User talk:Alansohn/Archive 1

Hello, Alansohn/Archive 1, and welcome to Wikipedia! Thank you for your contributions. I hope you like the place and decide to stay. Here are a few good links for newcomers:

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I hope you enjoy editing here and being a Wikipedian! Please sign your name on talk pages using four tildes (~~~~); this will automatically produce your name and the date. If you need help, check out Wikipedia:Where to ask a question, ask me on my talk page, or place {{helpme}} on your talk page and someone will show up shortly to answer your questions. Again, welcome! V. Molotov 22:16, 30 August 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for all your great contributions to the NJ pages. Quick thing, you took out a reference to Jersey City's nickname "Chill Town" because it was original research and unencyclopedic. I found the sources and put them in the JC talk page, can you put an encyclopedic reference to it in the page? thanks Jporcaro 16:48, 24 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

seems I didnt save the talk page. oops. ill do it in a few minutes Jporcaro 16:40, 26 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Hey AlanSohn, thanks for all your doing on the New Jersey pages. As you can see I created most of the New Jersey Senate pages on Wikipedia but there are a few more that need to be done. Please help!

Do you have an email address so we can communicate?

Just click on "E-mail this user" on the left side of the screen. Alansohn 12:59, 14 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

id just like to let u know that you are the po-po of Pingry's page and its kind of annoying and prickholeish

Nice job on the City (New Jersey) page.

Roodog2k (Hello there!) 19:03, 16 October 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Hi Alan: I am adding my official welcome, and hope you will enjoy Wikipedia. You may want to join Wikipedia:WikiProject Judaism and perhaps also take a look at Portal:Israel. Best wishes, IZAK 05:42, 30 October 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Chris, welcome aboard on to WP:NJ. We've (or at least I've) made much progress in a very short period of time and there's much more that can be done, particularly with the assistance and guidance of an experienced Wikipedian such as yourself. I'd love to learn about creating maps, and I would really want to create some maps for NJ legislative districts. Alansohn 21:52, 1 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Alan, thanks for the kind welcome. I agree, you've made tremendous progress in the NJ government articles. The maps I created were based on the Bergen County map at the state's website, [1], with some basic image editing software (The Gimp in my case). As for maps for NJ legislative districts, see New Jersey Congressional District, which incorporates public domain maps from the National Atlas. I'm not sure if there are corresponding maps for the state legislature's districts. --ChrisRuvolo (t) 22:41, 1 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Good clarifications to my edits on the New Jersey main page, regarding the constitutional amendment passed yesterday. One thing I am never quite sure of on Wikipedia is how to word descriptions of events that have been set in motion but have not officially taken effect yet. (Like the decision to create a position that will first be elected in November 2009 and whose first occupent will be sworn in in January 2010.) You have improved my description.

On another note, I am interested in helping with the Wikiproject:NJ when I have some time to do so. I have done a considerable amount of work on the page for Bridgewater, where I live, though I have found it irritating to have to deal with edits by certain other residents who wish to use the article as a soapbox to complain that taxes are too high, there's too much traffic, or about a part of town they don't like, or whatever. I also have not had time to do really substantive additions and improvements on that page, as I see you have done in the Teaneck article. I also never knew, before today, how many articles there were on the different forms of government etc. in NJ and may have a few contributions to make there. I already left a question in the talk page on the Walsh Act article. Neutron 23:04, 9 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Hi, here is my logic on what I put on Codey should be the last acting gov/senate pres. I hope this would not happen, but what if he were to die or resign from the senate prior to Jan 06 would the new pres of Senate become both acting gov/pres of Senate. Smith03 23:03, 13 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Here is a portion of the Interpretive Statement that appeared on the ballot question that was approved on Election Day regarding the implementation of the office of Lieutenant Governor" "In the event of a permanent vacancy in the office of the Governor occurring before the inauguration date of the first Lieutenant Governor, the President of the Senate, followed by the Speaker of the General Assembly, would become Governor, rather than acting Governor. A vacancy would be created in the Legislature if the Senate President or Assembly Speaker becomes Governor, to be filled in the manner currently provided by the Constitution." So even if something were to happen to Acting Governor / Senate President Codey (perhaps as mundane as his resigning to take another post), his succesor would be the Governor, but wouldn't retain the Senate seat. That's what I based my statement on. Alansohn 03:50, 14 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

So that part would take effect immendiently following the Nov election  ? Smith03 12:31, 14 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

It's already in effect, now that the ballot item has passed. Alansohn 12:59, 14 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

There is probably a better place than your Talk page to discuss this, but since this is here already... I have been trying to find the actual constitutional amendment, not just the ballot question or interpretive statement, and have been unable to do so. Maybe what I am looking for is in the "enabling legislation" that I have seen referred to. The question is this: If Acting Gov. Codey vacates his office (regardless of how) before Corzine takes office, there would be some period of time before the Senate elected a new president. (I do not think there is an automatic succession to that position.) In the interim, wouldn't the Speaker of the Assembly be Acting Governor? But with the new amendment, wouldn't the Speaker immediately become Governor, and lose his seat in the Assembly? Then what happens when a new Senate President is elected? I suspect the answer is somewhere (and I suspect the answer is that the Speaker of the Assembly would only be acting Governor and keep his Assembly seat) but I do not know where to find the answer. Neutron 17:04, 14 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

I more than appreciate your question. It is entirely unclear to me what the exact sequence of steps (and their timing) that would take place in the event that Acting Governor Codey vacates the office of Governor, particularly in a circumstance where his Senate seat were also vacated. I agree that there could be a point in time where there is no Senate President and a bizarre chain of vacancies could occur. What if Codey stays in teh Senate but steps down as Senate President? Again, does it go over to the Assembly, or does the Senate get a chance to appoint Codey's successor (who would then become Governor) thus creating another vacancy. I will research this issue and invite you (and our other New Jersey Government junkies) to research this. Alansohn 17:13, 14 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Found it: [2] This is the text of the amendment itself. (Maybe that should be "amendmentS" because several different sections of the Constitution are amended.) The answer to the question that we are discussing is that the Legislature avoided any such event as we are contemplating, and that the amendment has NOT yet gone into effect. It becomes effective at noon on January 17, 2006, which I have to assume is the moment that the current gubernatorial term (the one James McGreevey was elected to) ends and Jon Corzine is sworn in as the new governor. Therefore, Codey is still "Acting Governor," Senator and President of the Senate (alhough there is a bill in the Legislature to declare him and Donald DiFrancesco to have been Governors retroactively, but that is a different story.) If "something happened" to Codey between now and Jan. 17, then the Speaker of the Assembly would step in as Acting Governor (while retaining his Assembly posts), then the new Senate President would become Acting Governor. After Jan. 17, if Corzine were to vacate the office of Governor, THEN the Senate President would become Governor, but lose his seat in the Senate. Neutron 01:08, 15 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

thanks for finding that info. I am from Minnesota, but this NJ acting governor/ president of senate was interesting to me, but I thought the new gov was inagurated on Jan 10, but that probably would not matter. So it is possible (hopefully for many reason it would not happen but) someone else could still be acting gov/pres senate or speaker house Smith03 03:46, 15 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Alan, I'll call my county board of elections and the state board of elections on Monday. In this situation I could be wrong but in the past I seem to recall that there always was a special election when a State or Federal seat is vacated then a caretaker is put in place until a special election or a general election is called. Misterrick 01:01, 27 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

It does... Therefore I will revert my edits. Thanks for the input. Misterrick 02:13, 27 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

There shouldn't be any problem with most of the articles, as they mostly link to what are now redirects. I've gone through and fixed up the major index pages. If all goes according to plan I'll be gradually expanding the other articles and will change the links at that time. --SPUI (talk) 21:10, 29 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

I just started a New Jersey National Guard page. I included alot of good stuff, but I have to get the history of the guard in NJ. Take a look: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Jersey_National_Guard

- MAS117

This edit was incorrect; the Delaware I was referring to is further north, at the Delaware Bridge. --SPUI (talk) 23:53, 18 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Hi Alansohn, I see you reverted the removal of the categories on the New Brunswick article. The problem is that now, when you go to Category:Cities in New Jersey, and the other categories reinserted, you have New Brunswick both on the categories list and on the articles list, which is silly. Ze miguel 15:21, 29 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Hi Alansohn. If you end up making articles for individual ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, let me know: I'll contribute locator maps. Cheers, dbenbenn | talk 18:52, 1 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for the offer! If you're ready to create maps for ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, please let me know. Why don't we pick a ZCTA for a ZIP Code and see if we can come up with a page. Alansohn 02:40, 2 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Here's a couple samples. I chose Virginia since that's where I am right now. (Looking at your user page, I wouldn't mind switching to New Jersey to begin ...)

Suggestions welcome! dbenbenn | talk 01:29, 3 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I was suprised to see someone finding the article so quickly, as I had only created it about 10-20 minutes previous! =)

I am intending to beautify and what not - any help you could offer (as you already have) would be great.

Thanks! hellenica 03:31, 3 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for the FYI concerning the mortar in that picture. I'd been fixing the mortar disambiguation links, and I didn't see anything to classify that image so I left the comment... I don't know how I missed the GIANT MORTAR in the picture, but after taking a look at it again, I can't believe that I missed it in the first place. Thank you for the comment, that classification had been bothering me, and I appreciate you taking the time to point that out. Have a nice day. :) CMD Beaker 06:07, 3 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]

You have voted for [[{{{1}}}]] on the USCOTM. It was selected to be this months's collaboration. You are invited to help to contribute in order to improve [[{{{1}}}]] in any way possible.

Cmadler 14:15, 3 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I am working on cemeteries in NJ. If you have any information that can help, let me know. Good to see another New Jersey person here. --Richard Arthur Norton (1958- ) 03:08, 4 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Richard, The main stuf that I'm working on -- municipal government and schools -- are huge, but they have a graet deal of public information available. I'm not sure where you can find any public list of cemetaries in NJ?!? Is there any regulating agency or industry organization that would have the info? Do you have a format that you want to use or a model page to use as a template? I'm not sure how much I can help, but I can try to point you in the right direction... Alansohn 03:19, 4 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I had read the history that had been added to the Allendale, New Jersey page, and I was too busy rolling on the floor laughing to revert the copyvio. I was shocked to see some of the curious "facts" about the community that are actually on its website, including:

• It was part of a "wilderness known only to the egyptians until the early 1700's."
• That John Fell "was taken prisoner at his home by a band of 25 one-armed Loyalists."
• That the area "was known as 'The Turdpike'."
• That in 1848, "the first train ran through the town, killing many."
• That in 1880, "Hopper Yeomans ran a traveling party shop, carrying beer and pizza by wagon to customers on his route."
• And what about the plethora of brothels, including one that "became known as Winter Brothers' Whoopie Parlor, later changing from ladies to strictly mannequins."

This is great stuff! If I didn't know better, I would have assumed that this was from a Wikipedia page that had been altered by a clever vandal. Why not let the WikiWorld share a bit of this inspired nonsense just because it was copied word-for-word from an official governmental website. Alansohn 14:48, 4 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Holy crap, that stuff is in the original page too! I thought it was the clever additions of an anonymous teen and didn't check for the oddities. I wonder if the allendale.org page has been hacked? :) I'll add a note about this on the talk page. The wiki-world can laugh there. --ChrisRuvolo (t) 14:59, 4 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Alan, what source documents that UC has the highest percentage of Hispanics in the entire state? The link you re-inserted only lists five cities, not the entire state. (When I mentioned North Bergen, that was merely an example.) Also, what was the "minor change" you mentioned in your Edit Summary? Thanks, and Happy New Year. :-) Nightscream 02:12, 5 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for the clarification. Sorry I misunderstood that page. Happy wikiwishes to you as well. :-) Nightscream 04:50, 5 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Hi, I noticed that you have been working on the Freehold Regional HS district page. I would just like to let you know that I am a student at CNHS and live in CN, and the number of students that you have listed are way off. This is because CNHS and Freehold High School are the two largest in the district, each with over 2,000 students. Unfortunatley I do not have an exact number for you. But good work otherwise, its nice to see someone around here that knows something about NJ. Mac Domhnaill 03:57, 5 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Also if you ever need information about the MonmouthCounty area, I am very knowlageable and would be happy to help. Mac Domhnaill 04:00, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

Hi again. Thats all good, I actually assumed that the source where you got ur info was incorrect. It was no fault of yours I was just trying to point it out. The work you have done is really impressive. I'm afraid that I dont have the time to join the project now. But I will try to help where I can. Keep up the good work. Mac Domhnaill 04:22, 5 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]

How did you make the changes to the List of hospitals in New Jersey? Did you do some sort of mass edit or was it done by hand? I'd love to figure out a better way to turn [[Municipality]] into [[Municipality, New Jersey|Municipality]], especially when there are bunches of them in an article. (P.S. I loved your additions re Allendale. You think they'll ever notice?) Alansohn 17:58, 6 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I did it via regular expressions. This can be done with tools like sed or perl, but I used vim. For that particular transform, this regular expression worked:

s/\[\[\([^]]\+\)\]\]/[[\1, New Jersey|\1]]/g

If you use unix tools like sed, you can use it like this:

$ echo '[[Municipality]]'
[[Municipality]]

$ echo '[[Municipality]]' | sed -e 's/\[\[([^]]+)\]\]/[[\1, New Jersey|\1]]/g'
[[Municipality, New Jersey|Municipality]]

If the article source data is saved into a file, the transform can be run over the whole file like this (but beware, this will change ALL wikilinks to this format, and any existing [[Foo, New Jersey]] wikilinks will be transformed to [[Foo, New Jersey, New Jersey]]):

$ sed -e 's/\[\[([^]]+)\]\]/[[\1, New Jersey|\1]]/g' < input.txt > output.txt

I don't know if this will be useful to you, regular expressions are not a very accessible topic, and are mostly unknown outside of computer science's study of finite state machines, parsers and unix system tools. If there are large sets of changes like that I'd be happy to help out, just let me know.

BTW, I did email the webmasters of the Allendale page, but I don't know if any action will be taken. --ChrisRuvolo (t) 19:31, 6 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Wow, really great work on the NJ state legislature man. It really is incredible the amount of information you got. I just had to commend you on that.-Jersey Devil 18:52, 13 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for noticing! I've been devoting a great deal of time to ensure that each and every State Senator and Assembly member page has been created and updated and that each municipality reflects its elected representatives at the federal, state and county level (plus local, where availability and patience allow). That's what Wikiproject New Jersey is all about! Alansohn 19:14, 13 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Alan, can you help me out? I apparently mispelled James E. Buttersworth's name in the title of his article, (I omitted one of the "t"'s) but I don't know how to change article titles. How do you do that? Thanks. Nightscream 05:09, 15 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks. I made the new article. How do you make the prior one into a redirect? Nightscream 21:30, 16 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks. Nightscream 21:36, 16 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]

BTW, moving a page does not require a request unless the target already exists and its history contains non-redirect pages. See the "move" tab at the top of every page. --ChrisRuvolo (t) 22:16, 17 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you for your wikification/cleanups to the Blair Hornstine article. I have one question about the last edit; I used "The Plain Dealer (newspaper)" in the news article template because that properly links to the article about the newspaper. The Plain Dealer (Cleveland) does not, and I'm not sure from reading the Plain Dealer article if the (Cleveland) disambig is even necessary -- are there other newspapers named "The Plain Dealer"?

The news article template doesn't seem to give me the flexibility to do a [[The Plain Dealer (newspaper)|The Plain Dealer (Cleveland)]] style link.

Do you have ideas on how we can keep using the template but get the Plain Dealer link to work properly?

Random Task 19:21, 16 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Are you done wikifying this page? My primary concern was about the WP:NPOV and WP:CITE violations. -Jcbarr 17:54, 17 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]

You clearly have been doing this a lot longer than I have. Put it up for discussion. The numberings of governors isn't as important as the time of term service. The only real problems of listing every term would inevitably lead to the quesion whether or not acting governors should be included. My other concern about your template would be the size of it. (Perhaps you could even split the template into three smaller templates.) -User:Rogsheng

Right now I have included Ohio and New York officials into the list as well. I like the state by state idea, but don't know if there is enough.

Quick favor....on the Union County Freeholder Board template, could you update chair and vice chair. Mirabella is now chair and Kowalski is vice chair. Thanks.

Thanks.....if you could help with moving the NJ cabinet members over, that would be great. I was going to create a Cabinet list for Corzine as well. Prez2016

Why are wikilinks that are just to a single-year considered useless? -Jaysbro 23:17, 19 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Hello Alansohn - Thanks a lot for nominating Transportation in New York City to be a US Collaboration of the Week. I've spent a lot of time editing it and had no idea about the US COW. This is great. I'm leaving messages on contributor's talk pages to try and round up some votes. Thanks again. Wv235 03:57, 21 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for your great work on the History of New Jersey article! I have placed the article up for FAC after a peer review. Please vote and include any other comments. Thanks a lot, AndyZ 21:54, 24 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]

You have voted for Transportation in New York City on WP:USCOTW. It was selected to be this week's winner. You are invited to contribute to improve Transportation in New York City in any way you can. Cmadler 13:27, 30 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]

did u go to GL???

A prominent newspaper editor who worked for papers like the New York Daily Mirror named Philip A. Payne lived in West New York, according to an article in the Jan. 29, 2006 Union City Reporter (which I assume was also printed in the Hudson Reporter's other area papers.) There is no article on him as of now, and I have other article I wish to work on, so as a suggestion, if anyone wants to make a one on him, and you want the article as reference, you can see it in full at: http://img368.imageshack.us/img368/9012/philippaynearticle7hw.jpg. I'm sending this message to more than one Wikipedian that I saw on the History page for the West New York article, so you don't have to respond to me about this. You can also begin a section on Noteworthy Residents for that city's page (as I did for Union City), and place him in there. Nightscream 00:06, 1 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

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