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Starfleet Academy (Messages)

Personnel data accurate as of: 09 Apr, 2014.

“A man with no friends doesn't have to worry about them turning into enemies.”
— Tuhon.

Hello!

I'm Gavin; an 18-year-old wikiholic, that lives in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, and has been editing on Wikia since July 2011. Here's a bit more about myself:

Where I edit:

My home wiki is Locomotive Wiki. I have adopted Dinotopia Wiki and should have got a lot further towards its rescue than I have. I can be found on Community Central, in the staff blog comments (usually of technical updates).

I'm also Starfleet Academy on Wikipedia as well!

Editing skills:

Markup languages I know:

  • Wiki markup (professional level)
  • HTML (advanced level)
  • XHTML (basic level; I've never actually studied it)

Style sheet languages I know:

  • CSS (advanced level)

Scripting languages I know:

I'm currently learning PHP. I would like to learn XHTML, and Ajax in the near future. I probably should learn XML, but I'm currently happy to admire the concept.

My Interests and Hobbies

Cars

I'm an avid Classic car enthusiast. To me a classic car is one that was built up until approximately 1975 — when we lost chrome bumpers. To me 'classic' covers all pre-1975 cars; I don't use terms such as 'vintage' or 'veteran' to describe cars. I like '60s-'70s American Muscle-cars, sports-cars, Ford-based Hot-Rods, some super-cars and anything in between that I've forgotten.
My top-ten favorite cars would be:

My top-10 favorite cars
1. Shelby Cobra 427 s/c (Mk. 3). What can one say about a car that has a 427 cu. in. (6,997cc) engine!
2. 300SL "Gullwing". Hmm... I'm going to go out on a limb here, and say that this is my vote for the Most Beautiful Car Ever! Just don't roll it...
3. Morgan 4/4. Fantastic! Even more fantastic is the fact that they're still being made! Sadly design laws are strangling the history out of them slowly, but surely... So I'd find one a two-or-so decades old — with a carburettor if possible.
4. Jaguar E-type Series 1, 4.2 litre. Mmmm... Sorry lost my train of thought...
5. 1968 Ford Mustang Cobra-Jet w/Ram-air. My vote for Best Muscle-car Ever! Not only is it a monster (13.56 second quarter-mile), but it's also pretty.
6. 1938–1939 Wolseley 18/80. (Ha! Wikipedia doesn't actually have this one; see here for list of cars, and image.) Poor handling, larger steering wheel than on many ships and very thin, tax-cheating, cylinders — but who cares! The interesting features of the car are: it's full of wood lining, has an opening windscreen (awning type) and a soft sun-roof! I first came across these in Foyle's War; a (cool) British period who-done-it. Foyle's car was a Wolseley 14/56(?) in early episodes, in later episodes a Wolseley Wasp was used.
7. Ford Torino Cobra (fastback). Since I'll probably never have the AUS$80,000, laying around, needed to buy a Cobra-Jet, this is the muscle-car I'm aiming for! It was in NASCAR so it might handle well... sort of.
8. Ferrari 328 GTB. Is this a super-car I see before me? Yes, it is. One of the few I actually like... and I only found it via Magnum PI (I know that was a 308 GTS!).
9. Post-1986 Porsche 944 S. Since I hope to get hold of one of these reasonably soon, I'll have to put it in here. Insurance is gonna be a bummer though...
10. Early-1970s Datsun 240Z. Not only is this car iconic, but it's almost perfect!
If you have a different list, by-all-means let me know!

History

I love reading about history. My favorite periods/subjects are: the middle ages, the "Golden Age" of Piracy (approx. 1690-1720 IMO), the 18th century (for the ships, and technology) and World War II. I also like thinking about the far future, since, one day, it will be history too.

Locomotives

I've always been interested in locos, but it wasn't until finding Locomotive Wiki, July of 2011, that I really became obsessed. I think locos are so majestic in the way they gracefully roll along the rails; could it be almost philosophical, how they follow a course that's laid down for them?

I don't know about that, but I do know that my favorite motive-powers, in order, are: steam, diesel and electric. I like steam the best, because the design is just so ingenious. Diesels next, because they're mobile mini power-stations, with the diesel-electrics at least, which must be more efficient than pumping electricity all over the place. Electric is last for the same reason that diesels beat them.

I can tell you that my favorite locomotive is K 190. If you wish to know all my favorite locomotives there is a gallery of them on my Locomotive Wiki profile (I couldn't possibly choose a top-10 of them like I did with the cars!).

Sci-Fi

Yes, well... obvious ain't it? I guess I would put Star Trek before Star Wars for one major reason (at least): Star Trek is more accessible in my opinion, because they really are humans in it. Don't get me wrong; I was a Star Wars fan long before I was a Star Trek fan. Just something about us humans heading into space is... is both terrifying, and awesome at the same time!

My other sci-fi interests, include (out of order): Doctor Who, Back to the Future, Terminator (all of it except: "The Sara Connor Chronicles"), Primeval and stuff that I've probably forgotten.

Thanks

Thanks for reading my profile. If you find any of the subjects I've mentioned interesting too, I'm always happy to have a chat — just send me a message, and I'll answer ASAP!


Yes, I did create this user template. If you wish to copy it, please go here. Or on the other hand send me a message and I'll show you how to build your own themed creation!