# When You Realize You're a Hopeless Geek **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 9, 2012, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-realize-youre-a-hopeless-geek/608980 "2012-01-09T23:11:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Scubaqueen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c0e974/32.png) [@Scubaqueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scubaqueen)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-realize-youre-a-hopeless-geek/608980/21 "2012-01-10T18:14:01Z")
I was in the **library club** in high school. The final nail in the coffin of geek was hammered home to me when my DVDs of all four seasons of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea and all nu-Who from Eccleston to Tennant (can’t stand the 11th doctor!) arrived in the mail the same week. 😃 (I love [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com)) ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-realize-youre-a-hopeless-geek/608980/22 "2012-01-10T18:48:35Z")
I wanted to hate Matt Smith, because he’s not David Tennant, but I couldn’t, because he’s The Doctor. I mean, I’ve known I’m a geek for a long time. There have been milestones… Star Trek… Battlestar Galactica… Dungeons and Dragons. I think this one was just so shocking because I apparently lost all concept of what normalcy was. ---
**Author:** ![Scubaqueen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c0e974/32.png) [@Scubaqueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scubaqueen)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-realize-youre-a-hopeless-geek/608980/23 "2012-01-10T19:37:02Z")
> [@olivesmarch4th](#): > > I wanted to hate Matt Smith, because he’s not David Tennant, but I couldn’t, because he’s The Doctor. \>snip!\< I’ve tried to like Smith, I really, really have, because he IS the Doctor for now. But alas, no. Not happening. He’s certainly competant enough in the part and there are moments where he channels Tennant now and again, but overall I remain underwhelmed. ☹ oops. closing thread hijack now. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-realize-youre-a-hopeless-geek/608980/24 "2012-01-10T19:52:27Z")
> [@Hogfather65](#): > > Should say Teleports… not eeleports “My telecraft is full of eels.” > [@olivesmarch4th](#): > > I wanted to hate Matt Smith, because he’s not David Tennant, but I couldn’t, because he’s The Doctor. > > I mean, I’ve known I’m a geek for a long time. There have been milestones… Star Trek… Battlestar Galactica… Dungeons and Dragons. I think this one was just so shocking because I apparently lost all concept of what normalcy was. I wasn’t keen on Matt Smith until I saw him on Craig Ferguson’s show - he’s whole-heartedly, unabashedly a massive geek. Very endearing. My husband and I pretty much nailed down our geek cred when we realized that our most serious disagreement was over which Captain was better, Kirk or Picard. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-realize-youre-a-hopeless-geek/608980/25 "2012-01-10T20:17:37Z")
> [@lavenderviolet](#): > > I bought this for my boyfriend for Christmas: > [http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/kitchen/dea2/](http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/kitchen/dea2/) I knew what that was, before I even clicked on the link. 😉 Yes, I have one, too – it was a Christmas gift from my running partner, who is every bit the geek that I am (she and I even have “[Running Geek](http://www.amazon.com/New-Balance-Running-Sleeve-Medium/dp/B004HEXDBS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1326226637&sr=8-2)” t-shirts!) ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-realize-youre-a-hopeless-geek/608980/26 "2012-01-10T20:51:25Z")
> [@lavenderviolet](#): > > I bought this for my boyfriend for Christmas: > [http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/kitchen/dea2/](http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/kitchen/dea2/) I got one of those for my dad last year. He says he hasn’t used it yet because he doesn’t want to mess it up. He did use it as a christmas ornament. > [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > My husband and I pretty much nailed down our geek cred when we realized that our most serious disagreement was over which Captain was better, Kirk or Picard. 🙂 Sisko all the way for me. I watched Kirk with my dad when I was little and then Picard with my dad when I was older but it was DS9, that I watched by myself because my parents had divorced, that I really came to appreciate Star Trek in it’s Trekky goodness. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-realize-youre-a-hopeless-geek/608980/27 "2012-01-10T20:55:21Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Being familiar with the Muppets is really, really stretching the concept of “geek.” Geek seems to be a pretty meaningless word nowadays. Sometimes it seems like everyone under 40 claims to be one. ---
**Author:** ![dzeiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/46a35a/32.png) [@dzeiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dzeiger)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-realize-youre-a-hopeless-geek/608980/28 "2012-01-10T21:02:50Z")
> [@lavenderviolet](#): > > I bought this for my boyfriend for Christmas: > [http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/kitchen/dea2/](http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/kitchen/dea2/) Wouldn’t a true geek pizza cutter be, perhaps, more of a Reliant-class type, so you can press directly down on it as taught to us by our Food Geek Lord Alton Brown? ---
**Author:** ![Doctor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Doctor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-realize-youre-a-hopeless-geek/608980/29 "2012-01-10T21:15:35Z")
> [@Ephemera](#): > > Geek seems to be a pretty meaningless word nowadays. Sometimes it seems like everyone under 40 claims to be one. Well, I am over 40, used to watch Doctor Who on PBS, watched Star Trek as often as possible, played D&D with my friends in college and was even in the Chess Club in Junior High. I still love Doctor Who (including Matt Smith :p) and have all the Firefly episodes and the movie. And I do computer programming and have computers running Linux! I think my geek cred is good! ---
**Author:** ![Lasciel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e79b87/32.png) [@Lasciel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lasciel)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-realize-youre-a-hopeless-geek/608980/30 "2012-01-10T23:03:31Z")
Playing a star wars roleplaying game last night (strike one) with some friends, and I’m playing as an alien species. Our party got invited to a huge casino where we’re supposed to shmooze up some bigwigs. We arrived before the bigwig did, and the GM was talking up all of the various enticements and attractions of the location so we would actually do something and he wouldn’t have to say “two days pass” which he hates doing. There’s spas, and gambling dens, and racing games, and gladiatorial stuff, and beauty salons, and lots of expensive shops… So we’re all coming up with random ‘in character’ shit for our characters to do to keep the GM happy (strike two). Random rolling for various shit ensues. A fellow player commented to me that I should “get a fur die.” I paused, thought for a second, and responded with “I dunno, I don’t think that it would roll very well.” Long pause. Other player: “… no… your fur. Your character’s fur. Dyed. In one of the salons.” Me: “Oh. That makes sense, I guess.” (Strike three, ladies and gentlemen, and that’s all for the night.) :smack: ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-realize-youre-a-hopeless-geek/608980/31 "2012-01-10T23:18:13Z")
When I named my cat after Ursela LeGuin. ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-realize-youre-a-hopeless-geek/608980/32 "2012-01-10T23:20:50Z")
You know you’re married to a hopeless geek when you come home with a story about how the local dog undertaker is leveraging loans into various sexual favors and his only comment is that if you know how much money corresponds to drawing another card and how many blow job cards are in the deck, you can then figure out how much a blow job costs. ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-realize-youre-a-hopeless-geek/608980/33 "2012-01-10T23:22:56Z")
> [@olivesmarch4th](#): > > I wanted to hate Matt Smith, because he’s not David Tennant, but I couldn’t, because he’s The Doctor. Yeah. He had me at “I think that must be a VERY scary crack in your wall.” Knew sweetie was the one when he started reciting Vogon poetry to me, and I knew exactly what it was. Sometimes I don’t think anyone else would take either of us. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-realize-youre-a-hopeless-geek/608980/34 "2012-01-10T23:53:11Z")
My now-wife and I first bonded playing Star Trek trivia. Original Series. That’s all there was, then. ---
**Author:** ![Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tastes_of_chocolate/32/3232_2.png) [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tastes_of_Chocolate)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-realize-youre-a-hopeless-geek/608980/35 "2012-01-10T23:57:04Z")
> [@olivesmarch4th](#): > > I wanted to hate Matt Smith, because he’s not David Tennant, but I couldn’t, because he’s The Doctor. > [@Scubaqueen](#): > > I’ve tried to like Smith, I really, really have, because he IS the Doctor for now. But alas, no. Not happening. He’s certainly competant enough in the part and there are moments where he channels Tennant now and again, but overall I remain underwhelmed. ☹ Neither one of them is Tom Baker, so neither of them is REALLY the Doctor. I think I knew I was true geek why back when, when as a kid, my sister and I pooled our money, so we could become public television members, so we could get the Dr Who T-shirt. ---
**Author:** ![jharvey963](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/54ee81/32.png) [@jharvey963](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jharvey963)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2012, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-realize-youre-a-hopeless-geek/608980/36 "2012-01-11T00:09:12Z")
> [@LavenderBlue](#): > > When I named my cat after Ursela LeGuin. Not that much of Geek. It’s Ursula. So when did I realize I’m a Geek? When I corrected someone’s spelling of Ursula Le Guin’s name. And when I cared enough to check if it was LeGuin (no space) or Le Guin (with space). :D:D:D J. ---
**Author:** ![brujaja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@brujaja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brujaja)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-realize-youre-a-hopeless-geek/608980/37 "2012-01-12T05:04:02Z")
Chess club. Seventh grade. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-realize-youre-a-hopeless-geek/608980/38 "2012-01-12T06:24:24Z")
Yesterday at work, there was a Lexmark laser printer in the incoming repair queue, the note taped to it said; “loud noise from back of printer” “Alignment problem” My immediate thought on reading the second problem was… “What, so it’s Chaotic Evil or something?” and yes, all Lexmark economy laser printers are Chaotic Evil, they build them that way, that’s why whenever I deal with a truly evil one, I reach for my “Lexmark adjustment tool” (Stanley FatMax FUBAR demolition bar) and threaten to “Office Space” it… ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-realize-youre-a-hopeless-geek/608980/39 "2012-01-12T07:28:49Z")
> [@OtakuLoki](#): > > When I realized that my first reaction upon hearing the word “manometer” is to _sotto vocce_ “Doo doo de doo doo.” > > When other people in my nuc school class with me joined in, I knew I was in the right place. > For anyone who doesn’t get it, check out [this video](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8N_tupPBtWQ). Wait, you’re telling me that doing that song as part of a college fundraiser means I’m a nerd? Damn, and me thinking it was reading superhero comics, scifi, fantasy, loving computers and studying ChemE that were the hints! I’m not a hopeless nerd. I’m hopeful that we’ll be able to keep the % of nerds within the general population at or above the levels necessary for human advancement. So far, work on my nephews proceeds apace. ---
**Author:** ![Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f08c70/32.png) [@Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crowbar_of_Irony_3)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-realize-youre-a-hopeless-geek/608980/40 "2012-01-12T09:30:35Z")
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