but when I get the chance I will. Cheers, --cjllw | TALK 08:24, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

Madman I would like to help you in your struggle for objective science, but I really just get angry and I don't really know what is the standard procedure for dealing with that kind of crusaders on wikipedia. If you have any menial tasks in cleaning up the Olmec pages that I might help you out with I would happily do it. Write me on my talk page, otherwise I will stay out of it since I don't have the time nor patience to take on a discussion with an antagonist as rhetorically skilled as mr. winters. Maunus 13:51, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] DYK question

...that Chichen Itza means "At the mouth of the well of the Itza", a Guatemalan people estimated to have a present-day population of 30,000?

Isn't there a word missing after 'Guatemalan'? If it's a archeological dig location, I doubt it has a present-day population either. Could you please expand on what you meant to say with this line? = Mgm|(talk) 08:16, 30 August 2006 (UTC)

  • Ah, I see the problem the clause refers to the 'Itza' in the quotes, not the 'Chichen Itza' from the first part of the sentence. Either way, people is plural, so I changed it to say "Guatemalan ethnic group" instead. - Mgm|(talk) 08:24, 30 August 2006 (UTC)
Ethnic group works for me. The "Did you know . . ." format makes for convoluted sentence structure at times. Thanks, Madman 08:29, 30 August 2006 (UTC)
Updated DYK query Did you know? was updated. On 30 August 2006, a fact from the article Itza, which you recently nominated, has been featured in that section on the Main Page. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the "Did you know?" talk page.
  • I'd like to think I can do such sentences. I hope the one I put up works for you. It's a bit longer than the one I suggested here. --Mgm|(talk) 10:02, 30 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] italics within italics

I think you should add your rule. It is still just a list of suggestions. Add a link to any reference work, or an article in some archive where they use it, so you can show an example. Wikipedia dropped using italics for quotations about a year ago, but most quotations in older negleted articles still use italics for quotations.

[edit] Moctezuma II

Hi, I am not a student of English syntax, but it seemed to me that the sentences

... Spanish conquerors (whom .. he might have believed to be gods) ... Spanish conquerors (who .. he might have believed to be gods)

impart different meanings. I think the former implies he believed the Spanish (and actually the rest of the sentence then makes no sense), and the latter conveys that he believed the Spanish to be gods. This might just be me, but i thought it was worth nailing down. Cheers, Sdsouza 05:56, 2 September 2006 (UTC)

Hey, thanks for the explanation. I read through it and that was precisely what I thought I was saying in layman-ish : the Spanish are the subject of the clause (neither Moctezuma nor his belief in their divinity is), and therefore the word to use is who, rather than whom. However, it shouldn't matter as long as people get the meaning right, i guess.
Sdsouza 12:35, 2 September 2006 (UTC)
I think it does, thanks - time for me to go back to grammar study :). Sdsouza 13:47, 2 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] New Mesoamerica images

Hi, on my userpage you mentioned taking pictures of mesoamerican artifacts in the British Museuem. Well, ask and you shall recieve! I've uploaded four, two of them are Olmec. Cheers. Akubra 21:17, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

I uploaded them to the Commons. Akubra 17:02, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Re Olmec

First of all let me draw your attention to The Wrong Version. That's for more or less extreme situations, but I hope you get the idea... I have little knowledge of the topic at hand, so I cannot choose the "right" version to protect without compromising by neutral status in the argument. Hence I protected the last version of the article.

I know you guys are experienced editors (I have many Mesoamerican articles in my watchlist) and I would encourage you to get even more editors knowledgeable editors involved. The point of protection is to force editors to discuss the problem and if Olmeque fails to join the discussion that's to his disadvantage. If Olmeque takes an uncompromising attitude he will be duly warned. However, I cannot go around taking sides in an issue which at the moment seems to arise from one editor's language barrier.

In any case, the edited text of Olmeque's contributions remains in the article history and can be retrieved at a moment's notice. -- Rune Welsh | ταλκ 12:36, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

I truly think the article should remain protected for a few days, if only to allow people to cool down after the recent revert war. I'll keep an eye on the situation, though. Regards -- Rune Welsh | ταλκ 14:07, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Mask image in the Aztec mythology article

I uploaded a different version of the Image:Aztec mask 050910 170205.jpg as I was unaware that there was a "previous" version of it somewhere else. Anyway if you wish to have a look at it and than preferably replace it than here it is: Image:TurquoiseAztecMask.jpg it might be a little less blurry, but I can't say for sure as there is this very blurry area - nose. I don't know if there was a name on the label - I might have ommited this detail while changing the filename back in London. But the rest of the details I put in the description was on the label in the museum for sure. BTW if u still want to know how to make nice photos in museums (and I don't think any of mine Mixtec-Aztec photos is nice as all of them are blurry) check my talk page. Cheers. Z-m-k 21:48, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Barnstar

The Editor's Barnstar
message It think you deserve this barnstar for your tireless and generous responses to Clyde Winters, Olmeque and others. I couldn't bear the thought of debating with them, but you could. Paul B 23:49, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Paul, thank you so very much for the Barnstar. It comes at a great time, because I have been getting worn down a bit: I really just want to add and improve content but lately I've found myself spending great gobs of time just keeping the good articles at at a "good" level. I guess the Second law of thermodynamics applies here in Wikipedia-land as well.

So, bless you, Paul. Your timing is impeccable. Gratefully yours, Madman 00:55, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Requested a map?

Can you tell me more about the map that you requested at Wikipedia:WikiProject Maps/Requested and orphan maps? MapMaster 03:14, 14 September 2006 (UTC)

Can I change my mind? I would like a map, but I am thinking instead we could better use a site map of La Venta, detailing the location of the various stelae, monuments, etc listed in the article. I found a map on Spanish Wikipedia here, but it's hard to read and rather blah IMHO even when I get to the image page. Also, I'm not quite sure how to edit it, since it's in SVG format (which, I was told, is the format for maps). Can you do something with this? Madman 03:40, 14 September 2006 (UTC)
I have uploaded the map in Wikipedia Commons: Image:La Venta site plan.png. I first uploaded it as an SVG file, but Wikipedia does not support the fonts I used and left some other weird-osity in the image, too, so i went with PNG. I leave the placement to you MapMaster 20:53, 17 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Olmec improvements, La Venta

Gidday Madman: alas and yes, my wikipedia-available time has been somewhat restricted these past few weeks, hopefully the situation will improve soon. I've responded to your questions over at my talk page. Cheers, --cjllw | TALK 05:54, 20 September 2006 (UTC)

Hola again. I might've known it, but I still have not been able to find enough time to do the foreshadowed updates to Olmec, and will be offline for the weekend; I'll see what I can do next week. I have however managed to make a couple of suggestions at talk:La Venta for some areas of potential expansion. Cheers, --cjllw | TALK 08:56, 22 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] La Corona

Updated DYK query Did you know? was updated. On 22 September 2006, a fact from the article La Corona, which you recently nominated, has been featured in that section on the Main Page. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the "Did you know?" talk page.

--Mgm|(talk) 18:39, 22 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Europe map

Hi Madman,

I see you added Image:BlankMap-Europe no boundaries.svg. Is there any chance you could help me out with a similar version, but with the national borders showing? I've been looking for exactly this.. and the one you uploaded is so close, but not quite :)

I've been trying to mess around with an SVG editor myself, but can't get it to do what I want. Since you seem to know what you're doing, I hope it won't be too much for me to ask. Thanks a lot! EuroSong talk 12:41, 23 September 2006 (UTC)

Let me see what I can do. Give me a day or so. Madman 12:48, 23 September 2006 (UTC)
Dear Eurosong: I have uploaded what I hope will meet your needs: Image:Blank Map of Europe -w boundaries.svg. Alas, I am not an expert on this. In fact, I am a novice and built the earlier map just to become acquainted with Inkscape software. I am afraid that the Image:Blank Map of Europe -w boundaries.svg map does not have a very high resolution (at least, as I define it). This is an artifact of the map I used (Image:BlankMap-Europe-v5.png).
In any case, good luck and let me know how this turns out. Madman 23:04, 25 September 2006 (UTC)
Madman, thank you very much for your hard work: I greatly appreciate the fact that someone took their time to try and help! I hope you did not spend too long on it :)
Unfortunately though, it is not what I need: the resolution is far too low. I could have adapted that png myself. What I need is an adaptation of the high-res SVG Image:BlankMap-World4.svg. This is my problem, which I have been unable to solve yet. Thanks again for your efforts.. maybe I can find another way, if I spend more time on it. ALl the best, EuroSong talk 12:27, 27 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Mesoamerican lectures

Hey there Madman! Not sure in which part of the US you are based, but over the next month or so there's a whole bunch of Mesoamerican/Precolumbian lectures and presentations coming up. One or more of these might be near where you are, and you might be interested in attending if you can. Mike Ruggeri maintains an updated listing of these here. If you're able to go along to any, bring your camera and notebook, & maybe we can get some more material. Cheers, --cjllw | TALK 00:10, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

Thanks for the heads-up, CJLL. Keep up the good work, Madman 14:24, 12 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Thank you very much for your message!

Dear Mr. Madman2001 ;

Thank you very much for your message with Japanese translatation. Since I can read and understand English,please don't trouble yourself for Japanese.But I'm poor at speaking and writing in English like most Japanese people.

‘Commons’ is not necessarily transrated,but described コモンズin Japanese.

Stela is translated into Japanese with 石碑（seki hi）. 石（’seki’ means stone）碑（’hi’ means inscriptions in stone or wooden slab） →stone slab erected for commemorative purposes inscribed, carved in relief.


Please excuse my poor English.

with my best regards,Siyajkak 12:14, 14 October 2006 (UTC) 2006.9.25.14:28(UTC)in wikipedia:ja

[edit] Barnstar!

The Original Barnstar
For your hardwork and dedication to making Wikipedia a better place. I, Sharkface217, award you this Original Barnstar. Good job! :-) Sharkface217 04:44, 1 November 2006 (UTC)
Thanks for the Barnstar, Sharkface. I had really pretty much given up on Wikipedia, despite over 2000 quality edits, due to the difficulty in maintaining quality: too much vandalism, too many well-meaning but non sequitor edits, too many POV edits, and lack of support/recognition, among other problems. Due to your random act of kindness, I may just reconsider. Madman 17:19, 13 November 2006 (UTC)


Preventing one person from leaving Wikipedia forever will make all our work here worth it. I hope you do not leave this site forever. As I have learned in my year(s) (it's been more than a year? I'm getting old!), there may be 2 million or so English Wikipedia accounts, but only a small fraction of those (less than 10,000 by my estimates) are actually "good" contributors.
Hoping that you don't leave, Sharkface217 03:40, 14 November 2006 (UTC)
Gidday Madman, I'd just like to echo Sharkface's sentiments to express the hope that you continue on with wikipedia, even if only in a limited, variable or occasional capacity. I had noticed you'd not been around much of late and had wondered whether you were on a break of sorts. Your contributions have been sorely missed around Mesoamerican articles, and no doubt in the other fields improved by your diligent and attentive edits. While there are certainly plenty of grounds for frustration around here, and at times it feels like going backwards in trying to at least maintain, let alone improve, the quality and scope of articles, I think that on balance and in the long run a positive difference can and has been made by the efforts of such clear-minded folk as your good self.
Take whatever recharging time you need, and if there are any battles becoming too tiresome then call out for some assistance or maybe look at something else for a while, (eventually) others will step in.
So hope to see you around. If you do decide to concentrate on other things, then all the best for you and your future endeavours. Cheers, --cjllw | TALK 05:09, 22 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Echoing CJLL Wright's thoughts, another barnstar

I second CJLL Wright's thoughts. Here's a more specific barnstar.

The Tireless Contributor Barnstar
For many quality edits to Aztec-related articles, I award this barnstar to Madman2001 who has helped to make a dramatic improvement in articles related to the Aztec civilization.Richard 15:52, 23 November 2006 (UTC)
Welldeserved they both are. Cheers Madman! Maunus 16:04, 23 November 2006 (UTC)

Aw, shucks, guys. This is just wonderful. To see such fantastic comments from such top drawer folks are yourself, I may just get back into the game. Thanks, Madman 18:33, 29 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] The image on your page

That is the funniest Halloween (?) picture I've ever seen! —  $PЯINGrαgђ  Always loyal! 05:54, 30 November 2006 (UTC)

Hallowe'en?? Hallowe'en??? Yes, it is! Thanks for your comment. Madman 06:01, 30 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Request for copyedit

Hi Madman if you want to start out with some uncontroversial editing I would appreciated if you could do some copyediting brushups of Mayan languages which I hope to nominate for GA this week and later FA. Maunus 21:32, 4 December 2006 (UTC)

I would be honored to do this. Let me see if I can get to it today. Madman 13:27, 5 December 2006 (UTC)
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