User talk:Postglock

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Welcome!

Hello, Postglock, 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 need help, check out Wikipedia:Where to ask a question, ask me on my talk page, or place {{helpme}} on your talk page and someone will show up shortly to answer your questions. Again, welcome!  Kingturtle 06:27, 6 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Contents

[edit] Cold-Blood comment

Thanks for the kind words and helpful proofreading. I'm fairly new to wikipedia (especially when it comes to adding info), so I'm still getting used to the structuring (need to remember and add summaries more often). I'll look into adding entries for brady & tachymetabolism soon. Jura 02:58, 24 Jun 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Thanks for the message

I finally got my logging in issues resolved. However, I appreciate the help.

I began using the Mac in 1985, the MacPlus, with no hdd and the 9in, B&W screen. Had to load the OS from a floppy and then MacPaint or MacWrite as needed. I wanted one then but with the PC already dominating business, my mother refused to buy a computer totally incompatible with the ones she used at work. The business ineptitude of Jobs and Scully is to be deeply regretted. Imo, a truly viable competitor to Windows would certainly have made both OSes better to the great benefit of consumers.

I still retain a fondess for the Mac, though, imo, it really no longer has any serious advantage over XP (e.g. it's only marginally more secure); esp. since both are essentially UNIX now.

I deplore the absurdly high prices for Macs. Hopefully the move to Intel chips with make Mac prices more reasonable. As it is, one can get far more bang for the buck with a PC. The PPC chip is not only too expensive, but far too robust & powerful for desktops. It has abilities neither the MacOS nor XP can take advantage of; it is used in Real Time Computing extensively--e.g. in the Tomahawk Cruise Missile, training simulators for the F-15, 16, 18 and the HUD display for the latter. But make no mistake, if I could afford it, I'd have a Mac along with my three PCs.

Thanks for the comments. Though I must admit I'm not sure what "I'm a mac man so I can't really help you..." The log in problems were really operator error. I failed to note the correct password in the file in which I keep website passwords. Hence the trouble. Once I got the right one, no problem. Hey, I went to public school. I'm lucky I can read.  :o)
I've used Macs, off and on, since 1985, the box with the nine-inch screen and no hard drive. Loaded the OS first, then MacWrite/MacPaint to do the high school newspaper.
In re: mini Mac. Didn't you end up spending about twice the mini-mac's price buying all the stuff you need for a functional PC (in the sense of personal computer)? While the price is low, Apple, imo, implemented in typical Apple fashion (e.g. the iMac which started out a reasonable PC alternative, is now far pricier than its PC equivalents). What's really the point of computer that comes with nothing but the cpu, mobo, memory, small hdd, a couple of USB ports and no expansion bays? I could be wrong on the last point, but I think that was mentioned in a couple of reviews I read.
I've always felt that Apple's any ability (if not willful refusal) to understand the personal computer business as a business deprived Microsoft of a real competitor. Failure to license the OS was probably the dumbest thing ever done in the history of computing. Gates, for all his detractors, understood the fundamental nature of the pc business--that it would be software driven. Had Jobs and company not been aiming for a complete monopoly (i.e. OS, hardware, applications) we'd probably have a "bi-polar" computer world. And that could only have been a good thing for all. With the adoption of Intel chips, I hope Mac prices will come down from the stratosphere. At the moment, you get far more computer bang for your buck going PC. While it's obviously a matter of opinion, the Mac really has no fundamental advantage over the Windows anymore (e.g. ease of use, stability, et cetera)--especially since they are both Windows. And it's now come down the pipe that the Mac OS has been ported to Intel chips for the last five years. Couple that with the purchase of Pixar from George Lucas and the iPod and Jobs seems to have a learning curve after all.
Liked the comment about engineers. When selling carpet, one of the worst customers I ever had was a mechanical engineer from the local Catperpillar plant. He was too smart to realize how dumb he was and proceeded to lecture me on floorcovering. Stifling giggles took all the composure I had. Hope to hear more from you. If you'd like to correspond, drop me a line at painman356@gmail.com Don't know about Down Under, the but deserts of Nevada are a barren place for intellectual conversation. PainMan 01:20, 18 July 2005 (UTC)

[edit] on feedback

the opening prargraph of feedback can be read as referring to musical creative use of feedback which is, I think, analogous. I do not doubt that it's dictinct. does that mean it should not be mentioned? many who go to feedback may be looking for the... I have an idea. 68.84.208.199 13:39, 10 September 2005 (UTC) oops. resignature: Ished-out amounts of Vonn-ness 13:40, 10 September 2005 (UTC)

lemme know if my last version works for you. thankz, Ished-out amounts of Vonn-ness 14:20, 10 September 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Famine and distribution

Hi, just noting the changes in the famine article about the possible ineffectuality of agricultural technology against particular types of famine. I had originally removed the distribution part, as I thought that arguably all (or at least most) famines fall under this umbrella. If a greater yield can be acheived from the available land in troubled areas, then surely this would most likely help in avoiding the problem of poor distribution? Also, I admit that specific outcomes from most wars may make agricultural technological advances not effective, but do you think that "deliberate political intervention" is a little vague? Thanks... -postglock 13:28, 9 April 2006 (UTC)

It may be vague, but it is very relevant. And you are correct that "all (or at least most) famines fall under this umbrella". Often, though, "deliberate political intervention" is the primary cause of the famine. To pick an example that is not recent enough to push too many immediate political buttons, consider the famine in Ukraine under Stalin (the Holodomor): Ukraine had a major agricultural surplus; the famine was caused by the deliberate confiscation of that surplus and more. And this was not wartime.
Feel free to try other wordings; I'm not wedded to the wording, I'm just trying to make the point that no amount of improved yield can do anything about something like this. ~- Jmabel | Talk 03:21, 10 April 2006 (UTC)

Sure, I think we are both coming from similar viewpoints with this. I suppose I meant "vague" in that different specific scenarios result in differing effectiveness for technological advances. Anyway, I had a shot at it again, see what you think? I'm not 100% happy with the wording, but I think it's closer... -postglock 08:28, 10 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Geber and Copernicus

If you you like to read the two talk pages, you would take a step back and wait for the dispute to settle a bit. But you are right christian chemist Liebig sounds strange and gives a wrong impression, or even better the christian biologist Charles Darvin. So lets make him an Iran born Arab or an Persian, but with both suggestions you set fire to something nobody wants. My suggestion would be make him be born in one city and a link to the city and everybody who likes the nationality of the guy can figure out that at this time persia and the arabs changed teretory often and had several wares and Iran and Irak where not nations like we know it in our time, but edit wars never follow common sence, but POV pushing attackes and 3RR and all the other time consuming stuff.--Stone 09:21, 3 May 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, I see that the edit war has blown up a bit... I don't really care either way, but I don't think there should just be his religion. I don't really mind if there is anything there or not, but if there is, then his nationality should prioritise. -postglock 11:49, 3 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] famine

Hey,

essentially it is a matter of time -I'm gradually working my way around to it! Thanks for the reminder though. It's my understanding the weather message was highlighted to make the famine look like a supply side disaster- i.e. they didn't have enough grain to meet hungry mouth's demand. The reality seems somewhat different; in fact, demand side problems were the cause. Weather might have played a part in the later years, but is far from the cause (or trigger).

Regards- Tom --Mr magoo 17:43, 1 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Sadcore edits

Sadcore is either a:) a very wide definition and not very useful (i.e. better classified as alt.country etc) or b:) an evolving and very specific new subgenre.

If we take it to be a very specific subgenre then there are actually very few really solid examples of sadcore artists. I take exception with at least half of the "sadcore" artists listed on the page but you can't remove them without them coming back so you have to bow to consensus.

Catpower and, perhaps more justifiably, Shannon Wright, embody all of the elements discussed (dissonance, lyrical traits, tempo, artistic inheritance etc). Sadcore is the best label for both of them (something we cannot say about other examples given). Furthermore, they are both developing the sound and contibuting directly to the potential of the subgenre (for example Wright's work with Albini and the use of samples) without crossing over or diluting the sound.

Quality is obviously subjective. Whether an artist is prolific hardly seems relevant, although I have chosen artists who are at least active and have recent releases. Sales is quantifiable and could be used to describe a leading exponent, however, we would have to be certain of a comparitive analysis of artists who are properly sadcore and not just indie/alternative. I think Catpower (popular artist) and Wright (less well known) are a good example because there is a a balance between sales and critical opinion.

So I dispute the NPOV charge and would rather someone came up with a good justification for a replacement of artists than just deleting the line as I think the article needs to be specific rather than just ending with a vaugely catch-all list of downbeat alternative artists.

—The preceding unsigned comment was added by Silverwood (talk • contribs) .

[edit] Sadcore/slowcore

Hi Postglock,

It would be useful to get some other input on this point so it's not just the two of us but anyway I think a key point here is whether sadcore and slowcore are synonymous. Although very similar labels, I always thought they had developed the capacity to describe distinct styles. If it was up to me I would separate the two so we could talk about Low as slowcore and other artists as sadcore. I don't think either of these labels describes the totality of any of the artists considered but they are terms with currency and I thought we should get the best definition possible.

I agree with your point about female singer-songwriters: this is not what I meant but I can see how you would take that from the way I worded it.

I still don't know about the possible POV charge though. When I wrote "leading exponents" I think I wanted to talk about bands who were actually leading the field and "developing the sound" -I know what I mean by this phrase but I can explain it in more detail if you think it is too vague. It's not really a value judgement as the demonstrable use of new technology (samples, loops etc), stylistic influences (world, postrock) and experimentation whilst still remaining within the generic limits is a bit more objective and verifiable than that. I really don't see how this is making a judgement about "artistic integrity" as such either, although yes it could imply something by default about bands who are more slavishly confined to the pre-existing sound.

Do you think we could restore balance by removing reference to "female singer-songwriters", perhaps finding a better term than "leading exponents" and then including a line following this about a band such as Low who are a better known (if not necessarily generically progressive) example?

Thanks for the tip about signing BTW, I'll try it out now!

Silverwood-Silverwood 12:28, 13 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Trans/cis density

I removed the line about density differences between trans and cis because it was disputed:

Cis have more dipoles then trans because in trans they are more symetrical and cancle out. In Trans no/less dipoles so there is less intermolecular bonds and the molecules may not be very close to each other, while in Cis, generally they have have more dippoles leading to more intermolecular bonds and they are closer together so a greater density. The extra intermolecular bonds are clear by the phase change temps. I'll remove the line, because it's desputed and not vital.

"Trans isomers in general also have higher [[density|densities]] {{citationneeded}}."
"Trans isomers in general also have lower [[density|densities]] {{citationneeded}}."

-- Wolfmankurd 20:07, 13 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Need help trying to put user contributions on watchlist

Hi, I was trying to find a way be notified when known repeated spammers contributed, so that I could check their edits. I know there is some kind of complicated (for me!) workaround with CSS and enhanced recent changes. I asked at the help desk, and was told:

Make a subpage that lists such users and use the related changes feature to see what changes they make. - Mgm|(talk) 11:16, 28 August 2006 (UTC)

which was an adequate (if not ideal) workaround in theory.

I am having a little trouble getting it to work though. I've set up a page at User:Postglock/UserWatchlist, but when I click "Related Changes" from the toolbox, I can only get some edits to appear, although there are edits made after then. I'm not sure if others see the same thing, but (for example) no contributions from the first link Special:Contributions/203.129.192.23 appear on related changes. Thanks in advance. -postglock 07:18, 31 August 2006 (UTC)

I would suggest taking this question to Wikipedia:Village pump (technical) where someone will be able to answer your question in a much better fashion than any of us {{helpme}} helpers. Ryūlóng 07:29, 31 August 2006 (UTC)

Thanks Ryūlóng. -postglock 07:44, 31 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] My edits at Cult classic

Hi Stevegallery! I was just wondering why you removed the redirect at Cult classic to Cult following, and instead added information from the latter to the former? It appears to me that they are almost identical in scope. If you think there should be a name change for the main article, that is one thing, but I don't think that we should have two almost identical articles... -postglock 01:49, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

Hi - I actually had split the information in Cult classic and Cult following into 2 different articles, but since that time, someone has duplicated the info such that the 2 articles are almost identical. I will try to put Cult following back to the way I had it. I think they are definately 2 seperate articles, since a cult following is a group of people, while a cult classic is the thing itself (film, etc). Steve