User talk:Dschwen

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Please be aware that I'll only respond here to threads started on this page to avoid discussions getting torn apart.

[edit] Atlas

Yeah I had your page on my wacth list from some old comment and the atlas looked interesting. I ended up copying your whole js file since I already used the preivew thing, but didnt have the instaview widget. When I try and use the atlas say at Washington Monument I just get a grey grid with firefox 1.5.0.3, I can drag the grid around though. -Ravedave 14:08, 16 May 2006 (UTC)

You have to purge all caches, otherwise an old version of the javascript code is executed. This should work with holding shift and pressing reload. The new version centers on the right coordinates and shows a red dot at the location. --Dschwen 16:24, 16 May 2006 (UTC)

Thats effing cool! How does one add a coordinates section? -Ravedave 04:16, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

The basic templates are {{Coor title d}}, {{Coor title dm}}, {{Coor title dms}} (degrees minutes seconds), and then there are high level templates in Category:Coordinates_templates. Washington Monument for example uses {{Geolinks-US-buildingscale}}, this implicitly includes coor_d and ass some more links. These Templates are added to the External Links section. --Dschwen 08:27, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

Hi, Dschwen -- Your atlas idea is something that I've always wanted to do on Wikipedia. Have you looked at using an existing map library like OpenLayers for this? It might help speed up your development. --Schuyler 14:45, 12 July 2006 (UTC)

Nice, is is ually the first time I hear about openlayers. At this point I don't think it can give me any speedup. The way my atlas is set up I also won't be able to just use the openlayers code. The WikiLinks are downloaded using XMLHTTPRequests in a ready to display form, which I think is the best way to do it performancewise. To user their maptiles I'd have to severely change my code. Also although richer in data (still :-) ) their mapquality is not as great as I'd like it to be. I spent a great deal of time to get my renderer working and producing anti-aliased tiles. Yeah I know, I'll have to get off my butt now and find some additional GIS sources (there openlayers can help) to improve my map. I'm thinking a subtle oberlay of shuttle top data... --Dschwen 15:44, 12 July 2006 (UTC)

Hi, Dschwen. Your atlas is great. I was wondering if I could ask you some questions about how you serve up the map data. After digging through your javascript it appears that the tiles go through sat.php script. Some of the tiles come up with a message about NASA's servers being overloaded. Does this mean that your script is actually a proxy to a nasa server that caches the tiles? I am trying to find a stable mapping server for use with desktop Java applications so I'd love to learn some of the details of your solution. You can read about the SwingLabs open source mapping component here [1] and [2]. Could you contact me at joshua at marinacci dot org? Thanks so much. BTW. Your photos are great.

Thats exactly right. The sat.php script is an interface to a WMS server, in particular to a NASA Server (which can also be used with WorldWind). The sat script performs the coordinate conversion (my miniatlas has tile indices and the WMS server needs propper lat lon coords). The sat script also detects error responses from the wms server (which usually serves up a jpg file, but in case of an error just spits out an XML snippet). The cacheing helps a lot once the tiles are loaded from the WMS server. Feel free to ask further questions. (P.S.: I hope the source code wasn't too embarassing ;-) ) --Dschwen 08:22, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] FPC - Zabriskie Point Panorama

I was wondering if you wouldn't mind looking at Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates/Zabriskie Point Panorama again. The image is in FPC limbo awaiting more imput. I have created an edit that adjusted the levels and correcting some stitching errors. Unfortunately, there is nothing I could do to increase the horizontal resolution. Anway, your imput would still be greatly valued. Thanks.--Andrew c 15:49, 3 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Global city

The only recent vandalism has been committed by User:Elk Salmon. Please reconsider taking out the GaWC WP:OWNership of the picture set. — Arthur Rubin | (talk) 20:22, 6 November 2006 (UTC)

Sorry, but citing WP:OWN is inappropriate. WP policies are not automatically the supreme magic argument. Especially if they are used wrong. OWN is about editors claiming ownership of articles not sources. I don't understand the enormous fuss about the Global City article anyways. GaWC is the source, as they created the most comprehensive list. Not out of thin air, like or dislike of cities, but objective verifiable criteria. Which, by the way, makes me wonder about the purpose of the balanced template. So what's the deal with this crusade against GaWC? --Dschwen 21:25, 6 November 2006 (UTC)

The hidden text assigning control of the article to GaWC is inappropriate. My proposal was to have the hidden text make it clear that any city list must be cited and correspond to that source (rather than specifically naming GaWC), and that the picture list correspond to the city list. Elk Salmon insists that the pictures must correspond to the alpha and beta cities from GaWC 1999. If there had been concensus to that, it wouldn't be so bad, but, as far as I can tell, he added within the week to the hidden text. So, my claim is that there is no concensus for his actions, and the fact that they're in the hidden text without comment on the talk page means there was no discussion. And, I didn't add the {{balanced}} template, but I oppose its removal without discussion. — Arthur Rubin | (talk) 00:21, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Reed Bed panorama

I have uploaded a new version on FPC, which you might check out. It addresses the concerns voiced by the opposers. Greetings, --Janke | Talk 15:29, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Congrats

An image uploaded by you has been promoted to featured picture status Your image, Image:Goettingen Marktplatz Oct06 Antilived.jpg, was nominated on Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates, gained a consensus of support, and has been promoted. If you would like to nominate an image, please do so at Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates. Thank you for your contribution! NauticaShades 17:25, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

Way to go, the image made it! HighInBC ^{(Need help? Ask me)} 17:37, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

Unbelievable. I almost gave up on it :-) --Dschwen 17:59, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

Daniel,

Just to let you know that the Featured Picture Image:Goettingen Marktplatz Oct06 Antilived.jpg is due to make an appearance as Picture of the Day on February 15, 2007. If you get a chance, you can check and improve the caption at Template:POTD/2007-02-15. howcheng {chat} 17:27, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Toolserveraccount

Hello Dschwen, please send your real-name, your prefered login-name and the public part of your ssh-key to . We plan to create your account soon then. --DaB.

Thanks, but you already created my acount a few week s ago :-) --Dschwen 20:17, 11 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Problem with miniatlas

When executing the following line:

wikiminiatlas_settings = document.getElementById('wikiminiatlas_settings');

The error "Object doesn't support property or method" is raised. I know what causes this, and the solution is:

try
{
    wikiminiatlas_settings = document.getElementById('wikiminiatlas_settings');
}
catch(ok)
{
}

The error is caused by the fact that wikiminiatlas_settings already contains the correct object, and it is read-only. So the code tries to execute the default property set, which is not supported by HTML elements. Apparently something in the remainder of the script is necessary for correct operation, because I only get a grey rectangle, no maps. Shinobu 11:57, 13 November 2006 (UTC)

Thanks for the detaild bug report. I performed the change you proposed, does it help? But I have no idea how the wikiminiatlas_settings could get initialized twice! Which browser are you using? It works fine in Firefox and Konqueror on the computers I tested the Miniatlas. --Dschwen 13:47, 13 November 2006 (UTC)

I sort of works now, but not flawlessly, I'll send you some more bug reports :-)

As for the double initialization of wikiminiatlas_settings, that's actually a historical thingy. When Microsoft implemented their first DHTML or whatever it was called back then, they thought it would be nice to be able to refer to objects using JavaScript. This was before getElementById which is recommended nowadays. They opted to export every HTML element with an id to the scripting engine, using that id as the identifier. Now everyone uses getElementById, but the old method is still available, presumably to avoid breaking compatibility with older scripts.

The way Microsofts script engine works, assignment to these exported objects is done through the default property set. This is presumably done so that the hosting application gets notified. Probably an implementation specific thing, so it may or may not work in other browsers. Note that scripting engines are not only used by the browser, but also by other applications, so that may be important. In Windows objects have had default properties since early COM days.

Note that you also cannot assign a different value to the window object. It's exported to the scripting engine in the same way, although the default property set of the window object does generate a more helpful error.

So why did it break in this case? Two reasons. First, you called the variable same as the id of the object it referred to. Second, JavaScript (or at least JScript) uses the same syntax for accessing the default property on exported objects as for assignment. If either of these were not the case, it would have worked.

Note that at least when using Firefox, wikiminiatlas_settings is also initialized with the HTML element. But because its JavaScript doesn't do default property sets, it isn't a problem (it'll be the same as assigning to a variable).

So now you probably now a lot more than you ever wanted to know about this. Shinobu 12:27, 14 November 2006 (UTC)

Thanks! So the easiest way to circumvent this problem would probably jst be calling the variables differently than the IDs. --Dschwen 12:43, 14 November 2006 (UTC)

That's possible, although the try-catch method works just fine as long as you don't need to assign something different to wikiminiatlas_settings. Note however that when your new variable name is accidentally equal to an id, you'll run into the same problem again.

There is an easy way to solve this: declare your variable explicitely. You see, when you don't do so JavaScript first searches all objects exported by the host application, i.e. the browser in our case. If you use xxx, first the local closure will be searched for any variable called xxx. Than the closure above that, all the way up to the global scope. If no variable is found, any object with id="xxx" will be used. If that doesn't exist, then a member of window will be used, since it's the global object. It turns out that the window object creates new members if you assign to them, just like any old JavaScript object. So essentially you're not using a normal variable but a member of the window object in this case. Code sample:

<html>
<body>
<p id=xxx></p>
<script>
//var xxx;

try
{
    xxx = document.getElementById("xxx");
}
catch(e)
{ 
    alert("No soup for you!");
}

xxx.innerHTML = "Hallo!";
</script>
</body>
</html>

When you open this in IE, or any other browser that uses the same JavaScript implementation, i.e. JScript, you'll see "No soup for you!", but the last line will still work. Now uncomment the first line: now xxx is a variable in the global scope, which has precedence. The alert will not be displayed and it still works.

Note that the id="xxx" object is exported as a member of the window object. However the var xxx isn't, it's just a variable in the global scope. You can check this by changing the id and query window.xxx. Note that, as said before, in Firefox id'ed elements are not part of the window object but variables in the global scope. So:

xxx = value;

in Firefox changes the value of the xxx variable, which was initialized with the paragraph element, while in IE it tries to call the property set for window.xxx, which is not defined, so it does a property get for window.xxx (just like it would do in Firefox if you would query window.xxx and a corresponding getter would be defined) and then it tries to call the default property set on that object, which is not defined. Or something like that.

When I write scripts I usually do all the work inside an object, thereby eliminating the possibility of conflicts with other scripts. Then I can use private or public variables, depending on what I need, to hold HTML elements and other stuff. Shinobu 22:13, 14 November 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, I thought about putting it all into an object. I suppose that would be way cleaner. My lazyness (and lacking javascript proficiency) currently prevents me from reworking the code. But the later is currently adressed in a private coaching session ;-). Thanks for the detailed explanations!! :-)

For now I changed from the exception solution to the preinitialization. I noticed in early tests that my code failed on ID without explicit initialization but never could figure out why (now I know). For that particular wikiminiatlas_settings variable I just forgot the init. --Dschwen 22:42, 14 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Minor issue

It might be nice if the script somehow notifies the user if the XMLHTTP object could not be created. I have arranged it such that I have to activate it on a site-by-site-basis. I've added http://atlas.schwen.de and now everything works, but it would have been nice if the script told me what was wrong, so that I would not have needed to debug it to find out what was wrong. Shinobu 12:41, 14 November 2006 (UTC)

I'll look into that. --Dschwen 12:43, 14 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Comments on Fir0002's FPC self-nominations

Hi Dschwen. I was disappointed to see your comments about Fir0002's self-nominations at FPC. Past discussions have shown that there is consensus support for self-nominations; it could be argued that we'd be diminishing the utility of FP in encouraging high-quality image contributions if we banned them.

Of course, you're perfectly entitled to a different opinion, but it strikes me as unhelpful to express it as you did here - that sort of comment could be interpreted as assuming bad faith, not to mention rude and unnecessary. There is currently no limit to the number of self-nominations a user can make; if you think that should be changed, the proper course of action would be to discuss it at the FPC talk page. Personally I can see no harm in multiple self-nominations - if they get shot down, the only loser is the nominator's ego; if they are supported, we're richer by one top-quality image and the contributor might feel encouraged to go and create some more. Conversely, personal attacks can only weaken our encyclopaedia and discourage new contributions. In future, please comment on content, not the contributor, and consider whether your actions will genuinely help improve Wikipedia. Happy editing, --YFB ¿ 03:44, 22 November 2006 (UTC)

I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I can see neither assumption of bad faith nor a lack of civilty here. This has been blown out of proportion. I do not want to chase Fir away like he mentioned in his defense statement. If one user sticks out with self-nominations this often then the question for the reason of this behavior seems perfectly valid to me. Especially, if the page is stacked with self-noms why would you nominate a claerly substandard picture?

Some people on the page seem to think that only a featured picture nomination is a new picture added to an article. Or that people should maximize the number of their featured pictures. This completely looses sight of the goal of this site. Building an encyclopedia. The whole behaviour creates the impression that a dangling carrot is nescessary to get the mule moving. FP status for some people is the whole motivation for contributing. Something is wrong, when the first page a pic is added to after uploading is WP:FPC.

Anyway, the nomination was the wrong place to raise those points and quite obviously they are not shared by the crowd (at least those who responded).

I honestly don't see why "the question of the reason for this behaviour" need arise - so what if someone's apparent goal is to rack up a lot of featured pictures? Isn't that analogous to wanting to bring a lot of articles to FA standard? So long as the contributions are helping us build a great encyclopaedia, what gives us the right to criticise others' motivations?

I'm pretty sure Fir is well aware that not every useful contribution has to be a featured pic; on the other hand, sometimes it's hard to be objective when appraising your own work - I doubt he considered his echidna nom "clearly substandard". I agree that adding a picture to relevant articles should be more important than getting another FP gong, though - but if FP is a dangling carrot for some people, it strikes me as a pretty good deal - Wikipedia gets good-quality freely-licensed images and all it costs the project is constructive criticism from those who can be bothered to give it. I think a look back over Fir's contributions since he joined Wikipedia would suggest that he's taken on board the (photographic) criticism he's received at FPC and used it to take better pictures.

I don't want to argue with you - you strike me as a good guy and a valuable contributor, if you don't mind me saying. I'd just like to ensure that we don't (inadvertently or otherwise) lose current or future contributors of great pictures through well-intentioned but ultimately hurtful comments. All the best, --YFB ¿ 13:40, 22 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] POTD notification

This is to let you know the Featured Picture you uploaded and/or nominated Image:Gull ca usa.jpg is scheduled to be Picture of the day on January 18, 2007, when it will be featured on the Main Page. Congratulations! howcheng {chat} 17:17, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Tower Bridge Queenie Pic

I must say, well done. You've brought a much-needed sense of humour back into FPC. We already have Wikipedia:No climbing the Reichstag dressed as Spider-Man, maybe we should have Wikipedia:No climbing Tower Bridge dressed as the Queen? If you don't mind, I think I'll put that pic of her maj into the WP:Oh I say, what are you doing? Come down from there at once! Really, you're making a frightful exhibition of yourself. page. —Vanderdecken∴ ∫ξφ 10:51, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Knock yourself out, I'm currently grounded ;-).

[edit] Merry Christmas!

You're welcome, and thanks for wishing me a happy new year. :-) | AndonicO ^{Talk | Sign Here} 14:14, 31 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] re:Lauberhorn

Well some apologies on my behalf are needed for stepping on your toes. I had started the copyvio process. I had inserted the template and hit preview, and from there I completed step 2 and 3 using the provided links. However, I forgot that I was only previewing step 1 so I noticed a few hours later and went back to fix that only to find your speedy template. Instead of undoing my work, I undid yours :Þ Sorry about that, but yeah I didn't see copyvio as a speediable reason. Carry on, kind citizen!--Andrew c 19:41, 3 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] My Sig

On WP:FPC you mentioned that according to WP:SIG my signature should not work. It is correct my signature doesn't work that specific way. What I do is type in {{User:Why1991/Signature 1}} ~~~~~ which inturn produces Why1991 22:46, 5 January 2007 (UTC). Well I wish you happy editing and that your Wikistress level stays where it is. :-)
Why1991 22:48, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Biting the Photographers

Perhaps I'm looking too far into it, but you seem to be acting overly authoritative and rude in the FPC. It's just photographs, and people may have opinions different from your own. --Iriseyes 23:53, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

As a matter of fact I'm very carefully trying not to bite the photographers. But I can see where you get the idea of me being rude and authoritative. If you look further into it you'll find that I always try to be polite, detailed, and constructive with my criticism, as I feel this helps the photographers more than nonspecific awesome picture or I don't like it votes. That latter is what annoys me quite a bit lately and probably makes some of my comments rudeish. Some people, who never produced a decent picture themselves, being inconsistent, overly extreme, pretending to present objective judgements while being very subjective etc. Anyway, that amps up my wikistress sometimes.... --Dschwen 08:03, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

Yeah, uhm... ...thanks for the support vote anyways :-) --Dschwen 22:06, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

Well I have nothing against your pictures. =P --Iriseyes 15:23, 14 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Fruit basket

If you don't mind we should just remove FBs comment on Wikipedia:Featured_picture_candidates/Indian_bride_portrait including our replies. It was just vandalism. That user has nothing but vandalized. Check this, how he transformed a vandalism warning into a welcome template. --Dschwen 15:25, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

Agree, go ahead and remove all of it. I put back the vandalism warning on the troll's page, but it is doubtful that it will remain there for long. Don't you think that what he did (signing with someone's username) is enough to block him from Wikipedia? Alvesgaspar 20:23, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Failed "distressed" penny nomination

Just dropping you a line to let you know that if you re-shoot the scene with a new penny (one TRULY and HEAVILY circulated), you'd have my support vote. As for the other "oppose" votes, I guess you'll have to lay off mucking with the shadows. ;) This isn't to say that you'd even need to re-shoot it, really... it's pretty usable as is... but if you are so inclined, make sure you drop me a line and I'll vote for it. :) Keep up the good shooting! --Dante Alighieri | Talk 19:50, 15 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Featured picture promotion!

Your Featured picture candidate has been promoted Your nomination for featured picture status, Image:Morteratsch glacier 1.jpg, gained a consensus of support, and has been promoted. If you would like to nominate another image, please do so at Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates. Thanks! KFP (talk | contribs) 23:28, 16 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] QI discussion

There is an important discussion going on here which might result in a snowball with unwanted results. Although I agree that the actual QI guidelines should be tuned up, I can't support a considerable degrading of the existing criteria, towards some "poor man's QI" model. - Alvesgaspar 14:43, 20 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Various musings and connecting with others

Fine, I've said my piece and will pipe down. I've been wanting to find a technically minded contact in either Austria or German and don't want to make an enemy. You certainly take this hamburg vote more seriously than I've been. That's why I ended my last expansive comment on a whimsical note. It apparently didn't work. I did actually used to be an advanced amateur photographer and occasionally did professional photography. I lost some interest in photography as an art form when the digital revolution took hold. My main objection was the serious loss of resolution associated with the new technology. Of course, that was back when 3-megapixel cameras were the latest thing. I've got a Mamiya 645 (medium format, 120 roll film) camera and will jump to digital when 20 to 25-megapixel cameras with fully manual controls are available. Right now, I use my wife's 7.1-megapixel camera whenever the need arises.

On an entirely separate note: I've got a daughter and son-in-law currently in Vienna working as English-language teaching assistants for the Fulbright program. They both speak German quite well and I'm told by my son-in-law's mother (who was born in Austria) that my daughter's German grammar is excellent. On that note, I want to applaud your outstanding command of the English language! I never would have guessed.

And finally: I asked my son-in-law to look up a technical issue regarding tools in Germany. Unfortunately, he's not "technical" nor is he all that interested in tools and I don't think I'll ever find out through him. It has to do with socket sets (like this). In America, metric sets (for 10-mm hex-head bolts, 12 mm, etc.) still have imperial square drives (1/4″, 3/8″, 1/2″, etc.). What are the drive sizes in Germany? Are they square drive? Greg L 18:10, 24 January 2007 (UTC)

I ended my last expansive comment on a whimsical note. It apparently didn't work. It actually did work, I was just too pissed to let you know ;-). Nah, sometimes I tend to take the whole wiki bussiness a bit too seriously and it takes a little outbreak to set the perspective right.

Anyway, concerning the socket set, by square drive and drive size you mean the opening where you stick in the crank (and not the screw or nut)? If yes, then: yeah we do have square drives, 6mm and 9mm are regular drive sizes. (Bits for phillips head screwdrivers etc. fit into 6mm hex sockets). I'll ask in our mechanics shop tomorrow to be absolutely sure. --Dschwen(A) 18:33, 24 January 2007 (UTC)

Yes, exactly. The 6 mm drive would be considered as equivalent to the small, 1/4″ drive and the 9 would be equivalent to the medium, 3/8″ size. I'll go out on a limb, but my guess then is that the larger drive size suitable for larger assemblies on, for instance, automobiles, would be 12 mm. Is that right? Thanks for your willingness to check with the mechanic. Greg L 19:12, 24 January 2007 (UTC)

Good, I'll check how it scales up. --Dschwen(A) 19:18, 24 January 2007 (UTC)

Ha! Turns out I was wrong. Who would have thought it, the square drives in europe come in inch sizes: 1/4, 3/8, 1/2. Guess you are lucky then. I probably mistook 1/4' for 6mm and 3/8' for 9mm (amateur mistake :-) ). --Dschwen(A) 09:04, 25 January 2007 (UTC)

Weird. I would have thought that socket sets and ratchets were a German invention from the 1800s. For Germany to be using imperial sizes, it must be that the tools were first popularized in America and only later were exported to Germany (and the standard stuck). Years ago, I checked into the timber and house construction standards I learned the following:

U.S. plywood is 4 x 8 feet. Most of Europe uses 4 x 8 foot. German uses a different DIN standard. Japan uses 45.5 cm stud spacing to accommodate the following plywood sizes:

3 x 6 which is used for Floors

3 x 9 which is used for walls

3 x 7.5 which is used for roofs

I'm a big advocate of the SI system. I do all my engineering in metric and only convert to barbarian units when I'm dimensioning blueprints for manufacture. Here's what I'm working on at the moment. I licensed it and the investors are having me develop it. I've got some invitation-only pictures on the Web site. All were created with a CAD program and ray-traced.

To access them, do as follows:

• Once you are at the home page, click on the "About the Technology" tab at top.

• In the upper right hand corner on the "About the Technology" page, are the words…

If you need more

information on the Bariatric

Click on the word "more" in the top line; the hidden page will open. Regards, Greg L 02:35, 26 January 2007 (UTC)

Wow. How do you get it back out? --Dschwen(A) 07:26, 26 January 2007 (UTC)

The original intention was to have the patient stand in front of a very powerful demagnetizing coil to be exposed to a half-second-long "zap." The latest magnets are too powerful for that technique to work. Normally, the cubes would stay in permanently. As with other restrictive surgeries, most patients would actually have their prescription of cubes slowly adjusted upwards to compensate for stomach stretching. If the patient needs them removed — due to complications or some other important reason — they will be removed with a special endoscope under conscious sedation.

I've got a picture being voted on in the Featured picture page. It's the Translational motion animation. If you can honestly vote "support," would you mind? Greg L 15:41, 27 January 2007 (UTC) I had two guys suddenly vote "oppose" near the end of voting and thought I'd need some additional "support" votes. It appears I may not pick up any more opposition votes. I added my own vote (which I hadn't thought of doing before). Never mind. Greg L 18:53, 28 January 2007 (UTC)

Oops, yeah I thought I already commented on that nomination. Now I did. --Dschwen(A) 19:04, 28 January 2007 (UTC)

That's a ratio of 9:2 so far. It would have to pick up three consecutive "oppose" votes to go down in flames. Thanks. Greg L 21:21, 28 January 2007 (UTC)

As for the photography, yeah, I used to do slide film and was pretty sceptical of digital photography too. But the comparatively fast lens, good color reproduction, and sharpness of the G series Powershots made me buy a G3 3 1/2 years ago. I took >30000 pics with it so far. Of course if you want high resolution there is no way around shooting panos. I'm expecting delivery of a EOS 5D in a few days. It's not 25-megapixel, but quite a step from my G3. The fullframe sensor has an excellent signal to noise ratio, and my guess is it'll beat my old slide film setup (Pentax A1) by a longshot. Caveat is dynamic range of course, but there is always HDR :-). --Dschwen(A) 19:18, 24 January 2007 (UTC)

• Where did you get your command of English? Conversational vernacular and idioms like "my bad" etc aren't easy to use since they convey nuances. Just through lots of reading and writing Wikipedia(?) or do you watch a lot of English-language movies too? I ponder this because it's depressing to think how long it would take me to learn another language as well as you've learned English. *English is your second language isn't it?* Greg L 02:45, 27 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Traslation done

It was quite simple, I've done it... if you need more help, contact me, please! -Theklan.eu 13:04, 30 January 2007 (UTC)

Yes, that was I. I do thank a lot for WikiMiniAtlas and its future polish version. I don't expect you write to me otherwise than in English :), cause I know Deutsch less than English and Polish is one of the most difficult languages cause it consist of only exceptions ;) . Pawcio 12:15, 31 January 2007 (UTC) - PawelS already exist.

[edit] Zabriskie Point Photo

I've uploaded a new version of the photo for FP consideration. I had not noticed that I uploaded the photo with a copyright notice. No offense intended. Please take a new look and reconsider. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Featured_picture_candidates/Zabriskie_Point#.5B.5BWikipedia:Featured_picture_candidates.2FZabriskie_Point.7CZabriskie_Point.2C_Death_Valley.2C_Late_Morning.5D.5D Thanks! Jlkramer 23:55, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Redirect script

G'day mate, please check User talk:Dschwen/highlightredirects.js for comments and suggestions on your fabulous redirect script. cheers, Webaware ^talk 14:11, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Writing Javascript

I want to write a javascript for use. However I don't know what I can use in wikipedia... You seem to have this scripting under control, could you help me out a little bit regarding how to start? Might be silly to ask but I know how to code C but I heard javascript uses embeded libraries. Hence I don't know what I can use inside wikipedia. Is there any "wikipedia:" essay or guidelines? Lord Metroid 09:21, 21 February 2007 (UTC)

Don't bother, I found the Wikiproject User Scripts. Thank you for your time reading my request, I apologise for taking up your time. Lord Metroid 09:35, 21 February 2007 (UTC)

Sure, no problem. There are some libraries on the mediawiki servers which are loaded with every page, such as ajax.js, but you'd have to investigate on your own. I strongly recommend using firefox with the firebug extension to test and debug the javascript. --Dschwen(A) 13:56, 21 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] WikiMiniAtlas in Safari

I didn't see the globe thingy on that demo page using Safari 2.0.3 with JavaScript enabled. Tell me if there's any way I can help make it work. --Evil Eccentric 03:40, 27 February 2007 (UTC)

Yes, you could check if this page looks anything like this image in your browser. Funny, since I develop using Konqueror. I'll check if Safari has a debug window. Please stay tuned, and thanks for offering your help! --Dschwen 07:48, 27 February 2007 (UTC)

The page does in fact look like the image. I don't know. I'd like to use this feature, so tell me if there's any way I can help! Also, there's a debug menu. Go download PithHelmet and then from the Preferences menu, enable the Debug Menu. Good luck! --Evil Eccentric 00:26, 4 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Highlight redirects

I can't get this script to work. I get a redirects word next to my watch tab (doesn't link or anything). No redirects turn green. Using IE7. Morphh ^(talk) 22:10, March 3, 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for pointing this out. The script has not yet been tested on IE7. I'll check it out and try to find out what keeps it from functioning properly. --Dschwen 08:42, 4 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] FP

I don't know much about featured pictures and any I have proposed in the past have been way off. But what do you think of this picture in Tahiti? Does it meet criteria -is it big enough? ♦ Sir Blofeld ♦ ^{"I've been expecting you"} 17:38, 5 March 2007 (UTC)

I'm afraid it is way too small. Anything smaller than 1000px in at least one diretion is likely to be shot down on sight :-), this one even is below 500px... nice pic though. --Dschwen 18:47, 5 March 2007 (UTC)