User talk:Robert Matthews

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Photo source

  • Can you add the source of the photograph of Tidwell Hall? Thanks. --Dystopos (talk) 09:37, 18 March 2016 (PDT)
  • I added the source to the photograph yesterday (24 March 2016)

Excellent work

  • Excellent work lately! I need to dig you up some kind of award. --Dystopos (talk) 07:28, 6 August 2016 (PDT)
    • Thanks! You could double my pay ;) Seriously, though, I enjoy history, computers, & photography... glad to add a few bits of info every now & then. Robert Matthews (talk) 15:06, 6 August 2016 (PDT)
      • I'll write a note to the HR manager and see where it gets us. In the meantime, help yourself to whatever's left in the break room fridge. --Dystopos (talk) 08:32, 10 August 2016 (PDT)

UAB template

On the UAB template, you might want to add the latest residence hall, NFR_Hall to the Housing section. Robert Matthews (talk) 08:41, 19 August 2016 (PDT)

  • Thanks and done. You're always welcome to modify them yourself. It may seem intimidating, but just adding an entry is a copy, paste, and change the link. And if you just can't get it, you can always undo your changes. --Lkseitz (talk) 07:53, 20 August 2016 (PDT)

CoCo

As a former member of Apple Corps of Birmingham, I submit that the Tandy Color Computer was inferior to the Apple II GS. I am prepared to defend myself. --Dystopos (talk) 12:46, 23 August 2016 (PDT)

  • Well, we could debate the merits of various systems forever, but in this case, your comparison is not fair because your II GS was probably made 5 years after my Color Computer :) [I bought mine in 1981] Robert Matthews (talk) 13:02, 23 August 2016 (PDT)
    • I never had a II GS myself. I had a ][+. But I did have this debate endlessly with a guy in middle school who was a fan of the Color Computer. He ended up being my technical support for the launch of Bhamwiki. --Dystopos (talk) 13:25, 23 August 2016 (PDT)
      • Yep, I used Apple ][+ and ][e's a fair bit back in that era. I managed a lab in the mid-80's that had a bunch of them and also had a dozen or so MS-DOS PC's that were produced by PC's Limited (the company that Michael Dell started in his dorm room in TX and eventually changed the company name to Dell.) btw, I clicked on the link for the Apple Core website on Birmingham Apple Core and it seems to be non-existent. Robert Matthews (talk) 16:17, 23 August 2016 (PDT)
        • My family had an Apple //e. Kind of freaky we have this common thread. I used Apple II (or compatible) computers as my primary machine until 1992 or so. And if anyone wants copies of the The Peel from the defunct web site, I have them here, um, somewhere. Haven't updated the BAC entry since I didn't know if the group was defunct or just the site. --Lkseitz (talk) 05:46, 24 August 2016 (PDT)

Renaming pages

  • I usually use the "move" tool (under the down arrow between the star and the search bar when you're logged in) to move the page to the new title and create a redirect. --Dystopos (talk) 09:29, 4 September 2016 (PDT)
    • thanks for the update... will do this the next time I need to change the name of a page. Robert Matthews (talk) 13:05, 4 September 2016 (PDT)

Building on a Vision

  • How does the 1995 Building on a Vision compare to McWilliams' 2007 book with regard to "essential" information about UAB and its role in the region? Do they both belong in a highly-selective list dealing with the region as a whole? --Dystopos (talk) 11:22, 14 November 2016 (PST)
    • IMO the two books compliment each other. McWilliams' book is basically written in narrative style and Fisher's book is more like an encyclopedic reference. I was planning to create a wiki page for the book sometime later this week and include this text that describes the book (from the flyleaf). "Building on a Vision presents a chronological overview of the first 50 years of Medical Center development at UAB. Over 200 pages in length, the volume contains 352 photographs. A narrative at the beginning of each chapter provides a historical framework for placing the photographs in context. Excerpts from oral history interviews with individuals who made and lived Medical Center history animate the narrative. A chronology supplements the text and photographs and provides capsule information about developments and milestones. Two appendices, an index, and a bibliography, together with other elements, help make Building On A Vision an entertaining photographic history and a valuable reference tool." Much of the narrative portion of the text describes local and regional issues involved in the creation of the Medical Center. In my own research, I find it extremely useful as a reference guide. Robert Matthews (talk) 11:46, 14 November 2016 (PST)
      • Thanks for the perspective. I have both books. (Well, actually I loaned out the McWilliams and need to get it back...) and have made a little bit of use of the earlier one, but I wasn't sure how they really compared/complimented each other. Provisionally, I'd suggest that McWilliams' narrative history, which also brings some analysis to the question of the role of the institution in the region, is better for this list than the more documentary 1995 book. Let me know if you disagree. We'll certainly benefit from making reference to and having entries on both books across Bhamwiki. --Dystopos (talk) 12:55, 14 November 2016 (PST)
        • I own a copy of Fisher's book and, although I don't own a copy of McWilliams' book, I can get a copy anytime I need it from Lister Hill Library since I still maintain a secondary office there. I guess from the perspective of who did what, when, & why in how UAB was formed, McWilliams' book is probably the better of the two. But from a documentary (especially photographic) point of view, I think Fisher's book is better. Again, I think they compliment each other and both are very useful for research, depending on what types of questions someone is researching, who their intended audience is, and what time periods they're interested in. McWilliams' book is also a bit more up-to-date since it came out 12 years after Fisher's. Robert Matthews (talk) 17:42, 14 November 2016 (PST)
          • Where I'm headed with this is that I think the "Reading List" should be a fairly short list of sources that you could expect to lead to some broader understanding of the city/region rather than a longer list of detailed references full of facts on narrower subjects. Not necessarily making an argument here, but wondering if we're thinking of Bhamwiki:Reading list the same way. I'll go ahead and copy this conversation to Bhamwiki talk:Reading list. --Dystopos (talk) 08:57, 15 November 2016 (PST)

Mobile App

Is there a mobile app available for this wiki? I downloaded one a while back for Wikipedia and wondered if you had anything similar? Robert Matthews (talk) 07:19, 16 November 2016 (PST)

  • I use Safari, but otherwise, no. No app and no clear path toward one. --Dystopos (talk) 07:45, 16 November 2016 (PST)

Sent e-mail

I sent an e-mail to the address on your user page about that thing we talked about on another Talk page around the beginning of the month. Sorry it took me longer to get to it than I intended. --Lkseitz (talk) 07:22, 26 July 2017 (PDT)

Aldridge Gardens

You added a former location of Aldridge Gardens to 18th Street South Homewood. Apparently we need a disambiguation page, because that is clearly different than the current entry. I'd add it, but I'm not sure what type of business the location on 18th Street was. --Lkseitz (talk) 06:24, 24 June 2018 (PDT)

  • I would have to do a bit more research to confirm the following, but here's my opinion: I think they are the same thing. In 1977 nurseryman Eddie Aldridge purchased the land in Hoover where Aldridge Gardens is currently located [wikipedia source]. He conveyed the land to the city of Hoover in 1997. I think {unconfirmed} that he was the owner of the location of Aldridge Gardens at 2109 Montgomery Highway in Homewood. The nursery was in that location for approx. 30 years. I got the 2109 address from an advertisement in a 1955 Shades Valley High School annual and I recall going there myself in the 1970's and early '80s. Robert Matthews (talk) 20:40, 24 June 2018 (PDT)
    • I found a wealth of information about the gardens and there is also a book, "A Garden of Destiny", that was written by Eddie Aldridge that documents the history of it. I requested a copy through the JCLC system and will add more info to the wiki page when I get the book. Robert Matthews (talk) 20:20, 25 June 2018 (PDT)
      • It sounds to me like the Homewood location was his nursery business and they named the Hoover property after it. I do remember there was a nursery at that location when I was growing up in the '70s & '80s, but I don't recall the name of it. I'll have to look it up. If that's the case, I'd say they merit separate entries. --Lkseitz (talk) 05:32, 26 June 2018 (PDT)

Sitar

  • Thanks for catching that. --Dystopos (talk) 07:43, 23 May 2019 (PDT)