User talk:DerekSmith

Your recent edits
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Mechanical advantage of trucker's hitch (and general reworking of that article)
Hi Derek! Over the last day or so I've made some fairly substantial edits to the trucker's hitch article. I saw your comments on the talk page regarding the mechanical advantage. I tried to clarify things in that section and I'm interested in your feedback. I did some tests attempting to verify or disprove various aspects of the theoretical behavior of the trucker's hitch. One interesting thing is that unlike what was described in the article, when the working end is tied-off and the force on it relaxed, it appears the tension remaining in an ideal system would only be 2:1. (It is 3:1 on the standing part while the working end is loaded.) I tried to illuminate this discrepancy in my changes to the article, but it still needs work. If you have time, please look it over and fix or let me know about anything you find that is wildly wrong. --Dfred (talk) 03:37, 30 August 2010 (UTC)

Darwin article
Thanks for your note DerekSmith. I am very busy IRL currently, but I will try to get around to reading the article within a week or two. However I have to point out that I am not an evolutionary theorist, so I may not be able to comment sensibly on the article. I also have not made really any major contributions to the Wikipedia Darwin article. However Charles Darwin himself has had a great influence on me. I am in my 60s. I am a biologist/naturalist, and I grew up in Hayes, Bromley, Kent, about 5 miles away from Down House, and used to visit the house and the garden so often as a child that I thought that the great man must perhaps be a cousin of ours. One time when I was about 10 years old, a docent let me play the piano in his living room! So I have a strong connection with Darwin the man, but as I said, I am not an expert on modern insights into evolutionary theory. Thanks again for your note, Invertzoo (talk) 13:28, 15 June 2012 (UTC)

Speedy deletion nomination of Hybridisation Zone


Hello, and welcome to Wikipedia. This is a notice that the page that you created was tagged as a test page and has been or soon may be deleted. Please use the sandbox for any other tests you want to do. Take a look at the welcome page if you would like to learn more about contributing to our encyclopedia.

If you think that the page was nominated in error, contest the nomination by clicking on the button labelled "Click here to contest this speedy deletion" in the speedy deletion tag. Doing so will take you to the talk page where you can explain why you believe the page should not be deleted. You can also visit the page's talk page directly to give your reasons, but be aware that once a page is tagged for speedy deletion, it may be removed without delay. Please do not remove the speedy deletion tag yourself, but do not hesitate to add information that is consistent with Wikipedia's policies and guidelines. If the page is deleted, you can contact one of these administrators to request that the administrator userfy the page or email a copy to you. Dede2008 (talk) 12:42, 16 June 2012 (UTC)
 * I've moved it to User:DerekSmith/Hybridisation Zone where you can expand it till fit enough. --Tikiwont (talk) 13:19, 16 June 2012 (UTC)

July 2012
Welcome to Wikipedia. Everyone is welcome to contribute constructively to the encyclopedia. However, please do not add promotional material to articles or other Wikipedia pages. Advertising and using Wikipedia as a "soapbox" are against Wikipedia policy and not permitted. Take a look at the welcome page to learn more about Wikipedia. Thank you. Rkitko (talk) 15:19, 18 July 2012 (UTC)

Sorry, but evolutionary scientists don't share your enthusiasm for that book
Hi Derek,

Please stop you pleas to User:Rkitko, that are showing up in my watchlist, to further discuss Eugene McCarthy's book with you. He has made it clear that he is not interested in spending time on that discussion. The beauty of Wikipedia is that editors are free to contribute about a particular subject if they find it interesting, and to spend their precious time on other things if they so choose. I appreciate that you are keen about this subject and cannot accept what several people have told you, that this book is not a landmark in evolutionary theory. Sorry, but you need to curb your enthusiasm to involve scientists in a time-sink discussion. Best wishes, Sminthopsis84 (talk) 14:06, 19 July 2012 (UTC)