# Oddly Geeky Moments **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 20, 2004, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-geeky-moments/275774 "2004-11-20T01:18:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![bluecanary](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bluecanary/32/3614_2.png) [@bluecanary](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bluecanary)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2004, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-geeky-moments/275774/21 "2004-11-21T02:06:34Z")
I say things like ‘identify’ and ‘consolidate’ often. Saying ‘default’ is my most common example; I use that one all the time. Sometimes there just doesn’t seem to be an equivalent word, even when you’re nowhere near a computer! ---
**Author:** ![sleestak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@sleestak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleestak)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2004, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-geeky-moments/275774/22 "2004-11-21T10:06:58Z")
I have so many of these that it is kinda hard to remeber when they happen. I’ve been doing computer stuff for WAY too long. For instance about two weeks ago this exchange took place(or something really close to it) when I was talking to my _MOM_ on the phone: Mom: “Have you made anything in your new crock pot yet?” Me “No, speaking of that, could you grep that green chile stew recipe for me?” Mom: “Huh?” Slee ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2004, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-geeky-moments/275774/23 "2004-11-21T10:25:36Z")
Last week, my office-mate opined that the Detroit Tigers would improve themselves by signing Percival (a good relief pitcher) and I quipped, “Yes, but won;t the Knights of the Round Table be hurt by his loss?” We both laughed (since we’re baseball fans and English profs) but agreed that it was very arcane humor, verging on the geeky. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2004, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-geeky-moments/275774/24 "2004-11-21T12:50:04Z")
> [@Podkayne](#): > > WWBD? > > Some friends and I were checking out the BtVS roleplaying game, which has a chapter (believe it or not) on how to imitate the style of dialog from the show. We went down the list. Already do that . . . Already do that . . . Already do that . . . > > That was a little scary. Yup. It’s shocking. Buffy nerds talk just like the losers on the show. 😉 I had several friends in high school who were diehard Buffy geeks, and when I finally broke down and watched the show it was like sitting at lunch with my friends, because the characters in the show and my friends talked _exactly the same_. ---
**Author:** ![Caiata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e56c9b/32.png) [@Caiata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caiata)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2004, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-geeky-moments/275774/25 "2004-11-21T13:32:11Z")
Once, I was working as a breadstick girl at a pasta restaurant (gah, can’t remember the name now, it’s like fast-food pasta, but anyway) and a really cute guy with a hairy-looking mathematics textbook was eating by himself. I asked him if he’d like any complimentary breadsticks and he said, “Three or four.” I said, “Well, which is it - three, or four?” He said, “Dunno, I can’t decide.” So I gave him three and tore off the end of another, and said, “There, now you have pi!” At the end of the breadsticking round I came back & he requested “2 or 3”, so I gave him 2 + the remainder of the breadstick I’d ripped apart to form the .1415926 part of pi. He looked at me quizzically, and I said, “There, now you’ve got _e_.” (I know, they don’t add up to 6, but damnit it’s close enough!) I’d love to tell you that we went on to get married and make geeky little babies, but sadly, I didn’t even have the nerve to ask his name - or what kind of maths he was doing. ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2004, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-geeky-moments/275774/26 "2004-11-22T00:27:23Z")
> [@Caiata](#): > > Once, I was working as a breadstick girl at a pasta restaurant (gah, can’t remember the name now, it’s like fast-food pasta, but anyway) Fazoli’s? Granted that’s a US franchise (unless I’m wrong), but it’s at least faintly possible. ---
**Author:** ![Jillyvn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecb155/32.png) [@Jillyvn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jillyvn)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2004, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-geeky-moments/275774/27 "2004-11-22T02:32:41Z")
> [@ThatGuy](#): > > Whenever i have a life problem or my friends come to me for advice…i somehow find a way to relate everything to “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”…I think my entire ethical code is derived from Joss Whedon…Nerdy enough? Yup. Buffy qualifies as geeky in an extreme way and I do this to. But I can trump you I think. In my fourth year English class, I wrote a paper equating the norms in classical westerns to BTVS and the structure of mythology. AND I was serious about it. /geek. - Rebekkah ---
**Author:** ![thirdwarning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecccb3/32.png) [@thirdwarning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdwarning)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2004, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-geeky-moments/275774/28 "2004-11-22T05:11:03Z")
So don’t keep us in suspense, what kind of grade did you get? ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2004, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-geeky-moments/275774/29 "2004-11-22T09:14:40Z")
Unfortunately, the paper attempted to bite her in the neck before she could read the grade on it, and she had to stab it with the wooden stake she happened to have in her backpack. Big mess, ink spurting everywhere. And so the world will never know just how well she compared classical westerns and Buffy. ---
**Author:** ![rinni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f6c823/32.png) [@rinni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rinni)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2004, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-geeky-moments/275774/30 "2004-11-22T10:05:51Z")
A friend of mine and I refer to black, medium-sized dogs as “default dogs” because that is what we think of when we hear the word “dog”. Black dog, half-flopped ear, slightly fluffy tail. Default dog. Cute. ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2004, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-geeky-moments/275774/31 "2004-11-22T10:12:22Z")
“I’m going over to Fry’s to look at processors.” “I’m going over to Fry’s to look at hard drives.” “I’m going over to Fry’s to look at video cards.” That’s right… I never buy… I just look at. I’m a sick, sick man, but that’s not the worst: I once spent twenty minutes bragging to my friend about the really cool names I gave to all my Super Star Destroyers in the game _Rebellion_. I thought he’d be interested because I named one of them the _Pink Floyd_… boy, was I wrong! Oh well. ---
**Author:** ![sleestak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@sleestak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleestak)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2004, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-geeky-moments/275774/32 "2004-11-22T10:20:43Z")
> [@SPOOFE](#): > > “I’m going over to Fry’s to look at processors.” > > “I’m going over to Fry’s to look at hard drives.” > > “I’m going over to Fry’s to look at video cards.” > > That’s right… I never buy… I just look at. I’m a sick, sick man, but that’s not the worst: I once spent twenty minutes bragging to my friend about the really cool names I gave to all my Super Star Destroyers in the game _Rebellion_. I thought he’d be interested because I named one of them the _Pink Floyd_… boy, was I wrong! Oh well. You mean you can walk into Fry’s and\*\* NOT \*\* walk out broke? I am impressed. I cannot go near that store. Slee ---
**Author:** ![lovelyluka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f475e1/32.png) [@lovelyluka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lovelyluka)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2004, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-geeky-moments/275774/33 "2004-11-22T14:46:44Z")
My boyfriend and I have classes through the “usual” lunchtime, but one Friday he decided to take me out to lunch after our classes. We decided that we’d go in my car since it was parked closer. When he turned it on, I heard on the radio, “I’m Ira Flatow…” I clapped and squealed, “Ooooooooh, it’s Science Friday!”\* It was a few minutes before he could regain his composure. He claimed it was so funny not because I got excited over Science Friday, but that I immediately _knew_ it was Science Friday. In any case, I made us sit in the car after we got to the restaurant so we could finish listening to a part of it. - You know, Talk of the Nation, Science Friday. On NPR. They talk about nifty science stuff. It’s awesome, and you should listen to it too. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2004, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-geeky-moments/275774/34 "2004-11-22T15:04:09Z")
XM radio has a movie-soundtrack station. Two seconds after I turned it on, I knew it was the scene where V’ger takes out three D-7s. And my geek friends knew exactly what I meant when I used those exact words. Anybody here care to guess? I was with my friends at Red Lobster when my compu-geek friend whips out his laptop (yes, he brings it with him EVERYWHERE) to show us the Episode III trailer. While we’re eating. No, it couldn’t wait! ---
**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:** [November 22, 2004, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-geeky-moments/275774/35 "2004-11-22T15:34:33Z")
> [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > XM radio has a movie-soundtrack station. Two seconds after I turned it on, I knew it was the scene where V’ger takes out three D-7s. And my geek friends knew exactly what I meant when I used those exact words. > > Anybody here care to guess? All too easy. Star Trek : The Motion Picture. ---
**Author:** ![Draelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@Draelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Draelin)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2004, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-geeky-moments/275774/36 "2004-11-22T16:54:04Z")
> [@CandidGamera](#): > > All too easy. Star Trek : The Motion Picture. Carbon Unit Candid Gamera beat me to it. _sigh_ That was geeky, wasn’t it? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Sean\_Factotum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Sean\_Factotum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sean_Factotum)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2004, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-geeky-moments/275774/37 "2004-11-22T17:01:06Z")
Well, last night my GF’s daughters were over, and we were watching _This Is Spinal Tap_. I explained to the GF exactly who all those guys in the band were (starting with “Remember Lenny from _Laverne and Shirley_?”) But I would have to say my geekiest moment recently was in August, on a driving trip to Maine. We were listening to _Ben Folds Live_, and the GF’s youngest daughter asked one simple question about a song. She ended up with a twenty minute dissertaion on everything Ben Folds. I even got a mention in her blog about it. A very sarcastic mention. ---
**Author:** ![VenusProbe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/e495f1/32.png) [@VenusProbe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VenusProbe)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2004, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-geeky-moments/275774/38 "2004-11-22T18:29:48Z")
> [@Anastasaeon](#): > > I often leave my brain on autopilot, and while speaking to my husband, I once mused aloud: "I wonder if our children will one day play Everquest with us… " My kids and I do! latest geeky moment was this morning, knowing Harry Mudds full name. It’s bad enough that it came up in conversation, but knowing the answer and the episode == geeky. ---
**Author:** ![Draelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@Draelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Draelin)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2004, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-geeky-moments/275774/39 "2004-11-22T18:35:05Z")
> [@VenusProbe](#): > > latest geeky moment was this morning, knowing Harry Mudds full name. It’s bad enough that it came up in conversation, but knowing the answer and the episode == geeky. _sigh_ Now I’ve got Stella’s voice yelling in my head … only she’s simply telling me I’m a big honkin’ _ **geek** _. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2004, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-geeky-moments/275774/40 "2004-11-22T18:41:08Z")
I couldn’t decide what to post in this thread. Honestly, I am not that geeky. I opened first right after I’d downloaded and installed the latest [simh](http://simh.trailing-edge.com/) package. But that’s not geeky: Who _wouldn’t_ want to be able to emulate the PDP-1, PDP-10, PDP-11, IBM System/3, _and_ MITS Altair 8800 (with 8080 and Z80 CPU emulation built in… CP/M 3 here I come!)? Not that geeky, when you look at it that way. I even have an excuse to waste time in SCP again. Of course, what’s a PDP-10 without ITS, right? Luckily, the simh site has a really great [software library](http://simh.trailing-edge.com/software.html), including the good old Incompatible Timesharing System, famous in story and song. I installed ITS from tape images and was soon typing away at HACTRN. Didn’t get to do much, as apparently the tapes don’t come with much of any software, but that’s kinda beside the point. (BTW, there’s a great poem called [The HACTRN](http://victor.se/bjorn/its/hactrn.php), which is a parody of _The Raven_ by Poe.) Now I was itching for something else to do. My PDP-11 cried out for some kind of software, and lo and behold UNIX V7 is available as a disk image. UNIX always provides plenty of development tools, good old cc, as, and even f77. Not to mention awk, sed, and dc. A dowload later, I was root on my very own V7 box, happily typing and compiling programs and marveling at the beauty that is the PDP-11 assembly language. Today, of course, it hit me: When I was running V7 on the emulated PDP-11, I was emulating a UNIX \*on a _nix_. The syntax of that Bourne shell is essentially the same as the language accepted by zsh, my shell of choice in modern \*nixes. It’ll be less geeky when I program in PDP-1 machine code using DDT. After all, that’s something I can only do under emulation. And running CP/M when you have Linux isn’t geekery, it’s respect for the clean interface that is WordStar. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-geeky-moments/275774.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-geeky-moments/275774.md?page=3)