Hmm. I’d give statistics and stuff, but friendtest.com seems to have forgotten that I have an account with them and I can’t log in, even though the test is still up. Weird. Oh well…

Edit: Finaly found the correct login. Statistics added below.

Question 1: Let’s start out simple: Duncan lives in…
__ Chicago, IL
__ Apex, NC
__ Holly Springs, NC
__ Joliet, IL
__ Anderson, SC

Well, maybe not as simple as that. I spent that latter part of my teen years in Anderson, SC (where my parents still live). I lived in Joliet, IL from 1998-2000, then Takaza and I moved to Holly Springs, NC. We sold that house in April, 2003, and we now live in Apex, NC (which is just eight miles north of Holly Springs, but whatever). 70% of the respondents got this correct

Question 2: Which of these jobs has Duncan NOT done?
__ Radio DJ
__ Graduate Student
__ Line Cook
__ Environmental Engineer
__ TV Camera Operator

This one was also a bit tricky. I was a radio DJ at WTUL-FM (Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, 1986-87), WSBF-FM (Clemson University, Clemson, SC, 1988-1991), and Radio 74 (St.-Julien-en-Genevois, France, 1993). I was a graduate student at Virginia Tech from 1991-1995. I worked briefly as an environmental engineer as a side job while in grad school in 1994. And I was a TV camera operator for TUVAC (Tulane University Video Access) from 1986-1988. For all of my love of cooking, I have never once had a paying gig doing it! 55% of the respondents got this correct

Question 3: For a few weeks in college, Duncan was a…
__ Lead singer in a rock band
__ Nutritional consultant
__ Assistant to the Dean of Students
__ Bartender
__ Sanitation engineer (garbage man)

Wow. Only three people got this right out of the 31 people who took the test. The correct answer is that I was lead singer in a rock band. It only lasted for a few weeks – I was a fill-in for a band that was in the slow process of breaking up. The band was called Catharsis, and they did a lot of covers of old Genesis and Yes songs. I was brought in because I could so a passable imitation of Jon Anderson, but unfortunately the drummer and the lead guitarist got an invitation to join another, much better known band, and things broke apart after that. Missed this question? Don’t feel bad, so did my mom 🙂 10% of the respondents got this correct

Question 4: Duncan got his undergraduate degree at…
__ University of Georgia
__ Virginia Tech
__ University of South Carolina
__ Bob Jones University
__ Clemson University

Clemson University, baby! Go Tigers! Virginia Tech is where I got my Masters degree, so that threw a few people off. U. of Georgia and U. of South Carolina are hated rivals of Clemson – boo! hiss! And to the two of you who put Bob Jones University, all I ask is that you read the front page of http://www.bju.edu and re-think that answer! 33% of the respondents got this correct

Question 5: The one food that Duncan won’t eat is…
__ Liver
__ Pickled Beets
__ Brussel Sprouts
__ Fish of any kind
__ Mushrooms

I love new and different tastes, and there’s almost nothing that I won’t at least try. I love liver (and especially pate’!), Brussel sprouts and almost any green vegetables, fish if prepared properly (and I love sushi!), and mushrooms are just divine. Pickled beets, though, have this nasty, sweet-sour taste that for some reason just makes me gag. No beets for me, thanks. 40% of the respondents got this correct

Question 6: Duncan is __ years older than Takaza.
__ 3
__ 4
__ 6
__ 8
__ 10

This one was kinda hard unless you knew the exact dates. I was born in 1968, Dan in 1976. 8 years apart (go May-December relationships!) 43% of the respondents got this correct

Question 7: Duncan has never owned this vehicle:
__ Ford F-150
__ Plymouth Horizon
__ Saturn SL2
__ Buick Regal
__ Honda Element

My first car was a 1982 Plymouth Horizon – what a piece of crap, but it was free from my parents. After I went off to Tulane, my sister took possession of it. When I started going to Clemson in 1988, I purchased a 1979 Ford F-150 for $1 from my parents, and what a great truck that was! I drove that until 1996, when I realized I had to get a car that was more suitable for commuting and got more that 12 miles per gallon. I purchased my first Saturn SL2 then, and traded that in for another SL2 in 1999 (this one with an automatic transmission, so Dan could drive it). We purchased a Honda Element this year, of course, and because of the way the financing worked it’s solely in my name even though Dan’s the primary driver. And while Dan drove a Buick Regal when we first met, that was all his – that’s the answer. 40% of the respondents got this correct

Question 8: Duncan has visited all of these places except:
__ Mount San Jacinto in California
__ UN Headquarters in Geneva
__ Statue of Liberty in New York
__ Picadilly Circus in London
__ Space Needle in Seattle

Well, first off, the UN Headquarters is in New York (the UN facility in Geneva is the Palais des Nations, primarily a complex for meetings and offices – thanks for the correction, Rama!). Nevertheless, I have been there – for a few months, I was sound engineer for a reporter who had an interview show on the aforementioned Radio 74. This took us to the Palais de Nations, as well as the US Embassy in Geneva, where I met the US Ambassador to Switzerland. I have relatives in Palm Springs, CA, who we visited in the early 80’s and got to go up Mount San Jacinto, which is right next to Palm Springs. I walked past Picadilly Circus during a brief visit to England in 1997. Dan and I visited the Pacific Northwest in 1999, and toured Seattle and the Space Needle then. No, in spite of the fact that I lived in Connecticut and New Jersey from 1970-1981, I have never visited the Statue of Liberty. 27% of the respondents got this correct

Question 9: Duncan is a…
__ Chemist
__ Chemical engineer
__ Refinery engineer
__ Materials engineer
__ Railroad engineer

I have both a bachelors and Masters degree in chemical engineering. In case you’re wonder what that is, a chemist says, “Put X in with Y to make Z.” A chemical engineer says, “OK, then we’ll use this pump through these pipes to get X into the reactor with Y, then feed the resulting Z out through filters and this heat exchanger to the drum it off.” Or, as I say in short form: Chemical engineers are very expensive plumbers. 87% of the respondents got this correct

Question 10: Before he left the Society for Creative Anachronism, Duncan’s title was:
__ Baron Duncan MacKinnon of Tobermory
__ Count Duncan MacKinnon of Tobermory
__ His Lordship, Duncan MacKinnon of Tobermory
__ Sir Duncan MacKinnon of Tobermory
__ Lord Duncan MacKinnon of Tobermory

This was pretty tricky unless you know how the ranks in the SCA work. “Sir” indicates the person is a knight, and since I have never been a fighter, that’s right out. “Count” means someone has been king once, and again, since I’m not a fighter that’s impossible (and there’s something particularly messed-up about that, but that’s an argument for another time). “Baron” and “His Lordship” (i.e. Grant of Arms) are conferred titles, which I was never given. No, I ever had was a simple Award of Arms, giving me the title of “Lord”. 40% of the respondents got this correct

Well, I hope y’all enjoyed the quiz! Again, I would stress that I don’t consider it a test of friendship – there was a lot of stuff in there that I may not have ever mentioned to you. But hey, if nothing else, it was an opportunity for you to learn a little more about me.