User:StuffOfInterest

About me
I do computer systems engineering work including software development and network systems design. On the side I read a lot of science fiction and dabble a bit in Amateur radio. The radio interest has led me to startup WikiProject Amateur radio in hope of improving coverage of the topic on Wikipedia. Success with that project led me to start WikiProject Nudity on April fool's day of 2008. Just for the heck of it I build and run a few web sites including World Beach List and Self Study Certs.

My motto
It takes a smart man to learn from his mistakes, but it takes a wise man to learn from the mistakes of others.

Disclosures
The following disclsoures are intended to identify any possible bias I may hold so that any edits I make on related articles may be placed under additonal scrutiny to avoid any POV creeping in:
 * I am an atheist
 * I am a registered Democrat
 * I am against the death penalty in all situations
 * I am in favor of granting homosexuals the right to enter into any legal arrangements which heterosexuals may enter into
 * I support a woman's right to terminate a pregnancy under most circumstances during the first trimester, under limited circumstances during the second trimester, and under extreme circumstances during the third trimester

Should you observe any POV creeping in to article edits based on the above biases please let me know. Note that these biases used to be declared with userboxes, but due to the attitudes held by some in the community I've repackaged them in list form here.

Userbox war
Finally, after months of conflict, the German userbox solution appears to be catching on. There are still debates out there but a general concensus seems to have taken hold that admins should not delete boxes out of user space. As the template space archive migrates over and the ones listed in Userboxes are adopted and cleared out we will hopefully see peace in the valley at last. I know, wishful thinking. I'm sure people will find many other topics to fight over. Still, in support of this solution, I've started my own archive of userboxes that others are welcome to transclude. — (Updated 11 July 2006)

Due to some recent events, it has become obvious that there are still very strong feelings out there regarding userboxes which express a point of view. As I prefer to avoid generating controversy — it distracts from Wiki activities I much more enjoy — I've decided to remove those boxes from my own page. Still, this does not change my view that people should be able to express a POV on their own user page. Regarding anyone elses expression of POV, let me remind you of some words attributed to Evelyn Beatrice Hall, "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it". — (Updated 9 October 2006)

Religion
Isn't it amazing how much hostility can be unleashed by so little? Just take a look at the history on the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy article for an example. All was caused by one image. As of 2 Feb 2006, the edit war raging is like nothing I've ever seen before on Wikipedia. It is only being outdone by the real life protests across the Middle East. Higher resolution versions of the images are available here. Judge it for yourself.

Just something interesting
Well, Wikimedia has the longest acronyn I've ever seen in my life. Welcome to "AWWDMBJAWGCAWAIFDSPBATDMTD". And I thought the US Navy had some long ones!

Personal sandbox
I maintain a sub user page for doing sandbox work. This page has my doodles and experiments not ready for prime time. You can view the sandbox if you are really interested.

To do list
These are some wiki tasks I intend to tackle as time permits


 * General vandalism cleanup
 * Recent changes patrol
 * Articles for deletion voting discussion

Wikipedia topics I follow
I have an interest in various topics including space science, amateur radio, and beaches.

Computers & Technology

 * Amateur radio
 * Linux

Aircraft & Spacecraft

 * Airbus A380
 * Bigelow Aerospace
 * Boeing 787
 * Crew Exploration Vehicle
 * List of rockets - doing cleanup
 * McDonnell Douglas DC-X
 * SpaceX - actively monitor
 * Falcon 1
 * Falcon 5
 * Falcon 9

Outdoor

 * List of beaches
 * Nude beach
 * Nudism

Misc

 * Atheism
 * The Pentagon