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Paul McDonald's User Page

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Paul D. McDonald, MBA, DTM, and Labutnum of the Encyclopedia, (born July 19, 1968)*, is a speaker, writer, and consultant. Paul earned a Master of Business Administration from Keller Graduate School of Management in Chicago, Illinois and a Bachelor of Arts in Physics from Southwestern College. He also earned an Associate of Arts from Cloud County Community College as well as completed additonal coursework at Kansas State University, Missouri Western State University, and Harper College.
I became a Wikipedia:Administrator on May 6, 2013. You can read the escapades here.

You are invited to:

*When I'm dead, I wonder who is going to change this?

If you need administrative help, plesae feel free to leave a message on my talk page. The bulk of my administrative actions include non-controversial cleanup--what we affectionately call the "mop and bucket" actions. When I have time, I participate in administrative-related discussions. I don't always get things right, but I'm confident with our team of administrators we will get to what is right through discussions and listening.

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Front Page Feature

Wikipedia main page screenshot
Wikipedia main page screenshot, evening of December 23, 2015, Central time zone (US). Note featured article of William Wurtenburg in top left hand column.

The Wikipedia main page featured William Wurtenburg on December 24, 2015. This was an article I originally created on June 16, 2008. Thanks to all Wikipedia editors including @A Texas Historian:, @Jweiss11:, and others who also helped improve it. The article as it exists now looks so much better than what I made.

I created the original article on June 16, 2008 as a part of a campaign to complete articles for every head football coach for United States Naval Academy. Coach Wurtenburg was head coach for the 1894 season and led the team to a record of 4 wins, 1 loss, and 2 ties. Their only loss that year was to Pennsylvania who ended the season as undefeated national champions.

As you can tell by visiting the article page now, it has been greatly enhanced to include his coaching at Dartmouth and his time as a player at Yale where he was a part of the 1887 National Championship team, finishing with a record of 9 wins and 0 losses. After coaching, he became an official for college football.

Around 1904, Wurtenburg began pursuing a career as a physician. He set up a medical office near his house in New Haven, Connecticut, and became an ear, nose and throat specialist where he lived until his death in 1957.

It's truly rewarding to see an article that I started end up on the Wikipedia main page! Woo-hoo!!!

Media of the Day

Wikimedia MOTD September 17, 2015

A video I posted was declared Wikimedia's "Media of the Day" on September 17, 2015. Watch closely as the cheese monger at Whole Foods Market in Overland Park, Kansas cracks open a wheel of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese on March 9, 2013 (part of a 2013 world record attempt by Whole Foods Market).

I recorded this video on March 9, 2013 and posted it the next day. It was a recording of one location where Whole Foods Market was attempting (and I believe succeeded) in setting a world record for the most number of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese at the same time. They were attempting this feat by using multiple stores and locations across their service footprint.

The best part was that we all got to sample!

Current projects

College Football

Portrait of John H. Outland from The World of New York, September 26, 1898

John H. Outland (March 7, 1871 – March 24, 1947) was an American football player and coach. He played football at Penn College in Oskaloosa, Iowa, the University of Kansas, and the University of Pennsylvania. He was twice named an All-American while playing for the Penn Quakers, in 1897 as a tackle and in 1898 as a halfback. After playing, Outland coached at Franklin & Marshall College in 1900, the University of Kansas in 1901, and Washburn University from 1904 to 1905, compiling a career college football record of 21–15–2. He is the namesake of the Outland Trophy, an annual award established in 1946 and given to best interior lineman in college football. Outland was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 2001.

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Kansas

Charles E. Cowdrey (November 16, 1933 – January 18, 2011) was an American football coach. Cowdrey served as a head high school coach for nine years, head coach at Fort Scott Community College for three years, assistant coach at University of Missouri for eight years, head coach at Illinois State University for four years, assistant coach at Drake University for one year, and head coach at Southwestern College for nine years. His overall record as a head coach including high school coaching is 138 wins, 85 losses, 6 ties, and as a college head coach he achieved a record of 81 wins, 86 losses, and 4 ties. (Full article...)

Other fun stuff

Chocolate most commonly comes in dark, milk, and white varieties, with cocoa solids contributing to the brown coloration.
Chocolate (English pronunciation: /ˈtʃɒklɨt/ or /ˈtʃɒkəlɨt/) comprises a number of raw and processed foods produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. Cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia in Mexico, Central and South America, with its earliest documented use around 1100 BC. The majority of the Mesoamerican people made chocolate beverages, including the Aztecs, who made it into a beverage known as xocolātl (/ʃo.ko.laːtɬ/), a Nahuatl word meaning "bitter water". The seeds of the cacao tree have an intense bitter taste, and must be fermented to develop the flavor.

After fermentation, the beans are dried, then cleaned, and then roasted, and the shell is removed to produce cacao nibs. The nibs are then ground to cocoa mass, pure chocolate in rough form. Because this cocoa mass usually is liquefied then molded with or without other ingredients, it is called chocolate liquor. The liquor also may be processed into two components: cocoa solids and cocoa butter. Unsweetened baking chocolate (bitter chocolate) contains primarily cocoa solids and cocoa butter in varying proportions. Much of the chocolate consumed today is in the form of sweet chocolate, combining cocoa solids, cocoa butter or other fat, and sugar. Milk chocolate is sweet chocolate that additionally contains milk powder or condensed milk. White chocolate contains cocoa butter, sugar, and milk but no cocoa solids.

Cocoa solids contain alkaloids such as theobromine and phenethylamine, which have physiological effects on the body. It has been linked to serotonin levels in the brain. Some research found that chocolate, eaten in moderation, can lower blood pressure.[1] The presence of theobromine renders it toxic to some animals,[2] especially dogs and cats.

Chocolate has become one of the most popular food types and flavors in the world. Gifts of chocolate molded into different shapes have become traditional on certain holidays: chocolate bunnies and eggs are popular on Easter, chocolate coins on Hanukkah, Santa Claus and other holiday symbols on Christmas, and chocolate hearts or chocolate in heart-shaped boxes on Valentine's Day. Chocolate is also used in cold and hot beverages, to produce chocolate milk and hot chocolate.

Around three quarters of the world's cacao bean production takes place in West Africa.

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Fans of college football sometimes use the phrase Toilet Bowl to refer to a football game that is particularly poor in play quality, generally college football. While this name is certainly not official, it does bear mentioning.

Two specific college games that are often referred to as "Toilet Bowl" games are:

  • 1983 Oregon vs. Oregon State: The 1983 contest between the two teams produced a scoreless tie. Played during a rainstorm, the game is commonly known as the "Toilet Bowl", due to the poor quality of play exhibited in the game (it was not a steadfast defensive struggle).[3] No NCAA Division I football game has ended in a scoreless tie since, and under current NCAA rules, which introduced non-sudden death overtime into NCAA football, it is unlikely to ever happen again.
  • 1987 Kansas vs. Kansas State: On November 7, 1987 the Kansas Jayhawks traveled to Manhattan, Kansas to play the Kansas State Wildcats. The game was termed "The Toilet Bowl" by national commentators during the week leading up to it because it featured a KU team with a 1-7 record and 0-8 K-State. The contest lived down to expectations and resulted in a 17-17 tie, which was secured when KU blocked a K-State field goal attempt at the end of the game. ESPN College Football broadcaster Lee Corso said this about the game: "A tie is like kissing your sister, but a loss is like kissing your brother." This gave KU the all-time NCAA Division I-A record for number of tie games with 57.[4]

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Welcome sign for the Cloud County, Kansas Fairgrounds

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References

Unlike traditional portals, I feel compelled to list references for the stories displayed, if any exist.

  1. ^ Taubert, Dirk (4 July 2007). "Effects of Low Habitual Cocoa Intake on Blood Pressure and Bioactive Nitric Oxide". The Journal of the American Medical Association. 298 (1): 49–60. doi:10.1001/jama.298.1.49. PMID 17609490. Retrieved 12 January 2010. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ "Veterinary Q & A: Chocolate Toxicity". About.com. Retrieved 20 May 2008.
  3. ^ Austin Murphy, Washington-Washington State playing for pride in Apple Cup, SI.com, November 20, 2008, Accessed January 9, 2009.
  4. ^ Division I-A All-Time Wins