If I am not out of order asking this question:
How does a GAR know when a special question is posted for them?
Are they emailed by autoresponder or do they have to keep their 
eye out all the time for such "special" questions. Thanks from Roger

Dear Roger:

There is no autoresponder when a question is addressed to a particular
Researcher.  However, many of the Researchers belong to a private
forum where many research topics are discussed.  When one of us sees a
question directed to someone we know to be a forum member, a thread is
posted to their attention that a customer is requesting their
services.

If the person requested isn't a forum member, he/she won't see the
thread unless someone in the forum knows the Researcher personally and
can send he/she an email.

By checking the Researcher stats, as you did, you can tell if a
Researcher is very active based on how often they answer.  Some
researchers don't check in every day.

Best regards,
journalist-ga

Hi Journo (Journalist-ga)
Thanks for the answer. I was just curious. Have five stars and a glass
of your favourite "Yellow". Cheers from Roger

Thanks for the rating comments and added bonus, Roger...to your health!  :)

Roger,

One other way I check to see if I have a request is as soon as I wake
up and go to the main Google Answers page, I enter my user name into
the search function there:

cynthia-ga and select "unanswered questions"

This brings up a chronological list of anything with my GA user name.
This includes recent comments and such... It searches the title of
questions as well as the body...

~~Cynthia

Thanks Cynthia,
Yes, is figured there must have been some sort of mechanism
to keep track of questions (both answered and unaswered).
Very interesting! Goodness only knows how many questions
get asked in a 24 hour period. But is seems as if they never
stop. Great service, as a customer/client I certainly enjoy
using the service provided. Keep up the good work and thank
you for you comments. Kind regards from: Roger

Hi, Roger!

I can always tell when a special question has been posted for me,
because my ears itch. ;-)

~Pink