![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
verbicideList 5 reasons why you are a geek. And make them good reasons. Justify them. Explain them. Be loud and proud about how big of a geek you are! Then pick the 5 biggest geeks you know and have them do the meme.
Thanks to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
brabble and pinkminx for doing this. And thanks in advance to neojima who promises to indulge me soon.
As Ida wrote, I consider myself more a geek-human hybrid. I don't like hardcore sci-fi, I am frightfully mundane and conventional about any number of things and interests. I don't care enough to be a true elitist. And work has really cut down on the geeky habits of my carefree and frisky youth. And as I'm getting older, I'm more often choosing ease over pointless purism (10 years of notepad gave way to Dreamweaver in 6 months of on the job use).
I guess for me, geekdom is a state of mind. I mean, I hate Star Trek. I watched the original series as a kid, mostly against my will because my big brothers were Masters of the Remote. But I consider myself a geek because of the obsessive-compulsive way I approach things in life.
1. This is not reserved exclusively for geeks, but one thing I find true among people I consider geeks (or just well-bred) is that we give a fuck about grammar and spelling. I don't give a flying fuck how l33t you think you are. If you can't fucking spell 'ridiculous' correctly, and you are not 15 years old, I think you're an idiot. If you can't figure out when to use your versus you're, its versus it's, or where versus were, you're an idiot. If you don't know how to spell a word and don't want to look it up? Use another fucking word. But really, go fucking look up the word. Or don't get your panties in a bunch when someone corrects you.
Does this mean I never make a typo or spell things incorrectly? No, of course not. And as hubris cometh before a fall, I'll probably make six errors in this post alone. But, and again I say clearly, TO ME, being a geek is giving a fuck about how I represent myself online. That I find it important to behave appropriately in online forums. I think it's fine (obviously) to rant and rave in something like your own blog, but when dealing in a structured place, behave according to the rules of that place.
I don't barge into forums and ask questions I can answer for myself in 6 keystrokes using Google or Wikipedia. I make an attempt before asking and then present the work I've done and ask for specific help. If I'm smacked down and it appears to be justified, I don't have a fucking snit about meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeean people. I, gasp!, apologize. I don't get into shrieking arguments with people online because unless there's a point worth making, just fucking let it go. (Though I admit, I know plenty of geeks who think that every point where they're correct is a point worth making. And making. And making.)
I did all this before I met the rasfwrjians*, though they gave me new appreciation for poetic rebuttals distributed via Clue-by-Fours. It never occurred to me, from my first foray online (my big brother's UCSF shell—using mail to write Judy at Brown) to just slap haphazardly at the keyboard and expect results.
It boils down to attitude. I hate looking stupid, and yet it's going to be unavoidable in life. The best I can do is try to minimize the chances (by using conveniently placed things such as spell-check and search engines) and try to have some grace when egg splatters all over my face. I can't count the number of times Sarah (who is annoyingly smart) has pointed out something that I've mispronounced or a fact I've gotten wrong. Unlike half of the drooling fuckwits that make up the net, I either accept the help, or if I feel I have a valid counter-argument, I discuss it without lapsing into ad hominems.
And this is just my personal preference, but in addition to spelling and grammar, I'd like to add that I also never, ever spell girl 'grrrrrrrrrrrl' because, *squick*. And I never say 'goddess' (unless discussing mythology) or 'womyn' or 'herstory' and want to club people who do.
Dear GOD in heaven that was just the end of 1. Ooooookay. Must be um briefer (sic).
2. I can pretentiously pontificate on trivial matters. But just in my own journal, or with my own friends.
3. So some sort of Media should be mentioned. While again I've never been a Star Trek fan, or a Star Wars fan, my obsessive passion for things like The Lord of the Rings, X-files, Narnia Chronicles, Ender's Game, Neil Gaiman, graphic novels, etc. should count for something. It's not just that I like these things. It's that I love and know them to an obsessive, immersive degree. That once I read Lord of the Rings, I had to read it again, with a companion book and do searches for things I didn't understand online, and discuss it with other like-minded geeks. And watch the movies. OWN the movies. Watch the movies back-to-back and watch every single motherfucking second on the special features discs. And be crushingly disappointed when the third movie doesn't live up to its potential.
4. I cuddle books like Eat, Shoots & Leaves and get giddy every time I need to reach for a style guide. And the absurd amount of joy I feel when finding the perfect word for any given situation. It doesn't happen often, but it thrills me even when someone else does. Today, Jeff said, "Wheedle." and I swooned because it was exactly perfect for our discussion. Sarah and I have a List of Exciting Words. (No, not dirty ones, you pervert.)
Also, that I can have these weird psychic thingies with friends where we can communicate almost exclusively via quotes and grunts and get our meaning across perfectly. Or again, maybe that's just me and Sarah. I know Jeff looks at me like I'm a complete freak when I try this with him. Though Judy and I have it a bit, too. But not as much as Sarah, my geeky better half.
5. I can spend an entire weekend with my computer and broadband (or really, I could do this since I was on freaking dial-up, and not those speedy 14.4kbps ones, neither) and forget that anything else exists. Be it initially learning how to build a computer from scratch on a broke college student's budget, be it staying up on New Year's Eve with a good friend to learn how to count in binary, be it learning the intricacies of any variety of complicated software, be it spending unbelievable amounts of time with javascript menus (yes, yes, Sarah, I know you hated them, but I could control every aspect of them and I loved them so neener), be it spending 18 hours learning Macromedia Flash for a project that gets scraped the next day.
That after 10 years of being a computer geek for pay (from peon front-desk technical support, to technical director, to network support tech) I could still come home, after work, and immediately sit in front of my computer for another 10-12 hours. Outside of going out with friends, having friends over, etc. I've spent a great portion of my life getting 2-4 hours of sleep and maintaining pure-caffeinated spaz.
Having the tenacity to learn something that isn't all that easy to learn. To go beyond the average computer user who doesn't understand anything about why the pretty screen in front of them does things. Don't get me wrong. I have plenty of friends who are happy not knowing why the fuck their computer works. But they're not really geeks.
And um, also my weird ability to focus intently for days, yet have the attention span of a gnat. Especially when involving things Shiny!!
* frisky, if high-standarded (sic) Usenet group I once frequented
Thanks to
brabble and pinkminx for doing this. And thanks in advance to neojima who promises to indulge me soon.As Ida wrote, I consider myself more a geek-human hybrid. I don't like hardcore sci-fi, I am frightfully mundane and conventional about any number of things and interests. I don't care enough to be a true elitist. And work has really cut down on the geeky habits of my carefree and frisky youth. And as I'm getting older, I'm more often choosing ease over pointless purism (10 years of notepad gave way to Dreamweaver in 6 months of on the job use).
I guess for me, geekdom is a state of mind. I mean, I hate Star Trek. I watched the original series as a kid, mostly against my will because my big brothers were Masters of the Remote. But I consider myself a geek because of the obsessive-compulsive way I approach things in life.
1. This is not reserved exclusively for geeks, but one thing I find true among people I consider geeks (or just well-bred) is that we give a fuck about grammar and spelling. I don't give a flying fuck how l33t you think you are. If you can't fucking spell 'ridiculous' correctly, and you are not 15 years old, I think you're an idiot. If you can't figure out when to use your versus you're, its versus it's, or where versus were, you're an idiot. If you don't know how to spell a word and don't want to look it up? Use another fucking word. But really, go fucking look up the word. Or don't get your panties in a bunch when someone corrects you.
Does this mean I never make a typo or spell things incorrectly? No, of course not. And as hubris cometh before a fall, I'll probably make six errors in this post alone. But, and again I say clearly, TO ME, being a geek is giving a fuck about how I represent myself online. That I find it important to behave appropriately in online forums. I think it's fine (obviously) to rant and rave in something like your own blog, but when dealing in a structured place, behave according to the rules of that place.
I don't barge into forums and ask questions I can answer for myself in 6 keystrokes using Google or Wikipedia. I make an attempt before asking and then present the work I've done and ask for specific help. If I'm smacked down and it appears to be justified, I don't have a fucking snit about meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeean people. I, gasp!, apologize. I don't get into shrieking arguments with people online because unless there's a point worth making, just fucking let it go. (Though I admit, I know plenty of geeks who think that every point where they're correct is a point worth making. And making. And making.)
I did all this before I met the rasfwrjians*, though they gave me new appreciation for poetic rebuttals distributed via Clue-by-Fours. It never occurred to me, from my first foray online (my big brother's UCSF shell—using mail to write Judy at Brown) to just slap haphazardly at the keyboard and expect results.
It boils down to attitude. I hate looking stupid, and yet it's going to be unavoidable in life. The best I can do is try to minimize the chances (by using conveniently placed things such as spell-check and search engines) and try to have some grace when egg splatters all over my face. I can't count the number of times Sarah (who is annoyingly smart) has pointed out something that I've mispronounced or a fact I've gotten wrong. Unlike half of the drooling fuckwits that make up the net, I either accept the help, or if I feel I have a valid counter-argument, I discuss it without lapsing into ad hominems.
And this is just my personal preference, but in addition to spelling and grammar, I'd like to add that I also never, ever spell girl 'grrrrrrrrrrrl' because, *squick*. And I never say 'goddess' (unless discussing mythology) or 'womyn' or 'herstory' and want to club people who do.
Dear GOD in heaven that was just the end of 1. Ooooookay. Must be um briefer (sic).
2. I can pretentiously pontificate on trivial matters. But just in my own journal, or with my own friends.
3. So some sort of Media should be mentioned. While again I've never been a Star Trek fan, or a Star Wars fan, my obsessive passion for things like The Lord of the Rings, X-files, Narnia Chronicles, Ender's Game, Neil Gaiman, graphic novels, etc. should count for something. It's not just that I like these things. It's that I love and know them to an obsessive, immersive degree. That once I read Lord of the Rings, I had to read it again, with a companion book and do searches for things I didn't understand online, and discuss it with other like-minded geeks. And watch the movies. OWN the movies. Watch the movies back-to-back and watch every single motherfucking second on the special features discs. And be crushingly disappointed when the third movie doesn't live up to its potential.
4. I cuddle books like Eat, Shoots & Leaves and get giddy every time I need to reach for a style guide. And the absurd amount of joy I feel when finding the perfect word for any given situation. It doesn't happen often, but it thrills me even when someone else does. Today, Jeff said, "Wheedle." and I swooned because it was exactly perfect for our discussion. Sarah and I have a List of Exciting Words. (No, not dirty ones, you pervert.)
Also, that I can have these weird psychic thingies with friends where we can communicate almost exclusively via quotes and grunts and get our meaning across perfectly. Or again, maybe that's just me and Sarah. I know Jeff looks at me like I'm a complete freak when I try this with him. Though Judy and I have it a bit, too. But not as much as Sarah, my geeky better half.
5. I can spend an entire weekend with my computer and broadband (or really, I could do this since I was on freaking dial-up, and not those speedy 14.4kbps ones, neither) and forget that anything else exists. Be it initially learning how to build a computer from scratch on a broke college student's budget, be it staying up on New Year's Eve with a good friend to learn how to count in binary, be it learning the intricacies of any variety of complicated software, be it spending unbelievable amounts of time with javascript menus (yes, yes, Sarah, I know you hated them, but I could control every aspect of them and I loved them so neener), be it spending 18 hours learning Macromedia Flash for a project that gets scraped the next day.
That after 10 years of being a computer geek for pay (from peon front-desk technical support, to technical director, to network support tech) I could still come home, after work, and immediately sit in front of my computer for another 10-12 hours. Outside of going out with friends, having friends over, etc. I've spent a great portion of my life getting 2-4 hours of sleep and maintaining pure-caffeinated spaz.
Having the tenacity to learn something that isn't all that easy to learn. To go beyond the average computer user who doesn't understand anything about why the pretty screen in front of them does things. Don't get me wrong. I have plenty of friends who are happy not knowing why the fuck their computer works. But they're not really geeks.
And um, also my weird ability to focus intently for days, yet have the attention span of a gnat. Especially when involving things Shiny!!
* frisky, if high-standarded (sic) Usenet group I once frequented
