View source for User:AlMac

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'''[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/wiki.phtml?title=User_talk:AlMac&action=edit&section=new Click here to message me on my talk page.]'''</div><br>
<small>''[{{SERVER}}{{localurl:Wikipedia:Peer review|action=purge}} Purge server cache]''</small>
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<span style="font-size: 95%">the '''free encyclopedia''' that '''[[Wikipedia:Introduction|anyone can edit]]'''</span></div>
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{{Today cell}}
== Introduction ==
I"m Al Macintyre, currently residing and working in Evansville, SW corner of Indiana, USA.   Traditionally, irrespective of individual communities, my interests include: [[Science Fiction]]; [[Simulation game]]s; and topics from my profession, as a midrange systems computer programmer.  I am also a news-junkie and book-a-holic.  

'':[[Disclaimer]]: any and all opinions expressed here are the opinions of '''AlMac''' (and any vandalism miscreants whose damage has not yet been repaired) and are not neccessarily endorsed nor held by the Wikipedia encyclopedia itself.'' 

[[Plagarism]] warning: If I see an image I like anywhere on Wikipedia, and can figure out how to incorporate it on my user page, I will do so.  But now I am holding off on this until the [[WP:AUM]] crisis is resolved sufficiently so that Image newbies like me have how-to instructions to fix what we've done with minimum of hassle.

I just got invited to [[Jury Duty]], which I imagine will be a great addition to my continuing interesting life education.  I do not yet know how much of that education I will be permitted to share with others ... confidentiality until case is over for example.  I did not get selected.  They asked really good questions, of the kind that belong here & in [[Yahoo Answers]].

I extend my sympathies to the people of the region of the latest terrorist attacks,

{{Boxboxtop|Miscellaneous}}
{{User:Aeon1006/Userboxes/User Bright Future}}
{{user blank|âˆš|This user enjoys [[Wikipedia]].}}
'''In the News'''
{{In the news}}
{{Template:Signpost-subscription}}
{{Boxboxbottom}}

"__TOC__"

== [http://tools.wikimedia.de/~kate/cgi-bin/count_edits?user=AlMac&dbname=enwiki My edit count]: ==
{{Boxboxtop|Goals}}
{{User:Saoshyant/Userboxes/User oops}}
{{user Helpnewuser}}
{{User:Nihiltres/Userboxes/Friendly}}
{{userbox|beige|ivory|[[Image:Chocolate.jpg|40px]]|This user loves [[ice cream]] and [[chocolate]].}}
{{User:UBX/Strawberry}}
{{Boxboxbottom}}

If we been away from Wikipedia for too long, we may need to revisit [[Wikipedia:Cheatsheet]].

* 2006 January 29 = 3400 edits on 340 pages, 
** 549 edits on articles, 1000 on project pages, 700 on User Talk pages, 470 on article talk pages
** 450 pages being watched 
** most recent contributions to [[asteroid deflection strategies|human extinction avoidance]]
* 2006 January 21 = 3050 edits on 310 pages & 400 pages watched
** 415 edits on articles, 435 on their talk pages, or approx 1/3 of my efforts here
** 920 edits on project pages, 220 on their talk pages, and a handful on category pages, also aggregate about 1/3 of my focus
** 385 edits on user pages, mainly mine, 675 on user talk pages ... lots of small byte do something, save so far
* 2006 January 7 = 2600 edits on 250 pages & 300 pages watched
** Last few days I helped out the [[Wikipedia:Wikiproject Cyberlaw|Cyberlaw Project]] and posted some stuff at the [http://hcs.harvard.edu/~cyberlaw/wiki/index.php/User:AlMac Harvard Law School students wiki] 
* 2006 January 4 = 2500 edits on 215 pages & 250 pages watched
** 15% Articles
** 15% Article talk pages (seeking consensus)
** 30% Projects (much more than I realized ... I suspect Wiki codes some stuff as Projects that I not realize as such ... how are the Help desks coded?)
**  4% Project talk
**  8% User (too much)
** 25% User talk (too high ... I gotta spend higher proportion of my time here contributing to the encyclopaedia) 
* 2005 December = 2000 edits Christmas Eve 
** on 180 pages and recently only 100 pages watcched
*** (12 edits / page)
** with 60 edits been deleted.
* 2005 June 28 was '''wikiborn''' = Joined [[WP]] 
{{tonofedits}}

== Season's Greetings ==
* May 14 [http://pe.usps.com/RateCase2007/DMM300_HTML/ratesandfees2.htm#wp1008795 US postage rates] go up 
** first class up to
** 1 ounce = 41 cents
** 2 = 50 cents
** 3 = 75 cents
** 3.5 = 92 cents
* Thank God its Friday, on steroids.
Hopefully in the next year I will have time to contribute more here than I was able to do last year.
{{Pic of the day}}
=== Featured Article of the Day ===
{{Wikipedia:Today's featured article/{{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTDAY}}, {{CURRENTYEAR}}}}

== New Year Resolutions ==
* Take a break from giving lip service to losing weight, and just enjoy life.
** Here's a [http://www.ryze.com/go/Al9Mac picture of me] from a few years ago.

== My activity ==
Heavily defined with the aid of userboxes.  Where I give links to various [[WP]] articles about topics of interest to me, I have also been rather involved in editing many of those articles.
=== Archives ===
* [[User talk:AlMac/2005 Jun-Oct]]
* [[User:AlMac/2005 Sympathies to terrorist victims]]

=== Userbox Concept ===
{{Boxboxtop|Hello}}
{{userbox|white|#f0f0f0|[[Image:Wikipedia-logo.png|40px]]| This user recently discovered [[Wikipedia:Userboxes|userboxes.]]}}
{{User SFI}}
{{Boxboxbottom}}

Userbox concept technique [[plagiarism]] from [[User:Ali K]] from [[User:Redvers]] with help from [[Wikipedia:Userboxes]], assuming I can figure out how to work this concept (I not want wrap around vs. next sub-topic, nor do I want very wide pages, and I want the colors to be very readable to my aging eyes.).
{{WP:UBS}}

=== Point of View ===
We all have a [[POV]] or bias on some topics, and need to be careful not to contaminate factual [[WP]] articles with our opinions.
{{User:Aeon1006/Userboxes/User mad}}
I identify with a collection of view points from different competing philosophies.
* I share the [[libertarian]] view that we all need to be accountable for our actions.
* I share the [[liberal]] view that we all have a responsibility to help our fellow humans with some kind of social safety net.
* I share the [[conservative]] view that a nation ought to have a strong economy to pay for a strong military to protect itself.
* I favor a variety of international efforts to make the world a better place for us all.

=== [[Geography]] ===
{{Boxboxtop|Geography}}
{{userbox-2|silver|white|[[Image:Stargate-earth-glyph.png|36px]]|This user is from the planet [[Earth]].|[[Image:The_Earth_seen_from_Apollo_17.jpg|40px]]|#6666ff|black}}
{{User:1ne/Userboxes/User world}}
[[Time CDT]]
{{User dst}}
{{User expat britons in US}}
{{userbox|#00FF7F|orange|[[Image:Flag_of_Scotland.svg|40px]]|This user is of [[Scotland|Scottish]] ancestry}}
{{Boxboxbottom}}
* I reside and work in Evansville [[Indiana]] USA. {{USA}} which is on [[Central daylight savings time]] ... I guess no user box yet for CDT time.
** I have been selected for jury duty, which i expect will be an educational experience.
* I got my college education in Cincinnati Ohio and Sacramento California.
* I was born in Aberdeen, [[Scotland]], which is part of Great Britain, or United Kingdom. {{UK}}

=== Who Am I? ===
This is from before joining [[WP]].  Much about me is subject to change.  '''If I could, I would boycott death'''.
{{Boxboxtop|Identity}}
{{User:UBX/male}}
{{userbox|lime|white| zodiac|aquarius}}
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* My e-mail MacWheel is a play on my surname.
* My full name is Alister William Macintyre.
* I sign my name with William shortened as Wm.
* In the work place I am generally known as Al Macintyre.
** Except for leg pullers who insist on using MacAlister, or some other variant.

=== Career ===
{{Boxboxtop|Skills: Incomplete list}}
{{user programming}}
{{user sql}}
{{Boxboxbottom}}
I work in the [[computer]] [[profession]], currently programming [[Enterprise resource planning|ERP]] {version 405 CD of [[BPCS]]} on the [[IBM]] [[AS/400]] [[operating system]].  At previous employers I have developed applications for: [[retail]]; [[wholesale]]; [[publishing]]; [[transportation]].  Sorry Y"all.  I have been frenetically busy of late, so there has been a lapse in my contributions here.

=== Wiki [[WP]] Involvement ===
{{Boxboxtop|Community Projects}}
{{userbox|#C0C8FF|#F0F8FF|[[Image:Fairytale messagebox info.png|40px]]|This user answers questions at the '''[[Wikipedia:Help desk|Help desk]]''' and '''[[Wikipedia:Reference desk|Reference desk]]''', occasionally asks some, and checks on '''[[Wikipedia:New user log|New user needs]]''', but is not yet good enough here for '''[[Wikipedia:Wikifun|know-how competition]]'''.}}
{{User wikipedia/Help Project}} 
{{user 2|white|white|[[Image:WikiProject Usability Icon.svg|40px]]|This user is involved with the [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Usability| Usability Wiki Project]]|[[Image:Accesibility.png|40px]]|yellow|white}}
{{Wikipedia:WikiProject Userboxes/Userbox}}
{{User wikipedia/WikiProject Stargate}}
{{Boxboxbottom}}
Note that I have joined some projects, and identified interests, but made significant contributions, in only a few areas, and I often manage to get over-committed.

I am interested in helping out with the [[Wikipedia:Wikiproject Cyberlaw|Cyberlaw project]].  However, my [[cyberlaw]] know-how is that of spending many decades in the computer professional trenches, having had computer security responsibilities for about 40 years, and having no formal training in the law, and not a lot of academic credentials.

I've been a bit heavy with suggestions on many [[WP]] talk pages, while rather timid in actual article editing, other than where I tried to start new articles.

==== Computer Security ====
This is a major professional interest area, a great degree due to my career.
* [[Security breaches]] 
** I failed to find the time to rewrite to Wiki standards ... i may try again some time in the future ... see [[Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Security breaches]]
* [[Computer security audit]] and [[Talk:Computer security audit]]
** I began to rewrite this, my spare time has evaporated ... hopefully it won't go the same way.

=== Book a holic ===
[[user book-a-holic]]
[[Image:Open book nae 02.png]]
[[Image:Books-aj.svg aj ashton 01.png]]

{{Boxboxtop|Books disorganized}}
{{User:UBX/Lines}}
{{User Wikipedia reference}}
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I have enjoyed reading [[Science Fiction]] since I was a pre-teenager, then branched out into other genres.  My apartment has grown cluttered with many things, including looking like a section of a library.  I started the [[Time travel in fiction]] article, which has exploded with numerous other contributors, and now there is a [[:Category:Time travel in fiction]].

=== Gamer ===
{{Boxboxtop|Games}}
{{User:Scepia/Monopoly}}
{{User:Scepia/full deck}}
{{user:UBX/chess}}
{{user go}}
{{User:Scepia/BGG}}
{{Boxboxbottom}}

I enjoy many traditional games like [[Go (board game)]] and not so traditional, although it has been a while since I played some of them.

==== Time Travel Game Designer ====
I have designed a few [[Science Fiction]] [[Games]], such as [[Time travel in fiction]] "Simulation". In my later life, I hope to put this stuff in the public domain, so that people can play my designs over the [[Internet]].
I have worked on the [[Time travel]] article and [[Time travel in fiction]], in fact I started that secondary article, to split the growing content between the main article which presents [[Time travel]] as being factually plausible, and the [[Science Fiction]] perspective.

=== Remainder in re-write ===
{{Boxboxtop|This is how}}
{{user browser:Microsoft Internet Explorer}}
{{user wikipedia}}
{{User Wikipediholic|411.64}}
{{userbox|lightgray|white|tna|This user almost tried to edit [[this nonexistent article]].}}
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=== Userbox enhancement needs ===

There are several boxes I need to figure out how to revise, that are not precise mesh with my interests, just in the neighborhood.<br>
Locate the template.  For example, color combinations are hostile to my eyesight through the browser I have used.  I have heard that some of my solutions are hostile to other eyes as seen by other eyes through other browsers.

Copy it to your page.  Then revise it.

{{user rpg}}
My interest in RPG is both [[Role Playing Games]] and the computer language [[Report Program Generator]].

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| style="width: 45px; height: 45px; background: #6ef7a7; text-align: center; font-size: 14pt;" | '''[[Image:Gamepad.svg|40px]]'''
| style="font-size: 8pt; padding: 4pt; line-height: 1.25em;" | This user is '''[[:Category:User cvg-N|addicted]]''' to ''' the [[computer game]], [[Civilization (computer game) | "Civilization"]].<includeonly>[[Category:User cvg-N|AlMac]][[Category:Wikipedians interested in computer and video games|AlMac]]</includeonly>
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=== Other Wiki Interests ===
Wiki places I been intermittently pretty active so far (this list is far from exhaustive), excluding those already mentioned elsewhere in this collection.
* [[Asteroid deflection strategies]]
* [[BPCS]]
* [[Military history]] and [[Talk:Military]]
* [[Trade]] article and  [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Trade discussion of potential improvements]
** [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:AlMac/Trade AlMac_Talk about ideas for improving the Trade article].
* [[User talk:Jayant412/Userbox design kit]]
* [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Usability]] and its [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_talk:WikiProject_Usability discussion]

==== New ideas ====
{{| width="30%" align="center" style="border: 1px solid #6688AA; background-color:#efefef; padding:1em;" valign="top"| <big>'''''Portal of the Week'''''</big>}}

* [[AlMac/Growing Expertise]]

== Why I '''love''' this place ==
{{WM|right|User:AlMac|04}}
Let me count the ways. 

=== High Ratio of Signal to Noise ===
{{Boxboxtop|Attitude}}
{{user RV War}}
{{userbox||#FFFFFF|[[Image:DoNotFeedTroll.jpg|40px]]|This user   '''[[WP:DNFT|does not feed trolls]]'''.}}
{{Boxboxbottom}}

There are some problems, but proportionally small compared to some other [[Internet]] sites.
* By Signal, I mean information that interests me.
* By Noise, I mean people saying or writing stuff that gets in the way of me getting at the information I want to see.

Many discussion groups have a high ratio of noise to signal.
* People misconstrue what we said (some deliberately), then attack what they say we said, which is not what we said.
* There can be a lot of [[Deja Vu]] (didn't we have this conversation already?)
==== Massive Value ====
[[Image:Main Page Usability.png|250px]]
* [[User:AlMac/Wiki Start Map]] explodes this so the individual details are readable, and here's the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_talk:WikiProject_Usability#A_diagram_to_help_us context] from which I plagarized the diagram.
* Lots of people have contributed information and links of great value, but there's lots more work to be done.  We all can contribute to making a great service even greater.
<!------------------------------------------------->
[[Image:User herostratus userpage graphic out of control.jpg|right]]
<!------------------------------------------------->
Al not yet figured out how to rename this as self, without copying the image.

==== Watch out for Correct Speech ====
[[Image:Be bold.png|thumb|right|Be bold!]]

Wiki Correct Speech takes a bit of getting used to.
* Not just be nice
** Be Very Nice
* Be Bold
** But also be neutral
** and find ways to do emphasis on steroids without resorting to 4 letter words
{{User AGF}}

=== High Focus on Truth ===
High Focus on Truth, without having to cite every assertiun in rigorous academic sense. Systems for [[Wikipedia:Resolving disputes|resolving disputes]] when different volunteers cannot reach a peaceable settlement in this community.  However, there is the risk that the concensus committee approach will occasionally design a [[camel]] in place of a [[race horse]].

=== Useful External Links ===
* [http://www.recipeland.com:8080/facts/Wikipedia:How_to_edit_a_page Tutorial on Wiki Commands]

== Sig ==
{{user en}}

(see how to do this)
'''Al Mac''' repaired [[User:AlMac]]|[[User talk:AlMac|<sup>(talk)</sup>]] 09:44, 20 December 2005 (UTC)

# Since you can read this page, thank a [[teacher]].
# Since it is in English, and you have the freedom to get to it, thank a [[soldier]].
# But keep an eye on [[politician]]s trying to regulate the [[Internet]].
# and where some info seems to be gobbly gook, thank a [[spammer]]. 
[[Category:Wikipedians in North America]]