Yahoo! Answers

– Willeke, 71,306  points, Level 7, 66%

Every so often we,  the Yahoo! Answers Team see someone on Answers that goes above and beyond the norm, providing such great contributions that they deserve to be celebrated.  Previous contributors in this category include Spellbound, Tunisian Belle, Calimecita and Victor. This time the spotlight turns to Willeke, an expert in travel and… well, perhaps we’ll let her tell you in her own words.

Meet Willeke

“I am Dutch, still live in the village in which I was born.  It is not to far from Amsterdam, but completely separate, there are about 5 towns and a city between us and them. I have been a regular visitor in Amsterdam all my live though.”

“I work fulltime, and have some time consuming hobbies besides. One I can combine with going to work, I ride a recumbent trike, as my main transport. For longer distances I often use the train, as I do not have a driving license (out of choice.)”

“My main hobby is tying knots, I have done that ever since I was a child and still spend time on it. I am a member of the International Guild of Knot Tyers, which is a world wide organisation devoted to knots, their history, practical uses, new developments and everything else there is to know about it. Here is a link to their website.”

Discovering Answers

“It is through knots that I met Yahoo answers, March 28, 2007, I saw a knot question on the page of a Yahoo group I was (and still am) a member of. I was drawn into Yahoo! Answers by that and am here ever since.”

“When I started I did answer in Hobbies and crafts, knot related but also other crafts. Since then I have moved toward travel more. Netherlands and Other Europe, and train questions in several more spots on the boards. About Europe I answer general questions, about all the places I have been often enough to know what I am talking about. (Although I do use search often to refresh my memory for factual things.)”

“I like helping people, in searching for answers I have learned a lot. I do not ask questions, as most of the things I need information about are very specialist, and I go to where the specialists are. Or they have been asked before and I read the older questions and their answers.”

Some great Best Answers from Willeke

• What’s there to see in Luxembourg?
• How can I travel by train in Europe?
• Is Spain similar to all of her previous colonies?
• Any advice on good cheap hostels in France, Italy, Belgium, Germany?
• I’d like to do the river cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest in mid March. What would the weather be like?
• What exactly is the big difference between a hostel and a hotel/motel or a boarding house and where can I find a list of hostels both in the United States and Europe?

Willeke on her fellow Answers contributors…

“I admire most top answerers in the European travel sections, but as there are so many, it is very hard to name only one. All have their knowledge and specialist areas and all are friendly towards each other. But one answerer that stands out to me, who I meet in several categories: Mariner31. Always good answers, friendly advice and mostly out of experience, not just from reading the book or website.”

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We’ve seen a lot of activity lately on Yahoo! Answers and the Forum related to the new “Cash for Clunkers” program. Community members want to know how it works and what the time frame is for taking advantage of the available funds.

The Consumer Assistance to Recycle and Save Act of 2009 was signed by President Obama on June 29. The program it outlines is officially called the Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS) and is designed to help consumers pay for a new, more fuel-efficient car or truck. To qualify for the rebate, you must work with a participating dealer and purchase a new car that is more fuel-efficient than the old one you’re trading in.

The rules are still being determined, but the program should roll out by July 24 and will end November 1, 2009, or whenever the funds run out-whichever comes first. So if you think you’d like to take advantage of this opportunity, you probably shouldn’t wait too long once the program kicks off.

In the meantime, here are some qualifications to keep in mind:

Your trade-in vehicle must have a “new” combined city/highway fuel economy of 18 mpg or less, be in drivable condition, and have been continuously insured and registered to the same owner for the full year preceding the trade-in. It must also have been manufactured less than 25 years before the trade-in date.

Top Contributor Shelby’s Best Answer offers more in-depth information and step-by-step instructions–check it out here.

Shelby points out that this program is designed to benefit:

*Consumers – provides something tangible and useful in this economic environment
*The economy – supports the automotive industry which plays an important role in the overall health of our economy
*The environment – allows us to get greener faster
*New vehicle dealers – provides a tremendous opportunity to reach out to a huge base of customers

For the most current information, visit the official government site at www.cars.gov.  For the official (new) fuel economy ratings, visit www.fueleconomy.gov.

We’d like to send a special shout-out to Shelby for taking the time to provide such a detailed and informative answer to a topic that so many of our community members have been asking about.

Do you have a gas-guzzler that qualifies for this program? Is the rebate enough of an incentive to get you seriously thinking about trading it in? Leave us a comment and let us know what you think of CARS, aka “Cash for Clunkers.”

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“I won’t send a picture of myself since Answers is meant to be confidential but here is a picture of my great-grandfather taken in about 1908 because people say I look more like him every passing year.  He was then about the same age I am now.”

Every so often we come across Answers users who are so wonderful we have to share them with you all as a Featured User. So meet Victor: author and expert contributor with a nearly 70% Best Answer percentage who’s been with us since spring ‘06. Why did he join? He saw someone write that recession and inflation were the same thing. And when someone else answered that the French Revolution came before American Independence, well, he had to step in. Answers has been the better for it ever since.

Some great Answers by Victor:

• How did Napoleon’s downfall lead to his death?
• How long is it going to take for the economy to completely fail?
• What does the expression ‘economies of scale’ pertain to?
• Was the enlightenment period a positive or negative influence on Europe?
• In Physics why does equation E = MC2 use the square function?

Get more Best Answers from Victor…

Meet Victor…

Yahoo! Answers Team: What do you enjoy about answering?

Victor: “Two parts to it.  First, I like to think that my answers are interesting and may be helpful for someone who needs to know.  Secondly, it’s a kind of competition with myself: how much do I know about this subject that I can write down? I’m willingly ignorant about some things and wouldn’t ever answer on those, but some subjects are very close to my head and heart, and I stick to those.”

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?  Where are you based?

“I spend about half the year in South London and the rest at Igatpuri, Maharashtra, India because my wife is Indian and there is a big family there.  Although I’ve worked in education and the Civil Service, I’m self employed now, so I can find work in both places and India is nicer than UK between November and April.  At this moment, therefore, I’m at Igatpuri which is 19 deg N of the Equator and about 73 deg E of London.”

You seem to answer in some quite diverse categories, such as history, economics and mathematics – can you explain a little about your interest in these areas?

“I went to university in the early 1960s and studied mathematics and economics, and then did a Masters 15 years later in management sciences [maths in business and engineering].  I’ve written books on these subjects.  However, my real intellectual love is history and I’ve studied that formally and informally since childhood – but you can’t make a living from it!  I did a minor in my BA in history, especially the development of government and democracy in Europe and N America.  As you see, I’ve a big interest in a range of subjects and special knowledge is some of them.”

Does work, education or your own personal experiences inform your choice answering?

“Mostly, I answer from personal knowledge or from academic research interests.  If a question is about business, management or government then I can answer from experience, and the same goes for maths and economic theory.  History involves judgement as well as knowledge and I try to bring both into my answers.  For a time, some weeks ago, I was a Top Contributor in History but then that status was removed.  I don’t know why or if the removal indicates something I’ve done wrong.”

Can you tell me more about where you live (some of the year) in India?

“Igatpuri, to be honest, has been a rail station and truck stop until this past 5 years. Now it’s a boom town because of the dual carriageway highway from Mumbai to Nashik, and the opening of the big Mahindra diesel engine plant. The town is a pilgrimage centre because of the Vipissanar meditation centre and ashram, and the old temple of Ghatendevi (goddess of the mountain).  Attached are two images with names to indicate which is which.  The elephant statues at Ghatendevi are carved out of wood and covered in stucco, which is whitened each year.”

“The town is located at about 1300 metres (4400 ft) above sea level and the mountains behind the town rise to about 1900 metres (6000 ft).  Igatpuri is in the Nashik District of Maharashtra, which is the centre of the Indian wine-making industry and produces some very fine vintages, similar in style to California and some Australian types.  See, for example www.tigerhillvineyards.com.”

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We’re happy to introduce our next Featured User: Blading Kid—a community member who has managed to get to Level 6 in a relatively short amount of time by answering questions primarily in the Friends section. Blading Kid has racked up a total of 1,550 answers so far, honing in on unanswered questions from people who are looking for advice and support from their peers. From Blading Kid’s own words:

So why am I answering questions in the Family & Relations: Friends category? Well, I happen to have a profound interest in human relations and human nature. This interest propelled me to educate myself on such topics, primarily the non-family, non-dating part of human relations.

Yahoo! Answers offered me a chance to use what I’ve learned and apply it in real-life situations to help others (and also to show off my knowledge. ;-p). The convenient format and environment of Yahoo! Answers also attracted me. Besides, I find it enjoyable!

I typically always hang out in the Friends section, because that section happens to be the category that I’m best at. Also, the fact that most questions are from peers of my age or younger also attracted me.

When not on Yahoo! Answers, Blading Kid spends time on various hobbies. Currently, Blading Kid is passionate about inline skating:

As for my hobbies, I love chess! Or at least I used to…I began playing chess in late 2004 after being taught by a fellow chess player at my school’s chess club. Soon I was absorbed by the game and won the title of Kentucky State Seventh-Grade Chess Champion the following year. I continued to play chess in various small tournaments and won countless first-, second-, and third-place trophies and over $1,000 in cash prizes over the next four years. For example, I won the 2008 North Florida High School chess championship, and came in second in the East Florida H.S. Chess Championship and was invited to Invitational Superstars. But my interest in chess soon began to wane as I became more and more immersed in aggressive inline skating, which is my current hobby, and where my Yahoo! Answers nickname, “Blading Kid,” was born. I don’t know if I’ll ever go back to chess again. Time will tell.

Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us, Blading Kid!

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“I first got into Yahoo Answers by accident.  A friend used it & she said it was really good – one day curiosity got the better of me, and I’m still here.”

- Spellbound: 30,127 points, Level 7, 65% Best Answer

Every so often we like to profile some of the amazing answerers we see on the site like Tunisian Belle and Calimecita. Today we are happy to put the spotlight on Spellbound: our resident history expert. Russia is his real passion but he is able to answer questions on many subjects. But don’t just take our word for it–here are some of his Best Answers:

• Did Joseph Stalin command the army during the Second World War?
• Why did the Art capitol move from Paris post-War?
• What was the significance of the Soviet satellite nations?

Spellbound in his own words…

“I’ve always enjoyed history, probably that comes from being taken round castles in North Wales as a child, but I also think that the past is alive, because the consequences of actions taken hundreds of years ago can have a direct impact on our lives – Magna Carta being an obvious example.

I am, by education, a Russologist, specialising in the late Soviet period.  I find the USSR fascinating.  It was such a mysterious place, as Churchill said of it “Russia is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma”.

Other than the Soviet period, I love the medieval English period.  It was such a theatrical period, with larger than life characters, such as Simon De Montefort and Owen Glydwr.

The most misunderstood period of history is probably the Roman period.  In school Roman history is taught as though it were a homogenous, unchanging entity, whereas it was a fluid, dynamic ever changing creation, so much so, that the late Roman period bears little relation to the Rome of Julius Caeser and Augustus.

My favourite question is probably “Why did Germany surrender in 1918?”

The reason I like this question is that it is a clear question, the questioner sounds as though they are interested in the topic – it’s not just for homework help, and although the question may be a simple one, to answer the question well requires a detailed, well thought out answer.

Favorite answer? I have so many, but I think Brother Ranulf always provides food for thought, I thought the questions were really interesting and his answers are really well researched and thought out.”

Some Best Answers by Brother Ranulf, chosen by Spellbound:

• What happened to unchivalrous knights?
• How were monk’s animals and possessions protected in a Viking raid?
• After the Norman Conquest in 1066, what buildings were destroyed and what was built?

Know someone who’s “wowed” you on Answers? Think somebody deserves to be celebrated as next Featured User on the Answers Blog? We want to hear from you!

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