It’s been a long time overdue, but we’d like to finally announce our next Featured User of the Month. Let’s congratulate Rob Nock! He’s been with Answers since May 2007.

In Rob’s Own Words…

“My wife and I live in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, USA along with our son Eric and his dachshund, Thor.  We relocated to this area nearly twenty-five years ago so that my wife, who is an optometrist, could take over the private practice of an eye doctor who intended to retire.”

“Bloomsburg (population approximately 12,000, not counting the student population) is the county seat of Columbia County, Pennsylvania, and home to Bloomsburg University. The University is now the largest employer in the town and a major economic force in the area.”

Bloomsburg Town Square

“[Bloomsburg] is also home to the largest annual fair in the state. It is used throughout the year for a variety of events – antique car shows, horse shows, trade shows and competitions to name a few.  The main, week long event, held each fall in late September ~ early October is The Bloomsburg Fair.  Daily attendance is often in excess of 100,000 persons.”

The 2010 Bloomsburg Fair

Rob’s Past

“I grew up in what was then a rural area of Pennsylvania about 35 miles outside of Philadelphia during the post World War II era, an early member of the “baby boom”.  When I graduated from high school in 1965 I enlisted in the U.S. Army and spent the next four years training for a highly classified Military Intelligence position and then serving outside the United States.  It was at this time that I began pursuing my lifelong interest in photography.  As a result of my photographic skills, security clearance and posting in an area near the German-Czech border I was asked to photograph classified response efforts of the Soviet incursion in Czechoslovakia in the Summer of 1968.”

Rob's Victorian Home & Wife's Optometry Practice

“After leaving the military service in 1969, I settled with my (now ex) wife and our young son in my home town.  I began working as a camera salesman for a specialty retail chain.  An unfortunate accident took the life of our son in 1972 and our marriage never recovered from the loss, in 1974 my ex moved to California and eventually divorced me.”

“In January of 1980 I began working as a computer programmer and, after a few bumps, began to advance in my career as a programmer analyst.  In 1986 I met an optometry student named Betsy and in November of 1987 we were married.”

“In the early ’90s I became a self employed programmer analyst taking contracts with various companies.  I continued that business until 2001 when Betsy and I adopted our son.”

Eric & Thor

“In 2006, I was diagnosed with cancer and began chemo-therapy but an associate from my contracting days helped me land a position that allowed me to work from home most of the time and by the time I finished chemo therapy and the contract was expiring I was hired for another contract as a tech support specialist working from home.”

“From 2008 onwards technology jobs became more difficult to find, so when I became eligible for Social Security retirement benefits I applied and since that time have been devoting my time to photography in the hopes of running a Photography Studio as a retirement business.”

Meet Rob!

Rob & Answers

“I do not remember the exact specifics of hearing about Y! Answers but I remember being aware of it before I started participating.  I believe I heard about it from one or two of the Yahoo camera/photography groups that I was active with.”

“I believe my first answer was this question about chemical photography vs: digital photography”

What about chemical photography?

“My favorite categories have to do with cameras and photography but I also like to answer questions about computer hardware and software, politics, U.S. History (especially the Civil War and 20th Century/WW II), movies, and relationships.  I will also answer questions in word games, art, music or other categories if I see a question that piques my interest and I feel qualified to answer.”

“I prefer to give a few high quality answers, particularly when I see answers to a question that give incomplete, misleading or inaccurate explanations. If I disagree with someone or they disagree with me I hope to respond in a pleasant and respectful manner.  If I am treated disrespectfully I tend to have pretty thick skin and will give people the benefit of the doubt that they are either having a “bad hair day” or have misunderstood a concept or point.”

Rob’s Free Time

“Besides working on Y! Answers I am starting my business as a semi-pro photographer.  I also maintain the household, serve as the family cook, teach Sunday School and volunteer for various community services such as: Red Cross Meal On Wheels every 7~9 weeks; volunteer at a unique local service organization called “Agape” where I work most Thursdays as a volunteer chef/food coordinator serving a community meal. I also serve as a Cub Scout volunteer leader (and soon to be Boy Scout leader) for one of the local Pack/Troops and a volunteer counselor at Cub/Boy Scout Summer Camps; and do numerous activities for our local Episcopal church congregation.”

Thanks for reading,

Meet The Singer. She’s been a member since May 2006.

In the “Singer’s own words”

“This was like receiving an “academy award” in my opinion”

“I was a Christmas baby - born on Wednesday, December 24, 1952, in Bessemer, Alabama. My father was a minister and my mother a teacher and nurse. When I was six months, I was told my dad, searching for better employment, left Alabama and we relocated to Gary, Indiana.”

“I grew up in several neighborhoods and finally settled on Polk Street, not yards from where the Jackson family lived.  I attended Garnett Elementary School along with Tito, Jackie, and Jermaine Jackson.  They went on to Roosevelt, while I went to Carver.  I was nine-years-old and I remember the times when the whole neighborhood would be filled with their music as they practiced.  They were not allowed to play with other kids that much.  They always kept their heads down and rushed home from school.  Eventually, my father and mother separated and my mother took my sister and I back to Alabama, where our grandfather had a ‘family home’.”

Meet The Singer!

“I was shy, but loved music and would come home from church after hearing the spiritual and gospel songs and would repeat what I had heard on our family’s piano.  One day, my mother’s piano teacher, Mrs. Willie Emma Smith, heard me, and encouraged my mom to allow me to take music lessons. That was the beginning of my musical career”

“My Uncle was the deacon and janitor of the church.  I can still see the deacon standing in the doorway of the church, and asking me “Do you know how to play that thing?”  I responded, “No, but I can play some songs”.  He said, “Do you want to take some lessons and learn”. My response of course was ‘yes!”  He gave me a year’s free lessons with one of the most significant musicians of our town”

“By the age of 12, I was playing organ and leading our Youth Choir and Sunday school.  One evening, my aunt brought home some visitors.  They were Art Tatum and Lee Morgan.  It was a girl’s first love!  Lee Morgan was not only handsome, but was a talented horn player with plenty of records to his name.  I had no idea of the company I kept.  He would sit with me and teach me jazz chords and encourage me to play and sing for myself.  He signed his autograph for me and later when I was in college, our family had an opportunity to see him and Art in concert.”

“I continued to play and sing, but during this time, the civil rights movement was at fast pace. One Sunday, we were in church service and on a small transistor radio that one of the members had on IN THE MIDST OF SERVICE, my aunt decided we would leave and make the trek to Selma. Just before approaching the marchers, my aunt, in her Electra 225, slowly pulled up as close as drivers could get and in the midst of soldiers perched in trees with rifles, heavy loaded trucks and other vehicles, opened the doors and told us to get out and walk. Dr. King was surrounded by so many people, but saw my sister and I, and pulled us forward.  We walked with him for at least five street blocks.  It was like nothing I had ever experienced before”

“While in college, I joined a singing group (SOFTOUCH) and was managed by Billy Henderson, of the Spinners.  He prepared us for performing, singing, and taught us all that Motown had been.  We were taught to dance by Cholly Atkins, and had musical arrangements and voice lessons by the best.  Eventually, we recorded a single entitled “After You Give Your All”…I was the lead vocal.  Can you imagine what it was like for four young women to hear their voices on the radio for the firs time?  It was like nothing I can even explain now.”

“Eventually, we went on to record an album, “SOFTOUCH’ (you can find our material on YOUTUBE) and I was the lead singer.  When the group eventually moved to California, we continued recording and working.  We were like the “80′s version of the Supremes.  My time in California was wonderful!  Because I could play and sing, I was offered positions in the film industry to act, play and perform in several movies.”

Softouch

“After an array of earthquakes, a marriage, a child, I decided that I wanted to turn my attention back to teaching and left California so that I could devote my time to rearing my daughter.  I began teaching Middle school Reading and Language Arts and have been happy ever since.”

“In my spare time, I enjoy reading, and playing piano and singing as well as administering advice to the Answers column. My future plans include brushing up my songs list and heading for the shores of Durbin, South Africa to entertain and teach.”

Thanks for reading,

Meet batraylover. She’s been a member since 2006 and is a Top Contributor in Toys.

Let’s get to know you

“Originally born in Perrysburg, Ohio, a town most people have never heard of, I found myself in Southern California at a very young age. I have always had a passion for children, and spent many years teaching Sunday school, working in preschools, and working in daycare centers. I also provided in home childcare over the years. My favorite age group to work with is preschoolers, I love the 3-5 year old age set. I think it’s my favorite because they haven’t had time to make conclusions about the world yet, they are so innocent, sweet, and trusting.”

“When I stopped teaching, I spent some time writing curriculum, which I distributed on the web site 4 Shared. Eventually, I stopped writing curriculum, that’s when my love of toys came out on Yahoo Answers. I began researching toys “just for fun” and it quickly turned into an obsession. Now I enjoy checking databases for toy prices and helping people locate toys from their childhood. This love of toys has made me Top Contributor in the Toys section.”

“I love the ocean, so much in fact that I don’t eat seafood. I just think of all the cute dolphins and fish swimming around out there, and I think how can I eat them? Many people ask me about the nickname “batraylover”. A lot of people think it says betraylover and they think that I was betrayed by a lover in the past and I’m bitter about it. A bat ray is a type of ocean creature in the skates and ray family. They are related to stingrays, devil rays, eagle rays, and manta rays. The bat ray is my absolute favorite ocean creature, so I use it as my nickname on websites that I frequent.”

Batraylover's favorite ocean creature

“When I’m not on Yahoo Answers, I spend most of my time watching DVD’s both from my home collection and from Netflix. When I’m not watching DVD’s with my boyfriend, we enjoy doing things together. Our favorite place to go together is down by the bay to watch the ships pull in and out of the harbor. We are blessed to live in such a beautiful city.”

“Speaking of my boyfriend, we met on Craigslist of all places. I fell in love with him through e-mails and phone calls long before we ever met in person. The day we met, we knew that it was meant to be. We’ve been together since January 2008, and we have so much fun together.”

“He’s a big kid, and so am I, so we are perfect for each other. We are both Disney fanatics, I ordered a princess birthday cake for my big 30 which I celebrated earlier this year. I have also become a Star Trek fan, okay perhaps fan is not a strong enough word since I own a talking Tribble and am a member of Starfleet International.”

Princess birthday cake for batraylover's 30th

Oh Answers, Where did you come from?

“I stumbled upon Yahoo Answers on December 5, 2006…wow that seems like forever ago! At the time, I had used Google to search for an answer to a Math question for my college computers course. The question back then was “How do I represent the decimal number 10 in base 3?” I received a very helpful answer, and that was when I was hooked on Yahoo Answers.”

My Favorites

“My favorite question that I ever asked on Yahoo Answers was about Star Trek. I had just met my boyfriend, and I was getting ready to watch a Star Trek Movie for the very first time. I wanted to impress my boyfriend by knowing all of the characters names (because who doesn’t know the Star Trek characters?). So, I turned to Yahoo Answers and got a fabulous answer from Gregory: Star Trek Characters – Need Answers Quick? As comical as this answer seems now, boy did it help me back then. I was able to identify the characters when we watched the movie and impress my boyfriend (we are still together, yeah!).”

“To date, I have answered 12,835 questions and 4,843 of those have been named best answers. I’ve given a lot of answers over the years that I have loved for many different reasons. Some, like “Little Plastic Dogs That Pee” are just plain hilarious.”

“And then there are those questions like “Is It Possible To Fall In Love With Someone You Have Never Met?” which I really enjoyed answering because my own life experiences prove that it’s possible. My advice to anyone who is thinking about giving up on the dating scene is that there is someone out there for everyone, and sometimes when you least expect it, love will find you!”

“I hope that Yahoo Answers is around for a very long time to come, and I would love to see them add more levels, as I reached the maximum level 7 ages ago!”

Thanks for reading,

So now let’s introduce our August featured user…

Jade Orchid. She’s been a member since 2006 and is a Top Contributor in Horses.

Ready to enter Jade-world?

Okemah's famous Hot & Cold towers

“Although born in Mesa, Arizona I work as a liquor store manager in what I consider to by my hometown of Okemah, Oklahoma. The birthplace of Woody Guthrie, and home to the annual Woody Guthrie Festival, my town is small and fairly quiet with a rich, and sometimes strange, history. I live here with my fiancé, Stephen, and my daughter Eirynn, who was practically born while I was using Y! Answers.”

“I’m a master of nothing but I’m skilled at a variety of things; my life is very eclectic, to say the least. My fiancé says I’m a “jack-of-all-trades” but I feel my true talents and gifts are the desire to learn, a natural curiosity, a will to try new things and succeed, and the desire to help others”

“I’ve worked as a nurse’s aide, a cook and waitress, a professional housekeeper, a retail clerk, a secretary, and I’ve owned my own business besides what I’m doing now. I love creative crafts like drawing, painting, photography, sewing, and beadwork. Board games, tabletop games, and video games are also something I greatly enjoy and play when I have some spare time. I’m also an avid outdoor enthusiast who loves to fish, hunt, rock climb, kayak (I’m my hometown’s only urban kayaker), camp, and hike. I also like to study prehistoric man and survival techniques like flint knapping, primitive hunting and building techniques, and herbal medicine”

Meet Jade!

“Another true passion of mine is animals. I’ve been privileged and blessed in my life to have been able to raise many domestic animals such as pigs, goats, cows, chickens, ducks, and geese, just to name a few. I’m also able to boast experience with wolves and wolf hybrids, both in their natural state and in captivity, and being able to participate in wild animal rehabilitation. My real joy, though, are horses; of which I own three, Monty, Brutus, and Dakota”

Top Contributor - Horses

Jade and Answers

“In the first year of being on Y! Answers I started the first user based group dedicated to Y! Answers, Yahoo Answerholics Anonymous, or the “Answerholics” for short as a place to discuss Y! Answers and chat with other members. I invite anyone who loves Y! Answers to join. Over the past six years I have answered questions in almost every category, but I favor the Horses and Beer, Wine, and Spirits categories. My personal favorite questions and answers are:

Am I a wuss for wanting to throw in the towel and take my maternity leave? – This is one of my favorite questions because I asked this question hours before giving birth to my daughter. Boy, did I feel lousy. LOL

Why does peroxide bubble? – This is my one of my favorite questions because I felt it was thought provoking. I was the first person to ask a question about it on Y! Answers.

If your pet could talk… What would it say? – This is one of my favorite best answers because, well, it’s pretty funny and you know that’s EXACTLY what your pet is thinking. LOL Sometimes I just love to answer silly questions that are just plain fun.

What is in Reliance Horse Feed? – This is one of my favorite best answers because it is a supreme example of how far I’m willing to go to answer the “unanswerable”. I spent three days researching and calling around to feed companies to find out the ingredients and nutritional content of this particular brand of horse feed. It’s not the first time I’ve spent days researching an answer and it won’t be the last time, I’m sure.”

Thanks for reading,

– 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.”

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.”

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.”

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!

- 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!

To continue our Featured User blog posts, we’re delighted this week to highlight an amazing member of our community, Cecilia, aka Calimecita.

Cecilia/Calimecita was born in Argentina, and although she’s always lived there, her Welsh and Scottish ancestors triggered her interest in the English language she learned as a child. Yahoo! Answers has been a great place to practice her English skills. In this series of posts, she’ll tell you about her country, her remarkable job as a mammalogist and of course her passion for Yahoo! Answers!

Ready to enter Cali-world?

Mar del Plata, by Calimecita

“The small town where I live–City Bell–is near La Plata, one of the major Argentine cities. City Bell is a peaceful suburban place, with detached houses and large gardens, where everyone keeps pets and people still greet their neighbors when they pass each other on the street.

“I work at the Natural History Museum of La Plata, a neoclassical building with impressive collections, especially those of fossils, archaeological materials, and mammals. “The museum building has several structural problems, from plumbing to security to electricity, and it’s too crowded for comfort, but I still love the place.

Sea Lion by Calimecita

“I’m a biologist. Specifically I’m a mammalogist, so I study mammals. I’m currently in the last stages of my doctoral thesis thanks to a scholarship from the local university, so hopefully next year I’ll be Doctor Cali!

“I study the digging specializations of the tuco-tucos, a family of subterranean rodents that are native to South America. They’re small stocky things that look a lot like the pocket gophers from the US and the Old World mole rats, because they’re convergent, which means they occupy similar adaptive niches and have several common features that evolved in response to similar selective pressures.

“Basically, what I do is compare them with other species to gather data about their morphological similarities and differences. This, together with other sources of information including fossils, helps to understand their evolutionary history.

“There’s no fixed routine at work; sometimes I’m reading and writing, analyzing the data, etc. To obtain my data, I examine and measure their bones and muscles, which are quite different from ours. Tuco-tucos are specialized diggers, and they have very strong forelimbs with long claws and powerful muscles. If we had arms like that, we’d all look like super-super-heroes and we’d be able to dig our own homes!“Workwise, I also teach in the Vertebrates course at the local Faculty where I am a graduate teaching assistant, and a basic Ecology course.”

In the next post we’ll look at her interests and hobbies, and learn what she likes the most on Yahoo! Answers.

Five of her great Answers:

• What is a zoologist?
• Do all mammals have hair?
• Do you think science will ever bring back the Woolly Mammoth from extinction?
• Do elephants have toenails?
• What is the difference between a moth and butterfly?

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!Leave a comment below with a link to the user’s profile or best answer or email the Answers team y_answrs_editors@yahoo.com