Here?s a puzzle for all you researchers and commenters.  I wasted a
huge amount of my Sunday devising this just for the fun of
entertaining you with it.

The theme is the GA community.  Fill in each blank with the first
letter of the name or word suggested by the clue.  When completed, the
initial letters spell vertically one of the major attractions of GA.

If a researcher is the first to solve the puzzle, the researcher
claims the fee.  If a commenter solves it first, I will close the
question and pick up the tab (for the same amount) for a question of
the winner?s choice.

(Disclaimer:  I have no offline sources of information.  I got it all
right here somewhere.  If I have made any mistake or any wrong
inference, it is my responsibiliity, and I offer my apology in
advance.)

Apteryx


__ = MISSY?s area of specialty
__ = The next thing after sublime
__ = Field of TUTUZDAD?s career
__ = She spelled her own name wrong
__ = ROBERTSKELTON?s nationality
__ = Customer who posted the most-commented-on question ever
__ = Being who knows everything
__ = Word to follow ?ace?
__ = Source of UMIAT?s GA handle
__ = PINKFREUD?s city of residence
__ = Science subcategory
__ = Health care editor and researcher
__ = AHT?s profession
__ = What LELI, LINER, and LUCIAPHILE have in common
__ = Researcher in the Philippines
__ = Profession from which DIGSALOT is retired
__ = Actor who?s going to play JUSTASKSCOTT at PROBONOPUBLICO?s masked ball
__ = The name is Ron
__ = Offscreen role of a wooden actress
__ = Sample question:  ?Hiking in --?
__ = Country that is home to SCRIPTOR and POLITICALGURU

== End ==

---

Request for Question Clarification by bobbie7-ga on 11 Apr 2004 22:24 PDT

Hi Apteryx!

Could it be Collaborative Learning?

-Bobbie7

---

Clarification of Question by apteryx-ga on 11 Apr 2004 22:41 PDT

Oh, no!  That took no time at all!  Sort of like cooking a major
meal--three hours in prep, and wolfed down in ten minutes. 
Gratifying--and yet--and yet--

Well, you got it, Bobbie7.  Next time I ever attempt such a thing, I
am going to make all the questions harder, and I am going to set it up
so that the answer must be the result of collaboration!

Congratulations on getting it, anyway.  Good work.

Apteryx

Hi Apteryx!

I know how you feel when you say "Sort of like cooking a major
meal--three hours in prep, and wolfed down in ten minutes.
Gratifying--and yet."

It has happened to me many times in the past. 

In any case, this was a fun question to answer. :)

Thanks,
Bobbie7

I'm sure glad you enjoyed it, Bobbie7.  Thanks for playing!

Apteryx

What a great idea!

Of course, there's always someone who is excessively bright who gets
there light years before us lesser mortals.

Me? I'm still struggling with 'MISSY?s area of specialty'.

I think that it's '24 Hours' but, if this is wrong, could I have a clue please?

Many thanks

Bryan

Sure, Bryan.  It starts with a C . . .

And you might want to look at how she answered Granny's question about
the top GA researchers in each field.

*Your* wonderful questions provided *lots* of raw material for this exercise!

Apteryx

But what are the answers of each line??

Oh, Apteryx, you are TRICKY!

Missy never answered Granny's question, did she?

In fact, NOBODY answered Granny's question: it was one of those that
was NEVER answered and, in fact, it expired OVER 12 MONTHS AGO.

However, Missy did comment, as follows:

QUOTE
I consider myself a generalist ? thanks to years and years of
ruthlessly playing Trivial Pursuit for blood, ?favors? and the promise
of the indentured servitude of opponents? first born children, I?ve
gained quite a body of general knowledge.  I?d like to think that I?d
do well with any subject presented.  After all, researching isn?t
about already knowing everything, but knowing *where to find it*.
END QUOTE

And there you have it ... in Missy's own words, she considers herself
a 'Generalist'.

So, once again, you tried to trick me by saying 'It starts with a C ...'

But don't worry, I will solve this eventually, despite those misleading clues.

Bryan

Bryan,

I think you're being too modest, old thing.

And that's a hint, too.

(I didn't say she posted the official answer--but she did respond to it!)

Apteryx

Ah, livioflores, glad you asked!  Maybe the fun isn't over yet. 
Bobbie7's correct solution offers a second clue to each line.  Which
ones can *you* answer?

Apteryx

Hi, Apteryx

Is it too late to submit my entry?

G	Generalist	MISSY?s area of specialty
R	Ridiculous	The next thing after sublime
E	Excellence	Field of TUTUZDAD?s career
A	Arbra Streisand	She spelled her own name wrong
T	Tasmanian	ROBERTSKELTON?s nationality

P	Probono	        Customer who posted the most-commented-on question
A	Aceresearcher	Being who knows everything
T	Two	        Word to follow ?ace?

I	Ironmongers	Source of UMIAT?s GA handle
T	Tulsa	        PINKFREUD?s city of residence

W	Worldology	Science subcategory
A	Anlon	        Health care editor and researcher
S	Solicitor	AHT?s profession

V	Vivacity	What LELI, LINER, and LUCIAPHILE have in common
E	Easterangel	Researcher in the Philippines
R	Rent Collecting	Profession from which DIGSALOT is retired
Y	Yvonne de Carlo	Actor who?s going to play JUSTASKSCOTT at PB's Ball  

E	Esterhazy	The name is Ron
A	Authoress	Offscreen role of a wooden actress
S	Saudi Arabia	Sample question:  ?Hiking in --?
Y	Yugoslavia	Country that is home to SCRIPTOR and POLITICALGURU

Warmest regards

Bryan

I'm always happy to hold the door open for you, Bryan.  Fabulous work.
 I am SO impressed.  But--who's Pat?

Apteryx

Yvonne de Carlo?!?

Truly, I look more like Herman than Lily Munster.

But if you need an actress to play me, how about Janeane Garofalo? 
Brainy-looking with the glasses, and shares my basic political
outlook.

This is one of the best GA threads ever! Thanks to all of you. I
laughed so hard that my kitten Cyndi went into a panic and hid under
the bed.

Hi, Apteryx

Who's Pat?

Is actually another question.

May I draw your attention to the Terms & Conditions of our service?

(Actually, I considered it rather Apt.)

All the Best

Bryan

Did Aptyrix make a comment?

And, what do I have in common with Leli and Luciaphile?  Although, I
really like Probonopublico's version.

I like Bryan's answer too, liner-ga, but I suspect the answer to
apteryx's question is that we three simply have handles starting with
the letter "L."

Regards,
luciaphile-ga

Bang on, luciaphile.  My clues and answers are pretty prosaic, all in
all.  It was Bryan's cleverness and gift of humor that turned this
game into something special.  My favorite is the double twist in his
answer to "She spelled her own name wrong."

Bobbie7, what do you think--should we supply the answers line by line?

Apteryx

Nah! Let them keep guessing. It's much more fun.

Hi everyone...

I just found this thread while working on Bryan's new question,
'A Pinkfreud Tribute Question: A Collection of her Gems'
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=332064

Here's what I came up with:


Cooking = MISSY?s area of specialty
One = The next thing after sublime
Law = Field of TUTUZDAD?s career
Apteryx = She spelled her own name wrong *NOTE*: This was the only
          reference I could find to a misspelled name, which results
          in 'collaborative' being misspelled as a result.
Australian = ROBERTSKELTON?s nationality
Bryan = Customer who posted the most-commented-on question ever
Omniscientbeing = Being who knows everything
Researcher = Word to follow ?ace?
Airstrip/Alaska = Source of UMIAT?s GA handle
Toledo = PINKFREUD?s city of residence
Instruments & methods = Science subcategory (on GA)
Voila-ga = Health care editor and researcher
Engineer = AHT?s profession

L = What LELI, LINER, and LUCIAPHILE have in common
Easterangel = Researcher in the Philippines
Archeology = Profession from which DIGSALOT is retired
Robert DeNiro = Actor who?s going to play JUSTASKSCOTT at PBP?s
                masked ball
Nronronronro = The name is Ron
Inventrix = Offscreen role of a wooden actress
New Mexico = Sample question:  ?Hiking in --?
Germany = Country that is home to SCRIPTOR and POLITICALGURU

I await your feedback...

sublime1-ga

Oops...imagine my embarrassment.

Of course, Pinky's town should be Tulsa.

I am certain that Toledo is not a big enough town to comfortably house
both me and Missy. Nor, for that matter, is Tulsa. Expansive minds
need lotsa room, y'know.

Why, thank you, Sublime1!  Practically perfect in every way. 
Except...I'm a pretty reliable speller, and I checked everything in my
puzzle at least four times and in several different ways.  <looking
again>  Nope, I didn't spell anything wrong.

Also, I believe Tutuzdad's field is law enforcement.

Anyone want to offer another hint on that L name?

Apteryx

Apteryx...

I must respectfully point out that I was referring to another
thread in which you spelled your name wrong *twice* - once as
'Aptertx' and once as 'ApterYYYYYX':
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=211673

However, was able to locate the name which allows COLLABORATIVE
to be spelled correctly: Larre

Your humble servant...

sublime1-ga

Oh, undeniable, sublime1.  Sometimes I even blow the spelling of my
real name when I write a check or sign an e-mail.  I called myself a
pretty reliable speller, not an infallible one.  But--there is no
misspelling in my puzzle, I do say that.

And Larre is the answer I had in mind, right there at the same
question (#80023) that told us where Umiat got her name, and
Pinkfreud, and lots of other folks we know.

Good going, and thank you for playing my game.

Apteryx