Quiz

Oh, come on.

These first two seem to have some pretty clear clues. I mean, okay, maybe this book is about the whole world, and they're showing you the "We the People of the United States" to fake you out. Maybe.

But "Votes for Women" is a dead giveaway - unless the author was downright misogynistic. Which, I guess is possible.

But then this one seems ... pretty obvious.

And this one? Sheesh.

My "True Political Self"

Not a surprise, I suppose... How about you?

You are a Social Liberal (86% permissive) Economic Liberal (5% permissive You are best described as a: Socialist

Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid

Which SF writer are you?

I am: Gregory Benford A master literary stylist who is also a working scientist.

Which science fiction writer are you?

Happy Birthday, Edward

Born today in 1925, in Chicago, Edward Gorey, master of the disturbingly macabre illustration and story.
I definitely recommend you read his three Amphigorey collections.



The "life is sweet" sweatshirt gets a lot of grins and compliments.


And by all means, take this quiz: Which Horrible (Edward) Gorey Death will you die?

I knows me my science!

I got 100% on the Pew Research Science Knowledge Quiz - Take it yourself.

Hat tip archy.

Happy Birthday, Edward

Born today in 1925, in Chicago, Edward Gorey, master of the disturbingly macabre illustration and story.
I definitely recommend you read his three Amphigorey collections.



The "life is sweet" sweatshirt gets a lot of grins and compliments.


And by all means, take this quiz: Which Horrible (Edward) Gorey Death will you die?

Language Quiz

Here's a new language quiz:

From a blog owned by a teacher, posted on a snow day:

Just in case, you're a bioinformatics student who happened to check in, and you haven't gotten set up on Blackboard, I do have a couple of fun assignments for you to try at home.

And look here for Previous Quizzes, 42 so far.

"Civics" quiz

So, a lot of people are blogging about the ISI's "Civics" quiz, the one most Americans got 49% on with "elected officials" (whatever that means) getting only 44% on. Here's how I did: You answered 32 out of 33 correctly — 96.97 %

Here's the one I got wrong. But surely (a) is right, too, unless somehow the government is "spending" money that doesn't count as "spending".

If taxes equal government spending, then:
A. government debt is zero
B. printing money no longer causes inflation
C. government is not helping anybody
D. tax per person equals government spending per person - this is their answer

You can take it here.

ps - since when is Sputnik "civics"?

What kind of girl am I?

You are a Brainy Girl!

Whether you're an official student or a casual learner, you enjoy hitting the books. You know a little bit about everything, and you're always dying to know more. For a guy to win your heart, he's got to share some of your intellectual interests. A awesome book collection of his own doesn't hurt either!

What Kind of Girl Are You?

(hat tip to In my (not so) abundant spare time)

Did not expect that!

Which Fantasy/SciFi Character Are You?
You are Marcus Cole (of Babylon-5). An honest and chivalrous adventurer that pursues just causes, you would sacrifice much to help others. I am a Ranger. We walk in the dark places no others will enter. We stand on the bridge and no-one may pass. We live for the One, we die for the One.

Death's Granddaughter

Your result for The Which Discworld Character Am I Test...

Susan Sto Helit

You scored 91 intelligence, 58 morality, and 63 physical strengnth!

As Death's granddaughter (a long story, which you greatly dislike), you inherited his ultimate practicality and lack of fear. In fact, boogeymen and other childhood boggles fear YOU. Often assisted by the Death of Rats and his raven, you manage to fix the Universe in between working as a governness and educating the masses. The ultimate teacher.

Take The Which Discworld Character Am I Test at HelloQuizzy

"And then Jack chopped down what was the world's last beanstalk, adding murder and ecological terrorism to the theft, enticement and trespass charges already mentioned and all the giant's children didn't have a daddy any more. But he got away with it and lived happily ever after without so much as a guilty twinge about what he had done. Which proves that you can be excused just about anything if you're a hero, because no one asks inconvenient questions." Susan Sto Helit, in Hogfather

(hat tip to Brian at Laelaps)

Paint Name Colors

From Jan Freeman's blog, the Word, this game - you get ten paint names (like Shangrila Silk or Ice Storm) and have to choose the real color that matches. I've been getting 5 or 6 out of 10 (you know your paints!). Fun - try it out.

Play the PAINT game

That's the Punctuation Mark, not the Body Part!

Cool!

You Are a Colon

You are very orderly and fact driven. You aren't concerned much with theories or dreams... only what's true or untrue. You are brilliant and incredibly learned. Anything you know is well researched. You like to make lists and sort through things step by step. You aren't subject to whim or emotions. Your friends see you as a constant source of knowledge and advice. (But they are a little sick of you being right all of the time!) You excel in: Leadership positions You get along best with: The Semi-Colon

What Punctuation Mark Are You?

(Thanks to Dr Brazen Hussy at What the hell is wrong with you?)

Not that it's a big surprise

My Liberal Identity:

You are a Reality-Based Intellectualist, also known as the liberal elite. You are a proud member of what’s known as the reality-based community, where science, reason, and non-Jesus-based thought reign supreme.

Take the quiz at www.FightConservatives.com

Hat tip to Ordinary Girl...

Rook's Hawk

Found this at Ordinary Girl's ...

Your result for Which Chess Piece are You Test?...

The Rook's Hawk

Congrats! Only 12-16% of the population score this!

The Rook’s Hawk is like a judge. They have a great sense of right and wrong especially in their area of interest or responsibility. They are devoted to duty. They are punctual. People who set their clocks on others are typically measuring their time with the Hawk. It is common to perceive that the Hawk is cold or aloof. They frequently protect their emotions via practicality.

They work systematically to get the job done. When a new procedure is proven, they can be depended upon to carry it out. The Rook’s Hawk is deeply frustrated by the inconsistencies of others, especially when it comes to commitments. They will keep their feelings to themselves – but when asked expect truth over tact. They are quite able to make the tough call and carry it out. You will find the Rook’s Hawk at home in government, schools, military or any other organization which maintains strict hierarchy. They are the traditionalist and are perfect for balancing out the idealists of other types.

The Rook’s Hawk thrives on organization. They keep their lives and environments well-regulated. They bring painstaking attention to detail in their work and will not rest until satisfied with a job well done. They are obviously hard workers. They will sort through ideas and find the most practical ones, again revealing how common sense prevails in this type. This ‘Pawn’ is the cornerstone of an ethical working society. They are centered on dealing with the present and most practical affair. They observe life and promote consistency in society. They value loyalty and others are best to acquaint themselves with this type if they wish to gain a fruitful insight to what makes the world tick.

Take Which Chess Piece are You Test? at HelloQuizzy

Language Quiz

Wow, it's been a while since I did one of these!

Here's a new quiz - though, as always, maybe there's nothing wrong.

From the Writers Almanac, this description of 'Woody Guthrie:

He was one of the only American artists whose reputation never really suffered, though he was openly affiliated with the Communist Party.

The previous quiz was:

From the Cassini-Huygens site, this description of a photo:

Curving wakes perturb the edges of the Encke Gap in Saturn's A ring. The culprit in their creation is the flying saucer-shaped moon Pan, shining brightly within the gap.

This one's pretty simple - not enough hyphens! Pan is not "flying and shaped like a saucer", it is "shaped like a flying saucer". It's "the flying-saucer-shaped moon".

And look here for Previous Quizzes, 41 so far.

I still remember a lot of it!

Created by OnePlusYou

And they've got the answers so you can see what you missed.

Not PoliSci - Nooooooooooooooo

You Should Get a PhD in Liberal Arts (like political science, literature, or philosophy)

You're a great thinker and a true philosopher. You'd make a talented professor or writer.

What Advanced Degree Should You Get?

(And I went back and changed a couple of the answers I'd been torn about - same answer.)

especially the happy and relaxed about it part

Your Score: The Dork

You aren't particularly anxious, and you don't count things--but you do notice sometimes that you don't exactly fit in. Polite people would call you an eccentric, but you truly are The Dork! And proud. Just because you feel a little awkward at parties doesn't mean you're not happy with yourself and fairly relaxed.

Your low anxiety score implies that you are able to relax, can enjoy the here and now, and have a healthy amount of self-confidence.

Your high awkwardness score implies that you are socially inept, probably stick out from the crowd, and perhaps feel uncomfortable in large groups of people, such as at parties.

Your low neuroticism score implies that you don't exhibit subtle neurotic behaviors--your nails are probably an acceptable length, your pencils aren't covered with bite marks, and your bookcase isn't arranged alphabetically by genre. Congrats!

Link: The Neurotic Test written by littlelostsnail on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

Language Quiz

Here's a new quiz - though, as always, maybe there's nothing wrong.

From the Cassini-Huygens site, this description of a photo:

Curving wakes perturb the edges of the Encke Gap in Saturn's A ring. The culprit in their creation is the flying saucer-shaped moon Pan, shining brightly within the gap.

The previous quiz was:

When Verizon Wireless censored political speech on one of its mobile services, alarm bells should ring on the need for laws on digital communications.

This (as Barry said) is a mismatch of tenses. The main clause has a simple modal "should ring" which is in non-past ("present" though more accurately "untensed") while the subordinate clause is in the past tense (censored). English doesn't like to mix-n-match tenses that way (though for many languages it's fine).

For the main clause to remain "should ring", the subordinate clause should be in present tense as well (When Verizon censors). If you want the subordinate clause to remain in past tense - which you probably do, as it refers to a specific event - then the main clause needs to become "should have rung" to match.

If the author wanted the action of the main clause to be ongoing, then what's needed is an inchoative (action-starting) verb and a participle: "alarm bells should have begun ringing".

Another "solution" is to put the subordinate clause in the subjunctive past (Had Verizon censored, were Verizon to censor). But note that this solution, though grammatically correct, changes the mood (the grammatical mood) of the sentence by making it hypothetical or counterfactual. "Had Verizon censored - but they didn't" or "Were Verizon to censor - but they haven't".

And look here for Previous Quizzes, 40 so far.