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Rafał Pocztarski edit
Administrator of the English Wikipedia since 2004 (original nomination)
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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: Monday · June 10, 2024 · 01:03 UTC
- The Boeing Starliner spacecraft conducts its first crewed flight (launch pictured), carrying two astronauts to the International Space Station.
- The CNSA Chang'e 6 completes sampling and takeoff from the far side of the Moon.
- Claudia Sheinbaum is elected as the president of Mexico.
- In South Africa's general election, the African National Congress wins the most seats but loses its majority for the first time since the end of apartheid.
Selected anniversaries
June 10: Dragon Boat Festival in China (2024)
- 1624 – Thirty Years' War: France and the Dutch Republic concluded the Treaty of Compiègne, a mutual defence alliance.
- 1786 – Ten days after being formed by an earthquake, a landslide dam on the Dadu River in China was destroyed by an aftershock, causing a flood that killed an estimated 100,000 people.
- 1861 – American Civil War: The Confederate Army only suffered eight casualties in its victory at the Battle of Big Bethel in York County, Virginia.
- 1957 – Led by John Diefenbaker (pictured), the Progressive Conservative Party won a plurality of House of Commons seats in the Canadian federal election.
- 1987 – Mass protests demanding direct presidential elections broke out across South Korea.
- Isabella Andreini (d. 1604)
- Gustave Courbet (b. 1819)
- Ninian Comper (b. 1864)
- Alexandra Stan (b. 1989)
Links edit
- World: painters · poets · writers · people
- Poland: painters · poets · writers · people · flags
- Jan Brzechwa a.k.a. Jan Lesman (1900–1966)
- Aleksander Fredro (1793–1876)
- Witold Gombrowicz (1904–1969)
- Stanisław Grochowiak (1934–1976)
- Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz a.k.a. “Eleuter” (1894–1980)
- Bruno Jasieński a.k.a. Wiktor Zysman (1901–1938)
- Stanisław Lem (b. 1921)
- Czesław Miłosz (June 30, 1911 – August 14, 2004), Polish poet, Nobel Prize in Literature in 1980
- Cyprian Kamil Norwid (1821–1883)
- Jeremi Przybora (1915–2004)
- Bruno Schulz a.k.a. Bruno Schultz (1892–1942)
- Antoni Słonimski (1895–1976)
- Leopold Staff (1878–1957)
- Wisława Szymborska (b. 1923), Polish poet, Nobel Prize in Literature in 1996
- Kazimierz Tetmajer, a.k.a. Kazimierz Przerwa-Tetmajer (1865–1940)
- Julian Tuwim (1894–1953)
- Stanisław Witkiewicz (1851–1915)
- Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz a.k.a. “Witkacy” (1885–1939)
- Stanisław Wyspiański (1869–1907)
Featured articles edit
Featured articles · candidates · collaboration of the week
June 10 edit
Marasmius rotula, the pinwheel mushroom, is a fungus in the family Marasmiaceae. Widespread in the Northern Hemisphere, it was first described scientifically in 1772 by Giovanni Antonio Scopoli. The mushrooms are characterized by thin whitish caps up to 2.0 cm (0.8 in) wide that are sunken in the center and pleated with scalloped margins. The wiry black hollow stalks measure up to 8.0 cm (3.1 in) long by 1.5 mm (0.06 in) thick. On the underside of the caps are widely spaced white gills, attached to a collar encircling the stalk. The mushrooms grow in groups or clusters on decaying wood such as moss-covered logs and stumps. Spore release is dependent upon sufficient moisture. Dried mushrooms may revive after rehydrating and release spores for up to three weeks, much longer than most gilled mushrooms. Although the mushrooms are not generally considered edible, they produce a unique peroxidase enzyme that is attracting research interest for use in bioengineering applications. (Full article...)
April 10 edit
Ryanair is an airline based in Ireland. It is Europe's largest low-cost carrier, operating 209 low-fare routes to 94 destinations across 17 European countries. Over the years it has evolved into the world's most profitable airline, running at remarkable margins by relentlessly driving costs down. Ryanair has been characterised by rapid and continuing expansion, enabled by the deregulation of the air industry in Europe in 1997. It operates a fleet of 74 Boeing 737s, and currently has firm orders for an additional 225 Boeing 737-800 airplanes by 2010, with options on a further 193. Ryanair is one of Europe's most controversial companies, praised and criticised in equal measure. Its supporters praise its commitment to exceptionally low fares, its radical management, its populism, and its willingness to challenge what Ryanair calls the 'establishment' within the airline industry. Critics, meanwhile, have attacked its labor union policies, and have charged that it practises deceptive advertising. (more...)
Recently featured: Government of Maryland – Blackadder – Sikkim
March 10 edit
Comet Hale-Bopp was probably the most widely-observed comet of the last century, and one of the brightest seen for many decades. It was visible to the naked eye for a record 18 months, twice as long as the previous record holder, the Great Comet of 1811. Hale-Bopp was discovered on July 23, 1995 at a very large distance from the sun, raising expectations that the comet could become very bright when it passed close to the sun. Although comet brightnesses are very difficult to predict with any degree of accuracy, Hale-Bopp met or exceeded most predictions for its brightness when it passed perihelion on April 1, 1997. The comet was dubbed the Great Comet of 1997. The passage of Hale-Bopp was notable also for inciting a degree of panic about comets not seen for decades. Rumours that the comet was being followed by an alien spacecraft gained remarkable currency, and inspired a mass suicide among followers of the Heaven's Gate cult. (more...)
Recently featured: San Jose – Chemical warfare – Anne Frank
February 10 edit
The Coconut Crab is the largest terrestrial arthropod, known for its ability to crack coconuts with its strong pincers in order to eat the contents. It is sometimes called the "Robber Crab" because some steal shiny items such as pots and silverware from houses and tents. Another name is the "terrestrial hermit crab," due to the use of shells by young crabs. Its range includes the Indian and western Pacific ocean. They differ slightly in color among different islands, ranging from light violet to deep purple, to brown. Their diet consists primarily of all kinds of fruits, including coconuts and figs. However, the crab will eat nearly anything organic, including leaves, rotten fruit, tortoise eggs, dead animals, and shells of other animals. They cannot swim and will drown in water. (more...)
Recently featured: Jonathan Wild – Battle of Inchon – Bodyline
January 10 edit
Since 1949, the head of state of the Republic of Ireland has been the President of Ireland. The President is usually directly elected by the people, and serves a maximum of two seven year terms. The presidency is largely a ceremonial office, but the President does exercise certain reserve powers. The office was established by the Constitution of Ireland in 1937. The President's official residence is Áras an Uachtaráin in Dublin, and the current office-holder is President Mary McAleese. The President is formally elected by the people once in every seven years, except in the event of premature vacancy, when an election must be held within sixty days, or when there is only one valid candidate for the presidency, as happened in 2004. The President is directly elected by secret ballot under the form of the Single Transferable Vote system. (more...)
Recently featured: Pet skunk – Chuck Palahniuk – CPU cache
December 10 edit
The Saturn V was a multistage liquid-fuel expendable rocket used by NASA's Apollo and Skylab programs. It was the largest production model of the Saturn family of rockets, although larger models were theorised. The rocket was designed under the direction of Wernher von Braun and Arthur Rudolph at the Marshall Space Flight Center, with the lead contractors being The Boeing Company, North American Aviation, Douglas Aircraft Company and IBM. Thirteen Saturn V rockets were launched from 1967 to 1973, with a perfect launch record. (Although Apollo 6 and Apollo 13 did lose engines, the onboard computers were able to compensate.) The main payloads of the rocket were the Apollo spacecraft which carried the NASA astronauts to the Moon. It also launched the Skylab space station. (more...)
Recently featured: Paragraph 175 – Bishōjo game – Palladian architecture
November 10 edit
There are three types of Japanese toilets. The oldest type is a simple Asian squat toilet, which is still common in public restrooms. After World War II, modern Western-type flush toilets and urinals became common. Current state of the art is a high-tech bidet toilet, are known as Washlet, which as of 2004 is installed in over half of all Japanese households. These high-tech toilets include a built-in bidet for both the anus and vulva, where a water jet cleans the private regions of the user. Many additional features are also often included, such as a blow dryer, seat heating, massage options and other adjustments for the water jet of the bidet, automatic opening of the lid and flushing after use, a wireless toilet control panel, heating and air conditioning for the toilet room, etc. (more...)
Recently featured: Shrine of Remembrance – Parliament of Canada – Exploding whale
October 10 edit
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is a part of the Bill of Rights. It was conceived to prevent Congress and the federal government from infringing on five rights. These guarantees were that the government would not endorse any religion or establish a state religion, prohibit the free exercise of religion, infringe upon freedom of speech, infringe the freedom of the press, limit the right to assemble peaceably, or limit the right to petition the government for a redress of grievances. The First Amendment, along with the rest of the Bill of Rights, was proposed by Congress in 1789, to be ratified by the requisite number of states in 1791. It was passed in order to answer protestations that the newly created Constitution did not include sufficient guarantees of civil liberties. The First Amendment only explicitly disallows any of the rights from being abridged by Congress. Over time, however, the courts held that this extends to the executive and judicial branches. The Fourteenth Amendment went further, making abridging First Amendment rights unconstitutional for state, county, and local governments. (more...)
Recently featured: Io – James Joyce – Coronation Street
September 10 edit
A mains power plug is a mechanical connector that fits into a power point or electrical socket. It has male features, usually brass and often tin or nickel plated, that interface mechanically and electrically to the mains. Such plugs have live, neutral and an optional earth contact. Large appliances with higher voltages use three-phase current and have phase 1, phase 2, phase 3, neutral and an optional earth contact. The reason we now have over a dozen different styles of plugs and wall outlets is that many countries preferred to develop plug designs of their own, instead of adopting a common standard. In many countries, there is no single standard, with multiple plug designs in use, creating extra complexity and potential safety problems for users. (more...)
Recently featured: Milgram experiment – Alliterative verse – Elizabeth I
September 6 edit
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 10 edit
Middle-earth is the name for the lands on J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional ancient Earth. The term can apply generally to the entire world (Arda) depicted in The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion, or in a narrow sense relating only to the main continent (also properly called Endor). Although Middle-earth's setting is often thought to be another world, it is actually a fictional period in Earth's own history — set 6,000 to 7,000 years ago. Tolkien emphatically insisted that Middle-earth is our Earth in several of his letters. The action of the books is largely confined to the north-west of the continent, corresponding to modern-day Europe. (more...)
Recently featured: Great Mosque of Djenné – War elephant – Calvin and Hobbes
July 10 edit
Weather lore is the body of informal folklore related to the prediction of the weather. Prior to the invention of the mercury barometer, it was very difficult to gather numerical data of any predictive value. Even though there were devices such as the weather stick which gave some indication of moisture changes, the only instrument of any reliability was human experience. Oral and written history is full of rhymes, anecdotes and adages meant to guide the uncertain in determining whether the morrow will bring weather fair or foul. For the farmer wanting to plant his crop or the merchant about to send his ships on trade, foreknowledge of tomorrow's circumstances might mean the difference between success and failure. (more...)
Recently featured: Separation of powers under the United States Constitution – Mark Antony – Gramophone record
June 10 edit
The Foundation Series is an epic science fiction series written by Isaac Asimov over the span of forty-nine years. The premise of the series is that mathematician Hari Seldon has spent his life developing a branch of mathematics known as psychohistory, which can be used to predict the future. Using these techniques, Seldon foresees the fall of the Galactic Empire, which encompasses the entire Milky Way. He also predicts that there will be a thirty-thousand-year dark age before the next great empire rises. To prevent this, he decides to create a small haven of technology in a corner of the galaxy (on the planet Terminus) called the Foundation, whose job it will be to preserve knowledge from the collapse. (more...)
Recently featured: Tea – World War I – VW Type 2
May 10 edit
Chess is a board game for two players, which requires 32 chesspieces. The board is a great square overall consisting of eight rows (ranks) by eight columns (files) of individual squares which alternate in color orthogonally (traditionally as white and black). Hence, there are a total of 64 individual squares. The object of the game is to put the opponent's king in checkmate. (more...)
Recently featured: European Union – Provinces of Thailand – Batman
April 10 edit
Heavy metal is a form of rock music characterised by aggressive, driving rhythms, highly amplified guitars, and often dark thematic elements. Heavy metal is an evolutionary product of pop, blues and classical music. Its first wave, between 1967 and 1974, was a product of pop and blues, while the classical element came to the fore in the later 1970s. By approximately 1991 most heavy metal had evolved into other hard rock genres, notably grunge. (more...)
Recently featured: Dreyfus Affair – Frankfurt School – Chariot racing
March 10 edit
Leonardo da Vinci was a celebrated Italian Renaissance architect, inventor, engineer, sculptor and painter. He can be seen as the archetype of the Renaissance man and has been described as a genius. Leonardo is well known for his masterful paintings, such as The Last Supper and Mona Lisa. Only 17 of his paintings, and none of his statues, survive. (more...)
Recently featured: bathing machine - Sperm Whale - People's Republic of China
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.”
See also: other pictures I have contributed to Wikipedia.
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