User:Rfl/Old

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Penrose Tribar
Penrose Tribar

Rafał Pocztarski[edit]

Administrator of the English Wikipedia since 2004 (original nomination)

My Contributions: All · Articles · Talk · User talk · Wiki · Wiki talk · Page Deletions · Current rights

Quick links[edit]

Administration[edit]

I am proud to announce that I have been nominated by Quadell to become a Wikipedia administrator on December 3, 2004. The voting ended on December 10, 2004 with the result of 12 Support votes by: Quadell, jni, 172, JOHN COLLISON, M7it, Dittaeva, Grunt, Lst27, GeneralPatton, Andre, RedWordSmith and ffirehorse. There were no Oppose and no Neutral votes. I have been promoted by Cecropia. Now I am also an administrator on Wikimedia Commons. Having one Support vote by Quadell, no Oppose and no Neutral votes, I was promoted by villy on December 20, 2004.

If you have any opinion, positive or negative, about my administration-related contributions—mostly reverting anonymous vandalism, protecting pages and posting comments to vandals in their IP talk pages—please post a comment on my talk page.

My contributions: all · articles (look for reverts) · user talk (look for IPs) · deletions

In the news[edit]

Current events: Wednesday · May 22, 2024 · 13:08 UTC

Ebrahim Raisi in 2023
Ebrahim Raisi
Ongoing:

Selected anniversaries

May 22

Prayut Chan-o-cha
Prayut Chan-o-cha
More anniversaries:

Links[edit]

Featured articles[edit]

Featured articles · candidates · collaboration of the week

May 22[edit]

The oyster dress is a high fashion gown created by British fashion designer Alexander McQueen for his Spring/Summer 2003 collection Irere. McQueen's design is a one-shouldered dress in bias-cut beige silk chiffon with a boned upper body and a full-length skirt consisting of hundreds of individual circles of organza sewn in dense layers to the base fabric, resembling an oyster shell. The dress originated as a reinterpretation of the "shellfish dress" designed by John Galliano in 1987, which McQueen had long admired and sought to emulate. Contemporary critical responses to McQueen's oyster dress were positive and it is considered an iconic piece of McQueen's work. Only two copies are known to exist, one held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and one by media personality Kim Kardashian. McQueen returned to the oyster dress concept several times over his career, most prominently in his Autumn/Winter 2006 collection The Widows of Culloden. (Full article...)

Recently featured:

April 22[edit]

Oppenheimer served as the first director of Los Alamos National Laboratory

Robert Oppenheimer was an American physicist and the scientific director of the Manhattan Project, the World War II effort to develop the first nuclear weapons, at the secret Los Alamos laboratory in New Mexico. Known colloquially as "the father of the atomic bomb", Oppenheimer lamented the weapon's killing power after it was used to destroy the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. After the war, he was a chief advisor to the newly-created Atomic Energy Commission and used that position to lobby for international control of atomic energy and to avert the nuclear arms race with the Soviet Union. After invoking the ire of many politicians and scientists with his outspoken political opinions during the Red Scare, he had his security clearance revoked in a much-publicized and politicized hearing in 1954. Though stripped of his political influence, Oppenheimer continued to lecture, write, and work in physics. A decade later, President Lyndon B. Johnson awarded him the Enrico Fermi Award as a gesture of rehabilitation. (more...)

Recently featured: Krag-Jørgensen – History of post-Soviet Russia – Apollo 8

Listen – Archive – By email – More featured articles...

March 22[edit]

The Flag of South Africa
The Flag of South Africa

The current design of the Flag of South Africa was adopted on 27 April 1994 after the end of apartheid made it necessary to replace the former national flag due to its racist connotations to most South Africans. There was a public phase of the design of the new flag when submissions for the new design were sent in by the public, however none of the submissions received enthusiastic support from the committee charged with selecting the final design. With the inauguration of Nelson Mandela looming, an interim flag was designed and released to the public just seven days before Mandela was sworn into office. It was so well received that the interim version was made the final, national flag in the South African Constitution. The flag can best be described as two equal width horizontal bands of red (top) and blue separated by a central green band which splits into a horizontal Y, the arms of which end at the corners of the hoist side. The Y embraces a black isosceles triangle from which the arms are separated by narrow yellow bands; the red and blue bands are separated from the green band and its arms by narrow white stripes. (more...)

Recently featured: Isaac Asimov – Cambodia – John Dee

February 22[edit]

A pro-choice rally on the steps of the Supreme Court
A pro-choice rally on the steps of the Supreme Court

Roe v. Wade was the landmark 1973 United States Supreme Court decision that recognized abortion as a constitutional right, overturning several state laws against abortion. It remains one of the most controversial decisions in Supreme Court history. The decision in Roe v. Wade has sparked a decades-long national debate over when abortion should be legal; the role of the Supreme Court in constitutional adjudication; and the role of religious views in the political sphere. Roe v. Wade became one of the most politically significant Supreme Court decisions in history, reshaping national politics, dividing the nation into "pro-choice" and "pro-life" camps, and inspiring grassroots activism. Roe sparked widespread opposition, from those who viewed the Court's decision as illegitimate for straying too far from the text and history of the Constitution, as well as from those motivated by religious and moral beliefs about the inviolability of fetal life. It also attracted widespread support, from those who view the decision as necessary to achieve women's equality and personal freedom. (more...)

Recently featured: Liberal Party of Utah – Brolga – Xenu

January 22[edit]

The Baháʼí world headquarters in Haifa, Israel
The Baháʼí world headquarters in Haifa, Israel

The Baháʼí Faith is a monotheistic religion whose members follow the teachings of Baháʼu'lláh, their prophet founder. Bahá'u'lláh taught that there is one God who progressively reveals his will to humanity. In the Baháʼí view, each of the great religions brought by the Messengers of God—such as Moses, Krishna, the Buddha, Zoroaster, Jesus, Muhammad and the Báb—represents a successive stage in the spiritual development of civilization. Baháʼís believe Bahá'u'lláh is the most recent Messenger in this line, and has brought teachings that address the moral and spiritual challenges of the modern world. As such, although the Baháʼí Faith is not traditionally included among the Abrahamic religions, it recognizes many of the same personages. (more...)

Recently featured: Gold standard – Eifel Aqueduct – Bernard Williams

December 22[edit]

The electoral princes of the Holy Roman Empire
The electoral princes of the Holy Roman Empire

In the Holy Roman Empire, the prince-electors were the members of the electoral college, having the function of electing the king of Germany before his accession as the next emperor. During and after the fifteenth century they often merely made formal what was in fact a dynastic succession. Formally, they elected a King of the Romans, who became Holy Roman Emperor only when crowned by the pope. Charles V was the last to be actually crowned; all of his successors were merely "Emperors-Elect." Electors were among the princes of the Empire, but they had several privileges (in addition to electoral ones) which were disallowed to their non-electoral brethren. (more...)

Recently featured: Free will – Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome – Newark, New Jersey

November 22[edit]

Indus Valley Civilisation map
Indus Valley Civilisation map

The Indus Valley Civilization (fl. 2800 BCE–1800 BCE) was an ancient civilization that is so named because its first excavated sites, Harappa and Mohenjo-daro, were on the Indus River in the northwest of the Indian sub-continent in present day Pakistan. At its height around 2200 BCE, the Indus Civilization covered an area larger than Europe, centered on Mohenjo Daro on the Indus River. The nomenclature Sindhu-Sarasvati Civilization was introduced into Indian textbooks in 2002, as a new designation for the well-known Indus Valley civilization. The addition of "Saraswati," an ancient river central to Hindu myth, is meant to show (or make believe) that Indus Valley civilization was actually part of Vedic civilization. Research which identifies the civilization's location with the Vedic Sarasvati river system mentioned in ancient literature is speculative. (more...)

Recently featured: ROT13 – Zuiderzee Works – Alfred Hitchcock

October 22[edit]

A breastfeeding infant
A breastfeeding infant

Breastfeeding is the practice of a mother feeding a baby (and sometimes a toddler or a young child) with milk produced from her mammary glands, usually directly from the nipples. Babies have a sucking instinct allowing them to extract the milk. While many mothers choose to breastfeed their child there are some who do not, either for personal or medical reasons. Breast milk has been shown to be very beneficial for a child, though, as with other bodily fluid transfers, some conditions can be passed from the mother to the infant. Breastfeeding is also beneficial to the future health of the mother. As an alternative the baby may be fed infant formula until the time that the child may move on to baby food.

Breastfeeding is not confined to humans. Many species of animals also nourish their young this way (see mammals). (more...)

Recently featured: Jazz – Attila the Hun – Margin of error

September 22[edit]

Oscar Wilde remains one of Ireland's best-known playwrights
Oscar Wilde remains one of Ireland's best-known playwrights

The history of Irish theatre begins with the rise of the English administration in Dublin at the start of the 17th century. In the early days of its history, theatrical productions in Ireland tended to serve the political purposes of the administration, but as more theatres opened and the popular audience grew, a more diverse range of entertainments were staged. Many Dublin-based theatres developed links with their London equivalents and performers and productions from the English capital frequently found their way to the Irish stage. However, most Irish playwrights from William Congreve to George Bernard Shaw found it necessary to go abroad to establish themselves. At the beginning of the 20th century, theatres and theatre companies dedicated to the staging of Irish plays and the development of indigenous writers, directors and performers began to emerge. This allowed many of the most significant Irish dramatists to learn their trade and establish their reputations at home rather than in Britain or the United States. (more...)

Recently featured: Coronation of the British monarch – U.S. Electoral College – Cricket

September 6[edit]

Polish boy scouts fighting in the uprising
Polish boy scouts fighting in the uprising

The Warsaw Uprising was an armed struggle during the Second World War by the Polish Home Army (Armia Krajowa) to liberate Warsaw from German occupation and Nazi rule. It started on August 1, 1944 as a part of a nationwide uprising, Operation Tempest. The Polish troops resisted the German-led forces until October 2. An estimated 85% of the city was destroyed during the urban guerrilla war and after the end of hostilities. The Uprising started at a crucial point in the war as the Soviet army was approaching Warsaw. Although the Soviet army was within a few hundred metres of the city from September 16 onward, the link between the uprising and the advancing army was never made. This failure and the reasons behind it have been a matter of controversy ever since. (more...)

Recently featured: Anno Domini – PaX – Behistun Inscription

August 22[edit]

Montparnasse in 1909

Montparnasse is an area of Paris, France, on the left bank of the river Seine, centered on the intersection of the Boulevard de Montparnasse and the Boulevard Raspail. It is part of the 14eme arrondissement, having been absorbed into Paris along with other districts and villages in 1860. Like its counterpart, Montmartre, the neighborhood of Montparnasse became famous at the beginning of the 20th century, referred to as the Années Folles (the Crazy Years), when it was the heart of intellectual and artistic life in Paris with its legendary cafés. (more...)

Recently featured: Data Encryption Standard – Papal election – Fractal

July 22[edit]

Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling

Rudyard Kipling was a British author and poet, born in India. He is best known for the children's story The Jungle Book (1894), the Indian spy novel Kim (1901), the poems "Gunga Din" (1892) and "If —" (1895), and his many short stories. He was also an outspoken defender of Western imperialism, and coined the phrase "The White Man's Burden." The height of his popularity was the first decade of the 20th century; in 1907 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. In his own lifetime he was primarily considered a poet, and was even offered a knighthood and the post of British Poet Laureate — though he turned them both down. (more...)

Recently featured: Auto rickshaw – Algorithm – Jim Henson

June 22[edit]

The White Rose was a group of students that formed a resistance movement in Nazi Germany from June 1942 to February 1943. Based in Munich, the group released six leaflets, calling on Germans to engage in passive resistance against the regime. The group consisted of five students: Hans Scholl, his sister Sophie Scholl, Christoph Probst, Alexander Schmorell, and Willi Graf, all in their early twenties. They were joined by a professor, Kurt Huber, who drafted the final two leaflets. Though the members of the White Rose were all students at Munich University, the men had also participated in the war on the French and Russian fronts, were witness to the atrocities being committed against Jews, and sensed that the reversal of fortunes that the Wehrmacht suffered at Stalingrad would eventually lead to Germany's defeat. They rejected the Prussian militarism of Adolf Hitler's Germany and believed in a federated Europe that adhered to Christian principles of tolerance and justice. (more...)

Recently featured: London Underground – Voynich Manuscript – Academia

May 22[edit]

Star Trek is a science fiction television franchise created by Gene Roddenberry in 1966 that tells the tale of the crew of the starship USS Enterprise and of their adventures "to boldly go where no man has gone before". The original show was cancelled in 1969 due to low ratings, but became phenomenally popular in syndication. To date, four additional TV series and ten motion pictures set within the Star Trek universe have been released. It is, along with Star Wars, the most popular science fiction franchise of the late 20th century. (more...)

Recently featured: Crash test dummy – Fancy cancel – Buckinghamshire

April 22[edit]

The Charioteer of Delphi
The Charioteer of Delphi

The art of ancient Greece has exercised an enormous influence on the culture of many countries from ancient times until the present, particularly in sculpture and architecture. In the West, the art of the Roman Empire was largely derived from Greek models. In the East, Alexander the Great's conquests initiated several centuries of exchange between Greek, Central Asian and Indian cultures, resulting in Greco-Buddhist art, with ramifications as far as Japan. (more...)

Recently featured: James Bulger – Congo Free State – Trench warfare

March 22[edit]

Diagram of a electronic amplifier
Diagram of a electronic amplifier

An electronic amplifier is a device for increasing the power of a signal. It does this by taking power from a power supply and shaping the output to match the input signal. This process invariably introduces some noise and distortion into the signal, and the process cannot be 100% efficient - amplifiers will always produce some waste heat. (more...)

Recently featured: Punk rock - Rainbow - Hutton Inquiry

Featured pictures[edit]

Featured pictures · visible · candidates

I just saw the Mandelbrot set above generated by Evercat as Picture of the day for September 2, 2004 (see the archive) which inspired me to uploading three pictures of my own. They will be located below just next to the Picture of the day template so if anyone asks me whether my pictures had ever been Picture of the day, I’ll be able to say: “No, but they were really close.”

Calm Mandelbrot Cool Mandelbrot Hot Mandelbrot Shot Mandelbrot

See also: other pictures I have contributed to Wikipedia.

Wikipedia is written by volunteer editors and hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation, a non-profit organization that also hosts a range of other volunteer projects:

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