User talk:Thomcat

Geohash Goals

Having edited wiki for one quarter of our Three Graticule Tall state, I firmly intend to visit a geohash in each Graticule - eventually. Going to be tough to catch those two coastal ones (Forks and the one south of it).

Update - I've got the whole state as a table on my user page now.--Thomcat 17:15, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

Did you know that the Portland graticule is labelled "Vancouver"? --Jevanyn 14:28, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

Aye, and Victoria is labeled "Port Angeles". I basically chose names within the great state of Washington. When visiting those graticules, I won't be satisfied until I've geohashed on my side of the border. --Thomcat 15:14, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

Fair enough, I didn't realize there was a Vancouver, Washington, or that it was close to Portland. -- J

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Ribbons

"Earliest" is a good rename. Going to use a sunrise?

The only point the cherry has in favour of the moon landing for Virgin, is that it is clear to see in icon form. I initially uploaded a version with too much whitespace, but I replaced it with a full sized one in a circle. However the original image persists in the ribbon, and I can't find the page (Virgin geohash.PNG) at all. I like the pun, but I also think xkcd art should take precedence, so I won't sic [more] raptors on you if you get it to work with the new art.

Raptors!

Likewise disappointed to have missed you, but we had to get home to Canada before dark because the motorcycle headlight doesn't work properly. We almost certainly passed you on the way back to Granite Falls. I'm glad you saw our message. I often wonder at a hash if I have missed someone, or if someone is about to come along.

I definitely look forward to the next opportunity to meet you. Robyn 05:09, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

P.S. Thanks for the category help on my pictures. I'll try to get that right next time.

Oi!

Sorry I missed you at Cosmo's. One of these next times, though, for sure.--Nukewaste 02:14, 13 June 2008 (UTC)

Thanks

Good job on making the Active/Inactive graticule categories! I think it's awesome. Booberfish 05:31, 14 June 2008 (UTC)

Categorization Scheme

(discussion moved to Category_talk:North_America)

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Tyler hash

There was one in Tyler? Too bad I don't go to school near there anymore! --BenPop 00:35, 31 May 2008 (UTC)

Categories

I know only about as much as you do, but I've tried something out, and left a message on the category page where you asked your question. AshleyMorton 14:42, 11 June 2008 (UTC)

Cape May graticule

I think it's closer to 99.5% water.  :-) Since Jan 1st, the geohash has been on land 3 times, and twice it was wetland. On the other hand, a lot of people in the area own boats, so close-to-shore spots are fair game for weekend meet-ups. --Jevanyn 15:34, 12 June 2008 (UTC)

Deleting redirects?

Hey there -- why are you deleting redirects? They help people who are searching for shorthand (eg, "San Francisco") find what they're looking for faster. What's the point of deleting them? --Tapin 17:15, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

I can't know which redirects are in active use and which aren't, so I deleted the ones that no longer fit the naming convention of "city name, statename". I expect the ones that are in use will be recreated, which is a simple enough process. The majority of older redirects were created when pages were moved, and (once the references were corrected) were never being used.

A caveat - I hope the ones that are "in use" aren't actually bookmarks or browser cache. Those usages should, IMHO, also be corrected. Why hit the wiki for the extra lookup? It causes a slowdown (small, but not non-zero) for other users. --Thomcat 15:56, 7 July 2008 (UTC)

Reverting spam

Hey, how do you revert several spam attacks at once? Is there a clean copy of the page somewhere, that you can just cut and paste? --Joannac 23:52, 3 August 2008 (UTC)

View the page History, then select the last "clean" revision, then compare differences. Up near the top of the comparison page there is an "undo" link - select that, then save changes. No default "Summary" - I've been using *yawn* because I am really tired of deleting the spam. --Thomcat 04:37, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

Virgin Graticule

In answer to your question, I don't quite grasp the difference between Virgin Graticule and first geohasher in a graticule, so I don't think it needs a new ribbon. Robyn 19:41, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

Statistics

Wow, thanks a lot for your effort in classifying all the expeditions in the blink of an eye! (or two)

To automate future classification, maybe an expedition template (which contains all the stuff you need anyway to describe your venture; maps, photo gallery, and categories to choose from) could help that people automatically add these categories to their pages. When it comes to updating the numbers, I don't know.. some wiki template function "category size" could be helpful, if it exists, but I'm still just learning the syntax. -- Relet 18:38, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

I was giggling about how the Pacific NW was taking over the wiki, with you and me and Moose Hole making so many edits, and then you go and single-handled classify all the expeditions. Well done. I'm stuck here for a month with no bicycle and hardly any roads, anyway, and I take off at six am so I can't air hash, so I just sit and watch you. -Robyn 20:52, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

I don't think Nevada counts as Pacific NW, and I haven't really made many edits recently. Maybe the Pacific NW really is taking over the wiki, since I'm not making many edits. -- Moose Hole 21:07, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

Hey Thomcat, thanks for all your efforts in going through and classifying all the expeditions as completed / failed etc. You must have been reading a lot of interesting stories! --CJ 05:17, 12 August 2008 (UTC)

Heureka! As of Mediawiki 1.13 there should be a variable called {{PAGESINCATEGORY:...}}. This could automage our statistics. Where do we apply for an upgrade? -- Relet 14:18, 19 August 2008 (UTC)

Wow, right now as I'm looking it's 200x Coordinates reached vs. 200x Coordinates not reached. -- Relet 18:52, 21 August 2008 (UTC)

401 to 222 actually... that "next 200" link, you see. --Thomcat 19:15, 21 August 2008 (UTC)

Doh! Now I see. :D -- Relet 19:21, 21 August 2008 (UTC)

Hey, I'm sorry...

I just wanted to apologize for my messy page yesterday. I feel really bad that I didn't spend enough time figuring out what the proper format was, and then forcing you to clean up after me. Please be patient with the newb, I'll do better! -- FlagPoleSitta

Cold Geohash

Do me a favour and bring a thermometer to your next geohash. I'll enter you as coldest and then let the competition begin. :-)

Active and Inactive

CJ is busy removing the Active and Inactive graticule designations from pages. I had for some reason added one,a nd I wondered why, and then I realized that you were putting them on. You might want to get together. -Robyn 04:03, 14 August 2008 (UTC)

The only pages that I have removed them from are pages that were redirect pages (ie both the actual page and the redirect page were showing up in the category list). I figured there was no need for the duplication. --CJ 04:09, 14 August 2008 (UTC)

The only category I could see belonging on a redirect page is state. Somebody (Moose?) made an argument that Vancouver, Washington which redirects to Portland, Oregon should have a Category:Washington, and that makes sense to me. Active/Inactive? I don't think those belong on redirectors... --Thomcat 06:05, 14 August 2008 (UTC)

Success/Failure

I'm having difficulty categorizing hashes where I don't have much time left in the day, but ride as far as I can anyway, and then have to give up and go home in order to be in bed at 8:30 to get up at 4:30 and start work at five. Mother nature didn't defeat me: I could have kept riding. The technology is okay, it's just that I have to go home. I see you classed this similar one as mother nature, but I can't blame mother nature for a ten and a half hour work day. Shouldn't there be a Category:Failed - Ran out of time? -Robyn 02:48, 16 August 2008 (UTC)

Hmmm... I classed that one as M.N. from the description of the ravine. Guessing you don't plan the ride that closely, but just ride, and a midnight hash is out of the question - or at least incompatible with employment. My vote is for Category:Failed - Technology (your transportation is lacking), but I'd be fine with inventing a new case also. --Thomcat (remote)

My transportation isn't all that good because it cost $100 at Wal-Mart, but it didn't let me down. And yes, it's illegal for me not to get 8 hours sleep, so midnight is out of the question.-Robyn 10:52, 16 August 2008 (UTC)

Land usage.

You're welcome. ;) Tell me if you think it's correct, and if I have interpreted the Fort Lewis area correctly. Is it military? The script just differentiates between everything white (uncharted land, usually agriculture and wilderness), everything gray (industry, airports, military), everything dark green (natural reserves, parks) and so on... I think I should detail on that on the description page. -- Relet 18:45, 21 August 2008 (UTC)

Heather and 16th

If you have to ask you can't afford to attend. :-)

P.S. What are you doing this weekend? Is the Whidbey Island location doable? -Robyn 16:16, 26 September 2008 (UTC)

Categories

Yes, I missed Expedition when I was putting things in the Wiki Stuff category because it already had one category. For all my sneering at Wiki Stuff, it was the best name I could come up with, and at least I knew one person thought it intuitive. I hope I get to actually geohash this month, else I'll have created every possible ribbon by November. -Robyn 19:56, 4 October 2008 (UTC)

I was chatting in IRC with someone who had no user page, and one barely touched Expedition Planning page. I asked him if he went. He had. In fact he had gone on about 12 geohashes in eight graticules and hadn't documented any of them. I looked at his photos and made him a user page. How many of these people do you think there are? -Robyn 02:49, 5 October 2008 (UTC)

Also, when you did your sweep looking for uncategorized geohashes, did you notice that many graticules have all their expedition records on their graticule pages, with no expedition pages. Seems ommon in the UK, also Munich does it. -Robyn 17:39, 5 October 2008 (UTC)

I went through all the user page, creating many. I am in the process of going through graticules to document first expeditions, and have created a few from those. It's an ongoing process, I'm afraid. --Thomcat 22:18, 5 October 2008 (UTC)

Purchases

I wish I'd thought of that straight off. It would be funny to have a running total of the geohashing-related purchases I've made. Pirate hat, ICWB, paddle for my inflatable boat (I already owned the boat), thermometer, $3 Salvation Army knapsack. I'm sure I've forgotten some of the things. I'm going to need a new GPS soon, too, as vertical line syndrome is claiming the eTrex. -Robyn 18:27, 9 October 2008 (UTC)

Meet Tomcat

I was beginning to when you had moved to Munich, when I realized User:Tomcat spelled his screen name slightly differently. -- Jevanyn

Heh heh - was a discussion in early December. The funny thing is, we are on at roughly the same hours. He from Germany, me from Seattle. Somebody is staying up late!

Meet Thomcat

I'd love to come and geohash there, and as you know I almost went to the Whidbey one, but it's a full day's ride to get there, and it's pretty old and icy these days. -Robyn 07:03, 21 January 2009 (UTC)

Which graticule is your 42nd celebration to be in? -Robyn 17:26, 22 January 2009 (UTC)

The most active graticule on the planet, of course! ( 2009-01-22 47 -122 ) I'll be there at 4 and can revisit at 5:30. Aftewards a few miles north to my house for games. --Thomcat 18:03, 22 January 2009 (UTC)

Journey to DE

Hey Thomcat! When exactly are you going to travel to Hannover? My next journeys there will be next weekend (Friday and Monday; both only driving through on a trip Berlin-Cologne, but I could of course stop there for a few hours) and then again for CeBIT (the whole week). Hessophanes 23:49, 17 February 2009 (UTC)

Geohashers! I expect to be in Hannover, Germany from Thursday 2/19 through the end of the month. I must hash on the other side of 30W! Feel free to message me here. I *will* bring games. --Thomcat 00:28, 18 February 2009 (UTC)

Yay! Another globetrotter! Statistically, you'll get a feasible hashpoint. Good luck! --Ilpadre 09:16, 18 February 2009 (UTC)

Hey Thomcat. Nice to see you around. I won't be anywhere close to Hannover unfortunately, but you should find some easy hashes there. Happy hashing! :) -- relet 09:29, 18 February 2009 (UTC)

Just get yourself a Niedersachsenticket and there will be something reachable somewhere. If in doubt, stop by at the IRC channel and ask for directions. And enjoy the country along the way :) Too bad Niedersachsen is too far from here to go for a hashtrip. --Ekorren 10:50, 18 February 2009 (UTC)

Hi Thomcat, thanks for your message. For us germans distances like those between Niedersachsen and Bavaria are quite far ;-) But aniway, your suggestion of a meetup on a weekend is promising and to visit one of the "northern" graticules (seen from my homegraticule 49 11 Nürnberg) e. g. 50 9 (Fulda), 50 10 (Erfurt) or 50 11 (Gotha) by train should be possible. So, if you could manage to travel south to one of these graticules, i would be ready for a meetup on a weekend. I´ve discussed that already with --dawidi and he also agreed in such a meetup. --Tomcat 19:29, 18 February 2009 (UTC)