6/07/2005

nerddom trinity

Sorry, no Matrix stuff here. Although, now that I think about it, if you were thinking that from the title, then this is really a quadruple episode for you. Aren't you special? At any rate, I have something embarrassing, something sad, and something fun.

1) In my office, it's quite common for us to be carrying around lots of items like excel printouts and binder clips and pens and all sorts of office type stuff. Since we're paid to deal with money and all its associated tasks, we're really not nerds--we're professionals. Trouble is, when you leave our little corner of the building, that excuse doesn't exactly follow you wherever you go, especially if you go outside. Today I went downtown to deliver something important. Let's refer to it as the package. It was a nice day, although it's getting a little warm, so I didn't mind having to park about a block and a half away and walking. I go inside and drop off the package exactly as planned. I walk back outside and enjoy the sunshine once again (please keep in mind, I am usually inside several layers of doors all day) as I head back to my car. Things get even better as I'm driving back and graciously wait for a couple of obviously very intelligent girls with great personalities to cross the street in front of me even though I technically have the green light. Then as I'm turning at the next stoplight, I glance down and realize I have been walking around downtown in my styling khakis and classy dress shirt with a pen in my pocket. Not a full pocket protector, mind you, but embarrassing nonetheless. Show me a cool guy with a pen in his shirt pocket and I'll show you a very confused man.

2) I have always had a computer. I think it's very exciting to be from the very beginning of the generation that has no memory of not having a computer. When I was a wee lad it was an Apple IIe. Or is it Apple //e? It never seems to be spelled in print the way it's written on the computer itself. (sidenote: If this is something that has ever bothered you, then I congratulate you on joining the computer revolution before all the cool kids had one. This is about the only thing we can claim we did first, though, so enjoy it.) My family bought a few Macs with Motorola 68K chips, and a few more with Moto/IBM PowerPC chips. So it's really kind of irrational to be sad about another hardware transition, because after all, that's what progress is all about. But it is still huge news that all the rumors over the years about Apple porting OS X to Intel chips is true. Hatred is so much easier than acceptance! But I'm exaggerating; after all, IBM is the real enemy from way back in the day, remember? And we got them completely out of the PC hardware business! With all the cool stuff Microsoft is doing on the video game/hardware side, maybe it's just a matter of time until we get them out of the PC OS business...

OK, fat chance there, but in a more limited sense that's been the case since Windows 95. Everybody save the real nerds essentially runs a Mac these days. The people I feel sorry for are the ones frustrated by their computing experience but unwilling to try something different (whether or not that alternative is an Apple product). Computers aren't tools whose flaws we grudgingly tolerate; they are incredible partners who make every facet of our life more productive and worthwhile. Seriously, if you're not that passionate about your computer, you should take a chance and explore a different computing platform.

So just keep saying it...OS X on Intel...OS X on Intel. Eventually you'll get through it without crying. (Of course, are those tears of joy or tears of sadness? Crying really gets the shaft in our society.)

3) There is an awesome song (pop? alternative? I don't really know my music genres very well) by American Hi-Fi called The Geeks Get the Girls. I thought this was really ubiquitous, but one of my more geeky friends hadn't heard it, so apparently I assumed wrong. So, go buy it. Or at least ask a friend to listen to their copy. It's catchy and true.

In this spirit, my 5th quiz is about my personal geekiness. I actually turned out pretty normal, all categories considered. Maybe I should go back and retake the test.

Your Geek Profile:

Internet Geekiness: High
Music Geekiness: High
Academic Geekiness: Moderate
Fashion Geekiness: Low
Gamer Geekiness: Low
Geekiness in Love: Low
General Geekiness: Low
SciFi Geekiness: Low
Movie Geekiness: None

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