White and nerdy

There's much discussion lately about what qualifies someone as a nerd, geek, or dork. (Here, for example.) Now, sometimes these terms are used interchangeably, but I'm here to proudly say that I'm all three. Or, as some random quiz I took online told me (I apparently saved the results, but not the link to the quiz):

Modern, Cool Nerd

96 % Nerd, 52% Geek, 35% Dork

For The Record:

A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia.
A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one.
A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions.

You scored better than half in Nerd and Geek, earning you the title of: Modern, Cool Nerd.

Nerds didn't use to be cool, but in the 90's that all changed. It used to be that, if you were a computer expert, you had to wear plaid or a pocket protector or suspenders or something that announced to the world that you couldn't quite fit in. Not anymore. Now, the intelligent and geeky have eked out for themselves a modicum of respect at the very least, and "geek is chic." The Modern, Cool Nerd is intelligent, knowledgable and always the person to call in a crisis (needing computer advice/an arcane bit of trivia knowledge). They are the one you want as your lifeline in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (or the one up there, winning the million bucks)!

Congratulations!

You can also find more information here: http://www.wikihow.com/Tell-the-Difference-Between-Nerds-and-Geeks

Now, if you aren't already thinking of all the reasons you agree with me, here is some of how I alternate between nerd and geek (I will not be listing my dorky behavior here, but I'm sure you've observed it).

I'm guilty of more than half the things on both of these lists. Or, actually, all, to some degree or another.

I get programming jokes. This one is new, since I only started programming in the last couple of years, so it always surprises me. The other day, Mr. T cracked a joke of this caliber and I laughed and then realized I was laughing at something terribly geeky and mentioned my surprise out loud. "Well, if you hadn't, I would have revoked some of your geek cred." Sadly, or awesomely, being called a geek by someone who is even more geeky than I am is something I consider a compliment.

My favorite shows are ones that are truly geeky (Firefly, Dollhouse, Heroes etc.), require some intelligence to really enjoy (Lost, etc.), and/or feature majorly geeky people as their main characters (Bones, Chuck, etc.). I plan on catching up on Big Bang Theory this summer.

RennFest. I'm 3 for 3 in Maryland so far.

I love my nerdy comics/webby things - The Guild, xkcd, PHDComics, Dr. Horrible

This is what I'm wearing today:


I was planning to write this post today, but I swear I did not wear it on purpose.

Other nerdy shirt worn this week:
I have nerdy plans. Things I want to learn and read about. Tech things I want to set up in my house (this one will have to wait, mostly). Skills I want to brush up on.

Librarian? 'Nuff said.

And, the reason I'm even writing this post today. Last night, or this morning, at 12:15 AM I was in line with Mr. T and two of his friends waiting to see the new Star Trek on the IMAX and was discussing Joss Whedon (mostly about Dollhouse), xkcd, and other nerdy things, not just with the boys, but with the boys in line directly ahead of us. In fact, because neither the stranger's friends nor mine could keep up, we ended up having our own conversation.

It was awesome. I love me. And nerds/geeks in general.

And now, since I haven't done one yet this week, I bring you an introduction to a rather nerdy singer-songwriter for this week's SOTW. Enjoy.