Bhamwiki talk:Messageboard/Archive 2013

This is an archive of discussions from 2013. For other archived discussions, see Bhamwiki talk:Messageboard archives. Current discussion is at Bhamwiki talk:Messageboard. If you wish to expand on a topic here, it's best to open a new topic there and link to the prior discussion.

Telephone books

I've discovered some old Birmingham telephone books in the collections of the Internet Archive. So far I've only found 1920 and 1945. I did a cursory search, but that's all the luck I've had. If anyone has a little time to dig into deeper, please feel free (and share your results). --Lkseitz 10:36, 24 January 2013 (PST)

2013 anniversary

Our 7th Anniversary is coming up, and I've been irresponsible about scheduling a meet-up. If you guys want to get together on Friday 15 or Saturday 16, I can make it, but I can't help plan it because I'll be away from email and such for the two weeks between now and then. I promise to check back and see if there's somewhere I need to be. If not, I'll get back with you and put something together for a later weekend. --Dystopos 20:29, 1 March 2013 (PST)

• Sadly, it looks like I'm probably unavailable every weekend from the 15th on in March. --Lkseitz 20:53, 1 March 2013 (PST)
  • Since this has come and gone, do we want to do a belated Anniversary dinner in early April? --Wheresdib 19:29, 24 March 2013 (PDT)
    • I'm ready when y'all are. --Dystopos 06:46, 25 March 2013 (PDT)
    • Looks like I might not be free until the weekend of April 20. Some stuff on the calendar may not be set in stone, though, so let me check. --Lkseitz 08:28, 26 March 2013 (PDT)
      • Okay, looks like 4/12-13 or 4/19-21 are the best days for me. --Lkseitz 12:06, 27 March 2013 (PDT)
        • Any of those is fine with me. Saturdays might be a little easier if we want to start on the early side. As of yet, I don't have any suggestions where to meet. Silvertron again, maybe? --Dystopos 16:11, 27 March 2013 (PDT)
          • Sigh. I received information about more things after posting. If you want to do Saturday, it looks like April 13 would be best. Silvertron is fine with me. --Lkseitz 09:18, 28 March 2013 (PDT)
            • April 13 should work for us. Silvertron works too! I haven't been there since the last time we went. Plus 1 and a highchair, please. --Wheresdib 14:34, 28 March 2013 (PDT)
• We'll meet at 6:30 PM at Silvertron Café in Forest Park on Saturday, April 13. If you're on Facebook, you can get more info and RSVP here. If you're not, just let me know to expect you. I'm looking forward to seeing all you strangers. --Dystopos 08:51, 29 March 2013 (PDT)
  • There will be an after-party at Desert Island Supply Co. (DISCO) in Woodlawn, too. Details soon! --Dystopos 10:47, 29 March 2013 (PDT)
• Planning on being there if I don't forget about it. I'm a maybe on Facebook. Also, if someone wants to give me a ride from Silvertron to DISCo that would make my life easier considering the current state of mass transit.--Jared Johnson 19:00, 7 April 2013 (PDT)

Results

Bhamwiki contributors and friends

Thanks for another fun evening, John. --Lkseitz 22:56, 14 April 2013 (PDT)

Sloss, Sloss, & Sloss

The articles Sloss Furnace Company, Sloss Iron & Steel Company, and Sloss-Sheffield Steel & Iron Company seem rather redundant. Should they be combined into one or will there be enough information in the future that it will warrant three separate articles? I'm not disparaging their creation, as I'm sure it made sense at the time. I also noticed that these three articles say the last name change came in 1902, the Sloss Furnaces articles says it happened in 1899. (I suppose Dystopos might suggest I read the book he gave Wheresdib and me copies of a few anniversary dinners ago, but it's packed away at the moment.) --Lkseitz 11:16, 6 May 2013 (PDT)

• Yeah, I dunno. If you feel confident about the best approach, go for it. One thing I like about separate articles is that it makes the establishment/disestablishment categories more fine-grained. I'm tetchy about the Category:Sloss (and its cousins), too. --Dystopos 11:42, 6 May 2013 (PDT)
  • The establishments/disestablishments item is a good point. I hadn't thought about that. --Lkseitz 11:20, 8 May 2013 (PDT)

So

So what's on everyone's mind? --Dystopos 10:23, 2 June 2013 (PDT)

• Same as usual; an upgrade to make <ref> and #if work. --Lkseitz 13:07, 6 June 2013 (PDT)
  • Upgrading is in the works. Not sure how soon. --Dystopos 06:44, 7 June 2013 (PDT)

I-20/59 template

I created Template:I-20/59 purely out of laziness. Now, instead of having to type "[[Interstate 20|I-20]]/[[Interstate 59|59]]", you can just type "{{I-20/59}}". Perhaps this will help prevent typos, assuming you can remember to use the curly brackets instead of square. --Lkseitz 10:31, 9 July 2013 (PDT)

Succession box

Should we change Template:Succession box so that the default for after (Succeeded by) is "current" (or "(current)")? --Lkseitz 08:25, 25 July 2013 (PDT)

Homewood streets

With Columbiana Road and Brookwood Boulevard done, I believe every 4-lane or wider road in Homewood now has a page. --Lkseitz 13:05, 7 August 2013 (PDT)

• Wow. That might be the first complete series of anything on Bhamwiki! --Dystopos 13:53, 7 August 2013 (PDT)
  • No, Wheresdib finished off all 365 days a while ago, so he wins. :-) --Lkseitz 07:08, 8 August 2013 (PDT)
    • All 366, even. --Dystopos 14:52, 8 August 2013 (PDT)
      • Touché. --Lkseitz 06:58, 9 August 2013 (PDT)
        • What did I win? --Wheresdib 19:06, 11 September 2013 (PDT)
          • Bragging rights. :-) --Lkseitz 07:23, 12 September 2013 (PDT)
            • Respect and gratitude. --Dystopos 07:37, 12 September 2013 (PDT)
  • Oh, and I'd forgotten I'd completed all U.S. Highways in Jefferson County back on July 17. And all streets in downtown Homewood back in 2011. --Lkseitz 06:56, 29 August 2013 (PDT)
  • And, before I finished the 366, I also wrote articles for every bank in Birmingham. Of course that list has changed drastically since I "finished" those!!! --Wheresdib 19:34, 11 September 2013 (PDT)

Waymarking

We have permission from user "Scooter Bill", real name Dennis Lesley, to use any pictures he has uploaded to Waymarking.com for BhamWiki purposes, as long as he is credited. The date of the listing will show on the page, that is the date he took the picture. An example is McAdory, Thomas House, Bessemer, Alabama. The "Posted by" field shows "Scooter Bill", and the "Date Posted" is 7/17/07. Please note that currently "Scooter Bill" is the only user we have permission from, we should not use other users' images without their permission. --Wheresdib 14:09, 30 December 2013 (PST)

• Thanks to you both for the consideration! --Dystopos 15:52, 30 December 2013 (PST)
• Does he prefer to be credited as Scooter Bill or Dennis Lesley? --Lkseitz 06:53, 31 December 2013 (PST)
  • I have just been crediting him as Dennis Lesley. He has also contributed other images unrelated to Waymarking (such as Image:RPES.jpg, so to stay consistent I have just been crediting him under his real name. --Wheresdib 08:10, 31 December 2013 (PST)

Individuals epiphany

I had an epiphany about the "Individuals" section of the year pages. We've been inconsistent with how we use them, and I'm as guilty of that as anyone. Here's my current thought on how it should be used. Please feel free to point out all the holes. People who get positions related to the Birmingham District should go under the appropriate Events sub-section (e.g. mayors in Government, principals in Education, pastors in Religion). Birmingham-related people who get important positions elsewhere (e.g. Condoleezza Rice becoming Secretary of State) go in the top of the Individuals section (above the sub-sections). People arriving in the B'ham area also go there. Births, graduations, etc. remain as they are, of course. --Lkseitz 06:52, 31 December 2013 (PST)

• That sounds like a good idea to me. --Dystopos 07:41, 31 December 2013 (PST)
  • I really don't understand what you're saying we should do. Again, dim bulb... --Wheresdib 08:11, 31 December 2013 (PST)
    • Not necessarily you. I'm known to make leaps without explanation, assuming people will make the same leap without context. On the pages for each year, sometimes things like "John Smith succeeded James Jones as pastor of Local Church" have been put in the Individuals section (between that header and the Births sub-header). But other times it's put under Events/Religion. I'm saying that if Local Church is in the B'ham District, always put it in Events/Religion, not Individuals. OTOH, if local boy John Smith became a big-time bishop of some far away place for 50 years, stick that in the Individuals section. Things like "[Future dept. store chain founder] Jake Johnson moved to Birmingham" stay in the Individuals section. --Lkseitz 11:58, 31 December 2013 (PST)
      • And if you're like me, you'll do whatever comes to mind when you're doing it and hope that Lee comes around later to repair inconsistencies. --Dystopos 12:27, 31 December 2013 (PST)
        • Thanks to my OCD, such is my lot. :-) --Lkseitz 08:19, 2 January 2014 (PST)

2014 BBVA Compass Bowl

I have some decent pics that my wife took with the "real" camera on Saturday. What sort of shot would you prefer that I upload to the new article? We were on the Houston (home) side, and the stands on the Vandy side were pretty full. We have some shots of game play, as well as the bands. If you have no preference I'll just pick what I think is the best one and post it soon. --Wheresdib 09:27, 6 January 2014 (PST)

• That'll be great. Whichever you think is most descriptive of the event. --Dystopos 09:33, 6 January 2014 (PST)

Another resource

I discovered a new resource for information: the Alabama High School Football Historical Society. Besides team records and coach bios, they also have some information on high school enrollments that might be handy. --Lkseitz 13:21, 9 January 2014 (PST)