I thought it might be helpful to have a master list of topics that query tracker members would be able/willing to answer questions on if anyone needs to do research. If I can have one of the mods sticky this, then it'll stay at the top for easy reference. Members can PM me with areas that they'd be willing to help with and I'll add them to the master list.
I'll start with me
Edit: Decided it would be easier to put them in alphabetical order...
Amanda dl: I teach foreign policy and international relations... have specializations also in the Middle East and North Africa (politics, (some) history, foreign relations).... know pretty well from spending a lot of time there both Sudan and Lebanon.... have spent a bit of time (enough for some questions) in Egypt, Turkey, Jordan, Morocco...
also I was born, grew up in, and now live near Washington DC, so I know its streets, social life etc to some extent. Also I've seen university politics and carryings-on for many years so the Ivory Tower stuff I can do.
also my adorable husband is a mathematician and knows a lot about physics as well.
Archetype: I'm a clinical psychologist and a college professor, and I've taught at both the community college level and the 4-year-private-school level. Photoshop junkie. Photomanipulator. Computer geek.
Chelc: expert in all things teen/ High School!! knows all the Lord of the Rings movies by heart?
Grey's Anatomy and Lost expert'
Elknutswife: I'm pretty good with history (European, Russian, Egyptian) Marie Antoinette, Catherine the Great, Elizabeth I (I know a lot about Henry VIII, etc) Lucrezia Borgia, etc, studied China and Japan a bit but mostly European countries), mythology (classical, Norse, Egyptian, etc), Pompeii/Herculaneum (the cities that were buried by a volcano) silent film, poetry, hula dancing, NICU (early birth type stuff) lived in Hawaii for a year and was engaged to a gorgeous Samoan for a few months and he taught me how to open a coconut with a stick, climb a palm tree, spear fish, cook a pig in the sand, tattooing the ancient way (did a paper on that) ....all kinds of fun islandy stuff, lived in the south for several years, anything hunting, gun or bow related, construction or remodeling related, or managing a restaurant I could ask Mr. Elky about.
Emjohns: Both my husband and I are elementary school teachers. So teaching, public education, anything kids might say/do/think/go through under the age of 12. I know some older kids too, but am not as ingrained in their culture as I am in the 12-and-under category. I can't believe I'm going to admit this, but I was in the band for years. I can still play two instruments. *The shame!* So music, etc. PTI. Husband can help with anything sports.
Gypsygurl: worked as a flight attendant for two years (have experienced a blown engine, rapid decompression, and had a plane fill with smoke and had to emergency land and evacuate on the runway...also know
a lot about Federal Aviation Regulations, caving experience (worked as a guide for 2+ years and worked on digs), has crossed the country on Greyhound, basic backpacking knowledge. I have a couple friends who are archaeologists and one who's a firefighter who would most likely love to answer any questions about those topics. (I'm sure I'll add more as I think of things..)
Jacinda: Flight Attendant/Aviation. I'd be willing to help with questions on Cryptology, Opera, and...uh...Battlestar Galactica?
JeanneT: Horses and horseback riding. Sword fighting (not fencing--they're different). Cooking. Scottish and English history. Archery (not expert but middling skill so I know some). Professionally--newspapers.
Katekquinn: BFA in theatre - info on both off and onstage stuff, theatre history, musical theatre, and also took stage combat, mime, speech, ballet, tap, and jazz classes. MFA in Film and TV Production - so know some about film behind the scenes stuff and screenwriting. I am also a bit of an entertainment news junkie. Has worked as a factory worker (only lasted a week, but that was all the insight I needed), office temp, Olive Garden waitress, Melting Pot waitress, and Niagara Falls tour guide. Attended a Catholic school for nine years and lived to tell the tale.
Kiddoc: I'm a pediatrician. I can probably tell you whether something adult medicine is plausible, too.
MarvaD: was a programmer/tech writer for years, worked for several years in the State Court system in Oregon, knowledge on how the courts function--mostly from the POV of how courts use computer systems (ans: poorly). Husband was a demolition consultant for years, and also knows Morse Code (was intelligence pre-VietNam in the Phillipines tracking the VietCong's communications).
MissJava: I have a music degree, specifically with band. Can share about autism (my son has it). Life on a grain farm in Iowa.
(meaning: corn and soybeans, not livestock. However, they have had some cows and pigs in the past. So if you need info on it, I can probably help in some degree.) Husband does some blacksmithing on the side. His favorite to make is knives.
Patrick: I spent a few years in the Army guarding the "wall" in Germany before it came down. There's computer and internet stuff. Raising kids as a single father.
Reallyrosie: Though I am betting there are lots of English majors on the board, I would say my areas of expertise are 19th century lit, particularly Austen/Brontes/Eliot, and all things Shakespeare. I am also a high school teacher, former editor/feature writer, did a book for teens on body image, though I'm not as up to date on those issues as I was several years ago. I'm pretty good on the whole teen world/teenspeak--my sons are 21, 16, and 14. Been around education a long time and have a very good sense of a high school culture. I love antiques and collectibles, vintage film--I'm strong on this, by the way, and clothing and design. I have some rudimentary sewing knowledge, but clothing only, not crafts. Finally, as a born and bred Jersey girl, I have a weirdly eclectic knowledge of my too-often-trashed little state, particularly Jersey shore stuff.
Hope I can help!
RobinG34: I'm one of the co-authors of Howdunit, Book of Poisons. Also, as a journalist, I'm trained in the hows of interviewing and research, including historical research. Finally, my husband works in the City of Los Angeles (CA) archives and he doesn't mind me forwarding requests. I write a lot about parenting and television
Sarahjen : Well, I have 10 brothers and 2 sisters, so anything family oriented. I've seen it all!
I study theater and dance in college. I take Martial Arts. I have 3 brothers who are lawyers and another entering law school this fall. I have a brother who worked for Nascar as a journalist, but now sales insurance. My brother-in-law is Military Intelligence and speaks fluent Japanese, Arabic, Spanish, and some Tongan. (He's Tongan, but is only learning it as an adult.) I have a sis-in-law who is Samoan and speaks it fluently. I have two brothers and a sis who speak Spanish, but all lived in different places to learn it, so if you need Mexico Spanish, Argentinian, Spanish, or how they speak it in Toronto, Canada, you know where to come. Anything and everything Football related! I'm also into health and fitness, and doing things the natural way. I love guns. Was a soccer coach. Oh yeah! My dad taught school for years. Math, Political Science, History. He also worked at a steel plant for years. My mom has read a billion books. And she takes care of her divorced parents in her home, ones blind and almost deft and the other is suffering from dementia. And yes, there are still kids at home too! I have two sil's that speak and write French fluently. So yeah.
Senshi: Canine Behavior and modification, Sewing and Quilting, I used to be in a rock band, Paranormal Research, 16th Century Japan, Near death experiences...I've had five
Suzy_Q: Anything aviation; flying jets and tail-draggers, mechanics, aerodynamics, mapping, etc. Stone masonry. Home improvement type stuff. Gardening. Driving to Mexico City. Carpool (ugh!) Power tools. Baking. Lacrosse. All things parenting. cattle ranching and horse training, desert camping and hiking. Anyone who needs to see photos of strange, desert rock formations.
Teen-writer : I can help in:
How to research the appearance of random locations throughout Earth, US History, Hebrew, Spanish, How Israel looks like (I'm there right now)m traditional Polish guilt-tripping family dynamics, dieting, high school sociology, anything teenager, Polish food, Israeli food
Tradergirl: Financial Markets, Banking Laws, Economics, Oil and Energy, Alternative Energy, Organic Rules and Regs, Genealogy, Cooking, Knitting, Vermont, The Big Apple.
V.: If anyone ever needs information about guns, types, how to clean, aim ... anything or how to make ammo I can help there.
Wiggypop: Yoga/Prenatal Yoga. My husband has degrees in film and literature. Southern culture and dialect. Real life ghost stories. Geology and discovering oil (daughter of a geologist). Worked in: Greenhouse, park, restaurant, managed large women's clothing store, mens clothing. Can bait a worm and gut a fish. Also, I have very close ties to an acupuncturist/ Chinese medicine doctor. And I know many homeopathic cures for common ailments.
