Geek Appreciation

This entry was published at least two years ago (originally posted on September 14, 2009). Since that time the information may have become outdated or my beliefs may have changed (in general, assume a more open and liberal current viewpoint). A fuller disclaimer is available.

Things I love about the geek community: within the first half hour of Saturday’s Norwescon planning meeting, I was complimented on my shoes (black converse with a white “hawaiian monkey skull” design that looks vaguely Grateful Dead-ish), my belt (the Utilikilts airplane belt), and my shirt (Frakkin’ Toasters). The utilikilt, however, was too everyday and normal for this crowd to be worthy of mention. This greatly amused me.

(I actually did get a compliment on the Utilikilt as well, toward the end of the meeting. This left only my socks and undershirt as uncomplimented wardrobe items by the time I left. I may not be a conventional dresser, but apparently I’m a pretty snappy dresser…at least by geek standards!)

Also: regular slips when mentioning URLs and e-mail addresses due to the recent change from a .net to a .org address, with accompanying cries of “ORG…(asm)…!” from the peanut gallery. The only meeting I’ve ever been to with that many public (dot)org(asmic) cries. Hilarious.

Also nice: a meeting that not only progresses on schedule, but ends a full hour earlier than planned. Impressive organization, and a nice job of keeping the meeting on track even with fairly regular outbreaks of geeky silliness and rabble rousing.

This is my first year getting involved with Norwescon beyond showing up and snapping pictures, and I think it’s going to be a fun experience.