User talk:Jim.henderson/Archive 7

• See User talk:Jim.henderson/Archive 1 for discussion before July 2009
• See User talk:Jim.henderson/Archive 2 for discussion July 2009 to January 2011
• See User talk:Jim.henderson/Archive 3 for discussion January to May 2011
• See User talk:Jim.henderson/Archive 4 for discussion June to July 2011
• See User talk:Jim.henderson/Archive 5 for discussion August to December 2011
• See User talk:Jim.henderson/Archive 6 for discussion 2012

Dogging your footsteps... again?

My wife wants us (renters) to buy an apartment. I want to stay relatively close to where I am (Flatiron District), and she keeps looking in the Upper East and Upper West Sides, which I'm really not interested in. To appease her a little, I said Brooklyn Heights might be OK (which she, of course, has managed to expand to Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill and Boerum Hill -- next is Fort Greene. She'll be looking in Coney Island if I don't stop her) We've been going over on weekends, and, to make it more interesting for me, I've started taking my camera along - and she appeases me by allowing me to take shots. Of course, when I come back to upload them, I find that you've been there before me, many of the same subjects, often the same shot (as the best one available). So, sometimes I upload mine, sometimes not if they don't offer anything different from what you've already done.

That's all by the way of saying that (again) I'm not deliberately dogging your footsteps, it's really just coincidental - we're in the same area and many of the subjects (churches, landmarks) are inevitably going to be covered. Before I go over next time I'll try to take a look to see what you've already done and try to skip some, maybe look at the less obvious places you haven't hit yet (if I can find any).

I hope things are going well for you, and the New Year's rolled in nicely. Best, Beyond My Ken (talk) 03:14, 11 January 2013 (UTC)

Delighted to be chased. Many of my pictures, I look and say, well, it's bad but it will do until someone gets a better one. This morning on Castleton Avenue the biker in front of me evinced surprise at a synagogue styled like a Greek temple, to which I replied that again the Sun is at a miserable angle and anyway our tyrant was setting too fast a pace to let me reshoot my miserable photo of two years ago, so she promised to try it if she ever visited it at a slower pace. After pancakes at the north end of Bayonne I quit the gang to guide a few to the trolley so they could rush home, and in northwestern Hoboken I slowed down for some decent pictures to be uploaded whenever I get the time to process them. So much opportunity for fun; so few hours in a lifetime and when it's a beautiful day with tough biker gang (majority female), who wants to be indoors at the computer?

Boerum / Cobble / Carroll I know well from escort duty for little girls in the 1990s. Those little girls have long been smarter than me and now they know it and they're stronger than me, too. Park Slope, Ft Greene, Bushwick and Coney, I mostly know just from photo expeditions. Many nice people; much photo game not yet hunted to extinction by photographers less rushed than me. Totally unlike Manhattan, that way; almost as much a happy hunting ground as Hoboken. Jim.henderson (talk) 04:28, 11 January 2013 (UTC)

I like it when I go out of town for a week or so and get to roam around a new place in between rehearsals. Of course, the density of interesting things isn't as high as in the city, but at least I can feel like I'm not repeating the work of 50 other photographers. And, a week away makes coming back to the city better than ever. Beyond My Ken (talk) 04:46, 11 January 2013 (UTC)

Only place beyond NY suburbs in recent years has been Pittsburgh, and much out there has been snapped up. Crossing the river from The Bronx my companions sometimes ask, "What, no pictures?" "Harlem is all fished out, and much of South Bronx too," is my answer. I finally looked at those Brooklyn church pictures, and indeed you got a better Borromeo than me; for the others mine are more harmed by trees and less by cars and I don't have a strong preference. So, tomorrow is Ft Greene, Bushwick, central and western Queens with another, perhaps slower biker gang, and Tuesday northern Yonkers afoot. Meanwhile unrelated computer diddling has kept me too busy for picture processing. Jim.henderson (talk) 00:48, 13 January 2013 (UTC)

If you're doing Yonkers, you might try to get the derelict power plant near the Glenwood train station. It's a fascinating building. I have a couple of shots of it, but I made them though the window of the train, so they're not great. You have one, but the building is blocked by a tree. It's on my list to go up and get a good full-body shot of it, but I've just not had the opportunity. Beyond My Ken (talk) 02:26, 13 January 2013 (UTC)

I did a show about Bushwick a few years ago, but never went out there. I think there are some old brewery buildings? Beyond My Ken (talk) 02:28, 13 January 2013 (UTC)

Hmm, yeah your winter early afternoon close shots of Glenwood are better than my long one a couple hours earlier in summer, but that's faint praise. I hadn't planned to get off the train (or bus) so far south because otherwise there aren't many unbagged targets nearby. However, it only doubles the length of my walk to Consumer Reports and the addition is all flat, so I'll see how early in the day I get off my butt. Speaking of butt, it's getting time to put on my biker togs and pedal down to City Hall for a 5BBC tour including places near Newtown Creek, one of the few remaining working factory areas in the city. Some of the Bushwick brewery buildings are landmarks or whatever, and the pictures we have are mostly mine and mostly poor to middling. Jim.henderson (talk) 13:43, 13 January 2013 (UTC)

No Bushwick; biker gang stayed north of there and weather was poor anyway. Didn't get to Glenwood or Greystone; had to take rails straight from a meeting at McSorleys to Grand Central to Hastings to taxi to Consumer Reports. Nice lab tour but others got better pix than me. Jim.henderson (talk) 02:05, 17 January 2013 (UTC)

Sorry to hear that. Is McSorley's your regular meeting place, or was that just incidental? (I've never actually been inside, although I lived 2 blocks away for 5 years or so.) Beyond My Ken (talk) 02:09, 17 January 2013 (UTC)

This is the usual place for a reunion every couple months of retired local telephone workers. Once or twice a year it's dinner in a real restaurant. I don't usually attend, and wouldn't have done this time if I hadn't broken a promise to show last time. A couple hours later in the sleek, modern Yonkers conference room they wondered why I was tipsy and had sawdust on my sweater. Totally different ambiance though I can appreciate both. Alas, that day I was slightly slowed by approaching illness which is now keeping me quiet and indoors. Perhaps this is the bottom and full power will return in a few days. Certainly I'll be up and ready for Wikipedia Day a few weeks from now. Jim.henderson (talk) 13:32, 18 January 2013 (UTC)

GPS fix

Jim: Can you fix the object location for File:Lehigh Valley Red Hook jeh.JPG. The camera location seems correct - in Red Hook - but the object location in on the Hudson River somewhere south of Fort Lee. Thanks, Beyond My Ken (talk) 05:10, 21 January 2013 (UTC)

Done. A bot tagged it according to the barge's location in Edgewater when it got the NRHP designation. Thanks; somehow I missed it when it happened. Jim.henderson (talk) 10:46, 21 January 2013 (UTC)

No prob. Beyond My Ken (talk) 12:11, 21 January 2013 (UTC)

How the hell do you make these damn things anyway? None of the coordinates-related tools are working for me. ----DanTD (talk) 18:20, 25 July 2013 (UTC)

Oof, tired after 43 mile biker gang ride to Kensico Dam Plaza and back, 3 of them as scout and 12 as officer. Tomorrow I'll be rested enough to write up the simpler method I promised to the commander for going from South County Trail Way to Bronxville with less climbing. Tonight I can see that the description in my userpage of how I get coordinates is obsolete; that can wait even longer. Google Earth aerials are the source for all locations for me, with clarifications sometimes from Microsoft Bing Birds Eye and rarely from historicaerials.com. I tried various sophisticated methods of getting pastable coords from Google, but settled on first one and then another downright crude method.

Few years ago my method was to find an old Wikimedia Commons pic nearby that already had Template:Location and paste that into the description. Then set GE on the location where I was standing for my new picture. See the fields where the new place's coords differ from the old, and edit accordingly. Preview, click on the GE link in the preview, click Open in a New Tab, and GE goes to the location. Close the tab, edit the numbers some more, click again the Preview and New Tab. GE goes to the new location as specified unless I miswrote the numbers again which is not rare. Zoom deep in GE to ensure this is really the location. Repeat until satisfied, and Save.

Nowadays for pictures that have no coords I have simply memorized the template syntax, and write the whole thing by hand, mentally converting the unpastable coords of GE to the proper format. The same repetitive checks apply, and catch even more initial errors. Before uploading, my new pix already have coords either inserted by the camera's own GPS or by Microsoft Pro Photo Tools 2, a long obsolete free geotagging program. I don't get as much accuracy with MSPPT2 as with GE, so all uploads are checked again a day or two later.

The free Google Picasa photo retouching program also has a geotagging feature, but it worked poorly with my obsolete desk computer, and last year I outgrew its rather crude retouching methods. I would be pleased if Google Earth or Wikimedia or someone made it easier. Google Earth decided years ago not to. Wikimedia's geographical features are right now caught in a fiasco over Toolserver but maybe that will be cured by the new Wikimedia Labs in a year or three. Or something. Jim.henderson (talk) 00:29, 26 July 2013 (UTC)

Bronx & Staten Island neighborhood categories

I don't know if you've noticed, but I've added a lot of categories for Neighborhoods in Staten Island, New York City lately. More need to be made, as well as some Bronx Categories. Just thought you might be interested in this, since you've got so many pics in these boroughs. ----DanTD (talk) 01:09, 2 February 2013 (UTC)

Yes, it has enlivened my watchlist. With similarly welcome work by other minds more precise in this field than mine, reviewing every change and finding many old errors of my own has further subtracted from time already made scarce by good weather and other reasons for being outdoors. Tuesday I was seeking in vain the Sedgwick Avenue IRT, Wednesday visiting Brooklyn, Thursday resisting high winds to snap bits of NY Westchester & Boston RR, Friday attending an astronomy meeting and wake, etc. After shopping carefully for a small new computer and big bicycle (can't get by with only one size of each) I hope to find time to renew processing my picture backlog. Oh! Does someone want to make and fill categories for a few more Outer Boro roads? Victory Boulevard, Fulton Street, Main Street and two Metropolitan Avenues come to mind though I'm sure this list is not comprehensive and perhaps not even entirely correct. Jim.henderson (talk) 23:00, 2 February 2013 (UTC)

Good going; several new categories are properly filled. I have patience for some things, but not for making precise and clear names of files and categories. Incidentally you might want to be a bit more daring in lengthening filenames for greater clarity, as long you are renaming one of my pictures for a more important reason. Jim.henderson (talk) 21:37, 6 March 2013 (UTC)

Did I rename any of your pictures recently? I don't remember. ----DanTD (talk) 00:49, 12 March 2013 (UTC)

Hmm, what could I have been thinking, last week? This week I have the excuse of wits thickened by injuries from my Sunday evening bike crash. Anyway, thank you, all you industrious and thoughtful curators. Jim.henderson (talk) 18:58, 13 March 2013 (UTC)

You should take a picture of this place: Anals Restaurant at 935 E 163rd St, Bronx, NY. --Scottandrewhutchins (talk) 20:20, 15 April 2013 (UTC)

We'll see. I did Longwood in June; no plan to return this year. Many places have more unillustrated articles. Jim.henderson (talk) 00:44, 16 April 2013 (UTC)

Mentioned you

I wanted to let you know that I mentioned you here. Beyond My Ken (talk) 05:39, 5 March 2013 (UTC)

For the benefit of any friendly stalkers, we put on an interesting and informative 3-way conversation about geotagging, there. Jim.henderson (talk) 21:37, 6 March 2013 (UTC)

Jim convalescing

Some of you know I got hurt a week ago, so you can skip this paragraph. Sunday evening after a pleasant Wikipedia teaching session at Brooklyn Public Library and a too big dinner with fellow Wikinuts, I was in a rush to get to the Brooklyn Bridge before dusk increased the danger of bicycling. I hastily unlocked and unfolded my little bike and secured my cargo. Unlike the other thousand times I've done this, I neglected to fasten one of the two twiddlies that secure the joints. Shortly after crossing Eastern Parkway, the frame folded and collapsed, throwing me forward onto the sidewalk. My reflexes were not quick enough to twist my body appropriately, so my face and left hand took most the impact which would not have much hurt my helmet and shoulder had those been hit harder.

Rather than ask the kind bystanders to call an ambulance I put my left spectacle lens in my pocket, inspected for major broken bones, finished folding the bike and took the IRT subway home. Kind fellow passengers gave me a seat, and tissue paper to stanch the dribbling blood. Next morning my regular doctor said the lip was neatly cut and already healing, and everything needed time but no work except my clearly broken hand. Across town the sports medicine doc's X-ray confimed the proximally fractured 4 and 5 metacarpals and he put me in a cast. Day after that I got the eye exam for my new glasses, and my wonderful dentist replaced the broken off corner of my buck tooth. Not as strong as the real thing, he warned.

Since then, been spending a week sitting and watching TV when I want to be biking or at least trotting around town. Saturday my new glasses came and I no longer need two rubber bands and cellophane tape to see the screen. Walked down to Times Square Sunday morning for the Half marathon but an arm in a sling and other lesser but still somewhat painful injuries limit my ability to seek good camera angles.

Some of you have offered help, and I thank you but I'm managing. Washing dishes without wetting the plaster cast is so difficult, I've been eating out once a day and using paper plates at home. The cast leaves room for my workable fingers to work, so simple cooking only takes about twice the time. Laundry loads must be smaller than normal. The hardest chore is bathing myself, but any of my friends who might hope to have their hot little hands on my battered bodily beauty will not get that excuse.

Day by day my mouth hurts less and otherwise I gradually improve. Perhaps a week from now I'll be stong enough to trot most the two miles to the fracture healing progress inspection. If it's going well, then more jogging, unbalanced due to the weight, ought to partially restore my wind, preparing for the day in late April when a free hand will let me hit the road again. Might even be strong enough for the 5 Boro Bike Tour in early May.

Jim: I hadn't realized that you were quite so banged up, and I'm sorry to hear it. I hope you make your goal. Beyond My Ken (talk) 04:36, 19 March 2013 (UTC)

Aerobic exercise is limited by a previously unnoticed cracked rib. Still have only one hand for typing. Otherwise progress is progressing. Pining for the open road is the heaviest burden. Jim.henderson (talk) 17:48, 27 March 2013 (UTC)

Mending continues. Cracked rib, no longer painful. Trotting a little. Physical vigor and brain power have returned to, alas, pretty much the usual.

Hotcat and Cat-a-lot have proven able to do much with mouse alone. The latter is a powerful blaster that leaves much pick and shovel work to be done, at least the way I've been using it. The two cat wrangling projects to which I've applied these tools may be a bit too much, namely diffusing Category:Manhattan, New York City which has too many pictures and Category:Broadway which has too many subcats. They might not leave enough time to catch up on my backlog of unprocessed pictures before a free hand gives me the power of the open road again. So many nice things to do; so few years in which to do them. Jim.henderson (talk) 18:42, 4 April 2013 (UTC)

Any chance you might've recovered at this point? Below I suggested a site in the South Bronx you might be interested in capturing, but if you can't, and I can't, maybe I could pass the suggestion to someone else. --DanTD (talk) 15:24, 9 May 2013 (UTC)

Almost 5 months after injury, recovery is like, 90% with only modest stiffness of hand and shortness of stamina. Thursday fatigue made me drop out of a biker gang ride to Valhalla and back, having pedaled 40 sometimes hilly miles including 3 as scout and 12 as officer. Monday the hand doctor had said something that can be summarized as, "Oh, you're not taking the pain pills anymore? Go away and come back if it stops getting better or you're not up to full power in the winter." Hey, it's already better than many greybeards of my advanced years and no injuries; it's just not the powers I had last year. Jim.henderson (talk) 12:35, 28 July 2013 (UTC)

Commons:Categories for discussion/2013/03/Category:Demolished buildings

So sorry to read of your accident. I wish you swift recovery. FYI, a suggestion has been added to the above page. All the best. Hamblin (talk) 12:07, 24 April 2013 (UTC)

NYW&B Category

I see you decided to add Category:New York, Westchester and Boston Railway to my category for East 180th Street (IRT White Plains Road Line) station. I didn't think that applied to the whole station, but I won't complain. What I will do is give you a tip; Evidently, what some people might think of as a mini-mall on the Hunts Point Avenue bridge over the Harlem River and Port Chester Railroad main line near the Bruckner Expressway is actually the former Hunts Point (NYW&B) station. I don't know if you or anyone else has ever taken pictures of the place before, but you should. I've got another trip to the New York Tri State Area scheduled for June 2013 myself, but I'm not sure if I'll make it to any of the Five Boroughs, let alone the Bronx. If you don't make it part of your agenda, I'm going to consider it a long-term plan of my own. ----DanTD (talk) 15:21, 9 May 2013 (UTC)

Yeah, I thought about it for a moment and it struck me as right. Ooh! Perfect timing! Tuesday morning, the day after the cast came off my hand, I biked around Central Park with Beth Brody, former chair of the East Coast Greenway Alliance and made a date for tomorrow (Friday) morning to pedal to the Bronx River for the ribbon cutting ceremony of Starlight Park. My strength is still only partially recovered, but she's a dozen years older and probably this time I won't have difficulty keeping up. Yes,

Object location	40° 49′ 11″ N, 73° 53′ 23″ W	View all coordinates using: OpenStreetMap

is on the way and if we have time I'll stop for a pic and if not, stop alone on my way to the retired dingaling meeting in the East Village.

All righty I'm still tired, sunburned and hung over from yesterday (acting as guide I got us lost in East Harlem and again in West Farms) but after some morning errands I'll open the camera and upload the Hunts Point Av pix, probably without my usual selecting, cropping and color adjusting preliminaries. Jim.henderson (talk) 11:44, 11 May 2013 (UTC)

Done. Perhaps I'll get lucky and someone will beat me to cropping them. Jim.henderson (talk) 13:54, 13 May 2013 (UTC)

New Bronx neighborhood cat(s)

I just added another category for Port Morris, Bronx that you can shuffle South Bronx images into. I don't know if I'm going to create another cat before I leave Florida next week, but at least there's something else to narrow down for the time being. --DanTD (talk) 14:07, 1 June 2013 (UTC)

Thanks, Dan. I have been using the SoBro cats a little but darn it, summer makes it difficult to stay indoors at the keyboard. Also thanks for the help with New Haven on the Harlem. Jim.henderson (talk) 17:22, 4 June 2013 (UTC)

"Much less bad than mine"

Gave me a chuckle. Are you up and around? I don't think I've seen new shot from you in a while? Beyond My Ken (talk)

Thanks; I'm SO up and around that I'm only home at the computer enough for maintenance on WP and the like. Nearly no retouches and uploads for my new photos. Formerly broken left hand is sore from 15 miles biking yesterday and 30 Thursday. Also my new Windows 8 tablet somehow got a disease or something and I don't understand the new app uninstallation method. Much to learn, as always and other things like a day in Westchester this week. So much fun; so little time and brainpower. Jim.henderson (talk) 23:29, 8 July 2013 (UTC)

Glad to hear you're feeling better. Where in Westchester? Beyond My Ken (talk) 23:44, 8 July 2013 (UTC)

Thursday biker gang route is along Bronx River to Valhalla and Kensico Dam Plaza. I am likely to quit there for a solo photo expedition, probably mostly in White Plains. Surely even my small talents can get us a better picture of White Plains Armory, for example. Jim.henderson (talk) 04:17, 10 July 2013 (UTC)

Dups?

This and this are obviously the same photo of the same firehouse. Is one of them mislabeled? Beyond My Ken (talk) 22:19, 24 July 2013 (UTC)

Hmph. No idea how I came to edit the same pic again half a year later. Anyway it's a dual house, which makes File:Engine 280 H&L 132 489 St John Pl jeh.jpg the more correctly named version so I guess the other should be killed or anyway marked for non use. Jim.henderson (talk) 23:44, 24 July 2013 (UTC)

PS: Good going on the Brooklyn street name categories, which is presumably how this turned up. Jim.henderson (talk) 23:45, 24 July 2013 (UTC)

Yup, I was doing St. John's Place. I'm plugging away at the streets, it'll probably take me a couple of weeks.

I'll mark the 132 Ladder image for deletion as a dup. Beyond My Ken (talk) 23:52, 24 July 2013 (UTC)

Henry Street (Brooklyn)

Yes, Henry Street is 3 miles away, but "N. Henry Street" is the next block over, and the St. Cecilia Church itself sits between N. Henry and Monitor along Herbert Street.

This brings up a problem with Brooklyn streets, in that "3rd Street", "E. 3rd Street"/"W. 3rd Street", and "N. 3rd Street"/"S. 3rd Street" are not related to each other at all. The first being in Gowanus/Park Slope, the second pair being south of Prospect Park, and the third pair being in Williamsburg. For the time being, as I'm creating Brooklyn street categories from scratch, I'm allowing images from all these streets to collect in Category:3rd Street (Brooklyn), with the full intention of splitting them up at some future point. (Although if you or anyone else want to start dividing up those numbered street cats, it's fine with me!)

The same sort of thing happened here - it was actually "N. Henry Street" in Greenpoint that was being referred to, not "Henry Street", to which it is not related. Beyond My Ken (talk) 02:17, 28 July 2013 (UTC)

Well, while it lasts, this is going to be confusing to people familiar with either a particular neighborhood or the general history. The N/S number street grid of Williamsburg, presumably drawn in the early to middle 19th century by Village authorities, is a single system with a single meeting line at Grand Street, the main ferry road of the time. The unadorned number street and avenue grid that starts far away in southern Park Slope was presumably an answer to suburban sprawl a quarter century later, and unrelated. The still later East number street grid in the alphabet plain is nearby but a separate system, and the West street number grid of Coney is again its own little separate and unrelated system. And then there's the even smaller Brighton street number grid, aargh. So, no, I don't think the various street designations that use the number 2 or 32 or the name "Henry" with and without qualifier, or whatever, should be in the same category unless they are in the same grid system. I was shooting on East 215th Street in Wakefield on Thursday, and it would be confusing to see the Lisanti Chapel mixed in with pix from 215th Street Hollis. Jim.henderson (talk) 12:12, 28 July 2013 (UTC)

OK, I wouldn't do it at this stage for anyone but you <g>, but I've divided up the numbered street categories I'd "finished" already (1-10), separating out the Norths and Easts and Souths and Wests into separate cats, and I'll keep doing that as I work on the cats I haven't done yet. Beyond My Ken (talk) 13:15, 28 July 2013 (UTC)

Thanks; it's almost as pleasant to be loved as to love. I didn't realize the N and S number cats would need to be separate, but otherwise each number street category would have to specify "Williamsburg, Brooklyn" in a world having plenty more Billies than Brooklyns. I've been sniffing the results of your big Cat-a-lot moves, since mine usually leave messes, but to my chagrin my own old errors on these files far outnumber your new ones. Category:Warren Place (Brooklyn) has only one pic? I guess so, since mine is begging for replacement by a better lit one. Eventually we'll want to split a few Manhattan streetcats into East and West, but that will be for oversize rather for ambiguity. Jim.henderson (talk) 21:43, 28 July 2013 (UTC)

I used separate East/West and North/South cats because there are actually separate streets, as opposed to as in Manhattan, where the majority are the same street passing across a dividing line (5th Avenue, for the most part). In Williamsburg, "North 1st Street" is north of Grand Street while "South 1st Street" is a different hunk of pavement south of it - so, separate streets, separate cats. (Down in St. Pete, Florida, they put the directional indicator for situations like this at the end of the name: thus "1st Avenue South" is south of Central Avenue, while "1st Avenue North", is north of it. I like that system better.) Beyond My Ken (talk) 22:38, 28 July 2013 (UTC)

D'oh! Here they're called N and S according to where they lie, rather than which way they're laid out. I knew that, having snapped many pictures on those streets. Just forgot, silly me. Good thing someone thinks about what I say, even if it's not me. Jim.henderson (talk) 00:46, 29 July 2013 (UTC)

C Train at Lower East Side - 2nd Avenue station?

I tried to ask the original photographer about this, but I never got a reply. Regarding File:32C2nd.JPG; when, how, and why would the C Train be at a station on the IND Sixth Avenue Line? ----DanTD (talk) 00:39, 30 July 2013 (UTC)

Well yesterday, for instance, I took the A train from Manhattan to Brooklyn and it ran on the F line from south of West 4th to Jay Street/MetroTech. It's fairly usual (especially on the weekends) to see trains re-routed over over lines in order to allow track work to take place. Summer weekends are the worst, a true "You can't get there from here" situation. Beyond My Ken (talk) 01:45, 30 July 2013 (UTC)

So then, I take it that it'd be okay to move that image to Category:Lower East Side – 2nd Avenue (IND Sixth Avenue Line)? Okay. But if I'm wrong, don't be afraid to revert my edit. ----DanTD (talk) 22:07, 31 July 2013 (UTC)

There's no other "2 Av" station in the system, so that should be fine. Beyond My Ken (talk) 04:52, 1 August 2013 (UTC)

Thanks....

...for catching those naming mistakes. Brooklyn street names are maddening - not only the whole problem with the numbered streets, but the duplications. So many "Avenues" are also "Streets", or "Streets" are also "Places". And how many different "Prospects" are there? Prospect Avenue, Prospect Place, Prospect Street, Prospect Park, Prospect Park West, Prospect Park Southwest... There's probably a "Prospect Court" hidden away somewhere too. OK, I get it, they were proud of the view from the top of the ridge, but I think they went a little overboard!

Anyway, thanks again, please keep cleaning up after me. Beyond My Ken (talk) 20:05, 30 July 2013 (UTC)

Hebron SDA School

I don't know if this is helpful at all, but a NYC AGO webpage says that the Brooklyn United Methodist Church Home was located at 920 Park Place in 1898, which was expanded in 1914 to include Brown Memorial Chapel. The picture there looks appears to be the same central building as the school. Perhaps it became an RC church after that as well? Beyond My Ken (talk) 05:45, 2 August 2013 (UTC)

The Brooklyn United Methodist Church Home website says it was there from 1889-1976. The school's wesbite says it was founded on Eastern Parkway in 1975 and then acquired the 920 Park Place property, but it doesn't say precisely when. Beyond My Ken (talk) 05:53, 2 August 2013 (UTC)

The pipe organ site is terrific, giving no citations but doing work far more reliable than mine. Good things I hedged about the previous use of the site. Catholic for the young? Protestant for the old? Poor old mind goes wandering. Unfortunately I seldom have a reason anymore to be in that part of Brooklyn, but the two of you have been working splendidly in Brooklyn and the Bronx with streets and neighborhoods and so forth. Category for Arlington Place? Who knows, maybe we'll get other pix on that street. I was shocked to see that I had snapped more than one on Macon Street, but just now I discovered that Father Divine lived on that street. That's not enough to send me on a special trip, but maybe I'll pick it up later. Jim.henderson (talk) 00:00, 4 August 2013 (UTC)

A brownie for you!

Thank you for Flushing Town Hall photo. I have 1898 photo of the Flushing police lined up across the front steps, including my great grandfather Albert Hance and his father, my great, great grandfather Captain Charles Hance. Your photo validated my geneology search location. THANK YOU Hance Hunter (talk) 20:18, 30 August 2013 (UTC)

It is delightful to find myself providing such unintended services. If you could figure out that your old picture is Commons:Public domain or freely licensed we would be at least as delighted to have it scanned and uploaded to Commons. Old photos are just about always valuable and this sounds like one of the better ones. Jim.henderson (talk) 11:58, 1 September 2013 (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!

--GrapedApe (talk) 22:00, 26 October 2013 (UTC)

Photo: The Normandy

Jim:

The photo credited to you at this page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Normandy, isn't of The Normandy. That's the building across the street from The Normandy.

Respectfully, James O'Brien

Quite right. Drat; it's entirely my mistake. I have renamed it as File:The Clarendon 137 Riverside Drive & 86 St 10024.jpg. I must go there again to get the right picture if nobody else does.

Thank you kindly,

Jim.henderson (talk) 12:01, 1 November 2013 (UTC)

Request for photo, 237 E62

Jim: An editor named en:User:Candleabracadabra started an article on en:Our Lady of Peace Roman Catholic Church at 237 East 62nd Street (just west of 2nd Avenue), and left a request on my talk page for a photo. As I told him, I'm on the verge of moving to a new apartment (after over 30 years where I am now), so I'm not sure how much free time I'm going to have in the next month or so, so I thought I'd also pass the request on to you -- that way the first one of us who gets there can call off the other. If you don't think you're going to be able to get to it, that's fine, I'll just get to it when I can. (I've also posted this on your talk page on en.wiki, as I'm not sure which one you frequent most often.) Best, Beyond My Ken (talk) 04:55, 4 November 2013 (UTC)

I look at both watchlists a few times most days, though sometimes I don't reply the same day especially on en. As it happens, I've got an appointment Thursday morning with a biker gang at 1st & 60th. All I need is to go a few minutes early by the north route instead of the south and I can snap a pic. One would think an old retired guy who has lived forty years in the same place would have time for everything, but we'll see. Still haven't looked at yesterdays snaps of the Marathon; probably I got a good one. Jim.henderson (talk) 11:59, 4 November 2013 (UTC)

File:Galaxy Note 10.1 split screen jeh.jpg

File:Galaxy Note 10.1 split screen jeh.jpg has been marked as a possible copyright violation. Wikimedia Commons only accepts free content—that is, images and other media files that can be used by anyone, for any purpose. Traditional copyright law does not grant these freedoms, and unless noted otherwise, everything you find on the web is copyrighted and not permitted here. For details on what is acceptable, please read Commons:Licensing. You may also find Commons:Copyright rules useful, or you can ask questions about Commons policies at the Commons:Help desk. If you are the copyright holder and the creator of the file, please read Commons:But it's my own work! for tips on how to provide evidence of that. The file you added has been deleted. If you have written permission from the copyright holder, please have them send us a free license release via COM:VRT. If you believe that the deletion was not in accordance with policy, you may request undeletion. (It is not necessary to request undeletion if using VRT; the file will be automatically restored at the conclusion of the process.) Warning: Wikimedia Commons takes copyright violations very seriously and persistent violators will be blocked from editing.

 

Jeromesandilanico (talk) 07:14, 21 November 2013 (UTC)

Thank you for contributing to Wiki Loves Monuments 2013 in the United States

Dear Jim.henderson,

Thank you for contributing to Wiki Loves Monuments 2013 in the United States. The images you uploaded will help illustrate Wikipedia articles on historic sites in the United States. We are delighted to share the winning images and our top 10 finalists with you.

Click here to read our press release and view the winning submissions »

We invite you to continue uploading images to Wikimedia Commons and we hope you will return for Wiki Loves Monuments again in September 2014. For more information about Wikimedia Commons, please visit our welcome page. For more information about Wiki Loves Monuments 2013, please click here. Once again, thank you for sharing your images and participating in our contest.

—

User:Mono

Organizing Team

Wiki Loves Monuments 2013 in the United States

Thanks...

for the fixes in regard to East Harlem. Beyond My Ken (talk) 09:26, 7 December 2013 (UTC)

Sure; big moves always get a few little errors. Jim.henderson (talk) 12:42, 7 December 2013 (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:Church Av FG signal house construction sign jeh.jpg

And also:

• File:Lehman Gates sign jeh.jpg
• File:Lincoln Union Square sign jeh.jpg

Yours sincerely, Ramaksoud2000 (talk) 22:33, 16 December 2013 (UTC)

Category:Commons photographers by location

Hi Jim. In follow up of this thread, I created Category:Commons photographers by location that links up to Category:Commons photographers and down to Category:Commons photographers in Manhattan, New York City. The categories were based on the structure of Category:Users by location. -- Jreferee (talk) 20:44, 27 December 2013 (UTC)

Excellent. Oof, if this is successful we Manhattan people will probably see more requests. As if I hadn't already volunteered for too many fun things. Oh, I didn't check to see whether my main rivals are in the category. Will do. Jim.henderson (talk) 20:56, 27 December 2013 (UTC)

Glad to see that you like the categories. The category structure also was based on Wikipedia:Category:Wikipedians by location, which divides up Wikipedia:Category:Wikipedians in New York City into its boroughs. I revised Category:Commons photographers. -- Jreferee (talk) 21:39, 27 December 2013 (UTC)

Been busy with holiday business including visiting a friend in hospital, hurt in a night ride to which I invited her. Yes, the net looks good though it has as yet snared few fish. Perhaps the new categories should be subcatted to the Wikipedian cats, or linked by peer links or something. Jim.henderson (talk) 20:29, 29 December 2013 (UTC)

"Industrial_heritage"

You may want to weigh in at Commons:Village_pump#"Industrial_heritage". - Jmabel ! talk 19:53, 26 January 2014 (UTC)

Blockhouse

Jim: Are you labeling the Central Park Blockhouse as a landmark in and of itself, or because it's part of the Central Park, which is a scenic landmark? If the former, I can't find anything that says it's been designated as an individual landmark, if the latter, than the category ought to be in the parent cat, Central Park, no?

How are things with you? Beyond My Ken (talk) 07:48, 12 April 2014 (UTC)

Ah. Looks like my thoughtlessness has caught me again. Thanks. Other than that I hope you and everyone can have as pleasant a springtime as mine. Tour de Staten Island tomorrow. Jim.henderson (talk) 10:01, 12 April 2014 (UTC)  Done

Sedgwick Avenue Station platforms

9th Avenue Platforms, or Old Put platforms?

Regarding the picture you took of the Sedgwick Avenue (IRT Ninth Avenue Line) station ruins; was that really the El, or was that the connection to the Putnam Division station? --DanTD (talk) 15:25, 24 April 2014 (UTC)

Just got back, tired, before dark from biking through Newark and The Oranges. Hmm, I never thought of the Putnam Branch, because the heading of the platforms is about 80 degrees which takes it directly east into the hillside. I'm under the impression Old Put had no tunnels on this scale, but haven't looked into it. And next few days are busy, leading a bike tour through Harlem and having other fun on the road. The question of whether I have jumped to an insufficiently justified conclusion, I must leave to your studious judgment and anyone else you might call for help. One possibility is that I'll find time to return in the next few weeks, this time prepared to stand on those platforms and hope for more conclusive photos. Ah, wouldn't it be lovely to find a logo or something. Jim.henderson (talk) 00:20, 25 April 2014 (UTC)

Barbara Walters Building

Dear Jim, as you already take several buildings from the 66stW, could you please take a picture from the 47 on this street as it had been renamed Barbara Walters since the May 6th (according to this article. Regards --GdGourou - °o° - Talk to me 10:03, 7 May 2014 (UTC)

Hey there...

Just a reminder that when you move an image into a category specific to it, as in The Belnord, that you should also move any categories from the image that are general to the subject and not merely specific to that image. Best, Beyond My Ken (talk) 00:34, 23 May 2014 (UTC)

Oops! Thank you. In principle I am very much aware, but in practice I keep biting off bigger clerical tasks than I can chew attentively. Jim.henderson (talk) 13:54, 24 May 2014 (UTC)

King's handbook of New York City, 1893

For my next big bite, I'd like some advice ahead of time from my fellow cat wranglers about the highly interesting Category talk:King's handbook of New York City, 1893 by Moses King (Editor) Being somewhat abashed by a previous failure (see above) I'll try harder to follow through on this one. Jim.henderson (talk) 13:54, 24 May 2014 (UTC)

New Image for Long Island Jewish Medical Center

Poor and obsolete photo, but free

Jim,

Can you please replace the current photo of Long Island Jewish Medical Center on this page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Island_Jewish_Medical_Center

The facility has undergone renovations since the picture was posted in 2008. The new image can be found on this page: http://www.northshorelij.com/hospitals/location/lij-medical-center

Thank you, Kathleen O'Neill Director, Community Outreach and Communications

I would be pleased, but on the hospital's own page I see no indication that the pictures are Free content. That means they are assumed to be under copyright, which means someone owns them. There are a few ways to get a picture that is free from copyright restrictions. The main one is when the photographer is a Wikipedia editor and releases it. That's how the current free Wikipicture arrived, years ago. I can go there again but it's a fairly long trip for me which is why I haven't been there in more recent years.

Another way is for the photographer to become an editor by applying for an account. Accounts are automatically granted, and after a while, new editors can upload and release their own pictures. That is, if they are the owners. Some photos are professionally done, which generally means they are "works for hire" which usually means they belong to whoever paid to have them made. The main way for the owner to release those is by Commons:OTRS.

Does it sound too darn complex and difficult? It is, and that's why most our photos are by Wikipedia editors who also happen to be amateur photographers, such as me. Maybe I'll be in that neighborhood again before winter and snap another picture, and maybe not. Certainly any of my fellow editor / photographers who read this (many do) will have my blessing if they do it. Jim.henderson (talk) 18:37, 23 June 2014 (UTC)

Peter Cooper Bust Photograph

At Bronx Community College

Hey Jim- can you please tell me where the bust of Peter Cooper is located (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Peter_Cooper_HoF_jeh.jpg)?

I am trying to do some visual research and am outside of NYC right now. Asking a friend to take some further info about the bust for me when he passes by NYU next.

Thanks !

For a moment I thought, eh? Don't you know nuffin'? But that's because I'm accustomed to dealing with my fellow experienced Wikimedians here, not newbies. So, welcome aboard. The detailed description in the picture page is below the picture, and the coordinates are below that. Click on the coordinates to get a map showing exactly where I was standing, behind the domed library. The map also ought to have an arrow showing which way the camera was pointing (east). There are also categories at the bottom of the picture page, showing that this is the Hall of Fame of Great Americans whose categories include Bronx Community College. Climb West 181st Street and Hall of Fame Terrace and turn left, high on the hill. The library's dome is conspicuous and the HoF surrounds its back and sides. I hope you and your friend can take a better picture or otherwise contribute. Jim.henderson (talk) 15:57, 15 August 2014 (UTC)

HABS

Hi, thanks for working on the HABS images. I noticed your reverts like this one and have changed my housekeeping to avoid attempting to add new Object locations to files where this is already done. I think this was what was causing the glitch, do drop me a note if you see changes from here on that appear to be adding unneeded coordinates. --Fæ (talk) 12:04, 21 August 2014 (UTC)

Splendid. I of course know you're using mighty power tools that can accomplish great things, but roughly. Such tools cannot determine whether your sources know the difference between the Bronx and Manhattan, much less between central and South Bronx. So, in my little areas of interest I'm applying my little spade to refine the result. Alas, I have rarely been refining the 200 m precision estimate, where appropriate. Anyway your power tool went slightly awry in revisiting my refinements, and now you have fixed it. Splendid; carry on; your powerful tools have been providing masses of vaguely categorized, vaguely located pictures. Gradually, eventually they will become useful as the spadework is done. Jim.henderson (talk) 01:11, 22 August 2014 (UTC)

Thanks, I do my best, and someone has to try to wield the mighty tools and work on improving them. If Commons is to jump from 22m to 100m images in the next two years, then there have to be other methods than hand curating each image in advance even if they are not truly "better" methods. --Fæ (talk) 07:08, 22 August 2014 (UTC)

Oh, has such a numeric goal been set? I don't see the point. Commons is better than most picture sites because superior curating helps users find the right thing; one could easily argue that more millions will do more harm than good. But, especially when the new pictures are old, they have a great chance of addressing a wish that is otherwise unlikely. First, old pictures show things as they were, including things that are no more. Second, long ago when making pictures required great effort, it attracted more thoughtful workers than today's hasty snapshooters (me, as an instance of the latter).

Perhaps a more complex cat wrangling scheme would improve things. Instead of loading masses of pictures into rough categories such as Category:Philadelphia or whatnot, we could make a tree of provisional source subcats such as Category:HABS images of Philadelphia, each also counting its placecat as a parent, on the theory that this would help us know which ones have been attended to, and that the "source" images of "place" cats would be deleted when the work is complete. Or maybe this is more complication than aid. Jim.henderson (talk) 20:03, 22 August 2014 (UTC)

Manhattan skyline from elsewhere besides New Jersey

I'm surprised to find that there are so many Category:New York City skylines images with their own categories from New Jersey, but none from the opposite side of Manhattan. So perhaps you can spread the word to others in NYC about the potential for the following future categories:

• Category:Manhattan skylines from Brooklyn
• Category:Manhattan skylines from Queens
• Category:Manhattan skylines from The Bronx

I know I still have to sort out a lot of HABS and MTA Flickr images, but I still think these would be a good idea as well. ----DanTD (talk) 03:14, 7 October 2014 (UTC)

Cat wranglers who handle the same topic or region tend to watch each others talk page, but maybe Commons:WikiProject United States ought to be enlivened. Anyway yes, someone must have taken an interest in the places in Joisey where good shots of Manhattan can be had, and something ought to be done also about shots across the East River. As for across the Harlem River, and long-lens ones from Staten Island, I don't expect so many qualifying pictures. And like most of us I've already bitten off more than I can chew. A few hours from now an Edit-a-thon starts at Guggenheim which will take up my afternoon and some of the evening, and Friday starts OHNY Weekend. So many opportunities; so few hours. And Real Life too, somewhat. Jim.henderson (talk) 12:31, 7 October 2014 (UTC)

Category:Sanborn_maps_of_Manhattan

Sanborn maps of Manhattan has been listed at Commons:Categories for discussion so that the community can discuss ways in which it should be changed. We would appreciate it if you could go to voice your opinion about this at its entry. If you created this category, please note that the fact that it has been proposed for discussion 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. If the category is up for deletion because it has been superseded, consider the notion that although the category may be deleted, your hard work (which we all greatly appreciate) lives on in the new category. In all cases, please do not take the category discussion personally. It is never intended as such. Thank you!

Vzeebjtf (talk) 16:19, 21 October 2014 (UTC)

Possible Long Island City image

Does the building in the background of this image look familiar to you. I suspect it's in Long Island City somewhere, but I'd consider the possibility it might be as far east as Woodside. ----DanTD (talk) 02:05, 25 October 2014 (UTC)

The building on the right seems vaguely familiar, yes. Queens, no. The Pearl Street Verizon building, fuzzy at extreme left background (I worked there for a few weeks in the 1980s) proves it's Brooklyn. I might find time this morning, before pedaling away, to identify which of two bridges this provides with an exit, thus the bike lane, thus the coords of the street corner. Preliminary suspicion is focused on Jay Street looking northeast.

No, we're at Prospect & York Looking ENE at building on Washington Street. Cords tonite when I get back to the real computer. Must hit the road. Jim.henderson (talk) 16:40, 25 October 2014 (UTC)

Historic buildings category

I see there was no response to your question at Category talk:Historic buildings. Did you ever get any input on it anywhere else? I'm actually thinking of proposing deletion of all the "Historic buildings" categories if the scope can't be defined. There are, by the way, "historic building" categories that are not under Category:Historic buildings. --Auntof6 (talk) 08:54, 28 October 2014 (UTC)

No answer did I get anywhere. Yes, you should propose its abolition. Jim.henderson (talk) 21:05, 29 October 2014 (UTC)

Thanks. I'm chipping away at it. I found this CfD where [Category:Historic buildings in the United States] and its subcats were deleted. Using that as a precedent, I've requested deletion of the US-related ones. Before doing the ones outside the US, I want to make sure none of them are the official name of some designation. --Auntof6 (talk) 04:21, 30 October 2014 (UTC)

Brooklyn Navy Yard; Alternate name(s)?

I see a lot of HABS images for the "U.S. Navy Fleet Supply Base." Let me guess; is this some kind of alternate name for the Brooklyn Navy Yard? Because if not, I'm clearly going to have to make a new category. ----DanTD (talk) 03:06, 29 October 2014 (UTC)

I am under the impression this is in the southwestern part of the South Brooklyn of the time, perhaps adjacently north of Brooklyn Army Terminal in the 40s or 50s. Could easily be slightly or totally wrong. Jim.henderson (talk) 12:20, 29 October 2014 (UTC)

File:West on Metro Ave jeh.JPG

File:West on Metro Ave jeh.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!

74.72.171.174 02:19, 23 November 2014 (UTC)

Commons:Categories for discussion/2014/12/Category:Streets by country

Hi there, there is a discussion going on here Commons:Categories for discussion/2014/12/Category:Streets by country that you might want to give your opinion in. Thank you. Gryffindor (talk) 14:44, 13 December 2014 (UTC)