I'm pleased to report that my furnace is finally really fixed. They didn't show up until 7:45, but it only took them about a half hour. Whew.

P-C, in response to the cancellation of DLM, we canceled Showtime. So hah! Then we ordered DVR, because we couldn't imagine the cable bill being...you know...cheaper.

Speaking of working appliances.

Remember my dead mouse in the kitchen wall story?

WELL.

Another mouse climbed into the fridge motor and stopped it cold. No pun intended. I had to schlep all my food downstairs to the liquor store coolers.

But the fella who came to fix the fridge seemed competant, so I mentioned that, for 6 years, my stove has been zapping me every time I touch it with wet hands. (who needs a defib? come on over for supper!)

He did some tinkering, discovered a defective ground, fixed it and now, for the very first time, the clock, timer and clean function...well...functions!

It's like a little holiday miracle. (except for the dead mouse parts, may they rest in peace and not stink anymore.)

t /easily pleased

eta: congrats Deena. I share your joy.

Skipping all but the last 100.

I, too took the ACT, but cannot remember what I got.

I wonder if I can find out?

ETA: Apparently for $19.

No thanks.

Tests fascinate me. Thus, lots of things to say.

got 5.0 out of 6, graded in half steps.

Exactly the same score I got. I, too, was disappointed, until I learned that each and every one of my best friends got exactly the same. Including two literature majors. With 3.8+ GPAs in the major. So I relaxed.

I did the SAT in 7th grade thing, too. It had something to do with Duke University, I don't really remember.

I took the ACT for it, but it's the same program. At the time it was called "TIP," the "Talent Identification Program." If you did well enough (arbitrary scores were set as "well enough") then you were invited to participate in summer programs at Duke or Davidson college. I did a couple of them, one at each school. They were great fun. One of the most important growth/learning experiences of my life and whatnot.

got an invite to MENSA along with a National Merit Scholarship

I was annoyed that MENSA stopped accepting the SAT/ACT as reasonable tests to judge (though it was a sensible decsion on their part, I believe) because I don't want to pay to take a real IQ test just to be able to say I'm smart. So I just go around saying I'm smart instead, and when people challenge me to produce my MENSA card I talk about math until they go away. It works.

There was probably math he has never even seen.

No "probably." There was definitely math he hadn't seen. I believe a 530 math is probably above that TIP cutoff I mentioned earlier, I know it was a 21 on the ACT. If he gets a chance to go to one of those programs, and that's why he took the test, you should encourage it if you can afford it.

I don't remember the math on the SAT. I remember it on the GRE.

They are pretty much the exact same. The GRE math is only very very slightly more advanced (which is why my perfect 800 on the math nets me a mere 92nd percentile, while my 690 on the verbal gets me 95th. Crazy.)

Do people even take the ACT anymore?

It is very very common in the deep South. My high school (in Tupelo, MS) gives it every couple of months, but I had to drive for an hour to a community college to take the SAT. From what I can tell, most Californians and Arizonians do NOT take the ACT, and the east coast is almost exclusively SAT, even more than out here.

The ACT is totally a better test. But ETS is much better at convincing people to take their tests than whoever does the ACT, for some reason.

Note: All of my above statements are about today's SAT and GRE tests. Many of you old elderly more mature aged wiser and sexier Bitches probably took a slightly different version with very different statistics. There were huge changes sometime in the late '80s or early '90s.

Also, congratulations to -t! I love baby pictures. Thus, I love babies in Bitches.

Polter-Cow needs to be a writer.

I wish I did not have a cold.

Super sekrit mssg for P-C: Tegan and Sara are on Conan O'Brien tonight.

Super sekrit mssg for P-C:

Those names make me think more of Dr. Who....

Gah, beej. I don't even know what to say.

I hope you really like where you live, even with the live/deadstock and the wonky electricity.

even with the live/deadstock

Now that was a concert!

Congratulations, -t!!!

I think I got a 790 verbal and a 700 math on the SATs (mid-90s). I test pretty well, partly because, like JZ, I really like puzzles and multiple choice questions and such.

Sunil, I loved reading your description of the village. Makes me want to get out my pictures of India... but I think I should probably go to bed instead.

I think that the PSATs are scored differently than the SATs, anyway they used to be. I think I got something like 98s, and I was a National Merit Finalist. I must admit, though, that it has been so long that I'm not sure; I could just be blowing steam on this.

I've always done well at standardized tests - not an indicator of future performance, as others have mentioned. When I took the SATs as a junior, I had 650 verbal, 540 math. As a senior, it was 650/650. I guess that makes sense, but it annoyed the heck out of me that my verbal didn't go up. But it annoyed the smart/driven guy at school that it went up so much without any studying, and that was almost worth it. I really rocked on the ACT (29). Even with the scores, I still ended up going to a state school - the University of Alaska is not exactly known for their history department! It was fun, though, and for the rest of my life, I can brag on living through the coldest month in Fairbanks history, which is the only good thing about living through the coldest month in Fairbanks history.

You would think that it would be easier for me to remember the GRE scores, as those were so much more recent, but I have no idea what they were. I just remember that I missed the last paper test by about a week. I liked the electronic test much better, though, because you didn't have to sit around and wait for the others to finish each section.