User talk:Mespinola

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[edit] Mysekurity, 01:52, 15 November 2006 (UTC)

Hey there. As a current student of CRLS, I was intrigued by your edits to the article. I apologize for wiki-stalking, but I couldn't help noticing you have an IQ of 130, went to rindge, and dropped out. May I ask what led to this? I've know a number of kids who have transfered to and from rindge, dropped in and out of school (two came back on their own volition), and was wondering if the culture itself had anything to do with this. Let me know. -Mysekurity 01:52, 15 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Mespinola 02:51, 16 November 2006 (UTC)

Since you are current student, I am going to be a little more open here than normal. Don't mind the language. It's story time:

Many, many things led me to dropping out. But, the icing on the cake, the one thing that made me up and walk out of school, was the house master of House C asking me this: "why don't you just do me a favor and drop out". So I told him to "fuck himself", and I left. I'm normally a quiet respectful person... until I am in a situation of repeated disrespectful behavior. Then, well, hey - I was young and pissed at the world.

So you are probably asking yourself what in the world led up to that?! Well, my life was in turmoil. My dad had cancer. My mother couldn't deal with it, cheated on him and left us. And on top of that I was extremely under-motivated with school - frequently cutting classes. Surprise?

The school councilor suggested I go see a therapist, which I *gladly* did. The therapist (who will remain nameless for now) put me in a room with 7 other teenagers that did nothing but blame their problems on the world - to his agreement. I however disagreed strongly, suggesting they were all weak-minded and should own up to their issues and responsibilities. Yep, I told them they were all weak-minded to their, and the shrinks, bewilderment. Screw them. Most of them were bored with no real parental guidance to their behavior. I was a good kid. I always was. And they were lying through their teeth to avoid the consequences of their actions.

Like I'm one to talk? Absolutely! I openly admit that it was my fault my grades sucked and that I wasn't doing any work. I just couldn't, and I couldn't give a reason that anyone would understand. Nothing to point a finger at. My brain was stuck. I couldn't concentrate. Focus and concetration was something that was fleeting. My life was getting more muddled by the moment, and I couldn't deal. It was still my fault I couldn't deal and that I was being a delinquent - my choices, my actions. Unfortunately, no one was helping, so I simply stayed stuck.

So what happened? Because I embarrassed the shrink, and mocked his patients, the asshole sent me for committed care at the Charles River Hospital (which thankfully no longer exists). CRH was a 24/7, secured, psychiatric facility, complete with a "quite room" that has a 5 point restraint bed. Wee!

I've seen it in use. It typically comes with 5 security guards charging you with a mattress in the hopes of smothering you. No - it wasn't a first-person experience. But it happened to two of my "roommates". The accommodations were typically 4 people per room.

• Committed care usually indicates that you are a physical risk to yourself or others. I am/was neither.

This facility at least got me on some meds (Effexor), although it was experimental at the time (with very interesting side-effects that they have since eliminated). My stay also got me daily visits to an on-site shrink, which was sincerely the most pleasant part of my experience. He was great, actually understood what I was going through, and was amazed that I was there - as it was his opinion that I in no way belonged there. Instead of sessions, we played basketball outdoors to help me relax. He got the paper work in motion to get me immediately released, but the hospital required that I stay a month. Yay.

During this time I was subjected to all sorts of physical, mental, and electronic tests. Like shit out of a fucking movie. I swear. Thank heavens places like this no longer exist. And thank heavens I got out as quickly as I did.

There are plenty of insane details about my stay, but those are best saved for a movie adaptation. Seriously.

I got out, stayed at my grandparents for half a semester (where I did surprisingly well considering), and then returned to live with my father in Cambridge and complete my senior year at CRLS. A huge mistake.

A lot of blah blah blah, I'm off the meds, no one is checking or even renewing my subscriptions, and I'm in detention frequently for cutting class or being late. And that brings me back to the beginning of my little rant. In my defense, at least I was showing up and doing whatever work I could.

Consider the time-line though. You are a student now. I was a student between 86-90, of which I dropped out my senior year. I would have a hard time believing that the people you know went through anything similar to my experiences at CRLS. That type of behavior from a House Master just would not be tolerated these days. I needed guidance and support. And what I got a lot of indifference. But, it was a different time back then. A lot of us simply got screwed because of a lack of understanding and support structure.

No blaming here. Its just the way it was. My life since has been good, and I perceviered.

Before you ask - yes, I was in the same class as Ben Affleck. No, not Matt Damon too - he's two years older.

--Mespinola 02:51, 16 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Mysekurity, 01:18, 20 November 2006 (UTC)

Wow. Yeah, I hope rindge has changed significantly since when you came. I heard all sorts of horror stories from my freshman health teacher about how (about the time you went there), teachers had to walk the freshman home in groups because of the Beatdown. We got a bunch of real jerkoffs here, but none that approach what you're describing, thankfully. Although I can empathize with you about the hospitalizations. three of my friends had been hospitalized in these type places (fucking jails), one on the same day as my father. Did you get your GED after dropping out? I take it you moved as far away from here as you could. I don't really blame ya. (As for the Affleck thing, I always find it hilarious to write "Ben Affleck was here 1989" on desks or in books, just to get a reaction from the freshman... and I've seen the pictures of the two of them holding up the drama trophy). By any chance did you have Ms. Mitchell, Larry Aaronson, or Sra. Sousa? Thanks for that, by the way. -Mysekurity 01:18, 20 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Mespinola 20:20, 20 November 2006 (UTC)

It has to have. I know a lot of things changed not 5 years later. My unfortunately circumstances happened just before a lot of changes took place. What do you mean by "the Beatdown" ? No GED for me. I had been an avid computer and Internet (pre-world wide web) user since I was very young (thanks to a mechanical engineer father, the City of Cambridge, and MIT) - so I was able to parley that into computer/tech-support related jobs until I was able to self-promote myself into the realm of network administration and engineering. I didn't move out of the area until I was about 24. I moved back to the area until a few years ago (I'm 34 now). I moved out from living with my dad when I was 17. The only thing that made me move away really was just trying to get away from the "bad element" I kept associating myself with. I needed a clean break to get away from the party lifestyle I was living, and to starting acting more the part of an adult. I'd still like to move out of New England, but only to be able to sample life in other areas and get away from this crazy New England weather. Its truly amazing how when you go through enough drama in your life, you find lots of gaps in your memory when you try to think back to parts of it. Those names don't ring a bell, and I can't even think of any that I can remember off-hand. --Mespinola 20:20, 20 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Mysekurity 19:27, 23 November 2006 (UTC)

It's interesting, reading back on your response to my original post above. Did you, by any chance, know Lance Dottin of the class of '87? In any event, we just lost to Everett for what seems like the millionth time today, and needless to say, things weren't looking good. "The Beatdown", also known as "freshman beatdown" is the act of upperclassmen "initiating" freshman to Rindge life. This is now, of course, considered hazing. But above all, I'm glad you're finally getting something good in your life. Keep in touch, stop by to visit sometime. -Mysekurity 19:27, 23 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Mespinola 21:23, 29 November 2006 (UTC)

I do recall a Lance, but I dont recall the last name or if he was that much older than me. Was he a big guy? Ha, except for Track & Field and Basketball, CRLS never seems to do very well at sports. Ahh, *that* beatdown... We didnt call it that back then - and luckily I never had an issue with it because I was freinds with a lot of upper-classmen and Football team players. But back then it wasn't anything that could get you expelled either. If I dressed the right way, I could probably walk right in and sit down... --Mespinola 21:23, 29 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Map graphics

What image or graphic were you referring to? Thanks... Georgewilliamherbert 21:34, 29 January 2007 (UTC)

Ah, that one. That was produced with the Windows tool Visio (2003 Professional edition, I think). It's the standard tool for doing system and network diagrams, though there are some open source ones out there. All the graphics are standard builtin ones that come with the program. If you want, I can dig up and make available the Visio source document that I turned into the PNG format image. Georgewilliamherbert 19:12, 30 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Reality (Stephen Colbert)

You article Reality (Stephen Colbert) has been marked for speedy deletion. Please do not add nonsense to wikipedia. Also you are not unique or inventive for making an article related to that episode of his show. I marked two others for speedy deletion today alone. Improbcat 02:30, 6 March 2007 (UTC)

I apologize for my tone, it was flippant and rude. I do not apologize however for marking the article for deletion. Improbcat 03:21, 6 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Rebuttal: Reality (Stephen Colbert)

Improbcat, if you think my goal was to be "clever", then you didnt read the article. It was strictly NPV and relavant to an actual ongoing event. I think I made my intent clear in the summary. I dont appreciate your attitude or assumptions of my intent.

Wow. You deleted the article already. What a dick. Who elected you judge, jury and executioner?

I deleted nothing. I am not an admin. I have no ability to delete articles. I just tagged it and an admin reviewed it and deleted it.

On the subject of the article however, yes I read it. Yes I know what it is referring to. However the subject is already covered elsewhere on wikipedia. If you try to go to the Wikiality article it redirects you automatically to Wikipedia in popular culture. If the word doesn't qualify for its own article, why should there be a separate article for the idea behind the word? This term is also covered in [of The Colbert Report episodes (2006)] and has its own website. If it was going to be covered on wikipedia, it would have been already. The fact it has already caused so much discussion and redirecting and such means the issue has been pretty throughly hashed out in the seven months since the episode first aired. In fact the [[1]] page is a redirect that is protected on sysop level to prevent people changing it to a separate page on the subject.

If you want to argue the admin's speedy deletion, feel free to submit it to Wikipedia:Deletion review. But before you do, as yourself what does your page bring to the equation that hasn't already been covered? Improbcat 03:00, 6 March 2007 (UTC)

I dont see how its irrelevant since it was a an article derived from the disabiguation page. Linking into the existing pages would have been improper due to the subject matter. Thanks for being judgemental. I can see why editors get pissed off on here (from what I read in blogs). You (a single person) decide that this is due for speedy deletion, and another admin just comes along and deletes it.

I think you are both wrong regarding the specific context of this article, but who am I to say anything apparantly. Thanks for lowering my opinion of Wikipedia's control mechanism.

If you disagree with it, submit it to Wikipedia:Deletion review, that is what it exists for. If you submit it there multiple editors/admins will review your article and decide whether it should have been deleted or not. And who are you? A wikipedia editor with exactly as much authority and power as me.

As you are the one who added it to the disambiguation page after you created the article, I don't understand how it is an article derived from the disambiguation page. Improbcat 03:12, 6 March 2007 (UTC)

You are the one that made claims that I was being nonsensacle, and that I was trying to be "unique", when the article made no such posturing. You also boasted about marking two other articles today. Ooo. Apparantly you are bored, or feel important today. However, you still wont address your reasons for doing it. I think in doing so you would reveal you made a misjudgement about the article.

See my apology above. I was flippant and rude in my comment and for that I apologize.

I was not however boasting, rather I was annoyed and frustrated at having to delete other articles on the same subject. The same as I get annoyed and frustrated when I have to delete multiple articles by the same vandal (note: I am not calling you a vandal, just noting another source of annoyance).

As for feeling important, not really. I do tend though to watch the new articles being created and tag them for stubs, speedy deletion, editing, etc. and do quick research on them and note what if any relevant links I find so they don't get deleted as non-notable if there is notability there.

I marked the article for the reasons I gave in my earlier comment. The Colbert Wikiality thing has been hashed out over and over and at this point there is, in my opinion, pretty much nothing that another article on the subject could add. That is why I tagged the article for speedy deletion. However once again, I did not delete it. I just happened to the first person to tag it, and an admin decided that it was worth deleting, I had no say in that decision. Now please, if you feel it was deleted in error submit it to deletion review, or stop going on about it. Telling me I was wrong or misjudged does nothing whatsoever for the article, or reversing the decision. Improbcat 03:42, 6 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] please be civil

Please see Wikipedia's no personal attacks policy. Comment on content, not on contributors; personal attacks damage the community and deter users. Note that continued personal attacks may lead to blocks for disruption. Please stay cool and keep this in mind while editing. Thank you. Rama's arrow 02:51, 6 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] being civil

Appologies. I didnt think this rule included user talk pages, but in retrospect it was still uncool. I still feel abused by overly-agressive administrative powers. Thanks for addressing that. Apparantly you are the same person as Improbcat?

No that is not me. Also once again, I am not an admin. I have no more powers or access than you do. Improbcat 03:00, 6 March 2007 (UTC)

I would say, "oh contraire" to that. Your actions caused a perfectly useful article to be deleted. It could have been a new focus for the abuse of the main Reality article. I still don’t think you read it and digested its intent. I think you skimmed and miffed - my opinion. If you aren’t an admin, why are you so concerned about Colbert articles? Never mind, don’t answer that. I'm not interested in Colbert articles. I’m only interested in the preservation of the main Reality article. Thanks for nothing. --Mespinola 03:10, 6 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] AfD nomination of Reality (Stephen Colbert)

I've nominated Reality (Stephen Colbert), an article you created, for deletion. We appreciate your contributions, but in this particular case I do not feel that Reality (Stephen Colbert) satisfies Wikipedia's criteria for inclusion; I have explained why in the nomination space (see also "What Wikipedia is not" and the Wikipedia deletion policy). Your opinions on the matter are welcome; please participate in the discussion by adding your comments at Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Reality (Stephen Colbert) and please be sure to sign your comments with four tildes (~~~~). You are free to edit the content of Reality (Stephen Colbert) during the discussion but should not remove the articles for deletion template from the top of the article; such removal will not end the deletion discussion. Thank you. I have done this so that a through debate and discussion can happen on whether the article should be kept or deleted. Improbcat 03:54, 6 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] ITbagging

The article ITbagging has been speedily deleted from Wikipedia. This was done because the article seemed to be about a person, group of people, band, club, company, or web content, but it did not indicate how or why the subject is notable, that is, why an article about that subject should be included in Wikipedia. Under the criteria for speedy deletion, articles that do not assert notability may be deleted at any time. If you can indicate why the subject is really notable, you are free to re-create the article, making sure to cite any verifiable sources.

Please see the guidelines for what is generally accepted as notable, and for specific types of articles, you may want to check out our criteria for biographies, for web sites, for bands, or for companies. Feel free to leave a note on my talk page if you have any questions about this. See WP:NFT. NawlinWiki 02:37, 15 March 2007 (UTC)