If your best friend began talking of suicide and asked you not to tell anyone, would you be willing to honor their request?

• Yes, it's their life to do with as they see fit.
• Yes, but I'd do my best to talk them out of it.
• No, I'd find help for them.

What is up with some of these questions? There are three reasons to break any confidence: 1) the person is an immediate danger to themself; 2) the person is an immediate lethal danger to others; 3) the person is an ongoing danger to a child. Period.

So much better to have a pissed-off friend than a dead one, or to be friends with a murderer or (more likely) willing to trust a drunk driver not to kill themself or someone else. I'm also not really forgiving of people who abuse kids.

Trust is important, but people do STUPID things and it is better to have some guidelines around risks vs. trust than to trust blindly in all situations. Duh!

Are you smarter than the majority of people on this planet?

• Yes.
• No.

Without a lot of ego - yes. I'm smart, capable, and well spoken.

I'm in Mensa - by the numbers, I'm somone with a higher IQ than 98% of the population.... but only by the numbers. Ignore for a moment the possible cultural and gender bias of IQ tests - testing the "intelligence" of someone is still a very subjective subject. (There is a counterargument - bonus points if you know it!) Still, the only reason I joined was for the cachet of being a "card carrying genius" (i.e. it looks good on a resume!).

MENSA = My Ego Needs Some Attention.

*Shrug* Anytime I get too big headed, the world humbles me.

You come home to discover your lover incapacitated due to alcohol and/or drugs. He/she has left a note requesting that you take sexual advantage of him/her. What do you do?

• Anything and everything I want.
• Only those things my lover usually enjoys.
• Nothing.

Why should I reward bad behavior? This is something that would have to be EXTENSIVELY negotiated for... I will say that this is something that I just don't get at this point in my life.

"Incapacitated" to me means "unable to consent". And just because someone thinks that they will consent before getting smashed, doesn't guarantee that they still will 18 drinks into it...

Have you ever killed an animal bigger than your thumb?

• Yes
• No

Okay... this bugs me. I've euthanized animals who were clearly in pain, as well as being a meat eater I have killed many animals by proxy. I'm answering the question honestly, but I somehow think that this isn't all the options.

Would you rather have your dream job or your soul mate for the rest of your life?

• Dream Job
• Soul Mate

Okay... I'm revisiting this.

The notion of "Soul Mates" is an evil lie, spread by Hollywood to sell lots and lots of movie tickets! There are greater and lesser compatibilities, but one person to complete you? WTF!

There are people who you can get along with, be friends with, who understand how you think, who can accept faults, who can anticipate a partners needs... BUT - is this someone who you can do the same with? All the time? The world isn't going to leave you alone! Even if you find a "Perfect Relationship" what do you suppose the world is going to do? Stand up and cheer? In large, it will be indifferent. Some will envy and try to either spoil it or take it, some will cheer it... "Soul Mates" is poisonous because it trys to convince people that they should leave the people they are with because there is an undefinable 'someone' out there who is supposedly perfect, real, or fill-in-the-adjective for ourselves. Learn to love your f-ing self, already.

The funny thing is, I am a romantic. Love is the greatest of all emotions, but not for the reasons tha most people think. Love itself hurts like hell... and it is up the person who is loving to endure that hurt for the sake of others. It is being loved back that feels so wonderful. Real loving - caring for someone, giving without even thinking of asking for anything in return - that is truely worthwhile. It doesn't diminish yourself. Letting people fall, make thier own mistakes, letting them learn and grow, especially when you know that they will continue to make those mistakes if you intervene sucks. I mean really, really, really. And what would you be doing it for? To keep someone with you? THAT is what being in love is. WANTING to help, to keep someone with you. It doesn't mean helping to the detriment of others, just the desire to keep someone with you.

You have to love yourself. You HAVE to. If you can't, you're screwed. If a person can't love themselves, then they find themselves constantly projecting their own wants, needs, desires, and (worst) dreams on their partners.

For Goddess' sake, you live in the world! NOTHING is perfect, why would you expect a perfect partner? Get over it already!

If a fortune-teller offered to give you a completely confidential reading that no one else would ever know about, would you want it?

• Yes.

• No.

Okay, why is this supposed to be significant?

Framed another way: I AM A "FORTUNE TELLER". I'm a skilled Palmist and Tarot reader, and have been reading professionally for years.

I suppose this is for those who wouldn't otherwise be known to consort with one of "those" people... and surprisingly I've seen this kind of attitude.

How do people justify asking me if I believe that God has condemned me to hell for doing readings? Jesus, protect me from your followers.

Have you ever written a book?

• Yes.

• No.

Would a 60+ page play count for this? I wrote a "mystery dinner" for my birthday last year... it was fun plotting my own murder, in a weird sort of way.

Assuming he was otherwise the best candidate, would you vote for a gay man as the leader of your country?

• Yes.

The assumption behind the statement "...OTHERWISE the best candidate..." is borderline offensive. I find it perplexing that someones private life has any bearing on whether they are a competent administrator.

If scientists invented a pill that condensed a whole meal's worth of nutrition into a single swallow, would you use it?

• Yes, often.

• Yes, occasionally.

• Yes, but only in an emergency.

• No, I'd prefer to starve to death.

This is interesting - I know that I have a (sometimes) obsessive personality. Most of the time food is merely fuel for me - if they could guarantee that the pill was "good nutrition," I would likely susbsist upon them in large part.

Of course people who know me know that I'm also a gourmand from hell.... and nothing will be able to replace good coffee, creme brule or exotic mushroom risoto.

Some people hold the belief that everyone has a true love and is reincarnated. In each incarnation, a person's true love is the same one, and they go through every incarnation together. What do you think about this idea?

• I think that it is beautiful.
• It's a nice idea, but not too realistic.
• It's just a bad idea, once should be enough.

The idea of "soul mates" is an evil idea, invented by Hollywood, created specifically to sell vast quantities of movie tickets. Don't get me wrong, I'm a romantic! I love the idea of being in love... but I've seen too many people who look for "the one," the person who will make their lives completely better, the person who completely compliments their personality. There are good relationships and bad relationships, but not perfect relationships. Every relationship you have is going to be different, and that isn't a bad thing! If all your relationships are the same, then it may just be that you aren't in love with the individuals.