User talk:Normxxx

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'PLEASE ADD ALL NEW ENTRIES AT THE BOTTOM.'    Thank you. normxxx

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Welcome!

Hello Normxxx, 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!  RJFJR 17:19, 13 December 2005 (UTC)

Contents

[edit] Your question

You asked on my talk page if I had gotten the part you thought you had lost; since I don't know what it was I can't tell if I got it or not, but if you can't see then it isn't there. Can you tell me what you were doing when your computer got hungry and ate your work? RJFJR 01:38, 15 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Data Processor

I took a look at Data Processor. I agree it has room for improvement so I added the {{cleanup}} template so people will know to take a look at it (there are a large number of articles tagged for cleanup so it may take a while). I also remove some of the formatting. Convention has it that bold is used for the article title in the first sentence as well as any alternate terms for the title. Bold is used in a few other places for headings, but sparingly. Convention also has it that only the first instance of a term is wikilinked, or if it has been a great distance (a few paragraphs, say) since it was linked. (This is to keep from cluttering the article and distracting the reader with multiple links that have already been read). RJFJR 01:51, 15 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] normxxx: computer ate my reply

It was just a vain hope; I looked and didn't see anything like what I was working on, which was a reply to your welcome giving a synopsis of my background and why I am expecially interested in wikipedia (because it is an international encyclopedia).

Thanks for the editing help; I still have to read through the references you gave me.

[edit] News

The work by Nature is apparently already known. I can't remember where news stories about wikipedia are posted but I did find this [1] (That's a link that will jump to a particular heading of the page). RJFJR 16:24, 16 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Dispute on the 'Architecture' Page

Could you (or someone) please mediate/arbitrate a dispute on the "archtecture" page (see the discussion page for it).

[edit] barnstar

An Award
I, Natalinasmpf award a Barnstar to Normxxx for dedicated editing, politeness and as an encouragement.

Even though we're both in a minor dispute, I decided to award you this barnstar anyway because you are a very polite person, respond to my posts with dedication and I appreciate you bringing up the issue. The only thing I can suggest is to tone down the bold in articles, since they are usually used for definitions or meta-definitions in articles, not for emphasis. Well, keep it up. -- Natalinasmpf 01:05, 22 December 2005 (UTC)

You're an exceptional newcomer, and keep up the good work, because I hope this minor issue does not deter you. Natalinasmpf 01:08, 22 December 2005 (UTC)
Enlarge
You're an exceptional newcomer, and keep up the good work, because I hope this minor issue does not deter you. Natalinasmpf 01:08, 22 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Architecture

First a comment: you can use wiki mark up style even on talk pages, so [[talk:architecture]] will display as talk:architecture, which is a link that can be clicked on to go directly to the page in question. It's just a nice way to refer someone to an article being discussed.

About your request. How long has the dispute at talk:architecture been going on? Is no further constructive progress being made by discussion on the talk page? (It looks fairly recent to me but it's hard coming in in the middle). I don't know if there is anything I could say there that would move things along but if there is a real sticking point I can point you to some places to ask for help. All in all, I'd say let it be discussed for a while longer, it seems civil enough. RJFJR 02:20, 22 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] village pump

When adding comments to the village pump please don't delete everything else on the page. Broken S 16:26, 23 December 2005 (UTC)

I cleaned it up and you can view your question here. Broken S 16:30, 23 December 2005 (UTC)
Hmmm. That is most unusual. What I do when posting to the village pump is click on the "post" button at the top of the page (or the plus sign next to edit this page). You made the edit twice and it was reverted twice. In general, if your edit disappears it's best to check the edit history and find out why. Cheers! 16:56, 23 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] my new proposal

I've written a new proposal at the architecture talk page, not a particularly urgent one, probably something we could complete by the end of January. Or within two weeks. Anyhow, I will reply to the personal comments on my talk page concerning my views, I will just comment that systems architect needs some cleaning up, because uh...the definition isn't assertive enough and we really shouldn't be so generous with using point format at the start of the article. It's just a style thing, I'm sure that could be formalised as we go on. It's just a reminder for future edits! user talk:natalinasmpf

[edit] Architecture

You asked about my interest in architecture? I am an architect, with an office in Oxford UK. I saw some sloppy facts so I wellied in. Salisian 23:14, 28 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Comment

It wasn't an article but an external link. That's a speedy deletion. Of course, feel free to write an article under that title if you wish. - Lucky 6.9 21:30, 2 January 2006 (UTC)

Actually, a boilerplate type of comment like that is an excellent idea! I tell you, I've gotten more flak from deleting short articles by new users. Something like that can avoid some unintentionally hurt feelings. I'll definitely look into it. BTW, if that site's US Government, the content is public domain. You can use any or all of it verbatim. No problem being new...there's a definite learning curve involved here. Believe me, I know. You can always check in at my talk page if you have a question. Good luck! - Lucky 6.9 22:23, 2 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Wikipedia list

Hi, you've mentioned you are working on a comprehensive list of Wikipedia knowledge. That is great (in fact I was going to create such a list myself). Even if it is currently incomplete, I think it will be best if you put it up, so that I and others can work to improve it until it reaches optimum quality. --Meni Rosenfeld 19:32, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Help:Starting a new page

It's because there is a mechanism whereby individual projects can include their own project-specific content at the head and the foot of the page. Scroll down to the very bottom of the page, and you will find links to the places to edit in order to alter the project-specific text. Note that there is still a fair amount of Wikipedia-specific text on various Wikipedia-specific pages that could do with being transferred to the master copy, so that it benefits all projects rather than just Wikipedia alone. Uncle G 06:10, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Thanks for helping educate User:AlMac|(talk)

userboxes on my user page

We have some similar interests, so you will be seeing me intrude into some of the articles you been contributing to. Thanks for the initial links.

User:AlMac|(talk) 09:06, 18 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Page/category trick

Well done. Radiant_>|< 23:11, 22 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] New Main Page Election talks

A discussion has begun on how to handle an official election for replacing the Main Page. To ensure it is set up sensibly and according to consensus, your input is needed there. --Go for it! 22:43, 26 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Regarding noinclude tag usage

Hello, I noticed that you were asking about the <noinclude></noinclude> tags and I think that this might be of some assistance. Hope it helps! --Robert Harrisontalk contrib 07:39, 29 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] You've Left Me Burning With Curiosity!!!

What is this "formatting bug" of which you speak (on Starter toolset)?

⇒ normxxx| talk ⇒ email 22:22, 29 January 2006 (UTC)

Actually, there were two. They were both in the Welcome Wagon section, and showed up in the edit you made immediately after your Major Update edit. In the first bug, the picture of the biter shoves the 2 columns off the right-hand side of the screen so that you have to scroll to see the right hand column. In the second bug, the hint box interferes with the text of the columns. The bugs look completely different in Firefox and IE, but show up in both browsers. In Firefox the hintbox overlaps with the column text, in IE the text tries to wrap around the hintbox when there really isn't enough space to do so.

I hope I've been of some help.

Speaking of help, you are invited to join the Wikipedia:WikiProject Help. We just got done with overhauling the Help page, and are discussing what we should do next. In what way, if any, do you think Wikipedia's help system needs to be improved? --Go for it! 22:40, 29 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Systems Engineering Edit

I hate to bring this up but I think that there is one small issue that was introduced in your 01:59, 31 Jan. edit: the lead paragraph was a direct quote from the INCOSE website. I would not normally take issue, but the INCOSE was chosen because 1) they are recognized as the lead professional society for the discipline at hand, and 2) they do a pretty good job of deconflicting their work (i.e., many experienced and knowledgeable people have already provided their edits to the existing text). I realize that your latest edit was meant to increase readability, but the issue is that the INCOSE link is still attached, and currently the linked page doesn't match. This might be handled via: a) remove the INCOSE link (not preferred by me), b) modify the link to point to the INCOSE home page instead of the definition page, c) revert to the INCOSE definition, d) revert back to not having a definition on the lead paragraph (my least-preferred alternative), or e) whatever alternatives that I missed. Could you comment on your thoughts? I hope that you understand the root of my concerns. I truly appreciate your efforts in this area to date. Cask05 08:59, 31 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] OOP

Re the lede - See Talk:Object-oriented_programming -MagnaMopus

[edit] E-mailing other users

Hi Normxxx,

Good to hear that you're working on solving conflicts and improving Wikiquette! You can e-mail any user (who has entered an e-mail address) using the "e-mail this user" link. I'm not sure what skin you're using, but in mine I have a list of links on the left. From a user talk page, the second group of links begins with "Edit this page" and ends with "E-mail this user". If you don't see it, maybe someone at the help desk can help you with your particular setup. moink 21:40, 11 February 2006 (UTC)

Thanks for the friendly comments on my talk page. Cambridge is fun... it's a walkable city and there's a lot of good stuff going on. I haven't encountered horsemeat, but as a vegetarian, I'm ok with that.
Your comments on women engineers are interesting. It is typical, psychologically, for people to overestimate their abilities. In one class, the prof showed an experiment they did with some soil experts (civil engineers) at a conference. They built a soil wall and loaded it until it failed (not sure how this works, not being a soil expert myself). Before they did so, they asked a dozen or so experts to give estimates of the failure load and 50% confidence intervals on their estimates. So if the experts were right about their own abilities, about half of them should have had the answer within their intervals. The result? Although there were several estimates both above and below the correct answer, not one of them had an interval that included the answer.
And yes, I have heard that women engineers and academics are less likely to toot their own horns. My advisor has pointed this out to me as one of my limitations. In so many ways I am not stereotypically feminine, but in this one thing I fit the mold perfectly.
MIT has had a degree in aeronautics since before WWII, I believe. And I don't know about that Harvard Square restaurant. When people ask me how well I know Cambridge/Boston, I answer "I know the five blocks between my dorm and my office very very well." moink 07:06, 14 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Solipsism edits

Please understand that I'm not one of those people that spends all of their time on featured articles. I'm trolling around the underbelly of Wikipedia, fixing lots of noise. When I reverted your edit on Solipsism with an encouraging comment to come back and resolve certain issues, I was trying to point out that I didn't consider your edit to be worthness noise like so much of what I see. It's useful and could be a long-term contribution to the page, but it really needs to have the items that I just listed at Talk:Solipsism resolved to fit into a Wikipedia article. If you need help, let me know, but please don't take it personally. Thanks! -Harmil 03:38, 24 February 2006 (UTC)

I am not sure how you think I mean reality as a word, to me reality means simply that which actually exists whether anyone notices it or not. I believe that my true nature IS reality, I am also aware that my perceptions are not reality, but my own minds invention which may or may not have any direct reference to reality... I am dreaming a world and cannot tell whether this dream is accurate to a "real" world or just my own minds creativity... the dreamer is not found within his own dream other than as another dream element, so this body I perceive is part of the dream, you "others" are likewise part of this dream. My view is that while all of us are actually ONE reality, it is possible to hide data from different aspects of the same whole just as you can run WORD and PAINT on the same computer at the same time without a crossing of data yet communication being possible by copy paste means the same as we can communicate via internet and speaking etc. so you are word and I am paint, but we are both essentially programs on the same quantum computer, reality, the universe... yet what we know is only the contents of our individual program displays, the words on your document and the images on my palet... neither of which can inform either of us of the true nature of the program which makes both possible...yet we can speculate on what might be necessary to make it all happen, sort of back engineering methods.Jiohdi 15:44, 1 March 2006 (UTC)

Let me propose a simple test. Do you believe there existed a world before your first conscious thoughts, that the thing we call the 'past' (before you were conscious of it) existed? Do you believe the world will continue on if/when you die? If you answer yes to either of these questions, you are no solipsist, but probably some kind of dualist.

I have never known a single moment when I did not exist and I never willJiohdi 17:14, 2 March 2006 (UTC)

Then you reject all monisms (including solipsism), dualisms, and pluralisms...

I am not sure how you jump to this conclusion nor even what you actually mean by it. as I dont know nor pretend to know that part of things.Jiohdi 21:58, 7 March 2006 (UTC)
you quote my quote of buddha as if that is my own position, but I never made that claim. you asked me a question and I answered it and then you jumped to a conclusion I dont feel warrented by quoting buddha, not me... I did not say I agreed completely with buddha's view.

and there are many reasons I have for not accepting that buddha was all knowing or even correct in his conclusions so do not base a conclusion about me on him...Jiohdi 15:38, 8 March 2006 (UTC)

my understanding is that a solipsist, such as I am, believes that I alone exist in reality. that everything and everyone I know is part of my wholeness, yes? my beliefs as to why I am unable to control all aspects of my being may be different, certainly not unique, but the core belief remains unchanged.Jiohdi 19:03, 8 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Trial of Socrates

For an excellent contrarian view of Socrates' trial, see The Trial of Socrates (Paperback) by I.F. Stone, ISBN 0385260326 [1] Remember, Plato was Socrates' propagandist and was bound to present things in a very biased fashion! ⇒ normxxx| talk ⇒ email 20:54, 27 February 2006 (UTC)

It's been a while, but nevertheless it is appreciated. I just wish my amazon.com wishlist weren't so big! I thank you for the information, as it does sound perfectly reasonable. --ДрakюлaTalk 00:50, 28 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Solipsism Again.

Just dropping you a line that I edited some of your work on the Solipsism page, and would be interested to see what you had to say about it or any other possible improvements.

[edit] stuy userbox

Greetings,
Consider adding the Stuy userbox, {{User Stuy}}.
Regards, - the.crazy.russian (T) (C) (E) 19:39, 26 March 2006 (UTC) (Class of 99)

[edit] REQUEST FOR INFO

Dear Norman, I am doing research and find this article very useful but need a reference(s) other than Wikipedia, can you please help, my user name for wikipedia is I2research. Thanks (urgent)

[edit] [...continued...] request for info

Actually, since I posted my comment/query through a link on the 'Architecture' page I had presumed that it would be categorised as such, and therefore did not mention that it was the Architecture article which I found very useful and need references for (other than Wikipedia)

[edit] ICD references

Norm, I'm afraid I don't really understand the relevance of the references you've provided for the ICD article. The first (from a quick glance) doesn't seem to talk about ICDs at all; the second talks about ICDs within the context of a particular simulation architecture; the third critiques the windows API; the last indicates that ICDs are often incomplete, but can be made better using UML. None of the references appear to provide any support for the assertion that

It should be noted, that ICDs are absolutely necessary where subsystems are developed asynchronously in time; [emph mine]

and likewise for the assertion that

otherwise, it may be impossible to ensure proper development of complementary interfaces for intercommunicating subsystems .

Am I missing something in these articles? If so, can you please direct me to the parts of the articles in question that do support the above assertions? Thanks. --Allan McInnes (talk) 04:11, 10 May 2006 (UTC)

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