Why I am a Geek, or Things I Do For Fun

I am a geek: a proud, card-carrying member of the Geeky People of the World. I'd tell you that many of my friends are just as geeky, but that might offend some of them. So I'll let them come out of the closet*, as it were on their own.

I do the usual stuff that is standard geek: tinker with computers, operating systems, file systems, to the point I lose track of time. This consumes an unreasonable amount of my time. I spend a good amount of time offering tech-support to my friends on areas in which I am an expert (and vice-versa). We also compare "idiot user" stories because, well, that's what geeks do. I also have a collection of computers, though many were recently donated in a funding drive for Breast Cancer: I still have six at home after that.

I read a lot, and in true geek fashion, it's heavy on science-fiction and epic fantasy, skewing towards the latter in my case. As such, I spend a great deal of time browsing the aisles of my local Borders and/or Barnes & Nobles, where I still purchase books. Yes, I spend time on Amazon.Com as well, but nothing beats picking up a book, examining the cover art, flipping through the pages, reading the jacket blurbs, and then deciding whether or not to buy the book based on reading the first paragraph. I wonder if I'm the only one who book shops that way. I even write, though most of it I don't share with the public at large because they do not appreciate what they do not understand.

I like to walk around office supply stores (Staples, Office Depot, Office Max, Rymans, etc) just because I find it fun. I can spend quite some time in places like that, and it's probably sad that a number of my friends enjoy coming along for the exploration of such places.

And in true geek fashion, I love walking around Best Buy, Circuit City, and Sound Advice. That's just Nirvana for a geek. You don't have to buy, either. "Dude, did you see this thing has four 1080p inputs using HDMI2 and auto-switches, and has Dolby 7.1 optical and even THX?" If that made your flesh tingly, welcome to my world. If you can discuss Blu-Ray versus HD-DVD for an hour or theories behind black-holes, and find it interesting, that's awesome too. You have geek-i-tude!

In further geek news, the MDX authority extended SR-836 from 107th to 137th avenue. It opened yesterday. I was compelled to go drive on the new extension just so I could experience a brand-new road. That's probably sad. Today I went back on it again so I could use the new exit ramps on 107th. Happily, the tolls don't start for another week. Yeah, I'm geeky like that. I'll do the same when the 97th Avenue overpass opens in a few months.

And it goes without saying, I have a blog, multiple webpages, a message board, and accounts on: Flickr , MySpace, FaceBook, LinkedIn, Orkut, NHL Connect, and so on. Feel free to join me.



* or should that be: server cabinet?