# Geekier than Thou **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 21, 2005, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geekier-than-thou/291229 "2005-02-21T20:34:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2005, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geekier-than-thou/291229/61 "2005-02-23T19:15:15Z")
> [@E-Sabbath](#): > > I was thinking of [Little Wars](http://www.gardenwargaming.com/wargame/title.html) by one H. G. Wells. Kriegspiel may or may not predate it, I’ll have to check… Yep, 1899 to 1913, it seems Kriegspiel does predate it. But it’s a chess variant, not a wargame. Well, it’s German for ‘War Game’, I think it counts. 😉 > [@](#): > > The first time Mutant was used in the Merry Marvel Manner was Amazing Fantasy #14, The Boy Who Could Fly. Suitably obscure. > [@](#): > > And I did mean X-Kryptonite, which had no effect on Kryptonians, but gave terrans Kryptonian powers. Anti-Kryptonite affected unpowered Kryptonians (Argo City), Slow Kryptonite affected Terrans and Kryptonians, and Yellow K was another hoax. Hmm. I thought Kryptonite-X only gave Streaky powers as far as we were shown. Was one of Lana’s super-phases inspired by it as well? I thought it was the kind fatal to Earthers, but I suppose I was confusing it with Slow K. And Jewel K still qualifies. ---
**Author:** ![Lady\_of\_the\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@Lady\_of\_the\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lady_of_the_Lake)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2005, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geekier-than-thou/291229/62 "2005-02-23T20:50:04Z")
I played Ever Quest 2 for the first time on Friday. By Saturday I had requested my husband put another computer on my desk so I could look up quest/map stuff while playing. (alt-tabbing just takes so long!). He looked pained but said he’d do it sometime this week. By Sunday I had taped helpful info. print outs on the wall all around my computer. My husband walked by and sighed. By Monday I had finished my Ever Quest hint binder - complete with tabs to seperate my sections: common emotes type keys, heroic opportuny information, cleric and templar spell progessions (as that’s what I shall be), and helpful tips I picked up by looking through message boards. My husband found it and wrote ‘GEEK!’ on it for some reason. I am happy to say, howerver, that I didn’t play EQ2 last night NOR did I work on increasing my EQ2 knowledge base. I spent the entire night watching Anime instead (Please Teacher!). 😃 ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2005, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geekier-than-thou/291229/63 "2005-02-23T20:55:54Z")
I claim to the the uber-SDMB-geek in the very narrow, and very geeky, category of **Magic: The Gathering**. And this despite there being a poster named **MtgMan**. Aside from that, I’ve gotten less geeky as I’ve gotten older. In high school, I did a lot of very geeky things with my PC, like use the timer interrupt to cycle through different homemade VGA font sets to get tiny little animated sprites for the ultima-style adventure I was writing. These days, I write video games for a living, but am generally quite mundane in my computer knowledge, etc. A few select proud moments of past geekery: -I built a joystick out of actual arcade parts and plywood, and wired the connectors into a disassembled control pad, so as to get the proper control experience while playing Super Street Fighter II Turbo on the 3DO. -While taking a CS class, the teacher challenged us to write a program to create lots of processes on the VAX, to demonstrate that we wouldn’t be able to overload it. He was wrong. -Speaking of the VAX, we had something called VAXNotes back in college (circa 1993 or so) which was a precursor to usenet, etc. And one of those things that people liked to do on VAXNotes was get post #100, or #500, in a thread. Once or twice, a thread had gone lone enough that someone got post #1000. So I learned the scripting language of my modem software (I think it was “Telemate”) and wrote a script to post two posts, delete the old one, etc., and got post #10000 in a thread. Wheeee. -I used Geos. The PC version. It was so awesome. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2005, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geekier-than-thou/291229/64 "2005-02-23T21:08:42Z")
Max, I’m going to challenge you. I had a collection of Alphas and Betas… naturally. (The game had Phil Foglio art. Therefore, I must buy it) I played at Neutral Ground, NY. I played against Zvi, as in TurboZvi (And Z-Man Games, now), and that world champion who kept coloring his hair. I won, as often as not. My specialties were white weenie and blue weenie. I was active until Tempest, when someone lifted around 600 bucks in cards out of my bag between my feet in prerelease, while I was playing. The E in my username stems from E-League. I used to ‘hang’ with BillDaCat every so often, who wrote Apprentice32, IIRC. I could make decks do what they shouldn’t, win against things they’d never be able to break, mathematically. If you’re in NY, by the way, I’m willing to dump my collection for Real Darn Cheap. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2005, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geekier-than-thou/291229/65 "2005-02-23T21:14:40Z")
I don’t suppose I can win against such stiff competition, but here’s my entry: -When I was younger, I’d get in physical fights over the taxonomy of centaurs. -I’m a moderator at the largest unofficial D&D messageboard, where I’m currently debating the relative power-level of druids, with and without certain changes that 3.5 brought to them. -I’m a moderator at a private messageboard for DMs who specialize in writing cruel plots to torment their masochistic players. (Not killer dungeons, mind you, but vicious twists to games) -I once spent many hours writing a database to resolve vehicle chases in the RPG Spycraft. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2005, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geekier-than-thou/291229/66 "2005-02-23T21:19:31Z")
Further notes: I was the ‘house pro’ in MTG during the five years I worked at the comic book store. The store owner didn’t want to deal with paperwork, so my… whosey. Card number thing… only shows, pretty much, the prereleases I went to. Duelist Number? Daniel totally wins for his enworld position, and his RBDM position, as far as D&D goes. He moderates the board Gary Gygax _posts_ at. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2005, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geekier-than-thou/291229/67 "2005-02-23T23:59:32Z")
> [@](#): > > He moderates the board Gary Gygax _posts_ at. All I can say to that is: Damn! > [@](#): > > Real Darn Cheap. Define Real Darn Cheap. I’ve discovered that my definition does not match that of many other peoples. Also define New York. Would Victor count? ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geekier-than-thou/291229/68 "2005-02-24T00:46:26Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > I thought I had a great idea for a solving a problem in Perl, and five minutes later, Randal Schwartz, the guy who quite literally wrote the book on Perl, gave me a far superior solution. And it was one of the coolest moments ever. > > Damn, that’s geeky. If you were a real geek, you’d have shared the problem and the solution. Or at least a link. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geekier-than-thou/291229/69 "2005-02-24T01:03:47Z")
Real Darn Cheap: Well, haul 'em away, give 'em a good home, and gimmie something neat to screw around with. Where the heck is Victor? You’re gonna have to show up with a car to haul 'em away with, is why I’m saying New York. Like, five boxes worth of stuff, one full box of uncommons and rares. And when I say boxes, I mean… I dunno, two foot by two foot, five channel cardboxes. They called me Mr. Suitcase. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geekier-than-thou/291229/70 "2005-02-24T08:35:52Z")
> [@catsix](#): > > I am afraid they would violate the SDMB’s two click rule and therefore if you want them, you’ll have to uh, well ok I’m not just going to randomly hand them out either… > > 😉 Hah. Weaseling out! 😃😃 ---
**Author:** ![catsix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@catsix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/catsix)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geekier-than-thou/291229/71 "2005-02-24T14:29:09Z")
Well I suppose I could email you the link, if you want it. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geekier-than-thou/291229/72 "2005-02-24T15:09:57Z")
> [@catsix](#): > > I have pictures that prove otherwise! This really makes me want to see your… CPU design. :smack: I really am a geek. ---
**Author:** ![catsix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@catsix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/catsix)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geekier-than-thou/291229/73 "2005-02-24T15:41:52Z")
**engineer\_comp\_geek** : [Ask and you shall receive](http://www.mirthless.org/yiff.html) (No actual CPUs were hurt in the production of the preceeding images. Note to mods, no naked people are in them either.) ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geekier-than-thou/291229/74 "2005-02-24T16:13:40Z")
> [@catsix](#): > > Well I suppose I could email you the link, if you want it. I’m just asking for a gotcha here really, aren’t I? 🆒 I’m game if you are, tho’ I’m unable to respond in kind (for which you may have cause to be grateful). 😛 ---
**Author:** ![catsix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@catsix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/catsix)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geekier-than-thou/291229/75 "2005-02-24T18:27:22Z")
There’s no way I can pull a gotcha by email… since your email address isn’t available. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geekier-than-thou/291229/76 "2005-02-24T19:26:02Z")
> [@E-Sabbath](#): > > Max, I’m going to challenge you. Bring it > [@](#): > > I had a collection of Alphas and Betas… naturally. (The game had Phil Foglio art. Therefore, I must buy it) I don’t know about your claim (later on) to be Mr. Suitcase. I sold my collection last year (because I now only play limited), and it consisted of something of something like 10 binders, 5 of those huge 2x2 foot cardboard boxes, and 10 or so of the normal 1-slot cardboard boxes. Highlights included 7 or 8 Beta Birds of Paradise, 6 or so Beta Wraths, 4 or 5 Beta Armageddons, 20 or so Arabians City of Brasses, etc. > [@](#): > > I played at Neutral Ground, NY. I played against Zvi, as in TurboZvi (And Z-Man Games, now), and that world champion who kept coloring his hair. I won, as often as not. I’m 1-0 lifetime in sanctioned play vs. world champions. I’ve also played against Brian Weissman, former world champion Zak Dolan, first-person-ever-banned-by-the-DCI Chris Pantages, and many other notables. > [@](#): > > My specialties were white weenie and blue weenie. I haven’t played constructed for years, but I was one of the first people to ever play with Pox, which (years later) became a staple of the extended scene. I also broke Well of Knowledge, which as far as I know no one else ever did. > [@](#): > > I was active until Tempest, when someone lifted around 600 bucks in cards out of my bag between my feet in prerelease, while I was playing. I admit that I didn’t start until shortly after Fallen Empries, but I’ve never stopped. In fact, I’ll be playing in the Pro Tour in Atlanta in two weeks. Other claims to MTG geekhood: -I have a 4-digit DCI number -I’ve played in every prerelease ever, except the Alliances one, at which I judged. Yes, I was a sanctioned judge (not sure if I still am). I’ve won prizes at the vast majority of them (aside from Odyssey, which we will never speak of again). -I’ve qualified for the Pro Tour 6 or 7 times, and made top 64 twice, plus top 16 at a Grand Prix once. -I’ve created homemade card sets, and drafted with them with my friends -I’ve won $50 on Star City Games for a tournament report -I’ve been playing MTGO since Beta, and was, shortly after the release of the game itself, briefly the #2 ranked limited player -I applied for a job at WOTC R&D, and got as far as taking the vapor ops test, before they decided they didn’t want me (THOSE BASTARDS!) -I’ve assembled a large collection of cards, basically two of every common and one of every uncommon and rare, with full representation back to Ice Age or so, scattered before that, out of which my friends and I pull cards at random and play. The sleeves alone for that collection are cost probably around $2000 -I draft every week with my friends, and we frequently invent interesting new draft formats, sometimes including inventing our own vanguard cards. We created our own local rating system to rank players to make it easier to create fair teams. You can check it out at [www.chriscade.com/ratings](http://www.chriscade.com/ratings) -I defeated pro player Mike Turian at a limited Grand Prix by casting Bind -I designed and manufactured the famous “life notebook”, a custom life-tracking device which makes both players’ life totals easily visible, with magic art on every page -I once blocked a Collosus of Sardia with Abu J’afar and cast Formation ---
**Author:** ![kitarak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kitarak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitarak)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geekier-than-thou/291229/77 "2005-02-24T23:29:09Z")
I spent most of this evening on IRC discussing the mathematics and philosophical premises of my homebrew RPG system. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geekier-than-thou/291229/78 "2005-02-24T23:59:28Z")
> [@catsix](#): > > There’s no way I can pull a gotcha by email… since your email address isn’t available. It is now. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![klintypooh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3da27b/32.png) [@klintypooh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/klintypooh)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2005, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geekier-than-thou/291229/79 "2005-02-25T02:19:45Z")
Pics from catsix eh?? This all sounds so familiar, if only I could put my finger on it. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2005, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geekier-than-thou/291229/80 "2005-02-25T02:40:51Z")
I can match the collection in size. Except I quit a few years earlier. Anyone want the boxes? Except I sold all my Betas back when I was working in the comic book store. Hey, good money. The first time I got a DCI number, it had four digits, I _think_. I _think_ I’ve had three of them as I kept losing them. I may misremember. I remember Chris. He was the person that brought being an amateur magician up into my mind, cause I caught the son of a pig. Course, it was casual play. I liked Pox, but I used to break things with, dig it, a _themed_ deck. I took a Merfolk deck to the big leagues, and it worked. I may have been the first person to break a Rukh Egg… that count? Before MTGO was, there was Apprentice32. I was somewhere between good and darn good. The reason I quit wasn’t the $600 loss. It was that I had every pre-release card in that box, and I just… couldn’t bear trying to replace them. Hm. If only my memory was better… eh, heck. Rjung, by the way, wins for Transformers geek, simply because he writes the Trannies, the annual transformers fan awards. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geekier-than-thou/291229.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geekier-than-thou/291229.md?page=5)