# You Might Be A Geek If ............... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 24, 2003, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-might-be-a-geek-if/170921 "2003-04-24T18:49:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![d\_redguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5fc32e/32.png) [@d\_redguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/d_redguy)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-might-be-a-geek-if/170921/21 "2003-04-25T02:09:08Z")
If you fit anywhere on this [this handy flowchart.](http://www.brunching.com/images/geekchartbig.gif) Bonus points for the further down the chart you fit. (I fit in 5 different branches. Some higher up, some lower down.) ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-might-be-a-geek-if/170921/22 "2003-04-25T02:17:19Z")
heh. I only made a couple spots. BUT … mmmmmm… _flowcharts… purrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr_ ---
**Author:** ![rjk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@rjk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjk)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-might-be-a-geek-if/170921/23 "2003-04-25T02:21:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by gotpasswords \* > \*\*Your fingers automatically assume the Ctrl-Alt-Delete triad without needing any active thought as to where those keys are. > > You have the IPs for five printers and three file servers memorized. > > You have a file cabinet full of mice, LAN cables, keyboards, spare NICs and security tokens. None of them are in 100% working order. \*\* Your fingers know more passwords than your brain does. 10.1.1.21 and many more. 🆒 One of the drawers in that cabinet is full of serial mice, 5 1/4" disks, and even an 8K (bit) card of core memory. ---
**Author:** ![Severian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/49beb7/32.png) [@Severian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Severian)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-might-be-a-geek-if/170921/24 "2003-04-25T02:33:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Q.E.D. \* > \*\*…You get an email with the title “Hard driving studs” and you think it’s about guys upgrading their HDDs. > > …You debug the directions on a bottle of shampoo to include an IF statement. > > …You’re watching a crappy TV show and you look for the DEL key on the remote. \*\* …You use “star dot star” in casual conversation. …You laugh at most every instance of a computer in popular movies and television (Did anyone catch the “IP address” used in a recent episode of Law & Order?). …You like reading the message headers of spam. ---
**Author:** ![Bob55](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Bob55](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bob55)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-might-be-a-geek-if/170921/25 "2003-04-25T03:18:37Z")
**You might be a MMORPG geek if…** You know what MMORPG stands for. ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-might-be-a-geek-if/170921/26 "2003-04-25T03:46:21Z")
You bite the heads off of live chickens. sorry ---
**Author:** ![hyperjes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/df705f/32.png) [@hyperjes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hyperjes)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-might-be-a-geek-if/170921/27 "2003-04-25T04:31:45Z")
Your poor wife, who fits into the flowchart too, no longer understands 70% of what you talk about 50% of the time- **d\_redguy**!😉 ---
**Author:** ![KeithT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@KeithT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KeithT)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-might-be-a-geek-if/170921/28 "2003-04-25T05:02:39Z")
… you know what recursive acronyms are. … you think recursive acronyms are funny. ---
**Author:** ![BlackKnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eb8c5e/32.png) [@BlackKnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlackKnight)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-might-be-a-geek-if/170921/29 "2003-04-25T05:26:16Z")
You might be a computer geek if … You don’t trust anything that won’t boot from a floppy if necessary. You try to fix car problems by turning the engine off, then back on again. You’ve ever implemented an algorithm using Tinker Toys. You cringe when someone says they “programmed” in HTML. You cringe when someone says they “programmed” in BASIC. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-might-be-a-geek-if/170921/30 "2003-04-25T06:50:39Z")
You find yourself saying things like [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?postid=3317957#post3317957) in real life as well as on the SDMB. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-might-be-a-geek-if/170921/31 "2003-04-25T07:01:43Z")
You’ve ever muttered these sayings [ul] [li]Compatability is a good thing, except when _you_ have to make it happen.[/li][li]Standards are great. There are so many to choose from.[/li][li]POSIX: Bible to some, toilet paper to the ones you must work with.[/li][/ul] … you know what POSIX is. … sockets are not for lightbulbs in your world. … you understand Lisp. … … and think it’s beautiful. … this makes sense to you: ```auto for i in $* do ps -A | grep -y -e "$i" | awk '{ print $1,$4 }' done ``` … cars have nothing to do with transportation in your world. ---
**Author:** ![Feynn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecb155/32.png) [@Feynn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Feynn)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-might-be-a-geek-if/170921/32 "2003-04-25T07:19:33Z")
When I watch television and movies I pay close attention to the pens that characters are using… In “Enemy at the Gate” I was sure the main character uses a ballpoint to write some letters to his fans. That’s just not right as ballpoints hadn’t been invented yet. Perhaps it was a mechanical pencil… I’ll have to watch it again. In Apollo 13, I’m sure that in one scene they are using a normal clear stick pen… in zero gravity. Not only would a normal pen not function but the pens used in NASA missions are made by Fisher as they are pressurized and designed to withstand the rigours of spaceflight. I also have a large collection of comics… Lola and I also have a huge collection of Trek material from books to movies to entire seasons of episodes. At least the geek found another geek. ---
**Author:** ![phraser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a88e4f/32.png) [@phraser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phraser)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-might-be-a-geek-if/170921/33 "2003-04-25T07:50:24Z")
…when you are forced to write longhand, your message is peppered with emoticons, actions in \*\* (eg _rolls eyes_) and lots of commands starting with /. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-might-be-a-geek-if/170921/34 "2003-04-25T09:28:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by phraser \* > \*\*…when you are forced to write longhand, your message is peppered with emoticons, actions in \*\* (eg _rolls eyes_) and lots of commands starting with /. \*\* /me doesn’t know what you mean _g_ ---
**Author:** ![Tristan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tristan/32/18058_2.png) [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-might-be-a-geek-if/170921/35 "2003-04-25T09:42:54Z")
**You may be a ren-faire/SCA geek if…** You find yourself looking at your neighbors curtains and think they’d make for a good Cyclas. You do that cheesy “forearms clasping” handshake that isn’t period at all, at work. When faced with danger, you immediatly square up and raise up your sword arm… despite not being armed with your sword… You smooth out your skirts to sit down… and you’re not wearing a skirt… and you’re a guy… You criticize any and all medieval movies fighting, arms and armor, clothes. etc. Several of these have been gripped from various web-sources. **You know you’re a martial arts geek when** - You use a crescent kick to close your cupboards. - You spear-hand the elevator button. - You fall down, fall properly, and kiyap when you fall… on the sidewalk in winter… - Your friends all run screaming when you say “Hey, I just learned this… grab me!” to them. - You’ve spent hours and hours doing wall-running, and don’t understand why people think its so cool in the Matrix… you do it every week… without wires. - You do staff spins and strikes with anything of a decent enough length that comes into your hands. Again, many of these gripped from internet sources… ---
**Author:** ![etgaw1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ed655f/32.png) [@etgaw1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etgaw1)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-might-be-a-geek-if/170921/36 "2003-04-25T10:04:18Z")
If you casn’t understand a number unles it is written in scientific notation, 2.5 x 10^3 honestly i have trouble reading a calc if there are any additional zeros ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-might-be-a-geek-if/170921/37 "2003-04-25T10:51:41Z")
If you laugh at a Volkswagen Beetle with a license plate that says FEATURE. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-might-be-a-geek-if/170921/38 "2003-04-25T11:54:16Z")
And **Priceguy** brings up the One-Part Geek Test. I think that car/plate combo actually exists in Cally-forn-ya. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-might-be-a-geek-if/170921/39 "2003-04-25T12:16:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Priceguy \* > \*\*If you laugh at a Volkswagen Beetle with a license plate that says FEATURE. \*\* Does not compute. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-might-be-a-geek-if/170921/40 "2003-04-25T12:39:31Z")
You participate in the following dialogue: “What time is it?” “I don’t know.” “Give me a first-order approximation.” – overheard at MIT. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-might-be-a-geek-if/170921.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-might-be-a-geek-if/170921.md?page=3)