User:JerryFriedman

By Laurie Tümer, May, 2006



I'm taking an indefinite break from Wikipedia with very occasional breaks from the break.

Here's my talk page. You can also reach me at [mailto:jerry_friedman@yahoo.com]. The spammers are already doing their worst.

I live in New Mexico and teach physics and math. However, I haven't found many articles on those topics that need improvement, so most of my edits have been on other topics, such as birdwatching and speculative fiction.

I take pictures too&mdash;here's a gallery.

Style tips

 * "Named as" should be "named", and "considered as" should be "considered" (or "considered to be" if the extra words really make the sentence clearer), except in the unusual construction "Considered as a politician, Armijo was successful."


 * Have some doubt about "first ever". You can often just use "first".  "First and only" can almost always be "only".


 * Have some doubt about "red-colored", "red in color", etc. "Red" is almost always fine, as are "blue", "yellow", etc.  On rare occasions you might need something such as "orange-colored" or "violet in color" because there's a danger of confusion with oranges or violets.


 * Have some doubt about using "would" or "was to" to describe single past events. For example, "In 19xx, X went to A, where he was to meet his lifelong lover, L.  He would also win the P Prize while there."  If your narration is chronological, consider whether you would prefer "In 19xx, X went to A, where he met his lifelong lover, L.  He also won the P Prize."  If your narrative isn't chronological, consider whether it should be.


 * (Of course, this doesn't apply to repeated events: "In A, he would often verb.")


 * Have some doubt about "located". "Espa&ntilde;ola is in Rio Arriba County" is just as clear as and one word shorter than "Espa&ntilde;ola is located in Rio Arriba County".


 * Have some doubt about "Note that", "Interestingly", "It is important to note that", etc. You can often just leave them out.


 * "Protagonist" means "main character" (etymologically "first actor"), so "main protagonist" is redundant. If you feel there's more than one of what you're talking about, "protagonist" probably isn't the right word.


 * Have some doubt about "false titles", such as "Renowned novelist Dan Brown". I'm not the only one who dislikes them&mdash;R. L. Trask said they weren't English&mdash;but everyone accepts "The renowned novelist Dan Brown" or "Dan Brown, a renowned novelist, " or "A renowned novelist, Dan Brown, "


 * In most encyclopedic contexts, there's nothing wrong with the word "big".

Started (including stubs)
Christmas Bird Count, American Birding Association, Malafrena, Tom Brown's School Days (now merged with a later article under the title Tom Brown's Schooldays), Space Trilogy, Thornton Burgess, Zone-tailed Hawk, White-throated Hawk, Rodolfo Amando Philippi, What's Bred in the Bone, Lazuli Bunting, Pygmy Nuthatch, Keres languages (incorporating material from Kiowa-Tanoan languages), Tewa, Tewa language, Self-parody, Mountain Plover, Maia (novel), John Middleton Murry, Jr., Tribulus (replacing a page that is now at Puncture Vine), Prairie Falcon, Red-masked Parakeet, Aplomado Falcon, Fer-de-lance (previously a redirect), Band-tailed Pigeon, Lesser Goldfinch, Cane Cholla, hornbill ivory, Helmeted Hornbill, Crimson-collared Tanager, brewer's yeast (formerly a redirect), Northern New Mexico, Pablo de la Llave, terciopelo, Barry Dennen, Mixed-species feeding flock, Theodore A. Parker III, Manuel Antonio Chaves, Yellow-headed Parrot, Lúpin (just moving text from lupin), Solanum elaeagnifolium, Manuel Armijo, Carmen (novella), Montezuma Quail, Edsel Ford (poet), poshlost', muscular Christianity, Scarlet-headed Blackbird, Sidney Dancoff, Long-billed Thrasher, Whistling Heron, Speke's Weaver, Black-throated Magpie-jay, Penstemon strictus, Sooty Chat, Tropical Boubou, Tympanuchus, Nyctanassa, Red-legged Seriema (formerly a redirect), Falcipennis, Bonasa, Amphispiza, Hypargos (bird), Electron (bird), Ergaticus, Harpagus (bird), Periparus, Pardaliparus, Picumnus (bird), Brown-throated Wren, Greyish Eagle-owl, Baja Pygmy-owl, Tucuman Pygmy-owl, Jackson's Pipit, Golden-tailed Starfrontlet, Longuemare's Sunangel, Black-spotted Piculet, Kerguelen Shag, Red-chested Goshawk, Reichenow's Woodpecker, Swamp Prinia, Blue-eyed shag, Finsch's Flycatcher-thrush, Blue-throated Piping-guan, Henry Beard, John Boswell (publishing-business figure), Tsavo Sunbird, panocha, Vireo (genus), Physocarpus monogynus, Striking and Picturesque Delineations of the Grand, Beautiful, Wonderful, and Interesting Scenery Around Loch-Earn, Pirate Freedom, False title (English usage), The Cream of the Jest, Vintage Season, The Pitcher Shower.

Edited
My more extensive contributions have included Pale Fire, Robert B. Parker, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, Polymorphism (biology), Poul Anderson, Split infinitive, Robert Lowth, Puncture Vine, Laughing Falcon, Common Lancehead, Scarlet Macaw, Yeast, Yeast (baking), Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Crimson-collared Grosbeak, Clay-colored Robin, Quetzal and Resplendent Quetzal (including splitting them into two articles), Honeyguide, Greater Honeyguide, Datura wrightii, Revolt of 1837, Texan Santa Fe Expedition, squaw, African Pygmy Falcon, Black-lored Babbler, Anactoria, Amethyst-throated Sunangel, Rufous-vented Prinia, Camel's nose, Striped Kingfisher, Santuario de Chimayo, Chimayo, New Mexico.

To do (unless somebody does them first):

 * Cuban Trogon
 * Audubon's mystery birds (Small-headed Flycatcher, Blue Mountain-Finch, Bird of Washington)
 * White-throated Swift


 * Work on Red-eyed Dove
 * Non-breeding plumage of Kittlitz's Plover?


 * Work on Bothrops atrox, including diet study from Brazil.


 * Grey-headed Social-weaver (picture)
 * Eastern Double-collared Sunbird (picture)
 * Yellow-throated Longclaw (picture)
 * Long-toed Lapwing


 * Hemimacronyx?

Other Licensing
I agree to multi-license all my contributions, with the exception of my user pages, as described below: