Hello!
My work on Wikipedia covers a range of topics, reflecting my interests in science (my muse), history, geography, technology and computers. Recently I seem to have made most edits to font design (in particular the history of my favourite), but here's no reason why that shouldn't change in future. I also do a lot of reading through new pages. Other odder work on here has included adding some marvellous pictures of vintage thermocyclers to that article, lots of stuff on British rivers and over the next few months a mini-project to extend coverage of all companies on the ATX and MDAX stock exchange indices. I'm probably more of a dabbler than a specialist, as that list suggests.
I've been described as giving the impression of being "an old lady, with white curly hair and tea" from "stereotypical Downton Abbeyesque Britain". I'm not that keen on tea though! Or that old...
My academic degree is in biochemistry, but I tend to not make so many edits in that field since I've forgotten everything it's getting a bit too specialised for me. (Ahem.) That said, I am planning at some point to leaf through a textbook or two to check systematically that every topic in a basic biochemistry textbook is well-covered. My favourite wholly original article that I’ve written has been on reverse-contrast typefaces, a journey into the shouty world of nineteenth-century posters and what happens if you invert the normal form of the alphabet sideways. It's almost like if modern art had come a century earlier, and it was great fun to write about. Some day I need to add a few more pictures to it.
What do I want to achieve on here? Well, in editing Wikipedia, I try to make articles start with the one most important thing a reader is likely to want to know, then continue in loosely descending order of priority and chronology. Judge the quality of my contributions according to how well I've stuck to that rule! My aim with any developing topic, from computer programmes to how printing has evolved from metal to digital, is to create a balance that reflects the diversity of Wikipedia's users: I want to write articles that both give a historical context and tell someone coming to the topic for the first time what they need to know. People looking up a Wikipedia article on an application may, for example, want to know where to find guidance on how to use the latest version, wonder what happened to it on the way from beta to the version they are now using, or just be wondering why its icon is a square smiling face. All those goals are valid and I want to make sure there's something for everyone here, ideally clearly marked into sections telling the reader where to look, and preferably with a picture too.
As for why my name on here is a little London street: no particular reason. I just sort of liked it: it sounds vaguely British with an outdoors, healthy-walks-in-the-Chilternsy flavour, without actually being any real place in particular.
You can view my edits to Wikipedia here and my uploads to Wikimedia here.
Recent articles written
The Toast • Norma Group • Maciej Cegłowski • Will Leitch • Deutsche Pfandbriefbank • Weird Twitter • James Mosley • Immofinanz • CA Immo • reverse-contrast typefaces • Talanx • Berkeley Old Style • Kill All Hippies • LEG Immobilien • fructoselysine-6-kinase • Elephant • Justus Erich Walbaum • Rosette • St Michael's Church, Penrhoslligwy • Iowan Old Style • Nicole Cliffe • S. Walter Poulshock • Schoeller-Bleckmann Oilfield Equipment • others