# Nerdy Things You Admit to Doing **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 1, 2003, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nerdy-things-you-admit-to-doing/198878 "2003-09-01T00:10:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![simply\_cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8c91f0/32.png) [@simply\_cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simply_cats)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2003, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nerdy-things-you-admit-to-doing/198878/61 "2003-09-02T19:55:07Z")
OMG! (I use OMG!.. there is one…) I also pick things up with my toes and transfer them to my hands, to the astonishment/disgust/amusement of many. My daughter first mimicked this action when she was 3. I write long, rambling letters to people because I like to see my hand write in cursive. I check my emails at home before I check for phone messages. ---
**Author:** ![Parallax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bbce88/32.png) [@Parallax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Parallax)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2003, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nerdy-things-you-admit-to-doing/198878/62 "2003-09-02T20:00:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Guinastasia \* > **I write _Star Wars_ fan fiction. NAUGHTY _Star Wars_ fan fiction.** Well … where is it? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Capt\_B.Phart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc29f/32.png) [@Capt\_B.Phart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt_B.Phart)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2003, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nerdy-things-you-admit-to-doing/198878/63 "2003-09-02T20:04:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DeadlyAccurate \* > \*\*I read printed books and wish for a search function. > \*\* After playing Quake addictively for a couple of days, I remember standing in a shopping center thinking “damn, I can’t just zoom in on something - I actually have to walk up to stuff to see it!” ---
**Author:** ![Podkayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Podkayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Podkayne)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2003, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nerdy-things-you-admit-to-doing/198878/64 "2003-09-02T20:13:16Z")
When I watch a movie, I deliberately don’t read the opening credits so I can try to guess who wrote the score. I then make my husband sit aaaalllll the way through the end credits until they show the composer. ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2003, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nerdy-things-you-admit-to-doing/198878/65 "2003-09-02T20:26:04Z")
You know how people ask those “wow, how do they do that” questions? Well, I answer them. In detail. With diagrams. You’d think I’d be more popular… Oh, and qwanderer: You forgot those LOTR fans who know the books by heart and tear apart the movies for inaccuracies. Or am I in a little category all to myself there? ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2003, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nerdy-things-you-admit-to-doing/198878/66 "2003-09-02T20:28:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Parallax \* > \*\*Well … where is it? 😃 \*\* I think I’d get in trouble if I linked to it. Also, I don’t have anything truly steamy up just YET. ---
**Author:** ![sycorob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@sycorob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sycorob)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2003, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nerdy-things-you-admit-to-doing/198878/67 "2003-09-02T20:32:05Z")
Ever play one of those computer games where they have this elaborate mazes that span many screens? I used to make actual maps of those, on paper. Sort of like the force pull, I like to snap my fingers at automatic sliding doors right when they’re about to open. Doors vary by the distance you have to be before the sensors pick you up, so you have to experiment… I do the same thing in my car when I have the radio on seek mode (where it plays a station for x seconds, then moves on for you). I had the rythm down exactly, and really confused somebody riding in my car the first time: “When you snap, it changes stations? That’s cool!” I just stared at him blankly. Badly done computer screens in a movie will ruin a movie for me. I have to be carefull who I’m seeing the movie with, lest I lean over and say “That’s _totally_ not what a Unix shell looks like,” and sit back smugly. I like to make jokes (over IM, of course) in code. Like: Consultant sycoRob = new Consultant(); while(!jobDone()) { sycoRob.doWork(); } private boolean jobDone() { return false; } Hee hee! ---
**Author:** ![sycorob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@sycorob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sycorob)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2003, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nerdy-things-you-admit-to-doing/198878/68 "2003-09-02T20:46:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by roxx222 \* > \*\*You know how people ask those “wow, how do they do that” questions? > > Well, I answer them. > \*\* Ha ha! Me too. I love whiteboards especially. I really do try to keep it short, but sometimes the really interesting thing is this one little fascinating detail… > [@](#): > > \*\* > Oh, and qwanderer: You forgot those LOTR fans who know the books by heart and tear apart the movies for inaccuracies. Or am I in a little category all to myself there? \*\* Why the hell did they have to go to Gondor? That wasn’t in the book at all! Although I don’t miss Bombadil at all… maybe I’ll just start a thread. ---
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2003, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nerdy-things-you-admit-to-doing/198878/69 "2003-09-02T20:55:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by sycorob \* > \*\*Sort of like the force pull, I like to snap my fingers at automatic sliding doors right when they’re about to open. Doors vary by the distance you have to be before the sensors pick you up, so you have to experiment… \*\* I pretend the doors open because _I_ am the one striding through it. I like to act as if there are invisible footmen who see me coming and open the doors for me. ---
**Author:** ![Darwins\_Finch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darwins_finch/32/20304_2.png) [@Darwins\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darwins_Finch)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2003, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nerdy-things-you-admit-to-doing/198878/70 "2003-09-02T21:51:58Z")
I write posts like [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=132981). And I spent several weeks revising and refining it before finally posting it (and I _still_ goobered a minor detail…). I also do some fairly “standard” nerdy stuff: play RPGs (computer and pen-and-paper), play computer games, paint miniatures, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2003, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nerdy-things-you-admit-to-doing/198878/71 "2003-09-02T22:26:19Z")
I once devoted an entire weekend to playing EverQuest and Unreal Tournament and watching Evil Dead movies. Without sleeping. I finally gave up when I was hearing the “Flag has been taken” alert noise when UT wasn’t even on. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2003, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nerdy-things-you-admit-to-doing/198878/72 "2003-09-03T02:45:35Z")
When I’m playing Civ III, every time I set a city to begin building its aqueduct, I say “the aqueduct?” in that pinched voice of the guy in _Monty Python’s Life of Brian_ who’s offering a possible answer to the question, what have the Romans ever done to us. And it cracks me up, every time. Oh, and I don’t use my magical Force powers on doors: I do it to traffic lights. When I’m sitting at a red, I’ll notice the crosswise street go from green to yellow, then to red, and I wiggle my fingers at my own red light to make it change to green. I’ve memorized which intersections in my neighborhood go to both left-turn green arrows for the facing center lanes, and which go to a single arrow along with forward greens for the lanes alongside while making oncoming traffic wait, so I can get my finger-wiggling timing correct. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2003, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nerdy-things-you-admit-to-doing/198878/73 "2003-09-03T02:48:24Z")
Of course, I meant, what have the Romans ever done **for** us. I want to get my Python quotes correct, which is a qualification in and of itself. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Cid\_Viscoso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/41988e/32.png) [@El\_Cid\_Viscoso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Cid_Viscoso)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2003, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nerdy-things-you-admit-to-doing/198878/74 "2003-09-03T02:54:50Z")
I used to play 1602. Every time my booze cabinet runs low, I still say “The **al** cohol is running out.” ---
**Author:** ![cajela](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de0a6/32.png) [@cajela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cajela)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2003, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nerdy-things-you-admit-to-doing/198878/75 "2003-09-03T08:09:25Z")
I play games on my palm pilot during the boring bits in choir rehearsal while other people are note-bashing their parts. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2003, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nerdy-things-you-admit-to-doing/198878/76 "2003-09-03T12:32:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by MaryEFoo \* > \*\*And I work puzzles in those Dell puzzle books. “Math Puzzles and Logic Problems” is the most nerdish. \*\* There’s another really good title out there, “Original Logic and Math” – which, by a bizarre coincidence, is put out by the company I work for. (Actually, I should have been proofing “Official’s Logic Problems” last night, but I was too busy reading the boards and playing Rocket Mania – but I digress.) Email me – I’ll send you some samples. ---
**Author:** ![slortar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2003, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nerdy-things-you-admit-to-doing/198878/77 "2003-09-03T15:08:34Z")
I read this entire thread and nodded at each entry. THAT’S how much of a nerd I am. Hmm. I have 7 computers in my apartment currently. And my apartment is very small. Admittedly, one is being worked on for a coworker, and only two are not in storage, but it’s the thought that counts here. The little amount of space that is not given over to computers is used to store a rather massive collection of science fiction, fantasy and general reference works. And porn. ---
**Author:** ![Loneraven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c0e974/32.png) [@Loneraven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loneraven)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2003, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nerdy-things-you-admit-to-doing/198878/78 "2003-09-03T15:34:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by karomon \* > \*\*I enthusiastically post at a “Severus Snape Theories” message board. Quite often. \*\* That he’s actually a vampire, and has had a torrid affair with Remus Lupin at some point, as illustrated by his eagerness to tie him up? What? ---
**Author:** ![El\_Cid\_Viscoso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/41988e/32.png) [@El\_Cid\_Viscoso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Cid_Viscoso)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2003, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nerdy-things-you-admit-to-doing/198878/79 "2003-09-03T15:40:15Z")
I am currently building a Linux cluster server hive out of all my old motherboards, processors and memory. I desire to debunk pi and other indefinites. ---
**Author:** ![Angel\_Heart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@Angel\_Heart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angel_Heart)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2003, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nerdy-things-you-admit-to-doing/198878/80 "2003-09-03T17:45:48Z")
I still have my old Commodore 64 from the 80s…and would find a way to use it if I had the cables. I read encyclopedias for fun. I often quote Spaceballs, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Star Wars. I am familiar with the works of Mercedes Lackey, Robert Jordan and Roger Zelazny. I have a tape of filk songs. (If you don’t need an explanation you’re as nerdy as I am). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nerdy-things-you-admit-to-doing/198878.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nerdy-things-you-admit-to-doing/198878.md?page=5)