User talk:BillpSea

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Welcome!

Hello, BillpSea, and welcome to Wikipedia! Thank you for your contributions. I hope you like the place and decide to stay. Here are some pages that you might find helpful:

I hope you enjoy editing here and being a Wikipedian! Please sign your name on talk pages using four tildes (~~~~); this will automatically produce your name and the date. If you need help, check out Wikipedia:Questions, ask me on my talk page, or ask your question and then place {{helpme}} before the question on your talk page. Again, welcome! –RHolton≡– 04:39, 25 September 2007 (UTC)


Contents

[edit] Question

I've just joined in the discussion - I'm very interested in dialysis issues. I've been on dialysis since 1990; I've self-dialyzed at home since 2001 (using three different machines). I am trying to get up to speed. The thing the pushed me to join was my desire to post an entry for Dr. Joseph W. Eschbach whose memorial service I will be attending on Sunday. His work with sheep urine lead to treatments for anemia that are in use today, I think he is well within wikipedia's guidelines.

I'm not so sure about my post regarding the Northwest Kidney Centers not because they lack historical importance but because I serve as their volunteer trustee board chair. I am, as you'd expect, a big fan of NKC but I tried to respect the guidelines and post a neutral factual entry. Have I crossed a line? Thank you for any guidance you can provide.BillpSea 22:32, 26 September 2007 (UTC)

Hi Billy! Glad you've decided to stay with us at Wikipedia :-) I will check out the Dr.Joseph article ASAP. As to your edits to the Northwest Kidney Center, they were great! :-) Nothing wrong with them that I could find. Perhaps a citation or two would be an added bonus? Heh. But yes, they seem fine. One Wikipedia policy that could effect you, as you've said you are on dialysis, in the future if you edit dialysis related articles is: WP:COI. But, so far, your edits seemed fine. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any further queries or whatever! :-) Take care, friend. ScarianTalk 22:39, 26 September 2007 (UTC)
Hi, I think ScarianTalk covered most of what I was going to say, i.e. you should be aware of WP:COI. The Northwest Kidney Centers and Joseph W. Eschbach articles look good. More refs could improve 'em further. Nephron  T|C 06:49, 27 September 2007 (UTC)
If you could make some pictures for the home hemodialysis article it would be a real bonus. I think there is enough there to make it into a WP:GA-- and pictures would be a step closer to that end. References for the equipment section would be good.
Looking at the HHD article, I think mentioning the name of the dialysis centre at multiples places is a bit over done. Most people don't know where the Northwest Kidney Centers is; Seattle, IMHO, (as it was originally written) is a better description. Also, the research work is associated more with the university in Seattle (University of Washington)-- in terms of affliation of the researchers. Since you're a member of the board I think you're in conflicit here. In terms of consistency, one could also argue if we were to name the Seattle centre --how about all the others... the clinics in Australia, the one in the UK, the ones in Canada. Nephron  T|C 07:09, 27 September 2007 (UTC)
I have a number of pictures I think these are covered under the right image copyright because they're on flickr
my NxStage aboard a boat this summer
posting to wikipedia while dialyzing? (as I am now).
On the UW v NKC - a point I would make is that setting up NKC (SAKC) as an outpatient facility was an innovation at the time. By 1964 dialysis was being run by a separate organization - the brain child of Scribner. True nearly everyone involved was affiliated with the UW - an affiliation that continues today NKC's chief medical officer is UW facility, NKC just established an endowed chair of kidney research (see Eschbach update), the relationship is close (though of course the UW is a much larger organization). I'll support your edits. I'll try to persuade you through talk prior to further edits (I've posted to the HHD and HD talk pages).
I have to read the COI page - I am a volunteer but yes I'll learn how to disclose the potential COI relationship. NKC's influence has been important and I feel that an understanding of their role will help people appreciate where we've been, and where we're going. Cheers, BillpSea 07:36, 27 September 2007 (UTC)
Yes, of course :-) Wikipedia always needs people whom are experts in subjects, which, I assume you are. We look forward to seeing some of your great work, friend! Remember, if you have any worries please don't hesitate to contact me :-) ScarianTalk 09:01, 27 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Formatting Question

How do I make a reference to someone's last name link to their entry? For instance if the article references Scribner (dialysis) and it should go to the article on Belding H. Scribner.

Just use [[Belding H. Scribner|Scribner]]. The | character will probably be on the same key as the backslash, although it might be marked ¦.--Werdan7T @ 18:50, 29 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Edits to HHD

Your edits of home hemodialysis: Nice picture. :-) I like a lot of your edits and most of them are genuine improvements. Above stated, please keep the article general, i.e. non-US centric-- especially in the introduction. Non-US readers aren't really interested much in US happenings; looking at dialysis, as a whole, the US is not believed to be better (see: PMID 15486869 (Am J Kidney Dis. 2004 Nov;44(5 Suppl 2):16-21.); Old US Rebuttal/Discussion). Nephron  T|C 17:05, 7 January 2008 (UTC)

I've seen the recent DOPPS data - I suspect a lack of dialysis per kg. ongoing community debate. I'll try harder to keep a world pov. thanks. Also maybe of interest a growing Dialysis Photo Archive all photos under a creative commons license, will try to fill requests too. BillpSea (talk) 05:42, 8 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Question

I created a stub for the first time Medicare Payment Advisory Commission when I saw there wasn't an article. First how do identify it as a stub? Second how do I identify the proper categories as this is outside my normal wiki-editing? And as a .gov site can I quote liberally from their own information? For instance the stub is very inspired by their "About" page (the reference). is that alright? Thanks BillpSea (talk) 00:52, 12 January 2008 (UTC)

To find a proper stub category, at least when you're starting out, you can try Wikipedia:WikiProject_Stub_sorting/Stub_types (I personally usually just mark it with {{stub}} and there's a tree you can traverse]]. Similarly, you can usually pick a very large overarching category, such as Category:Organizations, and traverse through the tree down until you find the best one (or ones). You will note my edit.
As for copying the material, it's not always clear what the copyright status is. Not every organization associated with the US government has copyright free materials, but I've had a look at their site, and it looks like it's probably good, especially as it calls itself "an independent US federal body." However, writing it in your own best prose is probably your best bet. 01:18, 12 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Weird url change

I was looking for a user box for my talk page to add my website. I took a guess and added {{User Website|http://www.billpeckham.com/}} the unexpected part is that when I previewed the page in place of my URL there was a substitute URL Sikkimonline.info. Anyone understand what is happening?

The userbox was apparently vandalized a while ago to suit someone's personal website. I've reverted the changes, so it should work now. Hersfold (t/a/c) 20:09, 23 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Renal Function

Sorry edit conflicted all over each other there :-)

Do you think it is now sufficiently clear that Ccr is an approximation to GFR, and that both can be acurately measured or estimated (eGFR is the MDRD formula, eCrr is the Cockcroft-Gault formula) ? David Ruben Talk 04:56, 18 March 2008 (UTC)

My thinking was that eGFR redirects to the page so it should be mentioned other than in the formula - in the US eGFR is being advocated for its inclusion in routine blood work so people may come looking for its meaning. You're doing a lot of good work I can wait to see how it comes out but consider someone looking for what is meant by eGFR.BillpSea (talk) 05:10, 18 March 2008 (UTC)
Yup - abbreviations, including eGFR & eCcr, into leadin and show in bold as being major redirect/search terms. David Ruben Talk 11:18, 18 March 2008 (UTC)
I like how you've improved the articleBillpSea (talk) 21:14, 18 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Great stuff!

I love the picture. You have one or two more? A detail view of the controls would be nice. :-) I think a couple more pics and a tiny bit of copyediting are the missing ingredients for making home hemodialysis into a WP:GA. Nephron  T|C 19:35, 20 April 2008 (UTC)

Thanks Nephron I have started a photo archive here [1] I have made all of these photos fully available (at least that was my intention, from my understanding of creative commons license rules). Maybe these two? [2] [3] I'll try to take one of the controls tonight when the machine is working so the display is on.BillpSea (talk) 16:31, 22 April 2008 (UTC)