Don Watcher gets Published! (sort of...)

Toronto Water Newsletter (click to enlarge)

For a few years now the city has been issuing a newsletter that covers water related issues. Mostly it's information about downspout disconnections and low-flow toilets but occasionally there is an interesting article. I just received the fall 2006 issue and the front page has an article entitled "Improving water quality in Taylor-Massey Creek".

This happens to be an issue that I am very familiar with and I have blogged about this in the past year (here and here). So I read the article with some interest. Upon reading the article I realized that the text sounded familiar. In fact very familiar since many of the phrases and information appears in a Wikipedia article about Taylor-Massey Creek. I know this article intimately... since I wrote most of it.

Other than this blog, one of my other literary interests is writing articles on Wikipedia. Using the editor pseudonym Atrian, I have written several articles and edited many others. In addition to the Taylor-Massey Creek article, I have written or expanded on Don Valley related articles such as Charles Sauriol, Todmorden Mills, the Belt Line Railway, Friends of the Don East, and the Task Force to Bring Back the Don. I am currently working on expanding the article on the Don Valley Brick Works and hope to create an article on Crothers' Woods.

Even though the article doesn't reference the Wikipedia source it's obvious where they got the information. Although reworded, the phrases are almost exactly what is used in Wikipedia. It gives me some enjoyment in the knowledge that some of my efforts have borne fruit. I can also shamelessly brag about it here!