User talk:Alansplodge
Hi
[edit]Hi, thanks for your answer on the Reference desk, but who are you? Why don't you have a user page? The Great Cucumber (talk) 20:25, 6 November 2009 (UTC)
Ref desk - writing quote found
[edit]I feel a little lazy hearing how you found the quote I was searching for ... I must have a low frustration tolerance. Thanks again, nonetheless!
If you have the inclination to acquaint yourself with Dillard, I think you're in for a treat. Especially Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, Teaching a stone to talk, or her autobiography, An American Childhood. 198.161.238.18 (talk) 16:43, 27 November 2009 (UTC)
Thanks.
[edit]Cheers for the swift and accurate reply re the Faroe Isles. I thought no-one else knew they existed ! Really strange about the Danes paying for the tunnels too, I never knew that.
Thanks for writing more detail about Plymouth's history. I think the history section is now as big and detailed as it should get. We have a history of Plymouth article for extra details. The article is currently a "good article", which means its reliability needs to be maintained. In my opinion, citing Plymouth Data is fine. I checked up about that ages ago on Wikipedia and other users said that other sources should be used, if available i.e. historical books, but that otherwise Plymouth Data is "okay". Cyber-heritage, however, is not reliable. Do you have any other sources you could use for that one? Jolly Ω Janner 19:19, 14 January 2010 (UTC)
Tolmers Scout Camp
[edit]An article that you created, Tolmers Scout Camp has been proposed for merging into the region article Scouting in East of England. I did not make this proposal, but I found a meregto tag on the article, and agreed with it, so I am doing the work on it. I have added the mergefrom to the target article, adviced the Scouting Project and now you, and will add justification for the merge soon to Talk:Scouting in East of England. Please comment there when I have done so. --Bduke (Discussion) 02:02, 8 February 2010 (UTC)
news
[edit]The WORCESTERSHIRE Project Newsletter - March 2010 | ||||
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Elizabeth II's descent from Brian Boru
[edit]Hey it me from the question on the reference desk. You describe a line of descent for me between Brian Boru and Elizabeth II, but can you give me a full line with the names of every person in the generation. Just put it on Descent of Elizabeth II from William I; I'm trying to show all of Elizabeth II's connections to all the past monarchs in the British Isles, including Ireland. Thanks a lot.--Queen Elizabeth II's Little Spy (talk) 02:02, 1 August 2010 (UTC)
Colonel Grantham discussion
[edit]Hi, just to let you know I have copied and pasted our discussion to my talk page because I am going on holiday tomorrow, and the discussion at the reference desk will probably be archived before I get back. -- roleplayer 02:01, 6 August 2010 (UTC)
Les Parisoises
[edit]Apropos your comment on "Nigeroise," Jacques Barzun, in one of his books, notes that Rouget de Lisle's song that became the French anthem was popularized by guys from Marseilles, but was in fact composed at the request of another city. Had things worked out differently, muses Barzun, the folks in Rick's American Cafe might have sung La Strasbourgeoisie. --- OtherDave (talk) 18:06, 14 August 2010 (UTC)
More on crickets!
[edit]Thank you for your suggestions on crickets at refdesk! The article is now at Crickets as pets and needs some attention to grammar and flow.
Chirp! East of Borschov 08:31, 14 September 2010 (UTC)
Awesome
[edit]![]() | The Reference Desk Barnstar | |
... for being the Master of Sleuths and unearthing Canada in khaki answering to The Call. Respectfully, ---Sluzzelin talk 21:47, 22 September 2010 (UTC) |
Gogmagog
[edit]Hi, do you want to bluelink Gogmagog (folklore) with the material you added to the article on the band (now movoed to Gogmagog (band)? DuncanHill (talk) 20:41, 30 September 2010 (UTC)
- No problem - until you mentioned him on the refdesk I'd never got around to reading what was behind the bluelink (he's mentioned in some other articles I've edited). Thanks for making the stub. DuncanHill (talk) 18:19, 1 October 2010 (UTC)
WP:IAMNOTASCOTSMAN
[edit]Alansplodge, yir coament hir was well ootae order, yir tekkin the pish en aw, ye wide radge! In aw ma puff, Ahs nivir been claeser to Scotland than Nikko, that tourist toon in Japan. Mind, Ahs read aw ae thon Irvine Welsh novels. --Shirt58 (talk) 13:12, 21 October 2010 (UTC) ps: I've also been mistaken for a person from the subcontinent.
Thank you!
[edit]Alan, may I say thank you for posting that lovely article on chest tombs. It's fair made my day reading that one! --TammyMoet (talk) 10:13, 9 April 2011 (UTC)
Scouting
[edit]Hi. Have to say g'day from Australia to a fellow Scout. I'm on the outskirts of Melbourne. Group Leader of a growing group of 50 something members.And yes, my Scouts "marched" in a local community parade a month ago. Could not keep in step to save themselves! HiLo48 (talk) 11:46, 28 April 2011 (UTC)
- I'm about 15 km further east of Wantirna, in a place called Mooroolbark. I actually have a couple of Cubs in my Group who live in Wantirna now, and are recent immigrants from London! They have just moved to Wantirna, and I guess they will join a group there soon. Glad you know something of our geography. I don't know much about London! Keep up the good work. HiLo48 (talk) 12:13, 28 April 2011 (UTC)
Lohamei haGeta'ot's aqueduct
[edit]Hiya! I'm on the kibbutz for the entire month, and have taken some rather fetching photos of the lovely aqueduct. Would you like to add one or two for the article? If they are not excellent though, I can take others with my actual camera rather than cell camera. :p Just name the section of the aqueduct. Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie | Say Shalom! 06:10, 2 July 2011 (UTC)
- Actually, are we sure that it was Ottoman? From the source: "An early aqueduct was built in the Hellenistic period. From this aqueduct, which was mostly underground, several sections were discovered, including a Kilometer long section near Ness Harim, and two more sections in Kibbutz Lochamei Hagetaot." There are in fact two visible sections on and near Lohame haGeta'ot. So is it Ottoman or Hellenistic? xD Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie | Say Shalom! 06:45, 2 July 2011 (UTC)
Hello. You have a new message at Flinders Petrie's talk page.
13 Pounder Naval Gun
[edit]I came across this page which says that WWI Royal Navy motor launches were fitted with a 13 pounder gun on a naval pedestal mounting. This looks rather different to the QF 13 pounder 6 cwt AA gun. The page goes on to say that they were removed from MLs and mounted on Defensivly Armed Merchant Ships. An example of one was indeed recovered from a sunken merchant ship in 1982 and now stands on dispaly at Scarborough harbour. Does anyone know the official designation of this naval gun? We should at least mention it in this article, if not give it a seperate page. Alansplodge (talk) 13:36, 20 August 2011 (UTC)
- That is definitely a 13-pounder in your linked article. Weird, I wouldn't have thought it would have been much use as a naval gun. If you can dig up any more authoritative info, the place to refer to the gun's naval deployment would not be in the AA gun article, but in Ordnance QF 13 pounder. regards, Rod. Rcbutcher (talk) 13:53, 20 August 2011 (UTC)
- The gun in the motor launch photos is definitely the barrel and recuperator from a 13-pounder field gun, on a naval pedestal mounting - the short barrel with the recuperator above is unmistakable. I think after they proved unsuited to trench warfare, there were a lot of spare guns available for whatever use they could be fitted to, such as AA. Rod. Rcbutcher (talk) 16:13, 20 August 2011 (UTC)
Dear Alansplodge, I've changed back the "corrections" you made to Algerine class gunboat, Gipsy class destroyer and a couple of others. Just because there's a red link doesn't mean you should pipe it to something else (in this case, a ship index page). In fact WP:EASTEREGG says you should not do so, including piping HMS Barracouta to Cherokee class brig-sloop. Nevertheless, thanks for the good work on HMS Leven, and more power to your elbow. Yours, Shem (talk) 22:35, 15 September 2011 (UTC)
- Good luck with William Fitzwilliam Owen - if there's anything I can do to help, please ask. Shem (talk) 23:10, 15 September 2011 (UTC)
Port Durnford, & Spencer rifle
[edit]Just a lot of thanks for your super-answer on Port Durnford (Humanities, 19 September 2011) T.y. Arapaima (talk) 08:55, 20 September 2011 (UTC)
- You are too kind ! If you happpen to have another day off, may I ask you something more : I'm looking desperately for a JPG of an Indian brave with a Spencer rifle , I want it to be in the § "Evolution" of my french article "Spencer (arme)". I'm pretty sure I saw that photo, but can't remember where... Do you know if it is in Commons ? T.y. , thanks a lot beforehand Arapaima (talk) 09:20, 21 September 2011 (UTC)
- Thanks a lot too for "Indians + Spencer rifle" ! Bonne chance à toi aussi, et merci ! (Good luck to you too, & thanks !) Arapaima (talk) 10:07, 23 September 2011 (UTC)
Movie Title
[edit]Hi Alan
Thank you for the suggestion but it is not likely to be Zardoz far from it I do not remember Sean Connery in it. It was not a big film. I wonder whether it would be possible do dig the films showing at the Metropole Cinema London SW1 in the Autumn of 1973.
Sincerely Dona Lay — Preceding unsigned comment added by 95.146.182.142 (talk) 18:34, 3 December 2011 (UTC)
Movie title from 1973
[edit]Thank you for trying. I have a problem with registering with Britmovie somehow I cannot fulfil the field "add a title for the film" A Cloackwork what does it mean? for example I quote a british film The Scarlet Pimpernel what title I have to add for this?
Regards Sincerely Dona Lay — Preceding unsigned comment added by 95.146.182.142 (talk) 23:43, 4 December 2011 (UTC)
- I've just registered without any problem. The "Clockwork" thing is a quiz to prevent spam. The answer is "Orange" as in Clockwork Orange. Alansplodge (talk) 00:03, 5 December 2011 (UTC)
Thanks a lot for your ready help on Ref. Desk, & best wishes for 2012
[edit]I incidentally happen to look supra at the rubric "Les Parisoises". In french, we say Les Parisiennes, La Marseillaise , La Strasbourgeoise.
BTW, I just nearly completed the translation into french of Military history of African Americans in the American Civil War , I'd appreciate if you'd look at it...Hal Jespersen has done it yet (& told me to be prudent while handling the "Black Confederates" hypothesis) but the more experts on it, the best. T.y. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Arapaima (talk • contribs) 17:36, 31 December 2011 (UTC)
BEF and Dunkirk
[edit]Do you have any books which quote the exact figures for the numbers evacuated from Dunkirk? The issue is on Talk:British_Expeditionary_Force_(World_War_II)#Approximate, from which I have noticed that the first paragraph of the evacuation section is not referenced. I have spent an hour and a half looking through internet pages and PDFs of book snippets but they all give the same numbers apart from Churchill's tome.
My first instinct was to ref the numbers in the article, but after looking into the Dunkirk evacuation article for refs (as it looked like the BEF section might have been copied from there) it seems that the only possible source was (AJP) Taylor; unfortunately the Taylor book in the bibliography does not seem to be available online, and searches do not appear to have those numbers in.
Any help would be appreciated Chaosdruid (talk) 23:19, 24 February 2012 (UTC)
- Thanks for the ref. It would seem even more convoluted than I orignally though, I will take a better look later tonight.
- BTW - did you ever add any more on the second BEF? I remember we had the beginnings of a discussion about it, but seems we didn't go any further than opening sentences? Talk:British_Expeditionary_Force_(World_War_II)#The_.22Second_BEF.22_and_the_campaign_after_Dunkirk Chaosdruid (talk) 15:08, 25 February 2012 (UTC)
Deleted post
[edit]There is a discussion which concerns you at Wikipedia talk:Reference desk#Deleted Birther soapboxing. SpinningSpark 19:38, 24 March 2012 (UTC)
Tong Tusham
[edit]"Tung Tusham" must have been a typo for "Tung Fushan", which is rendered as "Dong Fushan" in the modern Pinyin transcription. I've expanded a bit the coverage in Wikipedia:Reference_desk/Archives/Humanities/2012_April_6#Tung_Tusham_Island. -- Vmenkov (talk) 06:16, 9 April 2012 (UTC)
Thank you for valuable help
[edit]Thank you for the valuable references and the timely completion of the response to my inquiry about the name of the SBS during the Korean War. Rnfriedman44 (talk) 10:28, 20 April 2012 (UTC)
The fate of British war dead
[edit]Hi Alan.
Your presence is requested over at User talk:Arwel Parry#The fate of British war dead for a discussion on the above subject that I've commenced there.
Cheers. -- ♬ Jack of Oz ♬ [your turn] 08:01, 16 June 2012 (UTC)
- Done. Alansplodge (talk) 23:29, 16 June 2012 (UTC)
"Some success..." indeed!
[edit]Dear Alan, your recent search on my Language ref desk query is serving me well. That Flickr page link you posted on Hebraized Latin Fonts was my virtual introduction to a still-active Flickrista in Switzerland who's evidently a typographer and fellow archivist. I'm looking forward to sending him some links to Holocaust-era graphic artists - one of whom, Pesach Ir-Shay, né Irsai István, he's already documenting but may not have seen the artist's Bergen-Belsen diary illustrations, nine originals of which are located downstairs and down the hall from my daytime office but also can be viewed online :-) Seriously distracting as typography collections are, I do believe I'll get some good advice from following this lead. So you have my hearty and heartfelt thanks and appreciation for your efforts. -- Cheers, Deborahjay (talk) 13:54, 14 August 2012 (UTC)
Joseph Spiess
[edit]Hi. I am not sure you read the information I gathered on Joseph Spiess on WP:RD/H.
- Joseph Spiess was born in 1838 see his birth certificate. This "proposal" explains why he was awarded the "Légion d'Honneur" and when (7 August 1913) — AldoSyrt (talk) 08:27, 22 August 2012 (UTC)
In response to your message on my talk page. He was Alsatian. This birth certificate was issued by the Préfecture of Seine département (for his marriage), but his birth place is Mulhouse (Haut-Rhin département). This birth certificate was issued in 1894 when Alsace was annexed to Germany. In 1872 Joseph Spiess choose to remain French see here. (Note. If you follow this link, you can click on the arrows to have access to his whole file recorded by the "Légion d'Honneur") — AldoSyrt (talk) 22:55, 22 August 2012 (UTC)
"A unique achievement by her mother"
[edit]Thank you for the laugh. --NellieBly (talk) 02:44, 28 August 2012 (UTC)
Hi. Would you mind if I tagged the question and answer at Wikipedia:Reference_desk/Humanities#Sir_Anthony_Knyvet with the {{WPRDAC attention}} template, to mark the fact that a new stub article was created because of it and help monitor the RD's influence on mainspace content? - Karenjc 08:32, 2 October 2012 (UTC)
Interesting article! If you haven't seen it already, you might be interested in the House of Lords second reading, of the 1915 Bill, which has a short potted history of the formation of the volunteers. Andrew Gray (talk) 20:18, 26 October 2012 (UTC)
Thanks awfully for the colophon, but the article seems to have pleased some french book-nerds to the extent that they removed in the legend the mention I'd made of your contribution. But you may find it in the first versions of the article. Thanks again for your help, take care. T.y. Arapaima (talk) 18:31, 7 November 2012 (UTC) Actually, they have even removed the monk colophon, & added some others ! Must be some colophon nerd ...Hope they wont think the louse-eradication jpg is not congruent in the chapter "Lutte contre les ligues de vertu" ;-) ...T.y. Arapaima (talk) 18:38, 7 November 2012 (UTC)
MoDAH b'ashmaTEE
[edit]...which is transliterated Hebrew for "Mea culpa#Popular meaning." The admission of guilt plus explanation I wrote after our recent comments on the "Top hats among jew [sic] men RD/H query was intended for your Talk page, but it came out so cute I decided to share it with everyone who's following the discussion thus far. Seriously, you have my sincere appreciation for helping out on these queries which I, at least, find annoying and even mildly disturbing. -- Cheers, Deborahjay (talk) 08:47, 17 November 2012 (UTC)
You must be thirsty after that research
[edit]For your work in digging up references for Air National Guard units with special weapons, please enjoy this yard of ale. I updated the 174th Air Refueling Squadron article accordingly. Regards, Orange Suede Sofa (talk) 17:18, 19 November 2012 (UTC) | ![]() |
Damned good thrashing
[edit]Hello Alan. I was delighted with this edit.
That's the sort of talk we should have more of. People should be threatened with damned good thrashings much more often than they are these days. Or with being whipped to within an inch of their lives. Or simply with being killed in an unspecified way. The sorts of things all good loving parents traditionally said to their children every day of the week. It never did them any harm. Why, just look at me. :)
I think I'll revive this excellent practice of making hollow* threats of extreme violence, and I'll start with the next frail old person on a walking frame who doesn't get out of my way quickly enough. Or the next bank teller who short changes me by 5 cents. I'll start small, though. First, it'll be a thorough dressing down, and when that fails to have any appreciable effect on their unacceptable behaviour, as it surely will, the next step will be a threat of a damned good thrashing. Yes, that'll teach them a thing or two. Who says the age of tradition and chivalry is dead? Thanks for reminding me what the joy of life is all about. :)
(* Naturally, I'd never actually carry these threats out. Good Lord, no! I abhor violence. All the fun is in the threatening.) -- Jack of Oz [Talk] 22:23, 22 November 2012 (UTC)
- Your choice of possible targets reminds me of the early days of the internet, when I encountered some pompous old goons imitating their ancient ancestors by waxing lyrical about how the youth of today have no manners, don't respect their elders or the law, and so on. The particular ungodly practice that this goon-gathering found disturbing was that children sometimes rode their bicycles on the pavement. (This was before pavement cycle lanes became fashionable.) "It's against the law!", they cried. Being pompous old goons, it was not surprising that one of them quickly informed us that he took the law into his own hands, and gave such children "a good clout" to "knock them flying" off their cycles, and thus make them respect "the law". Much virtual goon-guffawing ensued.
- I added my approval, and said that this was indeed an ideal way to uphold the law. That, in fact, I had tried it for the first time that very afternoon, knocking the postman off his bicycle and into a large thornbush. That particular postman always rode his bicycle on the pavement, I told them, but I bet he won't do it again!
- The shocked virtual silence that greeted this revelation was most satisfying.
- Round here both kids and postmen still ride their bicycles on the pavement, without any problems for the most part. I can't remember if either kids or postmen dismount from their cycles when making use of a school crossing patrol, though. It would be amusing if so - cycling on the pavement, but dismounted when in the road. --Demiurge1000 (talk) 22:49, 22 November 2012 (UTC)
Enfield railway station
[edit]Hi, I noticed you expanded the Hertford Loop. Do you have any information on Enfield railway station (predecessor to its replacement, Enfield Chase)? Simply south...... walking into bells for just 6 years 23:55, 14 December 2012 (UTC)
- Thanks anyway. Simply south...... walking into bells for just 6 years 16:37, 15 December 2012 (UTC)
Saving you some effort
[edit]Hi Mr Splodge, and Merry Christmas. My Christmas gift to you is this. I noticed you linked a category thusly:
You could have saved yourself some key strokes etc by doing it thusly:
That is, double bracket it as you would normally, but insert an extra colon before the word Category, and that converts it into a link, rather than categorising the entire page on which it appears.
Yo ho ho and Cheers. -- Jack of Oz [Talk] 18:52, 24 December 2012 (UTC)
James Archibald Ewart
[edit]Again let me thank you Alansplodge for the information you found on google for James Ewart. It seems to me that you used a method to search in google whch I don't know. I would therefore be grateful if you could please explain this method to me. Thank you. Simonschaim (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 05:37, 20 January 2013 (UTC)
- A simple trick is to put the search term into inverted commas, which will only display exact matches. I tried "James Archibald Ewart", "James A Ewart" "J A Ewart" and "James Ewart". I finally found results on Google Books which you can find under the search bar, where it says "Web, Shopping, Images, More". If you click on "More" you get a drop-down menu - click on "Books". I think the search term that worked was was "James Ewart" Headmaster as there were quite a lot of James Ewarts. Hope this helps. Alansplodge (talk) 23:17, 20 January 2013 (UTC)
Thank you. This has certainly helped and it has also taught me something for the future.Simonschaim (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 08:50, 21 January 2013 (UTC)
Thanks for your response
[edit]I must say I was impressed with your prompt response to my, admittedly, poor phrasing of a question at the reference desk. You were spot on! Dare I say that the reference librarian at my local branch would've simply rolled his/her eyes at my question. Thanks for you time! Now I have a new subject on WP to research and hopefully edit constructively. Contributors like you make Wikipedia great, so, again, thanks! Ditch ∝ 22:26, 14 February 2013 (UTC)
- The question was regarding the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon. Ditch ∝ 02:38, 15 February 2013 (UTC)
Apology
[edit]I reverted your message at Wikipedia:Reference desk/Humanities by mistake, sorry about that just a a bit of finger trouble. MilborneOne (talk) 16:42, 17 February 2013 (UTC)
Stanley Spencer
[edit]Hi there. Just to let you know (if you don't see the RD/H entry before it scrolls off), the text and photos from "Motoring Illustrated" are available at User:Tevildo/MotoringIllustrated. And Beaulieu is positively infested with wild horses, re the Buffalo question. Tevildo (talk) 13:31, 27 March 2013 (UTC)
Stanley Spencer
[edit]Happening upon your post at the help desk, I thought there must not be a lot of sources so I checked and it looks like there quite a bit, Since I performed the searches, I thought I'd drop them by in case they might be useful. Chronicling America; Trove; Brooklyn Daily Eagle full view book links; News sources. Cheers.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 22:44, 1 April 2013 (UTC)
- I've looked. No, can't find a first date of flight:-( Point of order you might like to know. I know the current stub hasn't been edited by you so I assume you're working on it offline, but the stub says the name of the ship was "Mellin" and the New Zealand article you named at the ref desk could easily be seen to support this. However, this article tells us the ships was "built ... to the order of Messrs. Mellin" which puts the New Zealand article, where it also looks like Mellin is the name of the ship, in a new light. This article also has a good bit of detail about the makeup of the ship, the materials used, the weight, etc. Best regards--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 03:40, 2 April 2013 (UTC)
By (LLoyd) George, I think it's Mackenzie King
[edit]Per the recent reference desk discussion, I'm of the opinion Mackenzie King should be used rather than King in his article. Comments would be appreciated at Talk:William Lyon Mackenzie King#Naming convention. Clarityfiend (talk) 20:03, 17 April 2013 (UTC)
DYK for British Volunteer Corps
[edit]![]() | On 26 May 2013, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article British Volunteer Corps, which you created or substantially expanded. The fact was ... that one factory owner forced all his employees to enlist in the British Volunteer Corps? You are welcome to check how many hits the article got while on the front page (here's how, quick check) and it will be added to DYKSTATS if it got over 5,000. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page. |
The DYK project (nominate) 16:04, 26 May 2013 (UTC)
Diagonal line for cavalry
[edit]![]() | The Original Barnstar | |
This is for your research and the maps that you were able to find. Very helpful, and thanks a lot! Nyttend (talk) 01:24, 10 June 2013 (UTC) |
Walford High School/West London Academy
[edit]Hi there. I have recently created the article Alec Reed Academy, and having researched its history have redirected West London Academy to the article, as that is what Alec Reed Academy was known as until 2012. By doing this I noticed that you have added Walford High School to the Walford (disambiguation) article, and have stated that this school was renamed West London Academy in 2005. I can find no evidence of this, I have found that the school was previously known as Compton High School before 2003 but no mention of Walford High School. Do you know where you sourced this information from? Bleaney (talk) 17:48, 24 July 2013 (UTC)
- No it was me being dim! If I had looked beyond Compton High School I would have found that it was previously known as Walford. For some bizarre reason I thought you had been caught up in a hoax in reference to EastEnders! It seems that this poor school has been failing for a long time, and gets a name change every few years or so. Anyway, sorry for the bother. Bleaney (talk) 15:59, 25 July 2013 (UTC)
- Thanks for all your help with this article, youve been great. Bleaney (talk) 18:58, 30 July 2013 (UTC)
Woman at Brandenburg Gate
[edit]Hi, I was interested to read your comment about an iconic news video of a tearful woman demanding to be allowed to walk through the Brandenburg Gate "just once in my life". I've never seen this clip. I've looked for it on Youtube, but I can't find it there, nor anywhere else for that matter. Do you know where I can see it? Many thanks, --Viennese Waltz 15:59, 19 August 2013 (UTC)
- Thanks very much, certainly a powerful and moving moment. --Viennese Waltz 06:44, 20 August 2013 (UTC)
Coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth
[edit]Hi! Did you write the article about the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, or did you copy-paste the text from somewhere else? I'm asking because I'd like to nominate it for DYK. It looks great! Surtsicna (talk) 23:26, 30 August 2013 (UTC)
- I figured it was your own work, so I nominated at it. See Template:Did you know nominations/Coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth :) Surtsicna (talk) 09:39, 2 September 2013 (UTC)
DYK for Coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth
[edit]![]() | On 8 September 2013, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article Coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, which you created or substantially expanded. The fact was ... that despite efforts to shorten the service, many noblemen attending the 1937 coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth were carrying sandwiches in their coronets? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. You are welcome to check how many hits the article got while on the front page (here's how, quick check) and it will be added to DYKSTATS if it got over 5,000. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page. |
Cas Liber (talk · contribs) 08:03, 8 September 2013 (UTC)
Brunei
[edit]Thank you for answering my question :) But that's the old 1984 Brunei Constitution, this is the current one http://www.agc.gov.bn/agc1/images/LOB/cons_doc/dokumen-dokumen_perlembagaan_2008.pdf , and doesn't mentioned the things that were on the 1984's Const. any more, but now only as for current the purposes of the English language on Section 2 - "An official version in the English language shall be provided of anything which, by this Constitution or by any written law or by the Standing Orders, is required to be printed or in writing, and such version shall, in addition to the official Malay version, be accepted as an authentic text" , so can English still even be described as "Recognised" in regards to that Section 2? Alevero987 (talk) 04:13, 23 September 2013 (UTC)
- I think that if the English language is actually mentioned by name in the constitution, then it IS recognized for some purposes, although the obvious thrust of the thing is that Malay should be the primary language. That's only my opinion and I'm no constitutional expert. It seems to me to be a rather minor quibble and I won't object if you decide to remove English from the refbox. Alansplodge (talk) 12:11, 4 October 2013 (UTC)
Thanks.
[edit]![]() | The Science Fiction Barnstar | |
Good work adding the Congreve rocket information to Rocket launcher! Technically, this is a science fiction barnstar, but it's the only one I could find with a rocket on it. bd2412 T 19:06, 7 October 2013 (UTC) |
November 2013
[edit]Merci, chéri
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1a/Vincent_van_Gogh_-_Cafe_Table_with_Absinth.jpg/220px-Vincent_van_Gogh_-_Cafe_Table_with_Absinth.jpg)
Thank you, Alan. Coming from you, this brittle star is meaningful. ---Sluzzelin talk 01:17, 1 December 2013 (UTC)
- By the way, I don't know whether you know it or even appreciate this kind of time-waster, but I found it enjoyable: geoguessr.com. And see also xkcd's take: ---Sluzzelin talk 03:35, 1 December 2013 (UTC)
December 2013
[edit] Hello, I'm BracketBot. I have automatically detected that your edit to Fleur-de-lis may have broken the syntax by modifying 1 "[]"s. If you have, don't worry: just edit the page again to fix it. If I misunderstood what happened, or if you have any questions, you can leave a message on my operator's talk page.
- List of unpaired brackets remaining on the page:
- the [[Invasion of Martinique (1759)|Invasion of Martinique]] in 1759.<ref>Shepperd, Alan (1973), [[http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=NGnTJ49weLwC&pg=PA39&dq=manchester+regiment+cap+badge+
Thanks, BracketBot (talk) 18:28, 9 December 2013 (UTC)
Royal Military Canal
[edit]Hi, Vale's history of the South Staffordshire Regiment confirms that the 2nd Battalion - who were part of 31st Ind Inf Brig - were based in Hythe in the later part of 1940. This was after September though, so not sure who was there at the height of the invasion threat as 31st Brig wasn't mobilised until July 1940. NtheP (talk) 16:06, 14 December 2013 (UTC)
You say badge I say patch
[edit]Sorry about the wrong deletion. I thought I was on Formation badges when I eliminated the talk page.
![]() | Here is a semihemidemibarnstar for <correcting my error> |
--Lineagegeek (talk) 00:00, 19 December 2013 (UTC)
Getting away with things
[edit]Hi Alan. I saw this, and I was going to retort that life is not about what one is able to get away with. But then I reflected that it actually is exactly that, most of the time.
May your 2014 be replete with getting away with as much stuff as possible. Cheers. -- Jack of Oz [pleasantries] 23:15, 31 December 2013 (UTC)
Thanks for adding the music, which I've only just noticed, and the other 2 you've done! Johnbod (talk) 13:53, 21 January 2014 (UTC)
DYK for Coronation of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra
[edit]![]() | On 22 January 2014, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article Coronation of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra, which you created or substantially expanded. The fact was ... that the coronation of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra (anointing of the Queen pictured) was postponed because the King required immediate surgery? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Coronation of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra. You are welcome to check how many hits the article got while on the front page (here's how, quick check) and it will be added to DYKSTATS if it got over 5,000. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page. |
The DYK project (nominate) 08:01, 22 January 2014 (UTC)
DYK for Cornwell Scout Badge
[edit]![]() | On 16 February 2014, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article Cornwell Scout Badge, which you created or substantially expanded. The fact was ... that the Cornwell Scout Badge (pictured) was named for Boy Scout Jack Cornwell, who joined the Royal Navy and died at age 16 during the Battle of Jutland? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Cornwell Scout Badge. You are welcome to check how many hits the article got while on the front page (here's how, quick check) and it will be added to DYKSTATS if it got over 5,000. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page. |
Callanecc (talk • contribs • logs) 16:01, 16 February 2014 (UTC)
February 2014
[edit]Boom Boom?
[edit]Can I assume that's the same as badump bump? I was unable to find a definition. μηδείς (talk)
- Yes. I have replied on the RefDesk and amended the article that you linked to show "boom boom" as a British English alternative. Thanks. Alansplodge (talk) 17:09, 7 March 2014 (UTC)
Musical taste
[edit]I saw your note on polyphonal choral music from the Renaissance and wanted to say that we share the same taste. Living in the States, I don't often run into people who appreciate that genre. Cheers. Marco polo (talk) 15:42, 29 April 2014 (UTC)
- In response to your note, my taste probably goes back to my experience in a men and boys' choir in an Episcopalian (i.e., Anglican) church some decades ago. Our choirmaster in fact had us sing pieces by Byrd and Tallis, sadly not including the magnificent Spem in alium, which our small and amateur choir could not have pulled off. You are lucky that this kind of music is appreciated in England. It is possible to hear this music live in the States, but only occasionally and in a few places. Best wishes. Marco polo (talk) 18:48, 30 April 2014 (UTC)
The Like-Minded Persons' Club
[edit]Dear Alansplodge
The Like-Minded Persons' Club | ||
For displaying common sense and uncommon good taste by agreeing with me here, I hereby bestow upon you Provisional Membership of the Like-Minded Persons' Club. |
Cheers. -- Jack of Oz [pleasantries] 11:22, 24 November 2014 (UTC)
:-)
[edit]Hello A. This is wonderful. Thanks for tickling my funny bone. Have a nice weekend. MarnetteD|Talk 21:04, 6 March 2015 (UTC)
Reference errors on 8 November
[edit]I can't post this directly on the Humanities Desk because it's semi-protected, and I can't post it a semi-protected edit requestion on the Reference Desk TalK Page either, because it's also semi-protected. Since it was your question, perhaps you would like to post the answer. (No, I'm not going to register a Wikipedia account; don't bother suggesting it.)
According to L.T.C. Rolt's biography of Isambard Kingdom Brunel (page 113 of the 1970 Pelican edition as reprinted in 1986, ISBN 0-14-007986-6), when the bill to authorize construction of the Great Western Railway was proposed, those looking for reasons to oppose the railway used the gradient in the Box Hill Tunnel as one of them. Rolt writes:
- To those impassioned pleas the egregious Doctor Dionysius Lardner, one of the mainstays of the opposition, added all the ponderous weight of that pseudo-science of which he was one of the first and greatest masters. He had proved by elaborate calculation that if the brakes were to fail as a train entered the tunnel on the falling gradient it would emerge at the other end at a speed of 120 m.p.h., a speed, he added, at which no passenger would be able to breathe. At this Brunel pointed out drily that the factors of friction and air resistance must evidently have become lost in the Doctor's calculations because owing to their combined effect the speed would be 56 miles per hour and not 120. It would appear, however, that the eminent Doctor ... floated through life on an impermeable balloon of self-esteem. So far from accepting his defeat, he returned to the charge on several subsequent occasions though invariably with the same result.
(My ellipsis.)
Wikipedia's page on Lardner includes a slightly different version of this story, presumably referring to a different occasion when Lardner objected to the tunnel. --76.69.45.64 (talk) 16:01, 3 December 2015 (UTC)
...And you're welcome, whoever I am. :-) --76.69.45.64 (talk) 01:33, 4 December 2015 (UTC)
Proposed Schuyt <-> Dutch barge merger
[edit]Hi Alan, I would appreciate if you can share your expertise at Talk:Dutch barge! gidonb (talk) 00:36, 13 February 2016 (UTC)
DYK for André Sordet
[edit]![]() | On 16 February 2016, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article André Sordet, which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that the French General André Sordet's cavalry corps covered close to 1,500 km (930 miles) in the first month of World War I? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/André Sordet. You are welcome to check how many page hits the article got while on the front page (here's how, daily totals), and it may be added to the statistics page if the total is over 5,000. Finally, if you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please feel free to suggest it on the Did you know talk page. |
Cas Liber (talk · contribs) 12:02, 16 February 2016 (UTC)
Sentence of the week!
[edit]"My favourite ... name is Knockin in Shropshire" - while I understand this is a perfectly reasonable thing to say, it sounds rather funny to my AmEng ears, so thanks for the chuckle! I'm sure us Yanks say many things that sound silly to you too, but it's harder for me to notice those :) SemanticMantis (talk) 14:11, 16 June 2016 (UTC)
- Glad to be of service User:SemanticMantis. Knockin is on the route to the mountains of Snowdonia, so is a source of endless gags for hillwalkers and climbers. Alansplodge (talk) 15:45, 16 June 2016 (UTC)
Featured article source review
[edit]Hello Alansplodge, I got your name from the list of members at Wikiproject Military History and I see that you have an interest in the Royal Navy between the 18th and 20th centuries. I currently have an article HMS Emerald (1795) nominated for Featured Article status at Wikipedia:Featured article candidates/HMS Emerald (1795)/archive1. I have already received some support but the nomination is being held up for the lack of a source review. I don't suppose you would be interested in undertaking such a task, or perhaps you know of someone else who could help? I would be most grateful. Regards--Ykraps (talk) 06:45, 15 July 2016 (UTC)
- I'll have a go, User:Ykraps, but what exactly is involved in "a source review"? Alansplodge (talk) 08:50, 15 July 2016 (UTC)
- Ah, you may well ask. It rather depends on who does the source review and how thorough they are; there is no consistency, partly because there are no guidelines which specifically relate to source reviews. Wikipedia:Featured article criteria says on the subject that, claims must be verifiable against high-quality reliable sources and supported by inline citations where appropriate and that citations are formatted consistently, so that would need to be checked throughout. As copyright violation is against our core policies, you should also check for close paraphrasing, and for online sources, this tool is really useful: [[1]] As you can see, HMS Emerald (1795) returns a 2% match, making violation unlikely, and in addition, that 2% exclusively comprises the names of battles and the names of the books used as sources. Unless you have access to the books used, the offline sources will have to be accepted in good faith.
- If you really wanted to, you could include some examples, for instance:
- Action of 26 April 1797
- Text in article: "The Spanish ships surrendered at approximately 16.00. Eighteen Spaniards were killed and thirty wounded during in the fighting, with the British suffering one killed and one wounded".
- Text in source: [[2]] "... that at four they struck to His Majesty's Ships, and proved to be the Spanish frigates Elona and Ninfa......From every account I have been able to collect, the two frigates had 18 men killed and 30 wounded. The Irresistible had one man killed and one wounded".
- Second bombardment of Cadiz
- Text in article: "A third bombardment was planned for 8 July but cancelled when the weather became stormy".
- Text in source: [[3]] "The Rear-Admiral meditated another operation on the night of Saturday the 8th, under his own direction, but the wind blew so strong down the bay he could not get his bomb vessels up to the point of attack in time".
- Text in article: "After the attack, Nelson sent Emerald with his report to Jervis who in turn sent her on to England with dispatches. Waller arrived at the Admiralty on 1 September, with the news of the failed attacks".
- Text in source: [[4]] In letter from the Admiralty-Office, dated 2 September 1797 - "Captain Waller, of His Majesty's Ship Emerald, arrived here yesterday with Dispatches from Admiral Lord St. Vincent to…" and in letter from Admiral Jervis, dated 16 August 1797 - "The Emerald joined yesterday, with the inclosed dispatch and reports from the Rear-Admiral (Nelson); and although the enterprize has not succeeded…"
- Text in article: "On 2 September it (the squadron comprising Zealous, Goliath, Swiftsure, Emerald, Seahorse, Alcmene and Bonne Citoyenne) encountered and destroyed a French aviso, Anémone".
- Text in source: [[5]] In a letter from Samuel Hood, dated 19 September 1798 - "On the 2d instant (September) His Majesty's Ships Seahorse and Emerald chased in shore, where she anchored near the Town of the Arabs, the French Gun Boat (aviso) L'Anemone………On the approach of the boats of our ship she fired on them, cut her cable, and ran in shore into the breakers"
- But as you can see, few people go to that much effort. I leave it entirely up to you, I would just be glad to get it done.--Ykraps (talk) 12:35, 15 July 2016 (UTC)
- P.S. If you go to Wikipedia:Featured article candidates, you can see what other people have put.--Ykraps (talk) 12:42, 15 July 2016 (UTC)
Thanks ever so much for your offer but it appears that someone is now doing it. Sorry to have wasted your time but if there's anything I can do for you, now or in the future, don't hesitate to ask. Thanks again--Ykraps (talk) 16:17, 15 July 2016 (UTC)
- I haven't done that bit, so this should be linked on the page of the FAC. Saves me doing it....Cas Liber (talk · contribs) 22:30, 15 July 2016 (UTC)
A barnstar for you!
[edit]![]() | The Special Barnstar |
Thank you for coming to my aid for the creation of a new article. I found the link provided inspirational, and I feel a lot better about writing this article. Jak474 (talk) 23:21, 13 September 2016 (UTC) |
Reference Desk Question
[edit]Alansplodge, Thanks for answering my question about Slavery in Ancient Rome. --Johnnyg150 (talk) 00:20, 20 September 2016 (UTC)
Autopatrolled granted
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a2/Wikipedia_Autopatrolled.svg/80px-Wikipedia_Autopatrolled.svg.png)
Hi Alansplodge, I just wanted to let you know that I have added the "autopatrolled" permission to your account, as you have created numerous, valid articles. This feature will have no effect on your editing, and is simply intended to reduce the workload on new page patrollers. For more information on the patroller right, see Wikipedia:Autopatrolled. Feel free to leave me a message if you have any questions. Happy editing! — MusikAnimal talk 03:41, 10 October 2016 (UTC)
Greetings Alan, I've pasted in some edits from other articles, which cover some of your comments from 2012. Regards Keith-264 (talk) 21:02, 21 October 2016 (UTC)
Talk:Battle of Passchendaele, ANI notice
[edit]I have opened a thread at ANI at Wikipedia:Administrators'_noticeboard/Incidents#Move_discussion_going_nowhere_quickly about a discussion in which you have been involved. You are welcome to contribute to the thread at ANI, DuncanHill (talk) 23:31, 13 November 2016 (UTC)
Merry Merry
[edit]HGWells
[edit]I removed your off topic Trump insult. Personal attacks of BLP's is not appropriate. μηδείς (talk) 21:19, 27 January 2017 (UTC)
- If it makes you happy User:Medeis, but a) I didn't write anything which wasn't supported by a reputable citation and b) perhaps Donald Trump can take a joke, but who knows? Alansplodge (talk) 01:59, 28 January 2017 (UTC)
Inquiry
[edit]Hello there,
I am interested in your edits concerning the Deutches Jungvolk page. I believe you are doing a great job in remaining unbias- how do you manage this?
Mike 1944 (talk) 18:43, 30 January 2017 (UTC) Interested beginner to Wiki
DYK for Leslie Skinner
[edit]On 19 February 2017, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article Leslie Skinner, which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that during development of the M8 rocket in 1941, Leslie Skinner (pictured) built the first prototypes with casings made from old fire extinguishers? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Leslie Skinner. You are welcome to check how many page hits the article got while on the front page (here's how, Leslie Skinner), and it may be added to the statistics page if the total is over 5,000. Finally, if you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please feel free to suggest it on the Did you know talk page.
— Coffee // have a cup // beans // 12:01, 19 February 2017 (UTC)
DYK for Operation Jupiter (Norway)
[edit]On 7 March 2017, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article Operation Jupiter (Norway), which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that a senior British general described Winston Churchill's proposal to invade Arctic Norway, Operation Jupiter, as "not merely dangerous but useless"? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Operation Jupiter (Norway). You are welcome to check how many page hits the article got while on the front page (here's how, Operation Jupiter (Norway)), and it may be added to the statistics page if the total is over 5,000. Finally, if you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please feel free to suggest it on the Did you know talk page.
Mifter (talk) 12:03, 7 March 2017 (UTC)
Re:QPQ
[edit]Thanks for your message. A QPQ is shorthand for Quid pro quo, which basically means that because you've had more than 5 DYKs, then you have to review another nomination and post the link on your nomination before it can proceed to promotion. The C of E God Save the Queen! (talk) 12:53, 31 March 2017 (UTC)
DYK for SS Tyndareus
[edit]On 26 April 2017, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article SS Tyndareus, which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that soldiers lined up on the sinking British troopship SS Tyndareus began to sing "It's a Long Way to Tipperary" while waiting for orders? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/SS Tyndareus. You are welcome to check how many page hits the article got while on the front page (here's how, SS Tyndareus), and it may be added to the statistics page if the total is over 5,000. Finally, if you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please feel free to suggest it on the Did you know talk page.
Cas Liber (talk · contribs) 00:02, 26 April 2017 (UTC)
Map help
[edit]Thank you! I saw it yesterday when I didn't have time to do/say anything, and I'd since then forgotten to do anything. Nyttend (talk) 11:03, 19 May 2017 (UTC)
Great stuff
[edit]Hello A. I'm guessing you have the bit between your teeth (and I mean that in the nicest way possible) regarding the Humpty Dumpty question. I hope you are having fun digging into things. I can remember when we would have had to go from one end of the library to the other to find all of the resources that we can now access on the computer :-) Thanks for all your work and have a pleasant weekend. MarnetteD|Talk 19:09, 30 June 2017 (UTC)
Thanks
[edit]Hi,
Just checking in to say thanks for the info you provided, on the MILHIST talkpage, in regards to my request for help with the 18th Division article.
Kind regards, EnigmaMcmxc (talk) 16:39, 11 August 2017 (UTC)
A kitten for you!
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/87/Kitten_%2806%29_by_Ron.jpg/150px-Kitten_%2806%29_by_Ron.jpg)
Thanks for creating Grillo-class tracked torpedo motorboat. That question was quite interesting!
(((The Quixotic Potato))) (talk) 16:52, 11 August 2017 (UTC)
Voracity?
[edit]I suspect the word you were looking for is veracity.[6] ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 01:40, 26 August 2017 (UTC)
There seems to be some duplicated text in the Reactions and critiques and the Criticism sections of the Soviet offensive plans controversy article. The text starts with "Among the noted critics" and ends with "virtually no evidentiary base". Would you please be so kind to take a look? (((The Quixotic Potato))) (talk) 17:39, 27 August 2017 (UTC)
- Thanks for your message User:The Quixotic Potato. I'm off on holiday tomorrow and won't have time to look at it tonight. I'll gladly have a bash when I get back next week if it hasn't been sorted by then. Best regards, Alansplodge (talk) 18:49, 27 August 2017 (UTC)
- Thank you! We do not have a WP:DEADLINE and we are all volunteers (except those pesky paid editors which I am not a fan of). Have fun on holiday! (((The Quixotic Potato))) (talk) 20:01, 27 August 2017 (UTC)
Albert > George VI
[edit]Hi, Alansplodge! If you believe we ought to mention the name George VI used as prince, can we at least come up with a wording that does not suggest he followed Edward VIII as Albert and then became George VI? Unless I am mistaken, as soon as Edward VIII ceased being king, Albert ceased being Albert, so it is only accurate to say that Edward VIII was followed by George VI. It is a complicated matter, and bringing it up where it is not absolutely necessary can only confuse people, IMO. Even "George VI (né Albert)" would be clearer, if necessary. Surtsicna (talk) 11:35, 17 September 2017 (UTC)
- Thanks for your message Surtsicna, you have a point there. I have added "Before his accession, George had held the title of Albert, Duke of York, his regnal name being chosen in honour of his late father". I trust this is now acceptable. Alansplodge (talk) 11:51, 17 September 2017 (UTC)
Hi. Thankyou for your participation in the challenge series or/and contests. In November The Women in Red World Contest is being held to try to produce new articles for as many countries worldwide and occupations as possible. There will be over $4000 in prizes to win, including Amazon vouchers and paid subscriptions. If this would appeal to you and you think you'd be interested in contributing new articles on women during this month for your region or wherever please sign up in the participants section. If you're not interested in prize money yourself but are willing to participate and raise money to buy books about women for others to use, this is also fine. Thankyou, and if taking part, good luck!♦ Dr. Blofeld 15:17, 27 September 2017 (UTC)
A barnstar for you!
[edit]![]() | The Original Barnstar |
Thanks for all you do for Wikipedia! American474 (talk) 14:33, 3 October 2017 (UTC) |
- Thank you most kindly American474, you've made my day. Alansplodge (talk) 14:51, 3 October 2017 (UTC)
- You are much welcome. I have been off Wikipedia for a while, and thought I would drop by your page. American474 (talk) 18:47, 3 October 2017 (UTC)
Thank you for answer at Reference Desk
[edit]Thank you for answering my question about the number of polling stations in Venezuela. -- Communpedia Tribal (talk) 00:33, 22 October 2017 (UTC)
- Most welcome User:Communpedia Tribal, it turned out to be easier than I thought! Alansplodge (talk) 08:19, 22 October 2017 (UTC)
Coronation of the British monarch
[edit]Hey! Would you mind if you could write a section for the British coronation article (right before the section for the service) about the ceremonial at Westminster hall and subsequent procession on foot to the Abbey before the service proper? I think this would add to the general overview of the sequence of events that formerly took place. Thanks. :) --OrbisR (talk) 16:56, 23 October 2017 (UTC)