Welcome to my user page. I've been editing and creating new articles since mid-2009. Primary interests include history (esp. Roman, British and U.S.A./California), biography, historical fiction, futurism and architecture. I can sometimes be obsessive about spelling (not, however, one of those who replace British spellings with American or vice versa), grammar, syntax and punctuation. All comments are welcome on my Talk page.
Favorite quotes. Since one of my main interests is history, the list begins with a few about history:
"We learn from history that we learn nothing from history." -
George Bernard Shaw (paraphrase of
Hegel)
“History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes” –
Mark Twain
"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." -
George Santayana
"You either have to be part of the solution, or you're going to be part of the problem." -
Eldridge Cleaver
"The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don't know", and...
"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler." -
Albert Einstein
"Le mieux est l'ennemi du bien." (The best [or perfect] is the enemy of the good) -
Voltaire
"Life must be lived forwards but can only be understood backwards" -
Kierkegaard
"Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose" (The more things change, the more they stay the same) -
Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr
"When it is not necessary to make a decision, it is necessary not to make a decision." -
Lord Falkland
"It ain’t what you don’t know that hurts you, it’s what you don’t know you don’t know." -
Mark Twain
"To be ignorant of what occurred before you were born is to remain always a child." -
Cicero
"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines." -
Ralph Waldo Emerson
I'll add this one; not because I'm a mathematician but because I'm mysteriously attracted to aphorisms couched in this form:
“As far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not certain; as far as they are certain, they do not refer to reality.” -
Albert Einstein
^Vila, V., & Rose, R. S. (1911).
The Portola expedition of 1769-1770: Diary of Vicente Vila. Berkeley, Calif: University of California Press.{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link) [This volume also contains translations of the Costansó diary and the Fages 1770 diary].
^Gudde, Erwin G. (1969). California Place Names. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
^Clark, Donald Thomas, and Sandy Lydon (2008). Santa Cruz County place names: a geographical dictionary. Scotts Valley, Calif: Kestrel Press.{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link)
^Chase, John L. (2023). The Sidewalk Companion to Santa Cruz Architecture, 4th edition. Santa Cruz, Calif: Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History.
Other California history sources
Engelhardt, Z. (1929). The Missions and Missionaries of California. Santa Barbara, Calif: Mission Santa Barbara.
Priestley, H. I. (1916). José de Gálvez: Visitor-general of New Spain (1765-1771). Berkeley [Calif.: University of California press. Online at
Google Books
This user works in and/or appreciates Architecture
Welcome to my user page. I've been editing and creating new articles since mid-2009. Primary interests include history (esp. Roman, British and U.S.A./California), biography, historical fiction, futurism and architecture. I can sometimes be obsessive about spelling (not, however, one of those who replace British spellings with American or vice versa), grammar, syntax and punctuation. All comments are welcome on my Talk page.
Favorite quotes. Since one of my main interests is history, the list begins with a few about history:
"We learn from history that we learn nothing from history." -
George Bernard Shaw (paraphrase of
Hegel)
“History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes” –
Mark Twain
"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." -
George Santayana
"You either have to be part of the solution, or you're going to be part of the problem." -
Eldridge Cleaver
"The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don't know", and...
"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler." -
Albert Einstein
"Le mieux est l'ennemi du bien." (The best [or perfect] is the enemy of the good) -
Voltaire
"Life must be lived forwards but can only be understood backwards" -
Kierkegaard
"Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose" (The more things change, the more they stay the same) -
Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr
"When it is not necessary to make a decision, it is necessary not to make a decision." -
Lord Falkland
"It ain’t what you don’t know that hurts you, it’s what you don’t know you don’t know." -
Mark Twain
"To be ignorant of what occurred before you were born is to remain always a child." -
Cicero
"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines." -
Ralph Waldo Emerson
I'll add this one; not because I'm a mathematician but because I'm mysteriously attracted to aphorisms couched in this form:
“As far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not certain; as far as they are certain, they do not refer to reality.” -
Albert Einstein
^Vila, V., & Rose, R. S. (1911).
The Portola expedition of 1769-1770: Diary of Vicente Vila. Berkeley, Calif: University of California Press.{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link) [This volume also contains translations of the Costansó diary and the Fages 1770 diary].
^Gudde, Erwin G. (1969). California Place Names. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
^Clark, Donald Thomas, and Sandy Lydon (2008). Santa Cruz County place names: a geographical dictionary. Scotts Valley, Calif: Kestrel Press.{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link)
^Chase, John L. (2023). The Sidewalk Companion to Santa Cruz Architecture, 4th edition. Santa Cruz, Calif: Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History.
Other California history sources
Engelhardt, Z. (1929). The Missions and Missionaries of California. Santa Barbara, Calif: Mission Santa Barbara.
Priestley, H. I. (1916). José de Gálvez: Visitor-general of New Spain (1765-1771). Berkeley [Calif.: University of California press. Online at
Google Books
This user works in and/or appreciates Architecture