no.stupid.answers

One of our most dedicated and passionate contributors – not to mention our awesome volunteer Special Project Assistant (SPA) leader extraordinaire (say that ten times fast!) – has a user name that reads like a quirky oxymoron. It’s Stupid Little Genius. What – you ask yourself?!!? You read right… It’s Stupid Little Genius. Dying to know more? Well read on to learn about how this most eyebrow raising user name came to be and get the inside scoop on one of WikiAnswers’ best and brightest.

What is your WikiAnswers user name and the history behind it?

My user name is Stupid Little Genius. It’s actually a nickname that my brother gave me when we were littler. I once bought a chess set while on holiday and, with some time to kill, we set up a game. I’d only played a few times before and my brother is four years older, so naturally he had the upper hand. After six moves, I moved my queen into a place where he could obviously take it, which he did, saying “stupid…”. I made my next move while he said “little…”, and then looking at the board, pausing in disbelief he uttered “GENIUS!” as he realised he was in checkmate after only seven moves! The name just kind of stuck!

Are you a Floating or Category Supervisor (which categories)?

I’m a Category Super and look after these categories: Wild Animals, Service Animals, Insects, Butterflies and Moths, Spiders, Ants, Jokes and Riddles, Waterfowl, Animal Life, Amphibians, Salamanders and Newts, Birds, Flightless Birds, Birdwatching, Birds of Prey, Songbirds, Fish, Freshwater Fish, Saltwater Fish, Invertebrates, Crustaceans, Mollusks, Crabs, Lobster, Shrimp, Clams Oysters and Scallops, Octopus and Squid, Slugs and Snails, Bats, Reptiles, Alligators and Crocodiles, Lizards, Snakes, Wild Cats, Wild Dogs, Dodos, Emus, Ostriches, Penguins, Sharks, Prehistoric Animals, Dinosaurs, Microbiology, Arachnids, Scorpions, Ticks and Mites, Wild Turtles and Tortoises, Worms and Centipedes, Cryptids and Legendary Creatures, Jellyfish, Lemurs Bushbabies and Aye-Ayes, Geese, Swans, Eagles, Falcons, Hawks, Owls, Vultures, Beetles, Crickets, Locusts, Grasshoppers, Caterpillars, Alpacas, Sloths, Hedgehogs, Gazelles, Anteaters, Jaguars, Feral Cats, Cockroaches, Flies, African Wild Dogs, Mosquitoes, Extinct Animals, Boas, Cobras, Pythons, Rattlesnakes, Iguanas, Chameleons, Geckos, Rays, Wombats, Starfish, Seahorses, Dragonflies, Seabirds, Ocelots, Rudyard Kipling, The Jungle Book.

What other badges do you hold on WikiAnswers?

Senior Supervisor, Mentor, Category Supervisor, WikiGuide, Bug Catcher, Green Thumb, Alternates Specialist, WIT Adult Advisor, Double Platinum Contributor

What is your first name?

Jane

What is your age?

24

Do you have any pets?

Yeppy^^ A dog called Lucky, a budgie called Bertie, two mice called Tinker and Snowball and five fish called Jaws, Chopsticks, Sushi, Ketchup and Salad Cream.

Where do you live, how long have you lived there and why do you like the area?

I have lived in the south of England since I was born. I like it here because it’s nice and quiet with loads of wildlife but I’m a stone’s throw from two cities!

What educational information would you like to share?

I went to school in St Anne’s Convent School in Southampton. Then I attended Itchen College in Bittern, where I studied Maths, Music, Psychology and Art at A-level. Then I went on to Portsmouth University where I earned a 2:1 for BA(hons) in Fine Art.

What are some your past and/or present occupations?

I’ve worked in a Pharmacy and as a home tutor in maths and English. Now though, I’m unemployed and not able to work, although I take the odd commission for art work when the opportunity presents itself.

What is/are your key area(s) of knowledge, interests or expertise?

I love to draw animals, and as I draw, I like to find out things about them, so animals have become a real interest for me. It’s great to find out a little more about what your drawings as it helps give a little character to the animals! So as well as knowing all about art I know a lot about animals, too. ^^

Do you have any collections or hobbies?

I collect antiquarian books. I’ve a real passion for reading and love the books that are older volumes. Although I never intended it to become a hobby or collection, I have far too many books to count! Among the groaning book shelves I have large amounts of Wells, Dickens and Kipling, as well as books on folk law and fairy tales from around the world.

What do you like to do for recreation?

I love to read, and draw/paint and Wiki of course I also play piano and guitar and am learning the sax, too.

What are a few random facts about yourself?

I have a habit of typing ^^ when chatting. It’s an old habit picked up from a friend from Korea. Many people ask me what it means, apparently I confuse them with it! It’s just a different way of doing . It’s a shortened form of (^-^) and basically just means happy or smiling. I’m happy a lot so I ^^ a lot, too!

Do you have any special talents you’d like to share?

Just my art work. Ever since I was little, I’ve loved to draw, but it wasn’t until I was about 15 that I really saw it as a future.

What accomplishments are you proud of?

I’m proud of all my studies. Being dyslexic meant that a lot of people told me that studying was a waste of my time and that I’d never go to college or Uni or anything like that. Being the stubborn person that I am, it only made me more determined to do the things they told me I could not. It was hard work fighting for my place of courses, partially in Maths, so I’m proud that I proved them wrong and got the grades! I hope I showed a few people along the way that you can’t judge a person by labels that are placed upon them!

What are your special goals or dreams?

I would love to start a little side business one day selling Pet Portraits, with a little web site and the like where people could submit their photos for me to draw. ^^ But that’s probably a pipe dream.

What brought you to WikiAnswers?

LOL I was asked how many kids the Queen had, so typed it into Google. WikiAnswers was the first hit and of course had a great answer! The next time I had a question to ask, I thought I’d give it another go and ever since then I’ve been hooked!

What keeps you coming back to WikiAnswers?

The community and all the great people! Everyone is just so nice and friendly! It’s a real pleasure to be a part of such a wonderful and caring group of people! I’ve met some of the nicest people I’ve ever known on this site and would love to thank everyone there for making it such a lovely place to come to everyday. ^^

What is your favorite WikiAnswers activity?

The thing I love doing the most on WikiAnswers is helping all the SPAs! They are just such a great team of people and they all work so hard to help out! Everyone is different, and it’s just wonderful to see so many going on to do great things on the site! It’s a pleasure wiki-ing with them all! ^^

For the past two weeks, we’ve read about Jadeacres and ThatwouldBme, self-declared WikiNeighbors who reside on their cozy, friendly farms in Ontario, Canada. This week we’ll bring it all together with a deeper look into how the relationship between the two Wikiholic Supervisors runs deeper than just the actual WikiAnswers website… It’s a WikiWorld full of neighborliness, t-shirts… and eggs.

In their own words, Jadeacres and ThatwouldBme share some highlights of their WikiWorld:

On being WikiNeighbors.

ThatwouldBme: It seems that Jade Acres and Snugglefoot Hollow are a fascination within the Wiki-community. With the e-verse the way it is, people make friends worldwide, and yet, sometimes, fate passes you wonderful people and puts them right next door.

Jadeacres: Jade Acres is not only a refuge for us. The coffee is always on and the doors remain unlocked 24 hours per day. Family and friends drop in from hundreds of miles distant on a whim and there is room for all.

ThatwouldBme: When my husband and I returned to Canada we settled into this place like we were born here. That’s very nearly a miracle considering Galad is from the city (New York, New York) and we are now living (as he says) half way to the back of beyond. We got a great place, with lots of property and a nearly new house, but there had been very little done to “tame” the place.

Jadeacres: The day Deborah and I drove up to the house with the moving truck, we had barely started unloading our possessions when a shout from the long laneway caught our attention. Up the drive trudged a couple of “hippies” in the most traditional sense of the word. Both had long gray hair, tied in ponytails and bandannas, Ty-dyed retro clothing, work gloves and the worlds friendliest smiles. Within minutes, we were the best of friends and today they are “family.” Both Galad and Shell share their hearts and home as readily as we do and better neighbours could not be found in a lifetime of searching.

Shell is often found sitting at our dinning table making use of our high speed internet connection and soon became as much the Wiki fanatic as myself. It was not long before I had convinced her to become a Supervisor. As a “Veteran” of WikiAnswers (all of a few months) I asked and was allowed to become possibly the first face-to-face Mentor in WikiAnswers history and help guide her through the rules and Terms of Use policies.

As of this writing, the ‘couple of hours per week only on Wednesdays’ promise by Shell has fallen by the wayside. It is not uncommon for her to be here, happily Wiki’ing on Monday, Tuesday, always by 10AM on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

The story behind the T-shirt.

Jadeacres: A small bit of background info on Shell. She is an artist, somewhat well-known in the area and beyond our borders. She is often commissioned for her work and can command high prices for her skills.

Within a few days of becoming her Mentor, I found a green T-shirt folded on our table. It was to become the WikiT I would wear each Wednesday at our regular weekly Wikithon. Front and back it is decorated by hand, announcing to all who see, that the wearer is empowered and assisted by SuperPowers and aided by two dogs and a rooster.

ThatwouldBme: It has been my personal pride to say I will paint very nearly anything on very nearly anything, and T-shirts are an old favourite, I‘ve done dozens.

James is so pleased with his connections with WikiAnswers, and proud of being asked to become a Supervisor. So when his birthday arrived I needed to do something special. It doesn’t take long for ideas to percolate from my imagination into a full blown finished project, so the day before his birthday I hooked a ride with him and his Deb into town.

Anyway, we did our usual round of buying, laying mash for the chickens, groceries for both households, as a retired chef, grocery shopping with James is a true experience, (but that is another story), then on to a department store to pick up a couple of things, including a green T-shirt as the “ground” for his present.

Back home, the shirt was washed and hung to dry while I sketched out the rough draft. Then I ironed the shirt, opened the bottles of paint and painted the pocket.  When the folks of Jade Acres arrived the next evening for cake, ice cream and celebrations, the T-shirt was sitting on the table next to a birthday card. I wish you could have seen James’ face… he couldn’t believe I had managed to do the work in such a short time – after all, he’d seen me buy the shirt the day before and here it was, done.

Come WikiWednesday I set it on the table for him, and it has become a formal part of our days at WikiAnswers.

Friendship through… eggs.

ThatwouldBme: When James started raising chickens I found the perfect canvas for a new project. From Jade Acres came an array of the most fascinatingly-coloured eggs, which I took and painted on. At first it was wildlife, then after painting a butterfly on one for a client, I had the wild idea of painting my “Butterfly Divas”. They are tiny little fairies, with wings that look like real butterflies, and they are dressed in “high fashion” clothing from different eras. I even did a series of eggs with belly dancers on them for a local shop (a chance to combine my art and my weekly diversion of ethnic dance).

Of course, Jade Acres has a good sized collection of painted eggs, not to mention the hand-painted Christmas balls I’ve done over the years. James and his family have become so much more than just neighbours, they are dear friends.

Jadeacres: Breaking News! I breed Araucana hens and occasionally some Cochin chickens, and on a whim this summer I bred a few for egg colour variations, hoping for some interesting variations. Araucana chickens give us the blue/green eggs and Cochin hens lay rose/light brown eggs. Well it seems to have worked. This past Christmas Eve, while gathering eggs, one of my new girls (hatched in July) gave us her first egg. Wait for it… A GOLD egg! Under artificial lights, the egg appears a deep khaki colour not often seen by breeders. When under natural sunlight… these eggs are GOLD.

I will give some to Shell for special artwork.

A big thanks to James and Shell for so enthusiastically sharing their story with the rest of us! Hope to hear more great things from this Wiki-duo soon.

Missed part of the story? Click for Part I and Part II.

Do you want to be interviewed for the Contributor corner? Just leave a comment below and we’ll get to work.

What do you get when you combine a strong spirit, boundless creativity and a generous personality? Stupid little genius! No, that’s not an insult – it’s quite the compliment (read on to find out why). Stupid little genius has averaged 10,000 contributions a month since she joined just over 6 months ago, and one gets the feeling she’s only just begun.

Stupid little genius is a senior supervisor. She keeps an eye on dozens of categories inside Animal Life, among them (to mention a few obscure ones) Cryptids and Legendary Creatures, Jellyfish and Lemurs, Bushbabies and Aye-Ayes. I could go on… but I’ll let her introduce herself in her own words.

How did you originally hear about WikiAnswers?

I actually found WikiAnswers through Google. Quite boring, I know, but I had just come out of hospital after having surgery on my hip and wasn’t able walk about or get a job or anything.  WikiAnswers gave me the chance to do something constructive with my time. I love to learn and read and such, so it was the perfect place to spend my months of recovery. After a few weeks of playing around I was lucky enough to become a supervisor and ever since then I’ve been addicted!!

What motivates you to volunteer your time to the WikiAnswers community?

It’s just a great community! The people just make it so much fun to contribute. Plus, I can’t bear to see vandalism, incorrect answers, or mis-categorized questions!! I just HAVE to fix them!!

What is your area of expertise?

My main area of expertise has got to be art. Painting, drawing, modeling, animating, I love it all!! I completed a BA(hons) in Fine Art last year, and am looking to get a job somewhere in this area.

I can use all kinds of media, like acrylic, watercolour, pencil, charcoal, pastel, plasticine etc.  I also do a lot of stop-frame animation and this became my final year project at uni! I made little plasticine animals and animated them with Lego men to create stories about man’s effects on the environment. And when I got bored in the middle, I made a little Lego Darth Vader use a light saber to chop off the head of a hippo. Sadly, the tutors wouldn’t let me use this as a look into the future and it got left out of the final film…

On WikiAnswers, I specialize in the animal questions. I know it seems odd at first, but I love to draw and paint animals more than anything else, and as I do, I love to find out all about my subjects! So although I specialize in art, I know a lot about animals too.

What is the funniest question/funniest experience as a Supervisor on WikiAnswers?

There are so many questions that have made me laugh! Others just make you cringe… Here are a few that just made me laugh:

• Can people mutate animals to become Pokemon?
• What do you do to make a radioactive spider out of chemicals?
• How old on average is a 13 year old?
• Can you cook a fish in a dishwasher?

But out of all the questions there is one that bugs me, simply because I cannot find an answer! And that is:

Do bees sneeze?

I really want to know if they can sneeze and the reason why! I’m not really sure why I want to know but I do!

Share a random fact about yourself.

I think the most random thing about me is my username. And it’s got a cute story behind it too!  It was a nickname given to me by my brother many moons ago. We were on holiday by the sea and killing time. I’d just bought a lovely glass chess set and so we set up a game. I’d only played a few times before and my brother is four years older, so naturally he had the upper hand and liked to let you know it. After six moves, I moved my queen into a place where he could take it.  He did this saying “stupid…”. I made my next move while he said “little…”, and then looking at the board, pausing in disbelief he uttered “GENIUS!” as he realised he was in checkmate after only seven moves!

Do you want to be interviewed for the Contributor corner? Just leave a comment below and we’ll get to work.

You know what I love finding on a Sunday afternoon? Cyber journalists and bloggers referring to Answers.com when they are looking for information for their articles. Doesn’t matter what the subject – sports, celebrities, politics – I love it all.

Here are some of the latest – in fact, they cover sports, celebrities and politics!

• At SeattlePi.com, Jim Moore learns a new word – internecine – from Answers.com. While he now gets the meaning, he has yet to figure out how to pronounce it (hint: use the pronunciation tool at the top of the page!)
• The Gaston Gazette celebrates the works of John T. Biggers with an article about the world-renown artist; credit for facts about his life go to you-know-who.
• OpedNews researches the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act as part of their article on government snooping.

There are no stupid answers, which is why I feel comfortable answering this question:

How old is she today?

She is 37-years-old! She is also Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Connelly, in case you weren’t sure. It says so in Today’s Highlights, which are updated everyday on the Answers.com homepage.

Another famous birthday for today includes the lovable, huggable Bob Barker, former host of The Price is Right, who turns 84 today.

Then there are these two dead guys whose birthdays were today also… Hell, let’s list them; they may be dead but their legacies live on in the form of art: Gustave Flaubert, French author of Madame Bovary and Edvard Munch, Norwegian artist who painted The Scream.

Happy birthday, famous people, some of whom are already dead! And happy birthday to non-famous people, too!