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My Prerogative

"My Prerogative" is a song by American singer Bobby Brown from his second studio album, Don't Be Cruel (1988). It was released on October 11, 1988, as the second single from the album. After recording sessions were completed, Brown and producer Gene Griffin traveled to New York City, since he felt something was "missing" from the record. "My Prerogative" was written by Brown as a response to the criticism he received for his firing from New Edition. He explained the song was about making decisions in one's life and not caring about other people's judgment. "My Prerogative" is often considered as new jack swing.

The song was positively received by critics and was nominated for a Soul Train Music Award in the category of Best R&B Urban Contemporary Single. It was also commercially successful, reaching number one in Billboard's Hot 100 and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts. "My Prerogative" also reached top ten positions in many countries, such as Ireland, New Zealand, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. The music video for the song features Brown performing the song on stage with his band and dancers. The song was also performed at most of his concerts, usually as the last song of the set list. On the February 4, 1989, performance at Madison Square Garden, he was joined on stage by many popular rap artists and producers of the time.

"My Prerogative" has been covered and sampled by a number of artists from different genres, including Britney Spears. She released her cover in her first compilation, Greatest Hits: My Prerogative (2004). The cover was produced by Bloodshy & Avant and was noted for aptly referring to Spears's relationship with the media at the time. Although the song only appeared in component charts in the United States, Spears's cover surpassed Brown's version in some European countries, peaking at the top of the charts in Finland, Ireland, Italy and Norway and reaching the top ten in another fourteen countries.

Background
Brown had already completed recording sessions for Don't Be Cruel in Los Angeles, California, but felt something was missing in the record. He said, "I felt my album was lacking a strong, aggressive song and I thought, 'Where better than New York to come up with it'". He traveled to New York, met with Teddy Riley - who presented him with the initial beat. "My Prerogative" was written and co-produced by Brown and Gene Griffin. It was recorded at Axis Studios and mixed at Soundworks, in New York. The track was mastered at Future Disc Systems in Hollywood, California. During an interview with The Hour on March 17, 1989, Brown explained the theme behind the song, saying, "A lot of things had been said about Bobby Brown, why was he doing this [a solo career]. It's my way of expressing to people it's your prerogative to do as you want, but make sure what you do is the right thing".

A CD single of remixes by Joe T. Vannelli was released on October 13, 1995, reaching number 17 in the UK Singles Chart. The radio edit from this was included on Brown's 1995 remix album, Two Can Play That Game.

Composition
"My Prerogative" is considered a new jack swing anthem, that merges hip hop beats with elements of synthpop and soul. It features a triplet swing in the sixteenth note, as included in many of Riley's productions. Jake Brown said in his book Your body's calling me: music, love, sex & money (2003), that like most new jack swing songs from the late 1980s, it was composed by "punchy, street-savvy beats, with sexually energetic melodies and poppy choruses". The bassline of the track was described by Cam'Ron Davis of CMJ New Music Monthly as "truly sinister". According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by EMI Music Publishing, the song is composed in the key of A minor, with a tempo of 120 beats per minute. Brown's vocal range spans from the high-note of C4 to A5.

Reception
Barry Michael Cooper of Spin said "My Prerogative" "sounds like gin-drenched, Roaring Twenties swing". Arion Berger of Rolling Stone called it "a grumpy and undeniably adult dance hit". "My Prerogative" was nominated for at the 3rd Soul Train Music Awards in the category of Best R&B Urban Contemporary Single by a Male, but lost to Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror". The following year, Spin listed the song at number 72 on the "100 Greatest Singles of All Time" list. It ranked at number 98 on VH1's "100 Greatest Songs of the 80's". The track is often referred to as Brown's signature song.

"My Prerogative" debuted on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 during the week of October 22, 1988, at number 78. The following week, it jumped 17 positions to number 61, and the following week, it climbed another 16 positions to number 45. It entered the Top 40 during its fourth week (#33 on November 12, 1988), and on January 14, 1989, it peaked at the top position of the chart. "My Prerogative" ultimately spent 24 weeks on the Hot 100, 15 of which were in the Top 40. The song also peaked at number one in Hot Black Singles (during the weeks of October 15 and 22, 1988), and at number seven in Hot Dance Club Songs. It was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales over 500,000 copies. In Canada, the song debuted on the RPM Singles Chart at position 98, on the issue dated December 23, 1989. In the United Kingdom, "My Prerogative" debuted at number 87 on December 10, 1988. On February 18, 1989, the song peaked at number six and stayed in the position for two weeks. Following the release of the remixes single on October 14, 1995, "My Prerogative" re-entered the UK charts at number 17, and stayed on the chart for two weeks. By October 17, 2015, it had sold 275,000 units in the country. Across Europe, the song reached the top ten in Ireland and the Netherlands, and the top 20 in Germany and Sweden. In Australia and New Zealand, the track peaked at number 40 and number three, respectively.

Music video
The music video for "My Prerogative" was directed by Alek Keshishian. It begins with Brown driving a car while his musicians start to perform the song on stage in front of a large crowd. Shortly after, he descends to the stage in an elevator, wearing a black jumpsuit and a headset. He dances flanked by two women playing a keytar and a saxophone.

J. D. Considine of Rolling Stone wrote in the review of Bobby (1992), "As anyone who saw him swagger through the videos for 'My Prerogative' and 'Every Little Step' can attest, Brown had a phenomenal ability to convey a sense of street toughness that was utterly without malice or menace, making him credible and likable". The music video was nominated at the 1989 MTV Video Music Awards for Best Stage Performance in a Video, but lost to the music video of Living Colour's "Cult of Personality". It also charted at number nine on RPM video chart on July 21, 1990.

Live performances
"My Prerogative" was performed during his tour in promotion for Don't Be Cruel as the last song of the night. Brown usually performed it wearing a black outfit, flanked with two male dancers wearing white clothes. On the February 4, 1989, show at Madison Square Garden in New York City, Brown wore a red boxing robe with the words "King of the Stage" printed on the back. During the performance, Joseph Simmons of Run-DMC, LL Cool J and Heavy D joined him onstage and freestyle rapped. Eric B., KRS-One, L. A. Reid, Babyface and Teddy Riley also joined him onstage, with the latter performing a keyboard solo. Peter Watrous of The New York Times commented that, "The communal scene on stage mirrored the feeling in the audience; everybody seemed aware that this was a generation that had rewritten the rules of pop entertainment, and was justifiably proud of its achievement". Brown also performed the song on the 1996–97 Home Again reunion tour with New Edition, during the second portion of the show in which he performed hits from his solo career. On November 10, 2005, he performed the song for the first time in eight years at a concert at House of Blues in Atlantic City. He wore a white suit and matching hat, and sang it as the last song of the evening. On January 17, 2006, he performed it at a New Edition show in Atlantic City's Trump Taj Mahal. During the performance, he tore open his orange dress shirt, singing bare-chested with a tie and a fur coat on. Brown performed the song during his 2007 July shows in Australia.

Track listing

 * CD single
 * 1) "My Prerogative" (Edit) – 3:30
 * 2) "Girl Next Door" (Extended version) – 6:31
 * 3) "My Prerogative" (Extended remix) – 8:03

 * 7" single
 * 1) "My Prerogative" (Edit) – 3:30
 * 2) "Girl Next Door" – 4:06

 * 12" single
 * 1) "My Prerogative" (Extended remix) – 8:00
 * 2) "Girl Next Door" (Extended version) – 6:30
 * 3) "My Prerogative" (Instrumental) – 5:18

 * 12" remix
 * 1) "My Prerogative" (Extended remix) – 8:00
 * 2) "My Prerogative" (Radio edit) – 5:35
 * 3) "My Prerogative" (Instrumental) – 5:18
 * 4) "My Prerogative" (Dub) – 5:52

 * 1995 remix
 * 1) "My Prerogative" (Joe T. Vannelli Radio Mix) – 3:55
 * 2) "My Prerogative" (Joe T. Vannelli Corvette Mix) – 6:30
 * 3) "My Prerogative" (Joe T. Vannelli Light Mix) – 8:23
 * 4) "My Prerogative" (Joe T. Vannelli Dubby Mix) – 9:34
 * 5) "My Prerogative" – 4:49

Credits and personnel

 * Bobby Brown – lead vocals, songwriting, co-production
 * Gene Griffin – songwriting, co-production
 * Teddy Riley – songwriting, background vocals, keyboards, mixing
 * Dennis Mitchell – engineering, mixing, recording
 * Jim Hanneman – engineering, mixing, recording
 * Markell Riley – drum programming
 * Aaron Hall – background vocals
 * Bernard Belle – background vocals
 * Lee Drakeford – background vocals

Recording and production
In 2004, American singer Britney Spears recorded a cover of "My Prerogative" with Swedish production team Bloodshy & Avant, who produced her single "Toxic" from her fourth studio album, In the Zone (2003). Bloodshy & Avant recorded the song at Murlyn Studios in Stockholm, Sweden. Spears recorded the vocals at Teldex Studios in Berlin, Germany during the European leg of her The Onyx Hotel Tour in 2004. On August 13, 2004, Spears' label Jive Records announced through a press release that she had covered the song and was planning to release it on her first greatest hits compilation, titled Greatest Hits: My Prerogative. The song was set to premiere on radio stations on September 14, however, it leaked via Real Tapemasters Inc.'s mixtape The Future of R&B on September 10.

Music and lyrics
"My Prerogative" is set in common time and has a moderate tempo of 100 beats per minute. It is written in the key of B♭ minor and follows the chord progression of B♭m–F–B♭m throughout, making it in the harmonic minor scale. Spears' cover of the song is musically different from its original version, with the bass and new jack swing sound replaced with a synthpop sound, synthesizers and elements typical of Bloodshy & Avant productions. It was noted by Christy Lemire of Today that the cover also contains elements of Bollywood music.

At the beginning of the song, Spears says in a breathy voice the lines "People can take everything away from you / But they can never take away your truth / But the question is, can you handle mine?". The rest of the lyrics do not deviate much from the original version, instead they are changed to fit a woman's perspective. Jennifer Vineyard of MTV commented the cover could be interpreted as a statement on Spears' life and the media reaction to some of her decisions at the time, including her engagement to American dancer Kevin Federline.

Critical reception
The cover received mixed reviews from contemporary critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic called the cover "a useless remake, which seems to exist solely for its video". Spence D. of IGN said that the lyrics fit perfectly with Spears' relationship with the media at the time. He also added: "As for her interpretation, it's an interesting chameleonic diversion that comes off like a mash-up between vintage Prince-styled production, Cameo swagger, and Madonna sultriness, but never seems to capture the gloss and glory of any of the aforementioned influences". Lemire called it "utterly unnecessary". Louis Pattison of the New Musical Express commented that "judging by the fuck-you sentiments" of the cover, Spears liked to play the role of "[the] pop brat careering off the rails". Sarah Hepola of Salon wrote in an article about contemporary teen idols that the cover "became an anthem for teen-idol rebellion".

Commercial performance
In the United States, "My Prerogative" failed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 but charted on the Top 40 Tracks and Mainstream Top 40 at numbers 22 and 34, respectively. By 2011, "My Prerogative" had sold 374,000 paid digital downloads in the United States. On November 15, 2004, the song debuted on the Australian Singles Chart at number seven. It received a gold certification from the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for shipments over 35,000 units. The same week, it debuted at number 17 in New Zealand.

On November 7, "My Prerogative" debuted at number three in the United Kingdom, during a competitive week of new releases, being surpassed by Eminem's "Just Lose It" and Destiny's Child's "Lose My Breath". According to the Official Charts Company (OCC), the song has sold 130,000 copies in the UK. The song also achieved commercial success throughout Europe, peaking at number one in Finland, Ireland, Italy and Norway, number two in Spain and number three in Belgium (both Flanders and Wallonia), Denmark and Germany. It also reached the top ten in Austria, Czech Republic, Sweden, Switzerland and the Netherlands.

Music video
The music video for "My Prerogative" was filmed in August 2004 at The Paramour Mansion in Silver Lake, Los Angeles and was directed by Jake Nava. It premiered on MTV's TRL on September 16, 2004, and on BET's 106 & Park on January 18, 2005. According to Spears' mother Lynne, the video was "about capturing gorgeous close-ups and very subtle movement" since Spears could not do any choreography due to her knee injury at the "Outrageous" music video shoot. She also described the video as "[having] an element of old Hollywood glamour and mystery".

The music video begins with Spears driving a Porsche 928 at high speed in the Hollywood Hills. She crashes through a fence and lands into a pool inside a manor where a party is taking place. She emerges from the water and crawls in top of the car to sing the first verse. Spears' brother, Bryan, makes a cameo in these scenes. After she leaves the pool, she enters the manor and passes couples making out around her. She appears in a stainless steel kitchen, where a maid cuts the straps of her black wet dress. In the next scene, she walks into a study in which her then-fiancé, Kevin Federline, is smoking and watching a black-and-white video of Spears on a projection screen. According to Jennifer Vineyard from MTV, the clip had the style of pornographic films from the 1940s and 1950s. Rolling Stone in their article "Britney Spears: The Complete Video Guide", compared it to Madonna's performances of her 1984 single "Like a Virgin". She then entered a dressing room with mirrors, wearing lingerie, high heels, stockings and a short fur jacket. She proceeds to a bedroom, in which a black dress is laid out on the comforter. She puts on the new dress and the camera cuts to the party outside where people gathered waiting. During the song's bridge, it is revealed that the party is actually Spears' wedding, as she starts walking towards the aisle and Federline waits next to a priest. The video ends with a shot of the black-and-white video and Spears looking into the camera. The black-and-white footage was released as an alternate version of the music video in the 2004 DVD Greatest Hits: My Prerogative.

Track listings and formats
European, Australian and Japanese maxi CD single

 * 1) "My Prerogative" – 3:36
 * 2) "My Prerogative" (instrumental) – 3:36
 * 3) "My Prerogative" (X-Press 2 Vocal Mix) – 7:21
 * 4) "My Prerogative" (Armand Van Helden Remix Edit) – 7:37
 * 5) "My Prerogative" (X-Press 2 Dub) – 7:19

UK CD single

 * 1) "My Prerogative" – 3:37
 * 2) "Chris Cox Megamix" – 5:16

UK DVD single

 * 1) "My Prerogative" (music video) – 3:47
 * 2) "My Prerogative" (photo gallery) – 3:34

UK promotional 12-inch vinyl

 * 1) "My Prerogative" (Armand Van Helden Remix) – 7:49
 * 2) "My Prerogative" (X-Press 2 Vocal Mix) – 7:19
 * 3) "Chris Cox Megamix" – 5:16
 * 4) "My Prerogative" (X-Press 2 Dub) – 7:19

Digital EP

 * 1) "My Prerogative" (X-Press 2 Vocal Mix) – 7:19
 * 2) "My Prerogative" (X-Press 2 Radio Edit) – 4:20
 * 3) "My Prerogative" (Armand Van Helden Remix) – 7:38
 * 4) "My Prerogative" (Armand Van Helden Dub) – 7:36

 * 2-track digital download

 * 1) "My Prerogative" – 3:35
 * 2) "I've Just Begun (Having My Fun)" – 3:22

Credits and personnel

 * Britney Spears – lead vocals, background vocals
 * Bloodshy & Avant – production, arrangements, all instruments, programming, vocal editing
 * Steve Lunt – A&R, arrangements
 * Nicklas Flyckt – mixing
 * Tobias Lehmann – engineering
 * Uwe Lietzow – recording
 * Henrik Jonback – guitar
 * BlackCell – background vocals
 * Emma Holmgren – background vocals

Other versions
"My Prerogative" has been covered and sampled by many artists from different genres. J.D. Considine of Rolling Stone noted that the hook of Brown's 1992 single "Humpin' Around" from Bobby, "bears a more than passing resemblance to the synth part from 'My Prerogative'". According to Entertainment Weekly, American R&B group U.N.V. sampled the melody for their 1993 single "Something's Goin' On". Jamaican reggae singer Beenie Man covered "My Prerogative" for his 1998 studio album Many Moods of Moses. American singer Rod Michael covered the song for his 2004 studio album, The Next Episode. Irish girl group Fab! used the song's main melody line for their 1999 song "Something's Gonna Have to Change". English rock band Selfish Cunt also covered the song for their 2004 studio album No Wicked Heart Shall Prosper, changing the name to "Bobby".

In July 2007, American basketball player LeBron James covered "My Prerogative" at the ESPY Awards, wearing a wig and Hammer pants. Vibe named the performance one of the "worst of the worst live performances of the year". Anoop Desai, contestant of the eight season of American Idol, covered the song for his wildcard round performance. It earned him the last spot in the finals, marking the first time the show ever had thirteen contestants. Desai also performed the song during the American Idols Live! Tour 2009. Graeme McRanor of The Vancouver Sun said in the concert review that "My Prerogative" "really shouldn't be covered by any artist, ever again". On July 31, 2009, American hip hop group The Pharcyde covered the song at the All Points West Music & Arts Festival in Jersey City. The song was also featured on the films Love & Basketball (2000), Wild Hogs (2007) and Sex Drive (2008). The song was performed in the 2013 Glee episode "Guilty Pleasures" by Jake Puckerman (Jacob Artist).

During the premiere episode of The Masked Singer, Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown covered "My Prerogative", incognito as a character known as "the Hippo". After losing to an unrevealed "Peacock" character (who was later revealed to be Donny Osmond), and subsequently being eliminated from the pool of contestants, Brown was required to reveal his identity.

title: My Prerogative


text:
Grosse Pointe South High School

Grosse Pointe South High School is a public high school of state and national historical significance serving the Detroit suburb of Grosse Pointe. Originally known as Grosse Pointe High School when it opened in 1928, the school adopted its current name in 1968 after the newly established Grosse Pointe North High School began accepting students.

Communities served and feeder patterns
The school serves the following municipalities: almost all of Grosse Pointe Farms, and all of Grosse Pointe (city) and Grosse Pointe Park.

Elementary schools feeding into GPSHS include all of the zones of Defer, Kerby, Maire, Père Gabriel Richard, and Trombly. All of the boundaries of Pierce Middle School and most of the boundary of Brownell Middle School coincides with that of GPSHS.

Academics
In 2009, Newsweek ranked Grosse Pointe South in the top 2% of high school in the United States. In 2010, Newsweek ranked Grosse Pointe South 920th nationally (fifth in Michigan).

Martin Luther King Jr. visit and speech
Grosse Pointe High School hosted a speech by Martin Luther King Jr. on March 14, 1968, when 2,700 people gathered in the gymnasium to hear a speech entitled "The Other America" three weeks before his assassination.

To honor the 50th anniversary of the event the Grosse Pointe News partnered with the Grosse Pointe Board of REALTORS® in submitting an application for a historic site marker to be placed near the one previously installed on campus. The marker, which was approved by the Michigan Historical Commission on July 27, 2018, was paid for by a grant from the National Association of Realtors®.

Hosting an NBA game
Grosse Pointe High School hosted game 1 of the NBA's Western Divisional Semi-finals vs the Detroit Pistons and Minneapolis Lakers on March 12, 1960. The Pistons were forced to play at the high school because nobody booked Olympia Stadium for the playoffs.

The game was a good one with the Lakers winning 113-112.

Athletics
As of 2010, the school offers 15 varsity sports teams for boys and 18 varsity sports teams for girls. These sports include baseball, basketball, competitive cheer, crew, cross country, field hockey, figure skating, football, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, sailing, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, synchronized swimming, tennis, track and field, volleyball, and wrestling. Grosse Pointe South competes in the Macomb Area Conference (MAC), under the regulation of the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA).

Tennis
The boys' tennis team won the class A state championship in 1945 and 1946 and tied with Monroe High School in 1947. The girls' tennis team won the state championship every year from 1976 to 1986 (Tying in 1976,1977,1982 and 1985), 2008, 2012, and 2014.

Performing arts
Pointe Players is Grosse Pointe South's student theater organization.

GPSHS has four show choirs: Pointe Singers varsity choir, Serendipity junior varsity, Rhapsody in Blue traditional concert choir, and the extracurricular female-only Tower Belles. Pointe Singers, Serendipity, and Rhapsody in Blue are competitive, with Pointe Singers winning a national-level competition in 2019.

Robotics
The South Sun Devils is the solar car team, competing since 2013 in The Solar Car Challenge in Dallas, Texas. The team fundraised, designed, built, and raced their street-legal car on Texas Motor Speedway followed by a road test challenge.

Notable alumni

 * Ayokay — producer and DJ
 * Terrence Berg - Federal District Court Judge, Eastern District of Michigan
 * Scott Boman — Libertarian politician in Michigan
 * Tony Fadell — Engineer, inventor, entrepreneur, and investor. Co-founder of Nest. Key figure in the development of the iPod and iPhone.
 * Reid Fragel - Former NFL player
 * Chris Getz — Former MLB second baseman with the Toronto Blue Jays, Kansas City Royals, and Chicago White Sox
 * Edward Herrmann — Actor and narrator known for his role as Richard Gilmore on Gilmore Girls and his voice work for PBS and History
 * Will Johnson - cornerback for the Michigan Wolverines
 * Alexander Koch — Actor known for his role as James "Junior" Rennie on Under the Dome
 * Lisa LoCicero — Actress known for her role as Olivia Falconeri on General Hospital
 * John 5 (John Lowery) — Guitarist with Rob Zombie and Marilyn Manson
 * Mike Murphy — Republican political consultant and NBC News and MSNBC contributor
 * Quinn XCII — singer and songwriter
 * Brianne Nadeau - Councilmember on the Council of the District of Columbia
 * Catie DeLoof - American Olympian bronze medalist in the 4x100 meter freestyle
 * Emilea Zingas - Figure skater, 2023 U.S. Nationals Pewter Medalist
 * John Brannon (musician) - American vocalist for the bands Negative Approach, Laughing Hyenas, and Easy Action.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Grosse Pointe South High School


text:
Bellefontaine Examiner

The Bellefontaine Examiner is a daily newspaper published at Bellefontaine, Ohio, United States. The newspaper covers international and national, regional and local topics, with a focus on stories affecting the surrounding Logan County. During an ice storm in 2005 that affected Logan County, the Bellefontaine Examiner was not published for several days; that point was the first time the paper had not printed in 13 years. The Bellefontaine Examiner is the only daily newspaper published for Logan County.

History
The Examiner is the latest in a series of newspapers which have been published in Bellefontaine:
 * Gazette, February 18, 1831-c. 1835
 * Bellefontaine Gazette and Logan County Advertiser, January 30, 1836–1836
 * Bellefontaine O. Gazette, 1836–1838
 * Bellefontaine Gazette, 1838–1840
 * Logan Gazette, 1840–1854. William Lawrence served as the editor of this newspaper, 1845–1847.
 * Logan County Gazette, 1854–1863. This is the first newspaper published by the Hubbard family.

title: Bellefontaine Examiner


text: Category:Swedish astronauts

title: Category:Swedish astronauts


text:
Talk:Collaroy, New South Wales

Untitled
HTML comments removed from article, here for reference: clarkk 03:24, 31 May 2005 (UTC)

Characteristics
needs some sort of map... whats the population?

Notable people
The following notable people were born or lived in Collaroy:

i'm pretty sure the guy from The Whitlams at one point was living in Collaroy. CheeseLover 04:04, August 2, 2005 (UTC)

Local events
we love collaroy beach!!!!!!!

External links modified
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title: Talk:Collaroy, New South Wales


text:
Passive infrared sensor

A passive infrared sensor (PIR sensor) is an electronic sensor that measures infrared (IR) light radiating from objects in its field of view. They are most often used in PIR-based motion detectors. PIR sensors are commonly used in security alarms and automatic lighting applications.

PIR sensors detect general movement, but do not give information on who or what moved. For that purpose, an imaging IR sensor is required.

PIR sensors are commonly called simply "PIR", or sometimes "PID", for "passive infrared detector". The term passive refers to the fact that PIR devices do not radiate energy for detection purposes. They work entirely by detecting infrared radiation (radiant heat) emitted by or reflected from objects.

Operating principles
All objects with a temperature above absolute zero emit heat energy in the form of electromagnetic radiation. Usually this radiation isn't visible to the human eye because it radiates at infrared wavelengths, but it can be detected by electronic devices designed for such a purpose.

PIR-based motion detector

A PIR-based motion detector is used to sense movement of people, animals, or other objects. They are commonly used in burglar alarms and automatically activated lighting systems.

Operation
A PIR sensor can detect changes in the amount of infrared radiation impinging upon it, which varies depending on the temperature and surface characteristics of the objects in front of the sensor. When an object, such as a person, passes in front of the background, such as a wall, the temperature at that point in the sensor's field of view will rise from room temperature to body temperature, and then back again. The sensor converts the resulting change in the incoming infrared radiation into a change in the output voltage, and this triggers the detection. Objects of similar temperature but different surface characteristics may also have a different infrared emission pattern, and thus moving them with respect to the background may trigger the detector as well.

PIRs come in many configurations for a wide variety of applications. The most common models have numerous Fresnel lenses or mirror segments, an effective range of about 10 meters (30 feet), and a field of view less than 180°. Models with wider fields of view, including 360°, are available, typically designed to mount on a ceiling. Some larger PIRs are made with single segment mirrors and can sense changes in infrared energy over 30 meters (100 feet) from the PIR. There are also PIRs designed with reversible orientation mirrors which allow either broad coverage (110° wide) or very narrow "curtain" coverage, or with individually selectable segments to "shape" the coverage.

Differential detection
Pairs of sensor elements may be wired as opposite inputs to a differential amplifier. In such a configuration, the PIR measurements cancel each other so that the average temperature of the field of view is removed from the electrical signal; an increase of IR energy across the entire sensor is self-cancelling and will not trigger the device. This allows the device to resist false indications of change in the event of being exposed to brief flashes of light or field-wide illumination. (Continuous high energy exposure may still be able to saturate the sensor materials and render the sensor unable to register further information.) At the same time, this differential arrangement minimizes common-mode interference, allowing the device to resist triggering due to nearby electric fields. However, a differential pair of sensors cannot measure temperature in this configuration, and therefore is only useful for motion detection.

Practical Implementation
When a PIR sensor is configured in a differential mode, it specifically becomes applicable as a motion detector device. In this mode, when a movement is detected within the "line of sight" of the sensor, a pair of complementary pulses are processed at the output pin of the sensor. In order to implement this output signal for a practical triggering of a load such as a relay or a data logger, or an alarm, the differential signal is rectified using a bridge rectifier and fed to a transistorized relay driver circuit. The contacts of this relay close and open in response to the signals from the PIR, activating the attached load across its contacts, acknowledging the detection of a person within the predetermined restricted area.

Product design
The PIR sensor is typically mounted on a printed circuit board containing the necessary electronics required to interpret the signals from the sensor itself. The complete assembly is usually contained within a housing, mounted in a location where the sensor can cover the area to be monitored. The housing will usually have a plastic "window" through which the infrared energy can enter. Despite often being only translucent to visible light, infrared energy is able to reach the sensor through the window because the plastic used is transparent to infrared radiation. The plastic window reduces the chance of foreign objects (dust, insects, rain, etc.) from obscuring the sensor's field of view, damaging the mechanism, and/or causing false alarms. The window may be used as a filter, to limit the wavelengths to 8-14 micrometres, which is closest to the infrared radiation emitted by humans. It may also serve as a focusing mechanism; see below.

Focusing
Different mechanisms can be used to focus the distant infrared energy onto the sensor surface.

Lenses
The plastic window covering may have multiple facets molded into it, to focus the infrared energy onto the sensor. Each individual facet is a Fresnel lens.

Mirrors
Some PIRs are manufactured with internal, segmented parabolic mirrors to focus the infrared energy. Where mirrors are used, the plastic window cover generally has no Fresnel lenses molded into it.

Beam pattern
As a result of the focussing, the detector view is actually a beam pattern. Under certain angles (zones), the PIR sensor receives almost no radiation energy and under other angles the PIR receives concentrated amounts of infrared energy. This separation helps the motion detector to discriminate between field-wide illumination and moving objects.

When a person walks from one angle (beam) to another, the detector will only intermittently see the moving person. This results in a rapidly changing sensor signal which is used by the electronics to trigger an alarm or to turn on lighting. A slowly changing signal will be ignored by the electronics.

The number, shape, distribution and sensitivity of these zones are determined by the lens and/or mirror. Manufacturers do their best to create the optimal sensitivity beam pattern for each application.

Automatic lighting applications
When used as part of a lighting system, the electronics in the PIR typically control an integral relay capable of switching mains voltage. This means the PIR can be set up to turn on lights that are connected to the PIR when movement is detected. This is most commonly used in outdoor scenarios either to deter criminals (security lighting) or for practical uses like the front door light turning on so you can find your keys in the dark.

Additional uses can be in public toilets, walk-in pantries, hallways or anywhere that automatic control of lights is useful. This can provide energy savings as the lights are only turned on when they are needed and there is no reliance on users remembering to turn the lights off when they leave the area.

Security applications
When used as part of a security system, the electronics in the PIR typically control a small relay. This relay completes the circuit across a pair of electrical contacts connected to a detection input zone of the burglar alarm control panel. The system is usually designed such that if no motion is being detected, the relay contact is closed—a 'normally closed' (NC) relay. If motion is detected, the relay will open the circuit, triggering the alarm; or, if a wire is disconnected, the alarm will also operate.

Placement
Manufacturers recommend careful placement of their products to prevent false alarms (i.e., any detection not caused by an intruder).

They suggest mounting the PIRs in such a way that the PIR cannot "see" out of a window. Although the wavelength of infrared radiation to which the chips are sensitive does not penetrate glass very well, a strong infrared source (such as from a vehicle headlight or sunlight) can overload the sensor and cause a false alarm. A person moving on the other side of the glass would not be "seen" by the PID. That may be good for a window facing a public sidewalk, or bad for a window in an interior partition.

It is also recommended that the PIR not be placed in such a position that an HVAC vent would blow hot or cold air onto the surface of the plastic which covers the housing's window. Although air has very low emissivity (emits very small amounts of infrared energy), the air blowing on the plastic window cover could change the plastic's temperature enough to trigger a false alarm.

Sensors are also often designed to "ignore" domestic pets, such as dogs or cats, by setting a higher sensitivity threshold, or by ensuring that the floor of the room remains out of focus.

Since PIR sensors have ranges of up to 10 meters (30 feet), a single detector placed near the entrance is typically all that is necessary for rooms with only a single entrance. PIR-based security systems are also viable in outdoor security and motion-sensitive lighting; one advantage is their low power draw, which allows them to be solar-powered.

PIR remote-based thermometer
Designs have been implemented in which a PIR circuit measures the temperature of a remote object. In such a circuit, a non-differential PIR output is used. The output signal is evaluated according to a calibration for the IR spectrum of a specific type of matter to be observed. By this means, relatively accurate and precise temperature measurements may be obtained remotely. Without calibration to the type of material being observed, a PIR thermometer device is able to measure changes in IR emission which correspond directly to temperature changes, but the actual temperature values cannot be calculated.

title: Passive infrared sensor


text:
Category:United States government-sponsored enterprises

This category contains those entities specifically defined as government sponsored enterprises, otherwise known as GSEs, which are financial services corporations created by the Congress of the United States.


text:
User talk:Smiff

COTW Project
You voted for Roaring Twenties, this week's Collaboration of the week. Please come and help it become a featured-standard article. Falphin 03:29, 31 May 2005 (UTC)

title: User talk:Smiff


text:
Talk:George Thompson (VC)

Untitled
I suggest "George Thompson" be a disambiguation page, with three options: the present one filling the page, the cricketer, and a third George Thompson who served Paraguay in the War of the Triple Alliance. Info about him can be found here.

title: Talk:George Thompson (VC)


text:
The Body

The Body may refer to:

Literature

 * The Body (short story), a short story by Camillo Boito
 * The Body (novella), a novel written by Stephen King
 * The Body (Sapir novel), a novel by Richard Sapir
 * The Body (Kureishi novel), a novel by Hanif Kureishi
 * The Body: An Essay, a 2002 book by Jenny Boully

Film and TV

 * The Body (1970 film), a documentary about the human anatomy
 * The Body (1974 film), a film starring Zeudi Araya and Carroll Baker
 * The Body (2001 film), a film starring Antonio Banderas based on the book by Richard Sapir
 * The Body (2012 film), a Spanish film
 * The Body (2018 film), a Korean film
 * The Body (2019 film), a Hindi film
 * The Body (2023 film), a Czech drama film
 * "The Body" (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), the sixteenth episode of the fifth season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer
 * "Chapter Four: The Body", the fourth episode of the first season of Stranger Things
 * "The Body" (Into the Dark), an episode of the first season of Into the Dark
 * "The Body" (American Horror Story), an episode of the eleventh season of American Horror Story

Music

 * The Body (band), an American experimental metal band
 * "The Body" (song), by Wale
 * "The Body", a song by Public Image Ltd from the album Happy?

People

 * Joe Kopicki, an American NBA basketball player nicknamed "The Body"
 * Marie McDonald, an American actress nicknamed "The Body"
 * Elle Macpherson, an Australian supermodel nicknamed "The Body"
 * Jesse Ventura, an American professional wrestler, actor, and politician nicknamed "The Body"
 * Ben Wallace (basketball), an American NBA basketball player nicknamed "The Body"

title: The Body


text:
User talk:Renamed user ixgysjijel/Archive3

Thank you
Thank you for supporting my adminship — I vow to use my super powers for good not evil. Mel Etitis ( Μελ Ετητης ) 09:34, 6 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Images and media for deletion votes
I am contacting people who previously helped to vote to delete a generally objectionable photograph by a vote of 88 to 21, and who might be unaware that immediately after that image was voted to be deleted someone posted another which was very similar in content. My objections to this, and the previous image that was voted to be deleted might be based upon reasons far different from any that you have, but I do object to it, and consider the posting of such images to be acts of asinine stupidity, which burdens the project and its major educational aims in ways that they should not be burdened, and can be extremely detrimental to the acceptance and growth of WIkipedia's use and influence. Thus far those who I believe to be in the extreme minority of Wikipedians who would like to include these images, many who have been channeled to the voting page from the article with which it is associated have dominated the voting, 23 to 12 (as of the time that I composed this message). I would like to be somewhat instrumental in shedding a bit more light upon the issue, and if possible, helping to turn the tide against its inclusion. It might also be necessary to begin making an effort to establish an explicit Wikipedia policy against explicite photographic depictions of humans engaged in erotic, auto-erotic, or quasi-erotic activities. To my limited knowledge such images have not been accepted as appropriate anywhere else within this project, and frankly I can agree with those who are casually labeled prudes for opposing their inclusion, that they should not be. Vitally important information that might be unwelcome by some is one thing that should never be deleted, but un-needed images that can eventually prevent or impede many thousands or millions of people from gaining access to the great mass of truly important information that Wikipedia provides is quite another matter. There are vitally important distinctions to be made. Whatever your reasons, or final decisions upon the matter, I am appealing for more input on the voting that is occurring at Wikipedia:Images_and_media_for_deletion. ~ Achilles † 01:19, 7 Apr 2005 (UTC)

CSB open task
I thought you may have some insight on this is the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council of Sierra Leone a differnet entity to the Revolutionary United Front? Internet sources seem to almost exclusively use RUF.--nixie 11:26, 14 Apr 2005 (UTC)
 * I'm not as familiar with West Africa but according to this, they are different. The AFRC was the former government military, which carried out a coup against the government in 1997, while it was fighting the RUF. The RUF and AFRC then seemed to almost merge before ECOWAS invaded in 98.  But there a clearly different origins.  I didn't know this before, but it looks like the AFRC was the dominant partner, so maybe the post-1998 mention of "RUF forces" is inaccurate and should be "AFRC forces", though I'd check a few more sources before making such a claim.  Fascinating stuff... -   BanyanTree 15:45, 14 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Please see my remark on Template talk:WikiProjectCSBTasks explaining the Pullman Company thing. -- Jmabel | Talk 01:04, Apr 21, 2005 (UTC)

Mende
Dear BanyanTree, may I ask your judgement regarding and. I have been arguing against the misinformed and unsubstantiated statements added to both articles by User:Roylee. Roylee answered to my question on his talk and on Talk:Mende language by simply reverting back to his previous version. I don't want to turn this into an overheated argument so I'm stepping back from it for today, after having carefully explained my position and actions. If you have the time, could you take a look at the situation and maybe try to explain policies like Cite sources, Verifiability, Reliable sources, Weasel words, etc. to Roylee? Besides you, I have also asked User:Garzo and User:Mustafaa to tune in, hoping to bring reason to these articles. Thanks! — mark ✎ 15:15, 21 Apr 2005 (UTC) I just reverted/removed some new contribs, notably to. Some of the changes are quite subtle, aren't they? - and he mixes them with what appear to be good edits. -  BanyanTree 23:12, 21 Apr 2005 (UTC)
 * Hi mark, I took a look and agree with you. But, as Roylee hasn't made any edits since, I've watchlisted both of the above pages and will see if he continues his pattern of edits before jumping in.  Cheers,   BanyanTree 18:07, 21 Apr 2005 (UTC)
 * Thanks a lot! There is more to it. If you feel like digging into a web of crackpot and fringe theories being edited into Wikipedia in a self-supporting way, I invite you to take a look at his other contributions and at my most recent remark on his talk page. Mende people in the Americas (before the Transatlantic slave trade), shipbuilding in the Sahara, a relation between the Mende of Sierra Leone and the Mende langauge of Papua New Guinea... it seems that this page contains all those outlandish claims. What worries me most is that he seems to edit articles that are not watched very closely; many of his unsubstantiated additions have not been called into doubt simply because he is the last editor. I don't like it at all. — mark ✎ 18:20, 21 Apr 2005 (UTC)
 * I think I saw something about Mende being derived from British English, which may be the most amusing tidbit. I suspect that 68.187.160.141 was  throwing a fit after his pet theories got taken out.  I don't see how else someone would stumble across Mende language so conveniently.  In any case, I'll keep an eye out; be sure to let me know if there is anything I can do. -   BanyanTree 19:01, 21 Apr 2005 (UTC)
 * An anon just deleted the difficult questions from his talk page (diff). What a coincidence for this particular talk page to be vandalized just now! — mark ✎ 21:09, 21 Apr 2005 (UTC)
 * Almost miraculous. -  BanyanTree 21:13, 21 Apr 2005 (UTC)
 * I did some more digging and am now pretty disturbed as well. I have asked others to check out his edits going back to December on RC patrol.  I was on the point of going a bit revert crazy but, as you say, I really don't have the slightest idea which are valid edits and which aren't.  Did you notice he blanked my challenge as well?  This is certainly interesting... -   BanyanTree 01:32, 22 Apr 2005 (UTC)
 * Thanks for looking into it and for posting it at RC patrol! I've been busy removing lots of bosh unsubstantiated statements from Maritime archeology, carefully placing it on its talk page, listing problems and violated policies and guidelines... but there is much more and I'm losing courage (and patience). I hope the RC patrol listing will bring in other editors to examine his edits and take appropriate action.
 * You know, things like this really touch Wikipedia in its weakest spot. They drain the resources of polite and patient editors who instead of checking and removing pseudofacts should be contributing quality content. It is very disturbing. I'm inclined to simply revert everything without checking; this should simply be a case of 'showing the door to trolls'. In fact, if no-one is going to give a very good argument against it, I will do it. What are your thoughts? — mark ✎ 22:07, 22 Apr 2005 (UTC)
 * I am similarly inclined. I reverted one of the Moroccan towns he edited without checking the actual info, but then decided that I should run it by someone to make sure I wasn't paranoid, which is why I put it on RC patrol.  If you want to go ahead, perhaps with a edit summary explaining the situation and inviting reverts from legit users if the info is actually good, I'd be the first to applaud.  -   BanyanTree 22:15, 22 Apr 2005 (UTC)
 * OK. Please review this and feel free to edit as you see fit. I'm planning to revert everything somewhere this weekend, linking to this explanation in my edit summary. But probably I'm taking things too seriously now (it's late and I'm annoyed), so I'm going to sleep upon it. Tell me what you think. — mark ✎ 23:53, 22 Apr 2005 (UTC)
 * Whatever. Let it go. I'm really annoyed. Don't be surprised if I don't check in tomorrow, it already has cost me too much of my time. I'm stupid. Have a nice weekend. — mark ✎ 23:57, 22 Apr 2005 (UTC)
 * Wow, you are so much more of a thorough editor than I. I was thinking of an edit summary like "Roylee has been placing information on fringe theories into Wikipedia, which is now being removed wholesale.  Please revert this edit if the information in this case was actually valid."  It's definitely not worth getting stressed over.  Let a couple more eyes take a look at it from the note on RC patrol and work on it when you want to.  I'll probably start taking on a bit sometime this weekend, but right now I need to go out and eat Salvadoran with friends.  Hmmm... yummy.  Take care,   BanyanTree 00:07, 23 Apr 2005 (UTC)
 * I knew I was carrying it too far. I'm very stressed in real life, and I should take a (short) wikivacation to get some far more important things done. Sorry for letting steam off on your talk page. See you around! Regards, — mark ✎ 07:46, 23 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Trying to make it into something useful: link. — mark ✎ 17:51, 23 Apr 2005 (UTC)
 * Not on your break yet? ;) Looks good.  If you intend to refer people to it, a little explanation would be useful - either your text above or my RC notice would work with minimal tweaking.  I don't even know why you're bothering to move questionable content to talk pages.  It's available in the history and this has certainly progressed beyond the stage of polite notices, though I suppose that it might make more people aware of Roylee's pattern of edits.  I've begun taken the stance that unless the edit is obviously innocuous, it should be reverted - and let another user revert it back if the info was good.  Mirv notes on RC patrol some other questionable edits that I wasn't aware of.  It might be worth linking to your subpage from RC patrol so people can add more questionable articles.  -   BanyanTree 18:16, 23 Apr 2005 (UTC)
 * Your suggestions are good, feel free to carry them through. I am on my break :). ( caught myself looking at Wikipedia again). — mark ✎ 19:01, 23 Apr 2005 (UTC)
 * BTW, did you see what he says here? — mark ✎ 19:03, 23 Apr 2005 (UTC)

On 207.97.185.102
Sorry about his destruction. He happens to be a co-worker. All edited pages by the person from seth up are blankings --SgeoTC 18:39, Apr 22, 2005 (UTC)
 * Well it's all reverted now, and he's on a 24 hour block. Thanks for trying to revert him.  If he goes on a spree again, please drop a line into WP:VIP.  Thanks,   BanyanTree 18:56, 22 Apr 2005 (UTC)

 * This person has been vandalising many user pages with sexual words which was so offensive to me. Thank goodness for the block. (comment by User:Thorpe)

Falling Up (band)
You may not be aware of this, but there's an undeletion discussion about this article that you recently speedied. Your input would be appreciated; was the article actually a copy of the one that had gone through VFD? Thanks. --SPUI (talk) 22:33, 23 Apr 2005 (UTC)

 * Thanks again for the quick response. --SPUI (talk) 23:03, 23 Apr 2005 (UTC)
 * Thank you for notifying me of the vote. Once I realized they were different articles it seemed excessive to wait for any further procedural niceties. Thanks again,   BanyanTree 23:09, 23 Apr 2005 (UTC)
 * I have redeleted it and relisted it on VfU. It is completely inappropriate to delete a VfU discussion and undelete the article after merely one day on VfU.  RickK 04:32, Apr 24, 2005 (UTC)

I understand that you may not want to get involved, and if so, I apologize. However, I urge you to make an effort to resolve this with RickK. I feel RickK has been constantly going against deletion and undeletion policy, and something has to be done about it. I am working on an RFC, and if you could attempt to resolve the situation, we'd have another person who has tried and failed to resolve the dispute (unless RickK reverses, which might also be a good thing). --SPUI (talk) 12:03, 24 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Jeph Jacques
These are actual quotes, taken from the newsposts on www.questionablecontent.com and the forums on the same server.-- User:24.167.75.24
 * Ah... Then I apologize for my impolite revert. Given the content, you might want to make that clearer, perhaps by adding in-line external references, to keep other users from assuming vandalism as well.  Also, notable quotes are normally migrated over to Wikiquote, so it may be worth doing that at the outset and adding one of the neat Wikiquote boxes at the bottom of the page.  Finally, since you seem to be familiar with wiki, why not get a username? Happy editing,   BanyanTree 00:40, 24 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Wikistress
BanyanTree, I detect a little wikistress in your time as Admin, and invite you back to article-space as a holiday :-) Wizzy… ☎   06:42, Apr 24, 2005 (UTC)
 * Ha! Only a little? The things being discussed on this page are absolutely insane - article deletions, undeletions, rollbacks and IP blocks.  O, for those idyllic days of yore when all I had was the comforting presence of East African rebel groups and low-intensity conflicts!  You're probably right; I'll see if I can avoid the temptation to click on RC, and see what my neglected work page says I should be doing.  Thanks for dropping by! -   BanyanTree 15:41, 24 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Uganda districts template
Much better! Template:Uganda districts looks fab now. I'm going to set up seperate NAME (district) articles for Gulu, Jinja, Kampala, Lira and Mbale as the cities/towns themselves merit articles distinct from their corresponding districts. TreveX 13:51, 24 Apr 2005 (UTC)

My adminship: thanks!
Hi BanyanTree. Thanks very much for your vote for my RfA. I promise to be prudent, wise, sagacious and totally unilateral in all my admin affairs. I should say that I am very pleased at the number of people who supported me – it's very nice to know I'm making a positive impact. Cheers again, Smoddy (Rabbit and pork) 21:15, 24 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Rassemblement Démocratique pour le Rwandaness
(pasted from gren's talk page) ''Hi, I noticed you changing the link text for Army for the Liberation of Rwanda back into the original French. Wikipedia convention is that articles should have the commonly used English version of a name, if there is one. I had to move about four articles I had made on Congolese rebel groups when this was originally pointed out to me. The RDR seems to be the only group that hasn't attracted a consistent English transliteration. At some point I will get around to starting the AliR article and will note its original French name in the text before making sure that the links to it in other articles are English, unless someone beats me to it. It's obviously not a big deal, especially since the article isn't made yet, but I thought I'd let you know beforehand. Cheers,  BanyanTree 03:52, 25 Apr 2005 (UTC)''

We use the official name no? we use Al-Qaeda not "the base"... so, we should give the English transliteration of the official name non? gren 06:04, 25 Apr 2005 (UTC)

 * Actually, Naming conventions (use English) seems pretty clear. Unless the foreign language version is the standard, the title of the article must be in English.  Certainly, al-Qaeda is much more common than the Foundation, but nobody uses the Kinyarwanda version of Rwandan Genocide, even though it's arguably the "correct" version.  Cheers,   BanyanTree 16:16, 25 Apr 2005 (UTC)

AIDS in Africa
As has been pointed out on the CSB open tasks page, the AIDS in Africa article is an absolute scandal! For an issue of such vital importance affecting so many millions of people, this article is quite poor. I'm up for having a good go at it and I know you're interested in these types of articles. Just wondered if you knew any other Wikipedians who would be keen on an unofficial improvement drive on this?

I've also taken the liberty of putting it at the top of the 'expand' open task template for CSB project. TreveX 15:45, 25 Apr 2005 (UTC)

 * Hi Trevex,

 * I'm sorry to say that I don't know of any ready-made group that might jump in. If you want to raise its profile, I would make sure that it is on the open tasks for Africa-related regional notice board, and list it at the general requests for expansion.  I don't think that there's a medical wikiproject.  Another tactic would be to nominate it to Article Improvement Drive and put notices of this nomination on the noticeboards for both CSB and the Africa eboard.  CSB articles tend to have a tough time in general votes, but it would at least expose it to a wider variety of users.

 * On an entirely different topic, I have put up a notice for the creation of Uganda-geo-stub, which will probably actually be Ug-geo-stub (because I don't have the energy to type "anda"), at WikiProject Stub sorting/Criteria. So there will soon be a replacement for the two AfricaE-geo-stubs and Uganda-stubs on all your new district articles.  Cheers,   BanyanTree 04:55, 26 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Falling Up (band)
You may wish to see the discussion here. --Dante Alighieri | Talk 00:14, Apr 26, 2005 (UTC)

Thank you
Hello, BanyanTree. Thanks for your vote at my adminship nomination. I appreciate the support and look forward to working with you. Cheers! — Trilobite (Talk) 13:35, 27 Apr 2005 (UTC)

"Stunning" rm'd from front page
Good call; well spotted. Let's save "stunning" for... oh, I don't know,  the unborn child that is the inheritor of our fear kind of stuff. Cheers, –Hajor 14:04, 29 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Yo
I said it before, but I'll say it again... really strange I'd run into another admin on AA. What makes it even weirder is that it's the first time I've played in almost a year. I stopped playing back when one of the upgrades came out that caused everyone's client to crash when they were killed and tried to view other players. I've been playing the PS2 game Mercenaries a lot recently and it made me want to get back into AA. I was actually dreading having to go through all that training again, but luckily my account was still active. Anyway, hope I see you on again sometime and hopefully I won't be in such a spot as to increase your ROE :/ CryptoDerk 06:47, May 1, 2005 (UTC)
 * First for me too, unless there are some users with different names. I've only had an account about six months, most of that stuck in 2.1 after all the non-Mac people switched to 2.3, and just started playing again two weeks ago when I saw the upgrade was out.  Yeah, last night I felt like I should be in opfor for a while there.  I had been out on the town for seven hours and thought I'd get a game in before crashing.  Hopefully I'll run into you again, with unimpaired skills.  ;) -   BanyanTree 16:05, 1 May 2005 (UTC)

axis mundi
hi banyan tree, I just put up a stub for axis mundi after getting over the initial shock of its absence in the wikipedia, and figured i'd drop you a note after looking at the "what links here" and seeing your plan for the entry. Its not very in depth, you might want to look at it. my own personal feeling is that the page should be "axis mundi" and not "world axis"; i don't think world axis is commonly used- but i'd certainly be willing to discuss that. I will add more to the page but only had time to put up a stub at the moment. --Heah 22:45, 2 May 2005 (UTC)
 * Hi Heah! Wow, axis mundi looks great.  Thank goodness somebody got around to adding it!  I was truly shocked as well, even though I normally don't edit in that area.  I added a redirect from world axis.  I agree that axis mundi is probably more common (and sounds cooler) but I have a habit of using the English version of everything possible.  "Axis mundi" is such a dominant usage that I'm certainly not going to fuss about it.

 * I'll see what I can dredge up from faded memories to add to the article, though you should be warned that text I'm trying to remember is Mircea Eliade's "The Sacred and the Profane". :D -   BanyanTree 02:02, 3 May 2005 (UTC)

Stub madness, indeed...
I don't envy you having done all the {Ug-geo-stub}} retagging. Superb job! You may have noticed I recategorised a lot of Uganda stuff today and also created a handful of new articles. You may want to cast your eye over Human rights in Uganda and the contents of the Security forces of Uganda category. TreveXtalk 23:04, 4 May 2005 (UTC)

 * Hi TreveX, I had actually already put the new human rights page on my watchlist before your message. Nice work, especially in how you've been shaping up the core Uganda pages.  I'll have to see if I have something to contribute to the new articles.
 * I've been meaning to go through the new district pages and put them on my watchlist since you made them, but couldn't force myself to do it. So putting the new geo stubs in was a good excuse, and I was also able to find some articles that had not been brought into the geo-stub fold previously, and add a little content from casual knowledge.  Mind you - most of my "casual knowledge" seems to relate to conflicts, so I may have just given the impression that that every single district was in the middle of violent upheaval.  Ha!  In any case, it certainly cleared up the Uganda-stub category page.  Cheers,   BanyanTree 00:13, 5 May 2005 (UTC)

Somali language
Would you be able to weigh in at Talk:Somali language? Your expertise would be most welcome. — mark ✎ 11:55, 8 May 2005 (UTC)
 * And maybe again, about the use of 'Somaliland'? The horn of Africa is not really my cup of tea ATM :). — mark ✎ 10:45, 9 May 2005 (UTC)
 * I see that it's been resolved. I'm actually amazed at how many Somalis are editing, and how many of them are nationalists.  You may want to take a look at Greater Somalia for a bit of background.  They are definitely the most contentious articles I've come across related to Africa.  The fact that there are Somali speakers spread out over four countries, and two major separatist movements within Somalia, and the weakest government imaginable, certainly makes for some interesting discussions over what the proper wording for political divisions is.

 * I'm not much of Horn person myself, surprising give my interests. I find the Somalia conflicts to be mindbogglingly complicated, even compared to the Great Lakes.  -   BanyanTree 03:56, 10 May 2005 (UTC)

ip loggin
you seem to have some problems with IP logging, I am logged in and still getting flagged by 'you' as posting 'nonsense.' very disturbing (from  V8Driver)
 * That would be irritating. If it persists, you may want to drop by the Village Pump technical section and see if anyone has any ideas on how to fix it. -   BanyanTree 13:57, 8 May 2005 (UTC)

IP issues
Uh, I'm still learning here (ie. Wiki), and I have to go out now. I will definitely follow up with Village Pump in order to look in to this a bit further. I have some experience along these lines ... I will say that anonymous IP logging is broken for sure, or there is another (external?) major issue with that, ie. Wiki definitely did not identify my IP address correctly. With regards to me being logged in, that may be due to me having a few anonymous sessions (browser windows on the subjects on which I drifted in) extant even though I had created this user account subsequent as I kind of was interested in potentially creating some content. Thanks!

-tc

International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
You're welcome! :=) David Cannon 06:09, 11 May 2005 (UTC)

Utamakura
I tried to clean up Utamakura. I found your name in its history. I am not a good speaker of English so your copyedit will be appreciated. Cheers, --Larus.r 14:20, 15 May 2005 (UTC)

Advice needed
Hello, I have found your greeting on my talk page some time ago and I would like to ask you for an advice. I have been (I think wrongly) accused of spamming by User:Rhobite. I have described my case at Village pump a few days ago in "External links to own site", which I copied to my User_talk:Nicmila, but I have not received any advice from an independent party. Could you please read User_talk:Nicmila and give me your opinion, if I should revert the deletions made by User:Rhobite? While the links lead to my site Law-Ref.org I am convinced that these materials are very relevant to entries in question, and with its indexes provide services not available elsewhere. I do not plan to lead any wars so your decision will be final. --nicmila 07:42, 24 May 2005 (UTC)
 * ''Response posted on User talk:Nicmila. -  BanyanTree 22:50, 24 May 2005 (UTC)

Roylee
I'm considering moving my Roylee subpage to Watch. It would be an interesting case, since it can easily be interpreted as stalking. But I want to get rid of it in my userspace because it needs to be stressed that this is nothing personal. What are your thoughts? Incidentally, I have pointed Roylee once again at some relevant policies and I have made clear that several editors are watching his edits closely, but he hasn't responded yet. — mark ✎ 10:10, 24 May 2005 (UTC)

 * That is a tough one. On first look, Watch seems to have been set up for a different purpose.  Roylee is already listed on the RC patrol page, which is probably the most relevant.  I don't think that a userspace page is really objectionable, and I'm sure I've seen tracking of vandals in other people's userspace.  Unless you are really uncomfortable, I would leave it where it is and continue referring users who tangle with Roylee on this talk to it.  Have you noticed that he's changed his stock cover edit summary to "adding references"?  ;)

 * Can I also ask you to take a look at Yoweri Museveni and the edit war I'm in with User:Bamboo? He has vastly expanded the article, but has a blatant pro-Obote bias and refuses to substantiate his more extreme statements.  My patience is basically exhausted, my wikistress is up, and I've resigned myself to trench warfare at this point.  (I've just had a long and bizarre revert war over Koboko with a fan of Amin and my patience was pretty low to begin with.)  User:TreveX had managed to calm things, but they seem to have flared up again. Some more third-party input would be much appreciated.  Thanks,   BanyanTree 16:31, 24 May 2005 (UTC)

Bamboo
I completely lost patience after User:Bamboo said this:
 * This is the basis upon which Bamboo and associates will continue uploading the same article on Museveni and will ignore the attempts to censure our contribution on Museveni. (from Talk:Yoweri Museveni)

...so I reported the vandalism at Vandalism in progress. It appears he'll have to learn the hard way. I'm really annoyed thinking about the number of times I'd wished for a native Ugandan regular contributer and then we end up with him. TreveXtalk 20:18, 24 May 2005 (UTC)

 * It really is unfortunate. Bamboo did add a bunch of good information that I knew about but hadn't bothered looking up and contributing, and it was certainly worth parsing the initial contribution.  However, it is becoming clear that the constant reversions are not just a newcomer's lack of understanding about the nature of Wikipedia, but a conscious decision to ignore the guidelines.  I had actually thought for a while that your intervention had settled things... -   BanyanTree 20:42, 24 May 2005 (UTC)

 * He's back, with his usual mix of useful information and POV. As he doesn't seem particularly excited about sourcing his material, is it possible you could find some sources for the claims that M7's family profited from resource looting in DRC? I've labelled several bits of the article as dubious and also a new epic on the talk page. TreveXtalk 18:34, 26 May 2005 (UTC)

History articles on Wikipedia?
Hello,

I’m a historian working at the Center for History and New Media at George Mason University (http://chnm.gmu.edu/) and we are very interested in digital historical works, including people writing history on Wikipedia. We’d like to talk to people about their experiences working on articles in Wikipedia, in connection with a larger project on the history of the free and open source software movement, and Academic Challenger thought you would be a good person to contact. Would you be willing to talk with us about your involvement, either by phone, a/v chat, IM, or email? This could be as lengthy or brief a conversation as you wish.

Thanks for your consideration.

Joan Fragaszy

jfragasz at gmu dot edu

Congo Crisis.
Thanks for the compliments....

I am interested in the struggles of the continents of Africa and South America. I guess following progress (and Regressions as well) is a passion of mine. I hope to learn more about these areas as I intend to venture to them one day.

chaz171

Music templates
Hi BanyanTree, Thanks for leaving a message on the talk page of 82.32.121.68 - that's my (reasonably static) IP but for some reason I seem to get logged out of Wikipedia at random intervals. It is me who is responsible for the musical templates which have been springing up, and I'm sorry if you feel I am wasting Wikipedia's resources. I had left a message on the Babel talk page which outlines very briefly my ideas, but hadn't had any response so I decided to make a couple of examples to drum up a little interest - I obviously succeeded because you talked to me! Although I had started with musical instruments, my aim was to produce a system similar to the language one which would enable Wikipedians to highlight their interests and proficiencies in a concise way on their user pages. I don't believe this is entirely unnecessary from an encyclopaedic point of view - it would facilitate communication between users about articles in which they have a particular interest; or perhaps might be able to contribute valuable knowledge. For example, a user tagging articles as stubs, finding one about a composer of music for the violin, might be able to bring up the User_violin category, and find someone with an interest in the instrument who would be happy to expand the article. As a secondary function, these templates would also make it easy for people to find like-minded users, and then see what they'd contributed to - an interesting way of broadening one's horizons by inviting exploration of parts of Wikipedia one might not otherwise have visited. I freely admit that the way I've set out the templates I've made so far is probably non-optimal; if the consensus is that I'm causing an unnecessary mess, I'll happily stop and concentrate my efforts on other aspects of Wikipedia. I planned to stop at the 5 categories I've made so far anyway, and to see what people's reactions were. I hope my actions won't have landed me in the doghouse - my intentions were honourable and I hope that you and other users will be able to understand what I was trying to achieve. Best regards, Yummifruitbat 01:29, 30 May 2005 (UTC)
 * Hi Yummifruitbat,
 * Thanks for your message. It clarified your intent, which I was quite confused about.  If nobody else has contacted you about it, I would assume they don't see a problem with it and I may be overly concerned.  Since you seem to be having some trouble getting feedback, I've posted a message about your templates to Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Music, the members of which have the background to give you informed feedback. Hopefully, you'll get some comments.  Happy editing! -   BanyanTree 02:10, 30 May 2005 (UTC)

 * Hi again BanyanTree - thanks for your help. As I mentioned on the Wikipedia_talk:Babel page I didn't intend this idea to be confined to musical instruments, but to any major skill or interest. Music just seemed a logical place to start! I haven't received any other comments so far, but if the response from WikiMusic is generally negative, there won't be any hard feelings on my part.
 * As an aside while I've got the attention of someone important, would you mind having a peek at Douvres-la-Délivrande? It's my first attempt at a proper de-stubbing, and it'd be nice to get some feedback. I'm not sure the infobox about the radar is really on the right page, but it seemed relevant and I didn't have a lot of information on which to base a whole article about the radar itself. I might do a bit of research and make that my next project, though. Thanks again for your help! -- Yummifruitbat 02:34, 30 May 2005 (UTC)

I doubt that I'm "someone important", but I took a look. That's a nice and meaty expansion. I sometimes worry that I add too much information on conflicts to articles, but it's better than leaving it out, and someone else can always come along and add info on other topics. There is a Wuerzburg radar article to which I moved the infobox. That article may need a page move, as well as a check for other needed redirect pages, if you want. More substantively, there appear to be contradictions between the article and box that need to be reconciled. I generally assume that anything World War II related has its own article, but couldn't find one on the Wasserman radar you mentioned. Feel free to drop by if you'd like further feedback. Cheers, -  BanyanTree 14:46, 30 May 2005 (UTC)

List of American Military Interventions since 1945
Next time you remove a deletion tag be sure you read the discussion thread before and and justify the reason why you are deleting the deletion tag.

That is all. - Take care. (added by 68.70.147.251)

 * (copied from 68.70.147.251's talk page) Actually, tagging the article for speedy delete was clearly against Criteria for speedy deletion, and removing it did not require any justification. You are free to put it up for VFD again. -   BanyanTree 02:34, 31 May 2005 (UTC)

 * Just received your response. I see no conflict with the speedy deletion notice, if you read our discussion in the discussion thread rather than aimlessly cherry-picking articles you would have known that. All the same I have no interest in debating the issue, I reported you for vandalism - I'll let the other admins handle the outcome. Goodnight. (added by 68.70.147.251)

 * The "aimless cherry-picking" you mention is sometimes referred to as "RC patrolling anon edits". Please sign your contributions on talk pages with four tildes ( ~ ).
 * Anyway, the article has already been up at VFD and kept. There is no procedure for reaching "consensus" on a talk page and then slapping a speedy tag on it in the hopes that an admin ignores policy and gets rid of it.  If you want it gone, put it up for VFD and argue your case.  -   BanyanTree 02:53, 31 May 2005 (UTC)


text:
Voluntary Human Extinction Movement

The Voluntary Human Extinction Movement (VHEMT) is an environmental movement that calls for all people to abstain from reproduction in order to cause the gradual voluntary extinction of humankind. VHEMT supports human extinction primarily because it would prevent environmental degradation. The group states that a decrease in the human population would prevent a significant amount of human-caused suffering. The extinctions of non-human species and the scarcity of resources caused by humans are frequently cited by the group as evidence of the harm caused by human overpopulation.

VHEMT was founded in 1991 by Les U. Knight, an American activist who became involved in the American environmental movement in the 1970s and thereafter concluded that human extinction was the best solution to the problems facing the Earth's biosphere and humanity. Knight publishes the group's newsletter and serves as its spokesman. Although the group is promoted by a website and represented at some environmental events, it relies heavily on coverage from outside media to spread its message. Many commentators view its platform as unacceptably extreme, while endorsing the logic of reducing the rate of human reproduction. In response to VHEMT, some journalists and academics have argued that humans can develop sustainable lifestyles or can reduce their population to sustainable levels. Others maintain that whatever the merits of the idea, the human reproductive drive will prevent humankind from ever voluntarily seeking extinction.

History
The Voluntary Human Extinction Movement was founded by Les U. Knight,  a graduate of Western Oregon University and high school substitute teacher living in Portland, Oregon. After becoming involved in the environmental movement as a college student in the 1970s, Knight attributed most of the dangers faced by the planet to human overpopulation. He joined the Zero Population Growth organization, and chose to be vasectomized at age 25. He later concluded that the extinction of humanity would be the best solution to the Earth's environmental problems. He believes that this idea has also been held by some people throughout human history. In 1991, Knight began publishing VHEMT's newsletter, known as These Exit Times. In the newsletter, he asked readers to further human extinction by not procreating. VHEMT has also published cartoons, including a comic strip titled Bonobo Baby, featuring a woman who forgoes childbearing in favor of adopting a bonobo. In 1996, Knight created a website for VHEMT; it was available in 11 languages by 2010. VHEMT's logo features the letter "V" (for voluntary) and a picture of the Earth with north at the bottom.

Organization and promotion
VHEMT functions as a loose network rather than a formal organization, and does not compile a list of members. Daniel Metz of Willamette University stated in 1995 that VHEMT's mailing list had just under 400 subscribers. Six years later, Fox News said the list had only 230 subscribers. Knight says that anyone who agrees with his ideology is a member of the movement; and that this includes "millions of people".

Knight serves as the spokesman for VHEMT. He attends environmental conferences and events, where he publicizes information about population growth. VHEMT's views have, however, primarily been spread through coverage by media outlets, rather than events and its newsletter. VHEMT sells buttons and T-shirts, as well as bumper stickers that read "Thank you for not breeding".

Ideology
Knight argues that the human population is far greater than the Earth can handle, and that the best thing for Earth's biosphere is for humans to voluntarily cease reproducing. He says that humans are "incompatible with the biosphere" and that human existence is causing environmental damage which will eventually bring about the extinction of humans (as well as other organisms). According to Knight, the vast majority of human societies have not lived sustainable lifestyles, and attempts to live environmentally friendly lifestyles do not change the fact that human existence has ultimately been destructive to the Earth and many of its non-human organisms. Voluntary human extinction is promoted on the grounds that it will prevent human suffering and the extinction of other species; Knight says that many species are threatened by the increasing human population.

James Ormrod, a psychologist who profiled the group in the journal Psychoanalysis, Culture & Society, notes that the "most fundamental belief" of VHEMT is that "human beings should stop reproducing", and that some people consider themselves members of the group but do not actually support human extinction. Knight, however, believes that even if humans become more environmentally friendly, they could still return to environmentally destructive lifestyles and hence should eliminate themselves. Residents of First World countries bear the most responsibility to change, according to Knight, as they consume the largest proportion of resources.

Knight believes that Earth's non-human organisms have a higher overall value than humans and their accomplishments, such as art: "The plays of Shakespeare and the work of Einstein can't hold a candle to a tiger". He argues that species higher in the food chain are less important than lower species. His ideology is drawn in part from deep ecology, and he sometimes refers to the Earth as Gaia. He notes that human extinction is unavoidable, and that it is better to become extinct soon to avoid causing the extinction of other animals. The potential for evolution of other organisms is also cited as a benefit.

Knight sees abstinence from reproduction as an altruistic choice – a way to prevent involuntary human suffering – and cites the deaths of children from preventable causes as an example of needless suffering. Knight claims that non-reproduction would eventually allow humans to lead idyllic lifestyles in an environment comparable to the Garden of Eden, and maintains that the last remaining humans would be proud of their accomplishment. Other benefits of ceasing human reproduction that he cites include the end of abortion, war, and starvation. Knight argues that "procreation today is de facto child abuse". He maintains that the standard of human life will worsen if resources are consumed by a growing population rather than spent solving existing issues. He speculates that if people ceased to reproduce, they would use their energy for other pursuits, and suggests adoption and foster care as outlets for people who desire children.

VHEMT rejects government-mandated human population control programs in favor of voluntary population reduction, supporting only the use of birth control and willpower to prevent pregnancies. Knight states that coercive tactics are unlikely to permanently lower the human population, citing the fact that humanity has survived catastrophic wars, famines, and viruses. Though their newsletter's name recalls the suicide manual Final Exit, the idea of mass suicide is rejected, and they have adopted the slogan "May we live long and die out". A 1995 survey of VHEMT members found that a majority of them felt a strong moral obligation to protect the Earth, distrusted the ability of political processes to prevent harm to the environment, and were willing to surrender some of their rights for their cause. VHEMT members who strongly believed that "Civilization [is] headed for collapse" were most likely to embrace these views. However, VHEMT does not take any overt political stances.

VHEMT promotes a more extreme ideology than Population Action International, which argues for population reduction but not extinction. However, the VHEMT platform is more moderate and serious than the Church of Euthanasia, which advocates population reduction by suicide and cannibalism. The 1995 survey found that 36% considered themselves members of Earth First! or had donated to the group in the last five years.

Reception
Knight states his group's ideology runs counter to contemporary society's natalism. He believes this pressure has stopped many people from supporting, or even discussing, population control. He admits that his group is unlikely to succeed, but contends that attempting to reduce the Earth's population is the only moral option.

Writing in the San Francisco Chronicle, Gregory Dicum states that there is an "undeniable logic" to VHEMT's arguments, but he doubts whether Knight's ideas can succeed, arguing that many people desire to have children and cannot be dissuaded. Stephen Jarvis echoes this skepticism in The Independent, noting that VHEMT faces great difficulty owing to the basic human reproductive drive. At The Guardian's website, Guy Dammann applauds the movement's aim as "in many ways laudable", but argues that it is absurd to believe that humans will voluntarily seek extinction. Freelance writer Abby O'Reilly writes that since having children is frequently viewed as a measure of success, VHEMT's goal is difficult to attain. Knight contends in response to these arguments that though sexual desire is natural, human desire for children is a product of enculturation.

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York has criticized Knight's platform, arguing that the existence of humanity is "divinely ordained". Ormrod writes that Knight "arguably abandons deep ecology in favor of straightforward misanthropy". He notes that Knight's claim that the last humans in an extinction scenario would have an abundance of resources promotes his cause based on "benefits accruing to humans". Ormrod sees this type of argument as counter-intuitive, arguing that it borrows the language of "late-modern consumer societies". He faults Knight for what he sees as a failure to develop a consistent and unambiguous ideology. The Economist characterizes Knight's claim that voluntary human extinction is advisable due to limited resources as "Malthusian bosh". The paper further states that compassion for the planet does not necessarily require the pursuit of human extinction. Sociologist Frank Furedi also deems VHEMT to be a Malthusian group, classifying them as a type of environmental organization that "[thinks] the worst about the human species". Writing in Spiked, Josie Appleton argues that the group is indifferent to humanity, rather than "anti-human".

Brian Bethune writes in Maclean's that Knight's logic is "as absurd as it's unassailable". However, he doubts Knight's claim that the last survivors of the human race would have pleasant lives and suspects that a "collective loss of the will to live" would prevail. In response to Knight's platform, journalist Sheldon Richman argues that humans are "active agents" and can change their behavior. He contends that people are capable of solving the problems facing Earth. Alan Weisman, author of The World Without Us, suggests a limit of one child per family as a preferable alternative to abstinence from reproduction.

Katharine Mieszkowski of Salon.com recommends that childless people adopt VHEMT's arguments when facing "probing questions" about their childlessness.

Knight's organization has been featured in a book titled Kooks: A Guide to the Outer Limits of Human Belief. The Guardian journalist Oliver Burkeman said that in a phone conversation Knight seemed "rather sane and self-deprecating". Weisman echoes this sentiment, characterizing Knight as "thoughtful, soft-spoken, articulate, and quite serious". Philosophers Steven Best and Douglas Kellner view VHEMT's stance as extreme, but they note that the movement formed in response to extreme stances found in "modern humanism".

title: Voluntary Human Extinction Movement