Doh - been tagged

Thank you duncanr (sigh). OK, I'm game...

1. Grab the book nearest to you, turn on page 18 and find line 4. –
"-bers's mentor, W.P. Ker, though likening Beowulf in"
(introduction to 'Beowulf, a verse translation by Michael Alexander').

2. Stretch your left arm out as far as you can & catch _____ – Empty air, but about as far again is a hi-fi speaker.

3. What is the last thing you watched on TV? – I don't have a TV but I did watch some of the last Test Match, one teatime in the pub.

4. Without looking, guess what time it is? – 11:15am

5. Now look at the clock, what is the actual time? – 11:01am. I'm running fast today.

6. With the exception of the computer, what can you hear? – Nothing but the wall clock ticking.

7. When did you last step outside? What were you doing? – Last Tuesday, going to the shops (I've had a stinking cold).

8. Before you started this Q&As, what did you look at? – Phil Plait's Bad Astronomy blog.

9. What are you wearing? – Jeans and a black shirt.

10. When did you last laugh? – Last night, listening to George Hrab's podcast.

11. What is on the walls of the room you are in? - A poster of Jim Morrison, a watercolour (copy) of a butterfly perched on some suspicious looking mushrooms and a copy of William Blake's 'The Ancient of Days' above the fireplace. Oh, and a clock.

12. Seen anything weird lately? – The blackberries have seemed to ripen very early this year.

13. What do you think of this quiz? – A bit of fun.

14. What is the last film you saw? – On DVD: 'The Return of the King', extended edition, disc 1. In the cinema: 'The Fellowship of the Ring', when it first came out. I must get out more :)

15. If you became a multimillionaire overnight, what’s the first thing you would do? – Build a large, heated, conservatory.

16. Tell me something about you that I dunno! – In my late teens I was in a ballroom dancing team for the North of England.

17. If you could change one thing about the world, regardless of guilt or politics, what would you do? – Uninvent weapons of warfare.

18. Do you like to Dance? - Used to (see 16), but I'm nowhere near fit and supple enough any more.

19. Imagine your first child is a girl, what do you call her? – Hallucinogenica Moonray.

20. Imagine your first child is a boy, what do you call him? – John.

21. Would you ever consider living abroad? – No. It's fine to visit but I like home.

22. What do you want GOD to say to you when you reach the pearly gates? – He can begin with an explanation, and it had better be a bloody good one.

23. What time is it now? - 12:44pm, after editing and making mackerel on toast.

Now I'm supposed to tag someone else. Well I would like to tag whoever gave me this cold - with a large staple gun to the nostrils. Grow into these trousers... >>

A science quiz

Larry Moran at Sandwalk posted this link to a science questionnaire from The Toronto Star. Some of the questions (and answer options) are a bit badly worded, but overall it's a good test of general scientific literacy.



I got them all right - 26/26 - but I had to deliberate long and hard, here and there, to work out what I was being asked. Grow into these trousers... >>

A meme

Last Sunday, delicate flower challenged us all to answer this questionnaire. So I will do so.

Blow me, then yorksnbeans twists it round another way. But it's getting late tonight and I can't think of six questions just now. I will ask one right at the end.

First, df:

What is your current obsession?
Blogging and Apollo 11.

What did you wear today?
The soles of my shoes with walking. The seat of my trousers by sitting down. The elbows of my shirt by leaning.

What’s for dinner?
Wednesday is curry night - chicken and lamb dopiaza, mushroom pakoras and onion bhajis. With naan bread, mint yogurt sauce, garlic dip and raw onion salad.

What would you eat for your last meal?
Chicken and lamb dopiaza, mushroom pakoras and onion bhajis...

What are you listening to right now?
The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe Podcast #207 - Jul 01 2009

Which language do you want to learn?
PHP-MYSQL

What do you love most about where you currently live?
The peace and quiet, being next to open fields, the view across the valley, the local shops 2mins walk away.

What style is your current home decorated in?
General random disorder. In the front room I have a big poster of Jim Morrison on one wall (No One Here Gets Out Alive), a print of William Blake's The Ancient of Days above the fireplace and a drawing of psilocybin mushrooms with a butterfly on the far wall.

If you were a time traveler what era would you live in?
All of them. Straight off, the origin of the Universe. Then I would go and see how the first stars and galaxies formed, later watch our Sun and the Planets develop. How did the Moon and the Earth come to be? After that I would go to the time of abiogenesis, then see how eukaryotic life came about, then find the distinctive point when plants and animals diverged. Watch evolution... Human development, our history...

OK, if not just NOW! Then Ancient Greece!

PS: I cannot foretell the future. Nor do I particularly wish journey there. It would be nice to know, but I'll simply wait and see what happens.

What is your favorite color?


What is your favorite piece of clothing in your own wardrobe?
Everything familiar and comfortable. See 'What did you wear' above.

What were you doing ten years ago?
Being depressed. Trying to recover from my marriage breakup.

If you had $300 now, what would you spend it on?
I would carefully invest it for my retirement.

When was the last time you cried?
I almost did a couple of days ago. Walking through Leeds for the bus after work and remembering parts of Pale Blue Dot:


What are your favorite films?
Brazil, 2001, LOTR, Highlander 1, Jason and the Argonauts (this list may change without notice).

Do you collect anything?
Empty beer bottles, stray cats (currently 2, one of each), stray people (currently 1, male, usually asleep on the couch with the cats), accolades (please).

What makes you follow a blog?
To try to learn from what that person is telling me, in a way I might understand, which is interesting to me and not always serious. (ie I don't really know)

What was the most enjoyable thing you did today?
Laugh my arse off listening to Steve, the singer in our band, tell me of his return flight from holiday last weekend. When one of the plane's engines caught on fire... No joke! But Steve is such a natural story teller he should be a stand up comedian not a singer.

And delicate flower's added question: What do you wish you could do better?
Home brew beer.

----------------------

Now on to Ys&Bs questions:

1.) Are you wearing undies right now? Yes, Y-fronts.

2.) When was the last time you combed your hair? Years ago. I use a brush.

3.) When was the last time you shaved something on your body? Early November 1997. I had my beard shaved in public to raise money for Children in Need (got £600).

4.) Did you ever wear braces on your teeth? No.

5.) What time do you normally go to bed? It depends on how tired I feel. It varies all the time from 9:30pm to the wee small hours.

6.) What are you listening to right now? The Archaeo News Podcast No. 139

----------------------

As promised here is my question for you all:

On a scale of 1 to 10. If you suddenly found yourself to have true psychic ability would you:
(1) selfishly use your ability to make loads of money?
(10) give your talents away for free to help others?

I would go for 7 or 8, a comfortable living for myself but try to be there when needed. Grow into these trousers... >>

What would you taste like to a cannibal?

I, apparently, would most likely taste like mesquite tofu. WTF!



What would you taste like? Grow into these trousers... >>

A quick science quiz

I've not posted a quiz for a while, so have a go at this one. Just to keep you on your toes over a coffee break.

Via A Simple Prop. Grow into these trousers... >>

Which Pope Am I?

Or rather, which Pope might you be?

"Have you ever laid in bed at night wondering how you'd run the Catholic Church? Or do you have genuine ambitions of taking over in Vatican City? If so, you ought to try Which Pope Am I?, our all-new Papal personality test devised by Christina Martin..."

Take the test. It turns out that I am:

"...an amalgamation of those pesky anti-Popes Clement VII and Benedict XIII."

Oh well, at least I have the beard to be Clement VII - given a trim and a dab of Grecian 2000!
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Via Pharyngula and New Humanist. Grow into these trousers... >>

Are you contributing to global warming?

Take this quiz to find out:

You are a 62% Fart Master!

 

You can let out a few room clearers that's for sure, but there is room for improvement. Your inner trumpet wants to blow a solo.

How gassy are you?
Take More Quizzes

Grow into these trousers... >>

Do You Have Biblical Morals?

Take this test to find out. It seems I do not have biblical morals, thank Dog. Rather, I have a real sense of morality.

Your morality is 0% in line with that of the bible.

 

Damn you heathen! Your book learnin' has done warped your mind. You shall not be invited next time I sacrifice a goat.

Do You Have Biblical Morals?
Take More Quizzes

I took this test too, to be honest I'm a bit disappointed with my score. Oh well, at least I've read the thing.

You know the Bible 73%!

 

Wow! You are truly a student of the Bible! Some of the questions were difficult, but they didn't slow you down! You know the books, the characters, the events . . . Very impressive!

Ultimate Bible Quiz
Take More Quizzes

Grow into these trousers... >>

Bloodstains - Oh dear!

I read a New Scientist article the other day about crime scene analysis, in particular visual analysis of bloodstains. The study...

"found that the experts got it right 97% of the time, while laypeople guessed correctly in 21% of cases".

There follows a slideshow of ten bloodstains and you have to guess how they formed. I'm no expert but I got 10/10 using reason and experience (Over my lifetime I have seen blood and how it behaves on the outside of a body).

Read the (short) article, study the pictures, then let me know how you rate. Expert or layperson?

[No corpuscles were deliberately harmed during the writing of this post] Grow into these trousers... >>

Yesterday's Monday's conundrum

Note to self: put in the right date when you schedule a post.

Go back for a look if you missed it. OK many will have heard it before, but the only comment I got was in meatspace (and not by the usual guy). So there's a quality pint of TT's Landlord paid on next time he's in the local!

The name for the object in question derives from the Latin for shadow - umbra. It's a brolly. Grow into these trousers... >>

A conundrum

There's a pint on the bar for anyone to answer this:

What goes up a drainpipe down but won't go down a drainpipe up?

Answer tomorrow. Grow into these trousers... >>

What could you do?

Between 100 and 175 monkeys

If I had to of course, I don't care much for violence. Grow into these trousers... >>

I'm a mild mannered rogue wanderer

...who gets shot!

What Famous Leader Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

What Classic Movie Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

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Thanks to The Incomer for the link. Grow into these trousers... >>

Regarding Antimony

I was sat at the bar the other night when my offline commenter, who was playing the quiz machine, shouted "Antimony".

"Ess bee" I answered.

Strangely I'd been asked the same question quite recently, so do this quick quiz.

If you need your memory jogging, remember the Chemistry in its element podcast and the Periodic Table of Videos.


And just for a laugh take a look at these cartoons.
Grow into these trousers... >>

What Flower Are You?

I am a Canna

What Flower
Are You?

"You stand up for what you believe in, even if it gets in the way of what other people think. You are proud of yourself and your accomplishments and you enjoy letting people know that."

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Thanks to Wonder What's Next for the link. Grow into these trousers... >>

Where on Earth

"Do you know your Eiffel Tower from your Guggenheim? Where on Earth has you pinpointing the location of iconic buildings in the world."

It's similar to The Traveler IQ Challenge™ but with lots of landmark buildings.

Sorry 'bout the adverts. Grow into these trousers... >>

Beware the moggies

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Via Evolving Thoughts.
Grow into these trousers... >>

Leopardy

A silly animal quiz - have fun.

Grow into these trousers... >>

You Don't Know Jack

Here's one for the quiz junkies:

That should have been episode 1, it goes up to episode 100. If you want more, there's a full list here.

Have fun. Grow into these trousers... >>

Well, I guess I won't be running for President of the USA

New Scientist has an article called:
Are YOU fit to be president?
Basically you take a personality test and copy some of the results into another assessment to see how you might shape up to be President.

Take the short test or the long test and plug the results in here.

I did the long test and I bare my arse below the belt.

EXTRAVERSION44
Friendliness82
Gregariousness31
Assertiveness28
Activity Level52
Excitement-Seeking 7
Cheerfulness68
Your score on Extraversion is average, indicating you are neither a subdued loner nor a jovial chatterbox. You enjoy time with others but also time alone.

AGREEABLENESS95
Trust91
Morality98
Altruism90
Cooperation76
Modesty72
Sympathy64
Your high level of Agreeableness indicates a strong interest in others' needs and well-being. You are pleasant, sympathetic, and cooperative.

CONSCIENTIOUSNESS48
Self-Efficacy64
Orderliness13
Dutifulness92
Achievement-Striving28
Self-Discipline24
Cautiousness83
Your score on Conscientiousness is average. This means you are reasonably reliable, organized, and self-controlled.

NEUROTICISM47
Anxiety30
Anger34
Depression75
Self-Consciousness50
Immoderation44
Vulnerability47
Your score on Neuroticism is average, indicating that your level of emotional reactivity is typical of the general population. Stressful and frustrating situations are somewhat upsetting to you, but you are generally able to get over these feelings and cope with these situations.

OPENNESS TO EXPERIENCE91
Imagination84
Artistic Interests95
Emotionality95
Adventurousness20
Intellect84
Liberalism76
Your score on Openness to Experience is high, indicating you enjoy novelty, variety, and change. You are curious, imaginative, and creative.

So how do I measure up as a president?

I am quite happy with this result. Grow into these trousers... >>