User talk:Ken Thomas

If you leave a message on my talk page, I'll respond to you on my talk page. If I leave a message on your talk page, I'll watch for your response there.
I'm sorry if that goes against the grain, but trying to follow a single conversation across multiple pages confuses the hell out of me.

Congrats!

Congrats! A picture taken by you has been featured at Portal:North Carolina on Wikipedia. Keep up the great work! --Mr.crabby 21:55, 9 November 2007 (UTC)

Nifty. Thanks. Ken Thomas 23:45, 9 November 2007 (UTC)

Featured Picture

I've nominated one of your photos for Featured Picture on Wikipedia here. Just thought I'd let you know! Djlayton4 20:05, 2 December 2007 (UTC)

Iguana

Hey Ken, this is a great pic:

• File:Green Iguana-27527.jpg

It's not a Green iguana, though. It's a Ctenosaura species. Possibly a Ctenosaura pectinata or a Ctenosaura similis.--Mike Searson 05:19, 18 February 2008 (UTC)

You're absolutely right, and I really appreciate the correction. To be honest, I wasn't 100% certain about the ID, but I'd left it in the Iguana iguana category here on Commons for two weeks and no one had corrected me on it, so I thought it would be OK to add it to the Wikipedia article. After doing some research I'm now about 90% certain that you're correct and it's a younger Ctenosaura similis. As I understand it the main feature that distinguishes that species are the two rows of scales that seperate each ring of spins on the tail, and those were clearly present on this guy. I'll request this image be deleted and I'll upload another with the a corrected filename, category, and description. I guess in the future I'll stick to birds and stay out of this confusing reptile business. ;-) - Ken Thomas 06:03, 18 February 2008 (UTC)

Name Changing

I have requested that my Wikipedia username be changed from 'Card to Ken Thomas to match my username here on Commons. I'm putting this message here because the Wikpiedia Admins who handle this sort of thing are a suspicious bunch (as indeed they probably have to be) and this should serve as adequate verification of my claim to own the Ken Thomas account here. DNA samples are available upon request - but you might have to take me to dinner first. Ken Thomas 12:52, 18 February 2008 (UTC)

Quality Image Promotion

Your image has been reviewed and promoted Congratulations! Black Spiny-tailed Iguana-27527.jpg, which was produced by you, was reviewed and has now been promoted to Quality Image status. If you would like to nominate another image, please do so at Quality images candidates. We also invite you to take part in the categorization of recently promoted quality images. Comments {{{3}}}

Image:Downy Woodpecker-Male.jpg

Hi Ken Thomas; I noticed your edit to time in the above file,[1] and should like to call your attention to en:ISO_8601, which is recommended on the Commons:Tools/Commonist page. Best wishes, Walter Siegmund (talk) 03:06, 7 April 2008 (UTC)

Understood, but one of the reasons why I usually list the date in brackets (like a link) and in that format is because (as I understand it) it allows the user's preset date display preferences to apply, so the date shows up in the viewer's preferred format. Am I wrong about that? - Ken Thomas 03:13, 7 April 2008 (UTC)

I think 2008-04-07 08:44:18-4.00 (en:ISO_8601) ([[2008-04-07]] 08:44:18-4.00 ([[:en:ISO_8601]])) is ISO_8601 compliant (ignoring the square brackets) and is responsive to user preferences. When I last checked, ISO_8601 was strongly encouraged, but that appears to have been changed, or perhaps I can no longer find it. I like the ISO_8601 representation of the time zone. I think the uploader is less likely to error than the reader in converting EST or EDT to the corresponding time zone. That is especially true of a non-American. --Walter Siegmund (talk) 16:16, 7 April 2008 (UTC)

That's a pretty cool idea, actually - and like you, I do like the idea of making the time zone info a little clearer for non-US users. In fact, you could even take it one step further and make the -4:00 (or whatever) a link to the Wikipedia article on the relevant time zone. Unfortunately, I'm really big on using a consistent format for all the images I've uploaded, and I've got something like 200 images uploaded at this point, so changing all of them to a new time/date format is going to be a rather large undertaking. I'll put it on my to-do list, but it may be a few weeks before I start that project. Thank you for the suggestion. - Ken Thomas 17:07, 7 April 2008 (UTC)

I think m:Replace.py might do the job. I've experimented with pywikipedia a bit with indifferent results, but haven't tried this particular program. That is a good idea about linking the -4:00 to the time zone. I have about 1400 uploads, so it would be in my interest to try to make Replace.py work. Best wishes, Walter Siegmund (talk) 11:19, 8 April 2008 (UTC)

Mockingbird Photo

Go right ahead. =) --Calibas 14:40, 11 April 2008 (UTC)

Great work

Hi Ken, I really like your work especially with regards to birds. I just thought I'd drop you a thank you note (since I don't remember doing so before). --Dori - Talk 20:59, 12 April 2008 (UTC)

Wow. Thanks, Dori. That was an unexpected and pleasant surprise. Believe it or not, I've noticed some of your uploads recently (you've added images to some of the pages on my watchlist) and you've been getting some really good bird pics too. Thanks for the compliments, and keep up the good work. - Ken Thomas 03:56, 13 April 2008 (UTC)

Picture of Red-bellied Woodpecker at blog

Hi. I'm just wondering whether you know your Red-bellied photo was used at the Living the Scientific Life blog (for an article on an amazing topic).

Off to reverse-vandalize your user page and then upload a couple photos. JerryFriedman (talk) 19:41, 12 July 2008 (UTC)

Hey Jerry! No, I had no idea that image was being used on that blog post. Nice to see, though. More importantly, that's a fascinating article. Thank you very much for the link. Thanks also for the spelling correction. Not sure how that one slipped by the spell-checker, but I appreciate you fixing it. - Ken Thomas (talk) 23:42, 12 July 2008 (UTC)

Courtesy pointer

Hi, Ken Thomas,

I try to avoid any semblance of talking about people behind their backs in public. :-) (Personal pet peeve and peccadillo, I suppose.) So, I mentioned your name here, second-level indent, paragraph 2.

Kindest regards, Snakesteuben (talk) 18:15, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for the pointer. I'm not sure why the "pd-self" tag didn't come over from the original, and I can't quite figure out what the problem was the other guy in that discussion had with it, but I added the tag myself (as the photographer of the original version) and I think it should be fine now.

By the way, I don't mind you cropping that for a specific use at all, but in the future it might simplify things with the copyright fascists if you just let me know what image you need cropped and what size or dimension you need it to be. I'll be more than happy to do the crop, upload it, and point you at it. Kind of a hassle, I know - but at least that way there wouldn't be any questions about it. - Ken Thomas (talk) 18:30, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

Well, I kinda don't know the dimensions I want in advance. Here's basically what I'm doing: Bird Field Guide, Thumbnails. My rationale on the talk page, might be worth reading. So with that goal, basically the idea is not a specific size, just to make the picture as much "bird" as possible, trimming some of the non-bird real estate, while still keeping the photo aesthetically pleasing. :-)

I've actually ported the same project and will be spending more time on it on the [West] Frisian site.

So an alternative might be for me to toss them up on the fy wikibooks, and then when I've got them the way I want them, I could point you to the files that are yours, and then you could put them on commons? Does that make any sense?

Thanks much! Snakesteuben (talk) 13:08, 2 August 2008 (UTC)

Sure. If that'd be easier for you (and simplify things in general) then by all means just let me know. - Ken Thomas ( ) 10:52, 8 August 2008 (UTC)

Times Square photo used on our Blog

Hi, Ken:

You asked to know when and where one of your photos is shown and I'm happy to oblige with some info:

Governor Patterson's recent decision to give production companies tax breaks if they filmed in the State has caused a huge increase in NYC's appeal as a venue, and one of your photos of Times Square is now adorning my Blog post on the superb growth in new income and jobs he's created.

You can find it at: www.Harlequinade.biz/ [2]/

Your photos are a joy, and your altruism is laudable. I wish
you boundless enjoyment in all your future creations.

Be well, be happy,

Michael J. Austin,
The Loquacious Limey.,
San Luis Obispo, CA.

Wow. Thank you so much for the heads-up, the link, and the compliments, Michael. I enjoyed reading the blog post, and I'll definitely continue to check out your blog in the future. - Ken Thomas (talk) 22:48, 30 September 2008 (UTC)

Image:Boy Scout Memorial-27527.jpg

Image deletion warning

Image:Boy Scout Memorial-27527.jpg has been listed at Commons:Deletion requests so that the community can discuss whether it should be kept or not. We would appreciate it if you could go to voice your opinion about this at its entry. If you created this image, please note that the fact that it has been proposed for deletion does not necessarily mean that we do not value your kind contribution. It simply means that one person believes that there is some specific problem with it, such as a copyright issue. In all cases, please do not take the deletion request personally. It is never intended as such. Thank you!

--Teofilo (talk) 12:34, 7 October 2008 (UTC)

re: Category Removal Question

Hi there. The rocket is actually a National Historic Landmark, not a National Register of Historic Places listing. Also, the upright one it not an authentic Saturn V; only the one that's now in it's own building is. I've created Category:First Saturn V Launch Vehicle to help with any confusion. --Spyder Monkey (talk) 22:22, 13 December 2008 (UTC)

Ahh, Category:National Historic Landmarks in Alabama was one of the only such state categories that wasn't in its "Registered Historic Places in X" category. I've fixed that omission. --Spyder Monkey (talk) 16:23, 14 December 2008 (UTC)

Great Cedar Waxwing shot!

Hi Ken. I found your Cedar Waxwing picture and had to post it to my blog. I saw a waxwing today and wasn't fast enough getting my camera. Thanks for allowing me to share the beauty of this bird with my readers.

You take awesome photos and I'm especially happy that you donate them to the public domain (as do I). The fact that you're a fellow North Carolinian doesn't hurt, either! Should I get out to Lenoir or should you head east to Raleigh, I'd like to buy you a beer. Cheers, Mark Turner Jmturner (talk) 02:42, 12 January 2009 (UTC)

Hey Mark - thanks a bunch for the compliments, and I'm really glad you liked the shot. It looks great on your blog. I'd like to claim that photo was the result of weeks of stalking and preparation, but the truth is that it was just luck. About 20 waxwings attacked that weeping holly tree in the woods behind my house, cleaned all the berries off of it in about 10 minutes, and were gone again just that quickly. That's the only time I've ever even seen a waxwing, and at the time I didn't even know what they were. I'm not much of a birder, so I usually shoot first, and identify later, and that day I was really lucky that a few of the shots came out looking halfway decent. Next time you're up this way let me know. Bring that D40 and we'll head out and take some pics in the high country. - Ken_Thomas (talk) 04:06, 13 January 2009 (UTC)

Tip: Categorizing images

---

Hello, Ken Thomas!

Tip: Add categories to your files

Thanks a lot for contributing to the Wikimedia Commons! Here's a tip to make your uploads more useful: Why not add some categories to describe them? This will help more people to find and use them.

Here's how:

1) If you're using the UploadWizard, you can add categories to each file when you describe it. Just click "more options" for the file and add the categories which make sense:

2) You can also pick the file from your list of uploads, edit the file description page, and manually add the category code at the end of the page.

[[Category:Category name]]

For example, if you are uploading a diagram showing the orbits of comets, you add the following code:

[[Category:Astronomical diagrams]]

[[Category:Comets]]

This will make the diagram show up in the categories "Astronomical diagrams" and "Comets".

When picking categories, try to choose a specific category ("Astronomical diagrams") over a generic one ("Illustrations").

Thanks again for your uploads! More information about categorization can be found in Commons:Categories, and don't hesitate to leave a note on the help desk.

BotMultichillT 17:23, 7 September 2009 (UTC)

• Image:Northern Flicker-27527.jpg was uncategorized on 6 September 2009.

Thanks!

Hi Ken—I was looking through your contributions and just wanted to let you know how much I like them and the fact that they are released into the public domain. Keep up the great work! —Pie4all88 ^{T C} 01:01, 12 March 2010 (UTC)

Request

Ken - can you take a look at w:en:Wikipedia_talk:WikiProject_Visual_arts#Picture_needed and let me know if that is something you'd be interested in? Raul654 (talk) 17:41, 29 March 2010 (UTC)

Douglas Zinn got back to me today with written permission to photograph the painting. Later in this week (after I get back from my current travel), I'll send it to Frank Thomson (curator as the Asheville museum) and you. 12.190.142.70 15:25, 13 April 2010 (UTC)

That sounds great, thank you.Ken_Thomas (talk) 21:18, 13 April 2010 (UTC)

Sent. Raul654 (talk) 00:48, 15 April 2010 (UTC)

THANK YOU SO MUCH! Raul654 (talk) 23:55, 9 May 2010 (UTC)

You're welcome. I'm glad I could help. I'm just sorry the quality didn't come out better. The museum staff was very helpful, but they had the painting lit from directly overhead and no matter what I tried I couldn't quite keep the glare from showing up in the upper right hand corner. Next time I try photographing a painting I'll know to take along more of my own lighting gear. - Ken_Thomas (talk) 00:00, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

Don't worry about it - the pic is great. That painting has never been reproduced in any media that I'm aware of -- no books, no research papers, no newspapers, nothing. (It might as well have been painted yesterday.) So having your picture is great improvement. Raul654 (talk) 02:05, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

Public Domain

Thank you for licencing in the public domain. It is very helpful. i'm using File:Fireworks-27527-2.jpg on my blog. Create42000 (talk) 15:11, 4 July 2010 (UTC)

Tufted Titmouse

Absolutely marvelous picture Ken. Great work. BahamaLlama8 (talk) 01:34, 19 October 2010 (UTC)

Oh, thank you. I have to admit I'm kind of proud of that one. I'm glad to hear you like it too. - Ken_Thomas (talk) 12:55, 20 October 2010 (UTC)

Thanks for the Saturn V pic

Hi, Ken. Thanks for the excellent picture of the Saturn V in Huntsville! It goes beautifully in the article on the piece. Funny to see you're about 30 minutes away from me now. I'm in Apex, NC but hail from Huntsville. -- Ke4roh (talk) 04:19, 16 February 2011 (UTC)

You're welcome. That's a pretty cool pic, and I had fun taking it. Glad it's useful. - Ken_Thomas (talk) 03:33, 18 February 2011 (UTC)

File:Userpage_KenThomas-3.jpg

File:Userpage_KenThomas-3.jpg has been listed at Commons:Deletion requests so that the community can discuss whether it should be kept or not. We would appreciate it if you could go to voice your opinion about this at its entry. If you created this file, please note that the fact that it has been proposed for deletion does not necessarily mean that we do not value your kind contribution. It simply means that one person believes that there is some specific problem with it, such as a copyright issue. Please see Commons:But it's my own work! for a guide on how to address these issues. Please remember to respond to and – if appropriate – contradict the arguments supporting deletion. Arguments which focus on the nominator will not affect the result of the nomination. Thank you!

– Adrignola talk 00:38, 5 March 2011 (UTC)

Wikimedia Stories Project

Aloha!

My name is Victor and I work with the Wikimedia Foundation, the non-profit organization that supports Wikipedia. We're chronicling the inspiring stories of the Wikipedia community around the world, including those from readers, editors, and donors. Stories are absolutely essential for any non-profit to persuade new people to support the cause, and we know the vast network of people who use Wikipedia have so much to share.

Until this year, Wikipedia has largely relied upon personal appeals from founder Jimmy Wales to drive our annual fundraising efforts. Now we seek to convey the incredible diversity of people who've come to rely upon Wikipedia every day.

Your photos are fantastic! The bird shots are great. I really like your October Alligator shot on your Calendar.

I'd really like the opportunity to interview you to tell your story, with the possibility of using it in our materials, on our community websites, or as part of this year’s fundraiser to encourage others to support Wikipedia.

Please let me know if you're inclined to take part in the Wikipedia Stories Project and we'll set up a good time to discuss further.

Thank you,

Victor Grigas

user:victorgrigas

vgrigas@wikimedia.org

Victorgrigas (talk) 21:48, 28 December 2011 (UTC)

Notification about possible deletion

Some contents have been listed at Commons:Deletion requests so that the community can discuss whether they should be kept or not. We would appreciate it if you could go to voice your opinion about this at their entry. If you created these pages, please note that the fact that they have been proposed for deletion does not necessarily mean that we do not value your kind contribution. It simply means that one person believes that there is some specific problem with them, such as a copyright issue. Please see Commons:But it's my own work! for a guide on how to address these issues. Please remember to respond to and – if appropriate – contradict the arguments supporting deletion. Arguments which focus on the nominator will not affect the result of the nomination. Thank you!

Affected:

• File:Swann Fountain-27527-2.jpg

And also:

• File:Swann Fountain-27527-3.jpg
• File:Swann Fountain-27527.jpg Eleassar ^(t/p) 09:01, 15 October 2013 (UTC)

American Robin rangemap

Hi,

I live in Racine, Wi. The American_Robin-rangemap.gif is a little incorrect in that the American Robin does not live year round here. It arrives approx Mid-March and is gone By Mid-Oct. It also nests here in the spring.

Thanks.

Gallery Code

Hey thought you might want to try some different code for your galleries, check out my user page on en.wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Victorgrigas it brings out the photos alot! Victorgrigas (talk) 18:33, 16 January 2014 (UTC)

Notification about possible deletion

Some contents have been listed at Commons:Deletion requests so that the community can discuss whether they should be kept or not. We would appreciate it if you could go to voice your opinion about this at their entry. If you created these pages, please note that the fact that they have been proposed for deletion does not necessarily mean that we do not value your kind contribution. It simply means that one person believes that there is some specific problem with them, such as a copyright issue. Please see Commons:But it's my own work! for a guide on how to address these issues. Please remember to respond to and – if appropriate – contradict the arguments supporting deletion. Arguments which focus on the nominator will not affect the result of the nomination. Thank you!

Affected:

• File:Peachoid-27527.jpg

Yours sincerely, JurgenNL (talk) 19:47, 1 February 2014 (UTC)

Quality Image Promotion

Your image has been reviewed and promoted Congratulations! Swann Fountain-27527.jpg, which was produced by you, was reviewed and has now been promoted to Quality Image status. If you would like to nominate another image, please do so at Quality images candidates. We also invite you to take part in the categorization of recently promoted quality images. Comments Good quality.--PIERRE ANDRE LECLERCQ 10:20, 7 January 2016 (UTC)

--QICbot (talk) 05:27, 10 January 2016 (UTC)

I have used some of your photos

Hello Ken!

I have used some photos of Glaucomys volans in my free software educational proyect "Animalandia" (http://animalandia.educa.madrid.org)

You can see directly in the follow link and clic over "Siguiente" ("Next") several times:

http://animalandia.educa.madrid.org/imagen.php?id=52160

If you wish (and I hope yes), you can send me (via fernando.lison@educa.madrid.org) some letters or/and a photo for your "contributor profile" in Animalandia:

http://animalandia.educa.madrid.org/autor.php?nombre=Ken+Thomas

I want show to my students (and so everybody) that Animalandia is make for "real person", and I can tell them about "generosity", "share" and other similar words that we use very few at this time...

This is my "contributor profile" and others, for example:

http://animalandia.educa.madrid.org/autor.php?nombre=Fernando%20Lis%F3n%20Mart%EDn

http://animalandia.educa.madrid.org/autor.php?nombre=Carmen%20Jim%E9nez

http://animalandia.educa.madrid.org/autor.php?nombre=David%20P%E9rez

http://animalandia.educa.madrid.org/autor.php?nombre=Steve%20Garvie%20%28Rainbirder%29

In the future, I use more of your photos, I sure!

Thank you for the licence and, of course, for your splendid photos!!

Regards!

Fernando Lisón, from Spain --Fernando.lison (talk) 14:19, 1 April 2021 (UTC)

File:Coal Miner-27527.jpg

File:Coal Miner-27527.jpg has been listed at Commons:Deletion requests so that the community can discuss whether it should be kept or not. We would appreciate it if you could go to voice your opinion about this at its entry. If you created this file, please note that the fact that it has been proposed for deletion does not necessarily mean that we do not value your kind contribution. It simply means that one person believes that there is some specific problem with it, such as a copyright issue. Please see Commons:But it's my own work! for a guide on how to address these issues. Please remember to respond to and – if appropriate – contradict the arguments supporting deletion. Arguments which focus on the nominator will not affect the result of the nomination. Thank you!

A1Cafel (talk) 07:52, 17 June 2023 (UTC)