Monthly Archives: August 2013

by | August 9, 2013 · 2:41 pm

Being a Geek: A Rebuttal

Not too long ago I wrote a post about what being a geek means to me and why I’m proud to be one. What you, the reader, didn’t get to hear was the considerable amount of discussion and argument between my editor and me about my definition. Now that I have had a bit more free time and have gone back to think about this, I realize that while I still agree with my definition, it might be a bit narrow. My original definition encompasses a fairly tight range of activities that are generally accepted as geek. And while I tried to be as accepting as I could, I intentionally left out activities such as sports. This realization got me thinking still further about who I am and I have come to one inescapable conclusion: while being a geek is awesome, it is absolutely not all that I am.

I feel that in order for someone to truly be well-rounded, they cannot just shoehorn themselves into one very small social grouping. This idea applies to the whole spectrum of social groups. Anyone twenty-five or older knows some poor guy whose entire life revolved around high school or college sports and they have just never done anything else with themselves because it’s all they’ve known. I feel sorry for these people who just never realized that there is so much more to life. Sure, they were big shots at some point, but that glory is gone and they don’t have anything to look forward to. This same thing goes for geeks as well.  I’ve met more than my share of older guys living alone, surrounded by mountains of comics, sometimes actually avalanching all around them. No one should be so obsessed with geek culture, or any culture for that matter that they ignore the world around them or the people in their life.

My friends and coworkers know well that I make an annual trip to New York for NYCC and that it is usually the highlight of my year, but comic books aren’t the only thing that gets me out of the house.

Love this guy.

Love this guy.

I enjoy going out and doing all kinds of things, some of which have nothing to do with being a geek. Sure I go to movies and museums, but I also get out for concerts, comedy shows and theatre. I’m a huge fan of Shakespeare and I try to see productions whenever I can.

Being a geek also doesn’t mean one can’t like sports either. For instance, the owner of my normal comic book store is a huge college football fan. I myself like baseball and soccer. It’s great to have a wide variety of interests. In Phoenix, we didn’t have a major league baseball team until 1998; instead we had the Firebirds, a Triple-A farm team for the San Francisco Giants. Thanks to this, I’ve developed an enjoyment of minor league baseball. Sure I like MLB, but I really prefer to watch minor league (I’m also a Mets fan, so major league ball gives me little to be happy about). I really love sitting down with some friends-giant Coke in one hand, hotdog in the other-watching guys play their hearts out for a shot at the big leagues.  These moments are as much about spending time with friends and being social as they are watching the game.

harbor park

This is how baseball should be played.

We geeks aren’t exactly known for getting out there and living life to the fullest. That’s a crying shame. There is so much to experience!  I know this can be tough at first, but it’s best to take baby steps. Maybe you can try a new restaurant in your town. If that is too much, just try a new dish at your favorite place. For example, a few weeks ago I was at a restaurant that I’ve been to plenty of times before, but this time I decided to try something I had never eaten before. It blew my mind. This awesome discovery makes me want to try all kinds of other stuff.

Another way to branch out is to incorporate new things with geek stuff. Go to a convention in a city you’ve never been to and take an extra day or two in order to explore the city. I would love to go to C2E2 and since I’ve never been to Chicago, I can kill two birds with one stone. Just the food alone is worth the trip, but there are so many other awesome things to do there that I’m looking forward to making the trek.

Branching out beyond geekdom can be rewarding as well. A couple years ago a friend tried to get me into mountain biking. As it turns out I do not have the coordination required for this particular sport. What I did discover is that I really liked riding on flat trails in the woods. It is fun, relaxing, a good workout, and quite peaceful. If it weren’t for that push, I would have never known about any of this. My point is that you never know what you might enjoy doing until you get out there and try it. The more you limit yourself, the less exposed you are and the more you might miss out. If something sounds interesting to you, don’t sit around and think about it too much, get out there and give it a try.

If I tried this, I would probably die, but it would be fun.

If I tried this, I would probably die, but it would be fun.

Part of being a member of society is being aware of when things are and are not socially acceptable, and while we geeks are not the Unabomber,

We aren't this bad.

We aren’t this bad.

we do live more towards the edge of society. I am proud to be a geek and I’m not ashamed to show it off. I carry all my stuff in a Grifball bag, I wear t-shirts with superhero logos on them, and read comic book at work.  I am also keenly aware that there is a time and a place for everything. I also do these at the appropriate time. If I need to look professional for something, you’d better believe that I’m going to be in the right cloths for the situation, I may however have a Batman pin in my pocket. (After all, I am still a geek and certain things are expected of me!)

Part of the reason geeks have a bad reputation is that a select few of us don’t seem to understand that not everything is acceptable everywhere. They really love something geeky and they want to show off that love.  There are few people who in the world of geeks that come close the passion of Trekkies. The problem with this is that some of them take it too far.  I’ve seen documentaries that show some fans who incorporate Star Trek into every part of their lives, such as the woman that referred to herself as Commander and wore Next Generation rank pins on her shirt every day at work. This is too far. Star Trek is awesome. It has had a profound impact on me and a lot of it is just good storytelling. But it’s not real and I don’t treat it as such. I have no delusions about being a member of Starfleet and it worries me when I’m around those who do. As much as we may love our fantasies, there is a point where we need to accept the reality we live in. Take Gene Roddenberry’s inspiration and make that reality a better place, but exist there.

Don’t ever be ashamed to be who you are, but don’t let one thing, even being a geek, define all that you are. There is so much more out there to see and do and so much more life to experience. It is worth trying something new and different if only to know for certain that it’s not your thing. You might be surprised exactly what strikes your fancy.

1 Comment

Filed under Andrew Hales, Geek Life

by | August 7, 2013 · 7:33 pm

Winning Science August 7, 2013

Today we start off something pure and wholesome…Dino Sex! We all know dinosaurs come from eggs (a select few from actual science, the rest of us from watching Jurassic Park) yet scientists don’t know how dinosaur sex worked. They have several theories, however there is unfortunately no fossil record to give us some insight into this necessary act. And of course some dinosaurs, like the stegosaurs, appear to have a tougher time than other.

Maybe he just wants a hand job.

Maybe he just wants a hand job.

Despite not being able to find any evidence of dino sex in the fossils, scientist have found a pair of preserved turtles that were bumping uglies.

Mars One is looking for applicants for a one way mission to Mars. There plan is to send groups of 4 colonists, 2 men and 2 women, to set up permanent residence on the red planet. 78,000 people, mostly men, have applied for the program so far. I wonder how many of them are just trying to get away from someone or something that’s annoying them.

While this is a huge risk, given the basic collapse of NASA’s manned space program, we need this kind of pioneer attitude from private companies and citizens if we’re going to move beyond our own world. There is very little difference between this endvour and Europeans coming to North America 600 years ago.

Paypal founder Elon Musk is preparing to announce plans for a high speed train running from LA to San Francisco. The idea of high speed rail is nothing new, but what is making this announcement so interesting is that Mr. Musk is claiming he can do it for a tenth of what the government say it can do it for. I’d love to see him prove Uncle Sam wrong, and to have a successful high speed rail line running in the US as a model for future rail lines.

Mercury-High-Speed-Train-3

I am a little skeptical as most rail lines in the world don’t operate at a profit, but Elon Musk has proven he can turn various industries on their heads, so he is one of the few people I think has a chance to make this feasible.

1 Comment

Filed under Winning Science

Tagged as , , , , , ,

by | August 6, 2013 · 6:16 pm

When Geeks Go Too Far

Few things make me happier than geeking out about something. My speech clocks at 110 mph.  I start getting twitchy, my sentences make less and less sense; my eyes grow to the size of saucers and I may even get goosebumps (This is as close to heaven as I have gotten and I love it.).  I know I’m not the only one who gets this way. I can tell when most of my friends hit this point and it’s fun to watch as an outside observer, and know that this must be what it’s like for them when I hit that same point.  But what happens when geek goes too far? How does one know when a line has been crossed and what can be done?

We’ve all been there when someone has crossed the line and everything becomes super awkward.  I almost always see this happen when I’m next in line for an autograph. It usually starts off harmless enough. The fan in front of me says something to the effect of “I’m a really big fan and I love the work you did on…” and that is perfectly acceptable. I’ve been known to say the same thing, when I’m not being painfully shy. Although I’m sure they hear this a couple hundred times during the course of a convention, it’s also probably nice to hear that people appreciate what they do.  When the conversation moves beyond this, however, things start to get a bit dicey. Some are very gregarious and they like to have conversations with the fans they meet. I’ve been rather fortunate to have short conversations with Walter Koenig and James Marsters and both men were extremely pleasant to talk with. (Walter Koenig apologized for Star Trek VI and to this day I have no idea why.) Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case however and it’s often the fault of the fans.  Even bystanders get a little freaked out when “that guy” takes what could have been a pleasant, short conversation and makes it weird and uncomfortable. As much as you may want to tell Leonard Nimoy that watching a certain episode of Star Trek saved your marriage and that you owe him everything up to and including your first born child, he doesn’t want or need to hear this.

And he definitely wants no part of this.

And he definitely wants no part of this.

So how do you know when you’re pushing your luck? First, it is important to pick up on signals from people around you, especially the person you’re talking to. If you’re excited, it may be tough to do that, but these signs are often the most telling ones. Every so often, take a quick glance around and see what people are doing. If they start looking away or getting really quiet, or if the person you’re talking to begins to avert their eyes, then it’s time to dial things back a bit.  You may not be there quite yet, but if you fail to change course, you will plow over that line at full speed.  If you already know you can go a bit overboard it may also help you to bring a friend along to keep you out of trouble. (There may or may not have been a detailed plan for my friend to bail me out if I got arrested after meeting Jewel Staite.) It’s what friends are for. They can quietly tap you on the elbow or something equally subtle to let you know that you’re going too far. Of course, if things get really out of control, they can grab you and drag you away.  After all, your friend may only be embarrassed; security will likely see how many times you will bounce when they toss you out the front door.

Picking up on other people’s cues is important, but it is equally important to be able to read yourself in these situations. Unfortunately, we geeks as a collective are pretty bad at doing this and often by the time we do pick up on our own signals, it’s already far too late to save ourselves. Being more aware of what these signs are can help you avoid getting into this situation.  As you’re waiting in line or as you’re talking to your favorite celebrity, take a moment in your head to evaluate yourself for these signs (if you need help, ask somebody…please). If you find that they’re starting to show just take a deep breath and try to relax for a moment. Remember, just because Nathan Fillion was on Firefly, he is still a person just like you.

Why is that man holding Will Wheaton? Why not?

Why is that man holding Will Wheaton?
Why not?

Things can also take a turn for the worse when fans want to take pictures or get a hug.  Some celebs are completely cool with it. Adam Baldwin reached out and gave me the most welcoming hand shake I think I’ve ever had and was more than willing to take some pictures with people.  Some, like Will Wheaton, are famous for their amazing interactions with fan. Others, typically with older, more well-known names, are more reserved and are not comfortable with these kinds of things. Sometimes it is because they want you to pay for a picture with them, and sometimes it’s because they just want a little more personal space. It’s important to respect their requests and not get pushy. Typically, if there are rules such as no pictures, there will be signs posted around the person or a handler who is walking up and down the line making it clear to the people waiting.

In my own experience, the best way to prevent going too far is to fall slightly on the conservative side of interaction. This is not to say that you can’t talk to celebrities, but always try to hold a little in reserve. If you’re having a great conversation with the person, then by all means, tell them how much you love their work. It’s ok to let them know how much you enjoyed what they do, but just keep it reasonable and under control. If celebrities didn’t want to interact with their fans, then they wouldn’t go to conventions and other places we gather. I’ve lost track of the number of interviews I’ve seen where some actor says how blown away they are by the amount of fan love they have received, especially if this is their first event. We geeks can be a wonderful people to those we choose to embrace; we just need to make sure we maintain some level of composure. If we do that, we ensure a good time is had by all.

Leave a comment

Filed under Andrew Hales, Geek Life

Tagged as , , , , ,

by | August 5, 2013 · 9:42 pm

Editorial | Code for America: volunteer opportunities

Volunteering can be an extremely rewarding activity, but for many, it’s difficult to find a volunteer project that is also intrinsically enjoyable.  For a geek, this may seem especially hard.  With this in mind, I started searching for opportunities to volunteer that didn’t necessarily involve sorting old clothes at a thrift store or walking dogs at the SPCA.  Surely there were more “geeky” ways to do good in the community.  With a few well phrased search terms, my investigation was rewarded.  Code for America is an organization that provides a way for computer programmers, web developers, and others to help cities make information such as bus routes, crime rates, and non-emergency phone numbers, among many others, available to the people who live in them.

CfA is divided into two different sections.  The Fellowship is an eleven month program in which recruits, called fellows, build open-source apps for their host cities.  Fellows are paid a small stipend while they are in the program, during which they travel to their host cities and find a problem to solve.  They then spend the rest of the program in San Francisco to finish working on their project.  For instance, in 2012, Chicago was one of the sponsor cities for Code for America.  Their CfA team worked to make their system to handle civic requests (such as fixing potholes) available to a wider range of people, since many of the general public didn’t even know that they could report these types of problems.  This year, ten new host cities have been chosen, and the application for fellows closed on July 31.

????????????

Anyone can get involved.

In 2012, CfA launched the Brigade portion of their organization.  The brigades splintered from the Fellowship in multiple cities simultaneously; usually either in a city that had previously had a team from the Fellowship, or else a city that simply could not afford to sponsor a team.  In the brigade cities, small and not-so-small groups get together on Civic Hack Nights once a week to work on projects to help their communities.  In one short year these brigades have already covered a lot of ground with projects such as Textizen, which started as a Civic Hack project from CfA, but has now become a commercial product.

I was privileged to sit in on one of these brigade meetings held in the city of Virginia Beach by Code for Hampton Roads.  This brigade works in both Virginia Beach and its sister city Norfolk, and the group organizers alternate weekly meetings in each city.  This particular brigade is headed up by two men.  Kevin Curry, the head organizer for Code for Hampton Roads, is also the national director of the Code for America Brigade, and he reminded me immediately of Jeff Daniels.  According to all the hackers at the meeting, Kevin knows everyone.  Literally.  Everyone.  Bret Fisher, co-organizer, was friendly and welcoming, even after I explained that I could not code to save my life, but that I was actually a word geek.

2000-series-bus-005

Are these things ever where they are supposed to be? Now you can know!

I’ll admit, I was intimidated at first… until it took twenty minutes for six highly intelligent programmers and front and back-end developers to check into MeetUp.  Then I relaxed quite a bit.  The primary focus of the evening was a mobile app that would help Hampton Roads public transportation riders locate their bus no matter where they are (or where the bus is).  The app is mostly complete, and Kevin and another wordsmith named Beth were working on the press release.  The presence of another editor made me feel much more at ease and promised that there would be opportunity for many different kinds of input with the group.  Another project in the works is a mapping system that would interpret police data to show the likelihood of a criminal incident in any area of the city.  As Kevin put it, cities can pay IT departments, but the citizenry doesn’t have that option.  The Code for America Brigade focuses on making public information available to the average citizen in a way that can be easily understood and applied.

The brigade calls for coders, designers, social media coordinators, and civic leaders and organizers, so there is room for geeks like me who cannot necessarily help design a mobile app.  It is easy to join:  either visit the Code for America website and find the local brigade, or type “Code for [city]” into a search engine.  The MeetUp site makes it easy to know exactly where and when the next meeting in the area will be and provides contact info for the local organizer.  I’m excited to add Code for America to my list of volunteer projects (which, yes, includes walking dogs from the SPCA), and I encourage my fellow geeks to get involved in this or similar projects.

Leave a comment

Filed under Editorial, Tracy Gronewold

Tagged as , , , , ,